In 1970's and 80's, an efficient blue and green lightemitting diodes (LED) were the last missing elements for solid-state display and lighting technologies due to the lack of suitable materials. By that time, III-nitride alloys was regarded the least possible candidate due to various "impossible" difficulties. However, a series of unexpected breakthroughs in 1990's totally changed people's view angle. Finally, the first high efficient blue LEDs were invented and commercialized at the same time of 1993. Nowadays, III-nitride-based LEDs have become the most widely used light source in many applications. The LED light bulbs are more than ten times efficient than incandescent bulb, and they last for 50 years! At their current adoption rates, by 2020, LEDs can reduce the world's need for electricity by the equivalent of nearly 60 nuclear power plants. The history of the invention of blue LED and future lighting will be described.


AIM
Constitutive genetic deletion of the adaptor protein p66(Shc) was shown to protect from ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Here, we aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect in stroke and studied p66(Shc) gene regulation in human ischaemic stroke.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Ischaemia/reperfusion brain injury was induced by performing a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion surgery on wild-type mice. After the ischaemic episode and upon reperfusion, small interfering RNA targeting p66(Shc) was injected intravenously. We observed that post-ischaemic p66(Shc) knockdown preserved blood-brain barrier integrity that resulted in improved stroke outcome, as identified by smaller lesion volumes, decreased neurological deficits, and increased survival. Experiments on primary human brain microvascular endothelial cells demonstrated that silencing of the adaptor protein p66(Shc) preserves claudin-5 protein levels during hypoxia/reoxygenation by reducing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity and reactive oxygen species production. Further, we found that in peripheral blood monocytes of acute ischaemic stroke patients p66(Shc) gene expression is transiently increased and that this increase correlates with short-term neurological outcome.

CONCLUSION
Post-ischaemic silencing of p66(Shc) upon reperfusion improves stroke outcome in mice while the expression of p66(Shc) gene correlates with short-term outcome in patients with ischaemic stroke.


At the centre of politics in Britain and other countries is what is sometimes called 'the big trade-off' – where to strike the balance between private consumption and collective goods and social spending – and hence the sacrifices that would be entailed by the higher taxation required to fund otherwise desirable forms of social provision. In this paper we use aggregate national accounts data to compare the composition of household consumption between otherwise similar countries with higher and lower levels of public consumption. We concentrate in particular on spending patterns in ten countries where 'total potential consumption' (the sum of public and household consumption and household saving) is similar to that in the UK, using data from 2005. While the strengths of the inferences that can be drawn from a small number of countries are limited, overall these results suggest that there is a hierarchy in the forms of consumption that citizens of different countries sacrifice when they have greater government consumption (and so higher taxes). The trade-off at the margin is not with all kinds of consumption equally, but particularly with consumption of particular kinds – such as spending on restaurants and hotels, vehicle purchase, household furnishings, or clothing and footwear. But there are also items, such as education, where government spending may act as a substitute for what private households would have to spend. Such findings could colour our views of what the 'big trade-off' between public and private consumption really entails.


The crosstalk performance of an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) multi-/demultiplexer is
primarily caused by random optical phase errors introduced in the arrayed-waveguides. Since the layout of
waveguides on a wafer is patterned by photomask through photolithography process, the resolution of a
photomask has a direct influence on the phase errors of an AWG. This paper presents a theoretical analysis
on the phase error caused by photomask resolution along with other basic design parameters. Both
calculation and measurement results show that a high-resolution photomask (better than 25 nm) is a critical
requirement to produce low-crosstalk (less than -30 dB) AWG demultiplexers. We also investigated the
non-ideal power distribution in the array waveguides since it contributes considerable phase errors when
material impurity is not well controlled during wafer fabrication. Basic criteria of power profile truncation,
number of grating waveguides, and material index variation are summarized in this paper as well.


This article distinguishes among the various research strategies available to the sexual aggression researcher and notes the limited domains of explanation inherent in each approach. Runkel and McGrath's (1972) circumplex typology is adapted as an organizing framework to clarify the relationships among the various research approaches. Examples of each type of research are given from the sexual aggression literature. Specific research strategies are examined in light of their ability to illuminate the possible and probable importance of a relationship between variables. Also discussed is the influential effect that a researcher's assumptions about the nature of sexual assault has on the choice of a research question and a research methodology to investigate that question. A multiple-strategies approach is recommended for the study of sexual assault.


We introduce a new dataset built around two TV series from different genres, The Big Bang Theory, a situation comedy and Game of Thrones, a fantasy drama. The dataset has multiple tracks extracted from diverse sources, including dialogue (manual and automatic transcripts, multilingual subtitles), crowd-sourced textual descriptions (brief episode summaries, longer episode outlines) and various metadata (speakers, shots, scenes). The paper describes the dataset and provide tools to reproduce it for research purposes provided one has legally acquired the DVD set of the series. Tools are also provided to temporally align a major subset of dialogue and description tracks, in order to combine complementary information present in these tracks for enhanced accessibility. For alignment, we consider tracks as comparable corpora and first apply an existing algorithm for aligning such corpora based on dynamic time warping and TFIDF-based similarity scores. We improve this baseline algorithm using contextual information, WordNet-based word similarity and scene location information. We report the performance of these algorithms on a manually aligned subset of the data. To highlight the interest of the database, we report a use case involving rich speech retrieval and propose other uses.


Professor Jerzy Pelc was the creator and long-time manager of the Department of Logical Semiotics, University of Warsaw. He also founded the Polish Society of Semiotics. He published six own books, among others Studies in Functional Logical Semiotics of Natural Language (1971; in English); he edited also dozens of volumes of Semiotic Studies and Library of Semiotic Thought.  As Kotarbinski, his master, and Twardowski, the master of his master, Professor Pelc was a radical rationalist. This radical rationalism has linked him to atheism, anti-communism, a distance to politics, and a frown on the falsehood of public life. He was a great patriot – in his life and in his work. He considered himself a successor of the Lvov-Warsaw School tradition. In the field of metaphysics, Professor Pelc combined theoretical minimalism with anti-rationalist attitudes, including the postulate of precision and the requirement of criticism. The main field of his interest was logical – and broader: theoretical – semiotics. He advocated and largely developed the functional concept of signs. To traditional paradigms of research: historical, teleological, causal and prognostic ones – Professor Pelc has added a semiotic paradigm, determined by the question "What does it mean that p?". Referring to the interdisciplinary fashion for interdisciplinary research, he conducted an analysis of the notion of interdisciplinarity. In ontology, he analyzed the notions of object and causality. In his approach, aesthetics was treated form a semiotic point of view: he sought mainly ways to logically rewrite its terminology. In particular, he reconstructed the main aesthetic notions: form and ideology (of literary works), theme, motive, metaphor and (literary) fiction – as well as semiotic notions essential to the description of literary arts, namely the notions of assertion and intensionality. In the field of ethics, Professor Pelc declared himself as an advocate of the ideal of trustworthy guardian, which he took over from his teacher, Kotarbinski. In metaethics, he analyzed the notions of norm, evaluation and humanity. A master of Polish: beautiful Polish – he was certainly a true humanist.


Microservices can have a positive impact on your enterprisejust ask Amazon and Netflixbut you can fall into many traps if you dont approach them in the right way. This practical guide covers the entire microservices landscape, including the principles, technologies, and methodologies of this unique, modular style of system building. Youll learn about the experiences of organizations around the globe that have successfully adopted microservices. In three parts, this book explains how these services work and what it means to build an application the Microservices Way. Youll explore a design-based approach to microservice architecture with guidance for implementing various elements. And youll get a set of recipes and practices for meeting practical, organizational, and cultural challenges to microservice adoption. Learn how microservices can help you drive business objectives Examine the principles, practices, and culture that define microservice architectures Explore a model for creating complex systems and a design process for building a microservice architecture Learn the fundamental design concepts for individual microservices Delve into the operational elements of a microservices architecture, including containers and service discovery Discover how to handle the challenges of introducing microservice architecture in your organization


To study the chemical constituents of Stephania yunnanensis H. S. Lo and their in vitro antibiotic activities. Silica gel, alumina and Sephadex LH-20 chromatographic methods are used to isolate alkaloidal constituents. Structures of the compounds are identified based on physicochemical properties and spectral analysis. Kirby-Bauer test and porous plate method are used to study the inhibitory activities of isolated chemical constituents on methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Five chemical constituents are isolated from the tuber extract of Stephania yunnanensis H. S. Lo, namely tetrahydropalmatine (1), palmatine (2), sinoacutine (3), dicentrine (4) and jatrorrhizine (5). Inhibition zone diameters of tetrahydropalmatine and palmatine against MRSA are larger at a concentration of 50 mg/mL, which are 13 mm and 16 mm, respectively; tetrahydropalmatine and palmatine both have inhibitory effects on MRSA, with MIC of 0.312 μg/ml and 0.156 μg/ml. In the porous plate method, IC50 of tetrahydropalmatine and palmatine are 0.436 μg/ml and 0.201 μg/ml. Alkaloidal constituents in Stephania yunnanensis H. S. Lo are mainly berberine type, morphinan type and protoberberine type alkaloids. Besides, tetrahydropalmatine and palmatine have rather significant anti-MRSA activities.


Parallel-prefix adders (also known as carry-tree adders) are known to have the best performance in VLSI designs. However, this performance advantage does not translate directly into FPGA implementations due to constraints on logic block configurations and routing overhead. This paper investigates three types of carry-tree adders (the Kogge-Stone, sparse Kogge-Stone, and spanning tree adder) and compares them to the simple Ripple Carry Adder (RCA) and Carry Skip Adder (CSA). These designs of varied bit-widths were implemented on a Xilinx Spartan 3E FPGA and delay measurements were made with a high-performance logic analyzer. Due to the presence of a fast carry-chain, the RCA designs exhibit better delay performance up to 128 bits. The carry-tree adders are expected to have a speed advantage over the RCA as bit widths approach 256.


Recent research in political psychology and biopolitics has begun to incorporate theory and methods from cognitive neuroscience. The emerging interdisciplinary field of political neuroscience (or neuropolitics) is focused on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying political information processing and decision making. Most of the existing work in this area has utilized structural magnetic resonance imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, or electroencephalography, and focused on understanding areas of the brain commonly implicated in social and affective neuroscience more generally. This includes brain regions involved in affective and evaluative processing, such as the amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortex, as well as regions involved in social cognition (e.g., medial prefrontal cortex [PFC]), decision making (e.g., dorsolateral PFC), and reward processing (e.g., ventral striatum). Existing research in political neuroscience has largely focused on understanding candidate evaluation, political participation, and ideological differences. Early work in the field focused simply on examining neural responses to political stimuli, whereas more recent work has begun to examine more nuanced hypotheses about how the brain engages in political cognition and decision making. While the field is still relatively new, this work has begun to improve our understanding of how people engage in motivated reasoning about political candidates and elected officials and the extent to which these processes may be automatic versus relatively more controlled. Other work has focused on understanding how brain differences are related to differences in political opinion, showing both structural and functional variation between political liberals and political conservatives. Neuroscientific methods are best used as part of a larger, multimethod research program to help inform theoretical questions about mechanisms underlying political cognition. This work can then be triangulated with experimental laboratory studies, psychophysiology, and traditional survey approaches and help to constrain and ensure that theory in political psychology and political behavior is biologically plausible given what we know about underlying neural architecture. This field will continue to grow, as interest and expertise expand and new technologies become available.


This thesis examines how the dislocation of old beliefs in post-Reformation England affected perceptions of the soul in the work of Donne and Shakespeare. The introduction, using Augustinian discourses on the tri-partite soul, explores how the soul is imagined in post-Reformation England. Current debates on interiority, the climate of anxiety that surrounds religious upheaval, historical readings of the composition of the soul and the problems of its actual representation on the page and stage are discussed. The patterning of Augustine"s tri-partite model of Reason, Will and Memory is examined, and the regenerative power of concordant Memory that can bind together a harmonic trinity is offered as a solution to the fractured soul. The first part of the thesis concentrates on writings that represent Donne"s anxieties over the fate of the soul as he contemplates conversion from Catholicism to the new religious order. Chapter One is an enquiry into his unpublished works from 1601 to 1611 and examines the idea of the wandering soul, from The Progresse of the Soule, to the Divine Poems and finally to the redeemed soul seen in the form of Elizabeth Drury in the Anniversaries. In this chapter, I argue that Donne is searching for an alternative Marian aesthetic as he leaves behind his Catholic past, a new image of divine intercession for the Protestant world that might offer him comfort and a route to salvation. Chapter Two explores his very public sermons after he enters the ministry until his death. Here, a pattern of redemption is argued through the salvic properties of the living Word of the sermon that is relayed through the performative power of the preacher. The preacher"s working space and the power of the Word to viscerally transform the congregation are central here to the soul"s salvation. The second part examines how Shakespeare explores the "journey" of the soul through a selection of his plays, but where the limits of genre impose restrictions on Shakespeare"s development of an image of redemption. Chapter Three examines the wandering soul in The Merchant of Venice and Othello. Through the trope of marriage, the fate of the souls of Jessica and Othello are explored as they find themselves marginalized in an inhospitable Venice, while their pasts have been forgotten in the attempt to convert to Christianity. Chapter Four explores the use of the female character as an image of Memory that can generate hope, reading Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Cordelia in King Lear as "soul agents", whose beneficence can bring about redemptive change. However, the thesis argues that the genre of tragedy examined here limits the soul agent. Chapter Five argues for an alternative genre that opens up the possibilities for the successful portrayal of the soul agent. In the romance plays, the representation of the soul can be seen working successfully to a redemptive conclusion. Romance dramas foreground their slippages in plot and take us into dreamscapes at the centre of which is an essential female influence. Marina in Pericles, Perdita in The Winter"s Tale, Innogen in Cymbeline and Ariel/Miranda in The Tempest provide a link with Donne"s presentation of the soul as female in the Anniversaries. Both Donne and Shakespeare suggest the idea of the female in literature as a redemptive figure, away from earlier discourses on the soul that finds itself at the mercy of epistemological wrangling. Donne and Shakespeare re-instate that sacredness and place it within art as an image of Memory, a vital component of Augustine"s tri-partite soul, but also as an active and vibrant image of possibility


Mammalian social systems rely on signals passed between individuals conveying information including sex, reproductive status, individual identity, ownership, competitive ability and health status. Many of these signals take the form of complex mixtures of molecules sensed by chemosensory systems and have important influences on a variety of behaviours that are vital for reproductive success, such as parent–offspring attachment, mate choice and territorial marking. This article aims to review the nature of these chemosensory cues and the neural pathways mediating their physiological and behavioural effects. Despite the complexities of mammalian societies, there are instances where single molecules can act as classical pheromones attracting interest and approach behaviour. Chemosignals with relatively high volatility can be used to signal at a distance and are sensed by the main olfactory system. Most mammals also possess a vomeronasal system, which is specialized to detect relatively non-volatile chemosensory cues following direct contact. Single attractant molecules are sensed by highly specific receptors using a labelled line pathway. These act alongside more complex mixtures of signals that are required to signal individual identity. There are multiple sources of such individuality chemosignals, based on the highly polymorphic genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or lipocalins such as the mouse major urinary proteins. The individual profile of volatile components that make up an individual odour signature can be sensed by the main olfactory system, as the pattern of activity across an array of broadly tuned receptor types. In addition, the vomeronasal system can respond highly selectively to non-volatile peptide ligands associated with the MHC, acting at the V2r class of vomeronasal receptor. The ability to recognize individuals or their genetic relatedness plays an important role in mammalian social behaviour. Thus robust systems for olfactory learning and recognition of chemosensory individuality have evolved, often associated with major life events, such as mating, parturition or neonatal development. These forms of learning share common features, such as increased noradrenaline evoked by somatosensory stimulation, which results in neural changes at the level of the olfactory bulb. In the main olfactory bulb, these changes are likely to refine the pattern of activity in response to the learned odour, enhancing its discrimination from those of similar odours. In the accessory olfactory bulb, memory formation is hypothesized to involve a selective inhibition, which disrupts the transmission of the learned chemosignal from the mating male. Information from the main olfactory and vomeronasal systems is integrated at the level of the corticomedial amygdala, which forms the most important pathway by which social odours mediate their behavioural and physiological effects. Recent evidence suggests that this region may also play an important role in the learning and recognition of social chemosignals.


Geomorphological, mineralogical, and geochemical evidence of Pleistocene weathering conditions in the southern Italian Apennines Pleistocene weathering, uplift rates, and mass movements have been studied and correlated in a key-area of the Italian southern Apennines. The study area is the Melandro River valley, developed in a tectonically-controlled Quaternary intermontane basin of the axial zone of the chain. The goal of this paper is to assess ages and geomorphic features of two paleo-landslides and to relate them to values of uplift rates and the climate conditions in the axial zone of the chain during the Pleistocene. Uplift rates have been estimated using elevation and age of flat erosional land surfaces. In the southern area of the basin, the landscape features a wide paleo-landslide which can be ascribed to the upper part of the Lower Pleistocene on the basis of relationships with Quaternary deposits and land surfaces. Another paleo-landslide, in the northern sector of the basin, can be referred to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. The correlation between the ages of the two landslides and the temporal trend of the uplift rates allowed us to hypothesize that mass movements occurred in response to uplift peaks that destabilized slopes. Additionally, deciphering weathering conditions by means of the analysis of mineralogical and geochemical signals from landslide deposits and weathered horizons allowed assessment of changes in paleoclimate scenarios during the Pleistocene. The deep weathering was probably caused by the onset of warm-humid climate conditions, which may have acted as a further factor triggering landslide movements in an area already destabilized by the rapid uplift.


Previous studies of aggression in childhood have found that boys, as a group, are more aggressive than girls. The majority of these studies, however, focus only on physical aggression. Recently several studies have been conducted that differentiate relational aggression from physical aggression. Relational aggression involves harming others through the purposeful damage to their peer relationships (i.e., spreading rumors or ostracizing a peer from a group activity). Several studies have found sex differences in relational aggression, as well as physical aggression. The present study explores gender, developmental, and cultural differences and similarities in relational, physical, and verbal aggression in US and Indonesian children and adolescents' free descriptions of disliked peers. As hypothesized, the results of logistic regressions indicated that males were more likely than females to describe physical aggressive behavior, while females were more likely than males to describe relationally aggressive behavior. These results were found across cultures and age groups. This study extends the research on relational aggression by utilizing a new methodology for cross-cultural research on relational


Abstract We analyze the long-time quantum dynamics of degenerate parametric down-conversion from an initial sub-harmonic vacuum (spontaenous down-conversion). Standard linearization of the Heisenberg equations of motion fails in this case, since it is based on an expansion around an unstable classical solution and neglects pump depletion. Introducing a mean-field approximation we find a periodic exchange of energy between the pump and subharmonic mode goverened by an anharmonic pendulum equation. From this equation the optimum interaction time or crystal length for maximum conversion can be determined. A numerical integration of the 2-mode Schrödinger equation using a dynamically optimized basis of displaced and squeezed number states verifies the characteristic times predicted by the mean-field approximation. In contrast to semiclassical and mean-field predictions it is found that quantum fluctuations of the pump mode lead to a substantial limitation of the efficiency of parametric down-conversion.


We demonstrate three-dimensional tomographic imaging using a Fresnel lens with broadband terahertz pulses. Objects at various locations along the beam propagation path are uniquely imaged on the same imaging plane using a Fresnel lens with different frequencies of the imaging beam. This procedure allows the reconstruction of an object's tomographic contrast image by assembling the frequency-dependent images.


Microcalcifications are frequently the sole mammographic indicator of breast cancer with several studies suggesting that their presence may also be indicative of increased tumour grade, HER2 overexpression and poor prognosis. Despite their widespread diagnostic usage, the mechanism by which microcalcifications form and their contribution to tumour progression remain poorly understood. Previously, our lab established an in vitro model using a murine cell line. In order to advance our understanding of these vital diagnostic markers, we have expanded these findings and developed a human in vitro model of microcalcification formation.
Following extensive testing of a panel of human breast cancer cell lines, the MDAMB-231 and SKBR3 cell lines were identified as suitable for our studies. Positive mineralisation was observed in one out of three tested HER2+ cell lines, indicating HER2 overexpression by itself is insufficient to induce in vivo mineralisation. Formation of calcifications was accompanied by increased expression of the osteogenic markers RUNX2, BMP2, and ALP.
Inhibition of the cation channel TRPM7 resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in calcium deposition, implicating a functional role for the channel. Calcification was also inhibited by the intracellular Ca2+ chelator BAPTA-AM and by Mg2+ . The role of other calcium handling proteins including PMCA1 and PMCA2 was also investigated.
Finally, we investigated possible links between microcalcification and pro-tumourigenic effects. Culturing breast cancer cells in mineralisation media increased formation of tumourspheres, indicating an increase in cancer stem-cell properties. We also observed an increased IL-1β, IL-6 and COX2 in both breast cancer cells and associated macrophages following stimulation with hydroxyapatite. Inflammatory cytokines were also observed to modulate in vitro mineralisation, suggesting a complex interplay between the formation and release of calcified particles and their subsequent interaction with surrounding tumour cells.
The results of this thesis reaffirms and expands on our labs previous findings, that breast cancer cell lines can be utilised as effective in vitro model for tumour calcification and that formation of these calcifications is the result of an active, cellmediated process, involving interaction between mineralisation associated proteins including BMP2 and ALP, as well as Ca2+ channels and tumour associated cytokines.


As Texas cities experience an increase in incidents associated with water quality contamination, the need for publiceducation and engagement increases. The discussion in this paper identifies, based on publicly available data, three of the most common incidents in Texas related to drinking water and environmental contamination: boil water notices (BWNs), sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), and lead in drinking water. Trends observed from 2011 to 2016 indicate a sharp upward increase in the incidents of such events. Increased frequency of incidents that threaten water quality often erodes public trust in the city and utility, thus making it more difficult in the long term to get public support for increased investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. The recommendations in this study focus on how to manage communications when events associated with water quality create a public relations challenge for city and utility leaders.
Citation: Mulki S, Rubinstein C, Saletta J. 2018. Texas' water quality challenge and the need for better communication in an era of increasing water quality contamination events. Texas Water Journal. 9(1):108-119. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v9i1.7059.


Solarization is a hydrothermal process which brings about thermal and other physical, chemical, and biological changes the moist soil during, and even after, mulching. Organic matter, the soil is the most important component, emerges as an important parameter in the solarization applications, because it contains many changes and events. The experimental site was located at the University of Suleyman Demirel Research Center in Isparta. Greenhouse experiments were conducted during 2011-2012 in the 60 day period (July-August). The experiments were arranged as a randomized block design, with three replications per treatment, based on a plot size of 2m x 2m. Four soil treatments and control (non-sol) were applied: solarization, biofumigation, bubble solarization and bubble-water solarization. After the experiment, samples of treated soil were taken from 15 and 30 cm depths from the center of each tested plot, immediately after termination of solarization and then soil was tested organic matter. The high organic matter content is determined in Sol treatment according to data from the year 2011. According to these results, it can be said that Sol treatment was the lowest mineralization in applications. Similarly to the first year, in 2012, while amount of organic matter decreased with depth, it was determined that only an increase in BSol treatment. Based on these results, it was concluded that soil organic matter with solarization application convert available nutrition form to plants with decomposition it.


Charles Fried's Contract as Promise articulated a liberal theory of contract based on the normative ideal that contract law should respect individual freedom and autonomy to make binding commitments. The touchstone of contractual analysis from this perspective is the intent of the promisor. This essay revisits the justification under this promissory theory for expectation (compensatory) damages, in light of two observations: (a) judicial determinations are costly and prone to error and (b) parties have various motivations for promising beyond promoting reliance and collaboration (notably, credit and insurance). In light of this heterogeneity, the essay suggests that fully compensatory, expectation damages may be preferred by no more than a plurality of contracting parties. In addition, the legitimacy given to expectation damages under various moral theories, such as the promissory principle, as well as the instrumental doctrine of efficient breach, in fact increase the cost of opting out and undermine the promissory autonomy they are thought to vindicate. In passing, the essay also takes issue with the categorical distinction that Professor Fried, and other moral theorists, draw between contractual conditions and contract remedies, particularly damages. Damages, whether judicially measured or liquidated by contract, should be viewed as substitute for conditions. Thus, if the parties are morally free to condition their promises, they should also be free to set their own level of damages or to let the court impose them by default.


The aim of this study was to describe the sonographic appearance of abdominal wall at the left flank of laparotomy incision site in 11 mated Ettawah grade does. Brightness-mode ultrasound examination by using transducer with frequency of 5.0-6.0 MHz was conducted to grouping the does based on their pregnancy statuses. The incision site of the abdominal wall at left flank laparotomy was transcutaneous-scanned as long as 8 cm vertically. The sonographic appearance of the laparotomy wall thickness showed that in all groups of does were similar and not different statistically. The thickness of oblique external and oblique internal abdominal muscles increased in the pregnant does as compared to non-pregnant does (P<0.05). Key words: laparotomy, left flank, ultrasonography, incision site, Ettawah grade does


This exploratory computer assisted-language learning (CALL) study used a computer-mediated communication (CMC) interface to allow English as a foreign language (EFL) writing students in classes at two universities to give each other anonymous peer feedback about essay-writing assignments reacting to selected news stories. Experts also provided feedback review. Follow-up questions were facilitated by the interface. The students felt that they benefitted from the instructional design, but found that the peer review focused most on things like grammar whereas the experts focused on organization and structure, making the expert feedback more valuable. Researchers found that more complex issues discussed in the source news articles resulted in lower outcome scores, based on a rubric, than did source material simpler issues. The study also compared performance of students with higher and lower ability and evaluated the quality of the review comments. Conclusions and recommendations for practice are provided. This study is significant because it used CALL/CMC technology to provide online interactivity between students and reviewers in an open forum that allowed students to seek follow-up clarification to the comments of reviewers. The review process, therefore, was not a one-way anonymous communication from reviewer to student but rather allowed interactive discussion of the points and suggestions made by the reviewers.


Offsite construction methods have been promoted and recognized globally as advanced construction techniques. Panelization, a two-dimensional form of offsite construction has brought about many benefits including lower transportation requirements and design flexibilities. In North America, the panelized construction technique has become popular particularly for wood-frame wall panels for residential construction. However, although utilizing this advanced construction method can greatly improve the working environment and productivity, the conventional mentality in construction, which overlooks the value of an automated management system to support offsite prefabrication and onsite installation, hinders its potential. An automatic material estimation system can capture all computer-aided design (CAD) data from building information modeling (BIM) files automatically and convert them into enterprise resource planning (ERP) readable data so that the ERP system can be updated for the purpose of material estimation. With the assistance of a feature-based modeling method, the proposed automatic material estimation system can save huge amounts of manual work for quantity take-off and all required CAD data can be captured by the system in a few seconds. Although highly dynamic market demands result in continual changes in design, production plan, schedule, and inventory levels, the adoption of an automatic material estimation system could account for these dynamic changes in order to maximize production. Therefore, in this paper, an automatic material estimation system is proposed in order to enhance the design and estimation process in the manufacturing environment. The proposed system is introduced and the development of supportive software is described. The proposed system is implemented as a case study in a panelized construction manufacturing facility, ACQBUILT, Inc., based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.


Audio captioning is a novel field of multi-modal translation and it is the task of creating a textual description of the content of an audio signal (e.g. "people talking in a big room"). The creation of a dataset for this task requires a considerable amount of work, rendering the crowdsourcing a very attractive option. In this paper we present a three steps based framework for crowdsourcing an audio captioning dataset, based on concepts and practises followed for the creation of widely used image captioning and machine translations datasets. During the first step initial captions are gathered. A grammatically corrected and/or rephrased version of each initial caption is obtained in second step. Finally, the initial and edited captions are rated, keeping the top ones for the produced dataset. We objectively evaluate the impact of our framework during the process of creating an audio captioning dataset, in terms of diversity and amount of typographical errors in the obtained captions. The obtained results show that the resulting dataset has less typographical errors than the initial captions, and on average each sound in the produced dataset has captions with a Jaccard similarity of 0.24, roughly equivalent to two ten-word captions having in common four words with the same root, indicating that the captions are dissimilar while they still contain some of the same information.


In the Modern Era of computing, The Wireless communication has gained popularity with the passage of time due to unique features, e.g. Flexibility, cost effective and easy to configure as compare to traditional wired networks. Since 1990swireless networks become the backbone of every network and there are lots of concerns in wireless communication, which are needed to address to achieve effectiveness and productivity. Allot of organization switches from a wired network to wireless network due to its simple and cost effective solution. IEEE defines wireless standards and continues improvements are done with the passage of time to overcome deficiencies. In this paper, we perform an analysis of TCP and UDP traffic in WLANs, we proposed a hybrid WLAN Markov chain to increase the efficiency of the back off windows scheme. The results are validated using OPNET Modeler, which shows that the proposed back off windows scheme perform better as compare to default backoff windows scheme.


Abstract This article presents a systematic review of research related to the use of robotics construction kits (RCKs) in P–12 learning in the STEM disciplines for typically developing children. The purpose of this review is to configure primarily qualitative and mixed methods findings from studies meeting our selection and quality criterion to answer the review question: How do robotic construction kits function as computational manipulatives in P–12 STEM education? Our synthesis of the literature has resulted in four key insights that are new to the field. First, RCKs have a unique double application: They may be used for direct instruction in robotics (first-order uses) or as analogical tools for learning in other domains (second-order uses). Second, RCKs make possible additional routes to learning through the provision of immediate feedback and the dual modes of representation unique to RCKs. Third, RCKs support a computational thinking learning progression beginning with a lower anchor of sequencing and finishing with a high anchor of systems thinking. And fourth, RCKs support evolving problem-solving abilities along a continuum, ranging from trial and error to heuristic methods associated with robotics study. Furthermore, our synthesis provides insight into the second-order (analogical) uses of RCKs as computational manipulatives in the disciplines of physics and biology. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed. (Keywords: computational manipulatives, constructionism, computational thinking, problem solving, robotics, STEM)


Mixed-Integer Quadratic Programming (MIQP) has been identified as a suitable approach for finding an optimal solution to the behavior planning problem with low runtimes. Logical constraints and continuous equations are optimized alongside. However, it has only been formulated for a straight road, omitting common situations such as taking turns at intersections. This has prevented the model from being used in reality so far. Based on a triple integrator model formulation, we compute the orientation of the vehicle and model it in a disjunctive manner. That allows us to formulate linear constraints to account for the non-holonomy and collision avoidance. These constraints are approximations, for which we introduce the theory. We show the applicability in two benchmark scenarios and prove the feasibility by solving the same models using nonlinear optimization. This new model will allow researchers to leverage the benefits of MIQP, such as logical constraints, or global optimality.


This 73‐year‐old female had undergone right middle lobe lobectomy for adenocarcinoma of lung (pT2N0M0) and got cured without recurrence. However, two years later, she was diagnosed as another cancer, uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma (the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIB), and received a series of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). After 6 months of CCRT, she was admitted due to abdominal pain and nausea for one week. Physical examination disclosed mild epigasrtic tenderness and icteric sclera. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed friable mucosa and narrowed lumen over the 2nd portion of duodenum, and the result of biopsy confirmed metastatic carcinoma of uterine cervix by positive for P16 immunohistochemically. Moreover, abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan disclosed increased infiltrative soft tissue at pancreatic head, uncinate process, pancreaticoduodenal groove, with eccentric thickening of the wall of bulb to 1st – 2nd portion of duodenum. The diagnosis was made as uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma with duodenal metastasis and intestinal obstruction. The patient received supportive care. However, she died due to sepsis about one month later. Small intestinal neoplasm is rare and adenocarcinoma is more prevalent than other types of tumors. Common metastatic sites of uterine cervical cancer are the liver, lung, and bone marrow. Small intestine metastasis is found only in about 1.5 – 5.3% of patients with uterine cervical carcinoma beyond stage IIA. The presentation of patients with duodenal metastasis varies from epigastric pain, upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage to intestinal obstruction. Diagnosis is difficult and dependent on high alert of clinical physicians.


The current study is a contribution to reading research dealing with tuition in reading comprehension and specifically with the issue of arranging tuition to support the development of metacognition. The empirical findings referred to in this study are from textual discussions of works of fiction in grades 6 and 7. The specific focus of the study is the correlation between the linguistic strategies used by the teacher and the pupils' opportunities to develop metacognitive perspectives as a consequence of these strategies. The study shows how the teachers, by use of a series of linguistic strategies, can offer pupils support in order to (1) identify and visualise the premises of their personal queries; (2) observe and verbalise their processes of interpretation together with their emotional reactions when reading; (3) survey, adjust and communicate their use of reading comprehension strategies and (4) recognise the text as an aesthetic construction and the interaction/transaction between texts and the reader.


During the past year, an investigation has been initiated regarding how future climate changes may impact the hydrology of the Tijuana River Watershed – a binational watershed. The study has used gridded observed daily precipitation and temperatures and downscaled daily precipitation and temperature projections from three global climate models (GCM) to drive the VIC macroscale hydrologic model. Sensitivity analysis using VIC suggests about 2% reduction of runoff for each 1% reduction in precipitation. A 1oC increase in average temperature produces about 3% reduction of runoff. All three GCM simulations yield annual warming, with end-of-century temperature increases from approximately +1oC under a lower emission scenario in the less responsive PCM1 to +3oC in a higher emission scenario with the more responsive GFDL model. Climate projections suggest greater warming in the spring and summer months ranging between 2oC to 3oC under the higher emission scenario. Two of the three GCM simulations yield more frequent summer drying as gauged by VIC simulated soil moisture in the twenty-first century under the higher emission scenario. Summer soil moisture declines most, and most rapidly, in the later part of the twenty-first century. This initial evaluation provides perhaps the first direct estimates of the climate change impacts on the Tijuana River Watershed. However, transforming these results into a more useable projections and impacts will be a task for the future and will require collaboration and interaction between local stakeholders and the researchers.


The global financial crisis of 2008 has caused much dialogue within the social policy framework on how to maintain a sustainable elderly health-care system. This coupled with a migrant crisis have created extra social and economic pressures in Europe in particularly. As it has been well documented by social scientists, people are living longer than ever before. There are two fundamental factors that are helping people live to an old age, which are as follows: (a) a better quality of life and (b) improved health-care system at state level. However, since the global financial crisis of 2008 populations across the world are living in an age of austerity. The age of austerity has brought extra financial pressures on the state, polarizing society by implementing cuts in welfare. The reason many governments across the world (e.g., United States, United Kingdom, and Greece) have enforced a series of austerity measures is fundamentally to reduce debt. The aim of this article is to critically explore the austerity social policy agenda within the context of the debates surrounding the refugee or migrant crisis in the elderly health-care system.


THE WINDS OF CHANGE: THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION IN VERMONT by Jill McNulty Clegg This research presents a case study of renewable energy transition (RET) in Vermont, illustrated by a recently completed commercial wind project in the Lowell Mountains. Preliminary analysis maps out the current political landscape of Vermont's RET – its stakeholders, political climate, and important policy advances. Subsequent analysis focuses on the relationship between RET and the unique aspects of Vermont's institutions, culture, and communities. Important elements of this analysis include the ways that community groups form a vital link between citizens and the State, the unique opportunities and challenges presented by Vermont's pastoral land perception and activist heritage, and the way that community support is contingent on broadly defined, transparent, democratically structured community participation. This research concludes by arguing that future RET efforts would benefit from considering similar institutional, cultural and community concerns; from developing more collaborative community models (including community ownership); and from fostering a sense of collective responsibility and participation in both local and regional initiatives. THE WINDS OF CHANGE: THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION IN VERMONT by Jill McNulty Clegg A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Policy Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science


The past half-century has been marked by major changes in the treatment of mental illness: important advances in understanding mental illnesses, increases in spending on mental health care and support of people with mental illnesses, and the availability of new medications that are easier for the patient to tolerate. Although these changes have made things better for those who have mental illness, they are not quite enough. In Better But Not Well, Richard G. Frank and Sherry A. Glied examine the well-being of people with mental illness in the United States over the past fifty years, addressing issues such as economics, treatment, standards of living, rights, and stigma. Marshaling a range of new empirical evidence, they first argue that people with mental illness-severe and persistent disorders as well as less serious mental health conditions-are faring better today than in the past. Improvements have come about for unheralded and unexpected reasons. Rather than being a result of more effective mental health treatments, progress has come from the growth of private health insurance and of mainstream social programs-such as Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, housing vouchers, and food stamps-and the development of new treatments that are easier for patients to tolerate and for physicians to manage. The authors remind us that, despite the progress that has been made, this disadvantaged group remains worse off than most others in society. The "mainstreaming" of persons with mental illness has left a policy void, where governmental institutions responsible for meeting the needs of mental health patients lack resources and programmatic authority. To fill this void, Frank and Glied suggest that institutional resources be applied systematically and routinely to examine and address how federal and state programs affect the well-being of people with mental illness.


Elopement is a potentially dangerous behavior that can result in accidental injury or death. Assessment and treatment of elopement in children has most frequently been examined using behavioral approaches. Most of these evaluations have typically been conducted in settings where assessment and treatment occurred over extended periods of time (such as inpatient units, residential treatment centers, or day treatment programs). As more children present for assessment and treatment of elopement in outpatient clinics, a need exists for efficient and pragmatic means of assessing and treating elopement. This study examined a novel way to assess and treat elopement behavior in young children in an outpatient setting. The purpose of the current study was to address three questions: (a) Could a brief methodological approach be used for rapidly assessing and treating elopement in young children within typical outpatient time constraints, (b) could a competing stimuli treatment including brief preference assessments, differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors, and response cost reduce elopement attempts and increase latency to elopement, and (c) could the initial treatment protocol be expanded to further clarify effective treatment strategies through component analyses? Data were collected within a brief multielement (across conditions) design combined with multiple baseline (across 2 participants). The results of this study suggested that (a) a brief methodological approach to assessing elopement can be successfully implemented within typical outpatient constraints, (b) the competing stimuli treatment can be used to reduce elopement attempts and increase latency to elopement in young children, (c) supplementing the initial protocol with a component analysis can further specify effective treatment strategies. These results extend the elopement literature by assessing and treating elopement within typical outpatient clinic setting time constraints.


The Federal Highway Administration has encouraged state transportation agencies to implement Incentive/Disincentive (I/D) contracting provisions for early project completion. Although general guidelines to determine the I/D dollar amount for a project are available, there is no systematic and practical tool in use to determine optimum I/D dollar amounts for I/D projects considering road user cost, agency cost, contractor's acceleration cost, and contractor's cost savings. Therefore, systematic procedures and models to assist project planners and engineers in determining an appropriate I/D dollar amount are essential to optimizing the use of I/D contracting techniques. This research performed a literature review related to the determination of daily I/D dollar amounts. Caltrans I/D project data were then collected and evaluated. Project performance data were analyzed with regard to project outcomes in two key areas: project time and project cost. Statistical analyses were performed to identify the impact of I/D dollar amount on project time and cost performance. Using Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies (CA4PRS) software, Caltrans I/D projects were analyzed to introduce three different levels of CA4PRS implementations for the I/D dollar amounts calculation. Based on the results of the I/D project case studies, the systematic procedures to determine appropriate I/D dollar amounts were developed using the CA4PRS schedule-traffic-cost integration process for the new I-5 rehabilitation project in LA. The proposed procedures were applied to a typical highway pavement rehabilitation project using HMA (hot mix asphalt) materials. Further research is needed to apply the proposed model to other types of highway projects, with adjustment for the type of project.


Innovation has been powering industrial development for 200 years. Today, in times of social and environmental pressures, it is even more needed to support the transition towards a more sustainable society. Multinational corporations are potential systemic change agents by their global presence and impact magnitude on economics. However, a combination of short-termism and technological inertia rather favours incremental innovation. Meanwhile, some smaller companies have quickly integrated the value of doing 'better' rather than doing 'less bad', making innovation go hand-in-hand with sustainable development. Therefore, acquisitions represent an opportunity to spread a solution to addressing sustainability challenges faster, but the corporate decision-makers need concise, constructive guidelines for selecting and integrating these external opportunities. This thesis describes how a Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) helps to identify the gaps in the current practices and supports the creation of guidelines for corporations acquiring innovative companies in order to move towards sustainability.


Interest in the culture of small flounder has increased in recent years due to their fast growth, low metabolic activity and good quality white flesh. Egg production and larval rearing of yellowtail flounder (Pleiironectes fernigineus) has improved and large numbers of juveniles are capable of being produced. However, protocols for grow-out of juveniles have not been developed and little is known of the nutritional requirements and feeding of this species. This study was undertaken as a preliminary investigation into feeding strategies for yellowtail flounder, in order to increase growth during the juvenile stage and to provide recommendations for the development of a species-specific diet. -- It is known that growth and food conversion are influenced by feeding frequency (number of meals per day) and experiments were set up to determine the best feeding regimes for optimal growth and food conversion of 0+ fish (under one year of age). Yellowtail flounder responded well to differing feeding regimes, and displayed good growth rates and low food conversion ratios (FCRs) when fed one, two, or four meals a day, and twice every other day. However, feeding frequency was shown to affect growth rates and food consumption. Behavioural observations showed that juveniles fed fewer meals per day ingested more pellets per feeding but were not as accurate at hitting the pellets as fish fed more often. Juveniles fed twice daily had the highest growth rates and lowest FCR, and it is recommended that fish at this stage of grow-out be fed twice per day. -- Body composition, condition factors and hepatosomatic indices (HSI) of wild and cultured yellowtail flounder were examined to make estimates for the possible formulation of diets for yellowtail, as well as to determine if present diets are adequate. Levels of storage fat were higher in the muscle and liver of cultured flounder and HSI was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in these fish, demonstrating an accumulation of fat. This, combined with higher condition indices in these fish, may suggest obesity, or a surplus in body fat due to caloric intake exceeding the amount of energy required, relative to wild counterparts. Total proportions of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were higher in wild fish. Body composition of wild and cultured fish closely resembled the respective diets, and it is recommended that a diet be formulated for juvenile on-growing with high levels of protein, low levels of lipid and, within this lipid, high levels of PUFA. -- The effect of n-3 PUFA on the growth and body composition of cultured 0+ juvenile yellowtail flounder was examined in a third experiment. Yellowtail flounder did not display typical essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency symptoms observed in other marine fish when fed levels of n-3 PUFA as low as 0.4% for twelve weeks. However, they show poor growth after four weeks and preferentially conserve PUFA in phospholipid of liver and muscle and accumulate triacylglycerol in the liver, suggesting the commencement of a deficiency. The increase in the ratio of DHA/EP A in polar tissues of yellowtail flounder was related to good growth. Neutral fatty acid composition in both liver and muscle was affected by diet. Results suggest that yellowtail flounder require 2.5% n-3 PUFA as a percentage of dry diet, with 10% lipid, for optimal growth and development. This level is higher than has been seen in the literature, and maybe due to its cold natural climate and wild diet of invertebrates, such as polychaete worms or amphipods.


The economic crisis has created a host of problems for working people: collapsing wages, lost jobs, ruined pensions, and the anxiety that comes with not knowing what tomorrow willbring. Compounding all this is a lack of reliable information that speaks to the realities of workers. Commentators and pundits seem more confused than anyone, and economists the so-called "experts" still cling to bankrupt ideologies that failed to predict the crisis and offer nothing to explain it.In this short, clear, and concise book, Fred Magdoff and Michael D. Yates explain the nature of the economic crisis. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the authors demonstrate that this crisis is not some aberration from a normally benign capitalism but rather the normal and even expected outcome of a thoroughly irrational and destructive system. No amount of tinkering with capitalism, whether it be discredited neoliberalism or the return of Keynesianism and a "new" New Deal, can overcome the core contradiction of the system: the daily exploitation and degradation of the majority of the world s people by a tiny minority of business owners.While the current economic maelstrom has laid bare the web of greed, corruption, and propaganda that are central to capitalism, only an aroused public, demanding the right to health care, decent employment, a secure old age, and a clean and healthy environment, can lead the United States and the world out of the worst crisis since the Great Depression and toward a system of production and distribution conducive to human happiness. This book is aimed primarily at working people, students, and activists, who want not just to understand the world but to change it."


We discuss transport experiments for various non-Abelian quantum Hall states, including the Read-Rezayi series and a paired spin-singlet state. We analyze the signatures of the unique characters of these states on Coulomb blockaded transport through large quantum dots. We show that the non-Abelian nature of the states manifests itself through modulations in the spacings between Coulomb blockade peaks as a function of the area of the dot. Even though the current flows only along the edge, these modulations vary with the number of quasiholes that are localized in the bulk of the dot. We discuss the effect of relaxation of edge states on the predicted Coulomb blockade patterns, and show that it may suppress the dependence on the number of bulk quasiholes. We predict the form of the lowest-order interference term in a Fabry-Pérot interferometer for the spin-singlet state. The result indicates that this interference term is suppressed for certain values of the quantum numbers of the collective state of the bulk quasiholes, in agreement with previous findings for other clustered states belonging to the Read-Rezayi series.


BACKGROUND
Colophony (rosin) is a natural product obtained from coniferous trees. It is used in a diverse range of products such as adhesives, ink, paints and soldering fluxes. Some workers exposed to colophony during soldering can develop occupational asthma; at present, no specific IgE test is available to assess sensitization to colophony.

METHODS
Serum samples were obtained from exposed symptomatic individuals (n = 7), some with a likely diagnosis of occupational asthma, exposed asymptomatic individuals (n = 10) and unexposed individuals (n = 11). Serum was tested for specific IgE antibodies against a protein extract produced following in vitro challenge of mono-mac-6 cells with colophony extract.

RESULTS
Serum from exposed symptomatic individuals showed increased binding of specific IgE antibodies to a range of colophony-cell protein conjugates [29% (2/7) of samples tested when cut-off > 0.1 or 86% (6/7) of samples tested when cut-off > 0%] compared with both the exposed asymptomatic [0% when cut-off > 0.1, or 20% when cut-off > 0% (2/10)] and the non-exposed control populations [0% when cut-off > 0.1, or 27% when cut-off > 0% (3/11)].

CONCLUSIONS
This novel approach for the production of conjugates to assess sensitization to colophony was able to detect specific IgE in colophony-exposed workers with a likely diagnosis of occupational asthma.


This article considers the role played by discourses of nature in structuring the cultural politics of anti-GMO activism. It argues that such discourses have been successful rhetorical tools for activists because they mobilize widely resonant nature-culture dualisms that separate the natural and human worlds. However, these discourses hold dubious political implications. In valorizing the natural as a source of essential truth, natural purity discourses fail to challenge how naturalizations have been used to legitimize sexist, racist and colonial systems of injustice and oppression. Rather, they revitalize the discursive purchase of appeals to nature as a justification for the status quo, indirectly reinforcing existing power relations. Moreover, these discourses fail to challenge the critical though contingent reality of GMOs' location within the wider framework of neoliberal social relations. Fortunately, appeals to natural purity have not been the only effective strategy for opposing GMOs. Activist campaigns that directly target the political economic implications of GMOs within the context of neoliberalism have also had successes without resorting to appeals to the purity of nature. The successes of these campaigns suggest that while nature-culture dualisms remain politically effective normative groundings, concerns over equity, farmers' rights, and democracy retain potential as ideological terrains in the struggle for social justice.


Violence against women can be conceptualized as 'relational vulnerability', reflecting women's subordinate status within hierarchical gender relations and the dependencies associated with it. While such violence can take many different forms, this paper focuses on the interpersonal violence of 'normal' times, most often within the home at the hands of intimate partners. The paper provides estimates of incidence, which suggest that it varies considerably across countries and by social group. Factors that lead to violence against women operate at individual, relational, community and societal levels, and help to explain some of this variation. They also suggest the need for interventions operating at these different levels. In conclusion, the paper argues that not only is violence against women and girls a fundamental violation of their human rights, but also has serious consequences for their well-being and capabilities, and imposes significant economic costs. These comprise both the direct financial costs of dealing with the phenomenon and the indirect productivity costs that result from it. Ending violence against women is a key component in any sustainable human development agenda and a critical priority for the post-Millennium Development Goal (MDG) development framework.


Input is a significant problem for wearable systems, particularly for head mounted virtual and augmented reality displays. Existing input techniques either lack expressive power or may not be socially acceptable. As an alternative, thumb-to-finger touches present a promising input mechanism that is subtle yet capable of complex interactions. We present DigiTouch, a reconfigurable glove-based input device that enables thumb-to-finger touch interaction by sensing continuous touch position and pressure. Our novel sensing technique improves the reliability of continuous touch tracking and estimating pressure on resistive fabric interfaces. We demonstrate DigiTouch's utility by enabling a set of easily reachable and reconfigurable widgets such as buttons and sliders. Since DigiTouch senses continuous touch position, widget layouts can be customized according to user preferences and application needs. As an example of a real-world application of this reconfigurable input device, we examine a split-QWERTY keyboard layout mapped to the user's fingers. We evaluate DigiTouch for text entry using a multi-session study. With our continuous sensing method, users reliably learned to type and achieved a mean typing speed of 16.0 words per minute at the end of ten 20-minute sessions, an improvement over similar wearable touch systems.


OBJECTIVES
More children are surviving critical illness but are at risk of residual or new health conditions. An evidence-informed and stakeholder-recommended core outcome set is lacking for pediatric critical care outcomes. Our objective was to create a multinational, multistakeholder-recommended pediatric critical care core outcome set for inclusion in clinical and research programs.

DESIGN
A two-round modified Delphi electronic survey was conducted with 333 invited research, clinical, and family/advocate stakeholders. Stakeholders completing the first round were invited to participate in the second. Outcomes scoring greater than 69% "critical" and less than 15% "not important" advanced to round 2 with write-in outcomes considered. The Steering Committee held a virtual consensus conference to determine the final components.

SETTING
Multinational survey.

PATIENTS
Stakeholder participants from six continents representing clinicians, researchers, and family/advocates.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Overall response rates were 75% and 82% for each round. Participants voted on seven Global Domains and 45 Specific Outcomes in round 1, and six Global Domains and 30 Specific Outcomes in round 2. Using overall (three stakeholder groups combined) results, consensus was defined as outcomes scoring greater than 90% "critical" and less than 15% "not important" and were included in the final PICU core outcome set: four Global Domains (Cognitive, Emotional, Physical, and Overall Health) and four Specific Outcomes (Child Health-Related Quality of Life, Pain, Survival, and Communication). Families (n = 21) suggested additional critically important outcomes that did not meet consensus, which were included in the PICU core outcome set-extended.

CONCLUSIONS
The PICU core outcome set and PICU core outcome set-extended are multistakeholder-recommended resources for clinical and research programs that seek to improve outcomes for children with critical illness and their families.


In machining operation, the quality of surface finish is an important requirement for many turned workpieces. Thus, the choice of optimized cutting parameters is very important for controlling the requied surface quality The focus of present experimental study is to optimize for cutting speed, feed rate, and radius chip breaker using two performance measures, metal removal rate and surface roughness. Response Surface Methodology (RSM). has been applied for developing models in the form of multiple regression equations correlating dependent parameters with cutting parameters and radius chip breaker, in a turning process. The central composite rotatable design was used to plan the experiment, and analysis of variance were employed to study the performance characteristics for three variable independent in turning operation. A second-order model which can describe the relation then to find combination between cutting parameters and radius chip breaker which resulting the maximum metal removal rate and minimum surface roughness. The experimental results reveal that the most significant cutting parameters for surface roughness is cutting speed, followed by feed rate and radius chip breaker. Based on the optimization results, recommended cutting speed, feed rate, and radius chip breaker is 35 m/mt, 0,2819 mm/rev, and 0,85 mm. By implementing this parameters, the surface roughness and metal removal rate is 2,18 μm and 6230,80 mm3/mt. Keywords : Surface Roughness, Metal removal rate, response surface methodology, turning


Consistent with other high income countries in the West, prisons are being built or expanded in every Australian state and territory to house increasing numbers of prisoners. Despite decreasing crime victimisation rates in Australia, incarceration rates have doubled over the last thirty years. Australia's use of imprisonment has major economic and social equity costs, especially given the over-representation of Indigenous Australians and other socially disadvantaged groups in prison. Evidence increasingly points to the limitation of incarceration as a tool for effective offender rehabilitation suggesting that a new policy agenda on responses to offending is warranted. Yet, public opinion is generally assessed and perceived to hold punitive views towards offenders. Such views are typically assessed using non-deliberative opinion polls. Research and perceived public opinion of this kind can be an obstacle to policy reform and a justification for prison expansion. This paper reports on a project that uses a Citizens Jury approach in three Australian cities. The aim of these Citizens Juries was to provide an opportunity for citizens to critically engage in and deliberate on the issues that underlie offending, and society's responses to it. This paper provides substantive insight into the considered views of members of the public on issues of criminal justice and makes recommendations about the value of the Citizens Jury method to explore public opinion on criminal justice issues. This has broader implications for the use of deliberative methodologies in other highly politicised public policy fields.


After its landslide victory in the Lower House elections of August 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan strove for change in Japan's foreign and security policies. Newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama challenged the way the forward deployment of US military to Japan was being put into practice in Japan. This political conflict was symbolized in the stalling process of relocating the US Marines Corps Air Station of Futenma, which is located in Ginowan city, one of Okinawa Prefecture's most densely populated areas. Hatoyama vowed to work for a relocation of the Futenma units to a place outside of Okinawa Prefecture, while the US-side insisted on carrying out the relocation plan to Henoko, District of Nago in Okinawa, which was agreed upon in 2006 with the previous administration under the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. This paper investigates Hatoyama's negotiation efforts on the future of Futenma with the Obama administration on the one hand and with the local politicians and citizens of Okinawa on the other hand. The paper is a qualitative study following the concept of Two-Level Games. It will be argued that Okinawa became the symbol of the Hatoyama administration's struggle (and failure) to implement Japan's new foreign and security policy as an equal partner in the alliance with the US.


The aim of this thesis is to study customer order flow and its impact on a small open emerging economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Customer order flow, as a key concept in the microstructure approach to exchange rate, deals with signed transaction volumes between market-makers and their customers. The study specifically attempts to explore what the data tells us about the role of customer order flow in the market for local currency (Ghanaian CEDI) using the standard analytical framework of FX microstructure literature. The study also examines short-run exchange rate dynamics in an emerging market based on the recent microstructure framework of foreign exchange markets where the main explanatory variable is the order flow. First, the study modifies the model to take account of a unique feature of the majority of emerging markets, namely the existence of a parallel market for FX. Secondly, it uses a unique proprietary database covering almost the complete Ghanaian market, and for a long time span compared to previous studies, which uses data for a single market-maker and for a short period of time. The study confirms contemporaneous relationship (between flows and exchange rate) suggested by previous literature (Evans and Lyons 2002a) but we also observe a lagged interaction between order flow and exchange rates. These lagged effects are due to the delays in the price transmission which are associated with inefficiencies. Additionally, the study confirms the connection between the price impact of the order flow and the degree of liquidity in the FX market. Furthermore, our findings corroborate the fact that in Ghana, banks provide liquidity to their customers in the short-run whiles the central bank acts a liquidity provider in the long-run. Finally, our results confirm that there exists a strong relationship between order flow, commodity prices and macroeconomic fundamentals in an emerging economy.


A web search query made to Microsoft Bing is currently parallelized by distributing the query processing across many servers. Within each of these servers, the query is, however, processed sequentially. Although each server may be processing multiple queries concurrently, with modern multicore servers, parallelizing the processing of an individual query within the server may nonetheless improve the user's experience by reducing the response time. In this paper, we describe the issues that make the parallelization of an individual query within a server challenging, and we present a parallelization approach that effectively addresses these challenges. Since each server may be processing multiple queries concurrently, we also present a adaptive resource management algorithm that chooses the degree of parallelism at run-time for each query, taking into account system load and parallelization efficiency. As a result, the servers now execute queries with a high degree of parallelism at low loads, gracefully reduce the degree of parallelism with increased load, and choose sequential execution under high load. We have implemented our parallelization approach and adaptive resource management algorithm in Bing servers and evaluated them experimentally with production workloads. The experimental results show that the mean and 95th-percentile response times for queries are reduced by more than 50% under light or moderate load. Moreover, under high load where parallelization adversely degrades the system performance, the response times are kept the same as when queries are executed sequentially. In all cases, we observe no degradation in the relevance of the search results.


Background: In Canada, one in five women lives in a rural area. These rural women often experience different health challenges than urban women, including lower life expectancy, higher rates of disability and cancer, fewer available health care resources and greater distances to access health care services. Nurse practitioners [NPs] provide important primary health care [PHC] services to rural women. Research Objective: The purpose of this research study was to explore rural women's experiences with primary health care nurse practitioners [PHCNPs]. Method and Sample: In-depth, face-to-face interviews using interpretive description methodology were conducted with nine rural women, aged 18-80, who used NP services in rural southwest Ontario, Canada. Results: The participants in the study particularly appreciated the nursing knowledge of the NP, the time the NPs spent with them, and the thoroughness of the care provided by NPs. These foundational elements of the participants' experiences with rural NPs created a sense of trust and respect, which lead to a collaborative partnership between the NP and the rural women. Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that these rural women were overwhelmingly satisfied with the care provided by NPs. In particular, they valued the collaborative partnership with the NP. These findings have important implications for rural health care practice, policy, and education.


The clustering of mitochondria near pores in the test walls of foraminifera suggests that these perforations play a critical role in metabolic gas exchange. As such, pore measurements could provide a novel means of tracking changes in metabolic rate in the fossil record. However, in planktonic foraminifera, variation in average pore area, density, and porosity (the total percentage of a test wall that is open pore space) have been variously attributed to environmental, biological, and taxonomic drivers, complicating such an interpretation. Here we examine the environmental, biological, and evolutionary determinants of pore characteristics in 718 individuals, representing 17 morphospecies of planktonic foraminifera from 6 core tops in the North Atlantic. Using random forest models, we find that porosity is primarily correlated to test surface area, test volume, and habitat temperature, key factors in determining metabolic rates. In order to test if this correlation arose spuriously through the association of cryptic species with distinct biomes, we cultured Globigerinoides ruber in three different temperature conditions, and found that porosity increased with temperature. Crucially, these results show that porosity can be plastic: changing in response to environmental drivers within the lifetime of an individual foraminifer. This demonstrates the potential of porosity as a proxy for foraminiferal metabolic rates, with significance for interpreting geochemical data and the physiology of foraminifera in non-analog environments. It also highlights the importance of phenotypic plasticity (i.e., ecophenotypy) in accounting for some aspects of morphological variation in the modern and fossil record.


Both basic personality traits and clinical personality disorders have been studied in the context of a wide range of behaviors, including antisocial behavior and aggression. Although the five-factor model (FFM) has been examined in relation to several types of non-partner aggression, relatively few studies have assessed the relations between FFM traits and intimate partner aggression perpetration. Additionally, some work has suggested that there may be differential personality correlates of intimate partner aggression versus other forms of aggression, but none has directly compared these types of aggression in terms of their personality trait profiles. The present study, reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board, sought to answer those questions as well as critically evaluate the potential mediating role of basic traits in the relation between personality disorder (PD) symptoms and outcomes related to aggression and antisocial behavior. A total of 307 participants, recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), completed a number of questionnaires assessing personality traits, PD symptoms, and various types of aggressive and antisocial behavior. Findings suggest that traits related to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness generally demonstrated the strongest and most consistent (negative) relations across all measures of aggression and antisocial behavior; however, Neuroticism-related traits also demonstrated moderate (positive) correlations with certain types of aggression. PD symptoms almost all predicted aggressive and antisocial behavior, and although ASPD and BPD were two of the most robust PD symptom correlates across aggression and antisocial behavior outcomes, they were not always the strongest PD symptom correlate for each behavior. Personality profiles were moderately similar across aggression subtypes, but some showed more convergence than others. Finally, relations between PD symptom counts and aggressive and antisocial behavior were largely accounted for by more basic personality traits.


An efficient scheme for photon statistics measurement is presented based on the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss configuration. We set the sampling time Ts to satisfy the relationship of TslTdlTm, where Td is the dead time of each detector and Tm is the laser pulse repetition period. And each single photon detector cannot detect more than one photon in each pulse. The approach can sufficiently eliminate the influences of the detector's dead time on photon statistics. At last, the photon statistics of coherent field is experimentally determined.


Problem Statement: In the present educational perception, teachers are expected to fulfill many roles, such as becoming role models for students, guiding them, teaching them to learn and instilling democratic attitudes and values within them. In addition, teachers should be in collaboration with the school administration, colleagues, parents and other stakeholders for effective teaching and learning. While fulfilling these roles, teachers should make a conscientious effort not to reflect their personal problems onto their relationships in schools, and should try to behave in compliance with formal and informal norms as professionals. However, it is possible to predict that the regulation of emotions may have a negative impact on teachers in terms of their psychology. Burnout can be described as one of those impacts. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between teachers" emotional labor and burnout level. Method: The sample for this survey study consists of 410 teachers working in the schools located in the city center of Kütahya. The data was collected using the Emotional Labor Scale and the Burnout Scale. Descriptive 1 This is the extended version of a paper presented at the 1st Eurasian Educational Research Congress (Istanbul University & EJER, 24-26 April, 2014).  Dr., Dumlupinar University, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, email: email@example.com  Dr., Muğla Sitki Kocman University, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com  Assistant Principal, MoNE, e-mail: email@example.com 76 Kursad Yilmaz, Yahya Altinkurt, Mustafa Guner, & Bilal Sen statistics, t-tests, ANOVA and regression analysis were used for analyzing the data. Findings: Results indicate that the teachers exhibit surface acting the least in terms of emotional labor. This is followed by deep acting and naturallyfelt emotions. In terms of burnout, teachers have the highest burnout level when they experience emotional exhaustion, which is followed by a lack of personal accomplishment and depersonalization, respectively. Results of the regression analysis show that surface acting and naturally-felt emotions are the important predictors for both emotional exhaustion and the depersonalization of teachers. However, deep acting does not have a significant impact on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Teachers" lack of personal accomplishment is predicted by all aspects of emotional labor. Aspects of emotional labor, as a whole, explain 7% of the emotional exhaustion level of teachers, 16% of depersonalization, and 15% of the lack of personal accomplishment. Conclusion and Recommendations: This study considers emotional labor as a role that should be taken by teachers as a part of their occupational professionalism. However, it is possible that the roles expected from teachers may be based on dominance, non-professional or unethical behaviors. Thus, it is important to reveal the reasons behind teachers" surface acting behaviors. Therefore, designing such studies on the basis of a qualitative approach will contribute to a deeper understanding of these behaviors.


Changes in urine flow rate, glomerular filtration rate and sodium, potassium and chloride excretion rates were monitored after the i.v. and renal arterial administration of N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) to dogs. Intravenous administration of NEM (72.9 and 117 mumol/kg) failed to induce an increase in any of the parameters mentioned. Renal arterial injection of 36.5 mumol/kg of NEM appeared to be nephrotoxic, whereas doses of 8.00 and 0.80 mumol/kg were associated with rapid and sustained increases in urine flow rate and the excretion rates of sodium, potassium and chloride. No changes in renal function were noted when the renal arterial dose of NEM was reduced to 0.08 mumol/kg. Three potential biotransformation products of NEM [i.e., N-ethylmaleamic acid; the cysteine adduct of NEM (NEM-cysteine); and the glutathione adduct of NEM (NEM-glutathione)] failed to induce an increase in any of the functional parameters studied regardless of the route of administration. We conclude that NEM is diuretic in the dog, but only after injection directly into the renal artery. The observed diuresis appears to be: 1) induced by NEM itself rather than by one of its potential biotransformation products, 2) due to its relatively irreversible alkylating property and 3) either a manifestation of the renal toxicity elicited by this agent or an independent effect that simply occurs at doses similar to those that induce renal injury.


3 Research and Development Centre for Biotechnology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jalan Raya, Bogor Km46, Cibinong 16911, Indonesia Eight Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped and peritrichously flagellated strains were isolated from flowers of the orchid tree (Bauhinia purpurea) and of plumbago (Plumbago auriculata), and from fermented glutinous rice, all collected in Indonesia. The enrichment culture approach for acetic acid bacteria was employed, involving use of sorbitol medium at pH 3<5. All isolates grew well at pH 3<0 and 30 SC. They did not oxidize ethanol to acetic acid except for one strain that oxidized ethanol weakly, and 0<35% acetic acid inhibited their growth completely. However, they oxidized acetate and lactate to carbon dioxide and water. The isolates grew well on mannitol agar and on glutamate agar, and assimilated ammonium sulfate for growth on vitamin-free glucose medium. The isolates produced acid from D-glucose, D-fructose, L-sorbose, dulcitol and glycerol. The quinone system was Q-10. DNA base composition ranged from 59<3 to 61<0 mol% GMC. Studies of DNA relatedness showed that the isolates constitute a single species. Phylogenetic analysis based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolates are located in the acetic acid bacteria lineage, but distant from the genera Acetobacter, Gluconobacter, Acidomonas and Gluconacetobacter. On the basis of the above characteristics, the name Asaia bogorensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed for these isolates. The type strain is isolate 71T ( ̄NRIC 0311T ̄ JCM 10569T).


A comprehensive guide to the city of Kenosha, WI. This guide will explore the history, location, resources, and community which 3rd grade students study as part of their Social Studies curriculum.


We did radiotracer experiments using 207Bi to quantify the bioavailability, accumulation, and retention of bismuth in marine plankton and biogenic detritus. The accumulation of 207Bi by two species of phytoplankton (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Emiliana huxleyi) was very rapid, approaching steady state after ~1 d. Emiliana cells without coccoliths reached a volume concentration factor (VCF) roughly twice that attained by cells with coccoliths. VCFs were 5 × 105 for Dunaliella and (4–9) × 106 for Emiliana after exposure for approximately 5 d. The radioactivity associated with Dunaliella was released with a biological half‐time of 3–5 d. Copepods (Anomalocera patersoni and Acartia species) grazing radiolabeled Dunaliella assimilated ~4% of the ingested 207Bi. Unassimilated radioactivity, voided in fecal pellets, was lost from pellets relatively slowly (half‐times of 26 d for Anomalocera and 58 d for Acartia). These release rates were similar to copepod fecal pellets that had scavenged 207Bi directly from water. Scavenging of bismuth from water by fecal pellets was considerable and extremely rapid, and uptake rates were similar to those of various size fractions of marine snow collected in a sediment trap. Release of scavenged 207Bi from the fresh fecal pellets was relatively slow, and very little release of radionuclide from the different size fractions of marine snow was observed. The biogeochemical behavior of bismuth in the marine environment closely resembles that of other particle‐reactive uranium‐thorium (U–Th) series and transuranic elements.


Granitic amblygonite-subtype and lepidolite-subtype, aplite-pegmatite sills intruded a biotite>muscovite granite (G1). Two other biotite>muscovite granites (G2 and G3) and a muscovite>biotite granite (G4) crop out in the area. Variation diagrams for major and trace elements of the Variscan rocks show fractionation trends for a) G1 and G4; b) G2, G3 and aplite-pegmatite sills. The two series are confirmed by the two trends defined by major elements of primary muscovite. The sills also contain Li-bearing muscovite, which has higher Mn, Li, F and paragonite contents and lower Al V1 content than primary muscovite from G2, G3 and sills. All sills have pure albite and P 2 O 5 content of K-feldspar and plagioclase increases in the series G2, G3 and sills. Beryl occurs in all sills, but lepidolite and a nearly pure petalite only occur in lepidolite-subtype sills, which are the most evolved sills. Primary topaz and amblygonite have a similar composition in all sills. Aplite-pegmatite sills contain cassiterite, which shows sequences of alternating darker and lighter zones. The former are richer in (Nb + Ta + Fe + Mn) than the latter. Manganocolumbite is common in all sills, but ferrocolumbite only appears in amblygonite-subtype sills and manganotantalite in lepidolite-subtype sills. The sills richest in Li contain reversely-zoned crystals with a homogeneous microlite core and a heterogeneous uranmicrolite rim. Least squares analysis of major elements shows that granite G3 and amblygonite-subtype and lepidolite-subtype aplite-pegmatite sills can be derived from granite G2 magma by fractional crystallization of quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar, biotite and ilmenite. Modelling of trace elements shows good results for Sr, but magmatic fluids controlled the Rb and Ba contents of the aplite-pegmatite sills and probably also their Li, F, Sn and Ta contents and crystallization of lepidolite, cassiterite and Nb-Ta oxide mineral assemblage. Schorl from the lepidolite-subtype sills that cut granite G1 has higher Mg/(Mg + Fe) than schorl from metasomatised granite at sill walls and resulted from the mixing of magmatic fluids carrying B and some Fe with a meteoric fluid that has interacted with the host granite G1 and carried Fe and Mg. Schorl and dravite, respectively from metasomatised granite and micaschist at sill walls, were also formed from the mixing processes.


Tornadoes represent the most dangerous and destructive of storms. This paper describes a concept for disrupting the formation of tornadoes in a thunderstorm. Beamed microwave energy from a satellite heats cold rain to affect convective forces in the storm cell. This paper describes a Thunderstorm Solar Power Satellite (TSPS). The TSPS is based on Space Solar Power Program (SSP) concepts and technology. The concept was evaluated in a numerical simulation using the Advanced Regional Prediction System Code at the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS). Conditions for tornado formation were affected in the simulation. Additional simulation is proposed to determine the specific areas to be heated and the intensity of directed energy to affect tornadogenesis. Benefits from taming tornadoes provide a basis for initial government investment in TSPS. The potential benefits are balanced by reservations about the safety. Demonstration of technology and operations may lead to commercial investment in space solar power. It is concluded that the TSPS concept merits additional analysis, numerical simulation and demonstration testing.


A large number of cells will be deployed to provide high speed services in any places using the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system. The management of such a large number of cells increases the operating expenditure (OPEX). Self-organizing networks (SON) attracted interest as an effective way to reduce OPEX. One of the main targets in SON is the self-optimization of handover (HO) that realizes mobility robustness. HO optimization algorithms adjust HO parameters between the serving and the reconnected cells based on the HO failure logs and cell selection, which is the procedure used to select a suitable reconnected cell, is very important for HO optimization algorithms. In this paper, we propose a cell selection scheme to enhance the performance of HO optimization. In the proposed scheme, both the uplink and downlink channel quality is considered when selecting a suitable reconnected cell. Through the computer simulation, we can see that the proposed scheme reduces the HO failure rate and the number of HO failures by 3 percentage points and 38%, respectively, compared to the conventional scheme based solely on downlink channel quality.


Title of Document: ENERGY METABOLISM IN DEVELOPING CHICKEN LYMPHOCYTES DURING THE EMBRYONIC TO POSTHATCH TRANSITION Shashidhara G. Rudrappa, Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Directed By: Professor Tom E. Porter, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences In chickens, the primary energy substrate is lipid during embryogenesis and carbohydrate after hatch. Accordingly, chicks adapt their metabolism to utilize glucose after hatch; however, little is known about metabolic adaptation in developing lymphocytes. Therefore, the objective of this dissertation was to examine metabolic adaptation in developing lymphocytes and the associated impact on their development. The first objective examined energy substrate utilization in bursacytes and thymocytes during the embryonic to posthatch transition. Glucose metabolism increased in both lymphocyte populations during the first two weeks posthatch due to increased glucose transporter-3 mRNA abundance, glucose uptake and hexokinase activity. Additionally, some of these metabolic markers were positively correlated with the serum glucose concentration. Glutamine metabolism increased in bursacytes only, and lipid metabolism was unaltered in both populations. Collectively, glucose is a preferred energy substrate for lymphocytes posthatch, and glucose utilization by developing lymphocytes may be related to the serum glucose concentration. The second objective determined the effect of glucose availability on thymocyte metabolism, energy status and survival. Embryonic thymic lobes were grown in culture in media containing varying glucose concentrations. Thymocyte glucose metabolism and mitochondria membrane potential were highest in 15 mM glucose and apoptosis was highest in 5mM glucose. Collectively, glucose availability regulates glucose metabolism in thymocytes, and these changes in glucose metabolism were related to thymocyte energy status and survival. The third objective determined the effect of glucose availability on T cell development. Thymocyte Interleukin-7Rα (IL-7Rα) mRNA abundance and CD4 T cell numbers over the culture period were dependent upon glucose availability. Between 12 and 24 h, thymocyte IL7Rα mRNA abundance increased in 5 mM increased 1.74-fold, while it decreased in 15 mM by 58.6%. CD4 numbers decreased with time in 5 mM, whereas they increased with time in 15 mM. T cell receptor (TCR) β excision circles were higher in 15 mM compared to 5 mM at 12 h. Glucose availability alters TCR β rearrangement, IL-7Rα gene expression and CD4 T cell development, which may influence naïve T cell generation. As thymocytes develop in a low glucose environment in ovo, this may be one factor that limits T cell development until hatch. ENERGY METABOLISM IN DEVELOPING CHICKEN LYMPHOCYTES DURING THE EMBRYONIC TO POSTHATCH TRANSITION.