Diode-laser-pumped Nd:YLF lasers are demonstrated at 1.047 μm with less than 1-mW thresholds and internal quantum efficiencies approaching 70%. Operation at 1.053 μm has also been achieved. Intracavity second-harmonic generation using MgO:LiNbO3 has generated up to 145-μW output at 523.6 nm for 30.1 mW of diode-laser pump power.


Two superposed faunas were discovered in southeastern Colorado at the Donnelly Ranch vertebrate site. Sediments containing a late Blancan assemblage are unconformably overlain by sediments containing a Rancho La Brean assemblage. The pre-Nebraskan Donnelly Ranch fauna is slightly older than the Sand Draw, Broadwater, and Blanco faunas. It is younger than the Curtis Ranch fauna. Faunal and paleomagnetic correlation indicate it is about 2.5 m.y. old. Tapirus, Geoche/one , and Sigmodon indicate the climate was mild and precipitation was much more effective than at present. Savanna, plains, and marsh communities are represented by the fauna.

The Sangamon Mesa De Maya fauna correlates best with the early Sangamon Cragin Quarry fauna. Mammals, molluscs, and pollen indicate that temperatures were more equable than present and precipitation may have been slightly more effective during cooler summers. The fauna consists primarily of grassland inhabitants but a marsh com— munity is represented in artesian spring sediments.

The gross topographic and stratigraphic relations, sediment size analysis, fossil orientation, and sedimentary structures indicate stream, viscuous intermediate, and mudflow deposition on a low alluvial fan at the foot of Mesa De Maya. The sediment source was local consisting of basalt from Mesa De Maya, igneous, reworked metamorphic, and sedimentary rock from the Ogallala Formation, and sedimentary rock containing marine fossils from Cretaceous sediments. An artesian spring deposit consisting of predominantly silt size quartz particles was found overlying a gley soil. During the Sangamon, massive caliche formed in channel sands and nodular caliche formed in the mudflow deposits of the alluvial fan.

Potassium argon dates, paleomagnetism, and topographic position and correlation indicate that Mesa De Maya is older than Fowlis Mesa and the average age for both of these basalt flows is about 3.3 million years. The Mesa De Maya flows issued from local vents and flowed nearly to the present extent of the mesa. Scarp recession has been minor since the lavas erupted. Flow direction interpreted from air photographs indicate the flows were largely con— trolled by topography and did not form an extensive sheet of lava from Mesa De Maya to Fowlis Mesa.

Erosion has carved deep canyons between the lobes of the flows and has caused a reversal of topography where hills of Ogallala once stood. More than 400 feet of Ogallala and Cretaceous sediments were removed prior to deposi— tion of Pleistocene sediments. Erosion and deposition in the Donnelly Ranch area has been relatively minor since the Sangamon.


Countries aiming to achieve ambitious international and national climate objectives need to integrate climate considerations into all sectoral policies. This contribution argues that since climate change is a diffuse and complex challenge, Climate Policy Integration cannot simply be modeled after the well-established principled priority of Environmental Policy Integration but requires a separate analytical framework. It distinguishes four levels of Climate Policy Integration: the EU strategic level, the EU policy-design level, the national strategy-setting and the national implementation level. Options available on the EU policy-design level are traditional single-purpose climate policies and Climate Policy Integration. Type-1 Climate Policy Integration refers to policy areas with inherent co-benefits for climate action such as renewable energy policy, while the mainstreaming approach (type-2) requires incentives or conditionalities such as regulatory support as policies have no inherent co-benefits. A case study on the German climate strategy illustrates Climate Policy Integration on the national strategy-setting level.


Background. Compression-Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation(COCPR) has been broadly studied during the last few years and specially introduced into lay rescuers' training. The aim of the study was to compare the quality of COCPR performed by laypersons (Group A) who attended a single cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training course, and those (Group B) who underwent regular CPR training every 6 months.Methods. Both groups completed the "Heartsaver CPR AED" course of the American Heart Association. After 30 minutes they were required to perform COCPR on a manikin with a skills reporter system.Results. Comparing the 76 once only trained laypersons to the 74 continuously trained lay rescuers, we found that average age (20 versus 40 years old), male gender (54% versus 93%), body mass index (BMI)(24.9 versus 27.3 kg/m2) and regular physical exercise (55% versus 36%) proved significant predictors, p<0.01, p<0.01, p<0.01 and p=0.04 respectively. Regarding COCPR-quality, the percentage of efficient chest compressions (43% versus 58%), average depth of compression (45 versus 50 mm) and percentage of error-free compressions (36% versus 50%) indicated a significant statistical difference, with p=0.01, p=0.01 and p<0.01 respectively. However, the average frequency of compressions per minute (121 versus 124), the percentage of correct hand positioning during chest compressions (87% versus 90%) and the average duty cycle (47% versus 45%) did not display a significant difference.Conclusion. The continuous CPR training group obtained better results regarding quality of chest compressions when compared with single CPR training.


The authors present findings from a qualitative study of an experience that supports teacher candidates to use discourse analysis and positioning theory to analyze videos of their practice during student teaching. The research relies on the theoretical concept that learning to teach is an identity process. In particular, teachers construct and enact their identities during moment-to-moment interactions with students, colleagues, and parents. Using case study methods for data generation and analysis, the authors demonstrate how one participant used the analytic tools to trace whether and how she enacted her preferred teacher identities (facilitator and advocate) during student teaching. Implications suggest that using discourse analytic frameworks to analyze videos of instruction is a generative strategy for developing candidates' interactional awareness that impacts student learning and the nature of classroom talk. Overall, these tools support novice teachers with the difficult task of becoming the teacher they desire to be.


Fire and combustion presents a significant engineering challenge to mechanical, civil and dedicated fire engineers, as well as specialists in the process and chemical, safety, buildings and structural fields. We are reminded of the tragic outcomes of 'untenable' fire disasters such as at King's Cross underground station or Switzerland's St Gotthard tunnel. In these and many other cases, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is at the forefront of active research into unravelling the probable causes of fires and helping to design structures and systems to ensure that they are less likely in the future. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is routinely used as an analysis tool in fire and combustion engineering as it possesses the ability to handle the complex geometries and characteristics of combustion and fire. This book shows engineering students and professionals how to understand and use this powerful tool in the study of combustion processes, and in the engineering of safer or more fire resistant (or conversely, more fire-efficient) structures. No other book is dedicated to computer-based fire dynamics tools and systems. It is supported by a rigorous pedagogy, including worked examples to illustrate the capabilities of different models, an introduction to the essential aspects of fire physics, examination and self-test exercises, fully worked solutions and a suite of accompanying software for use in industry standard modeling systems. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is widely used in engineering analysis; this is the only book dedicated to CFD modeling analysis in fire and combustion engineering Strong pedagogic features mean this book can be used as a text for graduate level mechanical, civil, structural and fire engineering courses, while its coverage of the latest techniques and industry standard software make it an important reference for researchers and professional engineers in the mechanical and structural sectors, and by fire engineers, safety consultants and regulators Strong author team (CUHK is a recognized centre of excellence in fire eng) deliver an expert package for students and professionals, showing both theory and applications. Accompanied by CFD modeling code and ready to use simulations to run in industry-standard ANSYS-CFX and Fluent software.


Many species of large wildlife have declined drastically worldwide. These reductions often lead to profound shifts in the ecology of entire communities and ecosystems. However, the effects of these large-wildlife declines on other taxa likely hinge upon both underlying abiotic properties of these systems and on the types of secondary anthropogenic changes associated with wildlife loss, making impacts difficult to predict. To better understand how these important contextual factors determine the consequences of large-wildlife declines on other animals in a community, we examined the effects of three common forms of large-wildlife loss (removal without replacement [using fences], removal followed by replacement with domestic stock, and removal accompanied by crop agricultural use) on small-mammal abundance, diversity, and community composition, in landscapes that varied in several abiotic attributes (rainfall, soil fertility, land-use intensity) in central Kenya. We found that small-mammal communities were indeed heavily impacted by all forms of large-wildlife decline, showing, on average: (1) higher densities, (2) lower species richness per site, and (3) different species assemblages in sites from which large wildlife were removed. However, the nature and magnitude of these effects were strongly context dependent. Rainfall, type of land-use change, and the interaction of these two factors were key predictors of both the magnitude and type of responses of small mammals. The strongest effects, particularly abundance responses, tended to be observed in low-rainfall areas. Whereas isolated wildlife removal primarily led to increased small-mammal abundance, wildlife removal associated with secondary uses (agriculture, domestic stock) had much more variable effects on abundance and stronger impacts on diversity and composition. Collectively, these results (1) highlight the importance of context in determining the impacts of large-wildlife decline on small-mammal communities, (2) emphasize the challenges in extrapolating results from controlled experimental studies to predict the effects of wildlife declines that are accompanied by secondary land-uses, and (3) suggest that, because of the context-dependent nature of the responses to large-wildlife decline, large-wildlife status alone cannot be reliably used to predict small-mammal community changes.


The article discusses claims by capital defendants asserting that they are mentally retarded (MR) and thus cannot be executed under the 2002 Supreme Court holding in Atkins v. Virginia. Courts hearing such claims require proof that any intellectual deficits first occurred during childhood. This "childhood onset" prong is problematic for practical and theoretical reasons. As a practical matter, courts often improperly: (a) expect (rarely available) IQ test results dating from childhood; (b) dismiss MR proof if the defendant has minimal day-to-day competence, despite the medical consensus that MR persons can drive, cook, etc.; and (c) reject Atkins claims because the defendant also suffers from mental illness, incorrectly supposing that such illness can be singled out as the sole cause of intellectual deficits. The article suggests several rules regarding burden-shifting and admissibility to address these problems. More fundamentally, the requirement itself is irrational and arguably constitutional. It means that a capital defendant with brain injury at age 17 will be treated differently from an identically challenged person injured at 19. In Atkins, the Supreme Court gave two reasons why MR and execution don't mix: MR (i) reduces culpability and deterrability, and (ii) interferes with a defendant's ability to get a fair trial. The onset requirement has no relevance to any of these reasons; it was adopted "accidentally" by states which simply copied without analysis a medical definition designed for distinct clinical purposes and which is referenced but not required by Atkins itself. The requirement arguably leads to "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth Amendment, especially in light of the very recent Supreme Court cases involving juvenile defendants. Under Equal Protection challenge, it may merit heightened constitutional scrutiny since it burdens the fundamental right to life. Even under the more permissive "rational basis" standard, the onset requirement is constitutionally vulnerable.


Mechanical properties of solids are governed by crystal imperfections. Computational materials science is largely concerned with the modelling of such defects, e.g. their formation, migration, and interaction energies. Atomistic simulations of systems containing lattice defects are inherently difficult because of the generally complicated geometrical structure of the defects, the need for large simulation cells, etc. In this thesis, the role of lattice defects in the mechanism behind homogeneous melting is demonstrated. Also, a generic calculational scheme for studying atomic vibrations close to extended defects (applied to a dislocation) has been considered. Furthermore, heat capacities in the solid and liquid phases of aluminium have been calculated, as well as various thermophysical defect properties. The work was carried out using classical atomistic simulations, mainly molecular dynamics, of aluminium and copper. The interatomic forces were modelled with effective interactions of the embedded-atom type. The main results of this thesis are the following: • The thermal fluctuation initiating melting is an aggregate typically with 6-7 interstitials and 3-4 vacancies. • In the initial stage of melting, no signs of a shear modulus melting mechanism, or the presence of line-like defects (dislocations), can be seen. • The typical time interval from when melting initiates to the time at which the liquid phase is fully developed is of the order of 1000τ, where the period τ corresponds to the maximum vibrational frequency in the solid. • The solid-liquid boundary advances at a pace comparable to that of thermal transport by vibrating atoms in the crystal at high temperatures. • The seemingly small anharmonic effect in the heat capacity of aluminium is caused by a partial cancellation of the low-order term linear in the temperature and anharmonic terms of higher order in the temperature. • The core region of an edge dislocation in face-centred cubic aluminium has compressed and expanded regions. The excess volume associated with the dislocation core is small, about 6 percent of the atomic volume, as a result of a partial cancellation between the volume changes of the compressed and expanded regions. • The compressed and expanded regions of the edge dislocation core give negative and positive contributions, respectively, to the excess vibrational entropy. The overall effect is a positive vibrational excess entropy of the dislocation core which is about 2kB per atomic repeat length along the dislocation core. • The atomic vibrations near the dislocation core are modelled by considering an atomic cluster with about 500-1000 atoms containing the core of dislocation, embedded in a large discrete, but relaxed, lattice of about 23 000 atoms. An atomic region that is four atomic layers thick and about 18 atomic diameters long in the direction parallel to the Burgers vector, accounts for most of the excess entropy. • The constant-pressure heat capacity of aluminium shows a minimum as a function of temperature in the liquid phase.


BACKGROUND
Early life development plays a key role in adult type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the extent to which can be attenuated by lifestyle is unknown.

OBJECTIVES
To investigate the independent relevance of genetic predisposition to low birth weight and childhood obesity for T2DM, and their attenuation by adherence to a healthy lifestyle in adulthood.

METHODS
Genetic risk scores (GRSs) were estimated for birth weight and childhood body mass index (BMI) with genetic risk categories according to their quintiles in 90,029 and 321,225 participants from China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) (mean age, 53.0 years) and UK Biobank (UKB) (56.1 years). Healthy lifestyle scores were defined on non-current smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, healthy diet, regular physical activity, non-obesity, categorized into healthy (4∼5 factors), intermediate (2∼3 factors) and unhealthy (0∼1 factor) lifestyle.

RESULTS
GRSs for low birth weight and childhood BMI were associated with higher T2DM risks. Healthy lifestyle was related to lower T2DM risk, and there was an additive interaction with increasing childhood BMI GRS and decreasing healthy lifestyle factors on T2DM risk, while no additive interaction was observed for birth weight. Participants with a healthy compared with an unhealthy lifestyle had a 68% (hazard ratio: 0.32; 95%CI: 0.22, 0.47) and 77% (0.23; 0.19, 0.28) lower T2DM risk among participants at high genetic risk (lowest quintile) of low birth weight in CKB and UKB. Among participants with high genetic risk (highest quintile) of childhood obesity, compared with unhealthy lifestyle, adherence to a healthy lifestyle was associated with a 69% (0.31; 0.22, 0.46) and 80% (0.20; 0.17, 0.25) lower risk in CKB and UKB.

CONCLUSIONS
Genetic predisposition to low birth weight and childhood obesity were associated with higher risk of adult T2DM and these excess risks were attenuated by adherence to a healthy lifestyle in adulthood, particularly among those at high genetic risk of childhood obesity.


In an increasingly globalized world, where international issues affect local communities, it is important for students to learn about global topics. International education in colleges is becoming more ubiquitous, but many students do not go to college and need to be introduced earlier. Is global education being taught in high schools? How have educators incorporated international issues into their classrooms? In this study, I spoke to educators in New York City to examine what public high schools are doing to integrate global issues into their curricula. The study examines what obstacles teachers and schools face, what helps teachers to be successful and compiles various ideas that educators provided of how to engage students in international topics. The study was focused exclusively on New York City public high schools. The information was gathered through phone and inperson interviews of educators, surveys of teachers, and personal school observations. Educators indicated they experience many hindrances: limited funding, curricula requirements outlined by the New York State Regents, high dropout rates, lack of time, and student difficulties with relating to global issues. In spite of these obstacles, educators have been able to integrate some global education into their classrooms, sometimes on their own and sometimes with the help of outside organizations. It is the intention of this study to give other educators, specifically New York State teachers who experience similar obstacles, examples of successful global education ideas that can be used in their schools.


Rates of anxiety symptoms in patients with COPD range from 13% to 51%, which is higher than rates for patients with other chronic diseases, yet evidence underpinning the effectiveness of the various treatment options is lacking. The aim of this review was to assess the efficacy and safety of both pharmacological and psychological interventions for the management of anxiety in COPD.
We searched two Cochrane Specialised Registers of Cochrane Airways group and Cochrane Collaboration of Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis with complementary screening of Medline, PsycINFO and CENTRAL. Reference lists of included studies and online clinical trial registries were also explored. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cross-over studies of pharmacological or psychological interventions for patients (age >40 years) with diagnosed COPD and co-existing anxiety (confirmed by recognised diagnostic criteria or validated measurement scale) were identified for inclusion. Data was extracted by two independent review authors with meta-analyses of outcomes performed using the random-effect model using Review Manager Version 5.3.
A total of 1,792 citations resulted in nine included studies (five pharmacological and four psychological). Meta-analysis of these studies revealed significant reductions in anxiety symptoms, both with and without adjusting for heterogeneity, in the treatment arm (mean difference -2.84; 95%CI - 4.42 to -1.26; p=0.0004, standardised mean difference -0.44; 95% CI -0.74 to -0.14; p=0.004) with the psychological studies producing greater treatment efficacy (p=0.005 for MD and p=0.02 for SMD) over pharmacological (p=0.10 for MD and p=0.20 for SMD) within sub-group analysis. Significant improvement in depression scores was noted (p=0.03), mainly driven by psychological interventions. A trend in favour of the intervention was found for the physical composite of quality of life measured by St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (standardised mean difference -0.36; 95%CI -0.74 to 0.02; p=0.06; 3 studies), but not for other measures of quality of life. No evidence of any effect was found for exercise capacity or FEV1. Psychological therapies appear to be more effective than pharmacological interventions, which have little or no effect to reduce anxiety in COPD patients. However, poor methodological quality and small sample size of studies investigating pharmacotherapy may be contributing to this discrepancy.


Control of carbon dioxide emissions in developing countries is becoming a key issue in the international climate policy. A critical element for achieving substantial emission reduction in those countries is the installment of new energy technologies. Drawing on the framework of poverty-trap models in development economics, we discuss how climate policy affects the transition of energy technologies in a developing economy. We show that while a moderate carbon policy could promote transition to low-emission energy technology, too stringent policy in a relatively poor economy may rather hinder the process by reducing the economy's financing capacity as to building new energy infrastructure – there, the barrier is not the long-run costs of the new technology but the availability of financial resources for initial investment, which could be constrained not only by the domestic saving but also by the imperfection of credit market. The possibility of such a trapping may provide a justification for financial support towards the deployment of alternative energy technologies in lowincome economies.


Autopilots for micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) with a maximum permissible avionic payload of only a few grams need lightweight, low-power sensors to be able to navigate safely when flying through unknown environments. To meet these demanding specifications, we developed a simple functional model for an Elementary Motion Detector (EMD) circuit based on the common housefly's visual system. During the last two decades, several insect-based visual motion sensors have been designed and implemented on various robots, and considerable improvements have been made in terms of their mass, size and power consumption. The new lightweight visual motion sensor presented here generates 5 simultaneous neighboring measurements of the 1-D angular speed of a natural scene within a measurement range of more than one decade [25°/s; 350°/s]. Using a new sensory fusion method consisting in computing the median value of the 5 local motion units, we ended up with a more robust, more accurate and more frequently refreshed measurement of the 1-D angular speed.


Argumentative practices have the potential to contribute to scientific literacy. However, these practices are not widely incorporated in science classrooms and so their effect on the domains of literacy is still not revealed. Therefore, this study proposes to reveal the effect of argumentation on the three domains of chemical literacy related to the concepts of acids and bases. The study participants comprised 29 freshman pre-service science teachers' enrolled in a General Chemistry-II course. Argumentation practices were implemented over six weeks. Open-ended contextual chemical literacy items were developed to assess the differences in the chemical literacy domains and the items were administered before and right after the intervention. The responses to the chemical literacy items were scored with a rubric and three scores were calculated: knowledge, competency, and attitudes. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare the mean scores. All the intervention sessions were video recorded, and three of them were analyzed according to three criteria: the presence of arguments, the frequency of arguments, and the levels of the arguments. The findings revealed that the argumentation practices contributed to the pre-service teachers' chemical literacy skills, mostly to their knowledge and competencies when compared to their attitudes. Moreover, distinct differences in the quality of argumentation levels were observed over the six weeks.


Fisheries biology and ecology has evolved over the last 50 years. It is less confident in its stock assessment models and this is reflected in attempts to include the impact of uncertainty in available data and fishery descriptions. Natural resource mangement is no longer about determining the maximum sustainable yield, but is rather about providing advice to managers that explicitly characterises the opportunities and risks of alternative management
actions. Fish stocks are not amorphous continuous units, but are rather aggregated spatially, living as semi-disconnected groups of populations across arrays of habitats. Explicit spatial management of natural resources is becoming more common and will become more important
in the future . Ecosystem- based fishery management remains an illusory aim that is being implemented as single species management with attention being paid to bycatch and impacts of fishing gear on habitats. Fisheries ecology is a field in which there is still a great deal of
research needed to enable more effective management of important natural resources.


Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using a Karhunen-Loeve (K-L) expansion of a training set of images to reduce the number of encodes required for a magnetic resonance (MR) image of a new object. One form of this technique has been proposed [Cao and Levin, 1993] and another implemented [Zientara et al., 1994]. The authors evaluate the error likely to be achieved as a function of the number of encodes and two technical problems: reduced SNR in the images and smoothing of the K-L functions in practice. As an alternative, they propose the use of joint best bases [Wickerhauser, 1994] derived from the local trigonometric library as an approximation to the K-L basis. These bases approach the rate-distortion characteristic achieved by the K-L basis, but they are easier to use in MRI and can be applied with existing methods for fast acquisition.


Synaptic vesicles (SVs) can exocytose via Full fusion (FF) or by Kiss-and-Run (KR) mechanisms. In this thesis, synaptosomes prepared from adult rat cerebrocortex demonstrated that these modes can be switched by regulating the intracellular calcium levels and/or protein phosphorylation reactions. The stimuli employed were: 30 mM K+ (HK), 1 mM 4-aminopyridine (4AP) and 5 M ionomycin (ION) together with 5 mM Ca2+. In this model employed, myosin-II and dynamins can regulate the closure of the fusion pore of the readily releasable pool (RRP) of SVs during KR but are independent of each other's actions.
In biochemical assays, synaptosomes were maximally labelled with FM2-10 dye such that both the RRP and the RP were loaded and such terminals were subsequently evoked to release the dye and this was compared to the endogenous release of glutamate (GLU). Results show that the rise in [Ca2+]i at the active zone produced by HK5C activates PKC isoforms, which in turn cause phosphorylation of myosin-II and dynamins. It is hypothesised that dynamins are active at relatively lower increases in [Ca2+]i that do not activate PKCs whereas myosin-II is active at relatively higher increases in [Ca2+]i that activate certain PKCs. Such activation of PKC stimulates myosin-II -but inhibits the action of dynamins – and it is this active protein that can close the fusion pore. ION5C, however, activates dynamin(s) but not myosin-II, and under such conditions dynamin can close the fusion pore. This dynamin-dependent KR mode is independent of clathrin because this is not perturbed by the blockade of clathrin action using the drug, pitstop2TM and the HK5C evoked myosin-II-dependent KR is independent of both clathrin and dynamin. Therefore, the KR mechanism described, herein, is distinct from ultra-fast endocytosis that has both a dynamin and clathrin dependence. Pre-treatment of synaptosomes with DYN and/or pitstop2TM prior to the initial pre-stimulation with HK5C inhibits all dynamin and clathrin dependent processes so that SVs that recycle after the HK5C pre-stimulation would be perturbed if they had such a requirement. Indeed, following this treatment some SVs were not released by ION5C, although, the 4AP5C evoked GLU release is not affected and it would appear that the 4AP5C sensitive pool (the RRP) can still release following blockade of dynamin and clathrin. This demonstrates that the RRP underwent KR during the first pre-stimulus (actually via a myosin-II- dependent process) and was available to release again during the second round, and again this cannot be via ultra-fast endocytosis.
The role of cAMP and PKA pathways in regulating the modes was investigated. Adenylate cyclase activation by forksolin inhibits the release of the RP but switches all the RRP vesicles to KR when evoked by 4AP5C. Adenylate cyclase inhibition by 9-Cyclopentyl-Adenine (9-Cp-Ade) has no effect on GLU release or exocytotic mode. Forskolin's action on the RP is due to a specific increase in cAMP, because pre-treatment of synaptosomes with 9-Cp-Ade before forskolin prevents the forkskolin action. The PKA activator, Sp-5,7-dichloro-cBIMPs (cBIMPS) does not affect evoked GLU release although it does switch some of the RP to a KR mode whereas inhibiting PKA with KT 5720 has not effect on GLU release but induces the RRP to undergo FF. Clearly, forskolin's action on both the RP and the RRP SVs is distinct from PKA activation and it may work through activating the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (EPAC). Previous experiments have showed that inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) by okadaic acid (OA) switches the RRP to FF for all stimuli, but OA pre-treatment before forskolin failed to prevent 4AP5C switching some SVs in the RRP from FF to KR. This suggests that an adenylate cyclase pathway can override the OA-sensitive pathway.
The Seahorse extracellular flux analyser was used to measure various mitochondrial respiration parameters (basal, ATP production, spare capacity, maximum respiration, proton leakage and non-mitochondrial respiration). Employing 0.3 and 3 M phenyl arsine oxide appears to perturb the spare respiratory capacity, whilst 0.1 M did not. This indicated that we were previously using too high a concentration of this drug to study modes of exocytosis. Such a result led to the testing of the drugs employed in this study on exocytosis to check that they did no produce a non-specific effect on the bioenergetics of the synaptosomes: 9-Cp-Ade, Blebb, Go 6983, cBIMPs, forskolin or OA did not change the mitochondrial respiratory parameters indicating that any exocytotic effects shown were specific.
The specific phosphorylation of Ser-778, Ser-774 and Ser-795 on dynamin 1 was investigated using well characterized commercial antibodies and western blotting. It was concluded that the phosphorylation of Ser-774 and Ser-778 showed no correlation with dynamin's activity towards regulating closure of the fusion pore although these sites may well correlate with clathrin dependent endocytosis and bulk endocytosis. However, the phosphorylation of Ser-795 on dynamin may play an important role in the inhibition of dynamin's activity towards closing the fusion pore during KR. Phosphorylation on Ser-795 may be under the regulation of PKC as demonstrated using a PKC activator, phorbol myristate acetate, and an inhibitor, Go 6983. Therefore, endogenous PKC activation may phosphorylate this site when a very high Δ[Ca2+]i is achieved at the active zone. It was difficult to obtain a conclusion as to which PKC isoform could regulate the mode of SV exocytosis by phosphorylation of Ser-795 on dynamin due to the low phosphorylation levels obtained whilst employing Go 6983 and Go 6976.


This article builds upon our prior work, contributing to the growing literature addressing development of metacognitive skills in law students. Metacognitive skills include knowledge of strategies that impact thinking and learning, and regulation of thinking and learning related to specific learning tasks. Metacognitive skills are important for learning in law school as well as for successful lawyering.
Herein we describe an empirical study of first-year law students that addresses four primary research questions:
(1) What level of metacognitive knowledge and regulation do law students demonstrate when they enter law school?
(2) Do law students' metacognitive knowledge and regulation change during the first semester of law school?
(3) Is there a relationship between law students' academic performance and metacognitive knowledge and regulation?
(4) Does instructional intervention impact law students' metacognitive knowledge and regulation?
In addressing these questions, we refined the qualitative instruments from our prior study to better capture the interplay between metacognitive knowledge and regulation. In so doing, a metacognitive "space" emerged that provides a visual tool for other researchers interested in assessing student metacognitive skills. We posit that the metacognitive "space" may further serve as a tool for instructors to promote development of metacognitive skills in students, and for students to self-reflect and intentionally regulate their learning.
We found that most students enter law school lacking metacognitive knowledge but with some metacognitive regulation skills. The majority of students ended their first semester with knowledge. However, metacognitive knowledge was not associated with course performance nor was there an effect of instructional intervention on metacognitive knowledge. Metacognitive regulation, specifically use of strategies identified as most effective in law school, was associated with course performance, as was overall level of metacognitive regulation. While there was no effect of instructional intervention on the level of metacognitive regulation, intervention did result in more students reporting use of strategies such as fact patterns, hypotheticals, and working practice problems, strategies supporting both success in law school and successful lawyering.
The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the work for legal education and future directions for study and practice of metacognition.

NOTE: Appendices are available upon email request from the authors.


Cigarette smoking and dietary patterns are associated with colorectal cancer
(CRC) incidence; however, little is known about their influence on survival after CRC
diagnosis. This study was designed to: 1) investigate the association of dietary
patterns with all-cause (overall survival; OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) among
CRC patients; 2) examine the association of smoking with OS and DFS among CRC
patients.
A cohort of 750 CRC patients diagnosed from 1999 to 2003 in the Canadian
province of Newfoundland and Labrador was followed for mortality and recurrence
until April 2010. Participants reported their smoking history and dietary intakes using
a personal history questionnaire and a food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns
were identified with factor analysis. Multivariate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95%
confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with Cox proportional hazards regression,
controlling for major known prognostic factors.
Results from this study are presented in two parts: 1) Disease-free survival among
CRC patients was significantly worsened among patients with a high dietary intake of
processed meat (the highest versus the lowest quartile HR: 1.82, 95%CI: 1.07-3.09).
No associations were observed with the prudent vegetable or the high sugar patterns
and DFS. The association between the processed meat pattern and survival in CRC
patients was restricted to patients diagnosed with colon cancer (the highest versus the
lowest quartile: DFS: HR: 2.29, 95%CI: 1.19-4.40; OS: HR: 2.13, 95%CI: 1.03-4.43).
Potential effect modification was noted for sex (DFS: P=0.04, HR: 3.85 for women
and 1.22 for men). 2) Compared with never smoking, current (HR: 1.78; 95%CI:
1.04-3.06), but not former (HR: 1.06; 95%CI: 0.71-1.59), smoking was associated
with decreased OS, although this association was limited to tumors in the colon. The associations of cigarette smoking with the study outcomes were higher among patients
with >40 pack-years of smoking (OS: HR: 1.72; 95%CI: 1.03-2.85; DFS: HR: 1.99;
95%CI: 1.25-3.19). Potential interaction was noted for sex (DFS: P=0.04, HR: 1.68
for men and 1.01 for women) and age at diagnosis (OS: P=0.03, HR: 1.11 for patients
aged < 60 and 1.69 for patients aged 60).
In summary, 1) processed meat dietary pattern prior to diagnosis is associated
with higher risk of tumor recurrence, metastasis, or death from any cause among
colon cancer patients; 2) pre-diagnosis cigarette smoking is associated with worsened
prognosis among patients with colon cancer.


This paper compares three different biocompatible packaging covers suitable to support full implantation of multi-panel sensors for remote monitoring of metabolism. The three covers have been designed, realized and implanted in mice for 30 days. ATP and neutrophil concentrations have been measured at the implant site after the device was explanted, to assess the level of biocompatibility of the device.


The biosolid soil amendment N-Viro Soil (NVS) and a Streptomyces isolate (S 99-60) were tested for effects on root-knot nematode [RKN (Meloidogyne incognita)] egg populations on cantaloupe (Cucumis melo). Application of 3% NVS (dry weight amendment/dry weight soil) in the soil mixture resulted in signifi cant (P ≤ 0.01) suppression of RKN egg numbers on cantaloupe roots compared to all other treatments, including 1% NVS and untreated controls. Ammonia accumulation was higher with the 3% NVS amendment than with any other treatment. Adjustment of soil pH with calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] to the same levels that resulted from NVS amendment did not suppress nematode populations. When cultured in yeast-malt extract broth and particularly in nutrient broth, S 99-60 was capable of producing a compound(s) that reduced RKN egg hatch and activity of second-stage juveniles. However, when this isolate was applied to soil and to seedling roots, no suppression of RKN egg populations was observed on cantaloupe roots. Combining S 99-60 with NVS or Ca(OH)2 did not result in enhanced nematode suppression compared to treatments applied individually. The results indicated that NVS application was effective at suppressing RKN populations through the accumulation of ammonia to levels lethal to the nematode in soil.


A measurement of the Drell-Yan differential cross section at low invariant mass is presented in the di-muon channel. A 1.64 pb$^{-1}$ dataset of $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC is used. The measurement is made in an invariant mass range of $26 < M_{\mu\mu} < 66$ GeV where $M_{\mu\mu}$ is the invariant mass of the muon pair. A review of the relevant theoretical physics and the ATLAS detector is made. The analysis is described with particular attention paid to the determination of the isolation efficiency corrections for the Monte Carlo and the estimate of the multijet background. The fiducial differential cross section is calculated with a statistical uncertainty that varies between 0.8% and 1.2%. The systematic uncertainty is seen to vary between 2.4% and 4.1%. A cross section extrapolated to the full phase space is also presented. This is dominated by theoretical uncertainties from the variation of the factorisation and renormalisation scales. The obtained fiducial differential mass cross section is compared to theoretical predictions at NLO and NNLO in perturbative QCD. It is shown that a move beyond NLO is needed to describe the distribution well due to the restrictions of using a fixed order theoretical prediction. A combination with the electron channel measurement is also briefly discussed as well as comparisons to a di-muon measurement in an extended invariant mass range. This allows similar, but stronger conclusions to be drawn. A discussion is made of a PDF fit that uses the measurement presented here. The fit demonstrates the impact of the measurement on the PDFs and further supports the conclusion that a move to NNLO in pQCD is needed to describe the data.


The prevalence of obesity has been rising dramatically in the U.S., leading to poor health and rising health care expenditures. The role of policy in addressing rising rates of obesity, however, is controversial. Policy recommendations for interventions intended to influence body weight decisions often assume the obesity creates negative externalities for the non-obese. We build on earlier work demonstrating that this argument depends on two important assumptions: 1) that the obese do not pay for their higher medical expenditures through differential payments for health care and health insurance, and 2) that body weight decisions are responsive to the incidence of medical care costs associated with obesity. In this paper, we test the latter proposition - that body weight is influenced by insurance coverage - using two approaches. First, we use data from the Rand Health Insurance Experiment, in which people were randomly assigned to varying levels of health insurance, to examine the effect of generosity of insurance coverage on body weight along the intensive coverage margin. Second, we use instrumental variables methods to estimate the effect of type of insurance coverage (private, public and none) on body weight along the extensive margin. We explicitly address the discrete nature of the endogenous indicator of health insurance coverage by estimating a nonlinear instrumental variables model. We find weak evidence that more generous insurance coverage increases body mass index. We find stronger evidence that being insured increases body mass index and obesity.


The efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of public financial management in Latin America is critical for the supervision of public resources, fiscal stability, and sustainable economic development. In recent years, the countries of Latin America have embraced reforms in public financial management and have made many important advances; however, many challenges remain. This book brings together the knowledge and experiences of IMF and IDB staff and representatives from 16 governments in the region to document these reforms, and examines the experiences and lessons learned. It is a valuable resource for those looking at issues in public financial management.


It has been postulated that impairment of cochlear blood flow (CoBF) is one of the most important causes of hearing loss occurring during acoustic neuroma (AN) surgery. However, it remains unclear how the degree of cochlear ischemia influences the evoked responses in electrocochleography. (ECochG) which has been used for monitoring cochlear functions. In the present study, we investigated alterations in ECochG during cochlear ischemia of varying degree in the guinea pig. In order to induce cochlear ischemia, the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) was mechanically compressed via the transclival approach. The compression of AICA resulted in the reduction of CoBF in 55 out of 70 guinea pigs. A constant reduction of CoBF was maintained during the compression of AICA in 44 (63%) guinea pigs. CoBF abruptly decreased upon compressing AICA, and promptly recovered after releasing the compression. N1 and N2 in ECochG were also altered by compression. During 3-min ischemia, N1 and N2 disappeared in 36% and 41% of the cases, respectively. The residual CoBF in cases whose N1 and N2 disappeared was significantly lower than that in other cases whose N1 and N2 were sustained during 3-min ischemia. In addition, there was a tendency that the lower the residual CoBF was, the shorter the survival time of N1 and N2. In cases whose N1 and N2 did not disappear, the prolongation of N1 and N2 latencies after 3-min ischemia was positively correlated to the residual CoBF. On the basis of these results, we discuss the mechanisms underlying the changes in CoBF and ECochG during cochlear ischemia, and conclude that the degree of cochlear ischemia during AN surgery can be estimated with ECochG.


Objectives: The current literature focuses on wound severity, time to debridement, and antibiotic administration with respect to risk of infection after open fracture. The purpose of this analysis was to determine if either the incidence of posttraumatic infection or causative organism varies with treating institution or the season in which the open fracture occurred. Design: Retrospective review. Setting: Seven level 1 regional referral trauma centers located in each of the 7 climatic regions of the continental United States (Northwest, High Plains, Midwest/Ohio Valley, New England/Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, South, and Southwest). Patients/Participants: Five thousand one hundred twenty-seven skeletally mature patients with open extremity fractures treated between 2008 and 2012 at one of the 7 institutions. Intervention: Open reduction and internal fixation of fracture following institutional protocol for antibiotic prophylaxis, debridement, and soft-tissue management. Main Outcome Measurements: Seasonal variation on the incidence of infection and the causative organism after treatment for open fracture as recorded by each individual treating institution. Charts were analyzed to extract information regarding date of injury, Gustilo–Anderson type of open fracture, subsequent treatment for a posttraumatic wound infection, and the causative organisms. Patients were placed into one of the 4 groups based on the time of year that the injury occurred: spring (March–May), summer (June–August), fall (September–November), and winter (December–February). Univariate/multivariate analyses and Fisher test were used to assess whether any observed differences were of statistical significance. Results: The overall incidence of infection for all open fractures across the 7 different institutions was 7.6% and this did not vary significantly by season. There were, however, significant differences in overall infection rates between the different institutions: Southeast 4.3%, Northwest 13%, Northeast 7.7%, Southwest 9.3%, Midwest/Ohio Valley 5.5%, High Plains 14.6%, and South 7.4%. The following institutions demonstrated a significant seasonal variation in the incidence of infection: Northwest = fall 11% versus winter 18.5%, Southwest = winter 1.5% and fall 17.3%, Northeast = winter 5.2% and spring 9.7%, and Southeast = fall 2.8% and spring 6.0%. The High Plains, Midwest/Ohio Valley, and Southern institutions did not demonstrate a significant seasonal variation in infection rates. Finally, the most commonly encountered causative organism varied not only by region, but by season as well. Staphylococcus aureus (both methicillin sensitive and resistant) continues to be the most prevalent organism in the continental United States. Conclusions: A substantial seasonal and institutional variation exists regarding the incidence of infection and causative organisms for posttraumatic wound infection after open fractures. Although this may represent a difference in treatment regimens between individual surgeons and institutions, a decades-old general nation-wide empiric antibiotic prophylaxis regimen for all open fractures may in fact be outdated and suboptimal. We recommend that surgeons consult with their infectious disease colleagues to better understand the seasonal variation of infection and causative organism for their individual hospital, and adjust their prophylactic and treatment regimens accordingly. Level of Evidence: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


Large occupiers in Finland have traditionally owned significant part of their premises. This has been caused by corporate taxation benefits or pure tradition to own rather than a conscious strategic choice. It was not until the 1990s that Corporate Real Estate (CRE) has gradually become recognised function in some more advanced companies. The aim of this paper is to analyse and evaluate the current level of CRE strategies in 15 major Finnish companies representing different industries: retail, high-tech, basic industries, public sector. The main topics reviewed in this paper are: 1) The role of real estate resources, 2) The key features of CRE-activities 3) Evaluation of CRE-management by two critical factors: communicational and organisational issues. The data for the research was gathered in in-depth interviews with managers responsible for CRE functions in these companies. The interviews were conducted in two phases: in phase one the basic facts of corporate real estate management were collected; in phase two these facts were evaluated and discussed further. Nine critical factors affecting the performance of CRE n management were identified based on these interviews. Preliminary results show that corporate real estate management has become more sophisticated in recent years. However, remarkable differences remain between different companies. The communication between CRE-management and top management and business units seems to be one of the most significant problems in enhancing the role of corporate real estate management.


The popularity of social media has grown rapidly and healthcare practitioners and students commonly use sites such as Facebook. The ethical and professional implications and their benefits and hazards must be considered. Concerns include blurring of boundaries between an individual's public and professional lives, maintaining privacy and confidentiality of patient information, damaging the public image of the profession and inter-professional relationships. The same laws that apply to conduct in the real world also apply in cyberspace. Harmful or derogatory posts may result in a defamation lawsuit. The internet may also provide opportunities for patient education through peerreviewed websites and to build professional networks. Institutions should have policies on the uses of social media. Emerging technology will continue to change the landscape of social media and social networking and the way patients and practitioners use websites will continue to evolve. Practitioners should proactively manage digital identity by reviewing publicly available material and maintaining strict privacy settings about their information.


In this study, we aim to advance the optimization of daily large fire containment strategies for ground-based suppression resources by leveraging fire risk assessment results commonly used by fire managers in the western USA. We begin from an existing decision framework that spatially overlays fire risk assessment results with pre-identified potential wildland fire operational delineations (PODs), and then clusters PODs into a response POD (rPOD) using a mixed integer program (MIP) model to minimize expected loss. We improve and expand upon this decision framework through enhanced fire modeling integration and refined analysis of probabilistic and time-sensitive information. Specifically, we expand the set of data inputs to include raster layers of simulated burn probability, flame length probability, fire arrival time, and expected net value change, all calculated using a common set of stochastic weather forecasts and landscape data. Furthermore, we develop a secondary optimization model that, for a given optimal rPOD, dictates the timing of fire line construction activities to ensure completion of containment line prior to fire arrival along specific rPOD edges. The set of management decisions considered includes assignment of PODs to be included in the rPOD, assignment of suppression resources to protect susceptible structures within the rPOD, and assignment of suppression resources to construct fire lines, on specific days, along the perimeter of the rPOD. We explore how fire manager risk preferences regarding firefighter safety affect optimal rPOD characteristics, and use a simple decision tree to display multiple solutions and support rapid assessment of alternatives. We base our test cases on the FSPro simulation of the 2017 Sliderock Fire that burned on the Lolo National Forest in Montana, USA. The overarching goal of this research is to generate operationally relevant decision support that can best balance the benefits and losses from wildfire and the cost from responding to wildfire.


ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationship of Jean-François Lyotard's aesthetics to phenomenology, especially the works of Mikel Dufrenne and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. It argues that this comparison allows a greater understanding of Lyotard's late aesthetic writings, which can appear gnomic and which have received relatively little critical attention. Lyotard credits Merleau-Ponty with opening the theme of difference in the aesthetic field, yet believes that the phenomenological approach can never adequately account for it. After outlining Lyotard's early critiques of Dufrenne and Merleau-Ponty, the paper will demonstrate how his late aesthetics can be understood as returning to phenomenological themes but in the form of a reversal. Lyotard's "lesson of darkness" is that the secret power of art can never be brought into the light of phenomenal appearance, and that artworks do not testify to the birth of perception, but to its death and resurrection.


Abstract The new mineral belakovskiite (IMA2013-075), Na7(UO2)(SO4)4(SO3OH)(H2O)3, was found in the Blue Lizard mine, Red Canyon, White Canyon district, San Juan County, Utah, USA, where it occurs as a secondary alteration phase in association with blödite, ferrinatrite, kröhnkite, meisserite and metavoltine. Crystals of belakovskiite are very pale yellowish-green hair-like fibres up to 2 mm long and usually no more than a few mm in diameter. The fibres are elongated on [100] and slightly flattened on {021}. Crystals are transparent with a vitreous lustre. The mineral has a white streak and a probable Mohs hardness of ~2. Fibres are flexible and elastic, with brittle failure and irregular fracture. No cleavage was observed. The mineral is readily soluble in cold H2O. The calculated density is 2.953 g cm-3. Optically, belakovskiite is biaxial (+) with α = 1.500(1), β = 1.511(1) and γ = 1.523(1) (measured in white light). The measured 2V is 87.1(6)° and the calculated 2V is 88°. The mineral is non-pleochroic. The partially determined optical orientation is X ≈ a. Electron-microprobe analysis provided Na2O 21.67, UO3 30.48, SO3 40.86, H2O 6.45 (structure), total 99.46 wt.% yielding the empirical formula Na6.83(U1.04O2)(SO4)4(S0.99O3OH)(H2O)3 based on 25 O a.p.f.u. Belakovskiite is triclinic, P1̄, with a = 5.4581(3), b = 11.3288(6), c = 18.4163(13) Å, = 104.786(7)º, b = 90.092(6)°, g = 96.767(7)°, V = 1092.76(11) Å3 and Z = 2. The eight strongest X-ray powder diffraction lines are [dobs Å (I)(hkl)]: 8.96(35)(002), 8.46(29)(011), 5.19(100)(1.01,101,1̄10), 4.66(58)(013,1̄02,1̄1̄0,110), 3.568(37)(120,023,005,03̄3), 3.057(59)(01̄6,11̄5,1̄31), 2.930(27)(multiple) and 1.8320(29)(multiple). The structure, refined to R1 = 5.39% for 3163 Fo > 4σF reflections, contains [(UO2)(SO4)4(H2O)]6- polyhedral clusters connected via an extensive network of Na-O bonds and H bonds involving eight Na sites, three other H2O sites and an SO3OH (hydrosulfate) group. The 3-D framework, thus defined, is unique among known uranyl sulfate structures. The mineral is named for Dmitry Ilych Belakovskiy, a prominent Russian mineralogist and Curator of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum.


Neurons are quiescent cells that survive for several decades, many times the turnover time of most organelles and proteins, and so with advancing age neurons become affected by degenerative diseases. Autophagy is thought to be an important cellular mechanism preventing cell degeneration in such long-lived cells. We have recently found that the Parkinson disease (PD) gene leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is directly involved in this process by acting as a negative regulator of autophagic activity. We created a novel genomic DNA reporter cellular model using a new recombineering strategy called Sequential insertion of Target with ovErlapping Primers (STEP) to express a genomic DNA locus YPet-LRRK2 fusion protein. Expression of the R1441C mutant form of LRRK2 induces a cellular phenotype of impaired autophagic balance at the convergent crossroads of the endocytic and autophagic avenues. Conversely, RNAi-induced knockdown of LRRK2 increases autophagic activity. Taken together, these data demonstrate the key role of LRRK2 in regulating autophagy and suggest modulation of LRRK2 function may represent a promising therapeutic target to help restore autophagic equilibrium in neurodegenerative diseases.


DISRUPTING CXCR2 MACROMOLECULAR COMPLEX PDZ-DOMAIN INTERACTIONS DURING INFLAMMATORY CHEMOTAXIS by MARCELLO P. CASTELVETERE August 2012 Advisor: Dr. Chunying Li Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Degree: Master of Science Neutrophils are the body's first responders to inflammation being the most abundant white blood cell type in circulation and they quickly initiate an immune response through chemokine signaling. Inflammatory chemokines signal via their receptor CXCR2, which initiates an inflammatory response, recruiting leukocytes to sites of inflammation. Chemokine signaling is important for proper host protection, yet uncontrolled activity is responsible for a variety of pathological conditions: including rheumatoid arthritis, ischemia-reperfusion injury, arteriosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and allergic reactions. In this report I show a CXCR2 macromolecular signaling complex exists in neutrophils containing NHERF1 and PLCβ2. I also demonstrate a novel strategy of cytosolically perturbing the CXCR2 PDZ-domain interaction of the macromolecular complex. This perturbation disrupts spatial sensation of a chemokine gradient, yet still allows cells to mobilize actin and chemotax. Furthermore, I show CXCR2 PDZ-domain perturbation does not disrupt migration through bacterial derived chemoattractant receptors.


Part II starts with a systemic model of the basal ganglia to evaluate the position of the STN in the direct, indirect and hyperdirect pathways. A summary of in vitro studies is given, describing STN spontaneous activity as well as responses to depolarizing and hyperpolarizing inputs, and high frequency stimulation. STN bursting activity and the underlying ionic mechanisms are investigated. Deep brain stimulation used for symptomatic treatment of Parkinson's disease is discussed in terms of the elements that are influenced and its hypothesized mechanisms. This part of the monograph pays attention to the pedunculopontine-subthalamic connections and tries in cell cultures to mimic neurotransmitter actions of the pedunculopontine nucleus and high frequency stiulation on cultured dissociated rat subthalamic neurons. STN cell models: single and multi compartment, and system level models are discussed in relation to subthalamic function and dysfunction. Part I and II are mutually compared.


The urgent problem of prognosis of crediting risks of physical persons are considered and ways of set task decision are offered in the article. The possible variants of formalization of subject field are considered and there was formed the training fetch on the base of which the synthesis of scoring model by the method of systemic-cognitive analysis is conducted. The possible variants of optimization of its quality: increase of prognosis authenticity and decrease of different types of errors are considered in the article as well


Robots that share their workspace with humans, like household or service robots, need to take into account the presence of humans when planning their actions. In this paper, we present a framework for human-aware planning in which we consider three kinds of human-robot interaction. We focus in particular on the core module of the framework, a human-aware planner that generates a sequence of actions for a robot, taking into account the status of the environment, the goals of the robot and the forecasted plan of the human. We present a first realization of this planner, together with two simple experiments that demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.


Background & Objective: Alpha (α) thalassemia is a hereditary disorder and is caused by deletions or mutations in globin genes. It is present in two clinically significant forms: hemoglobin Bart hydrops fetalis (Hb Bart) syndrome and hemoglobin H (HbH) disease. It is highly prevalent in South-East Asia or Mediterranean countries. The most common deletion reported in alpha thalassemia in Pakistani population was –α3.7 with a frequency of 8.3%, and the rare forms were –α4.2 (0.2%) and αααanti3.7 (0.9%). In our study, diagnosis of severe anemia cases without any α and β mutations or deletions were made by using extended alpha thalassemia deletions panel. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and to study the spectra of alpha thalassemia gene deletions in beta thalassemia patients with the use of an extended panel including −−SEA, −−FIL, −−MED, −−20.5, −−THAI in addition to –α3.7, –α4.2 & -αααanti3.7. Methods: The samples were collected in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) vacutainers. A total of 156 samples were analyzed for alpha thalassemia mutations. This cohort included 121 samples of beta thalassemia major, nine samples of beta thalassemia minor and 26 without any evidence of beta thalassemia mutations. DNA was extracted with Qiagen extraction kit. The primers for determination of different subsets of alpha thalassemia deletions were included. PCR amplification was performed and result interpreted on agarose gel. Results: Co-inheritance of alpha thalassemia (–α3.7, –α4.2) with homozygous beta thalassemia was detected in 30% cases of studied cohort (37 out of 121). The most common found was –α3.7 deletion (35/37) as single/double deletions or in combination with -αααanti3.7. In undiagnosed cases screened for beta thalassemia major, we found Mediterranean (–αMED) deletion at specifically 875 bp on agarose gel. This is distinctive finding in case of detecting –αMED instead of any other deletion from Pakistan. Conclusion: Alpha thalassemia deletions (–α3.7, –α4.2) are the common co-inherited deletions found in beta thalassemia major patients. On the basis of results, we propose an extended alpha thalassemia genetic mutation panel should be used for screening of children presenting with anemia with suspicion of haemoglobinopathy.


Abstract. We document the ability of the new-generation Oslo
chemistry-transport model, Oslo CTM3, to accurately simulate present-day
aerosol distributions. The model is then used with the new Community Emission
Data System (CEDS) historical emission inventory to provide updated time
series of anthropogenic aerosol concentrations and consequent direct
radiative forcing (RFari) from 1750 to 2014. Overall, Oslo CTM3 performs well compared with measurements of surface
concentrations and remotely sensed aerosol optical depth. Concentrations are
underestimated in Asia, but the higher emissions in CEDS than previous
inventories result in improvements compared to observations. The treatment
of black carbon (BC) scavenging in Oslo CTM3 gives better agreement with
observed vertical BC profiles relative to the predecessor Oslo CTM2. However,
Arctic wintertime BC concentrations remain underestimated, and a range of
sensitivity tests indicate that better physical understanding of processes
associated with atmospheric BC processing is required to simultaneously
reproduce both the observed features. Uncertainties in model input data,
resolution, and scavenging affect the distribution of all aerosols species,
especially at high latitudes and altitudes. However, we find no evidence of
consistently better model performance across all observables and regions in
the sensitivity tests than in the baseline configuration. Using CEDS, we estimate a net RFari in 2014 relative to 1750 of
−0.17 W m−2, significantly weaker than the IPCC AR5 2011–1750
estimate. Differences are attributable to several factors, including stronger
absorption by organic aerosol, updated parameterization of BC absorption, and
reduced sulfate cooling. The trend towards a weaker RFari over recent years
is more pronounced than in the IPCC AR5, illustrating the importance of
capturing recent regional emission changes.


The 2-dimensional logarithmic number system (2DLNS), a subset of the multi-DLNS (MDLNS), which has similar properties to the classical Logarithmic Number System (LNS), provides more degrees of freedom than the LNS by virtue of having two orthogonal bases and has the ability to use multiple 2DLNS components, or digits. The second base in 2DLNS can be adjusted to improve the representation space for particular applications; the difficulty is selecting such a base. This paper demonstrates how an optimal second base can considerably reduce the complexity of the system while significantly improving the representation space for application specific designs. The method presented here maps a specific set of numbers into the 2DLNS domain as efficiently as possible; a process that can be applied to any application. By moving from a two-bit sign to a one-bit sign, the computation time of the optimal base is halved, and the critical paths in existing architectures are reduced.


Industrial wastewater (effluents), nearby soil and relevant groundwater samples, collected from twelve industries in Hattar Industrial Estate (HIE), NWFP Pakistan, were analyzed and examined towards environmental status evaluation in terms of characterization and distribution of selected metals using standard analytical methods. The triplicate sampling was conducted during September 2002 to September 2004, and the selected metals included Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cr, Co, Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn for estimation in samples pertaining to the three media. In addition, physico-chemical parameters relevant to these samples were also estimated in the three media. The metals in samples were estimated by the Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopic (F AAS) method using automatic background compensation mode. The related physico-chemical parameters estimated were temperature, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), alkalinity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), chlorides, total hardness, sulfate, phosphate and nitrate, estimated by the standard APHA analytical procedures. The background and existing levels of metals in the effluent, soil and ground water samples were also determined and compared with counterpart international data, reported by world regulatory agencies, such as WHO and EPA, US. Metal-to-metal correlation and source identification was undertaken as an integral part of the present study through univariate and multivariate statistical analysis of the finished data. Basic descriptive statistical parameters, such as minimum, maximum, mean, standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness were evolved to furnish information on selected metal distribution while statistical correlations were handled to characterize interdependence of metal pairs and contributory pollutant sources. A thorough regression study was evolved towards predicting the concentration of effluent metal levels in terms of regression equations. The multivariate technique of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted to identify sources of metals interlinked in the three media.

According to the results obtained from the present study, the trace metal content of effluents from industries such as chemicals, textiles, paper/pulp, ,oil and ghee were found to be higher in concentration of Na, Cr, Co, Cd, Mn and Pb, far exceeding the maximum allowed safe limits. Some of the effluent samples from Pak Chromium and Hattar Chemicals exhibited elevated concentrations of Na and Cr that exceeded 500 mg L-l. The linear correlation analysis of the effluent matrix revealed that Fe and K, Mn and Co, and Cr and Cd were strongly correlated, with r-values at 0.778, 0.746, 0.566, respectively, evidencing significant mutual interdependence of these metal pairs. The study of soil, adjoining these industries showed more than 1000 fold increase in the average concentration of Cr evidencing gross pollution of soil. Increased level of these metal concentrations was observed for groundwater samples collected from the periphery of these industries, showing the percolation of pollution load into the groundwater through soil. The metal-to-metal linear correlation study and regression relationships supported the above facts. Furthermore, Pb, Fe, Co, Cd and Mn concentrations were also found well above the permissible limits in effluents from Pine Match and Wah Nobel industries with Cr concentration ranging between 7.930 and 37.80 mgL-1. Textile and paper industry effluents also showed enhanced concentrations of Na, Ca, Cr, Co, Ni and Pb, thus evidencing a probable degradation of the environmental quality of the local area including groundwater and soil. A parallel pattern of metal distribution was observed for the five oil and ghee industries located in the HIE. Cr concentration was again found at 0.424 mg L-1 followed by Ni, Zn and Pb at concentrations 0.338, 0.325 and 0.301 mgL-1, respectively. The effluent related Physico-chemical parameters such as pH, conductivity, TDS, DO, COD, BOD, total hardness, chlorides and sulfates were also found well above the maximum safe limits. The DO concentration observed in almost all effluent samples remained far below the minimum limit required for sustainable aquatic life.

Groundwater samples were also analyzed and found to be well above the safe limits set for drinking water quality by WHO. The Na and Ca contents, with an average of about 256.3 mg L-1 Na and 122.7 mg L-1 Ca were found in gross groundwater samples drawn from peripheral locations around the estate. Chromium in these water samples was found to range between 0.102-0.231 mg L-1, thus exceeding the upper safe limit for Cr laid down at 0.05 mg L-1 for safe drinking water

Trace metal analysis of water extracts of soil adjoining these industries were conducted in order to assess the impact of metal load from the effluents on nearby soil and ground water. The study showed increased levels of most of the metals up to 10-15 folds, compared with background soil levels, with the only exception of Zn and Ni. The pH values of some soil extracts in water were found to be highly acidic, indicating a direct adverse impact of the effluents on the local soil, expected to ultimately pollute local vegetation.

The overall distribution of metals in the effluents samples reflected a strong metal-to-metal correlation in groundwater and soil samples. The PCA identified different groups of metals based on their origins in the three media evidencing a clear picture for pollution source appointment. The screening and analysis of different groundwater samples collected from HIE further supported the fact that the discharged effluents were percolating through the soil bed directly into the groundwater table. This could be the causative of recorded trace metal levels and physico-chemical parameters that exceeded the allowed limits, rendering the ground water unfit for use, both for drinking and industrial purposes. The study thus brought forth the fact that the unregulated and untreated wastewater was a real cause of concern towards exceedingly high levels of metals and water quality parameters. The industrial effluents were noted for their potentiality of ultimately polluting the vegetation and seriously affecting the health of the local population in the area. The existing pollution situation calls for an effluent treatment facility in the HIE to control the ever increasing pollution load on the local environment. Currently, a constant monitoring program needs to be initiated to reform the present HIE into a safe industrial enterprise.


We investigate whether the 7r-calculus is able to serve as a good foundation for the design and implementation of a strongly-typed concurrent programming language. The first half of the dissertation examines whether the 7r-calculus supports a simple type system which is flexible enough to provide a suitable foundation for the type system of a concurrent programming language. The second half of the dissertation considers how to implement the ir-calculus efficiently, starting with an abstract machine for ir-calculus and finally presenting a compilation of 7r-calculus to C. We start the dissertation by presenting a simple, structural type system for 7r-calculus, and then, after proving the soundness of our type system, show how to infer principal types for r-terms. This simple type system can be extended to include useful type-theoretic constructions such as recursive types and higherorder polymorphism. Higher-order polymorphism is important, since it gives us the ability to implement abstract datatypes in a type-safe manner, thereby providing a greater degree of modularity for 7r-calculus programs. The functional computational paradigm plays an important part in many programming languages. It is well-known that the ir-calculus can encode functional computation. We go further and show that the type structure of )-terms is preserved by such encodings, in the sense that we can relate the type of a )-term to the type of its encoding in the 7r-calculus. This means that a ir-calculus programming language can genuinely support typed functional programming as a special case. An efficient implementation of 7r-calculus is necessary if we wish to consider rcalculus as an operational foundation for concurrent programming. We first give a simple abstract machine for ir-calculus and prove it correct. We then show how this abstract machine inspires a simple, but efficient, compilation of 7r-calculus to C (which now forms the basis of the Pict programming language implementation).


Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disease that cannot be explained with an organic pathology, characterized by change in bowel habits and abdominal pain that relaxes with defecation. It is well known that IBS has an increased association with psychosomatic illnesses such as depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. Similarly, publications are available in the literature that IBS has also an increased association with chronic, painful inflammatory pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. And also ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton, that is characterized by new bone formation can eventually cause ankylosis and limitation of motion and disability. Accordingly, we aimed to assess the prevalence of IBS in patients with AS. Methods The study was conducted at a university hospital rheumatology clinic and 113 consecutive patients with AS according to the modified New York criteria were included. Patients demographics, clinic and laboratory data were recorded. Functional status was evaluated with BASFI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index), health quality with ASQOL (Ankylosing Spondylitis Health Quality) and disease activity with BASDAI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Activity Index). Then all patients were questioned with diagnosis of IBS and type according to ROME III criteria. The mean and standard deviation values for continuous variables were given. Categorical variables were expressed as percentage. While Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous variables between two groups, chi-square test was used for categorical variables. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Clinical and demographic characteristics of the patients are given in the table. Prevalence of IBS in patients with AS was found to be 30.1%. The distribution of types of IBS is following; 38% alternating diarrhea and constipation type, 23% constipation dominant type, 21% diarrhea dominant type and 18% mixed type. Frequency of IBS was found to be significantly higher in higher disease activity group (BASDAI>4) and in patients treated with biologic agents. (p values <0.001, 0.017, respectively). Prevalence of IBS between the sexes was found to be significantly higher in female patients (p: 0.031). Conclusions IBS; when compared to the normal population was found to be higher (%30) in patients with AS. In a similar manner to the community, frequency of IBS is significantly higher in female patients, although AS is more frequent in male patients. As a result, in patients with AS, especially with high disease activity, gastroenterological complaints should be questioned; and the diagnosis of IBS should not be ignored in the treatment process. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Color-blindness and color-consciousness are two ideologies aiming at prejudice and negative intergroup behavior reduction. Whereas color-blindness emphasizes the importance of breaking down group differences and considering everybody as an individal similar and equal to each other, color-consciousness emphasizes the recognition and appreciation of group differences. This dissertation is about the positive and negative aspects of both ideologies, as well as about their differential effects on emotions, behavior, and prejudice. Furthermore, a longitudinal study between 4 different countries analyzes the differences between minority groups and majority groups in matters of ideology preferences and of their links to prejudice. Finally, some variables are tested as useful predictors of the color-blind and color-conscious ideologies.


The integration of stimuli-responsive materials into microfluidic systems can provide a means for external control over fluid flow along with inherent sensing capabilities, which can reduce the overall complexity of microfluidic devices. Herein we present several approaches for introducing fluid movement and sensing using stimuli-responsive materials. The first approach comprises the use of adaptive nanostructured coatings for direct sensing of flow in continuous flow mode. For this, the inner walls of micro-capillaries and micro-channels were coated with polymeric materials that can be used to detect a variety of target species. Two types of adaptive coatings will be discussed. The first one is based on the conductive polymer polyaniline (PAni) [1,2] while the second consists of polymeric brushes based on spiropyran [3,4]. Using the "grafting" approach homogeneous coatings were obtained on the micro-channel/micro-capillary surface that retained their inherent nano-morphology. The optical proprieties of these coatings change in response to a variety of target analytical species (divalent metal ions, solvents of different polarities, ammonia, H+) passing through the microfluidic device in continuous flow mode. The grafting approach can provide nanostructured to microstructured coatings that combine small diffusion paths with relatively thick optical path lengths, thereby providing sensitive and fast optical responses to the target analytes.
The second approach comprises the use of porous photo-actuated hydrogels as photo-controlled micro-valves in microfluidic systems for repeatable ON/OFF flow modulation in flowing streams over a wide range of pH values (acidic to ca. pH 7.0).
Incorporation of such stimuli-controlled structures in microfluidic devices offers unprecedented versatility and external flow control. We envision using these systems to create a new generation of sustainable, low-cost, photonically-controlled and self-reporting fluidic systems.

1. Florea, L.; Diamond, D.; Benito-Lopez, F.,. Anal. Chim. Acta 2013, 759, 1-7.
2. Florea, L. et al., Lab Chip 2013, 13, 1079-1085.
3. Florea, L. et al., Sens. Actuators, B 2012, 175, 92-99.
4. Florea, L. et al., Langmuir 2013, 29, 2790-2797.


In this study we sought to show the difference between the child acceptance-rejection behaviors of lower and upper socioeconomic status mothers, and establish whether or not their acceptance-rejection behaviors were affected by their age, and the number and sex of their children. A total of 246 mothers living in Diyarbakir, 123 with lower and 123 with upper socioeconomic status, was enrolled in the study. Data were gathered by using a personal information form and the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire-Mother Form (Rohner, Saavedra, & Granum, 1980). The results revealed a significant difference between lower and upper socioeconomic status mothers' child acceptance-rejection behaviors ( t = 7.709; p < 0.05). While the mothers' age ( r = .202; p < 0.05) and number of children ( r = .238; p < 0.01) were positively correlated to their acceptance-rejection behaviors, their children's sex did not make a significant difference to the mothers' acceptance-rejection behaviors.


An imidazolium-based ionic liquid (IL) functionalized zinc porphyrin catalyst was successfully synthesized for the first time, and was employed as an efficient catalyst for CO2 transformation including both the chemoselective synthesis of cyclic carbonates from various epoxides and the regioselective synthesis of 5-aryl-2-oxazolidinones from N-substituted aziridines. Detailed studies demonstrated that the intramolecular cooperative effect between the coordinated zinc center (electrophile) and flexible bromine anions (nucleophile) could mediate these reactions effectively under solvent-free and mild conditions. More importantly, the IL-based catalyst could be readily recovered by solvent precipitation and reused with retention of high activity and selectivity more than ten times based on the concept of "one-phase catalytic coupling with two-phase separation".


Background and Purpose: Organizational commitment has been on a downward trend among medical staff in different sections of the health care system. This study aimed to investigate the level of organizational commitment among the nurses engaged in the intensive care units (ICUs) of Mazandaran Heart Center in Sari, Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted at the educational hospital of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, affiliated to Mazandaran Heart Centre. Data were collected using Allen and Meyer's organizational commitment questionnaire, which was completed by 90 nurses selected by census sampling from different ICUs. Data analysis was performed using SPSS V.21. Results: In this study, 17 participants (18.9%) were male, and 73 (81.1%) were female, with the mean age of 7.25±34.4 years. Among the variables associated with organizational commitment, including age, work experience and working hours, only age and work experience had significant correlations with the rate of commitment (P=0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, medical supervisors and managers need to provide nurses with adequate facilities in order to encourage commitment and motivation among these health professionals.


We show that maximally helical hypermagnetic fields produced during pseudoscalar inflation can generate the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe via the B + L anomaly in the Standard Model. We find that most of the parameter space of pseudoscalar inflation that explains the cosmological data leads to baryon overproduction; hence, the models of natural inflation are severely constrained. We also point out a connection between the baryon number and topology of the relic magnetic fields. Both the magnitude and sign of magnetic helicity can be detected in future diffuse gamma ray data. This could hint to a link between inflation and the baryon asymmetry of the Universe.


Over the last 20 years or so, a number of Bayesian researchers and groups have invested a good deal of time, effort and money in parallel computing for Bayesian analysis. The growth of "small research group" to "institutionally supported" cluster computational facilities has had a substantial impact on a number of areas of Bayesian analysis, enabling analyses that are otherwise practically infeasible. Parallel computing has also motivated new approaches to simulation and optimisation-based Bayesian computations that aim to maximally exploit the "master-slave" and "embarrassingly parallel" computational model [e.g., 3, 4, 6]. In more recent years, increasingly prevalent multi-core CPUs in standard servers, desktops and laptops have engendered some interest in relatively simple and easy multi-threading of existing Bayesian analysis code, whether implemented in low level languages (C/C++) or through parallelisation facilities in environments such as R and Matlab R ©. Much progress in research and in advancing the use of Bayesian methods in increasingly computationally challenging problems has resulted. As we look ahead, however, the potential impact of parallel computation on both immediate research and the development of more broadly useful software is clearly – to some of us – dramatically enhanced by the advent of scientific computation using desktop and laptop graphical processing units (GPUs). Major new opportunities for orders-of-magnitude speed-up in computation are emerging through GPU programming, and the technology is cheap, both to purchase and run, and easily available.


Background There are currently no vaccines or antivirals available for dengue virus infection, which can cause dengue hemorrhagic fever and death. A better understanding of the host pathogen interaction is required to develop effective therapies to treat DENV. In particular, very little is known about how cellular RNA binding proteins interact with viral RNAs. RNAs within cells are not naked; rather they are coated with proteins that affect localization, stability, translation and (for viruses) replication. Methodology/Principal Findings Seventy-nine novel RNA binding proteins for dengue virus (DENV) were identified by cross-linking proteins to dengue viral RNA during a live infection in human cells. These cellular proteins were specific and distinct from those previously identified for poliovirus, suggesting a specialized role for these factors in DENV amplification. Knockdown of these proteins demonstrated their function as viral host factors, with evidence for some factors acting early, while others late in infection. Their requirement by DENV for efficient amplification is likely specific, since protein knockdown did not impair the cell fitness for viral amplification of an unrelated virus. The protein abundances of these host factors were not significantly altered during DENV infection, suggesting their interaction with DENV RNA was due to specific recruitment mechanisms. However, at the global proteome level, DENV altered the abundances of proteins in particular classes, including transporter proteins, which were down regulated, and proteins in the ubiquitin proteasome pathway, which were up regulated. Conclusions/Significance The method for identification of host factors described here is robust and broadly applicable to all RNA viruses, providing an avenue to determine the conserved or distinct mechanisms through which diverse viruses manage the viral RNA within cells. This study significantly increases the number of cellular factors known to interact with DENV and reveals how DENV modulates and usurps cellular proteins for efficient amplification.


GREEN, Rodney James. Antioxidant activity of peanut plant tissues. (Under the direction of Dr. Timothy H. Sanders) Antioxidant research is an important topic in the medical field as well as in the food industry. Recent research with important bioactive compounds in many plant and food materials, including peanuts and peanut plants has received much attention. The research presented here is the first step in identifying known, or novel, bioactive compounds from peanut plants that may provide the basis for value added products for the peanut industry. The objective of this work was to identify an extract of peanut plant tissues that has substantial antioxidant activity. Peanut plants were collected from a NC research farm on two separate dates. Plants were separated into various tissues, dried, and extracted with organic solvents. The solvents used were hexane, methylene chloride, acetone, and methanol. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was tested using the oxidative stability index (OSI), inhibition of the free radical action in the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) and free radical scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) compared with those of synthetic antioxidants. The highest antioxidant activities in the DPPH and ORAC analyses were found in the leaves and roots of the peanut plant. Extract activity increased with increasing polarity of solvents except for the methanol extract of the roots. Root extracts had higher antioxidant activity than nodules found on the roots. The methanol extracts from 500mg of leaves had an OSI value comparable with 10mg of BHT. The results among leaf extract antioxidant activity on sampling dates were variable. The results of this research suggest that there is extractable antioxidant activity in peanut plant tissues. Future isolation and identification of the specific compounds may lead to value added products along with new or novel bioactive compounds for use in the food or pharmaceutical industries. Antioxidant Activity of Peanut Plant Tissues by RODNEY JAMES GREEN A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE


This paper analyses the relationship between local poverty and food manufacture growth in Chile and Mexico using propensity score matching, differences in differences and spatial econometrics methods. We focus on food manufacture as a sector with a number of characteristics that make it potentially pro-poor, and whose incentives for spatial distribution may either strengthen or dampen its poverty reduction potential. The overall results indicate that i) geographically, food manufacture locates in relatively poor areas, but not in the poorest; ii) food manufacture tends to locate in municipalities with more availability of labor and raw materials and with better infrastructure; iii) controlling for other factors, food manufacture growth contributes to local poverty reduction both in terms of magnitude and speed.


The purpose of this thesis is to examine the effects of macroeconomic indicators on the government debt of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain (PIIGS), based on the data from 1990 to 2010 and employed a panel data model. The research finds that the macroeconomc conditions of the PIIGS are all deteriorated to some extent, and these deteriorations lead the accumulation of government debt. The expansionary fiscal policy is an important factor that accounts for the high debt ratio of the PIIGS. On the other hand, the discrepancy between the unified monetary policy and the separated fiscal policy obstructs the adjustment mechanism by the individual government, and leads the exchange rate and interest rate instruments not efficient.


This paper considers entropy bonus, which is used to encourage exploration in policy gradient. In the case of high-dimensional action spaces, calculating the entropy and its gradient requires enumerating all the actions in the action space and running forward and backpropagation for each action, which may be computationally infeasible. We develop several novel unbiased estimators for the entropy bonus and its gradient. We apply these estimators to several models for the parameterized policies, including Independent Sampling, CommNet, Autoregressive with Modified MDP, and Autoregressive with LSTM. Finally, we test our algorithms on a multi-hunter multi-rabbit grid environment. The results show that our entropy estimators substantially improve performance with marginal additional computational cost.


Objectives: This study investigates posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its associated risk factors in a random, national, Canadian sample of United Nations peacekeeping veterans with service-related disabilities. Methods: Participants included 1016 male veterans (age < 65 years) who served in the Canadian Forces from 1990 to 1999 and were selected from a larger random sample of 1968 veterans who voluntarily and anonymously completed a general health survey conducted by Veterans Affairs Canada in 1999. Survey instruments included the PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M), Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), and questionnaires regarding life events during the past year, current stressors, sociodemographic characteristics, and military history. Results: We found that rates of probable PTSD (PCL-M score > 50) among veterans were 10.92% for veterans deployed once and 14.84% for those deployed more than once. The rates of probable clinical depression (CES-D score > 16) were 30.35% for veterans deployed once and 32.62% for those deployed more than once. We found that, in multivariate analyses, probable PTSD rates and PTSD severity were associated with younger age, single marital status, and deployment frequency. Conclusions: PTSD is an important health concern in the veteran population. Understanding such risk factors as younger age and unmarried status can help predict morbidity among trauma-exposed veterans.


1. Sixteen plasma amino acids were measured serially in an experimental model of acute hepatic failure produced in the pig by devascularization of the liver. 2. Significant increases in the concentration of glycine, alanine and methionine were observed. 3. Altered concentrations in plasma of neutral amino acids which compete with tryptophan for transport into the brain had no apparent influence on brain tryptophan concentration.


The modulation of locomotor gait transitions by monoamines is highly conserved across animal species, yet the mechanisms by which these occur is not very well understood. In C. elegans, certain serotonergic neurons have been implicated in initiating the transition from crawling to swimming, but the environmental cues and specific sensory neurons that communicate with these serotonergic neurons have yet to be characterized. Mutant strains with genetic ablations of particular sensory neurons and strains with mutations in genes expressed in these sensory neurons are being investigated for delayed swim onset to ascertain which neurons and genes are important for swim initiation. Evidence from these experiments suggests that the sensory ASK neurons and a TRPV channel that they express, OSM-9, may be involved in swim initiation. ASK neurons are being further analyzed with a fluorescent reporter of neuronal activity and with optogenetic techniques to see if they are active during swim initiation and if their activity has an effect on this transition. Elucidating the sensory neural pathway and molecular mechanisms responsible for the crawl-to-swim transition in C. elegans has implications for a better understanding of how locomotor transitions may be governed in other animals, including humans, and how these transitions may have evolved.


This article describes 2 experiments aimed at bringing comparisons between perception without awareness (PWA) and psi up to date. Experiment la is a replication of an established effect in the field of PWA. Participants ( aged 17-39 yrs) were presented with a list of nouns before taking part in an old/new recognition test. If a new test word was preceded by a biasing stimulus consisting of the same word for 50 ms, participants tended to classify the new word as "old." This is known as the false recognition effect. Experiment lb attempted to obtain a similar effect using psi as a biasing stimulus. Random new words were displayed to a sender, who attempted to induce false recognition in the receiver by influencing them to respond "old." No significant effect was found, although a nonsignificant gender interaction was observed. Results are discussed and future directions are suggested.


Many approaches that analyze and predict the results of soccer matches are based on two independent pairwise Poisson distributions. The dependence between the scores of two competing teams is simply displayed by the inclusion of the covariate information of both teams. One objective of this article is to analyze if this type of modeling is appropriate or if an additional explicit modeling of the dependence structure for the joint score of a soccer match needs to be taken into account. Therefore, a specific bivariate Poisson model for the two numbers of goals scored by national teams competing in UEFA European football championship matches is fitted to all matches from the three previous European championships, including covariate information of both competing teams. A boosting approach is then used to select the relevant covariates. Based on the estimates, the current tournament is simulated 1,000,000 times to obtain winning probabilities for all participating national teams.