Background: Diabetes mellitus is the most prevalent metabolic disorder. Previous related studies have shown that, lungs are target organs in diabetic micro-angiopathy. The present study was designed to investigate the spirometric indices in patients with type 2 diabetes referred to the outpatient clinic of Imam Hussein hospital in Shahroud, Iran. Methods: This comparative study included 50 patients with type 2 diabetes and 50 non-diabetic subjects who were matched in terms of weight, age, and sex, and were referred to the Diabetes clinic of Imam Hussein hospital in Shahroud, Iran. MIR SPIROLAB III spirometer was used for spirometric tests to obtain FEV1, FVC, PEFR, and FEF 25-75. Decrease in these indices is determinant of pulmonary complications. Indices were compared between two groups. The relationships between some variables like glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and type of their treatment with the severity of spirometric disturbances were also assessed. Results: The average age was equal to 56.3 years old (with SD of 6.3 years) and 58.3 years old (with SD of 6.3 years), respectively in non-diabetic and diabetic group. Comparison of the FEV1, FVC, PEFR, and FEF 25-75 indices between diabetic and non-diabetic groups showed a significant difference (P.V<0.05). No significant difference was found in the FEV1/FVC ratio. According to the Pearson correlation formula, there was a significant association between decreased spirometric indices and increased concentration of Hb A1C (-.630, -.635 and-.374 for FEV1, FVC, and PEFR, respectively). There was no association between decreased concentration of FEV1/FVC and increased HbA1c. Conclusions: The findings of the study revealed that, there was a significant decrease in pulmonary functions in the diabetic group. Impaired pulmonary function can be detected in early stages of diabetes and studying the pulmonary function can be easily preformed. Accordingly, screening lungs function should be carried out regularly, as well as integrating in other routine examinations and screening tests.


Abstract This study examines the effectiveness of service-learning as a pedagogical approach that seeks to bridge the gap of understanding between predominantly White undergraduate preservice teachers (PSTs) and diverse students at a local elementary school. Analysis of 'before' and 'after' reflective papers and surveys from 23 PSTs enrolled in an entry-level education course as well as reflective letters from 41 fourth-grade students, revealed that prior to the project, PSTs feared that students' language barriers or home circumstances might prohibit them from understanding or valuing the concepts introduced through the project. In PST 'after' reflections, PSTs expressed their new realizations that teaching is complex and requires careful preparation, that the children were 'less different' and more engaged than they expected, and that they can make a difference in children's lives. Benefits to the children include development of new and usable social skills and an increase in their interpersonal confidence.


We evaluated autopsy-proven invasive fungal infections (IFI) in patients with hematologic malignancies over three periods (1989-1993, 1994-1998, and 1999-2003). The autopsy rate declined significantly (67%-34%-26%, respectively p<0.0001). IFI were identified in 314 (31%) of 1017 autopsies. Most IFI (75%) were not diagnosed antemortem. The prevalence of invasive mold infections increased significantly (19%-24%-25% p=0.05) in parallel with the emergence of Zygomycetes (0.9%-4%-3%; p=0.03). The prevalence of all other IFI remained relatively constant. Among patients with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, those with graft-versus-host disease had a histopathological pattern distinct from those with neutropenia. The complex and evolving epidemiology of IFI in severely immunocompromised patients is not well captured by current diagnostic methods.


An enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can help organizations and firms in their activities like: production planning, purchase, human resource, finance, sales, inventory control and etc. Selection of an ERP is mentioned as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. However, several MCDM-models are proposed to solve this, but many of them didn't consider uncertainty as an effective environmental factor. In this paper, a new model has designed which used three-parameter interval grey numbers concept that is derived from Grey-theory. These numbers can help for reducing the uncertainty of data. Besides, a combination model for weighting has planned by implementing AHP and Entropy methods that are used in order to reduce uncertainty. And last, a decision making method (Three-parameter grey interval incidence degree method) is used for ranking process. There is a case study at the end of this paper that shows how this model works.


The effect of a selective cavity with a diffraction grating on the radiation polarization of a size-quantized heterojunction laser has been theoretically investigated. The variation of the degree of polarization as a function of the relationship of the optical loss factors is established for the TE and TM modes. Ways are determined for optimizing single-mode lasing of radiation of the required polarization. © 2004 Optical Society of America


Concerned with the ordination, correlation and age determination of the rock record and the events entombed therein, stratigraphy is the central discipline in geohistory and biohistory. We consider (from our Cenozoic perch) changes in stratigraphy since the gestation of the International Stratigraphic Guide—changes in response to the "revolutions" of plate tectonics, bolide theory, se- quence stratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy, and a cultural shift away from Lyellian gradualism. We discuss certain strictly stratigraphic matters in terms of the "Hedberg triad" of lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy, which triad has had its day as the core structure of the Guide. Sequence stratigraphy challenges both the lithostratigraphic formation and the notion of pervasive diachrony. Biostratigraphy flourishes in both its oppelzone and phylozone modes and is integrated increasingly with geomagnetic (the Cenozoic spine) and radiometric evidence in a sequence-and cyclostratigraphic context. Chronostratigraphic classification is hierarchi- cal but rigid nesting is questioned.


We demonstrate the use of an astigmatic detection system (ADS) for resonance frequency identification of polymer microcantilever sensors. The ADS technology is based on a DVD optical head combined with an optical microscope (OM). The optical head has a signal bandwidth of 80 MHz, allowing thermal fluctuation measurements on cantilever beams with a subnanometer resolution. Furthermore, an external excitation can intensify the resonance amplitude, enhancing the signal- to-noise ratio. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the laser spot is 568 nm, which facilitates read-out on potentially submicrometer-sized cantilevers. The resonant frequency of SU-8 microcantilevers is measured by both thermal fluctuation and excited vibration measurement modes of the ADS.


Bio-Inspired Drug Delivery Noting that platelets naturally migrate to narrowed blood vessels characterized by high fluid shear stress, Korin et al. (p. 738, published online 5 July; see the Perspective by Lavik and Ustin) developed a nanoparticle-based therapeutic that uses a similar targeting mechanism to deliver a drug to vessels obstructed by blood clots. Aggregates of nanoparticles coated with the clot-dissolving drug tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) were designed to fall apart and release the drug only when encountering high fluid shear stress. In preclinical models, the bio-inspired therapeutic dissolved clots and restored normal blood flow at lower doses than free tPA, suggesting that this localized delivery system may help reduce the risk of side effects such as excessive bleeding. Nanoparticles carrying a drug that dissolves blood clots disintegrate at sites of stenosis. Obstruction of critical blood vessels due to thrombosis or embolism is a leading cause of death worldwide. Here, we describe a biomimetic strategy that uses high shear stress caused by vascular narrowing as a targeting mechanism—in the same way platelets do—to deliver drugs to obstructed blood vessels. Microscale aggregates of nanoparticles were fabricated to break up into nanoscale components when exposed to abnormally high fluid shear stress. When coated with tissue plasminogen activator and administered intravenously in mice, these shear-activated nanotherapeutics induce rapid clot dissolution in a mesenteric injury model, restore normal flow dynamics, and increase survival in an otherwise fatal mouse pulmonary embolism model. This biophysical strategy for drug targeting, which lowers required doses and minimizes side effects while maximizing drug efficacy, offers a potential new approach for treatment of life-threatening diseases that result from acute vascular occlusion.


There is a strong case for free software (also known as open source or libre software) being deployed widely in developing countries. This paper describes three reasons in particular: free software is a skills enabling platform; it is far cheaper; and it is more adaptable to local needs. The free software development community provides an environment of intensive interactive skills development at little explicit cost, which is particularly useful for local development of skills, especially in economically disadvantaged regions. Meanwhile, the controversy over total costs of ownership (TCO) of free vs. proprietary software is not applicable to developing countries and other regions with low labour costs, where the TCO advantage lies with free software, and the share of licence fees in TCO is much higher than in (richer) high labour cost countries. The note concludes with a table comparing license fees for proprietary software against GDP per capita for 176 countries.


The term skills mismatch is very broad and can relate to many forms of labour market friction, including vertical mismatch, skill gaps, skill shortages, field of study (horizontal) mismatch and skill obsolescence. In this paper, we provide a clear overview of each concept and discuss the measurement and inter‐relatedness of different forms of mismatch. We present a comprehensive analysis of the current position of the literature on skills mismatch and highlight areas which are relatively underdeveloped and may warrant further research. Using data from the European Skills and Jobs Survey, we assess the incidence of various combinations of skills mismatch across the EU. Finally, we review the European Commission's country‐specific recommendations and find that skills mismatch, when referring to underutilized human capital in the form of overeducation and skills underutilization, receives little policy attention. In cases where skills mismatch forms part of policy recommendations, the policy advice is either vague or addresses the areas of mismatch for which there is the least available evidence.


Recent studies have provided evidence of a large flux of root-respired CO2 in the transpiration stream of trees. In our study, we investigated the potential impact of this internal CO2 transport on aboveground carbon assimilation and CO2 efflux. To trace the transport of root-respired CO2, we infused a 13C label at the stem base of field-grown Populus deltoides Bartr. ex. Marsh trees. The 13C label was transported to the top of the stem and throughout the crown via the transpiration stream. Up to 17% of the 13C label was assimilated by chlorophyll-containing tissues. Our results provide evidence of a mechanism for recycling respired CO2 within trees. Such a mechanism may have important implications for how plants cope with predicted increases in intensity and frequency of droughts. Here, we speculate on the potential significance of this recycling mechanism within the context of plant responses to climate change and plants currently inhabiting arid environments.


The number of global comparative researches of journalistic culture is increasing. More and more the samples of countries for comparisons are putting Non-Western cultures at the centre of its enquiry. In this article, we analyse the self-perception of professional roles and the idea of objectivity of Swiss, Spanish and Ecuadorian journalists. In order to study these dimensions we use fieldwork based on in-depth interviews with 70 journalists from 15 media in the three countries and multilevel analysis of the context influences. The objective is to determine the journalists' self-perception of their professional roles and the idea of objectivity as an ideal and method within their contexts. Results show that Spanish journalists tend to have an interventionist role and are opposed to the government. Swiss journalists tend towards a greater passivity and objectivity than Spanish journalists and, even though they do not see themselves as watchdogs, they have a critical position towards the centres of power. And, finally, Ecuadorian journalists believe they are neutral and impartial professionals, feeling that they must inform the citizens, and the objectivity as philosophical concept is not a goal for their profession.


Current manned space efforts are heavily invested in areas where cooperation is a key concern. The International Space Station program consists of seven international partners, and there is a renewed push to send unmanned probes to the moon in preparation for future sustained manned missions. Cooperation in space endeavors, much like in any area of international policy, has its own benefits and challenges that are unique to each participant and this comparative analysis will present the view of these benefits and challenges from the perspective of each of the great space powers. This research evaluates each of the great space powers, Russia, the United States, and China, in terms of its potential for successful international cooperation. A country tends to view its manned space program either from a political perspective, stressing national security and international prestige; or from an economic perspective, stressing industry growth and profit generation. It is believed that a country with the economic view of its program is more open to international cooperation, whereas a country with the political view will be less inclined to work with partners. Methodologically, the paper first presents a historical view of each of the great space powers' manned space programs. This is followed by a look at current efforts and future plans, and finally, a look at the potential for international cooperation. Each nation's unique situation, in terms of the benefits and challenges it must consider in choosing to undertake expanded cooperation, are discussed.


Guided Autobiography (GAB) is a structured, thematic, group approach to life review. Since its development by James Birren, it has been widely used and has generated empirical research. The focus of our article is on this research investigating 1) the content of GAB (defined in terms of the assigned themes); 2) the GAB process (as explicitly designed and how it implicitly manifests in the experience of learning); and 3) outcomes of GAB (both tangible, e.g., a written life review document, and subjective, such as increases in mastery and decreases in depression). The existing research supports the premises of GAB and suggestions for subsequent research are offered.


Wafer scale nanostencil lithography is used to define 200 nm scale mechanically resonating silicon cantilevers monolithically integrated into CMOS circuits. We demonstrate the simultaneous patterning of ~2000 nano-devices by post-processing standard CMOS wafers using one single metal evaporation, pattern transfer to silicon and subsequent etch of the sacrificial layer. Resonance frequencies around 1.5 MHz were measured in air and vacuum and tuned by applying dc voltages of 10V and 1V respectively


Chisholm v. Georgia was the first great constitutional case decided by the Supreme Court. In Chisholm, the Court addressed the fundamental question: Who is Sovereign? The People or the State? It adopted an individual concept of popular sovereignty rather than the modern view that limits popular sovereignty to collective or democratic self-government. It denied that the State of Georgia was a sovereign entitled, like the King of England, to assert immunity from a lawsuit brought by a private citizen. Despite all this, Chisholm is not among the canon of cases that all law students are taught. Why not? In this essay, I offer several reasons: Constitutional law is taught by doctrine rather than chronologically; law professors have reason to privilege the Marshall Court; and the Court's individualist view of popular sovereignty is thought to have been repudiated by the adoption of the Eleventh Amendment. I explain why the Eleventh Amendment did not repudiate the view of sovereignty expressed in Chisholm by comparing the wording of the Eleventh with that of the Ninth Amendment, and conclude by suggesting another reason why Chisholm is not in the canon: Law professors follow the lead of the Supreme Court and, like the Ninth Amendment, the Supreme Court has deemed its first great decision too radical in its implications.


Non-racialism as a concept has a rich and contentious history in South African politics. For many it was a core feature of the struggle against apartheid, uniting a range of forces fighting for a society free from racial discrimination. Indeed it is a central tenet in South Africa's Constitution, forming a core part of the 'founding provisions' of the country. However, there is widespread contestation over what the concept entails, both theoretically and in practical terms. This article examines the concept of non-racialism primarily through the lens of South Africa's largest political opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), but relates its approach to that of the African National Congress (ANC). How has the DA conceptualised and instrumentalised the vision of non-racialism, historically and in post-apartheid South Africa? This article argues that neither the DA nor the ANC has been able to do so coherently. The idea of non-racialism is a fracture that deeply divides both parties; this division is also one that originated historically for both parties. The article concludes that there is a clear shift in how the DA envisaged non-racialism during apartheid and how the party instrumentalises the concept today, and that this change echoes, to some extent, the experiences of the ANC. Both parties now equate non-racialism to multiracialism, on the one hand, and a (interim) racialisation of politics on the other. This raises the question of whether non-racialism, as conceived by some in the early days of the Congress alliance, is a dying ideal.


This review conducted a comprehensive examination of the current state of the literature on the academic status of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The authors examined the literature to assess (a) student characteristics, (b) placement settings, (c) academic subject areas, and (d) measures used to assess academic achievement. Second, when possible, the functioning level of students was examined.Third, trends in the research over the past 4 decades were assessed. Although several investigators have researched the academic status of these students, significant limitations exist in the research, including incomplete reporting of student information, inadequate research on specific academic skill sets, and limited numbers of studies assessing students served in general education settings. Implications of the findings are discussed.


Abstract Emissions trading schemes have gained an important degree of momentum in recent years, rapidly becoming mainstream solutions to deal with the negative environmental consequences of human activity such as pollution and global warming. However there is still little empirical knowledge about what specific kind of work emissions trading schemes do. Using the analytical tools provided by science and technology studies, especially developments studying markets and economic practices, this paper looks to contribute to filling this void by exploring three kinds of work that emissions trading schemes might do: performing a textbook market of emissions permits, performing a civilized market in which a multitude of heterogeneous actors participate and as exemplars of the validity of certain economic knowledge. In order to explore the usability of this conceptualization the paper will then analyze one of earliest concrete implementations of this device: an emissions trading scheme introduced to deal with industrial air pollution in the city of Santiago (Chile) in the early 1990s. Through a historical genealogy, it will show this emissions trading scheme working not mainly as a textbook market, but as a civilized one and as a powerful exemplar that helped to mobilize both command-and-control regulation and neoliberal environmental economics to/from Chile and elsewhere.


Study Design: Retrospective study of a prospectively collected database. Objective: To investigate the rate and risk factors for 30-day readmissions and reoperations after 3-column osteotomy (3CO). Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database (2012-2014) was reviewed. Inclusion criteria were adult patients who underwent 3CO. The rate of 30-day readmission/reoperation was examined, and the association between patient/operative characteristics and outcome was investigated via multivariate analysis. Results: There were 299 patients who underwent a 3CO for spinal deformity. The rate of 30-day readmission and reoperation was 11.0% and 8.4%, respectively; 7.7% of readmissions were related to the primary procedure and 3.3% were unrelated. The most common unique cause for readmission was wound infection in 27.2% of cases. Among reoperations, the most common unique indications were wound infection (20.0%) and implant-related complications (20.0%). On multivariate analysis, obesity (odds ratio [OR] = 2.96; 95% CI = 1.06-8.25; P = .038), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 20.8; 95% CI = 3.49-123.5; P = .001), and fusion of 13 or more spinal levels were independent predictors of readmission (OR = 4.86; 95% CI = 1.21-19.5; P = .025). On the other hand, independent predictors of reoperation included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 6.33; 95% CI = 1.16-34.5; P = .033) and chronic steroid use (OR = 6.69; 95% CI = 1.61-27.7; P = .009). Conclusion: Wound complications and short-term implant-related complications are important causes of readmission and/or reoperation after 3CO. Preoperative factors such as obesity, chronic lung disease, chronic steroid use, and long-segment fusion procedures may significantly increase the risk of 30-day morbidity following high-grade osteotomies.


This engaging book helps readers move beyond one-dimensional conceptualizations of identity to an understanding of the complex, overlapping cultural influences that form each of us. Pamela Hays' "ADDRESSING" framework enables therapists to better recognize and understand cultural influences as a multidimensional combination of Age, Developmental and acquired Disabilities, Religion, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, Native origin, and Gender. Unlike other books on therapy with diverse clients, which tend to focus on working with one particular ethnic group, "Addressing Cultural Complexities in Practice" presents a framework that can be used with a person of any cultural identity.This second edition has been updated throughout and has new sections on cross-cultural assessment of trauma, on psychotherapy with people living in poverty, and on ethical boundaries and complex relationships in rural and minority communities. A special section describes how to integrate cultural considerations into the evidence-based practice of cognitive - behavioral therapy. Organized according to the flow of clinical work (in contrast to the one chapter-per-group approach), the book's contents are summarized in handy Key Tables at the end of each chapter for ease of use in education and supervision.This stimulating book will be an important resource for counselors, clinicians, and mental health professionals working with clients from a variety of backgrounds.


Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is highly lethal, and until prevention of this disease is possible, various treatments including the recently developed immunotherapy to improve patients' survival and quality of life are desperately needed. The objectives of this article are to examine the role of tumor-associated immunosuppression in pancreatic cancer development, dissect the cellular and molecular basis of the immunotherapeutic approaches, and discuss the current status and emerging strategies of immunotherapy in this malignant disease. Animal models and experimental evidence have shown that pancreatic tumor-associated stroma produces an immunosuppressive microenvironment, which promotes development and progression of pancreatic tumor. This results from dynamic interactions among pancreatic cancer cells and the immune effector cells through the actions of multiple cytokines and binding of immunomodulatory molecules. Various immunotherapeutic approaches have been developed in attempt to stimulate immune response by cytokine- or tumor-associated antigen-based vaccines, adoptive transfer of immunotoxins or antigen-primed immune cells, or antibodies directed against immune regulators. Results of these clinical studies show that these treatments are generally well tolerated without major serious complications, and demonstrate potential efficacy of immune-based therapies in pancreatic cancer. Strategies to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy may be accomplished by combining it with the conventionally used chemotherapy or targeted agents. Combinatorial approach using molecular profiling and bioinformatics may help identify predictive biomarkers of treatment response as well as identifying potential targets for personalized cancer vaccines. Hopefully, this article will stimulate further research interests and collaborative efforts to optimize therapy for patients with this devastating disease.


This study describes the effect of venom from two species of scorpionfish; Hypodytes rubripinnis and Synanceja verrucosa on normal and malignant cell lines with especial reference to protein components, which may cause selective proliferation and/or lysis of the cell lines and to monitor the extent of such effects. Flow cytometric analysis also enabled us to follow the effect on morphology of individual cells. We have attempted to characterize the two venoms in terms of their biological properties, and the findings reported here indicate that venom from both species possess mitogenic as well as cytotoxic properties with differentiation of cell lines.

Hypodytes rubripinnis, commonly known as 'redfin velvetfish' is amongst the dangerous species of scorpion-fish that elicit severe effects on humans following envenomation including intense pain, swelling around the area of sting and tissue necrosis.

S. verrucosa commonly known as stonefish is a well-known specie of the scorpion-fish group. Venom from S. verrucosa has been studied extensively for its pharmacological and enzymatic properties.

The first part of the present study is based on the comparison of some biological activities of venom from the two species. Venom from H. rubripinnis caused agglutination of rabbit erythrocytes, and showed mitogenic and cytotoxic activities on different cell lines. Chromatography of crude venom was performed using gel filtration. The fractions obtained were analyzed for agglutination, mitogenesis and cytotoxicity. Fraction II obtained after gel filtration of crude venom showed cytotoxic activity and was further fractionated on reversed phase HPLC. In the present study we have isolated a 90-kDa protein using gel filtration and reversed phase HPLC, possessing cytotoxic activity. Further studies are required to characterize this protein.

Crude venom from S. verrucosa was also subjected to mitogenic, cytotoxic and flow cytometric analysis, using different cell lines. The venom proteins were fractionated on Sephadex G-200 and RP-HPLC. Two low molecular mass proteins were found to be homogenous on SDS PAGE. Amino acid analysis of these proteins revealed close resemblance to lectins isolated from marine venoms. Further studies are required to characterize the biological activities of these fractions.


Abstract. 3D city model is a digital representation of the Earth's surface and it's related objects such as building, tree, vegetation, and some manmade feature belonging to urban area. The demand of 3D city modeling is increasing rapidly for various engineering and non-engineering applications. Generally four main image based approaches were used for virtual 3D city models generation. In first approach, researchers were used Sketch based modeling, second method is Procedural grammar based modeling, third approach is Close range photogrammetry based modeling and fourth approach is mainly based on Computer Vision techniques. SketchUp, CityEngine, Photomodeler and Agisoft Photoscan are the main softwares to represent these approaches respectively. These softwares have different approaches & methods suitable for image based 3D city modeling. Literature study shows that till date, there is no complete such type of comparative study available to create complete 3D city model by using images. This paper gives a comparative assessment of these four image based 3D modeling approaches. This comparative study is mainly based on data acquisition methods, data processing techniques and output 3D model products. For this research work, study area is the campus of civil engineering department, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (India). This 3D campus acts as a prototype for city. This study also explains various governing parameters, factors and work experiences. This research work also gives a brief introduction, strengths and weakness of these four image based techniques. Some personal comment is also given as what can do or what can't do from these softwares. At the last, this study shows; it concluded that, each and every software has some advantages and limitations. Choice of software depends on user requirements of 3D project. For normal visualization project, SketchUp software is a good option. For 3D documentation record, Photomodeler gives good result. For Large city reconstruction; CityEngine is a good product. Agisoft Photoscan software creates much better 3D model with good texture quality and automatic processing. So this image based comparative study is useful for 3D city user community. Thus this study will provide a good roadmap for geomatics user community to create photo-realistic virtual 3D city model by using image based techniques.


Although some form of silvopasture management has been practiced for centuries, silvopasture as an agroforestry practice is specifically designed and managed for the production of trees, tree products, forage, and livestock. Silvopasture results when forage crops are deliberately introduced or enhanced in a timber production system, or timber crops are deliberately introduced or enhanced in a forage production system. As a silvopasture, timber and pasture are managed as a single integrated system.


This corpus-based article explores London and Madrid teenagers' use of phatic expressions as a politeness device in their everyday conversations. The starting-point for the study is Leech's 'Phatic Maxim', which he suggests as a supplement to the four maxims making up Grice's Cooperative Principle. The purport of the maxim is to avoid silence by keeping talking, which may involve anything from loose formulaic talk to connectors and the use of taboo words, all of which are phatic devices with a strong bonding effect. The teenage talk studied here is largely void of the formulaic expressions that characterize conversational openings and closings in adult speakers' casual encounters. Both groups are frequent users of turn-final appealers which trigger turn-initial uptakes and of reaction signals realized by interjections and taboo words, all with a strongly bonding effect. Boys in particular are not only allowed but even expected to use taboo language as a sign of camaraderie and a means to reinforce the phatic strength of an exchange. In both corpora, there is ample use of fillers that help the speaker to hold the turn, and hedges, which often act as fillers in addition to helping the speaker avoid self-commitment. And whereas the Spanish teenagers use certain vocatives as a purely conversational resource to establish and maintain contact, the English teenagers insert 'unsolicited' minimal feedback signals (for example, realized by mhm or mm ) which encourage the current speaker to go on speaking.


Geochemical and hydrogeochemical studies were conducted to assess the origin and geochemical mechanisms driving lead enrichment in groundwaters of semi-arid regions in Central Iran. In this study, 149 water samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Concentrations of Pb and As in about 68% and 27% of the samples, respectively, exceeded WHO guidelines. Analyzing the results of ICP-MS of parental rocks and aquifer sediments shows that unweathered volcanic rocks were the primary source for lead mobilizing to groundwaters.


The future success of the cell therapy sector depends largely upon the ability to produce large numbers of high quality and efficacious cells. Within the production of living cells, the product and process become inseparable, thus, the selection and implementation of a large scale commercial production process becomes crucial to the success of the therapy. Traditional cell therapy lifecycles from the discovery phase through to patient administration utilise various unit operations, necessary for expansion, primary recovery, purification and final formulation. It is the induction of variation within cell populations caused whilst processed within these processes that can potentially render the product ineffective and unusable, creating major concern within the healthcare sector. This body of work casts focus upon the recovery of human cells intended for therapeutic use by centrifugation and sediment resuspension, a commonly adopted process which facilitates primary recovery, cell washing and purification processes, as well as the concentration of cells to a final administration specification. With the creation of ultra scale-down techniques coupled with a Design of Experiments approach, the impact of key unit associated parameters such as centrifugation spin time and intensity, along with the technique adopted for sediment resuspension has been characterised for three different human cell lines intended for therapy. A potential developmental roadmap has been created for the production and evaluation of cells for therapies. A range of cell quality attributes were evaluated forming the characterisation criteria, encompassing the analysis of structural integrity, surface marker profiling, cell death induction, cell proliferation capacity, a change in cell size and morphology, the induction of cell signalling in the form of cytokine release and crucially, the potency of the therapy. This facilitated an indepth view into the response of cells when processed, exemplifying the somewhat robust capacity of human cells. This work has aided the formation of a mechanistic hypothesis concerning cell damage as a consequence of the process. Traditional centrifugation protocols operate at the lower extremes of the design space investigated, so characterisation can inform as to the limits of manufacturing at large scale. Critical process effects affecting the recovery of viable cells included (i) the cell preparation with long hold times leading to greater loss during centrifugation and (ii) the method of cell pellet resuspension with the use of few passes at high velocities resulting in greater loss than many passes at low velocity. The mechanisms behind these and other process induced damage are explored.


The dominant conceptions of development and the right thereto have been confined to narrow, sectoral interpretations focusing on economic matrices and collective entities such as the state or peoples. This book delimits these key notions of the public order of the 21st century in an entirely new fashion. Drawing on fundamental precepts of policy-oriented jurisprudence, this book offers a comprehensive and systematic study and redefinition of development and the right to development guided by the goal of maximum access by all to the processes of shaping and sharing of all things humans value, including, empirically, aspirations to power, wealth, well-being, affection, enlightenment, skills, respect, and rectitude. This new paradigm of development offers fertile ground for legal and policy responses designed to bring about a public order of human dignity in all parts of the planet. The book was awarded the Society of Policy Scientists 2012 Harold D. Lasswell Prize.


The evolutionary divergence of mating signals provides a powerful basis for animal speciation. Divergence in sympatry strengthens reproductive isolation, and divergence in allopatry can reduce or eliminate gene flow between populations on secondary contact. In birds, the first of these processes has empirical support, but the second remains largely hypothetical. This is perhaps because most studies have focused on oscine passerines, whose song learning ability may reduce the influence of vocalizations in reproductive isolation. In suboscine passerines, the role of learning in song development is thought to be minimal, and the resultant signals are relatively fixed. To investigate the role of song in the early stages of peripatric speciation, we therefore studied a suboscine, the chestnut-tailed antbird Myrmeciza hemimelaena. We recorded male songs in a natural forest island (isolated for < 3000 years) at the southern fringe of Amazonia, and at two nearby sites in continuous forest. A previous study found the isolated population to be weakly differentiated genetically from the ancestral population suggesting that peripatric speciation was underway. In support of this, although we detected minor but significant differences in song structure between each site, the most divergent songs were those of island birds. On simulating secondary contact using playback, we found that pairs from the forest island responded more strongly to island (i.e. local) songs than to those from both non-island sites, and vice versa. This pattern was not observed in pairs from one non-island site, which responded with equal strength to local songs and songs from the other non-island site. Island females were more likely to approach and sing after hearing local male songs, rather than songs from the non-island populations, and vice versa; non-island females did not appear to discriminate between local songs and those from the other non-island site. These findings are consistent with the idea that vocal divergence arising in small populations at the edge of Amazonia may result in partial reproductive isolation when contact is resumed. They also suggest the possibility that song divergence in peripatry may, after much longer time-frames, act as a barrier to gene flow in suboscines, perhaps because of an inability to learn or recognize divergent songs on secondary contact. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 90, 173–188.


The gravity model has provided a tractable empirical framework to account for bilateral flows not only of manufactured goods, as in the case of merchandise trade, but also of financial flows. In particular, recent literature has emphasized the role of information costs in preventing larger diversification of financial investments. This paper investigates the role of migration in alleviating information imperfections between home and host countries. We show that the impact of migration on financial flows is strongest where information problems are more acute (that is, for more informational sensitive investments and between more culturally distant countries) and for the type of migrants that are most able to enhance the flow of information, namely, skilled migrants. We interpret these differential effects as additional evidence pointing to the role of information in generating home-bias and as new evidence of the role of migration in reducing information frictions between countries.


In Paper I of this series we introduced a volume-limited parent sample of 871 galaxies from which we extracted the ATLAS(3D) sample of 260 early-type galaxies (ETGs). In Papers II and III we classified the ETGs using their stellar kinematics, in a way that is nearly insensitive to the projection effects, and we separated them into fast and slow rotators. Here we look at galaxy morphology and note that the edge-on fast rotators generally are lenticular galaxies. They appear like spiral galaxies with the gas and dust removed, and in some cases are flat ellipticals (E5 or flatter) with discy isophotes. Fast rotators are often barred and span the same full range of bulge fractions as spiral galaxies. The slow rotators are rounder (E4 or rounder, except for counter-rotating discs) and are generally consistent with being genuine, namely spheroidal-like, elliptical galaxies. We propose a revision to the tuning-fork diagram by Hubble as it gives a misleading description of ETGs by ignoring the large variation in the bulge sizes of fast rotators. Motivated by the fact that only one third (34 per cent) of the ellipticals in our sample are slow rotators, we study for the first time the kinematic morphology-density T-Sigma relation using fast and slow rotators to replace lenticulars and ellipticals. We find that our relation is cleaner than using classic morphology. Slow rotators are nearly absent at the lowest density environments [f(SR) less than or similar to 2 per cent] and generally constitute a small fraction [f (SR) approximate to 4 per cent] of the total galaxy population in the relatively low-density environments explored by our survey, with the exception of the densest core of the Virgo cluster [f(SR) approximate to 20 per cent]. This contrasts with the classic studies that invariably find significant fractions of (misclassified) ellipticals down to the lowest environmental densities. We find a clean log-linear relation between the fraction f(Sp) of spiral galaxies and the local galaxy surface density Sigma(3), within a cylinder enclosing the three nearest galaxies. This holds for nearly four orders of magnitude in the surface density down to Sigma(3) approximate to 0.01 Mpc(-2), with f(Sp) decreasing by 10 per cent per dex in Sigma(3), while f(FR) correspondingly increases. The existence of a smooth kinematic T-Sigma relation in the field excludes processes related to the cluster environment, like e.g. ram-pressure stripping, as main contributors to the apparent conversion of spirals into fast rotators in low-density environments. It shows that the segregation is driven by local effects at the small-group scale. This is supported by the relation becoming shallower when using a surface density estimator Sigma(10) with a cluster scale. Only at the largest densities in the Virgo core does the f(Sp) relation break down and steepen sharply, while the fraction of slow rotators starts to significantly increase. This suggests that a different mechanism is at work there, possibly related to the stripping of the gas from spirals by the hot intergalactic medium in the cluster core and the corresponding lack of cold accretion.


We report on ten type I X-ray bursts originating from GX 17+2 in data obtained with the RXTE/PCA in 1996–2000. Three bursts were short in duration (∼10 s), whereas the others lasted for ∼6–25 min. All bursts showed spectral softening during their decay. There is no evidence for high-frequency (>100Hz) oscillations at any phase of the bursts. We see no correlations of the burst properties with respect to the persistent X-ray spectral properties, suggesting that in GX 17+2 the properties of the bursts do not correlate with inferred mass accretion rate. The presence of short bursts in GX 17+2 (and similar bright X-ray sources) is not accounted for in the current X-ray bursts theories at the high mass accretion rates encountered in this source. We obtain satisfactory results if we model the burst emission with a black body, after subtraction of the persistent pre-burst emission. The twocomponent spectral model does not fit the total burst emission whenever there is a black-body component present in the persistent emission. We conclude that in those cases the black-body contribution from the persistent emission is also present during the burst. This implies that, contrary to previous suggestions, the burst emission does not arise from the same site as the persistent black-body emission. The black-body component of the persistent emission is consistent with being produced in an expanded boundary layer, as indicated by recent theoretical work. Five of the long bursts showed evidence of radius expansion of the neutron star photosphere (independent of the spectral analysis method used), presumably due to the burst luminosity reaching the Eddington value. When the burst luminosity is close to the Eddington value, slight deviations from pure black-body radiation are seen at energies below 10 keV. Similar deviations have been seen during (long) X-ray bursts from other sources; they can not be explained by spectral hardening models. The total persistent flux just before and after the radius expansion bursts is inferred to be up to a factor of 2 higher than the net peak flux of the burst. If both the burst and persistent emission are radiated isotropically, this would imply that the persistent emission is up to a factor of 2 higher than the Eddington luminosity. This is unlikely and we suggest that the persistent luminosity is close to the Eddington luminosity and that the burst emission is (highly) anisotropic (ξ ∼ 2). Assuming that the net burst peak fluxes equal the Eddington limit, applying standard burst parameters (1.4 M neutron star, cosmic composition, electron scattering opacity appropriate for high temperatures), and taking into account gravitational redshift and spectral hardening, we derive a distance to GX 17+2 of ∼8 kpc, with an uncertainty of up to ∼30%.


The SIN4 and RGR1 genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were identified by mutations in quite different genetic screens. We have shown that the SIN4 gene product is required for proper transcriptional regulation of many genes and that a sin4 mutation can affect either activation or repression of specific genes. We have suggested that this dual nature of SIN4 in transcriptional regulation is due to its involvement in chromatin organization. We now report that the role of RGR1 in gene regulation is similar to that of SIN4. SIN4 and RGR1 both function as negative transcriptional regulators of HO and IME1, and mutations in either gene lead to decreased expression of other genes including CTS1. Strains with sin4 or rgr1 mutations both have phenotypes similar to those caused by histone mutations, including suppression of delta insertion into promoters (Spt- phenotype), activation of promoters lacking UAS elements, and decreased superhelical density of plasmid DNA molecules. Overexpression of RGR1 suppresses the temperature sensitivity due to a sin4 mutation. Finally, we use yeast strains expressing GST fusion proteins to demonstrate that the Sin4p and Rgr1p proteins are physically associated in vivo. These results indicate that Sin4p and Rgr1p act together in vivo to organize chromatin structure and thus regulate transcription.


Methods of analytically theory of ordinary differential equations are based on the analysis of singularities, but the most popular method for the numerical solving, that is the method of finite differences does not work in neighborhood of singularities. However Painleve gave an algebraic method for the solution of the differential equations in finite terms and general solutions of this equations depend algebraically on a constant of integration. This approach which was presented as Galois theory on the contrary can be well combined with method of finite differences. It is well known, the ordinary differential equation of form y′ = f(x,y) with this property can be algebraically transformed by substitution to Riccati equation. Euler scheme yn+1 = yn + f(xn,yn)Δx always determines (1,k)-correspondence between neighboring layers. But exact solution of Riccati equation determines (1,1)-correspondence between any layers and thus we can write a scheme which determines (1,1)-correspondence between neighboring layers. In this case anharmonic ratio of 4 points does not change from layer to layer not only for exact solution but also for approximate solution. Thus if an exact solution has a pole then the approximate solution passes through infinity without accumulation of an error. In the presented article this property of (1,1)-scheme will be illustrated by two examples: with and without solution in elementary functions. So the cause of destruction of the approximate solution near a pole is put in Euler scheme itself. In more general case when exact solution of ordinary differential equation depends algebraically on an integration constant we can write a scheme which determines (l,l)-correspondence between neighboring layers. Approximate solution which is found on this way passes through movable algebraic singularities without accumulation of an error.


R.H. Woody. (2000). Child Custody: Practice Standards, Ethical Issues, and Legal Safeguards for Mental Health Professionals. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press, 147 pp. Paper ISBN 1-56887-062-0, $19.95. Robert Henley Woody's most recent contribution to the literature on child custody is organized around a set of guidelines for mental health practitioners working in the field of forensic child custody evaluation. According to Woody, the purpose of the book is to "inform a wide variety of people about child custody cases, particularly the testimony that will be provided by mental health practitioners." In actuality, the book provides a basic, although surface, overview of the forensic role of mental health professionals in the child custody arena. The text is divided into 10 chapters ranging from a survey of the mental health literature regarding divorce and child custody to overviews of the custody evaluator's role and guidelines for the evaluator's participation in litigation. Woody's guidelines for child custody evaluators are sifted from his synthesis of existing mental health literature regarding divorce and child custody. Through the guidelines he attempts to provide an overview framework for forensic child custody practice. Although the guidelines contain helpful information to assist the mental health professional so that she or he does not become a weapon of the parties and attorneys in the litigation, the book provides only a sketchy view of the legal processes involved and does not reflect the most recent developments in family courts, which are aimed at reducing the level of conflict in most custody cases. In an era in which the emphasis in both legal and mental health circles is on the elimination and reduction of conflict in child custody cases, a book devoted almost exclusively to forensic child custody evaluation seems somewhat anachronistic. The text leaves the impression that all custody cases go to trial and are decided by the judge after the introduction of competing testimony by mental health experts. In fact, the most recent developments in the child custody arena emphasize nonadversarial dispute resolution such as mediation and court-sponsored intervention and treatment. Increasingly, courts are establishing court-- annexed family services programs aimed at providing treatment and education to disputing families. As a result of these developments, most custody cases do not go to trial, and the testimony of a custody evaluator is not necessary. Rather, the emphasis is on the prelitigation and pretrial phases of the proceeding in an effort to settle the case and thereby reduce the conflict to which the children) are subjected. Even in cases where trial cannot be avoided, a custody evaluator is retained by the court to serve as a neutral expert. The report of the Fall 2000 Wingspread Conference (Wingspread Report and Action Plan, 2001), an interdisciplinary meeting of professionals involved in high-conflict custody cases sponsored by the American Bar Association and The Johnson Foundation, is indicative of this new focus. In that report, the recommendations regarding custody evaluations focus on (a) the need for neutrality and objectivity, (b) the importance of avoiding the testimony of competing experts or of resolving disagreements between the experts prior to trial, and (c) the importance of communicating results of evaluations to parents in a nonadversarial manner. Although Woody's guidelines overlap in small ways with this new emphasis on reduced conflict, his focus on the traditional custody evaluation in a confrontational, competitive litigation environment obscures the small contributions he makes to reducing conflict. …


Mergers and acquisitions of small, innovative firms require special treatment of the due diligence process. The asymmetry in organisational order of magnitude would otherwise force the smaller, 'target' venture to become a puppet in the hands of the larger, often multinational company. The aim of this article is to provide a guideline for smaller, new technology-based firms to face the power disequilibrium. After a brief introduction to the nature of the due diligence process, the article will discuss dangers of due diligence as perceived by both the disclosing and the receiving party. Special attention will be paid to the concepts of the White Room, the White Book and the need for gradually increasing disclosure of one party and growing commitment – both financially and contractually – of the other. For each phase of the due diligence process, content of the disclosure is discussed, as well as legal, financial and procedural aspects.


Introduction: According to the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada's National Rural Health Strategy, 21% of Canadian residents are rural but only 9.4% of Canadian physicians live in rural areas.1,2.

 Aim: To evaluate patient experience and the accommodation of accessibility to four primary care clinics in Brooks, Alberta.

 Objectives: were to:

• measure and compare the actual versus expected waiting times in the physician's office.
• assess patient satisfaction with the current organization of access and quality of care.
• elicit ideas from patients on how to improve the accommodation of access.
• elicit feedback from patients regarding the employment of alternative practitioners in the clinics.

 Design: cross-sectional survey.

 Setting: Four primary care clinics in the city of Brooks.

 Subjects: The study sample (n=391) included registered patients including emergency walk-in consultations, consultations for office procedures, short visits for prescription refills as well as annual physical examinations.

 Results: The mean perceived waiting room time was 12.35 minutes versus 5-15 minutes actual waiting room time for 60.5% of the participants. The mean perceived exam room waiting time was 10.58 minutes versus 5-15 minutes actual exam room waiting times for 81.4 % of the participants. Mean perceived time spent with the physician was 11.65 minutes versus 5-15 minutes actual time spent with the physician for 67.1 % of the participants. Patients who felt that they can get a timely appointment were 8.4 times more likely to be happy with the quality of care received. Patients who got prompt return of their calls are 10.4 times more likely to be happy with access to primary care clinics. Patients who felt that the clinic hours of operation were acceptable were 15.6 times more likely to agree that they received adequate health care. Patients who felt that the waiting time for an appointment at the clinic were acceptable to them were 8.1 times happier with the quality of care.

 Conclusion: No major differences exist between perceived and actual waiting times in the physician's offices. The waiting time for scheduled appointments is generally too long. The most satisfied patient appears to be someone whom waits no longer than 5-15 minutes in the waiting room, then no longer than 5-15 minutes in exam room for a 5 -15 minute consultation. The shorter the waiting times for an appointment and the shorter the different waiting times during a consultation in the clinic the more satisfied the patient.


This paper seeks to explore a method to accurately correct geometric distortions caused during the capture of three-dimensional (3-D) integral images. Such distortions are rotational and scaling errors which, if not corrected, will cause banding and moire effects on the replayed image. The method for calculating the angle of deviation in the 3-D Integral Images is based on Hough Transform. It allows detection of the angle necessary for correction of the rotational error. Experiments have been conducted on a number of 3-D integral image samples and it has been found that the proposed method produces results with accuracy of 0.05 deg


This is a textbook for university juniors, seniors, and graduate students majoring in economics, applied mathematics, and related fields. Each chapter is structured so that a core concept of that chapter is presented with motivations, useful applications are given, and related advanced topics are discussed for future study. Many helpful exercises at various levels are provided at the end of each chapter. Therefore, this book is most suitable for readers who intend to study non-cooperative game theory rigorously for both theoretical studies and applications. Game theory consists of non-cooperative games and cooperative games. This book covers only non-cooperative games, which are major tools used in current economics and related areas. Non-cooperative game theory aims to provide a mathematical prediction of strategic choices by decision makers (players) in situations of conflicting interest. Through the logical analyses of strategic choices, we obtain a better understanding of social (economic, business) problems and possible remedies. The book contains many well-known games such as the prisoner's dilemma, chicken (hawk-dove) game, coordination game, centipede game, and Cournot, Bertrand, and Stackelberg models in oligopoly. It also covers some advanced frameworks such as repeated games with non-simultaneous moves, repeated games with overlapping generations, global games, and voluntarily separable repeated prisoner's dilemma, so that readers familiar with basic game theory can expand their knowledge. The author's own research is reflected in topics such as formulations of information and evolutionary stability, which makes this book unique.


Claims for originality in this thesis lie in bringing together many different disciplines in art, music, sound studies and performance. The methodology, contextually indebted to the dialogues of site specific art, performance, and sound improvisation, has emerged as a multi-disciplinary one, informed in part by the study of those artists from the 1960s onwards who actively sought to resist the gallery system. The practice has driven the thesis in developing and continuously testing the requirement to respond uniquely to chosen sites. By using relevant references, instruments, and sonified materials, a compulsion to convey something of the particularity of the site's associations through sound, is performed on site.

In the course of considering the wider implications of a site through both the sound performances and the critical writing, I propose that there are essentially three aspects to identify when working with sound on site. I define these as:
the actual
the activated
the associative

The first aspect describes what is essentially inherent to the place, the second what can be encouraged to be 'sounded' through physical intervention, and the third outlines and forms what I have coined as the wider material of the site. This term draws on any relevant aspects of the social, physical, historical, anecdotal, and aural associations that a site may proffer.

However, it is the notion of the associative that primarily informs the research by providing a methodology for the practice and in proposing a new paradigm of a live, site specific, performed, sound art work. The twenty or so works in the portfolio undertaken hitherto have existed not only as live performances but also in virtual and physical documentation, critical 4 analyses, and in the potential possibilities brought to the form by the response of others.

By addressing this new taxonomy of approach in defining the actual, the activated and the associative as a kind of aural ground to the site (borrowing a term from painting), significant live sound art works have been developed to temporarily inhabit a space by exploring this latent material of the site.


"Data Analysis" in the broadest sense is the general term for a field of activities of ever-increasing importance in a time called the information age. It covers new areas with such trendy labels as e.g., data mining or web mining as well as traditional directions emphasizing, e.g., classification or knowledge organization. Leading researchers in data analysis have contributed to this volume and delivered papers on aspects ranging from scientific modeling to practical application. They have devoted their latest contributions to a book edited to honor a colleague and friend, Hans-Hermann Bock, who has been active in the field for nearly thirty years.


Respiratory infections positive for human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) subtype A were characterised in children admitted to hospitals in Rome and Ancona (Italy) over the last three epidemic seasons. Different strains of the novel RSV-A genotype ON1, first identified in Ontario (Canada) in December 2010, were detected for the first time in Italy in the following 2011/12 epidemic season. They bear an insertion of 24 amino acids in the G glycoprotein as well as amino acid changes likely to change antigenicity. By early 2013, ON1 strains had spread so efficiently that they had nearly replaced other RSV-A strains. Notably, the RSV peak in the 2012/13 epidemic season occurred earlier and, compared with the previous two seasons, influenza-like illnesses diagnoses were more frequent in younger children; bronchiolitis cases had a less severe clinical course. Nonetheless, the ON1-associated intensive care unit admission rate was similar, if not greater, than that attributable to other RSV-A strains. Improving RSV surveillance would allow timely understanding of the epidemiological and clinicopathological features of the novel RSV-A genotype.


To the Editor: Tongue scraping is advocated as a therapy for managing halitosis and as a technique for preventing dental caries by reducing bacterial counts in the mouth (1). The practice has been in existence for centuries (2). A Cochrane review has concluded that tongue cleaning is marginally and temporarily more effective than use of a toothbrush in reducing a measurable marker for halitosis, exhaled volatile sulfur compounds (3). The use of tongue scrapers may not be limited to those with clinical halitosis, as 10%–30% of Americans report bad breath (4), and websites offer to solve the problem of "your bad breath" for a price. We report the case of a woman in whom infective endocarditis followed the use of a tongue scraper.

A 59-year-old woman with a known history of mitral valve prolapse with associated valvular regurgitation had onset of progressive malaise, fever, sweats, myalgia, and headache; the symptoms lasted 10 days. Two months previously she had begun cleaning her tongue with a plastic tongue scraper purchased at her local pharmacy. She had not undergone recent dental work. Her medical background included migraines, hypertension, mild quiescent psoriasis, and previous depression. Her medications were venlafaxine and candesartan.

When seen at her local hospital, she reported severe headache and myalgia, with fever. The same day, she had a rigor at home and reported chest tightness and mild dyspnea. Physical examination showed no focal findings other than the mitral valve prolapse. A provisional diagnosis of bacterial meningitis was made. Emergency treatment comprised intravenous dexamethasone, ceftriaxone, and benzylpenicillin. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis performed shortly after showed no cells and normal glucose and protein levels. Culture of the cerebrospinal fluid was negative. No further antimicrobial agents were administered. Multiple blood cultures were drawn but remained culture negative. Serologic tests for Q fever, Bartonella spp., and endemic rickettsiae were negative. She continued to be febrile.

A transthoracic echocardiogram showed dilatation of the mitral valve annulus with bi-leaflet prolapse and vegetation attached to the anterolateral commissure. She was referred to a tertiary care center, and therapy with penicillin, flucloxacillin, and gentamicin was begun for culture-negative endocarditis. Transesophageal echocardiography and visual examination at the time of valve replacement confirmed the presence of large valvular vegetations. After infected tissue was excised, a prosthetic mitral valve was placed. Extended culturing of the blood failed to identify a pathogen. Histopathologic examination of the explanted valve identified fibrinopurulent vegetations with destruction of the valve leaflet. The excised material was split into sections and submitted for culture; all demonstrated a scant growth of Haemophilus parainfluenzae. This finding was identified by a Remel RapID NH Panel (Remel, Lenexa, KS, USA) and confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The patient was treated with ampicillin and gentamicin for 2 weeks. She then had 4 further weeks of therapy with daily ceftriaxone at home. She is now well.

This patient's endocarditis was most likely caused by bacteremia from tongue scraping, and the abnormal valve is likely to have been a predisposing factor. The link between oral flora and endocarditis has long been recognized (5), and guidelines for prophylactic use of antimicrobial agents before dental manipulation are established. A literature review did not show any previous reports of endocartitis associated with use of a tongue scraper. There are numerous reports of endocarditis after tongue piercing, with a variety of organisms including viridans streptococci, H. aphrophilus, Neisseria mucosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (6–9). Most of these articles reported a pre-existing valvular abnormality, as in our case. Bacteremia caused by routine tooth brushing does not appear to be clinically important, and there are conflicting data about its frequency (10). The inoculum of bacteria transmitted into the bloodstream with brushing may be smaller than that with tooth extraction. Given the frequency of routine tooth brushing, antimicrobial prophylaxis is impractical in any case. The practice of tongue scraping, however, has not been well studied, and both the magnitude and frequency of bacteremia may be greater than with routine tooth brushing.

We propose that our patient's infective endocarditis was most likely a consequence of bacteremia from her use of a tongue scraper. Persons with abnormal cardiac valves and intravascular devices such as pacemakers may be at particular risk. Patients with previous infective endocarditis and high-risk cardiac valve defects should be informed that tongue scraper use is not prudent.


Wedge/wedge bonding with AlSi-1 wire on semiconductor chips with aluminum metallization has been investigated. The scope of the article is the modeling of the wedge bond. The description of the bonding process by a physical model shall predict the change of bond quality, depending on a change in bonding parameters. The physical model is based on measurements of the vibration amplitude, induced into the assembly by the ultrasonic (US) power. The model is derived by measurements of the shear strength for various bond times. By fitting the calculation to the measurements, details of the bonding process can be clarified.. By using the model shear force can be calculated by estimation of the deformation of the wire material, the amplitude of the tool, sigma and the transversal force during bonding


We present a spectroscopic investigation of the excited-state dynamics of the phenylalanine (Phe)/serine (Ser) protonated dimer in the gas phase. Using an ultraviolet (UV) laser pulse, we promote individual isomers to the S1 state and probe their fate with an infrared (IR) pulse. We find that the S1 state has a lifetime of ~70 ns and undergoes intersystem crossing (ISC) to the T1 state. Time-resolved IR spectra allow us to follow the structural evolution of the dimer. In the S1 state, the different isomers retain the hydrogen-bonding pattern of the ground state. Intersystem crossing triggers a sudden increase of the vibrational energy, so that the dimers can overcome isomerization barriers and explore large parts of the potential energy surface (PES). Their broad IR spectra largely resemble one another and indicate that the dimers adopt a molten structure.


More distant targets are harder to attack, and hence increased distance between potential attackers and potential targets may drive down the death toll of conflict. To investigate this, the current paper studies violence as interaction across space, i.e. it separates the origin from the target of attacks. We show that a game-theoretic model based on the idea that distance matters can deliver new insights into understanding the causes, the extent and the distribution of violence. Key factors are the transport costs of violence and the distribution of the groups across locations. To estimate the structural parameters of the model, we use very fine-grained data from Northern Ireland on religious composition at each location, and on the identity of attackers and victims in violent events from 1969 to 2001. Using these estimates we show that more than half of the attacks in Northern Ireland were conducted across administrative ward boundaries and that changes in the settlement patterns of the population from the 1970s to the 1980s could be responsible for a large reduction in violence. We find that both the origin and path of attacks can be predicted with our model and that the construction of barriers by the UK government follows these predictions.


Case linkage is a statistical technique which connects multiple sexual assault cases to a single perpetrator and holds promise for informing criminal investigations. Further, examining the behaviours executed most consistently across serial offences committed by a given offender is crucial to linking offences. The current study investigated behavioural consistency in a sample of 49 male serial stranger sexual offenders responsible for 147 offences. For each offence, four crime aspects were identified: 1) pre-crime facilitators, 2) victim selection and characteristics, 3) approach and attack methods, and 4) crime scene characteristics. Consistency between and within each crime series and across offender types based on background characteristics was examined. Results indicated a high degree of behavioural consistency across all crime aspects. Behaviours occurring prior to the offence were particularly useful in establishing consistent offending patterns. The implications of these findings in the context of police investigations and their utility for clinical practice are discussed.


Neural Architecture Search (NAS) has shown great success in automating the design of neural networks, but the prohibitive amount of computations behind current NAS methods requires further investigations in improving the sample efficiency and the network evaluation cost to get better results in a shorter time. In this paper, we present a novel scalable Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) based NAS agent, named AlphaX, to tackle these two aspects. AlphaX improves the search efficiency by adaptively balancing the exploration and exploitation at the state level, and by a Meta-Deep Neural Network (DNN) to predict network accuracies for biasing the search toward a promising region. To amortize the network evaluation cost, AlphaX accelerates MCTS rollouts with a distributed design and reduces the number of epochs in evaluating a network by transfer learning, which is guided with the tree structure in MCTS. In 12 GPU days and 1000 samples, AlphaX found an architecture that reaches 97.84% top-1 accuracy on CIFAR-10, and 75.5% top-1 accuracy on ImageNet, exceeding SOTA NAS methods in both the accuracy and sampling efficiency. Particularly, we also evaluate AlphaX on NASBench-101, a large scale NAS dataset; AlphaX is 3x and 2.8x more sample efficient than Random Search and Regularized Evolution in finding the global optimum. Finally, we show the searched architecture improves a variety of vision applications from Neural Style Transfer, to Image Captioning and Object Detection.


Our team of researchers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityWorldwide has been actively compiling published performance data associated with commercially-off-the-shelf (COTS) group 1 to 3 fixed-wing and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in an effort to develop statistical models of each category. The captured data, which includes maximum speed, cruise speed, endurance, weights, wind limitations, and costs, is used to calculate capabilities including range (one-way and return), time to objective, station keeping duration, maneuver requirements, and derive limited missing information (e.g., component speeds and weights). The benefit from assembling such a unified collection of information and the calculation of associated derived capabilities is that these models are anticipated to accurately reflect the capabilities, limitations, and considerations necessary in the assessment of such platforms for various applications and operating environments. These models will be available for combination with simulation or analyses to better assess end usability of these categories of aircraft for a significant number of applications including, emergency response, disaster relief, precision agriculture, security, tactical , communications, environmental study, infrastructure inspection, cargo delivery, and mapping/surveying.


Multi-touch surfaces are becoming increasingly popular. An assumed benefit is that they can facilitate collaborative interactions in co-located groups. In particular, being able to see another's physical actions can enhance awareness, which in turn can support fluid interaction and coordination. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence or measures to support these claims. We present an analysis of different aspects of awareness in an empirical study that compared two kinds of input: multi-touch and multiple mice. For our analysis, a set of awareness indices was derived from the CSCW and HCI literatures, which measures both the presence and absence of awareness in colocated settings. Our findings indicate higher levels of awareness for the multi-touch condition accompanied by significantly more actions that interfere with each other. A subsequent qualitative analysis shows that the interactions in this condition were more fluid and that interference was quickly resolved. We suggest that it is more important that resources are available to negotiate interference rather than necessarily to attempt to prevent it. ACM Classification


In recent years, grand challenge initiatives have emerged nationally with the goal of addressing large, multidisciplinary public problems. The advent of university-led grand challenge initiatives offers an important opportunity to reflect on how institutions of higher education design, implement, and orient externally relevant activities at a time of public skepticism. With a focus on public problem solving, grand challenge initiatives offer a way to re-engage the public's imagination and faith in higher education, depending on what these initiatives reflect about institutional values, practices, and work. We use this reflection opportunity to review early approaches to university-led grand challenge initiatives. We then propose that two frameworks should merge explicitly into grand challenge initiatives to guide public problem solving: community engagement and collective impact. Finally, we offer the establishment of a grand challenge initiative at the University of Denver (DU) as an example of the integration of community engagement and collective impact frameworks into the organization and implementation of institution-wide, publicly-engaged work.


"An Apology for Raymond Sebond" is widely regarded as the greatest of Montaigne's essays: a supremely eloquent expression of Christian scepticism. An empassioned defence of Sebond's fifteenth-century treatise on natural theology, it was inspired by the deep crisis of personal melancholy that followed the death of Montaigne's own father in 1568, and explores contemporary Christianity in prose that is witty and frequently damning. As he searches for the true meaning of faith, Montaigne is heavily critical of the arrogant tendency of mankind to create God in its own image, and offers his personal reflections on the true role of man, the need to eschew personal arrogance, and the vital importance of faith if we are to understand our place in the universe. Wise, perceptive and remarkably informed, this is one of the true masterpieces of the essay form.


Intuitive programming of industrial robots is especially important for small and medium-sized enterprises. We evaluated four different input modalities (touch, gesture, speech, 3D tracking device) regarding their preference, usability, and intuitiveness for robot programming. A Wizard-of-Oz experiment was conducted with 30 participants and its results show that most users prefer touch and gesture input over 3D tracking device input, whereas speech input was the least preferred input modality. The results also indicate that there are gender specific differences for preferred input modalities. We show how the results of the user study can be formalized in a semantic description language in such a way that a cognitive robotic workcell can benefit from the additional knowledge of input and output modalities, task parameter types, and preferred combinations of the two.


This paper presents analysis and application of steering control laws for a network of self-propelled, planar particles. We explore together the two stably controlled group motions, parallel motion and circular motion, for modeling and design purposes. We show that a previously considered control law simultaneously stabilizes both parallel and circular group motion, leading to bistability and hysteresis. We also present behavior primitives that enable piecewise-linear network trajectory tracking.


Antibiotic resistance poses a major threat to public health. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics are generally recognised as the key factors contributing to antibiotic resistance. However, whether non-antibiotic, anti-microbial (NAAM) chemicals can directly induce antibiotic resistance is unclear. We aim to investigate whether the exposure to a NAAM chemical triclosan (TCS) has an impact on inducing antibiotic resistance on Escherichia coli. Here, we report that at a concentration of 0.2 mg/L TCS induces multi-drug resistance in wild-type Escherichia coli after 30-day TCS exposure. The oxidative stress induced by TCS caused genetic mutations in genes such as fabI, frdD, marR, acrR and soxR, and subsequent up-regulation of the transcription of genes encoding beta-lactamase and multi-drug efflux pump, together with down-regulation of genes related to membrane permeability. The findings advance our understanding of the potential role of NAAM chemicals in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance in microbes, and highlights the need for controlling biocide applications.


Most programs and curricula being offered nowadays is packed with courses and required activities, thus leaving very few options whenever a new course with additional concepts or materials is being included in an existing plan of study. Typically the option is to exclude some existing course in order to make room for the new one, thus avoiding the increase in total credit requirements in the program. Fluid power is a field that has gone through a cycle of being a staple in many technical programs because of its wide use in industry as primary option for power transmission; then having a substantial drop in its study and applicability; and then becoming once again a preferred power transmission alternative. Hydraulic fluid power is a mature technology, and new applications present several new challenges, with significant benefits. Therefore, there is a growing need to have fluid power education in many engineering and engineering technology curricula. Curricular development has been planned in order to offer advanced fluid power technology education in existing programs. This development has the main characteristic that is modularized, thus presenting the opportunity to be included in existing programs without the need for new courses. The modules are not introductory levell, and the development will have the overall context of systems integration, with topics on controls, mobile, and energy efficiency. In this development the learning outcomes have been established, and at this point the input from industrial constituents is being requested in order to establish specific content, and how the modules should be developed and integrated. This paper includes the information used to define the topics, and the actual content in the proposed modules. It is expected that this development will address the limited exposure to fluid power that students of engineering and engineering technology programs face, have, thus allowing them to consider careers in such industry.


Symmetry reduction is a technique for combatingstate-space explosion in model checking. The generic representatives approach to symmetry reduction uses a language-level translation of symmetric models to a reduced form, making it straightforward to combine with existing tools and implementations. These techniques have been proposed for both non-probabilistic and probabilistic model checking, but are currently difficult to apply to complex models due to prohibitive restrictions in the modelling language. We present a much richer language, which allows specification of probabilistic systems in a way that guarantees the applicability of the generic representatives technique, together with an extended translation algorithm, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our techniques on a large set of case studies.


This was a collaborative commission with poet John Davies (aka 'Shedman') at Eastbourne General Hospital and The Conquest Hospital Hastings. The research and artistic outcomes provided findings for an Environmental Strategy for East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, which is being developed by Arts in Healthcare in partnership with the Trust Estates Department. It is hoped that in the future artists and designers will be regularly involved at the early stages of environmental planning for refurbishment and new build schemes.

We were asked to examine the physical, psychological and emotional responses of patients and staff to the issues of navigation around the sites, with a focus on arrival, waiting and departure. The brief required us to navigate the sites, observe activity, interact with staff and patients and to reflect on, and suggest creative solutions to, the issues and problems encountered. We created a 'headquarters' in a garden shed erected in the main entrances of Eastbourne and Conquest Hospitals. From these vantage points, visitors, staff and patients were invited to share their experiences and ideas for improvement.

We gave an initial presentation about the work to staff from outpatient areas. The subsequent outcome of the research was an exhibit of the visual and written material collated by the artists, and were shown at both hospitals. These were displayed as light boxes and digital prints. The wider public consisting of staff, patients and visitors were invited to comment on the artists' responses by completing forms that were available in hard copy and through the staff intranet. Staff were kept informed of the project, where to see the exhibition and how to communicate their views, through articles in 'Connect' and on the Trust's intranet. The public were kept informed through posters in public waiting areas, and by the volunteer staff who welcome visitors.


Protein import into the nucleus is a multistep process that requires the activities of several cytosolic factors. In this study we have purified a cytosolic factor that interacts with the nuclear pore complex glycoprotein p62. Isolation involved biochemical complementation of cytosol depleted of this activity by preadsorption with recombinant p62 and the use of a novel flow cytometry-based assay for quantitation of nuclear import. The purified activity (NTF2) is an apparent dimer of approximately 14-kD subunits and is present at approximately 10(6) copies per cell. We obtained a cDNA encoding NTF2 and showed that the recombinant protein restores transport activity to p62-pretreated cytosol. Our data suggest that NTF2 acts at a relatively late stage of nuclear protein import, subsequent to the initial docking of nuclear import ligand at the nuclear envelope. NTF2 interacts with at least one additional cytosolic transport activity, indicating that it could be part of a multicomponent system of cytosolic factors that assemble at the pore complex during nuclear import.


A theoretical model was suggested and equations of motion derived. A computer program was developed to solve the resulting system of equations. Agreement between calculated and experimental results is not quite satisfactory. Reasons for discrepancy are discussed and suggestions for further investigation are given.


In June 1998, six unexpected anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures within 12 months were detected by routine injury surveillance in a cohort of Australian Army recruits. Local investigation, reported separately as a Case Report in this issue, suggested the cause to be an excessive coefficient of friction between rubber boot soles and newly laid rubber matting on one obstacle course, creating excessive knee torques. The matting was removed progressively, but not before two more ruptures occurred on one remaining section. In this retrospective study, chi 2 analyses were used to compare the incidence of ACL rupture in prehazard, hazard-exposed, and postintervention cohorts, and the average costs to the institution of each ACL rupture were determined. Zero, eight, and zero ACL ruptures occurred in the prehazard, hazard-exposed, and postintervention cohorts, respectively (chi 2 > 4.75 for 1 df, p < 0.03 for each change in incidence). The temporal relationships between hazard introduction or removal and changes in the incidence of ACL rupture were strong. The average institutional cost of each ACL rupture was AU$54,627 or US$34,322. Rubber matting on obstacle courses increases the risk of ACL rupture in the presence of speed and rubber-soled footwear. Routine injury surveillance and simple preventive processes save money and personnel.


Background: The use of a chaperone in the clinical setting is a much debated subject. There have been many guidelines and papers written on this topic, but always from the medical profession's point of view. For the first time, this survey focuses on the opinion of the patient. Methods: 800 consecutive patients attending the urology outpatient clinic were asked to complete a questionnaire on basic patient demographics and their opinions on chaperones. Results: Of 709 patients who completed the questionnaires, 553 (78%) were male. Overall, 535 (75.5%) patients did not want a chaperone present. Only 66 (42%) females stated a preference for the presence of a chaperone. Of the 174 patients requesting a chaperone, 102 (59%) patients wished the role to be taken by a friend or family member. 90% of these patients attended with the appropriate person. Conclusions: Most patients do not want a chaperone present for intimate examinations. Most women do not wish to have a chaperone present. Of those who do wish to have a chaperone present, more than half want a family member or friend to fill the role. This would be against current guidelines. However, in a "patient-centred" service, these results should be taken into consideration.


The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is involved in the regulation of physiologic and homeostatic parameters relating particularly to the visceral organs and the co-ordination of physiological responses to threat. Blood pressure and heart rate, respiration, pupillomotor reactivity, sexual function, gastrointestinal secretions and motility, and urine storage and micturition are all under a degree of ANS control. Furthermore, there is close integration between the ANS and other neural functions such as emotion and cognition, and thus brain regions that are known to be important for autonomic control are also implicated in emotional functions. In this review we explore the role of the central ANS in the control of the bladder, and the implications of this for bladder dysfunction in diseases of the ANS.


Mutations in a number of genes cause rare familial forms of Parkinson's disease and provide profound insight into potential mechanisms governing disease pathogenesis. Recently, a role for translation and metabolism of mRNA has emerged in the development of various neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD). In PD, preliminary evidence supports a role for aberrant translation in the disease process stemming from mutations in several genes. Translation control is central to maintaining organism homeostasis under variable environmental conditions and deregulation of this may predispose to certain stressors. Hypothetically, deregulated translation may be detrimental to neuronal viability in PD through the misexpression of a subset of transcripts or through the impact of excessive bulk translation on energy consumption and burden on protein homeostatic mechanisms. While compelling preliminary evidence exists to support a role for translation in PD, much more work is required to identify specific mechanisms linking altered translation to the disease process.


The roles of nutrition, predation, and habitat choice were tested as mechanisms for shaping natural distribution of newly settled queen conch in seagrass Thalassia testudinum meadows in the central Bahamas. Small animals from 3 size classes were enclosed at 2 sites in 3 different habitats across a seagrass gradient (bare sand, low-density seagrass, medium-density seagrass) for 3 wk. Medium (11 mm shell length) and large (22 mm) newly settled conch grew faster in both seagrass habitats than on bare sand, but differences were not significant for small (5 mm) conch. Small and medium conch grown on sand, however, weighed more than those of the same length grown in seagrass. In laboratory habitat-choice experiments, newly settled conch preferred living seagrass and seagrass detritus over bare sand. Medium conch tethered in the 3 habitats at both sites suffered very high mortality (50 to 96% killed in 11 d), with those tethered in medium-density seagrass showing an advantage. Juvenile conch over 1 yr old are primarily associated with medium-density seagrass, but younger animals have been observed on sand. Results from this study show that nutrition is adequate on sand for newly settled conch, but an ontogenetic shift from sand into seagrass is unlikely because predation occurs before food becomes limiting or a habitat choice can be made. Nevertheless, post-settlement mortality is high regardless of where conch settle in the seagrass gradient, and predation is the most important mechanism influencing distribution.


West Antarctica is well known for its rapid and strong reaction to environmental change. Since the beginning of the recent warming trend in the 1980ies the West Antarctic Peninsula belongs to the fastest warming regions on Earth. In places temperatures increased by 2.5°K over 50 years (Faraday/Vernadsky Station) thus leading to decreasing sea-ice formation and increasing glacier retreat. Situated in the sensitive latitudes between 62 and 63°S, Maxwell Bay and its tributary fjord Potter Cove are the focus of the international interdisciplinary research project IMCOAST. Here we present results of the sedimentology working group that is investigating modern and subrecent sedimentary processes in order to emphasize the climate signal in the sedimentary record.
Five age-dated sediment cores (lengths between 126 and 980cm) from locations in Maxwell Bay, about 130 seafloor samples on a 200m grid in Potter Cove, shallow (high-resolution) seismic transects measured in Potter Cove and Maxwell Bay as well as areawide sidescan sonar images and single-beam bathymetric data from Potter Cove form the data base for the interpretations.
Shallow seismics reveal more than 50m well-layered sediments within Maxwell Bay, but very low sound penetration in Potter cove at water depths < 200 m. The inner Potter Cove at water depths of < 60m shows strong traces of ploughing icebergs. These are most likely also responsible for the lack of sound penetration in the outer cove where large icebergs likely mixed up and compacted sediment in many places.
Sediment core PS69/335 (980cm long, spanning the past 1700 years) taken between Potter and Marian coves (Maxwell Bay) reveals generally coarser grained sediments during colder climate phases such as the Little Ice Age (AD 1350-1900) and finer sediments during warm phases such as the Medieval Warm Period (AD 900-1350). This is interpreted to be a result of increased discharge of meltwater carrying fine-grained sediment during warmer phases and, contrary, reduced supply of finer sediment during the cooler phases. Some of the sediment cores mirror this process, others show only weak signals of this kind, hence, suggesting pathways for suspension-laden meltwater within Maxwell Bay.
The recent climatic conditions would be apt to produce a meltwater-signal environment which we investigated in-situ in Potter Cove. However, although we witnessed a number of meltwater plumes within Potter Cove during the field campaign in 2010, sediment carrying the 'warm-phase' signal (mainly sediment with a grain-size mode at 16 µm) was found only sparsely distributed in Potter Cove. We conclude that either the routing of the meltwater plumes is different today when compared to earlier warm phases, or (more likely) this is the result of the tidewater glacier (Fourcade Glacier) at the head of Potter Cove, that has dramatically retreated through the past decades and became land-based only few years ago. It can be speculated that the glacier, once it retreated back on land, largely stopped movement. As a result the production and discharge of fine-grained material decreased which could explain the lack of this material in the area.


Social skills are essential to building empowered and cohesive communities in ethnic diversity. In a world with massive population movements and growing anti-immigrant sentiments, schools stand out as important platforms to instill key social skills into our children to build inter-ethnic cohesion. Achieving this requires the implementation of rigorously tested educational actions. This brief provides the evaluation results of a particular educational program that was implemented in a high-stakes context where the ethnic composition of schools changed abruptly due to a massive refugee influx. The program significantly lowered peer violence and ethnic segregation in schools, and improved prosociality in children.


ABSTRACT Three experimental studies are presented testing the choice of a left or a right dislocation in Catalan, depending on the bridging relation between the dislocate and its antecedent. We make the hypothesis that the stronger the anaphoric link between the dislocate and its antecedent, the more appropriate a right dislocation is, whereas the opposite is true for left dislocation. The results of two acceptability judgment experiments partially support our hypothesis: Ratings with right dislocation decrease proportionally to the strength of the anaphoric link; however, it is ratings of canonical sentences (without dislocation at all), rather than of left dislocation, that display the opposite direction. For left dislocation, the picture is more complex and reflects the pragmatic function of this construction as a topic shifter or marker of contrast. A third experiment tests the monotonicity hypothesis, according to which a left dislocation is chosen when the anaphoric relation with the antecedent is either downward monotonic or nonmonotonic, whereas a right dislocation is preferred with an upward monotonic relation. The results partially support such a hypothesis but also further support the importance of taking the pragmatic function of left dislocation into account to explain its choice in discourse by speakers.