Dispute resolution in the application of management rules of sectional title schemes
In practice the management of sectional title schemes gives rise to a number of problems. The purpose of this article is to investigate the need for a sectional title ombud's office as a method of alternative dispute resolution in the South African legal system. The reason for the introduction of a sectional title ombud's office is the failure of the existing provisions for arbitration in the management rules to provide a viable alternative to litigation. In terms of the wording of the relevant rule any dispute between the body corporate and an owner or between owners must be referred to arbitration unless an interdict or any form of urgent or other relief is required or obtained from a court. Thus any party willing to bear the cost of litigation may effectively ignore the rule and proceed with litigation.
At the end of 2004 the department of land affairs appointed a legal team to draft new legislation to provide appropriate dispute resolution structures for sectional title consumers. The proposed solution is a sectional title ombud's office, which will be less costly and more effective in resolving disputes than court orders and arbitration. In the financial sector various ombud's offices have been implemented in recent years, all of which have proven to be successful. If the sectional title ombud's office follows suit, it will prove to be a feasible solution to the underlying problem.


Trans-individual litigation has revolutionized modern law. It has radically altered the manner of assertion and adjudication of legal claims. Beyond concerning a large number of people, the underlying suits operate in a unique fashion. In particular, they call for the constant protection of the interests of the parties on whose behalf the plaintiffs purport to speak.Not surprisingly, corporate law has partaken in this phenomenon. For instance, derivative suits allow individuals to sue for a larger collectivity, somewhat along the lines of the citizen suits established over a century later. Of course, they entertain the claims of the corporation, rather than those of the society as a whole. Likewise, stockholders have deployed the class action, since its inception, to aggregate their claims specifically against the corporate entity or the board of directors.This Article concentrates on derivative suits and shareholder class actions. It ultimately contends that the two procedures resemble each other only superficially and that they diverge from each other on a more profound level. Most significantly, derivative suits aim at the vindication of a genuinely collective and indivisible right, while shareholder class actions seek to enforce an aggregation of individual entitlements. Consequently, these mechanisms also differ in the kind of representation they entail, in the objective they pursue, in how they construct fairness internally, and in how they approach the central problem of adequacy of representation.An appreciation of this dichotomy contributes to an understanding not only of the inner workings of each of these two devices but also of the corporation itself and of the relationship among the corporate entity, the board of directors, the investors, and even the stakeholders. In addition, it suggests a new interpretation of the key distinction, ever-present in the case law, between derivative and direct corporate claims. Accordingly, in order to distinguish the former from the latter, courts should focus, first and foremost, on the nature of the right at stake, following the path delineated in Part IV. At the end of the day, by grasping the difference between derivative suits and shareholder class actions, one gains invaluable insights into group rights generally.


This paper considers some of the legal and procedural issues surrounding the United Kingdom's planned withdrawal from the European Union. It looks in particular at the formal exit process under Article 50 TEU and the EU institutions' preparations for negotiations. It also sets out some possible templates for future EU-UK relations, as well as the details of existing frameworks for cooperation between the EU and third countries.


Social and economic status of an individual or group can be measured as a blend of wealth, income, occupation, and education. Other contributors to social and economic status include race, ethnicity, home ownership, family size, family types, and even types of foods purchased. The combination of social and economic status can reveal a group or individual's unequal access to resources, privilege, power, and control in a society. This Spotlight on Statistics examines Consumer Expenditure Survey data to explore the patterns of social and economic factors by race and ethnicity


This study designed an efficient one-step method for synthesizing carbon-based nanofluids (CBNFs). The method employs the vortex trap method (VTM) and an oxygen-acetylene flame, serving as a carbon source, in a manufacturing system of the VTM (MSVTM). The flow rate ratio of O2 and C2H2 was adjusted to form suitable combustion conditions for the reduced flame. Four flow rate ratios of O2 and C2H2 were used: 1.5 : 2.5 (V1), 1.0 : 2.5 (V2), 0.5 : 2.5 (V3), and 0 : 2.5 (V4). The morphology, structure, particle size, stability, and basic physicochemical characteristics of the obtained carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNMs) and CBNFs were investigated using transmission electron microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrometry, ultraviolet–visible–near-infrared spectrophotometry, and a particle size-zeta potential analyzer. The static positioning method was utilized to evaluate the stability of the CBNFs with added EP dispersants. The evaluation results revealed the morphologies, compositions, and concentrations of the CBNFs obtained using various process parameters, and the relation between processing time and production rate was determined. Among the CBNMs synthesized, those obtained using the V4-0 flow rate ratio had the highest stability when no EP dispersant was added. Moreover, the maximum enhancement ratios of the viscosity and thermal conductivity were also obtained for V4-0: 4.65% and 1.29%, respectively. Different types and concentrations of dispersants should be considered in future research to enhance the stability of CBNFs for further application.


The serogroup C meningococcal immunisation programme was reviewed during 2012 by the Department of Health's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), and an adolescent booster has been recommended as a result of concerns over duration of immunity in the childhood population.1

During the 1990s, a clone of Neisseria meningitidis (sequence type 11; ST11) with a serogroup C polysaccharide capsule (repeating units of the sugar, α-2-9 N acetyl neuraminic acid) swept through the UK causing outbreaks of meningococcal disease in schools and universities, generating considerable media attention and anxiety for parents and those doctors, including paediatricians, in the front line of early diagnosis. The highest rates of disease were in the first 2 years of life, presumably as a result of immunological naivety, and among adolescents and young adults (see figure 1) as a result of various well known risk factors and behaviours (smoking, bar attendance, interpersonal proximity).2 ,3 The response to this serious public health problem, with some 955 microbiologically confirmed cases in the year from mid-1998, was the development, clinical testing and licensure of three serogroup C meningococcal (MenC) conjugate vaccines.4 These vaccines contain the MenC polysaccharide, chemically conjugated to a carrier protein (either tetanus toxoid or a mutant diphtheria toxoid, CRM197). The Department of Health launched an ambitious campaign of vaccination against MenC in the autumn of 19994 with the majority of infants, children and young people from 2 months to 19 years of age receiving MenC vaccine (see table 1) in a mass vaccination campaign over the next 12 months.5 Cases of disease caused by serogroup C meningococci plummeted over the next year, and continued to fall during the ensuing decade.6 Based on the prevaccination 1998 levels of disease, the vaccine may now have prevented more than 10 000 cases (see figure 2). …


Twelve-year-old Grimsly Summerfield is the odd one out in Quiver Hollows as a kid with no magical powers or supernatural qualities, things that literally every single other resident possesses. One best friend can levitate and the other can bend two hundred spoons with his mind in sixty seconds, while Grimsly's greatest talent is giving excellent sermons at the pet funeral home he runs. One day, though, things in town start to be, well, normal: the waterfalls simply fall rather than loop, dogs whelp puppies rather than purple piglets, and not a single spoon will be bent. Folks turn on Grimsly, saying his normalcy is infectious, but Grimsly won't give up on his beloved town, especially when he learns that he is in fact part of a curse that could doom Quiver Hollows if he can't find a way to reverse the spell. Grimsly's a delightful narrator with a healthy mix of sarcasm and vulnerability that provides moments of guffaw-inducing humor and levens more emotionally heavy scenes. The latter half of the novel, though, turns jarringly dark, and the plot becomes murky, with details of the curse confusingly laid out and a resolution that doesn't make a whole lot of sense within the world's rules. Still, the return of weirdness to Quiver Hollows and Grimsly's new status as the savior of said weirdness may be enough for readers who can appreciate the joys of eccentricity. KQG


Due in no small part to the work of Thomas Piketty, the empirical study of income inequality has flourished in the last decade. But this plethora of new data has not led to a corresponding theoretical revolution. Why? The problem, I believe, is an unwillingness to question and test the basic assumptions on which current theory rests. Most theories of personal income distribution are deeply wedded to the assumption that income is proportional to productivity. However, this approach has a simple, but little discussed problem: income is distributed far more unequally than documented differentials in human labor productivity. But if not productivity, then what explains income? I propose that income is explained most strongly by social power, as manifested by one's rank in an institutional hierarchy. Using a novel array of evidence, I show (for the first time) that there is a strong quantitative relation between income and hierarchical power. Moreover, I show that hierarchical power affects income more strongly than any other factor. I conclude that this is evidence for a power theory of personal income distribution.

Refreshment will be served and everyone is welcome.

WHERE: Verney Room, South 674 Ross Building, Keele Campus, York University
WHEN: 2:30 - 5:30 pm, Tuesday, 17 October 2017


"Growing concern over health risks associated with food products has prompted close examination of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards in industrialized countries. Standards are employed to protect human health from toxic additives, contaminants, toxins, or disease-causing organisms in foods and beverages, as well as to protect animal and plant health from diseases. Measures used to protect health include outright bans, standards that dictate the conditions under which products must be produced and/or characteristics of the end products, and labelling and other information requirements....Both anecdotal and case-study evidence indicates that the cost of food-safety regulations indeed can be significant. This is especially true for developing countries attempting to penetrate developed-country agricultural markets." from Text


Most commercial vehicles currently on the market are still equipped with a passive suspension system, while some luxury brands may already use an adaptive suspension. Active suspension systems on the other hand are rarely found, however, they offer great opportunities to close the gap of the well-known trade-off between ride comfort and handling. Besides that, they can also be used to mitigate single event disturbances, an objective of the USA army as announced in a solicitation which initiated and motivated this research. In addition to that, several studies were found stating the impact and danger of potholes and their impact on the vehicle and passenger.

Reviewing the literature, several control strategies for controlling active suspension systems were found. However, most of these approaches used feedback control and did not try to mitigate single event disturbances. Since literature also suggested making use of look ahead preview, research at the Performance Engineering Research Lab at Virginia Tech was started in 2015 combining look ahead preview and an adaptive system to generate optimal force profiles. This introductory research succeeded and proved the used approach to be very promising. However, the used adaptive system was not designed to operate in real-time and did not show any correlation between different road profiles.

Therefore, the main objective of this research project is to evaluate and analyze each of the adaptive systems by searching for correlations in their solutions. The results then should be used in order to design a control law which emulates the adaptive system and can be used in a real-time environment.

First, an overall research methodology was derived. According to this a software application was developed which extracts ideal force profiles from single event disturbance signals in order to miti- gate their impact to the vehicle. The application uses a quarter car model with a partially loaded active suspension system, a set of predefined road profiles, a road profile preprocessor, and an adaptive algorithm. The preprocessing includes geometric filtering using a Tandem-Cam Model and the adaptive processor used an iterative version of the Filtered-X Last-Mean-Square algorithm.

During evaluation and analysis of several generated data sets, high correlations in the generated and adjusted adaptive systems were discovered. From these an empirical and theoretical universal filter model was derived, which was then used to design an open-loop control law named Optimal Force Control.

The original control law and an adjusted version designed for a real-time environment were tested for all predefined road profiles over all considered vehicle velocities and prove to perform much better than the offline solution using the adaptive system.

In summary, a control law named Optimal Force Control was designed which can be used and implemented in a vehicle to extract an analytical and ideal force profile given a road profile input. Implementing an active suspension system with tracking controller, this approach can be used in order to mitigate single event disturbance signals by reducing the vertical vehicle acceleration.


Hypomagnesemia is associated with reduced kidney function and life-threatening complications, and sustains hypokalemia. The distal convoluted tubule (DCT) determines final urinary Mg2+ excretion, and via activity of the Na+-Cl- cotransporter (NCC) also plays a key role in K+ homeostasis by metering Na+ delivery to distal segments. Little is known about the mechanisms by which plasma [Mg2+] regulates NCC activity, and how low plasma [Mg2+] and [K+] interact to modulate NCC activity. To address this we performed dietary manipulation studies in mice. Compared with normal diet, abundances of total NCC (tNCC) and phosphorylated NCC (pNCC) were lower following short-term (3 days) or long-term (14 days) dietary Mg2+ restriction. Altered NCC activation is unlikely to play a role since we also observed lower tNCC abundance in mice lacking the two NCC-activating kinases SPAK and OSR1 following Mg2+ restriction. The E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase NEDD4-2 regulates NCC abundance during dietary NaCl loading or K+ restriction. Mg2+ restriction did not lower tNCC abundance in inducible nephron-specific NEDD4-2 knockout mice. tNCC and pNCC abundances were similar following short-term Mg2+ or combined Mg2+-K+ restriction, but were dramatically lower compared with low K+ diet. Sustained NCC downregulation may therefore serve a mechanism that enhances distal Na+ delivery during states of hypomagnesemia, maintaining hypokalemia. Similar results were obtained with long-term Mg2+-K+ restriction, but surprisingly, NCC was not activated following long-term K+ restriction despite lower plasma [K+], suggesting significant differences in distal tubule adaptation to acute versus chronic K+ restriction.


A mechanical wave is generated as a result of an oscillating body interacting with the well-defined medium and it propagates through that medium transferring energy from one location to another. The ability to generate and control the motion of the mechanical waves through the finite medium opens up the opportunities for creating novel actuation mechanisms. The focus of this study is on understanding the traveling wave generation and propagation by establishing the relationships that illustrate the role of structural and electromechanical parameters. A brass beam with free-free boundary conditions was selected to be the medium through which the wave propagation occurs. Two piezoelectric elements were bonded on the opposite ends of the beam and were used to generate the controlled oscillations. Excitation of the piezoelectrics results in coupled system dynamics that can be translated into generation of the waves with desired characteristics. Theoretical analysis based on the distributed parameter model and experiments were conducted to provide the comprehensive understanding of the wave generation and propagation behavior.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Spleenic abscess is an uncommon clinical entity and in asymptomatic patients may be revealed in autopsy studies. Splenic abscesses generally occur in patient with neoplasia, immunodeficiency, trauma, metastatic infection, splenic infarct or diabetics. The incidence of Splenic abscesses thought to be growing due to the increasing no of immunocompromised patients .We present a rare case of spleenic abscess .Out of 30 Patients who presented with left hypochondriac pain this single patient had a Splenic abscess documented on CT Scan.


The iron(III) protoporphyrin IX complex with imidazole, a biologically relevant ligand, occupying an axial position, has been studied by infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy. The complex has been delivered in gas-phase by electrospray ionization (ESI), mass selected in an ion trap, and assayed by IRMPD spectroscopy in two complementary frequency regions. The fingerprint range (900-1900 cm(-1)) has been scanned using the Orsay free-electron laser beamline (CLIO), while the X-H (X = C,N,O) stretching region (3000-3600 cm(-1)) has been inspected using a tabletop IR optical parametric oscillator/amplifier (OPO/OPA) laser source. DFT calculations have been performed to obtain a comprehensive pattern of the various potential conformers yielding optimized geometries, relative thermodynamic parameters, and respective IR spectra. The comparison between the IR spectra for representative conformers and the experimental IRMPD features suggests the coexistence of two families of conformers involving different degrees of folding and hydrogen bonding between the two propionic acid functionalities on the periphery of the protoporphyrin IX macrocycle in a ratio depending on environmental conditions such as ESI solvent and temperature. The observed conformational variability of the porphyrin substituents in the naked heme-imidazole complex is consistent with the fine-tuning of the reactivity properties of this important prosthetic group by the specific surroundings in the protein core.


Why am I writing this book? When I start writing programs and market them, I had a problem on finding an easy way to solve my problems, I found a lot of documents and articles talking about different subjects and I have to go through all of them to find what I'm looking for, I was always asking the same question, and I guess a lot of you, are doing the same: why they don't just give an example so people can try it, see how it works and this is how we get better. In this book we will learn how to develop a program from A to Z, I will try to guide you step by step. For sure, all codes here could be better optimized but this is not the goal of this book, the goal is to put on hands a fully working example. I found once this article on the internet, it inspires me a lot and I guess it resumes the final aim of this book, the author says: "I think human beings in general are great innovators, but only after a period of copying first. Essentially, the "great copying" period is necessary to build a foundation of knowledge and resources, innovation just doesn't come from out of nowhere, all by itself. You don't get to build a skyscraper if you don't have the steel, glass and concrete needed to actually make the thing"


It is well known that the symmetric group has an important role (via Young tableaux formalism) both in labelling of the representations of the unitary group and in construction of the corresponding basis vectors (in the tensor product of the defining representations). We show that orthogonal group has a very similar role in the context of positive energy representations of osp(1|2n,R). In the language of parabose algebra, we essentially solve the long standing problem of reducibility of Green's ansatz representations.


Carnosic acid is a phenolic diterpene with anti-inflammation, anticancer, anti-bacterial, anti-diabetic, as well as neuroprotective properties, which is generated by many species from Lamiaceae family. Fisetin (3,3',4',7-tetrahydroxyflavone), a naturally flavonoid is abundantly produced in different vegetables and fruits. Fisetin has been reported to have various positive biological effects, including anti-proliferative, anticancer, anti-oxidative and neuroprotective effects. Lung cancer is reported as the most common neoplasm in human world-wide. In the present study, the possible benefits of carnosic acid combined with fisetin on lung cancer in vitro and in vivo was explored. Carnosic acid and fisetin combination led to apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Caspase-3 signaling pathway was promoted in carnosic acid and fisetin co-treatment, which was accompanied by anti-apoptotic proteins of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl decreasing and pro-apoptotic signals of Bax and Bad increasing. The death receptor (DR) of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) was enhanced in carnosic acid and fisetin combined treatment. Furthermore, the mouse xenograft model in vivo suggested that carnosic acid and fisetin combined treatment inhibited lung cancer growth in comparison to the carnosic acid or fisetin monotherapy. This study supplies a novel therapy to induce apoptosis to inhibit lung cancer through caspase-3 activation.


Changes in regulations and tighter interpretations of existing regulations engaged participants in 14th annual Labor and Employment Roundtable, hosted by the Cornell Institute for Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations. They also reviewed changes in union organizing rules. Two Supreme Court decisions dealt with the challenging application of accommodating workers' health and religious needs, while a new ruling by the National Labor Relations Board calls into question the supposedly arm's length relationship of employee leasing firms and their clients, as well as franchisors and franchisees. The NLRB also has shortened the campaign time for union elections. In one Supreme Court case, Young v. United Parcel Services, Inc., the Court pointed to a simple principle when employers implement policies for those with illness or medical conditions. Policies must be consistent with regard to how on-job and off-job health issues are treated, and the company's policy must not be driven by economic considerations. That is, the Court stated that an employer's denial of a light-duty assignment for an employee could not be based on cost or convenience. The case relating to religious accommodation also involved an economic hinge. In an earlier case, the Court had held that religious accommodations are limited to that which would have no more than a de minimus cost on the employer. In this case, EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores Inc., Abercrombie had declined to hire a woman wearing a headscarf on the assumption that she would need a religious accommodation. The Court frowned on the idea that an employer would take religious accommodations into account when deciding whether to hire a person. The franchising industry is attempting to make sense of the NLRB ruling regarding joint employment, in which the board ruled that franchisors that maintain some kind of control over their franchisees' employees should be considered joint employers of those employees. This is a complicated matter, and the situation is still in flux. Finally, with regard to the telescoped union campaign ruling, these are supposed to benefit the unions. So far, however, there's no indication that the change has affected the overall outcome of union election campaigns.


We propose a novel, to our knowledge, scheme to form a controllable double-well optical dipole trap for cold atoms (or molecules) by using an optical system composed of a binary pi-phase plate and a lens illuminated by a plane light wave. We calculate the intensity distribution of the double-well trap and derive the analytical relationships between the characteristic parameters of the double-well trap (including geometric parameters, intensity distributions, and intensity gradients and their curvatures) and the relative aperture beta of the lens system. We also extend our controllable double-well trap to its trap array by using a binary pi-phase grating combined with an array of spherical microlenses. Our study shows that, if the pi-phase plate (or the pi-phase grating) is moved along the x direction, our double-well trap (or array of double-well ones) can continuously evolve to a single-well one (or an array of single-well ones) and vice versa, which can be used to study cold collisions between two atomic (or molecular) samples and atom interference with Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in a double-well potential; to prepare quantum entanglement between two macroscopic atomic assembles, even to realize an all-optical double-well atomic (molecular) BEC (including an array of all-optical double-well BECs) by using optical-potential evaporative cooling; to form a novel optical lattice with a larger lattice constant; and so on.


This article focuses on a variety of laser beam machining (LBM) operations of aluminum and its alloys, namely, laser cutting, laser drilling, laser milling, laser turning, laser grooving, laser scribing, laser marking, and laser micromachining. It presents different approaches for carrying out machining operations, laser processing parameters, efficiency and accuracy of the process, and the effect of laser processing parameters on the quality of the machined surface. The article provides an overview of the various conventional (chip forming) and nonconventional machining techniques employed for aluminum-based materials. A comparison of the various aspects of LBM with other non-conventional techniques is also presented. The article also describes the features of LBM techniques employed for aluminum and its alloys for different types of machining.


In a policy context of healthy, sustainable and livable cities, the urban parks are a key research agenda in the social sciences, with the notable exception of human geography. This thesis aims to help fill this gap in the literature by combining quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a benchmark survey of how apartment dwellers make sense of Wollongong city centre parks as part of their everyday life. The thesis draws on a survey of 340 respondents and 18 semi-structured interviews conducted with apartment dwellers in Wollongong city centre, a regional city on the east coast of Australia. The survey results explore the trends of park use, value and experiences. Then, using John Wiley's concept of landscape phenomenology, insights are provide to how participants make sense of city centre parks. Attention is given to explaining how and why MacCabe Park stands out as a problematic space, the tensions between city centre parks valued as inclusive public spaces and desire for regulation and exclusion, and the city centre park as an 'escape' from the everyday.


Over the past four thousand years, numerous techniques have been developed and used to address problems in Finance. These techniques include simple arithmetic calculations and probabilistic methods as well as intelligent systems techniques such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, multi-agent systems, and support vector machines. The techniques have been developed to accurately and quickly collect, validate, analyze, and integrate data that change dynamically.
The particular problem that we address in this dissertation is the construction of efficient algorithms for the problem of an optimal portfolio selection, that is, algorithms that would accurately and in real time determine the best distribution of wealth among several investment assets to achieve a specific goal. The main goal of making investments is to gain as much wealth as possible, therefore the goal is to maximize the return. However, the problem we face is that the investors do not know in advance what the return of each asset will be, but rather there are some educated predictions about the returns from each asset. These return predictions might turn out to be correct, but on the other hand, they might be completely wrong. Thus, there is a risk associated with each predicted return, and therefore with each asset. One of the goals of an investor is the minimization of risk. However, usually, a higher return is associated with a higher risk. Thus, it is impossible to maximize the return and minimize the risk independently. Moreover, additional characteristics, such as time to maturity, preferred portfolio structure, and reputations of companies that sell investments asset, among others, are also considered before locking money into an asset or a portfolio. This problem leads to the necessity of developing intelligent system techniques to find the best trade off between the return and the risk based on the preferences of an investor.
The techniques that are used to solve the problem of optimal portfolio selection all have their drawbacks. To solve these problems, we propose a new approach driven by utility-based multi-criteria decision making setting, which utilizes fuzzy measures and integration over intervals.


Background and Aims: Our previous study showed that small-for-size liver graft may provide favorable micro-environment for tumor growth. GPx3, an anti-oxidant, not only attenuates oxidative stress, but also suppresses liver tumor growth in our recent study. Here, we aimed to characterize the clinical significance and explore the functional role of GPx3 in HCC recurrence after liver transplantation. Methods: To explore the association between GPx3 expression and HCC invasiveness, a rat orthotopic liver transplantation model with tumor development was established. To investigate the clinical relevance of GPx3, 105 HCC patients who underwent liver transplantation were recruited. The suppressive role of GPx3 in HCC cells was studied using wound healing, Matrigel invasion assay and lung metastasis model. The real-time intravital imaging system was applied to directly visualize the tumor cells invasion in a living animal. The underlying mechanism was further explored. Results: GPx3 was identified as a down-regulated protein in small-for-size liver graft and significantly associated with invasive phenotype of tumor growth in a rat model. Plasma GPx3 was significantly lower in small-for-size graft group post-transplantation (day1: 33 vs 1147; day3: 3209 vs 4459; day7: 303 vs 2506; mU/mL, P<0.05) in rat model. Clinically, the plasma GPx3 was significantly lower in the recipients with HCC recurrence post-transplantation (day1: 4.16 vs 8.99 µg/mL, P<0.001; day7: 3.86 vs 9.99 µg/mL, P<0.001). Furthermore, lower plasma GPx3 was identified as an independent predictor (HR=4.528, P=0.046) for poor overall survival post-transplantation. Over-expression of GPx3 significantly suppressed migration, invasiveness and metastasis of HCC cells. Real-time intravital imaging showed that GPx3 significantly suppressed HCC invasiveness in a live animal. GPx3 suppressed the tumor invasiveness through inhibition of JNK-cJun-MMP2 pathway. Conclusion: GPx3 may possess prognostic and therapeutic value for HCC patients after liver transplantation.


We investigated the polarization of continuous-wave laser emission in the orange region, at 607 nm, and in the red region, at 639 nm and 643 nm, from a Pr:BaY2F8 (Pr:BYF) crystal, pumped by a 445 nm laser diode. We achieved linearly polarized emission along two optic axes of the crystal by changing its orientation with respect to the pump. Simultaneous emission of two orthogonal linear polarizations was observed in the orange region, at the same wavelength, and in the red region, with concurrent emission from the two separate lines.


We announce the discovery of a new Milky Way satellite Segue 2 found in the data of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE). We followed this up with deeper imaging and spectroscopy on the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT). From this, we derive a luminosity of M v =− 2.5, a half-light radius of 34 pc and a systemic velocity of ∼− 40 km s −1 . Our data also provide evidence for a stream around Segue 2 at a similar heliocentric velocity, and the SEGUE data show that it is also present in neighbouring fields. We resolve the velocity dispersion of Segue 2 as 3.4 km s −1 and the possible stream as ∼ 7k m s −1 . This object shows points of comparison with other recent discoveries, Segue 1, Boo II and Coma. We speculate that all four objects may be representatives of a population of satellites of satellites – survivors of accretion events that destroyed their larger but less dense parents. They are likely to have formed at redshifts z> 10 and are good candidates for fossils of the reionization epoch.


Tropical cyclones generate extreme hazards along coastlines, often leading to losses of life and property. Although coral reefs exist in cyclone‐prone regions globally, few studies have measured the hydrodynamic conditions and morphological responses of reef‐fringed coastlines to tropical cyclones. Here, we examine the impact of Tropical Cyclone Olwyn on a section of Australia's largest fringing reef (Ningaloo Reef) using in situ wave and water level observations, topographic surveys, and numerical modeling. Despite forereef significant wave heights reaching 6 m and local winds of 140 km h−1, average beach volume change was only −3 m3 m−1. The results indicate that this erosion was due to locally generated wind waves within the lagoon rather than the offshore waves that were dissipated on the reef crest. A comparison of these volume changes to observations of tropical cyclone impacts along exposed sandy beaches quantitatively demonstrates the substantial coastal protection reefs can provide against extreme storms.


Almost all forest management activities affect landscape pattern to some extent. Among the most obvious impacts are those associated with forest harvesting and road building. These activities profoundly affect the size, shape, and configuration of patches in the landscape matrix. Even-age management such as clearcutting has been applied in blocks of uniform size, shape, and distribution, as strip cuts with alternating leave and cut strips or as progressive cutting of strips, and as patches with variable sizes, shapes, and distributions. In contrast to the coarse-grain patterns produced on the landscape by even-age management, uneven-aged regeneration techniques produce small openings in the canopy where individual trees or small blocks of trees are harvested. Roads, another important landscape feature associated with forest management, are essential for access and for extracting forest products. Once built, however, they greatly alter the character as well as the use of the landscape.


"Assembled in Japan" investigates one of the great success stories of the twentieth century: the rise of the Japanese electronics industry. Contrary to mainstream interpretation, Simon Partner discovers that behind the meteoric rise of Sony, Matsushita, Toshiba, and other electrical goods companies was neither the iron hand of Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry nor a government-sponsored export-led growth policy, but rather an explosion of domestic consumer demand that began in the 1950s. This powerful consumer boom differed fundamentally from the one under way at the same time in the United States in that it began from widespread poverty and comparatively miserable living conditions. Beginning with a discussion of the prewar origins of the consumer engine that was to take off under the American Occupation, Partner quickly turns his sights on the business leaders, inventors, laborers, and ordinary citizens who participated in the broadly successful effort to create new markets for expensive, unfamiliar new products. Throughout, the author relates these pressure-cooker years in Japan to the key themes of twentieth-century experience worldwide: the role of technology in promoting social change, the rise of mass consumer societies, and the construction of gender in advanced industrial economies.


Sandwiched between the dramatic Forties and the traumatic Sixties, the Fifties have suffered, as many things in history (and life) do, from uncomfortable neighborhood. This decade retained an aura of domesticity that poorly compared with the emotional havoc wreaked by the previous years of war or the subsequent disturbances of counterculture and Civil Rights. And yet as we enter the new millennium, the age associated with the suburban dream and baby booming is being re-evaluated as one of the most intriguing periods of twentieth- century American culture. Two provocative works published in the early Nineties, W. T, Lhamon, Jr.'s Deliberate Speed: The Origins of a Cultural Style in the American 1950s, and David Halberstam's The Fifties, have broken the ground for a revival of interest in the period, challenging the over-simplified view of the decade by raising a variety of new issues. To a certain extent, they looked back onto Eric F. Goldman who, in The Crucial Decade: America, 1945--1955, claimed that this period had challenged the average American citizen to face and deal with controversial questions. A second edition, The Crucial Decade--And After: America, 1945-60, expanded the argument to cover the entire Fifties and concluded on an optimistic note that emphasized the speed of the changes by which contemporary American sensibility has been shaped. Goldman's analyses illustrate how inappropriate were some of the epithets by which the Fifties were lampooned as the "Dismal Decade", the "Years of Neuroses" or more disparagingly the "Age of the Vacuum Tube" (290). (1) A backward glance into the budding Fifties, however, cannot but disclose signs of rampant anxiety, a spiritual malaise fostered by the nightmarish memories of the preceding Thirties and Forties, before complacence, material prosperity and the so-called American way of life prevailed. As the self-appointed champion of Western values in the aftermath of World War II, the United States had first to fight off the ghosts of traumatic experience before achieving the long desired dream of becoming the "Citty upon a Hill". (2) The smoke from Holocaust chimneys had not yet vanished when the decision to use the bomb against Japan spread the suspicion that no participant in the horrors of such war was to come out of it with clean hands. As Norman Mailer would later claim in his controversial essay of the Fifties, "The White Negro," no one alive at the time could possibly estimate "the psychic havoc of the concentration camps and the atom bomb upon the unconscious mind" (303). Could these traumas account for the appearance of a junior Senator from Wisconsin, for the hysteria and the witch-hunting of McCarthyism? Could it legitimate the climate of the Cold War, the distortions and loss of sense of proportions it harbored? Could it finally justify the barricading of conservative America behind its most cherished values and the weaving of its favorite ghosts into everyday life, fostering the fear of another economic collapse and the bankruptcy of the dream? But which were the dreams of the anointed champion of Western values? Could happiness and peace be chartered by the rules of expanding economy? Hardly, if we are to trust the novels, the poems and the plays of the period, pervaded as they are by so many signs of identity crises and shattered hopes. In the novel, for instance, the scene is engrossingly devoted to the representation of the dilemmas of the self and nowhere is such representation more visible than at the center of the prolific war novels published around the turn of the decade. In the tradition of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, these novels--among them, Irwin Shaw's The Young Lions (1948), James Jones's From Here to Eternity (1951) or Herman Wouk's The Caine Mutiny (1951)--foreground the helplessness of the individual against the assaults of the military organization and feature war as a mere foil for the inner conflicts of the bewildered self. …


Hemiarthroplasty of the hip is a common procedure to treat fracture of the neck of femur, which commonly affects the elderly. The treatment involves replacing the femoral head with a metallic component, leaving it to articulate against the cartilage of the acetabulum. This can commonly lead to rapid cartilage erosion. There have been several studies that examined the tribology of cartilage under a variety of contact mechanics conditions, the majority of these studies use simple geometrical models and none of the current in-vitro studies have examined cartilage tribology for longer than a two hour period. This is a relatively short period which is a limitation with regards to drawing conclusions that might affect clinical practice. Therefore, the overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the in-vitro tribological effect of varying clearance of hip hemiarthroplasty over a four day period. This involved developing a medium term in-vitro simulation system, which needed to be validated.

There were five areas that required development and validation for the proposed in-vitro tribological simulation system. Firstly, the animal acetabulum that was used to represent human tissue needed to be chosen. This was performed by comparing the mechanical and geometrical properties of the hip joint and femoral head cartilage between human and a variety of animals. Secondly, the lubricant which was based on previous literature was validated in terms of maintaining sterility, preventing tissue degradation and its ability to mimic synovial fluid. Through performing this validation, it was found that contamination significantly decreases friction coefficient and hence, needed to be eliminated. Therefore, the third area of validation was the aseptic dissection technique. The fourth area that needed to be addressed was to design, develop and validate the "vessel" that will house the in-vitro simulation system. The final area of validation was the contact mechanics of the hemiarthroplasty simulation system, which needed to be similar to that seen in-vivo.

During hemiarthroplasty surgery, the size of the metallic femoral head is chosen with the aim to best match the geometry of the natural femoral head. The diameter of the natural femoral head is commonly measured using either callipers or circular templates. However, 2 mm diameter sizing increments are commonly used in clinical practice; which could potentially lead to increasing the radial clearance between the femoral head and acetabulum by 1 mm. Therefore, the effect of mismatching the femoral head geometry with the acetabulum by 1 mm radial clearance was investigated tribologically in the medium term using the validated system.

It was found that by mismatching the hip hemiarthroplasty geometry by an extra 1 mm radial clearance; friction coefficient, frictional shear stress and bone exposure significantly increased. There was no significant difference in cartilage thickness. However, through histological assessment, the cartilage exhibited large undulations with fractures to the cartilage surface. Biochemical assessment also showed that there was a significant decrease in glycosaminoglycan concentration compared to fresh cartilage when the geometries were mismatched.

In conclusion, increasing the radial clearance between the femoral head and acetabulum by an extra 1 mm could have a significant effect on the longevity of the hemiarthroplasty implant. This could have clinical implications due to 2 mm diameter sizing increments that are commonly used in clinical practice. Therefore, tighter control over sizing the correct hemiarthroplasty implant must be performed to improve clinical outcomes. It was also found by allowing the cartilage to recover, the friction coefficient and frictional shear stress significantly decreased, which could have a major factor in the wear. Therefore, for future longer term in-vitro tribological studies, the effect of cartilage recovery must be taken into consideration.


The storage of water within the seasonal snow cover is a substantial source of runoff in high mountain catch- ments. Information about the spatial distribution of snow accumulation is necessary for calibration and validation of hydro-meteorological models. Generally, only a small num- ber of precipitation measurements deliver precipitation input for modelling in mountain areas. The spatial interpolation and extrapolation of measurements of precipitation is still difficult. Multi-temporal application of lidar techniques from aircraft, so-called airborne laser scanning (ALS), provides surface elevations changes even in inaccessible terrain. These ALS surface elevation changes can be used to derive changes in snow depths of the mountain snow cover for seasonal or subseasonal time periods. However, since glacier surfaces are not static over time, ablation, densification of snow, densi- fication of firn and ice flow contribute to surface elevation changes. ALS-derived surface elevation changes were com- pared to snow depths derived from 35.4 km of ground pene- trating radar (GPR) profiles on four glaciers. With this com- bination of two different data acquisitions, it is possible to evaluate the effect of the summation of these processes on ALS-derived snow depth maps in the high alpine region of the Otztal Alps (Austria). A Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper im- age was used to distinguish between snow covered area and bare ice areas of the glaciers at the end of the ablation season. In typical accumulation areas, ALS surface elevation changes differ from snow depths calculated from GPR measurements by 0.4 m on average with a mean standard deviation of 0.34 m. Differences between ALS surface elevation changes and GPR derived snow depths are small along the profiles conducted in areas of bare ice. In these areas, the mean ab- solute difference of ALS surface elevation changes and GPR snow depths is 0.004 m with a standard deviation of 0.27 m. This study presents a systematic approach to analyze devia- tions from ALS generated snow depth maps to ground truth measurements on four different glaciers. We could show that ALS can be an important and reliable data source for the spa- tial distribution of snow depths for most parts of the here in- vestigated glaciers. However, within accumulation areas, just utilizing ALS data may lead to systematic underestimation of total snow depth distribution.


Mineral assemblages in contact-metamorphic aureoles are the products of the interplay between heat transfer and fluid flow induced by intrusion of magma. In wall rocks containing carbonate and silicate minerals, metamorphic reactions produce CO 2 , which then becomes part of the hydrodynamic system. Although observed assemblages are the ultimate products of T-X CO 2 fluid -t paths in aureole rocks, the complexities of the paths, and hence the evolution of a hydrodynamic system, are difficult to decipher from them. Numerical simulations were conducted to model the mineralogical evolution in a hydrodynamic system and to evaluate the extent and effects of reaction retardation. Simulations reveal that fluid composition in the inner aureole evolves rapidly toward high X CO 2 fluid as the rocks heat up before an appreciable amount of water is exsolved out of the pluton. After local fluid pressure drops when early reactions are coming to completion, infiltration of magmatic water becomes significant and can drive production of typical inner aureole minerals such as wollastonite. Fluid compositions in the outer aureole reflect largely (1) the initial CO 2 production, as fluids are driven down the pressure gradients from the inner aureole, and (2) the subsequent infiltration of magmatic H 2 O. Simulations also suggest temperature overstepping of the onset of reactions and retarded consumption of reactant minerals, which leads to coeval metastable reactions. However, the final simulated mineral assemblage in the inner aureole reflects equilibration with H 2 O-rich fluids that is usually seen in the field, although evidence for kinetic retardation may be preserved in some rocks, especially in the outer aureole.


Eaton, Maxwell, III. The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan . New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print. The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan is a new contribution to the tremendously popular genre of comics for developing readers (Captain Underpants, Wimpy Kid and their ilk). Eaton's artwork is very clean with little line variation, giving the pages a very open and spacious quality, which enables visual navigation. The simple colour scheme - clear, bright blues and gray tones - is a welcome variation on the standard black and white comic and this restrained palette supports the clean, cartoon-y style, further facilitating ease of reading by avoiding complexity and over-design. The Beaver Brothers' training for a beaver community surfing competition is interrupted when they stumble upon a secretive penguin community. The penguins have hatched a scheme to alter the natural wilderness the beavers call home to their own penguin specifications. The bumbling and mildly dysfunctional beavers must thwart their plan before it is too late. The narrative in The Flying Beaver Brothers is almost completely conveyed through imagery and dialogue – no lengthy, wordy asides impede the plot - and this gives the story a rewardingly quick pace and congenial accessibility. The beaver brothers are likeable doofuses and the penguins, though diabolical, are very cute (as penguins can be expected to be). Compared to other early reader comics, The Flying Beaver Brothers lacks the slightly outre humour and scatological content that seems intrinsic to this genre's appeal. It's nice to think that readers would appreciate an occasional break from the diaper and underpants jokes and narratives that hinge on public humiliation to enjoy this easy going and earnestly environmentally conscious beaver brother's adventure. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Matilda Roche Matilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta's metadata but children's illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda's super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.


Climate change is a global phenomenon, but the institutions needed to implement effective policy reside mainly with national governments. This mismatch explains why serious efforts to control emissions of greenhouse gases, such as markets for emission credits, are fragmented across national and regional lines. Climate policy is emerging from the bottom up rather than through globally orchestrated treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol. The authors of this
 Policy Forum
 state that fuller efforts to control emissions will require serious engagement of the United States and developing countries, as well as viable schemes for integrating the many fragmented policies that are arising as governments grapple with the climate challenge.


Researchers are beginning to explore the role of digital design collaboration within multi-user 3D virtual environments. In the latest installment of an ongoing remote digital design collaboration project with the Sydney University Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition (KCDC), the University of Queensland Information Environments Program (IEP) co-coordinated an online production of T. S. Eliot's The Cocktail Party in a 3D virtual world environment. This paper describes the process and pedagogical outcomes of early learners collaborating remotely in digital 3D media.


Heteroatom doping can endow graphene with various new or improved electromagnetic, physicochemical, optical, and structural properties. This greatly extends the arsenal of graphene materials and their potential for a spectrum of applications. Considering the latest developments, we comprehensively and critically discuss the syntheses, properties and emerging applications of the growing family of heteroatom-doped graphene materials. The advantages, disadvantages, and preferential doping features of current synthesis approaches are compared, aiming to provide clues for developing new and controllable synthetic routes. We emphasize the distinct properties resulting from various dopants, different doping levels and configurations, and synergistic effects from co-dopants, hoping to assist a better understanding of doped graphene materials. The mechanisms underlying their advantageous uses for energy storage, energy conversion, sensing, and gas storage are highlighted, aiming to stimulate more competent applications.


Selecting the right flow meter can in many cases simplify and reduce the cost of maintenance in a minerals processing plant, as well as save valuable time during plant stoppages. Furthermore, the correct selection of flow monitoring equipment is a key aspect of operation and process control required to maximize plant efficiency and throughput. Flow meters must be selected carefully based on the frequency of required maintenance, type of liquid flowing through the pipe, the liquid's properties (abrasive, corrosive, prone to scaling, etc.), whether or not the flow meter needs to be relocated frequently, whether or not the pipe needs to be replaced frequently, the desired accuracy of the measurement, as well as the meter's reliability, ease of installation, portability, etc. The overabundance of available technologies and marketing hype can make this a challenging process, which is made only more difficult by a lack of literature on the subject. This paper will only review non-invasive flow meter technologies (time of flight ultrasonic, Doppler ultrasonic, and array-based sonar), their maintenance requirements, and their pros and cons when installed on challenging applications in the process plant. An explanation of the functioning principles will be given, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each technology. Finally, examples of ideal applications for each technology will be provided. This paper aims to help the plant operator correctly select the appropriate technology for a particular process application, while outlining the criteria considered, and simplifying the selection process for any application. The reader will come to understand the many maintenance benefits of non-invasive technologies, such as reduced down time, little to none maintenance requirements, low installation and lifecycle costs, and ease of installation and use.


One of the most momentous stories of the last century is China's rise from a self-satisfied, anti-modern, decaying society into a global power that promises to one day rival the United States. Chiang Kai-shek, an autocratic, larger-than-life figure, dominates this story. A modernist as well as a neo-Confucianist, Chiang was a man of war who led the most ancient and populous country in the world through a quarter century of bloody revolutions, civil conflict, and wars of resistance against Japanese aggression. In 1949, when he was defeated by Mao Zedong - his archrival for leadership of China - he fled to Taiwan, where he ruled for another twenty-five years. Playing a key role in the cold war with China, Chiang suppressed opposition with his 'white terror', controlled inflation and corruption, carried out land reform, and raised personal income, health, and educational levels on the island. Consciously or not, he set the stage for Taiwan's evolution of a Chinese model of democratic modernization. Drawing heavily on Chinese sources including Chiang's diaries, "The Generalissimo" provides the most lively, sweeping, and objective biography yet of a man whose length of uninterrupted, active engagement at the highest levels in the march of history is unexcelled by few, if any, in modern history. Jay Taylor shows a man who was exceedingly ruthless and temperamental but who was also courageous and conscientious in matters of state. Revealing fascinating aspects of Chiang's life, Taylor provides penetrating insight into the dynamics of the past that lie behind the struggle for modernity of mainland China and its relationship with Taiwan.


Aim

The movement of biofouling organisms by ships results in the transfer of marine species across biogeographical boundaries on a global scale. We used barnacles, a relatively well-studied taxon, to investigate the extent to which modern commercial vessels disperse biofouling species beyond their current known ranges.

Location

Vessels predominantly operated in the North Pacific; sampling was conducted in Los Angeles (CA), Portland (OR), Ketchikan (AK) and Apra Harbor (GU).

Methods

Barnacles were collected from submerged surfaces of commercial vessel hulls and identified to the lowest taxonomic unit using a combination of taxonomic and molecular phylogenetic techniques. Their known native and non-native geographical ranges were assessed and compared with the voyage history of the vessels.

Results

Forty distinct taxonomic groups of barnacles (22 assigned to species) were detected from 15 vessels. Six of these recognized species have a world-wide distribution, due to natural and anthropogenic dispersal. Sixteen species were on vessels with voyage routes that extend beyond the barnacles' known distributions, including 12 species sampled outside of their known range.

Main conclusions

A diverse suite of barnacle species is in continuous motion globally on commercial vessel hulls, and the potential scale of this transfer is underscored by the documented species richness for ship biofouling and what is known about the global fleet of vessels. We estimate roughly 680,000 separate arrival events per year for barnacle species to US ports distributed on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Genetic methods revealed high richness compared with previous studies, and the real rate is likely to be much higher than this because (1) it is likely that not all species on a vessel were sampled and (2) only a subset of sampled barnacles were successfully sequenced. Our limited knowledge about the total species pool in flux on ship hulls around the globe constrains our ability to analyse and interpret processes affecting species distribution patterns in the Anthropocene.


Seasonal influenza viruses are a common cause of acute respiratory illness worldwide and generate a significant socioeconomic burden. Influenza viruses mutate rapidly, necessitating annual vaccine reformulation because traditional vaccines do not typically induce broad-spectrum immunity. In addition to seasonal infections, emerging pandemic influenza viruses present a continued threat to global public health. Pandemic influenza viruses have consistently higher attack rates and are typically associated with greater mortality compared with seasonal strains. Ongoing strategies to improve vaccine efficacy typically focus on providing broad-spectrum immunity; although B and T cells can mediate heterosubtypic responses, typical vaccine development will augment either humoral or cellular immunity. However, multipronged approaches that target several Ags may limit the generation of viral escape mutants. There are few vaccine platforms that can deliver multiple Ags and generate robust cellular and humoral immunity. In this article, we describe a novel vaccination strategy, tested preclinically in mice, for the delivery of novel bivalent viral-vectored vaccines. We show this strategy elicits potent T cell responses toward highly conserved internal Ags while simultaneously inducing high levels of Abs toward hemagglutinin. Importantly, these humoral responses generate long-lived plasma cells and generate Abs capable of neutralizing variant hemagglutinin-expressing pseudotyped lentiviruses. Significantly, these novel viral-vectored vaccines induce strong immune responses capable of conferring protection in a stringent influenza A virus challenge. Thus, this vaccination regimen induces lasting efficacy toward influenza. Importantly, the simultaneous delivery of dual Ags may alleviate the selective pressure that is thought to potentiate antigenic diversity in avian influenza viruses.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two different prophylactic behavioral swallowing exercise regimens performed by head and neck cancer/s (HNC) patients during radiation therapy with/without chemotherapy (RT/C) on swallowing physiology, function, quality-of-life (QOL) and weight outcomes at the completion of RT/C. Feeding tube (PEG) status at 3 months post-treatment was also compared.
Methods: This study was conducted via a prospective design. 50 patients diagnosed with HNC who were to undergo RT/C were recruited at pre-treatment based on the inclusion criteria: functional swallowing abilities; without prophylactic PEG tubes; ability to comprehend and perform therapy tasks and signed informed consent. Patients were assigned to the exercise group (EX: n=26) or repetitive swallow group (SW: n=24), by alternate assignment as well as matching for age, tumor site and stage. A no treatment group (NTx) of patients (n=23) was recruited retrospectively from co-facilities during identical timelines as the prospective cohort. The EX and SW treatment groups attended therapy sessions once a week and completed two different intensive exercise regimens throughout RT with maintenance of a daily home program.
Outcome measures: All patients in the EX and SW treatment groups, underwent pre and post-treatment MBS studies. The following outcomes were reported: physiological (aspiration and Penetration Aspiration Scale scores); functional (PEG tube dependence and Functional Oral Intake Scale scores); QOL (MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory Scale scores) and weight loss. At 3 months post-treatment, PEG tube dependence was assessed and compared. PEG tube dependence and weight loss in patients in the treatment and no treatment groups were compared at post-treatment and 3 months post-treatment.
Results: The EX and SW groups did not statistically significantly differ on any outcomes at post-treatment. The NTx group also did not differ from the EX and SW groups in terms of PEG tube dependence and weight loss at post-treatment. However, the EX group exhibited a significantly higher rate of PEG tube elimination than the SW group at 3 months post-treatment (i.e. 16% vs. 50%). Among patients who received both radiation and chemotherapy, patients in the EX group exhibited significantly lower PEG tube dependence rates at post-treatment and 3 months post-treatment, compared to the SW and NTx groups. The EX groups post-treatment aspiration (i.e. 18%) and PEG tube dependence (16%) rates at 3 months post-treatment were among the lowest reported in the literature.
Conclusions: Performing swallowing exercises prophylactically, resulted in significantly improved rates of PEG tube elimination and oral intake abilities. Findings indicated substantial benefits of the EX groups exercise regimen, encouraging its utility in the clinical setting. Although statistically non-significant, the SW group exhibited better outcomes than no therapy, warranting future investigations to explore the benefits of the SW exercise regimen.


Abstract This article seeks to analyse the rise of Kurdistan in Iraq within the context of a panoramic picture of Iraq's history by contrasting two schools of thought regarding this country's failed system. One school of thought puts the blame on incompetent Iraqi rulers but mainly on the British colonialists who with their misdeeds, mismanagement and selfish interests brought Iraq to its present situation of a failed state. The other school of thought argues that Iraq's problems are structural, resulting from the fact that Iraq was an artificial creation; that Iraqi nationalism never struck roots in Iraqi soil; and that primordial loyalties have never disappeared so that in times of crisis they came to the fore. Indeed, there may be a middle ground between the two schools, suggesting that the combination of the unique nature of Iraq and the mismanagement by outside forces joined together to bring about the fatal outcome. My argument is that from the very inception of the Iraqi state there were two competing national movements, Iraqi and Kurdish, that could not coexist except by the central government's use of force. Once the latter weakened, the Kurdish national project could flourish and vice versa.


Stephen C. Carlson's The Gospel Hoax sets out to validate the long-standing suspicion that Professor Morton Smith, late of Columbia University, forged his famous discovery of aletter of Clement of Alexandria, which quotes from a longer("secret")Gospel of Mark. This academic folklore has been passed on like an esoteric tradition since 1975, when Quentin Quesnell called on Smith to make the manuscript of this letter available for forensic testing in order to rule out the possibility of a recent hoax. Quesnell had difficulty substantiating his concerns. In his article in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, he postulated that a modern scholar might have devised the letter as "a controlled experiment" in order to examine how scholars react to new evidence. Yet the manuscript of this letter, which Smith found in 1958, was inscribed on the last pages of a seventeenth-century book that purportedly was kept in a locked room of a monastery in the Judean desert. What modern forger would leave his creation there and gamble that someone would discover it in his lifetime? For this scenario to seem at all plausible, Quesnell needed to imply what he personally suspected, namely, that Smith forged it himself for this purpose. Accordingly, Quesnell described his hypothetical modern "mystifier" as someone who shared Smith's abilities, opportunities, resources, and interest in what people make of the document.


On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared independence. As of March 6, 2009, fifty-six states have recognized Kosovo's independence, while a number of states maintain that Kosovo's declaration of independence is illegal. There is no specific resolution calling for nonrecognition, yet whether an obligation of nonrecognition stems from UN Security Council Resolution 1244 is a highly disputed issue. Resolution 1244 established an international territorial administration, affirmed Serbia's territorial integrity, and called for a political process leading to settlement of Kosovo's future status. Unlike in East Timor, the political process in Kosovo did not result in a prenegotiated path to independence, confirmed by a subsequent Security Council resolution.This Article analyzes legal positions regarding Kosovo's declaration of independence and examines the significance of international involvement in the process of state creation.Despite the reference to the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the declaration of independence, Kosovo is an example of unilateral secession from Serbia. This Article concludes that international involvement implies constitutive elements of state creation and that Kosovo has some deficiencies in meeting the statehood criteria.


In the context of Turkey's accession to the EU, the issue of potential migration from Turkey and its impact upon European labor markets became one of the concerns of the EU, considering Turkey's growing population and young labor force. In 2011, half a century after the bi-lateral agreement between Turkey and Germany on labor recruitment in 1961, migration plays a key role in relations of Turkey with the EU and will even increase its significance – not necessarily for the next fifty years but certainly for the next decade. This book touches upon various aspects of the ongoing debate about the effects of Turkey's accession to the EU upon the migration flows and sheds light on various dimensions of current panorama, addresses policy implications as well as future challenges and opportunities.


Drinking water quality and the presence of natural arsenic (As) were studied in a rural, less developed area of the southern part of the Poopo lake basin in the Central Bolivian Altiplano. People in this area use untreated surface- and ground-water directly as drinking water. Water is extracted from excavated wells and from few rivers occasionally present during the rainy season. Forty-one wells and seven different sites along four rivers were sampled as they are common sources for drinking water. The main characteristics of the sampled waters showed a slightly alkaline pH, high electrical conductivity and high salinity where the principal components were sodium, chloride and bicarbonate. Arsenic concentrations reached values up to 623 μg L -1 exceeding the current WHO guideline value (10 μg L -1) in all rivers and in ninety-five percent of the sampled wells. Heavy metals and other trace elements showed relatively low concentrations.


What is a dance work? Are there essential facts or conditions connected with or relevant to such an art that defines it? Has the history of dance changed the construct of what it is? Unlike the tangibility of a sculptural or a poetic work, can dance actually be constituted as a work; therefore, without being an actual article or substance, is it simply an arranged action? While the extent of investigation in dance philosophy is less than other art forms, Choreography Invisible: The Disappearing Work of Dance by Anna Pakes presents a compelling read for those interested in (a) critical reflection and (b) more than casual concerns regarding what constitutes a dance work. Ballet and contemporary/modern scholars alike who read this collection of philosophical examinations will be richly rewarded. Pakes begins Part 1 of the book by exploring the nature of dance works based on long-term historical perspectives and a range of movement genres. She focuses on Western dance from its development in Europe during the Renaissance to the rise and growth of ballet, and she extends through to twenty-first-century postmodern dance; she assesses the changing (a) theoretical applications and (b) ways in which dance was created, observed, and analyzed. Parts 2 to 5 focus on identified principles and their relations that all dance works seem to have. This includes creation, repeatability, persistence, loss, and recuperation. Questions that were investigated center on such focal elements as what identifies choreography; how is it reconstructed and performed in order to be considered a work; and is identity implied if a dance is notated, scored, filmed, or copyrighted? Part 2 centers on choreography and the choreographic process; the author explores dance works as abstract objects and as fictional rather than real. Parts 3 and 4 challenge ideas of repeatability, identity, and persistence of dance works in terms of (a) directorial adaptation of dance reconstructions, (b) the qualitative interpretation of these works by the performer, and (c) the ways in which all dance works appear somewhat different—performance after performance—while remaining the same in certain aspects. Pakes explores the very nature of a dance work and its authenticity while investigating the specifications of original choreography. In her examination, she determines that (a) a reconstructed work may likely be altered by interpretation and (b) when repertory dance works pass through multiple performances by various cast members, the question of persistency emerges. She asks an interesting question: When choreography is altered from its original state in order for it to be relevant for the time, does it retain its identity even though its original state may change? In Part 5, Pakes discusses the tendency for dance works to be performed and forgotten, and what it means when they are lost. Is it because the medium essentially leaves nothing behind, is it the subject matter, or is it the loss of the technique or movement quality that created the choreography? "Disintegration of the background practice is arguably more significant for work loss than absence from either a live repertoire or the documentary archive" (247). Part 5 explores different methods and conditions of dance reconstruction with the resolution to keep choreography visible. The overall book evolves as a developing argument of what a dance work is, where each chapter builds upon another by reflecting on prior investigations. For example, Part 1 provides some historical context for individual works discussed in Parts 2 to 5. It is also formatted where individual parts or even chapters could be read individually. Drawing together all of the various examinations, Pakes concludes the book by pointing out both the limits of its achievements and directions for future research. Pakes emphasizes concepts relevant to a dance work, while offering new critical perspectives related to history, genres, and dance making. "An overarching aim of my book is to make dance works more visible —less prone to disappearance—in the context of art ontological debate" (20). For those curious to explore what constitutes a dance work, and for those excited to find higher meaning in dance, Choreography Invisible: The Disappearing Work of Dance is indeed a must read.


Abstract This paper describes the recent work to evaluate the technical storage capacity for spent fuel in the Yucca Mountain repository. To increase the capacity from the current statutory limit of 63000 tonnes HM commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF), two alternative repository designs are proposed and analyzed, which add two additional emplacement drifts adjacent to each current-design drift. All designs assume the same waste package inventory, or heat generation rate, and drift ventilation as the current design. As both alternative designs would fit the well-characterized repository footprint, no additional site characterization at Yucca Mountain would be necessary. The work also examines extended ventilation and phased waste-loading assumptions in anticipation of an expanded role for nuclear power in electricity generation. The key parameter to the storage capacity in the Yucca Mountain site is water movement. To study the thermal and hydrological responses to increased storage capacity, series of two-dimensional models were used to simulate coupled heat and mass (water and air) transfer within the repository system and the near-field subsurface environment, including all geological formations above and below the repository horizon from the surface to the water table. A three-dimensional model was applied to investigate the effect of axial heat transfer and fluid flow. The results show that the current repository footprint can accommodate three times the currently legislated 63000 tonnes HM of CSNF without compromising repository performance.


Title of dissertation: GEODYNAMIC SIMULATIONS USING THE FAST MULTIPOLE BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHOD Tyler W. Drombosky, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Dissertation directed by: Professor Saswata Hier-Majumder Department of Geology Interaction between viscous fluids models two important phenomena in geophysics: (i) the evolution of partially molten rocks, and (ii) the dynamics of UltralowVelocity Zones. Previous attempts to numerically model these behaviors have been plagued either by poor resolution at the fluid interfaces or high computational costs. We employ the Fast Multipole Boundary Element Method, which tracks the evolution of the fluid interfaces explicitly and is scalable to large problems, to model these systems. The microstructure of partially molten rocks strongly influences the macroscopic physical properties. The fractional area of intergranular contact, contiguity, is a key parameter that controls the elastic strength of the grain network in the partially molten aggregate. We study the influence of matrix deformation on the contiguity of an aggregate by carrying out pure shear and simple shear deformations of an aggregate. We observe that the differential shortening, the normalized difference between the major and minor axes of grains is inversely related to the ratio between the principal components of the contiguity tensor. From the numerical results, we calculate the seismic anisotropy resulting from melt redistribution during pure and simple shear deformation. During deformation, the melt is expelled from tubules along three grain corners to films along grain edges. The initially isotropic fractional area of intergranular contact, contiguity, becomes anisotropic due to deformation. Consequently, the component of contiguity evaluated on the plane parallel to the axis of maximum compressive stress decreases. We demonstrate that the observed global shear wave anisotropy and shear wave speed reduction of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary are best explained by 0.1 vol% partial melt distributed in horizontal films created by deformation. We use our microsimulation in conjunction with a large scale mantle deep Earth simulation to gain insight into the formation of anisotropy within dense and transient regions known as Ultralow-Velocity Zones, where there is an observed slowdown of shear waves. The results demonstrate a geometric steady state of the dynamic reservoirs by mechanical processes. Within the steady state UltralowVelocity Zones, we find significant anisotropy that can explain the speed reduction in shear waves passing through the region. GEODYNAMIC SIMULATIONS USING THE FAST MULTIPOLE BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHOD


While a long-standing literature analyses cross-country variation in the incidence of child poverty in rich countries in a single year, less is known about children's individual movements into and out of low household income over a period of time. Using longitudinal data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), the present study addresses this gap by analysing both income mobility and child poverty dynamics in the EU during the recent economic crisis. It finds that income growth among children has been generally pro-poor but not sufficiently so to put a brake on the increasing income inequality. There is substantial heterogeneity among the EU-SILC countries in the rates of child poverty entry and exit. Scandinavian countries tend to combine lower exit and entry rates, while Southern and Eastern European countries tend to have higher rates of both poverty exit and entry.


Cell lines have been established in culture from Friend virus-induced tumors of BALB/c (H-2d) and congenic BALB/c-H-2b (BALB.B) origin. Spleens from virus-infected hosts in the terminal stages of erythroleukemic disease provided tissues for the establishment of subcutaneously transplantable tumors of both strains. Subsequently cells of these tumors were introduced into culture and passed serially. Complete, infectious Friend virus (FV) has been routinely recovered from culture supernates of BALB.B tumor cells (HFL/b) throughout its 2-yr passage history. However, after only a few transfer generations in culture BALB/c tumor cells (HFL/d) became nonproducers of virus detectable in either the spleen focus assay in vivo or the XC assay in vitro. Nonproducer HFL/d cells possessed the complete genomes of the components of the FV complex, since FV could be recovered from them either by cocultivation with helper virus-infected syngeneic embryo fibroblasts or by serial passage in the ascitic form in normal, syngeneic adult hosts.


Most organizations recognize the value of human resources as their most important assets. However, many are still treating their employees as an expense, leading to a lack of attention to proper management of information on human resources. This in turn leads to sub-optimal utilization of human resources and poor human resources strategies. But some enlightened organizations have adopted information technology (IT) in managing their human resources in order to optimize the utilization of human resources while at the same time attempting to treat them as the prime assets of the organization. A well-developed system of accessing pertinent personnel information is of utmost
importance to management. The information stored and maintained by the HR department should provide relevant, timely, up-to-date and concise information to managers who need it. Information technology (IT) can help human resources information systems (HRIS) achieve its objectives and contribute towards better allocation of human resources, timely recruitment of personnel, fairer reward systems, among other important HR activities. Human resources information system has been in existence for a long time.Nevertheless, integrated human resources information system (HRIS) using the IT is quite a new phenomenon. Its functions include reporting, recruitment support, benefits calculation, salary records, service records, etc. However, a fully developed HRIS has a higher goal. It is used as a strategic tool for managing human resources, especially for workforce planning and labour negotiations.
The development of human resources information systems in any given organization takes three stages, namely: early stage, middle stage and late stage. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of HRIS development in the banking industry in Kenya, by investigating the characteristics determining the development of HRIS.


Our focus is the behavior of judges sitting on the major appellate courts in three democratic federal governments whose judicial systems developed within the English Common Law tradition. Specifically we examine the Supreme Court of Canada, the Australian High Court, the United States Supreme Court and the major intermediate appellate courts in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Our aim is to provide a substantially broader examination of judge gender than has ever been attempted before. First, we compare across courts that have different institutional characteristics in order to determine whether the effects of gender are conditioned by institutional setting and the political context of decision making. To make these comparisons, we employ a common methodology to help assess whether differences discovered in different courts in previous separate studies were the results of differences in the political and institutional features or different time periods examined or were simply the results of different methodological choices. We further test for gender effects across a wide variety of issue categories that together make up the bulk of the agendas of our diverse courts.


The search for a detailed understanding of the mechanism of zeolite synthesis has, over the past two decades, promoted many investigations into the species present in (alumino)silicate solutions. It is generally accepted that dissolved (alumino)silicate species are involved as precursors in the nucleation of zeolites. Several techniques have been employed to understand the mechanism of formation of these complex structures. NMR spectroscopy has been shown to be a very powerful tool for the detection and characterization of (alumino)silicate species in the solutions in question. This thesis presents a comprehensive study of certain silicate solutions employmg (^29)Si NMR which has extended the knowledge gained in previous studies. The role of structure-direction on the distribution of silicate species in silicate solutions is discussed, the results providing more understanding of this effect. The effects of pH, temperature, Si/cation ratio and silica concentration on the distribution of silicate anions were also studied.Aluminium-27 NMR was applied to investigate the local structure about alummium atoms in a series of alumino silicate solutions with Si:Al mole ratios pertinent to zeolite synthesis. The kinetics of the reaction of aluminate with silicate anions have been studied by investigating the temporal evolutions of (^29)Al NMR spectra and by 2D NMR exchange spectroscopy. Structural analyses of two new silicate crystals were carried out by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Liquid- and solid-state NMR spectroscopy were employed to characterize the mother liquors, the powdered polycrystalline products, and their melts.The Zeolite SUZ-9 was characterized by application of multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy : (^29)Si, (^27)Al, (^13)C and (^1)H NMR spectra of this zeolite were studied.


The system of police governance in England and Wales has been subject to a process of centralization for many decades. This development has accelerated in recent years, to the extent that although the de jure organization of policing remains based on local provincial forces, some commentators now feel that there is de facto national police force. In this paper, we outline the main contours of the institutional governance of policing in England and Wales, and discuss the main aspects of centralization that have occurred in recent decades. Although the overall picture of centralization is clear, a number of countervailing tendencies are visible that suggest the possibility of enhanced local influence. The paper concludes with a discussion of the future prospects for police organization and governance in England & Wales.


Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is associated with gastric inflammation and ulceration. The pathways of tissue damage in Hp-infected subjects are complex, but evidence indicates that T cell-derived cytokines enhance the synthesis of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) that contribute to mucosal ulceration and epithelial damage. In this study, we have examined the role of the T cell cytokine IL-21 in Hp-infected gastric mucosa and evaluated whether IL-21 regulates MMP production by gastric epithelial cells. We show that IL-21 is constitutively expressed in gastric mucosa and is more abundant in biopsy specimens and purified mucosal CD3+ T cells from Hp-infected patients compared with normal patients and disease controls. We also demonstrate that IL-21R is expressed by primary gastric epithelial cells, as well as by the gastric epithelial cell lines AGS and MKN28. Consistently, AGS cells respond to IL-21 by increasing production of MMP-2 and MMP-9, but not MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-7, or tissue inhibitors of MMP. Analysis of signaling pathways leading to MMP production reveals that IL-21 enhances NF-κB but not MAPK activation, and inhibition of NF-κB activation reduces IL-21-induced MMP-2 and MMP-9 production. Finally, we show that treatment of Hp-infected gastric explants with anti-IL-21 reduces epithelial cell-derived MMP-2 and MMP-9 production. These data indicate that IL-21 is overexpressed in Hp-infected gastric mucosa where it could contribute to increased epithelial gelatinase production.


In early 2017, the movement of indices in the majority of industries continued to display the trend observed in late 2016 – that of a low positive growth rate. At mid-year, there was a slowdown in the production growth pattern and its downward slide towards stagnation. Over H2, the trend component in the extractive industry pointed to a decline in Q3. The movement of the trend components across several sectors of the manufacturing industry demonstrated some growth, which was still insufficient to push manufacturing production, overall, upwards from its zero growth rate.


In this work we present a revision of the genus Ommatoiulus Latzel, 1884 in Portugal. Based on recently collected material and older museum samples, including type specimens, we describe six new species to science, viz. Ommatoiulus alacygni sp. nov., O. camurus sp. nov., O. denticulatus sp. nov., O. litoralis sp. nov., O. staglae sp. nov. and O. stellaris sp. nov. The species O. alacygni sp. nov., O. denticulatus sp. nov. and O. staglae sp. nov. described from the Algarve are outstanding by their extremely reduced mesomerital process. The species O. porathi (Verhoeff, 1893) and O. andalusius (Attems, 1927) are recorded and redescribed for the first time after their original description. The finding of O. andalusius – originally described from Andalusia in Spain – constitutes a new record for Portugal together with two species, viz. O. fuentei (Brolemann, 1920) and O. martensi Mauries, 1969. The taxonomic status of several species is revised. Thus Archiulus (Schistocoxitus) cingulatus Attems, 1927 is here considered as a junior synonym of Ommatoiulus lusitanus (Verhoeff, 1895) while Schizophyllum cervinum Verhoeff, 1910 is synonymized with Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860). An identification key to all hitherto known Portuguese species of Ommatoiulus is presented as well as a distribution map illustrating the various species occurrences in the country.


There has been a surge of interest in team coaching in recent years, however understanding of the process, based on the first-person perspective of team coaches, is lacking. This qualitative study was conducted using heuristic inquiry methodology, enhanced by the inclusion of focus groups. This process enabled shared learning, expanded thinking and knowledge development amongst the co-researchers over an eleven-month period. The study sheds light on the emergent practice of team coaching from the team coach's perspective. The findings challenge concepts in the existing literature, add to existing knowledge as well as opening up new areas for debate. The findings have considerable potential to inform practice, and the coaching profession, by providing insight and a practical resource in the form of the PiE Team Coaching Model and accompanying framework. These resources detail universal elements, as well as typical variations, for team coaches to consider in their practice.


In this paper, we perform an empirical analysis of the dependence structure of international equity and bond markets using the regime-switching copula model. In equity markets, it is observed that negative returns are more strongly dependent than positive returns. This phenomenon is known as asymmetric dependence. The regime-switching copula model, which includes symmetric and asymmetric regimes, is suitable for describing asymmetry. We apply two kinds of flexible multivariate copulas, a skew t copula and a vine copula, to the asymmetric regime to deal with dependencies between two asset classes. In this paper, we analyze three country pairs: the United Kingdom and United States (UK-US), Japan-US, and Italy-US. We find three implications of our empirical analysis. First, highly dependent regimes are different according to the asset pairs. Second, the strength of the asymmetry of each country pair varies, and that of the Japan-US pair is weak. Third, the skew t copula is a better fit to the data, but is not flexible enough to capture extreme dependencies, while the vine copula fits well in spite of having fewer parameters, but cannot express the different extreme dependencies of each asset pair.


INTRODUCTION
Heart failure (HF) is a medical condition with a rapidly increasing incidence both in Taiwan and worldwide. The objective of the TSOC-HFrEF registry was to assess epidemiology, etiology, clinical management, and outcomes in a large sample of hospitalized patients presenting with acute decompensated systolic HF.

METHODS
The TSOC-HFrEF registry was a prospective, multicenter, observational survey of patients presenting to 21 medical centers or teaching hospitals in Taiwan. Hospitalized patients with either acute new-onset HF or acute decompensation of chronic HFrEF were enrolled. Data including demographic characteristics, medical history, primary etiology of HF, precipitating factors for HF hospitalization, presenting symptoms and signs, diagnostic and treatment procedures, in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and discharge medications, were collected and analyzed.

RESULTS
A total of 1509 patients were enrolled into the registry by the end of October 2014, with a mean age of 64 years (72% were male). Ischemic cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy were diagnosed in 44% and 33% of patients, respectively. Coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic renal insufficiency were the common comorbid conditions. Acute coronary syndrome, non-compliant to treatment, and concurrent infection were the major precipitating factors for acute decompensation. The median length of hospital stay was 8 days, and the in-hospital mortality rate was 2.4%. At discharge, 62% of patients were prescribed either angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, 60% were prescribed beta-blockers, and 49% were prescribed mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists.

CONCLUSIONS
The TSOC-HFrEF registry provided important insights into the current clinical characteristics and management of hospitalized decompensated systolic HF patients in Taiwan. One important observation was that adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy was suboptimal.


Political actors cooperate with each other to share resources and to organize political support. In this article, we describe and explain such cooperative behavior in European Union policy-making by analyzing the information networks that parliamentarians of the Bundestag entertain with other party politicians and with interest groups. First, we describe whom parliamentarians cooperate with to receive policy information. Subsequently, we identify different types of cooperation networks. Differences in the structure of these networks point to a political division of labor inside political parties which is driven by the need to organize political support in policy-making. Finally, we test the explanatory power of individual attributes, institutional positions and (shared) political interests to account for the structure of parliamentarians' cooperation networks. While formal positions and party ideology generally shape parliamentarians' cooperation, their relative importance varies across different types of networks. The article contributes theoretically to informational theories of interest group politics and to the literature on national legislators' behavior in EU policy-making.


In this thesis, within the topic of bioorganic chemistry, the molecular structure of carbohydrates has been studied. Carbohydrates, or glycans, are ubiquitous biomolecules exhibiting a wide range of biological roles. The specific functions of these molecules are largely determined by their interactions with proteins and molecular structure ultimately governs such specialized recognition events.Glycan-binding proteins, such as lectins or enzymes, often interact with their sweet ligands in a transient fashion and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) is a viable technique to probe these complexes. In particular, ligand-based NMR techniques have been employed, typically in combination with other biophysical as well as biochemical and computational methods. The aim of this work has been to gain new insights about specific biological systems, to develop methods and to devise protocols for their studies.The first two papers cover NMR-interaction studies of native ligands as well as inhibitor glycans with the enzyme hen egg-white lysozyme and the lectin botulinum neurotoxin type A. Screening experiments were performed to investigate ligand affinities and selectivities. Solution models in combination with X-ray crystal structures were compared in order to evaluate their agreement and the details of interactions.A method for application in carbohydrate ligand NMR-screening was developed in paper three. The heteronucleus selenium was exploited as a reporter of selenoglycosides binding to lectins. 77Se NMR spectroscopy proved sensitive to binding events and the presented approach should be useful in large screenings of glycomimetic inhibitors. In order to obtain sufficient amounts of glycans for bioorganic studies their production often relies on chemical synthesis. In the last paper, the structure of some conformationally highly activated glycosyl donors was thoroughly investigated and related to their reactivity in synthetic glycosylation reactions.