Reliable prediction of subsurface flow and contaminant transport depends on the accuracy with which the values and spatial distribution of process‐relevant model parameters can be identified. Successful characterization methods for complex soil systems are based on (i) an adequate parameterization of the subsurface, capable of capturing both random and structured aspects of the heterogeneous system, and (ii) site‐specific data that are sufficiently sensitive to the processes of interest. We present a stochastic approach in which the high‐resolution imaging capability of geophysical methods is combined with the process‐specific information obtained from the inversion of hydrological data. Geostatistical concepts are employed as a flexible means to describe and characterize subsurface structures. The key features of the proposed approach are (i) the joint inversion of geophysical and hydrological raw data, avoiding the intermediate step of creating a (nonunique and potentially biased) tomogram of geophysical properties and (ii) the concurrent estimation of hydrological and petrophysical parameters, in addition to (iii) the determination of geostatistical parameters from the joint inversion of hydrological and geophysical data. This approach is fundamentally different from inference of geostatistical parameters from an analysis of spatially distributed property data. The approach has been implemented into the iTOUGH2 inversion code and is demonstrated for the joint use of synthetic time‐lapse ground penetrating radar (GPR) travel times and hydrological data collected during a simulated ponded infiltration experiment at a highly heterogeneous site.


Introduction
The aim was to evaluate if pain, disability, and work productivity are influenced by physical and psychosocial work exposures as well as by stress, up to 1 year after a randomized controlled trial treatment intervention, and to determine whether any such association differed between treatment and control groups.

Methods
Ninety-seven working women suffering non-specific neck pain (n = 67 treatment group, n = 30 control group) were followed from end of treatment intervention and at 9- and 15-month follow-ups, respectively. Physical and psychosocial exposures, as well as perceived stress, were assessed after the treatment intervention. Pain, neck disability, and work productivity were assessed at baseline, after intervention 3 months later and at 9- and 15-month follow-ups. Longitudinal assessment was conducted using the exposure level at 3 months as predictor of pain, disability, and work productivity at 3, 9, and 15 months, respectively. Mixed models were used to estimate longitudinal associations, accounting for within-individual correlation of repeated outcome measures by incorporation of a random intercept. Age and duration of neck pain were adjusted for in all models. To evaluate group differences, interactions between exposures and treatment groups were estimated.

Results
High perceived stress was associated with more neck pain, more neck disability, and decreased work productivity in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. High 'control of decision' was associated with less neck pain, less neck disability, and higher work productivity in cross-sectional analyses but only to less disability and higher productivity in longitudinal analyses. Shoulder/arm load was the only physical exposure variable that was significantly associated with work productivity in the univariate analyses. Only small differences were observed between treatment and control groups.

Conclusion
High perceived stress and low 'control of decision' were associated with more neck pain, increased neck disability, and decreased work productivity. Treatment interventions for individuals with neck pain should take into account psychosocial workplace exposures and stress to improve intermediate and long-term results.


BACKGROUND: A small number of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receive pulmonary function testing around the time of diagnosis. Because omitting testing increases misdiagnosis, we sought to determine whether health outcomes differed between patients whose COPD was diagnosed with or without pulmonary function testing. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal population study of patients with physician-diagnosed COPD from 2005 to 2012 using health administrative data from Ontario, Canada. We assessed whether having pulmonary function testing around the time of diagnosis was associated with the composite outcome of admission to hospital for COPD or all-cause death, using adjusted survival analysis. RESULTS: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was diagnosed in 68 898 patients during the study period; 41.2% of patients received peridiagnostic pulmonary function testing. In adjusted analysis, patients who underwent testing were less likely to die or be admitted to hospital for COPD (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89–0.94) and were more likely to be prescribed an inhaled long-acting bronchodilator than patients who did not undergo testing. Subgroup analysis suggested that the association of testing and outcomes was confined to patients with COPD diagnosed in the ambulatory care setting (adjusted HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.76–0.84). INTERPRETATION: Confirmation of a COPD diagnosis using pulmonary function testing is associated with a decreased risk of death and admission to hospital for COPD. In ambulatory patients, this effect may be from increased use of appropriate COPD medications. The findings of this study validate current guideline recommendations that encourage pulmonary function testing for diagnosis in all patients with suspected COPD.


The origin of email, the system as we all know and use today, begins in 1978 when a 14-year-old Research Fellow, V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, working at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), located in Newark, New Jersey, invented the first electronic system to replicate the interoffice, inter-organizational paper-based mail system consisting of Inbox, Outbox, Folders, Memo, Attachment, Address Book, etc. Ayyadurai named this system "email, " a term he was the first to create, because he was inventing the "electronic" or "e" version of the interoffice, inter-organizational paper-based "mail" system. Moreover, the specific naming of email arose for idiosyncratic reasons since FORTRAN IV, the programming language used to create his invention, required all variable and program names to be in upper case and a maximum of six characters, while the Hewlett Packard RTE-IVB operating system, on which the software executed, had a five-character limit for program names. These constraints motivated the selection of "E," "M," "A," "I," and "L." Prior to 1978, neither the term "email," in any variation, upper case, lower case, mixed case, with or without the dash, nor did the software application "email" exist. After Ayyadurai's invention, the term "email" was misused, primarily by members of the ARPANET community and Raytheon/BBN, to refer to their developments in rudimentary methods for exchanging text messages, done prior to 1978, as "email." Such developments, while important in their own right, were not email, the system of interlocking parts intended to emulate the interoffice, inter-organizational paper-based mail system -the email we all experience today.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background and Purpose: Rapamycin is a clinically approved mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor that has been shown to be neuroprotective in animal models of stroke. However, the mechanism of rapamycin-induced neuroprotection is still being explored. Our aims were to determine if rapamycin improved leptomeningeal collateral perfusion, to determine if this is through eNOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthase)-mediated vessel dilation and to determine if rapamycin increases immediate postreperfusion blood flow. Methods: Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats (≈14 weeks old, n=22 and n=15, respectively) were subjected to ischemia by middle cerebral artery occlusion (90 and 120 minutes, respectively) with or without treatment with rapamycin at 30-minute poststroke. Changes in middle cerebral artery and collateral perfusion territories were measured by dual-site laser Doppler. Reactivity to rapamycin was studied using isolated and pressurized leptomeningeal anastomoses. Brain injury was measured histologically or with triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Results: In Wistar rats, rapamycin increased collateral perfusion (43±17%), increased reperfusion cerebral blood flow (16±8%) and significantly reduced infarct volume (35±6 versus 63±8 mm3, P<0.05). Rapamycin dilated leptomeningeal anastomoses by 80±9%, which was abolished by nitric oxide synthase inhibition. In spontaneously hypertensive rats, rapamycin increased collateral perfusion by 32±25%, reperfusion cerebral blood flow by 44±16%, without reducing acute infarct volume 2 hours postreperfusion. Reperfusion cerebral blood flow was a stronger predictor of brain damage than collateral perfusion in both Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Conclusions: Rapamycin increased collateral perfusion and reperfusion cerebral blood flow in both Wistar and comorbid spontaneously hypertensive rats that appeared to be mediated by enhancing eNOS activation. These findings suggest that rapamycin may be an effective acute therapy for increasing collateral flow and as an adjunct therapy to thrombolysis or thrombectomy to improve reperfusion blood flow.


Our understanding of the process of firm establishment in foreign markets is relatively limited especially in relation to host-developing and host-emerging markets. The market-specific and context-driven nature of the firm establishment process is largely overlooked in the literature. Against this background, we aim to chart the establishment process of a Spanish telecommunication firm, Telefonica, in Brazil and Chile by applying the 'four stage firm establishment process model in foreign markets' (Abraha, 1994). We identify strategic responses crafted by Telefonica to overcome the challenges during its establishment process. We revise Abraha's model in view of the findings and conclude with implications for managerial practices.


In The Feminine Mystique (1963), Betty Friedan highlighted the anomie experienced by women whose sole focus was their husbands, children and homes.  She also presented a solution to this 'problem that has no name', arguing that women's lives could be more fulfilling if they combined marriage and motherhood with paid employment, and more particularly with a professional occupation.  Using evidence from the U.S. Census, this article demonstrates that apart from the white upper- and upper-middle-class women upon whom Friedan concentrated, rising numbers of American women from all backgrounds already undertook paid work by 1960.  As well as examining long terms trends in women's employment in the U.S., the article disaggregates the overall figures by key variables such as age, race, marital status and age of children.  By doing so, it reveals that the pattern of economic activity among elite white women, the cohort Friedan focused upon, changed in the twenty years following The Feminine Mystique 's publication, coming to more closely resemble that of working-class and non-white women.  Furthermore, as the century progressed, professional and white collar employment increasingly became the norm. This seemingly vanquished 'the problem that has no name' although not the obstacles and difficulties that continue to face all women in the labour force.


Abstract If it becomes necessary to stabilize the Pu inventory before the advent of Gen IV fast reactors, then it must be multirecycled in thermal neutron reactors like pressurized water reactors (PWRs). However, because of the neutron physics characteristics of Pu, it is difficult to multirecycle it in mixed-oxide (MOX)-fueled PWRs. Indeed, since there are fewer and fewer fissile isotopes in Pu, it is necessary to compensate by increasing its content, causing it to quickly reach values where the void coefficient is positive (above 12% Pu). To avoid this, Pu must be used together with enriched U so that its degradation is compensated by an increase of 235U enrichment. Two possibilities of mixing Pu and enriched U in the same assembly are presented (homogeneously and heterogeneously). In the first, called MOX-UE, all the fuel rods are made of PuO2-UenrichedO2, whereas the second, called CORAIL, contains approximately one-third of standard MOX rods (PuO2-UtailO2) and two-thirds of UO2 rods. A variant of the CORAIL concept in which the MOX rods are substituted with inert matrix fuel rods (PuO2-CeO2) was also studied. These assemblies allow Pu to be multirecycled in standard PWRs, thus stabilizing the Pu inventory between 200 and 400 t heavy metal (for a nuclear electricity production of 400 TW·h(electric)/yr, i.e., typical of a country such as France). The number of reactors loaded with Pu depends on the performances of each concept in terms of Pu burning, and it represents between 80% (CORAIL with the MOX rods) and 30% (MOX-UE with 12% Pu) of the total power. There is only a small difference regarding the needs in natural U between the Pu monorecycling option and the different Pu multirecycling options. Hence, it appears that saving U should not be offered as an incentive for multirecycling Pu in PWRs.


Homozygous weaver mice are profoundly ataxic because of the loss of granule cell neurons during cerebellar development. This granule cell loss appears to be caused by a genetic defect in the pore region (Gly156-->Ser) of the heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein)-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (K+) channel subunit (GIRK2). A related subunit, GIRK1, associates with GIRK2 to constitute a neuronal G protein-gated inward rectifier K+ channel. The weaver allele of the GIRK2 subunit (wvGIRK2) caused loss of K+ selectivity when expressed either as wvGIRK2 homomultimers or as GIRK1-wvGIRK2 heteromultimers. The mutation also let to loss of sensitivity to G protein betagamma dimers. Expression of wvGIRK2 subunits let to increased cell death, presumably as a result of basal nonselective channel opening.


The practice of medicine is the latter-day solution to that intensely human and social predicament we call illness. Medical discourse, however, increasingly tends towards guidelines, protocols, cost considerations and other institutionally-derived issues. This dissertation examines a single concept, therapeutic equivalence, and utilizes it as a metaphor for this focal shift, arguing that this reduced perspective not only ignores the considerable socio-cultural context in which illness takes place, but adversely affects the paradigms and practice of medicine as well as research, policy and clinical care. Therapeutic equivalence is the basis for a health (pharmaceutical) policy usually called reference-based pricing, used in many jurisdictions and institutions around the world (such as New Zealand's Pharmac, the BC Reference Drug Program and the majority of American HMO's), in which pharmacoeconomic analyses determine the most costeffective drug(s) within a certain class of drugs in order to restrict general access. Using the well-studied BC reference drug program (RDP) as its primary example, this work examines the regulatory and evidentiary framework of the term "equivalence", analyzes the medical research on therapeutic equivalence and delves into the deeper socio-cultural and epistemological questions the term raises to demonstrate how institutional and statistical interpretations of pathology now dominate medical discourse. The many uncertainties, ambiguities and variations inherent to physiology, pharmacodynamics and pharn~acokinetics are thus ignored; risk is minimized and subjective states and individual narratives of illness, largely disregarded. Moving from drug classificationsldefinitions and the conceptual underpinnings of medical research to the increased convergence of corporate and research interests, this work examines the limitations of ontological disease classifications which assume knowledge is static and questions the current emphasis on biomarkers and numeric results (e.g., blood pressure or cholesterol readings). This work argues that such classification systems are limiting and frame illness in reductionist ways and have ethical, iatrogenic, medical, social and personal consequences. Broader and more nuanced communications, with greater patient input, are called for.


1. Two strategies are often promoted to mitigate the effects of agricultural expansion on biodiversity: one integrates wildlife-friendly habitats within farmland (land sharing), and the other intensifies farming to allow the offset of natural reserves (land sparing). Their relative merits for biodiversity protection have been subject to much debate, but no previous study has examined whether trade-offs between the two strategies depend on the proximity of farmed areas to large tracts of natural habitat.

2. We sampled birds and dung beetles across contiguous forests and agricultural landscapes (low-intensity cattle farming) in a threatened hotspot of endemism: the Colombian Choco-Andes. We test the hypothesis that the relative biodiversity benefits of either strategy depend partially on the degree to which farmlands are isolated from large contiguous blocks of forest.

3. We show that distance from forest mediates the occurrence of many species within farmland. For the majority of species, occurrence on farmland depends on both isolation from forest and the proportionate cover of small-scale wildlife-friendly habitats within the farm landscape, with both variables having a similar overall magnitude of effect on occurrence probabilities.

4. Simulations suggest that the biodiversity benefits of land sharing decline significantly with increasing distance from forest, but land sparing benefits remain consistent. In farm management units situated close to large contiguous forest (<500 m), land sharing is predicted to provide equal benefits to land sparing, but land sparing becomes increasingly superior in management units situated further from forest (1500 m). The predicted biodiversity benefits of land sparing are similar across all distances, provided that sparing mechanisms genuinely deliver protection for contiguous forest tracts.

5. Synthesis and applications: the persistence of bird and dung beetle communities in low-intensity pastoral agriculture is strongly linked to the proximity of surrounding contiguous forests. Land-sharing policies that promote the integration of small-scale wildlife-friendly habitats might be of limited benefit without simultaneous measures to protect larger blocks of natural habitat, which could be achieved via land-sparing practices. Policymakers should carefully consider the extent and distribution of remaining contiguous natural habitats when designing agri-environment schemes in the tropics.


"Rapoport is concerned with the meanings which buildings, their contents, and their inhabitants convey, and the conclusions which can be drawn therefrom for procedures of architectural design to satisfy the people who will ultimately live in these buildings...A challenging book on a subject that has had insufficient attention in the past."?Man and Environment "Fills a significant gap: it introduces the notion of environmental meaning so clearly that no reader will doubt the basic premise that the environment holds meaning as part of a cultural system of symbols, and influences our actions and our determinations of social order."?Design Book Review "This is the second edition of a book first published in 1982...Enthusiastic and inquiring as the reader is brought into the writer's thought processes."?Progress in Human Geography (England) "It has merits not to be found in any other book in this much-discussed and little understood subject, to wit: it is short, it is simple, and it is useful. It is even, in parts, entertaining...a book which will help architects to do their job better." Architecture Australia


Arno Puder and Kay Romer Third Edition, MKF, San Francisco, CA, 2000, 195 pp. ISBN 1-55860-666-1, $39.95 I would like to recommend this book to all people wanting to start learning about CORBA and interested in implementing this standard to build distributed systems. It, in a short and easy way presents ORB and the ways it can be implemented. Object Request Broker is the central piece of the CORBA architecture, serving as a carrier for invocations from the client (querying object) to other object implementations. MICO ( Mico Is COrba ) is one of the ORBs fully complying with the CORBA standard, and it was initially created as a didactic tool. It is an Open Source project presented in public for the first time in April 1997. MICO sources are at present freely offered under the GNU General Public License, and are used successfully in both academic and commercial applications (for more information about software you may want to look at: http://www.mico.org/ ). The book is offered with a CD that contains precompiled binaries as well as the complete sources for MICO, version 2.3.2 compliant to CORBA version 2.3. The software is offered for Solaris 2.6, AIX 4.2, Linux 2.2.x, Unix 4.x, HP-UX 10.20, Windows NT and 95 platforms. The book is partly an installation guide, tutorial, as well as a user and reference manual. Additionally, it includes lots of general information about CORBA with a more detailed ORB description. The first part of the book is very short and contains a simple preamble to the standard of CORBA and introduces readers to the MICO project. The second chapter explains the procedure of installation of MICO on the user's operating system (with the use of the CD which accompanies this book). In addition, it contains many tips concerning a compilation of source code, unquestionably useful for all persons who would come to the challenge of making some modifications in the original codes. The third section consists of a full guide through MICO, enriched with some characteristics from the CORBA acquaintance, implemented in the context of distributed computer systems. This part is enhanced with the practical example, showing how to use MICO to modify one-address-space application to a distributed application, running on different remote hosts. The fourth chapter embraces an implementation overview; it is generally a description of different tools, being offered with the MICO software. The practical example, as mentioned in the third section, is presented here once again, this time in much more complicated scenarios, in order to present more advanced CORBA activation modes. The fifth part of the book explains an implementation of IDL (Interface Definition Language) to C++ mapping. Interface Definition Language is a notation used by the OMG group in the CORBA standard to describe object interfaces. Description presented in this book includes rules about how to map an IDL specification to C++, and also mentions some design matters specific to MICO solution. The sixth chapter, titled Interoperability , demonstrates how to implement MICO's cooperation with other ORB implementations. The examples used here by the authors are very popular commercial tools: Orbix (a CORBA compliant ORB for C++ and Java, made by IONA Technologies: http://www.iona.com/ ) and VisiBroker (a support for CORBA with C++ and Java language bindings, implemented by Borland Software Corporation: http://www.borland.com/us/products/visibroker/ ). The seventh chapter describes a naming service, which was implemented as a fully CORBA-compliant module, and presents additionally how to practically employ it in the users' own applications. The penultimate chapters of the book include description of the Interface Repository Browser, and the ninth and final chapter contains GNU License usage rules, which close the presentation of the MICO software included inside this book. This book is obviously not a complete CORBA manual, and it looks like the authors did not want to achieve the goal in producing it as such. However, the book presents an exceptional value for its price, including many practical solutions supported by nice theoretical explanations. I personally believe it could be very helpful in initial studies of Distributed Systems as well as it could be successfully used in preliminary lecture for people interested in CORBA standard. Rafal Angryk Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana


An integrated engine cycle design methodology and mission assessment for parallel hybrid electric propulsion architectures are presented in this paper. The aircraft case study considered is inspired by Fokker 100, boosted by an electric motor on the low-pressure shaft of the gas turbine. The fuel burn benefits arising from boosting the low-pressure shaft are discussed for two different baseline engine technologies.
 A three-point engine cycle design method is developed to redesign the engine cycle according to the degree of hybridization. The integrated cycle design and power management optimization method is employed to identify potential fuel burn benefits from hybridization for multiple mission ranges. The sensitivity of these mission results has also been analyzed for different assumptions on the electric powertrain.
 With 1 MW motor power and a battery pack of 2307 kg, a 3% fuel burn benefit can be obtained by retrofitting the gas turbine for 400 nm range. Optimizing the power management strategy improves this fuel burn benefit by 0.2-0.3%. Redesigning the gas turbine and optimizing the power management strategy, provides a 4.2% fuel benefit on 400 nm.
 The results suggest that a high hybridization by power, low hybridization by energy, and ranges below 700 nm are the only cases where the redesigned hybrid electric aircraft has benefits in fuel burn and energy consumption relative to the baseline aircraft. Finally, it is found that the percentage of fuel burn benefits from the hybrid electric configuration increases with the improvement in engine technology.


In this study we assessed the sequence variation in the I3-M11 partition of the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) in ten populations of the Atlanto-Mediterranean demosponge Phorbas fictitius (Porifera: Poecilosclerida) at two spatial scales: a regional scale comparing mainland (Iberian) and insular (Macaronesian) populations, and a local (Archipelagic) scale focusing on different island populations of the Azores archipelago. A multiple approach combining diversity measures, FST estimates, phylogenetic inference and nested clade phylogeographic analysis was used to assess the genetic structure and elucidate the evolutionary history of this species. Genetic differentiation, based of F ST estimates, was found among most populations at both scales revealing highly structured populations. This results of a presumably low dispersal potential and bathymetric range of the species, and the geographical isolation of the studied populations. However we found evidence of long distance dispersal events between some populations. Phylogenetic and network analyses indicate a separation of insular (Macaronesian) and mainland (Iberian) clades with only two haplotypes shared between these areas. The high genetic diversity and prevalence of ancestral haplotypes suggest the Macaronesian islands as the likely place of origin of this species with posterior expansion to mainland locations via current-mediated dispersal of larvae or sponge fragments. This study adds to the growing evidence of structured populations in the marine realm and highlights the importance of the Macaronesian islands on the evolutionary history of the Northeast Atlantic marine biota.


Canadian Insolvency Statistics. Annual Report for the 2010 calendar year, produced by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Tables 7 and 8


Reflective practice and evidence-based practice are essential to clinical practice. The former provides a retrospective look at current practice and questions the reason for doing so. The latter provides the means by which best evidence can be used to make foundationally sound and clinically relevant decisions. This article demonstrates the utility of and the dynamics between reflective practice and evidence-based practice in the clinical setting using the first-hand experience of a physical therapist in home health care who worked with an elderly patient diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. The outcomes of the clinical case serve as the basis for critical reflection by the clinician, and the springboard for the clinician's retrospective search for evidence. The employment of the principles of reflective practice and evidence-based practice has led the clinician to an awareness of habituated practices, the need for a more proactive approach to providing effective interventions, and the use of current best evidence to advocate for patient welfare. In order to maintain the first-hand clinician perspective and the integrity of the reflective process, the clinical case and the subsequent critical reflection were written in first-person language.


Security incidents, such as system compromises, worms, viruses,
phishing incidents, and denial of service, typically result in the
loss of service, data, and resources both human and system. Service
providers and Computer Security Incident Response Teams need to be
equipped and ready to assist in communicating and tracing security
incidents with tools and procedures in place before the occurrence of
an attack. Real-time Inter-network Defense (RID) outlines a proactive
inter-network communication method to facilitate sharing incident
handling data while integrating existing detection, tracing, source
identification, and mitigation mechanisms for a complete incident
handling solution. Combining these capabilities in a communication
system provides a way to achieve higher security levels on networks.
Policy guidelines for handling incidents are recommended and can be
agreed upon by a consortium using the security recommendations and
considerations.


In person re-identification applications, an individual of interest may be covertly tracked and recognized based on trajectories of faces or other distinguishing information captured with video surveillance camera. However, a varying level of imbalance often exists between target and non-target facial captures, and this imbalance level may differ from what was considered during design. The performance of face classification systems typically declines in such cases because, to avoid bias towards the majority class (non-target), they tend to optimize the overall accuracy under a balance class assumption. Specialized classifier ensembles trained on balanced data, where non-target samples are selected through random under-sampling or cluster-based sampling, have been proposed in literature, but they suffer from loss of information and low diversity and accuracy. In this paper, a new ensemble method is proposed for generating a diverse pool of classifiers, each one trained on different levels of class imbalance and complexity for a greater diversity of opinion. Ensembles with Trajectory Under Sampling (EoC-TUS) allows to select subsets of non-target training data based on trajectories information. Variants of these ensembles can give more importance to the most efficient classifiers in identifying target samples, or define efficient and diverse decision boundaries by starting selection of trajectories from the farthest ones to the target class. For validation, experiments are conducted using videos captured in the Faces In Action dataset, and compared to several baseline techniques. The proposed EoC-TUS outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in terms of accuracy and diversity over a range of imbalance levels in the input video.


This paper estimates the effects of family background, resources, and institutions on student performance in 17 Western European school systems. Family background has a strong effect in Europe, remarkably similar in size to the United States. France and Flemish Belgium achieve the most equitable performance for students from different family backgrounds, and Britain and Germany the least. Equality of opportunities is unrelated to countries' mean performance. Quantile regressions show little variation in family-background effects across the ability distribution. There is little evidence of substantial class-size effects, but slight evidence of effects of material shortage and teacher experience in some countries. Stronger evidence exists for effects of within-country variations in schools' hiring autonomy, testing, and homework. Â(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)


The women of the Socialist/Communist Unione Donne Italiane (UDI) and the lay Catholic Centro Italiano Femminile (CIF) are the protagonists in this keen study of the relationship between national Italian women's associations and international women's movements from 1944, when the associations became active, to 1968, when another generation of activists led women's movements in a new direction. By considering the reach and impact of these organizations in relation to Italian bipolarism (the nearly equal division of the Italian people into two camps, one pro-Communist and the other pro-Western) and world events, Dr. Wendy Pojmann demonstrates that women played a much larger role than Cold War histories tend to relate. Not just voters, women were active political participants during the tumultuous decades of the Cold War. Italian Women in International Cold War Politics, 1944-1968 pays particular attention to the UDI's work with the largest international postwar women's organization, the pro-Soviet Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF), and the CIF's relationship with the global Catholic organization the World Movement of Mothers (WMM), to better understand the ways in which the Cold War affected both national and international agendas for women's rights. The Italian case is particularly significant in placing women's movements in a broader context because it exemplifies many of the political and ideological dichotomies that characterized this period. With the Christian Democrats at the helm of the Italian government and the powerful opposition of the Communists, the Italian women's associations developed and used creative negotiation strategies to advance their visions of womanhood in a new era. They applied similar practices in their international work. This engaging, well-documented book draws on new and original material from archival collections and oral histories to develop a critical understanding of the important but often overlooked period in women's activism between the 1940s and 1970s.


Martin and colleagues reported a case study of a child with "developmental delay," studied with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). According to the authors, shortecho MRS data acquired using 6ml voxels in occipital gray matter, parieto-occipital white matter, and basal ganglia demonstrated "complete absence of NAA (Nacetylaspartate)," which was "even more obvious in the longecho spectrum." From these remarkable data, the authors conclude "the concentration of NAA, as determined by in vivo 1H-MRS, can no longer be taken as an indicator of viable neuronal tissue, and that the functional role of NAA in the brain must be reevaluated in order to correctly interpret neurospectroscopic results in a clinical setting." This conclusion would perhaps be warranted if two critical statements had truly reflected the data presented. First, the claim "no neurologic deficits were noted" discounts the severe cognitive and motor deficits described, specifically, that a 3.5-year-old boy is able only to sit unaided, walk a few broad-based steps, and express meaningless sounds. Characterization of the child as having "developmental delay" suggests that he might ultimately achieve full development, an assumption that currently cannot be substantiated. Second, the claim "all spectra obtained on both occasions demonstrate absence of NAA in all examined brain regions" is not supported by examination of the four spectra presented, all of which reveal measurable peaks at 2.02ppm. These strikingly low NAA levels are actually consistent with the severe functional deficits observed clinically, deficits that would likely be stratified as profound if subjected to quantitative neuropsychological assessment. Even if the child truly had no NAA in his brain, this does not mean that NAA is not necessary for normal brain function. By analogy, individuals can be born without a corpus callosum and still have interhemisphere communication. Does this mean that the corpus callosum is not the major pathway for connecting the cerebral hemispheres? If "viable" means "capable of living," the perhaps glib characterization of NAA as "a marker of neuronal viability" may indeed be an overstatement of which we and others are guilty. However, given the two mischaracterizations of the data, a conclusion opposite that of the authors could be reached—this child has very low levels of brain NAA and profound neuropsychological deficits. Perhaps a better term than "viable" would be "integrity," meaning "an unimpaired condition," with the amount of spectroscopically visible NAA considered "a reflection of neuronal integrity." Certainly the report of Martin and colleagues would support this nomenclature.


Dioecy, the sexual system in which male and female organs are found in separate individuals, allows greater specialization for sex-specific functions and can be advantageous under various ecological and environmental conditions. However, dioecy is rare among flowering plants. Previous studies identified contradictory trends regarding the relative diversification rates of dioecious lineages vs their nondioecious counterparts, depending on the methods and data used. We gathered detailed species-level data for dozens of genera that contain both dioecious and nondioecious species. We then applied a probabilistic approach that accounts for differential speciation, extinction, and transition rates between states to examine whether there is an association between dioecy and lineage diversification. We found a bimodal distribution, whereby dioecious lineages exhibited higher diversification in certain genera but lower diversification in others. Additional analyses did not uncover an ecological or life history trait that could explain a context-dependent effect of dioecy on diversification. Furthermore, in-depth simulations of neutral characters demonstrated that such bimodality is also found when simulating neutral characters across the observed trees. Our analyses suggest that - at least for these genera with the currently available data - dioecy neither consistently places a strong brake on diversification nor is a strong driver.


This study investigated the correlation between western U.S. streamflow and two of the most important oceanic–atmospheric indices having significant effects in this region, namely, El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Data from 61 streamflow stations across six different hydrologic regions of the western U.S. were analyzed, using a study period of 60 years from 1951 to 2010. Continuous wavelet transformation along with cross wavelet transformation and wavelet coherence were used to analyze the interaction between streamflow and climate indices. The results showed that streamflows have changed coincidentally with both ENSO and PDO over the study period at different time-scale bands and at various time intervals. Both ENSO and PDO showed correlation with streamflow change behavior from 1980 to 2005. ENSO showed a strong correlation with streamflow across the entire study period in a 10–12 year band. PDO showed a strong correlation in bands of 8–10 years and band beyond 16 years. The phase relationship showed that both ENSO and PDO preceded streamflow change behavior; in some instances, the variables were found to be moving in opposite directions even though they changed simultaneously. The results can be helpful in understanding the relationship between the climate indices and streamflow.


PURPOSE
To determine whether the anti-fibrinolytic agent epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA) inhibits the washout of resistance to aqueous humor outflow during anterior chamber perfusion in cynomolgus monkeys, as it does in rabbits.

METHODS
Nine adult ocular normotensive cynomolgus monkeys underwent bilateral anterior chamber perfusion with Bárány solution, containing 3.8 mM EACA unilaterally. Total outflow facility was determined in both eyes simultaneously for approximately 4 hours by the two-level constant pressure method. The data were analyzed using a linear regression model that tested treated versus control eye differences over time against a slope and intercept of 0.0.

RESULTS
Outflow facility increased and resistance decreased significantly over time similarly in both EACA-treated and control eyes; i.e., neither the slopes nor the intercepts for facility or resistance, respectively, differed between the eyes over the entire 4-hour measurement period or for the initial 90 minutes considered separately. The facility increase and resistance decrease as functions of perfusion volume also were similar in EACA-treated and control eyes.

CONCLUSIONS
EACA at this dose does not prevent resistance washout in the cynomolgus monkey, in contrast to the rabbit. This species difference may relate to the vastly different anatomy and physiology of their outflow pathways.


A cladistic biogeographic study of the Namanereidinae was under taken to test whether the biogeographic patterns shown by the species can be explained by vicariance, and whether they support the conventional view of Pangaean break-up and a hypothetical Tethys Sea. The Namanereidinae consists of two monophyletic clades, Namalycastis and Namanereis, members of which exhibit similar distribution patterns. If species of Namalycastis and Namanereis share a common history of fragmentation and diversification then their area cladograms should be congruent and congruent with the postulated sequence of geological fragmentation. Congruence between area cladograms and between taxon and area cladograms was assessed using the COMPONENT program (Page, 1993). Results indicate that the biogeographic patterns shown by species of both genera may be explained largely by vicariance. Rather than supporting the conventional view of Pangaean break-up and a hypothetical Tethys Sea, the results are better explained by the expanding earth model (sensu Shields, 1976, 1979) which predicts that during the Jurassic Period the earth was substantially smaller, the Tethys Sea was much reduced (or absent) and the Pacific was essentially closed. The minimum age of the subfamily is thought to be about 200 My.


There are conflicting reports as to whether malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) have worse prognosis than non-NF1 MPNST patients. Large clinical studies to address this problem are lacking due to the rareness of MPNST. We have performed meta-analyses testing the effect of NF1 status on MPNST survival based on publications from the last 50 years, including only nonoverlapping patients reported from each institution. In addition, we analyzed survival characteristics for 179 MPNST patients from 3 European sarcoma centers. The meta-analyses including data from a total of 48 studies and >1800 patients revealed a significantly higher odds ratio for overall survival (OROS) and disease-specific survival (ORDSS) in the non-NF1 group (OROS = 1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.28–2.39, and ORDSS = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.18–2.40). However, in studies published in the last decade, survival in the 2 patient groups has been converging, as especially the NF1 group has shown improved prognosis. For our own MPNST patients, NF1 status had no effect on overall or disease-specific survival. The compiled literature from 1963 to the present indicates a significantly worse outcome of MPNST in patients with NF1 syndrome compared with non-NF1 patients. However, survival for the NF1 patients has improved in the last decade, and the survival difference is diminishing. These observations support the hypothesis that MPNSTs arising in NF1 and non-NF1 patients are not different per se. Consequently, we suggest that the choice of treatment for MPNST should be independent of NF1 status.


This paper analyses the impact of the variability and periodicity of rainfall on the reliability of water supply systems in Scotland. A conceptual rainfall-runoff model was used to simulate catchment runoff, and the reliability of 29 notional and six actual reservoirs was calculated using a simple storage model. The relationship between water supply reliability and the variability of rainfall was then investigated using different measures of variability. A strong correlation was found between reservoir reliability and measures representing the distribution of rainfall between the winter and summer seasons, as well as the cumulative sum (CUSUM) of annual precipitation, quantifying the variability of rainfall between years. In contrast, mainly the intra-annual CUSUM range and the variance of monthly precipitation influenced the reliability of river-intake schemes. The presence of periodic patterns in rainfall anomalies was found to be more prevalent in West Scotland, where reservoir reliability is on average lower than in the East. In addition, a sensitivity analysis revealed the small influence of evapotranspiration on reservoir reliability in comparison to rainfall variability. This study reveals the measures of variability most affecting the reliability of surface water supplies in Scotland, and could therefore help with their management in the context of future climate change.


Adoptive therapy of malignant diseases by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) redirected T cells takes advantage of the patient's own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. This is impressively demonstrated by the induction of complete and lasting remissions of leukemia with CAR-engineered T cells in early phase trials. Recent developments in optimizing the CAR design, in the recognition of target cells and the production of modified cells for clinical use, have paved the path for a broader application than currently explored. The chapter reviews the differences in CAR design, the success in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, the challenges in treating solid cancer, the treatment-related toxicities, and strategies to improve safety of CAR T cell therapy. Challenges for future applications are discussed.


Purpose
We determine the feasibility of human conjunctival epithelial cells (hCjECs) on poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) membranes for corneal epithelium regeneration. hCjECs on PLGA or polyester (PET) membranes with or without coculture of human Tenon's fibroblasts (hTFs) were compared in vitro, and to determine whether epithelial sheets grown on PLGA membranes can repair injured rabbit corneal epithelium by transplantation for 2 weeks in vivo.

Methods
Primary hCjECs were cultured on PLGA or the original PET membrane-based transwell inserts with or without coculture of hTFs on the floor of the culture plate. Cell behaviors, such as proliferation and differentiation, were compared. For in vivo assessment, the corneas of rabbits were burned, and PLGA-based epithelial sheets then were transplanted for 2 weeks before histologic staining was conducted and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the repair.

Results
Primary human epithelial cells on the PLGA membrane showed an increased proliferation when cocultured with fibroblasts, which was confirmed by CCK-8 analysis, and upregulation of Ki67, with the expression of the epithelial marker CK19. The stratified squamous cell marker MUC1 and conjunctival cell marker MUC5AC also were expressed in the epithelial sheet. The epithelial defect in the burned corneas was decreased in the PLGA-based epithelial sheet treatment group (6.1% ± 1.6% of the area) compared to that in the no-treatment group (30.5% ± 6.3%) 2 weeks postoperatively.

Conclusions
We developed a coculture system using a human feeder cell layer and PLGA membrane-based transwell inserts to create human conjunctival epithelial sheets. This system represents a promising strategy to regenerate corneal epithelium by transplantation.


BACKGROUND
Many treatment options for plantar fasciitis currently exist, some with great success in pain relief. The objective of our study was to compare the use of intralesional steroids with platelet-rich plasma (PRP), using pain scales and functional evaluation, in patients with plantar fasciitis who did not respond to conservative treatment.

METHODS
A controlled, randomized, blinded clinical assay was performed. Patients were assigned to one of the two groups by selecting a sealed envelope. The steroid treatment group received 8 mg of dexamethasone plus 2 mL of lidocaine as a local anesthetic. The PRP treatment group received 3 mL of PRP activated with 0.45 mL of 10% calcium gluconate. All of the patients were evaluated at the beginning of the study, and at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks post-treatment with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI), and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scale.

RESULTS
The right foot was the most frequently affected foot (63%). The average age of the patients was 44.8 years (range, 24-61 years). All scales used (VAS, FADI and AOFAS) showed that the difference was not statistically significant between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS
We can conclude that the use of PRP is an effective treatment method for patients with plantar fasciitis who do not respond to conservative treatment because PRP demonstrates an efficacy equal to that of steroids. However, the cost and the time for preparation the PRP are two of the disadvantages of this treatment.


Abstract The approach taken by English courts to the duty of care question in negligence has been subject to harsh criticism in recent years. This article examines this fundamental issue in tort law, drawing upon Canadian and Australian jurisprudence by way of comparison. From this analysis, the concept of vulnerability is developed as a productive means of understanding the duty of care. Vulnerability is of increasing interest in legal and political theory and it is of particular relevance to the law of negligence. In addition to aiding doctrinal coherence, vulnerability – with its focus on relationships and care – has the potential to broaden the way in which the subject of tort law is conceived because it challenges dominant assumptions about autonomy as being prior to the relationships on which it is dependent.


Paternally Expressed Gene 10 (PEG10) is an imprinted, retrotransposon-derived gene found in mammals. Although many of the retrotransposon domains have become degenerated in PEG10, a predicted retroviral-type aspartyl protease (AP) domain has been highly conserved. Retroviral-type APs play a crucial role in the replication of some retroviruses such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and are therefore important drug targets. Consequently, extensive biochemical and structural data are available for this class of proteins, although the vast majority of this has been gathered from only a small number of retroviral enzymes. Preliminary evidence indicates that the PEG10 AP is an active protease, although proteolysis by this enzyme has yet to be observed in vitro (Clark et al., 2007). This study aimed to express, purify, and characterise the predicted PEG10 AP. A number of PEG10 AP clones, each with different termini and across more than one recombinant expression system, were expressed to produce the PEG10 AP domain in E. coli. The majority of expressed proteins were largely insoluble and unsuitable for further characterisation. One clone, however, produced soluble PEG10 AP in sufficient quantities for purification and further analysis. Several lines of evidence indicated that the purified protein was dimeric in solution, consistent with the quaternary structure of other retroviral-type APs. The results presented in this thesis support the hypothesis that the PEG10 AP is active and has retained characteristics from the ancestral retrotransposon enzyme. The expression and purification protocol that has been developed can now be used to generate PEG10 AP for detailed biophysical and functional characterisation. Widely used protease inhibitors used for treatment of infection with HIV have pleiotropic effects in patients and are known to inhibit a diverse range of proteases. The development of an in vitro activity assay and testing whether the PEG10 AP is a serendipitous target of these inhibiting compounds will not only enhance our understanding of retroviral-type APs but potentially contribute to their use as therapeutic agents.


South Africa has not yet become a nation united in its diversity despite the claim made otherwise in the South African constitution. To grapple with the constitution's unfulfilled promises, many writers and artists from the country have taken up the incongruity between lived experience and nationalist rhetoric in their works. As part of that efforts by artists and writers in South Africa, Ivan Vladislavic's 2006 book Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked describes the difficulties of living in a country that does not perfectly match the rhetoric of a nation "united in [its] diversity." In order to expand on the theme in Portrait with Keys of incongruity between lived life and the national discourse, as well as between lived life and literary representations, it is imperative to identify the discourse surrounding the current situation in South Africa. In this analysis of Vladislavic's book, the author will describe and decipher moments where the lived experience of residents in Johannesburg belies the inclusionary discourse of South Africa and the literary representation of other cities. After describing moments that highlight the lack of correspondence between life and word, the author will analyze the various strategies for coping with the incongruity in the book. By taking this route of analysis, the author intends to illuminate the South African phenomenon of incongruent experience (in which lived life, discourse, and representation do not correspond) and arrive at a reading of the incongruity in Vladislavic's book that leaves room for hope.


Software Fault Injection (SFI) is a widely used technique to experimentally assess the dependability of software systems. To provide a comprehensive view on the dependability of a software under test, SFI typically requires large numbers of experiments, which leads to long test latencies. In order to reduce the overall test duration for SFI, we propose FASTFI, which (1) avoids redundant executions of common path prefixes for faults in the same injection location, (2) avoids test executions for faults that do not get activated, and (3) utilizes parallel processors by executing SFI tests concurrently. FASTFI takes patch files that specify source code mutations as an input, conducts an automated source code analysis to identify the function they target, and then automatically parallelizes the execution of all mutants that target the same function. Our evaluation of FASTFI on four PARSEC benchmarks shows a SFI test latency reduction of up to a factor of 26.


We present data on the proportions and seniority of female and male political scientists working in the UK. Comparing the results with previous research from 2011, we find that progress has been made. However, progress has been incremental and we find no qualitative changes in the status of female political scientists: they continue to be outnumbered by their male counterparts; they are overrepresented in the least senior job groups and underrepresented in the most senior; and the average female political scientist occupies a less senior position than the average male counterpart. We also run regression analyses to explore the impact of broader contextual factors on the proportion of female political scientists within a unit and that unit's 'gender seniority gap'. We find evidence that gender equality kitemarks, university mission group membership, the gender of the Head of Unit and Vice-Chancellor and the proportion of female members of university governance bodies appear to matter for one or both of these measures but not always in the direction that might be expected. These results, then, raise questions about what strategies might be pursued by those who wish to improve the status of women in the profession.


Comparison of seven isolates of rust from leek (Allium porrum), three from chives (Allium schoenoprasum), one from A. scorodoprasum and one from A. babingtonii on the basis of telial and uredinial morphology showed there to be three morphologically distinct species. Application of these criteria to herbarium material confirmed these findings and showed the rust on leeks in the U.K. to be the same species found on European leeks, garlic and certain wild Allium spp. from the Mediterranean. It is suggested that the following names be adopted, viz. Puccinia allii (DC.) Rud. for the rust on leeks, Puccinia mixta Fuck. for the rust on chives and Uromyces ambiguus (DC) Lev. for the rust on A. babingtonii. Infection studies on isolates of each rust supported the morphological evidence, and showed the three species to have different, extensive but overlapping host ranges within the genus Allium. In the ampeloprasum complex, A. kurrat accessions were highly susceptible to leek rust whereas some accessions of A. ampeloprasum and A. babingtonii had high levels of quantitative resistance. There was no evidence of 'hypersensitive-type' resistance in the complex. Tests within one leek cultivar (Musselburgh) showed older plants to be more resistant than seedlings in at least two quantitative components. However leaf tissue appeared to become more susceptible to infection with age, except in the leaf tips, which did not change in susceptibility over time. Inoculation of 16 leek cultivars with leek rust isolates from different geographical areas, and subsequent analysis during the disease cycle of several components of resistance (viz; latent period, pustule density and pustule length) showed that some cultivars performed consistently better against all isolates. However, in most cases there was a considerable and complex cultivar-isolate-component interaction. There was no evidence of physiologic specialisation in the isolates, but low levels of specialisation could have been hidden by the high level of variation in the experiments. Comparison of field cultivars of garlic with equivalent virus-free material using an isolate of leek rust gave inconclusive results, and further study of the rust-garlic-virus interaction is recommended. Major trends in the infection/resistance studies included a high level of environmentally-dependent variation and a lack of 'hypersensitive-type' resistance, even in host species quite distantly related to the normal host.


The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa stipulates guidelines for local government functions. Section 152, of the Constitution lists six objectives of local government. According to the six objectives, local government is required to promote social and economic development for its communities. In South Africa, this objective is met through urban renewal projects, among others. Urban renewal is an economic engine and a reform mechanism for the growth and development of local government. Urban renewal projects comprise of Economic Empowerment Zone (EEZ) programmes. In Soweto, EEZ is delivered by the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) through the Department of Economic Development. Ten EEZ programmes were initiated in the CoJ. These programmes are designated by law that focuses on historically under-developed areas. The programme aims to empower poor persons, particularly the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to become self-sufficient. The programme package includes job creation and resources and business opportunities for the most economically distressed areas of South Africa. In Soweto, the programme aims tofoster increased investment, business formation and business expansion. Globally, unemployment is one of the most important challenges facing poor people. The promotion of SMMEs has become an objective across government departments in a developmental state. Urban renewal projects have their successes and failures. This article evaluates the EEZ programme and the perceptions of the beneficiaries in Soweto. Theoretical analysis and empirical surveys will be conducted. A series of recommendations will be offered towards increased performance of EEZ programmes.


We humans share our life stories, as Bauer, McAdams and Pals (2008: 84) have suggested, ʻto try to derive some sense of unity and purpose out of what may otherwise appear to be an incomprehensible array of life events and experiences'. Yet as Holtgraves and Kashima (2007: 91) have pointed out the sharing of stories is also an inherently communal event for what is shared and how it is expressed is also dependent upon the audience. The complex story I am sharing is centred on my experience of transition and change as a rural midlife female and junior academic. I consider whether gender has been the most salient aspect of my identity in creating meaning within my story of transition and change. I explore how, for me, the performance of gender is intertwined with the performance of many other aspects of identity. I also describe how my relationships to, and in, place have influenced the story I share. The telling of my story was shaped with two audiences in mind. The first and more interactive audience occurred within the conference session. The second is an audience of academics interested in narrative theory and methodology who will silently read, and evaluate, my written story. Additional layers are inserted as I consider what must be left out of my narrative, as well as what I have chosen to include in order to portray the sense of unity, purpose and professionalism anticipated by an academic audience.


Nucleic-acid based methods for bacterial identification are extremely useful in diagnostic applications due to their specificity and sensitivity. However, they require an optimal purification of the target molecules. As part of the development of a new diagnostic method for the detection of bacterial RNA in cow milk, we have compared four commercially available RNA extraction kits for the isolation of bacterial RNA from spiked UHT milk samples. The kits were compared in terms of extraction efficiency and RNA purity using two bacterial species, the Gram negative Escherichia coli and the Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus . Two kits are based in silica-matrix extraction, and the other two in the guanidinium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform extraction. In our hands, the RNeasy Protect Bacteria Mini kit from QIAGEN was the best performing in terms of RNA yield, quality, reproducibility and consumable needs, under the conditions here described.


This article investigates the influence of participation in and exposure to voluntary associations on fertility-limiting behavior. Its theoretical framework, drawn from the sociological literature on social networks and voluntary associations, the demographic literature on program participation, and the literature on health behavior, delineates the mechanisms through which participation in voluntary associations is likely to influence permanent contraceptive use. The article draws from three data sources to empirically test the framework: individual-level survey data from couples residing in the Chitwan Valley in south-central Nepal; data on the neighborhoods of the Chitwan Valley collected using an integrated application of ethnographic, survey, and archival methods; and the authors' own ethnographic interviews in these neighborhoods. Empirical analyses show that participation in a range of voluntary associations increases permanent contraceptive use. Furthermore, living in a neighborhood with a voluntary association increases permanent contraceptive use. Finally, participation in different types of voluntary associations — including credit groups, women's groups, agricultural groups, and youth groups — appears to be similarly related to permanent contraceptive use.


Research on child bilingualism accounts for differences in the course and the outcomes of monolingual and different types of bilingual language acquisition primarily from two perspectives: age of onset of exposure to the language(s) and the role of the input (Genesee, Paradis, & Crago, 2004; Meisel, 2009; Unsworth et al., 2014). Some findings suggest that early successive bilingual children may pattern similarly to simultaneous bilingual children, passing through different trajectories from child L2 learners due to a later age of onset in the latter group. Studies on bilingual development have also shown that input quantity in bilingual acquisition is considerably reduced, i.e., in each of their two languages, bilingual children are likely exposed to much less input than their monolingual peers (Paradis & Genesee, 1996; Unsworth, 2013b). At the same time, simultaneous bilingual children develop and attain competence in the two languages, sometimes without even an attested age delay compared to monolingual children (Paradis, Genesee & Crago, 2011). The implication is that even half of the input suffices for early language development, at least with respect to 'core' aspects of language, in whatever way 'core' is defined.My aim in this article is to consider how an additional, linguistic variable interacts with age of onset and input in bilingual development, namely, the timing in L1 development of the phenomena examined in bilingual children's performance. Specifically, I will consider timing differences attested in the monolingual development of features and structures, distinguishing between early, late or 'very late' acquired phenomena. I will then argue that this three-way distinction reflects differences in the role of narrow syntax: early phenomena are core, parametric and narrowly syntactic, in contrast to late and very late phenomena, which involve syntax-external or even language-external resources too. I explore the consequences of these timing differences in monolingual development for bilingual development. I will review some findings from early (V2 in Germanic, grammatical gender in Greek), late (passives) and very late (grammatical gender in Dutch) phenomena in the bilingual literature and argue that early phenomena can differentiate between simultaneous and (early) successive bilingualism with an advantage for the former group, while the other two reveal similarly (high or low) performance across bilingual groups, differentiating them from monolinguals. The paper proposes that questions about the role of age of onset and language input in early bilingual development can only be meaningfully addressed when the properties and timing of the phenomena under investigation are taken into account.


Moore's Law may be slowing, but, perhaps as a result, other measures of processor complexity are only accelerating. In recent years, Intel's architects have turned to an alphabet soup of instruction set extensions such as MPX, SGX, MPK, and CET as a way to sell CPUs through new security features. Unlike prior extensions, which mostly focused on accelerating user-mode data processing, these new features exhibit complex interactions and give system designers plenty to think about. This calls for a rethink of how we approach the instruction set. In this paper we highlight some of the challenges arising from recent security-focused extensions, and speculate about the longer-term implications.


Ecological factors are important drivers of phenotypic divergence, which may lead to incipient speciation. A variety of habitats should be preserved to maintain evolutionary potential. We used the marsupial, the yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) as a model species for investigating phenotypic differentiation between animals inhabiting two habitat types in south-eastern Australia: flood-plain river red gum and box–ironbark forests. All tested phenotypic characteristics varied between years at the same sites and therefore were not useful for investigating morphological specialization that may lead to speciation. Males generally were significantly heavier when antechinus densities were lower, but exceptions were found, possibly related to food availability. Teat-number variation recently has been shown to be associated with habitat specialization and incipient speciation within Antechinus agilis. We investigated genetic differentiation associated with this trait in A. flavipes. Population genetic analyses of microsatellite genotypes and mitochondrial DNA haplotypes revealed that sympatric 12-, 13- and 14-teat females in Chiltern forest were part of one freely interbreeding population. Our parentage analyses found two cases where 13-teat mothers produced 12-teat daughters. This suggests either plasticity or paternal genetic influence on the offspring's teat-number phenotype. Laboratory matings may be required to resolve the extent to which teat number is heritable in A. flavipes. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 94, 303–314.


SUMMARY (1) The relationships between habitat change and house mouse populations were studied by monthly live trapping in a corn-wheat-hay rotation on a small Maryland farm. (2) Population density reached 53.0/ha in a wheat/hay field in October and 25.4/ha in corn in September. Populations increased by immigration as wheat or corn grew and ripened and decreased by emigration as hay became tall and dense. (3) Survival rates were high in winter in the relatively stable habitat of the wheat/hay field; they were low throughout the summer in both fields, and were reduced by corn harvest, less so by wheat harvest. If they were related to population density or increase, or to breeding condition, the relationships were obscured by the overriding influence of habitat change. (4) In the spring, when the population in the hay field 'crashed,' essentially the entire population moved -from long-established ranges in the hay field to the field of ripening wheat, where new ranges were established. In the new field, fewer than 3000 of the old associations between individuals persisted. (5) Individual mice maintained home ranges (88.1 + 6.1 m in length) in the same general area during their residence in a field. Ranges shifted from month to month, perhaps in response to changes in populations and habitat; exploratory travels and other movements also modified home range behaviour. (6) Minimum life expectancy (residence time) was greater from November (4-5 months) than from June/July (1-2 months). Maximum individual age was 17 months. (7) The demographic pattern fell at the r extreme of the r-K continuum. Mice bred from May to October, matured and produced litters rapidly, produced several litters in a season, and had a high turnover rate. (8) It was concluded that migration was a primary mechanism of population regulation in the cropfield mosaic and that it was driven by habitat change, a system in contrast to those described for house mice in confined conditions.


Theoretical investigations of spectroscopic and magnetic properties of metallic systems in the bulk, as well as in nanostructured materials, have been performed within the density functional theory. The major part of the present work studies the differences between binding energies of electrons tightly bound to the atoms, the so-called core electrons (in contrast with the valence electrons), that is, core-level binding energy shift (CLS). By comparison between corresponding elemental core-levels for atoms situated in different chemical environments we obtain fundamental understanding of bonding properties of materials. The method of choice was the complete screening picture, which includes initial and final state effects on the same footing. The usefulness of CLS stems from that it is sensitive to differences in the chemical environment of an atom, which can be affected on one hand by the global composition of e.g. disordered materials, surfaces and interfaces, and on the other hand by the very local environment around an atom. Here CLSs have been obtained for both components in the fcc random alloys AgPd, CuPd, CuNi, CuPt, CuAu, PdAu, NiPd and NiPt. Moreover the model was extended to the Auger kinetic energy shift for the LMM Auger transition in AgPd alloys. Studies were also applied to the near surface and interface regions of PdMn nano structures on Pd(100), thin CuPd and AgPd films on inert Ru(0001), and at interfaces. The disorder broadening on CLS due to local environment effects was calculated in selected alloys.A part of the thesis concern investigations related to the magnetic ordering in Invar alloys, including the influence of local environment effects. A study was made for the dependence of effective exchange parameter on the electron concentration, volume and local chemical composition.


Abstract Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate the narratives pertaining to dietary and physical activity practices by female adolescents in Soweto. Design: This was exploratory qualitative research, using duo interviews (pairs of best friends) (n = 29) from adolescent females. Setting: The setting was three urban high schools in the township of Soweto, South Africa. Subjects: Subjects were twenty-nine pairs of Grade 12 female adolescents predominantly, with a mean age of 18 years (15.3-21.6, standard deviation 1.1). Outcome measures: The outcome measure was body mass index, interpreted in relation to eating practices and exercise participation. Results: Locally prepared convenience foods were reported to replace home-prepared breakfast. The majority of participants did not prioritise eating breakfast at home, but purchased deep-fried dough balls ("fat" cakes) from vendors before school. Lunch boxes were also not commonly used as participants preferred to use spending money to purchase food from the school tuck shop. Kotas, "fat" cakes and snacks were popular lunch choices because of their affordability, convenience, peer influence and popularity. Respondents engaged in minimal active recreational activities. A lack of facilities and concerns about safety were barriers to activity. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of investigating the immediate social context as a potential intervention point to improve the lifestyle of adolescents, to enable them to make the affordable and convenient choice, the healthier choice.


Praise for the second edition of The Design of Sites"In my worldwide IBM marketing role, I have the benefit of working with some of the finest international interactive agencies and internal Web teams. As I read The Design of Sites, [I see] the insight from years of professional advice has been put to paper. Nowhere have I seen such a practical, effective, and easy-to-use book to solve and avoid Internet design issues. I keep a copy of the book handy to remind me of the things I forgot and to gain fresh perspectives. It never fails to deliver." -John Cilio, marketing manager, IBM System x & z Storage Synergy"The Design of Sites artfully brings forward the original intent of Christopher Alexander's pattern language into the user experience design arena. It is a valuable and comprehensive reference."-George Hackman, Jr., senior director of User Experience for User Interface Guidelines, Patterns and Standards, Oracle Corporation"The Design of Sites is one of the best tools I have in my usability toolbox. [These] Web UI design patterns make it easy for me to show my clients how to get the most usability bang for their buck."-Claudia Alden Case, usability consultant and interaction designer, Alden Case Enterprises, Inc."If only biology class had been like this. Lucid text, bulletproof content, and a comprehensive taxonomy that's just as much a source of inspiration as it is a production tool. This is a really, really good book. If you build Web sites, read it."-Marc Campbell, author of Web Design GaragePraise for the first edition of The Design of Sites"Stop reinventing the wheel every time you design a Web site! The Design of Sites helps you rethink your Web sites in terms of genres and patterns. Once you have identified the patterns and applied the best practices for those patterns as outlined in this book, you will reduce your design effort by 50 percent . . . at least!"-Pawan R. Vora, vice president, Information Architecture, Seurat Company"The content [in The Design of Sites] could make a novice into a seasoned professional over a weekend. Many companies pay a fortune for the information contained in the book's primary chapters."-John Cilio, marketing manager, IBM System x & z Storage Synergy"This book has many handy checklists for what you should and should not do in creating a conventional Web site. Just following the authors' suggestions would put your site in the top few percent for readability and usability."-Jef Raskin, creator of the Macintosh computer and author of The Humane Interface"Now that The Design of Sites has made its appearance, we won't have to put up with those poorly designed Web pages. These authors have captured patterns from successful Web designers, including their own experience in consulting and teaching, and have made this information accessible to all of us. The book is readable yet full of worthwhile information--a valuable addition to any Web designer's bookshelf."-Linda Rising, independent consultant and author of The Patterns Handbook, The Pattern Almanac 2000, and Design Patterns in Communications Software"[The Design of Sites] bridges the gap from theory to practice and makes it possible for people in the Web-design space to use user-centered design principles in their work-without having to undertake extensive training."-Maya Venkatraman, human interface engineer, Sun Microsystems"The coverage [in The Design of Sites] is excellent--issues go beyond the traditional 'design the best page' focus and do a good job of showing the context. I haven't seen any other book with the kind of breadth this has."-Terry Winograd, professor of computer science, Stanford University, and editor of Bringing Design to Software"With this book as a reference, you can benefit from what companies like Yahoo! have learned and apply it to your site, even if you don't have a design and research team similarly sized and staffed."From the foreword by Irene Au, director of User Experience, Google; former vice president of User Experience and Design, Yahoo!The Design of Sites, Second Edition, is the definitive reference for the principles, patterns, methodologies, and best practices underlying exceptional Web design. If you are involved in the creation of dynamic Web sites, this book will give you all the necessary tools and techniques to create effortless end-user Web experiences, improve customer satisfaction, and achieve a balanced approach to Web design.After a comprehensive tutorial covering the foundations of good Web site design, you will move on to discover the thirteen major Web design pattern groups. These patterns solve recurring design problems and help design teams avoid reinventing the wheel. Patterns range from creating a solid navigation framework and the all-important home page, to instilling trust and building credibility with your customers and improving site performance through better design.The book features Coverage of AJAX, the Mobile Web, and online communities Seventeen new design patterns to add to the original ninety, including the new blog site type More than twenty significantly updated patterns 450 four-color screen shots and diagrams, including more than 150 new images Key site elements, including site maps, style sheets, dynamic elements, and customer profiles Clear, visual organization with color-coded sections for easy reference A balanced approach to Web design that takes both customer and business needs into account


Within mathematical research, Geometric Topology deals with the study of piecewise-linear n-manifolds, i.e. triangulable spaces which appear locally as the $n$-dimensional Euclidean space. This paper reports on the computational aspects of an algorithm for generating triangulations of PL 3- and 4-manifolds represented by edge-coloured graphs. As the number of graph vertices is increased the algorithm becomes computationally expensive very quickly, making it a natural candidate for the usage of HPC resources. We present an optimized, parallel version of the algorithm that is suitable for deployment of multi-core systems. Scalability results are discussed on two different platforms, namely an IBM iDataPlex Linux cluster and the IBM supercomputer BlueGene/Q.


Oil palm decanter cake (OPDC) is a potential lignocellulosic biomass for the biofuel industry. The fermentation conditions for biobutanol production using glucose from OPDC hydrolysate by Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 were optimized via response surface methodology (RSM). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) using 2–level factorial was successfully screened. Three significant variables were found to influence the biobutanol yield: glucose concentrations in the OPDC hydrolysate, inoculum sizes, and initial pH. The concentration of yeast extract, however, showed an insignificant effect in this study. The batch fermentation was analyzed using central composite design (CCD), and it yielded significant variables and the predicted optimum conditions were 70.00 g/L of OPDC hydrolysate, 16.20% of inoculum size, and an initial pH of 5.20. The predicted yield of biobutanol was 0.09 g/g using 70.00 g/L of glucose. The optimum conditions were validated, and the actual biobutanol yield was 0.11 g/g with 54.86 g/L of glucose consumption. The biobutanol production using synthetic glucose was 15.38% higher when compared to OPDC hydrolysate, but the utilization of OPDC as alternative substrate was still comparable with other findings.


Linear regression is an important tool across many fields that work with sensitive human-sourced data. Significant prior work has focused on producing differentially private point estimates, which provide a privacy guarantee to individuals while still allowing modelers to draw insights from data by estimating regression coefficients. We investigate the problem of Bayesian linear regression, with the goal of computing posterior distributions that correctly quantify uncertainty given privately released statistics. We show that a naive approach that ignores the noise injected by the privacy mechanism does a poor job in realistic data settings. We then develop noise-aware methods that perform inference over the privacy mechanism and produce correct posteriors across a wide range of scenarios.


A method is described to determine the arc voltages on a per-phase basis of a 3-phase direct electricarc furnace. Having determined the arc voltages, other arc parameters, such as arc resistance, length and power, can then be obtained. By using the procedure outlined, in conjunction with experimental data on a 100 t, 5½m diameter shell furnace having a triangulated secondary electrical system, it will be shown that controlling arc powers by means of the impedance control method still results in asymmetric furnace operation. Sample calculations are included, illustrating actual conditions for this furnace.


Terrorism, jihad, fundamentalism, blowback. These and other highly charged terms have saturated news broadcasts and everyday conversation since September 11th. But to keen ears their meanings change depending upon who's doing the talking. So what do these words really mean? And what are people trying to say when they use them? Each of the thirteen essays in Collateral Language offers an informed perspective on a particular word or phrase that serves as a building block in the edifice of post-World Trade Center rhetoric. In some cases this involves a systematic examination of the term in question (e.g. "anthrax" or "unity") - its historical roots, the development of its meaning and usage in the U.S. over time, and its employment in the current context. In other cases authors provide a set of more philosophical or autobiographical reflections on a particular idea (e.g. "vital interests" or "evil"), suggesting a need to consider the ethical and moral implications of using the concept uncritically. In every instance, however, the overriding goal is to give the reader a set of practical tools to analyze the political language that surrounds all of us at this critical point in our nation's history. Witty, informative and highly readable, Collateral Language is a lexicon of political terminology and an indispensable tool for understanding the current conflict.


The present work examines the spatio-temporal biomass trends of Mullus barbatus and Mullus surmuletus in the Mediterranean Sea through the analysis of a time series of data coming from the Mediterranean International Trawl Surveys (MEDITS), accomplished annually from 1994 to 2015. The biomass of both species showed clear declining trends below 150 to 200 m depth, which were steeper in the case of M. barbatus. Increases in temporal biomass trends were observed for M. barbatus from 2008 onward in most geographic sub-areas (GSAs), while stability was mostly observed for M. surmuletus. For both species, dynamic factor analysis revealed similarities among neighbouring GSAs and the subsequent cluster analysis identified two major GSA groups corresponding to the eastern and western basins of the Mediterranean. Overall, the results suggested that the combined effects of fishing and environmental conditions determine species abundance variations, but the relative importance of each component may vary among areas.


Urotensin-II (UII) is a potent vasoactive peptide that has been implicated in cardiac fibrosis and renal diseases. However, the role played by UII in renal tissues is largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of human UII (hUII) on rat renal proximal tubular cells of the NRK-52E line and the role of Src homology 2-containing phosphotyrosine phosphatase (SHP-2) in the hUII-induced transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Exposure to hUII at low concentrations significantly induced proliferation in NRK-52E cells; this effect was inhibited by treatment with an ERK1/2 inhibitor (PD98059). UII treatment increased the phosphorylation of EGFR and induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Treatment of the ROS scavenger N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) inhibited EGFR transactivation and ERK phosphorylation induced by hUII. SHP-2 was found to interact with EGFR and be transiently oxidized following the hUII treatment. In SHP-2 knockdown cells, UII-induced phosphorylation of EGFR was less influenced by NAC, and significantly suppressed by heparin binding (HB)-EGF neutralizing antibody. Our data suggest that the ROS-mediated oxidation of SHP-2 is essential for the hUII-induced mitogenic pathway in NRK-52E cells.


Classic Paxos is a round-based distributed consensus algorithm. Normally, proposals are sent to the round leader and decided in two communication steps more. Fast Paxos extends Classic Paxos by allowing also fast rounds, in which a decision can be learned in two communication steps without relying on a leader but requiring bigger quorums. We extend Fast Paxos and allow yet another sort of round with multiple quorums of coordinators. Such new rounds have the same expected latency and quorum size requirements as classic rounds but do not rely on a single leader, providing better availability and allowing load balance. Fast rounds and ours have a different liveness requirement: the absence of collisions—which may happen if different values are proposed concurrently. However, collisions are inherently more expensive in fast rounds. We apply our algorithm to Generalized Consensus, a generalization of agreement problems that can use the application semantics to avoid


The current global debacle of COVID-19, spelled by SARS-CoV-2 needs no elaboration. With incessant and constantly clambering number of deaths across various nations, the need of the hour is to develop readily deployable, fast, affordable detection assays and kits, yielding precise and consistent results as well as timely availability of efficacious anti-SARS-CoV-2 strategies to contain it. Conventionally employed real time PCR based technique for detection of the virus suffers from a couple of handicaps. Amongst other approaches, CRISPR based technology has ushered in new hopes. Recent efforts have been directed toward developing CRISPR/Cas based low-cost, rapid detection methods as well as development of one-pot assay platforms. The plausible application of CRISPR-Cas system to counteract the viral assault has also been assessed. The write up in this article mirrors the current status, the prospects and the practical snags of CRISPR/Cas technology for the detection and inactivation of the novel corona virus, SARS-CoV-2.


In this article, I argue that some recent developments in copyright law threaten to assist religious groups in using copyright law as a tool for suppressing what they view as heresy; and that this return to the seventeenth-century model of copyright as a tool of censorship is contrary to both sound copyright policy and, more importantly, the constitutional vision of religious pluralism. I begin with a discussion of some problems that can arise with respect to the copyrightability of religious works. Although the Establishment Clause poses no obstacle to the copyright status of these works, there are some interesting copyright issues that arise with respect to works that religious groups view as scriptural or revelatory in character. I argue that the way in which courts in some recent cases have addressed the copyright issues betrays an unwillingness to take seriously minority religious beliefs; and that a thoughtful application of the copyright estoppel and merger doctrines would result in some of these works falling outside the scope of copyright protection. In the latter half of the article, I discuss the courts' responsibility to accommodate the unauthorized use of copyrighted works for the purpose of religious practice. Although religious adherents are probably not entitled to an exemption from copyright liability under current Free Exercise jurisprudence, I argue that courts should be somewhat more willing to accommodate unauthorized uses of religious works under copyright's fair use doctrine. On the other hand, the one provision of the Copyright Act that expressly grants religious users a broad exemption from the copyright owner's public performance right arguably goes too far in permissively accommodating religious practice.


Case Description- An eight-year-old, light brown and crossbred stallion in a horse-racing club had two gray skin masses on his left thigh and thoracic inlet with a slow growth since two years ago. The masses were 5×7 cm in size, irregular shaped with some convex parts. Surface bleeding had been reported occasionally. CBC and WBC were within normal values. General clinical examination of the animal revealed no problem. Treatment and Outcome- Under general anesthesia (premedication, induction and maintenance by xylazine and ketamine) two neoplastic masses were excised completely. The lesions were restricted to skin with no subcutaneous tissue involvement. Histopathologic results confirmed cutaneous fibroma based on numerous fibroblasts and collagen fibers. There were no recurrence or any other complications in post-operative monitoring for six months. Clinical Relevance- Treatment of cutaneous fibroma is complete by surgical excision in ablating the tumor masses and preventing re-growth.


Material flow and heat generation by tool shoulder during Friction Stir Welding (FSW) significantly alters the microstructural and thermomechanical behavior of joints. The effect of shoulder size on mechanical properties of joints has not yet been reported in the FSW of Tailor-Welded Blanks (TWBs). This article reports the effect of shoulder size on joint quality in FSW of TWBs between 6.35 mm thick plates of AA2024-T3 and 2.5 mm thick plates of AA7475-T7 alloys in butt joint configuration fabricated under shoulder sizes: 18 mm, 20 mm, and 22 mm. Microstructural evaluation of FSWed joints reveals a significant increase in grain size with shoulder size. The X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopic (EDS) elemental maps reveal the presence of fine second phase particles in the stir zone. The progressive elimination of void defects with the increase in shoulder size was observed. The tensile testing reveals the highest strength of joints fabricated via shoulder size of 18 mm. Fractographic analyses of broken tensile specimens showed the mixed mode of failure in all the welded specimens.


The bacterial genus Yersinia belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae and comprises 15 species. Species of the genus Yersinia are usually identified by their phenotypic characteristics. Thus, it is essential to establish a complete phenotypic classification for all species of the genus Yersinia. The species Yersinia massiliensis was proposed in 2008, based on 16S rRNA, gyrB, hsp60, rpoB and sodA gene sequences and some distinguishing phenotypic characteristics. In this study, four Yersinia strains classified as Y. massiliensis based on the sequencing of the loci mentioned above were subjected to a more detailed phenotypic characterization. This characterization revealed differences in the results of four tests previously reported as diagnostic for Y. massiliensis and the results of 18 additional tests provided new information about the biochemical diversity of this species. In the light of the results of the phenotypic characteristics of the four strains of Y. massiliensis, an emended description of Y. massiliensis is presented.


Background. This random-effects model meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized placebocontrolled trials compared recurrence rates in bipolar disorder (BD) patients between antipsychotic/mood stabilizer discontinuation and maintenance groups. Methods. We conducted systematic literature search of Embase, PubMed, and CENTRAL databases without language restriction from inception until 22 May 2020. Independent investigators assessed studies and extracted data. We calculated risk ratios (RRs) and numbers needed to benefit or harm (NNTB/NNTH). Primary outcome was the recurrence rate of any mood episode at 6 months. Secondary outcomes were recurrence rates of depressive episodes and manic/hypomanic/mixed episodes and all-cause discontinuation at 6 months. We also investigated these outcomes at 1, 3, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. Results. We identified 22 studies (n = 5462) receiving aripiprazole, asenapine, divalproex, long-acting injectable (LAI)-aripiprazole, LAI-risperidone, lamotrigine, lithium, olanzapine, paliperidone, or quetiapine. Mean study duration was 64.50 ± 69.35 weeks. The maintenance group demonstrated lower recurrence rates of any mood episode, depressive episodes, and manic/hypomanic/mixed episodes as well as reduced all-cause discontinuation at every observational point. The RRs (95% confidence interval, NNTB/NNTH) of recurrence rate at 6 months were 0.61 (0.54–0.70, 5) for any mood episode, 0.72 (0.60–0.87, 13) for depressive episodes, and 0.45 (0.36–0.57, 6) for manic/hypomanic/mixed episodes. The RR for all-cause discontinuation at 6 months was 0.71 (0.61–0.82, 6). Conclusions.Maintaining drug treatment during clinically stable BD prevented recurrence for up to 24 months. Discontinuation of medications for ⩾1 month significantly increased recurrence risk. However, 47.3% of patients who discontinued drugs for 6 months did not experience recurrence.


Abstract. An ocean data assimilation system was developed for the Pacific–Indian oceans with the aim of assimilating altimetry data, sea surface temperature, and in situ measurements from Argo (Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography), XBT (expendable bathythermographs), CTD (conductivity temperature depth), and TAO (Tropical Atmosphere Ocean). The altimetry data assimilation requires the addition of the mean dynamic topography to the altimetric sea level anomaly to match the model sea surface height. The mean dynamic topography is usually computed from the model long-term mean sea surface height, and is also available from gravimetric satellite data. In this study, the impact of different mean dynamic topographies on the sea level anomaly assimilation is examined. Results show that impacts of the mean dynamic topography cannot be neglected. The mean dynamic topography from the model long-term mean sea surface height without assimilating in situ observations results in worsened subsurface temperature and salinity estimates. Even if all available observations including in situ measurements, sea surface temperature measurements, and altimetry data are assimilated, the estimates are still not improved. This proves the significant impact of the MDT (mean dynamic topography) on the analysis system, as the other types of observations do not compensate for the shortcoming due to the altimetry data assimilation. The gravimeter-based mean dynamic topography results in a good estimate compared with that of the experiment without assimilation. The mean dynamic topography computed from the model long-term mean sea surface height after assimilating in situ observations presents better results.


With its easy-to-understand presentation and hands-on learning approach, MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING: A FOCUS ON ETHICAL DECISION MAKING gives you everything you need to know as you face the challenges and rewards of the business world. The authors use realistic companies and real issues to clearly illustrate concepts without getting into complex, extraneous data that can be confusing. An innovative and easy-to-learn four-step problem-solving methodology gives you a proven decision-making framework that will help you define the problem, identify the objectives, analyze available options, and select the best solution.