Abstract. Models of vegetation dynamics that are designed for application at spatial scales larger than individual forest gaps suffer from several limitations. Typically, either a population average approximation is used that results in unrealistic tree allometry and forest stand structure, or models have a high computational demand because they need to simulate both a series of age-based cohorts and a number of replicate patches to account for stochastic gap-scale disturbances. The detail required by the latter method increases the number of calculations by two to three orders of magnitude compared to the less realistic population average approach. In an effort to increase the efficiency of dynamic vegetation models without sacrificing realism, we developed a new method for simulating stand-replacing disturbances that is both accurate and faster than approaches that use replicate patches. The GAPPARD (approximating GAP model results with a Probabilistic Approach to account for stand Replacing Disturbances) method works by postprocessing the output of deterministic, undisturbed simulations of a cohort-based vegetation model by deriving the distribution of patch ages at any point in time on the basis of a disturbance probability. With this distribution, the expected value of any output variable can be calculated from the output values of the deterministic undisturbed run at the time corresponding to the patch age. To account for temporal changes in model forcing (e.g., as a result of climate change), GAPPARD performs a series of deterministic simulations and interpolates between the results in the postprocessing step. We integrated the GAPPARD method in the vegetation model LPJ-GUESS, and evaluated it in a series of simulations along an altitudinal transect of an inner-Alpine valley. We obtained results very similar to the output of the original LPJ-GUESS model that uses 100 replicate patches, but simulation time was reduced by approximately the factor 10. Our new method is therefore highly suited for rapidly approximating LPJ-GUESS results, and provides the opportunity for future studies over large spatial domains, allows easier parameterization of tree species, faster identification of areas of interesting simulation results, and comparisons with large-scale datasets and results of other forest models.


The present thesis is a critical study of Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov's ecclesiology. Its central claim is that Archim. Sophrony, a twentieth century Russian ascetic and theologian, understands the Church as a created-uncreated Being, which is hypostatizable, soborny, and sophiological.

Archim Sophrony's theology stems from the idea of theosis, understood as the ontological meeting 'ground' between God and Man, which was the primary concern of most Russian theologians of the time. However, the differences of perspective among these theologians led to a variety of ways in which theosis is approached and defined. For Archim Sophrony, a theology of theosis needs to look first at the question regarding the simultaneous difference and identity between Divinity and Man. This exclusive concern with the ontological in-between, where God and Man become One Being, is the common concern of a series of other contemporary Russian theologians, most notably Fr Sergii Bulgakov, whose formative influence on Archim. Sophrony's thought will also be looked at in the present thesis.

Archim. Sophrony addresses the question of theosis by developing a highly creative system of interpretations around the concept of Divine image, founded on the theologies of St Gregory Palamas and Fr Sergii Bulgakov. Thus, he distinguishes between three moments of human existence: essence, energy and hypostaticity, which reflect the three Divine modes of existence. Consequently, Archim. Sophrony makes three central ecclesiological statements: (1) that the Being of the Church is hypostatical; (2) that it is soborny; and (3) that it enters a special ontological relationship with the Divine Being which allows for the simultaneous absolute distinction and absolute identity of the two Beings. These three ecclesiological statements represent the three main claims of our research, and also generate the structure of the present thesis.


Cimetidine has been shown to inhibit normal and carcinoma cell growth but the mechanism of the antiproliferative action is incompletely understood. The current study determined the influence of cimetidine on ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity, which is the initial rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis, in rat duodenal mucosa and IEC-6 cells (a line of normal rat intestinal crypt cells). Rats were fasted 22 hr before the various treatments and ODC activity was measured in scraped duodenal mucosa. Administration of pentagastrin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) and refeeding fasted rats significantly increased ODC activity in duodenal mucosa. Cimetidine completely inhibited increases in ODC activity in the mucosa stimulated by pentagastrin and EGF, but not by refeeding. Ranitidine and H1-receptor antagonist chlorpheniramine had similar inhibitory effects on ODC activity induced by gastrin. In cultured IEC-6 cells, cimetidine caused a linear and significant inhibition of the stimulation of ODC activity in response to pentagastrin, EGF, 5% dialyzed fetal bovine serum (FBS) and asparagine. ODC messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in IEC-6 cells were significantly increased after exposure to 5% dialyzed FBS and asparagine. Although cimetidine almost completely prevented the induction of ODC activity in IEC-6 cells exposed to serum or asparagine, the increases in ODC mRNA levels were not inhibited by the compound.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We study a cooperative network with a buffer-aided multi-antenna source, multiple half-duplex (HD) buffer-aided relays and a single destination. Such a setup could represent a cellular downlink scenario, in which the source can be a more powerful wireless device with a buffer and multiple antennas, while a set of intermediate less powerful devices are used as relays to reach the destination. The main target is to recover the multiplexing loss of the network by having the source and a relay to simultaneously transmit their information to another relay and the destination, respectively. Successive transmissions in such a cooperative network, however, cause inter-relay interference (IRI). First, by assuming global channel state information (CSI), we show that the detrimental effect of IRI can be alleviated by precoding at the source, mitigating or even fully canceling the interference. A cooperative relaying policy is proposed that employs a joint precoding design and relay-pair selection. Note that both fixed rate and adaptive rate transmissions can be considered. For the case when channel state information is only available at the receiving side (CSIR), we propose a relay selection policy that employs a phase alignment technique to reduce the IRI. The performance of the two proposed relay pair selection policies are evaluated and compared with other state-of-the-art relaying schemes in terms of outage and throughput. The results show that the use of a powerful source can provide considerable performance improvements.


ABSTRACT Reports have indicated that high-intensity resistance training (RT) increases or does not change arterial stiffness. Meanwhile, higher stature has been suggested to have a protective effect on cardiovascular disease and arterial stiffness. Stature could explain the disagreement in the reported effects of RT on arterial stiffness. This study was aimed at investigating whether stature is related to RT-induced change in arterial stiffness. Thirty-six young Japanese men were assigned to the control (n = 15) and training groups (n = 21). RT programme consisted of supervised bicep curls 3 days per week for 4 weeks (5 sets of 10 repetitions at 75% of 1-repetition maximum). Arterial compliance (AC) and β-stiffness index (via combination of ultrasound and carotid pressure waveforms) were measured in all participants. To verify the effect of stature on RT-induced change in arterial stiffness, the training group was divided into tertiles of stature: lower, middle, and higher stature groups (each group, n = 7). RT significantly decreased AC and increased β-stiffness index in only the lower stature group (both, P < 0.05). Moreover, stature was positively associated with decreased AC and negatively associated with increased β-stiffness index, even after adjusting for confounders including changes in relative strength, pulse pressure, and arterial distension (P < 0.05). The present results suggest that short stature contributes to the increase in arterial stiffness induced by RT in young Japanese men. The present findings suggest that stature should be taken into consideration when designing/engaging in RT programme, due to potential implications for cardiovascular health. Highlights Participants were divided into 3 groups according to tertiles of statures, and arterial stiffness of lower stature group (range of stature: 161.0–169.8 cm) increased after resistance training in young Japanese men, but not middle and higher stature group. Stature was negatively associated with the changed arterial stiffness by resistance training. This study suggests that short stature contributes to the elevation in arterial stiffness elicited by resistance training.


The perfect primer for the core clerkships written by students who excelled! Don't begin third year medical school without reading this book! Written by students for students, this high-yield guide helps you move smoothly from the classroom to the wards. Thoroughly revised and updated, this comprehensive book explains what to expect in each required rotation and includes sample notes and reports, key facts, formulas, and protocols, and answers to "pimp questions" you will be asked on rounds. Student-to-student advice on everything from what to wear to how to impress the attending physician Know what to expect in every core rotation: medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, psychiatry, and emergency medicine Advice on presenting cases to attendings How-to guides for common procedures High-yield facts on the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases Sample patient notes, clipboard and note-card patient templates Updated student ratings of popular clinical handbooks, reviews, and texts


A critical issue for complex component-based systems design is the modeling and analysis of architecture. One of the complicating factors in developing architectural models is accounting for systems whose architecture changes dynamically (during run time). This is because dynamic changes to architectural structure may interact in subtle ways with on-going computations of the system. In this paper we argue that it is possible and valuable to provide a modeling approach that accounts for the interactions between architectural recon guration and non-recon guration system functionality, while maintaining a separation of concerns between these two aspects of a system. The key to the approach is to use a uniform notation and semantic base for both recon guration and steady-state behavior, while at the same time providing syntactic separation between the two. As we will show, this permits us to view the architecture in terms of a set possible architectural snapshots, each with its own steady-state behavior. Transitions between these snapshots are accounted for by special recon guration-triggering events.


The Chinese financial system stands at a crossroads. The response to the global financial crisis eroded some of the hard-earned discipline put in place during the 2000s. As a result, significant risks have accumulated, and the financial sector once again appears vulnerable to large-scale credit misallocation and spiraling bad debts. Reducing these risks will take a new wave of concerted action. Absent better regulation, the tremendous growth of credit in recent years has the potential to result in large-scale financial distress.


This document presents the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Strategic Plan for fiscal years (FY) 2014 through 2018. HUD was created as a cabinet-level agency in 1965. Its mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality, affordable homes for all. To provide a framework for the delivery of HUD's mission and vision, the Strategic Plan outlines a set of strategic goals, objectives, and performance measures. Simply put, this plan serves as a guide for what the Department will achieve, how we will achieve it, and how we will measure our success.Over the past 4 years, HUD has aimed to engage new local and federal partners, adjust our policies and programs to better serve the American people, address common problems across a broader metropolitan geography, and transform the way we do business. HUD has been committed to doing its part in preventing foreclosures, enhancing access to affordable housing, and revitalizing distressed communities. To build on this progress, this Strategic Plan 2014-2018 lays out priorities and goals to accelerate the gains already made.


Chloride ion channels are macromolecular pores providing for passage of chloride ions (and certain other inorganic and organic anions) through the cell membrane, down their electrochemical gradients. Chloride channels are differentially expressed in various cells, to best suit specific cellular activities. They are present in practically all living cells, and regardless of cell specialization they play an important role in vital housekeeping functions of cell-volume and pH regulation and in membrane potential stabilization. Regulation of cell volume underlies the structural integrity and constancy of the intracellular milieu. A variety of metabolic pathways have been shown to be sensitive to cell volume, and alterations of cell volume and osmoregulation processes can influence various intracellular signaling and organizing factors. Volume-regulated anion channels (VRACs) are believed to play a pivotal role in cellvolume regulating processes. In this report I present data from macroscopic patch-clamp studies of VRACs performed in a fibroblast cell line and from single channel studies of chloride channels (tentatively related to VRACs) in mouse brown adipocytes in primary culture. One of the characteristic features of the VRACs is their dependence on the presence of cytoplasmic ATP. In whole-cell experiments, removal of ATP from the pipette solution almost completely prevented activation of VRACs, whereas substitution of ATP with the nonhydrolyzable analog ATPγS did not alter the activation of VRACs. The inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinases (PTK) tyrphostin A25 and B46 depressed VRAC currents in both cases (ATP and ATPγS), but a PTK ineffective analog (tyrphostin A1) did not affect VRAC currents. We infer that in the cell preparation we used, ATP has a dual role in VRAC regulation: it is required for channel-protein phosphorylation and it can influence channel activity through non-hydrolytic binding in a ligandreceptor manner. It can additionally be suggested that tyrosine-specific protein kinases can be involved in the regulation of VRACs, independently of the effects of ATP. We also studied cell cycle-related changes in activation of VRACs by osmotic swelling of cells chemically arrested at different phases of the cell cycle. We found no significant changes during most of the cell cycle, except short periods before and after mitosis and in the quiescent G0 state. The single Cl channels of brown adipocytes resemble in their electrophysiological phenotype outwardly rectifying Cl channels (ORCCs). We investigated the sensitivity of these channels to intracellular Ca. It appeared that the commonly used Ca-chelators EGTA and BAPTA could influence the ORCCs currents by themselves, independently of their calcium chelating effects. In some channels, these chelators induced classical flickery-type block of activity, whereas in others there was quasi-blockage, i.e. a peculiar combination of flickery blockage and overall channel activation. The chloride channel blocking agents DIDS and SITS mimicked the true/quasi blockage of EGTA and BAPTA. These phenomena add to the structure-function characteristics of the ORCC molecule. Moderate inhibitory effect of Ca within a physiological range of intracellular concentrations (sub-μM) was also detected; however, the biological relevance of this observation, as well as of these Cl channels in general, remains to be clarified. © Victor Sabanov 2005 ISBN 91-7155-044-5 Akademitryck AB, Valdemarsvik, 2005


Introduction: Physicians have a fundamental role in the health system. Therefore, investigation of different medical education approaches would have a major impact on improving the quality of education. The aim of this study was investigating the performance of community-based education center of Kermanshah from the viewpoint of medical interns. Methods: In this cross sectional analytic study, medical interns who were trained in community-oriented education center (n=175) over one month were enrolled and completed the researcher built questionnaire. Alpha reliability was 0.88 and its content validity was confirmed by the approval of five faculty members who were expert in the field of education. Data was analyzed by SPSS software and using of descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Friedman tests. Results: Based on the viewpoint of our participants, community oriented education were desirable compare to education in hospital in terms of quality of education (42/4%), experienced of practical tips (48/3%), observing different cases (57/2%), preventive medicine education (55/6%)and time for communicating about patient (74%). Among reasons of difference between training in the COME center compare to teaching hospitals, "possibility of learning of practical tips" was considered more important than other reasons (P<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, most participants have evaluated the training performance of the COME center as good and also more useful compared to training in teaching hospitals. Reinforcing of COME centers could be a priority in making future educational policies.


The objective of this study was to assess the extent to which a common thread exists among all of the ag-based biological systems engineering programs across the U.S. through a course-by-course analysis of individual program curricula. Publically available curricula were used to determine the coursework requirements for 88 unique curricula in the U.S. Due to the lack of standardization of course titles in the discipline, disciplinary courses were grouped into themes, and summary tables showing the distribution of courses by theme in the different curricula were made. In addition, a self-organizing map was made using the categorized data to provide visual mapping of curricular similarity among programs. Results indicate that although all programs require similar basic math, science, and engineering fundamentals, there is wide variety in the discipline-specific requirements. For example, the two most common discipline-specific themes are required by only 61% and 75% of programs (basic engineering applied to agricultural and biological systems, and instrumentation and controls, respectively). Furthermore, results show that the name of the program and/or option generally conveys limited information about the content of the curriculum, although some differentiation between agricultural engineering programs and biological engineering programs is evident.


Since the 16 century, the guitar's role in Spain has been divided between that of a strummed instrument sufficient for accompanying popular songs and a melodic instrument used for art music at court and in the concert hall. Of primary importance throughout the guitar's history of art music in Spain is for the performer to communicate lyrical melodies. Ironically, the execution of a lyrical, legato melodic line is one of the most difficult skills to execute convincingly on the guitar. This difficulty is compounded by the addition of an accompaniment with the melodic line. While many studies explain the guitar's physical, technical, and musical development, this document focuses on the musical and technical evolution of melodic playing in Spain. This study synthesizes the history, technique, pedagogy, and aesthetics of melodic phrasing within the Spanish guitar tradition from the middle of the 16 century through the early 20 century and addresses the technical and musical difficulties of legato melodic playing on the classical guitar.


Train rescheduling means a transient situation to correct a train diagram in a suspended state due to traffic accidents or disasters. automatic (or half manual) rescheduling has been studied, and such previous research has shown promising results. In this paper, we describe a train timetable rescheduling method. In Japanese urban areas, some private companies operate on each other's tracks. If vehicle types have limitations due to ground facilities or company rules, the vehicle has to be operated under these limitations even when running on a rescheduled timetable. even if the ground facilities of different companies have uniform conditions, local and rapid trains must be operated in a distinct manner. Therefore, we suggest a rescheduling method. With this method, each vehicle type and its vehicle routes based on the track layout are registered, and rescheduling diagrams are composed with the route combinations. Important conditions to decide the combinations are vehicle location at the operation resumption time and the introduction of same-type vehicles at an originally unscheduled timing. We compare the traffic effects for some combinations of the latter situation where originally unscheduled same-type vehicles are introduced for rescheduling. The evaluation values are average headway time and its standard deviation at all stations on the timetable. We apply our rescheduling method to a theoretical line and timetable modelled on existing urban lines in Japan where trains go and come back on double tracks, and indicate the efficacy of our rescheduling method.


Submission in the wolf and dog is defined on the basis ot its motivation: submission is the effort of the inferior to attain friendly or harmonic social integration.

Submission functions as an appeal or a contribution to social integration, but only if it meets a corresponding attitude in the superior. The form of submissive behavior in wolf and dog is ritualized and symbolized cub-behavior. Two main forms of submissive behavior occur in wolf and dog: active submission, derived from begging for milk or food, and passive submission, derived from the posture which the cub adopts when cleaned by its mother.

The definition of submission is generally applicable to vertebrates living in groups based on intimacy and a social hierarchical order. The concept of submission as the role of the defeated in the terminal phase of fight with the function to inhibit automatically aggression in the superior should be dismissed. In vertebrates at least three types of conflict with different terminal phases occur: (1). Severe fight based on intolerance; ends with flight by the inferior or with his death. (2). Ritualized fight over a privilege; ends with the "giving-up-the-claim ritual" of the inferior, which automatically blocks the aggression of the superior. (3). Minor conflict in closed groups; settled by submissive behavior of the inferior.

In closed vertebrate groups, intermediate forms between (1) and (3) occur, depending on the proportion between activated intimacy and intolerance.


In recent years the cut-flower industry has been at the center of debates surrounding the perils and promises of globalization. On the one hand, the employment opportunities and income potential generated by the industry have rendered it a palliative for poverty and fiscal crises in several Southern countries. On the other hand, allegations of pesticide poisoning, sweatshop conditions, and environmental damage have tarnished its feted economic success. Anthropologist Greta Friedemann-Sanchez's detailed analysis of gender and labor relations in Colombia's cut-flower industry presents a decidedly different spin on this familiar dichotomy. By tracing the effects of women's
agro-industrial employment on intrahousehold dynamics, she creates a nuanced account of how economic adjustment and neoliberal policies are mediated by on-the-ground cultural and economic processes. This will be a welcome resource for scholars and policy-makers seeking empirical evidence to answer the questions: Does employment in non-traditional
export sectors reinforce or destabilize patriarchal relations of reproduction? Does this employment enhance women's power and decisionmaking or harness them to low-wage, unskilled work under deleterious conditions?


2014 to 2016 likely will go down as a significant if not watershed moment in the history of U.S. race relations. Police killing of African Americans has engendered further conversations about race and policing. Yet, in most of the discussions about these tragic deaths, little attention has been paid to a significant dimension of the police violence problem: the legalization of racial profiling in Fourth Amendment law. This legalization of racial profiling is not a sideline or peripheral feature of Fourth Amendment law. It is embedded in the analytical structure of the doctrine in ways that enable police officers to force engagements with African Americans with little or no basis. The frequency of these engagements exposes African Americans not only to the violence of ongoing police surveillance, contact, and social control but also to the violence of serious bodily injury and death. Which is to say, Fourth Amendment law facilitates the space between stopping black people and killing black people. This Article demonstrates precisely how by employing a series of hypotheticals to reveal the ways in which the extraordinary violence police officers often use against Africans Americans can grow out of the ordinary police interactions Fourth Amendment law empowers police officers to stage.


By applying the matrix-exponential operator technique to the radiative-transfer equation in discrete form, new analytical solutions are obtained for the transmission and reflection matrices in the limiting cases x ≪ 1 and x ≫ 1, where x is the optical depth of the layer. Orthogonality of the eigenvectors of the matrix exponential apparently yields new conditions for determining Chandrasekhar's characteristic roots. The exact law of reflection for the discrete eigenfunctions is also obtained. Finally, when used in conjunction with the doubling method, the matrix exponential should result in reductions in both computation time and loss of precision.


Background: There are very few studies reporting inhalant abuse/dependence from India. Materials and Methods: Consecutive treatment seeking inhalant abuse cases (n = 21) were studied for the sociodemographic and clinical profile by using a semi-structured interview schedule. Results: A typical case profile was: unmarried male (100%), mean age 19 years, government school background (76%), unemployed (43%) or student (38%), urban nuclear family (86%), middle socioeconomic status (76%), and poor social support (62%); inhalant dependence (81%), inhalants being the only substance of abuse (33%) and of first or second preference (76%). Duration of inhalant use ranged 6-60 (mean 16) months. All subjects abused typewriter erasing fluid by sniffing (67%), huffing (19%) or bagging (14%). Initiation was out of curiosity (62%), under peer pressure (24%), or as a substitute (14%). Craving was more common (90%) than withdrawal (57%). Almost half of the cases (48%) had a family history for substance dependence. All cases were impaired, more so in family and educational/occupational domains. Conclusions: The results depict that easy availability, cheap price, faster onset of action, and a regular high makes inhalant a substance of abuse especially among the urban youth.


In the past 2 years, the United States Supreme Court has decided two important cases that will bear directly on legislation and litigation involving school choice programs that provide financial aid to parents of children attending religious schools. Those cases are Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) and Locke v. Davey (2004). The reasoning in Zelman, along with the litigation in the lower courts leading up to that decision, provide useful insights that should prove helpful in drafting school choice legislation and successfully defending it in court when challenged. The decision in Locke may have implications for litigation involving challenges to state laws and constitutional provisions limiting aid to religious institutions and to students attending religious schools. Both cases are discussed below.


The American Century: Varieties of Culture in Modern Times. Norman F. Cantor, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. A new century is nigh; the incoming horde of freshmen peeking out from underneath their backward-turned baseball caps this fall will be graduates (some of them) in 2001, the first graduating class of a new century. The season is ripe, then, for a book like Norman Cantor's The American Century: Varieties of Culture in Modern Times, which attempts to survey twentieth-century culture in Europe and the United States from its roots as a reaction against Victorianism to fin de siecle postmodernism. This is not a timid book. Cantor is inclusive in his coverage, explaining and commenting on twentiethcentury physics, genetics and medicine, legal thought, literature, higher education, and Quentin Tarantino, just to name a sample. To manage such an ambitious work, Cantor organizes his subject around five major topics: modernism, psychoanalysis, Marxism and liberal political thought, political conservatism, and postmodernism. For Cantor, modernism began in the early years of the twentieth century with the revolt against Victorian morality and historicism, and was largely spent as a movement by the Second World War. While he views modernism cutting across many fields-quantum mechanics in physics, the Bauhaus in architecture, and Cubism in painting, for example-Cantor's treatment of modernism is centered on literature, epitomized by T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, and Ezra Pound. Here he delineates several strands of modernism, such as the "classical" modernism of Eliot and the "expressionist" modernism of Yeats. The next section of The American Century Cantor devotes to Freud and his followers, down to the muddled state of psychoanalytic theory today. In these chapters, the strongest in the book, Cantor provides an intellectual genealogy from Freud and his immediate followers, tracing the impact of psychoanalytic thought on such figures as Jung, Bettelheim, Piaget, and Lacan. Though one interpretation might discuss Freudianism itself as an aspect of modernism, since Cantor believes modernism peaked by the 1940s, he considers only the early Freud a modernist. Treatment of later thinkers who used Freud in sociological theory, such as the Frankfurt School, Cantor calls structuralists or neo-idealists. The next two sections of the book are devoted successively to Marxism and leftist political theory, and Fascism and conservative thought. Cantor traces the influence of Marx using much the same intellectual-genealogical method earlier employed on Freud, but it does not fit as cleanly here, as not all left-liberal political thought can be traced back to Marx in the same way psychoanalytical thought has its origins with Freud. He then gives equal time to Fascism and conservative thought, arguing their bases in nationalism and social hierarchy. Cantor's treatment of postmodernism provides the weakest analysis of the five major sections of the book, treating it essentially as a kitchen-sink category of anything that comes after the 1940s: poststructuralism, Levi-Strauss, deconstructionism, and feminism, to name a few. In short, he treats postmodernism absolutely literally: postmodernism is everything after modernism. Everyone will find something to dislike about this book, which is the obvious hazard of such a wideranging survey. …


Conservationists need to present biological monitoring data to decision makers in a way which clearly represents uncertainty. Providing results in terms of the probability of a hypothesis being true may have greater utility for decision‐making than traditionally used frequentist statistical approaches. Here, we demonstrate such an approach with regard to assessing the suitability of the Cardamom Rainforest Landscape, Cambodia for Panthera tigris (tiger) reintroduction. We estimated the density of tiger prey in the core of the landscape using the Random Encounter Model from camera‐trap data and used Monte Carlo simulation to prorogate uncertainty around our model parameter estimates. This suggests there is currently a low probability that the core area of the landscape supports sufficient prey for a population of 25 adult tigers and that significant prey recovery is thus required prior to any reintroduction into the landscape. The Random Encounter Model contains a number of assumptions and we stress our main purpose is to illustrate an approach to incorporating uncertainty into conservation decision‐making rather than providing robust estimation of current tiger prey densities in the Cardamom Rainforest Landscape. Our approach has wide utility for conveying species monitoring information to conservation planners in a simple to understand fashion.


Sensor-based discovery path planning is problematic because the path needs to be continually recomputed as new information is discovered. A process-based clientserver approach is presented that permits concurrent sensor-based map and localization-correction updates as well as concurrent path computation and execution. Laplace's equation is constantly solved (i.e., a harmonic function) by using an iteration kernel convolved with an occupancy-grid representation of the current free space. The path produced (i.e., by steepest gradient descent on the harmonic function) is optimal in the sense of minimizing the distance to the goal as well as a hitting probability. This helps alleviate the influence of uncertainty on path planning. An initial heuristic estimate provides the path planner with instantaneous response (i.e., reactive), but with some deliberation it able to produce optimal paths. In addition, the computation time for generating the path is insignificant provided that the harmonic function has converged. On a regular grid, the computation of the harmonic function is linear in the total number of grid elements. A quad-tree representation is used to minimize the computation time by reducing the number of grid elements and minimally representing large spaces void of obstacles and goals.


Objective To investigate the distribution and risk factors of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection in Cameroon. Design We tested for hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HDV antibody 14 150 samples collected during a survey whose participants were representative of the Cameroonian adult population. The samples had already been tested for hepatitis C virus and HIV antibodies. Results Overall, 1621/14 150 (weighted prevalence=11.9%) participants were HBsAg positive, among whom 224/1621 (10.6%) were anti-HDV positive. In 2011, the estimated numbers of HBsAg positive and HDV seropositives were 1 160 799 and 122 910 in the 15–49 years age group, respectively. There were substantial regional variations in prevalence of chronic HBV infection, but even more so for HDV (from 1% to 54%). In multivariable analysis, HDV seropositivity was independently associated with living with an HDV-seropositive person (OR=8.80; 95% CI: 3.23 to 24.0), being HIV infected (OR=2.82; 95% CI: 1.32 to 6.02) and living in the South (latitude <4°N) while having rural/outdoor work (OR=15.2; 95% CI: 8.35 to 27.6, when compared with living on latitude ≥4°N and not having rural/outdoor work). Conclusion We found evidence for effective intra-household transmission of HDV in Cameroon. We also identified large differences in prevalence between regions, with cases concentrated in forested areas close to the Equator, as described in other tropical areas. The reasons underlying these geographical variations in HDV prevalence deserve further investigation.


Alley cropping offers a potential alternative to traditional land management practices. However, its implementation in the United States is extremely limited and general awareness and knowledge of alley cropping is lacking. While alley cropping does have a few barriers to entry, the cost of maintaining hedgerow products and foregone returns from primary crops particularly, its offer the potential for positive returns on investment once the hedgerow product, typically timber, is harvested. Thus we determined the need to create an economic model to assess the relative potential of alley cropping with respect to traditional land management practices under certain conditions. Through use of a stochastic Monte Carlo approach, we ran simulations comparing the results of an alley cropping system and a single crop system in the Southeast region of the United States. Preliminary results show that, under certain constraints, alley cropping may be profitable, but we believe this result is sensitive to assumptions about the interactions between system components. Through analysis of the results of these simulations we can determine in which situations alley cropping should be preferred over a single crop system. In the future, we will improve the model to account for more complex interactions and adjust input parameters as we find better data. We will evaluate how alley cropping affects farm risk and how policy programs may affect its profitability.


Ayurveda is a life science which explains about the different dosage forms, which is the physical form of a medication intended for administration. The different dosage forms can be prepared by the physician according to his Yukti, considering samyoga, vishesha, kala and samskara. There are different dosage forms which have been explained in books. These have been classified into different types such as Aushadhakalpana, Aaharakalpana, Bahyaand Abhyantarakalpana, solid, liquid and semisolid forms, as well as of plant, animal and mineral origin. These dosage forms are mainly intended to increase shelf life, palatability and to alter potency. These can be used both internally and externally. Few of the dosage forms have been explained mainly based on the physical state of the medicine and its uses and advantages.


Bullet embolism to the heart is a rare complication of gunshot trauma to the body and if not identified can have a severe impact on a patient's morbidity and mortality. This paper presents the case of a patient who sustained a shotgun wound to the leg 10 years prior to presenting with shortness of breath and localised chest pain. Routine chest radiograph for possible chest infection was reported normal apart from a small metallic artefact overlying the left side of the heart, which had the same appearance as the pellets from the gunshot wound in the leg. Following referral to our cardiothoracic surgeons, further investigations confirmed the presence of a pellet within the patient's right ventricle, which had embolised from the original injury site. The case was discussed globally to decide on the best management plan. To date, the patient has been successfully managed conservatively, with regular follow-up.


Abstract. Understanding the relationships between plant traits and ecosystem properties at large spatial scales is important for predicting how compositional change will affect carbon cycling in tropical forests. In this study, we examine the relationships between species wood density, maximum height and above-ground, coarse wood production of trees ≥10 cm diameter (CWP) for 60 Amazonian forest plots. Average species maximum height and wood density are lower in Western than Eastern Amazonia and are negatively correlated with CWP. To test the hypothesis that variation in these traits causes the variation in CWP, we generate plot-level estimates of CWP by resampling the full distribution of tree biomass growth rates whilst maintaining the appropriate tree-diameter and functional-trait distributions for each plot. These estimates are then compared with the observed values. Overall, the estimates do not predict the observed, regional-scale pattern of CWP, suggesting that the variation in community-level trait values does not determine variation in coarse wood productivity in Amazonian forests. Instead, the regional gradient in CWP is caused by higher biomass growth rates across all tree types in Western Amazonia. Therefore, the regional gradient in CWP is driven primarily by environmental factors, rather than the particular functional composition of each stand. These results contrast with previous findings for forest biomass, where variation in wood density, associated with variation in species composition, is an important driver of regional-scale patterns in above-ground biomass. Therefore, in tropical forests, above-ground wood productivity may be less sensitive than biomass to compositional change that alters community-level averages of these plant traits.


Oxford First Spanish Words gives your child a head start in learning another language. It takes the reader on a picture-book journey through a day, cleverly interwoven are lots of familiar settings and cute little dinosaurs. There is a bird's eye view of first thing in the morning at home, the journey to school and inside the classroom, a birthday party and even a trip to the seaside. Over 400 Spanish words and their English translations are given in illustrated colour bands on the side of each page. There is also expertly-levelled supplementary material at the back - a picture/word matching game, counting the ladybirds up to twenty, shapes both flat and three-dimensional, opposites, the weather, time, plus a comprehensive index. These David Melling (The Kiss that Missed, Fidget and Quilly) illustrations make this an adorable first bilingual word book.


A-NETL is a parallel object-oriented language intended to be used for managing small to massive parallelism with medium grain size. Its design goals are to treat data parallel operations at the same cost as programming languages of the SIMD type, to support various styles of message passing among objects, and to provide several synchronization facilities for realizing autonomous control of objects. Starting with these design principles, we present the syntax and semantics of the language features, and its implementation issues, such as the reduction of message communication cost, efficient implementation of statically and dynamically created massive objects, the realization of synchronization schemes, and the object-to-node allocation scheme to minimize communication cost. We present performance results from the language's implementation on an A-NETL oriented multicomputer, on the AP1000 using the AP1000's message passing library and on a cluster of workstations using the PVM library.


Functional properties of the myocardium are mediated by the tissue structure. Consequently, proper physiological studies and modeling necessitate a precise knowledge of the fiber orientation. Magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion tensor imaging techniques have been used as a nondestructive means to characterize tissue fiber structure; however, the descriptions so far have been mostly qualitative. This study presents a direct, quantitative comparison of high-resolution MR fiber mapping and histology measurements in a block of excised canine myocardium. Results show an excellent correspondence of the measured fiber angles not only on a point-by-point basis (average difference of -2.30 ± 0.98°, n = 239) but also in the transmural rotation of the helix angles (average correlation coefficient of 0.942 ± 0.008 with average false-positive probability of 0.004 ± 0.001, n = 24). These data strongly support the hypothesis that the eigenvector of the largest MR diffusion tensor eigenvalue coincides with the orientation of the local myocardial fibers and underscore the potential of MR imaging as a noninvasive, three-dimensional modality to characterize tissue fiber architecture.


A recent overview of World Bank social safety net programs and gender highlighted the need for greater consideration of intra-household dynamics in the design of social protection programs (Bardasi 2014). During program design, decisions have to be made about who to target, how much and how often to give cash transfers, and what measures should accompany cash transfers. These decisions become even more complex in the context of polygamous households. The conclusions above are meant to illustrate important links between intra-household dynamics and the design of cash transfer programs. As a preliminary study, this research did not capture the actual effects of cash transfers. It is important to remember that money received from the government in the form of a regular cash transfer may be treated differently than income from other sources. Additional research is planned that will measure differences in the use of cash transfers depending on the social protection program design.


This article presents a mixed-methods research in the field of creativity. By making use of experiments and a questionnaire, it analyses how creativity is affected by three factors: i) motivation, ii) individuals' attitudes towards risk and ambiguity and iii) social context. Each one of these factors has been extensively investigated in the theoretical and empirical literature getting to results still open to discussion. In particular, this research focuses on two aspects. First, we try to shed some light on the controversial findings linking risk taking and creativity that exist in the economic and psychology literature. To do so, we test the hypotheses that self perception of creative abilities may play a role in establishing a riskcreativity positive correlation. Second, being the three factors strongly influenced by culture, the study investigates whether the impacts on creativity may differ in diverse geographical locations. Following Attanasi et al. (2019), we exploit data from experiments performed in main cities of one eastern and one western country: Ho Chi Minh city (Vietnam) and Strasbourg (France). The information to build the risk and ambiguity factor derive from risk and ambiguity elicitation via lotteries. To account for motivation, different organizational scenarios are set in experimental treatments (financial incentives vs non financial incentives to collaborate). Finally, information on social context and self perception of creative abilities are collected through a self administrated questionnaire. In our analysis, we find that risk aversion, social habits and leisure activities have a positive effect on the creative performance of the French participants, while for Vietnamese the intrinsic motivation and the perception of their own creative capacities are positive correlated with creative scores. Our results suggest that in a country like France, social context has a strong influence on individual creativity, while for Vietnam individual features play a role in creativity, suggesting that the socio-cultural context has different impacts on creativity.


The coastal waters of the northern Pilbara and the western Kimberley are a global hotspot for sawfish (Pristidae) diversity, with four of the world's seven1 species found there; these four species comprise all of the known Australian species. This unique group of rays is readily identified by the presence of a blade like snout possessing enlarged tooth like denticles known as rostral teeth (Last and Stevens 2009). Globally, almost all sawfishes have undergone major declines in both range and abundance, largely as a result of their vulnerability to entanglement in fishing nets, but also through loss of habitat. It is only recently that information on the distribution, ecology, biology, population demographics and genetics and habitat utilization of the Australian sawfish fauna has started to become available, with much of this information restricted to grey literature or as unpublished work in progress. There is limited (or no) information on the size of the remaining populations, but many of the world's sawfish populations are thought to survive in small fragmented areas (e.g. Simpfendorfer 2000). The four Australian species are from two genera, and are typically found throughout northern Australia, but accurate distributional descriptions are hindered by a lack of targeted surveying and are based on: limited surveys, from anecdotal reports or from collections of dried rostra. However, the Pilbara coast and west Kimberley are known to represent an important area for the four species, namely Freshwater Sawfish (Pristis microdon), Dwarf Sawfish (Pristis clavata), Green Sawfish (Pristis zijsron) and the Narrow Sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata).The first three of these species are listed as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and these form the basis of this review; although all are protected species within Western Australia under the Fish Resource Management Act 1994 (FRMA Act). Pristis zijsron was also listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 in Western Australia in 2006.Woodside Energy Ltd contracted the Centre for Fish & Fisheries Research (Murdoch University) to provide an overview of the current knowledge of the three EPBC Act listed pristids (P. microdon, P. clavata and P. zijsron) and also the Endangered (EPBC Act) Northern River Shark (Glyphis garricki) in Western Australian waters.Glyphis garricki was discovered in Western Australia in 2002 (Thorburn and Morgan 2004) and its formal description is recent (Compagno et al. 2008).Collectively, these species represent 50% of Australia's elasmobranchs that are listed as Vulnerable or higher under the EPBC Act

This report presents all known information with regard to their distribution in Western Australia, morphological characteristics, habitat utilization and population structure and genetic diversity in relation to northern Australia populations. The relevance of these data are then discussed in relation to the James Price Point development.


Tobacco control advocates who are sick of people in high places manipulating and distorting the truth, and then hiding behind "spin doctors" or others who try to cover up their actions, may be a little surprised to find just who they can now number among their friends. The latest recruits to this discerning person's sick bay include John Basil William St Vincent Welch, who in another age might have been the hero of a Victorian cautionary tale for children, but is actually the former chief executive officer of the Tobacco Institute of Australia (TIA).

Earlier this year, Mr Welch testified in a court hearing held as part of the US government's anti-racketeering litigation against tobacco companies. Now a self employed industrial relations consultant, Mr Welch has followed a varied career path. He worked for Nestle, a metal trades organisation, the industrial secretariat of the Australian oil industry, and even the Australian Medical Association, before joining TIA in January 1991. He served there until the end of April the following year, but that relatively short time was a busy one. Among the topics he had to deal with, constantly liaising with the heads of the member tobacco companies, their lawyers and public affairs people, was the burgeoning issue of passive smoking, which was rightly perceived by the tobacco industry as a major threat to its future.

Perhaps this daily liaison, especially involving policies that Mr Welch may have been instructed to handle in a significantly different way than comparable policies he encountered in his previous jobs, contributed to some disillusionment. Take document retention, for example. Quizzed by lawyers for the US government about TIA's policy, Welch said, "The document retention policy was two-fold. First, when we were in receipt of documents that were potentially damaging to the industry and/or the member …


The authors present a fuzzy approach to the analysis of airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of urban environments. In particular, they want to show how to implement structure extraction algorithms based on fuzzy clustering unsupervised approaches. To this aim, the idea is to segment first the sensed data and recognize very basic urban classes (vegetation, roads, and built areas). Then, from these classes, we extract structures and infrastructures of interest. The initial clustering step is obtained by means of fuzzy logic concepts and the successive analyses are able to exploit the corresponding fuzzy partition. As a possible complete procedure for urban SAR images, they focus on the street tracking and extraction problem. Three road extraction algorithms available in literature (namely, the connectivity weighted Hough transform (CWHT), the rotation Hough transform, and the shortest path extraction) have been modified to be consistent with the previously computed fuzzy clustering results. Their different capabilities are applied for the characterization of streets with different width and shape. The whole approach is validated by the analysis of AIRSAR images of Los Angeles, CA.


T cells receive both activating "stop" signals through ligation of the T cell receptor (TCR) and chemotactic or chemokinetic "go" signals from secreted chemokines. Molon et al. suggest that soluble chemokines released by the antigen-presenting cell (APC) may also contribute to the "stop" signal that stabilizes the immunological synapse formed between the T cell and the APC. Using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged CCR5, a G protein-coupled chemokine receptor, they observed that CCR5 accumulated at the immunological synapse through a mechanism that did not require Gi (it was not inhibited by pertussis toxin) but instead may involve coupling to Gq or G11. This recruitment of CCR5 was inhibited if the cells were exposed to a CCR5 antagonist or if the APCs were treated with monensin, a nonspecific inhibitor of protein secretion. Furthermore, T cells that were prebound to APCs that were exposed to antigen and that had not been treated with monensin (conditions in which the CCR5 was incorporated into the immunological synapse) were less responsive to a chemotactic signal than were T cells that were either prebound to APCs that had not been exposed to antigen or antigen-exposed APCs that had been treated with monensin. In addition, stimulation of T cells with beads coated with either an antibody against CD3 (a protein in the TCR complex) or anti-CD3 plus CCR5 and CXCR4 agonists resulted in strong stimulation of T cell proliferation and interferon γ secretion comparable to that observed for T cells stimulated with antigen and a costimulatory signal. The authors propose that recruitment of selective chemokine receptors to the immunological synapse may serve to sequester these receptors, thus making the T cells less "distracted" by chemotactic signals. This may further serve as a costimulatory signal. In commentary on this article, Trautmann suggests that chemokines may be "immunotransmitters" analogous to the neurotransmitters released at neuronal synapses. B. Molon, G. Gri, M. Bettella, C. Gómez-Moutón, A. Lanzavecchia, C. Martínez-A, S. Mañes, A. Viola, T cell costimulation by chemokine receptors. Nat. Immunol. 6, 465-471 (2005). [PubMed] A. Trautmann, Chemokines as immunotransmitters? Nat. Immunol. 6, 427-428 (2005). [PubMed]


The prevention and treatment of cancer and infectious diseases requires vaccines that can mediate cytotoxic T lymphocyte-based immunity. A promising strategy is protein subunit vaccines composed of purified protein antigens and immunostimulatory adjuvants, such as Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists. In this research, we developed two new biodegradable polymeric delivery vehicles for protein antigens and TLR agonists, as model vaccine delivery systems. This work was guided by the central hypothesis that an effective vaccine delivery system would have stimulus-responsive degradation and release, biodegradability into excretable non-acidic degradation products, and the ability to incorporate various TLR-inducing adjuvants. The first vaccine delivery system is a cross-linked polyion complex micelle which efficiently encapsulates proteins, DNA, and RNA. The micelle-based delivery system consists of a block copolymer of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(L-lysine), cross-linked by dithiopyridyl side groups to provide transport stability and intracellular release. The second delivery system consists of solid biodegradable microparticles encapsulating proteins, nucleic acids, and hydrophobic compounds. The microparticles are composed of pH-sensitive polyketals, which are a new family of hydrophobic, linear polymers containing backbone ketal linkages. Polyketals are synthesized via a new polymerization method based on the acetal exchange reaction and degrade into non-acidic, excretable degradation products. In addition, the technique of hydrophobic ion pairing was utilized to enhance the encapsulation of ovalbumin, DNA, and RNA in polyketal microparticles via a single emulsion method. Using in vitro and in vivo immunological models, we demonstrated that the micelle- and polyketal-based vaccine delivery systems enhanced the cross-priming of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The model vaccines were composed of ovalbumin antigen and various TLR-inducing adjuvants including CpG-DNA, monophosphoryl lipid A, and dsRNA. The results demonstrate that the cross-linked micelles and polyketal microparticles have considerable potential as delivery systems for protein-based vaccines.


Forecasts made by econometricians are typically conditioned on actual values of explanatory variables, even when at the time of the forecast, such variables might not be available. As a first step, one might test the adequacy of econometric specification by comparing conditional post sample forecasts with those of a univanate ARIMA model. Second, when explanatory variables must themselves be forecast, those for which this can be done only badly, should be omitted from the final model. A better forecast will result. An example of screening out badly forecasted explanatory variables is presented.


Agricultural businesses must manage pests effectively. Populations of pests and other economically important species e.g. microtine rodents can exhibit violent fluctuations whose causes are poorly understood. The Periodic Lethal Toxin Production, PLTP, hypothesis of Doncaster and Plesner-Jensen attempts to explain the precipitous decline phase of rodent cycles. Indirect and anecdotal observations support the hypothesis that the rodents are poisoned by plants. This explanation remains untested experimentally. This paper reports our design, development and use of a simulator to test the PLTP hypothesis in a virtual environment. The simulator incorporates six features important in the natural environment of the rodent rodents: breeding and death of the individual animals and their predators, growth of their food plants, selection of food plants by the rodents, predation on the rodents, migration of the rodents and predators and evolution of toxin resistance in individuals. A mathematical treatment of so many factors would be impossible. The simulator models the behaviour of individual animals active in a grid of zones where changing densities of rodents, plants and predators comprise the virtual environment. The individuals use a neural network to make important decisions such as choice of food and migration routes through the grid. The neural network responds to factors such as food availability and predator threat. The behavioural response to the environment evolves by means of a genetic algorithm applied to the virtual chromosomes of the individual rodents. The individuals grow and breed at rates proportional to their food intake. Predation reduces the population to provide a turnover of individuals within the system. The inclusion in the model of toxic plants and toxin resistance allows testing of the PLTP hypothesis. An individual rodent can spontaneously gain or lose resistance to plant toxins by mutation. An individual can inherit resistance if either parent has it. Modelled plants produce toxins when over-grazed, as observed in nature. The discrete event simulator executed successfully exploring the dynamics of rodent populations to test hypotheses which are pre-conditions to PLTP such as: do the rodents feed on toxic plants when the density of preferred plants is below a critical thresh hold? The model supported and refuted several similar hypotheses in the virtual environment. The simulation exercise replicated the cyclical population changes observed in natural rodent populations. For some cases involving migration across the zones in the system the neural network appeared to give authentic results: the cyclical fluctuations in population density becoming synchronised. However in more complex situations the model tended to a non-cyclic equilibrium. The novel simulation design combining neural networks and genetic algorithms proved to be very powerful. The model programmed in an extensible object-oriented manner allowed simulation of a variety of situations. While results fell short of validating the PLTP hypothesis in full, the use of a neural network to model decision-making by animals under study holds great promise for future investigations.


The population of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is split between those that are quiescent, such as those seen in local galaxies including the Milky Way, and those that are active, resulting in quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGN). Outside our neighborhood, all the information we have on SMBHs is derived from quasars and AGN, giving us a partial view. We study the evolution of the SMBH population, total and active, by the continuity equation, backwards in time from z = 0 to z = 4. Type-1 and type-2 AGN are differentiated in our model on the basis of their respective Eddington ratio distributions, chosen on the basis of observational estimates. The duty cycle is obtained by matching the luminosity function of quasars, and the average radiative efficiency is the only free parameter in the model. For higher radiative efficiencies (≳ 0.07), a large fraction of the SMBH population, most of them quiescent, must already be in place by z = 4. For lower radiative efficiencies (~ 0.05), the duty cycle increases with the redshift and the SMBH population evolves dramatically from z = 4 onwards. The mass function of active SMBHs does not depend on the choice of the radiative efficiency or of the local SMBH mass function, but it is mainly determined by the quasar luminosity function once the Eddington ratio distribution is fixed. Only direct measurement of the total black-hole mass function at redshifts z ≳ 2 could break these degeneracies, offering important constraints on the average radiative efficiency. Focusing on type-1 AGN, for which observational estimates of the mass function and Eddington ratio distribution exist at various redshifts, models with lower radiative efficiencies better reproduce the high-mass end of the mass function at high z, but tend to over-predict it at low z, and vice-versa for models with higher radiative efficiencies. Key words: galaxies: active / galaxies: evolution / galaxies: luminosity function, mass function / quasars: supermassive black holes


This article interrogates how body positive and fat activist blogs offer alternative ways of feeling one's body, using the Finnish More to Love (MTL, 2009–2013) and its successor PlusMimmi (PM, 2013–) and the American Queer Fat Femme Guide to Life (QFF, 2008–) as its examples. We investigate how these blogs, despite their differences, invite their publics not only to feel positive about their own and others' norm-exceeding bodies, but to feel in their bodies. While previous studies have criticized body positive discourses for employing a simplistic language of choice and relying on heteronormative logics of feminine attractiveness, they have not paid specific attention to how exactly body positive media attract and engage people affectively. In this article, MTL, PM, and QFF's strategies of inviting their followers to feel in their bodies are analyzed in the context of three key themes: exercise, fashion, and sex. We argue that when explored through the framework of affect, fat activist blogs do not present body positivity simply as a matter of choice but offer a space to feel through the affective contradictions of inhabiting a fat feminine body in a sizeist society. At their best, body positive blogs open up spaces of comfort which can be radical for bodies accustomed to discomfort.


This study was an attempt to correlate the influences of the environmental stresses of high ambient temperatures and high humidities on selected physiological properties related to temperature regula¬ tion in the house sparrow, Passer domesticus. Measurements were made of metabolism, evaporative water loss, and body temperatures at various ambient temperatures. These physiological properties were compared among four populations of house sparrows from Boulder, Colorado; Syracuse, New York; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Houston, Texas. It was found that both the diurnal and nocturnal levels of metabolism of the Houston population were significantly lower than any of the other populations at all temperatures tested. Evaporative water loss did not differ significantly among the populations in the absolute amount lost at various ambient temperatures. However, by virtue of its reduced level of endogenous heat production, the Houston population was able to dissipate a greater percentage of its heat load. There was no significant difference in the body temperatures of the four populations within the range of ambient temperatures measured. The Houston population was able to tolerate a higher am¬ bient temperature than any of the other populations, though the mechanism of this response is not clear. This study suggests that there has been evolutionary alteration of some of the metabolic processes of house sparrows since their introduction into the United States about the middle of the nineteenth century. It is evident from this study that metabolism does not possess the adaptive "rigidity" ascribed to it by many earlier workers, (abstract, contd.) and that under certain conditions of environmental stress, metabolism may exhibit adaptive alteration. Because this change in metabolic rate persists for long periods of time in absence of environmental stresses, it is suggested that this is genotypic alteration. This would be indicative of evolutionary rates much faster than previously ascribed to for higher organisms.


Objective: To evaluate the usage pattern of antithrombotic in patients suffering from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: It was an observational, prospective and single centre study carried out over period of 18 months among the indoor patients suffering from DVT in department of Surgery, Orthopedics and Neurosurgery at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Results: Out of 26,687 indoor patients assessed for eligibility, only 32 (0.12%) patients were of DVT. Out of 32 patients of DVT, all the patients were prescribed anticoagulant drug whereas, 4 patients were prescribed both antiplatelet and anticoagulant. Only 2 patients were given aspirin as a single drug. No modification of antiplatelet therapy was observed. None of DVT patients had contraindication to use of anticoagulants. Only 4 patients developed bleeding during follow up. Conclusion: DVT treatment is very important and antithrombotic therapy is mainstay of treatment among patients of DVT. All patients of DVT received adequate antithrombotic therapy. Warfarin was most commonly used anticoagulant for DVT treatment. Key words: Antithrombotic, Deep vein thrombosis, Drug utilization.


The relevance of comparative constitutional law, especially in the judicial forum, has been a longstanding source of debate. Even between jurisdictions sharing the same legal tradition, the judicial use of comparative law has been repeatedly criticized on grounds related to the widely differing characteristics of the jurisdictions being compared. This article seeks to challenge these objections when the comparison concerns the constitutional law of Commonwealth countries, with a legal system based on the common law tradition. More specifically, in these common-law-based systems, the use of such a comparative analysis is rooted in a shared legal history and tradition and can be coherently explained by the nature of common law. Historically, the beginnings of modern "comparative common law" can be traced back to the British colonization and the reception of English law in the new British territories. Over time, the practice in the colonies of referring to English and other Commonwealth authorities had become well established to such an extent that it continued even after the political and legal ties between the former colonies and the UK had been severed. One major reason for this ongoing practice is the fact that the independence of almost all of the former colonies had been formalized through the adoption of a constitution on the "Westminster model," and was thus founded on the general principles of English constitutional law. Altogether, these channels of reception of the common law tradition, and of many of its fundamental rules and principles, have contributed to creating a unique legal context allowing for the development of comparative constitutional common law.


1. Blood pressure, the hypotensive effect of captopril, plasma renin activity, renal renin content and kidney weight were measured in the two-kidney—one-clip model, the one-kidney—one-clip model and the two-kidney—one-clip model with the ureter of the contralateral kidney ligated in rats. The ureteric ligation was performed to abolish urinary excretion from the contralateral kidney in the two-kidney—one-clip model. 2. The development of hypertension after renal artery constriction was earlier and greater in the one-kidney—one-clip model and the two-kidney—one-clip model with ureter of the contralateral kidney ligated than in the two-kidney—one-clip model. A single oral dose of captopril produced a greater fall in blood pressure in both the two-kidney models than in the one-kidney—one-clip group. 3. Plasma renin activity and renal renin content of the clipped kidney were higher in the two-kidney model rats, whether or not the ureter had been ligated, than in the one-kidney—one-clip model animals, although more than half the rats from the two-kidney model had normal values. There was a significant correlation between plasma renin activity and the response to captopril in all groups, whereas in none of the three groups was the correlation between plasma renin activity and blood pressure significant. 4. The clipped kidney had a higher renin content than did the contralateral kidney, and the weight of the ischaemic kidney was decreased compared with the contralateral kidney whether it was untouched or had its ureter ligated. The weight of the clipped kidney was in the order one-kidney—one-clip model > two-kidney—one-clip model with ureter of the contralateral kidney ligated > two-kidney—one-clip model. 5. It was concluded that the renin-angiotensin system was stimulated to the similar degree in some animals for the two-kidney—one-clip models, whether or not the ureter of the contralateral kidney had been ligated, compared with the one-kidney—one-clip animals. This finding suggests that the contralateral kidney can stimulate renin secretion and synthesis in the clipped kidney independently of Na + excretion.


First published in 1957, this classic study has been reissued in a paperback version that includes an additional chapter bringing the material up to date. The author formulates the physical properties of crystals systematically in tensor notation, presenting tensor properties in terms of their common mathematical basis and the thermodynamic relations between them. The mathematical groundwork is laid in a discussion of tensors of the first and second ranks. Tensors of higher ranks and matrix methods are then introduced as natural developments of the theory. A similar pattern is followed in discussing thermodynamic and optical aspects.


Assuming a moving disk source distribution, the Riemann method and Gegenbauer's addition theorem in a mixed coordinate-space–phase-space formulation have been used to derive a zeroth-order Bessel–Gauss pulse solution to the inhomogeneous wave equation. In the region where τ2≳ρeff2+z2, the total solution can be separated into a wave that attenuates quickly and a Bessel–Gauss pulse that exists only after a certain time and continues for long times. In the region where z2⩽τ2≲ρeff2+z2, only a short-time solution exists.


Abstract. A new lithophoran proseriate flatworm, Prosogynopora riseri, gen. et sp. nov. (Platyhelminthes: Rhabditophora: Proseriata), is described from the New England coast (USA). The species shares characters with members of the families Calviriidae and Coelogynoporidae, e.g. the presence of paracnida, the short common female duct, a septum and diaphragm at the base of the pharynx. However, the inverted topology of the genital system, presenting an anterior female pore shortly behind the mouth and a male pore opening nearly on the caudal terminus, is unique within the Proseriata, and permits inclusion into neither family on morphological grounds. We investigated the phylogenetic position of the new species within the available diversity of proseriate 18S and 28S rRNA sequences. However, an exploration of diverse homology schemes, alignment conditions and optimality criteria proved the position of P. riseri, gen. et sp. nov. to be remarkably unstable, particularly with respect to the method of alignment, variously suggesting sister-group relationships with (or within) Coelogynoporidae, with Calviriidae, or with a clade composed of all other Lithophora. Despite its unique morphology and the absence of molecular phylogenetic evidence for its inclusion within any family as currently defined, we refrain from assigning a higher taxonomic rank to the new lineage, pending critical re-assessment of homology in several character systems and the availability of further taxon- and gene-rich enquiries into the phylogeny of Proseriata. Apingospermata, new taxon and Dolichogynoducta, new taxon are proposed as two rankless taxonomic names of Lithophora, corresponding to well-supported clades in our molecular phylogenetic hypothesis.


Internal, multi-story atria present an opportunity to harvest daylight as well as create connections to the outdoors in commercial and educational buildings. They also have the potential to help moderate well-being for occupants and provide informal gathering spaces that form social interactions for buildings' users. Despite the increased deployment of atria in contemporary, sustainable buildings, there is a lack of studies investigating the relationship between atrium design strategies, expected outcomes, and their realized impacts on occupants' comfort, health, and experience. The intent of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of two different atria typologies in two LEED campus buildings from both building performance and occupants' perspectives. A comparative field study was conducted in these two buildings to assess how the shape, form, orientation, and geometry of the two atria impacted daylighting autonomy, glare, chronobiological light response, occupants' perceptions, and functional use of both spaces. This paper concludes with insights on the relationship between daylighting design metrics employed in practice and their consequential impacts on the real space as perceived by the occupants. It attempts to answer whether an atrium that meets building performance standards necessarily translate to a healthy indoor environment and positive human experience. Results from this study suggest that atrium design can be optimized to balance daylight quantity and quality through prescribed design parameters. However, the success of the design with the intent of a space that encourages social interaction requires more attention to human behavior, atrium function, and typology.


The impact of domestic violence can increasingly be felt in the workplace, and it can adversely affect the safety and productivity of employees. Legislators and employers have begun to recognize the effect of domestic violence on employment, and many have adopted policies to protect the interests of domestic violence survivors. This article suggests that wider adoption of domestic violence policies are needed and these policies should be broadened to directly address batterers in the workplace. The article argues that employer based sanctions would increase batterer accountability and workplace safety. It uses the newly revised NFL Personal Conduct Policy as a starting point for addressing whether more employers should adopt zero tolerance in the workplace for batterers.


Gaussian Processes (GPs) define distributions over functions and their generalization capabilities depend heavily on the choice of kernels. In this paper, we propose a novel structure-aware random Fourier (SRF) kernel for GPs that brings several benefits when modeling graph-structured data. First, SRF kernel is defined with a spectral distribution based on the Fourier duality given by the Bochner's theorem, transforming the kernel learning problem to a distribution inference problem. Second, SRF kernel admits a random Fourier feature formulation that makes the kernel scalable for optimization. Third, SRF kernel enables to leverage geometric structures by taking subgraphs as inputs. To effectively optimize GPs with SRF kernel, we develop a variational EM algorithm, which alternates between an inference procedure (E-step) and a learning procedure (M-step). Experimental results on five real-world datasets show that our model can achieve state-of-the-art performance in two typical graph learning tasks, i.e., object classification and link prediction.


Wild animals often destroy standing crops and prey on livestock, causing economic losses to farmers. Crop and wildlife damage are becoming serious for many Indian protected areas, and this study aimed to characterize the problem in villages in and around the Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR), Rajasthan, India. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire in 37 villages followed by a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 180 households, quadrat sampling and focus group discussions. Crop and livestock depredation evidently affected nearly half of the households in villages adjacent to the STR, but damage varied considerably amongst villages and with distance from the Reserve border. Wild animal distribution and protection measures which people adopted also influenced the damage. Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus() and wild boar ((Sus scrofa() were reported to be responsible for at least half of the total damage to the major crops caused by wild animals. Tigers and leopards were the main livestock predators; the former preyed mostly on larger livestock and the latter on smaller animals such as goats and sheep. More than two-thirds of the villagers spent considerable time and money guarding crops and protecting livestock. Guarding was the most popular means followed by physical fences around fields. In spite of damage to crops and livestock, the local people still had a positive attitude towards the STR, because of tangible benefits derived from the Reserve in terms of fodder and fuelwood, and cultural/religious attitudes towards wild animals. Settlement of rights to collect fuelwood and fodder within the Reserve appears to be one acceptable measure to compensate for losses besides an immediate review of hunting policy. Suggestions given by local people to minimize losses have implications for the long term sustainability of the STR as a protected area.


The guide to targeting and leveraging business opportunities using big data & analytics By leveraging big data & analytics, businesses create the potential to better understand, manage, and strategically exploiting the complex dynamics of customer behavior. Analytics in a Big Data World reveals how to tap into the powerful tool of data analytics to create a strategic advantage and identify new business opportunities. Designed to be an accessible resource, this essential book does not include exhaustive coverage of all analytical techniques, instead focusing on analytics techniques that really provide added value in business environments. The book draws on author Bart Baesens' expertise on the topics of big data, analytics and its applications in e.g. credit risk, marketing, and fraud to provide a clear roadmap for organizations that want to use data analytics to their advantage, but need a good starting point. Baesens has conducted extensive research on big data, analytics, customer relationship management, web analytics, fraud detection, and credit risk management, and uses this experience to bring clarity to a complex topic. * Includes numerous case studies on risk management, fraud detection, customer relationship management, and web analytics * Offers the results of research and the author's personal experience in banking, retail, and government * Contains an overview of the visionary ideas and current developments on the strategic use of analytics for business * Covers the topic of data analytics in easy-to-understand terms without an undo emphasis on mathematics and the minutiae of statistical analysis For organizations looking to enhance their capabilities via data analytics, this resource is the go-to reference for leveraging data to enhance business capabilities.


"The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness", first published in 1944, is considered one of the most profound and relevant works by the influential theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, and certainly the fullest statement of his political philosophy. Written during the prolonged world war between totalitarian and democratic forces, Niebuhr's book takes up the still timely question of how democracy as a political system can best be defended. Most proponents of democracy, Niebuhr claimed, were "children of light," who had optimistic but naive ideas about how society could be rid of evil and governed by enlightened reason. They needed, he believed, to absorb some of the wisdom and strength of the "children of darkness," whose ruthless cynicism and corrupt, anti-democratic politics should otherwise be repudiated. He argued for a prudent, liberal understanding of human society that took the measure of every group's self-interest and was chastened by a realistic understanding of the limits of power. It is in the foreword to this book that he wrote, "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." This edition includes a new introduction by the theologian and Niebuhr scholar Gary Dorrien in which he elucidates the work's significance and places it firmly into the arc of Niebuhr's career.


We consider the wave dynamics on networks of plates coupled along 1D joints. This set-up can be mapped onto an extension of wave graph systems studied in, for example, quantum graph theory. In the elastic case, different mode-types (flexural, longitudinal and shear waves) propagate in each plate and do so at different wave speeds. The flexural (or bending) modes are described in terms of fourth order equations introducing an always evanescent wave component into the system. Waves encounter plate intersections and can be transmitted, reflected or mode converted. The intersection or vertex scattering matrices mix different waves which can be propagating (open) and evanescent (closed). The local scattering matrices and the global transfer operator are no longer unitary; the consequences of this non-unitarity on secular equations and the Weyl law will be discussed. The findings are of relevance to describing complex engineering structures such as networks of beams and plates.


Magnetic field imaging (MFI) is a technique to record contact free the magnetic field distribution and estimate the underlying source distribution in the heart. Currently, th e cardiomagnetic fields are recorded with superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), which are restrict ed to the inside of a cryostat filled with liquid helium or nitrogen. New room temperature optical magnetometers al low less restrictive sensor positioning, which raises the question of how to optimally place the sensors for robust field reconstruction. The objective in this study is to develop a generic object-or iented framework for optimizing sensor arrangements (sensor positions and orientations) which supports t he necessary constraints of a limited search volume (only outside the body) and the technical minimum distance o f sensors (e.g. 1 cm). In order to test the framework, a new quasi-continuous particle swarm optimizer (PSO ) component is developed as well as an exemplary goal function component using the condition number (CN) of t he leadfield matrix. Generic constraint handling algorithms are designed and implemented, that decompose co mplex constraints into basic ones. The constraint components interface to an operational exemplary optimiza tion strategy which is validated on the magnetocardiographic sensor arrangement problem. The simulation set up includes a three compartment boundary element model of a torso with a fitted multi-dipole heart model. The results show that the CN, representing the reconstructi on robustness of the inverse problem, can be reduced with our optimization by one order of magnitude with in a sensor plane (the cryostat bottom) in front of the torso compared to a regular sensor grid. Reduction of ano ther rder of magnitude is achieved by optimizing sensor positions on the entire torso surface. Results also i ndicate that the number of sensors may be reduced to 20-30 without loss of robustness in terms of CN.


Traffic congestion is not a modern phenomenon, but the growth of motor traffic driven by the supply of petroleum is. This coincides with concern about climate change caused by carbon emissions to which transport makes a substantial and increasing contribution. It seems that private cars in particular cannot be useful without coming to dominate human activity and even whole economies, creating dependence, congestion and severance which paradoxically negate many of the benefits of mobility. Electrification may reduce carbon emissions, but is unlikely to support the same weight of motor traffic, and will not reduce its other effects. It is doubtful that sustainability, however defined, is compatible with current high and increasing levels of motorised movement, so a culture change will be needed.


This paper focuses on strategies undertaken in India and other developing economies to achieve empowerment of all stakeholders, particularly the rural poor, through context oriented policies of e- governance. With a strong emphasis on principles of governance, the government's involvement in the implementation of information and communication technology at all levels of central and state governments is analyzed. The goal of the digital economy is to have a universal reach. Additional reforms are suggested to address the limitations in the current measures.


Introduction: Craniopharyngioma (CPs) are rare, nearly always benign epithelial tumors derived from cell remnants of Rathke's pouch. The overall incidence of CPs is 0.13 to 2 per 100,000 populations per year. Most frequently they are suprasellar in location and can be detected at any age. Objectives: To study clinicopathological features of craniopharyngioma in our region and compare the results with the reported literature. Methods: We retrospectively studied 18 patients with histological diagnosis of craniopharyngioma at King Faisal specialist Hospital Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the last 10 years. Clinical and pre operative imaging data was obtained from computerized medical records of the patients. Histopathological material was obtained by craniotomy. Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stained slides were examined through light microscope. Data was analyzed for age distribution, location, radiological appearance and pathological type. Data was expressed as mean (range) or percent as appropriate. Results: Of the 18 patients analyzed, 13 were males (72.2%) and 5 were females (27.8%) with ages ranging between 23 months and 75 years. Maximum (72.3%) of the cases were found in age groups < 25 year. On pre operative CT scan and MRI, the predominant location of CPs was suprasellar region in 12(80%) patients. The average size of tumour on imaging was 4.2 cm. Calcification was evident in 7 (77.7%) patients on CT scanning. MRI, revealed mixed solid and cystic nature of craniopharyngioma. The predominantly cystic were 46.2%, predominantly solid 30.8%, solid 7.7% and cystic 15.4%. Light microscopy revealed adamantinomatous type of histopathological pattern of CPs in 17 (94.4%) and papillary pattern in 1(5.5%) patient. Conclusion: Craniopharyngiomas were found as mixed solid and cystic calcified suprasellar tumors with an average size of 4 cm, occurring in young patients with male predominance. Most common pathological pattern was the adamantinomatous type. (Shubnum Sultana and Jaudah Al-Maghrabi. Craniopharyngioma. A Pathological Experience from Tertiary


It was argued that the social psychology of person perception, mass communications and cultural studies can be related to viewers' representations of television characters. Mass communications needs to incorporate viewers' interpretations and programme structure. Social cognition could satisfy the former need and cultural studies the latter. A literature review showed little research on viewers' interpretations of television programmes. There is a considerable body of research on person perception, gender stereotypes, the effects of viewing and programme structure. A study of viewers' accounts of viewing soap opera showed that they become involved with the characters and find the programmes realistic. Soap opera plays an important role in their lives. Viewers' representations of soap opera characters were examined using multidimensional scaling. This revealed stable, replicable character representations for Dallas, Coronation Street and EastEnders. The representations were compared with the oppositions which structure the programmes, Implicit Personality Theory and Gender Schema Theory. Dallas characters were represented by themes of morality and power/activity. Power was correlated with gender, with some counter-stereotypic females. Coronation Street characters were organised around morality/potency, gender (matriarchal) and approach to life. This related to person prototypes and contrasted with interaction patterns between characters. EastEnders characters were represented by themes of morality/power, gender and approach to life/centrality. Free descriptions validated the attribute ratings and showed further features of the representation. No socio-structural group differences in representation were found. Viewers' character representations were a constructive integration of programme structure and social knowledge. The application of abstract knowledge to a structured domain was discussed. Textual analysis of a narrative identified the 'role of the reader' and textual openness. This was related to stereotypes, narrative expectancies, myth and character representation. Distinct types of divergence in viewers' interpretations of narrative were discovered. Further, a narrative containing two readings was interpreted in four distinct ways by viewers, depending on their perceived relationships with characters. The conclusions and limitations of the research were discussed. Implications for person perception, stereotyping and textual analysis were examined. A taxonomy of factors relating to the interpretation and representation of television drama was presented.


Acknowledging Turkey as a "rising/emerging middle power", occupying a middle ground between traditional (or Western) middle powers and non-traditional middle powers, this paper aims to reassess Turkey's changing power and position in the complex power hierarchies and the changing architecture of global governance through its preferences, capabilities and strategies by using a comparative analysis. It then briefly resumes its findings to assess the driving factors, conditions and specific characteristics explaining Turkey's contribution to global governance compared to a cluster of eight selected countries composed of the five BRICS countries, labeled as non-traditional middle powers, and Canada, Australia and South Korea, as traditional middle powers. Finally, it looks at Turkey's contribution to global governance at the institutional level, with a special focus on Turkey's 2015 G20 presidency as a test case for understanding its global governance activism. In the final analysis, this study underlines that Turkey's ambitious agenda for its G20 presidency gives clear signals of its future preferences and middle power activism in less hierarchical G20-type forums in which developed and developing countries are equally represented and middle power countries are allowed more manoeuvring capacity. * Assoc. Prof. Dr., Marmara University, International Relations Department, Faculty of Political Science, Anadoluhisarı Campus, Beykoz, İstanbul. E-mail: email@example.com


The geochemical composition of nepheline-syenite, carbonatite, ultramafic rocks and gabbro samples from the Seiland Igneous Province is presented in terms of whole-rock chemistry, major and selected trace elements, and mineralogy. Additionally, the hydrochemistry of around 100 surface water, groundwater, rainfall and seawater samples from the area is presented. Surface water and groundwater solute chemistry can be explained in terms of reaction of precipitation with bedrock minerals: the waters thus acquire a clear chemical signature dependent on the catchment's lithology. The mineralisation of the waters (total dissolved solids or TDS) is generally low, although it is somewhat elevated in carbonatiteor nepheline-syenitedominated terrains, in comparison with ultramafic, gabbro or granitic terrains. Additionally, each lithology exhibits its specific water type. Thus, waters in a nepheline-syenite-dominated terrain tend to be Ca–Na–HCO3 rich with relatively high pH, whereas waters in carbonatite terrains are Ca–HCO3 dominated with only slightly elevated pH. Waters in ultramafic rocks exhibit strongly elevated Mg concentrations with circumneutral pH, whereas waters from gabbros are variable in terms of their major cation (Mg, Ca, Na) composition. Mineral stability diagrams aid our understanding of the evolution of rainwater by chemical interaction with rocks in each lithology. In gabbro and ultramafic terrains, such diagrams suggest that kaolinite is likely to be the primary alteration product and that saturation with respect to calcite will not be reached; instead, the waters will evolve until saturation with respect to stilbite (a Na–Ca zeolite mineral) is attained. Waters in ultramafic rocks will then follow this stable phase boundary until saturation with respect to chlorite is achieved. The gabbro waters, on the other hand, could also follow the stable phase-boundary to stilbite until saturation with respect to paragonite (a sodium mica) is reached, depending on the plagioclase-to-clinopyroxene ratio (Plg/Cpx). Surprisingly, it is found that olivine (i.e., forsterite) does not control the water chemistry in gabbros and ultramafic rocks..


Adaptive management is the new paradigm in environmental law. It is omnipresent in scholarship and management documents and is even starting to appear in court opinions. There have been many calls for environmental law to adapt itself to adaptive management by becoming more flexible and dynamic. But does adaptive management really warrant a revolution in environmental law? Or is it adaptive management that might need to adapt to the world of environmental law? There has been an abundance of scholarship on the strengths of adaptive management, making the case for changing environmental law to embrace adaptive management. But answering the two questions above also requires a close examination of the limits of adaptive management and whether it is important enough for environmental law that wholesale changes in the legal structure are required. In this Article, I summarize the literature noting those limits, and my conclusion is that those limits are significant enough that we should be wary of wholesale revisions of environmental law to allow adaptive management to occur. Adaptive management has an important role to play, but there are many questions that it cannot answer. Moreover, the increased flexibility and dynamism that have been called for in environmental law would carry their own costs.