Abstract Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) emit various types of light that differ among species and populations of the same species. Their lights are assumed to be biological properties that play important ecological and evolutionary roles. Some species in the Lampyridae emit periodic luminescence, the patterns of which are characterized by species-specific intervals. In previous work, it was predicted that the nitric oxide (NO) regulates the oxygen supply required for the bioluminescence reaction of fireflies. Here, the expression of the NO synthase (NOS) mRNA in some fireflies was examined to verify the predictive model of nitric-oxide-mediated flash control in these insects. The expression of the nos gene in the lantern organ was observed not only in nocturnal flashing species but also in diurnal non-flashing species. It was shown that the expression levels of nos were higher in the lantern of Luciola cruciata (Motschulsky) larvae, which that emits continuous light, than in other body parts, although expression in the lantern of the adults, who flash periodically, was not high. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in expression levels among adults of Luciola cruciata characterized by different flashing intervals. The data do not support the model of an NO-mediated flash control mechanism, during which oxygen becomes available for the luciferin-luciferase reaction through NO-mediated inhibition of mitochondrial respiration. It is also indicated that flash patterns do not co-vary with NOS production. However, high nos expression in the larval lantern suggests that NO may play a role in producing continuous light by functioning as a neurotransmitter signal for bioluminescence.


Seedlessness is an important economic trait relating to fruit quality, and gamma irradiation is a common technique used to obtain seedless citrus fruits. Herein, we report a study of new seedless 'Murcott' mandarin clones obtained by bud irradiation from the self-compatible not parthenocarpic 'Murcott' mandarin. All irradiated clones examined presented lower seed numbers (from 0.23 to 2.47 seeds per fruit) and reduced pollen germination (from 1.40% to 8.55%) whereas the wild-type 'Murcott' showed an average number of 9.03 seeds per fruit and a pollen germination value of 47.15%. Fruit quality and nutritional bio-components were affected differently; some clones presented no changes compared to the control 'Murcott' mandarin, while other clones showed significant differences. High-performance liquid chromatographic methods were used to identify and quantify of these compounds, using photodiode array, mass and refractive index detectors. Our results indicated high contents in natural antioxidants as vitamin C (from 20.13 to 25.73 mg/100 mL) and phenolic compounds, as flavonoids, in these citrus varieties cultived under the Mediterranean climate. Some of these clones, which ripen late in the season and whose fruit quality is maintained or improved, are in the process of registration. In conclusion, budwood irradiation is a suitable technique to improve cultivars, produce seedless cultivars, adjust ripening time or raise the content of health-promoting compounds. Also this study investigates the influence of temperature during flowering on the number of seeds formed. Findings indicate that low temperatures during flower formation decreased pollen germination and seed number.


Piezoelectrics have been widely used in different kinds of applications, from the automobile industry to consumer electronics. The novel multilayer piezoelectrics, which are inspired by multilayer ceramic capacitors, not only minimize the size of the functional parts, but also maximize energy efficiency. Development of multilayer piezoelectric devices is at a significant crossroads on the way to achieving low costs, high efficiency, and excellent reliability. Concerning the costs of manufacturing multilayer piezoelectrics, the trend is to replace the costly noble metal internal electrodes with base metal materials. This paper discusses the materials development of metal co-firing and the progress of integrating current base metal chemistries. There are some significant considerations in metal co-firing multilayer piezoelectrics: retaining stoichiometry with volatile Pb and alkaline elements in ceramics, the selection of appropriate sintering agents to lower the sintering temperature with minimum impact on piezoelectric performance, and designing effective binder formulation for low pO2 burnout to prevent oxidation of Ni and Cu base metal.


Precipitation regimes are predicted to shift to more extreme patterns that are characterized by more heavy rainfall events and longer dry intervals, yet their ecological impacts on vegetation production remain uncertain across biomes in natural climatic conditions. This in situ study investigated the effects of these climatic conditions on aboveground net primary production (ANPP) by combining a greenness index from satellite measurements and climatic records during 2000–2009 from 11 long‐term experimental sites in multiple biomes and climates. Results showed that extreme precipitation patterns decreased the sensitivity of ANPP to total annual precipitation (PT) at the regional and decadal scales, leading to decreased rain use efficiency (RUE; by 20% on average) across biomes. Relative decreases in ANPP were greatest for arid grassland (16%) and Mediterranean forest (20%) and less for mesic grassland and temperate forest (3%). The cooccurrence of heavy rainfall events and longer dry intervals caused greater water stress conditions that resulted in reduced vegetation production. A new generalized model was developed using a function of both PT and an index of precipitation extremes and improved predictions of the sensitivity of ANPP to changes in precipitation patterns. Our results suggest that extreme precipitation patterns have substantially negative effects on vegetation production across biomes and are as important as PT. With predictions of more extreme weather events, forecasts of ecosystem production should consider these nonlinear responses to altered extreme precipitation patterns associated with climate change.


Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is nowadays used in various hematological disorders including leukemias. Hemophilia A is sex linked bleeding disorder in which there are various genetic abnormalities in factor VIII gene. Among various hematological disorders, bleeding disorders mainly hemophilia in now widely treated using plasma derived and recombinant factor VIII concentrates. Day to day transfusion of coagulation factor VIII in current lifelong disorder is a burden for the patients and decreases their quality of life. Although infection of coagulation products with blood-borne viruses that was major concern in treatment of hemophilia has been eliminated nearly complete at the present time, but appearance of factor VIII inhibitor is huge burden in treatment of hemophilia for both clinicians and patients. In this day and age BMT has gathered new insight and acceptable treatment for many hematological and non-hematological disorders. If BMT will be successful in treatment of hemophilia, it will improve quality of life (by nearly permanent treatment without necessary of daily treatment) and decrease mortality rate (by providing continuous coagulation factor level in blood system).


The proliferation of sensors and advancement of technology has led to the production and collection of unprecedented amounts of data in recent years. The data are often noisy, non-linear, and high-dimensional, and the effectiveness of traditional tools may be limited. Thus, the technological advances that enable the ubiquitous collection of data from the cosmological scale to the subatomic scale also necessitate the development of complementary tools that address the new nature of the data. Recently, there has been much interest in and success with developing topologically-motivated techniques for data analysis. These approaches are especially useful when a topological method is sensitive to large- and small-scale features that might not be detected by methods that require a level of geometric detail that is not provided by the data or by methods that may obscure geometric features, such as principal component analysis (PCA), multi–dimensional scaling (MDS), and cluster analysis. Our work explores topological data analysis through two frameworks. In the first part, we provide a tool for detecting material coherence from a set of spatially sparse particle trajectories via the study of a map induced on homology by the braid corresponding to the motion of particles. While the theory of coherent structures has received a great deal of attention and benefited from many advances in recent years, many of these techniques are limited when the data are sparse. We demonstrate through various examples that our work provides a practical and scalable tool for identifying coherent sets from a sparse set of particle trajectories using eigenanalysis. In the second part, we formalize the local-to-global structure captured by topology in the setting of point clouds. We extend existing tools in topological data analysis and provide a theoretical framework for studying topological features of a point cloud over a range of resolutions, enabling the analysis of topological features using statistical methods. We apply our tools to the analysis of high-dimensional geospatial sensor data and provide a statistic for quantifying climate anomalies.


Ion-imprinted chitosan (CS) microspheres (MIPs) were prepared with Cu(II) as a template and epichlorohydrin as a crosslinker for the selective separation of Cu(II) from aqueous solution. The microspheres showed a higher adsorption capacity and selectivity for the Cu(II) ions than nonimprinted chitosan microspheres (NMIPs) without a template. The results show that the adsorption of Cu(II) on the CS microspheres was affected by the initial pH value, initial Cu(II) concentration, and temperature. The kinetic parameters of the adsorption process indicated that the adsorption followed a second-order adsorption process. Equilibrium experiments showed very good fits with the Langmuir isotherm equation for the monolayer adsorption process. The maximum sorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir isotherm was 201.66 mg/g for the Cu–MIPs and 189.51 mg/g for the NMIPs; these values were close to the experimental ones. The selectivity coefficients of Cu(II) and other metal ions on the NMIPs indicated a preference for Cu(II). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013


It is increasingly recognised that many policy issues, such as infectious disease control, transcend national borders, and require collective action and the sharing of data and expertise between stakeholders. In recognition of this, regional health programmes, networks, and initiatives have been established in different regional settings to promote collaboration and coordination between researchers, policy makers and health authorities in affected countries. However, gaps remain in our knowledge of these developments, including changing trends and priorities over time, institutional arrangements, patterns in the flow of data and information, and challenges to meaningful and effective knowledge exchange, especially in developing contexts. This project aimed to gain a better understanding of these issues by exploring in a systematic way the evolution of regional cooperation for infectious disease control in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and current implementation challenges. As part of this project, three datasets were compiled: (1) a systematic collection of international health programmes for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in the GMS in the period 2000-2016; (2) a dataset of internationally co-authored publications on avian influenza involving authors with institutional affiliations in GMS countries, formatted and organized to enable network analysis of bibliometric patterns; (3) 70 key informant interviews and meetings with key stakeholders in Cambodia and Vietnam. In this archive, the first two datasets are available. The third dataset is not available due to confidentiality agreements, though collected material has been incorporated and summarized in the research report.


By inhibiting the production of a microRNA, the deacetylase SIRT1 and the transcriptional repressor YY1 allow memory formation. MicroRNAs have been implicated in the molecular mechanisms of memory formation. Gao et al. show that in mice the NAD-dependent deacetylase SIRT1 limits the abundance of a specific microRNA, miR-134, which inhibits the translation of CREB, a transcription factor needed for synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) and hippocampal memory formation. Mice with a brain-specific knockout of SIRT1 showed impaired memory formation in multiple paradigms and failed to exhibit LTP in hippocampal CA1 neurons. Although the SIRT1-deficient mice had grossly normal brains, staining for dendrites and functional synapses revealed a decrease in dendritic spine density and presynaptic nerve terminals in the hippocampus. The abundance of CREB was reduced in the hippocampi of SIRT1-deficient mice, as was binding of CREB to the promoter regions of the gene encoding brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is required for synaptic plasticity. Analysis of the microRNA profile of wild-type and SIRT1-deficient hippocampi revealed eight microRNAs with altered abundance, and miR-134 was chosen for further analysis because it had been identified previously as a negative regulator of dendritic spine formation. In a series of experiments with reporter constructs and transfected CAD cells (a neural cell line), the authors showed that miR-134 decreased CREB activity and that SIRT1 bound to regulatory regions in the pre–miR-134 sequence to inhibit its transcription. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that SIRT1 and YY1 both bound to the pre–miR-134 sequence, and binding of SIRT1 in cultured cells was reduced if YY1 was knocked down. LTP and memory formation were analyzed in mice in which miR-134 or a locked–nucleic acid (LNA)–modified oligonucleotide probe that knocks down miR-134 was delivered with a lentivirus into the CA1 area. Overexpression of miR-134 abolished LTP and impaired hippocampal-mediated memory formation, whereas introduction of the LNA–miR-134 into the SIRT1-deficient mice restored LTP and contextual fear memory. Thus, the transcriptional repressors SIRT1 and YY1 limit the accumulation of the translational repressor miR-134 to allow CREB to function in memory formation. J. Gao, W.-Y. Wang, Y.-W. Mao, J. Gräff, J.-S. Guan, L. Pan, G. Mak, D. Kim, S. C. Su, L.-H. Tsai, A novel pathway regulates memory and plasticity via SIRT1 and miR-134. Nature 466, 1105–1109 (2010). [PubMed]


PURPOSE: to compare the hard palate dimensions in nasal and mouth breathing children of different facial typologies. METHOD: the sample comprised 54 children between seven and 11 year old, divided in two groups according to the facial type and breathing mode. The facial type was obtained through the Ricketts cephalometric analysis, and the breathing mode was determined from speech-language evaluation and otorhynolaryngologic diagnosis. In order to measure the transverse, vertical and anteroposterior length of the hard palate, plaster cast models of the children superior dental arch were obtained. To get the hard palate dimensions among the groups, parametric and nonparametric tests were used under a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: no statistically significant difference was found in hard palate measures among brachyfacial, mesofacial and dolichofacial children. A significant statistical difference in the distance among the second premolars was identified when compared with the different facial types of nasal and mouth breathing children, and such a difference was not detected in multiple comparisons. CONCLUSION: the dimensions of the hard palate did not show any difference when analyzed in different facial types regardless of the breathing mode. However, when analyzing the facial type in nasal and mouth breathers, we found a difference in the distance among the second premolars.


Abstract : The author addresses the issues regarding the ideal relationship between the commander and the statesman in time of war and the balance between political control and military operational expertise by examining what Carl von Clausewitz has to say about civil-military relations and the use of force. She looks in depth at Clausewitz's arguments, reviews his theoretical approach, and discusses four key implications of the basic idea that political purposes govern war. In conclusion, the author suggests that Clausewitz has issued both statesmen and commanders a challenge. Commanders must appreciate the necessity of subordinating military means to political ends, and statesmen must think as strategists as they make decisions about the relationship between ends and means and the achievement of their goals.


Research and dissemination of the results has always been an important activity for those in the academic community. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) has brought the whole area of research publication and dissemination into sharp relief, and striving for high research rankings seems, for some, to have become an end in itself. Some argue that the RAE has restricted the wider dissemination of research as academics focus on refereed journal articles to the detriment of other forms of output, eg professional articles, consultancy, books and practitioner conferences. The RAE has intensified interest in the purpose and process of publication in most discipline areas and has created considerable controversy regarding the status of different publication channels. The small business research area is no exception. This research provides a profile of the UK small business research community, it explores their perceptions regarding research and establishes the esteem that various publication channels are held. Defining precisely what constitutes the area of small business research is problematic. Indeed, providing a specific boundary would create a false precision, small business research overlaps with areas such as entrepreneurship and innovation, and it also draws upon a range of disciplines. Nevertheless, relative limits were placed on this research by the nature of the people who were asked to express their opinion and the questions they were asked. The attitudes were sought through a survey of active UK researchers (97 per cent of respondents had published in the area, 81 per cent were academics, 7 per cent were policy makers and 4 per cent business practitioners) listed on the Institute of Small Business Affairs/Small Business Research Trust database. The title and nature of these organisations suggests that those listed at least identify with the notion of small business research as an area. In addition, the questionnaire emphasised small business research throughout, and no mention was made of entrepreneurship, innovation or associated areas. Ninety‐eight questionnaires were returned, representing a 47 per cent response rate. The community was found to be more stable and mature than expected, but small business researchers held other research areas in greater esteem and most regarded themselves as empiricists rather than theorists. The implications of these results are explored for the next RAE and for the future of small business research.


Several factors suggest that opioid use may be common among applicants to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI): the prevalence of opioid use, the suspected link between opioid use and declining rates of work, and the large share of new SSDI awardees who have conditions associated with opioid use. However, research-ready data on opioid use by these applicants, who are generally not eligible for Medicare, have not been available. SSDI applicants are required to report their medications, but they often do so in an open-ended text field, which requires additional coding before analysis.

Our study is the first to provide statistics on opioid use among SSDI applicants. We used an innovative machine-learning method to identify opioids in medication text fields in SSDI administrative data. Specifically, we examined the prevalence of reported opioid use in a 30 percent random sample of initial-level SSDI applications stored in the Social Security Administration's Structured Data Repository (SDR) from 2007 through 2017, considering differences by demographic and other factors. We supplemented the SDR with two SSA administrative data sources: the Disability Analysis File, which provided award information, and the Numerical Identification System, which provided information on deaths. Using these sources, we produced statistics on the association between (1) opioid use among SSDI applicants and (2) SSDI award and death. Understanding the prevalence of reported opioid use among these individuals and the association between opioid use and later SSDI application outcomes may help in forecasting the future composition of the SSDI caseload.

The paper found that:

Over the 11-year analysis period, more than 30 percent of SSDI applicants reported using one or more opioids. This is higher than the rate of opioid use in the general population (29 versus 19 percent in 2016).Reported rates of opioid use among SSDI applicants varied over the analysis period. Rates increased from 2007 to a peak of 32 percent in 2012, followed by a decline to the period low of 26 percent in 2017.Reported opioid use varied by age and demographic characteristics. SSDI applicants ages 40–49 were the most likely age group to report opioid use; women were 3-4 percentage points more likely to report opioid use than men; and people with some college were the most likely education group to report opioid use.Reported opioid use is also correlated with application type. SSDI-only applicants who reported opioid use were 4-6 percentage points more likely to report opioid use than concurrent SSDI and SSI applicants.Reported opioid use varied greatly between geographic areas. Applicants from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC, reported lower-than-average rates of opioid use in 2007 and consistently throughout the analysis period. Conversely, applicants from Delaware, Nevada, and Michigan consistently reported the highest rates of opioid use.There was a positive and statistically significant association between (1) reported opioid use and SSDI awards and (2) reported opioid use SSDI award and death. These associations do not demonstrate a causal relationship.

The policy implications of the findings are:

Application for SSDI provides an opportunity to identify opioid users, understand more about the nature of their use, and, if warranted, connect them with helpful services and supports.Given the prevalence of reported opioid use among SSDI applicants, our study may open the door to future research on how opioid use affects post-adjudication well-being—for example, applicants' employment outcomes after they are awarded or denied SSDI. Future studies might also consider tracking the trajectory of opioid use from application through award using Medicare data.This study also serves as a template for using previously untapped information in SSA administrative files. The machine learning approach used to identify opioid use in free-form text could be applied to other key indicators of interest to SSA.


While there has been extensive historical evidence demonstrating the gender wage gap, gains made by women in terms of higher education may be reducing the gap among those recently entering the workforce. Education is a major determinant of wage, and women are often outpacing men now in terms of educational achievement. Thus, the question remains of whether these gains in education have reduced or even eliminated gender wage inequality. This study examines the gender wage difference among new graduates with the same education level using the most recent data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort. Despite the hope that greater representation of women with higher degrees would reduce or eliminate the gender wage gap for new entrants to the labor market, our results show that newly graduated men with an associate, bachelor's, or master's degree still earn significantly higher wages than newly graduated women with a same degree. Thus, in what we argue is a highly conservative test for the presence of the gender wage gap, the evidence strongly suggests that the wage gap is a continued and pervasive problem in the modern workplace.


"Investigation of the effects of milking on the teat tissue and the teat blood flow using ultrasonographic scanning and color angiography"

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of milking on the teat blood flow and the teat tissue of dairy cows using color angiography and ultrasonographic scanning.
10 udder healthy lactating Holstein-Friesian cows from the second lactation were selected for the study. The selected cows had a milk cell concentration below 100 000 cells/ml in the course of every probation milking during the cow milk recording enquiry of the current lactation. In addition California-Mastitis-Test and microbiological analysis had been negative at the day of measurement.
The measurements were carried out using a MyLab30Vet XVISION® ultrasound scanner with a linear array probe. The analysis was supported by MyLab™Desk® as well as PixelFlux® software.
During ultrasound scanning the right front teat was immersed in warmed contact jelly in an angled bowl. Measurements in cross section at the changeover of udder quarter and the teat as well as in longitudinal cut were made. Circumference and area of the teat and of the teat-cistern at the cross section and teat-canal length, teat-wall thickness, teat-end width and teat cistern width at the longitudinal cut were evaluated. The teat-tissue area at the cross section was calculated.
Measurements were started three hours before afternoon milking and were repeated every 15 minutes until milking. Directly after the removal of the milking cluster an additional measurement was performed. Subsequently, measurements took place every 10 minutes for the next 40 minutes. Thereafter, measurements were done every 15 minutes until 175 minutes after milking.

Results:
• Color Angiography is suited for measuring the blood flow of the teats of dairy cows.
• Directly after the removal of the milking cluster, the blood flow density of seven (MP 1) respectively eight (MP 4) out of the ten selected cows was reduced.
• All cows showed a high significant increase of blood flow density after the first measurement following milking.
• Teat channel length upon milking is significantly longer than immediately before milking and is reduced again afterwards. It does not reach its original length during the measuring period.
• The teat end width does not change significantly during the whole measurement period.
• Up to milking the cistern width increases, and after milking it is significantly reduced. From the first measurement after milking it starts increasing again.
• The teat wall is significantly thicker after milking than before.
• Teat area and teat width are significantly smaller directly after milking than before. Following the first measurement after milking, they are reduced.
• Cistern area and cistern width are significantly smaller after milking than immediately before. During a measuring interval they decrease so that there is a significant difference between the first measurement after milking and the two following measurements. Subsequently, they increase again.
• The size of the teat tissue area changes only slightly during the period of measurements.


Sweet taste, one of the five basic taste qualities, is not only important for evaluation of food quality, but also guides the dietary food choices of animals. Sweet taste involves a variety of chemical compounds and structures, including natural sugars, sugar alcohols, natural and artificial sweeteners, and sweet-tasting proteins. The preference for sweetness has induced the over-consumption of sugar, contributing to certain prevailing health problems, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Non-nutritive sweeteners, including natural and synthetic sweeteners, and sweet-tasting proteins have been added to foods to reduce the caloric intake from sugar, but many of these sugar substitutes induce an off-taste or after taste that negatively impacts any pleasure derived from the sweet taste. Sweet taste is detected by sweet taste receptor, that also play an important role in the metabolic regulation of the body, such as glucose homeostasis and incretin hormone secretion. In this review, the role of sweet tastants and the sweet taste receptors involved in sweetness perception, and their effect on obesity and diabetes are summarized. Sweet taste enhancement, as a new way to solve the over-consumption of sugar, is discussed in this contribution. Sweet taste enhancers can bind with sweet tastans to potentiate the sweetness of food without producing any taste by itself. Various type of sweet taste enhancers, including synthetic compounds, food-processed substances and aroma compounds, are summarized. Notably, few natural, non-volatile compounds have been identified as sweetness enhancers.


Online performance monitoring of computer systems incurs a variety of costs: the very act of monitoring a system interferes with its performance and if the information is transmitted to a monitoring station for analysis and logging, this consumes network bandwidth and disk space. Compressive sampling-based schemes can help reduce these costs on the local machine by acquiring data directly from the system in a compressed form, and in a computationally efficient way. This paper focuses on reducing the computational cost associated with recovering the original signal from the transmitted sample set at the monitoring station for anomaly detection. Towards this end, we show that the compressed samples preserve, in an approximate form, properties such as mean, variance, as well as correlation between data points in the original full-length signal. We then use this result to detect changes in the original signal that could be indicative of an underlying anomaly such as abrupt changes in magnitude and gradual trends without the need to recover the full-length data. We illustrate the usefulness of our approach via case studies involving IBM's Trade Performance Benchmark using signals from the disk and memory subsystems. Experiments indicate that abrupt changes can be detected using a compressed sample size of 25% with a hit rate of 95% for a fixed false alarm rate of 5%; trends can be detected within a confidence interval of 95% using a sample size of only 6%.


In the present study, the in vitro probiotic properties and molecular characterization (16S rRNA gene sequencing) of L. plantarum
MCC2034, a lactic acid bacterium (LAB) isolated from Takrarista, traditionally used for the treatment of various gastro-intestinal
maladies are presented. The isolate under study has been proved to be a potent producer of exopolysaccharide (EPS). The molecular
identification of the strain was carried out using 16S rRNA gene sequencing method. The ability of the strain to survive the transit
through the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) was carried out using in vitro gastric system. Additionally, the in vitro adhesion property (viz.
bacterial adhesion to hydrocarbon assay and autoaggregation) and bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity of L. plantarum MCC2034 were
carried out. Antibiotic resistance profile was determined using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test against tetracycline,
ampicillin, streptomycin, etc. The results of the in vitro probiotic characterization indicated that L. plantarum MCC2034 is capable of
surviving the adverse conditions encountered during its passage through the GIT besides showing promise with respect to BSH and the
antibiotic resistance profile also indicated that the strain is within the recommended limits. In conclusion, it can be stated that L.
plantarum MCC2034, a Takrarista isolate capable of producing EPS, exhibited effective in vitro probiotic potential.


We report on the design, fabrication, and electro-optical characterization of a light emitting device operating at 1.54 μm, whose active layer consists of silicon oxide containing Er-doped Si nanoclusters. A photonic crystal (PhC) is fabricated on the top-electrode to enhance the light extraction in the vertical direction, and thus the external efficiency of the device. This occurs if a photonic mode of the PhC slab is resonant with the Er emission energy, as confirmed by theoretical calculations and experimental analyses. We measure an increase of the extraction efficiency by a factor of 3 with a high directionality of light emission in a narrow vertical cone. External quantum efficiency and power efficiency are among the highest reported for this kind of material. These results are important for the realization of CMOS-compatible efficient light emitters at telecom wavelengths.


The small guanosine triphosphatase Ran is involved in transport of proteins into the nucleus and has been recognized more recently as a regulator of formation of the mitotic spindle. Wiese et al. show that Ran uses the same binding partner, importin-β, to control microtubule formation that it uses to promote protein transport. Importin-β carries cargo proteins to the nucleus and releases them upon interaction with guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-bound Ran. In the case of spindle assembly, importin-β interacts with the NuMA (nuclear-mitotic apparatus) protein, which helps organize microtubules at the spindle poles. Activated Ran causes release of NuMA from importin-β and thus promotes microtubule assembly. Nachury et al. present similar results, and Gruss et al. show that Ran-induced release of TPX2 (a microtubule-associated protein that targets the motor protein Xklp2 to microtubules) from importin-α is also regulated by Ran. The authors conclude that TPX2 is necessary for chromatin-induced microtubule assembly during M phase in Xenopus egg extracts. C. Wiese, A. Wilde, M. S. Moore, S. A. Adam, A. Merdes, Y. Zheng, Role of importin-β in coupling Ran to downstream targets in microtubule assembly. Science 291 653-656 (2001). [Abstract] [Full Text] M. V. Nachury, T. J. Maresca, W.C. Salmon, C. M. Waterman-Storer, R. Heald, K. Weis, Importin is a mitotic target of the small GTPase Ran in spindle assembly. Cell 104, 95-106 (2001). [Online Journal] O. J. Gruss, R. E. Carazo-Salas, C. A. Schatz, G. Guarguaglini, J. Kast, M. Wilm, N. Le Bot, I. Vernos, E. Karsenti, I. W. Mattaj, Ran induces spindle assembly by reversing the inhibitory effect of importin on TPX2 activity. Cell 104, 83-93 (2001). [Online Journal]


Shedding light on fossil lantern fruit The Solanaceae (or nightshades) are one of the best-studied plant families, yet their evolutionary origins have thus far been relatively obscure. Corroborative fossil evidence of molecular phylogenetic divergence dates has been lacking. Wilf et al. present 52-million-year-old fossils of lantern fruits from Argentina, which they ascribe to the modern genus Physalis. These fossil finds suggest a much earlier origin of the lantern fruit lineage and indicate that the Solanaceae may have diversified before the final breakup of the Gondwanan supercontinent. Science, this issue p. 71 52-million-year-old fossils of lantern fruit demonstrate ancient Gondwanan history for the diverse nightshade family. The nightshade family Solanaceae holds exceptional economic and cultural importance. The early diversification of Solanaceae is thought to have occurred in South America during its separation from Gondwana, but the family's sparse fossil record provides few insights. We report 52.2-million-year-old lantern fruits from terminal-Gondwanan Patagonia, featuring highly inflated, five-lobed calyces, as a newly identified species of the derived, diverse New World genus Physalis (e.g., groundcherries and tomatillos). The fossils are considerably older than corresponding molecular divergence dates and demonstrate an ancient history for the inflated calyx syndrome. The derived position of these early Eocene fossils shows that Solanaceae were well diversified long before final Gondwanan breakup.


Many systems studied in the biological, physical, and social sciences are composed of multiple interacting components. Often the number of components and interactions is so large that attaining an understanding of the system necessitates some form of simplication. A common representation that captures the key connection patterns is a network in which the nodes correspond to system components and the edges represent interactions. In this thesis we use network techniques and more traditional clustering methods to coarse-grain systems composed of many interacting components and to identify the most important interactions.

This thesis focuses on two main themes: the analysis of financial systems and the study of network communities, an important mesoscopic feature of many networks. In the first part of the thesis, we discuss some of the issues associated with the analysis of financial data and investigate the potential for risk-free profit in the foreign exchange market. We then use principal component analysis (PCA) to identify common features in the correlation structure of different financial markets. In the second part of the thesis, we focus on network communities. We investigate the evolving structure of foreign exchange (FX) market correlations by representing the correlations as time-dependent networks and investigating the evolution of network communities. We employ a node-centric approach that allows us to track the effects of the community evolution on the functional roles of individual nodes and uncovers major trading changes that occurred in the market. Finally, we consider the community structure of networks from a wide variety of different disciplines. We introduce a framework for comparing network communities and use this technique to identify networks with similar mesoscopic structures. Based on this similarity, we create taxonomies of a large set of networks from different fields and individual families of networks from the same field.


Our identification of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) led us to examine the incidence of this organism in the CSF from 17 patients with relapsing–remitting MS, 20 patients with progressive MS, and 27 patients with other neurological diseases (OND). CSF samples were examined for C pneumoniae by culture, polymerase chain reaction assays, and CSF immunoglobulin (Ig) reactivity with C pneumoniae elementary body antigens. C pneumoniae was isolated from CSF in 64% of MS patients versus 11% of OND controls. Polymerase chain reaction assays demonstrated the presence of C pneumoniae MOMP gene in the CSF of 97% of MS patients versus 18% of OND controls. Finally, 86% of MS patients had increased CSF antibodies to C pneumoniae elementary body antigens as shown by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay absorbance values that were 3 SD greater than those seen in OND controls. The specificity of this antibody response was confirmed by western blot assays of the CSF, using elementary body antigens. Moreover, CSF isoelectric focusing followed by western blot assays revealed cationic antibodies against C pneumoniae. Infection of the central nervous system with C pneumoniae is a frequent occurrence in MS patients. Although the organism could represent the pathogenetic agent of MS, it may simply represent a secondary infection of damaged central nervous system tissue. A therapeutic trial directed at eliminating C pneumoniae from the central nervous system may provide additional information on its role in MS. Ann Neurol 1999;46:6–14


This book is intended to provide the reader with a firm conceptual and empirical understanding of basic information-theoretic econometric models and methods. Because most data are observational, practitioners work with indirect noisy observations and ill-posed econometric models in the form of stochastic inverse problems. Consequently, traditional econometric methods in many cases are not applicable for answering many of the quantitative questions that analysts wish to ask. After initial chapters deal with parametric and semiparametric linear probability models, the focus turns to solving nonparametric stochastic inverse problems. In succeeding chapters, a family of power divergence measure-likelihood functions are introduced for a range of traditional and nontraditional econometric-model problems. Finally, within either an empirical maximum likelihood or loss context, Ron C. Mittelhammer and George G. Judge suggest a basis for choosing a member of the divergence family.


The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of formative assessment practices on students' academic achievement, attitudes toward lessons, and self-regulation skills in the fifth-grade social studies class. Mixed method research was used to conduct the study. The research group consisted of 45 students in the fifth grade of a secondary school in Erzurum in the academic year 2014–2015, and a teacher who performed the practices. Experimental procedures were carried out for 28 weeks. Social studies performance tests, attitude inventories for social studies classes, self-regulatory learning skills scales, semi-structured interview forms, and observation forms were all used as data collection instruments. As a result of the research, it was determined that the experimental group in which the formative assessment practices were performed had a significantly higher academic achievement levels and better attitudes toward the class than the students did in the control group. With regard to the students' self-regulation skills, although the formative assessment had a positive effect, no significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups. According to the researcher's observations and the interviews conducted with the teacher and students, it was determined that the general view on the application of formative assessment was notably positive.


Background: Celiac disease is an auto-immune disorder characterized by clinical manifestations that appear in genetically predisposed subjects after gluten ingestion. In the last years, there has been a progressive change in clinical manifestations. Our aim was to evaluate the nutritional status of children with celiac disease at diagnosis and how the gluten-free diet (GFD) influences their growth. Methods: A search on PubMed/Medline was performed using "celiac disease", "body mass index" and "children" as key words. Medline, Scopus, PubMed publisher and Google Scholar were searched as well. We selected clinical studies describing the nutritional status of patients before and after GFD using indicators like height, weight, BMI, skeletal age. We excluded papers referred to adult population or in which other diseases were related to celiac disease. Also literature-reviews were excluded. Results: From 1999 to 2018, 10 studies were found. Overall, 1383 patients in pediatric age were evaluated for their nutritional status at diagnosis of celiac disease and after a variable period from 1 to 17 years of GFD. Indicators considered were height, weight, BMI and skeletal age. Conclusions: the nutritional status of celiac patients at diagnosis is variable including an increasing number of overweight and obese. GFD has a beneficial impact on growth changes determining a correction of BMI distribution towards a Gaussian shape. (www.actabiomedica.it)


Sachdeva's multiphase choke flow model has capabilities of predicting critical-subcritical boundary and liquid and gas flow rates for given upstream and downstream pressures. Although this model was shown to be accurate by Sachdeva et al. in their original paper using laboratory and field data, inaccuracy of the model has been found in other field applications. It is highly desirable for production engineers to find the applicability of this model when it is applied to gas condensate wells. In this study, the accuracy of the Sachdeva's choke model was evaluated using data from oil and gas condensate wells in Southwest Louisiana. Comparisons of the results from the model and field measurements indicate that Sachdeva's choke model generally under-estimates gas and condensate flow rates. Based on measurements from 239 gas condensate wells it was found that the model under-estimates gas rate and liquid rate by as much as 40% and 60%, respectively. The model also failed to calculate mass flow rates for 48 condensate wells where relatively low-pressure differentials at chokes and highflow rates were observed. The investigation further went on to improve the performance of Sachdeva's choke model. It was found that the error of the model could be minimized using different values of choke discharge coefficient (CD). For gas condensate wells, the error in gas flow rate calculations can be minimized using CD = 1.073. However, the error in liquid flow rate calculations for condensate wells is minimum when CD = 1.532.


A comprehensive physical model of adiabatic three-wave mixing is developed for the fully nonlinear regime, i.e., without making the undepleted pump approximation. The conditions for adiabatic evolution are rigorously derived, together with an estimate of the bandwidth of the process. Furthermore, these processes are shown to be robust and efficient. Finally, numerical simulations demonstrate adiabatic frequency conversion in a wide variety of physically attainable configurations.


This revised lecture is an exploration of our psychological attitudes underlying climate change and ecological crisis. The central question is whether psychological insights can contribute to the collective change we need to make towards sustainable living. Part One explores two major myths that underpin Western culture: The Myth of the Fall and The Myth of Progress. Our readings of these stories keep us trapped in destructive ways of living. In particular, Western culture has developed a long-held fear of wild nature, both inner and outer. Civilization is experienced as a defence against nature. This stands in contrast to an indigenous worldview, where humans respect the balance that needs to be kept between humans and the rest of nature. How do we find a way of working with nature in this modern age? Part Two explores our personal responses to, and fantasies about, sustainable living. Consumerism has become an opiate of the people, in order to subdue our wild internal nature. Such an addictive relationship blocks us from thinking, and prevents us from taking action. Recovery involves reinhabiting our bodies, developing what Naess describes as an ecological identity. Part Three explores how these issues might enter into our work as therapists and how we might respond. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The role of surface, and subsurface hydrogen species in olefin cis-trans isomerization and hydrogenation over a model Pd/Fe(3)O(4)/Pt(111) catalyst was investigated by pulsed molecular beam experiments and infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy. We show that non-equivalent hydrogen species are involved in the two reaction pathways: whereas cis-trans isomerization proceeds with the surface hydrogen species, the presence of hydrogen absorbed in the subsurface region of Pd particles is required for the hydrogenation pathway. The activity and selectivity toward both reaction channels was found to significantly change on Pd particles when they are modified with strongly dehydrogenated carbonaceous deposits. Sustained hydrogenation activity was observed only on C-precovered particles, whereas sustained cis-trans isomerization proceeds on both C-free and C-containing catalyst. We discuss the possible microscopic origins of this effect.


Subunit 9 of mitochondriat ATPase (Su9) is synthesized in reticulocyte lysates programmed with Neurospora poly A-RNA, and in a Neurospora cell free system as a precursor with a higher apparent molecular weight than the mature protein (Mr 16,400 vs. 10,500). The RNA which directs the synthesis of Su9 precursor is associated with free polysomes. The precursor occurs as a high molecular weight aggregate in the postribosomal supernatant of reticulocyte lysates. Transfer in vitro of the precursor into isolated mitochondria is demon- strated. This process includes the correct proteolytic cleavage of the precursor to the mature form. After transfer, the protein acquires the following properties of the assembled subunit: it is resistant to added protease, it is soluble in chloroform/methanol, and it can be immunopre- cipitated with antibodies to FI-ATPase. The precursor to Su9 is also detected in intact cells after pulse labeling. Processing in vivo takes place posttranslationally. It is inhibited by the uncoupler carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). A hypothetical mechanism is discussed for the intracellular transfer of Su9. It entails synthesis on free polysomes, release of the precursor into the cytosol, recognition by a receptor on the mitochondrial surface, and transfer into the inner mitochondrial membrane, which is accom- panied by proteolytic cleavage and which depends on an electrical potential across the inner mitochondrial membrane.


Importance: Neuropsychiatric behaviors of persons with dementia, including agitation, aggression, and rejection of care, are almost universal; occur throughout the disease process; and have negative consequences for both persons with dementia and their caregivers. Nonpharmacological approaches are now recognized as first-line treatment to address these behaviors. One promising approach is activity tailored to the person's interests, abilities, and physical and social environment. An evidence-based program, New Ways for Better Days: Tailoring Activities for Persons With Dementia and Their Caregivers (TAP), draws on occupational therapy principles (person–environment–occupation fit, activity analysis) to meaningfully engage persons with dementia. Objective: This case report describes the TAP protocol and clinical reasoning processes underlying use of tailored activities as a therapeutic modality to address dementia-related neuropsychiatric behaviors. Design: This is a case study of an African-American woman in her 60s caring for her father, age 92, who has severe dementia and multiple behaviors. Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcomes in this case report include the person with dementia's engagement in an activity and the reported neuropsychiatric behaviors. In addition, the caregiver's confidence in using activities is reported. These and other measures from the TAP protocol are described in full. Results: After working with an occupational therapist for eight sessions, the person with dementia's engagement in activity increased by 50% and his frequency of vocal disturbance decreased, and the caregiver felt more confident in using activities with her father. Conclusion and Relevance: This case report illustrates how occupational therapists working with families of persons with dementia can use the TAP protocol to help them manage neuropsychiatric behaviors by tailoring activities. What This Article Adds: Occupational therapists are uniquely qualified to systematically assess the cognitive functioning of persons with dementia, caregivers, and home environments and to integrate this information to derive and implement activities tailored to the person's capacities and context, thereby reducing neuropsychiatric behaviors and increasing engagement in meaningful activity.


Mutations in sarcomere protein genes can cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disorder characterized by myocyte enlargement, fibrosis, and impaired ventricular relaxation. Here, we demonstrate that sarcomere protein gene mutations activate proliferative and profibrotic signals in non-myocyte cells to produce pathologic remodeling in HCM. Gene expression analyses of non-myocyte cells isolated from HCM mouse hearts showed increased levels of RNAs encoding cell-cycle proteins, Tgf-β, periostin, and other profibrotic proteins. Markedly increased BrdU labeling, Ki67 antigen expression, and periostin immunohistochemistry in the fibrotic regions of HCM hearts confirmed the transcriptional profiling data. Genetic ablation of periostin in HCM mice reduced but did not extinguish non-myocyte proliferation and fibrosis. In contrast, administration of Tgf-β-neutralizing antibodies abrogated non-myocyte proliferation and fibrosis. Chronic administration of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist losartan to mutation-positive, hypertrophy-negative (prehypertrophic) mice prevented the emergence of hypertrophy, non-myocyte proliferation, and fibrosis. Losartan treatment did not reverse pathologic remodeling of established HCM but did reduce non-myocyte proliferation. These data define non-myocyte activation of Tgf-β signaling as a pivotal mechanism for increased fibrosis in HCM and a potentially important factor contributing to diastolic dysfunction and heart failure. Preemptive pharmacologic inhibition of Tgf-β signals warrants study in human patients with sarcomere gene mutations.


Existing ICT implementation are largely top-down in their information flow: from experts to target groups. Merely incorporating indigenous knowledge within this structure places it at a considerable disadvantage. A wealth of knowledge is already available within the developing world, particularly with regard to health and agriculture, two spheres of great impact on their populations. This knowledge is by definition, culturally sensitive and context-specific. It needs to be acknowledged, validated, reinforced, disseminated, innovated upon and preserved through practice. A bottom-up approach may provide a more realistic opportunity to capture the ideals of people-centred, need-based sustainable development. This paper argues the need for a bottom-up process in which indigenous knowledge systems are placed at the heart of the process of education for sustainable development. It also indicates how ICT may be used to facilitate such an approach. *Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, India. email@example.com


The level of broadcast sound is usually limited to prevent overmodulation of the transmitted signal. To increase the loudness of broadcast sounds, especially commercials, fast-acting amplitude compression is often applied. This allows the root-mean-square (rms) level of the sounds to be increased without exceeding the maximum permissible peak level. In addition, even for a fixed rms level, compression may have an effect on loudness. To assess whether this was the case, we obtained loudness matches between uncompressed speech (short phrases) and speech that was subjected to varying degrees of four-band compression. All rms levels were calculated off line. We found that the compressed speech had a lower rms level than the uncompressed speech (by up to 3 dB) at the point of equal loudness, which implies that, at equal rms level, compressed speech sounds louder than uncompressed speech. The effect increased as the rms level was increased from 50 to 65 to 80 dB SPL. For the largest amount of compression used here, the compression would allow about a 58% increase in loudness for a fixed peak level (equivalent to a change in level of about 6 dB). With a slight modification, the model of loudness described by Glasberg and Moore [1] was able to account accurately for the results.


We have developed and validated a methodology for determining the antibody composition of the polyclonal serum response after immunization. Pepsin-digested serum IgGs were subjected to standard antigen-affinity chromatography, and resulting elution, wash, and flow-through fractions were analyzed by bottom-up, liquid chromatography–high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Identification of individual monoclonal antibodies required the generation of a database of IgG variable gene (V-gene) sequences constructed by NextGen sequencing of mature B cells. Antibody V-gene sequences are characterized by short complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of high diversity adjacent to framework regions shared across thousands of IgGs, greatly complicating the identification of antigen-specific IgGs from proteomically observed peptides. By mapping peptides marking unique VH CDRH3 sequences, we identified a set of V-genes heavily enriched in the affinity chromatography elution, constituting the serum polyclonal response. After booster immunization in a rabbit, we find that the antigen-specific serum immune response is oligoclonal, comprising antibodies encoding 34 different CDRH3s that group into 30 distinct antibody VH clonotypes. Of these 34 CDRH3s, 12 account for ∼60% of the antigen-specific CDRH3 peptide mass spectral counts. For comparison, antibodies with 18 different CDRH3s (12 clonotypes) were represented in the antigen-specific IgG fraction from an unimmunized rabbit that fortuitously displayed a moderate titer for BSA. Proteomically identified antibodies were synthesized and shown to display subnanomolar affinities. The ability to deconvolute the polyclonal serum response is likely to be of key importance for analyzing antibody responses after vaccination and for more completely understanding adaptive immune responses in health and disease.


Mass bleaching associated with unusually high sea temperatures represents one of the greatest threats to corals and coral reef ecosystems. Deeper reef areas are hypothesized as potential refugia, but the susceptibility of Scleractinian species over depth has not been quantified. During the most severe bleaching event on record, we found up to 83% of coral cover severely affected on Maldivian reefs at a depth of 3–5 m, but significantly reduced effects at 24–30 m. Analysis of 153 species' responses showed depth, shading and species identity had strong, significant effects on susceptibility. Overall, 73.3% of the shallow-reef assemblage had individuals at a depth of 24–30 m with reduced effects, potentially mitigating local extinction and providing a source of recruits for population recovery. Although susceptibility was phylogenetically constrained, species-level effects caused most lineages to contain some partially resistant species. Many genera showed wide variation between species, including Acropora, previously considered highly susceptible. Extinction risk estimates showed species and lineages of concern and those likely to dominate following repeated events. Our results show that deeper reef areas provide refuge for a large proportion of Scleractinian species during severe bleaching events and that the deepest occurring individuals of each population have the greatest potential to survive and drive reef recovery.


Rotor systems have been extensively used in a variety of industrial applications. However an unexpected failure may cause a break down of the rotational machinery, resulting in production and significant economic losses. Efficient incipient fault diagnosis is therefore critical to the machinery normal operation. Noise and vibration analysis is popular and effective for the rotor fault diagnosis. One of the key procedures in the fault diagnosis is feature extraction and selection. Literature review indicates that only limited research considered the nonlinear property of the feature space by the use of manifold learning algorithms in the field of mechanical fault diagnosis, and nonlinear feature extraction for rotor multi-fault detection has not been studied. This paper reports a new development based on a novel supervised manifold learning algorithm (adaptive locally linear embedding) applied to nonlinear feature extraction for rotor multiple defects identification. The adaptive locally linear embedding (ALLE) combines with the adaptive nearest neighbour algorithm and supervised locally linear embedding (LLE) to provide an adaptive supervised learning. Hence, distinct nonlinear features could be extracted from high-dimensional dataset effectively. Based on ALLE, a new fault diagnosis approach has been proposed. The independent component analysis (ICA) was firstly employed to separate the faulty components of the rotor vibration from the observation data. Then wavelet transform (WT) was used to decompose the recovered signals, and statistical features of frequency bands were hence calculated. Lastly, ALLE was applied to learn the low-dimensional intrinsic structure of the original feature space. The experiments on vibration data of single and coupled rotor faults have demonstrated that sensitive fault features can be extracted efficiently after the ICA-WT-ALLE processing, and the proposed diagnostic system is effective for the multi-fault identification of the rotor system. Furthermore, the proposed method achieves higher performance in terms of the classification rate than other feature extraction methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) and locally linear embedding (LLE).


Background and aims: The main purpose of this study was to assess the acute and chronic effects of occupational exposure to low levels of formaldehyde on respiratory health. Methods: This historical cohort study was conducted at a local melamine-formaldehyde resin producing plant. The study population consisted of seventy exposed and 24 non-exposed (referent) employees. In this study, a questionnaire was used to evaluate and determined the prevalence of respiratory symptoms. Atmospheric concentrations of formaldehyde were measured at different areas of the plant. Similarly, using a spirometer, the parameters of pulmonary function were measured during exposure and a few days after exposure ceased. Results: Atmospheric concentrations of formaldehyde marginally exceeded current permissible levels. Additionally, significant decrements in some parameters of pulmonary function, both during and after exposure were noted. However, a relative recovery in lung functional capacity observed following temporary cessation of exposure. Furthermore, exposed workers had higher prevalence rates of regular cough, wheezing, phlegm, shortness of breath, chest tightness and episodes of chest illness associated with cold. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that exposure to formaldehyde may induce respiratory symptoms, acute partially reversible and chronic irreversible functional impairments of the lungs.


Aims: To compare the relative efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT), PDT associated with intravitreal triamcinolone (PDT–IT) and PDT associated with periocular triamcinolone (PDT–PT) for treatment of retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) stage III. Methods: Retrospective, interventional, non-randomised multicentric study. The files, optical coherence tomography scans, indocyanine green and fluorescein angiograms of patients with RAP stage III who had been referred to a regional centre for PDT were retrospectively examined. Final visual acuity and chorioretinal atrophy were considered to be the main outcome indicators. The need to re-treat and recurrences were also considered. Results: Forty-two eyes were treated by PDT as monotherapy, 18 eyes by PDT–PT, and 19 eyes by PDT–IT. The mean (SD) age in each group was 79.1 (5.2), 77.0 (5.9) and 80.2 (5.1) years, respectively. The mean (SD) initial best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.17 (0.19), 0.21 (0.20) and 0.20 (0.18), respectively. Mean BCVA was 0.14 (0.19), 0.17 (0.15) and 0.17 (0.23), respectively, at 6 months (p = 0.27, 0.33 and 0.21, respectively) and 0.12 (0.18), 0.10 (0.10) and 0.17 (0.26), respectively, at 12 months (p = 0.12, 0.05 and 0.60, respectively, comparing vision at 6 months and 12 months with baseline; Student t test for paired data). Retinal pigment epithelium rips appeared in three eyes in group 1, in one eye in group 2, and in two eyes in group 3. Conclusion: Combined PDT–IT may offer better results than PDT monotherapy or PDT–PT in patients with RAP stage III.


This study investigates possible links between temporary separation from parents in childhood due to evacuation in World War 2 and later psychological development and adult relationships. The conclusions from an earlier qualitative pilot study had suggested that the developmental outcome of evacuation was perceived by those involved as lying on a continuum, at one extreme the experience was 'life-enhancing' and at the other it had left an 'emotional legacy' depending on an individual's experience. This present lifespan survey using self report questionnaires and involving 900 respondents from the county of Kent confirmed these perceptions and examined whether they were reflected by measures of mental health, marital history and adult attachment. The methodology employed univariate and multivariate analyses, including causal structural models of depression for both sexes, and involved both childhood and life-course mediating variables. In terms of mental health highly significant associations were found for the evacuation experience variables of Age at Evacuation and Care Received with the Incidence of Depression, Clinical Anxiety and Factor 2, Self-criticism, of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (Blatt et al., 1976), all in the predicted sense. Females were found to be particularly vulnerable to Clinical Anxiety if evacuated at 10-12 years with an incidence of 18%, accompanied by a high level of Selfcriticism. Structural path models for the onset of depression confirmed that females not only had higher levels of Factor 1, Dependency, but were more vulnerable to these levels. Divorce rates were also highly associated with these same evacuation variables and multiple divorce rates for both sexes fell from 10%, if evacuated at 4-6 years, to 0% for those evacuated at 13-15 years. Adult attachment style measured by the self-report Relationship Questionnaire (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) was also affected, with a fall in the Fearful style from 25% to 7% with increasing age at evacuation. Overall there was a tendency for male respondents to move to the Dismissive and females to the Fearful styles when secure attachment was lost. It is believed that such a lifespan development study, based on an 'experiment in nature' and involving an ageing cohort, has potential value in influencing future policy in the fields of mental health and social care. This survey is dedicated to Diana who inspired me with her story to Vigdis who provided encouragement and support over many years to 'Bonnie' who ensured I got two good walks a day to drive the cobwebs away and to all those 'evacuees' who generously shared their experiences and feelings with me and are the heart of this work


This study proposes a method for the diagnosis of real water loss and for the actions which reduce this problem in water distribution systems. By adopting the parameters involved in the evaluation of real water loss, actions targeting combat and reduction of loss are prioritized, which allows for the optimization of the available resources. The topic of water loss reduction has recently been widely discussed, which is especially related to advances in information technology and to the availability of data within Brazilian water supply systems. The greater Sao Paulo area is one of the world's most populated areas, with 20 million inhabitants. The Water System Cantatereira of Sao Paulo is very important in this area, supplying water to 60% of the entire population. In this system, one of the most relevant distributors is the Casa Verde Sector, composed of 84.2 kilometers of water distribution networks, 11,002 connections, and 16,891 homes, all with a water flow of 201.9 l/s. With the employment of geophones, listening stems and leak noise correlation, non-visible leaks were detected in this important and complex system, when water flow and pressure were recorded. All data was analyzed and correlated with information in the Geographic Information System (GIS). This study presents the results yielded by analyzes carried out with the software Water Audit 4. This software can be applied to any water supply system and is provided at no cost by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). It was concluded that the Casa Verde Sector must develop a specific strategy for water loss reduction, based on the renovation of the facilities and on the method of storage used for pressure data.


Ultra wideband (UWB) is a radio technology in which the transmission of information is done over a large bandwidth with very short pulses at low energy levels. UWB technology has gained a high popularity in the field of short-range wireless communications. UWB provides significant benefits like position location capability, reduced fading effects, and higher channel capacity. UWB technology is very desirable because of its certain characteristics like low power consumption, cost reliability and simple architecture. However, UWB systems face challenges regarding system design to achieve low complexity and low cost. UWB systems need high sampling frequencies and face problems while using digital signal processing technology. In this thesis, first, the comparison of transmitted reference (TR), multi-differential frequency shifted reference (MD-FSR) and code shifted reference (CSR) is done in terms of BER performance and system complexity. The simulation results validate that the CSR-UWB system has better BER performance and lower complexity than MD FSR-UWB system. Secondly, cooperative communication is implemented for CSR-UWB. The system BER performance of the CSR impulse-based cooperative UWB communication system is evaluated for different number of relays and different average distances between source node and destination node. The simulations are carried out under both line of sight (LOS) and non-line of sight (NLOS) environments. The simulation results show that the performance of the system decreases with the increase in average source-to-destination distance. We also observe that the system performs better under an environment of LOS channel than under an environment of NLOS channel. Finally, the results validate that the system performs better as the number of relay nodes increases until it reaches an adequately large number.


Hox genes are major regulators of embryonic development. One of their most conserved functions is to coordinate the formation of specific body structures along the anterior-posterior (AP) axis in Bilateria. This architectural role was at the basis of several morphological innovations across bilaterian evolution. In this review, we traced the origin of the Hox patterning system by considering the partnership with PBC and Meis proteins. PBC and Meis belong to the TALE-class of homeodomain-containing transcription factors and act as generic cofactors of Hox proteins for AP axis patterning in Bilateria. Recent data indicate that Hox proteins acquired the ability to interact with their TALE partners in the last common ancestor of Bilateria and Cnidaria. These interactions relied initially on a short peptide motif called hexapeptide (HX), which is present in Hox and non-Hox protein families. Remarkably, Hox proteins can also recruit the TALE cofactors by using specific PBC Interaction Motifs (SPIMs). We describe how a functional Hox/TALE patterning system emerged in eumetazoans through the acquisition of SPIMs. We anticipate that interaction flexibility could be found in other patterning systems, being at the heart of the astonishing morphological diversity observed in the animal kingdom.


Lung transplantation is a surgical option to replace a diseased lung with a healthy lung from a donor. This surgical process causes stop of blood flow from the point of organ retrieval or procurement followed by cold and warm storage phase (ischemia), followed by the re-instatement of blood flow with implantation (reperfusion) that occurs upon transplant. The injury incurred during ischemia (retrieval and storage) together with the injury from reperfusion (I/R injury) is considered as the main driver of onset of primary graft dysfunction (PGD). PGD is a multifactorial injury that is characterized by cellular infiltrates and severe oxidative damage; it occurs within 24 h post-transplant and is a critical factor in determining transplant outcome. PGD occurs in large part due to inflammation post-transplant when polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are recruited to and adhere to the endothelium of the lung, transmigrate and release reactive oxygen species (ROS). Recognizing the role of PMN in poor transplant outcome, the clinical strategy at present is to block PMN activation by a non-specific immunosuppression regimen administered to the transplant recipient.As immunosuppression therapy has severe side effects, alternate means of blocking and inhibiting inflammation in the lung are being considered. The binding of PMN to the endothelium is a prerequisite of inflammation; thus our research is focused on the endothelium of the donor lung so as to block endothelial signals that facilitate its bindingto PMN. Such a strategy of inhibiting the moieties on the vascular wall so that as prevent donor lung endothelial interaction with the recipient's PMN is an early intervention and has the potential to prevent injury completely. In contrast, immunosuppression involves minimizing influx and recruitment of PMN and immune cells after the initial adherence and binding that would take place immediately upon transplant. Our extensive work on lung storage or ischemia shows that the pulmonary endothelium responds to stop of blood flow by a signaling cascade that involves K ATP channel closure, PI3Kinase activation and assembly of the enzyme NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) leading to the generation of ROS. We found that the ROS thus produced triggers the onset of an inflammation cascade during the storage period itself, ahead of the transplant event. Onset of inflammation causes damage to the donor lung during storage thus affecting donor lung availability; additionally it can potentially drive immune cell recruitment via inflamed lung vessel wall. Thus optimal storage conditions such as keeping the lung (organ) perfused or inhibiting ischemia induced signaling by blocking K ATP closure, PI3K activation or NOX2 assembly may potentially preserve lung viability and minimize inflammation and injury post-transplant.


Cyanide is a great threat to public health, environmental safety and homeland security because of its extremely high toxicity and widespread usage in industry. Countering such a threat can be greatly aided by a rapid, sensitive, on-site detection method. Here, a pinhole shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS) technique for cyanide sensing has been established, and a limit of detection lower to 1 µg l−1 level in water was achieved on a portable Raman spectrometer, owing to the magnificent local electromagnetic field enhancement generated by the interaction between cyanide anion and the uncovered Au surface inside the pinholes. Meanwhile, the silica shell outside the Au core could significantly improve the stability of the substrate by preventing the dissolution of Au in cyanide solution, thereby making this assay more feasible for practical use. The linear range was from 1 to 100 µg l−1 with excellent selectivity over thiocyanide and other common ions. For applications on complex matrices such as polluted water, beverages etc., a simple online hydrogen generator was designed and successfully coupled with pinhole SHINERS to achieve a good measurement of cyanide. This pinhole SHINERS-based method is rapid, simple, with good stability and feasibility for the in-field detection of cyanide, and we hope that it will further raise more opportunities for portable SERS applications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


During the past few decades, obesity has risen significantly in the United States with recent estimates showing that 65% of Americans are overweight and 30% are obese. This increase is a major cause for concern because obesity is linked to many secondary health consequences that include type II diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Current approaches to the obesity problem primarily have focused on controls of food intake and have been largely unsuccessful. Food, however, almost always has to be acquired (foraging) and frequently is stored for later consumption (hoarding). Therefore, a more comprehensive approach that includes studying the underlying mechanisms in human foraging and food hoarding behaviors could provide an additional target for pharmaceutical or behavioral manipulations in the treatment and possibly prevention of obesity. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a particular peptide that provides a potent orexigenic drive to alter foraging, food hoarding (appetitive ingestive behaviors) and food intake (consummatory ingestive behaviors) in variety of species. NPY is predominantly produced in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) and has extensive efferent projections throughout the brain. Two target nuclei of ARC-NPY, the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH) and perifornical area (PFA), have been shown to mediate the effect of NPY on food intake in laboratory rats and mice, but nothing is known about the effect of ARC-NPY on foraging and food hoarding. In addition, the action of specific NPY receptor subtypes within these two nuclei for these behaviors is unknown. Even though ARC-NPY is one of the main sources of input into the PVH and PFA, it is not known if this NPY fiber projection mediates alterations in appetitive and consummatory ingestive behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to test 1) if NPY within the PVH or PFA controls appetitive, as well as, consummatory ingestive behaviors, 2) if NPY Y1 receptors within the PVH or PFA differentially control appetitive or consummatory ingestive behaviors, and 3) if NPY from the ARC is necessary for the control of appetitive and consummatory ingestive behaviors. INDEX WORDS: Obesity, Appetitive, Consummatory, Ingestive Behaviors, Food Hoarding, Neuropeptide Y (NPY) NEUROPEPTIDE Y-MEDIATED CONTROL OF APPETITIVE AND CONSUMMATORY INGESTIVE BEHAVIORS IN SIBERIAN HAMSTERS (PHODOPUS SUNGORUS)


The following chapters will explore and identify Naylor's key concerns and the issues she grapples with as a feminist, a novelist, and an African American woman of this time and age. Naylor's writings are juxtaposed with other associated texts, namely the writings of her predecessors and contemporaries. Such comparisons serve to contextualise Naylor's work, and more, to highlight the intertextuality within it, an intertextuality which heretofore had not been possible given the limited availability of literary works by African American women writers before the 1970s.The structure and form of Naylor's work are discussed in this thesis as are also the issues of women bonding, socio-economic oppression of proletarian women, the homogenisation of middle-class African Americans into the wider American society, women's sexuality, the language of women, "de-mythification", and the recasting of female characters in the retelling of tales. Although a feminist, Naylor has taken the unprecedented course of devoting her latest novel to the motivations, limitations and grievances of African American men, and consequently, one chapter in this thesis is also devoted to a study of black men, with emphasis on the male characters in Naylor's five novels. Naylor is as much a product as she is a part of the African American literary tradition, especially that of its women writers. The following is a study of the writings of a true daughter of African American literature, and increasingly, a young mother of the same.


Recent studies on the impacts of ocean acidification on pelagic communities have identified changes in carbon to nutrient dynamics with related shifts in elemental stoichiometry. In principle, mesocosm experiments provide the opportunity of determining temporal dynamics of all relevant carbon and nutrient pools and, thus, calculating elemental budgets. In practice, attempts to budget mesocosm enclosures are often hampered by uncertainties in some of the measured pools and fluxes, in particular due to uncertainties in constraining air–sea gas exchange, particle sinking, and wall growth. In an Arctic mesocosm study on ocean acidification applying KOSMOS (Kiel Off-Shore Mesocosms for future Ocean Simulation), all relevant element pools and fluxes of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus were measured, using an improved experimental design intended to narrow down the mentioned uncertainties. Water-column concentrations of particulate and dissolved organic and inorganic matter were determined daily. New approaches for quantitative estimates of material sinking to the bottom of the mesocosms and gas exchange in 48 h temporal resolution as well as estimates of wall growth were developed to close the gaps in element budgets. However, losses elements from the budgets into a sum of insufficiently determined pools were detected, and are principally unavoidable in mesocosm investigation. The comparison of variability patterns of all single measured datasets revealed analytic precision to be the main issue in determination of budgets. Uncertainties in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen (DON) and particulate organic phosphorus (POP) were much higher than the summed error in determination of the same elements in all other pools. With estimates provided for all other major elemental pools, mass balance calculations could be used to infer the temporal development of DOC, DON and POP pools.

Future elevated pCO2 was found to enhance net autotrophic community carbon uptake in two of the three experimental phases but did not significantly affect particle elemental composition. Enhanced carbon consumption appears to result in accumulation of dissolved organic carbon under nutrient-recycling summer conditions. This carbon over-consumption effect becomes evident from mass balance calculations, but was too small to be resolved by direct measurements of dissolved organic matter. Faster nutrient uptake by comparatively small algae at high CO2 after nutrient addition resulted in reduced production rates under future ocean CO2 conditions at the end of the experiment. This CO2 mediated shift towards smaller phytoplankton and enhanced cycling of dissolved matter restricted the development of larger phytoplankton, thus pushing the system towards a retention type food chain with overall negative effects on export potential.


The difficulty of managing and validating Action Research field studies has been widely discussed. Several different approaches to Action Research have emerged, and one of the most widely used models is Checkland's FMA model, where a framework is provided to facilitate interested individuals in 'recovering' the route of the inquiry. In this paper, I argue that the FMA model is a valuable tool for planning the application of theoretical ideas in a practical situation, but that, as a guide to Action Research, it still fails to provide a sense of the manner in which an inquiry is undertaken. The PEArL mnemonic has been previously offered as a guide to facilitate researchers, participants, and those interested in gaining an appreciation of the manner in which an inquiry is conducted. In this paper, it is argued that applying the PEArL elements does not provide insight into the dynamic nature of collaborative inquiry. In order to gain a sense of the manner in which an inquiry was undertaken it is necessary to apply the PEArL mnemonic alongside a framework that facilitates the flow of the action research cycle. To illustrate the framework, an Action Research field study is described that was undertaken with residents and key workers in a shelter for the homeless, where the aim was to create a shared understanding of complex needs and support requirements.


The evolution of early age mechanical properties and volume change of cement paste is performed through Finite Element analysis on a 3D computer-generated cement paste. The time evolution of the hydrating microstructure is generated by μic(mike), a vectorial hydration model which takes into account the Particle Size Distribution (PSD) of anhydrous cement particles, the w/c ratio, the filler content and different hydration kinetics mechanisms such as nucleation, growth and diffusion. The microstructure geometry is then discretized into a finite element mesh. At each hydration step, the capillary depression is computed according to Laplace-Kelvin equation and applied on the pore space generated by the hydration model. Then, the autogenous shrinkage corresponds to the overall load-free deformation of the computational volume. Two constitutive models are used. The first one is a purely elastic model where macroscopic stress depends on the total porosity only. The second one is a poroelastic model which takes into account the fluid-solid interaction and the de-saturation effect. In parallel to the modeling work, a systematic experimental study has been performed on series of white cement pastes prepared different finenesses and various water-cement ratios. Many characterization techniques were used in the experimental study: chemical shrinkage, evolution of relative humidity, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), x-ray diffraction (XRD), linear and volumetric autogenous shrinkage and ultrasonic wave propagation measurements. The numerical results are compared with experiment data and it is shown that the poroelastic model provides the best agreement to the experimental results. The remaining gap between the modeling and the experiment is discussed and future developments are outlined.


Part I.—Geology of the Highwood Mountains. SITUATION. The group of mountains of which a brief account is given in this paper form one of the detached mountain groups lying east of the Rocky Mountain Cordilleras and rising abruptly from the level plains of central Montana. A glance at the map of the state shows the Missouri river, born of the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin, in the mountain-encircled Gallatin valley, cutting its way in a general northward course through the outer ranges of the Rocky mountains until it debouches on the great open plains of the northwest. From here it turns in a rude arc, flowing eastward over the cataracts which have given rise and name to the city of Great Falls, and past Fort Benton, the head of steamboat navigation. In this arc, between the Missouri and the Little Belts, a front range of the Rocky mountains, the Highwood . . .


Bilateral lower extremity inflammatory lymphedema (BLEIL) is a recently described condition that presents with exquisite tenderness, erythema and edema of the lower leg, ankle and dorsal foot resembling an acute cellulitis. It was first reported in healthy, young adult military basic trainees with a normal body mass index during the first 72 hours of arrival to basic training. It occurs while standing at attention for many hours, and shows rapid resolution with elevation and rest. We report an additional case of BLEIL and describe the histopathology of this case and 2 of the previously reported cases. All 3 biopsies showed a deep perivascular infiltrate of neutrophils with karyorrhectic debris and prominent red blood cell extravasation. One of the 3 cases was positive for complement by direct immunofluorescence. We postulate this condition represents a deep leukocytoclastic vascultis with secondary reactive lymphedematous changes.


This paper studies the optimal extraction of a non-renewable resource under uncertainty using a discrete-time approach in the spirit of the literature on precautionary savings. We find that boundedness of the utility function, in particular the assumption about U(0), gives very different results in the two settings which are often considered as equivalent. For a bounded utility function, we show that in a standard two-period setting, prudence is no longer sufficient to ensure a more conservationist extraction policy than under certainty. If on the other hand we increase the number of periods to infinity, we find that prudence is not anymore not anymore necessary to induce a more conservationist extraction policy and risk aversion is sufficient. These results highlight the importance of the specification of the utility function and its behavior at the point of origin.


Soft-bodied and lightly sclerotized Chengjiang fossils have been found at more than ten new localities in the Lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi and Canglangpu formations of east central Yunnan. At the same time, three different fossil assemblages have been recognized, i.e. Kunmingella–Isoxys–Naraoia assemblage at Chengjiang, Kunmingella–Cricocosmia assemblage at Haikou, and Kunmingella–Wutingaspis–Obolus assemblage at Anning and Wuding. These sites yield new and striking specimens, such as a new tentacular animal, brachiopods with pedicles preserved, and the enigmatic Xidazoon (having mixed phyla characters), which are significant in our understanding of animal phylogeny. Above all, the appearance of diverse chordates and agnathans (vertebrates) greatly expands our knowledge of the Cambrian explosion. The discovery of soft-bodied fossils at many new localities and the very wide distribution of the Qiongzhusi Formation suggest that many more localities remain to be discovered. Here, a new early form of tentaculate, Cambrotentacus sanwuia gen. et sp. nov. (perhaps related to lophophorates and entoprocts), is described.


The southwest of Western Australia (SWWA) is an area of significant agricultural production and an internationally recognised biodiversity hotspot. The region has experienced marked rainfall reductions over the last four decades and there is uncertainty as to the extent of future changes to the hydrological regime. Hence, there is a need for regional climate information in SWWA to better inform climate adaptation strategies for several key sectors, including agriculture and forestry. The overarching aim of this project is to provide such information, with a focus on changes in rainfall and temperature extremes.

 The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used as a regional climate model for SWWA. Given the known sensitivity of WRF to physics options and driving data, the most appropriate physical parameterisations were tested on a yearly time-scale. Based on these findings, a 30-year climatology was produced for SWWA (1981-2010) at a 5 km resolution by downscaling ERA-Interim reanalysis. Comparisons against observations showed that the model was able to simulate the daily, seasonal and annual variation of temperature and precipitation well, including extreme events. The model was then used to downscale an ensemble of 4 general circulation models (GCMs) for the historical period (1970- 1999) and compared against both observations and the GCMs. WRF was shown to add value to the GCM data for 3 out of the 4 GCMs evaluated, particularly in the spatio-temporal distribution of winter rainfall.

Finally, the ensemble was run from 2030-2059 to examine projected climate change in SWWA. Results project that maximum temperature extremes will increase, consistent with mean changes however the variance of maximum temperatures is not projected to change significantly. While mean minimum temperatures are not projected to increase as much as maximum temperatures, there is strong evidence that the variability of minimum temperatures will increase. This has the potential to raise the likelihood of night time temperature extremes. Simulations project a reduction in rainfall, particularly during winter. This decline is related to fewer frontal systems traversing the SWWA and hence fewer rain days. The study found no evidence to suggest that the intensity of rain bearing winter storms is likely to change.


Building facilities compose a major part of any urban infrastructure. Despite their considerable economic, cultural and/or historic importance, several studies have shown that many buildings are sick, deteriorating and a major source of pollution. Maintaining a building is essential to keep it performing and functioning for a longer period of time as well as providing better quality of life for building occupants. Despite the importance of the condition assessment (CA) stage in the asset management process, literature review reveals that there is no building condition assessment framework that considers both physical and environmental conditions. Schools and educational facilities in Canada, which comprise a major component of the non-residential buildings sector, has passed 51% of their useful service life
 The primary objective of this research is to develop an Integrated Condition Assessment Model for Educational Buildings that considers both building physical and environmental conditions. This model will assist owners and facility managers in the condition assessment phase during the asset management process. As buildings are composed of spaces; this proposed model uses "space" as the principal element of evaluation. The Multi Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) is used to calculate the physical and environmental conditions of each space, and the K-mean clustering is conducted to calculate the integrated condition of each one. Data are collected from experts via questionnaires to assign relative weights to models' attributes using both the Analytical Network Process (ANP) and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques. The proposed methodology upgrades the use of an object-oriented Building Information Model (BIM) so that it can be used as a platform and an advanced tool for storing, exchanging, and transferring assessment data inputs as well as serving in the assessment process. Integrated Condition Assessment model for Buildings (ICAB) is the developed automated tool that integrates with Revit© 2011. This integration allows the BIM model to be used as the data source and to provide any required graphical representation.
The model is implemented and tested using data collected from experts and from field measurements taken from an educational building in Montreal. Finally, the model was validated by experts working in the facilities management field and they acknowledged having good potentials.


In Fourier transform profilometry (FTP), the measurement accuracy is greatly influenced by the phase errors induced by some inherent complications like the non-linear response of the optical system and filtering method for the fundamental frequency. In this paper, a new form of color pattern in the form of Ronchi fringes was proposed for enhanced surface measurement in FTP. The Ronchi pattern is structured with color channels red, green and blue that are spatially separated from one another and has a pulse width of 1/3 of its period. Since the proposed color Ronchi pattern has three color channels, three individual surface profiles of a distorted canvas were reconstructed from a single-shot image. A smoother surface profile was obtained by averaging the three reconstructed surfaces which provides lesser phase error. Moreover, compared to conventional sinusoidal patterns that has range of intensities (gray-value), the Ronchi pattern is single-valued which offers fast and simple fringe calibration. Reconstructions show that the proposed pattern can be effectively used for surface profilometry and effectively enhances the measurement for FTP method.


The initiative process was created originally to enable citizens to enact public policy directly and in so doing to overturn the dominion of interest groups and of state and local party machines. In recent years, initiatives have been thought to serve as a check on legislative authority and to provide the people with a means to pressure the legislature into adopting more public regarding policies. Indeed, the general consensus emerging from the most recent academic research is that, at their worst, initiatives are benign, while at their best, they serve to further the interests of electoral majorities. A few scholars, however, have found reason to pause in their celebration of the initiative, finding shortcomings in its process, its outcomes, or both. In this paper we argue that initiatives will only infrequently improve the public's welfare. We begin with a survey of the basic social choice and public choice critiques of the initiative process. We argue that, despite recent rigorous scholarly attention as to the effects of initiatives, we find little reason yet to reject the social and public choice criticisms of policy making via direct democracy. We then offer a series of anecdotes about the rise of crypto-initiatives, which are initiatives that use direct democracy as an instrument to achieve non-policy related goals. Finally, we conclude that the problems inherent in the initiative process are being magnified by the increase in crypto-initiatives and the rise of the crypto-political machines, the new 527 PACs, that sponsor them. Increasingly, the public welfare may be only an incidental consideration in the sponsorship, passage and implementation of initiatives. This in turns implies that we consider anew limiting or amending the initiative process.


Wealth transfer law reform in the United States has been almost singularly dominated by principles of donative autonomy and dispositional freedom. In its unhesitating pursuit of donor preference facilitation, however, wealth transfer law has overlooked important governmental interests in the regulation of gratuitous transfers. This Article proposes a novel unifying theory for regulating gifts, wills, and trusts by arguing that the law should better account for three aspects of the governmental stake in private wealth transfer: (1) the enforcement of criminal and civil laws, (2) the conservation and allocation of public financial resources, and (3) efficiency in the administration of justice. In light of these sovereignty principles, this Article then examines four contexts of wealth transfer law that exhibit missing or misplaced mandates that undermine governmental interests and, in some instances, donor preferences as well: (1) the permissible scope of trust privacy, (2) enforceability of disclaimers subject to government liens, (3) mandates imposing reformation and the admissibility of extrinsic evidence, and (4) the unenforceability of no contest and arbitration clauses. In each context, this Article proposes reforms to enhance doctrinal coherence and strike a more careful balance between governmental interests and individual autonomy.