Despite extensive electrification of low-income residential areas on the South African Highveld, extensive use is still made of wood and coal as domestic fuels, particularly for winter space heating. In informal settlements characterised by poverty and lacking electrification, coal is combusted in non-standardised, inefficient and polluting metal braziers, colloquially known as imbaulas. Copious emissions from domestic coal fires result in elevated household and ambient air pollution levels well above national air quality limits. Despite the severity of this pollution as a public health issue, emissions data from residential coal-burning braziers are still scarce. Consequently, there is a need to evaluate the emission characteristics of these devices. In this paper, we report on controlled combustion experiments carried out to investigate systematically influences of fire-ignition methods and stove ventilation rates on gaseous and condensed matter (smoke) emissions from informal residential coal combustion braziers. Two methods of stove ignition—conventional bottom-lit updraft (BLUD) and the top-lit updraft (TLUD) (colloquially known as the Basa njengo Magogo) were investigated. Emission factors (EFs) were found to be dependent on fire ignition method and stove ventilation rates. The top-lit ignition method reduces PM10/PM2.5 by 76% to 80% compared to the BLUD method. Carbon monoxide emissions do not change significantly with the ignition method. Pollutant emissions from normal combustion in high ventilation conditions were low compared to pollutants emitted when an oxygen deficient atmosphere was created under low ventilation conditions. High stove ventilation rates resulted in a 50% reduction in PM10/PM2.5 emissions compared to the low ventilation rates. Emissions of gaseous and particulate matter from incomplete combustion can be minimised by design optimisation of the braziers. Ideally, the emissions of condensed matter particles (which form the bulk of emitted particles in residential coal fires) can be reduced through good mixing of emitted gases and air, and by ensuring a long residence time in the high temperature oxygen rich post combustion zone, to allow for complete oxidation. This study is significant in that it presents the first systematic and comprehensive study of factors affecting emissions from coal braziers.


A method for preparation and analysis of the oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) has been developed and preliminary results for water samples from various locations are reported. Phosphate is extracted from seawater samples by coprecipitation with magnesium hydroxide. Phosphate is further purified through a series of precipitations and resin separation and is ultimately converted to silver phosphate. Silver phosphate samples are pyrolitically decomposed to carbon monoxide and analyzed for δ18O. Silver phosphate samples weighing 0.7 mg (3.5 µmol oxygen) can be analyzed routinely with an average standard deviation of about 0.3‰. There is no isotope fractionation during extraction and blanks are negligible within analytical error. Reproducibility was determined for both laboratory standards and natural samples by multiple analyses. A comparison between filtered and unfiltered natural seawater samples was also conducted and no appreciable difference was observed for the samples tested. The δ18O values of DIP in seawater determined using this method range from 18.6‰ to 22.3‰, suggesting small but detectable natural variability in seawater. For the San Francisco Bay estuary DIP δ18O is more variable, ranging from 11.4‰ near the San Joaquin River to 20.1‰ near the Golden Gate Bridge, and was well correlated with salinity, phosphate concentration, and δ18O of water.


The transient receptor potential subfamily A member 1 (TRPA1) is a non-selective cation channel implicated in the pathogenesis of several airway diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Most of the research on TRPA1 focuses on its expression and function in neuronal context; studies investigating non-neuronal expression of TRPA1 are lacking. In the present study, we show functional expression of TRPA1 in human lung fibroblast cells (CCD19-Lu) and human pulmonary alveolar epithelial cell line (A549). We demonstrate TRPA1 expression at both mRNA and protein levels in these cell types. TRPA1 selective agonists like allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), crotonaldehyde and zinc, induced a concentration-dependent increase in Ca+2 influx in CCD19-Lu and A549 cells. AITC-induced Ca+2 influx was inhibited by Ruthenium red (RR), a TRP channel pore blocker, and by GRC 17536, a TRPA1 specific antagonist. Furthermore, we also provide evidence that activation of the TRPA1 receptor by TRPA1 selective agonists promotes release of the chemokine IL-8 in CCD19-Lu and A549 cells. The IL-8 release in response to TRPA1 agonists was attenuated by TRPA1 selective antagonists. In conclusion, we demonstrate here for the first time that TRPA1 is functionally expressed in cultured human lung fibroblast cells (CCD19-Lu) and human alveolar epithelial cell line (A549) and may have a potential role in modulating release of this important chemokine in inflamed airways.


Coagulation of the blood is regulated by a member of the cytokine receptor family known as tissue factor (TF). Tissue factor associates with the protease factor VIIa and leads to activation of a proteolytic cascade that results in cleavage of fibrinogen and blood coagulation. But the TF-VIIa complex also initiates signaling through the protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2), which influences a range of biological processes, including inflammation, angiogenesis, and vascular function. Ahamed et al. now report that a disulfide bond between two cysteine residues on the extracellular portion of TF acts as a switch to promote one or the other of these two actions of TF--coagulation or cell signaling through PAR2. The authors used a set of antibodies that recognized distinct epitopes on TF and dose-response experiments to show that two distinct pools of TF regulated coagulation (measured as proteolytic generation of factor Xa) or PAR2 signaling [measured by monitoring phosphorylation of ERKs (extracellular signal–regulated kinases)]. Studies with mutant TF supported the authors' suspicion that a conformational change in TF might result from formation or breakage of the Cys186-Cys209 disulfide bond. Furthermore, TF was found to associate with the enzyme protein disulfide isomerase (PDI). Reduction of the disulfide bond by PDI appeared to suppress coagulation, but TF retained its signaling activity through PAR2. Conversely, an antibody that inhibited interaction of TF with PAR2 inhibited signaling but allowed TF to function in control of coagulation. Pharmacological inhibition of PDI inhibited signaling through PAR2 initiated by the TF-VIIa complex, but not activation of the coagulation cascade. The findings may have therapeutic implications in that they demonstrate that it is possible to inhibit signaling initiated by TF-VIIa without compromising regulation of coagulation. J. Ahamed, H. H. Versteeg, M. Kerver, V. M. Chen, B. M. Mueller, P. J. Hogg, W. Ruf, Disulfide isomerization switches tissue factor from coagulation to cell signaling. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103, 13932-13937 (2006). [Abstract] [Full Text]


-Tourism has become an important economic activity in all the countries of the world. It creates direct and indirect impact on the economy. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is considered as one of the routes through which developing countries can reach tourism. In this regard, Sri Lanka offers attractive investment opportunities for foreign companies and has adopted a number of policies to attract FDI into the country. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between tourism and Foreign Direct Investment in Sri Lanka. Annual data gathered for the period from 1978 to 2014 and forecasted data for the period from 2015 to 2016 were used for the study. Data were analyzed using E-Views. Augmented Dickey-Fuller is used for unit root test, while Engle–Granger is used for co-integration, whereas Granger causality test was employed to find the causal relationships. The empirical evidence shows that there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between tourism receipts and Foreign Direct Investment. Granger causality test revealed that there exists two-way causality implying that Foreign Direct Investments helped to boost tourism sector while tourism earnings stimulated the Foreign Direct Investment.


In this contribution we discuss some pertinent issues regarding knowledge implementation in the Netherlands, focusing on the largest public funding agency for health research in the Netherlands (ZonMw). The commentary is based on a report, which includes a structured analysis of 79 projects funded by ZonMW, a survey of published implementation research covering 141 systematic reviews, and qualitative study of the implementation infrastructure in the Netherlands. Five themes were identified. First, the term 'knowledge implementation' may be better replaced by more specific terms in some situations. Second, contextual factors need to be taken more systematically into account when planning and evaluating implementation programs. Third, knowledge may change when implemented and this needs to be considered in projects. Fourth, we observed that implementation has developed into a specific world, separated from both healthcare practice and scientific research. It is important to guard against the risk of isolation from the practical and societal needs that the field is meant to address. Finally, we suggest that the strong focus on 'doing projects' and limited opportunities for structural funding may reduce substantial improvement in the field. Many good activities are underway, but the policies regarding knowledge implementation appear to need some adjustment. In its policy plan for the coming years, ZonMW has partly taken up the lessons from our advisory report.


In this investigation, five regular high school Earth science classes were introduced to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. The main goal of this study was to determine if learning about STEM careers would increase the number of students considering a career in a STEM field, and if that would change their engagement in the classroom and their choice of classes while still in high school. The treatment included four days of classroom instruction, web explorations, and discussions with STEM professionals. The results show that students were more interested in pursuing STEM careers, class participation improved, and students changed their courses for next year to include more STEM classes.


In Lim Koei Ing v Pan Asia Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Pte Ltd the Singapore High Court had to consider whether a service contract to employ the plaintiff as managing director for a period of five years could be enforced by the plaintiff. This depended on whether the contract was entered into by the directors of the company in breach of their fiduciary duties. The court was given a great opportunity to consider the fiduciary duties of company directors.


Abstract. Two different collection kernels which include turbulence effects on the collision rate of liquid droplets are used as a basis to develop a parameterization of the warm-rain processes autoconversion, accretion, and self-collection. The new parameterization is tested and validated with the help of a 1-D bin microphysics model. Large-eddy simulations of the rain formation in shallow cumulus clouds confirm previous results that turbulence effects can significantly enhance the development of rainwater in clouds and the occurrence and amount of surface precipitation. The detailed behavior differs significantly for the two turbulence models, revealing a considerable uncertainty in our understanding of such effects. In addition, the large-eddy simulations show a pronounced sensitivity to grid resolution, which suggests that besides the effect of sub-grid small-scale isotropic turbulence which is parameterized as part of the collection kernel also the larger turbulent eddies play an important role for the formation of rain in shallow clouds.


In wireless sensor networks an attack to the base station (sink) can render the whole network useless. Hence, concealing the physical location of the sink may be necessary in certain circumstances. Previous studies addressing this challenging problem assume a weak adversary model. The problem has not been studied in the presence of an eavesdropper who has global knowledge for the entire network. Here, a naive solution is to employ fake sinks so that nodes send their data not only to the real sink but also to other locations. An alternative solution with less overhead could be provided when all nodes including base station equalize the values of their total incoming and outgoing flows as well as their energy expenditure. This way, no information about the sink location is revealed even when all communication within the network is monitored. In this paper, through a Linear Programming (LP) framework we analyze and compare lifetime limits of wireless sensor networks preserving sink location privacy with the aforementioned two approaches.


The aim of this paper is to review the potential of work-related road safety as a conduit for community road safety based on research and practical experience. It covers the opportunity to target young people, family and community members through the workplace as part of a holistic approach to occupational road safety informed by the Haddon Matrix. Detailed case studies are presented based on British Telecom and Wolseley, which have both committed to community-based initiatives as part of their long-term, ongoing work-related road safety programs. Although no detailed community-based collision outcomes are available, the paper concludes that work-related road safety can be a conduit for community road safety and can provide an opportunity for researchers, policy makers and practitioners.


November 2018 542 Striving to foster critical thinking and metacognition in relation to information literacy is the penultimate goal of instruction librarians. Yet, all effort to do so is futile if students are not being met in their own proximal zone of development. Within the descriptions, knowledge practices, and dispositions of the frames in the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, the "novice learner" is often referenced and compared to the "expert learner." So while first-year college students begin their journey into higher education with varied levels of experiences in academic research and writing, many are these novice learners referred to within the Framework. Recognizing, and more importantly, accepting where these students are within their own levels of information literacy development can help to determine how to best scaffold instruction by using appropriate teaching tools and pedagogy.


An objective and advantage of Virtual Reality is to promote the sense of "being there", to be present. Most existing research in this field is focused on determining "if" a given factor contributes to the sense of presence. This paper compares two visualization systems regarding their contribution to the sense of presence, assessing which one contributes the most. Two low-cost low-tech systems were considered: anaglyph-based stereoscopy and large Field-of-View (FOV) screens. The SUS Questionnaire was applied to 63 participants to assess their sense of presence. Participants were divided in two groups on a between-subject experiment and watched a guided tour on a virtual University campus. It was found that both systems contribute to increase presence, but data shows that anaglyph-based stereoscopy contribute more than FOV enlargement. We conclude by suggesting that the very first step to raise the immersion of a Virtual Environment should be using stereoscopy, at least the anaglyph-based one


Police and law enforcement 'open area ground searches' may take place in a variety of geographical settings and over large tracts of land to locate unmarked graves, drugs, weapons, firearms and other items related to homicide, organised crime and terrorism. Reconnaissance techniques that can reduce substantially the search area bring benefits in terms of time, resources and detectability. Leachate and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may be potentially generated at a homicide grave. The migration and detectability of the organic compounds and leachate are dependent on several factors, such as the geology, geomorphology and hydrogeology of the burial site, and circumstances of the burial (e.g. was the deceased wrapped in plastic, which could have impeded leachate and flows of organic compounds). A shallow, unmarked, homicide grave was detected, located and recovered with the police at a remote location in Northern Europe. This grave contained the body of a victim who had been buried more than a decade earlier. Following the recovery of the body soil samples were collected using a 30mm diameter soil auger and transferred into 40 ml, glass vials containing a screw cap and a polypropylene septa. The soil samples were taken up to 0.75mbgl at and beneath the floor of the grave, along strike (slope) of the grave, up to 100 m downslope and 75 m upslope. A control sample was also collected at approximately 250 m from the grave, at a higher elevation and in an area of similar geology, but which could not have been influenced by the grave's contents. The geology comprised strong, well-jointed, coarse grained, feldspathic sandstones of Namurian age, overlain by Periglacial deposits and organic peat soils. The leachate, organics and mineralogy were analysed and results compared to the equivalent control sample. Experimental techniques were developed to extract anions and bio-amines from the soil samples. The data showed elevated levels of putrescine, at nearly 150 ppb at the grave, downslope and for several meters upslope at localities where detector dogs had showed an 'interest' before the grave was discovered. The mineralogical analysis, using integrated automated mineralogy and petrology (QEMSCAN), detected the presence of calcite (at an abundance of less than 1%) in the soil profile beneath the grave. No calcite was detected using automated analysis in any of the other samples analysed. The texture of the calcite as imaged using scanning electron microscopy indicates that it is likely to be diagenetic in origin, precipitated within the soil profile rather than being detrital in origin. Calcite was not detected by XRD in any of the samples analysed, although this could be due to its low level of abundance. Additionally, the organic analysis detected the presence of elevated stanols at the grave site and downslope. The preliminary results are interesting and further research is required to test whether this approach can be reliably applied operationally to open area searches for burials.


Prion diseases comprise a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by the conformational re-arrangement of a normal host-encoded prion protein, PrPC, to an abnormal infectious isoform, PrPSc. Currently, the precise cellular mechanism(s) of prion-mediated neurodegeneration remain unclear. However, increasing evidence suggests a role for the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) in prion disease pathogenesis, with a direct functional impairment of the 26S proteasome leading to the accumulation of UPS substrates in the brains of prion-infected mice. The UPS functions to regulate the targeted degradation of intracellular proteins and maintain cellular proteostasis. Alterations in proteasome proteolysis have been shown to contribute to the build up of proteins associated with aging and dysregulation of the UPS has been linked to several neurodegenerative diseases. The principal aim of this thesis was to characterise the progression of UPS dysfunction in vivo in the brains of prion-infected mice using a ubiquitin-GFP reporter mouse model. Using the UbG76V-GFP transgenic mouse model, UPS dysfunction was observed in the brain early in the prion disease incubation period, before key hallmarks of disease pathology were observed. The accumulation of Ub-GFP reporter coincided with markers of prion disease neuropathology, such as PrPSc deposition and extensive astrogliosis. The majority of cells in which the Ub-GFP reporter was observed in the thalamus appeared to be astrocytes, suggesting that altered proteolysis and reactive astrocyte pathology may be linked. Ubiquitin levels were increased significantly in the brains of prion infected mice, while 26S proteasome peptidase activity was reduced. Behavioural abnormalities and motor skills deficits were also observed in prion-infected UbG76V-GFP mice, which may correlate to neuronal loss and/or synaptic dysfunction associated with impairment of the UPS machinery. Collectively, the data presented in this thesis provide evidence of an early and potentially important role for UPS dysfunction in prion disease pathogenesis.


Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of depression. Research on depression in athletes including adolescent athletes, however, is scarce. The purpose of the present study was to assess the risk for depression depending on the athletes' age, gender, and performance level. Data were collected from 1,799 German national and state team athletes. The PHQ-2 and the WHO-5 were administered to assess the athletes' risk for depression and current state of psychological well-being. Overall, 13% of the athletes were screened positive for depression and 10% for impaired well-being. Adolescents, females and athletes of junior national teams showed a higher risk for depression and/or lower well-being than other subgroups. The finding that adolescent athletes are more vulnerable to suffer from depressive symptoms than adult athletes mirrors finding in the general population. Screening tools for depression should be followed up by clinical expert interviews to provide an external criterion for the obtained results.


Immunization with a vaccine of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 virus-like particles (VLPs) can reduce incidence of HPV-16 infection and its related cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. However, development of detectable antibodies to VLPs does not always occur after natural HPV infection. This study examined prospectively for seroconversion and duration of antibodies to HPV-16 VLPs and their associated host and viral factors. Six-hundred eight subjects were tested for HPV DNA biannually and for IgG and IgA antibodies to HPV-16 VLPs annually for 3 years. Both IgG and IgA antibodies to HPV-16 VLPs were predominantly type specific. Women with cervicovaginal HPV-16 infection were 8–10 times more likely to seroconvert than those with infection of HPV-16-related types. Among subjects who had an incident infection with HPV-16, a maximum of 56.7% became seropositive for IgG within 8.3 months and 37.0% had IgA within 14 months. Detectable seroconversion was a slow process that required sufficient antigenic exposure associated with either a high viral load (relative risk = 5.7 for IgG) or persistent infection of HPV-16 (relative risk = 3.4 for IgA). The median duration for both types of antibodies was ∼36 months. Antibodies could persist for a long period of time if the initial antibody levels were high or if there was continued antigenic exposure.


Wireless Visual Sensor Network (WVSN) is an emerging field which combines image sensor, on board
computation unit, communication component and energy source. Compared to the traditional wireless sensor
network, which operates on one dimensional data, such as temperature, pressure values etc., WVSN operates on
two dimensional data (images) which requires higher processing power and communication bandwidth.
Normally, WVSNs are deployed in areas where installation of wired solutions is not feasible. The energy budget
in these networks is limited to the batteries, because of the wireless nature of the application. Due to the limited
availability of energy, the processing at Visual Sensor Nodes (VSN) and communication from VSN to server
should consume as low energy as possible. Transmission of raw images wirelessly consumes a lot of energy and
requires higher communication bandwidth. Data compression methods reduce data efficiently and hence will be
effective in reducing communication cost in WVSN. In this paper, we have compared the compression
efficiency and complexity of six well known bi-level image compression methods. The focus is to determine the
compression algorithms which can efficiently compress bi-level images and their computational complexity is
suitable for computational platform used in WVSNs. These results can be used as a road map for selection of
compression methods for different sets of constraints in WVSN.


Public health guidelines for (leisure time) physical activity evolved in the United States from scientific research which began in Britain and spread to North America during the second half of the 20th Century. This dissertation examines the guidelines' scientific and social construction. Research questions centre upon what has become known as the 'threshold-intensity vs volume-energy expenditure debate': Is a minimum intensity of physical activity necessary to achieve significant beneficial health outcomes? Or can that effective 'dose' be achieved by accumulating a sufficient total volume of expenditure (kcals) -- regardless of its intensity? The research questions are: 1. Why were public health guidelines switched from a focus upon vigorous intensity to moderate intensity, and was the science base sufficiently sound and uncontested to justify that switch on scientific (and social scientific) grounds? 2. Why were the guidelines so focused on cardiovascular disease (CVD) to the relative exclusion of other health outcomes? 3. Did a small, influential group of investigators play a disproportionate (anomalous) role in shaping the 1996 US Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health? Conclusions: The US Surgeon General's Report switched public health focus from vigorous to moderate intensity activities on a proclaimed 'emerging consensus' of scientific evidence. However, the science base remained complex and contested. This 'consensus' was, in large measure, socially constructed by a small group of investigators who had gained influence within the American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and then the very taskforce selected to write the Report. This dissertation explores a new and relevant area of 'Regulatory Science' given current interest in sedentary lifestyles and illness, not least cardiovascular disease and obesity. Anomalies in scientific interpretation and policy making arose not from financial considerations, but primarily from motives of altruism and professional status.


The study shows the status of biogas as a Renewable Energy Technology (RET) and its role in the conservation of environment by reducing the consumption of fuelwood and Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emission. 95 household survey, 10 key informant interviews, 3 focus group discussion and direct observatory technique were used for primary data collection. Fuelwood was found to be dominant energy resource which comprises 93.73% of total energy and rest 6.27% of energy was supplied by other sources of energy. The fuelwood consumption was 71.29 GJ per year per household which emits 646.1 tCO2e. The study shows that the annual GHGs reduction was found 7.62 tCO2e per biogas plant. On the basis of population of the agriculture based livestock of the study area, there was the possibility of 84 biogas plants of size 6 m3 which can reduce the total 638.82 tCO2e of GHGs emission per year. The study showed that the use of biogas technology can save 46.67% of fuelwood which can conserve 217.32 tons of fuelwood per year per household. The simple payback period in term of fuelwood saved for the construction of 6 m3 biogas plant was found to be only 4.08 years. Thus, the reduction or substitution of fuelwood as a primary energy resource, reduction of the GHGs emission and high potentiality of biogas in the area with adequate number of agriculture based livestock clearly indicates that biogas is as a suitable RET in reducing GHGs emission and helps in mitigating climate change.


As mature as the field of Ras research is, there are still numerous questions to posit and answers to pursue. Indeed, how much we know reveals how little we understand. Shields et al. delineate five areas of Ras research that require more work if we are to understand the interconnected nature of the pathways Ras activates. The five areas addressed include the following: (i) the difference between Raf-dependent and Raf-independent signals, (ii) the function of Rho family guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) in Ras-mediated transformation, (iii) the cell-type differences in response to Ras activation, (iv) the individual roles of the different Ras proteins, and (v) how current methods may obfuscate our understanding of the physiological role of Ras. The authors discuss the different post-translational modifications of the H-, K-, and N-Ras proteins with regard to plasma membrane localization and the differences in their ability to activate specific signaling pathways. Also of interest, Shields et al. raise concerns over the proper use of overexpression and dominant-negative experiments and whether the observations specifically answer the experimentally designed questions. Shields, J.M., Pruitt, K., McFall, A., Shaub, A., and Der, C.J. (2000) Understanding Ras: 'it ain't over 'til it's over'. Trends Cell Biol. 10:147-154. [Online Journal]


Ken Sperber led a discussion of the outcome of the Pan-WCRP Monsoon Modelling Workshop that was held at the University of California at Irvine from 15-17 June 2005. At the workshop presentations from key CLIVAR and GEWEX panels were presented to highlight the outstanding problems in modelling the Earth's monsoons. Additionally, presentations from invited experts were given to highlight important aspects of monsoon phenomena and processes, such as low-level jets, air-sea interaction, predictability, observational networks/studies, and model test beds etc. Since all persons attending the CLIVAR AAMP meeting were present for all, or most, of the monsoon workshop, a detailed description of the workshop presentations was not given. Rather, the discussion was focused on the recommendations of the workshop breakout groups and their relevance to CLIVAR AAMP. CLIVAR AAMP endorsed the near-term workshop recommendation of investigating the diurnal cycle using a hierarchy of models a key way forward for promoting CLIVAR/GEWEX interactions. In GCM studies CLIVAR researchers have identified the diurnal cycle as a forced ''mode'' of variability that is poorly represented in terms of amplitude and phase, especially in the case of precipitation. Typical phase errors of 6-12 hours are noted over both land and ocean in GCMs. CLIVAR views adequate simulation of the diurnal cycle as key aspect of variability in its own right, but also because of its potential rectification on to subseasonal variability (e.g., the Madden-Julian oscillation). It is hypothesized that improvement of diurnal variability may lead to an improved representation of intraseasonal variability and improved skill of monsoon forecasts on medium-range to seasonal time scales.


The optimum quality of water indices is extremely important for successful frog culture. Frogs excrete their excreta and skin debris in water. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly renew the water and clean the tanks and bays of rearing systems. Such care is necessary for the prevention and prophylaxis of diseases, which may cause severe mortalities. Bullfrogs need water of good physical and chemical quality, and thus, water quality indices must be measured before starting a breeding and rearing program. Additionally, the producers should have a good knowledge about the water quality before establishing a rearing sys- tem. Aquatic ecosystems are dynamic and even in small rearing water tanks, physical and chemical parameters are interrelated. For example, any change in dissolved oxygen level depends on the water temperature and atmospheric pressure. The dissolved oxygen level is almost 9.08 mg L −1 near sea side at a temperature of 20°C, whereas its concentration rises up to 10.07 mg L −1 , if the temperature drops to 15°C, indicating that dissolved oxygen and water temperature are closely interrelated. Thus, physical and chemical parameters of water should be considered and analyzed together because all of these factors have a direct impact on the culture systems.


A recurring question in international criminal procedure is how to ensure that prosecutors are held accountable for their errors and misconduct. When International Criminal Court (ICC) judges encountered the first serious error by the prosecution in Prosecutor v. Lubanga, they opted for an absolutist approach to remedies: the judges stayed the proceedings and ordered the release of the defendant. Although termination of the case was avoided through the intervention of the Appeals Chamber, the standoff between the judges and the prosecution highlighted the dilemmas that the ICC faces in these circumstances. To protect the integrity of its proceedings, the court must order remedies that effectively punish misconduct. At the same time, sweeping remedies may harm other interests of international criminal justice, including deterrence, retribution, and the establishment of an accurate historical record. In its more recent decisions, the ICC has acknowledged these competing interests and weighed them in determining remedies for prosecutorial misconduct. This Article argues that the court should fully and openly embrace a balancing approach to remedies. Because of the gravity and systematic nature of international crimes, it is essential to recognize and accommodate the significant interests of the international community and victims in preventing impunity and establishing an accurate record of the crimes. The balancing approach is not without shortcomings — it can be unpredictable, and it risks weakening enforcement of defendants' rights. To avoid these dangers, the court should take several concrete steps in conducting the balancing analysis: specify clearly the factors that will guide it; place special importance on the fair trial rights of the defendant; temper remedies only when a significant and legitimate goal of the international criminal justice system warrants it; and finally, develop a broader range of responses to prosecutorial misconduct, including sentence reductions, partial dismissals, fines, and disciplinary referrals. By applying a well-defined balancing analysis, the ICC can achieve an approach to prosecutorial misconduct that is both effective and able to accommodate the competing interests of international criminal justice.


In almost all of the present mathematical models, the upstream subbasins, with overland flow as the dominant type of flow, are simulated as a rectangular plane. However, the converging plane is the closest shape to an actual upstream subbasin. The intricate nature of the governing equations of the overland flow on a converging plane is the cause of prolonged absence of an analytical or semi analytical solution to define the rising limb of the resulted hydrograph. In the present research, a new geomorphologic semi analytical method was developed that tries to establish a relationship between the parallel and converging flows to reduce the complexity of the equations. The proposed method uses the principals of the Time Area method modified to apply the kinematic wave theory and then by applying a correction factor finds the actual discharge. The correction factor, which is based on the proportion of the effective drained area to the analytically calculated one, introduces the convergence effect of the flow in reducing the potentially available discharge in a parallel flow. The proposed method was applied to a case study and the result was compared with that of Woolhiser's numerical method that showed the reliability of the new method.


Abstract. Preparing for episodes with risks of anomalous weather a month to a year ahead is an important challenge for governments, non-governmental organisations, and private companies and is dependent on the availability of reliable forecasts. The majority of operational seasonal forecasts are made using process-based dynamical models, which are complex, computationally challenging and prone to biases. Empirical forecast approaches built on statistical models to represent physical processes offer an alternative to dynamical systems and can provide either a benchmark for comparison or independent supplementary forecasts. Here, we present a simple empirical system based on multiple linear regression for producing probabilistic forecasts of seasonal surface air temperature and precipitation across the globe. The global CO2-equivalent concentration is taken as the primary predictor; subsequent predictors, including large-scale modes of variability in the climate system and local-scale information, are selected on the basis of their physical relationship with the predictand. The focus given to the climate change signal as a source of skill and the probabilistic nature of the forecasts produced constitute a novel approach to global empirical prediction. Hindcasts for the period 1961–2013 are validated against observations using deterministic (correlation of seasonal means) and probabilistic (continuous rank probability skill scores) metrics. Good skill is found in many regions, particularly for surface air temperature and most notably in much of Europe during the spring and summer seasons. For precipitation, skill is generally limited to regions with known El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) teleconnections. The system is used in a quasi-operational framework to generate empirical seasonal forecasts on a monthly basis.


The New Latino Diaspora is a demographic phenomenon that describes the immigration of Latinos from across Latin America to small cities and towns in the United States, which have historically not been popular destinations for Spanish speakers. As a result of this demographic shift, Iowa has experienced a 452% increase in its population of English learners (ELs) in public schools over the past 20 years. Thus, communities throughout Iowa (and the rest of the New Latino Diaspora) have struggled to put a support network in place for newcomers, including educational programs that provide educational opportunity for non-native English speakers. The purpose of this study was to examine how Iowa's educational language policy has adapted to growing numbers of ELs. Findings suggest that policymakers and educators alike have struggled to develop coherent plans for accommodating native Spanish speakers and leverage resources to enact what plans exist. While there is support at the state-level for a diversity of educational programs, including English as a second language (ESL) and bilingual education, there is very little guidance or financial support for districts. In other words, while educators have a lot of agency in determining how to educate non-native English speakers and some very industrious individuals have opened dual language schools, a more robust (funded) structure for language education is needed. We argue that the new language ecology is a linguistic and cultural resource, for both non-native English speakers and students who are currently English monolingual. Our results have implications for the future of linguistic accommodation and educational opportunity for Latinos around the Midwest.


The topic of this article is concerned with the changes of airline network configurations (mainly temporal concentration) in Europe. Air transport in Europe reached significant milestones in 1997, when the air transport became fully liberalized (country from EU 10 in 2004 after their entry to EU). Airline liberalization influenced the configuration of airline networks into hub-and-spoke system that is typical by temporal and spatial concentration. The temporal concentration is connected with the adoption or intensification of wave-system structures that considerably influenced overall traffic growth. The wave system structure is the complex of incoming and outgoing flights that are organized such that all incoming flight has connection to all outgoing flights. It is known that airports with wave system perform better due to the number of direct connections via hub. Therefore changes will be observed in transport strategies between years 2005 and 2013, specifically 2005, 2009 and 2013 in the "typical day" – Tuesday in June. The selected area for research is 19 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The main airports and also the primary airlines (mainly classical airlines) are selected for the counting of wave-system structures in these countries. The main interest should be in the results of differences between airports as a result of their urban hierarchy and also their location in Europe (political and historical differences), which are or are not affected by the liberalization of air transport. It is expected that airports in countries such as Germany or Austria should have more efficient temporal concentration compared with countries such as Czech Republic or Hungary. This is due to the size of city where the airport is located and the liberalization of air transport in Europe.


In August of 1978, Japanese and Chinese officials reached agreement on a Peace and Friendship Treaty which had been the subject of sporadic negotiations since the two sides normalised relations in 1972. But Japan also signed a Joint Declaration in 1956 with the Soviet Union, a bilateral agreement which also called for a future Peace and Friendship Treaty, which still has not been signed. The first section of the thesis deals with domestic historical, political, economic and cultural factors which affect foreign policy in each of the three countries and which have particular bearing on the treaty negotiations. Major emphasis is placed on those developments which have affected national security, or which have a bearing on collective perceptions of national security, including the strength of the armed forces. The second and longer portion of the thesis deals with Japan's bilateral relations with each of its two neighbours historically, and in more recent times in economic, political, military and cultural terms, and with key issues and developments in bilateral negotiations on the treaties. Throughout this section the primary focus is on Japan, its political parties and factions and the positions these have taken on the treaties and issues related to the treaties throughout the years. It also deals with the key issues dividing Japan and its negotiating partners on the two treaties, as well as Japan's 'equidistance policy' and 'its 'special relationship' with the United States. Conclusions at the end of part one in Section Two include points about the special constraints imposed upon the USSR in its negotiations, the importance of fishing rights in the Russo-Japanese relationship, the impact of the Ussuri River incidents of 1969 on the policies of Moscow and Peking and the phenomenon of two separate foreign policy goals working at cross-purposes on both sides in the bilateral relations between Moscow and Tokyo. Conclusions at the end of the thesis deal with the trilateral relationship and with such questions as why one treaty was signed and why the other has not been at this writing, whether there is any real substance to the new treaty, whether its signing is a setback to Soviet foreign policy and a threat to Soviet security and finally, what prompted Japan to abandon its 'equidistance policy'. The role of the White House and the State Department, and the question of how Japan came to be in the uncomfortable position of pawn or 'prize' in the Sino-Soviet rivalry are also examined.


Though the need to scale up financing to mitigate climate change and the associated challenges and barriers are well documented, there has been little discussion of the role that can be played by Public Development Banks (PDBs), either national or subnational. These institutions have a privileged position in their local markets, strong knowledge of their countries' development needs, and opportunities and vast experience in long-term investment financing. As a result, they are uniquely positioned to catalyze the supply of financing for and stimulate the demand for investment projects to mitigate climate change within their respective countries. This technical note discusses lessons learned from a number of PDBs within the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region and examples of best practices, processes and products in support of climate change mitigation from PDBs around the world.


The negative effects of intensive agriculture on the environment, human health, natural resources, etc. require the use of more sustainable farming methods. The decision for organic farming is based on various factors: the personal levels of development and consciousness of the operator of the farm and members of his family, the socio-economic and size structure of the farm, the type of area in which the farm is located, the availability of the market and the demand for organic products, etc. Organic farming in Slovenia appears to be particularly suitable for smaller farms, since it is more labor intensive, and payments from agricultural policy contribute to the economic efficiency of the farm, despite lower yields. Especially in protected areas, water protected areas, or less favored areas for agriculture, organic farming can be a more convenient farming method. The traditional farming practices that exist are already extensive and the available measures can contribute to farm income and compensate farmers for different services that they provide for the society. The multifunctionality of organic farming (and agriculture in general), i.e., ensuring also the environmental and social roles, is only possible if farming is economical at the same time.


We used recent satellite imagery to quantify the extent, type, and rate of conversion of remaining indigenous grasslands in the inland eastern South Island of New Zealand in recent years. We describe the pattern of conversion in relation to national classifications of land use capability and land environments, and ecological and administrative districts and regions. We show that although large areas of indigenous grasslands remain, grassland loss has been ongoing. Indigenous grassland was reduced in the study area by 3% (70 200 ha) between 1990 and 2008. Almost two-thirds of post-1990 conversion occurred in threatened environments with less than 30% of indigenous cover remaining, primarily in the Waitaki, Mackenzie and Central Otago administrative districts. This conversion occurred primarily on non-arable land. In the Mackenzie and Waitaki districts the rate of conversion in 2001-2008 was approximately twice that in 1990-2001. Opportunities to protect more of the full range of indigenous grasslands lie with the continuing tenure review process in these districts.


We report a new synthetic strategy to derive functional poly(disubstituted acetylenes) (PDSAs) through "phenol–yne click reaction". The phenol-containing PDSA was prepared by the polymerization of the triisopropylsilane (TIPS)-protected 4-((4-fluorophenyl)ethynyl)phenol monomer and by a subsequent de-protection step. Then, different functional groups (e.g., ester and amide) were grafted onto the PDSA side chains via the highly efficient "phenol–yne click reaction". The post-polymerization modification was carried out under mild conditions (at 40 °C, in common solvent) under an air atmosphere for a short time (4 h). The structures of the products were well characterized by GPC, NMR, and FTIR techniques and satisfactory data were collected. The data indicated that the phenol groups on the precursor PDSA were highly active to react with activated acetylenic compounds bearing functional groups intolerable to direct polymerization. This is the first example of the preparation of phenol-containing PDSA and the use of it as a precursor to prepare functional PDSAs. Besides the activated ester, thiol–ene click reaction, Michael addition reaction and Cu(I) catalysed alkyne–azide click reaction, we added a new tool in the tool-box for the synthesis of functional polymers.


VCP4 Exam Cram VMware Certified Professional VCP-410 Exam Second Edition Elias Khnaser VCP4 Exam Cram, Second Edition, is the perfect study guide to help you pass the VMware VCP-410 exam. It provides coverage and practice questions for every exam topic. The book contains an extensive set of preparation tools, such as quizzes, Exam Alerts, and a practice exam, while the CD provides real-time practice and feedback with a 75-question test engine. Covers the critical information youll need to know to score higher on your VCP-410 exam! . Master the essential concepts of VMware vSphere 4 . Plan, install, deploy, and configure ESX/ESXi 4.1 . Understand how VMware vSphere 4 is licensed . Implement reliable virtualized storage operations . Administer ESX/ESXi 4.1 with vCenter 4.1 . Manage virtual machine operations . Systematically secure your virtual infrastructure . Manage and monitor virtual resources . Troubleshoot problems with ESX/ESXi 4.1 . Implement effective backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity . Maximize system availability in virtualized environments Elias Khnaser is an author, speaker, and IT consultant specializing in Microsoft, Citrix, and VMware virtualization technologies. Elias is the practice manager for virtualization and cloud computing at Artemis Technology. With more than 14 years of experience, Elias is one of the worlds leading experts on virtualization and cloud computing and is a recipient of the VMware vExpert award. CD Features 75 Practice Questions The test engine gives you an effective tool to assess your readiness for the exam . Detailed explanations of correct and incorrect answers . Multiple test modes . Random questions and order of answers . Coverage of each VCP-410 exam topic


A novel laser oscillator with a cavity completed by the refractive-index grating induced by generating beams in a nematic liquid-crystal cell is studied experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that both the thermal and orientational nonlinearity of the liquid crystal can provide the holographic mirror formation and the self-starting condition in the laser oscillator. The self-starting laser with a nonlinear mirror demonstrates a single-longitudinal-mode generation with good beam quality.


Progress in the field of machine learning has been fueled by the introduction of benchmark datasets pushing the limits of existing algorithms. Enabling the design of datasets to test specific properties and failure modes of learning algorithms is thus a problem of high interest, as it has a direct impact on innovation in the field. In this sense, we introduce Synbols -- Synthetic Symbols -- a tool for rapidly generating new datasets with a rich composition of latent features rendered in low resolution images. Synbols leverages the large amount of symbols available in the Unicode standard and the wide range of artistic font provided by the open font community. Our tool's high-level interface provides a language for rapidly generating new distributions on the latent features, including various types of textures and occlusions. To showcase the versatility of Synbols, we use it to dissect the limitations and flaws in standard learning algorithms in various learning setups including supervised learning, active learning, out of distribution generalization, unsupervised representation learning, and object counting.


Wildfire emissions are challenging to measure and model, but simple and realistic estimates can benefit multiple disciplines. We evaluate the potential of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data to address this objective. A total of 11 004 fire pixels detected over 92 days were clustered into 242 discrete fire events in a mountainous region of North America. Burned areas were estimated with spatial buffers around the MODIS detections, and all events were matched and compared with administrative fire records based on their location and duration. Linear regression between recorded and estimated burned areas showed excellent agreement (slope = 0.93 and R2 = 0.96). Aerosol emission rates were estimated for each MODIS detection using its fire radiative power measurement. Results were compared with estimates from the Canadian Fire Behaviour (CANFB) prediction system in Canada and the US Emissions Production Model (USEPM) for detections in the US. Median emission rates were similar for the MODIS and CANFB methods (600 and 579 g s–1 respectively) but not for the MODIS and USEPM methods (575 and 382 g s–1 respectively). The MODIS rates were much more variable in both comparisons. Linear regression on emission rates summed daily across the study area shows that the MODIS method is more consistent with CANFB (slope = 0.71, R2 = 0.71) than with USEPM (slope = 0.24, R2 = 0.68). We conclude that simple calculations based on remote sensing data can yield results that are comparable with those obtained with more complex methods.


An improved computer network security system and method wherein access to network resources is based on information that includes the location of the connecting user. In general, the less trusted the location of the user, the more the access rights assigned to the user are restricted. A discrimination mechanism and process determines the location of a user with respect to categories of a security policy, such as to distinguish local users, intranet users and dial-up users from one another. Based on information including the location and the user's credentials, an access token is set up that may restrict the user's normal access in accordance with the security policy, such as to not restrict a user's processes beyond the user-based security information in the user's normal access token, while further restricting the same user's access to resources when connecting via a dial-up connection. Restricted tokens are preferably used to implement the location-based discrimination by restricting the security context of users connecting from less trusted locations.


All papillomaviruses have a non-coding region of approximately 500-1000 bp called the upstream regulatory region (URR) or long control region (LCR). The LCR is the transcriptional control unit of the virus. Mucosal epitheliotropic papillomaviruses, for example, BPV-4 and HPV-16 and -18, have a similar LCR organisation: a promoter region, an epithelial specific enhancer, and a highly conserved distribution of DNA binding sites for the viral E2 protein. When compared with the HPV-16 LCR, the BPV-4 LCR has a higher transcriptional response to activation by E2 in its target cell type. E2 up-regulates transcription from the BPV-4 LCR preferentially in primary bovine palate keratinocytes (PalK) when compared with fibroblasts (PalF) (Morgan et al., 1998). The BPV-4 LCR and primary bovine cell system presents a model to study the mechanisms of E2 mediated transcriptional regulation of mucosal epitheliotropic papillomaviruses and the cell type specificity of this regulation. Insertion of multiple E2 sites upstream from the LCR promoter demonstrates that the enhanced epithelial response to E2 is not due to the epithelial specific enhancer in the BPV-4 LCR, but is a property of the BPV-4 promoter region which responds better to several transcriptional activators in PalK cells. This is a promoter specific effect as the tk promoter shows no such epithelial preference to upstream activators. E2 responsive chimaeric promoter constructs suggest that the BPV-4 promoter region upstream of the TATA box determines the cell type selective response of the BPV-4 promoter. Deletion analysis identifies two novel repressor elements, PRE-1 and PRE- 2, that are at least in part responsible for mediating the enhanced epithelial response of this promoter. These elements function in cis to repress the basal activity of the SV40 promoter. PRE-2 binds a specific protein complex in both Pa1K and Pa1F cells. The active DNA binding protein in this complex is a major species of approximately 50 kDa. PRE-2 mutants that do not compete for binding in band shift assays do not repress transcription when multimerised upstream of the SV40 promoter. Also, nonbinding mutations introduced into the BPV-4 promoter show that the PRE-2 binding factor represses the transcriptional response of the BPV-4 promoter to E2. The PRE- 2 binding protein seems to represent a novel transcriptional repressor and regulator of papillomavirus transcription. The E2 amino terminal transactivation domain is essential for regulating transcription and replication of the viral genome. Far western blot analysis shows that the HPV-16 E2 amino terminus is able to interact with different cellular factors in keratinocytes and fibroblasts. The isolation of cDNAs encoding proteins interacting with this region of E2 in HeLa cells (an immortalised keratinocyte cell line) is described. One of the cDNAs encodes the full length L31 ribosomal protein. L31 specifically interacts with the HPV-16 E2 transactivation domain in vitro. Also, an in vitro interaction is demonstrated between E2 and a truncated version of a protein previously shown to bind the cytoplasmic domain of integrin beta4. These E2 interacting factors may represent potential regulators of transcription, replication or cellular growth control.


The results of a study on the spatial coherence of a generalized diffraction-filtered resonator (GDFR) copper vapor laser (CVL) for various magnifications are presented. The coherence width and output power are compared with that of unstable resonators (UR's) of equivalent magnifications. It is established, by use of reversal shear interferometry, that the GDFR CVL beam has better spatial coherence and average power characteristics than the UR CVL beam for equivalent resonator magnifications.


We present the analysis of Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of the eccentric γ-ray binary PSR B1259–63/LS 2883. The analysis shows that the extended X-ray feature seen in previous observations is still moving away from the binary with an average projected velocity of ≈ 0.07 c ?> and shows a hint of acceleration. The spectrum of the feature appears to be hard (photon index Γ ≈ 0.8) with no sign of softening compared to previously measured values. We interpret it as a clump of plasma ejected from the binary through the interaction of the pulsar with the decretion disk of the O-star around periastron passage. We suggest that the clump is moving in the unshocked relativistic pulsar wind (PW), which can accelerate the clump. Its X-ray emission can be interpreted as synchrotron radiation of the PW shocked by the collision with the clump.


Dynamics of Biological Macromolecules by Neutron Scattering provides insight into the study of the dynamics of biological macromolecules by neutron scattering techniques. The applicability of neutron scattering to expanding fields of biological studies is very extended and the neutron scattering community is interested in using these unique technologies to their best advantage. The book is focused on recent scientific results on biomolecular motions obtained by using neutron spectroscopy, and also discusses likely directions of future work on biological macromolecular systems while outlining some challenging, hitherto inaccessible problem areas. The Ebook should be very useful for biophysicists, biochemists, experts and non-experts in neutron scattering.


Abstract: The paper examines the introduction of a distinction between legislative and non-legislative acts in the Constitutional Treaty. The drafting history and the possible implications are analyzed. Questions covered include: Was the introduction of the distinction necessary in terms of clarification or was it primarily a lever to strengthen support for more powers to the European Parliament and the Commission? Could the distinction nurture false expectations of what the EU is, or could it undermine efforts at improving transparency and enforcement of subsidiarity? The paper concludes that the distinction probably has little real significance and no serious counterproductive effects. The drafting history and analysis illustrate the pitfalls of analogies to national constitutional orders and the complexity of simplification.


Social work practitioners are required to have the competence of advanced generalist practice skills to provide appropriate social services to clients with various problems in a current complex society. For the competence of advanced generalist practice, one of the essential components is gaining research knowledge and skills to provide appropriate interventions. Social work practitioners need to have researc skills to utilize many scientific research publications and to directly evaluate unique client needs, effectiveness of the delivery system, and intervention results in a particular environment. Research skills will improve the accountability of social work practitioners and increase the satisfaction of clients. Thus, this author suggests that social work students need to actively participate in research projects to maximize their research knowledge and skills for future evidence-based advanced generalist practice.


Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) comprise a heterogeneous set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by dramatic impairments of interpersonal behavior, communication, and empathy. Recent neuroimaging studies suggested that ASD are disorders characterized by widespread abnormalities involving distributed brain network, though clear evidence of differences in large-scale brain network interactions underlying the cognitive and behavioral symptoms of ASD are still lacking. Consistent findings of anterior insula cortex hypoactivation and dysconnectivity during tasks related to emotional and social processing indicates its dysfunctional role in ASD. In parallel, increasing evidence showed that successful control of anterior insula activity can be attained using real-time fMRI paradigms. More importantly, successful regulation of this region was associated with changes in behavior and brain connectivity in both healthy individuals and psychiatric patients. Building on these results we here propose and discuss the use of real-time fMRI neurofeedback in ASD aiming at improving emotional and social behavior.


This paper proposed a parallel particle filter algorithm with the help of GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) in face tracking. Due to illumination and occlusion problems, face tracking usually does not work stably based on a single cue. Three different visual cues, color histogram, edge orientation histogram and wavelet feature, are integrated under the framework of particle filter to improve the tracking performance considerably. Features matches and particle weight computation have been put into GPU kernel to handle the huge amount of computation cost resulted from the introduced multi-cue strategy. Besides, an online updating strategy makes our algorithm adaptable to some slight face rotations. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed face tracking algorithm works robustly for cluttered backgrounds and different illuminations. The GPU parallel scheme achieves a good speedup (10x∼40x) compared to the corresponding sequential algorithms.


A method is described which allows an increase of information density on optically read disks by a reduction of the track spacing by a factor of 2. The cross talk between neighboring tracks is maintained at an acceptable level by modulating from track to track the depth of the relief pattern on the disk. By an appropriate readout method (a compromise between differential and integral detection), the signals from neighboring tracks are suppressed. The layout of such a disk and the possible geometries of the relief pattern are indicated.


Objectives: Routine checkups are important in the early detection of disease. Many factors influence the performance of medical checkups. The aim of our study was to detect the factors that affect the performance of routine medical checkups in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Material and Methods: This study analyzed observational, descriptive cross-sectional data. Our sample includes male and female adults over the age of 20 years from different cities in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia in February 2015. The sample size was 721, divided among the 9 cities of the Eastern province. Our data was collected via a questionnaire, which was distributed randomly among the population. Results: The study sample consisted of 28.4% males and 71.6% females. The study suggested that only 22.5% of the sample perform routine medical checkups while the majority of them (77.5%) do not perform checkups. Precipitating factors, age, gender and marital status have an effect on the performance of routine checkups. However, education, financial status and occupation appeared to have no effect on performing regular checkups. Reasons for performing routine checkups were also analyzed. Most people performed routine checkups out of personal conviction and belief in its benefits. The commonest reasons cited for avoiding routine checkups were not having enough time and a perception of medical check-ups being a long and boring process. Conclusion: We concluded that in order to increase the performance of medical checkups, the personal conviction and belief of the population should be increased first by spreading


Quantum nano-devices are fundamental systems in quantum thermodynamics that have been the subject of profound interest in recent years. Among these, quantum batteries play a very important role. In this paper we lay down a theory of random quantum batteries and provide a systematic way of computing the average work and work fluctuations in such devices by investigating their typical behavior. We show that the performance of random quantum batteries exhibits typicality and depends only on the spectral properties of the time evolving operator, the initial state and the measuring Hamiltonian. At given revival times a random quantum battery features a quantum advantage over classical random batteries. Our method is particularly apt to be used both for exactly solvable models like the Jaynes-Cummings model or in perturbation theory, e.g., systems subject to harmonic perturbations. We also study the setting of quantum adiabatic random batteries.


Like no other novel, the "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes has fascinated readers time and again for four centuries. Written in Spain in the early 17th century, which at that time played a major role in shaping the destiny of Europe, the novel soon became the epitome of Spanish literature and culture. From Madrid he started affecting the rest of Europe and inspired thinkers, poets, artists, composers and later also filmmakers. The volume's eight contributions explore central aspects of the Cervantine novel and explore its reception and processing in literature, art, film and music in the European context.


The scale insect genus Calycicoccus Brain has a single described species, C. merwei Brain, which is endemic to southeastern South Africa. Females of C. merwei induce small, mostly conical galls on the foliage of their host tree, Apodytes dimidiata E. Meyer ex Arn. (Icacinaceae), which has a wider, mostly coastal distribution, than that currently known for the scale insect. Calycicoccus has been placed in the family Eriococcidae and may be related to the South American genus Aculeococcus Lepage. No other native eriococcid species have been described so far in South Africa, although the family is diverse in other Gondwanan regions. This paper summarizes the biology of C. merwei, redescribes the adult female, describes the adult male, the second-instar female and the first-instar nymphs for the first time, and reconsiders the phylogenetic relationships of the genus. The adult female is shown to have unusual abdominal segmentation, in that segment I is present both dorsally and ventrally, but a segment is absent ventrally on the middle abdomen. First-instar nymphs are sexually dimorphic; males have a larger and relatively narrower body, larger mouthparts, longer antennae and legs, and more thoracic dorsal setae compared with females. Molecular data from nuclear small-subunit ribosomal DNA (18S) and elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1α) show C. merwei to have no close relatives among the Eriococcidae sampled to date. Instead, the Calycicoccus lineage is part of a polytomy near the base of the Eriococcidae. Molecular dating of the node suggests that the Calycicoccus lineage diverged from other eriococcids more than 100 Mya. These data support the placement of Calycicoccus as the only genus in the subfamily Calycicoccinae Brain.


Various studies have highlighted parental dissatisfaction with the diagnostic and assessment services available for children with autistic spectrum disorders. In N. Ireland these appear to be poorly developed compared to other regions of the United Kingdom. A consultative research project was undertaken with the main stake‐holders, namely parents, professionals working in education, health and social services, representatives from provider Education Boards and HSS Trusts and commissioners of health and social services. Focus groups involving nearly 100 parents and professionals were held throughout the province along with written questionnaires that were completed by over 100 service personnel. The emerging concensus was validated through an iterative process of meetings and comments on draft documents produced by a selected reference group. Ten principles underpinning assessment services were identified and recommendations developed for improvements to services. Particular attention focused on the provis...


There has been a profound evolution concerning farm animal welfare perception in Europe. This together with growing evidence that animal welfare has an impact on food safety and quality led to new legislation for an animal friendlier production sector. Also, new support measures aid those who supply cost increased animal friendlier products with differentiated quality. This article unveils connections between traditional systems and animal welfare. Two beef production systems in Portugal are described. A descriptive analysis is relevant for understanding why local breeds are preferred by producers, and why �semi-extensive� systems are better adapted to the country. Portuguese beef systems are also described in terms of their animal welfare status and probable control points. A link between Portuguese native breeds and beef quality is proposed, namely through increased animal welfare that may be translated into beef intrinsic quality. Nevertheless, as animal welfare is a credence quality attribute, consumers must rely on information, that is, on quality cues, to infer upon it on the product. This might give marketers the option to develop quality differentiated strategies based on that attribute, within their broader marketing strategies.


Using the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres Goddard Earth Observing System-1 analyses, the horizontal distribution of atmospheric forcing processes involved in the growth, maintenance, and decay of two Northern Hemisphere midlatitude blocking anticyclones that occurred simultaneously were examined, with the goal of determining whether there was a dynamic connection between the two cases. The complete form of the Zwack‐ Okossi equation, which is a generalization of the Petterssen‐Sutcliffe development equation, was used as the primary diagnostic tool. The basic analyses were partitioned into their planetary-scale and synoptic-scale components (noninteraction) 500-hPa height tendencies, as well as scale interaction 500-hPa height tendencies. Based on the results of this diagnosis, there was no dynamic connection between these blocking anticyclones. This result agrees with findings of other studies based on a statistical analysis of simultaneous blocking. These results also imply that blocking may be a local phenomenon. The diagnostic results from these blocking events were, in many respects, similar to those of previous studies. However, some key differences were found. For example, it was found here that for both mode 2 blocking events, temperature advection was an important mechanism in block formation. Earlier results showed vorticity advection as the primary atmospheric forcing process in block formation for a mode 1 block. Also, the scalepartitioned results show that upstream cyclones contributed to block formation and intensification in these events directly through the synoptic-scale component, often with the support of the interaction component, of the total forcing. Earlier scale-partitioned results showed that the interaction component of the total forcing was most important in the formation of a mode 1 block.


textabstractPERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE (PAD) affects
more than 30 million people worldwide. In the United
States, more than 8 million people suffer from this
disease. The American College of Cardiology and the
American Heart Association have recognized the
importance of identifying and treating this disease and
have initiated national campaigns to increase its
awareness. Many patients, however, do not exhibit
warning signs of the disease and remain undiagnosed.
These missed diagnoses create a major health burden.
When left untreated, PAD can lead to walking
impairment and in more severe stages, to gangrene and
leg amputation. Patients with PAD often have
atherosclerotic disease in other parts of the body, which
places the patient at risk for myocardial infarction,
stroke and death. Especially coronary artery disease has
been recognized as a complice of PAD. This thesis
provides an insight in the prognosis of patients with
peripheral and coronary artery disease and attempts to
find solutions in improving the identification and
management of this disease.


The increased intra-varietal diversity has been considered as coping mechanism against unpredictable environmental factors in crop production. Relatively the risk of crop failure is minimum in landraces than in modern variety mainly because of homogenous population in modern variety. The diversity was estimated and compared between landrace and modern variety of rice and common buckwheat in both quantitative and qualitative traits. Three landraces and three modern varieties of rice were used as self-pollinated crop and experiment was conducted in Jumla. Common buckwheat was used as cross pollinated crop in Kabre consisted of nine landraces and one modern variety. These two experiments were unreplicated and variation was measured at population level. Standard deviation, coefficient of variation and Shannon' diversity index were estimated and variation between landraces and modern varieties was tested using F-test. Dendogram was drawn considering all observed traits for both the crops. In case of rice, variation was higher in landraces than in modern varieties for most of the traits. Variation for majority of the traits was also higher in landraces than in modern varieties of common buckwheat. This higher level of intra-varietal diversity in landraces of both crops might be the major phenomenon to have increased capacity to cope with different environmental stresses. The level of variation in both landraces and modern varieties is trait specific, in some traits, landraces showed higher intra-varietal diversity. The higher level of intra-varietal diversity should be considered for resilient production system and favorable policy environment should be created to promote the use of such diversity.


OBJECTIVES
Using a clinical research laboratory as a case study, we sought to characterize barriers to maintaining Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) services in a developing world setting.

METHODS
Using a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention framework for program evaluation in public health, we performed an evaluation of the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre-Duke University Health Collaboration clinical research laboratory sections of the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute in Moshi, Tanzania. Laboratory records from November 2012 through October 2014 were reviewed for this analysis.

RESULTS
During the 2-year period of study, seven instrument malfunctions suspended testing required for open clinical trials. A median (range) of 9 (1-55) days elapsed between instrument malfunction and biomedical engineer service. Sixteen (76.1%) of 21 suppliers of reagents, controls, and consumables were based outside Tanzania. Test throughput among laboratory sections used a median (range) of 0.6% (0.2%-2.7%) of instrument capacity. Five (55.6%) of nine laboratory technologists left their posts over 2 years.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrate that GCLP laboratory service provision in this setting is hampered by delays in biomedical engineer support, delays and extra costs in commodity procurement, low testing throughput, and high personnel turnover.


Abstract The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is considering nuclear power sources for space exploration. A series of critical mass experiments was designed to address the development, performance, and design of a space nuclear reactor being considered to support the Prometheus project. These experiments consisted of interlacing the refractory metals rhenium (Re), molybdenum (Mo), tantalum-2.5 wt% tungsten (Ta-2.5W), and niobium-1 wt% zirconium (Nb-1Zr) with moderating materials (graphite or polyethylene) and were fueled by highly enriched uranium plates. These experiments are designed to assess the adequacy of and uncertainty in refractory metal neutron cross-section evaluations for use in Prometheus nuclear reactor design work. The critical experiments were designed in the energy spectrum closely resembling or bracketing that in the proposed space reactor. For each material (Re, Mo, Ta-2.5W and Nb-1Zr), four critical configurations were designed and performed to measure the sensitivity of keff to the material under four different and progressively softer neutron spectra (core center spectrum, harder than core average spectrum, softer than core average spectrum, and accident flooded spectrum). The thicknesses of the graphite or polyethylene moderator and reflector plates were adjusted to achieve the desired neutron spectrum. One critical and 18 subcritical experiments provided for measurements of material neutronic behavior in a simple cylindrical geometry configuration that was modeled in MCNP with ENDF/B-VI.6 cross-section data and compared to the extrapolated or predicted critical mass for all the experiments. These experiments were performed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory using the Planet vertical lift critical assembly at the Los Alamos Critical Experiment Facility.


The resistance of Arabidopsis to infection by the fungus Blumeria graminis is partly mediated by preinvasion responses involving the syntaxin protein PEN1, a SNARE [soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein receptor] component, but the mechanism involved is unclear. t-SNAREs, such as PEN1, are target membrane proteins that associate with vesicle (v)-SNAREs such as vesicle-associated membrane proteins (VAMPs) to mediate intracellular membrane fusion. Kwon et al. noticed that, whereas pen1-1 null mutant Arabidopsis showed poor resistance to B. graminis, plants with the pen1-3 allele, which contains a mutation that decreases the stability of SNARE-SNARE interactions, exhibited partial resistance to infection. Western blotting analyses showed the presence of a PEN1-containing complex in wild-type, but not pen1-3, leaves. Inoculation with B. graminis increased the abundance of this complex. Coimmunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that PEN1 formed a pathogen-dependent complex with the t-SNARE SNAP33 and with either VAMP721 or VAMP722. Transgenic plants that were inducibly deficient in both vamp721 and vamp722 showed increased susceptibility to fungal infection. Confocal microscopic analysis of vamp721- and vamp722-deficient plants that expressed a fusion of VAMP722 and green fluorescent protein showed pathogen-dependent directed movement to and focal accumulation of VAMP722-containing complexes at the sites of B. graminis entry of leaf epidermal cells. This process resembled the formation of the synapse between a mammalian cytotoxic T cell and its target. Accumulation of the PEN1-SNAP32-VAMP722 complexes to sites of infection was associated with increased resistance to infection and improved repair of the plant cell wall. This study demonstrates that VAMP721 and VAMP722, which the authors showed were critical for plant development and growth, were coopted to mount a secretory response to fungal infection. C. Kwon, C. Neu, S. Pajonk, H. S. Yun, U. Lipka, M. Humphry, S. Bau, M. Straus, M. Kwaaitaal, H. Rampelt, F. El Kasmi, G. Jürgens, J. Parker, R. Panstruga, V. Lipka, P. Schulze-Lefert, Co-option of a default secretory pathway for plant immune responses. Nature 451, 835-840 (2008). [PubMed]


Marketing Research: The Second Pacific Rim edition reflects contemporary developments and examples in Marketing Research. The text maintains the strengths of the original Aaker, Kumar and Day text, and is presented in an engaging and accessible style. A visual map evolves throughout the text, guiding students through the entire marketing research process step by step. The text retains a clear focus on marketing research as a tool for helping organisations achieve their goals, and uses the macro-micro approach of reviewing the entire research process before considering each component part in detail. The focus is on understanding and conducting market research as the basis for making sound business decisions. FEATURES *Project workbook - to help students create their own market research project comprising a series of practical tips, checklists and worksheets *Practical industry profiles - examples from the Pacific Rim Coverage of both qualitative and quantitative research methods *Variety of Pacific Rim cases, including 'Online Voting' and 'Coffee Connection' running cases. *Comprehensive text website houses additional resources for both instructors and students, including SPSS data sets for use with text exercises and cases, interactive student quizzing for each chapter of the text. To save students money, a value-packed version is also available with the following resources: SPSS: Analysis without Anguish by Coakes, XSIGHT Student Version Software.


Performance measurement (PM) is now common in Western universities. This is also the case in Finland, where a new funding scheme was implemented to ensure that quality was included in universities' PM. However, this paper shows that the quality indicators in use are, in practice, quantitative. The paper is based on a large survey and has implications for university PM systems in Finland and internationally.


Our paper focuses on scrutinizing the determinants and the structure of economic innovative potential as well as the existing methods of its assessment at the macroeconomic level. We employ a case study of Russian Federation to tackle these issues and to analyze the problems associated with developing and managing economic potential. The paper analyzes the selection and placement in world research rakings, ratings, and indices, as well as the dynamics of change in the indicators characterizing the innovative potential in research and development issues. Our results enable us identify and reveal the key issues and the main problems of research and development potential and to formulate the comprehensive contingency strategic management plan along with the directions and guidelines of innovative development for the years to come. Our findings reveal the main problems in the development of economic innovative potential of Russian Federation and help us to formulate policy implications for the longterm economic horizon. Received: September, 2016 1st Revision: October, 2016 Accepted: December, 2016 DOI: 10.14254/20718330.2017/10-1/10 Journal of International Studies S ci en ti fi c P a pe rs © Foundation of International Studies, 2017 © CSR, 2017 Raisa Кrayneva, Alexandr Bugaev, Tatyana Zhuravleva, Sergej Vojtovič Management and promotion of economic innovation potential 147


The authors highlight significance of fitness testing, psychological and physical examinations for primary-school students, who wish to participate in gymnastic activities. The main purpose of pre-participation examination is safety of potential gymnasts, team members, coaches and staff. The prime function of end-of- term evaluation is performance assessment and possible improvement from the last term. Taking the example of a girl, who is participating in gymnastics, this work illustrates use of Growth-and- Obesity Roadmap in determining suitability for inclusion in gymnastic team, focusing on nutritional status, estimated-adult height and build of student. Build is computed using scaled percentiles adapted for the Pakistani children, which are generated from CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, United States) percentiles by fitting a parabolic curve. Mathematical-statistical definitions of normal, early, delayed, excessively delayed and precarious puberty are proposed. Approximate Tanner scores have been assigned to prepubertal, peripubertal, pubertal, adolescent and adult stages.


Historians of the early British women's movement have frequently drawn connections between the theology and practice of Quakerism and the involvement of female Friends in nineteenth-centu ry 'women's rights' campaigns. These connections are usually expressed in terms of religious, organizational and environmental factors particular to Quakerism, and embody the assumption that the cultural milieu of Quaker women was peculiarly conducive to the development of 'feminist consciousness'. This article examines the complexity of these assumed links, through an exploration of the life and writings of Anna Deborah Richardson (1832-1872) of Newcastle Monthly Meeting. Through her close association with Emily Davies, who established the first women's college at Cambridge, Anna was part of the first organized British women's movement in the 1860s. The article considers how far her feminist activities were motivated and inspired by her membership of the Society of Friends, or whether factors outside her religious community exercised a more significant influence.


Early in my scientific career, I pursued research while remaining blissfully unaware of the difficulty of securing a permanent academic position, especially for women and mothers. I drifted happily through a Ph.D. and two postdocs abroad, guided by interesting science, people, and places—and a nonscientist husband with ideas about where he wanted to live. It wasn't until I had been a postdoc for several years, with two children and a third on the way, that I recognized the need to adopt a sound strategic approach to securing a tenured faculty position, particularly given my career breaks.

![Figure][1]

"I wanted to make sure I was judged fairly."

ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT NEUBECKER

For each of my three sons—born in 2009, 2011, and 2013—I took 8 months of maternity leave, and since then I've worked largely part time and continue to do so. Counted over calendar years, these breaks make my track record look ordinary. My early job applications—using a standard CV that mentioned my maternity leaves only in passing—reflected the apparent ordinariness of that track record: I didn't get so much as an interview. Then, with mentoring and advice from colleagues and friends, I reshaped my CV to account for the time I'd spent raising my family. I put my career breaks front and center, and I reported my productivity metrics to account for my time away from work. Numbers of publications, citation rates, and grant income are used widely to assess and compare researchers, so I wanted to make sure I was judged fairly.

The result: My first application after I made the adjustments yielded a tenured position in the city we had already settled in. Reframing my track record undoubtedly helped. Here's how I did it.

Get the data. First, I calculated how many years of full-time equivalent work I've done by tallying the time worked each month (e.g., 0% when on maternity leave, 60% when working part time, and 100% when working full time). Accounting for time off and part-time work, I've worked 5.6 full-time years during the 8.5 calendar years since I finished my Ph.D., the equivalent of 66% of full time. Since my first child was born 6 years ago, I have worked the equivalent of 3.3 full-time years, or 55% of full time. Next, I worked out how much I'd achieved each year in terms of publications, grants, student supervision, and so on.

Do the math. Rather than hoping the readers of my application would do the math on their own, I did it for them. I corrected the number of publications I had each year to account for my maternity leaves. For example, in the 6 years since my first son was born I had 23 publications—equivalent to about 42 publications if I had been working full time. Similar corrections can be made to other common metrics: citations, grants, and so on.

Write about career interruptions up front and in a positive way. I present the data on career breaks, effective years worked, and achievements at the top of my CV, in cover letters for job applications, and in a prominent position on grant applications. Here's an example: "Since 2009, I have worked the equivalent of approximately 3.3 full-time years, 55% of full time. Yet it has been a highly productive period: 23 publications—including 12 as lead or last author—a research fellowship, and a major grant. On a pro-rata basis, that equates to about 42 publications in 6 years of full-time work."

I also like to emphasize—without complaining—that working part time while raising kids isn't easy. "This does not account for the effect reduced working hours and travel opportunities has on networking opportunities, which affect collaborations and citation rates. I have nonetheless established several fruitful national and international collaborations, and my research has scientific and practical impacts." I want readers to think, "If she managed this working part time, with breaks and sleep deprivation, imagine what she'll do once the kids are older!"

 [1]: pending:yes


Cotton fiber length can be measured by the rapid method of testing fiber beards instead of individual fibers. In this method, only the fiber portion projecting from the fiber clamp can be measured. The length distribution of the projecting portion is very different from that of the original sample. Part 1 of this research reported that the original fiber length distribution of cotton can be modeled by a five-parameter mixed Weibull distribution, and the length distribution of the projecting portion can also be modeled by a five-parameter mixed Weibull distribution with parameters different from the original sample. Based on the results reported in Part 1, this work provides a new approach to estimation of the fiber length distribution of the sample based on the length distribution of the observed projecting portion. The proposed approach is the Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression. The probability density function (PDF) curves from the PLS regression method show a good match with the PDF curves obtained from the experimental data except in the short fiber region. Comparisons of some commonly used length quality parameters between experimental data and PLS regression showed good agreement for UHML and ML. The results indicate the proposed PLS approach for obtaining fiber length distribution from the beard test method is very promising, but additional work is needed to improve the estimation accuracy of short fibers.


Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods are often used in clustering since they guarantee asymptotically exact expectations in the infinite-time limit. In finite time, though, slow mixing often leads to poor performance. Modern computing environments offer massive parallelism, but naive implementations of parallel MCMC can exhibit substantial bias. In MCMC samplers of continuous random variables, Markov chain couplings can overcome bias. But these approaches depend crucially on paired chains meetings after a small number of transitions. We show that straightforward applications of existing coupling ideas to discrete clustering variables fail to meet quickly. This failure arises from the"label-switching problem": semantically equivalent cluster relabelings impede fast meeting of coupled chains. We instead consider chains as exploring the space of partitions rather than partitions' (arbitrary) labelings. Using a metric on the partition space, we formulate a practical algorithm using optimal transport couplings. Our theory confirms our method is accurate and efficient. In experiments ranging from clustering of genes or seeds to graph colorings, we show the benefits of our coupling in the highly parallel, time-limited regime.


This study examines the economic profiles of morbidity by disease in Kerala and all-India by estimating Engel elasticities for diseases and classifying them as between those associated with affluence and deprivation. Morbidity rates, in general, are more for the rich than for the poor. There could be factors other than income, which influence the morbidity rates as revealed by horizontal pseudo-Lorenz curves for distribution of reported total morbidity across households. That morbidity rates are higher for the rich than for the poor households does not hold uniformly valid at the level of individual diseases. This is borne out by pseudo-Lorenz curves for disease specific morbidity. Pseudo-Lorenz curves lay above/below the line of equal Distribution depending upon the nature of diseases. The sub-set of undiagnosed diseases is a poor man's disease in both rural and urban all-India but only in urban Kerala. To avoid Type II errors in targeting medical facilities, it would be useful to identify those diseases, which afflict the rich proportionately more, that is, diseases with Engel elasticities more than one. Such diseases are virtually insignificant in Kerala. They account for 1.23 and 1.75 per cent of reported morbidity cases in rural and urban Kerala respectively. As regards all-India, they have significant presence. Their respective shares in total rural and urban morbidity cases are 7.83 and 6.83 percent. Generally coronary heart diseases, diabetes and hypertension are considered as life style diseases. Among them, only diabetes mellitus has elasticity greater than one for rural and urban all-India; heart disease and hypertension too have elasticities greater than one only for rural all-India. As regards Kerala, none of them are luxury diseases. This could also be interpreted to represent a process whereby the diseases of affluence and deprivation converge in Kerala. In other words, this may represent a shift a in the epidemiology of diseases in Kerala.


The use of a multinomial logit model to analyze a hitherto unavailable dataset of 1,376 small-claims lawsuits in colonial Augusta County, Virginia, for information about debts, litigants, and procedures f inds no evidence of prejudice in the legal system. The magistrates' consistently fair enforcement of legitimate contracts may have induced both plaintiffs and defendants to settle their disputes in court rather than in private. The evidence corroborates the view that by the mid-eighteenth century, Virginia's frontier judicial system was sufficiently impartial to encourage creditors to draw up efficient contracts even for small debts.


Most recent writings about the philosophy of music have taken an analytic or linguistic approach, focusing on terms such as meaning, metaphor, emotions and expression, invariably from the perspective of the individual listener or composer. This essay seeks to develop an alternative, phenomenological framework for thinking about music by avoiding these terms, and by extrapolating from the writings of Hegel, Husserl, and Heidegger. On the basis of discussions of musical time, its multiple levels of matter, and its internal dialectics, the essay presents a particular understanding of "style" as the primary basis for mediation between production and reception. It concludes that music is no more or less than itself; and that it comes into presence and resounds within a nonconceptual and collective socio-historical world, thereby dissolving all distinctions between feelings and ideas, and fears and desires.


Carcinoids involving the ampulla of Vater are rare lesions that may produce painless jaundice. The published data indicate that these tumors, in contrast to their midgut counterparts, metastasize in approximately half of cases irrespective of primary tumor size. Therefore, radical excision in the form of pancreaticoduodenectomy is recommended regardless of tumor size. As with other gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors, biological treatment with octreotide analogues can be applied to symptomatic patients. Tumor-targeted radioactive therapy is a newly emerging treatment option. We here report case of a carcinoid tumor of the ampulla of Vater presenting as painless jaundice in a 65-year old man and review the relevant literature, giving special attention to the morphologic features, clinical characteristics, and treatment modalities associated with this disease process.