The establishment
of drug-free feeding systems has been required for secure and healthy livestock
production. Although functional feed materials containing microorganisms as
alternatives to enhance intestinal immunity are expected to be beneficial for
reducing diarrhoea caused by pathogens in weaned piglets, the effects of such
materials on porcine intestinal cells have not been investigated in detail.
Therefore, this work evaluated the immunoregulatory functions of microbial feed
materials in porcine intestinal immune and epithelial cells. Porcine immune
cells isolated from Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes were stimulated
with six different feed materials containing microorganisms, and evaluated for
lymphocyte mitogenicity and cytokine inductions. In addition, porcine
intestinal epithelial cells were stimulated with the materials before treatment
with heat-killed enterotoxigenic Escherichia
coli (ETEC), and analyzed for the proinflammatory cytokine expressions. The
material containing Bifidobacterium
thermophilum significantly augmented lymphocytes' mitogenicity and also
induced a high expression of IL-2, IL-6 and IFN-γ in immune cells, and inhibited ETEC-induced overexpression of
IL-6 and IL-8 via regulation of Toll-like receptor signaling. These results
suggest that this feed material stimulates intestinal epithelial and immune
cells to exert immunoregulation, suggesting that this feed is expected to
contribute to promoting the health of piglets without using antimicrobial feed
materials.


Introduction: Increased physical activity (PA) levels and a healthy body weight (BW) are associated with improved health outcomes, decreased fatigue and an improved quality of life in cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to determine what impact (if any) a cancer diagnosis would have on survivors' activity levels and body weight. Materials and Methods: Changes in PA patterns and BW throughout the first 12 months after diagnosis were assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. One hundred and sixty participants commenced the 15 question self-reported retrospective questionnaire and 90 complete data sets were analysed. Results: There were significant decreases in self-reported PA patterns in the 12 months post diagnosis, when compared with pre diagnosis patterns. Sixty percent of participant's reported an increase in their BW in the 12 month post diagnosis period. Participants reported increasing sleep duration from 7.61± 1.02 h to 9.02± 2.16 h (p<0.01) and increased their time spent doing sedentary activities from 8.23± 3.30 h to 9.31± 3.25 h (p=0.03) per day. Participants decreased their vigorous PA levels from 1.28± 1.86 h to 0.60 ± 1.17 h (p<0.01), and their light PA levels from 5.00± 2.79 hto 3.6± 2.26 h (p<0.01) per day. Conclusion: This study sought to investigate whether PA patterns and BW change following a cancer diagnosis. Results suggest that in the 12 months post-diagnosis, cancer survivors increased their sleep time and reduced their levels of both vigorous and light PA. This may or may not be related to the increases in BW, which was observed for 60% of the participants.


"Within a movement towards the circulation and globalisation of knowledge, new centres and new peripheries form and new hierarchies appear - more or less discretely - producing competition and rivalry in the development of "new" knowledge. Centres of gravity in social sciences have been displaced towards Asia, especially China. We have entered a period of de-westernization of knowledge and co-production of transnational knowledge. This is a scientific revolution in the social sciences which imposes detours, displacements, reversals. It means a turning point in the history of social sciences. From the Chinese experience in sociology the author is opening a Post-Western Space where after Post-Colonial Studies, she is speaking about the emergence of a Post-Western Sociology."


Plinian eruptions of phenocryst-rich, viscous silicic magmas have been reported, and in several cases the climactic eruptions were preceded by a small eruption of the magmas formed by mixing with more mafic magmas. The eruptive sequence suggests that the less viscous mixed magmas formed a dike prior to the climactic eruption of the viscous silicic magmas. The viscosities of seven sets of precursory and climactic magmas were investigated. All the climactic silicic magmas had viscosities >∼10 6 Pa·s, in contrast to the precursory mixed magmas, which had viscosities one to five orders of magnitude smaller. These viscosity contrasts can be interpreted by adopting a hypothesis of "dike-propagation limit" for magma viscosity, above which the magmas are too viscous to form dikes without freezing. The dike-propagation limit estimated by the dike propagation model of Rubin and the maximum excess pressure retained by the tensile strength of a chamber9s wall rock are consistent with the observation of the threshold viscosity of 10 5 – 10 7 Pa·s between the precursory and climactic magmas. The consistency of the seven examples with the physical model suggests that precursory dike formation by less viscous mixed magma is one of the effective mechanisms for tapping silicic viscous magma chambers.


The issue of personal identity and its management is a major problematic area for action, communication and representation within the information society. Surprisingly, whereas theorisation of personal identity as an individual and social construct is well-established, theorisation of identity as a technological construct is less well-formulated. This means that whereas technological developments in the area of so-called personal identity management move forward at pace, much of this research and development lacks firm theoretical underpinnings. This paper builds upon previous work and attempts a tentative theorisation of the issue of personal identity in terms of a framework we refer to as the enactment of significance. We argue that this conception better enables us to understand more clearly the way in which personal identity is enacted through the complex entanglement of action, communication and representation and the bearing such entanglement has on contemporary considerations of information, systems and technology.


It is widely assumed that higher levels of intraspecific variability in one or more traits should allow species to persist under a wider range of environmental conditions. However, few studies have examined whether species that exhibit high variability are found in a wider range of environmental conditions, and whether variability increases the ability of a species to adapt to prevailing ecological gradients. We used four plant functional traits, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N) and maximum plant height in 49 species across a strong environmental gradient to answer three questions: 1) is there evidence for 'high-variability' species (that is, species which show high variability in multiple traits, simultaneously)? 2) are species with more variable traits present across a wider range of environmental conditions than less variable species? And 3) whether more variable species show better trait-environment matching to the prevailing abiotic (soil moisture) gradient at the site? We found little evidence for a 'high-variability' species. Variability was correlated for two leaf traits, SLA and LDMC, while variability in leaf traits and plant height were not correlated. We found little evidence that more variable species were present in more diverse conditions: only variation in SLA was correlated with a wider ecological niche breadth. For plant traits along the soil-moisture gradient, higher variability led to better trait-environment matching in half of measured traits. Overall, we found little support for the existence of 'high-variability' species, but that variability in SLA is correlated with a wider ecological breadth. We also found evidence that variation in traits can improve trait-environment matching, a relationship which may facilitate our understanding ecological breadth along prevailing gradients, and community assembly on the basis of traits.

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In this chapter, the synergistic mechanism and the resulting influence during co-pyrolysis of coal and biomass, are summarized. The properties of coal and biomass, the release and migration of alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEMs), the interaction between volatile and char, the characteristics of the resulting volatiles, and the physicochemical structure and reactivity of co-pyrolysis char, are also analyzed. In addition, the influence of AAEMs on the properties of the co-pyrolysis products is reviewed. Moreover, the analysis of the co-pyrolysis industry demonstration is also mentioned. Finally, this chapter also proposes some additional possibilities, based on further literature research.


The Internet has been a mystifying and nebulous concept since its birth in the early 90s (Kelly). Just two years ago in an infamous public address, former Senator Ted Stevens attempted to explain the internet to the masses, calling it a series of tubes. (Doctorow). This statement was followed by a flurry of blog postings, YouTube videos and general mockery from the computer savvy communities, thus confirming the fact that most people, besides the geeks, still don't fully comprehend what the Internet is. At its inception, PHDs, scientists and professors of anthropology alike hailed the Internet as a potential " gaia of cultures, " and an opportunity for global communication and the exchange of ideas (Harcourt 22). Currently, it would be hard to say that the Internet is only being used for such lofty pedagogical purposes, but true to those scholarly dreams, people around the globe are exchanging ideas, more specifically videos, on YouTube, the world's third most visited website (" Global Top "). After a number of search engines, the fifth and seventh most visited sites in the world are Facebook and MySpace (" Global Top "). These top sites require no qualifications, impressive resumes, or background checks. A working email address, username and password are all anyone needs to be published on the Internet. YouTube, Facebook and MySpace all exist solely for the same purpose—to host content posted by users for others to peruse. If one were to judge our current historical moment


All the records from the Spanish information system for hospital data of patients diagnosed with leishmaniasis during a 12-year period (1997-2008) were studied. The 2,028 individuals were hospitalized because of leishmaniasis, as indicated by the principal diagnostic code. The average hospitalization rate was 0.41/100,000 inhabitants. One-third of them were co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The incidence of hospitalization in the adult population with leishmaniasis co-infected with HIV increased with age, peaked at 35-39 years of age and subsequently declined. In the pediatric population, all leishmaniasis cases occurred in HIV-negative children. Incidence of hospitalizations was highest in Madrid and in the Mediterranean coast. The cost per inpatient hospital care was $9,601 corresponding to an annual direct cost of more than $1.5 million for inpatient care alone. The economical burden of leishmaniasis is not neglectable and in the 12-year study period it represented more than $19 million.


Terry fabric is a kind of soft pile fabrics. It is distinguished with uncut or cut loops which must have required usage properties such as higher water absorption, bacterial resistance, high wet strength, ability to dye well, good colorfastness, wash ability, soft hand, and hypoallergenic, low cost, and easy availability. Terry fabric is the most popular fabric for home textiles like bath towels, hand towels, kitchen towels, medical towels. One of the popular applications of terry fabrics is pilgrimage (IHRAM) terry cloths. It should have physiological comfort properties; like the breathability, quick absorption and evaporation of sweat, softness, air and water vapor permeability, antibacterial especially in hot weather of Mecca. Terry fabrics are produced by three yarn systems: pile warp, ground warp weft yarns. Pile structure mainly affect the functional properties of terry fabrics. The main factors should be considered in the designing of a terry fabric are the fabric materials, type of ground warp yarns, type of pile warp yarns, type of weft yarns, pile length, pile height and pile structure. This research concerns with improving the performance of terry towels used as pilgrimage (Ihram) cloths by measuring the weight (GSM), fabric thickness and air permeability of the fabric. Three parameters were used in executing the research samples to compare them with a common control sample in the market to achieve the research aims. The first factor is using bamboo fibers as pile warp yarns. The second parameter is using different heights of pile (5.5 mm-6.5mm-7.5 mm). The third parameter is using different types of materials as wefts (Cotton-Lyocel-Bamboo). The result of the research showed that decreasing the pile height improves air permeability. In addition, using bamboo yarns as pile warp and picking by using bamboo and Lyocel yarns improves the performance and physiological comfort characteristics of terry towels such as absorption, evaporation, thermal conductivity, anti-microbial and anti-bacterial abilities. Research Problem: High degrees of temperature in Mecca during the year leads to significant suffering to people during the pilgrimage season. This leads to sweating heavily which is considered an ideal environment for Bacterial growth and thus causes physiological in comfort for them.Antibacterial treatments should be done during final finishing processes for traditional cotton terry towels to provide these fabrics with antibacterial properties, but the efficiency of this treatments is temporary especially with continuous laundering. So, this requires terry towels which provide physiological comfort and durable antibacterial without chemical treatments by using antibacterial natural materials such as bamboo and Lyocel.Objectives:  This research aims to producing terry towels used as pilgrimage (IHRAM) cloths which achieve physiological characteristics for people during pilgrimage as following: Improve the ability of water absorption and evaporation, Improve the ability of air permeability which improve thermal conductivity, Improve the anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties.Methodology:  The research follows the practical methodology . Results: Decreasing pile height leads to improve air permeability of the fabric, Using bamboo fibers as pile warp improves air permeability of fabric comparing to the usage of cotton fibers, Using bamboo and Lyocel fibers as wefts improves air permeability of the fabric.


This thesis examines the importance of law students developing an understanding of ethics, professionalism and critical reflection from the beginning of tertiary legal education. The thesis shows why, when and how these areas need to be developed. Findings of the research aim to provide legal educators with a toolbox of pedagogical techniques for teaching law students about ethics, professionalism and critical reflection. It suggests areas for further research. The findings of this research can be used by law faculties to embed Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLOs) relating to the areas of ethics, professionalism and critical reflection into legal curriculums to enhance both and accountability to government, the legal profession and the public.
The academic literature demonstrates significant ongoing concerns relating to unethical and unprofessional behaviour within the legal profession, the ethical standards required for legal practice and the positive role upholding ethics and professionalism can have for legal practice and promoting social justice. The thesis argues that ethics and professionalism should be taught pervasively from the foundation year through the legal curriculum. Less traditional pedagogical techniques such as the use of popular culture, group work and courtroom experiences are supported to supplement traditional lectures and tutorials.
The thesis examines critical reflection in higher education in order to guide and instruct foundation law students about the importance of critical reflection as a legal skill. A multidisciplinary literary review of reflective journaling is provided, demonstrating that the use of journaling is becoming increasingly popular as an effective pedagogical technique, well suited to legal education. The review also shows that other pedagogical techniques can be supplemented with reflective journaling. The positive impact of using interventionist strategies such as guidance, feedback and instruction in the improvement in the structure and depth of critical reflection are revealed. The thesis suggests there is not a dominant reflective model used in the foundation year of legal education. This research, informed by the academic literature therefore develops a cyclical prompt-based model of critical reflection.
The research involves an analysis of foundation students' reflective journal texts, from 2009 and 2011 at the University of Tasmania, using constructivist grounded theory and discourse analysis. The analysis reveals what engages and challenges foundation law students, how they like to improve their legal knowledge and skills, the influence of court experiences and popular culture and students' views of ethics and professionalism. The research informed by the academic literature makes a contribution to the development of legal pedagogy in the
areas of ethics, professionalism and critical reflection.


The need for finding a set of plans rather than one has been motivated by a variety of planning applications. The problem is studied in the context of both diverse and top-k planning: while diverse planning focuses on the difference between pairs of plans, the focus of top-k planning is on the quality of each individual plan. Recent work in diverse planning introduced additionally restrictions on solution quality. Naturally, there are application domains where diversity plays the major role and domains where quality is the predominant feature. In both cases, however, the amount of produced plans is often an artificial constraint, and therefore the actual number has little meaning. Inspired by the recent work in diverse planning, we propose a new family of computational problems called top-quality planning, where solution validity is defined through plan quality bound rather than an arbitrary number of plans. Switching to bounding plan quality allows us to implicitly represent sets of plans. In particular, it makes it possible to represent sets of plans that correspond to valid plan reorderings with a single plan. We formally define the unordered top-quality planning computational problem and present the first planner for that problem. We empirically demonstrate the superior performance of our approach compared to a top-k planner-based baseline, ranging from 41% increase in coverage for finding all optimal plans to 69% increase in coverage for finding all plans of quality up to 120% of optimal plan cost. Finally, complementing the new approach by a complete procedure for generating all valid reorderings of a given plan, we derive a top-quality planner. We show the planner to be competitive with a top-k planner based baseline.


Open data are held to contribute to a wide variety of social and political goals, including strengthening transparency, public participation and democratic accountability, promoting economic growth and innovation, and enabling greater public sector efficiency and cost savings. However, releasing government data that contain personal information may threaten privacy and related rights and interests. In this paper we ask how these privacy interests can be respected, without unduly hampering benefits from disclosing public sector information. We propose a balancing framework to help public authorities address this question in different contexts. The framework takes into account different levels of privacy risks for different types of data. It also separates decisions about access and re-use, and highlights a range of different disclosure routes. A circumstance catalogue lists factors that might be considered when assessing whether, under which conditions, and how a dataset can be released. While open data remains an important route for the publication of government information, we conclude that it is not the only route, and there must be clear and robust public interest arguments in order to justify the disclosure of personal information as open data.


AIMS
We investigated whether the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the ACE gene modified the adherence to ACE inhibitors as measured by the discontinuation of an ACE inhibitor, or addition of another antihypertensive drug.

METHODS
This was a cohort study among 239 subjects who started ACE inhibitor therapy. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate relative risk (RR).

RESULTS
During follow-up there was no significant difference between subjects with the DD, ID or II genotype (DD vs II; RR = 1.17, 95%CI: 0.78, 1.77 and ID vs II; RR = 1.06, 95%CI: 0.73, 1.55) in adherence.

CONCLUSIONS
The I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene does not influence the adherence to ACE inhibitors.


Background The different metabolic enzymatic involvement of the drugs used for chemotherapy infusions make them difficult to manage because drugs that build up a poly-chemotherapeutic scheme can increase the cytotoxicity or oppose the desired effect. Purpose We would like to stimulate the scientific community to start thinking about building a database designed to standardise the infusion sequence of chemotherapy as a foundation for the medical treatment. In order to show all the problems that pharmacists face daily, we conducted a literature search for a scheme used in chemotherapy for lung and ovary cancer: the association between carboplatin and gemcitabine. Materials and methods We analysed phase I, II and III trials from 1996 to 2006 with a careful evaluation of the documents and considering the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the two molecules. Most of the studies do not specify in detail the sequence of infusions, they only describe gemcitabine and/or/plus carboplatin in chemotherapeutic regimen or the other way around. Therefore we analysed only the documents that described the infusion sequence in detail. Results We analysed 16 papers discussing the chemotherapeutic scheme analyses: in 3 studies carboplatin was administered before gemcitabine, 5 studies were designed so that gemcitabine was infused before the carboplatin. Conclusions With this short paper we have demonstrated that there are a lot of doubts about the 'right' infusion sequence of chemotherapy drugs. Our hope is that scientific societies will perform additional clinical trials to find the best sequence in order to standardise medical treatment to ensure high quality. No conflict of interest.


The effectiveness of the European Union (EU) as global regulator is controversial. Some scholars characterize the EU as one of the most important shapers of global regulations; others argue that the EU's effectiveness critically depends on its regulatory cohesion, the political opportunity structure and regulatory capacity of its interlocutors. Since global sport represents a regionally segmented industry and is governed by private actors of diverse regulatory capacity, global sport regulation represents an excellent domain to study these propositions systematically. Comparative case studies on global sport regulation support the idea that the EU can impose its regulatory ambitions on sport governing due to market size and regulatory capacity. However, the broader political opportunity structure is found to be relevant and the EU does not appear as a strong regulator of global sports.


The asymmetric hydrogenation of β-keto esters over platinum nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with different α-amino acids was explored. By systematic variation of the structural complexity of the functionalizing ligands, we determined structure–selectivity relationships and further improved our understanding of ligand–reactant interactions. We identified attractive interactions between the lipophilic substituents of ligands and reactants as one of the major contributing factors governing the mutual orientation of ligands and reactants and, thus, the stereoselectivity of the catalytic reaction. For the first time, an enantiomeric excess (ee) above 80% is reported for supported ligand-functionalized NPs, which demonstrates the potential of these materials as a novel type of asymmetric heterogeneous catalyst. Our results reveal that the molecular principles employed in homogeneous catalysis can be utilized to achieve stereoselective catalytic reactions even on rather non-uniform surfaces like small NPs. This opens up yet unexplored possibilities for manipulating reactions on catalytic surfaces to control selectivity.


Theory suggests that abortion restrictions will influence fertility outcomes such as pregnancy, abortion, and birth. This paper exploits the variations in abortion policy generated in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s to examine their impact on fertility outcomes. We distinguish among countries with severe, moderate, and few restrictions on abortion access and examine the impact of changes across all three categories. As we hypothesize, the results indicate that countries that changed from very restrictive to liberal abortion laws experienced a large reduction in births. Changes from modest restrictions to abortion available on request, however, led to no such change in births despite large increases in abortions, which indicates that pregnancies rose in response to more liberal abortion availability. This evidence is generally consistent with the situation that was brought about by changes in abortion access in the United States.


The increase of antibiotic resistance worldwide, rising numbers of deaths and costs associated with this, and the fact that hardly any new antimicrobial drugs have been developed during the last decade have increased the interest in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapeutic interventions, if proven safe and effective. Observational studies on clinical CAM practices demonstrate positive effects of treatment of infections with CAM therapies (clinical effects, patient satisfaction) in combination with small percentages of antibiotics prescription. However, Cochrane reviews and other studies demonstrate that in most instances the quality of clinical trials on CAM treatment of infections is currently too low to provide sufficient evidence. Therefore a Dutch consortium on (in vitro and clinical) scientific research on CAM and antibiotic resistance has been formed. The aim and objective of the consortium is to establish an enduring partnership and to develop expertise to further develop and investigate safe and effective CAM treatments for infectious diseases of humans (and animals). A first ongoing project on the development of safe and effective biobased CAM antimycotics in women with (recurrent) vaginal candidiasis infection is introduced.


High spectral efficiency and flexible data rate access are the main focus of future wireless networks. Multiple channel allocation schemes have the potential of achieving this goal. By assigning multiple slots and/or multiple carriers to one user, it is possible to provide a flexible data rate with quite low complexity. In this article we propose a simple allocation scheme where each user is assigned a fixed group of carriers. These carriers are adaptively used depending on the interference situation within the system. The system performance in terms of average throughput is investigated for two different types of allocation schemes: a fully centralized scheme and a distributed one that uses frequency diversity as a mean of improving the user link quality. The obtained results show that both schemes improve the system throughput over single carrier allocation without affecting the capacity of the system in terms of number of users per cell.


The proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices has led to numerous companies investing significant resources in developing mobile applications, in every imaginable domain. As apps proliferate, understanding the impact of app adoption on key outcomes of interest and linking this understanding to the underlying mechanisms that drive these results is imperative. In this paper, we explore the changes in user behavior induced by adoption of a mobile application, in terms of engagement and matching outcomes in the online dating context. We also identify three mechanisms that are somewhat unique to the mobile environment, but are hitherto unestablished in the literature, that drive this shift in behavior: ubiquity, impulsivity, and disinhibition. Our main identification strategy uses propensity score matching combined with difference-in-differences, coupled with a rigorous falsification test to confirm the validity of our identification strategy. Our results demonstrate that mobile app adoption induces users to become more socially engaged as measured by key engagement metrics such as visiting significantly more profiles, sending significantly more messages, and importantly, achieving more matches. We also discover various mechanisms facilitating this increased engagement: ubiquity of mobile use—users log in more, and login across a wider range of hours in the day. We find that men act more impulsively, in that they are less likely to check the profile of a user who messaged them before replying to them. This effect is not visible for women who continue to be deliberate in their checking before replying even after adoption of the mobile app. Finally, we find that both men and women exhibit disinhibition, in that users initiate actions to a more diverse set of potential partners than they did before on dimensions of race, education, and height.


Abstract This study aims to find alternatives to some overexploited deposits in the north of Tunisia. The clays of the Sidi Khalif formation, of Uppermost Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous age, seem suitable to support this strategy, due to their abundance. In terms of mineralogy, they can be divided into two distinct groups, related to their palaeogeographic and eustatic contexts. The clays of the Sidi Khalif formation from Jebel Houareb (JH) and Jebel Meloussi (JM) are richer in clay minerals, while those of Jebel Rhouis (JR) and Jebel Boudinar (JB) zones are dolomite-rich. The compositional differences between the two groups influenced their technological behaviour in production of ceramic tiles. Upon firing, forsterite and gehlenite crystallized in the carbonate-rich JR and JB clays, whereas mullite formed in the JH and JM clays. Concerning their ceramic properties, the tiles made from JR or JB clays showed low bending strength and high water absorption. For JH and JM, the tiles had slightly greater mechanical resistance, but exhibited considerable linear shrinkage. These defects were partially corrected by introducing new formulations based on the same clays and by altering the firing cycles (HM1, HM2, RB1 and RB2). With these modifications, ''Porcelanico'' and ''Monoporosa'' technologically conforming tiles were obtained from HM2 and RB2 formulations, respectively.


[1] Geostationary and Sun-synchronous satellite data and in situ observations from ship cruises are used to investigate the formation of open cellular structure in marine stratocumulus clouds over the southeast Pacific (SEP). Open cellular convection either forms spontaneously as pockets of open cells (POCs) within overcast stratocumulus, or is advected into the region from midlatitude regions. POC formation occurs most frequently during the latter part of the night, demonstrating that this transition is not caused by solar absorption-driven decoupling. The transition preferentially occurs in clouds with low 11–3.9 μm nighttime brightness temperature difference (BTD) which is found to be well correlated with both in situ measured accumulation mode aerosol concentration and cloud droplet concentration estimates derived from MODIS. Besides indicating that nighttime BTD is an excellent proxy for stratocumulus cloud droplet concentration Nd, this also suggests that low aerosol concentrations favor POC formation. Indeed, extremely low accumulation mode aerosol concentrations are found during the passage of open cell events over the ship. Free-tropospheric moisture is not found to be an important factor in POC formation. Significant subseasonal variability occurs in the fractional coverage of open cellular convection over the broader SEP. This coverage is well correlated with a MODIS-derived drizzle proxy (MDP) proportional to the ratio of liquid water path (LWP) to Nd for predominantly overcast regions. Both LWP and Nd variability influences the MDP. Periods of low MDP have significant positive large-scale Nd anomalies and are preceded by offshore winds at 850 hPa, which suggests a potential continental influence upon open cell formation over the SEP. Together, the results suggest important two-way interactions between aerosols and drizzle in marine stratocumulus and a role for drizzle in modulating the large-scale albedo of these cloud systems.


Layered transition metal trichalcogenides (TMTCs) are a new class of anisotropic two-dimensional materials that exhibit quasi-1D behavior. This property stems from their unique highly anisotropic crystal structure where vastly different material properties can be attained from different crystal directions. Here, we employ density functional theory predictions, atomic force microscopy, and angle-resolved Raman spectroscopy to investigate their fundamental vibrational properties which differ significantly from other 2D systems and to establish a method in identifying anisotropy direction of different types of TMTCs. We find that the intensity of certain Raman peaks of TiS3, ZrS3, and HfS3 have strong polarization dependence in such a way that intensity is at its maximum when the polarization direction is parallel to the anisotropic b-axis. This allows us to readily identify the Raman peaks that are representative of the vibrations along the b-axis direction. Interestingly, similar angle resolved studies on the novel TiNbS3 TMTC alloy reveal that determination of anisotropy/crystalline direction is rather difficult possibly due to loss of anisotropy by randomization distribution of quasi-1D MX6 chains by the presence of defects which are commonly found in 2D alloys and also due to the complex Raman tensor of TMTC alloys. Overall, the experimental and theoretical results establish non-destructive methods used to identify the direction of anisotropy in TMTCs and reveal their vibrational characteristics which are necessary to gain insight into potential applications that utilize direction dependent thermal response, optical polarization, and linear dichroism.


The link between intellectual property protection and access to medicines has been studied from different perspectives. After signing the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, most developing and least developed countries agreed to protect pharmaceutical products under the patent system. Beyond the criticisms of this system as an incentive mechanism to encourage private investment in research and development, it is widely acknowledged that a balance must exist between its benefits and costs. The patent system interaction with public health policies is twofold: providing incentives to develop new medicines, on the one hand, and increasing the prices of medicines, on the other. The TRIPS Agreement, the Doha Declaration and the subsequent Decision on Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration all recognized this important trade-off. Different effects prevail in each interest group or country and negotiations of international intellectual property right (IPR) standards reflect this conflict. Nevertheless, the post-TRIPS scenario is full of new bilateral and regional agreements. The old bilateral investment treaties (BITS) are evolving towards new forms of all-encompassing arrangements that include intellectual property and liberalization of trade and services, apart from the classical rules for investment protection. This trend imposes a new landscape in IPR protection: one in which the above-described balance might be inclining towards one side. This article analyzes some legal, political and economic features of this new generation of BITS in Latin America.


The main purpose of this study is to investigate what types of internal and external factors affect technical inefficiency in public utility firms. We consider governance structure and business diversification strategy as internal factors and governmental intervention and competition as external factors. By using 1106 observations comprised of Japanese public utility firms from 1989 to 2002, we estimate the stochastic frontier production function. The main findings are as follows: (i) The governance factor has an important effect on a firm's inefficiency. As ownership by foreign shareholders and investment funds increase, the technical inefficiency of a public utility firm decreases. (ii) A business diversification strategy increases inefficiency, though the magnitude of increase is relatively small. (iii) Governmental intervention does not have a clear effect on inefficiency. (iv) The monopoly level shows a quite clear effect on a firm's inefficiency. Overall, our empirical results suggest that internal factors such as governance structure and ownership by foreign shareholders and investment funds, and external factors such as monopoly level are factors especially important to the reduction of technical inefficiency in public utilities.


The total repulsive interaction between electrically neutral, fluid bilayer membranes is thought to have a number of components, including a hydration pressure, due to the reorientation of water by the bilayer, and steric (entropic) pressures due to bilayer undulations, head group motion, and molecular protrusions. For fully hydrated, crystalline bilayers these three steric pressures should be relatively small, and the major repulsive pressure present should be the hydration pressure. Therefore, to isolate the contribution of hydration pressure to the total interbilayer interaction, we have measured pressure-distance data by X-ray diffraction analysis of osmotically stressed dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) multilayers in the subgel phase, where wide-angle and low-angle X-ray data show the bilayers are crystalline. As applied pressure was increased from 0 to 1 x 10(6) dyn/cm2, the interbilayer fluid space (df) decreased less than 1 A from its value at full hydration of 8.4 A. As the pressure was increased from 1 x 10(6) to 3 x 10(7) dyn/cm2, df decreased from about 8 to 4 A. For this range of df, the repulsive pressure decayed exponentially with df with a decay length of 1.4 A. Further increases in applied pressure did not appreciably decrease df, so that there was a sharp upward break in the pressure-distance curve at an interbilayer spacing of about 3 A. In contrast, pressure-distance relations for gel (L beta') phase and liquid-crystalline (L alpha) phase bilayers had much softer upward breaks at df < 5 A and extended to larger df at zero applied pressure. However, the pressure-distance curves for all three phases decayed exponentially with approximately the same decay length for 4 < df < 8 A. We interpret these data to mean the following: (1) the repulsion observed for df < 5 A is primarily a steric pressure whose range depends on head group motion; (2) the steric undulation pressure plays an important role in determining the hydration properties and the range of the total repulsive pressure for fluid membranes; (3) the same underlying mechanisms govern the repulsive pressure for all phases for 4 < df < 8 A; (4) these mechanisms include a pressure due to reorientation of water molecules; and (5) the hydration pressure component extents a maximum of about two water molecules from the bilayer surface for the subgel phase.


Ventral Tegmental Area Regulation of Stress-Induced Reinstatement of CocaineSeeking Behavior Jordan M. Blacktop, B.S. Marquette University, 2013 No FDA approved medications currently exist for the prevention of drug craving, drug seeking, and relapse to cocaine use. Stress is a major factor in causing relapse in cocaine dependent individuals. Cocaine use is positively correlated with stress-induced craving and relapse outcomes. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a 41-amino acid neuropeptide that plays an important role in the stress response and in the reinstatement rodent model of stress-induced relapse. CRF is released during stress in brain regions associated with the effects of drugs of abuse, notably the ventral tegmental area (VTA). This dissertation addresses key unknown mechanisms behind drug-induced neuroplasticity and how that neuroplasticity gates the ability of stress to cause relapse. Chapter two reports that stress and intra-VTA CRF administration produces robust reinstatement in animals allowed extended long-access (LgA) but not short-access (ShA) cocaine selfadministration. Moreover, LgA cocaine use increases susceptibility to stressorinduced relapse in part by augmenting CRF receptor 1 (CRF-R1) dependent regulation of VTA neurocircuitry. Chapter three characterizes VTA dopamine neuron activation under conditions where stress reinstates cocaine seeking. Dopamine neuron activation was significantly increased in ShA but not LgA rats. However, when examined across groups only in rats that display relapse in response to stress is a significant increase in dopamine neuron activation observed. This suggests that stress-induced reinstatement is associated with increased activation of VTA dopamine neurons. Lastly, chapter 4 addresses the necessity of VTA glutamate and GABA receptors in footshock and intra-VTA CRF dependent reinstatement of cocaine seeking. Intra-VTA administration of NMDA, AMPA, and GABAA receptor antagonists fail to block reinstatement. In contrast, GABAB receptor antagonism blocked reinstatement by both footshock and intraVTA CRF suggesting GABAB activation is necessary for CRF actions in the VTA. The findings from this dissertation provide much needed insight into the neuroadaptations that occur in the VTA to regulate later stressor induced relapse in cocaine addicts. The hope is that these findings will help with the understanding and eventual long-term management of stressor-induced relapse in abstinent cocaine addicts.


The World Wide Web has become the standard mechanism for information distribution and scientific collaboration on the Internet. This dissertation research explores a suite of techniques for discovering relevant dynamic sources in a specific domain of interest and for managing Web data effectively. We first explore techniques for discovery and automatic classification of dynamic Web sources. Our approach utilizes a service class model of the dynamic Web that allows the characteristics of interesting services to be specified using a service class description.
To promote effective Web data management, the Page Digest Web document encoding eliminates tag redundancy and places structure, content, tags, and attributes into separate containers, each of which can be referenced in isolation or in conjunction with the other elements of the document. The Page Digest Sentinel system leverages our unique encoding to provide efficient and scalable change monitoring for arbitrary Web documents through document compartmentalization and semantic change request grouping.
Finally, we present XPack, an XML document compression system that uses a containerized view of an XML document to provide both good compression and efficient querying over compressed documents. XPack's queryable XML compression format is general-purpose, does not rely on domain knowledge or particular document structural characteristics for compression, and achieves better query performance than standard query processors using text-based XML.
Our research expands the capabilities of existing dynamic Web techniques, providing superior service discovery and classification services, efficient change monitoring of Web information, and compartmentalized document handling. DYNABOT is the first system to combine a service class view of the Web with a modular crawling architecture to provide automated service discovery and classification. The Page Digest Web document encoding represents Web documents efficiently by separating the individual characteristics of the document. The Page Digest Sentinel change monitoring system utilizes the Page Digest document encoding for scalable change monitoring through efficient change algorithms and intelligent request grouping. Finally, XPack is the first XML compression system that delivers compression rates similar to existing techniques while supporting better query performance than standard query processors using text-based XML.


We consider the distributed channel allocation problem in IEEE 802.11-based multi-radio wireless mesh networks. We develop a new scalable protocol termed LCAP for efficient and adaptive distributed multi-radio channel allocation. In LCAP, nodes autonomously learn their channel allocation based on neighborhood and channel usage information, which is obtained via a novel neighbor discovery protocol that enables neighboring nodes to efficiently discover each other even when they do not share a common channel. Extensive simulation-based evaluation of LCAP relative to the state-of-the-art Asynchronous Distributed Coloring (ADC) protocol demonstrates that LCAP is able to achieve its stated objectives of efficient channel utilization across diverse traffic patterns, protocol scalability and adaptivity to factors such as external interference. We also present a prototype implementation of the LCAP neighbor discovery module that is key to implementing the proposed approach.


Having as a starting point one of the stereotypes of Japanese women considered a purveyor of kawaii this paper aims to explore a counterexample to Sanrio's Hello Kitty mania offered by Shiseidō cosmetics through its overseas advertisements created during a long history on the European market. Even though the image of Japan is based mainly on the concept of kawaii Shiseidō tried at first on the local market to make a turn from that fragile, helpless and naïve perception of women to a more sophisticated one. Successful advertisements are made to answer a specific target audience's needs, thus in order to go global there was a need to adapt typical Asian beauty standards to European ones. Shiseidō's mission is to keep up with the times without forgetting the roots, the source of power, thus it has constantly worked in developing new strategies in order to thrive on the Western beauty market without setting aside Japanese tradition. Shiseidō corporate through its smaller brands like Majolica Majorca, Pure & Mild, Haku (meaning "white") etc. still promote whitest white skin, a beauty ideal which prevails since the Heian period (794-1185). Considering that Shiseidō has a history of more than 50 years on the European market we propose an analysis on three beauty print advertisements elaborated during 1980-2000 in order to observe the constructed image of Japan through the imaginary of the French artist, Serge Lutens, responsible for the visual identity of the brand in Europe since 1980. The question is if it is a matter of "selling" the exotic to an unfamiliar receiver or a naive reflection of Japaneseness from a European's perspective?
Through this case study on beauty print advertisements created for the European market after 1990 we want to mirror the image of Japan in Europe as depicted through the specter of the biggest Japanese beauty conglomerate in the world, Shiseidō.


ii Solid tumors typically require angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels, for growth and metastasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induces angiogenesis by activating receptors on host endothelial cells. One such receptor, Flt-1, occurs as either a membrane bound or a secreted form (sFlt-1) that can inhibit angiogenic signaling. Previous studies have shown that variation in mRNA expression of VEGF and its receptors KDR, sFlt-1 and Flt-1 occurs in pathological angiogenesis, i.e. metastatic tumorigenesis. We hypothesize that the ratio of sFlt-1:Flt-1 mRNA will be altered in the presence of solid tumors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the expression of sFlt-1 and Flt-1 mRNAs in a mouse metastatic tumor model using CT26.CL25 cells. CT26.CL25 cells are VEGF-producing murine colon carcinoma cells transfected with the lacZ gene, which expresses -galactosidase activity. These cells, injected intravenously, form tumor nodules in the lung. A pilot study revealed development of lung nodules in mice nine days after intravenous injection with 10 cells. In a second study, twentyfive 10week-old female Balb/c mice were injected intravenously, via tail vein, with 2 x 10cells, and fifteen with vehicle control. Lung nodules developed in all mice injected with cells. Tissues were harvested by routine necropsy and either formalin-fixed for routine histology/histochemistry or stored for quantitative RT-PCR (QPCR) analysis of gene expression. Under microscopic evaluation, sections of lungs stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) revealed nodules composed of polygonal neoplastic cells. cDNA from lungs (14 tumor-bearing, 10 controls) and cultured CT26.CL25 cells was analyzed by QPCR using primers and TaqMan probes directed against sFlt-1, Flt-1, KDR, VEGFA, PlGF (Placental Growth Factor), Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE), 18S ribosomal RNA and neo (neomycin phosphotransferase). We observed an increased sFlt-1:Flt-1 ratio in tumor-bearing versus control lungs, suggesting that tumor-derived signals may influence sFlt-1 and Flt-1 expression differentially. Additionally, there was increased expression of Flt-1, sFlt-1 and KDR in tumors versus controls, but not in VEGF expression in tumors versus controls. Interestingly, expression of PlGF was increased in tumors versus controls, suggesting its role as an enhancer of tumor progression in the presence of other angiogenic factors. Together, these findings indicate that solid tumor angiogenesis results from an intricate balance of various angiogenic factors.


While microchannel flow boiling has received much research attention, past work has not considered the impact of acoustic waves generated by rapidly nucleating bubbles. The present work provides a theoretical framework for these pressure waves, which resembles classical "water hammer" theory and predicts a strong influence on bubble nucleation rates and effective convection coefficients. These pressure waves result directly from confinement in microchannel geometries, reflect from geometrical transitions, and superimpose to create large transients in the static liquid pressure. Feedback from the pressure waves inhibits bubble growth rates, reducing the effective heat transfer. Pressure depressions generated by the propagating pressure pulses can cause other bubbles to grow at lower than expected wall temperatures. The additional nucleation enhances heat transfer over short times but increased flow instability may inhibit heat transfer over longer periods. The limited quantitative measurements available in the literature indicate confined bubble growth rates in microchannels are significantly lower than those predicted by the classical Rayleigh‐Plesset equation. The present model predicts confined bubble growth rates to within 20%. A nondimensional number indicative of the relative magnitude of the water hammer pressure to bubble pressure is proposed to characterize the transitions from conventional to microchannel flow boiling. DOI: 10.1115/1.3216381


The development of folds and cleavages in slate and graywacke belts is commonly attributed to arc-continent or continent-continent collisions. However, the Kodiak Formation of southern Alaska and the Calaveras Complex of the western Sierra Nevada, California, are two slate and graywacke belts in which folds and slaty cleavages developed during simple underthrusting and underplating within accretionary wedges. The Maastrichtian Kodiak Formation is composed dominantly of coherent turbidites but includes lesser pebbly mudstone, minor conglomerate, and rare chert. The Kodiak Formation is part of a large accretionary complex that youngs in age seaward, but bedding tops generally show landward younging. A progression of structures has been determined by crosscutting relationships and includes (1) syndeformational depositional features; (2) broken formation; (3) slaty cleavage, folds, and thrust faults; (4) crenulations and crenulation cleavage; (5) late brittle thrust faults; and (6) right-lateral strike-slip faults. Broken formation, slaty cleavage, thrust faults, and folds developed during underthrusting and underplating within an accretionary wedge. Crenulations and brittle thrust faults are related to subsequent intrawedge shortening. Based on peak metamorphism in the uppermost zeolite to prehnite-pumpellyite facies, underplating occurred at a minimum depth of 10 km. The Calaveras Complex is composed of argillite, chert, graywacke, pebbly mudstone, limestone, and volcanic rocks. Its age of deposition has a maximum range from Permian to Early Jurassic. Overall, the unit appears to young westward, but local facing indicators show eastward younging of individual blocks. The sequence of structures developed in the Calaveras Complex is (1) syn-depositional olistostromes; (2) broken formation; (3) slaty cleavage, folds, and thrust faults; and (4) younger Jura-Triassic folds and crenulation cleavages. Broken formation and slaty cleavage developed during underthrusting and underplating in an accretionary wedge, in an analogous fashion to the Kodiak Formation. Greenschist facies metemorphism during underplating suggests that the Calaveras Complex was accreted at deeper levels, or in a wedge with a higher geothermal gradient, than the Kodiak Formation. Some other probable examples of slate/graywacke belts that became folded and well-foliated during underplating include part of the Dunnage Zone (Newfoundland), the Southern Uplands complex (Scotland), the Torlesse terrane (New Zealand), part of the Hamburg klippe (Pennsylvania), and the Taconic allochthons (New York). Peak metamorphism in these belts indicates that they were accreted in accretionary wedges with geothermal gradients higher than usually assumed for such tectonic settings; such wedges may have been fairly common features at convergent margins.


Abstract This paper proposes a multidimensional procedure for jointly assessing the absolute and relative pro-poorness of growth. It is also a procedure for testing whether poverty comparisons can be made over classes of indices that incorporate both absolute and relative views of poverty. Besides being robust to whether pro-poor judgements should be absolute or relative, the procedure is also robust to choosing over a class of weights to aggregate the impact of growth on the poor as well as over ranges of absolute and relative poverty lines. The test is applied to distributional changes in five middle- and four lower-income African countries, countries that have witnessed different impacts of growth in the last two decades.


Abstract. In this research paper, focus is given on exploring the potential of Persistent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PSInSAR) technique for the measurement of landslide, which is the extension of existing DInSAR technique. In PSInSAR technique, the movement is measured by finding the phase shift in the scatterers present in the study area through the course of time. The backscattering of such a scatterer does not change during the study. By using this technique, 32 datasets acquired over a period of time i.e. from 2009 to 2011 over the area of Troms County of Lyngen Fjord, Norway are analysed. The dataset utilised are acquired with TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X pair, in Stripmap mode of acquisition. Coregistration of dataset with subpixel accuracy is done with master images is done to align all the dataset correctly. APS estimation is done in order to remove the phase decorrelation caused by the atmosphere, movement, etc. using algorithms for phase unwrapping which allowed the processing of sparse data and the effect of atmosphere is reduced by doing analysis on temporal basis of the phase shift in interferograms of successive datasets. By this study it has been tried to show the estimation of shift can be done by the temporal analysis of the data acquired by TerraSAR-X. The velocity output is displayed in a map reflecting the velocity of movement. Apart from this, the data properties such as baseline distribution both temporal and spatial are displayed in a chart. Other outputs obtained are the atmospheric Phase Screen, sparse point distribution, reflectivity map of the study area etc. are displayed using a map of terrain. The output velocity obtained of the terrain movement is found to be in the range of −40 mm/yr to −70 mm/yr.


The halogens are located on the left of the noble gases on the periodic table. These five toxic, non-metallic elements make up Group 17 of the periodic table and consist of: fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and astatine (At). Although astatine is radioactive and only has short-lived isotopes, it behaves similar to iodine and is often included in the halogen group. Because the halogen elements have seven valence electrons, they only require one additional electron to form a full octet. This characteristic makes them more reactive than other non-metal groups.


The purpose of the research is to recognize the effect of training and development on employee attitude. Employees are the basic part of every organization through which the goals and objectives of the organization accomplish. If employees have the capabilities of related task so they will bring the best output. These capabilities can be boost up by giving the effective training to the employees. Training and development offer helpful effect to employees of the organization in a sense that they have more advanced position towards their work as they can be more competent, work better with fewer errors and require less supervision. Our sample size is 30 to 35 employees from different organization which we get the result through questionnaire about the training and development of employee's status. This paper is based on quantitative technique in which we come up with the graphical presentation. The findings show that training play an important role to increase the productivity of an organization and employee attitude which will surely bring huge returns for the organization in the future.


The Web has become an ubiquitous environment for human interaction, communication,
and data sharing. As a result, large amounts of data are produced. This
data can be utilised by building predictive models of user behaviour in order to support
business decisions. However, the fast pace of modern businesses is creating the
pressure on industry to provide faster and better decisions. This thesis addresses
this challenge by proposing a novel methodology for an effcient prediction of user
behaviour. The problems concerned are: (i) modelling user behaviour on the Web,
(ii) choosing and extracting features from data generated by user behaviour, and
(iii) choosing a Machine Learning (ML) set-up for an effcient prediction.
First, a novel Time-Varying Attributed Graph (TVAG) is introduced and
then a TVAG-based model for modelling user behaviour on the Web is proposed.
TVAGs capture temporal properties of user behaviour by their time varying component
of features of the graph nodes and edges. Second, the proposed model allows
to extract features for further ML predictions. However, extracting the features and
building the model may be unacceptably hard and long process. Thus, a guideline
for an effcient feature extraction from the TVAG-based model is proposed. Third,
a method for choosing a ML set-up to build an accurate and fast predictive model
is proposed and evaluated. Finally, a deep learning architecture for predicting user
behaviour on the Web is proposed and evaluated.
To sum up, the main contribution to knowledge of this work is in developing
the methodology for fast and effcient predictions of user behaviour on the Web.
The methodology is evaluated on datasets from a few Web platforms, namely Stack
Exchange, Twitter, and Facebook.


The influence of backed yarn linear density and its twist factor on two-thread fleece knitted fabric properties has been studied. Experiments are conducted on both finished and raised fabrics. Four levels of linear density and two levels of twist factor are used for backed yarn. Knitted fabrics weight per square meter, shrinkage, spirality, thermal comfort characteristics, bursting strength and abrasion resistance are tested. Results show that by increasing yarn linear density, the fabric weight per square meter and thickness increase, while shrinkage and spirality improve. Raising process enhances fabric thermal comfort characteristics, while the yarn twist factor exhibits insignificant effect on many fabric characteristics.


Introduction Child abuse is a serious problem worldwide and can be difficult to detect. Although children who experience the consequences of abuse will probably be treated at an emergency department, detection rates of child abuse at emergency departments remain low. Objective To identify effective interventions applied at emergency departments that significantly increase the detection rate of confirmed cases of child abuse. Design This review was carried out according to the Cochrane Handbook. Two reviewers individually searched Pubmed, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CINAHL for papers that met the inclusion criteria. Results Fifteen papers describing interventions were selected and reviewed; four of these were finally included and assessed for quality. In these studies the intervention consisted of a checklist of indicators of risk for child abuse. After implementation, the rate of detected cases of suspected child abuse increased by 180% (weighted mean in 3 studies). The number of confirmed cases of child abuse, reported in two out of four studies, showed no significant increase. Conclusions Interventions at emergency departments to increase the detection rate of cases of confirmed child abuse are scarce in the literature. Past study numbers and methodology have been inadequate to show conclusive evidence on effectiveness. on 11 November 2009 adc.bmj.com Downloaded from


Abstract Paper concerns the flora of excavations from the area of the Twardowice Plateau, one of the regions of the Silesian Upland. These are rather shallow and small pits, which are remnants of exploitation of Triassic limestone and, rarely, iron ore. The studies showed that these excavations are the places where many species of vascular plants occurred. Xerothermic plants, which penetrated from adjacent grasslands, form the largest group (33%) among the 212 noted species. Some of them occurred much more frequently in the excavations than in the grasslands and some were found only in the excavations. It should be emphasized that 8 protected species were present in the investigated objects. Results from the Twardowice Plateau proved that many xerothermic plants could find suitable conditions for growth and survival in limestone excavations.


Recent progress in machine reading comprehension and question-answering has allowed machines to reach and even surpass human question-answering. However, the majority of these questions have only one answer, and more substantial testing on questions with multiple answers, or multi-span questions, has not yet been applied. Thus, we introduce a newly compiled dataset consisting of questions with multiple answers that originate from previously existing datasets. In addition, we run BERT-based models pre-trained for question-answering on our constructed dataset to evaluate their reading comprehension abilities. Among the three of BERT-based models we ran, RoBERTa exhibits the highest consistent performance, regardless of size. We find that all our models perform similarly on this new, multi-span dataset (21.492% F1) compared to the single-span source datasets (~33.36% F1). While the models tested on the source datasets were slightly fine-tuned, performance is similar enough to judge that task formulation does not drastically affect question-answering abilities. Our evaluations indicate that these models are indeed capable of adjusting to answer questions that require multiple answers. We hope that our findings will assist future development in questionanswering and improve existing question-answering products and methods.


Introduction: In the past, patients with mental disorders were often isolated, but these patients now-a-days enter the society, as therapeutic interventions have advanced. Family members play an important role in the life of many adults with mental disorders and are under considerable amounts of stress that may affect caregiver's physical health, quality of life and resilience. Aim: The present study aimed to determine the relationship between the resilience and quality of life in family caregivers of patients with mental disorders. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional, correlational, descriptive study was conducted on 238 family caregivers of patients with mental disorders. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to measure the quality of life and the Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale was used to measure resilience in the participants. The SF-36 consists of two general dimensions and eight domains of health and the resilience scale consists of 25 items. The data obtained through the questionnaires were analysed in SPSS version 16.0 using Pearson's correlation test. Results: The majority of the family caregivers were the patients' mothers. The results showed a significant direct relationship between resilience and quality of life (p<0.001, r=0.40). Conclusion: Resilience is a personal resource that affects quality of life directly. Resilience can enhance quality of life. The design and implementation of programs to enhance resilience and improve quality of life in family caregivers in line with the emerging needs of this group are therefore necessary. © 2018, Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. All rights reserved.


Determination of compensation systems is an important step towards achieving the
primary goal of any company-creating value for owners. For years, compensation
systems were determined by traditional financial performance base on the accounting
information in wich the numerous studies have shown that the correlation between
that compensation system and company performance indicators is not strong enough.
Economic value added concept use all cost of capital (cost of equity and cost of borrowed
capital) and modifies the accounting data. Positive economic value added, in a
given period, means that the management has increased value for owners and vice
versa. Thereby the EVA concept become tool that was used for defining the system of
compensation. Based on condacted research done on compensation system built on the EVA
concept, following conclusions were being made: it provides more realistic basis for
determening business success in regards to a compensation system based on financial
performance; it shows if the value for owners is really creted; EVA is more complex and
computationally more delicate than the compensation system based on financial
performance; employee's compensation that were based on the EVA concept represent more
realistic pay than the compensation that were based on the traditional compensation system;
by using accounting modifications EVA eliminate significant shortcomings of traditional
financial reporting, that is the basis for compensation system based on financial performance.
Also, an empirical study of developed compensation system were made and all opportunities
and challenges in the implementation of the EVA concept in building a system of rewards in
corporations in Serbia where determined. The research has shown that the achievements of
the implementation of compensation systems based on EVA in companies in developed
countries, can be applied in the process of improving the compensation system in companies
in Repablic of Serbia, with some adaptations due to the lack of complete data, that are
necessary for displaying this concept.


This study presents an approach to model the material flow around a bobbin tool for Friction Stir Welding (FSW). In this CFD model the aluminum is treated as a highly viscous non Newtonian shear thinning liquid. The model is formulated in a 3D Eulerian frame. The temperature field and the desired torque acting on the tool are taken from a 3D thermal pseudo mechanical model implemented in Comsol and Matlab that was presented at last years Comsol Conference in Milano. The results of the CFD model provide the material flow field, the amount of sticking and slipping at the interface between tool and plates as well as the forces acting on the tool. Experiments on the "FlexiStir" experimental welding unit have been carried out to successfully validate the torque assumptions and the shear layer shape for welds of aluminum alloy AA2024-T3 4mm sheets.


Abstract In the absence of obvious barriers to dispersal microsatellite studies of vagile mammalian carnivores frequently find panmictic-like genetic structure over wide scales, whereas high levels of differentiation at much finer scales are detected with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Given the maternal inheritance of mtDNA, these differences are often attributed to male-biased dispersal, remnants of postglacial range expansion, or both. Based on such contrasting results, it is not always clear how to delineate contemporary populations. We investigated the genetic structure of American black bears (Ursus americanus) over a wide geographic area (>1,700 km) that has no obvious physiogeographic barriers to gene flow. We analyzed a 315-base pair fragment of the mtDNA control region from 660 individual bears from 23 regions of Ontario, Canada. Relative to black bear studies based on nuclear data, mitochondrial analyses revealed much stronger patterns of genetic structure among regions (0.09 < FST < 0.44), even at small-scale intervals (<150 km), which likely reflects strong female philopatry combined with male-biased dispersal. The patterns of genetic differentiation among regions were consistent with previously described historical patterns in black bears, specifically the division of the species into 2 phylogeographic clades (coastal and continental). We confirmed that further subdivision of the continental clade occurs in a region where obvious physiogeographic barriers do not exist. We postulate that this small-scale differentiation can be explained by residual patterns from postglacial recolonization routes on either side of the Great Lakes. We suggest that it was maintained through extreme female philopatry due to habitat saturation following the postglacial geographic expansion. Based on our results, we propose that a combination of several molecular markers can be more useful in defining population units for conservation and management decisions than biparentally inherited microsatellites.


The Sasanian Persian siege that destroyed Roman-held Dura-Europos, Syria, ca. 256 C.E. left some of the best evidence ever recovered for the nature and practices of ancient warfare. Perhaps the most dramatic of the archaeological deposits, excavated in the early 1930s, were those resulting from the mining duel around Tower 19 on the city's western wall, during which at least 19 Roman soldiers and one Sasanian became entombed. Recent reanalysis of the excavation archive suggested that the mine evidence still held one unrecognized deadly secret: the Roman soldiers who perished there had not, as Robert du Mesnil du Buisson (the original excavator) believed, died by the sword or by fire but had been deliberately gassed by the Sasanian attackers. This article discusses the implications of this conclusion for our understanding of early Sasanian military capabilities and reviews the question of possible reexcavation in search of the casualties of Tower 19, whose remains were neither studied nor retained.


This comprehensive research Handbook brings together cutting-edge legal and economic analysis into antitrust issues by leading experts from Europe, the USA, Canada, Mexico and South America. The Handbook also includes discursive consideration of the similarities and differences among the various regimes on either side of the Atlantic, as well as a look to future trends and applications in regional and global contexts.


The red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) is affected by the combined effects of environmental stress factors and diseases in the Mediterranean area. Samplings at different depths in two sites of Chafarinas Islands (South–Western Mediterranean Sea) were carried out to quantify the degree of injuries on red gorgonian colonies. The results showed that shallow colonies displayed a higher rate of injuries than deep colonies. Overall, the conservation status of the population was worse than previously considered in this area.


First- and second-time parents' couple relationships were studied from early pregnancy to the second year postpartum. The Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) was administered to Portuguese couples (N = 82), first- or second-time parents, at the first, second and third pregnancy trimester, childbirth, 3 and 18 months postpartum. Adverse changes in positive and negative partner relationship dimensions were reported from early pregnancy to the second year postpartum by all participants; in the same way by mothers and fathers and by first- and second-time parents. Second-time parents reported a worse couple relationship (lower RQ-positive scores) than first-time parents, but only during pregnancy. Results from the present study suggest a decline in partner relationship quality during the transition to parenthood both in mothers and fathers, as well as in first- and second-time parents.


Brucellosis, with regard to public health and its impact on socio-economic status of society is important matter in the world that can be transmitted to humans through contact with animals or their products as an occupational hazard to persons. Thus, its prevention, control and eradication are a major challenge for public health policy makers. This survey analyzes the prevalence of brucellosis in West Azarbaijan province, Iran. This was a descriptive-analytical study in which 152 cases of brucellosis from 2009 up to 2010. The cases were defined by clinical symptoms and confirmed by a positive standard agglutination test. Titer 1:80 or greater using standard tube agglutination method was estimated as a positive result. Information about the sex, age, location, occupational risk, contact with the animals recorded by health stuff. Patient's data was analyzed and described by using SPSS software and analyzed with T test and X2. 152 cases were studied. Most of them were male. (63.16%) and married (65.7%). Mean age of them was (37.46) in the female group. The mean age of patients was 36.84 years. The mean age in rural patients was 31.23 years and in urban 39.56 years old. Their hospitalization period was from 1 to 14 days (Mean: 7.5 days). The epidemic peak occurs in May (31.5%) that is closely related to the months associated with delivery and abortion in animals, it might be expected that occupational exposure, production and consumption of fresh cheese would result in a peak of human cases in this month .Most of them were lived in Urmia city and vicinity. Any of them were taught about prevention of disease. There was a relationship between sex with age (p<0.001) and with place of living (p<0.05). Farmers are more affected but, as females are mostly cooperating in stockbreeding tasks, homemaker females are also greatly affected. In villages, students also take share in stockbreeding tasks and help their parents, so the prevalence rate is also high among them. In other surveys, contact with livestock and husbandry are also forming some of risk factors. According to this study, cattle breeders in villages are the most affected groups. People training, about transition paths, prevention methods, food supply and delivery supervising could decrease disease prevalence.


This Theme Issue reports papers presented at a Discussion Meeting intended to bring together theorists and experimentalists working on magnetic charge carriers, or monopoles, in both natural and artificially nanostructured spin ice lattices, and to explore related topics on Berry phase physics and domain wall motion and a possible solid-state/cosmology interface in these systems. The Discussion Meeting was held in the Royal Society Kavli Centre and the organizers thank all those involved in the development of this marvellous new scientific forum.

Rajantie [1] reviews magnetic monopoles in cosmology and discusses the possibility of an interface between cosmology and a solid state in spin ices. He describes the predictions of the existence of magnetic monopoles in many theories of particle physics beyond the Standard Model, and the absence of experimental or observational sign of them. He reviews the role of magnetic monopoles in quantum field theory and discusses their implications for particle physics and cosmology. He also highlights their differences from and similarities to monopoles found in frustrated magnetic systems. The recent discovery of effective magnetic monopole quasiparticles in spin ices raises the question of whether one could make use of them to take these theoretical advances further. Although the quasiparticles do behave in many ways like fundamental magnetic monopole particles, it is also clear that there are important differences. Perhaps most importantly, the Dirac strings connecting the monopoles are not completely unphysical. This does not mean that one cannot use spin ice experiments to draw conclusions for fundamental monopoles, but one has to be aware of the differences between the systems and the limitations they impose. Situations in which random thermal fluctuations play an important role would therefore appear most promising, such as studying the formation of monopoles in phase transitions.

Chern & Tchernyshyov [2] present a numerical study of magnetic ordering in spin ice on kagome, a two-dimensional lattice of corner-sharing triangles. The magnet is a six-state clock model and has six ground states, with the ordering occurring in two stages. In spin ice with short-range interactions up to second neighbours, Kosterlitz–Thouless transitions separate an intermediate critical phase from the paramagnetic and ordered phases. In dipolar spin ice, the intermediate phase has a long-range order of staggered magnetic charges. The high- and low-temperature phase transitions are of the Ising and three-state Potts universality classes, respectively. In the intermediate phase, the freeze-out of defects in the charge order produces a very large spin correlation length. Thus, they interpret the lower temperature transition to be of the Kosterlitz–Thouless type.

Bramwell [3] explores the spatial and temporal correlations of magnetic monopoles in spin ice using the generalized longitudinal susceptibility. Starting with the monopole model, he derives a mean field expression for the susceptibility as well as expressions for the mean square longitudinal field and induction at a point. He finds that monopole motion is strongly correlated, and that both spatial and temporal correlations are controlled by the dimensionless monopole density. This monopole density defines the ratio of the magnetization relaxation rate and the monopole hop rate. The derived equations are discussed in the context of existing theories of spin ice and the following experimental techniques: dc and ac magnetization, neutron scattering, neutron spin echo and longitudinal and transverse field muon spin rotation. He finds that, while the monopole theory unifies diverse experimental results, there are several discrepancies between theory and experiment. Using a phenomenological modification to the theory, one of these discrepancies, concerning the neutron scattering line shape, is explained.

Hugli et al. [4] study artificial spin ice systems consisting of nanolithographic arrays of isolated nanomagnets. These are model systems for the observation of frustration-induced phenomena. They have recently demonstrated that monopoles and Dirac strings can be directly observed via synchrotron-based photoemission electron microscopy where the magnetic state of individual nanoislands can be imaged in real space. These experimental results of Dirac string formation are in excellent agreement with Monte Carlo simulations of the hysteresis of an array of dipoles situated on a kagome lattice with randomized switching fields. This formation of one-dimensional avalanches in a two-dimensional system is in sharp contrast to disordered thin films where avalanches associated with magnetization reversal are two dimensional. The self-organized restriction of avalanches to one space dimension provides an example of dimensional reduction owing to frustration. They give simple explanations for the origin of this dimensional reduction and discuss the disorder dependence of these avalanches. They conclude with the explicit demonstration of how these avalanches can be controlled via locally modified anisotropies which allow the controlled start and stop of avalanches with potential applications in data storage and information processing.

Schumann & Zabel [5] also study honeycomb artificial spin ice patterns. They analyse the distribution of excitations in the form of strings and vertices carrying triple magnetic charges in honeycomb structures. They compare two types of patterns, terminated with open hexagons and closed hexagons. They find that the dipole configurations and the frequency of spin ice rule violating triply charged vertices have a slight dependence on the boundary conditions of the pattern. The observed charge and string configuration is found to be reversible.

O'Brien et al. [6] study experimentally the interaction of two domain walls at a cross-shaped vertex fabricated from two ferromagnetic nanowires. These structures are very relevant to the artificial spin ice systems. They probe both attractive interactions between oppositely charged walls and repulsive interactions between like-charged walls. They find that, in the repulsive case, a passing domain wall may directly induce the depinning of another that is already pinned at a vertex. This effect can be qualitatively described considering only simple magnetostatic charge-based arguments. In the attractive case, however, asymmetric pinning is found, with complete suppression of depinning being possible. This observed effect is contrary to simple charge-based arguments and highlights the need for full micromagnetic characterization of the domain wall interactions in more complex systems.

Nagaosa [7] studies the electronic states in magnets as characterized by the quantum mechanical Berry phase defined in both the real and momentum spaces. This Berry phase constitutes the gauge fields, or emergent electromagnetic fields in solids, and affects the motion of the electrons. In momentum space, band crossings act as magnetic monopoles, i.e. sources or sinks of the gauge flux. In real space, the spin textures with non-coplanar spin configurations produce the gauge field by the solid angle subtended by three neighbouring spins leading to spin chirality. The representative structure supporting this gauge field is described as skyrmionic. A representative phenomenon reflecting this gauge field is the anomalous Hall effect, a contribution to the Hall effect produced by the combination of spontaneous magnetization and the relativistic spin–orbit interaction. He reviews recent studies in these systems and presents new results on the skyrmion formation.


This paper presents an Autonomous Proxemic System (APS) for a mobile robot. It detects people in the surroundings and manipulates the robot's motions to approach them keeping an acceptable proxemic distance. The APS sensing functions include face and upper body detection, leg detection, and motion detection using camera, laser, and infra-red sensors respectively. The control functions consist of approach a human and obstacle avoidance. APS uses the sonar and laser range devices to keep an accurate proxemic distance with the human. Initial system tests indicate that the APS keeps desired proxemic distances to within an acceptable error margin.


China Investment Corporation (CIC) transformed its initial investment strategy of focusing mainly on the US financial sector during 2007-2008 into a new strategy of diversified investments across geography and sectors since 2009. Massive financial losses and domestic political backlash during the global financial crisis of 2008 gave impetus to CIC's rethinking of strategy. In the midst of the crisis, CIC engineered a capacity-building and reorganization exercise to reposition itself for a new strategy that has since allowed for more diversification of investments. A more receptive global investment climate for sovereign wealth funds has also aided CIC's efforts to present itself as a responsible global investor and facilitated its investments. Postcrisis, CIC's new strategy of diversification is characterized by continued investments in the financial sector, but with new investments increasingly directed to real sectors of energy, natural resources, and real estate in both developed and emerging economies. Notwithstanding a global recovery that is fraught with uncertainties, CIC's judicious timing in making diversified investments, and its attention to reducing risks and enhancing returns, have been rewarded by an impressive turnaround in performance since 2009. Going forward, the success and sustainability of the new strategy will be contingent on how well CIC can navigate domestic bureaucratic rivalry and the shifting climate of the international investment environment in the medium to long term. Ultimately, CIC's shareholder, the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), holds the key to its future direction and goals. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Economic data are often generated by stochastic processes that take place in continuous time, though observations may occur only at discrete times. For example, electricity and gas consumption take place in continuous time. Data generated by a continuous time stochastic process are called functional data. This paper is concerned with comparing two or more stochastic processes that generate functional data. The data may be produced by a randomized experiment in which there are multiple treatments. The paper presents a test of the hypothesis that the same stochastic process generates all the functional data. In contrast to existing methods, the test described here applies to both functional data and multiple treatments. The test is presented as a permutation test, which ensures that in a finite sample, the true and nominal probabilities of rejecting a correct null hypothesis are equal. The paper also presents the asymptotic distribution of the test statistic under alternative hypotheses. The results of Monte Carlo experiments and an application to an experiment on billing and pricing of natural gas illustrate the usefulness of the test.


In a famous study published in 1978, the American diplomat Anton DePorte argued – controversially – that a Europe held in frozen check between the superpowers was the only sound basis upon which the continent could find peace. The ending of the bloc system in Europe between 1989 and 1991 put paid to this dystopian vision. Indeed, within only a few years, many writers were even beginning to suggest that the new united Europe might one day become a superpower in its own right. As we now know, this early wave of unbridled optimism has given way to an altogether more downbeat mood. In this article, it shall be argued that the prevalent pessimism about Europe is not just a function of what has been occurring within Europe itself. It is also a reflection of the fact that the international order, which during the 1990s seemed to be so benign, has become much less so over the past 15 years. A close examination of Europe's relationships with the three great powers the United States, China and Russia indeed suggests that the world is likely to become more, rather than less, difficult for Europe as it moves forward into the 21st century. Testing times lie ahead.


Modern sedimentary total organic carbon (TOC) content as a proxy for surface water export production was mapped on the shelf and on the upper continental slope of the Benguela upwelling system using 137 core tops. Shelf maxima in TOC can be correlated with maxima in surface water productivity. On the slope, high TOC contents are observed offshore from sites of strong modern upwelling. Estimates of modern TOC mass accumulation rates (MAR) show that approximately 85% of the total is accumulating on the shelf. TOC MAR were calculated, mapped, and budgeted for the Holocene and for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) using 19 sediment cores from the continental slope. During the LGM, centers of deposition and production have migrated offshore with respect to their Holocene positions. TOC accumulation on the continental slope was approximately 84% higher during the LGM than during the Holocene, possibly reflecting enhanced productivity. The TOC distribution patterns and sediment echo sounding data suggest that undercurrents strongly influence the sedimentation off Namibia. Winnowing and focusing result in great lateral heterogeneity of sedimentation rates and sediment properties. Individual cores therefore do not necessarily reflect general changes in export production. These results highlight the need for detailed regional studies based on a large number of sediment cores for highly heterogeneous high‐productivity areas in order to derive general statements on total fluxes.


The main objective of this study was to purify and characterize an esterase from Shewanella sp F88. The enzyme was purified 41-fold and an overall yield of 21 %, using a two-step procedure, including ammonium sulfate precipitation and Q-sepharore chromatography. Molecular weight of the enzyme was 62.3 kDa according to SDS-PAGE data. The enzyme showed an optimum activity at pH 6.5 and 58 ˚C. Evolution of substrate specificity demonstrated that this thermostable enzyme had the highest activity towards para-nitrophenol acetate (pNPA, C2). Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) and maximum velocity (Vmax) of pNPAhydrolyzing reaction were 12.6 mM and 550 U.mg -1 , respectively. Enzyme activity was declined in the presence of metal ions (2 and 5 mM), including Fe 2+ , Ca 2+ , Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ , Mg 2+ and Mn 2+ . The half-lives of purified esterase was 70 and 31 min at 60 °C and 80 °C, respectively. In conclusion, the enzyme is a novel thermostable lipolytic enzyme characterized from Shewanella species.


The technology of fabrication and the results of the magnetoelectric effect investigation in sandwich structure manufactured by galvanic deposition tin and nickel on the gallium arsenide substrate are presented. It is shown that the use of tin as an intermediate layer lead to reduces the mechanical stresses resulting on the interface nickel and gallium arsenide. It is possible to obtain qualitative structures with nickel layer thickness on the order of 100 microns. Experimental results of the frequency dependence of the magnetoelectric voltage coefficient in the region of electromechanical resonance are presented. The resonance value of the magnetoelectric voltage coefficient reached 40V/(cm·Oe) with the Q-factor ≌ 700, which significantly exceeds the characteristics of similar structures obtained by bonding.


In the 1930s the National Socialist regime embarked on a chillingly ambitious and fanatical project to 'remake' German society and 'race' by deploying a peerless – in both kind and intensity – repertoire of 'othering' strategies and measures directed at the Jews, the Sinti/Roma, and non-conformist groups within the Third Reich. At the heart of this campaign was the notion of a 'zero-sum' confrontation between the nation/race and its perceived 'enemies': namely, that the existence of these 'enemies' within German society threatened the very foundations of the German 'race' and posed the gravest threat to its mere survival. To what extent can the experience of the 1930s aggressive, violent, and eventually murderous 'zero-sum' mindset provide crucial insights into contemporary discourses of 'othering', linked with the European radical-populist right but increasingly 'infecting' the social and political mainstream? The contemporary 'ethno-pluralist' framing of the discussion divulges the persistence of a similar 'zero-sum' mentality that is nurtured by socio-economic and cultural insecurity, on the one hand, and powerful long-standing prejudices against particular groups, on the other. The article explores this 'zero-sum' insecurity mindset in the anti-immigration 'mainstream' discourses in the Federal Republic of Germany, both before and after re-unification. It demonstrates how – in contrast to the postwar 'culture of contrition' with regard to the memory of the Holocaust – this mindset continues to be a powerful political and psychological refuge for societal insecurities that has an enduring appeal to significant audiences well beyond the narrow political constituencies of the radical right.


For many RDF applications, the formulation of constraints and the automatic validation of data according to these constraints is a much sought-after feature. In 2013, the W3C invited experts from industry, government and academia to the RDF Validation Workshop, where first use cases have been presented and discussed. In collaboration with the W3C, a working group on RDF Application Profiles (RDF-AP) is currently established in the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative that follows up on this workshop and addresses among others RDF constraint formulation and validation.

In this paper, we present a database of requirements obtained from various sources, including the use cases presented at the workshop as well as in the RDF-AP WG. The database, which is openly available and extendible, is used to evaluate and compare several existing approaches for constraint formulation and validation. We present a classification and analysis of the requirements, show that none of the approaches satisfy all requirements and aim at laying the ground for future work, as well as fostering discussions how to close existing gaps.


This work starts stating the great increase of pharmacological studies associated with pharmacogenetic studies without clear knowledge of their consequences. The first challenge is to find out whether pharmacogenetic studies have greater implications than the determination of routine parameters. We cannot obviate that genetics engenders special worries due to several factors, such as: technical language, lack of information, media simplifications and complexity. The second goal is to define which property rights researchers or sponsor companies have on biological samples and genetic data in pharmacogenetic studies.


Abstract : Modern programming paradigms are increasingly giving rise to applications that require type information at runtime. For example, services like garbage collection, marshalling, and serialization need to analyze type information at runtime. When compiling code which uses runtime type inspections, most existing compilers use untyped intermediate languages and discard type information at an early stage. Unfortunately, such an approach is incompatible with type-based certifying compilation. A certifying compiler generates not only the code but also a proof that the code obeys a security policy. Therefore, one need not trust the correctness of a compiler generating certified code, instead one can verify the correctness of the generated code. This allows a code consumer to accept code from untrusted sources which is specially advantageous in a networked environment. In practice, most certifying compilers use a type system for generating and encoding the proofs. These systems are called type-based certifying compilers. This dissertation describes a type system that can be used for supporting runtime type analysis in type-based certifying compilers. The type system has two novel features. First, type analysis can be applied to the type of any runtime value. In particular quantified types such as polymorphic and existential types can also be analyzed, yet type-checking remains decidable. This allows the system to be used for applications such as a copying garbage collector. Type analysis plays the key role in formalizing the contract between the mutator and the collector. Second, the system integrates runtime type analysis with the explicit representation of proofs and propositions. Essentially, it integrates an entire proof language into the type system for a compiler intermediate language. Existing certifying compilers have focused only on simple memory and control-flow safety.