This paper pioneers the assessment of tourism's total global resource use, including its fossil fuel consumption, associated CO2 emissions, fresh water, land, and food use. As tourism is a dynamic growth system, characterized by rapidly increasing tourist numbers, understanding its past, current, and future contributions to global resource use is a central requirement for sustainable tourism assessments. The paper introduces the concept of resource use intensities (RUIs), which represent tourism's resource needs per unit of consumption (e.g. energy per guest night). Based on estimates of RUIs, a first assessment of tourism's global resource use and emissions is provided for the period 1900–2050, utilizing the Peeters Global Tourism Transport Model. Results indicate that the current (2010) global tourism system may require c.16,700 PJ of energy, 138 km3 of fresh water, 62,000 km2 of land, and 39.4 Mt of food, also causing emissions of 1.12 Gt CO2. Despite efforts to implement more sustainable forms of tourism, analysis indicates that tourism's overall resource consumption may grow by between 92% (water) and 189% (land use) in the period 2010–2050. To maintain the global tourism system consequently requires rapidly growing resource inputs, while the system is simultaneously becoming increasingly vulnerable to disruptions in resource flows.


At most excitatory, glutamatergic synapses in the brain, AMPA and NMDA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs and NMDARs) make distinct contributions to the postsynaptic response: AMPARs mediate transient conductances that are well suited to fast information transfer; NMDARs associate glutamate binding with postsynaptic depolarization to mediate a slower conductance that, unlike that of most AMPARs, includes Ca2+ influx that can trigger long-lasting changes in synaptic strength. This delegation of postsynaptic roles has been blurred recently by evidence implicating Ca2+-permeable AMPARs (CP-AMPARs) in different forms of synaptic transmission and plasticity. AMPARs are heterotetramers comprising various combinations of subunits GluR1–4, each of which is coded to express an uncharged glutamine in the pore region that permits permeation of divalent cations. In GluR2, RNA editing recodes this glutamine to a positively charged arginine, rendering GluR2-containing AMPARs Ca2+ impermeable (Dingledine et al. 1992). Many neurons, however, express AMPARs that lack GluR2 and are, consequently, Ca2+ permeable. Particularly in interneurons, CP-AMPARs often replace NMDARs as the primary source of postsynaptic Ca2+ influx. For example, Ca2+ influx through CP-AMPARs induces long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synapses onto interneurons in the amygdala (Mahanty & Sah, 1998) and triggers GABA release from A17 amacrine cells in the retina (Chavez et al. 2006).

CP-AMPAR channels are distinguished electrophysiolgically via voltage-dependent block by (and eventual permeation of) endogenous intracellular polyamines that confers biphasic rectification on an otherwise linear I–V relationship (Bahring et al. 1997). CP-AMPARs also are blocked by exogenous extracellular polyamines such as philanthotoxin (Washburn et al. 1997). Ca2+ permeability and polyamine sensitivity typically go hand in hand, but a paper in this issue of The Journal of Physiology reports CP-AMPARs in rat retinal interneurons that are insensitive to philanthotoxin (Osswald et al. 2007). The expression of these receptors coincides with eye opening and is delayed by rearing animals in darkness, suggesting that they may participate in a critical phase of retinal development.

Functional CP-AMPARs are detected using cobalt staining and electrophysiology. Cobalt permeates CP-AMPARs and so fills cells expressing activated receptors. Following exposure to cobalt and glutamate, retinas were fixed according to a protocol that rendered cobalt-positive horizontal and amacrine cells a deep orange. Particularly strong staining was observed in AII amacrine cells, glycinergic interneurons known to express CP-AMPARs. Cobalt staining was not induced by membrane depolarization in the absence of glutamate and was unaffected by NMDAR and metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) antagonists but was abolished by AMPAR antagonists, including philanthotoxin. During the third postnatal week, around the time of eye opening (∼P14), cobalt staining persisted, but philanthotoxin sensitivity disappeared in horizontal cells and was reduced in AII cells, particularly in processes ramifying in the outer portion of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), where synapses transmitting 'OFF' visual signals are made. AII cells, but not horizontal cells, recovered philanthotoxin sensitivity 2 weeks later. Decreased philanthotoxin sensitivity did not occur in dark-reared animals, suggesting that light-induced activity may trigger the change.

Interestingly, voltage clamp recordings of spontaneous synaptic currents in AII cells also reflected the transient disappearance of philanthotoxin sensitivity. This, together with the morphological data described above, would suggest that most spontaneous activity in AIIs arises at synapses in the 'OFF' region of the IPL. This is a bit surprising, as most synapses onto AIIs are made by rod bipolar cells (RBCs) in the ON region, and spontaneous events in AIIs are indistinguishable from evoked quantal events from RBCs (Singer et al. 2004).

The molecular mechanism underlying this peculiar developmental switch remains unknown, but the authors propose the possibility of a novel AMPAR subtype (or novel RNA editing of known subunits), a reasonable suggestion given that other glutamate receptors (e.g. mGluR6) and transporters (e.g. EAAT5) appear unique to the retina. The functional impact of these philanthotoxin-insensitive CP-AMPARs also remains to be determined. Relief of polyamine sensitivity could change postsynaptic responsivity to patterns of synaptic input (Rozov & Burnashev, 1999) during a time when excitatory synaptic connections with bipolar cells are first being established (Horsburgh & Sefton, 1987). Alternatively, the authors suggest that these receptors may act as temporary molecular cues to direct formation of synaptic connections within specific sublaminae of the IPL, a critical step in the proper wiring of ON and OFF visual pathways.


The problem of stochastic convex optimization with bandit feedback (in the learning community) or without knowledge of gradients (in the optimization community) has received much attention in recent years, in the form of algorithms and performance upper bounds. However, much less is known about the inherent complexity of these problems, and there are few lower bounds in the literature, especially for nonlinear functions. In this paper, we investigate the attainable error/regret in the bandit and derivative-free settings, as a function of the dimension d and the available number of queries T. We provide a precise characterization of the attainable performance for strongly-convex and smooth functions, which also imply a non-trivial lower bound for more general problems. Moreover, we prove that in both the bandit and derivative-free setting, the required number of queries must scale at least quadratically with the dimension. Finally, we show that on the natural class of quadratic functions, it is possible to obtain a "fast" O(1/T) error rate in terms of T, under mild assumptions, even without having access to gradients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such rate in a derivative-free stochastic setting, and holds despite previous results which seem to imply the contrary.


Nonlinear continuum mechanics is commonly used to study the response of highly de- formable materials. Nowadays, the proposed material models often include internal ma- terial variables in order to capture realistic engineering behavior. The theoretical back- ground is mature and its implementation in the frame of nite element method is well established. Solely, these material constitutive models are expressed in terms of defor- mation gradient F, its derived quantities, and various multiplicative decompositions such as F = ^F F (1) This multiplicative decomposition serves to pertain particular portions of F to specic parts of the material response. The usual scheme is then that ^F models elastic response and it is associated to the rules of variational calculus. The F portion then models inelastic response, usually by means of a time dependent evolution law. Recently, the arguments of variational calculus have been applied to both portions of the deformation gradient decomposition for incompressible hyperelastic material [1]. The decomposition itself is then determined by an additional internal balance equation that is generated by such a variational treatment. The internally balanced compressible hyperelastic material response is presented in [2]. Fundamental studies of this type are key to better physics-based modeling of complex biomechanical processes in soft tissue, including long time scale processes of growth, and short time scale processes of wound healing. The FE formulation of this internal balance multiplicative decomposition is naturally achieved by linearizing the weak form that is obtained by the variation with respect to both portions of the multiplicative decomposition. In this work, we would like to present the Updated Lagrange Formulation. This formulation will be implemented into com- mercial nite element package FEAP that will facilitate in future studying engineering application in the eld of biomechanics. The correctness of implementation will be ex- amined by simulating homogeneous deformations such as uniaxial loading, dilatation and simple shear. References [1] H. Demirkoparan, T. J. Pence, and H. Tsai. Hyperelastic internal balance by multi- plicative decomposition of the deformation gradient. Archive for Rational Mechanics and Analysis, 2014. DOI: 10.1007/s00205-014-0770-9. [2] A. Hadoush, H. Demirkoparan, and T.J. Pence. Modeling of soft materials via mul- tiplicative decomposition of deformation gradient. In USNCTAM, 2014.


Although real currency appreciations pose direct difficulties for exporters and import-competing firms as they will face more intense competition, is it possible that such competition spurs firms to improve productivity? To answer this question, the paper first constructs a theoretical model to show how the competitive pressures of currency appreciations induce firms to improve productivity by adopting new technologies. In addition, the model predicts that during appreciations there will be a positive relation between market concentration and improvements in productivity for industries highly exposed to trade, because the marginal benefits of productivity improvement will be bigger for firms with a larger market share. The paper then examines Canadian manufacturing data from 1997 to 2006, and finds evidence consistent with model predictions. I find that growth rates of labor productivity were on average higher during the Canadian dollar appreciation between 2002 and 2006, after controlling for industry characteristics. Within the group of highly traded Canadian industries, the more concentrated ones experienced larger growth in labor productivity.


Constant-temperature hot-film anemometry measurements in a two-layer system of a silicone fluid layer over a magnetic fluid layer has been investigated. Complicating factors potentially affecting the measurements were very slow velocities, the unusually high thermal conductivity of the magnetic liquid, the vicinity of solid boundaries, the presence of the interface, and the possibility of magneto-convection in addition to natural convection. All these factors required a calibration procedure combining both experimental calibration and a set of numerical models of the system. The findings obtained during the calibration were that neither natural convection nor magneto-convection were adversely affecting the measurements, probably due to the effects of the solid boundaries and the interface. It was furthermore observed that the fluid interface resulted in an effect analogous to the near-wall effect, but deformations of the interface due to the sensor or its mounting prevented measurements close to the boundary. Spatial variation of the fluid velocities affected the calibration of the sensor noticeably. While a simple calibration, either by moving the probe or by assuming a uniform velocity, can give a qualitatively reasonable velocity profile, it will quantitatively deviate significantly from the true velocities.


Myosin II mutant Dictyostelium amoebae crawl more slowly than wild-type cells. Thus, myosin II must contribute to amoeboid locomotion. We propose that contractile forces generated by myosin II help the cell's rear edge to detach from the substratum and retract, allowing the cell to continue forward. To test this hypothesis, we measured the speed of wild-type and myosin II null mutant Dictyostelium cells on surfaces of varying adhesivity. As substratum adhesivity increased, the speed of myosin II null mutant cells decreased substantially compared to wild-type cells, suggesting that the mutant is less able to retract from sticky surfaces. Furthermore, interference reflection microscopy revealed a myosin-II-dependent contraction in wild-type but not null mutant cells that is consistent with a balance of adhesive and contractile forces in retraction. Although myosin II null mutant cells have a defect in retraction, pseudopod extension does not cause the cells to become elongated on sticky surfaces. This suggests a mechanism, based possibly on cytoskeletal tension, for regulating cell shape in locomotion. The tension would result from the transmission of tractional forces through the cytoskeletal network, providing the myosin II null mutant with a limited means of retraction and cell division on a surface.


Hypervisors use software switches to steer packets to and from virtual machines (VMs). These switches frequently need upgrading and customization—to support new protocol headers or encapsulations for tunneling and overlays, to improve measurement and debugging features, and even to add middlebox-like functions. Software switches are typically based on a large body of code, including kernel code, and changing the switch is a formidable undertaking requiring domain mastery of network protocol design and developing, testing, and maintaining a large, complex codebase. Changing how a software switch forwards packets should not require intimate knowledge of its implementation. Instead, it should be possible to specify how packets are processed and forwarded in a high-level domain-specific language (DSL) such as P4, and compiled to run on a software switch. We present PISCES, a software switch derived from Open vSwitch (OVS), a hard-wired hypervisor switch, whose behavior is customized using P4. PISCES is not hard-wired to specific protocols; this independence makes it easy to add new features. We also show how the compiler can analyze the high-level specification to optimize forwarding performance. Our evaluation shows that PISCES performs comparably to OVS and that PISCES programs are about 40 times shorter than equivalent changes to OVS source code.


We present a collated set of interaction cross sections for positrons in water, and study how the choice of ionisation energy sharing and of anisotropy in elastic cross sections influences low-energy spatial transport. A Monte Carlo code has been developed to model the transport of a beam of positrons injected at 60 eV into water, in which we compare several ionisation energy sharing models, and also vary the anisotropic scattering behaviour for elastic collisions. While the cross sections are primarily applicable to water vapour, we have investigated the inclusion of coherent elastic scattering which is present in liquid water. We present comparative profiles of positron number density, energy deposition, positronium formation, and secondary electron generation. Anisotropic scattering can increase radial diffusion by a factor of two, and a similar effect occurs as a result of coherent elastic scattering, though only at energies below the positronium formation threshold. The results emphasise the need for detailed knowledge of scattering cross sections that are differential in both scattering angles and energy transfer.


AIMS To determine the benefits and toxicity of different corticosteroid regimes in preventing relapse in steroid responsive nephrotic syndrome. DESIGN Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. SUBJECTS Twelve trials involving 868 children aged 3 months to 18 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Frequency of relapse. RESULTS A meta-analysis of five trials, which compared two months of prednisone with three months or more in the first episode, showed that the longer duration significantly reduced the risk of relapse at 12–24 months (relative risk 0.73; 95% confidence interval 0.60 to 0.89) without an increase in adverse events. There was an inverse linear relation (relative risk 1.382 (SE 0.215) − 0.133 (SE 0.048) duration;r 2 = 0.66; p = 0.05) between the duration of treatment and risk of relapse. CONCLUSIONS Children in their first episode of steroid responsive nephrotic syndrome should be treated with prednisone for at least three months, with an increase in benefit being shown for up to seven months of treatment.


Despite great ethnic and racial diversity, ethnicity in Brazil is often portrayed as a matter of black or white, a distinction reinforced by the ruling elite's efforts to craft the nation's identity in its own image—white, Christian, and European. In Negotiating National Identity Jeffrey Lesser explores the crucial role ethnic minorities from China, Japan, North Africa, and the Middle East have played in constructing Brazil's national identity, thereby challenging dominant notions of nationality and citizenship.

Employing a cross-cultural approach, Lesser examines a variety of acculturating responses by minority groups, from insisting on their own whiteness to becoming ultra-nationalists and even entering secret societies that insisted Japan had won World War II. He discusses how various minority groups engaged in similar, and successful, strategies of integration even as they faced immense discrimination and prejudice. Some believed that their ethnic heritage was too high a price to pay for the "privilege" of being white and created alternative categories for themselves, such as Syrian-Lebanese, Japanese-Brazilian, and so on. By giving voice to the role ethnic minorities have played in weaving a broader definition of national identity, this book challenges the notion that elite discourse is hegemonic and provides the first comprehensive look at Brazilian worlds often ignored by scholars.

Based on extensive research, Negotiating National Identity will be valuable to scholars and students in Brazilian and Latin American studies, as well as those in the fields of immigrant history, ethnic studies, and race relations.


Background Cottage Hospice is a new model of end-of-life service with care provided mainly by family caregivers and volunteers. An ageing demographic and increasing sector costs require innovative service delivery designs. This new service offers more choice, but could be viewed as a threat to existing hospice care, de-professionalising death and reducing specialist provision. Aims To use participatory action research (PAR) to evaluate the development of Cottage Hospice from inception to opening and to disseminate the knowledge gained to inform service innovation in the sector. Methods An embedded researcher implemented a PAR research approach in a UK hospice over 29 months. Documentary analysis was conducted using strategic records, internal meeting minutes, press releases and other written materials (n=120+). Semi-structured interviews (participants: n=36) captured stakeholder views on process and progress over time. A series of action cycles led by a Core Action Group identified key areas for solution focussed change. A patient and carer advisory panel contributed to data analysis. Results Participants struggled to envisage the nature of Cottage Hospice and its interactions with existing hospice services and the local healthcare economy. Stakeholder views varied. Some saw the development as an intermediate option between 'traditional' hospice care and death at home. Others welcomed the creative potential of a concept disruptive of the status quo, while some feared it might reduce the quality of end-of-life care, as a trade-off for cost-savings. Conclusion While once at the leading edge of innovation in UK palliative care, hospices have become an established cornerstone of end-of-life provision. Innovation may be welcomed, but can also give rise to confusion and concern among users of hospice care and the hospice workforce alike. As such, careful management of change, robust communication systems and 'buy in' from stakeholders at all levels will be needed.


This research background by the emergence of competition between
brands of the old with the emergence of new brands. Specifically, this study
attempts to maintain Pocari Sweat market leader. The research problem is "how
to leverage brand equity on consumer purchasing decisions isotonic drink Pocari
Sweat brand? '. This study specifically to examine the elements of brand equity
consists of brand awareness, brand associations and perceived quality. The
purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the four elements of brand
equity is the Consumer purchasing decisions on products isotoni brand Pocari
Sweat drinks.
After a literature review and preparation of hypotheses, data were
collected through questionnaire method on the 100 respondents who had
conducted a purchase decision on the product brand Pocari Sweat. While the
population of respondents is presented in this study were students of the Faculty
of Economics and Business, University of Diponegoro. While sampling studies
using accidental sampling technique. Then the analysis of data obtained using
quantitative and qualitative analysis.
The data that meet the test validity, test reliability and test classical
assumption is processed to produce a regression equation as follows:
Y = 0.279 X1 + 0,330 X2 + 0,252 X3
Where the buying decision variable (Y), Brand Awareness (X1), Brand
Association (X2) and Perceived Quality (X3). Testing the hypothesis using the F
test showed that the four independent variables studied together proved a
significant effect on the dependent variable. Then through the t-test can be seen
that brand awareness, brand associations and perceived quality. shown to
significantly influence the purchasing decisions partially. Figures Adjusted R
Square of 0.512 indicates that 51,2 percent of purchase decisions variation can be
explained by the four independent variables in the regression equation. The
remaining 48,8 percent described other variables outside the four variables used
in this study.


Frozen green plants (Chlorella) carry out a photoreaction which can be assayed by measuring the light produced when the sample is heated. Heating at a rate of several degrees per second gives a measurable signal which shows that green plants can store energy at very low temperatures. The absorption cross section for the unit which carries out the photoreaction is several hundred times larger than that for one chlorophyll molecule, an indication that these are the "photosynthetic units" of photosynthesis.


Gold-silver alloy Au(x)Ag(1-x) is an important class of functional materials promising new applications across a wide array of technological fields. In this paper, we report a fast and facile synthetic protocol for preparation of highly monodisperse Au(x)Ag(1-x) alloy nanoparticles in the size range of 3-6 nm. The precursors employed in this work are M(I)-alkanethiolates (M = Au and Ag), which can be easily prepared by mixing common chemicals such as HAuCl(4) or AgNO(3) with alkanethiols at room temperature. In this half-seeding approach, one of the M(I)-alkanethiolates is first heated and reduced in oleylamine solvent, and freshly formed metal clusters will then act as premature seeds on which both the first and second metals (from M(I)-alkanethiolates, M = Au and Ag) can grow accordingly without additional nucleation and thus achieve high monodispersity for product alloy nanoparticles. Unlike in other prevailing methods, both Au and Ag elements present in these solid precursors are in the same monovalent state and have identical supramolecular structures, which may lead to a more homogeneous reduction and complete interdiffusion at elevated reaction temperatures. When the M(I)-alkanethiolates are reduced to metallic forms, the detached alkanethiolate ligands will serve as capping agent to control the growth. More importantly, composition, particle size, and optical properties of Au(x)Ag(1-x) alloy nanoparticles can be conveniently tuned with this approach. The optical limiting properties of the prepared particles have also been investigated at 532 and 1064 nm using 7 ns laser pulses, which reveals that the as-prepared alloy nanoparticles exhibit outstanding broadband optical limiting properties with low thresholds.


A highly accurate client-independent geolocation service stands to be an important goal for the Internet. Despite an extensive research effort and significant advances in this area, this goal has not yet been met. Motivated by the fact that the best results to date are achieved by utilizing additional 'hints' beyond inherently inaccurate delay-based measurements, we propose a novel geolocation method that fundamentally escalates the use of external information. In particular, many entities (e.g., businesses, universities, institutions) host their Web services locally and provide their actual geographical location on their Web-sites. We demonstrate that the information provided in this way, when combined with network measurements, represents a precious geolocation resource. Our methodology automatically extracts, verifies, utilizes, and opportunistically inflates such Web-based information to achieve high accuracy. Moreover, it overcomes many of the fundamental inaccuracies encountered in the use of absolute delay measurements. We demonstrate that our system can geolocate IP addresses 50 times more accurately than the best previous system, i.e., it achieves a median error distance of 690 meters on the corresponding data set.


The spectroscopic and thermal properties of the trivalent neodymium doped YAG ceramic polycrystal line are analyzed in detail and cw operation of a diode-pumped microchip laser is reported. Strong absorption coefficient at 808 nm and large thermal conductivity are realized in the highly Nd-doped YAG ceramic polycrystal line. Up to 122 mW output power 24.5% slope efficiency was obtained on the 4.8 at.% Nd-doped YAG ceramic microchip laser, which corresponded to four times enhancement of the 0.9 at.% Nd:YAG single crystal microchip laser.


AT THE END OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, Asia is entering a new era. The sudden, unexpected end of the Cold War, the rise of Japan as a regional and global economic superpower, the long delayed emergence of China into the global system, and the economic dynamism of the Asia Pacific region are creating a new distribution of economic and political power and raising a new set of issues affecting the fundamental structure of international relations in the region. Above all, these developments raise issues for the US-Japan relationship. For nearly a half century this relationship, encompassing the bilateral security pact and the growth of economic interdependence between the two countries, has been the cornerstone of international relations in Asia. The organizational structure of regional politics in Asia has experienced two great transformations in this century. Both transformations came at the end of World Wars, both were achieved through US leadership, and both shaped the fundamental nature of US-Japan relations for succeeding decades. Both, however, ultimately failed to integrate Japan into a regional structure of international relations. The first transformation in regional politics, which came about after World War I, destroyed the imperialist balance of power in East Asia. At the Washington Conference of 1921-1922, the United States sought to reorganize the region on the basis of Wilsonian principles and to constrain the Japanese rise to preeminence. Skeptical from the start, the Japanese soon broke out of these constraints and sought to revise the regional order. The second great structural transformation in the Pacific was the establishment of the Pax Americana after World War II. Having eliminated the Japanese challenge, the United States sought to prevent the Soviet Union from achieving total hegemony in East Asia through strategies of containment and deterrence that entailed the forward deployment of US forces, the organization of a complex system of collective security arrangements, and massive aid and development programs designed to stabilize the region and promote democratic politics. Again, in this structure of Asian politics, Japan was not satisfactorily integrated. By its own choice, under a policy which I have called the Yoshida Doctrine, Japan declined to join in a Pacific counterpart of NATO which John Foster Dulles proposed in 1950. Instead, Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida chose to interpret the Japanese constitution as prohibiting participation in collective self-defense and set the nation's course on the narrowly focused pursuit of economic development. Avoiding any collective security commitments in Asia became a central tenet of post war Japanese foreign policy. Yoshida and his successors built an elaborate set of policies to prevent Japan from being drawn into any overseas commitments, thus sharply limiting its positive commitments to the Cold War effort in Asia. The Americans readily acquiesced to these policies because of a deep ambivalence and distrust of the prospect of Japanese rearmament. Yoshida's strategy of economic nationalism had many successes, but in the long run it also had major drawbacks. It created a political-economic system in which economic bureaucrats working cooperatively with business guided the country's policies to achieve long-term economic goals, but it left the country unprepared to deal with the political consequences of this newly acquired economic power. The Gulf War was the first international crisis of the post-Cold War era, and the Japanese leadership was wholly unprepared to deal with the new context of its foreign policy. The storm of international criticism that greeted the grudging financial support Japan gave the UN-sanctioned coalition stunned Japanese politicians. Protests of constitutional inhibitions were no longer persuasive for a country of such economic power and prominence and so dependent on Middle Eastern oil. The end of the Cold War requires a new definition of security in the Pacific that takes into account the changed distribution of economic and political power in the region and identifies new institutions to manage this new situation. …


Rational verification involves checking which temporal logic properties hold of a concurrent and multiagent system, under the assumption that agents in the system choose strategies in game theoretic equilibrium. Rational verification can be understood as a counterpart of model checking for multiagent systems, but while model checking can be done in polynomial time for some temporal logic specification languages such as CTL, and polynomial space with LTL specifications, rational verification is much more intractable: it is 2EXPTIME-complete with LTL specifications, even when using explicit-state system representations.  In this paper we show that the complexity of rational verification can be greatly reduced by restricting specifications to GR(1), a fragment of LTL that can represent most response properties of reactive systems. We also provide improved complexity results for rational verification when considering players' goals given by mean-payoff utility functions -- arguably the most widely used quantitative objective for agents in concurrent and multiagent systems. In particular, we show that for a number of relevant settings, rational verification can be done in polynomial space or even in polynomial time.


The objective of Universal Multimedia Access (UMA) is to permit any user equipped with whatever device the access to multimedia information. To handle the problems of UMA, two different approaches are commonly used: store variations of the same content and send the most appropriate one, and store the original content and adapt it on-the-fly. In this project a UMA environment using a mixture of both approaches is proposed. The tools allowing to reach this goal are: an Annotation Tool which describes media using MPEG-7, and a Client-Server Application that takes all the steps for the browsing and retrieval of media. After an overview of the designed UMA system, the function of the MPEG-7 annotation tool is explained. In particular, a descriptor list for content annotation is proposed. These descriptors are meant for content as well as for media feature description. The client-server application is then explained. Particular insight is given into the handling of user preferences and device capabilities. Finally, the UMA environment is tested on a Personal Computer simulating diverse devices and users. These tests show that the system behaves as expected and that possible extensions and improvements can be added.


"Increasing use of herbal products in recent years demand further studies relating to their safety and efficacy. Since cytochrome P450 enzymes play a major role in drug metabolism, studying their interactions with herbal extracts would be an important step in this direction. In the current study, Echinacea purpurea root and Spilanthes acmella whole flowering plant extracts were tested against CYP2C9, CYP1A2, CYP2A6 and CYP2E1. Both Echinacea and Spilanthes showed moderate inhibition against CYP2C9 while they both failed to show any inhibition towards CYP1A2. Echinacea showed moderate inhibition against both CYP2A6 and CYP2E1 but raw Spilanthes extract did not show any interaction with CYP2A6. It showed mild inhibition of CYP2E1 when used in high concentration. Isobutyl amides, known to be the only bioavailable components of Echinacea and Spilanthes were tested for their ability to inhibit CYP2E1. The four isobutyl amides present in major proportions in the ethanolic preparation of Echinacea purpurea root were isolated and shown to be potent inhibitors of CYP2E1. Spilanthol, the only major isobutyl amide found in the ethanolic preparation of Spilanthes acmella whole flowering plant was isolated and it showed strong inhibitory properties against CYP2E1."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.


Research on environmental justice in authoritarian regimes, and in particular on how transnational networks support problem framing and claims-making in the absence of state-led democratic participation instances, is limited. This article uses the case of untreated wastewater from a steel mill owned by Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group, which caused mass fish deaths along coastal provinces in Vietnam in 2016, to explore how civic groups and local communities problematize official accounts of events and engage with transnational networks to make claims to environmental injustice. The paper highlights local narratives about the adverse impacts of the disaster on residents' livelihoods and wellbeing, controversies over the causes of and responsibility for the disaster, and the role of transnational alliances with Taiwan in sustaining and magnifying claims to injustice. We argue that viewing issues such as the Formosa steel incident through a transnational environmental justice lens illuminates the effect of global and national processes of economic reform in shaping uneven environmental and social impacts from new infrastructure developments. We also argue that thinking in terms of transnational networks can make sense of the spaces which can emerge for claims-making in authoritarian contexts, where democratic participation instances and access to knowledge may be restricted.


The significance of Roman law for the evolution of international law is an issue as complex as it is contentious. It has two main dimensions: the continuity between Roman 'international law' and that of later times and the impact of Roman private law on the further development of international law. As several legal historians and international lawyers of the 20th century - among whom Hersch Lauterpacht is foremost - have indicated, this historical debate is overshadowed by concerns about current international law. In this article, the works of four Anglo-American historians of international law from the 19th century are analysed in relation to Roman law. These early historians of international law all viewed the question of the Roman contribution to modern international law in terms of their understanding of that law. As was the case during the 20th century, and as Lauterpacht had claimed, the discussion on Roman law reflected the great debate between positivists and naturalists. Of course, each waged the debate in the terms of his day and age. None of these authors reduced international law to the positive public international law of the 19th century, based upon the sovereign state. None of them was over-concerned with consensualism and voluntarism, at least not directly. The central issue was the other one Lauterpacht had forwarded: the question whether States were subjected to the same morals and laws as individuals.


Changes in animal movement and behaviour at fine scales (tens of metres) in immediate proximity to tidal stream turbine structures are largely unknown and have implications for risks of animal collision with turbine blades. This study used upward-facing multibeam echosounder data to detect and track animal movement comprising fish, diving seabirds, and marine mammals. Measurements over spring-neap tidal cycles at a turbine structure (no blades present) are compared to a neighbouring reference area with no structure and comparable conditions, with measurements consecutive in time to maximize comparability.
 The majority of tracked animals (93.4% around turbine structure and 99.1% without turbine structure) were observed swimming against the flow, with 87.5% and 97.8%, respectively, making ground and showing capability of manoeuvring in tidal stream flow speeds. Track tortuosity increased around the turbine structure compared to the reference site, particularly in the wake and at low flow speeds, indicating animal station-holding or milling behaviour. These data also evidence the benefits of multibeam echosounders to measure animal movement through larger measurement volumes rather than relying on single-beam echosounders to measure animal presence alone, including to avoid large biases overestimating the size of schools swimming against the flow measured by time-in-beam.


This account covers the chemistry of alkynyl silyl sulfides and their use as substitutes for aldothioketenes. In contrast to the latter heterocumulenes, which can only be prepared and used in
situ, many alkynyl silyl sulfides are stable at room temperature. Exceptions are bissilylated derivatives that are capable of rearranging to form the corresponding thioketenes. This reaction is promoted thermally or by the addition of silyl-accepting Lewis bases, but is suppressed by bulky S-silyl substituents. The reactivity of the highly electrophilic alkynyl silyl sulfides is comparable to that of the corresponding ketenes and thioketenes. Nucleophiles usually add to the alkyne α-carbon atoms to give, after desilylation, thiocarbonyl compounds. Particularly useful are the reactions with amines, imines, or ynamines, which give thioamides, β-thiolactams, and cyclobutenethiones,
respectively. These transformations proceed under mild conditions and provide access to derivatives that could not previously be prepared by classical means. The scope of the [2+2]-
cycloaddition reaction with imines to give β-thiolactams can be expanded by using Lewis acid catalysts, particularly zinc iodide. The mechanism of this reaction has been elucidated by careful characterization of byproducts. Further modifications of the β-thiolactams prepared by this methodology are also described. Reactions of alkynyl silyl sulfides with cyclic imines lead to bicyclic systems that can be considered as thio analogues of the core structures of β-lactam antibiotics. However, there is a competition from the ringexpansion reaction to form seven-membered thiolactams and dithiolactones.


This article describes a relationship between legitimacy building and learning for a new firm in a nascent industry. Through a longitudinal study of a new firm in the nascent smart city industry, we found that the firm failed to make progress on important internal initiatives, despite notable external successes including attracting prestigious employees, partnering with well-known companies, and receiving extensive positive media attention. Exploring these concurrent developments, we discovered a surprising relationship between the firm's external successes and its internal failures. We propose that the legitimacy building that helped the new firm establish external success gave rise to cognitive and emotional internal dynamics that inhibited organizational learning. We call this dynamic the advocacy trap. By suggesting a downside to legitimacy building and identifying a novel barrier to organizational learning—rooted in cognition and emotion, and especially salient in new firms and nascent industries—our...


This review deals with two essential plant mineral nutrients, iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P); the acquisition of both has important environmental and economic implications. Both elements are abundant in soils but are scarcely available to plants. To prevent deficiency, dicot plants develop physiological and morphological responses in their roots to specifically acquire Fe or P. Hormones and signalling substances, like ethylene, auxin and nitric oxide (NO), are involved in the activation of nutrient-deficiency responses. The existence of common inducers suggests that they must act in conjunction with nutrient-specific signals in order to develop nutrient-specific deficiency responses. There is evidence suggesting that P- or Fe-related phloem signals could interact with ethylene and NO to confer specificity to the responses to Fe- or P-deficiency, avoiding their induction when ethylene and NO increase due to other nutrient deficiency or stress. The mechanisms responsible for such interaction are not clearly determined, and thus, the regulatory networks that allow or prevent cross talk between P and Fe deficiency responses remain obscure. Here, fragmented information is drawn together to provide a clearer overview of the mechanisms and molecular players involved in the regulation of the responses to Fe or P deficiency and their interactions.


Purpose: This prospective study reports on a new technique, namely precise safety decompression via double percutaneous lumbar foraminoplasty (DPLF) and percutaneous endoscopic lumbar decompression (PELD) for lateral lumbar spinal canal (LLSC) stenosis, and its short-term clinical outcomes.Methods: The study analyzed 69 patients with single-level LLSC stenosis simultaneously occurring in both zones 1 and 2 (defined as retrodiscal space and upper bony lateral recess respectively by new LLSC classification) who underwent DPLF–PELD from November 2018 to April 2019. Clinical outcomes were evaluated according to preoperative, three months postoperatively, and last follow-up, via leg pain/low back pain (LBP) visual analog scale (VAS) scores, Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores, and the Macnab criteria. The postoperative MRI and CT were used to confirm the complete decompression, and flexion-extension x-rays at the last follow-up were used to observe lumbar stability.Results: All patients successfully underwent DPLF–PELD, and the stenosis was completely decompressed, confirmed by postoperative MRI and CT. The mean follow-up duration was 13 months (range: 8–17 months). The mean preoperative leg pain VAS score is 7.05 ± 1.04 (range 5–9), which decreased to 1.03 ± 0.79(range: 0–3) at three months postoperatively and to 0.75 ± 0.63 (range: 0–2) by the last follow-up visit(p < 0.05). The mean preoperative ODI was 69.8 ± 9.05 (range: 52–85), which decreased to 20.3 ± 5.52 (range: 10–35) at the third month postoperatively and to 19.6 ± 5.21 (range: 10–34) by the final follow-up visit(p < 0.05). The satisfactory (excellent or good) results were 94.2%. There was one patient with aggravated symptoms, which were relieved after an open surgery. Two patients had a dural tear, and two patients suffered postoperative LBP. No recurrence or segmental instability was observed at the final follow-up.Conclusion: DPLF–PELD could be a good alternative for the treatment of LLSC stenosis patients whose stenosis occurred in both zones 1 and 2.


Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease is an important cause of death and possibly transplant rejection in kidney transplant (KT) patients. This study was conducted to investigate the incidence and risk factors of CMV disease in kidney transplant patients. Methods: All end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who underwent kidney transplantation during 1998-2014 and their donors were assessed. All samples were followed-up for approximately 70 months. CMV was identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or PP65 antigen in peripheral blood leukocytes along with clinical manifestations. Results: A total of 1450 cases participated in the current study. CMV was diagnosed in 178 out of 725 (24.6%) kidney recipients. The annual incidence of CMV disease was 4.2%. Patients older than 40 years had a higher incidence of CMV disease. The level of CMV disease incidence in the 41-60 age group was 4 fold compared to those under 20 of age group (P=0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the incidence of CMV disease in our region is relatively low and also age more than 40 years and EBV infection are the important risk factors in kidney transplant patients. So care and monitoring of these patients are crucial in the first 5 months.


"An Introduction to Art Education," by Professor William G. Vllhitford, is more than its title betrays, It is really I handbook or guidebook covering eterYthing in school art teaching. it is invaluable fQf a new teacher who wants to know what to do; it is an encyclopedia for an experienced teacher who needs a reference hook. Not only does it describe courses but it goes into history, modern tendencies, needs of America, terminology, supervision! measurements, and a hundred other jIOb\ems in art education. E. Edward Newell, State Director of Art Education, Massachusetts, says it ~s a rich Cl!IItn'bution containing constructive, original thinking. Other well-known heads of art schools agree with this, Theauthor is supervisor of art courses in the Department of Education, Uni'lefSity of Chicago. • • Open Sesame READING TO LEARN. Introductory Book. By Gerald A. Yoakam, William C. Ba~ley and Pbilif' A. Knowlton. New York, Boston, C1icago>. Dallas.. San Francieco : The Macmillan Company. "Reading to Lcarn" is an informal ~r adapted to boys and R;irls in the wly middle grades, Muchof the book is devoted to opening the way to wider reading. The apters on Louisa AIcolt and :Mark Twain are illustrations of this importlilt phase. All the chapters were specially writlea for this text, and they bring topther much that will not only interest IlIe \lIIpil but contrihute greatly to his IIdtground. While no claim to svsllIaatic selection or completeness could '" I1Illde for a purely miscellaneous .-der, each chapter stands on its own Jlerits as to attention-holding qualities IIIlI worthwhileness of the fact. con~ Old schoolhouses, petrified -. bicycles, the human eye and the lip that help the blind-these are • random hints of what this educative IIIevolume contains. It may readily _ the hidden springs of intellectual -.rat in many boys and girls. Democracy's Workshop THE BUILDING OF OUR NATION. By Eugene C. Barker and Walter 1'. Webb, of the University of Texas, and Henry Steele Commager, New York University. Evanston, Illinois, New York City and .San Francisco; Row, Peterson and Company. History come. to life in "The BuildinA" of Our Nation,' It is a dvnarmc unfolding of events and movements that have really meant much in the shaping of our country as we find it today and as we shall see it tomorrow. . The arrangement of material is topical by units rather than chronological in the strict sense. Yet the order of events has been well preserved within each unit. -The text lends unusual clarity and coherence. The language, while dignified, is remarkably straight. forward and simple, and the teacher can he spared from having to exnlain abstruse statements. It -is decidedly one of those texts a pupil can understand and follow with spontaneous attention. It is his own America that he watches moving through the years from then to now. • •


Rural schools are vulnerable to imitating the reform standards of national and urban school. Urban schools, to which much of the research on current reform efforts has been directed, are not rural schools writ large. Neither are rural communities like urban neighborhood communities. Hodgkinson and Obarakpor (1994) declared "rural poverty is not the same as urban poverty in a different setting" (p. 2). Rather, the context of rural has its own set of community identifiers that make rural schools dramatically different from their metropolitan counterparts. The goals and purposes of schooling and educational renewal processes appropriate for urban and suburban schools may be inappropriate for rural schools. As aptly expressed by Theobald and Nachtigal (1995), "The work of the rural school is no longer to emulate the urban or suburban school, but to attend to its own place" (p. 132). Rural students face many challenges in gaining a sound education, but one of the advantages they have is that their schools are set in a community context that values a sense of place and offers a


Real Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System observations have become an increasing prevalent method of surveying in all forms of the surveying and spatial science industry. One area where the use of RTK raises particular concern is for cadastral surveying, where it has been realised by many parties that clarification is needed with regards to how RTK technology is to be used. These concerns stem from a lack of understanding about the capabilities and limitations of RTK and also how it should be used in regards to best practice recommendations. The aim of this dissertation is to substantiate the Surveyors Board of Queensland guideline regarding the use of RTK for cadastral surveys. This dissertation will aim to augment several key areas of the guideline; short line observation, referencing and minimum backsight lengths with empirically tested data that will determine how and when RTK is applicable for these applications and recommend the best practices to achieve these. The aims of the testing are to determine what is the minimum length of a short line RTK is capable of accurately observing, what is the minimum observable length of a backsight line to accurately orientate a survey and at what lengths can RTK be used to accurately observe reference marks. Testing of these elements will be conducted with regard to the survey standards' accuracy referenced in the guideline and also compare the accuracy results to the capabilities of a total station (as the conventional method of cadastral surveying). Because the best practices for the observation of these three elements is yet unknown, various methods will be employed to ascertain which method yields the most accurate and precise results.

The results of the testing conducted found answers to meet the aims of this dissertation but it also served to identify the impact errors and inaccuracies can have on the observations. It was found that observation bias in the RTK measurements significantly affected the results of the observations and caused these to appear potentially far worse than the results may actually be. Moreover it was found that RTK is not an appropriate means of referencing; the errors in the distance led to errors in the bearing of the line that were too great to accept based on the 95% confidence interval. The minimum backsight length required for an RTK observation to meet TS bearing accuracy was identified as 180m which is slightly shorter than the recommendations of the SBQ. It was found though that in difficult circumstances where accuracy may allowably be reduced for the use of RTK, the minimum backsight length was determined to be 120m, which is slightly longer than the SBQ recommendations. Both of these minimum lengths were only found to be possible when using the most rigorous observation methods where anything less would not suit. Finally it was found that RTK observations of significantly shorter lengths than recommended by the survey standards' (640m) and adopted by some jurisdictions (120m) could still achieve the survey standards' accuracy; it was found that the length fell to just 40m. This was found to be observable when using only moderately rigorous methods and would be easily repeatable. Considering the effect observation bias had on the results, several recommendations were made regarding how best to minimise this impact, as well as the recommendation that a 99% confidence interval should be used when analysing the capability of RTK as the standard 95% confidence interval potentially allows for too great a degree of uncertainty. The conclusion of this dissertation found that the aims were met and the instances where RTK is applicable for short line and referencing observations and the minimum observable backsight length was established.


Iron-chromium alloys are characterized by a complex phase diagram, by the small negative enthalpy of mixing at low Cr concentrations in the bcc -phase of Fe, and by the inversion of the short-range order parameter. We present Monte Carlo simulations of the binary Fe-Cr alloy based on the cluster expansion approximation for the enthalpy of the system. The set of cluster expansion coefficients is validated against density functional calculations of energies of small clusters of chromium in bcc structure. We show that in the limit of small Cr concentration the enthalpy of mixing remains negative up to fairly high temperatures, and individual Cr atoms remain well separated from each other. Clustering of Cr atoms begins at concentrations exceeding approximately 10% at 800 K and 20% at 1400 K, with Cr-Fe interfaces being parallel to the 110 planes. Calculations show that the first and the second short-range order parameters change sign at approximately 10.5% Cr, in agreement with experimental observations. Semi-grand-canonical ensemble simulations used together with experimental data on vibrational entropy of mixing give an estimate for the temperature of the top of the - miscibility gap. We find that the complex ordering reactions occurring in Fe-Cr, as well as the thermodynamic properties of the alloy, can be reasonably well described using a few concentrationindependent cluster expansion coefficients.


We present a three-dimensional model of flow driven by pumping without valves (valveless pumping) in a closed loop system in which the closed loop of tubing is immersed in an incompressible viscous fluid. This closed tube consists of two parts, an open cylindrical soft tube and an open rigid tube, smoothly connected to one another. At an asymmetric location of the soft tube, a periodic compress-and-release action with a time delay between actions is taken to create a net flow. Numerical results show that the magnitude of average net flow and flow direction inside the tube depend on the pumping frequency, the amplitude of periodic forcing, the compression duration, the length of the soft tube, and the elastic properties of the tube. Fluid viscosity is also found to influence net flow. The immersed boundary method is used to investigate the interaction between the tube and the fluid and to study the valveless pumping mechanism. (A correction to the this article has been appended at the end of the pdf file.)


This paper investigates how volatility of characteristics-sorted portfolios respond to macroeconomic volatility based on Egyptian data covering the period July 2002-June 2015. The paper uses three characteristics, namely size, book-to-market ratio and financial leverage to sort the most active stocks into corresponding characteristics mimicking portfolios. We examine how volatility of single characteristic mimicking portfolios as well as double characteristics mimicking portfolios respond to volatility in macroeconomic variables. The results indicate that the money supply volatility is the dominant source of volatility for the characteristics-sorted portfolios, followed by the inflation volatility. Both investors and policy makers should consider the volatility of money more than the interest rate channel in rebalancing their portfolios and formulating policies. Arguably, the low-frequency volatility of many portfolios tend to decrease during periods of global financial crisis and political uncertainty post the Egyptian revolution in 2011.


This article examines whether the principles of full faith and credit require states to enforce other states' coercive equitable decrees to the same extent as judgments for money damages. In a recent decision, the Supreme Court held that a state court injunction barring a witness's testimony nationwide is not subject to full faith and credit elsewhere. Baker v. General Motors, 118 S. Ct. 657 (1998). This article suggests that both the Court's opinion and the two concurrences were unsatisfactory because the Court failed to address the key underlying issue of whether or to what extent courts may rely on state law to enjoin extraterritorial conduct. Much of this Article considers historical issues related to the extraterritorial jurisdiction of equity courts. It concludes that the issue will remain difficult to resolve unless some limitation is placed upon the longstanding view that state courts, under the guise of inherent equity power, may impose coercive orders that affect activity outside of that state. The concluding sections of the Article suggest three different approaches to resolution of the equity conflict, highlighting functional views of what the policy of preclusion should mean for the scope and effect of full faith and credit to equity decrees.


Summary The investigation reported was undertaken to determine the factors concerned in the low metastatic rate of a transplantable lymphoblastic lymphoma in the hamster. Tumor cells were found to be present in the blood stream on the 7th day after transplantation, but the great majority of animals lived for another month without the development of metastases. However, removal of the primary tumor on the 13th day of growth was followed by metastasis in all the animals so treated. Investigation indicated that the inhibitory influence exerted by the primary tumor was not directed against growth of the tumor cells but rather against their stromatization.


Members of the genus Malassezia are lipophilic basidiomycetous yeasts, which are part of the normal cutaneous microbiota of humans and other warm-blooded animals. Currently, this genus consists of 14 species that have been characterized by phenetic and molecular methods. Although several molecular methods have been used to identify and/or differentiate Malassezia species, the sequencing of the rRNA genes and the chitin synthase-2 gene (CHS2) are the most widely employed. There is little information about the β-tubulin gene in the genus Malassezia, a gene has been used for the analysis of complex species groups. The aim of the present study was to sequence a fragment of the β-tubulin gene of Malassezia species and analyze their phylogenetic relationship using a multilocus sequence approach based on two rRNA genes (ITS including 5.8S rRNA and D1/D2 region of 26S rRNA) together with two protein encoding genes (CHS2 and β-tubulin). The phylogenetic study of the partial β-tubulin gene sequences indicated that this molecular marker can be used to assess diversity and identify new species. The multilocus sequence analysis of the four loci provides robust support to delineate species at the terminal nodes and could help to estimate divergence times for the origin and diversification of Malassezia species.


Background: Naturally available extracts have gained importance as adjunctive pharmacologic modalities. The earthworm coelomic fluid (ECF) has shown promising in vitro cytotoxic effect in hepatocellular, colorectal, and breast cancers. Few in vitro studies have been performed pertaining to oral cancer. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the time- and dose-dependent antiproliferative effect of ECF of Eudrilus eugeniae (EE), Eisenia fetida (EF), and Perionyx excavatus (PE) on oral cancer cell line KB 3–1. The chemical nature of the ECF was analyzed as well. Materials and Methods: The ECF was collected employing the cold shock method. Lowry's protein estimation was used for determining the total protein content. ECF of EE, EF, and PE at concentration of 6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 μg/mL was tested on KB 3–1 cells in vitro. The 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide antiproliferative assay was used to determine the time- and dose-dependent antiproliferative effect. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was performed to separate and observe prominent protein bands in the three extracted fluids. The chemical nature of the band was analyzed through an enzyme zymography. Results: ECF of PE showed a maximum inhibitory percentage of 94.29% at 50 μg/mL, followed by ECF of EE and EF with values of 89.23% and 79.44%, respectively. ECF of EE showed a superior IC50 value of 3.70 μg/mL as compared to EF and PE at 48 h. Conclusion: ECF of EE has a promising antiproliferative effect in a time- and dose-dependent manner on oral squamous carcinoma KB 3–1 cells in vitro. The serine protease presence in ECF of EE was demonstrated. Abbreviations used: EFE: Earthworm fibrinolytic enzyme; BSA: Bovine serum albumin; DMSO: Dimethyl sulphoxide; ECF: Earthworm coelomic fluid; EE: Eudrilus eugeniae; EF: Eisenia fetida; PE: Perionyx excavatus; ELISA: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; FBS: Fetal bovine serum; IC: Inhibitory concentration; MEM: Minimal essential medium; MTT: 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide; NCCS: National Centre for Cell Science; NCI: National Cancer Institute; OD: Optical density; PBS: Phosphate-buffered saline; SDS-PAGE: Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; TEMED: Tetramethylethylenediamine.


The expansion of clinical nurse specialist posts
has subsequently seen a growth in programmes
developed to disseminate information from the
specialist nurse to general nurses. Usually there
is a nurse from each ward/locality allocated to
the programme who is then known as the link or
network nurse. The positive effects of link nurses
are reported as helping to improve communication �6
poster abstracts
between specialist teams and managers, introduce
new practices and potentially enhance patient care
(McKeeney (200�). However there is little published
evaluation on the perceptions of the link nurses as
to their role and impact or on the most effective
programme, with wide variations in existence
(Tinley, 2000; McKenney 200�).
The aim of this study was to explore the hospital
palliative care network nurses perceptions of the
role and programme in an acute hospital setting.
Method
A confidential descriptive survey was distributed
to all �1 palliative care network nurses via the
internal hospital mail system. �� questionnaires
were returned (80% response rate). The survey
contained both open and closed questions that
explored the impact of attending the network
programme. Data was analysed using descriptive
statistics. Open ended questions were analysed for
emerging themes.
Results and Discussion
The nurses reported the programme to be beneficial
in providing them with increased palliative care
knowledge. Support and networking opportunities were also identified. Additionally the personal
benefit of being a network nurse that included
an increased confidence and empowerment to
care for the dying patients and their families was
highlighted. This paper discusses the programme
and the findings from the study and suggestions
for further research are made.


Under our securities regime, investment advisers are considered to be fiduciaries, whereas broker-dealers are not. This historical divergence emerges from a combination of statute and federal common law: brokers were exempted from the definition of "investment adviser" in 1940, while the United States Supreme Court in 1963 declared the investment advisers to have fiduciary obligations. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), signed into law on July 21, 2010, effectively questions whether this bifurcation makes sense by asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to study this divergence and giving it statutory authority to make the standard of conduct of broker-dealers congruent with that of investment advisers when advising retail customers. The essay, structured in three parts, argues that though the new legislation represents a positive beginning, difficult work lies ahead. Part I suggests that there is much to applaud in the new legislation: it gives the SEC the authority to simplify and unify functionally similar financial services and thereby reduce investors' confusion; moreover, it gets beyond the conventional contractarian rhetoric to interpose fiduciary protections for investors. Part II addresses two objections to making broker-dealers subject to a fiduciary standard: that sales activities are not fiduciary in nature and that brokers also acting as dealers and underwriters will be in conflict with their customers. Neither of these concerns is sufficient to eschew the fiduciary standard. Finally, Part III outlines the two practical issues that must be confronted if the fiduciary standard is to protect investors: its definition and enforcement.


For dealing with the limitations and deficiencies of present wireless sensor network nodes, including poor flexibility, low degree of variability, low generality, Arduino development advantages are combined with ZigBee wireless communication technologies characteristics. The versatility and flexibility of wireless sensor network nodes and the cost and energy consumption of nodes are studied. First of all, ZigBee communication protocol and networking technology are studied, and based on this, communication protocols that the subjects need are designed. Secondly, the hardware system of ZigBee wireless sensor network node based on Arduino technology is discussed and designed. In addition, suitable Arduino development panel is selected in accordance with requirements of ZigBee wireless sensor network node. With the development panel as the design prototype, the circuit of functional module is designed. Thirdly, based on the wireless sensor network node communication protocol and hardware design, the software system of wireless sensor network node is designed and realized. The results showed that, through designing reasonable software working flow and compiling efficient information acquisition and wireless communication program, the intelligence orientation of node information acquisition and information transmission is achieved. In a word, it can be concluded that, combined with Arduino, a better function can be achieved.


The Sparse Vector Technique (SVT) is one of the most fundamental algorithmic tools in differential privacy (DP). It also plays a central role in the state-of-the-art algorithms for adaptive data analysis and model-agnostic private learning. In this paper, we revisit SVT from the lens of Renyi differential privacy, which results in new privacy bounds, new theoretical insight and new variants of SVT algorithms. A notable example is a Gaussian mechanism version of SVT, which provides better utility over the standard (Laplace-mechanism-based) version thanks to its more concentrated noise. Extensive empirical evaluation demonstrates the merits of Gaussian SVT over the Laplace SVT and other alternatives, which encouragingly suggests that using Gaussian SVT as a drop-in replacement could make SVT-based algorithms more practical in downstream tasks.


There is nothing quite like a big bang to focus minds, shatter prevalent myths and draw the attention of the whole world. With three big bangs on the afternoon of 11 May 1998, India - long suspected of being a nuclear weapons state - finally came out of the nuclear closet. Two days later, New Delhi tested two more nuclear devices, all of which was to eventually force Pakistan to follow suit. By blasting its way to self-proclaimed status as a nuclear power, India put a question mark over the widespread view that economic interdependence, globalization in the information age, and international co-operation will override traditional geopolitical concerns or military rivalries in the post-Cold War era. The tests challenged the myth that the world could live happily with the Big Five powers (the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China) armed to the teeth, while others could not. And they fundamentally altered the nuclear balance of power and undermined the global nuclear non-proliferation regime just when it seemed to be in the process of consolidation. India's nuclear tests marked an end not only to ambiguity and uncertainty about India's nuclear posture but also to a 34-year long debate by India's strategic community (which began soon after China exploded its first nuclear bomb in 1964) over the pros and cons of going nuclear. No other nuclear weapons state (NWS) had ever agonized for as long as India has over whether it should or should not be a nuclear power. There are two important questions in this context. Why did India publicly decide to go nuclear? And what are its implications? Rationale There were several reasons behind India's decision to blast its way into the exclusive nuclear weapons club. Those reasons are rooted in broad geopolitical issues and extend far beyond the narrow confines of the Indian subcontinent. Seen from New Delhi's perspective, these constituted compelling reasons for it to acquire nuclear weapons. The year 1995 marked a turning point in India's policy towards nuclear weapons. India had all along championed the goal of nuclear disarmament, as opposed to nuclear non-proliferation. For this reason, New Delhi refused to sign the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on the grounds that it perpetuated a "nuclear apartheid" of haves and have-nots, with the five haves failing to commit themselves to disarmament. From India's perspective, the indefinite and unconditional extension of the NPT in 1995, which divided the world permanently into the nuclear haves and the have-nots, demonstrated that the five NWSs - which also happened to be the five permanent members (P-5) of the United Nations Security Council - were unwilling to negotiate, in good faith, nuclear disarmament. Then came the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996 with its controversial "Entry Into Force" clause. This clause, inserted primarily at China's insistence, was strongly resisted by India, which required New Delhi to sign the CTBT by September 1999 or face the prospect of UN-imposed trade sanctions similar to the ones against Iraq. The utility of the CTBT lies in its ability to permanently freeze the perceived strategic and technological advantages of the NWSs while forever foreclosing the nuclear option to any other state. The discussions leading up to the CTBT shattered New Delhi's "misplaced hope in nuclear disarmament" in the post-Cold War world.(1) Wedged between a nuclear-armed China and a nuclear-capable Pakistan, India defended its right to build nuclear weapons on national security grounds. The NPT and CTBT were seen as "instruments of surrender" and "unequal treaties", accession to which would have amounted to relegating countries like India into the ranks of second-grade nations.(2) Confronted with the cruel choice of "use it or lose it" on the long-held nuclear option, India resolved to break out of the straitjacket stipulations of the CTBT and thereby end the monopoly of the five NWSs. …


BACKGROUND:Anterior communicating artery (A-comm) aneurysm is one of the most common intracranial aneurysms. Treatments include neurosurgical clipping or endovascular embolization. OBJECTIVE:To retrospectively examine the long-term results of Neuroform stent-assisted coil embolization of incidental A-comms, with a focus on stent-associated stenosis, long-term angiographic aneurysm occlusion outcome, delayed stent-related thromboembolus, subsequent subarachnoid hemorrhage from the treated aneurysm, and procedural complications. METHODS:Between January 7, 2003 and June 16, 2009, 44 Neuroform stents were placed as an adjunct to embolization of A-comms. Patient charts were reviewed retrospectively. Angiographic follow-up of at least 3 months (up to 6.5 years, mean 65 weeks) was available for 33 patients. Aneurysm occlusion success was determined using the Raymond classification for aneurysm remnants. RESULTS:Referencing the last angiogram in the follow-up course, complete occlusion, dog-ear residual, residual neck, and residual aneurysm were found in 24, 2, 3, and 4 patients, respectively. Stenosis (45% and asymptomatic) of the artery where the stent had been placed was found in 1 patient. One patient had delayed transient ischemic attack after dual antiplatelet therapy was stopped prematurely. Retreatment based on the presence of residual aneurysm was performed or recommended in 2 patients. In 2 patients with residual or recurrent aneurysm filling, their age or clinical condition did not warrant retreatment. CONCLUSION:Neuroform stent-assisted embolization provides long-term control of A-comms with a low incidence of aneurysm growth after treatment. The need for retreatment is uncommon, and retreatment is safe if performed. Subsequent bleeding from treated aneurysms was not observed in this study.


Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was living a learning crisis. Before the pandemic, 258 million children and youth of primary- and secondary-school age were out of school. And low schooling quality meant many who were in school learned too little. The Learning Poverty rate in low-and middle-income countries was 53 percent—meaning that over half of all 10-year-old children couldn't read and understand a simple age appropriate story. Even worse, the crisis was not equally distributed: the most disadvantaged children and youth had the worst access to schooling, highest dropout rates, and the largest learning deficits. All this means that the world was already far off track for meeting Sustainable Development Goal 4, which commits all nations to ensure that, among other ambitious targets, "all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education." The COVID-19 pandemic now threatens to make education outcomes even worse. The pandemic has already had profound impacts on education by closing schools almost everywhere in the planet, in the largest simultaneous shock to all education systems in our lifetimes. The damage will become even more severe as the health emergency translates into a deep global recession. These costs of crisis are described below. But it is possible to counter those shocks, and to turn crisis into opportunity. The first step is to cope successfully with the school closures, by protecting health and safety and doing what they can to prevent students' learning loss using remote learning. At the same time, countries need to start planning for school reopening. That means preventing dropout, ensuring healthy school conditions, and using new techniques to promote rapid learning recovery in key areas once students are back in school. As the school system stabilizes, countries can use the focus and innovativeness of the recovery period to "build back better." The key: don't replicate the failures of the pre-COVID systems, but instead build toward improved systems and accelerated learning for all students.


SAMANTHA IS A TENTH GRADER. She is 5'2'' tall and a little overweight. She has jet-black, chin-length hair, with a big shock of bangs hanging over her forehead, just a little past her eyes. Her most frequent gesture is brushing her bangs away in order to see. Last year Samantha went through a big life change: her parents got a divorce and her dad moved from Bellevue, Washington to Boston, Massachusetts. Her mom got to keep the house where they live with her two elementary school aged brothers and one preschool aged sister. Although the family is not short on money, her mom's arthritis makes it necessary for much of the housework to fall on Samantha's shoulders. There are two more things you should know about Samantha: she has dyslexia and depression. Her parents are smart people and see what she struggles with, so they've been good about arranging disability assistance at school for the dyslexia and getting treatment for depression. The hard part, however, seems to be finding the right medication for depression - typical teenagers' moods are always in flux, so trying to medicate to stabilize a "normal" feeling must be a moving target. Samantha's quiet, inexpressive face, hiding behind bangs, is what most people see. It is easy to dismiss her or take her for granted since she does nothing to draw attention to herself. However, when Samantha is in a musical, her whole body lights up. She smiles from ear to ear when she sings. She dances with the focus of an aspiring pro and practices her moves every spare minute. She delivers her lines with confidence in a clear tone and with excellent enunciation. Samantha isn't the kind of girl a typical youth theater director would cast, but she has found a home at Bellevue Youth Theatre. She has participated for years in the children's ensemble. Last fall she was given a role with some extra dancing and several extra lines. Over the winter, she was cast as a dancer in Singin' in the Rain. In the spring, they gave her a role as one of the Pink Ladies in Grease. She danced, sang, and acted in many of the scenes, and lit up like fireworks for every one of them. Bellevue Youth Theatre (BYT) is an uncommon performing arts organization, as it is one of the only free youth performing arts programs in the country. Its mission is to provide opportunities for all young people regardless of income or ability. The theater is exceptional in the way it serves youth, families, and people with disabilities, giving a role to everyone who auditions, encouraging all participants to develop skills, and focusing on building individuals' confidence and self-esteem. The theater also seeks opportunities to develop community by integrating volunteers and professionals from the surrounding area to create quality productions and educate participants in all aspects of theater. Jose is seventeen and has an over-the-top personality. He also sings well enough for professional theater, dances like a cast member from Glee, and acts with the confidence and flair worthy of any leading man. He has been at BYT since he was a small boy and is now happily snatching up leading roles. Jose is a youth theater director's dream-a handsome, confident, skilled triple threat. But he didn't start that way; he started as an ensemble member and was given his first solo at fifteen. He tentatively took a stab at that solo, repeatedly asking if he was doing OK. The next year he helped with BYT outreach by confidently grabbing a mic at a Parks and Rec event and singing out show tunes. Last winter he played Cosmo in Singin' in the Rain. He learned to tap dance and to pace his voice use. He won the hearts of the audience with his charming smile and energetic dances. This growth was the result of his involvement with BYT, as he has never taken private lessons in acting, dance, or singing. BYT seeks to serve people who would encounter obstacles at most youth theaters. Many participants are financially challenged, lack music theater training, deal with transportation and job issues, and have stressful home lives. …


This Article questions the widely-held view, expressed most clearly by John Hart Ely's War and Responsibility, that Congress must provide ex ante approval for all uses of force. It critiques Ely's approach, both his method of constitutional interpretation and his substantive goals for the war-making process. It proposes a different vision for war powers that provides more flexibility to the political branches. It then argues that a Congress-first process does not produce its desired substantive outcomes, and questions whether the costs and benefits of different war-making processes are sufficiently clear to cement one into place as a matter of constitutional law. Finally, it discusses the transformation of warfare and threats to American national security that have arisen since the development of the Congress-first argument. International terrorism of the September 11, 2001 type, rogue nations, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), place new demands on the Constitution's system for making war. This Article counsels against establishing a fixed constitutional process for war powers when the struggle against al Qaeda is still early and the costs and benefits of different approaches cannot yet be measured with any confidence.


Since the mid-2000s, the ebook has stabilized into an ontologically distinct form, separate from PDFs and other representations of the book on the screen. The current article delineates the ebook from other emerging digital genres with recourse to the methodologies of platform studies and book history. The ebook is modelled as three concentric circles representing its technological, textual and service infrastructure innovations. This analysis reveals two distinct properties of the ebook: a simulation of the services of the book trade and an emphasis on user textual manipulation. The proposed model is tested with reference to comparative studies of several ebooks published since 2007 and defended against common claims of ebookness about other digital textual genres.


We provide detailed description and characterization of specifics of the imprinting technique for fabrication of large-area and high-efficiency liquid crystal polymer polarization gratings. We show that the quality of polarization gratings imprinted with linear polarized light is as high as that of gratings obtained in the holographic process, while exhibiting twice larger diffraction angle. The cycloidal polarization pattern used for imprinting is obtained from a master polarization grating, and the importance of fine tuning of its peak diffraction wavelength to the wavelength of imprinting radiation is emphasized. Tuning of the peak diffraction wavelength of imprinted polarization gratings from UV to near IR was realized with the aid of multilayer structures. Since the imprinting process does not involve a holographic setup, it is insensitive to ambient conditions and vibrations and provides an opportunity for large scale production of polarization gratings.


Annual mobility rates in the US have declined by half since 1950, but it is not clear why. The emerging literature suggests that as-yet inexplicable immobility is indicative of an increasing cultural attachment to place – known as "rootedness" – that is both universal and voluntary. I assess this claim using data from the Current Population Survey and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and address three central questions. First, to what extent do shifts in the composition of the U.S. population account for observed declines in mobility? Second, have expectations of mobility declined alongside actual mobility? Third, has the link between mobility expectations and actual mobility outcomes weakened over time? Results suggest that Americans are "stuck" – increasingly unlikely to move when they expect do so – rather than "rooted" in place. This pattern is consistent with the conclusion that social and economic shifts in the latter half of the 20th Century left Americans with fewer options for, and a marginalized ability to take advantage of, opportunity elsewhere. Moreover, because the weakening expectation-mobility link is particularly pronounced among African-Americans, mobility decline may exacerbate inequalities in residential mobility processes that are already deeply stratified by race.


In various applications such as spam mail classification, the performance of classifiers deteriorates over time. Although retraining classifiers using labeled data helps to maintain the performance, continuously preparing labeled data is quite expensive. In this paper, we propose a method to learn classifiers by using newly obtained unlabeled data, which are easy to prepare, as well as labeled data collected beforehand. A major reason for the performance deterioration is the emergence of new features that do not appear in the training phase. Another major reason is the change of the distribution between the training and test phases. The proposed method learns the latest classifiers that overcome both problems. With the proposed method, the conditional distribution of new features given existing features is learned using the unlabeled data. In addition, the proposed method estimates the density ratio between training and test distributions by using the labeled and unlabeled data. We approximate the classification error of a classifier, which exploits new features as well as existing features, at the test phase by incorporating both the conditional distribution of new features and the density ratio, simultaneously. By minimizing the approximated error while integrating out new feature values, we obtain a classifier that exploits new features and fits on the test phase. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated with experiments using synthetic and real-world data sets.


Opening with a consideration of the role played by Richard Avedon9s photograph of William Casby in Roland Barthes9s Camera Lucida , this essay examines Sojourner Truth9s precocious and knowing use of the technology of photography. Inscribed with the caption "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance," Truth9s inexpensive cartes-de-visite functioned as a form of paper currency during the years immediately following the Civil War. As a chemical process, photography transformed precious metals into paper images; as an optical registration of light and shadow, photographic negatives turned white into black and black into white, a reversal noted by Oliver Wendell Holmes in an essay that suggests that racial difference informed understandings of the new medium.


The paper reviews empirical findings on executive compensation in light of marginal productivity and contract theories. The executive labor market performs three functions. First, control must be distributed and assigned among executives. The most talented executives are efficiently assigned to control positions in the largest firms when talent and the marginal product of control are complements. These gains or rents are partially captured in larger earnings. In fact, the elasticity of top executive pay lies within a tight band around .25 among industries, time periods, and countries where it has been estimated. Second, executive contracts must provide incentives for managers to act in the interests of shareholders. Potential loss of reputation, bonding and takeovers probably substitute for direct monetary incentives in this task. Nevertheless, the elasticity of top executive pay with respect to accounting rates of return lie near 1.0. The elasticity with respect to stock market returns is much smaller, though precisely estimated, near 0.1. Differences of opinion remain on whether the market provides enough incentives to align interests between ownership and control. Third, the market must identify new talent and reassign control over careers from older to younger generations. Competition among executives for top positions and the diminishing incentive effect of future rewards with age implies that compensation should increasingly tilt rewards to current performance over the course of a career. Available evidence supports this prediction. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)


This paper uses census data from Chile and Mexico to describe the coresidential kinship ties of unmarried elderly (60+ years of age) women and to examine the importance of having children and socioeconomic characteristics on their likelihood of living alone. The countries were similar in that they were on a threshold between more traditional and modern age distributions, most (~85%) unmarried elderly women lived with others, daughters as well as sons were expected to assist elderly parents, and almost a fifth of those women had no surviving children. Thus unmarried elderly women in either country did not necessarily live alone if they were childless (in fact most did not), nor did they necessarily live with others if they had surviving children. One difference between countries was that a much larger proportion of unmarried elderly women in Chile compared with in Mexico headed their own households, and a lower proportion of those households were simple or nuclear. Also, the number of surviving children was negatively related to the likelihood of living alone in Chile but not in Mexico. Oppositely, education was not important in Chile but was in Mexico, better educated women being slightly more likely to live alone there. Perhaps as important, rural unmarried elderly women were slightly less likely to live alone in Chile but were slightly more likely to live alone in Mexico. Finally, a life course of never marriage and having no children, perhaps in order to care for aging parents, seems to have been more common in Mexico than in Chile. Can valuable kinship ties be maintained while traditional relations of dominance or subservience be altered?


The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a micronized formulation of trans-resveratrol in humans with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Trans-Resveratrol has been used in the form of micronized formulation, which is better absorbed, has strong antioxidants effects, is more effective than plain resveratrol formulations and is circulated on the market as a food supplement. Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a stilbenoid and a phytoalexin produced by several plants. NAFLD is an increasing clinical problem involving the liver for which effective treatments are required. The present study was based on two patient groups. The study, which commenced on April 2013 and finished on April 2015, included 44 patients, aged 29–70 years, with an average weight of 84.6 kg (n=22 per group; 28 men and 16 women) who were randomly assigned to groups and given 50 mg Evelor capsule (n=22) and 200 mg Evelor H tablet (n=22) correspondingly on a daily basis. The patients were followed up for 6 months. Quantity fat measurements, with ultrasound on the liver and kidney, were carried out. There was an initial measurement (time 1) and one after six months (time 2). The study results showed the effects of Trans-resveratrol micronized formulation in reducing the liver fat, as well as decreasing hepatic enzymes, serum glutamate pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (g-GT) and insulin resistance. At the end of the study, the statistical analysis showed a statistically significant reduction on the liver fat. These data demonstrate that use of Trans-resveratrol micronized formulation improves features of NAFLD, and prevents liver damage. Thus, Trans-resveratrol micronized formulation can be a new treatment method for NAFLD.


The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically the public policy approach that seeks to tackle the underground economy in deprived populations by deterring people from engaging in such work by ensuring that the expected cost of being caught and punished is greater than the economic benefit of participating. Reporting evidence from an extensive study of underground work in 861 households in contemporary England, this paper uncovers that although some underground work in such populations is conducted for purely money-making purposes, the majority is carried out for friends, neighbors and kin for rationales associated with redistribution and building social capital rather than purely to make or save money. As such, the argument here is that unless governments seek to develop substitute mechanisms to enable engagement in such paid favors but on a legitimate basis alongside deterrence measures, then attempts to tackle the underground economy in deprived populations will end up destroying the social support networks that other realms of public policy are presently so actively seeking to develop. The paper concludes by providing an outline of the public policy changes required.


The prevailing idea so far about why the rainfall occurs was that after agglutination of water droplets with condensation nuclei, the size of the particle formed by the condensation nuclei connected with droplets of water increased considerably and caused its fall. This idea has led to numerous scientific publications in which empirical distribution functions of clouds' water droplets sizes were proposed. Estimates values provided by these empirical distribution functions, in most cases, were validated by comparison with UHF Radar measurements. The condensation nuclei concept has not been sufficiently exploited and this has led meteorologists to error, in their attempt to describe the clouds, thinking that clouds were formed by liquid water droplets. Indeed, MBANE BIOUELE paradox (2005) confirms this embarrassing situation. In fact, when applying Archimedes theorem to a liquid water droplet suspended in the atmosphere, we obtain a meaningless inequality  which makes believe that the densities of pure water in liquid and solid phases are much lower than that of the atmosphere considered at the sea level. This meaningless inequality is easy to contradict: of course, if you empty a bottle of pure liquid water in the ocean (where z is equal to 0), this water will not remain suspended in the air, i.e., application of Archimedes' theorem allows realizing that there is no liquid (or solid) water droplet, suspended in the clouds. Indeed, all liquid (or solid) water droplets which are formed in clouds, fall under the effect of gravity and produce rains. This means that our current description of the clouds is totally wrong. In this study, we describe the clouds as a gas composed of dry air and saturated water vapor whose optical properties depend on temperature, i.e., when the temperature of a cloud decreases, the color of this gaseous system tends towards white.


The occurrence of a solitary rugose coral, Streptelasma sp., anchored within colonial skeleton of the tabulate coral Paleofavosites prolificus is here reported. Numerous specimens of Streptelasma were found within three coralla of this tabulate species among 55 collected from the uppermost 30 cm of the Lower Silurian (Llandovery) Brassfield Formation at Fairborn, Ohio. These rugosans are largely immured in the favositid coralla, and, as bioclaustrations, reveal important information on the paleobiology of both species. However, the immuring of some Streptelasma within Paleofavosites coralla was not complete during the life of the rugosan, as calice openings of these are present at the corallum surface. Complete immuration (or total overgrowth) indicates that the rugosan no longer competed successfully for space; whether entombment occurred after the death of the rugosan or was the cause of its death is unknown. Streptelasma, in assuming an epibiotic lifestyle probably benefited from the secure attachment to the larger, stable colonial form of Paleofavosites prolificus and were able to exist within this particular Brassfield facies interpreted to have been a vigorous, current-swept environment. These high energy environments would have been inimical to the small, light-weight rugosans living as isolated corallites. The successful settling and growth of the rugosans on the tabulate colonies reflects their higher status in an aggression hierarchy. This interspecies interaction indicates an early Paleozoic development of an aggression hierarchy of corals belonging to the Rugosa and Tabulata (Phylum Cnidaria).


Background Trichoderma reesei, a mitosporic green mould, was recognized during the WW II based on a single isolate from the Solomon Islands and since then used in industry for production of cellulases. It is believed to be an anamorph (asexual stage) of the common pantropical ascomycete Hypocrea jecorina. Methodology/Principal Findings We combined molecular evolutionary analysis and multiple methods of phenotype profiling in order to reveal the genetic relationship of T. reesei to H. jecorina. The resulting data show that the isolates which were previously identified as H. jecorina by means of morphophysiology and ITS1 and 2 (rRNA gene cluster) barcode in fact comprise several species: i) H. jecorina/T. reesei sensu stricto which contains most of the teleomorphs (sexual stages) found on dead wood and the wild-type strain of T. reesei QM 6a; ii) T. parareesei nom. prov., which contains all strains isolated as anamorphs from soil; iii) and two other hypothetical new species for which only one or two isolates are available. In silico tests for recombination and in vitro mating experiments revealed a history of sexual reproduction for H. jecorina and confirmed clonality for T. parareesei nom. prov. Isolates of both species were consistently found worldwide in pantropical climatic zone. Ecophysiological comparison of H. jecorina and T. parareesei nom. prov. revealed striking differences in carbon source utilization, conidiation intensity, photosensitivity and mycoparasitism, thus suggesting adaptation to different ecological niches with the high opportunistic potential for T. parareesei nom. prov. Conclusions Our data prove that T. reesei belongs to a holomorph H. jecorina and displays a history of worldwide gene flow. We also show that its nearest genetic neighbour - T. parareesei nom. prov., is a cryptic phylogenetic agamospecies which inhabits the same biogeographic zone. These two species thus provide a so far rare example of sympatric speciation within saprotrophic fungi, with divergent ecophysiological adaptations and reproductive strategies.