Decay is a complex process in which organisms use a repertoire of enzymes to slowly exploit and ultimately digest their hosts. Fungi are master decayers of dead plant matter, including wood. So-called white rot fungi have the special ability to decompose the tough, recalcitrant plant polymer lignin, using enzymes that turn solid wood into a stringy, bleached pulp. Now, professor Nagy et al. (2016), in a new publication featured in the advanced access online version of the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, have created a bioinformatics tool, called COMPARE, a novel method of phylogenetic profiling to correlate the evolution of a given phenotypic trait with the pattern of gene family gain, loss and duplication in a set of genomes. Next, they applied the strategy to the specific question of the evolution of wood decay strategies across fungi to profile each of the fungal species's genomic innovations with a focus on identifying the gene families that enable white rot fungi to decompose wood. White rot fungi can completely break down both the carbohydrates and lignin that make up the wood and bark, making them especially potent recyclers of organic material. The research team, using data from 62 fungal genomes, not only correctly identified the expansion of peroxidases necessary for lignin degradation in white rot fungi, but also detected a large suite of genes (409 in total) that show statistically significant changes in copy number (duplication/loss events) associated with the gains and losses of white rot wood decay. "When people think about white rot, they tend to focus on lignin, but these results show that evolution of white rot involved expansions in diverse enzymes, not just those that attack lignin," said corresponding author Laszlo Nagy. The results have shed light on the complexity of white rot and suggest that its evolution has involved a general elaboration of the decay apparatus, including numerous enzymes with as-yet unknown functions to further explore. These enzymes and the pathways proposed to be involved in wood-decay could lead to improved technologies for biofuel production—an industry that relies on the very same enzymes as fungi use for breaking down plant cell walls. In addition, their COMPARE bioinformatics tool is versatile enough to apply to other studies looking to uncover gene pathways associated with various traits.


The family Bacteroidaceae is emended to include bacteria that are monotrichous or lophotrichous. The genus Butyrivibrio is emended to include lophotrichous bacteria. Desulfomonas, a new genus of nonmotile, nonsporeforming, gram-negative, anaerobic, sulfate-reducing rods, and 10 new species of anaerobes, Desulfomonas pigra, Butyrivibrio crossotus, Ruminococcus gnavus, R. lactaris, R. obeum, Eubacterium dolichum, E. hadrum, E. ramulus, E. siraeum, and Clostridium leptum, are described. These species have been isolated from human intestinal contents or from human feces. The type strains of these species are ATCC 29098, 29175, 29149, 29176, 29174, 29143, 29173, 29099, 29066, and 29065, respectively.


The ability to capture, remake, reinterpret, is fundamental to the process of making. The physical act of drawing repositions ideas thus enabling us to re-imagine them and move forward with new concepts. Translating what we see into a new medium gives us a fresh insight. Another way of taking a fresh look is through sampling. This has existed for some time in 2D image making, and more recently digitisation of audio has created a new genre of music making. The physicality of 3D objects presents a different challenge. 3D printing is becoming commonplace; yet there is little discussion about where data for these objects comes from. Technologies for capturing 3D data are primarily expensive, slow and require detailed calibration, but one emergent technology which could change this is photogrammetry, which has roots as old as photography itself. Also known as remote sensing, photogrammetry allows objects to be measured without being touched. Cloud based technology has removed the limitations of desktop computing, simultaneously increasing the scope of objects which can be captured, and democratising the process.
Using open software and capture mechanisms I explore the
nature of ownership and the role of the maker when 3D capture becomes commonplace.


The tomato Pti5 gene encodes a pathogen-inducible ethylene response element-binding protein-like transcription factor that interacts with the disease resistance gene product Pto. Overexpression of Pti5 or Pti5-VP16, a translational fusion with a constitutive transcriptional activation domain, in tomato enhanced resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. Constitutive expression of Pti5 or Pti5-VP16 did not affect the basal level of pathogenesis-related gene expression, but it accelerated pathogen-induced expression of GluB and Catalase. The results demonstrate a positive role of Pti5 in defense gene regulation and disease resistance and suggest that a pathogen-activated posttranscriptional regulatory step is necessary for the pathogen induction of the defense gene expression.


Background: Vitamin D status and levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and C-peptide (a marker of insulin exposure) have been implicated in colorectal carcinogenesis. However, IGF-1 is not an easily modifiable risk factor. Laboratory studies have suggested that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, the biologically active form of vitamin D may play a role in the regulation of IGFBP3, the major binding protein for IGF-1, suggesting that some of the cancer promoting effects of IGF-1 may be modified by vitamin D. Methods: We examined additive and multiplicative interactions between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and components of the IGF axis (IGF-1, IGFBP3, IGFBP1) as well as C-peptide levels combining data from two large U.S. cohorts, the Health Professionals Follow up Study (HPFS) and the Nurses' Health Study cohort (NHS). 365 cases (NHS: 191 cases diagnosed between 1990-2000; HPFS: 174 cases diagnosed between 1993-2002) were matched to 727 controls by age, fasting status (NHS only) and month and year of blood donation. For the various analytes, being high or low was based on being either above (or equal) or below the medians, respectively. Results: Individuals with high IGF-1/IGFBP-3 molar ratio, C-peptide levels, or low 25(OH)D levels were at elevated risk for colorectal cancer. Compared to participants with high plasma 25(OH)D levels and low IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio (reference group), participants with a high IGF/IGFBP-3 ratio had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.38 (95% CI: 0.90 to 2.12) for colorectal cancer when 25(OH)D levels were high and an OR of 2.65 (95% CI: 1.74 to 4.04) when 25(OH)D levels were low (p(interaction): additive = 0.02, multiplicative = 0.25). Also, for colon cancer, among individuals with high C-peptide levels, risk was elevated when 25(OH)D levels were low (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.26 to 3.65) but not when 25(OH)D levels were high (OR=1.08, 95% CI=0.63 to 1.85) (p(interaction); additive = 0.04; multiplicative = 0.18). Conclusion: The results from this study suggest that improving vitamin D status may help lower risk of colorectal cancer associated with higher IGF-1/IGFBP3 ratio or C-peptide levels. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(12 Suppl):PR-04.


Abstract:In the 1920s and 1930s, members of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens engaged in a dialogue with the avant-garde through the shared discovery of Byzantium. This extraordinary experiment took place in excavations at Corinth, where American archaeologists invented the systematic discipline of medieval archaeology, facilitated an inclusive identity for the American School, and contributed to a bohemian undercurrent that would have a long afterlife. This article situates the birth of Byzantine archaeology in Greece within the general discourse of modernism and explores the mechanisms of interchange across disciplinary and national boundaries, between subjective and objective realms.


This research study provides insights into "How to manage foreign subsidiaries in a multinational company (MNC) belonging to the German Mittelstand" by applying a contingency perspective. Existing MNC knowledge focuses on large MNCs whereas contributions regarding an application to the German Mittelstand are scant. In particular, a framework for multinational sales management with patterns for foreign subsidiaries is missing for both academia and management. Thus, the findings of this research study contribute to existing MNC knowledge and provide ideas and guidance for managerial practice.
A review of the literature identifies MNC typologies (Bartlett & Beamish, 2014; Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1988), subsidiary role models (Bartlett & Beamish, 2014; Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1986), and the corresponding MNC factors. This serves as a starting point from which a conceptual framework is derived accordingly. Thereafter, a plausibility check with industry experts verifies and ensures the suitability of the identified MNC factors to the characteristics of the German Mittelstand. Then, an in-depth case study consisting of documentary, semi-structured interviews, and focus group interviews, applies the conceptual framework to the selected case of the German Mittelstand.
The described research design operationalizes and modifies the selected MNC models in such a way that they suit the identified Mittelstand characteristics. This facilitates an application of the framework for multinational sales management consisting of the selected and operationalized MNC models for the MNC typology and the foreign subsidiaries.
The main contribution of this research study is the framework for multinational sales management, which fills the gaps identified in existing knowledge. In particular, this research study contributes existing to knowledge by: (1 and 2) operationalizing the models for MNC typology and subsidiary roles for the German Mittelstand, (3) providing the key MNC factors for the German Mittelstand, and (4) elaborating the patterns for multinational sales management to improve the subsidiary competences and to increase the market importance of their local market with respect to their subsidiary role.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether genetic and geographical differences may influence the clinical spectrum of giant cell arteritis (GCA), we compared the demographic and clinical features of patients with biopsy-proven GCA from Reggio Emilia (Northern Italy) and Lugo (Northwest Spain) during a 15-year period.

METHODS
We performed a retrospective review of the case records of all patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven GCA at Hospital Xeral-Calde (Lugo, Spain) and Hospital Santa Maria Nuova (Reggio Emilia, Italy) between 1 January 1986 and 31 December 2001. Both hospitals are the only referral centers for populations living in central Galicia and central Emilia Romagna, respectively.

RESULTS
During the period of study, 194 Lugo residents and 126 Reggio Emilia residents were diagnosed with biopsy proven GCA. Reggio Emilia patients were more likely to be female (74% vs 54%; p = 0.0001). Although Lugo patients complained of headache (86%) more commonly than did those from Reggio Emilia (77%), the difference was only marginally significant (p = 0.05). The proportion of patients with visual manifestations or visual loss was remarkably similar (22% for visual manifestations and 17% for visual loss in Lugo and 29% and 21% for Reggio Emilia residents). The mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate prior to the onset of therapy was also similar.

CONCLUSION
Apart from differences in sex, the clinical spectrum of GCA in these 2 Southern European regions was similar.


This thesis tracks ideas about choirs of angels and righteous souls from their early manifestations in the Bible and late antique texts through to their ramifications in Anglo-Saxon and early Anglo-Norman England (up to 1116). It does so by tracing changes in topoi, commonplaces that form part of the fabric of visions, hagiographical narratives and ascetic guidance literature. Unlike previous studies that have examined topoi, the thesis both thoroughly scrutinises developments in commonplaces and situates them within their wider religious and cultural contexts. It therefore shows how topoi intersect with, and construct, ideas about salvation and eschatological reward. The argument also contributes to the field of angel studies and to discussions on heavenly song by examining nuances in the depiction of angelic worship and its perception in the early Middle Ages.
Of all the chapters in the thesis, the first is the broadest in focus: it poses the question of what it meant for spiritual beings to form a heavenly choir, and establishes the major themes and questions that will be pursued throughout the remainder of the study. Chapters two and three follow the developments in two of the topoi that are found most frequently in texts of the ascetic tradition – the conveyance of the soul to heaven by psychopomps, and the new song of the virgins. Chapter four, a case study of hagiographies produced at Canterbury in the late tenth and late eleventh centuries, examines the relationship between angelic and monastic choirs. The thesis as a whole illuminates the complexity and diversity of ideas about groups of celestial singers, shedding light on how writers adapted existing material in response to changing spiritual climates.


On December 5, 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released, for the first time, prototype estimates from the new Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA). In this satellite account, we used an input-output (I-O) framework to conduct an in-depth analysis of the arts and cultural sector's contributions to current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP). Culture can be defined in a variety of ways to include language, traditions, beliefs, and values. For this new account, we defined arts and cultural production to be largely consistent with definitions used by the United Nations and the European Union. The I-O framework provides the necessary tools to identify and then estimate the value of the "creative chain" associated with arts and cultural production. This chain captures the economic value as we move from the creation of a cultural product (composing a symphony) to its production (the performance being recorded in a studio), then the distribution (by various modes), and finally the consumption (by the listener). In this paper, we explore the processes and methods used to identify and estimate the value of arts and cultural production, including key findings that enable us to quantify the impact of arts and culture on GDP for the first time.


Background: Despite a gradual shift in the focus of medical care among terminally ill patients to a palliative model, studies suggest that many children with life-limiting chronic illnesses continue to die in hospital after prolonged periods of inpatient admission and mechanical ventilation. Objectives: To (1) examine the characteristics and location of death among hospitalised children, (2) investigate yearwise trends in these characteristics and (3) test the hypothesis that professional ethical guidance from the UK Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (1997) would lead to significant changes in the characteristics of death among hospitalised children. Methods: Routine administrative data from one large tertiary-level UK children's hospital was examined over a 7-year period (1997–2004) for children aged 0–18 years. Demographic details, location of deaths, source of admission (within hospital vs external), length of stay and final diagnoses (International Classification of Diseases-10 codes) were studied. Statistical significance was tested by the Kruskal–Wallis analysis of ranks and median test (non-parametric variables), χ2 test (proportions) and Cochran–Armitage test (linear trends). Results: Of the 1127 deaths occurring in hospital over the 7-year period, the majority (57.7%) were among infants. The main diagnoses at death included congenital malformations (22.2%), perinatal diseases (18.1%), cardiovascular disorders (14.9%) and neoplasms (12.4%). Most deaths occurred in an intensive care unit (ICU) environment (85.7%), with a significant increase over the years (80.1% in 1997 to 90.6% in 2004). There was a clear increase in the proportion of admissions from in-hospital among the ICU cohort (14.8% in 1998 to 24.8% in 2004). Infants with congenital malformations and perinatal conditions were more likely to die in an ICU (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.65 to 3.55), and older children with malignancy outside the ICU (OR 6.5, 95% CI 4.4 to 9.6). Children stayed for a median of 13 days (interquartile range 4.0–23.25 days) on a hospital ward before being admitted to an ICU where they died. Conclusions: A greater proportion of hospitalised children are dying in an ICU environment. Our experience indicates that professional ethical guidance by itself may be inadequate in reversing the trends observed in this study.


In understanding Malaysia's surprise 14th General Election, this article argues for the need to rethink how we understand elections. We need to bring together macro socio-political forces with more micro-level evolving phenomena in the campaign, within political institutions, and in voting behaviour. Rather than buck international trends, Malaysia's sociopolitical conditions before the election – political polarisation, a rise of anger, increasing economic vulnerabilities, as well as increased nationalist and populist sentiments – echoed global trends and served as fertile ground for political change. It was however three sufficient conditions that brought about the political breakthrough: the impact of emotional campaigning through social media, the deinstitutionalisation of the dominant Malay party, United Malays National Organisation, and the failure to win over young voters – all factors that tie closely with the macro forces shaping the country. Given the factors that shaped the electoral outcome and Malaysia's "saviour politics," it is suggested that the government turnover was more about breaking with the past than embracing democracy. As such, there will be constraints placed on expanding democracy going forward.


There are certain areas of law where it assists a scholar (and perhaps to an extent a lawyer) to have an overtly and directly personal stake in the legal discussion or debate in which he or she engages. When engaging in such a discussion in this personal way, the participant uses a "direct" voice. To be distinguished from this type of participant is a person who, while interested intellectually or politically, does not have the same personal stake in the outcome of the discussion or debate. This person has an "indirect" voice; in fact, in most legal discussions, most participants have indirect voices. Legal discourse is historically characterized by this detached perspective. The indirect voice is the ordinary role for both the lawyer and the scholar in legal debates and discussions.In this essay, the author reflects on the advantages and disadvantages of the direct voice. He explores some of the unrealistic assumptions associated with the direct voice and the consequent limitations on the voice. In addition, he considers how the role and even the need for a direct voice changes as the discussions in which it participates conclude or the context in which the discussions occur alter.


Many real-world problems are characterized by complex relational structure, which can be succinctly represented in first-order logic. However, many relational inference algorithms proceed by first fully instantiating the first-order theory and then working at the propositional level. The applicability of such approaches is severely limited by the exponential time and memory cost of propositionalization. Singla and Domingos (2006) addressed this by developing a "lazy" version of the WalkSAT algorithm, which grounds atoms and clauses only as needed. In this paper we generalize their ideas to a much broader class of algorithms, including other types of SAT solvers and probabilistic inference methods like MCMC. Lazy inference is potentially applicable whenever variables and functions have default values (i.e., a value that is much more frequent than the others). In relational domains, the default is false for atoms and true for clauses. We illustrate our framework by applying it to MC-SAT, a state-of-the-art MCMC algorithm. Experiments on a number of real-world domains show that lazy inference reduces both space and time by several orders of magnitude, making probabilistic relational inference applicable in previously infeasible domains.


The Uniform Nonjudicial Foreclosure Act is one of the few creative approaches to mortgage foreclosure to emerge in many decades. In this Article, the authors examine why uniformity in foreclosure law among the states is desirable and, accordingly, advocate foreclosure reform. They analyze the Act, promulgated in 2002, giving specific attention to the Act's new methods of foreclosure by negotiated sale and by appraisal. They also examine the Act's numerous special protections for residential debtors and consider the effectiveness of the Act's procedures concerning subordinate leases, titles arising from foreclosures, surpluses and deficiencies resulting from foreclosures, and fairness of foreclosure prices. They conclude that the Act is fair and well balanced as between creditors and debtors and that it has the potential to make foreclosures more efficient, benefiting all affected parties. Finally, they argue that because a critical mass of state legislatures likely will not adopt the Act, Congress should consider enacting it as a federal statute.


Out of Africa Kidney disease is more common in African Americans than in Americans of European descent, and genetics is likely to be a major contributing factor. Genovese et al. (p. 841, published online 15 July) now show that African Americans who carry specific sequence variants in a gene on chromosome 22 encoding apolipoprotein L-1 (APOL1) have an increased risk of developing hypertension-attributed end-stage kidney disease or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. These variants are absent from European chromosomes. Among the functions ascribed to APOL1 is the ability to lyse and kill trypanosomes. Intriguingly, APOL1 derived from the risk alleles, but not the "wild-type" allele, killed Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, which causes African sleeping sickness. Genetic variants associated with kidney disease in African Americans may confer protection against trypanosomes. African Americans have higher rates of kidney disease than European Americans. Here, we show that, in African Americans, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and hypertension-attributed end-stage kidney disease (H-ESKD) are associated with two independent sequence variants in the APOL1 gene on chromosome 22 {FSGS odds ratio = 10.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) 6.0 to 18.4]; H-ESKD odds ratio = 7.3 (95% CI 5.6 to 9.5)}. The two APOL1 variants are common in African chromosomes but absent from European chromosomes, and both reside within haplotypes that harbor signatures of positive selection. ApoL1 (apolipoprotein L-1) is a serum factor that lyses trypanosomes. In vitro assays revealed that only the kidney disease–associated ApoL1 variants lysed Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. We speculate that evolution of a critical survival factor in Africa may have contributed to the high rates of renal disease in African Americans.


Background: Human milk, which contains compounds beneficial to infants, is often expressed and stored before use. Changes in its antioxidant activity with storage have not been studied. Objectives: To measure antioxidant activity of fresh, refrigerated (4°C), and frozen human milk (−20°C), stored for two to seven days; to compare the antioxidant activity of milk from mothers delivering prematurely and at term; to compare the antioxidant activity of infant formulas and human milk. Methods: Sixteen breast milk samples (term and preterm) were collected from mothers within 24 hours of delivery and divided into aliquots. Fresh samples were immediately tested for antioxidant activity, and the rest of the aliquots were stored at −20°C or 4°C to be analysed at 48 hours and seven days respectively. The assay used measures the ability of milk samples to inhibit the oxidation of 2,2′-azino-di-3-(ethylbenzthiazolinesulphonate) to its radical cation compared with Trolox. Results: Antioxidant activity at both refrigeration and freezing temperatures was significantly decreased. Freezing resulted in a greater decrease than refrigeration, and storage for seven days resulted in lower antioxidant activity than storage for 48 hours. There was no difference in milk from mothers who delivered prematurely or at term. Significantly lower antioxidant activity was noted in formula milk than in fresh human milk. Conclusions: To preserve the antioxidant activity of human milk, storage time should be limited to 48 hours. Refrigeration is better than freezing and thawing.


This thesis focuses on the relationship between the visual arts and psychotherapy in post Revolutionary Cuba. The material on which it is based was collected over a
fourteen month period and three visits to Cuba between April 1999 and August 2001. The study opens with the presentation of two brief histories, that of Cuban Art and Art Education and that of Cuban Mental Health Care. In this context the Revolution is taken as a useful reference point in terms of thinking about change and historical
developments in both fields.
Naturalistic Inquiry and Grounded Theory respectively were used to collect and analyse the data presented. These approaches allowed the researcher the degree of flexibility
necessary to undertake research in a potentially delicate situation full of unknowns and to be able to modify and develop the course of inquiry as new evidence emerged. The
main descriptive themes emerging from an analysis of the data pertain to the relationship between artists and mental health care professionals. These are (1)
therapeutic work undertaken by artists, (2) artists working collaboratively with mental health professionals and (3) psychologists working with art as a therapy. The story which emerges pertains to a series of largely unrecorded histories spanning a forty year period. It begins with the work of Antonia Eiriz, who emerges as a key figure in the early development of art as a therapy and concludes with the work of the psychologist,
Aurora Garcia Morey, who takes centre stage in its continued development.
This snapshot of Cuban art therapy is specific and unique and demonstrates the development of a very particular Cuban practice. However an analysis of the analytic
themes which emerge from the data suggests that certain concepts such as responsiveness and pragmatism resound within a wider picture. These themes are
discussed in chapters 7 and 8 with reference to the wider international context and specifically to the development of the profession in the United Kingdom. In my
conclusions I suggest that these themes may be applicable to other areas of research and practice outwith and beyond Cuba and that while the concept of art therapy cannot be
narrowly defined when it is applied to understanding practices in other, social, economic and cultural contexts, there are common factors which can be identified.


ABSTRACT Coccidioidomycosis (or valley fever) is a fungal disease with high morbidity and mortality that affects tens of thousands of people each year. This infection is caused by two sibling species, Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, which are endemic to specific arid locales throughout the Western Hemisphere, particularly the desert southwest of the United States. Recent epidemiological and population genetic data suggest that the geographic range of coccidioidomycosis is expanding, as new endemic clusters have been identified in the state of Washington, well outside the established endemic range. The genetic mechanisms and epidemiological consequences of this expansion are unknown and require better understanding of the population structure and evolutionary history of these pathogens. Here we performed multiple phylogenetic inference and population genomics analyses of 68 new and 18 previously published genomes. The results provide evidence of substantial population structure in C. posadasii and demonstrate the presence of distinct geographic clades in central and southern Arizona as well as dispersed populations in Texas, Mexico, South America, and Central America. Although a smaller number of C. immitis strains were included in the analyses, some evidence of phylogeographic structure was also detected in this species, which has been historically limited to California and Baja, Mexico. Bayesian analyses indicated that C. posadasii is the more ancient of the two species and that Arizona contains the most diverse subpopulations. We propose a southern Arizona-northern Mexico origin for C. posadasii and describe a pathway for dispersal and distribution out of this region. IMPORTANCE Coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, is caused by the pathogenic fungi Coccidioides posadasii and C. immitis. The fungal species and disease are primarily found in the American desert southwest, with spotted distribution throughout the Western Hemisphere. Initial molecular studies suggested a likely anthropogenic movement of C. posadasii from North America to South America. Here we comparatively analyze eighty-six genomes of the two Coccidioides species and establish local and species-wide population structures to not only clarify the earlier dispersal hypothesis but also provide evidence of likely ancestral populations and patterns of dispersal for the known subpopulations of C. posadasii. Coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, is caused by the pathogenic fungi Coccidioides posadasii and C. immitis. The fungal species and disease are primarily found in the American desert southwest, with spotted distribution throughout the Western Hemisphere. Initial molecular studies suggested a likely anthropogenic movement of C. posadasii from North America to South America. Here we comparatively analyze eighty-six genomes of the two Coccidioides species and establish local and species-wide population structures to not only clarify the earlier dispersal hypothesis but also provide evidence of likely ancestral populations and patterns of dispersal for the known subpopulations of C. posadasii.


Thiol homeostasis plays an important role in human health and aging by regulation of cellular responses to oxidative stress. Due to major constraints that hamper reliable plasma thiol/disulfide redox status assessment in clinical research, we introduce an improved strategy for comprehensive thiol speciation using capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (CE-ESI-MS) that overcomes sensitivity, selectivity and dynamic range constraints of conventional techniques. This method integrates both specific and nonspecific approaches toward sensitivity enhancement for artifact-free quantification of labile plasma thiols without complicated sample handling. A multivariate model was developed to predict increases in ionization efficiency for reduced thiols when conjugated to various maleimide analogs based on their intrinsic physicochemical properties. Optimization of maleimide labeling in conjunction with online sample preconcentration allowed for simultaneous analysis of nanomolar levels of reduced thiols and free oxidized thiols as their intact symmetric or mixed disulfides. Identification of low-abundance thiols and various other polar metabolites detected in plasma was supported by prediction of their relative migration times using CE as a qualitative tool complementary to ESI-MS. Plasma thiol redox status determination together with untargeted metabolite profiling offers a systemic approach for elucidation of the causal role of dysregulated thiol metabolism in the etiology of human diseases.


Abstract Barrier bars separating lagoons from oceans are frequently breached as a management tool to prevent flooding of terrestrial ecosystems. The effects of such human-mediated openings on zooplankton have been investigated only in one tropical system. We investigated the temperate Waituna Lagoon, New Zealand, over a 2-year period when the barrier bar was 'artificially' breached on three occasions. Increases in salinity associated with opening of the barrier bars greatly influenced zooplankton community composition, and recovery of communities was dependent on the rate at which salinity returned to pre-disturbance conditions. As such, resilience of zooplankton in coastal lagoons is a function of the lagoon conditions returning to those experienced prior to barrier breach, rather than being a result of the zooplankton community simply recovering from a single defined disturbance event. In contrast to the tropical lagoon studies, temperature in Waituna Lagoon was inferred to explain a significant proportion of the variability in zooplankton community composition, independent of salinity. Appropriate timing for the opening of barrier bars by management authorities in temperate lagoons, which would allow the greatest opportunity for freshwater zooplankton communities to recover rapidly, will rely on determining the best time for rapid barrier bar reformation and high freshwater inflow rates (i.e. the recovery of zooplankton relies on return to initial conditions). However, such an approach is in direct conflict with the opening of barrier bars for management of water levels.


The occurrence of actinomycetes, cyanobacteria and microalgae in surface water of the Arno River, used for water supplies in Florence, was investigated in this study on taste and odour compounds (such as geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB)). Throughout the 12-month monitoring period, raw water samples were collected and analysed for the number and genera of actinomycetes, cyanobacteria and microalgae. The research has shown that actinomycetes ( Streptomyces , Nocardia , Micromonospora ) are numerous in autumn and winter and decrease in spring and summer; in contrast, diatoms ( Melosira , Navicula ), green algae ( Chlorella , Pediastrum ) and cyanobacteria ( Anabaena , Oscillatoria , Nostoc ) present a completely opposite trend and are numerous in spring and summer and reduced in autumn and winter. The monitoring of the two odour-causing metabolites gives rise to a trend that is more similar in time to that of cyanobacteria than that of actinomycetes. The constant occurrence of geosmin may be a sign of a synergy between microalgae, cyanobacteria and actinomycetes, while MIB could derive from the activity of cyanobacteria or other species of actinomycetes present in a low concentration.


In their article, Coggon and colleagues1 report on work-related mortality in England and Wales over the period 1979–2000. Occupational mortality studies are one of the oldest approaches in epidemiology, including the decennial reports on patterns of mortality for occupational groups in England and Wales that have been published since the 19th century. These studies have made use of routinely collected data (death certificates), to study cause-specific mortality patterns by occupation and socioeconomic status. Even today, few other study designs, if any, can provide such a wide range of information on the occupational health status of a population, for so little cost.

Nevertheless, occupational mortality studies are currently not held in high regard. This perhaps reflects the low status of descriptive epidemiology- and hypothesis-generating studies in general,2 but there are additional specific methodological concerns regarding occupational mortality studies. In particular, most occupational mortality studies have used census data to produce standardised mortality ratios (SMRs). Using such external denominator data risks the introduction of a numerator-denominator bias, as the occupation registered on the census (usually the self-reported occupation of that person), is not fully comparable with the occupation registered on the death certificate (usually the last held occupation of the deceased as reported by the next of kin). There therefore has been 'a certain reluctance in accepting mortality excesses registered for specific occupational groups in these studies'.3 Other criticisms of occupational …


Phenomenological theology can provide a helpful reframing of the bodily rituals of transgender and disabled experience, embracing the ways in which they waste time and energy and sacralizing this waste as a microtactic of resistance to oppression and a site for the in-breaking of the transcendent in the everyday. Using Rosemarie Garland-Thomson's model of the misfit, trans and disabled experience can be understood as a temporal misfitting under the cis and abled norms of neoliberal capitalism, which seeks to contain, suppress, or eliminate their inefficient, flexible, and waste time. A coalitional politics of trans/crip misfitting must resist the capacitating imperatives of normative time, instead leaning into the rupture created by trans/crip time as a space-time of potentiality and openness to alterity. The theological thought of Jean-Yves Lacoste can help frame the little rituals and bodily practices of trans and crip life as de Certeauvian microtactics that embody resistance to the coercions of neoliberal capitalism and, through their very frustration and difficulty, as sites of possibility for true liturgical experience.


In this paper, we consider a multiple-input-multiple-output optical wireless communication (MIMO-OWC) system in the presence of log-normal fading. In this scenario, a general criterion for the design of full-diversity space code (FDSC) with the maximum likelihood detector is developed. This criterion reveals that in a high signal-to-noise ratio regime, MIMO-OWC offers both large-scale diversity gain, governing the exponential decay of the error curve, and small-scale diversity gain, producing traditional power-law decay. Particularly for a two by two MIMO-OWC system with unipolar pulse amplitude modulation, a closed-form solution to the design problem of a linear FDSC optimizing both diversity gains is attained by taking advantage of the available properties on the successive terms of Farey sequences in number theory as well as by developing new properties on the disjoint intervals formed by the Farey sequence terms to attack the continuous and discrete variables mixed max–min design problem. In fact, this specific design not only proves that a repetition code is the optimal linear FDSC optimizing both the diversity gains but also uncovers a significant difference between MIMO radio frequency communications and MIMO-OWC that space dimension alone is sufficient for a full large-scale diversity achievement. Computer simulations demonstrate that FDSC substantially outperforms uncoded spatial multiplexing with the same total optical power and spectral efficiency, and the latter provides only the small-scale diversity gain.


Achieving significant reductions in retail electric sales is becoming a priority for policymakers in many states and is echoed at the federal level with the introduction of legislation to establish a national energy efficiency resource standard. Yet, as the National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency (NAPEE) pointed out, many utilities continue to shy away from seriously expanding their energy efficiency program offerings because they claim there is insufficient profit motivation, or even a financial disincentive, when compared to supply-side investments. In response to an information request from the Kansas Corporation Commission staff, we conducted a financial analysis to assess the utility business case in Kansas for pursuing more aggressive energy efficiency that complies with recent state legislation. Kansas' utilities are vertically integrated and don't face retail competition. With historically low retail rates and modest experience with energy efficiency, the achievement of rapid and substantial sales reductions from energy efficiency will require a viable utility business model. Using a conglomerate of the three largest utilities in Kansas, we quantitatively illustrate the tradeoff between ratepayer and shareholder interests when a 1percent reduction in incremental sales is achieved through energy efficiency both with and without the impact of future carbon regulation. We then assess if the utility can be compensated in a manner that produces a sufficient business case but leaves an adequate amount of net resource benefits for ratepayers at a cost that is not overly burdensome. Finally, we show how several common shareholder incentive mechanisms would be designed to achieve this balance.


Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of arm swing restrain on preferred walking speed, amount of oxygen spent during walking and vertical displacement of the center of mass. Materials and methods: Between February 2011 and April 2011, a total of 52 healthy male volunteers, in the age range of 18 to 30, participated in the study and five different walking models were used. Individuals' preferred walking speeds on the ground were determined for each model. Their oxygen expenditures were recorded while individuals walked on the treadmill at this speed for seven minutes. We placed a marker on the first sacral vertebrae and used two infrared cameras to determine the changes in vertical displacement of the center of mass during walking. Results: We found a significant difference (F(3.734, 204) = 5.606, p<0.05) between normal (0.158±0.021 mL/kg/m) and at side restraint (0.166±022 mL/kg/m) and at front restraint (0.166±023 mL/kg/m) models in oxygen cost. We also found a significant difference (F(3.461, 204) = 5.144, p<0.05) between normal (3.81±0.94 cm) and at side restraint (4.36±1.05 cm) and at front restraint (4.25±0.93 cm) models in terms of vertical displacement of the center of mass. Preferred walking speed in the normal model (5.06±0.62 km/hr) was significantly higher (F(3.387, 204) = 10.433, p<0.05) than other models (at right restraint; 4.93±0.65 km/hr, at left restraint; 4.92±0.62 km/hr, at side restraint; 4.88±0.61 km/hr, and at front restraint; 4.88±0.56 km/hr). Conclusion: We are of the opinion that arm swing helps providing balance but in the situation of both arm restrain, since biomechanical systems cannot compensate this modification, it may increase the vertical displacement of the center of mass and oxygen cost of walking. We think that our findings may help individuals with balance problems regarding the prevention of daily accidents.


Background: The prevalence of dementia is rising worldwide and many people will die with the disease. Symptoms towards the end of life may be inadequately managed and informal and professional carers poorly supported. There are few evidence-based interventions to improve end-of-life care in advanced dementia. Aim: To develop an integrated, whole systems, evidence-based intervention that is pragmatic and feasible to improve end-of-life care for people with advanced dementia and support those close to them. Design: A realist-based approach in which qualitative and quantitative data assisted the development of statements. These were incorporated into the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method to achieve consensus on intervention components. Components were mapped to underlying theory of whole systems change and the intervention described in a detailed manual. Setting/participants: Data were collected from people with dementia, carers and health and social care professionals in England, from expert opinion and existing literature. Professional stakeholders in all four countries of the United Kingdom contributed to the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method process. Results: A total of 29 statements were agreed and mapped to individual, group, organisational and economic/political levels of healthcare systems. The resulting main intervention components are as follows: (1) influencing local service organisation through facilitation of integrated multi-disciplinary care, (2) providing training and support for formal and informal carers and (3) influencing local healthcare commissioning and priorities of service providers. Conclusion: Use of in-depth data, consensus methods and theoretical understanding of the intervention components produced an evidence-based intervention for further testing in end-of-life care in advanced dementia.


Objective: To evaluate Smoke-free Kids, a new home based programme to assist parents who smoke in socialising their children against smoking. Design: Two year randomised controlled trial. Participants: At baseline, 887 adult smokers who had an abstinent child in the third grade (ages 7–8 years); 671 adults and children were retained through the 24 month follow up. Intervention: Programme modules, newsletters, incentives, support calls. Outcomes: Anti-smoking socialisation; susceptibility to smoking. Results: Of 327 parents randomised to treatment, 210 obtained adequate treatment by using at least three of five core modules. Programme efficacy analyses, which compared these parents with controls (n = 344), showed that exposure to adequate treatment predicted significantly higher levels in nearly all categories of anti-smoking socialisation three months post-intervention. Two years post-baseline, children of parents who reported adequate treatment scored significantly higher than controls on attributes that reduce susceptibility to smoking, and they scored significantly lower than controls on attributes that raise susceptibility to smoking. Programme effectiveness analyses compared all parents randomised to treatment (n = 327) with controls (n = 344). Treatment effects were evident for several socialisation outcomes; however, these effects were smaller and less consistent than those from the efficacy analyses. Similarly, although treated children scored higher than controls on attributes that reduce susceptibility and lower than controls on attributes that raise susceptibility, several of these between-group differences were not significant. Conclusions: Given adequate exposure to the Smoke-free Kids programme, significant beneficial effects were observed on anti-smoking socialisation in households where parents smoke cigarettes, and significant beneficial effects were observed on children's susceptibility to smoking after two years. Improving programme acceptance and utilisation is necessary before programme effectiveness can be demonstrated.


On 12 September 1944, a U.S. submarine sank the Japanese transport ship Rakuyo Maru in the South China Sea which was carrying over a thousand Australian and British prisoners. Several days later, nearly a hundred Australian survivors from the ship were rescued by American submariners, and they later returned to Australia in October 1944. Analysis of this unanticipated repatriation provides some insight into attitudes toward prisoners of war as well as Australia's relationship with its allies at the time. Other historians have highlighted the ambiguous status of POWs relative to the Anzac legend. In the case of the Rakuyo Maru survivors, it is argued that ambivalence about their return had less to do with the Anzac legend than control of the information they brought back about the treatment and fate of other Australian prisoners in Japanese hands. Under pressure from both the United States and British governments, Australia wrestled with the issue of whether to publicise reports by the returned prisoners of Japanese atrocities. At the same time, the government came under pressure from relatives of prisoners still in captivity to disclose knowledge about their fate obtained from the Rakuyo Maru survivors.


One of the most basic principles in economics is that competitive pressure promotes efficiency. However, this pressure can also have a dark side because it makes firms reluctant to act on private information that is unpopular with consumers. As a result, firms that possess superior information about the consequences of their actions for consumers' welfare may choose not to use it. We develop this idea in a simple model of delegated investment in which agents are fully rational and risk neutral, and agency problems are absent. We show that competitive pressure obliges firms to make inefficient decisions when their information advantage over consumers is relatively small. This result could be applied to a broad range of economically important situations.


BACKGROUND
The choice of the appropriate perioperative thromboprophylaxis for people with cancer depends on the relative benefits and harms of different anticoagulants.

OBJECTIVES
To systematically review the evidence for the relative efficacy and safety of anticoagulants for perioperative thromboprophylaxis in people with cancer.

SEARCH METHODS
This update of the systematic review was based on the findings of a comprehensive literature search conducted on 14 June 2018 that included a major electronic search of Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2018, Issue 6), MEDLINE (Ovid), and Embase (Ovid); handsearching of conference proceedings; checking of references of included studies; searching for ongoing studies; and using the 'related citation' feature in PubMed.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that enrolled people with cancer undergoing a surgical intervention and assessed the effects of low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) to unfractionated heparin (UFH) or to fondaparinux on mortality, deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), bleeding outcomes, and thrombocytopenia.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Using a standardized form, we extracted data in duplicate on study design, participants, interventions outcomes of interest, and risk of bias. Outcomes of interest included all-cause mortality, PE, symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE), asymptomatic DVT, major bleeding, minor bleeding, postphlebitic syndrome, health related quality of life, and thrombocytopenia. We assessed the certainty of evidence for each outcome using the GRADE approach (GRADE Handbook).

MAIN RESULTS
Of 7670 identified unique citations, we included 20 RCTs with 9771 randomized people with cancer receiving preoperative prophylactic anticoagulation. We identified seven reports for seven new RCTs for this update.The meta-analyses did not conclusively rule out either a beneficial or harmful effect of LMWH compared with UFH for the following outcomes: mortality (risk ratio (RR) 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63 to 1.07; risk difference (RD) 9 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 19 fewer to 4 more; moderate-certainty evidence), PE (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.17 to 1.47; RD 3 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 5 fewer to 3 more; moderate-certainty evidence), symptomatic DVT (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.27 to 1.69; RD 3 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 7 fewer to 7 more; moderate-certainty evidence), asymptomatic DVT (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.05; RD 11 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 23 fewer to 4 more; low-certainty evidence), major bleeding (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.48; RD 0 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 10 fewer to 15 more; moderate-certainty evidence), minor bleeding (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.33; RD 1 more per 1000, 95% CI 34 fewer to 47 more; moderate-certainty evidence), reoperation for bleeding (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.50; RD 4 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 22 fewer to 26 more; moderate-certainty evidence), intraoperative transfusion (mean difference (MD) -35.36 mL, 95% CI -253.19 to 182.47; low-certainty evidence), postoperative transfusion (MD 190.03 mL, 95% CI -23.65 to 403.72; low-certainty evidence), and thrombocytopenia (RR 3.07, 95% CI 0.32 to 29.33; RD 6 more per 1000, 95% CI 2 fewer to 82 more; moderate-certainty evidence). LMWH was associated with lower incidence of wound hematoma (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.92; RD 26 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 39 fewer to 7 fewer; moderate-certainty evidence). The meta-analyses found the following additional results: outcomes intraoperative blood loss (MD -6.75 mL, 95% CI -85.49 to 71.99; moderate-certainty evidence); and postoperative drain volume (MD 30.18 mL, 95% CI -36.26 to 96.62; moderate-certainty evidence).In addition, the meta-analyses did not conclusively rule out either a beneficial or harmful effect of LMWH compared with Fondaparinux for the following outcomes: any VTE (DVT or PE, or both; RR 2.51, 95% CI 0.89 to 7.03; RD 57 more per 1000, 95% CI 4 fewer to 228 more; low-certainty evidence), major bleeding (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.45 to 1.23; RD 8 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 16 fewer to 7 more; low-certainty evidence), minor bleeding (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.34 to 2.05; RD 8fewer per 1000, 95% CI 33 fewer to 52 more; low-certainty evidence), thrombocytopenia (RR 0.35, 95% CI 0.04 to 3.30; RD 14 fewer per 1000, 95% CI 20 fewer to 48 more; low-certainty evidence), any PE (RR 3.13, 95% CI 0.13 to 74.64; RD 2 more per 1000, 95% CI 1 fewer to 78 more; low-certainty evidence) and postoperative drain volume (MD -20.00 mL, 95% CI -114.34 to 74.34; low-certainty evidence) AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We found no difference between perioperative thromboprophylaxis with LMWH versus UFH and LMWH compared with fondaparinux in their effects on mortality, thromboembolic outcomes, major bleeding, or minor bleeding in people with cancer. There was a lower incidence of wound hematoma with LMWH compared to UFH.


This study examined how gender specific assertiveness, drink history, and sexual experience history, were associated with women's ability to refuse alcoholic beverages from a man in a simulated high risk situation. Women (n=111) answered an anonymous survey that included the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP 64), the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, the Quantity Frequency Index (QFI), The Women's Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (WSE), and the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES). In addition, participants listened and responded to an audio-taped role play where a man offers multiple drinks in a high risk situation. Women's gender specific assertiveness or assertiveness in general did not predict whether one would have more difficulty refusing alcoholic beverages from a man. Participants with a higher number of drinking days in the past three months were less likely to refuse a drink offer at all three time-points. In addition, women who endorsed having ambivalent sexual experiences were more likely to accept drink offers. This only became significant when the data set was restricted only to women who had at least one sexual interaction in the past 12 months. Participants had the tendency to deny alcoholic beverages more over time. In other words, fewer women accepted drink offers over time.


A new synthesis of pressure-temperature conditions and pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) paths is presented for high-grade metamorphic thrust sheets associated with the Main Central Thrust, in the Langtang and Darondi regions, central Nepal. From structurally low to structurally high, major structures include the Lesser Himalayan Duplex, Munsiari Thrust, Main Central Thrust (thrust contact between the Greater and Lesser Himalayan Sequences), and Langtang Thrust. Key P-T-t results include the following: in a transect from Lesser Himalayan Duplex to Langtang Thrust rocks, peak metamorphic P-T conditions are uniformly ∼550 °C and 8 kbar in the Lesser Himalayan Duplex, and show a strong gradient to ∼725 °C and 10–12 kbar over a structural distance of less than 2 km associated with the Munsiari Thrust and Main Central Thrust; T9s then increase and P9s decrease gradually upsection, reaching ∼825 °C and 8 kbar in the Langtang Thrust. Juxtaposition of thrust sheets occurred at moderate pressure (8–12 kbar) on thrust surfaces roughly coincident with the modern Main Himalayan Thrust. Published monazite ages demonstrate synmetamorphic thrusting, with peak metamorphic ages decreasing progressively downward: 21 ± 2 Ma (Langtang Thrust), 16 ± 1 Ma (Main Central Thrust), 10.5 ± 0.5 Ma (Munsiari Thrust), and 3.5 ± 0.5 Ma (Lesser Himalayan Duplex). Together with published thermochronologic results, these data constrain initial cooling ages and rates: 15–20 Ma and ∼40 °C/m.y. for the Langtang Thrust and Main Central Thrust, and 3–10 Ma and ≥100 °C/m.y. for the Munsiari Thrust and Lesser Himalayan Duplex. Overall, metamorphic and chronologic patterns are matched well by expectations of critical taper models, including (1) uniformly high pressures of metamorphism (8–12 kbar) for all structural levels and thrust movement along the paleo–Main Himalayan Thrust, (2) isobaric cooling from the peak of metamorphism for Greater Himalayan rocks (deep juxtaposition of thrust sheets), (3) "hairpin" P-T paths for Lesser Himalayan rocks, and (4) relatively slow cooling rates for Greater Himalayan rocks. However, observations contrast significantly with published channel flow models, which predict (1) peak P-T conditions within the sillimanite stability field for Lesser and lower Greater Himalayan rocks (versus observations of P-T conditions in the kyanite stability field), (2) peak metamorphic pressures that decrease structurally downward—7–13, 6, 5, and 5 kbar for rocks achieving temperatures recorded by Langtang Thrust, Main Central Thrust, Munsiari Thrust, and Lesser Himalayan Duplex rocks (versus observations of 8, 10–12, 10, and 8 kbar), (3) retrograde isothermal exhumation P-T trajectories for Greater Himalayan rocks (versus isobaric cooling of the Main Central Thrust and Langtang Thrust), (4) cooling of migmatitic Greater Himalayan rocks after 10 Ma (versus observations of 15–20 Ma), and (5) isobaric heating of the Lesser Himalayan rocks (versus observations of simultaneous increases in P and T for some Lesser Himalayan rocks). Neither model matches "clockwise" P-T paths observed in structurally high Lesser Himalayan rocks, or the extraordinary cooling rate of the Lesser Himalayan Duplex, which points to complications in their evolution in the context of end-member models. Most generally, although channel flow may have initiated since ca. 10 Ma due to focused erosion above the Lesser Himalayan Duplex, it does not appear responsible for past transport and exhumation of the migmatitic core of the Himalaya.


Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) is a wireless network without infrastructure. Self configurability and easy deployment feature of the MANET resulted in numerous applications in this modern era. It generally works by broadcasting the information and used air as medium .It's broadcasting nature and transmission medium also help attacker, whose intention is to spy or disrupt the network. Many type of attack can be done on such Mobile Ad-hoc network. The emphasis of this paper to study wormhole attack, some detection methods and different techniques to prevent network from these attacks.


As Britain grew into an ever-expanding empire during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, new and exotic botanical specimens began to arrive within the nation's public and private spaces. Gardens became sites not just of leisure, sport, and aesthetic enjoyment, but also of scientific inquiry and knowledge dissemination. Medical practitioners used their botanical training to capitalize on the growing fashion for botanical collecting and agricultural experimentation in institutional, semipublic, and private gardens across Britain. This book highlights the role of these medical practitioners in the changing use of gardens in the late Georgian period, marked by a fluidity among the ideas of farm, laboratory, museum, and garden. Placing these activities within a wider framework of fashionable, scientific, and economic interests of the time, the book argues that gardens shifted from predominately static places of enjoyment to key gathering places for improvement, knowledge sharing, and scientific exploration.


How do you make writing a more relevant learning experience for learners? How do you make it more enjoyable for them? How do you make them fall in love with it? These are some of the questions that this paper addresses. It discusses the complex writing process and offers a creative option that will enable teachers to design more innovative activities by following a task-based language teaching framework. It illustrates how life-like tasks may empower students in the classroom and help them overcome blocks to writing and produce interesting anthologies. Through the use of authentic and imaginative communication activities, teachers can make writing more meaningful and fun for learners.


Design of the active region and analysis of temperature sensitivity of high-temperature operating 795-nm special VCSELs for Chip-Scale Atomic Clock are firstly presented. Composition and thickness of the InAlGaAs multiply quantum well (MQWs) are optimized at room and elevated temperatures. Temperature sensitivity of the threshold current is analyzed by calculating the temperature dependence of cavity-mode gain over a broad temperature range(25°C–150°C). A self-consistent VCSEL model based on quasi 3D finite element analysis is employed to investigate self-heating effects and temperature distribution in the proposed structure. Output power of 2.5mW is expected from 5-micron aperture VCSELs at 10mA current at ambient temperature of 358K.


Stromal cells, as distinct from hematopoietic cells, are essential components of the bone marrow microenvironment and are necessary for the long-term maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in vitro. Previous studies have shown that stromal cells regulate the proliferation and differentiation of HSCs through the production of diffusible hematopoietic regulatory factors and extracellular matrix, and through physical cell–cell interactions involving adhesion molecules and gap junction-mediated cell communication. However, the ability of stromal cells to support the expansion of HSCs and to maintain their self-renewal potential has generally been investigated in long-term, twodimensional (2D) bone marrow culture systems (BMCS), and most of the reports have shown a decline in HSCs within 4–8 weeks in culture. In work published on page 1342 of this issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Hirabayashi and co-investigators from Nihon University School of Medicine, Osaka Prefecture University and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, have developed a new three-dimensional (3D) BMCS. As stated by co-author Isao Tsuboi, '2D BMCS can't maintain HSCs for a long time, which does not enable us to analyze stromal-cell function. Therefore, we developed a new 3D BMCS and succeeded to maintain HSCs for a much longer time'. This new 3D BMCS is based on unique particles. As explained by co-author Yukio Hirabayashi, 'The polymer particle with grafted epoxy-polymer-chains is most important in our 3D BMCS. We selected the particle most suitable for cell culture from more than 20 types of particles with various grafted polymer chain lengths and its surface density, the composition of base polymer network and graft polymer chain. We named this particle G-02'. Furthermore, co-author Tomonori Harada adds 'Several kinds of cell lines, other than murine fibroblast cell line (MS-5 cell), such as an epidermal cell line (HeLa cell), osteoblast cell line (MC3T3E1 cell) and chondrocyte cell line (ch-8 cell), can adhere easily on the G-02 particle and proliferate rapidly on its surface. This advantage of the G-02 particle enables us to develop 3D BMCS, which can also be applied to other 3D organ cultures of the central nerve system, heart and liver'. CD34 is well known to be a surface marker for human primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells; however, CD34þ cells can also differentiate into stromal cells. When CD34þ cells are co-cultured with human stromal cells, it is complex to clarify the biological function of the preestablished stromal cell layer. Professor Shin Aizawa, group leader and pioneer in the study of stromal cell, says 'In this study, we used a murine stromal cell line (MS-5) instead of human stromal cells to exclude the effect of CD34þ derived stromal cells. This co-culture system makes it possible to distinguish the function of MS-5 stromal-cell layer from that of CD34þ-derived stromal cells. Now our group is studying gene-expression levels of various cytokines in stromal cells using specific primers and probes for the mouse and human'. Steven R Goodman, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said 'this 3-dimensional bone marrow culture system, developed by Hirabayashi and co-workers, should be an outstanding tool for the study of stromal cell function'.


I read with alarm the article by Paterson et al published in your journal last month. This is the paper that, in its conclusions, claims an effect for acupuncture even though the data in the paper show no effect at all. I cannot understand how this has happened. All the published data in the medical literature to date show no or insignificant effects for acupuncture. Given that, it seems all the more important to examine claims to the contrary with scientific rigour. Indeed, the College expects that of any scientific paper. In my opinion you should withdraw the paper and admit an error was made. The Lancet did just that over the immunisation paper.


A total of 130 bacterial isolates were isolated for this study. Three isolates showed algicidal activity against A. catenella, C. marina, and C. polykrikoides. Isolate DC-11 showed algicidal activity (95%) against A. catenella. Isolate DC-43 exhibited the strongest algicidal activity (98%) against A. catenella. Isolate DC-43 showed strong algicidal activity (93%) against C. polykrikoides. Isolate DC-49 exhibited the strongest algicidal activity (97%) against C. marina. The results using commercially available tissue culture inserts revealed that Arthrobacter sp. DC-11, Brachybacterium sp. DC-43, and Bacillus sp. DC-49 killed HAB species through algicide release, as an indirect attacker. The algicidal effects of three isolates against three algal cells were observed under light microscope during the algicidal process.


Development of αβ and γδ T cells requires coupling of environmental signals with metabolic and redox regulation by mTORC1. Wiring metabolic signaling circuits in thymocytes Cell differentiation is often accompanied by metabolic changes. Yang et al. report that generation of double-positive (DP) thymocytes from double-negative (DN) cells coincides with dynamic regulation of glycolytic and oxidative metabolism. Given the central role of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling in regulating metabolic changes, they examined the role of mTORC1 pathway in thymocyte development by conditionally deleting RAPTOR, the key component of the mTORC1 complex, in thymocytes. Loss of RAPTOR impaired the DN-to-DP transition, but unexpectedly also perturbed the balance between αβ and γδ T cells and promoted the generation of γδ T cells. Their studies highlight an unappreciated role for mTORC1-dependent metabolic changes in controlling thymocyte fates. The interaction between extrinsic factors and intrinsic signal strength governs thymocyte development, but the mechanisms linking them remain elusive. We report that mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) couples microenvironmental cues with metabolic programs to orchestrate the reciprocal development of two fundamentally distinct T cell lineages, the αβ and γδ T cells. Developing thymocytes dynamically engage metabolic programs including glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, as well as mTORC1 signaling. Loss of RAPTOR-mediated mTORC1 activity impairs the development of αβ T cells but promotes γδ T cell generation, associated with disrupted metabolic remodeling of oxidative and glycolytic metabolism. Mechanistically, we identify mTORC1-dependent control of reactive oxygen species production as a key metabolic signal in mediating αβ and γδ T cell development, and perturbation of redox homeostasis impinges upon thymocyte fate decisions and mTORC1-associated phenotypes. Furthermore, single-cell RNA sequencing and genetic dissection reveal that mTORC1 links developmental signals from T cell receptors and NOTCH to coordinate metabolic activity and signal strength. Our results establish mTORC1-driven metabolic signaling as a decisive factor for reciprocal αβ and γδ T cell development and provide insight into metabolic control of cell signaling and fate decisions.


Gray (1970, 1981, 1987) proposed a behavioral motivation theory (Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, RST), which describes the Behavioral Activation/Approach System (BAS) and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS). Some studies relate higher activation of BAS to positive affect, whereas BIS activation is linked to negative affect, particularly to high levels of anxiety and depression. Research data suggests that greater Trait Emotional Intelligence (TEI) influences optimal development of well-being and psychological adjustment, such as positive affective states. However, a recent study relates the motivational BIS/BAS systems with TEI, showing that high TEI is characterized by sensitivity to reward (BAS), and low TEI due to activation of the BIS system. The aim of this study was to explore how TEI may mediate the relationship between BIS/BAS sensitivity and positive and negative affect. Four-hundred and sixty-seven undergraduate students (385 females) were evaluated. TEI was evaluated with the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS). Affective states were measured with the Positive (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) Schedule, and BIS/BAS sensitivity was measured with The Sensitivity to Punishment (SP) and Sensitivity to Reward (SR) Questionnaire. The results reveal the influence of the two motivational systems on affective states, and show how this relationship is modified by and better explained through TEI. That is, a stronger approach to appetitive stimuli produces more positive affect, but a belief that one [does not] understand unpleasant emotions or that one analyzes them, or thinks that one cannot regulate or control emotions will reduce that positive state. Greater activation of inhibitory behaviors will produce greater negative affect, and this will increase when one perceives that one attends excessively to one's feelings or does not understand them or feels incapable of regulating them. Accordingly, although motivators could be a focus of interest for intervention, this study shows that the efficiency and profitability of these practical applications increases by adding TEI.


Playing computer games is a popular recreational activity for young people. Not surprisingly, many of these enthusiasts dream that one day they will develop computer games themselves. Developing computer games involves many aspects of computing, including computer graphics, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, security, distributed programming, simulation, and software engineering. Users who can't code a single line can use game maker to build games and learn object-oriented design.


Placebo effects are often quite funny, and so the subject seemed rich terrain for conceptual comics. In general, humour is an effective, and underappreciated, conceptual tool. It can be an invitation: our entree to the ponder-worthy. It serves to focus and clarify what an idea can mean. Placebos, in their metaphysical oddity and varied role in the popular imagination, turned out to be a great subject matter, indeed. What follows is a brief introduction to our group, The Argument from Design, our mission, and the way we make comic art


Background Simulated Patients (SP) are trained to portray different roles in healthcare education (Nestel and Bearman, 2015). This project developed and evaluated the 'Train-The-Simulated Patient' (2TSP) package (Greene and Gough, 2015). The 2TSP package provides a standardised approach to training SPs, featuring an e-learning course and face-to-face workshop. The innovative 2TSP package includes The PrOPS Process© (Gibson, 2015), which blends performing arts pedagogies to enhance characterisation and role portrayal for non-arts professionals. Utilising Process Drama techniques, The PrOPS Process© involves four-stages of SP development: Profile building, Objective-setting, Physicality and Speech modification. Methodology/methods A pragmatic, mixed-methods design facilitated a comprehensive exploration of the 2TSP package; University ethical approval was obtained. None of the participants (NHS Service Users/volunteers, NHS staff, university staff and students, n = 34) had completed SP training previously. Data collection methods included an electronic evaluation questionnaire featuring open and closed questions. Results All participants commented that they would recommend the 2TSP workshop to others. The PrOPS Process© evaluated positively, with participants: Valuing performing arts techniques to enable a greater understanding of the character they were developing Able to connect with the perspectives and feelings that patients may experience during scenarios Reporting improved levels of confidence in assuming future SP roles Conclusions The 2TSP package is implemented throughout the region with performing arts methodology embedded throughout. The PrOPS Process© aims to support users through character development, particularly in non-arts settings. It is anticipated that this will enhance role portrayal skills and improve the learning environment and thus, the quality of learning. References Gibson J. Train The Simulated Patient. Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University; 2015. http://www.cheshire.mmu.ac.uk/dca/projects/train-the-simulated-patient/ Greene L, Gough S. Simulated Patients: blending performing arts pedagogy and healthcare education. Final Project Report. Manchester: Health Education North West; 2015. Nestel D , Bearman M. Chapter 1: Introduction to simulated patient methodology. In: Nestel D, Bearman M, eds. Simulated Patient Methodology: Theory, Evidence and Practice. West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell; 2015:1–4.


Studies on insect pollinator ecology and dynamics are very rarely carried out in traditional Indian agriculture landscapes. Indiscriminate landscape changes in the rural areas and tendencies towards crop monocultures can have significant effects on pollinator habitats and effectiveness. This study was aimed at observing insect pollinators, their visitation frequencies and timings on monsoon cucurbit crops such as Cucumis sativus L., C. pubescens Willd., Momordica charantia L., Trichonsanthes anguina L. and Luffa acutangula L. (Roxb.), in a coastal Karnataka Village. This study was also aimed at covering the significance of the surrounding landscape elements in sustaining pollinator elements. Bees, such as Apis dorsata, A. cerana and Trigona sp., were major visitors on all cucurbits, except snake gourd which was pollinated mainly by lepidopterans. Insect species were found to partition floral resources of any given crops between them by minimal overlapping in their visitation timings. Natural elements of the landscape around, mainly a village forest and rocky savanna furnished habitats for bees and lepidopterans. Prolifically blooming monsoon herbs on lateritic plateaus, by providing nectar resources for pollinators, presumably play key role in making the case study village well known for monsoon vegetables.


"The whole of modern European philosophy", wrote F.W.J. Schelling in 1809, "has this common deficiency – that nature does not exist for it." Despite repeated echoes of Schelling's assessment throughout the natural sciences, and despite the philosophy of nature recently proposed but not completed by Gilles Deleuze, Philosophies of Nature After Schelling argues that Schelling's verdict remains accurate two hundred years later.

Presenting a lucid account of Schelling's major works in the philosophy of nature alongside those of his scientific contemporaries who pursued and furthered that work, this book does not simply aim to present Schelling's extravagant 'speculative physics' as an historical episode. Rather, Schelling's programme is presented as a viable and necessary corrective both to the rejection of metaphysics and the correlative 'antiphysics' at the ethical heart of contemporary philosophy.


Resilience against infrastructure failure is essential for ensuring the health and safety of communities during and following natural hazard situations. Understanding how natural hazards impact society in terms of economic cost, recovery time, and damages to critical infrastructure is essential for developing robust approaches to increasing resilience. Identifying specific vulnerabilities allows for better communication, planning, and situation-specific interventions. This is particularly relevant in areas recovering from a natural hazard that have the opportunity to build back their infrastructure, and for those currently planning infrastructure expansions. This study considers recent hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, heat waves, extreme wind and rainfall events, ice and thunder storms as well as wildfires. For many of these, data are available for the same type of hazard in different geographies which provides information not only on specific vulnerabilities, but whether the impacts are location dependent. Where available, specific design considerations, cost information for repairs, and the recommendations for 'building back better' are presented. Above-ground transmission systems were the most commonly affected power system component, with fuel and maintenance supply chains representing a major vulnerability for isolated regions and islands. Generation systems were most commonly affected when a hazard exceeded design limits, particularly in relation to water temperature or wind speeds. Institutional capabilities are important throughout the sector. In all case studies analyzed, the design standards of the infrastructure asset, and the ongoing maintenance of assets and the organized response (or lack of) has major implications for the performance of the electricity grid.


This paper reviews existing initiatives on taxpayer education in Africa, an area that has been largely under-researched in the literature. We start by providing an overview of the wide variety of programmes that African revenue authorities have undertaken in this area, including both traditional training and more innovative approaches. We then ask how effective these programmes are, and what can be done to improve them in the future. We argue that more evaluation is needed in this area. We also highlight the importance of complementing technical training with broader educational content on the importance of paying taxes, fiscal exchange and transparency.


It has been a long-standing goal in machine learning, as well as in AI more generally, to develop life-long learning systems that learn many different tasks over time, and reuse insights from tasks learned, "learning to learn" as they do so. In this work we pose and provide efficient algorithms for several natural theoretical formulations of this goal. Specifically, we consider the problem of learning many different target functions over time, that share certain commonalities that are initially unknown to the learning algorithm. Our aim is to learn new internal representations as the algorithm learns new target functions, that capture this commonality and allow subsequent learning tasks to be solved more efficiently and from less data. We develop efficient algorithms for two very different kinds of commonalities that target functions might share: one based on learning common lowdimensional and unions of low-dimensional subspaces and one based on learning nonlinear Boolean combinations of features. Our algorithms for learning Boolean feature combinations additionally have a dual interpretation, and can be viewed as giving an efficient procedure for constructing near-optimal sparse Boolean autoencoders under a natural "anchor-set" assumption.


The framework of complex networks has been shown to describe adequately a wide class of complex systems made up of a large number of interacting units. In this framework, a node is associated to each unit and two nodes are connected by an edge if the two units interact with each other. Examples of such systems can be found in living organisms—the map of interactions between proteins or the network of neurons in the brain. Moreover, artificial systems such as the WWW, electrical grids or airplane connections have been studied using the tools of complex networks. Finally networks have found many applications in social sciences to characterize for instance human interactions of different kinds underlying the spreading of an epidemic. For most of these systems, the complexity arises because of the large number of units and their intricate connection patterns. A natural approach is therefore to simplify the systems by decreasing their size. Different schemes can indeed be designed for each particular system, leading to effective but case-dependent methods. From a more global and statistical perspective, a promising alternative is to reduce the complexity of the corresponding networks. In order to simplify complex networks, two strategies are presented in this Thesis. The first approach refers to the well-known clustering paradigm. It aims at identifying groups of nodes densely connected between each other and much less to the rest of the network. Those groups are referred to as clusters or communities. For most real systems, nodes within a community share some similarity or common feature. For instance, in a synonymy network where nodes are words and edges connect synonymous words, we have shown that finding communities allowed us to identify words corresponding to a single concept. We have also studied a network describing the dynamics of a peptide by associating a node to a microscopic configuration and an edge to a transition. The community structure of the network was shown to provide a new methodology to explore the main characteristics of the peptide dynamics and to unravel the large-scale features of the underlying free-energy landscape. Finally we have designed a new technique to probe the robustness of the community structure against external perturbations of the network topology. This method allows us, among else, to assess whether communities correspond to a real structure of the network, or are simple artifacts of the clustering algorithms. Community detection techniques have found a large number of practical applications as a method to simplify networks since the number of clusters is often much smaller than the number of nodes. However, a crucial issue has often been disregarded: is the network of clusters truly representative of the initial one? In this Thesis, we show that this is indeed not verified for most networks. For example we have considered the evolution of random walks on the network of clusters and found that it behaves quite differently than in the initial network. This observation led us to develop a new strategy to simplify complex networks, ensuring that the reduced network is representative of the initial one. It is based on the idea of grouping nodes, akin to community detection. However, the aim is no longer to identify the "correct" clusters, but to find a smaller network which preserves the relevant features of the initial one, and especially the spectral properties. We therefore refer to our method as Spectral Coarse Graining, by analogy with the coarse graining framework used in Statistical Physics. Applying this method to various kinds of networks, we have shown that the coarse-grained network provides an excellent approximation of the initial one, while the size could be easily reduced by a factor of ten. Therefore, the Spectral Coarse Graining provides a well-defined way of studying large networks and their dynamics considering a much smaller coarse-grained version. Overall, we first discuss the use and the limits of the usual clustering approach to reduce the complexity of networks, and apply it to several real-world systems. In a second part, we develop a new coarse graining strategy to approximate large networks by smaller ones and provide several examples to illustrate the power and the novelty of the method.


Digital technologies have become an integral part of everyday life for most inhabitants of the Arctic, diffusing so deep into society that even traditional activities are becoming digitised. All Arctic states have endorsed cybersecurity strategies, highlighting the significance that is attributed to digitalisation in today's societies. Yet, these strategies reproduce a state-centric traditional security approach. Since digitalisation affects all spheres of human security, cybersecurity needs to be redefined in a more comprehensive way to be inclusive to challenges on the individual and community level. This paper discusses a digital security approach. Acknowledging the importance of software in contemporary information societies, this paper looks at how private and public software property regimes are related to digital security in an Arctic specific context. Following approaches from science and technology studies, with special attention to innovation research, this paper discusses the interrelations of proprietary software, open source software (OSS), and free and open source software (FOSS) approaches with digitalisation, considering the peculiarities of Arctic societies. The paper argues that FOSS provides advantages for the often small user base and niche markets of region specific applications, and thus utilising a FOSS approach promotes digital security in the Arctic.


Receiver functions (RFs) from teleseismic events recorded by the NARS-Baja array were used to map crustal thickness in the continental margins of the Gulf of California, a newly forming ocean basin. Although the upper crust is known to have split apart simultaneously along the entire length of the Gulf, little is known about the behaviour of the lower crust in this region. The RFs show clear P-to-S wave conversions from the Moho beneath the stations. The delay times between the direct P and P-to-S waves indicate thinner crust closer to the Gulf along the entire Baja California peninsula. The thinner crust is associated with the eastern Peninsular Ranges batholith (PRB). Crustal thickness is uncorrelated with topography in the PRB and the Moho is not flat, suggesting mantle compensation by a weaker than normal mantle based on seismological evidence. The approximately W–E shallowing in Moho depths is significant with extremes in crustal thickness of ∼21 and 37 km. Similar results have been obtained at the northern end of the Gulf by Lewis et al., who proposed a mechanism of lower crustal flow associated with rifting in the Gulf Extensional Province for thinning of the crust. Based on the amount of pre-Pliocene extension possible in the continental margins, if the lower crust did thin in concert with the upper crust, it is possible that the crust was thinned during the early stages of rifting before the opening of the ocean basin. In this case, we suggest that when breakup occurred, the lower crust in the margins of the Gulf was still behaving ductilely. Alternatively, the lower crust may have thinned after the Gulf opened. The implications of these mechanisms are discussed.


A software Bug report contains information about the bug in the form of problem description and comments using natural language texts. Managing reported bugs is a significant challenge for a project manager when the number of bugs for a software project is large. Prior to the assignment of a newly reported bug to an appropriate developer, the triager (e.g., manager) attempts to categorize it into existing categories and looks for duplicate bugs. The goal is to reuse existing knowledge to fix or resolve the new bug, and she often spends a lot of time in reading a number of bug reports. When fixing or resolving a bug, a developer also consults with a series of relevant bug reports from the repository in order to maximize the knowledge required for the fixation. It is also preferable that developers new to a project first familiarize themselves with the project along with the reported bugs before actually working on the project. Because of the sheer numbers and size of the bug reports, manually analyzing a collection of bug reports is time-consuming and ineffective. One of the ways to mitigate the problem is to analyze summaries of the bug reports instead of analyzing full bug reports, and there have been a number of summarization techniques proposed in the literature. Most of these techniques generate extractive summaries of bug reports. However, it is not clear how useful those generated extractive summaries are, in particular when the developers do not have prior knowledge of the bug reports. In order to better understand the usefulness of the bug report summaries, in this thesis, we first reimplement a state of the art unsupervised summarization technique and evaluate it with a user study with nine participants. Although in our study, 70% of the time participants marked our developed summaries as a reliable means of comprehending the software bugs, the study also reports a practical problem with extractive summaries. An extractive summary is often created by choosing a certain number of statements from the bug report. The statements are extracted out of their contexts, and thus often lose their consistency, which makes it hard for a manager or a developer to comprehend the reported bug from the extractive summary. Based on the findings from the user study and in order to further assist the managers as well as the developers, we thus propose an interactive visualization for the bug reports that visualizes not only the extractive summaries but also the topic evolution of the bug reports. Topic evolution refers to the evolution of technical topics discussed in the bug reports of a software system over a certain time period. Our visualization technique interactively visualizes such information which can help in different project management activities. Our proposed visualization also highlights the summary statements within their contexts in the original report for easier comprehension of the reported bug. In order to validate the applicability of our proposed visualization technique, we implement the technique as a standalone tool, and conduct both a case study with 3914 bug reports and a user study with six participants. The experiments in the case study show that our topic analysis can reveal useful keywords or other insightful information about the bug reports for aiding the managers or triagers in different management activities. The findings from the user study also show that our proposed visualization technique is highly promising for easier comprehension of the bug reports.


There is much discussion about usefulness of book-tax differences in evaluating firm performance. This study contributes to this discussion assessing the information content of estimated and actual taxable income for Finnish corporate data from 2012-2013. The findings for year 2012 show that book income has higher explanation power of stock returns than other income concepts. However, estimated taxable income does not bring any incremental explanatory power to book income whereas actual taxable income contains more relative and also incremental information. The findings show that the explanation power of estimated taxable income in high earnings quality firms is comparable with that of book income but insignificant in low earnings quality firms.  On the contrary, the explanation power of actual taxable income is lower in high earnings quality firms and higher in low earnings quality firms. For high earnings quality firms, neither of the taxable income concepts brings incremental information to book income. For low earnings quality firms, estimated taxable income does not bring any incremental information to book income whereas actual taxable income does. For these firms, actual taxable income brings significant incremental information also to estimated taxable income. For year 2013, anticipated significant tax rate reduction largely mitigated the relevant relationships between returns and income concepts.


The effects of exogeneous cyclopiazonic acid (CPA, 10 microM), a selective inhibitor of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ adenosinetriphosphatase, on cyclic nucleotide-induced relaxations of canine airway smooth muscle were examined. Strips of tracheal muscle were precontracted with carbachol (50% median effective concentration, 0.1 microM) or with 60 mM KCl. The beta-agonist isoproterenol (ISO, 10 microM) relaxed the tissue by approximately 50%. The relaxation was reduced in the presence of CPA when L-type Ca2+ channels were available but not when these were blocked by 0.1 microM nifedipine. Forskolin (1.0 microM), an adenylate cyclase activator, was less effective at inhibiting the contraction than ISO, and addition of CPA did not block its inhibitory effect as effectively as when ISO was used. Radioimmunoassay indicated that both these agents raised adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels to the same degree. Very little relaxation of the precontracted smooth muscle was elicited by 3 mM 8-bromo-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-BrcAMP), and addition of CPA had no effect. Sodium nitroprusside (100 microM) and 8-bromo-guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (10 mM) inhibited contraction to a greater degree than any agent that raised cAMP. These inhibitions were greatly reduced in the presence of CPA when L-type Ca2+ channels were available. We conclude that pumping of Ca2+ into SR plays a major role guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate-produced but not cAMP-induced relaxation; L-type Ca2+ channels must be available for the relaxant role of Ca2+ pumping into the SR to be expressed; and ISO-induced relaxation may not involve primarily elevation of the cAMP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Marian apparitions, as diverse, global, and dynamic phenomena, offer opportunities for multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural analysis. We are pleased in this special issue to offer seven essays highlighting the increasing internationalization of Marian devotional movements. Our contributors, using both local case studies and a global, comparative view to explore instances of apparitions in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, collectively indicate three major points. First, apparitional movements are globally-connected, complex, and multi-layered. Second, apparitional movements are situated among so many social and political nodes that they are diverse, even internally, and therefore difficult to categorize. Third, apparitions are informed by both grassroots activism and institutional religious structures. These themes challenge categories in the study of religion, including disciplinary categories, and pose questions for further research.


Abstract:  Lapworthura lehmanni, a new species of ophiuroid, is described from four specimens from the Lower Devonian Hunsrück Slate of Germany. It is the only known ophiuroid in the Hunsrück Slate with paired but unfused ambulacrals, and it exhibits unique rows of spine‐bearing dorsal arm ossicles. The genus Lapworthura Gregory was previously known only from the Ordovician of Scotland and the Silurian of England and Australia.


Image quality assessment plays an important role in the performance of biometric system involving iris images. Data quality assessment is a key issue in order to broaden the applicability of iris biometrics to unconstrained imaging conditions. In this paper, we have proposed the quality factors of individual iris images by assessing their prominent factors by their scores. The work has been carried out for the following databases: CASIA, UBIRIS, UPOL, MMU and our own created COEP Database using HIS 5000 HUVITZ Iris Camera. The comparison is also done with existing databases which in turn will act as a benchmark in increasing the efficiency of further processing.


OBJECTIVE
To better understand the perceptions, needs, and responses of family members after an out-of-hospital death.

METHODS
Over an 18-month period, phone interviews were conducted using a structured interview schedule modified from a similar study of survivors of in-hospital death. Subjects included 31 survivors of urban out-of-hospital deaths attended by paramedics from one ambulance company. Subjects were eligible if paramedics had arrived and death had been determined at the scene without transport. Survivors were interviewed 11 to 15 months after the death (mean = 12 months) to evaluate how well they coped with their loss, how they managed the experience of their loved ones' out-of-hospital deaths, and their feelings and beliefs about their loved ones' not being transported to a hospital.

RESULTS
None of the survivors believed their loved ones should have been transported to a hospital, and only one believed that something more could have been done for the individual. Although many of the survivors had suspected their loved ones had died, 64% had been informed of the death by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or firefighters. Most thought the EMTs had informed them in a professional (81%) and gentle/supportive manner (74%). Some (29%) still had unanswered questions about the death, but most (58%) were adjusting well and no one had a "poor" adjustment.

CONCLUSION
In this small sample, survivors of out-of-hospital death were generally satisfied with the care their loved ones had received. None of the survivors believed their loved ones should have been transported to the hospital. They also believed the paramedics had been supportive and met their needs at the time of death. It appears that paramedics may be able to meet the needs of a patient's survivors by terminating out-of-hospital resuscitation efforts on the patient.