Galvanotropism is the process by which a cell alters its shape to grow directionally in response to an electric field. This phenomenon is known for a wide variety of eukaryotic cells but the first report of bacterial galvanotropism appeared only recently. Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae and (to a lesser extent) Bacillus subtilis curve rapidly and reversibly towards the anode of a uniform electric field. The mechanism for the response is not known but two observations permit a degree of speculation. Firstly, the anode-facing ends of cells elongate more rapidly than the cathode-facing ends of the same cells, suggesting that the field affects regional rates of wall synthesis and degradation. Secondly, the magnitude of the response depends on the extracellular pH, implicating anodal electrophoresis of membrane proteins in the mechanism. The ability of a field to modulate rates of wall growth locally can be exploited to investigate at least two fundamental, yet intractable, questions: the mechanism by which bacteria maintain non-spherical shapes and grow without bursting and the mechanism for the uniform segregation of DNA into daughter cells. Additionally, use of molecular biological techniques may permit identification of the molecular basis for galvanotropism, an approach that has not been feasible for most galvanotropic eukaryotic cells.


This paper presents the current status of the development of the Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) in support of Generation IV (GEN IV) Nuclear Energy Systems. The approach being taken by the GIF plan is to address the research priorities of each member state in developing an integrated and coordinated research program to achieve common objectives, while avoiding duplication of effort. The integrated plan being prepared by the LFR Provisional System Steering Committee of the GIF, known as the LFR System research Plan (SRP) recognizes two principal technology tracks for pursuit of LFR technology: (1) a small, transportable system of 10-100 MWe size that features a very long refueling interval, (2) a larger-sized system rated at about 600 MWe, intended for central station power generation and waste transmutation. This paper, in particular, describes the ongoing activities to develop the Small Secure Transportable Autonomous Reactor (SSTAR) and the European Lead-cooled SYstem (ELSY), the two research initiatives closely aligned with the overall tracks of the SRP and outlines the Proliferation-resistant Environment-friendly Accident-tolerant Continual & Economical Reactors (PEACER) conceived with particular focus on burning/transmuting of long-living TRU waste and fission fragments of concern, such as Tc and I. The current reference design for themore » SSTAR is a 20 MWe natural circulation pool-type reactor concept with a small shippable reactor vessel. Specific features of the lead coolant, the nitride fuel containing transuranics, the fast spectrum core, and the small size combine to promote a unique approach to achieve proliferation resistance, while also enabling fissile self-sufficiency, autonomous load following, simplicity of operation, reliability, transportability, as well as a high degree of passive safety. Conversion of the core thermal power into electricity at a high plant efficiency of 44% is accomplished utilizing a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle power converter. The ELSY reference design is a 600 MWe pool-type reactor cooled by pure lead. This concept has been under development since September 2006, and is sponsored by the Sixth Framework Programme of EURATOM. The ELSY project is being performed by a consortium consisting of twenty organizations including seventeen from Europe, two from Korea and one from the USA. ELSY aims to demonstrate the possibility of designing a competitive and safe fast critical reactor using simple engineered technical features while fully complying with the Generation IV goal of minor actinide (MA) burning capability. The use of a compact and simple primary circuit with the additional objective that all internal components be removable, are among the reactor features intended to assure competitive electric energy generation and long-term investment protection. Simplicity is expected to reduce both the capital cost and the construction time; these are also supported by the compactness of the reactor building (reduced footprint and height). The reduced footprint would be possible due to the elimination of the Intermediate Cooling System, the reduced elevation the result of the design approach of reduced-height components.« less


The renal kallikrein-kinin system is thought to participate in blood pressure regulation and displays abnormalities in human hypertension, as well as in many animal models of hypertension. Urinary excretion and tissue levels of renal kallikrein were measured in streptozocin (STZ)-diabetic rats in relation to blood pressure, glycemia, and insulin treatment. In study 1, STZ-diabetic rats with marked hyperglycemia showed reduced kallikrein-like esterase excretion, compared with control rats, when first measured after 7 days of diabetes (9.9 ± 2.5 versus 17.5 ± 2.4 EU/24 h, P < 0.05). This difference increased with time and, after 210 days, urinary esterase excretion in diabetic and control rats was 6.7 ± 2.1 and 39.0 ± 6.0 EU/24 h, respectively (P < 0.001). Urine kallikrein, measured by radioimmunoassay, was similarly reduced in diabetic rats (40.4 ± 8.0 versus 88.0 ± 6.5 μg/24 h, at 30 days, P < 0.001). At 120 days, systolic blood pressures were elevated in diabetic rats (P < 0.05), and at 180 days over 60% of the diabetic rats had pressures above the highest pressures of control rats. In study 2, STZ-diabetic rats were treated with insulin for 2 wk (2 U NPH at 0800 h, or 2 U NPH at 0800 and 1600 h). In the single-dose group, with hyperglycemia similar to that of diabetic rats in study 1, kallikrein excretion was reduced as early as day 2, compared with nondiabetic rats (56.0 ± 6.1 versus 109 ± 9.4 μg/24 h, respectively, P < 0.001). In the diabetic rats treated with twice-daily insulin, glycemia was reduced and daily urine glucose was not significantly different from that in controls. Kallikrein excretion was normal in these rats. In study 3, we measured renal tissue kallikrein i untreated and insulin-treated (2.25 U PZI) STZdiabetic rats. After 2 wk, untreated diabetic rats had decreased renal kallikrein compared with nondiabetic rats (22.8 ± 1.6 versus 29.7 ± 1.4 ng/mg protein, P < 0.001). In the insulin-treated diabetic rats with near-normal plasma glucose levels, renal kallikrein (35.8 ± 2.1 ng/mg protein) was increased above that of untreated diabetic (P < 0.001) or nondiabetic rats (P < 0.05). These studies confirm that STZ-diabetic rats develop systolic hypertension as assessed by tail cuff measurement. There is an early reduction in kallikrein excretion, which reflects reduced renal enzyme content. These abnormalities in kallikrein can be prevented by insulin treatment. Relationships of these changes in urinary and renal kallikrein to the function of the diabetic kidney and development of hypertension in this model can now be explored.


Today's telecommunication cabinets use Electro Magnetic Compliance (EMC) screens in order to reduce electromagnetic noise that can cause some miss functions in electronic equipment. Many radio base stations (RBSs) use a 90-degree building architecture: the flow inlet is perpendicular to the EMC screen, which creates a complex flow, with a 90-degree air turn, expansions, compressions, perforated plates and PCBs. It is of great interest to study how the EMC screen interacts with the rest of components and analyze the total pressure drop and how much the flow pattern changes due to the placement of the screen. Velocity, pressure and temperature measurements as well as flow pattern visualizations have been carried out to gain good insight into the flow and heat transfer characteristics in a subrack model of an RBS. Furthermore, these measurements have been very useful for validating detailed CFD models and evaluating several turbulence models. Nowadays, industrial competition has caused a substantial decrease in the time-to-market of products. This fact makes the use of compact models in the first stages of the design process of vital importance. Accurate and fast compact models can to a great extent decrease the time for design, and thus for production. Hence, to determine the correlations between the pressure drop and flow pattern on the PCBs as a function of the geometry and the Reynolds number, based on a detailed CFD parametric study, was one objective. Furthermore, the development of a compact model using a porous media approach (using two directional-loss coefficients) has been accomplished. Two correlations of these directional loss coefficients were found as a function of the geometry and Reynolds number.


Combinations of common germline low-moderate susceptibility alleles may be
responsible for some of the 90% of ovarian cancer (OC) cases not explained by
known risk genes. These alleles may also affect survival of OC patients.
The effects of 34 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) from candidate
oncogenes (BRAF, ERBB2, KRAS, NMI and PIK3CA) and 63 tSNPs from
"functionally" relevant genes (AIFM2, AKTIP, AXIN2, CASP5, FILIP1L, RBBP8,
RGC32, RUVBL1 and STAG3) on the risk and survival of OC sufferers were evaluated
with ~1,800 cases and 3,045 controls. Associations were found between disease risk
and NMI rs11683487 (P-dominant=0.004) and RUVBL1 rs13063604 (P-trend=0.0192).
These associations were not independently validated with additional samples,
however, they remained significant when the results from both stages of genotyping
were combined (P<0.05). Global tests of association with OC risk were significant
for BRAF, ERBB2, CASP5 and RUVBL1 (P-global<0.05). However, there was no
evidence of an excess of significant associations from 340 SNPs investigated with
the admixture maximum likelihood test (P-trend=0.068).
BRAF, FILIP1L, KRAS, RBBP8 and RUVBL1 were also associated with the survival
of all OC cases (P<0.05). When analysis was restricted to the 4 main histological
subtypes of OC, additional associations were identified. Although these results are
of particular interest, they were based on relatively small numbers of samples and
have not been corrected for multiple testing, therefore they should be treated with caution. The results from the secondary objective of the project, to evaluate whole
genome amplification (WGA) of DNA and SNP multiplex platforms, are also
described.
To conclude, associations were identified between candidate oncogenes and
functionally relevant genes on the survival and susceptibility of ovarian cancer. The
performance of WGA DNA on SNP multiplex genotyping platforms highlighted the
importance of comparing WGA DNA with corresponding gDNA in order to
ascertain quality of genotyping on the platform.


The concepts of information flow security and refinement are known to have had a troubled relationship ever since the seminal work of McLean. In this work we study refinements that support changes in data representation and semantics, including the addition of state variables that may induce new observational power or side channels. We propose a new epistemic approach to ignorance-preserving refinement where an abstract model is used as a specification of a system's permitted information flows, that may include the declassification of secret information. The core idea is to require that refinement steps must not induce observer knowledge that is not already available in the abstract model. Our study is set in the context of a class of shared variable multiagent models similar to interpreted systems in epistemic logic. We demonstrate the expressiveness of our framework through a series of small examples and compare our approach to existing, stricter notions of information-flow secure refinement based on bisimulations and noninterference preservation. Interestingly, noninterference preservation is not supported "out of the box" in our setting, because refinement steps may introduce new secrets that are independent of secrets already present at abstract level. To support verification, we first introduce a "cube-shaped" unwinding condition related to conditions recently studied in the context of value-dependent noninterference, kernel verification, and secure compilation. A fundamental problem with ignorance-preserving refinement, caused by the support for general data and observation refinement, is that sequential composability is lost. We propose a solution based on relational pre-and postconditions and illustrate its use together with unwinding on the oblivious RAM construction of Chung and Pass.


Cotton is an economically important crop with multiple uses as fiber, biofuel, food, and feed, and drought is one of the most limiting factors in cotton production. In this study, Gossypium hirsutum 'Acala 1517-99', G. barbadense 'PHY 76 Pima' and their cross-breeding line 'Q1735-4' were grown in a greenhouse to characterize their growth and physiological responses to four substrate volumetric water contents (VWC) of 15, 25, 35, and 45%. An automated irrigation system consisting of soil moisture sensors, datalogger, and a relay controller was used. The results from two tests consistently showed that as VWC decreased, leaf area, stem diameter, and total dry weight (DW) decreased linearly for PHY 76 Pima and Q1735-4, but quadratically for Acala 1517-99. However, the reduction in the growth parameters varied among genotypes. As VWC was decreased from 45% to 25%, Acala 1517-99, PHY 76 Pima, and Q1735-4 exhibited reduction in height by 39.2, 32.5, and 23.7%; in leaf area by 70.9, 65.8, and 34.7%; in stem diameter by 33.4, 28.1, and 22.1%; and in total DW by 59.2, 55.6, and 15.1%, respectively. The interspecific cross-breeding line consistently displayed better drought tolerance than its parents. When VWC was further decreased to 15%, the interspecific cross-breeding line still had the lowest reduction in reproductive growth as measured by the total dry fruit weight; but its vegetative growth parameters such as plant height, leaf area, stem diameter, and total DW were similar to Acala 1517-99 and lower than PHY 76 Pima.


In the developing countries of the world, few people with hemophilia receive adequate care. Nevertheless, Brazil has made significant advances in the treatment of hemophilia over the last decade. The provision of factor concentrates imported by the Government of Brazil is gradually increasing, and patients receive the concentrates for free. A national register was established as well as a coordinated program for comprehensive care. Of the 6 297 persons with hemophilia in Brazil who were registered as of January 2001, 689 of them (11.1%) were registered in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Of those 689, 664 of them were being monitored at the state's coordinating blood transfusion center, which is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Among those 664, factor VIII inhibitors were identified in 81 of them (12.2%). Among 653 of the Rio de Janeiro patients who were tested for transfusion-transmitted diseases, the overall prevalence found was 41.5%, with the specific rates being 13.3% for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 2.9% for hepatitis B virus (HBV), and 39.4% for hepatitis C virus (HCV). The state of Rio de Janeiro has adopted a comprehensive hemophilia management approach that includes medical, psychological, and social care. As a result, the quality of life of hemophilia patients has improved noticeably. For example, the rate of hospitalization among patients fell by 30% between 1998 and 2001, and there has also been a decline in the school and work activities that they have missed.


Protection and restoration of historical structure has a big importance to transfer past from future. It is necessary to protect all materials and documents that includes past culture, life style and life art in purpose of human history. Structures that used in past, is most important of these materials. Protection of historical structures that reflect to history of period and is historical artifact is also important because of emphasized reason. There are many historical structures in different region of Turkey. Some structuring especially show all cultural structure of that period and stand erect as grand monument. But in the length of time these type structures abrade and lose their nature, because of natural or other reason. After ever earthquake, almost each historical structures have permanent damages in Turkey which is earthquake area. For this reason, It is necessary to transfer future these historical structures by strength and repairing to discover local earth conditions and equipments that used in structure against to earthquake and other affects, determining damaged condition, determining system of architecture and conveyer to these historical structures On the other side, protection of structure can be provided with help of increasing functionality. Unused and closed historical structure will abrade and because of natural and other affects, it will damages and becomes unused. So, basic protection is to use and repair periodically to these historical structures. In near future, protection and restoration of historical structures get importance in Turkey. Many historical structures start to handle for this propose, works pick up speed for restorations. Mustafa Kemal primary school which used as school long time, and completed construction in 1910 Antalya-Turkey, is other important cultural heritage. Accumulation school building has basement, ground floor, and 1.floor. Because of floor height, basement has not been used. Other two floors have been used for common room, laboratory and toilet. In this work, after building survey of historical building used for school had been taken, equipment used in building had been confirmed and local earth condition had been determined, according to exist Turkish Regulations building analyze had been done. According to lacks of structure, it had been invigorated. For propose of implementation of architecture style to period, all added parts had been restored and renewed to damaged parts. Keywords: Restoration, strengthening, historical structure


First applied to internet gateways such as Yahoo, the concept of the "portal" has evolved in a bewildering number of directions. Different themes of personalization, aggregation or integration seem to have dominated our understanding of what a portal should be at different times. Many organizations and institutions have borrowed the idea from the net to address local problems of integrating and presenting information sources to users - yet they have developed the concept in different ways. Meanwhile new models seem to be constantly emerging from the internet. Tracking this evolving concept is clearly of particular concern for information services. How can they best take advantage of internet portals to improve access to resources? What are the requirements for delivery of diverse content through a local portal? And how do portals run by libraries relate to wider organizational initiatives? This edited collection seeks answers to these questions, providing the library and broader information community with an overview of how portals are currently being used. Leading edge researchers and practitioners explore the variety of ways in which the aspiration to portalize information is currently being realized and offer several views on likely future trends. The book is divided into five sections: Section 1 discusses generic aspects of portals such as questions of definition, as well as exploring the underlying technologies and overarching management issues, and the concepts of personalization and user needs analysis. Section 2 focuses on the role of information services in developing portals. Sections 3 and 4 analyse the current experience of portals within the corporate, public and academic sectors, with case studies and reviews of sector trends. Section 5 offers various perspectives on the future development of the concept of the portal. This is an invaluable book for the growing numbers of information practitioners interested in developing or contributing to a portal, and those supporting users of portals. It will also be useful to students of information management seeking to increase their understanding of how the concept of the portal is being realized in the information world.


Former researches showed ginger extracts could contribute to hepatic protection. Two species of cytochrome P450 enzymes, CYP2E1 and CYP2A6, are both important heme-containing liver enzymes for hepatictoxicology via metabolizing small organic molecules into toxic metabolites. CYP2E1 metabolizes more than 2% of all the oral drugs and is closely associated with liver toxicity. CYP2A6 metabolizes fewer than 5% of all the oral drugs and activates some tobacco procarcinogens. Therefore, inhibitors from natural extracts might be able to provide with preventative therapy to liver toxicity and cancer.CYP2E1 inhibitors may be used to inhibit liver toxicity of CYP2E1 in metabolizing the pain killer acetaminophen into toxic N-acetyl-p-quinoimine (NAPQI) to prevent liver cell necrosis. In addition, CYP2A6 inhibitors may be used to suppress the metabolism of certain pro-carcinogensthat are inhaled from smoking. In this research, two extracts from steam distillation of ginger root, ginger essential oil and ginger hydrosol, were collected. CYP2E1 and CYP2A6 were assayed with presence of the two extracts at a series of concentrations to test the ginger extracts' dose-dependent effects. The results showed both of the two extractsas CYP2E1 inhibitors but as poor inhibitors to CYP2A6. The major organic contents of ginger essential oil and ginger hydrosol were identified by GC-MS. The results showed both of them contained citral. The major organic components of ginger hydrosol were determined as citral (neral and geranial), 2-heptanol and eucalyptol. The Michaelis-Menten kinetic analysis showed that ginger essential oil, citral, and ginger hydrosol were all competitive inhibitors to CYP2E1 from human liver S9 fraction. The KI for Brazilian ginger essential oil was 27.3mg/L and the KI for Costa Rican ginger essential oil was 29.9 mg/L.The inhibitory constant of citral was KI of 43.0µM. Meanwhile, the KI for Brazilian ginger hydrosol was 4.6% of its original concentration, which corresponded to 45.5 µM citral (neral: geranial=1:1.4).The KI for the Brazilian ginger hydrosol was 3.6% of its original concentration, which corresponded to 44.3µM citral (neral: geranial=1:1.4). Citral was implicated to be the most potent inhibitor from ginger hydrosol to human liver CYP2E1.Ginger hydrosol and citral were shown to be inhibitors to purified human liver CYP2E1 in the metabolism of acetaminophen to NAPQI by analysis with LC-MS. In the presence of the substrate acetaminophen at 800µM, the concentration close to its toxic concentration, Brazilian ginger hydrosol exhibited a 50% inhibition of enzyme activity at the concentration over 25%. This concentration of Brazilian ginger hydrosol corresponds to a dose of citral of around 158 µM. This result implicated that ginger hydrosol and citral could be used as a natural therapeutic for toxicity of acetaminophen.


Compelling and humane, this book reveals the lives of the 300,000 child soldiers around the world, challenging stereotypes of them as predators or a lost generation. Kidnapped or lured by the promise of food, protection, revenge, or a better life, children serve not only as combatants but as porters, spies, human land mine detectors, and sexual slaves. Nearly one-third are girls, and Michael Wessells movingly reveals the particular dangers they face from pregnancy, childbirth complications, and the rejection they and their babies encounter in their local contexts. Based mainly on participatory research and interviews with hundreds of former child soldiers worldwide, Wessells allows these ex-soldiers to speak for themselves and reveal the enormous complexity of their experiences and situations. The author argues that despite the social, moral, and psychological wounds of war, a surprising number of former child soldiers enter civilian life, and he describes the healing, livelihood, education, reconciliation, family integration, protection, and cultural supports that make it possible. A passionate call for action, "Child Soldiers" pushes readers to go beyond the horror stories to develop local and global strategies to stop this theft of childhood.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of a national referral system that aims to reduce maternal mortality rates through improving access to and the quality of emergency obstetric care in rural Mali (sub-Saharan Africa).

METHODS
A maternity referral system that included basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care, transportation to obstetric health services and community cost-sharing schemes was implemented in six rural health districts in Kayes region between December 2002 and November 2005. In an uncontrolled 'before and after' study, we recorded all obstetric emergencies, major obstetric interventions and maternal deaths during a 4-year observation period (1 January 2003 to 30 November 2006): the year prior to the intervention (P-1); the year of the intervention (P0), and 1 and 2 years after the intervention (P1 and P2, respectively). The primary outcome was the risk of death among obstetric emergency patients, calculated with crude case fatality rates and crude odds ratios. Analyses were adjusted for confounding variables using logistic regression.

FINDINGS
The number of women receiving emergency obstetric care doubled between P-1 and P2, and the rate of major obstetric interventions (mainly Caesarean sections) performed for absolute maternal indications increased from 0.13% in P-1 to 0.46% in P2. In women treated for an obstetric emergency, the risk of death 2 years after implementing the intervention was half the risk recorded before the intervention (odds ratio, OR: 0.48; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.30-0.76). Maternal mortality rates decreased more among women referred for emergency obstetric care than among those who presented to the district health centre without referral. Nearly half (47.5%) of the reduction in deaths was attributable to fewer deaths from haemorrhage.

CONCLUSION
The intervention showed rapid effects due to the availability of major obstetric interventions in district health centres, reduced transport time to such centres for treatment, and reduced financial barriers to care. Our results show that national programmes can be implemented in low-income countries without major external funding and that they can rapidly improve the coverage of obstetric services and significantly reduce the risk of death associated with obstetric complications.


All AESS Chapters and IEEE Sections are enocouraged to take advantage of the AESS Distinguished Lecturers & Tutorials Program for their regular or special meetings. We have selected an outstanding list of speakers who are experts in their fields. The AES Society will pay reasonable speaker's expenses for economy-class travel, lodging, and meals. As a general guideline, speaker's expenses involving travel wholly within North America or within the European Union will be covered up to $1000. Expenses involving extensive international travel will be covered up to $2000. The Society encourages arrangements whereby more than one lecture is presented in a single trip, and costs in such situtions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This inviting organization is expected to cover 50% of the speaker's expenses.


Background: The Wilm's tumor gene 1 (WT1) encodes a zinc finger transcription factor that is inactivated in a subset of Wilm 's tumors. It plays a crucial role in growth, proliferation and development of some embryonic and adult organs. WT1 is expressed as a tumor associated antigen (TAA) in various types of solid and hematopoietic malignancies and can be employed as a useful marker for targeted immunotherapy and monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD). Objective: To investigate the profile of WT1 gene expression in Iranian patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia. Methods: RT-PCR method was used to determine the WT1 gene expression in bone marrow (BM) and/or peripheral blood (PB) samples from 11 patients with AML and PB samples of 36 normal subjects. Isolated cells from all patients were immunophenotyped by flow cytometry. Results: The leukemic cells from 10 patients (91%) were found moderately or strongly positive for WT1 expression whereas only 3 out of 36 normal subjects expressed WT1 at very low levels. A highly significant correlation was observed for WT1 expression between paired BM and PB samples of the AML patients. Conclusion: Our results indicate that WT1 is expressed in the majority of Iranian AML patients and may be employed for screening and monitoring of minimal residual disease in these patients.


Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder, is a growing public health problem and still lacks effective treatments. Recent evidence suggests that microtubule-associated protein tau may mediate amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) toxicity by modulating the tyrosine kinase Fyn. We showed previously that tau reduction prevents, and Fyn overexpression exacerbates, cognitive deficits in human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP) transgenic mice overexpressing Aβ. However, the mechanisms by which Aβ, tau, and Fyn cooperate in AD-related pathogenesis remain to be fully elucidated. Here we examined the synaptic and network effects of this pathogenic triad. Tau reduction prevented cognitive decline induced by synergistic effects of Aβ and Fyn. Tau reduction also prevented synaptic transmission and plasticity deficits in hAPP mice. Using electroencephalography to examine network effects, we found that tau reduction prevented spontaneous epileptiform activity in multiple lines of hAPP mice. Tau reduction also reduced the severity of spontaneous and chemically induced seizures in mice overexpressing both Aβ and Fyn. To better understand these protective effects, we recorded whole-cell currents in acute hippocampal slices from hAPP mice with and without tau. hAPP mice with tau had increased spontaneous and evoked excitatory currents, reduced inhibitory currents, and NMDA receptor dysfunction. Tau reduction increased inhibitory currents and normalized excitation/inhibition balance and NMDA receptor-mediated currents in hAPP mice. Our results indicate that Aβ, tau, and Fyn jointly impair synaptic and network function and suggest that disrupting the copathogenic relationship between these factors could be of therapeutic benefit.


For the last 130 years, flood policy in the U.S. has been dominated by the belief that floods can be controlled by structural methods, such as levees, dikes and embankments. These efforts have been copied on river basins throughout the world, from the Rhine to Bangladesh, but the Midwest floods of 1993 suggest that these plans are likely misguided. Long before last summer, river managers have noted that structural works tend to make rivers run higher and faster, increasing erosion and inhibiting deposition. Worse, they provide a false sense of security to those living behind them, lulling the population into ignoring basic damage mitigation and escape procedures. When floods hit - and they always do - the results can be catastrophic. Instead, flood management accepts that certain parts of the land will flood and seeks to reduce the ultimate cost to a society. The approach can incorporate levees, but only as part of a larger strategy that includes: floodproofing important structures, zoning certain types of development out of the floodplain, establishing warning systems and refuge areas, and creating financial incentives. The experiences of the last few years suggests the managed approach has the fewest costs, both economically and environmentally and all over the world, flood policy may soon change to reflect that.


Nematode studies reveal the pathway that promotes detoxification of reactive α-dicarbonyls and drugs that can enhance this pathway. If not degraded or modified, reactive metabolites damage cells. One group of reactive metabolites is the α-dicarbonyls (α-DCs), which damage proteins, lipids, and DNA through a nonenzymatic form of glycosylation (glycation). Methylglyoxal (MGO) is an α-DC that accumulates with age and damages nerves and arteries. MGO also accumulates in patients with neurodegenerative disorders and in diabetic patients. In diabetic patients, the accumulation results from increased glycolytic flux, which produces excess MGO. Chaudhuri et al. found that Caenorhabditis elegans lacking the glyoxalase GLOD-4, an enzyme that metabolizes and detoxifies MGO, exhibited MGO accumulation, reduced motility, and neuronal damage. Similar to diabetic patients, who initially experience hypersensitivity and then later loss of sensation, worms deficient in glod-4 were initially hypersensitive to touch but eventually lost sensitivity to touch. Treating wild-type C. elegans with MGO or rearing them on a high-glucose diet phenocopied loss of glod-4. Genetic experiments revealed that accumulation of α-DCs activated the nociceptive transient receptor potential ion channel TRPA-1, which stimulated signaling through the calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) homolog UNC-43 and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases PMK-1 and SEK-1 to stimulate activity of the transcription factor SKN-1. SKN-1 is homologous to vertebrate Nrf2, which stimulates the expression genes involved in antioxidant and xenobiotic responses. MGO-induced activation of SKN-1 stimulated the transcription of glod-4 as well as djr-1.1 and djr-1.2, which encode homologs of the human glyoxalase DJ1. Screening a library of natural products for compounds that rescued the phenotypes of glod-4 mutants identified podocarpic acid, a component of the resin of some conifers. Treating glod-4 mutants with podocarpic acid or the NRF2 activator α-lipoic acid stimulated activation of SKN-1 and reduced the accumulation of MGO in a manner that depended on TRPA-1. Experiments in human and rat cultured cells indicated that this α-DC detoxification pathway is conserved in vertebrates and that podocarpic acid can reduce the neurotoxic effects of MGO. This study not only delineates the pathway through which α-DCs induce the machinery necessary for their detoxification, it also demonstrates the usefulness of C. elegans for identifying compounds that could be developed into therapeutics for human patients. J. Chaudhuri, N. Bose, J. Gong, D. Hall, A. Rifkind, D. Bhaumik,
T. H. Peiris, M. Chamoli, C. H. Le, J. Liu, G. J. Lithgow, A. Ramanathan, X. Z. S. Xu, P. Kapahi, A Caenorhabditis elegans model elucidates a conserved role for TRPA1-Nrf signaling in reactive α-dicarbonyl detoxification. Curr. Biol. 26, 3014–3025 (2016). [PubMed]


There are said to be parallels in the impact that the advent of the telegraph and the internet had on their respective societies. This chapter looks at two examples of state intervention and subsidy in the development of those two communications infrastructures in remote and rural areas of Scotland, at either end of the revolution in electric communications. Both applied the technology of the day to break down geographical barriers, to increase connectivity, to spread information, and to enhance social and business links. Both initiatives grew in part out of a government concern that Scotland should not fall behind the level of technological provision available in other European countries, thereby disadvantaging Scottish business as well as citizens (a comparison with the state-owned telegraph systems in Belgium, Switzerland and France informed the 1868 Telegraph Act, and the development of a broadband infrastructure across a range of European Union countries has been quoted by the Scottish Government). The emphasis in both cases was on affordable wide-ranging availability to benefit individuals as much as business, though with an understanding that business needs would be the driver and would provide the bulk of the finance to establish and maintain the infrastructure.
The first was a product of nationalisation with the expansion of the telegraph network from 1870 to 1872 driven by demand. Following is an analysis of that demand and its impact, alongside a description of the development of the network across remote and rural areas over the two years of the scheme.
The second examines the rationales behind Scottish Government initiatives since 2001 to extend broadband provision and outlines the technical solutions devised in partnership with commercial operators and funding bodies to reach non-commercially viable areas and to stimulate take up.


Neural Darwinism is a theory of cognition developed by Gerald Edelman along with George Reeke and Olaf Sporns at Rockefeller University. As its name suggests, neural Darwinism is modeled after biological Darwinism, and its authors assert that the two processes are strongly analogous. Both operate on variation in a population, amplifying the more adaptive individuals. However, from a computational perspective, neural Darwinism is quite different from other models of natural selection, such as genetic algorithms. The individuals of neural Darwinism do not replicate, thus robbing the process of the capacity to explore new solutions over time and ultimately reducing it to a random search. Because neural Darwinism does not have the computational power of a truly Darwinian process, it is misleading to label it as such. To illustrate this disparity in adaptive power, one of Edelman's early computer experiments, Darwin I, is revisited, and it is shown that adding replication greatly improves the adaptive power of the system.


Updated for its Second Edition, this text provides the information emergency departments need about the medicolegal aspects of treating victims of violence, motor vehicle accidents, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, and intimate partner abuse. It offers detailed guidelines on interviewing and examining the victim and collecting, preserving, and documenting evidence for legal proceedings. The book includes a chapter by an attorney on expert testimony and a chapter on forensic photography. A full-color photo insert illustrates injury patterns and key evidence. This edition provides increased coverage of motor vehicle accidents, DNA evidence, and new drugs of abuse.


Xen migration or Container mobility promise better system utiliztion and system performance. But how does one know if the effort will improve the workload's progress? Resource management solutions promise optimal performance tuning. But how does one determine the resources to be reallocated and the impact of the allotment? Most customers develop their own benchmark that is used for purchasing a solution, but how does one know that the bottleneck is not in the customer benchmark? Per-task delay accounting is a new functionality introduced for the Linux kernel which provides a direct measurement of resource constraints delaying forward progress of applications. Time spent by Linux tasks waiting for CPU time, completion of submitted I/O and in resolving page faults caused by allocated real memory, delay the forward progress of the application being run within the task. Currently these wait times are either unavailable at a per-task granularity or can only by obtained indirectly, through measurement of CPU usage and number of page faults. Indirect measurements are less useful because they make it harder to decide whether low usage of a resource is due to lack of demand from the application or due to resource contention with other tasks/applications. Direct measurement of per-task delays has several advantages. They provide feedback to resource management applications that control a task's allocation of system resources by altering its CPU priority, I/O priority and real memory limits and enable them to fine tune these parameters more quickly to adapt to resource management policies and application demand. They are also useful for accurate metering/billing of resource usage which is particularly useful for shared systems such as departmental servers or hosting platforms. For desktop users, these statistics provide a quick way of determining the resource bottleneck, if any, for applications that are not running as fast as expected. In this paper, we describe the design, implementation and usage of per-task delay accounting functionality currently available in the Linux kernel tree. We demonstrate the utility of the feature by studying the delay profiles of some commonly used applications and how their resource usage can be tuned using the feedback provided. We provide a brief description of the alternative mechanisms proposed to address similar needs.


From World War II until 1971, the government was the sole purchaser of uranium ore in the United States. Uranium mining occurred mostly in the southwestern United States and drew many Native Americans and others into work in the mines and mills. Despite a long and well-developed understanding, based on the European experience earlier in the century, that uranium mining led to high rates of lung cancer, few protections were provided for US miners before 1962 and their adoption after that time was slow and incomplete. The resulting high rates of illness among miners led in 1990 to passage of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.


Getting information about the martian crustal thickness is of primary interest for better understanding Mars dynamics and secular evolution. On a more specific point of view, the crustal thickness is crucial to better constrain how the Mars silicate layer differentiated into crust and mantle. On the one hand, coupled gravity-topography inversion models usually predict a mean crustal thickness of about 50-60 km (Wieczorek and Zuber, JGR 2004) to 100 km (Turcotte et al, JGR 107 2002), local values ranging from basically 0 to 150-200 km. On the other hand, thermal evolution models (Breuer and Spohn JGR 108 2003, Hauck and Phillips, JGR 107 2002) tend to predict a mean crustal thickness close to the highest estimates of the former models, or even significantly larger, depending on the initial temperature, on the viscosity, and on the thermal diffusivity. A very thick crust (from 100 to 250 km) is also inferred from global interior structure models (Sohl and Spohn, JGR 102 1997). From SNC analysis and surface spectroscopy measurements, the martian crust is thought to be mainly basaltic, with some possible andesitic material at the surface of the Northern hemisphere. As a consequence, the gabbro-eclogite type transition is likely to be relevant for the martian crust. Depending on the temperature profile, this transition can be initiated at a depth of about 50 to 100 km (Babeyko and Zharkov, PEPI 117 2000). The density of eclogite is much larger than basalt, and might even be slightly above that of the martian mantle (up to 3.53 kg.m-3 versus 3.4 to 3.55 kg.m-3 for the mantle). In these conditions, the question of a possible recycling of the lower crust back into the mantle is worth investigating: this could possibly lead to important consequences on the global dynamics of the planet, and may limit the crustal thickness.

In the framework of 2D thermo-chemical convection models in presence of temperature-dependent viscosity, we will show that key parameters for this problem are: a. the temperature dependence of the viscosity; b. the ratio of crustal to stagnant-lid thickness, Lc / Lst. This ratio is likely to have encountered important variations through time, giving rise to very different situations with regards to the crustal delamination process. We will discuss the consequences of our results for both thermal evolution models on the one hand, and density profile models inferred from gravity inversion on the other hand. Finally, we will also interpret our study in terms of a potential maximal crustal thickness as a function of the global evolution of the planet.

This work is funded by the European Community's Human Potential Programme under contract RTN2-2001-00414, MAGE.


Background and objectives: Vitexin is a natural flavonoid glycoside mainly extracted from the leaves of vitex, which has a variety of physiological activities. For example, vitexin has antitumor and anti-inflammation activities, and it can also promote blood circulation in the body. However, the function and mechanism of vitexin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are still unclear. Materials and methods: Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and cell cycle analysis were performed to examine cell survival in response to vitexin. Immunoblotting was used to analyze relative proteins' expression. NPC xenograft models were established to assess the effect of vitexin in vivo. The luciferase activity of pNFκB-Luc was analyzed by using Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay System. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect relative genes' expression. Kinase activity of IKKβ was analyzed in a cell-free system. Results: In this study, vitexin was found to display significant antitumor activity in NPC in vitro and in vivo. In NPC cells, vitexin inhibited cell cycle progression in NPC cells and induced the cleavages of PARP and inhibited antiapoptotic proteins' expression, including Bcl-2 and Mcl1. Further studies indicated that vitexin significantly suppressed the luciferase activity of pNF-κB-Luc and inhibited the activation of NF-κB key regulators, including p65, IκBα and IKKs in NPC cells. Moreover, the kinase activity of IKKβ could be suppressed by vitexin in a cell-free system, and overexpression of CA-IKKβ could attenuate the inhibitory effect of vitexin on p65 phosphorylation. Conclusion: These results indicated that vitexin displayed antitumor activity by suppressing NF-κB signaling in NPC, which suggested that vitexin could be as a potential drug for the treatment of NPC in the future.


Agriculture intensification in most European countries over the last 50 years resulted in a significant loss of biodiversity in agro-ecosystems. Attempts are now being made to restore originally complex agricultural landscapes by splitting large fields into smaller units using biocorridors, which are linear elements consisting of trees and shrubs. Such non-crop habitats can act as refuges both for insect predators that may potentially act as biocontrol agents and for insect pests. Bird cherry, Prunus padus (L.), is a winter host of a cereal pest and vector of cereal virus, the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), and is commonly planted in these biocorridors. The question arises, whether and to what extent the presence and distribution of P. padus in biocorridors influences the abundance of R. padi in nearby fields. This was addressed by monitoring spatial and temporal population dynamics of R. padi in two fields each adjacent to the newly established biocorridor but adjacent to parts of the corridor with different species compositions (only one with P. padus ). Our results showed that this aphid colonized the field adjacent to that part of the corridor with P. padus but not the other field. In the second field colonization started close to one edge distant from the corridor and with no P. padus in the vicinity. After excluding the variability explained by spatial and temporal factors we also tested for the effect of environmental factors (weather conditions) on the remaining variability. Of the environmental factors tested, humidity accounted for most of the variability.


Recent reports have highlighted the dual bromodomains of TAF1 (TAF1(1,2)) as synergistic with BET inhibition in cellular cancer models, engendering interest in TAF/BET polypharmacology. Here, we examine structure activity relationships within the BI-2536 PLK1 kinase inhibitor scaffold, previously reported to bind BRD4. We examine binding by this ligand to TAF1(2) and apply structure guided design strategies to discriminate binding to both the PLK1 kinase and BRD4(1) bromodomain while retaining activity on TAF1(2). Through this effort we discover potent dual inhibitors of TAF1(2)/BRD4(1), as well as biased derivatives showing marked TAF1 selectivity. We resolve X-ray crystallographic data sets to examine the mechanisms of the observed TAF1 selectivity and to provide a resource for further development of this scaffold.


Background: Malaria is infectious vector born disease affecting 212 million people belonging to 97 countries globally in the year 2016. Although this number has reduced progressively from last one decade but recent failure of currently available antimalarial drug therapy has accentuated the urgent need to explore different novel approaches in Anti-plasmodial drug discovery. Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the Anti-plasmodial activity of traditional medicinal plants Ficus deltoidea and Ficus benjamina. Materials and Methods: Crude petroleum ether and hydro alcoholic extract of both the plant species were evaluated for Anti-plasmodial activity by schizont maturation inhibition assay using 3D7 plasmodium strains. Results: It was observed that petroleum ether extract of F. benjamina leaves showed most promising inhibitory effect on the growth of schizonts with IC50 14.5 μg/ml. Bio-assay guided fractionation of petroleum ether extract of F. benjamina led to the hexane and chloroform fraction with high Anti-plasmodial activity (IC50 4.0 μg/ml and IC50 7.8 μg/ml respectively). Further, phytochemical investigation of F. benjamina indicated the presence of various valuable phytochemicals belonging to class of steroids, terpenoids and phytosterols. Conclusion: This study has revealed the Anti-plasmodial activity of F. deltoidea and F. benjamina for the first time. Significant Anti-plasmodial activity and preliminary phytochemical studies of F. benjamina indicates its rich chemical diversity which make this plant a good candidate for isolating new molecule that could serve as new lead in Anti-plasmodial drug discovery.


In United States v. Morrison, the Supreme Court struck down the federal civil rights remedy for gender-based violence in the Violence Against Women Act. Notwithstanding evidence considered by Congress documenting the economic impact of domestic violence, and despite the inability of state and local systems to address gender-based violence claims, the Court determined that Congress lacked the necessary authority. The author argues that Morrison is remarkable in what it reveals about the legal status of women as mediated in multiple levels of judicial transactions. She contends that the decision reflects attitudes ingrained in the nation's judicial culture. Specifically, the doctrines used by the Court to oppose adjudicating cases of violence against women are themselves derived from, and analogous to, the arguments used by state courts to avoid hearing such claims. The Article explores the day-to-day practices by which state courts adjudicate domestic violence cases and outlines the need for new legal strategies to address gender-based violence


This work addresses the optimization of TV-resolution MPEG-2 video streams to be transmitted over lossy packet networks. This paper introduces a new scene-complexity adaptive mechanism, namely the adaptive MPEG-2 Information Structuring (AMIS) mechanism. AMIS adaptively modulates the number of resynchronization points in order to maximize the perceived video quality assuming it is aware of the packet loss probability and the error concealment technique implemented in the decoder. The perceived video quality depends both on the encoding quality and the degradation due to data loss. Therefore, AMIS constantly determines the best compromise between the rate allocated to pure video information and the rate aiming at reducing the sensitivity to packet loss. Results show that the proposed algorithm behaves much better than the traditional MPEG-2 encoding scheme in terms of perceived video quality under the same traffic constraints.


After a long and courageous battle with cancer, Alan Crump, one of the most energetic and prominent personalities in the South African art world, died on 1 May 2009, a few days after his sixtieth birthday. 1 May is celebrated by many as Workers' Day, but in the northern hemisphere this day also heralds the beginning of spring with its promise of new life. Remembering Alan is indeed remembering life, vitality and his role as a worker for the arts.


This paper describes a grant project to digitize Cooke County, Texas ledgers. The project was funded in part by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) and involves digitizing and hosting several rare and unique collections representative of the Civil War. The UNT Archives partnered with the UNT Libraries Digital Projects Unit (DPU), which managed all stages of the digitization. This paper describes and examines the process the DPU implemented to digitize the Cooke County ledger collection; in doing so, it provides insight into the problems one might encounter, as well as recommendations for institutions that may be considering similar digital projects.


Tremendous progress has recently been achieved in the field of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) as evidenced by impressive power conversion efficiencies (PCEs); but the high PCEs of >20% in PSCs has so far been mostly achieved by using the hole transport material (HTM) spiro‐OMeTAD; however, the relatively low conductivity and high cost of spiro‐OMeTAD significantly limit its potential use in large‐scale applications. In this work, two new organic molecules with spiro[fluorene‐9,9′‐xanthene] (SFX)‐based pendant groups, X26 and X36, have been developed as HTMs. Both X26 and X36 present facile syntheses with high yields. It is found that the introduced SFX pendant groups in triphenylamine‐based molecules show significant influence on the conductivity, energy levels, and thin‐film surface morphology. The use of X26 as HTM in PSCs yields a remarkable PCE of 20.2%. In addition, the X26‐based devices show impressive stability maintaining a high PCE of 18.8% after 5 months of aging in controlled (20%) humidity in the dark. We believe that X26 with high device PCEs of >20% and simple synthesis show a great promise for future application in PSCs, and that it represents a useful design platform for designing new charge transport materials for optoelectronic applications.


The at-risk-of-poverty rate is one of the three indicators used for monitoring progress towards the Europe 2020 poverty and social exclusion reduction target. Timeliness of this indicator is crucial for monitoring of the social situation and of the effectiveness of tax and benefit policies. However, partly due to the complexity of EU-SILC data collection, estimates of the number of people at risk of poverty are published with a significant delay. This paper extends and updates previous work on estimating ('nowcasting') indicators of poverty risk using the tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD. The model's routines are enhanced with additional adjustments to the EU-SILC based input data in order to capture changes in the employment characteristics of the population since the data were collected. The nowcasting method is applied to seventeen EU Member States. AROP rates are estimated up to 2014 for ten countries and 2013 for the remaining seven countries. The performance of the method is assessed by comparing the predictions with actual EU-SILC indicators for the years for which the latter are available.


Just Business: Business Ethics in Action by Elaine Sternberg is an unusual book on business ethics; the extract presented here, 'Introduction: What Makes This Book Distinctive', explains how and why. Unlike most books on business ethics, Just Business does not apply incoherent philosophical doctrines to misunderstood business practice. Instead, it provides a systematic, reasoned argument about what constitutes ethical conduct for business. Just Business is realistic both in its robust (largely Aristotelian) philosophical underpinnings, and in its appreciation and understanding of business. Based on a rigorous analysis of what business, ethics and business ethics are, Just Business provides a powerful explanatory framework - the Ethical Decision Model - that supplies the basis for resolving business ethics questions whenever and wherever they arise, in all their actual variety, complexity and novelty. It explains and illustrates that Model with reference to such key issues as: bribery, conflicts of interest, fiduciary responsibility, hiring, firing and remuneration, financial reporting, takeovers, insider trading, junk bonds, whistleblowing, and corporate governance. By introducing conceptual clarity to business ethics, Just Business provides solid arguments for rebutting trendy, unethical demands for 'social responsibility' and 'stakeholding' in business. Combining business realism with philosophical rigour, and employing a global perspective, the book demonstrates that business's correct ethical concern is Just Business - nothing but business, but business that is just. It shows that, contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary either to emasculate or to adulterate business for business to be moral. In addition to characterising the argument of Just Business: Business Ethics in Action, the Introduction outlines it. Just Business starts by arguing that business is a very specific, limited activity, which is defined by its objective: maximising owner value over the long term by selling goods or services. Though maximising long-term owner value is business's sole objective, achieving it usually requires taking into account behaviour by, and to, all stakeholders; that which alienates stakeholders or discourages repeat business is unlikely to maximise long-term owner value. Just Business eliminates a variety of dispensations that are commonly claimed to justify unethical conduct in business. Business is not a game, a war or a machine; it is not exempt from ethical judgement. But nor is a separate 'business ethic' justified. Just Business then explains how ethics differs from religion, from suffering, sacrifice and struggle, from prudence and altruism, and from compliance with law and contracts. Just Business identifies the key values of business ethics as those without which the activity of maximising long-term owner value would not be possible: (classical) distributive justice and ordinary decency. Distributive justice exists when organisational rewards are proportional to contributions made to organisational goals. Ordinary decency is not 'niceness', but the conditions of trust necessary both for taking a long-term view and for surviving over the long term; it consists of honesty, fairness, the absence of physical violence and coercion, and the presumption of legality. To be ethical, business must maximise long-term owner value subject to respecting distributive justice and ordinary decency.


ABSTRACT This paper is a confessional tale that focuses on challenges encountered during the process of conducting member reflections, and on the lessons learned from these. Recent discussions on enhancing the rigor of qualitative research conducted from an interpretivist stance encourage the use of member reflections, rather than the previously widely adopted member checking. Yet, practical examples of how to use this technique are scarce in the sport, exercise and health literature. As a consequence, researchers trying to achieve rigor in their work might struggle, especially if inexperienced. In this work, the first author provides a personal narrative that explores the questions and doubts encountered when engaging with member reflections during her PhD degree. Drawing on the first author's reflective journal, a challenging situation is portrayed, and recommendations for other neophyte researchers are forwarded through four main lessons learned: (a) lessons on rigor in qualitative research, (b) lessons on tellability and layers of understanding, (c) lessons on the importance of confrontations and knowledge exchange, and (d) lessons on relational ethics.


Binary liquid mixtures near their consolute critical points are shown to possess desirable thermophysical properties for thermal lens absorption measurements. By use of a 2,6-dimethylpyridine/water mixture near critical composition and temperature, sensitivity was found to be enhanced relative to pure liquids by the Soret effect in which a concentration gradient is created between the two solvent components by thermally induced mass diffusion within the laser-excited temperature gradient. A 35-fold increase in sensitivity relative to a thermal expansion lens effect in pure water was obtained. A mechanism of phase separation unique to the critical point region known as spinodol decomposition was observed, as the sample temperature was driven above the critical point by laser excitation. This phenomenon was also found to be a potentially useful spectrophotometric technique for the thermooptical detection of small absorbances.


INTRODUCTION
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) and the need for haemodialysis (HD) treatment are increasing. The course of the disease and all the life readjustments needed may generate a multitude of fears in patients and families.

AIM
This study aimed to explore the main fears and concerns of patients with ESRD undergoing HD and their family members.

STUDY DESIGN
A qualitative study was performed.

METHODS
Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with three groups: 20 patients, 14 family caregivers and 15 patient-family dyads. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and submitted to thematic analysis.

FINDINGS
Five major themes emerged: (i) fear of death (fear of earlier death, fear of a sudden death and fear of dying); (ii) fear of problems during HD (fears related to the vascular access, and fear of complications during HD); (iii) concerns related to the disease (fear of loss of autonomy, fears of getting worse, fears related to renal transplantation and concerns about dietary restrictions); (iv) fear about the future; and (v) absence of fears and concerns.

DISCUSSION
Patients with ESRD undergoing HD and their family members expressed different fears related to the disease and the treatments required. Renal care staff must acknowledge and understand such concerns and help patients and families to cope. This is important to improving people's quality of life (QoL), the dialogue between health professionals, patients, and family members, and the care offered by the dialysis care settings. Moreover, this study highlights the impact this disease has at a familial level. Future family-based interventions should acknowledge possible fears and concerns of this population and integrate them into their programs.


This paper focuses on the link between economic rights and institutions. Simple analysis of data is used to demonstrate countries' human development effort in advancing economics rights of the citizens. A country's human development effort is evaluated on the basis of the well-being of the poorest members of the society. An analysis of data reveals that there is a wide variation in countries' pro-poor stance. While it is accepted that positive rights are pro-poor, this paper argues that so too are negative economic rights and in fact the two are complements rather than substitutes. Classifying countries into human development income deficit and human development effort deficit, it is demonstrated that a large number of countries could achieve higher welfare levels for the poor if they improved on bother positive and negative economic rights. The paper attempts to explain variations in the observed commitment to economic rights by focusing on pro-poor institutions. The basic thesis advanced in the paper is that pro-poor policies are more likely to be implemented and sustained in those institutions where power is sufficiently diffused such that even the poor have leverage over policy outcomes. The paper focuses on how institutions impact on power diffusion and therefore the adoption of pro-poor growth and policies. The failure of countries to adopt pro-poor growth and policies is attributed to institutional failures manifested in concentration of power. The policy recommendations emanating from the analysis focus on institutional reforms to enhance power diffusion. These policies include enlarging the political space through democratization, strengthening institutions and capacity to fight corruption and improve transparency, and bringing the government closer to the people through appropriate design and implementation of decentralization schemes. Some recent examples of improvements in economic rights following power diffusion are provided.


It is impractical to measure water retention for large-scale hydrologic, agronomic, and ecological applications or at the design stages of many projects; therefore, water retention estimates are often used. Field soil descriptions routinely include structure and consistence characterization. The objective of this work was to use the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) database to evaluate the potential for structural and consistence properties to serve as predictors of soil hydraulics properties. Total of =2140 samples were found that had (i) values of water contents at -33 kPa and -1500 kPa, (ii) structure characterized with grade, size, and shape, (iii) consistence characterized with dry and moist consistency, stickiness, and plasticity, and (iv) textural class determined in the field and from lab textural analysis. Because structural and consistence parameters were represented by categories rather than numbers, regression trees were used for recursive partitioning of the data sets into groups to decrease overall variability measured as the sum of squared errors within groups. Plasticity class, grade class, and dry consistency class were leading predictors of water retention at both -33 kPa and -1500 kPa matric potentials. The accuracy of estimates from structural and consistence parameters was lower than from textural classes. Using soil structural and consistence parameters along with textural classes provided a small, although significant improvement in accuracy of water retention estimates as compared with estimation from texture alone. Soil structural and consistence parameters can serve as predictors of soil water retention because those parameters reflect soil basic properties that affect soil hydraulic properties.


As government budgets get tighter, there has been considerable public outcry about the continued investment in public mass transit systems and their financial viability. Amid this outcry, a number of studies have been conducted to determine which factors influence the use and efficiency of publiclyfunded mass transit systems. These factors include population density and less sprawl (or greater urban compactness). However, their impact on mass transit usage is somewhat contradictory in that the heavy concentration of populations in the urban area and greater compactness is believed to increase mass transit usage due to a bigger number of potential passengers. In fact, greater compactness and greater transit ridership have played a role in lengthening the journey to work for most commuters and thus discouraged the use of mass transit systems. Thus, some questioned the wisdom of mass transit subsidies and "smart growth" policies. To attempt to answer this question and avoid any further confusion, this paper examines how urban sprawl affects the journey to work commute time of mass transit riders and other commuters throughout the United States after controlling for variables such as the volume of ridership, local per capita income, the presence of a local rail transit system, and local weather. The findings for this research note defy some conventional wisdom and point to several public policy recommendations on how to improve public mass transit at the local level. For instance, we find that greater urban compactness can be turned into a mass transit advantage if mass transit riders can use a commuter rail option.


The central concern of this research is to explore how male parents make sense of and understand their experiences of fathering in a diverse array of family forms. It is a mixed methods study, using both quantitative and qualitative data, to explore the extent to which 'paternal careers' have become more diverse and complex, and the consequences of this complexity for fathers as they negotiate fathering in their everyday lives. Drawing upon data from the British Household Panel Survey it provides a quantitative exploration of the paternal careers of British fathers born between 1920 and 1979, illustrates the changes in family forms and paternal statuses of the fathers and explores attitudes towards fathering, gender roles and different family forms. Using the testimonies of twenty-five male parents this thesis explores how parenting is experienced for contemporary fathers. It illustrates the changing dynamics of families and the impact it has on the way fathers perceive and experience fatherhood. In particular, it focuses on the experiences of stepfathers in multi-father families. This thesis illustrates how stepfathers negotiate the label 'dad' and the extent to which the traditional notions of 'family' are being re-conceptualised to include recognition that children are parented by more than one 'father'. The nature of interpersonal relationships betweenmale parents in multi-father families is also explored.


Background Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) is a rare, yet significant, adverse effect of bisphosphonate therapy. A multidisciplinary approach to the prevention of BRONJ is recommended due to the significant morbidity and difficulty treating the condition. Current evidence suggests that both general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists have limited knowledge relating to BRONJ and that preventative strategies are rarely implemented. Objective To explore the attitudes and perceptions of GPs and community pharmacists on the risks and preventative strategies for the development of BRONJ. Design Interpretivist methodological approach using qualitative semistructured interviews. Participants 9 community pharmacists and 8 GPs. Setting Primary Care in North East England and Cumbria, UK. Methods Using a Grounded Theory methodology and integrating a process of constant comparison in the iterative enrichment of data sets, semistructured interviews were undertaken, transcribed and analysed using framework analysis. Salient themes were identified and related back to extant literature in the field. Results Four salient and inter-related themes emerged: (1) uncertain knowledge, indicating limited exposure of respondents to BRONJ, and limited awareness of the implications of its diagnosis, risk factors and preventative strategies; (2) patient specific, referring to the complexity of patients, patient education and prioritising aspects of care; (3) wider context, indicating a lack of interdisciplinary communication and referral processes between professions, workload pressures, access and patient receptivity to dental services; and (4) professional, reflecting professional roles and responsibilities, authority and educational initiatives Conclusions Effective communication or collaborative care between GPs and community pharmacists for the prevention of BRONJ is not apparent. Interventions to mitigate against the risk of developing BRONJ and clarity of GP and community pharmacy roles are required.


Background Lateral ankle sprain is one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries, particularly among the sporting population. Due to such prevalence, many interventions have been tried to prevent initial, or further, ankle sprains. Current research shows that the use of traditional athletic tape can reduce the incidence of sprain recurrence, but this may be at a cost to athletic performance through restriction of motion. Kinesiology tape, which has become increasingly popular, is elastic in nature, and it is proposed by the manufacturers that it can correct ligament damage. Kinesiology tape, therefore, may be able to improve stability and reduce ankle sprain occurrence while overcoming the problems of traditional tape. Aim To assess the effect of kinesiology tape on ankle stability. Methods 27 healthy individuals were recruited, and electromyography (EMG) measurements were recorded from the peroneus longus and tibialis anterior muscles. Recordings were taken from the muscles of the dominant leg during induced sudden ankle inversion perturbations using a custom-made tilting platform system. This was performed with and without using kinesiology tape and shoes, creating four different test conditions: barefoot(without tape), shoe(without tape), barefoot(with tape) and shoe(with tape). For each test condition, the peak muscle activity, average muscle activity and the muscle latency were calculated. Results No significant difference (p>0.05) was found by using the kinesiology tape on any of the measured variables while the wearing of shoes significantly increased all the variables. Conclusion Kinesiology tape has no effect on ankle stability and is unable to nullify the detrimental effects that shoes appear to have.


As computers are acquired in greater numbers in schools, their impact on the social organization of instruction increasingly becomes an issue for research. Developments in the cognitive science of instruction, drawing on the sociohistorical theory, provide researchers with an appropriate theoretical approach to cultural tools and cognitive change, while developments in the technology of computer-supported cooperative work provide researchers with models for organizational impact outside of education. The concept of a formative experiment in which schools are supported in the appropriation of new technology is illustrated by a project that implements local area network technology in an elementary school. The concept of appropriation derived from sociohistorical theory highlights how schools can make use of technology for goals not anticipated by the researcher.


Abstract Psychophysiological Credibility Assessment (PCA), commonly known as polygraph testing, is one of the most misunderstood, misrepresented and maligned applications of psychology. In this article we review the two main approaches to PCA, knowledge-based and deception-based tests, and the techniques, scientific support and criticisms associated with each. Despite data indicating that the most commonly used polygraph techniques are highly valid discriminators of deceivers and truth tellers, there are several very vocal and high profile critics of psychophysiological credibility assessment. Unfortunately, since most psychologists appear to be poorly informed about the controversy, they may be misled by misinformation from persons believed to be high authority sources. We hope that the present article will help to inform the forensic community about this important and interesting area.


The T1R family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are expressed in taste buds, detect sweet and umami tastes. Coexpressed T1R1 and T1R3 respond to the umami taste of glutamate, whereas coexpressed T1R2 and T1R3 respond to numerous sweet substances, including sugars, amino acids, proteins, and synthetic sweeteners. In humans, aspartame, neotame, and cyclamate stimulate T1R2-T1R3, whereas rat T1R2-T1R3 does not respond to these sweeteners. Xu et al. constructed rat-human chimeric T1R2 and T1R3 proteins in which the N-terminal region (containing the large extracellular "Venus flytrap" domain) from one species was fused to the C-terminal region (containing the transmembrane and intracellular domains) of the other. Analysis of various chimeric and human or rat wild-type GPCR combinations expressed in HEK-293 cells implicated the T1R2 N-terminal region in sensing aspartame and neotame, whereas extracellular portions of the C-terminal region of T1R3 were implicated in sensing cyclamate and in sensitivity to lactisole, a human-specific sweet taste inhibitor. Lactisole inhibited the response to glutamate (and glutamate plus the umami taste enhancer 5′-inosine monophosphate) both in vitro and in human taste tests, whereas cyclamate (whose sweetness would have overwhelmed an umami taste test) enhanced the T1R2-T1R3 response in vitro. Thus, the authors conclude that both T1R2 and T1R3 are required for a functional sweet taste receptor and that the structural diversity of sweeteners may depend in part on the existence of distinct ligand-binding sites. H. Xu, L. Staszewski, H. Tang, E. Adler, M. Zoller, X. Li, Different functional roles of T1R subunits in the heteromeric taste receptors. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101, 14258-14263 (2004). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Specific interactions between desmoplakins I and II (DP I and II) and other desmosomal or cytoskeletal molecules have been difficult to determine in part because of the complexity and insolubility of the desmosome and its constituents. We have used a molecular genetic approach to investigate the role that DP I and II may play in the association of the desmosomal plaque with cytoplasmic intermediate filaments (IF). A series of mammalian expression vectors encoding specific predicted domains of DP I were transiently expressed in cultured cells that form (COS-7) and do not form (NIH-3T3) desmosomes. Sequence encoding a small antigenic peptide was added to the 3' end of each mutant DP cDNA to facilitate immunolocalization of mutant DP protein. Light and electron microscopical observations revealed that DP polypeptides including the 90-kD carboxy-terminal globular domain of DP I specifically colocalized with and ultimately resulted in the complete disruption of IF in both cell lines. This effect was specific for IF as microtubule and microfilament networks were unaltered. This effect was also specific for the carboxyl terminus of DP, as the expression of the 95-kD rod domain of DP I did not visibly alter IF networks. Immunogold localization of COS-7 cells transfected with constructs including the carboxyl terminus of DP demonstrated an accumulation of mutant protein in perinuclear aggregates within which IF subunits were sequestered. These results suggest a role for the DP carboxyl terminus in the attachment of IF to the desmosome in either a direct or indirect manner.


In many parts of the world, higher education is still predominantly shaped at national level, and tends not only to reflect but also to underscore the specific traditions and circumstances of individual countries (Enders, J. 2002:1). As a result, it has been mainly assessed in the context of national systems with very little attention being paid to its international dimension. In Southern Africa, this trend has largely been due to the nature of relationship that prevails between higher education and the nation state. This trend has started changing as globalisation and internationalisation factors exert more and more influence on the shaping of the institution of a university. This article argues that in Southern Africa, globalisation manifests itself through regionalisation, a process that has ushered in standardisation of quality assurance systems; a new managerialism in the management of higher education institutions; marketisation and commodification of knowledge; changing forms of state-university relationships; greater emphasis on efficiency, cost saving and income-generating discourse; the forging of university-private sector partnerships; and increasing staff and student mobility in the region and on the continent. The article pursues these themes and shows how they impact on the quality of delivery of three case universities in Southern Africa.


Derivative-free nonlinear optimization filter simplex The filter method is a technique for solving nonlinear programming problems. The filter algorithm has two phases in each iteration. The first one reduces a measure of infeasibility, while in the second the objective function value is reduced. In real optimization problems, usually the objective function is not differentiable or its derivatives are unknown. In these cases it becomes essential to use optimization methods where the calculation of the derivatives or the verification of their existence is not necessary: direct search methods or derivative-free methods are examples of such techniques. In this work we present a new direct search method, based on simplex methods, for general constrained optimization that combines the features of simplex and filter methods. This method neither computes nor approximates derivatives, penalty constants or Lagrange multipliers.


PURPOSE
To demonstrate a method to mitigate the step-and-shoot (S&S) IMRT overdose phenomenon for set of patients which initially failed IMRT QA process.

METHODS
Five S&S IMRT patients treated on Varian 2100C-EX linacs with larger than +4.5% phantom IC point dose difference relative to planned dose were investigated. For every patient plan, five fractions (Fx) were delivered. Dynalog files were recorded and centiMU pulses from dose integrator board for every control point (CP) were counted using a BK1856D (B&K Precision Corp.) pulse counter (PC). The recorded MUs were imported to Pinnacle9.2 (Philips Healthcare), the 3D dose was recalculated and compared to the planned dose distribution. The initial plans were then modified by adding one starting segment to every beam. This segment consisted of an MLC aperture of 0.5x1cm2 hidden under the jaws with 1MU. For each patient, five Fx of the modified plan were delivered, recorded and the delivered 3D dose recalculated. Individual voxels' dose in high dose region, isocenter point dose, segment MUs, PTV D95 and OAR D2cc were compared between the original plan and the results of both deliveries.

RESULTS
The PC recorded total number showed the delivered beam MUs exceeded the plan by only ∼0.2%. For all initial plans, the first CP on average overshot by 0.6MU. It was determined that this on average translated to an increased dose to isocenter, PTV D95, bladder D2cc and high-dose-region voxels' dose by 2.66% (2.21%-3.12%), 2.06% (1.59%-2.48%), 2.57% (1.97%-3.11%), and 2.19% (1.75%-2.75%) respectively. All modified plans had inconsequential 0.05MU overshoot in first unmodified CP and 0.04%(-0.45% -0.55%), -0.07%(-0.44--0.48%), 0.08%(-0.28%-0.33%) and -0.07%(-0.31%-0.20%) differences for dosimetric parameters listed above.

CONCLUSION
Our proposed method of attaching a special aperture 1MU CP to each beam was experimentally verified by using centiMU pulse counts to successfully eliminate the overdosage.


Continuous chromatography is an attractive alternative to traditional batch chromatography because it can have higher productivity, solvent efficiency, and product concentrations. However, several barriers prevent further use of continuous chromatography. There are many operating parameters that must be determined when designing continuous systems making it difficult to achieve high purity, yield, and productivity. Through the identification and strategic combination of the key dimensionless groups that control a continuous separation, it is possible to design highly productive systems that produce products with high yield and high purity. In this dissertation, three examples were selected to demonstrate the significance of a model-based method when designing continuous chromatography systems. (1) The Speedy Standing Wave Design and simulated moving bed splitting strategies for the separation of ternary mixtures with linear isotherms. (2) The Standing-wave Design of Three-Zone open-loop non-isocratic SMB for purification. (3) The Continuous Ligand-Assisted Displacement for the separation of Rare Earth Elements.In the first example, the Speedy Standing Wave Design equations were developed for multicomponent separations with linear isotherms and a systematic splitting strategy was developed for the design of multiple sequential Simulated Moving Beds (SMBs). By performing the easiest split first, the overall productivity and solvent efficiency can be significantly improved. Rate model simulations were used to verify that the SSWD equations achieved target yields and purities. In systems where only one component is desired, the sorbent should be selected such that this component is the most or least retained so that it can be separated in a single SMB.In the second example, the Standing Wave Design method was extended to non-isocratic three zone open loop SMBs. The standing wave design equations were derived and then verified using rate model simulations. In two case studies it was shown that non-isocratic SMBs designed using the standing wave design method show an order of magnitude higher productivity than a comparable batch system when the impurities are weakly adsorbing. When the impurities are competitive, the SWD method produces SMB systems with 2 orders of magnitude higher productivity than comparable batch systems. Because the design is based on dimensionless groups, the resulting designs are easily scalable and no rate model simulations are required to design high yield, high purity, and high productivity SMBs.In the third example, the constant pattern design method was extended to continuous LAD systems. A continuous operation mode was developed that reduced the cycle time of LAD systems to further increase the productivity. In cases where the feed was equimolar, the continuous configuration increased the productivity between 20-50%. A multizone continuous LAD configuration was developed for the separation of a complex mixture of Dy, ND, and Pr that simulated a crude magnet feed. The resulting overall productivity for this system was 190 kg/m3day which was two orders of magnitude higher than a single column batch system and 70% higher than a multizone batch system. The robustness of the constant pattern design method was demonstrated through a simulated case study and it was determined that adding a safety factor through the reduction of the flowrate was more effective than reducing the design length.Using a model-based design allows for the consistent design of continuous chromatography systems. The effects of a change in a feed or operating condition can be more easily understood through the lens of the model. This means that adjustments can be made pre-emptively when necessary and the new designs can be tested with virtual experiments before being implemented. The understanding of key dimensionless groups allows for designs that meet key design criteria at all scales of operation and thus allows for the easy transition from one scale to another.


Animal coloration is key in natural and sexual selection, playing significant roles in intra- and interspecific communication because of its linkage to individual behaviour, genetics and physiology. Simple animal traits such as the area or the colour intensity of homogeneous patches have been profusely studied. More complex patterns are widespread in nature, but they escape our understanding because their variation is difficult to capture effectively by standard, simple measures. Here, we used fractal geometry to quantify inter-individual variation in the expression of a complex plumage trait, the heterogeneous black bib of the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa). We show that a higher bib fractal dimension (FD) predicted better individual body condition, as well as immune responsiveness, which is condition-dependent in our study species. Moreover, when food intake was experimentally reduced during moult as a means to reduce body condition, the bib's FD significantly decreased. Fractal geometry therefore provides new opportunities for the study of complex animal colour patterns and their roles in animal communication.


This paper addresses the issue of learning from communication among agents that work in the same domain, are capable of learning from examples, and communicate using an argumentative framework. We will present (1) an argumentation framework for Case-Based Reasoning agents and (2) an individual policy for agents to generate arguments and counterarguments (including counterexamples). We focus on argumentation between two agents, presenting an interaction protocol (AMAL2) that allows agents to learn from counterexamples and a preference relation to determine the joint outcome when individual predictions are in contradiction. The experimental evaluation shows that argumentation-based joint predictions and learning examples from communication both improve over individual predictions.


During the past decades, notions of Earth dynamics and climate change have changed drastically, as anthropogenic CO2-emissions are linked to measurable Earth system changes. At the same time, Earth scientists have discovered deep time climate changes triggered by large scale and natural release of CO2. As the understanding of past climatic changes improved, they were used to envision what might happen in the near future. This article explores the use of deep time climate examples by analyzing publications on a 56-million-year-old greenhouse gas-driven rapid global warming event, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). We explore how the PETM is framed and used as an example of "extreme climatic warming" in four cases across different scientific genres. The scientific knowledge about the PETM is considered too uncertain to draw conclusions from, but our analysis shows that, by being presented as an example, the PETM may still contribute to the scientific understanding of ongoing climate change. Although the PETM is regarded as too uncertain to guide present day climate change modeling, it is still considered morally significant, and is allowed to influence public opinion and policy making. We argue that the PETM is used as an example in ways that have formal similarities with the early modern historia magistra vitae topos. The PETM example highlights the ambivalence that characterizes the Anthropocene as a temporal conception. The Anthropocene is "completely different", but at the same time pointing to the similarity between the present and the deep past, thereby allowing for comparison to past geological events. Thus, the Anthropocene is not so "completely different" after all. Just a little bigger, a lot faster, and a lot scarier to humans.


In the late fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries, the Dukes of Valois-Burgundy created a composite monarchy in the Netherlands, an area that had been dominated for centuries by several regional dynasties. In this way they laid the foundation for the modern states of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg. The rise of the House of Burgundy can be read as the success story of a dynasty that in little over a century managed to assemble a great number of principalities, thus creating a new state. The Burgundian takeover, however, resulted in a modernization of administration, jurisdiction, and finances. The process of unification and the character of the union are the central topics of Magnanimous Dukes and Rising States. Robert Stein mirrors continuity and modernisation in Burgundian times with the bankruptcy of the former dynasties and the decline of feudal government. The powerful towns played an important background role; it was only with their support that a unification of the Netherlands was possible, but this support was not unselfish. This study is about the development of power relations and institutions in the field of tension between ruler and subject, between centralisation and particularism.


Bayesian inference is common in models with many parameters, such as large VAR models, models with time-varying parameters, or large DSGE models. A common practice is to focus on prior distributions that themselves depend on relatively few hyperparameters. The choice of these hyperparameters is crucial because their influence is often sizeable for standard sample sizes. In this paper we treat the hyperparameters as part of a hierarchical model and propose a fast, tractable, easy-to-implement, and fully Bayesian approach to estimate those hyperparameters jointly with all other parameters in the model. In terms of applications, we show via Monte Carlo simulations that in time series models with time-varying parameters and stochastic volatility, our approach can drastically improve on using fixed hyperparameters previously proposed in the literature.


The dynamic behavior of a network model consisting of all-to-all excitatory coupled binary neurons with global inhibition is studied analytically and numerically. We prove that for random input signals, the output of the network consists of synchronized bursts with apparently random intermissions of noisy activity. We introduce the fraction of simultaneously firing neurons as a measure for synchrony and prove that its temporal correlation function displays, besides a delta peak at zero indicating random processes, strongly dampened oscillations. Our results suggest that synchronous bursts can be generated by a simple neuronal architecture that amplifies incoming coincident signals. This synchronization process is accompanied by dampened oscillations that, by themselves, however, do not play any constructive role in this and can therefore be considered to be an epiphenomenon.


Unquestionably the behavior of the financial institutes caused the US financial crisis which became a worldwide phenomenon. It is too easy but not enough to blame greedy banker (though not superfluous). The subprime crisis was the consequence of the profit-seeking activity of the different financial institutions (which belongs to the logic of the market). What happened was not against the market but according to the logic of the market. There were some mistakes in functioning of the market institution which must be corrected. These distortions were caused mainly by the intervention of the states. Competitiveness in the sector was confused by the belief that some big institutions will be saved by the state because they are too big to fail. (And at the end they were not disappointed, that was what happened.) According to Raghuram Rajan the fault lines causing the crises lay in the income situation of the society and in the government interventions. According to him too much state in business should be reduced. Financial institutions should take the responsibility of their activity, state should not rescue them, and probably only the very small institutions should have even deposit insurance. The customers of the financial institutions should learn to make differences between correct and too much risk-taking institutions. Another famous American expert, Richard Portes doesn't share his views about too much state. He says the deregulation process which started in the early seventies has the main responsibility. There is much more state regulation necessary within and between states, maybe not in the midst of the crises but soon afterwards. Both scientists agree that the remuneration system of the financial sector employees should be changed and bound to the long term effect of their activity.


Associative-memory neural networks with adaptive weighted outer-product learning are proposed in this paper. For the correct recall of a fundamental memory (FM), a corresponding learning weight is attached and a parameter called signal-to-noise-ratio-gain (SNRG) is devised. The sufficient conditions for the learning weights and the SNRG's are derived. It is found both empirically and theoretically that the SNRG's have their own threshold values for correct recalls of the corresponding FM's. Based on the gradient-descent approach, several algorithms are constructed to adaptively find the optimal learning weights with reference to global- or local-error measure.


Tsukuba Challenge, which started in 2007, has contributed to the development of novel control technologies for autonomous navigation. The second stage of this challenge was completed in 2017, and now, the time is ripe for exploring new ideas and avenues. This is the fifth Special Issue on Real World Robot Challenge in Tsukuba, and it seems that the technological elements required for autonomous navigation are almost complete. However, it is obvious that such navigation capabilities are still at a significantly lower level of development compared to human capabilities. The need for automatic and self-driving vehicles has increased rapidly in recent years; many companies and researchers have been making great strides in research and development in the field of automatic driving. The Tsukuba Challenge pursues and encourages both student education and advanced research and development, focusing on automatic driving as an application technology. The essential capabilities required for a robot to reach the designated goal in the Tsukuba Challenge are self-localization and obstacles avoidance, and many studies have been conducted on these features. To complete the designated task, unification of these technologies and other qualities such as searching for persons, traveling on crosswalks, and recognizing traffic signals is required.
 This special issue concentrates on control technologies of autonomous mobile robots and expects to contribute toward future studies and development in this field.


Humans learn a predictive model of the world and use this model to reason about future events and the consequences of actions. In contrast to most machine predictors, we exhibit an impressive ability to generalize to unseen scenarios and reason intelligently in these settings. One important aspect of this ability is physical intuition(Lake et al., 2016). In this work, we explore the potential of unsupervised learning to find features that promote better generalization to settings outside the supervised training distribution. Our task is predicting the stability of towers of square blocks. We demonstrate that an unsupervised model, trained to predict future frames of a video sequence of stable and unstable block configurations, can yield features that support extrapolating stability prediction to blocks configurations outside the training set distribution