This project involved the development of a synbiotic dairy product and its use in
human feeding trials to quantify the hypocholesterolemic and antihypertensive effects of
probiotics on hypercholesterolemic men and women. To this end, eleven strains of
Lactobacilli and three strains of Bifidobacteria were evaluated for their acid and bile
tolerance, cholesterol removal ability and hypotensive properties in vitro. Our results
showed that all studied strains were able to tolerate pH 2.0 for two hours. However, strains
of L. acidophilus in general were more acid-resistant than Bifidobacteria with an average
viable count more than 107 CFU mL-1 after 2h incubation at pH 2.0. All selected strains
could tolerate the bile salts, with greater tolerance towards oxgall than to taurocholic acid.
The ACE inhibition was found to be significantly different among the strains ranging
from 8.2% to 78.5%.
In addition to the above, all strains tested possessed varying degrees of cholesterol
removal capabilities from the growth, either via medium via incorporation of cholesterol
into the cellular structure, or binding of cholesterol onto cellular membrane and/or bile
salt deconjugation. The affinity towards cholesterol was found to be greater in growing
cells than resting or dead cells; nevertheless, this study confirmed that the latter cells
could be useful as cholesterol-reducing agents in gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Fatty acid
composition analysis of the harvested cells revealed that cells grown in the presence of
cholesterol contained higher level of saturated fatty acids and lower level of unsaturated
fatty acids than those grown in the absence of cholesterol, suggesting that cholesterol
from the medium may be incorporated into the cellular membrane of probiotics. The
membrane of each probiotic cell was broken up by centrifuging at 4000 × g for 20 min
and fatty acid composition of harvested cells was analysed using gas chromatography.
The selected strains were also screened for their bile salt deconjugation ability and bile
salt hydrolase activity (BSH). Strains of Lactobacillus in general showed a higher bile
salt deconjugation ability and liberated a more substantial amount of cholic acid than
Bifidobacterium strains. Substrate preference for BSH activity was more towards sodium
glycocholate than sodium taurocholate, however, most strains exhibited higher total BSH
activity on bile salt mixtures than to when bile salts were used individually.
Based on the above results L. acidophilus CSCC 2404 and L. rhamnosus ASCC 1520
were selected to develop a synbiotic yogurt to be used in human trials. The selected
probiotics were subsequently screened in the presence of four prebiotics, sorbitol,
mannitol, fructooligosaccharide, and fructooligosaccharides-enriched inulin (Synergy 1),
to determine the best type and concentration of prebiotic in order to achieve maximum
cholesterol removal and ACE-I activity inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Screening using
factorial design showed that the combination of 1% (v/v) L. acidophilus CSCC 2404 and
L. rhamnosus ASCC 1520 in the presence of 2.0% (w/v) Synergy 1 achieved the best
results in synbiotic yogurt. In addition to synbiotics, there has been an increased interest
in dietary sources of antioxidant polyphenols in red fruit juices such as pomegranate
(Punica granatum L.) due to their strong antioxidant activity (AA). Therefore, to further
improve the health-promoting properties of the synbiotic yogurt, different levels of
pomegranate juice concentrate (PJC) (10, 12.5, 15 and 20 %) were added to yogurt milk
before incubation, and the AA, antihypertensive activities and hypocholesterolemic
properties of the synbiotic yogurt was evaluated during refrigerated storage for 21 days.
Despite the slight adverse effect of PJC supplementation at 20% level on probiotic
numbers, the probiotic population at the end of storage period was still within the
acceptable range of colony- forming unit (CFU) to deliver health-promoting properties
(> 106 CFU mL-1). The resulting synbiotic yogurt showed increased polyphenol levels by
63%, AA by 94%, and angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibition by 75%
compared to the control plain yogurt. The sensory evaluation of the PJC-enriched
sybniotic yogurt revealed that by increasing the PJC level, the overall acceptability among
the panellists increased significantly (P < 0.05).
To provide evidence to support the positive effects of this PJC-supplemented synbiotic
yogurt on serum lipid profile and blood pressure (BP), an 8-week parallel, doubleblinded,
randomised trial was designed and conducted with 48 male and female
volunteers. The volunteers were aged between 30-65 years, with serum total cholesterol
(TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels less than 6·2 and 2.3 mmol L-1, respectively, a body
mass index (BMI) between 25 and 35 kg/m2, and willing to consuming a daily serving of
200g yogurt. Subjects were assigned to three groups; Group 1 (control) consumed the
yogurt samples which only contained 0.02% (w/v) freeze-dried YC-380 (Streptococcus
thermophilus 1275 and L. bulgaricus 1842), Group 2 consumed the synbiotic yogurt
(Syn) containing 0.02% (w/v) freeze-dried YC-380, 0.5% (v/v) L. acidophilus ASCC
2404, L. rhamnosus ASCC 1520, and 2.0% (w/v) Synergy 1, and Group 3 consumed the
same yogurt supplemented with 20% (v/v) PJC (Synp). The yogurts were produced and
distributed to the participants on weekly intervals. Fasting blood samples, 3-day dietary
records, anthropometric measurements and BP were collected at baseline and at the end
of four and eight weeks.
Comparison of the mean differences of serum TC, TG, and high-density lipoprotein
cholesterol (HDL-C) levels among the three groups confirmed a drop of 9.81% and 18.10
% in TG level and TC: HDL-C ratio (P < 0.05) respectively, from baseline to week eight.
However, no significant changes from the baseline were observed in systolic blood
pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (P > 0.05). The post hoc test showed
that the decrease in serum TC and LDL-C was significant for both the Syn and Synp
groups (P < 0.001 for both). Consumption of Synp yogurt resulted in 19% and 23%
decrease in serum TC and LDL-C levels, respectively, at the end of the study, whereas in
the Syn group, these levels were only reduced by 14% and 17% respectively.
Overall, the selected probiotics L. acidophilus CSCC 2404 and L. rhamnosus ASCC 1520
proved to have the ability to tolerate acid and bile conditions and were optimised with
2.0% (w/v) Synergy 1 and 20% (v/v) PJC for maximum cholesterol removal in vitro and
in vivo. Therefore, this study indicates the combined effectiveness of probiotics,
prebiotics and polyphenols in ameliorating cardiovascular disease risk factors in both
women and men.


Abstract Influential discourses present Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as essential for agricultural development in Africa; a parallel, critical debate on 'land rushes' has denounced Land Grabs, demanding increased accountability in FDI-based land deals. This article explores an initiative located in central Mozambique, the Beira Agricultural Growth Corridor (BAGC). It shows how the international fertiliser company Yara set out to enrol actors at different levels in business, governance and agricultural development into BAGC as a public-private partnership to promote commercial agriculture. Very soon, however, Yara made shifts in its engagement and market strategy, leaving the BAGC initiative to supporting donors and local producers. The analysis presented here shows how the tension between 'patient-capital' requirements, high risks and low immediate returns have shaped this case over time – in a context of a national political economy framed by extractive-resource dynamics.


Seven type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients previously treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion therapy participated in a 6-wk training program consisting of cycle ergometer exercise 1 h/day 4 times a week. Six nontraining pump-treated type I diabetic patients and 19 healthy subjects were studied as controls. The training improved maximal aerobic power (VO2 max) by 8% (P < 0.05). Hemoglobin A1 was in the high normal range before training (8.6 ± 0.4%) and remained unchanged. The ratio of HDL cholesterol to total cholesterol rose by 16% in the training group (P < 0.01) but remained unchanged in the sedentary diabetic patients. Mean daily insulin requirements fell by 6< in the training group (P < 0.01). This reduction occurred in the lunch and dinner boluses whereas the basal infusion rate remained unchanged. Insulin sensitivity as determined by the euglycemic clamp technique was 25–40% lower in the training group (5.24 ± 0.48 mg/kg/min) and sedentary diabetic group (6.55 ± 0.82 mg/kg/min) as compared with controls (8.69 ± 0.77 mg/kg/min, P < 0.025). After the training, the rate of glucose uptake rose by 60% (P < 0.001) to 8.48 ± 0.77 mg/kg/min, which was comparable to that in the controls, but remained unaltered in the sedentary diabetic group. Insulin binding to erythrocytes was comparable in the diabetic and healthy subjects, and remained unchanged. Basal hepatic glucose production was elevated in both groups of diabetic patients (P < 0.05), whereas the suppression by insulin was normal, and both of these were unaltered by training. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that a controlled physical training program in pump-treated diabetic patients (1) does not change an already near-normal glycemic control, (2) improves body sensitivity to insulin and reduces insulin requirements, and (3) increases the HDL cholesterol to total cholesterol ratio.


This application note explains the advantages along with some of the extra considerations needed in circuit design to achieve the best performance when implementing synchronous rectification in nonisolated DC-DC converters. A similar version of this application note appeared in Power Electronics on December 8, 2017. In the most basic diagrams of nonisolated DC-DC converters, you'll typically see two ideal switches and an energy storage inductor. In early designs, engineers quickly realized that one switch could be replaced by a low-cost diode; it turned itself on naturally at the right instant through commutation, when the inductor reverses its voltage during the main switch off-time and forward-biases the free-wheeling diode D1 (see Figure 1, left). Figure 1. Diode compared with synchronous rectification. Entdecken Sie weitere interessante Artikel und News zum Thema auf all-electronics.de! Hier klicken & informieren! This approach is great in terms of simplicity. And while the diode does drop some voltage while it is circulating output current, this is still a small percentage of power loss when the output voltage is relatively high. However, in an effort to increase operating speed while maintaining low dissipation, output voltages have plummeted to below 1V for processors and other ICs. The irony in this is, the efficiency problem is now back to the DC-DC converter power source, since the diode voltage drop has become a much larger proportion of the output voltage. A 1V diode drop with a 1V output dissipates the same amount of power that the converter is delivering to the load during the off-time (1 D). The converter, therefore, has approximately only 50% efficiency during this period. How this low efficiency affects the overall converter efficiency depends on the input/output voltage ratio and the efficiency during the on-time. Higher DC-DC input-output voltage differentials worsen the problem with the associated longer off-times. An Ideal Switch with Minimal Voltage Drop A solution to this dilemma has been to try to get back to the ideal switch for SW2 with minimal voltage drop. Bipolar transistors presented an option, but a MOSFET is the obvious choice. Initially, these were limited to lower current applications as their losses are proportional to current squared, while diodes were simply proportional. These days, RDS(ON) values are so low that high current applications are viable as well. MOSFET total gate-charge values (QG) have also dropped, significantly reducing drive losses and enabling higher operating frequencies. MOSFETs are also advantageous because they can be paralleled as discrete devices or multiple die in ICs, providing more than proportionally better performance with lower net onresistance and lower die temperatures. They have a positive temperature coefficient for RDS(ON) so they naturally share current. Diodes, on the other hand, can be paralleled but without guaranteed current sharing. A MOSFET, of course, has to be actively driven on and off but simply in direct antiphase to the main switch with a ground referenced signal, which is easy to integrate into control ICs. One important note: the two switches should never be on together, not even momentarily, as this would be a direct short across the input supply with potential damage to semiconductors and PCB traces. In practice, a dead-time between on-periods of the switches is imposed by the control IC to guarantee no shoot-through. During the dead time, commutation still happens with the intrinsic body diode of the MOSFET. This diode usually has a relatively high forward voltage drop and long reverse recovery time, so it can produce significant dissipation if the dead time is allowed to be too long. These problems can be minimized via tight control of timing within the control IC. Another work-around, though it would add cost to the solution, is to fit a Schottky diode in parallel with the MOSFET so it conducts before the body diode. Figure 1 provides a simple comparative example. Here, power losses in a DC-DC converter producing 5V/2.5A from 24V are compared using a diode and synchronous rectifier. Even with 5V out, the advantages are clear; losses are more than halved from 0.99W to 0.4W in the rectifier. Even if a Schottky diode is used, the gain is still significant. With lower output voltages the improvement is more dramatic still. The result is that the lower dissipation synchronous rectifier MOSFET can now be integrated into a control IC such as the MAX17503 with lower overall converter temperature rise, 30°C in this example. Alternatively, for the same temperature rise, a smaller solution is possible. Conducting in Both Directions Another area where a synchronous rectifier MOSFET differs from a diode is that it can conduct in both directions when turned on. This isn't a problem under normal operation. However, consider the scenario where the load requires multiple sequenced voltage rails and our DC-DC converter has to turn on last when there is already some voltage on the load, perhaps coming through a sneak path. DC-DC converters normally have a soft start where the duty cycle ramps up to its operating point after power-up. This means initial short on-pulses and long off-times when the synchronous MOSFET conducts. The prebiased load initially has a higher voltage than the DC-DC output, so current flows back into the DC-DC converter and MOSFET, perhaps preventing the DC-DC controller from starting up correctly. This can be resolved by disabling synchronous rectification during the startup phase with the MOSFET's body diode forming the "free-wheel" diode function. Again, this is easily incorporated into control IC functionality. The extra dissipation during startup is insignificant. Light-Load Operation The MOSFET's ability to conduct in both directions affects light-load operation and can be beneficial. Looking at the inductor current in Figure 2, at higher loads (upper traces) you see the familiar shape of an average DC current IO(AVG) and a ripple current whose peak-to-peak amplitude is set by the inductor value and duty cycle. As the load goes to lower values (lower traces), the valley of the ripple current touches zero at the point where the load is half the peak-to-peak value of the ripple current. As the load decreases further, with diode rectification, the current stops until some point after the next on-period commences, where the current rises above zero. This is discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). For a MOSFET synchronous rectifier, current can flow in both directions, thus remaining in continuous conduction mode (CCM). Figure 2. Continuous conduction via synchronous rectification. The DC-DC converter can continue to supply power and regulate in DCM, but the transfer function changes. A loop optimized for bandwidth and transient performance in CCM is generally suboptimal in DCM with sluggish response. In CCM, the output voltage is simply related to duty cycle D by: For a buck converter operating in DCM, the situation is far more complex, where: In this scenario, the duty cycle changes in proportion to the square root of load current. As a result, this provides a more complex transfer function for the converter power stage. D also now depends on actual inductance, L, and switching frequency, fSW. From a performance standpoint, remaining in CCM with synchronous rectification is clearly a better option. In fact, modern buck converter designs deliberately allow high ripple current values since loop performance won't be an issue. This allows smaller values of inductors with benefits in cost and large-signal slew-rate ability. When light-load efficiency is a design constraint, allowing discontinuous mode operation by disabling the synchronous rectifier and losing the switching and negative current conduction losses in the MOSFET can be a good choice. Control ICs can provide this option and others as well; for example, the IC can force a pulse-skipping mode at light loads where the on-time is kept constant. In this mode, known as pulse frequency modulation (PFM), regulation is achieved by effectively varying the switching frequency at light load so that just sufficient energy is passed to the output to keep the voltage constant. Switching losses are proportional to frequency, so at light load these are reduced, gate-drive power goes down and, as both switches can be off for long periods, some circuitry internal to the IC can be disabled for the duration, saving even more power. In Figure 3, you'll see the waveforms in the various modes. Figure 3. CCM, DCM, and PFM operation modes. Synchronous Rectification with Boost Converters Using synchronous rectification with boost and buck-boost converters is not quite so straightforward. Since the rectifier doesn't have a grounded terminal, the MOSFET drive wouldn't be ground referenced. A possibly more problematic occurrence is that in DCM, the control IC isn't necessarily aware that the stored energy has all been transferred. When this occurs at some light load before the end of the switching cycle, a diode would simply stop conducting. A MOSFET, on the other hand, would start conducting in reverse. In a boost converter, this would connect the output back to the input, draining the output capacitor and dropping the output voltage. Schemes to avoid this are possible by forcing CCM with variable frequency modes or even detecting the reverse current flow through the MOSFET and cutting its drive. The issue is not significant, though, as boost converters are by definition producing higher voltages where the benefits of synchronous rectification are less important. Synchronous rectifiers can also be used in the isolated versions of buck and boost converters where you have a choice of simple self-driven circuits or more complex but controlled versions where the drive signals cross the isolation barrier. Learn more about this topic by watching the video, "Introduction to Control Algorithms


The main objective of this research study is to analyse and visualize Twitter data with tags "#Censorship". A connection was established with twitter using Twitter API, and receiving the tweets on Google Spreadsheets. Data visualization was performed using various tools such as Voyant Tools, Tableau, Google Spreadsheet and Orange in order to generate different visualizations based upon, language, geographical areas, retweets etc. The sentiment analysis was performed for the sentiments that were attached to the given set of data by the public in their respective tweets. The 23680 tweets were retrieved during the data collection time and there were 13,771 retweets out of these tweets. The most popular application for using twitter by the users was Twitter Web Client which constituted of the 33.67% (7972 tweets); the second most popular app was Android with 23.61% (5592 Tweets) and Twitter for iPhone stayed at third place with a share of 20.07% (4753 Tweets). The most frequent used Hashtags (#) in the tweets were #Twitter, #Facebook, #Google, #YouTube etc. Results show that negative tweets are enormously higher than the neutral sentiments.


The modernisation of the NHS has highlighted the
Government's intent to improve the public's access to
health services, information on preventing ill health and
support for self-care. Community pharmacies are in a
strong position to contribute to this agenda with around
12 000 dedicated premises in the UK creating an informal
network of 'drop in' access points for health care services,
medicines and advice on health and well-being.
It has been estimated that over six million people visit
pharmacies every day. Many pharmacy staff work in
premises that are sited within local communities and
shopping precincts where they provide easy access to the
public without the need for an appointment. The
informal nature of contact with a pharmacy creates an
experience for users which is more similar to a 'consumer'
than as a 'patient'. Visitors to pharmacies come from all
sectors of the population and research has shown that
local pharmacy services are particularly valued by those
without easy access to a car or public transport. In
recognition of this potential the recent Health
Committee Inquiry into Public Health5 recommended that
'the Government takes steps for community pharmacists
to play a more active role in public health'.
As a result of these characteristics there is an opportunity
for pharmacy staff to give advice and support on health
or medicines to a significant proportion of the
population on a regular or ad hoc basis. Much of this
advice is given with prescriptions and the treatment of
minor illnesses, however, some pharmacies also provide
other services to improve health, such as help with
smoking cessation, dietary advice, and testing of blood
pressure and cholesterol. The provision of these latter
services, however, is not universal and there has been no
systematic evaluation of the evidence on their
contribution to public health. To help assess the value of
these services delivered through pharmacy, the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB)and the
charity PharmacyHealthLink commissioned a review of
the UK and international evidence-base health
improvement in order to determine which activities are
most likely to be effective in a pharmacy setting and how
they might best be provided.
The review demonstrates that certain services are both
sufficiently well-researched and well-received by
pharmacy users at an international level, for example in
smoking cessation, lipid management in the prevention
of coronary heart disease, immunisation and emergency
contraception, that recommendations for their
widespread implementation in the UK can be made.
Other services also show promise but are less wellresearched
and require more evaluation before an
assessment of their effectiveness and suitability in a
pharmacy setting can be determined.
This review can help to shape the contribution of
community pharmacists to a modernised health service. It
provides useful evidence to those involved in the
planning and provision of health services to prevent
illness and maintain health. Funding bodies and
commissioners may wish to use its findings to develop
pharmacy services to contribute further to their health
improvement plans and local targets.


Video is an essential component of most Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other forms of online learning. This exploratory study examines video as an instructional medium and investigates the following research questions:• How is video designed, produced, and used in online learning contexts, specifically with regard to pedagogy and cost?• What are the benefits and limitations of standardizing the video production process?This report presents an overview of current video practice: the widespread use of video and its costs, the relevance of production value for learning, the pedagogical considerations of teaching online, and the challenges of standardizing production. Findings are based on a literature review, our observation of online courses, and the results of 12 semi-structured interviews with practitioners in the field of educational video production. Based on these findings, we have developed a set of recommendations designed to raise awareness and stimulate critical reflection on video's role in online learning. Additionally, we discuss some need for further research on the effectiveness of video as a pedagogical tool and highlight under-explored uses of the medium, such as live video.


Mode coupling and power diffusion in multimode optical fibers is considered. In particular, the mechanisms responsible for the coupling are investigated and their characteristic lengthscales explored. An appropriate local coordinate system is introduced in which arbitrary curvatures may be considered. Through an asymptotic analysis, the mode coupling equations are shown to reduce to a nonconstant coefficient diffusive equation for the power coupling. This power coupling is shown to be strongly driven by the degenerate mode structure of the multimode fiber.


ABSTRACT The vision of Chandler (Chan) S. Robbins for a continental-scale omnibus survey of breeding birds led to the development of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Chan was uniquely suited to develop the BBS. His position as a government scientist had given him experience with designing and implementing continental-scale surveys, his research background made him an effective advocate of the need for a survey to monitor pesticide effects on birds, and his prominence in the birding community gave him connections to infrastructure—a network of qualified volunteer birders who could conduct roadside surveys with standardized point counts. Having started in the eastern United States and the Atlantic provinces of Canada in 1966, the BBS now provides population change information for ∼546 species in the continental United States and Canada, and recently initiated routes in Mexico promise to greatly expand the areas and species covered by the survey. Although survey protocols have remained unchanged for 50 years, the BBS remains relevant in a changing world. Several papers that follow in this Special Section of The Condor: Ornithological Advances review how the BBS has been applied to conservation assessments, especially in combination with other large-scale survey data. A critical feature of the BBS program is an active research program into field and analytical methods to enhance the quality of the count data and to control for factors that influence detectability. Papers in the Special Section also present advances in BBS analyses that improve the utility of this expanding and sometimes controversial survey. In this Perspective, we introduce the Special Section by reviewing the history of the BBS, describing current analyses, and providing summary trend results for all species, highlighting 3 groups of conservation concern: grassland-breeding birds, aridland-breeding birds, and aerial insectivorous birds.


In this paper, on the basis of hierarchical & zonal control strategy of conventional automatic voltage control(AVC) system, a load predication process and a diagnosis process for current electrical control status were added to enhance the predictability of the control strategy, realizing the advanced control and reducing the equipment action delay according to equipment current operation status. The newly-developed AVC system has been put in application of smart-grip in Wuhu region of Anhui province, and the experimental results shows that this new system possesses a excellent effects in increasing the qualified rate of regional network voltage and in enhancing the reactive power optimization. The new system optimized the equipment action times in terms of the whole time series, and substantially reduced the equipment damage accidents due to the overfrequent actions and thus increasing the equipment life span.


Autonomous flight within a forest canopy represents a key challenge for generalised scene understanding
on-board a future Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platform. Here we present an approach for automatic
trail navigation within such an environment that successfully generalises across differing image resolutions -
allowing UAV with varying sensor payload capabilities to operate equally in such challenging environmental
conditions. Specifically, this work presents an optimised deep neural network architecture, capable of stateof-the-art
performance across varying resolution aerial UAV imagery, that improves forest trail detection for
UAV guidance even when using significantly low resolution images that are representative of low-cost search
and rescue capable UAV platforms.


The response of leukaemia cells to therapeutic agents includes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The former response is useful in retarding disease progression, but induction of the latter is essential for disease eradication. Cell death is often related to toxicity so reducing drug-concentration or sensitising target cells to apoptosis is desirable. The relationship between the cell cycle and cell death has been at the centre of recent investigation focusing on mechanisms of cell death that are not driven directly by apoptotic responses. These mechanisms included mitotic catastrophe and mitotic slippage. The K562 myeloid leukaemia cell line exhibits a combination of p53 negativity and carries the Bcr-Abl t (9:22) Philadelphia chromosome. Bcr-Abl is a powerful antiapoptotic translocation and is the hallmark of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). The absence of p53-mediated apoptosis and the anti-apoptotic effects of Bcr-abl delays drug-induced cell death, leaving a window of opportunity to investigate the effects of different agents on leukaemia cells. My investigations show that when DNA-targeting agents are used against myeloid leukaemia cells, G2 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis do not occur together i.e. cell cycle arrest precludes cell death; cells may escape G2 arrest as a result of mitotic slippage. In contrast, when anti-mitotic agents are used, it is necessary to induce mitotic arrest to subsequently induce apoptosis; thus lower concentrations are more effective in inducing apoptosis than higher drug concentrations. Evidence is provided suggesting reduced concentrations of both genotoxic agents and anti-mitotic agents may share a common pathway in inducing cell death that is related to events at mitosis and I suggest that this pathway has potential for exploitation by new agents currently in clinical trials, such as UCN-01, Purvanol, Roscovitine and agents that target the passenger proteins, in reducing the concentration of more conventional agents required to kill the Bcr-Abl positive leukaemias.


With the increased availability of longitudinal data, dynamic panel data models have become commonplace. Moreover, the properties of various estimators of such models are well known. However, we show that these estimators breakdown when the data are irregularly spaced along the time dimension. Unfortunately, this is an increasingly frequent occurrence as many longitudinal surveys are collected at non-uniform intervals and no solution is currently available when time-varying covariates are included in the model. In this paper, we propose several new estimators for dynamic panel data models when data are irregularly spaced and compare their finite sample performance to the naive application of existing estimators. We illustrate the practical importance of this issue by turning to two applications on early childhood development.


Spatial Modulation (SM) based on the use of antenna indices to transmit information in addition to the conventional signal constellations has been recently proposed to solve practical problems encountered in MIMO systems. In the literature, estimation of CSI for SM systems is simply investigated by RLS for slow fading channels. However, iterative receivers that offer significant performance gains over a non-iterative when the total number of pilot is not sufficient and the channel is fast fading have not been investigated for SM based systems. In this paper, it shown that the RLS based receiver has a performance degradation for fast fading channels and a new iterative channel estimation techniques is proposed with the necessary signal model to enhance receiver performance for fast fading channels. Computer simulation results indicate that proposed iterative receiver has a significant performance advantage over the RLS based receiver for time-varying Rayleigh channels.


Objectives
Previous work in adults has shown that dehydration has negative effects on cognitive function. However, the effect of changes in hydration on cognitive function remain understudied in children. This is relevant since epidemiological data suggests that a large proportion of children in the United States exhibit highly concentrated urine, suggestive of insufficient hydration. This study aimed to determine the effects of changes in daily water intake on urinary markers of hydration and cognitive control among school-aged children.

Methods
9-11-year-old children (N = 82) completed a three-intervention crossover water intake intervention where they were asked to either maintain their regular water intake (ad libitum) or consume High [2.5 L/d] or Low [0.5 L/d]) water for 4 consecutive days. Following the interventions, cognitive control tasks requiring inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility were assessed using a modified flanker, Go/NoGo, and color-shape switch tasks. During day 4 of each intervention, children collected their urine over a 24-hour period for urine color, urine specific gravity (USG), and osmolality assessment.

Results
Hydration differed significantly between interventions. Urine color during the Low intervention was significantly higher than ad libitum and both were significantly greater than High intervention (Low: 6 [median] and 2 [iqr], ad libitum: 5 [median] and 2 [iqr], High: 3 [median] and 0 [iqr], all P ≤ 0.01). Similar intervention effects were observed for osmolality (Low: 912 ± 199, ad libitum: 790 ± 257.0, High: 260 ± 115 mOsmol/kg, all P < 0.001) and USG (Low: 1.023 ± 0.005, ad libitum: 1.020 ± 0.007, High: 1.005 ± 0.004, all P < 0.001). Ad libitumhydration was positively related to switch task performance. Benefits of the High intervention were observed during the switch task whereby participants exhibited lower working memory cost relative to the Low intervention. No significant changes in cognition were observed for the flanker and Go/NoGo tasks.

Conclusions
Children with better habitual hydration exhibited superior performance during the cognitive flexibility task. Additionally, the 4d water intervention resulted in significant changes in urinary markers of hydration and had selective benefits during task switching.

Funding Sources
Danone Research, Palaiseau, France.


The in vitro and in vivo activity of diminazene (Dim), artesunate (Art) and combination of Dim and Art (Dim-Art) against Leishmania donovani was compared to reference drug; amphotericin B. IC50 of Dim-Art was found to be 2.28 ± 0.24 µg/mL while those of Dim and Art were 9.16 ± 0.3 µg/mL and 4.64 ± 0.48 µg/mL respectively. The IC50 for Amphot B was 0.16 ± 0.32 µg/mL against stationary-phase promastigotes. In vivo evaluation in the L. donovani BALB/c mice model indicated that treatments with the combined drug therapy at doses of 12.5 mg/kg for 28 consecutive days significantly (p < 0.001) reduced parasite burden in the spleen as compared to the single drug treatments given at the same dosages. Although parasite burden was slightly lower (p < 0.05) in the Amphot B group than in the Dim-Art treatment group, the present study demonstrates the positive advantage and the potential use of the combined therapy of Dim-Art over the constituent drugs, Dim or Art when used alone. Further evaluation is recommended to determine the most efficacious combination ratio of the two compounds.


The Cultural Matrix" seeks to unravel a uniquely American paradox: the socioeconomic crisis, segregation, and social isolation of disadvantaged black youth, on the one hand, and their extraordinary integration and prominence in popular culture on the other. Despite school dropout rates over 40 percent, a third spending time in prison, chronic unemployment, and endemic violence, black youth are among the most vibrant creators of popular culture in the world. They also espouse several deeply-held American values. To understand this conundrum, the authors bring culture back to the forefront of explanation, while avoiding the theoretical errors of earlier culture-of-poverty approaches and the causal timidity and special pleading of more recent ones.There is no single black youth culture, but a complex matrix of cultures adapted mainstream, African-American vernacular, street culture, and hip-hop that support and undermine, enrich and impoverish young lives. Hip-hop, for example, has had an enormous influence, not always to the advantage of its creators. However, its muscular message of primal honor and sensual indulgence is not motivated by a desire for separatism but by an insistence on sharing in the mainstream culture of consumption, power, and wealth.This interdisciplinary work draws on all the social sciences, as well as social philosophy and ethnomusicology, in a concerted effort to explain how culture, interacting with structural and environmental forces, influences the performance and control of violence, aesthetic productions, educational and work outcomes, familial, gender, and sexual relations, and the complex moral life of black youth."


Knowledge intensive services (KIS) and, in particular, R&D services contribute significantly to innovation in firms. The objective of this paper is to find out which characteristics of firms explain the acquisition of R&D services and to analyse whether there are differences depending on the typology of the supplier (universities, technology centres and consulting firms). Three main conclusions emerge from the econometric estimations. Firstly, the results show that size and age matter in the decision to buy R&D services, but these characteristics of firms do not have any particular influence in the decision to choose a specific supplier. Secondly, our results are consistent with the relevance that the literature gives to human capital in absorbing external knowledge. The variables used to control for human skills have a positive effect on the decision to buy R&D services. On the contrary, the estimates of other variables that capture internal knowledge base suggest that there is a substitution process between internal R&D activities and acquiring R&D services. Thirdly, innovation policy has a significant influence on the decision to acquire R&D services.


It is shown how genetic algorithms can be applied for system identification of both continuous and discrete time systems. It is shown that they are effective in both domains and are able to directly identify physical parameters or poles and zeros. This can be useful because changing one physical parameter might affect every parameter of a system transfer function. The estimates of poles and zeros are then used to design a discrete time pole placement adaptive controller. Simulations for minimum and nonminimum phase systems and a system with unmodeled dynamics are presented. >


The Cold War contains a selection of official and unofficial documents which provide a truly multi-faceted account of the entire Cold War era. This volume presents the different kinds of materials necessary to understand what the Cold War was about, how it was fought, and the ways in which it affected the lives of people around the globe. By depicting the experiences of East Berlin housewives and South African students, as well as those of political leaders from Europe and the Third World, The Cold War emphasizes the variety of ways in which the Cold War conflict was experienced. The significance of these differences is essential to understanding the Cold War: it demonstrates how the causes of the clash may have looked very different in Santiago from the way they looked in Seoul, New York, Moscow, or Beijing. The book examines the entirety of the Cold War era, presenting documents from the end of World War II right up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. A final selection of source material goes on to illustrate the impact of the Cold War to the present day. Again, the emphasis is global: there are documents on the aftermath of the Cold War in Africa and Europe, as well as on the links between the Cold War and the dramatic events of 11 September 2001. By providing a truly international glimpse of the Cold War and its various actors and subjects, The Cold War helps cut through the often simplistic notions of the recent past and allows the reader to explore the truly global impact of the East-West confrontation that dominated international relations in the second half of the twentieth century.


The Biological Laboratory was established at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA, in 1890 as a summer school for teachers of biology. It began a transition to becoming a research institute in 1898, and in 1904, the Carnegie Institution of Washington created the Station for Experimental Evolution. A third institute, the Eugenics Records Office (ERO), was established in 1910. The ERO was closed in 1940, and the two remaining institutes amalgamated to create the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory of Quantitative Biology in 1963. Genetics was and remains the central theme of the Laboratory's research, focusing on cancer, but current areas of research also include quantitative biology, neurobiology and plant genetics. The Laboratory is also the leading centre for meetings and courses in experimental biology; over 8500 scientists attend the over 50 meetings and 25 courses held annually. The Laboratory's DNA Learning Center provides education in molecular genetics for high school students, whereas the Watson School of Biological Sciences, founded in 1998, grants the PhD degree. Key Concepts: Key Concepts: * Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is a world-renowned institute for research on topics of biological and biomedical importance. * The Laboratory plays a key role in professional education through its meetings, courses and book publishing. * The Watson School of Biological Science offers graduate training leading to the PhD degree. * The DNA Learning Center provides teaching in molecular genetics for high school students.


The development and progression of cancer is associated with disruption of biological networks. Historically studies have identified sets of signature genes involved in events ultimately leading to the development of cancer. Identification of such sets does not indicate which biologic processes are oncogenic drivers and makes it difficult to identify key networks to target for interventions. Using a comprehensive, integrated computational approach, the authors identify the sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway as the gene network that most significantly distinguishes tumour and tumour-adjacent samples in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The analysis reveals that the SHH pathway is commonly activated in the tumour samples and its activity most significantly differentiates tumour from the non-tumour samples. The authors experimentally validate these in silico findings in the same biologic material using Western blot analysis. This analysis reveals that the expression levels of SHH, phosphorylated cyclin B1, and CDK7 levels are much higher in most tumour tissues as compared to normal tissue. It is also shown that siRNA-mediated silencing of SHH gene expression resulted in a significant reduction of cell proliferation in a liver cancer cell line, SNU449 indicating that SHH plays a major role in promoting cell proliferation in liver cancer. The SHH pathway is a key network underpinning HCC aetiology which may guide the development of interventions for this most common form of human liver cancer.


Numerous treaties and methods regarding fencing are known today, either written by experts, veterans of sword-masters, or by the ministry or war and its branches: the schools of Joinville and Saumur. Some are destined to horse riders, others to officers. Each of these methods has its own particularities and, due to the abundance of treaties, discerning the qualities, the flaws, and the overall interest of a specific method can seem complicated. An attempt is made below to answer: why were the methods of French saber in the nineteenth century conceived and Why were they made this way, and what connection do they share with the French military world. These texts are compared and analyzed to uncover their function regarding the Army. From this analysis, three types of fencing will emerge, sometimes opposite, sometimes complementary; war fencing: conceived to be applicable on the battlefield – duel fencing (that was less official but still popular in nineteen century France) – and finally, recreational fencing, most often taking the form of a sport.


Over the past two decades, the literature on comparative development has moved from country-level to within-country analyses. The questions asked have expanded in scope as economists have used satellite images of light density at night and other big spatial data to proxy for development at the desired level. The focus has also shifted from uncovering correlations to identifying causal relations, using elaborate econometric techniques including spatial regression discontinuity designs. In this review, we show how the combination of geographic information systems with insights from disciplines ranging from the earth sciences to linguistics and history has transformed the research landscape on the roots of the spatial patterns of development. We discuss the limitations of the luminosity data and associated econometric techniques and conclude by offering some thoughts on future research.


American constitutional law provides protection for arrested persons from coercive police interrogation by giving them the right to refuse to answer questions and to the assistance of a lawyer during questioning. Once these Miranda rights are invoked by the interrogated suspect, the police must cease questioning immediately. In recent years, however, courts have adopted restrictive definitions of the kind of invocation that will count as legally efficacious. In using hyper-literal parsings of the language of suspects who attempt to assert their rights, these judges fail to utilize ordinary norms of conversational implicature and ignore the power asymmetries inherent in custodial police interrogation. Instead, these strained interpretations result in part from an ideology of language that presumes that language is a transparent medium of communication. Because direct and unmodified locutions are consequently privileged, most attempts to claim constitutional rights are found to be defective. As a result, the constitutional protections of Miranda re practically unattainable by most arrestees.


We treat an initial boundary value problem for a nonlinear wave equation in the domain,. The boundary condition at the boundary point of the domain for a solution involves a time convolution term of the boundary value of at, whereas the boundary condition at the other boundary point is of the form with and given nonnegative constants. We prove existence of a unique solution of such a problem in classical Sobolev spaces. The proof is based on a Galerkin-type approximation, various energy estimates, and compactness arguments. In the case of, the regularity of solutions is studied also. Finally, we obtain an asymptotic expansion of the solution of this problem up to order in two small parameters,.


The glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) is a class B G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and diabetes drug target expressed mainly in pancreatic β-cells that, when activated by its agonist glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) after a meal, stimulates insulin secretion and β-cell survival and proliferation. The N-terminal region of GLP-1 interacts with membrane-proximal residues of GLP-1R, stabilizing its active conformation to trigger intracellular signaling. The best-studied agonist peptides, GLP-1 and exendin-4, share sequence homology at their N-terminal region; however, modifications that can be tolerated here are not fully understood. In this work, a functional screen of GLP-1 variants with randomized N-terminal domains reveals new GLP-1R agonists and uncovers a pattern whereby a negative charge is preferred at the third position in various sequence contexts. We further tested this sequence-structure-activity principle by synthesizing peptide analogues where this position was mutated to both canonical and noncanonical amino acids. We discovered a highly active GLP-1 analogue in which the native glutamate residue three positions from the N-terminus was replaced with the sulfo-containing amino acid cysteic acid (GLP-1-CYA). The receptor binding and downstream signaling properties elicited by GLP-1-CYA were similar to the wild type GLP-1 peptide. Computational modeling identified a likely mode of interaction of the negatively charged side chain in GLP-1-CYA with an arginine on GLP-1R. This work highlights a strategy of combinatorial peptide screening coupled with chemical exploration that could be used to generate novel agonists for other receptors with peptide ligands.


In the previous edition of Student Law Review Zoe Swan considered the potential impact of legal aid cuts under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 ("LASPO") on family law cases and mediation services. She noted the concerns of the judiciary, notably Lady Hale, who, speaking at London South Bank University in October 2013, feared that 'people with good cases will not pursue them resulting in a denial of justice and people with good or bad cases will pursue them in person, which will be time consuming and inefficient.' Of course the Government's contention was that cutting legal aid for the majority of family cases would encourage couples to resolve their disputes through mediation rather than through protracted, painful and costly litigation. Following the release of government statistics in July 2014 in response to a freedom of information request by Lawyer Supported Mediation1 and the report of the Family Mediation Task Force2, this article examines the rise of litigants in person and the apparent failure of the Government's objective for increased resolution of family law disputes through mediation. Whilst it is not difficult to conclude that the family justice system is facing a real crisis, the results of the analytical summary 2014 of 'Public experiences of and attitudes towards the family justice system'3 perhaps offer a more positive outlook and are briefly considered at the end of the article.


SMMEs, as vehicles of growth, innovation and social transformation, are important businesses which must be nurtured and harnessed by the South African authorities to enable them to quickly and effectively adapt to the challenges of globalization thereby benefiting the economy. The importance of SMMEs to the South African economy has already been acknowledged by government. One of the major hurdles that face entrepreneurship endeavours is the shortage of financial management skills. South Africa has a grim picture of the skills gap. SMMEs become the hardest hit as the entire commerce sector forages for the scarcest skills. Small enterprises have been victims of the instance of developing their employees only to lose them to bigger firms offering more lucrative incentives. As a point in case, SMMEs in South Africa's expanding construction sector are losing the fight in the battle for scarce skills.Therefore, this study made an assessment on access to financial management services by SMMEs in Thohoyandou Business Centre, as this has a bearing on the economic development and sustainability of SMMEs. The research wanted to establish if the SMMEs in Thohoyandou Business Centre had access to financial management services support and, if they have, are the SMMEs ready to receive these financial management services?


Daniel Markovits' recent book, A Modern Legal Ethics: Adversary Advocacy in a Democratic Age, begins by articulating an ethical quandary common to litigators: how can I advocate zealously for a client whose story might not be true and whose causes might not be just? In Markovits' hands, the dilemmas of the adversary advocate are transformed into a philosophical puzzle about the nature of integrity and the very idea of fidelity to a client. Lawyers face a far more onerous ethical burden than is sometimes recognized, Markovits argues, for the adversary advocate in our legal sytem is professionally obligated to lie and cheat. It turns out, he argues, that such lawyer behavior is in principle justifiable, for it is part of what allows our society to have an institutional structure of adjudication that enjoys the virtue of political legitimacy. The political legitimacy of adjudication depends upon the availability of lawyers who give their clients voice and take fidelity seriously. The review essay takes issue with every one of Markovits' basic claims, devoting special attention to refuting his claim that lawyers are professionally obligated to lie. Representing one's client's position when one is unsure of its truth is a far cry from lying, and the distinction matters a great deal. The review essay concludes, however, by returning to what generated Markovits' project: some lawyers's perceptions of themselves as lacking integrity, because they often advocate on behalf of causes that run counter to their own moral and political inclinations. The problem, I argue, is that there is no guarantee that justice-reinforcing activity of giving clients a voice will lead to justice being done. That is because there are many forms of justice – including, at least, constitutive justice, corrective justice, retributive justice, and distributive justice – and these forms of justice are not congruent with one another. Lawyers should deal with misgivings about their integrity by practically engaging with our system in ways aimed to diminish the incongruities of justice, not by wrapping themselves in the cocoon of a detached professional role.


Continental metamorphic core complexes of the northern North American Cordillera were exhumed during the early Paleogene while the Farallon–North American plate convergence rate remained high. Such convergent boundary conditions can excite localized mid-crustal exhumation in numerical simulations of collisions of softer accreted terranes with a rigid, irregular craton margin. Resulting simulated temperature-time ( T - t ) paths match T - t paths interpreted from observed footwall exposures in several core complexes of the northern North American Cordillera, including variability of maximum temperatures, duration of exhumation, and exhumation velocities among individual complexes.


RDF is a knowledge representation language dedicated to the annotation of resources within the Semantic Web. Though RDF itself can be used as a query language for an RDF knowledge base (using RDF consequence), the need for added expressivity in queries has led to the definition of the SPARQL query language. SPARQL queries are defined on top of graph patterns that are basically RDF (and more precisely GRDF) graphs. To be able to characterize paths of arbitrary length in a query (e.g., "does there exist a trip from town A to town B using only trains and buses?"), we have already proposed the PRDF (for Path RDF) language, effectively mixing RDF reasonings with database-inspired regular paths. However, these queries do not allow expressing constraints on the internal nodes (e.g., "Moreover, one of the stops must provide a wireless connection."). To express these constraints, we present here an extension of RDF, called CRDF (for Constrained paths RDF). For this extension of RDF, we provide an abstract syntax and an extension of RDF semantics. We characterize query answering (the query is a CRDF graph, the knowledge base is an RDF graph) as a particular case of CRDF entailment that can be computed using some kind of graph homomorphism. Finally, we use CRDF graphs to generalize SPARQL graph patterns, defining the CSPARQL extension of that query language, and prove that the problem of query answering using only CRDF graphs is an NP-hard problem, and query answering thus remains a PSPACE-complete problem for CSPARQL.


The move to electronic discharge summary systems was anticipated to solve the longstanding problems associated with poor data quality and reduce delay in the production and transmission of discharge summaries between secondary and
primary care health care providers in the UK National Health Service. A consequence of investment in a national IT infrastructure for electronic health records has focused attention on template design and the IT system requirements.
The routine practices of doctors involved in discharge summary construction, and other factors that contribute to the problems of delay and data quality, have been less well explored.

This study aimed to gain an understanding of paper-based discharge summary construction in a secondary care context in order to identify and analyse the implications for improving electronic discharge summary systems, and potentially
avoid inadvertent transfer of inherent problems. A mixed method case study design was used to examine the patient discharge process and the construction of discharge summaries in one NHS Hospital Trust. Data was collected through
semi-structured interviews with hospital doctors (n=10) and simulated discharge summary production (n=10). A syntactic analysis was also performed on
discharge summaries (n=11) and proformas (n=3). The data was analysed thematically and inductively in order to identify the factors that contribute to the twin problems of data quality and delay associated with discharge summaries. The
pragmatic, semantic, syntactic conceptual framework (Morris, 1938), and Speech Act (Austin, 1962) and Mental Frame (Minsky,1981) theories, were used to analyse how information contained in discharge summaries was represented, interpreted and used.

This study found that moving from a paper based to an electronic discharge summary system will not necessarily resolve the problems of poor data quality and delayed production of discharge summaries. More comprehensive solutions are required in order to facilitate more effective discharge summary communication between secondary and primary care health professionals, and to
address entrenched custom and practice in current hospital practice. These include uni-professional (medical) orientation of discharge summaries, attitude of senior doctors, inadequate preparation of junior doctors, inconsistent data entry including absence of common usage of short forms and abbreviations, and little accountability for quality control.

Recommendations include training for junior doctors, regulating the use of shortened forms, improving the features of data entry systems, structuring the clinical coding data and introducing systems to ensure greater organizational accountability for effective discharge communication. More comprehensive change related to the introduction of multidisciplinary contribution discharge summary construction and integration of discharge summary standards in care pathways may improve overall discharge summary quality.


Nanocomposites of Au nanoparticles supported on natural halloysite nanotubes and graphene oxide (HNTs–GO) were prepared and used for fabricating a novel nonenzymatic nitrite sensor. The structure and morphology of the Au–HNTs–GO nanohybrid film were characterized by X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical investigations were carried out by cyclic voltammetry and amperometry. The results indicate that the sensor possesses an excellent performance toward nitrites with two linear ranges: one from 0.1 μM to 6.33 mM with a correlation coefficient of 0.9839 and a sensitivity of 23.1 μA m(mol L−1)−1 cm−2, and another from 6.33 mM to 61.9 mM with a correlation coefficient of 0.9976 and a sensitivity of 86.5 μA m(mol L−1)−1 cm−2. The detection limit of the sensor was 0.03 μM with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. In addition, the sensor could be applied in practical analysis and exhibits good reproducibility, long-term stability and anti-interference.


When a debt covenant is violated the lender has the right to demand immediate repayment of the loan. Using this right, the lender can extract certain concessions from the borrower (manager), which may be inefficient. I propose a theory that explains why, despite this inefficiency, tight and often violated debt covenants may be optimal. In a repeated moral hazard problem combined with an incomplete contract set-up, the debt overhang prevents the manager from exercising optimal effort. I deviate from the standard incomplete contract set-up by allowing outside market participants to observe the uncontractable outcome. I model the manager's outside option as the opportunity to refinance his debt on a competitive loan market. In this situation, the market independently evaluates the manager's performance based on observable parameters. The value of the outside option has an important impact on the covenant design. A strict covenant will severely punish the manager if his outside option is low. If the covenant is violated the lender will have control over the manager's assets and the manager will face a renegotiation game in which the lender has all the bargaining power. In this case a high outside option allows the manager to retain some rents. The manager will exercise effort to increase his chances to have a high outside option.


A visible light communication broadcast channel is considered, in which a transmitter luminaire communicates with two legitimate receivers in the presence of an external eavesdropper. A number of trusted cooperative half-duplex relay luminaires are deployed to aid with securing the transmitted data. Transmitters are equipped with single light fixtures, containing multiple light emitting diodes, and receiving nodes are equipped with single photo-detectors, rendering the considered setting as a single-input single-output system. Transmission is amplitude-constrained to maintain operation within the light emitting diodes' dynamic range. Achievable secrecy rate regions are derived under such amplitude constraints for this multi-receiver wiretap channel, first for direct transmission without the relays, and then for multiple relaying schemes: cooperative jamming, decode-and-forward, and amplify-and-forward. Superposition coding with uniform signaling is used at the transmitter and the relays. Further, for each relaying scheme, secure beamforming vectors are carefully designed at the relay nodes in order to hurt the eavesdropper and/or benefit the legitimate receivers. Superiority of the proposed relaying schemes, with secure beamforming, is shown over direct transmission. It is also shown that the best relaying scheme depends on how far the eavesdropper is located from the transmitter and the relays, the number of relays, and their geometric layout.


Today, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has seen a technological evolution accelerate at an exponential rate (Schwab, 2016). Due to the development of digital technology, this accelerating trend has been identified around workforce, technology and learning (Richardson, 2012). COVID-19 has exasperated the digitalization in industry, academia and society. In design education, due to the pandemic, design students and teachers are often situated at different locations, at a distance.
 We are now working and studying remotely with a documented detriment to learning. This distance diminishes engagement between peers, instructors and also the important corporeal material in design amongst others. Preparing students to thrive in these distant interactions and then their rapidly advancing professional domains becomes a cornerstone for today's pedagogical foundations through technological-enabled distant learning. Heidi Hayes Jacobs sees differentiated learning interactions actualized in practice by Rosan Bosch Studio (2018) around metaphors of mountain top, cave, campfire, watering hole and hands-on and movement (Thornby, 2014). These ideas relate to differentiated learning scenarios such as lecture, informal intimate conversations, focus groups, spontaneous meetings, and tacit and embodied interplay. These ideas and metaphors are critical in design education that are at risk of disappearing in our virtual zoom world. Research indicates a need for immersive collaborative learning across educational, design, psychological, and neurological domains to specifically include ideas of inclusion even by way of a literal diversity of thinking that multimodal learning provides.
 Extending this focus in distant learning we believe it is critical to include multimodal embodied options through collaborative virtual environments (CVE). A previous pilot on virtual reality (VR) among design students indicates the potential for divergent thinking and creativity (Lee, Sun, and Yang, 2019). Our aim is to explore co-created learning in immersive VR to study if it supports flexible thinking to move design studio pedagogy forward. Flexible thinking in this case deals with the students' possibilities to be innovative, creative with divergent thinking.
 This research sets out to answer the question, what are the differences and similarities between the students' design concepts when co-creating in a multimodal and immersive virtual classroom in VR, compared to previous real classroom experiences.
 The study is conducted in a design class with approximately 30 industrial design students. We will evaluate student project outcomes and surveys in an industrial design course at multiple points, with a design process map over the course to determine any effect on flexible thinking.


The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships that exist between food deserts, fruit and vegetable consumption and health on individuals. Using quantitative data collected through surveys that were distributed to students attending an urban higher education setting in Chicago, data was analyzed to determine relationships between the communities they live in, the amount of fresh produce they consume and their current health. The survey looked at factors such as race, income, community of residence, daily fruit and vegetable consumptton, current health, diagnosis of diet-related tllness for respondent and family along with the distance travelled to purchase fresh produce. The findings support the tdea that the further one must travel to purchase fresh produce the more likely they are to consume less. The findings also show that those who consume less fruits and vegetables are more likely to report poorer health. The implications are to address communities who lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables in order to increase the over all health outcomes for individuals. Creating policies that encourage current storeowners or new stores that will sell fresh fruits and vegetables is one way to address the lack of access in these communities. This study shows those who must travel far to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables are less likely to consume the daily recommended amounts and also have poorer health.


Whipple's disease is a bacterial systemic inflammatory disease is caused by Tropheryma whipplei. Classic Whipple's disease includes arthralgia, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and weight loss. The diagnosis is confirmed by Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) positive macrophages presented in small bowel biopsy. The treatment requires long-term antibiotic therapy and the disease could be fatal if not treated. Whipple's disease should be considered in patients claiming from diarrhea, abdominal pain and malabsorption either most common seen causes are excluded. In this case report, we will present a fifty-four years old patient who presented with weight loss, arthralgia, and chronic diarrhea.


In this work, we use a spontaneous and catalyst-free
amino-yne click bioconjugation to generate activated
ethynyl group functionalized surfaces for fast immobilizing native proteins and cells. Biomolecules,
such as bovine serum albumin (BSA), human IgG and peptide of C(RGDfK), could be
covalently immobilized on the surfaces in as short as 30 min. Notably, the bioactivity
of the anchored biomolecules remain intact, which is verified by efficiently capturing
target antibodies and cells from the bulk solutions. This strategy represents
an alternative for highly efficient surface biofunctionalization.


The impacts of acidifying atmospheric deposition to soil and water resources are commonly calculated utilising predictive mathematical models. The estimation of the predictive uncertainty inherent in these models is important since the model predictions are increasingly being used as a scientific basis for decisions on emission abatement policies and strategies in Europe. When predictive uncertainty is taken into account it may significantly affect conclusions ascertained from model predictions. The Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) approach is used here in the estimation of predictive uncertainty of PROFILE, a steady-state biogeochemical model. GLUE is based on Monte Carlo simulation and recognises the possible equifinality of parameter sets. With this methodology it is possible to make an assessment of the likelihood of a parameter set being an acceptable simulator of a system when model predictions are compared to measured field data. The GLUE methodology is applied to PROFILE simulations of five European research sites. The results have revealed that the model is unable to reproduce the characteristics of soil water chemistry consistently, and that the resulting predicted critical loads must be associated with significant uncertainty. The study also demonstrates that a wide range of parameter sets exist that give acceptable simulations of site characteristics as well as a broad range of critical load values that are consistent with the site data. A sensitivity analysis is performed for simulations of data sets from each site; this is employed to evaluate the role of the model parameters in forcing the predictions. Results of the sensitivity analyses show that, in general, site predicted soil chemistry is driven by atmospheric inputs and mineral weathering rates are determined by soil physical properties.


A critical safety component for all underground mining is intrinsic and standing support systems. Specifically, tabular hardrock mining exploits a wide variety of deposits that require various methodologies to safely mine the ore material. Several new support systems have been developed in recent years for hard rock applications which have been modified or applied in a variety of ground control applications. These include prestressing devices, improved cribs, and free standing supports. Various standing support and prop-type systems have been designed for hard rock applications with seismic loading conditions to accept prestressing. The prestressing, using water-filled cells, creates an active load upon installation and is considered essential to maintain support during and after the blasting of the mine faces. Heavy seismic activity is also present in these mines and the prestressing units can provide some energy absorption capability to help preserve the integrity of the support. This paper presents an overview of these innovations in support technology.


Aims. Multi-epoch Spitzer Space Telescope 24 μm data is utilized from the MIPSGAL and Taurus Legacy surveys to detect asteroids based on their relative motion.

Methods. Infrared detections are matched to known asteroids and average diameters and albedos are derived using the near Earth asteroid thermal model (NEATM) for 1865 asteroids ranging in size from 0.2 to 169 km. A small subsample of these objects was also detected by IRAS or MSX and the single wavelength albedo and diameter fits derived from these data are within the uncertainties of the IRAS and/or MSX derived albedos and diameters and available occultation diameters, which demonstrates the robustness of our technique.

Results. The mean geometric albedo of the small Main Belt asteroids in this sample is pV = 0.134 with a sample standard deviation of 0.106. The albedo distribution of this sample is far more diverse than the IRAS or MSX samples. The cumulative size-frequency distribution of asteroids in the Main Belt at small diameters is directly derived and a 3σ deviation from the fitted size-frequency distribution slope is found near 8 km. Completeness limits of the optical and infrared surveys are discussed.


This report discusses budget appropriations that is one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, consolidated, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittees.


The accepted wisdom — that a lawyer who becomes a corporate director has a fool for a client — is outdated. The benefits of lawyer-directors in today's world significantly outweigh the costs. Beyond monitoring, they help manage litigation and regulation, as well as structure compensation to align CEO and shareholder interests. The results have been an average 9.5 percent increase in firm value and an almost doubling in the percentage of public companies with lawyer-directors. This Article is the first to analyze the rise of lawyer-directors. It makes a variety of other empirical contributions, each of which is statistically significant and large in magnitude. First, it explains why the number of lawyer-directors has increased. Among other reasons, businesses subject to greater litigation and regulation, and firms with significant intangible assets (such as patents) value a lawyer-director's expertise. Second, this Article describes the impact of lawyer-directors on corporate monitoring. Among other results, it shows that lawyer-directors are more likely to favor a board structure and takeover defenses that reduce shareholder value — balanced, however, by the benefits of lawyer-directors, such as the valuable advice they can provide. Finally, this Article analyzes the significant reduction in risk-taking and the increase in firm value that results from having a lawyer on the board. Our findings fly in the face of requirements that focus on director independence. Our results show that board composition — and the training, skills, and experience that directors bring to managing a business — can be as or more valuable to the firm and its shareholders.


Many semi-supervised clustering algorithms have been proposed to improve the clustering accuracy by effectively exploring the available side information that is usually in the form of pairwise constraints. However, there are two main shortcomings of the existing semi-supervised clustering algorithms. First, they have to deal with non-convex optimization problems, leading to clustering results that are sensitive to the initialization. Second, none of these algorithms is equipped with theoretical guarantee regarding the clustering performance. We address these limitations by developing a framework for semisupervised clustering based on input pattern assisted matrix completion. The key idea is to cast clustering into a matrix completion problem, and solve it efficiently by exploiting the correlation between input patterns and cluster assignments. Our analysis shows that under appropriate conditions, only O(log n) pairwise constraints are needed to accurately recover the true cluster partition. We verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm by comparing it to the state-of-the-art semisupervised clustering algorithms on several benchmark datasets.


Orientation : A multicultural country like South Africa needs fair cross-cultural psychometric instruments.
Research purpose : This article reports on the process of identifying items for, and provides a quantitative evaluation of, the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) items.
Motivation for the study : The study intended to develop an indigenous and psychometrically sound personality instrument that adheres to the requirements of South African legislation and excludes cultural bias.
Research design, approach and method : The authors used a cross-sectional design. They measured the nine SAPI clusters identified in the qualitative stage of the SAPI project in 11 separate quantitative studies. Convenience sampling yielded 6735 participants. Statistical analysis focused on the construct validity and reliability of items. The authors eliminated items that showed poor performance, based on common psychometric criteria, and selected the best performing items to form part of the final version of the SAPI.
Main findings : The authors developed 2573 items from the nine SAPI clusters. Of these, 2268 items were valid and reliable representations of the SAPI facets.
Practical/managerial implications : The authors developed a large item pool. It measures personality in South Africa. Researchers can refine it for the SAPI. Furthermore, the project illustrates an approach that researchers can use in projects that aim to develop culturally-informed psychological measures.
Contribution/value-add : Personality assessment is important for recruiting, selecting and developing employees. This study contributes to the current knowledge about the early processes researchers follow when they develop a personality instrument that measures personality fairly in different cultural groups, as the SAPI does.


Near‐infrared (NIR) light absorbing theranostic agents can integrate optoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy for effective personalized precision medicine. However, most of these agents face the challenges of unstable optical properties, material‐associated toxicity, and nonbiodegradability, all of which limit their biomedical application. Several croconaine‐based organic agents able to overcome some of these limitations have been recently reported, but these suffer from complicated multistep synthesis protocols. Herein, the use of CR760, a croconaine dye with excellent optical properties, is reported for nanoparticle formulation and subsequent optoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy. Importantly, CR760 can be conveniently prepared in a single step from commercially available materials. Furthermore, CR760 can be covalently attached, via a polyethylene glycol linker, to the αvβ3 integrin ligand c(RGDyC), resulting in self‐assembled nanoparticles (NPs) with cancer‐targeting capability. Such CR760RGD‐NPs exhibit strong NIR absorption, high photostability, high optoacoustic generation efficiency, and active tumor‐targeting, making them ideal candidates for optoacoustic imaging. Due to favorable electron transfer, CR760RGD‐NPs display a 45.37% photothermal conversion efficiency thereby rendering them additionally useful for photothermal therapy. Targeted tumor elimination, biosafety, and biocompatibility are demonstrated in a 4T1 murine breast tumor model. This work points to the use of CR760RGD‐NPs as a promising nanoagent for NIR‐based cancer phototheranostics.


a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. 1991 ii Thesis Abstract The studies described in this thesis were designed to investigate the neural regulation of melatonin secretion from the ovine pineal gland. Initial studies sought to establish the effects of a range of anaesthetics on the nocturnal rise in plasma melatonin levels in Romney rams and to identify the anaesthetic treatment most suitable for use in future acute studies; this was found to be halothane induction and maintenance. To investigate the neural mediation of melatonin secretion from the ram pineal, a series of experiments was performed in which the pre-ganglionic sympathetic innervation was stimulated electrically. Acute stimulation during the night or day resulted in an immediate, sustained rise in plasma melatonin levels, with nighttime responses being significantly greater than daytime responses (P<O.05). Similar studies in conscious rams were subsequently made possible by the development of a cuff electrode which could be implanted around the CST's and remain functional for at least six weeks. In these studies it was demonstrated that photoperiod (l6L :8 D or 8L :16D) did not influence melatonin output, while responsiveness to stimulation was highest during the middle, rather than at the beginni ng or end, of the photoperiod. The second study employing chronically implanted electrodes was designed to evaluate the influence of various parameters of continuously applied CST stimulation on the pineal's melatonin secretory response. Unexpectedly, it was found that only small rises in plasma melatonin levels resulted from stimulation with any of the combinations of stimulus parameters tested and that no one combination was significantly more effective than any other in promoting increases in plasma melatonin levels. These findings appear to have resulted from inadequate performance of the electrodes and/or nerve damage. The final study undertaken in this thesis was designed to identify the innervation of ovine pineal by immunocytochemically localizing the neuropeptides NPY & VIP, and the enzymes NSE & PNMT. All four antigens were observed in intrapineal nerve fibres, while NSE was also present in pinealocytes. SCGX reduced, but did not eliminate, this / immunoreactivity suggesting that both central and periPher�: regions innervate the pineal and that partial denervation initiates a neural compensatory mechanism. (1991) Induction of pineal melatonin secretion in anaesthetized rams by bilateral electrical stimulation of the cervical …


Nerve cells communicate with one another through specialized cell-cell junctions called synapses, and changes in how efficiently information is transferred across these junctions are believed to underlie memory. Antonova et al. examined the clustering of proteins at synapses in culture as they underwent simulated learning. Within minutes of the teaching stimulus, the amount of a key protein required for sending information, synaptophysin, increased on the presynaptic side of the synapse, and there was a parallel increase in GluR1, the postsynaptic receptor that received the information. The change was unexpectedly rapid (appearing within 5 to 10 minutes) and depended on an intact actin cytoskeleton, which suggests that this clustering may reflect the conversion of silent synapses into active ones. I. Antonova, O. Arancio, A.-C. Trillat, H.-G. Wang, L. Zablow, H. Udo, E. R. Kandel, R. D. Hawkins, Rapid increase in clusters of presynaptic proteins at onset of long-lasting potentiation. Science 294, 1547-1550 (2001). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Cylindrical developable mechanisms are devices that conform to and emerge from a cylindrical surface. These mechanisms can be formed or cut from the cylinder wall itself. This paper presents a study on adapting traditional hinge options to achieve revolute motion in these mechanisms. A brief overview of options is given, including classical pin hinges, small-length flexural pivots, initially curved beams, and an adaptation of the membrane thickness-accommodation technique. Curved lamina emergent torsional (LET) joints are then evaluated in detail, and a thin-walled modeling assumption is checked analytically and empirically. A small-scale cylindrical developable mechanism is then evaluated with Nitinol curved LET joints.


Rather than killing bacteria directly, a gut antimicrobial peptide forms netlike structures that ensnare invading bacteria. Antimicrobial peptides are an evolutionarily conserved component of innate immunity in the intestine. One family, α-defensins, typically exerts their antimicrobial effects through microbicidal activity against bacteria. Humans express only two α-defensins, human defensin 5 (HD5) and HD6. HD5 exhibits bactericidal activity and plays a role in shaping the bacterial composition of the gut. HD6, on the other hand, does not show bactericidal activity and its function in the gut is unclear. Now, Chu et al. (see the Perspective by Ouellette and Selsted) show that HD6 protects against bacterial pathogens. Rather than killing them directly, HD6 binds to bacteria surface proteins and, through a process of self-assembly, forms fibrils and nanonets that ensnare invading bacterial pathogens. H. Chu, M. Pazgier, G. Jung, S.-P. Nuccio, P. A. Castillo, M. F. de Jong, M. G. Winter, S. E. Winter, J. Wehkamp, B. Shen, N. H. Salzman, M. A. Underwood, R. M. Tsolis, G. M. Young, W. Lu, R. I. Lehrer, A. J. Bäumler, C. L. Bevins, Human α-defensin 6 promotes mucosal innate immunity through self-assembled peptide nanonets. Science 337, 477–481 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text] A. J. Ouellette, M. E. Selsted, HD6 defensin nanonets. Science 337, 420–421 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Research in the late 1970s discovered two on-going problems with criminal investigations. The first problem involved the inefficiency in the work done by detectives, and the second centered on the misunderstood role of patrol officers in those investigations. In recognition of these ongoing problems, the Houston police department (HPD) sought to improve its investigative capacity and effectiveness through the Investigative First Responder (IFR) project, a pilot program initiated in early 2007 that specially trained and reassigned 45 patrol officers to investigative status so that they could assume responsibility for Part 1 crimes. This article examined the impact of the IFR project through pre—post comparisons of calls for service, response times, and quality and content of investigative reports, as well as surveys of both IFR and non-IFR officers on their perceptions of the program. Findings suggested that the program increased the HPD's investigative capacity and effectiveness without negatively affecting workload among the remaining patrol staff, though inconsistent survey responses raised questions about patrol officers' acceptance of the project. The implications of the findings for police policy and practice with regard to criminal investigation were also taken into consideration, for further discussion in this article.


Abstract:
 Two new species of Polygala subgenus Polygala (Polygalaceae) are described from western Mexico. Polygala mcvaughii is related to P. subalata, from which it differs by its shorter, broader racemes, longer pedicels, and always annual habit, and to P. conferta, differing from that species by its larger seeds and larger, usually ± non-stipitate fruits. It is known from 1200–2250 m in Michoacan, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, and extreme southern Zacatecas. Polygala tellezii belongs to a group of species in which a reduced or no aril and short seed hairs are the norm, and in which a vegetative vestiture of minute capitate hairs is common. This new species is in some ways morphologically most similar to the South American P. exigua, but it is perhaps most closely related to the sympatric P. glochidiata, from which it differs in its entirely alternate leaves and non-uncinate seed hairs. Polygala tellezii is known only from three localities in lowland savannas in southern Nayarit.


The large-scale deployment of the Smart Grid paradigm will support the evolution of conventional electrical power systems toward active, flexible and self-healing web energy networks composed of distributed and cooperative energy resources. In a Smart Grid platform, the optimal coordination of distributed voltage controllers is one of the mainissues to address. In this field, the application of traditional hierarchical control paradigms has some disadvantages that could hinder their application in Smart Grids where the constant growth of grid complexity and the need for massive pervasion of Distribution Generation Systems (DGS) require more scalable, more flexible control and regulation paradigms. To try and overcome these challenges, this paper proposes the concept of a decentralized nonhierarchal voltage regulation architecture based on intelligent and cooperative smart entities. The distributed voltage controllers employ traditional sensors to acquire local bus variables and mutually coupled oscillators to assess the main variables that characterize the operation of the global Smart Grid. These variables are then amalgamated by a Fuzzy Inference System in order to identify proper control actions aimed at improving the grid voltage profile and reducing power losses.


This essay historicizes Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir Fun Home in the context of the presidency of George W. Bush. Bechdel created Fun Home from 1999 through 2005—dates that corresponded with Bush's campaign, election, and presidency. As Bechdel frequently laments in her serialized comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, the Bush presidency posited truth as unknowable, facts as infinitely flexible, and faith as constitutive of reality. Fun Home never mentions the president (nor any historical figure or event after the mid-1980s), but the memoir uses newly available digital technology to resist Bush-era "truthiness." In Fun Home, Bechdel combines digital photography, her body in performance, and hand drawing to create a new form of graphic narrative. This essay draws out Fun Home's political engagement with the Bush administration and simultaneously claims the proliferation of digital photography as a watershed event in the history of graphic narratives


Four treatments in which fynbos and renosterveld species were employed as cover crops, and two treatments in which exotic species were used as cover crops, were applied. A treatment in which indigenous annuals and an exotic annual was sown as a mixture, and a control in which no cover crop was established, were also included in the trial. These eight treatments were applied for four consecutive years on a sandy soil (33o52'S, 18o58'E) and a sandy loam soil (33o55'S, 18o52'E) in vineyards near Stellenbosch, South Africa. Effective suppression of the winter growing weeds was achieved with Avena sativa L. cv. Pallinup on a sandy soil from the third season onwards. This was also achieved with a mixture of Ornithopus sativus L. cv. Emena (50%) and three indigenous broadleaf annuals (50%), namely Felicia heterophylla (Cass) Grau, Dimorphotheca pluvialis (L.) Moench and Scenecio elegans L. None of the renosterveld and lowland fynbos mixtures or monocultures had the ability to become established effectively on both the sandy and sandy loam soil, or could compete effectively with the winter-growing weeds commonly found in the vineyards of the Coastal wine grape region of the Western Cape. These species therefore should not be considered for cover crop management in this region.


A Computational Analysis of Novel Non-circular Nozzles by Gokhan Baskici This thesis presents a computational analysis for determining the flow properties of novel non-circular nozzles. In last few decades, non-circular nozzles have been investigated intensively due to their remarkably superior capabilities in enhancing mass entrainment over circular nozzles. In this thesis, to increase the amount of ambient fluid entrained in the jet flow, three different geometrical modifications are applied to non-circular nozzles. These modifications include changing contraction profiles, the twist angles of transition, and nozzle lengths. The flow properties of air emanating from geometrically modified non-circular nozzles are studied by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the Star CCM+ fluid solver. This computational analysis shows that suitably modified non-circular nozzles are very effective passive flow conditioning devices and can modify the flow field. Particularly, nozzle with a sharp exit and large twist angle entrains the ambient fluid at a higher rate than the circular and other modified non-circular nozzles.


Islamic flextime is derived from a divine decree that convenience is the organizing principle of cosmic construction. Rigid temporal frameworks restrict freedom and may even impede human happiness, social harmony, and economic efficiency. This essay explains the foundation of Islamic temporality. Islam teaches that human beings can use temporality but they have no control over time, just as they can benefit from sunlight but cannot conquer the sun. A flexible notion of temporality facilitates the performance of obligations, without repudiating the core concepts of punctuality and time commitments. Islamic flextime is an accommodation principle that respects individual needs and mitigates personal hardships. The essay associates Islamic flextime with creative dreaming and inter-generational exegesis of divine texts. Creative dreaming is possible because the human mind can freely mix and match times and places to construct novel combinations. Inter-generational exegesis repudiates originalism rooted in fixed temporality and empowers each new generation to receive and interpret divine texts.


How can teachers learn what they need to know? Every community of educators, regardless of field or specialisation, can benefit from being well informed about current research findings. A considerable amount of mathematics education research exists to inform teachers and administrators about teaching and learning mathematics. Research can show what is possible and what looks promising. It can demonstrate what is possible for students - what they can learn under specific kinds of conditions. Research can show that students can reach certain goals and that some kinds of instruction are especially effective in helping them get there. Learn how to use current research to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics. The Teaching and Learning Mathematics series presents ideas from research to improve mathematics education in schools. Each book presents findings from research to enhance the quality of classroom mathematics teaching and learning. Translating Research for School Administrators contains six stand-alone articles, each with a list of references, which put current research into the hands of school administrators. Each article addresses key practitioner-generated questions with brief, direct answers, devoid of technical language and theory. It also includes a "How to Use this Book" section that provides specific suggestions for using the book in professional development workshops and for making policy decisions.


Research has demonstrated that gonadal hormones, including oestrogen, can influence memory and cognitive tasks that show sex differences in animals and humans. Beneficial effects of oestrogen on mood have also been reported in postmenopausal women in association with Oestrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT). Male-to-Female (M-F) transsexuals offer one of the few opportunities for studying the effect of oestrogen and other cross-sex hormones on human cognitive function. The present research examined the effect of gonadal hormones on memory, cognition and mood in a transsexual population. The aim was to determine whether treatment with oestrogen and other cross-sex hormones would influence memory and cognitive abilities that show sex differences, such that males treated with oestrogen and other cross-sex hormones would perform more like females. We also examined the effect of such hormone treatment on mood. In an initial study (Chapter 2), M-F transsexuals undergoing oestrogen treatment for sex re-assignment scored higher on Verbal Paired Associate Learning (PAL) compared to a similar transsexual control group, awaiting oestrogen treatment. No differences between these groups were detected on a control memory task (Digit Span) or on other cognitive tasks that show sex differences, including Mental Rotations and Controlled Associations. In a second study (Chapter 3), an attempt was made to summarise the magnitude and reliability of sex differences in some of the memory tasks previously used in oestrogen and memory research. In a final study (Chapter 4), a more robust design was used to further examine the association between oestrogen, memory, cognition and mood. Additional aspects of memory function and other cognitive abilities that do and do not show sex differences were used, including verbal and visual-spatial abilities. Also, a repeated measures design was used. M-F transsexuals were tested both prior to hormone treatment and after treatment had begun. In addition, some M-F transsexuals were tested both before and during a period of hormone withdrawal prior to surgery. Findings from this study did not replicate the data from the initial study reported in Chapter 2. Few changes in memory or other aspects of cognitive performance were observed and these were not consistent in the two groups of patients. Improvements in mood were observed, particularly at the commencement of oestrogen treatment. However, this improvement could have resulted from progression in the treatment program rather than from the hormone treatment per se.