Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is a begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) that causes severe chlorosis, stunting, and cupping of leaves in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) throughout the world. The disease was first reported in the United States in Florida in 1997 (2). In 2000, TYLCV was confirmed as the cause of severe chlorosis, stunting, and cupping of leaves in tomato in Louisiana (3). In January of 2001, mild symptoms consistent with TYLCV were observed in a greenhouse-tomato production operation in east-central Mississippi. Whiteflies (Bremisia tabaci) were present in the greenhouse during the previous month, but in relatively low numbers. Symptom severity slightly increased over time with chlorosis in the terminal, reduction in terminal leaf size, and upward cupping of leaves observed. Approximately 4% of plants in the greenhouse developed symptoms. Yield reductions are thought to be negligible since the tomato plants harbored most fruit for that growing season. Terminal growth was halted, and no additional flower production was observed. No symptoms were observed on mature fruit; however, fruit set after leaf symptoms developed remained stunted. A representative sample of symptomatic tissue was submitted to an independent lab (Agdia, Inc., Elkhart, IN), screened for whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses, and the results were positive. Additional symptomatic tomato tissue was submitted to the University Diagnostics Lab, University of Florida, Gainesville, and was observed for viral inclusion bodies. This test was positive for TYLCV based on morphology of virus particles located in the nucleus of tomato cells (1). Total DNA was extracted from the symptomatic plants for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay (2). Results from the PCR assay indicated the presence of TYLCV in symptomatic tomato tissue. The strain of the virus was not determined. To our knowledge, this is the first report of TYLCV in Mississippi. References: (1) B. Pico et al. Sci. Hortic. 67:151, 1996. (2) J. E. Polston et al. Plant Dis. 83:984, 1999. (3) R. A. Valderde et al. Plant Dis. 85:230, 2001.


We propose a novel approach to the problem of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) based on incremental smoothing, that is suitable for real-time applications in large-scale environments. The main advantages over filter-based algorithms are that we solve the full SLAM problem without the need for any approximations, and that we do not suffer from linearization errors. We achieve efficiency by updating the square-root information matrix, a factored version of the naturally sparse smoothing information matrix. We can efficiently recover the exact trajectory and map at any given time by back-substitution. Furthermore, our approach allows access to the exact covariances, as it does not suffer from under-estimation of uncertainties, which is another problem inherent to filters. We present simulation-based results for the linear case, showing constant time updates for exploration tasks. We further evaluate the behavior in the presence of loops, and discuss how our approach extends to the non-linear case. Finally, we evaluate the overall non-linear algorithm on the standard Victoria Park data set.


Abstract Dzierżanowskite, CaCu2S2 (P3m1, a = 3.9400(4), c = 6.523(1) Å, V = 87.69(2) Å3, Z = 1), a thiocuprate, was found in larnite pseudoconglomerate rocks of the Hatrurim Complex at Jabel Harmun, Palestinian Autonomy, Israel. Dzierżanowskite occurs in larnite pebbles, which are embedded in a low-temperature mineral matrix. Associated minerals are larnite, brownmillerite, fluorellestadite, ye'elimite, gehlenite, periclase, ternesite, nabimusaite, vorlanite, vapnikite, fluormayenite, fluorkyuygenite, oldhamite, jasmundite, covellite, chalcocite and pyrrhotite. Electron microprobe analyses yield an average composition of Cu 55.25, Fe 0.13, S 27.46 and Ca 16.99, total 99.83 wt.%. The empirical formula of dzierżanowskite, based on 5 atoms, is Ca0.98Cu2.02Fe0.01S1.99. Dzierżanowskite forms grains up to 15 μm in size or rims on oldhamite and laminar intergrowths with chalcocite and covellite. Dzierżanowskite is dark orange, has a cream streak and a submetallic lustre. In reflected light it is grey, with a cream tint and characteristic yelloworange internal reflections. The calculated density of dzierżanowskite is 4.391 g cm-3. Three bands at 300, 103 and 86 cm-1 are observed in the Raman spectrum. The strongest lines of the calculated powder diffraction pattern are [d, Å (I ) hkl]: 2.358(100) 102, 1.970(93)110, 3.023(78) 011, 6.523(36) 001, 3.412 (28) 100, 1.834(28) 103. Dzierżanowskite was also found in unusual jasmundite rocks, forming small 'paleofumaroles' within areas of low-temperature hydrothermal rocks bearing larnite pseudoconglomerates at Jabel Harmun. Dzierżanowskite is a superimposed phase of the high-temperature alteration of pyrometamorphic rocks subjected to by-products (melts/fluids and gases) of pyrometamorphism originating in the deeper levels of combustion.


We demonstrate the use of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) to elucidate ligand binding to a membrane protein using dipolar recoupling magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR. In particular, we detect drug binding in the proton transporter M218–60 from influenza A using recoupling experiments at room temperature and with cryogenic DNP. The results indicate that the pore binding site of rimantadine is correlated with previously reported widespread chemical shift changes, suggesting functional binding in the pore. Futhermore, the 15N labeled ammonium of rimantadine was observed near A30 13Cβ and G34 13Cα suggesting a possible hydrogen bond to A30 Carbonyl. Cryogenic DNP was required to observe the weaker external binding site(s) in a ZF-TEDOR spectrum. This approach is generally applicable, particularly for weakly bound ligands, in which case the application of MAS NMR dipolar recoupling requires the low temperatures to quench dynamic exchange processes. For the fully protonated samples investigated, we observed DNP signal enhancements of ~10 at 400 MHz using only 4–6 mM of the polarizing agent TOTAPOL. At 600 MHz and with DNP, we measured a distance between the drug and the protein to a precision of 0.2 Å.


Most convolutional neural networks (CNNs) lack midlevel layers that model semantic parts of objects. This limits CNN-based methods from reaching their full potential in detecting and utilizing small semantic parts in recognition. Introducing such mid-level layers can facilitate the extraction of part-specific features which can be utilized for better recognition performance. This is particularly important in the domain of fine-grained recognition. In this paper, we propose a new CNN architecture that integrates semantic part detection and abstraction (SPDACNN) for fine-grained classification. The proposed network has two sub-networks: one for detection and one for recognition. The detection sub-network has a novel top-down proposal method to generate small semantic part candidates for detection. The classification sub-network introduces novel part layers that extract features from parts detected by the detection sub-network, and combine them for recognition. As a result, the proposed architecture provides an end-to-end network that performs detection, localization of multiple semantic parts, and whole object recognition within one framework that shares the computation of convolutional filters. Our method outperforms state-of-theart methods with a large margin for small parts detection (e.g. our precision of 93.40% vs the best previous precision of 74.00% for detecting the head on CUB-2011). It also compares favorably to the existing state-of-the-art on finegrained classification, e.g. it achieves 85.14% accuracy on CUB-2011.


Delving into the history of gambling and corruption in intercollegiate sports, Cheating the Spread recounts all of the major gambling scandals in college football and basketball. Digging through court records, newspapers, government documents, and university archives and conducting private interviews, Albert J. Figone finds that game rigging has been pervasive and nationwide throughout most of the sports' history. The insidious practice has spread to implicate not only bookies and unscrupulous gamblers but also college administrators, athletic organizers, coaches, fellow students, and the athletes themselves. Naming the players, coaches, gamblers, and go-betweens involved, Figone discusses numerous college basketball and football games reported to have been fixed and describes the various methods used to gain unfair advantage, inside information, or undue profit. His survey of college football includes early years of gambling on games between established schools such as Yale, Princeton, and Harvard; Notre Dame's All-American halfback and skilled gambler George Gipp; and the 1962 allegations of insider information between Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and former Georgia coach James Wallace "Wally" Butts; and many other recent incidents. Notable events in basketball include the 1951 scandal involving City College of New York and six other schools throughout the East Coast and the Midwest; the 1961 point-shaving incident that put a permanent end to the Dixie Classic tournament; the 1978 scheme in which underworld figures recruited and bribed several Boston College players to ensure a favorable point spread; the 1994-95 Northwestern scandal in which players bet against their own team; and other recent examples of compromised gameplay and gambling.


The level of incident radiation and the proportion of radiation that is diffuse affects radiation use efficiency (RUE) in crops, However, the degree of this effect, and its importance to growth and yield of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) have not been established. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of radiation environment on RUE, growth, and yield of sunflower. A fully irrigated crop was sown on an alluvial-prairie soil (Fluventic Haplustoll) and was exposed to three distinct radiation environments. In two treatments, the level of incident radiation was reduced by 14 and 20% by suspending tao different types of polyethylene plastic films well above the crop. In addition to the reductions in incident radiation, the proportion of radiation that was diffuse was increased by about 14% in these treatments. Lower incident radiation and increased proportion of diffuse radiation had no effect on total biomass, phenology, leaf area, and the canopy light extinction coefficient (k = 0.89). However, yield was reduced in shaded treatments due to smaller grain size and lower harvest index. Although crop RUE measured over the entire crop cycle (1.25 g/MJ) did not differ significantly among treatments, there was a trend where RUE compensated for less intercepted incident radiation. Theoretical derivations of the response of RUE to different levels of incident radiation supported this finding. Shaded sunflower crops have the ability to produce biomass similar to unshaded crops by increasing RUE, but have lower harvest indices.


Drastic changes in US politics relative to international agreements and to bilateral relationships with China raise a political question about the key currency status of the dollar and a theoretical question in international monetary economics: Can a key currency system be maintained if the issuing country deliberately engages in conflicting protectionist policy? This policy brief investigates how the positions of major currencies have been changing in the international monetary system for several years. The key currency relies on the acceptance of the issuing country as a benevolent hegemon that delivers an economic policy conducive to international financial stability. Until recently, it appeared that, despite the relative shrinking of the US weight in the world economy, the dollar had maintained its dominance both in international payments and in official reserves. However, uncertainty in US policy is disrupting risk perception in heavily dollar-indebted emerging and developing countries. Besides, denying the services of international transactions for non-US-resident firms with countries under US embargo is a serious encroachment on the key currency system. In the long run, the forces that can transform the international monetary system (IMS) stem from the transformation of the growth regime under environmental constraints. Since its genesis in the industrial revolution, the key currency has been the currency of the country dominating the primary energy resource, e.g. the commodity most traded worldwide. The pound sterling was linked with UK dominance in coal, the dollar with US dominance in oil. The irremediable shift to renewables, required to moderate climate change, will shift the growth regime to dispersed sources of renewable energy. The developing countries have inadequate financial resources to undertake the needy investments. Second, the positions of countries in terms of energy dependence will be reshuffled. A multilateral financial system, mixing public and private financial institutions, will require the cooperation of major countries to channel saving from all parts of the world to finance those investments. Here we argue that a multilateral monetary system would be more adapted to these challenges than the present one. It would fulfill the basic functions of international money in providing an ultimate reserve asset that will be the debt of no country, an SDR-based IMS. The last section of the paper explains the transition from dollar to SDR reserve.


This article explores the concept of lawyers' "professional independence" in the literature of the U.S. legal profession. It begins with some reflections on the conventional meanings of professional independence, which encompasses both the bar's collective independence to regulate its members and individual lawyers' independence in the context of professional representations, including independence from clients, on one hand, and independence from third parties, on the other. The article suggests that the professional conduct rules are overly preoccupied with protecting lawyers' professional independence from the corrupting influences of other professionals. The article then turns to an aspect of professional independence that has largely dropped out of lawyers' discourse but that deserves more attention, namely, lawyers' independence from the courts. This includes: (1) freedom to criticize judges; (2) freedom to disobey arguably unlawful court orders; and (3) freedom to resolve certain ethical dilemmas for oneself, as a matter of professional conscience. The article maintains that as the bar has become strongly identified and allied with the judiciary, motivated by the interests in securing judicial protection from other government regulation and in securing the bar's own institutional influence over individual lawyers, the bar has ignored this understanding and redefined professional independence consistently with a strong judicial role in regulating lawyers.


Considering the growth of the Brazilian ceramic tiles sector and its expressivity in the global setting, the present work has been developed in order to evaluate the main differences related to the preparation of bodies compositions by dry and wet route technologies and then to contribute to the viability of the porcelain tiles fabrication by dry route. The dry route can be considered the greatest technological innovation of the Brazilian ceramic tiles industry. However, despite the importance of this route to ceramic tiles fabrication, just few scientific studies were performed in order to identify its advantages and disadvantages. At the same time, in the last ten years, the porcelain tiles production showed a large growth, related to the global tendency in the sector to the diversification of production. The porcelain tiles present excellent technical properties and aesthetics effects to allow the development of ceramic products with high added value. These products have shown good penetration on market segments that are not achieved by traditional ceramic tiles. To the development of the study, it was evaluated the influence of the technology of preparation of bodies compositions on several technological parameters of relevance to the ceramic tiles production, like the medium size and the particle and granules sizes distribution, the particle and granules shapes and the degree of mixture. After that, tests were performed related to the bodies' chemical compositions, the conditions of milling and granulation by dry route, to identify the necessary adjustments to feasible the porcelain tile production by this route. The results interpretation allowed to understand the importance of the technological parameters evaluated, contributing for a critical evaluation of the feasibility of producing porcelain tiles by the dry route.


Abstract. Irrigation is the most important water use sector accounting for about 70% of the global freshwater withdrawals and 90% of consumptive water uses. While the extent of irrigation and related water uses are reported in statistical databases or estimated by model simulations, information on the source of irrigation water is scarce and very scattered. Here we present a new global inventory on the extent of areas irrigated with groundwater, surface water or non-conventional sources, and we determine the related consumptive water uses. The inventory provides data for 15 038 national and sub-national administrative units. Irrigated area was provided by census-based statistics from international and national organizations. A global model was then applied to simulate consumptive water uses for irrigation by water source. Globally, area equipped for irrigation is currently about 301 million ha of which 38% are equipped for irrigation with groundwater. Total consumptive groundwater use for irrigation is estimated as 545 km3 yr−1, or 43% of the total consumptive irrigation water use of 1277 km3 yr−1. The countries with the largest extent of areas equipped for irrigation with groundwater, in absolute terms, are India (39 million ha), China (19 million ha) and the USA (17 million ha). Groundwater use in irrigation is increasing both in absolute terms and in percentage of total irrigation, leading in places to concentrations of users exploiting groundwater storage at rates above groundwater recharge. Despite the uncertainties associated with statistical data available to track patterns and growth of groundwater use for irrigation, the inventory presented here is a major step towards a more informed assessment of agricultural water use and its consequences for the global water cycle.


Several studies show that internal armed conflict breeds conflict by exacerbating conditions that increase the chances of war breaking out again. Empirically, this 'conflict trap' works through four pathways: conflicts increase the likelihood of continuation, recurrence, escalation, and diffusion of conflict. Past empirical studies have underestimated the scope and intensity of the conflict trap since they consider the impact of conflict only through one of these pathways and rarely across sufficiently long time periods. This article shows that simulation and forecasting techniques are useful and indeed necessary to quantify the total, aggregated effect of the conflict trap, over long time periods and across countries. We develop a country-year statistical model that allows estimating the probability of no conflict, minor conflict, and major conflict, and the probabilities of transition between these states. A set of variables denoting the immediate and more distant conflict history of the country are used as endogenous predictors in the simulated forecasts. Another set of variables shown to be robustly associated with armed conflict are treated as exogenous predictors. We show that the conflict trap is even more severe than earlier studies have indicated. For instance, if a large low-income country with no previous conflicts is simulated to have two to three years of conflict over the 2015–18 period, we find that it will have nine more years of conflict over the 2019–40 period than if peace holds up to 2018. Conversely, if a large low-income country that has had major conflict with more than 1,000 battle-related deaths in several of the past ten years succeeds in containing violence to minor conflict over the 2015–18 period, we find that it will experience five fewer years of conflict in the subsequent 20 years than if violence continues unabated.


The metabolic syndrome is becoming a global public health issue. Those affected have higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke – as well as of dying from such an event – compared with people without the syndrome. This cluster of factors is closely linked with the worldwide increases in type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. The resulting premature deaths and disabilities are set to cripple health budgets in both developed and developing countries. Criteria for diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome entail a combination of cardio-metabolic risk factors. The authors of this article look at the two most commonly used definitions, and the usefulness of these in terms of public health to limit the growing burden of chronic diseases worldwide.


Linear polyethylenes in the amorphous region have been simulated as restricted random walks on a diamond lattice between two absorbing planes. The links among loops were studied by treating loops as oriented curves. The local conformations of polyethylene chains (i.e., trans and gauche energy differences) were considered in the simulation, thereby determining the effect of crystallization temperature on the loop entanglement. It was found that the total Gauss winding and link density of linked loops increased with the thickness of the amorphous region. This result agrees with that of the cubic lattice model. The link probability decreases very slowly with the thickness of the amorphous region. On the other hand, the results presented clearly indicate that all statistical measures of linked loops decrease with temperature. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 20: 348–353, 1999


. The article addresses the issues of investigating the homogeneity of foam concrete produced by three methods: the classical method (CM), dry foam mineralization (DM), as well as the proposed method of two-stage foaming (TSF). The study is necessary due to the impact of the manufacturing process on the homogeneity degree of foam concrete. Therefore, the TSF method is aimed at improving the homogeneity of the material structure by evenly distributing the pores through the sequential foam introduction. The homogeneity of the materials produced by the three methods was evaluated by comparing the results of discrete (point and localized) strength testing over the entire volume of the foam concrete blocks, as well as the results of thermal conductivity measurements. The test results obtained gave an understanding of the degree of materials homogeneity, and confirmed the impact of the foam concrete manufacturing process on its quality. Thus, the most homogeneous material structure throughout the entire volume is observed in TSF specimens, as evidenced by the minimum deviations of particular values of strength and thermal conductivity, ranging from 4.19 % (in the analysis of thermal conductivity) to 6.71 % (in the analysis of strength), while the same indicators for CM specimens are 22.4 % and 48.35 %, and for DM specimens are 11.05 % and 19.21 %, respectively.


Contains 36 photographs of the Pan-American Exposition, including candid snapshots of the Midway and various concessionaires, street views of the Exposition, and prominent buildings, including the Electric Tower. The photographer is unknown. Also included are two souvenir books: One Hundred Views of the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo and Niagara Falls: An Up-to-Date Souvenir Booklet for the Visitor, the Resident and for Universal Transmission to Show Something of the Great Exposition and of the Queen City of the Lakes; With a Brief Descriptive Guide to these Great Attractions; with Suggestions for Pleasure Trip by Lake and Land and Pan-American and Niagara Falls Views, both published in 1901.


In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that states could not, consistent with the Due Process Clause, deny same-sex couples the right to marry. To allow otherwise, said the Court, would "harm and humiliate the children of same sex marriage." Thus, it was hoped that marriage equality would provide greater security for the children of same-sex couples. And the need for such protections are increasingly important given that, with advances in assisted reproduction techniques, it is easier than ever for same-sex couples to become parents. Indeed, when it comes to procreation, same-sex marriages and opposite-sex marriages are becoming much more alike. But there remains an obvious difference between the two. Namely, same-sex couples are unable to procreate without the assistance of a third-party, meaning that although both parents in a same-sex marriage may qualify as legal parents, only one (at most) will qualify as a biological parent. But from a constitutional perspective, should that distinction matter?

The Supreme Court, in both Obergefell and its recent decision in Pavan v. Smith has indicated that, when it comes to the governmental benefits associated with marriage, the answer is "no." Nonetheless, within the realm of immigration law, the State Department is using the absence of biological ties against the children of same-sex marriage, and on that basis, denying them United States citizenship. Although nothing in the Immigration and Naturalization Act requires that citizens, in order to transmit citizenship, possess a biological relationship with their children born abroad, the State Department has begun denying citizenship petitions on behalf of children from same-sex couples simply because the citizen parent, despite being the child's legal parent, is not the biological parent. This Article argues that the State Department's approach is not only unreasonable and, thus, not entitled to Chevron deference, but more importantly, is an unconstitutional infringement of both the right to marry and the right to parent, as those rights have developed by the Supreme Court. In sum, the State Department's practice provides a poignant example of both the ongoing discrimination and the challenging questions that remain, post-Obergefell, in the quest for true marriage equality.


A few years ago, while conducting archival research on Pahlavi-era Iranian newspapers, I came across a photo from the anti-shah demonstrations that took place in late 1978 and early 1979. It showed a large group of Armenians protesting against the shah. In these years many Iranians and Westerners considered the shah's policies beneficial for religious minorities in Iran. Around the same time, I found a sentence that made this discovery more intriguing. In his seminal work Iran between Two Revolutions, Ervand Abrahamian mentions that throughout the Muhammad Riza Pahlavi era, the opposition to the communist Tudeh party accused it of being controlled by "Armenians, Jews, and Caucasian émigrés." I tried to find references in the current scholarship to Jews participating in the party, which could have earned them their part in this propaganda campaign, but found very little. Having read the important works of Joel Beinin, Orit Bashkin, and Rami Ginat on Jewish revolutionaries, including communists, in the Middle East, I wondered where the Jewish radicals in Iran were. Several factors may contribute to this silence in the historiography: the writing of Iranian history from a Zionist vantage point, a lack of interest in the history of the Iranian left in the postrevolutionary historiography, and an inability to conceptualize the transregional and global nature of the Iranian Jewish community.


As domestic markets have become saturated, multinational corporations (MNC) are turning their attention to international markets to increase their market share, revenues and their profits. MNCs activities have become increasingly global in scope, whereby going abroad is crucial if they are to succeed. This process is a challenge because the MNCs needs to overcome the barriers which hinder their entry into the targeted markets. They have to map out an entry strategy and choose the right entry mode. The focus of this paper is on how General Motors (GM) as a MNC can launch the Swedish SAAB brand of cars into India. Our analyses, which cover the period up to 2010, suggest that the best way to penetrate the Indian car market was by choosing the mix between exporting and local assembly as their entry mode. This helped GM to successfully penetrate its products, control investments and increase its competitive strength against domestic and foreign firms within the Indian market. Although recently the SAAB is in difficulty and almost bankrupt, the importance of this paper rests on the lesson how car manufacturers can enter foreign markets, especially in India.


The definitive guide to incident response--updated for the first time in a decade! Thoroughly revised to cover the latest and most effective tools and techniques, Incident Response & Computer Forensics, Third Edition arms you with the information you need to get your organization out of trouble when data breaches occur. This practical resource covers the entire lifecycle of incident response, including preparation, data collection, data analysis, and remediation. Real-world case studies reveal the methods behind--and remediation strategies for--today's most insidious attacks. Architect an infrastructure that allows for methodical investigation and remediation Develop leads, identify indicators of compromise, and determine incident scope Collect and preserve live data Perform forensic duplication Analyze data from networks, enterprise services, and applications Investigate Windows and Mac OS X systems Perform malware triage Write detailed incident response reports Create and implement comprehensive remediation plans


We study, in L 1 (R n ;) with respect to the gaussian measure, nontangential maximal functions and conical square functions associated with the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operator by developing a set of techniques which allow us, to some extent, to compensate for the non-doubling character of the gaussian measure. The main result asserts that conical square functions can be controlled in L 1 -norm by non-tangential maximal functions. Along the way we prove a change of aperture result for the latter. This complements recent results on gaussian Hardy spaces due to Mauceri and Meda.


The proliferation of mobile handheld devices in combination with the technological advancements in mobile computing has led to a number of innovative services that make use of the location information available on such devices. Traditional yellow pages websites have now moved to mobile platforms, giving the opportunity to local businesses and potential, near-by, customers to connect. These platforms can offer an affordable advertisement channel to local businesses. One of the mechanisms offered by location-based social networks (LBSNs) allows businesses to provide special offers to their customers that connect through the platform. We collect a large time-series dataset from approximately 14 million venues on Foursquare and analyze the performance of such campaigns using randomization techniquesand (non-parametric) hypothesis testing with statistical bootstrapping. Our main finding indicates that this type of promotions are not as effective as anecdote success stories might suggest. Finally, we design classifiers by extracting three different types of features that are able to provide an educated decision on whether a special offer campaign for a local business will succeed or not both in short and long term.


Although governments around Southeast Asia bemoan their failing ability to control the flow of news and information in the Internet age, the terrorist attacks on the US and, in particular, those in Bali in October 2002, are likely to provide a fillip for the region's hard-liners, and underpin surveillance states in the region. As culture becomes a major factor in national security and international relations, the role of the media and communications technology in political change has become ambiguous. The Internet allows the high-tech mobilisation of radical constituencies, and threatens to shake dominant political visions and cultural traditions to the core. Although technology has allowed a greater share of voice for the disillusioned, the dispossessed and the disadvantaged, it is also an effective weapon in the hands of the state. With Southeast Asia's silent majority prepared to sacrifice gains in democratic pluralism in return for security, the war on 'terror' will allow authoritarian governments to reel in many of the gains in freedom of speech only recently won and further alienate the Malay-Islamic communities, driving them into the arms of militant radicals.


This work analyses the effect of deregulation and commercialisation of the broadcast media in Nigeria since 1992. Concretely it focuses on radio stations, the nature of their programming decisions and what informs them. It studies the effect of deregulation on three dimensions: a) Production and distribution of Programmes. The broadcast industry manufactures and distributes content, so when a deregulation policy is applied to communication industry, the immediate effect is on content production and how this content is distributed in order to remain in business and maximize profit. b) Pubic services function of these programmes in relation to development communication/journalism, education, peacebuilding, amelioration of hate speeches both online and offline, culture and social cohesion. In the early beginnings of radio broadcasting, attempts were made to make it a public service for citizens' enlightenment, entertainment and education. British broadcasting was a pioneer of this tradition. This tradition remained for a long time before the policy of deregulation swept across the world. This work will analyse how deregulation and commercialisation may have affected the contribution of radio as Nigeria faces one of its biggest problems today: hate speech, ethnic and religious violence, radicalisation and terrorism. c) Access and participation for a broad range of segments in society, the rich, the poor, marginalized groups, women and others. In what ways have access and participation been constricted or improved for these groups as a result of deregulation and commercialisation of radio? It looks at hate speech in Nigeria, analysing its forms, dimensions and magnitude. It also, proposes strategies that could be used to ameliorate its impact. While legislation and regulations are potential strategies to consider, It argues that, even in this digital era, radio in Nigeria is still a powerful and popular medium in countering hate speech in the country, and if properly deployed, radio can be a potent tool in countering hate speech offline and online, although it would need to adapt programming for the new media generation to achieve this goal. Through the convergence of new media forms, radio can contribute in the battle against hate speech. The deregulation and commercialisation of the broadcast media was the demand of international political economy through the Structural Adjustment Programme and other economic revival programmes of the international financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. They were framed as market-driven policies that would reduce state-funded wastages and lead to economic prosperity, diversity and the ascendancy of market-driven democracy of choice. The conceptual frameworks and models that guide this analysis of deregulation and commercialization of broadcasting is a number of key ideas and theses on the literature of the political economy of communication as well as McQuail's the Democratic Participants Theory. Analysis is on the ways in which political and economic structures and processes, in this case the public policy of deregulation and commercialization of broadcasting impinge upon the production, dissemination and appropriation of communication by economic forces seeking profit. The critical political economy of communication sets out to show how different methods of financing and organizing our communicative needs, including ownership have consequences for the range of discourses and representations within the public domain and for audiences' access to them (Mosco, 2008; 2009; 2015). Under the Democratic Participant Media Theory, the primary role of the media is to ensure the individuals' rights and society's right to access relevant information. Providing a feedback mechanism for the people to answer back as a right, and the right to use the means of the communication process for their interaction and among their communities of interest, are critical issues raised by the theory. One of the key elements of the theory is access and participation for a broad spectrum of society not on the basis power, influence and wealth but focusing on communication as the right of every citizen. The theory advocates the freedom and rights of persons especially minority groups and their rights to access media and for the media to serve them according to their dictates and needs (McQuail, 1983:96-97; Asemah, E. S et al, 2017). This study employed qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions of listeners of four radio stations in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria. The study selected two radio stations that were established after deregulation and commercialisation and are privately owned. They are Raypower FM managed by the Daar Communication Company, later substituted with Vision FM operated by Vision Company Limited, Rhythm FM owned by Silverbird Production. It also selected one old public interest, public broadcasting station that is government-owned and still partly government-subvented, Kapital FM and also a new generation FM station established after deregulation but government-owned called ASO FM. It believes that such disparate stations would exhibit significant differences in our analysis of variance. The study also employs document analysis of programme schedules and two weeks of audio broadcasts of these four radio stations to triangulate and validate findings from the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The in-depth interviews and focus group discussion sessions were transcribed and the transcripts were uploaded and analysed, using NVivo, a qualitative research data management and analysis software. Thematic coding was done and major themes relating to the research questions were identified and classified in relation to basic concepts of the study. Codes identified from the theory and literature, as they relate to access, participation, content, programing etc. were used to code interviews and focus group discussions. The codes were also framed using questions that examined the issues of access and participation/content and peacebuilding. For this study, two weeks' audio recorded broadcasts of the four radio stations audio recordings of broadcasts of four radio stations were analysed. The hardcopy textual programmes schedules were used for cross-referencing. In analysing the audio texts, the codes created by the researcher were guided by the key research questions of the study. The study found that there is some development and peacebuilding content on radio post deregulation but not enough. Only 37 broadcast hours out of 1008 hours of four radio stations' broadcast hours in two weeks were devoted to development and peacebuilding content. Peacebuilding content was a paltry 8 hours of 1008 hours. It also found that there are instances of hate speeches on radio, post deregulation occasioned by the drive for profit and the privately-owned radio stations are, due to the quest for profit, more prone to disturb the peace and escalate violence But for the convergence between radio, cell phones and social media, access and participation would not have increased. There is more access for the poor and marginalized groups but not enough participation. The situation could have been worse without the emergence of cell phones, despite the multiplicity of radio stations. Higher levels of participation are not happening to any group without money. You can only produce your own programmes and broadcast them at the time of your choosing, if you pay for them. Despite improved access and participation for the poor, they do not contribute to the weightier issues of national development and governance, on the contrary, their participation is limited to whimsical, trivial and mundane issues like sports, riddles and jokes. Contrary to the concerns of political economy, post deregulation, radio stations are granting access and participation to the people who are in need for social justice and humanitarian concerns especially for the poor. We have tagged this new genre in radio broadcasting as "human rights radio"


This report reviews the physical and geochemical processes reported in the literature and likely
to be operating in the floodplain setting. The review supports a study of the Port Meadow,
located within the floodplain of the River Thames to the northwest of the city of Oxford, an area
affected by urban pollution. It focuses on floodplains but includes both material for the
hyporheic zone and also generally for riparian zones. It describes the processes, generically
covers case studies where these processes have been studied and then assesses the impact on
nutrient and other pollutant attenuation.
Floodplains are periodically-flooded areas along rivers and lakes and we can envisage the
floodplain setting as a heterogeneous and constantly changing environment where nutrients and
other contaminants are attenuated or removed from groundwater discharging to surface water.
These changes may be controlled predominantly by water levels. The surface water/groundwater
interface is a crucial control point for lateral nutrient fluxes between uplands and aquatic
ecosystems and for longitudinal processes along rivers and wetlands.
The concept of redox zones constitutes an important framework for understanding the behaviour
of nutrients and contaminants in groundwater. The addition of low molecular weight carbon
from the river to shallow groundwater during seasonal inundation of flood plains provides the
potential to further stimulate the redox environment.
To understand water movement and hence nutrient movement in floodplains we need to
understand residence times, the character of multiple flow paths, and if and when hydraulic
gradient reversal occurs. Nutrient migration is therefore controlled by water levels, the
distribution of subsurface permeability, plant uptake and redox zone patterns.
In contrast, point sources, such as landfills, unlined animal waste stores and leaking sewers,
appear to lead to a relatively stable system with a carbon and nutrient-rich source term which
generates an established redox sequence in a limited volume of groundwater down gradient. The
shape and size of such plumes may be affected by drought or heavy rainfall. On-site sanitation
systems demonstrate the same sequence of redox zones but the highly reducing conditions are
found within the tank and such schemes may rely on oxidation of reduced species in the effluent
during transport through the unsaturated zone.
Nitrate, the predominant oxidised form of nitrogen, is readily transported in water and is stable
under a range of concentrations. However, anaerobic carbon-rich sediments, such as those in
floodplains, have the potential to support large populations of denitrifying bacteria.
Denitrification is rapid compared to groundwater flow particularly under low flow conditions
and nitrate is lost from the groundwater system under these conditions. In contrast, phosphorus
removal by soil or sediment retention and biota uptake results in accumulation within the system.
Sediments can be both a source and a sink of dissolved phosphorus in surface water and shallow
groundwater. Opposite conditions are favourable for nitrogen and phosphorus management with
anaerobic conditions favouring denitrification but enhanced desorption and release of
phosphorus.
The important processes affecting other contaminants, such as those present in landfill leachate,
dissolved organic matter, xenobiotic organic compounds, inorganic macrocomponents, and
heavy metals are dilution, sorption, ion exchange, precipitation, redox reactions and degradation.
For many contaminants these processes provide significant natural remediation, limiting the
effects of the leachate on groundwater.
In peri-urban environments, such as the Oxford Port Meadow, there will be many different
sources of nutrients and contaminants and the distribution of zones of low redox may be both spatially and temporally variable. Other indicators will need to be applied, such as cocontaminants,
to help to understand fate and transport of nutrients and contaminants.


Gate-drive power supplies in medium voltage and high voltage direct current (MVDC I HVDC) applications require medium to high voltage insulation. In MVDC and HVDC power converters there are a number of different power supply techniques that can be used for powering the gate-drives of floating power switches, which are commonly found in such converters. This paper presents the state of the art of gate-drive power supply techniques. Contactless energy transfer methods and self-powering techniques used for powering the gate-drives of power switches are presented. The power range obtained and isolation range for the different solutions are then presented. Finally, the most promising techniques for MV and HV applications are highlighted.


Nowadays in many application scenarios of Internet of Things (IoT), low latency is achieved at the cost of computing-complexity which is beyond the capabilities of IoT devices. Offloading the computing intensive tasks to more powerful edge devices is expected to provide new generation computing-intensive and delay-sensitive services. In the three hierarchy architecture user/IoT-edge-cloud, private and secure mutual authentication are necessary between user, IoT device, and edge device. However, in the emerging computing paradigms, such as mobile transparent computing, edge computing, fog computing, and several threats, such as edge device compromise, privacy leaking, and denial of service (DoS) might crash the security of the system. Here, we propose a lightweight anonymous mutual authentication scheme for <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${n}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-times computing offloading (CO) in IoT. In our novel scheme, through a smartcard as token and an edge device as a security proxy, a user is able to subscribe or renew <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${n}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-times CO service and consume it securely in daily use. Moreover, both IoT and edge devices authenticate each other anonymously without leaking user's sensitive information, which will preserve the privacy even when an edge device is comprised. Finally, our scheme is based on lightweight one-way hash function and MAC function, therefore the adversary is not able to perform a DoS attack. To evaluate the solution, a security analysis and a performance analysis are presented. Compared with similar schemes, our approach achieves all designed security features and achieves a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.66\boldsymbol {\times }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2.87\boldsymbol {\times }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of computing speed on IoT and edge devices, respectably.


Abstract The marine faunas of tropical America underwent substantial evolutionary turnover in the past 3 to 4 million years in response to changing environmental conditions associated with the rise of the Isthmus of Panama, but the ecological signature of changes within major clades is still poorly understood. Here we analyze the paleoecology of faunal turnover within the family Pectinidae (scallops) over the past 12 Myr. The fossil record for the southwest Caribbean (SWC) is remarkably complete over this interval. Diversity increased from a low of 12 species ca. 10–9 Ma to a maximum of 38 species between 4 and3 Ma and then declined to 22 species today. In contrast, there are large gaps in the record from the tropical eastern Pacific (TEP) and diversity remained low throughout the past 10 Myr. Both origination and extinction rates in the SWC peaked between 4 and 3 Ma, and remained high until 2–1 Ma, resulting in a 95% species level turnover between 3.5 and 2 Ma. The TEP record was too incomplete for meaningful estimates of origination and extinction rates. All living species within the SWC originated within the last 4 Myr, as evidenced by a sudden jump in Lyellian percentages per faunule from nearly zero up to 100% during this same interval. However, faunules with Lyellian percentages near zero occurred until 1.8 Ma, so that geographic distributions were extraordinarily heterogeneous until final extinction occurred. There were also striking differences in comparative diversity and abundance among major ecological groups of scallops. Free-swimming scallops constituted the most diverse guild throughout most of the last 10 Myr in the SWC, and were always moderately to very abundant. Leptopecten and Argopecten were also highly diverse throughout the late Miocene and early Pliocene, but declined to very few species thereafter. In contrast, byssally attaching scallops gradually increased in both diversity and abundance since their first appearance in our samples from 8–9 Ma and are the most diverse group today. Evolutionary turnover of scallops in the SWC was correlated with strong ecological reorganization of benthic communities that occurred in response to declining productivity and increased development of corals reefs.


Hot shales are made up of mainly clay, organic matter, silt and quartz, which cause hot shales to have a complex composition and texture. This makes it more advanced to do rock physics studies and AVO modeling. Complex relations and models are needed to do studies and to predict their seismic response. As the complexity increases, several input parameters are needed, which may not always be available. Seismic inversions of one selected random line from a 3-D seismic survey and eight wells with well logs such as compressional- and shear-wave velocity, density, gamma ray and resistivity were available for this thesis. The focus was on Spekk and Melke Formations. Rock physics studies and AVO modeling of hot shales show that organic rich shales are strongly affected by organic matter. Factors such as anisotropy, compaction, porosity, fractures, fluids and maturity will also affect the properties of Spekk significantly. A crossplot of acoustic impedance versus Vp/Vs ratio, which includes templates that shows the trend of shales and brine saturated sands, was made to see where hot shales plot compared to these formations. Spekk did mainly plot at Vp/Vs ratios similar to brine saturated sands. An AVO class III is located in a syncline between two wells in the Yttergryta area. AVO analysis was done at top Spekk and at top Draupne to study the response of hot shales. The results showed that hot shales may occur as AVO class III, and not necessarily as AVO class IV. Spekk in well 6507/8-6 was capped by a shaly claystone and had a different AVO response than hot shales capped by marls and carbonates. Mature hot shales could cause an amplitude anomaly similar to AVO class III, but because of minimal tectonic uplift and a burial depth of Spekk that has not yet reached the maturity window, the formation is most likely not mature. Spekk found at a deeper depth than the syncline, do not show any indications of mature Spekk, which may imply that the amplitude anomaly is caused by hydrocarbon filled sands. Based on my results, it was not possible to separate hot shales from hydrocarbon saturated sands. This is due to uncertainties in how properties of hot shales are affected by geological variability and uncertainties associated with data quality and model assumptions.


Aim To evaluate Frisby Davis distance (FD2) stereotest for determining the timing of surgical intervention in intermittent exotropia (X(T)). Methods A prospective case–control study was conducted including 30 patients with X(T) and 30 age-matched controls. Stereoacuity was measured preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively using FD2 for distance and TNO and Randot for near. Results Preoperative distance stereoacuity was 43.83±35.51 arcsec (median 30 arcsec; range 10–120) which improved postoperatively to 27±33.74 arcsec (median 15 arcsec; range 5–120) (p=0.001). Cases with FD2 stereoacuity worse than 70 arcsec did not show significant improvement. Mean preoperative near stereoacuity by TNO was 94.00±79.48 arcsec (median 60 arcsec) and Randot was 50.33±39.23 arcsec (median 30 arcsec) which improved to 80.00±80.08 arcsec (median 60 arcsec) and 34.17±57.00 arcsec (median 20 arcsec), respectively, after surgery (both p=0.001). The controls had a mean distance stereoacuity of 14.66±4.13 arcsec (median 15 arcsec; range 5–20) and near stereoacuity of 63.00±21.35 arcsec (median 60 arcsec (TNO)) and 23.66±5.07 arcsec (median 20 arcsec (Randot)). There was a significant correlation between FD2 and Randot in the cases but not in controls (p=0.005), however no correlation was found between TNO and FD2. Conclusions Distance stereoacuity is reduced in X(T) to a greater extent than the near stereoacuity and both improve after surgery. FD2 is useful for deciding timing of surgery and a stereoacuity worse than 20 arcsec is an indication for surgical intervention. A preoperative distance stereoacuity which is worse than 70 arcsec implies a poor prognosis for stereoacuity improvement after surgery.


Phase change material board (PCMB) is considered high potential as an efficient passive solution to energy saving in building applications, especially in hot weather. A numerical investigation is conducted on PCMB, with both sides subjected to periodical temperature variations to examine its thermal behaviour. The experimentally validated model is based on the enthalpy method. The inner surface temperature variation is used as a comparison factor, further with two newly introduced parameters, thermal comfort ratio (TCR) and energy saving potential (ESP), to parametrically analyse the influencing factors in terms of both thermal comfort and energy saving aspect. Melting range, latent heat capacity, convective heat transfer coefficients for inner/outer surfaces, thermal conductivity and PCMB thickness are studied parametrically. Furthermore, the optimal heat storage capacity of a PCMB placed on the inner side of a traditional brick-concrete exterior wall is theoretically obtained.


We present V.Ra, a visual and spatial programming system for robot-IoT task authoring. In V.Ra, programmable mobile robots serve as binding agents to link the stationary IoTs and perform collaborative tasks. We establish an ecosystem that coherently connects the three key elements of robot task planning (human-robot-IoT) with one single AR-SLAM device. Users can perform task authoring in an analogous manner with the Augmented Reality (AR) interface. Then placing the device onto the mobile robot directly transfers the task plan in a what-you-do-is-what-robot-does (WYDWRD) manner. The mobile device mediates the interactions between the user, robot and IoT oriented tasks, and guides the path planning execution with the SLAM capability.


For people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hospital admission can be associated with a poor prognosis. Consequently, the end-stage of the illness needs to be recognized for timely palliative care to be initiated. Tools to enhance the palliative phase, such as the Gold Standards Framework and the Liverpool Care Pathway, rely on the recognition of the final phase of a person's life. The illness trajectory of cancer makes this recognition far easier than for COPD, and as a result, many patients and their families manage at home with limited support. The Lincolnshire Respiratory Network has developed criteria to help recognize the end stage of COPD, which correlate well with recommendations from the Consultation on a Strategy for Services for COPD in England (Department of Health, 2010). However, there needs to be appropriate training to assist practitioners in their confidence to refer patients with end-stage COPD to palliative care providers.


Federal courts often decide cases that include matters of state law, while state courts often decide cases that raise matters of federal law. Most of these cases are decided within the court system in which they originate. Recent commentary advocates more transjurisdictional adjudication through the expanded use of existing procedural devices, and development of new devices. Some commentators endorse greater use of certification by federal courts, while others advocate greater use of transjurisdictional procedural devices to increase the availability of a federal forum to resolve federal legal issues. In this Article, I call for refinement of this approach and argue that commentators have overlooked several looming obstacles. First, the ability of state courts to resolve issues of state law and federal courts issues of federal law relies upon the erroneous assumption that issues of federal and state law are readily separable. Second, the use of transjurisdictional procedural devices that send back to state court state law issues that federal courts otherwise would decide run the risk of admitting state court bias, or the appearance of bias, against out-of-state litigants. Third, commentators underestimate the extent to which transjurisdictional adjudication relies upon cooperation between court systems. Identifying these obstacles leads to a fuller recognition of the costs and benefits of transjurisdictional adjudication, which in turn is useful as a metric against which to measure existing and proposed transjurisdictional procedural devices and as an aid in refining existing devices.


The central objective of the Road Traffic Injury Research Network (RTIRN) is to support the development and strengthening of research agendas and research capacity on road traffic injury in low- and middle-income countries. Specifically, the network advocates for research to reduce the burden of road traffic injuries in low- and middle-income countries; develops capacity for road traffic injury research in low- and middle-income countries; promotes investments for road traffic injury prevention; facilitates communication between partners involved in road traffic injury research; conducts strategic road safety research, and promotes the application and utilization of research for policy and intervention development in order to reduce the burden of road traffic injury in low- and middle-income countries. The RTIRN has worked mainly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia to build capacity through training and mentoring, and the funding of strategic research in a number of countries. Through linkages facilitated by RTIRN, partners from both low- and high-income countries were able to successfully build research capacity with limited resources. The Network plans to use various platforms to engage its membership in discussions that highlight research gaps for the road safety field, in order to identify what research is critical where. We intend to interrogate the role of Implementation Research in the face of increasing pressure for Low- and Middle-Income Countries to meet global targets, and adopt recommended road safety interventions, many of them developed in HICs. We invite new and existing partners to join the discussions on www.rtirn.net.


Whether or not investments in African agriculture can generate quality employment at scale, avoid dispossessing local people of their land, promote diversified and sustainable livelihoods, and catalyse more vibrant local economies depends on what farming model is pursued. In this Forum, we build on recent scholarship by discussing the key findings of our recent studies in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. We examined cases of three models of agricultural commercialisation, characterised by different sets of institutional arrangements that link land, labour and capital. The three models are: plantations or estates with on-farm processing; contract farming and outgrower schemes; and medium-scale commercial farming areas. Building on core debates in the critical agrarian studies literature, we identify commercial farming areas and contract farming as producing the most local economic linkages, and plantations/estates as producing more jobs, although these are of low quality and mostly casual. We point to the gender and generational dynamics emerging in the three models, which reflect the changing demand for family and wage labour. Models of agricultural commercialisation do not always deliver what is expected of them in part because local conditions play a critical role in the unfolding outcomes for land relations, labour regimes, livelihoods and local economies.


On 11th March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). To date, there are rapidly spreading new "variants of concern" of SARS-CoV-2, the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7), the South African (B.1.351) or Brasilian (P.1) variant. All of them contain multiple mutations in the ACE2 receptor recognition site of the spike protein, compared to the original Wuhan sequence, which is of great concern, because of their potential for immune escape. Here we report on the efficacy of common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) to block protein-protein interaction of spike S1 to the human ACE2 cell surface receptor. This could be shown for the original spike D614, but also for its mutant forms (D614G, N501Y, and mix of K417N, E484K, N501Y) in human HEK293-hACE2 kidney and A549-hACE2-TMPRSS2 lung cells. High molecular weight compounds in the water-based extract account for this effect. Infection of the lung cells using SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped lentivirus particles was efficiently prevented by the extract and so was virus-triggered pro-inflammatory interleukin 6 secretion. Modern herbal monographs consider the usage of this medicinal plant as safe. Thus, the in vitro results reported here should encourage further research on the clinical relevance and applicability of the extract as prevention strategy for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Significance statement SARS-CoV-2 is steadily mutating during continuous transmission among humans. This might eventually lead the virus into evading existing therapeutic and prophylactic approaches aimed at the viral spike. We found effective inhibition of protein-protein interaction between the human virus cell entry receptor ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 spike, including five relevant mutations, by water-based common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) extracts. This was shown in vitro using human kidney (HEK293) and lung (A549) cells, overexpressing the ACE2 and ACE2/TMPRSS2 protein, respectively. Infection of the lung cells using SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped lentivirus was efficiently prevented by the extract. The results deserve more in-depth analysis of dandelions' effectiveness in SARS-CoV-2 prevention and now require confirmatory clinical evidence.


This practice-based research examines the importance of expanding the Malaysian visual culture heritage in light of the enormous impact of hybridity on art and craft in Malaysia. The research addresses the question of the impact of hybridity on art and visual culture by focusing on production of artworks from indigenous Malaysian craft - traditional fabrics Pua Kumbu and Batik, and the Sarawakian layer cakes. The main objectives of this research are to understand the problems, consequences and effects of hybridity on art and visual culture and to produce artefacts that explicitly illuminate a new understanding of the dynamic that obtains between hybridity, contemporary art and craft traditions in the Malaysian context. Questions pertaining to the affects of hybridity and globalisation towards Malaysian politics, economy and social aspects were addressed in the artworks as a key aspect of this research. Furthermore, development of the Malaysian art scene in relation with hybridity will be discussed in the light of contemporary art progression historically. Analysis of the theory of hybridity, connections between hybridity in art via the works of international and local artists, will put forward to clarify theses areas. This will include exploration of the issue of national identity. This research will engage in the production of artefacts in the context of a varied studio practice, developing and employing throughout the course of the research materials and techniques deemed appropriate in the production of artefacts that embody the quality of 'local' cultural forms in dialogue with, or resistant to, forms associated with an exogenous, 'global' culture. The artwork production opens up the phenomenon of the current process of hybridity and the issue of Malaysia's national identity. This research will adopt descriptive, heuristic and comparative methods within an overarching practice-led methodology. The building, implementation and evaluation of methodology together which include exhibitions and audience are the key components of this research. Critical review of the production of artworks is seen to be an integral part of the research methodology; this process will encourage and sustain multi-disciplinary approaches to the research question. This research has revealed the connection between hybridity and the advancement of the Malaysia contemporary art movement that has been undergoing transformation through the process of modernisation. Above all, as a Malaysian artist working in the United Kingdom, my practice differs from the normal practice of Malaysian artists who translate "Malay" culture into art work in that it offers a critical view on political, economical and social issues in Malaysia.


BACKGROUND
Currently, there has been extensive research interest for inorganic nanocrystals such as calcium phosphate, iron oxide, silicone, carbon nanotube and layered double hydroxide as a drug delivery system especially in cancer therapy. However, toxicological screening of such particles is paramount importance before use as delivery carrier. In this study we examine the biocompatibility of CaCO3 nanocrystal on NIH 3T3 cell line.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Transmission and field emission scanning electron microscopy (TEM and FESEM) were used for the characterisation of CaCO3 nanocrystals. Cytotoxicity and genotoxic effect of calcium carbonate nanocrystals in cultured mouse embryonic fibroblast NIH 3T3 cell line using various bioassays including MTT, and Neutral red/Trypan blue double-staining assays. LDH, BrdU and reactive oxygen species were used for toxicity analysis. Cellular morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal fluorescence microscope.

RESULTS
The outcome of the analyses revealed a clear rod-shaped aragonite polymorph of calcium carbonate nanocrystal. The analysed cytotoxic and genotoxicity of CaCO3 nanocrystal on NIH 3T3 cells using different bioassays revealed no significance differences as compared to control. A slight decrease in cell viability was noticed when the cells were exposed to higher concentrations of 200 to 400 µg/ml, while increase in ROS generation and LDH released at 200 and 400 µg/ml was observed.

CONCLUSIONS
The study has shown that CaCO3 nanocrystal is biocompatible and non toxic to NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells. The analysed results offer a promising potential of CaCO3 nanocrystal for the development of intracellular drugs, genes and other macromolecule delivery systems.


Introduction: The globalization in progress brings cultures and religions, that were once distant, ever more close, sometimes in a conflictual way. Often, the discussion has a superficial character because knowledge of the roots of one's own culture is being lost. Therefore, it is difficult to study other cultures in depth. In particular, in studying yoga, it seems appropriate to refer to the texts that are at the basis of both Western and Indian civilizations. The comparison of texts could add a little more understanding of a practice that has recently become an intangible heritage of humanity. Material and Methods: In this article, texts in hand, we intend to offer an example of how two cultures, the Hindu one, with particular reference to yoga, and the Jewish–Christian one, present common contents. For reasons of space, the Jewish and Christian traditions have come together in that they, although present very different characters, share a good part of the same sacred book, the Holy Bible, as their foundation. For Hinduism, yoga and Vedānta have come together in that aimed, in different ways and languages, to the same purpose: the realization of the identity between ātman and Brahman. The texts taken as an example in this case were the Bṛhad-Āraṇyaka-Upaniṣad and Yoga Yājñavalkya. Results: We found textual evidence of commonality between the concepts of vital breath and speech, present in both traditions. In addition, the functions attributed by the texts to both these concepts – that is, to give life, remove demons and blot out sins – appear to be common. Discussion: Yoga has been defined by Sri Krishnamacharya as the "India's biggest gift to the world." However, in the West, it is increasingly becoming "simply" a sporting practice. The comparison between the two traditions therefore appears necessary to recover the knowledge of both, the common traits and, ultimately, to deepen all that yoga has to offer regarding the understanding of life itself. The short comparison of texts we made in the present article reveals similar conceptions regarding fundamental concepts, such as vital breath and speech, and suggests the possibility of finding broader commonalities.


This book is part of TreeTops Fiction, a structured reading programme providing juniors with stories they will love to read. Offering chapter books with full-colour illustrations, written by well-known authors, these stories are full of humour and have real boy appeal. They are tightly levelled allowing children to read books appropriate to their ability. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. This book is also available as part of a mixed pack of 6 different books or a class pack of 36 books of the same Oxford Reading Tree level.


Conductive hearing loss (CHL) is an attenuation of signals stimulating the cochlea, without damage to the auditory end organ. It can cause central auditory processing deficits that outlast the CHL itself. Measures of oxidative metabolism show a decrease in activity of nuclei receiving input originating at the affected ear, but surprisingly, an increase in the activity of second order neurons of the opposite ear. In normal hearing animals, contralateral sound produces an inhibitory response to broadband noise in approximately one third of ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) neurons. Excitatory responses also occur but are very rare. We looked for changes in the binaural properties of neurons in the VCN of guinea pigs at intervals immediately, 1 day, 1 week and 2 weeks following the induction of a unilateral CHL by ossicular disruption. CHL was always induced in the ear ipsilateral to the VCN from which recordings were made. The main observations were: i. Ipsilateral excitatory thresholds were raised by at least 40dB. ii. Contralateral inhibitory responses showed a small but statistically significant immediate decrease followed by an increase, returning to normal by 14 days. iii. There was a large increase in the proportion of units with excitatory responses to contralateral BBN. The increase was immediate and lasting. The latencies of the excitatory responses were at least 6 ms, consistent with activation by a path involving several synapses and inconsistent with crosstalk. The latencies and rate-level functions of contralateral excitation were similar to those seen occasionally in normal hearing animals, suggesting an up-regulation of an existing pathway. In conclusion, contralateral excitatory inputs to the VCN exist, which are not normally effective, and can compensate rapidly for large changes in afferent input.


This paper reports an integrated-optic dispersion slope (third-order dispersion) equalizer for dispersion shifted fiber which employs a lattice-form programmable optical filter on a planar lightwave circuit (PLC). This dispersion slope equalizer consists of nine symmetrical interferometers interleaved with eight asymmetrical interferometers. The performance of the equalizer is evaluated numerically. We confirm experimentally that this equalizer is effective in reducing the pulse waveform deterioration caused by the dispersion slope. In addition, the equalizer improves the power penalty of a 200-Gb/s, 100-km, time-division multiplexed optical transmission experiment.


Patent law is applied in a variety of settings, including the Patent Office in determining an applicant's initial entitlement to a patent, the courts in enforcing patent rights, and the Patent Office in reconsidering previously issued patents. These settings differ significantly in their functions, timing, structure, procedures, and decision makers. Yet, identical patent law rules are generally applied in identical ways in each. This norm of coupled patent law is presumed, with little theoretical justification. Yet, problems arising from the norm of coupled patent law may underlie current disagreement among Congress, the Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit, and commentators about the optimal design of patent law. Simply put, it may be impossible to develop a single, optimal set of rules to be applied uniformly in the very different settings of the patent system. Rather, for patent law to be optimal in practice, rather than just in theory, it may need to be tailored to reflect the different contexts and decision makers of the patent system. Decoupling patent law to apply different rules, standards, tests, presumptions, etc. in the different settings of the patent system, like patent acquisition in the Patent Office and patent enforcement in the courts, may be warranted. This Article makes the normative case for decoupled patent as tool of patent law design and provides an initial framework for implementing it, addressing statutory and practical concerns.


Traditionally health care research is often valued on the evidence-based basis, which is dominated by statistically motivated quantitative research. However, the increasingly popular use of qualitative methods in general and health research, in particular, has provided a different kind of research evidence, which reflects real-life issues in social contexts. Though health care qualitative research has provided health care workers, policymakers and the public valuable insights into various aspects of population health, there are issues and problems regarding conducting qualitative research in an intercultural discourse. Sociolinguistic and cultural factors are the main causes of problems facing researchers and policymakers. Concepts such as confidentiality and security are culturally constructed. This paper examines some intercultural awareness issues that need to be considered in the conduct of health care qualitative research and some potential problems in the treatment of health qualitative data. Attention will be given to the Vietnamese health discourse.


This paper examined tax reforms in Nigeria with respect to value added tax (VAT). It highlighted the reasons for the replacement of sales tax with value added tax (VAT), yearly contributions of value added tax to the total revenue base of the nation and revealed that Value Added Tax (VAT) was designed to favour development at the lower tier level of government. The paper further revealed that Nigerian value added tax rate was the least in the world. Based on these revelations, the paper recommends that value added tax rate should be increased from five (5) percent to 10 percent in Nigeria. The paper also recommended that Value added tax (VAT) Act should be amended based on destination principle to impose VAT on imported services rendered outside Nigeria by a non-resident company. Keywords: Tax Reforms, Value added tax, Nigeria, sales tax


Interpersonal trust is widely cited as an important component in several network systems such as peer-to-peer networks, e-commerce, and semantic web. However, there has been less research on measuring interpersonal trust due to the difficulty of collecting data that accurately reflect interpersonal trust. Currently, friends of a user in almost all OSNs are indistinguishable, that is, there is no explicit indication of the strength of trust between a user and his/her close friends, as opposed to acquaintances. To address this issue, we quantify interpersonal trust by analyzing the social interaction frequencies between users and their friends on Facebook. We consider bidirectional interacting data in OSNs to deconstruct a user's social behavior and apply principal component analysis to estimate interpersonal trust. A Facebook app, itrust, is developed to collect interaction data and calculate interpersonal trust. Results show that itrust achieves more accurate interpersonal trust measurements than existing methods.


The seasonal growth of Codium bursa J. Agardh was examined in relation to ambient and internal nutrient concentrations to elucidate whether the low tissue nutrient concentrations observed are an intrinsic feature of this species or reflect nutrient-limited growth. Growth rates were rather low (mean 2 SE: 2.2 * 0.4 X 1 0 ~ d-'; doubling time = 1.24 * 0.1 yr), and were significantly correlated to seasonal changes in ambient and internal nutrient concentrations, suggesting nutrient, probably P, limitation. T h ~ s uggestion IS supported by the rather high atomic tissue C/P ratios (1712), compared to C/N ratios (31.8) observed in summer. This was confirmed by experimentally injecting nutrients into the internal lumen of the plants in situ, which resulted in a doubling of growth rate, photosynthetic efficiency, and a reduction in light compensation irradiance (39.6 and 29.9 pm01 photons m-* S-' in control and fertilised specimens, respectively). These results prov~de, along wlth the strong correlation between growth rate and ambient and internal phosphorus concentrations, clear evidence of a tight nutrient (likely phosphorus), rather than light or temperature, control of C. bursa growth rates. Hence, even inherently slow-growing organisms in the oligotrophic Mediterranean may be resource limited.


AN EXTENSIBLE FRAMEWORK FOR CREATING PERSONAL ARCHIVES OF WEB RESOURCES REQUIRING AUTHENTICATION Matthew Ryan Kelly Old Dominion University, 2012 Director: Dr. Michele C. Weigle The key factors for the success of the World Wide Web are its large size and the lack of a centralized control over its contents. In recent years, many advances have been made in preserving web content but much of this content (namely, social media content) was not archived, or still to this day is not being archived, for various reasons. Tools built to accomplish this frequently break because of the dynamic structure of social media websites. Because many social media websites exhibit a commonality in hierarchy of the content, it would be worthwhile to setup a means to reference this hierarchy for tools to leverage and become adaptive as the target websites evolve. As relying on the service to provide this means is problematic in the context of archiving, we can surmise that the only way to assure that all of these shortcomings are not experienced is to rely on the original context in which the user views the content, i.e. the web browser. In this thesis I will describe an abstract specification and concrete implementations of the specification that allow tools to leverage the context of the web browser to capture content into personal web archives. These tools will then be able to accomplish personal web archiving in a way that makes them more robust. As evaluation, I will make a change in the hierarchy of a synthetic social media website and its respective specification. Then, I will show that an adapted tool, using the specification, continues to function and is able to archive the social media website.


The investigation of air-launched ram-jet engines has been extended to include a study of models with a nominal design free-stream Mach number of 2.40. These models require auxiliary thrust in order to attain a flight speed at which the ram jet becomes self-accelerating. A rocket-boosting technique for providing this auxiliary thrust is described and time histories of two rocket-boosted ram-jet flights are presented. In one flight, the model attained a maximum Mach number of 2.20 before a fuel system failure resulted in the destruction of the engine. Performance data for this model are presented in terms of thrust and drag coefficients, diffuser pressure recovery, mass-flow ratio, combustion efficiency, specific fuel consumption, and over-all engine efficiency.


Over the past two decades electronic games have become ingrained in our culture Children''s fixation with these games initially alarmed parents and educators, but educational researchers soon questioned whether the motivation to play could be tapped and harnessed for educational purposes. A number of educational electronic games have been developed and their success has been mixed. The great majority of these games are designed for singler players; it there is more than one player, the players are usually required to take turns playing. Althought learning within a cooperative group setting has been found to be extremely effective, designing educational games to support multiple players working together has received little atention. using a multi-player game format could provide the motivation that children need to learn and at the same time enhance both the achievement and the social interactions of the children. In order to design multiplayer educational games we must understand what motivates children to play electronic games, how to incoporate educational content into electronic games, and how to develop appropriate multi-person educational tasks. An understanding of design issues for multi-user software is also required. This essay is a literature review that addresses the issues involved in the design of educational electronic multi-player games. The relevant bodies of literature include human-computer interaction, electronic games, educational electronic games, electronic multi-player games. Two of the most relevant areas of the human-computer interaction literature are Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). All of the bodies of literature are discussed with respect to educational electronic multiplayer games, areas where further research is required are noted, and gegneral design guidelines for educational eelectronic multi-player games are offered.


Background and Objective: The reductionist approach of neuronal cell culture has been useful for analyses of synaptic signaling. Murine cortical neurons in culture spontaneously form an ex vivo network capable of transmitting complex signals, and have been useful for analyses of several fundamental aspects of neuronal development hitherto difficult to clarify in situ. However, these networks lack the ability to receive and respond to sensory input from the environment as do neurons in vivo. Establishment of these networks in culture chambers containing multi-electrode arrays allows recording of synaptic activity as well as stimulation. Method: This article describes the embodiment of ex vivo neuronal networks neurons in a closed-loop cybernetic system, consisting of digitized video signals as sensory input and a robot arm as motor output. Results: In this system, the neuronal network essentially functions as a simple central nervous system. This embodied network displays the ability to track a target in a naturalistic environment. These findings underscore that ex vivo neuronal networks can respond to sensory input and direct motor output. Conclusion: These analyses may contribute to optimization of neuronal-computer interfaces for perceptive and locomotive prosthetic applications. Ex vivo networks display critical alterations in signal patterns following treatment with subcytotoxic concentrations of amyloid-beta. Future studies including comparison of tracking accuracy of embodied networks prepared from mice harboring key mutations with those from normal mice, accompanied with exposure to Abeta and/or other neurotoxins, may provide a useful model system for monitoring subtle impairment of neuronal function as well as normal and abnormal development.


Confusion about the IRS's processes and standards has led to criticism of the IRS as being arbitrary in its decision-making process and adverse to the journalism industry. But while there have been controversial decisions by the IRS in particular cases, it is critical to understand that the IRS's primary duty with respect to these applications is to protect the public fisc by ensuring that only organizations that meet criteria enacted by the United States Congress are granted a Section 501(c)(3) exemption. Although the IRS has some discretion in applying these criteria, it does not have the authority to recognize broad new categories of tax-exempt organizations, such as news outlets. Until and unless there is action in Congress to facilitate tax exemptions for journalism non-profits, news organizations seeking 501(c)(3) status must learn how to structure their operations to meet the existing standards applied by the IRS. To that end, this guide is intended to provide practical information regarding the standards that the IRS applies in determining whether to grant federal tax-exempt status to a non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3).


The recent progress on Raman scattering in GaN single crystals and GaN/AlN heterostructures is reviewed. Anti-Stokes Raman scattering is used to determine electron-phonon scattering time and decay time constant for longitudinal-optical phonons. In a typical high electron mobility transistor based on GaN/AlN heterostructures, strong resonances are reached for the first-order and second-order Raman scattering processes. Therefore, both Stokes and anti-Stokes Raman intensities are dramatically enhanced. The feasibility for laser cooling of a nitride structure is studied. A further optimization will enable us to reach the threshold for laser cooling. Raman scattering have potential applications in up-conversion lasers and laser cooling of nitride ultrafast electronic and optoelectronic devices.


In summer 2015 a geochemical survey on groundwater was carried out at 31 sampling points (wells and piezometers) belonging to the new "Official monitoring groundwater network of Rome Municipality" (GMNR). The following parameters were measured: temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (i.e. salinity) and alkalinity; these data were used to compute partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). Furthermore, samples were collected to characterise waters from a chemical point of view (major elements). To implement our data - base, chemical analyses of 6 CO2 - rich mineral waters of Rome were considered. Hydrochemical survey was mainly devoted to: i) classify waters in chemical facies; ii) investigate the main water-rock interaction processes governing the water's chemical evolution, also affected by variable amounts of dissolved CO2 and iii) define the pCO2 level in groundwater in the frame of the knowledge so far acquired in the Tyrrhenian sector of central Italy.. Groundwater shows a dominant Ca-HCO3 chemistry; some samples belong to Na-HCO3, Na-Cl and CaCl2 hydrochemical facies. In the dominant facies waters show a large variability in the abundance of chemical elements, in their salinity (ranging between 0.46 e 3.83 g/l) and pH (in the interval 5.87-7.22); these features are mainly due to different water-rock interaction processes together with the presence of variable CO2 contents. Na-HCO3 waters show the lowest salinity values (TDS up to 0.32 g/l) and strongly alkaline pH; cation exchange processes with clays, causing Na enrichment and Ca and Mg removal from solution, can be invoked to justify the observed chemistry. Waters of the Castel Fusano Natural Reserve (CFNR) belong to the Na-Cl and Ca-Cl2 facies; the different chemistry reflects the geochemical processes going on in the considered coastal aquifers such as: i) mixing between freshwater and saline waters of marine origin (fossil waters, seawater intrusion) and ii) cationic exchanges with clays that make up the less permeable sediments of the area. Two samples of the CFNR group have Ca-HCO3 chemistry and represent aquifers not affected by salinization processes. Calculated pCO2 distribution is highly variable, from low (0.03 bar) to high values (0.72 bar), implying different CO2 input (and origin) in the studied aquifers. Highest levels of carbon dioxide are linked to the degassing processes going on in the Tyrrhenian sector of Central Italy.


Sahadeo's article examines Julian Go's Patterns of Empire from the viewpoint of a historian of Russia's southern borderlands of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Go offers a pathway for scholars of other expansionist regimes, including the tsarist state and the Soviet Union, to break down exclusivist mythologies and think beyond the nation. In turn, Sahadeo's article examines steps toward a transnational history of empire that builds on Go's peripheral model.


The rapid increase in the development of digital video systems has generated a strong need for objective video quality metrics. Two methods are presented in this work. One is the Gabor difference analysis (GDA) full reference method, and the other is the reverse frame prediction (RFP) no reference video quality method. Both methods are based on the multi-channel properties of the human visual system (HVS). Gabor filtering is used in both methods. In the GDA method, a reference and a degraded digital video sequence are compared by taking into account various psycho-perceptual properties of the HVS. The RFP method does not require a reference video stream and is intended for in-service testing and on-line monitoring. The performances of the proposed methods are evaluated. The methods in this work are shown to be consistent with the data from subjective testing over a wide range of scenes. This work is critical to the evaluation of the effectiveness of compression schemes on HDTV imagery.


Late onset is a key unifying feature of human neurodegenerative maladies such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and prion disorders. While sporadic cases typically emerge during the patient's seventh decade of life or later, mutation-linked, familial cases manifest during the fifth or sixth decade. This common temporal emergence pattern raises the prospect that slowing aging may prevent the accumulation of toxic protein aggregates that lead to the development of these disorders, postpone the onset of these maladies, and alleviate their symptoms once emerged. Invertebrate-based studies indicated that reducing the activity of insulin/IGF signaling (IIS), a prominent aging regulatory pathway, protects from neurodegeneration-linked toxic protein aggregation. The validity of this approach has been tested and confirmed in mammals as reducing the activity of the IGF-1 signaling pathway-protected Alzheimer's model mice from the behavioral and biochemical impairments associated with the disease. Here I review the recent advances in the field, describe the known mechanistic links between toxic protein aggregation and the aging process, and delineate the future therapeutic potential of IIS reduction as a treatment for various neurodegenerative disorders.


What's the best approach for developing an application with JavaScript? This book helps you answer that question with numerous JavaScript coding patterns and best practices. If you're an experienced developer looking to solve problems related to objects, functions, inheritance, and other language-specific categories, the abstractions and code templates in this guide are ideal -- whether you're writing a client-side, server-side, or desktop application with JavaScript. Written by JavaScript expert Stoyan Stefanov -- Senior Yahoo! Technical and architect of YSlow 2.0, the web page performance optimization tool -- JavaScript Patterns includes practical advice for implementing each pattern discussed, along with several hands-on examples. You'll also learn about anti-patterns: common programming approaches that cause more problems than they solve. Explore useful habits for writing high-quality JavaScript code, such as avoiding globals, using single var declarations, and more Learn why literal notation patterns are simpler alternatives to constructor functions Discover different ways to define a function in JavaScript Create objects that go beyond the basic patterns of using object literals and constructor functions Learn the options available for code reuse and inheritance in JavaScript Study sample JavaScript approaches to common design patterns such as Singleton, Factory, Decorator, and more Examine patterns that apply specifically to the client-side browser environment


This study proposes a structural system which aims at improving the seismic performance of new and existing wooden houses making use of oil dampers. Problems to install any special damping devices into wooden structures are known, for one thing to be the wood being brittle in bending and the other the strength of the joint between the device and wood being relatively low. Therefore, to get rid of these problems, we developed an oil damper which works only when subject to compression and is provided with relief valves to limit the maximum resistance. First part of the study deals with a series of harmonic loading tests to see if the damper exhibits the same properties as designed beforehand. Then, the dampers are mounted as knee braces at the corners of wood panels which is subject to dynamic loading tests in two ways. First one is a test to apply sinusoidal displacement to an isolated panel. Second one is a shaking table test on full scale single-story wood frames. From these tests, we confirmed that the damper can absorb as much as nearly 60% of seismic input energy. It is also confirmed that the installment of the damper makes it possible for wooden frames that collapses at the first strike of strong ground motion to withstand the same ground motion several times with no significant damage accumulation to main structures. Lastly, these test results are compared to analytical results and it is concluded that the proposed structural system do work to improve seismic safety of wooden houses.


Formaldehyde (CH2O) adsorption on the anatase TiO2(101) surface was studied with a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. Scanning tunneling microscopy, noncontact atomic force microscopy, temperature-programmed desorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed on the experimental side. Density functional theory was used to calculate formaldehyde adsorption configurations and energy barriers for transitions between them. At low coverages (<0.25 monolayer), CH2O binds via its oxygen atom to the surface 5-coordinated Ti atoms Ti5c (monodentate configuration). At higher coverages, many adsorption configurations with comparable adsorption energies coexist, including a bidentate configuration and paraformaldehyde chains. The adsorption energies of all possible adsorption configurations lie in the range from 0.6 to 0.8 eV. Upon annealing, all formaldehyde molecules desorb below room temperature; no other reaction products were detected.


The title reaction was undertaken to establish the interaction between amantadine and molybdate at physiological pH. Identical FTIR spectra, TG-DTA curves and CHN data of the complexes formed from three solutions at pH 1.5, 7.4 and 8.0 indicate that the same complex was formed at all the three pHs. The FTIR spectrum shows shift in peaks corresponding to primary amino group of the drug due to coordination to molybdate. An octahedral geometry is assigned to the complex. The kinetics of the complexation has been studied at low concentrations of the reactants using UV-visible spectrophotometry. At pH 7.4, the initial rate varies linearly with [molybdate]. A plot of initial rate versus [drug] is linear passing through origin. These results indicate that the drug and molybdate react at pH 7.4 even at low concentrations. At pH 1.5, the rate increases linearly with increase in [drug] but decreases with [molybdate]. The effect of p H and ionic strength on the rate of the reaction has also been studied. A suitable mechanism has been proposed for the reaction. Reaction between the drug and molybdate even at low concentrations and the fact that the amino group of amantadine required to be free for its function as antiviral, is bound to molybdate in the complex suggests that simultaneous administration of the drug and molybdate supplements should be avoided. IPC Code: Int. Cl. 8 C07F11/00