Effects of surface modification patterning on flow characteristics were investigated experimentally by measuring electroosmotic flow velocities, which were obtained by micron-resolution particle image velocimetry using a confocal microscope. The depth-wise velocity was evaluated by using the continuity equation and the velocity data. The microchannel was composed of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) chip and a borosilicate cover-glass plate. Surface modification patterns were fabricated by modifying octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) on the glass surface. OTS can decrease the electroosmotic flow velocity compared to the velocity in the glass microchannel. For the surface charge varying parallel to the electric field, the depth-wise velocity was generated at the boundary area between OTS and the glass surfaces. For the surface charge varying perpendicular to the electric field, the depth-wise velocity did not form because the surface charge did not vary in the stream-wise direction. The surface charge pattern with the oblique stripes yielded a three-dimensional flow in a microchannel. Furthermore, the oblique patterning was applied to a mixing flow field in a T-shaped microchannel, and mixing efficiencies were evaluated from heterogeneity degree of fluorescent dye intensity, which was obtained by laser-induced fluorescence. It was found that the angle of the oblique stripes is an important factor to promote the span-wise and depth-wise momentum transport and contributes to the mixing flow in a microchannel.


TASK DIFFICULTY AND EXPERTISE MEDIATE THE EFFECTS OF ROVING ON PERCEPTUAL PERFORMANCE Gizay Ceylan M.S. in Neuroscience Advisor: Hüseyin Boyacı January 2019 Experience-dependent improvement of perception, known as perceptual learning, is possible in the absence of feedback, but feedback enables faster progress as demonstrated by both unsupervised and supervised learning mechanisms. Perceptual learning models have shown that mixing these two learning mechanisms may potentially cause synaptic drift and disruption of learning. Models predict this disruption in simultaneously learning two tasks with differing difficulty levels, but not for tasks of equal difficulty. The roving, randomly intermingling of two different tasks, has thus sometimes been found to disrupt learning, but not always. Interestingly, the deleterious effect of roving may occur not only during learning but also even after a task has been learned. In this study, we examine roving's effects based on task difficulty as a function of expertise level. Subjects were trained with a vertical line bisection task, where they were asked to decide if the central line was offset to the left or right outer lines. Following training, the trained stimulus was roved with a narrower untrained bisection stimulus; half of the subjects were exposed to the roved stimuli, which were equated for difficulty using an adaptive staircase method, while other half were exposed to stimuli made to differ in difficulty levels using different staircase procedures for each. We demonstrated that performances improved with training. Moreover, roving deteriorated performance for the trained task under mixed difficulty conditions but not under matched difficulty conditions. Training participants over multiple days further revealed that roving's deleterious effects decreased with increasing expertise levels.


This study introduces supply chain tsunamis as a major strategic supply chain phenomenon. Like their ecological counterparts, supply chain tsunamis occur at relatively long intervals and are therefore easily mistaken for unique events, rather than recurring phenomena. In contrast to ocean tsunamis, they can in principle be prevented through timely and adequate managerial action. However, their immediate impact is just as sudden and disruptive, and their ability to reshape supply chains of companies and even industries equally long lasting. They are fundamentally different from phenomena like the bullwhip effect and black swan events. This study further explores a preliminary typology of supply chain tsunamis by Akkermans and Van Wassenhove (2013). Each type of tsunami focuses on a very different part of the supply chain periphery where the first signals of a developing tsunami can be observed. In this study, we use a detailed example from the high-tech electronics industry to describe how a supply chain tsunami unfolds over time. This is done both from an external and an internal perspective. The external perspective shows the sequence of events visible to the outside observer. The internal perspective focuses on the managerial decision-making processes that cause and (sometimes) resolve supply chain tsunamis. We link the notion of supply chain tsunamis to the broader need to revive strategic operations and supply chain management research. Supply chain tsunamis affect corporate strategy and have a profound impact on business and management. Therefore, we argue that business tsunamis deserve deeper research and suggest avenues for future research.


Background and Purpose Increases in uric acid follow experimental stroke, which may be related to free radical formation by xanthine oxidase. The present study examined the time course of changes in xanthine and uric acid and their relationship to changes in the free radical scavengers glutathione, cysteine, and ascorbic acid. Methods Focal ischemia was induced by occluding the middle cerebral artery, followed by transient occlusion of the common carotid arteries for 60 minutes. At varying time points, animals were sacrificed, and ischemic cortex was dissected. Neurochemical measurements were made by high-performance liquid chromatography with 16-sensor electrochemical detection. Results Marked increases in uric acid were seen at all time points, with a maximal increase at 1 day and a persistent increase lasting up to 21 days. There were smaller reciprocal decreases in xanthine. Glutathione, cysteine, and ascorbic acid showed significant decreases, consistent with the generation of free radicals. Reductions in levels of cysteine and glutathione were significantly correlated with increases in uric acid levels. Conclusions These findings confirm marked alterations in purine metabolism following focal ischemia and suggest that xanthine oxidase contributes to the generation of free radicals.


"The Story of French", like any good story, tells of spectacular failures and unexpected success. This is the story of the French language - second only to English for the number of countries where it is officially spoken. A language that is the official tongue of two G-7 countries and three European nations. A language with rules so complex that only a few people ever completely master it. Nadeau and Barlow show the readers -- through their own experiences of living and travelling to French-speaking countries -- how the French language developed and changed over the centuries, how it came to be spoken in the Americas, Africa and Asia and how it gained and maintained its global appeal - unravelling the mystique of a language that has been mysterious for too long. Written in a chronological narrative spanning more than 10 centuries, from ancient French dialects of the 8th century to the present-day French spoken in Quebec, Algeria, Beirut and more. While the story of the French language may have began over a thousand years ago, it is far from over...


Time dependent and independent measurements on a subcritical multiplying medium lead to the determination of the two group diffusion constants: k, L12, L22, l01, and l02. The measured values are related to these constants through five independent expressions. Similar measurements have been made on non uniform cylindrical lattices, in which the pitch is a function of the radius. In such lattices, the radial fluxes are expressed by Bessel function series, used to define a generalized expression for the effective multiplication factor.


Aims. We aim to characterize the multiwavelength emission from Markarian 501 (Mrk 501), quantify the energy-dependent variability, study the potential multiband correlations and describe the temporal evolution of the broadband emission within leptonic theoretical scenarios. Methods. A multiwavelength campaign was organized to take place between March and July of 2012. Excellent temporal coverage was obtained with more than 25 instruments, including the MAGIC, FACT and VERITAS Cherenkov telescopes, the instruments on board the Swift and Fermi spacecraft, and the telescopes operated by the GASP-WEBT collaboration. Results. Mrk 501 showed a very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray flux above 0.2 TeV of ∼0.5 times the Crab Nebula flux (CU) for most of the campaign. The highest activity occurred on 2012 June 9, when the VHE flux was ∼3 CU, and the peak of the high-energy spectral component was found to be at ∼2 TeV. Both the X-ray and VHE gamma-ray spectral slopes were measured to be extremely hard, with spectral indices < 2 during most of the observing campaign, regardless of the X-ray and VHE flux. This study reports the hardest Mrk 501 VHE spectra measured to date. The fractional variability was found to increase with energy, with the highest variability occurring at VHE. Using the complete data set, we found correlation between the X-ray and VHE bands; however, if the June 9 flare is excluded, the correlation disappears (significance < 3σ) despite the existence of substantial variability in the X-ray and VHE bands throughout the campaign. Conclusions. The unprecedentedly hard X-ray and VHE spectra measured imply that their lowand high-energy components peaked above 5 keV and 0.5 TeV, respectively, during a large fraction of the observing campaign, and hence that Mrk 501 behaved like an extreme high-frequencypeaked blazar (EHBL) throughout the 2012 observing season. This suggests that being an EHBL may not be a permanent characteristic of a blazar, but rather a state which may change over time. The data set acquired shows that the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) of Mrk 501, and its transient evolution, is very complex, requiring, within the framework of synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models, various emission regions for a satisfactory description. Nevertheless the one-zone SSC scenario can successfully describe the segments of the SED where most energy is emitted, with a significant correlation between the electron energy density and the VHE gamma-ray activity, suggesting that most of the variability may be explained by the injection of high-energy electrons. The one-zone SSC scenario used reproduces the behaviour seen between the measured X-ray and VHE gamma-ray fluxes, and predicts that the correlation becomes stronger with increasing energy of the X-rays.


The postfire mechanical performances of water-cooled full-scale GFRP cellular columns subjected to axial compression were evaluated after exposure to an ISO-834 fire from one side for periods of 60 and 120 mins. The elastic modulus and postfire buckling loads exhibited significant recovery after cooling because of the partial reversibility of glass transition. Existing methods to predict ultimate loads based on experimental buckling curves have proved inaccurate. Ultimate loads were accurately predicted, however, based on a shear failure criterion and by taking large initial imperfections caused by fire damage into account. Recently developed models to predict time-and temperature-dependent material and postfire properties showed good agreement with the experimental results and were thus further validated. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CC.1943-5614.0000191. (C) 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.


This manual contains the most current and authoritative information and knowledge on intellectual disability, including best practice guidelines on diagnosing and classifying intellectual disability and developing a system of supports for people living with an intellectual disability. Written by a committee of 18 experts, this eleventh edition is based on seven years of work on: a synthesis of current information and best practices regarding intellectual disability; numerous reviews and critiques of the 10th edition of the AAIDD definition manual; and, feedback from the field regarding a series of articles published by the Committee. This is the first official AAIDD definition manual with the terminology 'Intellectual Disability' (formerly mental retardation). Learn an authoritative definition and diagnostic system of intellectual disability designed to give you a thorough and step-by-step understanding of all the factors that go into determining intellectual disability. Consult expert guidelines on critical issues such as the role of assessment in the diagnostic process, challenges faced in quantifying intelligence, evaluating the role of IQ in making a diagnosis, and how to assess adaptive behaviour. Understand key clinical judgment strategies to enhance the validity and precision of a clinician's decision on the diagnosis of intellectual disability. Learn how the Manual can serve college and university students in health and related disciplines. Discover the relationship between the AAIDD System and other diagnostic systems. Read detailed discussions on the 10 dimensions of support areas in a person's life and various approaches to individualized service planning. Understand why the Manual is invaluable for school psychologists and other special education professionals for determining eligibility and learn how the IDEA and the AAIDD supports-based system are related. Learn about the unique needs of people with intellectual disability with higher IQs. Read updated essays on how to apply the AAIDD Definition System within special education systems, public policy initiatives, and provider organizations.


The increasing concerns about chemical pesticides that are environmentally hazardous and the continuous development of resistance by palhogens to chemical pesticides have led to this study. Many studies have shown that some Gram-negative bacteria, such as Pseudomonas jlouresens, control plant diseases and promote plant growth. In this study Gram positive bacteria, Bacillus sp., were chosen because of their ability to produce endospores. Endospores can be used in stable, dry formulations. The advantage of using endospores is their ability to survive harsh conditions such as droughts and high temperatures, which give a long shelf life to the biological control agent. Bacillus isolates were recovered from the rhizosphere of 12 different crops, and were subsequently screened in vitro for their antimicrobial activity. Of 130 isolates, 87 exhibited antimicrobial activity against the test organisms: Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium sp., Phytophthora cinnamoni, Fusarium sp., and single representatives of Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria, namely, Erwinia carotovora and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. The Bacillus isolates B77, B81 and B69 inhibited all the test organisms investigated, which suggests that they produced broad spectrum antimicrobial compounds or more than one antimicrobial compound. Of the isolates that showed antimicrobial activity, 78 of them did not inhibit Trichoderma harzianum K D, which is a registered biological control agent; indicating their potential for combined application. Selected Bacillus isolates were tested for the biological control of R. solani under greenhouse conditions in wheat, cabbage, tomato, maize, and cucumber seedlings. Bacillus isolates were applied as seed treatments, and the inoculated seeds were planted in R. solani infested speedling trays. Shoot dry weight measurement of seedlings indicated that 12 out of 19 Bacillus isolates showed significantly different shoot dry weight in wheat whereas all the isolates tested in tomato and cucumber gave significantly different shoot dry weight. No significantly different shoot dry weight was obtained for maize or cabbage. Seed emergence findings indicated that none of the Bacillus isolates gave significantly different emergence percentage on wheat, cabbage, tomato, and maize but all of them showed significantly different emergence percentage on cucumber. The results indicate that both the pathogen and the biological control agents exhibited varying levels of specificity on each crop tested. The biological control potential of the best Bacillus isolates was tested on bean and maize crops in the field. Green bean and maize seeds were coated with the selected Bacillus isolates and then sown under field conditions. For each isolate, four replicate treatment plots were established, with and without a R. so/ani inoculum. Percentage emergence, plant survival levels to harvesting and yield of maize cobs and green beans pods were measured. For all parameters measured the positive and negative controls were not significantly different thereby rendering the results for the entire field study inconclusive. However, Bacillus isolates B77, BII, R5 and R7 improved green bean pod yield and Bacillus Isolate B8I increased maize yield, indicating their potentials as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).


The natural history of single vessel coronary disease is generally benign except for single vessel occlusion in acute coronnary syndrome (ACS). Several techniques, including pharmacological stress echocardiography, have been proposed for risk stratification. This is particularly effective in patients with single-vessel disease with intermediate stenotic lesions (50–60%), based on the echocardiography appearance of wall motion abnormalities, especially following post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Stress echocardiography is a valuable diagnostic tool when intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) are not readily available.


Computer system architecture essentially influences the comfort of our everyday living. Developmental transition from electromechanical relays to vacuum tubes, from transistors to integrated circuits has significantly changed technological standards for the architecture of computer systems. Contemporary information technologies offer huge potential concerning miniaturization of electronic circuits. Presently, a modern integrated circuit includes over a billion of transistors, each of them smaller than 100 nm . Stepping beyond the symbolic 100 nm limit means that with the onset of the 21 century we have entered a new scientific area that is an era of nanotechnologies. Along with the reduction of transistor dimensions their operation speed and efficiency grow. However, the hitherto observed developmental path of classical electronics with its focus on the miniaturization of transistors and memory cells seems arriving at the limits of technological possibilities because of technical problems as well as physical limitations related to the appearance of new nano-scale phenomena as e.g. quantum effects.


Microglia are the resident immune cell population in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). These highly plastic cells exhibit ramified arbors in their resting state, and progressively less-complex arbors when activated. Our goal is to compare the spatial distributions of resting and activated microglia in normal brain tissue against tissue that is perturbed by insertion of a neural recording device. For this, microglia were imaged using multiplex immunostaining and confocal microscopy. The cell arbors were traced automatically, and 127 quantitative measurements based on the L-measure [8] were computed for each cell. A hierarchical extension of Coifman's [1,2] unsupervised harmonic analysis method was used to profile these multivariate data and identify groups of similar cells and the underlying features. This iterative procedure induces an orthogonal basis by constructing a coupled geometry over the row and column spaces of the feature matrix. Smoothing of the dataset, and the row and column clusters is achieved simultaneously when the algorithm converges. Experiments on real image datasets demonstrate the ability of this method to generate qualitative and quantitative groups that are biologically meaningful despite the existence of noise and missing values.


Diatoms were collected from Buyuan Bay, and from the hatchery tanks at Tigbauan, to determine the commonly occurring species, the feasibility of culturing these species, and the potential of these selected species as food for larval P. monodon. The commonly occurring diatoms were identified as Chaetoceros calcitrans, Navicula grimmei, Nitzchia seriata, Nitzchia closterium and Amphiprora sp. These diatoms were isolated and unialgal cultures prepared. Protein content analysis using the micro-Kjildahl method gave the following result: C. calcitrans, 11 . 78%; Nitzchia seriata, 25%; Nitzchia closterium, 30 . 5%; Navicula grimmei, 9 . 06% and Amphiprora sp. 8 . 96%. Feeding experiments were conducted to determine acceptability of the different diatom species and percentage survival of larval stages Z SUB-1 -M SUB-2 . Larvae were placed in 4-l capacity plastic containers with a stocking density of 10/l. The results of several feeding trials using the different mass-produced diatoms are summarized. From the data gathered, C. calcitrans appears to be the most promising candidate as feed for zoea and mysis stages of P. monodon. The average percentage survival of C. calcitrans was 63 . 76% for the 3 trials, and as high as 82 . 22% in the third trial. Comparatively high percentage survival of larvae was also recorded when Nitzchia seriata (48 . 17%) and Nitzchia closterium (67 . 6%) were given as feed, while both Amphiprora sp. and Navicula grimmei gave 0% survival. The poor results with Amphiprora sp. and Navicula grimmei may be due to their low protein content (8 . 96% and 9 . 06%, respectively) and the inability of the larvae to ingest them. Navicula and Amphiprora were observed to cling to the appendages of the larvae and to settle down in the medium making them unavailable to the larvae. Low survival was also noted when frozen C. calcitrans was used (14 . 25%). This may be due partly to the effect of the floculating agent (ALSO SUB-4 . 25 g/l) used in concentrating the diatoms. When protein contents of C. calcitrans, N. seriata and N. closterium are compared, the 2 Nitzchia species have relatively higher protein contents than C. calcitrans and, therefore, could be the more desirable feed candidates. However, few feeding trials were made using Nitzchia so that additional investigations will have to be done on this aspect.


Microsoft Office Access 2003 provides powerful new tools with which to manage data, find and retrieve information faster than ever, share information, and integrate solutions with server side products. Access 2003 incorporates some of the latest technologies such as XML and Microsoft SharePoint to extend data exchange over an intranet or the Internet. This book covers these changes, as well as more subtle enhancements such as the addition of smart tags, a new back up database, and an error checking function to flag common mistakes. All the most important tasks are covered, and the visual format makes it easy for upgrading users to quickly get working with the latest version, or for new users to start from the beginning and build their knowledge from the ground up. Other features include a "Troubleshooting Guide" to help solve common problems, a "Project Guide" with a listing of real-world projects by feature, and a "MOS Exam Guide" with a complete listing of MOS objectives and page numbers to locate the objectives, which gives this series a clear advantage over other visual titles.


RF-enabled wireless power transfer and energy harvesting has recently emerged as a promising technique to provision perpetual energy replenishment for low-power wireless networks. The network devices are replenished by the RF energy harvested from the transmission of ambient RF transmitters, which offers a practical and promising solution to enable self-sustainable communications. This paper adopts a stochastic geometry framework based on the Ginibre model to analyze the performance of self-sustainable communications over cellular networks with general fading channels. Specifically, we consider the point-to-point downlink transmission between an access point and a battery-free device in the cellular networks, where the ambient RF transmitters are randomly distributed following a repulsive point process, called Ginibre α-determinantal point process (DPP). Two practical RF energy harvesting receiver architectures, namely time-switching and power-splitting, are investigated. We perform an analytical study on the RF-powered device and derive the expectation of the RF energy harvesting rate, the energy outage probability and the transmission outage probability over Nakagami-m fading channels. These are expressed in terms of so-called Fredholm determinants, which we compute efficiently with modern techniques from numerical analysis. Our analytical results are corroborated by the numerical simulations, and the efficiency of our approximations is demonstrated. In practice, the accurate simulation of any of the Fredholm determinant appearing in the manuscript is a matter of seconds. An interesting finding is that a smaller value of α (corresponding to larger repulsion) yields a better transmission outage performance when the density of the ambient RF transmitters is small. However, it yields a lower transmission outage probability when the density of the ambient RF transmitters is large. We also show analytically that the power-splitting architecture outperforms the time-switching architecture in terms of transmission outage performances. Lastly, our analysis provides guidelines for setting the time-switching and power-splitting coefficients at their optimal values.


We give an elementary proof of the convergence of the point vortex method (PVM) to a classical weak solution for the two-dimensional incompressible Euler equations with initial vorticity being a finite Radon measure of distinguished sign and the initial velocity of locally bounded energy. This includes the important example of vortex sheets, which exhibits the classical Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. A surprise fact is that although the velocity fields generated by the point vortex method do not have bounded local kinetic energy, the limiting velocity field is shown to have a bounded local kinetic energy.


We live in an era of mass surveillance. Advertisers, corporations and the government engage in widespread data collection and analysis, using such avenues as cell phone location information, the Internet, camera observations, and drones. As technology and analytics advance, mass surveillance opportunities continue to grow. The growing surveillance society is not necessarily harmful or unconstitutional. The United States must track people and gather data to defend against enemies and malevolent actors. Defenses range from stopping attempts to breach government computers and software programs, to identifying and thwarting potential terroristic conduct and threats at an embryonic stage. Yet, without lines drawn to limit mass data gathering, especially in secret, unchecked government snooping likely will continue to expand. A sitting Secretary of State even recently acknowledged that the government has "sometimes reached too far" with its surveillance. The stakes for drawing lines demarcating privacy rights and the government's security efforts have never been higher or more uncertain. This paper argues that the forgotten Third Amendment, long in desuetude, should be considered to harmonize and intersect with the Fourth Amendment to potentially limit at least some mass government surveillance. While the Fourth Amendment has been the sole source of search and seizure limitations, the Third Amendment should be added to the privacy calculus because it provides a clear allocation of power between military and civil authorities and creates a realm of privacy governed by civil law. Consequently, in today's digital world it would be improper to read the words of the Third Amendment literally, merely as surplusage. Instead, the Amendment's check on government tyranny should be viewed as restricting cybersoldiers from focusing surveillance instrumentalities on and around private residences or businesses in an intrusive way – or using proxies to do so -- that would serve as the functional equivalent of military quartering in the civil community.


Piezoelectric materials convert between electrical and mechanical energies such that an applied stress induces a polarization and an applied electric field induces a strain. This review describes the fundamental mechanisms governing the piezoelectric response in high-performance piezoelectric single crystals, ceramics, and thin films. While there are a number of useful piezoelectric small molecules and polymers, the article focuses on inorganic materials displaying the piezoelectric effect. Piezoelectricity is first defined, and the mechanisms that contribute are discussed in terms of the key crystal structures for materials with large piezoelectric coefficients. Exemplar systems are then discussed and compared for the cases of single crystals, bulk ceramics, and thin films.


"A vast literature has accumulated since crop varieties with transgenic resistance to insects and herbicide tolerance were released to farmers in 1996 and 1997. A comparatively minor segment of this literature consists of studies conducted by agricultural economists to measure the farm-level impact of transgenic crop varieties, the size and distribution of the economic benefits from adopting them, consumer attitudes toward GE products, and implications for international trade. This paper focuses only on the applied economics literature about the impact of transgenic crop varieties in non-industrialized agricultural systems, with an emphasis on methods. A number of studies have surveyed the findings for both industrialized and non-industrialized agriculture, at various points in time, but surveys of methods are less frequent and have typically examined only one overall question or approach. Clearly, the methods used in research influence the findings that are presented and what they mean. Understanding the methods therefore enhances understanding of the findings. Four categories of impact analysis are considered: farmers, consumers, industry and trade. In part due to methodological limitations and the relatively brief time frame of most analyses, results are promising, but the balance sheet is mixed. Thus, findings of current case studies should not be generalized to other locations, crops, and traits. The aim of this review is to progress toward the defining a "best practices" methodology for national researchers who seek to produce relevant information about emerging crop biotechnologies for national policymakers. " Authors' Abstract


Termite infestation is symptomatic of severe land degradation in many semi-arid regions of the Nile Basin. One characteristic of land degradation is low organic matter (OM) reserves in vegetative biomass and soil. One consequence is excessive rainwater depletion through non-productive evaporation and runoff leading to low agricultural water productivity and diminished livelihoods. CPWF research demonstrated that rapid restoration of pasture production is possible by providing manure through night corralling of cattle prior to re-seeding termite affected rangeland in Uganda. In degraded Ethiopian and Ugandan croplands, preliminary results also suggest that application of maize or sorghum stover to growing maize crops reduces termite damage and associate yield losses. Termites appear to prefer feeding on litter, manure and stover rather than on living plant material. We hypothesize that sustainable crop and livestock production requires a minimum threshold of available dry-season 'litter' to avoid termite-driven destruction. We propose an integrated termite management (ITM) approach that involves establishment of sufficient OM reserves to sustain termites and other ecosystems services. One anticipated consequence is enabling termites to resume their beneficial roles in promoting nutrient recycling, infiltration and aeration of soil. In this context, ITM requires an appropriate mix of relevant bio-physical and socio-economic interventions. Besides providing water for animal and crop production, the process of rebuilding OM reserves on degraded termite affected rainfed agricultural land requires additional water. We anticipate that the long-term results of increasing OM reserves will be higher agricultural water productivity, increased crop and animal production and improved livelihoods. Media grab: Integrated termite management, an ecosystem approach to termite control, helps increase agricultural water productivity, rehabilitate degraded rangelands and enhance agricultural production in East Africa.


TaVrn1, encoding a MADS-box transcription factor (TF), is the central regulator of wheat vernalization-induced flowering. Considering that the MADS-box TF usually works by forming hetero or homo dimers, we conducted yeast two hybrid screening and identified an SVP-like MADS-box protein TaVrt2 interacting with TaVrn1. However, the specific function of TaVrt2 and the biological implication of its interaction with TaVrn1 remained unknown. We validated the function of TaVrt2 and TaVrn1 by wheat transgenic experiments and their interaction through multiple protein-binding assays. Population genetic analysis was also used to display their interplay. Transcriptomic sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed to identify their common targets. TaVrt2 and TaVrn1 are flowering promoters in the vernalization pathway and interact physically in vitro, in planta and in wheat cells. Additionally, TaVrt2 and TaVrn1 were significantly induced in leaves by vernalization, suggesting their spatio-temporal interaction during vernalization. Genetic analysis indicated that TaVrt2 and TaVrn1 had significant epistatic effects on flowering time. Furthermore, native TaVrn1 was up-regulated significantly in TaVrn1-OE (overexpression) and TaVrt2-OE lines. Moreover, TaVrt2 could bind with TaVrn1 promoter directly. A TaVrt2-mediated positive feedback loop of TaVrn1 during vernalization was proposed, providing additional understanding on the regulatory mechanism underlying vernalization-reduced flowering.


The Snowden revelations of 2013 sparked widespread, public discussion about the amount of government surveillance performed on American citizens under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This dialogue often sidesteps the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, however, which is the primary statute that governs the government's ability to obtain the electronic communications of everyday citizens. The vast majority of requests for information under ECPA are pursued ex parte, and often without notice to a targeted individual that the government has obtained her information. This secrecy regime leaves targeted individuals unable to oppose the government or appeal adverse decisions. Moreover, if a magistrate judge disagrees with the government and denies its request for an individual's information, the government can simply apply to other judges until a judge grants access to the information.This Note examines the resulting lack of appellate precedent that has developed from a system where the government has no opposition, and American citizens have no opportunity to be heard. This Note suggests three solutions to increase opposition to the government and incentivize the development of binding, appellate precedent under ECPA.


The relations between the position of charged walls and the bubble motion around propagation circuits are discussed. Long walls which extend between adjacent propagation loops are revealed by the Bitter technique. The examination of the domain structure in the implanted layer shows the existence of a magnetic gradient which is a function of the distance from the propagation circuits. The switching of magnetization in particular directions of the in-plane field is reported and correlated with the bubble movement. An additional easy axis is observed along the circuits due to shape anisotropy. Propagation margins are very similar to those obtained with permalloy circuits. Fabrication technology as well as design of 16 μm period circuits is discussed. Nucleation and transfer have been achieved with currents in the range of 50 mA to 200 mA. Phase margins of about a quarter of a period are found, and bias field margins fall between 10 and 15 Oe.


The physical design flow of any project depends upon the size of the design, the technology, the number of designers, the clock frequency, and the time to do the design. As technology advances and design-styles change, physical design flows are constantly reinvented as traditional phases are removed and new ones are added to accommodate changes in technology. Includes a personal perspective from Ralph Otten as he looks back on the major technical milestones in the history of physical design automation. Explore State-of-the-Art Techniques and TrendsHandbook of Algorithms for Physical Design Automation provides a detailed overview of VLSI physical design automation, emphasizing state-of-the-art techniques, trends and improvements that have emerged during the previous decade. After a brief introduction to the modern physical design problem, basic algorithmic techniques, and partitioning, the book discusses significant advances in floorplanning representations and describes recent formulations of the floorplanning problem. The text also addresses issues of placement, net layout and optimization, routing multiple signal nets, manufacturability, physical synthesis, special nets, and designing for specialized technologies. Highly-Focused Information for Next Generation Design Problems Although several books on this topic are currently available, most are either too broad or out of date. Alternatively, proceedings and journal articles are valuable resources for researchers in this area, but the material is widely dispersed in the literature. This handbook pulls together a broad variety of perspectives on the most challenging problems in the field, and focuses on emerging problems and research results.


ABSTRACT The recently discovered twist-bend nematic phase, Ntb, is a non-uniform equilibrium nematic phase that presents a spontaneous bend with a precession of the nematic director, n, on a conical helix with a tilt angle θ and helical pitch P. The stability of the Ntb phase has been recently demonstrated from the elastic point of view by extending the Frank elastic energy density of the nematic phase to include the symmetry element of the helical axis, t. In the present article, we investigate the influence of an external bulk field (magnetic or electric) on the Ntb phase. Using symmetry arguments we derive the expression for the flexoelectric polarisation in twist-bend nematic phases. We show that, besides the standard contribution related to the spatial variation of the nematic director, two new contributions connected with the existence of the helical axis appear. In the ground state, where the nematic deformation is a pure heliconical deformation, the new contribution vanishes identically, and the total flexoelectric polarisation is perpendicular to the nematic director. Furthermore, as an example, we study the role of an external magnetic field applied parallel to the helical axis for a material with positive magnetic susceptibility anisotropy. We show that the field modifies the range of values of the coupling parameter between the director and the helical axis, thus shifting the interval of values for which this coupling results in the Ntb phase. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


On 18 July 2018, the Centre for Physical Anthropology at the University of Tartu will mark its 25th anniversary. The specialists of different research areas from whole Estonia who had gathered around this Centre also considered it necessary to preserve and develop Estonian as a research language in anthropo logy. When cooperation was established with the Estonian Anthropometric Register (founded in 1995), it became possible to publish the Estonian-language Yearbook of the Estonian Anthropometric Register (YEAR), the first of which was published in 1998, i.e. 20 years ago.
The article will deal with the YEARs published in 1998–2002 – who were the authors who decided to publish their research papers on anthropology in in Estonian in this serial, how many of them there were, in which towns and institutions they worked?
The first part of the overview [6] briefly described the publications by researchers of anthropology originating in Estonia, starting with publications in Latin and finishing with English as the main present-day language of research. Table 1 provided a general characterisation of the five yearbooks and Table 2 the distribution of the published articles according to the number of authors.
Tables 3–7 in the second part of the overview present the distribution of articles over the years according to their first authors. Table 8 presents the distribution of articles between Tartu and Tallinn and the institutions and their subunits in these towns according to the first authors of the articles.


Gab1, a docking protein that is tyrosine-phosphorylated in response to various growth factors, activates signaling pathways involved in cell growth and in protection from apoptosis. Holgado-Madruga and Wong investigated the role of Gab1 in the response to oxidative stress and uncovered evidence implicating Gab1 in mediating positive and negative survival signals through distinct signaling pathways. The authors used Western analysis of Gab1 immunoprecipitates to demonstrate that H2O2 elicited tyrosine phosphorylation of Gab1 in several cell lines. Pharmacological analysis revealed that phosphorylation depended on activity of Src family tyrosine kinases. Experiments comparing wild-type mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) to MEFs that lacked Gab1 (Gab1−/−) showed that Gab1 was necessary for H2O2-dependent activation of JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) but not for JNK activation after other stimuli or for H2O2-dependent activation of other mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Expression of Gab1 in Gab-deficient MEFs rescued H2O2-dependent activation of JNK; this depended on the presence of an intact SHP2 [Src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2] binding domain. In cell viability assays, Gab1−/− cells were more sensitive than wild-type MEF to H2O2-triggered apoptosis. Gab1 expression in Gab-deficient MEFs enhanced viability; however, cells expressing a GAB1 mutant that could not bind SHP2 showed improved survival over those expressing wild-type Gab1. Mutational analyses indicated that, after exposure to H2O2, Gab1 interactions with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase promoted cell survival, whereas interactions with SHP2 promoted cell death. Thus, in addition to its roles in the response to growth factors, Gab1 appears to integrate positive and negative survival signals in response to oxidative stress. M. Holgado-Madruga, A. J. Wong, Gab1 is an integrator of cell death versus cell survival signals in oxidative stress. Mol. Cell. Biol. 23, 4471-4484 (2003). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Although urban women generally enjoy some advantages over their rural counterparts, a range of gender inequalities and injustices persist in urban areas that constrain their engagement in the labour market and in informal enterprises and inhibit the development of capabilities among younger women. These include unequal access to decent work, human capital acquisition, financial and physical assets, intra-urban mobility, personal safety and security, and representation in formal structures of urban governance. But the nature of these varies for different groups of women, not only on account of poverty status and where they live in the city, but also according to age, household characteristics, degree of engagement in income-generating activities and so on. This paper reviews what we have learnt from the literature on gender and urban development. It discusses disparities in access to education and vocational training and to land and housing ownership through a "gender lens". It considers service deficiencies and associated time burdens, which limit income generation among women. Violence and gender, and gender divisions in access to different spaces within the city and in engagement in urban politics, are also covered. These factors cast doubt on whether women's contributions to the prosperity often associated with urbanization are matched by commensurate returns and benefits.


Overview The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) undertook this study for the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). It explores the practice and application of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in STEM, with a particular focus on natural and physical sciences, information technology, and agriculture departments in Australian universities. The project involved a detailed 'stocktake' of WIL in practice in these disciplines, with collection of information by interview, survey instruments, consultation with stakeholders and literature reviews. Every university in Australia was visited as part of this project, with interviews and consultation sessions gathering insight from more than 120 academics and support staff. This study contributes new knowledge relating to WIL in Australia especially in the STEM disciplines. It is hoped that the results of this work will offer a foundation for enhancing collaboration between education institutions and industry in preparing university students for the wider workforce. This document offers detailed insight into the context, approach and findings of this project. This first chapter provides a background to the work. In the second chapter the approach and methodology applied during the project are discussed, followed in chapter 3 by reviews of the WIL literature for further insight and background. The main findings of the project are then presented in the chapters 4-8. These cover: • Context, definitions and types of WIL activities; • WIL activities and student participation; • Engagement of industry in WIL; • Administration and funding of WIL; and • Impediments to expanding WIL. In chapter 9 a range of case studies is presented which help to highlight innovative practice and interesting approaches to WIL. The conclusion of the report highlights the key elements of 'Good WIL' identified through this project, re-explores some important issues that need to be addressed for expansion to be sustainable, and offers some suggestions to encourage further development of WIL activities in STEM.


Background According to Iranian traditional medicine, using safe ginger may contribute to taking less chemical medicines and result in fewer side effects. Objective To determine the influence of using ginger before operation on nausea and vomiting, after cataract surgery under general anesthesia. Methods This study was a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial conducted at Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in 2015. 122 candidates of cataract surgery were randomly allocated in three groups. The first group received a ginger capsule in a single 1 g dose, the second received two separate doses of ginger capsule each containing 500 mg and the third group received placebo capsule before operation. The patients were examined and studied for the level of nausea and occurrence of vomiting for 6 hours after the operation. The intensity of nausea was scored from zero to ten, based upon Visual Analog Scale. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. We used Chi square and Kruskal-Wallis test for the analyses of outcomes. Results The frequency and intensity of nausea and the frequency of vomiting after operation among those who had taken the ginger capsule in 2 separate 500 mg doses was less than the other 2 groups. This difference was significant (p<0.05). Conclusion As the results of the study indicated, using ginger as safe medicine, which could act complementary to chemical medicines was really useful in reducing the frequency and intensity of nausea and vomiting after cataract surgery. As this study found, the maximum efficiency of ginger was when it had been taken regularly and constantly in separate doses. Trial Registration The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (http://www.irct.ir) with the Irct ID: IRCT2015062122853N1 Funding This research was supported by the research cluster grant (93/132) from Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.


This paper presents estimates of short-run sectoral and economy-wide effects of the introduction of a carbon tax in Australia. The results are derived using an enhanced version of the ORANI multi-sectoral model of the Australian economy. We simulate the introduction of a carbon tax at a rate of 1991-92 $25 per tonne, designed to achieve the Toronto target of a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below the 1988 level by 2005. We find that the macroeconomic impact would depend critically on the extent to which price rises flowed through into wage rates. Assuming fixed money wages, real GDP would be decreased by an estimated 0.9 per cent, and employment by 1.2 per cent. To maintain a given employment level in the face of the carbon tax would require a reduction in the foreign-currency-equivalent wage rate estimated at 2.8 per cent. This would also entail a decrease in the real wage rate (defined with respect to the consumption price deflator) of 2.8 per cent. Government could promote lower wage outcomes by returning the carbon tax revenue to the community through reductions in other taxes. Enhancements to ORANI used in this simulation include disaggregation of the fossil fuel sector and provision for carbon taxation.


This complete field guide, authorized by Juniper Networks, is the perfect hands-on reference for deploying, configuring, and operating Junipers SRX Series networking device. Authors Brad Woodberg and Rob Cameron provide field-tested best practices for getting the most out of SRX deployments, based on their extensive field experience. While their earlier book, Junos Security, covered the SRX platform, this book focuses on the SRX Series devices themselves. You'll learn how to use SRX gateways to address an array of network requirementsincluding IP routing, intrusion detection, attack mitigation, unified threat management, and WAN acceleration. Along with case studies and troubleshooting tips, each chapter provides study questions and lots of useful illustrations.Explore SRX components, platforms, and various deployment scenarios Learn best practices for configuring SRXs core networking features Leverage SRX system services to attain the best operational state Deploy SRX in transparent mode to act as a Layer 2 bridge Configure, troubleshoot, and deploy SRX in a highly available manner Design and configure an effective security policy in your network Implement and configure network address translation (NAT) types Provide security against deep threats with AppSecure, intrusion protection services, and unified threat management tools


The research discipline of network steganography deals with the hiding of information within network transmissions, e.g. to transfer illicit information in networks with Internet censorship. The last decades of research on network steganography led to more than hundred techniques for hiding data in network transmissions. However, previous research has shown that most of these hiding techniques are either based on the same idea or introduce limited novelty, enabling the application of existing countermeasures. In this paper, we provide a link between the field of creativity and network steganographic research. We propose a framework and a metric to help evaluating the creativity bound to a given hiding technique. This way, we support two sides of the scientific peer review process as both authors and reviewers can use our framework to analyze the novelty and applicability of hiding techniques. At the same time, we contribute to a uniform terminology in network steganography.


'Lawson's sketches are beyond praise.' JOSEPH CONRAD 'Lawson gets more feelings, observation and atmosphere into a page than does Hemingway.' EDWARD GARNETT One of the great observers of Australian life, Henry Lawson looms large in our national psyche. Yet at his best Lawson transcends the very bush, the very outback, the very up-country, the very pub or selector's hut he conveys with such brevity and acuity: he make specific places universal. Henry Lawson is too often regarded as a legend rather than a writer to be enjoyed. In this selection Lawson is revealed as an author whose delightful, humorous, wry and moving short stories continue to delight generations of readers. This is the essential Lawson collection - the classic of Australian classics.


Microcosms were constructed from aquifer sediment samples taken from an actively degrading chlorinated solvent contaminated site located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The objective of this study was to determine if and how the addition of cyclodextrin (CD) affects reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes. After chlorinated solvent degradation rates were established in anaerobic and aerobic microcosms, 100 mg/L of CD solution was added for a period of 21 days. CD was then removed after 26 days to simulate the degradation response of the aquifer in a post CD injection environment. Degradation rates were determined by analyzing PCE, TCE, and cis-DCE concentration data over the various phases of the experiment. Results from this study indicated that chlorinated solvent degradation could be either impaired or facilitated by the addition of CD. CD appeared to stimulate one anaerobic microcosm (IY-2c) where daughter production had not previously occurred. The activity of this microcosm was greatly enhanced by the addition of CD (0 uM/day to 13.89 uM/day). However, biotransformation of PCE in another anaerobic microcosm in which reductive dechlorination was occurring, ceased after the addition of CD (IY-1a). In a third group of microcosms the rate and extent of reductive dechlorination was greatly enhanced by the addition of CD. The effect of adding CD was also found to be highly dependent on the redox conditions in the microcosm, specifically if the conditions were strongly reducing. The most active microcosms, found in the Aerobic Group, also had the lowest ferrous iron concentrations (3.57 mg/L for BY-1a, 2.25 mg/L for BY-1b, and 0.41 mg/L for BY-1c). The microcosm (IY-2b) that showed no daughter production had the highest level of ferrous iron (44.22 mg/L). This study presents a qualitative approach to the affect of CD on MNA.


We investigate the relationship between peers' abilities and educational outcomes at the end of high school using data from the rich Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) matched to the National Pupil Database of children in state schools in England. In particular, we focus on the effect of peers' abilities, measured through achievements in Key Stage 3 (Age 14), on high powered test scores at Ages 16 and 18, and on the probability of attending university. Our identification strategy is based on a measure of the peers of peers' ability. In particular, for each individual, we look at her high school peers and select their primary school peers who do not attend the same high school and who did not attend the same primary school as the individual. We then use peers-of-peers ability, measured using Age 11 test scores as an instrument for high school average peer ability, measured using Age 14 test scores. We also use quantile regression to explore the effect of peers' ability on different parts of the distributions of the outcomes. Our results show that average of peers' abilities has a moderate positive effect on test scores at Ages 16 and 18, and that being in a school with a large proportion of low-quality peers can have a significantly detrimental effect on individual achievements. Furthermore, peers' ability seems to have a stronger effect on students at the bottom of the grade distribution, especially at Age 16.


As habitats become more fragmented, understanding landscape-level effects on habitat quality becomes increasingly important. These effects include factors intrinsic to the habitat fragments, such as vegetation cover and structure, and extrinsic factors, such as the modifying influences of surrounding (matrix) habitats. We develop a spatial model, the Effective Area Model (EAM), that predicts the effects of matrix habitats on species abundances in habitat patches. Model predictions are based on two sets of parameters: measures of species abundances at various distances from habitat edges ("edge responses") and measures of the size and shape of the habitat fragments. We test model predictions for bird assemblages occupying fragmented habitats in central coastal California. Predictions of the relative abundances of birds, based on results from previous studies at nearby sites, are made for six small (<3 ha) patches of oak woodland habitat, three surrounded by grassland and three surrounded by chaparral. Results from field studies of these patches show significant differences between the two groups, indicating that the type of habitat surrounding a patch influences the composition and structure of the bird assemblage it supports. The rank order of species abundances correlated more closely with predictions of the EAM than with those of a null model that did not account for edge and matrix effects. The EAM is an improvement over models that do not account for the influence of surrounding habitats on the distribution and abundance of animals in small habitat patches, and over those that assume a consistent response, for a given species or taxon, at all types of edges. This approach may prove useful in attempts to understand and predict the effects of habitat fragmentation and restoration on the organization of animal assemblages.


Aims To investigate the progression pattern of diffuse chorioretinal atrophy (DCA) among Chinese participants with high myopia. Methods This is a longitudinal, non-interventional study. Participants with high myopia, defined as ≤−6 diopters spherical power, were included and followed up for 4 years, and underwent cycloplegic autorefraction, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and fundus photography examinations. Newly established DCA, enlargement of existing DCA and development of other lesions of myopic maculopathy were regarded as DCA progression. Results Of the 484 participants with a mean age of 21.5±12.7 years (range, 6.8–69.7 years), 68 eyes (14.0%) showed DCA progression, with 88 lesion changes. The first appearance of DCA was identified in 21 eyes (23.9%). Of 88 eyes with DCA at baseline, 47 eyes (53.4%) showed progression, with 67 lesion changes, including 45 eyes (67.2%) with enlargement of DCA, 17 (25.3%) with a first appearance of lacquer cracks, 4 (6.0%) with development of patchy chorioretinal atrophy and 1 (1.5%) with increased numbers of lacquer cracks. Longer axial length (p<0.001), baseline DCA (p=0.005) and baseline DCA closer to the fovea (p=0.013) predicted DCA progression. Eyes had poorer BCVA at the follow-up if DCA was enlarging (p<0.001) or DCA was closer to the fovea at baseline (p=0.028) after adjusting for age,gender and cataract. Conclusion Approximately half of the participants with DCA had progression over a 4-year follow-up. Enlargement and newly developed DCA were common progression patterns. Larger areas of DCA and foveal involvement with DCA could be indicators of a worse BCVA later.


Elderly patients with stage I-III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) constitute a peculiar patient population and need specific therapeutic approaches. Limited resections are an attractive alternative for elderly patients with resectable NSCLC because of the potential reduction in postoperative complications. Curative radiation therapy is an acceptable alternative for elderly patients who are unfit for or refuse surgery. Hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy is of particular interest for this population because of its favorable tolerance.


required for the mesoderm to extend into the embryo and shape the embryonic body plan. Recent results from our lab suggest that the inhibition of aquaporin3b (aqp3b) prevents convergent extension of the mesoderm and that aqp3b acts through noncanonical Wnt signaling. Wnt signaling is a key signaling pathway for embryo and tissue development. There are two types of Wnt signaling pathways, the canonical and the noncanonical pathways. There are three separate branches to noncanonical Wnt signaling. Our lab has shown that aqp3b acts through the noncanonical Wnt/Ca2+ pathway and that it acts upstream of the cytoplasmic Wnt signaling pathway member Disheveled (Dsh). The Frizzled7 (fzd7) membrane receptor is part of the noncanonical Wnt/Ca2+ pathway and also acts upstream of Disheveled (Dsh). I will test, whether in this signaling cascade, aqp3b acts upstream or downstream of fzd7. Thus, I will test whether fzd7 activates aqp3b, if aqp3b activates Fzd7, or if aqp3b is bypassed and fzd7 activates disheveled. When fzd7 is active, GFP-labeled protein kinase C (PKC-GFP) relocates from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane. Thus, I will inject either PKC-GFP alone, PKC-GFP + fzd7, or PKC-GFP + fzd7 +aqp3bMO (morpholino oligonucleotide, which inhibits aqp3b) into two-cell Xenopus embryos and examine under a fluorescence microscope whether the PKC is bound to the membrane (active Wnt signaling: PKC + fzd7 injection or if aqp3b acts upstream of fzd7 ) or remains in the cytoplasm (no Wnt signaling: PKC injected alone or if aqp3b acts downstream of fzd7). With this procedure the place of aqp3b within the Wnt/Ca2+ signaling pathway will be determined. ABSTRACT


Intense world-wide competition has forced organizations to reengineer their old fashioned processes to achieve new heights of success. However, business process reengineering (BPR) implementation is a difficult task and many organizations have failed to achieve the expected results. Consequently, the present study attempts to throw more light to the subject. Through a comprehensive review, critical success factors (CSFs) that influence the success of BPR programs are identified. Then, using a DEMATEL methodology, these CSFs and the causal relationships among them are analyzed.


Based on semantics of an application processing logic, we find out the most critical and sensitive parts of an application and we derive set of conditions or assertions among the various diagnostic checkpoint variables and we enhance the processing logic to enable it to detect run-time various operational or environmental faults toward fault tolerant computing. This paper examines how a single-version algorithm can establish software based fault tolerance by designing in thoughtful software based execution-time checks in a computing application. The algorithm developed here relies on various assertions that are derived from the semantics of an application. Various diagnostic assertive checkpoints have been derived based on an application's semantics. This work is not intended to correct bit-errors using conventional error correction codes. Errors have been detected through checkpoints and periodical execution of an application with known test data and verification of observed result with known result thereof. Electrical transients or small particles hitting the circuit, often cause random errors or faults in data and program flow. The manuscript describes an algorithm that allows the detection and recovery of transient or operational failures in software on a specific problem, just by using one version of a software program running on just one machine. This approach does not aim to tolerate software design bugs. This algorithmic approach uses various run-time signatures and validation thereof in order to detect faults.


Our goal is to design a traffic model for noncongested Internet backbone links, which is simple enough to be used in network operation, while being as general as possible. The proposed solution is to model the traffic at the flow level by a Poisson shot-noise process. In our model, a flow is a generic notion that must be able to capture the characteristics of any kind of data stream. We analyze the accuracy of the model with real traffic traces collected on the Sprint Internet protocol (IP) backbone network. Despite its simplicity, our model provides a good approximation of the real traffic observed in the backbone and of its variation. Finally, we discuss the application of our model to network design and dimensioning.


ABSTR•qCT.---The annual diet of the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) was studied by analyzing 705 pellets and prey remains collected in a semiarid forest area of central Argentina. The diet composition fluctuated seasonally but was composed primarily of invertebrates, followed by small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Based on biomass, vertebrate prey was the major component of the diet in winter and spring. We found significant numerical differences between prey consumed by adult and nestling kestrels. Percentages of small mammal prey were higher in the diet of adults than in the nestlings, but rodents consumed by nestlings were larger in size than consumed by adults. Nestlings also ate more birds and reptiles than adults. Based in biomass contribution of vertebrate and invertebrate prey to the diet during non-breeding and breeding seasons, American Kestrels in semiarid forest of Central Argentina were more carnivorous than insectivorous predators. Differences between adult and nestling diets emphasized the importance of collecting samples from perches and nests when kestrel food habits are being studied during the breeding season.


Downsizing is one of the most frequently used business strategies for reducing costs, returning firms to profit or for restructuring businesses following takeovers, mergers and acquisitions. Downsizing measures are also set to become much more prevalent in the public sector as governments seek to restrict levels of public spending. This book is one of the first to provide a thorough study of downsizing from a global perspective. It examines the phenomenon in its entirety, exploring how it is initiated and what the process of downsizing looks like. It also looks at the effects of downsizing at a number of different levels, from the individual (e.g., motivational effects, effects on health and stress levels) to the organizational (e.g., financial outcomes, reputational and productivity outcomes). Written by an international team of experts, the book provides a comprehensive overview of downsizing that examines both the strategic and human implications of this process.


In this paper we present an approach to the development of monitoring solutions for processes implemented as WSBPEL service compositions. The approach allows modeling of process performance metrics in a platform-independent manner and then generating an event-based monitor model for a specific WS-BPEL process engine. We create a metamodel which enables modeling of different types of process performance metrics. In particular, our approach supports modeling of metrics related to correlated processes. In the deployment phase, we generate a monitor model based on a proprietary event metamodel of a process engine. In addition, we determine which events are needed for the calculation of PPMs, and generate corresponding deployment information for the process engine.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Childhood obesity is increasing and is associated with adult obesity. Antibiotics have been used to promote weight gain in livestock for several decades. Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for children, but it is not clear how exposure to antibiotics early in life affects risk for obesity. We performed a population-based cohort study to assess the association between antibiotic exposure before age 2 years and obesity at age 4 years.

METHODS
We performed a retrospective cohort study of 21,714 children in The Health Improvement Network-a population-representative dataset of >10 million individuals derived from electronic medical records from 1995 through 2013 in the United Kingdom. Eligible subjects were registered within 3 months of birth with complete follow-up and height and weight were recorded within 12 months of their 4th birthday. Antibiotic exposure was assessed before age 2 years, and classified based on anti-anaerobic activity. The primary outcome was obesity at age 4 years. We performed logistic regression analyses, adjusting for maternal and sibling obesity, maternal diabetes, mode of delivery, socioeconomic status, year and country of birth, and urban dwelling.

RESULTS
In the cohort, 1306 of the children (6.4%) were obese at 4 years of age. Antibiotic exposure was associated with an increased risk of obesity at 4 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-1.38). ORs increased with repeated exposures: for 1-2 prescriptions, OR = 1.07 (95% CI, 0.91-1.23); for 3-5 prescriptions, OR = 1.41 (95% CI, 1.20-1.65); and for 6 or more prescriptions, OR = 1.47 (95% CI, 1.19-1.82). Antifungal agents were not associated with obesity (OR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.59-1.11).

CONCLUSIONS
Administration of 3 or more courses of antibiotics before children reach an age of 2 years is associated with an increased risk of early childhood obesity.


The chemistry of galaxies provides a powerful probe of the underlying physics driving their evolution, complementing the traditional tools of morphology, kinematics,and colours. This dissertation examines several aspects of the galactic chemical evolution of late-type galaxies - both disc-like and dwarf - using a suite of cosmological
hydrodynamical simulations, which incorporate the nucleosynthetic pollution of the interstellar medium, supplemented with classical analytical models of Local Group
dwarfs. Throughout the work, these models are confronted with extant observations of both local and high-redshift systems, in order to identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the current generation of galaxy models. The work here has been presented across four primary science chapters which follow on from the Introduction and Motivation, prior to closing with the Conclusions and Future Directions.

The first science result (Chapter 2) derives from an examination of the cold (neutral)gas content of the first-ever simulated bulgeless dwarf disc galaxies (Governato et al. 2010), and builds upon the work first presented in Pilkington et al. (2011). The focus of the work is on comparing the observables inferred from the simulated interstellar media, with those seen in nature (including The HI Nearby Galaxies Survey and the Magellanic Clouds), including their velocity dispersion profiles, disc flaring, and the distribution of power within the ISM's structure, on different scales. Going beyond the work in Pilkington et al. (2011), two additional simulations from the Governato et al. (2010) suite are included, and the original work has been extended to include an analysis of the chemical properties of the dwarf galaxies. The second science result (Chapter 3) examines the role of feedback, metal diffusion, and initial mass function selection, on the resulting chemistry of a new grid of M33-like disc simulations. The emphasis of the analysis is upon the resulting age-metallicity relations and metallicity distribution functions (in particular, the extreme metal-poor tail). Aspects of the work have been presented by Pilkington et al. (2012b), enhanced here by a further examination of the satellites associated with their respective host galaxies. The satellites are seen to be free of gas, with star formation histories which make them not unlike Local Group dwarf spheroidals.

The third science result (Chapter 4) is based upon an analysis of the temporal evolution of metallicity gradients in Milky Way-like systems, and derives from the work presented in Pilkington et al. (2012d). A large suite of simulations, sampling a range of numerical codes (particle- and grid-based, in addition to classical Galactic Chemical Evolution (GCE) models), each with different treatments of star formation, energy feedback, and assembly histories, was employed. The analysis focussed on both the radial and vertical abundance gradients, emphasising the role of feedback in shaping the gradients, and demonstrates the critical role that new observations of in situ gradients at high-redshift can play in constraining the uncertain nature of feedback within simulations. This work has been complemented by a brief examination of the azimuthal abundance variations in the massive discs.

The fourth science result (Chapter 5) expands upon our earlier exploration of the chemical properties of simulated dwarf galaxies, but now employs a classical semi-numerical GCE approach. By coupling colour-magnitude diagram-constrained star formation histories with our GEtool GCE code, we attempt to constrain the relative rates of gas infall and outflow, for the Carina, Fornax, and Sculptor Local Group dwarfs, in order to match their empirical chemical abundance patterns and metallicity distribution functions. This builds upon the preliminary work, as
presented by Pilkington & Gibson (2012a).


This is the classic work upon which modern-day game theory is based. What began more than sixty years ago as a modest proposal that a mathematician and an economist write a short paper together blossomed, in 1944, when Princeton University Press published "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior." In it, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern conceived a groundbreaking mathematical theory of economic and social organization, based on a theory of games of strategy. Not only would this revolutionize economics, but the entirely new field of scientific inquiry it yielded--game theory--has since been widely used to analyze a host of real-world phenomena from arms races to optimal policy choices of presidential candidates, from vaccination policy to major league baseball salary negotiations. And it is today established throughout both the social sciences and a wide range of other sciences.


Histoplasmosis, caused by the thermally dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum, is an uncommon multisystem disease with a global distribution. The spectrum of clinical manifestations ranges from an asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic acute pulmonary disease following inhalation of a large inoculum of Histoplasma microconidia to chronic pulmonary disease in patients with underlying structural lung disease. It also extends to acute progressive disseminated disease in patients with severe immunodeficiency. Generally, antifungal therapy is indicated for patients with progressive acute pulmonary histoplasmosis, chronic pulmonary histoplasmosis and acute progressive disseminated histoplasmosis. In immunocompetent patients, acute pulmonary histoplasmosis may be a self-limiting disease without the need for systemic antifungal therapy. Oral triazole antifungal drugs alone are recommended for less severe disease. However, moderate-to-severe acute pulmonary histoplasmosis requires intravenous amphotericin B therapy for at least 1–2 weeks followed by oral itraconazole for at least 12 weeks. For acute progressive disseminated histoplasmosis, intravenous amphotericin B therapy is given for at least 2 weeks (4–6 weeks if meningeal involvement) or until a patient can tolerate oral therapy, followed by oral itraconazole (or an alternative triazole) for at least 12 months. Chronic cavitary pulmonary histoplasmosis is treated with oral itraconazole for 1–2 years. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of isavuconazole or the echinocandins for the treatment of histoplasmosis.


Randomized protocols for hiding private information can be regarded as noisy channels in the information-theoretic sense, and the inference of the concealed information can be regarded as a hypothesis-testing problem. We consider the Bayesian approach to the problem, and investigate the probability of error associated to the MAP (maximum a posteriori probability) inference rule. Our main result is a constructive characterization of a convex base of the probability of error, which allows us to compute its maximum value (over all possible input distributions), and to identify upper bounds for it in terms of simple functions. As a side result, we are able to improve the Hellman-Raviv and the Santhi-Vardy bounds expressed in terms of conditional entropy. We then discuss an application of our methodology to the Crowds protocol, and in particular we show how to compute the bounds on the probability that an adversary break anonymity.


Since the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the city's hurricane protection system has been improved to provide protection against a hurricane load with a 1/100 per year exceedance frequency. This paper investigates the risk to life in post-Katrina New Orleans. In a flood risk analysis the probabilities and consequences of various flood scenarios have been analyzed for the central area of the city (the metro bowl) to give a preliminary estimate of the risk to life in the post-Katrina situation. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model has been used to simulate flood characteristics of various breaches. The model for estimation of fatality rates is based on the loss of life data for Hurricane Katrina. Results indicate that – depending on the flood scenario – the estimated loss of life in case of flooding ranges from about 100 to nearly 500, with the highest life loss due to breaching of the river levees leading to large flood depths. The probability and consequence estimates are combined to determine the individual risk and societal risk for New Orleans. When compared to risks of other large-scale engineering systems (e.g., other flood prone areas, dams and the nuclear sector) and acceptable risk criteria found in literature, the risks for the metro bowl are found to be relatively high. Thus, despite major improvements to the flood protection system, the flood risk to life of post-Katrina New Orleans is still expected to be significant. Indicative effects of reduction strategies on the risk level are discussed as a basis for further evaluation and discussion.


The lack of knee flexion is an increasingly recognized complication especially after trauma. This is a significant challenge for both surgeon and patients. In 1956, Judet proposed a quadricepsplasty technique that allow a graded release without the disruption of the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, or rectus femoris. The aim of this study is to evaluate the beneficial outcome of the Judet quadricepsplasty in improving the range of movement of knee joint in those patients complaining from post-traumatic stiffness. This research was done for evaluating the clinical outcome of 15 patients who underwent a Judet's quadricepsplasty, they were 12 men and 3 women. The definitive flexion gain was classified according to Judet's criteria; excellent, if flexion was greater than 100°; good, from 80° to 99°, fair result are from 50° to 79°; and poor flexion degree is less than 50°. Patients were operated upon after an average of 19.40±17.63 months (range, 6-72 months) after first initial surgery. Average follow-up period was 6.5±3.6 months (range, 3-15 months). According to Judet criteria, 7 patients (47%) achieved excellent, 5 patients (33%) good, 2 patients (13%) fair, with zero poor results. Final average flexion arc improvement was 97.67±18.6 degrees with a range of 60-120 degrees. The noticed complications included; one case of extension lag excluded from the study and one case of small area of skin necrosis. In conclusion, even though it was proposed in 1956, the Judet procedure seems to give a reproducible amount of good results today and still holds its leading role in the treatment of extra-articular knee stiffness.


THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE EXPERIENCES OF RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS IN SUPERVISION, TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES, AND THE SUPERVISORY WORKING ALLIANCE IN PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS AND COUNSELORS-IN-TRAINING by Caroline O'Hara Supervision of counseling services is a crucial component to professional counselor development (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009). A common and pervasive threat to cross-cultural interpersonal relationships, such as supervision, is the presence of racial microaggressions (Constantine & Sue, 2007). According to Carter (2007) and Helms, Nicholas, and Green (2012), microaggressions are so damaging, that they may even trigger traumatic responses in recipients. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among racial microaggressions in supervision, the supervisory working alliance, and traumatic symptomatology in supervisees. This study collected survey data from 86 participants who self-identified as racial, ethnic, or cultural minority group members and who were counselors-in-training, professional counselors, or counselor educators. Data collection included responses to demographic questions, the adapted Experiences of Black Supervisors Scale (EBSS adapted; Barnes, 2011), the Trauma Symptom Check-list 40 (TSC-40; Elliot & Briere, 1992), and the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory – Trainee Version (SWAI-T; Efstation, Patton, & Kardash, 1990). Bivariate correlations revealed significant relationships among all three of the main variables. The SWAI-T full-scale scores had a moderate negative correlation with the EBSS (adapted) full-scale scores (r = -.637, p < .01) and a moderate negative correlation with the TSC-40 full-scale scores (r = -.372, p < .01). The EBSS (adapted) full-scale scores had a moderate positive correlation with the TSC-40 full-scale scores (r = .513, p < .01). Regression analysis yielded a model whereby 40.6% of the variation in the supervisory alliance can be explained by microaggressions in supervision F (1, 48) = 32.752, p < .01. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis determined that the presence of traumatic experiences does not add to the predictive capacity of the model. The results suggest that the presence of racial microaggressions is an important impediment to the supervisory working alliance. Implications, limitations, and future directions were provided. THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE EXPERIENCES OF RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS IN SUPERVISION, TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES, AND THE SUPERVISORY WORKING ALLIANCE IN PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS AND COUNSELORS-IN-TRAINING by Caroline O'Hara


Background and objectives: Coma is characterized by the total absence of both arousal and awareness. The outcome of coma depends on the etiology, depth and duration of impaired consciousness. It is likely that brain electrical function monitoring will play an increasingly important role in evaluating prognosis of coma in children.
Aim: To compare the predictive values of clinical examinations combined with the recordings of Electroencephalography (EEG) and Brainstem Auditory-Evoked Potentials (BAEP) and computed tomography (CT) of the brain in the evaluation of coma outcome in children.
Methods: Twenty children with coma aged 3-14 years were included in the study and subjected to: full history, clinical, neurological and otological examination. Medical investigations for coma, EEG, CT brain and auditory brainstem evoked potential (BAEP) measurements were performed for all patients. They were subdivided into 2 groups: group 1 included 8 patients with surgical causes of coma, group 2 include 12 patients with medical causes of coma.
Results: There was younger age, lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and more significant incidence of unfavourable outcome (death, disability) in patients of surgical coma (group 1). A significant difference between both groups was observed regarding the presence of brain edema and intracranial hemorrhage (100% in group 1) while normally visualized basal cisterns were significantly more in group (2) (p=0.02). Favourable outcome was strongly related to normally visualize basal cisterns in CT brain (p=0.002), normal/ borderline EEG activity (p=0.03) and normal BAEP waves (p=0.009). Disability was significantly related to slow activity waves (p=0.015) and diffuse high voltage EEG discharges (0.009). While mortality was significantly related to the presence of intracranial bleeding in CT brain (p=0.02), silence EEG waves (p=0.005) and absent BAEP waves (0.012).
Conclusion: EEG and Auditory brainstem response are valuable as prognostic predictors of pediatric coma either due to medical or surgical causes. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) has several important limitations as a predictor of survival in the general critically ill population while CT brain is mostly important for diagnostic rather than prognostic factor in comatosed children.


We have resolved single-exponential relaxation dynamics of the 2-, 3-, and 4-electron-hole pair states in nearly monodisperse cadmium selenide quantum dots with radii ranging from 1 to 4 nanometers. Comparison of the discrete relaxation constants measured for different multiple-pair states indicates that the carrier decay rate is cubic in carrier concentration, which is characteristic of an Auger process. We observe that in the quantum-confined regime, the Auger constant is strongly size-dependent and decreases with decreasing the quantum dot size as the radius cubed.


This paper is concerned with ways in which high technology firms
develop new products in 'high' and 'low' agglomeration regions. The
literature on the geography of innovation suggests that is dominated by
a search for external factors that explain innovation in regions with high
concentration of firms i.e. 'high agglomeration'. Thus, external factors
influencing innovation in low agglomeration regions are rarely studied.
Moreover, traditional research has generally viewed innovation as a one dimensional construct, and expects the same set of factors to explain all
kinds of innovation. The geography of new product development (NPD)
as a specific type of innovation has not received much attention in the
research community, despite its apparent importance in policy circles
concerned with economic development.

A framework is built in which small firms develop new products in two
distinct environments: regions with local concentration of firms in high-tech
industries (i.e. 'high agglomeration'); and regions lacking
concentration of firms in high-tech industries (i.e. 'low agglomeration').
The framework allows for the categorisation of external influences on
NPD as knowledge spillovers (referred to as non-market based external
sources of knowledge), and as pecuniary knowledge (i.e. market based
external sources of knowledge). The Silicon-Fen of Cambridge and Essex
in United Kingdom (UK) are chosen as 'high agglomeration' and 'low
agglomeration' regions, respectively. This selection is based on the two
sub-regions above or below average densities of their workforce and
firms in high-tech industries in the eastern region of the UK. Twelve pilot
interviews were conducted to ascertain if potential differences exist
between the two regions in small firms' perceptions of external
knowledge. Thereafter, surveys of 52 SMEs in the Silicon-Fen and 48 in
Essex electronic and software industries were carried out with a view to
determining the nature of new product development in the two subsets.

We found that small firms in low agglomeration regions can be
characterised as 'imitator's when compared to those in high
agglomeration. However, there are similarities in that small firms in both
regions are more influenced by knowledge spillovers over pecuniary
knowledge, and by international knowledge relative to local and national
sources. The paper thus makes several contributions to the knowledge
spillover theory of entrepreneurship, pecuniary externality theory and
the literature on technological capabilities literature. The findings should also help regional policy makers located in both high and low agglomeration regions to understand the significance of 'spatial levels' – local, national or international – of analysis and decision making. From a business strategy perspective, a critical understanding of the sources of external knowledge – spillovers or pecuniary - are likely to influence new product development by small firms in their regions. This is crucial in an era in which 'geography' (especially that of regions) is seen as an integral part of innovation policy, and where new product and new business model development are seen as critical for firms as they struggle to stay alive and emerge from the recession. Implications are also drawn for educators and trainers especially those focusing on explaining different
aspects of entrepreneurship and innovation.


Due to development of internet network environments and data compression techniques, the size and amount of multimedia data has greatly increased. They are compressed before transmission or storage. Dealing with these compressed data such as video retrieval or indexing requires decompression procedure in most cases. This causes additional computations and increases the processing time. In various applications a histogram is one of the most frequently used tools. Efficiency of extracting such histograms will drop down if decompression is involved. We propose a novel scheme for extracting histograms from images that are transformed into the compressed domain by 8x8 DCT(Discrete Cosine Transform). In this scheme an averaged version of original image is obtained by a simple linear combination of DCT coefficients with the sets of coefficients we designed.


In mature neurons synaptic vesicles (SVs) undergo cycles of exo- endocytosis at synapses. It is currently unknown whether SV exocytosis and recycling occurs also in developing axons prior to synapse formation. To address this question, we have developed an immunocytochemical assay to reveal SV exo-endocytosis in hippocampal neurons developing in culture. In this assay antibodies directed against the lumenal domain of synaptotagmin I (Syt I), an intrinsic membrane protein of SVs, are used to reveal exposure of SV membranes at the cell surface. Addition of antibodies to the culture medium of living neurons for 1 hr at 37 degrees C resulted in their rapid and specific internalization by all neuronal processes and, particularly, by axons. Double immunofluorescence and electron microscopy immunocytochemistry indicated that the antibodies were retained within SVs in cell processes and underwent cycles of exo-endocytosis in parallel with SV membranes. In contrast, another endocytotic marker, wheat germ agglutinin, was rapidly cleared from the processes and transported to the cell body. Antibody-labeled SVs were still present in axons several days after antibody loading and became clustered at presynaptic sites in parallel with synaptogenesis. These results demonstrate that SVs undergo multiple cycles of exo-endocytosis in developing neuronal processes irrespective of the presence of synaptic contacts.


One of the foremost experts in public policy here attempts not only to describe what public policy is, but given societal changes in the last two decades, to account for its present status. To learn from the past in order to establish public policy as a discipline in its own right, Wildavsky traces its motifs from their beginnings in the 1960s to the 1980s. Starting from the premise that there has been growing polarization of political elites, he shows how public policy as a field has had to face increased politicization. For Wildavsky, the field of public policy needs to incorporate more awareness of the human aspects of policy making: he emphasizes the political choices to be made in a competitive environment and the social relations that sustain them. When the first specialist schools devoted solely to public policy came into existence in the 1960s, the programs of the Great Society were their main impetus. With the disillusionment and failure of the Great Society, the identity of public policy became transformed. New theoretical issues had to be addressed. In this volume, Wildavsky provides a foundation for the theory no less than the practice of policy-making. "Aaron Wildavsky" is professor of political science, University of California, Berkeley. He founded the School of Public Policy there, and is presently its Director. He was formerly Director of the Russell Sage Foundation. He was the President if the American Political Science Association for the years 1986-1987.


The Alpine/Apennine ophiolites are largely thought to represent lithosphere sectors mostly formed at an ocean/continent transition and allow the direct observation of petrologic and geodynamic processes in extensional systems evolving from continental rifting to ultraslow spreading. The Alpine/Apennine peridotites experienced multiple melt/rock interaction and melt intrusion events occurred at different lithospheric depths, thus providing insights on mantle dynamics and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions during progressive lithosphere extension. Here we present an overview of this multi-stage melt migration and intrusion history, as recorded in the Erro-Tobbio (ET) peridotites (Ligurian Alps, Italy). In the ET spinel peridotites, the oldest intrusion event is documented by the diffuse occurrence of cm-scale folded pyroxenite bands. They display variably fractionated REE spectra, marked by LREE depletion and absent Eu N anomaly. Unusual trace element signature (high Sc,V contents and low MREE/HREE ratios) in clinopyroxenes from one pyroxenite layer is witness of a precursor garnet-bearing magmatic assemblage. Spinel pyroxenites likely originated as high- P (> 15–20 kbar) intrusions that preceded the extension-related peridotite exhumation. In the spinel peridotites, field, textural and chemical evidence ( e.g . olivine embayment replacing pyroxene porphyroclasts, increasing modal olivine at constant bulk Mg values), points that they experienced open-system melt migration by reactive porous flow, subsequent to pyroxenite intrusion and folding. Melt/rock interaction (causing olivine crystallization and pyroxene dissolution) occurred at high melt volumes at deep lithospheric levels. At shallower lithospheric depths, the ET peridotites were impregnated by melts causing significant plagioclase enrichment and crystallization of poikilitic orthopyroxene replacing mantle olivine and clinopyroxene. Reacted clinopyroxenes preserve strong LREE depletion, indicating that impregnating melts originated as depleted melt fractions. After impregnation, peridotites underwent multiple gabbroic intrusion events. Structural and geochemical features of melt impregnation and melt intrusion products point to a progressive change in melt composition and dynamics. Peridotite impregnation was caused by diffuse migration of opx-saturated depleted melts, and is consistent with cooling and crystallization of migrating melts when the peridotites, due to lithosphere extension and thinning, became part of shallower and colder lithospheric environments. The subsequent intrusion events originated by MORB-type aggregated magmas that had not experienced significant compositional modifications during ascent. The transition from porous flow melt migration to emplacement of magmas in fractures reflects progressive change of the lithospheric mantle rheology, across the ductile to brittle transition, during extension-related uplift and cooling of the ET mantle.


Recently, in different countries of the world, attention has been paid towards exploitation of higher plant products as novel chemotherapeutants in plant protection. The antifungal activity of aqueous extracts of Garlic (Allium sativum, L.); Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.); Black cumin (Nigella) (Nigella sativa L.); Cinnamon (Cinnamum zeylanicum);Clove bud (Dianthus caryphlus L.); and Ginger (Zingber officinalis, L.) was investigated for controlling Monosporascus cannonballus sudden wilt disease of watermelon plants at two concentrations i.e., 1 and 5%. The pathogenic fungus isolates have been isolated from infected plant parts and identified on the basis of their morphological and cultural characteristics. All the plant extracts showed considerable diminution of sudden wilt disease infection on watermelon plants under greenhouse conditions. Garlic followed by Clove bud extracts were the most effective in disease control. Significant differences were noticed between all tested plant extracts and their used concentrations in infested pots by three highly pathogenic isolates. Also, essentialoil of Garlic, Cinnamon bud, Marjoram (Origanum majorana L.), and Black pepper were used in controlling the same disease of watermelon plants. Drenching soil with plant oils suspension in all used concentrations decreased sudden wilt disease parameters of watermelon plants cv. Giza 1 that sown in pots infested with one of the three virulent isolates of M. cannonballs in comparison to control. Suspensions of Garlic oil followed by Black pepper oil were affected and decreased disease parameters as well as the inhibition of disease were increased by increasing of plant oil concentrations. Comparative studies were done in controlling sudden wilt disease of watermelon plants using three chemical fungicides, i.e. Rizolex T., Rofral and Bellis. The fungicide Bellis was more effective in controlling disease infection; also increasing fungicide concentration up to 1000 ppm was more effective in disease control. The application of botanical extracts for disease management could be less expensive, easily available, nonpolluting and eco-friendly.


Through a discourse-grounded internal reconstruction that aims at capturing the emergence of grammatical structure, the study examines the development of the subjective epistemic particle jestli '[in-my-opinion-] maybe' in conversational Czech. Through internal reconstruction, the change (syntactic complementizer > speaker-centered epistemic contextualizer > subjective epistemic particle) is presented as a metonymy-based conventionalization of a pragmatic meaning implied by certain tokens of indirect Y/N questions into a new modal meaning. Taking a Construction Grammar approach, so far largely untested on diachronic data, the point of the analysis is to show that we can engage in a systematic treatment of the gradualness of change, by (i) combining the 'holistic' (constructional) dimension with the internal, feature-based and discourse-motivated mechanisms of complex grammatical shifts, and (ii) appealing to the explanatory potential of general cognitive and communicative principles as they manifest themselves in natural discourse. I also propose a formalism for representing the transitional nature of intermediate patterns.