Cardiac interstitial cells (CIC) perform essential roles in myocardial biology through preservation of homeostasis as well as response to injury or stress. Studies of murine CIC biology reveal remarkable plasticity in terms of transcriptional reprogramming and ploidy state with important implications for function. Despite over a decade of characterization and in vivo utilization of adult c-Kit+ CIC (cCIC), adaptability and functional responses upon delivery to adult mammalian hearts remain poorly understood. Limitations of characterizing cCIC biology following in vitro expansion and adoptive transfer into the adult heart were circumvented by delivery of the donated cells into early cardiogenic environments of embryonic, fetal, and early postnatal developing hearts. These three developmental stages were permissive for retention and persistence, enabling phenotypic evaluation of in vitro expanded cCICs after delivery as well as tissue response following introduction to the host environment. Embryonic blastocyst environment prompted cCIC integration into trophectoderm as well as persistence in amniochorionic membrane. Delivery to fetal myocardium yielded cCIC perivascular localization with fibroblast-like phenotype, similar to cCICs introduced to postnatal P3 heart with persistent cell cycle activity for up to 4 weeks. Fibroblast-like phenotype of exogenously transferred cCICs in fetal and postnatal cardiogenic environments is consistent with inability to contribute directly toward cardiogenesis and lack of functional integration with host myocardium. In contrast, cCICs incorporation into extra-embryonic membranes is consistent with fate of polyploid cells in blastocysts. These findings provide insight into cCIC biology, their inherent predisposition toward fibroblast fates in cardiogenic environments, and remarkable participation in extra-embryonic tissue formation.


We determine nonlinear transformations between coordinate systems which are mutually in a constant symmetrical accelerated motion. The maximal acceleration limit follows from the kinematical origin and it is an analogue of the maximal velocity in special relativity. We derive the dependence of mass, length, time, Doppler effect, Cerenkov effect and transition radiation angle on acceleration as an analogue phenomenon in special theory of relativity. The last application of our method is the Thomas precession by uniform acceleration and equivalent gravity with the possible role in modern physics and cosmology.


Abstract Elastic plastic self-consistent (EPSC) simulations are used to model synchrotron X‑ray diffraction observations from deformation experiments on fayalite olivine using the deformation DIA apparatus. Consistent with results from other in situ diffraction studies of monomineralic polycrystals, the results show substantial variations in stress levels among grain populations. Rather than averaging the lattice reflection stresses or choosing a single reflection to determine the macroscopic stress supported by the specimen, an EPSC simulation is used to forward model diffraction data and determine a macroscopic stress that is consistent with lattice strains of all measured diffraction lines. The EPSC simulation presented here includes kink band formation among the plastic deformation mechanisms in the simulation. The inclusion of kink band formation is critical to the success of the models. This study demonstrates the importance of kink band formation as an accommodation mechanism during plastic deformation of olivine as well as the utility of using EPSC models to interpret diffraction from in situ deformation experiments.


The Wadden Sea can be considered as a functionally diverse ecosystem. In the present thesis, various global system indices based on information theory describe the developmental and organizational state of the ecosystem. The wide range illustrates different states of organization in the various communities of the Sylt- Romo Bight.

Energy flow studies of the Wadden Sea were up to now restricted to pure sand and mud flats, and have not been combined with studies on material exchange processes. I could show that energy flow varies considerably among the different habitats and that there is varying trophic efficiency due to habitat type. This results in low trophic efficiency when considering the total intertidal area of a tidal basin, and is primarily caused by low use of microphytobenthos and an overexploitation of autochthonous planktonic primary production in the dominant sand flat communities.

Material fluxes of 8 different habitats were measured using large in situ flumes (a special type of large scale field enclosure). Investigations on community metabolism and community production were performed and the results were synthesized by Ecological Network Analysis. The innovative potential of this work arises out of the combination of material flux studies, carried out with the novel in situ flume technology, and the Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) analysing the elemental flow and the food web from a holistic point of view.

I consider the sink and source functions on a community basis. This approach allows estimation of the filtration potential of a community and can distinguish it from passive sedimentation. This demonstrates that, presently, sedimentation in the intertidal part of the Sylt-Romo Bight is the more relevant process compared to the function as a biological filter.

Material exchange and material cycles differ distinctly between the communities of the Sylt- Romo Bight. The exchange of carbon varies both in magnitude and in the distribution pattern into different carbon forms, such as particulate, dissolved and living matter. Considering the different elements of the organic material such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, there are also differences in flow characteristics and the prevalent form of material transport within one community. The present work shows that communities with a high allochthonous material input show a high internal material turnover.

In communities exposed to higher currents and wave action such as sparse seagrass beds, sandy shoals and sandy beaches, I observe a higher percentage of "small" material cycles involving 2 compartments, compared to sheltered communities such as mud flats, dense seagrass beds and muddy sands, where 2 compartment cycles transport half or less than half the total amount of cycled material. This indicates both a quick cycling and a larger importance of a self-contained microbial loop in exposed communities.

In view of the existence of strong links between many predators and few prey species (i.e. few alternative or parallel pathways), especially the mussel bed system can be considered to possess less stability when faced with external perturbations (indicated by a low redundancy value). Redundancy indices for other communities are relatively high, reflecting multiple parallel pathways and thus, more resistance to external perturbations.

A further new insight from this analysis is how the amounts of the recycled elements carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus are distributed amongst the path length by which these elements are cycled. This new result was estimated for the total Sylt-Romo Bight but will be of general importance for ecosystems: About 99% of carbon (C) is cycled over short path lengths involving 2–3 model compartments, and although path lengths of up to 9 were identified, the amount of carbon transportedover longer ones is miniscule. Nitrogen (N) shows a clear bimodal distribution. Phosphorus (P) on the other hand shows a peak of recycling at path lengths 3 to 5, over which about 81% of P is recycled. Both N and P appear to be cycled over longer path lengths than C. This may also underline the importance of higher trophic levels such as invertebrates, fish and birds for element cycles such as nitrogen and phosphorus, whereas in carbon cycling, clearly short cycles are important, and microbial components are dominant.

Because the present network analysis is made with a high resolution down to species level, it can also be used to highlight the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning based on trophic system. I therefore found new quantitative evidence for the hypothesis of whether higher diversity is coupled with higher internal use of resources and with better cooperation within the system. This was tested by using simple correlations between certain system level indices and the diversity considered for the particular community . Since more members in a food web of a community are interacting (indicated by higher internal and food web connectivity), the resources may be used more efficiently without larger losses (indicated by Finn Cycling Index). Because biodiversity and the recycling potential are positively correlated, we conclude from these results a new theory that the more diverse a community is and the more niches and members occupying these niches (in terms of species) it provides, the less is the material loss from this community.

Considering the export function of communities, there is a clear decreasing trend of relative redundancy with increasing export of carbon from the community, supporting the hypothesis that more parallel cycles in a community improve the use and processing of the food sources and diminish the export of unused food.

The Sylt-Romo Bight is thus one of the first marine intertidal systems where the food web structure has been described including the habitat constituents. We now understand better the spatial differences of functional resource use and resource partitioning in a tidal basin, and we know that the characteristics of the food web of the communities differ widely with respect to their dependence on benthic or pelagic sources.
It is also the first time in a marine intertidal system that exchange processes have been related with food web structure, and that global system indices derived from network analysis were used for understanding the relation between diversity and functioning of benthic systems.


The seminal question at the forefront of Masoretic (MT)-150 Psalter research is a
question of the literary arrangement of the 150 psalms. An overarching compositional
logic of the MT-150, if any, is in the sequence design of the psalms. Unfortunately,
macrostructural studies of the entire Psalter are few, with no major consensus to
understanding its structuring techniques, shape and logic. From my consolidation of at
least 30 different tacit and formal macrostructuring techniques that can be detected in
the MT-150, important macrostructuring techniques include the use of superscriptions;
the programmatic nature of Pss 1–2; placement of acrostic/alphabetical compositions;
numerical devices and the five Davidic Collections. A previously unknown scribal
technique that places certain lexemes sequentially and exhaustively across the Psalter
to express a message is also uncovered. Based on these organizational principles, the
Psalter can be read palindromically, linearly, intertextually and even numerically. The
MT-150 is structured into three major Sections (Books I, II–III, IV–V), each further
divided into four Groups, and characterized by four recurring Central Motifs: (a)
YHWH's kingship; (b) Davidic kingship; (c) Zion-temple and (d) Supplication of a
Davidic figure. The logic of the MT-150 is a reception of the Davidic covenant. Book I
traces the establishments of both the Davidic kingship and Zion. Books II–III,
however, depict their fall and brokenness. Books IV–V highlight the re-establishments
of an ideal Davidic kingship and ideal Zion. As a whole, the MT-150 has a messianic
thrust with an exhortation for its readers to persevere in prayer and hope in view of
YHWH's covenantal promises. Striking correspondences between techniques, form,
content and logic help to validate the proposed design of the MT-150. This thesis will
contribute significantly to the understanding of the arrangement of the Hebrew Psalter.


The purpose of this paper is to study free vibration analysis of thick plates resting on Winkler foundation using Mindlin\'s theory with shear locking free fourth order finite element, to determine the effects of the thickness/span ratio, the aspect ratio, subgrade reaction modulus and the boundary conditions on the frequency paramerets of thick plates subjected to free vibration. In the analysis, finite element method is used for spatial integration. Finite element formulation of the equations of the thick plate theory is derived by using higher order displacement shape functions. A computer program using finite element method is coded in C++ to analyze the plates free, clamped or simply supported along all four edges. In the analysis, 17-noded finite element is used. Graphs are presented that should help engineers in the design of thick plates subjected to earthquake excitations. It is concluded that 17-noded finite element can be effectively used in the free vibration analysis of thick plates. It is also concluded that, in general, the changes in the thickness/span ratio are more effective on the maximum responses considered in this study than the changes in the aspect ratio.


Fifteen years of monitoring in the Bale Mountains provide a valuable time series to better understand the dynamics of populations of the endangered Ethiopian wolf Canis simensis in the face of epizootics and increasing human pressure. Line‐transect counts in four study areas were used to identify trends in the local abundances of wolves, people, livestock and domestic dogs (a putative rabies reservoir). Estimates of wolf abundance were validated against total counts in prime wolf habitats, where two local populations decimated by rabies in the early 1990s had recovered fully by 2000. Growth appeared to be regulated by negative density dependence, but the rate of growth was unexpectedly low at reduced densities. Limitations to rapid growth, including an initial gap for which data were sparse, are discussed. In a poorer habitat, wolf abundance estimates were less reliable but indicated slight fluctuations without an overall trend. A local extinction was recorded in an area of marginal habitat. With this exception, trends in wolf abundances were unrelated to trends in the abundance of people, livestock or dogs. Rabies emerged as the main cause of decline for high‐density populations. The rapidly increasing livestock grazing pressure in Bale gives cause for concern, calling for further research on its impacts upon long‐term wolf survival.


This paper examines the economic origins of the Islamic revival that took place in Egypt in the 1970-80s, and in Muslim societies more generally. We provide the first systematic evidence of a decline in social mobility among educated youth in Egypt. Developing a behavioral model of religion, we then characterize conditions under which a temporary decline in social mobility produces a large and long-lasting rise in religious participation. Religion in our model helps to cope with loss, which occurs when one's consumption falls below an expectations-based reference point. The model provides an explanation for why the educated middle class were in the vanguard of the Islamic revival. Rather than undermining religious belief and participation, our analysis suggests that economic development can make societies more prone to religious revivals.


Benthic fluxes and pore‐water profiles of dissolved organic nitrogen and carbon (DON and DOC, respectively) were determined in seasonal studies at contrasting sites in Chesapeake Bay. Pore‐water dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentrations were elevated over bottom‐water values, generally increased with depth, and ranged from 15 to ~160 µM for DON and ~200–2000 µM for DOC. Pore‐water DOM concentrations and the C:N ratio of this material showed spatial (depth) and temporal changes that varied among the sites studied. These trends appeared to be related to differences in the types of sediment organic matter (SOM) undergoing remineralization, as well as differences in the biogeochemical processes occurring in the sediments (e.g., the presence or absence of bioturbation and bioirrigation). Measured DON fluxes ranged from essentially zero to ~0.4 mmol m−2 d−1, and together with benthic DOC fluxes were coupled to seasonal trends in temperature and SOM remineralization rates. On an annual basis, benthic DON fluxes were a small fraction (~3%) of benthic inorganic nitrogen fluxes. At an anoxic nonbioturbated site measured DON fluxes were essentially identical to calculated diffusive DON fluxes, whereas at a bioturbated and bioirrigated site, measured DON fluxes were much greater than calculated fluxes. The molar ratios of DOC to DON benthic fluxes ranged from ~2 to 6 and were lower than those of pore‐water DOM, which were >~10. This implies that DOM accumulating in these sediment pore waters was carbon‐rich compared with the DOM that was either remineralized or escaped the sediment as a benthic flux. These measured benthic DON fluxes and estimated DON fluxes from continental margin sediments combine to yield a lower limit for the integrated sediment DON flux to the oceans that is similar to a value estimated previously. These net DON inputs to the oceans are small compared with internal oceanic DON cycling rates, although sediment DON fluxes and riverine DON inputs are roughly of the same order. At the same time, our results also suggest that the DON escaping from these sediments may not be inherently refractory because of its observed low C:N ratio. This implies that estuarine sediments (and perhaps marine sediment in general) may not be a major source of "refractory" DON to the oceans.


The purpose of this paper is to provide descriptive statistics on off-farm labour supply and farm/off-farm labour reallocation for Canadian farmers using cross-sectional data and cross-sectional panel data, respectively, obtained from the Canadian Census of Agriculture. This report is part of a larger study on the off-farm labour supply and labour mobility of farm operators (Swidinsky, 1997). The data indicates that a growing proportion of operators worked off-farm between 1971 and 1991. As well, operators who work off-farm have allocated greater amounts of time to the off-farm labour market. The share of census-farm operators reporting 97-228 days of off-farm work has risen from 11 percent to 15 percent, while the share working more than 228 days off-farm has increased from 13 percent to 16 percent of all operators from 1971 to 1991. There is also some mobility between the status of full-time and part-time farming, but a high proportion of both types of operators exit farming over a five-year period. Less than 15 percent of operators farming full-time change to part-time, while approximately 20 percent of operators farming full-time change to part-time. In contrast, approximately 25 percent of full-time operators exit farming, while 35 percent of part-time operators exit farming over a typical five-year period.


Measurement of the rate of diffusion of hydrous species in anhydrous minerals has been a subject of growing interest for the last ten years. Hydrogen diffusion studies are of fundamental importance to estimate the rate of transfer of hydrous species in natural conditions but also to identify the nature of the reactions involved in the speciation of hydrogen in minerals. For low concentration hydrous point defects, spectroscopic techniques are usually not sufficient to fully determine the location of hydrogen in the mineral structure. In these cases, kinetics studies provide additional constraints on the number of different defects stored in the mineral and their specific reaction rates.

Numerous experimental data of hydrogen diffusion in minerals have now been published in the Earth Sciences literature. This review provides a digest to these data for a variety of minerals with a special focus on hydrogen in nominally anhydrous minerals. The review will not address the question of molecular water diffusion in minerals, melts or glasses. For a recent review of that question see for instance Doremus (2002). After a brief outline of basic diffusion concepts and methods of measurement, we summarize the main features of atomic diffusion linked to hydrogen isotope exchange and hydrogen reaction in minerals.

Atomic diffusion is defined as the transport of matter in response to a driving force, which can be a chemical potential gradient or a temperature gradient. Atomic diffusion induced by a thermal gradient is very limited in solid earth sciences whereas the occurrence of strong chemical gradients is much more frequent in minerals. Atoms move from one region to the other in order to equilibrate the chemical potentials μ and reduce the Gibbs free energy of the system. The disequilibrium induced by a chemical potential gradient ( d μ/ dx )i of a component i …


The use of organic manures as amendments to improve soil organic matter level and long term soil fertility and productivity is gaining importance. The disposal of the great quantity of organic wastes produced by the municipal, agricultural and agroindustrial activities, is causing energetic, economic and environmental problems. Sludge composting and using them in agriculture should be a priority for their disposal. Sludge should be treated not as a waste but as a valuable non-farm sources of organic matter to soil. The composting process is a useful method of producing a stabilized material that can be used as a source of nutrients and soil conditioner in fields. The objective of this study was estimation of optimal dose of sewage sludge in composting mixture to obtain of mature and stable compost. The mixture was prepared from sewage sludge (10-40%), organic fraction of MSW(30%), grass (20-50%), sawdust as a bulking agents. Maximum temperature in the bioreactor reached 68.9°C between 1st and 3rd day of composting, and the mean temperature during this period fluctuated from 36 to 46°C. Later, the temperature gradually decreased and after 30 days of composting it approached ambient air temperature which means the end of process. There was significant impact of the high temperature on the rate of the process and of the extent of the hygienisation. The results show that all initial samples are infected with helminth eggs but there is a large variation in the degree of infection for the different sludge samples (102 to 256 eggs kg -1 d.m.). The inactivation of the helminth eggs in the compost can be accomplished, if the temperature inside of the reactor is sufficient as in the case M III and M IV. The final compost M III and M IV was well sanitized as a result of the high temperature achieved due to higher grass addition in those mixtures. Composts M I and M II can not be used in agriculture because of bad microbiological characteristic, however MII can be used for recultivation after hygienisation. The composted material assumed the appearance and structure similar to the so-called horticultural soil. As an exothermic process, composting caused very high loss of water in composted material. All the composts were granular, dark grey in color without foul odor and attained an ambient temperature after 30 days of composting, indicating the stable nature of composts. Additional researches are required in order to optimize the better organic and nitrogen compounds degradation during co-composting process.


Noise pollution can have a direct effect to the human health. Noise pollution has caused many people suffering if the noise level exceeds the limit of human hearing ears. Additionally, noise may interfere with the comfort of residential area. But nowadays, the residential was located near with the industrial activity. This factor will disturb the human comfort at the residential area. The objective of this dissertation is to identify the environmental issue due to industrial activity, to measure the sound level in the residential area and to examine the impact of noise pollution on neigbouring areas. This dissertation was use three method for data collected such as interviewing the related parties, distribute the questionnaire to local resident and measure the sound level meter at the residential area. The selected case studies for this dissertation are
Taman Daya Maju and Taman Daya Meru which is located at Meru, Klang. In overall, both of residential area was receive a lot of noise. This is because; these residential areas located near with industrial and also located near to the main road. Through the case study, all data level was exceeding the noise levels that have set by the Environmental Department, which is 55dB.
Based on data analysis that has been made, there are some issues that will be a source of building occupant discomfort which is caused by noise pollution. To reduce the noise pollution at these residential areas, the local authority or any related party can use the method such as
construct the wall barrier, planting the trees around the residential area, enforcing the law and so on.


This paper discusses an approach to preserve presentation by using metadata to describe the 'look' of digital documents in order to make them appear in a trustworthy way. The reason for making them appear in a trustworthy way is that documents often get record status, for example in a governmental agency. The concept of Records Continuum together with work conducted by Heslop, Davis and Wilson at National Archives of Australia regarding preservation of digital records, is some sources of inspiration for the approach suggested in this paper, together with discussions around significant properties and imitative copies. This paper focuses on discussing how metadata driven presentation of webbased forms can be a suitable way to preserve logical and physical structure of such forms, and in particular reason around a model suggested for this kind of preservation (Nilsson 2006). This is all part on an ongoing work and at the moment the focus lies on objects that are created digitally (i.e. does not have an analogue original). This paper only considers individual documents/forms/records and not records in the meaning of several digital objects that all are part of one record. The results, which are based on interviews with individuals in the archival community, point at that the suggested approach, despite some problems, could be a suitable way to handle the access to imitative copies of digital objects, but that this alone is not enough for achieving trust in the object.


Purpose - – Drawing from an interest in the changing Indonesian political and regulatory history, the purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the role that accounting reform can play in nurturing, or failing to nurture, a more dialogic form of accounting in a local Indonesian municipality. Design/methodology/approach - – To collect the data, the authors undertook a case study of a local municipality and drew from patterns found in Indonesia's long colonial history. Data were acquired from official and publicly available documents and interviews with 29 key figures, including those involved in formulating and disseminating laws and also those affected by the accounting reforms from 1998 to 2009. Document collection and interviews were conducted at national and local levels. Findings - – This study shows that Indonesia has undertaken significant economic and political reforms for the intended purposes of fostering democracy, strengthening accountability, and creating transparency in relation to public sector practices. As part of these reforms, accrual accounting is now mandatory, independent audit is conducted, and disclosure is required by Government offices at central and local levels. Nonetheless, drawing from dialogic accounting principles, this study demonstrates the limitations of legislation and regulation in countering patterns that have long been laid down in history. Essentially, there is limited opportunity to question the elements of these reforms, and the study has also found that centralizing forces remain to serve vested interests. The root of the problem may lie in traditions of central control which have played out in how a dialogic form of accounting has failed to emerge from these important accounting reforms. Research limitations/implications - – The findings of this study should be understood from historical, political, and cultural backgrounds of the site of the study. Practical implications - – The implications of the findings should be taken into account by public sector policy makers, particularly in emerging economies – where political realities, economic, social, political, and cultural backgrounds set different historical patterns and result in unique circumstances that may tend to retain traditions of the past even under rules and regulations of the present. Originality/value - – A key contribution of this study is to show how the political traditions of a nation can permeate and divert the intent of, in this case, engaging a broader public in discourse about accounting reform in the public sector. In addition, this study also provides an understanding of public sector reform in the context of a diverse and unsettled nation which has been long subject to colonial, top-led, and military leadership. The findings demonstrate complexities and unintended outcomes that can emerge in public sector accounting reform and how, in this case, they appear to be influenced by historical traditions of centralized control.


The purpose of this paper is to highlight the important role of political protections of fundamental rights. The paper acknowledges that legal protections as a way of protecting rights against legislative encroachment, have definite strengths – in particular the court provides an determination as to the rights-compatibility of challenged legislation (whatever the consequence of such a determination may be), it offers authoritative interpretations of rights and provides a forum in which victims of (alleged) rights violations can challenge the legislation. However, at the same time, this paper points out that these strengths necessarily bring with them certain weaknesses – the political nature of rights-discourse, the focus on compatibility as a standard of protection and, perhaps most controversially, the non-democratic nature of the courts. This paper will draw on the experiences of various jurisdictions to point out how political protections play an important role in the protection of fundamental rights and, if properly designed, can operate as part of the law-making process where legal protections are least able to engage. If viewed as an inherent part of an overall commitment to the protection of rights – not as merely supplementary mechanisms developed on an ad hoc basis to aid executives and legislatures in avoiding judicial criticism – political protections can be used to retain the strengths of legal protections whilst operating to mitigate the impact (real or perceived) of the weaknesses associated with judicial review models of rights protection.


Formulas are derived in this paper for the conjugates of convex integral functionals on Banach spaces of measurable or continuous vector-valued functions. These formulas imply the weak compactness of certain convex sets of summable functions, and they thus have applications in the existence theory and duality theory for various optimization problems. They also yield formulas for the subdifferentials of integral functionals, as well as characterizations of supporting hyperplanes and normal cones.


Round 1 of the Reducing Burglary Initiative (RBI) was built upon a strong evidence base of operational research, which had identified types of measures that can be effective in reducing burglary in local areas. A key objective of the RBI was to find out what works best where. Sixty three Strategic Development Projects (SDPs) were funded by Round 1 of the RBI. These projects were encouraged to develop innovative burglary reduction strategies. As a result, a wide range of interventions was implemented in a variety of contexts making use of different principles.

This paper presents a summary of one of these projects where activities undertaken were built along the general framework of police crackdown followed by consolidation interventions.


Adaptive importance sampling (AIS) uses past samples to update the \textit{sampling policy} $q_t$ at each stage $t$. Each stage $t$ is formed with two steps : (i) to explore the space with $n_t$ points according to $q_t$ and (ii) to exploit the current amount of information to update the sampling policy. The very fundamental question raised in this paper concerns the behavior of empirical sums based on AIS. Without making any assumption on the allocation policy $n_t$, the theory developed involves no restriction on the split of computational resources between the explore (i) and the exploit (ii) step. It is shown that AIS is asymptotically optimal : the asymptotic behavior of AIS is the same as some "oracle" strategy that knows the targeted sampling policy from the beginning. From a practical perspective, weighted AIS is introduced, a new method that allows to forget poor samples from early stages.


Due to specific problems, Network Address Translation - Protocol
Translation (NAT-PT) was deprecated by the IETF as a mechanism to
perform IPv6-IPv4 translation. Since then, new efforts have been
undertaken within IETF to standardize alternative mechanisms to
perform IPv6-IPv4 translation. This document analyzes to what extent
the new stateful translation mechanisms avoid the problems that caused
the IETF to deprecate NAT-PT.


THEORETICAL ISSUES. The Political Economy of Government Debt: A Survey. (B. van Velthoven, H. Verbon, F. van Winden). Introduction. The Intertemporal Government Budget Constraint. The Effects of Government Debt. Positive Theories of Public Debt. Long Term Debt Strategy: A Survey. (R. Boadway, D. Wildasin). Introduction. Characterizing Public Debt. The Effect of Public Debt on the Economy. Normative Aspects of Debt Policy. Concluding Remarks. The Politics of Intergenerational Redistribution. (G. Tabellini). Introduction. The Model. The Economic Equilibrium. Voting on Debt Repudiation. Equilibrium Intergenerational Redistribution. Concluding Remarks. Social Security and the Deficit in the US: A Political Economy Approach. (A. Cukierman). Introduction. Social Security and the Budget: Some Background Facts. The 1983 SS Fixup and the Role of the Trust Fund as a Commitment Device. A Model of Congressional Behavior with Respect to SS and the Rest of the Budget. Interpretation of Past Events in Light of the Model and its Implications for the Current Policy Debate and the Future. Concluding Reflections. Endogenous Technology, Budgetary Regimes and Public Debt. (C. van Ewijk, T. van de Klundert). Introduction. Endogenous Technical Change. Private and Public Production of Technology. Macroeconomic Model. Fiscal Policy, Productivity Growth and Budgetary Regimes. Choice of Regime: Some Political Aspects. Conclusion. Economic and Monetary Union in Europe and Constraints on National Budgetary Policies. (L. Bovenberg, J. Kremers, P. Masson). Introduction. EMU: A New Environment for Budgetary Policy. Monetary Union and Prospects for Budget Discipline. Intergenerational Equity and Intertemporal Efficiency. Stabilization Policy. Concluding Comments. Monetary Discipline and the Real Value of Government Debt: The Case for an Independent Eurofed. (F. van der Ploeg). Introduction. Competition among the Treasuries and Central Banks of a Monetary Union. European Monetary Union with an Independent Central Bank. Reasons for Joining the EMS. Conclusion. EMPIRICAL APPLICATIONS. The Determinants of the Ricardian Equivalence in the OECD Countries. (S. Perelman, P. Pestieau). Introduction. Testing Ricardian Equivalence with Time-Series Cross-Section Data. Ricardian Equivalence Indicators for Each Country. Conclusions. Debt Neutrality, Finite Horizons, and Private Savings Behavior. (A. Jaeger). Introduction. Public Debt Neutrality in a Finite-Horizon Economy. Debt Neutrality and Private Savings Behavior. Conclusion. Management of the Nominal Public Debt: Theory and Applications. (G. Calvo, P. Guidotti). Introduction. The Model. Public Debt Management: Numerical Simulations. Debt Maturity in Italy, Ireland, and the United States. Concluding Remarks. Interest Rates and Government Debt: Are the Linkages Global rather than National? (V. Tanzi, M. Lutz). Introduction. General Background. The Growth of Public Debt in OECD Countries. Debt and Interest Rates: Empirical Results. Concluding Remarks. Self-Correcting Deficits: A New Lesson in Functional Finance. (R. Eisner, S.-I. Hwang). Introduction. Theory and Hypotheses. Description of Equations. Characteristics of the Models. Conclusions. Positive Theories of Public Debt: Some Evidence for Germany.(J. de Haan, D. Zelhorst). Introduction. The Tax Smoothing Theory of Public Debt. Political Determinants of Government Budget Deficits. Testing the Tax Smoothing Hypothesis of Public Debt for the FRG. Testing for Political Determinants of Government Debt Growth in the FRG. Some Concluding Comments. Suggestions for a New Set of Fiscal Indicators. (O. Blanchard). Introduction. The Uses and Abuses of the CAB. Constructing Indicators: A General Strategy. Indicators of Discretionary Fiscal Policy. Indicators of Sustainability. Indicators of Fiscal Impact on Aggregate Demand. Indicators of Fiscal Distortions. Conclusion and Summary.


In the rural areas of developing countries, teacher absence is a widespread problem. This paper tests whether a simple incentive program based on teacher presence can reduce teacher absence, and whether it has the potential to lead to more teaching activities and better learning. In 60 informal one-teacher schools in rural India, randomly chosen out of 120 (the treatment schools), a financial incentive program was initiated to reduce absenteeism. Teachers were given a camera with a tamper-proof date and time function, along with instructions to have one of the children photograph the teacher and other students at the beginning and end of the school day. The time and date stamps on the photographs were used to track teacher attendance. A teacher's salary was a direct function of his attendance. The remaining 60 schools served as comparison schools. The introduction of the program resulted in an immediate decline in teacher absence. The absence rate (measured using unannounced visits both in treatment and comparison schools) changed from an average of 42 percent in the comparison schools to 22 percent in the treatment schools. When the schools were open, teachers were as likely to be teaching in both types of schools, and the number of students present was roughly the same. The program positively affected child achievement levels: a year after the start of the program, test scores in program schools were 0.17 standard deviations higher than in the comparison schools and children were 40 percent more likely to be admitted into regular schools.


INTRODUCTION
Most Alzheimer's disease (AD) loci have been discovered in individuals with European ancestry (EA).

METHODS
We applied principal component analysis using Gaussian mixture models and an Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) reference genome-wide association study (GWAS) data set to identify Ashkenazi Jews ascertained in GWAS (n = 42,682), whole genome sequencing (WGS, n = 16,815), and whole exome sequencing (WES, n = 20,504) data sets. The association of AD was tested genome wide (GW) in the GWAS and WGS data sets and exome wide (EW) in all three data sets (EW). Gene-based analyses were performed using aggregated rare variants.

RESULTS
In addition to apolipoprotein E (APOE), GW analyses (1355 cases and 1661 controls) revealed associations with TREM2 R47H (p = 9.66 × 10-9 ), rs541586606 near RAB3B (p = 5.01 × 10-8 ), and rs760573036 between SPOCK3 and ANXA10 (p = 6.32 × 10-8 ). In EW analyses (1504 cases and 2047 controls), study-wide significant association was observed with rs1003710 near SMAP2 (p = 1.91 × 10-7 ). A significant gene-based association was identified with GIPR (p = 7.34 × 10-7 ).

DISCUSSION
Our results highlight the efficacy of founder populations for AD genetic studies.


Title: Sense of coherence, coping and burnout in an electricity supply organisation Kev terms: Sense of coherence, coping, burnout, job stress, validity, reliability, engineers, technicians. electricians. The relationships that people have with their work, and the difficulties that can arise when those relationships turn sour, have been long recognised as a significant phenomenon of the modem age. The use of the term burnout for this phenomenon began to appear with some regularity in the 1970s in the United States, especially among people working in the human services. Burnout can be expected amongst engineers, technicians and electricians, due to the integration of their work activities and the quality of support received from their supervisors or managers as well as from other departments. Front line staff can be expected to experience higher levels of burnout, because of their direct contact with difficult customers (cut-offs due to non-payments, for instance), certain job demands (restoration of power interruptions), staff shortages, training of new staff, and so on. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between burnout, job stress, sense of coherence and coping of engineers, technicians and electricians in a South African electricity distribution organisation. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population consisted of 38 engineers, 86 technicians and 91 electricians. Four questionnaires were used, namely the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey, a Job Stress Questionnaire, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire and COPE. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the results. The results showed that stress because of job demands, lack of support, supervision and transformation, as well as a weak sense of coherence predicted exhaustion. Exhaustion and avoidance predicted cynicism. A causal sequence was found between sense of coherence, job stress and exhaustion. Active coping moderated the effect of sense of coherence on professional efficacy. Employees with a lower job grade show higher levels of cynicism and lower levels of professional efficacy compared with those with a higher job grade. An explanation might be that the lower job grades lack the necessary coping skills. Therefore, it seems that employees who have a weak sense of coherence are inclined to suffer from job stress, which will lead to exhaustion. Sense of coherence and the use of active coping strategies seem to contribute to the professional efficacy of employees, which may lead to health-enhancing behaviours and better social adjustments. Job stress impacts on exhaustion and sense of coherence, and a strong sense of coherence moderates the effects of job stress on exhaustion. Sense of coherence also protects employees from developing low professional efficacy. Active coping strategies moderate the effects of sense of coherence on professional efficacy. Avoidance as a coping strategy mediated the relationship between sense of coherence and cynicism. Recommendations for future research were made.


The mechanism for refractive-index changes that accompany changes in population during pumping and amplification of an optical beam is studied in a Nd:YAG laser crystal by both resonant four-wave mixing and interferometric techniques. It is found that these refractive-index changes (connected with the difference in polarizability of excited and unexcited Nd3+ ions) have two components: a small noninertial component that accompanies an amplified optical pulse and the major changes that are intensified with a delay time of ∼3 µs. The latter effect is explained by population (or depopulation) of a higher-lying energy level  2(F2)5/2 of the 4f electron shell of Nd3+ ions, which has large polarizability in near-IR and visible light. The real part of the nonlinear optical resonant susceptibility of the inverted Nd:YAG caused by the refractive-index changes is also discussed.


Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon by which a subset of genes is expressed in a parent of origin specific manner. Most of the imprinted genes are located in clusters. Genetic evidences suggest that genes in imprinted clusters are regulated by Imprinting Control Regions (ICRs). To elucidate the mechanisms by which the imprinting is maintained in clusters, we have chosen a well characterized cluster at the distal end of mouse chromosome 7. This cluster contains 15 imprinted genes and they have been shown to be regulated by H19 and Kcnq1 ICRs. The mouse H19 ICR, which is shown to have a chromatin insulator function, is implicated in the regulation of H19 and Igf2 genes by interacting with the CTCF protein. It has been documented that CTCF is also involved in the maintenance of differential methylation at the ICR. In this investigation we demonstrated that CTCF maintained differential methylation is lost when we subjected the ICR containing episomal plasmids to de novo methylation machinery of the human choriocarcinoma cell line, JEG3, suggesting that the H19 ICR looses its methylation privilege property under neoplastic conditions. The Kcnq1 ICR has been implicated in the regulation of 11 imprinted genes. The Kcnq1 ICR is methylated on the active maternal allele but unmethylated on the inactive paternal allele and overlaps an oppositely oriented and paternally expressed gene known as Kcnq1ot1. In this investigation, we documented that the Kcnq1 ICR controls the imprinting of neighboring genes by behaving as a bidirectional silencer and that this function is regulated by antisense RNA Kcnq1ot1. Furthermore, we have documented that duration of antisense transcription plays a critical role in the antisense RNA- mediated silencing. In conclusion, this thesis provides more insights into the complex mechanistic aspects by which ICRs, control imprinting of genes in clusters during development and neoplasia.


Despite being brutally slated at times, Andrzej Kondratiuk's films were also often admired and praised by Polish film critics. Their inability to uniformly categorise and value Kondratiuk's highly unconventional work has led to him being set aside, and labelled as, a 'separate' filmmaker in Polish film history. This study brings the complex dynamic to light that existed between Andrzej Kondratiuk and the Polish post-war film culture in which his work was constantly corrected, smoothed and polished. The problematic reception that has coloured Kondratiuk's career is analysed within a framework of the grotesque. Iwona Guśc argues that the grotesque devices used by Kondratiuk to undermine established norms were crucial for the developement of the reception process. Her approach, however, does not centre on the formal aspects of Kondratiuk's films, but rather on the problems of reception they evoked. Guśc therefore considers the grotesque as a specific perceptual and cognitive experience elicited by the work itself; an experience in which the violation of expectations and disorientation play a crucial role. This research explores reception documents from the period 1959 to 2009 and thus covers nearly all of Kondratiuk's professional career. Guśc demonstrates that Kondratiuk stubbornly resisted every interpretive strategy the contemporary viewers had in store for him. While critics and censors were continuously trying to turn him into a polished filmmaker, Kondratiuk kept on refuting their efforts by ridiculing nearly all of their judgments and interpretations. He thus made the canonisation of his own work – during the communist as well as during the post-communist period – virtually impossible.


This thesis investigates the features of common health risk behaviours (HRBs), namely, violent behaviours, sexual behaviours, smoking, drug use and unhealthy dietary behaviours, and patterns of engagement with these HRBs, among students at a Saudi university. The study includes a literature review covering the underlying reasons and consequences of HRBs, and explores existing theoretical models of HRBs in order to construct an appropriate theoretical model which underpins and guides this investigation. A mixed methods research methodology was used; quantitative data was collected using a questionnaire-based survey administered to 722 respondents, and qualitative data was collected using a series of interviews with 17 students. The elaborated theoretical model developed from the findings of the study may offer a more accurate understanding of HRBs amongst students at this Saudi university. In addition, the theoretical model may help to inform HRB-related research more widely across universities in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Key findings point to high levels of smoking, risky driving and violent behaviours, moderate levels of alcohol and illegal drug consumption, and physical inactivity and unhealthy diet. Students did not report serious sexual risk behaviours. Furthermore, such HRBs are influenced by traditional practices, gender, age, influence of other HRBs, the current legal system, globalisation, and lack of awareness. These practices are well-aligned to three major levels of influence: the intra-personal, public engagement and socio-cultural. Policy and practice implications arising from the findings are discussed.


Write testable and maintainable code to develop highly-functional iOS appsAbout This BookLearn test-driven principles to help you build apps with fewer bugs and better designsBecome more efficient while working with Swift to move on to your next project faster!Implement all of the principles of test-driven development (TDD) in to your daily programming workflowWho This Book Is ForMy reader have already done some application development with Swift. They follow the changes in each new Swift version. They also follow a few Swift developers on Twitter or Tumblr and read blog post from famous Swift bloggers. My reader have already heard about Test-Driven Development (TDD) but haven't done really much about it. But they have heard/read that TDD can help to write better code but they don't really know why.What You Will LearnImplement TDD in Swift application developmentFind bugs before you enter the code using the TDD approachUse TDD to build models, view controllers, and viewsTest network code with asynchronous tests and stubsWrite code that is a joy to read and to maintainDevelop functional tests to ensure the app works as plannedEmploy continuous integration to make testing and deployment easierIn DetailTest-driven development (TDD) is a proven way to find software bugs early. Writing tests before your code improves the structure and maintainability of your apps. In combination with the improved syntax of Swift 3, there is no excuse or writing bad code.This book will help you understand the process of TDD and how it impacts your apps written in Swift. Through a practical, real-world example app, you'll start seeing how to implement TDD in context. You will begin with an overview of the TDD workflow and then deep dive into unit testing concepts and code cycles. You will also plan and structure your test driven iOS app, and write tests to drive the development of the view controllers and the helper classes. Next, you'll learn how to write tests for network code, what CI is and how to set it up using Xcode Server. Finally, the book will guide you through the next steps to become a testing expert by discussing integration tests, Behavior Driven Development (BDD), open source testing frameworks and UI Tests introduced in Xcode 8.Style and approachUsing a step-by-step approach, you will develop an entire iOS app using TDD. During the course of the book, you will experience different strategies to write tests for models, View Controller, and networking code.


This essay argues that sports law can be more than just a fascinating and topical subject with great appeal to those who work or hope to work in the field. It can also be a valuable intellectual and pedagogical enterprise—even for those who do not or will not work in sports. In particular, sports law can be a useful and clarifying lens through which to study the law more broadly. This is because sports enterprises and issues tend to put unique and potentially illuminating pressures on the law. Ordinary or unexamined assumptions often break down or prove inadequate when confronted with the relatively unique world of sports. This in turn forces scholars, students, and courts to think more deeply about the law—and in the process facilitates that deeper thought. This essay first describes some of the things that make sports relatively unique and therefore challenging to the law. The bulk of this essay then addresses three specific areas of law: antitrust; trademark; and sex discrimination. These three contexts are used to highlight and illustrate the ways in which sports law can call upon us to rethink what we think we know—and thus can help deepen and clarify our thinking. This essay concludes by suggesting that teachers and scholars of sports law should try to tap the intellectual and pedagogical potential the subject offers.


This article focuses on every day communication in New Media with special regards to private writing on Instant Messaging. After brief introductory thoughts about writings beyond the linguistic norm in New Media we compare the specific circumstances of "new" writing via internet and mobile phone with "traditional" offline writing that can be realized by the use of a computer, a type writer or by hand. How this new writing is judged by the public, whether it is considered to be "good" or "bad" and how experts position themselves in this discussion, is shown in section 3. Section 4 takes a look at which linguistic theories might apply to the analysis of typed dialogues in computer mediated communication. The main focus here is on the theory of Interactional Linguistics which formerly had been applied only to the analysis of oral communication. Finally, language critical and linguistic aspects of writing in the New Media are discussed in a brief synopsis.


Background: We analysed the feasibility of the 9th ACCP-guidelines recommendation of starting therapeutic anti- coagulation in patients with a high suspicion of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and tried to answer the question as to whether it generates a relevant over- or under-use of anti-coagulants in the period prior to the definitive diagnosis. Patients and methods: From March to May 2013 we included 98 consecutive out-patients (mean age 63 ± 17 years, 39 males) suspected of DVT, classifying them according to the 9th ACCP-guidelines recommendations into two groups with high and low clinical suspicion. Those with a high suspicion (Wells Score ≥ 2 and elevated DDimer concentration) initially received Rivaroxaban 15 mg orally. Results: Out of the 80 patients with a high clinical suspicion, 15 (19%) received therapeutic anti-coagulation without any medical necessity because DVT was finally excluded. Out of the 10 patients with a low clinical suspicion, 2 (20%) with a finally proven DVT might have benefited from initial therapeutic anti-coagulation. Females were at a slightly higher risk of receiving therapeutic anti-coagulation unnecessarily. Out of the 45 females with a high clinical suspicion, who received therapeutic anti-coagulation, DVT was excluded in 9 (20%). In males it was 6 (17%) out of 35 patients. The costs for those 80 patients accepting initial anti-coagulation by taking Rivaroxaban 15 mg were €312. By using Certoparin 8000 I.E. the cost would have been €792, which is 150% higher compared to Rivaroxaban within in the same period. Conclusion: Defining patients to have a high suspicion for DVT by Wells score and DDimer is associated with an over-use of therapeutic anticoagulation in almost every fifth patients.


This paper explores the central place of stories and narratives in action research practices and accounts to argue that it is hard to imagine how we might do or write about action research in a non‐storied way. The paper argues that good stories help us to think well and more wisely about ourselves and our practice. An historical example is chosen to illustrate the compelling potential of stories about real people and real lives, followed by a teasing out of six methodological issues that arise.


The behaviour of a nation's stock market is increasingly seen as a barometer of its economic growth, strength and stability. While the behaviour of well established equity markets is well researched and documented, the behaviour of small and developing exchanges is still not much studied. This thesis examines and analyses some aspects of the behaviour of an emerging equity market known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) - the national stock exchange for Malaysia.

To serve as the groundwork for our empirical investigation, this study begins with a survey of the related literature. The literature on efficient market hypothesis (EMH); the literature on various theories and models which are complementary and contradictory to the EMH - are reviewed.

Empirically, four major aspects of the behaviour of the KLSE are examined. Using both share price indices and individual company share prices/returns for a sample period 1984:01 through 1994: 12, we study some statistical properties of stock returns, correlations with other markets, stock market forecastability and the presence of mean reversion/mean aversion in stock returns. The behaviour of the KLSE market indices are compared in several respects with the indices of selected developed markets.

Our study has resulted a number of findings, some of which could be considered as intriguing and novel for a relatively unresearched market like the KLSE.

Similar to many previous researches, our study has provided evidence that the distributions of stock returns are not normal. Rather, they are leptokurtic. Variances/standard deviations of stock returns on the KLSE were found to be large compared with, for example, the New York and London stock exchanges, but the realised returns were not significantly different for the period of study. The KLSE is found to be positively correlated with most foreign exchanges, although these correlations are far from unity. These correlations however, are not constant/stable through time.

Our evidence also suggests that the Malaysian market tends to exhibit strong regional links. Additionally, the KLSE appears to have significant lagged correlations with a number of developed exchanges.

Three equity markets are identified as the most influential foreign exchanges to the KLSE in terms of their comovements (and/or lagged correlations). They are, the Stock Exchange of Singapore, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

We found no evidence that the "forecastability" of stock prices/returns on the KLSE could be improved when an 'out-of-sample' forecasting procedure known as the multi-process models was employed. Moreover, we have found that the returns for some stocks are more forecastable than others.

Variance ratio tests indicate that over long horizons, some stocks listed on the KLSE tend to exhibit mean reversion, some are mean aversive and the rest seem to follow a random walk.

The present research has also raised a number of issues which might be interesting for further study. These issues are discussed in Chapter Seven of the thesis.


Recent attention has focused on the use of perennial, warm-season grasses as renewable energy crops. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of N fertilization on partitioning of biomass and nutrients between above- and belowground plant components by four warm-season grass species in Iowa. In 2006-2007, established stands of big bluestem (Andropogon geradii Vitman), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), indiangrass [Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash], and eastern gamagrass [Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L.] were fertilized with 0, 65, 140, or 220 kg N ha -1 in the spring and harvested following frost in the fall. Dependent on grass species and year, yield response to N was linear or quadratic. Optimum yield after 2 yr was 13.5 Mg ha -1 at 140 kg N ha -1 for all grasses except eastern gamagrass, which demonstrated lower yield and a consistent linear N response. Nitrogen inputs had pronounced but grass-specific effects on root biomass and nutrient partitioning. For big bluestem and switchgrass, 140 kg N ha -1 maximized root biomass and favored allocation of nutrients to roots over shoots. In contrast, for indiangrass and eastern gamagrass, root biomass and root nutrient allocation were adversely affected by N inputs. For all grasses, 220 kg N ha -1 shifted allocation of nutrients to shoots over roots. Selection of crops and management practices that optimize yield, and maintain a high level of resource partitioning to roots at low to intermediate N input rates will promote the development of productive and efficient bioenergy systems.


ABSTRACT:This article suggests that in early American novels, the letter served as a kind of paper body, a contested space where women writers and their readers vied for control over the female form, symbolizing the broader cultural struggle in which women were enmeshed during and shortly after the American Revolution. Using Susanna Rowson's Charlotte Temple, Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette, William Hill Brown's The Power of Sympathy, Tabitha Gilman Tenney's Female Quixotism, and the letter-writing manuals that informed these novels, this article argues that epistles in early American fiction function less like scenery and more like characters with rules of propriety governing their construction, delivery, reception, and response. While letters offered a certain amount of agency to women as paper bodies that could travel long distances unaccompanied into the private rooms of men, they could also pass out of their writers' control. Men and women could intercept, change, misinterpret, redirect, and generally manipulate epistles as they saw fit. In these novels, no matter what choice a woman makes—write or avoid writing, read or avoid reading—her agency is as easily destroyed as the paper on which her words are written.


Objectives: To describe the case selection, technique and immediate and short-term results of balloon pulmonary valvotomy (BPV) in young infants with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Background: Symptomatic young infants with TOF can either undergo corrective surgery or Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt. Corrective surgery in early infancy is associated with significant morbidity and is not a realistic option in many centers. BT shunt carries the risk of branch pulmonary artery distortion and shunt occlusion. Methods: Infants less than three months with a significant valvar pulmonary stenosis (with or without associated infundibular and annular component) and oxygen saturation ≤80% were offered BPV. The right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) was crossed with 4F Judkin's right coronary catheter and the valve was crossed with 0.014" coronary guide wire. Serial balloon dilatations were done with over the wire coronary balloons (3-4 mm) and Mini Tyshak balloons up to a balloon annulus ratio of 2:1, depending upon the improvement in saturation and formation of annular waist. Results: Seventeen infants less than three months of age with tetralogy of Fallot (median age: 33 days, range: 10-90 days, weight: 3.47 ± 0.87 kg, pulmonary annulus Z score: -5.59 ± 1.04) including eight neonates underwent palliative BPV between May 2004 and March 2007. The mean balloon annulus ratio was 1.4 ± 0.28 and fluoroscopy time was 26.18 ± 20.2 minutes. The mean oxygen saturation increased significantly from 73 ± 7% to 90 ± 3.68% following BPV (p = 0.0001). The only major complication was RVOT perforation and pericardial tamponade in one infant. The mean follow-up period was 23 ± 12 months. Two babies developed significant desaturation requiring surgery in the six months following BPV. There was a significant increase in pulmonary annulus. The z score for the pulmonary annulus improved from -5.59 ±1.04 before BPV to - 4.31 ± 1.9 at the time of last follow-up (p = 0.018). The mean Z score of hilar right pulmonary artery (RPA) increased significantly from -1.19 ± 1.78 before BPV to 0.7 ± 0.91 after BPV (p = 0.001). The mean Z score of hilar left pulmonary artery (LPA) increased significantly from -1.28 ± 1.41 to 0.03 ± 1.29 after BPV (p = 0.005). Eight patients underwent corrective surgery. Conclusions: Balloon pulmonary valvotomy is safe and effective. It significantly improves the growth of pulmonary annulus and branch pulmonary arteries. Thus it can be considered as an interim palliative procedure for symptomatic young infants with TOF and predominant valvar pulmonary stenosis.


Background: The current health care system faces increasing costs and demands while the presence of chronic conditions in the general populations is rising. A shift from disease fighting toward health promotion is needed to prevent these conditions and empower people to work on their own health. In the Military setting, health promotion is equally important. Many Veterans are returning from missions with traumatic experiences. Therefore, in the field of mental health, it is also important to focus on building mental resilience before deployment, instead of starting treating after the damage is done. Throughout the ages, Eastern medicine systems have developed different views on health, disease, and resilience. These systems generally focus more on health promotion and strengthening the self-healing properties of the body, and are, therefore, complementary to Western medical developments. A better understanding and integration of those complementary views might reveal new avenues for treatments. Objectives: In this chapter, Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and endobiogeny thinking are reviewed. Examples are then given of how systems biology can be applied to study Eastern medicine systems and reveal biologic information about certain diagnostic principles. These examples show how combined Western and Eastern diagnosis can be used to discover new patient subtypes. Those subtypes can then be used to study responses to medications and lifestyle interventions, leading toward personalized treatment in the future. Results: Different studies open a field of exploration to combine systems biology into global health practice. This review shows that systems biology is successful in revealing biologic information about Eastern medicine practices. Conclusions: This new comprehensive approach, bridging the East and the West, creates novel opportunities for Military health care systems. More targeted and personalized treatment options can be developed for Soldiers, as well as novel health-promotion strategies based on foods, herbs, acupuncture, and other modalities.


BACKGROUND: It is generally acknowledged that conventional estimates of the potential number of life years to be gained by elimination of causes of death are too generous. This is because these estimates fail to take into account the fact that those who are saved from the cause are likely to have one or more other conditions ("competing" causes of death), which may increase their risks of dying. It is unknown to what extent this introduces bias in comparisons of life years to be gained between underlying causes of death. The purpose of the study was to assess this bias. DATA AND METHODS: A sample of 5975 death certificates from the Netherlands, 1990, was coded for the presence of diseases that, according to a set of explicit rules, could be regarded as potential causes of death "competing" with the underlying cause. Logistic regression analysis was used to quantify age and sex adjusted differences between four main underlying causes of death (neoplasms, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, all other diseases) in prevalence of the six most frequent competing causes of death (neoplasms, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, other cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive lung disease, all other diseases). These prevalence differences were then used to revise conventional calculations of gains in life expectancy, by taking them to indicate differences in risk of dying from these competing causes after the underlying cause has been eliminated. RESULTS: The prevalence of competing causes of death is relatively low among persons dying from neoplasms as the underlying cause, about average among persons dying from cardiovascular diseases, and relatively high among persons dying from respiratory diseases. Taking this into account results in substantial decreases of potential life years to be gained by elimination of cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases, relative to the number of years to be gained by elimination of neoplasms. Specifically, while according to the conventional calculations the gain in life expectancy by elimination of cardiovascular diseases exceeds that for neoplasms by more than one year, in the revised calculations the number of life years to be gained is approximately equal. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its limitations, mainly relating to reliance on death certificate data, this study suggests that conventional estimates of differences between underlying causes of death in life years to be gained by elimination are seriously biased by ignoring the effects of competing causes. Specifically, the relative impacts of eliminating cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases, as compared with eliminating neoplasms, seem to be overestimated. The implications are discussed.


The use of total station in the archaeological excavation has undoubtedly revolutionized the collecting and recording field methods, with several advantages over the traditional practices: faster and more accurate measurements, easier handling of spatial and provenience data, immediate availability of data for visualization, real time analysis and interpretation, among others. Combining these advantages with the ones from digital photography, an effective tool is created for the graphic recording of stratigraphic profiles and archaeological structures, with the ability to eliminate errors associated to traditional tape measured drawings. The method is based on the arrangement and rectification of a series of close-up and general photographs with three-dimensional coordinates taken from a set of preplaced numbered pushpins. These will allow, in addition to the high precision in the vectorization of features, the inclusion of the photographs and subsequent drawings into the site grid space using GIS. This poster will focus on the comparison between the described method and the traditional tape measuring process, applied to the drawing of a burial context from a Portuguese Late Mesolithic shellmidden. The results provide levels of accuracy and resolution with errors less than 1mm from the total station/photograph method, which also reveal a greater exactitude in the representation of the detail of the skeletal elements.


Recent budget restraints and heightened concerns for juvenile offenders' safety and well-being have compelled juvenile justice policymakers and practitioners to implement community-based approaches for reducing juvenile recidivism. This paper explores whether individual, organizational, and attitudinal factors influence juvenile probation professionals' perceptions of the community-based probation (CBP) model, a supervision strategy that emphasizes establishing community partnerships to rehabilitate youths. Seventy-one juvenile probation professionals working in probation agencies across Texas completed questionnaires asking them about their perceptions of CBP and its impact on current juvenile offending trends. Results of regression analyses revealed that rehabilitation-oriented juvenile probation professionals were more likely to attribute current decreases in juvenile offending to CBP and more likely to believe that CBP does not endanger public safety. Interestingly, the age of juvenile probation professionals was correlated with an increased probability that professionals believed that CBP poses no threat to public safety. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for supervision strategies and directions for future research.


To evaluate the response rate of hyperthyroidism to radioactive iodine treatment (RAI) and the mortality rate post RAI treatment in a Qatari cohort the records were analyzed retrospectively of 113 hyperthyroid Qatari patients (23 male, 90 female) treated with RAI (1-131) in the Endocrine Clinic, Hamad Medical Corporation, between 1984 and2002. 90 (79.6 %) had diffuse goiter, 14 (12.4%) multinodular goiter, 6 (5.3%) single nodular goiter and 3 (2.7 %) unknown etiology. Follow up ranged from two to ten years with free thyroxin and thyroid stimulating hormone being recorded at diagnosis; six months and one year post RAI treatment and yearly thereafter. The incidence of hypothyroidism was 64.4% after six months post RAI treatment and 75.9% at one year. Euthyroid state was high in patients who did not receive antithyroid drugs, whereas the hypothyroid state was higher in a group with pre-treatment antithyroid medication (80% versus 62.8%). The euthyroid state was more in diffuse hyperthyroidism 22.4%, while 84.6% of multinodular goiter became hypothyroid after six months of RAI treatment. Mortality rate was not increased post RAI treatment as compared to general population. Conclusion: The incidence of hypothyroidism was 75.9% at one-year post RAI treatment and the rate of hypothyroidism increased with the length of follow up to 10 years (86.7%). There was no linear relation in response rate to increasing doses of RAI treatment groups.


The exact geometry of 3D warp interlock fabric during production is highly dependent on the weaving process. Several fabric parameters as the number of layers, the weave diagram of linking warp yarns and the end and pick densities can influence the final geometry. Several fabrics have been produced on the same dobby weaving machine using para-aramid yarns with different warp and weft densities. Thanks to these observations, differences between final geometries of 3D warp interlock fabric as the different position of yarn insertion and the cross-section shapes have been revealed.


A regional-scale dust model is used to simulate Saharan dust emissions and atmospheric distributions in the years 2007 and 2008. The model results are compared to dust source activation events compiled from infrared dust index imagery from the geostationary Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. The observed morning maximum in dust source activation frequencies indicates that the breakdown of nocturnal low level jets is an important mechanism for dust source activation in the Sahara. The comparison shows that the time of the day of the onset of dust emission is delayed in the model compared to the observations. Also, the simulated number of dust emission events associated with nocturnal low level jets in mountainous regions is underestimated in the model. The MSG dust index observations indicate a strong increase in dust source activation frequencies in the year 2008 compared to 2007. The difference between the two years is less pronounced in the model. Observations of dust optical thickness, e.g. at stations of the sunphotometer network AERONET, do not show such increase, in agreement with the model results. This indicates that the number of observed dust activation events is only of limited use for estimating actual dust emission fluxes in the Sahara. The ability to reproduce interannual variability of Saharan dust with models remains an important challenge for understanding the controls of the atmospheric dust load.


Raw jute fiber was treated with o-hydroxybenzenediazonium salt (o-HBDS) in alkaline media. Raw and modified jute fiber were used to prepare composites by mixing with polypropylene (PP) plastic in different weight fractions (20, 25, 30, and 35%) of jute fiber. The mechanical properties except elongation at break of o-HBDS-treated (in alkaline medium) jute fiber-PP composite were higher than those of PP alone, raw jute fiber-PP composites, and alkali-treated jute fiber-PP composites. The elongation at break of treated jute-PP composite decreased to a large extent as compared to that of PP. The increase of tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and Charpy impact strength were found to be exceptionally high (in some cases ~200%) as compared to those of literature values.


The formation of bottom water in the southern Weddell Sea is strongly influenced by the flow of Ice Shelf Water (ISW) out of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf cavity. The breakout of three giant icebergs in 1986 and their grounding on the shallow Berkner Bank modified the circulation and water mass formation in the Filchner Trough and the adjacent sea areas. Hydrographic measurements along the Filchner Ice Shelf front, carried out with RV Polarstern in 1995, show significant changes in the water mass characteristics and flow patterns in the Filchner Trough in comparison to measurements from the early 1980s. Changes in the trough will affect the flow over the sill to the deep Weddell Abyssal Plain. We combine a three-dimensional ocean circulation model with conductivity-temperature-depth and stable isotope measurements to investigate the details of the circulation in front of and beneath the Filchner Ice Shelf. We assess the impact of stranded icebergs and a more southerly ice shelf front position caused by a 1986 iceberg calving event on the circulation and observed water mass properties. Results indicate variations of the flow pattern in the Filchner Trough and on Berkner Bank, where High-Salinity Shelf Water, the feedstock for ISW, is produced. The calving and grounding impacts illustrate the sensitivity of the ice shelf-ocean system to perturbations in local bathymetric settings.


Transnational companies (TNCs) in general and those operating in the extractive industry sector in particular have an impact on the realisation of human rights. Yet under international human rights law, instruments regulating TNCs' obligations in terms of human rights are non-binding. Consequently, the state in which TNCs operate remains the only duty bearer of human rights and should ensure that companies under its jurisdiction comply with human rights. The aim of this article is to examine the extent to which Nigeria and South Africa comply with their obligations to ensure that TNCs in extractive industries operating within their borders promote and respect human rights. Ultimately it is argued that the legal architecture in the countries under study does not satisfactorily shield people from the actions of TNCs. In an attempt to remedy the situation, it is suggested that a way forward could be constructed on the following pillars: inserting human rights clauses into international trade and investment agreements; raising awareness of and sensitization on the importance of corporate social responsibility as a "profit maximising mechanism"; turning corporate social responsibility into binding human rights obligations; and using international human rights monitoring mechanisms. Though the points made in this article generally engage the human rights impacts of extractive industries in Nigeria and South African, the proposed solutions are generalisable to other societies in which these industries operate.


The point of this thesis is to draw together some ideas which may serve as guidelines for those who are interested in a program for the education of children in gardens. An education program should not consist only of the courses of plant study and practical gardening, but also the encouragement of sensitivity to beauty, or aesthetics. Any program must consider not only the qualifications of the teacher to teach aesthetics and the ability of the student to understand aesthetics, but the methods used to present the material. The teacher's role is one of training and guiding the child's interest in the proper direction. The teacher needs to inform himself by knowing how children learn, the pupil's age and maturation level, their motivation, their known and perceived needs, the physical conditions and time factor, and the child's interest. The teacher must be conversant in the topic and utilize the child's interest as a point of beginning, not as the exclusive direction. The student's role should be an active one. In teaching aesthetics the interest of the child can be maintained if the instructor moves quickly into the various phases of each topic, touching only on the most important points and allowing the pupils to build on them. In order to learn aesthetics it is necessary for the child to understand the elements of color, texture, and form and their interrelationships. This involves the handling of more than one variable, the forming of hypotheses and the evolution of logical conclusions. In the intellectual development of a child this ability generally becomes evident in the eleven to fifteen year age group. Therefore aesthetics of plants and gardens are best taught to children in grades four to six. When teaching aesthetics of plants and gardens, it is important for the student to understand the concepts of diversity, interrelationships, adaptation and change. These concepts can be further interpreted through the study of the aesthetic elements of color, texture, and form. When teacllirlg these elements, the instructor is encouraged to use the methods arid


The aim of this study was to determine whether the functional protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor 22 (PTPN22) C1858T polymorphism (rs2476601) confers susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in ethnically different populations. A meta-analysis was conducted on the PTPN22 C1858T polymorphism across 11 comparative studies. Meta-analysis showed an association between the PTPN22 1858T allele and SLE in all study subjects (odds ratio (OR) 1.560, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.336, 1.822, p = 2.0 × 10−8). Analysis after stratification by ethnicity indicated that the PTPN22 1858T allele was significantly associated with SLE in Europeans and Hispanics (OR 1.490, 95% CI 1.280, 1.735, p = 2.0 × 10−8; OR 2.355, 95% CI 1.644, 3.373, p = 2.9 × 10−6). The meta-analysis showed that the C/T + T/T genotype was associated with susceptibility to SLE in all study subjects, Europeans, and Hispanics populations, and an association between the T/T genotype with SLE in Europeans. African Americans had a much lower prevalence of the T allele (2.2%) than any other population studied, and Europeans had the highest frequency (9.5%). In conclusion, this meta-analysis confirms that the PTPN22 C1858T polymorphism is associated with SLE susceptibility in different ethnic groups, and that its prevalence is ethnicity dependent.


The aim of this book is to explore and analyze the Islamic axioms, foundation principles and values underpinning the field of governance in an attempt to construct the architectonics of a new systemic and dynamic theory and formulate the articulation of 'Islamic governance'. This discursive and abstract, rather than being an empirical exercise, assumes to produce a 'good governance' framework within its own formulation through a value-shaped dynamic model according to maqasid al-Shari'ah (higher objective of Shari'ah) by going beyond the narrow remit of classical and contemporary discussions produced on the topic, which propose a certain institutional model of governance based on the classical juristic (fiqh) method. Through an exclusive analytical discursive approach in this book, readers will find that Islam as one of the major religions in the contemporary world with the claim of promising the underpinning principles and philosophical foundations of worldly affairs and institutions through a micro method of producing homoIslamicus could contribute towards development of societies by establishing a unique model of governance from its explicit ontological worldview through a directed descriptive epistemology.


This article examines factors affecting Korean local governments to be connected through sister/friend city agreements. I argue that cities strive to have a cooperative relationship primarily because "sisterhood" and "friendship" among cities have become a trend that has become hardly inevitable. Using a combination of event history analysis and network analysis, this study finds empirical support for that claim. The pursuit of interdependence among cities gets reinforced when their neighbors join the bandwagon, while they look for twinning partners afar. In adopting a sister/friend city program, these regional pressures from neighborhood have a greater effect on local governments than other substantive factors such as their own capacity and urban development. Ultimately, this article raises questions about organizational susceptibility to peer pressure and its influences on policy effectiveness of the sibling relationships among local governments.


The article describes how it is possible to use 3D printing for printing belt wheels for bicycles. New categories of bikes keep appearing in the market. For the use, specially cities that are bikes, that use belt instead of a traditional chain. With new generations of belts, this power transmission can be used on mountain bikes. But a belt-driven bike must have a special frame, because the belt cannot be disconnected like a classic chain. Even with modern 3D CAD applications a company needs to make a prototype and check their design. That is not only important for the function of the bicycle, but also to prove the assembly or maintenance processes. In comparison with a chain, the belt-driven system is more expensive. For small companies, it is then difficult to buy different gearing combinations, just for checking the design. In this case, the 3D printing comes in handy, because it can produce very quickly cheap belt wheels with different tooth combinations or design of the belt wheel. With more advanced methods (like the selective laser sintering) of 3D printing, it is possible to produce even functional belt wheels that have the same ore even better properties compared to traditional injection molding. This article shows the possibilities in the prototyping of belt wheels with different 3D printing methods.


This thesis describes high quality magnetisation measurements made on single crystals of MnSi, FeGe and ZrZn(_2) using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The measurements on MnSi have also been complemented with neutron scattering experiments. MnSi is a heavily investigated itinerant helimagnet which exhibits a variety of interesting phenomena associated with formation of a helical spin density wave propagating along directions. Magnetisation measurements were performed as a function of magnetic field at fixed temperatures stepping through the magnetic transition observed at 29.1 ± 0.05K. These were found to be highly anisotropic and included observation of the so-called 'Phase A' consistent with measurements using other techniques and providing explanation of apparent anomalies in previous magnetisation data (Kadowaki et al. (1981)). Further investigation of 'Phase A' using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) was successful in determining the magnetic state of MnSi within this regime in terms of helix reorientation which is shown to be broadly consistent with the expression for the free energy derived by Bak and Jensen (1980) and Plumer and Walker (1981). Reorientation of the helical spin density wave as a function of magnetic field was also studied using SANS to complement the magnetisation measurements. The second order process observed is similar to that predicted by Plumer and Walker (1981) and the form of their model for the magnetisation of is compared with the experimental results. Finally, anomalous magnetisation measurements close to the magnetic transition were further explored through neutron scattering. The results suggest a possible isotropic phase pre-empting the helical spin density wave formation. Cubic FeGe is also capable of supporting a static helical spin density wave and has a critical temperature of 278.7K with helix propagating along directions above 211K and along directions below 211K (for decreasing temperatures). Magnetisation measurements were made on cubic FeGe with magnetic field applied parallel to the direction and the magnetic phase diagram determined. Coupled with the SANS data of Lebech et al. (1989) it shows similar processes in terms of helix reorientation in an applied magnetic field occur for both FeGe and MnSi. The magnetic phase diagram is in good agreement with that predicted by Plumer (1990) for magnetic field applied parallel to the


During the past few years we have first witnessed a rapid increase in the prices of commodities and then later, as a consequence of the economic downturn, an even more drastic drop. Simultaneously with the commodity price increase, an increase in the investment costs of power plants was experienced. The rise in material costs was often stated as one of the reason for this increase. In this study the relationship between commodity costs and energy prices is studied. A bottom-up approach is used for estimating what kind of an impact increased commodity prices alone could be expected to have on the investment costs on the one hand, and how increased energy prices may affect commodity production costs on the other. The results indicate that although the commodity production costs usually have a fairly large energy component, even high increases in commodity prices, and therefore raw material costs of power plant investments, can not explain the recently experienced hikes in power plant investment costs; a doubling of the costs of the main raw material flows could explain an investment cost increase of some 5-10%, depending on the power plant type. This would seem to indicate that other contributing factors, such as bottle necks in the production of power plant components, may play an important role in the recent investment cost increase.


GaN and related nitride compounds have found many applications in optoelectronic devices. Point defects introduce energy levels into the band gap and alter the electrical and optical properties of GaN.
Previous studies focussed on studying point defects with density functional theory (DFT), periodic boundary conditions (PBC) and relatively inaccurate LDA energy functionals. We aim to improve on
the defi�ciencies of this method by implementing a quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) scheme, which has been specifically designed for the study of point defects; we use a hybrid functional and a formal charge scheme for the MM model. We o�ffer an explanation for why p-type doping is difficult to achieve in GaN; the
exothermic formation energies of the Ga interstitial and N vacancy at
the VBM are thought to be the main cause. We suggest that the processes responsible for a variety of DLTS signals between 0.18-0.67eV
below the CBM may be due to Ga interstitial 3+/2+, 2+/1+ transitions, N interstitials (1+/0) and Ga vacancies (2-/1-, 3-/2-). We
attribute the ODMR signal indicating a deep donor state 0.7eV below
the conduction band to the N interstitial 0/1- transition. Finally, our
results support previous suggestions that Ga vacancies may be the
cause of yellow luminescence in GaN.
Further refi�nements of the model, especially improving the basis set, are recommended in the future, as well as a more detailed investigation into the causes of discrepancy between our model and PBC
calculations.
We use the MM model to study the properties of ternary alloys of AlN,
GaN and InN, and to �find their thermodynamically stable con�figurations. Our results are in good agreement with PBC DFT calculations.
These structures are not observed experimentally; we suggest that this is a growth phenomenon. Our results also support previous �findings
that epitaxial strain stabilises highly internally strained alloys.


This paper offers a bird's eye view of the complex dynamics and legal constraints that shape the digital information ecosystem, and how lawyers and policy-makers should think about possible solutions to the issues at hand. The Authors believe that some action against disinformation is needed, and tend to favour actions that regulate platforms rather than direct regulation by the state, e.g. ensuring that platforms have effective mechanisms for eradicating fake account and coordinate disinformation efforts, ensuring greater transparency and traceability of disinformation and the financial incentives related to it, ensuring appropriate remedies for individuals affected. It seems that governments and institutions around the world, including some European countries, are so eager to regulate fake news that they might overstep their legitimacy bounds in doing so. The Authors warn against that, advocating a nuanced approach which takes into account the specific political and technical circumstances in which platforms and states operate to devise adequate measures for regulating online speech in the digital economy.


Fuel cells have emerged as one of the possible solutions for resolving the severe pollutions and petroleum consumptions by traditional vehicles. During the past decades, national governments worked aggressively toward the fuel cell innovations by national innovation systems (NISs). Albeit the universities play an important role in the NIS and the vocational education and training (VET) usually serve as an important sub-system, very few scholars tried to discuss how the VET system can be configured through the VET policy instruments so that the NIS can be enabled. Thus, the authors aim to configure the VET policy portfolio by defining a hybrid multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) framework aiming at resolving this problem. Components of the NIS as well as VET policy tools which are suitable for developing the VET system and enabling the NIS were first derived from literature review as criteria and alternatives. Then, a hybrid MADM (Multiple Attribute Decision Making) framework consisting of the modified Delphi method, the DEMATEL and the ANP will be introduced for deriving appropriate VET policy tools for developing the VET system and enable the NIS of the fuel cell technologies. Experts from Taiwanese research and academic institutes were invited for providing opinions for defining the VET policy instruments. Mandates, capacity building and system change were recognized by the experts as the most important VET policy tools for enabling the NIS of the fuel cell technologies from the aspects of firms' R&D organizations, research institutes and research association.


Abstract. We investigate the relative role of volcanic eruptions, El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in the quasi-decadal signal in the tropical stratosphere with regard to temperature and ozone commonly attributed to the 11 yr solar cycle. For this purpose, we perform transient simulations with the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model forced from 1960 to 2004 with an 11 yr solar cycle in irradiance and different combinations of other forcings. An improved multiple linear regression technique is used to diagnose the 11 yr solar signal in the simulations. One set of simulations includes all observed forcings, and is thereby aimed at closely reproducing observations. Three idealized sets exclude ENSO variability, volcanic aerosol forcing, and QBO in tropical stratospheric winds, respectively. Differences in the derived solar response in the tropical stratosphere in the four sets quantify the impact of ENSO, volcanic events and the QBO in attributing quasi-decadal changes to the solar cycle in the model simulations. The novel regression approach shows that most of the apparent solar-induced lower-stratospheric temperature and ozone increase diagnosed in the simulations with all observed forcings is due to two major volcanic eruptions (i.e., El Chichon in 1982 and Mt. Pinatubo in 1991). This is caused by the alignment of these eruptions with periods of high solar activity. While it is feasible to detect a robust solar signal in the middle and upper tropical stratosphere, this is not the case in the tropical lower stratosphere, at least in a 45 yr simulation. The present results suggest that in the tropical lower stratosphere, the portion of decadal variability that can be unambiguously linked to the solar cycle may be smaller than previously thought.


This study of Chthonerpeton indistinctum (Reinhardt & Lutken, 1861) considers 25 morphometric characters, teeth-counts and sex, based on 96 specimens. A multivariate analysis of characters and comparisons of geographically arranged samples is carried out by graphic and statistical methods. No trends in geographical variation were found. Subsequently a redescription of the species is presented, including measurements and counts. Sexual dimorphism was observed for four characters related to the cloacal region. The results are discussed and compared with previous reports. Character-variation is also studied. Primary annuli counts show very low variation; sample variation profiles were similar for the remaining characters. A revision of biological data shows that C. indistinctum is a viviparous, nocturnal, fossorial to aquatic species. The caecilian is found in the subtropical to temperate areas of Uruguay, southern Brazil and central-north Argentina. A biogeographic model is developed to explain the close similarity between individuals transported with water-hyacinths and those from southern Brazil, assuming a colonization of the Jacui river basin at the time of its formation in Quaternary times. The origin of individuals transported with water-hyacinths is assumed to be the middle Parana river basin, and its importance in the founding or maintenance of the Rio de la Plata coastal population is stressed. Lastly, relationships within the genus are briefly discussed, and it is pointed out that the species C. corrugatum Taylor, 1968, C. erugatum Taylor, 1968, and C. hellmichi Taylor, 1968, remain poorly defined.