Background. Parkinson's disease has a considerable impact on people's lives. It is necessary to identify the key elements that influence the process of living with Parkinson's disease so that health professionals can help patients and their relatives to live as well as possible with the changes and limitations produced by the disease. Material and methods. A qualitative descriptive study was realized. This study corresponded to the first phase of a sequential, exploratory design (mixed method) that in turn included a quantitative phase. A multicentre project was carried out. Convenience sampling was applied to collect data, a semi-structured interview was realized individually with patients and carer-relatives and two questionnaires with patients: the Hoehn & Yahr scale and the PDNMS questionnaire. Content analysis of the interviews and a statistical description of the questionnaires were used. Results. The sample was made up of 46 participants. Three key elements were identified in the process of living with Parkinson's disease: acceptance, adaptation and self-management. These elements conditioned the modes of living with Parkinson's disease: positive living, characterized by feelings of harmony, balance and naturalness; negative living characterized be feelings of frustration, loss of control and self-esteem. Conclusions. It is essential for health professionals to have a deep understanding of these elements, as well as of the factors that favor or hinder them. To the extent that research in this field progresses and effective interventions are identified, comprehensive patient care will be improved in consonance with the new directives for chronicity.


The Great Bear magmatic zone in the Northwest Territories of Canada contains large iron-oxide alkali alteration systems noted for having high potential for iron oxide-apatite, iron oxide-copper-gold, and affiliated ore deposits. Physical properties (density, magnetic, and electrical) were measured on 824 rocks samples selected to represent the range of metasomatic alteration types in the region. Mineralogical and geochemical classification of the prograde iron oxide and alkali alteration facies reveals large variations in physical properties through the evolution of the metasomatic systems. In particular, deep and early sodic alteration produced rocks having low densities and low magnetic susceptibilities. During calcium and iron precipitation, rocks gain extremely high density and susceptibility, due to crystallization of amphibole and especially magnetite. Subsequent hightemperature, potassic- and iron-altered rocks are marked by cocrystallization of magnetite with K-feldspar or biotite, and as the transition from magnetite to hematite takes place, K-feldspar crystallizes instead of iron oxides leading ultimately to potassic felsites having low densities and susceptibilities. Subsequent cooler, shallower, and more oxidized potassic-iron alteration produced high densities but moderate susceptibilities owing to crystallization of hematite. Understanding these major variations in physical properties of rocks enables detailed geophysical mapping of alteration zones, which builds and improves the regional context for integrated mineral exploration vectors to potential ore deposits.


There have recently been various far-reaching amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 which make it more difficult and sometimes even almost impossible for an arrested person to be granted bail (see s 60 as amended by the Criminal Procedure Second Amendment Act 85 of 1997). * For instance, an arrested person is no longer entitled to bring a bail application before a court of law outside ordinary court hours. A court may now postpone a bail application for a period not exceeding seven days at a time. An accused person is now no longer entitled to have access to the police docket for the purposes of bringing a bail application.


Like many other transitional democracies, South Africa has chosen to run its two national postapartheid elections by an independent electoral commission, not by the existing government. Although the results were widely considered legitimate, the perception of legitimacy was due in large part to the public's low expectations. To keep the public confidence, and to avoid the sorts of large-scale breakdowns in the electoral process that might undermine it, the current Electoral Commission must embrace major reforms. One of the Electoral Commission's most pressing problems is the fact that opposition parties believe it is strongly biased in favor of the ruling political party, the African National Congress. The Electoral Commission also has failed to devolve meaningful power to provincial officials, increasing the risk that it will botch the details of election management. The author proposes several measures to help resolve these concerns.


Domestic violence entered the public consciousness during the 1970s,1 and activists' demands for attention and redress since then have brought about many changes in the law's response to abuse within the family.2 This Note examines the beginning of what may become a new trend in legal responses to domestic violence: legislation establishing databases or registries of domestic abusers. Though no law has yet been passed to create such a database, several states have proposed variations of it. This Note examines Texas and New York, two states in which these databases were recently proposed, as model jurisdictions for analyzing the databases' possible pros and cons. It first discusses feminist goals in the reformation of legal responses to domestic violence and concludes that a statewide database is a necessary and effective way of continuing the reform effort. It then appraises the possible criticisms that such a database would face and proposes a solution based on a preexisting program that many states already implement. Finally, it delves into the question of cost and posits that the benefits derived from a domestic violence database would greatly outweigh any monetary burdens it might impose. In 2011, two states saw legislators propose a controversial new measure to be incorporated into the criminal justice system-a database or registry that would publish information about domestic abusers.3 Both databases would have made public the abuser's name, address, and photograph, along with a description of the offenses of which the abuser was found guilty.4 Access to the databases would have been available without cost to the general public via a searchable website5 or special telephone number.6 Although these proposals aimed to reduce domestic violence by warning past and potential victims, both proposals died in committee.7 Such proposals are relatively new, but the 2011 bills were not the first of their kind. One of the bills represents Texas's second attempt at creating a domestic violence database.8 In the last three years, similar bills have been proposed in California9 and Virginia,10 and there is evidence of legislative interest in the idea in Nevada.11 Despite the bills' admirable goal of protecting the public from batterers, none have passed.12 In this Note, I argue that despite the disheartening results of efforts thus far, state legislators should continue to advocate for domestic violence databases. I first examine the goals of domestic violence legal reform in light of the goals of the feminists who first brought the problem to public attention and find that a domestic violence database would be an appropriate and efficient tool to combat the problem of abuse in the family. I then compare the Texas and New York bills and conclude that the Texas bill provides a more cost-effective and reasonable means of establishing the database. Finally, I examine several arguments against the database, including concerns about its cost-effectiveness, and determine that the database can withstand such attacks. I. Why the Database Is Necessary and Appropriate A domestic violence database is needed in order to protect victims of abuse.13 The criminal justice system has faced significant problems in attempting to aid these victims, and a domestic violence database could resolve these problems. Domestic violence databases offer a preventative- rather than remedial-approach to combating this pervasive social problem while promoting feminist goals and supporting women's autonomy. Because the database presents a relatively unproblematic way for the state to reduce domestic violence and because domestic violence is still a major problem in the United States, every jurisdiction should implement a database as quickly as possible. A. The Problems with the Law's Current Response to Domestic Violence These days, talk of "empowering" the victims of domestic violence focuses entirely on empowerment after abuse has already occurred- basically, empowerment in prosecuting the abuser, severing ties with him, and building a new life on one's own. …


The feasibility of intensified therapy in adults < 61-years-old with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was evaluated by adding high-dose cytarabine (HDAC) to conventional induction therapy and in post-remission therapy prior to peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). Patients were treated with conventional induction therapy (daunorubicin days 1 - 3 and cytarabine days 1 - 7), followed by HDAC (2 gm/M2) every 12 h ( × 6) on days 8 - 10. Patients in complete remission (CR) with HLA-matched siblings were assigned to allogeneic PBSCT; the others received two courses of HDAC (3 gm/M2 every 12 h on days 1, 3, and 5) given 1 month apart. Peripheral blood stem cells were then harvested and infused after high-dose chemotherapy. Of 62 eligible, evaluable patients, 47 (76%) achieved CR. The mortality rate was 10% (6 patients); no deaths occurred during the two post-remission courses of HDAC. Fifteen patients were assigned to allogeneic PBSCT and 32 to autologous PBSCT. All surviving patients have been followed for more than 4 years. Including all patients scheduled to receive autoPBSCT in an intent-to-treat analysis, after a median 5-year follow-up the current, non-actuarial, four-year event-free and overall survival was 47% and 47%, respectively. Intensified induction therapy was associated with more toxicity than conventional induction therapy, and the CR rate did not improve. Nevertheless, intensive post-remission therapy was well tolerated, no treatment-related mortality occurred with autologous PBSCT, and disease-free survival and overall survival were lengthy.


We present an approach to alter the perceived appearance of physical objects by controlling their surrounding space. Many real-world objects cannot easily be equipped with displays or actuators in order to change their shape. While common approaches such as projection mapping enable changing the appearance of objects without modifying them, certain surface properties (e.g. highly reflective or transparent surfaces) can make employing these techniques difficult. In this work, we present a conceptual design exploration on how the appearance of an object can be changed by solely altering the space around it, rather than the object itself. In a proof-of-concept implementation, we place objects onto a tabletop display and track them together with users to display perspective-corrected 3D graphics for augmentation. This enables controlling properties such as the perceived size, color, or shape of objects. We characterize the design space of our approach and demonstrate potential applications. For example, we change the contour of a wallet to notify users when their bank account is debited. We envision our approach to gain in importance with increasing ubiquity of display surfaces.


Plain English in medical and scientific writing is not one-size-fits-all, because audiences differ. Advice on writing plain English abounds. In 1946, George Orwell, best known as the author of 1984, formulated a much quoted, compact set of rules for clear writing. The present article explores the relevance of his rules to medical writing, makes recommendations how to apply them, and adds further rules specific to our field of writing.


The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is a tool for developing learner responsibility and autonomy through reflection and self-awareness. The ELP is based on the Common European Framework (CEF) Reference Levels that enable learners to describe what they can do in different languages. The CEF is a Council of Europe initiative aimed at improving the learning of foreign languages. This paper uses the internet to look at how the ELP has been implemented in different settings and to suggest how the ELP may be approached. The paper introduces a small-scale case study of ELP pilot implementation in a university preparatory school. The results from this institution show many similarities with responses in other places, and demonstrate the importance of integrating the ELP with the existing programme, providing teacher training and clarifying the status and purpose of the ELP. Analysis of documents on the internet shows a number of important factors. The most successful examples of ELP use involved integration of the ELP in the institution's programme, training for teachers and students and a high level of commitment of time and financial resources by teachers and administrators. Responses from teachers were often extremely positive, others showed interest but many also expressed reservations about the ELP. Student responses were generally but not universally positive and a number of criticisms were raised concerning the status and purpose of the ELP. The paper provides full internet links so readers can access the same documents. The paper concludes firstly that future ELP use could exploit the internet for teacher training and secondly that thorough preparation of staff, students and programmes are needed when an innovative tool such as ELP is introduced. The basis for thorough preparation could involve detailed familiarisation with the CEF Reference Levels.


Electronic Double-Layer Capacitors (EDLC), called Supercapacitors (SC), are electronic devices that are capable to store a relatively high amount of energy in a small volume comparing to other types of capacitors. They are composed of an activated carbon layer and electrolyte solution. The charge is stored on electrodes, forming the Helmholtz layer, and in electrolyte. The capacitance of supercapacitor is voltage- dependent. We propose an experimental method, based on monitoring of charging and discharging a supercapacitor, which enables to evaluate the charge in an SC structure as well as the Capacitance-Voltage (C-V) dependence. The measurement setup, method and experimental results of charging/discharging commercially available supercapacitors in various voltage and current conditions are presented. The total charge stored in an SC structure is proportional to the square of voltage at SC electrodes while the charge on electrodes increases linearly with the voltage on SC electrodes. The Helmholtz capacitance increases linearly with the voltage bias while a sublinear increase of total capacitance was found. The voltage on SC increases after the discharge of electrodes due to diffusion of charges from the electrolyte to the electrodes. We have found that the recovery voltage value is linearly proportional to the initial bias voltage value.


The brain drain emerged as a phenomenon in the Sudan in the early 1970's when a change in the political system was followed by a change in the economic situation. The oil price increases created a dynamic process that led to attractive employment conditions in the petroleum producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and to depressed economic conditions in the developing countries like the Sudan. The purposes of the study are to (a) obtain information on the Sudanese professionals working in Saudi Arabia, (b) determine what major factors influence their migration, and (c) to develop policy recommendations on the flow of migration from the Sudan. The population of this study were Sudanese professionals living in Saudi Arabia. Data were generated through surveying a sample of 300 subjects selected randomly from the defined population. A survey questionnaire based on the research questions was developed for this study. Data from 263 respondents were analyzed. The findings of the study suggest that the majority of the Sudanese professionals working in Saudi Arabia are male, between 30 to 40 years of age. They have many years of experience and a high level of qualifications. The factors that led to their migration are: (a) high cost of living in the Sudan, (b) low salary, (c) money shortage, (d) high cost of housing, (e) little opportunity for advancement, and (f) shortage of basic necessities. It is realized that migration has costs and benefits for the Sudan. Government policies should be directed to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs. It is recommended that the government should adopt policies to regulate migration and assure the Sudanese expatriates of the efficient execution of these policies, attract their remittances through exemption and facilities, and work toward eliminating or reducing the causes of migration.


The objective of the study was to improve therapeutic outcomes in patients presenting with lower limb critical ischaemia by means of optimizing the technique of femoropopliteal bypass grafting. The authors analysed the results of comprehensive examination and treatment of a total of 90 patients presenting with critical lower limb ischaemia on the background of atherosclerotic lesions of arteries of the femoropopliteal and crural segments. Depending on the technology of performing femoropopliteal bypass grafting, the patients were subdivided into three groups each consisting of 30 subjects. The groups were comparable by gender, age, concomitant diseases, degree of damage to arteries of the femoro-popliteal-crural segment, and the state of the distal vascular channel. Group One patients underwent conventional autovenous bypass grafting with a reversed great saphenous vein. Group Two patients endured surgery according to the "in situ" technique. Group Three patients were subjected to an original technology of bypass grafting using a free autovenous graft with destroyed valves without reversion of the vein. It was demonstrated that the use of a free autovenous transplant with destroyed valves increased the volumetric blood flow through the shunt in the remote postoperative period 2.4-fold as compared with the reversed vein and 1.7-fold as compared with the "in situ" autovein. The proposed technique of femoropopliteal bypass grafting made it possible in the immediate postoperative period to decrease the rate of early postoperative complications by 23.4% as compared with the option of using the reversed vein and by 13.3% as compared with the "in situ" technique, as well as to lower the incidence rate of late shunt thromboses by 40 and 13.3%, respectively, and the number of limb amputations by 30 and 6.7%, respectively. The use of a free autovenous graft with destroyed valves is pathogenetically justified and makes it possible to optimize the results of treatment of patients.


The localization of wave functions in real space is known to be extremely helpful in the investigation of the electronic properties and in the development of $O(N)$ methods. However, maximally localized wave functions in real space do not provide a good representation of the Bloch orbitals of a metallic system, where the localization procedure is very inefficient and of little use. On the other hand, in metals, it appears more natural to localize the wave functions in reciprocal space. In this work we propose a spread functional, which needs to be minimized in order to obtain maximally localized wave functions in reciprocal space and illustrate an efficient iterative minimization procedure. We also discuss the application of the method to some metallic systems and demonstrate that in this case the localized wave functions have features that can be useful for the analysis of electronic properties.


This low-priced, practical guide is packed with handy information for people who want to jump right in and start using OS X Mavericks. Author Jeff Carlson is like your smart techy neighbor, sitting at elbow guiding you through how to get the most out of Mavericks. Jeff will show you how to: Download, set up, and start using Mavericks Manage files with iCloud Swipe, pinch, and scroll: Master Mavericks' Mult-Touch gestures Install applications from the Mac App Store Stay in touch: Enjoy video call with family and friends with FaceTime and chat them up with Messages Don't miss another email or family event with Notifications Read your ebooks with iBooks In addition, Jeff offers plenty of tips and tricks for getting the most from Mavericks.


Context: Genital infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis have been a significant healthcare problem recognized throughout the world in recent years. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately two million new cases of genital chlamydial infection occur annually in females. Objectives: The objective was to compare the performance of the glycogen assay test to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis of genital chlamydial infection. Materials and Methods: Consenting female patients were consecutively recruited for the study until the sample size of 365 was achieved. Two endocervical specimens were collected from each of the patients using sterile plastic-shaft Dacron swabs. C. trachomatis test kit (Autobio Company China) was used according to the manufacturer's instructions. The test is a biochemical assay for the detection of C. trachomatis in clinical samples taken from the genital tract. PCR was also done for each sample. Data management was done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0. Results: Of the women studied, 95 (26%) were positive and 270 (74%) negative for genital chlamydial infection using the PCR, while 244 (66.8%) tested positive and 121 (31.2%) tested negative using the glycogen assay. Conclusions: With the results generated above and using the PCR as the standard, sensitivity for the glycogen assay was 86.3%, specificity was 40%, and the predictive value for a positive result was 33.6%, while that for a negative result was 89.3%. The glycogen assay kit is locally available, not expensive (compared to the very high cost of PCR) and often used in the diagnosis of genital chlamydial infection. However, with a sensitivity of 86.3% and specificity of 40% for the glycogen assay, found in this study, the test kit is far from ideal as a tool for the rapid diagnosis of genital C. trachomatis infection, as it will yield high numbers of false-positive results.


Attorneys have engaged in the practice of serving on their corporate clients' board of directors for over one hundred years. A report recently released by the ABA Section of Litigation's Task Force (Task Force Report) has fueled fire to the debate over whether this practice should be permitted. The Task Force Report criticizes the practice of serving as both an attorney and director of a corporation and concludes that it "should be discouraged in most cases." Today, the practice of attorneys performing the dual role of both legal advisor to the client as well as a member of the board of directors is widespread. The Task Force Report and other critics point out, however, that the practice poses a number of potential ethical and professional problems, including: potential loss of the attorney-client privilege, potential loss of the attorney-director's professional independence, risks of conflicts of interest, and the threat of increased liability for both the attorney-director and his or her firm.


Egypt is one of the largest countries in the Middle East and North Africa region with a population of a total of 106 million (as of July 2022). Increasing urbanization, population growth, and increasing temperatures will likely continue to drive demand for electricity from air conditioning, with corresponding negative impacts on the peak load, air quality, and greenhouse gas emissions from refrigerant use and energy consumption. Since 2003, Egypt has adopted a standards and labeling program for various appliances, and has improved its room air conditioner (RAC) energy efficiency requirements in 2016 and 2017. However, its market is still dominated by inefficient fixed-speed drive (FSD) RACs due to a price-sensitive market. Seasonal metrics such as Cooling Season Performance Factor (CSPF) measure the energy efficiency of FSD and variable-speed drive (VSD) RACs on the same scale. Leading markets, most notably China, have already adopted a new MEPS in 2020 and 2022, which align largely with the United for Efficiency (U4E) Model Regulations Guidelines. India has also adopted a CSPF metric. Both India and China are now experiencing (1) increased demand and consumption of higher efficiency VSD RACs, as well as (2) a corresponding drop in prices from the economies of scale of production of these higher efficiency RACs. Because China is a leading manufacturer in the global air conditioner (AC) market, its adoption of the model U4E regulations have effectively raised the energy efficiency of the ACs in the global market. To achieve the benefits of taking a similar approach to Egypt's market, we offer the following recommendations:


Donor Derived Cell Leukemia (DCL) is a rare complication of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT).DCL represents a unique form of leukemogenesis in which donor cells become transformed or proliferate followingengraftment in a foreign host environment. We report a 58-year old patient with B-cell acute Lymphocytic leukemia whounderwent an allergenic HSCT from his Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA)-matched sibling. Three months after HSCT,chromosomal analysis revealed a female karyotype with a (9;22) translocation. This was confirmed with Fluorescencein Situ Hybridization and polymerase chain reaction studies in the recipient and the donor confirming the transmissionof occult leukemia.


The genus Helichrysum (Asteraceae) is comprised of approximately 500-600 species and used for the treatment of a variety of pathological conditions in folk medicine in many countries. In this study, antioxidant activities of aerial parts of H. pseudoplicatum were investigated employing various in vitro assay systems, i.e. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide radical scavenging, reducing power and hydrogen peroxide scavenging. IC50 for DPPH radical-scavenging activity was 438.9 ± 15.6 µg ml -1 . The extract exhibited good reducing power at 25 - 400 µg ml -1 but was not comparable with that of vitamin C. The extract showed good nitric oxide-scavenging activity. IC50 was 474.3 ± 11.8 µg ml -1 . It was capable of scavenging hydrogen peroxide in a concentration dependent manner. It showed good activity. Its IC50 was 159.8 ± 8.2 µg ml -1 . The IC50 values for ascorbic acid and BHA were 21.4 and 52.0 µg ml -1 , respectively. The total amount of phenolic compounds in the extract was determined as gallic acid equivalents (22.7 ± 3.1 mg /g of extract) and total flavonoid contents were calculated as quercetin equivalents (9.6 ± 1.3 mg /g of extract) from a calibration curve. This plant contained low amount of total flavonoids and phenolic compounds. Its moderate antioxidant activities may be attributed to its low levels of phenols and flavonoids.


The gripping inside story of the last unknown realm of the British secret service: GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters). GCHQ is the successor to the famous Bletchley Park wartime code-breaking organisation and is the largest and most secretive intelligence organisation in the country. During the war, it commanded more staff than MI5 and MI6 combined and has produced a number of intelligence triumphs, as well as some notable failures. Since the end of the Cold War, it has played a pivotal role in shaping Britain's secret state. Still, we know almost nothing about it. In this ground-breaking new book, Richard Aldrich traces GCHQ's evolvement from a wartime code-breaking operation based in the Bedfordshire countryside, staffed by eccentric crossword puzzlers, to one of the world leading espionage organisations. It is packed full of dramatic spy stories that shed fresh light on Britain's role in the Cold War - from the secret tunnels dug beneath Vienna and Berlin to tap Soviet phone lines, and daring submarine missions to gather intelligence from the Soviet fleet, to the notorious case of Geoffrey Pine, one of the most damaging moles ever recruited by the Soviets inside British intelligence. The book reveals for the first time how GCHQ operators based in Cheltenham affected the outcome of military confrontations in far-flung locations such as Indonesia and Malaya, and exposes the shocking case of three GGHQ workers who were killed in an infamous shootout with terrorists while working undercover in Turkey. Today's GCHQ struggles with some of the most difficult issues of our time. A leading force of the state's security efforts against militant terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda, they are also involved in fundamental issues that will mould the future of British society. Compelling and revelatory, Aldrich's book is the crucial missing link in Britain's intelligence history.


During S phase, the entire genome must be precisely duplicated, with no sections of DNA left unreplicated. Here, we develop a simple mathematical model to describe the probability of replication failing due to the irreversible stalling of replication forks. We show that the probability of complete genome replication is maximized if replication origins are evenly spaced, the largest inter-origin distances are minimized, and the end-most origins are positioned close to chromosome ends. We show that origin positions in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome conform to all three predictions thereby maximizing the probability of complete replication if replication forks stall. Origin positions in four other yeasts-Kluyveromyces lactis, Lachancea kluyveri, Lachancea waltii and Schizosaccharomyces pombe-also conform to these predictions. Equating failure rates at chromosome ends with those in chromosome interiors gives a mean per nucleotide fork stall rate of ∼5 × 10(-8), which is consistent with experimental estimates. Using this value in our theoretical predictions gives replication failure rates that are consistent with data from replication origin knockout experiments. Our theory also predicts that significantly larger genomes, such as those of mammals, will experience a much greater probability of replication failure genome-wide, and therefore will likely require additional compensatory mechanisms.


Exploring complex chemical systems requires reproducible and controllable ways to access non-equilibrium conditions. Herein we present a programmable flow system that can do both ligand synthesis and complexation on the fly, and the conditions of the reaction can be monitored using two simultaneous techniques, namely NMR and mass spectrometry. By using this approach we monitored the formation of unknown complexes, followed by crystallization that resulted in the characterisation of their structures giving 5 new compounds (4 isolated and fully characterised) which can be formulated as: Cu2(L1)4(μ-CO3)](BF4)2 (2); [Cu3(L1)6(μ-CO3)](PF6)2(OH)2 (3) [Cu2(L2)2](BF4)2 (4) and [Cu(L2)2](BF4)2·CH3CN (5).


Management decisions both at the field and off-site have the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Climate change threatens to increase the potential for soil erosion, reduce soil quality, lower agricultural productivity and negatively impact food security and global sustainability, making it one of the most severe challenges we will face in the 21st century. This paper looks at the potential of management to help us, not only mitigate climate change, but also to help us adapt to a changing climate. Different aspects of carbon management, nitrogen management, manure management, management in low-input systems (sustainable agriculture), and grazing land management are discussed as examples. Management decisions regarding conservation practices, such as no-till, conservation agriculture, and returning crop residue to the field to increase nutrient cycling, can contribute to carbon sequestration and help us mitigate and adapt to climate change. Additionally, management of grasslands, restoration of degraded/desertified lands, nitrogen management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, precision conservation management at a field and/or watershed level, and other management alternatives can also help us mitigate and/or adapt to climate change. Management for climate change mitigation and adaptation is key for environmental conservation, sustainability of cropping systems, soil and water quality, and food security. This paper suggests, based on a review of the literature, that management decisions that reduce soil erosion, increase carbon sequestration to improve soil functions, soil quality, and soil health, and contribute to the resilience of soils and cropping systems will be needed to respond to climate change and related challenges such as food security. Our review suggests that without management decisions that increase soil and water conservation, food security for the world's growing population will be harder to achieve.


The collection of Cetoniid Coleoptera in the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie at Leiden contains, next to the usual assortment of chafers from various sources, several collections made by well-known specialists.
Most important is the one made by F. T. Valck Lucassen (including the collection of O. E. Janson), acquired by the museum in 1940. A world collection of Cetoniidae is being arranged on the basis of this Valck Lucassen material. In 1928, the collection of G. van Roon was bequeathed to the museum, where it is to remain as such, not incorporated in the main collection.
The data of the collection will be presented in this and forthcoming parts of a catalogue, accompanied by such revisional notes which it seems desirable to publish. Reference is here made to Junk's Coleopterorum Catalogus (Schenkling, 1921); in general, citations given by Schenkling will not be repeated in this series.
Acknowledgements Thanks are due to the following persons, who communicated data or gave specimens in loan, from the collections under their care viz., Dr. C. A. W.
Jeekel, Zoologisch Museum, Amsterdam; Messrs. R. D. Pope and M. E.
Bacchus, British Museum (Natural History), London; Dr. H. Roer, Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn; Dr. G. Scherer, Museum G. Frey, Tutzing bei Munchen.
Goliathus Lamarck, sensu lato There is some confusion over the classification of the African Cetoniidae belonging to, or related to Goliathus Lamarck, due to extreme splitting and to inadequate knowledge of the correlation of the sexes.
For the eleven species and three subspecies recognized here, there are


During the spring and summer months the diet of three Inuit families living in a seal hunting camp south of Holman, N.W.T., was studied. A total of 13 food items including the most commonly eaten mammal, bird and plant species were analysed for Vitamin C in both the raw and cooked state. We document a daily intake of ascorbic acid of between 11 and 118 mg and estimate a mean dose of at least 30 mg. This is well above the levels documented in larger transitional culture villages by a recent Nutrition Canada report.


The relationship between two anticoagulant actions of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), namely the catalysis of thrombin inhibition (assessed by thrombin-antithrombin-III and thrombin-heparin-cofactor-II formation) and the inhibition of prothrombin activation, was explored by comparing the effects of heparin, heparan sulfate, and dermatan sulfate on the two reactions in plasma. Heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate were also resulfated in vitro to yield products with sulfate/carboxylate ratios similar to those of heparin. Their effects on thrombin inhibition and the activation of prothrombin were also determined. The catalytic efficiency of the five GAGs on thrombin inhibition and their inhibitory effects on prothrombin activation decreased in the following order: heparin; resulfated dermatan sulfate; resulfated heparan sulfate; heparan sulfate = dermatan sulfate. These results suggest that the catalytic efficiency of a glycosaminoglycan on thrombin inhibition translates to its inhibitory effect on prothrombin activation, since catalysis of thrombin inhibition results in the inhibition of the thrombin-dependent positive feedback reactions of coagulation which facilitate prothrombinase formation.


This volume is a celebration of Celtic Languages and Literatures at the University of Uppsala, an academic tradition which has continued from 1950 to the present day. In order to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of this tradition, So-cietas Celtologica Nordica held its eleventh symposium in Uppsala on 14-16 May 2010. The present volume comprises the proceedings of that conference and nine former lecturers in Celtic Studies at Uppsala have contributed. The articles deal with aspects of Irish literature, language, history and folklore. Literary papers deal with early Irish voyage literature, Irish place-name lore, textual transmission, satirical verse of the eighteenth century and the emergence of a modern Irish-language print culture. Language papers deal with matters such as words for the fox in Indo-European and Celtic, the language of the first translation of the New Testament into Irish, linguistic features of the late Ulster Cycle and diversity in language learning. Irish history is catered for in papers that look at the origins and birthplace of St Pat-rick and Gaelic Dublin in the early eighteenth century, while another paper deals with field-work carried out in Ireland and Scotland by the Norwegian folklorist Ole Mork Sandvik.


Multiscale feature hierarchies have been witnessed the success in the computer vision area. This further motivates researchers to design multiscale Transformer for natural language processing, mostly based on the self-attention mechanism. For example, restricting the receptive field across heads or extracting local fine-grained features via convolutions. However, most of existing works directly modeled local features but ignored the word-boundary information. This results in redundant and ambiguous attention distributions, which lacks of interpretability. In this work, we define those scales in different linguistic units, including sub-words, words and phrases. We built a multiscale Transformer model by establishing relationships among scales based on word-boundary information and phrase-level prior knowledge. The proposed \textbf{U}niversal \textbf{M}ulti\textbf{S}cale \textbf{T}ransformer, namely \textsc{Umst}, was evaluated on two sequence generation tasks. Notably, it yielded consistent performance gains over the strong baseline on several test sets without sacrificing the efficiency.


In 1705, during the Northern War, Stanislaw Leszczynski, who had been elected king of Poland with the support of Sweden, tried to secure the loyalty of Ivan Mazepa, the Ukrainian hetman. The article considers previously unstudied primary sources, introducing such documents as the plan for political reforms in Ukraine that emerged in the immediate milieu of Stanislaw Lesczynski, and the record of the interrogation of his agent, Franciszek Wolski, who was sent to Mazepa. Referring to these documents and to previously unknown correspondence between Mazepa and the Russian head of foreign affairs Fyodor Golovin, the author reconstructs the position of the pro-Swedish part of the Polish elite towards Ukraine and Wolski's secret diplomatic mission. The latter was sent to Zamośc at the beginning of October 1705. The secret instruction he was given was published in the 19th century, but we can now analyse it in light of new information about the verbal offers Wolski made to Mazepa. The author demonstrates that the verbal promises to keep Little Russia as part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under Mazepa's rule and to appoint Mazepa as prince of Chernigov did not correspond to Polish-Swedish written obligations. Stanislaw Leszczynski and his aids asked the Swedish court to transfer Left-bank Ukraine to the direct rule of the Polish king in case Russia ceded it. Considering this fact, it may be concluded that the Polish side tried to avoid any written declarations to Mazepа about keeping Ukraine under his rule after joining Charles XII and his Polish ally. It is very important that Mazepa completely denied any cooperation with Leszcznsiki and the Swedish king even before he got the originals of the secret documents that Wolski left in Lublin. Moreover, the investigation of the event, and the interrogation of Wolski in particular, were carried out under the observation and control of Russian officers at the hetman's headquarters. It proves that at the time Mazepa had no plans to support Leszczynski or Charles XII, staying loyal to the tsar as before.


A properly formed requirement is testable, a necessity for ensuring that design goals are met. While challenging in productivity applications, entertainment applications such as games compound the problem due to their subjective nature. We report here on our efforts to create testable experience requirements, the associated scope challenges and challenges with test design and result interpretation. We further report on issues experienced when performing focus group testing and provide practitioner guidance.


ABSTRACT To improve students' functional understanding of plagiarism, a variety of approaches was tried within a comprehensive information literacy program. Sessions were taught as a "module" inside a required communications skills class at a private university. Approaches taken included control, direct-instruction, and student-centered sessions. Students were taught content and definitions regarding plagiarism, what circumstances or instances constitute plagiarism, where to go for help in avoiding plagiarism, and what constitutes appropriate paraphrasing. Pretest and posttest scores indicated that no approach performed significantly better than the others; however, even though students improved across all methods, they nonetheless showed the need for more hands-on practice.


Developers increasingly use stream processing languages to write applications that process large volumes of data with high throughput. Unfortunately, when choosing which stream processing language to use, they face a difficult choice. On the one hand, dynamically scheduled languages allow developers to write a wider range of applications, but cannot take advantage of many crucial optimizations. On the other hand, statically scheduled languages are extremely performant, but cannot express many important streaming applications. This paper presents the design of a hybrid scheduler for stream processing languages. The compiler partitions the streaming application into coarse-grained subgraphs separated by dynamic rate boundaries. It then applies static optimizations to those subgraphs. We have implemented this scheduler as an extension to the StreamIt compiler, and evaluated its performance against three scheduling techniques used by dynamic systems: OS thread, demand, and no-op. Our scheduler not only allows the previously static version of StreamIt to run dynamic rate applications, but it outperforms the three dynamic alternatives. This demonstrates that our scheduler strikes the right balance between expressivity and performance for stream processing languages.


Soil microorganisms play a critical role in the biosphere, and the influence of cropland fertilization on the evolution of soil as a living entity is being actively documented. In this study, we used a shotgun metagenomics approach to globally expose the effects of 50-year N and P fertilization of wheat on soil microbial community structure and function, and their potential involvement in overall N cycling. Nitrogen (N) fertilization increased alpha diversity in archaea and fungi while reducing it in bacteria. Beta diversity of archaea, bacteria, and fungi, as well as soil function, were also mainly driven by N fertilization. The abundance of archaea was negatively impacted by N fertilization while bacterial and fungal abundance was increased. The responses of N-metabolism-related genes to fertilization differed in archaea, bacteria, and fungi. All archaeal N metabolic processes were decreased by N fertilization, while denitrification, assimilatory nitrate reduction and organic-N metabolism were highly increased by N fertilization in bacteria. Nitrate assimilation was the main contribution of fungi to N cycling. Thaumarchaeota and Halobacteria in archaea; Actinobacteria, alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta Proteobacteria in bacteria; and Sordariomycetes in fungi participated dominantly and widely in soil N metabolic processes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


BACKGROUND
Studies on organ-specific autoimmune endocrine disorders showed correlations between disease risks and vitamin D pathways gene variants, such as CYP27B1 rs10877012 and rs4646536, or CYP2R1 rs10741657 single nucleotide polymorphisms. However, previous works presented inconsistent conclusions. Our study aimed at assessing the association of CYP27B1 and CYP2R1 polymorphisms with autoimmune endocrine disorder susceptibility using the meta-analysis method.

METHODS
Case-control studies of the subject of interest were identified from the databases Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Studies that met inclusion and quality criteria were pooled. Observational outcomes were diagnosis of autoimmune Addison's disease, Graves disease, Hashimoto thyroiditis, or type 1 diabetes mellitus. Statistical analysis was performed using software STATA 16.0.

RESULTS
A total of 14 studies involving 12 929 patients (2243 autoimmune Addison disease, 1253 Graves disease, 612 Hashimoto thyroiditis, 8821 type 1 diabetes), and 12 907 healthy control subjects were pooled for meta-analysis. The rs10877012 minor allele A and its homozygote and heterozygote conferred low overall disease risk (OR [odds ratio] = 0.748, 95% CI [confidence interval] 0.620-0.902 in dominant model; OR = 0.709, 95% CI 0.571-0.879 in recessive model; OR = 0.777, 95% CI 0.674-0.895 in the allele model). The population carrying rs4646536 minor allele C and its homozygote and heterozygote showed decreased overall autoimmune endocrine disorders risk (OR = 0.849, 95% CI 0.748-0.963; OR = 0.868, 95% CI 0.790-0.955; OR = 0.915, 95% CI 0.875-0.957 in the dominant, recessive, and allele model, respectively). No significant genetic association was found for rs10741657.

CONCLUSION
Our study suggested CYP27B1 polymorphisms rs10877012 minor allele A and rs4646536 minor allele C were negatively related to susceptibilities of organ-specific autoimmune endocrine diseases.


Over a decade after the attacks of September 11, 2001, lawmakers, scholars, activists, and policy makers continue to confront the questions of whether and to what extent robust counterterrorism laws and policies should be reined in to protect against the abuse of civil rights and the marginalization of outsider groups. This Article uses political and critical race theory to identify areas of national security interest convergence in which political will can be marshaled to limit some national security policies.Legislators act in their political self-interest — both in terms of responding to party forces and constituents — in casting votes that often give primacy to national security interests at the expense of civil liberties. Actions taken by legislators which are rights-protective in the national security context are largely predictable when understood as effects of both political realities and interest convergence theory. Lawmakers often will not act on the basis of civil liberties concerns, but will implement rights-protective measures only because those measures serve another interest more palatable to mainstream constituencies.Although unmooring from deontological grounding creates numerous limitations as to how many rights-protective measures can be implemented on a long-term basis, interest convergence offers a limited opportunity for lawmakers and policy experts to leverage self-interest and create single-issue coalitions that can protect the rights of outsider groups abused by current national security policies.


Self-dual plane graphs have been studied extensively. C. A. B Smith and W. T. Tutte published A class of self-dual maps in 1950 [9]; in 1992, Archdeacon and Richter [1] described a method for constructing all self-dual plane graphs and a second construction was produced by Servatius and Christopher [5] in 1992. Both constructions are inductive. In this paper, we produce four templates from which all self-dual plane graphs with maximum degree 4 (self-dual spherical grids) can be constructed. The self-dual spherical grids are further subdivided into 27 basic automorphism classes. Self-dual spherical grids in the same automorphism class have similar architecture. A smallest example of each class is constructed.


The physiological basis for defoliation tolerance in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is associated with taproot organic reserves, including soluble sugars, starch, and vegetative storage protein (VSP). It is not known when organic reserve accumulation begins in developing seedlings or the factors that influence their deposition. The objectives of three greenhouse experiments were to determine (i) the onset of starch and VSP accumulation in roots of alfalfa seedlings, (ii) if N fertilization of seedlings stimulated root VSP deposition, and (iii) if seedling defoliation tolerance is associated with the presence of root organic reserves. In Exp. 1, roots and shoots of 'Vernal', 'Resistar', and 'WL 605' were sampled periodically beginning 19 d after planting (DAP) to determine the developmental pattern of starch and VSP deposition in roots. In Exp. 2, normal and ineffective nodulating 'Saranac' was grown with or without 10 mM N to determine if applied N stimulates early VSP deposition. In Exp. 3, alfalfa seedlings were completely defoliated (including cotyledons) 14, 28, 42, and 56 DAP, and shoot regrowth and seedling survival were used to measure defoliation tolerance. In all experiments, starch, soluble sugars, protein, and VSP concentrations in roots were determined. Root starch and VSP concentrations were low up to 30 DAP. Starch and VSP accumulation began by 39 DAP and coincided with declining root protein and soluble sugar concentrations. Addition of N increased herbage growth but did not stimulate early VSP deposition. In Exp. 3, =80% of seedlings survived complete defoliation 14, 42, and 56 DAP, while only 52% survived defoliation 28 DAP. Roots contained low starch and VSP concentrations 14 and 28 DAP. Although seedling survival 42 and 56 DAP was associated with presence of starch and VSP in seedling roots, defoliation tolerance of alfalfa seedlings 14 DAP appears to be influenced by factors other than root starch and VSP concentrations.


Abstract. An advanced particle microphysics model with a number of computationally efficient schemes has been incorporated into a global chemistry transport model (GEOS-Chem) to simulate particle number size distributions and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations in the atmosphere. Size-resolved microphysics for secondary particles (i.e., those formed from gaseous species) and sea salt has been treated in the present study. The growth of nucleated particles through the condensation of sulfuric acid vapor and equilibrium uptake of nitrate, ammonium, and secondary organic aerosol is explicitly simulated, along with the scavenging of secondary particles by primary particles (dust, black carbon, organic carbon, and sea salt). We calculate secondary particle formation rate based on ion-mediated nucleation (IMN) mechanism and constrain the parameterizations of primary particle emissions with various observations. Our simulations indicate that secondary particles formed via IMN appear to be able to account for the particle number concentrations observed in many parts of the troposphere. A comparison of the simulated annual mean concentrations of condensation nuclei larger than 10 nm (CN10) with those measured values show very good agreement (within a factor of two) in near all 22 sites around the globe that have at least one full year of CN10 measurements. Secondary particles appear to dominate the number abundance in most parts of the troposphere. Calculated CCN concentration at supersaturation of 0.4% (CCN0.4) and the fraction of CCN0.4 that is secondary (fsecCCN) have large spatial variations. Over the middle latitude in the Northern Hemisphere, zonally averaged CCN0.4 decreases from ~400–700 cm−3 in the boundary layer (BL) to below 100 cm−3 above altitude of ~4 km, the corresponding fsecCCN values change from 50–60% to above ~70%. In the Southern Hemisphere, the zonally averaged CCN0.4 is below 200 cm−3 and fsecCCN is generally above 60% except in the BL over the Southern Ocean.


The author evaluates the value and returns of five different portfolios constructed on the basis of Catholic religious beliefs for the five-year period 1991–1995. The screened portfolios perform no worse on a risk-adjusted basis than the benchmark unscreened portfolio, although the "sin" portfolio—constructed of the divested stocks—performs exceptionally well. Multivariate regression analysis identifies military, community, and diversity screens as significant factors. While isolation of a few offensive companies might result in abnormal returns as demonstrated in the sin portfolio, exclusion of such industries should not significantly alter the returns of a diversified risk-adjusted portfolio.


This paper compares two burst-mode clock and data recovery (BM-CDR) techniques suitable for bursty upstream data transmission, namely a gated voltage controlled oscillator (GVCO) and an oversampling clock phase alignment (CPA). Numeric models were deduced with timing jitter and duty cycle distortion (DCD) present in the received data. The performance of the two techniques are analyzed and compared especially in an optically amplified long-reach high-split PON (LR-PON) system. It is shown that an oversampling CPA exhibits a large DCD tolerance and better jitter rejection than a GVCO without line coding, resulting in high network efficiency while keeping fast bit synchronisation. This makes the oversampling CPA technique the best option for the proposed network.


The Christian Church has faced problems of mission and migrancy from its inception. This paper, however, is limited to southern Africa in the last fifty years, using examples from the Anglican and Orthodox Churches, based mainly on the personal experiences of the author. It begins with the story of a migratory cattle herder in northwestern Namibia who became an evangelist and was trying to plant a church among a nomadic people. There have been other patterns of migration in Southern Africa, including migratory labour, forced removals, refugees, and immigration, both legal and illegal. Theological Education by Extension (TEE), which developed about 40-50 years ago, had the potential to meet some of these needs, though emphasis was often put in the wrong places, so that it did not fulfil the promise of meeting the needs of migrant ministries as well as had been hoped. Materials and resources often had to be improvised, but in many ways much has been achieved.


After years of neglect, the loser-pays idea has begun to receive considerable attention in the United States. In this Article, the authors review the compelling arguments in favor of two-way fee-shifting. Among other things, the loser-pays rule reduces speculative litigation, and provides a remedy for victims of vexatious litigation. The authors then survey recent developments regarding the loser-pays rule. First, the authors discuss the remarkable attempt by congressional Republicans to enact a loser-pays rule for certain categories of litigation in federal courts. Next, the authors discuss the recent enactment of limited but distinctive loser-pays rules in Oklahoma and Oregon. In Oklahoma, a defendant can choose to invoke the provision by making an offer of judgment. If he does, the plaintiff who turns down the offer and is awarded less at trial can be liable for attorney's fees incurred by the defendant after the offer. In Oregon, a long list of one-way fee-shifting statutes were converted into two-way statutes. Third, the authors review recent changes to the loser-pays rule in Alaska, the only American jurisdiction with a long-standing, generally applicable, two-way fee-shifting system. Remarkably, loser-pays remains popular among both plaintiffs' and defense attorneys in Alaska. The authors conclude with the prediction that further experiments with loser-pays are likely in the near future.


Mono- and dianionic carboranylamidinates are readily available in one-pot reactions directly from o-carborane (1). In situ-monolithiation of 1 followed by treatment with N,N'-diisopropylcarbodiimide, (i)PrN=C=N(i)Pr, or N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, CyN=C=NCy, provided the lithium carboranylamidinates (o-C2B10H10C(NH(i)Pr)(=N(i)Pr)-κ(2)C,N)Li(DME) (2a) and (o-C2B10H10C(NH(i)Cy)(=N(i)Cy)-κ(2)C,N)Li(THF)2 (2b). Controlled hydrolysis of 2a,b afforded the free carboranylamidines o-C2B10H11C(NH(i)R)(=N(i)R) (3a: R = (i)Pr, 3b: R = Cy). The first dimetalated carboranylamidinates, o-C2B10H10C(N(i)Pr)(=N(i)Pr)Li2(DME)2 (4a) (DME = 1,2-dimethoxyethane) and o-C2B10H10C(N(i)Pr)(=N(i)Pr)Li2(THF)4 (4b), were prepared in high yield (83% yield) directly from 1 using a simple one-pot synthetic protocol. Treatment of 4b with 2 equiv. of Me3SiCl afforded the disilylated derivative o-C2B10H10-κ(2)C,N-[C(N(i)PrSiMe3)(=N(i)Pr)]SiMe3 (5). Dianionic 4b also served as an excellent precursor for novel inorganic heterocycles incorporating the closo-1,2-C2B10H10 cage, including the unsymmetrical distannene [o-C2B10H10C(N(i)Pr)(=N(i)Pr)-κ(2)C,N]Sn=Sn[((i)PrN)2C(n)Bu]2 (6) and the azaphosphole derivative [o-C2B10H10C(N(i)Pr)(=N(i)Pr)-κ(2)C,N]PPh (7). Surprisingly, it was found that the synthesis of new inorganic ring systems from dianionic carboranylamidinates can also be achieved by employing only 1 equiv. of n-butyllithium in the generation of the anionic carboranylamidinate intermediates. Using this straightforward one-pot synthetic protocol, the Group 14 metallacycles [o-C2B10H10C(NCy)(=NCy)-κ(2)C,N]SiR2 (R = Cl (8), Me (9), Ph (10)) and [o-C2B10H10C(NCy)([=NCy)-κ(2)C,N]GeCl2 (11) have become accessible. The same synthetic strategy could be successfully adapted to prepare the corresponding Group 4 metallocene derivatives Cp2Ti[o-C2B10H10C(NCy)(=NCy)-κ(2)C,N] (12) and Cp2Zr[o-C2B10H10C(NCy)(=NCy)-κ(2)C,N] (13). The molecular structures of 2b, 3b, 4b, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, and 13 were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.


In the 1980s, a combination of forces came together to convince the public that food products containing tropical oils contributed to their risk of coronary heart disease. Tropical oils were competing with the U.S. soy bean oil market as an alternative vegetable oil, yet they were higher in saturated fat, which had become the target of the health promotion community for its theoretical association with coronary heart disease risk. Successful national campaigns were undertaken to force food manufacturers to remove tropical oils, including palm oil, from their products and to replace them with hydrogenated vegetable oils, resulting in increased intakes of trans-fatty acids, which later became the target of the same advocacy groups. Today palm oil is being touted as a suitable replacement for hydrogenated vegetable oils.


The one-dimensional Holstein model and its generalizations have been studied extensively to understand the effects of electron-phonon interaction. The half-filled case is of particular interest, as it describes a transition from a metallic phase with a spin gap due to attractive backscattering to a Peierls insulator with charge-density-wave (CDW) order. Our quantum Monte Carlo results support the existence of a metallic phase with dominant power-law charge correlations, as described by the Luther-Emery fixed point. We demonstrate that for Holstein and also for purely fermionic models the spin gap significantly complicates finite-size numerical studies, and explains inconsistent previous results for Luttinger parameters and phase boundaries. On the other hand, no such complications arise in spinless models. The correct low-energy theory of the spinful Holstein model is argued to be that of singlet bipolarons with a repulsive, mutual interaction. This picture naturally explains the existence of a metallic phase, but also implies that gapless Luttinger liquid theory is not applicable.


This article suggests that the humanist aporia, which is productively at work in the Indymedia project, has become a main ingredient of technological acceleration under neoliberalism. The article draws out Indymedia's response and relation to what it will call "speed-elitism" by emancipation and by setting its tensions to work for acceleration as if it were justice. Indymedia therefore is exemplary of the present-day conundrum that humanism finds itself in, where technological mediation increasingly intensifies politics rather than annuls it. This convergence of the humanist project and technological acceleration is then logically marked by an increasing despair around how to bring about global justice, and speed-elitist underpinnings require that Indymedia be seen as left-wing promise.


By using the remote functions of a modern IT service management system infrastructure, it is possible to analyze huge amounts of log file data from complex technical equipment. This enables a service provider to predict failures of connected equipment before they happen. The problem most providers face in this context is finding "a needle in a haystack" — the obtained amount of data turns out to be too large to be analyzed manually. The following report describes a process to find suitable predictive patterns in log files for the detection of upcoming critical situations. The identification process may serve as a hands-on guide. It describes how to connect statistical means, data mining algorithms and expert domain knowledge in the domain of service management. The process was developed in a research project which is currently being carried out within the Siemens Healthcare service organization. The project deals with two main aspects: first, the identification of predictive patterns in existing service data and second, the architecture of an autonomous agent which is able to correlate such patterns. This paper summarizes the results of the first project challenge. The identification process was tested successfully in a proof of concept for several Siemens Healthcare products.


The landmark Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 transforms the landscape of consumer credit in the United States. Many of the changes have been high-profile and accordingly attracted considerable media and scholarly attention, most notably the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). But when the dust settled, one profoundly transformative innovation that did not garner the same outrage as CFPA did get into the law: imposing upon lenders a duty to assure borrowers' ability to repay. Ensuring a borrower's ability to repay is not an entirely unprecedented legal concept, to be sure, but its wholesale embrace by Dodd-Frank represents a sea change in U.S. consumer credit market regulation. This article does three things regarding this new duty to assess a consumer's ability to pay mortgage loans. First, it tracks the multifaceted pedigree of this requirement, looking at fledgling strands in U.S. consumer law as well as other areas such as securities law; it compares too its more robust embrace in foreign systems. Second, it offers conjecture regarding just how this broadly stated principle might be put into practice by the federal regulators. Finally, it provides a brief normative comment, siding with the supporters of this new obligation on lenders.


Acquire skills to manage your IT infrastructure effectively with PuppetAbout This BookBreeze through Puppet 4's key features and performance improvements to bring real advantage to your IT infrastructureDiscover Puppet best practices to help you avoid common mistakes and pitfallsBlitz through easy-to-follow examples to get to grips with Puppet and succeed with everyday IT automationWho This Book Is ForIf you're an experienced IT professional and a new Puppet user, this book will provide you with all you need to know to go from installation to advanced automation in no time at all. Get a rapid introduction to the essential topics and then tackle Puppet for advanced automation.What You Will LearnWrite and employ individual Puppet manifestsUnderstand how Puppet implements system abstractionDeploy the Puppet master and agentsLeverage and extend Facter to summarize your systemsCreate modular and reusable Puppet codeExtend your code base with publicly available Puppet modulesUse the modern features of Puppet 4Separate logic from data using HieraIn DetailPuppet is a configuration management tool that allows you to automate all your IT configurations, giving you control over what you do to each Puppet Agent in a network, and when and how you do it. In this age of digital delivery and ubiquitous Internet presence, it's becoming increasingly important to implement scalable and portable solutions, not only in terms of software, but also the systems that run it. The free Ruby-based tool Puppet has established itself as the most successful solution to manage any IT infrastructure. Ranging from local development environments through complex data center setups to scalable cloud implementations, Puppet allows you to handle them all with a unified approach.Puppet 4 Essentials, Second Edition gets you started rapidly and intuitively as you'll put Puppet's tools to work right away. It will also highlight the changes associated with performance improvements as well as the new language features in Puppet 4.We'll start with a quick introduction to Puppet to get you managing your IT systems quickly. You will then learn about the Puppet Agent that comes with an all-in-one (AIO) package and can run on multiple systems. Next, we'll show you the Puppet Server for high-performance communication and passenger packages. As you progress through the book, the innovative structure and approach of Puppet will be explained with powerful use cases. The difficulties that are inherent to a complex and powerful tool will no longer be a problem for you as you discover Puppet's fascinating intricacies.By the end of the book, you will not only know how to use Puppet, but also its companion tools Facter and Hiera, and will be able to leverage the flexibility and expressive power implemented by their tool chain.Style and approachThis quick learning guide for Puppet follows a practical approach, starting with some basic commands that you can use from the shell right away. It comprises a series of examples that will get you familiar with the most important aspects of Puppet in a flash.


I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation. The president of the United States is the president of every single American, every race and every background. Whether you voted for me or not, I will do my best to serve your interests, and I will work to earn your respect.I will be guided by President Jefferson's sense of purpose: to stand for principle, to be reasonable in manner, and, above all, to do great good for the cause of freedom and harmony.The presidency is more than an honor, it is more than an office. It is a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.--George W. Bush, December 13, 2000, Texas House of RepresentativesIn A Charge to Keep, George W, Bush offers readers a warm, insightful, and honest look at the personal and political experiences that have shaped his values and led to his decision to run for president. The George W. Bush who leaps off these pages has his mother's wit and down-to-earth personality, his father's energy and competitive drive, and his own unique style and philosophy.Written with his long term communications director, Karen Hughes, A Charge to Keep is a revealing look into the background, philosophy, family, and heart of our new president.


The accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils is a serious environmental problem. The Campania region in southern Italy has higher levels of cancer risk, presumably due to the accumulation of geogenic and anthropogenic soil pollutants, some of which have been incorporated into organic matter. The aim of this study was to introduce and test an innovative, field-applicable methodology to detect heavy metal accumulation using drone-based photogrammetry and microrill network modelling, specifically to generate wetlands wetlands prediction indices normally applied at large catchment scales, such as a large geographic basin. The processing of aerial photos taken using a hexacopter equipped with fifth-generation software for photogrammetry allowed the generation of a digital elevation model (DEM) with a resolution as high as 30 mm. Not only this provided a high potential for the study of micro-rill processes, but it was also useful for testing and comparing the capability of the topographic index (TI) and the clima-topographic index (CTI) to predict heavy metal sedimentation points at scales from 0.1 to 10 ha. Our results indicate that the TI and CTI indices can be used to predict points of heavy metal accumulation for small field catchments.


'Independence in Europe', adopted by the Scottish National Party (SNP) as its core policy in 1988, has become part and parcel of contemporary Scottish nationalism. But is this not a contradiction in terms? Nationalistic logic dictates that one cannot demand independence while accepting the constraints that come with membership of the European Union. This book takes up that question and explores the conditions that have emerged and become integrated with Scottish society today.

In this innovative study, Atsuko Ichijo argues that the idea of 'Independence in Europe' acquired coherence because of two factors: first, there are a variety of images of Europe that the people from that continent have developed over millennia; second, there is a large depository of images of Scotland that the people of Scotland have cultivated over centuries. The diversity of images available has made it possible for contemporary Scots to pick and choose the images of Scotland and Europe that reflect their aspirations and hence to create a coherent world-view.

Scottish Nationalism and the Idea of Europe offers fresh insights into the 'pro-European' dimension of Scottish nationalism and its implications for the UK. The book also argues for the necessity of examining the uses of history in seeking to understand the 'new' nationalisms of contemporary Europe.

This book will be of great interest to students and researchers of British political history, nationalism and contemporary European politics.


India has diversity of natural coastal ecosystems. The Indian coastline divided into the Gujarat region, the west coast, the east coast and the Islands. Odisha has 480 km. of coastal stretch situated in the east coast of India. The coastal stretches are under enormous pressure for mass population. Mangrove role to the environment is defensive to the coast from erosion by storms, cyclones and floods. The mangrove plants are degrading due to dependence of coastal population for domestic fuel needs, decreased freshwater discharge and increased salinity and unchecked expansion of salt pans and aquaculture along the coast. The present study area is Rajnagar block also situated in the coastal district of Odisha which is most vulnerable due to climate change and also anthropogenic pressure. So, the local community was very much panic in natural calamities time, more than 60 villages are very vulnerable due to coastal erosion in Pentha area of Rajnagar block. World bank funded project Integrated Coastal Zone implemented by Government of Odisha for coastal protection and management. Under this project the area was protected by construction of Geo textile tube embankment. It has became protective for Coastal village and less exposed to due to cyclones, social and economic capital has saved from the sea tides and waves, agriculture fields are saved from saline water ingress and the income of communities is enhanced which caused in reduction of migration from the village. The main objective of the study is to present a success coastal management which is the first in Odisha. The Geospatial technology has taken a key role in the process of monitoring and taking decision for management.


Video surveillance systems have become a key element in efforts by security services, the military and law enforcement to counterterrorism since the attacks of 11 September 2001. Primarily involving closed circuit television, collected using a variety of hardware platforms and software algorithms, systematic imagery analysis has typically been used as a tool for post-event forensics to identify tactics, techniques and perpetrators of terrorist attacks. Advanced video surveillance applied to detecting suspicious behaviours embedded in crowd signatures can also be a powerful tool for pre-event deterrence. In this article, we examine case studies of attempts by terrorists to target civilians and create mass casualty incidents and evaluate existing behaviour detection algorithms with the goal of elucidating links between potential threats indicated by suspicious behaviours and possible deterrent mechanisms based on video surveillance.


A chart is presented for the coefficient in the formula for the critical compressive stress at which cross sectional distortion begins in a thin-wall tube of rectangular section symmetrical about its two principal axes. The energy method of Timoshenko was used in the theoretical calculations required for the construction of the chart. The deflection equation used in this method was selected to give good accuracy. The exact values given by solution of the differential equation were calculated for a number of cases and it was found that the energy solution was correct to within a fraction of 1 percent. The calculation of the critical compressive stress at stresses above the elastic range is also discussed. In order to demonstrate the use of the formulas and the chart in engineering calculations, several illustrative problems are included.


The wine industry has always been particularly interested in the influence of the terroir characteristics on the features of a wine. Over the past few years a growing interest has spurred on the mechanisms by which a particular soil influences the vine's growth, grape variety characteristics and ultimately wine quality. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid, non-destructive, low-cost and robust analytical method for chemical and physical property determination. Its use for soil characterization, discrimination and compound determination is rapidly increasing. In this work, NIRS data were collected in two vineyards, one in the Dão Wine Region (centre of Portugal) and one in the Vinhos Verdes Wine Region (North of Portugal) previously characterized in terms of soils. Wet, dried and dried-ground soil samples collected from specific vineyard locations were scanned on a Fourier-transform near infrared spectrometer (FTLA 2000, ABB, Quebec, Canada) in diffuse reflectance mode. Spectra were analysed with chemometric tools, namely principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Results revealed that dried-ground soil samples presented better results, but not substantially so when compared with wet or dried samples. Discriminant models showed that the NIRS method is able to discriminate the different vineyard soil types, reproducing very accurately the mapping generated by pedology methods. Variations within the same soil type (present at different locations in the vineyard) were also detected by NIRS. The NIRS technology was shown to be suitable for correlating, complementing and perhaps eventually replacing costly, time-consuming vineyard soil mapping methods.


Many reserach and surveys have been conducted to find out the types and levels of moral decadence among Indonesian youth. The objective of the current study is to show this phenomenon and to investigate whether parenting styles are related to the increased or decreased of incidences of moral decadence. The next focus is to relate the concept of Adab (an Islamic ethics) as defined by Al Ghazali to effective parenting styles that may reduce moral decadence among youth. The method used is qualitative method based on focus group discussion among parents in order to find out parenting styles applied in their families. In addition, document analysis is also used such as published official data, and reserach reports. The findings showed that there is relationship between parenting styles and moral decadence among youth. The researcher suggested that effective parenting styles should be related to teaching of Adab.


The task taken up here is essentially one of Aboriginal cultural representation in film and literature. [1] How is Aboriginal culture represented and how does it represent itself? What are the limits of these forms of representation? Who can claim unmediated access to the laws which govern the forms by which Aboriginality is represented? What discursive practices impinge upon the processes, how do they advance or modify power relations between the subject of representation and the form of representation? Is there a continuous, identifiable, hermetically sealed discursive practice or are these practices fractured, discontinuous, part of a serial which resists totalizing tendencies? [2] Because there is no natural, unmediated, culturally untainted Aboriginal discourse as such in the borrowed language of the coloniser - though claims on radically political grounds may be made for it - Aboriginal representation (by Aborigines themselves and by whites) is an extremely complex and varied phenomena. It is impossible for one "ideological fiction," one discourse of power, one system of thought to account for the heterogeneous nature of Aboriginal people's "histories." Their, the Aborigines', outburst against white inhumanity might well be unrelieved, but their discourses are varied, competing and even contradictory. This proliferation of discourses thwarts any easy reduction of a culture to a dominant discourse. But such a reduction has not only been attempted, but has partially succeeded in swamping the plurality of Aboriginal voices. This reduction is designated by my use of the word "Aboriginalism".

Let me begin by opening up the field of representation by examining, firstly the discourse of "Aboriginalism," which is perhaps one of the most powerful "fictions" in Australia today and, secondly, a number of literary and filmic texts through which Aborigines have been represented. My examination of "Aboriginalism" draws upon the concept of Orientalism; my textual analysis draws upon that discourse analysis which looks to the ways in which genres and conventions govern. and indeed dictate, what is being represented. I will be arguing that generic structures organize and pre-determine Aboriginal representations to a significant extent In arguing such a case this paper is not only tentative and exploratory but is narrowly blind to a host of urgent social questions.


Objective: To describe the development of a functional communication assessment. A secondary aim is to illustrate a process for identifying functional communication outcomes in clients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The TBI Index for Social and Vocational Communication Outcomes (SAVCO) is designed to identify limitations to everyday communication activities that may present following TBI. It was constructed by anchoring communication activities derived from studies within New Zealand into an internationally recognised theoretical construct, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Four key principles: authenticity of the items, attention to context, collaboration and transparency, underpin the assessment. Main outcomes: The article describes the process of developing a TBI measure that is authentic to an intended population. It provides a preliminary description of the SAVCO, its different constructs and the rationale for their inclusion. The SAVCO is an assessment that highlights everyday activities that are relevant targets for intervention for the individual. The client's performance on the identified activities is explored according to the efficiency and manner of executing the activity. The scope and level of the activity are also determined. Conclusions: The development of the SAVCO illustrates a process for identifying relevant and important functional communication activity items and promotes the use of the ICF framework and rating scales. The preliminary findings suggest that the SAVCO has clinical relevance providing speech-language therapists with a functional communication assessment that leads to the identification and measurement of client-centred therapy outcomes.


Pleasingly parallel algorithms such as filtered back-projection have been documented to enjoy significant speedups when ported to run on a graphics processor instead of a standard CPU. Presented here is a two-dimensional SAR backprojection implementation for a single GPU using the NVIDIA CUDA framework. Given that input range projections may be too large to fit in graphics memory, our implementation allows the partitioning of the data along range as well as aperture. We show the efficacy of some CUDA optimizations, and apply it to two public datasets, one of which has varying start frequency.


A low-power, high sensitivity, very low-cost light emitting diode (LED)-based device developed for low-cost sensor networks was modified with bromocresol green membrane to work as a solid-state pH sensor. In this approach, a reverse-biased LED functioning as a photodiode is coupled with a second LED configured in conventional emission mode. A simple timer circuit measures how long (in microsecond) it takes for the photocurrent generated on the detector LED to discharge its capacitance from logic 1 (+5 V) to logic 0 (+1.7 V). The entire instrument provides an inherently digital output of light intensity measurements for a few cents. A light dependent resistor (LDR) modified with similar sensor membrane was also used as a comparison method. Both the LED sensor and the LDR sensor responded to various pH buffer solutions in a similar way to obtain sigmoidal curves expected of the dye. The pKa value obtained for the sensors was found to agree with the literature value.


This thesis offers an Ethic of Simplicity as a response to what is perceived by an increasing number of people as a destructive and dehumanizing socio-economic system. The thesis starts with a description of the methodology used to determine who "simple lifers", the adherents to this ethic, are and what they are concerned about. The next three chapters expand on these concerns: (1) they are beginning to question the wisdom, relevance and sustainability of an economic system that is based on, and aggressively promotes, continuous growth in consumption and production. Recent studies show that the purported benefits of the current model of the capitalist system, are now giving way to disillusionment; the rich are getting richer, the poor poorer and more numerous and people in the middle are working harder and longer to maintain gains made in standards of living (Chapter 2); (2) the gradual spread of the current model of the capitalist system across the face of the globe has highlighted its shortcomings (Chapter 3); (3) evidence is growing that we are testing the limits of the physical systems of the planet. The Worldwatch Institute warns that we would need 3 to 5 planet Earths to provide North American consumption levels to everyone on the planet and to absorb their wastes (Chapter 4). In Chapter 5, it is suggested that current attempts by national governments, international bodies and the business community at reversing the growing inequities and environmental damage have proven highly inadequate. Citizen groups have awakened and are asking for greater and more sincere efforts at reining in what they see as a rogue economic sector. The citizens supporting these groups need, however, to be able to disengage from the system if they are to have the independence to critique business and government. A growing number of them are. In the Conclusion, the value system and behavioural standards of the Ethic of Simplicity propose moving consumption back to its traditional position as a social epiphenomenon rather than a central one. Thus, at the same time as it liberates people from financial servility, it relieves the stress on the ecosystem and promotes a more equitable sharing of the planet's resources.


3D printing technologies allow control over the alignment of building blocks in synthetic materials, but compositional changes often require complex multimaterial printing steps. Here, 3D printable materials showing locally tunable mechanical properties are produced in a single printing step of Direct Ink Writing. These new inks consist of a polymer matrix bearing biocompatible photoreactive cinnamate derivatives and up to 30 wt% of anisotropic cellulose nanocrystals. The printed materials are mechanically versatile and can undergo further crosslinking upon illumination. When illuminating the material and controlling the irradiation doses, the Young's moduli can be adjusted between 15 and 75 MPa. Moreover, spatially controlled illumination allows patterning stiff geometries, resulting in 3D printed structures with segments of different mechanical properties tailoring the mechanical behavior under compression. The high design freedom implemented by 3D printing and photopatternability opens the venue to rapid manufacturing of devices for applications such as prosthetics or soft robotics where the 3D shapes and mechanical properties must be tailored for personalized load cases.


Tidal flat areas in estuaries are affected by strong morphodynamics. Changes of sedimentation and erosion occur on different temporal and spatial scales. These changes challenge the responsible authorities due to the high importance of sufficient navigation channel depths and the ecological importance of those unique zones. In cooperation with the Hamburg Port Authority the Hamburg University of Technology runs broad field measurements on tidal flat areas in the Elbe estuary. The results provide a fundamental data set to improve the knowledge about morphodynamic processes. For more than 3 years water levels, waves, current parameters and suspended sediment concentrations are being recorded continuously and in a high resolution at different positions on a marine investigation area. Therefore, ADCP's, optical backscatter sensors (OBS) and pressure transducers (PT) are used. To observe the consequences of the morphodynamic processes, the bathymetry of the investigation areas is determined with a multi-beam echo sounder (MBES) in frequent intervals as well as after extreme events like storm surges. Derived from the field data certain patterns of erosion, sediment transport and sedimentation could be observed depending on tidal currents, waves and large scale weather conditions. Seasonal effects are analyzed as well as the influence of extreme events. The observed processes are compared with data from a limnic investigation area, where a second, shorter field study was carried out.


Funding information Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries Abstract Escapes of domesticated fish from aquaculture, followed by interbreeding with wild conspecifics, represent a threat to the genetic integrity and evolutionary trajectory of natural populations. Approximately fifty years of Atlantic salmon production has left an unprecedented legacy of widespread introgression of domesticated escapees in wild Norwegian populations. A major question, however, is whether current aquaculture practice will lead to additional introgression in the near future. As part of the updated Norwegian risk assessment of fish farming, we conducted a risk assessment for further introgression of domesticated escapees in wild populations in Norway. Extensive data of reported numbers of escapees, observed proportions of escapees in rivers, removal of escapees pre-spawning, and the resilience of wild populations through demographic and genetic status informed the risk assessment. The analysis revealed that rivers in 10 of the 13 aquaculture production zones covering Norway display a moderate or high risk of further introgression of domesticated escapees. This comes in addition to widespread introgression that is already documented. We therefore conclude that so long as aquaculture production continues at its present level and form, there is a moderate-to-high risk of further introgression of domesticated salmon in many native populations throughout much of Norway.


Global positioning system velocities from 553 control points within the Tibetan Plateau and on its margins show that the present-day tectonics in the plateau is best described as deformation of a continuous medium, at least when averaged over distances of .;100 km. Deformation occurs throughout the plateau interior by ESE-WNW extension and slightly slower NNE-SSW shortening. Relative to Eurasia, material within the plateau interior moves roughly eastward with speeds that increase toward the east, and then flows southward around the eastern end of the Himalaya. Crustal thickening on the northeast- ern and eastern margins of the plateau occurs over a zone ;400 km wide and cannot be the result of elastic strain on a single major thrust fault. Shortening there accommodates much of India's penetration into Eurasia. A description in terms of movements of rigid blocks with elastic strain associated with slip on faults between them cannot match the velocity field.


Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. are important human pathogens that cause a wide spectrum of clinical disease. In healthcare settings, sinks and other wastewater sites have been shown to be reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli and Klebsiella spp., particularly in the context of outbreaks of resistant strains amongst patients. Without focusing exclusively on resistance markers or a clinical outbreak, we demonstrate that many hospital sink drains are abundantly and persistently colonised with diverse populations of E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca, including both antimicrobial-resistant and susceptible strains. Using whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 439 isolates, we show that environmental bacterial populations are largely structured by ward and sink, with only a handful of lineages, such as E. coli ST635, being widely distributed, suggesting different prevailing ecologies which may vary as a result of different inputs and selection pressures. WGS of 46 contemporaneous patient isolates identified one (2%; 95% CI 0.05-11%) E. coli urine infection-associated isolate with high similarity to a prior sink isolate, suggesting that sinks may contribute to up to 10% of infections caused by these organisms in patients on the ward over the same timeframe. Using metagenomics from 20 sink-timepoints, we show that sinks also harbour many clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance genes including blaCTX-M, blaSHV and mcr, and may act as niches for the exchange and amplification of these genes. Our study reinforces the potential role of sinks in contributing to Enterobacterales infection and antimicrobial resistance in hospital patients, something that could be amenable to intervention. IMPORTANCE Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. cause a wide range of bacterial infections, including bloodstream, urine and lung infections. Previous studies have shown that sink drains in hospitals may be part of transmission chains in outbreaks of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli and Klebsiella spp., leading to colonisation and clinical disease in patients. We show that even in non-outbreak settings, contamination of sink drains by these bacteria is common across hospital wards, and that many antimicrobial resistance genes can be found and potentially exchanged in these sink drain sites. Our findings demonstrate that the colonisation of handwashing sink drains by these bacteria in hospitals is likely contributing to some infections in patients, and that additional work is needed to further quantify this risk, and to consider appropriate mitigating interventions.


Significance We inferred the phylogeny and evolution of beetles using genomic data of an unprecedented scale. Moreover, we documented the diversification of plant-feeding (herbivorous) beetles, which account for nearly half of all beetle species and a similar proportion of herbivorous insects, following convergent horizontal transfers of bacterial and fungal genes enabling the digestion of lignocellulose in plant cell walls. Our findings clarify beetle phylogenetic relationships and reveal new insights into the evolution of specialized herbivory and why there are so many species of beetles. Furthermore, they underscore the intimacy and complexity of the evolutionary relationships between insects, plants, and microorganisms and show how analyses of large-scale genomic data are revealing the evolution and genomic basis of insect biodiversity. The order Coleoptera (beetles) is arguably the most speciose group of animals, but the evolutionary history of beetles, including the impacts of plant feeding (herbivory) on beetle diversification, remain poorly understood. We inferred the phylogeny of beetles using 4,818 genes for 146 species, estimated timing and rates of beetle diversification using 89 genes for 521 species representing all major lineages and traced the evolution of beetle genes enabling symbiont-independent digestion of lignocellulose using 154 genomes or transcriptomes. Phylogenomic analyses of these uniquely comprehensive datasets resolved previously controversial beetle relationships, dated the origin of Coleoptera to the Carboniferous, and supported the codiversification of beetles and angiosperms. Moreover, plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) obtained from bacteria and fungi via horizontal gene transfers may have been key to the Mesozoic diversification of herbivorous beetles—remarkably, both major independent origins of specialized herbivory in beetles coincide with the first appearances of an arsenal of PCWDEs encoded in their genomes. Furthermore, corresponding (Jurassic) diversification rate increases suggest that these novel genes triggered adaptive radiations that resulted in nearly half of all living beetle species. We propose that PCWDEs enabled efficient digestion of plant tissues, including lignocellulose in cell walls, facilitating the evolution of uniquely specialized plant-feeding habits, such as leaf mining and stem and wood boring. Beetle diversity thus appears to have resulted from multiple factors, including low extinction rates over a long evolutionary history, codiversification with angiosperms, and adaptive radiations of specialized herbivorous beetles following convergent horizontal transfers of microbial genes encoding PCWDEs.


Reactogenicity is a characteristic of biocompatible materials that provokes the reparative and proliferative reaction of connective tissues, a compulsory stage of which is inflammation. Thus, reactogenicity studies should include experiments in vivo. A quantitative assessment of reactogenicity can be obtained by subcutaneous implantation of standard olive-shaped specimens covered by the biomaterial under study followed by biochemical, histological and scanning electron microscopical studies of the capsule developing around the implant. Reactogenicity of surgical threads is evaluated by semiquantitative histological analysis of the wound healing process after suture application. Biomaterial reactogenicity can be modified by changing the structure of the surface and its chemical characteristics, and in particular, by applying different biologically active substances including atrane-containing compounds. The reactogenicity indices suggested present the results of the interaction between the biomaterials and the cells.


39 Ar- 40 Ar analyses of three petrographically distinct, shocked Apollo 15 KREEP (i.e., high K, rare earth element, P, and other trace element contents) basalt samples demonstrate that a major impact event affected all three samples at about 2.1 Ga. The Copernican System craters Aristillus and Autolycus are to the north; a ray from one of them crosses the landing site and had been suggested prior to the Apollo 15 mission as a source of material that could be used to date these craters. Autolycus, the older of the two, is in a particularly appropriate terrain and is the most likely source of the 2.1 Ga heating and delivery event. With this calibration point, and if Autolycus really is a Copernican crater, the Copernican System lasted twice as long as has previously been suggested. Furthermore, the Moon was not subjected to a constant cratering rate over the past 3 b.y.; the average rate in the preceding Eratosthenian must have been twice that in the Copernican.