Due to climate warming, many plant species shift ranges towards higher latitudes. Plants can disperse faster than most soil biota, however, little is known about how range-expanding plants in the new range will establish interactions with the resident soil food web. In this paper we examine how the soil nematode community from the new range responds to range-expanding plant species compared to related natives. We focused on nematodes, because they are important components in various trophic levels of the soil food web, some feeding on plant roots, others on microbes or on invertebrates. We expected that range expanding plant species have fewer root-feeding nematodes, as predicted by enemy release hypothesis. We therefore expected that range expanders affect the taxonomic and functional composition of the nematode community, but that these effects would diminish with increasing trophic position of nematodes in the soil food web. We exposed six range expanders (including three intercontinental exotics) and nine related native plant species to soil from the invaded range and show that range expanders on average had fewer root-feeding nematodes per unit root biomass than related natives. The range expanders showed resistance against rather than tolerance for root-feeding nematodes from the new range. On the other hand, the overall taxonomic and functional nematode community composition was influenced by plant species rather than by plant origin. The plant identity effects declined with trophic position of nematodes in the soil food web, as plant feeders were influenced more than other feeding guilds. We conclude that range-expanding plant species can have fewer root-feeding nematodes per unit root biomass than related natives, but that the taxonomic and functional nematode community composition is determined more by plant identity than by plant origin. Plant species identity effects decreased with trophic position of nematodes in the soil food web.


Objective: To determine whether the introduction of a pre-printed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) drug chart after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) surgery was associated with an improvement in the rates of prescription of secondary prevention medicines at hospital discharge. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary cardiothoracic referral hospital in Wellington, New Zealand. Patient and participants: Seven hundred twentyeight CABG surgery patients. Three hundred seventy-one from the year before and 357 from the year after the introduction of the preprinted ICU cardiac drug chart. Interventions: A pre-printed ICU medication chart including aspirin, metoprolol, and atorvastatin used on all patients admitted to the . ICU following CABG surgery. Measurements: The primary outcome variable was the proportion of patients prescribed appropriate secondary prevention at hospital discharge. Secondary outcome variables included the proportion of patients receiving each of: aspirin, a beta-blocker, or a statin individually. Results: Prescribing of appropriate secondary prevention increased from 81.1% to 92.7% following the introduction of the chart, adjusted OR 2.63 (1.53 to 4.50), p<0.001. The association between year of prescription and overall prescribing was mainly due to an increase in the prescription of beta-blockers. Conclusions: Introduction of a pre-printed ICU cardiac drug chart was associated with an increase in the rates of prescribing of secondary prevention on hospital discharge post-CABG surgery.


We propose a novel, unified approach to the development of compositional symbolic execution tools, bridging the gap between classical symbolic execution and compositional program reasoning based on separation logic. Using this approach, we build JaVerT 2.0, a symbolic analysis tool for JavaScript that follows the language semantics without simplifications. JaVerT 2.0 supports whole-program symbolic testing, verification, and, for the first time, automatic compositional testing based on bi-abduction. The meta-theory underpinning JaVerT 2.0 is developed modularly, streamlining the proofs and informing the implementation. Our explicit treatment of symbolic execution errors allows us to give meaningful feedback to the developer during whole-program symbolic testing and guides the inference of resource of the bi-abductive execution. We evaluate the performance of JaVerT 2.0 on a number of JavaScript data-structure libraries, demonstrating: the scalability of our whole-program symbolic testing; an improvement over the state-of-the-art in JavaScript verification; and the feasibility of automatic compositional testing for JavaScript.


The process of water vapor transport across the tropical transition layer involves both microphysical and convective processes. The bromine budget of the stratosphere can not be reconciled with ground-based bromine measurements using long-lived bromine containing substances alone. In this study we look at the interaction of the water vapor transport processes in the context of very short lived (VSL) bromine species. Lagrangian back trajectories initiated in the stratosphere are generated using ECMWF reanalysis data. A simplified microphysical and bromine chemical box model representation are then calculated along the trajectories. We present the transport of the VSL bromine in a conceptualized form and investigate sensitivities to the general chemical, microphysical and convective processes that result in VSL bromine contributing to the stratospheric bromine budget.


Background/aim: Cost-efficient methods are essential for successful participant recruitment in clinical trials. Patient portal messages are an emerging means of recruiting potentially eligible patients into trials. We assessed the response rate and complaint rate from direct-to-patient, targeted recruitment through patient portals of an electronic medical record for a clinical trial, and compared response rates by differences in message content. Methods: The Study to Understand Fall Reduction and Vitamin D in You (STURDY) trial is a National Institutes of Health–sponsored, community-based study of vitamin D supplementation for fall prevention in older adults conducted at Johns Hopkins. Potential participants were identified using the Epic electronic medical record at the Johns Hopkins Health System based on age (≥70 years), ZIP code (30-mile radius of study site), and prior activation of a patient portal account. We prepared a shorter message and a longer message. Both had basic information about study participation, but the longer message also contained information about the significance of the study and a personal invitation from the STURDY principal investigator. The Hopkins Institutional Review Board did not require prior consent from the patient or their providers. We calculated the response rate and tracked the number of complaints and requests for removal from future messages. We also determined response rate according to message content. Results: Of the 5.5 million individuals receiving care at the Johns Hopkins Health System, a sample of 6896 met our inclusion criteria and were sent one patient portal recruitment message between 6 April 2017 and 3 August 2017. Assessment of enrollment by this method ended on 1 December 2017. There were 116 patients who expressed interest in the study (response rate: 1.7%). Twelve (0.2%) recipients were randomized. There were two complaints (0.03%) and one request to unsubscribe from future recruitment messages (0.01%). Response rate was higher with the longer message than the shorter message (2.1% vs 1.2%; p = 0.005). Conclusion: Patient portal messages inviting seniors to participate in a randomized controlled trial resulted in a response rate similar to commercial email marketing and resulted in very few complaints or opt-out requests. Furthermore, a longer message with more content enhanced response rate. Recruitment through patient portals might be an effective strategy to enroll trial participants.


Torrent traffic, much of which is assumed to be illegal downloads of copyrighted content, accounts for up to 35% of internet downloads. Yet, the process of classification and identification of these downloads is unclear, and original data for such studies is often unavailable. Many torrent items lack supporting description or meta-data, in which case only file name and size are available. We describe a novel Bayesian network based classifier system that predicts medium category, pornographic content and risk of fakes and malware based on torrent name and size, optionally supplemented with external databases of titles and actors. We show that our method outperforms a commercial benchmark system and has the potential to rival human classifiers.


We present a short review of recent developments in nonlinear quantum plasma physics, including quantum hydrodynamic and effective nonlinear shrodinger equation formalisms, for describing collective phenomena in quantum plasmas. As examples we discuss simulation studies of the formation and dynamics of dark solitons and vortices, and of nonlinear interactions between intense circularly polarized electromagnetic (CPEM) waves and electron plasma oscillations (EPOs) in dense in quantum electron plasmas. The electron dynamics of dark solitons and vortices is governed by a pair of equations comprising the nonlinear Schrodinger and Poisson equations. Both dark solitons and singly charged electron vortices are robust, and the latter tend to form pairs of oppositely charged vortices. The two-dimensional quantum electron vortex pairs survive during collisions under the change of partners. The dynamics of the CPEM waves is governed by a nonlinear Schrodinger equation, which is nonlinearly coupled with the Schrodinger equation of the EPOs via the relativistic ponderomotive force, the relativistic electron mass increase in the CPEM field, and the electron density fluctuations. The present governing equations in one spatial dimension admit stationary solutions in the form dark envelope solitons. The nonlinear equations admit the modulational instability of an intense CPEM pump wave against EPOs, leading to the formation and trapping of localized CPEM wave envelopes in the electron density holes that are associated with positive potential profiles.


The Centre for Military and Veterans Health, Australia undertook a horizon scanning process to identify issues in military and veterans' health services delivery for a series of future scenario workshops. Existing writings on global trends, health, military and veterans issues were tabulated using three levels of Causal Layered Analysis (litany, system, worldview) (Inayatullah, 2007) in combination with the Push (trends)-Pull (preferred futures)-Weight (history) triangle (Inayatullah, 2007). Contradictions and synergies identified by scanning factors within and between levels produced a set of plausible future issues. Tagging all factors enabled a quick-scan process across all levels to revise or confirm each issue description.


The Kin Selection Hypothesis for male androphilia posits that genes for male androphilia can be maintained in the population if the fitness costs of not reproducing directly are offset by enhancing inclusive fitness. In theory, androphilic males can increase their inclusive fitness by directing altruistic behavior toward kin, which, in turn, allows kin to increase their reproductive success. Previous research conducted in Western countries has failed to find any support for this hypothesis. The current study tests this basic prediction of the Kin Selection Hypothesis for male androphilia by comparing the altruistic tendencies of androphilic and gynephilic males in the Polynesian nation of Independent Samoa. In Independent Samoa, androphilic males are known locally as fa'afafine. Altruistic tendencies were assessed using a Kin Selection Questionnaire. Comparisons of the altruistic tendencies of fa'afafine and gynephilic men revealed that these two groups did not differ in terms of their overall generosity and allocation of financial resources toward kin, nor did they differ in terms of general neediness or financial resources obtained from kin. Fa'afafine did, however, report greater avuncular tendencies than gynephilic men. Although the greater avuncular tendencies of fa'afafine support the basic prediction of the Kin Selection Hypothesis for male androphilia, further research is needed before one can conclude that these elevated tendencies represent a specially designed adaptation for promoting the fitness of kin. We discuss a number of sociocultural factors that might promote the expression of avuncular tendencies by androphilic males in Independent Samoa. Our results underscore the importance of testing functional hypotheses in evolutionarily appropriate environments. D 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Drawn from the cutting-edge frontiers of science, This Explains Everything will revolutionize your understanding of the world. What is your favorite deep, elegant, or beautiful explanation? This is the question John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org ("The world's smartest website"--The Guardian), posed to the world's most influential minds. Flowing from the horizons of physics, economics, psychology, neuroscience, and more, This Explains Everything presents 150 of the most surprising and brilliant theories of the way of our minds, societies, and universe work. Jared Diamond on biological electricity - Nassim Nicholas Taleb on positive stress - Steven Pinker on the deep genetic roots of human conflict - Richard Dawkins on pattern recognition - Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek on simplicity - Lisa Randall on the Higgs mechanism - BRIAN Eno on the limits of intuition - Richard Thaler on the power of commitment - V. S. Ramachandran on the "neural code" of consciousness - Nobel Prize winner ERIC KANDEL on the power of psychotherapy - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on "Lord Acton's Dictum" - Lawrence M. Krauss on the unification of electricity and magnetism - plus contributions by Martin J. Rees - Kevin Kelly - Clay Shirky - Daniel C. Dennett - Sherry Turkle - Philip Zimbardo - Lee Smolin - Rebecca Newberger Goldstein - Seth Lloyd - Stewart Brand - George Dyson - Matt Ridley


Malaria remains one of the prominent public health problems that lead to severe morbidity and mortality in many developing countries around the globe. New antimalarial drugs are urgently needed due to the emergence of antimalarial-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum. In previous studies, we tested several plants extracts that are capable of inhibiting β-hematin formation, with efficiency similar to chloroquine. In the current study, the effect of cinnamon ethanol and water extracts on inhibiting β-hematin formation was studied. Powdered cinnamon extracts and bark in a stick form were investigated using various extraction methods. A semi-quantitative in vitro method, based on the inhibition of ferriprotoporphyrin IX (FP) bio-crystallization developed by Deharo et al. (2002) was utilized. Water extracts of cinnamon revealed potential activity even at low concentration of infusions, which was manifested by a high capability to inhibit β-hematin formation in vitro.

 Key words: Cinnamon, ferriprotoporphyrin (IX), β-hematin, chloroquine, hemozoin, malaria.


We investigate the effect of spatial dispersion phenomenon on the performance of graphene-based plasmonic devices at terahertz (THz). For this purpose, two different components, namely a phase shifter and a low-pass filter, are taken from the literature, implemented in different graphene-based host waveguides, and analyzed as a function of the surrounding media. In the analysis, graphene conductivity is modeled first using the Kubo formalism and then employing a full-kρ model that accurately takes into account spatial dispersion. Our study demonstrates that spatial dispersion upshifts the frequency response of the devices, limits their maximum tunable range, and degrades their frequency response. Importantly, the influence of this phenomenon significantly increases with higher permittivity values of the surrounding media, which is related to the large impact of spatial dispersion in very slow waves. These results confirm the necessity of accurately assessing nonlocal effects in the development of practical plasmonic THz devices.


While current OCR systems are able to recognize text in an increasing number of scripts and languages, typically they still need to be told in advance what those scripts and languages are. We propose an approach that repurposes the same HMM-based system used for OCR to the task of script/language ID, by replacing character labels with script class labels. We apply it in a multi-pass overall OCR process which achieves "universal" OCR over 54 tested languages in 18 distinct scripts, over a wide variety of typefaces in each. For comparison we also consider a brute-force approach, wherein a singe HMM-based OCR system is trained to recognize all considered scripts. Results are presented on a large and diverse evaluation set extracted from book images, both for script identification accuracy and for overall OCR accuracy. On this evaluation data, the script ID system provided a script ID error rate of 1.73% for 18 distinct scripts. The end-to-end OCR system with the script ID system achieved a character error rate of 4.05%, an increase of 0.77% over the case where the languages are known a priori.


Professional and amateur participants in many sports are at risk of brain injury caused by impact with other players or objects. In many cases, mild cognitive deficits may persist after the common neurological signs of brain injury have passed. In recent years, the athlete's cognitive status after concussion has been measured with conventional "paper and pencil" neuropsychological tests. However, such tests are not ideal for sporting settings, as they are designed for the detection of gross cognitive impairments at a single assessment, not for the identification of mild cognitive deficits on repeated assessment. A number of computerised cognitive assessment tests and test batteries have been developed over the past two decades. These batteries offer major scientific and practical advantages over conventional neuropsychological tests which make them ideal for the assessment of cognitive function in sportspeople. This review first describes the problems associated with cognitive assessment of people with sports related cognitive deficits, and then critically examines the utility of conventional neuropsychological and computerised cognitive tests in sporting settings.


More than thirty jurisdictions across the (Western) world have, since Demark was the first to do so in 1989, created institutionalised means by which same-sex couples can have their personal relationships registered with the State and governed by legal rules, analogous to those applicable to opposite-sex couples through the far older institution that we call 'marriage'. New Zealand, a State with a strong perception of itself as an egalitarian and socially progressive country, did so with its Civil Union Act 2004, which came into force on 26 April 2005, together with a plethora of Amendment Acts bringing civil union partners within the parameters of existing legislation. These Acts are New Zealand's response to the radical but still fairly recent shift in social attitudes towards gay and lesbian people, and same-sex couples, which has accorded us the values of human dignity and equality before the law. This article suggests, however, that New Zealand law tolerates rather than celebrates this new ideal of social justice. It is argued that with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues, New Zealand is a country that follows rather than leads. Especially problematical is New Zealand's approach to recognition of overseas relationships.


Capacitive energy harvesters utilizing elastic dielectrics offer a simple way to harvest energy from natural mechanical energy sources. While the technology is promising due to its simplicity and low cost combined with high efficiency and energy density, there are still material challenges that must be addressed. For effective energy conversion, the dielectric material should have low dielectric and mechanical losses, while the compliant electrodes should be able to withstand large strains over an extended lifetime without any substantial loss of conductivity. The development of soft flexible and stretchable silicone–carbon nanotube composite electrodes is presented for use in capacitive energy harvesting and strain sensing. The composite is capable of being stretched to over 150% strain with a minimal increase in the baseline resistance and excellent recovery of electrical properties upon relaxation. The electrode displays excellent strain‐rate stability and is capable of being stretched at a strain rate of 1000% s−1 with only a small increase in resistance. The electrode also displays excellent electrical stability. Applications of the composite electrode include highly stretchable soft capacitors and energy generators. The capacitance change along with stretching could be either linear for sensor purposes or superlinear for improved energy gains as an energy harvester.


The subject of this article is the analysis of clauses of aim, cause, consequence and condition in French in view to the automatic processing. Our theoretical framework is that of lexicon-grammar. This study differs from the usual grammatical analyses. Here, the complex sentence is studied on the model of the simple sentence, defined as an operator accompanied by its arguments. The conjunctive phrase is our starting point for this study, and it is then shown that the noun around which it is formed, is of predicative type and has the main clause and the subordinate as arguments. This is a predicate «of second order».Automatic processing requires extremely accurate notation of syntactic and semantic properties if ambiguity and polysemy are to be correctly handled. Those descriptions based on syntactico-semantic features are insufficient, which is why the concept of « class of objects » is brought in. There are as many types of relations as there are semantic types of predicate. This is the reason why a semantic typology of predicates is sketched out, integrating lexical, syntactic and semantic components. It is shown that each semantic type can have its own appropriate lexical means of expression and specific syntactic behaviour.


This monograph is a comprehensive study of the various ways in which genericity can be expressed in Dutch, dialects of Dutch, and languages related to Dutch. On the basis of empirical (corpus- and questionnaire-based) data, a wide range of topics are discussed which have been addressed in the literature on the semantics and pragmatics of generics. The empirical data presented in this book shed new light on issues crucial to the study of genericity. A number of widely accepted ideas are shown to be problematic. For example, arguments are presented against the well-known claim that progressive forms typically exclude characterizing interpretations. Furthermore, the author shows that speakers do not agree in their judgements of the acceptability of bare plurals (as well as other noun phrase types) in generic contexts. Such data are a problem for the influential thesis that bare plurals refer to kinds unambiguously.


The testing and verification of a complex hardware or software system, such as modern integrated circuits (ICs) found in everything from smartphones to servers, can be a difficult process. One of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks a verification team faces is reaching coverage closure, or hitting all events in the coverage space. Coverage-directed-generation (CDG), or the automatic generation of tests that can hit hard-to-hit coverage events, and thus provide coverage closure, holds the potential to save verification teams significant simulation resources and time. In this paper, we propose a new approach to the CDG problem by formulating the CDG problem as a noisy derivative free optimization (DFO) problem. However, this formulation is complicated by the fact that derivatives of the objective function are unavailable, and the objective function evaluations are corrupted by noise. We solve this noisy optimization problem by utilizing techniques from direct optimization coupled with a robust noise estimator, and by leveraging techniques from inverse problems to estimate the gradient of the noisy objective function. We demonstrate the efficiency and reliability of this new approach through numerical experiments with an abstract model of part of IBM's NorthStar processor, a superscalar in-order processor designed for servers.


You're never the same--mental health diagnosis is an opinion and attitude. You cannot cure or have remission from others' attitudes of rejection. (1) Friends and family--they don't understand my illness/disability--they think I am getting away with something--that there is nothing wrong with me. (2) INTRODUCTION Identity matters. In particular, identity matters to people who are stigmatized and stereotyped because they belong to a socially disfavored group. Although individual members of these groups may have very different ideas about how to respond to prejudice and mistreatment, the matter of identity itself--membership in the group--is generally not at issue. Justice Clarence Thomas and the Reverend Jesse Jackson may have sharply conflicting ideas about the meaning of being an African American in our society, but the identity of each man as an African American is hardly open to question. When it comes to disabilities, however, these distinctions begin to blur, in part because disability is as much about environmental context and social functioning as it is about any physical or mental characteristic. Asthma may or may not be a disability, depending on the presence of pollen and pollutants in the air. Mild mental retardation may be less disabling in a rural farming community than in a busy urban environment. In addition, impairments exist along a spectrum, both physical and functional, rather than representing a dichotomy between a class of clearly identified disabled people differentiated unmistakably from nondisabled people. Therefore, a person's self-identification as "disabled" is often not as automatic as self-identification with respect to race and sex. In fact, self-identification as a person with a disability is often a long, complex, and difficult process. In this respect it may resemble self-identification as gay or lesbian. Disability, unlike race and sex, but like sexual preference, is usually not identifiable at birth, (3) and often becomes salient in an individual's life after she has formed a personal identity. Indeed, one of the most hurtful aspects of disability discrimination is that newly disabled persons find it very difficult to accept that people who knew them before they became disabled can treat them so differently once they are disabled, and people with hidden disabilities are shocked when they are abandoned by old friends and even family after they reveal their disabilities. The fact that disabilities exist along a spectrum contributes to another disparity between the identity of disabled people and the identity of people in other groups that experience discrimination. Because disabilities exist along a spectrum, it is unclear when someone actually becomes "disabled." Disability is a status that is initially identified, named, or conferred, not by the individual, but by "experts," usually medical experts, although the ramifications of disability are significantly social and political. Furthermore, unlike race or gender, experts hold themselves out as being able to mitigate or treat disability. (4) Although people with disabilities have challenged the claims and dominance of experts for many years, experts retain a position of primacy in defining both the categories and the meaning of physical and mental disability, and are considered the only authority on the mitigation, treatment or cure of the disability. (5) The centrality of experts to the experience of disability has enormous social, legal, and political consequences. A large number of cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act involve claims by the plaintiff that she is disabled. (6) Defendants dispute these claims by hiring experts to refute the plaintiff's claims to identity as a person with a disability. In many cases, the Supreme Court has rejected the plaintiff's claim to belong to the protected group--persons with disabilities. (7) This process--permitting experts and the judiciary to determine whether an individual fits into a protected class--would be unthinkable in the case of race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation. …


It has been suggested that modes of vibration of solid elastic spheres, such as those used in the calibration of echo sounder systems, can be affected by the manner of suspension. This hypothesis is investigated in the context of reported experimental calibration trials with the SIMRAD EK500/120-kHz echo sounder. In these, as many as four different spheres were used: 23- and 30.05mm-diameter spheres composed of electrical grade copper and 33.2- and 38.1-mm diameter spheres composed of tungsten carbide with 6% cobalt binder. Theoretical target strengths are computed for each sphere for the reported measurement conditions for a series of cases in which single vibration modes remain unexcited. The computed target strengths are compared with the corresponding experimental values. The working hypothesis is not supported by the data.


On its initial publication in 1998, John R. Lott's More Guns, Less Crime drew both lavish praise and heated criticism. More than a decade later, it continues to play a key role in ongoing arguments over gun-control laws: despite all the attacks by gun-control advocates, no one has ever been able to refute Lott's simple, startling conclusion that more guns mean less crime. Relying on the most rigorously comprehensive data analysis ever conducted on crime statistics and right-to-carry laws, the book directly challenges common perceptions about the relationship of guns, crime, and violence. For this third edition, Lott draws on an additional ten years of data—including provocative analysis of the effects of gun bans in Chicago and Washington, D.C—that brings the book fully up to date and further bolsters its central contention.


Financial analysts and accounting regulators encourage companies to disclose the disaggregation of total capital expenditures (CAPX) into the portion for sustaining current performance (maintenance CAPX [MCAPX]) and the portion for pursuing additional opportunities (growth CAPX [GCAPX]). Using a hand-collected sample of voluntary disclosures, we document that traditional estimates of disaggregated CAPX components, using currently required financial statement disclosures, are inadequate proxies for actual (disclosed) values of MCAPX and GCAPX. Specifically, we find that estimation errors for disaggregated variables are associated with future financial performance (i.e., changes in sales and earnings), suggesting that disaggregated disclosure information is potentially useful in forecasting. We also find that these estimation errors are associated with analyst forecast revisions of sales and earnings per share, consistent with analysts incorporating disaggregated CAPX information into their forecasts. Our results provide evidence that disaggregated CAPX disclosures are superior to currently required aggregate CAPX disclosure for forecasting firms' financial performance.


After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, an existing development program promoting household water treatment with chlorine rapidly expanded and provided relief to 15,000 earthquake-affected households. Initially, 157 community health workers (CHWs) distributed chlorine tablets; ten months later, CHWs began selling locally manufactured solution. The program was externally evaluated in March and November 2010; 77–90% of recipients had free chlorine residual (FCR) in household water. Internal monitoring by three supervisors and 157 CHWs also began in 2010. We analyzed results from 9,832 supervisor and 80,371 CHW monitoring visits conducted between 2010 and 2014 to assess: whether success continued in the rehabilitation phase; internal data validity; and factors impacting adoption. In 2010, 72.7% of supervisor visits documented total chlorine residual (TCR) comparable to external evaluation results. TCR presence was associated with certain supervisors/CHWs, earlier program year and month (in 2014, supervisor visits TCR presence dropped to 52.1%), living in plains (not mountainous) regions, and certain calendar months. CHW visits recorded 18.1% higher TCR presence than supervisor visits, indicating bias. Our results document a program with sustained (although slightly declining) household chlorination use, provide insight into validity in internal monitoring, and inform discussions on the value of linking successful development programs to emergency relief, rehabilitation, and development.


Abstract In recent years there has been broad discussion on the nature of stressors experienced by members of "high risk" occupations and professions, for instance nursing and emergency workers, whose role is to support others through traumatic scenarios (Lam et al, 1999:23). Perioperative nursing is a major specialization in nursing practice in which there is an increased risk of exposure to traumatic events (Schwann, 1998:645). Moreover, the cumulative nature of critical events, if left undealt with that will potentiate attrition among nurses in the perioperative environment (Michael and Jenkins, 2001:39). This triangulated study using self-administered questionaires focused on how theatre nurses coped with contextual stressors in the work milieu. A purposive sample of 46 registered and enrolled nurses who worked at a major Brisbane hospital were asked to describe a recent stressful workplace event, and rate it using Horowitz's (1993) Impact of Event Scale (IES). Results indicated that nurses with the least general theatre experience, demonstrated the highest negative impacts. 25% of females demonstrated avoidance tendencies when stressed, while 83% of males used problem-solving strategies. Reactions following trauma among the nurses were predominantly negative, and included feelings of frustration and self-doubt. These findings support the eminent need for hospital organizations to take a more person-centered approach when dealing with workplace stress.


We contrast the relationship between predation and the savings of its potential victim in two different simple models. In the first model, predation is an exogenous event in which savings are expropriated with some fixed probability. In such a setting, the higher the probability of expropriation the lower are savings. In the second model, we endow the predatory agent with a decision whether to expropriate or to devote his efforts to some productive endeavor. In this second model, the (endogenous) probability of expropriation can easily be positively correlated with savings. In addition, we show that predation is more damaging to the savings and utility of the victim in the second model. (JEL: D91, D74) (c) 2010 by the European Economic Association.


Weak hydrogen bonds of the type C–H⋯X (X: N, O, S and halogens) have evoked considerable interest over the years, especially in the context of crystal engineering. However, association patterns of weak hydrogen bonds are generally difficult to characterize, and yet the identification of such patterns is of interest, especially in high throughput work or where single crystal X-ray analysis is difficult or impossible. To obtain structural information on such assemblies, we describe here a five step IR spectroscopic method that identifies supramolecular synthons in weak hydrogen bonded dimer assemblies, bifurcated systems, and π-electron mediated synthons. The synthons studied here contain C–H groups as hydrogen bond donors. The method involves: (i) identifying simple compounds/cocrystals/salts that contain the hydrogen bonded dimer synthon of interest or linear hydrogen bonded assemblies between the same functionalities; (ii) scanning infrared (IR) spectra of the compounds; (iii) identifying characteristic spectral differences between dimer and linear; (iv) assigning identified bands as marker bands for identification of the supramolecular synthon, and finally (v) identifying synthons in compounds whose crystal structures are not known. The method has been effectively implemented for assemblies involving dimer/linear weak hydrogen bonds in nitrobenzenes (C–H⋯O–NO), nitro-dimethylamino compounds (NMe2⋯O2N), chalcones (C–H⋯OC), benzonitriles (C–H⋯NC) and fluorobenzoic acids (C–H⋯F–C). Two other special cases of C–H⋯π and N–H⋯π synthons were studied in which the band shape of the C–H stretch in hydrocarbons and the N–H deformation in aminobenzenes was examined.


Previous monocular depth estimation methods take a single view and directly regress the expected results. Though recent advances are made by applying geometrically inspired loss functions during training, the inference procedure does not explicitly impose any geometrical constraint. Therefore these models purely rely on the quality of data and the effectiveness of learning to generalize. This either leads to suboptimal results or the demand of huge amount of expensive ground truth labelled data to generate reasonable results. In this paper, we show for the first time that the monocular depth estimation problem can be reformulated as two sub-problems, a view synthesis procedure followed by stereo matching, with two intriguing properties, namely i) geometrical constraints can be explicitly imposed during inference; ii) demand on labelled depth data can be greatly alleviated. We show that the whole pipeline can still be trained in an end-to-end fashion and this new formulation plays a critical role in advancing the performance. The resulting model outperforms all the previous monocular depth estimation methods as well as the stereo block matching method in the challenging KITTI dataset by only using a small number of real training data. The model also generalizes well to other monocular depth estimation benchmarks. We also discuss the implications and the advantages of solving monocular depth estimation using stereo methods.


Policy in Pakistan has been fairly path-dependant, placing a higher weight on export promotion and domestic industrialisation development than on domestic commerce. Yet domestic commerce is growing rapidly, and quite possibly is the largest sector in the economy. This paper argues that a more holistic policy, with no favourites, that allows for all sectors to grow leads to better long-term economic results. A vibrant domestic commerce sector is the core of the economy facilitating intermediation between supply and demand, entrepreneurial development, risk-taking, innovation, and competitive markets. Such an economy moves beyond commodity exports to brand name, process, and capital exports, all of which command a higher rate of return. Pakistan could therefore achieve a higher and a more sustainable growth rate by adopting a more balanced growth strategy.


Background/Context Over the last two decades, school districts in the United States have increasingly allowed students and their families to choose the schools they attend and, at the high school level, the courses they take. While the movement to provide more curricular choice for students and families has accelerated, so, too, has the policy emphasis on increasing students' math achievement. The increased emphases on curricular choice and math achievement provide an opportunity to examine how students draw on their social capital when making curricular choices and whether the diversity of their relational resources is associated with math achievement. Purpose We build from a social capital framework to examine how students who are able to exercise curricular choice do so by drawing on their social networks and how the resources accessible through these networks, operationalized as network diversity, are associated with math achievement. We also examine how this relationship varies by students' math interest; an important individual-level characteristic that we hypothesize moderates the influence of network diversity on math achievement. Setting Data for this study are from the restricted-use version of the High School Longitudinal Survey of 2009 (HSLS: 09), the fifth in a series of National Center for Education Statistics' multisource, secondary longitudinal studies. For this study, we rely on cross-sectional base-year data (2009) when all students were in Grade 9. Participants Our analytic sample consists of those students who: (1) were enrolled in and able to select their fall 2009 math course; (2) have valid scores on the dependent variable; and (3) have no missing values on items that constitute the independent variable-of-interest, network diversity. This subsampling strategy resulted in a final weighted, analytic sample of 5,570 students in 920 schools. Research Design Secondary analysis of cross-sectional observational survey data. Data Analysis Multilevel models with random intercepts are used to estimate students' math achievement and properly adjust for the nested nature of the data. The models include controls for the HSLS stratified sampling design and for the probability of selection for individuals. Results After controlling for student- and school-level covariates, results indicate that our operational measure of social capital, network diversity, is significantly associated with math achievement. We also find that math interest significantly moderates this relationship, indicating that the presumed returns of social capital vary by this important non-cognitive characteristic. Conclusions Social capital in the form of network diversity helps all students reach resource-or information-rich contacts, such as teachers and counselors. However, by examining how math interest moderates the relation between network diversity and math achievement, we directly locate our work within an underappreciated theoretical niche that explicitly links how the presumed returns of social capital vary by student-level non-cognitive characteristics (e.g., math interest). Network diversity helps all students reach resource- or information-rich contacts including teachers and counselors. However, this does not guarantee that all students will see comparable returns. Results are further discussed in relation to schools' curricular choice policies.


With the addition of brand new co-editor, Robert Christensen, this trusted reader is back in a fresh and insightful fifth edition. To the general structure that has made American Intergovernmental Relations so enduring, the editors have added a new section that incorporates the importance of law and courts to intergovernmental relations. This new section explicitly grounds the study of intergovernmental relations to foundational Constitutional text and the dynamic role of the Supreme Court in interpreting constitutional powers. Tool and Christensen have also added new selections that cover society's current and most pressing intergovernmental policy issues, including health care, immigration, and the evolving and controversial issue of medical marijuana. As always, each essay is judiciously edited and substantial part introductions further contextualize each essay's contribution to make American Intergovernmental Relations an accessible and invaluable text, as well as an engaging read


I. INTRODUCTION Federal and state laws provide owners of securities issued by public corporations the right to file suit against perceived wrongdoing. In recent years, utilities have seen an increase in the number of actions filed against management and board members. In 2002, almost ten percent of new federal securities fraud class actions involved an electric utility or a firm heavily involved in gas and electricity trading. This increase in litigation has followed a period of deregulation and restructuring among electric utilities and an accompanying rise in wholesale energy trading activities. Changes such as these alter the nature of a firm's risk exposures, as well as, generally increasing its overall risk. I find that the recent rise in securities litigation is one consequence of the fallout from electricity deregulation and restructuring. I also address the implications of securities litigation for utility managers and board members. Litigation affects corporate conduct by providing a means for owners to sanction wrongdoing. The threat of involvement in an action may serve to create incentives for corporate officers and board members to better serve the interests of owners.1 A change in industry structure may affect the importance of litigation as a means of control. Deregulation increases the amount of discretion afforded management. While an increase in discretion may allow for better use of corporate resources, it also provides insiders increased latitude to serve their own interests, rather than the best interests of the corporation. But agency problems are not the only factor influencing the propensity of firms to become involved in some form of securities litigation. securities actions are usually filed after a revelation of unfavorable news concerning the firm. Greater risk increases the likelihood that actual financial results will materially differ, on the minus side of the ledger, from expectations. Such an outcome may result from misleading disclosures or from a dereliction of management and board duties. But such developments may also result from unforeseen events. Given the difficulty in sorting out actual malfeasance from bad luck, an increase in the probability of bad outcomes by itself increases the litigation-risk exposure of officers and directors. This article develops stylized facts concerning the recent experience of the utilities sector rather than constructing a formal model of the litigation process. I find that the incidence of litigation involving firms in the utility sector increased dramatically over the period between 1996 and 2003 (the sample period). I also find that most of the litigation involves companies in the electric power sector and firms with substantial unregulated energy trading activities or non-utility investments. Relatively few actions allege some form of fraud or dereliction arising from traditionally regulated operations. Rather, most actions emerge from unregulated operations or investments outside of the utility business. I also find that these actions have been costly. As of April 2005, the total amount that utilities and their insurers have agreed to pay to settle securities class actions is almost $1.4 billion.2 Many actions remain ongoing. The experience of the utilities sector provides a useful case study for managers and directors of firms in industries that are about to undergo, or are currently undergoing, structural change. I suggest steps that managers and directors of such firms may take to reduce their exposure to the risk of a securities action. Section II provides a thumbnail sketch of the four most common types of securities actions involving public corporations. This includes both actions filed under federal securities law and state corporation law. section III provides an overview of the reasons that changes in the industry may have caused an increase in the level of litigation risk. This section also reviews the relationship between risk and the incidence of securities litigation. …


Many bridges around the world face aging problems and degradation of structural strength. Visual and hammering sound inspections are under way, but the status of inner reinforced iron rods and prestressed concrete (PC) wires has not yet been confirmed. Establishing a diagnosis method for bridges based on X-ray visualization is required to evaluate the health of bridges accurately and to help with the rationalization of bridge maintenance. We developed 950 keV/3.95 MeV X-band electron linac-based X-ray sources for on-site bridge inspection and visualized the inner structure of a lower floor slab. The information regarding wire conditions by X-ray results was used for the structural analysis of a bridge to evaluate its residual strength and sustainability. For more precise inspection of wire conditions, we applied three-dimensional image reconstruction methods for bridge mock-up samples. Partial-angle computed tomography (CT) and tomosynthesis provided cross-sectional images of the samples at 1 mm resolutions. Image processing techniques such as the curvelet transform were applied to evaluate diameter of PC wires by suppressing noise. Technical guidelines of bridge maintenance using the 950 keV/3.95 MeV X-ray sources are proposed. We plan to offer our technique and guidelines for safer and more reliable maintenance of bridges around the world.


This report was designed to meet three broad goals: (1) evaluate wildfire hazard on Federal lands; (2) develop information useful in prioritizing where fuels treatments and mitigation measures might be proposed to address significant fire hazard and risk; and (3) develop risk-based performance measures to document the effectiveness of fire management programs. The research effort described in this report is designed to develop, from a strategic view, a first approximation of how fire likelihood and fire intensity influence risk to social, economic, and ecological values at the national scale. The approach uses a quantitative risk framework that approximates expected losses and benefits to highly valued resources from wildfire. Specifically, burn probabilities and intensities are estimated with a fire simulation model and are coupled with spatially explicit data on human and ecological values and fire-effects response functions to estimate the percent loss or benefit. This report describes the main components of the risk framework, including the burn probability models, highly valued resource data, and development of response functions, and illustrates the application to the State of Oregon. The State of Oregon was selected for prototype due to the wide range of variability in ecoregions represented in the state. All of the highly valued resource themes were represented in the mix of developed and natural resources present in the state. National risk and hazard approximation results for the Continental United States are available at the following location: www.fs.fed.us/wwetac/wflc/.


CONTEXT
Rural patients have limited access to dermatologic care. Farmworkers have high rates of skin disease and limited access to care.

PURPOSE
This exploratory study assessed whether teledermatology consultations could help meet the needs of health care providers for farmworkers in rural clinics.

METHODS
Dermatologists provided 79 consultations, using store-and-forward teledermatology, to farmworkers who presented with a skin disease to rural North Carolina clinics. Clinic providers rated the value of the consultation.

FINDINGS
Most requests for consultations (94%) came from family nurse practitioners or physician assistants. Twelve percent of consultations were rated somewhat helpful, and the remainder helpful or very helpful. After receiving the consultation, providers changed the diagnosis in 13% of cases. The consultation led providers to contact or attempt to contact 21% of patients to change treatment recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS
Access to expert dermatologic services is needed by rural health care providers. Teledermatology consultations may be a helpful tool to meet this need.


Software that emphasizes pictures, rather than text, has become increasingly popular since the introduction of the Macintosh computer. Creating this software is a time-consuming task that can take months or years. Researchers have attempted to speed up this process by developing constraint-based tools that automate portions of the software development cycle. However, these tools are often limited in the types of applications they can generate, since 1) they lack powerful editing models that can manipulate complex data structures, such as lists, trees, and sets; and 2) in large applications, they cannot perform constraint satisfaction quickly enough to provide instantaneous feedback to the user. We present tools for overcoming each of these difficulties. First, we describe a new model, called constraint grammars, that integrates aspects of both attribute grammars and constraint-based, object systems to produce a powerful specification language for graphical interfaces. Constraint grammars integrate important concepts such as the part-whole hierarchy, almost-hierarchical structures, and multidirectional constraints. These features are augmented with a pattern-matching editing model that permits a designer to manipulate complex data structures. We then present techniques for incrementally resatisfying multidirectional, noncircular sets of constraints. It is shown that minimizing the number of re-solved constraints is NP-complete. We therefore describe an approach that attempts to minimize the amount of time spent updating the constraint solution. This technique divides constraint solving into two phases-a planning phase that linearly orders the constraints and an evaluation phase that solves the constraints using this linear order. Previous approaches have thrown away the linear order whenever the constraint system changes. However, this is unnecessary since only a local portion of the linear order is typically modified. We exploit this fact to develop an algorithm that incrementally updates this order. We the augment this algorithm with a heuristic that attempts to choose a linear order that minimizes the number of equations that the evaluation stage must solve. We present benchmarks that show that these algorithms can significantly reduce the number of equations examined by the planning phase and the number of equations solved by the evaluation phase.


Abstract Laurence Crane's music is often described as experimental or considered as a continuation of the English experimental tradition. In this first extended examination of Crane's music it is proposed that, instead of relying upon associations and aesthetic alignments, the music might be considered as experimental through a particularly experimental approach to performance. After a brief overview of Crane's output his position as a composer is considered within the context of the experimental music tradition. This tradition is then considered in relation to performance practice, both historical and contemporary. A selection of Crane's music is examined in the light of that practice, whilst aspects of the composer's approaches to tonality, instrumentation, form and notation are also highlighted.


The durability of Portland cement concrete (PCC) has long been identified as a concern by transportation communities around the United States. In this study, the long-term performance of two batches of concrete incorporating either low-degradation (LD) or normal (NM) aggregates subjected to freezing and thawing conditions was experimentally studied. The freezing and thawing test method (ASTM C666) was followed to condition all the test samples. Dynamic modulus and fracture energy for both groups of concrete samples after different numbers of freeze-thaw cycles were measured through nondestructive modal and cohesive fracture tests, respectively. Due to the higher air content in LD concrete, surface scaling was less severe under frost action. Test results showed that different aggregate degradation has an important effect on the freeze-thaw resistance of the concrete and the rate of decrease in fracture energy with number of freeze-thaw cycles for the LD concrete is higher than for the NM concrete. Compared to the dynamic modulus of elasticity, the fracture energy is a more sensitive parameter for evaluating concrete degradation caused by the frost action. Thus, the degradation of aggregate in concrete can be better evaluated by the cohesive fracture test. Additional research is needed to identify an appropriate threshold for when aggregate degradation properties become a concern. Until that time, it is recommended that WSDOT maintain their current restrictions on using low-degradation aggregates in concrete.


Protein signaling and regulation of gene expression are the two major mechanisms that regulate cellular proliferation in leukemia. Discerning the function of these processes is essential for understanding the pathogenesis of leukemia and for developing the targeted therapies. Here, we provide an overview of one of the mechanisms that regulates gene transcription in leukemia. This mechanism involves the direct interaction between Casein Kinase II (CK2) and the Ikaros transcription factor. Ikaros (IKZF1) functions as a master regulator of hematopoiesis and a tumor suppressor in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Impaired Ikaros function results in the development of high-risk leukemia. Ikaros binds to the upstream regulatory elements of its target genes and regulates their transcription via chromatin remodeling. In vivo, Ikaros is a target for CK2, a pro-oncogenic kinase. CK2 directly phosphorylates Ikaros at multiple amino acids. Functional experiments showed that CK2-mediated phosphorylation of Ikaros, regulates Ikaros' DNA binding affinity, subcellular localization and protein stability. Recent studies revealed that phosphorylation of Ikaros by CK2 regulates Ikaros binding and repression of the terminal deoxytransferase (TdT) gene in normal thymocytes and in T-cell ALL. Available data suggest that the oncogenic activity of CK2 in leukemia involves functional inactivation of Ikaros and provide a rationale for CK2 inhibitors as a potential treatment for ALL.


The high neutral densities and short neutral mean free paths in the Alcator C-Mod divertor have provided a unique testing ground for our understanding of the role of neutrals in a tokamak. The high neutral pressures found in the C-Mod divertor can only be reproduced in models by including such collisional processes as ion-neutral and neutral-neutral collisions, neutral viscosity, as well as taking into account the plasma in the private flux region. After detachment, when the divertor plate ion flux has dropped by over an order of magnitude, the divertor pressure still remains high. High neutral collisionality and the plasma in the private flux region again help keep neutrals in the divertor along with the large source of neutrals due to recombination. Likewise, diffusive neutrals are the explanation for the divertor neutral pressure's insensitivity to strike point position. Closure of neutral leakage pathways did not lead to a decrease in neutral pressures in the region outside the divertor – the main chamber. This observation prompted further research which showed that ion fluxes to main chamber surfaces rival those reaching the divertor plates; the main chamber pressure can be primarily determined by the level of ion transport perpendicular to the magnetic field. This finding has spawned a host of studies (active and passive) both at C-Mod and other tokamaks to understand how radial transport can be so


In order to explore factors conditioning the political quietude of Ukrainian labor, this article analyzes ethnographic data collected at two large enterprises: the Kyiv Metro and the privatized electricity supplier Kyivenergo. Focusing on a recent labor conflict, I unpack various contexts condensed in it. I analyze the hegemonic configuration developed in the early 1990s, at the workplace and at the macro level, and follow its later erosion. Th is configuration has been based on labor hoarding, distribution of nonwage resources, and patronage networks, featuring the foreman as the nodal figure. On the macro scale, it relied on the mediation by unions, supported by resources accumulated during the Soviet era and the economic boom of the 2000s. The depletion of these resources has spelled the ongoing crisis of this configuration.


In this paper, we present a new model for the assessment of Geographic Relevance. This model is drawn from Okapi BM25, thus it takes into account not only a score for each dimension of relevance but also the distribution of these scores within the collection. Preliminary results suggest that the relevance estimation of top-ranked objects is more sensitive to small changes in the user context.


This study investigates evaluation of attentiveness by British and Japanese university students. Attentiveness ( kikubari ) (defined as a demonstrator's preemptive response to a beneficiary's verbal/non-verbal cues or situations) is demonstrated without being requested and it is one of the important politeness strategies. A questionnaire including six attentiveness situations was distributed to 74 British and 138 Japanese participants, who were asked to evaluate the attentiveness situations on a five-point Likert scale and to state the reasons for their evaluation. The Likert-scale evaluations were analyzed using a three-way ANOVA and subsequently, the reasons for evaluations were analyzed qualitatively. It was anticipated that the Japanese would evaluate attentiveness more positively than the British, as attentiveness has been important in Japanese culture. The results, however, did not necessarily confirm this. That is, there were significant differences between British and Japanese participants in four situations, the British participants having evaluated attentiveness more positively than the Japanese participants in two situations and the reverse being the case in two other situations.


Financial instruments are one of the fundamental dimensions of financial markets that guarantee their efficiency and effectiveness of these markets. These instruments play a main role in economy to direct money from saving sources to investment needs. These instruments provide possibility of financing companies from public and private sources and also are considered as investment instruments for cash savings in an economy that can provide a suitable return for investors. Today, various financial instruments have been developed that can meet different financial needs of corporations which can comply with investor tastes and preferences. Among these instruments, commercial paper is usually considered as a short-term financing instruments for working capital expenditures of companies. Banks and credit institutions are among the main entities which issue commercial papers for their liquidity needs. In spite of this, like other traditional financial instruments, commercial papers have been developed and structured in western markets and cannot be issued in Islamic markets due to Shariah (Islam) regulations and condition. But, Islamic contracts and regulations have the capability to develop this important financial instrument in an accepted framework of prescribed contracts in Islam jurisprudence (Fiqh). The present research with a comparative study, (Delphy method) explains the conceptual model of Islamic commercial papers for banks and credit institutions in the form of Murabaha Sukuk, in a way that these papers can be structured and issued in the Islamic markets by using opinions of the experts.


This case examines the formation of an alliance between Fiat and Chrysler during the height of the financial crisis as a mechanism to save Chrysler from liquidation. The case traces the events leading up to the alliance, discusses the early stage issues with which the partners have to deal, addresses some of the governance issues, and examines the past merger between Chrysler and Daimler that ended in a failure. The case presents a normative approach to alliance management and conjectures about the success of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance. We address whether Chrysler is a suitable partner and whether there is a strong enough rationale for the alliance and whether the two partners are compatible. Finally, the case explores the lessons learned and the cautions that might derail the alliance.


This paper is a contribution to understanding income generation and inequality in India's agricultural sector. We analyse the National Sample Surveys of agriculture in 2003 and 2013 using descriptive, decomposition, and modelling tools, and estimate income inequality in the agricultural sector at the scale of the nation and its 17 largest states. We show that: (a) income inequality in India's agricultural sector is very high (Gini Coefficient of around 0.6 during the period), (b) about half of the income inequality is explained by the household-level variance in income from cultivation, which in turn is primarily dependent on variance in landownership, and (c) there are significant state-level differences in the structures/patterns of income generation from agriculture. These findings are important for two principal reasons. First, these measurements of inequality challenge the widely-held belief-based on consumption rather than income data-that India is a low-inequality country. Second, these findings reinforce the idea that the extreme fragmentation of agricultural land is the root cause of poverty in India, and the fact that the fragmentation continues to grow more intense is the singular challenge of Indian development.


Biconditional Binary Decision Diagrams (BBDDs) are a novel class of binary decision diagrams where the branching condition, and its associated logic expansion, is biconditional on two variables. Reduced and ordered BBDDs are remarkably compact and unique for a given Boolean function. In order to exploit BBDDs in Electronic Design Automation (EDA) applications, efficient manipulation algorithms must be developed and integrated in a software package. In this paper, we present the theory for efficient BBDD manipulation and its practical software implementation. The key features of the proposed approach are strong canonical form pre-conditioning of stored BBDD nodes, recursive formulation of Boolean operations in terms of biconditional expansions, performance-oriented memory management and dedicated BBDD re-ordering techniques. Experimental results show that the developed BBDD package achieves an average node count reduction of 19.48% and a speed-up factor of 1.63x with respect to a state-of-art decision diagram manipulation package. Employed in the synthesis of datapath circuits, the BBDD manipulation package is capable to advantageously restructure arithmetic operations producing 11.02% smaller and 32.29% faster circuits as compared to a commercial synthesis flow.


Abstract Knowledge, both of the historical range of spruce-dominated forests and associated site conditions, is needed by land managers to help define restoration goals and potential sites for restoration. We used an existing digital database of witness trees listed in deeds from 1752 to 1899 to compare characteristics of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) sites to non-red spruce sites to gain an understanding of historical spruce-dominated forests in West Virginia. The analysis revealed that red spruce witness trees were found at significantly higher elevations than non-spruce witness trees across the study area. However, spruce witness trees in the Western Allegheny Mountains subsection were found at significantly lower elevations than non-spruce witness trees. Indicator species analysis determined red spruce to be associated with toe slopes, benches, and valleys, although most locations were on side slopes. Across the entire study area, red spruce witness trees were more likely to be found on northeastern aspects and on acidic and frigid soils of the Mandy series. Historically, red spruce was associated with American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), birch (Betula L.), and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière). This information should be used to guide red spruce restoration efforts and shows that a range of ecological settings should be considered when setting goals and implementing active management.


In modern conditions of constant population decline and the presence of adverse demographic processes in Ukraine, the urgent task is to identify the most significant genetic and demographic factors affecting the adaptation of the population, as well as monitoring changes in the volume and structure of the genetic load caused by congenital pathology. The frequency of congenital malformations of newborns in the Kherson region increased (from 22.3±5.4 % in 2000-2008 to 40.1 ± 8.2 % in 2009-2017). In recent years, there has been a statistically significant increase in the frequency of hereditary pathology of newborns among the rural population of the region (from 1.09 to 1.95 %). The total frequency of congenital malformations increased in almost all areas of the Kherson region (from 20.2±1.4, 27 to 27.6±1.3 %) and averaged 30.2±6.4 %. Significant differences in this indicator were found between some nations of the region. Malformations of the circulatory system (28.5 %), musculoskeletal system (26.05 %) and the genitourinary system (15.25 %) occupy a leading place in the structure of congenital pathology. The prevalence of congenital malformations is inversely correlated with the prevalence of spontaneous miscarriages (r =-0.52± ±0.12; tr=2.4> t05=2.12), which indicates the presence of a screening effect that eliminates non-viable genotypes in embryonic period of ontogenesis. Rural population where the share of interethnic marriages has increased over the years of research, is characterized by a higher prevalence of congenital malformations (r=0.50±0.46; t=2.3>t05=2.12). In population (with an endogamy index of 0.5 and higher), an increase or relative constancy of the proportion of homolocal mono-ethnic Ukrainian marriages and a lower prevalence of congenital malformations among newborns are observed. The level of endogamy does not significantly affect the prevalence of malformations (r=-0.20±0.24; tr=0.8<t05=2.12). A promising area of research is the study of the causes of differences in the prevalence of congenital malformations among the rural population of the same region with an analysis of the characteristics of the formation of their ethnic structure.


TRIM5α stimulates bulk autophagy and acts as a cargo receptor for selective autophagy. Tripartite motif (TRIM) proteins function in diverse cellular processes, including growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. TRIMs can also act as pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) to promote antiviral responses. Mandell et al. surveyed 67 human TRIM proteins and found that most also functioned in basal or induced nonselective (bulk) autophagy in HeLa cells, either promoting or inhibiting the formation of cytoplasmic puncta containing the autophagosomal marker LC3B. Further analysis of TRIM5α in HeLa and 293T cells revealed that this TRIM colocalized with LC3B, the autophagy receptor p62, and the serine-threonine kinase ULK1. In coimmunoprecipitation assays, TRIM5α interacted with several mammalian homologs of yeast Atg8 (mATG8s), the activated form of ULK1, and Beclin 1, all of which are required for autophagy. A complex containing TRIM5α, ULK1, and the form of Beclin 1 that was phosphorylated and activated by ULK1 also coimmunoprecipitated from 293T cells. Activation of ULK1 and its accumulation on nascent autophagosomes are essential early steps in autophagy, and knocking down TRIM5α reduced the accumulation of puncta containing activated ULK1. Overexpression of TRIM5α induced autophagy and triggered dissociation of Beclin 1 from its inhibitors Bcl-2 and TAB2. The authors mapped the regions of TRIM5α that mediated binding to p62, Beclin 1, and the mAtg8 GABARAP and proposed that TRIM5α stimulates autophagy by bringing together these components of the autophagy machinery. Several other TRIMs also interacted with mAtg8s, p62, ULK1, and Beclin 1, suggesting that other TRIMs may stimulate autophagy through analogous mechanisms. TRIM5α binds to retroviral capsid proteins to mediate antiviral signaling, so the authors investigated whether TRIM5α targets the HIV-1 capsid protein p24 for autophagic degradation. In cultured rhesus macaque FRhK4 cells, targeting of p24 for autophagy required several autophagy proteins, including p62, Beclin1, and TRIM5α. Furthermore, mutating amino acid residues in the region of TRIM5α that mediated binding to the mATG8 GABARAP prevented autophagic degradation of p24 and reduced the TRIM5α-induced accumulation of puncta containing LC3B and activated ULK1. These findings suggest a model in which TRIM5α can act as a platform for formation of the autophagy machinery and target specific cargo to nascent autophagosomes for degradation. M. A. Mandell, A. Jain, J. Arko-Mensah, S. Chauhan, T. Kimura, C. Dinkins, G. Silvestri, J. Münch , F. Kirchhoff, A. Simonsen, Y. Wei, B. Levine, T. Johansen, V. Deretic, TRIM proteins regulate autophagy and can target autophagic substrates by direct recognition. Dev. Cell 30, 394–409 (2014). [PubMed]


Because of the important but mathematically complex role played by hydrodynamic lift forces in sedimentation/steric FFF, applied generally to particles greater than 1 micron in diameter, retention cannot readily be related to particle diameter on the basis of simple theory. Consequently, empirical calibration is needed. Unfortunately, retention is based on particle density as well as size so that a purely size-based calibration (e.g., with polystyrene latex standards) is not generally valid. By examining the balance between driving and lift forces, it is concluded that equal retention will be observed for equal size particles subject to equal driving forces irrespective of particle density. Therefore by adjusting the rotation rate to exactly compensate for density, retention can be brought in line with that of standards, a conclusion verified by microscopy. Linear calibration plots of log (retention time) versus log (diameter) can then be used. This approach is applied to two glass bead samples (5-30 and 5-50 microns) using both a conventional and a pinched inlet channel. The resulting size distribution curves are self consistent and in good agreement with results obtained independently.


1. Two large-scale community based studies of the haematinic effect of iron added to flour used to bake bread are reported. These were designed to simulate conditions in the community as closely as possible. 2. Neither trial gave conclusive evidence of benefit in terms of an effect on circulating haemoglobin level, but in one trial the results suggested a small haematinic effect. 3. The availability of an iron salt from bread eaten in a normal varied diet is clearly much lower than has been suggested from highly controlled radioactive isotope studies.


Articulatory imprecision in Parkinson's disease (PD) has been attributed to reduced range of movement, rigidity, and abnormal speed of movement of the articulatory structures. Previous studies provided acoustic and kinematic evidence of lip muscle rigidity, reduced amplitude, and velocity of lip and jaw movement, mainly based on nonspeech measures. Very limited studies have documented the effects of PD on lingual kinematics during speech production. The present study aimed to investigate lingual kinematics during sentence production in a group of 7 nondysarthric speakers with PD using the electromagnetic articulograph (AG-200 EMA). Tongue-tip and tongue-back movements were recorded by the EMA system during sentence production. Seven non-neurologically impaired participants matched for age and sex served as a control group. Results revealed no significant difference on the distance of tongue movement. However, the PD group did show significantly reduced maximum velocity, maximum acceleration, maximum deceleration, and significantly longer duration of tongue movement. Rates of sentence production were also slower for the PD group. The subclinical differences in tongue kinematics of the nondysarthric speakers with PD documented in this study support that limitations in the range of tongue movement leading to articulatory undershoot may be a major contributor to articulatory impairment in dysarthric speakers with PD. Copyright © 2010 Delmar Cengage Learning.


Rainwater harvesting and associated storage is essential for cattle ranching in the drylands of Argentina and elsewhere. This is the first study to attempt to quantify the hydrological inflows and losses from rainwater harvesting impoundments. To address the direct effect of cattle within impoundments, a typical cattle-affected impoundment was instrumented and compared with that of a similar impoundment but without cattle access. Analysis of the storage dynamics with reference to the controlling variables demonstrated the highly episodic nature of the generation of infiltration-excess overland flow that recharged the impoundments. The impoundments experienced 43 and 35% of storage loss to open-water-evaporation for the cattle-affected and control impoundments, respectively. Critically, the cattle-effected impoundment lost only 15% of storage to leakage (after cattle consumption was taken into account), while the control lost 65% of its water to basal leakage. Indeed systems modelling of the rainfall-storage dynamics showed that the cattle-affected impoundment, despite consumption by 300 cows, maintained water in the impoundment (per a unit input of rainfall) for longer than the control (a 65- versus 25-day residence time). These results highlight the unintended beneficial effect of cattle trampling on the floor of the impoundment reducing leakage losses.


Page 1/16 10/26/2019 https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/gazelem-the-jaredite/ Abstract: Alma refers to Gazelem in his instructions to his son Helaman in Alma 37:23. This article proposes and explores the concept of identifying Gazelem as a Jaredite seer. Other theories of the identity of Gazelem are addressed in this article but not explored in depth. It discusses the full context of Alma's words, the Jaredite secret combinations and their oaths, Gazelem's seer stone, and the Nephite interpreters. Additionally, it proposes a possible timeline that Gazelem lived among the Jaredites. It also discusses the usage of "Gazelam" as a substitute name for Joseph Smith in early editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.


By adding IL-2 (supernatant of culture of concanavalin A-activated rat spleen cells) on Day 3 of mixed leucocyte cultures (MLC) we managed to fully activate multiple minor histocompatibility antigen (MIHA)-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors (CTLp). In this newly developed system we studied genetic and stimulator cell requirements for the generation and activation of MIHA-specific memory CTLp. Memory CTLp were activated to generate effector CTL in MLC only when major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-compatible MIHA-allogeneic cells were used as stimulators. In contrast, memory CTLp were generated in mice that were primed by injection of either MHC-compatible or incompatible MIHA-allogeneic spleen cells. A surprisingly small number (10(4] of MHC-disparate cells cross-primed mice effectively. For priming, no special accessory cell types were required as stimulators, and 10(4) adherent cell-depleted spleen cells primed mice as well. These results contrasted to another finding that sonication-disrupted 10(6) stimulator cells did not prime mice effectively, and antigens shed from 10(7) live stimulator cells failed to sensitize host antigen-presenting cells for priming. It is suggested from these results that the mode of recognition of MIHA by virgin CTLp is unique or that an as yet unknown unusual stimulation pathway works for the priming.


In concise, non-technical terms, Paul De Grauwe, Professor of Economics at Leuven University and Senior Associate Research Fellow at CEPS, explains how the current financial crisis in the eurozone developed, distinguishing in turn the three main actors that have played a major role: Greece, the financial markets (including the rating agencies) and the eurozone authorities. While acknowledging that a grand plan for more intense political union in the eurozone does not seem possible, he further outlines smaller, but focused steps that could be taken towards such a future union.


This paper investigates the common myth of whether dropping a penny from the top of the empire state building could kill a person that it hits at the bottom. The paper deals with a standard sterling penny dropped from the 102nd floor of the empire state building at 381m above ground level. The penny would not be able to reach a sufficient speed to kill or badly injure anybody walking below but would certainly be painful.Â


ABSTRACT The objectives of this study were to understand the molecular diversity of animal and human strains of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolated in the United States and to identify M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-specific diagnostic molecular markers to aid in disease detection, prevention, and control. Multiplex PCR of IS900 integration loci (MPIL) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses were used to fingerprint M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates recovered from animals (n = 203) and patients with Crohn's disease (n = 7) from diverse geographic localities. Six hundred bacterial cultures, including M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis (n = 303), non-M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis mycobacteria (n = 129), and other nonmycobacterial species (n = 168), were analyzed to evaluate the specificity of two IS900 integration loci and a newly described M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-specific sequence (locus 251) as potential targets for the diagnosis of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. MPIL fingerprint analysis revealed that 78% of bovine origin M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates clustered together into a major node, whereas isolates from human and ovine sources showed greater genetic diversity. MPIL analysis also showed that the M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates from ovine and bovine sources from the same state were more closely associated than were isolates from different geographic regions, suggesting that some of the strains are shared between these ruminant species. AFLP fingerprinting revealed a similar pattern, with most isolates from bovine sources clustering into two major nodes, while those recovered from sheep or humans were clustered on distinct branches. Overall, this study identified a high degree of genetic similarity between M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis strains recovered from cows regardless of geographic origin. Further, the results of our analyses reveal a relatively higher degree of genetic heterogeneity among M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates recovered from human and ovine sources.


Abstract In this paper, we address query-based summarization of discussion threads. New users can profit from the information shared in the forum, Please check if the inserted city and country names in the affiliations are correct. if they can find back the previously posted information. However, discussion threads on a single topic can easily comprise dozens or hundreds of individual posts. Our aim is to summarize forum threads given real web search queries. We created a data set with search queries from a discussion forum's search engine log and the discussion threads that were clicked by the user who entered the query. For 120 thread–query combinations, a reference summary was made by five different human raters. We compared two methods for automatic summarization of the threads: a query-independent method based on post features, and Maximum Marginal Relevance (MMR), a method that takes the query into account. We also compared four different word embeddings representations as alternative for standard word vectors in extractive summarization. We find (1) that the agreement between human summarizers does not improve when a query is provided that: (2) the query-independent post features as well as a centroid-based baseline outperform MMR by a large margin; (3) combining the post features with query similarity gives a small improvement over the use of post features alone; and (4) for the word embeddings, a match in domain appears to be more important than corpus size and dimensionality. However, the differences between the models were not reflected by differences in quality of the summaries created with help of these models. We conclude that query-based summarization with web queries is challenging because the queries are short, and a click on a result is not a direct indicator for the relevance of the result.


Abstract. In 2009, a group of prominent Earth scientists introduced the planetary boundaries (PB) framework: they suggested nine global control variables, and defined corresponding thresholds which, if crossed, could generate unacceptable environmental change . The concept builds on systems theory, and views Earth as a complex adaptive system in which anthropogenic disturbances may trigger non-linear, abrupt, and irreversible changes at the global scale, and push the Earth system outside the stable environmental state of the Holocene . While the idea has been remarkably successful in both science and policy circles, it has also raised fundamental concerns, as the majority of suggested processes and their corresponding planetary boundaries do not operate at the global scale, and thus apparently lack the potential to trigger abrupt planetary changes. This paper picks up the debate with specific regard to the planetary boundary on global freshwater use . While the bio-physical impacts of excessive water consumption are typically confined to the river basin scale, the PB proponents argue that water-induced environmental disasters could build up to planetary-scale feedbacks and system failures. So far, however, no evidence has been presented to corroborate that hypothesis. Furthermore, no coherent approach has been presented to what extent a planetary threshold value could reflect the risk of regional environmental disaster. To be sure, the PB framework was revised in 2015, extending the planetary freshwater boundary with a set of basin-level boundaries inferred from environmental water flow assumptions. Yet, no new evidence was presented, either with respect to the ability of those basin-level boundaries to reflect the risk of regional regime shifts or with respect to a potential mechanism linking river basins to the planetary scale. So while the idea of a planetary boundary on freshwater use appears intriguing, the line of arguments presented so far remains speculative and implicatory. As long as Earth system science does not present compelling evidence, the exercise of assigning actual numbers to such a boundary is arbitrary, premature, and misleading. Taken as a basis for water-related policy and management decisions, though, the idea transforms from misleading to dangerous, as it implies that we can globally offset water-related environmental impacts. A planetary boundary on freshwater use should thus be disapproved and actively refuted by the hydrological and water resources community.


The genus Chalcasthenes Arrow (Dynastinae: Oryctoderini), a scarab beetle genus endemic to the Solomon Islands, is reviewed. Based on examination of type specimens, the genus Strehlia Frey (Rutelinae: Rutelini: Parastasiina) is a new junior synonym of Chalcasthenes. The historical classification of these genera (either in the subfamily Dynastinae or Rutelinae) and character-based criteria for assigning the taxa to the Dynastinae are provided. We discuss character states that support the monophyly of members of the genus Chalcasthenes, comment on the distribution and biogeography of species in the genus and provide a key to species. The genus includes four species: Chalcasthenes divinus Endrodi, Chalcasthenes pulcher Arrow, Chalcasthenes squamigerus Frey new combination and Chalcasthenes styracoceros Jameson and Ratcliffe n. sp. Species hypotheses are corroborated based on evidence from Pleistocene geological reconstructions of the Solomon Islands, geographic variation of bird species in the region, and development in scarab beetles.


This draft research report, supporting correspondence and miscellaneous documentation, explain the desirability for drafting a seventh bill to add to the present bundle of six bills for the MEC Welfare. The proposed bill will give the MEC power to make grants to community development organizations and to local governments. It will also require to use the MEC's long-dormant power to impose performance conditions on a subsidy to a welfare provider, and to monitor and control subsidized welfare providers and their programmes.


This paper examines the relationship between citizenship policies and noncitizen political behavior, focusing on extra-electoral forms of political participation by Korean residents in Japan. I analyze the institutional factors that have mediated the construction of Korean collective identity in Japan and, in turn, the ways that Korean community activists have re-conceptualized possibilities for their exercise of citizenship as foreign residents in Japan. My empirical analysis is based on a theoretical framework that defines citizenship as an interactive process of political incorporation, performance, and participation. I posit that the various dimensions of citizenship—its legal significance, symbolic meaning, claims and responsibilities, and practice—are performed, negotiated, and restructured in a triangular interactive relationship between the state, citizens, and noncitizens. I address a puzzle that is both specific to Koreans in Japan and generalizable to foreign permanent residents in other advanced industrial democracies: Given their high levels of cultural assimilation, why does citizenship remain the last vestige of identity within the Korean community in Japan? Unlike previous studies that have focused on stringent citizenship policies at the level of the state alone, this paper explores the interactive process between institutions and communities. Based on their legal status, we would expect social movements in Japan's Korean community to center around the quest for citizenship acquisition. Yet, the findings of this paper demonstrate that Korean organizations have concentrated their efforts on securing the community's foreign citizenship status. I argue that postwar Japan's ethnocultural citizenship policies both shaped Korean political identity in Japan and structured political opportunities for Korean activists to negotiate the terms of their community's incorporation. Especially in recent years, new generations of Korean activists have reinterpreted the meaning of Korean citizenship as identity and practice in movements to democratize Japanese society. Rather than naturalize and become a small section of the voting population, Korean activists have increasingly used their noncitizen status as their "voice" to express their opposition to state policies. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Tokyo, Kawasaki, and Osaka over a twelve-month period, this paper explores how citizenship policies affect the political identities, claims, and strategies of noncitizen communities.


The late crystallisation stages of Campiglia Marittima skarn are characterised by an increase in Mn-activity at the meta-somatic front. Mn-pyroxenoids became stable with respect to johannsenite. The pyroxene-pyroxenoid textures indicate either pyroxenoid overgrowths on johannsenite or pyroxenoid pseudomorphs after johannsenite. TEM investigation of the replacement sites reveals that the pyroxene-to-pyroxenoid replacement mainly consists of a topotactic solid-state reaction involving the movement of a reaction front through the original johannsenite crystal (bulk reaction mechanism). Due to the fast kinetics of skarn formation, pyroxenoids are chemically heterogeneous and highly defective, with numerous chain periodicity faults. The crystallographic relationship (001) Pxd //(111) Jh is confirmed. Johannsenite-pyroxenoid solid-state transformations appear to occur at temperatures lower than 260°C. In contrast with previous assumptions, AEM data and crystal chemistry indicate that the maximum calcium content of pyroxmangite is 2/7, rather than 1/7. As a consequence, the AEM data plot along a normal and chemically collinear polysomatic trend. Moreover, it is suggested that minor concentrations of iron and magnesium in the system can affect the pyroxene → pyroxenoid transformation, determining which pyroxenoid is stable in the replacement sequence.


Abstract Mars landed and orbiter missions have instrumentation capable of detecting oxychlorine phases (e.g. perchlorate, chlorate) on the surface. Perchlorate (~0.6 wt%) was first detected by the Wet Chemistry Laboratory in the surface material at the Phoenix Mars Landing site. Subsequent analyses by the Thermal Evolved Gas Analyser aboard the same lander detected an oxygen release (~465°C) consistent with the thermal decomposition of perchlorate. Recent thermal analysis by the Mars Science Laboratory's Sample Analysis at Mars instrument has also indicated the presence of oxychlorine phases (up to 1.2 wt%) in Gale Crater materials. Despite being at detectable concentrations, the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) X-ray diffractometer has not detected oxychlorine phases. This suggests that Gale Crater oxychlorine may exist as poorly crystalline phases or that perchlorate/chlorate mixtures exist, so that individual oxychlorine concentrations are below CheMin detection limits (~1 wt%). Although not initially designed to detect oxychlorine phases, reinterpretation of Viking Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer data also suggest that oxychlorine phases are present in the Viking surface materials. Remote near-infrared spectral analyses by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument indicate that at least some martian recurring slope lineae (RSL) have spectral signatures consistent with the presence of hydrated perchlorates or chlorates during the seasons when RSL are most extensive. Despite the thermal emission spectrometer, Thermal Emission Imaging System, Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité and CRISM detection of hundreds of anhydrous chloride (~10–25 vol%) deposits, expected associated oxychlorine phases (>5–10 vol%) have not been detected. Total Cl and oxychlorine data sets from the Phoenix Lander and the Mars Science Laboratory missions could be used to develop oxychlorine versus total Cl correlations, which may constrain oxychlorine concentrations at other locations on Mars by using total Cl determined by other missions (e.g. Viking, Pathfinder, MER and Odyssey). Development of microfluidic or 'lab-on-a-chip' instrumentation has the potential to be the next generation analytical capability used to identify and quantify individual oxychlorine species on future landed robotic missions to Mars.


The goal of this study was to attain an integrated understanding of the dynamics of attached microbial communities in nature as governed by the component processes of particle forma- tion, colonization, detachment, growth and interspecific interactions among the microbes. The study was conducted in mesocosms in a Danish fjord over a 2 wk period in April to May 2005. Despite nutrient additions, chlorophyll and particle concentrations were low and no distinct phytoplankton blooms were observed. Particle volume concentration was dominated by particles >100 µm. The abundance of attached bacteria was weakly but positively correlated with total particle volume. Phylogenetic composition of attached bacteria became increasingly different from that of free bacte- ria through time. Growth rates of free and attached bacteria were 0.31 and 0.023 d -1 , respectively. Colonization experiments with model agar aggregates showed that the bacterial community had lim- ited apparent diffusivity but strong chemotaxis, which resulted in an up to 8-fold increase in bacter- ial colonization rates with organic-enriched aggregates. Estimated residence time of attached bacte- ria on aggregates was 21 min or less. Grazing mortality derived from temporal changes in attached bacterial abundance in the presence or absence of grazing activities ranged from 0 to 9.8 d -1 . In com- parison, grazing mortality of free bacteria was 0.06 to 0.91 d -1 , suggesting that the bacterivorous fla- gellates were more adapted to grazing on surfaces than in free suspension. Very few attached flagel- lates were observed in the experiments, and microscopic observations revealed that many flagellates were attached only temporarily to surfaces. Our study showed that grazing mortality is a critical but often underappreciated factor in regulating marine snow bacterial population abundance. The loose association of bacterivorous flagellates with aggregates requires that their role be evaluated by direct grazing measurements instead of simple quantification of attached flagellate abundance.