Human lymphocyte function-associated antigen (LFA)-1, a heterodimeric lymphocyte surface glycoprotein of 177,000 and 95,000 relative molecular weight has been implicated to function in the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector mechanism. Seven mouse hybridoma lines producing monoclonal antibodies (MAb) reactive with this structure were studied. Three unique and 3 partially over-lapping epitopes on human LFA-1 were defined by competitive cross inhibition binding assays using biosynthetically labeled anti-LFA-1 MAb. In contrast, of five rat antimouse LFA-1 MAb, all five recognized a common or shared epitope. An HLA-B7 specific human CTL line expressed 1.1 X 10(5) LFA-1 sites per cell with a direct saturation binding assay. Human CTL expressed two to four times more LFA-1 than peripheral blood lymphocytes or B and T lymphoblastoid cell lines. Titration of each of the anti-LFA-1 MAb in a 51chromium release cytolytic assay revealed quantitative differences in the ability of the different anti-LFA-1 MAb to block cytolysis indicating distinct functional and antigenic epitopes exist on the human LFA-1 molecule. Anti-LFA-1 MAb reversibly inhibited the CTL reaction by slowing the initial rate of cytolysis. These results suggest anti-LFA-1 MAb inhibit CTL function by specific blockade of a functionally relevant molecule.


Put the power of Expressions to work in your animations with controls and efficiencies impossible to achieve with traditional keyframing techniques. No programming skills are required. Foundation concepts and skills orient the new designer and serve as a handy reference to the experienced one. Basics of creating Expressions, variables, commands, and Expression helpers precede the leap into JavaScript and math essentials for more advanced Expressions that include randomness and physical simulations. Full color illustrations display the scripts and the resulting effects, Pick Whip techniques, and sequential animations. Downloadable companion files include QuickTime movies of the demo animations, and AE project files that permit you to examine the Expressions. * No programming experience required.* Full-color presentation of Pick Whip techniques and sequential animations.* Downloadable project files and QuickTime videos.


Whitetop or heart-podded hoary cress (Cur&riir &u&z(L.)Desv.) is an Eurasian native of the Cruciferae actively invading rangelands throughout western North America. The plant is reported to be unpalatable to livestock and contain potentially toxic glucosinolates. Practical experience indicates sheep consume whitetop during its early growth stages and cattle ingest large quantities of seedheads. Chemical analysis of whole plants from rosette to hard seed, respectively, indicated the following trends: crude protein (28.8 to 7.9%), neutral detergent fiber (13.1 to 52.8%), acid detergent fiber (12.0 to 41.8%), cellulose (9.9 to 32.10/o), lignin (1.9 to 9.4%), ether extract (1.6 to 2.4%), in vitro organic matter digestibility (77.3 to 49.1%), digestible energy (2.9 to 1.8 Meal/kg), and total glucosinolates (28.4 to 84.0 pmol/g). Leaves were higher than stems in crude protein, ether extract, in vitro organic matter digestibility, and digestible energy. Analysis of 11 micro- and macroelements revealed sulfur (S) levels ranged from 0.73 to 2.69% and were therefore higher than the reported maximum tolerable level (0.4%). High S levels likely reflected the S moiety of glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products. Whitetop has some forage value, but until further research establishes the toxicity of this species to sheep and cattle, prudence suggests managers use caution when allowing animals to graze whitetop-infested rangelands by providing supplemental iodine, utilizing mature and nonlactating animals, and reducing opportunities for animals to consume the plant.


The transition to secondary school can be a stressful and challenging process for young people, especially those with special educational needs. While research acknowledges the importance of additional support for students with dyslexia at post-secondary transition, a systematic literature review indicated that very little research has studied their experience during transition to secondary school. Additionally, there is a growing evidence base for the importance of vulnerable students being taught to self-advocate during transition, though limited research has investigated its efficacy for young people with dyslexia. To address these issues, qualitative exploratory research was conducted with nine young people with dyslexia, who had recently transitioned to secondary school. Data collection involved two semi-structured interviews which were both analysed using thematic analysis. The first interview sought to explore both the experiences of young people with dyslexia during transition, as well as what they found supportive during this process. Findings highlighted the importance of understanding and disclosing dyslexia; requesting appropriate support; knowing strengths and areas for development; adequate information about transition; support from friends and family. Using these findings, the researcher developed five draft self-advocacy based materials which sought to support young people with dyslexia during transition. The second interview explored the views of participants on these materials. The research indicated that the materials would be useful for preparing young people with dyslexia for the transition to secondary school. The materials were then refined based on the feedback of participants. The findings of this research highlighted the importance of transition planning for young people with dyslexia and the potential efficacy of self-advocacy based support.


The majority of event detection in real-time embedded sensor network systems is based on data fusion that uses noisy sensor data collected from complicated real-world environments. Current research has produced several excellent low-level mechanisms to collect sensor data and perform aggregation. However, solutions that enable these systems to provide real-time data processing using readings from heterogeneous sensors and subsequently detect complex events of interest in real-time fashion need further research. We are developing real-time event detection approaches which allow light-weight data fusion and do not require significant computing resources. Underlying the event detection framework is a collection of real-time monitoring and fusion mechanisms that are invoked upon the arrival of sensor data. The combination of these mechanisms and the framework has the potential to significantly improve the timeliness and reduce the resource requirements of embedded sensor networks. In addition to that, we discuss about a privacy that is foundation technique for trusted embedded sensor network system and explain anonymization technique to ensure privacy.


Introduction The management of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is challenging in patients with cirrhosis, as it is responsible for severe complications and high mortality rates. Tranexamic acid (TXA) may help control the bleeding by counterbalancing cirrhosis-related hyperfibrinolysis. Still, there is a lack of unbiased data to conclude on its efficacy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of TXA in the early treatment of acute UGIB in patients with cirrhosis. Methods and analysis This study is a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, for adult patients with cirrhosis presenting with an acute UGIB and allocated to one of two arms: TXA or placebo (saline). Physicians from emergency mobile services, emergency departments (EDs) or intensive care units (ICUs) can include patients. Besides study intervention, standard care for UGIB will be performed as recommended. Intervention will consist an intravenous infusion of 10 mL of TXA (1 g) or saline, immediately followed by three identical intravenous infusions over 8 hours each (total dose of 4 g of TXA or 40 mL of placebo over 24 hours). Main analyses will be conducted in intention to treat on every patient included, then in modified intention to treat on patients with underlying lesion of portal hypertension visualised by endoscopy. The main objective is to show efficacy of TXA until day 5 on a composite criterion (bleeding control, rebleeding episodes and mortality). Secondary objectives aim at showing the efficacy of TXA on each individual component of the main outcome measure and others at 6 weeks and later (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt procedure, cirrhosis-specific complications, length of stay in ICU and in hospital, safety and tolerance of TXA, liver transplantation). Included patients will be followed up to 1 year after inclusion. 500 patients will be necessary to show a reduction in the prevalence of the primary outcome from 30% to 18% with a bilateral alpha risk of 5% and a power of 80%. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from the Comité de Protection des Personnes Ile-de-France 1 (CPP-IDF1). Results will be disseminated via publications in peer-review medical journals and scientific forums. Protocol version This protocol is based on the latest version, as established on 11 October 2017 and validated by the IRB CPP Ile-de-France 1. Trial registration number NCT03023189.


Objective—The cytosolic form of Cu/Zn-containing superoxide dismutase (SOD1) has peroxidase activity, with H2O2 used as a substrate to oxidize other molecules. We examined peroxidase properties of the extracellular form of SOD (SOD3), a major isoform of SOD in the vessel wall, by using recombinant SOD3 and an in vivo model of atherosclerosis. Methods and Results—In the presence of HCO3−, SOD3 reacted with H2O2 to produce a hydroxyl radical adduct of the spin trap 5-diethoxyphosphoryl-5methyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DEMPO). SOD1 and SOD3 were inactivated by H2O2 in a dose- and time-dependent fashion, and this was prevented by physiological levels of uric acid. To examine the in vivo role of uric acid on SOD1 and SOD3, control and apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice were treated with oxonic acid, which inhibits urate metabolism. This treatment increased plasma levels of uric acid in control and ApoE−/− mice by ≈3-fold. Although increasing uric acid levels did not alter aortic SOD1 and SOD3 protein expression, aortic SOD1 and SOD3 activities were increased by 2- to 3-fold in aortas from ApoE−/− mice but not in aortas from control mice. Conclusions—These studies show that SOD1 and SOD3 are partially inactivated in atherosclerotic vessels of ApoE−/− mice and that levels of uric acid commonly encountered in vivo may regulate vascular redox state by preserving the activity of these enzymes.


Aims: Punjabi Sikh immigrants are more likely to develop and live with lifestyle related illnesses than the host population. Identifying factors that influence these health inequalities is challenging. Various socio-cultural factors have shown to pose barriers for this sub-group to access mainstream preventative health services. The current study aimed to explore how elderly Punjabi Sikhs made sense of taking part in a culturally adapted health promoting intervention (CAHPI), to facilitate physical activity and healthy eating behaviours. A newly developed behaviour change model: COM-B underpinned the intervention design and contents.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 7 Sikh immigrants who had taken part in a CAHPI. The resulting data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, focusing on the participants lived experience of the CAHPI.

Results: The following themes were revealed: 1) "for our good health, we are getting some help with our health", 2) "It was in our Gurdwara", 3) "We all got together, the time passed nicely", 4) "We are in a different stage in our lives now, we are not the same people we were 10 years ago, and 5) "You can't learn all the things in one day, we need some more".

Discussion: The in-depth analysis allowed this generally 'unheard' population, to voice their views of taking part in the CAHPI. The findings showed that by incorporating meaningful components relating to the design and delivery of such interventions, wider engagement of the target population can be achieved. The IPA approach helped capture the complexities that exist between individuals within these specific populations, and the meanings they attach to the phenomenon being explored.

Conclusion and implications: The current findings show the importance of drawing on a range of disciplines and guidance from the newly developed COM-B model to help identify and understand the mechanisms that facilitate behaviour change in this context. Consequently, meaningful collaboration between health care professionals and local communities can help identify strategies for addressing some of the health inequalities that exist within this marginalised community. In particular, the utility of places of worship and fear appeal approaches for delivering such initiatives, have shown to be invaluable.


The second Nuclear Security Summit on 26–27 March 2012 in Seoul provides an important opportunity to gauge international consensus on the threat posed by nuclear terrorism, and to evaluate progress in the development of multilateral cooperative efforts to prevent it. However, the 'nuclear security' agenda has long been complicated by the complexity of the issues it covers and diverging perceptions of the risks and threats in this area. Further complications involve the politics that have constrained the development of formal cooperative approaches and the patchwork nature of the existing multilateral policy architecture. While the Summit is unlikely to go very far in mitigating these complications, it will nonetheless provide impetus to multilateral efforts to strengthen the international regulative framework in this area and, in the process, to develop the norm of nuclear security. Beyond Seoul several priorities stand out. Nuclear safety and nuclear security need to be approached in a more balanced way by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and it must also be allowed to adopt a more joined-up, and less stove-piped, approach to nuclear governance across the safeguards, safety and security fields. Developing countries that are concerned by growing demands for strengthened nuclear security arrangements need greater reassurance from those proposing them that these will not undermine their rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to pursue civil applications of nuclear energy. Greater progress also needs to be made in universalizing the key nuclear security conventions and their amendments, and attention should be given to how momentum and high-level political buy-in to the nuclear security agenda can be maintained in the future both as part of, and beyond, the Nuclear Security Summit process.


Abstract
A Dynamic Back End of the Line Customization Technique for
Yield Improvement
Ardavan Aryanpour, M. Sc
July 2010
As CMOS technology evolves and transistors get smaller, although chip
manufacturers benefit significantly from being able to fit more transistors in a
smaller area and also producing chips with lower power dissipation, they have
to confront newer problems that are directly related to the size of transistors
and the thickness of the deposited layers on a wafer.
Smaller transistors are faster and dissipate less power, but the smaller the
technology becomes, the harder the fabrication process is to control. Thin
silicon, metal and oxide layers must be accurately deposited because any
variation in the thickness will cause unexpected behavior in the device.
These variations affect many parameters in CMOS. Any slight change in
temperature, doping density, deposition timing, etc., can cause a significant
change of characteristics of a CMOS device and the variation caused by these
changes is called Process Variation (PV).
In this thesis, two circuits are taken into study in order to understand how
process variation impacts the electrical specifications of a circuit example.
The first example is a tapered buffer chain and the second example is a senseamplifier
flip flop. The idea is to propose a technique to decrease the loss
percentage (Increase the yield). Basically for one specific design a few variant
circuit layouts with different power-speed specifications are implemented and
based on the results of the mid fabrication measurements on the test circuits
that are deposited throughout the wafer, one of them is chosen with the means
of choosing a proper masking sequence. The electrical characteristics of the
iv


The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) Section 1201 Anti-Circumvention provisions are unnecessarily prohibiting lawful speech by making circumvention for otherwise lawful uses of copyrighted content illegal under federal law. The current rulemaking process for creating exemptions is ineffective and cumbersome. The Copyright Office is currently conducting a comprehensive study of section 1201, providing an opportunity to identify reforms at the legislative and regulatory levels that can ensure 1201 avoids unnecessarily restricting lawful speech. This article is divided into two broad categories: Part 1 addresses key problems with section 1201 and examines key potential legislative reforms. Part 2, acknowledging that legislative reform may take time, focuses on ways in which the triennial rule-making process can be improved more quickly by regulatory change at the Copyright Office. Specifically, Part 1 (A) begins by providing an overview of the specific problems with section 1201's Anti-Circumvention provisions and the triennial process, including 1) the high demands on time and resources for proving exemptions; 2) the unnecessarily high burden for proving exemptions; 3) examples of the ways in which exemptions routinely fail creators making lawful uses of content; and 4) lastly, the significance of excluding fair use from exempt status. Next, Part 1(B) proposes an amendment to section 1201 that accounts for fair uses of copyrighted works, addressing many of the problems listed above. To conclude, Part 1 (C) explains how such an amendment is compatible with U.S. international treaty obligations. Part 2 focuses on ways in which the triennial process should be reformed at the regulatory level while we await legislative reform. Part 2 (A) suggests changes to the interpretation of the burden of proof for proponents of exemptions; Part 2 (B) examines possible replacements for the current de novo standard for review; and Part 2 (C) provides suggestions for dealing with issues of confidentiality in the rulemaking process.


OBJECTIVES: The goals were (1) to describe rates of diabetes mellitus (DM)-related hospitalizations and retinopathy screening before and after transition to adult care and (2) to test whether different methods of transfer of care were associated with improved outcomes. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study, we included 1507 young adults with DM of ≥5-year duration and tracked these patients until 20 years of age. RESULTS: DM-related hospitalization rates increased from 7.6 to 9.5 cases per 100 patient-years in the 2 years after transition to adult care (P = .03). Previous DM-related hospitalizations, lower income, female gender, and living in areas with low physician supply were associated with higher admission rates. With controlling for all other factors, individuals who were transferred to a new allied health care team with no change in physician were 77% less likely (relative risk: 0.23 [95% confidence interval: 0.05–0.79]) to be hospitalized after the transition than were those transferred to a new physician with either a new or no allied health care team. The rates of eye examinations were stable across the transition to adult care (72% vs 70%; P = .06). Female patients, patients with higher income, and patients with previous eye care were more likely to have an eye care visit after transfer. CONCLUSIONS: During the transition to adult health care, there is increased risk of DM-related hospitalizations, although this may be attenuated in youths for whom there is physician continuity. Eye care visits were not related to transition; however, rates were below evidence-based guideline recommendations.


China's transition from planned economy to market economy (economic liberalization) has catalyzed the private sector's emergence and growth, as well as given birth to new forms of business associations within the private sector, such as Non-local Chambers of Commerce (NCCs, hereafter). NCCs emerged from mid-1990s, and have proliferated rapidly across China's localities and industries. Unlike traditional official business associations, NCCs have significantly participated in local governance and demonstrated new types of state-society relations. However, they have not yet reached the attention of scholarly researchers, and have been understudied within and outside of China.

At the same time, political scientists working on policy processes have begun to include China as a case to enrich their theory, but find it hard to adapt established models to China's policymaking system. Research on the Chinese policy process have gone from elite politics in the 1950-1960s, to "fragmented authoritarianism" in the 1970-1980s, then to "fragmented authoritarianism 2.0" after 2000. During the evolution of these theories, it has been noticed that more and more non-bureaucratic actors have been involved into the policymaking process if not being the prominent actors. There have been studies on "policy entrepreneur", environmental NGOs, international NGOs, Chinese think-tanks and different forms of business lobbying. However, within the spectrum of business lobbying, there is a gap in understanding business associations' influence in policy processes, especially the new type of so claimed "grass-roots" business associations.

This thesis sheds lights on this new type of private sector business association - NCCs and their influence in the local urban policy process. NCCs have been widely involved in local governance and political engagement. However, their political participation shows great variation due to differences in regions, organizational forms, industries and policy spheres. So the question of what lead to the variation of NCCs' policy influence has become the highlights of this research project. By using the empirical materials from participant observation and interviews, this thesis aims to answer two main questions: How did NCCs influence the local policy process and what explains the difference in their policy influence?

In this thesis, I develop a typology for NCCs by using the dimensions of "origins" and "networks". Thus all the NCCs have been categorized into four types: "Dependent NCCs", "Independent NCCs", "Coupling NCCs" and "Decoupling NCCs". Through in-depth case analysis, I argue that NCCs' networks and their ability to mobilize resources within their networks determine their policy impact. In terms of NCCs' network orientation, the state networks of NCCs directly affect their access to policy lobbying, while the business networks directly affect the resources for their lobbying, thus determine NCCs' lobbying capacity in the local policy process. In terms of NCCs' network strategy, network span influences policy making while network intensity influences policy implementations. To be specific, NCCs with network span strategy could influence more general policy agendas and policy spheres, while NCCs with network intensity strategy could exert more influence in specific policies especially in the policy implementation stage.


Two ylidenemalononitrile enamines, adsorbed to various media, undergo a cyclization reaction with primary amine vapors resulting in a fluorometric and colorimetric response. After determining the media with the fastest response rate for emission "turn-on" to be aluminum oxide activated neutral (AON), we further demonstrate the sensitivity (propylamine concentrations as low as 200 ppm are detected) and selectivity to various analytes including amines, methanol, and ethanethiol. Lastly, as an alternative means of detection, the colorimetric response dye on glass filter paper was shown to detect propylamine concentrations as low as 29 ppm.


Over the past decade an intriguing connection between asymmetric cell division, stem cells and tumorigenesis has emerged. Neuroblasts, the neural stem cells of the Drosophila central nervous system, divide asymmetrically and constitute an excellent paradigm for further investigating that connection. Here we show that the simultaneous loss of the asymmetric cell division regulators Canoe (Afadin in mammals) and Scribble in neuroblast clones leads to tumor-like overgrowth through both a severe disruption of the asymmetric cell division process and a canoe loss-mediated Ras-PI3K-Akt activation. Moreover, canoe loss also interacts synergistically with scribble to promote overgrowth in epithelial tissues, here just by activating the Ras-Raf-MAPK pathway. Finally we find that the scribble functionally related genes discs large and lethal (2) giant larvae contribute to repress the Ras-MAPK signaling cascade in epithelia. Hence, our work uncovers novel cooperative interactions between all these well-conserved tumor suppressors to ensure a tight regulation of the Ras signaling pathway. In aPKC dividing defects


List of contributors Preface Part I. The Complexity of Patterns and Processes: 1. The bird and its habitat: an overview of concepts Robert J. Fuller 2. Habitat quality and habitat occupancy by birds in variable environments Robert J. Fuller 3. Spatial variation and temporal shifts in habitat use by birds at the European scale Tomasz Wesolowski and Robert J. Fuller 4. Mechanisms and processes underlying landscape structure effects on bird populations Paul M. Dolman 5. Avian responses to transitional habitats in temperate cultural landscapes: woodland edges and young growth Robert J. Fuller 6. Habitat associations of birds in complex changing cultural landscapes Shelley A. Hinsley and Simon Gillings 7. The importance of habitat heterogeneity at multiple scales for birds in European agricultural landscapes Juliet Vickery and Raphael Arlettaz Part II. Case Studies of Habitat Use and Selection: 8. Spatial variation and habitat relationships in moorland bird assemblages: a British perspective Murray C. Grant and James W. Pearce-Higgins 9. Arctic-alpine mountain birds in northern Europe: contrasts between specialists and generalists Des B. A. Thompson, John Atle Kalas and Ingvar Byrkjedal 10. Bird-habitat relationships in reedswamps and fens Gillian Gilbert and Ken W. Smith 11. Breeding waders on wet grassland: factors influencing habitat suitability Malcolm Ausden and Mark Bolton 12. Processes influencing bird use of estuarine mudflats and saltmarshes in western Europe Jennifer A. Gill 13. Avian habitat use on the non-estuarine intertidal coast Niall H. K. Burton 14. Temperate western European woodland as a dynamic environment for birds: a resource-based view Robert J. Fuller, Ken W. Smith and Shelley A. Hinsley Part III. Wider Perspectives: 15. What is habitat quality? Dissecting a research portfolio on shorebirds Theunis Piersma 16. Understanding individual life histories and habitat choices: implications for explaining population patterns and processes Beat Naef-Daenzer 17. Insufficient adaptation to climate change alters avian habitat quality and thereby changes habitat selection Christiaan Both 18. Australian birds in a changing landscape: 220 years of European colonisation Tara G. Martin, Carla P. Catterall, Adrian D. Manning and Judit Szabo 19. Birds in cultural landscapes: actual and perceived differences between north-east North America and western Europe Jean-Louis Martin, Pierre Drapeau, Lenore Fahrig, Kathryn Freemark Lindsay, David Anthony Kirk, Adam C. Smith and Marc-Andre Villard 20. Birds and their changing habitat: thoughts on research and conservation strategies Robert J. Fuller Index.


Hersh (1986) states, "One's conception of what mathematics is affects one's conception of how it should be presented. One's manner of presenting it is an indication of what one believes to be most essential in it." In this research study, three hundred ninety-seven urban early childhood teachers were given a survey that examined their attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics teaching, their views of mathematics, views of teaching mathematics, and views of children learning mathematics. The purpose of this study was to identify the attitudes and beliefs of early childhood teachers in two urban school districts to determine if mathematics reform efforts made a difference in teachers' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and its teaching. Questionnaires were mailed directly to teachers in one school district and principals distributed questionnaires in the other. Summary scores were calculated for parts of the instrument. The researcher performed descriptive statistics, comparative analysis, and conducted frequency distributions, t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson Correlations. Findings revealed that teachers with 30 or more years of teaching experience had more positive attitudes toward mathematics than teachers with 1-3 years of experience. African American teachers had more positive attitudes toward mathematics and its teaching than other ethnic groups. Teachers who held a minor or major in mathematics had more positive attitudes toward mathematics and its teaching than teachers without a minor or major in mathematics. Teachers in District-A favored constructivist learning while teachers in District-B favored rote learning. Both school districts' teachers favored the problem-solving approach to teaching mathematics. If instruction is to be transformed, reformers need to understand teachers' beliefs about mathematics. Beliefs, which are essential for teachers' development, seldom change without significant intervention (Lappan and Theule-Lubienski, 1994). Therefore, school districts must be informed about the changes necessary for the reform of mathematics teaching and identify and implement through staff developments and other measures what they perceive mathematics to be and how it should be taught.


Research questions: How are management agreements in the German hotel market configured as reaction to the growing uncertainty? Which adaptations are made to management agreements in Germany according to their uncertainty reducing effect? Is a higher level of flexibility negotiated into management agreements, in order to encounter uncertainty? Methods: Semi-structured expert interviews, forming a cross section of the target group being involved in the negotiation of management agreements, and giving insights about the driving forces and trends of the contract configuration.  Results: Agreements are flexibilised in the area of remuneration and termination, whereby safeguarding is predominant in the areas of loss compensation. Negotiation power has a higher influence on the contract configuration than uncertainty issues.


Like many boys, Luis Gabriel Aguilera grew up with cartoons, music, friends and first loves. As he entered his teenage years, he faced the typical questions of adolescence - what kind of person did he want to be? how should he live his life? But for Aguilera, now in his twenties, these questions had a particular urgency. A Mexican immigrant, he came of age in a Polish neighbourhood on the South Side of Chicago that was encroached upon by threats of gangs and drugs. He attended Catholic school and, at age thirteen, began an affair with one of the teachers at the local elementary school. All the while he documented these years in a series of journals, which have now grown into "Gabriel's Fire". Aguilera's memoir is not just an account of race relations and street life in the inner city, nor of the plight of the immigrant and the dilemma of class identity for a "minority" family. "Gabriel's Fire" also movingly recounts the peculiarly daunting and inspiring moments of a particular age, riddled with confusion, desires and duties and recorded by an exceptionally observant and articulate young man. Aguilera writes that he "grew into" the English language when he was eleven or twelve, and his recollections reflect his newfound delight with words - the conversations, arguments, taunts, song lyrics and casual interchanges of his youth are rendered here with an immediacy and directness rare in contemporary memoirs. Both a picture of American culture of the 1980s and 1990s and a coming-of-age story, "Gabriel's Fire" counters mainstream and mass-mediated images of the inner city, Hispanic culture and troubled youth. In its honesty and energy, it is a poignant and compelling story of one man's formative years.


Uterine sarcomas are rare but very aggressive gynecologic malignancies. The most frequent signs and symptoms at the moment of diagnosis include abnormal uterine bleeding or diffuse abdomino-pelvic pains while acute abdomen by uterine rupture is an uncommon situation. We present the case of a 72 year old patient who presented in emergency for diffuse abdominal pain and hypotension. An emergency laparotomy was performed and a ruptured uterine tumor with small bowel and sigmoidian serosal invasion and intra-peritoneal bleeding was found. The tumor was resected en bloc with total hysterectomy, bilateral adnexectomy, segmental enterectomy and sigmoidectomy, pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissection. The histopathological and immunohistochemistry examination revealed a poorly differentiated sarcoma. Although it is a rare condition, a uterine sarcoma can rupture and cause hemoperitoneum; emergency surgery while respecting oncologic principles of complete resection is mandatory.


Introduction: Vaso-occlusive pain crises are considered the "hallmark" of sickle cell disease (SCD). Persistent occurrence is thought to lead to changes in the peripheral and central nervous system, which can then in turn lead to changes in pain sensitivity. Imaging studies have shown that hypnotic analgesia can reduce activity in supraspinal areas of the "pain matrix." To date there are no published studies looking at the effectiveness of hypnosis in altering pain perception in patients with SCD. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in peripheral blood flow in response to a 30-minute hypnosis intervention and its relationship to pain sensitivity.

Methods: To assess the effectiveness of increasing vasodilation, a laboratory based, single session hypnosis protocol was administered to a sample of 14 SCD patients and 14 healthy controls. Continuous readings for SpO2, pulse rate and pulse waveform was monitored using a pulse oximetry transducer placed on the left thumb. Bio-behavioral pain measures were collected during a standardized pain protocol before and after a hypnosis session, performed by a trained therapist. The protocol consisted of assessing pain tolerance and threshold via a heat probe (˚C) for "pain task 1", preceded by an anticipation period. "Pain task 2" consisted of assessing pain intensity via the same heat probe (˚C) on a 1-100 visual analog scale (VAS), preceded by another anticipation period.

Results : To investigate blood-flow responses to their respective baseline (baseline vs. hypnosis), all recorded signal following these two periods was normalized respectively. Independent sample t-tests between both normalized anticipation and pain responses periods revealed controls showed no response to hypnosis for anticipation period 1(t(23.42) = .184, p = .855 , d = .072), but SCD patients showed a large increase in blood flow (t(16.99) = 4.189, p = .0006 , d = 1.79). Neither controls (t(21.05) = .00, p = .994 , d = .003) or SCD patients (t(19.99) =.718, p = .481 , d = .305) showed an effect of hypnosis in response to pain task 1. Neither controls (t(23.96) = -.139, p = .890 , d = -.05) or SCD patients (t(18.82) = 1.035, p = .313 , d = .441) showed a response to anticipation period 2, but the effect size reveals that this may be due to a lack of power. Neither controls (t(16.52) = .258, p = .799 , d = .101) or SCD patients (t(19.63) = p = .5375 , d = .268) showed no changes in response to hypnosis for pain task 2. Independent sample t-tests revealed no significant difference in pain threshold (t(13) = 0.941, p = .364 , d = .251) or tolerance (t(13) = 0.937, p = 0.366 , d = 0.250) in SCD patients before and after hypnosis. Differences in pain ratings were marginal but showed a decrease with medium effect (t(13) = -1.5315, p = 0.150, d = 0.409). The same tests revealed significant decreases in controls for pain threshold (t(13) = 2.825, p = 0.01, d = .755), pain tolerance (t(13) = 2.482, p = 0.02, d = 0.664), and pain rating (t(13) = 2.950, p = 0.01, d = .789).

Conclusion: Results revealed that hypnosis may be an effective treatment in helping manage vasoconstriction in SCD as a response to cognitive appraisals about pain, as well as reducing pain sensitivity. The data presented provide preliminary clinical evidence of the use of hypnosis as a treatment method to improve vasodilation in SCD patients and decreasing pain crises, thus increasing overall quality of life.

Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Mature language users are highly specialized, expert, and efficient perceivers and producers of their native language. This expertise begins to develop in infancy, a time when the infant acquires language-specific perception of native language phonetic categories and learns to produce speech-like syllables in the form of canonical babble. The emergence of these skills is well described by past research but the precise mechanisms by which these foundational abilities develop have not been identified. This chapter provides an overview of what is currently known about the impact of language experience on the development of speech perception and production during infancy. Throughout we affirm that experiential influences on phonetic development cannot be understood without considering the interaction between the constraints that the child brings to the task and the nature of the environmental input. In the perception and production domains our current understanding of this interaction is incomplete and tends to focus on the child as a passive receiver of input. In our review, we signal a recent shift in research attention to the infant's role in actively selecting and learning from the input. We begin this chapter by describing what is currently known about the determinants of speech perception and speech production development during infancy while highlighting important gaps to be fi lled within each domain. We close by emphasizing the need to integrate research across the perception and production domains.


The proliferation of the Internet has created a need for leadership, which has been filled by the Internet Society (ISOC). This study examines ISOC through the lens of regime theory to explain its role. Regime theory is discussed at length in order to create an applicable model of a regime. This model is grounded in the transnationalists school of thought, originating in the 1970s. The regime model is informed by the work of Keohane and Nye, and Chayes and Chayes. The model is applied to three regimes throughout the study, the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and ISOC. In order to study ISOC, the ITU is examined to form a basis of comparison for telecommunications regimes. The ITU was the first modern international organization and has much in common with ISOC. The ITU is examined using the regime model to facilitate comparison between the ITU and ISOC regimes. As a result of this study, the findings show that ISOC is not a typical state-centric regime. However, it does create the potential for a new open and democratic regime style. ISOC sets standards for the Internet and has taken the responsibility for maintaining it. The potential of ISOC to grow with the Internet and develop a new form of international leadership is demonstrated through this analysis.


This paper examines the benefits of edge mining -data mining that takes place on the wireless, battery-powered, and smart sensing devices that sit at the edge points of the Internet of Things. Through local data reduction and transformation, edge mining can quantifiably reduce the number of packets that must be sent, reducing energy usage, and remote storage requirements. In addition, edge mining has the potential to reduce the risk in personal privacy through embedding of information requirements at the sensing point, limiting inappropriate use. The benefits of edge mining are examined with respect to three specific algorithms: linear Spanish inquisition protocol (L-SIP), ClassAct, and bare necessities (BN), which are all instantiations of general SIP. In general, the benefits provided by edge mining are related to the predictability of data streams and availability of precise information requirements; results show that L-SIP typically reduces packet transmission by around 95% (20-fold), BN reduces packet transmission by 99.98% (5000-fold), and ClassAct reduces packet transmission by 99.6% (250-fold). Although energy reduction is not as radical because of other overheads, minimization of these overheads can lead up to a 10-fold battery life extension for L-SIP, for example. These results demonstrate the importance of edge mining to the feasibility of many IoT applications.


Although silicon optical technology is still in its formative stages, and the more near-term application is chip-to-chip communication, rapid advances have been made in the development of on-chip optical interconnects. In this paper, we investigate the integration of CMOS-compatible optical technology to on-chip cache-coherent buses in future CMPs. While not exhaustive, our investigation yields a hierarchical opto-electrical system that exploits the advantages of optical technology while abiding by projected limitations. Our evaluation shows that, for the applications considered, compared to an aggressive all-electrical bus of similar power and area, significant performance improvements can be achieved using an opto-electrical bus. This performance improvement is largely dependent on the application's bandwidth demand and on the number of implemented wavelengths per optical waveguide. We also present a number of critical areas for future work that we discover in the course of our research


The primary goal of this article is to look at the property attributes of copyright to inform a more nuanced understanding of the nature of copyright that emphasizes its distinct character. I resort primarily to James W. Harris' theory in Property and Justice, and in particular, on the insights that his characterization of property as the twin manifestation of trespassory rules and of an ownership spectrum, bring to the understanding of copyright. While copyright holders' right to exclude has been a focal point in copyright theory, looking at copyright through trespassory rules and the ownership spectrum allows me to discern two distinct yet interrelated property interests that bring a more refined understanding of the property attributes of copyright.The first interest relates to copyright as a whole when considered as the thing that is the object of commercial exploitation, which satisfies all requirements of a proprietary ownership interest. The second interest focuses on the nature of copyright holders' relationship to the physical embodiment of their works (e.g. the commercial copies owned by consumers or other users): it emerges as a limited, remote, non-ownership proprietary interest. Viewing copyright through the combination of the bundle of rights as an object of commodification and the more limited rights that copyright holders have with respect to disseminated copies of their works puts greater emphasis on the property attributes of copyright while underscoring their limited scope. For instance, viewing copyright through two distinct proprietary interests confirms that copyright holders cannot own their works once they are commercialized. This illustrates how a property lens may in fact narrow the scope of copyright, and challenge the perception that associating copyright to property inevitably leads to its expansion. As copyright holders' legal and technical powers of control increase, as much as users' power of uses of copyright works multiply, the temptations of drifting one way or the other on the debate regarding the property attributes of copyright are high. While misinterpreting the consequences of the property attributes of copyright may lead to unwarranted expansion, distancing copyright from property for fear of expansionism is problematic from a legal and normative standpoint. Acknowledging the property attributes of copyright has the important additional benefit to reveal more sharply the inherent tension that subsists between the competing property rights of copyright holders and users in the embodiment of the works. It levels the playing field by minimizing the tendency to apply double standards to the competing rights.


The importance of international technology transfer for economic development can hardly be overstated. But the wide range of interests among developed and developing countries has long been the cause of enormous political obstacles to the conclusion of efficient international agreements dealing with technology transfers. This book provides a robust guideline to both policymakers and researchers wishing to identify and categorize the factors that influence the process of technology flows across national boundaries, as well as the economic theories and legal arguments that may support a given position in international forums. In particular, the work discusses how certain negotiation strategies may optimally deal with such barriers and lead to more effective institutional arrangements in the current global geography of technological development. The book features a strong balance between legal and economic theories, ranging from the analysis of judicial cases before the WTO Dispute Settlement System, to the manipulation of complex econometric methods and statistical tools. It covers and attempts to describe almost every relevant legal statute on the subject, thus providing an essential technical tool for decision makers and lawyers working in the field of international technology transfers, as well as to students. Furthermore, given the increasing worldwide attention to the negotiations taking place in the WTO, the book may serve as a valuable source of argumentation for both developed and developing countries in the yet unexplored relationship between foreign investments, technology licensing and international trade.


Fluorescence photobleaching and photoproduct formation were investigated during δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) PDT of MLL cells in vitro . Cells were incubated in either 0.1 or 1.0 mM ALA for 4 h and were treated with 532 nm or 635 nm light under well oxygenated or hypoxic conditions. Fluorescence spectra were acquired during treatment. Photobleaching and photoproduct formation were quantified using singular value decomposition fitting of fluorescence spectra to experimentally determined basis spectra for PpIX, photoprotoporphyrin (Ppp), product II (peak at 655 nm), and product III (peak at 618 nm). PpIX photobleaching occurred under both normal and hypoxic conditions. The photobleaching kinetics could not be explained by purely first- or second-order photobleaching kinetics, and were attributed to differences in PpIX binding at the two ALA incubation concentrations. Ppp was the main photoproduct and accumulated in higher levels in the absence of oxygen, likely a result of reduced Ppp photobleaching under hypoxia. Increases in product II fluorescence occurred mainly in the presence of oxygen. To assess potential fluorescence based PDT dose metrics, cell viability was measured at select times during treatment using a colony formation assay. Cell survival correlated well to changes in product II fluorescence, independent of oxygenation, sensitizer concentration, and treatment wavelength, suggesting that this product is primarily a result of singlet oxygen mediated reactions and may potentially be useful to quantify singlet oxygen dose during PDT.


In this correspondence, we propose an approach to construct irregular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes based on quasi-cyclic extension. When decoded iteratively, the constructed irregular LDPC codes exhibit a relatively low error floor in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region and are subject to relatively few undetected errors. The LDPC codes constructed based on the proposed scheme remain efficiently encodable


As the cost of storing, sharing, and analyzing data has decreased, economic activity has become increasingly digital. But while the effects of digital technology and improved digital communication have been explored in a variety of contexts, the impact on economic activity—from consumer and entrepreneurial behavior to the ways in which governments determine policy—is less well understood. Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy explores the economic impact of digitization, with each chapter identifying a promising new area of research. The Internet is one of the key drivers of growth in digital communication, and the first set of chapters discusses basic supply-and-demand factors related to access. Later chapters discuss new opportunities and challenges created by digital technology and describe some of the most pressing policy issues. As digital technologies continue to gain in momentum and importance, it has become clear that digitization has features that do not fit well into traditional economic models. This suggests a need for a better understanding of the impact of digital technology on economic activity, and Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy brings together leading scholars to explore this emerging area of research.


In this paper we study the pinning model with correlated Gaussian disorder. The presence of correlations makes the annealed model more involved than the usual homogeneous model, which is fully solvable. We prove however that if the disorder correlations decay fast enough then the annealed critical behaviour is the same as the homogeneous one. Our result is sharper if the decay is exponential. The approach we propose relies on the spectral properties of a transfer or Ruelle-Perron Frobenius operator related to the model. We use results on these operators that were obtained in the framework of the thermodynamic formalism for countable Markov shifts. We also provide large-temperature asymptotics of the annealed critical curve under weaker assumptions.


One of the main goals for the next generation of radios for wireless sensor and body-area networks (WSN and WBAN) is a sub-mW receiver (RX) compliant with energy-harvested supplies. In this direction, the Bluetooth standard has introduced a low-energy operative mode (BLE) with wider channel spacing (2MHz) and relaxed blocker tolerance. The minimum sensitivity required is -70dBm but even with a sensitivity 10dB lower the BLE receiver can have a noise figure close to 19dB [1]. Although linearity and noise specs have been significantly relaxed, the design of a sub-mW solution remains challenging since the power dissipation cannot be simply scaled with the spurious-free-dynamic-range (SFDR). In fact, the ultimate bound is set by the power burned in the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), which is used for the generation of the local oscillator (LO) necessary for the signal downconversion. Since, for a targeted phase noise, the current required by the VCO is inversely proportional to the quality factor of the resonator adopted, a straightforward approach is to use a high-Q tank like the FBAR used by Wang et al. [2]. However in low-cost CMOS processes, when high-Q resonators are not present, an alternative strategy is to share the VCO bias current with the other blocks of the RF front-end as in the LMV cell proposed by Tedeschi et al. [3].


Sodium chloride transforms into exotic compounds such as NaCl3 or Na3Cl with compression, laser heating, and excess of Cl or Na. [Also see Report by Zhang et al.] Sodium chloride (NaCl), the main component of table salt, is the archetypical ionic compound of chemistry textbooks. The large electronegativity difference between the participating elements drives salt formation. Metallic sodium transfers electrons to chlorine, and the resulting positively and negatively charged ions are held together by electrostatic attraction—ionic bonds. At ambient conditions, NaCl crystallizes in the so-called rocksalt structure, a cubic array of Na and Cl atoms in equal proportions (1:1 stoichiometry) and with six-fold coordination. With increasing pressure, a structural phase transition to the cubic, eight-fold coordinated NaCl-B2 phase is observed at ∼30 GPa [(1) and references therein]. Theory suggested that complete metallization of NaCl should occur above ∼300 GPa, and no Na-Cl compounds other than NaCl were known to exist. However, on page 1502 of this issue, Zhang et al. (2) show that stable Na-Cl phases with stoichiometries different from 1:1 and intriguing properties can be synthesized in the lab with high-pressure techniques.


Embodied theories hold that cognitive concepts are grounded in our sensorimotor systems. Specifically, a number of behavioral and neuroimaging studies have buttressed the idea that language concepts are represented in areas involved in perception and action [Pulvermueller, F. Brain mechanisms linking language and action. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 6, 576–582, 2005; Barsalou, L. W. Perceptual symbol systems. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 577–660, 1999]. Proponents of a strong embodied account argue that activity in perception/action areas is triggered automatically upon encountering a word and reflect static semantic representations. In contrast to what would be expected if lexical semantic representations are automatically triggered upon encountering a word, a number of studies failed to find motor-related activity for words with a putative action-semantic component [Raposo, A., Moss, H. E., Stamatakis, E. A., & Tyler, L. K. Modulation of motor and premotor cortices by actions, action words and action sentences. Neuropsychologia, 47, 388–396, 2009; Rueschemeyer, S.-A., Brass, M., & Friederici, A. D. Comprehending prehending: Neural correlates of processing verbs with motor stems. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 855–865, 2007]. In a recent fMRI study, Van Dam and colleagues [Van Dam, W. O., Van Dijk, M., Bekkering, H., & Rueschemeyer, S.-A. Flexibility in embodied lexical-semantic representations. Human Brain Mapping, in press] showed that the degree to which a modality-specific region contributes to a representation considerably changes as a function of context. In the current study, we presented words for which both motor and visual properties (e.g., tennis ball, boxing glove) were important in constituting the concept. Our aim was to corroborate on earlier findings of flexible and context-dependent language representations by testing whether functional integration between auditory brain regions and perception/action areas is modulated by context. Functional connectivity was investigated by means of a psychophysiological interaction analysis, in which we found that bilateral superior temporal gyrus was more strongly connected with brain regions relevant for coding action information: (1) for Action Color words vs. Abstract words, and (2) for Action Color words presented in a context that emphasized action vs. a context that emphasized color properties.


Rondotia menciana Moore (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) is a major pest of mulberry. We cloned the fulllength cDNA of the hatching enzyme from R. menciana eggs (RmHE) using the RACE-PCR and SMART cDNA synthesis technique. The cDNA is 1325 bp long and contains an ORF of 885 bp. It encodes 294 amino acid residues, including a putative signal peptide of 16 amino acid residues. Two conserved signature sequences of insect hatching enzyme (HE) harbour in the RmHE. The deduced amino acid sequence of RmHE has 30–84% identity to HE sequences in other insect species, and RmHE is most similar to that of wild silkworm HE. RmHE transcripts could be detected in R. menciana eggs at different developmental stages. Levels remained low during the early stages, increased greatly in 7-d eggs, and reached a maximum in 9-d eggs. Changes in the levels of RmHE transcripts occurred in accordance with the process of embryo development and eclosion. This indicated that RmHE plays an important role in these processes. RmHE transcripts were also detected in larval midguts, suggesting that RmHE is involved in food digestion. As far as we know, this is the first report on an HE gene in Lepidopteran pests and will offer some basic information for developing an efficient control method during the hatching process for agricultural Lepidopteran pests.


16 cases of decubitus ulcers in the sacral, ischiadic and great trochanter regions were treated with rotating myocutaneous flap of the caudal portion of the gluteus maximus from 1983 to 1989. They were followed up for 3 to 68 months, with the exception of 4 patients. The results were excellent. 30 gluteus regions were studied in 15 cadavers. It was found that the caudal 3/4 of the gluteus maximus muscle was supplied by the inferior gluteal artery, and a flap measuring 12.9 x 9.7 cm could be formed therein with easy dissection. The flap tolerates pressure well. Unilateral flap is adequate to cover a decubitus ulcer within a diameter of 10cm, while bilateral flaps are necessary for a larger ulcer.


Background The recent emergence of hypervirulent subtypes of avian influenza has underlined the potentially devastating effects of pandemic influenza. Were such a virus to acquire the ability to spread efficiently between humans, control would almost certainly be hampered by limited vaccine supplies unless global spread could be substantially delayed. Moreover, the large increases that have occurred in international air travel might be expected to lead to more rapid global dissemination than in previous pandemics. Methods and Findings To evaluate the potential of local control measures and travel restrictions to impede global dissemination, we developed stochastic models of the international spread of influenza based on extensions of coupled epidemic transmission models. These models have been shown to be capable of accurately forecasting local and global spread of epidemic and pandemic influenza. We show that under most scenarios restrictions on air travel are likely to be of surprisingly little value in delaying epidemics, unless almost all travel ceases very soon after epidemics are detected. Conclusions Interventions to reduce local transmission of influenza are likely to be more effective at reducing the rate of global spread and less vulnerable to implementation delays than air travel restrictions. Nevertheless, under the most plausible scenarios, achievable delays are small compared with the time needed to accumulate substantial vaccine stocks.


This work was inspired by the well-ventilated current problems around the use of digital file
sharing technologies and their promotion of infringement of copyright leading to the alleged
destruction of entertainment industries. Different legal systems have applied different
analyses to such problems, and there is no clear and coherent answer to the question of
whether file sharing, especially in the form of peer-to-peer (P2P), is legal. The particular
focus of this thesis flows from the realisation that litigation around file sharing has
uniformly explored it from the perspective of users downloading entertainment materials
such as music and videos. Comparatively little attention has been paid to whether research
and educational users have, or should have, rights to use the same digital file sharing
technologies to access copyright materials important to their work. If digital file sharing is
declared illegal by the courts at the behest of the entertainment industries, then what will
happen to research and educational users of these networks? To explore this key problem, this thesis focuses on how fair use doctrine, the most important
exception and limitation to copyright, has transferred from the traditional copyright
environment into the context of digital file sharing. By undertaking a study of relevant
legislation and cases, such as the well known Napster, Grokster and MP3.com, the "who"
issue, namely, who is the party entitled to benefit from a fair use defence will be highlighted. Having established that fair use as a defence operates ineffectively in the digital file sharing
environment, the thesis then looks at existing alternative or "fared" use models, and
particularly the disadvantages of "fared" use system in serving research and educational file
sharing. Finally the thesis turns to what is termed the "voluntary model": a model in which
copyright owners make their works available to academic users for free, via an institutional
repository, the authors gaining non-pecuniary benefits while the commercial publisher being
cut out as a "middleman". Although future work to develop the details of this approach
would be required, the thesis asserts this is a promising way towards ensuring access to
copyright works in research and education thus benefiting society, whilst at the same time
establishing fair compensation to authors for their efforts.


In 2013, the Supreme Court showed an unusually high rate of unanimous decisions – the highest, in fact, since 1940. This increase in unanimity, long favored by Chief Justice John Roberts, places a spotlight on an insufficiently appreciated fact: In 1941, the Supreme Court experienced a radical transformation. Almost immediately, it changed from a court that had operated by consensus, with very few separate opinions, into something closer to nine separate law offices, with a large number of dissenting opinions and concurrences, and with a significant rate of 5-4 divisions. Remarkably, the patterns established in the early 1800s continued until 1941, and the patterns established in the early 1940s have persisted to the present day. The transformation of 1941 appears to be attributable, in significant part, to the leadership style of Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, who had no aversion to separate opinions and split decisions, and who was a frequent dissenter himself. The transformation offers general lessons not only about consensus and dissent within courts, but also about broader relationships among leaders, personnel, path dependence, prevailing norms, and the Court's future. With respect to group behavior, it suggests the possibility of multiple equilibria: With small differences in leadership style and prevailing norms, the level of publicly expressed dissent can either grow or wither. With respect to the normative issues, the standard arguments in favor of a higher level of consensus within the Court – pointing to the values of legitimacy, stability, and minimalism – rest on fragile empirical foundations. It is true that a badly fractured Supreme Court can create uncertainty, and that internal divisions have costs as well as benefits, but there is no sufficient reason to hope for a return to the pre-1941 patterns.


Democratic election campaigns require informed citizens. Yet, while the Internet allows for broader information through greater media choices, algorithmic filters, such as search engines, threaten to unobtrusively shape individual information repertoires. The purpose of this article is to analyze what search results people encounter when they employ various information orientations, and how these results reflect people's attributions of issue ownership. A multimethod approach was applied during the 2017 German Federal Election campaign. First, human search behavior depicting various information orientations was simulated using agent-based testing to derive real search results from Google Search, which were then manually coded to identify information sources and ascribe issue ownerships. Second, a survey asked participants about which issues they attribute to which party. We find that search results originated mainly from established news outlets and reflected existing power relations between political parties. However, issue-ownership attributions of the survey participants were reflected poorly in the search results. In total, the results indicate that the fear of algorithmic constraints in the context of online search might be overrated. Instead, our findings (1) suggest that political actors still fail to claim their core issues among political search results, (2) highlight that news media (and thus existing media biases) feature heavily among search results, and (3) call for more media literacy among search engine users.


Introduction: The mental health of the general public is significantly affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to evaluate sleep hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general Saudi population. Subjects and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted to fulfil the study aim, and an electronic structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a self-rated questionnaire, was used to assess sleep hygiene over a month, including the quality of sleep and sleep disturbances. A total of 1597 participants completed the survey, among which 871 (54.5%) were males. The age of participants ranged between 18 and 75 years. Results: The results showed that >30 min was required for 28.5% of the participants to fall asleep since last month. The sleep efficacy was <75% among 17.9% of the study participants, and 17.9% sleep for <7 h at night. The total PSQI score ranged from 0 to 20 points with a mean score of 5.8 ± 3.4. Nearly one out of each four participants had poor sleep quality, and about one out of each five participants had to take medication to fall asleep. Conclusion: Therefore, it is concluded that changes associated with lifestyle change COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown inversely affected public mental health and sleep hygiene.


In this article we addres the question of whether, and to what exetent, noun gender attribution in languages such as French, German and Dutch can be formulated in terms of- semantic morphonological rules- competing semantic and morphonological cues- arbitrary idiosyncratic featuresIn addressing this question we carried two learning experiments in which adult subjects, native speakers of Dutch and nonnative second language learners of Dutch, had to learn pseudo Dutch nouns. Our attempt was to provide some counter-evidence to falsify some claims Caroll (1989) made. In Caroll's view, L1 learners of French encode noun gender as an inherent feature of the noun in an obligatory fashion whereas English learners of French learn nouns as words distinct from their determiners.We argue, from the evidence we provide in our study, that the learning of gender values are equally difficult (or easy) for young native speakers, older native speakers, and nonnative speakers when these values are arbitrary. However, when learning the nonarbitrary gender values, it is easier for older native speakers to encode gender of nouns because they have already acquired many nouns from which cues or rules can be derived.


We demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, the switching of optical solitons. We observe switching of 93% of the total reflected energy in a partially transmitting integrated fiber loop mirror that makes up the interferometer. This result demonstrates the potential of solitons as the natural bits in ultrafast optical processing.


IZA DP No. 15338 MAY 2022 The Evolution of Inequality in Education Trajectories and Graduation Outcomes in the US* We model the joint distribution of (i) individual education trajectories, defined by the allocation of time (semesters) between various combinations of school enrollment with different labor supply modalities and periods of school interruption devoted either to employment or home production and (ii) actual graduation outcomes using two cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youths which we follow from 16 to 28. We discuss the evolution of family income and ability effects where the latter are decomposed into an academic (cognitive) and a practical (technical-mechanical) latent ability factor component correlated with family income and background variables. We find that the individual cognitive-technical ability differential prevailing at 16 was increasing with income in the early 80's but much less so in the early 2000's. We find no evidence of any incomebased "trajectory inequality" in either cohort, after conditioning on abilities. Among all graduation and enrollment outcomes, college graduation is the only for which the effect of income has increased between the 1980's and the early 2000's but it reached a level no more important than the high school graduation income effect. In both cohorts, cognitive and technical abilities were the dominant factors but they affect most dimensions of individual trajectories and all graduation outcomes in opposite directions. However, the cognitive ability factor lost half of its effect on college graduation while the impact of the technical-mechanical factor has been more stable across cohorts. JEL Classification: I2, J1, J3


Araujia sericifera Brot. (Fam. Apocynaceae) is an evergreen climbing plant native of South America, originally introduced in Europe as an ornamental. In spring 2012, virus-like symptoms including bright yellow mosaic of calico-type and leaf distortion were observed in three A. sericifera plants growing in an abandoned field located in Pomigliano d'Arco (Campania region, Italy). Leaves from the three plants were collected and examined using commercial antisera (Bioreba AG, Reinach, Switzerland) by double antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA against Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), and by indirect plate trapped antigen (PTA)-ELISA against potyviruses (Potygroup test). Only AMV was detected serologically in the three A. sericifera samples. The virus was mechanically transmitted from the ELISA-positive samples to four plants each of Chenopodium quinoa, C. amaranticolor, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi nc), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata, cv. Black eyes), basil (Ocimum basilicum, cv. Gigante), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. San Marzano), using chilled 0.03 M sodium phosphate buffer, containing 0.2% sodium diethyldithiocarbamate, 75 mg/ml of active charcoal, and traces of Carborundum (600 mesh). Inoculated plants were kept in an insect-proof greenhouse with natural illumination and temperatures of 24 and 18°C day/night. Under these conditions, plants showed the following symptoms after 1 to 3 weeks, consistent with symptoms caused by AMV (1): chlorotic local lesions following by mosaic in C. quinoa and C. amaranticolor, reddish local lesions following by mosaic in cowpea, necrotic local lesions followed by systemic necrosis in tomato, bright yellow mosaic (calico type) in basil, and mosaic and strong deformation of the apical leaves in tobacco. The presence of AMV in ELISA-positive A. sericifera and host plants was further confirmed by conventional reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. Total RNAs were extracted with an RNeasy Plant Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). RT-PCR was performed with the One-Step RT-PCR Kit (Qiagen) using primers for the coat protein gene (CP) previously used for the molecular characterization of AMV isolates (2). An Italian isolate of AMV from Lavandula stoechas (GenBank Accession No. FN667967) and RNA extracted from a healthy A. sericifera plant were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. An amplicon of the correct predicted size (∼750 bp) was obtained from each of the infected plants assayed, and that derived from A. sericifera isolate Ars2 was purified (QIAqick PCR Purification Kit, Qiagen), cloned in pGEMT easy vector (Promega, Fitchburg, WI) and sequenced (HF570950). Sequence analysis of the CP gene, conducted with MEGA5 software, revealed the highest nucleotide identity of 98% (99% amino acid identity) with the AMV isolate Tef-1 (FR854391), an isolate belonging to subgroup I (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of AMV infecting A. sericifera in Italy. Since A. sericifera is considered an invasive plant, in continuous expansion to new areas in Italy and in other European countries, particular attention should be paid to the possibility that this species may play a role in the epidemiology of aphid-transmitted viruses such as AMV and CMV, representing a threat to susceptible crops growing nearby. References: (1) G. Marchoux et al. Page 163 in: Virus des Solanacées. Quae éditions, Versailles, 2008. (2) G. Parrella et al. Arch. Virol. 145:2659, 2000. (3) G. Parrella et al. Plant Dis. 96:249, 2012.


In the preparation process for the Second Sulphur Protocol of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, integrated assessment models played an important role in identifying cost-effective strategies for reducing SO2 emissions in Europe. Applying this effect-based approach to other environmental problems (e.g., photo-oxidants) seems appealing. In view of the timetable adopted for the current preparation of an updated Protocol on emissions of nitrogen oxides, an integrated assessment tool for ozone is required in the very near future.

The paper presents an outline of an integrated assessment model for tropospheric ozone in Europe, with modules on emissions, emission control technologies and costs, ozone formation and environmental impacts. In its central part the paper focuses on the core element of such an approach, i.e., a concise description of the relationships between the precursor emissions (nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds) and regional ozone levels, which must be computationally efficient for use in an integrated assessment model.

Critical levels, i.e., threshold levels protecting vegetation from damage, have been recently established using long-term exposure measures. Consequently, to be suitable for integrated assessment models, source-receptor relationships should be able to describe the long-term changes of ozone, e.g., over a six-month period. Based on numerous scenario runs of the EMEP ozone model, polynomial source-receptor relationships have been statistically identified. Using national annual emissions of NO, and VOC, the model predicts regional responses of the six-month mean of early afternoon ozone concentrations. From this concentration measure, excess exposure as used in the definition of the critical levels can be derived. The paper introduces the methodology of the approach, evaluates the results and discusses areas of further work.

The suggested model formulation can be incorporated into the framework of an integrated assessment model, enabling (i) the assessment of costs and environmental benefits from alternative strategies to reduce precursor emissions and (ii) the identification of cost-optimized strategies to achieve environmental targets.


Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of vascular disease worldwide. Its major clinical manifestations include ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. In high-income countries, there have been dramatic declines in the incidence and mortality from ischemic heart disease and ischemic stroke since the middle of the 20th century. For example, in the United Kingdom, the probability of death from vascular disease in middle-aged men (35-69 years) has decreased from 22% in 1950 to 6% in 2010. Most low- and middle-income countries have also reported declines in mortality from stroke over the last few decades, but mortality trends from ischemic heart disease have been more varied, with some countries reporting declines and others reporting increases (particularly those in Eastern Europe and Asia). Many major modifiable risk factors for atherosclerosis have been identified, and the causal relevance of several risk factors is now well established (including, but not limited to, smoking, adiposity, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus). Widespread changes in health behaviors and use of treatments for these risk factors are responsible for some of the dramatic declines in vascular mortality in high-income countries. In order that these declines continue and are mirrored in less wealthy nations, increased efforts are needed to tackle these major risk factors, particularly smoking and the emerging obesity epidemic.


A better understanding of the relationships among preferential solute transport, hydrologic boundary conditions, and site properties will help to improve predictions of the fate of contaminants in the vadose zone. The diversity of mechanisms underlying preferential transport, together with problems of nonuniqueness in fitting models to experimental data, suggests that model‐independent (nonparametric) indicators of solute transport may help to establish such relationships. We therefore investigated 17 distinct nonparametric measures of solute breakthrough curve (BTC) shape using a data set of 115 tracer BTCs sampled from the literature. We tested the shape measures for sensitivity to deconvolution approaches based on Gaussian, lognormal, and gamma probability density functions and the mobile–immobile model. Furthermore, we evaluated collinearities among the 17 shape measures. Most deconvolution approaches gave very good fits to the data, with coefficients of determination larger than 0.98. Dual‐domain transfer functions were superior to single‐domain ones, even after accounting for measures of parsimony. The least sensitive shape measures were the normalized first temporal moment, the mean transport velocity, the apparent dispersion coefficient, and the relative arrival time of the first 5 and 85% of the tracer mass. In contrast, the skewness and kurtosis were most sensitive to the choice of deconvolution approach, even for BTC experiments with very long data series of more than eight water‐filled pore volumes. The relative arrival time of the first 5% of the tracer mass was identified as the most robust shape parameter that could serve as an indicator of preferential flow and transport.


Conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs), prepared in aqueous dispersion from poly((9,9-bis{3- bromopropyl}fluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(1,4-benzo-{2,1,3}-thiodia- zole)) (PFBT-Br), are incorporated into a nanopillar architecture of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) to demonstrate a new organic/inorganic class of nanostructured excitonic model system. This hybrid system enables intimate integration for strong exciton−exciton interactions through nonradiative energy transfer (NRET) between the integrated CPNs and MQW pillars. The NRET of these excitonic systems is systematically investigated at varied temperatures. In these hybrids, InGaN/GaN MQWs serve as the donor of the NRET pair, while immobilized PFBT-Br polymer serves as the acceptor. To understand morphology-dependent NRET, PFBT-Br CPNs coating InGaN/GaN MQWs are made to defold into polymer chains by in situ treatment with a good solvent (THF). The experimental results indicate that NRET is significantly stronger in the case of CPNs compared with their defolded polymer chains. At room temperature, while the NRET efficiency of open polymer chains−nanopillar system is only 10%, PFBT-Br CPNs exhibit a substantially higher NRET efficiency of 33% (preserving the total number of polymer molecules). The NRET efficiency of the nanoparticle systems is observed to be 25% at 250 K, 22% at 200 K, 19% at 150 K, and 15% at 100 K. On the other hand, the defolded polymer chains exhibit significantly lower NRET efficiencies of 17% at 250 K, 16% at 200 K, 11% at 150 K, and 5% at 100 K. This work may potentially open up new opportunities for the hybrid organic/inorganic systems where strong excitonic interactions are desired for light generation, light harvesting, and sensing applications.


Proper dosing and timing of EGFR TKI can trigger antitumor T cell responses and potentiate anti–PD-L1 immunotherapy. Enhanced inhibitor Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR TKIs) block oncogenic receptor signaling and are used as a first-line treatment for EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer. Resistance to EGFR TKIs, including the standard hyperfractionated EGFR TKI (HyperTKI) treatment, is a problem that has driven the development of next-generation inhibitors. Here, Liu et al. describe the improved efficacy of hypofractionated EGFR TKI (HypoTKI) relative to HyperTKI in triggering antitumor T cell responses and preventing relapse in a TKI-sensitive syngeneic murine tumor model through a mechanism involving the type I IFN and MyD88 signaling pathways. Coadministration of HypoTKI with an anti–PD-L1 antibody further improved antitumor responses and reduced tumor relapse, thus suggesting that this combined therapy may be a potential alternative to existing treatment regimens. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a first-line therapy for rapidly killing tumors such as those associated with non–small cell lung cancer by blocking oncogenic receptor signaling, but tumor relapse often occurs. Here, we have observed that hypofractionated EGFR TKI treatment (HypoTKI) is more potent than standard hyperfractionated EGFR TKI treatment (HyperTKI), and its antitumor effect associated with preventing tumor relapse depends on T cells. HypoTKI triggers greater innate sensing for type I IFN and CXCL10 production through the Myd88 signaling pathway to enhance tumor-specific T cell infiltration and reactivation. We also demonstrate that timely programmed cell death ligand–1 (PD-L1) blockade can synergize with HypoTKI to control advanced large tumors and effectively limit tumor relapse without severe side effects. Our study provides evidence for exploring the potential of a proper combination of EGFR TKIs and immunotherapy as a first-line treatment for treating EGFR-driven tumors.


Extracted from text ... T
Strategic intuition:
generating creative solutions
under pressure
Rakesh Sondhi is part of the international
associate faculty at Henley
Management College and managing
director of BMC Global Services based in
the UK. Rakesh is the author of Total
Strategy, published by BMC Global
Services Publishing in 2003.
There is considerable debate on what
makes a great strategic leader and thinker.
My view is that the key to creating great
strategic leaders lies in our ability to develop
the strategic intuition of these individuals.
How do we do this? The following is an
insight into methods that could be used. ..


Attacks on software systems are an increasingly serious problem from an economic and security standpoint. Many techniques have been proposed ranging from simple compiler modifications to full-scale re-engineering of computer systems architecture aimed at attack detection. Traditional techniques ignore the arguably more important problem of graceful recovery. Without recovery, even a successful attack detection can become an effective Denial-of-Service. We propose an architectural approach to attack detection and recovery called rollback and huddle that monitors a program's execution with a lightweight attack-detection module while continuously checkpointing the system state. In the case of an attack, the program state is rolled back to a time before the attack occurred and an additional module is loaded to identify the source of the attack, repair the original vulnerability, and prevent future attacks. The simple hardware modules work alongside a standard computer architecture and aid in attack detection, checkpoint creation, and attack recovery. Experimental results show minimal runtime overhead and resource utilization.


This case examines issues surrounding the choice of financing arrangements for the acquisition of Radiologix in July 2006. The case follows Mark Stolper, the CFO of RadNet, as he considers how to raise the $363 million in funds necessary to finance the acquisition. When completed, the combined firms will be the largest private diagnostic-imaging provider in the United States. When Stolper joined RadNet in 2003, he confronted a company with "too much debt, and the wrong kind of debt." His goal is to finance the acquisition in a way that further enhances the financial strength and operating flexibility of the company. Given the large size of funding required, the firm is unlikely to be able to fund the entire transaction with first-lien or bank debt. His financial advisors differ in their recommendations for how to raise the remaining funds—one suggests using second-lien debt, and the other, high-yield debt.

The purpose of the case is to familiarize students with frequently encountered types of debt financing that are used to finance mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. The case provides information on the distinctions among first-lien, second-lien, and high-yield debt in relation to their price, availability, flexibility of covenants, repayment ease, and composition of likely investors. The case is designed for use in courses that cover corporate financing, M&As, and debt financing.


Objective: To identify the level of depressive symptoms among patients with HIV infection and to examine the reported patterns of depressive symptoms not confounded by the physical manifestations of HIV-infection. Method: A total of 191 patients with HIV infection (75 males (39%) and 116 females (61%), mean age 40.48 ± 10 years), from three HIV clinics were administered the Beck Depression Inventory ‐ II as well as a demographic questionnaire as part of a larger study. Results: Moderate to severe depressive symptoms were reported by 17.3% of the HIV-infected patients with females reporting significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms than males. A principal components analysis identified three clusters of depressive symptoms: cognitive-affective, negative cognitions and somatic symptoms. The HIV-infected patients were found to display mainly cognitiveaffective symptoms of depression. Conclusion: HIV-infected patients, especially female patients, may be at an increased risk of experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms. It is recommended that HIV-infected patients be routinely screened for depression, particularly cognitive-affective symptoms of depression.


Here we present the results of a systematic ab initio study of point defects in titanium carbide. The electronic and atomic structure for the metal and non-metal vacancies, interstitials, and antisite defects (including the split interstitial and split antisite conformations) is calculated within the generalized gradient approximation of density functional theory, using the projector augmented wave method as implemented in the Vienna Abinitio Simulation Package VASP. In many cases the symmetric point defect configuration is found to be unstable against a symmetry-breaking distortion via the Jahn-Teller mechanism. An enhanced stability of titanium dumbbells is obtained for sub-stoichiometric TiC1-x where the dumbbells form clusters with the carbon vacancies. Possible migration pathways for point defects and their clusters are explored in order to create a database of possible mechanisms of self-diffusion in TiC.


Entrepreneurial burnout is a worrying problem because it is related to reduced performance and venture failures. Existing models do not adequately explain the causes of burnout among entrepreneurs. Exploring the antecedents and mechanisms leading to this significant issue can thus enhance our understanding and facilitate the design of interventions. This study proposes an entrepreneur-venture fit model to explain burnout among entrepreneurs. Regulatory focus orientations of promotion and prevention are proposed as defining the characteristics of entrepreneurs and their ventures that determine fit, and passion is proposed to moderate fit effects. The model was tested using a survey-based field study to collect data from a broad range of entrepreneurs across the United States (n=308). Hierarchical linear regression testing found that most of the proposed model is unsupported. The findings support promotion-based fit effects on cynicism, but none on the exhaustion and professional efficacy dimensions of burnout. The promotion focus of both the entrepreneur and venture is found to directly reduce burnout. Prevention focus does not affect burnout, which may be explained by a higher stressor tolerance or stronger coping resources among entrepreneurs. Moderation by passion is not supported, but harmonious passion directly affects burnout less than expected, and obsessive passion has no direct effect. Unexpected passion effects are explained by established stressor factors from outside the venture (i.e., work-family and family-work conflict). The study results contribute to the extant literature and practice in several ways. First, entrepreneurial burnout literature is expanded by this addition. Entrepreneurship research on regulatory focus benefits from these findings regarding promotion and prevention effects. Passion research in entrepreneurship is extended to highlight the importance of controlling established relationships. Entrepreneurs also gain insight into several fronts from this study. Maximizing promotion focus aspects in job design is useful, and conflict from outside the firm, specifically from the family, is important to address. Entrepreneurs may be more tolerant of stressors from within the firm, so less attention may be warranted to mitigate those sources. Lastly, autonomy may be a critical resource in defining entrepreneurs and stressor tolerance, and thus it may be important to protect the control aspects of entrepreneurship.


This thesis presents a multiscale model of an industrial nylon-6 leacher. We develop several models at various spatial scales and implement them together in a simplistic, efficient way to develop an overall leacher model. We solve dynamic transport differential equations using the finite-volume method and method of lines in an in-housedeveloped FORTRAN program. We use the ODEPACK package of ordinary differential equation (ODE) solvers to solve our system of coupled ODEs. Our multiscale model performs transport, thermodynamic, physical property, and mass-transfer calculations at a finite-volume scale. We introduce two additional scales: a mesoscale, in which we perform computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, and a molecular scale. Our CFD simulations solve for turbulent properties of fluid flowing over a packed bed. We incorporate the turbulent diffusivity of the fluid into our finite-volume leacher model. We perform molecular simulations and use the conductor-like screening model-segment activity coefficient (COSMO-SAC) model to generate solubility predictions of small, cyclic oligomers in water and e-caprolactam. Additionally, we develop an extension of COSMO-SAC to model polymer species, which we refer to as Polymer-COSMO-SAC, and apply it to solve liquid-liquid equilibrium equations. We present a unique methodology to apply COSMO-based models to polymer species, which shows reasonable results for nylon-6. Because of the computational intensity of our PolymerCOSMO-SAC liquid-liquid equilibrium algorithm, we generate pre-computed tables of equilibrium predictions that we may import into our leacher model. Our integration of multiscale models maximizes efficiency and feasibility with accuracy. We are able to use our multiscale models to estimate necessary parameters, but we need to fit two mass-transfer related parameters to industrial data. We validate our model against the plant data and find average-absolute errors in the final mass percent of ecaprolactam and cyclic dimer in polymer chips of 25.0% and 54.7%, respectively. Several plant data sets are suspected outliers and we believe an unforeseen equilibrium limitation may cause this discrepancy. If we remove these outlying data sets, we then find average-absolute errors of 7.5% and 19.3% for e-caprolactam and cyclic dimer, respectively. We then use our validated model to perform application and sensitivity studies to gain critical insight into the leacher's operating conditions.


[1] Recent analyses of Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey data sets provide new insights into the geologic evolution of the eastern Hellas region of Mars, in particular, the role of volatiles. Here, we present results of our recent work and integrate these with previous studies by various investigators to provide a synthesis of the history of volatile-driven activity of the region. We utilize high-resolution images from the Mars Orbiter Camera and Thermal Emission Imaging System combined with Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter digital elevation models and profiles to examine fluvial systems that dissect the circum-Hellas highlands, to characterize stages in the development of the Dao, Niger, Harmakhis, and Reull Valles canyon systems, and to evaluate evidence for ancient lakes in Hellas Planitia. The occurrence of valley networks, dissected highland crater rims, and crater interior deposits such as layered plateaus suggests widespread ancient degradation of the circum-Hellas highlands. Canyon development, which represents subsequent more localized activity, may have included an early fluvial phase followed by the collapse and sapping dominated stages that, along with recent wall erosion and floor resurfacing, produced the currently observed morphologies. The prominent role of collapse and sapping along the east rim of Hellas, along with the presence of numerous channels extending toward the basin and sequences of finely layered deposits along the basin rim, suggests a volatile-rich substrate across a broad depositional shelf. The east rim of the basin was an accumulation zone for atmospheric volatiles and/or the edge of volatile-rich deposits associated with the basin floor. This evidence combined with topographic data and cratered terrain preservation around the basin is consistent with a lacustrine period or periods in early Martian history. The style, magnitude, and spatial extent of volatile-driven activity in eastern Hellas have varied considerably with time, and these variations may represent a transition from a water- to an ice-dominated surface environment.


Systemic silviculture can be framed as an approach in which management practices are conceived as learning experiments. In the light of this, effective and efficient monitoring processes are required in order to inform and support the management taking explicitly into account the many system components, their interactions and its nonlinear behavior, a characteristic that determines important limitations with regard to the value of predictions. In order to evaluate evidence and turn data into decisions, monitoring effectiveness and efficiency encompass adequate statistical methods and tools for acquisition, processing and analysis of information from different sources. The present note highlights some key contributions on which to engage the development of forest monitoring under such a perspective.


(ABSTRACT) The conveyance of payloads by construction cranes generates pendulations of the payload. This research provides a critical design parameter for the development of a device that aids in reduction of these pendulations. Previous research developed a tuned mass damping system, that effectively attenuated the energy of a pendulating payload. In order to be effective the internal damping rate of the tuned mass damper must be at least twice that of the system to be damped. Prototypes of a tuned mass damping system have achieved damping rates between 6 and 12 %, making cranes with damping rates below 3% attractive. This research indicates that the internal damping rate of construction cranes is on the order of one percent, suggesting that a tuned mass damping system could be retrofitted to today's construction cranes. This thesis is an investigation of the internal damping rates of construction cranes. Three hydraulic and two lattice boom cranes were tested. The motion of pendulating payloads was modeled after a simple pendulum. The internal damping rate was calculated using logarithmic decrement technique. Light to medium duty cranes were tested with loads similar to those used in duty cycle operations. Damping tests were performed both perpendicular and parallel to the mast of the crane. Values were calculated from data extracted from videos of a payload oscillating over a measurement scale. A FMC Link Belt 25-ton hydraulic crane was tested at 6.4 % of capacity and displayed damping rates between 0.25 and 0.6 %. A 50-ton FMC Link Belt was tested at 10 % of capacity and had damping rates of 0.18 % for both tests. The third hydraulic crane was a 60-ton P&H T-600XL. The test parallel to the mast was performed at 6 % of capacity having a damping rate of 0.22 %. The test performed perpendicular to the mast was at 3.5 % of capacity with a damping rate of 0.65 %. Two lattice boom cranes with capacities of 70 and 100 tons were tested. The 70-ton LIMA 778c's damping rates were 0.06 and 1.3 percent. This test was performed at 15 % of capacity. The 100-ton Link Belt LS318 was tested at 6.8 % of capacity and had damping rates between 0.07 and 0.08 percent. iv ACKNOWLEGEMENTS The author would like to thank his committee, family and friends. They have been supportive through out the research process.