The number of international students enrolling at higher learning institutions in Malaysia is increasing each year. However, the quality of learning environment is not always easy to measure, particularly for private universities which are not financially aided by the government, where the learning environment is characterized by their physical construct, quality of staff and academic atmosphere. There have been numerical quantitative researches on the perceptions of university quality learning environment but it is argued that a qualitative approach would add to existing knowledge by providing deeper insights, and from a different perspective. The purpose of the present study was to explore international students' perceptions of a private university through individual in-depth interviews. 15 international students from ten different countries were selected for this study. Various themes emerged from the interviews, some of which have not yet been uncovered in past research investigating learning environment. The findings provide evidence that students expressed their common expectations, concerns, and hopes for a quality university learning environment. This study also provides support for the employment of qualitative approach in the study of perception and quality learning environment.


Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic pathogen causing pre- and post-harvest diseases in at least 235 plant species. It manifests extraordinary genotype and phenotype variation. One of the causes of this variation is transposable elements. Two transposable elements have been discovered in this fungus, the retrotransposon ( Boty ), and the transposon ( Flipper ). In this work, two complete ( Boty-II-76 and Boty-II-103 ) and two partial ( Boty-II-95 and Boty-II-141 ) long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons were identified by an in silico genomic sequence analysis. Boty-II-76 and Boty-II-103 contain 6439 bp nucleotides with a pair of LTRs at both ends, and an internal deduced pol gene encoding a polyprotein with reverse transcriptase and DDE integrase domains. They are flanked by 5 bp direct repeats (ACCAT, CTTTC). In Boty-II-141 , two LTRs at both ends, and a partial internal pol gene encoding a protein with a DDE integrase domain were identified. In Boty-II-95 , a right LTR and a partial internal pol gene encoding a protein with no conserved domains were identified. Boty-II uses a self-priming mechanism to initiate synthesis of reverse transcripts. The sequence of the presumed primer binding site for first-strand reverse transcription is 5'-TTGTACCAT-3'. The polypurine-rich sequence for plus-strand DNA synthesis is 5'-GCCTTGAGCGGGGGGTAC-3'. Fourteen Boty-II LTRs that contain 125-158 bp nucleotides and share 69.1 ~ 100% identities with the short inverted terminal repeats of 5 bp (TGTCA...TGACA) were discovered. Analysis of structural features and phylogeny revealed that Boty-II is a novel LTR retrotransposon. It could potentially be used as a novel molecular marker for the investigation of genetic variation in B. cinerea.


Political participation is an essential part of modern democracies. Where foreign citizens are enfranchised, it is frequently observed that immigrants and individuals of immigrant origin participate less than non-immigrants: a participation gap. This paper uses newly collected individual-level data to examine the correlates of the participation gap in the 2015 municipal elections in the Canton of Geneva. A representative sample of individuals eligible to vote in municipal elections is used, drawing on questions from the Swiss electoral study to examine political participation, enriched with questions relevant to immigrant origin. Four explanations are tested: differences in social origin, understanding of the political space, social integration and networks, as well as socialization. None of these explanations can account for the entirety of the participation gap and differences between (groups of) nationalities remain. Differences in predicted probabilities to vote are smallest in models that account for social origin and socialization respectively.


The current article examines the limitations of perceptual judgment for the transcription of pause occurrence and duration. This investigation extends Kowal and O'Connell's (2000) previous research, which examined pause occurrence and duration notated by perceptual judgment with measurements from acoustic instruments for three corpora. Kowal and O'Connell found that, across corpora, there were a notable number of errors in perceptual detection of pauses, including both failure to notate pauses measurable with instrumentation (misses) and notation of pauses that were not measurable (false positives). In this study we focus on pause transcription in a uniquely English-language database, examining four excerpts from the London-Lund Corpus (LLC ). Pauses which had been notated perceptually in LLC were compared with pause measurements from a Siemens Oscillomink L. As in the previous research, it was found that a notable number of pauses detectable with the acoustic instruments were not notated in LLC , which relied on only perceptual judgment. Errors in pause detection, both false positives and misses, accounted for 86 cases over 257 perceptually notated pauses, an error rate of one in three. We also examined two assumptions of LLC : (1) The assumption that perceptually notated pauses would adhere to interval scaling was not substantiated by instrumental measurement. (2) The assumption (Crystal and Quirk 1964: 49) that "impressionistic relative length varies with the tempo norm of a given speaker" was also not substantiated insofar as all correlations of tempo (operationalized as articulation rate) with ambient pause duration were nonsignificant.


Previous studies have determined that Latino women, especially Mexican women, have the lowest rates of cancer-screening practices of any racial and ethnic group in the United States (L. S. Caplan, B. L. Wells, & S. Haynes, 1992; L. C. Harlan, A. B. Bernstein, & L. G. Kessler, 1991). The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify factors associated with irregular Papanicolaou (Pap) screening among Latino women. The convenience sample consisted of 111 Mexican and Puerto Rican women ages 40 and older, recruited through two inner-city clinics, located in two major Latino communities in Chicago. The women were interviewed face-to-face by trained bilingual interviewers, using a structured questionnaire. Mexican ethnicity and older age were found to be associated with irregular cervical cancer-screening practices. These results suggest that interventions need to be developed for educating Latino women about the purpose and importance of Pap test-screening practices. Further research is needed to examine other barriers that impede these women from using cervical cancer-screening services.


Recent debates over the content and theoretical orientation of urban studies act as a strong reminder that the nature and existence of the city as a form of spatial urban agglomeration is changing. They have acted positively as a heuristic to inspire critical analysis of urbanisation and helped to illuminate the considerable empirical variation over time and space in urban agglomeration forms. However, in shifting the focus onto the planetary reach of urbanisation, such debates risk deflecting attention away from the city core at a time when it too is being subjected to transformation. The city centre has been taken for granted as critical attention has been given to the impact of development and enterprise in extending the city outwards. The recent proliferation of public and policy interest in the future of the city centre as the archetypal expression of urban agglomeration has not been matched by similar growth in academic and theoretical accounts of its transformation. Drawing on the examples of two city centres, and placing them in the context of the recent debates of urban agglomeration theory, this article seeks to initiate deeper analysis and dialogue about the future of the urban core, including how it is being articulated and by whom. It argues for a greater analytic understanding of the ways in which the city centre as a physical and emotional entity has been so resilient, and advocates for stronger engagement with initiatives seeking to reactivate the city centre as a crucial epicentre of urban agglomeration.


Variant 2: Acute onset flank pain in patient with known current stone disease, diagnosed on recent imaging. Recurrent symptoms of stone disease. Follow-up imaging.


The face of the American workforce is changing. As more women and minorities enter the workplace and globalization continues, workers must work with. interact with, and sell to people who are different from themselves. Workers bring their cultures, attitudes, and modes of operation with them. To address the issue of being productive in a diversified environment, corporations have implemented diversity training programs. For the purpose of this study, diversity was defined as gender differences. This research examined the effects of diversity training on increasing the awareness and understanding of gender differences in the workplace. The experimental design of the study was a pretest posttest involving two groups in a large corporation who received different forms of training to address gender differences. One group received its training in the traditional manner currently used in the corporation. The second group participated in enhanced training targeted to include multiple learning styles and focused on why this effort was important to the individuals as well as the corporation. A true-false test based on gender differences was given prior to the training to account for individual differences and to establish the means for the groups. The same test was given following the training to determine the effectiveness of the training. The statistical procedure used in this study was an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in order to determine whether there was a significant difference between the mean scores of the two groups. A level of significance of .05 was specified. Calculations were done using the computer program SPSS version 9.0. The data yielded a statistically significant difference between the employees who received the enhanced training and the employees who received the standard training on knowledge of gender differences in the workplace.


Using spring-seeded smother plants for weed control could reduce the environmental impact of corn (Zea maps L.) production. Research was conducted to determine whether currently available medic (Medicago spp.) cultivars are adapted for use as smother plants in corn. In field experiments in 1992 at Becker and Rosemount, MN, Medicago scutellata (L.) Mill. cv. Sava and Kelson were interseeded with corn at 0, 85, 260, or 775 seeds m -2 . In 1993, Sava and Kelson, along with M. polymorpha L. cv. Santiago and M. lupulina L. cv. George, were interseeded with corn at 260 seeds m -2 and N fertilizer was applied at 0, 84 (56 at Rosemount), or 168 kg ha -1 . Land equivalent ratios for corn and medic intercrops grown in 1992 were not > 1, indicating that corn and medics competed strongly for resources. Medics seeded with corn at a rate high enough to consistently suppress weeds (260 seeds m -2 ) reduced weed dry weight 14 wk after corn emergence by 69% at Becker and by 41% at Rosemount compared with monoculture corn. The same seeding rate reduced corn grain yield in weed-free plots by 21% at Becker and 15% at Rosemount compared with monoculture yields. In 1993, medic smother plants reduced weed dry weight more when grown in the 0 kg ha -1 N plots than in the 168 kg ha -1 N plots. Corn yield losses, however, were less severe in the 168 kg ha -1 N treatments than with 0 N. Annual medics managed as smother plants in corn effectively reduced weed biomass: however, additional research is needed to identify medic genotypes and smother plant management systems that reduce corn yields less than those we evaluated, and that provide more consistent weed suppression across environments..


This paper is focused on the distribution of named entities inside texts for e-learning. An important topic in natural language processing is represented by Named Entities Recognition (NER) inside texts. Named entities are essential in order to be able to automatically understand the text. In this article we will analyze the distribution of named entities in newspaper articles, but the same technique can be applied to texts written by students, documentation or different other sources of knowledge used in e-learning. In order to perform this analysis we considered a number of 19043 Reuters newspaper articles. The following types of named entities were considered: person names, locations and organizations. For the extraction of the named entities we used Stanford NER. Among the statistics that we are computing are the average number of sentences per named entity, which is defined as the number of distinct named entities from an article divided by the number of sentences, the average position in the text and in which quarter of the article the most number of named entities appear. We are also computing for each type of named entity the distribution in the sentence and we are representing graphically the result by using cubic spline interpolation. Using the position of named entities in the text we will infer a function based on Poisson's distribution that models the distribution of named entities. These statistics can be used afterwards in different areas of NLP. For example if we know that usually named entities are found more often in certain areas of the text, a statistical NER can give a higher priority to those. Another example of usage for such a statistic is the case of automatic text summarization. Some summarization approaches consider always the first sentence of the text. Due to the fact that named entities are an essential factor for automatic summarization, if we would know the typical distribution of named entities we could consider in the summary the sentences that are more probably containing these special tokens. This is important for e-learning because it permits us to identify more easily topics or important sentences within learning materials and thus users are able to acquire knowledge more easily or to determine which knowledge source is relevant for them.


A wound is defined as an injury that causes a break in the integrity of the skin. The cause of a wound can vary. For the purpose of this article, a minor wound will be defined as a break in the integrity of the skin, in which the superficial layers of skin are affected.
Examples of minor wounds are abrasions, surgical incisions, lacerations and cuts (including surgical incisions), bites, and minor burns.


The chronoamperometric response of platinum under biologically relevant conditions was investigated to understand how charge transfer across the electrode-tissue interface occurs during potential pulsing. Platinum behaves as a non-ideal electrode, passing capacitance and faradaic charge. The faradaic reactions are associated with oxide formation and removal, hydrogen and anion adsorption. The capacitance charge decayed within μ s while the faradaic charge decay occurred over longer times. The total charge and the ratio of faradaic to capacitance charge was seen to vary with time, potential, electrode size, oxygen concentration, electrolyte and surface cleaning method. The charge transfer mechanisms result in an accumulation of charge during multiple potential pulses, mostly reductive charge under the conditions presented here. This modifies the composition of the electrode/solution interface. An accurate understanding of charge transfer at the electrode/tissue interface must subsequently be obtained under biologically relevant conditions (an artificial perilymph with low oxygen concentration for cochlear implants electrodes and artificial cerebrospinal fluid for neural implants) and with appropriate clinical electrodes.


This study aims to use the concept of institutional distance to investigate the effects of tax burden, public tax incentives, company size and company age on the adoption of open innovation by automotive subsidiaries in Brazil. Building upon previous literature on innovation and institutions, we applied an ordinal logistic model to verify this relationship, which could influence the competitiveness of companies operating in a foreign country. We performed a survey with 130 subsidiaries to evaluate their impressions about the tax burden and the use of open innovation in their business strategies. Our findings suggest that a high distance of taxes increases the likelihood of the adoption of open innovation, and, surprisingly, the presence of tax incentives in Brazil does not increase the likelihood of adoption. Open innovation engagement seems to be related to behavioural factors rather than to structural ones.


Orientation: The development of positive psychology interventions have burgeoned internationally and are relevant to the professional training of psychologists Research purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the personal and professional impact of including positive psychology in the professional training of clinical and counselling psychologists. Motivation for the study: It is not known how students previously educated in a pathogenic paradigm experience the exposure to positive psychology, and resultant paradigm shift, as part of their professional training. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative research design was implemented. Data consisted of written documents submitted by the participants and was analyzed by means of thematic analysis. Main findings: Integrating positive psychology in the professional training curriculum was valuable and enriching on both a professional and personal level. The participants reported an experience of positive emotions and increased sense of self-understanding and psychological well-being. Professionally they experienced a sense of increased self-efficacy. Practical/managerial implications: Positive psychology should be considered as part of the basic training of psychologists since it may enhance the development of trainee psychologists' professional self, enhance aspects of psychological well-being as well as prevent stress and burnout. Contribution/value-add: This is the first South African study to explore the impact of including positive psychology principles and interventions in professional training.


The debate about "tax reform," during the 2012 presidential race and congressional budget battles this year has centered on closing loopholes, creating new incentives for growth, and raising revenue through higher personal taxation of wealthy Americans. But the debate overlooks an important priority for future US economic growth: the urgent need to reform the corporate tax. US-based multinational corporations (MNCs) are hobbled by an outmoded tax structure as they compete in the age of globalization. Reform would make American MNCs stronger competitors in markets abroad and enable them to expand and invest more at home. Tax rates should be lowered, both on profits earned in the United States and profits earned abroad.


On June 25, 2009, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco held a symposium entitled "Asian Banking in Challenging Financial Times." The symposium was part of the Country Analysis Unit's Asia Program, which aims to share information on issues and developments in Asian financial sectors with business and community leaders in the 12th Federal Reserve District and more broadly. This Asia Focus provides a brief summary report on the discussions held at that symposium.


The concept of creativity is synonymous with the formulation of value judgements. Related primarily to the experience of new and unfamiliar ideas, creativity is a subject directly connected to conceptions of adjustment, recalibration, measurement and evaluation. Albeit a subjective term open to considerable flexibility of interpretation, creativity has nevertheless become a capacity and commodity of notionally high social and economic value. Consequently, creativity has never been subject to greater scrutiny and judgement and understanding of creative value subject to greater discussion and evaluation. Exploring aspects of creativity associated with ambiguity and uncertainty through the discourse of authenticity and aesthetics, this chapter positions analysis in the narratives of insight and imagination, the romanticism of discovery and talent, and debates about the increasing virtualisation of creative practice and emerging prospect of artificial creativity. Investigating the potential for what might be described as authentic creativity, notions of forgery and fakery, serendipity, accidental discovery, and the dynamics of positive and negative creative conditions, provide a basis for focused consideration of the 'how' and 'why' of creative activity and the various ways these relate to the determination of value in the 'what' of creative outcomes. Exploring first the nature of creative value and closely related definitions of creativity, consideration is then given to the temporal and cultural dynamics of creative value judgements before focusing more specifically on contexts of creativity and areas of creative ambiguity. Introducing a series of illustrative case studies, discussion focuses on the parameters of creative value judgements to underpin a tentative definition of creative authenticity. Conclusions highlight a range of possible perspectives related to the subjective nature of creativity and definitions of creative value. Creativity and creative value can be determined simply according to the scale of impact on huCHAPTER SEVEN 7 CHRIS WILSON & MICHAEL BROWN 135 man well-being, progress, fulfilment, security, or other suitable value indicator, the quality of lived human experience, the intrinsic qualities of the object, artefact or activity, or combination of all three. Given the inherent diversity and instability of creation and reception contexts, the search for any form objective measure of creative value may be a fruitless one. However, it is in the very subjectivity of creative experience that creative authenticity is most visible.


In the present study, a simple, low-cost and efficient method was developed for the extraction and preconcentration of Cd(II) from cosmetic products by using cloud point extraction (CPE) prior to spectrophotometric detection. The method is based on the ternary complex formation of Cd(II) ions with 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein (DClF) in the presence of 2,2′-bipyridine (Bipyr) and NaCl as chelating and salting-out agents at pH 7.0 respectively, and then their extraction into the micellar phase of polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether (Triton X-114). The effects of various variables affecting complex formation and CPE efficiency were investigated and optimized. The calibration graph was highly linear in the range of 8–120 μg L−1 with a good regression coefficient, in which the absorbance decreased with increase in the concentration of Cd(II) at 502 nm. The limits of detection and quantification were 2.5 and 8.3 μg L−1 with a sensitivity enhancement factor of 31.4, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were in the range of 2.5–5.1% (for 15, 30 and 60 μg L−1, n: 5). The recovery rates of spiked samples were in the range of 97.2–103% (15, 30 and 60 μg L−1, n: 5). The accuracy of the method was determined by the analysis of a certified reference material (CRM 1548a typical diet). It has been observed that the result for Cd(II) is statistically within 95% confidence limit for the certified value. The results show that the proposed method can be applied satisfactorily to determine Cd(II) in cosmetic products.


The aim of this paper is to describe Quillen model category structures on the category CatC of internal categories and functors in a given finitely complete category C. Several non-equivalent notions of internal equivalence exist; to capture these notions, the model structures are defined relative to a given Grothendieck topology on C. Under mild conditions on C, the regular epimorphism topology determines a model structure where we is the class of weak equivalences of internal categories (in the sense of Bunge and Pare). For a Grothendieck topos C we get a structure that, though different from Joyal and Tierney's, has an equivalent homotopy category. In case C is semi-abelian, these weak equivalences turn out to be homology isomorphisms, and the model structure on CatC induces a notion of homotopy of internal crossed modules. In case C is the category Gp of groups and homomorphisms, it reduces to the case of crossed modules of groups. The trivial topology on a category C determines a model structure on CatC where we is the class of strong equivalences (homotopy equivalences), fib the class of internal functors with the homotopy lifting property, and cof the class of functors with the homotopy extension property. As a special case, the ``folk'' Quillen model category structure on the category Cat = CatSet of small categories is recovered.


A decade ago a group of 'Marginalised' Australians were identified; individuals who are characterised by a complex mix of financial, social, and mental health disadvantage. This project has followed up these individuals ten years later, and found that a majority have managed to escape from marginalisation. It is important to tell these people's stories in order to identify the protective factors that predict exit from such a disadvantaged state, and subsequently learn how policy might further support vulnerable Canberrans.


Introduction Platelet clearance in childhood immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is thought to occur through antibodies binding to platelet glycoproteins such as GPIIb/IIIa, Ib/IX and V. Most children recover spontaneously, but ~10% remain thrombocytopenic beyond 12 months (chronic ITP). Anti-platelet antibodies of IgG subclass have been shown in adult ITP patients. In children, limited data is available. Van Leeuwen et al. (Scand J Haematol 1981) suggested that children with chronic ITP might have class-switched platelet IgG antibodies, with superior effector functions, whereas anti-platelet IgM antibodies may be found in spontaneously recovering patients. 30% of children with ITP do not respond to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy, and a lower response rate to IVIG has been described in adult ITP patients with anti-platelet GPIb/IX antibodies. This association is yet unknown in children. In the present work we investigated the prevalence of autoantibodies in childhood ITP and their effect on spontaneous recovery, development of chronic disease, and resistance to IVIG therapy. Methods We evaluated the presence and glycoprotein specificity of platelet autoantibodies in 200 children with newly diagnosed ITP who participated in a multicenter randomized controlled trial. In this study, children aged 3 months to 16 years were allocated in a 1:1 ratio to careful observation or a single dose of IVIG, and followed clinically for 1 year. Blood samples obtained at diagnosis were analyzed by indirect platelet monoclonal antibody-specific immobilization of platelet antigens (MAIPA, for IgG and IgM) at a central reference laboratory. To correlate autoantibody levels with clinical outcomes, we investigated the association between platelet antibody profiles and spontaneous resolution of thrombocytopenia (observation arm) and response to IVIG (treatment arm). Results Platelet antibodies were evaluated by incubation of patient serum with donor platelets, as the low sample volumes of children made it impossible to directly detect immunoglobulin binding to platelets of a thrombocytopenic child. At diagnosis, platelet autoantibodies of IgM subclass were found in 52% (95% confidence interval [CI], 44-60%) of patients. Glycoprotein-specific IgM antibodies to GPIIb/IIIa were most frequent (47%; 95% CI, 40-55%), followed by GPIb/IX (31%; 95% CI, 24-38%) and GPV (29%; 95% CI, 22-36%). In turn, glycoprotein-specific IgG antibodies were present in only 8% (95% CI, 4-12%) of children. Only 3 patients were positive for IgM and IgG autoantibodies at the same time. IgM anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibodies were more prevalent in young children, and correlated with lymphocytosis. There was no association between the presence of platelet autoantibodies and resolution of thrombocytopenia 1 week after diagnosis, both for patients that were allocated to observation only (P=0.45 for IgM; P=1.0 for IgG) or treated with IVIG (P=0.94 for IgM; P=0.46 for IgG). The rate of no, partial and complete response were also similar amongst antibody-positive and -negative individuals. Buchanan bleeding scores were comparable amongst patients with and without antibodies. Finally, we could not detect differences in autoantibody levels or isotype between patients who remained thrombocytopenic beyond 12 months (chronic ITP), and patients who recovered. During the 1-year follow-up period, we found no evidence of class switching from IgM to IgG, also not in children who developed chronic ITP. Conclusions Our data show that in contrast to adult ITP, platelet antibodies in newly diagnosed childhood ITP are predominantly of IgM subclass. The spontaneous recovery and response to IVIG was not different between children with or without antibodies. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


This master thesis discusses selected topics of Functional Data Analysis (FDA). FDA deals with the random variables (and process) with realizations in the (smooth) functional space. The first part of this thesis introduces the basic assumptions, notation and ideas of FDA, here we will mainly focus on the functional basis approach. The second chapter deals with the one of the most popular FDA technique – Functional Principal Components Analysis (FPCA). FPCA is the functional analogue of the well known dimension reduction technique in the multivariate statistical analysis – search for the (pairwise orthogonal) linear transformations of the random vector with the maximal variance. In the second part of this thesis we discuss the k-sample problem in the framework of the FPCA. As the starting point we use the Common Principal Components Modelling in the multivariate statistical analysis. Apart from these theoretical considerations, the second main result of this thesis is the implementation of discussed FDA techniques in the statistical computing environment XploRe. Here we focus on the statistical macros (quantlets), graphical and plotting tools of functional data analysis.


Early alterations in textural characteristics of quantitative ultrasound spectral parametric maps, in conjunction with changes in their mean values, are demonstrated here, for the first time, to be capable of predicting ultimate clinical/pathologic responses of breast cancer patients to chemotherapy. Mechanisms of cell death, induced by chemotherapy within tumor, introduce morphological alterations in cancerous cells, resulting in measurable changes in tissue echogenicity. We have demonstrated that the development of such changes is reflected in early alterations in textural characteristics of quantitative ultrasound spectral parametric maps, followed by consequent changes in their mean values. The spectral/textural biomarkers derived on this basis have been demonstrated as non-invasive surrogates of breast cancer chemotherapy response. Particularly, spectral biomarkers sensitive to the size and concentration of acoustic scatterers could predict treatment response of patients with up to 80% of sensitivity and specificity (p=0.050), after one week within 3-4 months of chemotherapy. However, textural biomarkers characterizing heterogeneities in distribution of acoustic scatterers, could differentiate between treatment responding and non-responding patients with up to 100% sensitivity and 93% specificity (p=0.002). Such early prediction permits offering effective alternatives to standard treatment, or switching to a salvage therapy, for refractory patients.


"Why did you marry your wife?" The man confidently answered the question, "That's easy––because she's a woman." It is hard to dispute the point that this man's reply is correct. At some level, even if only a technicality, his wife's gender is a reason why he married his wife. Though the conversation is fictional, it aptly illustrates two points. First, the question "why" can have multiple answers. Recently, I heard a small group leader ask some other Christians, "Why did you become a Christian?" One woman answered, "Because my grandmother believed in Jesus and shared with me." However, this was not the group leader's meaning. He was not inquiring about the circumstances on their conversion; he was asking about their heart and motives. Second, one sees that an answer may be completely true, yet it may thoroughly miss the point at hand. Among the various true words that could be said, not all are relevant to a given context. Many people have had a similar experience when studying the Bible. Someone asks about the "meaning" of a text, at which time some people immediately talk about the application of a Scripture passage, skipping over the intended message of the author in its original context.


−− The aim of this country specific study is to understand long and short-run linkages between economic growth, energy consumption and CO2 emission using Tunisian data over the period 1971-2004. Statistical findings indicate that economic growth, energy consumption and CO2 emission are related in the long-run and provide some evidence of inefficient use of energy in Tunisia, since environmental pressure tends to rise faster than economic growth. In the short run, results support the argument that economic growth exerts a positive "causal" influence on energy consumption growth. In addition, results from impulse response do not confirm the hypothesis that an increase in pollution level induces economic expansion. Although Tunisia has no commitment to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions, energy efficiency investments and emission reduction policies will not hurt economic activities and can be a feasible policy tool for Tunisia.


A recent study reported that neonatal circumcision is not associated with changes in adult penile sensitivity, leading to viral coverage in both traditional and online media. In this commentary the author questions the conclusions drawn from the study and explores the relationship between objective assessments of penile sensitivity and subjective sexual experience and satisfaction. The author concludes with suggestions for improving future research.


AbstractAn accidental hydrocarbon release into a residential water well provides a case study for an assessment of the transport mechanism of a hydrocarbon in an alluvial depositional geologic setting. Due to the failure of initial results to recover the injected hydrocarbon in nearby wells, we collected ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data, soil samples, and soil conductivity logs throughout the site with the following objectives: (1) to understand the geologic setting, and (2) to identify the migratory path of the contaminant in the subsurface. Integrated interpretation of the GPR data, soil samples, and the soil conductivity logs provided evidence that the spilled hydrocarbon migrated against the direction of the dominant groundwater gradient but instead moved upward along dipping layers characteristic of the meandering river system. These results demonstrated that at a contaminated site having complex stratigraphy, traditional methods of characterization (such as monitoring wells) may fail, and the jud...


Al-JALIL, Hamid, Mohamad Al-WIDYAN and Fatma Al-WIDYAN, 2006. Effect of adhesives on the durability index of compacted olive cake. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 12: 707-712 Generally, briquettes of plain olive cake, OC, lack durability. This work involved mixing OC at 35% moisture with 1 to 4% of wood adhesive or clay loam and compacting the mixture at a stress of 15 to 45 MPa and dwell time of 5 s. An ASAE standard tumbler was used to determine the briquette durability. The results showed that adhesives had substantial effect and increased the durability index by more than 11 times compared to plain OC. Overall, clay loam was the favorable adhesive and when added at 2% and compacted at 35 MPa produced the best desirable outcome.


This paper discusses changes in the field of maintenance brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution Industry 4.0. Main pillars of the Industry 4.0 are as follows: digitization, interconnection, linking and visualization of all corporate parts, starting from production, through maintenance, and ending by logistics. Maintenance is one of the areas affected most by these changes. It is not enough to monitor only certain machine parameters and assess their status –the offline diagnostics. Monitoring of all machines and measurable parameters is requested and, in addition to it, it is advisable to ensure visualizationfor the users –the online diagnostics. Technical diagnostics belongs to important aspects for ensuring maintenance, mainlythe preventive, predictive and proactive maintenance. Vibrodiagnostics is one of the most widespread diagnostics in the field of mechanical engineering, where the signal from the source of vibrations carries the information concerning the cause of vibrations, and its analysis can establish, even well in advance, the emerging or developing defect or damage. This article describes the differences between the online and the offline vibrodiagnostics and analyzes the results of specific measurements. Online diagnostics visualization with the possibility of its use in the maintenance sector is demonstrated here as well. KEYWORDS


Lipoxygenases (LOX) contribute to vascular disease and inflammation through generation of bioactive lipids, including 12-hydro(pero)xyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-H(P)ETE). The physiological mechanisms that acutely control LOX product generation in mammalian cells are uncharacterized. Human platelets that contain a 12-LOX isoform (p12-LOX) were used to define pathways that activate H(P)ETE synthesis in the vasculature. Collagen and collagen-related peptide (CRP) (1 to 10 μg/mL) acutely induced platelet 12-H(P)ETE synthesis. This implicated the collagen receptor glycoprotein VI (GPVI), which signals via the immunoreceptor-based activatory motif (ITAM)-containing FcRμ chain. Conversely, thrombin only activated at high concentrations (> 0.2 U/mL), whereas U46619 and ADP alone were ineffective. Collagen or CRP-stimulated 12-H(P)ETE generation was inhibited by staurosporine, PP2, wortmannin, BAPTA/AM, EGTA, and L-655238, implicating src-tyrosine kinases, PI3-kinase, Ca2+ mobilization, and p12-LOX translocation. In contrast, protein kinase C (PKC) inhibition potentiated 12-H(P)ETE generation. Finally, activation of the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM)–containing platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM-1) inhibited p12-LOX product generation. This study characterizes a receptor-dependent pathway for 12-H(P)ETE synthesis via the collagen receptor GPVI, which is negatively regulated by PECAM-1 and PKC, and demonstrates a novel link between immune receptor signaling and lipid mediator generation in the vasculature.


Migration of an anadromous fish to heterogeneous environment continuously enforces a selective pressure that incorporates a wide range of life-history strategies by which individuals adapt to the prevailing conditions. Therefore, we used the landmark-based morphometric truss network method and nextRAD genotyping-based putatively adaptive SNP loci dataset to know how the anadromous Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) morpho-genetically adapt to the heterogeneous habitats across their migratory routes by investigating 300 individuals, collected from nine strategic sampling sites covering sea, estuary, and upstream freshwater rivers. Different multivariate and clustering analyses revealed that the riverine populations were morphometrically wider (broad type) than the estuarine and marine populations (slender type). In the case of riverine population, the north-western turbid population (the Padma and Jamuna rivers) had wider body depth than the north-eastern clear water population (the Meghna river). The linear model and spatial multivariate analyses further revealed that the outcomes of morphometric dataset were in complete concordance with the results of putatively adaptive SNP loci dataset for different Hilsa shad populations. The gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways enrichment analysis of the 36 genes, which are encoded by the putative adaptive SNP loci, supported the presence of multiple genes involved in the growth, metabolism, homeostasis and osmoregulation related functions. Several non-mutually exclusive hypotheses were attributed to explain the observation of continuum differentiation at both phenotypes and genotypes: (i) the genetic variation largely determines the morphometric discrimination, (ii) the interactive evolutionary processes and salinity predominantly contribute to the morphogenetic difference between the marine-estuarine and the freshwater riverine populations, (iii) environmental heterogeneity largely influences the genotypes leading to the phenotypic plasticity, and (iv) the local environmental heterogeneity may contribute to the morphogenetic divergence between the riverine populations. Finally, we concluded that the genetic adaptation, phenotypic plasticity and interactive ecological and evolutionary consequences jointly determine the morphogenetic divergence of Hilsa shad. The interaction of all of these forces and their relative strength in heterogeneous environments, however, made it rather challenging to determine the most probable selective pressure, which has shaped the Hilsa shad morphogenetic divergence across their diverse migratory habitats.


This article extends critical analysis of Fatima Mernissi's 1995 semiautobiographical Dreams of Trespass to Fatima al-Rawi's 1967 novel, Tomorrow We'll Get Our Land Back (Ghadan tatabadal al-ʾard), which shares with Dreams the trope of Moroccan women imprisoned by patriarchal power and cooperating through storytelling. Both narratives reflect their own forms of "multiple critique." Tomorrow confronts the exploitation of the working class in postcolonial Morocco but does so in a way that disguises a frontal challenge to the masculinist context of the 1960s and the undemocratic postcolonial state. Examining Tomorrow through a gendered lens opens up a new perspective on Dreams. The harem imprisonment of the Mernissi women marks the family's vast wealth and class privilege, which are not meaningfully addressed in Dreams. The liberation of young, privileged women in both works depends on the imprisonment of slaves and servants, whose conditions are only partly considered in Dreams and not at all addressed in Tomorrow.


This paper presents a reappraisal of unemployment movements in the European Union. Our analysis is based on the chain reaction theory of unemployment, which focuses on (a) the interaction among labor market adjustment processes, (b) the interplay between these adjustment processes and the dynamic structure of labor market shocks, and (c) the interaction between the adjustment processes and economic growth. We divide the shocks into institutional variables, price variables, and growth drivers. Estimating a system of labor market equations for a panel of EU countries, we derive the dynamic unemployment responses to each shock. Our analysis permits us to distinguish between the short- and long-run effects of the shocks. Different shocks generate different degrees of "unemployment persistence" (responses to temporary shocks) and "unemployment responsiveness" (responses to permanent shocks). We find that the growth drivers play a dominant role in accounting for the main swings in EU unemployment.


Research on short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) has been based more on air pollution and energy models than how existing policies affect the model's recommended actions. This article analyses how Thailand's policies influenced attempts to control a critical source of SLCPs: open burning. In 2012, Thailand's Pollution Control Department (PCD) led a cross-agency initiative to combat open burning called the Eight-Point Plan. The Eight-Point Plan offered a wider range of compliance incentives than previously adopted control efforts to control open burning. However, the plan's effectiveness rests on improving the quality/coverage of monitoring data; expanding community engagement; and earmarking multi-year funding for sustained implementation. Introducing these enabling reforms will require strengthening environmental governance. Scholars working on co-benefits and SLCPs would also benefit from making governance more central to their research.


Abstract. Based on observations of the chlorofluorocarbons CFC-13 (chlorotrifluoromethane), ΣCFC-114 (combined measurement of both isomers of dichlorotetrafluoroethane), and CFC-115 (chloropentafluoroethane) in atmospheric and firn samples, we reconstruct records of their tropospheric histories spanning nearly 8 decades. These compounds were measured in polar firn air samples, in ambient air archived in canisters, and in situ at the AGAGE (Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment) network and affiliated sites. Global emissions to the atmosphere are derived from these observations using an inversion based on a 12-box atmospheric transport model. For CFC-13, we provide the first comprehensive global analysis. This compound increased monotonically from its first appearance in the atmosphere in the late 1950s to a mean global abundance of 3.18 ppt (dry-air mole fraction in parts per trillion, pmol mol−1) in 2016. Its growth rate has decreased since the mid-1980s but has remained at a surprisingly high mean level of 0.02 ppt yr−1 since 2000, resulting in a continuing growth of CFC-13 in the atmosphere. ΣCFC-114 increased from its appearance in the 1950s to a maximum of 16.6 ppt in the early 2000s and has since slightly declined to 16.3 ppt in 2016. CFC-115 increased monotonically from its first appearance in the 1960s and reached a global mean mole fraction of 8.49 ppt in 2016. Growth rates of all three compounds over the past years are significantly larger than would be expected from zero emissions. Under the assumption of unchanging lifetimes and atmospheric transport patterns, we derive global emissions from our measurements, which have remained unexpectedly high in recent years: mean yearly emissions for the last decade (2007–2016) of CFC-13 are at 0.48 ± 0.15 kt yr−1 (> 15 % of past peak emissions), of ΣCFC-114 at 1.90 ± 0.84 kt yr−1 (∼ 10 % of peak emissions), and of CFC-115 at 0.80 ± 0.50 kt yr−1 (> 5 % of peak emissions). Mean yearly emissions of CFC-115 for 2015–2016 are 1.14 ± 0.50 kt yr−1 and have doubled compared to the 2007–2010 minimum. We find CFC-13 emissions from aluminum smelters but if extrapolated to global emissions, they cannot account for the lingering global emissions determined from the atmospheric observations. We find impurities of CFC-115 in the refrigerant HFC-125 (CHF2CF3) but if extrapolated to global emissions, they can neither account for the lingering global CFC-115 emissions determined from the atmospheric observations nor for their recent increases. We also conduct regional inversions for the years 2012–2016 for the northeastern Asian area using observations from the Korean AGAGE site at Gosan and find significant emissions for ΣCFC-114 and CFC-115, suggesting that a large fraction of their global emissions currently occur in northeastern Asia and more specifically on the Chinese mainland.


The basal ganglia are the key circuitry controlling movement and reward behavior. Both locomotion and reward-related behavior are also modified by dopaminergic input from the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). If the basal ganglia are severed by lesion or in disease, such as in Parkinson's disease, the affected individuals suffer from severe motor impairments and often of affective and reward-related symptoms. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a glutamatergic key area of the basal ganglia and a common target for deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease to alleviate motor symptoms. The STN serves not only motoric, but also limbic and cognitive functions, which is often attributed to a tripartite anatomical subdivision. However, the functional output of both VTA and STN may rely more on intermingled subpopulations than on a strictly anatomical subdivision. In this doctoral thesis, the role of subpopulations within and associated with the basal ganglia is addressed from both a genetic and a behavioral angle. The identification of a genetically defined subpopulation within the STN, co-expressing Paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 (Pitx2) and Vesicular glutamate transport 2 (Vglut2), made it possible to conditionally reduce glutamatergic transmission from this subgroup of neurons and to investigate its influence on locomotion and motivational behavior, giving interesting insights into the mechanisms possibly underlying deep brain stimulation therapy and its side-effects. We address the strong influence of the Pitx2-Vglut2 subpopulation on movement, as well as the more subtle changes in reward-related behavior and the impact of the alterations on the reward-related dopaminergic circuitry. We also further elucidate the genetic composition of the STN by finding new markers for putative STN subpopulations, thereby opening up new possibilities to target those cells genetically and optogenetically. This will help in future to examine both STN development, function in the adult central nervous system and defects caused by specific deletion. Eventually identifying and characterizing subpopulations of the STN can contribute to the optimization of deep brain stimulation and help to reduce its side-effects, or even open up possibilities for genetic or optogenetic therapy approaches.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is caused by the accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid-beta (Aβ)-peptides in the brain. These peptides result from the amyloidogenic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by y-secretase yielding soluble APPbeta (sAPPβ) and a membraneassociated C-terminal fragment, C99. The latter fragment is then cleaved by a-secretase liberating the toxic Aβ-peptides. Alternatively, APP can be cleaved non-amyloidogenically by an α-secretase activity (a member(s) of the a disintegrin and metalloproteinase, ADAM, family of zinc metalloproteinases) which cleaves within the Aβ region of the protein producing soluble APPalpha (sAPPα) and a membrane-associated C-terminal fragment (C83) and precluding the formation of intact Aβ-peptides. In this study we show that, in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, the mitochondrial modulator dichloroacetate (DCA) impairs the β-secretase-mediated processing of APP as determined by impaired sAPPβ production. Conversely, the non-amyloidogenic processing of APP was enhanced resulting in more sAPPα production. Over-expressing the β-secretase (BACE1) in SH-SY5Y cells partly reversed this phenomenon as sAPPα production did not significantly increase and sAPPβ751/770 levels were unaltered. Over-expressing APP695 resulted in unchanged sAPPβ generation following treatment with DCA. The effect of DCA on two further ADAM substrates, E-cadherin and Jagged1 was investigated in different cell lines in order to examine the substrate and cell-type specificity of DCA. Endogenous E-cadherin expression in both SW480 colorectal cancer cells and HEK-Jagged1 (HEK cells stably overexpressing Jagged1) was decreased following DCA treatment as was shedding of the protein. Endogenous APP expression and sAPPα shedding was increased in both cell lines, however it was not possible to detect sAPPβ in the samples. Conversely the expression and shedding of endogenous Jagged1 in SW480 cells was enhanced following DCA treatment whilst, in HEKJagged1 cells, expression of the transfected protein was unaltered but its shedding was enhanced. These data indicate that the effects of DCA on APP are not common to all ADAM substrates. Thus, we postulate that the mode of activity of DCA involves the stimulation of APP release from the cell surface by a-secretase resulting in reduced internalisation and subsequent β-secretase-mediated proteolysis. When APP is over-expressed the α-secretase pathway becomes saturated resulting in more internalisation of intact APP and its availability for β-secretase cleavage Given that DCA is a very small molecule already used in humans for the treatment of specific medical conditions and can safely transit the blood brain barrier, it may be a suitable pharmaceutical candidate to delay or treat the development of AD.


The use of bovine manure and earthworm compost were compared in cabbage production, hybrid Matsukaze, at the Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil, from December 1997 to March, 1998. The treatments consisted of 20; 30; 40; 50 and 60 t/ha of bovine manure and 10; 15; 20; 25 and 30 t/ha of earthworm compost and a treatment without organic matter (control). The experimental design was of randomized blocks, with eleven treatments arranged in a factorial scheme (5 x 2) + 1, with four replications. The longitudinal and transversal diameters, format index and head compactness, average weight and total production of heads were evaluated. The level of 46.0 t/ha of bovine manure and 29.0 t/ha of earthworm compost resulted in larger longitudinal diameters of cabbage heads (13 and 12 cm, respectively). The level of 47.0 t/ha of bovine manure and 20.0 t/ha of earthworm compost provided heads with larger transversal diameters (13 and 11 cm). All bovine manure levels induced the formation of more uniform and compact heads, while the use of 20 t/ha of earthworm compost resulted in not uniform heads with low commercial value. The level of 41.0 t/ha of bovine manure promoted maximum average head weight (900 g) and yield (47.0 t/ha), while the use of 27.0 t/ha of earthworm compost was responsible for the maximum average head weight (700 g) and yield (38.0 t/ha), respectively.


In the Graph Inference problem, one seeks to recover the edges of an unknown graph from the observations of cascades propagating over this graph. We approach this problem from the sparse recovery perspective. We introduce a general model of cascades, including the voter model and the independent cascade model, for which we provide the first algorithm which recovers the graph's edges with high probability and O(s log m) measurements where s is the maximum degree of the graph and $m$ is the number of nodes. Furthermore, we show that our algorithm also recovers the edge weights (the parameters of the diffusion process) and is robust in the context of approximate sparsity. Finally we validate our approach empirically on synthetic graphs.


In this paper we consider the problem of simultaneously localizing all members of a team of robots. Each robot is equipped with proprioceptive sensors and exteroceptive sensors. The latter provide relative observations between the robots. Proprioceptive and exteroceptive data are fused with an Extended Kalman Filter. We derive the equations for this estimator for the most general relative observation between two robots. Then we consider three special cases of relative observations and we present the structure of the filter for each case. Finally, we study the performance of the approach through many accurate simulations.


Chronic psychosocial stress has been proposed as a risk factor for the development of the metabolic syndrome (MES). This review gives a systematic overview of prospective cohort studies investigating chronic psychosocial stress as a risk factor for incident MES and the individual elements of MES. Thirty-nine studies were included. An association between chronic psychosocial stress and the development of MES was generally supported. Regarding the four elements of MES: i) weight gain: the prospective studies supported etiological roles for relationship stress, perceived stress, and distress, while the studies on work-related stress (WS) showed conflicting results; ii) dyslipidemi: too few studies on psychosocial stress as a risk factor for dyslipidemia were available to draw a conclusion; however, a trend toward a positive association was present; iii) type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2): prospective studies supported perceived stress and distress as risk factors for the development of DM2 among men, but not among women, while WS was generally not supported as a risk factor among neither men nor women; iv) hypertension: marital stress and perceived stress might have an influence on blood pressure (BP), while no association was found regarding distress. Evaluating WS the results were equivocal and indicated that different types of WS affected the BP differently between men and women. In conclusion, a longitudinal association between chronic psychosocial stress and the development of MES seems present. However, the number of studies with sufficient quality is limited and the design of the studies is substantially heterogeneous.


Compounds labelled with 11C (β+, t1/2 = 20.4 min) are used in positron emission tomography (PET), which is a quantitative non-invasive molecular imaging technique. It utilizes computerized reconstruction methods to produce time-resolved images of the radioactivity distribution in living subjects.The feasibility of preparing [11C]methyl iodide from [11C]methane and iodine via a single pass through a non-thermal plasma reactor was explored. [11C]Methyl iodide with a specific radioactivity of 412 ± 32 GBq/µmol was obtained in 13 ± 3% decay-corrected radiochemical yield within 6 min via catalytic hydrogenation of [11C]carbon dioxide (24 GBq) and subsequent iodination, induced by electron impact.Labelled ethyl-, propyl- and butyl iodide was synthesized, within 15 min, via palladium-mediated carbonylation using [11C]carbon monoxide. The carbonylation products, labelled carboxylic acids, esters and aldehydes, were reduced to their corresponding alcohols and converted to alkyl iodides. [1-11C]Ethyl iodide was obtained via palladium-mediated carbonylation of methyl iodide with a decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 55 ± 5%. [1-11C]Propyl iodide and [1-11C]butyl iodide were synthesized via the hydroformylation of ethene and propene with decay-corrected radiochemical yields of 58 ± 4% and 34 ± 2%, respectively. [1-11C]Ethyl iodide was obtained with a specific radioactivity of 84 GBq/mmol from 10 GBq of [11C]carbon monoxide. [1-11C]Propyl iodide was synthesized with a specific radioactivity of 270 GBq/mmol from 12 GBq and [1-11C]butyl iodide with 146 GBq/mmol from 8 GBq.Palladium-mediated hydroxycarbonylation of acetylene was used in the synthesis of [1-11C]acrylic acid. The labelled carboxylic acid was converted to its acid chloride and subsequently treated with amine to yield N-[carbonyl-11C]benzylacrylamide. In an alternative method, [carbonyl-11C]acrylamides were synthesized in decay-corrected radiochemical yields up to 81% via palladium-mediated carbonylative cross-coupling of vinyl halides and amines. Starting from 10 ± 0.5 GBq of [11C]carbon monoxide, N-[carbonyl-11C]benzylacrylamide was obtained in 4 min with a specific radioactivity of 330 ± 4 GBq/µmol.


The effectiveness of clove oil and cautery disbudding on horn growth was evaluated in goat kids. The study used 243 Saanen doe kids (4±1.0 days old; mean ± SD) on two commercial dairy goat farms, and were disbudded with either (i) clove oil injection (CLOVE), (ii) a cautery iron and bud removed (BUDOFF), or (iii) a cautery iron with bud left intact (BUDON). Each kid received a different treatment per bud, which were balanced between buds (left and right) and randomly allocated. A trained observer monitored bud growth following treatment for 3 months recording either: N: no growth, H: normal horn, S: abnormal horn (scur), or SC: soft, fibrous lump (scorn). After the final observation, buds were assessed for the probability of detecting (i) success (no growth), (ii) scurs, (iii) horns or (iv) scorns [with 95% CI]. The probability of success for BUDOFF (0.77 [0.63, 0.87]) was higher than for BUDON (0.20 [0.11, 0.34]) and CLOVE (0.09 [0.04, 0.18]; P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the probability of success for BUDON was higher than for CLOVE (P ≤ 0.05). The probability of scurs was higher for CLOVE (0.72 [0.63, 0.80]) than BUDOFF (0.25 [0.17, 0.34]) and BUDON (0.30 [0.21, 0.39]; P ≤ 0.05). There was no difference in the probability of scurs for BUDOFF and BUDON (P > 0.05). The probability of horns was higher for CLOVE (0.21 [0.15, 0.29]) than BUDON (0.02 [0.01, 0.06]; P ≤ 0.05); horns were not observed for BUDOFF. The probability of scorns for BUDON, the only treatment that led to scorns, was 0.41 (0.25, 0.60). These results suggest that BUDOFF was more effective at preventing growth than CLOVE and BUDON and appears the most effective method, of the methods tested, for disbudding kids. Future research should explore different clove oil administration methods or other alternatives to cautery disbudding that may be both efficacious and cause less pain.


Ethnocentrism denotes a positive orientation toward those sharing the same ethnicity and a negative one toward others. Previous models demonstrated how ethnocentrism might evolve intergenerationally (vertically) when ethnicity and behavior are inherited. We model short-term intragenerational (horizontal) cultural adaptation where agents have a fixed ethnicity but have the ability to form and join fluid cultural groups and to change how they define their in-group based on both ethnic and cultural markers. We find that fluid cultural markers become the dominant way that agents identify their in-group supporting positive interaction between ethnicities. However, in some circumstances, discrimination evolves in terms of a combination of cultural and ethnic markers producing bouts of ethnocentrism. This suggests the hypothesis that in human societies, even in the absence of direct selection on ethnic marker–based discrimination, selection on the use of fluid cultural markers can lead to marked changes in ethnocentrism within a generation.


As a wider variety of meaningful assessment strategies come into more prominent classroom use, teachers are called upon to craft scoring rubrics which validly and reliably assess students' knowledge and abilities. The creation of instructionally sound rubrics can be time consuming, and many teachers feeling the pinch of time pressures are turning to rubric resources from the World Wide Web for assistance. The purposes of this paper are to review the issues surrounding the creation of instructionally sound rubrics, to examine how those issues apply to online rubric banks and rubric generators, and to offer guidelines for how educators can use online resources to best support the creation of meaningful and effective rubrics.


Three types of different cross-linked polyurethane were prepared by the reaction of poly[(phenylisocyanate)-co-formaldehyde] with three different hydroxy-functionalized nonlinear optical chromophores. For poled and cured polymers the χ(2) values were between 16.8 and 37.4 pm/V, measured at a wavelength of 1.064 μm. Thermal stability studies performed on a sample having bonding sites of vertical–parallel structure between the chromophore and the liquid polymer matrix indicated, by second-harmonic-generation activity, a minimum decay of the χ(2) value owing to lattice hardening of the polyurethane matrix with three bonding sites. The relaxation times of aligned dipoles in vertical–parallel polyurethane were measured by variation of poling and cross-linking conditions. Three decay modes were found to exist: the mode that corresponds to partially bonded or free unbonded chromophores, the mode of thermal relaxation of bonded chromophores, and the mode that is due to the relaxation of an elastically stressed main chain induced by the poling elastic field.


Since the rise of the Internet, traditional religious communities have either embraced or struggled with new media. At the same time, a significant number of believers turns to new media as a substitute for or supplement to offline communities. Researching these users raises some crucial questions that guide my contribution: Do these users find or build communities online and, if so, how do these communities differ from offline equivalents, and how can they be grasped theoretically? Based on findings from a quantitative survey among Christian Internet users, I will first illustrate the emergence of personal relationships among Internet discussion board users and their perception of an actual online community. Then, based on qualitative research, I will elaborate three types of community existing within the discussion boards. Relating these types to classical (Weber, Tönnies) as well as recent (Anderson, Hitzler, Hepp) theoretical approaches to community, I will argue that the characteristics of social media do not unidirectionally determine any specific kind of community online. Rather, the needs of users as well as their offline religious affiliations are decisive and result in a broad range of online communities that can mirror such traditional forms as the Dorfgemeinschaft, as well as more recent types such as imagined or posttraditional communities.


Crime is a problem that many Americans would undoubtedly want to curtail. Routine activities theory provides a rather straightforward way of conceptualizing and then predicting criminal activity at the macro and micro levels. Cohen and Felson (1979), the original authors of routine activities theory, suggested that crime occurs during the simultaneous convergence of a motivated offender, suitable target, and a lack of capable guardians. Thus, as the authors alluded to, all three of the components are required in order for a criminal act to take place. Therefore, it is easy to see that citizens can take proactive steps to decrease their likelihood for criminal victimization. Several scholars have tested RA theory and have found support in urban and large national samples (e.g., Spano & Freilich, 2009). However, scholars have failed to provide insight into the adult rural population throughout the United States (in relation to RA theory). Therefore, the current study utilized a 2009 telephone survey of rural adults in order to test RA theory's applicability when attempting to explain burglary victimization in a rural environment. It is shown that motivation (percent in poverty) is the only component of the three to yield support for RA theory in the current study. Implications of the findings for theory, research, and policy are discussed.


In the southern Rocky Mountains and Rio Grande rift, rock cooling patterns from apatite fission-track (AFT) data spatially correlate with areas of voluminous middle Tertiary caldera-complex magmatism. We use thermochronology and gravity data to explore lithospheric modification by voluminous middle Tertiary magmatism. These data are not traditionally used to constrain magmatic processes, but in our study area they provide first-order constraints on the degree of mantle dedensification by basalt removal. We show that thermal isostatic responses to middle Tertiary magmatism drove spatially variable rock uplift and thermal perturbations that, coupled with variable exhumation, can explain AFT cooling and rock preservation patterns. We further argue that, if rock uplift exceeded exhumation, then surface uplift combined with magmatic weakening of the lithosphere could have influenced subsequent Neogene extension.


Abstract. We present hourly online observations of molecular compositions (CxHyOzN0−1) and abundances of oxygenated organic species in gas and submicron particle phases from April to June of 2014 as part of the Biogenic Aerosols-Effects on Cloud and Climate (BAECC) campaign. Measurements were made using the Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols coupled to a high-resolution time-of-flight iodide-adduct ionization mass spectrometer (FIGAERO-CIMS) located atop a 35 m tall tower, about 10 m above a boreal forest canopy at the SMEAR II research station in Hyytiälä, Finland. Semi-volatile and highly oxygenated multifunctional (HOM) organic species possessing from 1 up to 20 carbon atoms, and with as few as 2 and as many as 16 oxygen atoms, were routinely observed. Utilizing non-negative matrix factorization, we determined that > 90 and > 99 % of the organic mass in the gas and particle phases, respectively, exhibited one of three distinct diel trends: one in which abundances were enhanced at daytime, another in the early morning hours, and thirdly during nighttime. Particulate organic nitrates contributed  ∼  35 % to the total organic aerosol mass loading at night during BAECC, much higher than observed by the same instrument package at a mixed-deciduous forest site in the southeastern US that experienced higher nighttime concentrations of nitrogen oxides. Unique HOM monomers (defined here as those with 10 carbon and 7 or more oxygen atoms) and dimers (at least 16 carbon atoms), with and without a nitrogen atom, were found in most of the three subgroups of both phases. We show the potential to connect these groupings of compounds based on their distinct behavior in time to the expected chemical conditions (biogenic VOC precursor, oxidant type, etc.) responsible for their production. A suite of nitrated dimer-like compounds was detected in both the gas and particle phases, suggesting a potential role for the formation of low-volatility organics from NO3-radical-driven, as well as daytime NO-influenced, monoterpene chemistry.


Eggshell is frequently encountered within palaeontological and archaeological deposits and due to various chemical and physical properties, it is highly valued as a substrate for geochronology, palaeodietary and palaeoecological applications. Despite the wellrecognised preservation of biomolecules in fossil eggshell, the substrate had never been evaluated for ancient DNA (aDNA) preservation. Herein, this thesis describes the first exploration involving the recovery and characterisation of aDNA from fossil eggshell. The primary aim of this thesis research is to explore eggshell aDNA and how genetic data, when combined with stable isotope profiles, provides new insights into hunting practices, zooarchaeology, palaeodiets, palaeobiology and extinction processes.

The visualisation of fluorescently-stained DNA in fossil eggshell by confocal microscopy revealed that genetic material was present in the eggshell of the extinct New Zealand moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) and Madagascan elephant bird (Aves: Aepyornithiformes). The immediate task was to determine how to go about characterising the aDNA encapsulated in this previously unrecognised substrate. Quantitative PCR assays were employed to thoroughly evaluate different methods to maximise the recovery and amplification of aDNA from powdered eggshell. This study resulted in the successful characterisation of both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA isolated from 19,000 year-old emu eggshell and the first ever DNA sequence from the elephant bird, Aepyornis. All data pointed toward fossil eggshell as a reliable source of relatively pure aDNA. This work culminated in a formal description of the methodology that should be employed to maximise recovery of aDNA from eggshell.

Next, this thesis investigates whether eggshell aDNA could be applied to 'first-contact' archaeological sites in New Zealand, to gain new insights into the Moa-hunter period of prehistory. The abundance of moa eggshell within the 'first-contact' Polynesian archaeological sites is well recognised from previous excavations. With nine species of moa contained within the New Zealand archipelago however, the scientific value of these remains has been limited by the lack of definitive species assignments. Genetic species assignments of moa eggshell combined with morphological identification of bone (literature and museum catalogued specimens) has enabled the most comprehensive audit of zooarchaeology assemblages from several significant 13th-15th century AD deposits. In total, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was amplified from 251 of 323 (78 %) eggshell fragments and 22 of 27 (88 %) bone samples, and the analyses revealed the presence of four moa species: Anomalopteryx didiformis; Dinornis robustus; Emeus crassus; and Euryapteryx curtus. The mtDNA, together with highly polymorphic microsatellite markers, were used in combination to individualise eggshell fragments. These data revealed over 50 individual eggs from Wairau Bar – a number that likely represents a considerable proportion of the total reproductive output of moa in the area. This emphasises that human predation of all life stages of moa was intense. In addition, an excess of male bones at the Wairau Bar site (determined by molecular sexing) suggests that males might have been preferential targets, perhaps while incubating eggs.

Lastly, moa eggshell genetics and stable isotope profiles were combined to examine the palaeodiets, palaeobiology, palaeoecology and the human mediated extinction of the moa. Organic (δ13Corg and δ15N) and carbonate (δ13Ccarb and δ18O) stable isotope profiles were analysed from 247 genetically identified eggshell fragments. The combination of ancient DNA and stable isotope profiles revealed moa consumed a diet consisting exclusively of C3 vegetation and occupied the varied landscape that surrounded the archaeological deposits. Given that moa were foraging in such diverse landscapes suggests that the first colonisers hunted these moa away from the homogenous landscapes immediately surrounding these archaeological sites and thus engaged in 'central point foraging'. Discriminant functional analyses indicate moa eggshells can be assigned with good precision to their parent species based purely on their stable isotope profiles.

In conclusion, this thesis research has revealed a 'new' aDNA substrate that has a number of useful applications in archaeology, palaeogenomics and palaeoecology. The research on New Zealand moa eggshell demonstrated, first-hand, how this substrate can provide valuable insights into the biology, ecology and extinction of a megafaunal species. It is hoped the research will have a lasting influence on eggshell discovered across the globe.


The use of mobile phone is increasing enormously, and hence has become a subject of recent interest and study, due to use of electromagnetic (EM) wave in the microwave range and produces radiation. Various physiological studies have found that the excessive radio frequency (RF) wave exposure affects the biological systems negatively and depends on source's characteristics as modulation (continuous wave or pulsed), electric and magnetic-field strengths, power density, frequency, and duration of exposure in near or far zone. The fact that this radiation is unseeable, nonphysical, and passes through our bodies without our cognition makes it even more restraining. Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) are the two most common cellular communication technologies.


Sensorineural hearing loss is irreversible in all mammals, including humans, since neither hair cells nor neurons are regenerated. In contrast to mammals, non-mammalian vertebrates replace hair cells after damage. In the avian basilar papilla, hair cell injury activates neighboring supporting cells to undergo direct transdifferentiation or mitotic division, both of which contribute to regeneration of hair cells. The molecules that enable hair cell regeneration in birds are not well understood. This dissertation presents a series of experiments to evaluate whether Atoh1, a transcription factor required for hair cell development, is sufficient for hair cell differentiation in avian basilar papilla during regeneration after aminoglycoside damage and to determine if the bone morphogenetic factor BMP4, a protein required for development of auditory epithelia, inhibits Atoh1 mRNA expression and subsequent hair cell differentiation after damage. In the first study, I tracked the activity of the Atoh1 enhancer in cultured basilar papillae to determine if it is an accurate predictor of hair cell fate, and I forced expression of mouse Atoh1 in supporting cells to test the hypothesis that higher levels of Atoh1 push supporting cells to divide or transdifferentiate. This first study determined that about half of supporting cells with Atoh1 enhancer activity do not differentiate into hair cells, but relief from notch-mediated lateral inhibition or forced overexpression of Atoh1 significantly increase the likelihood that a supporting cell will differentiate as a hair cell or proliferate. In the second study, I used in situ hybridization to determine that Bmp4 mRNA is expressed in hair cells in mature chicken basilar papilla. BMP4 receptors are transcribed in supporting cells and hair cells, while inhibitor of DNA binding (Id) mRNA, a downstream effector of BMP4, is enriched in supporting cells in control tissues. Upon hair cell loss, Bmp4 mRNA expression is lost, while Atoh1 mRNA is upregulated in supporting cells. Concurrently, downstream Id effectors and receptors to BMP4 are upregulated in the area of damage. Given the observation that Bmp4 and Atoh1 have opposing expression patterns after hair cell loss, damaged basilar papillae were cultured with BMP4 protein or its inhibitor noggin after hair cell loss to determine if BMP4 antagonizes Atoh1 expression and subsequent hair cell differentiation. BMP4 eliminated Atoh1 transcripts along the length of the basilar papilla, while noggin increased Atoh1 expression. Further, BMP4 application significantly decreased the number of regenerated hair cells, while noggin application significantly increased them. These findings suggest BMP4 antagonizes hair cell regeneration by reducing Atoh1 transcripts in supporting cells, preventing them from dividing or transdifferentiating. My results are consistent with other investigators' observations that Atoh1 is necessary for hair cell differentiation during development but additional factors such as notch ligands and BMP4 limit ATOH1's expression. These are important considerations as investigators examine the potential for ATOH1 to stimulate auditory hair cell regeneration in humans.


In a path-breaking but largely overlooked study, published in a festchrift thirty years ago (1975), Herman Van der Wee provided a comparison of prices and real wages of building craftsmen in the regions of Antwerp and south-eastern England, from 1400 to 1700. To do so, he constructed a composite price index modelled as closely as possibly on the famous 'basket of consumables' price index that Phelps Brown and Hopkins had produced, for south-eastern England, in 1956. His graphs revealed that real wages for these craftsmen in Antwerp did not suffer the same deterioration as did comparable real wages in England, and in many other parts of Europe, during the era of the Price Revolution, ca. 1520 - ca. 1640 -- although the actual levels of the real wages were not shown. Most economic historians have attributed that significant fall in real wages, especially in England, to the consequences of population growth during this era: i.e., to a fall in the marginal productivity of labour, with a dramatic alteration in the land:labour ratio. There is, however, an alternative explanation: the consequences of an inflation, induced primarily by monetary forces, when nominal wages failed to keep pace with the rise in consumer prices (especially those for foodstuffs). This study examines the role of demographic, monetary, and also institutional factors in producing these diverging trends in real-wages. But the major contribution is to expand upon Van der Wee's study -- which used only disembodied index numbers -- by calculating the annual values of the baskets of consumables in both England and the Antwerp region, and thus in presenting the actual levels of real wages, in terms of the number of such baskets that building craftsmen could purchase with their annual money wages (for 210 days of employment), in each region, combining wage rates for summer and winter work (seasonal wages). The results are very striking. As measured in 50-year harmonic means, the level of real wages for master masons in Antwerp was only 83.79% of that for master masons in south-east England, in 1401-50; and worse, only 78.15% of the level for English masons in 1451-1500; but then real wages for Antwerp master masons began to climb above those for their English counterparts: reaching 102.60% in 1501-50, 136.34% in 1551-1600; and, for the peak achievement, 154.49% in 1601-50, before falling back, somewhat, to a level of 125.58% in the final half century studied, in 1651-1700. But part of that gain or achievement for master masons in Antwerp was at the expense of the real incomes for their journeymen-labourers, who did not fare quite as well, in comparison with the English journeymen labourers: earning just 68.94% of their English counterparts in 1401-50; 69.38% in 1451-1500; 91.18% in 1501-50; 107.60% in 1551-1600; 133.46% in 1601-50; and 109.88% in the final period, 1651-1700. Oddly enough, the Antwerp masons (both masters and journeymen) fared the very best after Antwerp had passed its Golden Age. The hypothetical explanations for these divergencies may be even more interesting than the data themselves. The study concludes by examining the statistical and theoretical nature of 'real wages': in terms of the purchasing power of the annual nominal money wage; in terms of the marginal productivity of labour; in terms of the marginal revenue product of labour; and in terms of the Total Factor Productivity of the occupation or economy as a whole. These data, however, do not take account of another factor that may have narrowed the gap between the actual levels of consumption in southern England and the Antwerp region: excise taxes on consumption, which had been a basic feature of urban finances in the southern Low Countries since the thirteenth century, but which were introduced into England only in 1643, shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War between Crown and Parliament.


Ukraine has been viewed by some as having become a training ground, networking opportunity, and general hub for the far-right due to the conflict in the east of the country, which began in 2014. With this type of terrorism on the rise in the West and events like the storming of the US Capitol Building in January 2021 fresh in the memory, it should come as no surprise that any such possibilities will generate concern. To investigate the types and extent of the threats posed by participants in the Ukraine conflict, we scrutinise the activities of a few alumni that we know of to date, as well as highlighting neglected historical episodes of right-wing fighters. We make three arguments here based on occurrences so far. Firstly, we know little about far-right foreign fighters and more attention needs to be paid to historical instances of the phenomenon. Secondly, some limited but diverse threats have already arisen from the Ukraine conflict and others may emerge in the future, but it would be unwise to overplay and homogenise the problem. Finally, it is Ukraine itself that probably faces the greatest challenges from its domestic far-right, although, if left unchecked, it may affect others in providing a space for, and permitting the growth of, connections with like-minded individuals and groups based elsewhere. Despite our warning about exaggerating the problem, Western security services should be taking the far-right very seriously at present, such as in relation to potential infiltration of them by such elements.


HIV-1 is still a prominent global public health issue responsible for the deaths of over 1 million people annually. It is a very complex virus that has been extensively studied over the past decade. The virus has adapted several mechanisms to maintain a compact genome size while also producing required essential gene products in order to successfully replicate itself in an efficient manner. One of the ways it has been able to achieve this goal is to not obey the "rules" of the central dogma of molecular biology. The flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein, and with the outdated idea of one gene producing one protein, is oversimplified with our current knowledge of the virus. One way to maintain its strict, compact genome size requirement is to have inherent multiple reading frames in the same copy of its RNA. By utilizing a ribosomal frameshift, HIV-1 is able to produce multiple proteins without the addition of more genetic material. This has been extensively studied in the past, namely in the Gag-Pol polyprotein, which is only produced as a result of a ribosomal frameshift in the -1 direction. We are presenting a new mechanism by which HIV-1 induces a -1 ribosomal frameshift. Nef is a protein produced by the nef gene of HIV-1 and functions to improve viral replication and pathogenicity. It is known to downregulate CD4 and MHC Class I receptors in order to evade the host's immune cell response. Deletion of the nef gene in the virus has been shown to prevent long-term patients who have been diagnosed with HIV-1 from progressing to AIDS, indicating the importance of the Nef protein and its role of pathogenesis. There are several requirements for a ribosomal frameshift to occur. These requirements, containing a heptameric sequence with the format of 'X XXY YYZ' and a pseudoknot or other RNA secondary structure separated by a length of 6-12 oligonucleotides, are all found in the nef gene. We hypothesize a -1 ribosomal frameshift is induced by the formation of a quadruplex (QPX). By utilizing an in vitro frameshift assay with a dual reporter fluorescence protein vector, where we have cloned two copies of nef gene fragments (one wild type and another with 3 specific bases modified to remove potential G QPX formation) in between a cerulean fluorescent protein and an orange fluorescent protein, we have found that the QPX in this region of nef is essential for inducing a -1 ribosomal frameshift. When three specific guanines in the nef region are modified into adenine bases, the ribosomal frameshifting event that occurs in the wild type is significantly reduced (p<0.0001), highlighting the importance between the formation of a QPX in the nef gene of HIV-1 and its role in inducing a frameshift in the -1 direction during protein synthesis.


As the title suggests, this article analyses Part VA of the Trade Practices Act from the perspective of its failure to provide substantial and effective reforms of the product liability laws in Australia. It is stated at the outset that this author has strong pro-consumer views. I believe Part VA reflects a failure to provide Australian consumers with a comprehensive and effective alternative to pre-existing common law and statutory causes of action in the area of loss arising as a result of defective products. I furthermore believe that Part VA betrays the original intention of the Government as indicated by the Explanatory Memoranda to the amending Bills presented to the Federal Senate.


Product development organizations often distribute the responsibilities for requirements engineering over several roles. The collaboration of product management, concerned with market needs, and product development, concerned with the technological aspects of a product, is well established. Such shared responsibility provides advantages in the utilization of specific knowledge, skills, and resources. However, the collaboration leads to increased demands on coordination. Novel concepts and models need to be investigated to support such collaborative requirements engineering. In this paper we focus on requirements communication from product management to a development team by proposing and evaluating the model of goal-oriented requirements communication. The model explains how efficiency and effectiveness of requirements communication can be increased and allows the utilization of established requirements engineering knowledge in a new way to address the task of requirements communication.


The emphasis of this special issue is on the history of physical therapist education; one manuscript, however, specifically illustrates the history of physical therapist assistant education. All of the authors describe the early days of physical therapy in the United States and the external and internal influences that make physical therapist practice and education what it is today. As you read this issue, you will be impressed by the way societal and political factors, along with the continual evolution of disease, have affected physical therapist practice. Over the years, the manner in which physical therapy professionals dress, talk, and relate to patients has changed markedly. Surges or resurgences of certain diseases have impacted the profession, as has the political arena, from payment structures to the domination by physicians of our profession in the early days. The key elements of our profession include practice, teaching, and research. The transformations in physical therapy education and practice were very difficult to capture in short manuscripts. The authors have provided you with a tour of critical past events. Physical therapy practice has evolved from being prescriptive, with physicians telling physical therapists exactly what to do, to physical therapists practicing independently. The proposed national Medicare regulations for payment for direct-access services substantiates how far this profession has come; this issue is discussed by Marilyn Moffat, PT, PhD, CSCS, FAPTA, in "The History of Physical Therapy Practice in the United States" and by John L Echternach, PT, RdD, HCS, FAITA, in his article "The Political and Social Issues That Have Shaped Physical Therapy Education over the Decades." Education has also changed from being prescriptive to evidence-based over the last 80 years, as illustrated by Elizabeth H Littell, PT, PhD, and Geneva Richard Johnson, PT, PhD, FAPTA, in their article "Professional Entry Education in Physical Therapy during the 20th Century." At one time, when a teacher entered the room all of the students had to stand up in deference to the instructor. Those days are long gone! Students now expect excellence and challenge their instructors, which would not have been accepted in the early days of physical therapy education. Clinical instruction has also changed with the evolution of the profession. With entry-level doctoral education, identifying and developing superb clinical instructors (CIs) is a challenge. Issues such as finding talented CIs to mentor students continue to be a concern, as does the number of clinical placement sites. Jan Gwyer, PT, PhD, and colleagues, in "The History of Clinical Education in Physical Therapy in the United States," describe critical issues that have shaped clinical education. The evolution of the Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) has recently been a catalyst for change in the profession. Schools across the county have followed the Creighton University faculty in offering a DPT degree. The Creighton University faculty's decision to train doctorally prepared clinicians was controversial, widely discussed, and criticized. They believed in their goal and persevered. Sidney J Stohs, PhD, FASAHP, FACN, CNS, FATS, and colleagues explain the steps in the evolution of the first physical therapist doctoral program in their paper, "Initiating Clinical Doctoral Education in Physical Therapy: The case of Creighton University. …


Blekinge Institute of Technology library has offered education in information seeking on campus and online and has developed web based tools for this which have received much attention1. The Quick Search Guide and The Search Guide are now used in all courses we offer at Blekinge Institute of Technology. The Quick Search Guide contains very basic information about searching and evaluation of sources. The Search Guide is both more extensive and deeper than The Quick Search Guide. But in the light of Web 2.0, The Search Guide's lack of participation seemed outdated, in some respects, so we decided to rework it, and this time we were going to do it based on open source systems. From Consultants to Open Source When we decided to switch from a system tailored by a consulting firm to an open source system, we were confronted by a fairly large set of choices. One important decision was the question of which open source system was to be the base to work on. Another important question was about the community the system was supposed to serve. In our view the community was in focus, but the choice of system was also crucial since its job is to underpin the community. Our main directives when we looked for a system were that it had to be fairly light weight and based on standards. It was also important that it was based on the most common programming languages and software structures. But the most important aspect was interactivity and communication. One of the main points for switching software was the move from information publishing to communication, and that aspect had to set the stage for what kind of system we choose. Our choice was Wordpress, the largest weblog software in the world. It is a native communication system, and it meets all requirements we had. The Searchguide 2.0 community system comprises two Wordpress installations, a shared library/community of texts and learning objects, and a local customizable end user search guide. Agendas And finally, we want to point to the theoretical/philosophical agendas of the project. * we want to participate in the open source, open access movements. We think this is an important step for the whole community of learning professionals. * we want to collaborate around learning objects. * we also want to raise awareness and knowledge about lightweight, open source, web 2.0 systems. * in the process we hope to be able to communicate participation strategies which makes us wiser and better equipped for the future. * let users participate in the creation of content – in the local search guide. * Communicate library interaction strategies. A large part of the participating organizations will probably be libraries.


Objective. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disease of considerable morbidity, and this may place patients at greater risk for poor in-hospital postoperative outcomes for procedures such as arthroplasty. Our aim was to test this hypothesis. Methods. We compared the in-hospital postoperative mortality risk for patients with SLE undergoing hip and knee arthroplasty to those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the general population without either condition, using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (1993–2006). We performed parallel, weighted, multivariable logistic regressions to calculate mortality risk stratified by joint site, type of admission, hospital type, income category, race, length of stay, surgical indication, and medical comorbidities. Results. The unadjusted mortality rates (per 1000 procedures) for patients with SLE, patients with RA, and controls were 7.4, 3.0, and 6.5, respectively, for nonelective procedures and 2.4, 1.3, and 1.8 for elective procedures. After adjustment for potential confounders, patients with SLE had an OR of 4.0 (95% CI 1.9–8.0) for postoperative mortality with hip replacements and an OR of 1.2 (95% CI 0.2–7.5) for mortality with knee replacements. Mortality risk of patients with RA was not different from that of controls. The adjusted risk estimates for those who underwent arthroplasty before and after 2002 and those who underwent surgery for nonfracture indications were similar. Conclusion. Arthroplasty, especially of hips, in patients with SLE is associated with relatively higher postoperative mortality risk.