PURPOSE To investigate the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab plus carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with advanced or recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a phase II trial, 99 patients were randomly assigned to bevacizumab 7.5 (n = 32) or 15 mg/kg (n = 35) plus carboplatin (area under the curve = 6) and paclitaxel (200 mg/m2) every 3 weeks or carboplatin and paclitaxel alone (n = 32). Primary efficacy end points were time to disease progression and best confirmed response rate. On disease progression, patients in the control arm had the option to receive single-agent bevacizumab 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks. RESULTS Compared with the control arm, treatment with carboplatin and paclitaxel plus bevacizumab (15 mg/kg) resulted in a higher response rate (31.5% v 18.8%), longer median time to progression (7.4 v 4.2 months) and a modest increase in survival (17.7 v 14.9 months). Of the 19 control patients that crossed over to single-agent bevacizumab, five experienced stable disease, and 1-year survival was 47%. Bleeding was the most prominent adverse event and was manifested in two distinct clinical patterns; minor mucocutaneous hemorrhage and major hemoptysis. Major hemoptysis was associated with squamous cell histology, tumor necrosis and cavitation, and disease location close to major blood vessels. CONCLUSION Bevacizumab in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel improved overall response and time to progression in patients with advanced or recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer. Patients with nonsquamous cell histology appear to be a subpopulation with improved outcome and acceptable safety risks.


During the long shutdown LS3 when the LHC will be upgraded to the HL-LHC, the inner tracker of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC will be replaced. This also includes the innermost part of ATLAS, the pixel detector. The goal is to collect 3000/fb with this detector. To ensure a stable and reliable operation for this time (~10 years), there has to be a control system which steers and monitors the detector, similar to the detector control system (DCS) of the current pixel detector. Due to massive changes in the concept of the new pixel detector, the current DCS cannot be reused and a new one is being developed. This new DCS concept for the pixel detector contains three paths, a hard wired interlock path, a diagnostics path integrated into the data acquisition and a control and feedback path for user interactions during operation. In this contribution we describe an improved concept of the control and feedback path, especially designed for the case of a serially powered detector. Though the operation of a parallel powering scheme with DC-DC converters is also possible. The control and feedback path is made up by a network of two nodes: The first node, the DCS controller, is located at the End-of-Stave card at the end of each sub structure (disc or half stave). The second node, the DCS chip, is located on the flex attached to each detector module. To cope with the high radiation levels and the low material budget, these nodes are implemented in custom made ASICs. Communication between these two nodes is transmitted by an I2C bus, which was enhanced with four check bits to provide better reliability. To meet the standards of the ATLAS DCS, the communication from the DCS chip to the DCS computers is realized by a CAN bus.
Besides the new concept, the first prototype of the DCS chip the PSPP (Pixel Serial Powering and Protection) chip will be introduced. This chip contains all components, which are foreseen in the concept of the DCS chip. This includes the physical layer for an AC coupled two wire bus, a shunt regulator, a large shunting transistor, an ADC, I2C slave logic and a comparator. The chip has recently been tested and the results will be presented.


This paper examines the recent changes in the relationships between public research universities and financial markets, using the University of California as a case study. Between 2003 and 2011, UC's outstanding bond debt to investors more than doubled. Funds raised through borrowing were invested into medical centers, dormitories, and athletic facilities at the same time as core university functions were scaled back due to cuts in state appropriations. We argue that these divergent trends are best understood as the financialization of university governance. We first trace the precipitous growth of UC debt beginning in the early 2000s. We then show howthe university has partnered with Wall Street firms to expand its borrowing activities through the use of a broad array of financial instruments. These changes occurred as UC's administration empowered financial managers and recruited Wall Street veterans to positions as senior university executives and members of UC's Board of Regents. Finally, we discuss the consequences for university governance of this reorientation towards financial strategies and financial markets.


Higher education system must aim at producing individuals who are well-educated, and equipped with the knowledge and skills to effectively participate in the development of the nation by meeting the human development demands rather than
just provide mere education. Correspondingly the developing countries are facing great challenges in meeting the increasing demand for higher education, and to develop
their institutions of higher education in order to keep pace with the developed nations of the contemporary world.
Job satisfaction, which is a critical factor in the achievement of this objective, is too complex a phenomenon to be reduced to simple causal factor. A few studies of job
satisfaction in higher education have been conducted and it was found that it is a very important criterion observed in enhancing the quality and logical organization of higher educational settings. Thus, to shed light on this essential point in the current study, the researcher focused on the impact of work locus of control and self-esteem of academic staff that was investigated with specific attention paid to how it affects several aspects of job satisfaction in universities of Yemen.
This study was conducted to determine the level of job satisfaction among the academic staff. It investigates the relationship between self-esteem, work locus of control and job satisfaction as well as the role of gender as a moderation factor. The effects of facets of job satisfaction were observed and analyzed. The data were
collected via self-report instruments. Data was collected from eight public Yemeni universities under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) located in all educational regions in Yemen. SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data collected through questionnaires. Several important findings were achieved. The sample size was 573.
The results indicated that the academic staff in the universities of Yemen have a high level of self-esteem, with a moderate level of job satisfaction and have external work locus of control. However, demographic factors such as gender, years of experience, academic rank were observed to have no influence on job satisfaction of academic staff in public universities in Yemen. In addition, further analyses on job satisfaction predictors such as self-esteem and work locus of control revealed that they were strong predictors of job satisfaction. There was a strong direct relationship between selfesteem, work locus of control and job satisfaction. The findings also indicated that gender has an impact in moderating the relationship between self-esteem and job satisfaction. The major contribution of this study is that it highlighted the role of selfesteem and work locus of control in job satisfaction and demonstrate the application of this effect on academics' behavior. Universities must provide supportive human resource development practices and a conducive working environment that will nurture positive self-esteem and work locus of control among academics, which eventually will positively impact on their job satisfaction.


Fostering a participatory political culture is a crucial part of the on-going transformation processes which we witness across North African and Middle Eastern countries since 2011. This paper considers which role participatory communication plays in these processes, by examining the potential of citizens' radios to accompany Tunisia's transition at a grassroots level. Analysing the case of Radio 6 Tunis – a local, non-commercial Internet-radio founded by Tunisian journalists under the rule of Ben Ali in 2007 – citizens' radios are discussed as sites of political contestation and cultivation of critical consciousness. While they empower citizens to reclaim both their voice and public space, their influence is however limited. The manifold challenges which citizens' radios face in the transitional context of post-autocratic Tunisia, may well impede nascent democratisation dynamics.


Following the establishment of the new nation in 1821 the Mexican elite sought to shape the form it would take, as well as the role they and others would have in it. Fundamental to understanding how they went about this and what led them to the decisions they made is an investigation of the underlying beliefs that formed their view of the world. By looking at the interactions of religious and scientific belief in the works of two Mexican intellectuals of the first half of the nineteenth century, Luis de la Rosa and Tadeo Ortiz, I illustrate the way in which religious and scientific understandings of the world reinforced each other and were in many ways inseparable for the Mexican elite. This is because of their conception of the universe as an ordered entity, with laws that could be discerned and applied to society. What order specifically meant for the Mexican elite had large implications for the way in which they imagined the nation.


In this paper, we take up three novels: Mary Barton, by Elizabeth Gaskell (1848/2008), Shirley, published just afterwards by Charlotte Bronte, and North and South, published six years later by Gaskell. Each novel is a revoicing of previous works, and we shall present evidence that the last two directly and consciously revoice the first two. We argue that a form of revoicing we call "exaptation", or the borrowing of formal devices for very different functions than those for which they initially evolved, can be observed on at least four different timescales: the genre, the author's career, the novel's characters and plot, and the exchanges of dialogue. With each book, we examine each timescale and then we look both quantitatively and qualitatively at the wordings of a request, a confession, and an act of violence. In this way, we hope to demonstrate how the early social realist novel developed devices for showing thought processes alongside the verbal processes and the physical activities of characters by devoicing speech, first as indirect discourse, then as quasi-direct discourse, and finally as unspoken understandings. It is, we argue, a way that is not very different from the way that the Russian psychologist Vygotsky hypothesized that children develop verbal thinking and inner speech from dialogue.


The Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 (Cth) provides that foreign states are immune to the jurisdiction of Australian courts, and that their property is immune from execution. Those immunities are subject to important 'commercial exceptions'. First, foreign states are not immune in Australian proceedings insofar as they concern a 'commercial transaction'. Second, foreign states are not immune from execution in respect of 'commercial property'. The distinction between the commercial and the non-commercial may be difficult to pin down. With reference to recent case law, including the High Court's decision in Firebird Global Master Fund II Ltd v Republic of Nauru (2015) 258 CLR 31, this article aims to articulate the scope of the commercial exceptions. It is argued that the scope of the commercial transaction exception is uncertain, and depends on courts' approach to the task of characterisation. It is also argued that the commercial property exception is undesirably narrow, and will present a recurring impediment to the vindication of private rights.


The paper addresses the cost of consensus algorithms. It has been shown that in the best case, consensus can be solved in two communication steps with f<n/2, and in one communication step with f<n/3 (f is the maximum number of faulty processes). This leads to a dilemma when choosing a consensus algorithm: greater efficiency or higher resiliency degree. Recently Lamport has proposed a solution called Fast Paxos, for partly escaping from this dilemma. The idea is to combine two types of rounds in a single consensus algorithm: fast rounds and rounds of the ordinary Paxos algorithm. In the best case, Fast Paxos solves consensus in one fast round, that is it requires only one communication step. Unfortunately, the combination induces some time overhead, and so Fast Paxos becomes more expensive than ordinary Paxos when fast rounds do not succeed. In this paper we go one step further: we show that it is possible to tentatively execute a fast round before a classical round without any time overhead if the fast round does not succeed


Abstract When reactivity insertion such as refueling occurs in Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) reactors, the power and the water level are tilted in the upper outer zone of the liquid zone control system (LZCS) and fluctuate unstably for a certain period of time (1 to 5 days). Such instability is observed in most of the CANDU reactors in service around the world, but neither its root cause has been identified nor have solutions against it been established. Therefore, this study experimentally and analytically attempted to prove that the root cause lies in the holdup of light water on the top of the tube support plate (TSP) due to the mismatch between the net volumetric flow rate of light water and helium crossing the narrowed porous TSP installed within the LZCS compartment by performing hydrodynamic simulation of the inflow/outflow of light water and helium. Two solutions against the aforementioned instability of LZCS were suggested. One is to regulate volumes of helium gas flowing into the compartment and light water flowing therefrom, and the other is to enlarge the flowing paths of helium and light water within the TSP. The former may be applicable to nuclear reactors in service and the latter to those planned to be constructed.


Through an in-depth case study of the origins and context of a unique mass-market mass-participation photography publication, this chapter argues that existing theoretical approaches for understanding photobooks are inadequate models for popular practices.

One Day for Life: Photographs by the people of Britain taken on a single day was the best-selling British non-fiction book of 1987, selling close to a quarter of a million copies. Comprising 350 images from the 55,000 submissions to a competition that aimed to be 'the largest photographic event the world had ever seen', the book was the culmination of an ambitious fundraising endeavour in aid of cancer charities. Participants were encouraged to create 'a lasting record' of everyday life in Britain on 14 August 1987, to be accompanied by a pound donation per photograph. The book's intention was to "represent the creation – and character – of ordinary people everywhere" through "an image of the nation in all its moods".

What One Day for Life represented more convincingly, however, is the way that photography's hierarchies are structured and maintained. Throughout the soliciting and judging processes, categories of 'amateur' and 'professional', 'ordinary' and 'distinguished', 'the public' and 'celebrity' circulated in complex stratifying dynamics, and were continued in the form of the final publication. From the mass of submissions, Royal Photographic Society camera clubs initially selected a shortlist that was subsequently appraised by a panel of photographers explicitly recruited as 'big names'. Submissions by members of the monarchy made up the first and final photographs of the book, and 'celebrity contributions' opened and closed the chapter sections. Unknown and well-known photographers co-existed in carefully designed distinctions in a project that promised credence and substance for 'ordinary' photography through professional accreditation and the prize of publication.

As an example of what might be called 'circadian photobooks' – those using the single day as an organising structure – One Day for Life can be located within a long-standing genre of using times-of-day as narrative devices, whether it be in the 19th century journalism of George Sala's Twice Around the Clock, Modernist novels such as Mrs. Dalloway and Ulysses or Mass Observation day-surveys. As a metonymic strategy, it is common in photographic practice and can be found among Life magazine photo-essays and in the most obvious One Day for Life precursors: the blockbusting American Day in the Life photography books that emerged in the early 1980s. These volumes, which are in turn indebted to the sentimental humanism of The Family of Man and are the only photography books to exceed it in sales, differ from One Day for Life as productions by professional photographers, but share a similarity in terms of their heroic ambitions, monumental scale and commercial vision.

Informed by access to publication dummies, original promotional material and the archive of 55,000 rejected prints, and based on interviews with the book's designer as well as key project organisers, judges and contributors, this chapter explores the sometimes conflicting multiple intentions of One Day for Life as a "national family album", a historical record, a celebrity-studded fundraising spectacle, a celebration of 'everyday life', a public display of compassion, a photographic competition and a bestselling book.


The authors sought to investigate trends in the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, evaluate changes in risk behavior, and assess associations between syringe access programs and HIV seroconversion among injection drug users (IDUs) in Montreal, Canada, who were recruited and followed for a prospective cohort study between 1992 and 2008. Methods included Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and time-varying Cox regression models. Of 2,137 HIV-seronegative IDUs at enrollment, 148 became HIV-positive within 4 years (in-cidence: 3.3 cases/100 person-years; 95% confidence interval: 2.8, 3.9). An annual HIV incidence decline of 0.06 cases/100 person-years prior to 2000 was followed by a more rapid annual decline of 0.24 cases/100 person-years during and after 2000. Behavioral trends included increasing cocaine and heroin use and decreasing proportions of IDUs reporting any syringe-sharing or sharing a syringe with an HIV-positive person. In multivariate analyses, HIV seroconversion was associated with male gender, unstable housing, intravenous cocaine use, and sharing syringes or having sex with an HIV-positive partner. Always acquiring syringes from safe sources conferred a reduced risk of HIV acquisition among participants recruited after 2004, but this association was not statistically significant for participants recruited earlier. In conclusion, HIV incidence has declined in this cohort, with an acceleration of the reduction in HIV transmission after 2000.


A new generic perturbation scheme suitable for generation of an ensemble of ocean analysis is presented. The scheme consists of two distinct elements: perturbations to the assimilated observations, both profiles and surface observations, and perturbations to the surface forcing fields. The new scheme has been applied to the new Ocean ReAnalysis System-5 (ORAS5). The surface forcing perturbation has also been used to create oceanic surface forcing for ERA5, and in operational Ensemble Data Assimilation (EDA) from cycle 43R1. The idea behind the observation perturbation scheme is to account for observation representativeness error. Instead of perturbing the value of the assimilated observations, the scheme perturbs the position of the observations. This is done by applying perturbations to the geographical location of the insitu temperature and salinity profiles, and by random thinning, both in the horizontal for surface observations, and in the vertical for dense profiles. This method exploits the full observation data set and uses more observations (through ensemble approach) than the previous thinning method. The impact of the perturbation scheme in the ocean reanalysis is illustrated together with selected sensitivity experiments. It is shown that the observation perturbations have little impact in global or basin wide climate indices, but they have local effect. The ensemble spread shows large errors in regions with strong mesoscale eddy activities and in areas affected by the Mediterranean Outflow waters. These are regions where departures with respect to observations are also large. It is also shown that ensemble spread in the tropical upper-ocean is under-dispersive with only five ensemble members, but it improves by increasing the ensemble size. The estimation of the diagonal elements of BackGround Error (BGE) covariances using the ensemble spread generated by observation perturbation has been compared with the specified BGE values and also with those diagnosed using Desroziers' method. Results show stronger agreement in spatial patterns and values between the ensemble and Desroziers' estimates than with the specified BGE values. However, it is discussed that the ensemble estimation is very sensitive to the way the ensemble is created, and will need to be corrected in regions where observations are scarce. A robust combination of parameterized and ensemble-derived BGE covariances is recommended for future developments. A revised scheme for generating perturbations to surface forcing has also been developed. It is a generalization of the previous scheme and is still based on sampling past differences between different sources of information. The previous scheme, implemented as part of the seasonal forecasting system 2 (S2), created monthly perturbations for wind stress and Sea Surface Temperature (SST), based on sampled differences between atmospheric re-analysis products. The new scheme is more general in several aspects: i ) it allows for representation of both analysis and structural uncertainty; ii) it permits different temporal de-correlation scales of the perturbations; iii) it encompasses a wider range of variables and iv) it preserves the multivariate relationships among the perturbed variables. The reference data sets for sampling the perturbations have also been updated. The analysis uncertainty is sampled using the ensemble information from ERA-20C. The structural uncertainty in SST is sampled using more up-to-date data sets of high resolution ESA-CCI and HadISSTv2.1. Sea Ice Concentration (SIC) structural uncertainty is sampled using differences between HadISSTv2.0 and v2.1. The scheme is not fully flow dependent yet as it represents only the seasonal variations of uncertainty. However, it has been designed to be compatible with the flow dependent perturbations such as those produced by the real-time EDA; in particular, the climatological analysis uncertainty perturbations can be replaced by those from the EDA when the latter becomes available. The new SST and sea-ice perturbation strategy developed is also used by ERA5 and by the operational EDA (albeit with different parameter choices). A version control number (v3) will allow further updates in the future. Technical Memorandum No. 795 1 A generic ensemble generation scheme for data assimilation and ocean analysis


Many countries have focused on the improvement of education system performance. Small number of studies consider system of a country as unit of assessment where indicators represent all levels of education system. In the paper, we propose the methodology for the performance analysis of education systems as a whole hybridizing Data Envelopment Analysis and Principal Component Analysis. Its applicability is illustrated by the analysis of the data collected for 29 European countries. In the analysis we used publicly available data from EUROSTAT and OECD which European Commission uses for the performance monitoring of education in European Union. No prior assumptions were made or expert judgements included. We demonstrated good performance of the method on limited data set. The proposed methodology of hybrid Data Envelopment Analysis and Principal Component Analysis allows researchers analyse education systems quantitatively. The recommendations for improvements and assessment of real world education systems should be based on the analysis of a sufficiently large data set comprehensively representing the considered education systems.


The choice of breeding sites by pond-breeding anurans has notable consequences for the fitness of larvae. Hence, beyond pond typology and phenology, adults can also discriminate according to several other features, for instance to favour allotopy with potential competitors. However, the lack of shared evolutionary history might impede proper ecological differentiation with alien species during the first stages of invasions. Here, we studied several possible sources of ecological segregation between the invasive Discoglossus pictus and the native Epidalea calamita in ephemeral ponds, where the native toad hardly had competition before the arrival of the invasive frog. During spring of 2016, we periodically surveyed 69 ephemeral ponds in three areas with different invasion histories to detect the presence/absence of eggs and tadpoles of these species. Invasive D. pictus started breeding earlier than E. calamita, but differences were not significant. Similarly, there were not clear differences among areas with different invasion histories. However, we found for both species a mutual tendency to directly avoid larval syntopy at the end of the reproductive season. We also found interspecific differences in the features that both species use for pond choice, preferring the native species shallower and less vegetated ephemeral ponds. Globally however, co-occurrence was high, pointing at other processes as key to the coexistence between both species in these habitats.


For defining modeling languages, metamodels and UML profiles are the proposed options. While metamodels are supported by several dedicated model transformation approaches, currently no transformation language exists which supports UML profiles as first class language definitions. Instead, the usage of UML profiles in transformations is implicit by using calls to external UML APIs. In this paper, we first discuss the state-of-the-art of using UML profiles in ATL. Subsequently, three approaches for supporting profiles as first class language definitions within ATL transformations are introduced and discussed. In particular, these approaches aim at using stereotypes and tagged values within declarative rules without using external API calls. The benefits are: first, the enhanced static checking of ATL transformations, second, the more explicit representation of transformations logic enhances the application of higher-order transformations, and third, enhanced tool support such as code completion may be provided.


BACKGROUND It has become increasingly common in multiple purpose general population surveys to integrate different kinds of biomarker in the data collection process. OBJECTIVE In this article we test the predictive power of five different functional forms of CVDrelated biomarkers for all-cause and CVD mortality in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). METHODS We use five different functional forms of biomarker: A risk factor index, risk factors separately, continuous biomarkers, risk groups comprising every possible combination of risk factors, and a cluster analytic approach to identify risk profiles in the sample. We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with information on four collected biomarkers (glycated hemoglobin (hbA1c), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol, and C-reactive protein (CRP)) with an eight-year mortality follow-up period. RESULTS The results show that the additive index has comparatively high predictive power, relative to its simplicity. Risk profiles were identified in the data, with substantial differences in mortality risk between the profiles. The more complex functional forms improve prediction only moderately compared to the simple index, although we can identify groups with an elevated mortality risk that are not identified in more parsimonious approaches. 1 Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin, Germany. Email: email@example.com. 2 Max-Planck-Institut für Demografische Forschung, Rostock, Germany. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. Kröger & Hoffmann: The association between CVD-related biomarkers and mortality 1934 http://www.demographic-research.org CONCLUSIONS Depending on the specific research question, both a very simple modeling of biomarker information and more detailed examinations of specific complex risk profiles can be appropriate. CONTRIBUTION The study provides initial guidelines for the measurement of commonly used biomarkers, which can be a reference for other studies that use biomarkers as health indicators or for mortality prediction.


We have developed a new method for the simultaneous determination of the earthquake source parameters: seismic moment, focal mechanism, rupture length, and rupture velocity, using far-field P-waves. The pseudo radiation patterns of P-waves are obtained from each station, accomplished through a grid search of the source time function and simple inversion. The observed waveforms are corrected for instrument response, geometrical spreading and surface effects. These corrections are made for the corresponding ray parameter of each station based on IASP91 velocity model. To obtain the best solution for the focal mechanism, pseudo radiation patterns are compared with the theoretical radiation patterns calculated for the given focal mechanisms obtained through the grid search. The source time functions obtained from all available stations for an earthquake are used to estimate the rupture length and rupture velocity based on rupture directivity. We have applied this method to three moderate- to large-sized global earthquakes. The results agree well with those of previous studies, suggesting that this method is applicable for seismic hazard assessment. A moderate Taiwan earthquake is analyzed to demonstrate that the method can indeed be used to rapidly determine the source parameters of earthquakes in Taiwan.


A small cw mixing laser operating on a single wavelength and tunable over about 400 MHz was used to measure absorption coefficients for HF and DF in the Doppler-broadened region and for HF in the pressure-broadened regime. At low pressure, the line profile was experimentally determined and from measurements at line center, values were obtained for the radiative lifetime of HF and DF of 6.16 × 10−3 s and 3.13 × 10−3 s, respectively. High-pressure measurements yielded the value of 1.30 × 108 s−1 torr−1 for the HF optical-broadening collision frequency.


Although cooperative, interorganizational networks have become a common mechanism for delivery of public services, evaluating their effectiveness is extremely complex and has generally been neglected. To help resolve this problem, we discuss the evaluation of networks of community-based, mostly publicly funded health, human service, and public welfare organizations. Consistent with pressures to perform effectively from a broad range of key stakeholders, we argue that networks must be evaluated at three levels of analysis: community, network, and organization/participant levels. While the three levels are related, each has its own set of effectiveness criteria that must be considered. The article offers a general discussion of network effectiveness, followed by arguments explaining effectiveness criteria and stakeholders at each level of analysis. Finally, the article examines how effectiveness at one level of network analysis may or may not match effectiveness criteria at another level and the extent to which integration across levels may be possible.


The goal of this session is to provide guidance to medical physicists undergoing the American Board of Radiology certification process in therapeutic medical physics. This panel discussion will focus on parts 2 (computer-based) and 3 (oral) of the examination. Unlike the latter portions of the exam which are specialty-driven, part 1 is universal for all medical physics fields and will not be addressed. This session is structured into different topics that aim to guide the participants on how to successfully prepare for the board exams. The subjects of discussion will include timing and strategies for exam preparation, crucial differences in preparing for the clinical computer-based exam versus the oral exam, what study tools are currently available for each, etc. The panel discussion format will allow the speakers to collectively present their experience and advice relating to each topic and foment audience participation.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Know the main differences between what is expected for parts 2 and 3 2. Know different resources for test preparation 3. Know how to formulate a plan to best study for each part based on the specific skill set the two parts require 4. Know how to best present his/her answers during the oral examination - demeanor, answer structure, etc.


Introduction: Parasitosis is a common public health problem worldwide, especially in underdeveloped countries. Toxocara canis is a zoonosis that demonstrates significant morbidity and mortality in humans. Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics and eosinophilia associated with a diagnosis of Toxocara canis in children from the study population. Materials and Methods: A prospective, crosssectional, observational, and descriptive study of children in two rural populations. The population studied 68 patients, 32 children randomly selected from the city of Piribebuy, and 36 from Itaugua. Results: Age range of patients was from 8 months to 15 years, with a ratio (1.1:1) of slightly more boys than girls. Al patients included were given physical exams, blood count, and the IgG Toxocara canis antibody test. Of the 68 patients included in the study, 53 (78%) were serum positive for Toxocara canis. Adenomegaly and hepatomegaly were diagnosed by clinical signs in 14/68 (20.5%). Laboratory testing found that only 18% (12/68) were anemic, while 57% (39/68) showed eosinophilia, with severe cases found in 52% of them (20/39). Discussion: The rate of Toxocara canis infection in the study population is high. The clinically asymptomatic form is most common, with a low percentage of anemia being found. Eosinophilia was present in more than half of all cases, with the severe form being more common. The presence of severe eosinophilia should lead to suspicion that Toxocara canis or other parasitoses may be present.


There are many search and browsing tasks online where relevance scores are not particularly important to the user, but other scores like popularity or average rating can be very informative. If and how these scores are shown varies widely between systems. In this paper, we investigate dierent methods for visualizing these scores and how they aect user behavior. We conducted a controlled study with 21 subjects who each completed tasks with six dierent visualization methods. We found that there was no signicant dierence between the methods with respect to their impact on the user interaction with search results, but that there was a strong preference for having some sort of visualization. We discuss the experiment, results, and design implications that follow from this work.


Some studies have reported that spring warming and earlier snowmelt leads to increased CO2 sequestration in Arctic terrestrial ecosystems. We measured tundra‐atmosphere CO2 exchange via eddy covariance at two low Arctic sites (mixed upland tundra and sedge fen) in central Canada over multiple snow‐free periods to assess this hypothesis. Both sites were net sinks for atmospheric CO2 in all years (2004–2010), but with high interannual variability. Despite a large range in snowmelt date (30 days), we did not find a statistically significant correlation between seasonal accumulated net ecosystem production (NEP) and snowmelt for either site. Although many factors can influence seasonal total NEP, our analysis shows that annual variations in photosynthetic capacity, likely driven by changes in leaf area, is a dominating control at these Arctic sites. At the upland tundra site, protection of overwintering buds by a longer duration of deep snow appears to be linked to greater photosynthetic capacity and NEP. Whereas at the fen site, sedge growth benefits from earlier snowmelt resulting in a strong correlation with early season NEP and an increase in total study period NEP with increasing growing degree days. These results highlight the complexity of interannual variation in ecosystem CO2 exchange in Arctic tundra and suggest that snowmelt date alone cannot predict seasonal, or annual, NEP.


Due to the rapid development in technology nowadays, massive amount of data are available. In medicine, decision making is entirely based on the hidden information in these massive data. For that reason, data mining and machine learning technologies provide powerful tools for knowledge discovery within data. Two main techniques are used interchangeably: clustering and classification. In machine learning, clustering is an unsupervised learning technique while classification is a supervised learning method. These techniques are capable of extracting useful patterns and information which aid the process of data analysis and clinical decisions. This research presents a recent study of these techniques in the medical field during the past five years. Moreover, this paper proposes a hybrid multistage fuzzy clustering system applied to medical data classification. In the proposed system, two fuzzy clustering algorithms specifically FCM and GK were initially employed to obtain the membership values. These weights are then used in the second stage of the system as additional informative features to improve the classification process completed by SVM algorithm. Wisconsin Breast Cancer dataset, real-world application, obtained from UCI were used in the experiments. The results of the experiments show that the additional weights further improve the classification accuracy with 99.06% and 100% sensitivity.


Tropical–temperate trough (TTT) systems are the dominant rain‐producing synoptic type over southern Africa. They represent an important mechanism of poleward transport of energy and momentum. This paper provides an analysis of water vapour transport in TTT systems. An objective sampling of TTT systems is conducted from analysis of daily satellite rainfall products. During the sampled TTT events, rain bands extend from tropical southern Africa near 10 °S to the midlatitudes of the southwest Indian Ocean. The divergent and non‐divergent (streamfunction) components of vertically integrated water vapour flux associated with major TTT events are calculated, from National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalysis data. During TTT events the streamfunction circulation dominates water vapour transport, although adjustments to the divergent component are relatively more important. The results indicate that TTT events facilitate a substantial water vapour flux from the tropics into the midlatitudes. Water vapour transport to the midlatitudes along the TTT axis is facilitated largely by changes to the streamfunction, associated with a strengthening and eastward displacement of the Indian Ocean high, and the advent of midlatitude transients. It is also shown that TTT systems are major regions of moisture convergence. The high vapour concentrations along the full extent of the TTT rain bands are maintained by the divergent circulation. The structure of these divergent vapour flux anomalies is suggestive of adjustments to the Walker circulation, involving strong anomalous divergence over the maritime continent/west Pacific and a weaker enhancement of the major divergence centre over the tropical Atlantic. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society


Driving cycle is an essential requirement to evaluate the exhaust emissions of various types of vehicles on the chassis dynamometer test. This study presents a real world comparison of the driving cycles of Edinburgh motorcycles in two world cities; Edinburgh in Scotland and Delhi in India. The two driving cycles (EMDC & DMDC) driving cycle (EMDC) that were was developed through the analysis of experimental data. This data was collected from trips on a number of routes in each city. In Edinburgh, five different routes between the home addresses in the surrounding areas and place of work at Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh were selected. In Delhi data were collected in East Delhi (Geeta Calony) to Central Delhi (Raisena Road). The data collected data was divided into two categories of urban and rural roads in the case of Edinburgh while it was only the urban route in Delhi.. Forty four trips were made on the five designated routes in both urban and rural areas and 12 trips were made in Delhi. The aims of the study were to assess the various parameters (i.e. motorcycle speed, cruise, accelerations and decelerations and percentage time spent in idling) and their statistical validity over total trip lengths for producing a real world EMDC in each of the two cities. The results show that EMDC in Edinburgh, the EMDC has a cycle length of 770 and 656 seconds for urban and rural trips, respectively, which was found more than ECE cycle length. Time spent in acceleration and deceleration modes were found to be significantly higher than any other driving cycle reported to date for motorcycles, reflecting a typical characteristic of the driving cycle in Edinburgh; this was presumably due to diverse driving conditions of motorcycles in the city. In Delhi on the other hand, the DMDC has a cycle length of 847.5 seconds for the urban trips, which higher than that of the EMDC length. The overall percentage time spent in acceleration in Delhi was higher than that of Edinburgh while the time spent in deceleration was lower in Delhi. The overall average speed in the case of Delhi was slightly higher than that of Edinburgh.


Total internal reflection fluorescence spectroscopy (TIRF) is an established technique for following the course of interfacial reactions. Theoretically, by gathering TIRF data as a function of observation angle, one can obtain the density of fluorophores with respect to distance away from a solid/liquid interface. In order that the practical application of the theory might be explored, variable observation angle data from solutions of fluorescein and from adsorbed layers of fluorescein isothio-cyanate labeled immunoglobulin have been analyzed in terms of simple concentration-distance profiles. In all cases the general shape of the data curves was found to conform to the theoretical expectation. Layer thickness determinations varied over a range of 20 to 100 nm, with concentrations in the layer ranging from 12 to 61 mg/mL. The theoretical background, sources of error, and system improvements are also discussed.


The paper is devoted to formulation and analysis of a new model of structural fatigue that is a direct extension of the model of contact fatigue developed by Kudish (2000, STLE Tribol. Trans., 43, pp. 711-721). The model is different from other published models of structural fatigue (Collins, J. A., 1993, Failure of Materials and Mechanical Design: Analysis, Prediction, Prevention, 2nd ed., Wiley, New York) in a number of aspects such as statistical approach to material defects, stress analysis, etc. The model is based on fracture mechanics and fatigue crack propagation. The model takes into account local stress distribution, initial statistical distribution of defects versus their size, crack location, and orientation, and material fatigue resistance parameters. The assumptions used for the new model derivation are stated clearly and their validity is discussed. The model considers the kinetics of crack distribution by taking into account the fact that the crack distribution varies with the number of applied loading cycles due to crack growth. A qualitative and quantitative parametric analysis of the model is performed. Some analytical formulas for fatigue life as a function of the initial defect distribution, material fatigue resistance, and stress state are obtained. Examples of application of the model to predicting fatigue of beam bending and torsion and contact fatigue for tapered bearings is presented.


A major action of the hormone insulin is to increase glucose uptake into muscle and adipose tissues. This occurs through the insulin-regulated translocation of the glucose transporter GLUT4 from intracellular deposits to the cell surface. The dysregulation of this process is a major facet of insulin-resistance and Type-2 diabetes.
In the absence of insulin, GLUT4 is sequestered intracellularly in two interlinked pools. These pools are the endosomal recycling compartment and a specialised insulin-sensitive compartment. GLUT4 vesicles within the specialised insulin-sensitive compartment are termed GSVs. GSVs provide a readily available store of GLUT4 that can be rapidly mobilised to the cell surface in response to insulin stimulation. GLUT4 within the cell is continually recycled through multiple compartments, including the endosomal recycling compartment and GSVs. Perturbation of flux through any of these compartments disrupts GLUT4 traffic and thus disrupts the insulin-response. Consequently, understanding these trafficking steps is an important research goal.
The formation of GSVs and their insulin-stimulated translocation to, and fusion with, the plasma membrane are examples of regulated and specific membrane trafficking events. As such these events require SNARE proteins. This study has examined the functions of each of the members of the post-Golgi vSNAREs that make up the VAMP subfamily in the trafficking of GLUT4 into the insulin-sensitive compartment, as well as examining the contribution each of these vSNAREs plays in the SNARE complex involved in the insulin-stimulated translocation of GLUT4 to the cell surface.
GLUT4 traffics through the endosomal system and the trans Golgi network (TGN) en route into GSVs in a process known to involve the t-SNARE syntaxin 16. In order to dissect the roles VAMP proteins play in the intracellular recycling and trafficking of GLUT4, the interactions of VAMP proteins with syntaxin 16 and its regulatory Sec-1/Munc-18 protein, mVps45 have been examined. Further, the effects of depletion of these VAMPs in GLUT4 distribution has been examined in HeLa cells expressing HA-GLUT4-GFP as a surrogate for adipose and muscle tissue.
The fusion of GLUT4-containing vesicles with the cell surface in response to insulin stimulation is a key component of the insulin-response. Although there is consensus that tSNAREs involved in this process are syntaxin 4 and SNAP23, there is discord in the literature regarding the role each vSNARE plays in this fusion event. Many studies support a role for VAMP2, however recently it has been suggested that VAMPs 3 and 8 may also be involved. The roles of these VAMPs, as well as the other post-Golgi vSNAREs expressed in adipocytes, in the fusion of GLUT4-containing vesicles with the cell surface have been examined. This has been achieved through the characterisation of the expression level, subcellular distribution of the VAMPs and determination of associations that take place between each VAMP protein and the tSNARE complex made up of syntaxin 4 and SNAP23.
The results from these experiments show that despite all VAMPs being capable of forming SDS-resistant SNARE complexes with either syntaxin 4 and SNAP23 or syntaxin 16 and SNAP23, in the cellular environment only VAMP2 interacts with syntaxin 4 and only VAMP4 interacts with syntaxin 16. This, alongside the finding that each VAMP protein is expressed at varying levels and localises with different pools of GLUT4, suggests that VAMP2, not VAMPs 3 or 8, is the major vSNARE involved in the trafficking of GLUT4 to the cell surface.
The finding that VAMP4 is the only VAMP that interacts with syntaxin 16, alongside the results of VAMP depletion in HeLa cells expressing HA-GLUT4-GFP, support the hypothesis that VAMP4 is involved in sorting GLUT4 out of the endosomal pool and into GSVs.


ABSTRACT We have analyzed a locus on the annotated Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 genome that showed homology to the staphylococcal agr quorum-sensing system and designated it lam for Lactobacillus agr-like module. Production of the lamBDCA transcript was shown to be growth phase dependent. Analysis of a response regulator-defective mutant (ΔlamA) in an adherence assay showed that lam regulates adherence of L. plantarum to a glass surface. Global transcription analysis of the wild-type and ΔlamA strains in early, mid-, and late log phase of growth was performed using a clone-based microarray. Remarkably, only a small set of genes showed significant differences in transcription profiles between the wild-type and lamA mutant strains. The microarray analysis confirmed that lamBDCA is autoregulatory and showed that lamA is involved in regulation of expression of genes encoding surface polysaccharides, cell membrane proteins, and sugar utilization proteins. The lamBD genes encoding the putative autoinducing peptide precursor (LamD) and its processing protein (LamB) were overexpressed using the nisin-controlled expression system, and culture supernatants were analyzed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to identify overproduced LamD-derived peptides. In this way, a cyclic thiolactone pentapeptide that possesses a ring structure similar to those of autoinducing peptides of the staphylococcal agr system was identified. The peptide was designated LamD558, and its sequence (CVGIW) matched the annotated precursor peptide sequence. Time course analysis of wild-type culture supernatants by LC/MS indicated that LamD558 production was increased markedly from mid-log to late log growth phase. This is the first example of an agr-like system in nonpathogenic bacteria that encodes a cyclic thiolactone autoinducing peptide and is involved in regulation of adherence.


Genetic differences among human groups can be ascribed both to the broad-scale extents of pre-historical and historical migrations and to the fine-scale impacts of socio-cultural and geographic heterogeneity. In this thesis, the genetic information provided by uniparental markers were exploited to address different aspects of the Italian population history, by combining macro- and micro-geographic investigations at different spatial and temporal scales.
To firstly assess the overall Italian variability, Y-chromosome and mtDNA markers were deeply typed in ~900 individuals from continental Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. Sex-biased patterns and contrasting demographic histories were observed for males and females. Differential European and Mediterranean contributions were invoked to explain the paternal genetic sub-structure observed in peninsular Italy, compared to the homogeneous maternal genetic landscape. If Neolithic showed to be one principal determinant of the detected paternal structure, local insights into specific Italian regional contexts highlighted the importance of Post-Neolithic contributions. Among them, migrations from the Balkans (particularly Greece) during late Metal Ages, played a relevant role in the cultural and genetic transitions occurred in Sicily and Southern Italy.
On a finer geographic and temporal perspective, the more recent layers of Italian genetic history and some aspects of the gene-culture interaction were assessed by exploring the genetic variability within two "marginal populations": Arbereshe of Southern Italy and Partecipanza in Northern Italy. The Arbereshe are Albanian-speaking communities settled in Sicily and Calabria since the end of Middle Ages. Despite sharing common genetic and cultural backgrounds, these groups revealed diverging micro-evolutionary histories, implying different founding events and different patterns of cultural isolation and local admixture. Partecipanza is an idiosyncratic institution of Medieval origin aimed at sharing and devolving collective lands. This case-study exemplified that socio-economic stratification within the same population may induce sex-biased genetic structuring and the maintenance of otherwise hidden historical genetic traces.


The latest edition of The Year in Human and Medical Genetics is focused on exploring new trends in Mendelian genetics. While Mendelian genetics is often seen as an out-dated discipline of interest to rare patients and few scholars, there have been many ground-breaking discoveries have been made in Mendelian genetics in the last decade. Single-gene defects of known Mendelian phenotypes have been deciphered, and novel diagnostic and therapeutic means have been devised, thanks to these studies. Moreover, novel phenotypes have been explored from a Mendelian angle, including common phenotypes. This volume captures the most important topics in Mendelian genetics through thought-provoking reviews that highlight the importance of classical Mendelian phenotypes and, when applicable, that challenge the "rare disease-rare variant/common disease-common variant" theme so common today. Featured topics include: deafness, infectious diseases, kidney diseases, CNS development, autoimmunity, population genetics and Mendelian traits, heart disorders, and obesity. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit: http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.1111/(ISSN)1749-6632. ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.


Author Summary: Monitoring powder potency and homogeneity is important in achieving real-time release testing in a continuous tablet manufacturing operation. If quality related issues are encountered, monitoring powder potency inside a feed frame offers a last opportunity to intervene in the process before tablet compression. Feed frame monitoring methods based on near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy have been increasingly reported in recent years. New process analytical tools with the potential of being deployed alone or in combination with NIR spectroscopy for feed frame monitoring are now available commercially. The present study evaluated the potential of near infrared chemical imaging (NIR CI) for in-line monitoring of a prototype pharmaceutical composition containing ascorbic acid (AA), microcrystalline cellulose and dicalcium phosphate. NIR spectroscopy was the reference method. In-line calibration models based on partial least square regression were developed and validated with a range of AA concentrations. The ability of NIR spectroscopy and NIR CI to predict concentrations in test runs was ascertained both independently and in combination. NIR CI, with a single bandpass filter, predicted AA concentrations—present at commercially relevant concentrations—with acceptable accuracy. Comparative results showed that NIR CI has the potential for in-line monitoring of blend concentrations inside feed frames. In addition to the advantage of increased sample size, it also has the potential to detect segregation inside feed frames.


The Lex Plotia Agraria is known to us only by name through a single reference in one of Cicero's letters, from which we can extract nothing more than a terminus ante quern and a very general notion of its probable scope. Gabba in a short article, after reviewing the different hypotheses about this law, decided in favour of a suggestion put forward originally by Zumpt, that it belongs probably to the year 70/69 B.C.; and identifying it with a law referred to in a passage of Dio, he argued that the law was passed on behalf of Pompey's and Metellus Pius' veterans of the Spanish war. Following a suggestion of Niccolini he identified Plotius with the Plotius, tribune 70/69 B.C., who was responsible for the Lex Plotia de reditu Lepidanorum, and the date of his tribunate he put in 70 B.C. With Gabba's reasoning and general conclusions the present writer is in agreement, namely, that the law belongs to 70/69 B.C., and aimed at providing land for the veterans of Pompey and Metellus; the object of this note is to draw attention to a piece of evidence which has hitherto been strangely neglected, and to draw some possible inferences about the scope and fate of the law.


The modern electronic age has given birth to a variety of innovative and hand-held devices that are carried with the consumer nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The one shortfall of these devices is their energy storage, or in most cases, a battery. The Faraday Rechargeable Battery System is a unique system that will generate electricity through rotational movement of a tire. This can be a bike, a car, or any other transportation vehicle that uses wheels for movement. The kinetic energy that is engendered either by the user or an engine can then be converted into usable electricity. This electricity can then be used for a variety of things which includes powering a front and back LED for bike riding at night, can recharge the removable battery, and capable of interfacing with small electronic devices, such as cell phones, mp3 players and tablets, via standard USB connections. Until now, no company has offered a solution for charging a battery, powering a lighting system, and the ability to charge external devices via the USB connection.


Immanuel Kant's views on politics, peace, and history have lost none of their relevance since their publication more than two centuries ago. This volume contains a comprehensive collection of Kant's writings on international relations theory and political philosophy, superbly translated and accompanied by stimulating essays. Pauline Kleingeld provides a lucid introduction to the main themes of the volume, and three essays by distinguished contributors follow: Jeremy Waldron on Kant's theory of the state; Michael W. Doyle on the implications of Kant's political theory for his theory of international relations; and Allen W. Wood on Kant's philosophical approach to history and its current relevance.


This paper provides a methodology to assess how national and regional authorities define their research and innovation investment priorities for smart specialisation. It then tests the methodology empirically, based on a significant sample of research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation from Italy and Poland. The paper helps to fill a gap in the emerging literature on smart specialisation regarding the definition of investment priority areas, while providing useful analytical elements to orient policy impact evaluation exercises. We found that research and innovation priorities in Italy and Poland are defined in line with a multi-level, tree-like structure whose higher hierarchical level usually contains a few broad dimensions, and whose branches cover several specific activities. When considered individually, most of those activities represent suitable smart specialisation priorities. Yet, some of the examined strategies contain priorities that do not fully reflect the smart specialisation logic. Several strategies encompass tens or even hundreds of activities. It is beyond the scope of the present study to evaluate the appropriateness of a certain set of investment priorities in relation to the characteristics of a region or country. However, our analysis raises an important question about the capacity of the strategy management bodies to effectively support the development of huge sets of activities each of which potentially requires specific competences and dedicated administrative and technical resources. Also, large sets of priorities may de facto circumvent the smart specialisation principle of selective intervention, as the strategies ultimately cover broad economic areas.


Agriculture in Bangladesh is characterized by crop, fishery and livestock sectors. Urea-N is used in all three sectors. Crop sector plays a dominant role in urea consumption to supply of food for ever burgeoning population. Application of inorganic N fertilizer definitely increased agricultural productivity. This however playing a significant role in altering global nutrient budget, water quality, greenhouse gas emission, and ultimately affecting the global climate. Though cropping intensity and use of N fertilizer have increased, yield plateauing is a concern for food security. Recovery efficiency of N rarely exceeds 30% in both crop and fish culture, while remaining reactive N is a global concern. Different industries have emerged in the last decade producing huge amounts of effluents discharging to the environment without treatment which appeared as a potential threat in damaging and disintegrating the environment. Resultant negative effect from application of large amount of organic and inorganic fertilizers and feeds in fishponds is a matter of boundless anxiety as it might act as a source of reactive N. Livestock sector comprising poultry and dairy produce huge amount of manure annually which is equivalent to 0.30 million tons of N and because of poor manure management reactive N is spreading in the environment. Reluctant attitudes on these crucial issues might bring a disaster through stopping natural ecosystem functions of the environment from where 'U' turn will rather be impossible. Adoption of resource conservation strategies, judicial and optimum use of N fertilizers in all agricultural sectors, improved management of livestock manure and industrial effluents are strongly recommended for environmental sustainability.


A novel method is employed to compute the pion electromagnetic form factor, F(π)(Q²), on the entire domain of spacelike momentum transfer using the Dyson-Schwinger equation (DSE) framework in QCD. The DSE architecture unifies this prediction with that of the pion's valence-quark parton distribution amplitude (PDA). Using this PDA, the leading-order, leading-twist perturbative QCD result for Q²F(π)(Q²) underestimates the full computation by just 15% on Q²≳8 GeV², in stark contrast to the result obtained using the asymptotic PDA. The analysis shows that hard contributions to the pion form factor dominate for Q²≳8 GeV², but, even so, the magnitude of Q²F(π)(Q²) reflects the scale of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, a pivotal emergent phenomenon in the standard model.


Human trauma gave birth to the Bible, suggests eminent religious scholar David Carr. The Bible's ability to speak to suffering is a major reason why the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity have retained their relevance for thousands of years. In his fascinating and provocative reinterpretation of the Bible's origins, the author tells the story of how the Jewish people and Christian community had to adapt to survive multiple catastrophes and how their holy scriptures both reflected and reinforced each religion's resilient nature. Carr's thought-provoking analysis demonstrates how many of the central tenets of biblical religion, including monotheism and the idea of suffering as God's retribution, are factors that provided Judaism and Christianity with the strength and flexibility to endure in the face of disaster. In addition, the author explains how the Jewish Bible was deeply shaped by the Jewish exile in Babylon, an event that it rarely describes, and how the Christian Bible was likewise shaped by the unspeakable shame of having a crucified savior.


Purpose: This research aims to enhance the current understanding and knowledge of the demand-supply chain management (DSCM) concept by determining its elements, benefits, and requirements, as well as by analyzing key elements of the concept. Methodology: This research has utilized the case study strategy and the survey strategy, however, the case study strategy dominates. The case study research has involved five companies originating from Sweden and the collection of empirical data mainly from in-depth interviews with key persons representing senior and middle management. The survey research targeted the largest firms in Sweden and Finland and empirical data was collected through an online questionnaire. Findings: This research has established that the main elements of DSCM include market orientation, coordination of the demand and supply processes, viewing the demand and supply processes as being equally important, as well as value creation, differentiation, innovativeness, responsiveness, and cost-efficiency in the demand and supply processes. It has also been revealed that the main benefits of DSCM include enhanced competiveness, enhanced demand chain performance, as well as enhanced supply chain performance, while the main requirements of DSCM include organizational competences, company established principles, demand-supply chain collaboration, and information technology support. A key element of DSCM further investigated is differentiation focused supply chain design. It has been shown that these efforts can be organized into a process of five stages. In addition, it is important that this process is addressed in parallel with the new product development (NPD) process, that information is exchanged between them, and that they are directed on the basis of the same segmentation model. Another key element of DSCM further investigated is coordination between NPD and SCM. This research has identified several significant linkages between these management directions, which motivate the use of an integrative NPD process where the NPD functions are aligned with the main supply functions in the company and other sales-related functions supporting the commercialization. A final key element of DSCM further investigated is the significance of regarding the demand processes and the supply processes as being equally important. This research has revealed that logistics outsourcing can be risky, if it results in the supply processes being considered less important. Nevertheless, if senior management regards the outsourced processes as equally important as the in-house processes, the effect of logistics outsourcing on company strategies and direction in SCM could be reduced and logistics outsourcing could instead provide an opportunity to improve the design and differentiation of the supply chain. Research limitations/implications: This research has proposed, described, and further analyzed a demand-supply oriented management approach. Such a management approach stresses that the demand processes and the supply processes have to be coordinated and directed at an overlying level, in order to gain and sustain a competitive advantage in competitive and fragmented markets. This research is mainly explorative in nature, and more empirical data, from similar and other research settings, is needed to further validate the findings. Another limitation of the research is that it is essentially limited to Swedish companies (even if some Finnish companies are involved in the survey), however, many of the case companies have a large international presence and are among the top three in their industries, facts which provide some grounds for generalization. Practical implications: This research provides researchers and practitioners with insights into how to develop a demand-supply oriented business. It shows that companies should organize themselves around understanding how customer value is created and delivered, as well as how these processes and management directions can be coordinated. In order for this to occur, the demand and supply processes must be considered as being equally important and the firm needs to be managed jointly and in a coordinated manner by the demand- and supply-side of the company. It is also important that value creation is considered in both the demand and supply processes. Originality/value: Despite strong arguments from both researchers and practitioners for a demand-supply oriented management approach only a minority of companies appear to have effectively coordinated the demand and supply processes. This might be influenced by the lack of research examining how the demand and supply processes can be coordinated, what benefits can be gained by coordinating them, and what requirements are necessary to succeed. This research contributes by investigating these types of aspects further.


Abstract The movement of people and settlement of the American west has been psychologically and sociologically represented as engendered by a sense of Manifest Destiny. Yet, the western migration was fueled by capitalist corporations seeking profit by exploiting international markets for goods through extractive practices (principally animal pelts, fish, and lumber): the Hudson's Bay Company, the North West Company, and millionaire American capitalist John Jacob Astor. The economic foundations of settlement have, however, been erased in cinematic representations of this history, replaced first by the Hollywood Western and its myth of frontier individuality, and subsequently by the Hollywood road movie, concerned largely with an existential quest for personal value and meaning. Hence, the extractive corporate industries of the nineteenth century have been replaced by the corporate entertainment industry, the latter selling American myths in place of American pelts.


Objectives: Royal jelly (RJ), a secretion of both the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of nurse workers, is believed to play a central role in honeybee queen development. Important component of royal jelly are proteins which form about 50% of the dry mass of RJ. Major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) are the dominant proteinaceous component of royal jelly and constitute about 82-90% of total protein of royal jelly. One of these proteins is MRJP3(Major Royal Jelly Protein 3). that Intraperitoneal administration of AmMRJP3 inhibited the serum of immunized mice, indicating the clinical significance of the potent immunoregulatory effects of AmMRJP3. Nevertheless, So far No research has been done to identify the sequence of this gene in Iranian honey bee.The purpose of this study was to survey mutations in Sixth exon of mrjp3 gene in honey bee persion (Apis mellifera meda). Methods: On this basis, According to data from morphological variation of Apis mellifera meda, We chose nurse bees (< 10 days) from three colonies (Farm of Khorasgan University,Isfahan). were collected and stored at −80oC until needed. After studying gene, four primers were designed based on the OLIGO software information and NCBI site. Then DNA extraction and optimization of the reaction PCR, amplification products of MRJP3 gene were sequenced. Results: According to the results of the sequencing of the NCBI website  and check with the software CLC Showed that the DNA and RNA sequences at Sixth exon be seen delesion and insersion in the persion  honeybee (Apis mellifera meda) that different with European honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). Added area are from 3222-3281 that seen in persion  bee but not seen in European honeybee. Delesion region  in Apis mellifera meda  is  from 3366-3368 that there is in Apis mellifera L. . it appears that this results is common in Isfahani bees. In general, The results of this study indicate, Isfahan bees with European bees are different from MRJP3 gene sequence.


Microplastics are defined as the fraction of plastics with a particle size smaller than 5 mm. Plastics are synthesized oil products made of organic polymers primarily by industry and applied broadly because of its persistent characteristics. Microplastics are either primarily produced in form of pellets or are the result of mechanical breakdown of organic polymer materials originating from human activities like industrial exhaust, traffic, urban surfaces or littering. Although the omnipresence of microplastics on land surfaces, sea and surface water bottom sediment and soil is acknowledged, their effect on the environment is unclear. Some of the main concerns are the leakage of environmentally toxic materials like PAHs following with microplastics from the production process. PAH´s are persistent hazardous substances interacting with hormones in living organisms and having cancerogenic properties. Furthermore, due to their continuous accumulation in living organisms microplastics (as well as plastics) can mechanically block the flow of food uptake due to saturation effects. Due to an exponential increase of global plastic production in the last 50 years microplastics are found all over the world in the environment as a result of leakage and permanent accumulation of this persistent material. According to Swedish EPA traffic activities are one of the main sources of microplastics in the environment. Polymers found in bitumen like materials in the asphalt and gummi tires of cars as well as in plastic litter, accumulate during dry weather and are washed off during rain from traffic surfaces. Hence stormwater runoff is the major transport link of traffic related microplastics in urban areas. To assess the importance of stormwater runoff in the discharge of microplastics, stormwater sampling was carried out during five rain events in an urban catchment with heavy traffic and samples were assessed for the abundance of organic polymers, their type and amount in stormwater samples. Mainly three different categories of organic polymers were identified in traffic stormwater; Bitumen like asphalt particles, gummi particles of car tires and hard microplastics. Gummi particles of car tires were highest in number, up to 6000 particles per liter stormwater. Stormwater was identified as one of the main transport links of microplastics from traffic, contributing to a continuous discharge and accumulation of these pollutants in the receiving waters.


The Preisach approach was used to describe the widely observed quadratic field dependence of the direct longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient and its associated hysteresis loop. In this perspective, a four parameters distribution function was put forward and refined experimentally using bias stress variations. It permitted one to fully describe the stress bias dependence of the nonlinear coefficients. Considering the hysteresis loop associated with the proposed distribution function, modeling of the experimental data was made possible by the addition of a viscous term. Moreover, the distribution parameters extracted from the loops were in strict agreement with the values obtained either directly from experiments or from bias stress dependence characterization. This new set of results is considered as a further confirmation of the applicability of the Preisach model to piezoelectricity.


Materials and elements with a high melting point, including molybdenum, are suitable for high temperature physical applications and the fabrication of components such as welding electrodes or wires to be used in spark erosion wire-cut machines. The classic, or conventional, approaches to machining pure molybdenum are aptly complemented with the frequently used unconventional wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) method. This paper proposes a detailed analysis of a WEDM-machined surface and its defects, as related to a welding electrode. Comprehensive information on the topography, including a 3D color-filtered representation of the surface, was acquired using a contact profiler and an atomic force microscope (AFM). The defects of the machined surfaces were examined with electron microscopy, both directly on the surface of a given sample and within its cross section. The entire set of associated processes also involved a local analysis of the chemical composition of the subsurface layer and a measurement of the relevant hardness.


Vast similarities in ownership behaviour across species and age ranges have been used to support the notion of an innate basis for ownership reasoning. Using a twin study paradigm, this is the first study to investigate the extent to which genetic and environmental factors contribute to individual differences in ownership reasoning. 65 pairs of adult monozygotic (MZ) twins, and 16 pairs of same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twins completed a 24-item ownership questionnaire, which included items on (1) new ownership and (2) appropriate transfers of ownership. For both of these factors, it was found that MZ correlations were larger than DZ correlations. Univariate model fitting analyses indicated that genetic and non-shared environmental factors could account for all individual variation on the two factors, with shared environmental factors contributing non-significantly; heritabilities ranged from .36-.57 over both factors. The results support the notion that individual differences in ownership reasoning have a significant genetic basis. It is proposed that future research look into the many other facets of ownership reasoning, and to explore their relationship and mediation via genetically influenced traits.


Colored Petri nets are a powerful formalism for the description of complex, asynchronous distributed systems. They can express in a very concise way the behavior of very large systems, especially in case these systems are composed of many replications of a few basic components that individually behave in a similar way. The simulation of such models is, however, difficult to perform in a computationally efficient way. For the specific class of stochastic well-formed nets (SWNs), we present a set of optimizations that allow a very efficient implementation of the event-driven simulation technique. Three approaches are followed to improve simulation efficiency: first, an efficient algorithm for the computation of the occurrences of a transition in a given marking; second, reduction of the amount of work needed to schedule or preempt the occurrence of a transition as a consequence of a marking change, taking into account the restrictions on color functions for the SWN formalism; third, reduction of the average length of the event list in the case of symmetric models where the so-called symbolic simulation technique applies. The approach is validated by performance measurements on several large SWN models taken from the literature.


This book gives a quick introduction to the theory of foliations, Lie groupoids and Lie algebroids. An important feature is the emphasis on the interplay between these concepts: Lie groupoids form an indispensable tool to study the transverse structure of foliations as well as their noncommutative geometry, while the theory of foliations has immediate applications to the Lie theory of groupoids and their infinitesimal algebroids. The book starts with a detailed presentation of the main classical theorems in the theory of foliations then proceeds to Molino's theory, Lie groupoids, constructing the holonomy groupoid of a foliation and finally Lie algebroids. Among other things, the authors discuss to what extent Lie's theory for Lie groups and Lie algebras holds in the more general context of groupoids and algebroids. Based on the authors' extensive teaching experience, this book contains numerous examples and exercises making it ideal for graduate students and their instructors.


Animal abuse and neglect is an ongoing, documented problem for society. Cases of animal harm stream in and out of news reports and public discussion. With changes in technology, mass communication has become more than a convenient outlet for publicizing stories about animal harm. Not-for-profit organizations look to mass communication as a way to gain support from the public. Animal welfare organizations use mass communication to benefit their causes and reach multiple groups through their use of fundraising campaigns. Animal welfare organizations were created to address the problem of abuse and harm. But, as not-for-profit organizations, they rely heavily on donations and voluntary support from the public. In order to achieve their mission, the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), two of the most popular animal welfare organizations, rely heavily on mass communication fundraising campaigns. This research study examines four mass communication campaigns from the ASPCA and PETA. The campaigns involve the use of mass communication through print, television/video broadcasting, mail, and the Internet. I describe how each organization uses these forms of mass communication to successfully accomplish their fundraising goals.


We describe here a grating interferometer with extremely high stability and which can be used as a differential refractometer. The instrument uses heterodyne techniques to achieve high sensitivity. We present an analysis of the operation of the system and results which show that it has a long term stability of the order of 1/1500 wavelength over 2 h.


Looking Ahead Acts of God are the most widespread and disastrous events to plague us on Planet Earth. Second, but less common and often more regional, are the acts of one or more devils-as terrorists, psychos or vengeful individuals. Third, and more common and usually less destructive, are the individual acts of incompetents-all too often committed in technological systems. Katrina illustrates the first, 9/11 the second, and Bhopal, Chernobyl and most regional blackouts illustrate the third. In complex systems-the only systems worth worrying about-the three types may be all involved, as the auto companies, for years, tried to blame not faulty design but the "nut behind the wheel" for most deadly auto accidents. Human beings are rarely the totally responsible source of an industrial accident, even when it is Category Two above. In our complex technological world, people and machines are components of a single system, in which good design can severely limit or eliminate the risk of failure, misbehavior, faults, or difficulties with any or all components. Why must we continually experience disasters and catastrophes? Limiting the answer only to the United States, the primary reasons lie in the reality that American business optimizes on the short run, and therefore generally has no interest in anticipating low-probability, high-severity outcomes. We find consistently, in our futures studies, that when we identify "wild cards" of mid-to-low-probability affecting any mid-to-large-size business, the inventory can easily run from 50 to 125 incidents. These large numbers usually surprise our clients, because they have never assayed them, nor paid attention to others' analyses of wild cards. Kinds of Wild Cards Generally the wild cards fall into two categories: First, acts of God-that is, meteorological or geophysical events; second are socioeconomic events such as a sharp increase in credit card defaults or a pandemic. "Ho-hum" usually succeeds a flash of concern unless there is an unequivocal crippling implication, or a way to cheaply undercut the risk with safeguards, or there are clear, workable, low-cost routes to recovery. Both government and corporations cut corners, especially when the cut corners are literally invisible to most observers. Corner-cutting is the usual response to budget cutting, which in the case of government is well documented as the result of technologically uninformed legislators making arbitrary decisions about projects. Those in the agencies with engineering responsibility are often timid or intimidated about driving home the riskiness of legislative penury. Consider, with regard to Katrina, the Congress and the Corps of Engineers, as they got down to the levee. Waking Up the Corporation What will make corporations more aware and more responsible for their component of anticipatable technological disasters or catastrophes? First are incidents in their own industry. There is severely limited psychological capability to transfer the sensitivity to risk from someone else's sector to your own. Linked to this, of course, is the need for an aggressive assignment, internally or through consultants, to analyze the susceptibility of a company's systems to any of the three types of disasters noted above. Second will be lawsuits, most likely the class action kind, reflecting failure to identify risks or the failure to adequately deal with risks when identified by the industry or in one's own company. Just consider what class actions have done to the tobacco and asbestos industries. Corporate boards may act but only when it is clear that they have a fiduciary responsibility, which the failure to exercise will land them broke and in the pokey. Whistle-blowers within the company have potentially powerful leverage, but they cannot be counted on to be there. Trade associations and industrial research organizations may incur crippling liability from failure to explore and to act on identified risks. …


Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel, by Eric H. Cline. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004. 400 pp. $29.95. Jerusalem is a major source of contention in the Middle East today. In some ways, the conflict over the political control of Jerusalem, as well as its cultural character, is as old as the city itself. This is essentially the thesis of Eric Cline's new book, Jerusalem Besieged. Cline uses military conflicts over control of the city as a lens for looking at the larger picture-the political history of Jerusalem. The fact that his historical examination is limited to just Jerusalem, as opposed to the more common focus on the entire land of Israel, is refreshing, since Jerusalem itself was the goal of all the armies that headed to the Holy Land since antiquity. Cline, who teaches ancient history and archaeology at George Washington University, has produced a well researched and intricately footnoted volume. Although published by a university press, Jerusalem Besieged is intended for both academics and lay readers. Cline organizes the book historically, taking the reader from most ancient times to up-to-the-minute discussions of the current religious and political conflicts over Jerusalem. One of the best features of this volume is the way Cline intersperses modern political "uses" of ancient history with the ancient history itself. He shows how history has been taken out of context and misused for political reasons by people of many nationalities. For instance, in 2001 Saddam Hussein formed a "Jerusalem Army" to free Jerusalem from Israel, and in so doing cited Nebuchadrezzar, a king in ancient Iraq who captured Jerusalem in the 6th century BCE. Hussein stated that the ancient history proved that Iraq still had the responsibility to "liberate" Jerusalem. Cline similarly demonstrates how early Zionist leaders including Theodor Herzl identified the new Zionist Jews with the Hasmonian rebels of the 2nd century BCE, and shows that other Zionist leaders used the Bar Kochba rebels similarly, making the point that like their ancestors, the Jews were battle ready, and able to fight for their cause once more. Later in the volume, Cline points out that President Truman, when credited with playing a major role in establishing the State of Israel, compared himself to the 6th-century BCE leader of Persia who had allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. Truman apparently exclaimed, "I am Cyrus, I am Cyrus!" As an ancient historian, Cline has excellent command of the early material. For instance, his description of the original topography of Jerusalem and the reasons it was originally settled-natural protection on the three sides-is comprehensive, and his descriptions of the complexities of Herodian Jerusalem, another very difficult archaeological topic, are logical and clearly stated. For the several hundred years of the Roman period, which is filled with battles for Jerusalem as well as for the rest of the Holy Land, Cline peppers his narrative with long quotes from Josephus and other classical primary sources. However, the sections on both the Byzantine and early Arab periods are quite short. …


Abstract—Generation of high DC voltages is necessary for testing the insulation material of high voltage AC transmission lines with long lengths. The harmonic and ripple contents of the output DC voltage supplied by high voltage DC circuits require the use of costly capacitors to smooth the output voltage after rectification. This paper proposes a new modular multiplier high voltage DC generator with embedded Cockcroft-Walton circuits that achieve a negligible harmonic and ripple contents of the output DC voltage without the need for costly filters to produce a nearly constant output voltage. In this new topology, Cockcroft-Walton modules are connected in series to produce a high DC output voltage. The modules are supplied by low input AC voltage sources that have the same magnitude and frequency and shifted from each other by a certain angle to eliminate the harmonics from the output voltage. The small ripple factor is provided by the smoothing column capacitors and the phase shifted input voltages of the cascaded modules. The constituent harmonics within each module are determined using Fourier analysis. The viability of the proposed DC generator for testing purposes and the effectiveness of the cascaded connection are confirmed by numerical simulations using MATLAB/Simulink.


Speech is a rich biometric signal that contains information about the identity, gender and emotional state of the speaker. In this work, we explore its potential to generate face images of a speaker by conditioning a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) with raw speech input. We propose a deep neural network that is trained from scratch in an end-to-end fashion, generating a face directly from the raw speech waveform without any additional identity information (e.g reference image or one-hot encoding). Our model is trained in a self-supervised approach by exploiting the audio and visual signals naturally aligned in videos. With the purpose of training from video data, we present a novel dataset collected for this work, with high-quality videos of youtubers with notable expressiveness in both the speech and visual signals.


A number of public policy issues turn on whether or not there are scale economies in commercial banking. This paper examines why empirical tests in this area have yielded differing results. Sorting out the different methodological approaches enables us to develop general conclusions on the size and significance of scale economies in banking.


We report an experimental study of the optical properties of island layers resulting from molecular beam epitaxial deposition of Ge on Si(111) substrates. The combination of electroreflectance spectroscopy of the E1 transition and Raman scattering allows us to separately determine the strain and composition of the islands. For deposition at 500 °C a deposited layer of 1.36 nm of Ge assembles into 80 nm diameter islands 11 nm thick. The average Si impurity content in the islands is 2.5% while the average in-plane strain is 0.5%. Both strain and Si impurity content in islands decrease with increasing Ge deposition.


BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating condition that affects a large and diverse cross-section of American society. Historically, treatments for OA have focused on providing symptomatic relief and improving ability to complete activities of daily living (ADLs). These treatments range from NSAID use and physical therapy, to total knee arthroplasty, an invasive and expensive procedure. Although firm data is lacking, many OA patients report subjective symptomatic improvement in symptoms by wearing a knee brace on the affected joint. Recently, several manufacturers have developed a new knee brace designed to reposition the knee in such a way as to "unload" the medial compartment. For patients with OA of the medial compartment, can an unloader knee brace reduce pain and improve function? METHODS An exhaustive search using MEDLINE-Ovid, Web of Science, and Google Scholar was performed using keywords: brace, osteoarthritis, knee, unload, and unloader. These were screened with eligibility criteria. The resulting studies were then appraised and assessed for quality with GRADE. RESULTS Current clinical trials were found to include two studies relating to the use of an Unloader Knee brace to treat OA. One open-label prospective study of 20 patients with symptomatic medial knee OA showed that 76% of patients were able to achieve a reduction in pain and improvement in function in activities of daily living (ADLs) at 1 year using the PROTEOR unloader brace. A second prospective cohort study examined the effects of the Bespoke unloader Knee Brace for 7 patients with knee OA. This study demonstrated that through the use of the Bespoke unloader knee brace patients found their external knee adduction moment was significantly reduced, speed of walking significantly increased, knee ROM was reduced, and an increase in step length was also observed. However, this study used evidence from prior research to infer that their results should equate to improvements in pain and improved ADLs. CONCLUSION Unloader knee braces are a viable treatment option for patients with OA of the medial compartment of the knee. Better studies are needed to confirm if this treatment option will provide long-term relief. Although strong data is still lacking to confirm the complete success of this treatment, it is low risk and low cost. Therefore, it is recommended that they be used in clinical practice for patients with knee OA refractory to acetaminophen and NSAIDS.


Critics of the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine, which restrains states from discriminating against or otherwise impermissibly burdening interstate and foreign commerce, often invoke the Federalist No. 32 - in which Alexander Hamilton explained which powers in the Constitution were exclusive to the federal government, and which would be exercised concurrently with the states - as proof that the doctrine has no basis in either constitutional text or history. In this essay, Brannon P. Denning argues that these critics' reading of Federalist No. 32 is too narrow, and overlooks the structural arguments Hamilton suggests (though he does not detail) in favor of implied restraints on the exercise of state power. Moreover, Denning argues that these structural arguments were developed in two important cases that critics of the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine never discuss, McCulloch v. Maryland and Cooley v. Board of Wardens. The cases, and the broader reading of Hamilton's analysis, Denning concludes, provide a firm structural basis for the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine, one not dissimilar from the structural bases cited by the Supreme Court as the foundation for its recent decisions on sovereign immunity. It is ironic, Denning notes, that the Court's vocal proponents of that non-textual doctrine are among the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine's most strident critics.