Tumor pretargeting with biotinylated antibodies and avidin, followed by a delayed delivery of radioactive-labeled biotin, is currently used for in vivo diagnosis and therapy in cancer patients. Herein, we describe the use of a three-step antibody/avidin targeting approach to increase the local concentration and the persistence of biotinylated human tumor necrosis factor alpha (bio-TNF) on a mouse tumor. Mouse RMA lymphoma cells were transfected with the Thy 1.1 allele (RMA-Thy 1.1) to generate a unique tumor-associated antigen. In vitro pretargeting of RMA-Thy 1.1 cells with the biotinylated anti-Thy 1.1 monoclonal antibody 19E12 (bio-19E12) and NeutrAvidin increased the amount of bio-TNF that bound to the cell (10-20 times in comparison with non-pretargeted cells), as well as its half-life on the surface (>30 times). Furthermore, cell pretargeting reduced by more than 2 orders of magnitude the LD50 of bio-TNF in a cytolytic assay with actinomycin D. Finally, RMA-Thy 1.1 cells, pretreated in vitro with bio-TNF according to the three-step procedure and injected into syngeneic C57/BL6 mice, were less tumorigenic than controls. These results indicate that the three-step targeting approach markedly increases the amount and the persistence of bio-TNF on the cell surface and that cell-bound bio-TNF can trigger cytolytic effects in vitro and antitumor effects in vivo. Tumor pretargeting with biotinylated antibodies and avidin could be a novel strategy for increasing the therapeutic index of TNF.


A large body of epidemiologic evidence has shown that use of progestin-containing preparations lowers ovarian cancer risk. The purpose of the current study was to gather further preclinical evidence supporting progestins as cancer chemopreventives by demonstrating progestin-activation of surrogate endpoint biomarkers pertinent to cancer prevention in the genital tract of women at increased risk of ovarian cancer. There were 64 women enrolled in a multi-institutional randomized trial who chose to undergo risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) and to receive the progestin levonorgestrel or placebo for 4 to 6 weeks prior to undergoing BSO. The ovarian and fallopian tube epithelia (FTE) were compared immunohistochemically for effects of levonorgestrel on apoptosis (primary endpoint). Secondary endpoints included TGFβ isoform expression, proliferation, and karyometric features of nuclear abnormality. In both the ovary and fallopian tube, levonorgestrel did not confer significant changes in apoptosis or expression of the TGFβ1, 2, or 3 isoforms. In the ovarian epithelium, treatment with levonorgestrel significantly decreased the proliferation index. The mean ovarian Ki-67 value in the placebo arm was 2.027 per 100 cells versus 0.775 per 100 cells in the levonorgestrel arm (two-sided P value via Mann–Whitney U test = 0.0114). The karyometric signature of nuclei in both the ovarian and FTE deviated significantly from normal controls (women at average risk of ovarian cancer), but was significantly less abnormal in women treated with levonorgestrel. These karyometric data further support the idea that progestins may clear genetically abnormal cells and act as chemopreventive agents against ovarian and fallopian tube cancer.


Document Type Book Chapter Rights This item is available under a Creative Commons License for non-commercial use only Disciplines 5.3 EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, *training, *pedagogy, Education, general, including: Publication Details Published in Emerging Issues in Higher Education III, 2012. Abstract By tradition, postgraduate supervisors work with their students on an individual basis. However with increasing numbers of part‐time and international students, and the current resource challenges being faced by Irish higher education institutions, supervisory relationships are now likely to be conducted in a more collaborative and connected way and new approaches are being developed to cope with the expanding student numbers, and the diminishing ratio of supervisors to students. Indeed, the recent National Strategy in Higher Education to 2030 calls for the sector to innovate and develop if it is to provide flexible opportunities for larger and more diverse student cohorts (DES, 2012). Sustainability is important in this initiative, specifically for continuing to build research capacity on Masters' programmes and to promote the value of the 'cascade' effect of group feedback in the supervision process. This effect of the link between feedforward and feedback amongst fellow students and supervisors will be discussed in more detail in a subsequent section of this chapter. Recommended Citation Donnelly, R., Fitzmaurice, M. (2013) Development of a Model for Blended Postgraduate Research Supervision in Irish Higher Education. In C. O'Farrell & A. Farrell(eds.) Emerging Issues in Higher Education III, From Capacity Building to Sustainability,Dublin, Educational Developers in Ireland Network (EDIN).  Download


From the start of membership in the European Union (EU), Lithuania implemented two EU funding periods, from 2004 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2013. The current funding period for 2014–2020 is not covered. During each period, different goals were raised. The first period was dedicated for infrastructure projects which was important to provide the basis for further development. Mostly social service centers, pre-primary education institutions, elderly care centers, schools and other social service infrastructure have been improved or developed. During the second financing period, the aim of projects was to develop social dialogue, services and service quality assurance, life-long education and human resources. Because of the absence of knowledge how EU-funded projects are distributed by Lithuanian municipalities this article attempts to answer this question. This article presents the distribution of EU-funded social policy projects in Lithuanian municipalities. All projects are quantitatively mapped.
 The analysis of the maps divides municipalities into five categories according to the number of implemented projects. During the first funding period, projects were unevenly distributed in municipalities, but the gap between the major cities of Lithuania was quite proportional to the size of municipalities. During the second funding period, Vilnius and Kaunas municipalities increased the number of realised projects by four and five times, respectively.
 For the whole period 2004–2013, the largest potential of EU-funded projects was realised in the two major cities of Lithuania, Vilnius and Kaunas, with a disproportionate gap between them and both the third largest city and other municipalities.


During a survey in three declining and three healthy poplar plantations in Serbia, six different Phytophthora species were obtained. Phytophthora plurivora was the most common, followed by P. pini, P. polonica, P. lacustris, P. cactorum, and P. gonapodyides. Pathogenicity of all isolated species to four-month and one-year-old cuttings of Populus hybrid clones I-214 and Pannonia, respectively, was tested using both a soil infestation and stem inoculation test. Isolates of P. polonica, P. × cambivora, P. cryptogea, and P. × serendipita from other host plants were included as a comparison. In the soil infestation test, the most aggressive species to clone I-214 were P. plurivora, P. × serendipita, and P. pini. On clone Pannonia, P. gonapodyides and P. pini were the most aggressive, both causing 100% mortality, followed by P. cactorum, P. × cambivora, and P. polonica. In the underbark inoculation test, the susceptibility of both poplar clones to the different Phytophthora species was largely similar, as in the soil infestation test, with the exception of P. polonica, which proved to be only weakly pathogenic to poplar bark. The most aggressive species to clone I-214 was P. pini, while on clone Pannonia, the longest lesions and highest disease incidence were caused by P. gonapodyides. Phytophthora cactorum and P. plurivora were pathogenic to both clones, whereas P. × cambivora showed only weak pathogenicity. The implications of these findings and possible pathways of dispersion of the pathogens are discussed.


When Jeremiah Horrocks correctly predicted, and with his friend William Crabtree observed, the Venus transit of 24 November 1639, these two men became more than the first astronomers in history to witness a rare celestial phenomenon. For Horrocks's and Crabtree's achievement constituted in may ways the first major astronomical discovery to be made in Renaissance England. It is also clear from their writings, moreover, that the two men, working in the isolation of rural Lancashire and well away from London or the universities, were fully conversant with contemporary discoveries made in continental Europe by Tycho Brahe, Galileo, Kepler, Gassendi, and others. In many ways, therefore, their work begs more questions than can easily be answered, such as why the rural North-West produced not only Horrocks and Crabtree, but other contemporary astronomers such as the Lancastrians Charles Towneley, Jeremy Shakerley, and their Yorkshire friend William Gascoigne. Yet in addition to whatever regional circumstances might have been present, and how easy it might have been for an educated rural Lancastrian to be fully informed about what astronomers in Paris, Prague, or Florence were doing, what cannot be denied is the outstanding originality of their wider achievement. For Jeremiah Horrocks in particular was a physical scientist of genius. His correct determination of the elliptical shape of the lunar orbit by 1638 when he was about 20 and his wider work on planetary dynamics place him amongst the most creative researchers of the seventeenth century. Central to Horrocks's and Crabtree's achievement was Crabtree's realisation by 1636 that contemporary published astronomical tables were unreliable, and that if one wanted to do serious work in understanding the heavens, then one had to observe and measure them for oneself, and learn to draw original conclusions.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html


Chromosomes are folded so that active and inactive chromatin domains are spatially segregated. Compartmentalization is thought to occur through polymer phase/microphase separation mediated by interactions between loci of similar type. The nature and dynamics of these interactions are not known. We developed liquid chromatin Hi-C to map the stability of associations between loci. Before fixation and Hi-C, chromosomes are fragmented removing the strong polymeric constraint to enable detection of intrinsic locus-locus interaction stabilities. Compartmentalization is stable when fragments are over 10-25 kb. Fragmenting chromatin into pieces smaller than 6 kb leads to gradual loss of genome organization. Dissolution kinetics of chromatin interactions vary for different chromatin domains. Lamin-associated domains are most stable, while interactions among speckle and polycomb-associated loci are more dynamic. Cohesin-mediated loops dissolve after fragmentation, possibly because cohesin rings slide off nearby DNA ends. Liquid chromatin Hi-C provides a genome-wide view of chromosome interaction dynamics. Highlights Liquid chromatin Hi-C detects chromatin interaction dissociation rates genome-wide Chromatin conformations in distinct nuclear compartments differ in stability Stable heterochromatic associations are major drivers of chromatin phase separation CTCF-CTCF loops are stabilized by encirclement of loop bases by cohesin rings


Developing a scientific understanding of the breast support implications for the female recreational athlete will make a significant contribution to the breast biomechanics literature, provide valuable information to bra designers and help athletes make informed decisions about their breast support requirements.
The work in this thesis determined the effect of a high and low breast support condition on biomechanical and perceptual variables during steady-state running, intermittent exercise and vertical jumping in a population of larger-breasted female recreational athletes.
In order to assess breast kinematics an appropriate method of assessing bra fit was needed.
Within this programme of research the use of best-fit criteria was first developed and then demonstrated that traditional bra fit methods overestimate band size (76% of participants) and underestimate cup size (84% of participants).
During all activity modes a well-fitted high support bra significantly (p < 0.05) reduced breast kinematics and increased breast comfort.
For steady-state running, alterations in lower-extremity biomechanics led to more distance being covered per minute (3.08 m; p = 0.006) and therefore a potential for improved performance when participants ran with high breast support.
More acute knee flexion during sprinting (p = 0.008) and less sagittal plane thorax range of motion (p < 0.044) in the high breast support condition during the intermittent treadmill protocol could also benefit running performance.
Increases in the range of motion of upper-extremity variables during treadmill activity were related to increases in some breast kinematic variables (r = 0.465 to 0.742); therefore certain individuals may require greater breast support than others.
With increased breast kinematics there was a trend towards participants landing from vertical jumps with lower ground reaction forces coupled with increased thorax, thigh and knee flexion (r = 0.564 to 0.607).
This suggests participants attempted to soften their landing, which may affect subsequent performance.
Vertical jumping and sprinting elicited the highest magnitudes of vertical (0.08 m) and mediolateral (0.03 m) breast displacement respectively, questioning whether steady-state running is the most effective activity mode for testing bra efficacy. The reduction of anterioposterior breast kinematics should also be a consideration for bra design as they related most closely to breast comfort and biomechanical variables across all activity modes.
Knowledge of the breast support implications for larger-breasted female recreational athletes was progressed in this thesis and bras offering high multi-planar support are promoted as they were found to be beneficial for performance within the activities investigated.


The necessity for thread-safe experiment software has recently become very evident, largely driven by the evolution of CPU architectures towards exploiting increasing levels of parallelism. For high-energy physics this represents a real paradigm shift, as concurrent programming was previously only limited to special, well-defined domains like control software or software framework internals. This paradigm shift, however, falls into the middle of the successful LHC programme and many million lines of code have already been written without the need for parallel execution in mind. In this paper we have a closer look at the offline processing applications of the LHC experiments and their readiness for the many-core era. We review how previous design choices impact the move to concurrent programming. We present our findings on transforming parts of the LHC experiment reconstruction software to thread-safe code, and the main design patterns that have emerged during the process. A plethora of parallel-programming patterns are well known outside the HEP community, but only a few have turned out to be straightforward enough to be suited for non-expert physics programmers. Finally, we propose a potential strategy for the migration of existing HEP experiment software to the many-core era.


We offer a new explanation for why academic studies typically fail to find value creation in bank mergers. Our conjectures are predicated on the idea that, until recently, large bank acquisitions were a new phenomenon, with no best practices history to inform bank managers or market investors. We hypothesize that merging banks, and investors pricing bank mergers, learn by observing information that spills over from previous bank mergers. We find evidence consistent with these conjectures for 216 M&As of large, publicly traded U.S. commercial banks between 1987 and 1999. Our findings are consistent with semistrong stock market efficiency.


This thesis focuses on the theoretical investigation of the temperature dependent electronic and magnetic properties of metallic 4f-systems with localized magnetic moments. The presented theory is based on the Kondo-lattice model, which describes the interaction between a system of 4f-localized magnetic moments and the itinerant conduction band electrons. This interaction is responsible for a remarkable temperature dependence of the electronic structure mainly induced by the subsystem of 4f-localized moments. The many-body problem provoked by the Kondo-lattice model is solved by using a moment conserving Green function technique, which takes care of several special limiting cases. This method reproduces the T = 0-exact solvable limiting case of the ferromagnetically saturated semiconductor. The temperature dependent magnetic properties of the 4f-localized subsystem are evaluated by means of a modified Rudermann-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) type procedure, which together with the solution of the electronic part allows for a self-consistent calculation of all the electronic and magnetic properties of the model. Results of model calculations allow to deduce the conditions for ferromagnetism in dependence of the electron density n, exchange coupling J and temperature T . The self-consistently calculated Curie temperature TC is presented and discussed in dependence of relevant parameters (J, n, and W ) of the model. The second part of the thesis is concerned with the investigation of the temperature dependence of the electronic and magnetic properties of the rare-earth metal Gadolinium (Gd). The original Kondo-lattice model is extended to a multi-band Kondo-lattice model and combined with an ab-initio band structure calculation to take into account for the multi-bands in real systems. The single-particle energies of the model are taken from an augmented spherical wave (ASW) band structure calculation. The proposed method avoids the double counting of relevant interactions by exploiting the T = 0-exact limiting case of the ferromagnetically saturated semiconductor and takes into account the correct symmetry of the atomic orbitals. The only parameter of the theory (inter-band exchange coupling J) is uniquely fixed by the band structure calculation. The self-consistently derived Curie temperature of 294.1 K and the T = 0magnetic moment of 7.71 μB are surprisingly close to the experimental values. The induced temperature-dependence of the 5d conduction bands explains respective experimental photoemission data.


In this paper we explore how education and religious practice influence gender ideology in Turkey, using survey data for 2003, 2008 and 2013. The two concepts of "male authority" and "female autonomy" are used as proxies for gender ideology, taking advantage of a set of statements intended to capture gender role attitudes among ever-married women 15-49 years. They were constructed using factor analysis. We then analyzed how attitudes to male authority and female autonomy differ by educational level and religious practice. In the ten-year period from 2003 to 2013 there has been a rapid increase in education while religious practice has remained high. We found that post-secondary education has a strongly positive effect on non-traditional gender attitudes, although declining over time, while the positive effect of not wearing headscarf mostly has remained high. Thus, the propagation of patriarchal religious values, which can be observed in Turkey since the turn of the century, promoting gender inequality and the confinement of women to the domestic realm, seems to be counteracting the positive influence of increasing female education on egalitarian views of women in Turkey.


White light continuum seeded noncollinear optical parametric amplifier driven by Yb:KGW master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system is reported. The demonstrated design provides amplification of broadband pulses at 800 nm up to 20 µJ energy at 1 kHz repetition rate and can be used as simple and reliable frontend source for systems producing high intensity few-cycle pulses. The amplified spectral bandwidth allows for <7 fs pulse durations and preliminary compression of partial spectrum yields sub-10 fs pulse.


To reduce the bipolar plate weight and keep the desired power density of a low temperature fuel cell, thermoplastic composite bipolar plates have been fabricated for low temperature fuel cell applications. Concerns over material weight, electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, and injection processability of the thermoplastic nanocomposites have brought forth the idea of producing a polypropylene/graphene nanocomposite for an injection moulded bipolar plate application. In this article, the properties of produced polypropylene/graphene nanocomposites were also compared with the properties of polypropylene/graphite composites to assess the feasibility for using polypropylene/graphene nanocomposites as a bipolar plate material. The effects of graphene contents and sizes on electrical conductivity and mechanical properties were reported in this work. Moreover, the obtained results were discussed in terms of morphology and state of dispersion and distribution of the graphene within the polypropylene matrix. This work is a preliminary study that offers insight into the material selection and development for low temperature fuel cells toward the ultimate goal of broad commercialization.


Here Stephen Tracy offers a vivid, fast-paced narrative that serves as a reading guide to Homer's monumental epic. He not only provides translations of key passages and traces the evolution of major themes in the Odyssey, but also helps new readers to understand the artistry of one of the best tales ever told. Aimed at advanced readers as well, this book stresses an appreciation of how Homer has ordered his narrative, covering such topics as character interaction, family relationships, elements of poetic language, and the symbolic treatment of death, rebirth, growth, and knowledge. Given the controversy over the way the Odyssey was composed and handed down, Tracy concentrates on presenting the poem as a highly unified work. His analysis of the narrative structure reveals the epic to be arranged as a series of parallel journeys. The journey, seen here as a symbol of growth and self-knowledge, is among the major themes discussed in detail, along with the importance of women as overseers of life's journeys and the need for the sons of heroes to grow up worthy of their fathers.


"If you do not think about the future, you cannot have one," the British author John Galsworthy wrote at the beginning of this century. In An Agenda for the 21st Century, Rushworth Kidder, award-winning columnist for the Christian Science Monitor, has taken up Galsworthy's challenge. He conducts wide-ranging interviews with 22 of the world's most compelling thinkers - artists, scientists, statesmen, and philosophers - asking each one this fundamental question: What are the major issues that will face humanity in the 21st century? The answers that emerge are thoughtful, often surprising, and as diverse as the respondents themselves. While the group generally agrees on the set of issues most critically in need of addressing - the arms race, overpopulation, the environment, the North-South gap, education, and morality - there is often sharp disagreement over the course the future will take. Educator Michael Hooker, for instance, foresees a world in which technology has solved humanity's survival questions, and in which the main problem is an excess of leisure time. The Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky, on the other hand, worries about human beings becoming increasingly standardized, resembling more and more the robots they have created. Philosopher Mortimer Adler calls for a massive commitment to education in critical thinking, without which, he says, democracy cannot survive. Historian Barbara Tuchman and novelist Carlos Fuentes each focus on the need to restore a greater sense of morality, both public and private. Repeatedly the interviewees argue that life in the 21st century will not be shaped simply by technology, but by our ability to come to terms with the social impact of new inventions. Others interviewed by Kidder include Sissela Bok, Jimmy Carter, Norman Cousins, Freeman Dyson, Amitai Etzioni, Douglas Fraser, Theodore Gordon, Hanna Gray, Paul Johnson, Shuichi Kato, Robert McNamara, Olesegun Obasanjo, David Packard, Lloyd Richards, Abdus Salam, Richard von Weizsacker, and Marina Whitman. Kidder has written brief portraits of each interviewee and a concluding chapter. The interviews were originally published as a series in the Christian Science Monitor where Rushworth Kidder covers social issues and trends. He is also the author of books on poets Dylan Thomas and e.e. Cummings.


Originally developed by social scientists, meta-analysis is now one of the central methods of evidence-based medicine. This paper offers an account of the emergence of meta-analysis in social science in the 1970s, its adoption in medicine in the 80s, and the birth of the closely related format of systematic reviews in the early 1990s. The paper investigates the extent to which medical meta-analysis relied on previous work by social scientists, as well as the manner in which systematic reviews grew out of these developments. Throughout the exposition, attention is paid to the formalization of the procedures involved in synthesizing research.


Recent work in political economics has examined the positive relationship between legislative size and spending, which Weingast et al. (1981) formalized as the law of 1/n. However, empirical tests of this theory have produced a pattern of divergent findings. The positive relationship between seats and spending appears to hold consistently for unicameral legislatures and for upper chambers in bicameral legislatures but not for lower chambers. We bridge this gap between theory and empirics by extending Weingast et al.'s model to account for bicameralism in the context of a Baron–Ferejohn bargaining game. Our comparative statics predict, and empirical data from U.S. state legislatures corroborate, that the size of the upper chamber (n) is a positive predictor of expenditure, whereas the ratio of lower-to-upper chamber seats (k) exhibits a negative effect. We refer to these relationships as the law of k/n, as the two variables influence spending in opposite directions.


Many ameliorative projects aim at moral goods such as social equality. For example, the amelioration of the concept marriage forms part of efforts to achieve equal rights for the LGBT+ community. What does implementation of such an ameliorated concept consist in? In this paper, I argue that, for some ameliorated concepts, successful implementation requires that individuals eschew semantic deference, at least with respect to relevant dimensions of the concept. My argument appeals to consideration of the aims of conceptual engineers engaged in this type of ameliorative project: they seek conceptual change in order to contribute to the dismantling of oppressive social structures, institutions, and systems of belief. I argue that, for such aims to be achieved, it must be the case that individuals who come to endorse the concept do so for the right reasons—because they have gained an understanding of why the ameliorated concept is morally preferable to its ancestor. Once they have acquired such reasons, however, they are no longer correctly described as semantically deferential; they will treat moral reasons to employ the concept as overriding of semantic considerations.


Gamma radiation induced formation of ICl in aerated and deaerated solutions of iodine in some aromatic chlorinated solvents has been studied for different concentrations and γ dosages. G values for formation of ICl and decomposition of I2 were determined in gamma radiolysis of aerated and deaerated solutions of I2 in 1,2-dichlorobenzene(1,2-DCB), 1,3-dichlorobenzene(1,3-DCB), 2-chlorotoluene, 3-chlorotoluene and benzotrichloride. G(ICl) values have been found to decrease in the following order 2-chlorotoluene < 3-chlorotoluene < 1,2-DCB < 1,3-DCB < benzotrichloride. G(ICl) is slightly higher in aerated solutions than in deaerated solutions and is found to be dependent on the structure of the parent organic molecule.


Studies of the representation of sexualities in textbooks have tended to focus on inclusion and coverage of diverse content through thematic analysis. This analysis of a sample of LO textbooks is framed by the systematic linguistic framework of critical discourse analysis (CDA), specifically Fairclough's (2001) theory of discourse as ideological meanings encoded in text. The sections on sex education in three popularly used LO textbooks have been analysed to make explicit the heteronormative meanings conveyed through language used. This article provides insight into how the language in the LO texts function to legitimate the dominant discourse of a particular type of heterosexuality: monogamy for the primary purpose of reproduction. The implications of this bias are raised and recommendations for fair representation of LGBT sexual orientations are made.


This paper examines the behaviour of the Irish labour market during the 1990s. Over the course of the decade the Irish unemployment rate fell from the highest to the lowest in the EU. Over the same period a record number of jobs was created and all the indicators suggest that full employment was achieved. The primary reason for this "employment miracle" was the output boom, which in turn may be attributed to Ireland's "super competitiveness" in the late 1990s. Several factors contributed to this – a low exchange rate, the inflow of FDI to high productivity sectors, and wage moderation following the return to centralised wage agreements in 1987. Labour market reforms, including a tightening of the social welfare regime and a switch of spending from income support to active labour market policies, played a positive role. The fact that unemployment has risen only slowly during the current downturn points to the lasting effect of these changes.


The prompt-based learning paradigm has gained much research attention recently. It has achieved state-of-the-art performance on several NLP tasks, especially in the few-shot scenarios. While steering the downstream tasks, few works have been reported to investigate the security problems of the prompt-based models. In this paper, we conduct the first study on the vulnerability of the continuous prompt learning algorithm to backdoor attacks. We observe that the few-shot scenarios have posed a great challenge to backdoor attacks on the prompt-based models, limiting the usability of existing NLP backdoor methods. To address this challenge, we propose BadPrompt, a lightweight and task-adaptive algorithm, to backdoor attack continuous prompts. Specially, BadPrompt first generates candidate triggers which are indicative for predicting the targeted label and dissimilar to the samples of the non-targeted labels. Then, it automatically selects the most effective and invisible trigger for each sample with an adaptive trigger optimization algorithm. We evaluate the performance of BadPrompt on five datasets and two continuous prompt models. The results exhibit the abilities of BadPrompt to effectively attack continuous prompts while maintaining high performance on the clean test sets, outperforming the baseline models by a large margin. The source code of BadPrompt is publicly available at https://github.com/papersPapers/BadPrompt.


This study was aimed at comparatively studying the microbiological quality of several bottled and sachet water sold in Edo State. Microbial counts included total heterotrophic bacterial count (THBC), Total coliform count (TCC) and Total Fungal count (TFC). Counts for urban bottled water ranged from 0.0 to 6.5×10 for THBC and no count for TCC and TFC. Urban sachet water had 0.0 to 7.5×10 for THBC, 0.0 to 1.8×10 for TCC and none for TFC. Counts for rural bottled water ranged from 0.0 to 2.0×10 for TFC. Rural sachet water had 0.0 to 3.1×10 for THBC , and no count for TCC and TFC. The bacteria isolated from the samples were Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis , Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella sp. And the fungus isolated from the samples was Saccharomyces sp. It was shown that most of the brands of the sachet water had bacterial growth, hence, the word 'pure water used instead of sachet water' is practically incorrect. This may be as a result of poor handling. Educating the water handlers i.e sellers, distributors and producers could be of help in reducing or eradicating incidences of water transmitted infections.


Urea formaldehyde resin was reactively blended with various concentrations (10 to 70%) of Cassava starch in order to formulate a paint binder for emulsion paint formulation. Some physical properties and formaldehyde emission of the blended resin were investigated. Viscosity initially decreased before a gradual increase was noted with increase in starch concentration. Refractive index and elongation at break increased initially but gradually decreased with Cassava starch content in the blend. Gel time, density, melting point, moisture uptake and formaldehyde emission decreased with increase in starch inclusion. The interaction between the two different polymers shows that 50% starch was the optimal loading inclusion. This new system has advantages of low brittleness, low formaldehyde emission and water reduction characteristics. Therefore the polymer blend can be recommended as binder for coating industry.

 Key words: Urea formaldehyde, starch, copolymer, binder.


Skin dose evaluation is important to ensure adequate dose to the superficial target volume and to avoid severe skin toxicity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the build-up dose characteristics of eXaSkin bolus for 6MV photon beams and evaluate this material for use in skin tumor treatment. Using a 6MV Varian LINAC with field size of 10x10cm2, the surface and build up dose characteristics of eXaSkin (thickness = 3, 5, 8, 10, 15 and 26 mm) was investigated in comparison with solid water (thickness = 2, 5, 15, 20 and 26 mm). Dose measurements were performed using a MOSkin dosimeter and advanced Markus chamber. Additionally, the percentage surface dose measurements for various oblique incident beams with 3mm thick of both bolus was investigated. Measurements were performed using MOSkin dosimeter and compared with advanced Markus chamber. Dmax of eXaSkin for 6MV was approximately 0.9 cm that is consistent with the higher density of this material (ρSW = 1.04 g/cm3 ρeXa = 1.7±0.03 g/cm3). This bolus also exhibits higher dose in the build-up region between 2-10 mm depths and higher dose at oblique incident beams than solid water. Preliminary results suggest that eXaSkin is a promising candidate for use in the treatment of superficial tumors without producing excessive skin reaction.


Decades of scientific research related to agriculture and natural resource management have brought limited benefits to smallholder farmers, including crop farmers, fishers, livestock keepers and other resource users. Therefore, donors, policymakers and civil society organizations (CSOs), such as farmer organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are urging the formal research sector to make its work more useful to smallholder farmers. Many institutions of agricultural research and development are now seeking ways to engage more closely with smallholders in order to conduct research that is more relevant for and accessible to them, and are seeking examples and good practices as sources of learning. Some examples of research that is focused on smallholders and in which the process is co-managed and driven by smallholders can be found in "informal†research initiatives --specifically, those which are facilitated by CSOs. The purpose of this study was to identify such examples of informal agricultural research and development that could be documented and thus made accessible to formal researchers. This report also describes farmer-led research findings and their dissemination, and analyzes available evidence on the impact of farmer-led approaches to agricultural research and development on rural livelihoods, local capacity to innovate and adapt, and influence on governmental institutions of agricultural research and development.


Approximately 64,000 preterm infants are born annually in the United States. With preterm infants enduring between 10-16 painful procedures daily, it is important for nurses to use interventions that effectively decrease pain. Procedural pain in premature infants may result in short-term and long-term negative physical, cognitive, and emotional effects. Kangaroo care is the act of holding an infant making skin on skin contact. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify, review, and critically appraise the evidence from studies examining the effect of Kangaroo Care on procedural pain in premature infants. Literature was searched in university databases and Google Scholar for relevant studies, which were selected based on criteria of intervention studies, sampling methods, use of Kangaroo Care, and use of measurable pain scales. Studies are discussed based on the pain measurement tool, type of procedure, and specific study characteristics. The evidence was critically appraised. Limitations and gaps in knowledge are described. Recommendations for further studies and implementation of Kangaroo Care are


Multimaterial structures are currently a technologically attractive field of research. The growing use of polymer composites replacing metals in structures aiming for weight and emission reduction is part of the motivation of this study. The currently used techniques – adhesive bonding and mechanical fastening – are limited in certain aspects, opening a path for innovation in this area. Joining of polymers and metals via Injection Clinching Joining (ICJ) is an innovative technique based in injection molding, adhesive bonding and staking. This work studies this technology in its theoretical aspects and applies it to a preliminary study with commercial materials: 30% short glass fiber reinforced polyamide 6,6 (PA66/FG30%); and aluminum alloy AA2024-T351. A design of experiment of "one factor at a time" analyzed effects of the process parameters on macroand microstructure, local and global mechanical properties, and thermal properties. It was possible to create joints in which the polymer completely filled cavities in the metallic hole, but the reproducibility was not good, for most joints had only partial filling of the cavities, factor which improves the mechanical performance of the joint. The lap shear testing of overlapped joints determined the global mechanical strength of the joint, which ranged from 20,90 MPa to 51,48 MPa (35,9% to 88,5% of the ultimate tensile strength of PA66/FG30%), and the best performances are attributed to a large contact volume of polymeric material with the chamfer on top of the stud, and effective cavity filling. Two types of fracture were observed, a ductile and gradual (rivet pull-out), and a fragile and catastrophic (net-tension). The thermal properties of the polymer after joining were not significantly changed compared to the base material. This scientific and technological research featured ICJ as a viable process for joining of multimaterial structures, achieving good mechanical performance without significantly changing the properties of the base materials.


This study is focused on the water‐agriculture‐environment nexus as it played out in the Murrumbidgee River Basin, eastern Australia, and how coevolution of society and water management actually transpired. Over 100 years of agricultural development the Murrumbidgee Basin experienced a "pendulum swing" in terms of water allocation, initially exclusively for agriculture production changing over to reallocation back to the environment. In this paper, we hypothesize that in the competition for water between economic livelihood and environmental wellbeing, economic diversification was the key to swinging community sentiment in favor of environmental protection, and triggering policy action that resulted in more water allocation to the environment. To test this hypothesis, we developed a sociohydrology model to link the dynamics of the whole economy (both agriculture and industry composed of manufacturing and services) to the community's sensitivity toward the environment. Changing community sensitivity influenced how water was allocated and governed and how the agricultural sector grew relative to the industrial sector (composed of manufacturing and services sectors). In this way, we show that economic diversification played a key role in influencing the community's values and preferences with respect to the environment and economic growth. Without diversification, model simulations show that the community would not have been sufficiently sensitive and willing enough to act to restore the environment, highlighting the key role of sectoral transformation in achieving the goal of sustainable agricultural development.


We assessed the value of 41 skin biopsy specimens obtained from 32 immunocompromised patients with fever and neutropenia. Fifty-six percent (23/41) of these biopsy specimens resulted in a specific diagnosis. These diagnoses included infection in 12 cases, graft-vs-host disease in nine, leukemic infiltrate in one, and drug reaction in one. The remaining 18 biopsy specimens showed either nonspecific changes or normal tissue. The infectious agents identified included Aspergillus in nine patients, Candida in three patients, and Staphylococcus aureus in one patient. As a result of the biopsy findings, therapy was altered in 49% (20/41) of the cases. The most frequent therapeutic change was initiation of amphotericin B for a demonstrated fungal infection. We found skin biopsies to be a valuable diagnostic tool in the assessment of the febrile, neutropenic, immunocompromised patient with skin lesions.


This paper presents the Cholesky factor-alternating direction implicit (CF-ADI) algo rithm, which generates a low-rank approximation to the solution X of the Lyapunov equation AX + XAT = -BBT. The coefficient matrix A is assumed to be large, and the rank of the right-hand side -BBT is assumed to be much smaller than the size of A. The CF-ADI algorithm requires only matrix-vector products and matrix-vector solves by shifts of A. Hence, it enables one to take advantage of any sparsity or structure in A. This paper also discusses the approximation of the dominant invariant subspace of the solution X. We characterize a group of spanning sets for the range of X. A connection is made between the approximation of the dominant invariant subspace of X and the gener ation of various low-order Krylov and rational Krylov subspaces. It is shown by numerical examples that the rational Krylov subspace generated by the CF-ADI algorithm, where the shifts are obtained as the solution of a rational minimax problem, often gives the best approximation to the dominant invariant subspace of X.


This is the seventh article on social science, humanities, news and general databases in a continuing series of articles summarising and commenting on new database products. It has two companion articles: one covering science, technology and medicine (STM) appeared in Online & CDROM Review vol. 20, no. 1 and the other, covering business and law (BSL), will appear in Online & CDROM Review vol. 20, no. 3. The articles are based on the newly appearing database products in the Gale Directory of Databases. The Gale Directory of Databases (GDD) was created in January 1993 by merging Computer‐Readable Databases: A Directory and Data Sourcebook (CRD) together with the Directory of Online Databases (DOD) and the Directory of Portable Databases (DPD).


The success of interpersonal activities strongly depends on the coordination between our movements and those of others. Learning to coordinate with other people requires a long training time and is often limited by the difficulty of having people available at the same time and of giving them accurate and real-time feedback about their coordination. The goal of the present study was to determine in an indoor team rowing situation whether virtual-reality and motion-capture technologies can help the acquisition of interpersonal coordination. More specifically, we investigated the possibility for participants to (1) learn the skill of interpersonal coordination when training with a virtual teammate, (2) accelerate learning with real-time visual feedback, and (3) transfer this skill to synchronizing situations with a real teammate. Our results show that participants improved their coordination with both virtual and real teammates, and that this improvement was better for participants who received the feedback. Generally, our results demonstrate the interest of virtual reality for learning the coordination with other people; further, our results open promising training perspectives for team rowing but also for several other interpersonal activities.


This research aims to analyse the direct and indirect effects of human capital, social capital and customer capital on the different types of innovations via organisational capital in the service sector. It also examines the interaction among the different types of innovations including product, process and organisational innovations and tests the role of human capital, social capital and customer capital in supporting organisational capital. This research employs the first stage of Actor Network Theory named problematisation to justify the research model. This study adopts a positivism philosophy, a deduction approach and a quantitative method as the research methodology. Hence, a questionnaire was used to gather data from 198 managers in the Egyptian banks (54% response rate). Structural Equation Modelling by Partial Least Square (warp PLS 3.0) was applied to test the research hypotheses. The research findings indicate that product, process and organisational innovation are positively associated with organisational capital. It is found that social capital and human capital have direct and indirect positive effects on both product and organisational innovation via organisational capital. It appears that social capital and human capital do not have a direct influence on process innovation whereas organisational capital fully mediates the relationship between social capital, human capital and process innovation. The study explores the direct and indirect positive effects of customer capital on three types of innovation through iv organisational capital. Additionally, organisational innovation has a positive relation with process and product innovation, which is significantly associated with process innovation. The most significant influence of intellectual capital is on product innovation, followed by organisational innovation, whereas the least significant influence is on process innovation. Moreover, the results also show that there are no significant differences between the public and private banks in terms of the path coefficients. The effect size of organisational capital on product and process innovation in the private banks is substantially larger than it is in the public banks. In the same way, the private banks have relatively larger effect sizes for human capital on product and process innovation via organisational capital than those in the public banks. Unexpectedly, in the public banks, the positive effect size of customer capital on product and process innovation via organisational capital is larger than it is in the private banks. This study has contributed to intellectual capital, innovation and service sector literature. It explores many benefits for the managers of the banks. It suggests that they should view intellectual capital as a catalyst for the different types of innovations. For example, banks should maintain and promote social connections amongst their employees to support innovation and to foster the cohesion of informal organisation.


The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify those factors that contribute to the forward transfer of Latino community college students. This purpose was accomplished by using qualitative methods to better understand what factors students, counselors, and administrators believed contributed favorably to the forward transfer of Latino students from a public community college to a comprehensive, four-year public institution in California. Ten students, six administrators, and two counselors were interviewed for this study. The student stakeholder group varied by academic major, gender, and age, with those interviewed ranging in age from 25 to 57. The results of this study identified several factors that influence the forward transfer of Latino community college students. The factors were organized in three major categories: individual, institutional, and environmental. The individual factors that stakeholders identified as influencing the forward transfer of Latino students from the community college to the university included personal drive, rigorous academic preparation, and educational/career goals. Institutional factors included validation by staff and faculty, the active presence of role models, institutional flexibility, a view of transfer as a shared responsibility, and active minority student support programs. Environmental factors identified included the availability of and assistance with financial aid, the geographic proximity of the transfer university, and the existence of a strong support system. The conclusions that can be drawn from these findings are that students' personal experiences often serve as catalysts in their pursuit of the bachelor's degree; a successful transfer program requires a strong institutional commitment to the transfer mission; transfer is far more successful when administrators, faculty, and counselors view it as a shared responsibility; and the utility of minority support programs and transfer activities is minimal.


Numerical methods in sparse linear algebra typically rely on a fast and efficient matrix vector product, as this usually is the backbone of iterative algorithms for solving eigenvalue problems or linear systems. Against the background of a large diversity in the characteristics of high performance computer architectures, it is a challenge to derive a cross-platform efficient storage format along with fast matrix vector kernels. Recently, attention focused on the SELL-C-σ format, a sliced ELLPACK format enhanced by row-sorting to reduce the fill in when padding rows with zeros. In this paper we propose an additional modification resulting in the padded sliced ELLPACK (SELLP) format, for which we develop a sparse matrix vector CUDA kernel that is able to efficiently exploit the computing power of NVIDIA GPUs. We show that the kernel we developed outperforms straight-forward implementations for the widespread CSR and ELLPACK formats, and is highly competitive to the implementations in the highly optimized CUSPARSE library.


OBJECTIVE
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic, painful musculoskeletal disorder characterized by widespread pain, pressure, hyperalgesia, morning stiffness, and an increased incidence of depressive symptoms. The etiology, however, has remained elusive. The aim of the present study was to examine the inflammatory response system in FM and to investigate the effect of depression level on serum cytokines.

METHODS
Serum interleukin-1 (IL-I), IL-2 receptor (IL-2r), IL-6, and IL-8 and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score were determined in 32 healthy volunteers and in 81 patients with FM, classified according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria.

RESULTS
In our study, serum IL-1 and IL-6 were not statistically significant, but serum IL-8, IL2r, and HDRS score were significantly higher in patients with FM than the control group (p < 0.01). In addition, in patients with FM, IL-8 was found to be related to pain intensity (r = 0.35; p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION
IL-8 may play an important role in the occurrence of pain in FM.


A simple, dynamically consistent model of mixing and transport in Rossby-wave critical layers is obtained from the well-known Stewartson–Warn–Warn (SWW) solution of Rossby-wave critical-layer theory. The SWW solution is thought to be a useful conceptual model of Rossby-wave breaking in the stratosphere. Chaotic advection in the model is a consequence of the interaction between a stationary and a transient Rossby wave. Mixing and transport are characterized separately with a number of quantitative diagnostics (e.g. mean-square dispersion, lobe dynamics, and spectral moments), and with particular emphasis on the dynamics of the tracer field itself. The parameter dependences of the diagnostics are examined: transport tends to increase monotonically with increasing perturbation amplitude whereas mixing does not. The robustness of the results is investigated by stochastically perturbing the transient-wave phase speed. The two-wave chaotic advection model is contrasted with a stochastic single-wave model. It is shown that the effects of chaotic advection cannot be captured by stochasticity alone.


Eve: A BiographyAfter coauthoring an anthology on the history of interpretation of Genesis 1-3 in 1999 (Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings in Genesis and Gender, Indiana University Press), I was eager to examine Pamela Norris's Eve: A Biography. I knew I would enjoy comparing her interpretations to my own, but I did not imagine I would read much that was new to me.I was wrong on that last assumption. Norris's book is not an encyclopedic account of Eve's "career" in Western thought, but it provides the most extensive consideration of specifically literary and artistic renditions of Eve that I have yet seen. Though I will raise some questions about organization and content, let me start by saying that this is a valuable book, essential reading for anyone interested in tracing the ways in which the story of Eve has influenced Western understandings of gender. In general, Norris argues that Eve has served as a paradigm for all women and that Western culture has, through her, accused women of "vanity, moral weakness, and sexual frailty, while Adam/Man's role in the transaction can be summarized by the familiar defense: "'She led him on'" (p. 5).The book has two parts: a section entitled "The Making of a Bad Reputation," followed by "Fantasies of Eve." The seven chapters of the first section consider early Jewish and Christian uses of the story of Eve; in section two, Norris discusses ways in which writers and artists since the Middle Ages have depicted Eve. Included along the way are forty illustrations of influential artistic renditions of Eve, ranging from a fourth-century Christian sarcophagus to twentieth-century secular paintings. The illustrations are a superb addition to the book.Though the above description suggests that the book is arranged chronologically, that is somewhat misleading. The first section comes closest, beginning with an analysis of the sociological conditions of Israelite life that Genesis 1-5 portrayed, followed by discussions tracing the depiction of Eve in rabbinic materials such as The Apocalypse of Moses, various works of the Pseudepigrapha and the Apocrypha, the Midrash Rabba, the Mishnah, and the Talmud. Subsequent chapters compare Eve to Pandora and consider ways in which early Christian writings (the New Testament, the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, and various "church fathers") found in Eve an example of female sensuality unloosed.The second section is more thematic than chronological, tracing literary depictions of Eve as second Mary, helpmeet, monster, mermaid, mother, temptress, etc. Such a thematic arrangement can lead to huge chronological leaps (on p. 359, Norris jumps from a 1611 poem to Sarah Grimke's 1838 Letters on the Equality of the Sexes). At times the themes themselves seem unrelated; I am still unsure how Norris connects mermaids to Eve (pp. 325-330). But if this section lacks the clear development of the history of interpretation that was evident in section one, it contributes a discussion of literary uses of Eve with which scholars of religion are likely to be unfamiliar. …


If you're getting this newsletter by postal mail and would prefer electronic delivery, just send an e-mail to ann Boucher at email@example.com This is the first Newsletter of the ISBA Construction Section. It is titled "Building Knowledge" to reflect the dissemination of information on current developments in Construction Law. This issue features a report by the current chair of the Construction Section, Howard Feldman. It also features two articles. Mark Friedlander analyzes the various construction delivery methods for structuring a construction project. Mark is co-chair of the Construction Law Group of Schiff Hardin LLP and recent President of the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys. Bruce Schoumacher writes about a significant change to the Illinois version of the Uniform Arbitration Act. Bruce is co-chair of the Construction Practice Group at Querrey & Harrow Ltd. Bruce is also the current Secretary of the ISBA Construction Section Council and President of the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys. Christine Fallara of Querrey & Harrow Ltd. assisted in the preparation of the article. This issue also includes the Mission Statement of the ISBA Construction Section. The Construction Section is looking for articles to publish. Please feel free to submit articles to me or contact me about articles. ■


India is an agricultural country; animal husbandry has always been associated with agriculture. People still thrive upon animal products such as milk, meat and manure intensely for their essentialities. India has a huge cattle population and most of them graze in areas close to forests and their fringes competing for their pastoral needs with other wild animals. This then leads to human-wildlife conflicts, which tends to culminate in a number of tragic outcomes, including wild animal poisoning. Poisoning is perceived as an easy way for people to rid themselves of wild animals. Numerous factors, including the type of agriculture practices conducted, public knowledge regarding toxicity of a specific product, cost, availability in the local market place and physical properties such as color, taste and odor determine the extent to which specific pesticides are used to deliberately poison wild animals. This paper deals with a case of phorate poisoning, which is an agrochemical, in a leopard in Sholerock Estate, Coonoor, Nilgiris district. An empty sachet of phorate was found close by. This was confirmed by the result from Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL). Leopard is however more versatile and can adapt to diverse conditions. It is often observed within the core and in the buffer zones surrounding protected areas and managed forests. It can tolerate human presence to a point. There have been several incidences where leopards have preyed on livestock, dogs, children and even adult humans leading to conflict. Therefore, the loss of an apex predator, that holds a significant position in the upper trophic level, will have deleterious effect on the balance, ultimately threatening human survival directly and indirectly.

 Key words: Conflict, phorate, poisoning.


Substance P is a mammalian neurotransmitter that is involved in mediating a variety of conditions such as pain and anxiety. In his Perspective, Wahlestedt describes the history of pharmaceutical efforts directed toward developing substance P receptor antagonists. He goes on to discuss the new findings in this issue by
 Kramer
 et al.
 that suggest one of these antagonists may be useful in the treatment of depression.


Juday Creek is a tributary of the St. Joseph River in St. Joseph County, north-central Indiana. The creek has been identified as one of the few streams in the State that can support a naturally reproducing brown trout population. A recent study of benthic invertebrates shows a decline in the production rate of insect species and suggests that this decline may be caused by increased sedimentation. This report presents the results of a study of the sediment conditions in Juday Creek from April 1993 through June 1994. Measurements of streamflow, suspended sediment, and bedload were made at six sampling sites during three storms and a period of low flow. A total of 11 samples were collected during storms, and 1 sample was collected during low flow at each site. Bedmaterial samples were collected at the six sites. Sediment cores were collected from the delta of an instream pond and at a sediment trap near the mouth of the stream. Scour and fill at the six sites were monitored by means of scour chains and surveyed cross sections. The instream pond was surveyed twice, and the volume weight of the sediment was determined to estimate the yield of sediment for the upper reach of Juday Creek. Particle-size distributions indicate that the bed material is predominantly sand and gravel and that very little of the bed material is silt or finer (less than 0.062 millimeter). Analysis of sediment cores showed that most of the sediment deposited in the sediment trap and instream pond was sand. Sediment sampling during a period of low flow detected only minimal concentrations of suspended sediment; the maximum concentration was 6 milligrams per liter, equivalent to a daily load of 0.32 ton. Bedload ranged from 5.2 to 76.7 grams per cross-channel sampling, equivalent to 0.11 to 1.70 tons per day. Sediment sampling during the storms indicates that bedload discharge is the primary mode of sediment transport. Suspendedsediment concentration ranged from 4 to 67 milligrams per liter; the median was 17 milligrams per liter. Bedload ranged from 3.4 to 862 grams per cross-channel sampling; the median was 109 grams. Only 15 percent of the samples were less than 50 grams. Scour chains and surveyed cross sections documented some scour and fill at most of the sites. Scour and fill tended to balance out; after a 1-year period, the net change in the streambed altitude was minimal. Some infilling was the net result at most of the sites. Surveys of the instream pond determined that the volume of sediment delivered to the pond from April 1993 to April 1994 was approximately 26,500 cubic feet. The average volume weight of the sediment was determined to be 102 pounds per cubic foot. The sediment yield for the upper reach of Juday Creek from April 1993 to April 1994 was estimated to be 48 tons per square mile.


Abstract. This study presents the results from two sets of 18-year air quality simulations over the Northeastern US performed with a regional photochemical modeling system. These two simulations utilize different sets of lateral boundary conditions, one corresponding to a time-invariant climatological vertical profile and the other derived from monthly mean concentrations extracted from archived ECHAM5-MOZART global simulations. The objective is to provide illustrative examples of how model performance in several key aspects – trends, intra- and interannual variability of ground-level ozone, and ozone/precursor relationships – can be evaluated against available observations, and to identify key inputs and processes that need to be considered when performing and improving such long-term simulations. To this end, several methods for comparing observed and simulated trends and variability of ground level ozone concentrations, ozone precursors and ozone/precursor relationships are introduced. The application of these methods to the simulation using time-invariant boundary conditions reveals that the observed downward trend in the upper percentiles of summertime ozone concentrations is captured by the model in both directionality and magnitude. However, for lower percentiles there is a marked disagreement between observed and simulated trends. In terms of variability, the simulations using the time-invariant boundary conditions underestimate observed inter-annual variability by 30%–50% depending on the percentiles of the distribution. The use of boundary conditions from the ECHAM5-MOZART simulations improves the representation of interannual variability but has an adverse impact on the simulated ozone trends. Moreover, biases in the global simulations have the potential to significantly affect ozone simulations throughout the modeling domain, both at the surface and aloft. The comparison of both simulations highlights the significant impact lateral boundary conditions can have on a regional air quality model's ability to simulate long-term ozone variability and trends, especially for the lower percentiles of the ozone distribution.


We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational-wave transients in the data from the Advanced LIGO second observation run; we search for gravitational-wave transients of $2~\text{--}~ 500$~s duration in the $24 - 2048$\,Hz frequency band with minimal assumptions about signal properties such as waveform morphologies, polarization, sky location or time of occurrence. Targeted signal models include fallback accretion onto neutron stars, broadband chirps from innermost stable circular orbit waves around rotating black holes, eccentric inspiral-merger-ringdown compact binary coalescence waveforms, and other models. The second observation run totals about \otwoduration~days of coincident data between November 2016 and August 2017. We find no significant events within the parameter space that we searched, apart from the already-reported binary neutron star merger GW170817. We thus report sensitivity limits on the root-sum-square strain amplitude $h_{\mathrm{rss}}$ at $50\%$ efficiency. These sensitivity estimates are an improvement relative to the first observing run and also done with an enlarged set of gravitational-wave transient waveforms. Overall, the best search sensitivity is $h_{\mathrm{rss}}^{50\%}$=$2.7\times10^{-22}$~$\mathrm{Hz^{-1/2}}$ for a millisecond magnetar model. For eccentric compact binary coalescence signals, the search sensitivity reaches $h_{\mathrm{rss}}^{50\%}$=$9.6\times10^{-22}$~$\mathrm{Hz^{-1/2}}$.


ABSTRACT Strategic management (SM) has become prominent on the agenda in several public organizations due to new public management (NPM) reforms. Nevertheless, there are few studies investigating how public organizations apply SM in practice and what tools are used. As a result, calls have been made for such studies. This article can be seen as an attempt to meet this call by presenting a qualitative case study of how SM has been applied in the Swedish Transport Administration (STA), a central government agency in Sweden, and what tools it used in strategy making. By analyzing the micro processes of strategizing at STA, our results indicate that public organizations need to be aware of at least three specific tensions that can enable or constrain strategy making. These tensions are: short v. long-term, parts v. whole, and reactivity v. proactivity.


A qualitative shift is underway in the nature of labor protest in China. Contrary to prior literature that characterized strikes as being largely defensive in nature, the authors suggest that since 2008, Chinese workers have been striking offensively for more money, better working conditions, and more respect from employers. They explain these developments using a "political process" model that suggests economic and political opportunities are sending "cognitive cues" to workers that they have increased leverage, leading them to be more assertive in their demands. Such cues include a growing labor shortage, new labor laws, and new media openness. Their argument is supported by a unique data set of strikes that the authors collected, two case studies of strikes in aerospace factories, and interviews with a variety of employment relations stakeholders.


Background: Present study was conducted to measure the level of total mercury (tHg) in sediments, benthos and benthivorous fish (i.e., common carp) for determining Biota (Benthos)-Sediment Accumulation Factor (BSAF), as well as Biomagnification Factor (BMF) of tHg between two trophic levels of benthos and benthivorous fish caught from Sanandaj Gheshlagh Reservoir (SGR) in the west of Iran. Methods: Samples of sediments and benthos biomasses were collected from three sampling stations. Common carps were captured around the selected stations during July to December 2010. Results: Means accumulated tHg (±SE) in sediments, benthos masses and muscle tissue of common carp were 117.66±9.72, 94.3±5.02 and 233.21±20.67 ng g-1 dry weight, respectively. Means accumulated tHg in benthos masses and muscle tissue of the common carp during the studying months showed no significant differences (P>0.05), while it was significantly differed in sediment samples (P<0.05). Results showed that there were statistically significant differences between accumulated tHg between sediment and benthos mass samples collected from the study sites (P<0.05). Conclusion: During the study, all calculated BSAF measurements were less than one, indicating transmission of mercury from sediment to benthos was not considerable. However, mercury BMFs was higher than one, denoting mercury biomagnification occurred from the benthos trophic level to the higher trophic level (i.e., common carp) in study site. Hence, the health considerations have to be taken in to the account for consumption of fishery products of SGR.


We study the effect of the cycle on the health of newborn babies using 30 years of birth-certificate data for Spain. We find that babies are born healthier when the local unemployment rate is high. Although fertility is lower during recessions, the effect on health is not the result of selection, since the main result survives the inclusion of parents' fixed-effects. Analysis of National Health Survey data shows that fertility-age women engage in healthier behaviors during recessions (in terms of exercise, sleep, smoking and drinking) and report better overall health. We conclude that maternal health is a plausible mediating channel.


Marketing is currently regarded as an essential set of principles and practices which are necessary in order to attract and retain customers. Colleges and other service providers are faced with competitive situations where it is necessary to meet their customers' needs satisfactorily and to have competitive advantage that will ensure their long-term survival. Unfortunately, there is inadequate knowledge on the application of marketing practices for competitiveness in public further education and training (FET) colleges in South Africa. It was thus necessary to look into the marketing practices that are being used for competitiveness by public FET colleges in Gauteng.
A survey was undertaken to describe the current state of affairs in FET colleges in Gauteng with respect to the marketing practices being used to ensure competitiveness. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire, with a sample size of 250. The relevant findings about the respondents indicate that they were positive about marketing practices used by their colleges for competitiveness, but they need to understand the practices of marketing better for increasing competitiveness in their respective colleges.


Bitcoin was hatched as an act of defiance. Unleashed in the wake of the Great Recession, the cryptocurrency was touted by its early champions as an antidote to the inequities and corruption of the traditional financial system. They cherished the belief that as this parallel currency took off, it would compete with and ultimately dismantle the institutions that had brought about the crisis. Bitcoin's unofficial catchphrase, "In cryptography we trust," left no doubt about who was to blame: It was the middlemen, the bankers, the "trusted" third parties who actually couldn't be trusted. These humans simply got in the way of other humans, skimming profits and complicating transactions.


We present a method to separate the effects of trap gratings and electro-optic gratings in BaTiO(3) crystals, and we determine the true spatial shift between the electro-optic grating and the optical intensity pattern. At small beam-crossing angles this spatial shift is strongly affected by a photogalvanic current in the crystal.


Abstract Background Multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma (MCPM) is a rare neoplasm, generally considered a borderline malignancy, best treated by cytoreductive surgery (CRS) to remove macroscopic disease, combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Owing to its rarity, little has been published on clinical presentation, clinical behaviour over time, or an optimal treatment approach. Methods A prospectively developed peritoneal malignancy database was interrogated for the years 2001–2018. Details on all patients with MCPM as a definitive diagnosis after CRS and HIPEC were analysed, including previous interventions, mode of presentation, surgical treatment, postoperative outcomes, and late follow-up information from abdominal CT and tumour markers. Results Some 40 patients with MCPM underwent CRS and HIPEC between 2001 and 2018. Of these, 32 presented with abdominal pain, distension or bloating, six patients presented with recurrence following previous surgery at the referring hospitals, and two had coincidental diagnoses during a surgical procedure. CRS involved peritonectomy in all 40 patients. Bowel resection was required in 18 patients, and seven had a temporary stoma. Thirty-eight patients were considered to have undergone a complete macroscopic tumour removal (completeness of cytoreduction CC0), and two had residual tumour nodules less than 2.5 mm in size, classified as CC1. Median duration of follow-up was 65 (range 48–79) months. There were no deaths during follow-up. The Kaplan–Meier-predicted recurrence-free interval was 115.4 months. Conclusion MCPM is a rare peritoneal neoplasm with a heterogeneous pattern of presentation. CRS and HIPEC is an effective management option for this group of patients, with favourable long-term survival.


The term "Child Protection" encompasses a complex interplay of factors that must be ecologically considered in managing, assessing and treating children and young people. Research indicates that those children and young people displaying sexually harmful behaviour are more likely to have been subject to adverse childhood experiences. The ecological model emphasises that it must be considered in the context of the individual child and parent factors, the relationship between child and parent factors, and their relationship with outside pressures and influences. Previous assessment has focused on the historical and individual factors related to risk of re-offending. More recently, the focus has shifted to a dynamic, strength-based perspective that allows for the consideration of the transitional processes that distinguish children and young people from adults who sexually offend. The current thesis is divided into six chapters that guide the reader through an ecological perspective of early childhood experiences, environmental and contextual experiences, and dynamic and static concerns and strengths in predicting further sexually harmful behaviour. A critique of psychometric assessment focuses on parenting stress from a child, parent and interactional perspective, whilst an empirical research study explores the array of risk and protective factors relating to risk of reoffending, and the use of an actuarial assessment in guiding management and treatment. Finally an individual case study of an adolescent's assessment and therapy following sexually harmful behaviour is presented. In line with international perspectives of assessment and interventions that work with this population, consistent support is found for the use of an ecological model in the assessment, management and treatment of children and young people, and discussed in the context of limitations of the thesis and clinical implications within the United Kingdom.


This paper describes the global chemistry Transport Model, version 5 (TM5) which allows two-way nested zooming. The model is used for global studies which require high resolution regionally but can work on a coarser resolution globally. The zoom algorithm introduces refinement in both space and time in some predefined regions. Boundary conditions of the zoom region are provided by a coarser parent grid and the results of the zoom area are communicated back to the parent. A case study using 222Rn measurements that were taken during the MINOS campaign reveals the advantages of local zooming. As a next step, it is investigated to what extent simulated concentrations over Europe are influenced by using an additional zoom domain over North America. An artificial ozone-like tracer is introduced with a lifetime of twenty days and simplified non-linear chemistry. The concentration differences at Mace Head (Ireland) are generally smaller than 10%, much smaller than the effects of the resolution enhancement over Europe. Thus, coarsening of resolution at some distance of a sampling station seems allowed. However, it is also noted that the budgets of the tracers change considerably due to resolution dependencies of, for instance, vertical transport. Due to the two-way nested algorithm, TM5 offers a consistent tool to study the effects of grid refinement on global atmospheric chemistry issues like intercontinental transport of air pollution. Correspondence to: M. Krol (firstname.lastname@example.com)


In this article, I put forward the hypothesis of Total Simultaneity ("TS"), a "fifth" dimension behind the Wall of Planck reality at which we pass the limits of causality at the quantum scale and "Now" as we perceive no longer exists. TS can be reached by every point of our 4 dimensional universe and singularities only exist in our consciousness. The other limit of causality is the local speed of light c at which time stands still so there is no more before and after. All information of all parallel universes and multiversity constitution in TS is simultaneously present and available, our consciousness is able to align points out of the TS and so create the observable analogue universe that we are aware of. The totality of information from other universes (also partly observable by other consciousness) is influencing our linear causal deterministic universe, the origin of gravity, dark matter, and the dark energy may emerge from here. The Big Bang is an imaginary non-existing point in the TS area. Inflation is avoided by projecting inflation time into the area after the Wall of Planck, uniformity in the structure of space-time is also guaranteed. Our mind with its 100 billion neurons is able to cope with infinities because it has parallels with the qualities of TS.


There are many theories as to why adolescents engage in substance abuse. These theories have formed the basis of various substance abuse prevention programmes aimed at reducing this problem. Evaluation of these interventions is needed in order to assess their effectiveness and to improve on future prevention strategies. The literature highlights tensions and differences between the primary preventative approaches to substance abuse and the harm reduction model. It also suggests that psychosocial or life skills programmes and interventions employing a harm reduction approach tend to be viewed as more suitable for adolescents than other approaches. This study focuses on a high school intervention programme running since 1996, which has not yet been evaluated. It aimed to identify the programme's strengths and weaknesses, as well as participants' perception of the intervention. A qualitative research method was used, employing focus groups as the tool for data gathering. The sample for the study was made up of 30 volunteers from three grade 10 classes that completed the programme two years prior to this study. Data was transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Links were made to the two approaches referred to above. Analysis of the data indicated that although stories used to warn and frighten people were shown to have a shocking impact on the participants, pupils found it difficult to make the connection between the speakers' horrific stories and their own experimentation with drugs and alcohol. It was found that participants appreciated the fact that they were being informed about the dangers of substance use, and that they were encouraged to take responsibility for their own decisions regarding this behaviour. The informal, non-judgemental stance of the speakers served to reinforce this message. In conclusion, the study indicated that the different methods used in the various prevention programmes are in fact not altogether different. It is suggested that the various models are potentially compatible, and can perhaps work together to establish an effective preventative strategy.


Specific sigma binding sites have been identified in the mammalian brain and lymphoid tissue. In this study, certain gonadal and adrenal steroids, particularly progesterone, were found to inhibit sigma receptor binding in homogenates of brain and spleen. The findings suggest that steroids are naturally occurring ligands for sigma receptors and raise the possibility that these sites mediate some aspects of steroid-induced mental disturbances and alterations in immune functions.


Simulation is a valuable tool for evaluating the effects of various changes in a transportation system. This is especially true in the case of real-time traffic-adaptive control systems, which must undergo extensive testing in a laboratory setting before being implemented in a field environment. Various types of simulation environments are available, from software-only to hardware-in-the-loop simulations, each of which has a role to play in the implementation of a traffic control system. The RHODES (real-time hierarchical optimized distributed effective system) real-time traffic-adaptive control system was followed as it progressed from a laboratory project toward actual field implementation. The traditional software-only simulation environment and extensions to a hardware-in-the-loop simulation are presented in describing the migration of RHODES onto the traffic controller hardware itself. In addition, a new enhancement to the standard software-only simulation that allows remote access is described. The enhancement removes the requirement that both the simulation and the traffic control scheme reside locally. This architecture is capable of supporting any traffic simulation package that satisfies specific input-output data requirements. This remote simulation environment was tested with several different types of networks and was found to perform in the same manner as its local counterpart. Remote simulation has all of the advantages of its local counterpart, such as control and flexibility, with the added benefit of distribution. This remote environment could be used in many different ways and by different groups or individuals, including state or local transportation agencies interested in performing their own evaluations of alternative traffic control systems.


Magic is one of the oldest subjects of discussion and theorizing in anthropology. From time to time, anthropologists, as well as other scholars from other disciplines, have suggested that magic is not specific to "primitive" societies, but is alive and well in contemporary industrialised societies—witness advertising. Such discussions have been more general than specific. This paper applies Mauss' theory of magic more precisely to particular examples of advertising—in particular, his distinction between magicians, magical rites, and magical representations. It also argues that advertising's system of magi—encompassing related concepts of alchemy, animism, and enchantmen—is reflected in other business practices, which have developed their own parallel and interlocking systems of magic. Certain forms of capitalism, the—fashion, for example, or finance—may be analysed as a field of magical systems.


Web-mediated consumer-to-consumer auctions are often regarded as risky due to the opportunistic behaviors in transaction. Online virtual community using feedback-based reputation service is an emerging trust building technology to reduce risk in online auction market. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of feedback profiles on buyer's purchase behavior. Based on previous researches, a trust-based model is developed to study the relationships among online reputation, trust, risk perception and intention. The model considers both similarities and differences between online and traditional market, it is expected to be a more effective basis for investigation of online consumer behavior.


ABSTRACT Some 1,048 names at the rank of subtribe, tribe, subfamily, family and superfamily have been proposed for Recent and fossil bivalves. All names are listed in a nomenclator giving full bibliographical reference, date of publication, type genus, and their nomenclatural availability and validity under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Another 274 names, established for categories above the family-group are listed separately. A working classification attempts to group all bivalve family-group names into a single system based on current hypotheses of relations and synonymies. At several rank levels, the groups are given in alphabetical rather than some assumed phylogenetic arrangement, reflecting current uncertainties and conflicting results from anatomical, molecular, and fossil data. Altogether, the classification recognizes as valid a total of 324 families, of which 214 are known exclusively as fossils and 110 occur in the Recent with or without a fossil record.


Some early blastocysts of Bettongia cuniculus are described, ranging from the young unilaminar stage to that showing the first appearance of the mesoderm. The formation of formative and non-formative areas is described, and the origin of endoderm and mesoderm. Endoderm arises as a number of endoderm mother cells distributed throughout the formative area which move out of their positions in the blastocyst wall on to the inner surface of the formative ectoderm; later they join up to form a continuous layer. The process, therefore, is very similar to that found in Dasyurus viverr i n u s by Hill; the formation of endoderm from large included cells as found by Hartman in Didelphys virginiana does not occur here. Mesoderm arises as an oval area of active proliferation in the formative ectoderm, orientated from near one edge of the still circular formative area towards the centre.


The oral cavity is home to unique resident microbial communities whose interactions with host immunity are less frequently studied than those of the intestinal microbiome. We examined the stimulatory capacity and the interactions of two oral bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), on Dendritic Cell (DC) activation, comparing them to the effects of the well-studied intestinal microbe Escherichia coli (E. coli). Unlike F. nucleatum and E. coli, P. gingivalis failed to activate DCs, and in fact silenced DC responses induced by F. nucleatum or E. coli. We identified a variant strain of P. gingivalis (W50) that lacked this immunomodulatory activity. Using biochemical approaches and whole genome sequencing to compare the two substrains, we found a point mutation in the hagA gene. This protein is though to be involved in the alteration of the PorSS/gingipain pathway, which regulates protein secretion into the extracellular environment. A proteomic comparison of the secreted products of the two substrains revealed enzymatic differences corresponding to this phenotype. We found that P. gingivalis secretes gingipain(s) that inactivate several key proinflammatory mediators made by DCs and/or T cells, but spare Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and GM-CSF, which can cause capillary leaks that serve as a source of the heme that P. gingivalis requires for its survival, and GM-CSF, which can cause epithelial-cell growth. Taken together, our results suggest that P. gingivalis has evolved potent mechanisms to modulate its virulence factors and dampen the innate immune response by selectively inactivating most proinflammatory cytokines.


Past studies find differences in the demand for accounting earnings releases, a timeliness issue, that may be specific to Code-law countries (i.e., Germany, France, Japan, China) versus Common-law countries (i.e., US, UK, Canada). This difference may be attributed to structural information asymmetry in these countries. For example, in Code-law countries, stakeholder governance rests in a few hands (i.e., the government or lending institutions). In Common-law countries the stakeholder governance is more diverse and dispersed. In addition, prior studies also show that accounting earnings disclosures in foreign countries (when grouped in regions) have a different correlation to security returns than domestic earnings disclosures and returns, a value-relevance issue. This study extends extant literature by using a more contemporaneous study period (2001-2012) and focusing on countries that have created the most economic growth during this period, namely; the US, UK (Common-law countries), and Germany, Japan, and China (Code-law countries). In addition, this study also incorporates findings regarding the above issues by eight major industries and across nations, something not attempted heretofore. Study findings suggest that regardless of the country, each nation studied contains a relatively high degree of demand for earnings timeliness. In addition, when assessing the timeliness issue by industry, each industry displays a high degree of earnings timeliness with the Healthcare and Utilities industries at the lower end. With respect to the value of earnings disclosure relative to security returns, findings suggest no significant difference across the nations studied. With respect to industry analysis, each industry values the relevance of earnings disclosures, at differing significance levels.


Accepted: The aim of this study is to investigate the possible problems confronted in implementing Argumentation Based Science Inquiry (ABI) approach. In addition, the ways that teacher used to deal with those problems were further investigated in this study. For this purpose, this study utilized a case study methodology. The participant was a teacher at a primary school located in the eastern part of Turkey. The teacher took part in a project1 related to ABI. Data were collected through classroom videotape recordings and semistructured interviews. The results indicated problems in grasping the ABI by the teacher, questioning (teacher and student questioning), classroom interaction, classroom management, and accessing resources and equipment. 29.12.2012


Education is not currently generating a lot of labor that is ready for the job market needs in an era of globalization. It is a challenge for governments and communities in building a proper education system so that there is no gap between education and the world of work. As one indicator of the necessity of learning curriculum that can meet the challenges of the business world in addition to the development of the technology industryandthe environment. The curriculum is a written document that is used as a reference in the implementation of the process of teaching and learning, therefore, the curriculum should be designed simple, easily understood and systematically. Responding to the challenges that exist, the vocational education is required as an effort that aims to create a society that quality, advanced, independent, and modern. Vocational education is an important part of the overall effort andearnest toenhancethe dignityofthe nation. This study analyzes the alignment of curriculum of vocational education (study cases in Surabaya SMK 10, SMK ADHIKAWACANA Surabaya and Surabaya Polytechnic NSC). Results found vocational curriculum has been aligned and complementary Polytechnic, visible all correspondence and archival course lies nestled in group C (specialization) precisely in C2 is a basic skills program, as well as for archival management courses and correspondence courses in business administration Polytechnic NSC Surabaya group of science subjects and skills (MKK). But the department of business administration curriculum emphasis there are also courses of expertise working groups (MKB)., With core courses are on the program expertise. While the competency of the level of vocational and Polytechnic are in accordance with KKNI.


Threats of natural and social issues and uncertainty are inherent characteristics of the environment in which tourist destinations operate. They are related to specific decisions taken in terms of risk determined for the destination management approaches. Respecting these peculiarities, the study focuses on the problem, which is particularly topical in recent years concerning the events and phenomena threatening the development of tourist destinations. It analyses essential aspects of crisis management, together with the role of the countries and international organizations in this process. The main objective of the study is to explore and analyse the current supranational documents, formulating, controlling, and monitoring the actions against potential and real threats, and it focuses on contemporary theory and practice of regulation and management of threats of natural and social type in Bulgarian tourism. It discusses the tasks which has to be solved and significantly affect the overall process; following this, some promising alternatives to limit the negative effects have been deduced. In the methodological aspect, some theoretical and empirical methods such as analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction, observation, description, and comparison were used.


While using cobalt (Co2+) to block synaptic transmission in an in vitro preparation of chick retina, the authors observed significant changes in the DC electroretinogram (DC ERG). Cobalt (3.0 mM) increased the amplitudes of all three photoreceptor-dependent responses of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE): the c-wave, fast-oscillation trough, and light peak. Intracellular recordings from RPE cells revealed that Co2+ increased those light-evoked changes in RPE membrane potentials that contribute to each of these responses. Monitoring of subretinal [K+]o with K(+)-selective microelectrodes showed that Co2+ increased the amplitude of the light-evoked [K+]o decrease, and this must contribute to the observed increase in c-wave and fast-oscillation trough because both are generated by this [K+]o change. Cobalt also increased the initial rate of [K+]o decrease at light-onset, the rate of subretinal [K+]o reaccumulation during maintained illumination, and the amplitude of the [K+]o overshoot at light-offset. The Co(2+)-induced increases in light-evoked RPE responses and subretinal [K+]o changes may arise from a direct effect on photoreceptors because (1) blockade of postphotoreceptoral activity did not block these effects of Co2+; and (2) Co2+ did not alter significantly the electrical properties of isolated RPE-choroid tissues. The authors conclude that, in the cone-dominated chick retina, Co2+ may act directly on the photoreceptors to increase the light response.


This article reviews and summarizes the research conducted following publication of the 1980s American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' contextual research priorities. Reports of original research conducted on the contextual priority topics between 1981 and 1991 were included. Review articles, doctoral dissertations, theses, and abstracts were excluded unless judged to provide important information on the topic. Following the statement of each priority, progress in the area is summarized. Limitations and measurement issues are discussed as appropriate. Recommendations for future research are provided, and progress in the area is summarized.


D1 and D2 dopamine receptors exert opposing effects on the same signaling pathway mediated by heterotrimeric GTP-binding proteins. D1 receptor activation positively affects adenylyl cyclase, and D2 receptor activation is either uncoupled from adenylyl cyclase or negatively affects it. These data suggest that coactivation of D1 and D2 receptors should produce opposite or competing intracellular signals through activation of separate D1- and D2-mediated signaling pathways. Unexpectedly, recent research suggests that D1 and D2 receptor coactivation in cells that coexpress both receptors leads to the recruitment of a novel signaling pathway, involving phospholipase C (PLC)–mediated calcium mobilization, that is distinct from the intracellular responses observed after stimulation of either dopamine receptor alone. This observation suggests that stimulation of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors has the potential to give rise to different intracellular signals depending on whether D1 or D2 receptors are activated alone or together.


In this paper we use interpolation methods like ENO and WENO techniques, generally used to solve hyperbolic PDEs, for the zooming process of digital images. The key idea lies at the approximation level, where a nonlinear adaptive procedure is used to automatically choose the locally smoothest stencil, hence avoiding crossing discontinuities in the interpolation procedure as much as possible. Our experiments show that the proposed method beats in quality pixel replication, bilinear and bicubic interpolation. Moreover our algorithm is competitive both for quality and efficiency with the other traditional techniques of zooming. [ DOI : 10.1685 / CSC06136] About DOI