Dopant diffusion in semiconductors is an interestingphenomenon from both technological and scientific points ofview. Firstly, dopant diffusion is taking place during most ofthe steps in electronic device fabrication and, secondly,diffusion is related to fundamental properties of thesemiconductor, often controlled by intrinsic point defects:self-interstitials and vacancies. This thesis investigates thediffusion of P, B and Sb in Si as well as in strained andrelaxed SiGe. Most of the measurements have been performedusing secondary ion mass spectrometry on high purityepitaxially grown samples, having in-situ incorporated dopantprofiles, fabricated by reduced pressure chemical vapordeposition or molecular beam epitaxy. The samples have beenheat treated both under close-to-equilibrium conditions (i. e.,long time annealings in an inert ambient) and conditions whichresulted in non-equilibrium diffusion (i. e., vacuum annealing,oxidation, short annealing duration, and protonirradiation).Equilibrium P and B diffusion coefficients in Si asdetermined in this thesis differ from a substantial part ofpreviously reported values. This deviation may be attributed toslow transients before equilibrium concentrations of pointdefects are established, which have normally not been takeninto account previously. Also an influence of extrinsic dopingconditions may account for the scattering of the diffusivityvalues reported in literature. B and Sb diffusion in Si underproton irradiation at elevated temperatures was found to obeythe so-called intermittent model. Parameters describing themicroscopic diffusion process were derived in terms of theintermittent diffusion mechanism, and it was found also thatthe presence of Sb strongly affected the B diffusion and viceversa.In relaxed Si1-xGex-alloys, which has the same lattice structure as Sibut a larger lattice constant, P diffusion is found to increasewith increasing Ge content (x≤ 0.2). In Si/SiGe/Si heterostructures, wherethe SiGe layer is biaxially strained in order to comply withthe smaller lattice parameter of Si, P diffusion in thestrained layer is retarded as compared with relaxed materialhaving the same Ge content. In addition, P is found tosegregate into the Si layer via the Si/SiGe interface and thesegregation coefficient increases with increasing Ge content inthe SiGe layer.


An extensometer has been developed to continuously monitor roof extension in underground mines. The extensometer is designed to be installed in the MSHA-mandated test holes in the roof and measures the displacement between an anchorage point at the top of the borehole and the hole in the roof of the excavation. Once installed, the extensometer will report displacement through semi-wireless communications network. The extensometer is hard-wired into the permissible MIDAS datalogger, where results can be obtained wirelessly via the MIDAS user interface. Lab tests have indicated that the device produces displacement data. The device was installed in one underground coal mine to review its effectiveness in the field.


We report on the search for neutrino-induced particle showers, so-called cascades, in the IceCube-40 detector. The data for this search were collected between April 2008 and May 2009 when the first 40 IceCube strings were deployed and operational. Three complementary searches were performed, each optimized for different energy regimes. The analysis with the lowest energy threshold (2 TeV) targeted atmospheric neutrinos. A total of 67 events were found, consistent with the expectation of 41 atmospheric muons and 30 atmospheric neutrino events. The two other analyses targeted a harder, astrophysical neutrino flux. The analysis with an intermediate threshold of 25 TeV leads to the observation of 14 cascadelike events, again consistent with the prediction of 3.0 atmospheric neutrino and 7.7 atmospheric muon events. We hence set an upper limit of E-2 Phi(lim) <= 7.46 x 10(-8) GeV sr(-1) s(-1) cm(-2) (90% C.L.) on the diffuse flux from astrophysical neutrinos of all neutrino flavors, applicable to the energy range 25 TeV to 5 PeV, assuming an E-nu(-2) spectrum and a neutrino flavor ratio of 1: 1: 1 at the Earth. The third analysis utilized a larger and optimized sample of atmospheric muon background simulation, leading to a higher energy threshold of 100 TeV. Three events were found over a background prediction of 0.04 atmospheric muon events and 0.21 events from the flux of conventional and prompt atmospheric neutrinos. Including systematic errors this corresponds to a 2.7 sigma excess with respect to the background-only hypothesis. Our observation of neutrino event candidates above 100 TeV complements IceCube's recently observed evidence for high-energy astrophysical neutrinos.


The trapezius is a muscle of clinical interest due to its susceptibility to chronic work related musculoslteletal disorders. The mechanisms underlying these conditions are not fully understood. A comprehensive and comparative biochemical characterization of the trapezius muscle may reveal particular individual traits that make it more susceptible to chronic work related musculoskeletal disorders. We have examined the suitability and outcome of a proteomic method, two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), in the analysis of human skeletal muscle. This method allows a simultaneous comparison of large numbers of proteins within a limited pH and molecular weight range. A protocol using the 2D-DIGE method was adapted to human muscle and its repeatability was tested on human vastus lateralis muscle samples from one healthy male donor. The vastus lateralis is the most well studied muscle in the human body and was therefore used as the gold standard. The method was validated using western blot technique. Subsequently, a comparative 2D-DIGE analysis using the validated protocol was conducted on vastus lateralis and trapezius muscle biopsies from five healthy male subjects. Proteins were identified using matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and immunohistochemistry was performed on serial sections to confirm the findings. The 2D-DIGE method proved to be a good screening tool to further detect biochemical differences between muscles. The comparative study between the trapezius and vastus lateralis demonstrated significant differences in 25 important metabolic and structural proteins. In particular, it showed differences in proteins related to oxidative stress, which may be of specific importance for the susceptibility of the trapezius muscle to work related musculoskeletal disorders. These results provide a baseline for future studies on the trapezius muscle and puts further emphasis on the differences between different types of skeletal muscle.


Abstract The analytical tension between legal norms, moral values, and national interests seems no uncharted territory in political science, but has found very little interest in legal academia. For lawyers, moral values and national interests are largely "unknowns," dealt with by other disciplines. Looking a bit deeper, the picture becomes more nuanced, however. As part of a roundtable on "Balancing Legal Norms, Moral Values, and National Interests," this essay argues that norms, values, and interests are not different universes of legal normativity, morality, and specific interests, but are interrelated concepts. Values clearly influence norms and often underpin them, while seemingly concrete norms (rules) are themselves often fragile constructs trying to balance competing interests. Value systems are quite diverse within societies, and this is even truer for interests; each society is a dynamic system of social interaction where conflicting interests are constantly playing out. In a way, underlying conflicts of values and interests are constantly being renegotiated in the legal system, with the norms enshrined in the text of statutes and treaties serving to constitute transitory reference points.


This paper examines the relationship between processes of demographic class formation, gender inequality and age stratification in England and Wales between 1971 and 1991. Existing research shows that the complex process of class restructuring which took place in these years is linked to considerable changes in the position of women, especially related to their growing numbers in professional and managerial occupations. We seek to show that changing processes of age stratification were also related to the remaking of class and gender relations in these years. Data from the Longitudinal Study (approximately 193,000 men and 203,000 women aged 23-57 in two age cohorts; 1971 and 1981), Samples of Anonymised Records (approximately 121,500 men and 126,000 women aged 23-57 in 1991), General Household Survey 1983-1992 (32,609 men and 16,191 women aged 23-57 in fulltime employment) and from the National Child Development Study, 1981 and 1991 (2205 men and 887 women aged 23 and 33, in fulltime employment) were used to examine the movement of individuals through changing opportunity structures over the twenty-year period. We found a distinct hardening of the relationship between age and class in these two decades for men, with a marked increase in social polarisation between young men and older men, but for women this relationship was very different, with young women seeing considerable evidence of an improvement in their fortunes.


Understanding the use of microcontrollers is fundamental in both Electrical and Computer Engineering undergraduate programs. Our school replaced our microprocessor class with microcontroller class in year 2010 due to the fast growing popularity of microcontrollers. In the first two years of offering this class, a more traditional "lectures plus weekly Lab" model was used. Students received background knowledge in the lecture and applied that information in the lab. In order to improve students' ability to design, problem solve and research, a new teaching approach was adopted for this course in 2012. After preparing the class with sufficient fundamental knowledge, they are asked to implement a microcontroller project of their own choice. The students must conduct research on the state of the art in that topic, design their own implementation which includes both hardware and software, and plan the budget. They also must submit a project proposal along with the electrical components list and the total cost for their project. Once approved, the team implements their project and gives a demonstration and a presentation of their work to the whole class. The classes have enjoyed learning through the project research and implementation. The diversified projects have allowed the students to more deeply and broadly explore microcontroller applications. The projects show them the significance of microcontrollers and inspires their interests in Computer and Electrical Engineering. It also give them practical practice in team work and time management. Additionally, it has helped to better prepares them for the coming senior design projects. This paper will explain why and how the new model is adopted in our microcontroller course. It will demonstrate some of the fun projects our student implemented. It will also present the improved class outcomes and evaluations.


A central element in design is the search for the new and not-yet-existing. Thus, design is a matter of the possible, of which kind of products and meanings can be made possible through design. The article attempts to propose a way of theorizing the field of the possible in design. The ability to deal with, mediate and evoke new possibilities and thereby creatively explore new territories of use, meaning and impact is seen as a defining factor of design. Using a phenomenological framework and stating the imagination as a central concept, the article aims at pointing in new directions for conceptualizing the possible in design. The article differentiates between two different models of possibility in design, 1) the dimension of possibility in the design process, that is, before the finalized design, and 2) the generation of possibilities through the design object. The contribution of the article to design research lies in asking fundamental questions of how design, epistemologically and ontologically, operates through the possible.


Mutations in the thrombopoietin receptor gene (myeloproliferative leukemia, MPL) have been reported in patients with JAK2 V617F-negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs). We evaluated the prevalence of MPL mutations relative to JAK2 mutations in patients with suspected MPDs. A total of 2790 patient samples submitted for JAK2 mutation analysis were tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction and bidirectional sequencing of plasma RNA. JAK2 V617F-negative samples were tested for JAK2 exons 12 to 14 mutations, and those with negative results were then tested for mutations in MPL exons 10 and 11. Of the 2790 patients, 529 (18.96%) had V617F, 12 (0.43%) had small insertions or deletions in exon 12, and 7 (0.25%) had other JAK2 mutations in exons 12 to 14. Of the 2242 JAK2 mutation-negative patients, 68 (3.03%) had MPL mutations. W515L was the predominant MPL mutation (n=46; 68%), and 10 (15%) patients had other W515 variants. The remaining MPL mutations (n=12, 17%) were detected at other locations in exons 10 and 11 and included 3 insertion/deletion mutations. The S505N mutation, associated with familial MPD, was detected in 3 patients. Overall, for every 100 V617F mutations in patients with suspected MPDs, there were 12.9 MPL mutations, 2.3 JAK2 exon 12 mutations, and 1.3 JAK2 exons 13 to 14 mutations. These findings suggest that MPL mutation screening should be performed before JAK2 exons 12 to 14 testing in JAK2 V617F-negative patients with suspected MPDs.


Flow over gas turbine endwalls is complex and highly three-dimensional. As boundaries for modern engine designs are pushed, this already-complex flow is affected by aggressive application of film cooling flows that actively interact. This two-part study describes, experimentally, the aero-thermal interaction of cooling flows near the endwall of a first stage nozzle guide vane passage. The approach flow conditions represent flow exiting a low-NOx combustor. The test section includes geometric and cooling details of a combustor-turbine interface in addition to endwall film cooling flows injected upstream of the passage. The first part of this study describes in detail, the passage aerodynamics as affected by injection of cooling flows. It reveals a system of secondary flows, including the newly-discovered Impingement Vortex, which redefines our understanding of the aerodynamics of flow in a modern, film-cooled, first-stage vane row. The second part investigates, through thermal measurements, the distribution, mixing and disruption of cooling flows over the endwall. Measurements are made with and without active endwall film cooling. Descriptions are made through adiabatic surface effectiveness measurements and correlations with in-passage velocity (presented in part one) and thermal fields. Results show that the newly-discovered impingement vortex has a positive effect on coolant distribution through passage vortex suppression and by carrying the coolant to hard-to-cool regions in the passage, including the pressure surface near the endwall.


In the fake news era, a combination of politics, big technology, and fear and animosity are blamed for the media mistrust and filter bubbles that are entrenching fragmentation in the public sphere. A partisan divide in the media and extreme political disagreements are nothing new, but new technology, such as social media and mobile push notifications, influences these years-old phenomena and plays an important role in current concerns. This paper explores how stories are represented differently by topic and across platforms, examining representation, polarization, and objectivity. Specifically, this paper looks at those issues from a novel perspective: through sentiment analysis of push notifications generated and archived from the Breaking News App on disasters, gun violence, and terrorism. Results indicate that partisan news organizations (1) emphasize different stories; (2) label the same events as categorically different; (3) hyperbolize and emotionalize different types of stories; and, (4) represent different categories of breaking news stories to different degrees of subjectivity.


This paper details a number of recent networked actions that have led to positive directions in the fight against sorcery accusation related violence in PNG. It also identifies some common themes and issues arising from these responses to analyse current responses and identify potential future directions. There is a common narrative in PNG that cases of sorcery related violence are rising, and that this is despite hard work by a range of actors. There is currently no reliable data about whether or not the cases are actually on the rise overall or are just more visible today (as a result of Facebook, newspaper reports etc). Regardless of whether there is in fact an upwards trend in the numbers of cases, sorcery accusation related violence is currently a major problem in many parts of the country, particularly the Highlands and Bougainville. This makes it crucial to uncover and to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness (or non-effectiveness) of the mechanisms that are being used to combat this type of violence. The Sorcery National Action Plan ("SNAP") was passed by the National Executive Council in July 2015, together with funding of three million kina. Although the funding has not as yet been formally allocated, the SNAP is being actively implemented under the leadership of the Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG). An eighteen month implementation plan was developed and approved by the SNAP core committee in April 2016. A major part of the theory underlying the SNAP is that the best chance of success is in finding multiple ways to connect together the different sets of actors involved in combating sorcery accusation related violence. The diverse champions in this fight include relatives and neighbours of victims, police officers, church and community leaders, community activists and so on. It is imperative to find ways that such people can act with support from a broader network, comprised of both state and non-state, and ocal and national actors. There have been four incidents in the past few months that have demonstrated the benefits of the network building approach that underlies the SNAP. The accounts below are based mainly on newspaper reports, interviews conducted by Father Philip Gibbs, and preliminary fieldwork pending major fieldwork starting next year.


This thesis investigates interactions between Pavlovian and instrumental processes. The first chapter provides an evaluation of various theoretical analyses of how these two processes might interact in the context of two types of phenomena: Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) and the renewal of instrumental responses that have been extinguished. It is argued that the conditions under which both phenomena are observed do not sit readily with the theoretical analyses that have been offered for them. Chapter 2 reports three experiments that examined the conditions under which outcome-selective and general PIT occur in rats. Outcome-selective PIT was not increased by procedures that should increase the distinctiveness of the outcomes; but general PIT was more likely to be observed under conditions in which the distinctiveness of the outcomes should be low (Experiments 1-3). Chapter 3 contrasted the standard stimulus-outcome-response analysis of outcome-selective PIT with a novel theoretical analysis based on mediated stimulus-response associations that directly affect test performance (i.e., without the outcome becoming activated during the test). Experiment 4 demonstrated an outcome-selective PIT effect when the outcome (O) was embedded in the Pavlovian conditioned stimulus (S), and Experiments 5 and 6 showed that outcome-selective PIT was more likely to be observed after backward pairings (i.e., O-S) than after forward pairings (i.e., S-O). These results are consistent with the following analysis: Instrumental training establishes response-outcome and outcome-response associations, and during subsequent backward conditioning the outcome provokes its associated instrumental response during the stimulus and thereby allows a stimulus–response association to be acquired. This stimulus-response association then directly generates outcome-selective PIT at test. Experiment 7 provided direct evidence to support the
ix
assumptions upon which this analysis relies. These results, together with other paradoxical effects of the Pavlovian relationship, are incongruent with accounts of outcome-selective PIT that rely on a stimulus-outcome-response chain. Chapter 4 explored another instance where Pavlovian stimuli exert a powerful influence on instrumental performance: the case of instrumental renewal. Two fundamental issues were addressed: whether or not direct Pavlovian associations are responsible for the renewal effect, and whether or not renewed responses are controlled by goal-directed processes or stimulus-response associations. In Experiment 8, instrumental renewal was observed without concomitant involvement of any excitatory or inhibitory Pavlovian properties of the contexts involving the outcome; and in Experiment 9, renewed responding was sensitive to the current value of the outcome. Taken together, these results suggest that the extinction context exerts a direct (or hierarchical) inhibitory influence on the instrumental response-outcome association, the removal of which allows the impact of the response-outcome association of performance to be revealed. Chapter 5 explores the broader implications of these results for current theoretical analyses that rely on the idea that Pavlovian and instrumental processes interact through shared access to the features of the outcome.


This dissertation is presented to introduce the reader to the techniques used and the technology of a Television Based Bistatic Radar system. Technology such as this one makes use of a non-cooperative television transmitter as an illuminator for the bistatic radar system investigated. Both technical and theoretical information about the topic will be introduced. The dissertation starts off with a brief introduction to its structure, and evolves into a historical overview of multistatic and bistatic radars. Certain techniques about bistatic radars used in the past will be discussed; their advantages and disadvantages of the various techniques will also be shown. The geometrical design and the various effects of the bistatic radar arrangement will be discussed. A simulator created to plot various SNR patterns over the Western Cape was also developed to estimate the input SNR value received at the receiver. This simulator is flexible in the sense that the transmitter and receiver locations can be arbitrarily placed around the Western Cape. The estimated SNR values for different ranges are then plotted over the mapped area. Not only does the simulator show the SNR plots, it also indicates the coverage area of both the receiver and the transmitter. The target flight path of aircrafts flying into Cape Town can also be included in the simulation. This dissertation will then focus on the actual simulation of the receiver designed for the purpose of airborne target surveillance. These simulations involves actual receiver components used at the system level, with the created television input signal, as well as recorded data. The discussion will then focus on the use of an ordinary pc TV-card which was used as a receiver, whereby measurements were taken for actual targets landing into Cape Town International Airport. These target signals were recorded and analysed. A discussion surrounding this topic was included for the ambiguity analyses of the recorded data. This dissertation is concluded by discussing the conclusions of the research as well as making some recommendations for future work which could be done to improvement the measured results for a television based bistatic radar system.


The Mg / Ca ratio of Foraminifera calcium car- bonate tests is used as proxy for seawater temperature and widely applied to reconstruct global paleo-climatic changes. However, the mechanisms involved in the carbon- ate biomineralization process are poorly understood. The current paradigm holds that calcium ions for the test are supplied primarily by endocytosis of seawater. Here, we combine confocal-laser scanning-microscopy observations of a membrane-impermeable fluorescent marker in the extant benthic species Ammonia aomoriensiswith dynamic 44 Ca- labeling and NanoSIMS isotopic imaging of its test. We in- fer that Ca for the test in A. aomoriensis is supplied primar- ily via trans-membrane transport, but that a small compo- nent of passively transported (e.g., by endocytosis) seawater to the site of calcification plays a key role in defining the trace-element composition of the test. Our model accounts for the full range of Mg / Ca and Sr / Ca observed for benthic Foraminifera tests and predicts the effect of changing seawa- ter Mg / Ca ratio. This places foram-based paleoclimatology into a strong conceptual framework.


A new opal deposit was discovered in 2008 near the village of Wegel Tena, in volcanic rocks of Ethiopia's Wollo Province. Unlike previous Ethiopian opals, the new material is mostly white, with some brown opal, fire opal, and colorless "crystal" opal. Some of it resembles Australian and Brazilian sedimentary opals, with play-of-color that is often very vivid. However, its properties are consistent with those of opal-CT and most volcanic opals. Inclusions consist of pyrite, barium-manganese oxides, and native carbon Some samples show "digit patterns", interpenetrating play-of-color and common opal, resembling fingers. The opaque-to-translucent Wegel Tena opals become transparent when soaked in water, showing a remarkable hydrophane character. White opals from this deposit contain an elevated Ba content, which has not been reported so far in opal-CT. The fire and crystal opals are prone to breakage, while the white, opaque-to-translucent opals are remarkably durable. The proportion of gem-quality material in the Wegel Tena deposit seems unusually high, and 1,500 kg have already been extracted using rudimentary mining techniques. The deposit may extend over several kilometers and could become a major source of gem-quality opal


Five different convex models are defined to represent sets of uncertain inputs. Analytical expressions are obtained for the response maxima on these convex models. We show that traditional predictions of maximum response can yield values substantially lower than those predicted by the convex models. This suggests that the traditional tools, both deterministic and stochastic, may lead to unsafe design decisions, because larger maxima are obtained from the convex models with phenomenologically similar inputs. The low predictions of the traditional methods can be remedied by empirical multiplicative correction factors. However, this tends to disguise the inherent structural-dynamic causes at play. Convex modeling may provide a method for identifying and incorporating pertinent structural and input properties in the analysis of maximum responses, with reduced need for approximate correction factors.


The 2013 Ontario French Second Language (FSL) Curriculum emphasizes inclusivity and bilingualism; however, many students are recommended to opt out of French Immersion (FI). The opting-out of students may support the strengthening of the program by establishing a reputation of success, but how does it affect the withdrawn child? Are FSL programs using best practices to support all learners equitably, or catering to the elite students as a result of misconceptions, lack of resources and professional training? To address these questions, an exploratory and focused literature review of Canadian publications, Ministry of Education documentations and global articles on the topic of bilingualism was conducted, focusing on the works of Genesee (2007) and Baker (2006) on natural language acquisition, Arnett and Mady (2017) on teachers' and parents' perspectives, and Gour (2015) and Wise (2012) who report on misconceptions regarding second language education. Emerging trends indicate that elitist practices and unequal access to FSL programs remain a prominent issue in Ontario classrooms. With the understanding that students with learning disabilities (LDs) can succeed in the FI program, removing these learners may in turn, be a disservice to their overall learning. Findings presented in this paper support the need to examine how learners' abilities are being perceived by educational professionals to provide the necessary tools and supports for success, appropriate training to mitigate misconceptions, as well as retain a reputation for success in FSL programs through equitable means. Acknowledging such discrepancies between what serves as best teaching practice and making it possible in the classroom is necessary to reduce excuses of unpreparedness to meet students' diverse needs and initiate reflection and training programs that prepare teachers to teach inclusively to all.


BACKGROUND
Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is recommended for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and cirrhosis. However, whether surveillance is being done as recommended is unknown.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence and determinants of HCC surveillance among HCV-infected patients with cirrhosis in Veterans Affairs (VA) health care facilities in the United States.

DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study of HCV-infected patients using data obtained from the national VA Hepatitis C Clinical Case Registry.

SETTING
128 VA medical centers.

PATIENTS
HCV-infected patients with cirrhosis diagnosed between fiscal years 1998 and 2005.

MEASUREMENTS
Abdominal ultrasonography and measurement of α-fetoprotein for HCC surveillance were identified from administrative data by using a previously validated algorithm. Patients were categorized as having routine (tests done during at least 2 consecutive years in the 4 years after cirrhosis diagnosis), inconsistent (at least 1 test, but not routine), or no surveillance in the 4 years after cirrhosis diagnosis. Predictors of surveillance were identified by using hierarchical random-effects regression.

RESULTS
126 670 patients with HCV were identified; 13 002 (10.1%) had cirrhosis. Approximately 42.0% of patients with cirrhosis received 1 or more HCC surveillance tests within the first year after the cirrhosis index date; however, a decline in receipt of surveillance was observed in the following 2 to 4 years. Among patients with cirrhosis and at least 2 years of follow-up, routine surveillance occurred in 12.0%, inconsistent surveillance in 58.5%, and no surveillance in 29.5%. Lower medical and psychological comorbid conditions, presence of varices, and the absence of decompensated liver disease were associated with a higher likelihood of receiving routine surveillance.

LIMITATIONS
Hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance tests were indirectly identified from registry data. Physician recommendations could not be captured.

CONCLUSION
Few HCV-infected veterans with cirrhosis received routine HCC surveillance. New strategies are needed to improve the implementation of HCC surveillance in clinical practice.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE
Houston Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Center of Excellence and the National Cancer Institute.


Abstract Whole-genome sequencing has facilitated genome-wide analyses of association, prediction and heritability in many organisms. However, such analyses in bacteria are still in their infancy, being limited by difficulties including genome plasticity and strong population structure. Here we propose a suite of methods including linear mixed models, elastic net and LD-score regression, adapted to bacterial traits using innovations such as frequency-based allele coding, both insertion/deletion and nucleotide testing and heritability partitioning. We compare and validate our methods against the current state-of-art using simulations, and analyse three phenotypes of the major human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae, including the first analyses of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for penicillin and ceftriaxone. We show that the MIC traits are highly heritable with high prediction accuracy, explained by many genetic associations under good population structure control. In ceftriaxone MIC, this is surprising because none of the isolates are resistant as per the inhibition zone criteria. We estimate that half of the heritability of penicillin MIC is explained by a known drug-resistance region, which also contributes a quarter of the ceftriaxone MIC heritability. For the within-host carriage duration phenotype, no associations were observed, but the moderate heritability and prediction accuracy indicate a moderately polygenic trait.


In any city – smart or not – emergency response is a critical service. In smart cities, the use of technology to manage access to and dispatching of emergency vehicles is particularly important. However, when a system must manage processes spanning multiple computers, clock drift becomes a prominent issue. We show the impact that clock drift can have in a prototype emergency management dispatch system along with a case-study illustrating design techniques that can remedy this issue.


Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there has been considerable concern about whether Muslims living in Western countries are targets of prejudice. A considerable amount of survey-based evidence suggests that Muslims are victims of discrimination. This paper tested this hypothesis. Two lost-letter experiments were conducted to test whether the difference in returned letters would be attributable to whether the addressee was Muslim or Swedish. The results show that Muslims receive far fewer letters than do Swedes. However, this discrimination only appears when the lost letters contain money; in which case, the finder gains by not posting the letter.


Nectria haematococca Berk. & Broome causing stem girdling of three cultivars of greenhouse pepper, Capsicum annuum (cvs. Kelvin, Cubico, and Grizzly), was found for the first time in a single greenhouse in south Florida in March 1999. Approximately 10% of the plants were affected at first report increasing to over 40% within 3 months. Black lesions occurred at nodes where the plant was pruned or where fruit had been harvested. No mycelium or perithecia were noted in association with the lesions. All tissue above a lesion appeared normal until the lesion girdled the stem, causing the tissue above the lesion to wilt and die. The plant appeared unaffected below the lesion. The pathogen was isolated on half-strength Difco potato-dextrose agar (½ DPDA). Reddish perithecia developed readily in culture. Two single spore isolates of the pathogen obtained from two naturally infected plants (cultivar Kelvin) were used to satisfy Koch's postulates. Five plants of Kelvin were inoculated with each isolate by inserting a 4-mm agar block of the pathogen grown for 5 days on ½ DPDA into the stem. Five plants of the same cultivar were similarly treated with fungus-free ½ DPDA. Plants were grown under greenhouse conditions after inoculation. In four plants, black lesions similar to those seen in the commercial greenhouse developed within 1 week. In one plant, the portions of the plants above the point of inoculation wilted after 5 days. The upper parts of the plants appeared healthy until lesions girdled the stems. The plants treated with fungus-free agar remained healthy. The fungus was re-isolated from the margins of lesions on the inoculated plants. The pathogen has been reported to cause stem lesions and fruit rot of pepper in greenhouses in England (1) and Canada (2). Fruit symptoms were not observed in the Florida greenhouse. Stem symptoms were again reported from the same greenhouse in the following season. References: (1) J. T. Fletcher. Plant Pathol. 43:225-222, 1994. (2) W. R. Jarvis. Can. Plant Dis. Surv. 74:131-134, 1994.


Crowd-funded markets have recently emerged as a novel source of capital for entrepreneurs. As the economic potential of these markets is now being realized, they are beginning to go mainstream, a trend reflected by the explicit attention crowdfunding has received in the American Jobs Act as a potential avenue for economic growth, as well as the recent focus that regulators such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have placed upon it. Although the formulation of regulation and policy surrounding crowd-funded markets is becoming increasingly important, the behavior of crowdfunders, an important aspect that must be considered in this formulation effort, is not yet well understood. A key factor that can influence the behavior of crowd funders is information on prior contribution behavior, including the amount and timing of others' contributions, which is published for general consumption. With that in mind, in this study, we empirically examine social influence in a crowd-funded marketplace for online journalism projects, employing a unique data set that incorporates contribution events and Web traffic statistics for approximately 100 story pitches. This data set allows us to examine both the antecedents and consequences of the contribution process. First, noting that digital journalism is a form of public good, we evaluate the applicability of two competing classes of economic models that explain private contribution toward public goods in the presence of social information: substitution models and reinforcement models. We also propose a new measure that captures both the amount and the timing of others' contribution behavior: contribution frequency (dollars per unit time). We find evidence in support of a substitution model, which suggests a partial crowding-out effect, where contributors may experience a decrease in their marginal utility from making a contribution as it becomes less important to the recipient. Further, we find that the duration of funding and, more importantly, the degree of exposure that a pitch receives over the course of the funding process, are positively associated with readership upon the story's publication. This appears to validate the widely held belief that a key benefit of the crowdfunding model is the potential it offers for awareness and attention-building around causes and ventures. This last aspect is a major contribution of the study, as it demonstrates a clear linkage between marketing effort and the success of crowd-funded projects.


FIGURE 1.
Giovanna Fossati, chief curator, EYE Filmmuseum, Amsterdam.

> victoria duckett:Thank you, Giovanna, for agreeing to talk to me about feminism and the archive. We thought it was important to talk to archivists rather than merely having scholars write about the archives and their changes (or not!) in recent years, and also to ask [archivists] about their relation to feminism. I would like to start by asking you what your role is here at the Nederlands Filmmuseum [EYE Film Institute], what your professional position is.

> giovanna fossati:I am currently the chief curator here at EYE. This is since 2009. Before that, I was working at the Nederlands Filmmuseum, which became EYE at the end of 2009. Since 1997, I have worked in several roles. I started as a collections specialist, a junior position working on selecting films from the collection for preservation and restoration. I moved on, becoming the head of the collection department. In 2004, I become a curator. In 2009, I was asked to become the chief curator.

> vd:As the head curator here at EYE, what is the kind of role you take on?

> gf:I mainly focus on the general long-term lines of the collection policy. Every four years, we write a new policy. It has a lot to do with the subsidy system here in the Netherlands. I focus a lot on writing this policy and supervising how this policy is applied in practice.

> vd:What is this policy? [Is it] how you collect or what you collect?

> gf:How we collect, select, preserve, restore, and show the collection. Also how we do research on the collection. So it has various aspects. I am happy that for the first time we have translated the collection policy into English, and …


Preschool students are preparing for kindergarten. The kindergarten curriculum is demanding. Students are expected to enter elementary school knowing many aspects related to language arts. The problem at the preschool level is that children need to master letter recognition and letter sounds in order to prepare them to learn how to read. The literature reveals that using technology before they enter kindergarten can be beneficial in developing students emergent literacy skills (Beschorner & Huchison, 2013). It is important for teachers to meet the needs of all of their students. Using electronic tablets in the classroom is a tool that can help promote the development of early reading skills. Shifflet, Toledo and Mattoon, (2012) showed that by just introducing four tablets into a preschool classroom, the teachers observed the students increased their cooperation and collaboration skills with one another. Participants in this study include 20 four and five year olds in a private preschool setting in a suburban area. Using electronic tablets, students practiced letter and sound recognition as part of their daily routine. Student pre and post test scores on letter and sound recognition were compared to analyze growth over time, by using technology and specific instructional applications (apps) that focus on early reading skills. Additionally the researcher recorded and analyzed notes which described student behavior during instruction. Test scores indicated that 19 out of 20 students increased their mastery of upper and lower case letter recognition skills. Results from notes indicated that students were engaged in using tablets and motivated to practice letter recognition skills.


Statutes, regulations, and litigation are pivotal tools for creating conditions for people to lead healthier and safer lives. Law can educate, create incentives, and deter; mandate safer product design and use of property; and alter the informational, physical, or economic environment. This article defines public health law as the power and duty of the state to ensure conditions for people to be healthy and limitations on the state's power to constrain autonomy, privacy, liberty, and proprietary interests of individuals and businesses. The 5 essential characteristics of public health law discussed are (1) the government's responsibility to defend against health risks and promote the public's health; (2) the population-based perspective of public health, emphasizing prevention; (3) the relationship between government and the populace; (4) the mission, core functions, and services of the public health system; and (5) the power to coerce individuals, professionals, and businesses for the community's protection. JAMA. 2000;283:2837-2841


This paper presents a statistical study of the published preemption decisions of the United States Courts of Appeals over the past five years. It tells a story consisting of two distinct parts. The first part is that preemption disputes seem to produce a large measure of judicial consensus. In the full universe of cases, there is only a slight difference between Republican and Democratic appointees: Republican judges voted for outcomes favoring the preemption of state law at a rate exceeding Democratic judges by a margin of roughly 5 percent. This difference is not trivial, but it is not statistically significant at a 95 percent level of confidence. Moreover, this overall similarity was not the product of Republicans and Democrats disagreeing in different clusters of cases, such that their aggregate voting records masked fairly frequent clashes. Rather, more than 94 percent of the circuit courts' published preemption decisions were unanimous, a rate that exceeds our best estimates of the mean for published Court of Appeals decisions as a whole. The second part of the story is that, despite this general consensus, there remain some important differences between Republican and Democratic appointees. When the judicial panel was ideologically homogenous (either all-Republican or all-Democrat), Republicans were substantially more likely than Democrats to vote in favor of preemption. Moreover, in the most contested preemption cases - those in which at least one Republican and one Democrat served on the panel, and at least one judge dissented - Republican appointees were more than three times as likely as Democratic appointees to vote in favor of preemption (roughly 72 percent versus 22 percent).Thus, the full picture of preemption decisions in the Courts of Appeals is intriguing, if somewhat unsurprising. In general, preemption cases do not provoke much ideological fissure among federal circuit judges. But in particular circumstances - especially the small subset of preemption cases where judges disagree on the result - party affiliation appears to be highly predictive of how that disagreement will play out. In these marginal cases - where the accepted sources of legal authority fail to control the outcome, and the norms of consensus and collegiality are insufficient to restrain judicial dissent - the pattern is unmistakable: Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to favor the federal preemption of state law.


BACKGROUND
The alteration of Th1 and Th2 cytokine levels is the subject of controversy in pleural effusions caused by malignancy, a situation that favors a Th2 immune response.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the different levels of IL-4 and IL-10 (Th2 cytokines), and IL-2 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) (Th1 cytokines) in malignant and non-malignant pleural effusions.

METHOD
The cytokine levels in pleural fluid of 62 patients with malignant pleural effusion (44 with lung cancer and 18 with extrathoracic tumors), 8 with tuberculous and 8 with congestive heart failure pleural effusion were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

RESULTS
IL-2 was below the detectable concentration of the assay. A significant decrease in IFN-γ level was observed in malignant but not in congestive heart failure cases compared to tuberculous cases. IL-10 levels were higher in malignant and tuberculous pleural effusions than in congestive heart failure pleural effusions, however, this difference did not reach the significant level. IL-4 levels were also increased non-significantly in lung cancer pleural effusions compared to the other groups.

CONCLUSION
Our results show a wide variation in IL-4, IL-10, and IFN-γ levels in malignant pleural effusions, a pattern which was not convincing enough to differentiate the cause of effusion.


Chemokines are structurally related proteins that activate leucocyte migration in response to injury or infection. Tick saliva contains chemokine-binding proteins or evasins which likely neutralize host chemokine function and inflammation. Biochemical characterisation of 50 evasins from Ixodes, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus shows that they fall into two functional classes, A and B, with exclusive binding to either CC- or CXC- chemokines, respectively. Class A evasins, EVA1 and EVA4 have a four-disulfide-bonded core, whereas the class B evasin EVA3 has a three-disulfide-bonded "knottin" structure. All 29 class B evasins have six cysteine residues conserved with EVA3, arrangement of which defines a Cys6-motif. Nineteen of 21 class A evasins have eight cysteine residues conserved with EVA1/EVA4, the arrangement of which defines a Cys8-motif. Two class A evasins from Ixodes (IRI01, IHO01) have less than eight cysteines. Many evasin-like proteins have been identified in tick salivary transcriptomes, but their phylogenetic relationship with respect to biochemically characterized evasins is not clear. Here, using BLAST searches of tick transcriptomes with biochemically characterized evasins, we identify 292 class A and 157 class B evasins and evasin-like proteins from Prostriate (Ixodes), and Metastriate (Amblyomma, Dermacentor, Hyalomma, Rhipicephalus) ticks. Phylogenetic analysis shows that class A evasins/evasin-like proteins segregate into two classes, A1 and A2. Class A1 members are exclusive to Metastriate ticks and typically have a Cys8-motif and include EVA1 and EVA4. Class A2 members are exclusive to Prostriate ticks, lack the Cys8-motif, and include IHO01 and IRI01. Class B evasins/evasin-like proteins are present in both Prostriate and Metastriate lineages, typically have a Cys6-motif, and include EVA3. Most evasins/evasin-like proteins in Metastriate ticks belong to class A1, whereas in Prostriate species they are predominantly class B. In keeping with this, the majority of biochemically characterized Metastriate evasins bind CC-chemokines, whereas the majority of Prostriate evasins bind CXC-chemokines. While the origin of the structurally dissimilar classes A1 and A2 is yet unresolved, these results suggest that class B evasin-like proteins arose before the divergence of Prostriate and Metastriate lineages and likely functioned to neutralize CXC-chemokines and support blood feeding.


We present a methodology for 3-D collision-free path planning in which planning is done in the 3-orthogonal 2-D projections of a 3-D environment. Suboptimal path searching is done in each of the 3 orthogonal 2-D subspaces using primitive path segments. A hierarchical path searching method is introduced to speed up the search process. This approach lends applications to spatial planning in environments where no a priori knowledge is assumed. The three orthogonal 2-D projections can be readily obtained from 3 orthogonal cameras in simple environments.


Children with Williams syndrome (WS) have been reported to exhibit an unusual cognitive profile characterized by marked preservation of linguistic abilities and poor visuospatial abilities against a backdrop of generalized mental retardation. Much of the data documenting this profile come from studies of older children and adults with WS. Very few studies have reported findings from the preschool and early school-age period. As a result, little is known about the early development of cognitive processes in children with WS. Capirci, Sabbadini, and Volterra (1996) reported data from a longitudinal case study of early language development in a young child with WS. This article presents the longitudinal profile of visuospatial abilities in this same child. Data on copying and free drawing collected over a period extending from late preschool to early school age are reported. It is clear from these data that this child does indeed exhibit deficits in visuospatial abilities. Her performance clearly improved with age, but deficits persist.


Part I of this Article describes the general policies underlying qualified immunity and the Court's decisions defining the scope of the defense. Part II then addresses two answered questions concerning Harlow v. Fitzgerald's impact on the substantive content of the qualified immunity defense: Is immunity available to the defendant who actually knows that her conduct is infringing the plaintiff's constitutional rights, even if the law governing those rights is not yet clearly established? And should a court take into account the nature of the defendant's governmental responsibilities and other circumstances surrounding her conduct in determining whether the right she violated was one of which a reasonable person would have known? Finally, Part III discusses two unanswered questions concerning Harlow's impact on the procedures to be used in ruling on qualified immunity claims: Which party bears the burden of proof on the qualified immunity defense? And is the plaintiff denied all opportunity for discovery prior to the court's resolution of the qualified immunity issue?


Over the last decade the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) has produced a series of guidelines and recommendations regarding different ultrasound applications including ▪ contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) [1 – 5], ▪ dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) for quantification of tumour perfusion [6], ▪ elastography [7, 8], ▪ interventional ultrasound [9 – 19], ▪ student education [20, 21], ▪ pediatric use of CEUS [22, 23] and ▪ gastrointestinal ultrasound [24, 25].


The collective unconscious psyche of humans consists of archetypes represented through their choices, rituals and their behaviors in symbolic forms. Architecture is one of the media that can be the incidence area of unconscious psyche archetypes by reflecting these symbols, and mother is one of the most important archetypes. Problem Statement: The mother is more symbolic for the male gender, and the Iranian historical architecture is apparently a masculine arena. So, the pursuit of the representation of this archetype in the architecture of Iran is meaningful. The issue of this research is a psychoanalytic reading of Iranian historical architecture by finding the representation of the mother archetype in the works of Iranian historical architecture. The study of the works of Iranian historical architecture often includes theological, technical, historical criticisms or decoding of visual symbols based on religious culture; whose foundations are mostly wisdom-oriented. Therefore, the gap of psychoanalytic criticisms is evident in Iran›s architecture. Aims: The aim of this research is to investigate the fundamental concepts of the Iranian historical architecture by taking an interdisciplinary approach and providing new perspectives beyond the general view of the research so far done. Question: How has the Iranian architecture been influenced by the collective unconscious? What are the representations of the mother archetype in Iranian architecture? Methodology: Qualitative and fundamental research is based on descriptive-analytic method. Data have been collected based on documentary and library studies. Conclusion: The research suggests that the notion of the motherland is the source of holiness in the unconsciousness of Iranians and, the mother archetype in Jung's signs have been appeared in the architectural spaces through the blending of these spaces with the earth and its complications.


Technology transfer plays a key role in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we characterize the factors that promote or hinder the international diffusion of climate-friendly technologies using detailed patent data from 96 countries for the period 1995–2007. The data provide strong evidence that lax Intellectual Property regimes have a strong and negative impact on the international diffusion of patented knowledge. Restrictions on international trade and foreign direct investment also hinder the diffusion of climate-friendly technologies. Surprisingly, local technological capabilities tend to discourage transfers. While broad indicators of technology capabilities are expected to facilitate transfers, this latter result stems from our technology-specific definition of local capabilities, which makes it possible to capture a substitution effect between local and foreign inventions.


Most high-resolution, proxy-based paleoclimate research has concentrated on tropical oceans, while mid- and high-latitude marine regions have received less attention, despite their importance in the global climate system. At present, sclerochronological analyses of bivalve mollusks supply the bulk of annual- to subannual-resolution extratropical marine climate data, even though interpretation is complicated by a slowdown of growth with increasing shell age. Hence, in order to address the need for additional high-resolution proxy climate data from extratropical regions, we conducted the first year-long in situ field calibration of the coralline red alga Clathromorphum compactum in the Gulf of Maine, United States. Coralline red algae are widely distributed in coastal regions worldwide, and individual calcified plants can live continuously for several centuries in temperate and subarctic oceans. Stable oxygen isotopes extracted at subannual resolution from growth increments of monitored specimens of C. compactum relate well to in situ–measured sea-surface temperatures during the May to December calcification period, highlighting the suitability of coralline red algae as an extratropical climate archive. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between a 30 yr σ 18 O record of C. compactum and an instrumental sea-surface temperature record ( r = −0.58, p = 0.0008) and a proxy reconstruction derived from the bivalve Arctica islandica collected in the central Gulf of Maine ( r = 0.54, p = 0.002).


Eyes of the Ancestors takes an in-depth look at the Dallas Museum of Art's world-renowned collection of artworks from Island Southeast Asia. Beautiful photography and essays by distinguished international scholars unlock the magic of the island cultures of Indonesia, Sarawak, and East Timor. Leading anthropologist Reimar Schefold introduces these texts, which investigate various indigenous art forms from a fresh art-historical perspective. They describe the contexts, purposes, and aesthetic influences of a range of objects, from intricately woven sacred and ceremonial textiles to carved ancestor figures. Also featured are gold and metalwork designs as well as weaponry and jewelry, most dating back more than a hundred years. A 19th-century mouth mask in the collection, from the Leti Islands, is one of only our known to be in existence. Carved in the shape of a bird's head, this wooden mask was used in ritual dances. Other spectacular examples from the collection likewise reflect the beliefs and practices of these island peoples.


Functional Quantitative Genetics and the Missing Heritability Problem Serge Sverdlov Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Elizabeth A. Thompson Department of Statistics In classical quantitative genetics, the correlation between the phenotypes of individuals with unknown genotypes and a known pedigree relationship is expressed in terms of probabilities of IBD states. In existing models of the inverse problem where genotypes are observed but pedigree relationships are not, probabilities and correlations have either a Bayesian or a hybrid interpretation. We introduce the IBF (Identity by Function) model based on the classic infinite allele mutation process. Describing genetic resemblance in terms of functional states defines a genetic architecture for a trait without reference to specific alleles or a population, treating a gene-scale functional region, rather than a SNP, as a QTL, and emphasizing locus weights and patterns of dominance over multiple alleles. This allows the reconciliation of bottom-up (genome sequence based) and (pedigree/population) calculations of heritability, as well as phenotype and gene effect prediction. We perform these calculations with simulated, pig, and human traits. For related computational problems, we describe an algorithm for the estimation in large scale variance components problems by matrix decomposition methods techniques related to the Sparse Bayesian Learning/Relevance Vector Machine framework. Additionally, we describe a combinatorial framework for decomposing nonlinear genetic effects due to dominance and epistasis, and a method for adjusting the Genomic Relationship Matrix for linkage disequilibrium by SNP selection and weighting.


A typical preservice teacher will experience demanding teaching situations during practicum. In such situations, interpersonal support from fellow students may be an important factor if experiences gained during teaching practice are to make a constructive contribution to personal growth for the teacher. Human support from other preservice teachers can bridge a gap that can be filled only to a limited extent by practice supervisors, who also have a role in assessing the students' practice periods. The phenomenon of preservice teachers helping their co-students—even though, strictly speaking, they have no formal responsibility in this area—is called citizenship behavior here. Structural equation modeling of questionnaire data collected among Norwegian preservice teachers shows that performance approach motivation is the factor most strongly associated with citizenship behavior. Intrinsic motivation is also a significant factor, both as a direct and an indirect effect, via study absorption. The self-efficacy of preservice teachers in teaching situations also has a robust association with citizenship behavior, while experiences involving pupil engagement problems in teaching situations have a negative effect on self-efficacy. Pupil engagement problems also have an adverse impact on absorption.


In addition to reinforced concrete and steel buildings, a large part of the existing building stock in Europe is made of stone masonry. Prediction of the structural behavior requires the development of a systematic material characterization of the mechanical properties and structural details (units, arrangement, bonding, inter-connection). This study aims to analyze the mechanical and physical behavior of building stones in the historical city of Gjirokastër, Albania, known also as the Stone City. A thorough investigation of the regional stone quarries was performed, and the collected samples were cut into regular prismatic specimens for further analysis. The experimental campaign consisted of the determination of flexural strength and compressive strength, water absorption, porosity, specific gravity as well as structural analysis of the masonry material, using the MQI (Masonry Quality Index) method. The test results showed that there is a large scattering in the values of the mechanical and physical stone properties such as compressive strength varying from 20 to 115 MPa and flexural strength from 8 to 25 MPa. However, the analysis of the masonry material revealed a satisfactory structural performance, based on a frequent, systematic respect of the good construction practices (i.e., the rules of the art) in Gjirokastër.


Videogames are rapidly becoming a major medium of contemporary art. As videogames move into the popular and conceptual mainstream with exhibitions occurring at major international spaces, how are the complexities of this new medium playing out among arts workers, collectors and the spaces in which games are exhibited? More specifically, how are curators, artists and institutional spaces within the Asia Pacific region responding to the opportunities and challenges posed by videogames in arts practice? Are best practices being adopted from US and European models, or, given the Asia Pacifics standing as the largest producer and consumer of videogames, and recognising its long history of videogame art from exponents such as Feng Mengbo and Cao Fei, are distinct and region-specific trends emerging? This panel considers future and present practices in the curation of contemporary videogame art.


Antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy and antiangiogenesis have emerged as two attractive strategies for cancer treatment. An innovative approach that combines both mechanisms will likely generate the most potent antitumor effect. We tested this approach using calreticulin (CRT), which has demonstrated the ability to enhance MHC class I presentation and exhibit an antiangiogenic effect. We explored the linkage of CRT to a model tumor antigen, human papilloma virus type-16 (HPV-16) E7, for the development of a DNA vaccine. We found that C57BL/6 mice vaccinated intradermally with CRT/E7 DNA exhibited a dramatic increase in E7-specific CD8(+) T cell precursors and an impressive antitumor effect against E7-expressing tumors compared with mice vaccinated with wild-type E7 DNA or CRT DNA. Vaccination of CD4/CD8 double-depleted C57BL/6 mice and immunocompromised (BALB/c nu/nu) mice with CRT/E7 DNA or CRT DNA generated significant reduction of lung tumor nodules compared with wild-type E7 DNA, suggesting that antiangiogenesis may have contributed to the antitumor effect. Examination of microvessel density in lung tumor nodules and an in vivo angiogenesis assay further confirmed the antiangiogenic effect generated by CRT/E7 and CRT. Thus, cancer therapy using CRT linked to a tumor antigen holds promise for treating tumors by combining antigen-specific immunotherapy and antiangiogenesis.


Studies on genocide in Zimbabwe in particular, and the world in general, focus on the number of people who die during these tragic conflicts. Although statistics can provide a sense of the magnitude of the negative impact of genocide, it is now significant to redirect attention towards understanding the conditions under which the people of Matabeleland and the Midlands are living after the Gukurahundi genocide that happened between 1980 and 1987. In order to do so, it is imperative to consider the importance of youth voices, views and perceptions and - those also, of the old people who are the surviving victims - regarding their understanding of the meaning of "development" and "democracy" against the background of perceptions - real or imagined - of marginalisation in a country that witnessed genocide as a form of political control. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify and highlight how youth and the old people from these regions in Zimbabwe define and redefine, for themselves, popular notions of "development" and "democracy" as they attempt to create new frames of aspirations embodied out of the lived experiences of suffering in the past and continuing ethnic-based perceptions of victimisation in a country that is 32 years into political independence. Rather than adopting a top-down approach that imposes definitions of what is "development" or "democracy," these people, the search for the meaning of life for the genocide victims can be done without wishing away the painful past, but with a desire to project into a possible and safer future. Research on genocide in Matabeleland and the Midlands Province, therefore, needs to ascertain and register, whether or not there have been changes in the voices, views and perceptions of the victims of Gukurahundi about the issues of inclusive development and democracy. It is argued in this paper that if the political, economic and social conditions of the people from these affected areas have not changed, this constitutes a continuing silent genocide whose dimensions and impact on development and expanding democratic spaces must be interrogated. Evaluating perceptions of victims of genocide in Zimbabwe, using interviews and questionnaires in Tsholotsho, Gweru, Mberengwa, Nkayi and Umzingwani can elicit responses to the questions regarding the preferred paths of development and democracy by the victims of the political disturbances. However, on the other hand if the responses to the questions are positive and affirming that there are new values that inform development and a new culture of democracy in Zimbabwe, we still need to analyse the content of what I call, the "victim's assertive spiritual agency" that is important when considering how the people have forged ahead with their lives despite or because of a previous history of persecution.


You might find this additional information useful... This article cites 56 articles, 25 of which you can access free at: http://jn.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/93/5/2922#BIBL Updated information and services including high-resolution figures, can be found at: http://jn.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/93/5/2922 Additional material and information about Journal of Neurophysiology can be found at: http://www.the-aps.org/publications/jn This information is current as of June 30, 2006 . € American Physiological Society. ISSN: 0022-3077, ESSN: 1522-1598. Visit our website at http://www.the-aps.org/.


This report presents the solution to the two of the most critical processes in planning for flash Hood evacuation: the evacuation vehicle assignment problem (EVAP) and the evacuation vehicle routing problem (EVRP). With these solutions, the evacuation routing optimizer (EROP) is constructed. The EVAP is firstly solved, followed by the EVRP. For EVAP, discrete particle position is proposed to support the implementation of discrete particle swarm optimization called myDPSOVAP-A. Particle positions are initially calculated based on the average passenger capacity of each evacuation vehicle. We experiment with different numbers of the potential flooded areas (PFA) using two types of sequences for vehicle capacity; random and sort ascending order. Both of these sequences are tested with different inertia weights, constriction coefficients (CF), and acceleration coefficients. We analyse the performance of each vehicle allocation in four experiment categories: myDPSOVAP-A using inertia weight with random vehicle capacity, myDPSOVAP-A using inertia weight with sort ascending order of vehicle capacity; myDPSOVAP-A using CF with random vehicle capacity, and myDPSOVAP-A using CF with sort ascending of vehicle capacity. Flash flood evacuation datasets from Malaysia are used in the experiment. myDPSOVAP-A using inertia weight with random capacity was found to give the best results for both random and sort ascending order of vehicle capacity. Solutions reached by analyses with CF random and inertia weight sorted in ascending order were shown to be competitive with those obtained using inertia weight with random capacity. Overall, myDPSOVAP-A outperformed both a genetic algorithm with random vehicle capacity and a genetic algorithm with sort ascending order of vehicle capacity in solving the EVAP. Consequently EVRP, myDPSOVRPl is modified and named as myDPSO_VRP_2, adopts a new solution mapping which incorporates a graph decomposition and random selection of priority value. The purpose of this mapping is to reduce the searching space of the particles, leading to a better solution. Computational experiments involve EVRP dataset from road network for flash flood evacuation in Johor State, Malaysia. The myDPSOVRPl and myDPSO_VRP_2 are respectively compared with a genetic algorithm (GA) using solution mapping for EVRP. The results indicate that the proposed myDPSO_VRP_2 are highly competitive and show good performance in both fitness value and processing time. Overall, DPSOVRP2 and myDPSOVAP-A which are the main component in the EROP gave good performance in maximizing the number of people to vehicles and minimizing the total travelling time from vehicle location to PFA. EROP was embedded with the DPSOVRP2 and retrieved the generated capacitated vehicles from the myDPSOVAP-A. EROP is also accommodated with the routing of vehicles from PFA to relief centres to support the whole processes of the evacuation route planning.


Background This study aims to explore how the home food environment and parental attitudes and values affect children's fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake. Methods The sample consists of 2383 children with a mean age of 8.3 years (95% CI 8.2 to 8.3) attending 52 primary schools in London. These children are taking part in two randomised controlled trials to evaluate a school gardening programme. Diet was assessed using a validated 24-h food tick list, the Child And Diet Evaluation Tool (CADET). Results The CADET tool found that children consumed on average 293 g F&V (95% CI 287 to 303) per day. Clustered (by school) multilevel regression models with total F&V as the primary outcome were conducted to explore how the home environment affects children's F&V intake. Children of families who reported 'always' eating a family meal together at a table had 125 g (95% CI 92 to 157; p=<0.001) more F&V than families who never ate a meal together. Daily consumption of F&V by parents was associated with higher F&V (88 g, 95% CI 37 to 138) intake in children compared with rarely/never consumption of F&V by parents. Cutting up fruit and vegetables for children was associated with higher consumption. Families who reported always cutting up F&V for their children had 44 g (95% CI 18 to 71) more F&V than families who never cut up F&V. Conclusions This study identified that cutting up F&V and family consumption of F&V facilitates children's intake. Eating a family meal together regularly could increase children's F&V intake and help them achieve the recommended intake. Trial registration ISRCTN11396528.


ABSTRACT Objective: To identify, in caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia, factors associated with subjective (personal, physical, emotional, and social) and objective (informal caregiver time and costs) caregiver burden. Design: Prospective longitudinal European observational study: post-hoc analysis. Setting: Clinic. Participants: Community-dwelling patients in France and Germany aged ≥ 55 years (n = 969) with probable AD and their informal caregivers. Measurements: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study—Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL), 12-item Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-12), Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), informal caregiver basic and instrumental ADL hours (Resource Utilization in Dementia instrument), and informal caregiver costs. Mixed-effect models of repeated measures (MMRM) were run, including baseline and time-dependent covariates (change from baseline [CFB] to 18 months in MMSE, ADCS-ADL, and NPI-12 scores) associated with CFB in ZBI score/informal caregiver time over 36 months (analyzed using linear regression models) and informal caregiver costs over 36 months (analyzed using generalized linear models). Results: Greater decline in patient function (ADCS-ADL) over 18 months was associated with increased subjective caregiver burden (ZBI), hours, and costs over 36 months. Increased behavioral problems (NPI-12) over 18 months also negatively impacted ZBI. Cognitive decline (MMSE) over 18 months did not affect change in caregiver burden. Conclusions: Long-term informal caregiver burden was driven by worsening functional abilities and behavioral symptoms but not cognitive decline, over 18 months in community-dwelling patients with AD dementia. Identifying the drivers of caregiver burden could highlight areas in which interventions may benefit both caregivers and patients.


There is increasing interest in mining minerals on the seabed, including seafloor massive sulfide deposits that form at hydrothermal vents. The International Seabed Authority is currently drafting a Mining Code, including environmental regulations, for polymetallic sulfides and other mineral exploitation on the seabed in the area beyond national jurisdictions. This paper summarizes 1) the ecological vulnerability of active vent ecosystems and aspects of this vulnerability that remain subject to conjecture, 2) evidence for limited mineral resource opportunity at active vents, 3) non-extractive values of active vent ecosystems, 4) precedents and international obligations for protection of hydrothermal vents, and 5) obligations of the International Seabed Authority under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for protection of the marine environment from the impacts of mining. Heterogeneity of active vent ecosystems makes it extremely challenging to identify "representative" systems for any regional, area-based management approach to conservation. Protection of active vent ecosystems from mining impacts (direct and indirect) would set aside only a small fraction of the international seabed and its mineral resources, would contribute to international obligations for marine conservation, would have non-extractive benefits, and would be a precautionary approach.


We present a novel key distribution architecture and a novel use of a particular identity-based digital signature scheme for making email trustworthy. Like typical digital signatures, our solution fights email-based phishing attacks and mitigates spam by detecting spoofed emails. Unlike typical digital signatures, our approach requires no complex, preestablished public-key infrastructure nor cooperation between email domains. Furthermore, it provides just enough trust to make email useful again, but not too much: email remains repudiable. All current legitimate uses of email – alternate email personalities, alternate outgoing mail servers, PGP or S/MIME encryption, sending attachments, web-based email etc. . . – remain fully functional. The end-to-end nature of email is preserved: the only requirements are an upgraded email client and at least one keyserver. We call this approach a Lightweight Trust Architecture.


&NA; This study examined nursing research performance in Taiwan from 1991 to 2004 by conducting bibliometric analysis of papers published by researchers affiliated with nursing institutes in Taiwan. Bibliometric information of papers that were published between 1991 and 2004 and had contact address including the words "Taiwan", and "nursing" were downloaded from the ISI Web of Knowledge website. The information used for this research included number of papers, number of authors, number of references listed, impact factors of publishing journals, times cited, and whether the paper was written through international or domestic collaboration. The information was coded and tabulated. Bibliometric characteristics were compared between 1995-1999 and 2000-2004. Furthermore, an exponential model was fitted to show the past growth trend in research outputs. The results showed that there was a significant growth in quantity of papers from 1991 to 2004. In general, recent papers had averaged more authors, more domestic collaboration, more international collaboration, higher impact factors, and more references listed than earlier papers. Papers written with collaboration tended to have a higher average number of authors and more references listed, and tended to be published in journals with higher impact factors. The exponential model proved to be in good fit with the past growth pattern. The authors speculate that the recent increase in research collaboration, both internationally and domestically, may have contributed to the significant increase in output. It is not clear whether the growth in quantity of papers will continue or for how long. Based on past data, however, no sign of leveling off has been observed. More research is needed to understand what societal and individual level factors were involved in fueling such a dramatic increase in quantity in the last decade. Furthermore, as the quantity of papers has increased steadily, more focus can be placed on improving the quality of research papers.


This is the introductory essay to an edited collection titled Law and Society Approaches to Cyberspace and published by Ashgate Publishing. Accordingly, the essay first considers what qualifies as a law and society approach to any particular subject. Then, I address questions about what it means to study cyberspace, surveying some of the academic literature on the subject and identifying three distinct waves of scholarship about the Internet since the mid 1990s. I also discuss some of the major theoretical fault lines that have emerged during this period. Finally, the essay summarizes each of the contributions to the volume, which includes work by Sherry Turkle, Richard Ross, Dan Hunter, Gunther Teubner, Paul Schiff Berman, James Boyle, Margaret Jane Radin, Lawrence Lessig, Jack L. Balkin, Jane C. Ginsburg, Jessica Litman, Julie E. Cohen, Anupam Chander, Jerry Kang, Jennifer L. Mnookin, and James Grimmelmann.


BACKGROUND
Clinical trials have shown that adjuvant hormone therapy (AHT)-related hot flashes can predict better breast cancer outcomes. This population-based cohort study investigated whether this result can be generalized to a real-world setting.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
By linking the National Quality Registry for Breast Cancer, Prescribed Drug Register, and Cause-of-Death Register, we identified 7,152 chemotherapy-free patients with breast cancer who initiated AHT in Stockholm from 2006 through 2019, and followed them until 2020. Hot flashes were defined as new use of drugs for hot flashes within 6 months after initiating AHT. We used Cox models to compare disease-free survival and treatment discontinuation among patients with and without hot flashes.

RESULTS
Patients who newly used drugs for hot flashes shortly after AHT initiation had worse disease-free survival (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.67; 95% CI, 1.11-2.52) and a higher treatment discontinuation rate (adjusted HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.21-1.78). The association between drugs for hot flashes and discontinuation of AHT differed by patient characteristics, with stronger associations among low-income patients (HR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.41-2.59) and those without first-degree relatives who had cancer (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.39-2.35) or died from cancer (HR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.37-2.12).

CONCLUSIONS
AHT-related hot flashes predict worse, rather than better, breast cancer outcomes among patients in clinical routine practice. The identification of adverse effects by the initiation of hot flash medications may identify a subset of patients with more severe hot flashes who are more likely to discontinue AHT and need more support for treatment adherence.


Informal learning has become an extremely important issue as post-industrial workplaces seek to harness its productive potential. Managers and HRD practitioners have attempted to deploy informal learning in the design of corporate cultures, however, most discussions of the subject have tended to be uncritical expositions which do not challenge the underlying economic, philosophical and organisational rationale. Uniquely, this book goes against this tendency. It critically examines definitions of informal learning, and focuses on its application in a variety of workplace contexts. It features: * theories of informal learning * the unmasking of contemporary corporate rhetoric * the implications for accounts of workplace learning of poststructuralist and post-modern perspectives. Incorporating case studies based on interviews with practising managers and HRM practitioners, and a detailed glossary of key concepts and issues, this book will be a valuable reference for students of workplace learning. (http://books.google.fr/books?id=sjEzx4vw8voC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr#v=onepage&q&f=false)


Adenovirus (Ad) infections are widespread in the human population, and causes infections linked to many gastrointestinal, respiratory and ocular illnesses. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that the binding of the adenovirus protein E3-19K of the adenovirus with the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I molecules plays a role in infection as it retains these molecules in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the Ad infected cells, thus inhibiting the lysis of the Ad infected cells by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs). The goal of this research study is to evaluate the Ad2 E3-19K – HLA-A2 complex as a target for its potential to bind small molecule inhibitors. The knowledge of the crystal structure, and the interaction surface of the Ad2 E3-19K – HLA-A2 complex provides us a foundation to conduct Structure-Based Drug Design (SBDD). We aim to disrupt the binding of E3-19K protein of adenovirus with the HLA-A2 molecule, which could then sensitize the adenovirus infected cells to lysis by the CTLs. To achieve this, we used computational methods to determine potential binding sites for small molecules. Hence, we analyzed the crystal structure of the complex, including the binding surface of the proteins involved in the complex; we compared the Ad2 E3-19K – HLA-A2 and Ad4 E3-19K – HLA-A2 structures to determine whether the binding site selected varies between strains. A structure-based virtual screening (SBVS) protocol was designed to probe the Ad2 E3-19K – HLA-A2 interface for its potential to be targeted by small molecules. Per-residue decomposition of the interface interactions was obtained from the analysis of Molecular Dynamic (MD) trajectories which was used to determine residues in peptides that could also be used to target the protein. We shortlisted compounds to be tested experimentally, using the scoring functions of the molecular docking program; we found 7 compounds with binding affinity to HLA-A2 out of the 36 compounds tested. In addition, the peptide sequence obtained from per-residue decomposition has been used to synthesize peptides that can be tested for its binding potential through experiments.


Phosphorus levels in the Illinois River are of great interest to the people of the States of Arkansas and Oklahoma. A great deal of effort has been expended to ascertain and modify the phosphorus impacts on the river. An automatic water sampling station was installed on the Illinois River just upstream from the State line in 1996 to accurately quantify the phosphorus in the Arkansas portion of the watershed. This paper summarizes five years worth of phosphorus sampling results at that site. In addition, a simple mass balance for phosphorus in the Illinois River Watershed above the sampling station was developed. The mass balance consisted of determining phosphorus inputs in the drainage area and comparing these to phosphorus outputs, during the same five-year period, allowing for an estimation of phosphorus accumulation. Sampling results showed that phosphorus levels were rapidly increasing in the Illinois River at the State line. Input information showed that over 7 million pounds of phosphorus were discharged into the 575 square mile basin annually. Mass balance calculations indicated that the point source discharges were responsible for up to 43% of the phosphorus in the river. The calculations indicate that only 4% of the phosphorus applied in the watershed reached the river annually. The remaining 96% accumulated in the watershed at an average rate of 8 kg per pasture acre per year. The effect of point source reductions was investigated and resulting mean concentrations were compared to a 0.037 mg/l in-stream phosphorus limit recently adopted by the State of Oklahoma.


This paper presents an algorithm to construct cryptographically strong genus $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}2$
 curves and their Kummer surfaces via Rosenhain invariants and related Kummer parameters. The most common version of the complex multiplication (CM) algorithm for constructing cryptographic curves in genus 2 relies on the well-studied Igusa invariants and Mestre's algorithm for reconstructing the curve. On the other hand, the Rosenhain invariants typically have much smaller height, so computing them requires less precision, and in addition, the Rosenhain model for the curve can be written down directly given the Rosenhain invariants. Similarly, the parameters for a Kummer surface can be expressed directly in terms of rational functions of theta constants. CM-values of these functions are algebraic numbers, and when computed to high enough precision, LLL can recognize their minimal polynomials. Motivated by fast cryptography on Kummer surfaces, we investigate a variant of the CM method for computing cryptographically strong Rosenhain models of curves (as well as their associated Kummer surfaces) and use it to generate several example curves at different security levels that are suitable for use in cryptography.


This study approaches Pedro Henriquez Urena's linguistic work on Dominican Spanish by situating it in the political context in which it emerged. Henriquez Urena's travels, work and publications encompass many parts of the Spanish-speaking world on both sides of the Atlantic. Linguists have generally tended to descriptively review Henriquez Urena's contributions to Spanish American dialectology and have avoided any critical examination of the conditions of production of his linguistic work. My study attempts to fill this gap by conducting a critical examination of these works against the relevant political, cultural and intellectual historical currents of the period. Specifically, I apply the semiotic concepts of 'iconization' and 'erasure' which are instrumental in the analysis of ideological phenomena. Iconization and erasure are language ideological processes that link language to social behavior and linguistic forms to social images, while eliminating or omitting sociolinguistic complexity. After a discussion of the ways in which these semiotic strategies have been employed and interpreted by scholars, I demonstrate Henriquez Urena's own implementation of them. I show how his linguistic work is a discursive site where race and identity in the Dominican Republic are both constructed and debated.


In this manuscript, I address the largely unexplored issue of whether a sovereign may use its power of eminent domain not to pursue an affirmative public use, but rather to prevent an undesired private use (such as a landfill, rehabilitation facility, or other NIMBY-triggering use) from going forward. I argue that although sovereigns tend to dissemble in these "non-use" cases based upon an underlying assumption by condemnors and courts alike that non-use takings are not constitutionally permitted, their analysis is in fact, incorrect. It is not the non-use condemnations themselves that are problematic, but the subterfuge that condemnors typically use in pursuing such takings. The resulting lack of transparency in governmental action subverts the political process and weakens private property rights protection.


Abstract Postmodern art theories, overproduction, and digital technologies are testing the creativity, innovation, and social and political engagement of art. One Dadaist solution being explored by artists is the aesthetic possibilities associated with the conceptual process. For example, in the field of electronic music, producers and DJs are claiming that remixing is a genuine example of such a creative procedure; however, to justify this claim, remixing requires the bringing of the aesthetic foundations together using digital tools. The main problem is that digital audio workstations and plug-ins enclose artists in specific frameworks that blur the boundaries between true creativity and a perception of creativity. This article sought to develop remixing codes and software using Lindenmayer systems (L-systems), which are parallel rewriting systems with a type of formal grammar. As much of their potential remains unexplored, some algorithms and interface designs were developed to improve their interactive programming options. Finally, using the programmable L-systems as a genetic metaphor, some additions to musical morphing were developed as a starting point to building a generative remixing technique.


Increased interest in the acoustical properties of sediments has been motivated by the fact that in shallow‐water environments the seabed is the dominant factor controlling propagation. With this in mind, the dynamics of a gas bubble surrounded by a poro‐elastic medium in a laboratory sediment have been studied. Measurements of the effect of the surrounding medium on the resonance frequency and the quality factor of the bubble will be presented. [Work supported by ONR.]


Following several years of research and development around the subject of BIM, its impact on the design and handover of buildings is now becoming visible across the construction industry. Changes in design procedures and information management methods indicate the potential for greater utilisation of a Common Data Environment in areas other than design. To identify how these changes are influencing the engineering design process, and adapt this process to the needs and requirements of building performance management requires consideration of multiple factors, relating mainly to the stakeholders and processes employed in these procedures.

This thesis is the culmination of a four year Engineering Doctorate exploring how BIM could be used to support non-domestic building energy performance management. It begins with an introduction to the research aim and objectives, then presents a thorough review of the subject area and the methodologies employed for the research. Research is split between eight sequential tasks using literature review, interviews, data analysis and case-study application from which findings, conclusions and key recommendations are made.

Findings demonstrate disparity between different information environments and provide insight into the necessary steps to enable connection between BIM and monitored building energy performance information. They highlight the following factors essential to providing an information environment suitable for BIM applied performance management:
 Skills in handling information and the interface between various environments;
 Technology capable of producing structured and accurate information, supporting
efficient access for interconnection with other environments; and
 Processes that define the standards to which information is classified, stored and modified, with responsibility for its creation and modification made clear throughout the building life-cycle.

A prototype method for the linking of BIM and monitored building energy performance data is demonstrated for a case-study building, encountering many of the technical barriers preventing replication on other projects. Methodological challenges are identified using review of existing building design and operation procedures.

In conclusion the research found that BIM is still in its infancy, and while efforts are being made to apply it in novel ways to support efficient operation, several challenges remain. Opportunities for building energy performance improvement may be visualised using the modelling environment BIM provides, and the ability to interface with descriptive performance data suggests the future potential for BIM utilisation post-handover.


AquaTerra is one of the first environmental projects within the 6th Framework program by the European Commission. It began in June 2004 with a multidisciplinary team of 45 partner organizations from 13 EU countries, Switzerland, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro. Results from sampling and modeling in 4 large river basins (Ebro, Danube, Elbe and Meuse) and one catchment of the Brévilles Spring in France led to new evaluations of diffuse and hotspot input of persistent organic and metal pollutants including dynamics of pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as metal turnover and accumulation. While degradation of selected organic compounds could be demonstrated under controlled conditions in the laboratory, turnover of most persistent pollutants in the field seems to range from decades to centuries. First investigations of long-term cumulative and degradation effects, particularly in the context of climate change, have shown that it is also necessary to consider the predictions of more than one climate model when trying to assess future impacts. This is largely controlled by uncertainties in climate model responses. It is becoming evident, however, that changes to the climate will have important impacts on the diffusion and degradation of pollutants in space and time that are just at the start of their exploration.


We developed a spatial computer simulation model of the vascular plant community of a freshwater wetland in south-central Wisconsin. This model, based on the aggregation of an unwieldy collection of species into a manageable number of functional "species-types", is used to investigate the responses of wetland plant communities to anthropogenic disturbance that resulted in alterations in wetland hydrology. The results of the model are in general (rank-order) agreement with 7 yr of observed changes in vegetation structure of a sedge meadow and shallow marsh adjacent to a 1000-MW coal-fired power plant near Portage, Wisconsin. Sensitivity analysis of the model revealed that functional species' responses to disturbance depended most heavily on seed germination and dispersal characteristics, a result predicted qualitatively by the wetland succession model of van der Valk (1981). Although analyses of the model presented here appear to verify the model, validation of the model will depend on the collection of similar long-term data sets at disparate sites. This model may be of use in predicting the consequences of anthropogenic disturbance on other freshwater wetlands.


The financial crisis has prompted an extensive debate on the lessons to be learned, particularly from a regulatory point of view, and especially in Europe where the crisis could mean a serious setback for financial integration. The Larosière Report has set out guidelines for improving the European regulatory framework and has inspired a proposal for European legislation. Although the Report has been praised for its effort to overhaul European financial regulation, many details are still vague. In particular, there are seven points at the macro-level of prudential supervision on which clearer and tougher solutions are needed. Furthermore, there are two unresolved problems in the proposals for micro-supervision. It is important to take all of these issues into account in the future discussion on European legislation.