Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) bearing the fimbrial colonisation factor antigens CFA/I, CFA/II, CFA/III, and the non-fimbrial antigen 2230 were tested for their ability to adhere to two cultured human intestinal HT-29 mucus secreting cell subpopulations. These populations are referred to as HT29-MTX and HT29-FU, which differ in the amount of secreted mucins and in their gastric or colonic mucin immunoreactivity respectively. Adherence of radiolabelled bacteria to cell monolayers infected apically was assessed. All ETEC strains adhered to the mucus secreting HT29-FU subpopulation, which secretes mucins of colonic immunoreactivity. Visualisation of bacteria by scanning electron microscopy showed that ETEC bound to the HT29-FU cells possessing a brush border, but not to the mucus and that ETEC binding developed as a function of cell differentiation. The adhesion of ETEC to cells possessing a brush border and to mucus secreting cells was also analysed by indirect immunofluorescence in HT29-MTX cells, which secrete mucins of gastric immunoreactivity. Fluorescein isothiocyanate labelling using specific anti-CFA/I antibody was used to show ETEC; rhodamine isothiocyanate labelling using a monoclonal antibody (designated M1) against purified human gastric mucus was used to detect secreted mucins, and rhodamine isothiocyanate labelling using a monoclonal antibody (designated 4H3) against human dipeptidylpeptidase IV was used to show cells possessing a brush border. Binding of bacteria colocalised with dipeptidylpeptidase IV of enterocytes and not with mucins.


Flexible exchange-rate systems often are not recommended for countries undergoing economic transition. In late 1989, the former Soviet Union instituted exchange-rate flexibility on the limited share of enterprise international transactions channelled through the auction and. later, interbank markets for foreign-currency trade. This paper details the regulatory evolution of this system and analyses the impact of announced and implemented policy initiatives on two sets of flexible exchange rates observed in Moscow: i) the exchange-rates instituted through foreign-currency auctions and interbank markets; and ii) black-market exchange rates on dollar-ruble trade. We ask whether the flexible-rate system, as implemented, was associated with the negative or positive features of flexible exchange-rate systems. Initially the auction and interbank currency structure was used as a mechanism for a steady real depreciation of the ruble. Thereafter, the ruble was pegged in real terms at a level initially equal to the black-market exchange rate. This peg persisted until the end of 1991, when government central-bank foreign-exchange reserves were depleted and the crawling peg appears to have been abandoned. Throughout the sample, patterns in black-market exchange rates contrasted sharply with those of the auction rates. Black-market rates exhibited greater real variability and exhibited sharp speculative swings.


SOLVENT RESISTANT MICROPOROUS/NANOPOROUS POLYMERIC HOLLOW FIBER AND FLAT FILM MEMBRANES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS by Praveen B Kosaraju The separation and purification of organic-solvent-based process streams may be carried out by membrane processes such as nanofiltration/ultrafiltration/microfiltration and membrane solvent extraction. Lack of solvent stability and chemical stability of most commercially available membranes is limiting the utilization of the above mentioned membrane technologies. This dissertation was primarily focused on developing solvent resistant hollow fiber and flat film membranes for separation and purification of organicsolvent-based process streams. Available porous polymeric supports (Polypropylene (PP), Polyethersulfone (PES) and Nylon) suitable for the required solvent-stable applications were chosen first and then the supports were modified to satisfy the requirements for the applications. Membrane modification techniques employed were interfacial polymerization (IP) and poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) self crosslinking. Thin film composite (TFC) nanofiltration and ultrafiltration membranes were fabricated on PES, Nylon and hydrophilized PP support membranes. Before carrying out IP, PP was hydrophilized by pre-wetting with acetone and treating with hot chromic acid solution. The introduced procedure of "modified IP" involved wetting next with the aqueous monomer solution followed by the organic monomer solution. Nanofiltration membranes were characterized using solutes, safranin 0 (MW 351) and brilliant blue R (MW 826) dyes in methanol; ultrafiltration membranes were characterized with a 70% alcoholic solution of zein (MW 35,000). These membranes were also studied for long term solvent stability in ethanol and toluene. The membrane based on PP was first hydrophilized by the techniques of "modified IP" and PEI self crosslinking. For possible applications in microfiltration of aqueous systems, these hydrophilized membranes were characterized by the water permeation rate. Crosslinking of PEI was implemented on the lumen side of the Nylon hollow fibers to reduce the pore size; then, their performance in membrane solvent back extraction was studied. Extraction of phenol from MIBK into an aqueous caustic solution was studied as a model system for reactive back extraction; extraction of acetic acid from MIBK into water was studied as a model system for nonreactive back extraction. Hollow fibers of PES were coated on the lumen side by IP. The IP layer was again coated with silicone to make the IP coating impervious to water. The coated PES fibers were then tested for heat transfer performance. All modified membranes were also characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Thin film composite nanofiltration and ultrafiltration membranes were successfully fabricated on PP and PES hollow fiber supports; high rejections of solutes and high solvent fluxes were achieved in OF and NF membranes. However, only the PPbased TFC membranes retained their characteristics after solvent exposure for the studied period of time. Permanent hydrophilization of PP was achieved by the "modified IP" procedure. Reduced pores on the lumen side of Nylon hollow fibers provided stable aqueous-organic interface for solute transport in membrane solvent back extraction; the coating improved the extraction performance of the membranes. Better heat transfer performance was achieved in the coated PES hollow fibers when compared with the nonporous PP hollow fibers. SOLVENT RESISTANT MICROPOROUS/NANOPOROUS POLYMERIC HOLLOW FIBER AND FLAT FILM MEMBRANES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS by Praveen B. Kosaraju A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering Otto H. York Department of Chemical Engineering


In this paper, we propose particle swarm optimization (PSO)-enhanced ensemble deep neural networks and hybrid clustering models for skin lesion segmentation. A PSO variant is proposed, which embeds diverse search actions including simulated annealing, levy flight, helix behavior, modified PSO, and differential evolution operations with spiral search coefficients. These search actions work in a cascade manner to not only equip each individual with different search operations throughout the search process but also assign distinctive search actions to different particles simultaneously in every single iteration. The proposed PSO variant is used to optimize the learning hyper-parameters of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and the cluster centroids of classical Fuzzy C-Means clustering respectively to overcome performance barriers. Ensemble deep networks and hybrid clustering models are subsequently constructed based on the optimized CNN and hybrid clustering segmenters for lesion segmentation. We evaluate the proposed ensemble models using three skin lesion databases, i.e., PH2, ISIC 2017, and Dermofit Image Library, and a blood cancer data set, i.e., ALL-IDB2. The empirical results indicate that our models outperform other hybrid ensemble clustering models combined with advanced PSO variants, as well as state-of-the-art deep networks in the literature for diverse challenging image segmentation tasks.


The purpose of this project was to investigate the effects of virtual versus physical manipulation using a simulation-based laboratory activity (SBL) and a microcomputer-based laboratory activity (MBL). Both the SBL and the MBL used computers to collect, graph, and analyze data. A major difference was that the MBL allowed the students to manipulate physical materials, whereas in the SBL activity they manipulated virtual materials. In this quasi-experimental design, two 11th-grade classes (N = 68) at an urban public high school in Taipei were assigned to the SBL and MBL settings. The participants conducted the Boyle's law experiment without having done any relevant prior experiment. Their science concepts, performance of inquiry tasks, and attitudes toward the SBL/MBL were examined by pre- and postconceptual tests, an inquiry-based lab manual, and postlaboratory interviews. The results showed that both groups performed equally well and had remarkable gains in their pre- to posttest learning achievement. Nevertheless, physical manipulation may have contributed to inquiry practices such as creating practical ideas for conducting and improving the experiment and interpreting the data and may have increased the enjoyment of the laboratory. This study concludes that virtual manipulation is as effective as physical manipulation in learning physics concepts, but that the former gives learners some naive expectations and induces certain learning strategies that seem to lead to mindless planning and conducting of experiments and hinders them from generating ideas to improve experiments.


This study compared the growth and development of the physique and physical fitness of young Japanese males who belong to sports clubs and those who did not based on longitudinal data obtained over four years. Physique and physical fitness tests were administered to 253 healthy male technical college students four times from the 9 to 12 grade. Subjects were divided into two groups: those who did not belong to an extra-curricular sports club (control group: CG, n = 126), and those who belonged to sports clubs (exercise group: EG, n = 127). Sit-ups, side-stepping, 20 m shuttle run, 50 m run and handball throwing tests and a total score were superior in the EG compared to the CG. Differences between the two groups in body mass, Rohrer's index, six physical fitness tests (except for a handgrip and 50 m run), and the total score increased with grade. The CG was inferior in overall physical fitness to the EG, especially in whole body endurance. It is highly possible that sports club activities significantly and positively affect the growth and development young males during the growth period under 19-years-old and that inactivity inhibits the development of whole body endurance. Normal 0 0 2 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE


Values of interest rate derivatives, including swaps, caps and floors, and swaptions, are all determined by the term structure of interest in the market and its expected dynamics. The term structure encompasses interest rates at many maturities and, in principle, an interest-sensitive instrument is affected by all of them, as far into the future as the date of its final cash flow. There is no limit on the number of factors that can be incorporated into a theoretical pricing model, but practical considerations very much favor keeping the number down. In this article, Fan, Gupta, and Ritchken try to determine how many factors one really needs to build an adequate model for trading and hedging swaptions. They find that in pricing swaptions out-of-sample, a one-factor model works as well as a multifactor model with up to four factors, establishing along the way that it is quite important to allow volatility in the model to depend on the level of the underlying rates. However, hedging performance is quite different between one-factor and four-factor models, with the latter doing substantially better for risk management.


This thesis begins by arguing that dominant ethical approaches to the study of war in International Relations have failed to illuminate the moral and ethical complexities present in contemporary war practices such as drone warfare, private military contracting, and counterinsurgency. Such approaches are unable to account for the changing nature of war and resultant shifts in the ethical landscape of modern conflict. In particular, there has been a tendency amongst mainstream perspectives on the ethics of war (including here just war theory as well as traditions based in
conceptions of rights and justice) to continue to view contemporary political violence in an abstract and individuated sense, whereby subjectivity and agency are constituted in isolation from other actors. This viewpoint obscures a central realm of ethical activity in war: the relational and experiential aspects of modern warfare where moral knowledge and understanding are constituted in relation to the needs of others, through a sense of responsibility, awareness, and connectedness with those around us.
As an alternative to these existing approaches, this thesis engages in a redescription of feminist ethics premised on the notion of care. The theoretical framework constructed therein articulates a feminist care ethical vision based in four key areas: relationality, experience, empathy, and responsibility. These points assert the need for a relational ontology; recognize the importance of lived reality and experience; demonstrate a commitment to responsiveness and connectedness to others; and acknowledge a responsibility to the needs of particular others as central to morality. Using this framework, the remainder of the thesis explores the ethical nature of drone warfare, private military contracting, and counterinsurgency to demonstrate the usefulness of such a feminist ethical lens to our understandings of morality in post-9/11 conflict. In so doing, the framework exposes the complex web of relationships and experiences that are at work in the ethical decision-making processes of those who participate in and are impacted by war. It uncovers a new articulation of how ethics plays out in international conflict – one that acknowledges our constant interactions as social beings in the world, which continuously shape and reshape moral action.


European and American scholars from the eighteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries thought that all societies passed through the same developmental stages, from primitive to advanced. Implicit in this developmental paradigm - one that has affected generations of thought on societal development - was the assumption that one could "read history sideways." That is, one could see what the earlier stages of a modern Western society looked like by examining contemporaneous so-called primitive societies in other parts of the world. In Reading History Sideways, leading family scholar Arland Thornton demonstrates how this approach, though long since discredited, has permeated Western ideas and values about the family. Further, its domination of social science for centuries caused the minister-pretation of Western trends in family structure, marriage, fertility, and parent-child relations. Revisiting the "developmental fallacy," Thornton here traces its central role in changes in the Western world, from marriage to gender roles to adolescent sexuality. Through public policies, aid programs, and colonialism, it continues to reshape families in non-Western societies as well.


Over the last decade, machinima--the use of computer game engines to create movies--has emerged as a vibrant area in digital culture. Machinima as a filmmaking tool grew from the bottom up, driven by enthusiasts who taught themselves to deploy technologies from computer games to create animated films quickly and cheaply. The Machinima Reader is the first critical overview of this rapidly developing field. The contributors include both academics and artist-practitioners. They explore machinima from multiple perspectives, ranging from technical aspects of machinima, from real-time production to machinima as a performative and cinematic medium, while paying close attention to the legal, cultural, and pedagogical contexts for machinima. The Machinima Reader extends critical debates originating within the machinima community to a wider audience and provides a foundation for scholarly work from a variety of disciplines.This is the first book to chart the emergence of machinima as a game-based cultural production that spans technologies and media, forming new communities of practice on its way to a history, an aesthetic, and a market.


![Figure][1]

CREDIT: NASA

Comets are failed harbingers of doom, but many of us will remember more fondly the peaceful visits of comets Hayakutake and Hale-Bopp to our skies in 1996 and 1997. These wanderers of our solar system spend most of their time in its cold outer reaches, only occasionally venturing near Earth's orbit. As they veer close to the Sun, ice and dust from their small nuclei are swept out by the radiation and solar wind into a fuzzy halo, or coma, and a long tail.

Comets are thought to harbor relatively pristine detritus from the rubble disk out of which the planets grew. In just over a year, two space missions have given us a close look at the materials that make up different comets. First, Deep Impact fired a projectile into the nucleus of comet 9P/Tempel 1, ejecting a huge plume that was studied remotely (see Science , 14 October 2005). Now, as described in this issue, Stardust has retrieved direct samples of the coma of comet 81P/Wild 2.

Comet Wild 2 originally hails from the Kuiper belt, beyond Neptune, but was recently perturbed into an orbit between Mars and Jupiter that is within the reach of spacecraft. After its launch in 1999, Stardust sneaked up on the comet in 2004, then returned its precious cargo to Earth in a capsule on 15 January 2006. Bringing back materials from a known extraterrestrial source, as with the Apollo samples from the Moon, is critical for deciphering the history of our solar system and interpreting our other extraterrestrial samples: meteorites and cosmic dust particles.

Stardust's goal rested largely on two technical achievements. First the spacecraft had to be slowed so that it could engage with the comet. A clever trajectory enabled it to pass within 240 km of the nucleus at a speed of just 6 km/s, albeit six times faster than a bullet. To catch the comet particles, a special lightweight material called aerogel was developed and molded into a detector grid. Aerogel, the lightest solid known, is a foamed glass that has the density of air (see the cover). Particles were gently brought to a standstill as they tunneled through it without much heating or alteration, leaving carrot-shaped tracks. Thousands of tiny particles were trapped, most of them smaller than a micrometer in size.

Analysis of the tiny samples by many international teams shows that many particles are mixtures of minerals, mostly silicates. The lack of amorphous grains is one surprise, because such materials are seen in interstellar space. Isotopically, the comet specks resemble rocks from the inner solar system; virtually no grains that pre-date the Sun were seen. A single grain contains minerals produced at high temperatures, in a region close to the Sun, and with isotope ratios similar to those of some meteorites. Thus, material has been mixed across the solar system, from the innermost portion to the outer regions of the Kuiper belt where this comet originated.

Although this mixing makes it difficult to explain comet histories, it also means that the Stardust samples might tell us much more about how planets formed. The first rock samples brought back to Earth from anywhere beyond the Moon, the tiny Stardust grains may contain the building blocks of the entire solar system.

 [1]: pending:yes


Twilight of Liberty is a sequel to Donohue's highly regarded The Politics of the American Civil Liberties Union, but with a marked change in emphasis. Instead of challenging the ACLU's nonpartisan reputation, as he did in the earlier volume, Donohue now seeks to demonstrate why and how recent ACLU policy undermines the process of liberty. He argues that the ACLU, by relentlessly warring with mediating institutions, and by pushing a radical individualism in its policies, is not making us more, but less free. Two conceptions of liberty are discussed. The first considers the social context in which the struggle for freedom takes place. It maintains that freedom is best achieved through a delicate balancing of individual rights with the legitimate needs of the social order. The other conception of liberty is atomistic, exclusively concerned with the rights of the individual. According to Donohue, such a definition assures the triumph of the state over the mediating institutions of society, thus reducing prospects for freedom. This is the first book to critically analyze contemporary ACLU policy and to challenge its reputation as the preeminent voice of freedom in the United States. It aims to move beyond the idea that freedom is best served by pushing individual rights to extremes. Twilight of Liberty will appeal to scholars in the fields of law, social policy, and culture. Students in civil liberties courses will also find this book a valuable resource.


A combination of docking
approaches, scoring functions, molecular dynamic simulation, and literature
mining have been employed to screen readily available natural products (unique
27256 chemical entities, 598435 unique compounds), which can inhibit the
SARS-CoV-2 main protease. Theaflavin digallate, a major constituent of black
tea, has been observed to be as three top hits after the virtual screening of
598435 unique compounds. The main protease-theaflavin digallate complex
appeared to be in the metastable stage and interact with critical active site
residues of the main protease during molecular dynamics simulation for 200 ns. Invitro evidence on main protease
inhibition of 2003 SARS-CoV by theaflavin digallate is available in the
scientific literature. As evident by the dynamics of intermolecular
interactions, theaflavin digallate, forms approximately three hydrogen bonds
with Glu166 of main protease, mostly through hydroxyl groups in the benzene
ring of benzo(7) annulen-6-one. Glu166 is the most critical amino acid for main
protease dimerization, which in turn, is necessary for catalytic activity. We have employed chloroquine and epigallocatechin
gallate (green tea component) as a control set. Based on computational
molecular interaction and data available in scientific literature, theaflavin
digallate can inhibit the main protease of SARS-CoV-2.


Questions about the lack of readily available toxicity data for many commercial chemicals came into the spotlight in January after crude 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) contaminated drinking water for some 300,000 people in the Charleston, W.Va., area. With little known about the human health and environmental effects of the obscure substance used to process coal, the state issued a days-long ban on the use of tap water for drinking and washing. A corroded commercial storage tank leaked thousands of gallons of a liquid containing MCHM into a river just upstream of the municipal water supply intake pipe. Four former executives of the company that owned the tank were indicted in mid-December on federal charges of criminal violations under the Clean Water Act. ...


This article presents a new institution, which an engagement to get married (betrothal). Taking into consideration particularly laconic regulation of engagement we draw attention to analysis of the 3.8 article of the third Civil Code book. Besides we have analyzed legal regulations of the Civil Code of German Empire, which was valid in 1924–1939 in Klaipėda region and which regulations of engagement are adopted in the present Civil Code. We also give some propositions to the third Civil Code Commentary. Nowadays institution of the engagement is legalized in some other countries (i. e. Italy, Latvia) too. During the analysis of the Civil Code norms, which provide the engagement to get married we give several suggestions for conception of agreement to get married (engagement). In our opinion, agreement to get married (engagement) is an intention between male and female in some time and somewhere to get married and to create a family, but this intention is non–obligated and can't be brought by coercion. At the same time the procedure of dividing expenditures of marriage contracting and exchanging presents, may be a reason of property and personal non–property consequences, provided in articles 3.9–3.11 of the Civil Code. Some authors treat the engagement as a kind of a preliminary contract, which can be expressed in oral or in written or in notarial form. But in our opinion, engagement is by mistake equated with marriage contract, which is an agreement between spouses, provides their property rights and duties during marriage, in divorce or separation case. Analyzing the 3.8 article of the Civil Code the author draws attention to the public agreement to get married, which is treated only as a set form of application to get married given to Registry of Civil Status. So in the conclusions the author emphasizes that in the Commentary of the third Civil Code book the public betrothal is also considered by mistake as the public declaration about provided church marriage. Although the number of marriages is growing (e.g. in 2001 – 3197, 2002 – 3439), but there are no disputes because of promise breach to get married or notarial practice of engagement contract. Taking into consideration recent economical and social conditions and alterating changes in personal relations among young people there is a suggestion to refuse engagement legislation in the Civil Code. Besides it isn't so popular or legalized in foreign countries (e.g. France, Russia).


The elemental fingerprints or composition of otoliths of fish may provide a natural tag of the 'nursery' habitat of juvenile fish. The natural tag could then be used to determine the 'nursery' habitat of adult fish found on coastal reefs. We collected juvenile Pelates sexlineatus from 2 to 5 sites within each of 7 estuaries to determine whether elemental composition of otoliths differed among estuaries and among sites within estuaries. In addition, fish were collected in 2 successive years to determine whether temporal differences may be found in elemental fingerprints that could then con- found subsequent assignment of adults to 'nursery' estuaries. Significant differences in elemental fingerprints (Sr, Ba and Mn) were found within and among estuaries, but there was often an inter- action with time suggesting that there were differences among estuaries/sites but the difference varied between times. Quadratic discriminant functions (QDFs) generated to discriminate among estuaries suggested that the QDFs calculated from a single year class were more successful at assign- ing fish to the correct estuary than either (1) QDFs based on both years combined or (2) using the QDFs generated from the first year class to classify the second year class. Small-scale variability among sites within an estuary suggested that for an estuarine fishery we may be able to classify fish to their site of origin; this warrants further investigation. Adult fish from a coastal fishery can now be assigned to their 'nursery' estuary by analysing the juvenile region of their otoliths, provided that discriminant functions are generated from the appropriate year class of recruits.


David Madden is one of the South's most notable contemporary writers. His interests are remarkably vast. He has published award-winning fiction, poetry, plays, critical works, and essays on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from history to popular culture. This collection represents Madden's essays on various other southern writers and his own struggle to come to terms with how the works and lives of these writers have influenced his own life and work. By analyzing the charged image of the spider web, as described in chapter four of Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, Madden shows that it is a central symbol for his involvement with the interconnected, complex tradition of contemporary southern literature. Touching the Web of Southern Novelists brings together essays on Faulkner, Warren, McCullers, Wolfe, Agee, and a new essay on Evelyn Scott. More than a collection of criticism, the book explores, in overlapping, far-reaching ways, how influence works its way through the southern literary tradition. It also includes an unusually detailed index. Two of the common elements in the essays are the dynamics and consequences of the relationship of an ostensible hero to his or her witnesses and the art of fiction, especially in the technique of using a charged image-a term that Madden invented. Another element is the overwhelming, if sometimes hidden, effect of the Civil War upon southern fiction. Madden provocatively argues that no northerner can write a true Civil War novel. All Southern fiction comes out of the Civil War, he argues, and that Absalom, Absalom! is the best Civil War novel because of its complex implications-not because it is overtly about the war. Perhaps most powerful because of its semi-autobiographical nature, Touching the Web of Southern Novelists will appeal to anyone with an interest in literary studies and how art and life in southern novels are entwined with each other-caught in a web."


The aim of this study was to determine the attitude of pharmacists and non-pharmacists in Karachi towards the use of non-prescription medicines. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August 2012 to October 2012 among pharmacist and non-pharmacists. Data was analyzed and results were compared using Chi-square test with the help of statistical software package (SPSS version 19). Overall prevalence of self-medication was found to be 81.28%. Factors like busy life schedule (27.58%), previous experience of medicine (20.68%) and better drug information (20.86%), contributed differently in promoting self medication to pharmacists, whereas busy life schedule (45%), was one of the major factor of self medication among non pharmacist. The major clinical conditions in which self medication was observed in the pharmacists were flu (36.9%), pain (27.59%), fever (25.86%), diarrhea (24.14%) and headache (22.07%), whereas in the non pharmacists, the main conditions were headache (55.71%), diarrhea (53.33%), fever (35.71%) and flu (35.24%). Self-medication was commonly observed both in pharmacist (62.08%) and non pharmacist (71.43%) in Karachi, but there was a significant increase in non pharmacist (c2=4.756, p<0.05). In order to control this prevailing problem, legislation are to be made by the government especially to implement and facilitate the prescription system, conducting awareness programs and restricting drug advertisements for public.

 Key words: Pharmacist, non-prescription drugs, self medication.


Have you ever received a phone call from a telemarketer during dinner? Do e-mails entitled "Protect Your Computer Against Viruses for $9.95" or "GET A FREE PASS TO THOUSANDS OF XXX SITES" annoy you? Are you tired of watching advertisements that continue after the posted start time for a movie? Many Americans are irritated with the amount of daily interruptions caused by the current lack of advertising regulations. In some instances, the advertisers shift their marketing costs to unwilling e-mail users or moviegoers. This article focuses on unsolicited communications and potential solutions to the seemingly endless problem of spam.


The politics of English is inseparable from the politics of other languages in multicultural, multilingual (South and Southeast) Asia; in few other places is this more painfully felt than Sri Lanka, where ethnolinguistic issues have embroiled the country in civil war for a quarter of a century. A source of this conflict, its origin in British rule, is the provision of English education, as a scarce commodity, affording better employment opportunities and socioeconomic advancement. With the Tamil minority viewed as privileged in the colonial system, more protectionist measures were sought in independence for the Sinhala ethnic majority through a 'Sinhala Only' language policy, all this leading to the country's polarization. Crucially, English has continued to be the major instrument of the dominant bilingual westernised elite, the kaduva (Sinhala 'sword'), with the power to divide those with and without access to the language. More recent state discourse, however, reframes English as a functionally different tool, one for communication for knowledge and employment. Two aspects are notable: (i) that English be delivered and desired purely for its utility value, while Sinhala and Tamil associate with cultural values and identities; and (ii) that English be an important tool (along with ICT) for rural empowerment, with user-friendliness rather than correctness of grammar and pronunciation emphasized (contrasting interestingly with Singapore's situation). Such a shift, in users and competence in English, beyond the exonormative, elite minority may mean a development of Sri Lankan English(es) more in line with the broader multilingual ecology, holding intriguing possibilities for its evolution and appropriation.


When the ancient Greeks looked up into the heavens, they saw not just sun and moon, stars and planets, but a complete, coherent universe, a model of the Good that could serve as a guide to a better life. How this view of the world came to be, and how we lost it (or turned away from it) on the way to becoming modern, make for a fascinating story, told in a highly accessible manner by Remi Brague in this wide-ranging cultural history. Before the Greeks, people thought human action was required to maintain the order of the universe and so conducted rituals and sacrifices to renew and restore it. But beginning with the Hellenic Age, the universe came to be seen as existing quite apart from human action and possessing, therefore, a kind of wisdom that humanity did not. Wearing his remarkable erudition lightly, Brague traces the many ways this universal wisdom has been interpreted over the centuries, from the time of ancient Egypt to the modern era. Socratic and Muslim philosophers, Christian theologians and Jewish Kabbalists all believed that questions about the workings of the world and the meaning of life were closely intertwined and that an understanding of cosmology was crucial to making sense of human ethics. Exploring the fate of this concept in the modern day, Brague shows how modernity stripped the universe of its sacred and philosophical wisdom, transforming it into an ethically indifferent entity that no longer serves as a model for human morality. Encyclopedic and yet intimate, "The Wisdom of the World" offers the best sort of history: broad, learned, and completely compelling. Brague opens a window onto systems of thought radically different from our own."


Behaviour occurs in time, and precise timing in the range of seconds and fractions of seconds is for most living organisms necessary for successful interaction with the environment. Our ability to time discrete actions and to predict events on the basis of prior events indicates the existence of an internal timing mechanism. The nature of this mechanism provides essential constraints on models of the functional organisation of the brain. The present work indicates that there are discontinuities in the function of time close to 1 s and 1.4 s, both in the amount of drift in a series of produced intervals (Study I) and in the detectability of drift in a series of sounds (Study II). The similarities across different tasks further suggest that action and perceptual judgements are governed by the same (kind of) mechanism. Study III showed that series of produced intervals could be characterised by different amounts of positive fractal dependency related to the aforementioned discontinuities. In conjunction with other findings in the literature, these results suggest that timing of intervals up to a few seconds is strongly dependent on previous intervals and on the duration to be timed. This argues against a clock-counter mechanism, as proposed by scalar timing theory, according to which successive intervals are random and the size of the timing error conforms to Weber's law. A functional model is proposed, expressed in an autoregressive framework, which consists of a single-interval timer with error corrective feedback. The duration-specificity of the proposed model is derived from the order of error correction, as determined by a semi-flexible temporal integration span.


New terms such as oxidative stress, antioxidant products or pro-oxidant risks are becoming familiar and an increasing number of international scientific conferences and the publication of thousands of scientific articles is an indication of the growing interest that the subject awakens. The most publicized example is perhaps the French paradox, based on the apparent compatibility of a high fat diet with a low incidence of coronary atherosclerosis attributed to the regular consumption, by the French, of red wine and/or grape juice. Flavonoids, and other phenolic substances contained in red wine, are assigned with antioxidant properties, which lower the oxidation of low density lipoproteins and consequently, the risk of atherogenic diseases. Other examples are the aging process and its correlation with an increase of free radicals, and the correlation between the initiation and promotion of cancer and tissue injury by free radicals, which has induced the intake of antioxidant products as chemical factors that prevent the onset of the disease. Currently, the incidence of oxidative stress on the onset and evolution of more than 100 diseases is claimed by several researchers. All these are "realities", which on the other hand, are lacking of more clinical evidence, are considered by both physicians and health regulatory bodies, either as "myths" or of "secondary" importance. In the attempts to destroy those myths, results of chemical, pre-clinical, and clinical works with a crude extract of mango (Mangifera indica L.) stem bark, which has been developed in Cuba, are reviewed, with a strong experimental evidence of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties.


Porella pinnata L. was considered an extinct species in the Portuguese Red List ot Bryophytes. However, recent field work and revision of some old material of the Herbarium PO confirmed the presence of this species in different regions of Northern Portugal. The newly found populations represent the first report in more than 80 years, after the ancient gatherings made by A. Luisier and A. Machado in the beginning of the twentieth century.


This is a study of how governments and their specialist advisers, in an age of free trade and the minimal state, attempted to create a viable legal framework for trade unions and strikes. It traces the collapse, in the face of judicial interventions, of the regime for collective labour devised by the Liberal Tories in the 1820s, following the repeal of the Combination Acts. The new arrangements enacted in the 1870s allowed collective labour unparalleled freedoms, contended by the newly-founded Trades Union Congress. This book seeks to reinstate the view from government into an account of how the settlement was brought about, tracing the emergence of an official view - largely independent of external pressure - which favoured withdrawing the criminal law from peaceful industrial relations and allowing a virtually unrestricted freedom to combine. It reviews the impact upon the Home Office's specialist advisers of contemporary intellectual trends, such as the assaults upon classical and political economy and the historicized critiques of labour law developed by Liberal writers. Curthoys offers an historical context for the major court decisions affecting the security of trade union funds, and the freedom to strike, while the views of the judges are integrated within the terms of a wider debate between proponents of contending views of 'free trade' and 'free labour'. New evidence sheds light on the considerations which impelled governments to grant trade unions a distinctive form of legal existence, and to protect strikers from the criminal law. This account of the making of labour law affords many wider insights into the nature and inner workings of the Victorian state as it dismantled the remnants of feudalism (symbolized by the Master and Servant Acts) and sought to reconcile competing conceptions of citizenship in an age of franchise extension. After the repeal of the Combination Acts in the 1820s collective labour enjoyed limited freedoms. When this regime collapsed under judicial challenge, governments were obliged to devise a new legal framework for trade unions and strikes, enacted between 1871 and 1876. Drawing extensively upon previously unused governmental sources, this study affords many wider insights into the nature and inner workings of the mid-Victorian state, tracing the impact upon policy-makers of contemporary assaults upon classical political economy, and of the historicized critiques of labour law developed by Liberal writers. As contending views of 'free trade' and 'free labour' came into collision, an official view was formed which favoured allowing an unrestricted freedom to combine and sought to withraw the criminal law from peaceful industrial relations.


We propose several deep-learning accelerated optimization solvers with convergence guarantees. We use ideas from the analysis of accelerated forward-backward schemes like FISTA, but instead of the classical approach of proving convergence for a choice of parameters, such as a step-size, we show convergence whenever the update is chosen in a specific set. Rather than picking a point in this set using some predefined method, we train a deep neural network to pick the best update. Finally, we show that the method is applicable to several cases of smooth and non-smooth optimization and show superior results to established accelerated solvers.


In guaranteed QoS resources are reserved based on the worst-case analysis.
This scheme guarantees QoS but results in low resource utilisation, subsequently
depriving other users from acquiring service. In contrary, predictive QoS allocates
an initial amount of resource, whereby QoS is guaranteed with a certain
probability of degradation. This scheme is tailored for applications that are
adaptive and robust towards sudden fluctuations in the service provided. The
nature of multimedia data such as the variable bit rate has encouraged the
implementation of predictive Quality of Service (QoS) as compared to guaranteed
QoS.
In a typical QoS scheme, two factors contribute to the computation of
packet loss, which are : (i) a new packet dropped due to buffer overflow and (ii) a
buffered packet dropped due to expired delay. The buffer resource is increased
when the observed packet loss ratio has violated the requested level of packet loss
ratio. The limitations in this scheme is caused by the admission of all packets into the buffer, inclusive of packets that will eventually be dropped due to expired
delay. Subsequently, this results in poor resource management.
In this research, two pro-active dynamic QoS control schemes are
designed, the dynamic QoS control scheme with delay estimation, and the hybrid
dynamic QoS control scheme. In both schemes, every new packet arrival is
compared against the estimated delay it will experience, before being admitted into
the buffer. If the estimated delay expires the requested delay bound, then the
packet is dropped. In the hybrid scheme, every packet is checked before being
admitted into the buffer, and also, the packets successfully admitted into the buffer
are evaluated on the actual delay experienced before being transmitted to the
receIver.
The results obtained through the simulation models have shown that two
schemes have significantly improved the average delay for different traffic
patterns. In addition to improving the average delay in delay sensitive traffic,
improvement is seen in the average packet loss ratio, and subsequently increasing
the throughput for delay sensitive traffic. However, in packet loss sensitive traffic,
the old scheme remains beneficial. The proposed scheme can be adopted for
multimedia applications to enhance the QoS in terms of better delay and improved
utilisation.


We present a comprehensive calculation of 3D dynamic stabilization (DS) of ground-state hydrogen in superintense laser pulses of finite duration, with cos 2 envelope. The ionization probability at the end of the pulse was calculated for a range of frequencies ω from 0.8 to 8 a.u., for peak fields ranging up to 80 a.u. (depending on ω), and for pulse lengths T extending from 1 to 400 cycles (depending on to). We find prominent DS and substantial atomic survival under conditions where our nonrelativistic, dipole approximation calculation is expected to be valid. The connection of our results with other theories is analyzed. Thus, we find that the evolution of the atom is adiabatic and amenable to single-state Floquet theory, up to very large peak fields of several atomic units, and down to very short femtosecond pulses. In the general case, however, a unitary description of the ionization process, and DS in particular, requires multistate Floquet theory. Our results favor the possibility of observing DS experimentally with the new VUV-FEL light sources that are now in test operation or construction, or with the attosecond pulses that have been obtained from high harmonic generation.


The objective of this review is a global assessment of the economics of second‐generation biorefineries, with a focus on the use of food waste and agricultural residues for chemical production by applying biotechnological processes. Analyses are conducted on feedstock and product distribution, applied economic models, and profitability figures for the period 2013–2018. In a study of 163 articles on different biorefinery systems, the production of chemicals is identified as the second major product class, after bioenergy. Bagasse and straw are frequently analyzed second‐generation feedstocks. Based on the evaluation of 22 articles, second‐generation biorefineries producing chemicals by applying biotechnological processes proves to be economically feasible. On average, both the internal rate of return (IRR) and the return on investment (ROI) are 20% and the payback period (PP) is 6 years. The cost share of feedstock in biorefineries is between 0–50%. The price of the end product and the fermentation yields have the most impact on profitability. The processing of food waste that has industrial and municipal origins appears more economical than the processing of agricultural residues. Scientists, policy makers and entrepreneurs with an appropriate risk tolerance are advised to pay particular attention to municipal food waste and the potential economic production of carboxylic acids. For various economic issues related to biorefineries, dynamic‐deterministic models are recommended, which can be extended by a stochastic model. This review provides an initial overview of the economic feasibility of second‐generation biorefineries. Further techno‐economic analyses are required to produce statistically significant statements on key profitability figures. © 2020 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Introduction The presence of a deleterious mutation, most commonly a BRCA mutation, has a tremendous impact on the management of breast cancer. We review the surgical management of BRCA mutation carriers, and two other potentially high-risk mutations, TP53 and PALB2. Methodology A search was done on PubMed, limited to reviews and the English language only. The search terms used were 'BRCA' or 'PALB2' or 'TP53' and 'surgery'. Fifteen articles were identified by searching and one article was obtained from other sources. Results Breast-conserving surgery has equivalent survival, but may have an increased risk of local recurrence, compared to mastectomy among BRCA mutation carriers. Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy may not improve overall survival, despite reducing the risk of developing contralateral breast cancer. The use of preoperative genetic testing allows patients to have combined curative and prophylactic surgery. However, preoperative genetic testing may influence patients to make rash decisions. In healthy BRCA mutation carriers, bilateral prophylactic mastectomy is done to prevent breast cancer from occurring. Bilateral prophylactic mastectomy is highly effective in reducing the risk of breast cancer in healthy BRCA mutation-positive women and may have a survival benefit. Prophylactic oophorectomy reduces the risk of ovarian cancer, but may not have an effect on the risk of breast cancer. There is a lack of studies on surgery for non-BRCA mutations. TP53 and PALB2 are potentially high-risk mutations for breast cancer, which may justify the use of prophylactic surgery. Advice should be given on a case-by-case basis. Conclusion A comprehensive approach is needed to provide optimum treatment for breast cancer patients with deleterious mutations.


Financial innovation is, as usual, faster than regulation. New forms of speculation and intermediation are rapidly emerging. Largely as a result of the evaporation of trust in financial intermediation, an exponentially increasing role is being played by the so-called peer to peer intermediation. The most prominent example at the moment is Bitcoin. If one expects that shocks in these markets could destabilize also traditional financial markets, then it will be necessary to extend regulatory measures also to these innovations.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. It forms about 7% of all cancers and is considered to be the third cause of cancer related deaths. East Asia is considered the most affected part. HCC is potentially curable with high incidence of mortality. Liver cirrhosis (due to hepatitis B, C, alcoholic related cirrhosis, and metabolic related disorders) is considered the main risk factor. Proper multidisciplinary teams are needed for proper management. The lines of treatment include liver resection and liver transplantation. Removal of the tumor with safety margin is considered the only way for recovery. Whenever surgery or transplantation is not achievable, local ablative therapies will be of benefit. These local modalities include radiofrequency ablation, radioembolisation, chemoembolisation, percutaneous ethanol ablation, and intrahepatic radiotherapy. They are able to prolong survival although they are of palliative nature. Systemic measures include chemotherapy,immunologic, hormonal therapies and molecular targeted therapies (Sorafenib). Other strategies include down staging and bridging that can improve the survival in patients with HCC on the waiting list waiting for liver transplantation.


We present observations of CK Vul obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The infrared spectrum reveals a warm dust continuum with nebular, molecular hydrogen and HCN lines superimposed, together with the `Unidentified Infrared' features. The nebular lines are consistent with emission by a low-density gas. We conclude that the Spitzer data, combined with other information, are incompatible with CK Vul being a classical nova remnant in `hibernation' after the event of 1670, a `very late thermal pulse', a `Luminous Red Variable', such as V838 Mon, or a `diffusion-induced nova'. The true nature of CK Vul remains a mystery.


A stabilized and tunable single-longitudinal-mode erbium-doped fiber ring laser has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The laser is structured by combining the compound cavity with a fiber Fabry-Peacuterot tunable filter. An injection-locking technique has been used to stabilize the wavelength and output power of the laser. One of the longitudinal modes is stimulated by the injected continuous wave so that this mode is able to win the competition to stabilize the system. A minimum output power of 0.6 dBm and a signal-to-noise ratio of over 43 dB within the tuning range of 1527-1562 nm can be achieved with the proposed technique. A wavelength variation of less than 0.01 nm, a power fluctuation of less than 0.02 dB, and a short-term linewidth of about 1.4 kHz have also been obtained


Abstract: Claims about government regulation and its detrimental effects on job creation and economic growth are currently receiving substantial attention in the public sphere. Yet, conclusive evidence demonstrating this link between regulatory activity and macroeconomic indicators remains elusive. This paper seeks to empirically examine these linkages, using the onbudget costs of regulation over time as a proxy for federal regulatory activity. Our analysis finds that the macroeconomic effects of regulatory agency budgets as a whole as well as of subcategories of regulatory spending are indistinguishable from no effect based on the data and statistical methods available. This finding is generally robust throughout our sensitivity analysis. We explore possible explanations for this finding, as well as why our results differ from other studies on the same subject. This report highlights throughout the numerous challenges associated with both accurately measuring regulatory activity and obtaining valid estimates of its effects on the macroeconomy. It also offers recommendations moving forward on how to keep the public conversation about regulation constructive and evidence-based.


I. INTRODUCTIONThe United States continues to be a major global force, but the United States' relative power is in decline as the developing world continues its economic and political growth. The United States must increasingly collaborate with emerging powers and rely on the authority of international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). China, particularly, is one of the emerging powers the United States frequently must coordinate with and consult. China's economic and political rise is the major geopolitical issue for the 21st century. China is already a powerful force in the global economy, and trade with what will soon be the world's largest economy is essential for sustained U.S. economic growth.China's membership in the WTO creates vast opportunities, but also vast potential costs for the United States. U.S. companies will have access to a massive market of goods and services. Yet, China will try to shape the WTO to its own advantage at the expense of other WTO members, including the United States.1 The WTO regulates international trade law and promotes free trade worldwide. The WTO creates "a more prosperous, peaceful and accountable world."2 China is failing to implement WTO obligations on schedule, and its noncompliance poses a threat to world trade and global prosperity if China continues to experience no significant negative consequences for its WTO noncompliance.One way the United States can combat China's WTO noncompliance is through section 421 of the 1974 Trade Act. In 2001, the United States enacted section 421 to protect U.S. companies from Chinese exports as long as China is not in compliance with WTO obligations.3 In 2009, President Obama became the first President to provide import relief under section 421.4 On September 5, 2011, the WTO Appellate Body decided in favor of the United States on all counts in a dispute over U.S. measures to stop a surge in Chinese tires.5 WTO Appellate Body's Tires decision unequivocally validated section 421 as a legal, effective tool in U.S. trade policy with China. Section 421 expires, however, on December 11, 2013, leaving the United States without a powerful, China-specific trade remedy.6President Obama emphasized the importance of section 421 in his 2012 State of the Union Address, saying that "[o]ver a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires. But we need to do more."7 President Obama also vowed to expand U.S. capabilities to combat unfair trade by creating a Trade Enforcement Unit and various other measures.8This Note explores both the implications of the Tires decision and how the Tires decision fits into the United States' reinvigorated effort to protect U.S. companies and consumers from unfair trade practices. Part II of this Note examines U.S. trade law and gives a targeted history of Sino-U.S. trade relations. Part III details China's WTO compliance and its relationship with section 421. Part IV recommends that the President work with the WTO to create a monitoring system, that U.S. companies seek import relief from Chinese imports from the President, and that the President investigate the section 421 negotiations for error.II. BACKGROUNDThe background establishes the essential facts surrounding the Tires decision and its impact on U.S. trade policy. First, this Part describes the WTO and its role in global trade. Second, this Part gives a history of Sino-U.S. trade relations. Third, this Part overviews U.S. trade remedies and highlights section 421's unique role in U.S. trade law.A. The WTOSince 1995, the WTO has acted as the permanent governing body for world trade.9 The WTO is the sole international organization dedicated to global trade rules.10 Its goal is to "improve the welfare of the peoples of the member countries."11 The WTO works to achieve its goal through trade agreements, which create the legal framework of international commerce among member countries-a group that includes a sizeable majority of the world's trading nations. …


Abstract. The concept of scale (in sensu lato) is considered to be very promising as the integrative basis for modern ecology. Nowadays it is not a full-blown theory but rather a flexible and progressively developing methodology to outline future unifying theories. It provides a powerful conceptual framework for generating testable hypotheses and studying a wide range of ecological phenomena related with such themes as heterogeneity, hierarchy and size. Spatio-temporal heterogeneity, organizational hierarchies and body size are the main scaling factors for ecological patterns and processes. Broad comparison of patterns for these three different but interrelated dimensions can reveal some new regularities ("scaling laws") of ecological systems. It also allows us to look at the worlds of different organisms "through their own eyes". Some examples of applying the cross-scaling approach in marine ecology are considered: — Patterns and scales of spatial heterogeneity; — Species-area curves and body size; — Co-occurrence of congeners as scale-dependent phenomenon; — Spatio-temporal ranges of ecological hierarchies.


PURPOSE
Adjuvant chemotherapy improves disease-free survival (DFS) for patients with osteogenic sarcoma (OS). We reviewed our experience with OS to determine prognostic factors, the role of preoperative chemotherapy and subsequent histologic response, and the role of salvage chemotherapy after poor initial response.

METHODS
From 1975 to 1984, we saw 279 patients with previously untreated OS without metastasis. All patients received intensive chemotherapy and underwent surgical resection of primary tumor. Chemotherapy included high-dose methotrexate; Adriamycin (doxorubicin; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH); and bleomycin, cyclophosphamide, and dactinomycin (BCD). Selected patients also received cisplatin.

RESULTS
DFS was not affected by use of preoperative chemotherapy versus immediate surgery, by use of limb-sparing surgery versus amputation, age, sex, or dose intensity of chemotherapy. DFS did correlate with serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase, primary tumor site, race, and histologic response to preoperative chemotherapy. There was no difference in DFS for patients with a poor histologic response who did or did not receive cisplatin, although patients who did receive cisplatin had a longer time to relapse. The 5-year DFS was 76% for patients aged less than or equal to 21 years who had extremity primary tumor and were treated with the T10 protocol.

CONCLUSIONS
Intensive chemotherapy can achieve DFS for a high proportion of patients with OS. Although it is a powerful predictor of DFS, histologic response to preoperative chemotherapy cannot be assessed at diagnosis. We have not shown an ability to salvage patients with an unfavorable response. We need to increase the proportion of patients with a favorable response, identify the patients who will have an unfavorable response, and develop novel treatments to salvage poor responders.


Symbolic number knowledge is strongly related to mathematical performance for both children and adults. We present a model of symbolic number relations in which increasing skill is a function of hierarchical integration of symbolic associations. We tested the model by contrasting the performance of two groups of adults. One group was educated in China (n = 71) and had substantially higher levels of mathematical skill compared to the other group who was educated in Canada (n = 68). Both groups completed a variety of symbolic number tasks, including measures of cardinal number knowledge (number comparisons), ordinal number knowledge (ordinal judgments) and arithmetic fluency, as well as other mathematical measures, including number line estimation, fraction/algebra arithmetic and word problem solving. We hypothesized that Chinese-educated individuals, whose mathematical experiences include a strong emphasis on acquiring fluent access to symbolic associations among numbers, would show more integrated number symbol knowledge compared to Canadian-educated individuals. Multi-group path analysis supported the hierarchical symbol integration hypothesis. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding why performance on simple number processing tasks is persistently related to measures of mathematical performance that also involve more complex and varied numerical skills.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Adolescence is associated with a change in self-concept made up of social interactions and experiences. Recent researches indicate the possible role of aggressive computer games on adolescentsr self-concept. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of violent computer games on the self-concept of second grade junior high school students in Bandar Abbas. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental design study with pretest-posttest and control group. The sampling method is accidental sampling. 40 junior high school girls and boys as the clients of lKLICKr game net IN Bandar Abbas were selected as the control group. Participants responded to CSCS (Ahlo valiya) inventory and the experimental group played the aggressive game of Good nd evil. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software at the 0.05 significant level with t-test and multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures and single variate analysis of variance. Results: Multivariate analysis of variance showed that there is a difference between the boys and girls in the effects of computer games on self-concept (P<0.05). The results of single variate analysis showed that the happiness decreases among girls and fame increases among boys after the computer game, and intellectual and educational behaviors and position increase among boys and girls (P<0.05). Correspondence: Ahmad Alipoor, PhD. Faculty of Humanities, Payam-e-Noor University Tehran, Iran Tel:+98 9123875197 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Conclusion: Due to the fact that adolescence is the period of evolution and growth of intellectual processes and given the fact that the intellectual and educational status of adolescents increases after doing the game, it is made clear that doing these games is beneficial for the academic and intellectual achievement of adolescents. In addition, due to the decrease of happiness among girls and increase of fame among boys after these games, it is recommended to give more notifications in line with more acquaintance of adolescents with the effects of these games.


The economic importance of innovative activity brings with it an active debate on the effect of public policy on the innovation process. This annual series, sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research, brings the work of leading academic researchers to the broader policy community, pre senting papers that demonstrate the role that economic theory and empiri cal analysis can play in evaluating policy. Volume 7 considers such topics as the apparent productivity decline in the pharmaceutical industry; the effect of patents on both the "scientific commons" and cumulative discovery; the flow of new Ph.D.s into industry; a new mechanism to create economic incentives for producers of digital goods that both stimulates innovation and encourages widespread use; and a formal analytical structure for a sci ence of crisis management.


ABSTRACT Adolescence is an eXtremely challenging period of life, when drastic physical and psychological changes take place in relatively short time-frames, when most adolescents start eXperiencing seXual feelings on which some will act upon or not. Sometimes, these initiatives may prove highly maladaptive, which may negatively impact both the adolescent, his/her immediate environment, and society as a whole. The major aims of this study refer to the identification of gender specificities in seXual behavior among Romanian adolescents. In the same time, we would also like to investigate the trend in seXual behaviors specific to this age group between the two assessments: 2006 and 2010. The investigation of seXual risk behaviors as well as the attitudes and beliefs associated with these behaviors in the case of Romanian adolescents is essential for the development of efficient programs through which one may promote healthy seXual behaviors. KEYWORDS: seXual health, seXual behavior, development, contraceptive use. INTRODUCTION "Adolescence is probably the most challenging and complicated period of life to describe, study, or eXperience. Between the ages of 10 and 20 more changes occur, and greater individual variation is evident, than during any other period" (Berger, 1986, p. 459). These are crucial times in life, in which drastic physical and psychological changes take place in relatively short periods of time. Major and visible transformations in the person's physical aspect and functioning may occur in less than months, thinking styles and emotional life get increasingly more compleX, socializing starts to get more diversified (peers start to be favored instead of the company of parents). Moreover, "adolescence is a critical period where many patterns of health and health behavior are formed" (Levin, Torsheim, Volleberg, Richter, Davies, Schnohr, Due, & Currie, in press). Thus, adolescence becomes a time that may seriously influence the future functioning of the individual. However, adolescence is not only a stage in the transition from childhood to adulthood, but also a period when most adolescents start eXperiencing seXual feelings on which some will act upon (by beginning different forms of seXual intercourse) (Remez, 2000), while others will focus on non-seXual activities. One of the key aspects that may further on significantly affect the person's life is the way in which he/she modulates his/her personal relationships and seXual behavior in adolescence (Kirby, van der Sluijs, & Currie, 2010a). Sexual health has been defined in several slightly different ways, but a comprising one is given by Berkeley and Ross (2003), as the "complete physical, emotional, mental and social well-being of individuals with regards to their seXual behavior" (as cited in Kirby et al., 2010a, p. 1). A healthy and harmonious seXual life is an essential component of the general development of the person, at social, physical and psychological levels. It does not only presume that one would try to avoid unwanted pregnancies and getting infected with seXually transmitted infections (STIs), but it also concentrates on the integration of physical, emotional, intellectual, and social aspects of individual seXuality. The concept of "healthy seXual development" refers to the accumulation of knowledge and development of attitudes regarding seXuality (own and others), and seXual eXperiences and relationships (WHO, 2004). SeXual maturation in adolescence includes besides physical and physiological characteristics of puberty, also a series of psychological changes at personal level and interpersonal relationships. Consequently, in order to develop a healthy seXuality, adolescents have to learn to accept themselves, how to deal efficiently with their newly developed seXuality, and how to establish a healthy relationship with peers. Adolescence is a period of opportunity and vulnerability (Currie, Gabhainn, Godeau, Roberts, Smith, Currie, et al. …


Cryptographic API misuse is responsible for a large number of software vulnerabilities. In many cases developers are overburdened by the complex set of programming choices and their security implications. Past studies have identi-fied significant challenges when using cryptographic APIs that lack a certain set of usability features (e. g. easy-to-use documentation or meaningful warning and error messages) leading to an especially high likelihood of writing functionally correct but insecure code. To support software developers in writing more secure code, this work investigates a novel approach aimed at these hard-to-use cryptographic APIs. In a controlled online exper-iment with 53 participants, we study the effectiveness of API-integrated security advice which informs about an API misuse and places secure programming hints as guidance close to the developer. This allows us to address insecure cryptographic choices including encryption algorithms, key sizes, modes of operation and hashing algorithms with helpful documentation in the guise of warnings. Whenever possible, the security advice proposes code changes to fix the responsible security issues. We find that our approach sig-nificantly improves code security. 73% of the participants who received the security advice fixed their insecure code. We evaluate the opportunities and challenges of adopting API-integrated security advice and illustrate the potential to reduce the negative implications of cryptographic API misuse and help developers write more secure code.


This paper develops the FastRNN and FastGRNN algorithms to address the twin RNN limitations of inaccurate training and inefficient prediction. Previous approaches have improved accuracy at the expense of prediction costs making them infeasible for resource-constrained and real-time applications. Unitary RNNs have increased accuracy somewhat by restricting the range of the state transition matrix's singular values but have also increased the model size as they require a larger number of hidden units to make up for the loss in expressive power. Gated RNNs have obtained state-of-the-art accuracies by adding extra parameters thereby resulting in even larger models. FastRNN addresses these limitations by adding a residual connection that does not constrain the range of the singular values explicitly and has only two extra scalar parameters. FastGRNN then extends the residual connection to a gate by reusing the RNN matrices to match state-of-the-art gated RNN accuracies but with a 2-4x smaller model. Enforcing FastGRNN's matrices to be low-rank, sparse and quantized resulted in accurate models that could be up to 35x smaller than leading gated and unitary RNNs. This allowed FastGRNN to accurately recognize the "Hey Cortana" wakeword with a 1 KB model and to be deployed on severely resource-constrained IoT microcontrollers too tiny to store other RNN models. FastGRNN's code is available at this https URL.


E-Science users will want to construct, share, execute and monitor sequence of tasks. These tasks may execute on machines ranging from their local workstations to high-end, grid-enabled compute resources. Often, these tasks are legacy applications written in various programming and scripting languages and are designed to be run in a single user environment rather than as a Web application. These tasks often need to be tied together into composite applications that need to span multiple computing resources. The majority of the scientific experiments in E-Science involve orchestrating multiple tasks in the correct fashion to produce scientific computational experiments. Scientific workflows have proven to be a coherent and abstract framework that is capable of capturing such scientific experiments and hence have gained popularity among the scientific community. Many of the current E-Science projects have adopted different workflow systems and consequently have adopted custom workflow execution and description standards. We argue that the core of the execution semantics used by most scientific workflows can be expressed as a small common set, and we further investigate the possibility of having a higher level workflow description language that is capable of capturing and possibly bridging these different workflow systems. In this demonstration we present a set of E-Science development tools for managing these problems: a high level workflow composition monitoring and enactment tool, a toolkit that is capable of providing Web service interfaces for command line scientific applications, and a service registry that is used as a repository for sharing. This domain independent workflow suite will allow users from wide verity of environments to selectively and securely share their applications as Web services and construct workflows with these services. The suite also features on-demand service creation, workflow orchestration and monitoring. Furthermore, these components can be used individually or collectively to build a small to large-scale E-Science infrastructures.


Nephropathic cystinosis is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterised by raised lysosomal levels of cystine in the cells of almost all organs. It is treated by regular oral and topical administration of the aminothiol, cysteamine(Cystagonâ"¢), which possesses an offensive taste and smell. The oral form frequently causes emesis,and should be administered every six hours to be maximally effective. The topical eye drop treatment requires hourly application to be most effective.In an attempt to reduce this frequency and improve the treatment, the preparation and evaluation of three alternative cysteamine containing formulations (suppositories, long-acting ophthalmic gels and an inhaler) was undertaken. The physiochemical properties, stability and release profiles of the active (cysteamine or phe conjugate) from the formulations were evaluated. The suppositories released cysteamine over a 20-40 minute period with a T75= 10-13minutes. They were most stable at 4°C. The analysis of the ophthalmic gels demonstrated that a weak gel network was formed at low shear stress, the bioadhesion of the gel was increased with inclusion of a cysteamine derivative (e.g.mean force of 0.067N compared to 0.107N with compound included) and eight-hour, first order release from the gel was observed. There was significant adhesion observed between the ophthalmic gels and bovine corneal tissue. The pulmonary microspheres were spherical and within the optimum size range for deep lung delivery (1-5I¼m). However, Andersen Cascade Impactor analysis revealed poor deep lung penetration. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that more development work was required to produce a useful pulmonary formulation of cysteamine, however, formulation of an ocular applicable gel or suppository was readily achievable. The suppository preparations may be particularly beneficial for the treatment of infants, whilst the ophthalmic gel preparations could be developed for daily or overnight use. With respect to pulmonary delivery, microspheres in the optimum size range were produced. However, deep lung targeting was prevented by static agglomeration, which requires further investigation.


We empirically investigate the effects of political uncertainty on corporate tax behavior. To identify the effects of political uncertainty, we construct a data set that tracks whether firms' tax avoidance varies systematically around the occurrence of national elections. Our dataset includes firms exposed to 103 national elections in 30 countries. We find that corporate tax avoidance varies systematically across the election cycle, peaking in election years and declining the next year. The effect on tax avoidance is greatest for elections with greater electoral uncertainty, and for elections in countries with relatively lower quality of law, relatively weaker tax enforcement, and relatively lower book-tax conformity. The evidence suggests that firms use both conforming and nonconforming tax avoidance strategies, although the results for conforming tax avoidance are marginal.


Kate has to choose between the very popular and handsome Scott, and Adib who she meets in art class. He is much quieter, more intelligent, and more interesting, but he's not as popular or as handsome as Scott. Both Adib and Scott ask her out on Saturday. Who will she choose?


This study was done at lhe Agricultura! Centre for Training and Research in the municipality of Pirassununga, Sao Paulo. Ninety pacus from nursuries of the CEPTA fish station were sacrificed to identify the nematodes present m the intestinal tract and determine the prevalence of these nematodes in the fish. Samples were coilected during three seasons ofthe year (summer, autumn andspring). AU the parasites coilected were identifiedas eingpart ofthe same species Ronodonia rondoni. From a total of90fishes, 64 were infected representing a prevalence of 71%. The infected fishes had an average intensity of 3304 nematodes/fish. A significant difference (P < 0.05) relative to the prevalence was observed during the hotter months (January, October/November) as compared to the month off viay when the v/ater temperature was very low. In relation to the hostes weight the prevalence increased with weight until it reached 100% infishs with more than 787 g. With respect to the total lenght ofthe host there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between fishes with less than 20cm and with more than 35cm and those with body length between 20 and 30cm.


Audio fading is performed in order to smoothly modify over time the level of an audio signal. In particular, the fade-in audio effect designates a gradually increase in the audio volume, starting from silence. In practice, audio fading is mostly carried out within audio editors i.e. in off-line mode by employing various transcendental functions to enforce the fade profile. Taking into account the increasing demand for interactive media services requiring real-time audio processing, the present approach advances an effective method of constructing the audio fade-in shape with a view to real-time computing. The paper encompasses plain and straightforward implementations in pure JavaScript, prepared precisely to validate the method of audio volume processing proposed here.


In this study, a hydrological discharge model is presented which may be applied as a tool to validate the simulation of the hydrologic cycle of atmospheric models that are used in climate change studies. It can also be applied in studies of global climate change to investigate how changes in climate may affect the discharge of large rivers. The model was developed for the application with the climate models used at the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology. It describes the translation and retention of the lateral waterflows on the global scale as a function of the spatially distributed land surface characteristics which are globally available. Here, global scale refers to the resolution of 0.5° and lower, corresponding to a typical average gridbox area of about 2,500 km 2 . The hydrological discharge model separates between the flow processes of overland flow, baseflow and riverflow. The model parameters are mainly functions of the gridbox characteristics of topography and gridbox length. The hydrological discharge model is applied to the BALTEX (Baltic Sea Experiment) region using input from an atmospheric general circulation model (ECHAM4) as well as from a regional climate model (REMO). The simulated inflows into the Baltic Sea and its sub-catchments are compared to observed and naturalized discharges. The results of this comparison are discussed and the simulated values of precipitation, surface air temperature and accumulated snowpack are compared to both observed data and surrogate data.


Purpose - Capital structure decisions rely on a complex array of theoretical foundations and practical considerations. At the managerial level, it is impractical to base decisions purely on theory. While one can develop a perception of an optimal capital structure, the decision is often obscured by practical limitations to the theoretical base. In order to be useful to practicing managers, policies and decision techniques need to be efficiently accomplished and based on available information. This paper seeks to provide that practical framework. Design/methodology/approach - This paper recounts the simple theoretical base for capital structure, highlights some of the problems encountered when applying the theory to reality, and suggests a framework for practical managerial decisions about capital structure. This exposition is especially useful in undergraduate business curricula, in particular for finance majors considering professional management as a career. Findings - While application of traditional capital structure theory is often impractical, numerous tools are available for use by professional managers to make informed decisions about capital structure. Practical implications - The conclusions from this paper provide a framework for current and prospective professional managers for making appropriate capital structure decisions in their management careers. Social implications - Proper managerial techniques and considerations for leverage and capital structure can potentially benefit society through more prudent use of debt, based on the variety of measures presented in this paper. Originality/value - Topics discussed in this paper have been in development since the 1950s. The contribution of this paper is the creation of a framework for understanding and applying these topics, for pedagogical and management training purposes.


Abstract Although blockchain is often posed as a revolutionary and disruptive technology, its politics and socio-technical configurations often align with aims to maintain the status quo, and/or aims to concentrate wealth and to make existing powers more efficient. I empirically describe how colonial-contingent, neoliberal economic policies in Puerto Rico have incentivized the techno-capitalist industries of cryptocurrency and blockchain. Portions of the archipelago are being re-made into a so-called "crypto-utopia" to satisfy the desires of new settlers in a new form of crypto-colonialism. Puerto Rican government organizations, institutions, and businesses are also engaging blockchain technology with differing intents, all using rhetoric as a covert design tool. In this paper I will focus on blockchain and cryptocurrency as neoliberal and libertarian technologies adopted by governmental agencies, businesses, organizations, and individuals, as well as efforts of resistance through alternative, decolonial design.


In the struggle for women's equality, there is one subject still shrouded in silence - women's compulsive pursuit of beauty. The myth of female beauty challenges every woman, every day of her life. Naomi Wolf exposes the tyranny of the beauty myth through the ages and its oppressive function today, in the home and at work, in literature and the media, in relationships between men and women, between women and women. With pertinent and intelligent examples, she confronts the beauty industry and its advertising and uncovers the reasons why women are consumed by this destructive obsession.


1. In this study we propose an extension of the N-mixture family of models that targets an improvement of the statistical properties of rare species abundance estimators when sample sizes are low, yet typical size for tropical studies. The proposed method harnesses information from other species in an ecological community to correct each species' estimator. We provide guidance to determine the sample size required to estimate accurately the abundance of rare tropical species when attempting to estimate the abundance of single species. 2. We evaluate the proposed methods using an assumption of 50-m radius plots and perform simulations comprising a broad range of sample sizes, true abundances and detectability values and a complex data generating process. The extension of the N-mixture model is achieved by assuming that the detection probabilities of a set of species are all drawn at random from a beta distribution in a multi-species fashion. This hierarchical model avoids having to specify a single detection probability parameter per species in the targeted community. Parameter estimation is done via Maximum Likelihood. 3. We compared our multi-species approach with previously proposed multi-species N-mixture models, which we show are biased when the true densities of species in the community are less than seven individuals per 100-ha. The beta N-mixture model proposed here outperforms the traditional Multi-species N-mixture model by allowing the estimation of organisms at lower densities and controlling the bias in the estimation. 4. We illustrate how our methodology can be used to suggest sample sizes required to estimate the abundance of organisms, when these are either rare, common or abundant. When the interest is full communities, we show how the multi-species approaches, and in particular our beta model and estimation methodology, can be used as a practical solution to estimate organism densities from rapid inventory datasets. The statistical inferences done with our model via Maximum Likelihood can also be used to group species in a community according to their detectabilities.


The problem addressed in this paper is how to enable a computer system to acquire facts about new domains from tutors who are experts in their respective fields, but who have little or no training in computer science. The information to be acquired is that needed to support question-answering activities. The basic acquisition approach is "learning by being told." We have been especially interested in exploring the notion of simultaneously learning not only new concepts, but also the linguistic constructions used to express those concepts. As a research vehicle we have developed a system that is preprogrammed with deductive algorithms and a fixed set of syntactic/semantic rules covering a small subset of English. It has been endowed with sufficient seed concepts and seed vocabulary to support effective tutorial interaction. Furthermore, the system is capable of learning new concepts and vocabulary, and can apply its acquired knowledge in a prescribed range of problem-solving situations.


Let X_B denote the Shimura curve defined by an indefinite rational quaternion division algebra B. By the work of Shimura, the curve X_B admits a canonical model over the field Q of rational numbers as a coarse moduli solution to the problem of classifying abelian surfaces with quaternionic multiplication by B. Jordan studied the problem of describing those imaginary quadratic fields K such that the set of K-rational points X_B(K) is empty, and his results have been interpreted recently by Skorobogatov in terms of descent. He found that the counterexamples to the Hasse principle arising from Jordan's work are accounted for by the Brauer-Manin obstruction. In this thesis, we use the ideas of Skorobogatov and the work of Rotger to obtain analogous results for certain Atkin-Lehner quotients of X_B, but over Q instead of over imaginary quadratic fields. We give sufficient conditions for these quotients to be a counterexample to the Hasse principle over Q and, in some cases, to be accounted for by the Brauer-Manin obstruction.. Let X denote the Shimura variety associated with a totally indefinite quaternion algebra B over a totally real field of degree n. Variety X admits a canonical model of dimension n over \Q as a coarse solution to the moduli problem of classifying abelian varieties of dimension 2n whose endomorphism algebra contains B. It is also equipped with a natural supply of involutions, introduced classically by Atkin and Lehner. The main aim of this project is studying the Hasse principle on these varieties and their quotients.


White matter lesions (WML), identified as hyperintensities on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI) in the ageing brain, are associated with dementia and depression in the elderly. Ischaemia may contribute to their pathogenesis but the exact role of glial cell pathology remains unclear.
Recent studies have concluded that oxidative stress is present in high levels in the deep subcortical white matter lesions when compared to periventricular white matter lesions.
The current study investigates the hypothesis that oxidative DNA damage contributes to the pathogenesis of WML, specifically the deep subcortical WM (DSCL). Oxidative DNA damage was investigated in WML and control WM, both from cases with WML (referred to as lesional controls) and without WML derived from the MRC-Cognitive Function and Ageing Study. Lesions were previously identified using post mortem MRI. 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was detected by immunohistochemisty and nuclear expression quantified. Double staining was performed to colocalise 8-OHdG with markers for specific cell type (e.g. CD68 for microglia). Expression of Malonaldehyde (MDA) (marker of lipid peroxidation), gamma histone H2AX (ɣH2AX) and DNA dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) (markers of DNA damage response) were quantified by Western Blotting. -galactosidase and p16 were used to detect induction of cellar senescence as a downstream effect of persistent DNA damage response. QPCR array was carried out using whole tissue RNA extracts to measure differences in expression of key senescence and DNA damage response genes.
Both WML and lesional control WM showed significantly elevated level of DNA oxidation than control WM, whilst WML and lesional controls did not differ. Persistent DNA damage response was detected using MDA, ɣH2AX and DNA-PK antibodies which activated senescence pathways demonstrated in galactosidase activity as well as p16, p21 and p53 as other indicators of cellular senescence. Key genes involved in DNA damage and senescence pathways were highly expressed in CL tissue.
Oxidised DNA is up regulated in ageing WM in different levels and may contribute to pathogenesis of WML. The similarity in the level of oxidative DNA damage in lesional control WM and WML suggests that oxidative damage is widespread in WM in cases with lesions indicating that WML are associated with general WM damage. DNA damage potentially activates cellular senescence as well as cell cycle check proteins, particularly in astrocytes, in aged WM and WML.


1. Purified inactive renin from human kidney or plasma was activated to a similar extent by incubation with trypsin or by dialysis to pH 3.3. 2. Trypsin- or acid-activated inactive renin was like active renal renin in terms of pH optimum (pH 5.5-6.0) and inhibition by mono-specific antibody. The apparent Km of homologous angiotensinogen for acid-activated inactive renin (1.11 μmol/l) was the same as for trypsin-activated inactive renin (1.12 μmol/l) or active renal renin (1.07 μmol/l). 3. In contrast with trypsin-activated renin, acid-activated renin was reversibly inactivated in a time-dependent manner during incubation at 37°C above pH 5. The maximal rate of reversal occurred in the pH 7–8 range. Reversal was prevented by prior incubation with trypsin, plasmin, glandular kallikrein or plasma kallikrein. 4. By kinetic analysis, the reversal of activation was found to be a first-order decay process with a reaction half-time (7–8 min at 37°C, pH 7.4) that was independent of the initial concentration of activated enzyme. 5. These results indicate that reversible acid-activation of inactive renin is a unimolecular reaction, consistent with the hypothesis that acid pH induces a conformational change in a single polypeptide chain.


PURPOSE
Multi-criteria optimization has been applied to IMRT planning, mainly in the fluence-map optimization stage, to interactively explore the trade-off between conflicting treatment objectives. However, the subsequent leaf-sequencing step may degrade the plan quality due to dose discrepancies. To circumvent this issue, this study aims at developing multi-criteria optimization approaches to IMRT planning using direct aperture optimization methods.

METHODS
The direct aperture optimization problem is formulated and solved using a multi-criteria optimization approach. In particular, a solution method is developed to obtain a collection of apertures that can adequately span the entire Pareto surface. To that end, the column generation method for direct aperture optimization is extended to a multi-criteria setting in which apertures that can improve the entire Pareto surface are sequentially identified and added to the aperture collection. More specifically, we approximate the improvement rate of an aperture in the Pareto surface by sampling Pareto-optimal points and measuring the cumulative improvement rate of the aperture at those sampling points.

RESULTS
Our solution method is tested on a paraspinal case in which the trade-off between target coverage and spinal cord sparing is studied. We compare the trade-off curves obtained using our solution method and two other related heuristics. The computational results validate that the proposed method obtains a balanced approximation of the Pareto surface over a wide range of clinically relevant plans.

CONCLUSION
We have developed a multi-criteria direct aperture optimization method that allows for conducting the trade-off exploration directly in the space of deliverable plans, thereby avoiding dose discrepancies caused by the leaf-sequencing stage.


Samuel L. Leiter's Kabuki at the Crossroads is a thorough account of Japan's most famous traditional theatre as it struggled to survive in the maelstrom of post-Occupation Japan's rapidly changing entertainment world.


Due to its geographic location, variable climate and traditional culture, Turkey has a rich flora and the use of plants in folk medicine is very favorable. That practice and knowledge have been passed down from generation to generation. Ethnobotanical surveys are carried out to record traditional treatment methods of plants. In this study, which was prepared by screening of ethnobotanical researches made in Turkey, 241 taxa were recorded in the traditional treatment of hemorrhoids. Information about scientific and local names, families, used parts and usage patterns of these plants are given. According to the research results, the most commonly used plants in hemorrhoid treatment are plants belonging to Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Araceae, Polygonaceae and Cupressaceae families. The species commonly used in different regions of Turkey are Achillea sp., Arum sp., Cichorium intybus L., Dracunculus vulgaris Schott, Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich., Ficus carica L., Hypericum perforatum L., H. scabrum L., Juglans regia L., Peganum harmala L., Rosa canina L., Rubus sp., Sambucus ebulus L., S. nigra L., Teucrium polium L., Urtica dioica L., Verbascum sp..


Using a closed-economy model, Jensen (2002) and Walsh (2003) have, respectively, shown that a policy regime that optimally targets nominal income growth (NIT) or the change in the output gap (SLT) outperforms a regime that targets inflation, because NIT and SLT induce more inertia in the actions of the central bank, effectively replicating the outcome obtained under precommitment. The author obtains a very different result when the analysis is extended to open-economy models. Flexible CPI-inflation targeting outperforms both SLT and NIT and is the most robust targeting regime. The gains from targeting CPI inflation are particularly large when the model features transmission lags and/or departures from the uncovered interest parity condition. The author also finds that the stabilization bias inherent in discretionary policy is smaller in an open-economy setting.


The non-physiological motions of human cervical vertebrae were analyzed in volunteer tests for rear-end impacts and were considered to be an important parameter for neck injuries. The objectives of this study are to improve the Marko de Jager neck model using volunteer test data and to analyze the influence of horizontal and vertical accelerations on cervical vertebral motion. In the beginning of this study, a neck model was positioned based on X-ray cineradiography of a volunteer. Motions of each vertebra were compared with those of volunteer test data for low speed rear-end impacts (4, 6, 8km/h). In these comparisons, the differences of vertebrae motions between the neck model and the volunteer tests were found. To improve the validity of the neck model, the connection properties and the bending properties of the upper and lower vertebrae of the model were modified to increase rigidity. Using the modified neck model, simulation analysis was performed by changing horizontal and vertical accelerations to analyze the influence of seat property on vertebrae motion. The forces caused by contact with each adjacent facet of the vertebrae, vertebra angles and vertebra rotation center relative to adjacent vertebra were calculated to evaluate the severity for the vertebrae and to analyze the motions of the vertebrae just before facet contact. It was found that the facet force and the height of rotation center were influenced not only by horizontal acceleration but also by vertical acceleration. (A) For the covering abstract see ITRD E106349.