The globalization has converted the world into a small global village; a village in which there is an ever high stream of contentions and competitions between organizations. In this scenario the most effective and beneficial maneuver for any organization is to create innovative ways in conducting business. This thesis deals with the role of leadership in the phenomena of organizational change and innovation. The leader as a person in charge or as a change agent can manage an organization or the process of organizational change more effectively and successfully if h/she is capable and competent. Rapid technological advancements, high expectations of customers, and ever changing market situations have compelled organizations to incessantly reassess and reevaluate how they work and to understand, adopt and implement changes in their business model in response of changing trends. Organizational change is a demand of the day, and needed for organizations to survive. Organizations now a days, well understand the importance of the matter, and are serious to prepare themselves not only the current, but also for the future trends to get the level of sustainable success, but Along with all of its implications and importance the process of organizational change is also a very complex and challenging. Research shows that 70 percent of organizational changes fail to get their goals. As leadership has a central role in evolution and cultivating an organization, the process of organizational change demands a very effective and highly competent leadership that is well capable to perceive the most desirable shape of an organization and address the issue of organizational change in most appropriate way. The analysis of literature reviewed and the results of real life cases of organizations which are studied for this thesis shows, that a leadership with the competencies of "Vision" and "Innovative Approach" along with other characteristics can prove more effective to conclude the complex phenomena of organizational change with success. Further the successful organizational change can leads to innovation for organization, which is the key of long term success and sustainability. This thesis as a result proposed a model which is derived from the leadership competencies, organizational change, and sustainable success and innovation literature. This model expresses relationship between successful organizational change and leadership on the basis of h/her characteristics, which are "Vision" and "Innovative Approach". With the help of proposed model this relationship can be viewed graphically.


ABSTRACT Pliocene to mid-Pleistocene shallow-marine strata exposed at Gatico, northern Chile (22° 30 S, 70° 14 W) display unusual characteristics for coarse-grained wave-dominated shoreface deposits. A 15 m2000 m strike section of Pliocene to mid-Pleistocene strata exposed within small, late Pleistocene sea cliffs contain four facies: beach, foreshore channel, upper shoreface, and rip channel. Beach and upper shoreface facies predominate. The latter consists of locally bioturbated, coarse-grained, pebbly sandstone with (1) single sets of planar to tangential cross-strata, up to 3.5 m thick, with reactivation surfaces, and (2) sets of medium-to large-scale cross-strata that were deposited on inclined set surfaces (up to 15°). Some of the inclined set surfaces extend up-dip of cross-set terminations. Inclined parallel laminae and bioturbated beds lie subparallel to the inclined set surfaces. Interpretation of these unusual bedforms has been made through analogy with the present-day microtidal wave-dominated coastline at Gatico, by facies analysis, and by comparison with modern-day wave-dominated shorelines. The large-scale sets of cross-strata record the migration of simple, two-dimensional (2-D) dunes and represent the slipface deposits of nearshore bars. Parallel laminae represent the bar surface. Medium-scale dunes migrated up the inclined set-bounding surfaces, which lie subparallel to older preserved bar surfaces. Paleocurrent data indicate that bar migration was largely directed obliquely onshore towards the southeast. The bar slipface deposits are considered to record the recovery of a nearshore bar immediately following storm conditions. Bar recovery involves re-establishment of a slipface and rapid onshore migration. Erosion surfaces that appear as the extension of lower set boundaries beyond the termination of cross-strata sets, and reactivation surfaces, are considered to be storm-generated. The episodic nature of bar migration is indicated by the development of heavily bioturbated horizons. The small-scale ascending cross-sets may reflect fair-weather conditions with northwestward dune migration up the modified bar slipface. Despite the abundance of barred shorelines around the world at present, their deposits are not widely described from the rock record, suggesting that they are either not preserved or not recognized. The scale and internal characteristics of these nearshore bars closely resemble those of some tide-generated bedforms (e.g., compound cross-strata in marine sediment with bimodal-bipolar paleocurrents and evidence of episodic bedform migration). The similarity of these north Chilean deposits to documented tidal deposits suggests that an element of caution may be required in the identification of tidal deposits from the rock record.


The article reports the findings of a study that investigated the relative effectiveness of the Google Earth and ePals tools in enhancing geographical research and speaking skills of learners enrolled in Study Skills class in a university in Lebanon and on increasing their levels of motivation for conducting research and delivering presentations. The study is based on the assumptions that the integration of Google Earth and ePals provides an excellent opportunity for teachers to improve students' presentation and research skills. Another assumption is that female learners will report a more significant progress than their male counterparts. The study used the pre-test post-test control design. Descriptive statistics were computed, and a series of independent sample and paired samples t-tests and a content analysis of the qualitative data reporting the participants' perceptions of their Google Earth and ePals experience were undertaken. The results of the study indicated that the use of Google Earth and ePals significantly improved the geographical research and oral presentation skills as well as their perceptions towards learning. However, no significant difference in the achievements of males and females was indicated. Implications and further research to examine the interaction of the treatment effects with other contextual variables were reported.


The main purpose of this paper is to present the specific dilemma and challenges experienced by teachers while practicing early education inclusion of young children with disabilities in the context of preschools and primary schools in Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The paper attempts to bring to light the important contextual realities of early education teachers" attitudes and practices towards inclusion of young children with disabilities. Examining the contextual realities of early education inclusion in schools of the capital city of Uttar Pradesh has implications to press forward the policy and programme level improvements to widely promote early intervention and early education inclusion at the State level. Based on the findings of this study, the paper presents an outline to counteract the existing indifference among teachers to include children with disabilities in early education settings. The paper is based on qualitative research design and the methods used included open-ended interview of teachers and observation in selected school settings. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data from interviews and observation.


Though standard accounting practice requires that all assets of a firm be manifest in accounts, an exception to this principle allows museums to omit their entire collections from their balance sheets. As the collection of any top-rank museum has more value than the rest of a typical museum's assets put together, this practice greatly obstructs good institutional decisionmaking. The practice is justified by an assertion common in the museum community that the collection is not a financial asset, neither available for sale nor obligation as a loan security, and by a variety of other assertions regarding the cost of assessing it. These assertions are shown to be choices with no fundamental support beyond museum management comfort, or to be erroneous. The allocation of artistic patrimony across museums generates a return on investment below 1%, indicating that these assets are not being used efficiently to create the benefits museums (whether non-profit or public) are supposed to provide: no other organization would be allowed to control assets with such a low rate of return. Capitalizing collections is practical and would lead to a variety of beneficial changes in museum practice, on the criterion of inducing "more, better, engagement with more art by more people."


Nickel compounds are Group 1 carcinogens and possibly cancer-causing in the pancreas. We examined the toxicity of nickel in both 2-D and 3-D pancreatic cell cultures, to determine the LD50 for organic and inorganic nickel in normal and cancerous cells. Assays with cadmium chloride were performed to be a comparison to potential nickel-induced toxicity. Cells were exposed to twelve concentrations of NiCl2 or Ni-(Ac)2 for 48h (2-D), or six concentrations for 48 hours (3-D). There was a significant (P=0.0016) difference between HPNE and AsPC-1 LD50 values after cadmium exposure, at 69.9 µM and 29.2 µM, respectively. Neither form of nickel exhibited toxicity in 2-D or 3-D cultures, but after 48h, changes in spheroid morphology were observed. The inability of Ni to reduce viable cell numbers suggests a toxic mechanism that differs from cadmium, also a Group 1 carcinogen. The cell microenvironment was not a factor in nickel toxicity with no changes in viable cells in either 2-D or 3-D cultures. These studies only examined cytotoxicity, and not genotoxicity, a potential mechanism of nickel carcinogenicity. Alterations in DNA function or the expression of apoptotic proteins/processes would take longer to manifest. Current work focuses on cellular changes following extended nickel exposure.


Technical collection represents the largest asymmetric edge that technologically advanced countries such as the United States and its allies have in the intelligence business. Intelligence veteran Robert M. Clark's new book offers a succinct, logically organized, and well written overview of technical collection, explained at a non technical level for those new to the field. Filling a void in the literature, "The Technical Collection of Intelligence" is the only book that comprehensively examines the collection, processing, and exploitation of non-literal intelligence information, including laser, acoustic, and infrared signals; non-imaging optical intelligence sources; and, radar tracking and measurement of aerospace vehicles. A compelling final chapter addresses the substantial challenges that come with managing technical collection. A stunning full-color interior design features high quality graphics while a handy 'tabs' feature keeps content at the ready. A useful list of recommended books and reports, a glossary of terms, and a list of acronyms make this guide a go-to resource. "Technical Collection" will prove invaluable to all source analysts, managers of technical collection, customers of intelligence, and recruiters for the intelligence community.


Objective: Nearly one-third of adults in New York City (NYC) have high blood pressure and many social, economic, and behavioral factors may influence nonadherence to antihypertensive medication. The objective of this study is to identify profiles of adults who are not taking antihypertensive medications despite being advised to do so. Methods: We used a machine learning–based population segmentation approach to identify population profiles related to nonadherence to antihypertensive medication. We used data from the 2016 NYC Community Health Survey to identify and segment adults into subgroups according to their level of nonadherence to antihypertensive medications. Results: We found that more than 10% of adults in NYC were not taking antihypertensive medications despite being advised to do so by their health care providers. We identified age, neighborhood poverty, diabetes, household income, health insurance coverage, and race/ethnicity as important characteristics that can be used to predict nonadherence behaviors as well as used to segment adults with hypertension into 10 subgroups. Conclusions: Identifying segments of adults who do not adhere to hypertensive medications has practical implications as this knowledge can be used to develop targeted interventions to address this population health management challenge and reduce health disparities.


By setting the urban-rural public goods supply model, this paper evaluates the effects of coordinating supply public goods on resource allocation and welfare from efficiency and fairness, and examines the necessity and possibility of coordinating public goods supply in urban and rural areas. The model assumes that the population size of urban and rural areas is different, and the population can not flow freely between urban and rural areas; there are different degrees of spillover in the public goods supply. Model results show that coordinating public goods supply in urban and rural areas is the result of optimizing resource allocation efficiency, but the residents' individual utility level will not necessarily improve, so residents' willingness to support coordinated urban-rural supply is different, and public goods spillover and different tax systems are the factors that affect the residents' utility level. Finally, this paper uses the practice of coordinating urban and rural compulsory education in Chengdu City to confirm the above conclusions.


Retirees must draw down their accumulated assets in an orderly fashion, so as not to exhaust their funds too soon. We compare alternative phased withdrawal strategies to a life annuity benchmark using German data; one particular phased withdrawal rule seems attractive, as it offers relatively low expected shortfall risk, good expected payouts for the retiree during his life, and some bequest potential; results are similar for the US case. Delayed annuitization may also appeal, as it offers higher expected benefits with lower expected shortfalls. Requiring unisex mortality tables in annuity pric-ing raises women's risks under a phased withdrawal program.


Abstract The issue of highly skilled and trained migrants not being able to practice or find employment in their chosen profession has become an increasingly relevant and public issue in recent years. In many major immigrant destination countries, unemployment and underemployment rates for immigrants have continued to creep upwards and immigrant outcomes have declined in comparison to native-born workers. This is while immigration regimes have become ever more restrictive, demanding higher levels of educational attainment, work experience, and language proficiency. What countless academics, practitioners, policy workers, and immigrants themselves have discovered is that there is often a significant labour market integration gap between the skills and training migrants bring with them to their new country and their ability to market and apply their qualifications in the labour market.


Over the course of a little less than twenty years, inventor Frank J. Sprague (1857-1934) achieved an astonishing series of technological breakthroughs--from pioneering work in self-governing motors to developing the first full-scale operational electric railway system--all while commercializing his inventions and promoting them (and himself as their inventor) to financial backers and the public. In Engineering Invention, Frederick Dalzell tells Sprague's story, setting it against the backdrop of one of the most dynamic periods in the history of technology. In a burst of innovation during these years, Sprague and his contemporaries--Thomas Edison, Nicolas Tesla, Elmer Sperry, George Westinghouse, and others--transformed the technologies of electricity and reshaped modern life. After working briefly for Edison, Sprague started the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company; designed and built an electric railroad system for Richmond, Virginia; sold his company to Edison and went into the field of electric elevators; almost accidentally discovered a multiple-control system that could equip electric train systems for mass transit; started a third company to commercialize this; then sold this company to Edison and retired (temporarily). Throughout his career, Dalzell tells us, Sprague framed technology as invention, cast himself as hero, and staged his technologies as dramas. He toiled against the odds, scraped together resources to found companies, bet those companies on technical feats--and pulled it off, multiple times. The idea of the "heroic inventor" is not, of course, the only way to frame the history of technology. Nevertheless, as Dalzell shows, Sprague, Edison, and others crafted the role consciously and actively, using it to generate vital impetus behind the process of innovation.


In this Letter, we propose a preconditioning method to improve the convergence speed of iterative reconstruction algorithms in a compact, multidimensional, compound-eye imaging system called the thin observation module by bound optics. The condition number of the system matrix is improved by using a preconditioner matrix. To calculate the preconditioner matrix, the system model is expressed in the frequency domain. The proposed method is simulated by using a compressive sensing algorithm called the two-step iterative shrinkage/thresholding algorithm. The results showed improved reconstruction fidelity with a certain number of iterations for high signal-to-noise ratio measurements.


Productivity models specify input and output factors to inform productivity analyses. Current research and business practice face the challenge of developing a wide range of different productivity models. These models were created simultaneously but isolated from each other. As a consequence thereof, several practices of productivity model construction have emerged. This paper presents a unifying modelling language that lists and interrelates the essential constructs, pertinent to productivity models. Ultimately it was transferred into practice by employing a software tool. The application was conducted in the area of facility management, supporting two different approaches of productivity benchmarking. Facility management features a huge diversity of offered services and bundles. Thus, facility managers cope with various definitions of productivity that are then modelled with our approach.


This presentation show the successful usage of LabVIEW on the Mac with a specific focus on control solutions. First, 15 years of control solutions with LabVIEW on the Mac are reviewed. Then it presents current DAQmx base solutions, using as an example a Spider crane (see http://lawww.epfl.ch/page4506.html) and an inverted pendulum.


Anomaly detection has been attracting interests from researchers due to its advantage of being able to detect zero-day exploits. A gray-box anomaly detector first observes benign executions of a computer program and then extracts reliable rules that govern the normal execution of the program. However, such observations from benign executions are not necessarily true evidences supporting the rules learned. For example, the observation that a file descriptor being equal to a socket descriptor should not be considered supporting a rule governing the two values to be the same. Ground truthing such observations is a difficult problem since it is not practical to analyze the semantics of every instruction in every program to be protected. In this paper, we propose using taint analysis to automatically help the ground truthing. Intuitively, the same taint source of two values provides ground truth of the data dependence. We implement a host-based anomaly detector with our proposed taint tracking and evaluate the accuracy of rules learned. Results show that we not only manage to filter out incorrect rules that would otherwise be learned (with high support and confidence), but manage recover good rules that are previously believed to be unreliable. We also present overheads of our system and time needed for training.


The study examines the factors associated with the process
of collective participation among the members of the water
users group (WUG)in irrigation management in one of the
government·managed irrigation projects in Nepal.
Two hundred randomly selected respondents from 40 WUGs
were interviewed on a pre-tested schedule. Additional insights
and data were derived from official records, direct
observation, informal interviews with officials and key
informant farmers.
Level of participation among the members of the WUGs as
measured by their involvement in group decision making in four
major tasks of irrigation management and actual resource
committed (labour, cash and material) for the maintenance of
tertiary structures were found to be relatively low. It was
found that the way the WUGS had been structured and its existing leadership pattern could in part be attributable to
this state-of-affair.
Three sets of factors namely situational, structural and
interaction process were included and their relationships with
the level of participation in irrigation management examined in
the study.
The findings of the study indicate that while each of the
three groups of factors has its own merit in explaining the
process of collective participation in irrigation management,
there was greater explanatory power when all three sets of
factors were combined and their relationships examined.


Inhabiting coastal waters from eastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, the eastern oyster is
subjected to a wide range of temperature and salinity regimes, thus providing an interesting
opportunity to study population structure. Prior studies have examined phenotypic as well as
DNA differences along this range. A previous mtDNA population survey of Crassostrea
virginica within Pamlico Sound utilizing a single 16s polymorphism diagnostic for North
Atlantic / South Atlantic haplotypes revealed an ~110 km cline along the North Carolina coast.
Using 4 microsatellite loci, 3 SNPs and 1 scnDNA RFLP, I have surveyed eight oyster
populations within and outside the Pamlico Sound in an effort to corroborate the population
structure found in the mitochondrial genome. Three microsatellite loci were out of HWE across
populations vs. only 1 population for one SNP loci, and it seems likely that those microsatellite
loci were plagued with null alleles. Microsatellite exact tests show some significant differences
within the Pamlico Sound, mostly in comparisons involving the Stumpy Point population. A
combined SNP/RFLP analysis did reveal significant differences among populations, though most
of this can be accounted for by inclusion of a population from Maryland. The clinal structure
seen in the mitochondrial genome is not reflected in the nuclear genome within the Pamlico
Sound.


In 1977, H1N1 influenza A virus reappeared after a 20-year absence. Genetic analysis indicated that this strain was missing decades of nucleotide sequence evolution, suggesting an accidental release of a frozen laboratory strain into the general population. Recently, this strain and its descendants were included in an analysis attempting to date the origin of pandemic influenza virus without accounting for the missing decades of evolution. Here, we investigated the effect of using viral isolates with biologically unrealistic sampling dates on estimates of divergence dates. Not accounting for missing sequence evolution produced biased results and increased the variance of date estimates of the most recent common ancestor of the re-emergent lineages and across the entire phylogeny. Reanalysis of the H1N1 sequences excluding isolates with unrealistic sampling dates indicates that the 1977 re-emergent lineage was circulating for approximately one year before detection, making it difficult to determine the geographic source of reintroduction. We suggest that a new method is needed to account for viral isolates with unrealistic sampling dates.


The management of locally advanced cervical cancer relies on brachytherapy (BT) as an integral part of the radiotherapy delivery armamentarium. Occasionally, intracavitary BT is neither possible nor available. In these circumstances, post-external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) interstitial brachytherapy and/or hysterectomy may represent viable options that must be adequately executed in a timely manner. However, if these options are not applicable due to patient related or facility related reasons, a formal contingency plan should be in place. Innovative EBRT techniques such as intensity modulated and stereotactic radiotherapy may be considered for patients unable to undergo brachytherapy. Relying on provocative arguments and recent data, this review explores the rationale for and limitations of non-brachytherapy substitutes in that setting aiming to establish a formal process for the optimal execution of this alternative plan.


A diagnosis of cancer, regardless of type or site, raises much fear and loss of control for patients and their spouses. While being married is associated with lower mortality from a wide range of illnesses, including cancer, the quality of marital interactions and the relationship is the stronger predictor of health outcomes, rather than marital status. When people are faced with their greatest life challenges, they attach great importance to the behavior of their intimate partner, with trust being a key component of relationship quality, thus lending stability, and emotional and practical support. The purpose of this study was to examine vulnerable cancer patients with pain and their partners. The quality of the patient/partner relationships and the partners' coping styles were evaluated as mediators in a Structural Equation Model (SEM) latent path analysis with the outcome measures of quality of life for the individuals.
Stress, coping and outcome theory guided the questions for the study. Much of the previous dyadic research that has been done on couples when one member has a diagnosis of cancer has centered on disease specific populations. This study was the first to examine the couples' relationships from a symptom defining population. Therefore, a broad range of ages, patients with different cancer diagnoses and both genders in the roles of patients and caregivers was the population studied. Coping was explored as a dyadic process that includes transactional appraisal of stressors that mediates the subsequent effects on quality of life outcomes. Multivariate analysis was used to determine covariates to be included in the SEM based on a review of the literature. There was no evidence of coping as a mediator. The participants in this study had good quality relationships, and this did serve as a positive mediator on the outcomes for the patient.
Recommendations for future research and nursing practice, including the use of a single item global assessment of relationship quality, that nurses can incorporate in their practice is discussed.


This policy brief presents the findings from surveys of 424 male prisoners serving time in Ohio facilities, who were interviewed as part of the multi-site research study Returning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry. The respondents, who were within 30 days of release and returning to the Cleveland community, reported on their experiences and expectations across a range of issue areas, including education, employment, financial support, substance use, health, family, and faith. Based on these findings, this policy brief details the histories and anticipated needs of this population as they re-enter society and sketches the policy implications for practitioners, community stakeholders, and policymakers.


This technical paper explores what is meant by 'a regulatory management system' and what the 'elements' of an RMS are. We distinguish between the formal system (what is in place) from the requisite regulatory management system (what is required for an ideal or high-performing regulatory management system). By the formal regulatory management system we mean the set of special measures that apply to the development of new, or the review of existing, regulations but do not apply to other policy interventions. By the requisite regulatory management system we mean the full set of functionality that is needed in a high-performing or ideal system. This distinction was important in the development of the case studies used in the project that discuss both how the formal regulatory management system affected the outcomes of the case studies and how a requisite system might have changed those outcomes.


Indeterminate bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) lines derived from crosses between small-seeded indeterminate and large-seeded determinate genotypes were used to estimate the heritabilities and phenotypic correlations for seed yield and seed yield components. The F 2   generation of six bean populations was planted at the Fortuna Substation, Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, in October 1984. Seed yield per plant, 100 seed weight, number of pods per plant, and number of seed per pod were measured for 50 plants selected at random from each population. A total of 50 F 3  plant rows of each population were planted in February 1985 at the Fortuna Substation, and in March 1985 on a small farm in the Constanza valley of the Dominican Republic. Narrow sense heritabilities were estimated by using parent-offspring regressions of the F 2  and F 3  generation, and phenotypic correlations were estimated by using means of the F 3  lines. Mean seed yields per plant of the indeterminate F 3  lines were significantly less than the indeterminate parents, whereas the 100-seed weights of the indeterminate F 3  were significantly less than the determinate parents. Narrow sense heritabilities for seed yield and seed yield components were intemediate to low. These results indicate that selection for greater seed yield would be more effective by evaluating advanced lines in replicated trials. Spearman rank correlations between locations for seed yield and seed yield components varied among populations. Multilocation testing of advanced generation lines may be the most effective way to identify bean genotypes that perform well in contrasting environments.


Based on a representative survey of new college graduates in China, we examine the impact of college location on their location choice upon graduation. We use a discrete choice model and the BLP method to solve the endogeneity problem of housing cost and to estimate the unobservable location features. Furthermore, we allow for different distributions of city preference for graduates studying in different regions to address the self-selection problem of college location. Empirical results show that the graduates are significantly more likely to stay in where they attended college, to return to their hometown, and to avoid cities with high housing costs. Simulation exercise shows that the impact of college location on migration varies considerably across cities, and there is significant heterogeneity for students from universities of different tiers and from rural vs. urban areas. Reduced form evidence suggests that internship in the local labor market plays an important role in raising the probability of staying. College education increased the students' interaction with the local economy and reduced the costs of job search.


In Aleksis Kivi and/as World Literature Douglas Robinson tracks the global reception of Aleksis Kivi (1834-1872) as a wedge for exploring the nature and boundaries of world literature, and the contributions made by translators to it.


Pakistan is a high-fertility country with elevated levels of maternal mortality and unmet need for family planning. Limited access to and poor quality of reproductive health services and gender-related problems comprise the major explanations for these poor indicators. The authors designed an intervention to address some of these issues and implemented it on a quasi-experimental basis in Bhalwal Tehsil of the Sargodha district of Punjab. The intervention introduced a client-centered approach to providing reproductive health services, including family planning and infant, child, and maternal health care. The intervention consisted of training health-care providers based in fixed-location clinics and in communities. It introduced the concept of SAHR (an acronym for salutation, assessment, help, and reassurance), to inculcate a client-centered approach to care that acknowledges explicitly and addresses a client's gender and power relations within her family and household. Results of the intervention indicate significant effects on providers' behavior related to SAHR elements. The changes provide demonstrable evidence that the public sector can shift toward client-centered services in reproductive health care in a challenging setting.


The City: A World History tells the story of the rise and development of urban centers from ancient times to the twenty-first century. It begins with the establishment of the first cities in the Near East in the fourth millennium BCE, and goes on to examine urban growth in the Indus River Valley in India, as well as Egypt and areas that bordered the Mediterranean Sea. Athens, Alexandria, and Rome stand out both politically and culturally. With the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, European cities entered into a long period of waning and deterioration. But elsewhere, great cities-among them, Constantinople, Baghdad, Chang'an, and Tenochtitlan-thrived. In the late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, urban growth resumed in Europe, giving rise to cities like Florence, Paris, and London. This urban growth also accelerated in parts of the world that came under European control, such as Philadelphia in the nascent United States. As the Industrial Revolution swept through in the nineteenth century, cities grew rapidly. Their expansion resulted in a slew of social problems and political disruptions, but it was accompanied by impressive measures designed to improve urban life. Meanwhile, colonial cities bore the imprint of European imperialism. Finally, the book turns to the years since 1914, guided by a few themes: the impact of war and revolution; urban reconstruction after 1945; migration out of many cities in the United States into growing suburbs; and the explosive growth of "megacities" in the developing world.


An Argentinean court has dismissed an appeal by the drug company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and upheld a fine of 400 000 pesos (£61 000; €73 000; $93 000) for failing to properly monitor a trial of the multivalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Synflorix.

The judge has also upheld fines against two local doctors of 300 000 pesos each. Miguel Tregnaghi, the main coordinator of the trial in Argentina, was fined for failing to comply with good practice in the development of a clinical trial, and Hector Abate, the main investigator in Mendoza, one of the three regions where the study took place, was fined for administrative irregularities during patient selection and the collection of informed consent.

The penalty, the maximum that can be applied under national regulations for serious misconduct and the highest ever relating to clinical trials in the country, was imposed in 2009 by the Argentinean National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT) after detecting irregularities in the recruitment of …


This study was designed to determine whether developmental changes occur in the duration and quality of maintaining a prone extension position. Three groups of 26 to 30 normal children ages 4, 6, and 8 years were tested on the prone extension position. Results indicated a significant difference in both duration of maintenance and quality between the performance of the four-year-olds and the other two age groups. No significant differences were found between the six- and eight-year-olds. Smooth assumption of the position and distance of thighs off the mat were found to be the most important factors in discriminating a good prone extension position from an inadequate one. The variability of performance by the four-year-olds indicates that the ability to assume and maintain a prone extension position is not a valid measurement tool for discriminating between normal children and those "at risk" for learning disabilities at this age level. The inability of children six years or older to maintain a "good" prone extension position for 30 seconds suggests a vestibular processing inefficiency.


Modern compilation systems face the challenge of incrementally reanalyzing a program's intermediate representation each time a code transformation is performed. Current approaches typically either re-analyze the entire program after an individual transformation or limit the analysis information that is available after a transformation. To address both efficiency and precision goals in an optimizing compiler, we introduce a hierarchical static single-assignment form called Region Static Single-Assignment (Region-SSA) form. Static single assignment (SSA) form is an efficient intermediate representation that is well suited for solving many data flow analysis and optimization problems. By partitioning the program into hierarchical regions, Region-SSA form maintains a local SSA form for each region. Region-SSA supports a demand-driven re-computation of SSA form after a transformation is performed, since only the updated region's SSA form needs to be reconstructed along with a potential propagation of exposed defs and uses. In this paper, we introduce the Region-SSA data structure, and present algorithms for construction and incremental reconstruction of Region-SSA form. The Region-SSA data structure includes a tree based region hierarchy, a region based control flow graph, and region-based SSA forms. We have implemented in RegionSSA form in the Habanero-Java (HJ) research compiler. Our experimental results show significant improvements in compile-time compared to traditional approaches that recompute the entire procedure's SSA form exhaustively after transformation. For loop unrolling transformations, compile-time speedups up to 35.8× were observed using Region-SSA form relative to standard SSA form. For loop interchange transformations, compile-time speedups up to 205.6×were observed. We believe that Region-SSA form is an attractive foundation for future compiler frameworks that need to incorporate sophisticated incremental program analyses and transformations.


In this paper, design of the physical of double-sided linear induction motor with ladder secondary is presented. It has aim to obtain the high-precision of DSLIM for the linear slow speed applications. One of limiting factor for precision linear movement is cogging force. The efforts in reducing the cogging action in rotary induction motor has been conducted very well. However, the cogging force reduction in the DSLIM with ladder secondary has not been done before. The DSLIM provide a great advantages for LIM-driven wheel vehicles for specific applications, for example vehicles that are used in over short distances, e.g. at planned stop, switches, or slopes or linear feed axes of machine tools. The disadvantage for very low applications is the existence of cogging forces that can cause the precision-decreasing of the linear movement. The design for reducing cogging force refers to storage magnetic energy variation in the air gap. At first, effects of ratio slot pitch between in the moving and stationary parts over the storage magnetic energy have been investigated and produced a new structure results of DSLIM. Secondly the winding structures variation in slots of moving part which it can make cogging force between tooth cancel each other. The design results has been verified using FEM (Finite Element Method) and an experimental verification.


Fusarium virguliforme causes sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybean. The pathogen has never been isolated from diseased foliar tissues; therefore, one or more toxins have been considered to cause foliar SDS development. Cell-free F. virguliforme culture filtrates containing a toxin causes foliar SDS in soybean. A low-molecular-weight protein of approximately 13.5 kDa (FvTox1), purified from F. virguliforme culture filtrates, produces foliar SDS-like symptoms in cut soybean seedlings. Anti-FvTox1 monoclonal antibodies raised against the purified FvTox1 were used in isolating the FvTox1 gene. In the presence of light, recombinant FvTox1 protein expressed in an insect cell line resulted in chlorosis and necrosis in soybean leaf disks that are typical foliar SDS symptoms. SDS-susceptible but not the SDS-resistant soybean lines were sensitive to the baculovirus-expressed toxin. The requirement of light for foliar SDS-like symptom development indicates that FvTox1 induces foliar SDS in soybean, most likely through production of free radicals by interrupting photosynthesis.


Rhodococcus is an important industrial organism that possesses diverse metabolic capabilities, it also has a unique cell envelope, composed of an outer layer of mycolic acids and glycolipids (free or bound lipids generally linked to the sugar trehalose). Rhodococcus is able to transform nitriles to the corresponding amide by the enzyme Nitrile Hydratase (NHase), therefore rhodococcal cells can be utilized as biocatalysts in the detoxification of nitrile waste water or in the production of industrially important amides such as acrylamide. However, the NHase within the native cells must be stable with high activity. This research examined how NHase activity and stability can be increased in native cells by changing growth media composition, the impact on the rhodococcal cell envelope was also studied. Growth media composition was altered by supplementing different sugars such as fructose, maltose or maltodextrin to replace glucose in rich solid media containing cobalt and urea for induction of NHase. The supplementation of maltose or maltodextrin resulted in significantly higher NHase activities and greater NHase stability at 55°C. The supplementation of these different sugars was shown to alter cellular and lipid bound trehalose levels, a sugar known to stabilize proteins and a component of the rhodococcal cell envelope. Cells that had higher levels of cellular trehalose had significantly greater NHase stability at 55°C. The effect of the different sugar supplements and inducers of NHase, such as cobalt, on cell envelope components such as mycolic acids and glycolipids were examined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). The results showed that changes in mycolic acids and glycolipids occurred when the cells were grown in the presence of different sugar supplements and when the cells were induced for NHase. Susceptibility of Rhodococcus sp DAP 96253 to different antibiotics was examined to indicate if changes were occurring in the cell envelope. Differences in antibiotic susceptibility were observed when the cells were grown on media with different sugar supplements and when the cells were induced for NHase. In the presence of cobalt Rhodococcus sp DAP 96253 showed a significant increase in sensitivity to antibiotics. Changes in growth media composition influences the cell envelope of Rhodococcus sp DAP 96253 and also affects NHase activity and stability. Therefore, achieving increased enzyme activity and stability is not entirely dependent on the actual enzyme, but is related to other aspects of the cell, such as the cell envelope and metabolites of the cell. INDEX WORDS: Rhodococcus, Nitrile Hydratase, Cell envelope, Mycolic acids, Growth media, Trehalose EFFECT OF CHANGES IN MEDIA COMPOSITION ON NITRILE HYDRATASE ACTIVITY AND STABILITY AND ON CELL ENVELOPE COMPONENTS OF RHODOCOCCUS SP DAP 96253 by TRUDY-ANN TUCKER A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University


Light-field imaging has been recently introduced to mass market by the hand held plenoptic camera Lytro. Thanks to a microlens array placed between the main lens and the sensor, the captured data contains different views of the scene from different view points. This offers several post-capture applications, e.g., computationally changing the main lens focus. The raw data conversion in such cameras is however barely studied in the literature. The goal of this paper is to study the particularly overlooked problem of demosaicking the views for plenoptic cameras such as Lytro. We exploit the redundant sampling of scene content in the views, and show that disparities estimated from the mosaicked data can guide the demosaicking, resulting in minimum artifacts compared to the state of art methods. Besides, by properly addressing the view demultiplexing step, we take the first step towards light field super-resolution with negligible computational overload.


Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) is a posttranslational protein modification catalyzed by members of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) enzyme family. PARylation regulates a wide variety of biological processes in most eukaryotic cells including energy metabolism and cell death, maintenance of genomic stability, chromatin structure and transcription. Inside the nucleus, cross-talk between PARylation and other epigenetic modifications, such as DNA and histone methylation, was already described. In the present work, using PJ34 or ABT888 to inhibit PARP activity or over-expressing poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG), we show decrease of global histone H3 and H4 acetylation. This effect is accompanied by a reduction of the steady state mRNA level of p300, Pcaf, and Tnfα, but not of Dnmt1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analyses, performed at the level of the Transcription Start Site (TSS) of these four genes, reveal that changes in histone acetylation are specific for each promoter. Finally, we demonstrate an increase of global deacetylase activity in nuclear extracts from cells treated with PJ34, whereas global acetyltransferase activity is not affected, suggesting a role for PARP in the inhibition of histone deacetylases. Taken together, these results show an important link between PARylation and histone acetylation regulated transcription.


The global database of invasive trees and shrubs (Richardson & Rejmánek, 2011; Diversity Distrib. 17, 788‐809) has been updated, resulting in a total of 751 species (434 trees and 317 shrubs) from 90 families. Ten originally listed species were deleted (synonyms, inconclusive identification, etc.) and 139 additional invasive species (86 trees and 53 shrubs) are now included in the database. For many species, new records on their adventive distributions are added. The updated database also includes the native ranges for all listed species.


This paper gives an in-depth description of two recent projects at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) which utilize MEMS and microsystem technology for realization of components intended for specific applications in medical technology and diagnostic instrumentation. By novel use of the DRIE fabrication technology we have developed side-opened out-of-plane silicon microneedles intended for use in transdermal drug delivery applications. The side opening reduces clogging probability during penetration into the skin and increases the up-take area of the liquid in the tissue. These microneedles offer about 200µm deep and pain-free skin penetration. We have been able to combine the microneedle chip with an electrically and heat controlled liquid actuator device where expandable microspheres are used to push doses of drug liquids into the skin. The entire unit is made of low cost materials in the form of a square one cm-sized patch. Finally, the design, fabrication and evaluation of an integrated miniaturized Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) based "electronic nose" microsystem for detection of narcotics is described. The work integrates a novel environment-to-chip sample interface with the sensor element. The choice of multifunctional materials and the geometric features of a four-component microsystem allow a functional integration of a QCM crystal, electrical contacts, fluidic contacts and a sample interface in a single system with minimal assembly effort, a potential for low-cost manufacturing, and a few orders of magnitude reduced in system size (12*12*4 mm 3 ) and weight compared to commercially available instruments. The sensor chip was successfully used it for the detection of 200 ng of narcotics sample.


BACKGROUND
This is the first investigation of the pharmacokinetics, tolerability, and efficacy of quetiapine fumarate in adolescents with chronic or intermittent psychotic disorders.

METHOD
Ten patients with DSM-IV chronic or intermittent psychotic disorders (ages 12.3 through 15.9 years) participated in an open-label, rising-dose trial and received oral doses of quetiapine twice daily (b.i.d.), starting at 25 mg b.i.d. and reaching 400 mg b.i.d. by day 20. The trial ended on day 23. Key assessments were pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma quetiapine concentrations and neurologic, safety, and efficacy evaluations.

RESULTS
No statistically significant differences were observed between 100-mg b.i.d. and 400-mg b.i.d. quetiapine regimens for total body clearance, dose-normalized area under the plasma concentration-time curve, or dose-normalized premorning- or postmorning-dose trough plasma values obtained under steady-state conditions after multiple-dose regimens. No unexpected side effects occurred with quetiapine therapy, and no statistically significant changes from baseline were observed for the UKU Side Effect Rating Scale items that were rated. No serious adverse events or clinically important changes in hematology or clinical chemistry variables were reported. The most common adverse events were postural tachycardia and insomnia. Extrapyramidal side effects improved, as evidenced by significant (p < .05) decreases from baseline to endpoint in the mean Simpson-Angus Scale total scores and Barnes Akathisia Scale scores. Quetiapine improved positive and negative symptoms, as shown by significant (p < .05) decreases from baseline to endpoint in the mean Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale total score, the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale, and the Modified Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms summary score.

CONCLUSION
Quetiapine pharmacokinetics were dose proportional in adolescents and were similar to those previously reported for adults. Quetiapine was well tolerated and effective in the small number of adolescents studied.


Highly fluorescent perovskite materials have attracted considerable interest for fundamental research and potential applications. In this work, we demonstrate the recoverable PL quenching of methylammonium lead halides (MAPbX3, where X is Cl, Br or I) upon exposure to gaseous ammonia that enables the use of hybrid perovskites in gas-sensing applications. XRD analysis confirmed that the MA cations in the perovskite material were replaced by NH3 to form NH4PbX3·MA, thereby resulting in distinct changes in the crystalline structure and, consequently, PL quenching. However, as a weak coordination complex, NH4PbX3·MA can be easily thermally decomposed to recover the starting product MAPbX3 with the release of ammonia. An in-depth understanding of the reversible chemical and structural changes of the perovskites by exposing them to polar molecules such as ammonia can advance the development of hybrid perovskite sensors and provides insights into the mechanisms of how perovskites coordinate with polar molecules.


The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of 'soft' motor deficits in school‐aged children with either developmental language disorder (DLD), autism (with high IQ [HiAD] or low IQ [LoAD]), or low IQ without autism (LoIQ), and to evaluate the utility of a refined neurological examination to discriminate between these groups. A total of 242 children (74% male), aged 7 or 9 years, were evaluated as part of a longitudinal, multi‐institutional study, with a standardized neurological examination that included Denckla's Physical and Neurological Examination for Soft Signs. Most of the scores separated children into two groups defined by nonverbal IQ, with the DLD and HiAD groups performing better than the LoAD and LoIQ groups. Exceptions included motor impersistence and stereotypies, which were more likely in the autistic groups. The neurologists 'summary clinical impressions indicated better sensory' motor skills, oromotor skills, and praxis in the HiAD than in the DLD children. Inability/unwillingness to perform tasks was much more frequent in LoAD than LoIQ children.


PURPOSE
Cationic gemini surfactants have been studied as non-viral vectors for gene therapy. Clinical applications of cationic lipid/DNA lipoplexes are restricted by their instability in aqueous formulations. In this work, we investigated the influence of lyophilization on the essential physiochemical properties and in vitro transfection of gemini surfactant-lipoplexes. Additionally, we evaluated the feasibility of lyophilization as a technique for preparing lipoplexes with long term stability.

METHODS
A gemini surfactant [12-7NH-12] and plasmid DNA encoding for interferon-γ were used to prepare gemini surfactant/pDNA [P/G] lipoplexes. Helper lipid DOPE [L] was incorporated in all formulation producing a [P/G/L] system. Sucrose and trehalose were utilized as stabilizing agents. To evaluate the ability of lyophilization to improve the stability of gemini surfactant-based lipoplexes, four lyophilized formulations were stored at 25˚C for three months. The formulations were analyzed at different time-points for physiochemical properties and in vitro transfection.

RESULTS
The results showed that both sucrose and trehalose provided anticipated stabilizing effect. The transfection efficiency of the lipoplexes increased 2-3 fold compared to fresh formulations upon lyophilization. This effect can be attributed to the improvement of DNA compaction and changes in the lipoplex morphology due to the lyophilization/rehydration cycles. The physiochemical properties of the lyophilized formulations were maintained throughout the stability study. All lyophilized formulations showed a significant loss of gene transfection activity after three months of storage. Nevertheless, no significant losses of transfection efficiency were observed for three formulations after two months storage at 25 ˚C.

CONCLUSION
Lyophilization significantly improved the physical stability of gemini surfactant-based lipoplexes compared to liquid formulations. As well, lyophilization improved the transfection efficiency of the lipoplexes. The loss of transfection activity upon storage is most probably due to the conformational changes in the supramolecular structure of the lipoplexes as a function of time and temperature rather than to DNA degradation.


Conventional, nondwarf corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids grown in the northern U.S. Corn Belt are typically >2 m tall and have a 75- to 100-d relative maturity (RM). Our objectives were to assess the potential of open-pollinated COPOP1 semidwarf corn for grain and forage production, estimate genetic variances and heritability in COPOP1, and develop COPOP1 subpopulations that exhibit heterosis. In 2005 and 2006, we evaluated COPOP1 with four commercial, nondwarf hybrids at three plant population densities. Grain yield of open-pollinated COPOP1 was about half of the mean yield of the conventional hybrids. However, COPOP1 had lower grain moisture (equivalent to 62 d RM) and better forage quality than the commercial hybrids. In 2007, COPOP1 was evaluated for performance when crossed to two divergent inbred testers, LH227 and LH295. Heritability was significant for grain moisture, plant height, and ear height in testcrosses to both testers but was significant for grain yield only in testcrosses to LH227. In 2009, bulk Cycle 0 (i.e., original COPOP1) and Cycle 1 testcrosses, nine semidwarf hybrids, COPOP1, and three commercial hybrids were evaluated at two plant population densities. Grain yield and most agronomic and forage traits did not improve between Cycle 0 and Cycle 1 in either testcross population. None of the semidwarf hybrids had higher grain yields than COPOP1. While semidwarf COPOP1 can serve as a source of useful variation for improving elite germplasm in the northern U.S. Corn Belt, further selection in COPOP1 must be done to develop improved semidwarf populations.


Pinus radiata is an important plantation forest species in Tasmania and other
regions of the world. The growth of P. radiata from vegetative propagules has been
demonstrated to have many advantages over the conventional seedling method of
propagation. The major problems associated with the vegetative propagation of P.
radiata by cuttings are the seasonal variation in the percentage of cuttings forming
roots and the loss of rooting ability with increased stock plant age. This study
investigated the anatomical and physiological factors affecting adventitious root
formation in P. radiata..
Initial investigations using controlled environment conditions indicated that
anatomical and/or physiological factors rather than the propagation environment were
mainly responsible for the seasonal variation in the percentage of P. radiata cuttings
forming roots. Most of the mortality observed in cuttings occurred prior to callus
formation, highlighting the time of adventitious root development which needed to be
investigated further.
In controlled environmental conditions (20°C, 95% RH, 14 hour
photoperiod), callus initiation was observed approximately 4 weeks after excision and
root initiation was observed at approximately 11 weeks after excision. The
examination of endogenous plant growth regulator concentrations indicated that the
change in the concentration of auxin during the callus formation period may be an
important indicator of rooting success in P. radiata cuttings. In those cuttings which
exhibited a high rooting percentage, a transient increase in auxin concentration was
observed in the basal region of the cuttings 2 and 3 weeks after excision. This was not
observed in cuttings which exhibited a low rooting percentage.
The concentration of carbohydrates in the basal stem region of the cuttings at
the time of excision related poorly to the rooting ability. However, the maintenance of
sucrose concentrations in the basal tissue above approximately 15mg/g DW was
considered important for the successful rooting of cuttings.
The maintenance of adequate water relations in the cuttings during ARF was
demonstrated to influence the rooting percentage. In those cuttings which survived
and rooted, the leaf water potential was maintained above a value of -2.50MPa.
However, in those cuttings which failed to survive the leaf water potential was below
-2.50MPa in the week prior to cutting necrosis.
In summary, the ability of the cutting to react to excision was considered more
important than the absolute levels of these physiological factors at the time of excision.
The physiological basis of these findings is discussed and investigated further, from
which recommendations are made for improved management practices in commercial
P. radiata cutting nurseries.


ABSTRACT A novel microcalorimetric approach was used to analyze the responses of a metal-tolerant soil bacterium (Pseudomonas putida strain KT2440) to metal resistance gene deletions in cadmium-amended media. As hypothesized, under cadmium stress, the wild-type strain benefited from the resistance genes by entering the exponential growth phase earlier than two knockout strains. In the absence of cadmium, strain KT1, carrying a deletion in the main component (czcA1) of a Cd/Zn chemiosmotic efflux transporter (CzcCBA1), grew more efficiently than the wild type and released ∼700 kJ (per mole of biomass carbon) less heat than the wild-type strain, showing the energetic cost of maintaining CzcCBA1 in the absence of cadmium. A second mutant strain (KT4) carrying a different gene deletion, ΔcadA2, which encodes the main Cd/Pb efflux transporter (a P-type ATPase), did not survive beyond moderate cadmium concentrations and exhibited a decreased growth yield in the absence of cadmium. Therefore, CadA2 plays an essential role in cadmium resistance and perhaps serves an additional function. The results of this study provide direct evidence that heavy metal cation efflux mechanisms facilitate shorter lag phases in the presence of metals and that the maintenance and expression of tolerance genes carry quantifiable energetic costs and benefits.


Drawing on the work of leading scholars in the fields of anthropology, architecture, art, art history, geography, and history, House Home Family explores and analyzes the functional, social, and symbolic attributes of Chinese dwellings. It goes beyond generalization to clarify the diverse nature of house, home, and family in China, exploring such topics as the Chinese garden as an integral part of living, house-building ritual and fengshui, architectural aesthetics, the inter-relatedness of furniture and architecture, preservation of historical structures, the structure and development of the family (fla), gender and household space, the role of lineage in the construction of ritual and social space, the function and meaning of the architectural division of space, and domestic space and privacy. The Chinese house, the elementary space in which a family lives and works, resonates the tensions between continuity and innovation that characterize China today. As a dynamic instrument of socialization and a domain of propriety, its "inner" and "outer" spaces as well as ornamentation and ritual helped shape the identity of the Chinese and simultaneously serve as a reflection of this identity. This inaugural volume in the series Spatial Habitus: Making and Meaning in Asia's Vernacular Architecture contains over 500 illustrations, most in color and including a number of rare drawings that demonstrate the richness of domestic architecture and living patterns in traditional and contemporary China. Through its exploration of how Chinese families are organized and why Chinese construct their living spaces the way they do, this carefully researched, convincingly argued, and refreshingly insightful book yields a deeper and wider understanding of what it means to live and be Chinese.


CONTEXT
Hepatic lipase plays a pivotal role in the metabolism of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein by involvement in reverse cholesterol transport and the formation of atherogenic small dense low-density lipoprotein.

OBJECTIVES
The objective was to investigate the impact of variants in LIPC on metabolic traits and type 2 diabetes in a large sample of Danes. Because behavioral factors influence hepatic lipase activity, we furthermore examined possible gene-environment interactions in the population-based Inter99 study.

DESIGN
The LIPC -250G>A (rs2070895) variant was genotyped in the Inter99 study (n = 6070), the Anglo-Danish-Dutch Study of Intensive Treatment in People with Screen Detected Diabetes in Primary Care Denmark screening cohort of individuals with risk factors for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (n = 8662), and in additional type 2 diabetic patients (n = 1,064) and glucose-tolerant control subjects (n = 360).

RESULTS
In the Inter99 study, the A allele of rs2070895 associated with a 0.057 mmol/liter [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.039-0.075] increase in fasting serum HDL-cholesterol (HDL-c) (P = 8 x 10(-10)) supported by association in the Anglo-Danish-Dutch Study of Intensive Treatment in People with Screen Detected Diabetes in Primary Care study [0.038 mmol/liter per allele (95% CI 0.024-0.053); P = 2 x 10(-7)). The allelic effect on HDL-c was modulated by interaction with self-reported physical activity (P(interaction) = 0.002) because vigorous physically active homozygous A-allele carriers had a 0.30 mmol/liter (95% CI 0.22-0.37) increase in HDL-c compared with homozygous G-allele carriers.

CONCLUSIONS
We validate the association of LIPC promoter variation with fasting serum HDL-c and present data supporting an interaction with physical activity implying an increased effect on HDL-c in vigorous physically active subjects carrying the -250 A allele. This interaction may have potential implications for public health and disease prevention.


Holmberg's (1999) formulation of Holmberg's Generalization states that Scandinavian object shift cannot cross any phonologically realized VP-internal material. This correctly predicts that object shift may not apply in, e.g., embedded clauses in Danish: since in these languages V-to-I applies in main clauses only, the main verb occupies a VP-internal position in embedded clauses, and object shift would therefore violate HG. Generally, this is considered the end of the story, but it is not as HG can in principle be satisfied in two ways: either the verb blocks object shift, or object shift pushes the verb up into the I-position. A full explanation therefore requires an answer to the question of why the latter option is not chosen in Danish.


Single nanoantenna spectroscopy was carried out on realistic dipole nanoantennas with various arm lengths and gap sizes fabricated by electron-beam lithography. A significant difference in resonance wavelength between realistic and ideal nanoantennas was found by comparing their spectral response. Consequently, the spectral tunability (96 nm) of the structures was significantly lower than that of simulated ideal nanoantennas. These observations, attributed to the nanofabrication process, are related to imperfections in the geometry, added metal adhesion layer, and shape modifications, which are analyzed in this work. Our results provide important information for the design of dipole nanoantennas clarifying the role of the structural modifications on the resonance spectra, as supported by calculations.


VAPOR-LIQUID EQUILIBRIUM OF POLYMER SOLUTIONS DURING THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF RIGID FOAMS Nathan H. King Department of Chemical Engineering Doctor of Philosophy Removable Epoxy Foam (REF) and other rigid foams experience severe changes in structure and properties when exposed to high heat. As thermal energy breaks network bonds in the foam many species are formed, including large polymer-like network fragments and smaller solvent-like molecules. During this process a liquid phase may form. The vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) behavior of the polymer solutions formed during initial decomposition can be highly non-ideal. In this research VLE behavior of high-temperature polymer solutions was studied and a procedure was developed for predicting that behavior during decomposition of rigid foams. A high-temperature VLE facility was built and validated, and equilibrium pressures were measured at temperatures between 75 and 250oC for six polymer/solvent systems: two polymers – polyethylene glycol and polystyrene – with each of three solvents – benzene, furan, and 4-isopropylphenol. Calculations from eighteen polymer solution models were compared with experimental results to determine which model best described the VLE behavior. These models included six existing activity coefficient models used alone, as well as in combinations with the Peng-Robinson equation of state (EOS) through the Wong-Sandler mixing rules. Because several of the models required values for polymer volumes, a comparison of the GCVOL and GCMCM group-contribution volume estimation methods was performed. GCMCM was found to give lower overall deviations from literature polymer volume data. The models involving an equation of state required EOS parameter values for the pure polymers. A new method for determining these parameters was proposed. Models using parameters from the new method gave better agreement with equilibrium pressure data than models using parameters from the recommended method in the literature. While agreement with equilibrium pressure data was similar for several models, some models predicted a liquid phase split under certain conditions. Data were not available to verify the presence of two liquid phases, but are needed to make an appropriate recommendation of the best model. If liquid phase splitting does not occur, it is recommended that the UNIFAC-ZM activity coefficient model be used alone. If phase splitting behavior is observed, it is recommended that the UNIFAC-FV activity coefficient model be used in combination with the Peng-Robinson EOS.


An examination of Floras and related literature from various countries of the world has revealed a wide range of interpretations and concepts for indigenous plants. Nevertheless, an indigenous plant species has been universally defined as one that was not deliberately or accidentally introduced by man. An important recent addendum to the 'indigenous' definition is that it must disperse from an area where it is considered native. Particularly problematic are the so-called 'pantropical' or 'cosmopolitan' plants. These species are usually invasive and abundant, but most could not have crossed major barriers without the assistance of humans, and hence should be regarded as non-native species throughout much of their range. The accurate assessment of the alien or indigenous status of these and other taxa has been hampered by a lack of knowledge about their geographic origins and dispersal ability. Australian botanists have frequently adhered to a concept of indigenous plants being any that were thought to be present before European settlement in their region of interest – 1788 for the Sydney area, and as late as the 1850s for northern Australia. This definition is unrealistic and unworkable, especially when considering the 'pantropical' species. The transport of plants by maritime traders and explorers into the Indonesian and west Pacific areas has occurred for at least the past 3000 years. European colonisation in those areas from the 16th century accelerated plant introductions. Some of those plant species undoubtedly made their way to Australia before European settlement. This paper presents explicit definitions for indigenous (native) or alien (exotic, introduced, non-indigenous) plant species in Australia. A system of assessment using a combination of ecological, phytogeographical and historical criteria (the EPH system) allows the determination of 'origin status' for individual species. As a case study, data are presented for 40 plant species of disputed origin status. These species are assessed against the criteria, and a recommended origin status given for Australian occurrences.


Herein, we present, for the first time, a new procedure to fabricate stoichiometric, uniform, and highly crystalline lead perovskite thin films based on a multi-step vapor deposition technique. In this process, the perovskite film is prepared by layer-by-layer alternating (LBLA) vacuum deposition of PbI2 and methylammounium iodide (MAI). In comparison to the common two-step deposition (TSD) approach, the novel LBLA evaporation process yields thin films with much improved uniformity in terms of composition, morphology, and surface quality. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry show that the I/Pb ratio of the LBLA film is 2.92 ± 0.03, which indicates a more precise stoichiometric composition of organometallics as compared with TSD with an I/Pb ratio of 2.76 ± 0.06. X-ray diffraction and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements also demonstrate higher crystallinity and a longer lifetime for the LBLA films, as compared with the films fabricated by the conventional TSD method. Atomic force microscopy indicates 36% improvement in the surface smoothness as well. The better film quality leads to ∼20% improved power conversion efficiency in bulk heterojunction solar devices, primarily owing to a higher fill factor and current density.


A Comprehensive Evaluation of a Home Visitation Program Model's Prenatal Physical Activity Curriculum Modules Delivered Primarily to Low-income Women Angela M. Dyer, MSPH Background. Many low-income pregnant women receive prenatal physical activity (PA) curricula modules through home visitation programs. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence on the structural capacity, processes, and outcomes relating to these modules. Aims. The objective of this dissertation project was to examine the aforementioned in a single home visitation program model the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) program. More precisely, the aims of this study were to: (Aim 1) examine home visitors' (i.e., Outreach Workers [OWs]) competencies in implementing the MIHOW program's prenatal PA curriculum modules (i.e., structural capacity), (Aim 2) investigate the fidelity with which the MIHOW program's prenatal PA curriculum modules were delivered to home visitation clients (i.e., processes), and (Aim 3) evaluate the impact of the MIHOW program's curriculum on home visitation clients' prenatal moderate-intensity physical activity (MPA) compared to a propensity score matched comparison group (i.e., outcomes). Methods. (Aim 1) A qualitative research design was used. Data from one interview and three focus groups conducted with OWs and five interviews conducted with their Site Leaders (i.e., supervisors) were used for analysis. (Aim 2) A mixed-methods research design was used. Data sources were the interviews and focus groups conducted in Aim 1 and the checklists of curriculum modules completed with 109 clients. These data sources were analyzed separately and then merged. (Aim 3) A nonrandomized quasiexperimental research design was utilized to evaluate how the MIHOW program's pregnant clients' (n = 98) absolute MPA metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes per week changed relative to a propensity score matched comparison group of pregnant women (n = 56). Physical activity measurements were taken at trimesters one, two and/or three. Generalized linear mixed modeling with a zero inflated negative binomial distribution was used as the statistical analysis strategy. Results. Key findings are shown by each aim. (Aim 1) OWs' depth of knowledge on prenatal PA information and the modules varied; over half the OWs discussed implementing PA, rapport building, communication, adaptability, and/or problem-solving skills; over half the OWs felt comfortable delivering the modules. (Aim 2) Eight OWs discussed delivering the prenatal PA curriculum modules at multiple, most, or all of the home visits whereas the checklist data revealed that only 19.3% of clients received two or more "prenatal PA" and/or "other" curriculum modules. (Aim 3) The expected log absolute MPA MET minutes per week decreased 1.27 less for the comparison group than for the intervention group by trimester 3 [χ2(1) = 4.77, p = .0289]. Conclusion. Taken together, these findings suggest that home visitors' competencies relating to the prenatal PA curriculum modules and home visitors' implementation of the prenatal PA curriculum modules have the potential to influence the recipients of these services. Thus, attention needs to be given to these factors when evaluating the effectiveness of home visitation program models' prenatal PA curricula modules. Insight from this study can be used to enhance how home visitation program models' prenatal PA curricula modules are implemented and evaluated.


Steel-concrete composite structures are widely used in high buildings for its excellent seismic behaviors, whereas faults or cracks, which have great influence on interfacial mechanical behaviors of structural members, inevitably form near the interface between steel and concrete during the process of molding. Therefore, it is necessary to study the mechanical characteristics of the crack tip near the interface. In this paper, the application scope of the path-independence of J-integral in steel-concrete composite structure with a crack is discussed. According to the conservation law of J-integral for the steel-concrete composite structure with a crack parallel to the interface, a hypothesis that the value of strain energy release rate (SERR) of the mode-I fracture is independent of the crack location when the crack is parallel and close to the interface is put forwarded. And this hypothesis is verified through finite element method (FEM). A schematic model for a skew crack near the steel-concrete interface is provided. The variation law of SERR with the Dundur's parameters and the angle between crack direction and interface are calculated by FEM. At last, calculating method of the stress intensity factor as well as the SERR for a skew crack near the interface is suggested. All these may contribute to further investigation on interfacial mechanical behaviors for steel-concrete composite structure.


Research testing a social-psychological intervention designed to improve minority student performance and reduce the racial achievement gap is summarized. Key to the intervention is the notion that the risk of confirming a negative stereotype aimed at one's group, stereotype threat, can elevate stress to a level that can inhibit academic performance in minority students. Self-affirmation, a process known to bolster individuals facing identity threat, was administered in the form of a brief in-class values-affirmation writing exercise to lessen such stress and mitigate its impact. Several doubleblind field experimental trials at a suburban Northeastern middle school with a student body nearly equally divided between African Americans and European Americans, found significant improvement in African American students' grades as well as on their statewide achievement test scores. How a seemingly small intervention can lead to significant reduction in the racial achievement gap is discussed in concluding remarks.


Objectives: The primary objectives of this study are to gauge the various levels of Research Data Service academic libraries provide based on demographic factors, gauging RDS growth since 2011, and what obstacles may prevent expansion or growth of services. Methods: Survey of academic institutions through stratified random sample of ACRL library directors across the U.S. and Canada. Frequencies and chi-square analysis were applied, with some responses grouped into broader categories for analysis. Results: Minimal to no change for what services were offered between survey years, and interviews with library directors were conducted to help explain this lack of change. Conclusion: Further analysis is forthcoming for a librarians study to help explain possible discrepancies in organizational objectives and librarian sentiments of RDS. Correspondence: Carol Tenopir: firstname.lastname@example.com


The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District was created by the California Legislature in 1977 for the purpose of developing an integrated management program for all of the water resources of the Monterey Peninsula area. The District boundaries encompass the cities of Carmel-by-the Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Sand City, Seaside and portions of Monterey County, primarily in Carmel Valley. A key element in the District's water management programs and strategies has been the development of a policy of creating a `Drought Reserve' in the development of new water supplies and the release of new water connections. As a result of the Drought Reserve Policy, up to one-half of new water supplies have been allocated to Drought Reserve and have not been allowed for the issuance of new water connections. The Carmel Valley Simulation Model (CVSIM) is a family of computer-based simulation models developed by the District to evaluate the daily performance of the water resources systems under varying physical, structural, and operational conditions. The CVSIM was used in the development of a Drought Reserve Policy and the testing of alternative water supply projects capability of achieving the desired `Drought Reserve' protection. This paper presents a description of the Carmel Valley Simulation Model (CVSIM) and includes a discussion of the use of the model in the development of a Drought Reserve Policy. Results from model studies of conjunctive operation of surface storage, groundwater systems, and seawater desalination projects are reported in the paper.


The business environment continues to change. Nas Ahadiat stated that this is due to "escalating globalization, increased information technology, new regulations aimed at corporate governance, and more." (1) These changes have had an important impact on the role of management accountants. Lakshmi Tatikonda said, "Today's management accountants spend less time preparing standardized reports and more time analyzing, interpreting, and providing information for decision making." (2) Management accountants have become more involved in all aspects of the daily operations of business. Researchers have studied practitioners to determine the skills and abilities management accountants need in order to prepare for their roles in business. Ahadiat surveyed practitioners who were members of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA[R]) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) about the topics they say are most important for entry-level and senior-level management accountants. Ahadiat said he believes that accounting faculty tend to emphasize traditional topics that are not necessarily important to contemporary business. He hoped his research would influence accounting educators to revise curricula or design new courses to better prepare accounting graduates for practice. Germain Boer, a professor at Vanderbilt University, expressed concern about the management accounting curriculum. He stated, "The more I learn about the practice of management accounting, the more dissatisfied I've become with what I teach in my courses, so my class material is constantly evolving to accommodate my ever-changing understanding of management accounting." (3) Boer documented the history of management accounting curricula by reviewing the table of contents of textbooks from 1919 to the present. He concluded that currently there is a disconnect between the textbooks (and likely what is taught in the classroom) and the needs of the profession. He suggested that the textbooks need to place more emphasis on decision making, cash flow analysis (versus cost analysis), and the service industry. Boer explained that the textbooks cover topics accounting educators find interesting instead of issues accounting managers find important. (4) Furthermore, he stated that IMA changed the title of its monthly publication from Management Accounting to Strategic Finance to better emphasize what management accountants are doing. (5) Zafar Khan, Thomas Cianciolo, and Eileen Peacock analyzed IMA's Practice Analysis database to provide insight into the similarities and differences in management accounting practice for the manufacturing and service industries. Their goal was to determine the skills and abilities entry-level accountants needed for success in the workplace. They concluded that two or possibly three new courses needed to be developed or revised to better prepare students to function in the workplace. They suggested their research would be "an important first step in accounting program reengineering." (6) Philip Cooper documented the changes in the management accountant's function from the 1970s to the present. He provided insight into the present knowledge needs of management accountants based on a shift of economic activity away from manufacturing and on an emphasis on globalization. He surveyed 1,600 chartered accountants and asked how important specific topics were to the work carried out by their organizations. (7) He concluded that although there were variations among the responses between economic sectors, there was an emphasis on more strategic topics and the broadening of knowledge. Tatikonda provided an historical perspective of management accounting. She stated, "Above all, companies no longer want 'bean counters'--they want employees who can work as business consultants to help them make 'better beans' at a lower cost." (8) Further, she said that although current accounting education may serve the needs and desires of faculty, it does not meet the needs of students. …


This paper presents an automatic approach to analyze the human interactions appearing in multiparty data, aiming at understanding the data content and at extracting social informa- tion such as Which role do people play?, What is their attitude?, or Can people be split into meaningful groups?. To extract such information, we use a set of mathematical techniques, namely Social Networks Analysis (SNA), developed by sociologists to analyze social interac- tions. This paper shows that a strong connection can be established between the content of broadcast data and the social interactions of the individuals involved in the recordings. Experiments aiming at assigning each individual to a social group corresponding to a specific topic in broadcast news, and experiments aiming at recognizing the role played by each indi- vidual in multiparty data are presented in this paper. The results achieved are satisfactory, which suggests on one side that the application of SNA to similar problems could lead to useful contributions in the domain of multimedia content analysis, and on the other side, that the presented analysis of social interactions could be a significant breakthrough for affective computing.


[1] Six Earth system models that include an interactive carbon cycle and have contributed results to the 5th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) are evaluated with respect to Arctic Ocean acidification. Projections under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 8.5 and 4.5 consistently show reductions in the bidecadal mean surface pH from about 8.1 in 1986–2005 to 7.7/7.9 by 2066–2085 in the Canada Basin, closely linked to reductions in the calcium carbonate saturation state XA,C from about 1.4 (2.0) to 0.7 (1.0) for aragonite (calcite) for RCP8.5. The large but opposite effects of dilution and biological drawdown of DIC and dilution of alkalinity lead to a small seasonal amplitude change in X, as well as intermodel differences in the timing and sign of the summer minimum. The Canada Basin shows a characteristic layering in X: affected by ice melt and inflowing Pacific water, shallow undersaturated layers form at the surface and subsurface, creating a shallow saturation horizon which expands from the surface downward. This is in addition to the globally observed deep saturation horizon which is continuously expanding upward with increasing CO2 uptake. The Eurasian Basin becomes undersaturated much later than the rest of the Arctic. These CMIP5 model results strengthen earlier findings, although large intermodel differences remain: Below 200 m XA varies by up to 1.0 in the Canada Basin and the deep saturation horizon varies from 2000 to 4000 m among the models. Differences of projected acidification changes are primarily related to sea ice retreat and responses of wind mixing and stratification.


In the past few years, there has been a growing interest on body composition changes of cancer patients. Muscle mass and fat mass are pointed out as the most important compartments from a physiological point of view, as their changes are the ones with the most impact on disease. The excess of fat mass is related with increased risk of incidence and recurrence of some types of cancer, and some studies identify it as a major contributing factor for increased morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Weight loss in cancer is frequent and is associated with symptoms, circulating pro-cachectic substances produced by the tumour, and/or hypermetabolism states, not compensated with adequate intake. Muscle mass depletion is the most worrying, and has been associated with decreased functional capacity, increased toxicity of anti-neoplastic treatments, longer length of stay and higher risk of nosocomial infections. In end stage disease, some patients may develop cancer cachexia, an irreversible condition highly associated with mortality. Of note that, lean body mass depletion may occur with excess fat mass (sarcopenic obesity), a condition that combines the health risks of obesity and those of sarcopenia. The high prevalence of malnutrition in cancer patients justifies its relevance. Many patients point it as a cause for the reduction of physical, cognitive, emotional and social functions, as well as anorexia, fatigue, dyspnoea, insomnia, gastrointestinal symptoms and worse Quality of Life. Additionally, body composition may be affected by nutrition, lifestyles and physical activity; therefore, any approach to the patient should include all these dimensions, with special emphasis on individualised nutritional intervention. Therefore, nutritional therapy should be adjuvant to any treatment, as it is essential in all stages of the disease: for its development, during the treatment(s) and in the follow-up period. The aim of nutritional intervention is to promote changes in body composition, by maintaining or increasing lean body mass and keeping fat mass in healthy levels, which may have a positive impact on Quality of Life, response to treatment(s), prognosis and reduced health care costs.


This guide provides examples of opportunities for integrating the AASHTO Highway Safety Manual into the project development process. This includes integrating methods from the Highway Safety Manual into planning, alternatives development and analysis, design, operations, and maintenance. The guide provides a description of each of these steps in the project development process, and then provides a discussion of the methods from the Highway Safety Manual, and in some cases other resources, that support these steps. The application of safety analysis tools such as the Integrated Highway Safety Design Model, SafetyAnalyst, the CMF Clearinghouse, and example spreadsheet tools are discussed. Resources from FHWA and NCHRP are also presented. The purpose of this guide is to provide the practitioners with examples and ideas for integrating safety performance measures into the project development process.


Oxidative stress triggers release of the core catalytic subunit of the yeast 26S proteasome, enabling degradation of toxic oxidized proteins. Separation of Powers The proteasome is a large, multicatalytic complex that degrades proteins in an ATP- and ubiquitin-dependent manner. The 26S proteasome is composed of the 20S catalytic core and the 19S regulatory particle. The 19S particle consists of two subcomplexes that constitute the base and lid structures around the catalytic core. When separated from the 26S proteasome, the 20S core degrades oxidized (nonubiquitinated) proteins. Oxidative stress results in the accumulation of damaged proteins in the cell, which are removed by proteasomes. Wang et al. used mass spectrometry to examine the effects of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)–induced stress on the 26S proteasome in yeast. H2O2 triggered recruitment to the 19S particle of the proteasome-binding protein Ecm29 and disassembly of the 26S proteasome into its 20S and 19S constituents. Yeast strains deficient in Ecm29 did not exhibit 26S disassembly and were more sensitive to H2O2 than were wild-type cells. Indeed, an efficient response to H2O2 required disassembly of the 26S proteasome to generate sufficient amounts of free 20S core to degrade oxidized proteins. Similar results were obtained in experiments with a human cell line, which suggests that dissociation of the 26S proteasome in response to oxidative stress may be a conserved cellular response in eukaryotes. The proteasome plays a pivotal role in the cellular response to oxidative stress. Here, we used biochemical and mass spectrometric methods to investigate structural changes in the 26S proteasomes from yeast and mammalian cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Oxidative stress induced the dissociation of the 20S core particle from the 19S regulatory particle of the 26S proteasome, which resulted in loss of the activities of the 26S proteasome and accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins. H2O2 triggered the increased association of the proteasome-interacting protein Ecm29 with the purified 19S particle. Deletion of ECM29 in yeast cells prevented the disassembly of the 26S proteasome in response to oxidative stress, and ecm29 mutants were more sensitive to H2O2 than were wild-type cells, suggesting that separation of the 19S and 20S particles is important for cellular recovery from oxidative stress. The increased amount of free 20S core particles was required to degrade oxidized proteins. The Ecm29-dependent dissociation of the proteasome was independent of Yap1, a transcription factor that is critical for the oxidative stress response in yeast, and thus functions as a parallel defense pathway against H2O2-induced stress.


The bioaccumulation of 16 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkylated PAHs in the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum exposed to sediments artificially contaminated by Iranian Heavy Crude Oil was measured and the biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) was estimated through laboratory experiments. The proportion of 16 PAHs accumulated in the tissue of R. philippinarum was only from 3 to 7% of total PAHs. Among 16 PAHs, the concentration of naphthalene was highest in the tissue. Alkylated PAHs were highly accumulated more than 93% of total PAHs. The C3 dibenzothiophene was most highly accumulated. The relative composition of alkylated naphthalenes in the tissue of R. philippinarum was lower than in the sediments. In contrast, those of alkylated compounds of fluorenes, phenanthrenes, dibenzothiophenes were higher in the tissue than the sediments. The BSAF for sum of 16 PAHs was 0.11 to 0.13 g carbon/g lipid and that for alkylated PAHs was 0.05 to 0.06 g carbon/g lipid. Naphthalene showed the highest BSAF value. Alkylated PAHs with the same parent compound, BSAF tended to increase with the number of alkylated branch increased, except for alkylated chrysenes. BSAF of total PAHs lies between that of field-based values, and are also similar to those of other persistent organic pollutants (PCBs, DDTs, HCHs). This study provides the BSAF values of individual alkylated PAHs accumulated in R. philippinarum for the first time and will be used as a basis for further understanding the bioaccumulation of organic contaminants in the marine benthic organisms.


Despite an increased interest from the global change and resilience community, there is limited knowledge about the features and outcomes of polycentric governance. Moreover, there are few examples from the literature explaining transitions from lower to higher degrees of polycentric order. This seriously limits the explanatory power and application potential of the theory. The present study addresses this gap by investigating the global governance of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) cycles. Those biophysical flows are two of the identified Earth-system processes in the "planetary boundaries" framework. This study explores governance challenges associated to these processes by analysing present institutional structures and actor collaborations. This is done by studying the network structures among all relevant multilateral agreements, EU (-level) Directives, and agreements on trade, combined with a more in-depth analysis of one global partnership initiative as a means to assess a possible emerging structure of polycentric order. The present study provides insights into how the current governance regimes in place for regulating the issues related to N and P flows look like, as well as issues and synergies of having a global partnership in place. The study suggests a global structure of polycentricity, which has the possibility to evolve into a better "match" with the dynamics of those biophysical flows through a larger governance context.


The requirements engineers use several techniques to assist them on the elicitation, analysis, specification, validation and requirements management process, but the number of those tools in this segment is still reduced. The requirements are the base for the software development, which, most of time is described in natural language. In this paper a tool called PARADIGMA is presented, it was developed to assist the requirements engineers to identify in a easier way classes, attributes, operations and relationships from the described requirements in natural language, and using the Natural Language Processing (more specifically the morphosyntatics taggers), generating a conceptual classes model of UML (Unified Modeling Language). Besides the mentioned characteristics above, the tool uses the concept of linguistic standards that facilitate the creation of diagrams closer to those created by human. The experimentation of the tool was made by professionals and professors who act in the area of Requirements Engineering. On the basis of the results, we come to the conclusion of the relevance of the tool PARADIGMA in the context of the Requirements Engineering.