INTRODUCTION
We compared the incidence of undetectable [below the limit of detection (LoD)], measurable (LoD to 99th percentile), and increased cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations above the 99th percentile between Abbott high-sensitivity cTnI (hs-cTnI) and contemporary cTnI assays in a US emergency department population.

METHODS
Patients (n = 2100) presenting to the emergency department who had serial cTnI (0, 3, 6, 9 h) measurements ordered on clinical indication were enrolled. Contemporary cTnI [Abbott Architect used clinically; 99th percentile: 0.030 μg/L (30 ng/L)] and hs-cTnI [Abbott investigational; sex-specific 99th percentiles: female (F) 16 ng/L, male (M) 34 ng/L] assays simultaneously measured fresh EDTA plasma.

RESULTS
The hs-cTnI assay measured fewer undetectable cTnI concentrations compared to the contemporary cTnI assay across baseline (F: 31% vs 47%, M: 22% vs 40%) and serial (F: 21% vs 46%; M: 19% vs 54%) measurements. Conversely, the proportion of measurable cTnI concentrations was higher using hs-cTnI compared to contemporary cTnI assay across both baseline (F: 46% vs 31%; M: 60% vs 33%) and serial (F: 48% vs 28%; M: 83% vs 40%) measurements. The overall proportion of patients with increased cTnI concentrations above the 99th percentile was not significantly different between the contemporary (31%) and hs-cTnI (26%) assays (P = 0.09).

CONCLUSIONS
In patients presenting to the emergency department, the use of the Abbott hs-cTnI assay provides clinicians with more numeric cTnI concentrations. This occurs via a shift from results below the LoD to those between the LoD and the 99th percentile and does not increase in the number of cTnI concentrations above the 99th percentile.


Aims To audit the cellular expression of the innate antibacterial enzyme lysozyme in colonic biopsies from a cohort of patients having microscopic colitis (MC—collagenous colitis (CC) or lymphocytic colitis (LC)). Results were compared with those recorded in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of the colon (ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's colitis). Methods Fifty-five consecutive cases having biopsies from the left colon were investigated: 27 MC (14 CC and 13 LC) and 28 IBD (14 UC and 14 Crohn's colitis). Sections were stained with antilysozyme antibody. Twelve cases (3 CC, 3 LC, 3 UC and 3 Crohn's colitis) were challenged with the macrophage marker CD68 (clone PG-M1). Results In MC, marked lysozyme expression in the colonic crypts was recorded in CC (p<0.05). The number of cases with metaplastic Paneth cells was higher in CC than in LC (p<0.05). In IBD, only active Crohn's colitis displayed marked lysozyme expression in the colonic crypts. Marked lysozyme immune-reactivity in subepithelial lamina propria mucosa (lpm) macrophages was found in LC (LC vs CC p<0.05). Conclusions The increased production of the antibacterial enzyme lysozyme in CC and LC supports a bacterial aetiology for these two diseases. Lysozyme upregulation in different cell types (epithelial vs macrophages) supports the notion that CC and LC might be two different maladies.


Objective: The aim of this study was to determine 1) whether bullying is related to all-cause disability retirement, 2) whether bullying contributes to the variance in disability retirement above high job demands and lack of job control, and 3) to establish gender differences in the relationship. Methods: Survey data from 14,501 Norwegian employees on exposure factors linked to registry data on all-cause disability retirement. Results: Bullying significantly predicted risk of disability retirement (hazard ratio = 1.55; 95% confidence interval = 1.13 to 2.12). This relationship remained statistically significant after adjusting for job demands and lack of job control. Women had the highest risk of disability, but both bullied men and women had a higher risk of disability than nonbullied employees of the same gender. Conclusion: Bullying is a risk factor for disability retirement. Measures taken to prevent bullying may be beneficial for reducing both health problems and disability retirement.


Several surviving artifacts of Roman imperial date consist of two small plaques designed for connection by balks (rectangular beams) and cylindrical dowels. All but one of the surviving specimens are of ivory and were probably luxurious versions of utilitarian objects. All have decorative details; three particularly lavish specimens bear mythological narratives in relief on both sides of each plaque. The original function of these objects is controversial, but the strongest evidence supports their identification as looms for weaving narrow strips to be used as decorative trim. If this reconstruction is correct, then their intended owners were primarily women, and the viewers of them were the members of those women's private households. Although most of the craftsmen who carved these very technically demanding works were probably male, the iconography of the decorated examples may reflect the social roles of their owners. The relief-decorated specimens in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli and the Römisch-Germanisches Museum in Cologne appear to depict myths that concern childbirth and motherhood. This essay examines how the functions of these objects dictated the reading of their narrative content as their viewers interacted physically with them. The narratives delivered didactic, comforting, and stimulating messages.


The purpose of this study was to synthesize biocompatible polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-coated iron oxide (PVP-IO) nanoparticles and to evaluate their efficacy as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent. The PVP-IO nanoparticles were synthesized by a thermal decomposition method and characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and a superconducting quantum interface device (SQUID). The core size of the particles is about 8–10 nm and the overall size is around 20–30 nm. The measured r2 (reciprocal of T2 relaxation time) and r2* (reciprocal of T2* relaxation time) are 141.2 and 338.1 (s mM)−1, respectively. The particles are highly soluble and stable in various buffers and in serum. The macrophage uptake of PVP-IO is comparable to that of Feridex as measured by a Prussian blue iron stain and phantom study. The signal intensity of a rabbit liver was effectively reduced after intravenous administration of PVP-IO. Therefore PVP-IO nanoparticles are potentially useful for T2-weighted MR imaging.


A study of image compression is becoming more important since an
uncompressed image requires a large amount of storage space and high
transmission bandwidth. This paper focuses on the quantitative comparison of
lossy compression methods applied to a variety of 8-bit Computed Tomography
(CT) images. Joint Photographic Experts Group UPEG) and Wavelet
compression algorithms were used on a set of CT images, namely brain, chest,
and abdomen. These algorithms were applied to each image to achieve
maximum compression ratio (CR). Each compressed image was then decompressed and quantitative analysis was performed to compare each
compressed-then-decompressed image with its corresponding original image.
The Wavelet Compression Engine (standard edition 2.5), and ]pEG Wizard
(Version 1.1.7) were used in this study. The statistical indices computed were
mean square error (MSE) , signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and peak signal-to-noise
ratio (PSNR). Our results show that Wavelet compression yields better
compression quality compared with ]pEG for higher compression. From the
numerical values obtained we observe that the PSNR for chest and abdomen
images is equal to 24 dB for compression ratio up to 31:1 by using ]pEG and
18 dB for compression ratio up to 33:1 by using wavelet. For brain image the
PSNR is equal to 26 to 30 dB for compression ratio between 40 to 125:1 by
using ]pEG, whereas by using wavelet the PSNR is equal to 22 to 34 dB for
compression ratio between 52 to 240:1. The degree of compression was also
found dependent on the anatomic structure and the complexity of the CT
images.


Laser cooling of atomic motion enables a wide variety of technological and scientific explorations using cold atoms. Here we focus on the effect of laser cooling on the photons instead of on the atoms. Specifically, we show that non-interacting photons can thermalize with the atoms to a grand canonical ensemble with a non-zero chemical potential. This thermalization is accomplished via scattering of light between different optical modes, mediated by the laser cooling process. While optically thin modes lead to traditional laser cooling of the atoms, the dynamics of multiple scattering in optically thick modes has been more challenging to describe. We find that in an appropriate set of limits, multiple scattering leads to thermalization of the light with the atomic motion in a manner that approximately conserves total photon number between the laser beams and optically thick modes. In this regime, the subsystem corresponding to the thermalized modes is describable by a grand canonical ensemble with a chemical potential set by the energy of a single laser photon. We consider realization of this regime using two-level atoms in Doppler cooling, and find physically realistic conditions for rare earth atoms. With the addition of photon-photon interactions, this system could provide a new platform for exploring many-body physics.


The 21st century has seen the emergence of new practices of gender diversity that eschew a rigid gender binary and proliferate new gender labels, including "nonbinary," "genderfluid," and "agender." Digital media have played a crucial role in this process as the new labels often originate and become popular in online social networks. Academic discussions on digital gender diversity suggest that the new labels either resist or reproduce the dominant gender ideology. I contribute to these discussions by challenging the subversion versus hegemony dichotomy, and by demonstrating a wide spectrum of practices of gender diversity. Drawing on six interviews with gender-diverse migrants and building on the concept of disidentification, I update the concept to include increasingly digital societies and new gender practices, challenge the dichotomous thinking about digital gender diversity, and stress the importance of cultural and media contexts for understanding how new gender labels are being practiced in everyday life.


Several Australian Acacias have become invasive when introduced into new areas within Australia. These invasive Acacias may have a detrimental effect on native flora and induce changes to below-ground microbial composition. Previous studies have shown that the invasive success of Acacias can be at least partly attributed to their ability to associate with N-fixing rhizobial bacteria. This study assessed the role of rhizobia in the invasion success of four Acacia species (A. cyclops, A. longifolia, A. melanoxylon, A. saligna) and closely related species Paraserianthes lophantha in their nonnative environment within Australia. Presence or absence of rhizobia in soils in both the native and introduced ranges of each species, as well as infectivity and efficacy, were estimated using the Most Probable Number (MPN) method to determine numbers of rhizobial cells/g-1 of soil. A glasshouse experiment had shown that there are significant differences in aboveground biomass between plants grown in soils from their native compared with non-native environment.

The outcome of this study will enhance our understanding of the role of plant-soil interactions in Acacia invasion into novel ranges in Australia and also contribute towards a larger global framework of studies on the invasion ecology of non-native Acacias.


Recently a number of models for the estimation of origin-destination trip matrices from traffic counts have been presented. One class of models assumes knowledge of the proportional usage of each link by the interzonal traffic. These models result in an underspecified, and often inconsistent, system of linear equations. Several authors have addressed the problem of inconsistency by, in different ways, changing the traffic count data so as to achieve consistency. We argue that, modeling-wise, this is not a sound approach because inconsistent data is a natural part of any origin-destination matrix estimation problem. By using a stochastic programming approach the inconsistent input data becomes a natural part of the estimation process. This is done by viewing the traffic counts as realizations of some unknown underlying distribution of traffic flows.


The major aim of this trial was to compare the development of 18-month-old infants who received complementary feeding for 1 year either with lipid-based nutrient supplements or micronutrient fortified corn-soy porridge. Our secondary aim was to determine the socio-economic factors associated with developmental outcomes in the same population. A total of 163 six-month-old rural Malawian children were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial where the control population received daily supplementation with 71 g corn-soy flour [Likuni Phala (LP)] (282 kcal) and individuals in the intervention groups received daily either 50 g of lipid-based nutrient supplement (FS50) (264 kcal) or 25 g of lipid-based nutrient supplement (FS25) (130 kcal). The main outcome measures were Griffiths' developmental scores at 0-2 years. Independent comparison of study groups was carried out using analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistics where mean raw scores, quotients, or mental ages were compared. Association of developmental outcome with predictor variables were examined using multiple regression. At 18 months of chronological age, the mean ± standard deviation (SD) mental ages in the LP, FS50, and FS25 groups were 17.9 ± 1.3, 17.9 ± 1.3, and 17.9 ± 1.2 (P > 0.99), respectively. Likewise, the mean raw developmental scores and mean developmental quotients did not differ significantly. Length-for-age z-score gain during the intervention period, and maternal education were associated with developmental outcome at 18 months (P = 0.03 and P = 0.04; respectively). In conclusion, rural Malawian infants receiving 12-month daily supplementation of their diet either with the tested lipid-based nutrient supplements or fortified corn-soy flour have comparable development outcomes by 18 months of age.


This chapter explores the leadership practices of Mission Commanders. The major focus is on key features in leadership practices that contribute to effective samhandling in the execution of Composite Air Operations and handling of unexpected events. "Aerial warfare" is the term used to describe the use of military aircraft and other aeronautical equipment in warfare. Air power has become the preferred instrument for politicians and commanders to achieve strategic and operational objectives across a spectrum of conflicts, ranging from humanitarian aid to combat action. Air campaigns like OD/UP and MINUSMA are conducted through a series of parallel and sequential Composite Air Operations (COMAO). COMAO is the term used when dissimilar types of aircraft interact in coordinated actions to achieve defined military objectives within a given time and geographical area. The study indicates that joint practice and a joint process for learning and leadership play vital roles in the successful conduct of COMAO in war. Joint practice during exercises like RED FLAG provides the opportunity to develop the interactional skills that are needed in modern aerial warfare. Important principles in joint practice are that you train as you fight, you experience a progression in challenge and that all participants participate in the exchange of ideas and lessons learned.


Over the past two years, the debate on the review of the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications has become hectic. After the European Commission adopted its proposed set of measures in November 2007, the European Parliament has shown an unprecedented interest in topics such as spectrum policy, functional separation of the incumbents' networks, the creation of a new European authority on telecoms, etc. After the successful experience of the first CEPS Task Force on "Policy Challenges for the Information Superhighway", which ended in June 2006, a new Task Force on "Achieving the Internal Market for e-communications" was launched by CEPS with the explicit aim to provide expertise to Members of the European Parliament in their reading of the proposed review. The Task Force was chaired by Magnus Lemmel, former Acting Director General at DG Enterprise, European Commission, and currently Senior Advisor at KREAB. This report summarises the results of the opinions that were expressed over five meetings, the last two of which took place inside the European Parliament. This highly influential report was drafted by Andrea Renda, Senior Research Fellow at CEPS.


History is a complex subject and teaching history is even much more complex than people think. It is more propositional than procedural in nature and involves adductive reasoning, where historical evidence and facts are reconstructed through speculation, imagination and empathy (Nichol, 1984; Booth, 1983). The effective teaching of history is more than the transmission of knowledge, but rather it is a process where students and teachers interact in the classroom as they share ideas, reflect and engage in reasoning. It is through this interaction that thinking and understanding will occur. This paper is a reflection on the developments in the teaching of history at secondary and high school level in Swaziland. The paper is based on research on a new history curriculum introduced in Swaziland in January 2006. In particular, the paper will highlight the research on the implementation of the new history syllabus. The paper will highlight the major challenges facing history teaching in the context of the new curriculum. Implications for the preparation of history teachers in Swaziland will be identified.


Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are an e ffi cient photovoltaic technology for powering electronic applications such as wireless sensors with indoor light. Their low cost and abundant materials, as well as their capability to be manufactured as thin and light-weight fl exible solar modules highlight their potential for economic indoor photovoltaics. However, their fabrication methods must be scaled to industrial manufacturing with high photovoltaic e ffi ciency and performance stability under typical indoor conditions. This paper reviews the recent progress in DSSC research towards this goal through the development of new device structures, alternative redox shuttles, solid-state hole conductors, TiO 2 photoelectrodes, catalyst materials, and sealing techniques. We discuss how each functional component of a DSSC has been improved with these new materials and fabrication techniques. In addition, we propose a scalable cell fabrication process that integrates these developments to a new monolithic cell design based on several features including inkjet and screen printing of the dye, a solid state hole conductor, PEDOT contact, compact TiO 2 , mesoporous TiO 2 , carbon nanotubes counter electrode, epoxy encapsulation layers and silver conductors. Finally, we discuss the need to design new stability testing protocols to assess the probable deployment of DSSCs in portable electronics and internet-of-things devices.


Area averaged seasonal climatology of high, middle and low clouds over the Tibetan Plateau was obtained from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) D2 and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)/Terra products, and was compared with climatology calculated by using the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) Cloud Climatology for Land Station Worldwide. From all three data sets, there is a large degree of consistency for the high cloud climatology in terms of amount and occurrence frequency. A great amount of high clouds exists over the Tibetan Plateau and its seasonal cycle is evident with the largest amount and highest frequency in spring and summer. However, compared with the surface observations, both the ISCCP D2 and the MODIS/Terra products largely underestimated low clouds over the Tibetan Plateau. Approximately, the underestimation of cloud amount from the ISCCP D2 is more than 20% and cloud frequency bias from the MODIS/Terra up to 50%; moreover, a quite large discrepancy in the seasonal cycle is shown. For middle clouds, the ISCCP D2 and the MODIS/Terra products overestimate amount and occurrence frequency, and present rather weak seasonal variation compared with the weather station data. When using satellite data to analyze cloud cover the Tibetan Plateau, certain issues about large potential bias must be taken into consideration, and particularly, great caution is needed while using the ISCCP D2 and MODIS data to study middle and low clouds, especially when high and thick clouds exist.


This paper examines the effectiveness of the public health education and poverty relief programs prior to the New Deal. Prior researchers have speculated these programs contributed to the declining mortality rates during the 1920s, but have been unable to econometrically estimate their impact across a large set of cities. Data on municipal health education and social insurance expenditures is used to separately estimate how effective each of these programs were at reducing infant and child mortality. The effects are identified using the within variation for a panel of 68 cities over 10 years, with estimates suggesting that it was primarily spending on health education which led to lower infant and child mortality during the 1920s. Additionally, for both the infant and child age groups, the education programs required a two-year lag to generate an effect. Fixed effects estimates indicate that 1 dollar of per capita public health education spending in year t translated to about a 0.93 unit drop in the infant mortality rate in year t+2, and about a .02 unit drop in the crude death rate for children aged 1 to 4. In terms of actual municipal expenditures during this period, these estimates show that cities in the top quartile of public health education spending experienced an additional 2.4 unit average annual decline in their infant mortality rates than did cites in the bottom percentile. JEL codes I18, I38, and N32


ABSTRACT Research Findings: The current study examines the relations between Chinese preschoolers' social-emotional competence and their preacademic skills, as well as the role of child gender and parental education in such relations. A total of 154 children from the northeastern region of China were involved in the study. Both parents and head teachers of the target children completed measures of children's social-emotional competence and preacademic skills. Multiple aspects of social-emotional competence were investigated. The results showed that children's withdrawn behaviors and attention problems were negatively related to their preacademic skills. Both parent- and teacher-reported positive social behaviors were positively related to children's preacademic skills. In addition, child gender and parental education together moderated the effects of children's anxious/depressed problems and parent-reported social behaviors on children's preacademic skills. Practice or Policy: Teacher training and support are needed to help preschool teachers (a) better support children who are socially withdrawn or have difficulty regulating attention and (b) understand the construct and importance of social-emotional development in relation to children's preacademic development . In addition, child characteristics such as age and gender and socioeconomic factors need to be taken into consideration in the study of young children's social-emotional and cognitive competence.


The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the competencies and characteristics of the complexity in the occupational space of the Gratified Functions in a public organization of high school, technical, technological and higher education. Being inserted in increasingly complex contexts, public organizations are faced with an increasing need to adapt their people management systems. However, there are still few studies that propose practical solutions to the challenges in the public service. Given this scene, a case study is carried out at the IFSP Campus Araraquara through the correlated analysis of multiple data sources, which are: the systematization of a theoretical reference on competencies and complexity aligned with the context of public administration; the analysis of the routines and of three institutional documents of the organization; and the questionnaires applied to the federal employees that occupy the Gratified Functions object of the study (coordinators) and their respective chiefs (directors). The analysis of the data from the proposed methodology highlights the behavioral competencies as the most important for these functions, also shows that the complexity of the work perceived by the directors is greater than the perceived by the occupants of the functions. Given these facts, the main results of the research at the IFSP Campus Araraquara point out that the work of the Gratified Functions is increasingly linked to the decisions made by its employees, thanks to the importance given to the capacity for relationship, communication and adaptation to change, as well as, that the directions and coordinations must work together in order to align institutional expectations with deliveries in the occupational space. Finally, this research aims to contribute to the proposal of a range of competencies in order to understand the issues and challenges of people management in public organizations.


This thesis consists of two, inter-related sections. In Part 1,
the relative utility of ordination techniques, for the purpose of
indirect gradient analysis in plant ecology, is studied empirically.
Using simulated data derived from flexible models of vegetation-gradient
relationships. Part 2 is an integrated analysis of vegetation data
obtained by intensive sampling of the subalpine and alpine vegetation of
the Mt. Field Plateau, Tasmania. The results of the direct gradient
analysis of the Mt. Field vegetation were taken into account when
formulating the models used in Part 1. In return, the selection of the
most appropriate methodo1ogy for indirect gradient analysis of the Mt.
Field data drew upon the results of the comparative evaluation of
techniques in Part 1.
Previous studies which have evaluated the performance of
ordination techniques using simulated vegetation data are reviewed.
Most such studies have employed models in which the response profiles of
species along the artificial gradients were Gaussian. Some preliminary
experiments with plausible alternative models have suggested that even
the most promising of recently introduced ordination methods may be
undesirably sensitive to small variations in the model. Since the
available observational evidence does not support the general
applicability of the Gaussian model in nature, the relevance of the
results of comparative studies based on Gaussian models is in doubt.
Noting that present evidence is insufficient to permit the
formulation of a general model of vegetational response to environmental
gradients, the present study attempts to identify ordination methods
which are robust to variations in those features of the model still
subject to debate. A flexible modelling approach was developed, based
on the use of beta functions, which can produce unimodal curves of
varying skewness. The models allow "competition" between species to
introduced, in the form of linear interaction coefficients, thus
producing shouldered, bimodal or multimodal response curves of the types
often observed in direct gradient analyses. Both stand abundance (the
sum of the abundances of all species present in a sample) and alpha
diversity (the number of species per sample) may be varied along
gradients in a flexible manner. Quantitative noise may be introduced,
in the form of random departures from the expected abundance.
Probability of occurrence profiles may optionally be used to introduce
qualitative noise. The models allow both unidimensional compositional
gradients (coenoclines) and two-dimensional patterns (coenoplanes) to be
produced.
Using such models, the relative performance of the ordination
techniques Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) "local" Non-metric
Multidimensional Scaling (LNMDS), Principal Co-ordinates Analysis
(PCoA), Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Gaussian Ordination (GO)
was assessed. Ordination configurations were rotated to best fit with
the original arrangement of samples along the simulated gradient(s)
using Procrustean ana1ysis, and the RMS displacement error was used as a
measure of ordination efficacy. For ordinations of coenoclines, the Kendall rank correlation coefficient was used to assess the accuracy
with which the rank order of samples was recovered. Experiments were
performed on the effects of variation in several properties of the
models, with particular attention being devoted to the robustness of
methods to variations in the shape of response curves, the introduction
of noise and the arrangement of samples.
Experiments with coenocline models confirmed the ineffectiveness
of PCA, except when the beta diversity of the gradient is low (no more
than 4Z). PCoA, operating on a percentage similarity matrix, was
similarly affected. With models containing only unimodal curves, DCA
was generally the most successful of the methods compared. GO was able
to improve significantly on the DCA solutions only when beta diversity
was less than 6Z, quantitative noise levels were low and the curves were
not grossly skewed. When models included shouldered and bimodal curves,
LNMDS was consistently superior to DCA and GO.
PCA and PCoA ordinations of simu1ated coenoplanes were poor unless
the beta diversity of both gradients was low. With 11 rectangu1ar 11
coenoplanes, curvilinear distortion of the longer gradient often
obscured variation related to the secondary gradient. LNMDS
consistently improved on DCA solutions for all the coenoplane models
examined. The DCA results, even with noiseless data from some of the
symmetrical, unimodal models, were occasionally very poor. Neither
LNMDS nor DCA gave consistently satisfactory results when coenoplanes
were sampled with cross-shaped or T-shaped sampling patterns, which
simulate field situations where one gradient is expressed only in a
restricted region of another gradient.
The present study suggests a preference for LNMDS as a "general
purpose" approach to indirect gradient analysis. However, practical
limitations of LNMDS may make DCA the method of choice when the number
of samples is large. Significant advances in the methodology of
indirect gradient analysis are unlikely to be made until much more
observational evidence concerning the nature of vegetational response to
environmental gradients is available.
Subalpine and alpine vegetation on the Mt. Field Plateau, a
dolerite capped horst in south-central Tasmania, was intensively sampled
using a stratified, systematic arrangement of 438, 100 sq. m quadrats.
In each sample, cover estimates were made for all vascular plant species
and various site and community characteristics were recorded.
A direct gradient analysis was performed, using altitude and
substrate drainage (estimated on a five point scale) as axes. The
response surfaces for mean cover of 111 species were predominantly
unimodal (80%), although only 45% appeared to be symmetrical. For the
unimodal species, the distribution of modes over the ecoplane was
consistent with random expectation. The frequency distribution of
response surface maxima was approximately 1ograndom for non-woody
species, but the distribution for woody species did not fit lograndom or
lognormal hypotheses.
Mean values of
tallest stratum, total
commun1ty characteristics,
cover and alpha diversity,
such as height
displayed systematic trends in re1ation to altitude and drainage. The pattern of alpha
diversity was further clarified by the division of species into
growth-form groups. Beta (between-habitat) diversity along the drainage
gradient showed a consistent decline with increasing elevation.
The potential value of Generalised Linear Modelling (GLM) as a
more rigorous approach to the fitting of response surfaces was examined
for a selected set of 18 dominant species. An initial qualitative model
was fitted, in order to identify samples where the expected probability
of occurrence of a species was low. Such samples were then omitted when
fitting a predictive model for percentage cover. For all but four of
the species, probability of occurrence was adequately fitted by a
symmetrical, bell-shaped surface. The quantitative (percentage cover)
models for most species had low adjusted r-squared values, indicating a
relatively large amount of 11 noise" variation. The factors which may
have contributed to this noise variation are discussed.
Because of the large number of samples~ which made LNMDS
impracticable, DCA was adopted as a primary approach for indirect
gradient analysis. The first two axes of a DCA ordination, based on
cover class data, defined a coenop1ane to which altitude and drainage
were strongly related. This result supports the choice of these two
complex-gradients as axes for direct gradient analysis. The third axis
was a spurious "interaction~~ axis, resulting from the failure in DCA to
detrend the third and subsequent axes with respect to combinations of
the previously extracted axes. The fourth axis represented a
compositional gradient among subalpine forests on well drained sites,
which was tentatively related to firing history.
DCA based on presence-absence data gave very similar results~
indicating that at these levels of beta diversity, most of the relevant
information concerning the positions of samples on the major underlying
gradients is contained in the qua1itative component of the data. A DCA
ordination of percentage cover data (i.e. midpoints of cover classes)
produced a distorted reconstruction of the altitude X drainage
coenoplane, with one corner projected into a third dimension. The
origin of this type of distortion, which was also noted with some of the
coenoplane models in Part 1, is not clear.
A compound data set was produced by forming the centroids of 60 minimum Sum-of-Squares clusters. Ordinations of this compound data set
by various techniques, including DCA, local and global NMOS, PCoA and
PCA, were compared. The ineffectiveness of PCoA and PCA was readily
apparent. Curvilinear distortion of the altitude X drainage coenoplane
prevented adequate recovery of the tertiary "firing history" gradient.
The NMDS solutions based on local and global criteria were very similar
to each other and they differed from the DCA result only in local details


Constituting the link between supply and demand, retailers can play an important role in a supply chain's green operations and logistics activities, which are one of the key contemporary concerns of governments and the general public. China, as a huge, fast-developing and opening marketplace has been attractive to British and other international retailers. However, the competition facing these retailers in the Chinese marketplace is intensifying. Research shows that British retailers began greening their business operations earlier than Chinese businesses that are still at an early stage. British retailers thus have an early-mover advantage with green operations as a characteristic competitive strength. The comparative study presented in this paper on the current green status/approaches of both Chinese and British retailers will be valuable to managers who are developing green strategies to enhance their competitiveness in the Chinese retail sector; the paper also enriches green theories in relation to this particular marketplace.


In this thesis I examine and evaluate the effects of a documented large-scale eutrophication on macroalgal vegetation on the Swedish coast. During the past century the load of nutrients has increased manifold in the Baltic Sea area, increasing primary production and organic sedimentation significantly. By re-investigating a unique reference material of macroalgal vegetation from the 1940-60s and by conducting new diving studies at the same sites, I showed that long-term trends in macroalgal community composition and species' distributions are consistent with changes expected from an increased nutrient availability. In the Oregrund archipelago (northern Baltic Sea), I documented a declined depth distribution of the dominant canopy forming alga, Fucus vesiculosus, and an increased abundance of opportunistic ephemeral algae compared to 52-53 years ago. In the Gullmar Fjord area (Skagerrak), trends included increased abundances of functional groups with opportunistic algae, decreased abundances of large perennial algae and a general decline in the depth distribution of the vegetation compared to 36-57 years ago. Sediment removal experiments in the northern Baltic Sea confirmed the hypothesis that sedimentation influences macroalgal community composition. Species depending on short periods of reproduction were clearly favoured by sediment removal, especially F. vesiculosus that seemed limited in depth by the local sediment load. Species with long continuous periods of dispersal by spores and/or fragments (for example the ephemerals Cladophora glomerata, Ceramium tenuicorne and Enteromorpha spp.) were more tolerant to the natural sediment load. In general, sediment removal favoured macroalgal establishment and development, indicating that variation in the natural sediment load is an important constraint for sublittoral rocky-shore macroalgal community development. I conclude by suggesting that the documented long-term changes in macroalgal vegetation on the Swedish coast partly are explained by an increased organic sedimentation in these areas.


For centuries, philosophers, theologians, moralists, and ordinary people have asked: How should we live? What makes for a good life? In The Best Things in Life, distinguished philosopher Thomas Hurka takes a fresh look at these perennial questions as they arise for us now in the 21st century. Should we value family over career? How do we balance self-interest and serving others? What activities bring us the most joy? While religion, literature, popular psychology, and everyday wisdom all grapple with these questions, philosophy more than anything else uses the tools of reason to make important distinctions, cut away irrelevancies, and distill these issues down to their essentials. Hurka argues that if we are to live a good life, one thing we need to know is which activities and experiences will most likely lead us to happiness and which will keep us from it, while also reminding us that happiness isn't the only thing that makes life good. Hurka explores many topics: four types of good feeling (and the limits of good feeling); how we can improve our baseline level of happiness (making more money, it turns out, isn't the answer); which kinds of knowledge are most worth having; the importance of achieving worthwhile goals; the value of love and friendship; and much more. Unlike many philosophers, he stresses that there isn't just one good in life but many: pleasure, as Epicurus argued, is indeed one, but knowledge, as Socrates contended, is another, as is achievement. And while the great philosophers can help us understand what matters most in life, Hurka shows that we must ultimately decide for ourselves. This delightfully accessible book offers timely guidance on answering the most important question any of us will ever ask: How do we live a good life?


We have performed a numerical study involving the design and optimization of InP-based microdisk lasers integrated on and coupled to a nanophotonic silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide circuit, fabricated through bonding technology. The theoretical model was tested by fitting it to the lasing characteristics obtained for fabricated devices, which we presented previously. A good fit was obtained using parameter values that are consistent with numerical simulation. To obtain optimized laser performance, the composition of the InP-based epitaxial layer structure was optimized to minimize internal optical loss for a structure compatible with efficient current injection. Specific attention was paid to a tunnel-junction based approach. Bending loss was quantified to estimate the minimum microdisk diameter. The coupling between the InP microdisk and Si waveguide was calculated as function of the bonding layer thickness, waveguide offset and waveguide width. To study the lateral injection efficiency, an equivalent electrical network was solved and the voltage-current characteristic was calculated. Based on these results, the dominant device parameters were identified, including microdisk thickness and radius, coupling loss and tunnel-junction p-type doping. These parameters were optimized to obtain maximum wall-plug efficiency, for output powers in the range 1-100 W. The results of this optimization illustrate the potential for substantial improvement in laser performance.


Typically simultaneous switching noise (SSN) transient simulations require significant CPU and RAM resources. A prominent factor affecting both CPU and RAM resource requirements is the number of MOSFET models included in the post layout extracted IO netlists. By replacing the IO netlists with power aware IBIS v5.0 behavioral models, both the CPU and RAM resource requirements are dramatically reduced. A comparison of several SSN transient simulations whereby the aggressor frequency is sweep across a wide frequency range is shown. The resultant victim waveforms will clearly demonstrate that each SSN transient simulation using post layout extracted IO netlists requires days to run compared to just mere minutes using power aware IBIS v5.0 behavioral models. Most notably, there is no significant loss in accuracy. In fact, in many cases, there is an increase in accuracy due to convergence issues associated with post layout extracted IO netlists. The power aware IBIS v5.0 behavioral models offer both dramatically faster transient simulation times and lower memory requirements. Improvements to these two key metrics without sacrificing accuracy, allows for more aggressive and accurate signal and power integrity analysis than has previously been possible.


In 1917 Annie Besant, a white Englishwoman, was elected president of the Indian National Congress, the body which, under the guidance of Gandhi, would later lead India to independence. Besant - in her earlier career an active atheist and a socialist journalist - was from 1907 till her death the president of the Theosophical Society, an international spiritual movement whose headquarters' location in Madras symbolized its belief in India as the world's spiritual heart. Celestial India deals with the contribution of the Theosophical Society to the rise of Indian nationalism and seeks to restore it to its proper place in the history of ideas, both with regard to its spiritual doctrine and the sources on which it drew, as well as its role in giving rise to the New Age movement of the twentieth century.


How, if at all, does the Commission's expertise inform intergovernmental decision-making within the EU? In this article, we aim to capture the relationship between the Commission's expertise and its influence within intergovernmental policy-areas through a study of Commission influence in two least likely sectors: security and defence policies (military mission Atalanta and EU Maritime Security Strategy) and external migration (EU mobility partnerships with third countries). In these cases we observe that the Commission strongly informs policy developments even though it has only limited formal competences. To explore whether and, if so, how this influence is linked to its expertise, we develop and consider two hypotheses: The expert authority hypothesis and the expert arguments hypothesis. To identify possible additional channels of influence, we also consider the relevance of two alternative hypotheses: The strategic coalition hypothesis and the institutional circumvention hypothesis. We find that the Commission's use of its expertise is indeed key to understanding its de facto influence within policy-areas where its formal competences remain limited. Our findings add to the existing literature by revealing how expertise matters. Specifically, our cases show that the Commission informs intergovernmental decision-making by successfully linking discussions to policy-areas where it holds expert authority. However, the Commission also informs EU policies by circumventing the formal lines of intergovernmental decision-making, and by cooperating with member states that share its preference for further integration.


Research indicates that many athletes fail to maintain regular physical activity participation after transitioning out of competitive sports. Despite the important health consequences for athletes who drop from high activity to inactivity after completing their athletic careers, long-term physical activity maintenance among former college athletes is understudied. The present study examined physical activity behavior in former college athletes. Previous research suggests that self-identity influences physical activity participation, and individuals who are motivated by self-determined and volitional reasons are more likely to maintain their exercise behavior over time. Therefore, this research examined a theoretical model that incorporates tenets of identity theory and self-determination theory to investigate the relationships among identity, motivation, and physical activity participation in former college athletes. A total of 282 former Division I college athletes completed an online survey consisting of the Exercise Identity Scale, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, the Behavioral Regulation for Exercise Questionnaire, the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire, and demographic items. Results suggest that exercise identity and athletic identity are both positively related to physical activity in former college athletes, and the identity - physical activity relationship was only partially mediated by self-determined forms of motivation. Exercise identity was a stronger predictor of self-determined motivation and physical activity compared to athletic identity. There was a significant interaction effect between exercise identity and athletic identity such that having a higher exercise identity strengthened the athletic identity - physical activity relationship. Path analyses are presented that model the direct and indirect effects among the identity, motivation, and physical activity variables. The relevant implications of these models for former college athletes and their participation in physical activity are discussed. The findings of this study add to our understanding of former college athletes' physical activity behavior within an identity and self-determination theory framework, and provide an evidence base to guide the development of appropriate interventions that can promote healthy, active lifestyles among current and future student-athletes.


The value of active investment management is traditionally measured by alpha, beta, tracking error, and the Sharpe and information ratios. These are essentially static characteristics of the marginal distributions of returns at a single point in time, and do not incorporate dynamic aspects of a manager's investment process. In this paper, I propose a new measure of the value of active investment management that captures both static and dynamic contributions of a portfolio manager's decisions. The measure is based on a decomposition of a portfolio's expected return into two distinct components: a static weighted-average of the individual securities' expected returns, and the sum of covariances between returns and portfolio weights. The former component measures the portion of the manager's expected return due to static investments in the underlying securities, while the latter component captures the forecast power implicit in the manager's dynamic investment choices. This measure can be computed for long-only investments, long/short portfolios, and asset allocation rules, and is particularly relevant for hedge-fund strategies where both components are significant contributors to their expected returns, but only one should garner the high fees that hedge funds typically charge. Several analytical and empirical examples are provided to illustrate the practical relevance of these new measures.


This work presents an original algorithmic model of some essential features of psychogenetic theory, as was proposed by J. Piaget. Specifically, we modeled some elements of cognitive structure learning in children from birth to four months of life. We are in fact convinced that the study of well-established cognitive models of human learning can suggest new, interesting approaches to problem so far not satisfactorily solved in the field of machine learning. Further, we discussed the possible parallels between our model and subsymbolic machine learning and neuroscience. The model was implemented and tested in some simple experimental settings, with reference to the task of learning sensorimotor sequences.


In this paper we present a multi-modal web interface for autonomous mobile robots. The purpose of this interface is twofold. It serves as a tool for task supervision for the researcher and task specification for the end-user. The applications envisaged are typical service scenarios like remote inspection, transportation tasks or tour guiding. Instead of post-processing a huge amount of data gathered and stored during operation, it is very desirable for the developer to monitor specific internal variables of the target system in real-time. Sensory information on several levels of abstraction are visualized using state-of-the-art web technology yielding a plug-in-free interface which can be viewed with a standard browser. It provides multi-modal information in several representations: off- and on-board vision, laser and odometry. This tool proved to be indispensable in the developing phase of navigation algorithms for localization, map building, obstacle avoidance and path planning. Modern guidelines for ergonomic interface design like context-sensitive popup menus or clickable goal specification make the interface very intuitive for the end-user. Its practicability is extensively demonstrated in the 'Computer2000' exhibition event, where during 4 days the robot was remote controlled in a fully autonomous mode by visitors of the tradeshow using this interface.


Tort liability has become a major issue for today's highway engineer. Claims against state highway departments charging that deficient roadways caused or contributed to traffic accidents have skyrocketed over the past two decades, and associated costs are claiming a sizable—and growing—chunk of already tight transportation budgets, with no signs of leveling off. According to American Association of State Highway Officials and University of Alabama surveys, claims have grown about 2,000 in 1972, to between 33,000 and 35,000 in 1990, costing state DOTs $200 million-$300 million to defend suits and to pay off claims and judgments. Every dollar spent on legal battles is one less available for needed construction, reconstruction and repair projects. And concerns over potential lawsuits may lead engineers to become overcautious, stifling design innovation. Fear of lawsuits shouldn't be allowed to stifle design innovation, but engineers would be wise to think more carefully about their design decisions—and document them thoroughly.


Modern applications accumulate data at an exponentially increasing rate and traditional database systems struggle to keep up. Decision support systems used in industry, rely heavily on data analysis, and require real-time responses irrespective of data size. To offer real-time support, traditional databases require long preprocessing steps, such as data loading and offline tuning. Loading transforms raw data into a format that reduces data access cost. Through tuning, database systems build access paths (e.g., indexes) to improve query performance by avoiding or reducing unnecessary data access. The decision on what access paths to build depends on the expected workload, thus, the database system assumes knowledge of future queries. However, decision support systems and data exploration applications have shifting requirements. As a consequence, an offline tuner with no a priori knowledge of the full workload is unable to decide on the optimal set of access paths. Furthermore, access path size increases along with input data, thus, building precise access paths over the entire dataset limits the scalability of databases systems. Apart from long database pre-processing, offering efficient data access despite increasing data volume becomes harder due to hardware architectural constraints such as memory size. To achieve low query latency, modern database systems store data in main memory. However, there is a physical limit on main memory size in a server. Therefore, applications must trade memory space for query efficiency. To provide high performance efficiency, irrespective of dataset growth and query workload, a database system needs to (i) shift the decision of tuning from off-line to query-time, (ii) enable the query engine to exploit application properties in choosing fast access paths, and (iii) reduce the size of access paths to limit storage cost. In this thesis, we present techniques for query processing that are adaptive to workload, application requirements, and available storage resources. Specifically, to address dynamic workloads, we turn access path creation into a continuous process which fully adapts to incoming queries. We assign all decisions on data access and access path materialization to the database optimizer at query time, and enable access path materialization to take place as a byproduct of query execution, thereby, removing requirements for long offline tuning processing steps. Furthermore, we take advantage of application characteristics (precision requirements, resource availability) and we design a system which can adaptively trade precision and resources for performance. By combining precise and approximate access paths, the database system reduces query response time and minimizes resource utilization. Approximate access paths (e.g., sketches) require less space in comparison to their precise counterparts, and offer


This paper interprets the experience of the East and South East Asian electronics industry from a "Gerschenkronian" perspective in order to draw lessons for other developing countries. Following Gerschenkron, the paper argues that it is diversity, rather than unifor mity, in the institutional, technological and development policy arenas (called here "strategic innovation") that characterizes the experience of the Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs). The experience of the leading export industry shows that the progress of the NIEs can be interpreted as a pattern of substitution of missing prerequisites, in line with Gerschenkron's view of European latecomer industrialization. More broadly, the progress of the NIEs should not be viewed as repetitions of earlier industrialization experiences as they involve significant deviations from the latter, usually entailing distinctive strategic innovations. This interpret ation presents a difficult challenge for those wishing to draw lessons from the Asian NIEs. There are few direct lessons from East and South East Asia for other countries and certainly no transferable or standardized "model" of development. Other paths and patterns of develop ment need to be identified and created that build upon the distinctive resources of individual developing countries. Strategic innovation, trial-and-error learning and variety are likely to continue to characterize successful industrial development in the future.


Abstract The evolution of karyotypes and sex determination system of Philaenus Stål (Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae) species is studied here in detail. The most plausible scenario of chromosomal rearrangements accompanying phylogenetic differentiation in Philaenus is advanced. It is postulated that the ancestral karyotype of Philaenus was 2n = 24 + X0. Karyotype changes occurred several times independently in the genus. The karyotype of 2n = 22 + X0 (P. spumarius and P. tesselatus) originated from 2n = 24 + X0 by fusion between two autosomal pairs. The neo—XY system (P. arslani, P. loukasi, P. signatus, P. maghresignus, and P. tarifa) also originated from the 24 + X0 karyotype by means of independent fusions between autosomes and the original X chromosome. The neo—X1X2Y system (P. italosignus) evolved from the 2n = 22 + neo—XY karyotype by an additional fusion between the Y chromosome and one more autosomal pair. The neo—XnY system of P. italosignus is the first reported case of an evolutionarily fixed multiple sex chromosome system in Auchenorrhyncha.


Configurable designs and pricing competitiveness are the two primary factors in defining the future of vertical applications. In light of making standardized, embedded single board computers a more thoughtful fit for client demands, Advantech introduced the innovative MI/O Extension solution to assist application providers in quickly providing optimal solutions to their clients, while still securing their domain knowhow in key vertical industrial technologies.


The magnitude of the oceanic source of carbon monoxide (CO) to the atmosphere depends on the concentration of CO in ocean surface waters. To ascertain the relative importance of the processes controlling this concentration, depth profiles of CO concentrations in the oceanic mixed layer and upper thermocline were made at two time series stations in the tropical Pacific Ocean during 1993. The two stations were chosen to contrast an oligotrophic region of low CO water concentrations (RITS93) with a biologically productive region of high seawater CO concentrations (RITS94). The column burden of CO in the upper 75 m of the water column averaged 53 μmole m−2 at the RITS93 station and 240 μmole m−2 at the RITS94 station. From the observed diurnal cycle of the CO column burden, production and loss rates at each site were estimated. The factor of 4.5 difference in the column burden is primarily due to a smaller in situ oxidation rate constant at the RITS94 site.


A two experiments, we manipulate the advertising messages of non-target product and investigate their effects on evaluation of target product. The results of the two experiments shown that sensitivity to the limitations of evidence and the likelihood of judgmental moderation increases if (1) a target product is evaluated in the non-target product described on judgment relevant dimensions with differ from those used in describing the target or (2) a target is judged in the non-target of a completely different type of product described by a relatively large amount of messages. The findings from this paper have indicated that the effect depends on the type and amount of attribute message provided to the non-target product. Introduction The amount of message used to form an overall evaluation on product influences the extremity of the overall evaluation and confidence in that evaluation is suggested by Information Integration theory (Anderson 1967,1981,1982,1991; Louviere 1988; Lynch 1985; Troutman and Shanteau 1976; Sanbonmatsu et al. 1997,1998). The information is then combined, according to an integration rule (e.g., the average rule), into an overall evaluation of the product (Meyer 1981; McCann 1982; Kardes & Kalyanaram, 1992). There are many studies in the field of information integration. The most interesting and valuable findings is the set-size effect - the overall evaluation of an object becomes more extreme as the amount of information known about the object increases. In addition, the real product is hardly discussed in the classic experiment on the set-size effect (Anderson 1967), subjects judged the likability of a target person described by sets of 1,2,3,4,or 6 adjectives. Furthermore, while the number of presented adjectives increased, the evaluation extremity increased either. It is well-know that consumers encounter numerous advertising messages from many sources and through various media in every day, so advertisers are increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of their messages. The results from many studies in marketing and advertising found the ways to enhance advertising effectiveness. Gordon, McKeage, and Fox (1998) proposed that advertisers strive to produce advertisements that will involve the audience, thus causing the audience to pay more attention to the ads, focus more attention on product-related message contained in the ad, so researchers (e.g., Smith 1996) argue that advertisers should pay attention to how the ads messages are shown and presented to consumers. For example, the way message is constructed significantly to influence the consumers' judgments and decisions about the products (Zhang & Buda 1999; Sanbonmatsu et al. 1997,1998; Smith 1996; Ganzach and Karsahi 1995; Woodside and Singer 1994; Puto 1987). The evidence (Levin & Gaeth 1988; Gaeth et al.1990) reveals that the effects of message framing may vary under different conditions. Smith (1996) is also suggested that the impact of message framing may depend on the type of product. Positive ad have a more favorable impact than the negative ad on purchase-decision judgments for transformational products. Indeed, consumer studies have extended the scope of the investigation and explored the effect of deterministic product attribute framing on overall product judgment (e.g., Sanbonmatsu et al. 1997,1998; Levin and Gaeth 1988). Also, the effect of framing advertising messages is considered by advertisers (e.g., Smith 1996; Zhang & Buda 1999). In many decision situations, people form evaluation about product based on available message partially. For example, there are many situations to be considered when a consumer needs to purchase a new sport shoes. The most important attribute on which to evaluate sport shoes is subjective by different consumers. Unfortunately, not all attributes and styles of sport shoes are compared. Therefore, the consumer is faced with the problem of how to respond when the value of a salient product attribute is unknown or a particularly important attribute is missing. …


Systems to recover tritium (T) from fusion liquid blankets of LiPb (Li17Pb83) and Flibe (Li2BeF4) under safety conditions are discussed based on available data of T transport properties. We recently performed experiments on hydrogen isotopes permeating through LiPb in Kyushu University and introduced them in the present paper. Solubilities, diffusivities and permeabilities of H and D through Li17Pb83 are determined by means of a transient permeation method. Their isotope effects between H and D in the Li-Pb eutectic alloy are found to be independent of D/H atomic ratio and a function of only temperature. Tritium recovery apparatuses of a liquid-gas counter-current flowing bed or a T permeation window are designed in the liquid blanket system composed of the primary coolant of Flibe or LiPb and the secondary coolant of He or water. Simultaneous transfer of heat and T needs new configuration in order to satisfy the necessary conditions of low T leak and high heat transfer, which make it possible to operate the blanket effectively and safely. Tritium permeation rates through the primary LiPb or Flibe breeder and secondary water or He coolant loops are estimated, which is the most important factor to operate the blanket safely.


Bipolar mixed states combine depressive and manic features, presenting diagnostic and treatment challenges and reflecting a severe form of the illness. DSM-IV criteria for a mixed state require combined depressive and manic syndromes, but a range of mixed states has been described clinically. A unified definition of mixed states would be valuable in understanding their diagnosis, mechanism and treatment implications. We investigated the manner in which depressive and manic features combine to produce a continuum of mixed states. In 88 subjects with bipolar disorder (DSM-IV), we evaluated symptoms and clinical characteristics, and compared depression-based, mania-based, and other published definitions of mixed states. We developed an index of the extent to which symptoms were mixed (Mixed State Index, MSI) and characterized its relationship to clinical state. Predominately manic and depressive mixed states using criteria from recent literature, as well as Kraepelinian mixed states, had similar symptoms and MSI scores. Anxiety correlated significantly with depression scores in manic subjects and with mania scores in depressed subjects. Discriminant function analysis associated mixed states with symptoms of hyperactivity and negative cognitions, but not subjective depressive or elevated mood. High MSI scores were associated with severe course of illness. For depressive or manic episodes, characteristics of mixed states emerged with two symptoms of the opposite polarity. This was a cross-sectional study. Mixed states appear to be a continuum. An index of the degree to which depressive and manic symptoms combine appears useful in identifying and characterizing mixed states. We propose a depressive or manic episode with three or more symptoms of the opposite polarity as a parsimonious definition of a mixed state.


Program execution speed critically depends on increasing cache hits, as cache hits are orders of magnitude faster than misses. To increase cache hits, we focus on the problem of cache replacement: choosing which cache line to evict upon inserting a new line. This is challenging because it requires planning far ahead and currently there is no known practical solution. As a result, current replacement policies typically resort to heuristics designed for specific common access patterns, which fail on more diverse and complex access patterns. In contrast, we propose an imitation learning approach to automatically learn cache access patterns by leveraging Belady's, an oracle policy that computes the optimal eviction decision given the future cache accesses. While directly applying Belady's is infeasible since the future is unknown, we train a policy conditioned only on past accesses that accurately approximates Belady's even on diverse and complex access patterns, and call this approach Parrot. When evaluated on 13 of the most memory-intensive SPEC applications, Parrot increases cache miss rates by 20% over the current state of the art. In addition, on a large-scale web search benchmark, Parrot increases cache hit rates by 61% over a conventional LRU policy. We release a Gym environment to facilitate research in this area, as data is plentiful, and further advancements can have significant real-world impact.


Earthwatch is a global organisation that "promotes sustainable conservation of our natural environments and cultural heritage by creating partnerships among scientists, the general public, educators, and businesses." Earthwatch-funded projects involve volunteers who assist scientists to carry out research projects of high conservation value.

Our project focuses on the spotted skink, Niveoscincus ocellatus, an abundant, medium-sized viviparous species which inhabits relatively undisturbed habitats in the World Heritage Wilderness in Central Tasmania, but is also distributed along the east coast where populations are highly impacted by human activity. Due to their specific reproductive adaptations, these animals are potentially threatened by climate change: alpine populations of spotted skinks could face reproductive failure if the weather at the end of summer is unseasonably poor. The project aims to evaluate whether potential climate change or local habitat alteration, including possible effects of persistent agricultural chemicals, may affect the lizards' ability to cope with short term stressors, and/or their patterns of reproduction and development.
In our first field season (Summer 2004), we focused on measuring plasma corticosterone concentrations and obtaining preliminary data on diurnal activity patterns in lizards from disturbed and undisturbed sites at the Central Plateau and East Coast. The Earthwatch volunteers assist in numerous ways such as helping with capture and marking of animals, observing behaviours in the field, or assisting with vegetation surveys. All of these tasks can be done with minimal guidance and training in the field, which is a fundamental requirement for a successful Earthwatch project.


Introduction: The non-selective nature of systemic chemotherapeutic drugs necessitates the administration of high doses to achieve and maintain therapeutic levels within the tumor, which often results in severe side-effects. The efficacy of the drug could be maintained and the toxicity alleviated by direct targeting of anticancer agents to the tumor. The observation that the naturally occurring polysaccharide, hyaluronic acid (HA) has high affinity for tumors and that numerous tumors over-express HA receptors has lead to the development of a series of proprietary HA/cytotoxic drug formulations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if such formulations could target and expedite the delivery of anticancer agents to solid tumors and enhance their function. Methodology: The mode of interaction between HA and the cytotoxic drugs was investigated using CD and NMR spectroscopy. The ability of HA to target anticancer agents to the HA receptor, CD44, was demonstrated by IV injection of radioactive anticancer agents ᠱ2.5mg/kg of HA (Mr 750 kDa) into nude mice bearing human breast cancer xenografts. The effect of HA on the therapeutic index of chemotherapeutic drugs was established by treatment of nude mice carrying human breast xenografts with methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and doxorubicin (DOX) + HA for six cycles of one week. The safety of HyFIVETM (HA/5-FU) and HyDOXTM (HA/DOX) drug formulations was established in Phase l clinical trials where 30 patients with metastatic cancer were administered 500mg/m2 HA in combination with escalating doses of DOX (30-60mg/m2) or 5FU (cumulative dose of 1350-2250mg/m2 per cycle). Results: Chemical interaction studies demonstrated that no ionic, hydrophobic or covalent interaction existed between the HA and drugs but instead, the small anti-cancer agents were entrained within the HA matrix through a viscosity related effect. It was demonstrated that HA could target anticancer drugs to tumors where, within 10min, HA directed up to 400% more anticancer agent to the tumor and lymph nodes whilst reducing the gastrointestinal (GI) and cardiac drug content by up to 660%. Efficacy studies in breast cancer xenograft models demonstrated a greater tumor response, elimination of secondary cancer and a significant reduction in both Gl and cardiac toxicities. The Phase l studies showed that the HA formulations were well tolerated; tumour responses were observed and the co-administration of HA did not alter the pharmacokinetics of clinically relevant doses of 5FU or DOX. Conclusions: These studies demonstrate that HA can act as a targeted transport vehicle for chemotherapeutic drugs thereby potentially increasing treatment efficacy while reducing treatment toxicity.


A new geometrical arrangement is proposed to improve performances of optical triangulation. Two scanners in synchronization allow a linear position sensor to be used for surface topography measurement. Besides a large increase in speed of measurement (approximately megahertz), the new geometry allows considerable reduction of the optical head size compared with usual geometries, so the shadow effects are reduced proportionally. It also provides a means to obtain a very large field of view without compromising on resolution. Geometrical analysis and experimental results are presented.


: The high spatial variability of soils is a relevant issue at local and global scales, and determines the complexity of soil ecosystem functions and services. This variability derives from strong dependencies of soil ecosystems on parent materials, climate, relief and biosphere, including human impact. Although present in all environments, the interactions of soils with these forming factors are particularly striking in mountain areas.


This article explores the subpixel accuracy attainable for the disparity computed from a rectified stereo pair of images with small baseline. In this framework we consider translations as the local deformation model between patches in the images. A mathematical study first shows how discrete block-matching can be performed with arbitrary precision under Shannon-Whittaker conditions. This study leads to the specification of a block-matching algorithm which is able to refine disparities with subpixel accuracy. Moreover, a formula for the variance of the disparity error caused by the noise is introduced and proved. Several simulated and real experiments show a decent agreement between this theoretical error variance and the observed root mean squared error in stereo pairs with good signal-to-noise ratio and low baseline. A practical consequence is that under realistic sampling and noise conditions in optical imaging, the disparity map in stereo-rectified images can be computed for the majority of pixels (but only for those pixels with meaningful matches) with a $1/20$ pixel precision.


This paper is for presentation at a program on the dismemberment of the economics program at the University of Virginia in the mid-1960s. It is a literary flying buttress to "Virginia Political Economy, Rationally Reconstructed." Where the earlier paper mostly looks forward from 1963, this paper mostly looks backward. In a "Secret Report" that David Levy and Sandra Peart have discovered, a unique Virginia school of political economy was identified as having formed by 1962. Soon thereafter it experienced a diaspora set in motion by the higher administration of the University of Virginia. With respect to this diaspora, The Calculus of Consent might seem to entail an irony to the extent that a constitutional theory predicated on consensus lacks some of the tools necessary for its own continuation. In other words, and as a piece of revisionist history, the fate of the Charlottesville program might have been different had The Calculus of Consent incorporated into its constitutional framework themes from Carl Schmitt's treatment of the political.


Background Statin use and serum cholesterol reduction have been proposed as preventions for dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods 1604 and 1345 eligible participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) were followed after age 50 for a median time of around 25 years, to examine the incidence of dementia (n=259) and MCI (n=138), respectively. Statin use (ever-use and time-dependent use), total cholesterol levels (TC; first visit and time-dependent), TC change trajectory from first visit and high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C):TC ratio (first visit and time-dependent) were the main exposures of interest. Cox proportional hazards models were used. Results Participants with incident dementia had a higher first-visit TC compared with participants who remained free of dementia and MCI, while first-visit TC was higher among statin ever-users compared with never-users (age-unadjusted associations). Statin users had a two- to threefold lower risk of developing dementia (HR=0.41; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.92), but not MCI, when considering time-dependent 'statin use' with propensity score model adjustment. This association remained significant independently of serum cholesterol exposures. An elevated first-visit TC was associated with reduced MCI risk (upper quartile (Q4) vs Q1: HR=0.51; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.90). Compared with the lowest quartile (Q1: 0.00–0.19), HDL-C:TC (time-dependent) in (Q2: 0.19–0.24) was associated with reduced MCI risk (HR=0.58; 95% CI 0.34 to 0.98). Among men only, TC decline from first visit was significantly associated with increased dementia risk (HR=4.21; 95% CI 1.28 to 13.85). Conclusions Statins may have multifactorial effects on dementia but not MCI risk. Future interventions may be warranted, and research should focus on optimal serum TC, HDL-C:TC ratio and TC change trajectories.


We apply statistical analysis to study the temporal distribution of aftershocks in aftershock sequences of five earthquakes which occurred in Bulgaria. We use the maximum likelihood method to estimate the parameters of the modified Omori formula for aftershock sequences which is directly based on a time series. We find that: the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameter p show a regional variation, with lower values of the decay rate in North Bulgaria; the modified Omori formula provides an appropriate representation of temporal variation of the aftershock activity in North Bulgaria; the aftershock sequences in South Bulgaria are best modeled by the combination of an ordinary aftershock sequence with secondary aftershock activity. A plot of the cumulative number of events versus the frequency-linearized time t clearly demonstrates a transition from aftershock to foreshock activity prior to the second 1986 Strazhitsa (North Bulgaria) earthquake.


This work aims at enabling quantitative optical nitrogen line spectroscopy in O-stars, in order to improve our knowledge about these objects, particularly their earliest spectral subtypes. To this end, nitrogen has proven to be a key element, both in terms of its potential to infer effective temperatures, and for being the best tracer for testing the effects of rotational mixing in massive stellar
models, allowing us to further constrain the evolution of
massive stars.

To accomplish this study, we used the NLTE (non local thermodynamic equilibrium) atmosphere/spectrum synthesis code FASTWIND, and developed a new nitrogen model atom,
partly based on older work, comprising the ionization stages NII to NV. Moreover, we incorporated the dielectronic recombination mechanism into FASTWIND, which was previously unable to deal with this process.

We performed an extensive investigation on the line-formation process of strategic nitrogen emission lines such as NIII4640 and NIV4058, accounting for a complete treatment of line blocking/blanketing effects and the presence of a wind, as it is possible when using a state-of-the-art atmospheric code. Contrasted to the results from the seminal work on the NIII triplet
formation performed by Mihalas & Hummer (1973), based on much simpler model atmospheres, our study implies that dielectronic recombination plays only a secondary role under Galactic conditions. Rather, the emission
is controlled by the stellar wind (Swings mechanism), as long as the wind is powerful enough to enable a significantly accelerating velocity field already in the photospheric formation region. For later
spectral O-subtypes, the strength of the emission might be also affected by an OIII resonance line overlapping with the NIII resonance line in the EUV. Concerning the emission at NIV4058, we suggest a rather similar
mechanism. Also in this case, the dominating process is the strong depopulation of the lower level of the transition, which increases as a function of the wind-strength. Unlike the NIII triplet emission, however, resonance lines do not play a role for typical mass-loss rates and below.

Using the updated version of FASTWIND and our new model atom, we derived nitrogen abundances for a substantial O-star sample in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Stellar and wind parameters of our sample stars were determined by line profile fitting of hydrogen, helium and nitrogen lines, exploiting the corresponding ionization
equilibria. The bulk of our sample stars turned out to be strongly nitrogen-enriched, and a clear correlation of nitrogen and helium enrichment was found. By comparing the nitrogen abundances as a function of projected rotation velocity with tailored evolutionary calculations, we identified a considerable number of highly enriched, but slowly rotating object, which should not exist according
to standard theory of rotational mixing. Our findings support the basic outcome of previous B-star studies within the VLT-FLAMES survey on massive stars which pointed to similar discrepancies. The detection of strong nitrogen enrichment in the bulk of our sample stars indicates that efficient mixing takes place already during the very early phases of stellar evolution of LMC O-stars.

In the last part of this thesis, we concentrated on the applicability of the Walborn et al. (2002) classification scheme for very early O-stars, which is primarily based on the relative strengths of the NIV4058 and NIII4640 emission lines. This scheme has already been used in a variety of studies, but is still disputed for various reasons. We provided first theoretical predictions on the
NIV4058/NIII4640 emission line ratio in dependence of
different parameters, and confronted these predictions with results from an analysis of a sample of early-type LMC/SMC O-stars. Though we found a monotonic relationship between the NIV/NIII emission line ratio and the effective temperature, all other parameters being equal,
our predictions indicate additional dependencies on other
important stellar parameters, most significantly, the nitrogen abundance. The relation between the observed NIV/NIII emission line ratio and the effective temperature, for a given luminosity class, turned out to be quite monotonic for our sample stars, and to be
fairly consistent with our model predictions. The scatter within a spectral subtype is mainly produced by abundance effects. Our findings suggest that the Walborn et al. classification scheme is able to provide a
meaningful relation between spectral type and effective temperature, as long as it is possible to discriminate for the luminosity class.


Abstract NOAA AVHRR digital data are used to map precipitation in southwest Tasmania, Australia. The technique uses multiple linear regression analyses between precipitation and satellite data to obtain yearly and seasonal averages over a three-year period. These maps are later transformed into long term average maps by drawing on linear relations between 3-year and long term averages for various precipitation stations in the study area. Rms model residuals (measured-model) range from 0.45 mmday−1 for the summer regression to l.20mmday−1 for the winter regression. A significant fraction of this error may be attributed to limitations in the rain gauge measurements. The predicted precipitation is further verified by reference to variation in the alpine floras of the study area which have a known relationship with soil conditions that vary with precipitation. Single axis ordination scores for the floras show strong relationships with predicted precipitation both on a seasonal and annual basis, especially in ...


Pupose: To experimentally compare the visual acuity and the subjective perception of different types of multifocal intraocular lenses (IOL) using a VirtIOL device/simulator in a group of volunteers with artephakia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
This was an experimental study involving a total of 20 volunteers with artephakia (35 eyes). Each volunteer rated 5 types of IOLs, 4 presbyopia-correcting IOLs - WIOL-CF, Tecnis Symphony ZXR00, Acrysof IQ PanOptix TFNT00, M-flex 630 F, and as a reference lens, we used the monofocal IOL Acrysof SA60AT. The corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), distance corrected intermediated visual acuity (DCIVA) and distance corrected near visual acuity (DCNVA) were measured. Additionally, volunteers evaluated the quality of vision under normal or changed lighting conditions, and ranked IOL on scale from 1 to 5.

RESULTS
The CDVA evaluated using the VirtIOL device was very good for all tested IOLs (0.04-0.09 log MAR) with minimum differences. However, CDVA without simulator (-0.01 logMAR) was statistically significantly better in all cases. DCIVA was also very similar in each of the investigated IOLs, surprisingly even with monofocal IOL (0.21-0.23 logMAR), without using simulator the DCIVA was statistically significantly worse (0.36 logMAR). The DCNVA was the best for PanOptix intraocular lens (0.22 logMAR); M-flex, Symphony and WIOL-CF lenses had comparable results (0.31-0.34 logMAR). Again, surprisingly similar results were obtained with the use of monofocal IOL (0.36 ± 0.14). Subjective perception of vision through the IOLs was best rated for the monofocal control IOL, whereas Symphony, WIOL-CF and M-flex did not show any statistically significant difference either with or without glare. All tested IOLs were statistically significantly better if compared to PanOptix with or without glare.

CONCLUSION
Simulation of vision through IOLs using VirtIOL simulator allows to compare different models of multifocal IOLs from the viewpoint of visual acuity and subjective perception. However, some caution should be exercised when evaluating the results, given that in our experiments, the monofocal IOL achieved relatively good results at near distance, which does not correspond to clinical experience. On the contrary, from the comparison of the results of CDVA without and with VirtIOL, it is obvious that visual acuity is slightly adversely affected by added optics.


The neutrophil is central to the development of COPD. To enter lung, neutrophils must migrate accurately from the circulation to inflamed tissue. It is unclear which migratory stimuli are important and whether COPD neutrophils vary in their migratory behaviour, either to controls or patients with similar lung disease. COPD sputum and plasma samples were collected on 11 occasions over one month. Significant correlations were demonstrated between the inflammatory biomarkers and between inflammatory biomarkers and markers of disease. IL-8 correlated most strongly both with other inflammatory mediators, neutrophil counts and indices of disease. Neutrophils from healthy older subjects migrated with maintained speed but reduced accuracy to IL-8. Differences could not be accounted for by surface receptor expression or shedding, but inhibition of CXCR2 gave young neutrophils and old migratory phenotype, suggesting altered downstream signalling. COPD neutrophils migrated with increased speed and reduced accuracy compared with control groups. They formed less pseudopodia when migrating, and had reduced surface expression of CXCR1 and CXCR2. Inhibitory studies suggested that CXCR2 was the predominant receptor in migration to biological samples. Treating COPD cells with a PI3 Kinase inhibitor differentially altered their migration, reducing speed but increasing accuracy, so that cells now resembled those from controls.


We have used monospecific antibodies against three ribonuclease H enzymes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to investigate their intracellular localization. Fractionation experiments, as well as immunocytochemical staining, revealed a predominantly cytoplasmic localization of the RNase H proteins of 42,000 and 70,000 Mr, whereas that of 55,000 Mr showed equal distribution between nuclei and cytoplasm. The nuclear moiety of ribonuclease H(70) was found to be a part of the yeast nuclear scaffold, as investigated by immunoblotting and antibody inhibition experiments. The 42,000 and 55,000 Mr enzymes, on the other hand, are not scaffold-associated. We conclude that RNase H(70) is part of the nuclear substructure of yeast that was previously found to maintain specific interactions with yeast chromosomal origins of replication (ARS elements).


We use Planck data to detect the cross-correlation between the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) effect and the infrared emission from the galaxies that make up the the cosmic infrared background (CIB). We first perform a stacking analysis towards Planck-confirmed galaxy clusters. We detect infrared emission produced by dusty galaxies inside these clusters and demonstrate that the infrared emission is about 50% more extended than the tSZ effect. Modelling the emission with a Navarro--Frenk--White profile, we find that the radial profile concentration parameter is $c_{500} = 1.00^{+0.18}_{-0.15}$. This indicates that infrared galaxies in the outskirts of clusters have higher infrared flux than cluster-core galaxies. We also study the cross-correlation between tSZ and CIB anisotropies, following three alternative approaches based on power spectrum analyses: (i) using a catalogue of confirmed clusters detected in Planck data; (ii) using an all-sky tSZ map built from Planck frequency maps; and (iii) using cross-spectra between Planck frequency maps. With the three different methods, we detect the tSZ-CIB cross-power spectrum at significance levels of (i) 6 $\sigma$, (ii) 3 $\sigma$, and (iii) 4 $\sigma$. We model the tSZ-CIB cross-correlation signature and compare predictions with the measurements. The amplitude of the cross-correlation relative to the fiducial model is $A_{\rm tSZ-CIB}= 1.2\pm0.3$. This result is consistent with predictions for the tSZ-CIB cross-correlation assuming the best-fit cosmological model from Planck 2015 results along with the tSZ and CIB scaling relations.


Fire is a key process that has played a central role in structuring and regulating the function of forest ecosystems over millennia. There is increasing interest in using fire, particularly naturally ignited wildland fires (Figure 1), to provide a cost-effective alternative, or complement, to mechanical thinning. However, more information about the efficacy of wildfire providing ecological, economic, and social benefits is needed. This fact sheet provides a brief overview of policy guidelines, benefits, costs, and constraints for managing naturally ignited wildland fire in order to meet fuels reduction and restoration objectives.


This paper investigates the possibility of CO2 laser welding austenitic stainless steel to copper. The experimental results show that solidification cracking may be the greatest problem in this application. It is suggested that the cracks are generated in three ways: • Liquid metal embrittlement, due to the presence of copper in the solidifying steel grain boundaries. • Stresses generated during solidification due to fixturing and differences in the thermal properties of the materials involved. • A solidification mode change due to the rapid weld solidification involved in laser welding of austenitic stainless steel. To overcome these problems the fixturing and specimen edge preparation have to be optimised to minimise the amount of copper in the fusion zone, to reduce the stresses, and to minimise the cooling rate during solidification. These factors were taken into account and the resulting welds were of high integrity with the same strength as the original copper being welded. The role of thermocapillary or Marangoni flow in transferring heat to the copper side of the weld is also discussed.This paper investigates the possibility of CO2 laser welding austenitic stainless steel to copper. The experimental results show that solidification cracking may be the greatest problem in this application. It is suggested that the cracks are generated in three ways: • Liquid metal embrittlement, due to the presence of copper in the solidifying steel grain boundaries. • Stresses generated during solidification due to fixturing and differences in the thermal properties of the materials involved. • A solidification mode change due to the rapid weld solidification involved in laser welding of austenitic stainless steel. To overcome these problems the fixturing and specimen edge preparation have to be optimised to minimise the amount of copper in the fusion zone, to reduce the stresses, and to minimise the cooling rate during solidification. These factors were taken into account and the resulting welds were of high integrity with the same strength as the original copper being welded. The role of thermocapill...


The complexity of cellular automata is traditionally measured by their computational capacity. However, it is difficult to choose a challenging set of computational tasks suitable for the parallel nature of such systems. We study the ability of automata to emulate one another, and we use this notion to define such a set of naturally emerging tasks. We present the results for elementary cellular automata, although the core ideas can be extended to other computational systems. We compute a graph showing which elementary cellular automata can be emulated by which and show that certain chaotic automata are the only ones that cannot emulate any automata non-trivially. Finally, we use the emulation notion to suggest a novel definition of chaos that we believe is suitable for discrete computational systems. We believe our work can help design parallel computational systems that are Turing-complete and also computationally efficient.


Recent advancements in embedded sensing system, wireless communication technologies, big data, and artificial intelligence have fueled the development of Internet of Vehicles (IoV), where vehicles, road side unit (RSUs), and smart devices seamlessly interact with each other to enable the gathering and sharing of information on vehicles, roads, and their surrounds. As a fundamental component of IoV, vehicular networks (VANETs) are playing a critical role in processing, computing, and sharing travel-related information, which can help vehicles timely be aware of traffic situation and finally improve road safety and travel experience. However, due to the unique characteristics of vehicles, such as high mobility and sparse deployment making neighbor vehicles unacquainted and unknown to each other, VANETs are facing the challenge of evaluating the credibility of road safety messages. In this paper, we propose a blockchain-based trust management system using multi-criteria decision-making model, also referred to as TrustBlockMCDM, in VANETs. In the TrustBlockMCDM, each vehicle evaluates the credibility of received road safety message and generates the trust value of message originator. Due to the limited storage capacity, each vehicle periodically uploads the trust value to a nearby RSU. After receiving various trust values from vehicles, the RSU calculates the reputation value of message originator of road safety message using multi-criteria decision-making model, packs the reputation value into a block, and competes to add the block into blockchain. We evaluate the proposed TrustBlockMCDM approach through simulation experiments using OMNeT++ and compare its performance with prior blockchain-based decentralized trust management approach. The simulation results indicate that the proposed TrustBlockMCDM approach can not only improve fictitious message detection rate and malicious vehicle detection rate, but also can increase the number of dropped fictitious messages.


This paper is concerned with the problem of vehicular platoon control in vehicular ad hoc networks subject to capacity limitation and random packet dropouts. By introducing binary sequences as the basis of network access scheduling and modeling random packet dropouts as independent Bernoulli processes, we derive a closed-form methodology for vehicular platoon control. In particular, an interesting framework for network access scheduling and platoon control codesign is established based on a set of priority rules for network access control. The resulting platoon control and scheduling algorithm can resolve network access conflicts in vehicular ad hoc networks and guarantee string stability and zero steady-state spacing errors. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated by numerical simulations and experiments with laboratory-scale Arduino cars.


BACKGROUND: Sexual well-being depends on pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) that are strong enough to maintain their function. During pregnancy, both the sexual function and the strength of the PFMs may be altered. OBJECTIVES: to compare the degree of PFM strength and the sexual function of pregnant women in the second and the third trimesters. METHODS: a descriptive, causal-comparative study was carried out with 37 pregnant women in Florianopolis (18 in the second trimester and 19 in the third trimester) with a mean age of 25.22 years (±5.7 years). The instruments used were the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) Questionnaire and the Manual Test of Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength, using the modified Oxford scale to grade strength. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (independent t test, the Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman's correlation) with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the mean rank values of PFM strength of pregnant women in the second and third trimester (U=150.5; p=0.512). However, the sexual function of the pregnant women in the second trimester of pregnancy was better than that of the women in the third trimester (U=104; p=0.042). In addition, PFM strength had statistically significant correlations with age (ρ=0.320, p=0.041) and with FSFI score (ρ=0.540, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Sexual function decreased significantly from the second to the third trimester while PFM strength did not differ between trimesters.


This study aims at investigating volatility persistent in Palestine Exchange (PEX) bulls and bears. It also attempts to explore whether or not stock market volatility present a different behavior during PEX bulls and bears, which is likely to provide investors with a background information for more feasible investment in the PEX. Toward that end, the study employs Rescaled Range (R/S) to calculate the values of difference to find evidence of long memory behavior for the daily data observations from August, 1997 to December, 2014. The study finds that volatility isni¯t persistent in the PEX bear markets. Co-integration results show that there is an existence of cointegration, which indicates a long run equilibrium association between PEX bull and bear markets. The ECM results reveal that the speed of adjustment toward long run equilibrium is very low for PEX bull markets while the speed of adjustment toward long run equilibrium is unlikely to be attained for PEX bear markets. Further, the PEX bears markets are longer than PEX bulls markets, so that prudent investors should take volatility in PEX bulls and bears into account.