Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), consumer choice plays a critical role: it drives the competitive market in health insurance plans that will operate through health insurance exchanges. As the 2014 deadline for establishing exchanges approaches, states face choices: they can either allow the federal government to manage an exchange on their behalf; take on a minimalist role by managing a state exchange or partnering with the federal exchange; or assume an activist role--by aiming to influence the price, design, and quality of the health insurance options available through exchanges and taking steps to support consumers' ability to choose among these options. This article discusses states' choices and the governance issues that they raise, first by describing the extent of discretion that states have in shaping the range of health plans on offer as well as the issues they will need to consider in choosing an exchange model. We then discuss the considerable body of evidence that addresses how people behave in individual insurance markets, concluding that it strongly supports the need for states to take an active role in shaping health insurance exchanges and ensuring that they support consumer choice.


In this investigation, real world applications were used to enhance the academic success and motivation of students in a high school biology class. During the process, student surveys, assignments and assessments were used as measuring tools. Teacher motivation was also evaluated throughout the process. In the end, the use of real world applications had encouraging impacts on students' academic success and both teacher and students noted an increase in motivation.


The article states the current crisis in philosophy and provides a thorough examination of its causes and prospective outcomes. It is argued that the crisis of philosophy is most clearly identified in: 1) dissolution of philosophy on a social and sociological tier, 2) negation of philosophical problems in the hermeneutical text analysis tradition, 3) the specialization process of extreme philosophy. The first moment of crisis the author highlights in reading T. Pinkard's texts. In these texts philosophy is reduced to sociology through a certain interpretation of Hegel's Phenomenology of the Spirit, where I consciousness is considered on a purely social level. The author shows that this interpretation is contrary to the essence of Hegel's philosophy because, according to Hegel, interpersonal encounter, considered at the famous master / slave dialectic, determining I consciousness, is not of a social nature. It must be understood primarily as a historical expression of the absolute Spirit, found through metaphysical thinking. The second crisis moment philosophy, is encountered while reading of M. Nussbaum's works, in a certain literary text reading manner, the real scope of philosophical problems - the authentic concept of transcendence - is narrowed to the shallow perception of transcendence, missing the opportunities for philosophy in the very literary texts. The author of this article sees the philosophical perspectives of interpretation, which literary hermeneutics is unable to discern and as a result reduces the philosophical concept, in the works of such authors as Ovid, H. James M. Proust, quoted by M. Nussbaum. The third moment of philosophy crisis is diagnosed in the context of the current position of sciences dominated by the extreme specialization. The philosophers' reflections are understandable only to a narrow circle of specialists. It is a sign that such philosophy has generally lost communication with the human reality, and, therefore, is inauthentic philosophy. As a way of exit from the crisis of philosophy the author suggests learning about the spiritual reality that be exercised via two concepts: gentleness and simplicity. A deep understanding of these concepts in the metaphysical sense opens an authentic philosophizing field. To illustrate this manner of philosophizing, the author draws on numerous examples, with the major focus on French philosophers Pierre Hadot and Louis Lavelle. Gentle and simple assessment of reality, creates a special relationship field between people and between thinkers, which celebrates growth of the authentic philosophy.


This is the text of a letter written by Richard Bronk, a Visiting Fellow at the European Institute of the London School of Economics, to two Conservative MPs, one a friend, with whom he was in correspondence. The letter (which has been anonymised) was written to foster a better understanding of how many of the 48% who voted Remain are thinking and feeling following the vote – and thereby contribute to efforts to bridge the dangerous chasm opening up between most of the UK's great cities, universities and the young, on the one hand, and the new Brexit government on the other.


Focusing on the interwar writings of the film journalist and theorist Béla Balázs, this article argues for an understanding of Balázs's film aesthetics as grounded in a popular politics of the body. Balázs understood film as a medium in which experiences of image, sound, and expressive movement and gesture shape human subjectivities within a newly mediatized social realm. The article explores Balázs's consequent plea for a film politics of popular embodiment and asks what a survey of Balázs's writings as both critic and theorist tell us about the political valences of his film theory now.


The development, validation, and demonstration of a novel computational procedure to supplementally process time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR PIV) measurements are described. The motivation for such work stems from an experimental investigation to characterize the near-nozzle velocity field in a high-temperature, shock-containing jet. The computational procedure, termed dynamic evaluation via ordinary least squares (DEVOLS), offers substantial improvements over conventional processing methods for its ability to increase the dynamic velocity range. Unique to DEVOLS is an iterative validation scheme that enables a variable number of displacement results to be utilized in the determination of a single velocity vector. This approach is significant since it provides enhanced robustness in the presence of significant image noise. Validation of the procedure is provided through the use of temporally resolved, synthetically generated particle images simulating the fluid dynamics of a Hamel-Oseen vortex. Following such validation, the experimental investigation is described wherein TR PIV measurements were acquired for a flow field centered axially at the end of the jet potential core and radially along the lower half of the shear layer. For all cases the nozzle was operated at over-expanded conditions, and images were acquired through the combined use of a pulse burst laser and a high-speed, gated intensified CCD framing camera. Results achieved by the DEVOLS processing scheme are presented for both the experimental jet as well as a synthetic jet derived from computational fluid dynamics. Estimations of the measurement errors associated with these results are also given. Finally, steps for improving the quality of the experimental data as well as the analysis procedure are offered as suggestions for future investigations.


Metabolic rates (CO2 production) and water fluxes were measured using doubly labeled water in free-living three-toed sloths ( Bradypus variegatus ) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama Canal Zone. Feeding rates were calculated from metabolic rates using natural tracer estimates of energy assimilation efficiency. Field metabolic rates averaged about 147 kj (kg day)−1 and did not differ significantly among nonre-productive females, lactating females, and males. This rate is only about 74% of the predicted mammalian basal metabolic rate, but is about 1.8 times the actual basal rate of these animals. Field water fluxes, ca. 38 ml h2O (kg day)−1, were also comparatively low and can be accounted for by dietary water input and metabolic water production alone. This indicates that sloths probably did not drink, even though rain fell during the study. The two lactating females allocated 5% and 11% of their water and assimilable energy intake, respectively, to producing milk for their offspring. We estimate that a 4-kg sloth consumes 60 g dry mass of food per day, and that the three-toed sloths on Barro Colorado Island eat 138 kg dry mass of food per ha per year. This is about 2% of the yearly leaf production.


The gene of a highly thermostable alkaline protease was amplified from
Bacillus stearothermophilus F1 by polymerase chain reaction using
consensus primers based on the sequences of serine protease genes from
related species. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the gene revealed an open
reading frame containing 1,206 bp which encodes for a polypeptide of 401
amino acid residues. The polypeptide composed of a signal peptide (25
amino acid residues), a prosequence (97 amino acid residues), and a
mature protein of 279 amino acid residues. Amino acid sequence
comparison revealed that it shared high homology with those of other serine
proteases from a number of Bacillus spp. The recombinant F1 protease was
efficiently excreted into culture medium using E.coli XL1-Blue harbouring
two vectors: pTrcHis bearing the protease gene and pJL3 containing the
bacteriocin-release-protein (BRP). Both vectors contain the E.coli lac
promoter-operator system. In the presence of 40 uM isopropyl-β-D thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG), the recombinant F1 protease and the BRP
were expressed and the mature F1 protease was released into the culture
medium. The enzyme was purified through a one-step heat treatment at
70°C for 3 h, and this method purified the protease to near homogeneity.
The purified enzyme showed a pH optimum of 9.0, temperature optimum of
80°C, and was stable at 70°C for 24 h in pH ranges from 8.0 to 10.0. The
enzyme exhibited a high degree of thermostability with half-lives of 3.5 h at
85°C, 25 min at 90°C, and was inhibited by the serine protease inhibitor,
phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride (PMSF).


PURPOSE
Instruments to assess physical activity are needed for (inter)national surveillance systems and comparison.

METHODS
Male and female adults were recruited from diverse sociocultural, educational and economic backgrounds in 9 countries (total n = 2657). GPAQ and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were administered on at least 2 occasions. Eight countries assessed criterion validity using an objective measure (pedometer or accelerometer) over 7 days.

RESULTS
Reliability coefficients were of moderate to substantial strength (Kappa 0.67 to 0.73; Spearman's rho 0.67 to 0.81). Results on concurrent validity between IPAQ and GPAQ also showed a moderate to strong positive relationship (range 0.45 to 0.65). Results on criterion validity were in the poor-fair (range 0.06 to 0.35). There were some observed differences between sex, education, BMI and urban/rural and between countries.

CONCLUSIONS
Overall GPAQ provides reproducible data and showed a moderate-strong positive correlation with IPAQ, a previously validated and accepted measure of physical activity. Validation of GPAQ produced poor results although the magnitude was similar to the range reported in other studies. Overall, these results indicate that GPAQ is a suitable and acceptable instrument for monitoring physical activity in population health surveillance systems, although further replication of this work in other countries is warranted.


Consistent evaluation and new recommendations for action are required of protective measures to address threats that were unrecognised or non-existent until recently. Global warming, noise pollution and reduced availability of prey are now of great concern. The all too familiar threats of accidental killing in fishing gear and exposure to toxic chemicals remain almost intractable. This Action Plan reviews threats and offers possible solutions. It also contains a thorough review of the status of species and a list of 57 recommended research projects and education initiatives


This annotated bibliography is intended to shed light on the availability and distribution of legal dictionaries that translate the twenty-seven European languages. The representative corpus consists of about 200 printed bilingual legal dictionaries (BLDs) with terms from two or more legal languages used in the European Union. This bibliography aims to illustrate the wide variation in the quality of these BLDs by the usage of three special headings and by referring to relevant professional reviews. In addition, the authors have commented upon noticeable BLDs that deserve serious criticism or special attention. This annotated bibliography updates the previous bibliography (Gerard-René de Groot & Conrad J. P. van Laer. The Quality of Legal Dictionaries: An Assessment [Maastricht Faculty of Law Working Paper No. 2008/6, 2008]) and covers almost all recently published BLDs. However, this bibliography is not exhaustive because of the dispersion of publishing houses: Each publisher issues only two BLDs, on average.


Recognition of conspecifics is an essential precursor of sexual reproduction. Most mammals and birds learn salient features of their parents or siblings early in ontogeny and later recognize individuals whose phenotypes match the mental image (template) of relatives closely enough as conspecifics. However, the young of brood parasites are reared among heterospecifics, so social learning will yield inappropriate species recognition templates. Initially, it was inferred that conspecific recognition in brood parasites depended on genetically determined templates. More recently it was demonstrated that learning plays a critical role in the development of parasites' social preferences. Here we propose a mechanism that accommodates the interaction of learned and genetic components of recognition. We suggest that conspecific recognition is initiated when a young parasite encounters some unique species–specific signal or 'password' (e.g. a vocalization, behaviour or other characteristic) that triggers learning of additional aspects of the password–giver's phenotype. We examined the possibility that nestlings of the obligately brood–parasitic brown–headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) could use a species–specific vocalization, the 'chatter', as a password. We found that six–day–old nestlings responded (begged) significantly more frequently to playbacks of chatters than to other avian sounds and that two–month–old fledglings approached playbacks of chatters more quickly than vocalizations of heterospecifics. Free–living cowbird fledglings and adults also approached playbacks of chatters more often than control sounds. Passwords may be involved in the ontogeny of species recognition in brood parasites generally.


Judicial discretion is considered one of the most important topics in any legal jurisdiction; it has great significant in shaping the state legal system and achieving legislations' goals, mainly represented in fairness and stability of legal transactions. However, this topic receives poor attention from researchers; therefore it was important to tackle this issue in some detailed consideration to explore the status of judicial discretion in Jordanian and Qatari Civil laws to map out a theoretical framework for such discretion in comparison with some Arab Civil Laws. This study will explores some indications on the relatively wide range of judicial discretion offered to judiciary in both Jordanian and Qatari Civil laws. In so doing, the study will highlight different civil law provisions in both legislations, and to mark some implications and results related to judicial discretion in Jordanian Civil Law and the Qatari Civil Law, and finally to explain the effects of this wide discretion leaves in the Jordan and Qatari Civil Laws and ultimately in the nature of the Jordanian and Qatari jurisdiction.


In the United States, extreme heat is the most deadly weather-related hazard. In the face of a warming climate and urbanization, which contributes to local-scale urban heat islands, it is very likely that extreme heat events (EHEs) will become more common and more severe in the U.S. In a NASA-funded project supporting the National Climate Assessment, we are providing historical and future measures of extreme heat to enable assessments of the impacts of heat on public health over the coterminous U.S. We use atmospheric temperature and humidity information from meteorological reanalysis and from Global Climate Models (GCMs) to provide data on past and future heat events. The project s emphasis is on providing assessments of the magnitude, frequency and geographic distribution of extreme heat in the U.S. to facilitate public health studies. In our approach, long-term climate change is captured with GCM output, and the temporal and spatial characteristics of short-term extremes are represented by the reanalysis data. Two future time horizons, 2040 and 2090, are the focus of future assessments; these are compared to the recent past period of 1981-2000. We are characterizing regional-scale temperature and humidity conditions using GCM output for two climate change scenarios (A2 and A1B) defined in the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). For each future period, 20 years of multi-model GCM output have been analyzed to develop a heat stress climatology based on statistics of extreme heat indicators. Differences between the two future and past periods have been used to define temperature and humidity changes on a monthly time scale and regional spatial scale. These changes, combined with hourly historical meteorological data at a spatial scale (12 km) much finer than that of GCMs, enable us to create future climate realizations, from which we compute the daily heat stress measures and related spatially-specific climatological fields. These include the mean annual number of days above certain thresholds of maximum and minimum air temperatures, heat indices and a new heat stress variable that gives an integrated measure of heat stress (and relief) over the course of a day. Comparisons are made between projected (2040 and 2090) and past (1990) heat stress statistics. All output is being provided at the 12 km spatial scale and will also be aggregated to the county level, which is a popular scale of analysis for public health researchers. County-level statistics will be made available by our collaborators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via the Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system. CDC WONDER makes the information resources of the CDC available to public health professionals and the general public. This addition of heat stress measures to CDC WONDER will allow decision and policy makers to assess the impact of alternative approaches to optimize the public health response to EHEs. It will also allow public health researchers and policy makers to better include such heat stress measures in the context of national health data available in the CDC WONDER system. The users will be able to spatially and temporally query public health and heat-related data sets and create county-level maps and statistical charts of such data across the coterminous U.S.


A series of climate-change projections are conducted with LOVECLIM, a three-dimensional Earth system model of intermediate complexity that consists of a quasi-geostrophic atmospheric model (ECBILT), an ice-ocean general circulation model (CLIO), a dynamical model of the terrestrial biomass (VECODE), a thermomechanical model of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets (AGISM), and a model of the oceanic carbon cycle (LOCH). The global carbon cycle in the model is simulated by both VECODE and LOCH. ECBILT takes into account the topography and surface albedo changes computed by the ice-sheet model. CLIO accounts for the freshwater and latent heat fluxes resulting from the melt of the ice sheets and icebergs. The forcing of the AGISM by ECBILT-CLIO is considered in perturbation mode to avoid any systematic errors and to deal with the rather coarse-resolution of the climate model. We first perfom simulations with prescribed carbon-dioxyde concentrations in order to compare the model results with other studies.An ensemble of experiments over the last 500 years is first carried out aiming at validating the model against recontructions (Figures 1 and 2). The model is forced by two natural forcings: the changes in solar irradiance and volcanic eruptions. The anthropogenic forcings considered are the increase in greenhouse-gas concentrations, including troposheric ozone, as well as the evolution of the sulphate-aerosol load in the atmosphere. The model also accounts for the land-cover changes due to human activities.Climate changes during the 21st century are then studied through ensemble simulations performed with the model driven by various IPCCs SRES scenarios for greenhouse-gas and sulphate-aerosol concentrations. The model performance is assessed by comparing its results with similar results obtained by climate general circulation models.Idealised experiments are finally performed over the third millennium focusing mainly on the North Atlantic climate. In those simulations, the forcings are fixed to their 2100 values until the end of the millennium. A particular attention is paid to the change in freshwater flux from the Greenland ice sheet and its possible impact on the World Oceans thermohaline circulation. A sensitivity study over the third millenium is also carried out in order to assess the ice-sheet contribution to the modelled future climate change


Background: Inflammation is a prominent feature of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), but whether it contributes to the disease phenotype is not known. Methods: To define the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of ACM, we characterized NFκB signaling in ACM models in vitro and in vivo, and in cardiac myocytes from patient induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Results: Activation of NFκB signaling, indicated by increased expression and nuclear accumulation of phospho-RelA/p65, occurred in both an in vitro model of ACM (expression of JUP2157del2 in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes), and in a robust murine model of ACM (homozygous knock-in of mutant desmoglein-2; Dsg2mut/mut) that recapitulates the cardiac manifestations seen in ACM patients. Bay 11-7082, a small molecule inhibitor of NFκB signaling, prevented development of ACM disease features in vitro (abnormal redistribution of intercalated disk proteins, myocyte apoptosis, release of inflammatory cytokines) and in vivo (myocardial necrosis and fibrosis, LV contractile dysfunction, ECG abnormalities). Hearts of Dsg2mut/mut mice expressed markedly increased levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemotactic molecules which were attenuated by Bay 11-7082. Salutary effects of Bay 11-7082 correlated with the extent to which production of selected cytokines had been blocked. NFκB signaling was also activated in cardiac myocytes derived from a patient with ACM. These cells produced and secreted abundant inflammatory cytokines under basal conditions, and this was also greatly reduced by Bay 11-7082. Conclusions: Inflammatory signaling is activated in ACM and it drives key features of the disease. Targeting inflammatory pathways may be an effective new mechanism-based therapy for ACM.


Ultrathin films of benzocyclobutene (BCB)-functionalized random copolymer with styrene and methyl methacrylate, P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA), with thicknesses ranging from 0 to 10.5 nm, were thermally cross- linked on Si substrates. The penetration of deuterated PMMA (dPMMA) into the P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA) films and the microdomain orientation of PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymers on P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA) coated substrates were investigated by neutron reflectivity (NR) and scanning force microscopy (SFM), respectively. NR measurements on bilayers of dPMMA on cross-linked P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA) showed that the neutron scattering length density (SLD) at the substrate was equal to that of P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA) if the P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA) film was thicker than 5.5 nm. With decreasing thickness of the P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA) film, the SLD at the substrate increased, characteristic of an increasing penetration of the dPMMA. When thin films of PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymer having cylindrical microdomains are placed on surfaces modified with cross-linked films of P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA) thinner than 5.5 nm, the cylindrical microdomains orient parallel to the surface, whereas for thicker films, the microdomains orient normal to the surface. Both of these results indicate that interfacial interactions are screened when the P(S-r-BCB-r-MMA) film is thicker than 5.5 nm.


: The aim of this study is to evaluate the curricular development and educational resources of the school libraries in Málaga. The provincial coordination of the Educational Local Office has carried out-since the academic course 2008/2009-an annual evaluation focused on five dimensions related to the actions of the Provincial Network of School Libraries. This Network is formed by the public schools of Primary and Secondary Education of the province. This article presents the most relevant results of the evaluation questionnaire for the 2014/2015 academic year in which 430 educational centres participated, offering a comparison according to the educational centre (pre-school, primary school or secondary school) and the school year. In general, there is progress in school libraries due to its normative regulation, the involvement of teachers in charge of libraries in collegiate bodies, the use of digital tools and social networks. However, there is a need to expand the opening hours of the library, to reinforce the collaboration of teachers who coordinate educational projects and to improve the sections and links of the web portals of libraries. On the one hand, these conclusions are intended to serve as a self-assessment to help school librarians to reflect and identify their strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, they show the development of the key actions of school libraries, both their progress and their deficiencies


The experiences with intercultural competence training at the Hanze International Business School Groningen may serve as a blueprint for augmenting professional intercultural behaviour at the SME work floor. The set-up of the training is based on current intercultural communication theory and models, and has as its basic assumption that a change in worldview will make a change in behaviour more likely and feasible. Test results and interviews reveal that the worldviews of 34 participants have changed between the start and the end of the training.


BACKGROUND Military and civilian data would suggest that hemostatic resuscitation results in improved outcomes for exsanguinating patients. However, identification of those patients who are at risk of significant hemorrhage is not clearly defined. We attempted to identify factors that would predict the need for massive transfusion (MT) in an Australasian trauma population, by comparing those trauma patients who did receive massive transfusion with those who did not. METHODS Between 1985 and 2010, 1,686 trauma patients receiving at least 1 U of packed red blood cells were identified from our prospectively maintained trauma registry. Demographic, physiologic, laboratory, injury, and outcome variables were reviewed. Univariate analysis determined significant factors between those who received MT and those who did not. A predictive multivariate logistic regression model with backward conditional stepwise elimination was used for MT risk. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS PASW. RESULTS MT patients had a higher pulse rate, lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, lower systolic blood pressure, lower hemoglobin level, higher Injury Severity Score (ISS), higher international normalized ratio (INR), and longer stay. Initial logistic regression identified base deficit (BD), INR, and hemoperitoneum at laparotomy as independent predictive variables. After assigning cutoff points of BD being greater than 5 and an INR of 1.5 or greater, a further model was created. A BD greater than 5 and either INR of 1.5 or greater or hemoperitoneum was associated with 51 times increase in MT risk (odds ratio, 51.6; 95% confidence interval, 24.9–95.8). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the model was 0.859. CONCLUSION From this study, a combination of BD, INR, and hemoperitoneum has demonstrated good predictability for MT. This tool may assist in the determination of those patients who might benefit from hemostatic resuscitation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic study, level III.


Given the improved analytical capabilities of Excel, scientists and engineers everywhere are using it--instead of FORTRAN--to solve problems. And why not? Excel is installed on millions of computers, features a rich set of built-in analyses tools, and includes an integrated Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language. No wonder it's today's computing tool of choice. Chances are you already use Excel to perform some fairly routine calculations. Now the Excel Scientific and Engineering Cookbook shows you how to leverage Excel to perform more complex calculations, too, calculations that once fell in the domain of specialized tools. It does so by putting a smorgasbord of data analysis techniques right at your fingertips. The book shows how to perform these useful tasks and others:Use Excel and VBA in generalImport data from a variety of sourcesAnalyze dataPerform calculationsVisualize the results for interpretation and presentationUse Excel to solve specific science and engineering problemsWherever possible, the Excel Scientific and Engineering Cookbook draws on real-world examples from a range of scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and physics. This way, you'll be better prepared to solve the problems you face in your everyday scientific or engineering tasks.High on practicality and low on theory, this quick, look-up reference provides instant solutions, or "recipes," to problems both basic and advanced. And like other books in O'Reilly's popular Cookbook format, each recipe also includes a discussion on how and why it works. As a result, you can take comfort in knowing that complete, practical answers are a mere page-flip away.


In the last decade, limiting computer energy consumption has become a pervasive goal in computer design, largely due to growing use of portable and embedded computers with limited battery capacities. This work concerns ways to reduce processor energy consumption, since the processor consumes much of a computer's energy. Our specific contributions are as follows.
First, we introduce our thesis that operating systems should have a significant role in processor energy management. The operating system knows what threads and applications are running, and can predict their future requirements based on their past usage and their user interaction. We motivate using software to control energy management decisions by describing how software has traditionally been applied to this regime.
Next, we describe operating system techniques for increasing processor sleep time. We suggest never running blocked processes, and delaying processes that execute without producing output or otherwise signaling useful activity. These techniques reduce CPU energy by 47–66%.
Next, we address ways to dynamically change a processor's speed and voltage. We suggest considering what tasks the system is working on and their performance needs, then using a speed schedule that just meets those needs. We show that the optimal schedule increases speed as a task progresses according to a formula dependent on the probability distribution of task CPU requirement. Such a schedule can reduce CPU energy consumption by 20.6% on average, with no effect on performance.
Next, we analyze real user workloads to evaluate ways to infer task information from observations of user interface events. We find that observable differences in such events have significant effects on CPU usage. Using such information in estimating the probability distribution of task CPU requirements can reduce energy consumption by a further 0.5–1.5%.
Finally, we implement our methods. We deal with I/O wait time, overlap of multiple simultaneous tasks, limited speed/voltage settings, limited timer granularity, and limited ability to modify an operating system. The resulting task-based scheduler implements our energy-saving methods with 1.2% background overhead. We find that our methods will be more effective on future processors capable of a wider range of speeds than modern processors.


Games are a powerful to engage people with ideas and with each other. They are a way to learn new skills, and to interact with other people. This interaction can be with other people in the same room or with people online. Games are fun. This is obvious, but sometimes it can become forgotten about in the discussion. In research in 2011 by Bond University for the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association * pcs are in 98% of game households with 62% of game households using a pc for games. Game consoles are in 63% of game households, dedicated handheld consoles in 13%. Mobile phones are used to play games in 43% of game households, tablet computers in 13% * 43% of people aged 51 or over are garners * most garners play between half an hour and an hour at a time and most play every other day 59% play for up to an hour at one time and just 3% play for five or more hours in one sitting 57% of all gamers play either daily or every other day. * 83% of parents play video games. (1) Comparable statistics are not available for board, tabletop and card games. This is unfortunate as, from word of mouth, board games are very popular. The German, or European, style games have strong appeal for adults. Games in this category include Settlers of Catan (2) and Carcassone. (3) Board games can be used as part of an education program exploring games, game design, history, and strategy. They could also be used to introduce adults to games they did not play when they were growing up--and that is just the start of what is possible. Ann Arbor District Library Ann Arbor District Library is successfully running a summer game instead of a summer reading program. (4) The target group is anyone who is a member of the library. The game play involves many different elements. You can earn points if you * attend an AADL Event, get a code, and redeem the code for 200-500 points, depending on the event * add tags to any item in our catalog for 10 points * give a star rating to any item in our catalog for 10 points. Get 50 points for rating items that are in your checkout history! * write a review of any item in our catalog for 50 points * create and share a new public list for 50 points * add an item to one of your public lists for 10 points * comment on any aadl.org blog post for 50 points. (5) There are other ways of earning points, some to do with local studies collections, others to do with reading, others to do with visiting exhibitions at the library and commenting on them. This game encourages people to engage fully in interacting with the library because of the opportunity to earn points which lead to real world rewards. They also lead to people being more engaged in their library, and in their community. This is a game of learning. In 2011 the active participants aged from about six through to people in their seventies, and there were thousands of people playing this game. It also means that more of the community is learning and is engaged with their library. This is a model other libraries can learn from. Ann Arbor District Library uses Drupal to run the game, and staff expertise in game design. This game has no stated age limits on play, and the interactions are designed to appeal to a wide range of people in the community. People will enjoy different parts of the game. This is an important element as it means you can play the game the way you want, and there are not barriers to participation. This is a game designed for the whole community. By week six of the game in 2012 14,626 BADGES this year! And this is only week 6! In addition to all those badges, you've all earned 27.5 million points in this year's summer game. which highlights the enthusiasm for this game. (6) The Ann Arbour game, with its badges, is reflective of GetGlue. (7) However, it has library specific quests to help people explore collections and services. …


We propose a novel approach to the composition of group communication protocols. In this approach, components are modelled as finite state machines communicating via signals. We introduce two building blocks, called adaptor and adaplexor, that ease the development and the composition of group communication protocol stacks, and we discuss how isolation can be achieved in this setting. To validate our architectural concepts, we have implemented the proposed group communication architecture in SDL.


Want to know how to make your pages look beautiful, communicate your message effectively, guide visitors through your website with ease, and get everything approved by the accessibility and usability police at the same time? Head First Web Design is your ticket to mastering all of these complex topics, and understanding what's really going on in the world of web design. Whether you're building a personal blog or a corporate website, there's a lot more to web design than div's and CSS selectors, but what do you really need to know? With this book, you'll learn the secrets of designing effective, user-friendly sites, from customer requirements to hand-drawn storyboards all the way to finished HTML and CSS creations that offer an unforgettable online presence. Your time is way too valuable to waste struggling with new concepts. Using the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory learning experience, Head First Web Design uses a visually rich format specifically designed to take advantage of the way your brain really works.


Jennifer Waltz, Ph.D. is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Montana and the Director of Clinical Training for the graduate program in clinical psychology. She trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) under the supervision of the developer of the treatment, Dr. Marsha Linehan, from 1987-1992. As a senior trainer, she conducts training and supervision in DBT throughout the U.S. Dr. Waltz has published a number of articles and book chapters on DBT. She was Principal Investigator on an NIMH-funded project designed to develop videotapes of DBT skills training. Other areas of research are in trauma, emotions, and family violence. She resides in Missoula, where she also teaches, supervises a DBT team, and maintains a private practice.


We suggest a method for finding the non-dominated points of the production possibility set (PPS) with variable returns to scale (VRS) technology in data envelopment analysis (DEA). We present a multiobjective linear programming (MOLP) problem whose feasible region is the same as the PPS under variable returns to scale for generating non-dominated points. We demonstrate that Pareto solutions of the MOLP produce efficient units in DEA, and vice versa. We solve the MOLP problem by using a finite number of weights which are extreme rays of the cone generated by the efficient solutions. We obtain new efficient points by changing weights, and thus the efficient solutions set is produced.


Recently, a number of experimental methods have been found by which magnetic domains can be controlled and made to propagate through a host material. Theoretical schemes have also been devised to cleverly manipulate magnetic domains in space in order to enable new logic and memory devices with improved performance. Efforts to better understand the physics of domain motion have revealed that the interactions involved in driving this phenomenon are rich and numerous. The magnetic domains studied in this work form in a GaAs quantum well 2D electron system in a nonequilibrium regime of a correlated state of matter called a fractional quantum Hall liquid. In this exotic medium, ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic domains can be created and made to propagate when the system is excited by a current. This propagation is imaged here in real time using photoluminescence microscopy. The speed of the domains is measured and found to depend on several factors, including the strength of nuclear polarization in the system, as probed by nuclear magnetic resonance. This finding reveals the surprisingly significant impact of the hyperfine interaction on magnetic domain dynamics in a semiconductor, in which noticeable hyperfine effects are uncommon.


High myopia affects approximately 2% of general population, and is a major cause of legal blindness in many developed countries. Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is the most common vision-threatening complication of high myopia. Different therapeutic approaches have been attempted such as thermal laser photocoagulation, surgery and photodynamic therapy with verteporfin (PDT). The visual outcome of these therapies has been reported to be better than the natural history of the condition. However, the limited visual acuity improvement after PDT monotherapy and the appearance of subretinal fibrosis and chorioretinal atrophy prompted the association of other therapies. In the past few years a tremendous advance in the knowledge of the mechanisms underling CNV secondary to high myopia and age related macular degeneration has been achieved, leading to new therapeutic targets and novel drugs and combined therapies. These new therapeutic weapons have been designed to achieve a selective shut down of choroidal new vessels. Recent reviews have been published on the natural history and therapies for myopic CNV. Ohno-Matsui reported on the natural history of the condition as well as the outcome of laser photocoagulation, surgical extraction of CNV, foveal translocation and photodynamic therapy on myopic CNV in the short-term. Soubrane et al reviewed the new advances on surgery, laser photocoagulation and PDT, considering some of the potential effects of triamcinolone, pegaptanib and ranibizumab in CNV secondary to age related macular degeneration (AMD). Novack et al reported on the pharmacological therapy of CNV in AMD. The aim of this review is to summarize the recent advances in myopic CNV pathophysiology and the new therapeutic targets and drugs that are changing the clinical management of myopic CNV.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to critically analyze self-images of internal auditors in light of the metaphors and short descriptions they give about their own role(s) in their organization. Worldwide data have been collected via a forum for internal auditors on LinkedIn where they were asked "If you were asked to write down a catch-line to sum up your role as internal auditors in your organization, what would it be?" The analysis distinguishes five clusters of self-images whereby some of these self-images could be self-inflicted pitfalls creating the wrong expectations and perceptions within the organization: (1) negative self-images that may create distance and form the basis of non-acceptance; (2) overly modest self-perceptions; (3) use of self-evident and empty words that could lead to marginalization in the eyes of internal auditors' stakeholders; (4) overly ambitious claims, Superman-like, creating the basis for disappointment as internal auditors all too often over-promise and under-deliver. Eventually (5), we also find original and helpful self-images that point to positive characteristics and differences, which should help in creating a unique and sustainable identity, and also support internal audit's pursuit of greater effectiveness. The analysis of how internal auditors view themselves may explain why some internal auditors are on a route to marginalization and disappointment, while others embark on a more promising path creating a positive, unique, and sustainable identity as suggested by recent studies. Ultimately, we suggest that viewing internal auditors as farmers is a promising metaphor with which to position internal audit and strengthen its value proposition.


The micropatterning of a series new poly(carbonate-urethanes) with IR and excimer lasers is discussed. A series of segmented polyurethanes consisting of a soft segment and a hard segment was prepared. The soft segment, a thermodegradable polycarbonate diol, degrades by a syn-elimination at higher temperature. The hard segment was selected as to increase the sensitivity of the polymers for UV excimer laser ablation. The thermal and mechanical properties of the segmented polyurethanes (SPU) were investigated. By varying the building blocks in the polymer (soft and hard segments), the ablation properties were studied in terms of absorption coefficient and threshold value. Polymers with an aromatic chain-extender and an diisocyanate showed the highest absorption coefficient at wavelengths of 248 and 193 nm. Irradiation of these polymers led to cavities with high dimensional quality, sharp edges and no accumulation of degradation products near the cavities (no debris formation). Ablation with an IR laser led to a decrease in film thickness of the polymer deposited on a substrate. This was investigated with FTIR/ATR analysis and atomic force microscopy. Debris formation was found near the cavities. The differentiation of polarity between the exposed and unexposed areas was not efficient enough to use them as a coating for printing plates.


In R&D based endogenous growth framework, due to the increase of technological capacity by reverse engineering, learning by doing and imitation effects, the interaction of developing countries with outside world will lead economic growth together with productivity increases through observing and utilizing new and more variety of intermediate and capital goods. The aim of this study is to examine the technological knowledge spillovers through imports within the frame of absorptive capacity for Turkish Manufacturing Industry. Departing from the assumption that the relation between technology spillovers and absorptive capacity is non-linear, threshold regression techniques are employed. The results provide evidence on the existence of international technology spillovers in Turkish Manufacturing Industry. The main finding of threshold regression analyses is that the efficiency of spillovers is differentiated with respect to the industry specific absorptive capacities.


The role of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in cardiovascular diseases is a matter of interest in the last years and the strong association between the action of AGEs on their receptor (RAGE) and atherosclerosis has attracted increased attention. The aim of this chapter is to review the results of our laboratory and others on the molecular mechanisms triggered by AGEs in the endothelium that could participate in the ath- erosclerotic process. These mechanisms and molecular pathways could be the source of new therapeutic targets against atherosclerosis or vascular disease. Oxidative stress in endothelium induced by AGEs triggers molecular signaling pathways that produce an inflammatory response or even endothelial dysfunction. Adhesion molecules expression at the membranes of endothelial cells as a consequence of this response or induced by other mechanisms involving AGEs mediates the adhesion of leukocytes to endothelium. This adhesion is a key step in the atherogenesis process and the possible involvement of AGE-RAGE axis in this process should be considered as a potential therapeutic tar - get. Finally, potential pharmacological modulation of AGE-RAGE axis activity at the endothelium is suggested, but the specific pharmacological tools available nowadays are missing; respectively, drugs used for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic dis eases could be helpful for AGE-RAGE axis modulation, thus also affecting endothelial (dys)function.


The global seafood industry currently lacks a standardized, widespread method to easily trace the chain of custody of products that they purchase. With global overfishing leading to declining fish stocks around the world, it is vital for seafood providers to have the ability to identify and buy products from sustainable fisheries that are well managed, target abundant species, and fish in environmentally responsible ways. A tracing system that incorporates a combination of online inventory reporting and physical product tagging, augmented by independent supply chain verification, will give companies and consumers the information they need to make sustainable seafood choices. Overfishing is costly. Altered fish landings have created economic hardships for fishermen and women worldwide. In addition, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) catches threaten the sustainability of many sensitive local fisheries. Increased tracing of seafood products has the potential to help alleviate these problems by giving suppliers and consumers relevant information that allows them to make sustainable choices. The primary goals of the initial phase of this project are the development of a gap analysis in the current fishing industry in Costa Rica (including fisheries management criteria) as well as of recommendations for moving forward toward implementing a test system for a pilot traceability project. During this phase, current procedures will be outlined and compared to existing traceability models, standards, and regulations in Costa Rica and the U.S. The ultimate goal of this project is to test the implementation of a seafood traceability system in Costa Rica (and perhaps Panama and Colombia) with practical experience, with real-life situations and challenges, and with a small number of participants at each step of the value chain (i.e., a small number of fishermen, a few processors, one or two distributors, and a large supermarket and/or restaurant chain). This dissertation is available at Digital Commons @ Center for the Blue Economy: https://cbe.miis.edu/cbe_working_papers/7 0 A Sustainable Seafood Traceability System in Costa Rica Development and Implementation Prepared by Nancy A Olsen on behalf of the MarViva Foundation August 2012


For many years adventurers from Spain and France had explored Texas. For about fifty years Spain had tried to civilize and Christianize the Indians in East Texas. Finally the Spanish government had abolished the missions and presidios. During the following fifty years, very little had been done toward colonization in Texas. In 1821, Texas was an almost uninhabited country, with the exception of savage Indians. The Anglo-Americans came and changed it into a great state. The East Texas Timber Region has been the gateway through which most of the settlers came to Texas. The settlers who stopped there did their part in establishing the present state of Texas. The East Texans did their part in helping to win freedom from Mexico so they could lay a foundation for American civilization there.


We demonstrate that stress engineering is an effective tool to modify or eliminate polarization dispersion in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide devices, for a wide range of waveguide cross-section shapes and dimensions. The stress-induced effects on the modal birefringence of SOI waveguides are investigated numerically and experimentally. Finite-element simulations show that while the birefringence of ridge waveguides with both slanted and vertical sidewalls can be effectively modified using cladding stress, the birefringence becomes much less sensitive to dimension fluctuations with decreasing sidewall slope. To efficiently simulate the stress-induced effects we propose a normalized plane-strain model which can achieve comparable accuracy as a fully generalized plane-strain model but requires significantly less computational resources. Excellent agreement is achieved between the calculated and measured birefringence tuning using SiO/sub 2/ cladding induced stress. Finally, both calculations and experiments confirm that cladding induced stress can be used to eliminate the birefringence in SOI waveguides of arbitrary shapes, for typical SiO/sub 2/ film stress values (/spl sigma//sub film//spl ap/-100 to -300 MPa) and cladding thicknesses of the order of 1 /spl mu/m or less.


As a part of the study on soil carbon flow in a deglaciated area in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard (79°N), we estimated the contribution of the belowground respiration of vascular plants to total soil respiration in August 1996. Four study sites were set up along a primary successional series, ranging from newly deglaciated moraine to older moraine with well-developed vegetation cover. Respiratory activity of the belowground parts (roots + belowground stems) of three dominant species, Salix polaris, Saxifraga oppositifolia and Luzula confusa, was determined under laboratory conditions. The respiratory activity and the Q10 value of the respiration were higher in S. polaris than in the other two species. Total soil respiration rates measured in the field varied widely. The areas with dense vegetation cover tended to show high respiration rates. Belowground respiration of vascular plants was estimated based on the respiratory activity and biomass of the belowground parts at each study site. The contribution to the belowground respiration to total soil respiration was negligible in the early stages of succession. On the other hand, the respiration of the belowground parts contributed to a significant proportion (?29%) of the total soil respiration in the latter stages of succession.


This article discusses the findings of research with members of the Scottish judiciary which explored the circumstances in which some judges chose to speak to children in family proceedings and their reasons for doing so. It argues that judges who speak directly to children are in a position to make a significant difference to a child's experience of participation. The article acknowledges that there are numerous objections to the judicial interview but describes some of the ways in which these objections can be overcome.


The successful persistence of Capitella spp. in disturbed and/or oil-polluted habitats is widely known, but demographic adaptations might be only part of the explanation and little is known about differences among species. The present study investigates ecophysiological effects of the common PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) fluoranthene (FLU) on juvenile and adult survival, comparing 3 sibling species of Capitella (Polychaeta; Capitellidae). Subsequently, the influence of FLU on the aerobic and anaerobic metabolism in the most 'sensitive' species, Capitella sp. S, and most 'tolerant' species, Capitella sp. I, was assessed. Oxygen uptake and internal succinate concentration (an indicator of anaerobic metabolism) were measured after short-term (7 h) and long-term (2 wk) FLU pre-exposure (100 μg g -1 ). FLU exposure reduced mean survival times of juveniles (4 d old) of all sibling species, but tolerance varied among the 3 species of Capitella adults. Capitella sp. S, originally collected from 'clean' oxygen-rich North Sea intertidal sediments, was most sensitive and Capitella sp. M, and Capitella sp. I, which is the most opportunistic of the sibling species described to date, were most tolerant. In Capitella sp. S, O 2 uptake decreased at lower ambient oxygen levels and increasing FLU concentrations increased oxygen consumption. Similarly, O 2 uptake decreased at lower ambient oxygen levels in Capitella sp. I; however, FLU concentrations had no effect on oxygen uptake. For both species, anaerobic metabolism increased with declining ambient oxygen levels, and was influenced by FLU exposure in Capitella sp. S, but not in Capitella sp. I. Part of the explanation for the success of Capitella sp. I in oil-polluted habitats may be that this species is able to channel energy into vital processes without a measurable increase in energy expenditure. We conclude that these 3 Capitella species are ecophysiologically diverse in their responses to toxicant exposure. Our results suggest that toxicant tolerance differences among sibling species have a genetic basis and that increased aerobic and anaerobic metabolic rates in response to toxicant exposure can have negative survival consequences. This has to be considered when using these species as pollution indicators or to improve sediment quality.


Abstract: An integrated in situ monazite laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and metamorphic equilibria study is used to establish the P–T conditions and timing of Barrovian metamorphism in the Shetland Islands, Scottish Caledonides. The results have implications for the structural setting of the Unst ophiolite, which was obducted onto metasedimentary rocks of the Dalradian Supergroup. Metapelites in the footwall of the ophiolite yield U–Pb ages between 462 and 451 Ma with P–T conditions varying from c. 7.5 kbar and 550 °C directly below the ophiolite to c. 10 kbar and 775 °C at structurally deeper levels. The timing of peak metamorphism corresponds closely to that of Grampian (c. 450–470 Ma) metamorphism in mainland Scotland and Ireland, and Taconic (c. 450–460 Ma) metamorphism in the Appalachians, thus confirming the near-synchroneity of this important arc accretion event along the Laurentian margin. There is a significant metamorphic contrast between the low-grade rocks associated with the Unst ophiolite and the P–T conditions recorded in its footwall. If published K–Ar ages of c. 470 Ma broadly record obduction of the ophiolite, its present basal contact is probably a younger tectonic break that was associated with the excision of at least c. 10 km of crustal section. Supplementary material: Electron microporobe chemical analyses of garnet grains are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18494


Perfect Acts of Architecture presents six sets of highly inventive drawings by the contemporary avant-garde architects Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis, Peter Eisenman, Bernard Tschumi, Daniel Libeskind and Thom Mayne. Created between 1972 and 1988, when many architects turned to teaching because economic conditions had drastically curtailed building commissions, these works reflect the period's intellectual debates and demonstrate graphic experimentation as a proactive mode of research. Each suite of drawings, fully illustrated with superb reproductions, offers great insight into the creative processes of six young designers, who went on to establish major international reputations. To put this 'paper architecture' into a broader historical context, Kipnis and Riley provide introductory texts as well as concise commentaries on each of the projects.


Inflammation is associated with different cardiovascular diseases like in hypertension. This study to evaluate the level of alpha one anti-trypsin (AAT) and haptoglobin in hypertension was carried out on patients attending Madonna University Hospital (MUTH), Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria. The research was done on a total of one hundred (100) subjects. Fifty (50) of this population were hypertensive patients (Test) while fifty (50) were the control. Their age ranged from 45-65 years. Alpha one anti-trypsin and haptoglobin were measured by Mispa Auto-analyzer Nephelometric immunoassay method. The results were analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 20. The results showed a significant increase (P<0.05) in haptoglobin in hypertensive subjects (120.9 ± 54.90 mg/dl) when compared with the control (47.7 ± 32.61 mg/dl). Haptoglobin was elevated in hypertension. Hence, level of haptoglobin could be used to predict cardiovascular risk in patients with certain disease conditions. The results also showed significant increase (P<0.05) in the AAT level of hypertensive subjects (293.7 ± 59.86 mg/dl) compared to the control (158.8 ± 52.14 mg/dl) respectively. Alpha one anti-trypsin plays a role as a biomarker in hypertension.


This overview of Consciousness Studies examines the conditions that one has to satisfy to establish a scientific investigation of phenomenal consciousness. Written from the perspective experimental psychology, it follows a two-pronged approach in which traditional third-person methods for investigating the brain and physical world are complementary to first-person methods for investigating subjective experience allowing the possibility of finding "bridging laws" that relate such first- and third-person data to each other. Mindful of the relative sophistication of third-person methods the chapter focuses on the problems of developing similarly sophisticated first-person methods. The problems are of three kinds: (1) Epistemological problems: How can one obtain public, objective knowledge about private, subjective experiences? (2) Methodological problems: Given that one cannot attach measuring instruments directly up to experiences, what psychological "instruments" and procedures are appropriate to their study? (3) The relation of the observer to the observed: The more closely coupled an observer is with an observed, the greater the potential influence of the act of observation on the nature of the observed ("observer effects"). Given this, how can one develop introspective and phenomenological methods where the observer is the observed? The chapter argues that the epistemological problems are more apparent than real, although this requires one to construe what is private versus public, and what is subjective or intersubjective versus what is objective in a slightly different way—with some enabling consequences for a science of consciousness. Methodological problems are real, but not fundamentally different to the problems traditionally faced in experimental psychological investigations of mental phenomena. The close-coupling of observer with the observed in first-person investigations can also be a problem, producing "observer effects" that are more acute than in most third-person investigations. The chapter suggests that one can either try to minimise such effects or to harness them, depending on the purpose of the investigation.


Many sexual and reproductive health inequities are rooted in gender inequality that place women in South Africa, especially adolescent girls and sex workers, at increased risk of adverse outcomes. Gender inequality causes multiple layers of stigma, discrimination, and marginalisation, including misuse of criminal law, gender-based and sexual violence, and denial of sexual and reproductive health rights, which continue to create barriers to realising these rights. This thesis adopts a social approach that recognises that the individual capacities of adolescents and female sex workers are intimately tied to social norms (gender inequality), practices and institutions (the health system), human and sexual rights (policy framework), and the legacy of apartheid in South Africa. The case is made for an enabling environment in which these vulnerable groups can improve their sexual and reproductive health outcomes despite agonising barriers. Adolescent girls and sex workers have possible identities, and they use transactional sex to attain their ideals given their resource poor and gender unequal circumstances. Using identity-based motivation to encourage gender transformation will redress the barriers of the vulnerable group to adopting safer behaviours (Chapter 4). For adolescent girls and sex workers, seeking health information and care often competes with other priorities and needs (Chapter 5). As self-regulatory scores can be increased through situational cueing, health promotion messages can be matched to the regulatory focus of adolescent girls and sex workers to ensure that health communication reaches both chronic and situationally self-regulated females. Considering the social, structural, and behavioural determinants that contribute to poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes, there is a need to understand the context in order to respond appropriately (Chapter 6). A harm reduction framework removes the reliance on individual-level behaviour change as a stand-alone activity for improving access to sexual and reproductive health and sexual and reproductive health rights (Chapter 7). Vulnerable women are frequently exposed to coercive practices institutionalised under the biomedical model of healthcare (chapter 8). Understanding how to ensure that women have capacity, are informed, and are free from the disruptive role of power dynamics when accessing health care, strengthens their realisation of their human rights (Chapter 9). Behaviour change research must focus on group norms and ways to assemble vulnerable groups to influence the design of research. It is essential to consider sexual and reproductive health rights, power imbalances, and agency of vulnerable groups in research design. Only once sexual and reproductive health rights and social public health principles are incorporated into research on vulnerable females, will their sexual and reproductive health outcomes improve. For as long as unequal gender norms dictate the expected behaviour of girls and sex workers, their aspirations will remain pipedreams. For as long as sex workers are not recognised as mothers and spouses, will they be exploited and violated. For as long as the biomedical model and individual-level behaviour change theories reign, context and human rights will not get the due attention.


Abstract EU goals and policies have significant consequences for Norway affiliated through the EEA-agreement. Through the EU Climate Package, EU aims to reduce total GHG emissions in all EU member states 20% and increase the share of renewable energy to 20% by 2020. Norway already has a share of renewable energy of more than 60%, and to live up to EUs requirements Norway may have to increase its share to 75%. New power production is expected to cover most of the increase. Because of energy efficiency and a shift to renewable heat in buildings, general consumption in Norway is expected to decrease. This implies that Norway may see a huge power surplus in 2025 – in this report estimated power surplus equals 15-19TWh. This surplus can be exported out of the country to Continental Europe through interconnectors. To analyze possible effects on Norwegian power prices, and thus the effects on the investment potential for renewable heat, a set of scenarios have been prepared looking at the price effects of different interconnection capacities to the Continent. The modeling tool Samlast is used for the simulations. The report assumes that fuel and CO2 prices are high as a result of increased economic growth and climatic focus. The Continent, with its large share of thermal power generation in its system, is to a large degree affected by this and because of its connection to the Continental markets, Norway is also likely to be affected too. Results indicate that Norwegian power prices will rise from current price level in all scenarios and prices increase with increased interconnection capacity. Price differences between Norway and the Continent are significant in all scenarios, and decrease with increased interconnection capacity. With low interconnection capacity, water is spilled in Norway and power prices can drop to zero during years of high inflow. With high interconnection capacity is it unlikely that prices will come as low as current price level. Some of the results obtained in the simulations seem a bit unreasonable and it was therefore attempted to examine whether there was something wrong with the simulations. The examination led to nothing, and the results may even be correct. If so, Norwegian power prices are to a large extent affected by fuel prices and the price on CO2, also in case of relatively low interconnection capacity to the Continent. Price on renewable heat is fixed by law to be lower than the power price and the profitability of investments in renewable heat is determined by income versus total costs. The profitability of such investments is not discussed in this report.


Objective:   To determine the efficacy of 17 α OH progesterone in prevention of preterm labour in high risk patients. Study Design: Randomized control trial. Place and Duration of Study:   Department of Obs-tetric and gynecology, Fatima Memorial Hospital, Lahore during January 2008 to December 2010. Patients and Methods:   Two hundreds women fulfill-ing inclusion criteria were recruited in study and were divided into two groups (treated and non-treated). The 17 α OH progesterone injections were started from 20 weeks and on ward on weekly basis until 36 weeks of gestation or delivery whichever occurred first. The pri-mary end point was preterm birth, defined as birth occurring before 37 weeks of gestation. Other out comes were frequency of episodes of uterine contrac-tions, episodes of preterm labour and response to treat-ment with beta – mimetics. Results:   The treatment with 17 α OH progesterone helped to prolong pregnancy to full term in 66% as compared to those non treated 11%. There was 4.17 (2.65 – 6.60) time higher RR in non-treated group as compared to treated group for preterm delivery bet-ween 35 – 37 weeks. Similarly the RR was 4.94 (2.61-8.58) and 6.33 (2.95 – 13.60) in non-treated group as compare to treated group of preterm deliveries bet-ween 32 – 35 weeks and < 32 weeks respectively. Conclusion:   Women with previous preterm births when treated with 17 α OH progesterone showed sig-nificant reduction in spontaneous early preterm deli-very. Keywords:   17 α OH progesterone, preterm delivery, previous preterm deliveries.


Abundant in nature lignocellulosic plant biomass represent a promising, sustainable, source of energy as it can be converted into fuel ethanol through the fermentation of one of its prevalent sugar constituents – xylose. Xylose-utilizing recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains are engineered to overcome the potential bottlenecks of xylose uptake and cofactor imbalance, and to minimize the xylitol accumulation. In this work, we apply a novel computational framework to identify metabolic engineering targets for the optimization of ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the fed-batch culture. We employ a methodology that uses Monte Carlo sampling to explore the kinetic data space, and it accounts explicitly for mechanistic properties of enzymes and physico-chemical and thermodynamic constraints. We model the kinetic responses of the individual reactions, and we integrate this mechanistic information with the thermodynamically feasible pairs of substrate and product concentrations to build a population of all biochemically and thermodynamically meaningful models of the Xylose-utilizing recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. We find that redistribution of the metabolic flows around pyruvate among carboxylation, decarboxylation, and transport has significant potential in improving total utilization of hexose and pentose sugar as well as its conversion into ethanol.


Bone health depends on the bone mineral density and mechanical strength, characterised quantitatively and
inferred through qualitative parameters such as the trabecular and cortical micro-architecture, and other parameters
describing the bone cells. Among these cells, the osteocyte has been recognised as the orchestrator of bone remodelling,
playing a key role in directing osteoblastic and osteoclastic activities. Conventional optical and electron microscopies have
greatly improved our understanding of the cell physiology mechanisms involved in different osteoarticular
pathophysiological contexts, especially osteoporosis. More recently, imaging methods exploiting synchrotron radiation,
such as X-ray tomography, ptychography, and deep ultraviolet and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies, have
revealed new biochemical, chemical and 3D morphological information about the osteocyte lacuna, the surrounding matrix
and the lacuna–canalicular network at spatial length scales spanning microns to tens of nanometres. Here, we review
recent results in osteocyte lacuna and lacuna–canalicular network characterisation by synchrotron radiation imaging in
human and animal models, contributing to new insights in different physiologic and pathophysiological situations.


Abstract Study of the pollination biology of endangered species can provide useful information for natural resource managers. We studied the floral biology of Xyris tennesseensis, a federally endangered species, at a site (Willett Springs) in north central Alabama. We described floral behavior and flowering phenology, supplemented pollen onto stigmas from self and outcross sources to determine its effect on seed production and germination ability, documented the floral visitor fauna, and collected data on behavior, abundance and pollen loads of floral visitor species during two years (1998–99). Flowering of the population lasted from July to September each year, but individual flowers completed blooming in about a 3-hr period beginning in late morning. On average, a single flower was visited by three insects for a total of five floral visits during its brief period of anthesis. Floral visitation was greatest when flowers first opened and declined steeply by the time flowers began to close. Halictid bees were the most abundant floral visitors, along with four species of pollen-consuming syrphid flies. Based upon quantity of pollen carried, location on the body, and visitation frequency, we concluded that the halictid bee Lasioglossum zephyrum was the single most important pollinator species on the study site. However, the pollen supplementation study showed that flowers produce seeds without visitation by insects, likely by self-pollination. We concluded that, unlike some endangered plant species, insect pollination is not required for seed production by X. tennesseensis.


We show that the energy gap induced by ferromagnetically aligned magnetic impurities on the surface of a topological insulator can be filled, due to scattering off the nonmagnetic potential of the impurities. In both a continuum surface model and a three-dimensional tight-binding lattice model, we find that the energy gap disappears already at weak potential scattering as impurity resonances add spectral weight at the Dirac point. This can help explain seemingly contradictory experimental results as to the existence of a gap.


Adhesive bonding is a joining process where the assembly is held together by the surface attachment of adhesives without changing or modifying the properties of the surface. The adhesive-bonding process provides a good alternative to more classical joining processes such as welding. The process is promising for joining dissimilar material and getting in popularity for structural bounding of functional parts. Our current research seeks to develop an understanding of adhesive bonding processes from the spreading of the adhesive, to the solidification and curing and finally the testing. The current modeling of the liquid phase of the adhesive, based on the interoperability of several particle models, include viscous fluid, wetability, surface energy, and colloidal fluid and the current modeling of the solid phase of the adhesive includes solid modeling for non-linear materials, fracture and the simulation of the performance of the joint.


Overcoming ionic diffusion limitations is essential for the development of high‐efficiency dye‐sensitized solar cells based on cobalt redox mediators. Here, improved mass transport is reported for photoanodes composed of mesoporous TiO2 beads of varying pore sizes and porosities in combination with the high extinction YD2‐o‐C8 porphyrin dye. Compared to a photoanode made of 20 nm‐sized TiO2 particles, electrolyte diffusion through these films is greatly improved due to the large interstitial pores between the TiO2 beads, resulting in up to 70% increase in diffusion‐limited current. Simultaneously, transient photocurrent measurements reveal no mass transport limitations for films of up to 10 μm thickness. In contrast, standard photoanodes made of 20 nm‐sized TiO2 particles show non‐linear behavior in photocurrent under 1 sun illumination for a film thickness as low as 7 μm. By including a transparent thin mesoporous TiO2 underlayer in order to reduce optical losses at the fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO)‐TiO2 interface, an efficiency of 11.4% under AM1.5G 1 sun illumination is achieved. The combination of high surface area, strong scattering behavior, and high porosity makes these mesoporous TiO2 beads particularly suitable for dye‐sensitized solar cells using bulky redox couples and/or viscous electrolytes.


The easiness of managing and configuring resources and the low cost needed for setup and maintaining Cloud services have made Cloud Computing widespread. Several commercial vendors now offer solutions based on Cloud architectures. More and more providers offer new different services every month, following their customers needs. A way to provide a common access to Cloud services and to discover and use required services in Cloud federations is appealing. mOSAIC project addresses these problems by defining a common ontology and it aims at developing an open-source platform that enables applications to negotiate Cloud services as requested by users. Anyway the increasing complexity of services required by users in Cloud Environments usually needs the definition of composite, value added services (VAS). Usage patterns and Use Cases definitions help in defining VAS, but a way to assure that new services reach the required goals with proper qualitative and quantitative properties has to be provided in order to validate design and implementation of composite services. In this paper mOSAIC Ontology is described and the MetaMORP(h)OSY methodology and framework are introduced. The methodology uses Model Driven Engineering and Model Transformation techniques to analyse services. Due to the complexity of the systems to analyse, the mOSAIC Ontology is used in order to build modelling profiles in MetaMORP(h)OSY able to address cloud domain-related properties.


Decentralized (PO)MDPs provide an expressive framework for sequential decision making in a multiagent system. Given their computational complexity, recent research has focused on tractable yet practical subclasses of Dec-POMDPs. We address such a subclass called CDEC-POMDP where the collective behavior of a population of agents affects the joint-reward and environment dynamics. Our main contribution is an actor-critic (AC) reinforcement learning method for optimizing CDEC-POMDP policies. Vanilla AC has slow convergence for larger problems. To address this, we show how a particular decomposition of the approximate action-value function over agents leads to effective updates, and also derive a new way to train the critic based on local reward signals. Comparisons on a synthetic benchmark and a real-world taxi fleet optimization problem show that our new AC approach provides better quality solutions than previous best approaches.


Numerous characteristic trends and effects have been observed in published studies on two-phase micro-channel boiling heat transfer. While macro-scale flow boiling heat transfer may be decomposed into nucleate and convective boiling contributions, at the micro-scale the extent of these two important mechanisms remains unclear. Although many experimental studies have proposed nucleate boiling as the dominant micro-scale mechanism, based on the strong dependence of the heat transfer coefficient on the heat flux similar to nucleate pool boiling, they fall short when it comes to actual physical proof. A strong presence of nucleate boiling is reasonably associated to a flow of bubbles with sizes ranging from the microscopic scale to the magnitude of the channel diameter. The bubbly flow pattern, which adapts well to this description, is observed, however, only over an extremely limited range of low vapor qualities (typically for quality less than 0.01–0.05). Furthermore, at intermediate and high vapor qualities, when the flow assumes the annular configuration and a convective behavior is expected to dominate the heat transfer process, the experimental evidence yields entirely counterintuitive results, with heat transfer coefficients often decreasing with increasing vapor quality rather than increasing as in macro-scale channels, and with a much diminished heat flux dependency compared with would be expected. In summary, convective boiling in micro-channels has been revealed to be much more complex than originally thought. The present review aims at describing and analyzing the boiling mechanisms that have been proposed for two-phase micro-channel flows and confronting them with the available experimental heat transfer results, while highlighting those questions that, to date, remain unanswered.


Walk into the local health food shop or pick up today's paper and the chances are that you'll see adverts for acupuncture and herbal medicine, hypnotists and homeopaths. Some doctors and scientists mourn the lost lustre of mainstream medicine and complain about a new breed of 'irrational' consumer.

But what exactly is 'alternative' medicine? Is the astonishing popularity of alternative and multicultural medicine really such a recent development? And, given the success story of modern biomedical science, why are alternative and traditional treatments now so fashionable? Has the impersonal chill of high-tech medicine driven consumers into the arms of charismatic quacks? Or is it the cost of western medicine that makes its competitors look so attractive? Do patients seek hope, holism, or just the thrill of rebellion?

This book seeks answers to all these questions and more. Comparing the medical systems of China, India, and the west - both mainstream and alternative - Roberta Bivins shows how medical expertise has migrated from one culture to another. From acupuncture in Regency England to homeopathy in the 'Wild West', Bivins unearths the roots of today's distinctions between alternative, complementary, and orthodox medicine, and shows how popular interest in medical alternatives - often of exotic origin - is a phenomenon with a long and fascinating pedigree.


Satellite cells provide skeletal muscle with a remarkable capacity for repeated repair and regeneration. Quiescent satellite cells are MyoD-ve, with MyoD being induced in >98% of satellite cells within 24hrs of activation (Zammit, Exp. Cell Res. 281, 39, 2002). Here, we explore the subsequent fate of these satellite cells, as they proliferate and begin to differentiate. Satellite cells associated with myofibres, cultured without exposure to serum/CEE, still activated MyoD but the majority failed to divide, demonstrating an uncoupling of the two events. In contrast, myofibres cultured with serum/CEE had clones of satellite cells. MyoD-ve cells were detected in these clones, in which the rest of the cells were MyoD+ve, implying they had arisen after division but were not adopting the same fate. Three possible explanations for MyoD-ve cells were explored: phosphorylated histone markers and BrdU labelling showed that the lack of MyoD was not cell cycle dependent; myogenin immunostaining demonstrated that satellite cells committing to differentiation initially contained MyoD; Pax7 expression was generally down-regulated in the majority of satellite cells by 72hrs, but some remained strongly Pax7+ve. Together, these data suggest that MyoD-ve cells are returning to a quiescent state.


This book is a comprehensive study of the customary practices of English players of the period--how they lived and worked and were paid, organized, and cast for parts in the phenomenally popular theaters of England. Gerald Bentley discusses sharers, hired men, boy apprentices, musicians, touring groups, and managers, showing that players in general led difficult but seriously professional lives.Originally published in 1984.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


Barbara Hepworth's work and ideas are illuminated in her own lucid and eloquent words in this first collection of her writings and conversations. The collection makes available much that is out of print and inaccessible, and includes a significant number of unpublished texts. It is a surprisingly large body of work, and it spans almost the whole of Hepworth's artistic life. Her gift for language and desire to communicate to a public are evident throughout. Alongside the writings are Hepworth's lectures and speeches, a selection of interviews and conversations with writers and journalists, and radio and television broadcasts. The collection sheds new light on Hepworth's life, her working practices, the sources of her inspiration, the breadth of her intellectual interests and her deep engagement with contemporary politics and society, from the United Nations to St Ives. The illustrations include manuscripts and archive photographs from Hepworth's own collection.


Experimental and finite-element analyses for glass/epoxy composite I-beams were carried out to determine the effect of number of layers on load-carrying capacity and specific energy absorption. The loading modes used throughout this investigation were the axial compression,three and four point bending. The beams were fabricated from woven roving glass fibre and epoxy. The composite I-beams fabricated for axial compression tests were of 250 mm gauge length, 76 mm flange width and 125 mm web height,while the composite I-beams fabricated for three and four point bending tests
were of 500 mm gauge length, 76 mm flange width and 125 mm web height.The matrix used was made of an epoxy resin (LECO 811-563-103) and a hardener (LECO 811-563-104) which were mixed at 8:1 ratio.Loading arrangements were also built to facilitate the experimental tests needed.The composite I-beams fabricated and tested were of 4, 6, 8 and 10 layers. Three samples were tested for each type and each load case. In addition,tensile samples were prepared and tested for the composite material used to evaluate the mechanical properties needed in the theoretical analysis stage of this project.Loaddisplacement results were first obtained directly for each type of samples and for each loading mode. An average, for each three similar tests,were then tabulated for the next phase of results and calculations. Experimental results obtained from this study included
the first crushing load, the energy absorption and the failure modes.The first crushing
load values of composite I-beams with four, six, eight and ten layers under axial compression, three and four point bending are (41.67, 69.46, 133.1 and 222.89 kN),(5.94, 11.24, 16.57 and 23.86 kN) and (8.00, 16.39, 25.08 and 35.01 kN) respectively.The specific energy absorption values of composite I-beams with four, six, eight and ten
layers under axial compression are 9.79, 14.70, 33.18 and 35.88 (kJ/kg), respectively.Whereas, the energy absorption capability values of composite I-beams with four, six,
eight and ten layers under three and four point bending are (235.785, 485.791, 829.500 and 1163.771 (J)) and (201.425, 422.107, 803.622 and 1006.986 (J)), respectively.Moreover, the initial crushing bending moment values of composite I-beams with four,six, eight and ten layers under three and four point bending are (0.66, 1.26, 1.86 and 2.68
(kN.m)) and (0.6, 1.23, 1.88 and 2.62 (kN.m)) respectively. On the other hand, all composite I-beams tested under axial compression fail by local buckling followed
progressive crushing failure modes.Whereas, those tested under three and four point
bending fail by matrix cracking followed local buckling under the loading points


A study of breast cancer survival was conducted among New Mexico Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women and New Mexico and Arizona American Indian women diagnosed between 1973 and 1992. The goals were to determine whether, after adjusting for first treatment and the extent of disease at diagnosis, American Indian and Hispanic women had poorer survival than non-Hispanic whites and, if survival had improved over time, whether comparable improvements had been made for the three racial/ethnic groups. Five-year relative survival rates were calculated, and a Cox proportional hazards model was constructed to compare survival between races/ethnicities, adjusting for first treatment and the extent of disease at diagnosis. Findings indicate that during 1983-1992, breast cancer was more commonly detected at a local stage for all three groups compared to 1973-1982. Five-year relative survival improved for non-Hispanic white and American Indian women with local or regional disease, but the improvement was statistically significant only for non-Hispanic white women and for American Indian women with local disease. Despite earlier stages at diagnosis, Hispanic females showed less improvement in overall or stage-specific survival than non-Hispanic whites. The Cox model indicated that American Indian women experienced poorer survival than non-Hispanic whites during both time periods. Survival of Hispanic women with breast cancer was comparable to non-Hispanic whites during 1973-1982 but was significantly worse during 1983-1992. The significance of this lower survival is amplified by increasing breast cancer incidence among New Mexico Hispanics and American Indians.


Adaptive optics (AO) technique has been extensively used for large ground-based optical telescopes to overcome the effect of atmospheric turbulence. But the correction is often partial. An iterative blind deconvolution (IBD) algorithm based on maximum-likelihood (ML) method is proposed to restore the details of the object image corrected by AO. IBD algorithm and the procedure are briefly introduced and the experiment results are presented. The results show that IBD algorithm is efficient for the restoration of some useful high-frequency of the image.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Anoxic brain injury is a devastating result of prolonged hypoxia. The goal of this study was to use arterial spin-labeling (ASL) to characterize the perfusion patterns encountered after anoxic injury to the brain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen patients with a history of anoxic or hypoxic-ischemic injury ranging in age from 1.5 to 78.0 years (mean, 50.3 years) were analyzed with conventional MR imaging and pulsed ASL 1.0–13.0 days (mean, 4.6 days) after anoxic insult. The cerebral perfusion in each case was quantified by using pulsed ASL as part of the standard stroke protocol. Correlation was made among perfusion imaging, conventional imaging, clinical history, laboratory values, and outcome. RESULTS: Fifteen of the 16 patients showed marked global hyperperfusion, and 1 patient showed unilateral marked hyperperfusion. Mean gray matter (GM) cerebral blood flow (CBF) in these patients was 142.6 mL/100 g of tissue per minute (ranging from 79.9 to 204.4 mL/100 g of tissue per minute). Global GM CBF was significantly higher in anoxic injury subjects, compared with age-matched control groups with and without infarction (F2,39 = 63.11; P < .001). Three patients had global hyperperfusion sparing areas of acute infarction. Conventional imaging showed characteristic restricted diffusion in the basal ganglia (n = 10) and cortex (n = 13). Most patients examined died (n = 12), with only 4 patients surviving at the 4-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Pulsed ASL can dramatically demonstrate and quantify the severity of the cerebral hyperperfusion after a global anoxic injury. The global hyperperfusion probably results from loss of autoregulation of cerebral vascular resistance.


Several chemical substances have always been used to make clothes, which through water discharges and household care can be harmful for the environment and toxic for human health. To protect fresh and sea water resources, in 2011 Greenpeace launched the Detox campaign, aimed at having cleaner and toxic-substances-free fashion. Companies are called by Greenpeace to eliminate within 2020 harmful chemicals, which are 11 groups of substances selected to be eliminated as a priority. They include compounds used in the textile sector and to which several restrictions apply, which have been issued by the main international conventions and regulations. Main elimination tool is the company's M-RSL (Manufacturing Restricted Substances List) that the Detox committed companies disclose to the public and ask their suppliers to comply with. The list of substances to be eliminated has grown to around 430 compounds now. The elimination principle assumes that no limit of use can be manageable, for at least four reasons: 1) most of these substances are bio-accumulative, so even the most restricted use can result in a significant pressure on the ecosystem due to repetition by many wet-processers and over time; 2) diversified regulations and control systems at the global level; 3) risk of misuse by actors in good faith and of bad use by careless ones; 4) the offer of alternatives for mainstream chemicals substitution generally need expensive investments on research from chemicals producers, that on their turn need risk and opportunities pressures to be triggered. For these reasons, the Detox M-RSLs LODs are set to the best current testing technology using lowest detection / reporting limits always updated and applied. The aim being not just reduction but total elimination of potentially harmful chemicals, Detox has proved to act as a flywheel for innovation towards green chemistry by chemical producers, which have started to offer new products free from specific substances banned from Detox and similar initiatives like ZDHC, BluesignⓇ etc., based on less strict admissible limits. This has triggered the implementation of ZDHC, BluesignⓇ, etc. compliant green lists (proxies of Detox green lists) by chemical producers and Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) providers (BV, SGS, TUV…). In a way, Detox, through its "watchdog" Greenpeace, works like a "leader" that traces the path and pulls its "followers" to raise the bar in the path towards total elimination of the harmful substances. In around 5 years, the Detox "umbrella" has covered, according to Greenpeace, about 15% of the total fashion turnover realized in the world by the 28 global brands and retailers and 51 manufacturers committed. 31 of those belong to a single cluster program in Prato, Tuscany. In the Prato textile district in Tuscany, the local business association Confindustria Toscana Nord (CTN) has created a consortium to gather and support a group of 31 committed companies since early 2016 and launched CID, a Consortium for Detox Implementation, in October 2016. Tests made in the Detox framework are public, the environmental performances of the supply chain can be known by any stakeholder, in accordance with the public right-to-know principle. Detox test packages are now offered by numerous labs having invested on cutting edge machinery (e.g. Intertek, BV, Buzzi, Centrocot, Brachi..). Since 'zero' in chemistry does not exist, detection limits are set to the best current testing technology using lowest detection / reporting limits always updated and applied.


Pyrromethene dyes doped polymeric channeled waveguide lasers with permanent DFB structures were fabricated via a novel pen-drawing technique with the patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chips fabricated through a casting process as the substrates. With the high resolution dispensers, dye doped high viscosity pre-polymers were written into the PDMS grooves and the cross-section of the channeled waveguides could be controlled by both the polymer composition and the pen-drawing parameters. Highly stable laser output with 4.8 × 10(6) pulses of laser lifetime at 500 Hz of pump repetition rate has been obtained, which is suggested to be among one of the best results of pyrromethene 567 (PM567) up to date.


Background and Objectives: The Arabian Gulf region is rapidly developing, with major changes in lifestyle that can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke. Stroke constitutes a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Qatar. This research focuses mainly on ischaemic stroke, aiming to study carotid plaque morphology at biochemical, cellular and molecular levels. The objectives are to identify markers that can be measured in surrogate tissues (e.g., blood) in order to identify patients at risk of developing the criteria for clinical intervention to prevent or reduce the risk of stroke. Methods: Fifteen carotid plaques were collected from routine carotid endarterectomy surgery. A range of laboratory techniques were used, including SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, histology, immuno-histochemistry, DD-PCR, flow-modelling, bright-field and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Results: Levels of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and its precursor (pro-MMP-3) were higher in echolucent than in echogenic plaques, especially near regions of ulceration, necrosis and where the fibrous cap was thin or torn. Isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) were seen in all carotid plaques irrespective of intraplaque features however, levels of inducible NOS (NOS-II) were higher in echolucent than in echogenic plaques. Higher levels of immunoreactive superoxide dismutase were observed in plaques with higher degree of stenosis (>75%-80% measured by ultrasonography). 3D imaging using LSCM showed evidence of carotid plaque vulnerability demonstrated by reduced fibrous cap thickness and a large lipid-necrotic core with evidence of cracking. Five PCR products were identified in echogenic plaques and three PCR products were identified in echolucent plaques which were absent from echogenic plaques. Some of these PCR bands are the products of genes which appear to be up- or down-regulated during plaque development. Blood flow simulation models showed how blood velocity changes could occur associated with reduction in lumen diameter caused by the plaque. Conclusions: Our findings could help in understanding factors affecting plaque morphology. The switching 'off or on' of genes and their encoded proteins may play an important role in stabilisation or destabilisation of carotid plaques. This may lead to digestion of fibrous tissue, leading to thinning or tearing of the fibrous cap and to plaque disruption, initiating embolization and stroke.