An ordered graph is a pair $\mathcal{G}=(G,\prec)$ where $G$ is a graph and $\prec$ is a total ordering of its vertices.
The ordered Ramsey number $\overline{R}(\mathcal{G})$ is the minimum number $N$ such that every ordered complete graph with $N$ vertices and with edges colored by two colors contains a monochromatic copy of $\mathcal{G}$.
In contrast with the case of unordered graphs, we show that there are arbitrarily large ordered matchings $\mathcal{M}_n$ on $n$ vertices for which $\overline{R}(\mathcal{M}_n)$ is superpolynomial in $n$. This implies that ordered Ramsey numbers of the same graph can grow superpolynomially in the size of the graph in one ordering and remain linear in another ordering.
We also prove that the ordered Ramsey number $\overline{R}(\mathcal{G})$ is polynomial in the number of vertices of $\mathcal{G}$ if the bandwidth of $\mathcal{G}$ is constant or if $\mathcal{G}$ is an ordered graph of constant degeneracy and constant interval chromatic number.
The first result gives a positive answer to a question of Conlon, Fox, Lee, and Sudakov.
For a few special classes of ordered paths, stars or matchings, we give asymptotically tight bounds on their ordered Ramsey numbers. For so-called monotone cycles we compute their ordered Ramsey numbers exactly. This result implies exact formulas for geometric Ramsey numbers of cycles introduced by Károlyi, Pach, Tóth, and Valtr.


Purpose: This study is embedded in social exchange and transaction cost theories. The objective is twofold: First, to compare the relative importance of process value and outcome value in building affective and cognitive relationship strength; and second, to compare the relative effects of each type of relationship strength on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach: This empirical study features a quantitative approach. The sample comprises 167 business-to-business (B2B) customers of a large transportation and logistics company in Vietnam.
Findings: Process value and outcome value have different effects on affective relationship strength: The effect of process value is greater than that of outcome value. In addition, cognitive strength has a stronger impact on both attitudinal and behavioral loyalty than affective strength.

Research limitations/implications: These insights extend extant literature regarding the process and outcome components of the service assessment. Further studies also should employ a cross-industry, cross-country sample to examine the potential moderating effects of country- or industry-specific factors. These findings show B2B managers how to make appropriate resource allocation and investment decisions to enhance relationship strength and resulting customer loyalty.

Originality/value: To clarify the links among customer value, relationship strength and customer loyalty, this study examines the relative importance of rational and non-rational factors (i.e., process value vs. outcome value; affective strength vs. cognitive strength) for relationship performance. Unlike most prior research, this study is set in the B2B context of a developing country.


A review of current fiber-based technologies capable of producing slow-light effects is presented, with emphasis on the applicability of these technologies to telecommunications. We begin with a review of the basic concepts of phase velocity, group velocity, and group delay. We then present a survey of some of the figures of merit used to quantify the engineering properties of slow-light systems. We also present a description of several of the physical processes that are commonly used to induce a slow-light effect. Finally, a review of some recent advances in this field is presented.


We report a systematic investigation on the magnetization relaxation properties of iron-based half-metallic Heusler alloy Fe$_{2}$Cr$_{1-x}$Co_${x}$Si (FCCS) thin films using broadband angular-resolved ferromagnetic resonance. Band structure engineering through Co doping (x) demonstrated by first-principles calculations is shown to tune the intrinsic magnetic damping over an order of magnitude, namely 0.01-0.0008. Notably, the intrinsic damping constants for samples with high Co concentration are among the lowest reported for Heusler alloys and even comparable to magnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet. Furthermore, a significant reduction of both isotropic and anisotropic contributions of extrinsic damping of the FCCS alloys was found in the FCCS films with x=0.5-0.75, which is of particular importance for applications. These results demonstrate a practical recipe to tailor functional magnetization for Heusler alloy-based spintronics at room temperature


A major figure in the history of post-Revolutionary literature in Mexico, Juan Rulfo received international acclaim for his brilliant short novel Pedro Paramo (1955) and his collection of short stories El llano en llamas (1953), translated as a collection here in English for the first time. In the transition of Mexican fiction from direct statements of nationalism and social protest to a concentration on cosmopolitanism, the works of Rulfo hold a unique position. These stories of a rural people caught in the play of natural forces are not simply an interior examination of the phenomena of their world; they are written for the larger purpose of showing the actions of humans in broad terms of reality.


The CBA's National Health Law and Family Law Sections take a similar position. They underscore that reproductive technologies are characterized by their quick pace of change. The legislation created for dealing with these technologies thus must be able to respond to the emerging and changing social concerns, public opinions and scientific developments that arise in this area. Creating a regulatory body responsible for defining, interpreting and amending a list of prohibited reproductive technologies is thus preferable to criminally banning these activities, as a regulatory approach could respond quickly and effectively to scientific and social change.Relying on the broader, collective notion of "harm" that [M. McTeer] has described and relied on in her analysis of the state's intervention in reproductive technologies, it becomes easier to identify and understand the harm that these technologies could inflict. Such harm could be experienced not only by individuals who make choices about assisted reproduction, but also by society more generally, given that these activities touch upon core social values. In addition, the importance of these values and the extent to which they could be affected by reproductive technologies reflect the severity - both in nature and degree - of the potential harm that we may incur as a result.Yet, while the criminal prohibitions that Parliament has proposed in the AHR Act are appropriate from both a legal and ethical standpoint, a difficulty arises when we search for a policy justification for these prohibitions. Right now, Parliament has failed to provide us with any such justification. Bill C-13 does not contain any clear statement of policy or principle, and contains no preamble. Until a clear and frank justification is provided, this legislation will remain open to criticism. There is also a possibility that it will not withstand a Charter challenge. In setting out to articulate a policy rationale for the new AHR Act, legislators must keep in mind that any contention that there is a social consensus in Canada about the criminalization of reproductive technologies is unpersuasive. More convincing is the argument that the AHR Act must be consonant with, and based upon the fundamental values of Canadian society. It is imperative that Parliament voice this point and articulate the real impetus underlying the proposed legislation. Absent such a statement, the new law will remain subject to ongoing scrutiny and challenge, thereby giving us less time and opportunity to think about the benefits of the new law, and the way it should develop in the future as inevitable scientific changes unfold.


C omputer and Intrusion Forensics is an excellent introduction to the study of how people can use computers for nefarious purposes. I highly recommend this book for novices looking to start a career in an up-and-coming field, as well as for security experts wanting to expand their knowledge base. This book is an eye opener for anyone who's fallen under the spell of popular crime scene investigation dramas on American television. These shows highlight the glamorous side of being a forensics specialist, but omit the minutiae involved in the profession. For example, the investigators on one popular show analyze the original contents of a laptop's hard drive, which, if this were a real case, would lead to the evidence's inadmissibility in court. This text, however, describes in detail the thorough measures a computer forensic investigator must take from the start of an investigation to the subsequent presentation of facts in court. The book clearly shows that a good computer forensic investigator must have a complex set of skills that include legal knowledge, evidence management, data storage and retrieval, and courtroom presentation. To help the reader acquire these skills, the authors divide the book into two sections. The first explicates the history of computer crime, computer forensics, and computer security. During this introduction, the authors distinguish between computer forensics, which is the investigation of crimes committed by computers, and intrusion forensics, which is the investigation of crimes targeting computers. From this distinction, the authors provide an exacting discussion about the computer forensics field. They focus on the procedures used to collect and store digital data streams as evidence, the tools used, and the emerging procedures and standards dictating how to collect, store, and present evidence in court. For example, to analyze a computer for evidence of criminal activity, a computer forensics investigator must first make a copy of the digital data suspected of containing incriminating evidence. If this data is stored on a hard drive, the investigator also must make an exact replica of the drive's contents without compromising the original data. When presenting this type of case in court, the investigator then must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the original was not contaminated; he or she also must prove that the techniques used to analyze the original copy were based on established peer-reviewed principles in the computer science field. The first section concludes with a thorough explanation of the procedures used to investigate accounting fraud along with a set of case studies, which are illuminating because they tie together all previously discussed concepts. The book's second section focuses on intrusion detection and forensics. The authors provide their history along with a discussion of how these two concepts fit under the rubric of computer forensics. The book makes a well-defined distinc-


Congenital (non-bullous) ichthyosis is a rare group of keratinizing disorders which can be tentatively subclassified based on clinical criteria, analysis of transglutaminase 1 gene mutations and electron microscopy of epidermis. We studied 83 patients who were all on topical therapy and in 16 cases also on oral retinoids. Three main groups of patients were distinguished: (A) those with transglutaminase 1 gene mutations (n=44), (B) those without transglutaminase 1 gene mutations showing a coarse, generalized scaling (n=19), and (C) those without transglutaminase 1 gene mutations showing only fine or focal scaling (n=20). On clinical scoring, patients in group A were more hyperkeratotic and less erythematous than those in group B (p < 0.05). Anhidrosis was recorded in nearly all patients (> or = 80%), but ectropion and a collodion phenotype at birth were more common in group A versus other groups. Ultrastructurally, a high frequency of type I (Anton-Lamprecht's classification) was found in all three groups (37-63%), 20 cases of type II in group A and a few cases of types III and IV in groups B and C, respectively. In conclusion, transglutaminase 1 gene mutation is a major cause of congenital ichthyosis in Sweden and Estonia, and is often associated with severe scaling and ultrastructural type II in corneocytes. The transglutaminase-unrelated cases are more heterogeneous, probably reflecting a more varied aetiology.


The activity of NON-SMOKY GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE1 (NSGT1) mediates the conversion of hydrolysis-susceptible glycosides of phenylpropanoid volatiles into hydrolysis-resistant forms and prevents damage-induced release of these volatiles in tomato fruit. This leads to a perceivable reduction in the smoky aroma intensity of these fruits compared to fruits of cultivars containing a truncated NSGT1 gene. Phenylpropanoid volatiles are responsible for the key tomato fruit (Solanum lycopersicum) aroma attribute termed "smoky." Release of these volatiles from their glycosylated precursors, rather than their biosynthesis, is the major determinant of smoky aroma in cultivated tomato. Using a combinatorial omics approach, we identified the NON-SMOKY GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE1 (NSGT1) gene. Expression of NSGT1 is induced during fruit ripening, and the encoded enzyme converts the cleavable diglycosides of the smoky-related phenylpropanoid volatiles into noncleavable triglycosides, thereby preventing their deglycosylation and release from tomato fruit upon tissue disruption. In an nsgt1/nsgt1 background, further glycosylation of phenylpropanoid volatile diglycosides does not occur, thereby enabling their cleavage and the release of corresponding volatiles. Using reverse genetics approaches, the NSGT1-mediated glycosylation was shown to be the molecular mechanism underlying the major quantitative trait locus for smoky aroma. Sensory trials with transgenic fruits, in which the inactive nsgt1 was complemented with the functional NSGT1, showed a significant and perceivable reduction in smoky aroma. NSGT1 may be used in a precision breeding strategy toward development of tomato fruits with distinct flavor phenotypes.


Richard Overy's "The Morbid Age" opens a window onto the creative but anxious period between the First and Second World Wars. British intellectual life between the wars stood at the heart of modernity; it was the golden age of the public intellectual and scientist: Arnold Toynbee, Aldous and Julian Huxley, H. G. Wells, Marie Stopes and a host of others. Yet, as Richard Overy argues, a striking characteristic of so many of the ideas that emerged from this new age - from eugenics to the Freudian unconscious, to modern ideas of pacifism and world government - was the fear that the West was faced a dystopian future of war, economic collapse and racial degeneration. Brilliantly evoking a Britain of BBC radio lectures, public debates, peace demonstrations, pamphleteers, psychoanalysts, anti-fascist volunteers, sex education manuals and science fiction, "The Morbid Age" reveals a time at once different from, and yet surprisingly similar to, our own. "History at its best". ("Economist"). "The carefree image of life in Britain between the wars is overturned in this magnificent account". (Peter Preston, "Observer"). "It is hard to imagine anyone recording these times more exactly and more intelligently, or with greater insight and scholarship, than Overy has". (Simon Heffer, "Daily Telegraph"). "With learning, lucidity and wit, "The Morbid Age" ...brilliantly describes the sense of an inevitably approaching catastrophe". (Eric Hobsbawm, "London Review of Books"). Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. His books include "Why the Allies Won", "Russia's War", "The Battle of Britain" and "The Dictators", which won the Wolfson and the Hessell Tiltman Prizes for history in 2005.


A nitric oxide (NO) donating derivative of acetylsalicylic acid with anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, antithrombotic, gastroprotective and potential antitumor activities. T he acetylsalicylic acid derivative moiety of this agent inhibits the activities of cyclooxygenase (COX) I and II, preventing the formation of prostaglandins and thromboxanes. A reduction in prostaglandin synthesis accounts for this agent's antiinflammatory, anti-pyretic and analgesic activities; a reduction in thromboxane A2 synthesis results in an irreversible inhibition of platelet aggregation. NO donation by this agent, after cleavage from the acetylsalicylic acid derivative in vivo, may protect the gastric mucosa against the damaging effects of the aspirin derivative by modulating prostaglandins. In tumor cells, the NO donating moiety may block the cell cycle in the G1 and G2 phases and may induce apoptosis through caspase-mediated mechanisms. Qeios · Definition, February 7, 2020


Abstract. The use of Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) images in estimating chlorophyll-a (total and class-differentiated)a concentration is promising owing to Sentinel-3's 21 bands. This was investigated for the case of Laguna de Bay (or Laguna Lake), Philippines. Field surveys were conducted on 13–17 November 2018 using FluoroProbe, a submersible fluorimeter capable of quantifying concentrations of spectral classes of microalgae. These were regressed with reflectance data obtained from 10-day composite Sentinel-3 reflectance images as well as ten empirical algorithms (indices) for OLCI. Compared to band reflectance, the 10 indices yielded stronger correlations, especially with R665/R709, R674/R709, and (1/R665-1/R709)xR754 with the following respective correlation values: −0.623, −0.646, and 0.628. Multiple regression results indicates that 48% of the variability of total chl-a concentration is explained by five explanatory (reflectance) variables (R412, R443, R560, R681, and R754) with RMSE of 2.814 μg/l. In contrast, the two indices R674/R754 and (1/R665-1/R709)xR754 accounted for about 46% of the variability of total chl-a concentration with RMSE of 2.475 μg/l. For diatoms and bluegreen microalgae, R560/R665 and (1/R665-1/R709)xR754 constitute the models with R2 of 0.21 and 0.435, and RMSE of 2.516 and 2.163 ug/l, respectively. Green microalgal concentration is jointly described by three indices: R560/R665, R674/R754, and R709-R754, with R2 = 0.182 and RMSE = 1.219 μg/l. From cryptophytes, the model comprising of R560/R665, (1/R665-1/R709)xR754, and R709-R754 produced an R2 = 0.289 and RMSE = 0.767 μg/l. It can be said that the empirical algorithms can be used for Sentinel-3 OLCI data providing acceptable estimations of total and spectral class-differentiated chl-a concentration.


This paper presents the first examination of the growing phenomenon of multi-author, or group blogs.  Using a large collection of blog posts gathered over an eight month period, we conducted some quantitative assessments.  Multi-author blogs were found to differ significantly from single-and-two author blogs on several quality metrics, including having longer posts on average and being ranked higher according to an in-link metric.  Visualization of patterns of posting revealed that individual authors often dominate the posts in multi-author blogs, and that in some cases tags are shared, but usually not extensively.


The Medusa project at Olivetti Research aims to provide a networked multimedia environment in which many streams of multimedia data, perhaps thousands, are active simultaneously. Medusa uses a peer-to-peer architecture to control networked multimedia devices. In the software model presented to the applications programmer, active objects called modules represent cameras, displays, format converters, and so on. Data flows from module to module through connections between them, with proxy modules to restrict access for security reasons. The Medusa project is based on hardware that is a collection of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) direct peripherals, including cameras, audio systems, multimedia storage servers, LCD displays, and televisions, as well as ATM networked workstations.<<ETX>>


The current high levels of food insecurity in Yemen and the threat of famine are the results of more than two-and-a-half years of war, and have added to the already high levels existing pre-war. The economic crisis and loss of livelihoods has left people without the means to purchase what is available in the market. The situation has been made dramatically worse by the closure of key entry points for commercial imports, which is also affecting the availability of fuel and clean water. This is a deadly combination, especially for the most vulnerable in society, including women and children. This briefing calls for action by all actors in the conflict and by the international community to protect the civilian population from the effects of the war and to alleviate the food crisis. It calls for renewed momentum towards a peace deal which is inclusive of women, civil society, youth and minorities, and which begins with an immediate, nationwide ceasefire.


Stress is experienced all over the world in various forms. It is typically diagnosed through the evaluation of psychological and physical factors. These diagnoses are often time consuming. Stress can negatively impact individual's health and quality of life and treatment for stress is often difficult because stress tolerance levels are different for everyone. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is released as a response to stress and changes in blood sugar levels. Cortisol is produced naturally in humans and is detectable in blood, urine, saliva, and hair. Liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) is a useful analytical technique in biological research. The goal of this study is to develop an LC-MS method that will allow clinical researchers and healthcare professionals to quickly quantify cortisol levels of individuals over a specific timeframe. Our research focuses on cortisol produced in human hair. The goal is to integrate the methods in the literature and establish a non-invasive method for quantifying cortisol in hair samples. We seek to replace a commercialized immunodetection method for measuring extracted cortisol with an ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method due to its benefits of higher sensitivity and lower running costs. In the LC-MS method, reversed phase chromatography is used. The eluent from the LC column is ionized by electrospray ionization. The triple quadrupole mass spectrometer is operated in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. A standard curve was used to determine that the linear dynamic range of the cortisol was 0.80-500 ng/mL. The long-term goal of this research project is to apply the established LC-MS method to determine the cortisol level in hair and correlate the information to stress level experienced by individuals, in a collaborative research study in the School of Nursing at UNCG. [This abstract has been edited to remove characters that will not display in this system. Please see the PDF for the full abstract.]


This paper investigates the earnings effects of training in the Portuguese labour market. We use the Portuguese Labour Force Survey to classify training according to multiple criteria, including providing institution, purpose, duration, and content of the training activity. First, we establish some stylised facts about the extent and determinants of different types of training. We find that there are major differences in training participation across groups, with elder, low educated workers participating substantially less. Second, we measure the wage effects of training. We find that in Portugal returns to training are large and significant. The estimated coefficients are about 12% in the case of men and 37% in the case of women. We show that discriminating between gender, education level, experience, the public and the private sector, and industrial activity reveals important differences across categories of workers. Workers with low qualifications and long professional experience earn larger returns. On average, women receive larger returns than men, though they are subject to greater variation across education and experience groups. The average effect of training is similar in the private sector and in the public sector. Experience in the private sector and education in the public sector are key determinants of the returns to training. Further, training to improve current skills and training in a firm attract largest returns. Third, the paper investigates whether and to what extent training participation affects the probability of entering and leaving unemployment. We find that being trained does not affect significantly the transition probabilities.


Excerpt] The Education Advisory Committee, the longest standing committee of the Canadian Labor Congress, met in 1994 to deliberate on issues of vital importance to the future of trade union education within the Canadian labor movement. At the time, the participants did not realize that their deliberations would determine our movement's direction in education until the year 2000. Discussions ranged from how we can coordinate the development and sharing of education materials, offer more schools and educational activities, use new technology in the area of distance education, and build more resources to further our education work. In the course of the discussions, the question of who we were reaching emerged as the major theme. The discussion document entitled, Why We Educate summed up the discussions this way: "...Trade union education has historically targeted the local union leadership and activists through a myriad of educational institutes and schools. Once back in the workplace it was anticipated that this group would share its knowledge and skills. After years of trade union institute training, the time has come to broaden the target group and take labor's message beyond our traditional arenas for education. "Union leaders and activists must take responsibility for undertaking the trade union education of the non-activist members in the local. This will require the education community of the labor movement to gear some of its resources toward coordination with other trade union services such as communications and research, but also to change some of the focus at its institutional schools to providing participants with the tools for education in the local union and workplace."


The world is experiencing unprecedented global multidimensional crises that have increased poverty, hunger and food insecurity, with the sharpest impacts being felt among rural areas and communities. Deepening international cooperation is essential to help developing countries face economic headwinds and recover from lasting scars of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change-induced natural disasters. In this scenario, scaling up of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) can play a critical role in catalyzing sustainable development initiatives in developing and least developed countries. This policy brief therefore considers how SSTC can be effectively leveraged for undertaking initiatives on poverty alle-viation, hunger reduction and rural development through strengthening of national SSTC institutional setups. It also explores how SSTC can facilitate increased coordination among stakeholders, and considers areas for fostering mutually beneficial initiatives between developing countries. This brief then focuses on the institutional setup for SSTC in some selected countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America, and considers their role in mainstreaming of SSTC. It further considers some recent experiences from developing countries that use SSTC modalities, outlining important initiatives which could be shared with partners to support poverty alleviation, food security and rural development efforts. Finally, the brief provides some important conclusions and lessons learned which can support developing countries' efforts to achieve the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda.


Glycine has diverse functions within the mammalian central nervous system. It inhibits postsynaptic neurons via strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors (GlyRs) and enhances neuronal excitation through co-activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Classical Ca2+-permeable NMDA receptors are composed of glycine-binding NR1 and glutamate-binding NR2 subunits, and hence require both glutamate and glycine for efficient activation. In contrast, recombinant receptors composed of NR1 and the glycine binding NR3A and/or NR3B subunits lack glutamate binding sites and can be activated by glycine alone. Therefore these receptors are also named "excitatory glycine receptors". Co-application of antagonists of the NR1 glycine-binding site or of the divalent cation Zn2+ markedly enhances the glycine responses of these receptors. To gain further insight into the properties of these glycine-gated NMDA receptors, we investigated their current-voltage (I–V) dependence. Whole-cell current-voltage relations of glycine currents recorded from NR1/NR3B and NR1/NR3A/NR3B expressing oocytes were found to be linear under our recording conditions. In contrast, NR1/NR3A receptors displayed a strong outwardly rectifying I–V relation. Interestingly, the voltage-dependent inward current block was abolished in the presence of NR1 antagonists, Zn2+ or a combination of both. Further analysis revealed that Ca2+ (1.8 mM) present in our recording solutions was responsible for the voltage-dependent inhibition of ion flux through NR1/NR3A receptors. Since physiological concentrations of the divalent cation Mg2+ did not affect the I–V dependence, our data suggest that relief of the voltage-dependent Ca2+ block of NR1/NR3A receptors by Zn2+ may be important for the regulation of excitatory glycinergic transmission, according to the Mg2+-block of conventional NR1/NR2 NMDA receptors.


In this study, a novel selective Au(III) chelating surface ion imprinted fibers based on phenyl thiosemicarbazide modified natural cotton (Au-C-PTS) has been synthesized, and applied for selective removal of Au(III) from aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption experiments were performed with various parameters, such as contact time, pH, initial Au(III) concentration, and temperature. The kinetic studies revealed that the adsorption process could be described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model, while the adsorption data correlated well with the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The maximum adsorption capacities calculated from the Langmuir equation are 140 ± 1 mg g−1 and 72 ± 1 mg g−1 at pH 5 for both Au-C-PTS and NI-C-PTS, respectively. The estimated thermodynamic parameters (Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°), and entropy change (ΔS°)) indicated the spontaneity and exothermic nature of the adsorption process. Furthermore, the selectivity study revealed that the ion imprinted fibers was highly selective to Au(III) compared with Cu(II), Cd(II), Hg(II), and Fe(III). The adsorbent was successfully regenerated with a 0.1M HNO3 solution. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40769.


Plane wave methods have become an established tool for the solution of Helmholtz problems in homogeneous media. The idea is to approximate the solution in each element with a linear combination of plane waves, which are roughly equally spaced in all directions. The main advantage of plane wave methods is that they require significantly fewer degrees of freedom per unknown than standard finite elements. However, for many wave problems there are only a few dominant wave directions, which can be found using ray tracing or other high-frequency methods. Based on arguments from high-frequency asymptotics we show that dominant plane waves can be a suitable approximation basis if multiplied (modulated) by small degree polynomials. We explore this approach for two example problems and compare its performance against standard equispaced plane wave basis sets. Finally, we present an example with smoothly varying speed of sound, which demonstrates that for such problems approximations based on polynomially modulated dominant wave directions can far outperform standard plane wave methods, which are not well suited for handling problems in varying media.


Laser ablated Plasma
 is one of the best modern and richest sources of radiations for
 material processing. Time resolved, time integrated (space resolved)
 Plume Dynamics has been investigated for the radiation emission
 under different pressures of air ~10-3 torr, 5mbar and 760 torr. Two
 different Nd: YAG laser were tightly focused on the transient 4N,
 annealed metallic targets (2cm x 2cm x 0.2 cm). CCD (Monochrome AVC
 301 A) and ICCD (5760/ IR- UV MO 595310) based computer controlled
 image grabbing systems were employed for capturing plasma plume
 photographs. Ions, Electrons, X-Rays and Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV)
 were detected by Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) and
 Faraday Cups, Langmuir Probe, modified BPX 65 PIN Photodiode
 alongwith Ag filter 2 µm in thickness and SXUV-HS 5 Mo/S
 respectively. Signals thus obtained were stored on 4 channels, 1GHz
 YOKOGUAWA (DL9140) and two channel 200 MHz UNI T (UTT) digital
 storage oscilloscopes.
 Plume expansion is non-uniform as initially, the plume is spherical
 later on it is sharpened. Plasma intensity from copper, platinum and
 gold plumes is same i.e. 250 Arbitrary Units (A.U.) whereas it is
 190 (A.U.) for silver and 180 (A.U.) for zinc plume. The lengths of
 plumes from targets range from 120 pixels to 900 pixels when delay
 time ranges from 530 ns to 2500 ns. During the initial stage of
 plume dynamics, a dark nucleus with a sharp boundary is formed which
 remains up to 75 ns. Plasma expands at a higher rate during this
 stage. A shock wave is seen at higher pressure (1 atmosphere) that
 remained progressing up to 500 ns. Expansion of plume is faster in
 radial direction than in axial direction. The plume dynamics depend
 on laser intensity.
 Ion emission study using SSNTDs shows that maximum ions flux (4.62 x
 107cm) is for Pt whereas minimum ions flux (1.08x107 cm-2) is from
 Ag ions. The energy of ions emitted from Pt is largest (6.91Kev) and
 minimum value emitted from Ag plasma (0.88 K eV).
 Ion emission investigations using Faraday Cups reveals that with the
 increase in atomic number Z (29-79), the ion energy increases (47.61
 KeV 149.8 KeV) with the exception that Ions emitted from plasma of
 Platinum (Z = 78) have higher energy (149.8KeV) than those emitted
 from gold (z = 79). Ion flux here also (at all angles) increases
 with the increase in the atomic number.
 Electron Emission using Langmuir Probe shows that there is a small
 variation in the values of probe current for applied voltage -30 V
 to 10 V for metals used. Probe current due to Cd, Ag and Au plasmas
 is higher than other targets (Cu, Zn and Pt). Electron Temperature
 is maximum for Cu and minimum for Zinc. A valley of depth about 3
 x1017 m-3 for electron density is present in the -ve potential
 region. There is only a small change in electron density, plasma
 frequency for metals having large surface binding energy (Cu, Zn and
 Pt), while the metals having small values of surface binding energy
 electron density decreases with increase in biasing voltage. Debye
 length for the metals Cd, Ag and Au is smaller as compared to metals
 Cu, Zn and Pt. The Debye length of metals with large surface
 binding energy is larger and metals with small surface binding
 energy shows opposite behavior. The numbers of particles in Debye
 length for metals Cd, Ag and Au remain same for all biasing voltages
 while for metals Cu, Zn and Pt the number of particles varies with
 biasing voltage. Debye length of metals Cu, Zn Pt decrease with
 increase in biasing voltage. The number of particles in Debye length
 decreases for metals having large value of surface binding energy
 with increase in biasing voltage. Investigations on Extreme Ultra
 Violet Radiation (EUV) Emission using Photodiode depict that minimum
 value of the peak voltage of EUV (1.0223mV) is emitted from Cd
 plasma and its maximum value (2.326mV) is emitted from Zn plasma.
 The intensity of EUV has maximum value 1.5 watt /m2 for Zinc and
 minimum value 5.04 watt/m2 and remaining targets platinum, gold,
 silver, copper and cadmium have values in between respectively.
 X-Rays Emission from LIP using PIN Photo Diode indicates that
 maximum value of
 peak voltage for X-Rays signals is 66.18 mV for silver and minimum
 value is 9.75mV
 for gold plasma. The intensity of X-Rays is maximum for silver
 (574.43 watt /m2) and
 minimum value for zinc (1.938 watt/m2).
 So Zinc is the best source for EUV whereas Silver is the best source
 of X-rays.


Standard approaches to Romance metrics implicitly accept that there is a split between syllable-counting metrical systems, as exemplified by French, and systems crucially dependent on stress properties, as in Italian, Spanish and elsewhere. In the latter systems, however, simple meters are not subject to any line-internal stress restrictions, and all meters tolerate line-final unstressed words. Neither fact seems compatible with the simpler versions of the bipartition above. On the basis of Spanish materials, this paper argues that an intonation-based account of at least some aspects of Romance metrics can eliminate this inconsistency. …Each humble line prolongs A tone that might have passed away O liver W endell H olmes , T he L ast R eader


This paper tests the hypothesis that idiosyncratic U.S. disturbances and their international propagation can account for the global Depression. Exploiting common stochastic trends in U.S. and Canadian interwar data, we estimate a small open economy model for Canada that decomposes output fluctuations into sources identifiable with world and country-specific disturbances. We find that the onset, depth and duration of output collapse in both Canada and the U.S. are primarily attributable to a common, permanent output shock leaving little significant role for idiosyncratic disturbances originating in either economy.


In the long-debated transition from late antiquity to the early middle ages, the city of Ravenna presents a story rich and strange. From the fourth century onwards it suffered decline in economic terms. Yet its geographical position, its status as an imperial capital, and above all its role as a connecting-point between East and West, ensured that it remained an intermittent attraction for early medieval kings and emperors throughout the period from the late fifth to the eleventh century. Ravenna's story is all the more interesting because it was complicated and unpredictable: discontinuous and continuous, sometimes obscure, sometimes including bursts of energetic activity. Throughout the early medieval centuries its flame sometimes flared, sometimes flickered, but never went out.

The book is an invaluable resource for scholars of early medieval history, as well as being of interest to the general reader.


A project Report presented to the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a Diploma Physical Planning, 1968


: Elemental carbon (EC) is used as a surrogate for regulating the exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM) of underground metal/non-metal miners. EC was chosen as a surrogate because EC is selective to DPM and is a major component of DPM. Using EC as a surrogate also gives one the advantages of no sampling artifacts and being able to sample at all locations in the mine. Currently, EC represents DPM well in underground mines. Some control technologies have been shown to possibly alter the relationship between DPM and EC and characteristics of DPM. Therefore, future work will investigate the relationship between DPM and EC as new control technologies are implemented.


The proliferation of partnership-based business organizations raises questions concerning the law's role in shaping firms. Although many scholars have focused on business organization statutes, at least in the U.S. this law may be trivial in the sense that it simply reflects underlying business concerns. That is because firms easily can choose the applicable governance law, and therefore can avoid bad or unsuitable laws. I show that non-organization law may have a greater effect than organization law on the structure of firms because firms cannot easily avoid this law. Federal and state non-organization laws might significantly reduce the usefulness of business organization standard forms where transaction cost and legal considerations conflict. The efficiency of non-organization laws therefore depends on whether their interference with organization law can be reduced without unduly compromising their policy goals.


Dysfunctions were recorded in 185 patients with hypotonic discirculatory encephalopathy of physiologic mechanisms of regulation of macro- and microcirculation. Derangement of the above mechanisms got aggravated because of impairement of hypothalamic and truncal formations, incompetence of suprasegmental control of adaptive and trophic functions. With the purpose of ensuring an adequate correction of the above disorders, studies were made to design a complex of integrative therapy aimed at influencing all links of the changed intercentral systemic regulation and securing enhancement of cerebral systems of bodily vital activity with coordination of interrelations of neurovascular centres with emotional-and-behavioral ones.


Abstract. This article focuses on the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) intervention as an example of an evidence-based program that embeds fidelity and adaptation within its design. First, the core features of the IY TCM program along with the methods, processes, and principles that make the intervention effective are described. The importance of fidelity and methods for effectively measuring fidelity are discussed. In addition, support mechanisms (training, mentoring, consultation, and coaching) necessary to facilitate high fidelity of implementation of IY TCM are highlighted. The goal is to clarify the underlying principles and supports needed to effectively allow IY group leaders to disseminate the IY TCM among teachers with diverse backgrounds and skills, who work with students with varying developmental, academic, and social-emotional needs. Often fidelity and adaptation are thought of as mutually exclusive, but in the IY model they are considered both complementary and necessary. Implications for school psychologists and prevention science are discussed.


Host genetic variation influences the composition of the human microbiome. While studies have focused on associations between the microbiome and single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes, their copy number (CN) can also vary. Here, in a study of human subjects including a 2-week standard diet, we relate oral and gut microbiome to CN at the AMY1 locus, which encodes the gene for salivary amylase, active in starch degradation. We show that although diet standardization drove gut microbiome convergence, AMY1-CN influenced oral and gut microbiome composition and function. The gut microbiomes of low-AMY1-CN subjects had an enhanced capacity for breakdown of complex carbohydrates. Those of high-AMY1 subjects were enriched in microbiota linked to resistant starch fermentation, had higher fecal SCFAs, and drove higher adiposity when transferred to germfree mice. Gut microbiota results were validated in a larger separate population. This study establishes AMY1-CN as a genetic factor patterning microbiome composition and function.


"The human mind can understand truth only by thinking, as is clear from Augustine."--Saint Thomas Aquinas Saint Augustine of Hippo is one of the central figures in the history of Christianity, and this book is one of his greatest theological works. Written as an eloquent defense of the faith at a time when the Roman Empire was on the brink of collapse, it examines the ancient pagan religions of Rome, the arguments of the Greek philosophers and the revelations of the Bible. Pointing the way forward to a citizenship that transcends worldly politics and will last for eternity, this book is one of the most influential documents in the development of Christianity. One of the great cornerstones in the history of Christian thought, "The City of God "is vital to an understanding of modern Western society and how it came into being. Begun in A.D. 413, the book's initial purpose was to refute the charge that Christianity was to blame for the fall of Rome (which had occurred just three years earlier). Indeed, Augustine produced a wealth of evidence to prove that paganism bore within itself the seeds of its own destruction. However, over the next thirteen years that it took to complete the work, the brilliant ecclesiastic proceeded to his larger theme: a cosmic interpretation of history in terms of the struggle between good and evil. By means of his contrast of the earthly and heavenly cities--the one pagan, self-centered, and contemptuous of God and the other devout, God-centered, and in search of grace--Augustine explored and interpreted human history in relation to eternity.


Active learning consists of principled on-line sampling over unlabeled data to optimize supervised learning rates as a function of the number of labels requested from an external oracle. A new sampling technique for active learning is developed based on two key principles: 1) Balanced sampling on both sides of the decision boundary is more effective than sampling one side disproportionately, and 2) exploiting the natural grouping (clustering) of unlabeled data establishes a more meaningful non-Euclidean distance function with respect to estimated category membership. Our new paired-sampling density-sensitive method embodying these principles yields significantly superior performance in multiple active learning data sets over all other sampling methods in our comparative study: representative sampling, uncertainty sampling, density-based sampling, and random sampling.


This is an excellent new contribution to current academic and policy debates, and will be of great interest internationally to all students, researchers, public sector managers and policy makers.

The improvement of public services has become a key priority for all the main political parties in the UK. Recent years have witnessed large, real terms increases in spending on public services and a plethora of new initiatives designed to drive up standards in the Heath Service, schools, the police and local government.

As part of this broader picture the Government has launched major reforms that it hopes will transform local authority performance. Councils have had to develop new ways of delivering services. They have been under pressure to achieve 'stretch targets' and to work in partnership with other local agencies to provide more 'joined up' services. More recently ministers have also stepped up the pressure on them to achieve major efficiency savings through better procurement and working practices.

To date relatively little has been written about these developments. This book fills this gap by bringing togther authoritative analysis of current reforms ythrough speically commisioned chapters by leading researchers, policy makers and practitioners who have been closely involved in the development and implementation of these policies.

This book was previously published as a special issue of Local Government Studies.


'Look at her, she is the image of our beautiful Italy.' Corinne, or Italy (1807) is both the story of a love affair between Oswald, Lord Nelvil and a beautiful poetess, and an homage to the landscape, literature and art of Italy. On arriving in Italy, Oswald immediately falls under Corinne's magical spell as she is crowned a national genius at the Captitol. Yet, on returning to England, he succumbs to convention and honours his late father's wish by marrying the dutiful English girl, Lucile, despite having learned that Corinne is Lucile's Italian half-sister. Corinne dies of a broken heart and Lord Nelvil is left with a seared conscience. Stael weaves discreet French Revolutionary political allusion and allegory into her romance, and its publication saw her order of exile renewed by Napoleon. Indeed, the novel stands as the birth of modern nationalism, and introduces to French usage the word 'nationalitie'. It is also one of the first works to put a woman's creativity centre stage. Sylvia Raphael's new translation preserves the natural character of the French original and the edition is complemented by notes and and introduction which serve to set an extraordinary work of European Romanticism in its historical and political contexts. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.


In this paper, the helix slow wave structure (SWS) of traveling wave tubes (TWT's) has been analyzed. Dielectric supporting rods of arbitrary cross section have been considered in this analysis. The inhomogeneous dielectric loading factor has been accounted for by modeling the discrete support with a number of continuous dielectric tubes of appropriate effective dielectric permittivity. The helix tape model has been used for the field analysis. Furthermore the thickness of the helix tape has been considered. A rigorous solution of the field equations, including the contribution of the space harmonics, was performed to evaluate the phase velocity and the interaction impedance up to millimeter-wave frequencies. The nonuniformity of radial propagation constant over the structure cross section has been also included. With respect to other approaches, a closed-form expression of the field constants has been obtained. A study to choose the optimum number of space harmonics and dielectric tubes to be used in the analysis, has shown how the results are more sensitive to the number of space harmonics than to the number of dielectric tubes, beyond a certain number of the latter. The validity of this theory has been proved by comparison between measurements and simulations for helix SWS with different dimensions, rod shapes and operating frequency band.


This comprehensive manual teaches the art and craft of creating compelling graphics for video games in a wide range of media, both traditional and computer generated. The author also describes software that imitates the traditional media of paint, pen, and pencil. He goes on to discuss in detail how game genre defines the type of characters to be portrayed, whether human or fantastic, and he shows how to render appropriate facial expressions that will define a character's personality. Next, he discusses methods for creating environments--jungles, arctic landscapes, the ruins of lost worlds, and many others. He also instructs on mastering illustration and rendering techniques, among them, layering with paint, using filters to produce a painted effect, and digital composing. A gallery of examples from successful illustrators serves to inspire beginning artists. More than 350 instructive illustrations in color and black-and-white.


This study compares the influence of two learning conditions – a screen-based virtual reality radiology simulator and a conventional PowerPoint slide presentation – that teach radiographic interpretation to dental students working in small collaborative groups. The study focused on how the students communicated and how proficient they became at radiographic interpretation. The sample consisted of 36 participants – 20 women and 16 men – and used a pretest/posttest group design with the participants randomly assigned to either a simulation-training group (SIM) or conventional-training group (CON) with three students in each collaborative group. The proficiency tests administered before and after training assessed interpretations of spatial relations in radiographs using parallax. The training sessions were video-recorded. The results showed that SIM groups exhibited significant development between pretest and posttest results, whereas the CON groups did not. The collaboration in the CON groups involved inclusive peer discussions, thorough interpretations of the images, and extensive use of subject-specific terminology. The SIM group discussions were much more fragmented and included more action proposals based on their actions with the simulator. The different learning conditions produced different results with respect to acquiring understanding of radiographic principles.


Problem statement: Writing an essay is a most difficult creative work and consequently requires detailed instruction. There are in fact two types of instruction that contribute to the development of writing skills: Reading activities analysing texts in content and schematic structure to find out how they are composed and process writing activities. The reading activities in Turkish textbooks are thought to be insufficient in this aspect, and although process writing is adopted, it is not put into practise with such activities as writing on the text read or a proverb giving students a list of writing rules. Purpose of Study: This study aims to determine the effect of process writing activities on the writing skills of prospective Turkish teachers as well as to equip them with the writing strategies to apply when teaching writing and to propose several activities in this context. Methods: One-group pretest-posttest experimental design was used. Thirty-four first-year students at Istanbul University Education Faculty Turkish Department taken as sample wrote essays as pretest on a topic of their choosing from a presented list. They were then asked to write essays on the same topic as posttest after a 24-lesson process writing instruction. The pretests and posttests were evaluated by three experts using the "Writing Assessment Rubric" developed from the criteria for assessing written texts in the field and the activities done in the class as a base. The Cronbach's alpha reliability factor is found to be ,953 for the rubric. The students were also asked to answer a questionaire with open-ended questions to support the research in a qualitative aspect. * Assistant Prof.Dr., İstanbul University, Faculty of Education, Turkish Department,Turkey, firstname.lastname@example.com 190 Şükran Dilidüzgün Findings and Results: The results of paired samples t-test are found significiant at (p<0.01) level in all writing skills constituting "Writing Assessment Rubric". Conclusions and Recommendations: The activities are especially important for prospective Turkish teachers since in addition to improving their writing skills, they also learn how to teach writing. In the questionnaire the students claimed that they learned a planned method of writing, they could understand and evaluate the texts more easily analysing how they have been written, they gave more importance to title, unity, and coherence and they knew what to write and how to write. One student's comment, "I have learned to look not only at the texts I read but also at current events from different perspectives", indicates that process writing also improves thinking.


Conclusions * The Bundeswehr, a modern, professional, well-trained force of some 340,000 troops, is at the end of a restructuring process which started in 1992. This restructuring was accomplished even as Germany's armed forces successfully contributed to international peace operations. * Universal conscription remains a structural feature of the German armed forces. * The Crisis Reaction Forces, comprising some 50,000 volunteers from the active component, are Germany's readily available contribution for international military missions. * The Main Defense Forces are the backbone of Germany's commitment to national and Alliance defense. Their strategic value lies in balancing the overall strategic situation in Europe. * The new Special Forces Command is able to operate across the entire mission spectrum. It has proven its capabilities by bringing war criminals to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. * Future restructuring, perhaps triggered by budget constraints, by the increasing cost of new systems, and by the revolution in military affairs, will probably be an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary process. Germany in Europe Germany borders nine states, more than any other European country. It is and always has been, with some exceptions such as the period of the Third Reich and the Cold War, a transit country for people, goods, and traffic throughout Europe. Due to its location, Germany has been affected by the major political, cultural, and intellectual currents in Europe--be it the Reformation, the Enlightenment, democracy, socialism, or communism--and often those ideas were raised or developed by German thinkers and philosophers. This fact may be reflected in the thinking of some intellectual and political circles or in the programs of some political parties. With more than 82 million inhabitants, Germany (after Russia) is the second most populous state and the strongest economic power in Europe. Its geographic location has enabled it to serve as a bridge, especially between the states of Western Europe and the new Central and Eastern European democracies. In view of its location and size and its economic strengths, Germany has a particular responsibility to bear for peace and understanding in Europe. At the end of the East-West conflict, the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of a now unified Germany, faced the greatest challenges of any of NATO's armed forces. It had to: * reduce its military strength from some 600,000 military personnel (Bundeswehr and National Peoples Army-NPA) to 370,000 by 1994 according to international agreements, * reduce military material and equipment on a large scale under the CFE treaty, * contribute to the German National Program of Unity by establishing new Bundeswehr units and agencies in the new German states, and * integrate former NPA soldiers into the Bundeswehr. At the same time, Germany's allies, friends, and the international community were strongly urging it--now unified, fully sovereign, and a member of the UN--to take part in international military peace operations. Step by step, Germany assumed its responsibilities and has participated in more than 20 such operations since 1991. However, due to its past, Germany will not unilaterally undertake any military mission outside its national boundaries and, therefore, will not try to acquire the capacity to do so. NATO remains our preferred alliance for defense as well as for international military missions outside Germany. Essential Aspects of German Foreign and Security Policy With the end of the Cold War, no significant threat to either Germany or NATO's central region remains. However, a number of new crisis regions pose significant potential risks in and for Europe. The Alliance has reacted to those changes with the strategic concept agreed by the participating governments at the Rome summit in 1991. …


International trade in capital goods has quantitatively important effects on economic development through capital formation and aggregate TFP. Capital goods trade enables poor countries to access more efficient technologies, leading to lower relative prices of capital goods and higher capital-output ratios. Moreover, poor countries can use their comparative advantage—non-capital goods production—and increase their TFP. We quantify these channels using a multisector, multicountry, Ricardian model of trade with capital accumulation. The model matches several trade and development facts within a unified framework. Frictionless trade in capital goods reduces the income gap between rich and poor countries by 40 percent. More than half of the reduction in the income gap is due to the TFP channel.


Mimesis is a critical and philosophical term going back to Aristotle. It carries a wide range of meanings, including imitation, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, and the presentation of self. In modern literary criticism, mimesis has received renewed attention in the last two or three decades and been subject to wide-ranging interpretations. Nicolae Babuts looks at the concept of mimesis from a cognitive perspective. He identifies two main strands: the mimetic relation of art and poetry to the world, defined in terms of reference to an external reality, and the importance of memory in the making of plots or storytelling. Babuts suggests that there is a material identity we cannot know beyond the limits of our senses and intellect and a symbolic or coded identity that is processed by memory. All writers, including MallarmE in his esoteric poetry, Flaubert in his realist narratives, and Mihai Eminescu, the Romanian poet, in his romantic poems, rely on mimetic strategies to link the two identities: the images in memory to the outside reality. All order their narratives in accordance with the dynamics of memory. Babuts describes this phenomenon with great insight, showing how new traditions are formed.


Why is bisexuality the object of such skepticism? Why do sexologists steer clear of it in their research? Why has bisexuality, in stark contrast to homosexuality, only recently emerged as a nascent political and cultural identity? Bisexuality has been rendered as mostly irrelevant to the history, theory, and politics of sexuality. With A History of Bisexuality, Steven Angelides explores the reasons why, and invites us to rethink our preconceptions about sexual identity. Retracing the evolution of sexology, and revisiting modern epistemological categories of sexuality in psychoanalysis, gay liberation, social constructionism, queer theory, biology, and human genetics, Angelides argues that bisexuality has historically functioned as the structural other to sexual identity itself, undermining assumptions about heterosexuality and homosexuality.

In a book that will become the center of debate about the nature of sexuality for years to come, A History of Bisexuality compels us to rethink contemporary discourses of sexual theory and politics


GEOTRACES is an international study of the marine biogeochemical cycles of trace elements and their isotopes (TEIs), designed by marine geochemists to accelerate TEI research under a global program. Combining ocean sections, process studies, data synthesis, and modeling, GEOTRACES will identify and quantify the processes that supply TEIs at ocean boundaries as well as the physical and biological processes that redistribute TEIs within and between ocean basins. Constraining processes that remove TEIs from the ocean will enable complete mass budgets to be generated. Anticipated beneficiaries of GEOTRACES products include scientists studying the sustained health of marine ecosystems and their sensitivity to changes in micronutrient supply; paleoceanographers seeking to reconstruct past changes in the ocean environment, including the ocean's role in climate variability; and scientists and policymakers who seek a better understanding of the transport and fate of contaminants in the ocean. It is hoped that the experiences described here will provide helpful guidance to scientists in other disciplines who wish to advance their fields by organizing coordinated research programs.


Folate has been known as an important vitamin for several decades. It is vital in development and epigenetics and is especially known for its involvement in the prevention of neural tube defects in newborns. Due to this ability, a synthetic form of folate, folic acid, was mandated by the government to be reinforced into cereals and grains. This study used a mouse model to determine the effects folic acid and 5methyltetrahydrofolate have on gene expression and behavior. Since folate is known to be important for epigenetics and neuronal development, this study examined the effects of folate by applying behavioral tests to test memory and learning and a microarray analysis to test for gene expression changes. It was confirmed that folate is important for properly functioning cognition in mice. Additionally, the microarray analysis showed clear gene expression changes between the folate replete mice and the folate deficient mice. Interestingly, it was observed that the natural form of folate, 5methyltetrahydrofolate, may confer long term benefits compared to the synthetic form, although additional research is needed to confirm this.


This paper presents the results of a laboratory study to investigate the effects of mixing moisture on mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures. The potential benefits of lime and Pavebond Special were also evaluated. The repeated load diametral test device was used to measure the mixture performance in terms of the resilient modulus, fatigue, and permanent deformation characteristics of laboratory specimens prepared with and without moisture (0, 1, and 3%) and with and without lime (1%) and Pavebond (0.5%). Mixtures were prepared that were representative of two projects for which considerable field data were available. One project utilized low quality and high absorptive aggregate and the other good quality aggregate. To evaluate the long-term durability of mixtures, they were tested before and after conditioning using the Lottman approach. The test results showed that inferior performance occurred for mixtures with 3% moisture but was most pronounced in mixtures with higher air-void contents. However, the mixtures with low quality and high absorptive aggregate showed improved performance at 1% moisture content, associated with their lower air-void contents, which may be due to absorbed moisture preventing asphalt absorption and the higher asphalt content of these mixtures. The addition of lime resulted in distinct improvement of performance for moist specimens from the project, which had good quality aggregate, but high air-void contents. However, neither additive showed substantial benefit for moist samples from the project with low quality aggregate and low air-void content.


Economic significance is frequently assessed through statistical hypothesis testing, which however, does not always correspond to the implicit economical questions being addressed. In this article we propose using mean value decomposition to assess economic significance. Unlike most previously suggested methods the proposed one is intuitive and simple to conduct. The technique is demonstrated and contrasted with hypothesis tests by an empirical example involving the income of Mexican children, which shows that the two inference approaches provide different and supplementary pieces of information.


Recent trials have questioned the safety of untargeted oral iron supplementation in developing regions. Excess of luminal iron could select for enteric pathogens at the expense of beneficial commensals in the human gut microflora, thereby increasing the incidence of infectious diseases. The objective of the current study was to determine the effect of high iron availability on virulence traits of prevalent enteric pathogens at the host-microbe interface. A panel of enteric bacteria was cultured under iron-limiting conditions and in the presence of increasing concentrations of ferric citrate to assess the effect on bacterial growth, epithelial adhesion, invasion, translocation and epithelial damage in vitro. Translocation and epithelial integrity experiments were performed using a transwell system in which Caco-2 cells were allowed to differentiate to a tight epithelial monolayer mimicking the intestinal epithelial barrier. Growth of Salmonella typhimurium and other enteric pathogens was increased in response to iron. Adhesion of S. typhimurium to epithelial cells markedly increased when these bacteria were pre-incubated with increasing iron concentration (P = 0.0001), whereas this was not the case for the non-pathogenic Lactobacillus plantarum (P = 0.42). Cellular invasion and epithelial translocation of S. typhimurium followed the trend of increased adhesion. Epithelial damage was increased upon incubation with S. typhimurium or Citrobacter freundii that were pre-incubated under iron-rich conditions. In conclusion, our data fit with the consensus that oral iron supplementation is not without risk as iron could, in addition to inducing pathogenic overgrowth, also increase the virulence of prevalent enteric pathogens.


This paper reports on the Hybrid Systems Theorem Proving (HSTP) category in the ARCH-COMP Friendly Competition 2023. The characteristic features of the HSTP category remain as in the previous edition: HSTP focuses on flexibility of programming languages as structuring principles for hybrid systems, unambiguity and precision of program semantics, and mathematical rigor of logical reasoning principles. The benchmark set includes nonlinear and parametric continuous and hybrid systems and hybrid games, each in three modes: fully automatic verification, semi-automatic verification from proof hints, proof checking from scripted tactics. This instance of the competition focuses on presenting the differences between the provers on a subset of the benchmark examples.


Saturated fatty acids promote redistribution of c-Src into detergent-resistant membrane fractions, thereby stimulating JNK activation. Saturated fatty acids (FAs) can promote insulin resistance and diabetes, effects that have been linked to their activation of Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Unsaturated fatty acids, which can inhibit JNK activation by saturated FAs, can have beneficial effects; indeed, some polyunsaturated FAs protect against insulin resistance. Noting that FAs incorporate into cell membranes, and that saturated and polyunsaturated FAs have opposing effects on membrane fluidity, Holzer et al. explored the possibility that membrane alterations leading to activation of a membrane kinase could mediate the effects of FAs on JNK. The saturated fatty acids stearic acid (SA; C18:0) and palmitic acid (PA; C16:0) failed to activate JNK in fibroblasts lacking c-Src; similarly, c-Src knockdown in NIH 3T3 or HEK293T cells decreased JNK activation by PA, whereas reconstitution with c-Src restored JNK activation. PA or SA promoted redistribution of c-Src, and c-Src phosphorylated on Tyr418 (phospho-Tyr418c-Src, presumably an activated form) into detergent-resistant membrane (DRM) fractions corresponding to lipid rafts (membrane microdomains enriched in cholesterol, sphingolipids, and other lipids with saturated acyl chains and thought to act as signaling platforms). Immunofluorescence analysis showed aggregates of phospho-Tyr418c-Src associated with perinuclear and vesicular membranes after PA treatment, where it colocalized with the DRM marker flotillin-1 and the lysosomal marker LAMP-1. Pretreatment with mono [palmitoleic acid (POA; C16:1, n-7) or oleic acid (OA; C18:1, n-9)]– or polyunsaturated FAs [eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5, n-3)] inhibited PA-dependent redistribution of c-Src and phospho-Tyr418c-Src into DRM and JNK activation. Similarly, POA inhibited PA-dependent colocalization of phospho-Tyr418c-Src with flotillin-1 and LAMP-1. In vivo studies showed that consumption of a high-fat diet promoted accumulation of total c-Src and phospho-Tyr418c-Src in DRM fractions of mouse adipose tissue and increased c-Src catalytic activity in this fraction. The authors thus propose that the cell membrane—through FA incorporation—acts as the sensor of saturated or unsaturated FAs so that consumption of a diabetogenic high-fat diet changes the membrane distribution of c-Src and promotes its activation, thereby stimulating JNK activation. R. G. Holzer, E.-J. Park, N. Li, H. Tran, M. Chen, C. Choi, G. Solinas, M. Karin, Saturated fatty acids induce c-Src clustering within membrane subdomains, leading to JNK activation. Cell 147, 173–184 (2011). [PubMed]


2D semiconductor-based ferroelectric field effect transistors (FeFETs) have been considered as a promising artificial synaptic device for implementation of neuromorphic computing systems. However, an inevitable problem, interface traps at the 2D semiconductor/ferroelectric oxide interface, suppresses ferroelectric characteristics, and causes a critical degradation on the performance of 2D-based FeFETs. Here, hysteresis modulation method using self-assembly monolayer (SAM) material for interface trap passivation on 2D-based FeFET is presented. Through effectively passivation of interface traps by SAM layer, the hysteresis of the proposed device changes from interface traps-dependent to polarization-dependent direction. The reduction of interface trap density is clearly confirmed through the result of calculation using the subthreshold swing of the device. Furthermore, excellent optic-neural synaptic characteristics are successfully implemeted, including linear and symmetric potentiation and depression, and multilevel conductance. This work identifies the potential of passivation effect for 2D-based FeFETs to accelerate the development of neuromorphic computing systems.


The propagation characteristics of a scalar Gaussian beam in a homogeneous anisotropic medium are considered. The medium is described by a generic wave-number profile wherein the field is formulated by a Gaussian plane-wave distribution and the propagation is obtained by saddle-point asymptotics to extract the Gaussian beam phenomenology in the anisotropic environment. The resultant field is parameterized in terms of e.g., the spatial evolution of the Gaussian beam's curvature, beam width, which are mapped to local geometrical properties of the generic wave-number profile.


Even after 70 years of independence, poor state of sanitation glares as one of the challenges of India. The government has tried to establish a well functioning sanitation program in the country since 1954. This program has undergone lot of changes since then and in 2014 it was renamed as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. In order to promote safe water practices, several pipelines were installed and rivers were cleaned. Imposing Swachhta Abhiyan for carrying out activities, conducting several training programs and workshops, opening of Pink toilets, Namami Ganga, Swachh Vidyala are few of the worth mentioning initiatives under the program. Though the services are being provided at door-steps and the citizens are supported financially for toilet construction, the actual proportion of people using these toilets is under debate. Swachhata Pakhwada is being celebrated twice a year. Post celebration observance of safe disposal of waste and minimal usage of plastic is questionable. Achieving an open defecation free nation with assured safe sanitation is an initiation from the government and acceptance by the population. Implementation of these programs can only lead India becoming one of the cleanest countries in the world.


An electrical model to characterize the transmission path from a printed wiring board to a high-speed chip is proposed. The model accounts for the important constraint of inductive noise. The parameter values of the transmission path depend on the physical design of the electrical interconnections. For various input signal rise times (i.e., 0.1 ns), the following results are presented: the reflected waveform, the energy of the reflected waveform, and the waveform received at the chip. These results lead to definite performance limits (e.g., bit rate) for the electrical interconnections from a printed wiring board to a high-speed chip. For advanced physical designs, tolerable pulse-waveform degradation occurs for bit rates of a few Gb/s. However, for much higher bit rates, serious pulse degradation can occur. The model can also be used to analyze high-speed connectors and general chip packages. >


Abstract. Increasing water scarcity has posed a major constraint to sustain food production in many parts of the world. To study the situation at the regional level, we took Iran as an example and analyzed how an intra-country "virtual water trade strategy" (VWTS) may help improve cereal production as well as alleviate the water scarcity problem. This strategy calls, in part, for the adjustment of the structure of cropping pattern (ASCP) and interregional food trade where crop yield and crop water productivity as well as local economic and social conditions are taken into account. We constructed a systematic framework to assess ASCP at the provincial level under various driving forces and constraints. A mixed-integer, multi-objective, linear optimization model was developed and solved by linear programming. Data from 1990–2004 were used to account for yearly fluctuations of water availability and food production. Five scenarios were designed aimed at maximizing the national cereal production while meeting certain levels of wheat self-sufficiency under various water and land constraints in individual provinces. The results show that under the baseline scenario, which assumes a continuation of the existing water use and food policy at the national level, some ASCP scenarios could produce more wheat with less water. Based on different scenarios in ASCP, we calculated that 31% to 100% of the total wheat shortage in the deficit provinces could be supplied by the wheat surplus provinces. As a result, wheat deficit provinces would receive 3.5 billion m3 to 5.5 billion m3 of virtual water by importing wheat from surplus provinces.


Despite incremental improvements in the field of tissue engineering, no technology is currently available for producing completely autologous implants where both the cells and the scaffolding material are generated from the patient, and thus do not provoke an immune response that may lead to implant rejection. Here, a new approach is introduced to efficiently engineer any tissue type, which its differentiation cues are known, from one small tissue biopsy. Pieces of omental tissues are extracted from patients and, while the cells are reprogrammed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, the extracellular matrix is processed into an immunologically matching, thermoresponsive hydrogel. Efficient cell differentiation within a large 3D hydrogel is reported, and, as a proof of concept, the generation of functional cardiac, cortical, spinal cord, and adipogenic tissue implants is demonstrated. This versatile bioengineering approach may assist to regenerate any tissue and organ with a minimal risk for immune rejection.


This thesis is organised into three parts. In Part 1 relevant literature is reviewed and three critical components in the development of a cognitive approach to instruction are identified. These three components are considered to be the structure of the subject-matter, the learner's cognitive structures, and the learner's cognitive strategies which act as control and transfer devices between the instructional materials and the learner's cognitive structures. Six experiments are described in Part 2 which is divided into two methodologically distinct units. The three experiments of Unit 1 examined how learning from materials constructed from concept name by concept attribute matrices is influenced by learner or experimenter controlled sequence and organisation. The results suggested that the relationships between input organisation, output organisation and recall are complex and highlighted the importance of investigating organisational strategies at both acquisition and recall. The role of subjects previously acquired knowledge and skills in relation to the instructional material was considered to be an important factor. The three experiments of Unit 2 utilised a "diagramming relationships methodology" which was devised as one means of investigating the processes by which new information is assimilated into an individual's cognitive structure. The methodology was found to be useful in identifying cognitive strategies related to successful task performance. The results suggested that errors could be minimised and comprehension improved on the diagramming relationships task by instructing subjects in ways which induced successful processing operations. Part 3 of this thesis highlights salient issues raised by the experimental work within the framework outlined in Part 1 and discusses potential implications for future theoretical developments and research.


This work considers the following scenario: Three nodes {1, 2, 3} would like to communicate with each other by sending packets through unreliable wireless medium. We consider the most general unicast traffic demands. Namely, there are six co-existing unicast flows with rates (R1→2, R1→3, R2→1, R2→3, R3→1, R3→2). When a node broadcasts a packet, a random subset of the other two nodes will receive the packet. After each transmission, causal ACKnowledgment is sent so that all nodes know whether the other nodes have received the packet or not. Such a setting has many unique features. For example, each node, say node 1, can assume many different roles: Being the transmitter of the information R1→2 and R1→3; being the receiver of the information R2→1 and R3→1; and being the relay for the information R2→3 and R3→2. This fully captures the fundamental behaviors of 3-node network communications. Allowing network coding (NC) to capitalize the diversity gain (i.e., overhearing packets transmitted by other nodes), this work characterizes the 6-dimensional linear network coding (LNC) capacity of the above erasure network. The results show that for any channel parameters, the LNC capacity can be achieved by a simple strategy that involves only a few LNC choices.


We report the formation of phosphine-ligated alkylpalladium(II) amido complexes that undergo reductive elimination to form alkyl-nitrogen bonds and a combined experimental and computational investigation of the factors controlling the rates of these reactions. The free-energy barriers to reductive elimination from t-Bu3P-ligated complexes were significantly lower (ca. 3 kcal/mol) than those previously reported from NHC-ligated complexes. The rates of reactions from complexes containing a series of electronically and sterically varied anilido ligands showed that the reductive elimination is slower from complexes of less electron-rich or more sterically hindered anilido ligands than from those containing more electron-rich and less hindered anilido ligands. Reductive elimination of alkylamines also occurred from complexes bearing bidentate P,O ligands. The rates of reactions of these four-coordinate complexes were slower than those for reactions of the three-coordinate, t-Bu3P-ligated complexes. The calculated pathway for reductive elimination from rigid, 2-methoxyarylphosphine-ligated complexes does not involve initial dissociation of the oxygen. Instead, reductive elimination is calculated to occur directly from the four-coordinate complex in concert with a lengthening of the Pd-O bond. To investigate this effect experimentally, a four-coordinate Pd(II) anilido complex containing a flexible, aliphatic linker between the P and O atoms was synthesized. Reductive elimination from this complex was faster than that from the analogous complex containing the more rigid, aryl linker. The flexible linker enables full dissociation of the ether ligand during reductive elimination, leading to the faster reaction of this complex.


As compared to simple actions, activities are much more complex, but semantically consistent with a human's real life. Techniques for action recognition from sensor generated data are mature. However, there has been relatively little work on bridging the gap between actions and activities. To this end, this paper presents a novel approach for complex activity recognition comprising of two components. The first component is temporal pattern mining, which provides a mid-level feature representation for activities, encodes temporal relatedness among actions, and captures the intrinsic properties of activities. The second component is adaptive Multi-Task Learning, which captures relatedness among activities and selects discriminant features. Extensive experiments on a real-world dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of our work.


The objective of this study was to elucidate the chemical composition of essential oil from Cymbopogon nardus (citronella oil) and its antifungal activity. Chemical composition of the citronella oil was determined by capillary gas chromatography (GC) and GC/ mass spectrometry. Major constituents of the oil were geraniol (35.7% of total volatiles), trans-citral (22.7%), cis-citral (14.2%), geranyl acetate (9.7%), citronellal (5.8%) and citronellol (4.6%). The antifungal assay using the vapor-agar contact method showed that the crude essential oil markedly suppressed the growth of several species of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Eurotium at a dose of 250 mg/L in air. The most active compounds among the 16 examined volatiles, consisting of 6 major constituents of the essential oil and 10 other related monoterpenes were citronellal and linalool. Citronellal and linalool completely inhibited the growth of all tested fungal strains at a dose of 112 mg/L. Their minimum inhibitory doses ranged from 14 to 56 mg/L. The α- and β- pinenes showed an inhibitory activity against some fungi, whereas the other 8 volatile compounds lacked this property.


Under what conditions do democracies emerge and consolidate? Recent theories suggest that inequality is among the leading determinants of both democratization and consolidation. By contrast, this article argues that inequality harms consolidation but has no net effect on democratization. The author shows that the existing theories that link inequality to democratization suffer from serious limitations: (1) they are useful only for understanding transitions from below and thus do not apply to many other transitions (that is, those from above); (2) even for democratization from below, their predictions are unlikely to hold, since inequality actually has two opposite effects; and (3) they ignore collective action problems, which reduces their explanatory power. However, these objections do not affect the relationship between inequality and consolidation. In particular, while inequality has two opposite effects on the probability of transition to democracy, it unambiguously increases the probability of transition away from democracy. This article conducts the most comprehensive empirical test to date of the relationship between inequality and democracy. It finds no support for the main democratization theories. Contrary to what they predict, estimation suggests neither a monotonic negative nor an inverted U-shaped relationship. Yet inequality increases the probability of backsliding from democracy to dictatorship.


Multimodality's popularity as a semiotic approach has not resulted in a common voice yet. Its conceptual anchoring as well as its empirical applications often remain localized and disparate, and ideas of a theory of multimodality are heterogeneous and uncoordinated. For the field to move ahead, it must achieve a more mature status of reflection, mutual support, and interaction with regard to both past and future directions. The red thread across the disciplines reflected in this book is a common goal of capturing the mechanisms of synergetic knowledge construction and transmission using diverse forms of expressions, i.e., multimodality. The collection of chapters brought together in the book reflects both a diversity of disciplines and common interests and challenges, thereby establishing an excellent roadmap for the future. The contributions revisit and redefine theoretical concepts or empirical analyses, which are crucial to the study of multimodality from various perspectives, with a view towards evolving issues of multimodal analysis. With this, the book aims at repositioning the field as a well-grounded scientific discipline with significant implications for future communication research in many fields of study.


The main goal of this paper is to study empirically the export decisions of the European firms and to explore their international activities to the European Neighbouring Countries (ENCs). We investigate what are the main characteristics, behaviour and strategies of European firms that export to and invest in one or more ENCs, in order to single out which are at the national level (data are not available at the regional level) the location determinants of European investments and trade patterns. We concentrate our analysis on exporting flows for which data are very detailed, and starting from this, we explore which are the main European exporting destinations and investigate on the intensive and the extensive margin; we control for several firms' characteristics and if exporting firms are active in foreign markets. To achieve our aims, we use the EFIGE dataset on firms from seven European countries and we isolate and compare exports to 16 neighbouring countries, with respect to all other possible world destinations.


Cocktail suit of royal blue douppioni silk, consisting of:.

A) Long jacket with Nehru collar; slightly fitted. Front, opening, hem, cuffs, shoulders, pockets, and back yoke elaborately embellished with white embroidery, white seed beading, and ribbon work in floral patterns. Long sleeves. Center-front opening with zipper. Side welt pockets. Lined in white satin synthetic(?); shoulder pads.

Designer's label at center back neckline: "Victor Costa"
"Made in USA" tag behind designer's label.
Content/care/size label at side seam, 100% silk.

B) Straight skirt of matching royal blue douppioni silk. Below knee length. Center back zipper with hook & bar on 1" waistband. Lined in royal blue silk synthetic.

Designer's label to left of zipper: "Victor Costa"
Tag behind designer label: "Crafted With Pride / in U.S.A"
Content/care tag behind designer label.


We solve the longstanding puzzle of pressure induced structural evolution of SnSe using a swarm structure search method combined with first-principles phonon and kinetic barrier calculations. Our results identify a dynamic set of nearly degenerate crystalline SnSe phases that are separated by low kinetic barriers and undergo an unusual type of structural transitions characterized by a dynamically changing mix of the constituent phases. We introduce a new concept of structural metatransition to highlight the transitional nature of such phase transitions. Our theoretical prediction is corroborated by X-ray diffraction measurements, and this intriguing phenomenon offers insights into the enigmatic property variations of SnSe under pressure. This work raises prospects of considerably improving characterization and understanding of intrinsic multiphase crystals and their dynamic evolution.


Abstract Objectives Sexual Strategies Theory suggests people fall on a continuum between having short-term mating orientation (STMO) and long-term mating orientation. One way STMO individuals signal mating goals is via risky drinking. The current study therefore aims to investigate drinks per week (DPW) as a mediator between STMO and risky sexual behavior (RSB), with gender as a moderator between STMO and DPW. Participants Undergraduate students (N = 300) from a Midwestern university during Fall 2019. Method Participants completed questionnaires assessing STMO, DPW, and RSB frequency. Results A moderated-mediation model indicated DPW significantly mediated the relationship between STMO and RSB. Positive associations were found among all three variables. Gender was not a moderator between STMO and DPW. Conclusions Mating orientation was a correlate of alcohol use and RSB for women and men, contributing to the literature identifying STMO as an indicator of those in need of substance use and RSB intervention.


In the US, federal prosecutors are appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and have significant discretion over which cases they choose to take to court. Federal prosecutors handling an overwhelming majority of corruption cases invites the possibility of political influence in the monitoring of corruption. Additionally, political disparities across states may result in differences in corrupt behavior. Using individual case level data, I examine the effect political factors have on federal corruption cases, with an emphasis on states that are an important focus in the next presidential election. I find that corruption convictions tend to be higher in politically important states. This effect seems more significant when Democratic administrations are in power. In addition, it seems that these effects are relevant only for corruption crimes labeled as "federal".


Nanomaterials change our life. Every day they find applications in new branches of technology. At the same time, some branches of technology, like civil engineering, are rather conservative and do not accept new approaches lightly. Nanotextiles exhibit a number of qualities that make them a promising material for civil engineering applications. They can potentially play a role of filters, protective layers, armature and others. Properties of the nanotextiles can be significantly influenced by parameters of technological process. Pure experimental search of the optimal technological parameters to achieve the desired properties of the final material can be very tedious. Thus, a theoretical dependence of the properties of the nanotextile on parameters of the technological process must be established. Two independent tasks must be solved for this: the dependence of nanotextile structure on technological parameters, and determination of physical, chemical or biological properties of a nanotextile of a given structure. In this paper we discuss steps necessary for the solution of the second task. Nanotextile is a material with extremely large porosity, which makes standard macroscopic models for the description of its properties inappropriate. Thus, any successful model must be based on the specific structure of the nanotextile. After the structure is known the next step is to understand all important interactions between nanofibers and the environment. The set of such interactions depend on the problem under consideration. Finally, the properties of the material should be determined as a numerical solution of the corresponding 3D model.


Abstract The non-insecticidal control strategies currently being implemented in South African orchards for the control of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) may be hampered by wooden fruit bins being infested with diapausing codling moth larvae, acting as a potential source of re-infestation. Key factors contributing to the success or failure of an entomopathogenic nematode application were investigated using the SF 41 isolate of Heterorhabditis zealandica in laboratory bioassays with wooden minibins. Under operational conditions, an application rate of 100 IJs/mL (LD90=102 IJs/mL) effectively controlled codling moth larvae in these bins, and for further laboratory bioassays, the LD50 value of 18 IJs/mL (≈25 IJs/mL) was identified as the discriminating dosage. Maximum mortality was attained when bins were pre-wet for at least 1 min (>90% RH) and maintained at maximum humidity (>95% RH) post-treatment for at least 3 days (LT90=73 h), to ensure nematode survival and subsequent satisfactory infection of diapausing codling moth larvae. Tarping bins achieved the desired high level of humidity required. Furthermore, adjuvants (specifically Reverseal 10™) also improved an application. The study conclusively illustrated that if all the above-mentioned conditions are met, H. zealandica has the potential to successfully disinfest wooden fruit bins of codling moth.


Alternative protein sources to fishmeal in fish feeds are needed.

 Evaluate rearing performance of adult rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) (initial weight 139.0 ±1.5 g, length 232.9 ± 0.8 mm, mean ± SE) fed one of the two isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets (46% protein, 16% lipid) and reared at one of the two levels of exercise (water velocities of either 3.6 cm/s or 33.2 cm/s).

 Protein in the control diet was based on fishmeal. In the experimental diet, bioprocessed soybean meal replaced approximately 60% of the fishmeal. Fish were fed by hand once-per-day to near satiation, and the food was increased daily. The experiment lasted 90-days.

 There were no significant differences in gain, percent gain, or specific growth rate between the dietary treatments. However, the amount of food fed and feed conversion ratio was significantly lower in the 60% bioprocessed soybean meal diet. Intestinal morphology, relative fin length, splenosomatic index, hepatosomatic index, and viscerosomatic index were not significantly different in the trout fed either diet. Fish reared at 3.6 cm/s had a significantly lower feed conversion ratio (1.02 ± 0.02) than fish reared at 33.2 cm/s (1.13 ± 0.02). However, there were no significant differences in gain, percent gain, specific growth rate, or percentage mortality in fish reared with or without exercise. No significant interactions were observed between diet and exercise (higher water velocity).

 Based on these results, at least 60% of the fishmeal in adult rainbow trout diets can be replaced by bioprocessed soybean meal, even if higher water velocities are used to exercise the fish.


Forty-five NCAA Division I male basketball teams totaling 437 players were surveyed about their height, weight, strength, speed, power, agility, body fatness, and aerobic capacity. Selected mean values ± SD were as follows: height, 195.3 ± 8.9 cm; weight, 91.3 ± 11.1 kg; % fat, 9.4 ± 15.2 %; vertical jump 71.4 ± 10.4 cm; 1-RM bench press, 102.7 ± 18.9 kg; 1-RM squat, 152.2 ± 36.5 kg; 40-yd dash, 4.81 ± 0.26 sec; agility 8.95 ± 0.53 sec; and 1 mile run, 5 min 40 sec ± 32 sec. Guards, forwards, and centers differed on all variables except bench press, 1.5-mile run, and agility. Guards were the smallest and leanest players and had the best vertical jump, speed, and strength relative to body weight, and the best mile run performance. Centers were the largest players, had the highest percent body fat and the poorest agility, 40-yd dash, and mile run times. Forwards and centers were similar in bench press and power clean, but forwards were stronger in both absolute and relative squat strength. Team mean scores were significantly different (p < 0.001) except for height, weight, 30-yd dash, and agility.