In this work, we present, for the first time, the synthesis and characterization of magnetic Si–C–Fe hybrid microspheres and their catalytic performance in room temperature reduction of 4-nitrophenol as a representative sustainable process for converting environmental pollutants to fine chemicals. The ferrocene-modified polydivinylbenzene (Fc-PDVB) precursor was synthesized by Pt-catalyzed hydrosilylation between the residual vinyl groups on the PDVB surface and 1,1′-bis (dimethylsilyl)ferrocene, where further pyrolysis led to the formation of Fe nanocrystal-containing Si–C–Fe hybrid microspheres. The precursor and hybrid microspheres were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), BET surface area/porosity, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), magnetic properties and MAS solid-state NMR measurements. The ultimate microspherical catalyst exhibited nano- and meso-pores, a high specific surface area (i.e., 347.9 m2 g−1) and good ferromagnetic properties. Efficient catalytic activity (TOF: 0.163 s−1), 100% selectivity (to 4-aminophenol) and excellent reusability (with easy separation) have been delivered. The achieved microspheres outperform a number of nanomaterials such as supported noble metal particles, composites, monoliths and sheets. We have confirmed by DFT calculations that the activation of 4-nitrophenol via its weak non-covalent interaction with the sp2 carbon domain of Si–C–Fe hybrid microspheres contributed to the superior performance which can be extended to a range of nitrobenzenes.


The estimation of phylogenetic relationships and divergence times among a group of organisms is a fundamental first step toward understanding its biological diversification. The time of the most recent or last common ancestor (LCA) of extant platyrrhines is one of the most controversial among scholars of primate evolution. Here we use two molecular based approaches to date the initial divergence of the platyrrhine clade, Bayesian estimations under a relaxed-clock model and substitution rate plus generation time and body size, employing the fossil record and genome datasets. We also explore the robustness of our estimations with respect to changes in topology, fossil constraints and substitution rate, and discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the platyrrhine radiation. Our results suggest that fossil constraints, topology and substitution rate have an important influence on our divergence time estimates. Bayesian estimates using conservative but realistic fossil constraints suggest that the LCA of extant platyrrhines existed at ca. 29 Ma, with the 95% confidence limit for the node ranging from 27–31 Ma. The LCA of extant platyrrhine monkeys based on substitution rate corrected by generation time and body size was established between 21–29 Ma. The estimates based on the two approaches used in this study recalibrate the ages of the major platyrrhine clades and corroborate the hypothesis that they constitute very old lineages. These results can help reconcile several controversial points concerning the affinities of key early Miocene fossils that have arisen among paleontologists and molecular systematists. However, they cannot resolve the controversy of whether these fossil species truly belong to the extant lineages or to a stem platyrrhine clade. That question can only be resolved by morphology. Finally, we show that the use of different approaches and well supported fossil information gives a more robust divergence time estimate of a clade.


Islanding detection in distributed generation (DG) interfaced to the microgrid is a key criterion for safety and power quality of the power system. This study proposes a transient monitoring function (TMF)-based islanding detection technique, which distinguishes between various islanding and non-islanding conditions in an inverter-based DG. Initially, the voltage samples of each phase retrieved at the target DG location are processed through Fourier–Taylor transformation (FTT). The TMF is the difference between the estimated voltage samples regenerated from the FTT and the actual sample values. Finally, the TMF index for islanding detection is computed by combining each phase TMF. Based on simulations carried out in PSCAD/EMTDC environment, the performance of the proposed method is examined in various critical conditions. Therefore, the proposed method provides generalised solution irrespective of active and reactive power mismatch and thus enhancing the non-detection zone. The proposed TMF-based anti-islanding relay is highly efficient and satisfies the speed criteria of the relaying function in performing the task.


The Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation (ANADP) II Action Assembly will align digital preservation efforts internationally between communities—including national libraries, academic libraries, public libraries, research centers, archives, corporations, and funding agencies. ANADP II will be a highly participatory event in which stakeholders will engage in facilitated discussions and action sessions to produce a set of concrete outcomes for the extended digital preservation community in three areas: Community Alignment, Resource Alignment, and Capacity Alignment. These specific action outcomes will include an international tools/services registry, a framework for applying OAIS to Distributed Digital Preservation methodologies, a catalogue of education and training opportunities, and quantitative data gathering around digital preservation costs. ANADP II will build on a strong foundation. The ANADP community first gathered in Estonia in 2011 with delegates from more than 20 nations to explore a series of targeted opportunities to align efforts in digital preservation. The outcome of that first event, the Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation volume, documented some of the most promising areas for future collaborative engagements between national and international digital preservation efforts (the volume is this year's winner of the Society of American Archivists Preservation Publication award). Additional work in aligning international digital preservation efforts took place at the ANADP workshops hosted in Singapore (iPRES 2012) and Amsterdam (IDCC 2012). The Action Assembly ANADP II differs in intent and structure from other digital preservation conferences and meetings. Its primary purpose is not to encourage information sharing, but rather to foster and support sustained global networks of influence and action. "Alignment" in this context is a lightweight mechanism for cooperation. Alignments are formed around small or modular problems that are directly related to the participants' own specific needs and interests. ANADP II will be easy to get involved with, participate in, or define new activities within. The ANADP II Action Assembly will consist of four components. Panel Discussions: Attendees will engage actively with panelists in conversations around three broad alignment themes: Community Alignment, Resource Alignment, and Capacity Alignment. Action Sessions: Attendees will participate in action sessions that demonstrate the powerful impact a concentrated alliance can have. There will be two tracks around each alignment theme, and attendees will select the track to/from which they feel they have the most to contribute/learn. Funder Presentations: Attendees will hear from representatives of funding groups that are interested in supporting cross-national digital preservation projects. Patio Perspectives: Attendees will help to identify and develop new alignment projects that those participating in this international event can pursue together. The purpose of ANADP II is to encourage collaboration among existing organizations and demonstrate what can be achieved through these informal alliances. ANADP II will foster a stronger international community of engagement and practice.


Background Health systems often fail to use evidence in clinical practice. In maternal and perinatal health, the majority of maternal, fetal and newborn mortality is preventable through implementing effective interventions. To meet this challenge, WHO's Department of Reproductive Health and Research partnered with the Knowledge Translation Program at St. Michael's Hospital (SMH), University of Toronto, Canada to establish a collaboration on knowledge translation (KT) in maternal and perinatal health, called the GREAT Network (Guideline-driven, Research priorities, Evidence synthesis, Application of evidence, and Transfer of knowledge). We applied a systematic approach incorporating evidence and theory to identifying barriers and facilitators to implementation of WHO maternal heath recommendations in four lower-income countries and to identifying implementation strategies to address these. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study in Myanmar, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. In each country, stakeholder surveys, focus group discussions and prioritization exercises were used, involving multiple groups of health system stakeholders (including administrators, policymakers, NGOs, professional associations, frontline healthcare providers and researchers). Results Despite differences in guideline priorities and contexts, barriers identified across countries were often similar. Health system level factors, including health workforce shortages, and need for strengthened drug and equipment procurement, distribution and management systems, were consistently highlighted as limiting the capacity of providers to deliver high-quality care. Evidence-based health policies to support implementation, and improve the knowledge and skills of healthcare providers were also identified. Stakeholders identified a range of tailored strategies to address local barriers and leverage facilitators. Conclusion This approach to identifying barriers, facilitators and potential strategies for improving implementation proved feasible in these four lower-income country settings. Further evaluation of the impact of implementing these strategies is needed.


Provenance - International Geographical Congress 2004 Guide to Records - The 30th International Geographical Conference (IGC) was held in Glasgow on 15th - 20th August to 2004, and had the theme of 'One earth - many worlds'.


Does motivated reasoning harm democratic accountability? Substantial evidence from political behavior research indicates that voters have "directional motives" beyond accuracy, which is often taken as evidence that they are ill equipped to hold politicians accountable. We develop a model of electoral accountability with voters as motivated reasoners. Directional motives have two effects: (1) divergence—voters with different preferences hold different beliefs, and (2) desensitization—the relationship between incumbent performance and voter beliefs is weakened. While motivated reasoning does harm accountability, this is generally driven by desensitized voters rather than polarized partisans with politically motivated divergent beliefs. We also analyze the relationship between government performance and vote shares, showing that while motivated reasoning always weakens this relationship, we cannot infer that accountability is also harmed. Finally, we show that our model can be mapped to standard models in which voters are fully Bayesian but have different preferences or information.


Variable selection is popular in high-dimensional data analysis to identify the truly informative variables. Many variable selection methods have been developed under various model assumptions. Whereas success has been widely reported in literature, their performances largely depend on validity of the assumed models, such as the linear or additive models. This article introduces a model-free variable selection method via learning the gradient functions. The idea is based on the equivalence between whether a variable is informative and whether its corresponding gradient function is substantially non-zero. The proposed variable selection method is then formulated in a framework of learning gradients in a flexible reproducing kernel Hilbert space. The key advantage of the proposed method is that it requires no explicit model assumption and allows for general variable effects. Its asymptotic estimation and selection consistencies are studied, which establish the convergence rate of the estimated sparse gradients and assure that the truly informative variables are correctly identified in probability. The effectiveness of the proposed method is also supported by a variety of simulated examples and two real-life examples.


Although historical findings have some value in diagnosing internal derangement of the knee, a thorough physical examination can often rule out fracture and ligamentous and meniscal injuries. The Ottawa Knee Rule can help physicians determine which patients require radiography. Positive physical examination tests and findings of acute effusion suggest internal derangement. An abnormal McMurray or Thessaly test strongly suggests meniscal injury, whereas a normal Thessaly test may rule out meniscal injury. Absence of evidence of joint effusion significantly decreases the probability of internal derangement. Magnetic resonance imaging should be reserved for ruling out internal derangement in patients with suggestive historical and physical examination findings.


Extracted from text ... Moneyweb's TAX BREAKS April 2006 7
Harry Joffe
FROM THE COURTS
MPs' membership fees:
a tax-deductible expense?
By HARRY JOFFE
IN THE case of SARS vs AKHARWARAY
- 2005 (16087) (NC), the
matter to be decided was the taxdeductibility
or otherwise of membership
fees.
The taxpayer involved was a
member of a political party who had
been elected a member of the
Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
in 1994. In his tax return for
the 1995 year of assessment he had
claimed a deduction of R12 000 in
respect of contributions to his political
party.
The taxpayer claimed that in ..


The Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) are considered essential for the maintenance of local biodiversity, so that your protection is regulated by the Brazilian legislation. This work had the objective of delimiting permanent preservation areas according to determinations of the current Brazilian environmental legislation, and identify the occurrence of conflict between the land use and legislation in Lavras county, MG, by combination of technologies of remote sensing and geographic information systems. The PPAs correspond to 42.33% of Lavras county's territory. The conflict between the land use and environmental legislation occurs in 63.48% of PPAs' territory, mainly corresponding to the pasture areas, bare soil and agriculture. The PPAs of tops of hills showed the highest conflicts with the legislation, with 48.48% of the territory occupied by pastures, and 13.62% by agriculture. The PPAs located in the surrounding of water courses and in the slopes with declivity higher than 45o presented 59.99% and 92.03%, respectively of the territory occupied by native vegetation of semi-deciduous forest and natural fields.


The results of our recent experimental studies of magnetization-induced second- and third-order nonlinear optical effects in magnetic nanostructures are surveyed. Magnetization-induced variations of the intensity, the polarization state, and the relative phase of the second-harmonic wave are studied in magnetic nanogranular films, self-assembling films with garnet nanoparticles, thin magnetic metal films, and Langmuir-Blodgett films containing rare-earth ions. The nonlinear magneto-optical Kerr effect (NOMOKE) in second-harmonic generation (SHG) from thin magnetic and granular films is shown to exceed the linear magneto-optical Kerr effect by at least 1 order of magnitude. Magnetization-induced optical third-harmonic generation (THG) is observed in thin magnetic metal films and nanogranular films. The NOMOKE in THG from these magnetic nanostructures appears to be of the same order of magnitude as the second-order NOMOKE in SHG. The NOMOKE magnetic contrast in the THG intensity is up to ∼0.1 in Co_xAg(_1−x) nanogranular films. For the THG wave, the magnetization-induced rotation of polarization is up to 10° in thin Fe(110) films, and the relative phase shift is up to 70° in thin Co films. The studies of the magnetization-induced quadratic and cubic nonlinear-optical effects show the interconnection between the magnetic, structural, and magneto-optical properties of magnetic nanomaterials.


Reproductive ecological research on three land hermit crabs, Coenobita rugosus, C. purpureus, and C. cavipes, was conducted in the southern part of Okinawa-jima island in 1985, 1986, 1987, and for a short period in 1999. Size (carapace length) of the smallest ovigerous female was 3.93 mm for C. rugosus, 3.83 mm for C. purpureus, and 9.49 mm for C. cavipes. Breeding season is late May to November for C. rugosus, late May to mid-September for C. purpureus, and mid-May to late August for C. cavipes. Some females of all three species probably produced at least two broods during the breeding season. The smallest males in which spermatophores were present in dissected vas deferens were 4.24 mm for C. rugosus and 4.94 mm for C. purpureus. Coenobita cavipes females produced more, smaller eggs in comparison with C. purpureus. My observations suggest that coenobitid crabs living in areas with a low supply of shells or with poor shells reproduce at smaller sizes, as is the case in marine hermit crabs. Time of onset of larval release by C. rugosus, with its protracted breeding season, varied according to the seasonal shift in time of sunset. The period during which females of C. rugosus released larvae was about 2 hr in spring tides but was much longer (3 to 5 hr) during neap tides. Larger females of C. purpureus occupied shells derived from the land snail Achatina fulica; smaller ones used shells from the marine snail Lunella granulata. Use of mutually exclusive larval release sites by the larger and smaller females of C. purpureus remained unchanged over 13 yr, from 1986 to 1999. This behavioral difference may be related to the differences in their habitats (i.e., inland versus shore) and to the route traveled by the larger crabs in reaching the sea from inland sites.


This study addresses for the first time in the dedicated literature, the lexical reflexes of salt in ancient Greek, as part of an extended research project. An inventory was realized as comprehensively as possible on grammatical categories (nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs), derived from nominal compound ἁλ (ἅλς, ἁλὁς) in the initial and secondary position, emphasizing a majority of adjectives and a wide semantic spectrum (e.g. physical world, exploitation, food consumption and conservation, social and economic contexts, symbolic uses). This lexical variety indicates the crucial role of salt and sea in the development of Greek civilization.


This volume presents the current linguistic debate on the relationship between lexicon and grammar and on the status of constructions. It makes reference to investigations of phenomena relating to valence, argument structure, diatheses, collocations and phrasemes. Starting from different positions within linguistic theory, thecontributions also reflect the empirical methodologies currently applied to substantiate basic positions in linguistic theory.


This paper presents the design and implementation of a Multi-level Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) protocol based on a real-time communication platform utilizing Data Distribution Service (DDS) middleware for data transfer of synchronous three phase measurement data. To transfer ultra-high three phase measurement samples, the DDS open-source protocol is exploited to shape the network's data traffic according to specific Quality of Service (QoS) profiles, leading to low packet loss and low latency by synchronizing and prioritizing the data in the network. Meanwhile the TSN protocol enables time-synchronization of the measured data by providing a common time reference to all the measurement devices in the network, making the system less expensive, more secure and enabling time-synchronization where acquiring GPS signals is a challenge. A software library was developed and used as a central Quality of Service (QoS) profile for the TSN implementation. The proposed design and implemented real-time simulation prototype presented in this paper takes in consideration diverse scenarios at multiple levels of prioritization including publishers, subscribers, and data packets. This allows granular control and monitoring of the data for traffic shaping, scheduling, and prioritization. The major strength of this protocol lies in the fact that it's not only in real time but it's time-critical too. The simulation prototype implementation was performed using the Real Time Innovation (RTI) Connext connectivity framework, custom-built MATLAB classes and DDS Simulink blocks. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol achieves low latency and high throughput, which makes it a desired option for various communication systems involved in microgrids, smart cities, military applications and potentially other time-critical applications, where GPS signals become vulnerable and data transfer needs to be prioritized.


One method for detecting fraud is to check for suspicious changes in user behavior over time. This paper describes the automatic design of user profiling methods for the purpose of fraud detection, using a series of data mining and machine learning techniques. It uses a rule-learning program to uncover indicators of fraudulent behavior from a large database customer transactions. Then the indicators are used to create a set of monitors, which profile legitimate customer behavior and indicate anomalies. Finally, the outputs of the monitors are used as features in a system that learns to combine vidence to generate high-confidence alarms. The system has been applied to the problem of detecting cellular cloning, but is applicable to a more general class of fraud called superimposition fraud. Experiments indicate that this automatic approach performs better than hand-crafted methods for detecting fraud. Furthermore, this approach can adapt to the changing conditions typical of fraud detection environments.


Stora Enso Wood Supply Finland (WSF) was certified to the ISO 50001 Energy Efficiency Management System standard in 2015. At Stora Enso WSF, the goal is to improve energy efficiency by 4% by 2020 from 2015. Improving the energy efficiency of wood procurement (i.e. logging and timber trucking) enterprises is currently one of the main focus areas for en ergy efficiency development at Stora Enso WSF. In order to clarify its state-of-the-art in the business of wood procurement enterprises at Stora Enso WSF, logging and timber-trucking entrepreneurs were interviewed in November and December 2017. The survey data consisted of 25 logging and 25 timber-trucking entrepreneurs. The coverage rate of both entrepreneur groups was 73.5% in the survey. The results indicated that timber-trucking enterprises high light more energy efficiency and fuel efficiency than logging enterprises. For instance, the timber-trucking entrepreneurs underscored more energy efficiency in their acquisition deci sions of new vehicles and the greater role of fuel efficiency in the energy-efficient business than logging entrepreneurs during 2016 and 2017. Furthermore, the survey results revealed that logging and trucking enterprises can improve energy efficiency in their business by organiz ing more energy efficiency education (i.e. economical and anticipated driving training) for their machine operators and truck drivers. There is a positive attitude towards energy effi ciency among both logging and timber-trucking entrepreneurs. This creates a solid background to deepen and continue energy-effective work in the wood supply chain between the enter prises and Stora Enso WSF in the future.


Abstract:Trade union institutions are historically and comparatively weak in the United States, and union membership has been in steady decline over several decades. Scholars thus question the contemporary relevance of organized labor to social policy. Yet, there is considerable state-level variation in social policy and union institutional strength that remains underexamined. Focusing on variability across US states, this paper uses mixed-methods analysis to examine relationships between organized labor and parental and family leave legislation under varying political conditions. Event history analysis of state-level leave policy adoption from 1983 to 2016 shows that union institutional strength, particularly in the public sector, is positively associated with the timing of leave policy adoption. These findings are robust to the inclusion of other factors, including Democratic control of state houses, which is also shown to facilitate leave policy adoption. Comparative case studies support event history findings and illustrate how state house partisanship informs the level of government that leave advocates target for policy change. The paper concludes by suggesting further attention to subnational policies and investigation into the social movement practice of target-shifting and its effects. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates the operation of power resources at the subnational level within a liberal market national context.


We describe a method for generating independent samples from univariate density functions using adaptive rejection sampling without the log-concavity requirement. The method makes use of the fact that many functions can be expressed as a sum of concave and convex functions. Using a concave-convex decomposition, we bound the log-density by separately bounding the concave and convex parts using piecewise linear functions. The upper bound can then be used as the proposal distribution in rejection sampling. We demonstrate the applicability of the concave-convex approach on a number of standard distributions and describe an application to the efficient construction of sequential Monte Carlo proposal distributions for inference over genealogical trees. Computer code for the proposed algorithms is available online.


The first Top Student Feature appeared in the April 2003 edition of without prejudice. The 10th anniversary of that first feature comes hot on the heels of the 10th birthday of the magazine itself in October last year.
When in 2008 we decided it would be interesting to find out what those first 16 top LLB students were doing five-years on it proved a much more difficult task than I had imagined to track down everyone. For a start at least half of the original group no longer had the same contact details. But, in the end, 15 of the 16 Top Students were found.


The western Gawler Craton comprises poorly outcropping basement units which has
hampered the tectonic understanding of the area. Recent high-resolution
aeromagnetic data has provided an insight into the basement composition and allowed
preliminary tectonic interpretation. The Gawler Craton is here divided into tectonic
subdomains based on structural/metamorphic and aeromagnetic signature, and records
a dominantly Proterozoic structural history. Regional mapping on CHILDARA 1:250
000 and reconnaissance sampling on FOWLER, STREAKY BAY, and NUYTS, was
designed to determine the geochemistry of the basement lithologies, and attempt to
construct a geological history of the western Gawler Craton, building on recent
geochronology and structural/metamorphic work within the Fowler Subdomain to the
west. This understanding is further used to constrain the age and controls on gold and
base-metal mineralising events. Previous solid geology interpretations of the western
Gawler Craton showed an Archaean basement to much of the area, however, this
study has shown no Archaean exists within the Nuyts Subdomain.
Four main periods of Proterozoic granitoid plutonism over a 130 My period (-1690 —
1560 Ma) are recognised on CHILDARA. Recent geochronology has shown that
major structures post-date the Kimban Orogeny (1845 — 1695 Ma), hence deformation
and associated magmatism on the western and northern Gawler Craton are now
attributed to the Kararan Orogeny (1690 — 1540 Ma).
The 1690-1670 Ma Tunkillia Suite is restricted to the eastern Nuyts Subdomain and
scattered plutons within the Christie, Fowler and Cleve Subdomains. The Tunkillia
Suite is felsic (67 — 76.5 wt% Si02 values) with Na/K <1, has high Rb/Sr, variable
HREE enrichment and moderate to strong negative Eu anomalies. On CHILDARA,
the Tunkillia Suite crops out within the Yarlbrinda Shear Zone, and hosts the
Tunkillia and Nuckulla Hill gold prospects.
The 1630-1608 Ma St Peter Suite is restricted to the Nuyts Subdomain. Within the
Kalanbi and Rocky Point-Cape Beaufort areas, these rocks generally resemble
magmatic arc-related batholiths. The St Peter Suite is characterised by an expanded
SiO2 range (47-76 wt%), is sodic (Na/K >1), shows high Sr, K/Rb and Sr/Y and
relatively low K20, Rb, Rb/Sr, Th, U (ie: low heat producing granites), REE, and Nb.
The St Peter Suite is LREE enriched, HREE and Y-depleted, with little or no Eu
anomaly. These geochemical characteristics are similar to modern magmatic arc rocks
and are consistent with formation within a subduction related environment, with
magmas produced from partial melting of hydrous basalt at depths within the garnet
stability field. The St Peter Suite is considered to have formed by fractionation of arc-type
magmas and/or partial melting of arc-related intrusions, or mafic under-plating
within a subduction related continental margin setting.
The Hiltaba Suite (1595-1575 Ma) is an extensive suite of felsic granites (>70 wt %
Si02) characterised by low Na/K (<1), high Rb/Sr and variable FREE enrichment,
with moderate to strong negative Eu anomalies. The comagmatic Glyde Hill
Volcanics correlate with the Gawler Range Volcanics, and comprise a series of
dominantly felsic lavas and ignimbrites. The Hiltaba Suite/Gawler Range Volcanics
generally do not show an arc affinity. They record a major shift in tectonic
environment from a dominantly compressional environment during the St Peter Suite
magmatic event, to an intracontinental extensional environment, but the initial source
of heat may be related to earlier subduction (ie: back-arc extension origin).
The 1560 Ma S-type Munjeela Granite represents a late stage melt and is related to a
period of extension and basin formation to the west of the Koonibba Fault Zone.
The most likely tectonic model that accounts for these geochemical features is as
follows. Continental collision occurred between the Fowler Subdomain and the proto-Yilgarn
Craton to the west, initiating southward dipping subduction to produce the arc
related St Peter Suite magmatism. However, this change appears to have been
unsustainable and subsequent intraplate extension, possibly together with basaltic
underplating of the continental crust, produced the voluminous Hiltaba Suite/Gawler
Ranges Volcanics.
These geological events produced lode gold-style mineralisation within the
Yarlbrinda Shear Zone. The Yarlbrinda Shear Zone is a major north-south trending
shear zone located on eastern CHILDARA, which hosts the Tunkillia and Nuckulla
Hill gold prospects. The host granites are extensively altered, with mineralisation
associated with zones of intense sericite alteration. K-Ar dating of sericite from
Tunkillia recorded a cooling age of —1600 Ma, suggesting a relationship to the Hiltaba
Suite/Gawler Range Volcanic magmatic event. Two main vein generations are
defined at Tunkillia, with mineralisation located within narrow quartz veins (V1). V1
veins comprise quartz and sulphides and combine to form steeply dipping lenses
ranging in thickness from cm-scale up to 1 m, which are sub-continuous along strike.
Pyrite is the main sulphide with accessory galena and chalcopyrite. V2 veins
comprise late, crosscutting calcite veins, which are barren.
Primary fluid inclusions hosted by V1 veins are typically two-phase at room
temperature containing an aqueous phase and vapour. Preliminary fluid inclusion data
suggests that gold deposition took place over a temperature range of 200 0 - 300° C
from a low salinity fluid (≤4 wt% NaCl equivalent). Sulphur isotope analysis shows
the source of sulphur is magmatic (-2.23 to 3.19), and lead isotope data indicate that
mineralisation is consistent with an origin by fluid release from Hiltaba Suite granites,
however, the Pb-isotopic composition of other granitoid suites has not been
characterised.
The Yarlbrinda Shear Zone shows evidence for an early phase of dextral strike-slip
deformation, which is expressed by a regional foliation and shallow plunging
stretching lineations. Kinematic indicators including S-C fabrics and rotated
porphyroclasts show a dextral sense of shear. Later deformation comprised dip-slip
movement, which produced steeply plunging stretching lineations and rotated
porphyroclasts, showing a west-side-up sense of movement. Mineralisation at
Tunkillia appears to be localised at the junction of the regional foliation and steeply
plunging lineations, and is interpreted as late in the structural history. Late stage
brittle structures related to the locking up of the Yarlbrinda and Yerda Shear Zones
crosscut the shear zone and are unrelated to mineralisation. The Yarlbrinda Shear
Zone is part of a large-scale west-directed transpressional duplex that developed on a
regional restraining bend of the shear system.
U-Pb zircon geochronology shows that deformation within the Yerda Shear Zone was
taking place at -1592 Ma, but deformation within the Yarlbrinda Shear Zone must
have ceased by -1580 Ma when the Kondoolka Batholith was intruded. The extent of
sericite alteration requires a voluminous influx of low pH fluids, with the Hiltaba
Suite the most likely source. This fluid mixed with low salinity metamorphic fluids
which leached Pb and S from the granites at depth.


Objective:
To assess the effects of anastrozole use as hormonal treatment of breast cancer on the serum estrogen level in an animal model.
Study Design: Laboratory based randomized controlled trial.
 Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad, 7 months from Jun 2012 to Nov 2012.
Material and Methods:
Thirty adult female rabbits (New Zealand) average weight 1.2 to 2 kg and age between 6 months to 2 years were selected. Ten were kept in control group A and 10 were kept in experimental groups B and C each. Group B was given anastrozole in the dose parallel to normal human dose and group C was given a dose 10 times higher than the normal dose for six months. After the completion of the study blood estrogen levels were taken to evaluate serum estrogen level of the groups. The results were compared among the groups for statistical significance by using SPSS version 21.
Result:
After maintaining a steady dose of anastrozole in both experimental groups for six months, blood samples were taken to calculate the mean serum level of estrogen in each group the normal level was 186.1 ± 63.59 pmol/L in group A and 116.4 ± 48.58 pmol/L and 108.2 ± 20.40 pmol/L in experimental groups B and C respectively. The p-value was 0.008 which was statistically significant. The p-value between the control and experimental group C was 0.003 which is also highly significant. The comparison of the serum estrogen levels of both the experimental groups B and C was found to be statistically insignificant.
Conclusion:
Adminstration of normal dose of anastrazole decreases serum estrogen levels. This decrease is significant statistically. Increasing the dose of anastrozole decreases the serum estrogen levels but this decrease is not significant statistically.
Keywords: , , ,.


The Human-Centric Word Processor is a research prototype that allows users to create, edit and manage documents. Users can use real-time continuous peech recognition to dictate the contents of a document. Speech recognition is coupled with pen or mouse based input to facilitate all aspects of the command and control of the application. The system is multimodal, allowing the user to point and speak simultaneously. In particular, the correction, formatting, organization and manipulation of dictated text are greatly facilitated by the combination f natural language understanding and multimodal input. The system uses a maximum entropy, statistical approach for mapping a combination of natural language and pointing events into multimodal formal language statements.


ABSTRACT Graded beds may be produced by deposit-feeding organisms in intertidal and shallow subtidal environments. Barnstable Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, contains intertidal populations of Clymenella torquata, a sedentary polychaete. Clymenella selectively ingests specific size fractions of sediment at a depth of 10-30 cm within the tidal flats. Sand and silt are transported vertically through the gut and egested as uncompacted feces on the sediment surface. Size fractions too coarse for ingestion ( > 1.0 mm) are concentrated at the lower end of worm tubes producing a well graded stratum. Laboratory measurements indicate that Clymenella is capable of displacing 87 liters of sediment per m2 per year at the mean annual water temperature of Barnstable Harbo (11°C). The thickness of a graded bed, limited by feeding depth, is less than 30 cm. Maximum and average grain size decrease in regular fashion from the base to the top of the bed. Sorting is poor and values vary irregularly in the bed. The size distribution curves are strongly to moderately fine-skewed in samples at the base of beds; curves become more nearly symmetrical at the top of graded beds. Biogenically graded beds may be distinguished from physically deposited graded beds by textural properties, associated sedimentary structures, geometry of the deposits, and lithology of interfingering facies. The best development of biogenic graded bedding occurs in sites of slow hysical sediment accretion and relatively weak bottom currents.


With the increasing use of Computational Fluid Dynamics to investigate multiphase flow scenarios, modelling surface tension effects has been a topic of active research. A well known associated problem is the generation of spurious velocities (or currents), arising due to inaccuracies in calculations of the surface tension force. These spurious currents cause nonphysical flows which can adversely affect the predictive capability of these simulations. In this paper, we implement the Continuum Surface Force (CSF), Smoothed CSF and Sharp Surface Force (SSF) models in OpenFOAM. The models were validated for various multiphase flow scenarios for Capillary numbers of 10 − 3 –10. All the surface tension models provide reasonable agreement with benchmarking data for rising bubble simulations. Both CSF and SSF models successfully predicted the capillary rise between two parallel plates, but Smoothed CSF could not provide reliable results. The evolution of spurious current were studied for millimetre-sized stationary bubbles. The results shows that SSF and CSF models generate the least and most spurious currents, respectively. We also show that maximum time step, mesh resolution and the under-relaxation factor used in the simulations affect the magnitude of spurious currents.


The Moose River Hydroelectric Project, Lyonsdale, New York, is constructed in Precambrian gneiss of the western Adirondack Mountains. A key element of the project was construction and operation of a 4550-ft long unlined, 15-ft diameter pressure tunnel. During the first tunnel filling, monitoring personnel at ground level noted three distinct thuds or bumping noises coming from the tunnel. Immediately following filling and during the next several days, tunnel leakage emerged at several locations. The power tunnel was dewatered for inspection and found to be structurally sound. Several previously tight, sub-horizontal fractures had opened 0.25 to 0.5 in. at the tunnel wall surface. Some newly developed fractures showed 0.25 in. of displacement toward the center of the tunnel. The tunnel was refilled under close observation which included acoustic monitoring in boreholes adjacent to the tunnel, and recording background microseismic levels several hundred ft away from the tunnel. The geophysical monitoring indicated no further strain or fracturing. After twelve months of operation, tunnel leakage diminished from 9 cfs to 4 cfs. Saturated leaves and pine needles were introduced into the tunnel flow during normal operations to reduce seepage.


Abstract. The impact of open crop residual burning (OCRB) on O3, CO, black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations over Central Eastern China (CEC; 30–40° N, 111–120° E), during the Mount Tai Experiment in 2006 (MTX2006) was evaluated using a regional chemical transport model, the Models–3 Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ). To investigate these pollutants during MTX2006 in June 2006, daily gridded OCRB emissions were developed based on a bottom-up methodology using land cover and hotspot information from satellites. This model system involving daily emissions captured monthly–averages of observed concentrations and day-to-day variations in the patterns of O3, CO, BC and OC at the summit of Mount Tai (36° N, 117° E, 1534 m a.s.l., Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China) with high correlation coefficients between the model and observations ranging from 0.55 to 0.69. These results were significantly improved from those using annual biomass burning emissions. For monthly-averaged O3, the simulated concentration of 80.8 ppbv was close to the observed concentration (81.3 ppbv). The MTX2006 period was roughly divided into two parts: 1) polluted days with heavy OCRB in the first half of June; and 2) cleaner days with negligible field burning in the latter half of June. Additionally, the first half of June was characterized by two high-pollution episodes during 5–7 and 12–13 June, separated by a relatively cleaner intermediate period during 8–10 June. In the first high-pollution episode, the model captured the high O3, CO, BC and OC concentrations at the summit of Mount Tai, which were associated with OCRB over southern CEC and subsequent northward transport. For this episode, the impacts of OCRB emissions on pollutant concentrations were 26% (O3), 62% (CO), 79% (BC) and 80% (OC) at the summit of Mount Tai. The daily OCRB emissions were an essential factor in the evaluation of these pollutants during MTX2006. These emissions have a large impact not only on primary pollutants but also on secondary pollutants, such as O3, in the first half of June over northeastern Asia. The model reproduced reasonably well the variation of these pollutants in MTX2006, but underestimated daily averages of both CO and BC by a factor of 2, when using emission data from almost solely anthropogenic fuel sources in the latter half of the observation period when field burning can be neglected.


Bayesian methods promise to fix many shortcomings of deep learning, but they are impractical and rarely match the performance of standard methods, let alone improve them. In this paper, we demonstrate practical training of deep networks with natural-gradient variational inference. By applying techniques such as batch normalisation, data augmentation, and distributed training, we achieve similar performance in about the same number of epochs as the Adam optimiser, even on large datasets such as ImageNet. Importantly, the benefits of Bayesian principles are preserved: predictive probabilities are well-calibrated, uncertainties on out-of-distribution data are improved, and continual-learning performance is boosted. This work enables practical deep learning while preserving benefits of Bayesian principles. A PyTorch implementation is available as a plug-and-play optimiser.


This purpose of this research was to identify that there is no definite version of a definition for Globalization. The origins of the word was used to describe economic-political phenomenon, leaving aside the impact of and on the cultural elements. The other purpose of this research was to identify how globalization is perceived outside of the academic constraints, on how it influences small organizations and people at the individual level. This was achieved through cross-referencing various academic definitions and interpretations of globalization that were later contrasted and compared with the definitions of the interviewed employees of a sports management organization, where they were asked about their perception of its terminology and how its presence affected their professional and personal lives. Though a definite answer was not achieved, evidence that small organizations, the individual person and other cultural elements have a more active role on globalization was encountered. To this point, this research is a first step into better understanding the nature of globalization and how there are more forces exerted to it that become a part of its definition, should be studied not only within the confines of academia, but at its practical environment as well. GLOBALIZATION IN A SPORTS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT 3


Aiming to gain deeper knowledge of the impact that external engagement can have in fragile contexts, this paper analyses international support given to foster stability and democracy in Timor-Leste. Two main questions guided the research. First, have international actors contributed to the consolidation of peace and democracy in Timor-Leste? Second, which factors explain successful support, and which ones explain failure? After having achieved independence, the young nation faced a new task: establishing a stable state and a functioning democratic system. Four years after formal independence had been established, a major violent crisis forced the government to invite an international stabilisation force. The crisis revealed not only that stability was still fragile, it also disclosed the many persistent challenges. Since then, considerable achievements have been made: solving the crisis of massive internal displacement caused by the 2006 events, and conducting two elections without major incidents, in 2007 and in 2012. However, problems in the security sector, which were closely linked to the outbreak of the 2006 crisis, still have not been comprehensively addressed. The international community provided substantial support to all of these processes, helping to facilitate important accomplishments, yet failing to prevent – or even reinforcing – some weaknesses as well. The research uses selected "critical junctures" in the peace and democratisation process to assess the impact of donor engagement. The analysis focuses on these critical junctures in order to establish what impact they had and to infer the causality of donors' support. International engagement claiming to have made a crucial contribution to the overall process should be visible in these critical junctures, while significant contributions to such critical junctures will, by definition, also have had an impact on the larger peace and democratisation processes. The critical junctures analysed are: 1) the 2007 electoral process, 2) the crisis of internal displacement (2006-2010) and 3) Security Sector Reform (2006-2014). In order to analyse which factors influenced the effectiveness of external support, the research was guided by academic literature, which suggests that both choosing cooperative over coercive forms of cooperation as well as high levels of coordination increase the effectiveness of international support given to advance peace and democracy. Both of these expectations were generally confirmed by this research: high levels of coordination indeed helped to render external support effective, whereas low levels significantly hampered its success, as diverging approaches in the security sector show, in particular. Cooperative forms of support have been more successful, as illustrated by the very successful international facilitation of the government-led resolution of the internal displacement crisis. More coercive measures in the Security Sector Reform process provoked resistance and reduced the effectiveness of international support. Yet, the analysis also shows the limits of cooperative forms of support when framework conditions are unfavourable.


Background: Our objective was to identify published models of coordination between entities funding or delivering health services in humanitarian crises, whether the coordination took place during or after the crises. Methods: We included reports describing models of coordination in sufficient detail to allow reproducibility. We also included reports describing implementation of identified models, as case studies. We searched Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the WHO Global Health Library. We also searched websites of relevant organizations. We followed standard systematic review methodology. Results: Our search captured 14,309 citations. The screening process identified 34 eligible papers describing five models of coordination of delivering health services: the "Cluster Approach" (with 16 case studies), the 4Ws "Who is Where, When, doing What" mapping tool (with four case studies), the "Sphere Project" (with two case studies), the "5x5" model (with one case study), and the "model of information coordination" (with one case study). The 4Ws and the 5x5 focus on coordination of services for mental health, the remaining models do not focus on a specific health topic. The Cluster approach appears to be the most widely used. One case study was a mixed implementation of the Cluster approach and the Sphere model. We identified no model of coordination for funding of health service. Conclusion: This systematic review identified five proposed coordination models that have been implemented by entities funding or delivering health service in humanitarian crises. There is a need to compare the effect of these different models on outcomes such as availability of and access to health services.


Honiara, is a young urban setting where individuals from different ethnic groups and islands are creating their own urban culture. The practices of traditional healers in Honiara occur in a context where little action has transpired to integrate kastom medicine into the national health system. While policies and strategies were created to foster the incorporation of traditional healers into the health system, their focus is associated with rural areas and static concepts of 'tradition'. Such a focus does not consider social and cultural change, urban practices, or the rural/urban circular movements of healers. At the same time, traditional healers are creating their own networks, developing their practices and negotiating their positions as kastom medicine is utilized informally alongside biomedicine. Their conceptions about the causation of diseases coexist with Christian and magical beliefs in a context of continuity and change. How kastom medicinal knowledge is created, transmitted, legitimized controlled, challenged, changed and acted upon is discussed against the background of the complexity of urban social life. Healer's knowledge of their natural pharmacopoeia is a great resource at the level of primary health care, as are the roles healers play as specialists in divining and healing kastom illnesses. The significance of this work is threefold: in this stage of development of the country it is important to understand the coexistence between medical traditions, and to understand their changing roles in an urban context and in the national health system; theoretically it will further our understanding of social change, and it will fill gaps in the lack of scholarship in the area of traditional medicine in the Solomon Islands and more specifically in urban Honiara.


Carlos Rojas is the creator of highly imaginative, intricately
wrought and richly written novels. Their thematic structure could
include a range of subjects from dream and reality to history and
religion, and be woven with a personalised style whichx is
unmistakeable. But the themes underlying most of his work are those
elemental problems of man: loneliness and alienation, selfexamination,
communication and creation. It is through an examination
of these themes as explored by Rojas in his fiction and other
writings, that the source of his artistic inspiration and style may
be discovered. I intend in the following three chapters to reveal
how a sense of loneliness and alienation contributes greatly to his
creative urge, and how this feeling of aloneness, together with the
allied themes of self-examination and communication, has a basic
influence on the wayin which he writes. The two novels I will refer
to mainly are La ternura del hombre invisible and Adolfo Hitler esta
en mi casa.
In the first chapter I will discuss the question of character
identification and communication. Within these novels, the
characters come to realise that communication with others must be
preceeded by ..confrontation with the self. Rojas is as convinced of
this truth as his characters. For in this way communication can be
seen as a creative force; for man in his relations with himself
and other men, for the writer with his public.
The concept of creative force will be dealt with in more detail
in Chapter Two. Here, through structural and stylistic analysis
of the symbolic pattern of fertility, I hope to show that fertility
symbols and images are carefully and consistently used to
consolodate the hope in creation as the solution to a lonely and
barren existence. They are, in effect, an essential part of the
structure of the novels.
In Chapter Three I propose to examine his non-fiction in the
light of his fictional writings, and to relate the meaning of life
with the means of living. For Rojas, communication is an important
meaning of life in a world where man lives with himself and with
other people. In his non-fiction, he relates the problems of
communication which he explores in his novels, to the means of
living, which is the manner in which man lives out his life. He
emphasises the necessity of an understanding communication as a
prerequisite to the harmonious co-existence of mankind. He
discusses this not only in the universal brotherhood of man
context, but with particular reference to isolationist states of
mind in communities of his native country.


The recent expansion of the Americans with Disabilities Act's (ADA) protected class invites reexamination of the assumption that pregnant workers may not use the ADA to obtain workplace accommodations. The ADA's scope now includes persons with minor temporary physical limitations comparable to pregnancy's physical effects. Accordingly, the primary remaining justification for concluding that pregnant workers may not obtain ADA accommodations is that pregnancy is a physically healthy condition rather than a physiological defect. Drawing on the social model of disability, this Article challenges the assumption that medical diagnosis of "defect" must be a prerequisite to disability accommodation eligibility. The social model defines "disability" not as an impairment located within an individual's body but as the interaction between the individual's body and her social environment. Within this framework, workers may experience pregnancy, a healthy biological state, as a workplace "disability." Accordingly, now that workers with temporary physical limitations comparable to pregnancy may receive ADA accommodations, courts should conclude that the ADA's goal — to reshape the workplace to accommodate previously excluded person — extends to pregnancy.


We have analysed data of three European populations speaking non-Indoeuropean languages: Hungarians, Lapps, and Finns. Principal coordinate analysis shows that Lapps are almost exactly intermediate between people located geographically near the Ural mountains and speaking Uralic languages, and central and northern Europeans. Hungarians and Finns are definitely closer to Europeans. An analysis of genetic admixture between Uralic and European ancestors shows that Lapps are slightly more than 50% European, Hungarians are 87% European, and Finns are 90% European. There is basic agreement between these conclusions and historical data on Hungary. Less is known about Finns and very little about Lapps.


This Article focuses upon a persistent problem of the nonprofit sector -- its lack of accountability to the public. Director, officer, and organizational responsibilities will be analyzed. Past and current approaches to secure accountability of charitable assets will be discussed, and a proposal for improving charitable accountability will be suggested through the creation of public-private charity commissions at the state level under the aegis of the attorney general.


This exploratory study examined how women managers in education in Sarawak combine their traditional and professional roles and deal with potential role conflict. The study is set in the context of an increasing number of women managers in education in Sarawak and the issues this raises for their support, if they are to harmonise their roles and advance professionally. The aim of the study is to furnish policy makers at the national and state level with information to formulate a policy document which could be adopted in preparing a strategy for the advancement of women managers, taking into account their dual roles. Both quantitative and qualitative paradigms are employed to provide depth and breadth. The postal survey questionnaire was sent to all the 109 women in the target population: all women heads and deputies in schools, teacher training colleges and the State Education Department. There was a 91.7% response rate. Additionally, eight women managers were interviewed in-depth, together with seven spouses and three other senior women in education, who are influential nationally. The eight women managers also completed time-log diaries for a week. Respondents in the survey questionnaire included managers who, at one time, had rejected promotion. This enabled the perceptions of those who had experienced difficulties in relation to promotion to be analysed, as well as those who had not. Combining the quantitative and qualitative approaches meant that they complemented, supplemented and illuminated each other. The study did not aim, initially, to explore the cultural dimension but it emerged during the interviews that their specific cultural origins (Malay, Iban and Chinese) were a significant determinant of the women managers' perceptions of their dual roles. Indigenous culture was not found to be a barrier to advancement but the research has revealed that when studying women in educational management consideration of individual cultural contexts gives additional insights into their perceptions of their two roles. Interviews with the spouses revealed corresponding views to those of their wives pertaining to women's traditional roles; they also saw complementary roles in the partnership. The close support of the extended family is a significant factor in the study. For the women studied, the boundaries between their personal and professional roles were not clear-cut. Work invaded their personal lives and family needs were perceived as paramount when considering promotion. Values relating to caring and nurturing imbued their professional and personal lives. The different cultural and environmental experiences of the women managers contributed to their varied perceptions of role conflict. Many had developed coping strategies which reduced such conflict and supported their successful performance as workers, wives, mothers and daughters. Impediments to the advancement of women managers are identified and possible courses of future action suggested. Implications for policy makers at the Ministry of Education and State Education Department as well as for future research are highlighted.


Since February 2021, countless lives have been lost in India, which has compounded the social and economic devastation caused by the second wave of COVID-19. The sharp surge in cases across the country overwhelmed the health infrastructure, with people left scrambling for hospital beds, critical drugs, and oxygen. As of May 2021, infections began to come down in urban areas. However, the effects of the second wave continued to be felt in rural areas. This is the worst humanitarian and public health crisis the country has witnessed since independence; while the continued spread of COVID-19 variants will have regional and global implications. With a slow vaccine rollout and overwhelmed health infrastructure, there is a critical need to examine India's response and recommend measures to further arrest the current spread of infection and to prevent and prepare against future waves. This brief is a rapid social science review and analysis of the second wave of COVID-19 in India. It draws on emerging reports, literature, and regional social science expertise to examine reasons for the second wave, explain its impact, and highlight the systemic issues that hindered the response. This brief puts forth vital considerations for local and national government, civil society, and humanitarian actors at global and national levels, with implications for future waves of COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries. This review is part of the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP) series on the COVID-19 response in India. It was developed for SSHAP by Mihir R. Bhatt (AIDMI), Shilpi Srivastava (IDS), Megan Schmidt-Sane (IDS), and Lyla Mehta (IDS) with input and reviews from Deepak Sanan (Former Civil Servant; Senior Visiting Fellow, Centre for Policy Research), Subir Sinha (SOAS), Murad Banaji (Middlesex University London), Delhi Rose Angom (Oxfam India), Olivia Tulloch (Anthrologica) and Santiago Ripoll (IDS). It is the responsibility of SSHAP.


: The article begins by addressing the contribution and limits of postcolonial studies to the understanding of colonialism; in particular, it critiques the field's fixation on the discursive to the detriment of the material reality of colonialism. we then examine the intellectual history of transitional justice (TJ) as a field and a practice and itemize some of the criticisms made of its shortcomings, not least in relation to colonial harms. These harms are considered in detail through the specific example of colonialism in Ire-land. we focus on the noticeable absence of the concept of colonialism from contemporary deliberations and practices of transition in relation to the Northern Ireland conflict. Finally, we interrogate the ability of TJ in the postcolonial period to adequately make amends for colonialism, again focusing on the Irish case, concluding that while there are major obstacles in such a task, especially in relation to "hard" measures, there are also some promising possibilities, particularly as regards "soft" measures. The lessons learnt are applicable to a range of other transitional sites grappling with postcolonial legacies.


In this paper, the nonlinear free vibrations of thin symmetric and nonsymmetric cross-ply composite plates subjected to biaxial initial stresses are investigated. Because of their excellent properties such as specific strength and specific stiffness, composite plates have wide applications in aerospace and mechanical structures. Based on Von-Karman's strain-displacement relations and using Galerkin method, the nonlinear differential equation of free vibrations of initially stressed composite plate is obtained. This nonlinear equation is solved using two different analytical perturbation methods, namely method of multiple scales (MTS) and homotopy perturbation method (HPM), to analyze the nonlinear vibrations of initially stressed cross-ply composite plates. Effects of tensile and compressive biaxial initial stresses, initial vibration amplitude, thickness, and aspect ratios of the composite plates on the frequency behavior are investigated. The validity of the results is confirmed by making a comparison with those reported in the literature. According to the results, both analytical solutions show increasing trends for natural frequency parameters by increasing normal initial stresses. Regardless of the value of initial biaxial stresses, for both symmetric and non-symmetric plates, the results of MTS and HPM are in close agreement for the smallest initial amplitude. However, for compressive initial stresses, by increasing initial amplitude ratios, the discrepancies between the results of HPM and MTS increase for symmetric and non-symmetric plates. Although HPM includes less computational effort (smaller length of formulation) than MTS, the linear-to-nonlinear frequency ratios obtained using MTS method become closer to those obtained by HPM as initial vibration amplitude is decreased and initial stress is increased.


The generation of acoustic waves in structured nanobeams containing optomechanic cavities is a topic of current interest. In this paper, we theoretically study the efficient conversion of surface acoustic waves (SAW) generated on a substrate by an RF electric signal into the acoustic waves of a nanobeam. First, we demonstrate the possibility of converting the SAW generated on a silicon substrate with a thin piezoelectric AlN layer into the guided mechanical modes of a straight nanobeam with a maximum efficiency of  −22.6 dB. This can be achieved by using a set of inter-digitated transducers with radial fingers, which provide SAW focusing towards the nanobeam entrance. We analyse the nature of the modes created inside the nanobeam and the conversion efficiency of the SAW into the different modes. Then, we study the interaction of these waves with a one-dimensional phononic crystal nanobeam containing a cavity. The latter is constituted by an array of holes and stubs and has been proven in our recent works to be very efficient for optomechanic applications. We calculate the transmission properties of the cavity modes and discuss the efficiency of generating the cavity modes from the initial SAW.


Of all the Diaspora communities, the Jews of India are among the least known and most interesting. This readable study, full of vivid details of everyday life, looks in depth at the religious life of the Jewish community in Cochin, the Bene Israel from the remote Konkan coast near Bombay, and the Baghdadi Jews, who migrated to Indian port cities and flourished under the British Raj. "Who Are the Jews of India?" is the first integrated, comprehensive work available on all three of India's Jewish communities. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Nathan Katz brings together methods and insights from religious studies, ritual studies, anthropology, history, linguistics, and folklore, as he discusses the strategies each community developed to maintain its Jewish identity. Based on extensive fieldwork throughout India, as well as close reading of historical documents, this study provides a striking new understanding of the Jewish Diaspora and of Hindu civilization as a whole.


Operational safety is the major aspect of a counterbalanced forklift's design. A new test was introduced with the standard DIN EN 16203 to test the lateral dynamic safety of forklifts. The measurements involve high costs and effort to achieve reproducible results. Multibody simulations (MBS) are conducted to facilitate the design of safety systems and understand the safety limits of an industrial truck. An adequate tire model is an essential part of such simulation. A new approach to forklift tire modeling is presented in this paper. It involves measuring several common industrial tires on a drum tire testing apparatus and using them to parametrize the tire model. The SUPREM model (German: Superelastisches Reifenmodell) uses a mathematical modeling approach to describe lateral force and lateral tire deformation based on wheel load, slip angle, slip rate, and driving velocity. For this easy-touse model, 8 parameters are estimated from tire measurements for different tire types. Better tire approximation leads to more accurate multibody simulations and a deeper understanding of the dynamic behavior of forklifts. Better vehicle lateral stability can be achieved if the outcomes are considered in the design process of a forklift. With this model highly dynamic multibody forklift simulations according to DIN EN 16203 can be carried out.


Studying how individuals accept new Informatics systems such as E-commerce is one of the main issues in information systems research. Libya needs to develop and implement E-commerce systems successfully; Libya has fallen far behind other similar states in the region with regard to internet and E-commerce uptake. Successful implementation of any system depends on its acceptance and use by potential users. This thesis investigates how managers make their decisions towards E-commerce systems. This investigation is conducted over two culturally similar countries, namely Libya and Tunisia to attempt to identify factors that differ between the two communities in terms of technology acceptance. The study is undertaken using the well-accepted Technology Acceptance model (TAM), but extends this by incorporating new factors, which have both direct and indirect influences on a managers' decision to use E-commerce technology. The thesis seeks to answer the research question "What factors affect a managers' decisions to accept and use E-commerce systems in Libyan and Tunisian companies?" This research adds more constructs to the original technology acceptance model, which are adapted from the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behaviour. This research adopts action research, case study and questionnaire survey methods to test the 18 hypotheses. The results confirm the value of the new extended technology acceptance model and hence represent a contribution to the literature of computer systems adoption. The contribution of this research is developing the Technology Acceptance Model and testing it on the Usage of E-commerce in Libyan and Tunisian companies, the Extended Technology Acceptance Model appropriate to E-commerce (E-COMTAM) was based on the critical analysis of the TAM, with eight additional and new items. The dissertation has seven chapters; Chapter One was the concepts of E-commerce, Chapter Two: Theoretical Literature Review of Technology Acceptance Model, the third chapter covers research aims and objectives, Chapter Four: covers the research methodology , Chapter Five research variables and hypotheses, Chapter Six: covers the data analysis and the research results. Finally, Chapter Seven is the conclusion and recommendations.


In this paper, we propose the first formal privacy analysis of a data anonymization process known as the synthetic data generation, a technique becoming popular in the statistics community. The target application for this work is a mapping program that shows the commuting patterns of the population of the United States. The source data for this application were collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, but due to privacy constraints, they cannot be used directly by the mapping program. Instead, we generate synthetic data that statistically mimic the original data while providing privacy guarantees. We use these synthetic data as a surrogate for the original data. We find that while some existing definitions of privacy are inapplicable to our target application, others are too conservative and render the synthetic data useless since they guard against privacy breaches that are very unlikely. Moreover, the data in our target application is sparse, and none of the existing solutions are tailored to anonymize sparse data. In this paper, we propose solutions to address the above issues.


Background: Prolactinomas are the most frequent pituitary adenomas. The treatment with cabergoline, the most common dopamine agonist used, is associated with side effects such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, movement disorders and fatigue. There is some additional evidence from case reports and small studies that some patients report neuropsychiatric side effects such as depression, gambling, hypersexuality and impulsive control disorders.
Objective: In this cross-sectional study we sought to investigate the baseline clinical, demographic and disease characteristics of our patient group as well as life-time comorbidities. Additionally, side effects under treatment with cabergoline (prevalence and enhancement) and whether genetic variants of the ABCB1 gene (coding MDR1 or P-gp) could account for difference in the central neuropsychiatric side effects were investigated.
Methods: Questionnaires evaluating medical history, therapy side effects and further demographic characteristics were sent to all prolactinoma patients currently treated at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich. Additionally, DNA extracted either from blood or saliva samples was genotyped for each patient.
Results: The clinical study included a total of 92 patients (23 male and 69 female, macro-to-microadenoma-ratio 1:1). The mean age of our group at the time of the study was 49,2 ± 13,8 years. Of the 79 patients treated with cabergoline, the following side effects associated with treatment were more prominent: fatigue (n=35), headaches (n=26), depressed mood (n=26), sleep disorders (n=26), dizziness (n=22), aggressiveness (n=17), anxiety (n=19) and weight loss (n=16). 18 patients reported of decreased and 16 of increased libido. Significant effects were observed for the C-carriers and heterozygous CT-individuals of rs1045642 that presented less frequent fatigue and sleep disorders under cabergoline. In the analysis of SNP rs2032582, G-carriers seemed to be protected from enhancement of dizziness under cabergoline. SNPs rs2235015 and rs2032583 were found to have no association with the examined symptoms.
Conclusion: In our group we described an increased prevalence of symptoms such as fatigue and weight loss under cabergoline, as well as neuropsychiatric side effects such as depressed mood, aggressiveness and anxiety in comparison to the available data of the literature. We demonstrated that polymorphisms of SNPs rs1045642 and rs2032582 of the ABCB1 gene predispose for fatigue, sleep disorders and dizziness under cabergoline. This is the first study demonstrating that individual ABCB1 gene polymorphisms could account for a different occurrence or enhancement of central side effects of this systematically administered medication.


This book offers a systematic exposition of conformal methods and how they can be used to study the global properties of solutions to the equations of Einstein's theory of gravity. It shows that combining these ideas with differential geometry can elucidate the existence and stability of the basic solutions of the theory. Introducing the differential geometric, spinorial and PDE background required to gain a deep understanding of conformal methods, this text provides an accessible account of key results in mathematical relativity over the last thirty years, including the stability of de Sitter and Minkowski spacetimes. For graduate students and researchers, this self-contained account includes useful visual models to help the reader grasp abstract concepts and a list of further reading, making this an ideal reference companion on the topic. This title, first published in 2016, has been reissued as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.


This retrospective study documents the Masters and PhD training of 131 Dental Research Institute (DRI) postgraduates (1954-2006) to establish demographics, throughput and research outcomes for future PhD pipeline strategies using the DRI database. Descriptive statistics show four degree-based groups of postgraduates: 18 PhDs; 55 MScs; 42 MDents and 16 dropouts. Postgraduate activity peaked in1981. Pipeline conversion from Masters to PhD was below 20% with MScs more likely to embark on a PhD than MDents. Nearly half of all postgraduates had prior published research experience before embarking on the degree. Acquired skills were predominantly thesis publication, teaching and conference presentation. Higher degrees were done for personal betterment (40%), specialist training (34%) or academic betterment (20%). The DRI intellectual climate and 50-hour research techniques course contributed to the 87% postgraduate completion rate. There is no incentive for DRI clinical researchers to complete a PhD unless on an academic career path.


Electron-proton transfer (EPT) from phenols to a triplet metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT)-excited Ru polypyridine complex containing an uncoordinated nitrogen site, 1(T), can be described by a kinetic model that accounts for the H-bonding of 1(T) to phenol, 1(T) to solvent, and phenol to solvent. The latter plays a major role in the kinetic solvent effect and commonly precludes simultaneous determination of the EPT rate constant and 1(T)-phenol H-bonding constant. A number of these quantities previously reported for similar systems are shown to be in error due to inconsistent data analysis. Control experiments replacing either 1(T) by its structural isomer with a sterically screened nitrogen site or phenol by its H-bonding surrogate, trifluoroethanol, and the observation of negative activation enthalpies for the overall reactions between 1(T) and phenols lend support to the proposed model and provide evidence for the formation of a precursor H-bonded complex between the reactants, which is a prerequisite for EPT.


Particle emissions are a drawback of rail transport. This work is a comprehensive presentation of recent research into particle emissions from rail vehicles. Both exhaust and nonexhaust particle emissions are considered when examining particle characteristics such as PM10, and PM2.5 concentration levels, size, morphology, composition, and adverse health effects, current legislation, and available and proposed solutions for reducing such emissions. High concentration levels in enclosed rail traffic environments are reported and some toxic effects of the particles. The authors find that only a few limited studies have examined the adverse health effects of nonexhaust particle emissions and that no relevant legislation exists. Thus further research in this area is warranted.


We explore cultural aspects of globalization and provide a model to illuminate some possible effects of globalization on the politics of redistribution within nations. The argument of the paper is as follows. Globalization is an extension of nationalism (not its antithesis) with regard to some aspects of culture and economic structure: it promotes cultural standardization and economic integration across national boundaries. But unlike nationalism, globalization does this without providing either the international cultural solidarity or governmental institutions capable of supporting egalitarian redistribution and insurance on a global scale, while weakening the nationbased institutions for the same. In this respect a globalized world may recreate the social structure of the archetypal agrarian empire: a dominant English-speaking class of cosmopolitans presiding over a heterogeneous and provincial underclass with little solidarity across the language groups and weak nationally-based instruments of social insurance and egalitarian redistribution. The politics of social insurance may thus increasingly pit the cosmopolitans against the provincials (not capital against labor, or even the high earners against the low earners, as many of the cosmopolitans are far from rich.) The result need not be institutional convergence to a world of uniformly minimalist welfare states, however, for the process of specialization induced by greater integration may support distinct institutional arrangements appropriate to each economy's divergent product mixes. Countries specializing in goods characterized by volatile demand or requiring high levels of specific skills may be induced by globalization to strengthen their systems of social protection.


T T he Government of the day fulfills an important role in the development and sustainability of the skills of public officials. This acquired skills is of importance in order to deliver an effective service to all South Africans. The necessary financial resources should be made available to develop and to sustain the skills of public servants. However the lack of these resources can be related to inadequate training programs for officials in the public service. This brings Government to seek alternative funding. Previous legislation, the Exchequer Act, 1975 (Act 66 of 1975) and accompanying financial regulations did not allow for innovative and creative financial management. With the introduction of the new Public Finance Management Act, 1999, (Act 1 of 1999) as amended, opportunities were created to generate additional sources of income to facilitate the training needs that could not be addressed through a line item budget. Although the generation of additional sources might be seen as a breakthrough, the ethical and moral implications should be taken into consideration.


A large literature has documented statistically significant effects of monetary policy on economic activity. The central explanation for how monetary policy transmits to the real economy relies critically on nominal rigidities, which form the basis of the New Keynesian (NK) framework. This paper studies a different transmission mechanism that operates even in the absence of nominal rigidities. We show that in an OLG setting, standard open market operations (OMO) carried by central banks have important revaluation effects that alter the level and distribution of wealth and the incentives to work and save for retirement. Specifically, expansionary OMO lead households to front-load their purchases of durable goods and work and save more, thus generating a temporary boom in durables, followed by a bust. The mechanism can account for the empirical responses of key macroeconomic variables to monetary policy interventions. Moreover, the model implies that different monetary interventions (e.g., OMO versus helicopter drops) can have different qualitative effects on activity. The mechanism can thus complement the NK paradigm. We study an extension of the model incorporating labor market frictions.


Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) conferring resistance to rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, have been under-explored. In the present study, composite interval mapping was used to identify the QTLs that condition resistance to the 6 out of the 12 common races (IB1, IB45, IB49, IB54, IC17, and ID1) of M. oryzae using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross of the moderately susceptible japonica cultivar Lemont with the moderately resistant indica cultivar Jasmine 85. Disease reactions of 227 F(7) RILs were determined using a category scale of ratings from 0, representing the most resistant, to 5, representing the most susceptible. A total of nine QTLs responsive to different degrees of phenotypic variation ranging from 5.17 to 26.53% were mapped on chromosomes 3, 8, 9, 11, and 12: qBLAST3 at 1.9 centimorgans (cM) to simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker RM282 on chromosome 3 to IB45 accounting for 5.17%; qBLAST8.1 co-segregated with SSR marker RM1148 to IB49 accounting for 6.69%, qBLAST8.2 at 0.1 cM to SSR marker RM72 to IC17 on chromosome 8 accounting for 7.22%; qBLAST9.1 at 0.1 cM to SSR marker RM257 to IB54, qBLAST9.2 at 2.1 cM to SSR marker RM108, and qBLAST9.3 at 0.1 cM to SSR marker RM215 to IC17 on chromosome 9 accounting for 4.64, 7.62, and 4.49%; qBLAST11 at 2.2 cM to SSR marker RM244 to IB45 and IB54 on chromosome 11 accounting for 26.53 and 19.60%; qBLAST12.1 at 0.3 cM to SSR marker OSM89 to IB1 on chromosome 12 accounting for 5.44%; and qBLAST12.2 at 0.3 and 0.1 cM to SSR marker OSM89 to IB49 and ID1 on chromosome 12 accounting for 9.7 and 10.18% of phenotypic variation, respectively. This study demonstrates the usefulness of tagging blast QTLs using physiological races by composite interval mapping.


audio performance with the unicorn interface (http://grh.mur.at/projects/e-unicorn.html)
 The unicorn is the only fabulous beast that does not seem to have been conceived out of human fears. In even the earliest references he is fierce yet good, selfless yet solitary, but always mysteriously beautiful. He could be captured only by unfair means, and his single horn was said to neutralize poison. (Marianna Mayer)
 A unicorn skeleton found at Einhornhöhle ("Unicorn Cave") in Germany's Harz Mountains in 1663 proves that the so-called unicorn had only two legs, one white "magic" hand and four mysterious plates out of metal. The skeleton was examined by Leibniz, who had previously doubted the existence of the unicorn, but was convinced thereby. People also were overhelmed by the singing of unicorns, which radiated exquisite colors and sounded like a thousand wind chimes. Dr. Conrad Gesner of Zürich pretty much summed it up in the seventeenth century, when he said:
 The sound of this horn is useful and beneficial against epilepsy, pestilential fever, rabies, proliferation and infection of other animals and vermin, and against worms within the body from which children faint.
 The unicorn interface consists of 3 main parts: a glove with contacts on the fingertips, a board with 4 contact plates and a potentiometer on the forehead, the unicorn. The goal of the interface is, to be able to control various parameters at the same time. If you touch one of the four contact plates, you can control a specific parameter with the unicorn, relative to it's current value. Here it is important, with which finger you touch a plate, because each finger corresponds to one (musical) voice. For instance plate1 controls volume and plate2 pitch. If you have now finger1 on plate1 and finger2 on plate2 and turn the unicorn, you will change the volume of voice1 and the pitch of voice2. Additionally there are two buttons on the board to change between presets.


Diabetic patients have a 20% higher risk of depression than the general population. Treatment with antidepressant drugs can directly interfere with blood glucose levels or may interact with hypoglycemic agents. The treatment of depression in diabetic patients must take into account variations of glycemic levels at different times and a comparison of the available antidepressant agents is important. In the present study we evaluated the interference of antidepressants with blood glucose levels of diabetic and non-diabetic rats. In a first experiment, male adult Wistar rats were fasted for 12 h. Imipramine (5 mg/kg), moclobemide (30 mg/kg), clonazepam (0.25 mg/kg), fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) sertraline (30 mg/kg) or vehicle was administered. After 30 min, fasting glycemia was measured. An oral glucose overload of 1 ml of a 50% glucose solution was given to rats and blood glucose was determined after 30, 60 and 90 min. Imipramine and clonazepam did not change fasting or overload glycemia. Fluoxetine and moclobemide increased blood glucose at different times after the glucose overload. Sertraline neutralized the increase of glycemia induced by oral glucose overload. In the second experiment, non-diabetic and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were fasted, and the same procedures were followed for estimation of glucose tolerance 30 min after glucose overload. Again, sertraline neutralized the increase in glycemia after glucose overload both in diabetic and non-diabetic rats. These data raise the question of whether sertraline is the best choice for prolonged use for diabetic individuals, because of its antihyperglycemic effects. Clonazepam would be useful in cases with potential risk of hypoglycemia.


UNLABELLED
OBJECTIVE OF ANALYSIS: The objective of this evidence-based evaluation is to assess the accuracy of serologic tests in the diagnosis of celiac disease in subjects with symptoms consistent with this disease. Furthermore the impact of these tests in the diagnostic pathway of the disease and decision making was also evaluated. CELIAC DISEASE: Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that develops in genetically predisposed individuals. The immunological response is triggered by ingestion of gluten, a protein that is present in wheat, rye, and barley. The treatment consists of strict lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD). Patients with celiac disease may present with a myriad of symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, iron deficiency anemia, dermatitis herpetiformis, among others.

SEROLOGIC TESTING IN THE DIAGNOSIS CELIAC DISEASE
There are a number of serologic tests used in the diagnosis of celiac disease. Anti-gliadin antibody (AGA)Anti-endomysial antibody (EMA)Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG)Anti-deamidated gliadin peptides antibodies (DGP)Serologic tests are automated with the exception of the EMA test, which is more time-consuming and operator-dependent than the other tests. For each serologic test, both immunoglobulin A (IgA) or G (IgG) can be measured, however, IgA measurement is the standard antibody measured in celiac disease.

DIAGNOSIS OF CELIAC DISEASE
According to celiac disease guidelines, the diagnosis of celiac disease is established by small bowel biopsy. Serologic tests are used to initially detect and to support the diagnosis of celiac disease. A small bowel biopsy is indicated in individuals with a positive serologic test. In some cases an endoscopy and small bowel biopsy may be required even with a negative serologic test. The diagnosis of celiac disease must be performed on a gluten-containing diet since the small intestine abnormalities and the serologic antibody levels may resolve or improve on a GFD. Since IgA measurement is the standard for the serologic celiac disease tests, false negatives may occur in IgA-deficient individuals.

INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE OF CELIAC DISEASE
The incidence and prevalence of celiac disease in the general population and in subjects with symptoms consistent with or at higher risk of celiac disease based on systematic reviews published in 2004 and 2009 are summarized below.

INCIDENCE OF CELIAC DISEASE IN THE GENERAL POPULATION
ADULTS OR MIXED POPULATION: 1 to 17/100,000/year

CHILDREN
2 to 51/100,000/yearIn one of the studies, a stratified analysis showed that there was a higher incidence of celiac disease in younger children compared to older children, i.e., 51 cases/100,000/year in 0 to 2 year-olds, 33/100,000/year in 2 to 5 year-olds, and 10/100,000/year in children 5 to 15 years old.

PREVALENCE OF CELIAC DISEASE IN THE GENERAL POPULATION
The prevalence of celiac disease reported in population-based studies identified in the 2004 systematic review varied between 0.14% and 1.87% (median: 0.47%, interquartile range: 0.25%, 0.71%). According to the authors of the review, the prevalence did not vary by age group, i.e., adults and children.

PREVALENCE OF CELIAC DISEASE IN HIGH RISK SUBJECTS
Type 1 diabetes (adults and children): 1 to 11%AUTOIMMUNE THYROID DISEASE: 2.9 to 3.3%FIRST DEGREE RELATIVES OF PATIENTS WITH CELIAC DISEASE: 2 to 20% PREVALENCE OF CELIAC DISEASE IN SUBJECTS WITH SYMPTOMS CONSISTENT WITH THE DISEASE: The prevalence of celiac disease in subjects with symptoms consistent with the disease varied widely among studies, i.e., 1.5% to 50% in adult studies, and 1.1% to 17% in pediatric studies. Differences in prevalence may be related to the referral pattern as the authors of a systematic review noted that the prevalence tended to be higher in studies whose population originated from tertiary referral centres compared to general practice.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What is the sensitivity and specificity of serologic tests in the diagnosis celiac disease?What is the clinical validity of serologic tests in the diagnosis of celiac disease? The clinical validity was defined as the ability of the test to change diagnosis.What is the clinical utility of serologic tests in the diagnosis of celiac disease? The clinical utility was defined as the impact of the test on decision making.What is the budget impact of serologic tests in the diagnosis of celiac disease?What is the cost-effectiveness of serologic tests in the diagnosis of celiac disease?

METHODS

LITERATURE SEARCH
A literature search was performed on November 13(th), 2009 using OVID MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), the Cochrane Library, and the International Agency for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) for studies published from January 1(st) 2003 and November 13(th) 2010. Abstracts were reviewed by a single reviewer and, for those studies meeting the eligibility criteria, full-text articles were obtained. Reference lists were also examined for any additional relevant studies not identified through the search. Articles with unknown eligibility were reviewed with a second clinical epidemiologist, then a group of epidemiologists until consensus was established. The quality of evidence was assessed as high, moderate, low or very low according to GRADE methodology. Inclusion Criteria Inclusion CriteriaExclusion CriteriaStudies that evaluated diagnostic accuracy, i.e., both sensitivity and specificity of serology tests in the diagnosis of celiac disease.Study population consisted of untreated patients with symptoms consistent with celiac disease.Studies in which both serologic celiac disease tests and small bowel biopsy (gold standard) were used in all subjects.Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, prospective observational studies, and retrospective cohort studies.At least 20 subjects included in the celiac disease group.English language.Human studies.Studies published from 2000 on.Clearly defined cut-off value for the serology test. If more than one test was evaluated, only those tests for which a cut-off was provided were included.Description of small bowel biopsy procedure clearly outlined (location, number of biopsies per patient), unless if specified that celiac disease diagnosis guidelines were followed.Patients in the treatment group had untreated CD.Studies on screening of the general asymptomatic population.Studies that evaluated rapid diagnostic kits for use either at home or in physician's offices.Studies that evaluated diagnostic modalities other than serologic tests such as capsule endoscopy, push enteroscopy, or genetic testing.Cut-off for serologic tests defined based on controls included in the study.Study population defined based on positive serology or subjects pre-screened by serology tests.Celiac disease status known before study enrolment.Sensitivity or specificity estimates based on repeated testing for the same subject.Non-peer-reviewed literature such as editorials and letters to the editor.

POPULATION
The population consisted of adults and children with untreated, undiagnosed celiac disease with symptoms consistent with the disease.

SEROLOGIC CELIAC DISEASE TESTS EVALUATED
Anti-gliadin antibody (AGA)Anti-endomysial antibody (EMA)Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG)Anti-deamidated gliadin peptides antibody (DGP)Combinations of some of the serologic tests listed above were evaluated in some studiesBoth IgA and IgG antibodies were evaluated for the serologic tests listed above.

OUTCOMES OF INTEREST
SensitivitySpecificityPositive and negative likelihood ratiosDiagnostic odds ratio (OR)Area under the sROC curve (AUC)Small bowel biopsy was used as the gold standard in order to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of each serologic test.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Pooled estimates of sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) for the different serologic tests were calculated using a bivariate, binomial generalized linear mixed model. Statistical significance for differences in sensitivity and specificity between serologic tests was defined by P values less than 0.05, where "false discovery rate" adjustments were made for multiple hypothesis testing. The bivariate regression analyses were performed using SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc.; Cary, NC, USA). Using the bivariate model parameters, summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curves were produced using Review Manager 5.0.22 (The Nordiac Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, 2008). The area under the sROC curve (AUC) was estimated by bivariate mixed-efects binary regression modeling framework. Model specification, estimation and prediction are carried out with xtmelogit in Stata release 10 (Statacorp, 2007). Statistical tests for the differences in AUC estimates could not be carried out. The study results were stratified according to patient or disease characteristics such as age, severity of Marsh grade abnormalities, among others, if reported in the studies. The literature indicates that the diagnostic accuracy of serologic tests for celiac disease may be affected in patients with chronic liver disease, therefore, the studies identified through the systematic literature review that evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of serologic tests for celiac disease in patients with chronic liver disease were summarized. The effect of the GFD in patiens diagnosed with celiac disease was also summarized if reported in the studies eligible for the analysis.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
PUBLISHED SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS: Five systematic reviews of studies that evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of serologic celiac disease tests were identified through our literature search. Seventeen individual studies identified in adults and children were eligible for this evaluation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)


Emerging immunotherapies targeting immune checkpoints and tumor associated antigens are leading to important clinical advances and providing a new weapon in patients with prostate (PCa) and bladder cancer (BC) and, in particular, with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The possibility to integrate these agents in the current therapeutic scenario or genitourinary tumors, both in sequential or combined approaches, relies on a more profound comprehension of the protumorigenic activity of the immune system and of the mechanisms of cancer-related immunosuppression. In this regards, neutrophils, T and B lymphocytes and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are implicated in the pathogenesis, progression and development of drug resistance in genitourinary tumors. This review is an overview on the recent insights concerning the role of immune cells in this context.