Mouse models of human disease can be generated by homologous recombination for germline loss-of-function mutations. However, embryonic-lethal phenotypes and systemic, indirect dysfunction can confound the use of knock-outs to elucidate adult pathophysiology. Site-specific recombination using Cre recombinase can circumvent these pitfalls, in principle, enabling temporal and spatial control of gene recombination. However, direct evidence is lacking for the feasibility of Cre-mediated recombination in postmitotic cells. Here, we exploited transgenic mouse technology plus adenoviral gene transfer to achieve Cre-mediated recombination in cardiac muscle. In vitro, Cre driven by cardiac-specific alpha-myosin heavy chain (alphaMyHC) sequences elicited recombination selectively at loxP sites in purified cardiac myocytes, but not cardiac fibroblasts. In vivo, this alphaMyHC-Cre transgene elicited recombination in cardiac muscle, but not other organs, as ascertained by PCR analysis and localization of a recombination-dependent reporter protein. Adenoviral delivery of Cre in vivo provoked recombination in postmitotic, adult ventricular myocytes. Recombination between loxP sites was not detected in the absence of Cre. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of using Cre-mediated recombination to regulate gene expression in myocardium, with efficient induction of recombination even in terminally differentiated, postmitotic muscle cells. Moreover, delivery of Cre by viral infection provides a simple strategy to control the timing of recombination in myocardium.


An alternative to coronary sinus implantation for a left ventricular pacing lead is frequently needed for cardiac resynchronization therapy. We have developed a transapical approach to implant an endocardial pacing lead that will reach the most delayed segment of the left ventricle. This method is easily combined with other transapical heart surgeries. After some technological improvement our technique should offer easier access and better results than other currently available implantation methods.


The 11th New Horizons in Haematology (NHH11) conference was moderated by Dr Sarah Jarvis, healthcare reporter and television presenter, and was delivered in the format of a live, interactive, online meeting. Prof Gunnar Birgegård opened the conference with a presentation on the evolution of essential thrombocythaemia (ET) disease, Prof Sélim Aractingi described the incidence of skin lesions in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), Prof Claire Harrison discussed key aspects in women's health when managing ET including pregnancy, Prof Jean‑Jacques Kiladjian covered the management of elderly patients with ET, and Dr Manuel Martínez‑Sellés concluded the meeting by emphasising the importance of identifying and managing cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in ET. Dr Tamara Lado Cives, Prof Chiaki Nakaseko, Dr Melania Moreno Vega, and Dr Samah Alimam each shared a case study after the main presentations.


Building on our previous study of delaminated-zeolite catalysts for harsh tail-end conditions in an epoxidation flow reactor employing organic hydroperoxide as oxidant, this manuscript compares approaches for delamination in catalyst prepration. In one, a mild method of delamination is used for synthesis of Ti-UCB-4, in which fluoride in organic solvent is used as a mineralizing agent to affect delamination, while in another, catalyst Ti-SSZ-70-DEL-HIGHPH is synthesized by delamination under high-pH conditions and results in the highest external surface area, similar to that previously reported for ITQ-2. We also compare both materials to the calcined 3-D zeolite consisting of Ti-SSZ-70, a control which underwent no delamination treatment. Results of long-term flow reactor catalytic testing demonstrate a distinct 2.5-fold increase in reaction-rate constant k′ on a mass basis for Ti-UCB-4 relative to 3-D Ti-SSZ-70, and a lack of long-term deactivation for both catalysts. In contrast, for Ti-SSZ-70-DEL-HIGHPH, due to deactivation, no steady-state behavior is observed for either conversion or selectivity with increasing times on stream. A combination of data from powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), nitrogen physisorption at 77 K, high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), and UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy demonstrate Ti-SSZ-70-DEL-HIGHPH to be comprised of a combination of crystalline and amorphous phases. Control experiments demonstrate a negative synergy on catalysis when both phases are combined in a single catalyst, which leads to decreased conversion, at levels below values predicted based on the linear combination of the two phases present.


From the results of the various experiments already detailed I feel justified in drawing the following conclusions: (1) Absolutely fresh thyroid gland is not poisonous, in the usual sense of the term, when absorbed through the alimentary canal. (2) The symptoms of induced thyroidism are manifestations of an intoxication resulting from the ingestion of decomposed thyroid material, a conclusion that agrees in part with the previously related observations of Lanz. (3) The so-called experimental thyroidism is not specific for the thyroid only, for the ingestion of many substances derived from animal tissues other than the thyroid gland may produce an intoxication strikingly similar in every respect to that of experimental thyroidism. (4) Most, if not all, animal tissues yield substances which, if injected in large quantities directly into the circulation or beneath the skin, will produce an intoxication often very similar to that produced by injections of various substances derived from the fresh thyroid tissue. (5) The effects resulting from the intravascular or subcutaneous injections of aqueous extracts, decoctions and the concentrated extractives of the thyroid tissue, of the thymus, of muscle, etc., are by no means necessarily indicative of the function and the action of the hypothetical internal secretions of the same tissues during life. (6) The utilization of the fact that ingestion of decomposed thyroid material produces on certain occasions an intoxication with certain symptoms similar to some of those of G-raves' disease is not justifiable for the furtherance of the theory that the symptoms of exophthalmic goitre result from an over-production of the thyroid secretion. (7) Our results lead us to conclude with Drechsel that the fresh thyroid tissue yields at least probably two substances that are capable of palliating the symptoms of the acute cachexia in totally thyroidless dogs. (8) The thymus tissue also yields one and probably two substances that are as equally capable as the thyroid extractives of palliating the acute cachexia in totally thyroidless dogs. (9) Neither of the above substances is an enzyme, nor does either contain iodine. (10) Neither the feeding of minced raw thyroid glands, nor the injection of aqueous thyroid extracts, decoctions, and concentrated solutions of the extracted palliative thyroid principles is capable of keeping totally thyroidless young dogs alive longer than a few weeks (possibly three weeks). Still less capable are the thyroid preparations containing decomposition products. (11) The presence of one, or usually several, small accessory thyroid bodies, which gradually hypertrophy and wholly or partially assume the functions of the excised thyroid lobes, accounts for the occasionally long survival of thyroidectomized, thyroid-fed, young dogs. (12) Totally thyroidless young dogs are so quickly overwhelmed by the cachexia, and the intervals between the thyroidectomy and the onset of the severe dyspnœic attacks and subsequent deaths differ so slightly, no matter which of the usual varieties of fresh food are employed, that kinds of fresh food cannot be unquestionably affirmed to influence the onset of the cachexia in any especially definite manner. Animal foods, in which constituents poisonous to rabbits have developed, probably slightly hasten the onset of the severer symptoms, and the vaunted remarkably modifying influence of a diet of ordinary milk, such as Breisacher observed, does not exist in the case of the totally thyroidless dog. (13) Monkeys whose general metabolism is disturbed in consequence of the removal of a greater portion of the thyroid gland, evidently become more susceptible to those constituents of meat that are poisonous to rabbits, and sufficient clinical evidence exists for concluding that probably a like susceptibility to animal foods containing such constituents also exists in men when the function of the thyroid gland is sufficiently disturbed. (14) And, finally, as regards the thyroid factor in the pathology of exophthalmic goitre, I agree with Gley that the majority of the symptoms in many patients with that disease can apparently, from an experimental standpoint, be as plausibly explained by the hypothesis of partially deficient thyroid activity as by the hypothesis of augmentation of thyroid function.


Prohibitions or restrictions on US exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are a bad idea. LNG exports will deliver economic benefits to the US economy. The US Department of Energy should approve pending LNG export applications for projects at an advanced planning stage, in conjunction with appropriate regulation to limit environmental dangers from wells to ports. Three strong considerations support this recommendation: (1) The United States regularly opposes export restraints on natural resources by other countries; (2) contrary action by the United States would violate World Trade Organization rules and lead foreign nations to ignore the rules as well; and (3) LNG export restrictions would contradict the Obama administration's stated goal of growing US exports.


Aged mice preferentially lose the capacity to make IgG and high affinity PFC after immunization with the T-dependent antigen DNP-BGG. We have found that thymectomy accelerates the appearances of these immune deficiencies associated with aging. When splenocytes from old mice are transferred to young lethally irradiated, syngeneic mice and the recipients immunized 7 wk later, the number of IgG and high affinity PFC was increased compared to the response of old splenocytes transferred to young thymectomized mice. These immune deficiencies of aged mice were also reversed when old mice were treated with thymopoietin in vivo or splenocytes from old mice were incubated with thymopoietin before adoptive transfer to young irradiated, thymectomized syngeneic mice. The T-cell independent response to DNP- Ficoll was less impaired than the T-cell dependent response to DNP-BGG in old animals. These data suggest that a decline in thymic function that occurs during aging may contribute to the immunological deficiencies of old animals.


Designing optimized ECR ion beam sources can be streamlined by the accurate simulation of beam optical properties in order to predict ion extraction behavior. The complexity of these models, however, can make PICbased simulations time-consuming. In this paper, we first describe a simple kinetic plasma finite element simulation of extraction of a proton beam from a permanent magnet hexapole electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source. Second, we analyze the influence of secondary electrons generated by ion collisions in the residual gas on the space charge of a proton beam of a dual-solenoid ECR ion source. The finite element method (FEM) offers a fast modeling environment, allowing analysis of ion beam behavior under conditions of varying current density, electrode potential, and gas pressure.


Water production in oil reservoirs is one of the most serious problems in the oil industry. Water soluble polymers with a suitable crosslinker have been successfully used to reduce water production in the field. This research was conducted to experimentally synthesis and evaluation of Partially Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide (PHPA)/Chromium (III) gel polymer used as sealants to shut-off water production in one of the Iranian oil reservoir. The use of gelling systems as diverting agents or blocking agent is widely practiced today to improve production of oil and gas. These systems, which are typically composed of a water soluble polymer and crosslinker are dissolved in water and injected into the target zones. The polymer may be naturally such as xanthan biopolymer or synthetically such as polyacrylamide. The crosslinker may be metal ions or metallic complexes that bond ionically or by chelating to the polymer conditions. In this research, laboratory studies were conducted to synthesis and prepare optimum gel polymer using crosslinking reaction between PHPA as a water soluble polymer and chromium (III) acetate as a metallic crosslinking agent.


Probiotics are the subject of continued and intense investigation. Recommendations in the lay media for the use of probiotics are multiple and, more often than not, not evidence based. For many years, the advantages of probiotics such as bifidobacteria and Lactobasillus acidophilus have been stated on the labels of fermented dairy products. This was, however, more anecdotal than based on sound research. The fact that, in 2010, more than 28% of the 5 466 publications on this topic on Pubmed were reviews, supports the opinion that insufficient original research is being conducted.1


In the Netherlands, obtaining a higher education increases the chance to move to a better neighbourhood for native Dutch adults who grew up in a deprived parental neighbourhood. For non-Western minorities, education does not have this positive effect on socio-spatial mobility. In this study we investigate potential explanations for these ethnic differences in the relationship between educational attainment and neighbourhood outcomes over time. We use longitudinal register data from the Netherlands to study a complete cohort of parental home leavers who attained a higher education by the end of the measurement period (1999 to 2012). We supplemented this data with information gathered in the WoON-survey. We examined differences in income trajectories for highly-educated native Dutch and non-Western ethnic minorities; investigated the strength of intergenerational transmission of income for both groups; and assessed individual neighbourhood experiences and contentment. We find that the highly-educated native Dutch in our subpopulation have a substantially higher average income over time, and a weaker association to the income of their parents compared to the non-Western ethnic minorities. Additionally, for ethnic minorities, our results show that the level of contentment with their neighbourhood is highest in deprived neighbourhoods compared to more affluent residential environments, and they more often reside in close proximity to their parents compared to the native Dutch, both suggesting an element of choice in neighbourhood selection.


Thomson scattering measurements with subcentimeter spatial resolution have been made during a sawtooth crash in a Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak fusion plasma. The unparalleled resolution of the temperature profile has shed new light on the mechanisms that underlie the sawtooth. As magnetic reconnection occurs, the temperature gradient at the island boundary increases. The increased local temperature gradient is sufficient to make the helical core unstable to ideal magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, thought to be responsible for the rapidity of the collapse.


What deference is due the executive in foreign relations? Given the considerable constitutional authority and institutional virtues of the executive in this realm, some judicial deference is almost certainly appropriate. Indeed, courts currently defer to the executive in a large number of cases. Professors Eric Posner and Cass Sunstein nevertheless call for a dramatic expansion in the deference courts accord executive interpretations of law in the foreign-affairs context. They maintain that courts should presumptively give Chevron-syle deference to executive interpretations of foreign relations law - even if the executive interpretation is articulated only as a litigation position and even if it violates international law. In our view, substantial deference to the executive is singularly inappropriate in a large swath of cases eligible for Chevron deference in their proposal - namely, foreign relations law that operates in what we call the executive constraining zone. Courts have scrutinized, and should continue to scrutinize, executive interpretation of international law that has the status of supreme federal law, is made at least in part outside the executive, and conditions the exercise of executive power. Failure to do so would undermine the rule of law in the foreign relations context. It would also dramatically increase the power of the president in ways that would: subvert the nation's interests, discourage the executive from developing important internal checks on presidential power, and lead to less congressional regulation of the executive. In short, we maintain that deference at some point invites disregard; and law-interpreting authority at some point effectively constitutes law-breaking authority.


The global economic crisis kept most governments predictably busy in 2008. Their most urgent task was to stabilise and, if possible, recapitalise their respective banking sectors. This was made easier in virtually every case by the (possibly surprising, but in some ways understandable) reluctance of opposition parties, once it became clear just how serious things were, to criticise those in power either for contributing to the emergency in the first place or for the quality of their response. Iceland, of course, was a special case: there it was obvious that the main government party, by freeing up the financial sector and then failing to regulate it properly, was to blame; moreover, it was manifestly incapable of doing much more than looking on as the country's wealth bled away amid a welter of arguably hypocritical international condemnation. The Republicans in the United States, too, clearly suffered an electoral backlash at the hands of voters feeling the consequences of a financial and economic meltdown which the Bush Administration arguably did less than it might have done to mitigate.


Abstract The aim of this report has been to produce an analysis of the state of the social enterprises in Finland. Based on a comprehensive survey, there are roughly 19 000 social enterprises in Finland that employ around 125 000 persons. These estimates produced in this report multiply the views on the magnitude of the phenomenon. Self-identified Finnish social enterprises produce social value though their products or services and mostly in the field of social services and welfare. The main hindrances on the way of the growth of the sector are the lack of an unambiguous definition of a social enterprise and the shortages in measuring the most important outcome, social impact. Measuring and valuing the impact is a key element in attracting funding for social enterprises. New means of impact investment attract not only attention but also capital that seeks for targets, especially in Europe. This additional funding is a much needed in the sector that attracts it's outside financing currently mostly from public sector and struggles to find financing critical for future growth.


Installed during the Tohoku earthquake relief fundraising event, CONCERT FOR JAPAN, at Japan Society in New York City on April 2011, the Luminous Washi Lanterns was a meditation and celebration of renewal through light and impermanent materials. The paper examines the role of the ephemeral from the ancient to contemporary Japanese culture, collective experience during an ephemeral performance, and translation of traditional Japanese renewal rituals into a piece that engages a diverse range of people outside of Japan. How can designers instigate a process of renewal following a disaster in manners that engage people of all ages and backgrounds in a collective healing experience?


What motivates ideological authoritarian regimes to permit subnational elections? What mechanisms do these regimes employ to ensure that local electoral outcomes are favorable to the regime? Focusing on the decision to create a new tier of elected local government and the use of local government law, I argue that national elites can use local elections to strengthen state-building through increased institutionalization of mass political participation and by integrating local populations into the ambit of state controlled public goods provision. I illustrate this argument by analyzing elected local government in the Islamic Republic of Iran. I show how the state's legal framework successfully constrains local actors in three contested domains: the scope of political participation, the extent of legislative authority, and the degree of fiscal autonomy. A major implication of these findings is that expanding participation through subnational elected government in an ideological Islamist regime contributes to authoritarian nationstate building.


This report evaluates the U.S. and world sugar markets for 1998-2008 by using the World Sugar Policy Simulation Model. This analysis is based on assumptions about general economic conditions, agricultural policies, population growth, weather conditions, and technological changes. Both the U.S. and world sugar economies are predicted to be strong for the next ten years. World demand for sugar is expected to grow faster than world supply, gradually increasing sugar prices. World trade volumes of sugar are expected to expand.


Calls to list polar bears as a threatened species under the United States Endangered Species Act are based on forecasts of substantial long-term declines in their population. Nine government reports were written to help U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managers decide whether or not to list polar bears as a threatened species. We assessed these reports based on evidence-based (scientific) forecasting principles. None of the reports referred to sources of scientific forecasting methodology. Of the nine, Amstrup, Marcot, and Douglas (2007) and Hunter et al. (2007) were the most relevant to the listing decision, and we devoted our attention to them. Their forecasting procedures depended on a complex set of assumptions, including the erroneous assumption that general circulation models provide valid forecasts of summer sea ice in the regions that polar bears inhabit. Nevertheless, we audited their conditional forecasts of what would happen to the polar bear population assuming, as the authors did, that the extent of summer sea ice would decrease substantially during the coming decades. We found that Amstrup et al. properly applied 15 percent of relevant forecasting principles and Hunter et al. 10 percent. Averaging across the two papers, 46 percent of the principles were clearly contravened and 23 percent were apparently contravened. Consequently, their forecasts are unscientific and inconsequential to decision makers. We recommend that researchers apply all relevant principles properly when important public-policy decisions depend on their forecasts.


The purpose of the MICAT project (Ibero-American Map of Atmospheric Corrosiveness) was to foster collaborative ventures between groups conducting research on atmospheric corrosion. Overall, 14 Ibero-American countries, including Spain and Portugal, are involved with a network of 71 test stations distributed throughout the region and on 4 continents. These test stations represent a broad spectrum of climatological and atmospheric pollution conditions. The objective of the MICAT electrochemical studies was to characterize the protective properties of the corrosion products formed during atmospheric exposure at the different test sites. Prerusted carbon steel specimens at different locations were immersed in a sodium sulfate solution. Some specimens were rust pretreated in phosphoric acid solution with additions of aluminum hydroxide (rust converters) electrochemically evaluated. Electrochemical noise measurements (ENM) and linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurements were performed for different times of immersion. Corrosion rates were related to the presence of the oxides that were initially formed. For specimens rusted in marine atmospheres, the presence of chlorides in the corrosion products promotes localized attack. As to the different rust-converted specimens, ENM revealed the pretreatment evolution and corrosion performance over time. ENM was able to characterize and evaluate the protective properties of oxides and pretreatments according to themore » nature and environmental conditions to which specimens were exposed.« less


In this study, we outline the farm policy changes in the European Union, EU, and the United States, US, since 1996 and compare their levels of support under various policies. The producer support estimates for the EU are more than twice that of the US, although the value of EU agricultural production is only 30% more than the US production value. In the EU, reductions in the intervention (support) prices for cereals, oilseeds and beef sector have been compensated by increased direct payments, i.e., payments based on historical acreage and yield or animal head counts. In 1996, the US eliminated target prices and deficiency payments for major crops, and acreage set-sides for supply control. They have been replaced with fixed and emergency payments. However price floors (loan rate with deficiency payments) have been retained for major crops. The sugar and dairy sector policies of the EU and the US have undergone few changes since 1996....The initial EU and US agricultural proposals for the Doha round focused on reducing market access barriers and export subsidies, but refrained from limiting domestic support measures. Developing countries' effective opposition to these proposals led to the collapse of the 2003 WTO Ministerial Meeting at Cancun, Mexico. The recently announced Doha Work Program proposes complete elimination of export subsidies and significant reductions in market access barriers. In the case of domestic support, developing countries' views such as the reductions in product and non-product specific de minimis provisions, and the criteria for blue box payments are reflected in the proposal. At the same time, developed countries' views on the continued placement of direct payments in either blue or green box have been included in the proposal. However, agreement on the extent of reductions and the specific modalities is expected in the next 16 months. The final agreement, scheduled for presentation to members at the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2005, likely depends on whether or not the new proposals and their modalities would result in meaningful limits on domestic support.


Copyright law protects expressions of ideas, but not the idea itself. Legal disputes over characters arise in the continuum between an idea for a character that has not been expressed at all, and an idea that has been given complete form and shape. The inconsistent common law tests developed to assess character copyrightability demonstrate the difficulty in pinpointing where the dividing line between an undeveloped idea and a sufficiently expressed character should be set. This Article offers a new paradigm for determining character copyrightability, particularly in the case of characters shaped through live performance, that tracks the Hegelian concept of personhood expressed through property ownership. Using the characters created by professional wrestlers as an example, I show how a performer's physical attributes, story of origin, and public behavior can be studied to determine whether a character has been sufficiently delineated to deserved copyright protection.


Confusion due to the conceptual usage of classic North American Pleistocene stage terms indicates the need for a new or revised terminology. The Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary has tentatively been dated about 2.5 � 0.1 x 106 years. Glacial deposits in the central United States older than about 2.2 x 106 years may span that boundary.


Nowadays, the globalization of the manufacturing enterprises requires collaboration across frontiers. In order to attain effective collaboration, the information about the product life cycle must be captured and administrated in a way that supports the decision taken during the product development. In this context, the manufacturing process information needs to be shared between manufacturers. This paper introduces the SPEED (Supporting Plastic enginEEring Development) system designed to facilitate the sharing of injection-moulding information between interested parties via the Internet. Both the architecture and the functionality of the SPEED system are presented and described in this paper through a case study. The evolving issues are addressed. Finally, closing remarks and conclusions of the system are presented.


Focusing on the initial stage (until 1903) of the Serbian Radical movement the paper attempts to delineate and explicate the main phases of its political maturation. In its initial stage Serbian Radicalism passed through several significant phases. The earliest phase (1869-80) may be named the period of rudimentary Radicalism. The movement was unorganized and oscillated between the ideas of socialism, anarchism and peasant democracy. The year 1881 saw the founding of the Radical Party as the first organized political party in Serbia with its own internal structure and programme. It opened the second phase, known as a period of militant Radicalism (1881-86) marked by its organized and uncompromising opposition to the existing system and the personal regime of king Milan Obrenovic, culminating in the Timok rebellion in 1883. The period of pragmatic Radicalism (1886-94) saw a recuperation and reorganization of the movement, its inclusion as a legitimate political force into the existing order, the passing in 1888 of a new constitution predominantly influenced by Radical political views and the Party's first compromises with other factors on the domestic political scene. Finally, there was a period of overpowered Radicalism (1894-1903). Without abandoning their fundamental ideological tenets, the Radicals were forced to make some serious political compromises and moderate their political programme in order to remain in the race for power.


In Australia and Taiwan, Joel Atkinson examines the intriguing and important Australia-Taiwan relationship. He covers its history, the role of Taiwan in Australia's relations with China and the US, and bilateral issues such as ministerial visits and the South Pacific.


Blood-feeding insects are responsible for spreading some of the deadliest infectious diseases. Topically applied insect repellents play a crucial role in protecting humans from these insects. The most widely used of these compounds, DEET, has been around for more than 50 years, but its function is still poorly understood. Ditzen et al. found in both fruit flies and in the malaria mosquito that DEET acts on the insect olfactory system by inhibiting olfactory neurons that mediate responses to attractive substances. It seems that DEET functions by masking the host odor through blocking odorant receptors that require the olfactory co-receptor OR83b. M. Ditzen, M. Pellegrino, L. B. Vosshall, Insect odorant receptors are molecular targets of the insect repellent DEET. Science 319, 1838-1842 (2008). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The question of how researchers work with and select research methods is complex. For researchers researching African indigenous culture, the complexity takes specific forms, usually forms that are embedded within the values and beliefs of research participants and their indigenous communities. In order to honour, indigenous methodologies, researchers need to approach cultural protocols, values and behaviours as an integral part of methodology. Methodological challenges that may be faced by researchers are those associated with acceptable scholarly psychological research, from within a specific discipline as well as from within the particular indigenous community. The article intends to highlight ubuntu (African philosophy of life) as a foundation for an African centred, indigenous psychology, research method carried out by indigenous researchers working from or within indigenous communities.


This report describes a comprehensive programme of measurement of saturation flow at traffic signals, and the development of prediction formulae which update those published by Webster and Cobbe in 1966, since when many factors have changed. Data were collected at 64 public road sites in UK, and the formulae based on them cover the influence on saturation flow of lane width, traffic composition, lost time, and gradient, inter alia, and deal with opposed and unopposed right-turning traffic movements. The saturation flow given for a non-nearside lane of width 3.2 m is 2080 pcu/h, some 15 per cent higher than that implied by Webster's work for his 'normal' sites. (A)


CLIFFORD, CARRIE WILLIAMS (Sept. 1862-10 Nov. 1934), noted orator, poet, and activist for women and African-Americans, helped found the Ohio State Federation of Colored Women in 1900 and served as its first president while she lived in Cleveland. Clifford was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, and educated in Columbus. She taught school in Parkersburg, West Virginia before she married Ohio state legislator WILLIAM H. CLIFFORD in 1886 and moved to Cleveland. The couple had two sons, Joshua and Maurice. Clifford founded and edited the official publication of the Ohio State Federation of Colored Women, the Queen's Garden, and Sowing for Others to Reap, a federation-sponsored compilation of essays. She served as editor of the women's department of the CLEVELAND JOURNAL, a black newspaper. Among her publications was an essay entitled "Cleveland and its Colored People" (Colored American, July 1905). Clifford also recruited African American women for the Niagara movement, a predecessor of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE (NAACP). In 1908, the Cliffords moved to Washington, D.C. Clifford later published two volumes of poetry, Race Rhymes (1911) and The Widening Light (1922) and served the local and national NAACP. She was buried in WOODLAND CEMETERY.


When we have a rich and vivid memory for a past experience, it often feels like we are transported back in time to witness once again this event. Indeed, a perfect memory would exactly mimic the experiential quality of direct sensory perception. We used fMRI and multivoxel pattern analysis to map and quantify the similarity between patterns of activation evoked by direct perception of a diverse set of short video clips and the vivid remembering, with closed eyes, of these clips. We found that the patterns of distributed brain activation during vivid memory mimicked the patterns evoked during sensory perception. Using whole-brain patterns of activation evoked by perception of the videos, we were able to accurately classify brain patterns that were elicited when participants tried to vividly recall those same videos. A discriminant analysis of the activation patterns associated with each video revealed a high degree (explaining over 80% of the variance) of shared representational similarity between perception and memory. These results show that complex, multifeatured memory involves a partial reinstatement of the whole pattern of brain activity that is evoked during initial perception of the stimulus.


Political science's enquiry into such deep embedded social practices as clientelism, necessitates new approaches within the discipline. This article explores the evolution of the interpretative approach from the periphery of scientific research, to the main alternative to positivist studies. The enquiries into the clientelist practices must account simultaneously for an inner, subjective dimension, as well as for a broader structural picture. Auyero's (2000) study is explored both as an example of such a successful interpretative enquiry, as well an answer to the question of transferability. Because interpretative studies are focused on specificities and idiosyncrasies, it is hard to integrate them in comparative studies. Still, an analytical generalization is possible, as each case study adds value to the overall theoretical umbrella.


Transfer learning has recently gained popularity due to the development of algorithms that can successfully generalize information across multiple tasks. This article focuses on transfer in the context of reinforcement learning domains, a general learning framework where an agent acts in an environment to maximize a reward signal. The goals of this article are to (1) familiarize readers with the transfer learning problem in reinforcement learning domains, (2) explain why the problem is both interesting and difficult, (3) present a selection of existing techniques that demonstrate different solutions, and (4) provide representative open problems in the hope of encouraging additional research in this exciting area.


The Chicago School of the law and economics movement, on which the predominant justification for independent property rights is based in most countries, is flawed mainly because it takes economic wealth as the sole proxy for well-being. We suggest replacing it with a well-being approach, which, even if it is still based on utilitarianism, does not suffer from this defect. A theory-neutral approach to well-being for policy-making is achievable because there is a substantial area of common ground between rival theories on what we call the "markers" of well-being. We identify markers which we believe would be consistent with all mainstream theories of well-being and then verify whether the current intellectual property framework reflects the markers or not, and propose suggestions for change when it does not.


Ilorin, the haven of Arabic and Islamic scholars, is multi-lingual and multi-ethnic community popularly known to some people as "GerinAlimi" (the town of Alimi) and to many others as "Ilorin Afonja" (Ilorin of Afonja); it has contributed and still contributing in no small measure to development of Arabic and Islamic studies not only in Yorubaland but also in Nigeria and beyond. As one of the Arabic and Islamic Centres in Yorubaland, Ilorin scholars have turned out numerous scholars who have occupied enviable positions in different spheres of human endeavours in different towns and cities in Yorubaland and West Africa. The paper aims at bringing into limelight the account of Ilorin as a great centre of Arabic and Islamic scholarship in Yorubaland. It delineates the various periods of the development of Arabic and Islamic learning in Yorubaland, explains the types of schools of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the area, the methods used in teaching in the schools and focuses on Shaykh Adam Abdullah Al-Iluri who had impacted greatly on Arabic and Islam in Yorubaland. It ends with a conclusion and recommendations. In carrying out this paper, the author has relied on history books, Arabic literary works and recent researches on the major scholars of Arabic and Islam. At the end, the reader would have been convinced as regards the tremendous role Ilorin scholars and in particular Shaykh Adam Abdullah Al-Iluri has played so far in Arabic and Islamic education in Yorubaland.

 Key words: Yorubaland, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin, scholars, Quaran.


We describe and analyze a simple and effective stochastic sub-gradient descent algorithm for solving the optimization problem cast by Support Vector Machines (SVM). We prove that the number of iterations required to obtain a solution of accuracy $${\epsilon}$$ is $${\tilde{O}(1 / \epsilon)}$$, where each iteration operates on a single training example. In contrast, previous analyses of stochastic gradient descent methods for SVMs require $${\Omega(1 / \epsilon^2)}$$ iterations. As in previously devised SVM solvers, the number of iterations also scales linearly with 1/λ, where λ is the regularization parameter of SVM. For a linear kernel, the total run-time of our method is $${\tilde{O}(d/(\lambda \epsilon))}$$, where d is a bound on the number of non-zero features in each example. Since the run-time does not depend directly on the size of the training set, the resulting algorithm is especially suited for learning from large datasets. Our approach also extends to non-linear kernels while working solely on the primal objective function, though in this case the runtime does depend linearly on the training set size. Our algorithm is particularly well suited for large text classification problems, where we demonstrate an order-of-magnitude speedup over previous SVM learning methods.


Wind power is one of the most popular renewable energy sources (RES), characterized by rapid growth of installed power in the energy mix of many countries. Usually, the influence of wind technologies on the depletion of nonrenewable resources is evaluated taking into account the consumption of energy and materials in the construction phase. However, it should be noted that the major drawback of wind energy is its random availability which also influences the consumption of resources. This consumption results from the necessity of compensation for random operation of wind power plants by conventional ones operating in off-design point. In the present work, thermo-ecological cost (TEC) is proposed for the evaluation of the performance of wind generation systems operating with random accessibility of wind energy. The presented analysis focuses on the estimation of additional non-renewable energy consumption due to the part-load operation of the conventional power units. Different strategies are assumed for the compensation for the hourly wind power variations. The presented results of TEC analysis show that the part of TEC resulting from induced losses can be significant. The authors prove that, within the assessment of wind turbines, the induced losses cannot be omitted.


OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of a ketogenic diet (KD) for superrefractory status epilepticus (SRSE) in adults. METHODS: We performed a prospective multicenter study of patients 18 to 80 years of age with SRSE treated with a KD treatment algorithm. The primary outcome measure was significant urine and serum ketone body production as a biomarker of feasibility. Secondary measures included resolution of SRSE, disposition at discharge, KD-related side effects, and long-term outcomes. RESULTS: Twenty-four adults were screened for participation at 5 medical centers, and 15 were enrolled and treated with a classic KD via gastrostomy tube for SRSE. Median age was 47 years (interquartile range [IQR] 30 years), and 5 (33%) were male. Median number of antiseizure drugs used before KD was 8 (IQR 7), and median duration of SRSE before KD initiation was 10 days (IQR 7 days). KD treatment delays resulted from intravenous propofol use, ileus, and initial care received at a nonparticipating center. All patients achieved ketosis in a median of 2 days (IQR 1 day) on KD. Fourteen patients completed KD treatment, and SRSE resolved in 11 (79%; 73% of all patients enrolled). Side effects included metabolic acidosis, hyperlipidemia, constipation, hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, and weight loss. Five patients (33%) ultimately died. CONCLUSIONS: KD is feasible in adults with SRSE and may be safe and effective. Comparative safety and efficacy must be established with randomized placebocontrolled trials. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class IV evidence that in adults with SRSE, a KD is effective in inducing ketosis.


Abstract. The dynamics of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs) are discussed from the viewpoint of numerical modelling. Hydrodynamic models are shown to give a good zero-order picture of the plasma properties of ICMEs, but they cannot model the important magnetic field effects. Results from MHD simulations are shown for a number of cases of interest. It is demonstrated that the strong interaction of the ICME with the solar wind leads to the ICME and solar wind velocities being close to each other at 1 AU, despite their having very different speeds near the Sun. It is also pointed out that this interaction leads to a distortion of the ICME geometry, making cylindrical symmetry a dubious assumption for the CME field at 1 AU. In the presence of a significant solar wind magnetic field, the magnetic fields of the ICME and solar wind can reconnect with each other, leading to an ICME that has solar wind-like field lines. This effect is especially important when an ICME with the right sense of rotation propagates down the heliospheric current sheet. It is also noted that a lack of knowledge of the coronal magnetic field makes such simulations of little use in space weather forecasts that require knowledge of the ICME magnetic field strength. Key words. Interplanetary physics (interplanetary magnetic fields) Solar physics, astrophysics, and astronomy (flares and mass ejections) Space plasma physics (numerical simulation studies)


A tyrosine residue in the cytoplasmic domain of a class of cell surface receptors is necessary, but not sufficient, for internalization through coated pits. To identify the amino acid context enabling a tyrosine to serve as a signal for endocytosis, we mutated the short cytoplasmic domain of a mutant influenza virus hemagglutinin that is competent for internalization, HA-Y543, and determined the effect of each change on internalization. From these results and a comparison of sequences of other proteins recognized by coated pits, a "tyrosine internalization signal" was proposed. Site-directed mutagenesis was employed to insert complete, or incomplete "tyrosine internalization signals" into the cytoplasmic domain of a protein normally not endocytosed, human glycophorin A. Only the complete signal caused internalization of mutant glycophorins by coated pits. The signal is formed by a short amino acid sequence, with polar or basic residues preferred at certain positions on either side of the tyrosine. Amino acids, which in proteins of known structure are frequently found in turns, are clustered near the tyrosine on the side of the signal nearest the transmembrane domain.


The calcareous nannoplankton of cores from the experimental Mohole drilling indicate that Pliocene and Miocene strata were penetrated, with middle Miocene overlying the basalt in which drilling ended. Coccoliths and discoasters are the common forms, although few in number of species, and some common genera are absent. Similarity in this respect to the late Tertiary of California suggests a relatively cold current extending S. beyond California during the late Tertiary, and comparable to the present California Current. Biostratigraphic correlations are consequently less well based than for warmer water regions. Of 20 species described, 6 are new species of the genus Discoaster (Discoaster bollii, D. exilis, D. hamatus, D.. kugleri, D. surculus, D. variabilis) and 2 are new species assigned to the new genus Catinaster (Catinaster calyculus, C. coalitus). Interpretations of age relations are based on the occurrence of these species at late Tertiary localities of Italy, Trinidad, California and elsewhere.


In this paper, a framework for protein-protein docking is proposed, which exploits both shape and physicochemical complementarity to generate improved docking predictions. Shape complementarity is achieved by matching local surface patches. However, unlike existing approaches, which are based on single-patch or two-patch matching, we developed a new algorithm that compares simultaneously, groups of neighboring patches from the receptor with groups of neighboring patches from the ligand. Taking into account the fact that shape complementarity in protein surfaces is mostly approximate rather than exact, the proposed group-based matching algorithm fits perfectly to the nature of protein surfaces. This is demonstrated by the high performance that our method achieves especially in the case where the unbound structures of the proteins are considered. Additionally, several physicochemical factors, such as desolvation energy, electrostatic complementarity (EC), hydrophobicity (HP), Coulomb potential (CP), and Lennard-Jones potential are integrated using an optimized scoring function, improving geometric ranking in more than 60 percent of the complexes of Docking Benchmark 2.4.


Adenylyl cyclase activating polypeptide modifies androgen receptor phosphorylation and spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy pathogenesis. Purging X-tra protein aggregates An indirect attack on the causative aberrant protein might treat a fatal X-linked neurodegenerative disease. Spinal bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a fatal neuromuscular disorder caused by a genetic defect that gives rise to polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion in the androgen receptor protein (polyQ-AR). The run of glutamine residues produces a toxic misfolded protein that aggregates in cells. The toxic effects can be mitigated by the protein's phosphorylation status. Polanco et al. took advantage of this property to attack the disease at its molecular origin. In pinpointing the cell signaling pathways that modulate polyQ-AR phosphorylation, the authors found that the cell cycle regulatory protein cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) phosphorylated polyQ-AR at Ser96 and that this phosphorylation event increased and stabilized the protein, and enhanced its toxicity. A second cellular function—the adenylyl cyclase (AC)/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway—negatively regulated Ser96 phosphorylation, which blunted protein stability and, in turn, its toxicity. The authors then translated these findings by engineering an analog of pituitary adenylyl cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), which activates the AC/PKA pathway. When SBMA mice were given the analog intranasally, they displayed reduced Ser96 phosphorylation, enhanced polyQ-AR degradation, and—most exciting of all—an obliteration of disease outcomes. Spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is an X-linked neuromuscular disease caused by polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion in the androgen receptor (AR) gene. SBMA belongs to the family of polyQ diseases, which are fatal neurodegenerative disorders mainly caused by protein-mediated toxic gain-of-function mechanisms and characterized by deposition of misfolded proteins in the form of aggregates. The neurotoxicity of the polyQ proteins can be modified by phosphorylation at specific sites, thereby providing the rationale for the development of disease-specific treatments. We sought to identify signaling pathways that modulate polyQ-AR phosphorylation for therapy development. We report that cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) phosphorylates polyQ-AR specifically at Ser96. Phosphorylation of polyQ-AR by CDK2 increased protein stabilization and toxicity and is negatively regulated by the adenylyl cyclase (AC)/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway. To translate these findings into therapy, we developed an analog of pituitary adenylyl cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), a potent activator of the AC/PKA pathway. Chronic intranasal administration of the PACAP analog to knock-in SBMA mice reduced Ser96 phosphorylation, promoted polyQ-AR degradation, and ameliorated disease outcome. These results provide proof of principle that noninvasive therapy based on the use of PACAP analogs is a therapeutic option for SBMA.


Power electronic devices are important in almost all industrial sectors. Power converters are used for electric drive systems in the production of an automation industry, in the automotive industry, as power supplies in telecommunications or for power conversion in power supply systems. For testing such electronic equipment, hardware-in-the-loop simulation is almost a standard method today, especially in the automotive industry, which always requires a real-time simulation of the plant. For testing the electronic control units of power electronics, real-time capable models of power electronic circuits need to be developed, accordingly. In the previously published contribution [10] different modeling methods were described and an algorithm was developed, which can be used to simulate power electronic circuits in real-time. Based on this algorithm and the automated generation of such models ([10]), further improvements for reducing the memory usage, increasing the degree of parallelization and improving accuracy are described in this paper. However, the presented approaches and modifications as well as the studies on correction methods for switching events and the preprocessing can be applied to other algorithms.


New possible ways of plastics manufacture and waste treatment are being searched when trying to tackle the problems related to the growth of waste quantities and decline in non-renewable resources. Presently, the most promising and effective way to solve the mentioned problems is production of bioplastics, but its way to recognition is very slow. One of the barriers is the absence of clear and united opinion throughout the EU Arising new discussions about biodegradable and biobased plastics will allow responsible authorities to update and adapt the legal law, which now almost does not include any reglement on bioplastics production and usage. The other issues of bioplastics are social aspects as this material can be made of primal food sources like crops, and the ecological ones because of their unknown effects on human health and the environment. Nevertheless, the main problem remains the same - the price of petro-plastics is still lower than that of bioplastics. Despite this, the biggest companies of the world are starting an initiative to manufacture this new kind of plastics and to widen the range of bioplastics usage in packaging. Considering today's situation and tendencies, at the end of this paper the recommendations for the improvement and speeding up of the processes related to bioplastics manufacture, usage and its waste management in Europe and Lithuania are presented. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.68.2.6777


As the EU's fundamental rights regime reaches maturity, this book offers the first full-length overview of the historical development and current role of fundamental rights in the law and policy of the European Union. It analyses both the institutional aspects (the place of fundamental rights in the EU legal order and their role in decision-making procedures) and substantive dimensions (the range and scope of rights recognized as part of EU law). Part I traces the emergence of fundamental rights as a feature of the EU legal order, from the initial silence of the original Treaties to the development of fundamental rights as general principles of law safeguarded by the European Court of Justice, and the adoption of a number of legislative instruments linking the protection of certain fundamental rights to the establishment of the internal market. Part II moves on to examine fundamental rights in the current landscape of EU law and policy. It analyses the constitutionalization of fundamental rights through Treaty amendments and the development of an area of freedom, security and justice among the Member States. It examines the role of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and of the Fundamental Rights Agency; and the relationship between the EU and the Council of Europe in the protection of human rights on the European continent. Finally, Part III offers a critical analysis of the role of fundamental rights in the external relations of the EU. As a whole, the book offers an ideal introduction to understanding the European Union as a human rights organization, suitable for use by graduate students, and an invaluable reference point for academics and legal practitioners needing an overview of EU fundamental rights law and policy.


Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the renoprotective effects of ground flaxseed in patients with lupus nephritis. Methods: Forty patients with lupus nephritis were asked to participate in a randomized crossover trial of flaxseed. Twenty-three agreed and were randomized to receive 30 grams of ground flaxseed daily or control (no placebo) for one year, followed by a twelve-week washout period and the reverse treatment for one year. At baseline and six month intervals, serum phospholipids, flaxseed sachet counts, serum creatinine, 12-hour urine albumin excretion and urine albumin to creatinine ratios, serum viscosity and plasma lipids were measured. Results: There were eight drop-outs and of the 15 remaining subjects flaxseed sachet count and serum phospholipid levels indicated only nine were adherent to the flaxseed diet. Plasma lipids and serum viscosity were unaltered by the flaxseed supplementation whereas serum creatinine in the compliant patients during flaxseed administration declined from a mean of 0.97±0.31 mg/dL to a mean of 0.94±0.30 mg/dL and rose in the control phase to a mean of 1.03±0.28 mg/dL [p value <0.08]. Of the fifteen patients who completed the study, similar changes were noted [p value <0.1]. The nine compliant patients had lower serum creatinines at the end of the two-year study than the 17 patients who refused to participate [p<0.05]. Microalbumin at baseline declined in both control and flaxseed time periods, but there was a trend for a greater decline during flaxseed administration [p<0.2]. Conclusions: Flaxseed appears to be renoprotective in lupus nephritis, but this interpretation is affected by under powering due to poor adherence and potential Hawthorne effects.


This paper proposes Characteristic Examples for effectively fingerprinting deep neural networks, featuring high-robustness to the base model against model pruning as well as low-transferability to unassociated models. This is the first work taking both robustness and transferability into consideration for generating realistic fingerprints, whereas current methods lack practical assumptions and may incur large false positive rates. To achieve better trade-off between robustness and transferability, we propose three kinds of characteristic examples: vanilla C-examples, RC-examples, and LTRC-example, to derive fingerprints from the original base model. To fairly characterize the trade-off between robustness and transferability, we propose Uniqueness Score, a comprehensive metric that measures the difference between robustness and transferability, which also serves as an indicator to the false alarm problem.


Two whitefly-transmitted viruses elicit identical symptoms of interveinal chlorosis (yellowing) in greenhouse- and field-grown cucurbits in Mediterranean countries. The agents of these diseases are partially characterized closteroviruses and are known as beet pseudo-yellows virus (BPYV), which is transmitted by Trialeurodes vaporariorum, and cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV), transmitted by Bemisia tabaci. Using previously determined sequence information for fragments of the HSP70 homolog genes of both BPYV and CYSDV, oligonucleotide primers were designed for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) protocols to differentiate between the two viruses. RT-PCR amplified products for each virus were subsequently cloned and specifically hybridized with the homologous dsRNA (approximately 9 kbp in size for both viruses) following Northern hybridization analysis. Minor dsRNAs of approximately 5 kbp for both viruses and one dsRNA of 3 kbp for CYSDV were also identified by Northern hybridization and might represent defective RNA species. In order to compare the predicted amino acid sequence of fragments of the HSP70 homolog genes of BPYV and CYSDV, oligonucleotide primers were designed for RT-PCR amplification of a previously unknown segment of the BPYV gene from a Greek isolate and the American isolate of the virus. The RT-PCR products of both isolates were cloned and found to be identical in sequence. Computer assisted analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the assembled HSP70 homolog gene fragments showed that BPYV and CYSDV are closely related to each other and individually as closely related to the corresponding gene of lettuce infectious yellows virus, which is the prototype member of the recently proposed Crinivirus genus of whitefly-transmitted, bipartite closteroviruses.


ABSTRACT In an 'age of measurement' where students' qualification is a hot topic on the political agenda, it is of interest to ask what the function of qualification might implicate in relation to a complex issue as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and what function environmental and sustainability issues serve in science education. This paper deals with how secondary and upper secondary teachers in discussions with colleagues articulate qualification in relation to educational aims of ESD. With inspiration from discourse theory, the teachers' articulations of qualification are analysed and put in relation to other functions of education (qualification, socialisation and subjectification). The results of this study show three discourses of qualification: scientific reasoning, awareness of complexity and to be critical. The discourse of 'qualification as to be critical' is articulated as a composite of differing epistemological views. In this discourse, the teachers undulate between rationalistic epistemological views and postmodern views, in a pragmatic way, to articulate a discourse of critical thinking which serves as a reflecting tool to bring about different ways of valuing issues of sustainability, which reformulates 'matter of facts' towards 'matter of concerns'


In 1978, Deng Xiaoping began the economic reforms now referred to as Gaige Kaifang, through which China ushered in an era of unprecedented receptivity to foreign influence. The shift to liberalized trade policy led to reduced poverty levels and set China on the path to economic strength. But the reforms also catalyzed massive change within the formerly centralized medical system. Medicine is now the domain of the private sector, along with provincial and local governments, rather than the national authorities. While market reforms in the economy have been a boon for the Chinese, similar reforms in the health care system have improved quality but also created unequal access to health care due to rising costs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 20th century was the most violent in the history of mankind. Looking back across the war-torn century, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan voiced the blood-soaked wisdom of the era in a 1999 speech to the UN General Assembly and urged for the next hundred years to be more peaceful. After a century marked by such violations--from the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust during World War II to the horrific reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and from Slobodan Milosevic's "ethnic cleansing" campaign in Bosnia to the brutal Rwandan genocide--one lesson seemed clear: The timidity of the international community in allowing crimes against humanity to go unstopped or unpunished because of state sovereignty, was unforgivable. Throughout the century, millions had died at the hands of their own governments while the world watched and did nothing. Taking this lesson to heart, US President Bill Clinton stated in 2000 that the United States had the right to intervene in any country it deemed to be abusing the human rights of its citizens, based solely on humanitarian grounds. It was a far cry from the turn of the nineteenth century, when the inviolable tenet of state sovereignty prevented punishment of even the most heinous crimes by state leaders. A decade into this new century, looking back at two bloody--and ongoing--conflicts that the United States and its allies justified at least in part or in retrospect on humanitarian grounds, it is evident that repenting for the international community's inaction in the 20th century has likewise proven deadly and troublesome. Indeed, since the beginning of the decade, the European Union has intervened abroad more than 15 times under the justification of humanitarian intervention. Some interventions have been successful; many have not. The concept of military humanitarian intervention--the most visible and controversial form of humanitarian intervention--is being rethought and redefined. The international community has realized that forcefully imposing Western systems of statehood and development is an onerous, painful, and perhaps impossible process that harms the occupier as much as the occupied. Indeed, some recent interventions have ended up being so violent and bloody that they can hardly be considered "humanitarian." But international players like the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union also refuse to abandon failed and struggling states like Somalia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Haiti, and Yemen--after all, there are cases where, both morally and politically, inaction is not an option. So where is the line to be drawn? Just War? Oxford University professor Adam Roberts, the President of the British Academy, has defined humanitarian intervention as "coercive action by one or more states involving the use of armed force in another state without the consent of its authorities, and with the purpose of preventing widespread suffering or death among the inhabitants." The term humanitarian intervention encompasses a wide range of possible actions--including economic sanctions and diplomatic efforts--and involves military force only in the most extreme cases. …


Objectives The aims of this study were to investigate the functions of GAS5 as a tumor suppressor in cervical cancer and explore the mechanism. Methods The expression of GAS5 and microRNA 21 (miR-21) was detected in primary cervical cancer tissue specimens, as well as in cervical cancer cell lines. We identified the interaction of GAS5 and miR-21 by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and dual-luciferase reporter assay. We also studied the functions of GAS5 in proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion in cervical cancer cells in vitro and vivo. Finally, the impact of GAS5 on cisplatin resistance and its mechanism in cervical cancer cells was also identified. Results The expression of GAS5 and miR-21 was detected in primary cervical cancer tissue specimens, as well as in cervical cancer cell lines. GAS5, which is a tumor suppressor playing roles in inhibiting the malignancy of cervical cancer cells, including proliferation in vivo and vitro, migration, and invasion, has a low expression in cervical cancer tissue and cervical cancer cell lines, whereas miR-21 expression is high. GAS5 significantly decreased the expression of miR-21, and there is a reciprocal repression of gene expression between GAS5 and miR-21. Besides, most importantly, we found that high expression of GAS5 and low expression of miR-21 can enhance the sensitivity of SiHa/cDDP cancer cells to cisplatin. A further experiment for identifying the mechanism of cisplatin resistance by GAS5 showed that GAS5 can not only regulate phosphatase and tensin homolog through miR-21 but also influence the phosphorylation of Akt. Conclusions Our results indicate that GAS5 is a direct target of miR-21 and can predict the clinical staging of cervical cancer. Most importantly, GAS5 can also influence cisplatin resistance in cervical cancer via regulating the phosphorylation of Akt. All of these suggest that GAS5 may be a novel therapeutic target for treating cervical cancer.


The genetic control of the characteristic cell sizes of different species and tissues is a long-standing enigma. Plants are convenient for studying this question in a multicellular context, as their cells do not move and are easily tracked and measured from organ initiation in the meristems to subsequent morphogenesis and differentiation. In this article, we discuss cell size control in plants compared with other organisms. As seen from yeast cells to mammalian cells, size homeostasis is maintained cell autonomously in the shoot meristem. In developing organs, vacuolization contributes to cell size heterogeneity and may resolve conflicts between growth control at the cellular and organ levels. Molecular mechanisms for cell size control have implications for how cell size responds to changes in ploidy, which are particularly important in plant development and evolution. We also discuss comparatively the functional consequences of cell size and their potential repercussions at higher scales, including genome evolution. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Genetics, Volume 53 is November 23, 2019. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


In this paper we present an individual-based mechanical model that describes the dynamics of two contiguous cell populations with different proliferative and mechanical characteristics. An off-lattice modelling approach is considered whereby: (i) every cell is identified by the position of its centre; (ii) mechanical interactions between cells are described via generic nonlinear force laws; and (iii) cell proliferation is contact inhibited. We formally show that the continuum counterpart of this discrete model is given by a free-boundary problem for the cell densities. The results of the derivation demonstrate how the parameters of continuum mechanical models of multicellular systems can be related to biophysical cell properties. We prove an existence result for the free-boundary problem and construct travelling-wave solutions. Numerical simulations are performed in the case where the cellular interaction forces are described by the celebrated Johnson-Kendall-Roberts model of elastic contact, which has been previously used to model cell-cell interactions. The results obtained indicate excellent agreement between the simulation results for the individual-based model, the numerical solutions of the corresponding free-boundary problem and the travelling-wave analysis.


Numerical and computer-graphic methods for conformal image mapping between two simply connected regions are described. The immediate motivation for this application is that the visual field is represented in the brain by mappings which are, at least approximately, conformal. Thus, to simulate the imaging properties of the human visual system (and perhaps other sensory systems), conformal image mapping is a necessary technique. For generating the conformal map, a method for analytic mappings and an implementation of the Symm algorithm for numerical conformal mapping are shown. The first method evaluates the inverse mapping function at each pixel of the range, with antialiasing by multiresolution texture prefiltering and bilinear interpolation. The second method is based on constructing a piecewise affine approximation of the mapping in the form of a joint triangulation, or triangulation map, in which only the nodes of the triangulation are conformally mapped. The texture is then mapped by a local affine transformation on each pixel of the range triangulation with the same antialiasing used in the first method. The algorithms are illustrated with examples of conformal mappings constructed analytically from elementary mappings, such as the linear fractional map, the complex algorithm, etc. Applications of numerically generated maps between highly irregular regions and an example of the visual field mapping that motivates this work are also shown.<<ETX>>


Stemming from a viewpoint that my applied theatre practice should include both a dialogical element and an opportunity to take creative risks, this article explores how creative risk-taking can lead to seemingly repressive outcomes for the participants. Examining two moments of practice, which occurred during sexual health communication projects in the Nyanga township, this article examines how and why these particular outcomes emerged, and explains my concerns over this outcome and its apparent inherent contradiction with the notion that applied theatre practice is based on creating a dialogue. Yet the suspicion that something else was occurring in these moments leads to the proposal of another viewpoint, where by situating the practice and the resulting outcomes within both a healthcare framework and one of tactical action, alternative explanations become apparent: that the individuals' actions were tactical acts of protection and resistance in an environment where life is not always 'tolerable'.


Teaching Research Methods for the Public Sector: New Approaches in the Discipline Brian P. Macfie and Philip M. Nufrio, Applied Statistics for Public Policy. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2006. 536 pages. ISBN 0-7656-1239-9 (cloth). In public affairs and administration, our teaching goal is to enable students to gain essential skills and practical experience necessary to effectively use quantitative approaches when solving social problems. While it may be true that professors differ in their pedagogical approach when exposing students to research methods and analysis, our ability to engage students in quantitative reasoning is the universal desired learning outcome for the field. Our hope is that students and (future) practitioners will use what they've learned in the classroom about the process of doing research, apply those techniques and quantitative approaches to solving real-life social problems, and be able to critically assess any statistical information used in decision making. Since we expect students (and practitioners) to use quantitative reasoning to critically evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information related to problems in the field, we must assume that there is a consensus among scholars that dictates what should taught in a quantitative/research methods sequence. In a two-semester sequence, one can expect that statistics or quantitative methods will be covered in the first course and research methods will be covered in the second course. In quantitative methods, the focus is one of balance - trying to ensure that students fully understand the analytical approaches to problem solving and the application of statistical techniques used in hypothesis testing. The purpose of the course is to expose students to three aspects of social science research: 1) research designs, 2) data collection, and 3) statistical analysis. The desired learning outcome seeks to maximize knowledge in social science research methodologies and basic complementary statistical techniques. Since a number of universities have adopted statistical packages like SAS, SPSS, or STATA into their learning landscape, faculty teaching 'methods' typically introduce statistical packages early enough in the semester to ensure that students have adequate experience analyzing and interpreting data using computer software. In the second course on research methods, students are expected to apply the general principles of research as learned in the first course to the practical application of "doing the research." Students utilize theoretical knowledge about scientific research to guide field research or a research project. Student learning outcomes seek to enhance their ability to employ quantitative reasoning appropriately while applying scientific methodology to address real-life problems in the public sector. While there is no consensus to designing a methods course/sequence, it is clear that faculty have to make hard choices about course content when teaching quantitative and research methods. Even under the best circumstances, where faculty and students have two semesters to explore topics related to quantitative and research methods, we seek educational resources that are practical, skill-building, and relevant to the public sector. Macfie and Nufrio co-wrote Applied Statistics for Public Policy to ensure that students, professors, and policy analysts are aware of the advantages of utilizing statistics in the decision making process. According to Macfie and Nufrio (2006), "statistics is the science of investigating, collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data to assist in making more effective decisions" (p. 3). They note that statistics are used most often to describe information in the social world, explore social phenomenon and explain relationships among key constructs. …


Previous studies at the county level have found an increase in forest cover, urbanization, and water structures in the Black Belt counties of Alabama and have documented the connection between such increase and socioeconomic development in the region. However, such findings have limited inferences as the studies did not address the variations in demographic, socioeconomic, and land cover attributes within the counties. A better understanding of such linkage is to integrate socio-economic and land cover information available at a finer geographic scale and use them in developing spatial predictive models. Using satellite images and U.S. census data, we quantified changes in land cover and human well-being matrices for census blockgroups for 1990 and 2000 and examined spatial regression models relating changes in human well-being index to the changes in major land cover types. Results suggest that weak relationship between human well-being and land cover types was improved significantly after accounting for spatial correlations.


The catalytic activity of a cathode material plays a vital role in determining the electrochemical performance of Li–O2 batteries. Herein, N-doped mesoporous carbon-supported CoO@Co nanoparticles are prepared in situ using the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachlorocobalt ([BMIm]2[CoCl4]) as the precursor with silica as the hard template. The material was characterized by TGA, BET, XRD, TEM, XPS, and H2-TPR. After exposure to air, the species on the surface of the Co is CoO, as verified by XPS. The pore size is about 2 nm, and the CoO@Co nanoparticles were irregularly shaped and sized in the range of 20–300 nm, which may have been due to the aggregation of ultrafine nanoparticles. The existence of an interaction between the CoO@Co nanoparticles and the N-doped support is confirmed by XPS and H2-TPR. The catalyst shows superior activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) manifested in its lower charge potential (3.75 V at the current density of 100 mA g−1). Enhanced performances in coulombic efficiency, rate capability, and cycling stability (55 cycles) are also realized. Finally, these improvements, with the exception of the catalytic activity of CoO, may benefit from the interaction between the carbon supporter and the CoO@Co nanoparticles.


Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Mater of Arts in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009.


Innovative technologies often alter established value chains and make traditional strategic planning methods inadequate. In this paper, we present the use of scenario-based business modelling to explore the market for the fifth generation mobile communication networks (5G). We discuss four scenarios that have been developed in a collaborative effort among different actors in the market. We then describe the approach to build business models and discuss lessons learned and benefits from the novel approach. This approach complements traditional techniques through providing a powerful platform to integrate multi-dimensional change, from technology, regulation, value-chain dynamics, and value proposition evolution. We further conclude that the approach is particularly valuable in environments that are characterized by a high level of uncertainty and complexity.


Training functions are widely needed and known for it' s importance in
organisations all over the world. Top management needs to be committed .to training
functions and development activities. This is because top management plays critical role
in the success or failure of any training functions. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, it is not
given sufficient focus yet as it is assumed to be costly and a waste of time, but in hotel
industry, training is needed very much as it involves the staff skills and performance.
This study examined the background characteristics of selected hotels in Penang, the
contributing factors of the improper practice of training functions in hotels.
This is a descriptive survey research. It utilised questionnaires as the mode of
data collection. The data was analysed in descriptive statistics. The nature of the
population and questions to be answered in this study warranted the use of quantitative
research approach. The respondents of the research were the staff of human resource departments of
the selected hotels in Penang. Questionnaires were distributed and collected personally
from 44 respondents of 15 selected hotels in Penang.
From the research, it was found that the training functions practised differs
between small, medium and big organisations. Bigger hotels have a well sorted plan for
training functions and the improper practice of training functions in big hotels are not big
compared to smaller hotels. This is seen from the capability of the hotel's finances,
manpower and expertise in HR Departments to carry out training functions. The
contributing factors to the improper practice of training functions in hotels are due to five
contributing factors which is the lack of the realization of training functions, lack of
manpower in HR departments, lack of financial requirement to run training functions,
lack of management's policy, leadership, skills, knowledge, attitudes and expertise to
operate training functions and the lack of realization of the outcome of training functions
in hotels. Results show that the factors do influence training functions practised in hotels.
This study can be a guide for the hotels for improvement in their training functions with
the realisation of the improper practice of training functions in their organisations.


BACKGROUND
Adverse postnatal health effects have been associated with compromised fetal growth, which makes it essential to understand its determinants. Significant effects of environmental pollutants on birth outcomes have been observed in our study population, and nutritional status may be an additional factor influencing fetal development and effects of environmental toxins.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to examine the relations between birth outcomes and lipid-soluble plasma micronutrient concentrations and to explore interactions between micronutrients and environmental pollutant exposure in newborns in Krakow, Poland.

DESIGN
In this prospective cohort study, retinol, alpha-tocopherol, and carotenoids were measured in maternal and cord blood samples obtained at delivery (251 maternal-newborn pairs), and birth weight, birth length, head circumference (HC), and gestational age were evaluated. Linear regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of micronutrients while covariates were controlled for. Interaction terms assessed whether the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), common environmental pollutants, varied by nutrient status.

RESULTS
Infants whose mothers had low plasma alpha-tocopherol concentrations (below the median) weighed 92.9 g less and had 0.41-cm smaller HCs than did infants whose mothers had high alpha-tocopherol concentrations. Infants with low plasma retinol (below the median) weighed 125.9 g less and had 0.31-cm smaller HCs. There was no evidence of an interaction between PAHs and micronutrients, although power was limited.

CONCLUSION
Maternal alpha-tocopherol and cord retinol concentrations were significantly and positively associated with BW and HC. These micronutrients may have direct effects or may be markers for other underlying determinants of these pregnancy outcomes.


The Catherwood Library has been building and maintaining a collection of union literature since it was founded in 1946. Among the key resources of this collection are our extensive holdings of labor union periodicals. In addition to the current and historic titles that can be found in our library, many labor union periodicals are now available on the web. This bibliography lists Cornell University Library location information for current U.S. labor union periodicals as well as Internet sites for periodicals in this class.


SYNOPSIS We examine whether firms resort to real earnings management when their ability to manage accruals is constrained by higher quality auditors. In settings involving strong upward earnings management incentives, i.e., for firms that meet or just beat earnings benchmarks and firms that issue seasoned equities, we find that city-level auditor industry expertise and audit fees are associated with higher levels of real earnings management. We find similar, albeit weaker, results for the Big N auditors. Our paper suggests an unintended consequence of higher quality auditors constraining accrual earnings management, namely, firms resorting to potentially even more costly real earnings management. We also find that longer auditor tenure is associated with greater real earnings management, which could suggest merits of mandating audit firm rotation. JEL Classifications: M40; M41.


Heidegger's fundamental ontology in Being and Time has been used as an invaluable source of inspiration for researchers in the areas of mental and collective health, in spite of the difficulty in interpreting it. Binswanger's misunderstanding of this work, in the attempt to transpose it to psychoanalysis, is an great example of such and briefly discussed based on Loparic's in depth study. In this article, the author assumes that Heidegger's anti-metaphysical language can help bridge what he refers to as the false ontological gap between mental health and physical health. In the first half, the article revisits some common misinterpretations related to Heidegger's ontology, and outlines criteria pertaining to non-objection and non-determination. Subsequently the author provides his contribution, expounding his own interpretation regarding existential ontological analysis of health, using terms such as ailing, aiding and recovery.


Nestled at the foot of the Zirkel and Sarvis Creek Wilderness areas in northwest Colorado sits the picturesque resort town of Steamboat Springs. The largest town in Routt County, Steamboat Springs has a population of approximately 10,000 residents. (1) Cattle and sheep ranching, together with hay and wheat farming, have been major economic sources for many years. (2) No activity, however, provides as much economic support to contemporary Steamboat Springs as tourism. The primary reason tourists flock to Steamboat Springs is an activity that has been integral to the lives of generations of Routt county residents: skiing. In 1914 Carl Howelsen organized a Winter Carnival as a means to promote skiing and celebrate the winter season. The week-long festival continues to this day and has become a major part of the town's culture. Taking place during the second week of February, the carnival features ski races, ski jumping, chariot racing, street events, a shovel race, dog sled pulls, skijoring, and fireworks. None of these events, however, can rival in attention and uniqueness the high school band's performance in the Diamond Hitch Parade, which traditionally takes place on the last day of the carnival. Every year since 1935 members of the Steamboat Springs High School band put on red wool uniforms, get out plastic mouthpieces, lubricate their instruments with no-freeze valve oil, attach shortened Nordic skis to their boots, and ski down Lincoln Avenue to the delight and amazement of hundreds of people. Literature Review It is possible that Steamboat Springs High School is not the only school in the country that has a novelty-type ensemble that performs on a regular basis. However, a search of several databases (ERIC First Search, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, International Index to Music Periodicals, Dissertation Abstracts International, and Music Index) did not return any literature concerning novelty bands in public school music programs. In order to formulate a perspective from which to learn more about the unique Steamboat Springs high school ski band, the following literature review examines school band history and culture, and the relationship between public school music ensembles and their communities. School Bands and Community Relations--A Brief History During the late-nineteenth century, outdoor professional band concerts led by such conductors as Sousa, Pryor, Conway, Liberati, and Creatore helped increase public interest in band music. The events became popular throughout the United States, but instrumental music had yet to reach the public schools. (3) At that time most public school music programs were limited to vocal music. (4) Lee's detailed account of music education and rural reform shows how, at the turn of the twentieth century, music began to be viewed as an important social tool because it promoted discipline and religious virtue. (5) After 1900 university teachers and rural reformers began organizing music education in rural schools and communities. With these new music education programs came community performances by local children. The growth of instrumental music in the schools was rapid during the 1920s and 1930s, driven in large part by instrument, uniform, and publishing companies. (6) By the mid-1930s, music education in the Steamboat Springs schools included a high school band and one of the most unique ensembles in the country. School Culture Morrison examines cultural themes such as identity, transmission, social dimension, organizational hierarchy, traditional song, and traditional performance practices. (7) He believes that student performing ensembles offer students an opportunity unlike any other in the schools for celebrating both diversity and unity. According to Morrison, school ensembles are "guardians of their own specific culture," and he argues that the most formal manifestation of ensemble membership occurs at performances when members wear uniforms and present themselves to the public. …


A growing paradigm of �engaging the private sector� is noticeable in all areas of climate risk management and adaptation. However, there is limited empirical investigation into what action companies are taking and what impact this may have on their own resilience as well as on others�, particularly in emerging economies and low-income countries. A case study investigation of a large telecommunications company in India aims to address this knowledge gap by offering new insights that further our understanding of the decision-making dynamics of adaptation within this particular business context. Findings show that while awareness of climate change is high, adaptation is primarily reactive and is not systematically undertaken for future climate risks, especially of large magnitude. Results also suggest that a focus on mitigation may hinder business understanding of adaptation. However, there is potential for synergistic solutions combining adaptation and mitigation in the context of energy, both at the firm and government level.


BACKGROUND
Carcinoma arising in the cardioesophageal junction is a distinct clinical entity compared with tumors located in other regions of the stomach. This study was done to analyze the biologic characteristics of carcinoma of the gastric cardia compared with other gastric carcinomas.

STUDY DESIGN
Clinicopathologic features and postoperative prognosis of 68 cases of carcinoma of the cardia were evaluated, in comparison with findings of tumors in other regions of the stomach.

RESULTS
From 1975 to 1992, 68 (6.5 percent) of 1,042 patients with carcinoma of the stomach had adenocarcinoma of the cardia. Carcinoma of the cardia was characterized by a more advanced stage compared with carcinoma of other regions of the stomach. The incidence of early stage carcinoma (limited to the submucosal layer) was 11.8 percent in the cardia, 15.8 percent in the upper one-third, and 42.2 percent in the remaining middle and lower thirds of the stomach. When compared to carcinoma in other regions of the stomach, tumors of the cardia had a significantly poorer prognosis and there was a higher incidence of lymph node and hepatic metastasis. The five-year survival rates in patients with adenocarcinoma in the cardia, the upper one-third, and the remaining middle and lower thirds of the stomach were 35.3, 43.7, and 61.9 percent, respectively. Especially for patients with stage II and stage III disease, the prognosis was significantly worse with adenocarcinoma of the cardia than with carcinomas of the other regions of the stomach.

CONCLUSIONS
Early detection is crucial to improve the survival of patients with carcinoma of the gastric cardia. Extended dissection of lymph nodes and aggressive postoperative chemotherapy in an attempt to prevent hepatic metastasis are highly recommended.


Opposing signals specify cell fate along the proximal-distal axis of the chick limb. Structures of the vertebrate limb develop in a proximal-to-distal sequence as the limb bud grows out from the flank. A prevalent model for the specification of cell fates along the proximodistal (PD) axis of the vertebrate limb is the progress zone model, in which the time spent in the limb bud mesenchyme determines cell fate. According to this cell-autonomous model, the more time a cell spends under the influence of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and Wnt signals that emanate from the limb bud tip, the more distal the fate it adopts. Alternative models of non–cell autonomous specification invoke the role of proximal signals emanating from the flank, such as retinoic acid (RA), in the specification of proximal cell fates. Reports by Roselló-Díez et al. and Cooper et al. support the notion that combined inputs from proximal and distal signals cooperate to specify cell fates along the PD axis in the chick limb. Roselló-Díez et al. performed various transplantation experiments using excised limb buds and "recombinant limbs," which consist of dissociated limb bud mesenchymal cells packed into ectodermal sheaths, that together revealed that formation of a complete PD axis depended upon both proximal and distal signals and that formation of proximal structures and expression of a proximal marker correlated with RA signaling. Cooper et al. demonstrated that RA signaling was required for proximal marker expression in limb bud mesenchymal cells that had been cultured with Wnt3a and FGF8 to maintain proliferation and suppress differentiation. Furthermore, transplantation experiments with recombinant limbs made from these cultured mesenchymal cells indicated that the presence of all three signals—RA, FGF, and Wnt—enabled formation of a complete PD axis despite the passage of time in culture. These results support a model in which proximal cell fate is determined nonautonomously by opposing extrinsic signals rather than autonomously by a clock mechanism. A Perspective by Mackem and Lewandoski discusses caveats to this model and the similarities between this model of limb cell specification in the embryonic chick limb bud and amphibian limb regeneration. A. Roselló-Díez, M. A. Ros, M. Torres, Diffusible signals, not autonomous mechanisms, determine the main proximodistal limb subdivision. Science 332, 1086–1088 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text] K. L. Cooper, J. K.-H. Hu, D. ten Berge, M. Fernandez-Teran, M. A. Ros, C. J. Tabin, Initiation of proximal-distal patterning in the vertebrate limb by signals and growth. Science 332, 1083–1086 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text] S. Mackem, M. Lewandoski, Limb cells don't tell time. Science 332, 1038–1039 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Abstract Factors affecting juvenile survival are poorly known in the world's most northern antelope, the endangered saiga (Saiga tatarica), yet these factors are fundamental for understanding what drives population change. We monitored Mongolia saiga (S. tatarica mongolica) calves in Sharga Nature Reserve, western Mongolia, during 2008–2010. Our results showed that male and single calves were heavier than females and twins, respectively. However, we identified no significant differences in seasonal or annual survival rates between sexes or between singletons and twins. Litter size and birth mass varied among years, and there was a negative relationship between these variables. Survival of calves during the 1st year was best explained by the covariates of year and litter size (confounded with body mass), suggesting that interannual variation in environmental conditions influenced twinning rates and body mass, and might play a key role in 1st-year survival. We identified 3 sources of mortality—predation by raptors, foxes (red fox [Vulpes vulpes] and corsac fox [V. corsac]), and lynx (Lynx lynx). Most predation was attributed to raptors, such as golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus). Our results point to both environmental and biotic factors affecting survival of juvenile saiga.


Governments and legislators all over the world view ports and terminals as vital infrastructure assets as they play a critical role in economic growth by attracting and generating trade. A port that does not have the ability to cope with rapidly advancing technologies will not be in a position to foster the development of the trade sector. Their ability to 'go green' by reducing their carbon footprint and by being more sensitive to environmental considerations is vital to their success. The future is bringing increased demands for greater efficiency and for more sustainable designs in cargo handling technologies. Moreover, the scarcity of land is forcing port companies to realise higher area utilizations. With the arrival of the next generation ultra-large Triple-E vessels carrying 18,000 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit), it is important to investigate the opportunities to introduce innovation in the development of terminal operations and the logistics chain. The crucial terminal management problem is how to balance the integration of the current technology with the new state of the art technology such as the Intelligent Autonomous Vehicle (IAV). Although the IAV is not exactly new, what makes it different is that it does not require a guidance system such as rails or transponders set into the ground, to reach its destination. Traffic management and space optimization is a problem with the future development of container terminals. The problem can be solved by having a remote 'traffic control centre' directing vehicles to marshalling areas where the containers are handled by IAV's. The challenge is to find innovative solutions to balance service requirements while integrating automated and non-automated cargo handling equipment in container terminals to ensure sustainability, safety and security.