Breeding of arable crops such as wheat has led to substantial improvements in yield, quality of produce, traits of agronomic value and resistance to disease and abiotic stress. Resistance to many diseases and pests of wheat has improved through a combination of innovation by breeders, driven by competition, and independent assessment of cultivars in Recommended List trials. In addition to pleiotropic effects of resistance genes, two further limitations on breeding for disease resistance are linkage drag and competition drag. Linkage drag, the slow rate of decline of linkage disequilibrium between closely linked genes, can be especially significant in wheat, particularly after the introgression of chromosome segments from related wild grasses. For example it slowed the deployment of the Pch1 gene for resistance to eyespot in leading cultivars because Pch1 is on a chromosome segment that also reduces yield. Linkage drag also inhibited the use of Pm16 for resistance to powdery mildew. Competition drag can be described as the delay in the deployment of a useful gene because of the additional time needed to raise yield and quality to the standard of the current market-leading cultivars. This is exemplified by the near-absence of resistance to Soil-borne cereal mosaic virus in most modern varieties, despite no evidence for detrimental pleiotropic effects. Changes in agricultural practice and regulation of pesticides are increasing demand for durable resistance to disease but wherever possible, improvement of resistance should not constrain selection for yield which remains the most significant trait in leading wheat cultivars for the UK.


Adiantum, commonly called as maiden hair ferns, is a large genus of the non- flowering vascular plants.Most of the species are grown as ornamentals and many species are used in traditionalmedical practices and they are sold in the market for considerable prices. There ismore possibility for the adulteration in the market sample, either intentionally or unintentionally, due to the presence of morphologically similar species with many variants within species. In order to identify the molecular markers, at species level, for the identification and confirmation of crude drugs, isozyme analysis was initiated on six different species of Adiantum fromtheWestern Ghats, South India. The isoperoxidase analysis revealed the identity of the selected six species and the number of bands varied fromsix to eighteen. The present study revealed the presence of interspecific variation in the isozyme pattern for peroxidase. Of which, Adiantum raddianum and Adiantum lunulatum banding profile showed high percentage of similarity index compared to other species. Next to this, Adiantum caudatum and Adiantum zolingeri showed the similarity. The band PRX 13 and 4, PRX 24, PRX 44 and PRX 71 showed their unique presence in Adiantum raddianum, PRX 51 for Adiantum caudatum, PRX 64 and PRX 72 for Adiantum zolingeri, PRX 31, PRX 91 and 3 and PRX 101 for Adiantum lunulatum, PRX 23 and PRX 61 for Adiantum hispidillum and PRX 43 for Adiantum incisum. These unique bands can be used to distinguish and characterize the species and differentiate the original crude drug from the adulterant.


The stability of austenite against strain induced martensitic transformation (SIMT) strongly depends on the grain size of the austenite. This is observed in austenitic steels with grain sizes from several μm up to several hundred μm and for much smaller austenitic grains (three orders of magnitude) that are embedded in a non austenitic matrix. fcc Fe-precipitates may be formed in dilute Cu-Fe alloys by a certain heat treatment. These Fe-particles transform only by plastic deformation of the alloy. The SIMT leads to a banded structure with parallel layers of martensite. We investigate the influence of the external stress state on the microstructure (number of twin bands, relative thickness of the bands) with the help of a micromechanical model. The grain size effect on the austenite's stability against SIMT and on the microstructure may be explained by a thermodynamic transformation criterion and the local mechanical driving force.


Introduction
Ticks most notably Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus are becoming increasingly resistant to acaricides .This resistance is often broken down into the 3 main mechanisms of detoxification involving 3 groups of enzymes; Cytochrome P450s (CYPs), Glutathione-S-transferases (GST) or Esterases (EST or carboxylesterases) (Foil et al., 2004)

Material and Methods
Acaricide resistance research to date, has focused on identifying which acaricides are becoming redundant in terms of effectiveness to kill the arthropod. Often, this research uses mortality based experimental procedures (Li et al., 2003; Miller et al., 2005), and investigations into the molecular/enzymatic basis of resistance have focused on GSTs and ESTs rather than CYPs. Another method used in our laboratory investigating the role of CYPs in resistance is employing tick cell cultures as a model system developed in partnership with the Roslin Institute (Bell-Sakyi et al., 2007). This system provides an ideal way to monitor CYP expression before, during and after various treatments such as acaricides. In Anopheles gambiae, expression levels of CYPs, GSTs and ESTs were monitored using a microarray following infection of the mosquito by Plasmodium (Felix et al., 2010). A similar micro array approach could be employed with ticks and mites as more data becomes available.

Results
Our group is monitoring the expression levels of different CYPs in tick cell lines as well as looking to identify novel CYPs and work on phylogenetic links for those genes between different arthropod groups. We are also investigating polymorphisms between different tick cell lines and different arthropod species.

Discussion and Conclusions
Among the arthropods, research strongly suggests that the CYP6 (Hemingway et al., 2004) and CYP9families are most highly associated with xenobiotic resistance and a lot of research has been carried out looking at these CYP families in various insect species. In mosquito species some resistance to pesticides is due to their CYP enzymes evolving to detoxify these chemicals at increasing concentrations (Nikou et al., 2003)


We propose a new approach to learn to segment multiple image objects without manual supervision. The method can extract objects form still images, but uses videos for supervision. While prior works have considered motion for segmentation, a key insight is that, while motion can be used to identify objects, not all objects are necessarily in motion: the absence of motion does not imply the absence of objects. Hence, our model learns to predict image regions that are likely to contain motion patterns characteristic of objects moving rigidly. It does not predict specific motion, which cannot be done unambiguously from a still image, but a distribution of possible motions, which includes the possibility that an object does not move at all. We demonstrate the advantage of this approach over its deterministic counterpart and show state-of-the-art unsupervised object segmentation performance on simulated and real-world benchmarks, surpassing methods that use motion even at test time. As our approach is applicable to variety of network architectures that segment the scenes, we also apply it to existing image reconstruction-based models showing drastic improvement. Project page and code: https://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~vgg/research/ppmp .


I summarize research toward a robot learning architecture intended to enable a mobile robot to learn a wide range of find-and-fetch tasks. In particular, this paper summarizes recent research in the Learning Robots Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University on aspects of robot learning, and our current work toward integrating and extending this within a single architecture. In previous work we developed systems that learn action models for robot manipulation, learn cost-effective strategies for using sensors to approach and classify objects, learn models of sonar sensors for map building, learn reactive control strategies via reinforcement learning and compilation of action models, and explore effectively. Our current efforts aim to coalesce these disjoint approaches into a single robot learning agent that learns to construct action models in a real-world environment, learns models of visual and sonar sensors for object recognition and learns efficient reactive control strategies via reinforcement learning techniques utilizing these models.


Gravity values at 24 sites over 2004 2016 measured with absolute gravimeters are used to study geodynamic processes in Taiwan. We model rain-induced gravity effects and other temporal effects of non-geodynamic origins to obtain residual gravity, which cannot be fully explained by GPS-derived vertical displacements. We explain the gravity changes associated with deposited debris, earthquake, volcanism and Moho deepening. Gravity changes of 53.37 and 23.38 μGal near Sinwulyu and Laonong Rivers are caused by typhoon Morakot, leading to estimated volumes of 6.0 × 105 and 3.6 × 105 m3 in deposited debris. The observed co-seismic gravity change near the epicenter of the M 6.9 Pingtung earthquake (26 December 2006) is 3.12 ± 0.99 μGal, consistent with a dislocation-based gravity change at the μGal level, thereby supplying a gravity constraint on the modeled fault parameters. The AG record at the Tatun Volcano Group is the longest, but large temporal gravity effects here has led to a current gravity signal-to-noise ratio of less than one, which cannot convince a sinking magma chamber, but supply an error bound for gravity detections of long-term or transient magma movements. The gravity values at Ludao and Lanyu decline steadily at the rates of -2.20 and -0.50 μGal yr-1, consistent with the expected magma states of the two extinct volcanoes. The gravity rates at an uplifting site in central Taiwan and three subsiding sites in eastern Taiwan are negative, and are potentially caused by Moho deepening at a rate of -3.34 cm yr-1 and a combined Moho deepening and plate subduction at the rates of -0.18, -2.03, and -1.34 cm yr-1. Article history: Received 10 February 2017 Revised 12 June 2017 Accepted 13 June 2017


The recently emerged Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) emerged in the Middle East region in 2012. The virus is phylogenetically related to bat CoV, but other animal species like camels and goats may potentially act as an intermediate host by spreading the virus to humans. This virus is thought to cause a severe disease in patients with underlying comorbidities. Laboratory response capacity during the early stages of MERSCoV outbreak focuses on development of virological and immunological methods for diagnosis, for contact tracing and for epidemiological studies into sources, modes of transmission, identification of risk groups and animal reservoirs. Current international recommendations do not support any specific therapies; however there are a number of agents which were used during the SARS epidemic of 2003. It is possible that these might be active against the related coronavirus; in the other hand, development of affective vaccine is crucial for preventing further pandemic of MERS-CoV. In this article we reviewed available data from MERS-CoV case reports.


Companies in Indonesia have several important roles to participate in government programs succeed in creating social welfare and improving the quality of life of Indonesian society. One role is to implement programs of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Issues of corporate social responsibility continues to be an important issue both from the Professional, Economy, Government, and other activists. Company is required to perform the existence of community empowerment through the implementation of corporate social responsibility. Social responsibility is often known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility Page. Kandatel Telkom Malang (Persero) Tbk. The method used in this study is descriptive type of research method. Descriptive method is intended for research methods that
careful measurement of a particular social phenomenon, where researchers develop concepts and facts, but did not do hypothesis testing.
The survey results revealed that the implementation of CSR at. Telkom Malang Kandatel to implement CSR actually utilized namely the selection and evaluation of the Partners built with reference to the requirements set out in State Owned Enterprises Ministry No.236/MBU/2003
SK, soft loan assistance to over Rp 5 million per SME, small partners must provide assurances in accordance with the loan value. Working capital assistance provided by PT. Telkom's big enough and with very low interest. This is so that beneficiaries can expand its business through this fund with very low interest.
The shape of corporate social responsibility is the general public SME fund with the amount of funds 5 million to 10 million fund Wartel Entrepreneur Business Development. Entrepreneur kiosks provided funds for the creation of business development Warnet Rp. 50 million.
Cooperative Financing Fund in which the company provided development funds amounting to Rp. 25 million.
CSR supporting factor is the presence of government regulation on corporate social responsibility. In Indonesia, the issue of socially responsible business become an issue that has not terslesaikan well. According to Law No. 40 Year 2007 regarding Limited Liability Company
has stated that social responsibility is part of the duties of the company, therefore the company must provide the funds. Public Support Against Corporate Social Responsibility and Customer Care Partnership Program Page. Kandatel Telkom Malang is a program that became the
container company's participation in maintaining environmental balance and community empowerment.


The major objective of this research is to examine the variation patterns of road traffic accident in Lagos State. The study used mostly secondary data; accident records and vehicular situation were obtained from the Nigeria police force and Federal Road Safety Commission. The data were obtained for a period of thirty two (32) years from 1970-2001. The analysis of the number and type of vehicles involved in road traffic accidents revealed that private cars, buses and taxis were more prone to accidents in Lagos State. The 16 harmonics for the selected L.G.A's considered contribute above 90% of the total variance in the time series. This means that more than 90% of road traffic accident in Lagos State could be attributed to recklessness on the part of drivers, ignorance of high way codes, over speeding etc. Also, the dominant cycles of road traffic accidents observed in the study area have periodicities of 32.00 and 16.00 years with the most dominant being 32years. This means that the dominant and strongest road traffic accident pattern of Lagos State repeats itself every 32years. Based on the findings, recommendations were proffered. Keywords : Accident; traffic; variations; variance spectra; Lagos State


Set in part in a remote Ugandan countryside and in part in the squalid slums of Kampala, The Footsteps and Other Stories explores the pains and the struggles and the aspirations of wretched, lowly folks when the state not only abdicates from its responsibility of protecting them but also turns its repressive instruments against them. In their flight from misery, in their unrelenting quest for the ever elusive security, personal or economic, they discover a voice for themselves—the one thing the state cannot take away from them. In spite of themselves, their attempts to make sense of their lives, of the events that they find themselves caught up in, are often times quite comical, sometimes bordering on the farcical. And the landscapes, depicted in a language that is quite lucid and lyrical, often times mirror the situations that the characters themselves are caught up in.


I provide an explanation of moral understanding. I begin by describing decisions, especially moral ones. I detail ways in which deviations from an ideal of decision-making occur. I link deviations to
characteristic critical judgments, e.g. being cavalier, banal, courageous, etc. Moral judgments are among these and carry a
particular personal gravity. The question I entertain in following chapters is: how do they carry this gravity?

In answering the question, I try "external" accounts of moral understanding. I distinguish between the ideas of a person and a life. The idea of a life essayed is of a network of relations to others. The
character of those relations, e.g. friendship, is the object of our understanding of ourselves and our lives. I argue that one's understanding of oneself conditions the context of decision-making. I
elaborate one way of making moral understanding answerable to truth using Plato's metaphysics in the Philebus. Truth is valued and truth is essential to the independence of the moral such that seeming right and being right are distinct. However, truth is neither primary nor exhaustive of morality, because we have additional distinct resources for morally judging others.

I turn instead to an "internal" account of moral understanding to answer the question regarding the personal gravity of moral criticism. Using Winch's work on universalizability and fellowship, I argue that our conception of others must be sufficient to reflect their individuality within our moral understanding. Second, using Gaita's work on remorse and the lucidity of self-reflection, I argue that the
truth about ourselves and the wrong we do others can arrest and constrain our moral understanding and our authority.

Moral understanding operates in a social milieu: argument, conversation and rationality. Arguments are grounded in meanings with primary (shared) sense, but solicit agreement in secondary sense—of
what is similar, of what follows. Meaning in the secondary sense can be necessarily practical, creating practical necessities within points of view.

Accounting for the consequences and understanding of disagreement is identified as pressing. An original contribution is the idea of critical authority. One's articulation of moral meaning is controlled
via the critical authority expressed using critical vocabulary. Accepting another 's critical authority is based, in differing
domains, on our relation to them, e.g. friendship, trust, fellowship. The nature of inter-personal relations are delimited by the critical authority characteristic of those relations. Critical authority
explains the independent and personal force of moral criticism.

To be intelligible depends on accepting some critical authorities, though I allow for the intelligible repudiation of morality in some
circumstances. Wronging someone is explained as denying his critical authority, thus denying his relation to oneself, and thereby
undermining his place in the moral world. The consequence of wrongdoing is the disintegration of the moral world.

I defend against Nagel's realism and Korsgaard's constructivism. Both are committed to judging individuals but their accounts of morality undermine the intelligibility of the personal gravity of
moral criticism. Developing the idea of Moral Consensus, I defend myself against the related charge of relativism.Ethics


This dissertation explores aspects of hunting and tramping experiences in the southernmost region of New Zealand, Stewart Island/Rakiura. The focus is on the complexities of hunting, and how tramping, particularly as performed by international tourists, impinges on these complexities. My primary goal is to provide a more nuanced understanding of hunting in modern society, using the particular case of hunting on Stewart Island/Rakiura to provoke new thoughts on the diverse possibilities that this practice provides for hunters who sensually engage with other elements of Nature. This more nuanced understanding involves the discussion of constructions of Nature in modern Western societies, and how the philosophical underpinnings of these constructions help shape experiences and performances in the outdoors, particularly those of hunting. Secondly, through the understanding of hunting as performances situated in space and place, I discuss how other contemporary practices, equally taking place in natural environments, may influence the embodied narratives of hunters, creating tensions that may, occasionally, turn into conflict situations. I use tourism experiences of tramping in New Zealand, particularly on Stewart Island, to illustrate my arguments. To achieve my aims I examine the historical processes that relate to hunting in New Zealand and the social norms and values associated with this activity over time. Tramping in this country is examined as a tourism product that is sold to, and performed by, international visitors. Also, I explore how the commodification of the tramping experience impacts on the local routine of hunting as recreation. In doing so, I relate New Zealand hunting and tramping, the latter as performed by tourists, to broader social issues and discuss the meanings attached to their practices in relation to philosophies of environment present in contemporary society. These philosophies are central to the combined understanding of both practices, their connections and disparities, and the relationships with the natural environment and with nonhuman animals that they provoke. In order to be able to develop the literature on 'uses' of Nature and wildlife, integrating debates from philosophy and the animal studies field to conversations in the tourism and leisure studies field, the present study moves towards a more emergent approach to research, embracing a qualitative methodology where both humans and nonhuman animals are understood as being part Department of Tourism, University of Otago, PhD Graduate Profile of a intertwined web of complex relations performed in an 'out of doors' context. A critical reflexive narrative approach was selected as better suited to facilitate metaphorical conversations between the different social actors. Hunters, trampers, and the researcher all bring to this project contributions promising a better understanding of human/nature relations, as well as a more emotionally engaged and embodied relationship with the research act. These exchanges challenge common assumptions associated with recreation conflict and the so‐called consumptive uses of wildlife in recreation and tourism studies, thus opening a new window for sociocultural studies of human/nature relationships.


Gambling obsessed all levels of French society during the Enlightenment. Louis XIV held appartements du roi given over to gambling three times a week at Versailles, the queen hosted a nightly game, and courtiers scheduled additional occasions for play. Hosts so frequently acted as bankers for games to entertain their guests that satirists, chroniclers, and moralists complained that compulsive gambling had destroyed other forms of social entertainment. In Paris ten authorized maisons de jeux operated games involving some degree of skill (jeux de commerce) but essentially they served as fronts for more lucrative chance-driven games (jeux de hasard). Gambling also took place at the two great Paris fairs during almost four months of the year, all year long at foreign embassies, and eventually at gambling houses at the Hotel de Gesvres and later at the Hotel de Soissons. In addition to these legal venues, the large number of clandestine Parisian gaming rooms, lighted by tripots, made one visitor comment that "flaming pots set Paris ablaze," and gambling was by no means restricted to Paris. (2) The "Age des Lumieres" was lighted by gambling. Although official prohibitions referred to both religious and sociological dangers from gambling, within the context of the period, risking large sums at play became an analogy for risking one's life in battle. Having the courage to risk and winning or losing with equal equanimity demonstrated indifference to material gain and thus served as a means of displaying hereditary status. When the marquis de Dangeau (?--1720), a recently ennobled Huguenot, won several fortunes at court through his skillful play, he was not accused of cheating but of applying his vaunted study of probabilities in the service of venal gain. Dangeau's consistent success not only signaled the end of the aristocratic posture of superiority to money, it affirmed the primacy of mathematical probability and sanctified bourgeois economic expertise) Areas of life that previously appeared to escape deterministic laws had been tamed by mathematical analysis. Thus, those skilled in the science of probability could master events that previously seemed to lie beyond conscious direction. This culture of gambling presided over a paradigmatic shift in consciousness that took place during the eighteenth century. Narratives of risk and reward appearing in periodicals and novels featured happy or unhappy outcomes of accidental events. All types of accidental experience began to accrue significance as elements that could form the course of a life. Their increasing importance seemed to require interpretation, and how an individual reacted to an experience appeared to determine the eventual outcome. Thus, awareness of the potentially determinant role of chance or accident was accompanied by a sense that the self could be defined by the way the individual responded to such events. As the "most accident-prone figure in the Enlightenment," Jean-Jacques Rousseau serves as an exemplary representative of this new aspect of self-definition. (4) His autobiographical writings record his perception that what makes him unique is the sensibility he displays in his response to random events and the power of his imagination to transform them. What is at stake at this transitional moment is a complex interrelation between latent influences from classical tradition, in which the self was defined in terms of immutable rather than accidental qualities, and the fascination with contingency that characterized the shifting social parameters of Enlightenment France. We see these two factors intersect in the life-altering accident Rousseau experienced in the summer of 1749. He was walking along the road from Paris to Vincennes when he read in his newspaper the notice of a competition for the best response to a question posed by the Academy of Dijon. At that moment of chance reading he experienced an epiphany that has come to be known as his "illumination on the road to Vincennes": Suddenly a fortunate chance happened to enlighten me about what I had to do for myself, and to think about my fellows about whom my heart was ceaselessly in contradiction with my mind, and whom I still felt myself brought to love along with so many reasons to hate them. …


Cancer evolution is driven by the acquisition of somatic mutations that provide cells with a beneficial phenotype in a changing microenvironment. However, mutations that give rise to neoantigens, novel cancer–specific peptides that elicit an immune response, are likely to be disadvantageous. Here we show how the clonal structure and immunogenotype of growing tumours is shaped by negative selection in response to neoantigenic mutations. We construct a mathematical model of neoantigen evolution in a growing tumour, and verify the model using genomic sequencing data. The model predicts that, in the absence of active immune escape mechanisms, tumours either evolve clonal neoantigens (antigen– 'hot'), or have no clonally– expanded neoantigens at all (antigen– 'cold'), whereas antigen– 'warm' tumours (with high frequency subclonal neoantigens) form only following the evolution of immune evasion. Counterintuitively, strong negative selection for neoantigens during tumour formation leads to an increased number of antigen– warm or – hot tumours, as a consequence of selective pressure for immune escape. Further, we show that the clone size distribution under negative selection is effectively– neutral, and moreover, that stronger negative selection paradoxically leads to more neutral– like dynamics. Analysis of antigen clone sizes and immune escape in colorectal cancer exome sequencing data confirms these results. Overall, we provide and verify a mathematical framework to understand the evolutionary dynamics and clonality of neoantigens in human cancers that may inform patient– specific immunotherapy decision– making.


The twenty-first-century norm is represented by people living longer. This new demographic structure creates a number of societal challenges. One such challenge is that living longer and becoming old increases the likelihood of acquiring long-term conditions such as dementia. Another challenge is with the difficulties in defining a clear line between normal ageing and pathological ageing; a blurred distinction leads to stigmatising older adults as a social and economic burden. Therefore, there is a need for a care-model shift that is able to cope with a potential increase in demand for high-dependency and high-cost services and also address stigmatisation. Importantly, older adults' mental and physical well-being should have a central role in this "shift." A robust and productive relationship between people and space and well-being can have a positive impact. Of course, this shift has inevitable architectural repercussions. Taking this into account, the aim of this thesis is to investigate critically the comparable impact of the Humanitas© setting in Deventer (the Netherlands), the Rudolf© setting in Helsinki (Finland) and the Gojikara Mura© setting in Nagakute (Japan). Specifically, the Humanitas is a nursing home with a population of 50 older adults with dementia, 80 people with severe physical suffering, 20 people with social difficulties, ten people in short stay for recovery and six university students. The Rudolf is a senior home with a population of 18 young adults with mental impairments; 50 older adults with later stages of dementia; 52 older adults with early stages or no mental or physical impairments, and four young adults/university students. The Gojikara Mura© is a multigenerational community that accommodates a child day-care facility, a kindergarten (200 children between 3 – 5 years old), an adult day-care centre, an assisted living complex (50 older adult residents with different level of physical and mental impairments), a nursery school (300 enrolled students between 6 to 12, and 18 to 22 years old), and a nursing home (48 older adult residents with different level of physical and mental impairments). The analysis of these three case studies is based on a one-time post-occupancy evaluation framework and is organised into three parts defined as "thinking, making and living." The method reveals the principles for conceiving a new architectural type: the "open type," which is grounded in the notions of an "open architecture" and an "open city." This "open type" promotes multidisciplinary, collaborative and socially inclusive design principles, and thereby order as a result. Consequently, a renewed adoption of Aristotelian ethics is revealed. They concern with the notion of dwelling that emphasises the value of socially inclusive forms of collective life. In this thesis, they are translated into a new pattern of care, which is built around participatory and coherent collaborative teamwork among different groups of healthcare providers, volunteers, residents and their families. The "open type" setting, therefore, addresses both a new architectural design and new care types with a focus on normalising ageing and tearing down personal and socioeconomic stigma. It may give form to a new type of housing stock not existing in Western countries and thereby institutions and governments must politically and economically support these initiatives.


This paper describes a new area-efficient Euclid Architecture with low latency based on the improvement of Euclid algorithm in Reed-Solomon (RS) decoding. The Euclid algorithm is improved by simplifying the process of data swap, which is needed in the original algorithm. Based on the improved algorithm, an area-efficient Euclid architecture with low latency is proposed, which can save time and area compared to the previous architectures based on the original Euclid algorithm. The proposed architecture uses only 4 finite field multipliers and 2 modulo-2 adders. Register addressing instead of register shifting is used in this architecture, which can save time. This architecture is simple and suitable for Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) implementation.


While there is an abundance of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the gustatory zone of the nucleus of the solitary tract of the perinatal rat, we know that GABAergic synapse formation is not complete until well after birth. Our recent results have shown that GABA(B) receptors are present at birth in the cells of the nucleus; however, they do not redistribute and cluster at synaptic sites until after PND10. The present study examined the time course of appearance and redistribution of GABA(A) receptors in the nucleus. GABA(A) receptors were also present at birth. However, in comparison to GABA(B) receptors, GABA(A) receptors underwent an earlier translocation to synaptic sites. Extrasynaptic label, for example, of GABA(A) receptors was non-existent compared to GABA(B) receptors at PND10 and well-defined clusters of GABA(A) receptors could be seen as early as PND1. We propose that while GABA(A), receptors may play an early neurotransmitter role at the synapse, GABA(B) receptors may play a non-transmitter neurotrophic role.


The implementation of two-dimensional (2D) materials has potential to revolutionise optoelectronics, energy storage, gas- and bio-sensors, photocatalysis and solar energy conversion. In particular, the atomically layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), such as WS2 and WSe2 show unique electronic and optical properties, ease of manufacturing, mechanical robustness, low toxicity, as well as being composed of relatively abundant elements on Earth [1]. The growth of these materials, individually or via co-deposition by the Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) on the Si or SiOx surfaces, can create complex trigonal and hexagonal structures formed by the individual layers of material, typically staked around a single screw dislocation which defines the crystallite growth process [2]. For this research, we have used the combination of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) with the ultrasonic vibration – namely, the Ultrasonic Force (UFM) and the Heterodyne Force (HFM) Microscopies, for the mapping of nanomechanical properties and subsequent identification of dislocations and faults in multiple stacked WSe2 and WS2 layers. In UFM/HFM, the 2-8 MHz high frequency ultrasonic vibration of 1-2nm amplitude is applied to the sample, resulting in a displacement of few nm normal to its surface, causing AFM tip indentation. The hidden subsurface features such as dislocations and stacking faults have a compressibility that differs from one of the perfect sample that, in turn, modifies the dynamic mechanical impedance sensed by the AFM tip. This is detected as cantilever deflection at the kHz modulation frequency, thanks to the nonlinearity of the tip-surface interaction reflecting the hidden structure of the 2D material [3]. If both tip and sample are vibrated at the adjacent frequencies, the amplitude of the response at the difference frequency maps the subsurface nanomechanical elastic moduli, whereas the phase reflects the local dynamic relaxation processes in nanometre volumes with a time-sensitivity of few nanoseconds. The UFM and HFM study of WS2 and WSe2 materials revealed a clear contrast in areas, not always linked to the topographical features, and likely reflected subsurface dislocations and stacking faults. Alternative reasons for the nanomechanical contrast - the misorientation of crystallographic axis of the layers and crystal-surface interaction are discussed. We complemented our SPM study with Raman spectroscopy to identify the distribution of the different materials in the co-grown WSe2 and WS2 samples. The results show that the bottom layer and the edges of the upper layer are predominantly of WS2 and the central layers correspond to the WSe2. [1] A. Eftekhari, J. Mater. Chem. A 5, 18299 (2017). [2] M. J. Shearer et al., Journal of the American Chemical Society 139, 3496 (2017). [3] J. L. Bosse et al., Journal of Applied Physics 115, 144304, 144304 (2014).


An unfamiliar term in the not-too-distant past, "net zero" has become a headline-maker in the business and financial world with the growing importance of climate change. Succumbing to increasing pressure, companies and financial institutions around the world have come to adopt net-zero transition plans and targets, pledging to hit certain emissionreduction targets in a long-term period. Moreover, regulators around the world have started to require the disclosure or adoption of net-zero transition plans and targets. However, an unintended consequence of net-zero transition commitments has been the increased popularity of divestments. That is, many firms seeking to fulfill a net-zero plan are passing on carbonintensive assets (i.e., oil, gas, and coal assets) to other firms that are likely to be non-committal to environmental goals or that operate under less pressure from investors, stakeholders, and regulators. Such divestments, technically mergers and acquisitions ("M&A") transactions, present an ideal opportunity to improve a divesting firm's environmental record and reach ambitious net-zero goals, creating the impression that an emission reduction has occurred. However, the key is how acquiring firms handle these assets. If they continue operating as before, there will not be an overall improvement for the global climate. Worse, such assets can be operated by new owners in a way that causes more emissions. In any case,


Discovering new biological knowledge from the high- throughput biological data is a major challenge to bioinformatics today. To address this challenge, we developed a new approach for protein classification. Proteins that are evolutionarily- and thereby functionally- related are said to belong to the same classification. Identifying protein classification is of fundamental importance to document the diversity of the known protein universe. It also provides a means to determine the functional roles of newly discovered protein sequences. Our goal is to predict the functional classification of novel protein sequences based on a set of features extracted from each protein sequence. The proposed technique used datasets extracted from the Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database. A set of spectral domain features based on Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used. The proposed classifier uses multilayer back propagation (MLBP) neural network for protein classification. The maximum classification accuracy is about 91% when applying the classifier to the full four levels of the SCOP database. However, it reaches a maximum of 96% when limiting the classification to the family level. The classification results reveal that spectral domain contains information that can be used for classification with high accuracy. In addition, the results emphasize that sequence similarity measures are of great importance especially at the family level.


The language in which we are speaking is his before it is mine. How different are the words home, Christ, ale, master, on his lips and on mine! I cannot speak or write these words without unrest of spirit. His language, so familiar and so foreign, will always be for me an acquired speech. I have not made or accepted its words. My voice holds them at bay. My soul frets in the shadow of his language. James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist


In South Korea, due to concurrent financial scandals, Korean legislators implemented two major audit policies in the 2000s; the mandatory audit "partner" rotation policy in 2000 and the mandatory audit "firm" rotation policy in 2006. The mandatory audit "firm" rotation policy was introduced as a mean to improve audit quality based on the auditor entrenchment hypothesis. In this paper, we compare the audit quality of firms subjected to mandatory audit "firm" rotation with two benchmark groups, a sample that adopted the policy voluntarily; the second group consists of the mandatory "firm" rotation sample in years prior, a period firms were subject to mandatory audit "partner" rotation. Using accrual-based measures as proxies for audit quality, we find evidence that audit quality of the mandatory rotation firm sample is lower compared to firms that voluntarily adopted the policy. Furthermore, we find evidence that audit quality of the mandatory rotation firm sample is lower compared to the mandatory audit partner firm sample. Additionally, we also find evidence that the mandatory audit firms rotation sample whose auditors were rotated from Non-Big4 to Big4 are generally associated with lower levels of abnormal accruals consistent with the argument that the audit quality of Big4 accounting firms is superior to Non-Big4 firms. Finally, longer audit tenure and switches to Big4 audit firms generally have a positive effect upon audit quality. These findings suggest that extended audit tenure improves audit quality due to accounting firm's accumulated client specific knowledge. Thus, our evidence suggests that the mandatory audit firm rotation policy did not have the desired effect in a Korean context.


SUMMARY: The antibacterial and antifungal activity of 82 marine macroalgae (18 Chlorophyceae, 25 Phaeophyceae and 39 Rhodophyceae) was studied to evaluate their potential for being used as natural preservatives in the cosmetic industry. The bioactivity was analysed from crude extracts of fresh and lyophilised samples against three Gram-positive bacteria, two Gram-negative bacteria and one yeast using the agar diffusion technique. The samples were collected seasonally from Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. Of the macroalgae analysed, 67% were active against at least one of the six test microorganisms. The highest percentage of active taxa was found in Phaeophyceae (84%), followed by Rhodophyceae (67%) and Chlorophyceae (44%). Nevertheless, red algae had both the highest values and the broadest spectrum of bioactivity. In particular, Bonnemaisonia asparagoides, Bonnemaisonia hamifera, Asparagopsis armata and Falkenbergia rufolanosa (Bonnemaisoniales) were the most active taxa. Bacillus cereus was the most sensitive test microorganism and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most resistant. The highest percentages of active taxa from Phaeophyceae and Rhodophyceae were found in autumn, whereas they were found in summer for Chlorophyceae.


Bacterial biofilms are associated with persistent infections due to their high resistance to antimicrobial agents. Hence, controlling pathogenic biofilm formation is important in bacteria-related diseases. Honey, at a low concentration of 0.5% (v/v), significantly reduced biofilm formation in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 without inhibiting the growth of planktonic cells. Conversely, this concentration did not inhibit commensal E. coli K-12 biofilm formation. Transcriptome analyses showed that honey significantly repressed curli genes (csgBAC), quorum sensing genes (AI-2 importer and indole biosynthesis), and virulence genes (LEE genes). Glucose and fructose in the honeys were found to be key components in reducing biofilm formation by E. coli O157:H7 through the suppression of curli production and AI-2 import. Furthermore, honey, glucose and fructose decreased the colonization of E. coli O157:H7 cells on human HT-29 epithelial cells. These results suggest that low concentrations of honey, such as in honeyed water, can be a practical means for reducing the colonization and virulence of pathogenic E. coli O157:H7.


By utilising Axel Honneth's recognition-theoretic framework alongside empirical data, this
research aims to synthesise theory and practice in order to gain a better understanding of
how individuals from the Sunni Muslim community living within the Republic of Ireland's
[ROI] capital city, Dublin, perceive how they are recognised within four distinct
intersubjective arenas of everyday life – within their familial unit, their religio-cultural
community, and the broader legal and societal spheres of interaction. This chapter aims to
provide further insights into the perceptions of a relatively understudied minority population
and gain a better understanding of the recent transition the ROI has made from being a
predominantly homogenous society to one of increasing religio-cultural heterogeneity and
plurality. Based on twenty-five qualitative semi-structured interviews, the research finds that
although perceptions of misrecognition exist within each particular intersubjective sphere, the
majority of interviewees perceive recognition as being fulfilled within the first three spheres;
whilst the fourth arena – the societal sphere – is empirically verified as the location in which
pathologies of disrespect are most evident and extensive, particularly in relation to various
forms of discrimination and negative media representation.


From the Islamic point of view, society or communal environment is one of the most imperative factors and contexts in which human personality is formed. The social environment in diverse societies is constantly changing and adapting to the requirements of time and place. In today's world of communication and the age of propaganda, the media has an important place in depicting social ideals and culture. Wide global networks play a central role in shaping public opinion. The religion of Islam has always paid attention to the Islamic way of life and has provided guidelines for aspects of human life that can guide man on the path of growth. Community agents and intellectuals in the fields of behavior and society, due to the rapid changes in society and factors such as the emergence of new ways of life, changing attitudes and norms of life and the emergence of socio-ethical issues, pay exceptional consideration to the need to promote lifestyle; moreover, they have experienced the desired society of Islamic culture. The issue raised here is the role of the application of visual arts in promoting a social lifestyle based on the Qur'an and Sunnah. The present study applies a descriptive and analytical method to achieve a model for promoting Islamic social lifestyle with the media as one of the new communication tools. In this regard, the present study with a strategic approach and with the aim of determining the role of Quran and Sunnah on people's social lifestyle in the media has reached the conclusion that the media has a role beyond program production due to its impact on various areas of life. Hence, adhering to religion and institutionalizing Islamic values and removing anti-religious programs from the media are imperative.
Research aims:
1. Analysis of the desired patterns of social life in Islamic culture with emphasis on the Qur'an and Sunnah
2. Investigating the role of visual arts and media in promoting social lifestyle according to Islamic culture
Research questions:
1. In Islamic culture, what are the criteria for a social lifestyle for individuals?
2. What is the role of visual arts and media in today's society in promoting a social lifestyle in accordance with the Qur'an and Sunnah?


The purpose of this project is to design a drone capable of stabilizing autonomously, and its later implementation. First different controllers have been studied in order to decide which of them was the most appropriate for the device; the communication of the selected controller with a remote control station has been analyzed; a chassis where to put on all items of the drone has been chosen; and engines able to make the device fly have been selected. It has been necessary to adapt the power source system because the engine voltage input is higher than the one of the controller and the communication system on board. So it has been designed a buck converter. Subsequently, it has been studied what sensors were needed for the application, and how to treat the data obtained to obtain better estimates of the position of the device. To check the sensor an experiment has been done. It consisted on placing the drone in positions in where the direction was known to determine the accuracy of the measurements. At the same time, flight dynamics of devices with the described characteristics has been studied, and a proportional derivative control system has been proposed. With this control system, the user can control the orientation and the height of the device. While the implementation of control orientation worked, it has not been possible to implement height control because the barometer failed to work properly. Finally, wireless communication range has been checked. The drone has been implemented. However, it is unable to take off properly. It seems to be powerful enough to do it, but the control system does not keep the device horizontal enough for the flight to be controllable.


Cape Cod Bay is the only known winter-feeding ground of the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis, and is thus a critical habitat for right whales. As with most coastal ecosystems, Cape Cod Bay is a dynamic system with a high degree of variability in both physical and biological parameters. However, the extent of these fluctuations and their effect on the suitability of the bay as a right-whale feeding ground are not known. This study was conducted to address variability in the biological and physical environment of the bay and the possible impacts of this variability on the right whales' use of the area as a feeding ground. This study synthesized data collected from January to May, in 2000 to 2003. During 2002, the whales made very limited use of the bay compared to the other 3 yr, providing a unique opportunity for comparing conditions in the bay during this change in pattern of usage by the whales. Data on the physical and biological environ- ment of Cape Cod Bay were collected during weekly cruises. These data indicated that there was sig- nificant interannual variation in the wind-forcing affecting Cape Cod Bay. Coincident with this variation were changes in the hydrography of the bay, suggesting that circulation patterns changed during the course of the study. Circulation changes affected the zooplankton prey of the whales either directly through changes in advection, or indirectly by affecting the production of the zoo- plankton.


The spiny lobster Panulirus homarus, distributed along the Southeast and Southwest coasts of India, is an important commercial species having mariculture potential. Despite its importance, the structural and ultrastructure features of male gonads from this species have received scarce attention. Hence this study was aimed to describe the male reproductive tract of the species, using standard histological and electron microscopy techniques. Gonads from 94 specimens of P. homarus ranging in carapace length 37mm-92mm from Vizhinjam (Southwest coast of India.) were obtained and processed for the study (Histology-70 numbers & ultrastructure-24 numbers). The male reproductive system consists of paired testis and vas deferens located in the cephalo-thoracic region. Macroscopically, the reproductive tract was observed in lobsters > 35mm carapace length. In immature testis, spermatogonia were seen which measured 6.9-13.8 microm in diameter and in the mature testis primary (5.4-5.9 microm) and secondary spermatocytes (2.8-3 microm) and spermatids (2.2-2.4 microm) were present. Each vas deferens consists of proximal and distal portions. The spermatophoric mass begins formation in the proximal vas deferens. In the distal vas deferens the spermatophoric mass containing the spermatozoa are arranged in packets towards the periphery by the gelatinous matrix produced by the typhlosole. Ultrastructurally, the spermatogonia have lamina, nucleus and mitochondria like bodies, the primary spermatocytes have nucleus, dense chromatin and vacuolated cytoplasm and the spermatids have mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and centrioles. The endoplasmic reticulum and the nuclear envelope in the spermatids form the acrosome. The radial arms with microtubules are formed in association with the dense endoplasmic reticulum, near the nucleus. The sperm has a spherical structure with the nucleus, lamellar region, spikes and acrosome. This is the first comprehensive report of the structure of the male gametes and spermatogenesis in P. homarus from Indian waters.


The field of international political economy gained prominence in the early 1970s--when the Arab oil embargo and other crises ended the postwar era of virtually unhindered economic growth in the United States and Europe--and today is an essential part of both political science and economics. This book offers the first comprehensive examination of this important field's development, the contrasting worldviews of its American and British schools, and the different ways scholars have sought to meet the challenges posed by an ever more complex and interdependent world economy. Benjamin Cohen explains the critical role played by the early "intellectual entrepreneurs," a generation of pioneering scholars determined to bridge the gap between international economics and international politics. Among them were brilliant thinkers like Robert Keohane, Susan Strange, and others whose legacies endure to the present day. Cohen shows how their personalities and the historical contexts in which they worked influenced how the field evolved. He examines the distinctly different insights of the American and British schools and addresses issues that have been central to the field's development, including systemic transformation, system governance, and the place of the sovereign state in formal analysis. The definitive intellectual history of international political economy, this book is the ideal volume for IPE scholars and those interested in learning more about the field.


We provide a simple geometric explanation for the source of switchbacks and associated large and one-sided transverse flows in the solar wind observed by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP). The more radial, sub-Parker spiral structure of the heliospheric magnetic field observed previously by Ulysses, ACE, and STEREO is created within rarefaction regions where footpoint motion from the source of fast into slow wind at the Sun creates a magnetic fieldline connection across solar wind speed shear. Conversely, when footpoints move from the source of slow wind into faster wind, a super-Parker spiral field structure is formed: below the Alfvén critical point, one-sided transverse field-aligned flows develop; above the Alfvén critical point, the field structure contracts between adjacent solar wind flows, and the radial field component decreases in magnitude with distance from the Sun, eventually reversing into a switchback. The sub-Parker and super-Parker spirals behave functionally as opposites. Observations from PSP confirm the paucity of switchbacks within rarefaction regions and immediately outside these rarefaction regions, we observe numerous switchbacks in the magnetic field that are directly associated with abrupt transients in solar wind speed. The magnetic field strength, the radial component of the magnetic field, the speed gradients, radial Alfvén speed, and the ratio of the sound speed to the radial Alfvén speed all conform to predictions based on the sub-Parker and super-Parker spirals within rarefaction regions and solar wind speed enhancements (spikes or jets), respectively. Critically, the predictions associated with the super-Parker spiral naturally explain the observations of switchbacks being associated with unexpectedly large and one-sided tangential flows.


Perovskites have been proposed as one of the best oxygen reduction reaction catalysts (ORRCs) to substitute noble metals though their catalytic activity still need to be improved. It is well accepted that improving the oxygen adsorption capacity is beneficial to the catalytic activity of La1−xSrxMnO3 (LSM) perovskites. Herein, we synthesized the LSM-based composite by compositing La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 with Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 (CZ) which is used as an excellent oxygen storage material by a two-step solution method. The LSM–CZ composite is revealed as a novel electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction with the direct four-electron transfer mechanism and a positive onset potential in comparison with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. And its onset potential is almost the most positive one among those of the perovskites stemmed from LaMnO3. In addition, the stability of LSM–CZ is even superior to that of Pt/C, and LSM–CZ almost accumulates no intermediate product of HO2− (∼0.8%) after aging for 100 000 seconds. By using LSM–CZ as the ORRC, the maximum power density of the aluminum–air battery can reach 233.4 mW cm−2. Our work paves the way for the development of perovskite catalysts for energy conversion and storage.


This paper provides a classification of high efficiency switching power-gyrator structures and their use as cells for energy processing in photovoltaic solar facilities. Having into account the properties of these topologies presented in the article, their inclusion in solar facilities allows increasing the performance of the whole installation. Thus, the design, simulation and implementation of a G-type power gyrator are carried out throughout the text. In addition, in order to obtain the maximum power from the photovoltaic solar panel, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is mandatory in the energy processing path. Therefore, the practical implementation carried out includes a control loop of the power gyrator in order to track the aforementioned maximum power point of the photovoltaic solar panel.


ABSTRACT River health is a concern worldwide. Governance of river basins is particularly complicated when they are large scale and cross jurisdictional boundaries. Past approaches to making decisions in transboundary basins are limited and attention is increasingly being focused on the potential of collaboration. This research investigates the initiation phase of a collaborative conservation project (WWF-Canada Freshwater Program, St. John River project) in the St. John River Basin of Canada. A social-ecological inventory technique and social network analysis are used to identify the actors in the transboundary basin and their activities, perceptions and connections to river health, relationship with other stakeholders, and actual engagement with a milestone event in the project. Insights gained from exploring the relationships between/among these variables highlight the complicated nature of initiating collaboration. A common understanding of river health and a strong structure of connected actors were encouraging signs that collaboration may flourish, while the assertion of power and context surrounding the initiative were found to mediate its possibility. The collaborative potential of conservation projects in large-scale transboundary river basins may be enhanced through such research and by actively applying these insights.


In this issue of "Clinics in Sports Medicine", Dr. Stephen Brockmeier from the University of Virginia has assembled a group of experts to provide the latest updates on Rotator Cuff Surgery. This issue begins with the epidemiology and natural history of rotator cuff tears, followed by articles on: Imaging Evaluation of the Rotator Cuff; Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: Techniques in 2012; Biologics in the Management of Rotator Cuff Surgery; Outcomes of Rotator Cuff Surgery: What Does the Evidence Tell Us?; Rotator Cuff Injury in the Overhead Athlete; Failed Rotator Cuff Surgery, Evaluation and Decision-Making; Revision Rotator Cuff Repair; Non-Arthroplasty Options for the Management of Massive and Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears; and Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty for Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears and Cuff Tear Arthroplasty.


In this paper the convergence of Sri Lankan Malay on the grammars ofMuslim Tamil and colloquial Sinhala is discussed. This convergence is incomplete and its extent is asymmetrical across syntactic domains. The verbal domain remains closer to the syntax of other contact Malay varieties, as demonstrated by the pre-verbal surface position of major functional elements, including temporal markers, modal elements, and negation. Greater convergence in the nominal domain follows a shift from pre-nominal to post-nominal adpositions. The conservative distribution of functional morphology in the verbal domain (predominantly pre-verbal) is associated with weak verb movement, contra Tamil and Sinhala. This reflects the verbal syntax of contact Malay varieties from Indonesia, from which most lexical material in Sri Lankan Malay has been retained.


Wheat is a highly economic agricultural crop world wide. Profitability of wheat can be increased through selection by farmers, which showed an increase in grain and straw production. Description of landraces is essential in order to reserve farmer's rights in their landraces which they maintained for several years. Estimates of genetic relationship are important in designing crop improvement programs. Information on genetic diversity is also valued for the management of germplasm and for evolving conservation strategies. Molecular markers are the best tools for determining genetic relations to domestic cultivars. This study was undertaken to examine the extent of genetic variation among the diverse individuals of important crops such as wheat and to evaluate RAPD as a molecular marker for genetic classification of cultivars of wheat and compare this approach with the authentic data collected from the same cultivars cultivated in Palestine. The results of this work clearly indicated the level of genetic diversity and similarities expressed in clusters of the landraces analyzed. The RAPD technique could be used effectively to demonstrate valuable results for farmers in recognition of landraces and their original sources.


A variety of factors influence the degree to which national interest groups decide to transfer their competencies from national political arenas to the European Union level. Aiming to explain these differences the article proposes and tests several hypotheses, relating to groups' organizational properties as well as their relationship with national authorities and opposing interest organizations. The empirical analysis is based on original survey of Lithuanian interest groups operating at a national level, carried out in 2016. The data reveals that organization's decision to allocate more time to supranational level is very much based on its perceived relative power in the national interest group system. Europeanisation of Lithuanian interest groups is also highly dependent on its financial resources, policy field in which the group operates as well as membership in international or EU level organizations. Whereas group type and group's domestic embeddedness, that is its relationships with national authorities, has no effect on Europeanising.


In 1888, the colonial governments of Australia came together to agree on a policy of racial exclusion – aimed at preventing Chinese immigration. This article argues that key figures in the colonial ruling class feared the development of a racially divided population and shows them drawing on the mainstream liberal theory of anti-slavery, and John Stuart Mill's theory that representative government required social homogeneity, to construct and legitimise their position. While anti-slavery has long passed as a major element in public policy, Mill's argument for homogeneity shaped Australian justifications for White Australia through much of the twentieth century and, arguably, still informs elements of contemporary immigration policy.


Price indices based on repeat sales are the most widely used type of real estate index based on asset transaction prices. But such indices are particularly prone to revision. When a new period of transaction data becomes available and is used to update the repeat sales model, all past index values can potentially be revised. These revisions are especially problematical for commercial real estate (as compared to housing), because commercial transactions are relatively scarce and properties are heterogeneous, reducing estimation precision. From a methodological perspective, the magnitude of expected revisions is a particularly useful measure of the quality of the empirical index, as it directly reflects both the precision of the index and its practical usefulness in economic and business applications, since revisions themselves are problematical in practice. This paper focuses on random revisions for indexes in thin, commercial property markets, the type of market that is most challenging for empirical price indexing. We present multiple specifications of the repeat sales model, seeking to reduce revisions. With the objective of minimizing the expected magnitude of revisions, among the specifications we explore, the best result obtains from an index methodology that specifies the periodic returns as a first order autoregressive process, that also uses the periodic returns of an aggregate index as an explanatory variable for more granular indices, and that allows the variance parameters of the signal and the noise to be time-varying. In our small-sample test cases, this model reduces overall index revisions by more than 50%.


This study is a critical investigation into the constitution, positioning and normalisation of 'EAL learners' - learners 'who have English as an Additional Language' (EAL). The study argues that the official discourse around EAL constitutes a homogenous image of 'the EAL learner', neglects emotional needs, portrays bi- and multilingualism and bi- and multiculturalism as deficit and positions bi-and multilingual and bi- and multicultural (BMLC) learners as 'others'. Subjection to this discourse perpetuates the learners' vulnerability and can lead to normalisation being perceived as the only possible solution for survival and success. On a conceptual-methodological level, the implications of this study relate to the innovative methodology of combining two ontologically congruent, epistemologically intersecting and methodologically diverse perspectives leading to new understandings of normalisation. On a substantive level, they relate to the responsibilities of all stake holders working with BMLC learners, to pedagogy and to curriculum design. The positioning of BMLC learners via the prevailing discourse around EAL is examined by applying a Foucauldian lens to governmental documentation on EAL and interviews with staff. The phenomenographic study, using interviews with BMLC learners, identifies the variation in the learners' perceptions of what it means to be an 'EAL learner' in English secondary education. Mapping the findings of the Foucauldian and the phenomenographic studies against each other illuminates how BMLC leaners' positioning via the dominant discourse is reflected in the variation in their perceptions. It leads to new insights into the normalisation process BMLC learners undergo in English secondary schools. The study aims to highlight to all stake holders, especially BMLC learners, the possibility of alternative 'truths', to enable an understanding of positioning, create critical spaces to reflect on this positioning and offer choices of actively engaging in, challenging or resisting normalisation.


'Two Leggings ...was one of the last Crow Warriors. From 1919 to 1923 he told his story of Crow life and wars to William Wildschut, an ethnologist with the Museum of the American Indian ...This is the poignant story of the end of traditional Crow life and attitudes, which Two Leggings saw ending with the last warfare rather than the death of the buffalo' - "Pacific Historian". 'This is the story of Two Leggings' desire for fame, his rise as a warrior, and his efforts to achieve a spiritual vision. He takes us along on buffalo hunts, war parties against the Piegans, and horse stealing raids against the Piegans and Sioux. His obsession to become a chief and famous warrior drove him to repeated forays against enemy tribes for scalps and horses. He relates the religious relationship between vision fasts, medicine bundles, and a war raid's outcome, sun dances in which performers pierced their breast muscles with wooden skewers, and wife stealing between rival warrior societies...It is a remarkable story' - "Chicago Tribune". 'This is a rare piece of Americana - a first-person account of the psychological, religious, and social life of a nineteenth century Indian. The dramatic recital is a real contribution to our native biography, history, and ethnology, and an important treatise in a fascinating but curiously neglected field' - "Baltimore Sun". 'A valuable addition to our knowledge of the life of the Plains Indian' - "New York Times". '"Two Leggings" lifts the curtain on a kind of life it is almost impossible to imagine anywhere in the United States during the second half of the last century. Mr. Nabokov has preserved a priceless document not only for ethnologists bur for plain readers as well...His narrative lays open, as by a surgeon's knife, the inner world of Indian religion and morality' - Mark Van Doren. Peter Nabokov is on the faculty of the Department of Anthropology and the American Indian Studies Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the author of "Native American Architecture" (1988) and editor of "Native American Testimony: A Chronicle of Indian and White Relations from Prophecy to the Present, 1492-1992" (1991).


Well‐developed muscle scars and associated thickened myostracum preserved in the umbones of phosphatized Gnesioceramus anglicus (Woods) provide insights into the palaeobiology of the Inoceramidae. Deeply anchored pedo‐byssal (anterior and posterior) and gill retractor muscle scars are identified amongst the umbonal scars. Comparison with modern bivalves indicates that the remainder of the umbonal scars, and other deeply incised muscle scars around the pallial line in G. anglicus were attachment sites for mantle muscles that were used to aid soft‐part manipulation. Unusually thick umbonal pallial myostracum in G. anglicus, comprising stacked growth increments, indicates that the mantle musculature was well developed and strongly anchored, and therefore that inoceramid soft tissues represented a significant body mass. This suggests that the complex gill, with unusual number of filament components per plica, observed in gigantiform inoceramids, may have also been present in moderate‐sized species of the family. The muscle scars observed in G. anglicus and Actinoceramus concentricus (Parkinson) are found in several extant families within the Pteriomorphia, notably Isognomonidae and Pteriidae, further strengthening the argument for their place in this infraclass. More specifically this is additional evidence for the Inoceramidae being part of the Ostreida. However, the muscle scar organization observed in this study does not provide further evidence in the conundrum that is the superfamily affiliations of this family.


In this article it is substantiated the necessity of radical changes study in the practice of domestic agricultural enterprises managing, creation of a new functional and organizational structure that will maximally facilitate the marketing strategy of business diversification by the agrarian enterprise of Ukraine. It is analyzed agrarian enterprises efficiency of activity under the conditions of the transformation processes, it is determined that the leaders of the domestic and world markets of agrarian products are agroholdings with a rigid management structure, and their marketing goals are a decisive factor while making choice of markets under the conditions of diversification activities. It is substantiated that the formation of an international diversified company of agrarian business provides equally to participating enterprises the use of common resources, redistribution of resources between structural units operating on one financial result, the possible loss of one enterprise is compensated by the profit of the group as a whole. Reformation of agrarian enterprises of Ukraine process is analyzed; in particular, in the case of farms in the context of international business diversification; it is determined the necessity of creating a new organizational structure of management by the agrarian enterprise. It is grounded the creation of a functional and organizational mechanism for an international diversified conglomerate enterprise activity in order to ensure the stability of its functioning under the conditions of the transformation processes.It is proposed a new structure of functional and organizational management an international diversified conglomerate company on the basis of the developed marketing mechanism of enterprise management under the conditions of international diversification. It is substantiated that in Ukraine, the formation of such new international diversified conglomerate enterprises from small enterprises, by grouping farms (which by their number in Ukraine is most) will provide a positive result from overcoming the grinding of domestic agrarian business, consolidation of the agrarian sector and creating the opportunity to benefit from the budget of Ukraine from international diversified conglomerate business structures. Keywords: transformational economic processes, international marketing, globalization, marketing management, international diversified conglomerate enterprise, business consolidation.


There is an increased prevalence of heart diseases in developing countries and continuous monitoring of heart beats is very much important to reduce hospital visits, health costs and complications. The Internet of Things (IoT) equipped with microcontrollers and sensors can give an easy and cost-effective remote health monitoring. We developed a Heart Beat monitoring module based on an android application. The software involved was the Android Application developed using Android Studio, which is the Integrated Development Environment (IDE). This app retrieved the data from the open IoT platform thingspeak.com. A highly sensitive Pulse Sensor was used to measure the heartbeat of the patient automatically. An Arduino Uno microcontroller interfaced with a Wi-Fi module ESP8266 used to transmit pulse reading over the internet using Wi-Fi. The heartbeat was displayed on the LCD of the patient in run-time. The heartbeat in beats per minute (BPM) was plotted against time (minutes). A mounted pulse sensor to the patient had monitored the heartbeat and transmitted it in the form of voltage signal to the microcontroller, which converted it back into a mathematical value. The Arduino transmitted the data onto the thingspeak.com portal, where it was plotted on a graph and the values were stored for future assessment. The user of the app was given a things peak API and the channel number as an access code, through which physician or nurse can accessed the patient's data. IoT based heartbeat module as an android application can provide a convenient, cost effective and continuous remote measurements for heart patients to help physicians and nurses update. This app can reduce the burden of hospital visits or admissions for elderly patients.


What is a Bryophyte? Bryophytes are the small green plants commonly known as mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Compared to plants, they have primitive tissues for conducting food and water, and they lack a protective outer surface to maintain water balance. Most bryophytes, because they lack tissues such as roots, obtain their water through direct surface contact with their environment. During dry weather they have the capacity to withstand complete dehydration. Bryophytes that are dry may appear dead but will regain normal function when moisture is available. Instead of producing seeds, bryophytes can either reproduce sexually by means of spores, or asexually when small pieces break off and grow into new individuals. What is a Lichen? Lichens are dual organisms consisting of a fungus and an alga or a cyanobacterium. The fungus provides the alga with structure, protection, nutrients, and water absorbed from the atmosphere and the substrate (e.g., soil, rotten logs, tree branches). In return, the alga provides carbohydrates from photosynthesis to the fungus. Algae from some lichens grow independently of the fungus, but in lichen form, the algae can inhabit more challenging environments than when growing alone. Most lichens can reproduce asexually. They either produce specialized propagules containing both partners, or parts of the lichen simply break, allowing both the fungus and the alga to disperse together. In some lichens, the fungal partner reproduces sexually by releasing spores, but the partner alga must be present in order for a lichen to reform.


The detection of abnormalities in stochastic textures is a challenging task in comparison to locating faults in replicated texture images. The authors demonstrate a technique based in the spatial and feature domains and detect abnormal formulations across the surface of randomly-textured images. The technique is based on colour clustering followed by structural processing with morphological operators.


We report the synthesis of a series of ionic polyurethanes (PUs) issued from the polyaddition of a 1,2,3-triazolium-functionalized diol monomer having a bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide counter-anion with four aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic commercial diisocyanates. The obtained polymers were characterized using 1H, 13C and 19F NMR spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), solubility, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, broadband dielectric spectroscopy, as well as CO2 uptake and permeability measurements. These new ionic PUs exhibit glass transition temperatures ranging from −25 to 28 °C, temperatures at 10% weight loss ranging from 307 to 320 °C, ionic conductivities at 30 °C under anhydrous conditions up to 10−6 S cm−1 and CO2 uptake of ca. 2.6 mg g−1 at 2 bars.


The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase Etk/BMX was originally identified from the human prostate xenograft CWR22. Here, we report that Etk is up-regulated in human prostate tumor specimens surveyed. Knocking down Etk expression by a specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) in prostate cancer cells attenuates cell proliferation, suggesting an essential role of Etk for prostate cancer cell survival and growth. Targeted expression of Etk in mouse prostate epithelium results in pathologic changes resembling human prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, indicating that up-regulation of Etk may contribute to prostate cancer development. A marked increase of luminal epithelial cell proliferation was observed in the Etk transgenic prostate, which may be attributed in part to the elevated activity of Akt and signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3). More interestingly, the expression level of acetyltransferase cyclic AMP–responsive element binding protein–binding protein (CBP) is also increased in the Etk transgenic prostate as well as in a prostate cancer cell line overexpressing Etk, concomitant with elevated histone 3 acetylation at lysine 18 (H3K18Ac). Downmodulation of Etk expression by a specific siRNA leads to a decrease of H3 acetylation in prostate cancer cell lines. Our data suggest that Etk may also modulate chromatin remodeling by regulating the activity of acetyltransferases, such as CBP. Given that Etk may exert its effects in prostate through modulation of multiple signaling pathways altered in human prostate cancer, the Etk transgenic mouse model may be a useful tool for studying the functions of Etk and identification of new molecular markers and drug targets relevant to human diseases. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(16): 8058-64)


In this paper, we consider the minimum Hamming weight for linear codes over special finite quasi-Frobenius rings. Furthermore, we obtain minimal free R-submodules of a finite quasi-Frobenius ring R which contain a linear code and derive the relation between their minimum Hamming weights. Finally, we suggest an algorithm that computes this weight using the Gröbner basis and we show that under certain conditions a linear code takes the maximum of minimum Hamming weight.


1. A cigarette tar condensate was obtained with a smoking machine which simulated human smoking habits. The resulting tar was dissolved in acetone and applied to the backs of CAF1 mice in a dosage of 40 mg. of tar/acetone solution 3 times a week. Control mice were painted with acetone.

2. Of 81 tarred mice, 59 per cent developed papillomas. The first lesion was noted in the 33d week, and the mean time of appearance was 56 weeks.

3. Of 81 tarred mice, 44 per cent developed histologically proved carcinomas. The first carcinoma was observed in the 42d week, and the average time of appearance was 71 weeks. Of 62 mice alive at 12 months, 58 per cent developed cancer. Seventy-one weeks constitutes approximately one-half of the life span of CAF1 mice. This corresponds roughly with the fact already noted that in the human about 30–35 years of smoking, or approximately one-half the life span, are required for the production of bronchiogenic carcinoma.

4. One carcinoma was transplanted for 4 generations and another one is currently growing in the 13th generation.

5. Control mice painted with acetone alone showed no skin lesions. At the end of 20 months of painting, 53 per cent were still living, compared to 9.8 per cent in the group painted with tobacco tars.

6. The group of mice painted with croton oil in addition to the tar, starting in the 7th month, cannot be properly evaluated because of a greater number of deaths occurring during the 12th and 14th months, although within the period of observation no acceleration of cancer formation was noted.

7. The group of mice started with acetone and receiving croton oil beginning in the 7th month showed roughening and thickening of the epidermis, but no tumor formation was noted.

8. All CAF1 mice painted with 0.3 per cent solution of methylcholanthrene in acetone developed cancer within 4½ months. The first papilloma appeared during the 6th week, with average appearance during the 7th seek. The first carcinoma was observed during the 12th week, with a mean time of appearance of 16 weeks.

9. The results obtained with CAF1 mice establish condensed cigarette tar as a carcinogen for mouse epidermis. These studies provide a tool to determine and isolate the possible carcinogenic agent(s) within tobacco tar. At present it is not known which fraction or fractions in tobacco tars are carcinogenic. Combined chemical and biologic studies are now in progress to search for such agents. Such studies, in view of the corollary clinical data relating smoking to various types of cancer, appear urgent. They may result not only in furthering our knowledge of carcinogenesis, but in promoting some practical aspects of cancer prevention.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the world. Many risk factors have been identified in the development of colorectal cancer. It is necessary to carry out activities related to risk factors in order to implement effective CRC early diagnosis and screening programs and achieve positive outcomes. International screening guidelines have been created and these are being implemented by individual countries according to their own health policies. Colorectal cancer prevention and early training in terms of disease identification, counseling against negative disease perceptions, and changing false beliefs will reduce the fear of CRC and ensure the development of positive health behaviors and acceptance of screening. Among recent developments in cancer prevention, "cancer risk counseling" has become quite prominent. Individual-specific colorectal cancer risk counseling programs are developed through the assessment of individual risk factors by focusing on a genetic assessment and the development of a risk management plan. This chapter will examine and define colorectal cancer prevention and risk counseling strategies in relation with the relative literature.


The concept of emerging behaviours is often quoted within the literature of complex systems, and used as an attribute to assist with the description of these systems. The definition of what constitute an emerging behaviour has been debated in the literature, and we believe that it is, perhaps, the lack of mathematical definition of behaviour in the literature of complex systems what may be contributing to the confusion concerning the concept and even its need. Hence, in this paper, we seek to point the readership to the literature of mathematical system theory that provides a behavioural perspective on systems and revisit the key mathematical definitions of behaviour. Such work uses set-theoretic concepts to define system behaviours as restrictions on, or subsets of, a universum set of variables that are in correspondence with quantitative attributes of a system. Such behaviours can relate not only to global attributes, but also include latent variables associated with hidden attributes. We discuss how behaviours defined in this way are simply a consequence of a combination of components and structure for systems in general, and that the emerging behaviours, as described in the literature of complex systems, can indeed occur in systems classified as non-complex. We show this through simple examples of physical dynamical systems. We then discuss that the intractability of the properties of these behaviours due to system dimensionality is what could perhaps be a better qualifying attribute of complex systems.


IMPORTANCE
The chief resident (CR) year is a pivotal experience in surgical training. Changes in case volume and diversity may impact the educational quality of this important year.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate changes in operative experience for general surgery CRs.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Review of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education case logs from 1989-1990 through 2011-2012 divided into 5 periods. Graduates in period 3 were the last to train with unrestricted work hours; those in period 4 were part of a transition period and trained under both systems; and those in period 5 trained fully under the 80-hour work week. Diversity of cases was assessed based on Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education defined categories.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Total cases and defined categories were evaluated for changes over time.

RESULTS
The average total CR case numbers have fallen (271 in period 1 vs 242 in period 5, P < .001). Total CR cases dropped to their lowest following implementation of the 80-hour work week (236 cases), but rebounded in period 5. The percentage of residents' 5-year operative experience performed as CRs has decreased (30% in period 1 vs 25.6% in period 5, P < .001). Regarding case mix: thoracic, trauma, and vascular cases declined steadily, while alimentary and intra-abdominal operations increased. Recent graduates averaged 80 alimentary and 78 intra-abdominal procedures during their CR years. Compared with period 1, in which these 2 categories represented 47.1% of CR experience, in period 5, they represented 65.2% (P < .001). Endocrine experience has been relatively unchanged.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Total CR cases declined especially acutely following implementation of the 80-hour work week but have since rebounded. Chief resident cases contribute less to overall experience, although this proportion stabilized before the 80-hour work week. Case mix has narrowed, with significant increases in alimentary and intra-abdominal cases. Broad-based general surgery training may be jeopardized by reduced case diversity. Chief resident cases are crucial in surgical training and educators should consider these findings as surgical training evolves.


We examine the effect of mobile cellular phones on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa where a marked asymmetry is present between land line penetration and mobile telecommunications expansion. This study extends previous research along two important dimensions. First, we allow for the potential endogeneity between economic growth and telecommunications expansion by employing a special linear Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator. Second, we explicitly model for varying degrees of substitutability between mobile cellular and land line telephony, so that greater expansion of mobile telecommunications can have a different impact whenever the level of land line penetration differs. We find that mobile cellular phone expansion is an important determinant of the rate of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, we find that the contribution of mobile cellular phones to economic growth has been growing in importance in the region, and that the marginal impact of mobile telecommunication services is even greater wherever land line phones are rare. Given the low cost of mobile telecommunications technology relative to other broad infrastructure projects, especially land line infrastructure, we advocate that mobile telecommunication services be encouraged in the area.


Members of the California serogroup of bunyaviruses (family Bunyaviridae) are the leading cause of pediatric viral encephalitis in North America. Significant cell death is observed as part of the infection pathology. We now report that a Bunyaviral nonstructural protein termed NSs shows sequence similarity to Reaper, a proapoptotic protein from Drosophila. Although NSs proteins lack the Reaper N-terminal motif critical for IAP inhibition, they do retain other functions of Reaper that map to conserved C-terminal regions. Like Reaper, NSs proteins induce mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase activation in cell-free extracts and promote neuronal apoptosis and mortality in a mouse model. Independent of caspase activation, Bunyavirus NSs proteins also share with Reaper the ability to directly inhibit cellular protein translation. We have found that the shared capacity to inhibit translation and induce apoptosis resides in common sequence motifs present in both Reaper and NSs proteins. Data presented here suggest that NSs induce apoptosis through a mechanism similar to that used by Reaper, as both proteins bind to an apoptotic regulator called Scythe and can relieve Scythe inhibition of Hsp70. Thus, bunyavirus NSs proteins have multiple Reaper-like functions that likely contribute to viral pathogenesis by promoting cell death and/or inhibiting cellular translation.


ABSTRACT Most mammalian rotaviruses contain tripeptide amino acid sequences in outer capsid proteins VP4 and VP7 which have been shown to act as ligands for integrins α2β1 and α4β1. Peptides containing these sequences and monoclonal antibodies directed to these integrins block rotavirus infection of cells. Here we report that SA11 rotavirus binding to and infection of K562 cells expressing α2β1 or α4β1 integrins via transfection is increased over virus binding to and infection of cells transfected with α3 integrin or parent cells. The increased binding and growth were specifically blocked by a monoclonal antibody to the transfected integrin subunit but not by irrelevant antibodies. In our experiments, integrin activation with phorbol ester did not affect virus binding to cells. However, phorbol ester treatment of K562 parent and transfected cells induced endogenous gene expression of α2β1 integrin, which was detectable by flow cytometry 16 h after treatment and quantitatively correlated with the increased level of SA11 virus growth observed after this time. Virus binding to K562 cells treated with phorbol ester 24 h previously and expressing α2β1 was elevated over binding to control cells and was specifically blocked by the anti-α2 monoclonal antibody AK7. Virus growth in α4-transfected K562 cells which had also been induced to express α2β1 integrin with phorbol ester occurred at a level approaching that in the permissive MA104 cell line. We therefore have demonstrated that two integrins, α2β1 and α4β1, are capable of acting as cellular receptors for SA11 rotavirus.


States' efforts to mould historical memory have long attracted scholarly attention. In recent years, however, a focus on the role of legal norms and mechanisms as tools in those efforts has steadily sharpened. Most scholarship examines that role through particularist analyses, narrowing a specific period of history down to some particular state or region. As such studies accumulate, however, more general patterns emerge. This article explores not any such particular situation, but instead pursues a project of theorising the discipline of law and historical memory as a whole. One conspicuously shared element, particularly within the framework of modern states, is that the histories examined directly involve or ultimately trace back to human rights abuses. As a general matter, then, states' efforts to deny past or ongoing conduct certainly pose a pragmatic obstacle by obstructing investigations into abuses. Yet it is argued in this article that the relationship between denialism and human rights is (in a Kantian-Habermasian sense) transcendental: the very possibility for the existence of a human rights system presupposes a sphere for open, public scrutiny of state conduct. That condition is not 'all or nothing': the extent to which a human rights system becomes possible depends upon the extent of that sphere of public discourse. Unsurprisingly, states with the best human rights records also maintain the types of open public spheres which most reliably ensue against state denials of human rights violations, and thereby provide models of best practice.


Subsistence-based and natural resource-dependent societies are especially vulnerable to climate change. In such contexts, food security needs to be strengthened by investing in the adaptability of food systems. This paper looks into the role of agrobiodiversity conservation for food security in the face of climate change. It identifies agrobiodiversity as a key public good that delivers necessary services for human wellbeing. We argue that the public values provided by agrobiodiversity conservation need to be demonstrated and captured. We offer an economic perspective of this challenge and highlight ways of capturing at least a subset of the public values of agrobiodiversity to help adapt to and reduce the vulnerability of subsistence based economies to climate change.


Secretion of pleiotrophin by aggressive gliomas triggers the formation of abnormal blood vessels by endothelial cells. Growing blood vessels in gliomas Aggressive gliomas are particularly lethal, in part, because of increased density of blood vessels and abnormal vasculature that enables tumor growth and damages the brain. Various secreted factors, including VEGF and pleiotrophin, act on endothelial cells to promote blood vessel formation. By analyzing patient data, Zhang et al. correlated increased pleiotrophin abundance to more aggressive grades of glioma and decreased survival. When implanted in mice, glioma cells that released pleiotrophin formed larger tumors with more blood vessels and increased VEGF concentrations near the blood vessels. Mice had smaller gliomas and survived longer when treated with inhibitors of ALK, a receptor for pleiotrophin, or an inhibitor of the VEGF receptor. These results suggest that blocking the signals that promote the abnormal blood vessel growth may be beneficial to patients with aggressive gliomas. Glioblastomas are aggressive astrocytomas characterized by endothelial cell proliferation and abnormal vasculature, which can cause brain edema and increase patient morbidity. We identified the heparin-binding cytokine pleiotrophin as a driver of vascular abnormalization in glioma. Pleiotrophin abundance was greater in high-grade human astrocytomas and correlated with poor survival. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), which is a receptor that is activated by pleiotrophin, was present in mural cells associated with abnormal vessels. Orthotopically implanted gliomas formed from GL261 cells that were engineered to produce pleiotrophin showed increased microvessel density and enhanced tumor growth compared with gliomas formed from control GL261 cells. The survival of mice with pleiotrophin-producing gliomas was shorter than that of mice with gliomas that did not produce pleiotrophin. Vessels in pleiotrophin-producing gliomas were poorly perfused and abnormal, a phenotype that was associated with increased deposition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in direct proximity to the vasculature. The growth of pleiotrophin-producing GL261 gliomas was inhibited by treatment with the ALK inhibitor crizotinib, the ALK inhibitor ceritinib, or the VEGF receptor inhibitor cediranib, whereas control GL261 tumors did not respond to either inhibitor. Our findings link pleiotrophin abundance in gliomas with survival in humans and mice, and show that pleiotrophin promotes glioma progression through increased VEGF deposition and vascular abnormalization.


Abstract A mathematical model for mass flow in a generic nuclear fuel cycle was developed. The model can describe various fuel cycle configurations (ranging from once-through to multiple recycling) and reactor types with several regions and batches. It can also be used as a submodel in a regional or global fuel cycle system. Recursive equations for the fuel composition at each point of the cycle were obtained. For specific simplified cases, nonrecursive and equilibrium equations were also derived for compositions, with which the waste reduction ratio was formulated as a function of the system parameters, to show usage of this model for theoretical understanding of the relationship between parameters and performances of the system. A numerical code for this mathematical model was developed. For a simplified equilibrium cycle, sensitivity and constrained optimization of the toxicity reduction ratio with respect to the system parameters were investigated by using the present model and code. It appears that the most important parameter to minimize waste toxicity is the separation efficiency at reprocessing. High fuel enrichment is beneficial because it expands the parametric space within the constraints. Also, depending on the constraints that apply, either the irradiation time or the fraction of core reprocessed at each cycle will be the second most important parameter.