This research explores the profiles and characteristics of VFR travellers relative to non- VFR travellers in one tourist destination. It uses a VFR whole tourism system approach to explain more about VFR traveller behaviour. It is the relationship between the traveller (VFR) and the other tourism elements, through the VFR host, that this research considers. VFR travellers are not just visiting friends and/or relations. They may also use services provided by tourism industries, although to what degree has historically attracted little research. This study employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine this relationship. The quantitative research was undertaken in Australia's Sunshine Coast and involved a survey of both visitors and residents in the Sunshine Coast. The qualitative research component was provided at a nationwide level, conducted by indepth interviews with the managers of the Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) throughout Australia. This allowed an examination of how VFR travel was regarded by RTO managers and what marketing strategies were in place to reach VFR travellers across the various RTOs in Australia. The results of this study suggest that VFR and non-VFR travellers came from different generating regions and travelled by different transit routes to reach the Sunshine Coast. Therefore, generic marketing campaigns aimed at the leisure market would be unlikely to be effective in capturing VFR travellers. VFR travellers surveyed were active tourists, undertaking a wide range of activities to a similar extent as non-VFR travellers. In fact, when VFR hosts' expenditures were combined with VFR expenditures and compared against non-VFR travellers, there was no significant difference between the total expenditures. Thus, the importance of VFR travel to the local community of the Sunshine Coast is clear. One significant contribution of this study has been the development of three VFR models (The VFR Trilogy) to provide a foundation to improve understanding of VFR behaviour. VFR travel is a significant although little understood component of tourism. Therefore, this area of travel needs to be elevated to greater prominence in order for it to be understood well enough for it to be given greater attention by academics. Through doing so, it is more likely to be taught to future tourism marketers and tourism managers in order for it to receive the recognition the segment deserves. With VFR travel barely rating more than a cursory mention in core tourism texts and failing to even rate a place in the index of others, it is hardly surprising that VFR is regularly left off the higher education teaching syllabus for tourism units, resulting in the continual neglect of VFR travel as a worthwhile area of focus. The trilogy of VFR models may assist in providing the necessary tools to explain and teach VFR travel to future tourism students, so that VFR travel can be more than well-known but also known well.


In this paper, I try to wonder about the way madness and literature can be linked and/or separated, through the analysis of a short story by the Russian American writer Vladimir Nabokov entitled "Signs and Symbols" as both literature and madness are linked to the issue of reference as well as meaning.. The short story narrates the case of a deranged young man for whom "everything is a cipher and of everything he is the theme" and shows how madness, unlike literature, fails in the quest of meaning and is therefore associated to silence, as Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida suggested, whereas literature, although sometimes verging on madness, is characterized by the desire to live and to move away from the silence of death. keywords:Literature, madness, silence, reference, meaning url: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/journal/2006_hamrit01.shtml Madness has always fascinated writers and has a privileged relationship with literature, being sometimes more than a mere metaphor and rather corresponding to a thematic network underlying a text. It has even been compared to the reading and/or writing activity of literature. I intend in this paper, to make a comparison between madness and literature, to wonder about the way they can be linked and/or separated, through the analysis of a short story by Vladimir Nabokov entitled "Signs and Symbols" which was written in 1948. Being himself subjected to auditory and visual hallucinations, Nabokov staged many characters tempted by madness. Thus, the protagonist Luzhin who is a chessplayer in The Luzhin Defense is the prey of a monomaniac passion which ends in a suicide. Nabokov has also dealt with sexual deviations such as paedophilia in Lolita in which the protagonist Humbert Humbert is cured in psychiatric hospitals. And the main character, Krug, in Bend Sinister, becomes mad at the end of the book when he learns about the death of his son. But what does it mean to be mad? For Maurice Blanchot, madness should only exist in the interrogative form. For him, saying Holderlin is mad, corresponds to saying: is he mad?1 Jacques Derrida devoted two texts to madness, "Cogito and the history of madness" written in 1963 and published in Writing and Difference, and "Being just with Freud. The History of Madness in the Age of Psychoanalysis" published in Resistances in 1996. Derrida alludes to Foucault when he declares: "To make a history of madness is therefore to make the archaeology of a silence."2 Derrida adds, "And if madness in general, beyond any fictitious and determined historical structure, is the absence of work, then madness is indeed, essentially and generally, silence, stifled speech."3 I shall test this hypothesis, which associates madness with silence, through the analysis of Nabokov's short story "Signs and Symbols." The short story narrates a day-a Friday-in the life of an old couple of Russian Jewish immigrants who, being themselves deprived of any name, live in a nameless city in the United States. Their twenty-year-old son had been treated in a psychiatric hospital for four years because, the narrator tells us,"he was incurably deranged in his mind." Confronted with the problem of the choice of a birthday present for their son who was frightened by objects perceived by him as being "vibrant with a malignant activity," the parents decided upon a basket with ten different fruit jellies in ten little jars. They were, however, not allowed to visit their son when they arrived at the hospital because he had tried to commit suicide. When back home, the husband retired to his bedroom after the evening meal while the mother examined an album of photographs. After midnight, the husband came back to the living-room and announced that he wished to bring their son back home in order to keep and nurse him. In the middle of the conversation, the telephone rang. It was a wrong number. Some girl had asked to speak to some Charlie. Then, their conversation is once more interrupted by a telephone call which happened to come from the same girl. …


ZnO-PAH composites were successfully synthesized using low temperature hydrothermal method. Poly(allylamine) hydrochloride (PAH) is usually layered with a negatively charged polymer to produce layer-by-layer film. No reports have investigated the effect of PAH directly on ZnO without the use of negatively charged polymer. The effect of varying PAH concentration on morphology and crystal structure of ZnO was determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, respectively. Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was also performed for all samples. SEM images revealed that Pure ZnO exhibits a smooth rod-like structures and rice grain-like structures for ZnO-PAH composites with varying PAH concentration. All peaks in the XRD spectra are indexed to the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO and FTIR shown the presence of PAH polymer on the ZnO-PAH composites. Our results therefore suggest that PAH can be added to ZnO to form ZnO-PAH composites via hydrothermal method that have a significant effect on the morphology of ZnO microrods.


Abscisic acid (ABA) is an essential phytohormone that regulates plant stress responses. ABA receptors in Arabidopsis thaliana (AtPYLs) have been extensively investigated by structural, biochemical, and in vivo studies. In contrast, relatively little is known about the ABA signal transduction cascade in rice. Besides, the diversities of AtPYLs manifest that the information accumulated in Arabidopsis cannot be simply adapted to rice. Thus, studies on rice ABA receptors are compulsory. By taking a bioinformatic approach, we identified twelve ABA receptor orthologs in Oryza sativa (japonica cultivar-group) (OsPYLs), named OsPYL1–12. We have successfully expressed and purified OsPYL1–3, 6 and 10–12 to homogeneity, tested the inhibitory effects on PP2C in Oryza sativa (OsPP2C), and measured their oligomerization states. OsPYL1–3 mainly exhibit as dimers and require ABA to inhibit PP2C's activity. On the contrary, OsPYL6 retains in the monomer-dimer equilibrium state and OsPYL10–11 largely exist as monomers, and they all display an ABA-independent phosphatase inhibition manner. Interestingly, although OsPYL12 seems to be a dimer, it abrogates the phosphatase activity of PP2Cs in the absence of ABA. Toward a further understanding of OsPYLs on the ABA binding and PP2C inhibition, we determined the crystal structure of ABA-OsPYL2-OsPP2C06 complex. The bioinformatic, biochemical and structural analysis of ABA receptors in rice provide important foundations for designing rational ABA-analogues and breeding the stress-resistant rice for commercial agriculture.


I propose the view that the law affects economic efficiency by shaping contractual litigation and contracting as a result. I build a model where judges subject to personal biases try to distort contract enforcement and consider two legal systems, one where judges wield discretion and another where they must follow a code. I find that the law affects contracting by shaping the way biased courts resolve contractual ambiguities: discretion fosters the use of sophisticated contingent contracts, codification the use of simpler non-contingent contracts. Beyond contract form, I find that legal systems fundamentally differ in their ability to enforce complex and innovative transactions, where performance is hard to verify. The code's bias is the cost of codification, the arbitrariness of judges and juries and their incompetence are the costs of discretion. The model sheds light on several findings in law and finance and product liability literatures and yields some implications on the costs and benfits of discretion across areas of law and at different levels of development.


These editorial comments attempt to provide some contextual background to the primary focus of the study by Carlton and Erwin in the March 2015 issue of Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research, integration of health care and public health (executives). The purpose is also to provide a critical assessment of the value of evidence about strategies for integration, identified by the stakeholders in these two industries. Findings from the Carlton and Edwin study have provided important clues and have stirred the pot enough to start a much-needed dialogue. The research has provided some questions as well as answers, paving a path for future research questions and the study of those questions.


This paper examines consulting and expert work performed by (experimental) economists for the Exxon Valdez litigation case. One of the issues at stake was the use of a specific method, contingent valuation, to estimate the so-called passive use value part of the damage resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 24, 1989. Our interest is less in the possibilities of using contingent valuation to estimate passive use values as such, and more in the dynamics of consulting and expert work itself, which in litigation cases mostly remains hidden behind the veil of contracts. Because Exxon went explicitly public in the Exxon Valdez case, this veil can be partially lifted. In contrast with Public Trustees, who submitted a monetary damage estimate to the Court, Exxon decided to follow a radically different strategy: it organized an all-out assault on the method by which such a monetary estimate was most likely to be produced. That strategy cut across social and epistemic commitments of different segments of the economics discipline, raising questions about the different meanings of expertise, and the role of economists in the legal, business, and public domain. This paper aims to address these questions.


Ink landscape painting is a distinctive feature of the Northern Song, and painters of this era produced some of the most celebrated artworks in Chinese history. The Efficacious Landscape" addresses how landmark works of this pivotal period first came to be identified as potent symbols of imperial authority and later became objects through which exiled scholars expressed disaffection and dissent. In fulfilling these diverse roles, landscape demonstrated its efficacy in communicating through embodiment and in transcending the limitations of the concrete.Building on decades of monographic writings on Song painting, this carefully researched study presents a syncretic vision of how ink landscape evolved within the eleventh-century court community of artists, scholars, and aristocrats. Detailed visual analyses of surviving works and new insight about key landscapes by the court painter Guo Xi support the perspective put forward here and introduce original methodologies for interpreting painting as an integral element of political and cultural history. By focusing on the efforts of emperors, empresses, and eunuchs to cultivate ink landscape and its iconography, this investigation also tackles the social and class dichotomies that have long defined and frustrated existing scholarship on this period s paintings, highlighting instead the interconnectedness of painting practice s elite modalities."


We examine a maximum-a-posteriori method for estimating the primary interaction position of gamma rays with multiple interaction sites (hits) in a monolithic detector. In assessing the performance of a multiple-hit estimator over that of a conventional one-hit estimator, we consider a few different detector and readout configurations of a 50-mm-wide square cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate block. For this study, we use simulated data from SCOUT, a Monte-Carlo tool for photon tracking and modeling scintillation- camera output. With this tool, we determine estimate bias and variance for a multiple-hit estimator and compare these with similar metrics for a one-hit maximum-likelihood estimator, which assumes full energy deposition in one hit. We also examine the effect of event filtering on these metrics; for this purpose, we use a likelihood threshold to reject signals that are not likely to have been produced under the assumed likelihood model. Depending on detector design, we observe a 1%-12% improvement of intrinsic resolution for a 1-or-2-hit estimator as compared with a 1-hit estimator. We also observe improved differentiation of photopeak events using a 1-or-2-hit estimator as compared with the 1-hit estimator; more than 6% of photopeak events that were rejected by likelihood filtering for the 1-hit estimator were accurately identified as photopeak events and positioned without loss of resolution by a 1-or-2-hit estimator; for PET, this equates to at least a 12% improvement in coincidence-detection efficiency with likelihood filtering applied.


LANGSCAPE is a Cambridge University Press project associated with both 'English Today' and a new international usage guide for the year 2000 by Pam Peters, author of the 'Cambridge Australian English Style Guide' (1995). Like the Australian publication, the international work will be distinctive in its use of empirical evidence from computer corpora as well as data elicited from surveys of users of English round the world. Because English is a world language, any account of usage that is limited to one person's views and resources is inadequate. The first topic and questionnaire ('The ubiquitous letter e') appeared in ET53 (Jan 98). See the accompanying box for further information on the Survey.


India is presently at the doorstep of a revolutionary change in its indirect tax system with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax ('GST'). This paper argues that due to the cascading effects of the present CENVAT and State VAT systems and the complexities of the current service tax regime, it is imperative for India to make the GST regime operative. This paper examines the GST in detail, analysing the proposed rates, taxes to be subsumed, proposed administrative setup and the amendments that are needed to make this scheme operative. The paper also analyses the impact of GST through a comparative study with other jurisdictions where such a tax has been made operative. The opinions of various states and various sectors in India regarding the proposed GST scheme have been discussed in tandem with possible methods of reconciliation.


Within Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, Zostera marina populations have declined by 62% over the last 20 years, and restoration efforts have met with mixed success. We have completed a microsatellite-based genetic investigation of eight populations of Z. marina within Barnegat Bay to determine whether the genetic stock ori-gins of the plants used in management projects may affect restoration success. Additionally, we assessed the genetic diversity of Z. marina in Barnegat Bay to better understand its population structure. Clonal diversity ranged from 0.70 to 0.95 for the populations studied. Individually, Barnegat Bay populations are not genetically diverse, and there is also little divergence among populations. The Atlantic populations had mean Hobs values (0.20–0.34) that were far lower than the Hexp values (0.69–0.83). Also, the F IS values in all of the eastern populations indicate a surfeit of homozygotes over heterozygotes, suggesting a low degree of outcrossing in the Barnegat Bay populations. Six of the ten populations studied (Ham Island, Manahawkin Bay, Shelter Island, Marsh Elder, Harvey Cedar Sedge, and Long Island) show evidence of historical bottlenecks. Mean estimated F ST values would suggest that most alleles are undergoing moderate genetic differentiation, with values that range from 0.06 to 0.13. Oyster Creek and Sedge Island demonstrate the largest estimated effective population sizes and may be the most appropriate populations for use in future eelgrass restoration projects.


This study investigates the relationships between ownership, control, organisational structure and company operational costs. The workers' perceptions of participation (financial and decision-making) and empowerment are measured between two labour intensive factories with different ownership structures. The first factory (Kopano) has a workforce that shares equity ownership, or holds proprietary title. It is significant to note that the Kopano workers share in the ownership of the manufacturing section only, and not the upstream activities (mining, etc.), nor the downstream activities (despatch, selling, marketing, etc.). Accordingly, the Kopano owner-workers concentrate on manufacturing only. Employees at the second factory (Lawley) have no equity stake; they do not hold proprietary title and are "normal" salaried employees. The hypotheses seek to identify differences between the two factories, relative to the worker's sense of participation (financial and decision-making) and empowerment. The rationale is that the workers who hold proprietary title (Kopano) should have a greater sense of financial participation, decision-making participation and empowerment than the workers (Lawley) who do not hold proprietary title. This is tested via questionnaires at both factories and the results obtained strongly support the hypotheses. Given the abovementioned findings, the study then seeks to establish that there will be greater savings in operational costs at Kopano factory (where the workers hold equity title) compared to Lawley (where the workers are not involved in ownership participation). The rationale behind this hypothesis is that operational costs at Kopano should be lower than the operational costs at Lawley (because of the different ownership positions). An analysis of operational costs between factories supports this argument.


We studied the phylogeography and population history of the white wagtail Motacilla alba , which has a vast breeding range, covering areas with diff erent Pleistocene climatic histories. Th e mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit II gene (ND2) and Control Region (CR) were analyzed for 273 individuals from 45 localities. Our data comprised all nine subspecies of white wagtail. Four primary clades were inferred (M, N, SW and SE), with indications of M. grandis being nested within M. alba . Th e oldest split was between two haplotypes from the endemic Moroccan M. a. subpersonata (clade M) and the others, at 0.63 – 0.96 Mya; other divergences were at 0.31 – 0.38 Mya. Th e entire diff erentiation falls within the part of the Pleistocene characterized by Milankovitch cycles of large amplitudes and durations. Clade N was distributed across the northern Palearctic; clade SW in southwestern Asia plus the British Isles and was predicted by Ecological niche models (ENMs) to occur also in central and south Europe; and clade SE was distributed in central and east Asia. Th e deep divergence within M. a. subpersonata may refl ect retention of ancestral haplotypes. Regional diff erences in historical climates have had diff erent impacts on diff erent populations: clade N expanded after the last glacial maximum (LGM), whereas milder Pleistocene climate of east Asia allowed clade SE a longer expansion time (since MIS 5); clade SW expanded over a similarly long time as clade SE, which is untypical for European species. ENMs supported these conclusions in that the northern part of the Eurasian continent was unsuitable during the LGM, whereas southern parts remained suitable. Th e recent divergences and poor structure in the mitochondrial tree contrasts strongly with the pronounced, well defi ned phenotypical diff erentiation, indicating extremely fast plumage divergence.


Preliminary results from the rearward-looking electrostatic analyzer of the plasma science experiment during the Mariner 10 encounter with Venus are described. They show that the solar-wind interaction with the planet probably involves a bow shock rather than an extended exosphere, but that this is not a thin boundary at the point where it was crossed by Mariner 10. An observed reduction in the flux of electrons with energies greater than 100 electron volts is interpreted as evidence for somne direct interaction with the exosphere. Unusual intermittent features observed downstream of the planet indicate the presence of a comet-like tail hundreds of scale lengths in length.


Objective: Patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are fearful. They constantly worried about minor matters, and they anticipate the worst. The GAD is diagnosed when a patient experiences excessive anxiety and worry for at least 6 months. The cause of GAD is unknown. In the present paper, we discuss patients with GAD who have low levels of thiamine in their bloods. We also discuss the role of thiamine in the pathogenesis and treatment of GAD. Methods: We examined 9 patients (6 males and 3 females) who met the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for GAD. These patients had no history of alcoholism. Their ages ranged from 57 to 83 years old (mean age –72.8 ± 2.9 years). All of the patients had low blood thiamine levels (mean –25.1 nmol/L ± 6.0 nmol/L; normal level—70 nmol/L - 180 nmol/L). Participants completed the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) for anxiety before and after thiamine treatments. All of the patients received daily thiamine 100 mg intramuscularly. Results: Thiamine supplementation significantly improved HARS scores, increased both appetite and general well-being, and reduced fatigue in patients with GAD. Interestingly, these patients were able to discontinue taking anxiolytic and β-blocker medications. Conclusion: Parental thiamine significantly affects patients with GAD.


An increasing number of pathogen-defense related genes are being identified and characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. So far, it is not known whether and which structural and functional homologues of these Arabidopsis genes have any role in natural variation of resistance to pathogens in crops. Using sequence database mining and PCR-based approaches, potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) gene fragments with high sequence similarity to 16 Arabidopsis defense signal transduction genes were obtained, sequenced and genetically positioned on potato molecular maps. Of 16 novel loci, five were positional candidates for known potato pathogen resistance QTL. One of the candidate loci, StAOS2 co-localizing with QTL for resistance to P. infestans and E. carotovora on linkage group XI, was further characterized in more detail. StAOS2 encodes a gene for allene oxide synthase, a cytochrome P450-enzyme, acting upstream in the jasmonic acid biosynthesis pathway. A metabolic block at the level of AOS completely abolishes JA production, which affects plant development (e.g. sterile pollen production) and various abiotic and biotic stress responses (e.g. P. infestans resistance in tomato, E. carotovora resistance in Arabidopsis). The chloroplastic localization of StAOS2-GFP was confirmed by confocal microscopy and functionality of the potato protein was proven by complementation of the male-sterile Arabidopsis aos mutant. StAOS2-RNAi transgenic lines in potato were generated in order to test role of StAOS2 in P. infestans resistance. The measurements of endogenous OPDA and JA in the silenced lines after wounding treatment revealed drastic decrease in the levels of above mentioned compounds (up to 25 folds less than in wild type plants). In addition, natural variation of StAOS2 locus was characterized. Sequencing of the locus across 38 potato chromosomes revealed high polymorphism. Thirteen distinct alleles were found, and four of them showed highly significant (P=0.000, R2=14%) linkage to P. infestans and E. carotovora QTL. Five alleles of StAOS2 were cloned. Sequence analyses revealed a substantial polymorphism on amino acid level, including non-conservative substitutions and an insertion/deletion within the cytochrome P450 domain. Currently, an ongoing quantitative complementation of the Ataos mutant with the five different StAOS2 alleles fused to the native AtAOS promoter, followed by OPDA and JA levels measurements in the transgenic lines, will possibly provide direct evidence for StAOS2 being the first plant resistance QTL identified.


Although two-terminal perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells have rapidly increased in efficiency, they have only been demonstrated with n-type silicon, which currently constitutes less than 5% of the global photovoltaics market. In this paper, we realize the first two-terminal perovskite tandem with p-type silicon by developing a recombination contact that enables voltage addition without damaging either subcell. We find that silicon interband recombination contacts are limited by a SiOx charge-extraction barrier, which forms during oxidative top-cell fabrication. A sputtered 30-nm indium tin oxide layer is found to protect the silicon cell surface from oxidation, while forming a recombination contact with the p-type nickel oxide hole transport layer for the perovskite top cell. Using this recombination contact we achieve voltage addition between the perovskite top cell and aluminum back-surface field p-type silicon bottom cell. We also find that minimizing moisture on the nickel oxide surface is important for achieving a stable open-circuit voltage under illumination. The recombination contact developed herein could play an important role in near-future developments.


Context - Minimum thermal performance standards for residential building envelopes have been increasing in many countries for several decades, addressing concerns about occupant comfort, operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Simulation tools play a role in assessing the space heating/cooling load of new buildings and for evaluating options for systematic retrofitting of existing dwellings. The purpose of this study was to examine the role and limitations of simulation in informing potential retrofit activities for an aged care facility. Methodology - The study utilised a 110 apartment Aged Care facility as a case study. Two typical apartments from this case study were selected for indepth study. A simulation tool (BersPro 4.1) utilised for regulatory purposes in Australia for new construction, was utilised to simulate existing building thermal performance and expected performance of three retrofit actions. Results - The thermal performance of the existing buildings meet regulatory requirements at the time of construction (pre 2006) but are 70% higher than current regulations. Enhanced air movement, through the installation of ceiling fans, showed the largest reduction in space heating/cooling load (52.5%), followed by ceiling insulation (22.6%) and double glazing (4.3%). Key Findings - The simulations identified differences in the heating/cooling loads of sleeping and living spaces within the apartments. The benefits of the proposed retrofit options, however, are questionable because of practical limitations of the existing building and the mismatch between these occupants and occupancy assumptions made in the simulation tool. Originality - This paper applies a simulation tool to an examination of retrofit options for existing senior housing. It reveals limitations in relying on simulation tools for this purpose unless other issues, such as the uniqueness of this particular demographic, are equally considered.


INTRODUCTION: The anemia leads to a worse prognosis in patients with heart failure(HF). There are few data on the impact of anemia on mortality in patients with acute heart failiure(AHF), and the studies available are mainly retrospective and include hospitalized patients. OBJECTIVE. Evaluate the role of anemia in 30-days and one-year mortality in patients with AHF attended in hospital emergency departments(HEDs). METHODS. Multicenter, observational study of prospective cohorts of patients with AHF. Study variables: anemia(hemoglobin<12g/dL in women and <13g/dL in men), 30-days-mortality and at one year, risk factors, comorbidity, functional impairment, basal functional grade for dyspnea, chronic and acute treatment, clinical and analytical data of the episode and patient destination. Statistical analysis: bivariate analysis and survival analyses using Cox regression. RESULTS. A total of 13,454 patients were included, 7662(56.9%) of whom had anemia. Those with anemia were older, had more comorbidity, a worse functional status and New York Heart Association class, greater renal function impairment and more hyponatremia. The mortality was higher in patients with anemia at 30-days and one-year: 7.5% vs. 10.7%(p<0.001) and 21.2% vs. 31.4%(p<0.001), respectively. The crude and adjusted hazard ratios of anemia for 30-days-mortality were: 1.46(confidence interval[CI]95% 1.30-1.64);p<0.001 and 1.20(CI95% 1.05-1.38);p=0.009, respectively, and 1.57(CI95% 1.47-1.68) and 1.30(CI95% 1.20-1.40) for one-year-mortality. The weight of anemia on mortality was different in each follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS. Anemia is an independent predictor of 30-days-mortality and one year in patients with AHF attended in HEDs. It is important to study the etiology of AHF since adequate treatment would reduce mortality.


Soda-ethanol pulps, prepared from a forestry residue pine sawdust, were treated according to high-consistency enzymatic fibrillation technology to manufacture nanocellulose. The obtained nanocellulose was characterized and used as ink for three-dimensional (3D) printing of various structures. It was also tested for its moisture sorption capacity and cytotoxicity, as preliminary tests for evaluating its suitability for wound dressing and similar applications. During the high-consistency enzymatic treatment it was found that only the treatment of the O2-delignified pine pulp resulted in fibrillation into nano-scale. For 3D printing trials, the material needed to be fluidized further. By 3D printing, it was possible to fabricate various structures from the high-consistency enzymatic nanocellulose. However, the water sorption capacity of the structures was lower than previously seen with porous nanocellulose structures, indicating that further optimization of the material is needed. The material was found not to be cytotoxic, thus showing potential as material, e.g., for wound dressings and for printing tissue models.


The growth rates of Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) pups estimated from weighing cross-sections of the population were compared with measured/ inferred changes in the availability of their main prey species, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) from 1989 to 2000. There was no relationship between growth rate and mass at weaning and there were counter-intuitive indications of higher growth rates in years of low krill availability. Biases reflecting changes in the component of the population available for sampling appear to invalidate the widely held assumption that interannual differences in growth rate can reliably be derived from differences in the slope of a linear relationship based on cross-sectional population samples. A new index was developed, based on the deviation of pup mass at age in each year compared to the multiyear mean, that was not dependent on assumptions of linearity. The indices of growth deviates produced a more logical relationship with other indices of pup development and related more appropriately to variations in prey availability. The potential impact of methodological biases on the interpretation of growth rate suggests that comparisons of growth rates should not rely on assumptions regarding the underlying growth pattern.


The aim of this paper is to compare the properties of four different profiles which can be used as multifocal intraocular lens. The Hankel transform based on the theory of scalar diffraction is applied to a binary profile, a parabolic one, a parabolic profile with holes, and finally a sinusoidal one. This enables to study the various distributions of the diffractive efficiencies and the axial chromatism. The image quality is evaluated by means of simulations of the MTFs with Zemax. Finally we propose a new way to graphically synthesize all the properties of these lenses, using a radar graph.


One of three valves in a dry automatic sprinkler system tripped accidentally, thus activating the sprinklers. Maintenance records showed that the three valves had been in service less than two years. The valve consisted of a cast copper alloy clapper plate that was held closed by a pivoted malleable iron latch. The latch and top surface of the clapper plate were usually in a sanitary-water environment (stabilized, chlorinated well water with a pH of 7.3) under stagnant conditions. Process make-up water that had been clarified, filtered, softened, and chlorinated and had a pH of 9.8 was occasionally used in the system. Analysis (visual inspection and 250x micrograph) supported the conclusions that failure of the latch was caused by plastic deformation from extensive loss of metal by galvanic corrosion and the sudden loading related to the tripping of the valve. Failure in some regions of the contact area was by ductile (transgranular) fracture. Recommendations included changing the latch material from malleable iron to silicon bronze (C87300). The use of silicon bronze prevents corrosion or galvanic attack and proper adjustment of the latch maintains an adequate contact area.


In this dissertation I perform what I take to be a genealogy of governmentality by tracing the history of governmentality through various political philosophers and culminating in the work of Michel Foucault. I begin with some examination of governmentality as it appears in the discursive space opened by Foucault's later work, in particular his History of Sexuality, Vol. 1. I then turn to an examination of Plato and Aristotle, looking at how some contemporary interlocutors have been governmental in their approach. I conclude the first chapter with a look at ideology and historical explanation. Next, I examine Machiavelli's The Prince, also in light of some current interlocutors, particularly Foucault and John Najemy. The purpose here is to see how Machiavelli may well have presaged some governmental space in his work and how others have utilized this space. I also address the dispute between Foucault and Derrida over Descartes as well as Foucault's insight into authorship and show how this all relates to Machiavelli and The Prince. The final chapter looks at Hobbes and Locke's approaches to governance, particularly as they apply to the governance of nature. I continue the strategy of looking at current interlocutors, paying close attention to some contemporary commentary on Locke. I also look at the nature of historical explanation, in particular the approach that involves utilizing the "covering-law" models of explanation. I close with some thoughts on how this sort of explanation fails from a Foucauldian perspective.


The involvement of bacterial translocation (BT) in the promotion of carcinogenesis has gained a considerable attention in the last years. At this point however BT has not been studied in the context of pancreatic cystic lesions and their development into pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The aim of the study was to analyze if bacteria are present in pancreatic cyst fluid (PCF) collected from patients with suspected pancreatic cysts. Total DNA was isolated from sixty nine PCF. The occurrence of bacteria in PCF was analyzed using bacterial 16S rRNA gene-specific PCR-based method followed by sequence identification and quantitative PCR assay tuned up to different pathogenic and commensal human bacteria. Forty-seven out of sixty-nine samples (68%) were found positive for harboring bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Follow up sequencing analyses of the PCR products revealed that bacterial species related to Fusobacterium spp., Bacteroides spp., and Bacillus spp. were predominating the PCF samples. The results suggest that specific bacteria can translocate to the pancreas and become detectable in the PCF.


Earlier large-scale Greenland ice sheet sea-level projections (e.g. those run during the ice2sea and SeaRISE initiatives) have shown that ice sheet initial conditions have a large effect on the projections and give rise to important uncertainties. The goal of this initMIP-Greenland intercomparison exercise is to compare, evaluate, and improve the initialisation techniques used in the ice sheet modelling community and to estimate the associated uncertainties in modelled mass changes. initMIP-Greenland is the first in a series of ice sheet model intercomparison activities within ISMIP6 (the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6), which is the primary activity within the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) focusing on the ice sheets. Two experiments for the large-scale Greenland ice sheet have been designed to allow intercomparison between participating models of (1) the initial present-day state of the ice sheet and (2) the response in two idealised forward experiments. The forward experiments serve to evaluate the initialisation in terms of model drift (forward run without additional forcing) and in response to a large perturbation (prescribed surface mass balance anomaly); they should not be interpreted as sea-level projections. We present and discuss results that highlight the diversity of data sets, boundary conditions, and initialisation techniques used in the community to generate initial states of the Greenland ice sheet. We find good agreement across the ensemble for the dynamic response to surface mass balance changes in areas where the simulated ice sheets overlap but differences arising from the initial size of the ice sheet. The model drift in the control experiment is reduced for models that participated in earlier intercomparison exercises.


Currently Indonesia is the world largest palm oil producer with production volume reaching 16 million tones per annum. The high crude oil and ethylene prices in the last 3 – 4 years contribute to the healthy demand growth for basic oleochemicals: fatty acids and fatty alcohols. Oleochemicals are starting to replace crude oil derived products in various applications. As widely practiced in petrochemical industry, catalyst plays a very important role in the production of basic oleochemicals. Catalytic reactions are abound in the production of oleochemicals: Nickel based catalysts are used in the hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids; sodium methylate catalyst in the transesterification of triglycerides; sulfonic based polystyrene resin catalyst in esterification of fatty acids; and copper chromite/copper zinc catalyst in the high pressure hydrogenation of methyl esters or fatty acids to produce fatty alcohols. To maintain long catalyst life, it is crucial to ensure the absence of catalyst poisons and inhibitors in the feed. The preparation methods of nickel and copper chromite catalysts are as follows: precipitation, filtration, drying, and calcinations. Sodium methylate is derived from direct reaction of sodium metal and methanol under inert gas. The sulfonic based polystyrene resin is derived from sulfonation of polystyrene crosslinked with di-vinyl-benzene. © 2007 CREC UNDIP. All rights reserved.


Is there any commitment made to reduce poverty? This is evident because 1.) The concept of poverty is vague, 2.) the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) mostly stop at the national level and not sub national level where there are needs. Less attention is devoted to local institutions and traditional authorities, which are the real agents of local development. In African development, less attention is devoted to grassroots' perspective and political leadership; traditional authorities who hold spiritual power to influence local community and transfer culture are neglected. Their potential to take collective action is disregarded, partly because of their ignorance and development paradigm, which is seen as "modernisation and scientific". To increase the effectiveness of local government is through democratic decentralization, which involves transfer of power and resources. Many developing countries use it to improve the quality of service delivery and strengthen sustainable local development. Decentralization is a vehicle for achieving MDGs because it operates at local and community level; and planning is crucial to ensure participation in governance and local development. Increasingly participatory governance is emerging as a key focal area, both in its own right, and as a means of securing MDGs, especially poverty reduction. Decentralization and participatory processes are complex and take years to implement; but they play critical role in achieving MDGs. Sustainable development cannot be realized without robust strong institutions and active citizenry engaged in key decision-making. Political leaders should promote good governance, by strengthening institutions and public participation to address national and local development agenda. Furthermore, functional local structures and ancestral systems are important for a strong service delivery, a prerequisite for any vibrant, democratic, and decentralized governance. The new development paradigm involves political commitment. To address local development, authority and resources have to be transferred, and it is crucial to promote citizen´s engagement at all levels. The paradigm should consider: a) strengthening of Local governments, b) building capacity of Civil society, including communities and traditional authorities, and c) Promotion of emerging Private sectors by local economic development interventions that generate employment and income for the poor; local institutions should address local structures and systems to promote local development.

 Key words: Governance, local development, millennium development goals, poverty, Africa, communities.


Will the world be able to sustain economic growth indefinitely without running into resource constraints or despoiling the environment beyond repair? What is the relationship between steadily increasing incomes and environmental quality? This paper builds on the author's earlier work (1993), in which he argued that the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality – whether inverse or direct -- is not fixed along a country's development path. Indeed, he hypothesized, it may change as a country reaches a level of income at which people can demand and afford a more efficient infrastructure and a cleaner environment. This implied inverted-U relationship between environmental degradation and economic growth came to be known as the "Environmental Kuznets Curve," by analogy with the income-inequality relationship postulated by Kuznets (1965, 1966). The objective of this paper is to critically review, synthesize and interpret the literature on the relationship between economic growth and environment. This literature has followed two distinct but related strands of research: an empirical strand of ad hoc specifications and estimations of a reduced form equation, relating an environmental impact indicator to income per capita; and a theoretical strand of macroeconomic models of interaction between environmental degradation and economic growth, including optimal growth, endogenous growth and overlapping generations models. The author concludes that the macroeconomic models generally support the empirical findings of the Environmental Kuznets Curve literature. He suggests further empirical investigation related to the assumption of additive separability, as well as development of additional macroeconomic models that allow for a more realistic role for government.


A dilution-concentration method for removing cryoprotective agents from cryopreserved blood was proposed in our previous work. In this study, the method was optimized adaptively by adjusting diluent flow rates. In the optimization, the diluent flow rate was set to vary with time, the tendency of which was designed to automatically minimize the washing time whereas the volume maximum of red blood cells was guaranteed below the upper tolerance limit. The results show that the optimized diluent flow rate decreases firstly and then increases rapidly. By doing so, the washing time is reduced by about 50%. In practice, the optimization strategy presented here will be very useful in the rapid preparation of cryopreserved blood for clinical use.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Due to the appearance of smart textiles and wearable electronics, the need for electro-conductive textiles and electro-conductive paths on textiles has become clear. In this article the results of a test of developed textile electro-conductive paths obtained by applying the method of screen printing pastes containing silver nanoparticles and carbon (graphene, nanotubes, graphite) are presented. Conducted research included analysis of the adhesion test, as well as evaluation of the surface resistance before and after the washing and bending cycles. Obtained results indicated that the samples with the content of carbon nanotubes 3% by weight in PMMA on substrate made of aramid fibers (surface mass of 260 g/m2) were characterized by the best adhesion and the best resistance to washing and bending cycles. Such electro-conductive paths have potential to be used in smart clothing applications.


Although the prime numbers are deterministic, they can be viewed, by some measures, as pseudo-random numbers. In this article, we numerically study the pair statistics of the primes using statistical–mechanical methods, particularly the structure factor S(k) in an interval M⩽p⩽M+L with M large, and L/M smaller than unity. We show that the structure factor of the prime-number configurations in such intervals exhibits well-defined Bragg-like peaks along with a small 'diffuse' contribution. This indicates that primes are appreciably more correlated and ordered than previously thought. Our numerical results definitively suggest an explicit formula for the locations and heights of the peaks. This formula predicts infinitely many peaks in any non-zero interval, similar to the behavior of quasicrystals. However, primes differ from quasicrystals in that the ratio between the location of any two predicted peaks is rational. We also show numerically that the diffuse part decays slowly as M and L increases. This suggests that the diffuse part vanishes in an appropriate infinite-system-size limit.


The objective of this paper is to simulate the algorithm to detect object for Automated Guide Vehicle (AGV) guidance problem, namely to obstacle avoidance. Currently, the AGV is a transport vehicle widely used in manufacturing factories and plays an important role in the design of material handling system, moving goods to raw materials or finished product to rightful destination that work automatically. This method has been designed for use in security of internal transportation system in order to prevent a collision to the AGVs and the obstacles, which do not know the exact shape, size and color. Such real-time obstacle detection was crucial, we need to classify the obstacles that are real obstacles or fake obstacles. The computer vision with artificial neural networks (ANN) can help the AGV can see and recognize like a human by imitating the functions of the human brain. In this paper, we proposed an algorithm for detecting obstacle that work automatically with no human is required. The algorithm is divided in to two parts: First, a preliminary feature extraction stage by using the Histograms of Oriented Gradients (HOG) to extract height objects feature from the actual video images. Second, the recognition and classification of the obstacles that are real obstacles or fake obstacles such as a painting or text on the floor by a feed-forward time delay neural network (TDNN) in sequences of black and white video images taken by an on-board camera, then decide whether to hold or continue to be moved. As a result, this paper presents the simulate the algorithm to detect the obstacles for AGV, which can work to destination are defined and avoided obstacles by computer vision with TDNN as an alternative principle with high accuracy and reliability. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of KES International.


It is widely debated whether immigrants who live among co-ethnics are less willing to integrate into the host society. Exploiting the quasi-experimental guest worker placement across German regions during the 1960/70s as well as information on immigrants' inter-ethnic contact networks and social activities, we are able to identify the causal effect of ethnic concentration on social integration. The exogenous placement of immigrants "switches off" observable and unobservable differences in the willingness or ability to integrate which have confounded previous studies. Evidence suggests that the presence of co-ethnics increases migrants' interaction cost with natives and thus reduces the likelihood of integration.


In a finite earth with concerns about sustainable use of natural resources, earth science disciplines are moving toward appreciating their respective roles in understanding the interlinked functioning of hydrological, erosional, and nutritional cycles. This move provides motivation for exploring the connections between hydrogeology and pedology as components of a larger whole. As pointed out by Jenny (1941) in his concluding chapter, soils can be studied through mapping their spatial distribution (Marbut's geographical method), and through comprehending soil attributes as functions of soil‐forming factors (Jenny's functional method). As Jenny further recognized, the conversion of the functional "knowledge to specific field conditions is impossible unless the areal distribution of soil formers is known." Ultimately, therefore, the vision of pedology is "the union of the geographical and the functional method," to comprehend "the soil body in its natural position," and to understand spatial distribution of soil assemblages. Hydrogeology is concerned with the physical and chemical modification of the materials of the earth's crust by water, and the transport of energy, suspended and dissolved constituents and nutrients from the time water enters the subsurface to the time it goes back to the atmosphere. Hydrogeology thus provides a rationale, through the unifying action of flowing water, to achieve an integration of the geographical and the functional methods envisioned by Hans Jenny. This paper examines the conceptual‐philosophical threads that connect pedology and hydrogeology. In the process, the role of soil geomorphology is also addressed.


Environmental indicators have been proposed as a means to assess ecological integrity, monitoring both chemical and biological stressors. In this study, we used nestling bald eagles as indicators to quantify direct or indirect tertiary-level contaminant exposure. The spatial and temporal trends of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were evaluated in nestling plasma from 1999–2014. Two hexa-chlorinated congeners, PCB-138 and 153, were detected with the highest frequency and greatest concentrations throughout Michigan. Less-chlorinated congeners such as PCB-52 and 66 however, comprised a greater percentage of total PCB concentrations in nestlings proximate to urbanized areas, such as along the shorelines of Lake Erie. Toxic equivalents were greatest in the samples collected from nestlings located on Lake Erie, followed by the other Great Lakes spatial regions. Nestling plasma samples were also used to measure concentrations of the most heavily-used group of flame retardants, brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs), and three groups of alternative flame retardants, non-BDE Brominated Flame Retardants (NBFRS), Dechloranes, and organophosphate esters (OPs). BDE-47, 99 and 100 contributed the greatest to total BDE concentrations. Concentrations of structurally similar NBFRs found in this study and recent atmospheric studies indicate that they are largely used as replacements to previously used BDE mixtures. A variety of Dechloranes, or derivatives of Mirex and Dechlorane Plus, were measured. Although, measured at lesser concentrations, environmental behavior of these compounds may be similar to mirex and warrant future research in aquatic species. Concentrations of OPs in nestling plasma were two to three orders of magnitude greater than all other groups of flame retardants. In addition to chemical indicators, bald eagles have also been proposed as indicators to identify ecological stressors using population measures that are tied to the fitness of individuals and populations. Using mortality as a population vitality rate, vehicle collisions were found to be the main source of mortality with a greater incidence for females during white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) hunting months and spring snow-melt. Lead poisoning was the second greatest source of mortality, with sources likely due to unretrieved hunter-killed, white-tailed deer carcasses, and possibly exacerbated by density-dependent effects due to the growing population in Michigan. ii Dedication To my family and Joe Gering, for nothing in this world means more to me. iii Acknowledgments


We present the first meta-analysis of the income elasticity of water demand that accounts for the effects of publication selection (the preferential reporting of estimates that are intuitive and statistically significant). Paradoxically, more affected by publication selection are the otherwise preferable estimates that control for endogeneity. Because such estimates tend to be smaller and less precise, they are often statistically insignificant, which leads to more intense specification searching and bias. Correcting simultaneously for publication and endogeneity biases, we find that the underlying elasticity is approximately 0.15 or less. The result is robust to controlling for 30 other characteristics of the estimates and using Bayesian model averaging to account for model uncertainty. The differences in the reported estimates are systematically driven by differences in the tariff structure, regional coverage, data granularity, and control for temperature in the demand equation.


Retrovirus is an infectious particle, hence it could be used as an efficient vector to deliver a desired gene product into mammalian cells. In this study, a recombinant viral vector was employed to carry a gene that induces apoptosis in various transformed and cancerous cell lines. The VP3 gene was cloned into pMSCV plasmid and the recombinant was used to transfect a packaging cell line to produce infectious replication-incompetent recombinant VP3-retrovirus. The sequence of the full length ORF encoding VP3 gene is similar to that of the reference CAV Cux-1 strain indicating that the VP3 gene was stably integrated into the RNA genome of the recombinant retrovirus. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed virus production in packaging cells increased from day one, but gradually decreased on day three and day four and eventually were undetectable on day five post-infection. The number of packaging cells undergoing apoptosis was shown to be directly associated with recombinant VP3-retrovirus replication and the rate of cell-to-cell infection. Cells infected by recombinant VP3-retrovirus expressed the VP3 protein in transformed and cancerous cell lines as confirmed by indirect immunoperoxidase assay using anti-VP3 monoclonal antibody. The VP3 protein was detected primarily in the nucleus of infected cells, the site in which the protein is believed to initiate the cascade of programmed cell death or apoptosis. Apoptotic genomic DNA cleavage of the transformed cells was observed. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay confirmed the occurrence of apoptosis following infection by the recombinant VP3-retrovirus. This study demonstrated the potential application of recombinant VP3-retrovirus in cancer therapy. The current recombinant VP3-retrovirus construct may serve as an excellent prototype for the generation of alternative therapy to prevent the progressive growth of many types of cancer cells


Nanomedicine is an application of nanotechnology which made its debut with greatly increased possibilities in the field of medicine. Nanomedicine desires to deliver research tools and clinically reformative devices in the near future.

Journal of Nanomedicine & Biotherapeutic Discovery is a scholarly open access journal publishing articles amalgamating broad range of fields of novel nano-medicine field with life sciences. Nanomedicine & Biotherapeutic Discovery is an international, peer-reviewed journal providing an opportunity to researchers and scientist to explore the advanced and latest research developments in the field of nanoscience & nanotechnology.

This is the best academic journal which focuses on the use nanotechnology in diagnostics and therapeutics; pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of nanomedicine, drug delivery systems throughout the biomedical field, biotherapies used in diseases treatment including immune system-targeted therapies, hormonal therapies to the most advanced gene therapy and DNA repair enzyme inhibitor therapy. The journal also includes the nanoparticles, bioavailability, biodistribution of nanomedicines; delivery; imaging; diagnostics; improved therapeutics; innovative biomaterials; regenerative medicine; public health; toxicology; point of care monitoring; nutrition; nanomedical devices; prosthetics; biomimetics and bioinformatics.

The journal includes a wide range of fields in its discipline to create a platform for the authors to make their contribution towards the journal and the editorial office promises a peer review process for the submitted manuscripts for the quality of publishing. Biotherapeutics journals impact factors is mainly calculated based on the number of articles that undergo single blind peer review process by competent Editorial Board so as to ensure excellence, essence of the work and number of citations received for the same published articles.

The journal is using Editorial Manager System for quality peer review process. Editorial Manager is an online manuscript submission, review and tracking systems. Review processing is performed by the editorial board members of Journal of Nanomedicine & Biotherapeutic Discovery or outside experts; at least two independent reviewers approval followed by editor approval is required for acceptance of any citable manuscript. Authors may submit manuscripts and track their progress through the system, hopefully to publication. Reviewers can download manuscripts and submit their opinions to the editor. Editors can manage the whole submission/review/revise/publish process.


The growth of countries such as India, China, Brazil, Russia, South Africa and Kenya is generating a new landscape. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, highest-grossing movies and most advanced mobile phones are now all being made outside Europe and the United States. Countries that previously lacked polotical confidence and national pride are finding them. Is this an opportunity, or a threat? Fareed Zakaria's acclaimed bestseller, now expanded with a new afterword and throroughly updated throughout, has been heralded as the most thought-provoking book yet on our uncertain times. With lucidity, insight and imagination, he shows how the West must transform its global strategy, moving from a position of hegemony to one that recognizes this seismic power shift.


Contamination of dry surfaces with infectious pathogens can have a significant role in infection spread, particularly if the pathogen is resistant to environmental stressors and the infectious dose is low. The use of antimicrobial surfaces in high risk clinical and community environments could help to reduce cross contamination. Although copper alloys have been known to have medicinal properties for centuries it is only relatively recently that laboratory studies have demonstrated that alloys containing over 60% copper have antimicrobial properties. This study encompasses work done 2008-2013 which has continued to investigate this premise, looking at efficacy of copper and copper alloys to kill newly emerging pathogens which are proving to be a significant risk to global healthcare and also determining the mechanism of pathogen destruction on copper surfaces. Stainless steel which is ubiquitous, partly because of resistance to corrosion, was used as a control surface throughout. Initial work demonstrated that clinical isolates of vancomycin- resistant enterococci were rapidly killed on copper alloy surfaces within a few minutes to 2 hours dependant on the copper content of alloy, size of inoculum or aqueous content of the contamination (mimicking either wet droplet or dry fingertip touch contamination of fomites). In contrast, enterococci persisted on stainless steel for several months. Following increasing concerns about the emergence of infections caused by Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria these studies identified a rapid kill on copper alloys but not stainless steel of food-borne pathogens Escherichia coli O157 and Salmonella, and also multidrug-resistant E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae containing the ?-lactamase genes bla CTX-M-15 and bla NDM-1, respectively (which are responsible for a wide range of community and hospital acquired infections worldwide with diminishing effective therapies). Further studies identified that release of Cu(I) and Cu(II) ionic species was requisite for copper surface antibacterial toxicity but significant differences in killing mechanism was observed between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria related to their structural dissimilarities. Exposure to copper alloys inhibited respiration in all bacteria tested. Bacterial genomic and plasmid DNA was rapidly destroyed in Gram-positive cells but the cell membrane was not compromised immediately; however in Gram-negative cells the inner cell membrane was immediately depolarised on contact with copper alloys but the DNA breakdown occured more slowly. The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria remained intact upon initial contact with copper surfaces. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are also generated so that in effect the bacteria 'commit metabolic suicide' on copper surfaces: hydroxyl radicals generated by Gramnegative bacteria suggested a role for a Fenton reaction although the importance varied between species. In enterococci short term production of superoxide was the principle ROS. The nucleic acid destruction observed in all bacteria tested could prevent the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance or virulence genes and allay concerns about the possibility of developing resistance to copper. This was supported when it was determined that transfer of ?-lactamase genes from E. coli ST131 and K. pneumoniae to recipient E. coli did occur on stainless steel but not on copper dry surfaces and that transfer was immediate in the former. The incidence of carbapenemase gene bla NDM-1 transfer increased with time on stainless steel, highlighting concerns that persistence of viable cells not only poses an infection risk but also that contamination of the environment with intact DNA also increases the risk of gene transfer. These results support the use of copper alloys as biocidal surfaces to kill pathogenic bacteria and prevent horizontal gene transfer (HGT). The final investigation determined that copper alloys were efficacious in inactivating murine norovirus, a close surrogate for human virus, and exposure to copper surfaces destroyed the RNA genome. Copper ions were still responsible directly or indirectly for the inactivation but ROS were not part of the toxicity mechanism. All the results suggest that copper alloys are effective at destroying a diverse range of pathogenic microorganisms although the mechanisms may be different and multi-faceted. Exposure to copper alloy dry surfaces also prevented the horizontal transfer of genes conferring drug resistance and virulence which has been responsible for the continuing evolution of some of the world's most dangerous pathogens. The results support the use of copper alloys as constantly killing surfaces in healthcare and community environments in conjunction with regular and efficient cleaning and decontamination regimes using non-chelating reagents that could inhibit the copper ion activity. Recent hospital trials now support this thesis.


Over the course of a long and distinguished academic career William Form has gained renown as a major scholar in the areas of American labor politics, institutional analysis, and educational issues surrounding the experience of ethnicity and assimilation. Much of his scholarly work derived from his own experience as the son of italian immigrants in the early twentieth century seeking integration into the mainstream of American society. As with other American ethnic groups the entrance into elementary, secondary and higher education involved sacrifice and gain. Moreover, the period of Form's academic career saw momentous changes in study of the social sciences. In Work and Academic Politics: A Journeyman's Story, Form reflects on his own experience to provide an exemplary intellectual autobiography against the background of modernity and change in America. Form likens his career to phases of the medieval guild system. His pre-apprenticeship began with his early ethnic experiences in Rochester, New York, where he grew up and in its school system which ignored ethnic backgrounds and turned second generation children into Americans who spoke only English. After his apprenticeship at a newly established graduate program at the University of Maryland, he wandered as a journeyman at Hood College, American University, Stevens College and Kent State, ultimately attaining master's status at three land-grant universities in the midwest. Over a span of 60 years. Form traces his changing research interests. His remembrances, shaped by the interaction of family, work place, and politics, offer fresh insights into the state of academia from the Depression to the present. In the pre-World War II years, departments which were linked to social work changed drastically in the post-war period, especially in research universities, to build a scientific discipline. The turmoil of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement in the 1970s further changed the intellectual and political life of the discipline. In an eloquent manner. Form reiterates the transformations he has witnessed throughout his journey in society, the discipline, the university, and the American Sociological Association. The volume will be of particular interest to sociologists, social scientists, social historians, and specialists in ethnic studies.


Observations from the main mountain climate station network in the western United States (U.S.) suggest that higher elevations are warming faster than lower elevations. This has led to the assumption that elevation‐dependent warming is prevalent throughout the region with impacts to water resources and ecosystem services. Here we critically evaluate this network's temperature observations and show that extreme warming observed at higher elevations is the result of systematic artifacts and not climatic conditions. With artifacts removed, the network's 1991–2012 minimum temperature trend decreases from +1.16°C decade−1 to +0.106°C decade−1 and is statistically indistinguishable from lower elevation trends. Moreover, longer‐term widely used gridded climate products propagate the spurious temperature trend, thereby amplifying 1981–2012 western U.S. elevation‐dependent warming by +217 to +562%. In the context of a warming climate, this artificial amplification of mountain climate trends has likely compromised our ability to accurately attribute climate change impacts across the mountainous western U.S.


Dense water masses form on the continental shelves around Antarctica, sink,and spread as a ma jor contributor to the overturning circulation into theglobal abyss. Global ocean circulation models often do not adequately re-solve high latitude processes due to, for example, a poor representation ofthe continental shelves and an insufficient spatial resolution. Without theseprocesses which are important for the lower part of the global overturningcirculation, the characteristics and flow of deep and bottom waters often re-main unrealistic in these models. We present two approaches to treat thesouthern boundary in global ocean models and in turn improve the hydrog-raphy of the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and theglobal circulation in those models. First, a modified Large Scale GeostrophicModel (LSG) with global data assimilation and an integration time scaleof 13 years is constrained further by hydrographic sections in the Ross andWeddell seas. These sections are obtained from an accurate regional model.Secondly, in a long (3000 years) forward integration, a global 2 degree general cir-culation model takes into account high latitude processes by restoring thesouthern boundaries at 76S in the Ross and Weddell seas to hydrographyand velocity values from the same regional model. Sensitivity experimentswith both model configurations shed light on the influence of the additionaldata in the individual basins (Ross and Weddell Sea) on a regional andglobal scale. The Weddell Sea circulation significantly affects the course ofthe Antarctic Circumpolar Current with consequences for Southern Oceanwater mass characteristics and the spreading of deep and bottom waters inthe South Atlantic. Regional changes in the Pacific sector of the SouthernOcean can be attributed to the additional data in the Ross Sea. In spiteof different physics, time scales of integration, and methods of incorporatingthe regional model data between the two global models, the effects of theadditional information are consistent in both global models.


Carbonate reservoirs have textural heterogeneities at all length-scales (triple porosity: pore-vug-fracture) and tend to be mixed- to oil-wet. The choice of an enhanced oil recovery process and the prediction of oil recovery require a sound understanding of the fundamental controls on fluid flow in mixed- to oil-wet carbonate rocks, as well as physically robust flow functions, i.e. relative permeability and capillary pressure functions. Obtaining these flow functions is a challenging task, especially when three fluid phases coexist, such as during water-alternating-gas injection (WAG). We have recently developed a method for integration of pore-networks derived from micro CT images at different length-scales, thus capturing pore structures from different types of porosity. The network integration method honours the connectivity between different pore types, including micro-fractures, and their spatial distribution. In this work, we use these multi-scale networks as input for our three-phase flow pore-network model, which comprises a novel thermodynamic criterion for formation and collapse of oil layers that strongly depends on the fluid spreading behaviour and the rock wettability. The criterion affects in particular the oil relative permeability at low oil saturations and the accurate prediction of residual oil saturations. We generate three-phase flow functions for gas injection and WAG from networks with carbonate pore geometries and connectivities and we demonstrate the impact on residual saturations of the different types of porosity and the interaction with different realistic wettability scenarios. We also show that the network generated three-phase flow relative permeabilities are distinctly different from traditional models, such as Stone's. The flow functions will be used in a heterogeneous carbonate reservoir model and to demonstrate their impact on the sweep efficiency.


Heightened systematic risk in the credit crisis has created challenges to CDO pricing and risk management. One important focus has been on the modeling of stochastic recovery. Different approaches within the Gaussian Copula framework have been proposed, but a consistent model was lacking until the recent paper of Bennani and Maetz [6] which shifted the modeling from period recovery to spot recovery. In this paper, we generalize their model to an arbitrary spot recovery distribution setup and extend the deterministic dependency on systematic factor to a random one. Besides, an extra parameter is introduced to control the correlation between default and recovery rate and the correlation between the recovery rates.


"Fashion Drawing" is a comprehensive, practical guide to fashion drawing for students. The author covers men, women and children, starting with how to draw the fashion figure and continuing with garments and garment details, before teaching the reader how to render various types of fabric. Contemporary in its approach and offering step-by-step guidance, the book emphasizes drawing as an integral function of the garment design process. Students learn how to manipulate various garment details with consideration for scale, construction and colour as well as keeping in mind the profile of the potential customer. Illustrated throughout with a wide range of images from illustrators and designers working in todays market, "Fashion Drawing" provides both the inspiration and the instruction necessary to allow students to develop their own illustration style.


Precise thermometry for quantum systems is important to the development of new technology, and understanding the ultimate limits to precision presents a fundamental challenge. It is well known that optimal thermometry requires projective measurements of the total energy of the sample. However, this is infeasible in even moderately-sized systems, where realistic energy measurements will necessarily involve some coarse graining. Here, we explore the precision limits for temperature estimation when only coarse-grained measurements are available. Utilizing tools from signal processing, we derive the structure of optimal coarse-grained measurements and find that good temperature estimates can generally be attained even with a small number of outcomes. We apply our results to many-body systems and non-equilibrium thermometry. For the former, we focus on interacting spin lattices, both at and away from criticality, and find that the Fisher-information scaling with system size is unchanged after coarse-graining. For the latter, we consider a probe of given dimension interacting with the sample, followed by a measurement of the probe. We derive an upper bound on arbitrary, non-equilibrium strategies for such probe-based thermometry and illustrate it for thermometry on a Bose-Einstein condensate using an atomic quantum-dot probe.


Undifferentiated fever (UDF) is a common complaint in clinical practice, but its aetiology is not always determined due to non-specific symptoms and laboratory findings. While fever of unknown origin (FUO) is a common medical term for fever without obvious cause, this condition is distinguished from acute undifferentiated fever (AUF) in terms of duration, progression of illness and underlying causes. In FUO, fever must exist for more than 3 weeks and can persist for a very long period unless the underlying cause is found and eliminated. In contrast, AUF is more limited in duration and many episodes spontaneously resolve, presumably due to self-limiting infectious diseases.

The problem of determining the infectious causes of fever has received considerable attention, particularly in tropical countries. Previous studies in South and Southeast Asia reported high prevalence of infection as the main cause of AUF. This prompted the hypotheses that infection-related AUFs are common in the tropical region of Far North Queensland, Australia, and that a significant proportion of AUFs in this region are undiagnosed.

Diagnosing infectious causes of fever is a challenge for clinicians. With hundreds of possible agents and a limited number of specific tests that can be performed, it is very likely that doctors will miss the true cause of fever. Moreover, current diagnostic approaches rely on prior knowledge of the pathogens being sought, thus precluding the detection of unsought or novel pathogens. Thus, the prevalence of undiagnosed undifferentiated fever (UUDF) indicates either that clinicians are failing to order appropriate tests, that current diagnostic methods are inadequate, or that there are causes of fever that are yet to be discovered.

This diagnostic challenge necessitates good clinical skills, knowledge of the pattern of signs and symptoms associated with particular infections and a broad diagnostic tool for determining infectious causes of fever. Since there is a wide range of pathogens, the diagnostic tool should be able to distinguish one pathogen from another as well as identify multiple pathogens simultaneously. This can be achieved if the diagnostic tool can 'read' unique characteristics of pathogen(s) present in the sample as distinguishable nucleic acid sequences so it can facilitate the identification of organism(s).

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has the capability to produce large amounts of nucleic acid sequences in a relatively short time. This technology has been applied to the study of biological diversity in environmental samples. The extent of diagnostic problems and the capability of NGS technology to detect the presence of nucleic acids in any environment have brought the theory into clinical application. The potential of NGS as a broad-scale diagnostic tool prompted the hypothesis that NGS is a practical method for investigating pathogens causing fever.

There are several NGS platforms available, but little is known about their effectiveness and efficiency with regards to pathogen detection in clinical samples. The primary aim of this study was to assess the capacity, sensitivity, and more importantly, the specificity of the Illumina HiSeq platform for broad-scale characterisation of pathogens associated with fever. Secondary aims included: to describe the epidemiology of AUF and UUDF in Far North Queensland, Australia, and to optimise the preparation procedure for samples that will be subjected to NGS assay.

The study was conducted in three stages, comprising two preliminary studies and the main study. The first preliminary study was a retrospective study of fever patients presenting to Cairns Hospital over the three-year period between 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2011. The findings suggest that AUF is common in the population of Far North Queensland, Australia. A robust definition of UUDF is proposed based on the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients reviewed in this study, including the following criteria: 1) a fever of ≥ 38.0°C or symptoms suggestive of fever; 2) a duration of fever of ≤ 21 days; 3) a failure to reach a diagnosis after performing clinical evaluation and laboratory investigations, including complete blood count, serum biochemistry, urinalysis, blood culture, chest X-ray; 4) a request by the clinician of specific test for at least one infectious agent and; 5) a failure to make a specific diagnosis. The proportion of UUDF was 56.8% (193/340), indicating the need for a broad diagnostic tool to determine infectious causes of AUF. In general, the findings provide valuable information regarding the feasibility of conducting a fever study using NGS technology at Cairns Hospital.

The second preliminary study was conducted to determine the most suitable type of blood specimen for NGS analysis. It was anticipated that there would be small quantities of pathogen nucleic acids present among abundant human nucleic acids background. Therefore, it was important to minimise the quantity of human nucleic acids in order to increase the sensitivity of detection of the pathogen. Six healthy volunteers participated in this second preliminary study, which aimed to measure levels of double-stranded DNA in plasma and serum. Specimens were taken using different methods of blood collection: with a syringe and with a vacuum system, and with and without applying a tourniquet. DNA concentration in the samples was measured using microplate fluorescence assays using SYBR Green I as the fluorescent dye. This study found that DNA concentration in plasma was significantly lower than that in serum (p < 0.05). However, the method of blood collection did not significantly affect DNA concentration.

A main component of this thesis was a prospective study involving the use of a NGS platform to determine infectious causes of AUFs. Isolation of DNA and RNA from plasma/serum samples was performed using QIAamp® DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen) and TRIzol® LS reagent (Life Technologies) respectively. Following nucleic acid extraction, amplification of DNA was conducted according to the SeqPlex Enhanced DNA Amplification Kit (SEQXE) protocol (Sigma-Aldrich). DNase treatment, cDNA synthesis and amplification were performed on RNA samples according to SeqPlex RNA Amplification Kit (SEQR) protocol (Sigma-Aldrich). Sequencing was conducted on 22 DNA/cDNA samples that met the standard input determined by the sequencing company. These samples originated from 17 patients, comprising seven positive control samples from patients who had specific diagnoses and 10 samples from patients for whom diagnoses had not been achieved. Data analysis was conducted using the Kraken program and the traditional assembly-alignment pipeline.

The study findings demonstrate the limitation and utility of NGS technology in determining the aetiology of AUF. Various viruses and bacteria were found in every sample, so considered selections were made on pathogens for which there were supporting reads consistent with clinical data and pathology findings. Aetiological diagnosis was verified in 85.7% (6/7) of controls. Among the undiagnosed participants, deep sequencing identified some plausible causes of fever in 60% (6/10) of subjects, including Escherichia coli bacteraemia and scrub typus that eluded conventional tests. Further, the NGS technology generated valuable information for studying microbial diversity in human blood.

Further work could be directed at optimising sample preparation and improving sequencing efficiency, as well as developing efficient bioinformatics tools for analysing sequence data. It is hoped that NGS technology can be adopted in clinical practice at more affordable costs and with timely delivery of results.


ICRISAT maintains a substantial Arachis germplasm collection of 14,723 accessions, comprising 14,310 accessions of cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) from 92 countries and 413 accessions of wild species representing 43 taxa. All germplasm is freely available for distribution. Forty-five percent of the cultivated peanut collection is of var. hypogaea, followed by 35.7% var. vulgaris and 16.1% var.fastigiata. Varieties hirsuta and aequatoriana are represented by 20 and 15 accessions, respectively. All passport and characterization data are accessible through the internet. To enhance the utilization of the collection and understand the diversity it contains, efforts have focused on characterization and documentation of the collection and the formation of a core of 1704 A. hypogaea accessions. These are representative of the genetic diversity in the entire collection. The core provides an entry point into the collection and is currently being evaluated for maturity, biotic, and abiotic stress resistance and quality parameters, including aflatoxin contamination. A subset of the core is used in prescreening for polymorphic molecular markers. Evaluation of the wild Arachis collection to major abiotic stresses is a continuing process. Future efforts in both the wild and cultivated collections will focus on germplasm exchange and acquisition, and specific regions for future collections are identified. The development of molecular markers for diversity assessments in all Arachis taxa and alternative strategies for utilization of the wild species are also important areas of research.


Perceived discrimination is an important social determinant of mental and behavioral outcomes among adolescent populations. Research has found associations between perceived discrimination and increases in internalizing symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, as well as increases in a number of negative behavioral outcomes, including substance use, delinquent behavior, and HIV risk behaviors (e.g. multiple sexual partners and substance use during sex). There is a gap in the research examining how experiences of perceived discrimination impact substance use and HIV risk behaviors among more at-risk youth, such as juvenile offenders. Court Involved Non-Incarcerated (CINI) juveniles participate in substance use and sexual risk behaviors at high rates, similar to youth that are detained or incarcerated, but are less likely to have access to mental, behavioral, and health treatment options while in the community. This study aimed to assess the relationship between perceived discrimination, internalizing symptoms and substance use and HIV risk behaviors among this at-risk population. Three hundred and fifty six CINI youth were recruited from the Juvenile Intake Department of a family court system in the northeast, as a part of an ongoing, prospective cohort study. In order to assess HIV risk, 139 first-time offenders that endorsed lifetime sexual activity were examined as a part of this study. Preliminary results showed that juvenile report of moderate to high frequency of perceived discrimination was significantly related to an increase in internalizing symptoms (r =.400, p < .0001). Factorial MANCOVA analyses revealed that the interaction effect between level of perceived discrimination and internalizing symptoms was significantly associated with HIV risk behavior [Wilks' λ = .878, F (6, 222) = 2.49, p =.024, partial eta squared = .063, power = .829]. Significant univariate main effects for the interaction effect were obtained for number of lifetime sexual partners [F (2, 123) = 5.00, p = .008, partial eta square =.081, power = .805]. For juveniles in the moderate to high discrimination/non-clinically significant internalizing symptoms group the mean number of lifetime sexual partners was 1.71, versus a mean of 9.11 lifetime sexual partners for juveniles in the moderate to high discrimination/clinically significant internalizing symptoms group. Post-hoc tests revealed that the average number of lifetime sexual partners was significantly higher for juveniles reporting moderate/high discrimination and clinically significant internalizing symptoms. Additional factorial MANCOVA and logistic regression analyses did not reveal significant associations between the discrimination by internalizing symptoms interaction effect and other HIV risk or substance use behaviors. Findings from this study call for additional research examining the impact of discrimination on this at-risk population. Increased understanding of the impact of discrimination on high risk behaviors can better inform treatment services for at-risk CINI juveniles.


This article analyzes the extent to which two institutional logics around climate change—the climate change "convinced" and the climate change "skeptical" logics—are truly competing or talking past each other in a way that can be described as a logic schism. Drawing on the concept of framing from social movement theory, it uses qualitative field observations from the largest climate deniers conference in the United States and a data set of almost 800 op-eds from major news outlets over a 2-year period to examine how convinced and skeptical arguments of opposing logics employ frames and issue categories to make arguments about climate change. This article finds that the two logics are engaging in different debates on similar issues with the former focusing on solutions while the latter debates the definition of the problem. It concludes that the debate appears to be reaching a level of polarization where one might begin to question whether meaningful dialogue and problem solving has become unavailable to participants. The implications of such a logic schism is a shift from an integrative debate focused on addressing interests, to a distributive battle over concessionary agreements with each side pursuing its goals by demonizing the other. Avoiding such an outcome requires the activation of, as yet, dormant "broker" categories (technology, religion, and national security), the redefinition of existing ones (science, economics, risk, ideology), and the engagement of effective "climate brokers" to deliver them.


Stephen Lee's Monitoring Immigration Enforcement offers a promising prescription for resolving the long-standing tension between the workplace enforcement priorities of the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") and the efforts by the Department of Labor ("DOL") to protect the rights of immigrant workers. Lee convincingly describes - often with the aid of rich historical examples - the origins of the chronic imbalance of power between DHS and the DOL, and the limitations of past efforts to synchronize the work of the respective agencies. Lee's proposal for interagency coordination, in the form of ex ante monitoring by the DOL of worksite enforcement decisions, is a novel contribution to existing writings on immigrants and workplace regulation. Indeed, in the current political and historic moment, when immigration enforcement is often equated with the preservation of national security, any proposal to constrain the authority of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") is bound to generate debate.In this Response Essay, my objective is not to critique the core proposal that Lee advances, as I agree in principle with the concept of ex ante agency monitoring and believe that the DOL and DHS are well positioned to adopt such a framework. Rather, I seek to build on Lee's article with reflections on the following four themes: (1) the complexity of the regulatory environment in which any interagency monitoring would take place, and the inevitable politicization of regulatory bodies; (2) the broader social and political context of immigration and labor regulation, and how that might shape collaborations between the DOL and DHS; (3) the precise circumstances under which the DOL might exercise its authority to constrain worksite enforcement actions; and (4) the significance of policy initiatives - relating to the intersection of workers' rights and immigration enforcement - that have emerged during the administration of President Barack Obama.


Packet switches (e.g., IP routers, ATM switches and Ethernet switches) maintain statistics for a variety of reasons: performance monitoring, network management, security, network tracing, and traffic engineering. The statistics are usually collected by counters which might, for example, count the number of arrivals of a specific type of packet, or count particular events, such as when a packet is dropped. The arrival of a packet may lead to several different statistics counters being updated. The number of statistics counters and the rate at which they are updated is often limited by memory technology. A small number of counters may be held in on-chip registers or in (on- or off-chip) SRAM. But often, the number of counters is very large, and hence they need to be stored in off-chip DRAM. However, the large random access times of DRAMs make it difficult to support high bandwidth links. The time taken to read, update and write a single counter would be too large, and worse still multiple counters may need to be updated for each arriving packet. In this paper we consider a specific architecture for storing and updating statistics counters. Smaller sized counters are maintained in fast (potentially on-chip) SRAM, while a large, slower DRAM maintains the full-sized counters. The problem is to ensure that the counter values are always correctly maintained at line-rate. We describe and analyze an optimal counter management algorithm (LCF-CMA), which minimizes the size of the SRAM required while ensuring correct line-rate operation of a large number of counters.


This article presents the findings of an empirical study of the ways in which railroads and the individuals they killed or injured handled claims for compensation from the 1840's to the beginning of the twentieth century. These findings are based on original research in the papers and official records of a variety of railroads.
The unpublished papers relating to personal injuries of several railroads suggest that individuals in antebellum America tended to avoid recourse to formal legal institutions to resolve problems relating to personal injuries. They preferred to solve these problems privately and informally according to principles of natural justice and fairness. These sources reveal that railroads compensated individuals for injuries even when the railroads had no legal duty to do so. They commonly reimbursed workers and their families for the economic costs of injuries sustained on the job, paying medical and burial expenses and making donations to needy family survivors even thought rules of law, such as the fellow servant doctrine, assumption of the risk, and contributory negligence, precluded legal liability. Railroad officials also compensated pedestrians and passengers who were injured by trains even when they had no legal liability for the injuries. This article will suggest some explanations for this remarkable and counter-intuitive behavior.
However, as the nineteenth century approached the twentieth, Americans increasingly thought about personal injuries in terms of legal rights and duties and in terms of legal rules and legal concepts such as causation, fault and settlement. Parties also more frequently used lawyers who developed and employed legal strategies to resolve demands for compensation. This article will offer some suggestions as to why this transformation occurred.


Evaluation of tumor phenotype is currently accepted to guide management of breast cancer and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a diagnostic imaging tool to evaluate response to NAC, mainly through morphological evaluation (RECIST criteria). It has been suggested that the capability of post-NAC MRI in the detection of complete response is greatly influenced by tumor phenotype; the interplay of the expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and of human epidermal growth factor-2 affects deeply variable tissue characteristics. The purpose of the present review is to revise current evidence about the differential diagnostic performance of MRI according to breast tumor phenotype, both in the post-NAC setting (detection of complete response) and in the pre-NAC settings (prediction of complete response), in order to advise the radiologist in the cautious interpretation of MRIderived information. We also discuss the potential role of additional MRI techniques [diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)] in this context. The conclusions of the present review may be helpful to achieve further personalization of management protocols to individual patients.


The scattering of electromagnetic waves by a dielectric structure that fills a slit aperture in a conducting screen is considered. The cavity consists of two zones of different materials separated by an arbitrarily shaped interface. A rigorous R-matrix multilayer modal method is applied, which gives numerical stability even for deep structures. Examples of the numerical results obtained are shown and discussed for both fundamental cases of polarization.


According to the Development Indicators 2010, 49% of persons in South Africa live below a poverty line of R524 per month (approximately 75 US dollars per month). The official unemployment rate in South Africa was in the vicinity of 25% (excluding discouraged work-seekers) in 2010. Most concerning is the unemployment rate of 51% for youth in the age group of 15-24 years. About two thirds of all unemployed are below the age of 35 with significantly higher unemployment rates for black youth. To add to this mix, South Africa's levels of income inequality are amongst the highest in the world. According to the National Planning Commission's recently published Diagnostic Overview, the "poorest 20% of the population earns about 2.3 percent of national income, while the richest 20 percent ears about 70 percent of the income".