Conventional data warehouses employ the query-at-a-time model, which maps each query to a distinct physical plan. When several queries execute concurrently, this model introduces contention, because the physical plans---unaware of each other---compete for access to the underlying I/O and computation resources. As a result, while modern systems can efficiently optimize and evaluate a single complex data analysis query, their performance suffers significantly when multiple complex queries run at the same time.

We describe an augmentation of traditional query engines that improves join throughput in large-scale concurrent data warehouses. In contrast to the conventional query-at-a-time model, our approach employs a single physical plan that can share I/O, computation, and tuple storage across all in-flight join queries. We use an "always-on" pipeline of non-blocking operators, coupled with a controller that continuously examines the current query mix and performs run-time optimizations. Our design allows the query engine to scale gracefully to large data sets, provide predictable execution times, and reduce contention. In our empirical evaluation, we found that our prototype outperforms conventional commercial systems by an order of magnitude for tens to hundreds of concurrent queries.


Changing societies' minds about sustainability requires knowledge about the situation, awareness of what needs to be done and actions to change today's unsustainable behaviors. Universities are challenged to develop students' ability to appreciate the complexities of sustainability and translate sustainability knowledge of education into systemic, anticipatory and critical thinking and actions. To meet this challenge, universities provide specific study programs and courses and integrate sustainability in education and activities. There is limited research on the results of such efforts from a student perspective. The study focused on an identical cohort of 108 undergraduate students who answered a survey about their self-perceived knowledge, awareness and actions before and after their studies in a Swedish university. All 108 students had sustainability integrated into their study programs; forty-eight also attended specific sustainability courses. The test model explains variations in students' self-perceived sustainability actions at the end of their studies. There were differences already in students' initial self-perceived knowledge between the groups. The students' female gender, self-perceived initial actions, studying sustainability courses as well as the increase in self-perceived sustainability knowledge contribute significantly to the later sustainability actions. The results show student development, which can encourage those working with education for sustainable development in universities.


The concept of civilization has gained political as well as theoretical attention in the 1990s owing to Samuel P. Huntington's influential thesis about civilizational conflicts being the new conflict formation of the post-Cold War era. It is the aim of this article to problematize Huntington's claim that one particular reading of the Bosnian War follows from adopting a civilizational optic. Huntington argues that the war took place between three different civilizations and that the West should have abstained from intervention. I will draw out competing accounts of the war through detailed examination of three sets of texts - George Kennan, the Carnegie Commission investigating the First and Second Balkan Wars and the second Carnegie Commission examining the Bosnian War - each of which is representative of a common position within the Western debate. These texts specifically foreground `civilization' as the key analytical concept but they challenge Huntington both in terms of the construction of `Balkan civilization' and in terms of the policy prescription that should be adopted by the West. Whether to read the Balkan Wars as products of civilizational continuity or Western neglect is ultimately not simply a matter of objectively measuring historical facts, but of political and moral interpretation.


The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between personality and loneliness on mental health among undergraduates at Malaysian Universities. A total of
1468 respondents were recruited from five Universities using the multistage cluster sampling. Mental health was measured by 12 items in the General Health Questionnaire
(GHQ-12) designed by Goldberg, 1978. Personality and loneliness were measured using the Big Five Inventory (John, Donahue and Kentle, 1991) and the revised UCLA
Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau and Cutrona, 1980) respectively. A cut-off point of 5/6 for the GHQ-12 was used in this study. The results of this study revealed that a total of 65.6% of Malaysian undergraduates exhibited healthy mental health and 34.4% showed indications of mental health problems. Apart from that, this study also found a significant relationship between extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness
and loneliness on mental health. Analysis of one-way ANOVA found a significant difference in mental health between year of study, field of study, ethnicity and religion.
Finally, the multiple regression analysis using the stepwise method yielded R2 of 0.103 which means that only 10.3% of variation in the mental health was explained by the
predictors. Loneliness was the most significant predictor in explaining mental health followed by neuroticism and extraversion personality. Early detection for indications of
mental health problems and understanding factors contributing to stress among students would promote better understanding of mental health in future.


This study facilitated the improvement of no-load back electromotive force (back-EMF) wave form, total harmonic distortion (THD) of back-EMF, and torque ripple using a novel skew angle formula, considering the specific order of a no-load THD. In real usage environments, it is taken into consideration for the fully enclosed cooling system and limited inverter switching frequency of urban railway car traction motors. Since the most railway car traction motors use high-withstand voltage rectangular wires in slot-open structure, a no-load back EMF waveform includes large space slot harmonics, which should be smaller as possible. For 6-step control, the no-load back EMF waveform is important because switching for motor control is performed once after the rotor position is determined. To improve the no-load back EMF waveform and THD, two-dimensional and three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) were performed using a novel skew angle formula considering specific harmonic order reduction, while the fundamental amplitude was minimally reduced. A prototype with the novel skew was fabricated and verified. In addition, it was designed by calculating a low current density for a fully enclosed cooling system. A temperature saturation experiment was also performed, and successfully verified. Therefore, we suggest that the no-load back EMF characteristics and torque ripple are improved by applying the novel skew angle instead of a traditional skew angle.


Business-driven development favors the construction of process models at different abstraction levels and by different people. As a consequence, there is a demand for consolidating different versions of process models by merging them. In this paper, we study a basic scenario, derive requirements and present a prototype for detecting and resolving changes between process models.


The research in this thesis represents an attempt to study the replication of bacteriophage lambda in terms of the structure of the vegetative DNA. A spheroplast assay for lambda DNA is described in Part I and several parameters affecting the efficiency of the assay are investigated. The biological activity of intracellular lambda DNA is then studied using this assay. In contrast to the results obtained with the transformation or helper assay, no eclipse of infectivity of vegetative lambda DNA occurs in the spheroplast assay. The DNA species responsible for most of the infectivity in the spheroplast assay of DNA extracted from infected, immune bacteria, is the fast-sedimenting "super-coiled" form of lambda DNA.

In Part II the structure and replication of the fast-sedimenting species of vegetative lambda DNA is examined physically and biologically. Its physical properties are those of a twisted, circular molecule each of whose two strands is closed upon itself. Using a mitomycin C technique to inhibit host DNA synthesis, the accumulation and semi-conservative replication of closed-circular lambda DNA specifically early in the infection is demonstrated with radio-isotopes. Biological analysis using the spheroplast assay verifies this conclusion. Chloramphenicol inhibits the synthesis of viral DNA at a lower-concentration than that needed to inhibit the synthesis of closed-circular DNA. Chloramphenicol does not prevent the conversion from viral to closed-circular DNA.

The data presented in Part III suggest that open-circular lambda DNA may act as a precursor to, both closed-circular and viral DNA. The closed-circular species is not a major precursor to viral DNA. Sedimentation analysis also reveals the existence of as yet unidentified intermediates in the replication of viral DNA.

Part IV describes several methods for purifying intracellular lambda DNA and examines the biological activity of the purified DNA in the spheroplast assay. The circular DNA is infective before and after denaturation, whereas denaturation inactivates viral DNA. The increased infectivity of open-circular DNA after denaturation (relative to the native state) appears to be due to the appearance of biologicallyactive single-stranded rings of lambda DNA. The closed-circular DNA usually has the same infectivity before and after denaturation.


Since the formation in the mid-nineteenth century of Al-Majlis Al-Urfi as an international dispute resolution institution consisting of Bahraini and non-Bahraini members, Bahraini law makers have shown great concern for securing protection for foreign investors and commercial entities by developing laws and institutions governing dispute resolution in the fields of international trade and investment. Given the recent rapid economic development of the markets in the Middle East region, further development of laws on trade and investment has become imperative. Currently arbitration in Bahrain is governed by the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law and the International Commercial Arbitration Law, the latter of which is based upon the UNCITRAL Model Law. A new unified comprehensive law based on the UNCITRAL Model Law as amended in 2006 is expected to be promulgated soon. Furthermore, since Bahrain acceded to the New York Convention in 1988, Bahraini courts have enforced foreign arbitral awards. Bahrain is also party to other regional conventions in this respect. Despite these positive developments in Bahraini laws, there still exist some legislative and practical hindrances to arbitration and the enforcement of arbitral awards. This study introduces and analyzes the relevant laws governing arbitration in Bahrain, deals critically with the obstacles facing arbitration and suggests appropriate remedies to these hindrances.


Ambulatory stapled haemorrhoidectomy: a safe and feasible surgical technique Objective. To compare outcomes following stapled haemorrhoidectomy as an in-patient versus day-surgery procedure. Design. Prospective non-randomised study. Setting. University affiliated hospitals, Hong Kong. Subjects and methods. Forty-eight consecutive patients who underwent stapled haemorrhoidectomy were included in the study. Twenty-four patients had the procedure in an ambulatory setting and the other 24 were treated as in-patients. The symptoms, operative details, postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, pain scores, analgesic requirements, and patient satisfaction scores were collected. Comparison was made between those patients undergoing ambulatory surgery and those treated as in-patients. Results. There were 25 women and 23 men in the study. The mean age was 46.6 years (standard deviation, 12.1 years). The mean operating time was 29.3 minutes (standard deviation, 9.9 minutes). An incomplete 'doughnut' after stapling was found in one patient. There were no other adverse intra-operative events or complications. Postoperative morbidities occurred in eight patients but none required further surgery. One patient in the day-surgery group could not be discharged because of urinary retention and three required re-admission to hospital because of secondary haemorrhage (n=1) or fever (n=2). There were no differences in the postoperative complications, pain scores, analgesic requirements , and patient satisfaction scores between the two groups. The total mean hospital stay was significantly shorter for those undergoing day-surgery stapled haemorrhoidectomy (0.46 versus 1.9 days, P<0.01). The mean follow-up period was 4.6 months (standard deviation, 4.0 months). All patients reported symptomatic improvement during this time and there was no incidence of faecal incontinence. One patient had a soft stricture, one had a fissure, and two had residual skin tags. All of these problems were conservatively managed, without the need for further surgical procedures. Conclusions. Stapled haemorrhoidectomy is a safe and effective operation for haemorrhoids. It is a feasible procedure to perform as day-surgery. The hospital stay can be significantly shortened, thus reducing the costs associated with in-patient care.


The history is well known: On June 12, 1963, Mississippi's courageous NAACP chief, Medgar Evers, was gunned down by white supremacist Byron de la Beckwith. Tried twice by all-white juries, Beckwith escaped conviction for three decades. But then Mississippi began to confront its tormented past. And in the 1990s, when Beckwith was sent to jail by a crusading young prosecutor, the family of Medgar Evers finally got justice. Hailed as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a finalist for the Lillian Smith Award, Of Long Memory reveals how this remarkable reversal took place. Nossiter uses the tools of memory, history, and reportage--and the clear vantage point of an outsider, a Northerner--to portray an entire state quite literally summoning up its ghosts. A new epilogue discusses other civil rights cases now being reconsidered, and skillfully shows how the South is finding a way to create justice where none had existed before.


Abstract Background Understanding adolescents' mental health during lockdown and identifying those most at risk is an urgent public health challenge. This study surveyed school pupils across Southern England during the first COVID‐19 school lockdown to investigate situational factors associated with mental health difficulties and how they relate to pupils' access to in‐school educational provision. Methods A total of 11,765 pupils in years 8–13 completed a survey in June–July 2020, including questions on mental health, risk indicators and access to school provision. Pupils at home were compared to those accessing in‐school provision on risk and contextual factors and mental health outcomes. Multilevel logistic regression analyses compared the effect of eight risk and contextual factors, including access to in‐school provision, on depression, anxiety and self‐reported deterioration in mental wellbeing. Results Females, pupils who had experienced food poverty and those who had previously accessed mental health support were at greatest risk of depression, anxiety and a deterioration in wellbeing. Pupils whose parents were going out to work and those preparing for national examinations in the subsequent school year were also at increased risk. Pupils accessing in‐school provision had poorer mental health, but this was accounted for by the background risk and contextual factors assessed, in line with the allocation of in‐school places to more vulnerable pupils. Conclusions Although the strongest associations with poor mental health during school closures were established risk factors, further contextual factors of particular relevance during lockdown had negative impacts on wellbeing. Identifying those pupils at greatest risk for poor outcomes is critical for ensuring that appropriate educational and social support can be given to pupils either at home or in‐school during subsequent lockdowns.


The Earth's surface temperature and the strength of the hydrological cycle are among the most important climatological variables. Their response to natural and anthropogenic forcing is of particular interest in the study of climate change. Climate models of varying degrees of complexity have been used to diagnose their present day magnitudes as well as their projected changes in idealized, and extrapolated emissions trajectories.

Simpler, idealized models offer certain advantages over more complex formulations in first order studies of climate and climate change. For example: 1. The relative transparency of idealized models allows an easier identification of the most important forcings that may influence a particular model outcome, and 2. Their computational efficiency makes them ideal laboratories for rapid hypothesis testing. Here, I adopt such an idealized approach to study the present climate and its response to perturbation. I aim to determine first order controls on the steady state magnitude and partitioning between the emitted flux of longwave radiation and convection at the surface and how this partitioning changes under greenhouse and solar radiative forcings. The reason I do so is because the surface longwave emission is intimately connected to the surface temperature while the convective flux at the surface is the sum of the turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes. Since the latter drives the hydrological cycle, the partitioning between these surface energy fluxes also determines the magnitude and the response of the two climatological variables of interest.

I use two idealized models in radiative-convective equilibrium with differing parameterizations of convection and radiation. The first is a zero-dimensional energy balance model that treats the surface-atmosphere system as a heat engine that extracts power from the convective heat flux flowing through it. An application of the first and second law of thermodynamics to the heat engine is used to derive a non-trivial thermodynamic constraint to power extraction called the maximum power limit. I use this constraint in conjunction with the surface energy budget to show that it can be used to derive analytic solutions for the convective flux and the surface temperature with a specified surface radiative forcing. I apply this model at the grid scale and compare these solutions with ERA-Interim reanalysis to show that the geographic variation of the data across both land and ocean can be explained very well by this theory. This suggests that the convective flux and surface temperature may indeed organize themselves such that the system operates near the thermodynamic maximum power limit in the long term mean.

I next study the response of the surface energy partitioning, thus of the climatological variables, to perturbations in atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols. To this end, I use the second model, which is an analytic one-dimensional model that simulates radiative transfer in a gray atmosphere using "convective adjustment". I derive general driver-response relationships from this idealized approach and show that they are closely obeyed by ERA-Interim reanalysis and global climate model simulation output. I use these relationships to show that certain previous studies that may otherwise appear unrelated, can be understood as specific instances of general relationships among the surface energy components at radiative-convective equilibrium. This includes certain observed historical trends in surface temperature and pan evaporation, and the propagation of biases in global climate model simulations from the radiative drivers to the climatological variables. I show that the differing hydrologic sensitivity to greenhouse and solar forcing can be directly deduced from these expressions. I use this to explain results from solar geoengineering studies and propose a modified scenario, performing a first order study. I also illustrate how these results can be used for simple climate change projections.

These results attest to the utility of simple models to gain insight into the steady state organization of the climatological variables and their response to perturbation. They may also prove useful in studies of other important climate forcings such as land use and land cover change, and cloud and ice albedo feedbacks.


van der Waals heterostructures composed of two different monolayer crystals have recently attracted attention as a powerful and versatile platform for studying fundamental physics, as well as having great potential in future functional devices because of the diversity in the band alignments and the unique interlayer coupling that occurs at the heterojunction interface. However, despite these attractive features, a fundamental understanding of the underlying physics accounting for the effect of interlayer coupling on the interactions between electrons, photons, and phonons in the stacked heterobilayer is still lacking. Here, we demonstrate a detailed analysis of the strain-dependent excitonic behavior of an epitaxially grown MoS2/WS2 vertical heterostructure under uniaxial tensile and compressive strain that enables the interlayer interactions to be modulated along with the electronic band structure. We find that the strain-modulated interlayer coupling directly affects the characteristic combined vibrational and excitonic properties of each monolayer in the heterobilayer. It is further revealed that the relative photoluminescence intensity ratio of WS2 to MoS2 in our heterobilayer increases monotonically with tensile strain and decreases with compressive strain. We attribute the strain-dependent emission behavior of the heterobilayer to the modulation of the band structure for each monolayer, which is dictated by the alterations in the band gap transitions. These findings present an important pathway toward designing heterostructures and flexible devices.


This study explores the reasons for the gender gaps in the South Korean labor market during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that 5.5 percent of women are on leave of absence, more than double the percentage of men (2.5 percent). Women have also experienced more unemployment than men. Using a decomposition method, this study finds that one-fifth of the gender difference in leaves of absence is explained by women's concentration in the care and hospitality industries, which have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic. Moreover, women's uneven distribution in part-time jobs also contributes to explaining 16.8 percent of the total gender gap. However, 60.8 percent of gender differences in leaves of absence were unexplained by existing arguments, such as occupational or industrial gender segregation and women's precarious job status. This study shows that this unexplained difference could be caused by the gendered caring role imposed on women. HIGHLIGHTS The COVID-19 pandemic reproduced existing gender inequalities in the labor market in South Korea. Women workers experienced more unemployment and leaves of absence than men workers. Married women workers experienced more adverse outcomes than unmarried women workers. However, married men workers experienced fewer of these outcomes than unmarried men workers. Women's concentration in paid and unpaid care duties were the major explanation for gender gaps.


Introduction: A new stability indicating RP-UFLC method was proposed for the determination of Umifenovir in bulk and its tablet dosage forms. Materials and Methods: Chromatographic separation was achieved through C18 Agilent column(150 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 3.5 μm particle size) using acetonitrile: 0.1% triethylamine (pH adjusted to 3.2 with orthophosphoric acid) mixture as the mobile phase. The UFLC system was monitored at 223 nm on isocratic mode with flow rate 0.6 mL/min and the total run time is 10 min. The method was validated, and forced degradation studies were performed. Results and Discussion: Umifenovir has obeyed Beer-Lambert's law over a concentration range 0.05–50 μg/mL with correlation coefficient 0.9997. The limit of detection and limit of quantification are found to be 0.0156 and 0.0421 μg/mL, respectively. Umifenovir was found to be highly sensitive toward alkaline conditions. Conclusions: It is observed that this reverse phase UFLC method is accurate, precise, sensitive, and reproducible for the estimation of Umifenovir in tablets. The method was validated as per the ICH guidelines and very much specific as the degradants were well separated without interfering the drug peak.


Colloidal drug aggregates have been a nuisance in drug screening, yet, because they inherently comprise drug-rich particles, they may be useful in vivo if issues of stability can be addressed. As the first step toward answering this question, we optimized colloidal drug aggregate formulations using a fluorescence-based assay to study fulvestrant colloidal formation and stability in high (90%) serum conditions in vitro. We show, for the first time, that the critical aggregation concentration of fulvestrant depends on media composition and increases with serum concentration. Excipients, such as polysorbate 80, stabilize fulvestrant colloids in 90% serum in vitro for over 48 h. Using fulvestrant and an investigational pro-drug, pentyloxycarbonyl-( p-aminobenzyl) doxazolidinylcarbamate (PPD), as proof-of-concept colloidal formulations, we demonstrate that the in vivo plasma half-life for stabilized colloids is greater than their respective monomeric forms. These studies demonstrate the potential of turning the nuisance of colloidal drug aggregation into an opportunity for drug-rich formulations.


The modelling of dairy processing using commercial process simulator lags behind chemical and petrochemical process simulation. This is due to fact that most commercial process simulators do not contain food (e.g. milk) components in their component libraries, required for dairy process simulation. Recently, a "pseudo" milk containing hypothetical components (e.g. milk fat) was developed in a commercial process simulator for milk process simulation (Zhang et al. 2014). In this work, "pseudo" milk was used to model a falling film evaporator used in a milk powder production plant. It shows that commercial process simulators have capability to simulate dairy processes. The model results were validated using both literature and industry data. The model results showed around 0.1 – 9.4% differences between simulated and actual results. This work extends the capabilities of commercial process simulators and can also help practicing engineers to understand potential process improvements.


The ability to determine the spatial localization of signals can assist in defining the regulation of specific signaling pathways within the cell. Localized application of a stimulus, followed by imaging of various proteins or their phosphorylated products, allows visualization of the propagation scales of responses to the stimulus. To obtain a localized stimulus of epidermal growth factor (EGF), we bound the ligand to magnetic beads, which could be rapidly pulled onto cell surfaces by a magnet. This method allows the spatial analysis of EGF-induced signaling pathways.


A methodology for the development of self-structuring fuzzy rule-based (FRB) models of HVAC components is proposed in the paper. Advantages of this method include model transparency (the linguistic rules are easily inspected), the possibility to insert expert knowledge into the model generation, and economy in computational effort in generating model output. The novelty of the proposed methodology lies in the specific approach used for automatic rule extraction [7]. It uses rule indices and therefore significantly reduces the computational load. The rules are extracted from the data without using a priori information about their structure. Modeling a range of ducted fans with different geometrical parameters and cooling coils are considered as illustrative examples. A software program implementing the proposed approach has been developed in the framework of Matlab v.5.2. Simulation data as well as published performance figures are used for FRB models learning. Real experimental data is also planned for use in the near future. The FRB models have potential applications in simulation, control and fault detection and diagnosis.


IT certification exams require a lot of study and practice. Many of our customers spend weeks, if not months preparing for the exam. While most classroom training and certification preparation software do a good job of covering exam material and providing practice questions, summarization of the highlights and key study points is often missing. This book is intended to bridge the gap between preparation and the final exam. It is designed to be an easy reference that will walk you through all the exam objectives with easy to remember key points required to successfully pass the certification exam. It reinforces the key points, while helping you focus on the exam requirements. The benefits are multifold and can help you save hours of exam review, while keeping key concepts fresh in your mind before the exam. This critical review will help you with the final exam preparation touches and give you the confidence needed for the big day. Benefits of this exam countdown and quick review guide: 1. Focused approach to reviewing exam material - review what you must know 2. All key exam concepts highlighted and reinforced 3. Time saving - must know facts at your finger tips in one condensed version 4. Detailed explanations of all possible answers to practice questions to ensure your grasp of the topic 5 A full length simulation exam to determine your exam readiness


Lichenization is assumed to be a very ancient mode of fungal nutrition, but fossil records are rare. Here we describe two fragments of exceptionally preserved, probably charred, lichen thalli with internal stratification. Cyanolichenomycites devonicus has a cyanobacterial and Chlorolichenomycites salopensis a unicellular, presumably green algal photobiont. Fruiting bodies are missing. Cyanolichenomycites devonicus forms asexual spores in a pycnidium. All specimens were examined with scanning electron microscopy techniques. The fossils were extracted by maceration. Extant lichens and free-living cyanobacteria were either experimentally charcoalified for comparison or conventionally prepared. Based on their septate hyphal structure, both specimens are tentatively interpreted as representatives of the Pezizomycotina (Ascomycota). Their presence in 415 million yr (Myr) old rocks from the Welsh Borderland predates existing Late Cretaceous records of pycnidial conidiomata by some 325 Myr and Triassic records of lichens with broadly similar organization by some 195 Myr. These fossils represent the oldest known record of lichens with symbionts and anatomy as typically found in morphologically advanced taxa today. The latter does not apply to Winfrenatia reticulata, the enigmatic crustose lichen fossil from the Lower Devonian, nor to presumed lichen-like organisms such as the Cambrian Farghera robusta or to the Lower Devonian Spongiophyton minutissimum.


Agricultural nutrient runoff to the Chesapeake Bay has been under intense scrutiny for more than a decade in Maryland. One method for capturing these nutrients, especially N, is the use of winter cover crops. This study compared various broadcast cover crop treatments with and without soil incorporation to planting winter cover crop seed with a no-till drill. Seedling emergence and N uptake were the dependent variables measured for two planting dates and seven planting methods. The effects of planting date and planting method for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) following corn (Zea mays L.) harvest were investigated at two locations. The study was conducted over two winter cover crop growing seasons: 2007―2008 and 2008―2009. Treatments that incorporated the seed into the soil consistently established better stands of cover crops and took up more N regardless of fluctuations in temperature, rainfall, and planting date. Early planted cover crops consistently took up more N than those planted on the later planting date. Performance of the broadcast treatments was highly dependent on rainfall and mild temperatures for success, but did take up notable amounts of N when planted early under good growing conditions. The few differences that were found in the N uptake between wheat and rye within the same planting treatment always indicated that the rye achieved better N uptake than wheat.


The different coordination modes and fast ligand exchange of zinc coordination has been suggested to be one key catalytic feature of the zinc ion which makes it an invaluable metal in biological catalysis. However, partly due to the well known difficulties for zinc to be characterized by spectroscopy methods, evidence for dynamic nature of the catalytic zinc coordination has so far mainly been indirect. In this work, Born-Oppenheimer ab initio QM/MM molecular dynamics simulation has been employed, which allows for a first-principle description of the dynamics of the metal active site while properly including effects of the heterogeneous and fluctuating protein environment. Our simulations have provided direct evidence regarding inherent flexibility of the catalytic zinc coordination shell in Thermolysin (TLN) and Histone Deacetylase 8 (HDAC8). We have observed different coordination modes and fast ligand exchange during the picosecond's time-scale. For TLN, the coordination of the carboxylate group of Glu166 to Zinc is found to continuously change between monodentate and bidentate manner dynamically; while for HDAC8, the flexibility mainly comes from the coordination to a non-amino-acid ligand. Such distinct dynamics in the zinc coordination shell between two enzymes suggests that the catalytic role of Zinc in TLN and HDAC8 is likely to be different in spite of the fact that both catalyze the hydrolysis of amide bond. Meanwhile, considering that such Born-Oppenheimer ab initio QM/MM MD simulations are very much desired but are widely considered to be too computationally expensive to be feasible, our current study demonstrates the viability and powerfulness of this state-of-the-art approach in simulating metalloenzymes.


Cyclic storage system (CSS) is defined as physically interconnected and operationally integrated surface water and groundwater subsystems with full direct interactions between the subsystems. Mathematical development and implementation of a CSS model is very complex and all previous works are fully case dependent with a minimum possibility of generalization. This article proposes an integrated development environment called CSSDev, which assists researchers to create and design object-oriented CSS models more easily. Using CSSDev, researchers may skip regeneration of repetitive simulation codes for common elements of a CSS. CSSDev employs NSGA-II to optimally select the design parameters of the models. Two objective functions of the optimization problem are system's total costs and total loss associated with the development alternatives. A real-world large-scale CSS has been modeled and optimized to illustrate the performance of CSSDev. The final Pareto-front is presented and two selected solutions from the set of optimal non-dominated ones are evaluated and discussed.


Abstract Greece is a major bentonite producer, with Milos Island being one of the largest bentonite mining centres in the world. In addition to the bentonite deposits which are well known, various other occurrences exist in the islands of Chios and Samos, Eastern Aegean and in some areas of Thrace, in NE Greece. These bentonites are associated with volcanic activity and their age ranges from Lower Oligocene in Thrace, to Lower-Middle Miocene in Chios and to Upper Miocene in Samos. Although some of these materials have been utilized since ancient times (e.g. the Samian Earth), these bentonites have been mined only at a local scale. In this study the first data on the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of these bentonites are presented. The Samos bentonites of Upper Miocene age are medium-low grade (40-70% smectite) and crop out in the SE margin of the Karlovasi Basin formed at the expense of acidic pyroclastic flows mainly in a subaerial-lacustrine environment. They consist mainly of Ca-rich medium-high-charge montmorillonite, opal-CT and sanidine with minor quartz and locally mordenite. The Chios bentonites of Lower- Middle Miocene age were formed at the expense of trachyandesitic tuffs in a lacustrine environment in the Neogene Basin at the SE part of the island. They consist mainly of Ca,Mg-rich high-charge montmorillonite (33-75%), similar to the SAz-1, and opal-CT, minor plagioclase, chlorite, plagioclase, carbonates and traces of talc and serpentine. In Thrace, Lower Oligocene pyroclastic flows, tuffs and lavas of acidic-intermediate composition were altered to zeolites and bentonites in the sedimentary basins of the Feres-Pefka, Skaloma and Sappes areas. The parent pyroclastic rocks were altered to Ca-rich and in places, Na-rich, dioctahedral montmorillonite or Fe-rich beidellite (Sappes area) and with minor opal-CT, mordenite, quartz, plagioclase and, in places, illite. The bentonites are medium-high grade (50-58% smectite in Feres-Pefka, 74-86% in Skaloma and 29-40% in Sappes). The bentonites have moderate cation exchange capacity and moderate/low swelling index and viscosity and they are not suitable for the drilling and foundry industries. However, preliminary results show that after processing, most of the deposits might be utilized in high added-value applications such as bleaching earths or in the synthesis of clay-based polymer nanocomposites.


OBG002 is part of a series of wall hanging digital self-contained systems. This series of works combines gaming techniques and artificial life modelling to explore relationships between scientific modelling techniques and ornamental gardens. In a garden, elements are composed and managed in a way that tries to be natural whilst often combining formal sculptural elements to create a place of tranquillity and relaxation. In artificial life modelling the purpose is normally to understand or predict how a natural system may behave in certain circumstances. Here we attempt to combine the two approaches by building a population of modelled life forms into a formally arranged space with a compositional and aesthetic agenda.

The individual elements of OBG002 have been generated algorithmically using software created by us, before being carefully composed in their final form. In building the garden we become the designers of closed ecosystems. In addition to considering the shape colour and form of the elements used within the garden we must consider their effect on the overall ecology of the system. For example certain behavioural characteristics or population numbers could cause the systems to reach a state of entropic stagnation. The complexities of the overall sound composition are the result of emergence within the systems. As OBG002's colonies of objects catapult around a garden containing bubble pumping lifts and algorithmically composed plant life. Collisions with its elements trigger sounds and compose an incidental sound piece.

Although OBG002 uses modelling techniques similar to those used by scientists, instead of aiming to understand something existing, we hope to build something new of intrigue and beauty. OBG002 is a biosphere; a close system like the earth taking only energy as its input other than that nothing enters or leaves. As such there is no human interaction with the system. The work is built using computer technology to execute the rules that cause the system to behave in its unique way and not in order to make it respond in any form to any external forces.


Three out of every four dollars spent for health care is spent on chronic diseases. For state budgets, the drain is even greater—Medicaid spends 83 cents of every dollar on chronic diseases. This CSG Health Policy Academy focused on chronic diseases, their burden to society and evidence-based strategies for prevention, identification and treatment. Whether it is heart disease, mental health, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease or Hepatitis C, considerable research suggests we can do better for those with these often devastating diseases while also being better stewards of state budgets. State policy strategies were presented to meet the dual goals of improving health outcomes and reducing health care spending.


Introduction Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is an inherited neuromuscular disorder which affects boys. Until recently the mean age of death was around 19 but there have been significant improvements in clinical management and they can now expect to live to around 25 years. Purpose To investigate, from their own perspectives, how the well-being of young men living with DMD, and that of their families, can be maximised, particularly at the transition to adulthood, and from children's to adult services. Theoretically, it drew on the social model of disability and recent critiques. It was an example of inclusive research, involving young men and a national family support group, as well as clinical services. Methods Postal survey of family carers in three regions followed by interviews with 40 young men age 15+ with DMD and their families about the issues they faced at transition to adulthood. Findings Family carers generally considered that transition planning at school leaving was poor or non-existent and that they lacked information about services. Once they had left school or college, the majority of young men lacked meaningful day time activities and friendship networks. There was good continuity of health care in one of the three regions. Conclusion Much effort has gone into producing policies and processes, with an uncritical assumption that this will lead to better outcomes. Sponsorship The study (2007–2009) was funded by the English Department of Health's long-term neurological conditions research programme.


Cell therapy involving treatment of diseases with the body's own cells would benefit both liver diseases and Type 1 diabetes. Liver diseases are associated with a marked reduction in hepatocytes whilst Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the loss of functional insulin-producing β-cells. Treatment is currently achieved by whole organ liver (or hepatocyte) and islet transplantation methods respectively. However the major limitation to this approach is the shortage of organ donors, thus alternative sources of cells must be found. Potential sources with enormous therapeutic potential are existing cells in the liver and pancreas involved during the regeneration process. In vivo studies have shown progenitor oval cells differentiate into hepatocytes during liver regeneration and α-cells transdifferentiate into β-cells during pancreas regeneration. However neither can be fully exploited until the molecular mechanisms governing their proliferation and trans/differentiation are fully elucidated. Herein we characterise two in vitro cell models, a mouse adult oval cell line, known as BMOL-TAT1.1, and mouse adult pancreatic α-cell line, known as α-TC19 by RT-PCR and immunofluorescent staining. We found that under proliferating culture conditions BMOL-TAT1.1 were heterogenous consisting of two distinct cell types with different β-catenin signalling pathway activation. Inducible differentiation (dexamethasone) induced hepatic and non-hepatic markers in specific cell subtypes, indicating multi-potentiality. Ectopic expression of transcription factor HNF4α in homogenous small BMOL-TAT1.1 cells revealed no hepatic differentiation but potent expression of intestinal markers (Villin, ALPi, ApoAIV). HNF4α was identified as a candidate transcriptional regulator in α- to β-cell transdifferentiation, as ectopic expression in α-TC19 cells, suppressed glucagon and induced expression of several functionally important β-cell markers (GLUT2, GCK, insulin). The contribution of chromatin histone acetylation was also assessed, due to its importance in endocrine fate regulation. In toto these results have important implications for the development of potential therapies to treat liver diseases and Type 1 diabetes.


The influence of spatial and temporal variations in wind forcing on the circulation in lakes is investigated using field data and the three‐dimensional Estuary and Lake Computer Model (ELCOM) applied to Lake Kinneret. Lake Kinneret field data from six thermistor chains and eight wind anemometers deployed during July 2001 are presented. Internal wave motions are well reproduced by the numerical model when forced with a spatially uniform wind taken from a station near the lake center; however, simulated seiche amplitudes are too large (especially vertical mode 2) and lead observations by 3–10 h (for a 24‐h period wave) at different locations around the lake. Consideration of the spatial variation of the wind field improves simulated wave amplitude, and phase error at all stations is reduced to less than 1.5 h. This improvement is attributable to a better representation of the horizontally averaged wind stress and can be reproduced with a spatially uniform wind that has the same horizontally averaged wind stress as the spatially varying wind field. However, a spatially varying wind field is essential for simulating mean surface circulation, which is shown to be predominantly directly forced by the surface‐layer‐averaged wind stress moment.


The spatial and temporal characterization of trapped charged particle trajectories in magnetospheres has been extensively studied in dipole magnetic field structures. Such studies have allowed the calculation of spatial quantities, such as equatorial loss cone size as a function of radial distance, the location of the mirror points along particular field lines (L‐shells) as a function of the particle's equatorial pitch angle, and temporal quantities such as the bounce period and drift period as a function of the radial distance and the particle's pitch angle at the equator. In this study, we present analogous calculations for the disk‐like field structure associated with the giant rotation‐dominated magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn as described by the University College London/Achilleos‐Guio‐Arridge (UCL/AGA) magnetodisk model. We discuss the effect of the magnetodisk field on various particle parameters and make a comparison with the analogous motion in a dipole field. The bounce period in a magnetodisk field is in general smaller the larger the equatorial distance and pitch angle, by a factor as large as ∼8 for Jupiter and ∼2.5 for Saturn. Similarly, the drift period is generally smaller, by a factor as large as ∼2.2 for equatorial distances ∼20–24 RJ at Jupiter and ∼1.5 for equatorial distances ∼7–11 RS at Saturn.


Sixteen species of gasteromycetes were identified in 50-year old collections from Cuba, including five species new to this island. The species Calvatia cyathiformis, Clathrus columnatus, Clathrus crispus, Cyathus limbatus, Diplocystis wrightii, Rhizopogon sp., Scleroderma tenerum and Tulostoma floridanum had already been reported from Cuba, whereas Disciseda hyalothrix and Lycogalopsis solmsii represent new records for this country. Six species belong to the genus Geastrum, of which G. pectinatum agg., G. schweinitzii agg. and G. velutinum agg. were already known from Cuba, but three species, G. corollinum, G. kotlabae and G. trichiferum, are new to the Cuban mycobiota. Each species is provided with a brief description followed by taxonomic notes, and distribution.


The Codrus Painter was a distinct cup painter active during the period in which the Parthenon was constructed. His repertory includes episodes from Attic mythology, athletics, and Dionysiac scenes, while his style was clearly influenced by contemporary sculpture. His vases were not distributed to Athenian or even to the local Greek clientele but instead were exported to other prosperous Mediterranean centers in Etruria, southern Italy, and farther west. The fact that the majority of his cups were found abroad, especially in Etruria, raises questions concerning the role of Attic vases in Italy and particularly the Etruscan interpretation of scenes depicted on them. This article examines, as a case study, the Divine Banquet cup by the Codrus Painter to more fully understand the relationship between Attic vases and their Etruscan context. The deep-rooted Etruscan tradition of banqueting and its importance in funerary customs are key factors in the analysis of the cup.


For patients with type 1 diabetes, a fear of hypoglycaemia and a concern over a loss of control with wider diabetes management are the most salient barriers to exercise participation and adherence. A large proportion of patients report a lack of advice for preventing post-exercise hypoglycaemia, and many feel largely uninformed about insulin administration and carbohydrate intake around aerobic-based exercise. Presently, recommendations within the literature are based predominantly on anecdotal and observational, but not empirical or interventional data. Therefore, this thesis aimed to develop a strategy that enables patients to effectively self-manage glycaemia following exercise, supported by evidence pertaining to the deeper physiological implications and consequences.

Study one (chapter 3) revealed that under conditions of reduced pre-exercise rapid-acting insulin dose, it is also necessary to reduce post-exercise rapid-acting insulin administration by 50% to prevent early-onset hypoglycaemia (≤ 8 hours post-exercise). Consequently, some patients experienced post-prandial hyperglycaemia with this intervention, although this was not associated with any other metabolic, counter-regulatory hormonal, or inflammatory disturbances. The results of study two (chapter 4) demonstrate that post-exercise meal composition, under conditions of reduced pre- and post-exercise rapid-acting insulin dose, carry important implications for post-prandial glycaemia. Specifically, consumption of low GI post-exercise carbohydrates normalise post-prandial hyperglycaemia, whilst protection from early onset hypoglycaemia is maintained. In addition, post-exercise meal composition heavily influences inflammatory markers; a high GI meal results in a pronounced inflammatory response, but a low GI meal completely prevented any rise in measured inflammatory markers. Lastly, study three (chapter 5) assessed the efficacy of a combined basal-bolus insulin reduction and low GI carbohydrate post-exercise feeding strategy. A 20% reduction in basal insulin provided full protection from hypoglycaemia for a total of 24 hours after exercise. Furthermore, ketonaemia did not increase to clinically meaningful levels, nor did inflammatory markers rise above concentrations seen at rest or when exercising under usual basal dose. No other metabolic or counter-regulatory hormonal disturbances were observed following a combined dose reduction to basal-bolus insulin and low GI carbohydrate post-exercise feeding.

Collectively, this thesis has shown that acute prandial adjustments in rapid-acting insulin and carbohydrate feeding, in combination with alterations in basal dose, are effective for managing post-exercise glycaemia and protecting patients from hypoglycaemia for a total of 24 hours after exercise. Moreover, this strategy aims to maintain euglycaemia by reducing post-prandial hyperglycaemia. This is not associated with clinically significant rises in ketonaemia, nor does it induce inflammatory, counter-regulatory hormonal, or other metabolic disturbances. Clinicians are advised to tailor these recommendations to a patient's individual exercise preferences, fitness and exercise ability, level of diabetes management, and treatment regimen.


Previous work in Indonesian part-of-speech (POS) tagging are hard to compare as they are not evaluated on a common dataset. Furthermore, in spite of the success of neural network models for English POS tagging, they are rarely explored for Indonesian. In this paper, we explored various techniques for Indonesian POS tagging, including rule-based, CRF, and neural network-based models. We evaluated our models on the IDN Tagged Corpus. A new state-of-the-art of 97.47 F1 score is achieved with a recurrent neural network. To provide a standard for future work, we release the dataset split that we used publicly.


The dorsal root ganglia (DRG) consist of a multitude of sensory neuronal subtypes that function to relay sensory stimuli, including temperature, pressure, pain and position to the central nervous system. Our knowledge of DRG sensory neurons have been predominantly driven by animal studies and considerably less is known about the human DRG. Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) are valuable resource to help close this gap. Our previous studies reported an efficient system for deriving neural crest and DRG sensory neurons from hESC. Here we show that this differentiation system gives rise to heterogeneous populations of sensory neuronal subtypes as demonstrated by phenotypic and functional analyses. Furthermore, using microelectrode arrays the maturation rate of the hESC-derived sensory neuronal cultures was monitored over 8 weeks in culture, showing their spontaneous firing activities starting at about 12 days post-differentiation and reaching maximum firing at about 6 weeks. These studies are highly valuable for developing an in vitro platform to study the diversity of sensory neuronal subtypes found within the human DRG.


Based upon physical presence at most of the historical moments of the development of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM), extensive personal records on meetings and correspondence associated with the business and the work of the International Society for Sexual and Impotence Research and the ISSM, and information provided by the business office of the ISSM, a review paper was created to present to the reader an accurate history of the ISSM. The article is divided into the early beginnings of the idea of the field of sexual medicine, followed by the organization of what was to become eventually the International Society for Sexual Medicine, description of the development of biennial meetings and some of the major events that occurred at these meetings, a description of officers and leaders of the society and some of their key contributions, other meetings that the ISSM was actively involved in in the field of sexual medicine, a detailed discussion of publications and communications of the organization, and finally a description of the involvement of the ISSM with the recognition of scientific achievement and research in the field. This history is indeed very rich and unique for the parallelism to the development of the entire field of sexual medicine as a true science. The author has spent a great deal of time in making sure that there is written material that substantiates the history that is outlined in this document. It is provided to the reader as a true historical perspective on the ISSM. Lewis RW. The International Society for Sexual Medicine: A rich history and a bright future. Sex Med Rev 2013; 1:65-75.


Smallest of the microorganisms, viruses depend on other cells -like those used by biopharmaceutical manufacturers - for reproduction. And viruses and drug products are idiosyncratic: Both the inactivation process and the product strongly influence the successful outcome. In this conclusion to the virus inactivation series, model viruses are used to represent single- and doublestranded DNA and RNA viruses, to enable you to reach conclusions about effective inactivation methods for a range of viruses.


ABSTRACT: In response to criticism of empirical or "positive" approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR), we defend the importance of these approaches for any CSR theory that seeks to have practical impact. Although we acknowledge limitations to positive approaches, we unpack the neglected but crucial relationships between positive knowledge on the one hand and normative knowledge on the other in the implementation of CSR principles. Using the structure of a practical syllogism, we construct a model that displays the key role of empirical knowledge in fulfilling a firm's responsibility to society, paying special attention to the implications of the "ought implies can" dictum. We also defend the importance of one particular class of empirical claims; namely, claims from the field of economics. Even positive economic theory, which is often criticized for endorsing profits rather than values, can cooperate in intriguing ways with non-economic concepts in the implementation of CSR goals.


Where would humanity be now without fire, vaccinations, farming - or wine? A great idea is one that has changed the path of human civilisation. But which is the greatest of them all? John Farndon, author of the bestselling Do You Think You're Clever?, has set out to find the answer. A distinguished panel of experts agreed on a list of 50 ideas, and each chapter of The World's Greatest Idea sees Farndon explore the argument for a different one. The candidates are intriguingly varied: Electricity grids enable us to power our cities, but then sewers allowed those cities to grow. Without the wheel, modern civilisation would be pretty much impossible, but take away Logic and we'd lose the essential structures for rational thought ...But then what would be the point of all of this without the idea of romance? The World's Greatest Idea is an enthralling voyage of discovery through the most powerful intellectual, social, scientific and creative brainwaves humans have ever had. They are ranked in the book determined by a public vote on www.theworldsgreatestidea.com But will you agree with the verdict?


Reflective practice is an essential engineering skill for life-long learning. However, most engineering students regard reflective practice as an onerous chore and do not find any value in doing it. Previous research for trainee teachers on practicum showed that microblogging (e.g Twitter) is a helpful tool for encouraging reflective practice. Tweets are kept short to 140 characters forcing students to be concise. Because large amounts of text are not required, it is easy for students to blog about their experiences and give and receive feedback. Twitter can be accessed by SMS from mobile phones as well as through the internet. A cohort of 12 volunteers were obtained from third to fourth year mechanical, materials process and biochemical engineering students. These students created private Twitter accounts using pseudonyms and were given training in using Twitter. Participants were instructed not to reveal information that was commercially sensitive. Students were encouraged to tweet once a day on the following: What are you doing? What are you learning? What would you like to learn? What equipment/software are you using? Are you having any difficulties? And what are you enjoying? Tweets were visible to all involved in the project and the researchers and participants were able to give feedback, support, and prompting questions. Tweets were analysed for common themes, how well students were supporting each other, and how much integration between placement and university knowledge appeared to be occurring. Participants were interviewed after their placements to ascertain their views on Twitter and reflective practice. Findings show that students used Twitter regularly. They shared information, gave each other support and commented on what they were doing from day to day. The work placement coordinators could see what the students were doing and give support and feedback.


Measurement of reproductive skew in social groups is fundamental to understanding the evolution and maintenance of sociality, as it determines the immediate fitness benefits to helpers of staying and helping in a group. However, there is a lack of studies in natural populations that provide reliable measures of reproductive skew and the correlates of reproductive success, particularly in vertebrates. We present results of a study that uses a combination of field and genetic (microsatellite) data on a cooperatively breeding mongoose, the meerkat (Suricata suricatta). We sampled 458 individuals from 16 groups at two sites and analyzed parentage of pups in 110 litters with up to 12 microsatellites. We show that there is strong reproductive skew in favor of dominants, but that the extent of skew differs between the sexes and between different sites. Our data suggest that the reproductive skew arises from incest avoidance and reproductive suppression of the subordinates by the dominants. Copyright 2003.


BACKGROUND
epidemiological studies have shown that poor early growth is associated with cardiovascular and other degenerative diseases. This has been explained by programming, whereby undernutrition and other influences which restrict early growth permanently change the structure and physiology of the body. The long-term effects of poor early nutrition on ageing have been demonstrated in animals but not studied in man.

OBJECTIVES
to determine if poor early growth was associated with increased markers of ageing in later life.

METHODS
we traced 1428 men and women, born in Hertfordshire between 1920 and 1930, for whom records of early weight were available. 824 (58%) were interviewed at home and 717 (50%) attended clinic for eye examination, audiometry, grip strength measurement, skin thickness ultrasound and anthropometry.

RESULTS
lower weight at 1 year was associated with increased lens opacity score, higher hearing threshold, reduced grip strength and thinner skin. Visual acuity, macular degeneration and intraocular pressure were not related to early growth.

CONCLUSIONS
the associations between early growth and markers of ageing suggest that in some systems, ageing may be programmed by events in early life. A potential mechanism is the impaired development of repair systems.


The characteristics of the group of species resembling Strobilanthes pentstemonoides (Nees) T. Anderson are discussed. The four species of this complex occurring in the Malesian region are defined and contrasted. S. plunformis C. B. Clarke is lectotypified and S. murutorumJ. R. I. Wood from Sarawak is described as new. A hitherto confused species from north east India is described as new under the name S. paniculiformis J. R. I. Wood. The common species of this complex in China, Vietnam and Thailand, hitherto treated under numerous different names is recognised as a single species, S. dimorphotrica Hance, with two subspecies. Subspecies dimorphotrica extends from eastern India through south China to Hainan and Taiwan islands while subspecies rex (C. B. Clarke ) J. R. I. Wood is centred on Thailand but extends into four neighbouring countries. The new species are illustrated.


Aim. This study compared the effects of telmisartan and losartan on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and biochemical markers of insulin resistance in hypertensive NAFLD patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods. This was a randomized, open-label, parallel-group comparison of therapy with telmisartan or losartan. Nineteen hypertensive NAFLD patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to receive telmisartan at a dose of 20 mg once a day (n = 12) or losartan at a dose of 50 mg once a day (n = 7) for 12 months. Body fat area as determined by CT scanning and hepatic fat content based on the liver-to-spleen (L/S) ratio, as well as several parameters of glycemic and lipid metabolism, were compared before and after 12 months. Results. The telmisartan group showed a significant decline in serum free fatty acid (FFA) level (from 0.87 ± 0.26 to 0.59 ± 0.22 mEq/L (mean ± SD), P = 0.005) and a significant increase in L/S ratio (P = 0.049) evaluated by CT scan, while these parameters were not changed in the losartan group. Conclusion. Although there was no significant difference in improvement in liver enzymes with telmisartan and losartan treatment in hypertensive NAFLD patients with type 2 diabetes after 12 months, it is suggested that telmisartan may exert beneficial effects by improving fatty liver.


Abstract Afghanistan once represented a fragmented and failed socio‐economic and political entity. Operation Enduring Freedom, while targeting the Taliban and Al Qaida as part of the global war on terrorism helped create the structure of a new Afghan State. This article analyses the challenges faced by Afghanistan and how the new Afghan elite and its foreign supporters seek to address them through constitutional means. The New Constitution provides the framework of how Afghanistan wishes to reconstruct the new State. While it does concede the right of popular participation, its highly centralised form of government and unitary system that sidelines the political ramifications of ethnic nationalism are likely to pose serious challenges to nation‐building. It might even push the central government to rely more upon foreign forces, mostly from the NATO countries. The situation is volatile and is likely to lead to conflict escalation unless the central government as also its foreign supporters are prepared to make major compromise with local ethnic leaders/warlords, and thus bypass provisions of the Constitution. However, that will in turn set a wrong precedent for a new State.


A field experiment was conducted during the Kharif season (June to November) of 1998 at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to study the effect of point placement of urea super granule (USG) and broadcasting prilled urea (PU) as sources of N in Transplant aman rice. One hybrid variety (Hybrid rice 6201) and one modern inbred variety (BRRI Dhan 32) were included in the experiment. USG and PU were applied at 40, 80, 120 or 160 Kg N haG. A control (no N) treatment was also included in the experiment. Hybrid rice 6201 produced significantly longer panicle and higher number of total spikelets panicleG but showed poor performance regarding all other yield parameters. A considerable difference was noted between these two varieties in respect of spikelet sterility where Hybrid rice 6201 produced almost the double of sterile spikelets than that of BRRI Dhan 32 which ultimately led to inferior grain yield (3.25 t haG). On the other hand, BRRI Dhan 32 produced taller plants, higher number of effective tillers hillG, grains panicleG and heavier grains which eventually contributed to higher grain yield (3.85 t haG). USG was more efficient than PU at all respective levels of nitrogen in producing all yield components and in turn, grain and straw yields. Placement of USG at 160 kg N haG produced the highest grain yield (4.32 t haG) which was statistically identical to that obtained from 120 kg N haG as USG and significantly superior to that obtained from any other level and source of N.


The excitation of surface plasmons at a flat interface between a uniaxial crystal and a metal is investigated theoretically. We show that strong couplings between surface plasmons and light incident from the crystal can be obtained without corrugation of the surface. These couplings are associated with significant reductions in the reflectivity of the structure and with strong enhancements of the electromagnetic field on the surface of the crystal. Numerical examples obtained for a flat interface between sodium nitrate and gold show the existence of critical orientations of the optic axis for which all the incident power is absorbed by the metal.


The Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska is a complex landscape of lakes, streams, and wetlands scattered across low relief tundra that is underlain by permafrost. This region of the Arctic has experienced a warming trend over the past three decades, leading to thawing of on-shore permafrost and the disappearance of sea ice at an unprecedented rate. The loss of sea ice has increased ocean wave action, leading to higher rates of erosion and salt water inundation of coastal habitats. Warming temperatures also have advanced the overall phenology of the region, including earlier snowmelt, lake ice thaw, and plant growth. As a result, many migratory species now arrive in the Arctic several days earlier in spring than in the 1970s. Predicted warming trends for the future will continue to alter plant growth, ice thaw, and other basic landscape processes. These changes will undoubtedly result in different responses by wildlife (fish, birds, and mammals) and the food they rely upon (plants, invertebrates, and fish). However, the type of response by different wildlife populations and their habitats—either positively or negatively—remains largely unknown.


Aims: To identify and evaluate effective interview methods for accessing disabled children's views on spirituality. To explore disabled children's theories of spirituality with regards to relational consciousness. To explore ethical issues which arise when working with disabled children. Background: Biological theories suggested by Hardy (1965) and Hay and Nye (2006) propose that spirituality is innate to humans. Research conducted into children's spirituality by Hay and Nye (2006) identified a specific feature of spirituality called 'relational consciousness' which gives a basis from which to investigate spirituality. Researchers have investigated various types of interviews when working with disabled children. However, research has concentrated on education, health and welfare and has overlooked spirituality. Method: Four different interview methods: puppets, vignettes, diamond ranking and statement ranking were used to interview a group of six disabled children aged between 7 and 14 years old to try to access their views on spirituality. The interviews were linked to two specific themes of spirituality: connectedness and transcendence. The children were explained their ethic rights and involved in the ethical decision making process. Results: Analysis of the interview techniques found that some interview methods: puppets and statement ranking were more suited to interviewing disabled children about spirituality compared to vignettes and diamond ranking. Thematic analysis of the interviews found that all the children expressed spirituality connected to the two themes under investigation. Conclusion: Spirituality seems to be an under researched topic especially with regards to disabled children. The children in this study all expressed relational consciousness as described by Hay and Nye (2006) and their own unique spirituality. Some interview methods worked better than others but more research is needed to see if this is due to the method or the abstract nature of spirituality.


Urban encroachment on dense, coastal koala populations has ensured that their management has received increasing government and public attention. The recently developed National Koala Conservation Strategy calls for maintenance of viable populations in the wild. Yet the success of this, and other, conservation initiatives is hampered by lack of reliable and generally accepted national and regional population estimates. In this paper we address this problem in a potentially large, but poorly studied, regional population in the State that is likely to have the largest wild populations. We draw on findings from previous reports in this series and apply the faecal standing-crop method (FSCM) to derive a regional estimate of more than 59 000 individuals. Validation trials in riverine communities showed that estimates of animal density obtained from the FSCM and direct observation were in close agreement. Bootstrapping and Monte Carlo simulations were used to obtain variance estimates for our population estimates in different vegetation associations across the region. The most favoured habitat was riverine vegetation, which covered only 0.9% of the region but supported 45% of the koalas. We also estimated that between 1969 and 1995 ~30% of the native vegetation associations that are considered as potential koala habitat were cleared, leading to a decline of perhaps 10% in koala numbers. Management of this large regional population has significant implications for the national conservation of the species: the continued viability of this population is critically dependent on the retention and management of riverine and residual vegetation communities, and future vegetation-management guidelines should be cognisant of the potential impacts of clearing even small areas of critical habitat. We also highlight eight management implications.


This study aims to develop a computerized software tool that automatically separates the colony contour region of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and classifies the health conditions of the colonies using the Gaussian naive Bayes (GNB) model. The occluded colony regions were automatically segmented based on the phase contrast images using image processing techniques to obtain quantitative morphological features for classification. The sequential forward selection method was utilized to extract optimized features for the identification of colony conditions. The GNB model was adapted to validate the individual colony features and their combinations using a five-fold cross validation method for classification. Furthermore, the classification performance of GNB was compared with that of the knearest neighbor (k-NN) method. The classification performance of the combination of features using the GNB approach presented the highest sensitivity (91.4%), specificity (88.2%), and accuracy (90.8%) for the classification of the colonies of iPSCs. Furthermore, compared with the k-NN classifier (14.3%), GNB showed lower misclassification rate (9.2%) in classification. Based on experimental results, we concluded that the proposed automated colony region segmentation and classification based on the combination of features using GNB model is precise and cost-effective for the classification of health conditions of iPSC colonies.


Curated ontologies and semantic annotations are increasingly being used in e-science to reflect the current terminology and conceptualization of scientific domains. Such curated Knowledge Bases (KBs) are usually backended by relational databases using adequate schemas (generic or application/domain specific) and may satisfy a wide range of integrity constraints. As curated KBs continuously evolve, such constraints are often violated and thus KBs need to be frequently repaired. Motivated by the fact that consistency is mostly enforced manually by the scientists acting as curators, we propose a generic and personalized repairing framework for assisting them in this arduous task. Our framework supports a variety of useful integrity constraints using Disjunctive Embedded Dependencies (DEDs) as well as complex curator preferences over interesting features of the resulting repairs (e.g., their size and type) that can capture diverse notions of minimality in repairs. Moreover, we propose a novel exhaustive repair finding algorithm which, unlike existing greedy frameworks, is not sensitive to the resolution order and syntax of violated constraints and can correctly compute globally optimal repairs for different kinds of constraints and preferences. Despite its exponential nature, the performance and memory requirements of the exhaustive algorithm are experimentally demonstrated to be satisfactory for real world curation cases, thanks to a series of optimizations.


This issue contains articles on a variety of topics, reflecting the variety of concerns and activities of the readership, or of those who care to submit material to the journal. There is a discussion of new ways of teaching interpretation by Jane Gooding-Brown; a suggestion for an approach to research in the history of art education by Theresa Marche; and a report of a case study of teaching African art history by Jacqueline Chanda and Ashlee Basinger. There is also an analysis of Dutch studies of the effects of arts programs on subsequent student success in school by Folkert Haanstra. This was written in response to last year's call for papers on the topic: what are the consequences of study in the arts for achievement in other school subjects? In addition, we find space for a commentary by Mary Stokrocki on a previous article about historical research in the Southwestern U.S. and book reviews by Sharon La Pierre and John H. White. This is a healthy mixture that reflects a variety of writing styles and research traditions and suggests the vitality of current writing in art education. It is a pleasure to be the editor of a journal that can publish such variety. This time it is especially a pleasure to publish the piece by Terry Barrett on art interpretation for art education. As you know, every year the editorial board of Studies invites someone to deliver a lecture at the annual meeting of the NAEA. This year the Annual Studies Invited Lecturer was Terry Barrett and it was my privilege to introduce him to the audience. Terry Barrett is recognized throughout the country, I think, for his tireless work explaining, analyzing, exemplifying his views on what art criticism is and how we can best teach students to do it. He is well known as a teacher of art criticism himself. He has long been a critic-inthe-schools for the Ohio Arts Council, has won the Distinguished Teaching Award at the Ohio State University, and consults nationally on a number of curriculum projects involving art criticism in public schools. He has served a Visiting Scholar at the Getty Institute for Education in the Arts and has taught at a number of North American universities in a visiting capacity. Terry Barrett has two well known and much used books on criticism: Criticizing Photographs and Criticizing Art. Both of these popular books came out in new editions this year. He is currently working on a third, for Davis Press, to be titled Interpreting Art, which is the topic of the invited lecture. These books discuss the work of a wide range of artists


Smallholder farmers raising pigs in northern Thailand rely heavily on banana stalks as a fermented feed source, but struggle to reproduce banana plants fast enough to keep up with consumption. This study evaluated a variety of techniques for rapidly multiplying banana plants, using techniques appropriate and affordable to smallholder farmers in order to help meet this demand. Propagation techniques of Musa (ABB) cv. 'Kluai Nam Wa' were conducted in greenhouse and field experiments in both lowland and upland areas of Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. In greenhouse experiments, six treatments were conducted during the dry and rainy seasons, while five different treatments were compared in the field. Treatments used various methods of mechanical injury or application of benzyl aminopurine (BA) to induce plantlet differentiation. Number of plantlets to emerge, days to emergence, and circumference of plantlets were observed over a 90-day period. Results indicate that time of year plays an important role in the macropropagation of bananas, as significantly higher numbers of plantlets emerged during the rainy season. Plantlets emerged in 65 days, on average, during the dry season, but took only 54 days during the rainy season. During the rainy season, the presence of BA produced more plantlets than the other treatments, but during the dry season, there were no differences among treatments. Overall, the number of plantlets produced in all treatments evaluated was very low; however we believe this research is an important contribution to the literature and acknowledge that there exists significant opportunity to capitalize on the low-cost appropriate technology benefits that macropropagation of bananas can deliver to smallholder farmers.


Diabetes mellitus is a frequent comorbidity of cancer patients. The growing epidemic of diabetes is anticipated to have tremendous impact on health care. Diabetes may negatively impact both cancer risk and outcomes of treatment. Oncology nurses are ideally positioned to identify patients at risk for complications that arise from cancer treatment in the setting of pre-existing diabetes. Additionally, oncology nurses may be the first to identify underlying hyperglycemia/hidden diabetes in a patient undergoing cancer treatment. Strategies for assessment and treatment will be discussed, along with specific strategies for managing hyperglycemia, potential renal toxicity, and peripheral neuropathy. Guidelines for aggressive treatment of hyperglycemia to minimize risks of complications will be reviewed. The role of interdisciplinary care, utilizing current evidence, is crucial to supporting patients and their families as they manage the challenges of facing two life-limiting diseases. Whole-person assessment and individualized treatment plans are key to maximizing quality of life for patients with cancer and diabetes.


In construction, it is not common to discuss the use of buffers to manage production. Some companies are clearly better at using these mechanisms than others, even if they do not explicitly discuss their buffer management practices. Certain projects and the way they are organized and managed are better suited for the use of buffer management techniques. This paper explores the implementation of buffer management techniques for the planning and execution of the renovation of the Pentagon. This case project provides a good example of the successful use of buffers. The Pentagon Renovation Project (Wedge 2 to 5) is a $840 million, 10 year project with a high degree of repetition. The project is phased by wedge moving from Wedge 2 to Wedge 5. The work of the project was planned using a technique known as short interval production scheduling (SIPS). This schedule segmented the wedges into smaller work zones and sequenced a "parade of trades" through each zone. Each trade was provided a period of one week in each zone to complete their work. However, some parts of the project involved differing amounts of work for the trade contractor. This was particularly true of the mechanical contractor and it meant that resources could not be optimally balanced to avoid unproductive periods. This contractor used buffers to help smooth the varying levels of work between these zones. The methods used to plan their work are analyzed along with an analysis of the plan execution. Lessons and challenges to the use of buffers in this application are identified.


The extraction and processing of unconventional oil is more energy intensive and has larger negative environmental impacts than the extraction of conventional oil. The European Union (EU) estimates that oil sands lead to 22% more emissions than conventional oil. The EU is very concerned by the potential climate and environmental impacts and has considered introducing a tax on imported unconventional oil in order to discourage its production. This study shows that a global ban on the use of unconventional oil substantially reduces global carbon dioxide emissions, but the policy is not efficient. A unilateral ban of the EU on unconventional oil has no climate benefits and it is expensive for Europe.


This paper discusses experimental techniques for obtaining the acoustic properties of in-duct samples with non-linear acoustic characteristics. The methods developed are intended for studies of non-linear energy transfer to higher harmonics for samples accessible from both side such as perforates or other material used as top sheets in aircraft engine liners and automotive mufflers. New double sided multi-port techniques, using sinusoidal excitation, for characterisation of samples with non-linear properties are developed and experimentally tested. The results of the preliminary experimental tests show that these new techniques can give results which are useful for understanding non-linear energy transfer to higher harmonics.


SUMMARY Sustainable development is a key goal in town and country planning, as well as in the building industry. The main aims are to avoid inefficient land use, to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and, thus, to move towards meeting the challenges of climate change. In this article we consider how the use of a traditional low-energy building material, namely clay, might contribute. Recent research has identified a promising connection between the reinforcement of clay for internal wall plastering with fibres from the wetland plant Typha latifolia (cattail) and the positive environmental effects of cultivating this species. If large quantities of Typha fibres were to be used in building, the need for cultivation of the plant would increase and create new possibilities for the renaturalisation of polluted or/and degraded peatlands. We explore the topic first on the basis of literature, considering the suitability of Typha for this application and possibilities for its sustainable cultivation, as well as implications for the life cycle analyses of buildings in which it is used. We then report (qualitatively) the results of testing different combinations of clay with natural plant (straw and cattail) fibres for their suitability as a universal plaster, which demonstrate clearly the superior properties of Typha fibres as a reinforcement material for clay plaster mortars.


Nowadays, the information access is conducted almost exclusively using the Web. Simple keyword based Web search engines, e.g. Google or Yahoo!, offer suitable retrieval and ranking features. In contrast, for highly specialized domains, represented by digital libraries, these features are insufficient. Considering the domain of chemistry, where searching for relevant literature is essentially centered on chemical entities. Beside commercial information providers such as Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) numerous groups are working on building free chemical search engines to overcome the expensive access to chemical literature. However, due to the nature of chemical queries these are often overspecialized. Often we need meaningful similarity measures for chemical entities for query relaxation. In chemistry, the similarity measures are vast; more than 40 similarity measures are available and focus on different aspects of chemical entities. This vast number of similarity measures is obvious, because the desired search results highly depend on the working field of the chemist. In this paper we present a personalized retrieval system for chemical documents taking into account the background knowledge of the individual chemist. This is done by a query relaxation for chemical entities using similar substances. We evaluate our approach extensively by analyzing the correlation of commonly used chemical similarity measures and fingerprint representations. All uncorrelated measures are finally used by our feedback engine to learn preferred similarity measures for each user. We also conducted a user study with domain experts showing that our system can assign a unique similarity measure for 75% of the users after only 10 feedback cycles.


Introduction. Obesity has a multifactorial etiology and is a global public health problem which also affects Mexican population. Obesity is characterized by excessive body adiposity, as well as high prevalence of diverse comorbidities, which diminish life quality. Sedentary lifestyle and hypercaloric food overconsumption are amongst the causes of obesity. It has been suggested that some traits seen in obese patients may represent an addictive behavior, similar to those observed in substance-dependent patients. Objective. The aim of this work was the validation of the Spanish version of the Yale Food Addiction Rating Scale (YFAS) in a Mexican adult population sample. Method. The scale was applied twice to 160 participants with a three weeks period in-between. The factorial model was corroborated with Bartlett's sphericity test and with that of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin. Results. Internal consistency was calculated by means of Cronbach's alpha which was α = 0.7963; reliability, measured with Spearman's coefficient by means of the test-retest method, was r = 0.565, n = 96. Convergence validity was estimated using the Binge Eating Scale (BES) and Spearman's correlation (r = 0.5868 p ≤ 0.0001; n = 157). Bartlett's sphericity test showed (χ 2 (300) = 1572.33, p Discussion and conclusion. The Spanish version of the YFAS showed psychometric properties not different from the original and adapted existing versions. Therefore, YFAS Spanish version could be useful in healthcare and clinical research in Mexican population.


The objective of this study was to compare the electrical activity of the deltoid (middle portion), pectoralis major (clavicular portion) and triceps (long head) muscles during bilateral contraction performed in a multi-articulated joint shoulder-press convergent machine with 40% and 80% maximum voluntary load (MVL) in 11 male swimmers (15 to 23 years, 70 ± 4 kg, 183 ± 6 cm and 10 ± 4 years time practice in sport), trained in resistance exercise. Electromyographic signals (EMG) were obtained by placing surface active differential electrodes (20x gain), composed of two parallel rectangular bars (EMG System, Brazil®). A data acquisition system (EMG-Alc) which provided numerical data in RMS (Root Mean Square) to analyze the signals composed by a reference electrode (ground) and a signal conditioning module (EMG) with simultaneous acquisition of up to 8 differential channels (band-pass filter 5-20 Hz), adjustable amplifier stage, allowing gains between 100 and 4960 times, channel input impedance 10GΩ in differential modules and CMRR of 93 dB/60 Hz was used. Only the concentric phase (3 seconds duration) in each EMG signal collected was recorded. After the tests (Mann-Whitney U test, Friedman and Wilcoxon) were applied, it was concluded that for prescription and periodization of the neuromuscular training, bilateral contractions performed in the shoulder-press apparatus are efficient at aiming muscular recruitment (80%> 40% ) of middle portion of the deltoid, pectoralis major (clavicular portion), and triceps brachii (long head) muscles, evidencing differences between dominant and non-dominant limbs only for the dominant brachial triceps in 80% of MVL in swimmers trained in resistance exercises.


What does doing comparative law involve? Too often, explicit methodological discussions in comparative law remain limited to the level of pure theory, neglecting to test out critiques and recommendations on concrete issues. This book bridges this gap between theory and practice in comparative legal studies. Essays by both established and younger comparative lawyers reflect on the methodological challenges arising in their own work and in work in their area. Taken together, they offer clear recommendations for, and critical reflection on, a wide range of innovative comparative research projects.


The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between job crafting and organizational identification along with investigating the mediating role of affective well-being in this relationship. Data gathered from 238 public and private sector employees in Turkey through the survey method was subjected to factor, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity analyses through structural equation modelling. Additionally, the mediating role of affective well-being was tested using PROCESS macro for SPSS. As a result, it was concluded that all aspects of job crafting positively related to positive affection while only task crafting and cognitive crafting were significantly related to negative affection. Besides, positive affection has a positive impact on organizational identification while negative affection has a negative impact. In terms of mediation analyses, positive affection has a partially mediating role in the relationship between all aspects of job crafting and organizational identification while negative affection partially mediates the relationship between task crafting/cognitive crafting and organizational identification.


Although access to channels of communication has been an important issue in national and international communication, it has rarely been addressed as such in an exclusively Third World context. Research about media in the Third World seems to perpetuate a mostly obsolete image regarding the current situations of communication systems in those countries. With respect to the question of access, the dominant notion governing our thinking of Third World media reflects an elitist public institutional control over access to those media. Such notion is usually criticized for being wholistic and incapable of accounting for the specific differences characterizing different media systems around the world. Taking the daily Jordanian call-in radio program "Direct Broadcasting (DB)" as a case study, the author sought to examine how public access to this program seems to reverse some of our conventional perceptions of Third World media. Although the results of the study showed a good number of DB segments to be dominated by actors associated with public institutions, private citizens were also involved in the program. While the involve ment of public sector actors was receptive (as targets of phone calls), private citizens accessed the program as initiators of information. The study also found that the majority of calls broadcast over the program was on developmental subjects pertaining to the daily needs of citizens. The study also revealed that the role of DB broadcasters has been either facilitative or inactive in a good number of cases rather than active or interrogative. The main conclusion of this study is that, while broadcasting structures in the Third World remain institutionally affiliated with governments, access to the airwaves by actors not associated with the public sector is possible, though on a controlled basis.


Zero-shot learning (ZSL) and cold-start recommendation (CSR) are two challenging problems in computer vision and recommender system, respectively. In general, they are independently investigated in different communities. This paper, however, reveals that ZSL and CSR are two extensions of the same intension. Both of them, for instance, attempt to predict unseen classes and involve two spaces, one for direct feature representation and the other for supplementary description. Yet there is no existing approach which addresses CSR from the ZSL perspective. This work, for the first time, formulates CSR as a ZSL problem, and a tailor-made ZSL method is proposed to handle CSR. Specifically, we propose a Lowrank Linear Auto-Encoder (LLAE), which challenges three cruxes, i.e., domain shift, spurious correlations and computing efficiency, in this paper. LLAE consists of two parts, a low-rank encoder maps user behavior into user attributes and a symmetric decoder reconstructs user behavior from user attributes. Extensive experiments on both ZSL and CSR tasks verify that the proposed method is a win-win formulation, i.e., not only can CSR be handled by ZSL models with a significant performance improvement compared with several conventional state-of-the-art methods, but the consideration of CSR can benefit ZSL as well.


The history of early modern medicine often makes for depressing reading. It implies that people fell ill, took ineffective remedies, and died. This book seeks to rebalance and brighten our overall picture of early modern health by focusing on the neglected subject of recovery from illness in England, c.1580–1720. Drawing on an array of archival and printed materials, Misery to Mirth shows that recovery did exist conceptually at this time, and that it was a widely reported phenomenon. The book takes three main perspectives: the first is physiological or medical, asking what doctors and laypeople meant by recovery, and how they thought it occurred. This includes a discussion of convalescent care, a special branch of medicine designed to restore strength to the patient's fragile body after illness. Secondly, the book adopts the viewpoint of patients themselves: it investigates how they reacted to the escape from death, the abatement of pain and suffering, and the return to normal life and work. At the heart of getting better was contrast—from 'paine to ease, sadnesse to mirth, prison to liberty, and death to life'. The third perspective concerns the patient's loved ones; it shows that family and friends usually shared the feelings of patients, undergoing a dramatic transformation from anguish to elation. This mirroring of experiences, known as 'fellow-feeling', reveals the depth of love between many individuals. Through these discussions, the book opens a window onto some of the most profound, as well as the more prosaic, aspects of early modern existence, from attitudes to life and death, to details of what convalescents ate for supper and wore in bed.


Evangelical Bible study groups are the most prolific type of small group in American society, with more than 30 million Protestants gathering every week for this distinct purpose, meeting in homes, churches, coffee shops, restaurants, and other public and private venues across the US. What happens in these groups? How do they help shape the contours of American Evangelical life? While more public forms of political activism have captured popular and scholarly imaginations, it is in group Bible study that Evangelicals reflect on the details of their faith. Here they become self-conscious religious subjects, sharing the intimate details of life, interrogating beliefs and practices, and articulating their version of Christian identity and culture. In "Words upon the Word", James S. Bielo draws on over nineteen months of ethnographic work with five congregations to better understand why group Bible study matters so much to Evangelicals and for Evangelical culture. Through a close analysis of participants' discourse, Bielo examines the defining themes of group life - from textual interpretation to spiritual intimacy and the rehearsal of witnessing. Bielo's approach allows these Evangelical groups to speak for themselves, illustrating Bible study's uniqueness in Evangelical life as a site of open and critical dialog. Ultimately, Bielo's ethnography sheds much needed light on the power of group Bible study for the ever-evolving shape of American Evangelicalism.