Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is often over expressed in ovarian cancer (OVCA), promoting ascites and effusions. Preclinical studies of inhibition of VEGF and its receptors (VEGFR) show activity in OVCA xenografts. Clinical interest in evaluating VEGF (R) inhibition was triggered when the Gynecologic Oncology Group demonstrated single agent activity of the VEGF targeted antibody, bevacizumab (BEV) in recurrent OVCA. Since that time, BEV and small molecular VEGFR inhibitors have been studied in numerous phase II and III trials in OVCA. Randomized BEV trials are the most mature with results reported in first line (GOG218, ICON7), platinum sensitive recurrent disease (OCEANS trial) and platinum resistant recurrent disease (AURELIA trial) settings. All trials gave concurrent chemotherapy + BEV with some providing maintenance BEV after chemotherapy. All have shown a biological effect of the addition of BEV with higher response rates and longer progression free survival (PFS) in BEV arms. To date, no trial has shown overall survival (OS) improvement, although mature analyses for OS are awaited. Quality of life data have not suggested a benefit with BEV and toxicity is greater. Results of phase III trials of VEGFR inhibitors cedarinib, pazopanib and nintedanib are awaited. The BEV results lead to several important questions: 1) in the absence of significant OS improvement to date, is there sufficient patient benefit from PFS increases to warrant incorporation of BEV into ovarian cancer treatment? And when over the course of the disease should the agent be given? 2) Is the use of BEV cost effective and affordable? 3) Which patient subset is benefiting most? Subgroup analysis of the ICON7 study, suggests that patients with greater bulk disease (Stage III> 1 cm residual and Stage IV) seem to derive more PFS benefit. Indeed in this subgroup, overall survival also was improved. However, in the GOG0218 trial, the hazard ratio for PFS was observed to be better in patients with < 1 cm residual. Some have suggested VEGF A plasma levels may be predictive of BEV benefit, but no results from the BEV OVCA trials are yet published. In summary, clinical results to date show significant PFS improvements from BEV in 4 trials, but it is unclear if this will translate into improved OS and how best and in whom BEV should be used in OVCA management. Disclosure: The author has declared no conflicts of interest.


While it's true that printers are pointless without ink or paper, and that there have been monumental advancements in both of those areas, getting the ink onto the paper is just as important. There are a number of pressures driving these advances and, much as we may think that being a good corporate citizen and promoting a strong green conscience is a high priority, making money remains the root of all enterprises. Printers are no exception.


My topic in this essay is a major fault line within normative theory. More precisely, it is a major fault line within that part of a normative theory that deals with the content of our moral obligations to others. When I refer to moral obligations here, I am referring to those acts that morality demands of us such that it permits force or its threat to be employed to secure those acts. Moral obligations as I use the term are thus candidates for legal enforcement. I argue that much of what is debated within liberal political/moral theory can be usefully illuminated by dividing liberal conceptions of justice into two major camps. In one camp are those conceptions that are thoroughgoingly impartialist. That is, their impartialism applies to any good over which people might make competing claims. I shall refer to this group of conceptions as Unrestricted Impartialism, or UI. Opposed to this camp of liberal conceptions of justice is that group of conceptions that limits impartialism to some goods but puts other goods beyond the writ of justice (enforceable morality). I shall call this group of conceptions Restricted Impartialism, or RI. In this essay, my aim is to paint these two conceptions and their strengths and weaknesses using a very broad brush. In philosophy, the devil is more frequently than not in the details, and broad brush strokes generally obfuscate more than illuminate. Moreover, my metier tends to be fine analytical points and not big picture tableaux. Nonetheless, not only do space limitations preclude in-depth analyses of the conceptions I discuss, but my message is a wholesale rather than retail one, namely, that there is a single and major gulf dividing liberal conceptions of justice into these two distinct camps. Analytical fine points about these conceptions are beside the point.


Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are heterogeneous regarding underlying problems, which include ocular motor control deficiencies. Poor ocular motor control show relationships with motor coordination problems, which can contribute to academic problems and poor motor skill development needed for successful sport participation. Visual therapy is indicated as a possible way to address poor ocular motor control. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of visual therapy on the DCD status of 7- to 8-year old children. Thirty-two children with a mean age of 95.66 months formed part of the study. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) was used to classify children into the different DCD categories (≤15th percentile), while the Sensory Input Systems Screening Test and Quick Neurological Screening Test II (QNST-II) was used to evaluate ocular motor control. A pre-testpost- test design was used. The 18-week visual therapy was executed once a week for 40 minutes during school hours. The results indicated that the visual therapy contributed to a significantly (p<0.001) improvement on the DCD status of all the children in the intervention group. Visual therapy is therefore recommended for school-age children with DCD who experience poor ocular motor control. It should be given as early as possible to prevent negative long-term effects on academic performance and motor skill development. Keywords : DCD, Ocular motor control, Visual functioning problems, visual therapy.


Boundedness – the distinction between members and non-members – has long been a central defining feature of a team. In this perspective paper, we start by discussing classic conceptualizations of team boundaries, which emphasize the importance of boundary clarity. Yet many teams are more fluid, more overlapping and more dispersed − and consequently their boundaries are less clear − than ever before. We review recent literature that begins to illuminate the changing nature of team boundaries, and argue that fluidity, overlap, and dispersion have important implications for teams through their effects on members' shared identity and mutual understanding. We propose that today's teams can be usefully characterized as tightly versus loosely bounded, rather than as clearly bounded by definition, and conclude by examining the implications of the changing nature of team boundaries for future theoretical and empirical research on teams.


The football-skill teaching has been in the practice-centered state for a long time. In view of the existing state, this investigation, based on the football elective course, studies the effects of multimedia-assisting teaching on the football-skill teaching. The multimedia can make the teaching more visually oriented and help the students understand and master the football skill better so as to achieve more ideal teaching effects. Adopting the multimediaassisting teaching in the conventional football-skill teaching mode can show the act more visually, optimize the teaching structure and improve the students' ability. The test result shows that the multimedia-assisting teaching mode has three kinds of studied football skills improved significantly and is worth popularized. However, we could not emphasize the importance of the multimedia teaching blindly. During the multimedia-assisting teaching, we should adopt the multimedia reasonably according to the teaching contents and integrate the advantage of the conventional teaching with that of the multimedia teaching in hope of achieving the best teaching effects. This study, choosing all elective course students as subjects demonstrates in fact three kinds of students' football skills (shooting, kick-further and kick-accurate) with 5 methods such as experimental method and contrastive method. The test result shows that the use of multimedia in the footballskill teaching can improve the students significantly.


Recession is currently causing a resurgence of the academic serials crisis. Profit-mongering by commercial publishers is once again denounced as the key driver of the crisis. However, a critical analysis of institutional and bibliometric data does not reveal excessive corporate greed in recent years; instead, it suggests that the present hurdles stem largely from years of inadequate budget allocations to academic libraries and from a publishing frenzy fuelled by simplistic methods of evaluating faculty productivity. To prevent what is likely to be the publishing equivalent of a tsunami in the next few years, universities and research institutions urgently need to re-emphasize quality over quantity in the publishing process, and they must find ways to include peer-reviewing efficiency among their criteria for productivity and impact. Achieving these goals will require concerted efforts by researchers, librarians, and publishers.


We sought to determine if single-dose external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) could modulate the expression signature of T-cell costimulatory and coinhibitory molecules in human prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines in vitro. We investigated the functional impact of irradiated PCa cells with a modulated costimulatory profile on responder T-cell activity. We used three PCa cell lines (DU145, PC3, and LNCaP) and two epithelial cell lines from noncancerous prostate and lung tissue. After 72 hours of EBRT, surface expression of four immunostimulatory molecules (CD70, CD275/ICOSL, CD134L/OX40L, and CD137L/41BBL) and two immunosuppressive markers (CTLA-4/CD152 and PD-L1/CD274) were evaluated by flow cytometry. We evaluated the impact of several radiation doses and the longevity of modulated expression. We examined the functional impact of radiation-induced modulation of cancer cells by cytotoxic T cells (CTL) cytotoxicity and ELISPOT assay for interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production. Last, we evaluated whether IFN-γ-induced PD-L1 expression could be reversed by EBRT. After 10 Gy EBRT, expression of OX40L and 41BBL increased in all three PCa cell lines; expression of CD70 and ICOSL increased in PC3 cells. Conversely, a decrease in PD-L1 expression in DU145 and PC3 cells was detectable up to 144 hours after EBRT. No PD-L1 was detected in LNCaP. Epithelial cells from normal prostate were not modulated by radiation. CTL cytolytic activity and IFN-γ production were enhanced by interaction with irradiated PCa cells. Finally, EBRT failed to prevent IFN-γ-induced upregulation of PD-L1. We demonstrate that a single dose of EBRT increased surface expression of costimulatory molecules and decreased the expression of coinhibitory molecules in human PCa cell lines. Changes in irradiated tumor cells led to functional enhancement of T-cell activity, despite EBRT failing to reduce IFN-γ-induced expression of PD-L1. These data suggest that combining radiotherapy with T-cell stimulating immunotherapy may be an attractive strategy for cancer treatment.


This essay explores how museums, public memory, and authenticity intersect to privilege an understanding of the past. Reflecting White control over the promotion of blues music, the curators at the Delta Blues Museum, located in Clarksdale, Mississippi, employ two rhetorical strategies to satisfy the expectations of (White) tourists who share culturally specific memories of the blues. First, the museum's rhetorical depiction of blues artists reflects White fascination with the mythic image of the primitive blues subject. Second, the exhibit recreates an early 20th century Delta society to complement tourism goals to market the Mississippi Delta as America's last remaining "pure" blues culture. In the conclusion, implications for rhetorical scholars interested in studying the symbolic dimensions of authenticity are discussed.


This study aims at finding out how the English teacher trainee of Teacher Profession Education (PPG SM-3T) implemented scientific approach in teaching Writing, her teaching performance and students writing achievement. The descriptive qualitative method was employed in which the subjects of the research were the English teacher trainee of PPG SM-3T and 28 students of X IS 1 MAN Rukoh Banda Aceh. The instruments used were observation, document, interview and video recording. The research was conducted in six meeting hours. The results of the research show that the teacher implemented scientific approach in teaching writing by integrating semantic mapping and TPS (Think Pair Share). The teacher applied thinking step (of TPS) in Observation step and semantic mapping in Questioning step. In Experimenting and Associating steps, the teacher integrated semantic mapping and Pair step (of TPS). And in associating step the teacher implemented Share step (of TPS). The teacher's teaching performance increased from the first observation to the second observation, they were, from 73.44 (Fair) to 90.63 (Very Good). In addition, the students writing achievement increased after they were taught by the teacher who integrated semantic mapping and TPS. In the first meeting, the average score was 70.83 in which 71% of them passed  the  Minimum Learning Mastery (KKM: 80) while in the second meeting, the average score of  students writing was 86.73 in which 88.89 % students reached the Minimum Learning Mastery (KKM: 80). However, of six writing aspects examined three aspects: structure, vocabulary and mechanics still need more serious attention since the students' achievements are not satisfactory yet.


Road accidents remain as one of the major causes of death and injuries globally. Several million people die every year due to road accidents all over the world. Although the number of accidents in European region have reduced in the past years, road safety still remains a major challenge. Especially in case of commercial trucks, due to the size and load of the vehicle, even minor collisions with other road users would lead to serious injuries or death. In order to reduce number of accidents, automotive industry is rapidly developing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving technologies. Efficient and reliable solutions are required for these systems to sense, perceive and react to different environmental conditions. For vehicle safety applications such as collision avoidance with vulnerable road users (VRUs), it is not only important for the system to efficiently detect and track the objects in the vicinity of the vehicle but should also function robustly.

An environment perception solution for application in commercial truck safety systems and for future automated driving is developed in this work. Thereby a method for integrated tracking and classification of road users in the near vicinity of the vehicle is formulated. The drawbacks in conventional multi-object tracking algorithms with respect to state, measurement and data association uncertainties have been addressed with the recent advancements in the field of unified multi-object tracking solutions based on random finite sets (RFS). Gaussian mixture implementation of the recently developed labeled multi-Bernoulli (LMB) filter [RSD15] is used as the basis for multi-object tracking in this work. Measurement from an high-resolution radar sensor is used as the main input for detecting and tracking objects.

On one side, the focus of this work is on tracking VRUs in the near vicinity of the truck. As it is beneficial for most of the vehicle safety systems to also know the category that the object belongs to, the focus on the other side is also to classify the road users. All the radar detections believed to originate from a single object are clustered together with help of density based spatial clustering for application with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm. Each cluster of detections would have different properties based on the respective object characteristics. Sixteen distinct features based on radar detections, that are suitable for separating pedestrians, bicyclists and passenger car categories are selected and extracted for each of the cluster. A machine learning based classifier is constructed, trained and parameterised for distinguishing the road users based on the extracted features.

The class information derived from the radar detections can further be used by the tracking algorithm, to adapt the model parameters used for precisely predicting the object motion according to the category of the object. Multiple model labeled multi-Bernoulli filter (MMLMB) is used for modelling different object motions. Apart from the detection level, the estimated state of an object on the tracking level also provides information about the object class. Both these informations are fused using Dempster-Shafer theory (DST) of evidence, based on respective class probabilities Thereby, the output of the integrated tracking and classification with MMLMB filter are classified tracks that can be used by truck safety applications with better reliability.

The developed environment perception method is further implemented as a real-time prototypical system on a commercial truck. The performance of the tracking and classification approaches are evaluated with the help of simulation and multiple test scenarios. A comparison of the developed approaches to a conventional converted measurements Kalman filter with global nearest neighbour association (CMKF-GNN) shows significant advantages in the overall accuracy and performance.


Informative data collection is important in the identification and conservation of rare plant species. Data sets generated by many small-scale studies may be integrated into large, distributed databases, and statistical tools are being developed to extract meaningful information from such databases. A diversity of field methodologies may be employed across smaller studies, however, resulting in a lack of standardization and quality control, which makes integration more difficult. Here, we present a case study of the population-level monitoring of two threatened plant species with contrasting life history traits that require different field sampling methodologies: the limestone glade bladderpod, Physaria filiformis, and the western prairie fringed orchid, Plantanthera praeclara. Although different data collection methodologies are necessary for these species based on population sizes and plant morphology, the resulting data allow for similar inferences. Different sample designs may frequently be necessary for rare plant sampling, yet still provide comparable data. Various sources of uncertainty may be associated with data collection (e.g., random sampling error, methodological imprecision, observer error), and should always be quantified if possible and included in data sets, and described in metadata. Ancillary data (e.g., abundance of other plants, physical environment, weather/climate) may be valuable and the most relevant variables may be determined by natural history or empirical studies. Once data are collected, standard operating procedures should be established to prevent errors in data entry. Best practices for data archiving should be followed, and data should be made available for other scientists to use. Efforts to standardize data collection and control data quality, particularly in small-scale field studies, are imperative to future cross-study comparisons, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews.


Aims. Among the known Ap stars, HD 101065 is probably one of the most interesting objects, demonstrating very rich spectra of rare-earth elements (REE). Strongly peculiar photometric parameters of this star can not be fully reproduced by any modern theoretical calculations, even those accounting for realistic chemistry of its atmosphere. In this study we investigate a role of missing REE line opacity and construct a self-consistent atmospheric model based on accurate abundance and chemical stratification analysis. Methods. We employed the LL M O DELS stellar model atmosphere code together with DDAFIT and SYNTHMAG software packages to derive homogeneous and stratified abundances for 52 chemical elements and to construct a self-consistent model of HD 101065 atmosphere. The opacity in REE lines is accounted for in details, by using up-to-date extensive theoretical calculations. Results. We show that REE elements play a key role in the radiative energy balance in the atmosphere of HD 101065, leading to the strong suppression of the Balmer jump and energy redistribution very different from that of normal stars. Introducing new line lists of REEs allowed us to reproduce, for the first time, spectral energy distribution of HD 101065 and achieve a better agreement between the unusually small observed Stromgren c 1 index and the model predictions. Using combined photometric and spectroscopic approaches and based on the iterative procedure of abundance and stratification analysis we find effective temperature of HD 101065 to be T eff = 6400 K.


A hallmark feature of addiction, including nicotine dependence, is persistent drug use
despite the adverse consequences of such behaviour. This implies that there may be
deficient processing of punishment in dependent individuals. However, despite growing
bodies of research investigating both altered reward sensitivity and error monitoring
deficits there is a paucity of empirical work investigating sensitivity to punishment in
nicotine dependence. The main aim of this thesis was therefore to investigate the effects of
satiation level (abstinent/satiated) and smoking history (current/former/never) on
behavioural measures of punishment sensitivity. Furthermore, the related phenomenon of
loss aversion (the tendency for individuals to be more sensitive to losses compared to
gains) was investigated in former smokers alongside a range of self-control indices.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with far reaching consequences. Therapeutic options assuring total recovery is not available till yet. Adjuvant therapy has attracted the research limelight and now equal importance is being given to dietary and lifestyle interventions parallel with western classical medicine. Therapeutic entities are being developed with multimodal and translational perspectives. Adjuvant therapy has gained prominence as it can treat most naturally without altering the normal lifestyle. This review aims to highlight the putative neuroprotective, neurostimulatory and antioxidant effects of potent black tea compounds like theaflavins, catechins, L-theanine, caffeine where a multimodal therapeutic remedy can be achieved with L-theanine that can successfully cross the blood brain barrier coupled with free radical scavenging capacity of theaflavins and the synergistic improvement in cognitive performance with L-theanine-caffeine combination. Development of black tea formulations to combat bioavailability issues also fulfills the translational purposes.


Vertical distribution of zooplankton biomass and abundance, copepod taxonomic composition and species diversity were analyzed at eight stations during an oceanographic expedition along the Straits of Malacca.
Samples were collected in vertical hauls (140 μm mesh using 45 cm diameter NORPAC net) from four depth strata. Zooplankton biomass was higher at 10-20 m depth in the central and southern parts of the Straits compared to the other depth layers, but the differences were significant (p<0.05) only in the southern part. A total of 96 species of planktonic copepods belonging to 35 genera were identified in the surveyed area. Except for the 10-20 m depth layer in the northern part of the Straits, copepods were the major fraction of the total zooplankton at all depths. In the northern and central parts of the Straits, the deeper layers had higher species diversity indices than in the surface waters, mainly due to higher evenness in the deeper layers. The lower species diversity in the deeper layers of the southern region was attributed to the dominance of a few species.


This year-long interactional ethnography of four firstand second-generation Vietnamese and Mexican immigrant youth enrolled in an urban Catholic school traced how participants used a series of literacy-focused interactional strategies to negotiate the complexities of the contemporary Catholic school landscape. Urban US Catholic schools have undergone a radical transformation in the last 40 years, from overenrolled neighborhood parochial schools serving largely white Catholic students (Walch, 2003), to contracting decentralized schools serving Catholic immigrants from Asia and Latin American alongside large numbers of non-Catholic African American students (Hunt & Walch, 2010; Irving & Fosters, 1996; Louie & Holdaway, 2009; NCEA, 2014). This dissertation study represents an effort to describe how four students, the children of political and economic migrants and refugees, used literacy-focused interactional strategies in a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual urban Catholic school and parish. Using a Bourdieusian analytic approach (Grenfell, et al., 2012; Grenfell & Lebaron, 2014; Hardy, 2011), I examined the language and literacy practices of these four youth over the course of a year, looking particularly at their interactional strategies in their Grade 8 classroom and at the adjacent parish. In the tradition of literacy-focused interactive ethnography (Bloome, et al., 2005; Castanheira, Crawford, Dixon, & Green, 2001; Castanheira, Green, Dixon,, & Yeager, 2007), I collected interview, observational, and artifactual data about how students navigated the parish and school using their linguistic and literacy resources, and how the structure of Catholic schooling allowed for their particular resources to be circulated and recognized as legitimate. This ethnographic study was designed to highlight the unrecognized literate labour of immigrant youth, and to help educators identify how they might mobilize these literacies for language and literacy education in a way that honors their rich cultural, linguistic, and migratory legacies (Campano & Ghiso, 2011). It further hopes to demonstrate the contested nature of all literacy resources in schools, with a specific focus on the field of Catholic education as a site of contestation amongst various groups. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Education First Advisor Gerald Campano


Background & Aim: Cancer patients are in need of specialized and low-cost care therefore has brought about many challenges for health care team and necessitates conducting research. This study aimed to determine nursing research priorities for cancer from the viewpoint of the nurses attending at the conference of Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention (APOCP). Material & Method: In this study, Delphi method was used. A two-part questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics and phrases related to the research items was given to the participants. Delphi method was organized in two phases. The responses from the first stage (30 samples of scientific member in APOCP), were divided into 4 theme groups including 35 statements. Then, in the second stage, questionnaire was distributed among participants in APOCP conference. Finally, 54 nurses returned them. Data were analyzed by SPSS (ver.10). Results: The findings showed that the majority of samples were female (92.6%), clinical nurse (59.3%), above 40 years old (40.7%); and had working experience less than 10 years (46.3%) and direct contact with cancer patients (96.3%). The top priority research topics were "economic-psycho-social effects of cancer diagnosis on family", "chemotherapy-related mouth care", "nutritional needs", "continuity of care", and "communication with patients". The topics with the lowest priority were "nurses' fear of caring cancer patients", "evaluation of instruments measuring fatigue and spirit", and "palliative care from patients' point of view". Conclusion: The study findings showed that areas such as psychological, socio-economic and special care as well as the method of care delivery were still as the main concerns of the researchers. These results can help the clinical investigators in choosing interesting and challenging topics in the field of cancer.


Since the late 1990s, a little-known wave of Chinese migrants has been making its way to France. Coming from regions with no tradition of international mobility, it differs from classic migratory flows in that it consists mainly of urban middle-class women in their forties who are affected by the reform policy. Drawing on the point of view of these female migrants regarding developments in the job market, their economic resources, and changes in family relations, this article examines the transformations in social norms and gender roles that affected these people before their departure. It considers whether these developments have had an impact beyond China's borders, and whether they may have influenced the gender configuration of this migratory flow making its way to Europe.


Secukinumab is an inhibitor of interleukin IL-17A, and is mainly used in the treatment of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Although rarely, this drug may induce paradoxical reactions, such as cutaneous vasculitis. Worldwide, only four previous cases of vasculitis induced by secukinumab have been reported. We herein report the first case described in Brazil of cutaneous vasculitis due to secukinumab in a patient with peripheral spondyloarthritis who demonstrated good resolution after withdrawal of the drug and initiation of etanercept. Clinicians should be aware of this rare but potentially serious adverse effect of secukinumab. LEARNING POINTS Treatment with biologics can cause vasculitis.The vasculitis may be independent of class of the biologic.Only five cases of vasculitis induced by secukinumab have been reported.


African Acacia species are often major contributors to the progressive increase in the woody component of savannas, a phenomenon commonly referred to as bush encroachment. In Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, the numbers of adult Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. Ex Del. subsp. kraussiana (Benth.) Brenan trees per hectare far exceed those of A. karroo Hayne adults.The relative dominance is reversed in the juvenile stage with A. karroo outnumbering A. nilotica three fold outside closed woodlands. We experimentally investigated the effects of location, structural habitat type, species, predator type and rodent presence on the level of post-dispersal seed predation in an attempt to explain species dominance in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. Post-dispersal predation of A. karroo seeds (21.8%) was higher than that of A. nilotica (12.7%). Predation levels depended on site, structural habitat type, level of protection from different predator types and rodent presence / absence. There was more rodent predation in tall grass areas (26.0%) than grazing lawn (10.7%) or canopy areas (15.2%), and most seeds (19.7%) were lost from unprotected control groups. Rodent presence was a significant factor in a model aiming to determine reasons for unexplained seed disappearance. Post-dispersal predation of seeds could not account for the differences in success between A. karroo and A. nilotica in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.


The authors applied near-infrared low-level laser irradiation (LLLI) directed to the stellate ganglion (SG) and to the common carotid artery (CCA), and compared the effects on central retinal artery blood flow using color pulse Doppler sonography. In 10 healthy volunteers, LLLI (0.92 W, 1 : 1 duty cycle, 10 min) to both the SG and CCA significantly increased peak systolic blood velocity in the ophthalmic artery (p<0.001, each) and central retinal artery (p<0.001, each) without changes in vessel resistance. Irradiation to the CCA produced a stronger effect than that to the SG in the ophthalmic artery (p=0.007) and central retinal artery (p=0.031). These data suggest that LLLI to the SG or to the CCA is a useful therapy for increasing the retrobulbar blood flow, with irradiation directed to the CCA being more effective than that directed to the SG in clinical settings.


Nematodes cause billions of dollars of damage each year to agricultural crops worldwide. Nematicides are costly and environmentally detrimental. Crop rotation does not eliminate nematodes, but merely decreases crop damage. For successful engineering of transgenic plants for nematodes resistance, it is important to regulate plant resistance through promoters that over-express resistance genes or produce RNAi in the correct cells at the proper time. Data from our previous microarray experiments showed a number of genes that are responsive and activated at feeding site upon nematode infection after 3, 6 and 9 days. In this investigation, we identified and isolated seven different promoter regions, supposedly harboring different regulatory elements upstream to seven responsive genes that are highly expressed in the nematode feeding site. The upstream promoter regions were cloned, sequenced and tested in our newly developed expression vectors series, pJan25S (NCBI: KC416200), pJan25T (NCBI: KC416201) and pJan25X (NCBI: KC416202), that are an enhancements of pGWB533 for pro- moter testing.. Accumulation of the products of reporter genes encoding green fluorescent protein and b-glucuronidase (GUS) was monitored after transformation of onion cells using biolistics gene transfer. These promoter constructs were also prepared for transformation in Arabidopsis and soybean. These promoters will provide scientists with useful regulators for expressing genes and gene products that may inhibit the life cycle of the nematode at nematode feeding site. The same approach can be used for enhancing resistance of Qatari important plants against different pathogen.


Abstract Illite age analysis (Pevear, 1992) and similar mixing methods demonstrate nearlinear behaviour when corrected for smectite content in illite-smectite and substitutions for K+ in illite layers. Srodon (1999) found that highly curved mixing lines result from theoretical calculations and challenged the validity of IAA. However, our theoretical calculations indicate near-linear mixing lines result when corrected for the amount of smectite and known K+ substitutions (Na+ or NH4+). We conclude that perfect linearity is unattainable because IAA attempts to unmix a system linearly, but the system is based on an exponential function (K-Ar equation). In practice, we believe IAA can successfully determine the age range of illite diagenesis, even though perfect linearity is not attainable because: (1) significant deviations from linearity occur only if >500 Ma separate the diagenetic and detrital ages; (2) IAA analytical uncertainties result in diagenetic and detrital ages that span a range of ages.


While chemistry-climate models are able to reproduce many characteristics of the global total column ozone field and its long-term evolution, they have fared less well in simulating the commonly used diagnostic of the area of the Antarctic ozone hole i.e. the area within the 220 Dobson Unit (DU) contour. Two possible reasons for this are: (1) the underlying Global Climate Model (GCM) does not correctly simulate the size of the polar vortex, and (2) the stratospheric chemistry scheme incorporated into the GCM, and/or the model dynamics, results in systematic biases in the total column ozone fields such that the 220 DU contour is no longer appropriate for delineating the edge of the ozone hole. Both causes are examined here with a view to developing ozone hole area diagnostics that better suit measurement-model inter-comparisons. The interplay between the shape of the meridional mixing barrier at the edge of the vortex and the meridional gradients in total column ozone across the vortex edge is investigated in measurements and in 5 chemistry-climate models (CCMs). Analysis of the simulation of the polar vortex in the CCMs shows that the first of the two possible causes does play a role in some models. This in turn affects the ability of the models to simulate the large observed meridional gradients in total column ozone. The second of the two causes also strongly affects the ability of the CCMs to track the observed size of the ozone hole. It is shown that by applying a common algorithm to the CCMs for selecting a delineating threshold unique to each model, a more appropriate diagnostic of ozone hole area can be generated that shows better agreement with that derived from observations.


ADEKUNLE ADEBOWALE Ph.D. thesis, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2014
Strychnos L. is the largest genus of the pantropical or subtropical family
Loganiaceae with about 200 species. Their habits range from trees and shrubs in
open areas to lianas in rain forests. The genus is well-known as a source of alkaloids
such as strychnine and brucine and other allied compounds, all of which have been
used medicinally and in curare formulation for centuries. While taxonomic
circumscription of the genus has never been contentious, there is no consensus
about infrageneric affiliations, the latest of which recognises 12 sections based on
morphological characters. Recent molecular evaluation of the genus on a global
scale with the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) marker suggests that many of the
currently recognised sections are not monophyletic.
An understanding of regional patterns of evolution, which is relevant for biodiversity
conservation, requires an in-depth study of the focus group on a regional scale.
Using a multiplicity of approaches from morphological and molecular to
biogeographical, this study is an attempt at elucidating diversity patterns at different
levels among the southern African species of Strychnos.
Various combinations of morphological attributes from branches, leaves, flowers and
fruits distinguish seemingly homologous clusters of species, sometimes supported
by molecular data. A lack of molecular support for a hypothetical relationship may
viii
indicate case(s) of convergent evolution in these features across the taxa involved.
Molecular phylogenies based on the ITS and chloroplast markers confirm the nonmonophyletic
nature of all but section Spinosae. Proposals for sectional recircumscriptions
of the genus are provided.
Patterns of speciation within Strychnos suggest a Miocene origin in the rain forests
along the South America/Guinea-Congolian axis. Within the southern African
subcontinent, the evolution of the genus carries a strong ecological signature along
either the forest or savanna biome, with many accompanying morphological
adaptations for the respective habitats. The non-synonymy of S. gerrardii with S.
madagascariensis is demonstrated with multiple sources of data, as a case of
integrative taxonomy succeeding where single-source data approaches might have
failed. Routes to current distribution of the genus in southern Africa are hypothesised
to involve a combination of palaeo-climatic oscillations and allopatric speciation,
consistent with the process indicated in many other plant groups for the region.
The findings are discussed in the wider context of their implications for taxonomy
and biodiversity conservation in the face of climate change, food security and other
relevant issues in systematics.


This paper proposes a scheme for the reliable reconstruction of indoor scenes from a few catadioptric images. A set of hand-detected correspondences are established across (but not necessarily all) images. Our improved method is used for the estimation of the essential matrix from appropriately normalized point coordinates. Motion parameters are computed by using the Hartley's (1993) decomposition. A heuristic method is suggested for selecting the point pairs which are most reliable for 3D reconstruction. The known mid-point method is applied for computing the 3D model of a real scene. The parameters of the catadioptric sensor are approximately known but no precise self-calibration method is performed. The experiments show that a reliable 3D reconstruction is possible even without complicated non-linear self-calibration and/or reconstruction methods.


The 2011 elections were the first polls of the postconflict period in which the government of the DRC, rather than the international community, drove the process, providing most of the funds and managing most aspects of the balloting. Credible elections would have marshaled the political and social forces necessary to consolidate peace and democracy. Instead, the Congolese government and its international partners failed to live up to these promises and expectations. The presidential majority's determination to maintain power at all costs and the international actors' lack of commitment to democracy in the DRC have led to a paralyzing crisis of legitimacy.


In this work an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) is presented that is able to enrich its knowledge base, merging both partially structured and unstructured information in a unique internal representation framework. The system gathers new information about the domain in response to both a curiositymechanism and sensory stimuli coming from the interaction with the user. The architecture is an evolution of TutorJ, an actual ITS already presented by some of the authors. The cognitive framework is a very promising one to overcome the limitations of classical ITSs, and to achieve the stated goal. The use of cognitive architectures is intended for a double result: a lower effort for a knowledge-intensive activity like the construction of an ITS and better results in terms of a rich interaction with students. In this framework the system is aware of its internal status, and a curiosity mechanism has been modeled to gather new knowledge from web sources that is integrated in the original knowledge base. The whole architecture is explained in detail, and the information fusion mechanisms are presented along with a simple case study.


China's economic, political and military influence has been increasing at a time when the United States, as sole superpower, dominates the international order. This article outlines Chinese elite perspectives on the current global order and shows not only how these perceptions have affected China's policies towards the United States, but also how they have influenced China's regional and global policies more broadly. It argues that variants of realist logic that interpret Chinese behaviour as a form of balancing are not particularly helpful, and do not capture the essence of Chinese strategies that are underpinned by an overwhelming focus on its domestic development needs. The article posits that Chinese leaders have accepted that they operate in a unipolar order and have chosen not to stick out for negotiating positions that the United States would see as seriously detrimental to its interests. However, Beijing couples this accommodating approach with policies designed to ensure that, were relations seriously to deteriorate with Washington, China could draw on deepened regional and global ties to thwart any US effort to interrupt its domestic objectives. China's hope is that a more 'democratic' international order will emerge, which means not multipolarity as such but a 'concert of great powers system' that will operate to forge multilateral cooperation among the major states.


Learning in environments with large state and action spaces, and sparse rewards, can hinder a Reinforcement Learning (RL) agent's learning through trial-and-error. For instance, following natural language instructions on the Web (such as booking a flight ticket) leads to RL settings where input vocabulary and number of actionable elements on a page can grow very large. Even though recent approaches improve the success rate on relatively simple environments with the help of human demonstrations to guide the exploration, they still fail in environments where the set of possible instructions can reach millions. We approach the aforementioned problems from a different perspective and propose guided RL approaches that can generate unbounded amount of experience for an agent to learn from. Instead of learning from a complicated instruction with a large vocabulary, we decompose it into multiple sub-instructions and schedule a curriculum in which an agent is tasked with a gradually increasing subset of these relatively easier sub-instructions. In addition, when the expert demonstrations are not available, we propose a novel meta-learning framework that generates new instruction following tasks and trains the agent more effectively. We train DQN, deep reinforcement learning agent, with Q-value function approximated with a novel QWeb neural network architecture on these smaller, synthetic instructions. We evaluate the ability of our agent to generalize to new instructions on World of Bits benchmark, on forms with up to 100 elements, supporting 14 million possible instructions. The QWeb agent outperforms the baseline without using any human demonstration achieving 100% success rate on several difficult environments.


The compaction and fracture of brittle spherical particles in a cylindrical vessel were experimentally and numerically studied in the context of the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 60 for proppants used in the hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells. Because pressures within the cylindrical vessel could not be directly measured, strain was experimentally determined via gauges along the outside surface. In addition, an epoxy resin was also injected at various loading stages to "freeze" the damage states for analysis. In addition, acoustic emissions were monitored in situ to determine damage signatures that could be correlated with the frozen test and strain measurement data. Experimental results were then compared to finite element simulations by using an assumed double-exponential pressure distribution applied to the inner face of the vessel. The results indicated that the assumed pressure distribution adequately described the loading state within the cylinder and revealed apparent stratification of damaged proppants near the top and bottom of the container. In addition, the damaged proppants and acoustic emission signatures showed that the damage increases progressively with the loading in distinct stages characterized by fracture and subsequent stress redistribution.


In this paper, an incentive proactive cache mechanism in cache-enabled small cell networks (SCNs) is proposed, in order to motivate the content providers (CPs) to participate in the caching procedure. A network composed of a single mobile network operator (MNO) and multiple CPs is considered. The MNO aims to define the price it charges the CPs to maximize its revenue while the CPs compete to determine the number of files they cache at the MNO's small base stations (SBSs) to improve the quality of service (QoS) of their users. This problem is formulated as a Stackelberg game where a single MNO is considered as the leader and the multiple CPs willing to cache files are the followers. The followers game is modeled as a non-cooperative game and both the existence and uniqueness of a Nash equilibrium (NE) are proved. The closed-form expression of the NE which corresponds to the amount of storage each CP requests from the MNO is derived. An optimization problem is formulated at the MNO side to determine the optimal price that the MNO should charge the CPs. Simulation results show that at the equilibrium, the MNO and CPs can all achieve a utility that is up to 50% higher than the cases in which the prices and storage quantities are requested arbitrarily.


In Ethiopia, 9.7 percent of rural and 28.7 percent of small-town children are wasted and underweight, and under nutrition is responsible for a large percentage of childhood deaths. We use two waves of panel data, from the 2012 and 2014 Ethiopia Socioeconomic Surveys, to assess the dynamics of weight-for-height z-score, wasting, weight-for-age z-score, and underweight among children aged 6-59 months. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and fixed effects regression models are used to examine the associations of individual, household, and community factors with each outcome. The cross-sectional results, which generally parallel previous findings, suggest that child's sex, recent illnesses, household assets, and livestock ownership are correlated with nutritional status. However, many associations disappear after controlling for fixed effects; only recent illness and community access to a main road are consistently significant determinants of changes in nutrition status. Thus, changing factors traditionally identified as correlates of undernutrition may not be enough to improve children's nutrition. Further panel analysis, conditional on baseline nutrition status, shows that drivers of change are asymmetrical—a finding important for policy development.


This paper details the development of a new evaluation framework for a text based Conversational Agent (CA). A CA is an intelligent system that handle spoken or/and text based conversations between machine and human. Generally, the lack of evaluation frameworks for CAs effects its development. The idea behind any system's evaluation is to make sure about the system's functionalities and to continue development on it. A specific CA has been chosen to test the proposed framework on it; namely ArabChat. The ArabChat is a rule based CA and uses pattern matching technique to handle user's Arabic text based conversations. The proposed and developed evaluation framework in this paper is natural language independent. The proposed framework is based on the exchange of specific information between ArabChat and user called "Information Requirements". This information are tagged for each rule in the applied domain and should be exist in a user's utterance (conversation). A real experiment has been done in Applied Science University in Jordan as an information point advisor for their native Arabic students to evaluate the ArabChat and then evaluating the proposed evaluation framework.


System capacity is considered for a group of interfering users employing single user detection and antenna selection of multiple transmit and receive antennas for flat Rayleigh fading channels with independent fading coefficients for each path. The case considered is that where there is very limited channel state information (only the selected antennas) at the transmitter, but channel state information is assumed at the receiver. The focus is on extreme cases with very weak interference or very strong interference. It is shown that the optimum signaling covariance matrix is sometimes different from the standard scaled identity matrix. In fact this is true even for cases without interference if SNR is sufficiently weak. Further the scaled identity matrix is actually that covariance matrix that yields worst performance if the interference is sufficiently strong.


This bibliography lists 484 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between April 1975 and June 1975. Emphasis is placed on the use of remote sensing and geophysical instrumentation in spacecraft and aircraft to survey and inventory natural resources and urban areas. Subject matter is grouped according to agriculture and forestry, environmental changes and cultural resources, geodesy and cartography, geology and mineral resources, hydrology and water management, data processing and distribution systems, instrumentation and sensors, and economic analysis.


This paper draws lessons about the allocation of resources to research aimed at studying the efficiency of consumer decision making in complex, fast-moving markets. These lessons emerged during research involving a large-sample survey of choices of mobile phone service plans by Australian consumers. In this kind of market, researchers will run into difficulties in collecting and evaluating data, and market conditions will not stand still while they address these problems. It is even possible that what seems suboptimal to researchers will sometimes actually be highly appropriate choice for consumers. The paper concludes by advocating the use of simpler methods to approximate the prevalence of decision-making inefficiency—such as collaborative work with owners of websites that try to assist consumers—as knowledge of optimal choices is not essential for understanding the sources of inefficiency or devising methods by which better choices might be made.


Abstract A tripartite compositional classification is proposed for sediments and sedimentary rocks that have grain assemblages with greater than 50 percent of a weight or volume of particles smaller than 62.5 µm (4 Phi). Tarl (terrigenous–argillaceous) contains a grain assemblage dominated by more than 75 percent of particles of extrabasinal derivation, including grains derived from continental weathering and also volcanogenic debris. Carl (calcareous–argillaceous) contains less than 75 percent of particles of extrabasinal derivation debris and among its intrabasinal grains contains a preponderance of biogenic carbonate particles including carbonate aggregates. Sarl (siliceous–argillaceous) contains less than 75 percent of particles of extrabasinal derivation and contains a preponderance of biogenic siliceous particles over carbonate grains. These three classes of fine-grained particulate sediments and rocks effectively separate materials that have distinct depositional settings and systematic contrasts in organic-matter content and minor grain types. In the subsurface the grain assemblages that define these classes follow contrasting and predictable diagenetic pathways that have significant implications for the evolution of bulk rock properties, and thus, assigning a fine-grained rock to one of these classes is an important first step for predicting its economic and engineering qualities. For purposes of description these three class names can be joined to modifier terms denoting rock texture, more precise compositional divisions, specific grain types of notable importance, and diagenetic features.


OBJECTIVE
To describe hospitalization and mortality outcomes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the general population.

METHODS
Hospitalizations of patients with SLE (n = 76,961) were identified from the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample, spanning 5 years from 1998 to 2002. Correlates of mortality were analyzed using logistic regression, while those of hospitalization charges were studied using median regressions.

RESULTS
Overall, 11% of all hospitalizations were for SLE and/or lupus flare. There were 2454 (3.1%) hospitalizations that ended in death. Half of all deaths occurred within 7 days after admission. There were 3 peaks in mortality risk after admission, the first on Day 6, the second Day 33, the third Day 57. Patients in higher income strata and those with private insurance had better mortality outcomes than the rest. Hospitalization charges were expensive, at about US $10,000 per incident. Hospital charges were driven primarily by length of stay and number of medical procedures.

CONCLUSION
Hospitalizations for SLE are expensive, and 1 in 30 hospitalizations culminates in death. There appears to be a trimodal pattern in the time risk of death following admission. Patients with higher socioeconomic status and those with private insurance were less likely to die in hospital.


A statistical scheduling approach to economic dispatch and energy reserves is proposed in this paper. The proposed approach focuses on minimizing the overall power operating cost with considerations of renewable energy uncertainty and power system security. A hybrid power system generates electricity from both conventional and renewable energy sources. In such a system, it is challenging and yet an open question on the scheduling of economic dispatch together with energy reserves, due to renewable energy generation uncertainty, and spatially wide distribution of energy resources. The hybrid power system scheduling is formulated as a convex programming problem to minimize power operating cost, taking considerations of renewable energy generation, power generation-consumption balance and power system security. This new approach for scheduling hybrid power economic dispatch and energy reserves will contribute to the emerging grand challenge of renewable energy integration into the existing power system facilities. A genetic algorithm based approach is used for solving the minimization of the power operating cost. The IEEE 24-bus reliability test system (IEEE-RTS), which is commonly used for evaluating the price stability of power system and reliability, is used as the test bench for verifying and evaluating system performance of the proposed scheduling approach. ii


Information Systems (IS) discipline has been critiqued for being a fragmented discipline, and with little accumulative tradition. Consequently, several research frameworks have been proposed since the 1970s (Mason and Mitroff 1973; Ives, Hamilton and Davis 1980; Nolan and Wheterbe, 1980; Alter 2003) to help to organize, define and delimit such objects of study. However, despite the benefits reported to guide IS research to focus on the adequate objects of study, a formal systemic analysis of them reveals that these frameworks are still incomplete and have systemic inconsistencies. Then, this paper, based in the premise of the development of a more updated and comprehensive framework is required, reports a new one. Its completeness regarding previous frameworks is discussed as well as its potential utilization.


With the recent global financial crisis starting in 2007, the issue of "systemic risk" has attracted much attention in our financial system. Some legislators have asserted that proprietary trading by banking entities, generally the trading of financial instruments for a banking entity's own account, played a critical role in the recent global financial crisis. These sentiments parallel arguments that the practices of banks and their securities affiliates in the 1920s were partly responsible for the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression. At the heart of these assertions is the issue of whether combining the businesses of commercial banking and investment banking increases systemic risk. The Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall Act) contains provisions that prohibit commercial banks from underwriting, promoting, or selling securities directly or through an affiliated brokerage firm, effectively erecting a wall between commercial banking and investment banking. That wall was gradually weakened and picked apart over the course of the next sixty years or so, finally coming down with the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), which repealed the last remaining restrictions of the Glass-Steagall Act's wall. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) of 2010 makes the most sweeping regulatory changes in this area since the 1930s by re-erecting portions of Glass-Steagall's wall. The Volcker rule, contained in the Dodd-Frank Act, restricts "banking entities" from engaging in proprietary trading, and from sponsoring, or acquiring or retaining certain ownership interests in, a hedge or private equity fund.One of the policy justifications for these restrictions is that the prohibited activities increase systemic risk. The implicit contentions in this justification are that if the prohibited activities are too risky they could *182 affect a bank's liquidity,causing the banking entity to (i) be unwilling or unable to extend credit to qualified borrowers or (ii) to fail, disrupting credit channels. Similarly, some fear that banking entities may also fail from exposure to failing hedge or private equity funds, further disrupting credit channels. Are these implicit contentions underlying the Volcker rule's enactment with respect to the policy rationale of systemic risk well founded? One way to attempt to answer that question is to look at whether the blending of commercial and investment banking really played a critical role in the recent recession and in the Great Depression, as some proponents of the Volcker rule and the Glass-Steagall Act contend.Parts I and II of this Article will provide the background necessary for a discussion of these questions. Part I will discuss the concept of systemic risk in general and describe the Volcker rule and its origins. Part II will describe the history of systemic risk banking regulation in the United States. Part III of this Article asks the important question of whether the blending of commercial banking and investment banking produces the alleged harm: increased systemic risk. The Article considers the argument that blending played a role in the stock market crash of 1929. It also considers the argument that blending played a role in the financial crisis of 2007. Part III concludes that the claims that the walls contained in the Glass-Steagall Act and Volcker rule are needed to decrease systemic risk have not been necessarily proven or statistically supported. It seems that the Glass-Steagall wall was erected in 1933 to address conflicts of interest in the blending and to serve as a purported fix to the horrors of the Great Depression in the name of regulating systemic risk-a wall erected for more political than economic reasons in satisfying public outcry to do something, anything, about the disaster. Eugene White's bank failure statistics demonstrate not only that the blending may not increase systemic risk but that there may be diversification, complementaries, and economies of scope benefits to the blending. The policy justifications of the Glass-Steagall and Volcker rule walls must be detangled. If the conflicts of interest are the main harm we are trying to address, it may make sense to consider other solutions such as additional disclosures and regulations that protect the public from such conflicts. If, however, the harm we are trying to address is truly systemic risk, this Article posits that we need a better understanding of systemic risk in a modern era of financial innovation before we erect the Volcker rule wall that may decrease economies of scope, diversification of risks and perhaps even global competitiveness. Perhaps doing something must wait for a better understanding of systemic risk and excessive risk-taking with respect to today's financial innovation and instruments. Once there, the Article posits that there must be some balancing of the synergies and global economic advantages created from the blending and systemic risk concerns.


In this paper, we considered the half logistic model and de- rived a probability density function that generalized it. The cumulative distribution function, the n th moment, the median, the mode and the 100k-percentage points of the generalized distribution were established. Estimation of the parameters of the distribution through maximum like- lihood method was accomplished with the aid of computer program and a theorem that relate the generalized distribution to Pareto distribution was stated and proved. Finally, we obtained the distributions of some order statistics from the generalized half logistic distribution.


Methamphetamine is a potent psychostimulant with high abuse rates. Currently, there is no Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapy for methamphetamine addiction. Ideally, a pharmacotherapy should selectively decrease methamphetamine self-administration without affecting responding for other reinforcers. One way to test this is with the use of a multiple schedule of reinforcement, in which drug and food are available in alternating components within a session. The present study evaluated GZ-793A, a vesicular monoamine transporter-2 inhibitor, and varenicline, a partial agonist at &agr;4&bgr;2 and full agonist at &agr;7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, for their ability to decrease methamphetamine and food self-administration using a multiple schedule of reinforcement. Male Sprague-Dawley rats self-administered methamphetamine (0.03 mg/kg/intravenous infusion) and food pellets under a multiple schedule of reinforcement. GZ-793A or varenicline was administered before multiple schedule sessions. GZ-793A (5 and 20 mg/kg) significantly decreased methamphetamine intake compared with saline and did not alter food-maintained responding. In contrast, varenicline decreased methamphetamine intake less specifically across time. The results suggest that vesicular monoamine transporter-2 inhibition may be a viable pharmacological target for the treatment of methamphetamine-use disorders.


Interstitial lung disease is a devastating disease in humans that can be further complicated by the development of secondary pulmonary hypertension. Accumulating evidence indicates that the oxidant superoxide can contribute to the pathogenesis of both interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension. We used a model of pulmonary hypertension secondary to bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis to test the hypothesis that an imbalance in extracellular superoxide and its antioxidant defense, extracellular superoxide dismutase, will promote pulmonary vascular remodeling and pulmonary hypertension. We exposed transgenic mice overexpressing lung extracellular superoxide dismutase and wild-type littermates to a single dose of intratracheal bleomycin, and evaluated the mice weekly for up to 35 days. We assessed pulmonary vascular remodeling and the expression of several genes critical to lung fibrosis, as well as pulmonary hypertension and mortality. The overexpression of extracellular superoxide dismutase protected against late remodeling within the medial, adventitial, and intimal layers of the vessel wall after the administration of bleomycin, and attenuated pulmonary hypertension at the same late time point. The overexpression of extracellular superoxide dismutase also blocked the early up-regulation of two key genes in the lung known to be critical in pulmonary fibrosis and vascular remodeling, the transcription factor early growth response-1 and transforming growth factor-β. The overexpression of extracellular superoxide dismutase attenuated late pulmonary hypertension and significantly improved survival after exposure to bleomycin. These data indicate an important role for an extracellular oxidant/antioxidant imbalance in the pathogenesis of pulmonary vascular remodeling associated with secondary pulmonary hypertension attributable to bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis.


©The Korean Association of Child Studies This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Corresponding Author: Soon-Hyung Yi, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Korea E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com 비율제한 및 과제제시방법에 따른 3, 4, 5세 유아의 비상징 수 비교능력


The PHENIX experiment has studied nuclear effects in $p$$+$Al and $p$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV on charged hadron production at forward rapidity ($1.4<\eta<2.4$, $p$-going direction) and backward rapidity ($-2.2<\eta<-1.2$, $A$-going direction). Such effects are quantified by measuring nuclear modification factors as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity in various collision multiplicity selections. In central $p$$+$Al and $p$$+$Au collisions, a suppression (enhancement) is observed at forward (backward) rapidity compared to the binary scaled yields in $p$+$p$ collisions. The magnitude of enhancement at backward rapidity is larger in $p$$+$Au collisions than in $p$$+$Al collisions, which have a smaller number of participating nucleons. However, the results at forward rapidity show a similar suppression within uncertainties. The results in the integrated centrality are compared with calculations using nuclear parton distribution functions, which show a reasonable agreement at the forward rapidity but fail to describe the backward rapidity enhancement.


Microkernels are a family of operating system kernels characterized by their small codebase. Due to their small size microkernels provide extra security and reliability as compared to larger, monolithic kernels. When combined with a capability-based architecture these benefits are enhanced, allowing for even greater security through the principle of least privilege. The seL4 microkernel, written in C and formally verified, takes advantage of this capability-based architecture. Formal verification is an incredibly powerful tool—however, its cost is significant. Rust is a strongly-typed systems programming language that provides numerous safety advantages over C and C++, completely eliminating large classes of bugs. This makes the Rust programming language a good candidate for operating system development. This thesis describes Wayless, a capability-based microkernel heavily inspired by seL4. The kernel aims to provide an seL4-compatible application binary interface (ABI), letting seL4 programs run without modification on Wayless. Wayless provides some of the same safety benefits as seL4 through use of the Rust programming language, without going through the process of formal verification. Development on Wayless is still in its early stages but progress has been promising: Wayless already implements most of seL4's system calls and a portion of seL4's capability system.


This thesis is concerned with syntactic mechanisms for the marking of grammatical relationships. It is argued that there is a class of semantically vacuous functional heads serving only as a syntactic means of marking such relationships – either subordination or coordination. These heads are known as linkers. Through studying restrictions on the structural and linear distribution of linkers cross-linguistically, the thesis sheds light on varied areas of syntax: the nature of projection in morphology and syntax; word order principles; and the place of coordinate structures within phrasestructure principles. The morphosyntax provides two possible mechanisms for marking a grammatical relationship. Firstly, an affix marking the relationship can attach directly to any member of the relationship. This member of the relationship then enters the syntactic derivation, but the affix has no syntactic status in its own right. Alternatively, the relationship can be marked by a syntactic object in its own right – a semantically vacuous projecting functional head (a linker). In this latter case, the relationship is marked by the linker structurally intervening between the members of the relationship: its projection must dominate one member, and cannot dominate the others. When combined with principles of extended projection, this leads to the restriction that, in marking a subordination, or Head-Dependent, relationship, such linkers can only appear as the highest head in the extended projection of the Dependent. This prediction is tested empirically by determining the possible distribution and constituency of linkers predominantly in the complex noun phrase. We next consider how the structural distribution of linkers is mapped onto linear order. It is proposed that there are two types of word order constraints available in natural language: those relating to harmony, which are universal and obey a fixed ranking; and those referring to specific features of a head – either lexical category or features referring to semantics. Given their status as semantically vacuous functional heads, only the first type of word order constraint, relating to harmony, applies to linkers. It is shown using Optimality Theory that this theory successfully accounts for the absence of certain disharmonic word orders cross-linguistically. Finally, we consider the implications of the restrictions on the structural and linear distribution of linkers for linkers marking the coordination relationship (that is, syntactically independent coordinators). It is argued that coordination is a symmetric structure, headed by a potentially infinite number of coordinands. It is shown that any difference in the distribution of coordinating and subordinating linkers should be attributed to the unique syntax of the coordinate structure.


Foreword A.F. Logrieco, L. Corazza, A. Bottalico. Toxigenic Fusarium species and mycotoxins associated with maize ear rot in Europe A. Logrieco, G. Mule, A. Moretti, A. Bottalico. Toxigenic Fusarium species and mycotoxins associated with head blight in small-gram cereals in Europe A. Bottalico, G. Perrone. Deoxynivalenol, nivalenol and monififormin in wheat saniples with head blight (scab) symptoms in Poland (1998-2000) M. Tomczak, H. Wisniewska, L. Stepien, M. Kostecki, J. Chelkowski, P. Go1inski. Ochratoxin A in cereals, foodstuffs and human plasma A. Rizzo, M. Eskola, F. Atroshi. Ochratoxin A in grapes and wine P. Battilani, A. Pietri. Ear rot susceptibility and mycotoxin contamination of maize hybrids inoculated with Fusarium species under field conditions M. Pascale, A. Visconti, J. Chelkowski. Studies on the infection process of Fusarium culmorum in wheat spikes: Degradation of host cell wall components and localization of trichothecene toxins in infected tissue Z. Kang, H. Buchenauer. Production of beauvericin by different races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis, the Fusarium wilt agent of muskmelon A. Moretti, A. Belisario, A. Tafuri, A. Ritieni, L. Corazza, A. Logrieco. Epidemiology of Fusarium infection and deoxynivalenol content in winter wheat in the Rhineland, Germany B. Birzele, A. Meier, H. Hindorf, J. Kramer, H.-W. Dehne. Role of deoxynivalenol in aggressiveness of Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum and in resistance to Fusarium head blight A. Mesterhazy. Relationship between growth and mycotoxin production by Fusarium species, biocides and environment N. Magan, R. Hope, A. Colleate, E.S. Baxter. Genetic analysis of the role of trichothecene and fumonisinmycotoxins in the virulence of Fusarium R.H. Proctor, A.E. Desjardins, S.P. McCormick, R.D. Plattner, N.J. Alexander, D.W. Brown. Saccharomyces cerevisae and Arabidopsis thaliana: Useful model systems for the identification of molecular mechanisms involved in resistance of plants to toxins R. Mitterbauer, G. Adam. Mycotoxin genetics and gene clusters G.S. Sidhu. Biosynthesis of depsipeptide mycotoxins in Fusarium T. Hornbogen, M. Glinski, R. Zocher. Secretion of natural and synthetic toxic compounds from filamentous fungi by membrane transporters of the ATP-binding cassette and major facilitator superfamily L. Stergiopoulos, L.-H. Zwiers, M.A. De Waard.


The second European Union (EU) Forest Strategy responds to new challenges facing both forests and the forest-based sector which highlights the EU's need for a policy framework ensuring coordination and coherence of forest-related policies. The objective of the present article is to analyse whether the new Strategy contributes towards horizontal policy coherence of EU forest-related policies, given its shared and exclusive competences. This is achieved by comparing European Commission and forest industry policy priorities as articulated in the Strategy and through research carried out for the recent Cumulative Cost Assessment (CCA) of forest-based industries. Results from the comparative analysis demonstrate that the Strategy does not address many EU policies and policy instruments that affect the whole forest value chain and that it clearly omits existing EU policy instrument objectives that entail significant costs for the forest-based industry. It is therefore argued that without coordinating collective EU goals and gathering strong political support, it is at best extremely difficult or at worst impossible, to achieve coherence for EU forest-related policies across the whole forest value chain. Improving coherence of Union forest-related policies will require the Strategy to address more policy areas and instruments, including clearly defined parameters of what constitutes an EU forest-related policy. These pressing needs reach beyond what the Strategy presently sets out to achieve.


BACKGROUND
Multiplication of the alpha-synuclein gene (SNCA) (OMIM 163890) has been identified as a causative mutation in hereditary Parkinson disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the genetic, biochemical, and neuropathologic characteristics of patients with autopsy-confirmed autosomal dominant Lewy body disease, with particular reference to the dosage effects of SNCA.

DESIGN
Four-generation family study.

SETTING
Academic research. Patients We fractionated samples extracted from frozen brain tissues of 4 patients for biochemical characterization, followed by immunoblot analysis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
We determined the dosages of SNCA and its surrounding genes by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis.

RESULTS
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that 3 patients were heterozygous for SNCA duplication and 1 patient was homozygous for SNCA duplication. The homozygous patient showed earlier age at onset and earlier death, with more severe cognitive impairment than the heterozygous patients. Biochemical analysis revealed that phosphorylated alpha-synuclein accumulated in the sarkosyl-insoluble urea-extracted fraction of the brains of the patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Pathologically confirmed Lewy body disease clinically characterized by progressive parkinsonism and cognitive dysfunction is caused by SNCA duplication. The homozygous patient demonstrated the most severe phenotype, suggesting that SNCA dosage has a considerable effect on disease phenotype even within a family. SNCA duplication results in the hyperaccumulation of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein in the brains of patients.


OBJECTIVE
To develop and analytically validate a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for measurement of endogenous trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline concentrations in canine serum and to assess serum trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline concentrations in dogs with chronic hepatitis.

SAMPLE
Serum samples obtained from 20 dogs with histopathologically confirmed chronic hepatitis and 20 healthy control dogs.

PROCEDURES
A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for quantification of trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline concentration was developed and assessed for analytic sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and reproducibility. Serum concentration of trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline in dogs with chronic hepatitis and healthy control dogs was measured.

RESULTS
Observed-to-expected ratios for dilutional parallelism ranged from 72.7% to 111.5% (mean ± SD, 91.3 ± 19.6%). Intra-assay and interassay coefficients of variation ranged from 2.1% to 3.0% and 3.2% to 5.3%, respectively. Relative error ranged from -2.3% to 7.8%. Trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline concentrations were significantly lower in serum obtained from dogs with chronic hepatitis (median, 0.24 ng/mL; range, 0.06 to 1.84 ng/mL) than in serum obtained from healthy control dogs (median, 0.78 ng/mL; range, 0.14 to 4.90 ng/mL).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The method described here for the quantification of trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline concentration in canine serum was found to be sensitive, specific, precise, accurate, and reproducible. Dogs with chronic hepatitis had significantly lower serum trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline concentrations than did healthy control dogs, possibly as a result of altered hepatic metabolism of amino acids.


In the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics of Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, a new module "Textile Technologies" was started two years ago. Offered for all study directions in the faculty as well as for the students from the Faculty of Design, the module has to be based on blended learning due to the impossibility to find a time in which all interested students could join a lecture or a seminar. Lectures are thus presented in the usual form for those who have time to listen; the other students find the learning material in their Ilias group in the intranet. Instead of meeting at strictly defined times for seminars or practical courses, the students form groups during the first two weeks of the semester and find a research topic of their interest on which they work regularly during the semester, mostly in the lab, but also partly at home. The exam is correspondingly conducted in the form of "project work", opposite to written or oral examination. Although most of the students never hear the lectures "live", the projects are usually successful, with several of them resulting in reviewed papers or posters presented during conferences. Especially the broad range of interdisciplinary skills and topics leads to completely new ideas and solutions for diverse problems. Working together with designers, biotechnologists, mechanical engineers, industrial engineers, students of regenerative energies, mechatronics, and other study directions enables covering a wide area of textile-related subjects. In this way, the students not only learn a lot about textile technologies, but also get an insight into scientific methods.


Widespread satisfaction among users of community mediation, but low voluntary usage, provides a context within which institutional isomorphism between state and informal social control organizations can be empirically investigated. Data drawn from a triangulated ethnography of a single community mediation center suggest that community mediation centers come to be isomorphic with more established governmental social control agencies in order to manage resource uncertainties and assure organizational survival. These findings are relevant to an understanding of linkages between community mediation centers and the state, the struggle for autonomy from the state by mediation practitioners, institutional constraints on community mediation centers generating voluntary users, tensions between staff members' and volunteers'framing of organizational premises and practices, and community mediation's limitations as a vanguard of private alternatives to legal dispute settlement.


The basic concepts of Levi's epistemic utility theory and credal convexity are presented. Epistemic utility, in addition to penalizing error as is done with traditional Bayesian decision methodology, permits a unit of informational value to be distributed among the hypotheses of a decision problem. Convex Bayes decision theory retains the conditioning structure of probability-based inference, but addresses many of the objections to Bayesian inference through relaxation of the requirement for numerically definite probabilities. The result is a decision methodology that stresses avoiding errors and seeks decisions that are likely to be highly informative as well as true. By relaxing the mandatory requirement for unique decisions and point estimates in all cases, decision and estimation criteria that do not demand more than is possible to obtain from the data and permit a natural man-in-the-loop interface are obtained. Applications are provided to illustrate the theory. >


As information visualization is increasingly used to raise awareness about social issues, difficult questions arise about the power of visualization. So far the research community has not given sufficient thought to how values and assumptions pervade information visualization. Taking engaging visualizations as a starting point, we outline a critical approach that promotes disclosure, plurality, contingency, and empowerment. Based on this approach, we pose some challenges and opportunities for visualization researchers and practitioners.


Understanding the factors involved in the development of postpartum depressive disorders has important implications for the detection of women at risk, and the development of theory‐driven preventative treatments. In the current study, recent innovations in the assessment of idiographic cognitive functioning among adult, non‐pregnant samples were administered to a sample of healthy primiparous women to investigate their predictive utility in the onset of low mood following childbirth. Cognitive biases using autobiographical material, and the degree of self‐devaluation during brief episodes of naturally occurring low mood were assessed in 94 concurrently well women in the third trimester of their first pregnancy. The degree of depressive symptomatology at 2 and 8 weeks postpartum was assessed subsequently. Antenatal self‐devaluative tendencies and a lack of specificity in autobiographical retrieval were not associated with low mood in the initial weeks following delivery, when biological factors are believed to play an important role, but did predict depressive symptoms more distally at 8 weeks after childbirth. This relationship was demonstrated after controlling for educational level, variations in antenatal dysphoria, previous emotional difficulties, neuroticism and the woman's own experience of mothering. The theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.


The current experiments examined the role of spontaneous relative judgments of self and participant memory within the social contagion of memory paradigm (Roediger, Meade, & Bergman, 2001). Participants viewed household scenes in collaboration with a confederate who falsely recalled incorrect items as having occurred in the scenes. The perceived memory ability of the confederate was manipulated during a practice scene to imply poor, average, or superior memory. Participant self-memory was manipulated by varying presentation rate to create short (poor) relative to long (good) encoding conditions. Importantly, the participants were never explicitly informed by the experimenter about either their own memory ability or the memory ability of the confederate. Of interest was whether or not participants would evaluate both the state of their own memory and the state of the confederate memory in relation to one another when remembering suggested information. On subsequent recall and recognition tests, participants were more likely to incorporate confederate suggestions when their own memory was poor, and this was especially true when the confederate's memory was superior. Participants do make spontaneous, relative judgments of memory when working with others on a memory test.


This paper explores the consequences of the current global economic crisis for the ethics of adult education, with a particular focus on changes in the time-space of educational work. It theorizes from a number of different disciplinary perspectives and bodies of literature, but argues that we need to turn a sociological rather than philosophical lens on these questions.
From the late 1980s, social science has taken a 'spatial turn' (Castree, 2009, p. 32) focusing on positionality, space, place, borders, liminality and so forth. This has largely been used to illuminate epistemological questions in a metaphorical way; although more recent studies of adult education have a more ontological focus on globalisation and its material impact on diversified learning spaces (Seddon et al, 2010). Time, by contrast, is a sorely under-researched aspect of adult education, despite its growing importance in broader social science (e.g. Adam, 1995; Time & Society journal). Yet it is deeply connected with adult education, not least because key philosophical understandings of time reveal that it is always intimately connected with ethics – that is to say, with values and purpose, and with the pursuit of a 'good life' and a 'good society'.
Whilst most philosophical discussions of time conceptualise it either in a external-realist manner (as a material context for human action), or in an internal-idealist way (as an inescapable category of human consciousness), this paper draws on contrasting sociological understandings. Concepts offered by scholars such as David Harvey (2006), often drawing on Marxist theory, treat time not as the external or internal backdrop to human practice, but as generated by human practice. They see time as inextricably integrated with space. Moreover, time is generated in three different registers: historical time, related to the mode of production and particular stages within its development; abstract or 'clock' time, which in the capitalist era is primarily used to calculate the degree of exploitation of labour power and the rate of profit; and concrete or 'process time', which is particularly experienced in human service work such as adult education, where labour is driven by student needs which often conflict with the 'clock' time allocated (cf. Davies, 1994).
Such an analysis allows us to consider the time-space of publicly-funded adult education as productive of labour power, and as part of the 'social wage' within the overall circulation of capital (Allman, 1999). It also helps to illuminate how and why, in times of financial crisis and 'accumulation by dispossession' (Harvey, 2003), not only is public funding for adult education restricted by the capitalist class, but the ethical nature of the work is also pressured to migrate further along a spectrum away from care and towards control (Harvey, 2006). Insofar as capitalists are still obliged to divert value into the social wage, they attempt to ensure that more of it is spent on surveillance and monitoring, and less on needs determined care. The time-space of adult education can become compressed (Harvey, 1990) (with requirements that individuals have to complete training or 'become employable' within limited time-spans) or simply restricted (fewer learners can enter the space, and less time is available to work with them).
This disturbing shift is connected to recent work by Cribb (2009), Banks (2009) and Colley (2010) which makes visible 'ethics work': the day-to-day labour for educators of making difficult ethical decisions, such as about whom they can help and how, in a context of severely restricted space, time and resources; and coping with tensions between decisions forced by these conditions (often associated with meeting policy-imposed targets) and their own personal and professional ethical beliefs. Implications for adult education theory relate to the need for more sophisticated understandings of and analytical attention to time-space in our research. Practical implications concern the impact of intensified ethics work on adult educators and learners, and how the migration of ethics towards control might be countered.


Most of the conventions produced by UNCITRAL since 1980 share a certain boilerplate. Included in this treaty boilerplate are provisions that require the convention's contents to be interpreted in good faith and settled in certain cases in accordance with the convention's underlying general principles. Courts and scholars increasingly find that these underlying principles include a requirement of good faith. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) has become the template for the good faith directive in UNCITRAL conventions. Focusing on the CISG, this paper argues that good faith has a limited role, both in the CISG's content and its application by courts and arbitrators. The argument consists of three claims. First, the CISG has no principle of good faith binding on the contracting parties under Article 7(1)'s good faith directive. Second, although there is a tolerably precise general principle underlying a number of the CISG's provisions, it is not one of good faith. The principle instead is one of contracting-cost reduction: the requirement that parties reduce the cost of concluding and performing their contract when feasible. Third, case law relying on the CISG's good faith directive or a principle of good faith is relatively infrequent and the reliance when it occurs is suspect. Together these claims suggest that good faith, whether as part of the directive or underlying principle, has a modest role in the CISG. Parts I-III of the paper describe and defend the three claims. Part IV argues that good faith's modest role in the CISG, although controversial, is a good idea. A conclusion describes the implications of the limited place of good faith in contract interpretation and performance in UNCITRAL's conventions.


Daily iron supplementation programs for pregnant women recommend amounts of iron that are considered by some to be excessive, and either lower-dose or less frequent iron supplementation regimens have been proposed. A randomized, placebo-controlled study was performed to assess and compare the relative effectiveness of a weekly (WS) or twice weekly (TW) iron supplementation schedule in maintaining or achieving hemoglobin (Hb) levels at term considered to carry minimal maternal and fetal risk (90–130 g/L). Pregnant women (n 116) at wk 10–30 of gestation (63 WS and 53 TW) were enrolled in the study (52 in WS and 44 TW completed the study). Women were randomly allocated to receive a 120-mg oral dose of iron as ferrous sulfate and 0.5 mg of folic acid weekly (n 52) or 60 mg iron and 0.25 mg folic acid and a placebo twice weekly (n 44). Hb, hematocrit, serum ferritin, and transferrin saturation were estimated at baseline and at 36–39 wk of gestation. Baseline dietary data and the presence and intensity of intestinal helminthic infections were assessed. The duration of supplementation was 14 4 wk and the median level of adherence was 60.5%. Hb concentrations improved in women following the TW regimen and in women following WS who had low baseline Hb levels. About 89% of WS women and 95% of TW women maintained Hb levels at term (between 90 g/L and130 g/L), a range associated with optimal pregnancy outcomes. One woman in the TW group exhibited higher Hb levels that potentially carried perinatal risk ( 130 g/L). Intermittent iron and folic acid supplementation may be a valid strategy when used as a preventive intervention in prenatal care settings. J. Nutr. 134: 1099–1104, 2004.


When systematically adopting a CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering) tool, an organisation evaluates candidate tools against a framework of requirements, and selects the most suitable tool for usage. A method, called 2G, has been proposed that aims at developing such frameworks based on the needs of a specific organisation. This method includes a pilot evaluation phase, where state-of-the-art CASE-tools are explored with the aim of gaining more understanding of the requirements that the organisation adopting CASE-tools puts on candidate tools. This exploration results in certain output data, parts of which are used in interviews to discuss the findings of the tool exploration with the organisation. This project has focused on identifying the characteristics of these data, and subsequently to hypothesise a representation of the data, with the aim of providing guidelines for future tool support for the 2G method. The approach to reaching this aim was to conduct a case study of a new application of the pilot evaluation phase, which resulted in data that could subsequently be analysed with the aim of identifying characteristics. This resulted in a hypothesised data representation, which was found to fit the data from the conducted application well, although certain situations were identified that the representation might not be able to handle.