For rubber compounds reinforced with a silica/silane system, the reinforcement efficiency strongly depends on the reaction between the silica surface and silane molecules, the so-called silanization reaction. DiPhenyl Guanidine (DPG) as secondary accelerator for rubber compounds vulcanized with a sulfur system gives additional positive effects in silica-reinforced rubber compounds, while DPG can act as a silanization catalyst and de-activate free silanol groups that are left over after the silanization reaction. However, DPG liberates toxic aniline which has been classified as a carcinogen, during compounding under high mixing temperatures. Concern over the aniline toxicity leads to a search for safe alternatives. In addition, Distillated Aromatic Extract (DAE) which is a petroleum-based process oil conventionally used to improve the processibility and filler dispersion of rubber compounds with high filler loadings, has been banned due to its composition that contains Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) of which some have been classified as carcinogenic materials. The replacement of DAE with safe process oils such as Treated Distillate Aromatic Extract (TDAE) for tire compounds has come into practice. This present thesis provides an in-depth study into the application of amines as alternatives for DPG and modified palm oils as sustainable alternatives for petroleum-based TDAE oil in silica-reinforced NR compounds, for low rolling resistance tires. Both model compound systems and practical rubber compounds were applied in order to gain information on the kinetics and performance properties of the compounds. Based on the results in this research, replacement of DPG by OCT is feasible, and EPO or mEPO are potential candidates to substitute TDAE in silica-reinforced NR compounds without scarifying the properties. With optimum loading, vulcanized rubber with OCT even shows better mechanical properties and tan δ at 60oC when compared to the DPG counterpart. The utilization of mEPOs results in compounds with enhanced reinforcement index and tensile strength, and reduced loss tangent at 60oC, compared to the mix with TDAE. Therefore, from the perspective of "safe and green" tires, the application of OCT and modified bio oils as alternatives for DPG and TDAE oil, respectively, are fulfilled and bring even lower tire rolling resistance, i.e. less fuel consumption and less CO2 emission.


The proliferation of large-scale databases containing personal information, and the multiple uses to which they can be put, can be highly problematic from the perspective of fundamental rights and freedoms. This paper discusses two landmark decisions that illustrate some of the risks linked to these developments and point to a better framing of such practices: the Heinz Huber v. Germany judgement, from the European Court of Justice, and the S. and Marper v. United Kingdom ruling, from the European Court of Human Rights. The paper synthesises the lessons to be learnt from such decisions. Additionally, it questions the impact of the logic of pure prevention that is being combined with other rationales in the design and management of databases. This Policy Brief is published in the context of the INEX project, which looks at converging and conflicting ethical values in the internal/external security continuum in Europe, and is funded by the Security Programme of DG Enterprise of the European Commission's Seventh Framework Research Programme. For more information visit: www.inexproject.eu


THEproblem of wake .ow at high speeds and the drag associated with it are a signi.cant source of observation in the design of missiles, projectiles, and other typical high-speed vehicles. A large wake at the base of a vehicle would cause an increase in the overall drag due to the reduced base pressure. The wake studies of highspeed bodies also gain importance due to the severe aerodynamic heating problem and a high rise in the temperature of the base .ow.
Many methods were devised to reduce the base drag of such highspeed bodies. These included boat tailing, base bleed, base combustion, locked vortex afterbodies, ventilated cavities, etc. Among these methods, the boat-tailed or conical afterbody concept was very popular and was found very effective in reducing base drag. But to achieve this drag reduction, the length of the conical/boattailed afterbody has to be suf.ciently large, terminating in a sharp trailing end. A short, conical/boat-tailed afterbody does not offer a suf.cient pressure recovery on its surface and, moreover, incurs considerable skin friction drag. On the other hand, using a short multistep afterbody that utilizes the concept of controlled .ow separation at the base of the vehicle can work out to be a better method of reducing base drag, provided a careful optimization of the con.guration geometry is carried out; thereby, permitting the use of shorter, lighter, and hence possibly lower cost afterbodies [1].


One of the foundational scenes of Language poetry was the San Francisco Bay area in the 1970s and early 1980s, specifically the urban concentration of activist poets who-in the face of regressive national politics-curated reading and lecture series, launched independent presses, and theorized a new way forward for the avant-garde. This scene has been the subject of anthologies, academic studies, and now memoirs that present the history of Language poetry largely on its own terms. Kaplan's essay argues, however, that central positions associated with Language poetry first took shape locally in conversations with New Narrative, a group of "fellow travelers" composed of Bay Area writers who combined queer practices and politics with the high stakes of formally innovative writing. Drawing on local small press publications and the transcripts of the Left/Write Conference (1981), this essay finds that Language poetry assimilated lessons from New Narrative that informed-and in some cases determined-its engagement with such issues as narrative structure, cultural politics, and sexual identity. More than an internecine quarrel among competing avant-gardes, these conversations ultimately demonstrate the need to situate such groups within the history of the American left, moving from the breakdown of grassroots coalitions of the sixties right through debates on the hierarchies of power in cultural life-in particular the critique of Marxian-derived models by gay and lesbian activists.


Background: There are different experimental models avialable for generating pulsatile flow in laboratory and study their heamodynamic effects on blood vessels. We aim to produce a novel pulsatile flow generator utilizing a large collapsible rubber bladder and the phenomenon of fluid structure interactions occurring in a specially designed flexible tube arrangement. Mehtods: Water enters from a reservoir above into a large collapsible bladder made of rubber which opens into 'U' shaped tube made of flexible material and held by non rigid structures. As liquid starts flowing the distal end of collapsible bladder collapses under the negative atmospheric pressure generated inside closing the mouth of 'U' shaped tube and produces pulsatile flow. Resuts: The frequency of pulsations, pressure fluctuations and velocity profile resemble that of in vivo blood flow. As the flow entering into collapsible bladder increases the frequency of pulsatile flow decreases and also when height of the collapsible bladder from the ground was changed. The whole cycle of alternate collapse/expansion of collapsible bladder with generation of pulsatile flow continue indefinitely as long as there is enough water in reservoir and vertical gradient to sustain the flow. Conclusions: The pulsatile flow so produced has many of the characteristics of physiological blood flow and can be used to study mechanisms of various cardiovascular diseases in laboratory.


London, that distant rainy place his father lived in once, is where Mehran finds himself after leaving Karachi. And it is there that his adult life unfolds: he discovers the joys of poetry, faces the trials of love and work and spends his dreaming hours 'sending cloud messages to other places'. A feeling of restlessness pursues Mehran as he travels to Italy, India and Pakistan. But the relationships he forms - with wounded, passionate Marvi, volatile Marco and the enigmatic Riccarda - and his power of recollection finally bring him some sense, however fleeting, of belonging, in this beautifully poignant paean to lost love.


In this paper, we propose a novel boosted mixture learning (BML) framework for Gaussian mixture HMMs in speech recognition. BML is an incremental method to learn mixture models for classification problem. In each step of BML, one new mixture component is calculated according to functional gradient of an objective function to ensure that it is added along the direction to maximize the objective function the most. Several techniques have been proposed to extend BML from simple mixture models like Gaussian mixture model (GMM) to Gaussian mixture hidden Markov model (HMM), including Viterbi approximation to obtain state segmentation, weight decay to initialize sample weights to avoid overfitting, combining partial updating with global updating of parameters and using Bayesian information criterion (BIC) for parsimonious modeling. Experimental results on the WSJ0 task have shown that the proposed BML yields relative word and sentence error rate reduction of 10.9% and 12.9%, respectively, over the conventional training procedure.


Foundation (dominant or matrix) species play a key role in structuring plant communities, influencing processes from population to ecosystem scales. However, the effects of genotypic diversity of foundation species on these processes have not been thoroughly assessed in the context of assembling plant communities. We modified the classical filter model of community assembly to include genotypic diversity as part of the biotic filter. We hypothesized that the proportion of fit genotypes (i.e. competitively superior and dominant) affects niche space availability for subordinate species to establish with consequence for species diversity. To test this hypothesis, we used an individual-based simulation model where a foundation species of varying genotypic diversity (number of genotypes and variability among genotypes) competes for space with subordinate species on a spatially heterogeneous lattice. Our model addresses a real and practical problem in restoration ecology: choosing the level of genetic diversity of re-introduced foundation and subordinate species. Genotypic diversity of foundation species significantly affected equilibrium community diversity, measured as species richness, either positively or negatively, depending upon environmental heterogeneity. Increases in genotypic diversity gave the foundation species a wider niche breadth. Under conditions of high environmental heterogeneity, this wider niche breadth decreased niche space for other species, lowering species richness with increased genotypic diversity until the genotypes of the foundation species saturated the landscape. With a low level of environmental heterogeneity, increasing genotypic diversity caused the foundation species niche breadth to be overdispersed, resulting in a weak positive relationship with species richness. Under these conditions, some genotypes are maladapted to the environment lowering fitness of the foundation species. These effects of genotypic diversity were secondary to the larger effects of overall foundation species fitness and environmental heterogeneity. The novel aspect of incorporating genotype diversity in combination with environmental heterogeneity in community assembly models include predictions of either positive or negative relationships between species diversity and genotypic diversity depending on environmental heterogeneity, and the conditions under which these factors are potentially relevant. Mechanistically, differential niche availability is imposed by the foundation species.


The Marcellus Shale natural gas play has the potential to provide an important source of energy for the U.S. and to create significant economic impacts for Pennsylvania. However, the Marcellus Shale development opportunity also has generated controversy about its potential environmental, safety, and health impacts. Whether to impose a severance tax on natural gas produced - and the structure, rate, and exemptions for such a tax - has been a focus of vigorous legislative and public attention and debate. A number of severance tax proposals have been offered. The potential impact of a natural gas severance tax on the Pennsylvania economy has received slight analytical attention, even though the Pennsylvania General Assembly intended to enact a natural gas severance tax by October 1, 2010. The research reported in this document was designed to estimate the magnitude of the impact on the Pennsylvania economy of a Pennsylvania natural gas severance tax. We benchmarked the impact of every $100 million of revenue collected from a natural gas severance tax between 2011 and 2015 jobs, business sales, income, and population in Pennsylvania. Of course, what is revenue for the Commonwealth is, at the same time, a production cost for Pennsylvania gas producers. For this reason, we treated the revenue collected as a production cost that gas producers cannot pass along to customers. Also, some yet-to-be-decided plan will allocate revenue collected to state government and to local county and municipal governments. Therefore, we also considered the economic consequences for Pennsylvania of spending the severance tax revenue collected under various spending plans. Severance tax and revenue spending plans that actually have been proposed are not evaluated in our analysis because the revenue yield and spending distribution for each plan have not been specified completely by their proponents. The revenue yields from each plan are dependent on the volume and price of gas extracted, which are factors that are exogenous to any tax structure and rate plan. The spending distribution plans will evolve through fiscal and political negotiation. As a consequence of these information constraints, we chose to benchmark the impact of every $100 million in severance tax revenue collected - treated in our analysis as $100 million of production costs for the Pennsylvania oil and gas industry - on the Pennsylvania economy. In addition, our benchmarks take into account the potential impacts of distributing each $100 million of revenue through state and local spending and through deferring spending by saving some revenue to mitigate environmental, safety, and health problems that might occur in the future. In this way, we seek to provide a yardstick by which various tax and spending plans can be measured. The REMI Policy Insight model was applied to simulate the outcomes of various scenarios that describe the potential economic and demographic impacts of each $100 million of severance tax collected, along with the current and deferred spending of these tax revenues by state and local authorities. We found that each $100 million of production costs added to the Pennsylvania oil and gas industry from 2011 through 2015 could generate a small impact on Pennsylvania's economy and demography. Also, each $100 million of spending by state and local governments, even if some is deferred, potentially more than makes up for any losses resulting from each additional $100 million of production costs imposed by a severance tax. The benchmarks for the potential impact of a severance tax on the Pennsylvania economy are subject to numerous cautions, constraints, and uncertainties, some of which are discussed in this report. The report ends with an open invitation to civil dialogue about the potential impacts of a severance tax using an online discussion forum and social bookmarking tools. This conversation is started in this report with critical comments from two independent reviewers about our estimates of the potential economic and demographic impacts of a severance tax on natural gas extraction. Our main conclusion is that a severance tax on natural gas extraction in Pennsylvania would increase costs for gas drilling companies, but spending the resulting increase in state revenue generated by the tax could yield positive, but small, impacts on the state's economy and population. This report was prepared using the resources and expertise of the Penn State Institute for Research in Training & Development. Planning, conducting, producing, and distributing this report was not funded by any organization, entity, or individual internal or external to Penn State.


I develop a search‐and‐bargaining model of endogenous intermediation in over‐the‐counter markets. Unlike the existing work, my model allows for rich investor heterogeneity in three simultaneous dimensions: preferences, inventories, and meeting rates. By comparing trading‐volume patterns that arise in my model and are observed in practice, I argue that the heterogeneity in meeting rates is the main driver of intermediation patterns. I find that investors with higher meeting rates (i.e., fast investors) are less averse to holding inventories and more attracted to cash earnings, which makes the model corroborate a number of stylized facts that do not emerge from existing models: (i) fast investors provide intermediation by charging a
 speed premium, and (ii) fast investors hold more extreme inventories. Then, I use the model to study the effect of trading frictions on the supply and price of liquidity. On social welfare, I show that the interaction of meeting rate heterogeneity with optimal inventory management makes the equilibrium inefficient. I provide a financial transaction tax/subsidy scheme that corrects this inefficiency, in which fast investors cross‐subsidize slow investors.


In this paper, we present a vision-based approach to mobile robot localization that integrates an image-retrieval system with Monte Carlo localization. The image-retrieval process is based on features that are invariant with respect to image translations and limited scale. Since it furthermore uses local features, the system is robust against distortion and occlusions, which is especially important in populated environments. To integrate this approach with the sample-based Monte Carlo localization technique, we extract for each image in the database a set of possible viewpoints using a two-dimensional map of the environment. Our technique has been implemented and tested extensively. We present practical experiments illustrating that our approach is able to globally localize a mobile robot, to reliably keep track of the robot's position, and to recover from localization failures. We furthermore present experiments designed to analyze the reliability and robustness of our approach with respect to larger errors in the odometry.


Purpose – The aim of this paper is to report on the age‐specific administrative prevalence of learning disabilities in England.Design/methodology/approach – The paper's approach is secondary analysis of data from national education, health and social care agencies.Findings – There is an abrupt decline in the age‐specific administrative prevalence of learning disabilities at the point of transition to adult services.Research limitations/implications – The results highlight the existence of a "hidden majority" of adults with learning disabilities.Originality/value – The data in this paper have implications for commissioning better health services for people with learning disabilities. First, health information systems should incorporate better ways of identifying patients with mild and moderate learning disabilities. Second, consideration should be given to the extension of annual health checks to include all young people who have had a Statement of Special Educational Needs.


It is now widely recognized that learners are more successful when they are active participants in the learning relationship. This book offers a general introduction to primary education and child development, using the learning relationship between teachers and children as its focus. Divided into two parts, the first looks at the child's contribution to the learning relationship, and the second examines that of the teacher.


D ),URING the Eisenhower Administration the National Security Council has emerged as a mechanism of the executive branch of the federal government for ad vising the President on matters of high policy, equal in importance to the Cabinet. The solid establishment and effective functioning of this relatively new organ at the apex of government is a cur rent phenomenon of America's political economy. The National Security Council was created by the National Security Act of I947 and first began to function in late September I947. An account of its origin, characteristics, composition and current r6le has recently been given by Dillon Anderson, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.' Because it is Mr. Anderson's function to operate the Council mechanism for the President-as it was mine before his day-he is particu larly qualified to tell that story. While it is not here necessary to repeat all that is there so clearly set forth, it will be desirable at the outset to summarize certain essential aspects of the National Security Council. The Council, unlike the Cabinet, had from its birth the legis lative sanction of an Act of Congress. Under its statutory charter, the Council is concerned only in policy matters affecting the security of the nation. The Cabinet, by reasonable accommoda tion, handles other vast policy areas such as Agriculture, Labor, Post Office, Interior, Health, Education and Welfare, Civil Serv ice, much of Justice and Commerce, and so forth. The Council's purpose is to integrate the manifold aspects of national security policy (such as foreign, military, economic, fiscal, internal se curity, psychological) to the end that security policies finally recommended to the President shall be both representative and fused, rather than compartmentalized and several. The Council's rBle is advisory only. It recommends; it does not decide. What ever security policy may be finally approved by the President, after such modifications or rejections of the Council's views as he may determine, is the policy, not of the Council, but of the Chief Executive.


In response to recent calls for researchers to identify the underlying causes of training effectiveness, this study investigated the role of emotion in computer skill acquisition (CSA). The current study introduced empathetic emotion as a behavior model training (BMT) intervention within the observational learning model (OLM) of CSA developed and validated by Yi and Davis (2003).
Recent research studies indicate that emotion is an integral part of cognitive processing and decision making in humans because emotion focuses attention on stimuli that are relevant to needs and goals. Research also indicates that emotional arousal tends to increase human memory. Attention and memory are very similar to the attention and retention process dimensions in Yi and Davis' (2003) OLM. Therefore, this study posited that an emotion-based training intervention would increase attention and memory thereby improving training outcomes.
A training workshop, including a custom software simulation, was developed for the current research study. The software simulation recorded data related to training effectiveness and randomly assigned trainees to either a treatment group (receiving emotion-based performance feedback) or control group (receiving performance feedback void of emotion). Data related to individual differences, perceptions, and attitudes were collected using paper-based survey questions. Empirical testing of the proposed theoretical model and hypotheses was conducted using PLS-Graph, and multi-group comparisons were conducted using t-tests. The test results of the proposed model were favorable, but no significant differences were found between the training outcomes for the control and treatment groups. The findings of the empirical model indicate that emotion has a significant affect on learning processes, and highlights the need to better understand the role of emotion within the context of computer skill training.


With a focus on alternative methods for accelerating clean energy policy adoption, this study introduces an innovative financing scheme for renewable and energy efficiency deployment. Financing barriers represent a notable obstacle for energy improvements and this is particularly the case for low-income households. Limited access to credit, due to socio-economic status and the lack of guarantees, are key issues related to financing barriers. Implementing a policy such as PACE – Property Assessed Clean Energy – allows for the provision of up-front funds for residential property owners to install electric and thermal solar systems and make energy-efficiency improvements to their buildings. This paper will inform the design of better policies tailored to the creation of the appropriate conditions for such investments to occur, especially when the lack of access to capital tends to stall them.


The paper corrects and strengthens earlier upper bounds on the size of free-cut elimination. Free-cut elimination allows cut elimination to be carried out in the presence of non-logical axioms. The correction requires that the notion of a free-cut be modified so that a cut formula is anchored provided that all of its introductions are anchored, instead of only requiring that one of its introductions is anchored. With the correction, the originally proved size upper bounds remain unchanged. These results also apply to partial cut elimination. We also apply these bounds to elimination of cuts in propositional logic. If the non-logical inferences are closed under cut and infer only atomic formulas, then all cuts can be eliminated. This extends earlier results of Takeuti and of Negri and van Plato.


Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are potent mutagens/carcinogens to which humans are frequently exposed through the consumption of cooked meat and fish food. The effect of normal intake of HCAs and their role in the aetiology of human cancer is unknown. To some extent, limitations of the existing analytical methods in monitoring the low levels of HCAs in biological samples have hindered obtaining conclusive results. In this study, a method for the analysis of HCAs in human urine has been studied to detect HCAs and metabolites at levels resulting from consumption of food cooked at ordinary conditions. The analytical method consisted of extraction and clean-up by the novel technique liquid-phase microextraction combined with LC-MS/MS. The effect of pH during the extraction and hydrolysis step was examined. High sensitivity was achieved when the extraction was performed in raw urine adjusted to pH 5.5, 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine being detected from 2 pg/g urine, levels comparable with a normal exposure. Good reproducibility and repeatability was obtained for 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine and 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline, below 9% using isotopic dilution. The performance of the method on 9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole, 2-amino-1-methyl-6-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-(5-hydroxy)phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine was also studied.


Since the turn of the millennium, evidence has proven two parallel growing trends in Western Europe. Namely, the influx of immigrants from Middle Eastern and North African countries as well as the rising numbers of reported rape cases. Whether there exists a causation between these two trends however remains a highly controversial topic, lacking established literature. By using the case study of Norway, this paper will attempt to begin preliminary research of establishing the validity of such a claim, and more importantly, the broader context around the reasons for why this is the case. Rape reports from the Norwegian Police indicate that there is indeed a higher frequency of relative numbers, though not a higher absolute number, of rape assailants coming from the Middle Eastern and North African immigrant group than any other immigrant group and the Norwegian-born population. The main analysis of this paper is to investigate the context in which these statistics are higher from this immigrant group. Accounts will be made for the immigrant experience of MENA immigrants to Western Europe, including assessments of the cultural differences at hand, general societal attitudes towards the immigrant group, and how the role of the media can narrate public discourse. Overall findings indicate how part of the reason for these statistics is in fact due to a failed integration system in Norwegian society.


Trichoderma is a promising candidate for the biological control of plant pathogenic fungi. While planning the application of antagonistic Trichoderma strains for the purposes of biological control, it is very important to consider the environmental parameters affecting the bio-control agents in the soil. A series of abiotic and biotic environmental parameters has an influence on the bio-control efficacy of Trichoderma. The major bottleneck of bio-pesticides is the shelf life and inconsistent performance. In order to overcome this problem, the present study the liquid formulation was used to increase the shelf life of Trichoderma. Oils like Canole oil, paraffin oil, soya bean oil, Neem oil and Glycerol and their combination of paraffin oil and glycerol, paraffin oil and Soya bean oil, Canola oil and Glycerol, and Paraffin oil and Neem oil were used, among which Canola oil + Glycerol based formulation and Paraffin oil based formulation with 3.00 x 104 Cfu/ml and 2.00 X 104 Cfu/ml viable conidia showed extended shelf life of twelve months of storage.


Biography of the novelist analysis of the novel reviews of the novel the novel's standing today (TV, film, prizes, etc) further reading, discussion questions, websites


Abstract Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L. cv. 'Polidor') were grown under field conditions to investigate the effects of different nitrogen (N) levels (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha− 1) on plant growth, water use efficiency, fruit yield and quality (weight, sizes, and water-soluble dry matter), leaf relative water content, and macro nutrition under three different irrigation regimes. Irrigation was applied based on cumulative class A pan evaporation (Ep). Plant treatments were as follows: (1) well-watered treatment (C) received 100% replenishment of Ep on a daily basis, (2) water-stressed treatment (WS) received 75% replenishment of Ep at three-day intervals, and (3) severely water-stressed (SWS): treatment received 50% replenishment of Ep at six- day intervals. Plants grown under C at 120 kg N ha− 1 produced significantly higher biomass (175.6 g plant− 1), fruit yield (36.05 t ha− 1), fruit weight (2.25 kg fruit− 1), and leaf relative water content (93.5%) under increasing N levels than did the two deficit irrigation treatments. The WS or SWS treatments caused reductions in all parameters measured except water-soluble dry matter (SDM) concentrations in fruits compared with those receiving unstressed (C) treatment. The WS irrigation regime with 80 kg ha− 1 N significantly improved the fruit yield and size, plant dry matter, leaf area, and IWUE compared with the SWS regime. Increased N significantly enhanced foliar N in the unstressed plants. Increasing N rate in the SWS treatment did not increase fruit yield with the same trend found in the WS and C treatments with increasing N levels. The yield reduction under severe water shortage was much more severe at high N rates. Water use (ET) at the C treatment at 120 kg ha− 1 N ranged between 160 and 165 cm, while SWS reduced ET to 90 cm at 0 and 40 kg ha− 1 N. Nitrogen supply modified water use at C and WS irrigation regimes. Muskmelon yield response to N rate was quadratic and differed with the level of irrigation. This moderate water deficit (SW) may be an alternative irrigation choice with a suitable N application rate for muskmelon growers in arid and semi-arid regions if the goal is to irrigate an agricultural area with limited water supply for more growers, but not if it is maximizing economic yield. Growers should accept a significant yield reduction in exchange for water conservation.


Nonlinearities in the time-to-digital converter (TDC) are a significant source of fractional spurs in a divider-less fractional-N ADPLL. Using an abstract model for the TDC, this paper presents a dithering method which is mathematically shown to suppress fractional tones, in conjunction with a feedforward dither cancellation technique which suppresses dither-induced phase noise. A mostly-digital calibration algorithm is also presented which ensures consistent phase noise cancellation across PVT conditions. The aforementioned techniques are implemented in a 65 nm digital CMOS prototype running at 3.5 GHz from a 35 MHz reference. The ADPLL demonstrates - 101 dBc/Hz in-band phase noise at a bandwidth of 3.4 MHz, - 58 dBc worst fractional spurious performance across the entire fractional range, and consumes 8.7 mW from a 1.2 V supply.


A frequency-stabilized 556-nm laser is an essential tool for experimental studies associated with 1S0-3P1 intercombination transition of ytterbium (Yb) atoms. A 556-nm laser light using a single-pass second harmonic generation (SHG) is obtained in a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 (PPLN) crystal pumped by a fiber laser at 1111.6 nm. A robust frequency stabilization method which facilitates the control of laser frequency with an accuracy better than the natural linewidth (187 kHz) of the intercombination line is developed. The short-term frequency jitter is reduced to less than 100 kHz by locking the laser to a home-made reference cavity. A slow frequency drift is sensed by the 556-nm fluorescence signal of an Yb atomic beam excited by one probe beam and is reduced to less than 50-kHz by a computer-controlled servo system. The laser can be stably locked for more than 5 h. This frequency stabilization method can be extended to other alkaline-earth-like atoms with similar weak intercombination lines.


EDMOND HALLEY (1656-1742) was a versatile genius, primarily known as a pioneer in astronomy, geophysics and mathematics. He was also interested in history, navigation, archaeology and civil engineering. He wrote poems in Latin and translated ancient works on geometry from Greek and Arabic texts. He was the founder of population and actuarial statistics, and, in my opinion, he was one of the co-founders of experimental hydrology. It is surprising to note that Halley's substantial contributions to hydrology have received such scant attention while his manifold contributions to other disciplines have been well documented and thoroughly discussed. Before the writer's work, only two other authors conducted serious studies on the development of the science of hydrology and both of them, Adams (1, 2) and Meinzer (3, 4), just barely mention Halley's work. This is difficult to understand, when one considers that it was Halley who for the first time presented the experimental solution to a major problem associated with the concept of the hydrologic cycle, a most fundamental concept of hydrology.


Background: Oral cancer is most common in males and also in females. Betel quid (BQ) is the main causative agent of oral cancer. Areca catechu, a major component of BQ, contains certain alkaloids that give rise to nitrosamines. Mitotic index (MI) and Micronuclei (MN) were studied among the studied population. Methods: In this present study subjects were screened from Department of E.N.T. & Department of Oral and Facio maxillary of RKMSP hospital, and different areas of Eastern and North Eastern states of India. For mitotic index (MI) blood leukocyte cultures were analyzed and for micronuclei (MN) buccal mucosa were examined. Results: Some of them had more than one addiction. Micronuclei percentage and mitotic index both higher than normal. Conclusion: Betel quid play a role in changing the oral pathology and thus causes oral cancer.


Many renderers perform poorly on scenes that contain a lot of detailed geometry. The load on the renderer can be alleviated by simplification techniques, which create less expensive representations of geometry that is small on the screen. Current simplification techniques for high-quality surface-based rendering tend to work best with element detail (i.e., detail due to the complexity of individual elements) but not as well with aggregate detail (i.e., detail due to the large number of elements). To address this latter type of detail, we introduce a stochastic technique related to some approaches used for point-based renderers. Scenes are rendered by randomly selecting a subset of the geometric elements and altering those elements statistically to preserve the overall appearance of the scene. The amount of simplification can depend on a number of factors, including screen size, motion blur, and depth of field.


Abstract Objective: The objective of the study was to determine breastfeeding exclusivity and impact on the nutritional status of mothers and infants. Design: This was an observational descriptive study. Setting: The setting was government clinics in Kanye, Botswana. Subjects: Women who gave birth to singleton healthy babies participated in the study. Method: Milk intake and breastfeeding exclusivity were determined by the deuterium-oxide dose-to-mother technique. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric measures (height and weight) in 56 mother-infant pairs at six weeks, and again at three and six months postpartum. Results: Mothers overestimated exclusive breastfeeding rates at all of the time points. However, according to the deuterium-oxide dose-to-mother technique, at three months 61% of the mothers were exclusively breastfeeding, 13% were predominantly breastfeeding, and 27% were partially breastfeeding. At six months, none of the mothers were exclusively breastfeeding. The mean body mass index (BMI) and the percentage of body fat of the mothers in all of the groups were within the healthy range of 23.9 kg/m² and 28.3%, respectively, at six months. Mean infant weight was 6.1 ± 0.95 kg, 7.6 ± 1.28 kg and 8.4 ± 1.22 kg at three, six and nine months, respectively. Infant undernutrition based on weight for age was < − 2 standard deviation. Malnutrition was 5.2% and 1.7% at six weeks and six months, respectively. Conclusion: Contrary to reported high rates of breastfeeding in Botswana, low rates of exclusive breastfeeding were observed with the deuterium oxide dose-to-mother technique. Therefore, this technique can be applied as a reliable method of validating mothers' reports and their recall of exclusive breastfeeding practices. In future, the application of this method would be helpful to identify challenges in infant feeding practices, policies and programmes, all of which need further prioritisation within the Botswana context.


In most large-eddy simulation (LES) applications to two-phase engine flows, the liquid-air interactions need to be accounted for as source terms in the respective governing equations. Accurate calculation of these source terms requires the relative velocity "seen" by liquid droplets as they move across the flow, which generally needs to be estimated using a turbulent dispersion model. Turbulent dispersion modeling in LES is very scarce in the literature. In most studies on engine spray flows, sub-grid scale (SGS) models for the turbulent dispersion still follow the same stochastic approach originally proposed for Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS). In this study, an SGS dispersion model is formulated in which the instantaneous gas velocity is decomposed into a deterministic part and a stochastic part. The deterministic part is reconstructed using the approximate deconvolution method (ADM), in which the large-scale flow can be readily calculated. The stochastic part, which represents the impact of the SGS flow field, is assumed to be locally homogeneous and isotropic and, therefore, governed by a Langevin-type equation. The model is applied to the spray G and spray H conditions defined by the engine combustion network (ECN) group. Simulation results are compared with the available experimental data for spray characteristics such as penetration rates, mixture fraction profile, and droplet velocity and Sauter mean diameter (SMD) distributions. Simulations with no dispersion and the commonly used RANS-type stochastic model are also performed for comparison purposes. Results show that the turbulent dispersion has a considerable impact on quantitative spray characteristics such as projected liquid volume (PLV) fraction, droplet SMD and velocity, and fuel vapor mixture fractions. On the other hand, the macroscopic spray characteristics such as liquid-and vapor-phase penetrations are not significantly affected by the dispersion modeling. The proposed SGS model also improves the prediction of spray and ignition


Standard economic theory assumes that individual risk taking decisions are independent from the social context. Recent experimental evidence however shows that the income of peers has a systematic impact on observed degrees of risk aversion. In particular, subjects strive for balance in the sense that they take higher risks if this gives them the chance to break even with their peers. The present paper is, to the best of our knowledge, the first systematic analysis of income inequality and risk taking. We perform a real-effort field experiment where inequality is introduced to different wage rates. After the effort phase subjects can invest (part of) their salary into a risky asset. Besides the above mentioned possibility of higher risk taking of low-wage individuals to break even with high-wage individuals, risk taking can be influenced by an income effect consistent with e.g. decreasing absolute risk aversion and a house money effect of high-wage individuals. Our results show that the dominant impact of inequality on risk taking is what can be termed a social house money effect: high-wage individuals take higher risks than low-wage individuals only if they are aware of the inequality in wages.


Largely due to better control of infectious diseases and significant advances in biomedical research, life expectancy worldwide has increased dramatically in the last three decades. However, as the average age of the population has risen, the incidence of chronic age-related diseases such as arthritis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and late-onset diabetes have increased and have become serious public health problem, as well. The etiology of these disorders is still incompletely understood, therefore, neither preventive strategies nor long-term effective treatment modalities are available for these disorders. In keeping with the aforementioned, the ultimate goal in cardiovascular research is to prevent the onset of cardiovascular episodes and thereby allow successful ageing without morbidity and cognitive decline. Herein, I argue that cardiovascular episodes could be contained with relatively simple approaches. Cardiovascular disorder is characterized by cellular and molecular changes that are commonplace in age-related diseases in other organ system, such alterations include increased level of oxidative stress, perturbed energy metabolism, and "horror autotoxicus" largely brought about by the perturbation of ubiquitin -proteasome system, and excessive oxidative stress damage to the cardiac muscle cells and tissues, and cross-reactions of specific antibodies against human heat shock protein 60 with that of mycobacterial heat shock protein 65." Horror autotoxicus", a Latin expression, is a term coined by Paul Ehrlich at the turn of the last century to describe autoimmunity to self, or the attack of "self" by immune system, which ultimately results to autoimmune condition. Based on the currently available data, the risk of cardiovascular episodes and several other age-related disorders, including cancer, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, is known to be influenced by the nature and level of food intake. Now, a wealth of scientific data from studies of rodents and monkeys has documented the significant beneficial effects of calorie restriction (CR) or dietary restriction (DR), and multiple antioxidant agents in extending life span and reducing the incidence of progeroid-related diseases. Reduced levels of cellular oxidative stress, protection of genome from deleterious damage, detoxification of toxic molecules, and enhancement of energy homeostasis, contribute to the beneficial effects of dietary restriction and multiple antioxidant agents. Recent findings suggest that employment of DR and multiple antioxidant agents (including, catalase, gluthatione peroxidase, CuZn superoxide dismutase, and Mn superoxide dismutase = enzymes forming the primary defense against oxygen toxicity), and ozone therapy may mount an effective resistance to pathogenic factors relevant to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular episodes. Hence, while further studies will be needed to establish the extent to which CR and multiple antioxidant agents will reduce incidence of cardiovascular episodes in humans, it would seem prudent to recommend CR and multiple antioxidant agents as widely applicable preventive approach for cardiovascular disorders and other progeroid-related disorders.


This review article summarizes recent activities within the SAFE Research Center, which aim to open a new horizon in the field of structural integrity. These activities include (i) enhancement of fracture assessment methodologies, (ii) development of sensing technologies and (iii) development of IT (Information Technology)-based intelligent plant management system. The first issue is to describe the more reliable fracture assessment methodology, recently proposed by authors, and its application to non-linear fracture mechanics problems. The second issue is to describe how to implement the current advances in fiber-optic technology to condition monitoring systems. Two fiber-optic sensors for condition monitoring systems are introduced. Finally, an integrated intelligent system for the plant management is introduced by incorporating advances in fracture assessment methodologies and sensing technologies into a currently available IT-based plant management system. The proposed intelligent plant management system is not only flexible to adopt advances in fracture assessment methodologies and sensing technologies, but also easily accessible to field engineers and experts. This system is expected to play a key role in combining advances in structural integrity assessment methodologies and fast-developing information technology in the future, and thus will become a key element in safe and informative plant management.


Extracted from text ... Corporate boards
must make a contribution to
shareholder value
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Ram Charan is a celebrated CEO coach.
He will be in South Africa to run a
conference on Boards that Deliver:
Advancing Corporate Governance from
Compliance to Competitive Advantage in
Johannesburg on 30 November. This is
the first in a series on company boards of
directors.
For more information on the conference,
please telephone (011) 792 1522
or e-mail at cathie.fletcher@fyievents.
com.
"Enough about Sarbanes-Oxley, " a director
recently asserted, reflecting a frustration
many other directors share. They sense
that the time has come for boardroom discussions
to move beyond ..


Future satellites will have the higher spectral resolutions required to provide an adequate level of vertical resolution in the soundings they produce, but the high resolution is accompanied by a large number of channels. In order for the data to be used by numerical prediction centers, the number must be reduced while maintaining the information content. This paper presents an approach for reducing the number of channels by averaging similar channels to produce "super channels" with reduced noise. To be useful, the "super channels" must be accompanied by an fast and accurate approximation of the Plank function. Up till now, this has been a limitation in the application of the approach. This paper presents a solution for adjusting the calculation at a single frequency to match the value for an average over a spectral interval. The approach will be applied to AIRS channels and the results will be presented at the meeting.


Background: Cognitive function can decline during the aging process and significantly reduce quality of life. Although a number of interventions have been investigated for cognitive dysfunction, including antioxidants, this prominent health concern emphasizes a need to explore methods to support cognitive health later in the life span. An aqueous extract from a proprietary spearmint line has been developed which contains a number of antioxidant compounds, including rosmarinic acid, at levels that are higher than found in commercially-bred spearmint. Therefore, this pilot trial assessed the tolerance, bioavailability, and potential cognitive health implications of a proprietary spearmint extract in men and women with self-reported memory impairment. Methods: Subjects consumed 900 mg/day spearmint extract for 30 days. The sample population (N = 11) was 73% female and 27% male with a mean age of 58.7 ± 1.6 y. Tolerability parameters were assessed at baseline and end of treatment visits. Computerized cognitive function tests were completed and blood was drawn at pre- and post-dose (0.5 to 4 h) timepoints during baseline and end of treatment visits. Subjective cognition was also assessed at end of treatment. Results: No serious adverse events or clinically relevant findings were observed in any tolerability parameters. Plasma vanillic, caffeic, and ferulic acid sulfates, rosmarinic acid, and methyl rosmarinic acid glucuronide were detected in plasma following acute administration of the spearmint extract. Computerized cognitive function scores improved in reasoning (P = 0.023) and attention/concentration (P = 0.002) after 30 days of supplementation. After acute administration, subjects had improved attention/concentration in two tests at 2 (P = 0.042 and P = 0.025) and 4 h (P = 0.001 and P = 0.002). Conclusions: The results from this pilot trial suggest that the spearmint extract, which contains higher rosmarinic acid content relative to extracts from typical commercial lines, was welltolerated at 900 mg/day. In addition, the extract was bioavailable and further investigation is warranted regarding its potential for supporting cognitive health


The aim of this master thesis was to do structural fire design calculations of timber constructions, using "the reduced/effective cross-section method" and "the reduced properties method" on a beam with cross section 240 mm × 700 mm, which is exposed to fire on three sides, and on a column with cross section 400 mm × 400 mm, which is exposed to fire on four sides. These calculations are done for the beam and for the column without and with corner rounding. In these calculations, it is checked design for normal conditions and for fire conditions both for the beam and for the column mentioned above without and with corner rounding. It is worked an example using "the North American charring rate method", without corner rounding to check whether the fire design is ok or it fails. Another example is also worked using "The parametric char rate method" to check whether the beam or the column can resist a burnout of the room. The methods are all based on the same concepts, but the assumptions and details are different. The methods give different results depending on the beam and column geometry and different ratios of dead load to live load.


POLITICS, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, AND GLOBALIZATION Ambreena Manji, The Politics of Land Reform in Africa: From Communal Tenure to Free Markets. London and New York: Zed Books, 2006. vii + 149 pp. Notes. Index. £50.00. Cloth. £16.99. Paper. Ambreena Manji's book is an insightful analysis of the logic and agencies governing land reform in Africa in the age of neoliberal globalization. Building on World Bank reports and the new laws African governments are adopting to change land relations, the book examines the shift from a redistributive statist model, dominant until the 1970s, to one stressing the formalization of tenurial property, with the introduction of titling and registration, as the thrust of land reform on the continent. A legal scholar, Manji is interested in understanding why the law has come to play a central role in the definition of land reform. She argues that this innovation is consistent with a neoliberal project wherein the law acts as an instrument for the globalization of capitalist relations and the transfer of power from the local to the global, in this case removing the control over land policy from the nation-state and local communities to international "donors" and financial institutions, beginning with the World Bank. She also suggests that the formalization of land relations is an attempt to contain the struggles of rural people's movements which, faced with land grabbing by states, private companies, and local chiefs, and with the state's failure to address the historic injustices that are the legacy of colonialism, are demanding more secure access to land and opting for direct action through land occupations. In her view this pressure from below accounts for the populist language by which land reform is promoted, portraying it as a strategy for "poverty reduction." Manji points to the influence on the World Bank's land policy of Hernando De Soto's theory, according to which Third World rural populations are mired in poverty and economic stagnation because of the continuing existence of communal land tenure regimes which make for uncertain property relations, dampening incentives for investment and rural innovation. Hence the promise that titling and the expansion of land markets will open a new era of development and prosperity for African peasants, if only they could learn that land as such is a "dead asset" that becomes alive only when "brought to the bank" as collateral for the acquisition of rural credit and the financing of rural business. …


In this paper we investigate the powerful implications of the Stolper-Samuelson theorem, which uses the Heckscher-Ohlin model to predict strong links between changing trade prices and wage inequalities. We summarise recent work, which shows that these theoretical links are, in fact, far stronger than indicated by empirical evidence or simplified reduced-form regressions. We point out that the literature outlines many reasons to doubt the validity of the Heckscher-Ohlin model, and summarise various general equilibrium studies of advanced countries which indicate that relaxation of the assumptions of the Heckscher-Ohlin model can greatly undermine the Stolper-Samuelson conclusions. We conclude that, while increased trade with developing countries has probably played some part in the widening wage inequalities in the UK and USA, there is considerable doubt over how large this role is. There are good reasons for believing that, contrary to the usual conclusions of the Stolper-Samuelson literature, policies to assist the upskilling of the labour force have considerable potential in offsetting any negative effects of trade on wage inequality.


Data compression is one of the most important fields and tools in modern computing. From archiving data, to CD ROMs, and from coding theory to image analysis, many facets of modern computing rely upon data compression. Data Compression provides a comprehensive reference for the many different types and methods of compression. Included are a detailed and helpful taxonomy, analysis of most common methods, and discussions on the use and comparative benefits of methods and description of "how to" use them. The presentation is organized into the main branches of the field of data compression: run length encoding, statistical methods, dictionary-based methods, image compression, audio compression, and video compression. Detailed descriptions and explanations of the most well-known and frequently used compression methods are covered in a self-contained fashion, with an accessible style and technical level for specialists and nonspecialists. Topics and features: coverage of video compression, including MPEG-1 and H.261 thorough coverage of wavelets methods, including CWT, DWT, EZW and the new Lifting Scheme technique complete audio compression QM coder used in JPEG and JBIG, including new JPEG 200 standard image transformations and detailed coverage of discrete cosine transform and Haar transform coverage of EIDAC method for compressing simple images prefix image compression ACB and FHM curve compression geometric compression and edgebreaker technique.Data Compression provides an invaluable reference and guide for all computer scientists, computer engineers, electrical engineers, signal/image processing engineers and other scientists needing a comprehensive compilation for a broad range of compression methods.


Noise from turbo-chargers is increasingly becoming an issue. Partly due to improved noise control of other components and partly due to increased specific mass flows. Despite that the turbocharging technique was developed in the first part of the last century the acoustical behavior is still a field where there is a lack of research. In this paper an overview of the existing research is presented including the work done in the EC-project ARTEMIS. Some first results from recently started investigations at the new gas management research centre, KTH CICERO, will also be described. A turbo-unit always consists of a compressor which normally is driven by an exhaust turbine. Both the turbine and the compressor will have an influence on how the low frequency engine pulsations propagate in the intake/exhaust system. This is referred to as the passive acoustic property of the turbo-unit. If linear acoustic models are applied the passive properties can be described using reflection and transmission coefficients. A turbo-unit will also produce high frequency aerodynamic sound, which is referred to as its active ("sound generating") acoustic property. The sound generation is associated with the rotating blade pressures and for modern turbo-units, with supersonic tip speeds, also with rotating shock waves ("buzz-saw noise").


Modular assertion checkers are plagued with false alarms due to the need for precise environment specifications (preconditions and callee postconditions). Even the fully precise checkers report assertion failures under the most demonic environments allowed by unconstrained or partial specifications. The inability to preclude overly adversarial environments makes such checkers less attractive to developers and severely limits the adoption of such tools in the development cycle. In this work, we propose a parameterized framework for prioritizing the assertion failures reported by a modular verifier, with the goal of suppressing warnings from overly demonic environments. We formalize it almost-correct specifications as the minimal weakening of an angelic specification (over a set of predicates) that precludes any dead code intraprocedurally. Our work is inspired by and generalizes some aspects of semantic inconsistency detection. Our formulation allows us to lift this idea to a general class of warnings. We have developed a prototype acspec, which we use to explore a few instantiations of the framework and report preliminary findings on a diverse set of C benchmarks.


The Le@rning Federation (TLF) makes available to all schools in Australia and New Zealand high-quality, interactive, digital learning resources to support teachers and help students learn another language. The Cracking the code set of learning objects helps students to learn and use the Chinese and Japanese character-based writing systems through analysis and interaction rather than simply through memorisation. The article describes the use of these resources for teaching Chinese at one South Australian secondary school.


This paper considers the main institutional features of the Uruguayan labor market and its recent evolution, with a focus on unemployment. The main policies aimed at protecting workers against unemployment are analyzed. Using administrative data from social security records, the paper studies the dynamics of the labor market. Particularly examined are inflows and outflows from the formal labor market, as well as the effect, in terms of earnings loss, of episodes out of the formal labor market. Finally, an impact evaluation of recent changes in the unemployment insurance program is presented.


Exercise affects workplace performance, longevity, and the economy. If people walked just an extra 15 minutes each day, the world economy could grow by about $100 billion a year. Gains are attributed to improved productivity and reduced mortality rates, sick leave, and health care costs.


We propose Sparse Sinkhorn Attention, a new efficient and sparse method for learning to attend. Our method is based on differentiable sorting of internal representations. Concretely, we introduce a meta sorting network that learns to generate latent permutations over sequences. Given sorted sequences, we are then able to compute quasi-global attention with only local windows, improving the memory efficiency of the attention module. To this end, we propose new algorithmic innovations such as Causal Sinkhorn Balancing and SortCut, a dynamic sequence truncation method for tailoring Sinkhorn Attention for encoding and/or decoding purposes. Via extensive experiments on algorithmic seq2seq sorting, language modeling, pixel-wise image generation, document classification and natural language inference, we demonstrate that our memory efficient Sinkhorn Attention method is competitive with vanilla attention and consistently outperforms recently proposed efficient Transformer models such as Sparse Transformers.


Two sediment cores HH14-002 GC and HH12-930 GC from Vestnesa Ridge in the eastern part of Fram Strain have been investigated to reconstruct the paleoclimate and paleoceanographic conditions during the last ~37,000 years, and to study possibly changes in emission of methane from the seabed through time. Core HH14-002 GC was taken from outside a pockmark, while core HH12-930 GC was taken from inside the pockmark. The two sediment cores HH14-002 GC and HH12-930 GC were divided into six lithological units based on the differences in magnetic susceptibility, lithology, concentration of IRD, grain size distribution and results from stable isotope analysis. HH14-002 GC show a similarity in magnetic susceptibility and lithology to the sediment cores in the study by Jessen et al. (2010), while HH12-930 GC show mainly similarity in lithology. An age model could be established by correlating the results from HH14-002 GC and HH12-930 GC with Jessen et al. (2010). The age of the cores ranges from 37,829 to 14,070 cal. yr BP, and covers intervals from the mid-Weichselian to early Holocene. Deposition of mass transported sediments in HH14-002 GC and HH12-930 GC indicates that the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice Sheet reached the shelf break at ~23,820 cal. yr BP, and is a sign of a fully glaciated shelf. After the deglaciation (~20,101 cal. yr BP) and the Heinrich event 1 (~17,652 cal. yr BP) fine-grained laminated sediments were deposited between 14,780 and 14,300 cal. yr BP by turbid meltwater plume. Due to increased bottom currents, parts of the Holocene is missing from HH14-002 GC. Based on the foraminiferal assemblage distribution, concentration of IRD, stable isotope analysis and the age model the paleoceanographic conditions could be reconstructed. The results indicate influence of Atlantic intermediate water during the upper stage of the midWeichselian, and during the LGM, where the productivity was high with presence of seasonal sea-ice in the area. During Heinrich event 1 the water column was stratified and the productivity was low. The influence of Atlantic water was reduced, and the conditions were unstable. During the Bølling/Allerød Interstadials the conditions were slightly improved. The water column was less stratified, however, a layer of melt water was still present in the area. During the Younger Dryas, the surface layer was covered by a low-salinity melt water layer. Six periods with negative δC values from HH12-930 GC, which was retrieved from a pockmark, are interpreted to be caused by methane seepage. Three of the event can be linked to interstadial periods, and possibly methane seepage was caused by a combination of glacial retreat, increased sea level, eustatic unloading and seismic activity.


Fatigue has long been a critical issue affecting nurses' performance. Many types of fatigue are associated with nursing work, such as physical fatigue, mental fatigue, emotional fatigue, compassion fatigue, etc.. This study mainly focused on nurses' physical fatigue due to the fact that nursing work is always affiliated with physical requirements, such as walking, lifting, carrying, and transferring. Among the physical requirements, walking has been a critical issue affecting nurses' physical fatigue levels. A study has shown that nurses spend more than a quarter of their working time walking (Burgio, Engel, Hawkins, McCorick, & Scheve,1990). This not only diminishes the time that nurses spend on patients, but also put extra burden on themselves. Research has shown that unit layout design can affect nurses' walking patterns. For instance, nurses working in a radial shaped unit walked less than nurses working in a rectangular unit (Sturdavant, 1960). Consequently, this study aims to reduce pediatric nurses walking distance, and therefore reduce their physical fatigue, through studying nurses' perceptions of pediatric unit design. This study consisted of three principal procedures: online survey, interview, and behavioral mapping. Overall, there was little statistical significance yield between nurses' demographical and physical-fatigue-related variables from the online survey to aid in making future design decisions. During the interview session, the researcher learned nurses' perceptions on unit spatial adjacencies, design preferences, and design layouts that affect nurse' physical fatigue. The results produced a diagram of unit spatial adjacencies derived from nurses' perceptions. Three general layouts emerged from nurses' design: "centralization", "pods", and "bilateral decentralization". The behavioral mapping procedure allowed the researcher to study nurses' walking patterns and behaviors during the nurses' shifts. Another diagram, based on the frequencies of each work space that nurses visited during observation periods, was illustrated. Finally, a new unit design was proposed to reduce nurses' physical fatigue for the current unit based on the knowledge from literature and original research.


Electrical neural stimulation with micro electrodes is a promising technique for restoring lost functions in the central nervous system as a result of injury or disease. One of the problems related to current neural stimulators is the tissue response due to the connecting wires and the presence of a rigid electrode inside soft neural tissue. We have developed a novel, optically activated, microscale photovoltaic neurostimulator based on a custom layered compound semiconductor heterostructure that is both wireless and has a comparatively small volume (<0.01 mm3). Optical activation provides a wireless means of energy transfer to the neurostimulator, eliminating wires and the associated complications. This neurostimulator was shown to evoke action potentials and a functional motor response in the rat spinal cord. In this work, we extend our design to include wavelength selectivity and thus allowing independent activation of devices. As a proof of concept, we fabricated two different microscale devices with different spectral responsivities in the near-infrared region. We assessed the improved addressability of individual devices via wavelength selectivity as compared to spatial selectivity alone through on-bench optical measurements of the devices in combination with an in vivo light intensity profile in the rat cortex obtained in a previous study. We show that wavelength selectivity improves the individual addressability of the floating stimulators, thus increasing the number of devices that can be implanted in close proximity to each other.


In this research, we used nondestructive test based on ultrasonic test as inspection method, and made up inspection robot in order to control of ultrasonic probe on the SWP surface, and programmed to signal processing code and pattern classifying code by user made programming code. For evaluation of flaw signal is reflected on welding flaw, user-made program codes are composed of signal processing and probability neural network (PNN) and backpropagation neural network (BPNN). And then, we actually confirmed to the theoretical advantage of each neural network method compared probability neural network with backpropagation neural network for classification and recognition rate. For the application of classifier to SWP inspection system, BPNN classifier is adequate in the first stage. And then, the application of PNN classifier is adequate as the next stage. Because of PNN application need enough sample data that is due to probabilistic density function.


High-speed isolation of microparticles (e.g., microplastics, heavy metal particles, microbes, cells) from heterogeneous populations is the key element of high-throughput sorting instruments for chemical, biological, industrial and medical applications. Unfortunately, the performance of continuous microparticle isolation or so-called sorting is fundamentally limited by the trade-off between throughput, purity, and yield. For example, at a given throughput, high-purity sorting needs to sacrifice yield, or vice versa. This is due to Poisson statistics of events (i.e., microparticles, microparticle clusters, microparticle debris) in which the interval between successive events is stochastic and can be very short. Here we demonstrate an on-chip microparticle sorter with an ultrashort switching window in both time (10 μs) and space (10 μm) at a high flow speed of 1 m s-1, thereby overcoming the Poisson trade-off. This is made possible by using femtosecond laser pulses that can produce highly localized transient cavitation bubbles in a microchannel to kick target microparticles from an acoustically focused, densely aligned, bumper-to-bumper stream of microparticles. Our method is important for rare-microparticle sorting applications where both high purity and high yield are required to avoid missing rare microparticles.


Arturo Pe rez is a senior undergraduate psychology student at Universidad Diego Por-tales in Santiago, Chile. In the Fall term of 2012, Arturo spent 3 months at the Universi-ty of Alberta, hosted by Dr. Michael Dawson and the Biological Computation Project (BCP). The general goal of his visit was to establish collaborative ties between this U of A laboratory and the Centro de Estudios de la Argumentacio n y el Razonamiento (CEAR) at UDP. A more specific purpose was to explore the BCP's approach to using simple robots to explore basic ideas in embodied cognitive science. Arturo's explora-tions involved creating, programming, and testing a new robot designed to sort ele-ments in an arena. The purpose of the current paper is to report on Arturo's robotics research at the BCP.


A 40-year-old male, diagnosed with mild Crohn's disease (CD) 11 years ago but with no prior abdominal surgeries, was diagnosed with a small bowel stricture, due to ongoing abdominal pain and intolerance of enteral diet, and referred for surgical treatment. Exploratory laparoscopy revealed a white solid mass causing a near total jejunal obstruction with significant proximal dilatation. An adjacent small node was sampled for frozen biopsy, revealing a lymph node infiltrated with adenocarcinoma. Laparoscopic assisted small bowel resection and appendectomy were carried out. Final pathological results supported the initial report of diffuse small bowel adenocarcinoma. In conclusion, once a small bowel stricture associated with CD is suspected, rapid action should be considered to avoid late diagnosis of a neoplasia.


The theory of engine-cylinder cooling developed in a previous report was further substantiated by data obtained on a cylinder from a Wright r-1820-g engine. Equations are presented for the average head and barrel temperatures of this cylinder as functions of the engine and the cooling conditions. These equations are utilized to calculate the variation in cylinder temperature with altitude for level flight and climb. A method is presented for correlating average head and barrel temperatures and temperatures at individual points on the head and the barrel obtained on the test stand and in flight. The method is applied to the correlation and the comparison of data obtained on a number of service engines. Data are presented showing the variation of cylinder temperature with time when the power and the cooling pressure drop are suddenly changed.


Excerpt] Do service-sector workers represent the future of the U.S. labor movement? Mid-twentieth-century union activism transformed manufacturing jobs from backbreaking, low-wage work into careers that allowed workers to buy homes and send their kids to college. Some union activists insist that there is no reason why service-sector workers cannot follow that same path. In If We Can Win Here, Fran Quigley tells the stories of janitors, fry cooks, and health care aides trying to fight their way to middle-class incomes in Indianapolis. He also chronicles the struggles of the union organizers with whom the workers have made common cause. The service-sector workers of Indianapolis mirror the city's demographics: they are white, African American, and Latino. In contrast, the union organizers are mostly white and younger than the workers they help rally. Quigley chronicles these allies' setbacks, victories, bonds, and conflicts while placing their journey in the broader context of the global economy and labor history. As one Indiana-based organizer says of the struggle being waged in a state that has earned a reputation as anti-union: "If we can win here, we can win anywhere." The outcome of the battle of Indianapolis may foretell the fate of workers across the United States.


This article marks the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Israel. It is divided into two parts, assessing the status of this unique relationship in 2015 and in 1965, respectively. Angela Merkel's recent criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu's stance on the peace process with the Palestinians and the heavy protests that took place in Germany in the wake of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in summer 2014 have cast doubt on the strength of the bilateral partnership fifty years after the first exchange of ambassadors between the two countries. However, by examining the state of German–Israeli cooperation in a number of areas (security, commerce and knowledge exchange, among others), the first part of the article challenges popular interpretations of contemporary German–Israeli relations as being 'at a nadir'. Fifty years ago, Chancellor Ludwig Erhard proposed to his Israeli counterpart Levi Eshkol the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries amid a severe political crisis in Bonn, following a visit of the East German leader Walter Ulbricht to Gamal Abdel Nasser. While much has changed since then, the second part of the article argues that looking at the momentous events of 1965 can provide useful reference points for understanding the current state of relations between Germany and Israel.


Proteins Rpf2 and Rrs1 are required for 60S ribosomal subunit maturation. These proteins are necessary for the recruitment of three ribosomal components (5S ribosomal RNA [rRNA], RpL5 and RpL11) to the 90S ribosome precursor and subsequent 27SB pre-rRNA processing. Here we present the crystal structure of the Aspergillus nidulans (An) Rpf2-Rrs1 core complex. The core complex contains the tightly interlocked N-terminal domains of Rpf2 and Rrs1. The Rpf2 N-terminal domain includes a Brix domain characterized by similar Nand C-terminal architecture. The long -helix of Rrs1 joins the C-terminal half of the Brix domain as if it were part of a single molecule. The conserved proline-rich linker connecting the Nand C-terminal domains of Rrs1 wrap around the side of Rpf2 and anchor the C-terminal domain of Rrs1 to a specific site on Rpf2. In addition, gel shift analysis revealed that the Rpf2-Rrs1 complex binds directly to 5S rRNA. Further analysis of Rpf2-Rrs1 mutants demonstrated that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rpf2 R236 (corresponds to R238 of AnRpf2) plays a significant role in this binding. Based on these studies and previous reports, we have proposed a model for ribosomal component recruitment to the 90S ribosome precursor.


One of the most important concerns in catalyst synthesis is metal particle size. In heterogeneous catalysis, chemical reactions of the gas phase occur with the metal atoms at the surface of the particles. A high level of dispersion is critical to maximize the amount of surface metal atoms. After impregnation of the support with the metal precursor, the pretreatment conditions of the catalyst play a crucial role in determining the final metal particle size. This correlation has been indirectly investigated by various studies, but hasn't been systematically examined. This research deals with the influence that temperature and heating rate, during reduction in hydrogen gas, have on platinum and palladium particle size on various supports, both low PZC (oxidized carbon, TiO2, SiO2) and high PZC (carbon, Al2O3). The influence of humidity during reduction is also studied for the Pt catalysts. The shape of the particle size distribution offers valuable information to determine if a particular sintering mechanism, Ostwald Ripening (OR) or Particle Migration and Coalescence (PMC), has taken place. For this study, the catalysts are synthesized by dry impregnation (DI) and strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA). Particle size analyses were done by XRD and STEM imaging. Even though particle sizes widely vary between supports, the metal used, and the preparation method, general results show a range from 0.9 to 15 nm, where lower heating rates and lower reduction temperatures favor the formation of smaller particles. The presence of humidity during reduction was found to cause extensive sintering. The particle size distributions obtained from STEM imaging reveal PMC is the predominant sintering mechanism at work although further evidence suggests OR could be happening as well for some systems.


This paper describes our system created to detect stance in online discussions. The goal is to identify whether the author of a comment is in favor of the given target or against. We created an extended corpus of Czech news comments and evaluated a support vector machines classifier, a maximum entropy classifier, and a convolutional neural network.


Digital communication is fast and easy; but as a cultural process communication is difficult, especially when it engages with strangers and strangeness. Roger Silverstone describes the space necessary for respectful communication as a "proper distance" vis-à-vis mediated Others—neither too far away, nor too close to see the Other, and to recognise in her our own inherent Otherness. What Silverstone describes in terms of distance can also be considered in relation to time. This article builds on Silverstone's ideas to outline a working definition of slow journalism as process, and it is argued that multimedia journalism provides a platform for communication that approximates "proper time"—journalism that is fast enough to engage, surprise and retain our attention, yet slow enough to respect a story's nuance and complexity. It is argued that the poetics of photography provides a subversive logic of efficiency, capable of both revelation and evocation, and of helping us hear the Other; and that audio can expand our vision beyond the photographic frame, providing us with the necessary context and narrative to properly see. This is a narrative warp and weft. The trajectory of one form crosses and expands the narrative arc of the other, providing colour, depth, and nuance. Multimedia journalism can be quick and profound, fast and slow, short-form and long-form, thus occupying a critical middle ground between the impenetrable overloads and binary simplifications of digital communication, and opening a space and a time for mediated Others.


Play for Health (P4H) is a telemedicine service consisting of a telerehabilitation platform to improve cognitive and physical deficits through the use of serious games and various videogames controllers. This paper states that there are issues that could benefit the rehabilitation process using serious games. We present the P4H platform as an example of success in telerehabilitation based on serious games.


We study active feature selection, a novel feature selection setting in which unlabeled data is available, but the budget for labels is limited, and the examples to label can be actively selected by the algorithm. We focus on feature selection using the classical mutual information criterion, which selects the k features with the largest mutual information with the label. In the active feature selection setting, the goal is to use significantly fewer labels than the data set size and still find k features whose mutual information with the label based on the entire data set is large. We explain and experimentally study the choices that we make in the algorithm, and show that they lead to a successful algorithm, compared to other more naive approaches. Our design draws on insights which relate the problem of active feature selection to the study of pure-exploration multi-armed bandits settings. While we focus here on mutual information, our general methodology can be adapted to other feature-quality measures as well. The extended version of this paper, reporting all experiment results, is available at Schnapp and Sabato (2020). The code is available at the following url:
https://github.com/ShacharSchnapp/ActiveFeatureSelection


ABSTRACT Students in two sections of an undergraduate organizational behavior course were presented with the opportunity to choose a learning and evaluation method for the course which best suited their individual learning styles. Surprisingly, very few students took advantage of this opportunity. A learning style preferences questionnaire determined that there were differences in the learning styles of male and female students. An exit questionnaire captured student ratings of course effectiveness, satisfaction with the course, and reasons for their choices of learning and evaluation methods. No significant relationships were observed between male and female students on course effectiveness, course satisfaction, or in the reasons for their learning method choices. Student reasons for their choices and discussed and alternative explanations suggested. Keywords: lecture, nontraditional learning methods, learning style preferences INTRODUCTION Business schools are increasingly employing nontraditional learning methods to reach an increasingly diverse student population (French & Grey, 1996). Students differ in their motivation, personality, maturity, employment, time available, family responsibilities, and preferred learning styles. All of these factors may impact the effectiveness of various teaching methodologies (Klenke-Hamel & Sanders, 1997). Another reason business schools have begun exploring alternative instructional methods is the belief that the lecture is an outmoded method of course delivery (Birk, 1997). In fact, some have called for the abolishment of the traditional lecture on college campuses (Sperber, 2000). There is a widespread belief that students will learn more effectively if they use other methods such as experiential activities, case analyses, and other "hands-on" or "active learning" experiences (DeBerry, 1998). Hoeksema (1995) proposed two types of learning strategies: deep and surface. Deep learning, considered the highest form of learning, is directed at understanding the meaning of a task and to satisfy curiosity. Surface learning involves memorizing facts and disorganized pieces of information. Students engaged in surface learning will memorize information with a focus on getting good grades on exams, but may not fully master the material. In contrast, students engaged in deep learning will put forth greater effort and do extra work and will not only learn the material, but also more fully understand it and be able to apply it. Lectures and exams are linked with surface learning, while active-learning instructional methods with corresponding alternative evaluations methods are linked to deep learning. Lengnick-Hall and Sanders (1997, p. 1335) have defined quality management education as: "a course or integrated program of study that consistently yields (1) high levels of learning (e.g., increased knowledge, skill, and understanding), (2) high levels of change or intention to change behavior (application of new knowledge and skills), and (3) highly positive reactions (e.g., satisfaction with the course, the method of instruction, and the value of what was learned and intentions to recommend the course to others). They designed management courses to provide students with the opportunity to co-design the course with the instructor and assume more responsibility for their own learning. Students were presented with various methods of learning and evaluation methods as well as with deadlines and performance standards. Measures of student learning styles indicated a wide variety of learning preferences. Results of an analysis of outcome measures indicated that students reported satisfaction with the course, high levels of learning, and an intent to recommend the course to others (Lengnick-Hall & Sanders, 1997). Research on the relationship between learning styles and instructional methods has been conducted most frequently in samples of K-12 students. …


Growing core counts have highlighted the need for scalable on-chip coherence mechanisms. The increase in the number of on-chip cores exposes the energy and area costs of scaling the directories. Duplicate-tag-based directories require highly associative structures that grow with core count, precluding scalability due to prohibitive power consumption. Sparse directories overcome the power barrier by reducing directory associativity, but require storage area over-provisioning to avoid high invalidation rates. We propose the Cuckoo directory, a power- and area-efficient scalable distributed directory. The cuckoo directory scales to high core counts without the energy costs of wide associative lookup and without gross capacity over-provisioning. Simulation of a 16-core CMP with commercial server and scientific workloads shows that the Cuckoo directory eliminates invalidations while being up to four times more power-efficient than the Duplicate-tag directory and 24% more power-efficient and up to seven times more area-efficient than the Sparse directory organization. Analytical projections indicate that the Cuckoo directory retains its energy and area benefits with increasing core count, efficiently scaling to at least 1024 cores.


Background: In recent times, the scientific community has been showing increasing interest in the treatments aimed at slowing the progression of the autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Therefore, in this paper, we test and evaluate the performance of several available methods for total kidney volume (TKV) computation in ADPKD patients - from echography to MRI - in order to optimize patient classification. Methods: Two methods based on geometric assumptions (mid-slice [MS], ellipsoid [EL]) and a third one on true contour detection were tested on 40 ADPKD patients at different disease stage using MRI. The EL method was also tested using ultrasound images in a subset of 14 patients. Their performance was compared against TKVs derived from reference manual segmentation of MR images. Patient clinical classification was also performed based on computed volumes. Results: Kidney volumes derived from echography significantly underestimated reference volumes. Geometric-based methods applied to MR images had similar acceptable results. The highly automated method showed better performance. Volume assessment was accurate and reproducible. Importantly, classification resulted in 79, 13, 10, and 2.5% of misclassification using kidney volumes obtained from echo and MRI applying the EL, the MS and the highly automated method respectively. Conclusion: Considering the fact that the image-based technique is the only approach providing a 3D patient-specific kidney model and allowing further analysis including cyst volume computation and monitoring disease progression, we suggest that geometric assumption (e.g., EL method) should be avoided. The contour-detection approach should be used for a reproducible and precise morphologic classification of the renal volume of ADPKD patients.


Background: Frailty assessment in the elderly and its relationship to sociodemographic and health characteristics.
Method: Quantitative study, descriptive and cross-sectional study, conducted between April to July 2014, at two Family Health Units in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The sample consisted of 203 elderly. The data collection procedure occurred through a structured interview, which used two instruments.
Results: The average age of the participants was 68.59 years; among them, 83 (40.89%) did not show weakness, 45 (22.17%) were apparently vulnerable and 75 (36.94%) were frail. The weakness associated with low education, widowhood, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, respiratory disease, urinary tract infection, depression, six classes of drugs (antidiabetic, antidepressant, anxiolytic, and antacid against osteoporosis) and fall episode.
Conclusions: We conclude that assessment of frailty is important to detect the risk and/or embrittlement process already installed in the elderly.


This thesis justifies, designs and tests a new transport appraisal technique – the Transport Quality of Life (TQoL) model. In the United Kingdom the New Approach to Transport Appraisal (NATA) is presently used to appraise the economic, environmental and social impacts of transport projects. Although recently updated, NATA still does not include the assessment of individual's travel experience – and yet, to make fully informed decisions on the impact of future schemes, it is important to understand more about passenger's current journey quality. This thesis thus explores the potential of Quality of life (QoL) techniques as one means of addressing this gap in appraisal methods and scope.

For the purposes of this thesis, TQoL is defined as the passenger experience of travel. Through the thesis a TQoL model was progressively refined and developed –from an initial Mark I model to a more evolved and developed Mark III model - to produce an appraisal tool that highlights differences in journey experience.

To develop the model and to determine whether a TQoL approach was a valuable addition to transport appraisal, QoL techniques were applied to the transport networks of Glasgow and Manchester. In each city three modes of public transport were analysed to identify the mode providing the highest TQoL. A two-part household survey was used to gather data. The first survey was city-wide to gain the weightings for the TQoL indicators. The second was collected from selected transport corridors to evaluate TQoL. The results were quantified and presented in spider diagrams. T-tests were then used to identify the significant differences in TQoL.

Factor analysis on the data from both Glasgow and Manchester showed that a TQoL model can be based on five factors - access and availability, sustainable transit, environment, personal safety and transport costs. Applying the final TQoL model showed that in both locations fixed modes - particularly Light Rapid Transport - provide a significantly higher TQoL compared to bus TQoL. By evaluating transport from the passenger's viewpoint, the TQoL model can make transport appraisal more comprehensive. The thesis therefore concludes that the TQoL model should be used to supplement existing techniques to enable policy makers and practitioners make better informed decisions about improving the quality of transport.


An actin-dependent mechanism is involved in moving nuclei so that they are properly positioned for cell migration. The nuclei of animal cells can move to specific locations and help to polarize migrating and differentiating cells. Luxton et al. (see the Perspective by Starr) found that linear arrays of nuclear membrane proteins assembled on, and moved with, actin cables toward the rear of the cell during nuclear movement in polarizing fibroblasts. Interfering with the components of these linear arrays prevented nuclear movement and centrosome reorientation. Thus, nuclear membrane proteins assemble into actin-dependent arrays during force transduction. G. W. G. Luxton, E. R. Gomes, E. S. Folker, E. Vintinner, G. G. Gundersen, Linear arrays of nuclear envelope proteins harness retrograde actin flow for nuclear movement. Science 329, 956–959 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text] D. A. Starr, Nuclei get TAN lines. Science 329, 909–910 (2010). [Summary] [Full Text]


The Canadian Organizing Committee, the Vancouver Executive Committee and the National Research Council of Canada have done a superb job in planning this conference and in carrying out the enormous amount of detail necessary for its realization. On behalf of the Coastal Engineering Research Council, the other participating organizations, and all of the attendees I thank most heartily all who participated in this work. I am personally most grateful to those representatives of the Canadian Committee who made the final selection of papers. I should explain at this point that a small papers Committee is appointed for each of these conferences to review the summaries submitted by the authors - but this screening is intended only to appraise their appropriateness for a coastal engineering audience - and to eliminate those few papers which are promotional "blurbs". It has not been a technical review such as is made for "refereed" technical and scientific journals. The number of papers submitted for this Conference passing this simple review far exceeded the reasonable limits of the program - and for a brief period the Papers Committee faced the new and distasteful task of selection among papers acceptable under past standards. However, the problem was handled by the Canadian Committee - applying a formula which seemed equitable and reasonable. I trust that those affected concur in this judgment.


The National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) at the National Naval Medical Center specializes in diagnosing and treating the toughest cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and psychological health problems to arise from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The confluence of TBI and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be the hardest problem confronting veterans of the current conflicts and those who care for them. Physical and psychological trauma have traditionally been considered different entities, the former treated by neurologists and the latter by psychiatrists. Yet the two conditions have many overlapping symptoms, and people with a history of both seem to have an especially difficult time recovering. There is even some evidence to suggest the two traumas may involve overlapping mechanisms in the brain. NICoE takes an integrated approach to treating veterans and plans to undertake research to help unravel the knot of TBI and PTSD.


In literature, questions of the self and the other are frequently presented. The identity politics that gained prominence after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September 2001 has occupied considerable space in this debate throughout the globe, including in France. One example of a novel dealing with the self and other is Michel Houellebecq's Soumission (2015). This article attempts to explore the processes of selfing and othering in this work. The politics of identity that seems to present Muslims and Islam as the other and French as the self is also extended to other identities and aspects involved in the novel. This article attempts to show, first, how the French author Houellebecq positions the self and other in Soumission; second, the type of self and other the novel focuses on; and third, how its selfing and othering processes reveal the gender hierarchy and social categorization of French society. It finds that the novel presents a hierarchy in its narrative through which characters are positioned based on their gender and sexual orientation, as well as their age and ethnic heritage.


Endothelial cells form tight junctions and adherins junctions both in vivo and in culture. In vivo this phenomenon is essential to the proper function of the endothelial cells as a barrier between the blood vessel and the extracellular space. The formation of confluent monolayers of endothelial cells in culture is associated with increases in membrane cholesterol, increased association of annexin II with membranes, and dephosphorylation of adherins junction proteins (cadherin, β-catenin, γ-catenin, and pp120). Corvera et al. found that removal of cholesterol from confluent endothelial cells by cyclodextrin increased the tyrosine phosphorylation of pp120 and γ-catenin and disrupted adherins junctions between endothelial cells in culture. Additionally, membrane-associated annexin II was solubilized by digitonin, which selectively solubilizes cholesterol from membranes, suggesting that the association of annexin II with the membrane was dependent on the level of cholesterol. The authors suggest that cholesterol itself may be part of the regulatory pathway leading to the formation of adherins junctions. Corvera, S., DiBonaventura, C., and Shpetner, H.S. (2000) Cell confluence-dependent remodeling of endothelial membranes mediated by cholesterol. J. Biol. Chem. 275: 31414-31421. [Abstract] [Full Text]