Single or multiple factors implicated in subsoil constraints including salinity, sodicity, and phytotoxic concentrations of chloride (Cl) are present in many Vertosols including those occurring in Queensland, Australia. The variable distribution and the complex interactions that exist between these constraints limit the agronomic or management options available to manage the soil with these subsoil constraints. The identification of crops and cultivars adapted to these adverse subsoil conditions and/or able to exploit subsoil water may be an option to maintain productivity of these soils. We evaluated relative performance of 5 winter crop species, in terms of grain yields, nutrient concentration, and ability to extract soil water, grown on soils with various levels and combinations of subsoil constraints in 19 field experiments over 2 years. Subsoil constraints were measured by levels of soil Cl, electrical conductivity of the saturation extract (ECse), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). Increasing levels of subsoil constraints significantly decreased maximum depth of water extraction, grain yield, and plant-available water capacity for all the 5 crops and more so for chickpea and durum wheat than bread wheat, barley, or canola. Increasing soil Cl levels had a greater restricting effect on water availability than did ECse and ESP. We developed empirical relationships between soil Cl, ECse, and ESP and crop lower limit (CLL) for estimating subsoil water extraction by 5 winter crops. However, the presence of gypsum influenced the ability to predict CLL based on the levels of ECse. Stronger relationships between apparent unused plant-available water (CLL - LL15; LL15 is lower limit at -1.5 MPa) and soil Cl concentrations than ESP or ECse suggested that the presence of high Cl in these soils most likely inhibited the subsoil water extraction by the crops. This was supported by increased sodium (Na) and Cl concentration with a corresponding decrease in calcium (Ca) and potassium (K) in young mature leaf of bread wheat, durum wheat, and chickpea with increasing levels of subsoil constraints. Of the 2 ions, Na and Cl, the latter appears to be more damaging than the former, resulting in plant dieback and reduced grain yields.


Title of Dissertation: TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN PRESCHOOL AUTISM—A LOOK AT AFFECTIVE VARIABLES Elizabeth A. Tsakiris, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Dissertation directed by: Professor William Strein Department of Counseling and Personnel Services Autism now occurs in 1 out of 150 births in the United States (Centers for Disease Control, 2008). Increasing numbers and complexity of the disorder make the need for identifying effective interventions critical. DSM-IVTR identifies core characteristics of autism as significant deficits in communication, social interaction, and symbolic play. Neither intellectual ability nor academic achievement, two variables frequently used for measuring intervention effectiveness, are included as diagnostic criteria. Yet IQ scores are often used as entry criteria for treatment studies (Tsakiris, 2000). Therefore, intervention effectiveness has utilized variables other than the primary deficits and cannot be applied to the wider range (and truer representation) of children with autism.. From 1980 to 1999, Applied Behavior Analysis (Lovaas, 1987) and the Developmental-Individual Differences Relationship model (Greenspan & Wieder, 1998) were associated with improvement for children with autism; they remain the foundation for most current interventions. While researchers have examined gains in language and academic skills for these models, few empirical studies have examined improvement in the core deficits for autism. This study examined the core affect variables for 28 children with autism who had undergone a minimum of two years of intensive intervention. This study used a retrospective descriptive design to examine treatment effectiveness in development of social interaction, play, and communication competencies. Assessment instruments measured these skills in young children, incorporating both quantitative behavioral data and qualitative psychodynamic interpretation. Results were analyzed to determine relationships between social interaction, communication, and play with the intervention. Parent interviews and record reviews were used to examine child characteristics that might differentiate the presence or lack of relationship to the selected therapies, including age at symptom onset and treatment initiation, self-stimulation levels, echolalia, motor planning and language skills, and biomedical factors. No differences were seen between treatment programs on all outcome measures. The individual characteristics of the children played the more significant role in determining social interaction and communication improvements regardless of the child's intellectual functioning level. The results have important implications for determining which treatments may have better potential for addressing the core deficits of autism and identifying skill trajectories that warrant more attention. TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN PRESCHOOL AUTISM A LOOK AT AFFECTIVE VARIABLES by Elizabeth A. Tsakiris Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009


This paper investigates metaphor use in case study articles (CSAs), which share knowledge and describe counseling processes, on a Chinese university counseling centre website. Metaphors from 27 CSAs were coded under the variables textual position, target, and source. Chi-squared tests of independence reveal a moderate association between metaphor targets and metaphor position within CSAs(Cramer's V = 0.3897), but not between sources and position(Cramer's V = 0.0751). Crosstabulation of targets and sources reveal prominent conceptual mappings in CSAs, which are analyzed with reference to communicative and cultural factors underpinning the counselor-student relationship. Implications and future directions are discussed.


Abstract Monazite-(Ce) from a dolomite carbonatite at Kangankunde, Malawi, is sector-zoned with variation in La2O3 of up to 6.0 wt.% and in Nd2O3 of up to 3.9 wt.% between sectors. Single crystal X-ray diffraction, backscattered electron imaging and microprobe analysis have been used to establish the relationship between the morphology and sector chemistry of this low-Th monazite, (Ce,La,Nd)PO4. Uptake of La by {011} sector surfaces is enhanced relative to that of {1̅01} and {100} sectors; Ce shows no partitioning differences; and uptake of Nd is more easily facilitated on {1̅01} and {100} surfaces relative to {011}. There appears to be a distinct relationship between the size of the REE ion and the probability of uptake via the different growth surfaces. Interpretation of this uptake behaviour, based on theories involving 'protosites', involves an investigation of the possible kink site geometries at edge-steps during growth. Part-formed kink sites with small entrance sizes are calculated to occur with higher frequency on {1̅01} relative to {011}, and this correlates with an increase in the smaller- sized REE (Nd) uptake by {1̅01} growth surfaces. The overall morphology and sector growth is suggested to be a function of uptake chemistry.


This article aims to answer the question of whether duties of reasonable accommodation on the basis of religion can and should be identified by the European Court of Human Rights. Throughout the article, it is emphasised that duties of reasonable accommodation are ultimately about realising equal opportunities and thus substantive equality by levelling out the playing field and evening out barriers to full participation. Duties of differential treatment under the prohibition of discrimination and the prohibition of indirect discrimination are both general in application and, arguably, provide a solid basis for duties of reasonable accommodation, including those relating to religion. Consequently, it is argued that identifying these duties of reasonable accommodation would seem to be a logical development of the Court's jurisprudence. It will be argued that the potential tension with the prohibition of discrimination (regarding those that cannot benefit from the accommodation measures) can be solved when an asymmetrical approach to the scrutiny of suspect grounds is adopted. Similarly, the apparent conflict with duties of state neutrality under the freedom of religion disappears when an inclusive vision of state neutrality is followed. When reasonable accommodation measures trigger controversies, this should be countered by awareness raising about the intrinsic connection of reasonable accommodation measures with substantive equality.


ABSTRACT Biological evidence suggests that ethno-racial differences in morning–evening type are possible, whereby Blacks may be more likely to be morning type compared to Whites. However, population-level evidence of ethno-racial difference in morning–evening type is limited. In an earlier study, we reported that morning type was more prevalent in Blacks compared to Whites in the United Kingdom (UK) Biobank cohort (N = 439 933). This study aimed to determine if these ethno-racial differences persisted after accounting for an even broader range of social, environmental and individual characteristics and employing an analytic approach that simulates randomization in observational data, propensity score modeling. Data from UK Biobank participants whose self-identified race/ethnicity was Black/Black British or White; who did not report daytime napping, shift work or night shift work; who provided full mental health information; and who were identified using propensity score matching were used (N = 2044). Each sample was strongly matched across all social, environmental and individual characteristics as indicated by absolute standardized mean differences <0.09 for all variables. The prevalence of reporting nocturnal short, adequate and long sleep as well as morning, intermediate and evening type among Blacks (n = 1022) was compared with a matched sample of Whites (n = 1022) using multinomial logistic regression models. Blacks had a 62% greater odds of being morning type [odds ratio (OR) = 1.620, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.336–1.964, p < .0001] and a more than threefold greater odds of reporting nocturnal short sleep (OR = 3.453, 95% CI: 2.846–4.190, p < .0001) than Whites. These data indicate that the greater prevalence of morning type and short nocturnal sleep in Blacks compared to Whites is not fully explained by a wide range of social and environmental factors. If sleep is an upstream determinant of health, these data suggest that ethno-racially targeted public health sleep intervention strategies are needed.


The purpose of this synthesis was to examine and document the current state of the practice in transit asset condition management. Transit asset management is defined here as a strategic planning process that supports informed capital investment planning and programming. It is said that "good" transit asset management can provide critical support in two key areas—establishing the level of need for infrastructure investment and programming the cost of effective investment. The report's objective is to provide transit agencies and their federal, state, and local funding partners with a review of current practices in hopes of encouraging industry-wide discussion on standards and the data needed to measure conditions and use the information in making effective investment decisions. The report contains information derived from a literature review and the results of an industrial survey of the 50 largest multi-modal transit agencies in terms of operations size, which yielded an 82% response rate. Further, detailed case studies of innovative practices at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the New York City Transit Authority describe the origin of each agency's asset management system, how it is used, and how it evolved over time. Then two agencies were chosen to represent two distinct State of Good Repair systems that represent different approaches and that would likely have the most advanced asset management systems because of the complexity of their operations. These examples might help others identify opportunities and challenges for upgrading and increasing the consistency of their own transit asset condition reporting.


Deacetylation of chitin affords chitosan, a polymer, widely studied for its pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical applications. The hurdle in comprehending these applications is its limited solubility. Carboxymethylation of chitosan helps to surmount this hurdle with its improved solubility in water. Though there is ample of research related to carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) the focused review of the topic is unavailable. Hence an attempt is made in this review to cover the recent findings pertaining to synthesis, characterization of CMC and its applications especially in pharmaceutical field. CMC has been synthesized by ways as direct alkylation, reductive alkylation, Michael addition and characterized by FTIR, NMR spectroscopy, and DSC, titrimetry, viscometry, gel permeation chromatography, X-ray diffraction and capillary zone electrophoresis. The carboxymethyl group can be present at O or N or both the atoms of chitosan molecule. The CMC possess modulated physical and biological properties as chelating, sorption, moisture retention, cell functioning antioxidant, antibacterial, antiapoptotic etc. CMC is used in sustained or controlled release drug delivery, pH responsive drug delivery, DNA delivery as permeation enhancer etc. CMC can be further modified with alkylation, acylation, and grafting. Carboxyalkylation of chitosan yield carboxyethyl, carboxybutyl chitosans. These analogues of CMC may be helpful in substantiating the applications of chitosan. Copyright © 2010 VBRI press.


Twenty known cases of X;autosome translocations with breakpoints at Xp21 associated with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy in girls are reviewed. The variable severity described for different persons may reflect differences in X inactivation or in the nature of the genomic target disrupted. High resolution cytogenetic studies on 12 cases indicate breakpoints on the X chromosome at Xp21.1 or Xp21.2. Translocation chromosomes from several of these cases have been isolated in human/mouse somatic cell hybrids. Molecular heterogeneity in the breakpoint positions has been established by probing DNA from these hybrids with a range of cloned sequences known to be located within, or closely linked to, the Duchenne region. The minimum separation between the most distal and the most proximal breakpoints is 176 kb suggesting that, if a single gene is involved, it must be large. Alternatively, the translocations may affect different genes, or confer alterations to regulatory sequences which operate at a distance.


The current reluctance to share systems and network data derives from gaps in the law, commercial pressures, and evolving considerations of threat models and ethical behavior. Internet research stakeholders have an opportunity to tip the risk scales in favor of more protected data sharing by proactively implementing appropriate privacy risk management. The privacy-sensitive sharing (PS2) framework integrates privacy-enhancing technologies with a policy framework. The authors evaluate this framework along two primary criteria: how well the policies and techniques address privacy risks, and how well policies and techniques achieve utility objectives. A case study applies the framework to enable network operational data sharing for cybersecurity RD.


Because of the parabolic instability of the Shilov systems to change their coefficients, the definition parabolicity of Shilov for systems with time-dependent t coefficients, unlike the definition parabolicity of Petrovsky, is formulated by imposing conditions on the matricant of corresponding dual by Fourier system. For parabolic systems by Petrovsky with time-dependent coefficients, these conditions are the property of a matricant, which follows directly from the definition of parabolicity. In connection with this, the question of the wealth of the class Shilov systems with time-dependent coefficients is important. A new class of linear parabolic systems with partial derivatives to the first order by the time t with time-dependent coefficients is considered in this work. It covers the class by Petrovsky systems with time-dependent younger coefficients. A main part of differential expression of each such system is parabolic (by Shilov) expression with constant coefficients. The fundamental solution of the Cauchy problem for systems of this class is constructed by the Fourier transform method. Also proved their parabolicity by Shilov. Only the structure of the system and the conditions on the eigenvalues of the matrix symbol were used. First of all, this class characterizes the wealth by Shilov class of systems with time-dependents coefficients. Also it is given a general method for investigating a fundamental solution of the Cauchy problem for Shilov parabolic systems with positive genus, which is the development of the well-known method of Y.I. Zhitomirskii.


The research investigates the past, present and potential future role of Information Specialists (ISps) in process oriented companies. It tests the proposition that ISps in companies that have undertaken formal process reengineering exercises are likely to become more proactive and more business oriented (as opposed to technically oriented) than they had previously been when their organisations were organised along traditional, functional lines. A review of existing literature in the area of Business Process Reengineering and Information Management reveals a lack of consensus amongst researchers concerning the appropriate role for ISps during and after BPR. Opinion is divided as to whether IS professionals should reactively support BPR or whether IT/IS developments should be driving these initiatives. A questionnaire based 'Descriptive Survey' with 60 respondents is used as a first stage of primary data gathering. This is followed by follow-up interviews with 20 of the participating organisations to gather further information on their experiences. The final stage of data collection consists of further in-depth interview with four case study companies to provide an even richer picture of their experiences. The results of the questionnaire are analysed and displayed in the form of simple means, frequencies and bar graphs. The 'NU-DIST' computer based discourse analysis package was tried in relation to summarising the interview findings, but this proved cumbersome and a visual collation method is preferred. Overall, the researcher contends that the supposition outlined above is proven, and she concludes the research by suggesting the implications of these findings. In particular she offers a 'Framework for Understanding and Action' which is deemed to be relevant to both practitioners and future researchers.


GaN layers doped by Mg show a metastable behavior of the near‐band‐gap luminescence caused by electron irradiation or UV excitation. At low temperatures <30 K the changes in luminescence are permanent. Heating to room temperature recovers the initial low temperature spectrum shape completely. Two acceptors are involved in the recombination process as confirmed by transient PL. In as‐grown samples a possible candidate for the metastable acceptor is CN, while after annealing a second more stable acceptor related to Mg became active.


Background: Menopause is one of the most critical phenomena in women's lives, leading to emotional and behavioral symptoms in many cases. In this regard, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness training for menopausal women on psychological wellbeing and emotional regulation. Methods: The research method, conducted in 2019, was quasi-experimental with a Pre-test-Post-test design and a control group. This study population included all menopausal women referring to Rasht City healthcare centers. A total of 28 women were selected using the convenience sampling method based on the study criteria and were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (n=14). Ryff's psychological wellbeing questionnaire (1989) and emotion regulation questionnaire (Gross and John, 2003) were asked to complete all participants. The experimental group received an 8-session mindfulness training and the control group did not receive any training program. Results: The results of multivariate analysis of covariance showed that the Mean±SD scores of psychological wellbeing 166.47±18.94 and emotional regulation 25.56±4.12 in the experimental group increased significantly in the Post-test (P<0.05), i.e., 188.67±12.220 for the psychological wellbeing and 37.02±5.12 for the emotion regulation. Conclusion: Mindfulness training is an effective way to improve menopausal women's psychological wellbeing and emotional regulation and it can be used to help these women by counselors and therapists.


The Paris Agreement includes Article 6 with several provisions, which allow for the use of the international carbon market. In this paper, Cooperative Approaches (CA, Art. 6.2-3) and the Mechanism for Sustainable Development and Mitigation (MSDM, Art. 6.4-7) will be considered as the market mechanisms, which constitute the basis of the international carbon market under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The purpose of this paper is to identify the main goals and aims of the international carbon market, take into account the general context and environment for carbon markets under the Paris Agreement, identify and discuss the main issues of the relevant paragraphs and analyse issues of the interaction and relationship of the provisions including synergies and conflicts. The paper aims at facilitating the discussion among UNFCCC parties while, given the dynamic nature of the topic, it can obviously only be a snapshot of the current status of the discussions. Our analysis suggests that the purpose of international carbon markets has changed. While increasing economic efficiency was more prominent during the first development phase of international carbon markets, raising mitigation ambition may become more important in the phase to come. In terms of the design of the two market mechanisms pursuant to Art. 6.2 and 6.4, negotiations have just started. Many fundamental or more technical questions still have to be negotiated and it is not yet clear which positions individual parties will take. Some of these questions are overarching and are similar for both mechanisms, e.g. the relationship to Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) or procedures to ensure robust accounting. Others, such as the nature of the Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) or governance issues are quite different and very specific for each of the mechanisms.


We present HeadBlaster, a novel wearable technology that creates motion perception by applying ungrounded force to the head to stimulate the vestibular and proprioception sensory systems. Compared to motion platforms that tilt the body, HeadBlaster more closely approximates how lateral inertial and centrifugal forces are felt during real motion to provide more persistent motion perception. In addition, because HeadBlaster only actuates the head rather than the entire body, it eliminates the mechanical motion platforms that users must be constrained to, which improves user mobility and enables room-scale VR experiences. We designed a wearable HeadBlaster system with 6 air nozzles integrated into a VR headset, using compressed air jets to provide persistent, lateral propulsion forces. By controlling multiple air jets, it is able to create the perception of lateral acceleration in 360 degrees. We conducted a series of perception and human-factor studies to quantify the head movement, the persistence of perceived acceleration, and the minimal level of detectable forces. We then explored the user experience of HeadBlaster through two VR applications: a custom surfing game, and a commercial driving simulator together with a commercial motion platform. Study results showed that HeadBlaster provided significantly longer perceived duration of acceleration than motion platforms. It also significantly improved realism and immersion, and was preferred by users compared to using VR alone. In addition, it can be used in conjunction with motion platforms to further augment the user experience.


The English poet Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) was greatly admired in his own day for his sprawling longer pieces such as The Pleasures of Hope and Gertrude of Wyoming, but today he is most valued by the anthologists for his battle songs and ballads. As W. Macneile Dixon has observed, it is Campbell's martial lyrics such as "Ye Mariners of England," "The Battle of the Baltic," and "Hohenlinden"--and "that inimitable ballad" "Lord Ullin's Daughter"--that assure him his place with the makers of English literature. (2) In 1795 Campbell visited Mull, one of the largest islands of the Inner Hebrides (Argyllshire, Scotland), and there sketched the ballad "Lord Ullin's Daughter," which he reworked in 1804 and finally published in 1809. (3) The ballad is the story of an attempted elopement which results in the deaths of the couple. The fleeing lovers, the young "chief of Ulva's isle" and his "bonny bride," Lord Ullin's daughter, have been hotly pursued by Lord Ullin and his horsemen for three days. Both know that the young man's life will be forfeit if they are captured. They approach a boatman to whom the young man offers money if he will row them over the ferry; that is, if he will take them across Lochgyle. The boatman, a "hardy Highland wight," agrees to row them across in spite of the raging storm, not for money, but for the sake of the "winsome lady." As the pursuers approach, the boat puts out into the stormy loch. When Lord Ullin reaches the shore, he is forced to watch his daughter and her lover drown as he calls out to them, vainly promising forgiveness to the young man if only they will return. (4) The stanzas of "Lord Ullin's Daughter" are quatrains consisting of lines of iambic tetrameter alternating with lines of iambic trimeter and rhyming "abab." The "a" rhyme is masculine; the "b" rhyme is feminine. Each of the "b"-rhyme lines concludes with an extra-metrical unstressed syllable, which provides the feminine ending. The great weakness of the ballad is the inexorable regularity of its beat and line length and the inevitability of the rhymes, although the monotony is broken by internal rhymes: "word"--"bird" in stanza 6, "glen"--"men" in stanza 8, "dismay'd'--"shade" in stanza 12, and "wild"--"child" in stanza 14. Campbell's end rhymes, like those in some traditional ballads, are often imperfect: "tarry"--"ferry" in stanzas 1 and 6, "ready"--"lady" in stanza 5, and "wind"--"men" in stanza 8, for example. In stanzas 6 and 14, he gives up the struggle with "bird"--"white" and "shore"--"child." One of the great strengths of the ballad is its pervasive sense of place. One can imagine Campbell composing the poem on the very shore where its action is supposed to have taken place. Though a certain vagueness on the part of the poet prevents the reader from actually being able to map the route of the lovers' flight and identifying their precise destination, Campbell's exactness in naming places almost compels the reader to consult the map and gazetteer. This sense of place results in an authenticity that is genuinely impressive. The "chief of Ulva's isle" and "Lord Ullin's daughter"--"to the Highlands bound"--plead with the boatman to "row us o'er the ferry," that is, to take them across Lochgyle. They have been fleeing from their pursuers for three days. Lochgyle---or Loch na Keal--is a sea-loch in the west of Mull. (5) Ulva (5 miles by 2-1/3 miles) is an island off the mouth of Loch na Keal. The ferry referred to is presumably that from Ulva Ferry over Ulva Sound, an arm of Loch na Keal, to the mainland of Mull. (6) Since the two have been fleeing for three days, it seems likely that "Ulva's chief" is trying to escape the larger island of Mull and gain passage by ferry across the Sound of Ulva, in order to find refuge in his own diminutive island of Ulva. Although the poet tells us that the fleeing couple are "to the Highlands bound," there is no reason why the destination may not be Ulva, for the term "Highlands" may be understood to include the islands of the Inner Hebrides and need not refer only to certain mainland areas of Scotland. …


We teach algorithmics at early stages of children development by means of various programming languages and ICT tools in order to develop their cognitive and mathematical skills. Computational thinking is not only a useful for computer scientists, but also a fundamental skill for other people. We should teach children computational skills along with reading, writing, and arithmetic. In this article we present our three-year experience of teaching courses, during which we combine face-to-face workshops in a computer laboratory with an online teaching platform. We provide classes for various groups – ranging from courses for primary school students to courses for teachers, which we expand by elements of methodology of teaching.


Multi-input addition occurs in a variety of arithmetically intensive signal processing applications. The DSP blocks embedded in high-performance FPGAs perform fixed bitwidth parallel multiplication and Multiply-ACcumulate (MAC) operations. In theory, the compressor trees contained within the multipliers could implement multi-input addition; however, they are not exposed to the programmer. To improve FPGA performance for these applications, this article introduces the Field Programmable Compressor Tree (FPCT) as an alternative to the DSP blocks. By providing just a compressor tree, the FPCT can perform multi-input addition along with parallel multiplication and MAC in conjunction with a small amount of FPGA general logic. Furthermore, the user can configure the FPCT to precisely match the bitwidths of the operands being summed. Although an FPCT cannot beat the performance of a well-designed ASIC compressor tree of fixed bitwidth, for example, 9×9 and 18×18-bit multipliers/MACs in DSP blocks, its configurable bitwidth and ability to perform multi-input addition is ideal for reconfigurable devices that are used across a variety of applications.


Two murine Theta-class glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), mGSTT1 and mGSTT2, have been cloned and sequenced. The murine cDNAs, together with the published sequences of the rat and human enzymes, were used to design oligonucleotide probes in order to determine the distribution of mRNA for these enzymes in the liver and lung of rat, mouse and human. The mRNA distribution was compared with that of enzyme protein determined with an antibody to rat GSTT2-2. Both the antibody and the oligonucleotide probes gave the same distribution patterns. Both enzymes were present at significantly higher concentrations in mouse tissues than in rat or human tissues. In mouse liver, both enzymes were localized in specific cell types and in nuclei. Although the distribution of GSTT2-2 in rat liver was similar to that seen in the mouse, GSTT1-1 was not localized in a specific cell type or in the nuclei of either rat or human liver. In the lungs, very high concentrations of the Theta enzymes were present in mouse-lung Clara cells and ciliated cells, with much lower levels in the Clara cells only of rat lung. Low levels of human transferase GSTT1-1 were detected in a small number of Clara cells and ciliated cells at the alveolar/ bronchiolar junction. The relative activities between species, and the cellular and sub-cellular distribution within the liver and lungs of each species, provides an explanation for the species-specificity of methylene chloride, a mouse-specific carcinogen activated by glutathione S-transferase GSTT1-1.


Between 1974 and 1982, the Soil Conservation Service, U.S.D.A. conducted a sediment concentration study on the Choptank Watershed in Caroline County, Maryland to monitor the effects of channel construction and modification. The Choptank Watershed is a large drainage project installed in Delaware and Maryland to alleviate flooding in agricultural areas and improve soil drainage characteristics. Approximately 52 miles of surface drainage channel have been installed in the Maryland portion of the watershed along with erosion and sediment control measures such as: in-channel sediment traps, side inlet control structures, spoil shaping, daily seeding, and berm construction. Suspended sediment concentrations within the watershed are generally low and average less than 10 mg/1. During construction periods, the sediment concentrations increase significantly, however the average monthly concentrations leaving the channel reaches are less than 80 mg/1. Within a year after channel modifications are completed, sediment concentrations return to preconstruction levels. In-channel sediment traps retain up to 91 percent of the suspended sediment. Downstream, up to 80 percent of the sediment generated by construction has settled or been removed by filtering action.


A recent trend in political campaign studies is the use of sentiment analysis to understand users' decisions. The scandal of Facebook and Cambridge Analytics is an example of efforts to use social media platforms to impact citizens' will. This research aims to answer the question: Did the Facebook reactions of users in Mexico reflect the outcomes of the elections and possibly also the users' emotions toward the political candidates of the State of Mexico in 2017? To answer the research question, we analyzed data collected from 4,128 Facebook posts and their reactions. The available reactions for Facebook users are: like, love, haha, wow, sad, and angry. Doing so revealed some kind of mood from the users in the Facebook comments section and opinions of the local government campaign in the central State of Mexico. The elections studied took place in June 2017. Our findings show that the winning political party had more negative sentiment and fewer posts and users' discussions of the candidates in Facebook comments sections than the political party with the largest positive sentiment. This party was unsuccessful in winning the elections.


The hedge fund industry in South Africa has undergone positive changes in terms of both regulation and structure since 2007. These changes have provided an opportunity to further utilize hedge fund strategies within a portfolio management framework. This is especially significant when considering the diversification potential that hedge funds may have and their ability to generate an alternative source of return, both of which are important when considering tactical and strategic asset allocations. There is therefore a need to model the interrelationships between the major hedge fund strategies and the local equity market in order to understand the dynamic linkages that may be present in both the long and short term. We conducted cointegration analysis within the VAR framework on monthly data spanning from 2007 to 2018. The analysis of long-term dynamics indicated that there is no cointegration between the All Share Total Return Index and the hedge fund strategy return indexes as measured under a Johansen cointegration methodology. Pairwise Granger causality tests supported the cointegration findings with no directional causal impacts found. The analysis of short-term dynamics via impulse responses indicated limited causality between the hedge fund indexes and the equity market, while variance decomposition showed few spill-over effects from the equity market to the hedge fund indexes. The overall findings imply that a South African investor could achieve diversification benefits in both the short and long term by adding hedge funds to an equity-centric portfolio. The findings also provide evidence that hedge funds can be used as effective components within tactical and strategic asset allocation. TOPICS: Real assets/alternative investments/private equity, emerging markets, risk management, VAR and use of alternative risk measures of trading risk, quantitative methods, statistical methods Key Findings ▪ There is no long-term equilibrium relationship between the returns of South African domiciled hedge funds and the equity market. This is supported by both cointegration and Granger causality analyses. ▪ Hedge funds provide investors with diversification benefits in both the short and long term when added to an equity-centric portfolio. ▪ The results support the use of hedge funds in both tactical and strategic asset allocation.


The demand for computer-assisted language learning systems that can provide corrective feedback on language learners' speaking has increased. However, it is not a trivial task to detect grammatical errors in oral conversations because of the unavoidable errors of automatic speech recognition systems. To provide corrective feedback, a novel method to detect grammatical errors in speaking performance is proposed. The proposed method consists of two sub-models: the grammaticality-checking model and the error-type classification model. We automatically generate grammatical errors that learners are likely to commit and construct error patterns based on the articulated errors. When a particular speech pattern is recognized, the grammaticality-checking model performs a binary classification based on the similarity between the error patterns and the recognition result using the confidence score. The error-type classification model chooses the error type based on the most similar error pattern and the error frequency extracted from a learner corpus. The grammaticality checking method largely outperformed the two comparative models by 56.36% and 42.61% in F-score while keeping the false positive rate very low. The error-type classification model exhibited very high performance with a 99.6% accuracy rate. Because high precision and a low false positive rate are important criteria for the language-tutoring setting, the proposed method will be helpful for intelligent computer-assisted language learning systems.


Rapid convergence to a desired allocation of network resources to endpoint traffic is a difficult problem. The reason is that congestion control decisions are distributed across the endpoints, which vary their offered load in response to changes in application demand and network feedback on a packet-by-packet basis. We propose a different approach for datacenter networks, flowlet control, in which congestion control decisions are made at the granularity of a flowlet, not a packet. With flowlet control, allocations have to change only when flowlets arrive or leave. We have implemented this idea in a system called Flowtune using a centralized allocator that receives flowlet start and end notifications from endpoints. The allocator computes optimal rates using a new, fast method for network utility maximization, and updates endpoint congestion-control parameters. Experiments show that Flowtune outperforms DCTCP, pFabric, sfqCoDel, and XCP on tail packet delays in various settings, converging to optimal rates within a few packets rather than over several RTTs. Benchmarks on an EC2 deployment show a fairer rate allocation than Linux's Cubic. A data aggregation benchmark shows 1.61× lower p95 coflow completion time.


Task-specific application development environments enable end users to create their own applications. This is advantageous in two ways: users can draw on their own rich task knowledge to create the applications they really want, and reliance on the scarce, expensive expertise of professional programmers is greatly reduced. Extensible systems such as spreadsheets and statistical packages provide a good model for application construction as they allow end users to create complete applications. Such environments eliminate the need for separate user interface builders; the interface is seamlessly created as the application is developed. In this 'Zen' process, there is little difference between application development and user interface development. Further barriers are broken down by creating application development components that can continually be edited and refined, so that distinctions among 'editing', 'building', 'application construction', and 'finished application' begin to disappear. The authors describe ACE, an architecture for building task-specific applications, and the software libraries they have developed to implement this architecture. They show how ACE supports the building of task-specific applications via a range of extension mechanisms from interactive editing by end users to programmer-defined subclassing.<<ETX>>


An empirical model called NeQuick has been selected for the modelling and correction of the ionospheric delay contribution in GALILEO single frequency receivers. The current baseline version of NeQuick for GALILEO is the one available in the International Telecommunication Union – Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) since 2001. From that time, several improvements have been proposed leading to the need of a better understanding and comparison of these different versions and an analysis of the weaknesses. Better results have been obtained by means of simpler ionosonde and profile parameters calculations, different topside formulation and new data files. The interest of a newer version of NeQuick including the above-mentioned modifications is highlighted as its error behaviour towards latitude shows a better agreement with reality. Those modifications should be coupled to a less simplistic topside formulation involving several layers with appropriate transitions such as the proposal introduced in this paper. The need of a different treatment regarding the daily effective use of the model for GALILEO single frequency algorithm compared to a physical use (that uses monthly median underlying data) is addressed. For the analysis and comparison of the different variants of the model, a software tool with a Graphical User Interface was developed. Preliminary comparisons for the physical use between different versions and also between modelled and measured data are presented. Such comparisons should be extended in the future for the effective use of the model. Finally, the structure and analysis of the mentioned issues and the results of the different comparisons are shown. Also solutions or potential paths to investigate solutions are proposed.


The existence of irony in music is a topic that has recently attracted the attention of both musicologists and literary theorists. Focusing on the "double-voicedness" employed by Shostakovich under the Soviet regime, this essay explores the ways that the production and reception of musical irony are influenced by cultural and political context. The fact that the arts in the Soviet Union survived the 1930s and 40s is amazing, for Joseph Stalin had no more taste for art than he had for insubordination. Yet somehow, despite the constant threat of silencing, Soviet artists managed to produce masterpieces which revolutionized the art world and were globally acclaimed, especially in the field of music. Richard Taruskin, in Defining Russia Musically (1997), writes that "no one alive today can imagine the sort of extreme mortal duress to which artists in the Soviet Union were then subjected, and Shostakovich more than any other" (516). If there is something ironic about the achievements of artists like Shostakovich, however, the question that arises in turn is where does the irony lie and to what extent was it a deliberate strategy adopted by musicians under the Stalinist regime? Although irony as an artistic strategy has traditionally been associated primarily with literary works, such "double-voicing" has a long history that spans the spectrum of artistic endeavor, as Linda Hutcheon has recently argued in a far-ranging study provocatively titled Irony's Edge (64). Highlighting the differences and similarities between irony in literature and in other modes of art, Hutcheon taps into the difficulty of delineating exactly where irony is located and how ironic meaning is generated. She titles one section of her study "The unbearable slipperiness of irony," and musicologists have noted the same frustrating inability to pin down ironic effect in music, perhaps more so in the case of Shostakovich than with any other composer. Indeed, in an analysis of Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony, David Fanning concludes: "it is still no more possible to prove the existence of irony in music than to define the parameters of an ironic 'oh yes' in literature." As he also observes, however, listeners do see m to recognize the existence of irony and respond to it, a situation he sees as owing partly to extra-musical factors: "Timing, context, and cultural conventions, some would say ideology, too, all contribute to the instinct which may lead us to impute such meaning; and performance...plays a crucial role in its communication" (73). In this essay, I want to pursue both a musical and an extra-musical reading of Shostakovich's use of irony, showing how the extreme cultural and political circumstances surrounding his activity as a composer entwine content and context and how a perception of the ironies built into his works are largely dependent on what Hutcheon calls "discursive communities" (18). As Taruskin puts it, "[w]hat made Shostakovich's music the secret diary of a nation was not only what he put into it but what it allowed listeners to draw out" (474). I will begin my analysis with a brief history of Shostakovich's unique position in the Stalinist regime, and move forward to investigate how Hutcheon's theory of irony operates when applied to several musical texts by Shostakovich, taking into account the external problems of authorial intention, a shifting historical context, and what Taruskin describes as the "social value" of Shostakovich's music (476). Finally, I will draw attention to the continuing critical debates and lack of consensus surrounding the interpretation of Shostakovich's music, with a view to suggesting how such controversy provides perhaps the best indication of all that the essence of ironic expression continues to elude its pursuers. In The Irony Tower, Andrew Solomon writes that "one seldom needs to search for ironies in Moscow; more often than not, they are given like gifts" (7). Indeed, the collection of strategies used by 20th-century Soviet artists reads like a recipe for the range of methods possible in the production of irony. …


Schizophrenia and related mood disorders are thought to arise from a combination of genetic and environmental factors, but the identification of specific causative genes has been challenging. The disrupted in schizophrenia (DISC1) gene is on a short list of promising candidate susceptibility factors, but the function of its encoded protein has been unclear. Millar et al. (see the Perspective by Sawa and Snyder) now present evidence suggesting that the DISC1 protein modulates cellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling through its physical interaction with the enzyme phosphodiesterase 4B and that disruption of this interaction may play a mechanistic role in the development of schizophrenia. Notably, cAMP signaling has previously been implicated in learning, memory, and mood in other experimental systems. J. K. Millar, B. S. Pickard, S. Mackie, R. James, S. Christie, S. R. Buchanan, M. P. Malloy, J. E. Chubb, E. Huston, G. S. Baillie, P. A. Thomson, E. V. Hill, N. J. Brandon, J.-C. Rain, L. M. Camargo, P. J. Whiting, M. D. Houslay, D. H. R. Blackwood, W. J. Muir, D. J. Porteous, DISC1 and PDE4B are interacting genetic factors in schizophrenia that regulate cAMP signaling. Science 310, 1187-1191 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text] A. Sawa, S. H. Snyder, Two genes link two distinct psychoses. Science 310, 1128-1129 (2005). [Summary] [Full Text]


It started in Tunisia in December 2010, spread to Egypt in January, Bahrain and Yemen in February - then to Libya and Syria. The 'Arab Spring' became the hot summer of civil war in Libya and may yet end in a winter of unprecedented bloodshed in Syria. These are major events transforming the political landscape in Arab countries and beyond. But how well were the Arab uprisings reported in the British media? To what extent did talk of 'Twitter revolutions' distort the coverage? How did the television channel Al Jareera fare? This book is a unique collaboration as practice meets theory. Frontline correspondents write exclusively on their experiences dodging the bullets and joining the anti-Gaddafi fighters as they stormed into Tripoli, Libya's capital. In addition, there's analysis by significant journo big name thinkers plus a rich mixture of 'hackademics' and their take from Britain and further afield. • Sky News reporter Alex Crawford beat the world's media to report bravely on the collapse of Col. Gaddafi's empire in Tripoli. In this exclusive report, she tells how she secured the scoop • Marwan Darweish assesses the impact of the extraordinary events in the Middle East on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict • John Jewell examines the mainstream media's demonisation of "mad dog" Gaddafi • Daniel Bennett puts the critical spotlight on the 'Gay Girl in Damascus' fake blog. Other contributors include Will Barton, Andrew Beck, Teodora Beleaga, Simon Cottle, Wyre Davies, Alan Fisher, Jackie Gregory, Christine Sylva Hamieh, David Hayward, Lindsey Hilsum, Alexander Kazamias, Jon Leyne, Tim Luckhurst, Kevin Marsh, Ben McConville, Mashaal Mir, Okoth Fred Mudhai, Eamonn O'Neill, Alpaslan Ozerden, Oliver Poole, James Rodgers, Kate Smith, Julie Tomlin, Justin Webb. This is the fifth in a series of books coming out of the Coventry Conversations Conferences held jointly with the BBC College of Journalism and the School of Journalism at the University of Lincoln.


This paper, first, presents some basic ideas and models of a structuralist development macroeconomics that complements and actualizes the thought of structuralist development economics that was dominant between the 1940s and the 1960s including in the World Bank. The new approach focus on the relation between the exchange rate and economic growth, and develops three interrelated models: the tendency to the overvaluation of the exchange, the critique of growth with foreign savings, and a model of the Dutch disease based on the existence of two exchange rate equilibriums: the 'current' and the 'industrial' equilibrium. Second, it summarizes 'new developmentalism' – a sum of growth policies based on these models and on the experience of fast growing Asian countries


A thing among things is an endless pursuit to expand the definition of home and find resolve during life's circumstances. I constantly search for meaning within myself, my family, and our surroundings because one of my greatest fears is to live a purposeless life. Initially, I was allured by the false sense of control that photography provides as I guided individuals, directed scenes, and selected the framing. However, I realize that the medium has the potential to reveal accidental truths within the fantasies I create. The photographs are constructed and spontaneous. The stage is predetermined but any narrative can unfold. I'm obsessed with unplanned moments that allow me to see through the guilt and condemnation and feel at peace with who I am and never fully knowing what I'll be.


Anthropogenic influences have reduced florida's Everglades over the last 140 years to a struggling remnant of its historic size and ecological potential. The State of Florida's Everglades Forever Act of 1994 sets into action a plan for restoring a significant portion of the remaining two-million acre Everglades ecosystem through a program of construction projects, research initiatives, and regulation policies. A comprehensive and innovative agenda to solve issues of water quality, water quantity, and the invasion of exotic species makes up the Everglades Program originating from that legislation. The Everglades Forever Act calls on state and federal agencies to organize their efforts to carry out the Everglades Program. The South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are spearheading the Everglades Program in association with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A diverse group of federal, state and local organizations have a supporting role in the process. Interagency coordination is paramount to the success of the restoration effort.


Online citizen science projects engage volunteers in collecting, analyzing, and curating scientific data. Existing projects have demonstrated the value of using volunteers to collect data, but few projects have reached the full collaborative potential of scientists and volunteers. Understanding the shared and unique motivations of these two groups can help designers establish the technical and social infrastructures needed to promote effective partnerships. We present findings from a study of the motivational factors affecting participation in ecological citizen science projects. We show that volunteers are motivated by a complex framework of factors that dynamically change throughout their cycle of work on scientific projects; this motivational framework is strongly affected by personal interests as well as external factors such as attribution and acknowledgment. Identifying the pivotal points of motivational shift and addressing them in the design of citizen-science systems will facilitate improved collaboration between scientists and volunteers.


A number of evaluations of models of integrated care have not produced the expected result of reduced hospital admissions, and in some cases have even found people receiving integrated care services using hospitals more than matched controls. We tested three hypotheses for these surprising results with a group of 50 integrated care experts in a seminar: (1) problems with the model; (2) problems of implementation; and (3) problems of evaluation. Our group of experts did not rule out any of these hypotheses and came up with some advice as to manage these issues. For example, model designers should rigorously test the underlying logic; commissioners should seek out advice from experts and patients/professionals; and evaluators should choose outcomes wisely, use mixed methods approaches, and provide regular feedback loops to implementation sites. Evaluating integrated care is a skilled task that requires multiple approaches in terms of the design and implementation of the models. National research funders or other appropriate bodies might consider developing an advisory service to provide support to local systems planning evaluations.


This research explores the ways cannibalism in Chuck Palahniuk's novel Haunted (2005) and Nicolas Winding Refn's film The Neon Demon (2016) are a consequence, and reflective, of the consuming nature of creative industries. The research draws from this exploration that the consumptive characteristics of cannibalism often allegorise the processes and careers of artists. Specifically, the sacrificial nature of putting oneself into one's work, the notion of the tortured artist, and the competitive nature of creative industries, where the hierarchy is ascended through others' losses. In the framing narrative of Haunted, seventeen writers are trapped within an isolated writing retreat under the illusion of re-enacting the Villa Diodati and writing their individual masterpieces. When inspiration fails them, they sabotage their food supply in order to enhance their suffering, and thus their eventual memoirs. The writers turn to cannibalism, not only to survive but to remove the competition. By consuming each other, they attempt to manufacture themselves as 'tortured artists', competing to create the most painful story of the 'writing retreat from hell'. In The Neon Demon, the protagonist, Jesse, begins as an innocent young woman who becomes embroiled in the cutthroat modelling industry. Favoured for her natural beauty, Jesse antagonises her fellow models, developing narcissistic tendencies in the process. At the film's end she is cannibalised by these rivals, indicating the industrial consumption of her purity, the restoration of individual beauty by leeching off of the young, and the retaining of the hierarchy by removing the competition. Employing close readings of both literary and cinematic primary source material, this interdisciplinary study investigates a satirical trend within cultural representations of cannibalism against consumptive and competitive creative industries. In each text, cannibalism manifests as a Peer review: This article has been subject to a double-blind peer review process Copyright notice: This article is issued under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use and redistribution of the work provided that the original author and source are credited. You must give appropriate credit (author attribution), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. https://creativecommons .org/licenses/by/4.0/ Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal 116 Wheatley. Exchanges 2020 7(2), pp. 115-133 consequence of these industrial pressures, as the desire for fame forces people to commit unsavoury deeds. In this regard, cannibalism acts as an extreme extrapolation of the dehumanising consequences of working within this capitalist confine.


Jaiphal is a common fruit of Myristica fragrans Houtt. plant used as spices as well as for medicinal purpose in Unani System of Medicine since antiquity. The Saydalaneh (pharmacist) in Arab introduce a large number of new drugs to clinical use including nutmeg. As a Unani concept of temperament, it is hot and dry. It is very common and popular drug used as digestive, carminative, appetizer, exhilarant and mood elevator, antitussive, antiemetic, demulcent, aphrodisiac, stomachic, liver, nervine, cardio, and uterine tonic in Unani System of Medicine. Extensive information is provided in Unani text by Greek physicians about this drug so it is used in many compound formulations and useful recipes. These importance and benefits lead to further review to explore its medicinal importance. Review reveals digestive, appetizer, exhilarant and mood elevator, antitussive, antiemetic, nervine tonic, aphrodisiac, antidiarrheal, liver tonic, cardiotonic, and uterine tonic. Recent researchers indicate antimicrobial, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anticancer, sedative, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory activity. Further, scope of research can also be explored with the help of traditional knowledge exist in Unani and other traditional medicine.


If a primary educational goal is to create and sustain more democratic schools by enabling the growth of practitioners as democratic leaders (Cochran-Smith, 2003; Giroux, 1992; Jenlink, 2002), then teachers must be given opportunities to express their tacit beliefs as developing democratic-accountable leaders. Democratically accountable leadership can be understood as a dynamic force that shapes the social justice work of organizational leaders. Responsive preparation programs in educational leadership foster both the democratic capacity of aspiring leaders and their readiness for the challenges of accountability-driven systems. A significant issue in public education regards ideological-based accountability restrictions on the educational process. In this discussion, I attempt to refocus attention on the quality of K-12 education in the United States, away from standardized test scores and teacher credentialing toward democratic leadership. My strategy involves exploring ideas relevant to aspiring leaders of democratically accountable educational systems with respect to tensions between democracy and accountability. I propose a conceptual framework known as democratic accountability that places democracy and accountability in harmony as well as in opposition. This orientation to educational leadership fits with the "ideology, or social justice question" that Cochran-Smith (2003) posits as one of the eight key questions that serve as overarching frameworks for problematizing multicultural teacher education (p. 11). I also use teacher quality to refer to the capacity of educators to deal effectively with the underlying forces of accountability and democracy that drive the educational enterprise and their work. Rice (2003) confirms that the teacher characteristics affecting education reform and policy are "preparation in both pedagogic and subject content, credentials, experience, and test scores" (p. 2). Hence, the characteristics applicable herein exist outside the nomenclature of teacher quality that prevails within school and policy contexts. As a leadership professor charged with preparing future school leaders, I am curious about the ability of educational leaders to manage the promises and pitfalls of competing accountability and democratic agendas within the multiple contexts of the classroom and school. This narrative case study of educational quality from the perspective of teachers and leaders has the potential to inform the current democracy-accountability debate. It could prove informative to learn how education practitioners conceptualize democratically accountable leadership and take ownership of their ideas and beliefs. Through an emergent analysis, I identify relevant ideas and contexts, as well as the dispositions, attitudes, and behaviors of such leaders. Up-to-date preparation programs in educational leadership focus on the necessary dispositions, knowledge, and behaviors that educational leaders should have to effectively lead 21st century schools (Clark & Clark, 1996). As Giroux (1992) asserts, these programs are "trapped" in a "discourse of leadership" that is entrenched "in a vocabulary in which the estimate of a good society is expressed in indices"; missing, then, "is a vocabulary for talking about and creating public cultures and communities" (p. 5). In recent years, this argument has centered on preparing aspiring leaders as critical, democratic thinkers in the areas of citizenship and ethics, social justice, and diversity (e.g., Allen, 2006; English, 2003; Giroux, 1992; Shields, 2006). However, such programs in general have yet to promote sustained dialogue around democratic leadership and its multiple forms in schools and society (Allen, 2006; English, 2003; Giroux, 1992). Democratic schools are "where the voices of teachers, practitioners, parents, and students are heard" (Jenlink, 2002, p. 30); they are active in decision making, support diversity and equality, and value creating and sustaining the community (Jenlink, 2002; Jenlink & Jenlink, 2006; Mullen & Johnson, 2006; Ringo, 2006). …


Statin use is associated with lower advanced prostate cancer risk. In addition to cholesterol lowering, statins have systemic anti-inflammatory properties. However, their effect on histologic prostate inflammation is not well understood, particularly among men at increased prostate cancer risk but with a negative prostate biopsy. We examined associations between serum lipid levels, statin use, and histologic prostate inflammation using data from 6,655 men with a negative baseline prostate biopsy in the REduction by DUtasteride of prostate Cancer Events (REDUCE) trial. Statin use and lipid levels [total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides] were assessed at baseline. Inflammation was assessed by central review. Logistic regression was used to examine the effects of lipids and statin use on presence and extent of chronic and acute prostate inflammation [none, moderate (<20%), severe (≥20% biopsy cores)]. Chronic and acute inflammation affected 77% and 15% of men, respectively. Men with high HDL (≥60 vs. <40 mg/dL) had reduced presence of acute inflammation [OR, 0.79; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.63–0.99] and were less likely to have severe acute inflammation (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.45–0.97), but there were no other associations between lipids and inflammation. Statin users had reduced presence of chronic inflammation (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69–0.95) and were less likely to have severe chronic (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.68–0.95) and severe acute inflammation (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.53–1.00), relative to non-users. Given the possible role for inflammation in prostate cancer, the inverse association between statins and prostate inflammation suggests a mechanism linking statins with lower advanced prostate cancer risk. Cancer Prev Res; 10(6); 319–26. ©2017 AACR.


The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Gulf War have forced Japan to question its defence policy. In the past this policy has been firmly based on a purely defensive posture which relied totally on Japan's alliance with the United States. Because the Cold War dragged on in East Asia for much longer than in Europe, Japan could carry on the same defence policy as before. Japanese defence planners found it convenient to emphasize the « Soviet threat » as a way to maintain annual increases in the military budget, and refusing to normalize their relations with the Soviets, until the question of the Northern Territories had been settled. They can no longer ignore the various signs of detente in East Asia. Yet they have had limited effects on Japan's defence policy. The Americans have called on Japan to play a role more commensurate with its economic power but want to avoid any hint of an autonomous Japanese defence policy. They pressured Japan into playing a more active part in the Gulf crisis and the ensuing war, but the government failed to muster sufficient support, at home and amongst the other countries of East Asia, for any role for its military outside Japan, even in a non combat capacity. So Japan has sought other regional and global security policies to compensate for this handicap and has met with mixed success. The recent failure to pass legislation allowing its Self-defence Forces to participate in UN peacekeeping operations has seriously jeopardized Japan 's search for a more active role in regional affairs. But will the Japanese continue for much longer to play a second role in the United States' System of bilateral alliances in the Asia-Pacific region which that country can afford less and less ? This is the real dilemma of Japanese defence policy : it can neither remain as it is nor can it easily change direction.


Objectives: There is a dearth of research on the mental health of Polynesians residing in the United States. The aims of this study were to examine experiences of racial discrimination, self-esteem, trait anger, satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being among 628 Polynesians (e.g., Native Hawaiian, Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, Tahitian, Maori; 60% women ( n (cid:2) 378) and 40% men ( n (cid:2) 249); mean age (cid:2) 28.7). Method: Measures were administered through an online survey to 628 Polynesians residing in the United States. Comparison analyses between men and women, correlations, and path analyses were analyzed for this Polynesian sample. Results: Polynesian women showed higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression and anxiety. Racial discrimination was inversely correlated with self-esteem and satisfaction with life, and positively linked to trait anger, depression, anxiety, and stress. Self-esteem had an indirect effect on the relationship between racial discrimination and satisfaction with life. Conclusions: Mental health professionals need to be aware of racial discrimination on psychological health and incorporate the value of self-esteem in the psychological treatment of Polynesians. Additional results are provided and implications of these findings are outlined.


This paper argues that tracing the diffusion of innovation is a challenging endeavour. The difficulty is that an innovation comes into existence as a cognitive and inter-personal idea and transforms over time into tangible and material manifestation. Grasping the evolutionary transformation from one form to the other requires a holistic methodology which crosses the boundary between both levels. Cultural-Historic Activity Theory is proposed as one means by which we may fulfil these requirements and bridge both worlds. An industrial research project set in the German automotive industry is analysed from an action research perspective. The framework of Cultural-Historic Activity Theory is utilised to explore the applicability of this as an intellectual approach that can assist our understanding of practice. The case study demonstrates how the framework aids the unravelling of an activity system, providing a narrative of the innofusion of a specific technology – a supply network decision support system (SNDSS). Finally, the paper concludes that the framework has merits for both practitioners and scholars.


OBJECTIVE
Beck anxiety inventory (BAI) is widely used self-rating questionnaire evaluating the severity of anxiety symptoms. The aim of our study was to confirm validity and reliability of Czech version of BAI, identify cut-off points and prove sensitivity to measure improvement after therapy.

METHODS
The patients selected for the study were treated in the department of psychiatry, University Hospital Olomouc between January 2008 and 2014. Patients meeting criteria for anxiety, or depressive disorder were involved.

RESULTS
789 patients and 284 healthy controls agreed to participate in the study. Czech version of Beck anxiety inventory proved high internal consistency (α=0.92) and good test-retest reliability over one week (BAI seems to be independent of other used scales - Beck depression inventory and the Clinical Global Impression. BAI is also sensitive to measure change after therapy.

CONCLUSION
Czech version of BAI was found to have enough internal stability and test-retest reliability same as the original version. It may also be useful to detect improvement after therapy.


Dictionary history or history of lexicography does not belong to one of the most studied metalexicographic disciplines, although the International Society for Historical Lexicography and Lexicology regularly convenes conferences and publishes proceedings, and much literature (mainly in the Western world and mainly dealing with Western lexicography) has been published during the last five decades. Furthermore most of the work done deals with the subject quite specifically. General or versatile monographs are rather rare. Because of this, John Considine's Dictionaries in Early Modern Europe is a long-awaited and long-overdue work.


Build Web services with enterprise-class reliability, performance, and valueWeb services are transforming IT, and represent a powerful new way to reduce cost and drive top-line growth throughout the enterprise. This book takes a no-nonsense view of architecting and constructing enterprise-class Web services and applications. The authors expertly assess the current state of the Web services platform, offering best practices and new architectural patterns for leveraging the advantages of Web services--and mitigating the risks. Build Web services and applications that meet enterprise requirements for security, mobility, transactions, QoS, workflow, portlets, management, and more Avoid the "bottomless pit" of application rewriting and maintenance overhead Architect applications to stay reliable even if some Web services go off-line Scale applications to support the inclusion of Web services from multiple partners Secure private information within Web services environments Develop high-value mobile Web service applications Includes a detailed case studyWhether you're an architect, developer, project leader, or manager, this book will help you deliver on the promise of Web services in your real-world enterprise environment.


Reading disorders have been hypothesized to result from an asynchrony between speed of processing characteristics of auditory and visual systems involved in decoding. It is hypothesized that reading at faster rates can in the reduction of the detrimental effects of this asynchrony. Previous research has revealed that both decoding accuracy and reading comprehension accuracy have improved when individuals are forced to read short passages 10-12% faster than they normally read. However no investigation to date has systematically examined the influence on reading comprehension and decoding accuracy of proportionally rates d these levels. Furthermore no study to date has investigated whether the effects of this reading approach continue to be beneficial as passage length increases. For the current investigation two experiments were designed to investigate the effects of increased reading rates and text lengths on the oral decoding and reading comprehension accuracy of reading disordered individuals. The first study examined the effects of systematically increasing the amount of reading acceleration on oral decoding and comprehension accuracy. Twenty high school students with normal reading abilities and 16 high school students with a diagnosis of a reading disorder completed a series of four oral reading comprehension tasks. The passages were all presented on a computer and the rate of presentation was controlled. Baseline reading rates (words per second) were obtained for each participant. Each participant completed an oral reading task at their baseline rate and with increases of 10 20 and 30%. Decoding and comprehension accuracy proportions were obtained. Results revealed that decoding accuracy improved above baseline levels when reading 10% faster than the baseline rate. Decoding accuracy did not improve when reading with a 20% or 30% increase in reading rate. The comprehension accuracy proportions obtained by both groups (control and reading disordered) improved when reading with a 10% or 20% increase in reading rate. Thus the results of Experiment I indicate that high school students may be capable of reading proficiently at rates higher than previously thought. In Experiment II the effects of text length on decoding and comprehension in an oral reading task were investigated. Experiment II included the same participants as Experiment I. Each participant completed four experimental tasks that represented a combination of the two independent variables: passage length (short or long) and acceleration condition (accelerated or unaccelerated). In regards to decoding it was found that decoding accuracy did not differ between short and long passages during the unaccelerated condition whereas decoding significantly improved when reading longer passages. These results were interpreted as providing evidence for the possible increased efficiency of working memory during accelerated reading tasks by increasing the amount of resources available for the utilization of top down contextual cues. Results from Experiment II also revealed significant interactions within the reading disordered group relative to comprehension. Specifically participants with the best reading performance in the 10% increase condition in Experiment I tended to obtain higher comprehension accuracy proportions when reading shorter texts and those who read best at 20 or 30% in Experiment I tended to obtain higher comprehension accuracy proportions when reading longer texts. These results were interpreted as providing evidence for improved utilization of top down contextual cues in accelerated reading tasks. No main effect of group was found. It also was observed that individuals with reading disorders recalled more information when longer passages were presented when the reading rate was accelerated. Furthermore the individuals with a diagnosis of reading disorder who are more likely to benefit from reading acceleration tend to be those who exhibit the most severe reading profiles. This result suggests that reading acceleration may improve focused attention. In general the control group was found to exhibit significantly higher comprehension proportions when reading accelerated as well as when reading longer texts. These latter results demonstrate evidence for the beneficial aspects of reading acceleration in oral reading tasks. Overall results from this investigation exemplify the variable effects of reading acceleration with implication of how this phenomenon may be best utilized clinically. Individuals responded with a wide range of variability as presentation rate and text length varied. However the results support previous findings indicating that reading acceleration benefits both proficient and deficient readers. Thus this investigation establishes some parameters that should be considered when determining the best course of treatment for utilizing reading acceleration.


Farmers are required to increase their food productivity to meet the demand from a continually enlarging population. A major constraint on meeting this requirement is the damage created by insect pests. Agricultural pests and associated diseases destroy 30%-40% of the world's crop produce. The withdrawal of broad-spectrum chemical insecticides, the threat of the development of resistance in insect pests to remaining compounds and the possibility of new pest species spreading into the UK as a result of environmental change have prompted research into alternative pesticides.

 Protein-based insecticides offer the possibility of producing compounds that are specific to pest species and environmentally benign. The production of orally active insecticidal fusion proteins, containing toxins from Segestria florentina (tube-web spider) or Mesobuthus tamulus (Indian red scorpion) fused to a 'carrier' protein (snowdrop lectin; Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) which transports them across the insect gut epithelium, has shown that recombinant protein expression systems and protein engineering techniques can be used to produce novel insecticidal proteins. The main aim of the work described in this thesis is to extend this technology.

 Avidin, a biotin-binding protein known to be insecticidal, was evaluated as a possible 'carrier' protein. Recombinant avidin was produced in high yields using Pichia pastoris and was compared to the native egg white protein. Recombinant avidin has insecticidal activity towards hemipteran plant pests. It was highly toxic to Acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphid) when fed in liquid artificial diet, causing 100% mortality after four days when present at concentrations ≥0.25mg/ml (250ppm). The toxicity towards A. pisum was prevented by biotin supplementation of the diet. In contrast, recombinant avidin had no significant effects on the survival of Sitobion avenae (cereal aphid) at concentrations up to 2mg/ml (2000ppm) in liquid diet. Analysis of genomic DNA showed that symbionts from both aphid species lack the ability to synthesise biotin de novo. Cereal aphids appear to be less sensitive to sub-optimal levels of biotin and possess a more effective system for scavenging biotin from recombinant avidin in the diet.

 Avidin is readily transported to the haemolymph of lepidopteran larvae after feeding, which suggested that it might replace GNA in synthetic insecticidal fusion proteins. Numerous attempts were made to produce a fully functional insecticidal avidin-based fusion protein containing scorpion or spider toxins by expression as recombinant proteins in P. pastoris but, following tests against Mamestra brassicae (cabbage moth) larvae, the fusion proteins were found to be non-toxic. The lack of toxicity was most likely due to incorrect folding of the toxin component of the fusion, since the avidin component was functional.

 Avidin fed to A. pisum was found to bind to the stomach region of the gut after ingestion and was retained for at least 72 hours. Feeding conjugates of avidin with fluorescently labelled biotin, or a fluorescently labelled, biotinylated peptide, showed that the conjugated compound was also retained in the aphid gut after feeding. A conjugate between avidin and biotinylated leucomyosuppressin (LMS), a myoinhibitory peptide hormone that affects gut contractions in insects, was prepared and fed to aphids. The avidin : biotin-LMS conjugate had insecticidal activity towards A. pisum when fed in diet at levels which neither of the components (avidin or biotin-LMS) caused significant mortality. It was hypothesised that binding to the gut, through the avidin moiety, was responsible for the observed oral toxicity of the avidin : biotin-LMS conjugate. The same principle was applied to lepidopteran larvae. A conjugate between avidin and biotinylated allatostatin was prepared and fed to M. brassicae larvae. The avidin : biotin-allatostatin was non-toxic, most likely due to cleavage between the biotin molecule and allatostatin as a result of the high levels of gut proteolysis in lepidoptera. Avidin conjugates of peptides that have little or no oral toxicity to insects, as a result of restricted access to sites of action, could have the potential to form a novel class of insecticidal compounds.


Drugs and Drug Policy: The Control of Consciousness Alteration provides a cross-national perspective on the regulation of drug use by examining and critiquing drug policies in the United States and abroad in terms of their scope, goals, and effectiveness. In this engaging text, authors Clayton J. Mosher and Scott Akins discuss the physiological, psychological, and behavioral effects of legal and illicit drugs; the patterns and correlates of use; and theories of the causes of drug use.


This paper presents an experimental study on influence of input light polarization on the spectral characteristics of a fibre twist sensor based on Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating (TFBG) with simultaneous application of bending to an optical fibre. The application of proposed measurement stand could provide the ability of transforming the bending to a displacement. The twist measurement was performed by tuning of the sensor illuminating light polarization angle. The spectral parameters of selected cladding mode which are sensitive to the rotation of input light polarization angle have been shown. This paper shows the characteristics of transmittivity and wavelength shift for an incident high-order cladding mode measured with different curvatures of fibre. The dependency of selected cladding mode spectral parameters related with the twist measurement on the influence of temporary bending has been shown. The measurements were performed for two positions of sensing structure refractive index perturbations in relation to the bending direction plane. The experimental results show that the direction of TFBG structure bending has a small influence on the stability of spectral parameters characteristic for twist measurement, assuming that the bending direction is fixed while measurement.


Prohormone convertases (PCs) are Ca(2+)-dependent subtilisin-related endoproteases that have been implicated in the post-translational processing of prohormones and other proproteins. Furin is an ubiquitously expressed PC that has been shown to hydrolyze a wide variety of precursor proteins in secretory pathways. We have screened an Aplysia atrial gland cDNA library using a furin probe prepared by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and have isolated an Aplysia furin-related 6.7-kb cDNA partial clone that was truncated on the 5' end. The remaining 5' atrial gland furin nucleotide sequence was obtained by two stages of reverse transcription PCR. The final composite nucleotide sequence of the atrial gland furin cDNA was 7,837 bp in length. This sequence encoded a putative preproendoprotease (Afurin2) of 824 amino acid residues that was related to other eukaryotic furins, and showed a high sequence identity with a recently reported Aplysia nervous system furin-like sequence. In situ hybridization demonstrated extensive expression of Afurin2 in atrial gland secretory cells. The cDNA clone contained a relatively long 3' untranslated region of 5,230 nucleotides that included a microsatellite repeat region (TG)n. The characterized Aplysia Afurin2 is a candidate PC that may play an important role in the processing of egg-laying hormone (ELH)-related precursors in the secretory cells of the atrial gland. In addition, comparative structural studies of Afurin2, together with previously reported localization studies, argue for the occurrence of a furin-like convertase within secretory granules.


While the Clinton Administration and federal agencies were busy making government cost less and work better in the near-term, the United States Air Force was regularly visualizing the competencies needed to assure the organization's long-term effectiveness. As a result of steady efforts to prepare for the future conducted under successive secretaries and chiefs of staff, the Air Force has developed a distinctive approach to strategic planning. This approach is fundamentally concerned with ensuring that the organization's future capabilities support effective performance of future tasks. Such tasks are shaped by ever-changing policy objectives and circumstances of implementation. After eight years, the Air Force has not only successfully refined its distinctive approach to strategic planning, but has also leveraged change in programmatic decisions, human resource management, and operational technologies. This study provides an inside look at how the Air Force came to formulate and declare its "strategic intent" for developing the organization's capabilities over a timeline of more than twenty years. Air Force strategic intent is not a plan, but a shared commitment to strengthening specific core competencies and critical future capabilities. Michael Barzelay and Colin Campbell reveal how one of the nation's most significant public organizations has reassessed its own strategic intent. Drawing lessons from the Air Force experience, this book provides a significant contribution to public management research on innovation and executive leadership. One key lesson is that preparing for the future is a responsibility that organizations can discharge effectively if they combine insights with practical knowledge of executive leadership and the dynamics of policy change. Preparing for the Future provides a fresh argument about innovation and leadership in public management, while breaking new ground in the analysis of managerial practices, such as strategic visioning.


Many real world problems involve data which can be considered as multi-label data streams. Efficient methods exist for multi-label classification in non streaming scenarios. However, learning in evolving streaming scenarios is more challenging, as the learners must be able to adapt to change using limited time and memory. This paper proposes a new experimental framework for studying multi-label evolving stream classification, and new efficient methods that combine the best practices in streaming scenarios with the best practices in multi-label classification. We present a Multi-label Hoeffding Tree with multilabel classifiers at the leaves as a base classifier. We obtain fast and accurate methods, that are well suited for this challenging multi-label classification streaming task. Using the new experimental framework, we test our methodology by performing an evaluation study on synthetic and real-world datasets. In comparison to well-known batch multi-label methods, we obtain encouraging results.


British politics has experienced unprecedented change in recent years. The Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition that emerged from the 2010 general election represented a marked departure from the single-party majorities Britain is accustomed to. And in the wake of the global economic crisis, the country now faces a new era of austerity. Cuts in public spending, together with the coalition's plans for a radical overhaul of public services, are likely to have profound political and social implications.

For over 25 years, Developments in British Politics volumes have established an unrivalled reputation for accessible state-of-the-art coverage incorporating the latest research. Developments in British Politics 9 continues that tradition but with an entirely new set of specially commissioned chapters in which expert authors provide systematic and wide-ranging analysis of key trends, issues and debates.


(Abstract) One recent trend in colleges and universities across the nation is the internationalization of higher education. This internationalization has taken form in two different areas: (a) the curriculum and (b) the co-curriculum. The curricular realm has responded by offering additional or new programs in languages and area studies as well as opportunities to study abroad. The co-curricular realm has also responded in the construction of international centers, and the development of international-style programming and international theme housing. One component of the co-curricular realm, international theme housing, has enabled American students to experience a living arrangement with a cross-cultural focus. Researchers have explored the impact this type of arrangement can make in the lives of students during their college career. However, no extensive research has been conducted to see if a connection can be made between roommate pairings and cultural activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the cultural activity of two groups of American students. Cultural activity was defined in this study as: (a) a focus on international issues in academic work, (b) establishing and maintaining relations with non-American people, and (c) participating in events with an international theme. The two groups of students included Americans with International Roommates and Americans with non-International Roommates. The study compared the levels of cultural activity between participants in the two groups. To discover the differences in cultural activity between these two groupings of students, a series of logs were created for participants to record their daily activities. These logs included sections for participants to record classes, assignments in classes, use of media, social interactions, and social activities. The researcher recruited 30 participants (15 participants with an international roommate and 15 participants with a non-international roommate) to complete these logs. Data were collected over a two-week period. Participants were also asked questions in an exit interview. Cultural Activity iii Results revealed only limited differences in the levels of cultural activity between the two groups. The findings suggest that living with an international student does not promote higher levels of cultural activity among American college students.


This paper presents a prototype that can convert sign language into text. A Leap Motion controller was utilised as an interface for hand motion tracking without the need of wearing any external instruments. Three recognition techniques were employed to measure the performance of the prototype, namely the Geometric Template Matching, Artificial Neural Network and Cross Correlation. 26 alphabets from American Sign Language were chosen for training and testing the proposed prototype. The experimental results showed that Geometric Template Matching achieved the highest recognition accuracy compared to the other recognition techniques.


In part one of this paper I discuss how issues of combatant misconduct and illegality have led military academies to become more focused on professionalism rather than on the tensions between military ethics and military training. In order to interrogate the relationships between training and ethics, between becoming a military professional and being a military professional, between military professionals and society, I turn to the work of Martin Cook, Anthony Hartle, and J. Glenn Gray. In part two I focus on Cook's analysis of the conflict between the self-understanding and the expected behavior of military professionals. In part three I focus on Hartle's analysis of how the experience of alienation by military professionals can help to create the culture of military professionals. In part four I introduce a new theory of professionalism based on the existential and phenomenological philosophy of J. Glenn Gray, which can help us to better understand the philosophical and psychological stakes of what it means to become a military professional. I conclude in part five by suggesting that the most pressing issue in the military is not a lack of professionalism, but a lack of trust.


By analyzing the error distribution rule of the boundary recursive reconstruction algorithm in controlled micro-scanning, a sub-pixel image processing algorithm is proposed to reduce the error. The gray statistical principle is used in the algorithm to optimize the error and acquire the sub-pixel image that approximates the original image. The simulation result shows that the eect of this algorithm is better than the over-sample and simple boundary recursive algorithm (BRA), and it results in a good effect both in those of visible light and infrared imaging systems. Therefore, the application of this algorithm will enhance the performance of optoelectronic imaging systems.


A large proportion of phosphate (P) fertilizer applied to Andosols reacts with reactive aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) to become unavailable for plant uptake. We investigated whether biochar could enhance plant growth by (i) mobilizing soil P through changing soil pH or facilitating the growth of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and/or (ii) introducing additional P. We grew Lotus pedunculatus cv barsille in two Andosols of contrasting P status amended with three biochars (with distinct porosity, nutrient and liming properties) at a dose of 10 t ha-1 for 32 weeks. The growth medium was divided into a root and a hyphal zone through a nylon mesh and a tephra layer that allowed the P in the hyphal zone to be transferred only by AMF hyphae. The addition of a relative nutrient-rich biochar (e.g. made from willow woodchips) with liming properties to the root zone of the P-deficient soil increased plant growth by 59% and P uptake by 73%. Pine-based biochar provided no extra nutrient acquisition and no plant-growth stimulation when added to the root zone of the P-deficient soil. However,when hyphae of those plants had access to a P-rich soil patch, the presence of pine biochar in the soil patch greatly enhanced P uptake and plant growth (e.g., by 76% and 40% when using biochar produced at 450oC compared to the absence of it). None of the tested biochars conferred advantages in the root zone of a high-P soil. We concluded that the benefits from biochar addition to nutrient uptake and plant growth are biochar- and soil-specific. Thus, biochars need to be tailored-made for certain soils by optimizing feedstock and pyrolysis conditions before application.


Psoriasis and pemphigus vulgaris are two inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Their concomitant occurrence in one patient is very rare. We describe a 57-year-old patient with a history of severe plaque type psoriasis for 2 years. After a few months, he presented with disseminated bullae and mucosal erosions which were documented as pemphigus vulgaris. Both of the diseases were successfully controlled with rituximab, prednisolone and weekly methotrexate.


Colonies of CBA, C57BL/10, BALB/c and Swiss mice housed in conventional systems were found to be infected to different degrees with both Myobia musculi and Myocoptes musculinus. Groups of ten different sister-brother pairs of the isogenic mice and groups of 25 mice separated according to were infected by the parasite and then submitted to 4 different schemes of treatment with Tetmosol. C57BL/10 presented a very low incidence of parasites (1.2%). Every pair of CBA, and every Swiss mice examined, were found to be infected while only 50-90% of the pairs of BALB/c mice were infected. The best results of four different schemes were obtained by dipping the animals in 2.5% Tetmosol, at 3-4 days intervals for 21 days. The incidence of adult parasite forms in CBA, BALB/c and Swiss mice were found to be 0%, 40% and 0%, respectively, while in viable eggs it was found to be 20%, 50% and 0%, respectively.


The levator ani is a complex funnel-shaped structure mainly composed of striated muscle, with some smooth muscle component. Located on either side of the lower pelvis, it takes part in supporting and raising the pelvic floor and allows various pelvic structures to pass through it. Levator ani muscle is part of the pelvic floor along with coccygeus muscle. It forms from the confluence of three muscles, puborectalis, pubococcygeus and iliococcygeus muscles. These mostly receive innervation by the somatic nerves from the sacral plexus, namely the pudendal nerve and nerve of levator ani muscle and autonomic nerves from the inferior hypogastric plexus.


We present a broad coverage Japanese grammar written in the HPSG formalism with MRS semantics. The grammar is created for use in real world applications, such that robustness and performance issues play an important role. It is connected to a POS tagging and word segmentation tool. This grammar is being developed in a multilingual context, requiring MRS structures that are easily comparable across languages.


We provide a model with endogenous portfolios of secured and unsecured household debt. Secured debt is collateralized by owner-occupied housing whereas unsecured debt can be discharged according to bankruptcy regulations. We show that the calibrated model matches important quantitative characteristics of observed wealth and debt portfolios for prime-age consumers in the U.S. We then establish the quantitative result that home equity does not serve as informal collateral for unsecured debt since, as in the data, unsecured debtors hold small amounts of home equity in equilibrium. Thus, observed variations in homestead exemptions, which are an important part of U.S. bankruptcy regulation, have a small effect on the quantity and price of unsecured debt.