This article, based on a speech given at Brooklyn Law School, examines the impact that the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) will have in the international arena. After reviewing the advantages of facilitating information exchange with uniform licensing law, the article looks at the cost to public access interests and to the goal of promoting innovation. In contrast to protection based on copyright, patent, and trade secrecy laws, contractually-imposed obligations are less likely to release information into the public domain and are more likely to bind remote users and to require licensees to forgo particular usages. These obligations can also be made to endure forever, which is not possible in regimes constrained by the "limited times" provision of the Constitution. Although UCITA is made subject to constitutional preemption analysis and obligations can also be suspended if clearly contrary to public policy, it lacks any guidance to help courts?or contracting parties?to understand the scope of these limitations. The article goes on to argue that in the international context, these problems are exacerbated. Because UCITA envisions a variety of extraterritorial applications, it may be enforced in the courts of nations that lack firm public policies favoring public access to information, and in courts that do not understand that constitutional preemption analysis as UCITA's primary safeguard for the public domain. The article concludes that UCITA could be substantially improved by adopting its own information policy as an organic part of the document, embedded systematically into its provisions.


Arthrogryposis, a congenital disorder characterized by multiple joint contractures, can limit one's ability to perform even the simplest of tasks. The purpose of this paper is to outline the general limitations associated with arthrogryposis and examine the most common corrective procedures used to treat and manage deformities of the lower extremities. While the ultimate goal may be complete correction of the associated deformities, this may not be practical, as recurrence of contractures is common. Surgical and non-surgical methods discussed in this paper include casting with the Ponseti Method, use of bracing and night splinting, soft tissue release for the ankle and knee, talectomy and osteotomy procedures for the knee. The conclusions discussed in this paper determine that complete correction is not typically obtained, but quality of life can be improved through functional independence and ambulation when utilized in conjunction with thorough physical therapy rehabilitation.


In this paper, we propose a technique for video object segmentation using patch seams across frames. Typically, seams, which are connected paths of low energy, are utilised for retargeting, where the primary aim is to reduce the image size while preserving the salient image contents. Here, we adapt the formulation of seams for temporal label propagation. The energy function associated with the proposed video seams provides temporal linking of patches across frames, to accurately segment the object. The proposed energy function takes into account the similarity of patches along the seam, temporal consistency of motion and spatial coherency of seams. Label propagation is achieved with high fidelity in the critical boundary regions, utilising the proposed patch seams. To achieve this without additional overheads, we curtail the error propagation by formulating boundary regions as rough-sets. The proposed approach out-perform state-of-the-art supervised and unsupervised algorithms, on benchmark datasets.


This presentation is based on our research program over the last seven years in which our objective has been to rigorously distinguish leader and leadership and to create a technology for providing access to being a leader and exercising leadership effectively (in short, a technology for reliably creating leaders). Our research program involves not only discovering the technology, but also to create a course that would be available to faculty in higher education to use, experiment with, research, improve on and innovate from. Our efforts thus required an experimental laboratory to discover what will enable us as educators to efficiently and effectively create leaders. Dean Mark Zupan of the U. of Rochester Simon School of Business provided us with a research/teaching laboratory during the five years (2004-2008) we worked there with students, alumni, executives, and faculty from various academic institutions. This laboratory allowed us to investigate leader and leadership as phenomena, and to create technologies for providing actionable access to leader and leadership. The course is now also taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy, was delivered in 2009 at the Erasmus Academie (Rotterdam), and a version of which is taught at the Erasmus University Law School. In June 2010 the course was taught at the Mays School of Business, Texas A&M University and in November 2010 in India under the auspices of the IC Centre for Governance and MW Corp. The course was taught at the Dartmouth Medical School in June 2012, in Whistler B.C. Canada for the benefit of the Erhard-Jensen Ontological / Phenomenological Initiative in October 2012, at entrepreneurship@UBC, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada in June 2013, in Cancun, Mexico for the benefit of the Erhard-Jensen Ontological / Phenomenological Initiative in October 2013, in Singapore, hosted by Nanyang Technological University in July 2014, in Bermuda for the benefit of the Erhard-Jensen Ontological / Phenomenological Initiative in October 2014 and in Dubai, UAE held at the Zayed University Convention Center in January 2015. The course is still under development and will be for several more years. The course is designed to leave participants being leaders and exercising leadership effectively as their natural self expression, and to contribute to creating a new science of leadership. The technology and the course is founded on what we term an ontological/phenomenological model of human nature. The ontological approach is uniquely effective in providing actionable access to being a leader and exercising leadership effectively. While ontology as a general subject is concerned with the being of anything, here we are concerned with the ontology of human beings (the nature and function of being for human beings). Specifically we are concerned with the ontology of leader and leadership (the nature and function of being for a leader and the actions of effective leadership). Who one is being when being a leader shapes one's perceptions, emotions, creative imagination, thinking, planning, and consequently one's actions in the exercise of leadership. Being a leader and the effective exercise of leadership as one's natural self-expression does not come from learning and trying to emulate the characteristics or styles of noteworthy leaders, or learning what effective leaders do and trying to emulate them (and most certainly not from merely being in a leadership position, or position of authority). If you are not being a leader, and you try to act like a leader, you are likely to fail. That's called being inauthentic (playing a role or pretending to be a leader), deadly in any attempt to exercise leadership. An epistemological mastery of a subject leaves you knowing. An ontological mastery of a subject leaves you being. Gaining access to being a leader and the effective exercise of leadership as one's natural self-expression also requires dealing with those factors present in all human beings that constrain each person's freedom to be – and constrain and shape one's perceptions, emotions, creative imagination, thinking, planning, and actions. When one is not constrained or shaped by these factors – what we term "ontological constraints�? – one's way of being and acting results naturally in one's personal best. We work with the students so that they accomplish this for themselves. The Underlying Theory of the Course: Part I -- The Three Foundational Elements of Leadership Integrity (in our model a positive phenomenon): • Being whole and complete – achieved by "honoring one's word�? (creates workability, develops trust). Authenticity: • Being and acting consistent with who you hold yourself out to be for others, and who you hold yourself to be for yourself. When leading, being authentic leaves you grounded, and able to be straight without using force. Being Committed to Something Bigger than Oneself: • Source of the serene passion (charisma) required to lead and to develop others as leaders, and the source of persistence (joy in the labor of) when the path gets tough. The Underlying Theory of the Course: Part II -- A Context That Uses You • Our research has led us to distinguish leader and leadership through four different lenses or levels of analysis: 1) as linguistic abstractions, 2) as phenomena, 3) as concepts, and 4) as defined terms. Viewing leader and leadership in these four dimensions creates leader and leadership as a powerful context. • We work with the students to create for themselves what it is to be a leader, and what it is to exercise leadership effectively, as a context that uses them. By "a context that uses them�?, we mean a context that has the power to leave students in any leadership situation being a leader and exercising leadership effectively as their natural self-expression. (As it has been said: "the context is decisive�?.) • By "a context that has the power to leave students being a leader and exercising leadership effectively as their natural self-expression�?, we mean the following: • A context that has the power in any leadership situation to shape the way in which the circumstances the students are dealing with occur for them such that their naturally correlated way of being and acting is one of being a leader and exercising leadership effectively. • Note: being and action are a natural correlate of the way in which the circumstances that a person is dealing with occur (show up) for that person. • Students begin to create this context for leader and leadership for themselves by first freeing themselves from the constraints and shaping imposed by their network of unexamined ideas, beliefs, biases, social and cultural embeddedness, and taken-for-granted assumptions relative to what it is to be a leader and what it is to exercise leadership effectively. This then allows students the freedom to create for themselves this new context for Leader and Leadership that has the power to become their natural self-expression. • We give students access to creating this new context for leader and leadership by distinguishing Leader and Leadership from the perspective of four distinct aspects, which when taken together as a whole create this new context: the context that in any leadership situation shapes the way in which what is being dealt with occurs for the student such that their naturally correlated way of being and acting is one of being a leader and exercising leadership effectively. We distinguish Leader and Leadership, each as: ▪ Linguistic Abstractions (leader and leadership as "realms of possibility�?) ▪ Phenomena (leader and leadership as experienced; that is, as what one observes or is impacted by, or as exercised) ▪ Concepts (the temporal domain in which leader and leadership function) ▪ Terms (leader and leadership as definitions) • All founded on Integrity*, Authenticity, and Being Committed To Something Bigger Than Oneself. *See: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1511274 http://ssrn.com/abstract=1542759 http://ssrn.com/abstract=920625 http://ssrn.com/abstract=932255 The Underlying Theory of the Course: Part III -- Ontological Constraints • Ontological Constraints: Having distinguished what it is to be a leader, and what it is to exercise leadership effectively, as a context that has the power to give students the being of a leader and the actions of effective leadership as their natural self-expression, we provide students with exercises that allow them to become aware of and remove the ontological perceptual and functional constraints imposed on their natural self-expression. • Ontological Perceptual Constraints: The source of our ontological perceptual constraints is our network of unexamined ideas, beliefs, biases, social and cultural embeddedness, and taken-for-granted assumptions about the world, others, and ourselves. These ontological perceptual constraints limit and shape what we perceive of what is actually there in the situations with which we are dealing. As a consequence, if we do not remove these perceptual constraints, then in any leadership situation we are left dealing with some distortion of the situation we are actually dealing with. • Ontological Functional Constraints: In everyday language the behavior generated by an ontological functional constraint is sometimes referred to as a "knee-jerk reaction�?. Psychologists sometimes refer to this behavior as "automatic stimulus/response behavior�? – where, in the presence of a particular stimulus (trigger), the inevitable response is an automatic set way of being and acting. From a neuroscience perspective, many ontological functional constraints could be termed amygdala hijacks. When triggered in a leadership situation, one's ontological functional constraints fixate one's way of being and acting. Saying the same thing in another way, these ontological functional constraints limit and shape our opportunity set for being and action. As a consequence, the appropriate way of being and


Context. Dynamos in the Sun and other bodies tend to produce magnetic fields that possess magnetic helicity of opposite sign at large and small scales, respectively. The build-up of magnetic helicity at small scales provides an important saturation mechanism. Aims. In order to understand the nature of the solar dynamo we need to understand the details of the saturation mechanism in spherical geometry. In particular, we aim to understand the effects of magnetic helicity fluxes from turbulence and meridional circulation. Methods. We consider a model with only radial shear confined to a thin layer (tachocline) at the bottom of the convection zone. The kinetic α owing to helical turbulence is assumed to be localized in a region above the convection zone. The dynamical quenching formalism is used to describe the build-up of mean magnetic helicity in the model, which results in a magnetic α effect that feeds back on the kinetic α effect. In some cases we compare these results with those obtained from a model with a simple algebraic α quenching formula. Results. In agreement with earlier findings, the magnetic α effect has the opposite sign compared with the kinetic α effect and leads to a catastrophic decrease of the saturation field strength proportional to the inverse magnetic Reynolds number. At high latitudes this quenching effect can lead to secondary dynamo waves that propagate poleward because of the opposite sign of α. These secondary dynamo waves are driven by small-scale magnetic helicity instead of the small-scale kinetic helicity. Magnetic helicity fluxes both from turbulent mixing and from meridional circulation alleviate catastrophic quenching. Interestingly, supercritical diffusive helicity fluxes also give rise to secondary dynamo waves and grand minima-like episodes.


PURPOSE
Polyomavirus hominis 1, better known as BK virus (BKV) infection might be a predisposing factor for prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of BK virus infection in pathological specimens of patients with PCa compared to patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
From July 2011 to June 2012, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of patients with PCa (60 specimens) and also with benign prostatic hyperplasia (60 specimens) were investigated. After DNA purification, existence of virus nucleic acid was assessed by polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS
Viral DNA was identified in 9 patients (15%) with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 17 patients (28%) with PCa (P = .076). In patients with PCa, viral DNA was observed more often in those with lower total Gleason scores (P = .045).

CONCLUSION
The frequency of BK virus infection in PCa patients was higher than BPH patients. BK virus was more often observed in patients with lower Gleason scores. Less detection of BK virus DNA in overt cancer may prove the activity of the virus which paves the way for tumorigenic transformation at early stages of PCa.


Abstract A cryogenic, β-layered NIF ignition capsule with a beryllium ablator that employs a BeO dopant (2% O) for opacity control is described. The design has an optimized yield of 12 MJ and uses a "reduced drive" hohlraum temperature pulse shape that peaks at ∼250 eV. Shock timing sensitivity calculations have been performed for this capsule design. Individual uncertainties of: 1) ∼200 ps in the timing of the foot pulse; 2) ∼5% in the x-ray flux of the foot pulse and first step; 3) ∼10% in the ablator EOS; or 4) ∼ 5 μm in the DT ice layer thickness each have a significant impact on thermonuclear yield. Combined uncertainties have greater impact than isolated, individual issues. For example, a combination of uncertainties of: 200 ps in the foot, 2 eV in the foot, and 5 μm in the DT thickness results in a calculation that produces only ∼1% of the original design yield. A second, more speculative, capsule concept utilizing a liquid DT ablator is also discussed. This design produces a 2 MJ yield in a 250 eV peak drive calculation.


Session Description In 2017/18 the status of 'technology-enhanced learning?'(TEL) at Birkbeck, University of London moved up the organisational agenda from its usual position under the radar to a new level of 'under review'. Like the Open University, Birkbeck's mission has been to create opportunities to study for groups who are usually excluded by conventional modes of provision. However, where online ('distance') mode teaching acts to take location out of the equation, Birkbeck opens access primarily through its timetable. The fact that our students give up the semblance of a normal life, dedicating many of their evenings to the classroom, has perhaps obscured the extent to which student life is increasingly the life of the computer, as well as of the mind. While the option of studying an entire degree via evening classes has proven a robust and popular model, the appetite to integrate the use of digital technologies into learning and teaching at Birkbeck has steadily grown since the introduction of its first virtual learning environment or VLE, WebCT, in 2003. Subsequent VLE migrations, first to Blackboard in 2008/09, and later to Moodle in 2011/12, appear to have both accelerated and slowed the pace of adoption; but in any case, some degree of modular presence on the VLE is now far more normal than exceptional. Evening, face-to-face mode teaching, while seen to a great extent as our 'USP', is only one element of our 'student experience' and digital practices have quietly gone mainstream. Although the question of whether blended learning is well-understood or well-defined remains unanswered (Oliver and Trigwell, 2005; Dziuban et al., 2018), it can nonetheless be described as the new normal. The typical blend at Birkbeck makes use of learning technologies to deliver learning materials and also usually to manage assessment and feedback processes including online marking, and increasingly to record lectures or create other audiovisual content. In spite of this, a narrative of the primacy of face-to-face (as well as budgetary concerns) has tended to overwrite past calls for more resource and development in the digital space. This appears set to change with the initiation of an institution-wide Student Experience Review in 2017, one strand of which focuses specifically on reviewing institutional provision, support and development of TEL. Session content: evaluation and reflection The proposal to review the current use of TEL came about in the light of an "emerging appetite and opportunities for its enhancement" (to quote the initiation document), and explicitly including both people and technology - both the software solutions provided, but also the supporting arrangements in place to embed and facilitate their use. Current usage and support structures, as well as an outward strand considering good practices across the sector, would be considered in order to inform the future vision and strategy. The review thereby identified a direction of travel, but not, at its outset, a destination, although an internal model of good practice might be proposed as a template (Havemann et al, 2013; Havemann, 2017; Havemann, in press). The TEL review consisted of two research strands: 1 Internal strand Existing use of TEL, including review of current support, taking the form of: Interviews with key academic staff Online surveys for (i) staff and (ii) students User testing for (i) staff and (ii) students Focus groups Usage data 2 External strand What is being done in other institutions? Pull together aggregated data from known surveys (such as UCISA and HeLF) and reach out to contacts at other HEIs. This session therefore proposes to review the review. We will discuss what data has been collected and examined and outline the main findings. Through this process we were able to identify where we want to go; the session will conclude with the discussion of whether we are finally getting there.


The claims of a patent are its boundaries, defining the scope of exclusion. This boundary function of claims is undermined by the fact that claims can be changed throughout the life of the patent, thereby moving the patent boundary. A boundary that can be moved at-will is one that the public cannot rely upon.This Article explores the problems of malleable patent boundaries. If a claim can be amended to permit a patentee to capture something he did not foresee when filing the patent application, the amendment confers an unexpected windfall that did not contribute to incentives to invent before filing. If a claim is amended so that a patentee can capture something he did foresee but mistakenly failed to claim initially, the amendment allows the patentee to shift the loss of his own mistake to third parties. Either way, the amendment is inefficient.This Article proposes that patent boundaries should be fixed upon patent issuance, and postissuance claim amendment disallowed. Because claims before issuance do not create public reliance, preissuance amendment should be retained. Nonetheless, the possibility of inefficient windfalls requires that preissuance amendment not be given retroactive priority in order to limit the ability to capture later developments.


Nephrolithiasis is a common urological disease affecting approximately 13% of the global population. Identifying a preventable cause during follow-up for stone formation is a necessary factor in reducing recurrence.
The majority of kidney stones are comprised of calcium, with oxalate and phosphate compounds account-ing for approximately 80% of stone formers. Serum analysis can be used to identify the levels of calcium in the blood, excluding metabolic causes for stones. Current NICE guidelines recommend performing a metabolic screen during an acute admission. Adherence to these guidelines from clinicians can be poor. We aim to see whether education can improve serum metabolic requests from clinicians in the UK.MethodA case-control study was performed in a single rural district general hospital in the UK. Patients who pre-sented with renal colic were analyzed retrospectively for four months, looking at serum metabolic screen requests. Two months of education was then delivered to acute departments, with a further prospective study performed following this for six months. Outcomes were then compared between both groups to see if there was an improvement in serum requests following the delivery of local education.
ResultsA total of 124 patients were included in our study. 50 patients were analyzed in cohort A over a 4-month period. Complete serum analysis was performed on 22% (n=11) of patients. Incomplete serum analysis was performed on 58% (n-29) of patients with uric acid being missed on all of them. 10 patients had no metabolic serum analysis performed at all, with 1 patient having a previous history of stones.A total of 74 patients were analyzed in cohort B over a 6-month period. This was following the 2 months of departmental education given by urologists. Complete serum analysis was performed on 24% (n=18) of patients. Incomplete serum analysis was performed on 55% (n=41) of patients with uric acid being missed from all of them. The remaining 21% of patients (n=15) had no metabolic serum screen performed at all.There was no significant difference seen between both cohorts after comparing metabolic serum requests before and after department education for 2 months (p=0.7287).
ConclusionImproving adherence to clinical guidelines for metabolic screening has proved difficult with departmental teaching alone, with very little improvement achieved. Nevertheless, formal face-to-face education is ad-vocated to reinforce knowledge in junior doctors managing renal stones.


INTRODUCTION
As for many health professionals, distance presents an enormous challenge to pharmacists working in rural and remote Australia. Previous studies have identified issues relating to the size of the rural and remote pharmacist workforce, and a number of national initiatives have been implemented to promote the recruitment and retention of pharmacists in rural and remote locations. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the current rural and remote pharmacy workforce, and to identify barriers and drivers influencing rural and remote pharmacy practice.

METHODS
A mixed-methods approach was used, which comprised a qualitative national consultation and a quantitative rural and remote pharmacist workforce survey. Semi-structured interviews (n=83) and focus groups (n=15, 143 participants) were conducted throughout Australia in 2009 with stakeholders with an interest in rural and remote pharmacy, practising rural/remote pharmacists and pharmacy educators, and as well as with peak pharmacy organizations, to explore the issues associated with rural/remote practice. Based on the findings of the qualitative work a 45-item survey was developed to further explore the relevance of the issues identified in the qualitative consultation. All registered Australian pharmacists practising in non-urban locations (RRMA 3-7, n=3,300) were identified and invited to participate in the study, with a response rate of 23.4%.

RESULTS
The main themes identified from the qualitative consultation were the impact of national increases in the pharmacist workforce on rural/remote practice; the role of the regional pharmacy schools in contributing to the rural/remote workforce; and the perceptions of differences in pharmacist roles in rural/remote practice. The survey indicated that pharmacists practising in rural and remote locations were older than the national average (55.8 years versus 40 years). Differences in their professional role were seen in different pharmacy sectors, with hospital pharmacists spending significantly more time on the delivery of professional services and education and teaching, but less time on medication supply than community pharmacists. Rural/remote pharmacists were generally found to be satisfied with their current role. The main 'satisfiers' reported were task variety, customer appreciation, use of advanced skills, appropriate remuneration, happiness in their work location, sound relationships with other pharmacists, a happy team and relationships with other health professionals.

CONCLUSION
This study described the distribution, roles and factors affecting rural and remote pharmacy practice. While the results presented provide an extensive overview of the rural/remote workforce, a comparable national study comparing rural/remote and urban pharmacists would further contribute to this discussion. Knowledge on why pharmacists chose to work in a particular geographical location, or why pharmacists chose to leave a location would further enrich our knowledge on what drives and sustains the rural/remote pharmacist workforce.


Gauge-boson pair-production processes with an additional hadronic jet are of particular interest as background to Higgs and new-physics searches at hadron colliders. Moreover, they enable---besides genuine gauge-boson pair production---a direct analysis of the non-Abelian gauge-boson self-interactions in the electroweak sector. In this work we provide precision calculations for the processes pp->VV+jet+X.
In detail, corrections to WW+jet, ZZ+jet, and WZ+jet production are evaluated at next-to-leading-order in the strong coupling (NLO QCD). Particular care has to be taken when treating the infrared singularities arising in the virtual and real corrections. The FormCalc/LoopTools package is applied for the virtual corrections, where dimensionally regularized infrared-divergent integrals are added to the FF library which is used for the regular ones. The real-emission matrix elements are evaluated in terms of helicity amplitudes in the Weyl--van-der-Waerden formalism. The Catani--Seymour dipole subtraction formalism mediates the cancellation of infrared divergences between the two contributions.
To perform the numerical integration a multi-channel Monte Carlo integrator is written in C++, which is designed to meet the requirements of integrating cross sections in the dipole subtraction formalism.
For all gauge-boson assignments, the NLO QCD corrections significantly stabilize the artificial dependence of the leading-order (LO) cross sections on renormalization and factorization scales for Tevatron. For LHC, however, only a modest reduction of the scale dependence results unless a veto on a second hard jet is applied.
Beyond investigating the production processes, leptonic decays of the gauge bosons are considered. To this end, a full amplitude calculation including resonant and non-resonant contributions to the leptonic final states, a simple narrow-width approximation (NWA), and an improved version of the NWA that takes into account spin correlations are performed at LO. Comparing these approaches the improved NWA turns out to deliver an appropriate approximation to the decays at a reasonable level of accuracy. Thus, an NLO QCD calculation to VV+jet including leptonic decays is performed in the framework of the improved NWA. Several results on differential cross sections for quantities of the jet and the decay leptons are presented. For WW+jet, we discuss both proton--proton collisions at LHC and proton--antiproton collisions at Tevatron. For WZ+jet and ZZ+jet, however, the cross sections at Tevatron are too small, so only results for LHC are presented.
The Monte Carlo generator developed in this thesis can be used as a tool in data analysis at LHC and Tevatron.


In a world that is in need of more individuals acting with the social and environmental impact of their decisions in mind, what would it take to develop sustainability-minded leaders? This article shares the findings of a qualitative descriptive exploratory study where 16 leaders championing sustainability initiatives were interviewed in order to learn from them, understand what information played a role in their actions, how they thought, and what motivated or inspired them to act in a "business-as-unusual" way. In this article, the results of the original study are briefly summarized, and new findings related to the particular role spirituality played for these business leaders are presented. Following the innovative approach of this journal in addressing the question "now what?", this author then provides suggestions for adult educators, corporate trainers, and coaches on how they could develop the sustainability mindset by incorporating activities that engage the higher self of the audience.


The Southern Australian crustacean species Lomis hirta (Lomisoidea: Lomisidae) is a representative of one of the three anomuran taxa which obtained their crab-like habitus independently from each other. This process, the evolutionary transformation into a crab-like form, is termed carcinization. To shed light on the morphological changes which took place during carcinization and to investigate structural dependence (coherence) between external and internal morphological characters, we studied L. hirta and representatives of its putatively most closely related taxa, Aegla cholchol (Aegloidea: Aeglidae) and Kiwa puravida (Chirostyloidea: Kiwaidae). External and internal anatomy was studied using microcomputertomography and computer-aided 3D reconstruction. A. cholchol and K. puravida belong to equally exceptional lineages: Aegla is endemic to South America and lives in freshwater habitats; Kiwa is a deep sea dweller associated to chemosynthetic bacteria found in methane seeps or hydrothermal vents. On the basis of recent cladistic analyses we reconstruct the anatomical ground pattern of the squat lobster-like last common ancestor of the three taxa and trace the morphological transformations that affected inner and outer morphology in the recent forms. Our results show, among other things, that the pleon in Lomis underwent drastic modifications in the context of carcinization, including a reduction of the muscular portion leaving more room for the hepatopancreas and gonads, and a narrowing of the pleonal ganglia which became shifted anteriorly into the cephalothorax and attached to the cephalothoracic ganglion. We interpret these anatomical changes in Lomis to have come about because of the loss of the caridoid escape reaction, which in turn was a direct consequence of the evolution of a strongly bent pleon as part of the crab-like habitus, and of a hidden lifestyle.


This paper examines the impact that publicly funded agricultural research has on productivity in crop production within Thailand. It tests empirically the two hypotheses that, first, publicly funded research and development (R&D) in crop production is a significant determinant of total factor productivity (TFP) in the crop sector and, second, that its social rate of return is high. The statistical analysis applies error correction methods to national level time series data for Thailand, covering the period 1970–2006. Emphasis is given to public research in crop production, where most publicly funded agricultural R&D has occurred. The role of international research spillovers and other possible determinants of TFP are also taken into account. The results demonstrate that public investment in research has a positive and significant impact on TFP. International research spillovers have also contributed to TFP. The results support the finding of earlier studies that returns on public research investment have been high. This result holds even after controlling for possible sources of upward biases present in most such studies, due to the omission of alternative determinants of measured TFP. The findings raise a concern over declining public expenditure on crop research, in Thailand and many other developing countries.


'With all these exalted powers – Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin'

In The Origin of Species, 1859, Charles Darwin refused to discuss human evolution, believing the subject too 'surrounded with prejudices'. He had been reworking his notes since the 1830s, but only with much trepidation did he finally publish The Descent of Man in 1871. The book notoriously put apes in our family tree and made the races one family, diversified by 'sexual selection' - Darwin's provocative theory that female choice among competing males leads to diverging racial characteristics. Named by Sigmund Freud as 'one of the ten most significant books' ever written, Darwin's Descent of Man continues to shape the way we think about what it is that makes us uniquely human.

In their introduction, James Moore and Adrian Desmond, acclaimed biographers of Charles Darwin, call for a radical re-assessment of the book, arguing that its core ideas on race were fired by Darwin's hatred of slavery. This reprint of the second and definitive edition also contains suggestions for further reading, a chronology, and biographical sketches of prominent individuals.


Abstract. Active long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS) has been an effective tool for measuring atmospheric trace gases for several decades. However, instruments were large, heavy and power-inefficient, making their application to remote environments extremely challenging. Recent developments in fibre-coupling telescope technology and the availability of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV-LEDS) have now allowed us to design and construct a lightweight, portable, low-power LP-DOAS instrument for use at remote locations and specifically for measuring degassing from active volcanic systems. The LP-DOAS was used to measure sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from La Fossa crater, Vulcano, Italy, where column densities of up to 1.2 × 1018 molec cm−2 (~ 500 ppmm) were detected along open paths of up to 400 m in total length. The instrument's SO2 detection limit was determined to be 2 × 1016 molec cm−2 (~ 8 ppmm), thereby making quantitative detection of even trace amounts of SO2 possible. The instrument is capable of measuring other volcanic volatile species as well. Though the spectral evaluation of the recorded data showed that chlorine monoxide (ClO) and carbon disulfide (CS2) were both below the instrument's detection limits during the experiment, the upper limits for the X / SO2 ratio (X = ClO, CS2) could be derived, and yielded 2 × 10−3 and 0.1, respectively. The robust design and versatility of the instrument make it a promising tool for monitoring of volcanic degassing and understanding processes in a range of volcanic systems.


Abstract The EBU represents a clear investment in administrative integration with clear implications for the constitutional features of the EU. This paper aims to give an analysis of the administrative arrangements, through which the functions of supervision and resolution are affecting the single financial market. This case study is very interesting because these functions represent a genuine novelty in the history of financial integration since they are pre-ordained to a specific public interest: financial stability. Particularly, they cause a shift in the decision gradient from the technical to the political, as market integrity is less and less the key interest compared to financial stability. However, this wider discretionary power is not adequately counteracted by checks and balances in favour of accountability. As a result, the EBU makes a new contribution to the well-known 'fragmentation of the executive power' of the EU by introducing a new governance tool positioned between the Communitarian and Intergovernmental Method, but its development is still full of uncertainties given that constitutional equilibrium is far from being definitively reached.


We provide reformulations and generalizations of both the semantics of logic programs by Faber, Leone and Pfeifer and its extension to arbitrary propositional formulas by Truszczynski. Unlike the previous definitions, our generalizations refer neither to grounding nor to fixpoints, and apply to first-order formulas containing aggregate expressions. In the same spirit as the first-order stable model semantics proposed by Ferraris, Lee and Lifschitz, the semantics proposed here are based on syntactic transformations that are similar to circumscription. The reformulations provide useful insights into the FLP semantics and its relationship to circumscription and the first-order stable model semantics.


A study to examine variability in susceptibility of yams to Scutellonema bradys and to identify possible sources of resistance in Ghanaian yam germplasm (Dioscorea spp.) for use in yam improvement programmes, particularly, in West Africa was undertaken. Pot and field screening methodologies were used. In general, S. bradys and dry rot of tuber symptoms as well as tuber cracking increased during the storage period. The study showed a positive correlation between visual nematode damage and population densities in yam tubers. There was also a linear relationship between dry rot disease and tuber cracking at harvest and during storage. This confirms that S. bradys causes dry rot of tubers resulting in external cracking of yam tubers. Positive linear relationship was also observed between yam tuber weight loss and dry rot disease indicating that dry rot disease may have contributed to the tuber weight loss. Therefore, tuber dry rot symptoms caused by S. bradys of yams could be used to discard susceptible yams at harvest and after a period of storage. However, there was no linear relationship between nematode population densities in yam tubers and roots, therefore, a root protocol cannot be used for assessing resistance in yams as it could lead to misclassification. The yam germplasm screened, reaffirmed resistance to S. bradys in Dioscorea dumetorum var. Nkanfo and D. cayenensis var. Afun.


The problem of predicting links has gained much attention in recent years due to its vast application in various domains such as sociology, network analysis, information science, etc. Many methods have been proposed for link prediction such as RA, AA, CCLP, etc. These methods required hand-crafted structural features to calculate the similarity scores between a pair of nodes in a network. Some methods use local structural information while others use global information of a graph. These methods do not tell which properties are better than others. With an in-depth analysis of these methods, we understand that one way to overcome this problem is to consider network structure and node attribute information to capture the discriminative features for link prediction tasks. We proposed a deep learning Autoencoder based Link Prediction (ALP) architecture for the latent representation of a graph, unified with non-negative matrix factorization to automatically determine the underlying roles in a network, after that assigning a mixed-membership of these roles to each node in the network. The idea is to transfer these roles as a feature vector for the link prediction task in the network. Further, cosine similarity is applied after getting the required features to compute the pairwise similarity score between the nodes. We present the performance of the algorithm on the real-world datasets, where it gives the competitive result compared to other algorithms.


In Open Secrets Alice Munro spans the whole spectrum of human behavior. The stories, as always, are pervaded by gradations of light and dark, sometimes starkly contrasted, sometimes delicately shaded: at one extreme, in "Open Secrets," "A Wilderness Station," and "Vandals," neotragedy involving spousal abuse, pedophilia, or murder; at the other, in "A Real Life" (52-80) and "The Jack Randa Hotel" (161-89), comedy springing from the "timeless ritual" (Munro's phrase; "Spaceships" 276) of courtship and mating, or from small-town affectations and pretensions confounded by the natural dignity of a seemingly artless naif. It is these two latter stories, in which Munro demonstrates her brilliance as a comic writer, that we wish to consider here. Munro's comedy in these stories is amenable to the analysis outlined by George Meredith, the Victorian novelist and poet, in his classic study, "An Essay on Comedy" (or "The Idea of Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit"); we believe that Meredith's theory of comedy, his discussion of the varieties of the comic experience, and his terminology give us the concepts that can serve as instruments to analyze the different strains of comedy in Munro's work in these two stories. Meredith identifies four possible responses to the perception of the ridiculous in human conduct and actions: satire, irony, humor, and pure comedy, the highest manifestation of "the perceptive, ... the governing [comic] spirit." High comedy differs from satire in "not sharply driving into the quivering sensibilities" of the subject, from irony in not stinging the subject "under a semi-caress," and from humor in "not comforting" the subject and "tucking [him] up" (Meredith 42-43). In "A Real Life" we see the comic spirit in its satiric, ironic, and humorous guises. But, although Munro lays bare the artificiality and hollowness of the social climbers Millicent and especially Muriel, the chief thrust in the story is the respectful portrayal of Dorrie Beck, a true Canadian primitive. Dorrie is remarkable for her integrity and innocence, the genuineness of her interests, and the dignity and worth of her unpretentious and often socially despised avocations--even if she doesn't know the difference between the Panama and the Erie Canals (56). Lots of people knew Dorrie, ... the lady who left skinned rabbits on doorsteps, who went through the fields and the woods with her dog and gun and waded along the flooded creeks in her high rubber boots.... Dorrie was not quite a joke--something protected her from that, either [her brother's] popularity or her own gruffness and dignity.... (69) This is the life that Dorrie's friend Millicent urges her to leave, a life lived with her brother and then, after his death, alone, but always based on real affection, authentic interests, and a close connection with the world about her. The story hinges on Millicent's inability to grasp that this life is real for Dorrie because it gives her existence a sense of belonging to the natural world and thus an organic completeness. Dorrie embarrasses Millicent and Millicent's other friend, Muriel--whose desperate mission in life is to find a husband--when, to meet the Anglican minister and his friend from Australia, she comes to supper "wearing her good summer dress, a navy-blue organdie with white dots and white collar, suitable for a little girl or an old lady" (63). A good deal of the story involves application of what Meredith terms the "satiric rod," but it is wielded lightly: the satire is not caustic but exuberant, high spirited, and at times almost farcical, most of it directed at Muriel and thus indirectly and in muted form at Millicent, a comic figure distinctly different in kind from Muriel and treated by Munro in the ironic mode, under an affectionate "semi-caress" (Meredith 42). Millicent comes close to recognizing Dorrie's true merit, but, because she is enclosed by bourgeois shibboleths and conventional attitudes, she fails to understand it: "`She is a hundred times more a lady than Muriel Snow,' said Millicent, naming the person who might be called her best friend. …


A smug glance at the seventies-the so-called "Me Decade"-unveils a kaleidoscope of big hair, blaring music, and broken politics-all easy targets for satire, cynicism, and ultimately even nostalgia. American Cinema of the 1970s, however, looks beyond the strobe lights to reveal how profoundly the seventies have influenced American life and how the films of that decade represent a peak moment in cinema history. Far from a placid era, the seventies was a decade of social upheavals. Events such as the killing of students at Kent State and Jackson State universities, the Watergate investigations, the legalization of abortion, and the end of the American involvement in Vietnam are only a few among the many landmark occurrences that challenged the foundations of American culture. The director-driven movies of this era reflect this turmoil, experimenting with narrative structures, offering a gallery of scruffy antiheroes, and revising traditional genre conventions. Bringing together ten original essays, American Cinema of the 1970s examines the range of films that marked the decade, including Jaws, Rocky, Love Story, Shaft, Dirty Harry, The Godfather, Deliverance, The Exorcist, Shampoo, Taxi Driver, Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever, Kramer vs. Kramer, and Apocalypse Now. Lester D. Friedman is the Senior Scholar-in-Residence in the Media and Society Program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the author of numerous books on film.


When doing hearing screening for people with diabetes, it is not uncommon for patients to report noise in their ears, known as tinnitus. This prompted me to write about the common link between tinnitus and diabetes that many know little about.
Tinnitus is the perception of a sound in the ears that has no external source. It is often described as a buzzing, ringing, roaring, hissing or humming. It can be constant or intermittent and can occur in one or both ears. It is relatively common; one-third of adults experience some degree of tinnitus in their lifetime and 10-15 % suffer with prolonged tinnitus.


Legality and the permissibility of judicial activism in developing substantive criminal law
The common-law understanding of the legality principle prohibits courts from creating new crimes; extending the definitions of existing crimes; and broadening the field of application of existing crimes. The ambit of protection afforded by the principle nullum crimen sine lege - now a guaranteed fundamental right of every accused person in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 has been considered by the constitutional court only superficially in Masiya v DPP 2007 2 SACR 435 (CC). This decision has caused a re-evaluation of the permissible boundaries of judicial creativity, particularly in the context of the extension of the definitions of crimes. In DPP, Western Cape v Prins 2012 2 SACR 183 (SCA) the supreme court of appeal emphasised the importance of the rule and its proper interpretation in a constitutional dispensation.
The purpose of this article is to consider the courts' role in giving effect to the principle. A synopsis of the historical development of the rule is provided by considering the reasons for recognition of this rule. The current application of the principle in codified and uncodified foreign legal systems is discussed. The development and application of the rule in South African law are considered critically. The conclusion reached is that, in uncodified criminal-law systems, and to a lesser extent also in codified legal systems, judicial interpretation inevitably involves an element of creativity and consequently allows for judicial activism. Although flexibility in the development of the criminal law may be desirable to adapt the law to the needs of society, the principle of legality requires that judges exercise restraint in extending the field of application of crimes.
The significance of the legality principle as part of the broader rule-of-law principle leads to the conclusion that the power conferred on courts in terms of the constitution to develop the common law according to constitutional imperatives does not include the power (as argued in the Masiya decision) to extend the definitions of crimes. As in other jurisdictions, a principled approach is favoured which absolutely prohibits judicial extension of the definitions of crimes.


A homeopathic combination preparation (HCP) for canine osteoarthritic pain was evaluated in a randomized, double-controlled and double-blinded clinical trial. Forty-four dogs with osteoarthritis (OA) that were randomly allocated into one of three groups completed the study. All dogs were fed test products or placebo for 8 weeks. The dogs were evaluated at the clinic four times, with 4-week intervals. Six different variables were assessed: veterinary-assessed mobility, two force plate variables, an owner-evaluated chronic pain index and pain and locomotion visual analogue scales (VASs). Intake of extra non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was also evaluated. A Chi-squared test and a Mann–Whitney test were used to determine significant improvement between groups. When changed into dichotomous responses of 'improved' or 'not improved' three out of the six variables showed a significant difference (P = 0.016, P = 0.008, P = 0.039) in improved dogs per group, between the HCP group and the placebo group. The odds ratios were over one for the same variables. As extent of improvement in the variables from start to end of treatment, the HCP product was significantly more improved in four (P = 0.015, P = 0.028, P = 0.049, P = 0.020) of the six variables, compared with the placebo. Our results indicated that the HCP Zeel® was beneficial in alleviating chronic orthopedic pain in dogs although it was not as effective as carprofen.


ABSTRACT Large expanses of loess hill prairie were once common along the bluffs of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers of Illinois. These communities occur in forest openings on thick loess deposits overlying bedrock and frequently have expanses of exposed limestone at their margins (glades). Warm season, clump-forming grasses dominate the herbaceous vegetation along with a mixture of prairie and open forest species. Miles Hill Prairie, Monroe County, Illinois is located about 20 km west of Waterloo in the Northern Section of the Ozark Natural Division. Within the prairie, 148 vascular plant species were recorded with 40 species found in the survey plots. Schizachyrium scoparium dominated followed by Andropogon gerardii, Solidago speciosa, Sorghastrum nutans, and Bouteloua curtipendula. Common forbs include Pycnanthemum pilosum, Symphotrichum patens, and Symphotrichum oolentangiense with Cornus drummondii the most abundant shrub, and Torilis japonica the only exotic species in plots. This is a high-quality loess hill prairie that is well maintained by prescribed fire and brush removal. Most species encountered were common to loess hill prairies, with the 19 exotic species being rare and mostly restricted to prairie edges.


Since the Second World War, there has been a shift away from interstate warfare to a relative increase in intra-state conflict and insurgencies. In addition, a growing number of these insurgencies can be described as 'transnational', in that they are supported by outside state and non-state actors and may also pursue activities beyond their borders. This thesis attempts to analyse and explain the shift from interstate warfare to the emergence of transnational insurgencies.
This study proposes and evaluates two possible explanations. First, interstate warfare is thought by many scholars to be declining in value as changing technology, economic systems, and domestic and international politics have raised the costs and constraints of interstate warfare while yielding reduced benefits. Second, there is evidence that transnational insurgencies are more effective and possess wider capabilities than domestic insurgencies by utilising transnational networks for external support, strategic alliances, and illicit activities. The study evaluates whether these factors have deterred interstate warfare while incentivising indirect methods through the initiation or support of transnational insurgencies.
This thesis first reviews indirect warfare and the development of insurgencies over history and, in particular, how they have qualitatively changed since 1945 in their transnational relationships and activities. It then provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the changing value of direct interstate warfare and the strategies and calculus by which states outsource to insurgencies as an alternative to interstate warfare. Third, it reviews the transnational networks and the changing effectiveness and capabilities of transnational insurgencies. Finally, it concludes with a case study of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, examining the decision and outcome of state outsourcing to Afghan insurgencies (i.e. the
Northern Alliance).


David Grossman is commonly considered a genuine spokesman of the Israeli peace camp, expressing its plea for a withdrawal from a militaristic agenda and rhetoric and for a breaking of the vicious circle of wars they bring about. The present essay proposes a reading of To the End of the Land according to which the novel deviates from these political stances as it almost unresistingly accepts a national narrative which does not allow for an alternative to the repetitive military struggle. It argues that the escape journey of the female protagonist, Ora, together with the biological father of her son, Avram, from the terrible news of this son's death in battle, is in fact also a journey of revival and cure from the catastrophes of a previous war, enabled by the present one. To the End of the Land thus complies with the traditional Zionist version of the myth of the binding of Isaac (Akedah), a version which describes a sacrifice of the sons for the redemption of their fathers.


The homopolar pulse welding process uses a single unidirectional, high current electrical pulse from a homopolar generator to heat the interface between two workpieces in solid contact. When the interface reaches an optimum temperature, forging pressure is applied, and the workpieces coalesce without melting and without use of either a flux or a filler. The weld is completed in from 1 to 2 s. Because current distribution and heat generation can be made uniform throughout the workpiece section, irregular sections such as rails can be welded. Ninety lbm/yd rail has been welded with the process using a 10 MJ homopolar generator. The welds were excellent metallurgically, but there were fixturing problems with mechanical clamping, alignment, and current delivery. A through-feeding fixture for welding pipe has been designed and built that successfully addresses these fixturing problems, and electrical contacts and clamps for welding rails are presently being designed. A compact system that could serve as the power supply for an in-track rail welding system has recently become commercially available.


No cross-sectional consumer price index is currently available by state, and the BLS's cross-sectional "family budget" index for metropolitan areas is not well-suited for cross-state analyses. In this paper we propose an algorithm for constructing a state-specific Laspeyres price index using conveniently available information from the Census of Business and the Survey of Current Business. The index is calculated for each state (and for Census divisions and regions) for 1967 and 1972. Its characteristics are discussed, and it is used to deflate nominal per capita income by state. Comparing "real" income by state with nominal income by state, the former has substantially less variation cross-sectionally but greater variation over time (between 1967 and 1972).


We compared computerized tomography scans of the pelvis of twenty-four patients who had exstrophy of the bladder with scans of age-matched controls in order to analyze the pelvic deformity that accompanies the variably severe manifestations of this condition. The patients who had classic exstrophy of the bladder were found to have a mean of 12 degrees of external rotation of the posterior aspect of the pelvis on each side, retroversion of the acetabula, a mean additional 18 degrees of external rotation and 30 per cent shortening of the pubic rami, and progressive diastasis of the symphysis pubis. The foot-progression angle demonstrated 20 to 30 degrees of external rotation beyond the normal limits seen in early childhood, but this improved with age. The patients who had exstrophy of the cloaca and the bladder not only had all of these pelvic deformities to a greater degree but also had asymmetry of measured parameters between the right and left sides of the pelvis, malformation of the sacro-iliac joints, and occasional dislocation of the hip. An understanding of the pelvic anatomy that accompanies exstrophy is essential when corrective approaches are planned. Such an understanding will improve the rate of success of both closure of the bladder and control of urinary continence postoperatively.


Although election observation has shown its value in enhancing public confidence and improving election practices, serious questions about the future of observation remain. Observer groups are under attack from some governments, while methods of manipulating elections have become increasingly sophisticated. A particular difficulty for observers is how to react when governments show a lack of political will to conduct fair elections. There are a number of steps that can be taken to meet these and other challenges, but ensuring that election observation remains relevant and effective will require continuing creativity, flexibility and innovations.


At the University of Auckland the University Library has been a strong voice in lobbying for a more coherent and integrated approach to developing computer and information literacy skills across the university. Several plans and reports such as the Academic plan, draft IT and Information Literacy policy, graduate attributes and recommendations from the Student Life Commission and Curriculum Commission highlighted the need for collaboration between stakeholders to put plans into action. Progress in implementing recommendations and developing initiatives had been slow until the opening of the Kate Edger Information Commons at the end of April 2003. The Kate Edger Information Commons very quickly became the heart of the City Campus and a catalyst for change and collaboration. The Information Commons, the University of Auckland's leading edge student-centred learning facility, provides a collaborative interdisciplinary environment where over 500 full-productivity workstations, electronic classrooms, and an additional 500+ flexible study and social spaces have been combined with proactive, integrated learning support and e-Literacy skills development. It provides the infrastructure for the functional integration of the information and the technology services, information literacy, learning support and language skills development offered by the University Library, IT Directorate, Student Learning Centre and English Language Self-Access Centre, consequently creating an enhanced learning environment that reflects the transformations in higher education. The development of IT and information literacy (e-Literacy skills) is a key focus for the Information Commons and opportunities for skills development are integrated into all aspects of service delivery. The paper will look at new partnerships and new service models and initiatives that have arisen from the various collaborations, together with a growing integrated approach to e-Literacy development.


OBJECTIVE To establish the characteristics of patients following a benign course of multiple sclerosis and evaluate the importance of potential prognostic factors. Also, an assessment of the value of the Kurtzke EDSS as a prognostic indicator has been undertaken in patients previously determined to have benign multiple sclerosis, after 10 years of follow up. METHODS A prevalence study in the Coleraine, Ballymena, Ballymoney, and Moyle districts of Northern Ireland used the Kurtzke expanded disability scale score (EDSS) in 259 patients with multiple sclerosis. Of these, 181 had had multiple sclerosis for⩾10 years, 36 having benign disease (EDSS⩽3.0) ⩾10 years after onset. Clinical and demographic details of the various patient groups, including the minimal record of disability, were compared. The 1987 study in Northern Ireland identified 33 patients with benign multiple sclerosis. Twenty eight were available for follow up in 1996 along with 42 contemporary non-benign patients. RESULTS Patients with benign multiple sclerosis were predominantly women (ratio 4.1:1 v 2.1:1) and younger at onset (25.8 v 31.2 years). Commonest symptoms at onset were sensory and optic neuritis (33.3% each). Patients with late onset (older than 40 years) were less likely to have a benign course, more likely to have a progressive course from onset, significantly more likely to have motor disturbance at presentation, and had a lesser female predominance. Optic neuritis was significantly more common in those with a younger age at onset. In the follow up study, patients with benign multiple sclerosis continued to have a more favourable course than non-benign counterparts but progression of disability and to the secondary progressive phase remained significant. CONCLUSIONS The association of female sex, early onset, and presentation with optic neuritis and sensory symptoms with a favourable course is confirmed. However, although the EDSS does provide a useful indicator of prognosis, the label "benign multiple sclerosis" is often temporary as apparently benign disease often becomes disabling.


Organized as a series of monthly journal entries, Morning Comes to Elk Mountain is Lantz's response to ten years of exploring the rough and unexpected beauty of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. A combination of memoir, natural history, Native American history, and geology, this book is enriched by 20 color photos and a map to appeal to the seasoned visitor as well as the newcomer to the refuge. The national wildlife refuge that's the focus of the book was among the first established by President Theodore Roosevelt. He helped save the Wichitas from miners and land speculators, and instead the harsh yet scenic area became the nation's first bison refuge, established to keep this American icon from slipping into extinction. Today the refuge hosts more than a million visitors a year, most of them coming to hike the trails, climb the rocks, photograph bison and prairie dogs, or simply commune with a beautiful, wild area that remains a spiritual landscape for the Kiowa and Comanche Indians who call it home.


Introduction: CD36 is a key protein involved in regulating the uptake and utilization of fatty-acids in heart and skeletal muscle. The aim of this study is to assess the association between rs10499859 A>G and rs13246513 C>T polymorphisms of CD36 gene and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 140 subjects with MetS and 187 healthy ones were randomly selected from among the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study population. Biochemical and anthropometrical variables were measured, and polymorphisms were examined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: Case and control groups did not differ in allele and genotype frequencies for these SNPs. Under a dominant model, A and T alleles of these SNPs were significantly associated with elevated levels of HDL-C, before age and sex adjustment (P 0.027 and 0.016 respectively). A allele carriers had significantly increased levels of BMI compared to G allele carriers after adjustment for MetS, and under the dominant model (P= 0.009). Presence of G allele was also significantly associated with increased diastolic blood pressure (P= 0.016) before adjustment for confounders, using a recessive model. Conclusion: The results of this study show that genetic variation of CD36 gene was associated with metabolic risk factors such as HDL-C and BMI. Although the effect of each SNP polymorphism plays a small role, it depends specifically on their interaction with environmental factors.


A collaborative study between the University of Salford and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Nigeria, involving in vitro tests at the University of Salford and the use of facilities at NIPRD for invivo tests has led to the evaluation of a range of traditional "fever cures" for antimalarial efficacy. The main objective of this study is to identify a suitable antimalarial plant candidate towards the development of a phytopharmaceutical drug (a plant-based medicinal mixture/compound used in preventive or therapeutic medicine) for the treatment of malaria as a cheaper and more accessible alternative, inline with the WHO resolution (WHA 3049) urging nations to use their traditional systems of medicine as part of their healthcare systems. Traditionally, the mainstay of the antimalarial drug discovery process has been natural products. Their use however diminished over the past few decades due to several advances in molecular targets and technical difficulties encountered in high-thoughput screens of natural product leads. Natural products have played a very important role as a source of antimalarials (e.g. quinine and artemisinin derivatives). In this present study, fluorescent-based in vitro antimalarial assays including flow cytometry (FCM) and SYBR green microtitre assay (SG) were optimized to screen some aqueous plant extracts which were selected based on their ethnopharmacological usage. Giemsa light microscopy was used to validate the assays. Plasmodium berghei malaria animal model was also used to evaluate the anti-plasmodial activity of extracts in vivo. The results showed a strong antimalarial activity in all the six extracts. Bryocarpus coccineus and Bridelia ferruginea were chosen for further investigation due to their efficacy and the collaborative nature of the study. The IC50 values obtained in the in vitro antimalarial studies in the region of 70 µg/ml and 15 µg/ml. Bridelia ferruginea aqueous and methanolic extract was compared to determine any differences in IC50. In vitro comparison of the aqueous and methanolic extracts of the extract revealed an IC50 value in the region of 25.69 µg/ml for the aqueous extract and 15-16 µg/ml for the methanolic extract. Qualitative phytochemical screening of both extracts revealed the presence of various bioactive compounds including tannins, flavonoids, saponins and cardiac glycosides amongst others in both the aqueous and methanolic extract of B. ferruginea. Anthocyanins were found present in the methanolic extract only. Further investigation of the mechanism of action of the methanolic B. ferruginea extract showed that the extract inhibited β-haematin formation, indicating the inhibition of haemazoin formation in the parasite. Lastly, the methanolic extract was fractionated using HPLC analysis. Various resolved peaks were obtained and subsequent bioassays of the collected fractions revealed that antimalarial activity was distributed across the fractions. This may suggests that isolating a single active compound might not be advantageous, making a case for a phytopharmaceutical drugs.


Summary
1. The value of measuring ecosystem functions in regular monitoring programs is increasingly being recognised as a potent tool for assessing river health. We measured the response of ecosystem metabolism, organic matter decomposition and strength loss, and invertebrate community composition across a gradient of catchment impairment defined by upstream landuse stress in two New Zealand streams. This was performed to determine if there were consistent responses among contrasting functional and structural indicators.

2. Rates of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) ranged from 0.1 to 7.0 gO2 m−2 day−1 and from 0.34 to 16.5 gO2 m−2 day−1 respectively. Rates of GPP were variable across the landuse stress gradient, whereas ER increased linearly with the highest rates at the most impacted sites. Production/respiration (P/R) and net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) indicated that sites at the low and high ends of the stress gradient were heterotrophic with respiration rates presumably relying on organic matter from upstream sources, adjacent land or point sources. Sites with moderate impairment were predominantly autotrophic.

3. Declines in the tensile strength of the cotton strips showed no response across part of the gradient, but a strong response among the most impaired sites. The rate of mass loss of wooden sticks (Betula platyphylla Sukaczev) changed from a linear response to a U-shaped response across the impairment gradient after water temperature compensation, whereas leaf breakdown at a subset of sites suggested a linear loss in mass per degree-day. Three macroinvertebrate metrics describing the composition of the invertebrate community and its sensitivity to pollution showed similar linear inverse responses to the landuse stress gradient.

4. The first axis of a redundancy analysis indicated an association between landuse stress and various measures of water quality, and wooden stick mass loss, the invertebrate metric % EPT [percentage of macroinvertebrate taxa belonging to the Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (excluding Hydroptilidae] taxa, P/R and NEM, supporting the utility of these structural and functional metrics for assessing degree of landuse stress. The second axis was more strongly associated with catchment size, ER and GPP which suggests that these indicators were responding to differences in stream size.

5. Our results suggest that nonlinear responses to catchment impairment need to be considered when interpreting measurements of ecosystem function. Functional indicators could be useful for detecting relatively subtle changes where the slope of the response curve is maximised and measurements at the low and high ends of the impairment gradient are roughly equivalent. Such responses may be particularly valuable for detecting early signs of degradation at high quality sites, allowing management responses to be initiated before the degradation becomes too advanced, or for detecting initial moves away from degraded states during the early stages of restoration. Close links between structural and functional indices of river health across an impairment gradient are not necessarily expected or desirable if the aim is to minimise redundancy among ecological indicators.


Objective: The aims of the current descriptive study were to determine if greater levels of perceived stress in college students relates to the frequency in which this population participates in eating out or ordering food for delivery and how this potential association influences weight status. Methods: Secondary analysis was conducted using an existing data set obtained from the Young Adults Eating and Active for Health study. Demographic questions, The Cohen 14-item Perceived Stress Scale, anthropometrics, the NCI Fruit and Vegetable Screener, and the Food Delivery Questionnaire were used to measure the main variables under examination. Nonparametric statistics, Chi-square T-tests, and ANOVA were used to analyze data. Data was analyzed using SPSS software and tested for a P value < 0.05 as statistically significant. Participants: The participants consisted of 973 students from 13 college campuses across the U.S. who had participated in the 15-month YEAH study. Of the sample population, 287 participants were male and 685 were female. Results: Female college students were shown to exhibit greater levels of perceived stress than males (23.96±7.75 versus 21.74±7.54; t (932) = -4.02, p =0.00). Male participants demonstrated more frequent ordering of food delivery behavior than females (U = 76213.0, p = 0.005) but no association was found between levels of stress compared to eating out frequency, the rate of food delivered to a participant's residence, or to BMI status. Females showed an association for using websites such as campusfood.com more frequently when very high levels of stress were experienced (χ2 (12) = 22.2, p = 0.035). Conclusion: The study did not present conclusive results but trends suggest at high levels of stress certain health related consumption behaviors may be influenced in a negative manner. The study provides a foundation for future research on stress and its potential influence on unhealthy eating out behaviors within the collegiate population. The Effect of Stress on Undergraduate College Students in Relation to Eating Out Behaviors and Weight Status


Optical vortices are very attractive because they transport a well-defined orbital angular momentum (OAM) associated with the singularity of the beam. These singular beams, commonly generated in the optical regime, are used in a wide range of applications: communication, micromanipulation, microscopy, among others. The production of OAM beams in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and X-ray regimes is of great interest as it allows to extend the applications of optical vortices down to the nanometric scale. Several proposals have been explored in order to generate XUV vortices in synchrotrons and FEL facilities. Here, we study the generation of XUV vortices through high-order harmonic generation (HHG). HHG is a unique source of coherent radiation extending from the XUV to the soft X-ray regime, emitted in the form of attosecond pulses. When driving HHG by OAM beams, highly charged XUV vortices with unprecedented spatiotemporal properties are emitted in the form of helical attosecond beams. In this chapter, we revise our theoretical work in the generation of XUV vortices by HHG. In particular, we illustrate in detail the role of macroscopic phase matching of high-order harmonics when driven by OAM beams, which allows to control the production of attosecond beams carrying OAM.


Predicting and understanding the biological response to future climate change is a pressing challenge for humanity. In the 21st century, many species will move into higher latitudes and higher elevations as the climate warms. In addition, the relative abundances of species within local assemblages are likely to change. Both effects have implications for how ecosystems function. Few biodiversity forecasts, however, take account of both shifting ranges and changing abundances. We provide a novel analysis predicting the potential changes to assemblage‐level relative abundances in the 21st century. We use an established relationship linking ant abundance and their colour and size traits to temperature and UV‐B to predict future abundance changes. We also predict future temperature driven range shifts and use these to alter the available species pool for our trait‐mediated abundance predictions. We do this across three continents under a low greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP2.6) and a business‐as‐usual scenario (RCP8.5). Under RCP2.6, predicted changes to ant assemblages by 2100 are moderate. On average, species richness will increase by 26%, while species composition and relative abundance structure will be 26% and 30% different, respectively, compared with modern assemblages. Under RCP8.5, however, highland assemblages face almost a tripling of species richness and compositional and relative abundance changes of 66% and 77%. Critically, we predict that future assemblages could be reorganized in terms of which species are common and which are rare: future highland assemblages will not simply comprise upslope shifts of modern lowland assemblages. These forecasts reveal the potential for radical change to montane ant assemblages by the end of the 21st century if temperature increases continue. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating trait–environment relationships into future biodiversity predictions. Looking forward, the major challenge is to understand how ecosystem processes will respond to compositional and relative abundance changes.


In this thesis, we develop a model that uses Conversational Case-Based Reasoning (CCBR) in order to help physicians diagnose patients. To be able to process the vast amount of information embedded in the domain of general medicine, we introduce a divide and conquer approach. By focusing on small, well-defined sub-domains of medicine, we are able to capture specific knowledge from each of them. Together the sub-domains form our understanding of the medical domain, and we argue that this approach is more sound than to reason from the entire domain at the same time. We adopt a set of existing approaches to the CCBR process to fit our needs. By testing these algorithms on real life data and analysing the results, we are able to identify strengths and weaknesses for each of them. By studying different dialogue management techniques embedded in CCBR, we are able to introduce targeted measures to increase the performance of these algorithms. At the same time, we are able to increase their flexibility, enabling them to take on domains that they previously did not support. We also introduce different dialogue inference techniques to our system, and demonstrate that this has the potential to further increase the performance of our system. To bind the different sub-domains together we introduce an architecture that includes a stack of CCBR dialogues. This enables our system to explore multiple areas of medicine within the same session, increasing the probability of finding the correct diagnosis. For each sub-domain the system can choose from the set of CCBR algorithms included in the system, and find the one that maximises the performance in that particular domain. To be able to determine which dialogues to add to this stack we introduce a meta-level dialogue. This dialogue is added on top of the other dialogues and presents the user with a set of general questions in an effort to identify the most relevant sub-domains to explore.


Novel formulations of PVC plastisols based on blends of bio-based and synthetic plasticizers were prepared and characterized. A traditional phthalate plasticizer, dioctylphthalate, was replaced in the plastisols studied by the epoxidized rubber seed oil (4.5 % oxirane content). The plastisols formed were processed into plastigels and characterized in terms of permanence properties using leaching and migration tests and water vapour barrier properties. It was found that the permanence properties of PVC/DOP plastigels were maintained in the presence of up to 50 % ERSO, and that blending with DOP did not impair the water barrier properties of PVC plastigels.


Hemorrhagic shock leads to whole body hypoxia and nutrient deprivation resulting in organ dysfunction and mortality. Previous studies demonstrated that resveratrol, dichloroacetate, and niacin improve organ function and survival in rats following hemorrhagic shock injury (HI). We hypothesized that a combinatorial formula that collectively promotes survival will decrease the dose of individual compounds toward effective therapy for HI. Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to HI by withdrawing 60% blood volume. NiDaR (Niacin-Dichloroacetate-Resveratrol; 2 mg/kg dose of each) or vehicle was administered following the shock in the absence of fluid resuscitation, and survival monitored. In order to study alterations in molecular mediators, separate groups of rats were administered NiDaR or vehicle along with resuscitation fluid, following HI. We observed significant improvement (p < 0.05) in survival following HI in animals that received NiDaR, in the absence of fluid resuscitation. In NiDaR treated animals that received resuscitation fluid, MAP was significantly increased compared to Veh-treated rats. HI-induced increase in systemic IL-6 levels and tissue expression of IL-6, IL-10, IL-1β, and IL-18 genes in the heart were attenuated with NiDaR treatment. NiDaR promoted autophagy following HI as demonstrated by reduced p-mTOR, increased p-ULK1 and p-Beclin. The combinatorial formula, NiDaR, reduced inflammation, promoted autophagy, and reduced doses of individual compounds used, and may be more effective in genetically heterogeneous population. In conclusion our experiments demonstrated that the combinatorial drug treatment has salutary effect in rats following HI.


Effects of extrusion conditions (temperature and speed) and cooling rate during quenching on tensile properties of 6061 aluminum alloy extrusion after T6 treatment are studied in relation to microstructures. Materials were extruded at the temperature of 673 K and 803 K and at the speed of 2.83 × 10−2∼2.33 × 10−1 m/s, quenched at the cooling rate of 1.0∼83.3 K/s after the solution treatment at 803 K–10.8 ks, and aged at 453 K–28.8 ks. 0.2% proof stress and tensile strength are higher when the temperature and speed of extrusion are high, or when the cooling rate during quenching is high. This is related with grain size and amount of solute Mg and Si after quenching. Elongation is lower at the cooling rate of 4.3∼6.3 K/s in quenching. This is dependent on the large precipitates at grain boundaries.


The covariant formulation of quantum electrodynamics, developed in a previous paper, is here applied to two elementary problems---the polarization of the vacuum and the self-energies of the electron and photon. In the first section the vacuum of the non-interacting electromagnetic and matter fields is covariantly defined as that state for which the eigenvalue of an arbitrary time-like component of the energy-momentum four-vector is an absolute minimum. It is remarked that this definition must be compatible with the requirement that the vacuum expectation values of a physical quantity in various coordinate systems should be, not only covariantly related, but identical, since the vacuum has a significance that is independent of the coordinate system. In order to construct a suitable characterization of the vacuum state vector, a covariant decomposition of the field operators into positive and negative frequency components is introduced, and the properties of these associated fields developed. It is shown that the state vector for the electromagnetic vacuum is annihilated by the positive frequency part of the transverse four-vector potential, while that for the matter vacuum is annihilated by the positive frequency part of the Dirac spinor and of its charge conjugate. These defining properties of the vacuum state vector are employed in the calculation of the vacuum expectation values of quadratic field quantities, specifically the energy-momentum tensors of the independent electromagnetic and matter fields, and the current four-vector. It is inferred that the electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor, and the current vector must vanish in the vacuum, while the matter field energy-momentum tensor vanishes in the vacuum only by the addition of a suitable multiple of the unit tensor. The second section treats the induction of a current in the vacuum by an external electromagnetic field. It is supposed that the latter does not produce actual electron-positron pairs; that is, we consider only the phenomenon of virtual pair creation. This restriction is introduced by requiring that the establishment and subsequent removal of the external field produce no net change in state for the matter field. It is demonstrated, in a general manner, that the induced current at a given space-time point involves the external current in the vicinity of that point, and not the electromagnetic potentials. This gauge invariant result shows that a light wave, propagating at remote distances from its source, induces no current in the vacuum and is therefore undisturbed in its passage through space. The absence of a light quantum self-energy effect is thus indicated. The current induced at a point consists, more precisely, of two parts: a logarithmically divergent multiple of the external current at that point, which produces an unobservable renormalization of charge, and a more involved finite contribution, which is the physically significant induced current. The latter agrees with the results of previous investigations. The modification of the matter field properties arising from interaction with the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field is considered in the third section. The analysis is carried out with two alternative formulations, one employing the complete electromagnetic potential together with a supplementary condition, the other using the transverse potential, with the variables of the supplementary condition eliminated. It is noted that no real processes are produced by the first order coupling between the fields. Accordingly, alternative equations of motion for the state vector are constructed, from which the first order interaction term has been eliminated and replaced by the second order coupling which it generates. The latter includes the self action of individual particles and light quanta, the interaction of different particles, and a coupling between particles and light quanta which produces such effects as Compton scattering and two quantum pair annihilation. It is concluded from a comparison of the alternative procedures that, for the treatment of virtual light quantum processes, the separate consideration of longitudinal and transverse fields is an inadvisable complication. The light quantum self-energy term is shown to vanish, while that for a particle has the anticipated form for a change in proper mass, although the latter is logarithmically divergent, in agreement with previous calculations. To confirm the identification of the self-energy effect with a change in proper mass, it is shown that the result of removing this term from the state vector equation of motion is to alter the matter field equations of motion in the expected manner. It is verified, finally, that the energy and momentum modifications produced by self-interaction effects are entirely accounted for by the addition of the electromagnetic proper mass to the mechanical proper mass---an unobservable mass renormalization. An appendix is devoted to the construction of several invariant functions associated with the electromagnetic and matter fields.


We report the discovery of a Jupiter-mass planet orbiting an M-dwarf star that gave rise to the microlensing event OGLE-2011-BLG-0265. Such a system is very rare among known planetary systems and thus the discovery is important for theoretical studies of planetary formation and evolution. High-cadence temporal coverage of the planetary signal, combined with extended observations throughout the event, allows us to accurately model the observed light curve. However, the final microlensing solution remains degenerate, yielding two possible configurations of the planet and the host star. In the case of the preferred solution, the mass of the planet is M p = 0.9 ± 0.3 M J ?> , and the planet is orbiting a star with a mass M = 0.22 ± 0.06 M ⊙ ?> . The second possible configuration (2σ away) consists of a planet with M p = 0.6 ± 0.3 M J ?> and host star with M = 0.14 ± 0.06 M ⊙ ?> . The system is located in the Galactic disk 3–4 kpc toward the Galactic bulge. In both cases, with an orbit size of 1.5–2.0 AU, the planet is a "cold Jupiter"—located well beyond the "snow line" of the host star. Currently available data make the secure selection of the correct solution difficult, but there are prospects for lifting the degeneracy with additional follow-up observations in the future, when the lens and source star separate.


In an implementation of geometric resolution, the most costly operation is subsumption or matching: One has to decide for a three-valued, geometric formula, whether this formula is false in a given interpretation. The formula contains only atoms with variables, equality, and existential quantifiers. The interpretation contains only atoms with constants.

Because the atoms have no term structure, matching for geometric resolution is a hard problem. We translate the matching problem into a generalized constraint satisfaction problem, and give an algorithm that solves it efficiently. The algorithm uses learning techniques, similar to clause learning in propositional logic. Secondly, we adapt the algorithm in such a way that it finds solutions that use a minimal subset of the interpretation.

The techniques presented in this paper may have applications in constraint solving.


A series of photoswitchable, R-helical peptides were studied using two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy (2D-IR). Single-isotope labeling with 13 C 18 O at various positions in the sequence was employed to spectrally isolate particular backbone positions. We show that a single 13 C 18 O label can give rise to two bands along the diagonal of the 2D-IR spectrum, one of which is from an amide group that is hydrogen-bonded internally, or to a solvent molecule, and the other from a non-hydrogen-bonded amide group. The photoswitch enabled examination of both the folded and unfolded state of the helix. For most sites, unfolding of the peptide caused a shift of intensity from the hydrogen-bonded peak to the non-hydrogen-bonded peak. The relative intensity of the two diagonal peaks gives an indication of the fraction of molecules hydrogen-bonded at a certain location along the sequence. As this fraction varies quite substantially along the helix, we conclude that the helix is not uniformly folded. Furthermore, the shift in hydrogen bonding is much smaller than the change of helicity measured by CD spectroscopy, indicating that non-native hydrogen-bonded or mis-folded loops are formed in the unfolded ensemble.


We have developed a new target platform to study Laser Plasma Interaction in ignition-relevant condition at the Omega laser facility (LLE/Rochester)[1]. By shooting an interaction beam along the axis of a gas-filled hohlraum heated by up to 17 kJ of heater beam energy, we were able to create a millimeter-scale underdense uniform plasma at electron temperatures above 3 keV. Extensive Thomson scattering measurements allowed us to benchmark our hydrodynamic simulations performed with HYDRA [1]. As a result of this effort, we can use with much confidence these simulations as input parameters for our LPI simulation code pF3d [2]. In this paper, we show that by using accurate hydrodynamic profiles and full three-dimensional simulations including a realistic modeling of the laser intensity pattern generated by various smoothing options, fluid LPI theory reproduces the SBS thresholds and absolute reflectivity values and the absence of measurable SRS. This good agreement was made possible by the recent increase in computing power routinely available for such simulations.


Shrimp fisheries in the Persian Gulf have a long history. The trawl fishery for penaeid prawn developed along the mid-northern coasts of the Persian Gulf (Bushehr waters) beginning in 1960. From 1998 to 2004 shrimp landings have fluctuated between 480t and 2700t per year. The major species of penaeid prawn, in terms of catch (>80%) and economic importance, in the Persian Gulf (including Bushehr waters) is Penaeus semisulcatus, commonly known as the green tiger prawn. More than 2000 vessels and 33000 fishermen from the Bushehr study area have participated in the shrimp fishery each season (August-September) over the last decade. In the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf, P. semisulcatus has been now become the most important single component species. Despite of commercial importance, there has been very little published research in the biology this species. In the study area, Bushehr waters, shrimp fishery is only controlled during open season. Because of lack of any data, there is no any prohibition and restricted areas in the nursery and spawning grounds and also the fluctuations of shrimp resources are unknown.
The present study was carried out in Bushehr coastal waters during 2003-2005 and describes the bio-dynamics and life history of P. semisulcatus. Monthly sampling of shrimp was collected by R/V Lavar II for 15 months from January 2003 to March 2004 from 50 fixed stations. Carapace length (CL) frequency was used to estimate growth, mortality and exploitation rates for males and females using FiSAT statistical analyses software. The Von Bertalanffy growth parameters were estimated as K = 1.6 Year-1 and 2.2 Year-1 and L¥ = 38 mm and 50.4 mm for males and females, respectively. Estimated annual mortality rates for males were Z = 6.4, F= 4.3, and M = 2.11. While females were Z = 8.2, F = 5.8, and M = 2.41. Exploitation rates for males and females were E = 0.67 and E = 0.70, respectively. Relatively high values of total mortality and exploitation rates were obtained, suggesting this species is overexploited. The maximum ages calculated were 20 months for males and 15 months for females.

Gonad maturity results indicated that the major spawning activity for P. semisulcatus within the study area occurs during winter and early spring, with an additional minor peak evident in autumn. These periods coincided with seasonal rainfall in the Bushehr study area. Size at 50% maturity (L50%) was 40.6 mm carapace length (CL). Less than 5% of females were smaller than 24 mm CL. Mature shrimps aggregated in the middle and southern regions of study area at depths of 20-30 m. The areas of Imam Hassan, Genaveh and Helleh represented the most important spawning grounds in Bushehr waters. A sex ratio of 0.84 (male/female) occurred over the study period.

A total of 2571 prawn were tagged and released using a green color polyethylene steamer tag during the 15 month survey. From these, 68 recaptures were reported during August-September of 2003-04, of which four were omitted from analysis due to lack of information. Maximum recapture depths were 16-20 m and 26-30 m for males and females, respectively. The majority of recaptures indicated that these prawn moved at speeds of 50 km. The maximum recorded distance was 127 km after 95 days of release for a female shrimp. The maximum time at-liberty was 381 days for a female that moved 20 km. Tag recapture data indicated shrimp generally moved to the northern area (Bahrekan) where waters were greater in depth.

In the shallow study areas, post-spawning sampling of juvenile P. semisulcatus was carried out during July, November and December 2003 and January, February, April, June, July 2004 and February and March 2005. Some stations that recorded a depth of less than 10 m were trawled using a small vessel equipped with a small beam trawl. A total of 748 juvenile P. semisulcatus of less than 15 mm CL were collected. These juveniles were observed in July and November 2003 and April and June 2004. The CL of juveniles ranged from 3 mm to 15 mm and minimum of mean of CL were 4.5 mm in November and maximum 9.6 mm in July. Observed locations of juveniles were around vegetated sites at Mottaf (southern region) and Helaileh (middle region), although a few juveniles were also collected in the non-vegetated areas. Within these nursery grounds, 47% of marine fauna included other marine species such as fishes of Sparidae and Platycephalidae family, crabs, shells and other penaeid shrimp species such as Metapenaeus affinis and M. stebbingi. Seasonal abundance of juveniles was greatest during the warmer months (from April to November) and very few were captured during the colder seasons (from December to May).

The study also used Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis to compare the genetic diversity of the population of prawn, P. semisulcatus. The results showed that the genetic diversity is not significantly different and it was confirmed that this species should be identified as one population in the Bushehr waters.

In the present study mature shrimp were dominant from December through March, while juvenile stages were observed generally from April through July. Exploitation rates of P. semisulcatus suggest that fishing activities should be regulated during spawning periods and within the nursery grounds.