LASIGE - Faculty of Sciences of the University of LisbonCampo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, firstname.lastname@example.com; email@example.com paper reports a pragmatic experiment, consisting on the integration of a Web search engine with a traditional library'scatalogue. PORBASE is the Portuguese bibliographic union catalogue. It holds more than one million of bibliographic andnearly half a million of authoritative structured records about authors, families, organizations and subjects. tumba! is a searchengine specialized in indexing web pages in Portuguese language. It indexes actually more than one million of pages, foundpotentially everywhere in the web. Since the early days of the Web that we have been assisting to a discussion about the prosand cons of web indexes built automatically by search engines as an alternative to traditional human-built databases, as thelibrary's catalogues are. The main argument against search engines has been that they might be very effective in indexing thesurface skins of the web, but they miss the richest contents hidden behind the more complex web sites and databases, the socalled "deep web". On the other side their defenders point the relatively low cost of those solutions, which make it possible toprovide good services without the costs of manual cataloguing, classification, indexing of the resources. This paper reportsabout an experiment to explore the best of both worlds, by using PORBASE in conjunction with tumba!. We extracted fromPORBASE the major index of the authorities (names of persons), along with the frequency of each entry, and integrated itwithin the tumba! search engine. We also developed a very simple HTTP-based interface, ESPONJA, which tumba! can useto launch queries in PORBASE using the authoritative descriptions as arguments. In the scenario of this experiment, a userperforming a search session using tumba! will be able to search also in PORBASE using the authoritative form of the searchterms without knowing them in advance. The process starts when tumba! presents its own results complemented withsuggestions (tips) to search in PORBASE. If the user chooses to launch a search there, a new window is opened showing theresults of a search for the term. After that it is up to the user to continue interacting with PORBASE, to explore new resultsand take advantage of the specific functions of its specialized catalogue. This work aims to be only a proof of concept for thisapproach. Next steps will comprise the tuning of the algorithms to process the authority information in tumba!, and theformalization of the ESPONJA interface toward a stable, open, generic and reliable interface for interoperability with BN'sspecialized bibliographic systems.


There is recurrent public concern with enhancing the quality of professional performance. What is the contemporary understanding of professionalism? Are the needs of professionals in various fields being met at the end of the 20th century, as what is commonly called "continuing professional development" has become of a sizable industry? Many books treat the professions as homogeneous groups and view them from an external standpoint. In "Professional Practices" Tony Becher investigates the differences as well as the similarities between and within professional groupings, and presents the perspectives of insiders. One particular theme concerns the main patterns of change in professional careers and the specific problems faced by women professionals in a largely male-dominated environment. The book focuses on six professions - medicine, pharmacy, law, accountancy, architecture and structural engineering. The material is based on 190 interviews with a variety of members of the six professions. Becher's book offers original and sensitive insight into the working lives of practitioners and an understanding of the ideas and values they embrace. He argues that their high sense of commitment stems from a concern to enhance their individual reputations and to maintain their collective professional status. Becher highlights the variety of activities in which these professionals are engaged and the reasons for their responses to social and political pressures from outside their fields. Above all, he seeks to demystify professionalism and to show that professional people share with others a wide range of universal human feelings and concerns. A postscript raises the issue of why universities are little involved with continuing education in the professions. Practising professionals should benefit from this insight into how people in their own and other professions cope with similar problems. Becher's volume should be particularly appealing to educationists, policymakers and social scientists interested in the subject of professionalism, those involved in the provision of initial and mid-career change for the professions, and those with a lay interest in the topic.


When developing semantic applications, constructing the underlying ontologies is a crucial part. This paper presents a view-point on the notion of 'ontology' and of ontology construction. Ontology construction cannot be seen in isolation, but must be considered in relation to its use. We also present two ways of conceiving ontology construction and ultimately, we survey common categories in the construction methods of ontology learning.


There is increasing evidence that feedback is a key factor in successful teaching and learning. It is also clear that there are effective and less effective forms of feedback. To be most effective, feedback should incorporate assessment for learning principles. Although there is a large body of literature on feedback, there is limited use of the student's voice, and little from a New Zealand context. This thesis investigates students' understandings of feedback in New Zealand classrooms. A feedback typology is used to categorise and analyse examples of teacher feedback given by the students. Individual student interviews were conducted with responses informing the kinds of questions used for the teacher interviews. Advisory work in schools that involves classroom observations on feedback was also used to substantiate the findings. The sample used for this research came from two schools, four classrooms and focussed on sixteen students. The classes ranged from Years 3-6, which meant that the students were aged between 7 and 10. The analysis concludes that while New Zealand students can describe a range of both evaluative and descriptive feedback their understandings do not always match what the teacher intended. The feedback typology was found to be a useful tool but was problematic in that there was no assurance that feedback was against shared expectations of the task.


— The on-going growth of connectivity has brought new opportunities for Home Network; Home network will soon be a place of a large amount of services, from the gadget to the home control. In order to provide and render these services, operator should propose a framework for supporting the deployment of new services. This paper focuses on home services, proposing an overview of potential service architectures. Then a photo sharing services validates through implementation the concepts of Home Services and an analysis of architecture complexity is proposed to conclude this work.


Corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) signaling through CRFR1 recruits serotonin receptors to the cell surface, thereby enhancing anxiety-related behaviors. Signaling through both 5-HT2AR, a receptor for serotonin, and CRFR1, a receptor for corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), which acts as a neuromodulator in addition to regulating pituitary secretion of corticotrophin in response to stress, has been linked to anxiety (see González-Maeso). Noting that CRF can potentiate serotonin's effects, Magalhaes et al. investigated signaling interactions between 5-HT2AR and CRFR1. 5-HT2AR and CRFR1 are G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) that link to distinct pathways, with 5-HT2AR signaling through Gαq/11 to stimulate inositol trisphosphate (IP3) production and CRFR1 signaling through Gαs to stimulate production of adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP). Experiments in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells heterologously expressing 5-HT2AR or 5-HT2CR with or without CRFR1 revealed that CRFR1 activation by CRF increased 5-HT2AR– and 5-HT2CR–mediated inositol phosphate (presumably IP3) production. Other Gαs-coupled GPCRs failed to enhance 5-HT2R signaling, and serotonin did not affect CRFR1-mediated cAMP production. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that a subpopulation of neurons in mouse prefrontal cortex contained both CRFR1 and 5-HT2AR, and, as in HEK293 cells, pretreatment of neuronal cultures with CRF enhanced serotonin-mediated inositol phosphate production. Confocal analysis of tagged receptors revealed that 5-HT2AR underwent constitutive endocytosis (in both HEK293 cells and rat cortical neurons), whereas CRFR1 did not. CRF stimulated CRFR1 endocytosis, leading to its endosomal colocalization with 5-HT2AR; blocking endocytosis prevented CRF-dependent potentiation of 5-HT2AR signaling. CRF also increased cell surface abundance of 5-HT2AR, and inhibiting receptor recycling to the cell surface with monensin or with a dominant-negative form of Rab4 also inhibited the CRF-dependent increase in 5-HT2AR signaling. Deletion of PDZ domain-binding motifs on the C-terminal tails of 5-HT2AR or CRFR1 blocked the CRF-dependent increase in cell surface 5-HT2AR; similarly, their deletion blocked CRF-dependent increases in 5-HT2R–mediated inositol phosphate production, as did expression of a Tat-fusion peptide containing the last 10 amino acids of the CRFR1 C-terminal tail. In vivo analyses indicated that combined stimulation of CRFR1 and 5-HT2R had synergistic effects on anxiety-related behaviors in mice. Thus, the authors conclude that CRF signaling through CRFR1 leads to increased abundance of 5-HT2R at the cell surface, thereby enhancing anxiety. A. C. Magalhaes, K. D. Holmes, L. B. Dale, L. Comps-Agrar, D. Lee, P. N. Yadav, L. Drysdale, M. O. Poulter, B. L. Roth, J.-P. Pin, H. Anisman, S. S. G. Ferguson, CRF receptor 1 regulates anxiety behavior via sensitization of 5-HT2 receptor signaling. Nat. Neurosci. 13, 622–629 (2010). [PubMed] J. González-Maeso, Anxious interactions. Nat. Neurosci. 13, 524–526 (2010). [PubMed]


Lysine-based polycations are widely used as nonviral carriers for gene delivery. This manuscript reports the results of a comparative study on the in vitro cytotoxicity of a library of three structural polylysine variants, namely, linear polylysine (LPL), dendritic polylysine (DPL), and hyperbranched polylysine (HBPL). The aim of this study was to identify possible effects of polymer molecular weight and architecture on both immediate and delayed cytotoxicity and also to provide a mechanistic understanding for possible differences. Acute cytotoxicities were evaluated using cell viability assays with CHO DG44 cells. At comparable molecular weights, the EC(50) values for the LPL analogues were ∼5-250 times higher as compared to the DPL and HBPL samples. For low molecular weight polycations, osmotic shock was found to be an important contributor to immediate cell death, whereas for the higher molecular weight analogues, direct cell membrane disruption was identified to play a role. Delayed cytotoxicity (≥3 h) was assessed by identifying several of the hallmark events that characterize apoptosis, including phosphatidyl serine translocation, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, cytoplasmic cytochrome C release, and caspase 3 activation. At comparable molecular weights, apoptosis was found to be more pronounced for DPL and HBPL as compared to LPL. This difference was ascribed to the fact that LPL is completely enzymatically degradable, in contrast to DPL and HBPL, which also contain ε-peptidic bonds and are only partially degradable. Because their toxicity profiles are similar, HBPL is an interesting (i.e., synthetically easily accessible and inexpensive) alternative to DPL for the nonviral delivery of DNA.


Abstract This article provides an overview of the rules governing the end of application of international humanitarian law (IHL), or the law of armed conflict. It articulates the general principle that, unless there is a good reason of text, principle or policy that warrants an exception, the application of IHL will cease once the conditions that triggered its application in the first place are no longer met. For IHL to apply, its distinct thresholds of application – international armed conflict, belligerent occupation and non-international armed conflict – must continue to be satisfied at any given point in time. The article also examines situations in which a departure from the general rule is warranted, as well as the factors that need to be taken into account in determining the end of each type of armed conflict. In doing so, the article analyzes terminating processes and events, which generally end the application of IHL (but not necessarily all of it), and transformative processes and events, which end the application of one IHL sub-regime but immediately engage another. Finally, the article briefly looks at the (putative) armed conflict between the United States and Al Qaeda and its seemingly imminent end.


Organotin compounds have found in the last few decades a wide variety of applications. Indeed, they are used successfully as antifouling paints, PVC stabilizers and ion carriers, as well as homogeneous catalysts. In this context, it has been proved that the Lewis acidity of the metal centre allows these compounds to promote the reaction between alcohol and ester. However their use is now limited by their well-known toxicity, moreover they are hardly removable from the reaction mixture.
This problem can be overcome by grafting the organotin derivative onto a polymeric cross-linked support. In this way the obtained heterogeneous catalyst can be easily filtered off from the reaction mixture, thus creating the so-called "clean organotin reagents", avoiding the presence of toxic organotin residues in solution and the tin release in the environment.
In the last few years several insoluble polystyrene resins containing triorganotin carboxylate moieties have been synthesized with the aim of improving their catalytic activity: in particular we have investigated and opportunely modified their chemical structure in order to optimize the accessibility to the metal centre and its Lewis acidity.
Recently, we replaced the polymeric matrix with an inorganic one, in order to dispose of a relatively cheaper and easily available support. For this purpose an ordered mesoporous silica, characterized by 2D-hexagonal pores, named MCM-41, and an amorphous silica have been selected.
In the present work two kinds of MCM-41 silica containing the triorganotin carboxylate moiety have been synthesized starting from a commercial Cab-O-Sil M5 silica. These catalysts have two different spacers between the core and the tin-carboxylate moiety, namely a polyaliphatic chain (compound FT29) or a poliethereal one (compound FT6), with the aim to improve the interaction between catalyst and reacting ester.
Three catalysts supported onto an amorphous silica have been also synthesized: the structure is the same as silica FT29, i.e. a compound having a polialiphatic chain, and they have different percentage of organotin derivative grafted on the silica surface (10, 30, 50% respectively for silica MB9, SU27 and SU28).
The performances of the above silica as heterogeneous catalysts in transesterification reactions have been tested in a model reaction between ethyl acetate and 1-octanol, a primary alcohol sensitive to the reaction conditions. The alcohol conversion was assessed by gas-chromatography, determining the relative amount of transesterified product and starting alcohol after established time intervals.


Author(s): O'Connell, Ross A. | Abstract: Trapping of ground squirrels could be conducted following the use of fumigants or rodenticides to further reduce populations. Trapping should be considered as an alternative to the other methods of control in cases where other controls have not worked or would not be prudent to use. Trapping can be conducted during a longer period of the year than the other methods. The type of trap used, whether live trap or one of the kill traps, can be selected as to the environmental concerns of the trapper as all traps can be effective.


K-ras mutations promote angiogenesis in lung cancer and contribute to the drug resistance of cancer cells. It is not clear whether K-ras mutated adenocarcinomas are sensitive to anti-angiogenic therapy with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that target vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Anti-angiogenic mAbs are usually delivered systemically, but only a small proportion reaches the lung after intravenous injection. We investigated the relevance of a non-invasive pulmonary route for the delivery of anti-VEGF mAbs in the mouse K-rasLA1 model. We found that pulmonary delivery of these mAbs significantly reduced the number of tumor lesions and inhibited malignant progression. The antitumor effect involves the VEGFR2-dependent inhibition of blood vessel growth, which impairs tumor proliferation. Pharmacokinetic analysis of aerosolized anti-VEGF showed its low rate of passage into the bloodstream, suggesting that this delivery route is associated with reduced systemic side effects. Our findings highlight the value of the aerosol route for administration of anti-angiogenic mAbs in pulmonary adenocarcinoma with K-ras activating-mutations.


Community detection, aiming at partitioning a network into multiple substructures, is practically importance. Graph convolutional network (GCN), a new deep-learning technique, has recently been developed for community detection. Markov Random Fields (MRF) has been combined with GCN in the MRFasGCN method to improve accuracy. However, the existing GCN community-finding methods are semi-supervised, even though community finding is essentially an unsupervised learning problem. We developed a new GCN approach for unsupervised community detection under the framework of Autoencoder. We cast MRFasGCN as an encoder and then derived node community membership in the hidden layer of the encoder. We introduced a community-centric dual decoder to reconstruct network structures and node attributes separately in an unsupervised fashion, for faithful community detection in the input space. We designed a scheme of local enhancement to accommodate nodes to have more common neighbors and similar attributes with similar community memberships. Experimental results on real networks showed that our new method outperformed the best existing methods, showing the effectiveness of the novel decoding mechanism for generating links and attributes together over the commonly used methods for reconstructing links alone.


The aim of this study was to produce evidence that homoeopathic medicines
stimulate biological activity, that it is not psychosomatic healing, and that it has
therapeutic benefits by creating an effect on living tissue, thereby providing the
validity and credibility of homoeopathy as a healing science in practice. As well as to
give the medical profession scientific evidence that homoeopathic medicine
stimulates biological activity and has an effect on living tissue. Hypothesis one was concerned with the homoeopathically prepared Avena Sativa having an effect on the growth rate of the Zea Mays seeds. Hypothesis two was concerned with the different potencies of homoeopathically prepared Avena Sativa, namely the six x, nine x and twelve x potencies, having different effects on the growth rates of the Zea Mays seeds.
A trial experiment was conducted to perfect the technique of the methodology that
was to be used in the experiment. The experiment consisted of twelve groups of Zea
Mays seeds (three control groups, three six x groups, three nine x groups and three
twelve x groups) of the seed lot number SNK2943 SPM which were randomly
selected. Throughout the experiment it was made certain that no cross
contamination of the different potencies took place. Germination rolls were incubated at twenty five degrees Celsius for twenty four hours. The Zea Mays seeds, fifty per roll, were then placed on the germination rolls and placed in the incubation chamber for thirty nine hours. Twenty four hours before replant, fresh germination rolls were prepared and incubated. Seeds were then replanted on the fresh germination rolls and placed in the incubation chamber for a further forty eight hours. Twenty four hours before measurement and replant, fresh germination rolls were prepared and incubated. The length of the coelioptile and the mesocoelioptile respectively were determined with a digitiser, then replanted and placed back in the incubation chamber for a further forty eight hours. At the time of forty eight hours the length of the coelioptile and the mesocoelioptile respectively were determined with the digitiser. All data was recorded and the results were statistically analysed. The mean and standard deviations were determined for all the groups of the experiment. The correlation between the different groups was determined by the testing of a one-way analysis of variance. The average growth rate of the control group was compared with that of the different experimental groups, by means of a one-way anova. There was found to be a statistical significant difference between the control group and the six x group. The six x potency had an initial detrimental effect on the growth rate of the Zea Mays seeds, the six x group however, completely recovered from this initial detrimental effect at the time that the second measurement was taken. The average growth rate of the control group was then compared with that of the nine x and twelve x potency groups respectively, no statistical difference could be determined between…


The literature on the normative ethics and politics of immigration to liberal, democratic States has developed over the last forty years to include an expanding schedule of emerging and pressing issues. Yet, its key philosophers and texts have consistently failed or neglected to reckon with a core facet of State power over outsiders: namely, its self-appointed, awesome powers of indefinite administrative imprisonment of asylum seekers and other migrants. Shorthanded here to immigration detention, this practice consists of incarcerating non-citizens whom the State believes to have transgressed immigration rules (not criminal law). This paper sketches out how this seemingly academic oversight matters not only for the integrity of the body of scholarship but for the future directions in delimiting State control of immigration, imprisonment, and borders. I argue that, on the one hand, immigrant incarceration brings forth a number of potentially irreconcilable paradoxes within normative thinking on State power, immigration, and the good life; on the other, normative theory's blind spots on detention provide insights into how a self-identified liberal State could come to seed, grow, legalize, and legislate an expansive system of indefinite incarceration predicated on the flimsy premise of non-citizenship, seemingly with little to no moral challenge. I will draw on the case study of the Canadian detention system to illustrate the scope of why detention challenges the arguments animating the immigration admissions debate, particularly as they relate to moral and political claims to territory, 'partiality', and border violence.


ABSTRACT: The soils and landscape of the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon have developed primarily as a result of redistribution of glacial outwash sediments by wind. Contemporary agricultural disturbance of regional soils facilitates wind erosion that impairs downwind air quality by the introduction into the atmosphere of large quantities of particulate aerosols less than 10 microns in aerodynamic diameter (PM10). Reducing these agricultural contributions to PM10 concentrations in urban areas has been identified as a critical component of regional compliance under the Clean Air Act. We designed a sampling and analysis scheme to develop empirical relationships first between total mass flux during wind tunnel erosion trials and soil aggregate size distributions; and second between soil PM10 emission potentials and primary particle size distributions. We then applied those empirical relationships to predict potential total soil erodibility and potential PM10 emissions at a larger set of field soil sample sites. The resultant point predictions were interpolated spatially using geostatistical methods to generate a prediction map of PM10 emissions hazard, which is similar to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services Agency map of air quality conservation priority areas for the Columbia Plateau.


The ternary semiconductor alloy Al0.25Ga0.75N has been analyzed by means of correlated photoluminescence spectroscopy and atom probe tomography (APT). We find that the composition measured by APT is strongly dependent on the surface electric field, leading to erroneous measurements of the alloy composition at high field, due to the different evaporation behaviors of Al and Ga atoms. After showing how a biased measurement of the alloy content leads to inaccurate predictions on the optical properties of the material, we develop a correction procedure which yields consistent transition and localization energies for the alloy photoluminescence.


Conferencing is a restorative justice process that is used in the criminal justice system in Australia to deal with a variety of offences. In this article, the authors analyse research into the understandings of conferencing practitioners regarding the issue of the neutrality of the third party in facilitating the process. The research was conducted using a qualitative methodology with a small group of practitioners in Victoria. In the semi-structured interviews the practitioners described and discussed their understandings of the concept of neutrality in conferencing and their thoughts regarding practice issues. The analysis of the study results indicates a need for further research in this area.


This paper presents a review of financial economics literature and offers a comprehensive discussion and systematisation of determinants of financial capital use. In congruence with modern financial literature, it is acknowledged here that real and financial capital decisions are interdependent. While the fundamental role of the (unconstrained) demand for real capital in the demand for finance is acknowledged, the deliverable focuses on three complementary categories of the determinants of financial capital use: i) capital market imperfections; ii) factors mitigating these imperfections or their impacts; and iii) firm- and sector-related factors, which alter the severity of financial constraints and their effects. To address the question of the optimal choice of financial instruments, theories of firm capital structure are reviewed. The deliverable concludes with theory-derived implications for agricultural and non-agricultural rural business' finance.


Research Highlights: This study assesses the genetic diversity and structure of the ice-cream-bean (Inga edulis Mart.; Fabaceae) in wild and cultivated populations from the Peruvian Amazon. This research also highlights the importance of protecting the biodiversity of the forest in the Peruvian Amazon, to preserve the genetic resources of species and allow further genetic improvement. Background and Objectives: Ice-cream-bean is one of the most commonly used species in the Amazon region for its fruits and for shading protection of other species (e.g., cocoa and coffee plantations). Comprehensive studies about the impact of domestication on this species' genetic diversity are needed, to find the best conservation and improvement strategies. Materials and Methods: In the current study, the genetic structure and diversity were assessed by genotyping 259 trees, sampled in five wild and 22 cultivated I. edulis populations in the Peruvian Amazon, with microsatellite markers. Pod length was measured in wild and cultivated trees. Results: The average pod length in cultivated trees was significantly higher than that in wild trees. The expected genetic diversity and the average number of alleles was higher in the wild compared to the cultivated populations; thus, a loss of genetic diversity was confirmed in the cultivated populations. The cultivated trees in the Loreto region had the highest pod length and lowest allelic richness; nevertheless, the wild populations' genetic structure was not clearly differentiated (significantly different) from that of the cultivated populations. Conclusions: A loss of genetic diversity was confirmed in the cultivated populations. The species could have been simultaneously domesticated in multiple locations, usually from local origin. The original I. edulis Amazonian germplasm should be maintained. Cultivated populations' new germplasm influx from wild populations should be undertaken to increase genetic diversity.


Background Delay in implementing new treatments into clinical practice results in considerable health and economic opportunity costs. Data from the UK TOBY Cooling Register provides the opportunity to examine how one new effective therapy for newborn infants suspected of suffering asphyxial encephalopathy – therapeutic hypothermia- was implemented in the UK. Methodology/Principal Findings We analysed returned data forms from inception of the Register in December 2006 to the end of July 2011. Data forms were received for 1384 (67%) of the 2069 infants registered. The monthly rate of notifications increased from median {IQR} 18 {15–31} to 33 {30–39} after the announcement of the results of the recent TOBY trial, and to 50 {36–55} after their publication. This rate further increased to 70 {64–83} following official endorsement of the therapy, and is now close to the expected numbers of eligible infants. Cooling was started at 3.3 {1.5–5.5} hours after birth and the time taken to achieve the target 33–34°C rectal temperature was 1 {0–3} hours. The rectal temperature was in the target range in 83% of measurements. From 2006 to 2011 there was evidence of extension of treatment to slightly less severely affected infants. 278 of 1362 (20%) infants died at 2.9 {1.4–4.1} days of age. The rates of death fell slightly over the period of the Register and, at two years of age cerebral palsy was diagnosed in 22% of infants; half of these were spastic bilateral. Factors independently associated with adverse outcome were clinical seizures prior to cooling (p<0.001) and severely abnormal amplitude integrated EEG (p<0.001). Conclusions/Significance Therapeutic hypothermia was implemented appropriately within the UK, with significant benefit to patients and the health economy. This may be due in part to participation by neonatal units in clinical trials, the establishment of the national Register, and its endorsement by advisory bodies.


In the last years a lot has been said and written about a global epidemic of obesity. In Denmark alone, between 30 and 40 per cent of the adult population is estimated to be overweight or obese. Obesity is regarded as one of the major threats to the health of populations, and it ranks high on the agenda of both politicians and researchers. The present article describes a clinical trial with moderately overweight, inactive males, who, through a twelve week intervention period, were prescribed a training schedule of 0, 30 and 60 minutes per day respectively. The purpose of the trial is many fold; one of its purposes is to examine the insulin sensitivity of the participants, another is to investigate the effects of physical exercise on a number of metabolic parameters; further, there is an investigation into the response of the appetite hormones to the increased level of activity, and finally there is a cultural-analytical investigation into the experiences of the research participants during and after their participation in the trial. The present article focuses on the various bodies that are staged and materialized through the trial. This is because the obese body does not participate in the trial in a singular form, but is configured and re-configured in various forms, e.g. as part of a social body, the individual and personal body and the research body. The article is thus an investigation into how these different versions bodies are created, maintained and handled in the intersection between laboratory practises, individuals and a societal challenge high on the political agenda.


Native Hawaiians arrived in the Pacific Northwest as early as 1787. Some went out of curiosity; many others were recruited as seamen or as workers in the fur trade. By the end of the nineteenth century more than a thousand men and women had journeyed across the Pacific, but the stories of these extraordinary individuals have gone largely unrecorded in Hawaiian or Western sources. Through painstaking archival work in British Columbia, Oregon, California, and Hawaii, Jean Barman and Bruce Watson pieced together what is known about these sailors, laborers, and settlers from 1787 to 1898, the year the Hawaiian Islands were annexed to the United States. In addition, the authors include descriptive biographical entries on some eight hundred Native Hawaiians, a remarkable and invaluable complement to their narrative history. Scholars and others interested in a number of fields - Hawaiian history, Pacific Islander studies, Western U.S. and Western Canadian history, diaspora studies - will find "Leaving Paradise" an indispensable work.


This paper investigates the impact of newspaper articles about skimming fraud on debit card usage in the Netherlands, using daily transaction data and daily newspaper announcements from January 1st 2005 to December 31st 2008. Key finding is that articles about skimming fraud significantly affect same day debit card usage. The direction and strength of the media effects strongly depend on the specific characteristics of the publications, such as type of fraud addressed and their position in the newspaper, but above all by the frequency with which they come out. The effects, however, are economically small compared to other factors, such as calendar and holiday effects, and do not sustain or accumulate in the long run. Yet, some first cost calculations demonstrate that the impact of media attention on total retail payments efficiency is not to be underestimated.


This study elucidates the interspecific interactions between competing unicellular predators in an intraguild predation system. The organisms studied were two microzooplankton (MZP) predators competing for the phototrophic dinoflagellate prey Scrippsiella trochoidea. Since the smaller dinoflagellate predator Gyrodinium dominans was also potential prey for the larger predator, the tintinnid ciliate Favella ehrenbergii, the experimental system included the probability of intraguild predation (IGP). The development of the three species was studied in set-ups containing either one of the two predators or both together with their prey. The IG predator F. ehrenbergii grew at a mean rate of 0.77 d-1 independent of the presence of the IG prey G. dominans. High grazing of the IG predator on the smaller IG prey was detected in treatments containing only the two predators. However, when all three species were present, the IG prey displayed significantly higher growth rates (0.42 d-1) compared to treatments containing only the IG prey as predator (0.32 d-1). The results of further experiments allowed the exclusion of mechanical or chemical signals induced by the IG predator being responsible for the observed increase in growth rate of IG prey. Live observations revealed that the IG predator rejected a significant proportion of its S. trochoidea catch after initial uptake. This behavior led to an immobilization of around 26% of the caught cells. We tested if this prey immobilization by the IG predator facilitated prey uptake by the IG prey and thus could be potentially responsible for the higher growth rates of the IG prey. Indeed, the smaller predator selected positively for immobilized prey and reacted with higher grazing and growth rates. Consequently, the IG prey benefitted from this commensalism between IG predator and IG prey and the strength of this pattern predominated IGP in our model system. As both predators co-occur in the same environment their feeding relationship could increase exploitation efficiency of common mobile prey items. Furthermore, such commensalism potentially opens a loophole for a stable coexistence of MZP predators despite their competition.


Sea-level rise presents an imminent threat to freshwater-dependent ecosystems on small oceanic islands, which often harbor rare and endemic taxa. Conservation of these assemblages is complicated by feedbacks between sea level and recurring pulse disturbances (eg hurricanes, fire). Once sea level reaches a critical level, the transition from a landscape characterized by mesophytic upland forests and freshwater wetlands to one dominated by mangroves can occur suddenly, following a single storm-surge event. We document such a trajectory, unfolding today in the Florida Keys. With sea level projected to rise substantially during the next century, ex-situ actions may be needed to conserve individual species of special concern. However, within existing public conservation units, managers have a responsibility to conserve extant biodiversity. We propose a strategy that combines the identification and intensive management of the most defensible core sites within a broader reserve system, in which refugia for biota facing local extirpation may be sought.


A political leader's temptation to deny costly debts to past supporters is a central moral-hazard problem in politics. This paper develops a game-theoretic model to probe the consequences of this moral-hazard problem for leaders who compete to establish political regimes. In contests for power, absolute leaders who are not subject to third-party judgments can credibly recruit only limited support. A leader can do better by organizing supporters into a court which could cause his downfall. In global negotiation-proof equilibria, leaders cannot recruit any supporters without such constitutional checks. Egalitarian norms make recruiting costlier in oligarchies, which become weaker than monarchies. The ruler's power and limitations on entry of new leaders are derived from focal-point effects in games with multiple equilibria. The relationships of trust between leaders and their supporters are personal constitutions which underlie all other political constitutions.


The Handbook of Communication Ethics serves as a comprehensive guide to the study of communication and ethics. It brings together analyses and applications based on recognized ethical theories as well as those outside the traditional domain of ethics but which engage important questions of power, equality, and justice. The work herein encourages readers to make important connections between matters of social justice and ethical theory. This volume makes an unparalleled contribution to the literature of communication studies, through consolidating knowledge about the multiple relationships between communication and ethics; by systematically treating areas of application; and by introducing explicit and implicit examinations of communication ethics to one another.

The Handbook takes an international approach, analyzing diverse cultural contexts and comparative assessments. The chapters in this volume cover a wide range of theoretical perspectives on communication and ethics, including feminist, postmodern and postcolonial; engage with communication contexts such as interpersonal and small group communication, journalism, new media, visual communication, public relations, and marketing; and explore contemporary issues such as democracy, religion, secularism, the environment, trade, law, and economics. The chapters also consider the dialectical tensions between theory and practice; academic and popular discourses; universalism and particularism; the global and the local; and rationality and emotion.

An invaluable resource for scholars in communication and related disciplines, the Handbook also serves as a main point of reference in graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses in communication and ethics. It stands as an exceptionally comprehensive resource for the study of communication and ethics.


The epidemiological pattern and causative agents for suppurative corneal ulcer vary significantly from region to region so it is important to determine the regional etiology for diagnosis and management. A prospective study was conducted to find out the specific microbial agents responsible for suppurative keratitis. 62 patients of keratitis were included in the study. Male patients (58.06%) above 40 years (69.35%), farmers (61.29%) by occupation were commonly involved. The commonest ulcer was fungal (35.48%) &the causative microorganism found on culture was Aspergillus (48.48%). In bacterial ulcer, Staphylococcus aureus (38.70%) &Pseudomonas (19.35%) were isolated as the responsible microbial


Current treatment strategies for Alzheimer's disease are mainly symptomatic, development of disease-modifying therapies is urgent needed. Polygonum Multiflorum has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for long history in the treatment of dementia. Pharmacological studies suggested Polygonum Multiflorum could improve learning and memory ability in the Alzheimer's disease models, and inhibit β-amyloid production. 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside(TSG) is one main bioactive stillbene glycoside of Polygonum Multiflorum . The role of TSG in the Alzheimer's disease treatment has been investigated. TSG might antagonize acetylcholine deficiency and cognitive performance impairment in the animal models of Alzheimer's disease. By using β-amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice, TSG ameliorated learning and memory functions associated with reduced formation of senile plaques and β-amyloid deposition, and inhibition of γ- secretase and α-synuclein. In β-amyloid injection rat models, TSG increased cognitive behavior performance, and prevented β-amyloid deposition and synaptic degeneration. In the D-galactose induced aging model, TSG improved ability of learning and memory in the mice, inhibited β-amyloid precursor protein and β-amyloid expressions. Learning and memory deterioration in aged animals was reformed by TSG intervention; its effects might be exerted through β-amyloid precursor protein pathway.  TSG was also shown to display antioxidant activity in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, TSG has been demonstrated to improve cognitive performance of Alzheimer's disease models through multiple targets strategies, and may be a future perspective in the development of Alzheimer's disease therapy.


The adsorption and desorption of CO on and from amorphous H2O ice at astrophysically relevant temperatures has been studied using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS). Solid CO is able to diffuse into the porous structure of H2O at temperatures as low as 15 K. When heated, a phase transition between two forms of amorphous H2O ice occurs over the 30-70 K temperature range, causing the partial collapse of pores and the entrapment of CO. Trapped CO is released during crystallization and desorption of the H2O film. This behavior may have a significant impact on both gas-phase and solid-phase chemistry in a variety of interstellar environments.


The cosmic environment is considered to include a mixture of high-energy photons and radiation particles, such as iron ions. The total radiation exposure during manned space missions contribute to heavy ions. The possibility that high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiation provides no ionisation within the cell target (survivor cells) and the cells with multihit events is higher due to their uniform distribution in comparison to low LET ionisation. It was explored by evaluating the fraction of survivor cells (20%) and the cells undergoing cell death (70%) in Chinese hamster ovary cells exposed to heavy ions. About 10% of the residue cells suffered from division delay and showed lethal sectoring. The Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) in two kinds of cell death for reproductive death and interphase death showed a similar LET dependence with a maximum of around 200 keV/µm. In this LET region, the quantity of nonsurvivor cells with reproductive death was higher than interphase death.


We document several empirical regularities regarding the evolution of urban structure in the largest U.S. metropolitan areas over the period 1980-1990. These regularities relate to changes in resident population, employment, occupations, as well as the number and size of establishments in different sections of the metropolitan area. We then propose a theory of urban structure that emphasizes the location and internal structure decisions of firms. In particular, firms can decide to locate their headquarters and operation plants in different regions of the city. Given that cities experienced positive population growth throughout the 1980s, we show that firm fragmentation produces the diverse set of facts documented in the paper.


This paper reviews the composition, biogeography and zonation of benthic algae in Arctic and Antarctic polar regions. There is a marked contrast in the literature between the amount of information on microalgae vs. macroalgae. Perhaps not surprising in view of their size and conspicuous nature, the macroalgae are better known than the microalgae and they have been studied more intensively. Macroalgal biodiversity is greater in Antarctica than in the Arctic, as is the number of endemic species. Both these characteristics of the Antarctic marine macroalgal flora can be explained by the biogeographical histories of the regions. In contrast, endemism amongst Arctic and Antarctic benthic microalgae is generally considered to be low; however, there is very little evidence to support this and further molecular research is needed to document and clarify the biodiversity of marine benthic microalgae of both polar regions. The zonation or local distribution of polar macroalgae and microalgae is influenced by physiological, morphological, chemical and ecological characteristics that determine responses to a range of environmental factors, including the ability to resist and survive algal grazing. Typically, the lower depth distribution limit elevates with increasing latitude.


Universities are required to deal to a greater extent with heterogeneous levels especially in basic subjects such as mathematics, statistics, languages or writing skills on undergraduate level due to increasingly varying entry levels. This also applies to graduate and post-graduate degrees, as students are recruited more and more from semi-cognate or non-cognate degrees. Weekly face-to-face teaching often fails to enable students with heterogeneous levels to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills without over challenging weaker students and under challenging good students. The integration of e-learning components in the form of blended learning provides opportunities to balance these differences and enables weaker students to catch up at their pace. As a best practice model, the language programme at Nuertingen-Geislingen shows how students with largely varying levels of English language skills at entry level enhance their language proficiency skills through the introduction of blended learning. In addition to the success factors, but also, challenges and potential difficulties are presented. Even though the model is applied in the language programme, it can be easily transferred to other subject fields, especially the basic subject fields listed above.


In the industrial processes of injection molding, one of the basic requirements is a uniform temperature filed within workpiece and the mold cavities. In the case of simple geometry of workpiece and mold with single cavity achieving a uniform temperature field is not a critical issue.
However, if one deals with parts of complex geometries, multi-cavity molds and asymmetric layout of different forms in the mold additional analyses of the runner and cooling system are necessary in order to obtain the required quality and accuracy of end the products. Disposition and dimensions of both runners and cooling channels are directly related to the geometry of finished parts and material properties. In that sense, virtual models and numerical simulations of injection molding processes based on the finite element method are very effective tool which enable accurate prediction of potential problems and significant reduction of trial and error procedure. In this paper, FEM software package Moldex3D was employed for simulation and analyses of injection molding process in which pipe fittings Ø75/45o and Ø75/90o are produced using a mold with two asymmetric cavities.


We consider non-binary product codes with MDS components and their iterative row-column algebraic decoding on the erasure channel. Both independent and block erasures are considered in this paper. A compact graph representation is introduced on which we define double-diversity edge colorings via the rootcheck concept. An upper bound of the number of decoding iterations is given as a function of the graph size and the color palette size <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Then, we propose a differential evolution edge coloring algorithm that produces colorings with a large population of minimal rootcheck order symbols. The complexity of this algorithm per iteration is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$o(M^{\aleph })$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, for a given differential evolution parameter <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\aleph $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M^{\aleph }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> itself is small with respect to the huge cardinality of the coloring ensemble. Stopping sets of a product code are defined in the context of MDS components and a relationship is established with the graph representation. A full characterization of these stopping sets is given up to a size <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(d+1)^{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is the minimum Hamming distance of the MDS component code. The performance of MDS-based product codes with and without double-diversity coloring is analyzed in presence of both the block and the independent erasures. In the latter case, ML and iterative decoding are proven to coincide at small channel erasure probability. Furthermore, numerical results show excellent performance in presence of unequal erasure probability due to double-diversity colorings.


Information Technology acceptance is one of the most advanced streams of Information Systems Research (Venkatesh et al., 2012; Venkatesh and Bala, 2008). Research work indicates that the most important strength of Technology Acceptance Models is their generalizability and applicability across a wide range of technologies and settings. However, the literature lacks research that explains technology adoption and use in developing countries; specifically the Arab business settings. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review the most recent work on Technology Acceptance Models examined in Arab organizations. It highlights different drivers and impediments to the adoption decision of different information technologies in Arab businesses. The study outcome holds implications and provides recommendations for future research.


A fulfilled ethical life is a desire that in Israel is closely integrated with the observance of laws and legal instructions. The specific way, in which this aspect is concretised, is not the fundamental aspect for the biblical authors. In Pentateuch there are in fact a lot of legal codes. In prophetical writings these are often called into question and in the Second Temple period there are also attempts to correct biblical legislation, which are not in our biblical canon like the qumranic Temple Scroll. The differences between legal codes in the Bible and in the writings of the Second Temple period are above all witnesses that it is possible to correct, to interpret, to actualise and to rewrite laws, which remains authoritative for the people or for a part of it.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative, progressive and disabling disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS), being the mainly cause of dementia worldwide. The symptoms of the AD are due to progressive loss of cholinergic function due to neuronal cell death mainly in the hippocampus cerebral cortex and other different regions of the brain leading to reduction of cholinergic function and clinical deregulation of thought process and memory. It is now known that the development of the disease is the result of these complex environmental and genetic interactions in which gut microbiota plays a special role. Apparently, the inputs from the CNS can modify gut functions, while inputs from the gut to the CNS can modulate specific symptoms. According current evidences, the disturbance of gut microbiome may lead to incremented intestinal and blood-brain barrier permeabilities causing CNS and systemic inflammation, resulting in the occurrence of neurological disorders. Therefore, it has been suggested that diet and specific nutrients can affect the composition of the gut microbiome and may influence the aggregation or production of amyloid proteins. These findings indicate that the modulation of the gut microbiome through specific nutritional interventions as by using prebiotics and probiotics might represent an effective and safe strategy to reduce the level of chronic inflammation and β-amyloid aggregation associated with AD pathology, preventing or improving the clinical symptoms.


This work investigated a new 3D-printing methodology to prepare porous scaffolds containing horizontal pore and composition gradients. To achieve that, a multimaterial printing technology developed in our laboratory was adapted to incorporate pore gradients. Fibers were printed by welding segments with unique material compositions and fiber diameters. Particularly, we focused on the preparation of model composite poly(ε-caprolactone)-based scaffolds with radial gradients of particulate hydroxyapatite (HA) content (higher concentrations in the outer region of the scaffold) and porosity (higher in the inner region). The morphology of the scaffolds revealed that the methodology allowed the fabrication of discrete regions with compressive mechanical properties similar to human bone while maintaining structural integrity. HA distribution was homogeneous within individual regions and no particle aggregation was detected by microCT analysis and Alizarin red S staining. Finally, the incubation of the scaffolds in simulated body fluid resulted in the deposition of significantly higher amounts of calcium deposits in the regions of the scaffolds with higher HA content. This work provides a new tool for the preparation of porous scaffolds containing porosity and composition gradients for complex tissue engineering applications.


Introduction: Patellar tendon pathophysiology is not still fully understood. The collection of clinical samples from athletes that could permit the analysis of the tendinopathy progression, especially in the early stages, is difficult. For that reason, the purpose of this study is to develop a new experimental animal model of patellar tendinopathy in rats which mimics the human tendinopathy by in vivo intratendinous collagenase injection in the proximal portion of the patellar tendon. Material and methods: The experimental model used was 8-week-old male Wistar rats (n = 4). The administration of collagenase was performed by ultrasound-guided puncture at the level of the proximal and deep portion of the patellar tendon in anesthetized animals. The tendon lesion was evaluated 48 h after injury by magnetic resonance and then, the animals were euthanized and the patellar tendons were collected for histological evaluation. Results: The collagenase-induced lesion model demonstrated important similarities with the human patellar tendinopathy in the region of the proximal insertion. Conclusions: The experimental model of patellar tendinopathy in rat model induces a degeneration and distortion of the patellar tendon architecture in its proximal portion, which closely mimics to that seen in human patellar tendinopathy, and could represent an excellent preclinical model for the study of new therapies focused on treatment of tendinopathy. © 2017 Consell Català de l'Esport. Generalitat de Catalunya. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved. KEYWORDS


Economists often focus on marginal tax rates (the extra tax an individual (or firm) will owe to the government for engaging in a little more of the taxed activity) as particularly important for altering economic behaviour. The marginal tax rate is significant because it indicates the amount of tax a person will pay for an additional dollar earned. An extensive literature documents that taxes — particularly progressive income and capital taxes — reduce economic growth, saving and investment, business formation, and job creation.Superficially, with a top federal personal income tax rate of 29 percent, Canada appears to enjoy the lightest tax burden among the G7 countries and Australia. However, this appearance is deceptive. Canada places a relatively greater emphasis on provincial taxation than do other countries in its peer group. For example, both Quebec and Ontario have steeply progressive income tax codes, with top rates of 24 and 18.97 percent, respectively.Also, the top marginal rate kicks in at different thresholds around the world: in Canada, personal income tax thresholds are typically lower than in the other reference countries. In fact, both the federal top rate and the threshold at which that top rate kicks in are low compared to other countries. Taken together, these two adjustments put Canada's tax rates somewhere in the middle of those in the peer countries, underscoring the need for federal and provincial tax relief and reform if Canada wishes to build on past improvements and its current success.The most obvious solution to the relatively high total burden is income tax reform, particularly at the provincial level. The principles for income tax reform are straightforward: flatten rates and broaden the tax base (by reducing or eliminating tax credits, deductions, etc.).


The Supreme Court utilizes the suspect class doctrine in order to balance institutional concerns with the protection of important constitutional rights. The Court, however, inconsistently applies this doctrine, and it has not precisely defined its contours. The political powerlessness factor is especially undertheorized and contradictory. Nevertheless, this factor has become salient in recent equal protection cases brought by gays and lesbians. Indeed, the Court is currently reviewing a court of appeals case that applies this doctrine and finds that gays and lesbians constitute a quasi-suspect class. Recent scholarship and case law have addressed the inefficiencies of suspect class doctrine. This Article discusses the inadequacies of the suspect class doctrine and the emerging scholarship and case law that respond to it. This Article offers two alternatives approaches that could inform a new theory of equal protection.


The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of minority stress with experiences of parenthood (e.g. parental stress and parental justification) and child adjustment in lesbian mother families. Three components of minority stress were examined, namely, experiences of rejection as a result of the non‐traditional family situation, perceived stigma, and internalized homophobia. A total of 100 planned lesbian families (100 biological mothers and 100 social mothers) were involved in this study. Data were collected by means of a written questionnaire. The lesbian mothers in this sample generally described low levels of rejection, they perceived little stigmatization, and they also manifested low levels of internalized homophobia. However, minority stress was significantly related to experiences of parenthood. Lesbian mothers with more experiences of rejection experienced more parental stress, and appeared to defend their position as mother more strongly (e.g. parental justification). Furthermore, mothers with higher levels of perceived stigma and internalized homophobia felt significantly more often that they had to defend their position as mother. Finally, mothers who reported more experience of rejection were also more likely to report behaviour problems in their children. Our findings emphasize the importance of the effect of minority stress on the lives of lesbian mothers and their children.


Abstract Aims: Medicare patients with metastatic or surgically unresectable urothelial carcinoma (mUC) often receive platinum-based chemotherapy as first line of therapy (LOT), but invariably progress, requiring additional LOTs and healthcare resource use (HCRU). To better understand the evolving mUC treatment landscape, the economic burden of chemotherapy-based mUC treatments among US Medicare patients was estimated. Methods: Newly diagnosed Medicare patients with mUC were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database. Patients were followed from diagnosis to death, disenrollment, or end of study to characterize LOTs (first [LOT1], second [LOT2], and third or greater [LOT3+]). Kaplan-Meier methods were used to estimate overall survival (OS) by LOT. HCRU and mean costs were reported over the follow-up period, LOT duration, and maximum LOT received. Results: Among 1,873 eligible patients with mUC (median age = 77 years; median follow-up = 7.5 months), 1,035 (55%) received no chemotherapy. Among chemotherapy-treated patients, 61% had LOT1 only, 25% had LOT1 and LOT2 only, and 14% had LOT3+. Median OS was 8.1 months, range was 4.3 (untreated) to 29.8 (LOT3+) months. HCRU frequency increased with additional LOTs. Mean cumulative per-patient cost was $82,912 for all patients, increasing with additional LOTs (untreated = $57,207; LOT1 = $99,213; LOT2 = $125,190; LOT3+ = $163,884). Mean per patient per month cost was $18,827 for all patients, decreasing with increasing number of LOTs received (untreated = $27,211; LOT1 = $9,601; LOT2 = $7,325; LOT3+ = $6,017). Limitations: Potential for treatment misclassification when using the algorithm defining LOTs and non-generalizability of results to younger patients. Conclusions: Over 50% of Medicare patients with mUC received no chemotherapy. Among chemotherapy-treated patients, most received only one LOT. Additional LOTs led to higher mean costs and HCRU, but as patients were followed longer, monthly costs decreased. As treatments evolve to include immuno-oncology agents, these findings provide a clinically relevant economic benchmark for mUC treatment across different traditional LOTs.


Circadian rhythmicity is a fundamental property of the majority of organisms, including bacteria, unicellular eukaryotes, fungi, plants and animals. It is generated by cellular oscillators and may have evolved to cope with adverse phases in the cycle of a day that bear the risk of damage by radiation and reactive metabolites, such as free radicals. In a complex organism like the human, the circadian system is composed of numerous, internally communicating, oscillators including a coordinating master clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) [1]. It provides a program for structuring countless physiological functions in a sophisticated temporal pattern that optimizes the alignment of processes and also the anticipation of regularly expectable changes, such as an approaching time of arousal and locomotor activity, of food intake and even social interactions.


China's initiative to establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), attracting membership from G7 countries against the vocal opposition of the United States, has been recognised as a significant moment in an ongoing hegemonic transition. This book examines how power transitions have played out in the World Bank over the last five decades, offering the first authentic account of the international diplomacy behind donor financing of the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA). Jiajun Xu decodes how the United States amplified its influence at the World Bank despite its flagging financial contributions to IDA. She further demonstrates that the widening influence-to-contribution disparity provoked other donors into taking 'exit/voice' measures, contesting the hegemon's legitimacy. A rising China initially decided to become an IDA donor, seeking influence from within. However, the entrenched hegemonic position of the United States in World Bank governance drove China to initiate the AIIB and New Development Bank, putting competitive pressures on the US-centred multilateral institutions to adapt.


An approximate theory is formulated to calculate the critical tensile strains in an earth dam that result from differential settlements along the axis of the dam. Laboratory apparatus and procedures are developed to estimate the limiting tensile strain at which compacted clay will crack. Comparisons between predicted and observed behavior of five dams indicate that the theory and laboratory tests can be used to predict cracking potential with an accuracy that is satisfactory for practical purposes. The ratio of tensile strain at cracking to compressive strain at failure is a small fraction (approximately 0.01 to 0.1) that shows no evidence of any consistent pattern. Accordingly, it is hazardous to assess the flexibility of compacted earth dams on the basis of stress-strain relations obtained from compression tests. The effects of molding water content and compactive effort on the flexibility of clay was investigated. No consistent relationship between flexibility and plasticity characteristics of the clay was found.


We present the results of the first systematic study of melt compositions at Pantelleria, based on both melt inclusions and matrix glasses in pantellerites from 10 eruptions during the last eruptive cycle (<45 kyr). We present major and trace element compositions, as well as data on the volatiles sulphur (S), fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and lithium (Li) Rare earth element (REE) compositions were inverted using the program INVMEL to establish the melt fraction vs depth relationship in the Pantellerian mantle source region. Inversion indicates that melts are generated by ∼1·7% melting of a light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched mantle source. The source lies principally within the spinel–garnet transition zone, which, on the basis of trace element ratios, shows some affinity to the source of North African magmatism. Major and trace element data indicate a gap in melt compositions at intermediate compositions, consistent with previously published whole-rock data. This gap rules out the possibility of explaining chemical variability in the Pantelleria lavas merely by changes in the crystal content of the magmas. Principal component analysis of major element glass compositions shows that the liquid line of descent for mafic melt compositions is controlled by clinopyroxene, plagioclase, magnetite and olivine crystallization. Alkali feldspar, clinopyroxene, ilmenite and olivine or aenigmatite crystallization controls the liquid line of descent for the silicic melt compositions, with aenigmatite broadly replacing olivine in the most evolved magmas. Trace element modelling indicates that 96% fractional crystallization is required to generate pantellerites from alkali basalts at Pantelleria (through trachytes, generated after 76% fractional crystallization). We have measured pantellerite volatile concentrations in melt inclusions and in matrix glasses from a variety of eruptions. Melt inclusions, on average, contain 350 ppm S, 3500 ppm F and 9000 ppm Cl. We have measured up to 4·9 wt % H2O and 150 ppm CO2 in melt inclusions. Li–H2O systematics and Cl abundances in melt inclusions are consistent with partitioning of Li and Cl into a subcritical hydrosaline fluid at low pressures. The volatiles H2O and CO2 are used to estimate melt equilibration pressures, which reach a maximum of 1·5 kbar. Temperatures of 800°C are calculated for the most evolved pantellerites, using published feldspar–melt geothermometers, and up to 870°C for the least evolved samples. Low melt viscosities are calculated for the range of pantellerite compositions observed and may account for rapid differentiation by crystal settling. Stable density stratification of the magma chamber is reflected in the eruption of generally progressively more fractionated compositions after the Green Tuff eruption during the last eruptive cycle. Some anomalies in this trend may be explained by variation in the relative rates of eruption vs fractionation. The density stratification is expected to be enhanced and further stabilized by the efficient migration of a fluid phase to the roof of the magma chamber. The sulphur data are used in combination with published experimental partitioning data for peralkaline rhyolites to estimate the sulphur yield to the atmosphere for a large pantelleritic eruption similar to the Green Tuff. This is expected to be markedly higher than for a similar-sized metaluminous rhyolitic or dacitic eruption, mainly owing to the higher bulk sulphur content, lower fluid–melt partition coefficients, and rapid differentiation and vapour phase segregation in the magma chamber.


Regulatory approval time is a key metric that is used to evaluate the performance of regulatory agencies. A new methodology has been developed to compare the regulatory review process across five regulatory agencies in the United States, Europe, Canada, Switzerland, and Australia. Four main stages (receipt of data, scientific assessment, sponsor response, and authorization of the product) that are common across all these agencies have been identified and "milestone" dates were collected for over 1,000 new active substance (NAS) applications. Data were collected by year of submission between 1997 and 2002, which allowed cohorts of compounds to be tracked prospectively to approval, rejection, or withdrawal and ensured that the products had been reviewed in the same regulatory environment. Analyses of the mean/median time intervals between milestones and the overall review times were carried out. Twenty-nine NASs that were submitted to, and approved by, all five agencies were also identified and studied in more depth. Overall median approval times ranged across agencies from 368 to 595 days. This study showed that, although the stages in the review process may be common for the different agencies, the time that an application spends in each stage can differ significantly. The order in which activities are undertaken in the review process also differs, for example, the timing of advisory committees or stages in the process carried out in parallel rather than sequentially. The data suggest that the differences in the way projects are managed in the review process has an impact on the review times.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the low rate of registration of IP rights such as patents, trademark and design rights at the DUT, through a survey conducted with the academic research staff. Managing IP at a University of Technology today has new dimensions with the implementation of the IP Act 51 of 2008. Stimulation of the development and commercialization of technology within South Africa may benefit the country and its citizens. The knowledge economy indicates that research, development and innovation are fundamental prerequisites for achieving and maintaining competitiveness and sustained growth. The researcher undertook to explore reasons for low IP registration as a means to increase such activity at the DUT. This study adopted both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies with questionnaires distributed to full-time academic staff in selected departments. Factors that contributed to the gap between academic research and intellectual property registration were examined. This study investigates activities relating to patent registration, as well as the academic performance of researchers at DUT. The literature reviewed indicated that factors affecting low intellectual property right activities at the DUT may be a lack of awareness, implications of the ownership provisions, funding and an effective institutional arrangement for the management of intellectual property. This study identified strengths and weakness of DUT"s IP management system. It is envisaged that the findings of the study will contribute to increasing IP registration at the DUT, in particular, and other UoT"s in general. Low IP registration can be attributed to lack of understanding and awareness of the ownership provisions of the IP Act. The study highlighted lessons to be learned from universities in other countries and how the DUT"s system can grow into an efficient and effective means of promoting national innovation and economic growth. In an increasingly global world, the ability to invent, design and manufacture goods and services that people want is more vital to our future prosperity than ever.


A 120 days feeding trial was conducted to evaluate diets in which fish meal (FM) was replaced with meat and bone meal (MBM) or tuna byproduct meal (TBM) on growth performance, apparent digestibility and hematological parameters of juvenile spotted rose snapper (SRS) L. guttatus. Three isonitrogenous compounds (47.6-49.0%) and isoenergetic (20.9-22.9 kJ g- 1 ) diets were formulated. A control diet contained FM as a main protein source (D-FM) and two diets with 35% of fish meal protein replaced by MBM or TBM protein (D-MBM, D-TBM). Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of 20 SRS juvenile (initial weight 8.2 ± 0.02 g) to apparent satiation three times a day. Growth performance, hematological parameters and apparent digestibility of SRS fed D-MBM or D-TBM diets were not significantly different from D-FM diet. However, the whole body crude protein was significantly higher in D-MBM group than D-TBM group, and the values were comparable to D-FM group. Based on these results, the meat and bone meal is an economical and viable option, as tuna byproduct meal in practical diets for juvenile spotted rose snapper.


The primary concern of the present paper is to answer the question, 'What is the relation between non-identity and truth in Adorno's Negative Dialectics ?' It employs Adorno's articulation of the 'outside' of philosophy ( a la Aristotle's first matter), which underpins the need for conceptual constellations if we are to mimetically examine the non-conceptual thing. Following this a further question presents itself: how do these engagements inflict a critical mark on the Hegelian method of totalization – the dialectic of truth? The essay ends with an analysis of two films, Metropolis and Primal Fear , aimed at separating out Hegelian conceptions of truth from Adornian unresolved truth; the former aimed at a universal, the latter indicative of a non-identical aporia. We must conclude with the possibility that to leave the unresolved nature of non-identity unresolved for truth is the ontological challenge par excellence that presented itself to Adorno's negative dialectics as it presents itself to post-Kantian continental philosophy today.


Bhutan is in economic terms highly dependent of tourism. E-tourism is in this report assessed as a mean to maintain the current positive development in tourism and as a driver for extending tourism to new markets. Effective use of information, communication, distribution and transactions through the new media, such as the Internet, can lead to an increased level of economic activity in the tourism sector in Bhutan. Also, the indirect economic impacts on transportation, accommodation and the retail/ handicraft industry can be substantial. The macro-economic impacts of e-tourism in terms GDP growth, improvement of the foreign exchange balance, and increased employment are in this report described in three scenarios based on a forecasted annual increase in tourism by 15%. In the event driven scenario where the Bhutanese tourism industry manages to increase the number of bed nights per tourist and their consumption by 15% and to increase the number of international arrivals by 5%, there is a short term increase in the GDP output from the tourism sector and the dependent sectors by 22.4%, an improvement of the foreign exchange balance by 1.2 million USD, and an increase in the employment in the tourism sector and the dependent sectors by 5.1%. In the transition driven scenario the Bhutanese tourism sector manages to use the internet and other technologies to increase the number of international arrivals by 15% but the number of bed nights increases by only 5% and the consumption by 5%. In this scenario, the GDP output increases by 8.7% and employment by only 2.3%, whereas the foreign exchange balance increases by 623,000 USD. In the tourism consumption spending driven scenario, there is an increase in the number of international arrivals and bed nights by 5% only, but the consumption by tourists increases by 15%. Thus, the GDP contribution from the tourism sector and the dependent sectors increases by 15.5% and employment by 6.7%, whereas the foreign exchange balance increases by 873,000 USD. There are several challenges to be met in order for the full scale benefits of e-tourism to materialize. Effective online visa procedures and marketing training of tour operators are being implemented as part of the E-Bhutis project. Economic incentives for the tour operators and the scale of economics benefits are less visible in the current business structure. The relative limited international orientation of the tour market and the lack of international players at the Bhutan market are other inhibiting factors for e-tourism to materialize in the Bhutanese economy. This report also highlights several facilitating factors for e-tourism to flourish: the commitment by the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) and the willingness of the various institutional players to facilitate a smoother visa application process.


This article examines the relationship between the conspicuous and complicated terms of transcendence and immanence, which may equally be defined as essentially connected or diametrically opposed. Recent developments in two largely unrelated sets of scholarship—the re-evaluation of secularization, and the relationship between medieval and modern philosophy—provide a helpful means to arrive at a clearer understanding of this challenging problem. Charles Taylor and Jan Aertesn act as foci for these developments, particularly through their respective concerns with epistemic framing in relation to transcendence and immanence, and the role of transcendentals in medieval philosophy. This examination brings these two concepts together, examining the idea of transcendentals offered by both Aquinas, a thinker of the transcendent frame, and Kant, a thinker of the immanent frame. From this juxtaposition, we can offer two contrasting understandings of the relationship between transcendence and immanence from within both the transcendent and immanent frames. Finally, two brief literary examples demonstrate how these two ways of reading transcendence and immanence may be employed in the contextual understanding of religious writing. To understand the unity and division between transcendence and immanence is to better comprehend two primary terms in the study of religion and to appreciate a fundamental development in the history of religion in the West.


This essay examines the relation between some of the journalistic writings of Japanese philosopher Miki Kiyoshi (1897–1945) and his participation in Prime Minister Prince Konoe Fumimaro's "brain trust," the Shōwa Kenkyūkai (Shōwa Research Association), which is often thought to have provided some of the intellectual foundation for the ideology of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. A brief intellectual biography of Miki and an examination of the founding and organization of the Shōwa Kenkyūkai are included, in addition to a close reading of some of Miki's journalism about China and the manifesto Principles of Thought for a New Japan.

I argue that with Miki's participation in the Shōwa Kenkyūkai and the production of its "world-historical answer" in the form of its signature concept of cooperativism (kyōdōshugi) there occurs a sudden shift away from the rhetorical strategies and lack of epistemological confidence that characterized his journalistic writings of 1935–40. Prior to Principles of Thought for a New Japan, Miki used a rhetorical strategy of conditionals arguing that unless new principles of universal validity were created, it would be impossible to solve Japan's domestic and international problems. During this prior period of Miki's "world-historical questions," he never offered any suggestions as to what these new universally valid principles might be and worked with a questioning attitude marked by extreme epistemological doubt. In addition to his use of "only if, then …" conditionals, Miki frequently offered a sustained criticism of virtually everything for being abstract and lacking dialectical mediation, negation, and sublation. Miki was especially critical of advocates of the "Japanese spirit" and so-called Japanists who assumed that Japanese culture already possessed a universal validity capable of solving Japan's problems and winning over the Chinese to the side of Japanese imperialism. However, one must be careful not to mistake Miki's privileging of universalism over particularism or his attempts to theorize a putatively inclusive and difference-respecting multicultural and multiethnic Japanese empire, which were indeed the ideological foundations of the East Asian Community (Tōa kyōdōtai), as radical gestures of resistance to the Japanese empire, as frequently occurs. For regardless of Miki's intentions, the effect of his oppositional rhetorical strategy in his journalism was firmly on the side of renovating and hence strengthening the imperialist Japanese state. While the Shōwa Kenkyūkai is often regarded as a failure, its apparently empty concept of cooperativism nonetheless contributed to the justification of imperialist violence throughout East Asia.


The large quantities of reactor-grade (RG) and weapons-grade (WG) Pu accumulated worldwide could be reduced by employing 100% mixed-oxide (MOX) cores in light water reactors. The buildup of new Pu from the U present in the MOX, however remains disadvantageous from the viewpoint of inventory reduction and also enhances the need for multiple recycling. A more effective way would be to use U-free fuel so that no new Pu is produced. A comparison is made, from the physics design viewpoint, between the potential and the possible difficulties for two different types of Pu-burning pressurized water reactor cores, namely, 100% MOX and 100% uranium-free Pu fuel. The latter employs ZrO2 as inert matrix and Er2O3 as burnable poison. In each case, RG and WG Pu have been considered separately. The characteristics of the four different cores have been studied on the basis of three-dimensional calculations for an equilibrium cycle, a real-life UO2-fueled core being considered as reference for comparison purposes. For all four Pu-burning cases, it appears possible to design a four-region core with a natural cycle length of more than 300 days. For the 100% MOX cores, the Pu mass is reduced during irradiation by  35% of the initial Pu inventory. For the U-free cores, the consumption is about twice as much, i.e.,  60% for the RG-Pu fuel and over 70% for the WG-Pu core. The reactivity balance in going from hot full power to hot zero power conditions shows that while the 100% MOX core with RG Pu would need more effective control rods, both types of U-free cores have larger shutdown margins than the reference case. Consideration of the reactivity coefficients indicates that a steam-line-break accident could be more problematic in the MOX core with RG Pu than in the other cases. The rod ejection transient should be safe because the maximum inserted worth of a control rod is  0.5 $. More detailed investigations of transient behavior-particularly for the U-free cores-are needed, the current study having considered feasibility mainly from the viewpoint of static physics considerations


This paper presents a novel approach to diagnose interturn insulation faults in three-phase transformers that operate at different loading conditions. This approach is based on the loci of instantaneous symmetrical components and requires the measurement of three input primary winding currents and voltages to diagnose faults in the transformer. The effect of unbalance supply conditions, load variations, constructional imbalance, and measurement errors when this methodology is used is also investigated. Wing size or length determines the loading on the transformer. Wing travel and area determine the degree of severity of fault. Experimental results are presented for a 400/200 V, 7.5 kVA transformer to validate this method.


Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important and ubiquitous component of carbon-bearing materials in space. PAHs are the best-known candidates to account for the IR emission bands (UIR bands) and PAH spectral features are now being used as new probes of the ISM. PAHs are also thought to be among the carriers of the diffuse interstellar absorption bands (DIBs). In the model dealing with the interstellar spectral features, PAHs are present as a mixture of radicals, ions and neutral species. PAH ionization states reflect the ionization balance of the medium while PAH size, composition, and structure reflect the energetic and chemical history of the medium. A major challenge for laboratory astrophysics is to reproduce (in a realistic way) the physical conditions that exist in the emission and/or absorption interstellar zones. An extensive laboratory program has been developed at NASA Ames to assess the physical and chemical properties of PAHs in such environments and to describe how they influence the radiation and energy balance in space and the interstellar chemistry. In particular, laboratory experiments provide measurements of the spectral characteristics of interstellar PAH analogs from the ultraviolet and visible range to the infrared range for comparison with astronomical data. This paper will focus on the recent progress made in the laboratory to measure the direct absorption spectra of neutral and ionized PAHs in the near-UV and visible range. Intrinsic band profiles and band positions of cold gas-phase PAHs can now be measured with high-sensitivity spectroscopy and directly compared to the astronomical data. Preliminary conclusions from the comparison of the laboratory data with astronomical observations will also be presented.


ABSTRACT This article examines a 10-year long series of annual short-term interventions with young people living in Dharavi (India) that has led to a number of public theatre events. The partnership offers a unique training experience to students from the UK in theatre facilitation, and a regular opportunity to participate in theatre for young people in Dharavi. It brings together students from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London), working collaboratively with an Indian theatre practitioner, an NGO based in Mumbai, and young people who live in Dharavi. In the article, I explore the role theatre plays in the precarious lives of those who live in Dharavi, and the potential of this on-going partnership to develop a theatre of change in a community and site affected by extreme poverty. Focusing on the longevity of this applied theatre project and drawing on the writing of Paul Ricoeur on utopia, I argue that this on-going exchange can be understood both as a form of cultural invasion and, at the same time, a utopian community theatre practice. Whilst the project continues to raise troubling questions about cultural colonisation and power, the integrated investment of partners and participants over time has generated a resilient sense of optimism as well as, to a more limited degree, evidence of long-term positive change.


The aim of this review was to summarize new genetic approaches and techniques in the breeding of cattle, pigs, sheep and horses. Often production and reproductive traits are treated separately in genetic evaluations, but advantages may accrue to their joint evaluation. A good example is the system in pig breeding. Simplified breeding objectives are generally no longer appropriate and consequently becoming increasingly complex. The goal of selection for improved animal performance is to increase the profit of the production system; therefore, economic selection indices are now used in most livestock breeding programmes. Recent developments in dairy cattle breeding have focused on the incorporation of molecular information into genetic evaluations and on increasing the importance of longevity and health in breeding objectives to maximize the change in profit. For a genetic evaluation of meat yield (beef, pig, sheep), several types of information can be used, including data from performance test stations, records from progeny tests and measurements taken at slaughter. The standard genetic evaluation method of evaluation of growth or milk production has been the multi-trait animal model, but a test-day model with random regression is becoming the new standard, in sheep as well. Reviews of molecular genetics and pedigree analyses for performance traits in horses are described. Genome – wide selection is becoming a world standard for dairy cattle, and for other farm animals it is under development. Genetic indices, farm animal, molecular genetics, genomic selection Populations of farm animals are undergoing continuous selection in an attempt to improve economic efficiency of animal production. Established procedures are being refined as new techniques are developed and implemented. The aim of this review was to summarize new genetic approaches and techniques in the breeding of cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses.


The Lamp dip asymmetry due to linear or nonlinear lenslike effects is investigated in lasers with plane-parallel resonators. The experiments are performed using diffracted light spectroscopy. It is shown that the frequency-dependent diffraction losses are essential in determining Lamb dip asymmetry, regardless of the origin of the lenslike effects.


Deepwater channel reservoirs in the Nile Delta are delineated using extended elastic impedance inversion (EEI). We used the following workflow: seismic spectral blueing, rock physics and amplitude variation with offset modeling, seismic EEI and interpretation of the inverted cubes in terms of geologic facies, net-to-gross ratio, and static connectivity among depositional geobodies. Three subenvironments within the targeted reservoir interval were recognized using a combination of shale volume and ![Formula][1] -inverted cubes. These were used to generate 3D geobodies and a net-pay thickness map that were used in turn to calculate reservoir volumetrics. The results from the workflow matched well logs and could thus be used to investigate the potential of nearby prospects that have the same geologic settings.

 [1]: /embed/mml-math-1.gif


The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 and the subsequent critical global focus on the 1980 Moscow Olympics placed Hong Kong and its aspiring Olympians in a dilemma. The Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee (ASF&OC) found themselves coming under multiple pressures as politics heavily intruded into sports. Facing international calls for a boycott of the Moscow Olympics, led by the USA but supported strongly by Mrs Thatcher's British government, the Hong Kong government quickly fell into line. Even though the initial stages of the diplomatic sparring between Britain and China over Hong Kong's future had begun and China had only just rejoined the International Olympic Committee, China too was willing to support the boycott. However, the Hong Kong ASF&OC initially resisted, hoping still to be able to send athletes, but as Olympic ideals came up against political realities Hong Kong was forced to join in the international boycott. This article examines the roles of key players in Hong Kong, the external great power influences and the difficulties that Hong Kong faced in sustaining an 'independent' policy within the Olympic movement.


Sand dams are one of the most successful rainwater harvesting methods, adopted in most of arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya to secure domestic water supply and micro-irrigation. Their ability to maintain acceptable water quality, under extreme climatic conditions of recurrent drought and floods, is therefore of paramount public health concern as various pollutants find easily their way into them. This study assessed the suitability of sand-dam water abstracted via scoop holes (SCHs) and shallow wells (SHWs) in Kitui-West, South-Eastern Kenya. Water quality compliance checks were performed using the specifications of Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) for natural potable water and World Health Organization's (WHO) drinking-water quality guidelines wherever applicable. A total of 48 water samples comprising SCHs (N=33) and SHWs (N=15) were collected during the dry period (February 8 and 28, 2018) and the wet season (March 23, April 20 and May 19, 2018) in three sand dams using well-cleaned plastic bottles, transported in cooler boxes to the laboratory for storage and analysis. They were analyzed for pH, temperature, total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), trace metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cr), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total coliforms (TCs). Results showed that majority of assessed physicochemical parameters and trace metals complied with KEBS limits at the rates of more than 90% except turbidity, Cu and Fe that complied with low overall scores; 44, 56 and 35% respectively. These three parameters behaved differently in both abstraction methods as their mean values (compliance rates) exceeded KEBS limits in SCHs, that is, 297 NTU (18%), 1.7 mg/L (48%) and 2.22 mg/L (9%) and were below limits in SHWs, that is, 3.1 NTU (100%), 0.89 mg/L (73%) and 0.21 mg/L (87%) respectively. E.coli compliance levels were 48% in SCHs and 87% in SHWs with maximum counts as 300 CFU/100 ml, while TCs were detected at high rates of 94 and 47% respectively with maximum counts as 2,500 CFU/100 ml. Therefore, these results demonstrated that water extracted via SCHs is more unsafe than water from SHWs but both provide water that is microbiologically unfit for direct human consumption. Shallow-well water was found to be physicochemically fit and only requires disinfection while scooped water needs first to be purified with homemade water filters and then chlorinated with available disinfection by-products (DBPs) to increase its potability. Continuous monitoring of sand-dam water quality is recommended so that the public awareness should be raised on time when new contaminants emerge or exiting ones become intense so as to avoid possible health risks that can result from unnoticed long-term exposure.

 Key words: Sand storage dams, traditional scoop holes, offset shallow wells, drinking water quality compliance, natural potable water; physicochemical properties, organic matter, microbial pollutants, trace metals, climatic seasons.


The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses to psychological stress are exacerbated in adult female but not male rats made obese due to overfeeding in early life. Ghrelin, traditionally known for its role in energy homeostasis, has been recently recognised for its role in coordinating the HPA responses to stress, particularly by acting directly at the anterior pituitary where the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), the receptor for acyl ghrelin, is abundantly expressed. We therefore hypothesised that neonatal overfeeding in female rats would compromise pituitary responsiveness to ghrelin, contributing to a hyperactive central stress responsiveness. Unlike in males where hypothalamic ghrelin signalling is compromised by neonatal overfeeding, there was no effect of early life diet on circulating ghrelin or hypothalamic ghrelin signalling in females, indicating hypothalamic feeding and metabolic ghrelin circuitry remains intact. However, neonatal overfeeding did lead to long-term alterations in the pituitary ghrelin system. The neonatally overfed females had increased neonatal and reduced adult expression of GHSR and ghrelin-O-acyl transferase (GOAT) in the pituitary as well as reduced pituitary responsiveness to exogenous acyl ghrelin-induced adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release in vitro. These data suggest that neonatal overfeeding dysregulates pituitary ghrelin signalling long-term in females, potentially accounting for the hyper-responsive HPA axis in these animals. These findings have implications for how females may respond to stress throughout life, suggesting the way ghrelin modifies the stress response at the level of the pituitary may be less efficient in the neonatally overfed.