The six-volume report describes the theory of a three-dimensional (3-D) mathematical thermal discharge model and a related one-dimensional (1-D) model, includes model verification at two sites, and provides a separate user's manual for each model. The 3-D model has two forms: free surface and rigid lid. The former, verified at Anclote Anchorage (FL), allows a free air/water interface and is suited for significant surface wave heights compared to mean water depth; e.g., estuaries and coastal regions. The latter, verified at Lake Keowee (SC), is suited for small surface wave heights compared to depth. These models allow computation of time-dependent velocity and temperature fields for given initial conditions and time-varying boundary conditions.


In today's society there is an increasing need for energy, an increase which for the most part is supplied by the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel resources are limited and their use has harmful effects on the environment, therefore the development of technologies that produce clean energy sources is very appealing. Natural photosynthesis is capable of converting solar energy into chemical energy through a series of efficient energy and electron transfer reactions with water as the only electron source. Thus, constructing an artificial system that uses the same principles to convert sunlight into electricity or storable fuels like hydrogen is one of the major forces driving artificial photosynthesis research.This thesis describes supramolecular complexes with the intention of mimicking the electron transfer reactions of the donor side in Photosystem II, where a manganese cluster together with a tyrosine catalyses the oxidation of water. All complexes are based on Ru(II)-trisbipyridine as a photosensitizer that is covalently linked to electron donors like tyrosine or manganese. Photochemical reactions are studied with time-resolved transient absorption and emission measurements. Electrochemical techniques are used to study the electrochemical behavior, and different photoelectrochemical techniques are used to investigate the complexes adsorbed onto titanium dioxide surfaces. In all complexes, intramolecular electron transfer occurs from the linked donor to photo-oxidized Ru(III). It is also observed that coordinated Mn(II) quenches the excited state of Ru(II), a reaction that is found to be distance dependent. However, by modifying one of the complexes, its excited state properties can be tuned in a way that decreases the quenching and keeps the electron transfer properties. The obtained results are of significance for the development of multinuclear Ru-Mn complexes that are capable of multi-electron transfer.


The objective of this paper is to discuss and compare the role that different constituencies play in US and EU procedures for merger control. We describe the main constituencies (both internal and external) involved in merger control in both jurisdictions and discuss how a typical merger case would be handled under these procedures. At each stage, we consider how the procedure unfolds, which parties are involved, and how they can affect the procedure. Our discussion reveals a very different ecology. EU and US procedures differ in terms of their basic design and in terms of the procedures that are naturally associated with these alternative designs. On the one hand, there is a single investigator and decision maker operating under a symmetric mandate in the EU and on the other hand, an investigation and settlement operating under the threat of a court decision in case of challenge only in the US. The EU has developed numerous procedures and has granted extensive rights to the parties in the context of these procedures in order to provide some guarantee that the Commission's role as investigator and decision maker at first instance is not abused. By contrast, the US procedures appear to be rather informal, the balance in the investigation and evaluation of the merger being provided by the credible threat of a court decision. With a strong federal government that has extensive competences for regulation, merger control on competition grounds is subject to the additional public interest test of regulators in the US. Such additional control is weak in the EU, which has more limited competences for regulation. In addition, both the executive and the legislative powers are more fully developed at the federal level in the US. Both the executive power and the legislative seem to be in position to wield greater influence on enforcement in the US than is the case in the EU.


Cross layer optimizations are increasingly being used in a variety of applications to improve application performance. However most of these implementations are ad hoc and performed on a per application basis. In this paper we propose a declarative framework for managing application and network adaptations. The declarative paradigm provides a much needed clean line of separation between the high level goals and the low level implementations. Our framework exposes the tunable features of both the application and the network across layers of the network stack which can then be jointly optimized. We allow operators to control the adaptation process through operator specified policies. This enables operators to retain control over their networks while the application and the network adapt in response to changing conditions. To support evolution, we pursue an ontological approach and use semantic web languages such as OWL and RDF in our framework for the policy and declarative specifications, thereby also leveraging the inherent reasoning and conflict resolution features of these languages. We then describe our framework developed on top of NS2 to demonstrate the utility of our approach in the easy implementation of cross layer optimizations through sample application scenarios.


Internal combustion engine which serves as the main driver of modern transportation emits a number of pollutants which include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and micrometer size particulates. Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is not a regulated pollutant, is also included in the exhaust. About 20-30% of energy related CO2 emissions are attributed to the transportation sector and there is growing interest in reducing CO2 from automotive vehicles. The exhaust system of a vehicle is equipped with a catalytic converter to reduce harmful emissions to levels permitted by the EPA. However the catalytic converter is not designed to treat CO2. On the contrary, it neutralizes some of the pollutants by converting them into CO2. What is proposed in this research is a method which does not use any precious or rare materials. The method utilizes positive electron affinity of exhaust gas molecules such as nitrogen dioxide. A charging unit provides electrons to those molecules to create stable negative ions. As the ions float through the exhaust gas, they interact with pollutants, water vapor and CO2 and electrically attract them to form droplets. The droplets are removed before the exhaust gas is discharged into the atmosphere.


Detection of pollution in any water distribution network (WDN) is essential to maintain public health. Recent researches have demonstrated common water quality indicators (free Chlorine, pH, Electrical Conductivity, …) response to contaminants, which can facilitate the pollutant detection in WDNs. In this research, EPANET-MSX model is used to simulate the realistic responses of common water quality parameters to a pollutant event in WDN, represented in example 3 of EPANET 2.0. The aim of the study is to apply EPANET-MSX to trace Chlorine changes in response to the potassium cyanide injection order to optimize sensor placements WDN. Optimal sensor placement is derived based on coupled EPANET-MSX _ PSO (particle swarm optimization) framework. PSO is implemented as single and multi-objective algorithm. The objectives of the study are to reduce the pollutant detection time, increase detection likelihood, and reduce the contaminated water consumption as single and/or multi-objective problems. Studies on the sensor numbers, ranging from one to five, indicate 1- the pollutant detection time has decreased from 36.22 to 17.41 hours, 2- the pollutant detection likelihood has increased from 28.8% to 68.6%, and 3- the contaminated water consumption has decreased from 31.87 to 3.78 m3. The results show direct relationship between 1- pollutant detection likelihood and detection time, 2- pollutant detection likelihood and contaminated water consumptions, and 3- pollutant detection time and contaminated water consumption in multi-objective problems. Also, the location of the high-demand nodes in WDN and the contamination events occurrence can affect the location of the sensors.


This paper presents our recent Lorentz microscopy study of magnetic domain structure and its relation to the nanostructure of Co-Sm films. The magnetic domains were imaged by Foucault Lorentz mode and the corresponding nanostructure was revealed by bright field and high resolution images. The nanostructure is composed of clusters of 20 nm grown on Cr grains. Each cluster is formed by the amorphous matrix and about 5 nm crystallites distributed in the matrix. It is found that each cluster forms a magnetic grain. Such magnetic grains show uniform contrast near the magnetic domain wall, and correspond to the switching volume in magnetic reversal. The magnetic grain (about 20 nm) is much larger than the size of the crystallites (5 nm) distributed in the amorphous matrix. It is the magnetic grain size that affects the noise response when the film is used as a high density recording medium.


The evolution of the contemporary Therapeutic Community (TC) for addictions over the past 50 years may be characterized as a movement from the marginal to the mainstream of substance abuse treatment and human services. TCs currently serve a wide array of clients and their diverse problems; through advances in research in treatment outcomes, the composition of staff has been reshaped, the duration of residential treatment has been reduced, the treatment goals have been reset and, to a considerable extent, the approach of therapy itself has been modified. An overview of the TC as a distinct social-psychological method for treating addiction and related disorders is provided by this paper. Included in this is a focus on the multifaceted psychological wounds that consistently show a strong association with addiction and thereby require initiating a recovery process characterized by life-style and identity changes.


In Cinematic Virtual Reality (CVR), the viewer of an omnidirectional movie can freely choose the viewing direction when watching a movie. Therefore, traditional techniques in filmmaking for guiding the viewers' attention cannot be adapted directly to CVR. Practices such as panning or changing the frame are no longer defined by the filmmaker; rather it is the viewer who decides where to look. In some stories, it is necessary to show certain details to the viewer, which should not be missed. At the same time, the freedom of the viewer to look around in the scene should not be destroyed. Therefore, techniques are needed which guide the attention of the spectator to visual information in the scene. Attention guiding also has the potential to improve the general viewing experience, since viewers will be less afraid to miss something when watching an omnidirectional movie where attention-guiding techniques have been applied. In recent years, there has been a lot of research about attention guiding in images, movies, virtual reality, augmented reality and also in CVR. We classify these methods and offer a taxonomy for attention-guiding methods. Discussing the different characteristics, we elaborate the advantages and disadvantages, give recommendations for use cases and apply the taxonomy to several examples of guiding methods.


Vision loss in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) stems from disruption of photoreceptor cells in the macula, the central retinal area required for high-acuity vision. Mice and rats have no macula, but surgical insertion of a subretinal implant can induce localized photoreceptor degeneration due to chronic separation from retinal pigment epithelium, simulating a key aspect of AMD. We find that the implant-induced loss of photoreceptors in rat retina leads to local changes in the physiology of downstream retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), similar to changes in RGCs of rodent models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited disease causing retina-wide photoreceptor degeneration. The local implant-induced changes in RGCs include enhanced intrinsic excitability leading to accelerated spontaneous firing, increased membrane permeability to fluorescent dyes, and enhanced photosensitization by azobenzene photoswitches. The local physiological changes are correlated with an increase in Retinoic Acid Receptor (RAR)-induced gene transcription, the key process underlying retinal remodeling in mouse models of RP. Hence the loss of photoreceptors, whether by local physical perturbation or by inherited mutation, leads to a stereotypical set of pathophysiological consequences in RGCs. These findings implicate RAR as a possible common therapeutic target for reversing the signal-corrupting effects of retinal remodeling in both RP and AMD.


U.S. federal and state governments rarely regulate healthcare price levels, but do regulate price changes for pharmaceuticals, hospitals, and health insurance. Previous research showed that limiting price increases can raise launch prices and reduce both profit and social welfare, assuming consumers are myopic. We show that with forward-looking consumers, limiting price increases can have the opposite effect, that is, launch prices fall while profit and social welfare rise. Ironically, inflation regulation can cause inflation to rise, but only because firms are reducing launch prices to make the regulation bind and credibly commit to future prices.


Digital libraries (DLs) are the killer app for information technology in developing countries. Priorities here include health, agriculture, nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, and safe drinking water. Computers are not a priority, but simple, reliable access to targeted information meeting these basic needs certainly is. DLs can assist human development by providing a non-commercial mechanism for distributing humanitarian information on topics such as health, agriculture, nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, and water supply. Many other areas, ranging from disaster relief to medical education, from the preservation and propagation of indigenous culture to educational material that addresses specific community problems, also benefit from new methods of information distribution.


The initial success of microfinance programs in the 1970s led pioneers to think that many essential problems of the poor might be resolved by access to credit alone the ability to acquire assets, to start businesses, to finance emergency needs and to insure against illness and disaster. Part of that vision has certainly been realized. But much remains to be done. Most microfinance institutions (MFIs) are still small and vulnerable to constraints on their resources and to the risks inherent in single-issue portfolios. Most depend upon donors and governments to remain in operation. There is much waste and duplication, and some mature programs have declining loan recovery rates, even as competition for borrowers rises from conventional banks and finance companies. Analyzing the failures of credit programs aimed at small farmers and the successes of other programs showed the need for new understanding of the ways that poor households make spending, borrowing, and saving decisions. This area was previously neglected in policymaking on food security issues. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) supported household surveys in nine Asian and African countries during the 1990s that analyzed formal and informal financial transactions, and it also evaluated the success of innovative approaches at some MFIs. The overall goal was to clarify the conditions under which state investment in microfinance programs might improve life for poor people more than state investment of the same funds in education, health, nutrition, or infrastructure development. The research led to the concept of the "critical triangle of microfinance" the need for any MFI to manage simultaneously the problems of outreach (reaching the poor both in terms of numbers and depth of poverty), financial sustainability (meeting operating and financial costs over the long term), and impact (having discernible effect upon clients' quality of life). This book elaborates on these objectives and shows that the most successful MFIs expand all sides of that triangle. Tradeoffs are sometimes inevitable, but even so, synergies among the three make the concept valuable from Author's Abstract.


First of all, let me congratulate Georgetown Law Center's LawCasa and the OAS for sponsoring this conference. For many Americans, what is happening in Latin America is not fully comprehended. Latin America is a place I think many Americans--including many if not most of our policy-makers have known existed, but they really did not understand until very recently the magnitude of change that is taking place there. To me--and I have had a little over three decades of experiences in the region--what has taken place in the last decade is truly a revolution, and it is a dramatic revolution in many respects, and I do not think that is fully recognized here. That came home to me at the Summit of the Americas in Miami. At that particular summit I think I was the only official member of the U.S. delegation who had also been an official member of the delegation from the United States to the previous summit in Punta del Este in 1967, when I was then a young White House assistant to President Johnson. The change was truly dramatic in at least two respects. Number one, in 1967 there were 18 member countries attending, 10 of which I believe were led by military dictators, in essence. In 1994 there were 34 member countries attending whose leaders all were democratically elected. In 1967, essentially the United States wrote the agenda, and it centered around foreign aid and how to contain communism from expanding in the hemisphere. In 1994 the Latin leaders themselves dictated the agenda, and it was centered around trade and investment. There was a very dramatic difference between those two summits. As I spent my four years in Mexico as ambassador, and subsequent to that, back in business in other parts of Latin America, I saw such dramatic change taking place. And what you sense as an American is an insatiable appetite among most of these Latin leaders to help their countries become fully respected and recognized first world countries. To do that, there is the recognition that three major reforms must take place: economic reforms, political reforms, and legal reforms. What I think is evident and what you are going to be discussing at this conference is that those reforms can take place, but for them to have any durability there have to be the institutions developed that let those reforms mature and continue in place. For example, if you look back twelve years, Mexico was one of the most closed economies in the world. You could not get world-class goods into Mexico because of the import substitution rules, et cetera. You had to smuggle them in. Even the rich and the powerful had to break the laws to get world-class goods into Mexico. Mexico joined GATT, and now the World Trade Organization, about a dozen years ago and then concluded subsequent trade agreements. Today, Mexico is one of the most open economic systems in the world. It has surpassed Japan as the second largest trading partner of the United States behind Canada, which is truly a dramatic change--a dramatic difference. Those economic openings have also led to a great demand for political openings. Five years ago, Mexico, although it was considered a democracy technically, was truly a closed political system. Today it is a very open, competitive political system. For the first time in its history, the opposition parties are in control of the Federal Congress. These parties are governing at the state and local municipal levels in roughly half--forty percent or so--of Mexico, and, as you look to the presidential elections in the year 2000, it truly is a competitive system. The opposition parties go into those elections with at least an even chance of being elected to govern for the first time in modern Mexican history. Both of those openings have been fostered and helped by the development of institutions. NAFTA, for example, is a new legal institution that has been a dramatic success in Mexico. …


Wireless sensor networks (WSN) can be used to monitor our environment, objects in that environment and interactions of objects with each other. Use of WSN for emergency applications includes fire detection system in forest, soil motion detection, monitoring historical and public places, volcano monitoring etc. In WSN errors or faults tends to occur frequently due to node mobility or energy shortage (battery limitation). Faults cannot be tolerated in WSN for emergency applications hence fault tolerance is an important issue in network design and thus networks have to be tolerant of error and fault. This paper deals with a Reliable Communication Protocol (RCP) that will be fault tolerant and minimize both signaling overhead and power consumption and also support auto-recovery from failure.


CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE
Recent studies have shown noncontrast computed tomography (NCT) to be more effective than ultrasound (US) for imaging acute ureterolithiasis. However, to our knowledge, there are few studies directly comparing these techniques in an emergency teaching hospital setting. The objectives of this study were to compare the diagnostic accuracy of US and NCT performed by senior radiology residents for diagnosing acute ureterolithiasis; and to assess interobserver agreement on tomography interpretations by residents and experienced abdominal radiologists.

DESIGN AND SETTING
Prospective study of 52 consecutive patients, who underwent both US and NCT within an interval of eight hours, at Hospital São Paulo.

METHODS
US scans were performed by senior residents and read by experienced radiologists. NCT scan images were read by senior residents, and subsequently by three abdominal radiologists. The interobserver variability was assessed using the kappa statistic.

RESULTS
Ureteral calculi were found in 40 out of 52 patients (77%). US presented sensitivity of 22% and specificity of 100%. When collecting system dilatation was associated, US demonstrated 73% sensitivity, 82% specificity. The interobserver agreement in NCT analysis was very high with regard to identification of calculi, collecting system dilatation and stranding of perinephric fat.

CONCLUSIONS
US has limited value for identifying ureteral calculi in comparison with NCT, even when collecting system dilatation is present. Residents and abdominal radiologists demonstrated excellent agreement rates for ureteral calculi, identification of collecting system dilatation and stranding of perinephric fat on NCT.


Purpose This study aims to determine the relationships between postoperative enophthalmos, preoperative enophthalmos, and fracture sizes in adults with inferior orbital wall fractures. Methods The records of 31 patients who had operations for pure orbital floor blowout fractures from March 2003 to February 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Using the Picture Archiving Communication System, we measured fracture sizes according to the orbital computed tomography results. We calculated fracture sizes according to the supposition that the fracture was a 2-dimensional figure. Hertel exophthalmometry was performed on preoperative day 1 and 3 months postoperatively. Results Mean changes of enophthalmos were 2.80 mm (P < 0.05, paired t test). The mean fracture size was 6.11 cm2 (range, 3.56–11.73 cm2). Fracture size was a more accurate predictor of postoperative enophthalmos than the degree of preoperative enophthalmos (Pearson correlation; with preoperative enophthalmos = 0.513, with fracture size = 0.743, P < 0.05). In linear regression analysis, preoperative exophthalmometry measurements contributed approximately 27.1% to postoperative enophthalmos, whereas fracture size contributed approximately 54.3% (P < 0.05). In multiple regression analysis, the equation was Y = 0.313X + 0.464X′ − 0.684 (X is the size of fracture; X′, preoperative exophthalmometry measurement). The above 2 factors explained 82.3% of the total postoperative enophthalmos variance. Other factors, which contribute approximately 18%, might include time between insult and corrective surgery. Conclusions In our study, fracture size was a better predictive factor for postoperative enophthalmos than preoperative exophthalmometric measurement. With our method, postoperative enophthalmos can be predicted more conveniently in a clinical setting, and decisions regarding the timing of early surgical reduction were made easier.


One hundred twenty-four children and young adults with recurrent tumors, predominantly sarcomas, were treated with the combination of ifosfamide, etoposide, and the uroprotector, mesna (2-mercaptoethane sulphonate), in a phase II trial. The treatment regimen consisted of 12 cycles of therapy administered every 3 weeks. After evaluation of the tumor response to chemotherapy alone, radiation or surgery was used to eradicate residual sites of metastatic disease where possible. At the present time, 77 patients are evaluable for response to the chemotherapy; 43 of the patients have experienced a significant reduction in the tumor size in response to the chemotherapy alone (39 partial responses [PR] and four complete responses [CR]). Sixteen of 17 patients with Ewing's sarcoma, nine of 13 with rhabdomyosarcoma, four of eight with peripheral neuroepithelioma, three of eight with osteosarcoma, and 11 of 31 with other tumors have responded with a PR or CR. The toxicity of the regimen was acceptable. Moderate or severe toxicity evaluated on a per cycle basis included: neutropenia, 97%; thrombocytopenia, 32%; nephrotoxicity, less than 1%; mucositis, 1%; neurologic toxicity, 2%; nausea and vomiting, 13%; hemorrhagic cystitis, less than 1%. Fever was present after 33% of cycles and sepsis following 7%. One patient died due to sepsis and pancytopenia. At the present time, only seven of the 43 patients who responded to the chemotherapy regimen have relapsed, with a median follow-up of 10 weeks after the response. This drug combination is highly active in the treatment of recurrent sarcomas and other tumors in children and young adults.


Abstract This study presents the cases of two teachers in a Jewish supplementary school whose experiences as learners in a year-long professional development (PD) program shaped their teaching practice. The PD program, based in a theory of havruta text learning, immersed the faculty in the very pedagogy they were being encouraged to use in their teaching and gave them tools to enact it to meet their classroom learning goals. In one case, the teacher learned to share "control" and give students a direct encounter with biblical texts; in another case, the teacher supported students to engage in interpretive play with the text. This study demonstrates the potential of the pedagogy of havruta learning to harness the religious educator's role as both learner and teacher and how the continuity between these roles can affect teaching practice in multiple ways.


This paper makes two important arguments. It demonstrates how the curriculum design is important for the moral and social well-being of individuals as well as societies. Having asserted that, the paper argues that curriculum design depends fundamentally on the well-defined philosophy of education. Without a philosophy of education that can give moral purpose to both individuals as well as societies, it will be difficult to identify a core element that can anchor the curriculum design. The paper then, proceeds to identify the fundamental elements of an Islamic education philosophy and from it elicits the core concerns of an Islamic education curriculum. The paper also discusses several strategies to integrate revealed knowledge and acquired sciences for Muslim universities and schools.


[Abstract] microRNAs (miRNAs) are ubiquitous regulators of gene expression in eukaryotic organisms, which guide Argonaute proteins (AGO) to cleave target mRNA or inhibit its translation based on sequence complementarity. In plants, miRNA directed cleavage occurs on the target mRNA at about 10 to 11 nucleotide (nt) up stream to the site where the 5' end of miRNA binds. Sequencing of the miRNA directed cleavage products (degradome) is widely employed as a way to both verify bioinformatic predictions of miRNA mediated regulation and identify novel targets of known miRNAs. Here we describe a protocol for preparation of degradome RNA complementary DNA library for high-through-put sequencing (dRNA-seq) using Illumina GA II sequencing platform, which is currently most popular and cost-effective. Using this protocol we successfully generated three dRNA-seq libraries using three solanaceae plants, including tobacco, tomato and potato. Although this protocol was developed with single-plexed adapter, it should be able to generate multiplexed libraries by replacing the 3' adapter with multiplexing compatible 3' adapter and replacing the PCR primer with indexed primers.


Romanesque Art contains very old recollections in its manifestations. In fact, a few iconographic representations of this Art that apparently might seem indecipherable can be traced back to ancient religious forms such as Gnosticism or Hellenistic Astrology. The constellation of Sagittarius and the transition from the Sol Invictus of the Winter Solstice to the Christian Sol Salutis are among these elements. Other figures can be explained in the light of the interaction with Eastern religious traditions; in particular through contacts with Iran during the Islamic rule. The specific ancient Iranian (that is Zoroastrian) culture constitutes the original background of the Astrological representations that we find in the Romanesque churches of Southern Piedmont .


FORMOSAT-2, Taiwan's first remote sensing satellite, was successfully launched in May of 2004 into the Sun-synchronous orbit at 891 kilometers of altitude. With the daily revisit feature, the 2-m panchromatic, 8-m multi-spectral resolution images captured have been used for researches and operations in various societal benefit areas. This paper details the orchestration of various tasks conducted in different institutions in Taiwan in the efforts responding to international disasters. The institutes involved including its space agency-National Space Organization (NSPO), Center for Satellite Remote Sensing Research of National Central University, GIS Center of Feng-Chia University, and the National Center for High-performance Computing. Since each institution has its own mandate, the coordinated tasks ranged from receiving emergency observation requests, scheduling and tasking of satellite operation, downlink to ground stations, images processing including data injection, ortho-rectification, to delivery of image products. With the lessons learned from working with international partners, the FORMOSAT Image Processing System has been extensively automated and streamlined with a goal to shorten the time between request and delivery in an efficient manner. The integrated team has developed an Application Interface to its system platform that provides functions of search in archive catalogue, request of data services, mission planning, inquiry of services status, and image download. This automated system enables timely image acquisition and substantially increases the value of data product. Example outcome of these efforts in recent response to support Sentinel Asia in Nepal Earthquake is demonstrated herein.


Parasites can influence host population dynamics and genetic structure; thus, it is crucial to study parasite distribution among and within host populations. We explored spatial infection patterns in Daphnia longispina complex populations from 11 reservoirs, habitats characterized by longitudinal gradients in abiotic and biotic conditions. We hypothesized that sites with different environmental conditions should have divergent infection patterns. We sampled three stations along each reservoir (upstream, middle and downstream) in the summer and autumn of 2 years. Four groups of parasites were analysed for their spatial variation: the protozoan Caullerya mesnili, the yeast Metschnikowia sp., microsporidia and oomycetes. The microsporidia were evenly distributed between seasons, as well as among- and within-reservoirs. In contrast, C. mesnili and Metschnikowia sp. were more prevalent in autumn than in summer, whereas the prevalence of oomycetes was higher in summer. On a within-reservoir scale, C. mesnili was significantly more prevalent in upstream parts of the reservoirs, whereas Metschnikowia sp. and oomycetes were more prevalent in the central and downstream areas. In summary, the within-reservoir distribution of certain Daphnia parasites seems to be affected by environmental gradients (most probably food abundance and predation pressure). Thus, environmental heterogeneity should be considered in future studies of host-parasite interactions, even on a local scale.


The uptake of small screen technology by adolescents is widespread, particularly in industrial nations. Whether the same is true for Australian Aboriginal youth is less clear as there is a dearth of research in this regard. Therefore, in this exploratory study the use of small screen technology by Indigenous students was examined. Twenty-four Indigenous adolescents (mean age 16.4 years) attending a boarding school in a remote region of Western Australia participated in individual and in-depth structured interviews that queried their use of: (1) television, (2) video games, (3) computers, (4) the internet, and (5) mobile phones. The results showed that mobile phones were the most frequently used and the most popular (i.e., they were nominated as first choice in a hypothetical scenario), followed by the internet, whereas television, video games and computers were used less often. It did appear that mobile phones were used by participating Aboriginal adolescents in ways similar to non-Indigenous adolescents (e.g., not only to make phone calls, but also to send text messages and access the internet). However, their mobile phone use did reflect differences based on their cultural values and identity, and also reflected their physical distance from their family (i.e., because of their enrolment at a boarding school). This study supports anecdotal evidence of a rapid uptake of mobile phones by Indigenous adolescents. It also suggests that as the small screen technology of choice, they have the potential to be utilised for educational opportunities.


Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) is a fundamental method in the text mining field. We propose strategies for topic and model selection based on LDA that exploits the semantic coherence of the topics inferred, boosting the quality of the models found. Then we study how our boosted topic models perform in ad-hoc information retrieval tasks. Experimental results in four datasets show that our proposal improves the quality of the topics found favoring document retrieval tasks. Our method outperforms traditional LDA-based methods showing that model selection based on semantic coherence is useful for document modeling and information retrieval tasks.


Since 1975 Zahavi's handicap principle has provided an elegant explanation for extravagant ornaments in the animal world: namely, that ornaments advertise fitness and must be costly in order to enforce honest signaling. Here, we show that populations of animals subject to the handicap principle may be forced to split into distinct subgroups of differing ornament size. We verify our claims via simple mathematical analysis and real-world data, including a composite data set of ornament size distributions from many distinct species, all of which are consistent with model predictions.


Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalitis (CFS/ME) is a complex multi-system disease of probable diverse etiology and pathogenesis resulting in significant functional impairment.  Significantly, the fatigue is generally worsened by physical or mental exertion.  Common symptoms include cognitive dysfunction, autonomic manifestations of dysfunction, sleep abnormalities, pain, and GI complaints.  Worldwide studies have indicated that when appropriately screened and diagnosed, the incidence rates are similar in the developed countries where it has been studied.  A conservative estimate suggests that 2.5 million Americans suffer from CFS/ME and further, that a significant proportion (>25%) are severely affected or disabled.


Student mobility is among the most important internationalization initiatives for higher education institutions. This article describes the influence that student academic mobility has on the training of future professionals at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua (UACH, Mexico) and its students' perceptions toward UACH's Student Mobility Program (PROMES). Under such aim, the research objectives were to determine the opinion of participating students regarding the exchange process, the academic quality of the destination universities, the academic cooperation offices of the destination universities, and toward PROMES' management. This research was quantitative, non- experimental, and transversal. The methodology used was a case study conducted only within UACH using simple random sampling, which was selected from the 170 undergraduate students that participated in PROMES during 2015 (confidence level of 90 %, margin of error of 7.5 %). The survey consisted in four main sections, which were intended for students to evaluate four factors related to PROMES: a) exchange process; b) academic quality of the destination university; c) support of the academic cooperation offices; and d) PROMES' management at UACH. Results are presented according to four dimensions that the survey evaluated, which include: the exchange process, academic quality of the destination university, support of the academic cooperation offices, and PROMES' management at UACH. These results point toward important statistical correlations regarding the relationship between how students value their academic development and the quality of the facilities in the destination universities, as well as with the quality of the educational programs.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54167/tch.v13i1.305


The Welfare Rules Databook provides tables containing key Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policies for each state as of July 2013, as well as longitudinal tables describing selected state policies from 1996 through 2013. The tables are based on the information in the Welfare Rules Database (WRD), a publicly available, online database tracking state cash assistance policies over time and across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Databook summarizes a subset of the information in the WRD. Users interested in a greater level of detail are encouraged to use the full database, available at http://anfdata.urban.org/wrd.


An important target of the second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is protein kinase A (PKA). PKA, which regulates processes as diverse as growth, memory, and metabolism, exists as an inactive complex of two catalytic subunits and a regulatory subunit dimer. cAMP binds to the regulatory subunits and facilitates dissociation and activation of the catalytic subunits. Kim et al. have determined the 2.0 angstrom resolution structure of the PKA catalytic subunit bound to a deletion mutant of the regulatory subunit (RIα). The complex provides a molecular mechanism for inhibition of PKA and suggests how cAMP binding leads to activation. C. Kim, N.-H. Xuong, S. S. Taylor, Crystal structure of a complex between the catalytic and regulatory (RIα) subunits of PKA. Science 307, 690-696 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Analytic expressions for the time-averaged electromagnetic energy within a dispersive and absorbing sphere on which a plane wave is incident are derived. Numerical results are presented for diatomic ionic crystal spheres and for metallic, nearly free-electron-like spheres. It is found that the stored energy exhibits resonant enhancement near resonances of the sphere's extinction cross section. In the Rayleigh region the energy increase at resonance may amount to more than three orders of magnitude. The energy formula is applied to the calculation of the energy transport velocity in a disordered medium containing dispersive spheres.


The rapid aging of populations around the world presents an unprecedented set of challenges: shifting disease burden, increased expenditure on health and long-term care, labor-force shortages, dissaving, and potential problems with old-age income security. We view longer life spans, particularly longer healthy life spans, as an enormous gain for human welfare. The challenges come from the fact that our current institutional and social arrangements are unsuited for aging populations and shifting demographics; our proposed solution is therefore to change our institutions and social arrangements. The first section of this essay provides a statistical overview of global population aging and its contributing factors. The second section outlines some of the major challenges associated with widespread population aging. Finally, the third section of the essay describes various responses to these challenges, both current and prospective, facing individuals, businesses, institutions, and governments.


The orthodox account of vocational education and training for development is firmly based in Neoliberal assumptions about the primacy of the economic. Yet, there are a range of alternative accounts of development, receiving increasing attention, that stress the importance of a wider vision of humanity and human development. At the same time, there are longstanding, though more marginal, traditions of seeing vocational education as having a moral purpose, linked to learning to becoming more human. This paper seeks to connect these two traditions to offer a new way of thinking about VET for development.


Six grades of biopolymers formulated to have oil content of 40% (M1), 50% (M2), and 60% (M3) melon seed oil (MESO) and 40% (C1), 50% (C2), and 60% (C3) cottonseed oil (COSO) respectively, were prepared with phthalic anhydride, and glycerol using alcoholysis-polycondensation process. The extend of polycondensation was monitored by determining the acid value of aliquots of the reaction mixture at various intervals of time. Molecular weight averages and polydispersity index (PDI) of the finished alkyds were determined by Rast method and end-group analysis. Molecular weight averages and PDI vary with differences in oil length of the alkyds, with samples M2 and C2 respectively exhibiting the highest PDI. Molecular weight average obtained from end-group analysis and those determined by Rast method in brackets are 1338.92 (597.00), 982.33 (696.25), 1316.09 (754.03), and 1160.57 (448.13), 765.96 (583.57), 1049.92 (696.25) for samples M1, M2, M3 and C1, C2, C3 respectively. Number molecular weight averages calculated from end-group analysis are larger than those obtained by Rast method for both MESO and COSO alkyds and seem to grossly overestimate their molecular weights. The mode of variation of these properties indicates that the synthesis of MESO and COSO alkyds are complex. Correlation of PDI with the quality of the finished alkyds shows that the higher the PDI value the better the quality of the alkyd. Performance properties such as rate of drying, film hardness and resistance to chemicals were optimum at 50% oil length for both triglyceride oil alkyds.


This paper is inscribed into a new line of scholarly work seeking to cast light to the ways in which migrants convert their motivations into action within a policy framework that is characterised by many restrictions and limited opportunities to move. Drawing on recent fieldwork (2013-2014) on irregular migrants from Afghanistan, Albania, Georgia, Pakistan and the Ukraine, in Greece, we investigate how they perceive opportunities and navigate restrictions eventually crossing borders whether unlawfully (from unguarded border areas or with fake documentation) or legally (abusing the terms of their entry/stay). The paper adopts the notion of social navigation as a heuristics tool to conceptualise the social, temporal and spatial character of the migration journey, its nodal points, and the interaction of migrants with different actors and factors that shape their migration plans and explores different types of migrant agency (recuperation, resilience and resistance) developed during the navigation process.


One of the most important issues facing humanity today is the prospect of global climate change, brought about primarily by our prolific energy use and heavy dependence on fossil fuels. Fueling Our Future: An Introduction to Sustainable Energy provides a concise overview of current energy demand and supply patterns. It presents a balanced view of how our reliance on fossil fuels can be changed over time so that we have a much more sustainable energy system in the near future. Written in a non-technical and accessible style, the book will appeal to a wide range of readers without scientific backgrounds.


With the increasing focus on the importance of interdisciplinary projects in the academic setting, it still seems as if most of these projects are either collaborations between disciplines in the STEM fields or collaborations between disciplines in the Liberal Arts fields. Despite the fact that they complement each other, a significant barrier still exists between STEM and Liberal Arts students. This paper describes the joint work of three Electrical and Computer Engineering students with one Fine-Arts student on an extracurricular project. In preparation for the robotic football competition, a team of our Engineering students decided to create a robotic dance team to complement the football playing robots. In order to create this team, Engineering students assembled, calibrated, and programmed a team of ten robots. Multiple Fine-Arts student were recruited but only one joined the team to help with the music selection/creation and other aesthetic aspects of the robots. The interdisciplinary nature of the collaboration highlighted the need to knock down some of the barriers between the technical and Fine-Arts disciplines. The team dynamics showed that students from different disciplines need to get out of their respective comfort zones and collaborate for the sake of their projects. The paper includes a full description of the project and a review of the lessons learned from the collaboration.


Phytophthora root and crown rot caused by various species Phytophthora are the major threat to agricultural crops in Iran. Phytophthora melonis and P. capsici are reported on cucurbits in Iran but major species in cucurbits considered to be P.melonis and the importance of P.capsici in cucurbits has not been much investigated. In the present study the reactions of different cucurbits were compared to both species under greenhouse conditions. Two months old of 36 cucurbit species and cultivars were inoculated with vermiculite hempseed extract inoculums. The production of zoospore in drained water and reactions of cultivars were monitored during two months after inoculation. The results showed that cantaloupe and long melon were more susceptible to P. melonis and reacted differently to P.capsici. Pumpkin was resistant to both species but squash and water melon were more susceptible to P.capsici than P. melonis.


Induced seismicity from anthropogenic sources can be a significant nuisance to a local population and in extreme cases lead to damage to vulnerable structures. One type of induced seismicity of particular recent concern, which, in some cases, can limit development of a potentially important clean energy source, is that associated with geothermal power production. A key requirement for the accurate assessment of seismic hazard (and risk) is a ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) that predicts the level of earthquake shaking (in terms of, for example, peak ground acceleration) of an earthquake of a certain magnitude at a particular distance. Few such models currently exist in regard to geothermal-related seismicity, and consequently the evaluation of seismic hazard in the vicinity of geothermal power plants is associated with high uncertainty. Various ground-motion datasets of induced and natural seismicity (from Basel, Geysers, Hengill, Roswinkel, Soultz, and Voerendaal) were compiled and processed, and moment magnitudes for all events were recomputed homogeneously. These data are used to show that ground motions from induced and natural earthquakes cannot be statistically distinguished. Empirical GMPEs are derived from these data; and, although they have similar characteristics to recent GMPEs for natural and miningrelated seismicity, the standard deviations are higher. To account for epistemic uncertainties, stochastic models subsequently are developed based on a single corner frequency and with parameters constrained by the available data. Predicted ground motions from these models are fitted with functional forms to obtain easy-to-use GMPEs. These are associated with standard deviations derived from the empirical data to characterize aleatory variability. As an example, we demonstrate the potential use of these models using data from Campi Flegrei. Online Material: Sets of coefficients and standard deviations for various groundmotion models.


This study characterises and problematises the language of corporate reporting along region, industry, genre, and content lines by applying readability formulae and more advanced natural language processing (NLP)–based analysis to a manually assembled 2.75-million-word corpus. Readability formulae reveal that, despite its wider readership, sustainability reporting remains a very difficult to read genre, sometimes more difficult than financial reporting. Although we find little industry impact on readability, region does prove an important variable, with NLP-based variables more strongly affected than formulae. These results not only highlight the impact of legislative contexts but also language variety itself as an underexplored variable. Finally, the study reveals some of the weaknesses of default readability formulae, which are largely unable to register syntactic variation between the varieties of English in the reports and demonstrates the merits of NLP in report readability analysis as well as the need for more accessible sustainability reporting.


Background Recent studies indicate excitatory GABA action in and around tubers in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). This may contribute to recurrent seizures and behavioral problems that may be treated by agents that enhance GABAergic transmission by influencing chloride regulation. Case presentation Here, we used the chloride transporter antagonist bumetanide to treat a female adolescent TSC patient with refractory seizures, sensory hyper-reactivity, and a variety of repetitive and compulsive behaviors. Methods To evaluate the effect of bumetanide on behavior, auditory sensory processing, and hyperexcitability, we obtained questionnaire data, event-related potentials (ERP), and resting state EEG at baseline, after 3 and 6 months of treatment and after 1 month washout period. Discussion Six months of treatment resulted in a marked improvement in all relevant behavioral domains, as was substantiated by the parent questionnaires. In addition, resting-state electroencephalography and ERP suggested a favorable effect of bumetanide on hyperexcitability and sensory processing. These findings encourage further studies of bumetanide on neuropsychiatric outcome in TSC.


Many generative models have to combat missing modes. The conventional wisdom to this end is by reducing through training a statistical distance (such as f -divergence) between the generated distribution and provided data distribution. But this is more of a heuristic than a guarantee. The statistical distance measures a global, but not local, similarity between two distributions. Even if it is small, it does not imply a plausible mode coverage. Rethinking this problem from a game-theoretic perspective, we show that a complete mode coverage is firmly attainable. If a generative model can approximate a data distribution moderately well under a global statistical distance measure, then we will be able to find a mixture of generators that collectively covers every data point and thus every mode, with a lower-bounded generation probability. Constructing the generator mixture has a connection to the multiplicative weights update rule, upon which we propose our algorithm. We prove that our algorithm guarantees complete mode coverage. And our experiments on real and synthetic datasets confirm better mode coverage over recent approaches, ones that also use generator mixtures but rely on global statistical distances.


The Agua del Jaguel Formation crops out in the southernmost part of the Calingasta-Uspallata basin, in central western Argentina. The lower part of the unit is characterized by a glacigenic sequence with diamictites and mudstones with dropstones. In the latter, elements of the Aseptella-Tuberculatella/Rhipidomella-Micraphelia Fauna (AT/RM Fauna), such as the brachiopods Rhipidomella discreta Cisterna, Micraphelia indianae Simanauskas and Cisterna and Orbiculoidea? sp., the gastropods Murchisonia? sp., and Glabrocingulum (Stenozone)? sp., the bivalve Nuculanidae indet., rugose corals, and indeterminate fragments of nautiloids and hyolithids, have been identified. The importance of this fauna mainly resides in its paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic implications. AT/RM Fauna is characteristic of restricted environments with relatively low concentrations of oxygen and nutrients in the seafloor, which is consistent with the glaciomarine sequences in fjord-type coasts suggested for the Agua del Jaguel Formation. The relatively low diversity of the fauna in this unit compared to that defined in the El Paso Formation, located further north in the basin, might suggest more restricted sectors for benthic colonization, related to the paleovalle's isolation from oceanic waters. The postglacial mudstones with marine invertebrate faunas of late Serpukhovian-Bashkirian age would have been deposited in relatively restricted (palaeofjord) part of the Uspallata-Calingasta basin as well as in open shelf environments. The marine flooding over drastically different coast configurations and the availability of nutrient and oxygen in the water column would have propitiated the development of faunas with important differences in the taxonomic composition and the paleoecological structure (AT/RM and Levipustula Faunas) occurring at the same time interval. Radiometric data in Agua del Jaguel Formation and paleontological records in the glacial-postglacial sedimentary succession in the basin (marine invertebrate faunas, palynomorphs and plants) are the most important tools to adjust the timing of the postglacial transgression. This information herein presented complements the scheme proposed for the Carboniferous sequences throughout the central western of Gondwana but is not sufficient to assign a more precise age of the fauna studied within the late Serpukhovian-Bashkirian interval.


This research has been concerned with the overall notion of the crisis of identity in Iran. More specifically, this research involved 20 contemporary Iranian women artists; 10 living in Iran and 10 living in exile and examines the position of women and the ways the notion of identity is reflected in their artworks, and viewpoints. The researcher's position as a contemporary Iranian woman artist living and working in the UK has been integral to the enquiry. As a member of the group being explored this position has allowed personal experience to be used in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the issues involved. Due to the lack of material on issues relating to the subject, the researcher made numerous visits to Iran in order to interview the artists and collect relevant data. This allowed the research to be conducted from the two viewpoints of the "East" and the "West". Due to the central role of the researcher in this practice-based study, a process of reflection in the spirit of the reflective practitioner was adopted as part of the overall methodology. Through a multimethod approach this investigation has used various forms of enquiry in order to integrate different elements in the research, such as the analysis of documentary sources and visual interpretation of artefacts. This has provided the research with a wide range of material that has enhanced the study's aims and outcomes. This investigation has also explored the historical changes that have affected Iranians, in particular the artists and the researcher. The prominent recent changes have been identified as the Islamic Revolution (1979), the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), and Western influences. These changes amongst others have been analysed from the perspective of literary and cultural theory. Theories of identity were studied and examined in relation to the artists in order to clarify their particular positions. This research has identified the complexities of the issues surrounding Iranian women's identities. The two groups of artists have shown similarities and differences due to similar underlying issues of being Iranian women and differences due to their audiences and positioning inside and outside Iran. Both groups have shown concerns with the notion of displacement expressed in interviews and illustrated in their artefacts.This research is a timely exploration of Iranian women's identities; a group of women that are still under-examined. With the current climate of political suspicion between Muslim countries such as Iran and the West, in particular the USA, this research is a valuable insight into understanding Iranian women's issues, and more generally Iranian identity.


A 20-day field/informant type of archaeological survey was performed on a 13 section corridor in Park and Mendon townships in St. Joseph County and section 32 of Brady Township in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. This survey universe bordered on portions of the Portage River and its tributaries and along the shores of Portage and Fishers lakes. Twenty-nine prehistoric human occupation sites were located, described and recorded during the survey, five of which had been previously known (four unrecorded). Many of the sites were multicomponent but the majority of components are believed to represent Archaic period cultural manifestations. About 300 recognizable artifacts from these sites were catalo.ged and briefly described. This survey laid important ground for future archaeological investigation in this relatively unknown area of ~tichigan.


A life cycle analysis was performed for the assessment of the environmental performances of three existing Italian power plants of comparable nominal power operating with different sources of renewable energy: Geothermal, solar, and wind. Primary data were used for building the life cycle inventories. The results are characterized by employing a wide portfolio of environmental indicators employing the ReCiPe 2016 and the ILCD 2011 Midpoint+ methods; normalization and weighting are also applied using the ReCiPe 2016 method at the endpoint level. The midpoint results demonstrate a good eco-profile of the geothermal power plant compared to other renewable energy systems and a definite step forward over the performance of the national energy mix. The Eco-Point single score calculation showed that wind energy is the best technology with a value of 0.0012 Eco-points/kWh, a result in line with previously documented life cycle analysis studies. Nevertheless, the geothermal power plant achieved a value of 0.0177 Eco-points/kWh which is close to that calculated for the photovoltaic plant (0.0087 Eco-points/kWh) and much lower than the national energy mix one (0.1240 Eco-points/kWh). Also, a scenario analysis allowed for a critical discussion about potential improvements to the environmental performance of the geothermal power plant.


In fiber optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs), idlers are generated during the amplification process. For very wide and dense signal input spectra, idlers may overlap with signals, thereby interfering with proper operation as an amplifier. In this paper, filter-based methods to fully utilize the bandwidth of OPAs and wavelength converters in the presence of very broad signal spectra are investigated. In the basic filter setup, two parallel OPAs and two filters are used; alternatively, one can use a single OPA bidirectionally and a single filter. An interleaver-based arrangement, separating signals from idlers at the system output, with a crosstalk of below -20 dB and subdecibel bit-error-rate penalty, is experimentally demonstrated


Becoming human is becoming social and this thesis explores the nature of the socialization process through the presentation of material derived from anthropological fieldwork with adolescents in the north-east of England. In contrast to more traditional approaches, it suggests that an adequate understanding of how socialization occurs, rather than merely what occurs, can only be achieved through focusing directly upon the experiences of those undergoing the socialization process itself and upon how they articulate these experiences. In this respect the adoption of the anthropological fieldwork technique of participant observation is shown to be critical. It allows access to the experience of socialization, rather than simply its later effects, through exploring the temporal rhythms of the socialization process made manifest in life-cycle categories. These categories, it is argued, structure the progressive awareness and understanding reached by children as they mature through providing them with the time and space for the creation of their own culture - the culture of ' doing nothing '.With the theoretical insights gained from a semantic approach to the study of social life this culture is interpreted as a conceptual context whereby children themselves conduct their own rite de passage to adulthood. Through analysis of the concepts of time and space; linguistic performance and nickname usage; the body as an expressive medium and the social construction of gender, a distinctive cultural style emerges which represents an active deconstruction and reinterpretation of adult social order by children. This pervasive style of ' doing nothing ' provides a single underlying form for a multiplicity of contents : motifs of transformation constantly reappear in different domains and provide a coherent semantic system through which children gain knowledge of their own futures. Within this approach, then, socialization is no passive imitation ; rather, it emerges as an active and creative learning process in and about the world.


Bayesian and frequentist criteria are fundamentally different, but often posterior and sampling distributions are asymptotically equivalent (e.g., Gaussian). For the corresponding limit experiment, we characterize the frequentist size of a certain Bayesian hypothesis test of (possibly nonlinear) inequalities. If the null hypothesis is that the (possibly infinite-dimensional) parameter lies in a certain half-space, then the Bayesian test's size is $\alpha$; if the null hypothesis is a subset of a half-space, then size is above $\alpha$ (sometimes strictly); and in other cases, size may be above, below, or equal to $\alpha$. Two examples illustrate our results: testing stochastic dominance and testing curvature of a translog cost function.


Ancient DNA has allowed the study of various aspects of human history in unprecedented detail. However, because the majority of archaic human specimens preserved well enough for genome sequencing have been female, comprehensive studies of Y chromosomes of Denisovans and Neandertals have not yet been possible. Here we present sequences of the first Denisovan Y chromosomes (Denisova 4 and Denisova 8), as well as the Y chromosomes of three late Neandertals (Spy 94a, Mezmaiskaya 2 and El Sidrón 1253). We find that the Denisovan Y chromosomes split around 700 thousand years ago (kya) from a lineage shared by Neandertal and modern human Y chromosomes, which diverged from each other around 370 kya. The phylogenetic relationships of archaic and modern human Y chromosomes therefore differ from population relationships inferred from their autosomal genomes, and mirror the relationships observed on the level of mitochondrial DNA. This provides strong evidence that gene flow from an early lineage related to modern humans resulted in the replacement of both the mitochondrial and Y chromosomal gene pools in late Neandertals. Although unlikely under neutrality, we show that this replacement is plausible if the low effective population size of Neandertals resulted in an increased genetic load in their Y chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA relative to modern humans.


A faster rate of adaptive evolution of X-linked genes compared with autosomal genes may be caused by the fixation of new recessive or partially recessive advantageous mutations (the Faster-X effect). This effect is expected to be largest for mutations that affect only male fitness and absent for mutations that affect only female fitness. We tested these predictions in Drosophila melanogaster by using genes with different levels of sex-biased expression and by estimating the extent of adaptive evolution of non-synonymous mutations from polymorphism and divergence data. We detected both a Faster-X effect and an effect of male-biased gene expression. There was no evidence for a strong association between the two effects—modest levels of male-biased gene expression increased the rate of adaptive evolution on both the autosomes and the X chromosome, but a Faster-X effect occurred for both unbiased genes and female-biased genes. The rate of genetic recombination did not influence the magnitude of the Faster-X effect, ruling out the possibility that it reflects less Hill–Robertson interference for X-linked genes.


We propose a high sensitivity sensor based on a mode number-encoded multi-longitudinal mode fiber laser. The fiber laser incorporates a uniform fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and a fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FFPI) as sensitive components in the cavity. The sensor counts the number of longitudinal modes (NLM) of fiber laser, which is caused by the mismatch between the reflection band of FBG and the transmission band of FFPI resulting from the application of external perturbation to the FBG. An electrical spectrum analyzer is adopted to analyze the NLM. The strain sensor is experimentally demonstrated to have sensitivity of as high as 0.02 \mu \varepsilon/mode.


Sheep knee meniscus was regenerated by spatiotemporal delivery of two growth factors embedded in a 3D-printed anatomically correct scaffold. Knee replacement is common and joint degeneration occurs when cartilage deteriorates. However, donor cartilage and synthetic alternatives are scarce. Lee et al. created poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) scaffolds by three-dimensionally (3D) printing using anatomically correct dimensions of the meniscus and then loading the PCL scaffolds at specific locations with polymeric microspheres containing one of two growth factors, which were released sequentially. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) was released first, followed by transforming growth factor–β3 (TGF-β3). Sequential exposure of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in culture to these two growth factors stimulated their differentiation into fibrochondrocytes cells that produced procollagens. When the growth factor–embedded scaffolds were placed over human MSCs in culture, the scaffolds induced zone-specific matrix development: Type I collagen was produced in the outer zone and type II collagen in the inner zone, similar to the distribution in the native meniscus. Implantation of the PCL scaffolds in sheep with partial meniscectomy, designed on the basis of the sheep meniscus anatomy, either embedded with the growth factors or lacking the growth factors resulted in tissue regeneration with the desired mechanical properties only when the PCL scaffolds containing the growth factors were used. This study suggested that this acellular biomaterial combined with 3D printing and embedded with the appropriate growth factors could provide a mechanism for repairing deteriorated cartilage in not only the knees, but also tendon-bone junctions, the intervertebral discs of the spine, and the temporomandibular joint. C. H. Lee, S. A. Rodeo, L. A. Fortier, C. Lu, C. Erisken, J. J. Mao, Protein-releasing polymeric scaffolds induce fibrochondrocytic differentiation of endogenous cells for knee meniscus regeneration in sheep. Sci. Transl. Med. 6, 266ra171 (2014). [Abstract]


The current study aimed at delving into EFL teachers' perspectives towards culture and the different sources and procedures of teaching it in the classroom with a focus on the qualifications of the teachers. The participants consisted of 95 Iranian language teachers. For the purposes of this study, the participants were divided into three qualification groups: MA in English, English Students of MA and Other. To explore the participants' perspectives on the issue of culture in ELT, the researchers used a questionnaire. One-way ANOVA indicated: a) significant differences between the groups of MA holders and other groups with regard to the teachers' use of various materials in teaching culture; b) no significant differences among the participant groups regarding the importance of integrating culture in language pedagogy, the frequency of discussing culture in EFL classes, the teachers' perceptions of the effect of culture on the learners' motivation, and the aspects emphasized by teachers in teaching culture; and c) significant differences among MA holders and other groups in their emphasis on the United States as their focus of attention when teaching culture. The results indicated that the teachers' qualifications might not be an influential factor in determining their perspectives on the issue of culture in language teaching.


This paper traces the travels of a Victorian best-selling novel entitled East Lynne (1861) and its various translations as serialized novels, stage plays, and films produced in Japan and China in the early twentieth century. The author argues that all versions of the story reflected a global trend for what may be termed "popular consumption of sensation plus sentiment." The principle agents in the formation of this global trend in the popular spheres are to be found in the development of print capitalism and the cultural industries on the one hand, and in the public's desires for sensation and sentiment in a time of rapid social changes on the other. As such, this study presents an early example of the global flow of cultural products. It demonstrates that global flows of cultural products along with commodities and concepts not only helped shape imagined communities that were called nations, but also linked people at mental levels across national boundaries.


Marine chemical ecology has emerged as a vibrant subdiscipline of marine ecology over the past 20 yr. The first symposium devoted specifically to marine chemical ecology was held, in conjunction with the 29th Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, USA, from March 9 to 10, 2000, with over 70 symposium participants from around the world. Topics of oral presentations and posters ranged from chemical antipredatory defenses of algae and invertebrates to antifouling, allelopathy, sunscreening agents, antimicrobial defenses, and chemical cues for larval settlement and metamorphosis. Articles in this MEPS Theme Section were submitted as original research contributions to the symposium. Abstracts of all symposium presentations are available at the Benthic Ecology Meeting Web site: http://www.uncwil.edu/cmsr/bem2000.


Mail Divide Framework (MDF) is a recipient driven partitioning
framework for E-Mail delivery. A protocol to divide mail delivery at
the source of the message is defined in this draft. A mechanism called
Reputation Service Provider is also introduced so that a third-party
authority can assure senders' trust. With MDF, subdomaining is used
for category-specific MTA designation. Senders decide which category
the outgoing mail belongs. It then looks up DNS TXT record to find
whether the recipient advertises a specific server for that category.
The specified server puts the received mail into a corresponding per-
category inbox for the user.


Strains of Escherichia coli carrying R-factor R71(a), which codes for a streptomycin-spectinomycin adenylyltransferase, have elevated levels of resistance to dihydrostreptomycin (DHS) compared with isogenic R− bacteria. DHS accumulated by whole cells and spheroplasts of R+ bacteria is lower than that observed for R− strains, a result of the absence of the second and more rapid of the two energy-dependent phases of DHS uptake seen in susceptible E. coli. A mutant of R+E. coli with reduced DHS resistance has been shown to have reduced levels of streptomycin-spectinomycin adenylyltransferase activity as well as enhanced drug accumulation. Actively accumulated DHS was recovered from R+ cells as the adenylylated derivative. Neither was inactivated antibiotic detected in culture filtrates, nor was actively accumulated drug lost from R+ cells under normal conditions. The cellular distribution of actively accumulated DHS in R+ and R− cells was found to be the same. Membranes isolated from these cells retained only a small fraction (≃1%) of the total cell-associated drug. The R+ derivative of a mutant with defective energy transduction (E. coli NR-70) and reduced ability to transport aminoglycosides has a significantly higher minimal inhibitory concentration of DHS than its R+ parent (strain 7). Streptomycin-spectinomycin adenylyltransferase activity, from comparisons of Km values and total activities of enzyme, was the same in both strains. The enzyme has been localized to the exterior surface of the bacterial inner membrane, although isolated membranes lacked detectable enzyme activity. The preceding observations are consistent with the proposal that the level of R71(a)-mediated DHS resistance is the outcome of competition between the rate of adenylylation and the rate of the first energy-dependent phase of DHS transport. When the rate of adenylylation exceeds the first energy-dependent phase, adenylylated DHS is accumulated, apparently in a manner identical to the accumulation of DHS. Unlike DHS, adenylylated DHS does not interact with ribosomes, and, consequently, there is a failure to initiate ribosomally dependent sequelae such as the second energy-dependent phase of accumulation, inhibition of protein synthesis, and/or misreading of mRNA.


This discussion paper provides an overview and analytic guide to long term planning of education systems in the context of Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals. Long term gains in educational access depend on anticipating future financial and non-financial constraints on growth and on successful implementation of plans which support growth that can be sustained. Some recent expansion of primary schooling has failed to take a sufficiently long term approach to growth and has risked the creation of resource bottlenecks, poor trade offs between quality and quantity, and dependence on uncertain financing. The paper first outlines three different styles of long term planning – Planning Lite, Framework National Planning, and Participatory Planning. It distinguishes between aspirational and target-generating approaches. It then describes the processes and tools that are needed to develop long term plans for expanded access that can reconcile goals and targets with realistic resource envelopes. These processes are designed to include mechanisms to promote consensus and build commitment. The nature of Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEF) is then explored as a necessary tool to manage implementation. Appendix 1 provides more detailed discussion of the three approaches to planning. Appendix 2 elaborates on aspirational planning and gradients of achievement. Appendix 3 explores issues concerned with targets and indicators of performance. Appendix 4 contains a selected list of source materials.


The sorption and desorption of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was evaluated on different soils with different range of organic matter content. The batch equilibrium technique under laboratory condition was used to determine the sorption/desorption behavior of 2,4-D in 4 different soil orders of Malaysia viz Histosols (peat), Inceptisols (Selangor and Briah) and Ultisols (Rengam and Serdang) and Oxisol (Munchong). Sorption data were fitted to the linear and Freundlich equations. The values of Kd and KF ranged from 1.35 to 35.26 and 2.70 to 42.04, respectively. Highest sorption was observed in peat soil and the lowest was in Rengam soil. According to the sorption and desorption results, organic matter and clay seemed to be the most important factor influencing the sorption capacity of 2,4-D. Thus, the contributions of organic matter were evaluated by comparing changes in 2,4-D of sorption before and after organic matter removal. After organic matter was removed from the soils, the Kd values for sorption by Selangor and Munchong, which were calculated from linear and Freundlich equations, decreased by 26.7 % and 28.0 %, respectively. This revealed that soil organic matter greatly influenced the 2,4-D sorption. Based on their sorption capacity, the soils can be ranked in the following decreasing order: Peat> Selangor> Munchong> Briah> Serdang> Rengam Soil Series.


In the recent years a lot of research effort is being spent in the areas of nanotechnology, quantum computation, and biologically inspired computing. As we are faced with various challenges regarding their implementability, architectural visions, and design automation, not much has been done in the field of high level design and validation in looking further into the future, and ponder about the state of the art in design validation and test in such miniscule technology era. Very few reported research work have surfaced on the design and validation challenges for these technologies. However, this certainly is a matter of concern because the technology of the small will be ridden with random faults and hence architectural design strategies need to change to take into account these stochastic models of failures to build robust designs. Validation of such designs also have to capture the stochastic behavioral models of the technology, and hence traditional validation and testing techniques will not work directly. Are we getting ready with our theory; technology and tools to address these challenges? This futuristic panel asks technology and computer aided design experts, as well as finding agency program managers questions about the technological barriers to be surpassed, as well as how the funding agencies such as NSF are ramping up for this technological future.


We treat the problem of a coherent spherical wave passing through a circular aperture and subsequently focused by a lens. Using the Huygens–Fresnel integral representation, an expression is derived for the axial intensity beyond the lens. It predicts that the large-F-number focal shift may be reversed or eliminated, depending on the aperture–lens separation.


Many consider carbon nanomaterials the poster children of nanotechnology, attracting immense scientific interest from many disciplines and offering tremendous potential in a diverse range of applications due to their extraordinary properties. Graphene is the youngest in the family of carbon nanomaterials. Its isolation, description, and mass fabrication has followed that of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. Graphene's development and its adoption by many industries will increase unintended or intentional human exposure, creating the need to determine its safety profile. In this Account, we compare the lessons learned from the development of carbon nanotubes with what is known about graphene, based on our own investigations and those of others. Despite both being carbon-based, nanotubes and graphene are two very distinct nanomaterials. We consider the key physicochemical characteristics (structure, surface, colloidal properties) for graphene and carbon nanotubes at three different physiological levels: cellular, tissue, and whole body. We summarize the evidence for health effects of both materials at all three levels. Overall, graphene and its derivatives are characterized by a lower aspect ratio, larger surface area, and better dispersibility in most solvents compared to carbon nanotubes. Dimensions, surface chemistry, and impurities are equally important for graphene and carbon nanotubes in determining both mechanistic (aggregation, cellular processes, biodistribution, and degradation kinetics) and toxicological outcomes. Colloidal dispersions of individual graphene sheets (or graphene oxide and other derivatives) can easily be engineered without metallic impurities, with high stability and less aggregation. Very importantly, graphene nanostructures are not fiber-shaped. These features theoretically offer significant advantages in terms of safety over inhomogeneous dispersions of fiber-shaped carbon nanotubes. However, studies that directly compare graphene with carbon nanotubes are rare, making comparative considerations of their overall safety and risk assessment challenging. In this Account, we attempt to offer a set of rules for the development of graphene and its derivatives to enhance their overall safety and minimize the risks for adverse reactions in humans from exposure. These rules are: (1) to use small, individual graphene sheets that macrophages in the body can efficiently internalize and remove from the site of deposition; (2) to use hydrophilic, stable, colloidal dispersions of graphene sheets to minimize aggregation in vivo; and (3) to use excretable graphene material or chemically-modified graphene that can be degraded effectively. Such rules can only act as guidelines at this early stage in the development of graphene-based technologies, yet they offer a set of design principles for the fabrication and safe use of graphene material that will come in contact with the human body. In a broader context, the safety risks associated with graphene materials will be entirely dependent on the specific types of graphene materials and how they are investigated or applied. Therefore, generalizations about the toxicity of "graphene" as a whole will be inaccurate, possibly misleading, and should be avoided.


Background/Aims
Ultrasonography has a low sensitivity for detecting early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic patients. Non-contrast abbreviated magnetic resonance imaging (aMRI) demonstrated a comparable performance to that of magnetic resonance imaging without the risk of contrast media exposure and at a lower cost than that of full diagnostic MRI. We aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of non-contrast aMRI for HCC surveillance in cirrhotic patients, using ultrasonography with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as a reference.

Methods
Cost-utility analysis was performed using a Markov model in Thailand and the United States. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated using the total costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained in each strategy. Surveillance protocols were considered cost-effective based on a willingness-to-pay value of $4,665 (160,000 Thai Baht) in Thailand and $50,000 in the United States.

Results
aMRI was cost-effective in both countries with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of $3,667/QALY in Thailand and $37,062/QALY in the United States. Patient-level microsimulations showed consistent findings that aMRI was cost-effective in both countries. By probabilistic sensitivity analysis, aMRI was found to be more cost-effective than combined ultrasonography and AFP with a probability of 0.77 in Thailand and 0.98 in the United States. By sensitivity analyses, annual HCC incidence was revealed as the most influential factor affecting cost-effectiveness. The cost-effectiveness of aMRI increased in settings with a higher HCC incidence. At a higher HCC incidence, aMRI would remain cost-effective at a higher aMRI-to-ultrasonography with AFP cost ratio.

Conclusions
Compared to ultrasonography with AFP, non-contrast aMRI is a cost-effective strategy for HCC surveillance and may be useful for such surveillance in cirrhotic patients, especially in those with high HCC risks.


Although drug courts were intended to reduce the justice system involvement of drug offenders, a recent study found evidence that drug courts were associated with increased (rather than decreased) arrests for minor misdemeanor drug offenses. The author of that study noted that findings raised further questions about whether the increased drug arrests should be interpreted as beneficial or harmful and whether they might have had a differential impact on minority residents. This study incorporated race-specific arrest information to partially answer these questions by utilizing a series of fixed-effects regressions among U.S. cities with populations over 50,000 from 1990 to 2006. Findings indicate that drug court implementation was associated with substantial increases in arrests of Black, but not White residents. Ethical and theoretical implications for therapeutic jurisprudence, problem-solving courts, and the minority threat perspective are discussed.


Feed intake and milk production responses to N supplementation of corn silage-based diets were measured in three 3 x 3 Latin square experiments. In each experiment, 9 Holstein cows received total mixed rations (TMR), based on corn silage. In Exp. 1, midlactation cows were used to study effects of diets with different ratios of effective rumen-degradable protein (ERDP; g) to fermentable metabolizable energy (FME; MJ), providing a large deficiency (RL), a slight deficiency (RM), and a slight excess (RH) in relation to the target level of 11 g of ERDP/MJ of FME, respectively, for lactating cows. Diets were formulated to be isoenergetic, and to satisfy the metabolizable protein requirements. In Exp. 2, early-lactation cows were used to evaluate effects of different proportions of quickly and slowly rumen-degradable protein (RDP), achieved by replacing soybean meal with urea in the concentrates (0, 0.5, and 1% urea). Experiment 3 investigated effects of synchronizing the availability of FME and ERDP in the rumen. Midlactation cows received a diet containing, on a dry matter (DM) basis, 45% corn silage, 5% ryegrass hay, 35% energy-rich concentrate, and 15% protein-rich concentrate (crude protein: 38% of DM; urea: 2% of DM). The protein-rich concentrate was fed either once (D1) or twice (D2) per day before the meal, or included in the TMR (DU). Treatment RL led to lower DM intake and milk yield, but higher milk production efficiency; there were no significant differences between treatments RM and RH. There were no significant treatment effects on DM intake, milk yield, or milk composition in Exp. 2. Manipulating rumen synchrony by altering the timing of feeding affected milk yields, with D1 cows producing significantly less than D2 and DU cows, which were similar. The amount of ERDP in the diet should be matched to the amount of fermentable energy available to maximize intake, milk yields, and the conversion of feed N into milk protein. However, this study showed only small benefits to altering the diurnal pattern of supply of RDP and FME, and only with extreme feeding strategies that would not be used in practice. Urine volume increased in response to increased or unbalanced protein supply. Analysis of the allantoin:creatinine ratio in spot samples of urine was not useful in identifying predicted differences in microbial protein yield from the rumen.


Nano-sized particles and molecules possess enormous potential as diagnostic imaging agents and hold promise for the development of multimodality agents with both imaging and therapeutic capabilities. Yet, some of the most promising nano-materials currently under investigation demonstrate prolonged tissue retention and contain heavy metals. This presents serious concerns for toxicity and additionally, prolonged particle retention may interfere with diagnostic imaging and testing modalities. The creation of nano-sized particles and molecules with optimal pharmacokinetics and clearance characteristics will minimize toxicity risks by reducing the duration of exposure to these agents. Given that many types of nanomaterials possess easily modifiable surface chemistry, if nanoparticle characteristics associated with optimal pharmacokinetics and clearance from the body were well established, it would be feasible to design and create agents with more favorable clearance properties. In this talk, based on our experiences of dendrimer-based nano-sized MRI/Optical/Nuclear multimodality imaging agents, I will discuss the physiologic clearance of nano-sized particle and molecule, especially focusing on renal mechanisms, as well as provides an extended view of current research investigating clearance of other types of nano-sized particles and molecules, including dendrimers, quantum dots, and carbon, gold, and silica-based nanoparticles.


The microjet injector system accelerates drugs and delivers them without a needle, which is shown to overcome the weaknesses of existing jet injectors. A significant increase in the delivered dose of drugs is reported with multiple pulses of laser beam at lower laser energy than was previously used in a Nd:YAG system. The new injection scheme uses the beam wavelength best absorbable by water at a longer pulse mode for elongated microjet penetration into a skin target. A 2.9 μm Er:YAG laser at 250 μs pulse duration is used for fluorescent staining of guinea pig skin and for injection controllability study. Hydrodynamic theory confirms the nozzle exit jet velocity obtained by the present microjet system.


This paper reviews to what extent and how effectively the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB, or Bank) is implementing the IDB-9 requirements pertaining to environmental and social safeguards policies. The Bank's commitment to sustainability is enshrined in the Environmental and Safeguards Compliance Policy and policies addressing social concerns: involuntary resettlement, indigenous peoples, and gender equality. Each policy promotes sustainability through a two-pronged approach: mainstreaming of environmental and social concerns, and safeguards. The IDB-9 requirements called on the Bank to adopt a new set of environmental and social safeguards consistent with the findings of an external assessment by an Independent Advisory Group (IAG). IDB-9 also called for the adoption of a new Gender Equality Policy. The IAG assessment (which was completed after the IDB-9 Agreement) concluded that a revision of the Bank's safeguards policies was not warranted, but it recommended actions to help the Bank strengthen its mainstreaming of sustainability concerns and application of safeguards. Management and the Board accepted this conclusion. Thus in terms of the IDB-9 mandate, the Bank has not revised its safeguards policies, but it has adopted the Gender Equality Policy. It also launched an action plan to address IAG?s concerns. This review finds that the Bank's action plan is substantially responsive to the concerns raised by IAG and that progress on most actions is well under way, though further work is needed. It also finds that implementation of the Gender Action plan has made a good start. Mainstreaming of sustainability concerns remains work in progress. The Bank's Sustainability Working Group has helped raise Management's overall awareness of sustainability issues, but the Bank has not yet found an effective way to integrate sustainability into its Country Strategies. Similarly, gender sector notes have not yet resulted in consistent integration of gender equality into Country Strategies. For projects, in about one-fifth of those approved in 2012 (January - September), the results matrix includes gender indicators of varying relevance and quality. On the safeguards side, progress has been made on integrating safeguards specialists into private sector operational teams, and the Bank has embarked on a more rigorous approach to supervision of safeguards implementation. Piloting of the gender safeguard has started recently. However, pressure to reduce project preparation times and an increase in high-risk projects seem to have resulted in the Bank's shifting some important safeguards due diligence work from the preparation to the supervision phase?a change the Bank's supervision system is not equipped to handle well. The paper offers several suggestions to advance the sustainability agenda: (i) ensure that the environmental and social assessment process is consistently completed before project approval; (ii) strengthen safeguards supervision; (iii) increase attention to the social aspects of sustainability, (iv) broaden the focus of country environment sector notes to reduce fragmentation of mainstreaming efforts, (v) enhance implementation of the Gender Policy and action plan, and (vi) revisit the allocation of resources for safeguards work.


In this essay, Gilmore argues that examining the largely forgotten early romances of John Neal within a transatlantic framework leads to a reconsideration of our understanding of romanticism in the United States. Focusing on Randolph (1823) and Logan (1822), he draws parallels between Neal's criticism and fiction and the writings of European romantics such as Friedrich Schlegel and Percy Bysshe Shelley. In doing so, Gilmore contends that Neal provides an alternative understanding of the politics, history, and poetics of romanticism and the romance in the United States. Over the past century, the followers of F. O. Matthiessen and Richard Chase and their New Americanist critics have tended to describe romanticism and the romance in terms of an idealistic retreat into nature or aesthetic form. Furthermore, both mid-twentieth-century critics and later revisionists emphasized a national dimension to American romanticism and the American romance, either as epitomizing a distinctly American literature or as reinforcing or contesting dominant conceptions of the United States. In contrast, he argues that placing the romance, particularly as espoused and practiced by John Neal, at the center of our examination of romanticism in the United States foregrounds the importance of an international literary and sociocultural framework. In this light, romanticism appears less an ideological retreat from modernity or a nationalistic vehicle than a transnational, dialectical engagement with modernity's atomization of the individual.


It has long been known that environmental issues and environmental issues are responsible for environmental problems. Young people's environmental attitudes are particularly important because young people ultimately will be affected by and will need to provide solutions to environmental problems arising from present-day actions. This study aims to determine undergraduate students' environmental attitudes.When the related literature is examined, it is seen that there are limited number of studies aiming to determine the attitudes of the university student towards the environment in general. For this reason, this study; has been planned and carried out in order to determine the environmental attitude of the students. 224 students studying at Hacettepe University have participated in this research made in order to determine the attitude of the students. In the study, a questionnaire composed of "Environmental Attitude Scale" has been used as a data collection tool. The average score of the environmental attitude levels of the students who participated in the study has been reported as ( =3,84). In conclusion, it was determined that undergraduate students' environmental levels vary significantly by gender, family type status and level of income (p<0.01). Keywords: undergraduate students, environmental attitude, environmental behaviors, environmental thoght


Examples of zero-inflated Poisson and negative binomial regression models were used to demonstrate conditional power estimation, utilizing the method of an expanded data set derived from probability weights based on assumed regression parameter values. SAS code is provided to calculate power for models with a binary or continuous covariate associated with zero-inflation.


CONTEXT
The concept of active life expectancy, the number of years a person can expect to live without disability, is used for the first time, to our knowledge, to examine the effect of Alzheimer disease (AD) on total life expectancy with different degrees of disability.

OBJECTIVES
To estimate and compare total life expectancy and average duration lived with different degrees of disability, between persons with and without AD.

DESIGN
Ten-year prospective epidemiologic study.

SETTING
A largely blue-collar rural community in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

PARTICIPANTS
A population-based cohort of 1201 subjects (at the beginning of follow-up) with a mean age of 75 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
At age 70 and every 2 years thereafter, among persons with AD and nondemented persons, (1) the total expectancy of remaining life and (2) the duration lived with different numbers of impaired instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), grouped as 0 to 1, 2 to 5, and 6 to 7 impairments.

RESULTS
Alzheimer disease greatly shortened the total life expectancy to a similar extent in men and women, with the most pronounced reduction among those who were younger. Besides their shorter survival, men and women with AD spent more absolute years, and also a greater proportion of their remaining lives, with 6 to 7 IADL impairments than did their nondemented age peers. Nondemented women spent more years with 2 to 5 IADL impairments than nondemented men, while women with AD spent more years with 6 to 7 IADL impairments than men with AD.

CONCLUSION
The concept of active life expectancy adds a useful new dimension to the study of outcomes in AD.