Background: There is growing interest in advancing biobanking and genetic research in many countries, including India. Concurrently, more importance is being placed on participatory approaches involving the public and other stakeholders in addressing ethical issues and policymaking as part of a broader governance approach. We analyse the tools, purposes, outcomes and limitations of engaging people towards biobanking and genetic research governance that have been undertaken worldwide, and explore their relevance to India. Methods: Papers to be reviewed were identified through a targeted literature search carried out using ProQuest and PubMed. Retrieved papers were analysed with the R package for Qualitative Data Analysis using inductive coding and thematic analysis, guided by the Framework Method. Results: Empirical studies on public and community engagement in the context of biobanking and or genetic research show a predominance towards the end of the last decade, spanning 2007 to 2019. Numerous strategies—including public meetings, community durbars, focus group discussions, interviews, deliberations, citizen-expert panels and community advisory boards—have been used to facilitate communication, consultation and collaboration with people, at the level of general and specific publics. Engagement allowed researchers to understand how people's values, opinions and experiences related to the research process; and enabled participants to become partners within the conduct of research. Conclusions:  Constructs such as 'co-production', 'engagement of knowledges', 'rules of engagement' and 'stewardship' emerge as significant mechanisms that can address the ethical challenges and the governance of biobanking and genetic research in India. Given the inherent diversity of the Indian population and its varying cultural values and beliefs, there is a need to invest time and research funds for engagement as a continuum of participatory activity, involving communication, consultation and collaboration in relation to biobanking and genetic research. Further research into these findings is required to explore their effective employment within India


Building Integrated Photovoltaics' (BIPV) performance is improving rapidly. However, their potential is diminished because of several barriers. Due to its limited expressive quality, architects tend to avoid integrating BIPV in building design, more particularly, in facades. In order to bridge the gap between technology and design, this research aims at developing design strategies to integrate BIPV's expressive issues into today's facade construction, focusing on new collective residential dwellings. In this context, the poster presents the Advanced Active Facade (AAF) concept, which results from the analysis of facade's evolution, in terms of requirements and constructive solutions. The AAF benefits from passive low carbon design strategies and active BIPV technology. This system permits to meet low energy consumption targets and, by integrating BIPV expressive issues, it enables architects to play with a range of expressive parameters such as transparency, color and modulation.


Law is for humans. Humans suffer from cognitive limitations. Legal institutions can help humans by making these limitations irrelevant. This experiment shows that strong property rights serve this function. In theory, efficient outcomes obtain even without strong property rights. In a hypothetical world where cognitive ability is perfect, individuals would not engage in wasteful taking wars. A party would not take another's good, if she expects that the good will ultimately be taken back. By contrast, the large majority of experimental subjects takes a token good when interacting with a computer they know to maximize profit, and that has a symmetric ability to take the good back. Experience mitigates the inefficiency, but does not eliminate it; and in the real world relevant experience is often lacking. We show that cognitive limitations prevent weak property rights – imperfectly enforced property rules and liability rules with low damages – from securing efficient outcomes. Strong property rights should be preferred, because they are dummy proof.


Social evaluation functions used in policy impact analysis can be viewed as real-valued functionals of the underlying outcome distributions. Influence functions may be used to identify the sources of variation in social outcomes in terms of individual or household characteristics. This chapter sets forth in clear terms the definition of the influence function and recentered influence function, and catalogs these functions for a wide range of distributional statistics, including measures of central tendency, inequality, and poverty and also measures of the degree of pro-poorness of a shock- or policy-induced change in income levels.


Optomyography is the term chosen to name a device containing several reflective photosensors placed in an armband. The device is constructed so that it can measure muscle movements in the arm through the detection of skin structure variation. The aims of this research were to build such a device that is capable of expressing the structure changes in form of intensity changes in light emitting diodes and determine whether it is possible to distinguish different muscle movements. This was accomplished by designing and testing two different circuit schematics for Optomyography that differ depending on whether the outgoing signal is processed or not. The schematics were then used to build two electrical circuits of Optomyography that were tested with several subjects to see if they were functioning. The results show that only the version of Optomyography, which processes the outgoing signal with a high-pass filter and amplifies it, is able to detect muscle movements through skin structure variations. However, further investigation of the device is needed to see if different movements can be distinguished.


Cultural practices such as organic manure application can affect soil fertility and also insect pest and disease incidence on the plant. The effect of poultry manure application was therefore evaluated in relation to the infestation by major insect pests and disease of pepper in a humid tropical agro-ecosystem. Treatments comprised three varieties
of chilli pepper, Capsicum annum vars. tartashi and tarugu and Capsicum frutescens var. Birds eye chilli, and three Poultry Manure (PM) rates: 0, 20, and 40 t ha -1 , in all possible combinations. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Poultry manure (PM) used was found to be high in nitrogen (2%) but very low in available phosphorus (0.05 ppm) and potassium (0.24 meq/100g soil) as evidenced from the chemical analysis. Aphids ( Myzus persicae Sulzer and Aphis gossypii Glov .), mirids ( Helopeltis schoutedeni Reuter ), flea beetles ( Nisotra=Podagrica sjostedti Jacoby and Podagrica uniforma Jacoby ), variegated grasshoppers ( Zonocerus variegatus L. ), white flies ( Bemisia tabaci Genn. ) and striped blister beetles ( Epicauta albovittata Gestro ) were the insect pests sampled from the plants in the field. Symptoms of Pepper Veinal Mottle Virus (PVMV) were also evident. All the varieties were susceptible to PVMV with a disease incidence of between 37 and 45%. Counts taken at 100 days after transplanting (DAT) showed that increasing rates of poultry manure significantly (P Bemisia tabaci at 100 DAT and number of aborted fruits, on the other hand, did not differ significantly amongst the manure levels, varieties and their interactions. However, there was a progressive trend of increasing Bemisia infestation with increasing manure rate. Poultry manure at 20 t ha -1 produced the highest fruit weight. These results are discussed in light of soil fertility on the susceptibility of chilli pepper to insect pests and disease in this agro- ecology. Keywords : Poultry manure, Insect pests, Pepper veinal mottle virus. Agro-Science Vol. 5 (2) 2006: pp. 49-58


This paper considers the problem of inferring image labels from images when only a few annotated examples are available at training time. This setup is often referred to as low-shot learning, where a standard approach is to retrain the last few layers of a convolutional neural network learned on separate classes for which training examples are abundant. We consider a semi-supervised setting based on a large collection of images to support label propagation. This is possible by leveraging the recent advances on large-scale similarity graph construction. We show that despite its conceptual simplicity, scaling label propagation up to hundred millions of images leads to state of the art accuracy in the low-shot learning regime.


The German Generals who survived Hitler's Reich talk over World War II with Capt. Liddell Hart, noted British miltary strategist and writer. They speak as professional soldiers to a man they know and respect. For the first time, answers are revealed to many questions raised during the war. Was Hitler the genius of strategy he seemed to be at first? Why did his Generals never overthrow him? Why did Hitler allow the Dunkirk evacuation?Current interest, of course, focuses on the German Generals' opinion of the Red Army as a fighting force. What did the Russians look like from the German side? How did we look? And what are the advantages and disadvantages under which dictator-controlled armies fight?In vivid, non-technical language, Capt. Liddell Hart reports these interviews and evaluates the vital military lessons of World War II.


Aims. We use state-of-the-art, three-dimensional non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the quiet solar atmosphere to carry out detailed tests of chromospheric magnetic field diagnostics from free-free radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths (mm/submm).Methods. The vertical component of the magnetic field was deduced from the mm/submm brightness spectra and the degree of circular polarization synthesized at millimeter frequencies. We used the frequency bands observed by the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) as a convenient reference. The magnetic field maps obtained describe the longitudinal magnetic field at the effective formation heights of the relevant wavelengths in the solar chromosphere.Results. The comparison of the deduced and model chromospheric magnetic fields at the spatial resolution of both the model and current observations demonstrates a good correlation, but has a tendency to underestimate the model field. The systematic discrepancy of about 10% is probably due to averaging of the restored field over the heights contributing to the radiation, weighted by the strength of the contribution. On the whole, the method of probing the longitudinal component of the magnetic field with free-free emission at mm/submm wavelengths is found to be applicable to measurements of the weak quiet-Sun magnetic fields. However, successful exploitation of this technique requires very accurate measurements of the polarization properties (primary beam and receiver polarization response) of the antennas, which will be the principal factor that determines the level to which chromospheric magnetic fields can be measured. Conclusions. Consequently, high-resolution and high-precision observations of circularly polarized radiation at millimeter wavelengths can be a powerful tool for producing chromospheric longitudinal magnetograms.


If you ask most medical school deans if they have a course, program, or center doing bioethics, they will enthusiastically assure you that they do. And their enthusiasm for bioethics grows exponentially in proportion to their interest in showing that they are doing something about managing research ethics issues at their institutions. The same can be said about the entire biomedical research establishment--from private companies to independent research centers to professional organizations--bioethics is on the masthead, the organizational chart, and the agenda of the annual meeting. Not to worry--medicine's got ethics. It is certainly fine to feature bioethics as a topic area. But there is mounting evidence that perhaps bioethics is not all or even primarily what the doctor should be ordering just now. Some of the problems now ailing medicine require admitting that what has befallen medicine and the health sciences is an epistemological crisis as much as a moral one. Now this may seem an odd claim since it is hard, or rather, completely impossible, to avoid the phrase "evidence-based medicine" in the august halls of academic medical centers in the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand these days. There are journals, resource centers, toolkits, web sites, and more publications than anyone interested in evidence-based medicine could possibly ever read. So how could it be that a field that is embracing evidence at every turn, teaching about outcomes, drilling the need for verifiable data into the heads of the next generation, and extolling the virtue of evidence at every conference, meeting, seminar, and water-cooler, possibly be in the midst of an epistemological crisis? Where is the evidence? Contemporary medicine is sailing on very rocky seas these days. It is being buffeted by ever-rising costs, doubts about its efficacy, and intrusions on its turf from competitors that range from optometrists, psychologists, chiropractors, midwives, and nurse-anesthetists to the friendly folks at the herb and vitamin store. Recently, there seems to be real uncertainty on the part of medicine's leaders about what to say in the face of a continuing stream of fraud and misconduct. The editors of the Lancet, Science, Nature, and the New England Journal of Medicine--the key guardians of the evidence gates--face a stream of questions about how they plan to secure the gates following the shenanigans of the South Korean researcher who lied about producing stem cells from cloned human embryos and a Norwegian cancer researcher who fabricated findings about ways smokers could reduce their risk of acquiring oral cancer, and their tortured agonizing is painful to watch. Far from having an answer to the question of what distinguishes medicine as a mode of healing and a field capable of minimizing fraud, the leaders of the medical professional cling to the phrase "evidence-based medicine" as if intoning the word "evidence" will act as a talisman to keep all the troubles at bay. But the fervency of the embrace of evidence-based medicine reflects a deeper and much more serious problem among the stewards of medical knowledge--a crisis of faith in the methods, processes, and checks and balances that have, at least since the nineteenth century, been the infrastructure that has permitted medicine to make the transition from an art to a science. Consider the response to the recent battle over what to do about fetal pain. In the August 24, 2005, Journal of the American Medical Association, an article claimed that a review of all the available published medical evidence showed that fetuses do not feel pain until they are at least seven months old. The JAMA article appeared at a time when efforts are underway in Congress and state legislatures to use the topic of fetal pain as a way to discourage women from seeking elective abortions. The JAMA article contended that there is no medical evidence showing that fetuses can feel pain at twenty weeks. …


Selenium is a semimetallic element lying in group XVI of the periodic table with its chemical properties resembling sulfur. But owing to its relatively low electronegativity and large atomic radius compared with sulfur, selenium also shows unique properties. This feature endows selenium-containing compounds with high reactivity and sensitivity. Although organic selenium chemistry has been developing very fast, the successful introduction of selenium into polymer science is rather scarce. Fortunately, we have seen a drastic rising trend in the area of selenium-containing polymers over the past decade. In this Perspective, the synthetic routes of selenium-containing polymers are summarized, and their unique stimuli-responsive properties are elaborated on, together with their diverse applications in the field of adaptive and biomedical materials.


Jim O'Neill, one of the most influential economists today, shares his insights on how and why he developed one of the most compelling economic concepts of our time in "The Growth Map". "O'Neill has redefined how investors and Western business leaders see the world. This book tells the unlikely story of how O'Neill developed this path-breaking idea ...lively, powerful and highly accessible". (Gillian Tett, "Financial Times"). Ten years ago, Jim O'Neill predicted that globalization would help Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRICs) - busy, ambitious countries full of raw materials - overtake the largest Western economies. With all four BRIC nations set to do just that, no other idea has proved as significant for the new century. But these changes have provoked business and political uncertainty and in "The Growth Map" O'Neill examines what is coming next. Can the BRICs sustain their exceptional growth? Which nations will come next? And what, for all of us, does the future hold? "Goldman Sachs". (rock star' "Business Week"). "Sharp, shrewd. Tells the big story of our time. The fundamental shift of economic power from the West". (Niall Ferguson). "O'Neill has changed how the world thinks about economic growth - and how the BRICs think about themselves". (Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman And Ceo, Goldman Sachs). "One of the most sought-after economic commentators on the planet". ("Daily Telegraph"). Jim O'Neill is Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1995, rising to chief economist, and in 2001 he led the team that conducted the original BRIC analysis. He is chairman of the charity Shine, and a member of the boards of the UK Royal Economic Society, Itinera and Bruegel. He has a lifelong passion for Manchester United FC, and has served as a non-executive director of the club's board.


The coordination complexes of Co (II) and Cu (II) with the Schiff base derived from 4- aminoacetophenone and 1-acetonaphthone with 2-imino, 4-thiobiuret have been synthesized and characterized by micro analytical data, FT-ir and FAB mass spectral studies. Synthesized complexes have been tested for the reactivity and substitution behavior. The Schiff base and metal complexes shows a good activity against the Gram-positive bacteria; Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacteria; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium oxysporum fungal cultures.


In 1932, the groundbreaking physicist Wolfgang Pauli met the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Pauli was fascinated by the inner reaches of his own psyche and not afraid to dabble in the occult, while Jung looked to science for answers to the psychological questions that tormented him. Their rich friendship led them, in Jung's words, into "the no-man's land between physics and the psychology of the unconscious ...the most fascinating yet the darkest hunting ground of our times." Both were obsessed with the far-reaching significance of the number "137"-a primal number that seemed to hint at the origins of the universe itself. Their quest to solve its enigma led them on a lifelong journey into the ancient secrets of alchemy, the work of Johannes Kepler, and the Chinese Book of Changes. This is the captivating story of an extraordinary and fruitful collaboration between two of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century.


This paper proposes a field application of a high-level reinforcement learning (RL) control system for solving the action selection problem of an autonomous robot in cable tracking task. The learning system is characterized by using a direct policy search method for learning the internal state/action mapping. Policy only algorithms may suffer from long convergence times when dealing with real robotics. In order to speed up the process, the learning phase has been carried out in a simulated environment and, in a second step, the policy has been transferred and tested successfully on a real robot. Future steps plan to continue the learning process on-line while on the real robot while performing the mentioned task. We demonstrate its feasibility with real experiments on the underwater robot ICTINEU AUV.


BACKGROUND
Retear and stiffness are not uncommon outcomes of rotator cuff repair. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between rotator cuff repair healing and shoulder stiffness.

METHODS
A total of 1,533 consecutive shoulders had an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair by a single surgeon. Patients assessed their shoulder stiffness using a Likert scale preoperatively and at 1, 6, 12, and 24 weeks (6 months) postoperatively, and examiners evaluated passive range of motion preoperatively and at 6, 12, and 24 weeks postoperatively. Repair integrity was determined by ultrasound evaluation at 6 months.

RESULTS
After rotator cuff repair, there was an overall significant loss of patient-ranked and examiner-assessed shoulder motion at 6 weeks compared with preoperative measurements (p < 0.0001), a partial recovery at 12 weeks, and a full recovery at 24 weeks. Shoulders that were stiff before surgery were more likely to be stiff at 6, 12, and, to a lesser extent, 24 weeks after surgery (r = 0.10 to 0.31; p < 0.0001). A stiffer shoulder at 6 and 12 weeks (but not 24 weeks) postoperatively correlated with better rotator cuff integrity at 6 months postoperatively (r = 0.11 to 0.18; p < 0.001). The retear rate of patients with ≤20° of external rotation at 6 weeks postoperatively was 7%, while the retear rate of patients with >20° of external rotation at 6 weeks was 15% (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
In patients who developed stiffness after surgery, a rotator cuff repair was more likely to heal.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


A total of 116 adult frogs were captured from Moniya area of Ibadan and University of Ibadan Fish Farm, Oyo State of Nigeria between 31st March and 8th June 2009 and investigated for blood parasites by microscopic examination of stained blood films. Some haematological parameters were estimated. The mean packed cell volume, haemoglobin, red blood cells, white blood cells, platelet count, mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin concentration and mean cell haemoglobin of the samples from the low rain forest area of the south Western Nigeria were 26.90 and 29.67%, 8.85 and 9.83 g/dl, 2.71 and 2.73 × 106 µl-1, 15618.97 and 16704.31 × 103 µl-1, 173344.83 and 163124.14 ×109 µl-1, 102.83 and 117.67 fl, 32.95 and 33.80 g/dl, and 33.87 and 38.77 pg. Only haemoflagellate from the genus Trypanosoma was identified with different morphological forms which are attributed to Trypanosoma rotatorium complex. Prevalence of infection in the two study sites were estimated as 32.8 and 29.3%, respectively. The infected frogs had double nucleated red blood cells.

 Key words: Haematology,common frog, Rana temporaria, blood parasites, Ibadan.


It is has been established that sensory interactions, including sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, can affect consumers' consumption decisions. While various sensory interactions are devised in the offline context, ecommerce has to rely primarily on vision and hearing due to its inability to access other sensory. Previous IS literature has documented the substantial effects of various visual features. However, very few studies have examined auditory features. Drawing on the recent observation that medium noises enhance people's abstractive thinking and creativity, this study tries to investigate this topic from a novel perspective that ambient sounds can promote users' appreciation of innovative products when shopping online. The preliminary results of a lab experiment show that medium noise or music can improve participants' likelihood of buying innovative products over traditional products, and noise brings other negative effects (e.g. bad mood), while music do not. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.


Regression analysis fits predictive models to data on a response variable and corresponding values for a set of explanatory variables. Often data on the explanatory variables come at a cost from commercial databases, so the available budget may limit which ones are used in the final model. In this dissertation, two budget-constrained regression models are proposed for continuous and categorical variables respectively using Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) to choose the explanatory variables to be included in solutions. First, we propose a budgetconstrained linear regression model for continuous response variables. Properties such as solvability and global optimality of the proposed MINLP are established, and a data transformation is shown to significantly reduce needed big-Ms. Illustrative computational results on realistic retail store data sets indicate that the proposed MINLP outperforms the statistical software outputs in optimizing the objective function under a limit on the number of explanatory variables selected. Also our proposed MINLP is shown to be capable of selecting the optimal combination of explanatory variables under a budget limit covering cost of acquiring data sets. A budget-constrained and /or count-constrained logistic regression MINLP model is also proposed for categorical response variables limited to two possible discrete values. Alternative transformations to reduce needed big-Ms are included to speed up the solving process. Computational results on realistic data sets indicate that the proposed optimization model is able to select the best choice for an exact number of explanatory variables in a modest amount of time, and these results frequently outperform standard heuristic methods in terms of minimizing the negative log-likelihood function. Results also show that the method can compute the best choice of explanatory variables affordable within a given budget. Further study adjusting the objective function to minimize the Bayesian Information Criterion BIC value instead of negative log-likelihood function proves that the new optimization model can also reduce the risk of over-fitting by introducing a penalty term to the objective function which grows with the number of parameters. Finally we present two refinements in our proposed MINLP models with emphasis on multiple linear regression to speed branch and bound (B&B) convergence and extend the size range of instances that can be solved exactly. One adds cutting planes to the formulation, and the second develops warm start methods for computing a good starting solution. Extensive computational results indicate that our two proposed refinements significantly reduce the time for solving the budget constrained multiple linear regression model using a B&B algorithm, especially for larger data sets. The dissertation concludes with a summary of main contributions and suggestions for extensions of all elements of the work in future research.


China started seven carbon cap-and-trade pilot programs in order to inform the development of a future national cap-and-trade market. This paper assesses the design of three of the longer-running cap-and-trade pilot programs in Guangdong, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Based on extensive stakeholder interviews and a detailed literature review we formulate a series of recommendations to improve the design of these three pilots, including: strengthening the legal foundations for the cap-and-trade pilots, incorporating achievement of goals established by the cap-and-trade pilots into the performance reviews of participating government officials and executives of state-owned entities, further clarifying the cap-setting process, increasing the transparency of the cap, reducing or eliminating within-compliance period adjustments to enterprise-level allowance allocation, gradually moving away from free allocation toward auctioning, reforming enforcement policy, and adopting a symmetric safety valve to manage prices. By making these recommendations, we hope to shed light on ways that Chinese regulators might adapt cap and trade, a fundamentally market-based tool, to China's economy that has many non-market features.


In 2011, we estimated that in 2005 Canada's immigrant selection policies resulted in an average fiscal burden on taxpayers of $6,000 for each immigrant. Later that year, Mohsen Javdani and Krishna Pendakur from the economics department at Simon Fraser University (J&P hereafter) presented an alternative estimate of this fiscal burden of $450. This study concludes that J&P's lower estimate is due mainly to their choice of a different immigrant cohort and assumptions about the immigrants' absorption of government spending on pure public goods, education, and public housing. After taking into account some new data and some issues raised by J&P, this study presents new estimates that show that the fiscal burden imposed by the average recent immigrants is $6,000, which for all immigrants is a total of between $16 billion and $23 billion per year, figures virtually identical to those found in our earlier study. This study also rejects arguments made by J&P that immigrants are needed to meet labour shortages, that they bring productivity-increasing economies of scale, and that their children will repay the fiscal burden. New evidence does not provide any grounds for optimism that the offspring of recent immigrants are going to be able to earn enough to compensate current and future generations of Canadians for the fiscal transfers made to their parents by existing Canadians. This study also presents new evidence showing that immigrants who were admitted mainly on the basis of pre-arranged jobs have superior economic performance, which supports the policy recommendation made in our 2011 study.


Spirally welded pipelines can make up significant portions of operator transmission systems, and may contain manufacturing anomalies that are susceptible to fatigue growth. Modifications to inputs of crack assessment models, such as CorLAS®, are required to account for the angle these cracks make with respect to the longitudinal pipe axis, given that these crack assessment models were developed for longitudinally orientated cracks. Two such modifications were investigated and are discussed in this paper.
 One approach considered the normal stress component perpendicular to the angled crack, for which a stress transformation calculator was developed. Another approach, adapted from API 579 and BS7910 standards, used an effective crack length calculated as the longitudinal projection of the full length of an angled crack.
 Failure pressures calculated using these approaches were compared to validated finite element (FE) results. For both modifications, the pressure capacity increased for angled cracks versus longitudinal cracks. The transformed normal stress approach resulted in non-conservative failure pressure predictions with respect to the FE models, whereas the modified crack length approach was conservative.
 Additionally, the extended finite element method (XFEM) was used to investigate the propagation behavior of angled cracks. It was found that the general tendency was for propagation parallel to the longitudinal pipe axis; however, when considering weld residual stresses, the crack propagation would be directed toward the direction of the spiral seam.


Violation of the molecular clock has been amply documented, and is now routinely taken into account by molecular dating methods. Comparative analyses have revealed a systematic component in rate variation, relating it to the evolution of life‐history traits, such as body size or generation time. Life‐history evolution can be reconstructed using Brownian models. However, the resulting estimates are typically uncertain, and potentially sensitive to the underlying assumptions. As a way of obtaining more accurate ancestral trait and divergence time reconstructions, correlations between life‐history traits and substitution rates could be used as an additional source of information. In this direction, a Bayesian framework for jointly reconstructing rates, traits, and dates was previously introduced. Here, we apply this model to a 17 protein‐coding gene alignment for 73 placental taxa. Our analysis indicates that the coupling between molecules and life history can lead to a reevaluation of ancestral life‐history profiles, in particular for groups displaying convergent evolution in body size. However, reconstructions are sensitive to fossil calibrations and to the Brownian assumption. Altogether, our analysis suggests that further integrating inference of rates and traits might be particularly useful for neontological macroevolutionary comparative studies.


Malignant mesothelioma is a highly aggressive tumor with poor prognosis, and new treatment paradigms are urgently needed. For testing preclinical efficacy of new therapeutic agents, establishment of appropriate animal models is crucial. We developed in vivo fluorescence imaging models for human malignant mesothelioma in mice using tumor cells engineered to express fluorescent proteins (EGFP, mRFP, mCherry, and mPlum) by lentiviral vectors. Among these fluorescent proteins, the expression of mCherry protein in the transduced tumor cells was shown to be robust and stable both in vitro and in vivo. In both, peritoneally disseminated and orthotopic pleural mesothelioma models, mCherry-positive tumors were sensitively detected and tumor growth was successfully monitored. This represents the first study to achieve sensitive tumor detection and tracking of tumor growth and development in the malignant mesothelioma mouse models by non-invasive in vivo fluorescence imaging. These imaging models can be versatile and powerful tools to explore new treatment paradigms for malignant mesothelioma.


BUREAU-PATHOLOGIES IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS:
 Synthesizing a botanic garden case for a General Policy System Theory

 Carl Slawski, Emeritus Professor of Sociology (CSULB)
 555 S. Ventu Park Rd.
 Newbury Park, CA 91320, USA When modernization of pathways for handicapped accessibility and an outdoor meeting patio is resisted by a campaign of public agitation under the guise of historical preservationism, architectural taste, traffic and fire safety, etc., is it any wonder that eyebrows are raised about the true motivating forces behind such agitation? Based upon the author's use of a wide variety of social psychological and sociological theories to understand how to manage "BUREAU-cratitis" (ISSS 2002) and the convergent rise of a curious case of legalistic manipulation of county bureaucracy against the clear mission and goals of a private educational and scientific research organization, namely a botanic garden in a beautiful outdoor canyon, illustrations of tentative theoretically based causes and possible solutions to the largely social and cultural, as well as environmental intermix of problems will be given. Theories to be applied will include Conflict, Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger), Labeling (particularly as techniques of neutralization, "denial of responsibility," "denial of injury" toward one's opponents, and "appeal to a higher loyalty," as developed by Sykes and Matza: 1957), Role Bargaining (W.J. Goode), functionalism (in terms of the functions of ignorance as stated by Moore and Tumin: 1949), Identity Bargaining (Erikson), modes of Synergy (Coulter: 1976), and perhaps most pointedly, Game Theory. The issue around what is called the "Meadow Terrace" project came to a head in the middle of 2007 in Santa Barbara, California, when a county Planning Department approved the project, but after it was at least one-third finished (at the expense of $72,000.00), some canyon neighbors with their resident lawyer mounted a campaign that caused a new Planning agent to rescind the permission to firm up the pathways and gently sloping patio/display area with level, natural stone, and to build three supporting outdoor terrace walls of 18 inches high for easier accessibility and a more level gathering place in the meadow, surrounded as it is by tall trees, and in the general vicinity of seven previously specifically designated historical landmarks located around or between the original botanical library and a dam across a canyon creek-bed. In the process of previous historically sensitive compliance, did the Botanic Garden (BG) give up its rights to modify any aspect of the tracts of land containing those seven landmarks (without a full-scale environmental impact report), including cutting down nearby dying or dead oak trees, or firming up the pathways across the meadow for easier access by wheelchairs or persons needing medical walkers? Did the BG relinquish its rights to use any of the remaining space within those partly historical tracts to continue to accomplish its educational and scientific mission (i.e., botanical research)? Ignorance by neighbors, and by the county bureaucrats about the actual nature of the planned terraces (and about other modifications of libraries and staff offices and teaching facilities in another area of the historically designated tracts), and the complainants' lawyer stating the neighbors' virtual claim to jurisdiction over the entire historically pertinent area, including over the low level terrace leveling project, caused a furor characterized by public debate in meetings of the HLAC (the county's preservationist overseers, who are not expertly trained in botany or education, if even archaeological or historical methodologies, namely, the Historic Landmarks Advisory Commission) and the county Board of Supervisors, few of whom showed a clear understanding of the botanical (scientific) mission of the Garden or of the legal limits of designation of the seven sites on the grounds, in contrast to the overblown aesthetic and historic preservation ideology. [3/28/08--- BpNpoAb.doc]
Keywords: Policy System Theory/ "BUREAU-cratitis"/ botanical science/ preservationism.


ABSTRACT Dawsonite, NaAlCO3(OH)2, is widespread as a cement, replacement, and cavity filling in Permo-Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney basin system, eastern Australia. The origin of dawsonite in these rocks was studied by petrographic and stable isotope analysis. Dawsonite d13C (PDB) values range from -4.0 to +4.1% and are remarkably consistent throughout the Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney basin system. These values indicate either a marine carbonate or magmatic source for carbon in the dawsonite. A magmatic carbon source is considered more likely on the basis that (1) evidence of and the cause for widespread marine carbonate dissolution in the sedimentary successions are not apparen , (2) dawsonite is widespread in both marine and nonmarine facies, (3) the region has been the site of major igneous activity, (4) other dawsonite deposits of similar carbon isotopic composition are linked to igneous activity, and (5) magmatic CO2 accumulations are known in parts of the Bowen-Gunnedah. Sydney basin system. The timing of igneous activity in the Bowen Basin constrains the timing of dawsonite formation in the Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney basin system to the Tertiary, consistent with textural relationships, which indicate that dawsonite formed late during the burial history of the Permo-Triassic sequences. The distribution and interpreted origin of dawsonite implies magmatic CO2 seepage in the Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney basin system on a continental scale.


The reform of the economic governance in the EU, as a reaction to the Eurozone crisis, has increased the asymmetries in the Union. Although formally respected, the principle of equality of the Member States before the Treaties has been put under stress. Likewise the position of national institutions concerned by the same Euro-crisis measure can have different implications depending on the Member State. This article deals with the asymmetries amongst the national parliaments arisen in this context. National procedures adopted to deal with the new legal measures reinforce some parliaments while they severely undermine other. The article argues that such an outcome is produced by the combined effects of EU and international measures with national constitutional rules and case law, which can confer more or less significant powers to national parliaments and enhance or disregard existing parliamentary prerogatives. The asymmetries among national parliaments in the new economic governance can impair the democratic legitimacy and the effectiveness of the Euro crisis measures.


Background Memantine is effective in the treatment of behavioral disturbances in patients with Alzheimer's disease. It has not yet been fully determined which behavioral disturbances respond best to memantine. Methods We conducted a meta-analysis of memantine vs control (placebo or usual care) for the treatment of individual behavioral disturbances (delusion, hallucination, agitation/aggression, dysphoria, anxiety/phobia, euphoria, apathy, disinhibition, irritability/lability, aberrant motor activity/activity disturbances, nighttime disturbance/diurnal rhythm disturbances, and eating disturbances). Randomized controlled studies of memantine in patients with Alzheimer's disease were included in this study. To evaluate these outcomes, standardized mean difference (SMD), with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), based upon a random-effects model was evaluated in the meta-analysis. Results A total of 11 studies (n=4,261; memantine vs placebo: N=4, n=1,500; memantine + cholinesterase inhibitors [M + ChEIs] vs ChEIs: N=7, n=2,761) were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to control, memantine showed significant improvement in agitation/aggression (SMD =−0.11; 95% CIs =−0.20, −0.03; P=0.01; I2=47%), delusion (SMD =−0.12; 95% CIs =−0.18, −0.06; P=0.0002; I2=0%), disinhibition (SMD =−0.08; 95% CIs =−0.15, −0.00; P=0.04; I2=0%), and nighttime disturbance/diurnal rhythm disturbances (SMD =−0.10; 95% CIs =−0.18, −0.02; P=0.02; I2=36%). Memantine was also marginally superior to control in hallucination (SMD =−0.06; 95% CIs =−0.12, 0.01; P=0.07; I2=0%) and irritability/lability (SMD =−0.09; 95% CIs =−0.19, 0.01; P=0.07; I2=42%). Memantine is similar to control in dysphoria, anxiety/phobia, euphoria, apathy, and eating disturbance. Conclusion The meta-analysis suggest that memantine has benefits for the treatment of most of the behavioral disturbances in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Memantine does not deteriorate negative symptoms as behavioral disturbances in patients with Alzheimer's disease.


Using twenty-three oral history interviews as a foundation, this article examines the student residential experience at the Scotland School for Veterans' Children (SSVC) between 1930 and 2009. The interviews were conducted with alumni of the school a few weeks before its closing in 2009. Founded in 1895 in the small village of Scotland, Pennsylvania, this state-funded industrial school provided a home to children from veteran-affiliated families. Whether sent to the school by their relatives or through social services, most children came to Scotland due to difficult circumstances or because their families thought it would be a safer, healthier environment for them. This article, focusing on how students found a sense of home and family in Scotland's strict and orderly community, gives insight into the lived experience of these particular students and suggests what life was like for thousands of children in this unique and important Pennsylvania institution.


AbstractDespite the ever-increasing use of 3D seismic data in modern exploration and production environments, 2D seismic data are still widely used in many projects. Mapping of horizons interpreted on 2D migrated seismic lines must necessarily address the problem of misties at line intersections, whether the data are migrated in the time or the depth domain. These misties are the result of the inability of 2D migration to account for the dip of reflections out of the vertical plane of the migrated section. This tutorial describes the technical basis for a simple procedure by which the deeper of the values for an interpreted horizon at the intersection of two 2D migrated seismic lines is used to guide mapping of the horizon.


There is general consensus that mercenarism is and should remain prohibited. The difficulty
that has arisen is firstly one of defining the exact nature of mercenarism, and more
specifically what actions constitute mercenary actions. A further difficulty arises in that much
of the legislation intended to outlaw mercenarism is impacting on the legal activity of private
military and security contractors, who fall short of the definitional requirements of
mercenarism. The two groups being so closely linked that they are often mistakenly conflated
. There is currently a need to develop a response to the private military security industry,
which is better suited to effectively regulate their activities, whilst also effectively
criminalising the activities of those who actions amount to mercenarism.
The dissertation therefore sets about analysing how these two distinct sectors: mercenaries
and private military security companies, are regulated at an international and domestic level.
It then uses the lessons learnt from these regulator attempts, and the various policy
considerations which countries have to make, to propose a way forward in creating an
effective regulatory system for mercenaries and private military companies at an international
and domestic level.


The current exploratory study was designed to determine the impact that green restaurant practices may have on intention to visit a restaurant and willingness to pay more because of those green practices. The study analyzed a convenience sample of 260 surveys from customers in fast food restaurants and 501 surveys from customers in upscale casual restaurants in the Midwestern United States (U.S.) in order to determine if there were differences in the perception of guests regarding these types of restaurants and their green practices. The findings showed that upscale casual restaurant customers believed they are knowledgeable at a higher level than the fast food restaurant customers about green restaurant practices, have a higher mean rating on the importance of environmental record and recycling in restaurants, and believed that restaurants should use local products when they can. In both groups of customers, there was a positive relationship between green practices utilized at home and customers' willingness to pay more for green restaurant practices as well as their intention to visit the restaurant using green practices. Management implications are discussed.


Different spatial distributions of soil moisture were imposed on field-grown grapevines by applying the same irrigation volumes to the entire (DI; deficit irrigation) or part of the (PRD; partial root zone drying) root zone. Five treatments were applied: controls irrigated at 60% ETc (crop evapotranspiration) for the whole season (308 mm year−1); DI-1 and PRD-1 that received the same irrigation as controls before fruit set, 30% ETc from fruit set to harvest and 45% ETc post-harvest (192 mm year−1); and DI-2 and PRD-2 that were the same, except that 15% ETc was applied from fruit set to harvest (142 mm year−1). Compared with DI-1, PRD-1 maintained higher leaf area post-veraison and increased root water uptake, whole-plant hydraulic conductance, leaf transpiration, stomatal conductance, and photosynthesis, but decreased intrinsic gas exchange efficiency without causing differences in leaf xylem abscisic acid (ABA) concentration. Compared with DI-2, PRD-2 increased leaf xylem ABA concentration and decreased root water uptake, whole-plant hydraulic conductance, leaf transpiration, stomatal conductance, and photosynthesis, mainly at the beginning of PRD cycles. Distinctive PRD effects (e.g. greater stomatal closure) depended on the volumetric soil water content of the wet root zone, as predicted from a model of root-to-shoot ABA signalling.


Abstract The Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) is a state-protected, threatened species in Texas. The expansion of agricultural practices and urban development are major causes of habitat degradation for the species. To provide genetic data that can inform conservation planning for this species, genetic variation, population structure, and the process that maintains the observed structure were examined in the Texas populations of G. berlandieri. Microsatellite genetic variation of 8 polymorphic loci was examined for a total of 138 individuals collected from 10 sampling areas in southern Texas. Assignment tests, F statistics, and analysis of molecular variance indicated that G. berlandieri forms weak population differentiation into northern and southern groups, with a boundary at southern Duval County. A test of isolation by distance and indirect estimation of the number of migrants (Nm) suggest recent gene flow between the 2 groups. Estimation of the extent of contemporary migration appears to be complicated by human translocation of tortoises, and an asymmetrical direction of migration needs further examination. Gopherus berlandieri is weakly differentiated because of ongoing migration as evidenced by a pattern of isolation by distance. Given the limited population structure and continuous habitat degradation, designation of 2 management units may not be warranted. Conservation efforts, rather, should emphasize connectivity between the groups to maintain genetic variation in both groups.


Increasing traffic volume on the one hand and ageing infrastructure on the other hand have created many new challenges for maintenance and structural health monitoring of roads and bridges. In the past, many bridges and road structures have been neglected, often resulting in traffic congestion, road closure, and increased repair costs. This research is concerned with the development of a system to improve the challenge of maintenance and early detection of damage, particularly moisture penetration and corrosion of steel reinforced concrete components. The objective is to develop a method that will also work after 30 years and longer. Many new IoT solutions are equipped with internal energy storage elements (accumulators or batteries) which are inappropriate here, since most relevant signs of concrete degradation occur after decades, where the functioning of such elements are more than questionable. The presented technology approach uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) and enables connectivity to sensors. It offers the advantage of an passive, completely independent energy supply without any energy storage components. Since the system should be permanently embedded in concrete, it is crucial to develop a long-term stable device which is adapted to the environmental influences of the structure, e.g., long-term resistance in very alkaline environment of pH 13. In numerous experiments, the robustness of the system was tested and evaluated. Various tests with encapsulations to protect the electronics were performed, and for long-term validation different concrete specimens were instrumented with RFID-sensor-systems. Their operating time is now around two years and investigations for signs of fatigue and damage to the encapsulation and the electronics are ongoing.


This research illustrates the power of reputation, such as that embodied in brand names, demonstrating that names can enhance objective product efficacy. Study participants facing a glaring light were asked to read printed words as accurately and as quickly as they could, receiving compensation proportional to their performance. Those wearing sunglasses tagged Ray-Ban made fewer errors, yet read more quickly, than those wearing the identical pair of sunglasses when tagged Mango (a less prestigious brand). Similarly, ear-muffs blocked noise more effectively, and chamomile tea improved mental focus more, when otherwise identical target products carried more reputable names.


Charles Ives, perhaps the quintessential American composer of the twentieth century, drew on his childhood experiences in a small New England town in his music. Through his close relationship with his father, George, a Civil War bandmaster, Ives developed a powerful feeling for nineteenth-century rural America. This book--the first full-scale psychoanalytic biography of a major composer--examines the lives of the two men and shows how a knowledge of their relationship as father and son, teacher and pupil, is central to an understanding of Ives's work. Stuart Feder, a psychoanalyst with training in musicology, demonstrates that George exerted so pervasive an influence on Charles's creative life that Ives's music may be seen as the result of an unconscious fantasy of posthumous collaboration between father and son. The music bears George's mark, not only in its incorporation of hymn tunes, parlor ballads, Civil War marches, and other homely sources that derived from his youth, but also in its use of technical musical devices attributed to George. Moreover, the span of Ives's creative life reveals another connection to his father: Charles's musical productivity began to wane in his forties, as he approached the age at which his father died. Dr. Feder examines the influence of George's teaching and storytelling on Charles's years as a composer. Ives's later decline is traced psychologically and medically. Using Ives's music as an essential part of his data, Dr. Feder demonstrates how music can illuminate and be expressive of the inner life of its creator.


9TO5, NATIONAL ASSN. OF WORKING WOMEN, with 25 local chapters, representatives in 200 cities, and headquarters in Cleveland from 1977-93, advocates equal pay and rights for WOMEN in the workplace. It has worked closely with its research and training arm, the 9to5 Working Women Education Fund. 9to5 was founded in Boston in 1972 as a newsletter, 9to5 News, and merged in 1977 with Cleveland Women Working (est. 1975 primarily by Helen Williams) to create the Cleveland-based Working Women Organizing Project, headed by its founder Karen Nussbaum. After another name change (to Working Women, National Assn. of Office Workers in 1982), the group took its present name in 1983. When Pres. Clinton appointed Nussbaum to the U.S. Department of Labor, the national organization moved to Milwaukee, with Ellen Bravo as executive director, but maintained a national office in Cleveland. 9to5 has combined documented research with direct action: testifying before Congress; counseling women on its 9to5 Job Problem Hotline; educating about legal rights through publications such as The 9to5 Guide to Sexual Harassment (1992); and attempting to increase public awareness of the problems women face in the workplace. 9to5 also helped organize District 925 of the Service Employees Intl. Union (1981); initiated a federal investigation of employment practices in Cleveland banks; held government hearings to document discrimination; published class-action charges against employers; and campaigned to increase office security and equipment safety. Membership in the organization, at 614 Superior Rd., is open to women and men.


Abstract Background: Proton therapy is becoming increasingly available, so it is important to apply objective and individualized patient selection to identify those who are expected to benefit most from proton therapy compared to conventional intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Comparative treatment planning using normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) evaluation has recently been proposed. This work investigates the impact of NTCP model and dose uncertainties on model-based patient selection. Material and Methods: We used IMRT and intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) treatment plans of 78 oropharyngeal cancer patients, which were generated based on automated treatment planning and evaluated based on three published NTCP models. A reduction in NTCP of more than a certain threshold (e.g. 10% lower NTCP) leads to patient selection for IMPT, referred to as 'nominal' selection. To simulate the effect of uncertainties in NTCP-model coefficients (based on reported confidence intervals) and planned doses on the accuracy of model-based patient selection, the Monte Carlo method was used to sample NTCP-model coefficients and doses from a probability distribution centered at their nominal values. Patient selection accuracy within a certain sample was defined as the fraction of patients which had similar selection in both the 'nominal' and 'sampled' scenario. Results: For all three NTCP models, the median patient selection accuracy was found to be above 70% when only NTCP-model uncertainty was considered. Selection accuracy decreased with increasing uncertainty resulting from differences between planned and delivered dose. In case of excessive dose uncertainty, selection accuracy decreased to 60%. Conclusion: Model and dose uncertainty highly influence the accuracy of model-based patient selection for proton therapy. A reduction of NTCP-model uncertainty is necessary to reach more accurate model-based patient selection.


This paper presents a distributed and occlusion-robust coding scheme for multi-view omnidirectional images, which relies on the geometry of the 3D scene. The Wyner-Ziv coder uses a multi-view correlation model that relates 3D features in different images using local geometric transforms in order to perform coset code design and the coset decoding of each feature. The meaningful image features are extracted by a sparse decomposition over a dictionary of localized geometric atoms. However, in such a decomposition, occlusions or low-correlated features appear as independent elements in the encoded stream, which can lead to erroneous reconstruction at the decoder. To ameliorate this problem, we propose to leave a controlled redundancy by sending additional syndrome bits that are computed by channel coding across the atoms of the Wyner-Ziv image. This offers resiliency against occlusions, or against inaccuracy in the view correlation model. The experimental results demonstrate the coding performance of the proposed scheme at low bit rate, where it performs close to the joint encoding strategy.


To play a musical instrument in the way that one would sing is a goal that has been shared and documented by performers of Western classical music for several centuries. It is still common to hear performers in the 21st century encouraging each other to aspire to performance ideals that are linked to aspects of vocality. Taking voicelikeness not as an identifiable property of sound but rather as a social construction, this study investigates what an instrumental musician can do when they invoke the notion of voicelikeness, using discourse analysis to probe data from a single case study of a flute masterclass. We contend that, while the "truth" about any one instrumentalist's claim to vocality may be impossible to verify, observing the ways in which such a claim is built up, shared, and defended can reveal the musical values that are being shaped and disseminated by musicians in a given set of circumstances. Applying a discourse approach to the analysis of an actual social encounter exposes how an instrumental musician can draw upon existing ideas about the voice to construct ideal musical practice. We conclude that stories of voicelikeness in discourse amongst instrumental musicians are not only about making a sound that is in some way vocal, they can also be used to transmit the norms of classical music performance from expert performer to developing performer.


This chart can be used to help students reflect on and document their feedback conversations. In the course of giving or receiving feedback, we often become so embroiled in what we are saying or in what is being said to us that we fail to reflect on the quality and impact of the communication. Though intended to accompany the technical note "Feedback" (UVA-OB-0746), the chart is useful with many other materials on assessing performance.


Until now genome of six domestic/farm animal species have been sequenced: cattle, horse, chicken, dog, cat and honeybee. Also marker genome maps of these, as well as other species (pig, sheep, goat etc) are well developed. Knowledge on genome organization brings an opportunity for effective searching for gene mutations causing phenotypic variation, including production traits and genetic diseases. The genome scanning, coupled with comparative genomics approach, facilitated identification of gene mutations influencing significantly on fattening, carcass, reproduction and milk traits in cattle, pig, sheep and goats. Recently, application of the expression microarrays were also applied in studies on candidate genes for carcass traits in cattle and pig. Spreading of gene mutations causing hereditary diseases is an important issue in animal breeding. Presently, over 150 mutations are characterized on DNA level in cattle, pig, sheep, horse, cat and dog. Interestingly, over 40% of them were described in dogs. It is mainly an effect of the fact that over 50% of the canine genetic diseases have clinical and molecular counterpart in human. Therefore, this species has became an interesting model in biomedical research, including gene therapy. It is foreseen that in the near future functional genomics as well as epigenomics will bring new insights into molecular background of phenotype variability of domestic animals.


The simple yet challenging goal of this book is to deliberate the legitimacy, and advance the feasibility, of an important new concept --the notion of "global civics." We cannot achieve the international cooperation that is needed for a globalizing and interdependent century without embracing and implementing this important concept. The first section of Global Civics is a presentation of the overall idea itself; the second section consists of diverse assessments from around the world of the concept and where it currently stands. The third section discusses various options for a global civics curriculum. Praise for the Global Civics Program "I agree with Hakan Altinay that in order to navigate our global interdependence, we need processes where we all think through our own responsibilities toward other fellow humans and discuss our answers with our peers. A conversation about a global civics is indeed needed, and university campuses are ideal venues for these conversations to start. We should enter this conversation with an open mind, and not insist on any particular point of view. The process is the key, and we should not wait any longer to start it." --Martti Ahtisaari, 2008 Nobel Peace Laureate "The growing interconnectivity among people across the world is nurturing the realization that we are all part of a global community. This sense of interdependence, commitment to shared universal values, and solidarity among peoples across the world can be channeled to build enlightened and democratic global governance in the interests of all. I hope that universities and think tanks around the world will deploy their significant reservoirs of knowledge and creativity to develop platforms to enable students to study and debate these issues. This project is a contribution toward that goal and I look forward to following it closely." -- Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations, 2001 Nobel Peace Laureate


Abstract. This study quantifies future changes in tropospheric ozone (O3) using
a simple parameterisation of source–receptor relationships based on
simulations from a range of models participating in the Task Force on
Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants (TF-HTAP) experiments. Surface and
tropospheric O3 changes are calculated globally and across 16 regions
from perturbations in precursor emissions (NOx, CO, volatile organic compounds – VOCs)
and methane (CH4) abundance only, neglecting any impact from climate
change. A source attribution is provided for each source region along with an
estimate of uncertainty based on the spread of the results from the models.
Tests against model simulations using the Hadley Centre Global Environment
Model version 2 – Earth system configuration (HadGEM2-ES) confirm that the approaches
used within the parameterisation perform well for most regions. The
O3 response to changes in CH4 abundance is slightly larger in
the TF-HTAP Phase 2 than in the TF-HTAP Phase 1 assessment (2010) and provides
further evidence that controlling CH4 is important for limiting
future O3 concentrations. Different treatments of chemistry and
meteorology in models remain one of the largest uncertainties in calculating
the O3 response to perturbations in CH4 abundance and
precursor emissions, particularly over the Middle East and south Asia
regions. Emission changes for the future Evaluating the CLimate and Air Quality
ImPacts of Short-livEd Pollutants (ECLIPSE) scenarios and a subset of
preliminary Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) indicate that surface
O3 concentrations will increase regionally by 1 to 8 ppbv in 2050.
Source attribution analysis highlights the growing importance of CH4
in the future under current legislation. A change in the global tropospheric
O3 radiative forcing of +0.07 W m−2 from 2010 to 2050 is
predicted using the ECLIPSE scenarios and SSPs, based solely on changes in
CH4 abundance and tropospheric O3 precursor emissions and
neglecting any influence of climate change. Current legislation is shown to
be inadequate in limiting the future degradation of surface ozone air quality
and enhancement of near-term climate warming. More stringent future emission
controls provide a large reduction in both surface O3 concentrations
and O3 radiative forcing. The parameterisation provides a simple tool
to highlight the different impacts and associated uncertainties of local and
hemispheric emission control strategies on both surface air quality and the
near-term climate forcing by tropospheric O3.


Brad Freeman and met in the spring of 1990 while he was director of the Offset Artists' Books Program at Pyramid Atlantic in Washington, D.C. I had received a grant to produce my book Simulant Portrait (1990). It was one of my first opportunities to work in offset printing, a medium with which I had far less familiarity than letterpress, but in which Brad had developed conceptual and technical skills as an artist. The project brought us together in a professional relationship that quickly made me aware of the ways in which our individual abilities and sensibilities meshed. The experience also sensitized me to fundamental differences in our working methods. Since then we have collaborated formally and informally on books and articles, the editing and publishing of JAB: The Journal of Artists' Books and in curating exhibitions. Brad is primarily a visual artist and I think of myself primarily as a writer, but disciplinary lines are frequently crossed in our work. It was clear to us from the outset that we were both committed to a critical apperception of contemporary life from an individual, subjective point of view premised on the idea that fine art provides an essential alternative discourse to mainstream dominant culture. What drew us together is a similar sharp edge to our work. One of the things that struck me when I began to work with Brad was that he actually read the entire text of Simulant Portrait while printing it and engaged with the science-fiction and biographical tropes that motivated its investigation of the problems of creating a feminist subjectivity. Both of us perceive the complex density of the book form as a means of communicating intimately through a book's dynamic properties as experienced by an individual reader or viewer. My tendency is to work through a project to a nearly complete mock-up before I begin printing; Brad is far more sensitive to the printing process as a way of thinking creatively as his project progresses. Whether working in letterpress or on a computer for digital pre-press, I will change the text on a piece to make it fit the space, give it a particular visual shape or, in the case of letterpress, accommodate running out of certain letters as I am setting the type. This approach reflects the fact that I have a layout in mind and that much of my bookwork is format-driven. However, have watched Brad entirely rethink a page after it has been printed and come up with a printing solution (another plate, halftone screen, color area or pattern or other application of ink) that pushes the sheet in a completely new direction. I watched h im transfer this sensibility to the production of his book MuzeLink (1997), an extensive project, almost monumental in scale that was not entirely laid out in advance of production. Much of the book's final appearance is the result of Brad's continual rethinking of the relationships among the elements in the book that only became apparent as he was producing it. He would sequence photographs in a section, sketch them into the dummy, then project forward for a few days, letting the next sections emerge schematically. In some areas, whole sequences were worked out while the intermediate pages were still blank. He was also able to introduce events that occurred in his life into the still-malleable form of the piece. The difference between working a book out in advance and conceptualizing it during production is fundamental. Sometimes this has introduced a certain tension into our collaborative process, but overall it has been beneficial in working on Nova Reperta, our most ambitious collaboration to date. Although the project engaged our concern with systematic experimentation with narrative, striking differences in our working methods remained. My sense of narrative is deeply rooted in literary traditions, cliches, tropes and other forms that I absorbed in the process of reading the great literary classics. Reinvestigating these narrative lines has been a crucial part of my interrogation of the links between my own internal life and that of the cultural context in which my psyche intersects with the social imaginary. …


Learning OpenCV puts you in the middle of the rapidly expanding field of computer vision. Written by the creators of the free open source OpenCV library, this book introduces you to computer vision and demonstrates how you can quickly build applications that enable computers to "see" and make decisions based on that data.The second edition is updated to cover new features and changes in OpenCV 2.0, especially the C++ interface.Computer vision is everywherein security systems, manufacturing inspection systems, medical image analysis, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and more. OpenCV provides an easy-to-use computer vision framework and a comprehensive library with more than 500 functions that can run vision code in real time. Whether you want to build simple or sophisticated vision applications, Learning OpenCV is the book any developer or hobbyist needs to get started, with the help of hands-on exercises in each chapter.This book includes:A thorough introduction to OpenCV Getting input from cameras Transforming images Segmenting images and shape matching Pattern recognition, including face detection Tracking and motion in 2 and 3 dimensions 3D reconstruction from stereo vision Machine learning algorithms


Cloud Computing is one of the biggest buzzwords in the computer world these days. It allows resource sharing that includes software, platform and infrastructure by means of virtualization. Virtualization is the core technology behind cloud resource sharing. This environment strives to be dynamic, reliable, and customizable with a guaranteed quality of service. Security is as much of an issue in the cloud as it is anywhere else. Different people share different point of view on cloud computing. Some believe it is unsafe to use cloud. Cloud vendors go out of their way to ensure security. This paper investigates few major security issues with cloud computing and the existing counter measures to those security challenges in the world of cloud computing..


How ecological and evolutionary processes interact and together determine species and community responses to climate change is poorly understood. We studied long-term dynamics (over approximately 200 asexual generations) in two phytoplankton species, a coccolithophore (Emiliania huxleyi), and a diatom (Chaetoceros affinis), to increased CO2 growing alone, or competing with one another in co-occurrence. To allow for rapid evolutionary responses, the experiment started with a standing genetic variation of nine genotypes in each of the species. Under co-occurrence of both species, we observed a dominance shift from C. affinis to E. huxleyi after about 120 generations in both CO2 treatments, but more pronounced under high CO2. Associated with this shift, we only found weak adaptation to high CO2 in the diatom and none in the coccolithophore in terms of species' growth rates. In addition, no adaptation to interspecific competition could be observed by comparing the single to the two-species treatments in reciprocal assays, regardless of the CO2 treatment. Nevertheless, highly reproducible genotype sorting left only one genotype remaining for each of the species among all treatments. This strong evolutionary selection coincided with the dominance shift from C. affinis to E. huxleyi. Since all other conditions were kept constant over time, the most parsimonious explanation for the dominance shift is that the strong evolutionary selection was driven by the experimental nutrient conditions, and in turn potentially altered competitive ability of the two species. Thus, observed changes in the simplest possible two-species phytoplankton "community" demonstrated that eco-evolutionary interactions can be critical for predicting community responses to climate change in rapidly dividing organisms such as phytoplankton.


Millar Burrows was for many years Professor of Biblical Theology at Yale University Divinity School. He received his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, New York, and a PhD. in biblical languages, literature and history from Yale University. He is widely known as the author of The Dead Sea Scrolls and More Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls, and is a contributor to The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, published by Abingdon.


The concept of Internet-facilitated social networking is not new - we have evidence of the development of the concept and the technologies over decades. However, Web 2.0 technologies and the emergence of social networking sites has expanded accessibility and use beyond levels that may have been thought imaginable just two or three years ago. These developments have been accompanied with calls to integrate the new technologies and experiences of social networks within formal education. Yet, there is limited research on the potential or outcomes of such initiatives. This paper presents a case study that examines the technology and experience in a formal education context.


Mechanisms and Markers of the Cardiovascular Response to Traffic-Related Air Pollution in Humans Kristen E. Cosselman Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Interim Dean and Professor Joel D. Kaufman School of Public Health Departments of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Epidemiology and Medicine Exposure to traffic-related air pollution, a problem in city centers worldwide, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Though adverse health effects associated with these inhaled pollutants are well substantiated, the mechanisms between exposure and outcome remain unclear. Identification of molecular and physiological processes is critical in distinguishing susceptible populations and advancing prevention efforts. The studies in this dissertation integrate basic science with clinical measures to examine aspects of the vascular response in humans exposed to diesel exhaust (DE), a model traffic-related pollutant. This work combines three unique opportunities: an on-going genotype-stratified controlled human exposure study, a novel particle deposition device for in vitro modeling at the air liquid interface (ALI), and an inhalation facility designed to generate combustion-based pollutants. The studies examine multiple clinical and cellular responses to DE in humans under highly controlled conditions. Studies were designed based on the hypothesis that inhaled particles interact with nociceptive receptors within the airway epithelium, leading to the release of circulating vasoactive and inflammatory mediators; this in turn induces vasoconstriction and oxidative stress, raising the risk of cardiovascular events. Aims include investigation of 1) the effect and mechanism of DE inhalation on blood pressure and transcriptional outcomes in human subjects, and whether this effect is modified by genotype for the nociceptor TRPV1; 2) the primary response to DE exposure in human bronchial epithelial cells, using a state-of-the-art electrostatic deposition chamber; 3) the secondary response using human coronary artery endothelial cells cultured with DE conditioned media and human serum; and 4) the effect of DE on the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) in healthy adults, and whether preexposure antioxidant supplementation modified this response. This dissertation provides data to support the hypothesis that the acute hemodynamic effects of DE act via alpha adrenergic system, and evidence for the involvement of TRPV1; provides evidence that the lung epithelium may play an initial role in inflammatory processes and barrier dysfunction in coronary artery cells; and demonstrates that an acute exposure to DE is associated with a reduction in the GSH/GSSG ratio, consistent with shift in balance toward an oxidized state. Combining in vitro biomarkers with clinically-observed findings may provide key insights into understanding how exposure to traffic-related air pollution can promote or exacerbate the development of disease.


Written during the winter of 1929-30 and his last major work, "Apocalypse" is Lawrence's radical criticism of the political, religious and social structures that have shaped Western civilization. In his view the perpetual conflict within man, in which emotion, instinct and the senses vie with the intellect and reason, has resulted in society's increasing alienation from the natural world. Yet Lawrence's belief in humanity's power to regain the imaginative and spiritual values which alone can revitalize our world also makes "Apocalypse" a powerful statement of hope. Presenting his thoughts on psychology, science, politics, art, God and man, and including a fierce protest against Christianity, "Apocalypse" is Lawrence's last testament, his final attempt to convey his vision of man and of the cosmos.


Recognition of the archipelagic concept accommodated in chapter IV United Nations Conventions Law of The Sea (LOSC) 1982. The implication of this recognition is archipelagic states have sovereignty for their marine space. There are 3 zonation in sea sovereignty, that are inland water, territorial waters and archipelagic water. However, only in inland water that archipelagic states has full sovereignty such as on land, while another zone, it has followed by other states rights, One of which is right of passage. The right of another state passage is consisted by right of innocent passage, right of archipelagic sealine passage and there is also right of transit passage, which one all of that right of passage are depending on zones depending on the zone that is crossed. Talked about archipelagic sea-lanes passage (ASLP), Indonesia has to determine 3 archipelagic sea lanes passage and the consequence that all foreign ships should pass over that routes. For that reason, in this paper will discuss Indonesian sea sovereignty zone and right another state inside, along with implications for Indonesia after determination of archipelagic sealine passage.


Ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) granulites of the central Highland Complex, Sri Lanka, underwent some of the highest known peak temperatures of crustal metamorphism. Zircon and monazite U-Pb systems in granulites near Kandy, the highest grade region (~1050 °C; 0.9 GPa), preserve both a record of the timing of prograde and retrograde phases of UHT metamorphism and evidence for the ages of older protolith components. Zircon grains from a quartz-sat-urated granulite containing relics of the peak UHT assemblage have remnant detrital cores with dates of ca. 2.5–0.83 Ga. Date clusters of ca. 1.7 and 1.04–0.83 Ga record episodes of zircon growth in the source region of the protolith sediment. Two generations of overgrowths with contrasting Th/U record metamorphic zircon growth at 569 ± 5 and 551 ± 7 Ma, probably in the absence and presence of monazite, respectively. The age of coexisting metamorphic monazite (547 ± 7 Ma) is indistinguishable from that of the younger, low-Th/U zircon overgrowths. Zircon from a quartz-undersaturated monazite-absent UHT granulite with a mainly retrograde assemblage is mostly metamorphic (551 ± 5 Ma). The ca. 570 Ma zircon overgrowths in the quartz-saturated granulite probably record partial melting just before or at the metamorphic peak. The ca. 550 Ma zircon in both rocks, and the ca. 550 Ma monazite in the quartz-saturated sample, record post-peak isothermal decompression. A possible model for this pressure-temperature-time evolution is ultrahot collisional orogeny during the assembly of Gondwana, locally superheated by basaltic underplating, followed by fast extensional exhumation.


In the 1960s and 1970s international trade was increasingly important for employment and economic growth at the state level; however, scholarly research on the numerous issues concerning international trade and state economic activity is negligible. The present research uses a Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek framework to examine the international trade performance of all fifty states for selected years between 1963 and 1980. A cross-section analysis generates specific conclusions concerning the determinants of manufacturing export performance at the state level. An extension of the analysis using pooled data generates specific conclusions concerning the determinants of manufacturing export performance and how these determinants changed throughout the period. Physical capital and human capital were statistically significant determinants throughout the period and the importance of these factors changed over time. The importance of physical capital decreased continuously, while the importance of human capital increased continuously.


Piezoluminescence (PZL), also referred to as mechanoluminescence (ML), is a promising energy conversion mechanism for realizing mechanically driven photon sources including handheld displays, lighting, bioimaging and sensing applications. However, the realization of a visible PZL intensity at room temperature from low mechanical stresses has been fundamentally challenging. Herein, we describe a PZL elastomer exhibiting significantly enhanced brightness under ambient conditions. The elastomer consisted of defect-engineered non-stoichiometric Cu-doped ZnS (ZnS:Cu) microparticles in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The role of the defect structure was found to be the controlling parameter in the nature of PZL emission. Hydrogenation treatment was designed to induce a controlled concentration of sulfur vacancies that provided the trapped electrons, which had a strong correlation with the PZL performance of ZnS:Cu. An optimum electron concentration was necessary in order to maximize the PZL intensity due to an adequate electron energy transfer ratio between non-radiative recombination (NRR) and thermal radiative recombination (TRR). The light-emitting elastomer with an optimum content of PZL particles maximized the stress-mediated electroluminescence–piezoelectric coupling, enabling visible PZL brightness under indoor light conditions.


Objective: The workforce of hospital pharmacist is one the elements of pharmacy strategic plan in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this study is to explore the demand for hospital pharmacist's workforce in past eleven years (2006-2016) and future fifteen years (2016-2030) at Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia. Methods: It is a retrospective analysis of eleven years (2006-2016) and projection for fifteen years in the future (2016-2030) of MOH hospital pharmacist workforce. All data derived from Ministry of Health statistical year books. It included demand pharmacist or clinical pharmacist's workforces at MOH hospitals. The type of hospital included having bed capacity 50-1500 beds with Adults public hospitals, pediatrics and maternity hospitals, Psychiatric hospitals, Diabetic centers, Cardiology centers, Oncology Centers, Renal Dialysis Centers, and Medical cities. All calculations were based on MOH workforce standards of hospitals. All calculations were done using Microsoft Excel version ten. The calculations were per each region for a total of twenty-one regions, the hospital beds distribution numbers, the ratio of pharmacist per bed, total number of demand pharmacist per each sector, the expected number of pharmacist requirement in the coming years 2016- 2030 per each region across Saudi Arabia. Result: The total numbers of hospitals were 276 hospitals, 2,325 primary care centers, and 20 administration regions. The total numbers of pharmacists were 3,520, distributed at hospital 2,760 (78.41 %), at primary care centers 430 (12.2 %) while administration regions 330 (9.37 %). The average numbers of hospital beds were (35,940) with a range number of (31,877-41,835), and the total number was (41,835). The average numbers of pharmacists per hospital were (6.28) with a range number of (2.89-10.07). The average numbers of beds were (35,940) with a range number of (31,877- 41,835), and the total number was (41,835). The average numbers of pharmacist per bed (0.071) with a range number of (0.020-0.062). The total average demand hospitals were (5,662.98) with range (5739.40- 5607.00) with total number demand was (5607.00) hospital pharmacist. The total demand pharmacists for primary care centers by year 2030 will be (11,887.11) with range (8,367.00- 11,887.11). Conclusion: The total number of hospital pharmacists is indigent at MOH hospitals and not meet excepted recruitment standard. Targeting of the increasing number of hospital pharmacists through opening new jobs at MOH hospitals with complete pharmacist Saudisation is required. Key words: Hospital Pharmacist, Workforce, Manpower, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.


Our stretch wall systems are high-end acoustical panel systems available as a complete site installed solution or as prefabricated panels we ship to you. The fabric track stretch wall system is constructed using an extruded, high-impact PVC track. This track allows us to use a variety of available fabric styles or printed images to complement any room decor. The AcoustiDesign Panel, AcoustiCloud, and AcoustiForm Baffles utilize the same PVC track components to manufacture pre-fabricated wall panels, ceiling clouds, and baffles that can be shipped direct to you. Available with a standard selection of fabric choices, these products may be customized with other fabrics, printed images or be made into various shapes. The AcoustiWall Fabric Stretch System is site built by our installation teams to create a virtually seamless panel system. Any number of available fabrics are stretched over acoustical substrate and tucked into high-impact, extruded PVC track. This track allows us to cover large spans of space, create curves, or shapes and easily integrates around existing obstacles in the room. A stretch wall system is the obvious choice for a crisp, clean looking, flexible system that will surely meet the design and acoustic goals for any project. For more information, follow the link: https://acousticalsolutions.com/product-category/stretch-wall-systems/


Errors in map-making tasks using computer vision are sparse. We demonstrate this by considering the construction of digital elevation models that employ stereo matching algorithms to triangulate real-world points. This sparsity, coupled with a geometric theory of errors recently developed by the authors, allows for autonomous agents to calculate their own precision independently of ground truth. We connect these developments with recent advances in the mathematics of sparse signal reconstruction or compressed sensing. The theory presented here extends the autonomy of 3-D model reconstructions discovered in the 1990s to their errors.


Neointimal formation is a complex process that occurs due to the over compensatory healing response produced by the vessel following injury. Three key events, SMC proliferation, SMC migration and the inflammatory response, occur in unison to drive the formation of a neointima. Cannabinoids/endocannabinoids have been shown to elicit antiproliferative, anti-migratory and anti-inflammatory effects, highlighting modulation of the endocannabinoid system as possible therapeutic strategy. The aims of this study were to; (i) develop an organ culture model of neointimal formation, and investigate the presence of the endocannabinoid system, (ii) investigate the functional response of anandamide (AEA) in the murine carotid artery, (iii) investigate the effects of cannabinoids on SMC proliferation, and (iv) to establish the effects of cannabinoids on SMC migration. The organ culture model developed in this study demonstrated the presence of both CB receptors on SMCs, LCMS/MS analysis of tissue samples showed that endocannabinoid concentration was significantly (2-arachidonoylglycerol / 2-AG) increased in injured artery sections. Isolated vessel studies demonstrated that AEA produces a small (~20%) relaxation of the murine carotid artery which was not dependant on the production of active metabolites, but involved activation of the CB1 receptor. Studies investigating the effects of cannabinoids on cell proliferation revealed that paradoxically both a CB2 agonist and a CB2 antagonist reduced markers of cell proliferation without any effect on cell viability; high concentrations of AEA (10I¼M) reduced SMC proliferation, however this was associated with an apparent cytotoxic/cytostatic effect. The preliminary data from cell migration studies suggests that a CB2 agonist may function to reduce stimulated cell migration and that 2-AG can increase migration of unstimulated SMCs. In conclusion, although further research is required, the data within this thesis provides evidence that the endocannabinoid system (in particular the CB2 receptor) may have the potential to be manipulated for therapeutic gains in terms of restenosis.


The concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are analyzed from a systems perspective. In the most general terms, sustainability of any system can be represented by a non-decreasing valuation function of the outputs of interest of the system considered. Different perspectives on the system of reference are discussed, from the extreme anthropocentric to the extreme bio- or ecocentric positions, and related to the criteria (based on the assumed substitutability between natural and manufactured capital); of very strong, strong, weak, and very weak sustainability. A set of underlying determinants of sustainability is proposed and discussed, including availability of resources, adaptability/flexibility, homeostasis, capacity of response, self-reliance, and empowerment. The concept of sustainable development is discussed and alternative theoretical perspectives that have been used in the literature are presented. The relationship between sustainability, development, nondevelopment, and maldevelopment; and material and non-material economic growth is mapped as a Venn diagram; alternative trajectories towards sustainable development for rich and poor countries are identified. Five alternative paradigms/strategies for sustainable development are summarized, showing the complexity of the process of choosing the right actions to move towards sustainable development.


Starting university changes the way students must structure their day. This study describes the patterns of time use of 444 Australian first year students and explores differences between gender and age groups. Overall, students were studying on average four hours per day (h/day), sleeping eight h/day and meeting Australian physical activity guidelines. A sizable portion of students' days were spent engaging in 'non-modifiable' activities including self-care, chores and travel. Stereotypical gender and age differences were observed, with males accumulating significantly more screen-time (+68 minutes per day [min/d]) and physical activity (+21 min/d), while females did more chores (+18 min/d) and self-care (+26 min/d). Younger students slept more (+42 min/d), and did fewer chores (-43 min/d). Given there are strong associations between how students use their time and health, well-being and academic success, a better understanding of how students allocate their time on a day-to-day basis will enable more effective support for students in making these changes.


I. INTRODUCTION II. THE EVOLUTION OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN LAW A. The Decades-Long Effort to Strike Down Traditional Marriage Laws Has Been a Consistently Losing One, Until Recently B. By Firmly Establishing Same-Sex Marriage in Law, the Goodridge Decision Opened the Floodgates of Gay Marriage Litigation Across the Country C. The Federal Defense of Marriage Act, Coupled With a Popular Backlash, Has Slowed the Spread of Same-Sex Marriage, For Now 1. DOMA Protects the Traditional Definition of Marriage in Federal Law and Guarantees that the Question of Marriage Is Left to Individual States 2. Lawrence v. Texas Calls the Constitutionality of Federal and State DOMAs into Question III. THE LEGALIZATION OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS GENERATING A MULTIPLICITY OF SERIOUS RISKS FOR RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS A. Religious Institutions that Refuse to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages Risk Civil Liability 1. Religious Institutions that Disapprove of Employees Entering into Same-Sex Marriages Risk Suits Under Employment Anti-discrimination Laws 2. Religious Institutions that Disapprove of Same-Sex Cohabitation Risk Suits Under Fair Housing Laws 3. Religious Institutions that Refuse to Extend Their Services or Facilities to Same-Sex Couples on the Same Terms as Married Men and Women Risk Suits Under Public Accommodation Laws 4. Religious Institutions that Express Their Religious Disapproval of Same-Sex Marriage Publicly Face Potential "Hate Crimes" or "Hate Speech" Liability B. Religious Institutions that Refuse to Treat Legally Married Same-Sex Couples as Identical to Traditionally Married Men and Women Risk Losing Equal Access to a Variety of Government Benefits and Privileges 1. Religious Institutions that Refuse to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages Risk Losing Their Traditional Tax-Exempt Status 2. Religious Institutions that Refuse to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages Risk Exclusion from Competition for Government-Funded Social Service Contracts 3. Religious Institutions that Refuse to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages Risk Exclusion from Government Facilities and Fora 4. Religious Institutions that Refuse to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages Risk Exclusion from the State Function of Licensing Marriages IV. CONCLUSION APPENDIX A: SELECT FAILED CHALLENGES TO TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE APPENDIX B: SELECT STATE RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS TO CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF DISCRIMINATION APPENDIX C: SELECT STATE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION STATUTES WITHOUT RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS "[T]he right to same-sex marriage conferred by the proposed legislation may potentially conflict with the right to freedom of religion...." Supreme Court of Canada, December 9, 2004. (1) I. INTRODUCTION On May 17, 2004, same-sex marriage became a legal reality in America. One hundred and eighty days earlier, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had mandated this result in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, (2) and in so doing, unleashed a nationwide wave of litigation and political controversy that has yet to subside. In Goodridge, the court decreed that the state's traditional definition of marriage, which consisted exclusively of one man and one woman, was "irrational" and discriminated against gays and lesbians so invidiously that it violated state equal protection guarantees. (3) Although the decision carried with it profound implications for religious liberty, (4) the Goodridge court dismissed any religious freedom concerns with the following conclusory footnote: Our decision in no way limits the rights of individuals to refuse to marry persons of the same sex for religious or any other reasons. …


Although cooperatives offer a viable organizational structure for many groups, economic theory suggests that the cooperative form of business should be preferred over a corporation only if special conditions are present. This paper identifies several conditions that may serve as justifications for cooperatives. Next, conditions limiting the performance of cooperatives are examined. Cooperative members are urged to examine their organization to discern whether its organizational structure provides the best vehicle for meeting group objectives.


Interspecific hybridization can result in significant shifts in allele frequencies. The objective of the present study was to assess the level of genetic variation in populations of P. mariana × P. rubens hybrids derived from artificial crosses. Progenies from backcross populations created through a series of controlled pollinations among P. mariana and P. rubens trees across the hybridization index were analyzed. Several Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to amplify genomic DNA samples from each population. ISSR primers produced from 30% to 52% polymorphic loci. The level of polymorphism was higher with RAPD markers, ranging from 57% to 76%. Overall, the two marker systems generated similar levels of polymorphic loci for P. mariana and P. rubens populations. No significant differences were found among the P. mariana × P. rubens populations analyzed and between the hybrids and the parental populations regardless of the molecular marker used. This confirms the genetic closeness of P. mariana and P. rubens species.