Background/Context In the United States, there has been an increased trend in parents' utilization of center-based child care. Yet, though research has examined the effects of attending prekindergarten center-based care or the effects of attending center-based care during the kindergarten school year, little is known about the effects of having attended both. Purpose/Objective This study asks three questions: (a) Do children who attend both prekin-dergarten and kindergarten center-based care have different achievement outcomes, measured at the end of kindergarten? (b) Do children who attend both prekindergarten and kindergarten center-based care have different socioemotional outcomes, measured at the end of kindergarten? (c) Do these relationships differ by individual socio-demographic characteristics? Population/Participants This study utilizes data from the newly released Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 2011 (ECLS-K:2011). The ECLS-K:2011 represents the most contemporary national-level data available to study the educational experiences of young students in the United States. Information was first collected from kindergartners (as well as parents, teachers, and school administrators) from U.S. kindergarten programs in the year 2010–2011. Research Design This study combines secondary data analyses and quasi-experimental methods. There are two achievement outcomes: reading and math. There are five socioemotional outcomes: externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors, self-control, approaches to learning, and interpersonal skills. The study begins with a baseline, linear regression model. To address issues pertaining to omitted variable bias, the study employs various fixed-effects models. Findings The findings for the first research question indicated that academic outcomes do not differ for children in both years of center-based care compared to children who attended only one year of center-based care or none at all. As for the second research question, the findings show that multiple years of center-based care is related to increases in problem behaviors and decreases in prosocial behaviors—outcomes that are worsened by the number of years of center-based care attendance. The findings for the third research question suggest some minor differences between boys and girls in zero, one, or two years of center-based care. Conclusions/Recommendations This study has brought to surface new ways that center-based care attendance might influence children's short-term outcomes. Therefore, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners must base future questions on empirical work concerning how to address children's outcomes across multiple years of care, rather than simply focus exclusively on one year's influence.


Hydrogen (H2) production has gaining popularity among researchers to aim a better future environment. H2 is very excellent candidate to replace the existing fuel. Its high flammability and energy produced alongside no side product generated make it even more popular. The objective of the study is to develop a general steady-state simulation of H2 production plant for fuel cell application using butane as the feedstock. The scopes of the study include stoichiometry mathematical calculations, base case steady-state simulation, base case simulation validation, a design of heat integration, carbon monoxide (CO) clean-up processes which contains water gas shift (WGS) and preferential oxidation (PrOx) reactors and plant wide optimization. The simulation has been run in Aspen HYSYS 2004.1 in steady-state mode in which optimization was done to generate more H2 as well as CO reduction. The butane fuel processor was optimized at O/C ratio of 2.18 and S/C ratio of 4.6 to produce 39.2% of H2 and has achieved 78.1% efficiency. While CO clean-up units was capable to reduce the CO concentration down to 10 ppm.


Since almost thirty years, three dimensional virtual reality, which required expensive and cumbersome equipment, has raised interest as it allows users to feel immersed in virtual environments. Recently, affordable head mounted displays have revived the hope that virtual reality might really be up for a breakthrough. This research looks into the sense of presence perceived by users of these new affordable devices. All the participants in this research experienced a high sense of presence for two different devices. Although on average, participants were only moderately inspired in suggesting possible future uses of the technology, marketing students were much more creative.


[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 30% federal tax credit available to homeowners and businesses to install solar energy systems was recently expanded and extended. A dollar-amount cap was removed from the credit for residential solar water heating systems, and the availability of the credit for all systems was extended through the end of 2016. Many state and local governments also offer incentives. The cost of solar components has been dropping, and electricity prices will likely go up. Taken together, these developments make installing a solar electric or solar water heating system much more appealing than in the past. RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS The residential energy efficient property (REEP) credit in IRC [section] 25D applies to expenditures for solar water heating and solar electric systems installed in a residence in the U.S. that is used by the taxpayer (not necessarily as a principal residence). Taxpayers who own condominiums or are shareholders in a housing cooperative are eligible for their proportionate share of credits resulting from solar energy installations by the condominium management association or cooperative. For a solar water heating system to qualify, at least half the energy used to heat water in the residence must come from the system. Before amendment by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (PL 111-5), the solar water heating property credit was limited to $2,000 a year. The PEEP credit is available in the year in which the use of the solar energy system begins. The credit is nonrefundable, but any unused portion can be carried forward. For tax years beginning after 2009 (those for which the limitations of section 26(a)(2) don't apply), it can be applied against the alternative minimum tax. Allowable expenditures for purposes of the credit include the costs of the system, piping and wiring to connect the system to the home, plus labor related to preparation, assembly and installation. Expenditures for solar energy systems increase the basis of the taxpayer's property, but the property's basis must be decreased by the amount of the credit allowed. Solar energy systems used to heat swimming pools, hot tubs or any other storage medium also used for any purpose other than heat storage do not qualify for the credit. For solar water heating systems, the property must be certified for performance by the nonprofit Solar Rating and Certification Corp. or a comparable entity endorsed by the government of the state in which such property is installed. There is no required certification for solar electric systems. BUSINESS SYSTEMS Nonresidential installations can qualify for a business energy credit under IRC [section] 48 as part of the investment tax credit. Qualifying property includes that which uses solar energy to generate electricity, to heat or cool a structure, or to illuminate the inside of a structure using fiber-optic distributed sunlight. Property used to heat a swimming pool does not qualify, Businesses that take advantage of the solar energy credit under section 48 cannot also claim the production tax credit under section 45 for the same facility, To elect the section 48 energy credit in lieu of the production tax credit, taxpayers must file Form 3468, Investment Credit, and attach additional information described in Notice 2009-52. Solar energy property described in section 48 is five-year property for purposes of modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) depreciation. When the business energy credit is taken, the property's basis is reduced by only one-half the amount of the credit. Because of the difficult economic times, Congress was concerned that a nonrefundable credit might not create enough incentive for businesses to install alternative energy systems in the near term. Therefore, Congress in the ARRA authorized grants in lieu of the business energy credit for energy property placed in service in 2009 and 2010, or placed in service after 2010 if construction begins on the project before 2011 and is completed by Dec. …


The paper proposed a cloud robotic solution for the healthcare management of senior citizens, to demonstrate the opportunity to remotely provide continuous assistive robotic services to a number of seniors regardless to their position in the monitored environment. In particular, a medication reminding, a remote home monitoring and an user indoor localization service were outsourced in the cloud and provided to the robots, users and caregivers on request. The proposed system was composed of a number of robotic agents distributed over two smart environments: a flat at the Domocasa Lab (Peccioli, IT) and a condominium at the Angen site of the Orebro science park (Orebro, SE). The cloud acquired data from remote smart environments and enabled the local robots to provide advanced assistive services to a number of users. The proposed smart environments were able to collect raw data for the environmental monitoring and the localization of the users by means of wireless sensors, and provide such data to the cloud. On the cloud, specific algorithms improved the local robots, by providing event scheduling to accomplish assistive services and situation awareness on the users position and environments' status. The indoor user localization service, was provided by means of commercial and ad-hoc sensors distributed over the environments and a sensor fusion algorithm on the cloud. The entire cloud solution was evaluated in terms of Quality of Service (QoS) to estimate the effectiveness of the architecture.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate factors contributing to higher grades in Swedish physical education (PE) by analysing register data from the Swedish National Agency for Education for all students graduating from compulsory school in 2014 (n = 95,317). The results show that the chances of gaining a high grade in PE are affected by (in decreasing order) migration background, parents' education, attending an independent or a municipally operated school and gender, and that this also holds true after controlling for the other background factors. The results also show that PE grade differences between boys and girls are bigger in the group that moved to Sweden after school start than in the group that had lived in Sweden since school start. In addition, the results point to substantial inequalities between students with a combination of the highest odds and those with a combination of the lowest odds. Bernstein's concept of the pedagogic device is used to discuss ways of understanding what knowledge becomes valued in PE and which groups have better possibilities to assimilate this valued knowledge.


Abstract Newly found fossils in the Conception and St. John's groups of the Bonavista Peninsula considerably extend the known geographic distribution of the Ediacaran fossils in Newfoundland. They occur in deepwater sediments and are preserved as epireliefs, forming census populations underneath volcanic ash layers throughout a more than 1 km thick turbiditic sequence. The exposed fossiliferous units comprise the Mistaken Point, Trepassey, Fermeuse, and Renews Head formations. The remains are tectonically deformed, with long axes of elliptical discs aligned parallel to cleavage strike; shortening of originally circular bedding surface features is on the order of 30–50% (averaging ∼35%). The assemblage includes Aspidella, Blackbrookia, Bradgatia, Charnia, Charniodiscus, Fractofusus, Hiemalora, and Ivesheadia. These occur throughout the succession, with Aspidella being the most common genus, followed by Charnia and Charniodiscus. Four new taxa are described, with candelabra-like fossils with a Hiemalora-like base referred to Primocandelabrum hiemaloranum n. gen. and sp., bush-like fossils to Parviscopa bonavistensis n. gen. and sp., ladder-like fossils to Hadryniscala avalonica n. gen. and sp., and string-like fossils with basal disc to Hadrynichorde catalinensis n. gen. and sp. The remains also include dubiofossils. The stratigraphic ranges of some taxa on the Bonavista Peninsula are longer than previously reported from the Avalon Peninsula, with Fractofusus spindles present in the Trepassey Formation, Bradgatia, Charnia, Charniodiscus, and Ivesheadia reaching as high as the Fermeuse Formation, and Aspidella extending into the middle of the Renews Head Formation. The spindles in the Trepassey Formation are comparable to those found mainly in the stratigraphically older Briscal Formation on the Avalon Peninsula.


ABSTRACT Clostridium difficile is responsible for significant mortality and morbidity in the hospitalized elderly. C. difficile spores are infectious and are a major factor contributing to nosocomial transmission. The Spo0A response regulator is the master regulator for sporulation initiation and can influence many other cellular processes. Using the ClosTron gene knockout system, we inactivated genes encoding Spo0A and a putative sporulation-associated sensor histidine kinase in C. difficile. Inactivation of spo0A resulted in an asporogeneous phenotype, whereas inactivation of the kinase reduced C. difficle sporulation capacity by 3.5-fold, suggesting that this kinase also has a role in sporulation initiation. Furthermore, inactivation of either spo0A or the kinase resulted in a marked defect in C. difficile toxin production. Therefore, Spo0A and the signaling pathway that modulates its activity appear to be involved in regulation of toxin synthesis in C. difficile. In addition, Spo0A was directly phosphorylated by a putative sporulation-associated kinase, supporting the hypothesis that sporulation initiation in C. difficile is controlled by a two-component signal transduction system rather than a multicomponent phosphorelay. The implications of these findings for C. difficile sporulation, virulence, and transmission are discussed.


In his paper, "Reality and Metaphor in Jane Howell's and Julie Taymor's Productions of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus," Lucian Ghita looks at how Jane Howell's 1985 BBC production of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and Julie Taymor's film 1999 adaptation Titus re-fashion the image of Young Lucius. In Ghita's interpretation this happens by structuring the boy as the nexus of a cycle of violence that disturbs not only Andronicus's household, but also the moral and sociopolitical structures of ancient Rome. Ghita shows how the two directors politicize and ritualize their films by using cinematic techniques to distinguish, on the one hand, the real from the imaginary, and on the other hand, private morality from the psycho-political dynamics of a particular cultural environment: Shakespeare's representation of Roman absolutism. Ghita's interdisciplinary treatment of the audiences' reception and involvement in the filmic sequence reflects his belief that the cinematic shift of perspectives represents not only the directors' desire for novelty but also an effort to defamiliarize Shakespeare's play in order to uncover what Titus can teach contemporary audiences about personal and public morality. Lucian Ghita,"Reality and Metaphor in Jane Howell's and Julie Taymor's Productions of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicu " page 2 of 10 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 6.1 (2004):


The stem barks of Scaphium macropodum, known as Kembang Semangkuk Jantung (Malay), and Sapium baccatum, known as Ludai (Malay), have been investigated for their phytochemical and pharmacological properties. Several chromatographic techniques were used to separate the chemical compounds including Vacuum Liquid Chromatography (VLC), Radial Chromatography (Rf') and Column Chromatography (CC). A new sesquiterpene named malayscaphiol (8M4) along with two lupane triterpenes, lupeol (8Ml) and lupenone (8M2) and stigmasterol (SM3), were successfully isolated from the stem bark of S. macropodum, while a new triterp ene, malaytaraxcrate (8B3), along with two oleanane triterpenes, taraxerol (SBl) and taraxerone (882), docosyl trans-isoferulate (8B4) and docosanoic acid-2',3'dihydroxypropyl
ester (8B5) were identified from the stem bark of S. baccatum. The structures of the compounds were determined using several spectroscopic methods, i.e. mass spectrometry (MS), UV-Vis, FT-IR, 10 and 2D NMR including HMQC, HMBC, COSY and NOESY. Several isolated compounds were subjected to cytotoxicity and anti-cholinesterase (anti- AChE) assays to identify their biological
properties. Six compounds i.e. 8Ml, 8M2, 8M3, 8B2, 8B4 and SB5 were subjected to cytotoxicity assay. All the tested compounds demonstrated weak anti-cancer activity against HT-29 and MDA-MB cell lines, with SMI and 8M2 exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity among the tested compounds against HT-29 and MDA-MB, respectively. Only 8Ml showed toxic effect towards normal cell line (3T3) with ICso of 38.92 ug/ml., For anti-AChE assay, three compounds were tested i.e. SMl, SM2 and SB2. All the tested compounds exhibited insignificant anti-AChE activity at
concentration of 1000 ug/ml., The ICso of the tested compounds could not be determined, because there was only one data point available in this test. Their antiAChE activity were significantly lower than the standard tacrine (ICso== 25 ug/ml.),


This paper describes a technique to transform the sound of an arbitrarily selected magnetic pickup into another pickup selection on the same electric guitar. This is a first step towards replicating an arbitrary electric guitar timbre in an audio recording using the signal from another guitar as input. We record 1458 individual notes from the pickups of a single guitar, varying the string, fret, plucking position, and dynamics of the tones in order to create a controlled dataset for training and testing our approach. Given an input signal and a target signal, a least squares estimator is used to obtain the coefficients of a finite impulse response (FIR) filter to match the desired magnetic pickup position. We use spectral difference to measure the error of the emulation, and test the effects of independent variables fret, dynamics, plucking position and repetition on the accuracy. A small reduction in accuracy was observed for different repetitions; moderate errors arose when the playing style (plucking position and dynamics) were varied; and there were large differences between output and target when the training and test data comprised different notes (fret positions). We explain results in terms of the acoustics of the vibrating strings.


This essay was delivered during a panel discussion entitled "'Costly Discipleship and Contemporary Culture: Bonhoeffer as a Model for Religious Activism" during the conference Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Our Times: Jewish and Christian Perspectives , cosponsored by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Hebrew College, and Andover-Newton Theological School, September 18, 2006. The author argues that conservative American evangelicals "often conflate loyalty to Jesus Christ with loyalty to the United States of America. They weave together loyalty to Jesus Christ with loyalty to the president, the party, the troops, the flag, or the nation." For the author, the witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer encourages a strong resistance to such a confusion of loyalties.


Low-fat milk is thought to be an effective postexercise rehydration beverage in adults; however, little is known about milk's rehydration ability in children after exercising in the heat. This study tested the hypothesis that because of its electrolyte and protein content, skim milk (SM) would be more effective than both water (W) and a carbohydrate/electrolyte solution (CES) in replacing body fluid losses in children following exercise in the heat. Thirty-eight (19 females) heat-acclimated pre- to early pubertal (PEP, aged 7-11 years) and mid- to late-pubertal (MLP, aged 14-17 years) children performed 3 sessions in 34.5 °C, 47.3% relative humidity, consisting of 2 × 20-min cycling bouts at 60% peak oxygen uptake followed by consumption of either W, CES, or SM. Each beverage was consumed immediately after exercise in a volume equal to 100% of their body mass loss during exercise. Urine samples were collected before, during, and after exercise, as well as the 2-h period following beverage consumption. On average, children dehydrated 1.3% ± 0.4%. Children ingested 0.40 ± 0.11 L (PEP) and 0.74 ± 0.20 L (MLP) of fluid. The fraction of the ingested beverage retained at 2 h of recovery was greater with SM (74% ± 18%) than W (47% ± 26%) and CES (59% ± 20%, p < 0.001 for both), and greater in CES than W (p < 0.001). All participants were in a hypohydrated state after 2 h of recovery, following the pattern SM < CES < W. In both PEP and MLP children, SM is more effective than W and CES at replacing fluid losses that occur during exercise in the heat.


A Stonewall Honor Book of the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table "Rare and Commonplace Flowers performs an invaluable service: unforgettably memorializing the remarkable Lota de Macedo Soares, and in the process filling in a crucial gap in Bishop's biography. This book honors a deeply moving love between two brilliant women: each highly public, a celebrity in her own nation; each deeply private, and happy (for a time) in the fragile heaven of their home."-The New York Times Book Review "As a portrait of Lota and Bishop in Brazil, Rare and Commonplace Flowers is a rare and illuminating book."-Women's Review of Books "Novelist Oliveira's engaging dual biography tells of [Bishop and Soares's] 'long and sad' relationship...This book offers a new perspective on the American poet, and the love story between these two women is undeniably intense and tragic. Recommended."-Library Journal Rare and Commonplace Flowers tells the story of two fascinating and controversial women. Elizabeth Bishop, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, sought artistic inspiration in Brazil. There she fell in love with Lota de Macedo Soares, a self-trained Brazilian architect. This dual biography-brilliantly researched, and written in a lively, novelistic style-follows their relationship from 1951 to 1967, the time when the two lived together in Brazil. A tale of two artists and two cultures, Rare and Commonplace Flowers offers unique perspectives on both women and their work. Carmen L. Oliveira provides an unparalleled level of detail and insight, due to both her familiarity with Brazil and her access to the country's artistic elite, many of whom had a direct connection with Bishop and Soares. Rare pictures of the two artists and their home bring this unique story to life. Carmen L. Oliveira is a Brazilian novelist. Neil K. Besner is a professor in the English department at the University of Winnipeg in Canada.


Amnesty laws issued by Administrator General Pienaar in 1989 and 1990 still show their effect by preventing prosecutions and investigations of situations that occurred before Namibia's independence. Unlike South Africa, Namibia did not establish a truth-finding body such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The result is a situation of silence, oblivion and impunity without any kind of accountability. On this basis, crimes such as international crimes or serious human rights violations have never been prosecuted or even investigated. As this article argues, the amnesty laws from 1989 and 1990 qualify as blanket amnesties. Up until today, Namibians as well as the members of the South African Defence Force benefit from those amnesties. Against this backdrop, the question of whether the Namibian blanket amnesties apply in relation to international crimes and grave human rights violations will be addressed. This article argues that based on international law, the application of the Namibian blanket amnesties can be challenged in a potential criminal case that deals with international crimes or grave human rights violations in the Namibian courts. Therefore, this article illustrates how international law applies in the Namibian legal system. In this context, Namibia follows a monist approach which makes it quite receptive of international law and international standards. On this basis, this article points out binding international law at the time before and after Namibia's independence as well as examining Namibia's binding treaty obligations which arise under the Geneva Conventions, Torture Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In the next section, an examination of domestic and international jurisprudence lays the foundation for the argument that the Namibian blanket amnesties can be challenged in a Namibian court when the crimes in question constitute international crimes, such as crimes against humanity or war crimes.


Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) response to P fertilizer can vary within fields, making P recommendations difficult. Phosphorus response may be more predictable with variable-rate fertilization, which matches soil test P and P fertilizer rate on a site-specific basis. Our first objective was to determine the effect of landscape position and soil series on cotton P accumulation, lint yields, and P fertilizer response on two irrigated cotton sites in the Southern High Plains of Texas. The second objective was to compare variable-rate P, blanket-rate P, and zero P applications. Mehlich-3 P levels ranged from 8 to 25 mg P kg - 1 at Lamesa, and from 12 to 23 mg P kg - 1 at Ropesville. Phosphorus fertilizer was not recommended when Mehlich-3 P >33 mg P kg - 1 . In both years at Lamesa, P accumulation at early squaring and lint yields were greater in the bottomslope than in the south-facing sideslope. Phosphorus fertilizer did not affect lint yields at Lamesa in 2000. In 2001, Lamesa lint yields responded to variable-rate and blanket-rate P in the south-facing sideslope only, which had just 8 mg P kg - 1 . At Ropesville in 2000, early P accumulation, biomass and lint yields responded to P on a calcareous soil but not on a noncalcareous soil. In all cases, yields were similar between variable-rate and blanket-rate P. Thirty-eight percent less P was applied with variable-rate than blanket-rate treatments in 3 of 4 site-yr. However, more research is needed to determine if fertilizer savings are consistent enough to offset the greater costs of variable-rate P fertilization.


The bit error rate (BER) expression for a proposed pipelined successive interference cancellation (PSIC) scheme in a direct sequence/code division multiple access (DS/CDMA) system is derived analytically. The proposed PSIC scheme is a pipelined modification of a successive interference cancellation (SIC) scheme. The numerical results show that the proposed PSIC scheme outperforms the SIC scheme in viewpoints of the BER and the decoding delay performances.


Background and importance: Rising drug prices are putting pressure on health care budgets. Policymakers are assessing how they can save money through generic drugs.
Objective: The aim of this Ph.D. was to explore issues relating to the prices and usage of generic medicines in high- and middle-income countries in five articles. This was done using quantitative and qualitative methods, including price and Herfindahl-Hirschman indexes, difference-in-differences regression analyses, semi-structured stakeholder interviews, and literature reviews. As a Ph.D. "thesis by papers", each of the five articles should be read as a stand-alone piece. However, the thesis presents an overarching narrative, outlined at the end of Chapter 1.
Novelty and empirical contribution: My original contributions to knowledge are: (i) updated analyses of generic drug policies, prices, and usage rates in high-income countries, based on a large, representative sample of generic medicines from 2013 (Chapters 2 and 3); (ii) evidence on the impact of a pharmaceutical tendering system on medicines prices, demand, and competition over a 15-year period (Chapter 4); (iii) quantitative data on the impact of therapeutic tendering on drug spending and prices (Chapter 5); and (iv) qualitative data on how a country can move from a fragmented health-care system to a single-payer one, using tendering as the basis for a comprehensive drug-benefit plan (Chapter 6).
Key findings: The prices and market shares of generics varied widely across Europe. For example, prices charged by manufacturers in Switzerland were, on average, more than 2.5 times those in Germany and more than 6 times those in the United Kingdom, based on the results of a commonly used price index. However, the results varied depending on the choice of index, base country, unit of volume, method of currency conversion, and therapeutic category. The results also differed depending on whether one looked at the prices charged by manufacturers or those charged by pharmacists. The proportion of prescriptions filled with generics ranged from 17% in Switzerland to 83% in the United Kingdom. The results of the first two studies indicated that the countries which used tender or tender-like systems to set generic drug prices in retail pharmacies (ie, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden) had among the lowest prices among the countries included in the studies.
Tendering can be an effective policy to procure essential medicines at low prices, based on analysis of data from South Africa and Cyprus. For instance, the average prices of antiretroviral therapies, anti-infective medicines, small-volume parenterals, drops and inhalers, solid-dose medicines, and family-planning agents dropped by roughly 40% or more between 2003 and 2016 in South Africa. Many tender contracts in South Africa remained competitive over time, based on the Herfindahl-Hirschman results, with some notable exceptions. However, the number of different firms winning contracts decreased over time in most tender categories. Also, there were large discrepancies between the drug quantities the health ministry estimated it would need to meet patient demand and the quantities the ministry went on to procure during tender periods. In South Africa, the introduction of therapeutic tendering was associated with an estimated 33% to 44% reduction in the prices of solid-dose drugs in 2014. National governments in countries aiming to introduce national health systems (eg, Cyprus and South Africa) will need to adapt their tendering systems and other pharmaceutical policies during transition periods.
Future research directions: More research is needed to better understand the drivers of differences in generic drug prices between countries. It is also important to examine why there are large differences in the prices of drugs in various therapeutic areas, both within and between countries. Also, data from more countries, especially low- and middle-income ones, are needed to determine which features of tendering systems are associated with lower prices. Future studies should re-examine the South African therapeutic tendering system once data from more post-intervention periods are available, possibly using other research designs like interrupted time-series models (ie, segmented regression analysis).
Policy implications: Price indexes are useful statistical approaches for comparing drug prices across countries, but policymakers should interpret price indexes with caution given their limitations. This thesis offers useful data for policymakers using, or planning to introduce, tendering systems, especially in countries aiming for universal health coverage, like Cyprus (Chapter 6) and South Africa (Chapters 4 and 5).


Inhibitory Smad, Smad7, is a potent inhibitor of TGF-β (transforming growth factor-β) superfamily signalling. By binding to activated type I receptors, it prevents the activation of R-Smads (receptor-regulated Smads). To identify new components of the Smad pathway, we performed yeast two-hybrid screening using Smad7 as bait, and identified NEDD4-2 (neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally down-regulated 4-2) as a direct binding partner of Smad7. NEDD4-2 is structurally similar to Smurfs (Smad ubiquitin regulatory factors) 1 and 2, which were identified previously as E3 ubiquitin ligases for R-Smads and TGF-β superfamily receptors. NEDD4-2 functions like Smurfs 1 and 2 in that it associates with TGF-β type I receptor via Smad7, and induces its ubiquitin-dependent degradation. Moreover, NEDD4-2 bound to TGF-β-specific R-Smads, Smads 2 and 3, in a ligand-dependent manner, and induced degradation of Smad2, but not Smad3. However, in contrast with Smurf2, NEDD4-2 failed to induce ubiquitination of SnoN (Ski-related novel protein N), although NEDD4-2 bound to SnoN via Smad2 more strongly than Smurf2. We showed further that overexpressed NEDD4-2 prevents transcriptional activity induced by TGF-β and BMP, whereas silencing of the NEDD4-2 gene by siRNA (small interfering RNA) resulted in enhancement of the responsiveness to TGF-β superfamily cytokines. These data suggest that NEDD4-2 is a member of the Smurf-like C2-WW-HECT (WW is Trp-Trp and HECT is homologous to the E6-accessory protein) type E3 ubiquitin ligases, which negatively regulate TGF-β superfamily signalling through similar, but not identical, mechanisms to those used by Smurfs.


1 ABSTRACT In this paper, we discuss the Digital Earth concept and scale issues regarding landscape planning visualisation, and we present the interactive visualisation system Biosphere3D. The visualisation system supports multiple scales on a virtual globe, and is focussing on real-time rendering of vegetation, similar to the predecessor Lenné3D-Player. In this paper we describe the visualisation system from a user's perspective. We provide detailed information about the available import and export data formats, the rendering capabilities and the required hardware. Additionally we will give a quick overview over the interfaces that allow the creation of custom software modules and possible applications.


We previously detected mRNAs in a number of human T cell lines with a probe from within the Ig VH gene locus. We now show these mRNAs consist of Ig VH genes expressed in T cells. In one human T cell line, two RNA species have been studied and found to come from transcripts of unrearranged VH segments in which the leader exon, normally associated with VH transcripts in B cells, is replaced by a novel 5' exon (ET) not encoding a hydrophobic leader peptide. In genomic DNA, this new ET exon is adjacent to a pseudo-VH gene that has not been observed in mature mRNA. This implies that RNA splicing controls association of the new exon with the expressed VH segments. Hence, VH transcription does indeed occur in T cells, but is qualitatively different from that in B cells.


The authoritative fashion history of the roots, growth, and offshoots of the quintessentially American preppy style. "Preppy" offers the first definitive and in-depth volume on preppy fashion, exploring its evolution from its pragmatic origins and presence on elite Eastern campuses in America to its profound influence internationally and metamorphosis on the runway. For the first time, the preppy story is told completely and beautifully with iconic and never-before-published archival and editorial photographs and personal snapshots from the original Ivy elites. Exploring all facets of men's and women's preppy fashion, this vibrant volume is replete with photographs and vintage ads illustrating the iconic elements of prep: from Oxford shirts, khakis, and Shetland sweaters to Peter Pan collars, madras pants, and Lilly Pulitzer tropical blooms. Authors Jeffrey Banks and Doria de La Chapelle also examine the fashion designers who played a major role in shaping the preppy look, from retail pioneers J.Press and Brooks Brothers to Ralph Lauren, who single-handedly marketed not just a look but a lifestyle. Also featured: a band of young twenty-first century Ivy stylists and fashion labels worldwide, who have infused preppy with high-octane design on and off the runway. "Preppy" is a stunning tribute to an American phenomenon.


Generative state estimators based on probabilistic filters and smoothers are one of the most popular classes of state estimators for robots and autonomous vehicles. However, generative models have limited capacity to handle rich sensory observations, such as camera images, since they must model the entire distribution over sensor readings. Discriminative models do not suffer from this limitation, but are typically more complex to train as latent variable models for state estimation. We present an alternative approach where the parameters of the latent state distribution are directly optimized as a deterministic computation graph, resulting in a simple and effective gradient descent algorithm for training discriminative state estimators. We show that this procedure can be used to train state estimators that use complex input, such as raw camera images, which must be processed using expressive nonlinear function approximators such as convolutional neural networks. Our model can be viewed as a type of recurrent neural network, and the connection to probabilistic filtering allows us to design a network architecture that is particularly well suited for state estimation. We evaluate our approach on synthetic tracking task with raw image inputs and on the visual odometry task in the KITTI dataset. The results show significant improvement over both standard generative approaches and regular recurrent neural networks.


Man-made environments are abundant with planar surfaces which have attractive properties and are a prerequisite for a variety of vision tasks. This paper presents an incremental model selection method to detect piecewise planar surfaces, where planes once detected are tracked and serve as priors in subsequent images. The novelty of this approach is to formalize model selection for plane detection with Minimal Description Length (MDL) in an incremental manner. In each iteration tracked planes and new planes computed from randomly sampled interest points are evaluated, the hypotheses which best explain the scene are retained, and their supporting points are marked so that in the next iteration random sampling is guided to unexplained points. Hence, the remaining finer scene details can be represented. We show in a quantitative evaluation that this new method competes with state of the art algorithms while it is more flexible to incorporate prior knowledge from tracking.


California is an excellent setting to observe evolution in action. Tough, flavorless tomatoes bred for supermarkets provide an example of rapid human-induced evolutionary change in a crop plant, while many California landscapes exert specific ecological pressures that have shaped their resident species for millennia. These settings include the Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada, and archipelagoes of habitat islands. A better understanding of evolution in California is necessary to inform the management of our agricultural ecosystems and conservation of our natural landscapes and the species that depend on them, many of which face uncertain futures because of human activities and climate change.


This paper is based on a qualitative study conducted in Iran with 62 men, women and judicial officials in relation to domestic violence against women in Iran mainly in Gilan province situated in the north of Iran. My interviewees were mainly from different towns with different socio-economic backgrounds. In this paper, firstly, I will explain the structure of marital relationship in the context of Iranian legal system with Islamic jurisprudence as the mainstream discourse. I will deal with how conflicts of interests in marriage are conceptualized and resolved by men women and judicial officials and how these views are contextualized in judicial and legal as well as cultural contexts that both support and perpetuate violence. ST. ANTONY 'S COLLEGE MIDDLE EAST CENTRE


Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with selective affinity for protein biomarkers could find extensive utility as environmentally robust, cost-efficient biomaterials for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In order to develop recognitive, synthetic biomaterials for prohibitively expensive protein biomarkers, we have developed a molecular imprinting technique that utilizes structurally similar, analogue proteins. Hydrogel microparticles synthesized by molecular imprinting with trypsin, lysozyme, and cytochrome c possessed an increased affinity for alternate high isoelectric point biomarkers both in isolation and plasma-mimicking adsorption conditions. Imprinted and non-imprinted P(MAA-co-AAm-co-DEAEMA) microgels containing PMAO-PEGMA functionalized polycaprolactone nanoparticles were net-anionic, polydisperse, and irregularly shaped. MIPs and control non-imprinted polymers (NIPs) exhibited regions of Freundlich and BET isotherm adsorption behavior in a range of non-competitive protein solutions, where MIPs exhibited enhanced adsorption capacity in the Freundlich isotherm regions. In a competitive condition, imprinting with analogue templates (trypsin, lysozyme) increased the adsorption capacity of microgels for cytochrome c by 162% and 219%, respectively, as compared to a 122% increase provided by traditional bulk imprinting with cytochrome c. Our results suggest that molecular imprinting with analogue protein templates is a viable synthetic strategy for enhancing hydrogel-biomarker affinity and promoting specific protein adsorption behavior in biological fluids. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 1565-1574, 2017.


Dynamic capability theory argues that organizations' internal capabilities enable sustained competitive advantage. Innovations in work practices (commonly termed 'high performance', 'high commitment' or 'high involvement' practices) are an important source of these internal capabilities but research evidence shows low levels of penetration. Using a practice perspective, case study analysis of 7 establishments in the aerospace sector identifies three themes that are under-attended to in current research on innovations in work practices: industry and production context; distributed nature of management activity, and social embeddedness. Implications for future research are discussed.


The notion of digital and in particular Information and Communication Technology (ICT) convergence has, over the past 40 years, been in the centre of many technological discourses in different functional systems of society: from the economic and mass media to the legal and political systems. Recently, a new convergence discourse has emerged around next-generation wireless infrastructures and services. One manifestation can be seen in discussion of the mobile Internet, and in particular of new converging services connecting mobile telephony networks to the Internet. Contrary to the prominence of the topic in other domains, the Information Systems community has relegated the notion of ICT convergence to the sidelines. Only recently have there been calls to include convergence as one of the drivers for the design of new mobile infrastructures and services. However, a systematic analysis of the idea of ICT convergence is still missing. Thus, based on an extensive literature review, this dissertation aims firstly to understand if there is space for a more theoretical development of this concept in the information infrastructure literature. Secondly, it provides an initial conceptual clarification of the ICT convergence discourse. Thirdly, it suggests a systems-theoretical unfolding of the identified core distinction between convergence and divergence, namely the convergence paradox. Finally, the role of technology in these discourses is examined. This dissertation analyses the notion of convergence and provides a systems-theoretical understanding of its dynamics from a second-order cybernetics perspective. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Niklas Luhmann's Theory of Social Systems. More specifically, it uses analytical strategies based on the work by Nils A. Andersen to understand the characteristics of convergence, eventually to unfold the convergence paradox. The empirical study investigates the convergence discourses around mobile Voice-over-IP in the UK from 2000-2009. The corpus of data encompasses 39 semi-structured interviews with telecommunications experts in the field of mobile VoIP, a wide range of documents, and direct observations from practitioners' conferences. The empirical study has been part of the EPSRC / Mobile VCE Core-5 Flexible Networks Project. This dissertation contributes to the broad multi-disciplinary literature of studies dealing with the phenomenon of ICT convergence, more specifically to that on information infrastructures. It develops a conceptual clarification of the notion of convergence. The findings of this dissertation suggest seeing convergence as a difference-reduction programme. This conceptualisation has the following consequences. Firstly, it suggests that convergence is observer-dependent. Secondly, it suggests that its counter-concept is not divergence or fragmentation but rather the maintenance of difference, i.e. control. Thirdly, it suggests that convergence has to deal with the typical unintended consequences inherent in difference-reduction programmes. Furthermore, while ICT convergence treated as difference-reduction programme challenges the existing identity of the infrastructure, the primary role of control is to maintain this difference. The dynamics between these two operations seem to lead to the emergence of further fragmentation.


Academic data sharing is a way for researchers to collaborate and thereby meet the needs of an increasingly complex research landscape. It enables researchers to verify results and to pursuit new research questions with "old" data. It is therefore not surprising that data sharing is advocated by funding agencies, journals, and researchers alike. We surveyed 2661 individual academic researchers across all disciplines on their dealings with data, their publication practices, and motives for sharing or withholding research data. The results for 1564 valid responses show that researchers across disciplines recognise the benefit of secondary research data for their own work and for scientific progress as a whole—still they only practice it in moderation. An explanation for this evidence could be an academic system that is not driven by monetary incentives, nor the desire for scientific progress, but by individual reputation—expressed in (high ranked journal) publications. We label this system a Reputation Economy. This special economy explains our findings that show that researchers have a nuanced idea how to provide adequate formal recognition for making data available to others—namely data citations. We conclude that data sharing will only be widely adopted among research professionals if sharing pays in form of reputation. Thus, policy measures that intend to foster research collaboration need to understand academia as a reputation economy. Successful measures must value intermediate products, such as research data, more highly than it is the case now.


Based on the international legal framework as established by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the author discusses the approach to GI protection under South African law. While South Africa has not introduced a registration system with regard to GIs, it relies, amongst other approaches, on common law approaches to defending GIs. The author further explains that certain GIs that are now protected under the EU registration regime have long been used in the South African trade environment, to the effect of having become generic. It is against this background that the author argues that in light of the strong negotiating position of the EU, the Europeans, when negotiating the free trade agreement with South Africa, in fact coerced South African negotiators into accepting the terms of the EU with regard to certain GIs. The author concludes that it may be useful for jurisdictions like South Africa to associate with other New World economies to ensure a better bargaining position during negotiations, except where such negotiations deal with purely localized issues.


This thesis describes the novel combination of reverse compound lean, leading edge extension and non-axisymmetric endwall profiling in a highly loaded turbine geometry, for the reduction of secondary flow and loss. The thesis describes each geometrical modification in turn (in addition to their combination) and details their development from concept to experimentally measured performance. The designs are assessed using 3D Navier Stokes modelling. The best performing designs were manufactured and tested experimentally using pneumatic probes, flow visualisation and static pressure tappings. The key sections of the thesis include: • A review of previous non-axisymmetric profiled endwalls, with a view to understanding their performance in a full 3D passage design • The assessment of reverse compound lean in a highly loaded turbine cascade • The design development and subsequent testing of a 3D turbine passage design for minimising pressure loss associated with and kinetic energy in secondary flows. In summary, Passage Shaping works by using reverse compound lean to draw the secondary flows in to the endwall, where a combination of leading edge extension and non-axisymmetric endwall profiling work on the secondary flows to reduce their intensity. The key changes in the downstream flowfield, as a result of the passage shaping designs, are a reduction in loss (both profile and secondary) and a reduction in secondary flow, resulting in a more uniform exit yaw angle


In recent times there has been a dramatic change in the nature and scope of constitutional justice systems in the global south. New or reformed constitutions have proliferated, protecting social, economic, and political rights. While constitutional courts in Latin America have traditionally been used as ways to limit power and preserve the status quo, the evidence shows that they are evolving into a functioning part of contemporary politics and a central component of a system of constitutional justice. This book lays bare the political roots of this transformation, outlining a new way to understand judicial design and the very purpose of constitutional justice. Authors Daniel M. Brinks and Abby Blass use case studies drawn from nineteen Latin American countries over forty years to reveal the ideas behind the new systems of constitutional justice. They show how constitutional designers entrust their hopes and fears to dynamic governance systems, in hopes of directing the development of constitutional meaning over time.


Seaweeds is the name implies to cover the
macroscopic plants of the sea except the flowering
plants. Most of the seaweeds are attached to
rocks and also grow on other plants as epiphytes.
Along the coast line of India, seaweeds are
abundant where rocky or coral formations occur.
This sort of substratum is found in the States of
Tamil Nadu and Gujarat and in the vicinity of
Bombay, Ratnagiri, Goa, Karwar, Vizhinjam,
Varkala, Visakhapatnam and in the Lakshadweep
and Andaman-Nicobar Islands. The seaweeds are
classified into three important groups namely
green, brown and red. Seaweeds contain different
vitamins, minerals, trace-elements and proteins.
Seaweeds are also a rich source of iodine.


BACKGROUND
The National Cancer Institute recommends that Americans eat at least five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. National strategies to increase consumption may not reach minority and lower socioeconomic populations. In a randomized trial, peer education was tested for effectiveness at increasing fruit and vegetable intake among lower socioeconomic, multicultural labor and trades employees.

METHODS
Employees (n = 2091) completed a baseline survey and received an 18-month intervention program through standard communication channels (e.g., workplace mail, cafeteria promotions, and speakers). Ninety-three social networks (cliques) of employees were identified, which were pair matched on intake. At an interim survey (during months 8 and 9), 11 cliques no longer existed and 41 matched pairs of cliques containing 905 employees remained, with one clique per pair being randomly assigned to the peer education intervention. Employees who were central in the communication flow of the peer intervention cliques served as peer educators during the last 9 months of the intervention program. Fruit and vegetable intake was measured with 24-hour intake recall and with food-frequency questions in baseline, outcome (i.e., at 18 months), and 6-month follow-up surveys. All P values are two-sided.

RESULTS
By use of multiple regression, statistically significant overall effects of the peer education program were seen in the intake recall (increase of 0.77 total daily servings; P<.0001) and the food-frequency (increase of 0.46 total daily servings; P =.002) questions at the outcome survey. The effect on the total number of servings persisted at the 6-month follow-up survey when measured by the intake recall (increase of 0.41 total daily servings; P =.034) but not the food-frequency (decrease of 0.04 total daily servings; P =.743) questions.

CONCLUSIONS
Peer education appears to be an effective means of achieving an increase in fruit and vegetable intake among lower socioeconomic, multicultural adult employees.


Life-long learning is necessary for all professions because the technologies, tools and skills required for success over the course of a career expand and change. Professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields face particular challenges as new multi-disciplinary methods, e.g. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, mature to replace those learned in undergraduate or graduate programs. Traditionally, industry, professional societies and university programs have provided professional development. While these provide opportunities to develop deeper understanding in STEM specialties and stay current with new techniques, the constraints on formal classes and workshops preclude the possibility of Just-In-Time Mastery Learning, particularly for new domains.The MIT Lincoln Laboratory Supercomputing Center (LLSC) and MIT Supercloud teams have developed online course offerings specifically designed to provide a way for adult learners to build their own educational path based on their immediate needs, problems and schedules. To satisfy adult learners, the courses are formulated as a series of challenges and strategies. Using this perspective, the courses incorporate targeted theory supported by hands-on practice. The focus of this paper is the design of Mastery, Just-in-Time MOOC courses that address the full space of hands-on learning requirements, from digital to analog. The discussion centers on the design of project-based exercises for professional technical education courses. The case studies highlight examples from courses that incorporate practice ranging from the construction of a small radar used for real world data collection and processing to the development of high performance computing applications.


The international activities of cities are mushrooming all over Europe. Traditional city partnerships are more frequently giving way to policy-oriented cooperation schemes in city networks. A few of these city networks clearly have the goal to lobby upper-level governments. This is most pronounced in the Eurocities network, the lobby organization for large city-regions at the European Union (EU) level. However, the multi-level governance aspects of policy-oriented horizontal city networking are less clear. My paper analyzes international activities of cities in a multi-level governance scheme, with a special focus on the question of how the relationship between cities and the EU is structured by city networking.
The paper argues that the relationship between cities and the EU in this respect is twofold: First, cities use city networks to lobby jointly at the EU for their own benefit (i.e., uploading). The goal hereby is to gain knowledge on upcoming EU regulations concerning urban issues and to prevent the EU from establishing rules that are not in the interest of cities. Second, cities also obtain financial help for their inter-urban cooperation schemes from (i.e., downloading). The EU is increasingly financing city networking to allow the dissemination of best practices in several policy fields and to thereby strengthen the overall competitiveness of the European Economic Area.
The paper concludes that the underlying motive of the EU is to strengthen the economically important city-regions against the national-states. The cooperation between the supranational EU and the sub-national cities thereby brings together the two scales responsible for economic competitiveness in the age of globalization. The role of the EU in urban foreign policy is much bigger than a priori expected. I therefore plead for the incorporation of vertical aspects in the analysis of horizontal urban cooperation schemes.


This article traces how the Supreme Court has deconstitutionalized Poverty Law by four departures from normal constitutional doctrine: first, by categorical immunization of "social or economic legislation"; second, by circumvention of normal suspect class or classification analysis; third, by application of rationality review in a reflexive manner to uphold governmental regulation; and fourth, by ratcheting down from the heightened scrutiny normally used for protection of established fundamental rights. In particular, she explores the historical emergence of judicial deference for "social or economic legislation," and finds that Justice Douglas, who coined the phrase, specifically rejected deference for laws that disadvantaged poor people. Turning to the present, Professor Nice argues poor people lack the financial clout necessary to achieve meaningful political protection. Building on the ground-breaking work of the late Jacobus tenBroek, she argues that the exclusion of poor people from both constitutional and political protection has contributed to the construction of dual rules of law, one superior set of rules for the haves and an inferior set of rules for the have-nots. She then blends dialogic constitutional theory and social movement mobilization scholarship to explain how the dialogic default on questions of economic justice both reflects and perpetuates the lack of constitutional rights for poor people. Professor Nice concludes that it is precisely the mutually reinforcing power of mobilizing political support and claiming legal rights that together can produce traction toward achieving constitutional inclusion for the have-nots.


The combustion of a CNT-filled nanocomposite polymer have been studied thanks to the use of differential thermal analysis coupled to measurement devices (sampling and particle concentration monitoring) to evaluate the potential release of nano-objects in the fumes. We demonstrate that, in some circumstance, airborne carbon nanotubes (isolated fibres or agglomerates) are released in the combustion fumes when a piece of nanocomposite polymer is burned. This result completes the state-of-the art literature, bringing brand new evidence of CNT release from final product thanks to the use of an adapted experimental setup. Then, our conclusions address a new kind of safety issues in regard to the end of life (fire, combustion) of this kind of nanocomposites.


This study describes the characteristics and role of a walking tourism project, footpath tourism, in Japan. The role of this kind of project in revitalizing the local community is highlighted. Local residents involved in the active management of walking tourism may rediscover local attractions in the process. The author conducted simulations using a system dynamics model to visualize the project's characteristics and its effects on the local area. The results of the analysis indicate that local community participation in such projects and local environmental conservation are indispensable for sustainable management.


Predictive genetic testing is now routinely offered to asymptomatic adults at risk for genetic disease. However, testing of minors at risk for adult-onset conditions, where no treatment or preventive intervention exists, has evoked greater controversy and inspired a debate spanning two decades. This review aims to provide a detailed longitudinal analysis and concludes by examining the debate's current status and prospects for the future. Fifty-three relevant theoretical papers published between 1990 and December 2010 were identified, and interpretative content analysis was employed to catalogue discrete arguments within these papers. Novel conclusions were drawn from this review. While the debate's first voices were raised in opposition of testing and their arguments have retained currency over many years, arguments in favour of testing, which appeared sporadically at first, have gained momentum more recently. Most arguments on both sides are testable empirical claims, so far untested, rather than abstract ethical or philosophical positions. The dispute, therein, lies not so much in whether minors should be permitted to access predictive genetic testing but whether these empirical claims on the relative benefits or harms of testing should be assessed.


Outcome is defined as "a change in a patient's health status that can be attributed to antecedent health care." Postoperative pain is a major concern after orthopedic limb surgery. Indeed, pain is exacerbated with motion, particularly after shoulder and knee surgery. From moderate at rest, pain becomes most severe during mobilization. Several studies have shown that regional anesthesia is associated with superior analgesia compared with patient-controlled analgesia morphine. The better postoperative pain control has led to the application of early mobilization, a new trend in modern orthopedics. Other benefits of regional anesthesia techniques in this setting are lower incidence of nausea and vomiting, higher patient satisfaction, and probably less postoperative cognitive dysfunction.


Commensal skin bacteria produce previously unknown antimicrobial peptides that can inhibit Staphylococcus aureus colonization of atopic dermatitis subjects. Bacterial biological warfare in atopic dermatitis Normal human skin is colonized by a variety of bacteria, which typically do not perturb the host. However, Staphylococcus aureus is known to aggravate symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Nakatsuji et al. report that other strains of Staphylococcus residing on the skin of healthy individuals produce a novel antimicrobial peptide that can inhibit S. aureus growth. Colonization of pigskin or mice with these protective commensals reduced S. aureus replication. Autologous bacterial transplant in a small number of atopic dermatitis patients drastically reduced S. aureus skin burden. This commensal skin transplant is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with a clinical trial underway. The microbiome can promote or disrupt human health by influencing both adaptive and innate immune functions. We tested whether bacteria that normally reside on human skin participate in host defense by killing Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogen commonly found in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and an important factor that exacerbates this disease. High-throughput screening for antimicrobial activity against S. aureus was performed on isolates of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) collected from the skin of healthy and AD subjects. CoNS strains with antimicrobial activity were common on the normal population but rare on AD subjects. A low frequency of strains with antimicrobial activity correlated with colonization by S. aureus. The antimicrobial activity was identified as previously unknown antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced by CoNS species including Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus hominis. These AMPs were strain-specific, highly potent, selectively killed S. aureus, and synergized with the human AMP LL-37. Application of these CoNS strains to mice confirmed their defense function in vivo relative to application of nonactive strains. Strikingly, reintroduction of antimicrobial CoNS strains to human subjects with AD decreased colonization by S. aureus. These findings show how commensal skin bacteria protect against pathogens and demonstrate how dysbiosis of the skin microbiome can lead to disease.


Background and Aim: The aim of the study was to compare the physical (processing shrinkage) and mechanical properties (bending deflection, flexure strength, and flexure modulus) of pressure-molded (Lucitone 199 and ProBase Hot) and injection-molded (SR-Ivocap) denture base materials in different conditions. Materials and Methods: Two denture base materials for pressure molding, Lucitone 199 and ProBase Hot, and one for injection molding (SR-Ivocap) were tested. Polymerization shrinkage (PS) was determined by measuring the linear distances between the reference points on the wax patterns (65 mm × 55 mm × 6 mm) and the corresponding cured acrylic plates and calculating the difference. Rectangular specimens (50 mm × 10 mm × 2.5 mm) were machined from these acrylic plates and used to measure bending deflection (BD) at various load levels, flexure strength (FS), and modulus of elasticity using a three-point bend test on an Instron Universal Testing Machine. A minimum of seven specimens were tested for each variable category. For each material, the percentage of specimens that failed within the load range of 9-10 kg was noted. Statistical analysis involved calculation of mean and standard deviations followed by group comparison of properties of different materials by using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey′s multiple range tests. Level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Result: There was no significant difference between the PS values. ProBase Hot exhibited significantly less BD and greater FS values than the other two materials (P < 0.05). Within the load range of 9-10 kg., 5% of the lucitone specimens, 25% of the SR-Ivocap specimens, and all of the ProBase Hot specimens fractured. Conclusion: The three tested denture base acrylics did not show any significant differences in processing shrinkage. However, ProBase Hot showed significantly lower bending deflection values than Lucitone 199 and SR-Ivocap. Compared to Lucitone 199 and SR-Ivocap, ProBase Hot is a tougher and a stiffer material. Hence, it is more likely to fracture readily if subjected to extreme loading conditions due to the accidental fall of the denture on a hard surface or if the denture wearer inadvertently bites on a particularly hard particle.


Surface Soil Temperature (SST) is defined as the near-surface temperature of the ground that consists of the upper boundary of the subsurface temperature-depth curve. SST is an important parameter for understanding subsurface heat transfer and effects of climate change. However, to date, no studies have focused on SST, land use surrounding monitoring wells, and temperature-depth profiles within the Chianan Plain, southern Taiwan. Values for Measured Surface Soil Temperature (MSST) were in a range of 23.8 to 28.3°C, higher than average annual air temperatures that ranged from 23.9 to 25.2°C within the Chianan Plain. Values of Present Surface Soil Temperature (PSST), which represent a long-term average, were 24.2 to 28.1°C, as determined from temperature-depth profiles. Temperature of various land cover types were 24.9, 25.6, 25.6, 26.5, and 28.8°C for crops, trees, buildings, fish ponds, and bare soils, respectively. Temperatures for trees were lower than average while temperatures for bare soil without shielding were higher. Values of SST change displayed a warming trend with a maximum value of 4.11°C and 82% of sites fell into the range from 0 to 3°C. The change in annual average air temperature due to global warming was 1 to 2°C from 1901 to 2015. Causes for SST changes larger than 2°C should be attributed to land cover change in addition to global warming. This study provides the first basic dataset for MSST and temperature-depth profiles within the Chianan Plain. The data provided can be used as a base line for future studies of climate change, groundwater and subsurface temperature changes. Article history: Received 25 December 2018 Revised 25 March 2019 Accepted 7 May 2019


Intelligence enhancement has always remained the challenge for scientists and psychologists. Various tools have been proposed and tested. In latest researches by the Seven Effective Thinking Patterns (SETP) tool designed and developed by Dr. Arvinder Singh is tested for intelligence enhancement. The sample comprises of 75 adults randomly selected from colleges, entrepreneur and corporate employees. . The selected parameters for evaluation were: 1.Number of Ideas 2.Quality of Ideas 3.Positive Factors of the situation (Pros) 4.Negative factors of the situation (cons) . Pre and Post training scores were evaluated on a scale of 1 to 10. Number of ideas during pre-training situation was 4.13±1.236 while for Post-training situation it was 7.32±1.312. with increase of 77.2%. The score on quality of ideas of  pre-training was 3.96±1.130 and for post-training it was 7.94±1.437 registering increment 99.99%. The Positive Factors of the situation (Pros) score during pre-training was 4.20±0.987 and post-training 6.98±1.271 with increase 66.2%. The score on Negative factors of the Situation (Cons) during pre-training was 4.84±0.896 and for post-training situation it was 8.05±1.129 with increase of 66.3%.  It is concluded that SETP tool is quite effective in improving intelligence of participant on Guilford Model of Intelligence.


Abstract Balcova Geothermal Field hosts the largest geothermal district heating system of Turkey and a number of shallow groundwater wells that are used for irrigation of the agricultural activities. The present study aims to assess the influence of geothermal fluid on groundwater by determining the hydrogeochemical properties of the water resources. A sampling program was conducted for 10 months and samples were collected from geothermal and groundwater wells including re-injected fluid. Trace and major elements, and the types of waters were determined. The results of groundwater analysis showed that the concentrations of some toxic species, such as arsenic, boron, and fluoride, exceeded the limits of drinking water standards set by TSE, EPA, and WHO.


Profile: Helga NowotnyThere were a few times when Helga Nowotny considered throwing in the towel and abandoning the fledgling European Research Council (ERC) she'd helped create. The thought would typically arise when she couldn't bear the weight of the Brussels bureaucracy anymore. Throughout the birth and the 4-year existence of the ERC, scientists' ideas on how to run a funding agency for creative frontier science have clashed with the European Commission's (EC's) rules for managing an international bureaucracy. For the scientific council—a group of 22 heavyweights from across Europe, which Nowotny now chairs—it has been a steep learning curve and a source of deep frustration. Nowotny still has two major tasks to accomplish before she steps down in 2013, at the end of the ERC's first 7-year mandate. One is an overhaul of the organizational structure that she hopes will put it on more solid ground and wrest power away from the officials and politicians of the EC. The other is a substantial hike in the ERC budget for the period from 2014 to 2020.


Callus cultures and regenerated plants of Mucuna pruriens L. were selected for the enhancement of L-DOPA. Treatment of cultures was carried out with an amino acid tyrosine as precursor and with NaCl. High percentage of L-DOPA was observed in regenerated plants grown under in vitro conditions on MS medium, supplemented with 50mM NaCl as compared to regenerated plants on basal MS medium and also as compared to the callus raised on MS medium supplemented with different concentration of PGRs with or without tyrosine and NaCl or in combination of both. The study suggests that in vitro regenerated plant of Mucuna pruriens is a high accumulator of L-DOPA under salt stress.


Biometrics is the utilization of biological characteristics (face, iris, fingerprint) or behavioral traits (signature, voice) for identity verification of an individual. Biometric authentication is gaining popularity as a more trustable alternative to password-based security systems as it is relatively hard to be forgotten, stolen, or guessed. Signature is a behavioral biometric: it is not based on the physical properties, such as fingerprint or face, of the individual, but behavioral ones. As such, one's signature may change over time and it is not nearly as unique or difficult to forge as iris patterns or fingerprints, however signature's widespread acceptance by the public, make it more suitable for certain lower-security authentication needs. Signature verification is split into two according to the available data in the input. Off-line signature verification takes as input the image of a signature and is useful in automatic verification of signatures found on bank checks and documents. On-line signature verification uses signatures that are captured by pressure-sensitive tablets and could be used in real time applications like credit card transactions or resource accesses. In this work we present two complete systems for on-line and off-line signature verification. During registration to either of the systems the user has to submit a number of reference signatures which are cross aligned to extract statistics describing the variation in the user's signatures. Both systems have similar verification methodology and differ only in data acquisition and feature extraction modules. A test signature's authenticity is established by first aligning it with each reference signature of the claimed user, resulting in a number of dissimilarity scores: distances to nearest, farthest and template reference signatures. In previous systems, only one of these distances, typically the distance to the nearest reference signature or the distance to a template signature, was chosen, in an ad-hoc manner, to classify the signature as genuine or forgery. Here we propose a method to utilize all of these distances, treating them as features in a two-class classification problem, using standard pattern classification techniques. The distances are first normalized, resulting in a three dimensional space where genuine and forgery signature distributions are well separated. We experimented with the Bayes classifier, Support Vector Machines, and a linear classifier used in conjunction with Principal Component Analysis, to classify a given signature into one of the two classes (forgery or genuine). Test data sets of 620 on-line and 100 off-line signatures were constructed to evaluate performances of the two systems. Since it is very difficult to obtain real forgeries, we obtained skilled forgeries which are supplied by forgers who had access to signature data to practice before forging. The online system has a 1.4% error in rejecting forgeries, while rejecting only 1.3% of genuine signatures. As an offine signature is easier to forge, the offine system's performance is lower: a 25% error in rejecting forgery signatures and 20% error in rejecting genuine signatures. The results for the online system show significant improvement over the state-of-the-art results, and the results for the offline system are comparable with the performance of experienced human examiners.


Ultra‐high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) are a class of inorganic materials that have melt‐ ing point over 3000°C and are typically borides, carbides, and nitrides of early transition metals. UHTCs are considered as the promising candidate used in the extreme environ‐ ment involved with the hypersonic aviation thermal protective system. Synthesis of UHTC‐ based materials can be divided into solid‐based and solution‐based protocols according to the state of the raw materials. A sol‐gel technique is one of the solution‐based protocols for the preparation of UHTC‐based materials, which involves the hydrolysis, condensa‐ tion of the metal organic and/or metal inorganic compounds, gelation, and the posthigh temperature treatment of the dried gels. The sol‐gel technique enables the synthesis of UHTC‐based materials at 1300–1600°C. UHTC‐based materials with desired shapes, such as nanopowders, fibers, and porous monoliths, can also be prepared via sol‐gel routes.


Transnational Mexican migrants are the largest farm labor force in the United States. Problem drinking among their ranks is drawing increased public attention and concern in their new U.S. communities, but there is scant research that specifically addresses alcohol use among this population of migrants. The research on Mexican American migrants, other migrants, Mexicans, and farmworkers in general is reviewed to identify etiological factors and data collection methods for future research on drinking among transnational Mexican migrants. This research reveals that situational factors (i.e., social isolation and peer influence) are highly associated with problem drinking among these migrants. It also demonstrates that binational ethnographic field methods are needed to study this "hidden" migrant population. Policies and programs that support the migration of families and offset social isolation appear to be a means for addressing the problem drinking.


Recent studies have documented extensive heterogeneity in firm performance within countries, and innovation has been found as an important determinant. This paper addresses the issue of innovation firm performance across countries. A growing number of national firm level studies on the innovation-productivity link have been conducted using new internationally harmonized survey data, known in Europe as Community Innovation Survey (CIS). Mainly due to confidentiality reasons cross-country comparisons of CIS data are still rare. The contribution of this paper is its unique approach of pooling original firm observations from Germany and Sweden. Applying a knowledge production function that gives the relationship between innovation input, innovation output and productivity, we find to a very large extent a common cross-country story for knowledge intensive manufacturing firms. Some interesting country-specific effects are reported as well.


It is hard to sleep late when your household is up and about at the crack of dawn. Such social influences are seen in other animals, but how are these signals communicated? Levine et al. have examined mixed Drosophila populations of wild-type (rhythmic) and short-period (arrhythmic) flies and found that arrhythmic flies destabilize the rhythms of wild-type flies. The information seems to be communicated by chemosensory cues: flies that lack the ability to sense chemical signals ignored their neighbors' activity. J. D. Levine, P. Funes, H. B. Dowse, J. C. Hall, Resetting the circadian clock by social experience in Drosophila melanogaster. Science 298, 2010-2012 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


In "Revolution in Texas", Benjamin Johnson tells the little-known story of one of the most intense and protracted episodes of racial violence in United States history. In 1915, against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, the uprising that would become known as the "Plan de San Diego" began with a series of raids by ethnic Mexicans on ranches and railroads. Local violence quickly erupted into a regional rebellion. In response, vigilante groups and the Texas Rangers staged an even bloodier counterinsurgency, culminating in forcible relocations and mass executions. Faced with the overwhelming forces arrayed against it, the uprising eventually collapsed. But, as Johnson demonstrates, the rebellion resonated for decades in American history. Convinced of the futility of using force to protect themselves against racial discrimination and economic oppression, many Mexican Americans elected to seek protection as American citizens with equal access to rights and protections under the US Constitution.


This paper sets out quantitative findings from a research project examining the dynamics of online counter-narratives against hate speech, focusing on #StopIslam, a hashtag that spread racialized hate speech and disinformation directed towards Islam and Muslims and which trended on Twitter after the March 2016 terror attacks in Brussels. We elucidate the dynamics of the counter-narrative through contrasting it with the affordances of the original anti-Islamic narrative it was trying to contest. We then explore the extent to which each narrative was taken up by the mainstream media. Our findings show that actors who disseminated the original hashtag with the most frequency were tightly-knit clusters of self-defined conservative actors based in the US. The hashtag was also routinely used in relation to other pro-Trump, anti-Clinton hashtags in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, forming part of a broader, racialized, anti-immigration narrative. In contrast, the most widely shared and disseminated messages were attempts to challenge the original narrative that were produced by a geographically dispersed network of self-identified Muslims and allies. The counter-narrative was significant in gaining purchase in the wider media ecology associated with this event, due to being reported by mainstream media outlets. We ultimately argue for the need for further research that combines 'big data' approaches with a conceptual focus on the broader media ecologies in which counter-narratives emerge and circulate, in order to better understand how opposition to hate speech can be sustained in the face of the tight-knit right-wing networks that often outlast dissenting voices.


Iran has high potential and unique stone reserves in terms of variety of color, texture, quality, and economic value; nevertheless, in spite of growing mine production during the past decade, in many instances this potential has been overlooked. Therefore it is necessary to investigate strategic factors of these mines. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and determine the best strategies for Iran's quarries. To this end, the mines were analyzed using the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) approach in combination with Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP). Firstly, an environmental analysis was performed and then the SWOT factors were identified. In this way, the sub-factors which have very significant effects on the mines were determined. Using the SWOT matrix, alternative strategies were developed. Subsequently, the strategies were prioritized and the best strategies for these mines were determined. The results show that conservative strategies are the best strategy group for Iran's quarries.


Abstract. This work is an attempt to provide seasonal variation of biogenic NO emission fluxes in a Sahelian rangeland in Mali (Agoufou, 15.34° N, 1.48° W) for years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Indeed, NO is one of the most important precursors for tropospheric ozone, and previous studies have shown that arid areas potentially display significant NO emissions (due to both biotic and abiotic processes). Previous campaigns in the Sahel suggest that the contribution of this region in emitting NO is no longer considered as negligible. However, very few data are available in this region, therefore this study focuses on model development. The link between NO production in the soil and NO release to the atmosphere is investigated in this modelling study, by taking into account vegetation litter production and degradation, microbial processes in the soil, emission fluxes, and environmental variables influencing these processes, using a coupled vegetation–litter decomposition–emission model. This model includes the Sahelian Transpiration Evaporation and Productivity (STEP) model for the simulation of herbaceous, tree leaf and faecal masses, the GENDEC model (GENeral DEComposition) for the simulation of the buried litter decomposition and microbial dynamics, and the NO emission model (NOFlux) for the simulation of the NO release to the atmosphere. Physical parameters (soil moisture and temperature, wind speed, sand percentage) which affect substrate diffusion and oxygen supply in the soil and influence the microbial activity, and biogeochemical parameters (pH and fertilization rate related to N content) are necessary to simulate the NO flux. The reliability of the simulated parameters is checked, in order to assess the robustness of the simulated NO flux. Simulated yearly average of NO flux ranges from 2.09 to 3.04 ng(N) m−2 s−1 (0.66 to 0.96 kg(N) ha−1 yr−1), and wet season average ranges from 3.36 to 5.48 ng(N) m−2 s−1 (1.06 to 1.73 kg(N) ha−1 yr−1). These results are of the same order as previous measurements made in several sites where the vegetation and the soil are comparable to the ones in Agoufou. This coupled vegetation–litter decomposition–emission model could be generalized at the scale of the Sahel region, and provide information where few data are available.


In this Article, I consider the following puzzle in standing doctrine: the dichotomy between Executive Branch and private party standing. Although the Executive Branch has standing to assert the interest in "seeing that the law is obeyed," private parties may not allege such an abstract grievance. I argue that this apparent contradiction offers a new explanation for Article III standing doctrine: standing enforces an Article II nondelegation principle by curtailing private prosecutorial discretion. The Executive Branch has an Article II duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed and, for that reason, has standing to "see that federal law is obeyed." Notably, in carrying out this responsibility, the Executive Branch may pursue any violation of federal law. The Executive Branch thus has the prosecutorial discretion to sue any person, anywhere in the country, for any violation. The Executive Branch has a duty to exercise this discretion in accordance with constitutional requirements and other legal and political constraints. But such discretion does create a serious potential for abuse. Accordingly, I assert that the Executive Branch's Article II duties to enforce federal law, and to exercise the accompanying prosecutorial discretion, are nondelegable. Given the potential for abuse, such discretion may not be transferred to private parties, who are not subject to the legal and political checks that, to some degree, constrain the Executive Branch. This Article II nondelegation principle provides a constitutional explanation for much of Article III standing doctrine. Standing enforces the Article II nondelegation doctrine by curtailing private prosecutorial discretion. A private party may not assert an abstract grievance (such as the interest in "seeing that the law is obeyed") that would allow her to sue any person for any legal violation. A private party retains the discretion to bring suit only if she has suffered a more concrete injury-in-fact. That injury further curtails her prosecutorial discretion, because she may sue only the person that caused the injury and may seek redress only for that harm. In this Article, I argue that this Article II nondelegation rationale offers both a new normative foundation, and a new scope, for the constitutional dimension of standing doctrine.


The essential oils from the areal parts (flower, le af and stem) of Astragalus hamzaoglui were isolated by hydrodistillation (HD) and a microwave distillat ion (MD) process. The composition of the volatiles was analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS and screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activity. Totals of 68/64, 65/64, and 68/67 compounds were identified in the flower, leaf, and stem oils of A. hamzaoglui accounting for 92.9- 95.0% in HD and 87.4-90.7% in MD, respectively. The essential oils consisted mainly of oxygenated monoterpenes (flower, HD: 33.3% vs. MD: 2.3%, leaf, HD: 8.0% vs. MD: 2.7%, stem, HD: 10.8% vs. MD: 4.7%), alcohols (flower, HD: 13.6% vs. MD: 10.4%, leaf, HD: 51.6% vs. MD: 3.6%, stem, HD: 35.4% vs. MD: 7.6%) and aldehydes (flower, HD: 15.5% vs. MD: 27.9%, leaf, HD: 10.0% vs. MD: 14.8%, stem, HD: 17.2% vs. MD: 24.5%). The major component of the oils of A. hamzaoglui was 1-octene-3-ol (flower, HD: 11.3% vs. MD: 8.8%, leaf, HD: 45.50% vs. MD: 3.3%, stem, HD: 32.6% vs. MD: 6.9%). Oxygenated sesquiterpenes were the minor constituents in all parts (flower, HD: 0.8% v s. MD: 0.4%, leaf, HD: 0.2% vs. MD: 0.4%, stem, HD: 0.4% vs. MD: 0.4%). of the A. hamzaoglui . Comparative study showed that the amount of total volatiles (flower, 95.0%, leaf, 92.9%, and stem, 95.0%) and the major constituent for the low molecular weight of essenti al oils were found to be better in HD of A. hamzaoglui . The oils were screened for antimicrobial activity against 12 microorganisms and showed antibacterial and antifungal activities against Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , Bacillus cereus 702 Roma, Mycobacterium smegmatis , and Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The antifungal activity was observed for the all tested oils again st S. cerevisiae except stem oil of HD.


Significant advances in public participation geographic information systems technology and online mapping platforms have not translated into enhanced citizen participation in democratic planning processes. This study contributes to addressing this gap by evaluating the engagement of members of an urban community in sustainable neighbourhood planning through argumentation mapping. The study provided an online public discussion forum, together with a neighbourhood map to which the participants could link their discussion contributions. On the basis of participation statistics, contents of contributions, and responses to a survey, we discuss the participants' technical and engagement experiences. The sixteen registered participants lived within or near the 'Queen West Triangle' in downtown Toronto, Canada. They rated themselves as experienced computer users and consequently found the participation in the online discussion forum to be easy. The contributions showed a great degree of interest and knowledge in the issues of sustainable community development. However, while the majority of participants also rated themselves as comfortable with map reading, they found the handling of the online neighbourhood map difficult and did not use the option to link their comments to the map.


In this paper, we demonstrate a new approach for the fusion of multichannel signals. We show how this method can be used to combine signals from magnetometer and gradiometer sensors used in magnetoencephalography (MEG). This approach works by assuming that the lead-fields have multiplicative errors which in turn leads to an under-determined problem. To solve this problem, we impose two constraints that result in closed-from solutions: i) one set of sensors is error-free, ii) the norm of the multiplicative error is bounded. These prior assumptions to estimate the error are used in the linearly constraint minimum variance (LCMV) spatial filter to improve the optimisation. Although we focus on the fusion of MEG sensors, this approach can be employed for multimodal fusion of other multichannel signals such as MEG and EEG signals.


In this essay I present the core of St. Thomas Aquinas's theory of law. The aim is to introduce students both to the details of Aquinas's particular theory of law, as well as to the features of his view that define what has come to be known as "the natural law" conception of law more generally. Though the essay is for the most part non-critical, some of the more important implications of the natural law position are raised for further thought and to pave the way for the study of alternative views which have been developed in the subsequent history of the philosophy of law.One brief note about the structure of the essay will complete my introductory remarks: The essay tries to present as much of Aquinas's theory in his own words as possible. Material taken directly from Aquinas appears in bold type throughout, with the origin of the quotation given in parentheses following the text. Unless otherwise noted, the material is taken from Aquinas's Summa Theologica; the translation from Latin is that of the Fathers of the English Dominican Province.


BACKGROUND
One disadvantage of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the inability to adequately image the lungs. Recent advances in hyperpolarized gas technology [e.g., helium-3 ((3)He) and xenon-129 ((129)Xe)] have changed this. However, the required technology is expensive and often needing extra physics or engineering staff. Hence there is considerable interest in developing (1)H (proton)-based MRI approaches that can be readily implemented on standard clinical systems. Thus, the purpose of this work was to compare a newly developed free breathing proton-based MR lung imaging method to that of a standard gadolinium (Gd) based perfusion approach.

METHODS
Healthy volunteers [10] were scanned using a 3-T MRI with 8 parallel receivers, and a cardiac gated fast spin echo (FSE) sequence. Acquisition was cardiac triggered, with different time delays incremented to cover the entire cardiac cycle. Image k-space was filled rectilinearly. But to reduce motion artefacts k-space was retrospectively sorted using the minimal variance algorithm (MVA), based on physiologic data recorded from both the respiratory bellows and electrocardiogram (ECG). Resorted and reconstructed FSE images were compared to contrast enhanced lung images, obtained following intravenous injection of Gd-DTPA-BMA.

RESULTS
Biphasic variation in FSE lung signal intensity was observed across the cardiac cycle with a maximal signal change following rapid cardiac ejection (between S and T waves), and following rapid isovolumetric relaxation. A difference image between systolic and diastolic states in the cardiac cycle resulted in images with improved lung contrast to noise ratio (CNR). FSE image intensity was uniform over lung parenchyma while Gd-based enhancement of spoiled gradient recalled echo (SPGR) images showed gravitational dependence.

CONCLUSIONS
Here we show how 1H-MR images of lung can be obtained during free breathing. The image contrast obtained during this approach is likely the result of flow and oxygen modulation during the cardiac cycle. This free breathing method provides lung images comparable to those obtained using Gd-enhancement. Besides having the advantage of free breathing, this approach doesn't require any Gd-contrast or suffer from methodological problems associated with perfusion (e.g., poor bolus timing). However, as gravitational differences typically observed in lung perfusion are not visible with this method it is not providing exclusive microvascular perfusion information.


ABSTRACT Microbial mats have been implicated in exceptional fossil preservation. Few analyses have addressed how these complex-multilayered biofilms promote fossil preservation. The sequence of changes during decay of neon tetra fish were tracked up to 27 months, and their decomposition in mats was compared against nonmat sediments (control fish). Statistically significant differences in quantitative variables (length, width, and thickness) are provided (ANOVA test, in all cases, P < 0.001). Changes in the qualitative features (body-head, fins, scale connection, and eye and body coloration) were phenetically analyzed resulting in two clusters and highlighting that notable differences in decay began at day 15. Mat fish show a delayed decomposition maintaining the external and internal body integrity, in which soft organs were preserved after 27 months as shown by Magnetic Resonance Imaging. We discuss how the organization, structure, and activity of this community are interrelated, favoring exceptional preservation. Microbial mats entomb the fish from the earliest stages, forming a Ca-rich coat over the carcass while embedding it in an anoxic condition. This quick entombment provides important protection against abiotic and/or biotic agents.


This study describes and assesses the problems associated with the development of the new broadcasting media in the United Kingdom, France and Luxembourg in 1981-1986. It also examines the implications associated with the new broadcasting media in both the audiovisual landscape and the public policies concerning broadcasting. It describes and analyses the audiovisual policy initiated by the Commission of the European Community. This study believes that the impact of the the new broadcasting media on the audiovisual environment has been mostly indirect because of their very slow development. In all three countries, the development of the new broadcasting media has taken on an industrial dimension in terms of assisting the restructuring of their mature economies. The strongest impression to emerge from this project is a profound confusion and uncertainty about the media developments. A situation including an increased number of actors, involved both in conventional and new broadcasting media adversely influenced the latter's development. Even though the United Kingdom and France followed a different policy path, the outcome was the same: small growth. While France followed a state-led policy, the United Kingdom favoured private initiative and the market forces. This project also stresses that although economic pressures and challenges have been a driving force for policy adjustment, technology and markets do not themselves dictate specific and institutional arrangements. Additionally, it describes the state policy on broadcasting in Luxembourg and the anxiety of its politicians to maintain the Grand Duchy's traditional role as the location for international broadcasting. Finally, the European Community's broadcasting policy is discussed in terms of another attempt to harmonise diversified national legislations for the satellite age of television and 1992's Single Market.