Monthly length frequency data of banana shrimp, Penaeus merguiensis were collected from the coastal waters of the north east of the Persian Gulf, from January 2012 to January 2013. Software package FiSAT was used to analyze the length frequency data. Growth parameters, mortalities, exploitation rate and recruitment pattern were estimated from the carapace length in the area. Based on length – weight relationships, the estimated parameter a was 0.0015 for males and females and b was 2.8015 for males and 2.7852 for females. The estimated growth parameters: L∞=39.5 mm, K=1.8 year −1 and t0=-0.08 year −1 for males and L∞=50 mm, K=1.5 year −1 and t0=-0.09 year −1 for females. Longevity was estimated 1.67 and 2.00 years for males and females, respectively. The estimated mortality coefficients, were Z=5.9 (4.89 – 6.92) year −1 (α=0.05), M=2.9 year −1 and F=3.0 year −1 for males and Z=5.7 (4.94–6.37) year −1 (α=0.05), M=2.5 year −1 and F=3.2 year −1 for females. The length at first capture, Lc estimated from the probability of capture routine was 23.3 mm for males and 24.2 mm for females. Sex ratio (M:F=1.1:1) was significantly different to 1:1. The exploitation rates of shrimp were 0.49 and 0.56 for males and females, respectively which could get higher because the survival of spawning stock after the fishing season is related to environmental factors and has less effect on the next year's biomass. Recruitment was continued throughout the year but with one major peak in July to November.


The current study aimed to investigate the relation between conditional reasoning, which is a common type of logical reasoning, and children's mathematical problem solving. A sample of 124 fourth graders was tested for their conditional reasoning skills and their mathematical problem solving skills, as well as a list of control variables (e.g., IQ, working memory, reading) and potential mediators (number sentence construction and computation). The children's ability to make modus ponens (MP) inferences significantly predicted their mathematical problem solving skills, even after controlling for the potential confounding variables. The relation was mediated by the number sentence construction skills. The findings, in addition to supporting the link between conditional reasoning and mathematics, further indicate that the ability to process relations may be the mechanism underlying the relation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


Charities need to understand why volunteers choose one brand rather than another in order to attract more volunteers to their organisation. There has been considerable academic interest in understanding why people volunteer generally. However, this research explores the more specific question of why a volunteer chooses one charity brand rather than another. It builds on previous conceptualisations of volunteering as a consumption decision. Seen through the lens of the individual volunteer, it considers the under-researched area of the decision-making process. The research adopts an interpretivist epistemology and subjectivist ontology. Qualitative data was collected through depth interviews and analysed using both Means-End Chain (MEC) and Framework Analysis methodology. The primary contribution of the research is to theory: understanding the role of brand in the volunteer decision-making process. It identifies two roles for brand. The first is as a specific reason for choice, an 'attribute' of the decision. Through MEC, volunteering for a well-known brand connects directly through to a sense of self, both self-respect but also social recognition by others. All four components of the symbolic consumption construct are found in the data: volunteers choose a well-known brand to say something about themselves. The brand brings credibility and reassurance, it reduces the risk and enables the volunteer to meet their need to make a difference and achieve a sense of accomplishment.
The second closely related role for brand is within the process of making the volunteering decision. Volunteers built up knowledge about the charity brands from a variety of brand touchpoints, over time. At the point of decision-making that brand knowledge and engagement becomes relevant, enabling some to make an automatic choice despite the significant level of commitment being made. The research identifies four types of decision-making behaviour. The research also makes secondary contributions to MEC methodology and to the non-profit context. It concludes within practical implications for management practice and a rich agenda for future research.


It is well known that strength of cement-treated soil column by deep mixing method varies greatly, even at a single column, owing to the variability of in situ soil properties, the variability of mixing effectiveness and other factors. Such variability of strength should affect the overall behavior of the cement-treated soil column. This study presents the investigation on strength of cement-treated soil samples composed of various strength parts. Unconfined compression tests were conducted to reveal the strength of cement-treated soil with spatial variability. Cement-treated samples composed of two different strength parts were prepared in the tests. The experimental results showed that the strengths of the composite sample do not correspond to the mean strength of the composing parts. The different distribution of the composition causes the different unconfined compression behavior of the cement-treated soil samples, even though the mean strength of the parts composing the sample is the same. Moreover, finite element analysis was conducted to valid that the numerical analysis can describe the behavior of the composite samples. The simulation results agreed reasonably with the experimental results, indicating that the finite element analysis used in this study can appropriately describe the strength of the cement-treated soils composed of various strength parts.


This article explores the intersection of nationalism and Jewish identity maintenance with High Holiday celebrations carried out in the Diaspora. Using directed interviews and participant observation, I took part in the rituals of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) to uncover the way that American Jews and Israelis living in the Jewish Diaspora create and sustain a dialogue with their "traditional" homeland, Israel. However, the connections between Jews and this homeland have shifted dramatically in recent times. Although Israel encourages all persons of Jewish descent to immigrate to the Holy Land, a complex web of multiple nationalities and identities is at play in the lives of Jews who live in the Diaspora. Through religious rituals, members of the Jewish faith – whether Orthodox, secular, or something in between – develop and preserve a philosophy of a world Jewish identity with surprising results. Although the rituals themselves may be used to encourage solidarity with the state of Israel, individual Jews now find themselves re-negotiating their sense of belonging. As toasts of "Next year in Jerusalem!" are made, the complexities of national loyalty, ethnicity, and religious practice merge to form a question on the lips of many Jewish people: What is a Jew, and who decides?


Using a lattice model of polymers in a tube, we define one way to characterise different configurations of a given knot as either "local" or "non-local", based on a standard approach for measuring the "size" of a knot within a knotted polymer chain. The method involves associating knot-types to subarcs of the chain, and then identifying a knotted subarc with minimal arclength; this arclength is then the knot-size. If the resulting knot-size is small relative to the whole length of the chain, then the knot is considered to be localised or "local"; otherwise, it is "non-local". Using this definition, we establish that all but exponentially few sufficiently long self-avoiding polygons (closed chains) in a tubular sublattice of the simple cubic lattice are "non-locally" knotted. This is shown to also hold for the case when the same polygons are subject to an external tensile force, as well as in the extreme case when they are as compact as possible (no empty lattice sites). We also provide numerical evidence for small tube sizes that at equilibrium non-local knotting is more likely than local knotting, regardless of the strength of the stretching or compressing force. The relevance of these results to other models and recent experiments involving DNA knots is also discussed.


We have investigated the use of optical methods for monitoring neuron activity in mammalian cortex. The cortex was stained with a voltage- sensitive dye and fluorescence was simultaneously measured from 124 areas using a photodiode array. Optical signals were detected in rat somatosensory cortex in response to small whisker movements and in visual cortex in response to light flashes to the eye. Relatively large signals were obtained during focal interictal epileptiform discharges induced by bicuculline. The measuring system had a time resolution of milliseconds and a spatial resolution of a few hundred micrometers. Simultaneous, multi-site optical recordings of activity may provide a new and potentially powerful method for studying function and dysfunction in mammalian cortex.


To develop insight into the nature and significance of audience engagement in interactive radio and television shows in Kenya, this paper examines 'who participates' in interactive media in Kenya drawing from a combination of household survey data collected in two constituencies, interviews with serial callers, and interviews and observations at a number of radio stations and one television station. The paper explores the extent to which media interactivity has widened and deepened political participation in Kenya, and some of the reasons why. It first examines the demographics of who calls and texts in to interactive shows, with a specific focus on the gender of participants. It then turns to a more in-depth examination of the characteristics of 'serial callers', individuals who regularly and frequently participate in these shows. In so doing, this working paper reveals inequalities and constraints on participation in interactive media, with those who participate tending to be young men with money and with modest level of education. Those who participate most frequently are also found to be motivated by diverse factors, including personal fulfilment as well as a desire to represent the interests of others in their communities.


Condensed quinazolines like thiadiazolo quinazolines and corresponding bioisostere thiadiazolo thienopyrimidines were found to be biologically active molecules. An attempt was made to utilize the concept of bio-isosterism for the synthesis of 3-amino2- mercapto5, 6, 7, 8-tetrahydro-benzo (b)thieno-(2,3-d)-pyrimidine-4-(3 H)-ones which was further treated with acetylchloride, urea, carbondisuiphide, chloroacetic acid, benzoin to affords novel fused thiadiazole, thiadiazine compounds. The novel synthesized compounds were characterized by MP, IR, 1 H NMR spectra. These synthesized compounds were subjected to anti-microbial studies using few gram-positive, gram- negative and fungal organisms. The standard drug used for anti-microbial activity was ampicillin and ketoconazole respectively and also tested for their anti-cancer activity by MTT assay method. The tested compounds exhibited significant antimicrobial and anti-cancer activity.


The act of drawing a line or uttering a word is often seen as integral to the process of making art. This is especially obvious in music and the visual arts, but applies to literature, performance, and other arts as well. These collected essays, written by scholars from diverse fields, take a historical view of the richness of creation out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo) in order to draw out debates, sometimes implicit and sometimes formally stated, about the production and reproduction of cultural meaning in a period of great change and novelty, between the beginnings of the medieval intellectual tradition and the imprint of the Enlightenment. The authors pose the following questions: Do tradition and creativity conflict with one another, or are they complementary? What are the tensions between composition and live performance? What is the role of the audience in perceiving the object of art? Are such objects fixed or flexible? What about the status of the event? Is the event part of creation, in the sense that it disturbs the still waters of historical continuity? These and other questions build on the foundation of Roland Barthes' concept of Degree Zero, offering new insights into what it means to create.


Preclinical studies have demonstrated that the Src-related tyrosine kinase Lyn is upregulated and constitutively activated in CLL cells. Lyn inhibitors have been shown to reduce survival of CLL cells in vitro and the Src inhibitor PPW results in the death of murine B cell leukemia. This has spurred interest in the role of Src inhibition as a treatment option for patients with CLL. Dasatinib is a dual Src- and Abl-kinase inhibitor that was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with CML failing imatinib. It has been shown to induce apoptosis in CLL cells in vitro.

The aim of this study was to investigate the activity of dasatinib in patients with relapsed CLL.

Patients with relapsed CLL, SLL, T-PLL and normal organ function were eligible. The dose of dasatinib was 50 mg PO bid continuously with possible escalation up to 70 mg bid. Each cycle was 4 weeks. Thirteen patients have been treated. The median age was 67 years (range, 42 to 83). The median number of prior treatments was 4 (range, 1 to 8). Five patients (38%) had Rai stage 0–1 disease, the other 8 (62%) had stage II–IV disease. Two patients were inevaluable for response; one changed his mind after only 2 days of treatment and the other patient was hospitalized with Aspergillus 2 weeks into treatment. Of the remaining 11 patients, 6 were treated for 3 cycles, 1 for 6 cycles, 1 is still on treatment, and 3 had therapy stopped after 2, 15, and 34 days for lip numbness, persistent headache, and thrombocytopenia/fatigue, respectively. Five patients had dose escalation after cycle 1, and 1 patient had escalation after cycle 3. The Grade 1 and 2 toxicities included 38% headache, 38% flushing, 46% fatigue, 46% anorexia/nausea, and 23% diarrhea. One patient (8%) had both Grade 3–4 headache and fatigue. One patient (8%) had Grade 3–4 diarrhea and another (8%) had a Grade 3 pleural effusion. Hematologic toxicities included neutropenia in 76%, (grade 3-4 63%), thrombocytopenia in 44% (grade 3–4 22%), and 80% with Grade 1–2 anemia. Eleven patients were evaluable for response. No patient achieved CR or PR based on NCI-WG Criteria. Several patients showed evidence of biologic activity of dasatinib including 1 PR in nodes but worsening anemia, 1 stable disease for 3 cycles, and 2 patients with significant reductions in ALC; one patient had a drop from 76,000/ml to 32,000/ml after only 2 days of dasatinib but stopped therapy because of headache, one had a reduction in WBC from 40,000 to 6,000. One patient continues on therapy. In this trial dasatinib produced no responses by NGI-WG criteria but showed evidence of biologic activity in a very heavily pretreated group of pts with CLL. Accrual continues.


Since 2004, Insee has implemented a new population census method based on an annual sample survey of nearly nine million people. The first detailed results will be produced after completion of five consecutive surveys. Using data from four surveys, this article shows that in early 2006 the population enumerated using the new method is appreciably larger – by 540,000 – than the estimate based on the 1999 census. The disparity is greatest for the total female population and for the 5-19 and 55-84 age groups. The new census also over-estimates the number of 18-year-olds. For measurement of international migration flows (for which data are incomplete in France), the census supplements information from government sources, in particular thanks to the question on year of arrival in France. This question is subject to a high level of non-response, but comparison of the different surveys with each other and with the 1999 census yields indications on how to adjust the results accordingly. Lastly, because it records household family structure, the new census enables fertility to be measured using the own children method. In spite of slight under-estimation, this method is effective for measuring disparities in fertility resulting from life course changes. The results confirm that immigrant fertility is low in the years before arrival in France but, through a catch-up effect, high in subsequent years. On a different level, the results suggest that the fertility increase of 2005 and 2006 is due partly to second and higher births.


Orientation: Coaching is sometimes used in organisations to assist and support people when they are promoted into senior leadership positions. These coaching interventions are not optimally designed. Research purpose: The objective of this research was to investigate how a transition coaching intervention should be designed to cater specifically for people promoted into senior leadership positions. Motivation for the study: Leaders face daunting challenges when promoted into a senior position. Coaching could offer powerful support, but very little research exists on how to design a transition coaching intervention specifically aimed at supporting recently promoted senior leaders. Research design, approach and method: A constructivist, grounded theory approach using purposeful, theoretical sampling was used to identify 16 participants (recently promoted senior leaders, coaches, Human Resource [HR] partners and a line manager) from various organisations with whom open-ended interviews were conducted on their experiences of coaching during a transition. Main findings: Transition coaching is used reactively, started too late and was not continued for long enough. Transition coaching design should take cognisance of coach–coachee matching; goal setting that includes the organisation's goals; location of coaching session (away from the office); should include reflection and active experimentation; and use assessments and involving the line manager, mentors and the new leader's team in the process. Practical and managerial implications: The findings of this research provide practical recommendations for applying coaching during transitions into senior leadership positions and may be useful to human resource practitioners when designing leadership support and succession planning interventions. Contribution and value added: To address the serious and real possibility of failure once leaders are promoted, and to optimise the time and money spent on coaching during career transitions, this research provides insight into the design and execution of tailor-made transition coaching interventions to help recently promoted senior leaders succeed in their new role.


The global recession of 2008-09 has revived interest in the international repercussions of domestic policy choices. This paper focuses on the case of fiscal stimulus, investigating cross-border spillovers from an increase in exhaustive government spending on the basis of a two-country business cycle model. Our model allows spillovers to be affected by a range of features, including trade elasticities, the size and openness of economies, as well as financial imperfections. Beyond these well-known determinants, however, we highlight the central importance of policy frameworks, notably the medium-term debt consolidation regime. We consider the plausible case in which a temporary debt-financed increase in government spending gives rise to higher future taxes along with some reduction in spending over time. The anticipated spending reversal not only strengthens the domestic stimulus effect but also enhances positive cross-border spillovers through its impact on global long-term interest rates. Thus, our findings lend support to the notion that coordinated short-term stimulus policies are most effective when coupled with credible medium-term consolidation plans featuring at least some spending restraint.


We consider the approximation properties of finite element spaces on quadrilateral meshes. The finite element spaces are constructed starting with a given finite dimensional space of functions on a square reference element, which is then transformed to a space of functions on each convex quadrilateral element via a bilinear isomorphism of the square onto the element. It is known that for affine isomorphisms, a necessary and sufficient condition for approximation of order r + 1 in L p and order r in W 1 p is that the given space of functions on the reference element contain all polynomial functions of total degree at most r. In the case of bilinear isomorphisms, it is known that the same estimates hold if the function space contains all polynomial functions of separate degree r. We show, by means of a counterexample, that this latter condition is also necessary. As applications, we demonstrate degradation of the convergence order on quadrilateral meshes as compared to rectangular meshes for serendipity finite elements and for various mixed and nonconforming finite elements.


Dependence upon forest fragments and wetlands by local people outside Kibale National Park in western Uganda illustrates the challenge for rural communities in meeting resource needs, while also controlling overuse and degradation. Using a new geographically stratified, random sampling technique to select study sites, 130 households outside Kibale were interviewed to understand how local uses (e.g., firewood, water) and importance of such fragments (e.g., ecosystem services) depend on household location, size of fragment, and demographic characteristics. While a large majority of households derived material benefits from both wetland and forest fragments, only a minority perceived fragments as providing ecosystem services. Households that derived benefits from fragments tended to live farther from the park, though benefits were largely unrelated to the size of the nearest fragment. An understanding of the importance of these areas is critical for conservationists and park managers when developing cooperative management agreements or outreach programs.


This paper analyzes the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on manufacturing sector output volatility and the determinants of establishment recovery by using monthly establishment-level data (Current Survey of Production), and yearly firm-level data (Basic Survey of Japanese Business Structure and Activities). The main findings from our research are twofold. First, the impacts caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on the output volatilities is bigger in the automotive industry, but smaller in the semiconductor industry compared with those caused by the global financial shock in 2008. Second, establishments with a larger number of employees, higher labor productivity, and belong to headquarters with a large number of employees, and higher liquidity experienced a rapid recovery in their level of output. On the other hand, the recovery of establishments that are small-scale and located in the disaster affected areas has been delayed. These results imply that in order to minimize the damage to the economy caused by natural disasters, support measures are necessary not only for the physically damaged establishments, but also for small scale establishments which have higher vulnerability to supply chains disruptions. However, we must be cautious in drawing a general policy implication from our analysis using the limited data.


Some bacteria produce antimicrobial chemicals in their immediate environments. These antimicrobial agents are enzymes, polypeptides or non-protein organic compounds. In this study, a bacterial isolate that produces antifungal chemical(s) was isolated from an over incubated nutrient agar plate that was exposed to air. The bacterium is aerobic, Gram positive bacilli; capsule and endospore producing. It ferments glucose and sucrose but not lactose, galactose, mannitol and sorbitol; it is citrate, indole, methyl red and Voges Prauskauer negative. Using agar gel diffusion technique, the cell-free culture supernatant resulting from centrifugation of a six day bacterial culture showed antifungal activity against filamentous fungi but not yeasts. Heating the cell-free supernatant in 90 °C water bath and digestion with different proteases had no negative impact on the antifungal activity. A segment of 16S rRNA gene of the bacterial isolate was amplified. The nucleotide sequence of the amplicon was used to identify the bacterium as being very similar to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum strain FZB42. Five bacterial peptides were isolated and identified from cell free supernatant of the bacterial culture using a suite of techniques, including flash chromatography, HPLC, NMR and mass spectrometry. One of the five peptides has been previously reported in literature to possess antifungal activity.


Aim: To assess a model for cardiology assessments in children with suspected heart disease by a general paediatrician with special expertise in paediatric cardiology (PsePC) in a district general hospital. Methods: A new monthly "screening" clinic was established in May 2004 by the PsePC to reduce the burden of new referrals on outreach tertiary paediatric cardiology services. All patients were to have echocardiograms as part of their referral for cardiac assessment. Over a one year period (May 2004–April 2005), through audit, details of referrers, indications for referral, echocardiography assessments, and subsequent management were recorded. This was compared with the pattern of patients seen in the joint paediatric cardiology outreach clinics over a two year period (May 2003–April 2005). Results: In the "screening" clinic, there were 75 appointments for 65 patients seen in 12 months. Fifty five of these patients had normal echocardiographic studies. Of the 47 referrals with heart murmurs in asymptomatic children, four had structurally abnormal hearts on echocardiographic assessment. Between May–October 2003 and November 2003–April 2004, the number of new patients with normal echocardiographic studies seen in the paediatric cardiology outreach clinic was 33/106 (31%) and 28/110 (25.4%) respectively. Following the introduction of the "screening" clinic, the number decreased to 21/99 (21%) during May–October 2004, and 10/102 (9.8%) during November 2004–April 2005. Conclusion: This model can work effectively in order to identify pathology requiring input of a paediatric cardiologist more appropriately. Paediatricians with specific training in paediatric cardiology are potentially well equipped to provide this basic screening service.


In recent years there has been significant progress made towards understanding the large-scale structure of wall-bounded shear flows. Most of this work has been conducted with turbulent boundary layers, leaving scope for further work in pipes and channels. In this article the structure of fully developed turbulent pipe and channel flow has been studied using custom-made arrays of hot-wire probes. Results reveal long meandering structures of length up to 25 pipe radii or channel half-heights. These appear to be qualitatively similar to those reported in the log region of a turbulent boundary layer. However, for the channel case, large-scale coherence persists further from the wall than in boundary layers. This is expected since these large-scale features are a property of the logarithmic region of the mean velocity profile in boundary layers and it is well-known that the mean velocity in a channel remains very close to the log law much further from the wall. Further comparison of the three turbulent flows shows that the characteristic structure width in the logarithmic region of a boundary layer is at least 1.6 times smaller than that in a pipe or channel.


The current epidemic of obesity has resulted in a renewed interest in the developmental origins of adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is formed from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a process known as adipogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that inhibit translation by binding to the 3'UTR of their target genes. The aim of this study was to determine whether miRNAs play a role in the adipogenesis of bone marrow derived MSCs. Microarray analysis identified 20 miRNAs which were significantly regulated in adipogenically differentiating MSCs compared to undifferentiating MSCs, of which 11 were significantly downregulated and 9 were significantly upregulated. MiR-221 and miR-222 were significantly downregulated during hMSC differentiation to adipocytes. MiR-221 and miR-222 were overexpressed using lentiviral vectors to determine whether their reduction is necessary for adipogenic differentiation. MSCs overexpressing miR-221 and miR-222 displayed a significantly reduced ability to differentiate to adipocytes compared to control MSCs, as measured by lipid accumulation and expression of adipogenesis-related transcripts. MiRZip short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) against miR-221 and miR-222 were lentivirally delivered to determine the effects of reduced miR-221 and miR-222 activity on hMSC adipogenesis. The reduction in activity of either miRNA caused a significant reduction in cell number. P27 is an experimentally confirmed target of miR-221 and miR-222 in cancer models. The overexpression of miR-221 and miR-222 reduced the levels of p27 protein but not mRNA 72 hours after the induction of adipogenesis. Direct interactions between the miRNAs and the 3'UTR of p27 were verified using luciferase reporters in HEK293T cells. To investigate whether preventing the reduction in p27 protein rescues the reduction in lipid accumulation, p27 was overexpressed in MSCs with reduced miR-221 and miR-222. This did not lead to a significant change in lipid accumulation in MSCs, suggesting that miR-221 and miR-222 do not act solely through an effect on this protein.


This thesis examines the tensions between the discourse of Higher Education (HE) in Britain and how the university is physically manifest. Using Bill Readings's concept of
"excellence" from The University in Ruins (1996), it critiques the corporate oriented contemporary university in an attempt to challenge its neoliberal rhetoric. The narratives and processes that support the concept of the corporatised university – whether they appear in the form of its relationship with industry, in the performative measures applied to teaching or in the situating of the student as consumer – will be examined by using the University of Leeds campus.

Using archived documents, historical information and psychogeographical methodology, a poststructuralist analysis is provided of the Redbrick University campus
based on its origins in the Civic University model of HE. As well as including spatial theorists from the field of urban theory and postmodern geography, the main
poststructuralist thrust will be from Felix Guattari – the schizoanalysis he carried out in the institution of psychiatry and his work on molecular revolutions. The methodology will include analysis in the form of urban walking and theories about walking practices,
which will include the work of the Situationist International (1957-1972).

The outcome of the project appears takes the form of a discourse analysis and semiology of university representations. This thesis offers a supplementary social
history of the campus and a critique of university urban development. It provides a view of the campus that is other to the typical one, demonstrating that it can be a place where people challenge conventional routes and express their desire to be creative in response to university space. This schizocartography reveals the hidden university campus and suggests that there are minoritorian politics in operation that challenge dominant discourses and how they appear spatially.


ABSTRACT Background: Models-based approaches to physical education have in recent years developed as a way for teachers and students to concentrate on a manageable number of learning objectives, and align pedagogical approaches with learning subject matter and context. This paper draws on Hannah Arendt's account of vita activa to map existing approaches to physical education as oriented towards: (a) health and exercise, (b) sport and games, and (c) experience and exploration. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to outline a new pedagogical model for physical education: a practising model. We argue that the form of human activity related to practising is not well represented in existing orientations and models. To sustain this argument, we highlight the most central aspects of practising, and at the same time describe central features of the model. Relevance and implications: The paper addresses pedagogical implications the practising model has for physical education teachers. Central learning outcomes and teaching strategies related to four essential and 'non-negotiable' features of the practising model are discussed. These strategies are: (1) acknowledging subjectivity and providing meaningful challenges, (2) focusing on content and the aims of practising, (3) specifying and negotiating standards of excellence and (4) providing adequate time to practising. Conclusion: The practising model has the potential to inform new perspectives on pedagogical approaches, and renew and improve working methods and learning practices, in physical education.


ABSTRACT The reduction of New Zealand titanomagnetite ironsand in a dilute hydrogen–nitrogen gas mixture was studied in situ using neutron diffraction. Neutron diffraction allowed in situ observation of large samples during reduction at high temperatures. Australian hematite ore, studied as a comparison, reduced much more quickly than the pre-oxidised ironsand, which in turn reduced more quickly than raw ironsand. The ironsand was predominantly titanomagnetite with small amounts of titanohematite. The rate of wüstite formation increased and metallic iron was formed only after the reduction of titanohematite. Experimental results confirmed the expected reduction pathway for initial reduction of titanomagnetite ore was described well by a three-interface shrinking core model. The rate controlling step in the reduction reactions studied was the mass transport of water vapour in the bulk gas. At higher temperatures, slow removal of water vapour meant that the pH2O increased, thus preventing reduction of wüstite to metallic iron.


We systematically develop a functional program that solves the countdown problem, a numbers game in which the aim is to construct arithmetic expressions satisfying certain constraints. Starting from a formal specification of the problem, we present a simple but ine!cient program that solves the problem, and prove that this program is correct. We then use program fusion to calculate an equivalent but more e!cient program, which is then further improved by exploiting arithmetic properties.


The Eighth Edition of Problem Solving with C++ continues to be the most widely used textbook by students and instructors in the introduction to programming and C++ language course. Through each edition, hundreds and thousands of students have valued Walt Savitchs approach to programming, which emphasizes active reading through the use of well-placed examples and self-test examples. Created for the beginner, this book focuses on cultivating strong problem-solving and programming techniques while introducing students to the C++ programming language. MyProgrammingLab, Pearson's new online homework and assessment tool, is available with this edition.


In this innovative celebration of diversity and affirmation of individuality in animals and humans, Joan Roughgarden challenges accepted wisdom about gender identity and sexual orientation. A distinguished evolutionary biologist, Roughgarden takes on the medical establishment, the Bible, social science - and even Darwin himself. She leads the reader through a fascinating discussion of diversity in gender and sexuality among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including primates. Evolution's Rainbow explains how this diversity develops from the action of genes and hormones and how people come to differ from each other in all aspects of body and behavior. Roughgarden reconstructs primary science in light of feminist, gay, and transgender criticism and redefines our understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality. This is a witty, playful, and daring book that has revolutionized our understanding of sexuality.


In this paper, the effects of ion irradiation on Schottky barriers formed on silicon carbide are discussed. After Si-ion irradiation at the near-interface region in Ti/4H-SiC contacts an increase of the Schottky barrier height from 1.05 to 1.21 eV was observed, accompanied by a lowering of the reverse leakage current. The combination of several methods allowed us to determine the physical properties of the Schottky barrier and to explain the mechanism responsible for the barrier height changes. In particular, the structural and electrical modifications of the interfacial region, both of Ti layer and SiC (i.e., different orientation of the Ti layer, irradiation-induced defects in the epilayer, dopant deactivation, and the consequent reduction of the surface electric field) are responsible for the increase of the Schottky barrier height and the reduction of the leakage current. The electrical characterization of the contacts at different temperatures also suggested that ion irradiation induced modifications in the inhomogeneous nature of the Ti Schottky barrier.


We present ΛCDM cosmological parameter constraints obtained from delensed microwave background power spectra. Lensing maps from a subset of DR4 data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) are used to undo the lensing effect in ACT spectra observed at 150 and 98 GHz. At 150 GHz, we remove the lensing distortion with an effective efficiency of 30% (TT), 30% (EE), 26% (TE) and 20% (BB); this results in detections of the delensing effect at 8.7σ (TT), 5.1σ (EE), 2.6σ (TE), and 2.4σ (BB) significance. The combination of 150 and 98 GHz TT, EE, and TE delensed spectra is well fit by a standard ΛCDM model. We also measure the shift in best-fit parameters when fitting delensed versus lensed spectra; while this shift does not inform our ability to measure cosmological parameters, it does provide a three-way consistency check among the lensing inferred from the best-fit parameters, the lensing in the CMB power spectrum, and the reconstructed lensing map. This shift is predicted to be zero when fitting with the correct model since both lensed and delensed spectra originate from the same region of sky. Fitting with a ΛCDM model and marginalizing over foregrounds, we find that the shift in cosmological parameters is consistent with zero. Our results show that gravitational lensing of the microwave background is internally consistent within the framework of the standard cosmological model.


Just as history records that military personnel have been carrying heavy loads for over two millennia (Orr, 2010), so too does it show their impact on military force sustainment and combat effectiveness. Around 800BC, the heavy loads carried by Assyrian soldiers reduced their mobility and led them to experiment continually with their shields in order to lighten their loads (Gabriel, 2002). Around 400BC, the long marches of Cyrus' 'infamous 10,000', an army of Greek mercenaries accompanied by Xenophon, would have resulted in numerous stress fractures, torn ligaments, muscle damage, blisters and abrasions. While some of these injuries can be considered minor in the context of today's available treatments, for the Cyrean soldier they could have been a matter of life or death as they hobbled to keep up with the moving army (Lee, 2007).


Abstract. In recent years, the number of people affected by flooding caused by extreme weather events has increased considerably. In order to provide support in disaster recovery or to develop mitigation plans, accurate flood information is necessary. Particularly pluvial urban floods, characterized by high temporal and spatial variations, are not well documented. This study proposes a new, low-cost approach to determining local flood elevation and inundation depth of buildings based on user-generated flood images. It first applies close-range digital photogrammetry to generate a geo-referenced 3-D point cloud. Second, based on estimated camera orientation parameters, the flood level captured in a single flood image is mapped to the previously derived point cloud. The local flood elevation and the building inundation depth can then be derived automatically from the point cloud. The proposed method is carried out once for each of 66 different flood images showing the same building facade. An overall accuracy of 0.05 m with an uncertainty of ±0.13 m for the derived flood elevation within the area of interest as well as an accuracy of 0.13 m ± 0.10 m for the determined building inundation depth is achieved. Our results demonstrate that the proposed method can provide reliable flood information on a local scale using user-generated flood images as input. The approach can thus allow inundation depth maps to be derived even in complex urban environments with relatively high accuracies.


Switzerland, as many developed countries, face a double problem for the next round of international negotiations on climate change. On the one hand, short term economic strategies would favor the implementation of a global carbon market that would minimize abatement costs globally. On the other hand, purchasing emissions certificates from developing countries does not prepare for the major technological and social changes that will certainly be required before the end of the century to avoid climate change. In this paper we use a coupled top-down bottom-up model to assess the impacts of a number of ambitious climate policies in Switzerland. We find that stringent policies with both domestic and total emission targets are affordable for a wealthy country like Switzerland. Such policies could not only put Switzerland in a leading po- sition regarding climate change issues but also pave the way for its long term climate policies.


Background: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is an increasing problem in today's society andplaces a great cost and burden on the affected individuals and their families, and thesociety. Thus gaining knowledge of this disease is of vital importance. Patients with mildcognitive impairment (MCI) comprise a group at increased risk for developing dementia,as so offers the opportunity to understand the early stages of dementia. The aim of thisstudy was therefore to investigate the differences between MCI patients and elderlycontrols with respect to olfaction, cognition, and volumetric measures of brain structures. Methods: Twelve MCI/early AD patients, one AD patient, and thirteen elderly controlsparticipated in this study. Subjects performed two odor identification tests, the BriefSmell Identification Test (BSIT) and Sniffin Sticks (SS) odor identification, and one SSodor discrimination test. The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were also done to investigate visuospatialconstruction/memory and global cognition, respectively. MRI and volumetry of brainstructures (forebrain parenchyma, cortical gray matter, lateral and inferior lateralventricles, and hippocampus) were performed in all subjects. Lastly, a correlationanalysis was done between hippocampal volumes and scores on the olfaction andneuropsychological tests in the two groups. Results and discussion: The patient group performed generally worse on all tests. SSodor identification and discrimination scores were significantly lower than in the controlgroup, and there was a trend for lower BSIT scores. All subtests of the RCFT, and theMMSE also showed poorer performance in patients compared to controls. Brain structurevolumes were generally reduced in patients and the ventricles enlarged. Hippocampalvolumes for both groups were positively correlated with SS odor identification, RCFT,and MMSE. In conclusion, all tests and measures were generally poorer in the patientgroup compared to controls, though odor discrimination, the RCFT, and hippocampalvolumes showed the most marked difference, and are therefore perhaps most suited asearly diagnostic markers detecting differences between patients with cognitiveimpairment and healthy controls.


Groundwater discharge delivering anthropogenic N from surrounding watersheds can impact lake nutrient budgets. However, upgradient groundwater processes and changing dynamics in N biogeochemistry at the groundwater‐lake interface are complex. In this study, seasonal water‐level variations in a groundwater flow‐through lake altered discharge patterns of a wastewater‐derived groundwater contaminant plume, thereby affecting biogeochemical processes controlling N transport. Pore water collected 15 cm under the lakebed along transects perpendicular to shore varied from oxic to anoxic with increasing nitrate concentrations (10–75 μM) and corresponding gradients in nitrite and nitrous oxide. Pore water depth profiles of nitrate concentrations and stable isotopic compositions largely reflected upgradient groundwater N sources and N cycle processes, with minor additional nitrate reduction in the near‐surface lakebed sediments. Potential denitrification rates determined in laboratory microcosms were 10–100 times higher in near‐surface sediments (0–5 cm) than in deeper sediments (5–30 cm) and were correlated with sediment carbon content and abundance of denitrification genes (nirS, nosZI, and nosZII). Potential anammox‐driven N2 production was detectable in deeper anoxic sediments. Injection of bromide and nitrite in the lake sediments showed that the highest net nitrite consumption rates were within the top 10 cm. However, short transit times owing to rapid upward pore water velocities (4–5 cm hr−1) limited removal of the contaminant nitrate transiting through the sediments. Results demonstrate that local hydrologic and biogeochemical processes at the point of discharge affect the distribution and discharge rate of N through lakebed sediments, but processes in the upgradient groundwater can be more important for affecting N speciation and concentration.


Abdominoplasty is a common surgical procedure in plastic surgery. Consequently, several technical variations have been created with the aim of reducing complications and obtaining better results in the abdominal contour. The anatomy of the abdominal region plays an important role in this procedure, since arguments in favor of techniques, such as classic abdominoplasty and lipoabdominoplasty are linked to anatomical principles. This highlights the plastic surgeon's need to have a good knowledge of the anatomy of this region. Not only will this knowledge enable plastic surgeons to understand the reasons for adopting certain surgical procedures, but it will also enable them adapt these procedures to the anatomical characteristics of each patient. In addition, this knowledge will help determine the morphological changes caused by surgery. Therefore, this study aimed to identify studies in the literature focusing on the anatomical description of both classical abdominoplasty and other variants, such as lipoabdominoplasty. It also aimed to discover the anatomical and physiopathological explanations for the major inherent surgical complications. ■ ABSTRACT


Relevance. Violation of bone formation processes continues to occupy a relatively high level, reaching 2.7-27.1%, so the search for new methods for their treatment and prevention remains relevant. One of these methods is extracorporeal shock wave therapy. Views on the influence of the extracorporeal shock wave therapy on the processes of bone formation significantly differ.
Objective: to study the effect and mechanism of action of shock wave therapy on the processes of reparative osteogenesis in an experiment and the effect of the method on delayed union of bone fractures and pseudarthrosis in clinical conditions.
Materials and Methods. In an experiment on rabbits, after a standard model of a perforated defect in the proximal tibial metadiaphysis on the days 3, 6, 9, and 12 after injury; the injury site of the animals of the main group was influenced with radial low-energy shock waves. The results of treatment were monitored with the help of clinical, radiological and histomorphological methods. The clinical section included 136 patients with union fracture disorder of long bones who had previously undergone conservative treatment or osteosynthesis. All patients underwent 1-3 sessions of extracorporeal shock wave therapy with evaluation of the results on 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment using the data of X-ray examinations and the Neer – Crantham – Shelton functional scale.
Results. The studies showed that rabbits of the main group morphologically had a greater thickness and density of formed bone crossbars at the site of the proximal tibial metadiaphysis defect in a month after extracorporeal shock wave therapy, and after 45 days, a greater number of cases of restoration of its cortical layer was notified (p<0.05). Three months after treatment of patients with delayed union of bone fractures with extracorporeal shock wave therapy, consolidation was detected radiologically in 89.4% of cases; this indicator remained almost unchanged in the subsequent periods of the study. Three months after treatment of patients with pseudoarthrosis of the bones with extracorporeal shock wave therapy, radiological consolidation was detected in 46.1% of patients, after 6 months – in 75.3%, after 12 months – in 80.9%. At the end of the study, scores on the Neer – Crantham – Shelton Functional Scale also improved significantly.
Conclusions. The results of the studies allow us to conclude that extracorporeal shock wave therapy is an effective non-invasive method for the treatment of delayed union of bone fractures and pseudarthrosis and is an alternative to surgical interventions.


This report draws on a recent survey--the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF)--to examine child care arrangements and expenses for working families with children under age 13 in the state of Massachusetts. Key components of the project include a household survey, studies of policies in 13 states, and a database with information on all states and the District of Columbia. This report provides data on the types of child care arrangements families use, the number of arrangements they use, the hours children spend in child care, and the amount families spend on child care. The report begins by describing key facts related to child care in Massachusetts and defining relevant terms. Findings regarding the types and number of child care arrangements and the hours spent in care are examined for children under 5 years of age. Findings on the numbers of school-age children in supervised arrangements, self-care, and parent/other care follow. Child care expenses are examined for all families overall and for two particular groups of families: those with older versus younger children, and families with different earnings levels. Costs in Massachusetts then are compared to those nationwide. Findings of this report reveal that more than 60 percent of mothers with children under age 5 and more than two-thirds of mothers with school-age children are employed. More than Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. two-thirds of children under age 5 with employed parents are in a form of nonparental child care, with more than 25 percent in full-time care. More than half of 6to 9-year-olds are in a supervised care arrangement, compared to one-third of 10to 12-year-olds. The use of self-care increases as children get older. Low-income families spend more than twice as much as a percentage of their earnings as do higher-earning families. (KB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. State Child Care Profile for Children with Employed Mothers: Massachusetts Kathleen Snyder Gina Adams 01-18


Chemical respiratory sensitization is an immunological process that manifests clinically mostly as occupational asthma and is responsible for 1 in 6 cases of adult asthma, although this may be an underestimate of the prevalence, as it is under-diagnosed. Occupational asthma results in unemployment for roughly one-third of those affected due to severe health issues. Despite its high prevalence, chemical respiratory sensitization is difficult to predict, as there are currently no validated models and the mechanisms are not entirely understood, creating a significant challenge for regulatory bodies and industry alike. The Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) for respiratory sensitization is currently incomplete. However, some key events have been identified, and there is overlap with the comparatively well-characterized AOP for dermal sensitization. Because of this, and the fact that dermal sensitization is often assessed by in vivo, in chemico, or in silico methods, regulatory bodies are defaulting to the dermal sensitization status of chemicals as a proxy for respiratory sensitization status when evaluating chemical safety. We identified a data set of known human respiratory sensitizers, which we used to investigate the accuracy of a structural alert model, Toxtree, designed for skin sensitization and the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH)'s model, a model developed specifically for occupational asthma. While both models had a reasonable level of accuracy, the COEH model achieved the highest balanced accuracy at 76%; when the models agreed, the overall accuracy was 87%. There were important differences between the models: Toxtree had superior performance for some structural alerts and some categories of well-characterized skin sensitizers, while the COEH model had high accuracy in identifying sensitizers that lacked identified skin sensitization reactivity domains. Overall, both models achieved respectable accuracy. However, neither model addresses potency, which, along with data quality, remains a hurdle, and the field must prioritize these issues to move forward.


This article develops a model of how culture affects negotiation processes and outcomes. It begins with a description of negotiation from a Western perspective: confrontational, focused on transactions or the resolution of disputes, evaluated in terms of integrative and distributive outcomes. It proposes that power and information processes are fundamental to negotiations and that one impact of culture on negotiations is through these processes. The cultural value of individualism versus collectivism is linked to goals in negotiation; the cultural value of egalitarianism versus hierarchy is linked to power in negotiation; and the cultural value for high versus low context communication is linked to information sharing in negotiation. The article describes why inter-cultural negotiations pose significant strategic challenges, but concludes that negotiators who are motivated to search for information, and are flexible about how that search is carried out, can reach high-quality negotiated outcomes. Cet arti...


Background:Unexplained heterogeneity in response to ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation for the management of advanced heart failure impedes our ability to predict favorable outcomes, provide adequate patient and family education, and personalize monitoring and symptom management strategies. The purpose of this article was to describe the background and the design of a study entitled "Profiling Biobehavioral Responses to Mechanical Support in Advanced Heart Failure" (PREMISE). Study Design and Methods:PREMISE is a prospective cohort study designed to (1) identify common and distinct trajectories of change in physical and psychological symptom burden; (2) characterize common trajectories of change in serum biomarkers of myocardial stress, systemic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction; and (3) quantify associations between symptoms and biomarkers of pathogenesis in adults undergoing VAD implantation. Latent growth mixture modeling, including parallel process and cross-classification modeling, will be used to address the study aims and will entail identifying trajectories, quantifying associations between trajectories and both clinical and quality-of-life outcomes, and identifying predictors of favorable symptom and biomarker responses to VAD implantation. Conclusions:Research findings from the PREMISE study will be used to enhance shared patient and provider decision making and to shape a much-needed new breed of interventions and clinical management strategies that are tailored to differential symptom and pathogenic responses to VAD implantation.


The study of US politics in Europe has always been small-scale. In the UK, it is often tied to contemporary history. In much of continental Europe, it is distanced from political science (which largely eschews area studies) and is instead, intellectually and institutionally, an adjunct to American studies. Whereas many other fields within political science have been compelled to consider the methodological underpinnings of their work, US politics has yet to do this. In contrast, within the US, political science has, since the behaviouralist revolution, been largely structured around quantitative forms of analysis. There is therefore a significant gulf between the study of US politics in Europe and political science in both Europe and the US. Furthermore, American studies is itself under long-term threat in some European countries because, forecasters suggest, the demand for English-language teaching (to which American studies is generally tied) will decline in the long term. As a consequence of these developments, those who study US politics at university level are not being replaced as they retire and there are few new entrants into the profession. The article suggests that US politics should, as a subdiscipline, seek out openings that might bring the subject back towards political science. In particular, it argues that US politics researchers in Europe should look more closely at developments within historical institutionalism, American political development (APD) and comparative politics.


Systems engineering (SE) is an increasingly relevant domain in
an increasingly interconnected world, but the demand for SE education is
impeded by the challenges of effectively teaching interdisciplinary material
that emphasizes the development of a mentality over specific skills. A
modularized, asynchronous, distributed course configuration may provide an
advantageous alternative to more traditional hybrid course designs. Online
courses have been a topic in the educational field since the establishment of
the internet. However, the widespread disruptions to higher education due to
the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the demand for and difficulty of developing
deliberate and robust learning environments designs that consider a variety of
traditional and non-traditional students. This thesis presents a case design of
a learning environment for an interdisciplinary-focused, introductory
graduate-level systems course that has previously been designed for, and taught
in, a hybrid environment. The case design will emphasize the information
architecture (IA) and user experience (UX) prototype design of the learning
environment as informed by user-centric principles, cognitive theories and
analyses, the IA literature, and existing course content. This focus on learner
knowledge development ("beyond-the-screen") factors rather than the direct user
interface ("at-the-screen") provides design recommendations and insights that
are robust to changing user interface trends and preferences. A distribution of
learners with varying backgrounds, learning needs, and goals associated with
the material will be identified. These individual differences can dramatically
impact the effectiveness of potential interventions, particularly when
different types of learners have directly conflicting needs. Thus, the online
learning environment will utilize adaptable interfaces to move away from a
"one-size-fits-all" design approach. Content modularization and non-sequential,
tag-based navigation were utilized to address the challenges of teaching highly
interdisciplinary material. This thesis emphasizes a learning environment
design that aims to teach highly interdisciplinary systems subject matter to a
variety of learners with a variety of characteristics in an asynchronous,
online format while making use of existing course material.


A new experimental setup designed to monitor by atomic force microscopy (AFM) the time evolution of a single micrometer-sized polymer spherulite during crystallization at elevated temperatures is presented. For the case of blends of poly(aryl-ether–ether–ketone), PEEK, with poly(ether–imide), PEI, it is shown how AFM can help visualizing the time sequence and space location of events occurring during polymer crystallization, specifically growth, branching and thickening of lamellar stacks (fibrils). This method complements other non-destructive techniques, e.g. optical microscopy, as it is able to examine the growth of very small crystals occurring for high degrees of supercooling. In addition, not only the overall spherulitic growth rate but also the growth rates of individual fibrils could be evaluated. The potential of the technique to evaluate crystallization near the surface by following the evolution of the surface roughness is briefly discussed. q 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


The uniting feature of combinatorial optimization and extremal graph theory is that in both areas one should find extrema of a function defined in most cases on a finite set. While in combinatorial optimization the point is in developing efficient algorithms and heuristics for solving specified types of problems, the extremal graph theory deals with finding bounds for various graph invariants under some constraints and with constructing extremal graphs. We analyze by examples some interconnections and interactions of the two theories and propose some conclusions.


ZINC ENVIRONMENT IN PROTEINS: THE FLEXIBLE AND REACTIVE CORE OF HIV-1 NCP7 AND THE INHIBITORY SITE OF CASPASE-3 By Amalanayagame Gerard Daniel, M. Phil. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2013. Major Director: Nicholas P. Farrell, Ph. D., Professor, Department of Chemistry Zinc is an essential cofactor of several proteins. The roles of zinc in these proteins are classified as catalytic, structural or regulatory. Zinc present in structural sites is considered to be a chemically inert, static structural element. On the contrary, previous studies on a C2H2 type zinc finger model compound and the C3H type HIV-1 NCp7 C-terminal zinc knuckle have shown that zinc at these sites can undergo coordination sphere expansion under the influence of a Pt based electrophile. The pentacoordination observed around zinc in these experiments raises an important question: are the structural zinc motifs found in the proteins susceptible to coordination sphere expansion? Through DFT modeling, the existence and nature of the five coordinate zinc species was investigated. mPW1PW91 was chosen as the DFT method by benchmarking against the experimental parameters of a molecule that closely resembles those to be modeled. The results suggest that the observed coordination sphere expansion is due to the flexible nature of thiolate and chloride ligands that are part of the structure. However, if certain conditions are not met, the same flexibility can lead to the destabilization of these rather fragile structures. Unlike the stable three or four coordinate catalytic and structural zinc sites, at regulatory sites, zinc is typically bound to one or two protein ligands. Zinc inhibition of caspases which are central to the process of apoptosis is one such scenario. Several of the caspases are inhibited by zinc at low micromolar range. Regulation of caspases is a strategy for drug development toward apoptosis related diseases; thus it is important to know the molecular details of zinc inhibition of caspases. Currently, it is speculated that zinc binds to the active site His and Cys residues of caspases thus competing with the substrate. However our studies on caspase-3, using enzyme kinetics and biophysical methods, imply more than one zinc binding sites. Contrary to current beliefs, more than 50% of the inhibition is achieved by zinc without affecting substrate binding. Using DFT models, an alternative inhibitory zinc binding site, which better fits our experimental observations, is predicted.


Background Previous research has suggested that the way bipolar patients respond to depressive mood impacts on the future course of the illness, with rumination prolonging depression and risk-taking possibly triggering hypomania. However, the relationship over time between variables such as mood, self-esteem, and response style to negative affect is complex and has not been directly examined in any previous study – an important limitation, which the present study seeks to address. Methods In order to maximize ecological validity, individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder (N = 48) reported mood, self-esteem and response styles to depression, together with contextual information, up to 60 times over a period of six days, using experience sampling diaries. Entries were cued by quasi-random bleeps from digital watches. Longitudinal multilevel models were estimated, with mood and self-esteem as predictors of subsequent response styles. Similar models were then estimated with response styles as predictors of subsequent mood and self-esteem. Cross-sectional associations of daily-life correlates with symptoms were also examined. Results Cross-sectionally, symptoms of depression as well as mania were significantly related to low mood and self-esteem, and their increased fluctuations. Longitudinally, low mood significantly predicted rumination, and engaging in rumination dampened mood at the subsequent time point. Furthermore, high positive mood (marginally) instigated high risk-taking, and in turn engaging in risk-taking resulted in increased positive mood. Adaptive coping (i.e. problem-solving and distraction) was found to be an effective coping style in improving mood and self-esteem. Conclusions This study is the first to directly test the relevance of response style theory, originally developed to explain unipolar depression, to understand symptom changes in bipolar disorder patients. The findings show that response styles significantly impact on subsequent mood but some of these effects are modulated by current mood state. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.


Energy-based detection and estimation are crucial in sensor networks for sensor localization, target tracking, etc. In this paper, we present novel Gaussian approximations that are applicable to general energy-based source detection and localization problems in sensor networks. Using our approximations, we derive receiver operating characteristics curves and Cramer-Rao bounds, and we provide a factorized variational Bayes approximation to the location and source energy posterior for centralized or decentralized estimation. When the source signal and the sensor noise have uncorrelated Gaussian distributions, we demonstrate that the envelope of the sensor output can be accurately modeled with a multiplicative Gaussian noise model, which results in smaller estimation biases than the other Gaussian models typically used in the literature. We also prove that additive Gaussian noise models result in negatively biased speed estimates under the same signal assumptions, which can be circumvented by the proposed approximations.


Objective The association between adiposity in early adulthood and subsequent development of specific malignancies is still unclear. Additionally, the potential mediating role of adiposity in middle age has not been well examined. We investigated the association of body mass index (BMI; weight(kg)/height(m2)) in early adulthood with later mortality from several cancers. Design Cohort study of male Harvard University students who had a medical examination at university between 1914 and 1952 (mean age 18.4 years) when height and weight were measured. Data on smoking habits were recorded and physical activity details were ascertained from athletic records. Alumni were traced and mailed a health questionnaire in 1962 or 1966 (mean age 45.1 years) which included enquiries regarding height and weight. They were then followed for subsequent mortality experience – which is >99% complete—until the end of 1998 (mean age at follow-up 56.5 years). In Cox regression models, adjustment was made for university smoking and physical activity levels; joint models were used to explore mediation by BMI in middle age. Imputation was used to allow inclusion of 4040 men with missing data for at least one variable. Setting US. Participants 19 593 males in the Harvard Alumni Health Study cohort who had a medical examination at university and returned a mailed questionnaire in 1962 or 1966. Main outcome measure Mortality from cancer. Results There were 8445 deaths in total, 2395 of which were from cancer. A one SD increase in early adulthood BMI was associated with an increased risk of death from cancer from all sites combined (adjusted hazard ratio 1.11; 95% CI 1.05, 1.17), plus lung (1.24; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.40) and skin (1.29; 95% CI 0.96 to 1.75). Cancers of the pancreas, stomach, liver, brain, prostate, kidney, bladder, lymphatic and haematopoietic tissue were not associated with BMI in early adulthood. Results were equivalent when based on multiply imputed data and accounting for the role of middle age BMI. Conclusion In this cohort, higher BMI in early adulthood appears to be a risk factor for some malignancies several decades later, and appeared to be neither confounded by lifestyle factors nor meditated via BMI in middle-age. These findings suggest that strategies to tackle obesity early in life may be important for the prevention of selected cancers.


Motivated by the problem of effectively executing clustering algorithms on very large data sets, we address a model for large scale distributed clustering methods. To this end, we briefly recall some standards on the quantization problem and some results on the almost sure convergence of the competitive learning vector quantization (CLVQ) procedure. A general model for linear distributed asynchronous algorithms well adapted to several parallel computing architectures is also discussed. Our approach brings together this scalable model and the CLVQ algorithm, and we call the resulting technique the distributed asynchronous learning vector quantization algorithm (DALVQ). An in-depth analysis of the almost sure convergence of the DALVQ algorithm is performed. A striking result is that we prove that the multiple versions of the quantizers distributed among the processors in the parallel architecture asymptotically reach a consensus almost surely. Furthermore, we also show that these versions converge almost surely towards the same nearly optimal value for the quantization criterion.


[T]he very best service which any one can render to what is called the higher education is to teach the present generation to provide a material or industrial foundation. On such a foundation as this will grow habits of thrift, a love of work, economy, ownership of property, bank accounts. Out of it in the future will grow practical education, professional education, positions of public responsibility. Out of it will grow moral and religious strength. Out of it will grow wealth from which alone can come leisure and the opportunity for the enjoyment of literature and the fine arts. (1) INTRODUCTION Our national aspirations have long championed the value of education as the gateway to life opportunity. It is the avenue through which all Americans, regardless of their geographic, economic, or ethnic origins may have an opportunity for economic advancement. In truth, however, some may argue that scholars, practitioners, and policymakers face a lack of political will to critically examine and address persistent educational disparities in opportunity that further entrench employment and wealth stratification. Countess scholars and educational advocates have called for a major overhaul of our education systems, and indeed, in previous articles I have discussed the critical role that federal political branches play in shaping educational opportunity--alternately ameliorating and perpetuating deeply entrenched inequities. (2) It is abundantly clear, however, that no single educational policy suggestion will yield the kind of comprehensive, multidimensional solutions necessary to address the myriad ways in which geography, race, ethnicity, wealth, and income too often serve as determinants for access to quality education and thus life opportunity. We must also look to places of political will and practical expediency. One area that is ripe for analysis is the potential of "federally encouraged" educational innovations that may partially alleviate some of the intractable educational disparities that capture our collective consciousness. One such educational innovation that federal policy has alternately aided and hampered is the role of vocational education, more recently known as career and technical education, in expanding educational and employment opportunities. This form of skills-based learning has sustained criticism for creating or maintaining systems of educational and economic stratification. Yet, is it possible that if such programs were well conceived and structured for current academic and employment needs, they might be more effective in providing marketable skills to those students who might otherwise struggle to remain in the education system? If so, there may be some normative implications in examining the role of vocational education in shaping how we conceive of multi-layered responses to persistent educational disparities. This Essay suggests we may have a critical opportunity to improve the human social capital of the American workforce by reviving and reimagining vocational education that is designed to prepare students for today's global, knowledge-based economy. (3) A current focus on college preparedness alone "ignores the reality that most students will not immediately go to college, and will instead enter the workforce." (4) An examination of historic trends and current possibilities in vocational education may illuminate some of the ways in which long-standing vocational educational structures have negatively impacted the most vulnerable populations. Due to historic racial, ethnic, and income segmentation in American education, the most vulnerable students who historically have been underserved by vocational education may be better served by examining the historic failings and current possibilities. At the same time scholars, educators, and advocates have argued for increased focus on academic achievement, school choice mechanisms have gained prominence as effective tools to attain such goals. …


Betulinic Acid (BA) is a widely available plant-derived triterpene reported as a selective cytotoxic activity against cancer cell of neuroectodermal origin and leukaemias. Interestingly, this will be first report to demonstrate the cytotoxic effect of BA in VSMCs. First, MTT cytotoxic assay was used to measure cell viability of VSMCs with predetermined concentrations of BA for 24h, 48h and 72h. The results obtain indicated that BA inhibit the growth and proliferation of VSMCs in a dose dependent manner IC10 of 0.4μg/ml, IC25 of 1μg/ml and IC50 of 3.8 μg/ml significantly (P<0.05). Secondly, the genotoxic potential associated to exposure to BA was assessed on VSMCs in vitro by the comet assay. BA exhibits low level of DNA damage and not likely to increase the level of DNA damage after 24 h exposure. Moreover, Flow cytometric analysis revealed that BA treatment FOR 24 h induced cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase and caused the appearance of a sub-G1 DNA peak at 48 h. Finally, the cell death morphology indicates that the percentage of apoptotic at 24 h were 12.43 ± 1.55% and at 48 h were 23.17 ± 1.73%, the percentage of necrotic cells at 48 h were 14.63 ± 1.45%. An increase percentage of apoptotic cells at 72 h were 45.92 ± 1.45%. In conclusion, exposure of BA to VSMCs initiate early DNA damage, arrest at G1 phase and induce apoptosis.


Recent studies have illustrated that stochastic gradient Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques have a strong potential in non-convex optimization, where local and global convergence guarantees can be shown under certain conditions. By building up on this recent theory, in this study, we develop an asynchronous-parallel stochastic L-BFGS algorithm for non-convex optimization. The proposed algorithm is suitable for both distributed and shared-memory settings. We provide formal theoretical analysis and show that the proposed method achieves an ergodic convergence rate of ${\cal O}(1/\sqrt{N})$ ($N$ being the total number of iterations) and it can achieve a linear speedup under certain conditions. We perform several experiments on both synthetic and real datasets. The results support our theory and show that the proposed algorithm provides a significant speedup over the recently proposed synchronous distributed L-BFGS algorithm.


This book covers all the fundamental concepts of Health Management Information Systems (HMIS), provides relevant and current HMIS cases throughout, and touches on emerging technologies. Topics include: information systems from a managerial perspective; roles of cio/cto for healthcare services organizations; HMIS hardware/software concepts; HMIS database concepts; HMIS standards, privacy, and security concepts; HMIS communications and networking concepts; HMIS strategic planning; HMIS investigation & analysis; HMIS design, implementation, and evaluation; e-healthcare information systems; healthcare information systems; use of HMIS emerging technologies and its impact on human health.


Now in an updated second edition, African American Religion remains an invaluable overview of the great diversity of religious groups within the modern African American community. This plethora of forms reflects a tension that has characterized African American religion since its beginnings a tension between accommodation to and protest against white society's domination. Viewing African American sectarianism as a response to racism and social stratification in the larger society, the authors trace the history, beliefs, social organization, and ritual content of religious groups in four types of sects. These include the Black mainline churches; messianic-nationalist sects, such as the Nation of Islam; conversionist sects, such as the Holiness-Pentecostal groups and Primitive Baptists; and thaumaturgical sects, including the Spiritual churches. For this new edition, the authors have incorporated research that has appeared since the book s original appearance in 1992 and have added two new chapters African Religious Healing and Folk Medicine and African American Sacred Music because of these topics enormous significance to the African American religious experience."


This paper offers a film and cultural studies analysis of the Indonesian religious film Ayat-ayat Cinta. It examines the way in which the film represents Islam in the context of the globalisation of the media industry, the wider cultural transformation and religious context in Indonesia. This paper argues that the film Ayat-ayat Cinta represents "popular Islam", which resulted from the interaction between the santri religious variants and the film industry, capitalism, market forces and popular culture in Indonesia. Santri religious variants in this film are rooted in traditionalist, fundamentalist, modernist, and liberal Islam in Indonesia, and those Islamic groups which have undergone a process of conformity with capitalism and popular culture. As a result, the representation of Islam in this film is pluralist, tolerant, and fashionable.


From 1965 to 1975 the legendary Silicon Valley company Fairchild Semiconductor operated a state-of-the-art integrated circuit manufacturing plant in Shiprock, New Mexico on Navajo land. In the face of concerns about high-tech pollution, increasingly empowered labor organizations, and a newly politicized and visible American Indian civil rights movement, indigenous electronic workers at Shiprock were pressed into service as examples of the peaceful coexistence and integration of the past and the future, the primitive and the modern, creativity and capitalism. Navajo women workers were described as ideal predigital digital workers, uniquely suited to the job by temperament, culture, and gender. Their labor as platform builders was cited as evidence that digital work—the work of the hand and its digits—could be painlessly transferred from the indigenous cultural context into the world of technological commercial innovation, benefiting both in the process.


In the spectrum underlay model, cognitive radios can access the spectrum owned by primary users if they can limit their interference power below a certain threshold, called interference temperature limit (ITL). In this paper, we study the power control problem under ITL. By considering both efficiency and fairness, the power control problem is modeled as a cooperative game. A power control scheme based on Nash bargaining solution (NBS) is proposed. We present a distributed power control (DPC) algorithm based on NBS. The convergence of DPC algorithm is proven by theoretic analysis. Simulation results show that proposed DPC algorithm achieves an effective tradeoff between fairness and efficiency.


This paper details a procedure by which reliable engineering components may be designed and produced to withstand specified fatigue loading situations. The procedure is a modification of the current aircraft industry's damage tolerance approach as outlined, among others, by Goranson [1]. For the design and manufacture of a specific component, the procedure incorporates a knowledge or specification of: (1) a typical fatigue loading history; (2) the determination of the stress time history at a location or locations of most concern; (3) typical fatigue crack geometries; (4) the mechanical properties, including the fatigue crack growth and closure characteristics, of the material from which the component is or will be manufactured; and, (5) in stochastic process terms, a time or cycle dependent description of the inherent statistical scatter that always accompanies fatigue crack growth. While the procedure is quite general, its applicability is illustrated by an application to the improved design of mountain bicycle frames and components. Specifically and as an equivalent to standard aircraft flight-load histories such as TWIST, Mini-TWIST or FALSTAFF, the projected use of the results generated by the specialized data acquisition system whose development is described in a companion paper [2], is illustrated by estimating the fatigue crack growth characteristics and reliability of a mountain bicycle crank-arm. The procedure utilizes the loading history generated by "smart" strain gages situated on a mountain bicycle while the bicycle and rider are traversing a demanding mountainous trail. The acquisition system samples and captures strain data at 1 kHz with 12-bit resolution; performs peak detection and averaging calculations; transfers via digital radio the data to a Windows-based PC station at the trailhead; and analyzes these data both to determine stress profiles and to develop typical fatigue loading time-histories. Using this information, crack growth rate estimates based upon these load spectra, crack geometries typical of those found in mountain bicycle crank-arms, the crack closure concept, and the da/dN versus ΔK e f f for A17075-T6 may be obtained. Coupling this information with a stochastic process interpretation of the scatter in these crack growth estimates leads to a meaningful description of component reliability.


The ability to investigate materials systems at the resolution of individual atoms makes computational simulations a powerful tool for the study of materials phenomena. However, microstructural evolution in complex materials is only meaningfully characterized in laboratory or industry applications by deformation rate and relevant rate coefficients, quantities that require sampling over a timescale too large for traditional atomistic methods to probe. New methods and techniques have to be developed in order to obtain useful information of rate from atomistic simulations. In this thesis, we explore a set of four problems, related to two long-timescale microstructual phenomena, creep and oxidation, and use a variety of atomistic methods appropriate to each problem to demonstrate the techniques of obtaining rate information. Creep due to vacancy-driven dislocation climb critically depends on the movement of the vacancies in the bulk towards dislocation cores, and for the first contribution of the thesis we investigate the influence of carbon solute atoms on vacancy diffusion pathways in bulk BCC Fe. Using these results, we draw explanations of the trends of the experimentally-observed rate of creep. It is well-known that vacancy energetics vary with distance from dislocation cores due to the dislocation strain field, but the effect this has on creep by the dislocation climb mechanism is not well understood. In the second contribution of the thesis, we present an investigation of the vacancy-dislocation interaction of BCC Fe. By obtaining the details of the unit processes of vacancy migration around a dislocation core and formulating this information appropriately for numerical techniques based on transition-state theory, we enable the calculation of the dislocation climb rate with full atomistic detail. In the oxidation of metals, the transport of cations through the surface oxide film governs the overall material degradation. In the third contribution of the thesis, we present calculations of the energetics of defect formation and migration in nonstoichiometric Fe 3-604 spinel, which is closely related to the oxide film on Fe. We provide an explanation of experimental integral measurements of diffusion rate in a mechanistic, unit-process way. Creep of nanocrystalline materials is a new area of interest as fabrication techniques begin to impinge on this lengthscale; nonetheless, this phenomenon is not well understood and existing computational studies all involve unrealistic thermal or mechanical loading conditions. In the last contribution of the thesis, we present an investigation of the creep of Fe nanocrystals, employing a novel method of activating states to directly calculate a rate. We reach a rate regime that is inaccessible by traditional methods as well as identify some of the relevant unit processes in this type of creep. The rates of these slow dynamics phenomena are all investigated on the basis of their atomistic unit processes. However, there are differences in how information of the unit processes is obtained from atomistic calculations and in how the properties of these unit processes are subsequently used to understand the overall rate. That different investigation approaches are needed is a direct result of the variation in the complexity of the microstructures, the number and predictability of atomic transition mechanisms, and the depth of existing experimental knowledge. These four studies therefore represent distinct, but complementary, challenges within the common theme of rate calculation. We conclude the thesis with an appraisal of the types of challenges encountered and with an evaluation of the approaches we took to the problems. Thesis Supervisor: Sidney Yip Titles: Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering


Thermal performance for embedded two phase cooling using dielectric coolant (R1234ze) is evaluated on a ∼20 mm × 20 mm large die. The test vehicles incorporate radial expanding channels with embedded pin fields suitable for through-silicon-via (TSV) interconnects of multi-die stacks. Power generating features mimicking those anticipated in future generations of processor chips with 8 cores are included. Initial results show that for the types of power maps anticipated, critical heat fluxes in "core" areas of at least 350 W/cm2 with at least 20 W/cm2 "background" heating in rest of the chip area can be achieved with less than 30 °C temperature rise over the inlet coolant temperature. These heat fluxes are significantly higher than those seen for relatively long parallel channel devices of similar base channel dimensions. Experimental results of flow rate, pressure drop, "device," and coolant temperature are also provided for these test vehicles along with details of the test facility developed to properly characterize the test vehicles.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Population structure in genetic data depends on complex demographic processes including geographic isolation, genetic drift, migration, and admixture. Together with technical artifacts, population structure is a prominent confounder of genomic studies. Identifying such patterns is therefore central to the genomic enterprise. Whereas many methods can identify specific types of population structure, few are able to provide simple representations of genomic diversity across a range of scales. Here we investigate an approach to dimension reduction and visualization of genomic data that combines principal components analysis (PCA) with uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) to succinctly illustrate population structure in large cohorts and capture their relationships on local and global scales. We demonstrate using genotype data from the 1000 Genome Project, the Health and Retirement Study, and the UK Biobank that projections using PCA-UMAP effectively cluster individuals who are genetically closely related while placing them in a global continuum of genetic variation. These projections reveal non-trivial population groupings, reflect ethnicity and geography on fine-scale levels, and uncover patterns in the distributions of a variety of phenotypes, establishing PCA-UMAP as a general-purpose approach toexploratory analysis in genomics.


Human Elongator complex was purified to virtual homogeneity from HeLa cell extracts. The purified factor can exist in two forms: a six-subunit complex, holo-Elongator, which has histone acetyltransferase activity directed against histone H3 and H4, and a three-subunit core form, which does not have histone acetyltransferase activity despite containing the catalytic Elp3 subunit. Elongator is a component of early elongation complexes formed in HeLa nuclear extracts and can interact directly with RNA polymerase II in solution. Several human homologues of the yeast Elongator subunits were identified as subunits of the human Elongator complex, including StIP1 (STAT-interacting protein1) and IKAP (IKK complex-associatedprotein). Mutations in IKAP can result in the severe human disorder familial dysautonomia, raising the possibility that this disease might be due to compromised Elongator function and therefore could be a transcription disorder.


A least-squares filter for restoration of blurred color images was developed directly from spectral and spatial correlations and on the basis of a mathematical model that assumes that spectroscopic images of an object are specified by spectral vectors and that a set of such orthonormal vectors forms a multidimensional color space. Primary colors are expressed by a linear combination of spectral vectors, and color images are given by the projection of spectroscopic images onto the primary color or observation vectors. Detailed discussions and a computer simulation are presented.


Abstract Marine geological studies provide a record of diachronous expansion and retreat of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet, West Antarctic Ice Sheet and East Antarctic Ice Sheet during the past c. 30 000 cal yr BP. Retreat of these ice sheets and Antarctica's contribution to sea-level rise was largely complete by the early Holocene. Estimates of ice sheet thickness, based on maximum grounding depths, range from 640 to 1640 m on the inner continental shelf. Grounding depths on the outer continental shelf equate to minimum thicknesses of 410–950 m. Geomorphic features indicate that retreat from the continental shelf was mostly step-wise around the continent, a result of the different factors that control ice sheet behaviour and the degree to which these factors vary regionally. Thus, the nature of post-LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) sea-level rise was episodic and believed to have been punctuated by rapid pulses triggered by individual ice stream collapse. Most of these pulses would have been of sub-metre magnitudes and below the resolution of existing sea-level curves, but they would have had significant impact on coastal evolution, especially along low-gradient coasts.


After the young South African athlete Caster Semenya won the 800m title at the 2009 World Championships she was obliged to undergo gender testing and was temporarily withdrawn from international competition. The way that this controversy unfolded represents a rich and multi-layered example of the construction of gender in wider society and the interrelationships between sport, culture and the media. This is the first book to explore the case in depth, from socio-cultural, ethical and legal perspectives. Analysing what came to be called "the Caster Semenya Case" in a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary fashion, and covering issues from media discourses and the rhetoric and regulations of the sport's governing bodies to the reaction of the athlete herself, the book explores the ethics of how gender norms in sport, and in society more generally, are constructed through appearance, behaviour and sporting performance. This 2009 controversy can be taken as an indicator of the tensions of the time, and served as a link between medical sciences, society and gender. Including discussions of key concepts such as 'intersex', 'body norms', and 'fairness', Gender Testing in Sport is fascinating and important reading for anybody with an interest in sport studies, gender studies or biomedical ethics.


It is increasingly well recognized that the design and operation of the communities in which people live, work, learn, and play significantly influence their health. However, within the real estate industry, the health impacts of transportation, community development, and other construction projects, both positive and negative, continue to operate largely as economic externalities: unmeasured, unregulated, and for the most part unconsidered. This lack of transparency limits communities' ability to efficiently advocate for real estate investment that best promotes their health and well-being. It also limits market incentives for innovation within the real estate industry by making it more difficult for developers that successfully target health behaviors and outcomes in their projects to differentiate themselves competitively. In this article we outline the need for actionable, community-relevant, practical, and valuable metrics jointly developed by the health care and real estate sectors to better evaluate and optimize the "performance" of real estate development projects from a population health perspective. Potential templates for implementation, including the successful introduction of sustainability metrics by the green building movement, and preliminary data from selected case-study projects are also discussed.


Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) is extremely popular in computer Go which determines each action by enormous simulations in a broad and deep search tree. However, human experts select most actions by pattern analysis and careful evaluation rather than brute search of millions of future interactions. In this paper, we propose a computer Go system that follows experts' way of thinking and playing. Our system consists of two parts. The first part is a novel deep alternative neural network (DANN) used to generate candidates of next move. Compared with existing deep convolutional neural network (DCNN), DANN inserts recurrent layer after each convolutional layer and stacks them in an alternative manner. We show such setting can preserve more contexts of local features and its evolutions which are beneficial for move prediction. The second part is a long-term evaluation (LTE) module used to provide a reliable evaluation of candidates rather than a single probability from move predictor. This is consistent with human experts' nature of playing since they can foresee tens of steps to give an accurate estimation of candidates. In our system, for each candidate, LTE calculates a cumulative reward after several future interactions when local variations are settled. Combining criteria from the two parts, our system determines the optimal choice of next move. For more comprehensive experiments, we introduce a new professional Go dataset (PGD), consisting of $253,233$ professional records. Experiments on GoGoD and PGD datasets show the DANN can substantially improve performance of move prediction over pure DCNN. When combining LTE, our system outperforms most relevant approaches and open engines based on MCTS.