Healthy lungs are not sterile. In the last decade, it was demonstrated that the healthy lung has its specific microbiota. It is much smaller in numerical terms, compared to the gut microbiota, but it is a unique microbiota that can affect the health and the diseases. With an estimated number of 10-100 bacteria for 1.000 human cells, the lower respiratory tract is one of the less populated surfaces by the bacteria of the whole human body. Even human fetal lungs host a "signature" of the microbiota. The composition of the lung microbiota depends on several factors, including the so-called "microbial immigration" from micro-aspiration and inhalation of microorganisms.The connection between the lung and the gastrointestinal tract is not entirely understood. Patients with respiratory infections generally have gut dysfunctions complications, which are related to a more severe clinical course, thus indicating gut-lung crosstalk. In this review we analyse the lung microbiota in newborns, infants and adults with respiratory disease. In acute pulmonary diseases such as sepsis, trauma, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), the lung microbiota becomes rich in gut bacteria, such as Bacteroidetes and Enterobacteriaceae. This phenomenon is also called "more gut in the lung". In acute situations, the gut becomes hyper-permeable (leaky gut), and the bacteria can translocate through the colon wall and reach the lung affecting the inflammation, the infection, and the acute pulmonary damage. The increased gut permeability is associated with an increased alveolus-capillary hyper-permeability as well.There are tight correlations between the lung microbiota and the admission in intensive care. In particular, the modifications of the lung microbiota can help in predicting in which way the patients in critical condition will respond to the treatments. It has been investigated if the different incidence depending on age and the different courses between adults and children for Novel COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) could be due to the different concentrations and/or activation of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) at the intestinal and pulmonary level. ACE2 is mainly localized on the luminal surface of the intestinal epithelial cells and it has been hypothesized that gut microbiota influences the action of ACE2. Thus, a close relationship between COVID-19 and the microbiota can be hypothesized (it has been studied in cats). Potential interventions for COVID-19 are: nutritional, antiviral, anti-coronavirus, and miscellanea. Other options could include also probiotics, especially Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, namely L. gasseri. In the next future, metabolomics could be applied in the study of COVID-19, deciphering the secret languages between viruses, bacteria and the organism.


When users install an application on their mobile Android device, they must decide whether to grant the application access to privacy-sensitive information. Building upon recent research on the limitations of the current installation dialog, we investigate a new permission model better aligned with users' current understanding of data collection and privacy concerns. Using three mobile applications that offer highly personalized services, we conduct a series of online surveys (n = 1,316) varying the information disclosed in the installation screen and exploring the option to limit data collection. First, we identify two factors that significantly affect users' willingness to install applications—the frequency of data collection and the third party sharing policy—and find that in the absence of such information, as in the case of existing dialogs, many survey respondents incorrectly assume that an application's capabilities are more restricted than they actually are. Second, we find that offering a third option beyond existing all-or-nothing choice affects users' willingness to install applications. We further analyze how our participants would like to limit data collection, and compile a set of suggestions for the design of a permission model that can provide better privacy notice and meaningful controls to users.


Self-initiated voluntary acts, such as pressing a button, are preceded by a negative electrical brain potential, the Bereitschaftspotential (BP), that can be recorded over the human scalp using electroencephalography (EEG). Up to now, the BP required to initiate voluntary acts has only been recorded under well-controlled laboratory conditions. It is thus not known if this form of brain activity also underlies motor initiation in possible life-threatening decision making, such as jumping into a 192-meter abyss, an act requiring extraordinary willpower. Here, we report BP before self-initiated 192-meter extreme bungee jumping across two semi-professional cliff divers (both male, mean age 19.3 years). We found that the spatiotemporal dynamics of the BP is comparable to that recorded under laboratory conditions. These results, possible through recent advancements in wireless and portable EEG technology, document for the first time pre-movement brain activity preceding possible life-threatening decision making.


Introduction: Eligibility for bariatric surgery (BS) is assessed using medical criteria. Body Mass Index (BMI) is the main condition for selection. Primary outcomes of success for BS are weight loss and reductions of comorbidities e.g. diabetes. Psychosocial outcomes are not consistently monitored in the UK. Associated service provision of BS varies and do not always contain a strong psychological component offering support pre or post BS. Obese patients may have faced a lifetime of psychosocial and physical challenges which influence their expectations of BS. Failure to address unrealistic expectations prior to surgery may undermine any promising clinical outcomes. Methods: A qualitative study using in-depth semi-structured interviews, Photovoice and Framework Analysis techniques. 18 participants interviewed pre bariatric surgery. Results: Patients have high expectations of how their lives will change following BS. Whilst patients have weight loss and health goals, seeking to be 'normal' can override their desire to become a healthy weight. Participants described feelings of shame, stigma and low self-esteem linked to anger at themselves and others. Space in the home offered them a form of protection from the outside world but often increased social isolation. Navigating the physical space inside and outside the home was challenging and often negative experiences exacerbated feelings of shame and humiliation. Patients felt they did not belong to the 'normal' world and anticipated they would regain this place following surgery. Conclusion: Patients weight loss expectation maybe achievable from BS. However services need to identify and address unrealistic psychosocial expectations of normality after BS.


With data from framed common pool resource experiments conducted with artisanal fishing communities in Colombia, we estimate a hierarchical linear model to investigate within-group and between-group variation in individual harvest strategies across several institutions. Our results suggest that communication serves to effectively coordinate individual strategies within groups, but that these coordinated strategies vary considerably across groups. In contrast, weakly enforced regulatory restrictions on individual harvests (as well as unregulated open access) produce significant variation in the individual strategies within groups, but these strategies are roughly replicated across groups so that there is little between-group variation.


Recent theology has seen a renewed vigour in debates about the nature and character of God. Juan Cruz turns to one of the prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Micah, to consider the metaphors it uses to portray the God of Israel and what they reveal about the deity. The book of Micah contains two dominant types of metaphor for Yahweh, namely the legal metaphors in 1:2-16 and 6:1-16 and the pastoral metaphors in 2:12-13, 4:6-7, 5:1-4a and 7:14-20. The former type of metaphors presents Yahweh in a courtroom setting, where he accuses his people of their sins, brings a lawsuit against them, and pronounces their judgement. The pastoral metaphors, on the other hand, describe Yahweh as the shepherd of his people, primarily concerned with the restoration and well-being of Israel. The two sets of metaphors therefore respectively present Yahweh in a positive and a negative light. Drawing on insights from philosophy and literary studies, and making particular use of the theories of Benjamin Harshav, Juan Cruz explores the divine metaphors by analysing the arguments they make within their respective literary units and in the context of the whole book, as well as the significant tensions that develop between the metaphors. The volume provides helpful tools to analyse metaphors for God, which may be also used for analysis of non-divine metaphors, and should contribute to our theological understanding of God in the Hebrew Bible, most especially in the book of Micah, a book whose title bears the meaning, "Who is like Yahweh?."


It has been established that incorporating word cluster features derived from large unlabeled corpora can significantly improve prediction of linguistic structure. While previous work has focused primarily on English, we extend these results to other languages along two dimensions. First, we show that these results hold true for a number of languages across families. Second, and more interestingly, we provide an algorithm for inducing cross-lingual clusters and we show that features derived from these clusters significantly improve the accuracy of cross-lingual structure prediction. Specifically, we show that by augmenting direct-transfer systems with cross-lingual cluster features, the relative error of delexicalized dependency parsers, trained on English treebanks and transferred to foreign languages, can be reduced by up to 13%. When applying the same method to direct transfer of named-entity recognizers, we observe relative improvements of up to 26%.


Measurement of the remnant pressure sustained by a mineral inclusion within a diamond can allow calculation of the source pressure and temperature conditions of the diamond formation. While Raman spectroscopy (point analyses and 2D mapping) has been the most commonly used non-destructive method for measuring this remnant pressure, two new techniques (quantitative birefringence analysis and in situ X-ray diffraction) have recently been developed. In this paper we apply all of these techniques to the study of two diamonds. The first is a diamond twin (macle) from Shandong (China), containing two olivine inclusions. Analysis of the largest inclusion by the birefringence and X-ray techniques returned compatible values for the remnant pressure of 0.1–0.2 GPa. However, while 2D Raman mapping of the diamond host qualitatively confirmed the presence of a radial stress field, the low remnant pressures values were too small to be detected by pressure shifts in the olivine's Raman spectrum. The second sample studied was a rounded dodecahedral diamond (unknown origin) containing several coesite inclusions. Its morphology prevented quantitative birefringence analysis or Raman mapping being performed but Raman analyses on three inclusions (2.2–2.5 GPa) provided similar results to those obtained by X-ray diffraction from a single inclusion (2.7 GPa); all of these values lie within the range of previous published remnant pressures for coesite in diamond. Calculation of the source pressure and temperature conditions for both diamond samples returned anomalously low values, both below the diamond stability field for a range of mantle temperatures (950–1350 °C). The reasons for this are due to violations of the fundamental assumptions upon which such studies of these elastic effects in diamond are based. Although previous studies showed that olivine inclusions have the potential to record reasonable formation pressures under favourable conditions, the present study re-iterates the serious concerns of using the coesite-in-diamond geobarometer. It is inferred that, as the remnant pressures in the coesite-diamond pair are so high, there is a high probability that the diamond will undergo some plastic deformation, thus reducing the elastic behaviour and leading to severe underestimation of entrapment pressure.


Abstract The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is challenging the world. With no vaccine and limited medical capacity to treat the disease, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) are the main strategy to contain the pandemic. Unprecedented global travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders are causing the most severe disruption of the global economy since World War II. With international travel bans affecting over 90% of the world population and wide-spread restrictions on public gatherings and community mobility, tourism largely ceased in March 2020. Early evidence on impacts on air travel, cruises, and accommodations have been devastating. While highly uncertain, early projections from UNWTO for 2020 suggest international arrivals could decline by 20 to 30% relative to 2019. Tourism is especially susceptible to measures to counteract pandemics because of restricted mobility and social distancing. The paper compares the impacts of COVID-19 to previous epidemic/pandemics and other types of global crises and explores how the pandemic may change society, the economy, and tourism. It discusses why COVID-19 is an analogue to the ongoing climate crisis, and why there is a need to question the volume growth tourism model advocated by UNWTO, ICAO, CLIA, WTTC and other tourism organizations.


The aim of this investigation was to find out how properties of a flocculation agent and flocculation kinetics affect the morphology of fibre flocs and how dewatering of a fibre suspension may be attributed to floc morphology. Fibre flocculation, analysed in terms of floc size, mass fractal dimension, floc strength, and the kinetic constant of flocculation, was measured with a digital image analysis system using cationic polyacrylamides as flocculants and NaCl as a coagulant. The results suggest that the kinetics of fibre flocculation is not a key factor determining floc properties but follows from the high bonding ability of the flocculation agent, which also lies behind the high floc density and size, i.e., the factors that lead to fast flocculation and improved floc properties are partly the same. In addition to interfibre bonding strength, the structure of the bonding layer of polymeric flocculants was found to be a significant factor describing floc morphology. Dewaterability of the fibre suspension was improved by increased floc density, which promotes fast water flow through the large voids around the dense flocs, while large, irregular flocs induced loose floc packing, which further improved dewatering by creating larger voids. Increased floc strength seemed to reduce the sealing of fluid passageways, particularly on the surface of the wire, where fibre squeezing could blind the filter fabric.


Time series of hydrographic and transient tracer (3H and 3He) observations from the central Labrador Sea collected between 1991 and 1996 are presented to document the complex changes in the tracer fields as a result of variations in convective activity during the 1990s. Between 1991 and 1993, as atmospheric forcing intensified, convection penetrated to progressively increasing depths, reaching 2300 m in the winter of 1993. Over that period the potential temperature (θ)/salinity (S) properties of Labrador Sea Water stayed nearly constant as surface cooling and downward mixing of freshwater was balanced by excavating and upward mixing of the warmer and saltier Northeast Atlantic Deep Water. It is shown that the net change in heat content of the water column (150–2500 m) between 1991 and 1993 was negligible compared to the estimated mean heat loss over that period (110 W m−2), implying that the lateral convergence of heat into the central Labrador Sea nearly balances the atmospheric cooling on a surprisingly short timescale. Interestingly, the 3H–3He age of Labrador Sea Water increased during this period of intensifying convection. Starting in 1995, winters were milder and convection was restricted to the upper 800 m. Between 1994 and 1996, the evolution of 3H–3He age is similar to that of a stagnant water body. In contrast, the increase in θ and S over that period implies exchange of tracers with the boundaries via both an eddy-induced overturning circulation and along-isopycnal stirring by eddies [with an exchange coefficient of O(500 m2 s−1)].

The authors construct a freshwater budget for the Labrador Sea and quantitatively demonstrate that sea ice meltwater is the dominant cause of the large annual cycle of salinity in the Labrador Sea, both on the shelf and the interior. It is shown that the transport of freshwater by eddies into the central Labrador Sea (140 cm between March and September) can readily account for the observed seasonal freshening. Finally, the authors discuss the role of the eddy-induced overturning circulation with regard to transport and dispersal of the newly ventilated Labrador Sea Water to the boundary current system and compare its strength (2–3 Sv) to the diagnosed buoyancy-forced formation rate of Labrador Sea Water.


Registries in cardiovascular medicine in general, and within interventional cardiology in particular, have gained more attention in medical journals over the past few years. By consecutive enrolment of complete patient populations, the methodology is a powerful tool for describing healthcare, including the complications and benefits of different therapies. However, it is very important to be cautious in the interpretation of the comparison of outcomes between different treatment alternatives in observational studies and always consider them non-definitive and hypothesis generating. In order to avoid selection bias, randomisation of patients may be included within a clinical registry, combining some of the most important features of a prospective randomised trial with the key strengths of a large scale clinical registry. Thereby prospective use of quality registries could potentially revolutionise clinical trials by the fast inclusion of large patient numbers, focus on hard endpoints and complete follow-up, and at a fraction of the costs of today's randomised controlled trials.

Good clinical practice should be based on sound evidence derived from well-conducted studies. The highest levels of scientific clinical evidence stem from prospective randomised clinical trials. The European Society of Cardiology and other guideline committees and authorities generally require more than one adequate prospective randomised study for giving the procedure the highest class of recommendation reflecting the need for independent confirmation of experimental results. A single clinical experimental finding of efficacy, unsupported by other independent evidence, is not considered adequate scientific support for a definitive conclusion of efficacy. In the medical field and particularly within cardiology, an increasing number of pharmaceutical agents, medical devices and clinical procedures are tested in appropriately designed prospective randomised trials. Despite this, only about half the recommendations given in international guidelines are class one recommendations based on prospective randomised trials,1 and a large proportion of recommendations are based on …


In a recent paper by Smith, Lam and Horowitz [1] the concept of 'boosting' was introduced, where instructions from one of the possible instruction streams following a conditional branch were scheduled by the compiler for execution in the basic block containing the branch itself. This paper describes how code from both instruction streams following a conditional branch can be considered for execution in the basic block containing the branch. Branch conditions are stored in Boolean registers and all instructions are conditionally executed based on the value in a Boolean register. The two instruction streams can therefore be executed on complementary values of the same Boolean register.


Year-round operation of biorefineries can be possible only if the continuous flow of cellulosic biomass is guaranteed. If corn ( Zea mays ) stover is the primary cellulosic biomass, it is essential to recognize that this feedstock has a short annual harvest window (≤1–2 months) and therefore cost effective storage techniques that preserve feedstock quality must be identified. This study evaluated two outdoor and one indoor storage strategies for corn stover bales in Iowa. High- and low-moisture stover bales were prepared in the fall of 2009, and stored either outdoors with two different types of cover (tarp and breathable film) or within a building for 3 or 9 months. Dry matter loss (DML), changes in moisture and biomass compositions (fiber and ultimate analyses) were determined. DML for bales stored outdoor with tarp and breathable film covers were in the ranges of 5–11 and 14–17%, respectively. More than half of the total DML occurred early during the storage. There were measurable differences in carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, cellulose, hemi-cellulose and acid detergent lignin for the different storage treatments, but the changes were small and within a narrow range. For the bale storage treatments investigated, cellulose content increased by as much as 4%s from an initial level of ~41%, hemicellulose content changed by −2 to 1% from ~34%, and acid detergent lignin contents increased by as much as 3% from an initial value of ~5%. Tarp covered bales stored the best in this study, but other methods, such as tube-wrapping, and economics need further investigation.


This paper uses the data on child development collected around the evaluation of a nursery program to estimate the details of the process of human development. We model development as made of three latent factors, reflecting health, cognitive and socio-emotional skills. We observe children from age 1 to age 7. We assume that, at each age, these factors interact among themselves and with a variety of other inputs to determine the level of development at following ages. Relative to other studies, the richness of the data we use allows us to: (i) let the dynamics be rich and flexible; (ii) let each factors play a role in the production of any other factor; (iii) estimate age-specific functional forms; (iv) treated parental investment as an endogenous input. We find that the dynamics of the process can be richer than usually assumed, which has important implications for the degree of persistence of different inputs in time. Persistence also changes with age. This has important implications for the targeting of investment and interventions, and the identification of windows of opportunities. The endogeneity of investment is also important.


The main aim of the present study was to investigate the use of classroom-based
assessment procedures to test the efficacy of three scoring methods. The three
scoring methods were tested on the scoring of direct writing. To obtain the data
three phases of study were conducted in this research. The first phase was a
survey research, the second phase was a correlational research, and the third phase
was an ethnographic research. Each phase employed different methods of
obtaining data. The results of the first phase showed that Malaysian ESL teachers
who responded to the open form questionnaire did not refer to any specific
scoring method for classroom assessment of guided writing, summary writing and
continuous writing. Their main reference was the scoring method adopted from
the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate, which was meant for the nationally
standardised SPM Examination. The correlational research conducted in the
second phase of the present study showed that there was a positive relationship of
scores obtained from the 45 ESL teachers who used the three scoring methods to
assess the three types of students' direct writing with the scores obtained from six
expert raters. Apart from that the strengths and weaknesses of the scoring
methods as verbalised by the 45 ESL teachers while they were assessing the
writing samples, showed that each scoring method used had its own unique
features for classroom assessment of direct writing. The results of the
ethnographic research conducted in the third phase showed that all three ESL
teachers who referred to three different scoring methods gave corrective feedback
to their students. There was no significant difference in the effectiveness of the
written feedback and feedback lessons given by these teachers. Students who
responded to the questionnaire found that their teachers' feedback lessons had
their own uniqueness depending on the scoring methods used. The findings from
the third phase showed that classroom-based assessment of direct writing
produced a beneficial backwash effect, for example there was a positive reaction
shown by the students towards their teachers' feedback lessons.


Modelling of runoff in GCMs is a two-stage process: first, a residual water amount resulting from precipitation, evapotranspiration, snowmelt, infiltration and soil moisture movement at each time step must be generated for each grid cell; then a runoff routing model must be applied to this water excess to produce streamflow. Incorporation of the latter into GCMs is as yet in the most initial stages, and will not be reliably achieved for some years to come. However, before this can be accomplished, the water excess that is to be routed must be generated in a physically realistic fashion. Two land-surface models of widely varying complexity are presently available as options in the Canadian GCM (developed at Atmospheric Environment Service, Canada). The old scheme is based on a bucket approach for soil moisture and on the force-restore method for soil temperature; a more recently developed scheme (CLASS - Canadian Land Surface Scheme) incorporates physical modelling of the heat and moisture budgets of three soil layers, the snow cover and the vegetation canopy. Based on comparisons of year-long runs of both models, it is postulated that reliable modelling of the surface water excess cannot be achieved using a bucket model. It is also shown that sub-grid scale variability of the precipitation rate must be taken into account, and that the land surface model must allow for surface water retention between timesteps.


This paper describes the review of productive zakat in sharia and regulatory perspectives. This research uses library research methods by reviewing and collecting the results of previous studies that are in line with the theme of this study. The results of this study indicate that productive zakat in sharia perspective is allowed to improve the economic life of the mustahiq and meet the needs in worshiping Allah SWT. While productive zakat from a regulatory perspective in Indonesia is at the macro, meso, and micro levels.The authenticity of this study is permissible and productive zakat. A new aspect of this research is conducting a study with two discussions namely the sharia perspective and regulatory perspective in Indonesia.


Polysiloxane/polyacrylate (PSi/PA) core/shell latexes are fabricated, and the particle morphology, the film structure, as well as the properties of the latex films are investigated by comparing with blend latexes, and the relationship between structure and property is proposed. Results indicate that the structure and property of the latex films heavily depend on the particle morphology. The sea–island latex films with uniform distribution of PSi phases can be formed from the PSi/PA core/shell latexes, and with the mass ratio from 1:1 to 1:4, their tensile strength and elongation at break are close to the pure PA latex film, while the elastic recovery and water vapor permeability improve notably. It is found that the phase segregation occurs in the blend latex films, and although the blend latex films provide better water vapor breathability, their mechanical properties sacrifice obviously. Therefore, the various properties must be balanced for practical applications and the core/shell latexes are competitive for meeting the balanced requirements. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45258.


The results of several experiments supported the proposal that morphine analgesic tolerance is a manifestation of an association between the drug administration ritual and the systemic effects of the drug: (a) Presenting environmental cues previously associated with morphine, but without the drug, attenuated established tolerance (i.e., morphine tolerance can be extinguished), (b) repeated presentations of the morphine administration procedure, prior to its pairing with the opiate, retarded the acquisition of tolerance (i.e., morphine tolerance is subject to "latent inhibition"), and (c) placebo sessions interspersed between morphine sessions deleteriously affected the development of tolerance (i.e., morphine tolerance is subject to the decremental effects of partial reinforcement). These findings appear inexplicable by most traditional theories of tolerance, which do not emphasize the role of drug-associated environmental cues in the development of tolerance. Additionally, it is suggested that the conditioning analysis of tolerance is congenial with a current view of habituation, and there may be a similar associative basis for the response decrement to both endogenous and exogenous iterative stimulation.


John Friedmann addresses a central question of Western political theory: how, and to what extent, history can be guided by reason. In this comprehensive treatment of the relation of knowledge to action, which he calls planning, he traces the major intellectual traditions of planning thought and practice. Three of these--social reform, policy analysis, and social learning--are primarily concerned with public management. The fourth, social mobilization, draws on utopianism, anarchism, historical materialism, and other radical thought and looks to the structural transformation of society "from below." After developing a basic vocabulary in Part One, the author proceeds in Part Two to a critical history of each of the four planning traditions. The story begins with the prophetic visions of Saint-Simon and assesses the contributions of such diverse thinkers as Comte, Marx, Dewey, Mannheim, Tugwell, Mumford, Simon, and Habermas. It is carried forward in Part Three by Friedmann's own nontechnocratic, dialectical approach to planning as a method for recovering political community.


A 23-year-old female patient presented with spontaneous appearance of nail haemorrhages on both hands after a tracking holiday in Peru and Bolivia. At altitudes above 3000 meters, she initially developed painful splinter haemorrhages (figure 1), followed by subungual haematoma (figure 2) and eventually distal onycholysis at all fingernails on both hands (figure 3). Remarkably, her toenails were spared. Her previous medical history included acne conglobata, for which she was recently treated with doxycycline 100 mg once daily for three months by her dermatologist. Other medication included malarone prophylaxis and ethnylestradiol/levonorgestrel. The remaining physical examination and blood analysis were within normal ranges


It is widely recognized that social capital constitutes an important form of social regulation in informal sector and it is the major component of the asset portfolios of the urban poor. Nevertheless, the potential contribution of social capital in the informal sector remains under-investigated in African cities. Applying the network approach, this study examined the economic returns of social capital to microenterprises in the informal sector. To do so, the personal networks of street vendors in Addis Ababa were examined. Multi-stage sampling procedures involving purposive and systematic random-walk techniques were applied to draw samples. Data were collected through position generator surveys. The data were analyzed using OLS and Instrumental Variable Estimators. By controlling the potential endogeneity, the estimation results revealed that network resources are positive and significant predictors of enterprise profit. But their benefit is less for married vendors than unmarried ones. The human capital measures such as education, vocational training, and business experience are not significant predictors of enterprise profit. Key Words: Social Capital, Social Networks, Informal Sector, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa


DNA nanotechnology engineered at the solid-liquid interface has advanced our fundamental understanding of DNA hybridization kinetics and facilitated the design of improved biosensing, bioimaging and therapeutic platforms. Three research branches of DNA nanotechnology exist: (i) structural DNA nanotechnology for the construction of various nanoscale patterns; (ii) dynamic DNA nanotechnology for the operation of nanodevices; and (iii) functional DNA nanotechnology for the exploration of new DNA functions. Although the initial stages of DNA nanotechnology research began in aqueous solution, current research efforts have shifted to solid-liquid interfaces. Based on shape and component features, these interfaces can be classified as flat interfaces, nanoparticle interfaces, and soft interfaces of DNA origami and cell membranes. This review briefly discusses the development of DNA nanotechnology. We then highlight the important roles of structural DNA nanotechnology in tailoring the properties of flat interfaces and modifications of nanoparticle interfaces, and extensively review their successful bioapplications. In addition, engineering advances in DNA nanodevices at interfaces for improved biosensing both in vitro and in vivo are presented. The use of DNA nanotechnology as a tool to engineer cell membranes to reveal protein levels and cell behavior is also discussed. Finally, we present challenges and an outlook for this emerging field.


Before you drift to sleep upon your cot, think back on all the tales that you remember.... That once there was a fleeting wisp.... Don't let it be forgot that once there was a spot for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot. --Lyrics from the 1960 Broadway musical Camelot Despite the volume of ink and sound bite noise generated in discussions of the "Catholic vote" during the 2004 presidential campaign, there is but one simple empirical lesson that the election results reinforced: on the long scale of modern U.S. electoral history the Catholic vote, much like the legend of Camelot, was a "fleeting wisp" most evident with the election of John E Kennedy in 1960. (1) However, it ceased to be a cohesive bloc more than forty years ago and, as a group, Catholic voters have not always been the consistent "swing vote" group that they are often portrayed to be. The election of John E Kennedy was truly an extraordinary and liberating event for U.S. Catholics (Dolan 1992, 422). As Crews (1993) notes, "An invisible barrier had been shattered. Across the nation, Catholics sensed that they had finally achieved unquestioned first-class status as loyal citizens" (p. 139). After enduring more than 170 years of political anti-Catholicism in various forms and degrees, (2) eight in ten Catholic voters supported Kennedy at the ballot box in 1960. At the time, Converse et al. (1961) noted "the vote polarized along religious lines in a degree which we have not seen in the course of previous sample survey studies" (p. 273). Slightly more than 118,000 votes separated Kennedy from Nixon nationally and it would have been a daunting challenge for him to win with anything less than 80 percent of the Catholic vote. Converse et al. (1961) estimate that Kennedy's vote among Catholics was 17 percentage points higher than what an average non-Catholic candidate could have expected (p. 275). As John F. Kerry's candidacy began to take shape in late 2003, it was an open question as to how Catholics might react if he were to be the first Catholic since Kennedy to win one of the two major parties' nominations. Few expected that Kerry would be able to attract eight in ten Catholic voters, yet most would not have bet that he might lose the Catholic vote. This article puts that latter result--which will likely always be in question--into context by first introducing existing theory and evidence and then proceeding to comparisons of the Catholic vote in 1960, 2000, and 2004. The U.S. Presidency and the "Catholic Vote" Although John E Kennedy's election is often considered a breakthrough moment overcoming a long tradition of overt political anti-Catholicism, it is a misconception that Catholics were somehow systematically kept out of U.S. government, even as it began and the Catholic population was very small. (3) In 1790, just 1 percent of the U.S. population was Catholic and as of 1840 it was still only 4 percent (Prendergast 1999, 2). Yet, things began to change in the 1850s as waves of immigration began from many predominantly Catholic countries (4)--first from Europe and then followed by Latin America as well as Asia and Africa in the twentieth century (ongoing)--which would result in Catholics never again being less than 10 percent of the U.S. population. Although Kennedy was the first Catholic to win, he was of course not the first to run. Al Smith was the first, getting the Democratic party's nomination in 1928 when Catholics still made up less than 20 percent of the population. Smith's Catholicism was the central issue of that campaign and similar to how Catholics would support Kennedy three decades later, he benefited from a huge Catholic turnout. Although Prendergast (1999) estimates Catholics made up only a third of Smith's votes, he concludes that "in no presidential election, before or since, have Catholics been so close to unanimity in their choice of a candidate" (p. 96). …


Hepatic ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury (IRI) occurs during liver transplantation, hepatectomy, and hemorrhagic shock. Oleanolic acid (OA) is a natural compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity that has been used to treat liver disorders in clinical practice for several years. Here, we investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of OA in hepatic IRI. A 60-minute partial (70%) hepatic, warm, ischemic reperfusion model was established in BALB/c mice, and two doses (30 and 60 mg/kg) of OA were administered intragastrically for 7 consecutive days prior to hepatic IR. Orbital blood and liver specimens were collected at 2, 8, and 24 h after IR. The results showed that OA preconditioning significantly alleviated hepatic injury, as evidenced by decreased alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels; improved histology, inhibition of JNK phosphorylation, and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1); and tumor necrosis factor-α downregulation in hepatic IR mice. OA upregulated Bcl-2 and downregulated caspase-3, caspase-9, Bax, Beclin 1, and LC3, which play crucial roles in the regulation of apoptosis and autophagy. These findings highlighted the protective effects of OA against hepatic IRI mediated by the inhibition of apoptosis and autophagy and the release of HMGB1, which acted as a late inflammatory mediator in hepatic IRI.


Purpose: Wigan Council participated in the Department of Health for England's Partnership for Older People Project (POPP) and piloted eleven community based schemes for promoting older people's health and well-being and reducing their need for higher intensity forms of care. This paper describes evaluation activity that guided decisions about the development and ongoing sustainability of these schemes.
Methods: a mixed method, observational study design generated information about the number and characteristics of POPP service users and the 'value' and 'effectiveness' of POPP schemes from the perspectives of older people and other POPP stakeholders.

Main findings: from May 2006 through January 2008 there were 7,572 referrals to POPP schemes. A survey covering 1,362 service users and interviews with whole system stakeholders revealed high levels of support for POPP schemes in terms of their relevance, value and ability to promote partnership working between agencies. Results also offered 'plausible' evidence that some schemes were helping to reduce older people's use of more intensive and higher cost services.

Implications: evaluation results supported a decision that all POPP schemes should be sustained when pilot funding from the Department of Health ended. The study also demonstrated the importance of local evaluation activity when developing new services.


We examine the effects of bank deregulation on the spatial dynamics of retail-bank branching, exploiting, much like a quasi-natural experiment, the context of intense liberalization reforms in Belgium in the late nineties. Using .ne-grained data on branch network dynamics within the metropolitan area of Antwerp and advancing novel spatial econometric techniques, we show that these liberalization reforms radically shifted and accelerated branch network dynamics. Entry and exit dynamics substantially intensified, the level change in financial void grew significantly, and bank choice markedly declined. Moreover, all these changes consistently extended (even with greater intensity) after the liberalization peak. However, the immediate and longer-term spatial ramifications of the financial sector liberalization were very distinct. All immediate changes systematically, differentially impacted the poorer and wealthier neighborhoods, disenfranchising the poorer neighbourhoods and favoring their wealthier counterparts. The longer-term effects on spatial patterns of change no longer exhibited this systematic relationship with neighborhood income. We draw out the policy implications of our findings


Grapes and wine are claimed to have beneficial effects on human health, due mainly to their high polyphenolic content. Polyphenols include several classes of compounds regarded mostly as effective antioxidants in humans when assumed in the diet (e.g., hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonols, anthocyanins, tannins (proanthocyanidins) and stilbenes). The latter deserve particular attention due to their crucial function in plants; stilbene phytoalexins accumulate in the soft tissues of the vine and they are produced by the phenylpropanoid pathway. Stilbene synthase (STS) is the key enzyme of the above pathway, and it produces resveratrol, the basic monomer which can be glycosylated, hydroxylated, methylated or converted into more complex compounds (dimers, trimers, tetramers). According to the grapevine genome sequence, STS is encoded by a gene family of many highly similar paralogues, and recent data account for their expression in different grapevine organs. At the berry (fruit) level, stilbenes are produced by the skin after the occurrence of a biotic or abiotic stress, and by the seeds as constitutive compounds. Berry skin is the main available source of stilbenes from grape and wine consumption. Thus it is crucial to deeply understand mechanisms of biotic and abiotic elicitors of stilbene phytoalexins in order to increase their production. Study of metabolomics allows identification of a large array of stilbenes in grapes and wine that could have major implications for health. Under the same elicitation pressure, the final concentration of stilbenes in grapes and wine is affected by decisions applied for viticultural practices and, in the case of wine, for winemaking (i.e., oenological factors). The most recent health claims for resveratrol are discussed, including the effect in extending the lifespan of organisms (human beings, too) by triggering the Sir/SIRT genes.


Low-power Wireless Networks (LWNs) have become increasingly available for mission-critical applications such as security surveillance and disaster response. In particular, emerging low-power wireless audio platforms provide an economical solution for ad hoc voice communication in emergency scenarios. In this paper, we develop a system called Adaptive Stream Multicast (ASM) for voice communication over multi-hop LWNs. ASM is composed of several novel components specially designed to deliver robust voice quality for multiple sinks in dynamic environments: 1) an empirical model to automatically evaluate the voice quality perceived at sinks based on current network condition, 2) a feedback-based Forward Error Correction scheme where the source can adapt its coding redundancy ratio dynamically in response to the voice quality variation at sinks, 3) a Tree-based Opportunistic Routing (TOR) protocol that fully exploits the broadcast opportunities on a tree based on novel forwarder selection and coordination rules, and 4) a distributed admission control algorithm that ensures the voice quality guarantees when admitting new voice streams. ASM has been implemented on a low-power hardware platform and extensively evaluated through experiments on a testbed of 18 nodes.


Recent advances in 3D shape recognition have shown that kernels based on diffusion geometry can be effectively used to describe local features of deforming surfaces. In this paper, we introduce a new framework that allows using these kernels on 2D local patches, yielding a novel feature point descriptor that is both invariant to non-rigid image deformations and illumination changes. In order to build the descriptor, 2D image patches are embedded as 3D surfaces, by multiplying the intensity level by an arbitrarily large and constant weight that favors anisotropic diffusion and retains the gradient magnitude information. Patches are then described in terms of a heat kernel signature, which is made invariant to intensity changes, rotation and scaling. The resulting feature point descriptor is proven to be significantly more discriminative than state of the art ones, even those which are specifically designed for describing non-rigid image deformations.


This paper studies bank loans over the business cycles in Iran to determine the role of Iranian banks in stabilizing credit. By estimating the long-run relations using dynamic OLS and fully modified OLS estimators, the findings show that real bank lending is positively related to real GDP in the long-run providing evidences of the pro-cyclicality of bank lending in Iran. Hence, Iranian banking system has not operated far away from the conventional banking system in that they have not the ability to stabilize credit over business cycles. The results of Toda-Yamamoto's (1995) Granger non-causality test indicate a unidirectional causality running from real GDP to real bank lending. Moreover, the impulse response functions from estimating vector autoregressive models suggest positive and statistically significant response of real bank lending to shocks from real GDP reaffirming the pro-cyclicality of bank lending in Iran.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify changes in clinical outcome and lower extremity biomechanics during walking and hopping in ACL-injured subjects before and after a 20-session neuromuscular and strength training programme. Study design: Pre and post experimental design. Setting: Outpatient clinic, primary care. Patients: 32 subjects with unilateral ACL injury, mean 60 (SD 35) days after injury, with a mean age of 26.2 (5.4) years. Intervention: The rehabilitation programme consisted of neuromuscular and strength exercises. Main outcome measurements: Outcome measurements assessed before and after a 20-session rehabilitation programme were: self-assessment questionnaires (KOS-ADL, IKDC2000, Global function), four single-leg hop tests, and isokinetic muscle strength tests. Lower extremity kinematics and kinetics were captured during the stance phase of gait and landing after a single leg hop, synchronised with three force plates. Results: These ACL-injured individuals significantly improved their clinical outcome after rehabilitation. Gait analysis disclosed a significantly improved knee extension moment after rehabilitation, but no change in hip or knee excursions. During landing after hop no change in knee excursion or knee moment was recorded. Conclusion: After rehabilitation the ACL-injured subjects showed a significantly improved clinical outcome, but lower extremity biomechanics were still significantly impaired during both walking and hopping. The rehabilitation programme influenced knee joint loading during walking, but not during hopping. Longer rehabilitation should be considered before ACL-injured individuals return to jumping activities.


The objective of this study was to analyze factors influencing implementation of performance contracting in state corporations in Kenya with special reference to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. Descriptive research design was employed in the study. The target population was all the employees of Kenya Civil Aviation Authority that have signed Performance Contracts between the period 2008/09 to 2011/12. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The results were then presented in tables and charts. The study concludes that targets are mutually agreed upon and those targets are in line with the organizations objectives. There are high motivational rewards for good performance. In addition, the study concludes that Performance measurements are used to evaluate, control and improve operations process in order to ensure that the organization achieves its goals and objectives. The study concludes that the organization avails requisite resources necessary for implementation of strategy and that management practices fair evaluation of PC outcomes. Finally, the study concludes that strategy implementation evolves either from a process of winning group commitment through a coalitional form of decision-making, or as a result of complete coalitional involvement of implementation staff through a strong corporate culture. The study recommends that the set targets be well communicated to the employees in an organization. The study further recommends that the organizations have team building activities such as tours so as to further motivate them. The study recommends that the organizations have Strategic performance measures that monitor the implementation and effectiveness of an organization's strategies. In addition, the study recommends that every employee in the organization be committed to their work and not only the top leaders.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the postgraduate medical education (PGME) examination outcomes and work locations of international medical graduates (IMGs); and to identify differences between Canadians studying abroad (CSAs) and non-CSAs.

DESIGN
Cohort study using data from the National IMG Database and Scott's Medical Database.

SETTING
Canada.

PARTICIPANTS
All IMGs who had first entered a family medicine residency program between 2005 and 2009, with the exclusion of US graduates, visa trainees, and fellowship trainees.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
We examined 4 outcomes: passing the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part 2 (MCCQE2), obtaining Certification in Family Medicine (CCFP), working in Canada within 2 years of completing PGME training, and working in Canada in 2015.

RESULTS
Of the 876 residents in the study, 96.1% passed the MCCQE2, 78.1% obtained a specialty designation, 37.7% worked in Canada within 2 years after their PGME, and 91.2% worked in Canada in 2015. Older graduates were more likely (odds ratio [OR] = 3.45; 95% CI 1.52 to 7.69) than recent graduates were to pass the MCCQE2, and residents who participated in a skills assessment program before their PGME training were more likely (OR = 9.60; 95% CI 1.29 to 71.63) than those who had not were to pass the MCCQE2. Women were more likely (OR = 1.67; 95% CI 1.20 to 2.33) to obtain a specialty designation than men were. Recent graduates were more likely (OR = 1.36; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.79) than older graduates were to work in Canada following training. Residents who were eligible for a full licence were more likely (OR = 3.72; 95% CI 2.30 to 5.99) to work in Canada in 2015 than those who were not eligible for a full licence were.

CONCLUSION
While most IMGs who entered the family medicine PGME program passed the MCCQE2, 1 in 5 did not obtain Certification. Most IMG residents remain in Canada. Canadians studying abroad and non-CSA IMGs share similar examination success rates and retention rates.


Abstract We conducted a species-level study of molluscs associated with a 5-m long carcass of a minke whale at a depth of 125 m in the Kosterfjord (North Sea, Sweden). The whale-fall community was quantitatively compared with the community commonly living in the surrounding soft-bottom sediments. Five years after the deployment of the dead whale at the sea floor, the sediments around the carcass were dominated by the bivalve Thyasira sarsi, which is known to contain endosymbiotic sulphur-oxidizing bacteria, while background sediments were dominated by another thyasirid, T. equalis, less dependent on chemosynthesis for its nutrition. The Kosterfjord samples were further compared at the species level with mollusc abundance data derived from the literature, including samples from different marine settings of the west coast of Sweden (active methane seep, fjords, coastal and open marine environments). The results show high similarity between the Kosterfjord whale-fall community and the community that developed in one of the Swedish fjords (Gullmar Fjord) during hypoxic conditions. This study indicates that at shallow-water whale-falls, the sulphophilic stage of the ecological succession is characterized by generalist chemosynthetic bivalves commonly living in organic-rich, sulphidic environments.


In immersive communication applications, knowing the user's viewing position can help improve the efficiency of multiview compression and streaming significantly, since often only a subset of the views are needed to synthesize the desired view(s). However, uncertainty regarding the viewer location can have negative impacts on the rendering quality. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to improve the robustness of view-dependent compression schemes by jointly performing user tracking and compression. A face tracker tracks the user's head location and sends the probability distribution of the face locations as one or many particles. The server then applies motion model to the particles and compresses the multiview video accordingly in order to improve the expected rendering quality of the viewer. Experimental results show significantly improved robustness against tracking errors.


Integrating photosynthetic membrane proteins with non-biological materials such as polymers and electrodes is attractive, as it could allow new ways of harvesting solar energy for direct electrical power, sensing, or chemical production. However, such integration is challenging, as these proteins have to be "wired" to electrodes and oriented to maximize light capture and electron transfer all while maintaining long-term activity. In this work we present a durable and unique solution to the challenges of stabilization and wiring of photosynthetic membrane proteins on electrodes. A block copolymer, poly(butadiene)12-poly(ethylene oxide)8 (PB12-PEO8), that mimics the bilayer assembly of lipids was used to stabilize photosystem I (PSI) in a near-native hydrophobic environment. At high protein concentrations, large, highly packed planar membranes (∼4 nm thick) were formed, which allowed high surface loading of protein at the electrode interface. To "wire" these membranes with metal electrodes, a conductive block copolymer bilayer based on the same PB12-PEO8 but with intercalated conjugated oligoelectrolytes (COEs) was used. This photo-active conductive layer was used to conduct electrons while maintaining a stabilizing cell membrane-like hydrated environment at the protein–metal interface. Photocurrents approaching 35.0 ± 3.5 μA cm−2 were generated upon illumination of these assembled devices with photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), among the highest reported so far for such systems on a per protein basis. This is the first application of membrane proteins completely stabilized in and on a block copolymer support for an energy-relevant electrochemical device and may represent the highest photocurrent generation per protein.


While happiness is recognized as a universal goal in life, the morning and evening commutes were found to be two of the three activities of the day that most often register negative emotions. Seeing the need to improve commuter happiness and satisfaction, the transportation research sector has developed a myriad of studies on happiness and commuting. The state of the art, while extensive, is lacking in detail in both the happiness definition depth and commuting experience richness. This research aims to provide a comprehensive examination of commuting happiness by differentiating commuting happiness into affective and cognitive components and then quantifying the contribution of socioeconomics and commuting experience variables through Structural Equation Models (SEMs). 2000 North Americans who commute for work or school were surveyed with Mechanical Turk. The results show most measures of commuting happiness and satisfaction to be heavily dependent on comfort and reliability ratings, particularly at the negative end of the spectrum. The commuting experience better explains cognitive happiness than affective happiness, and for both, the completeness of latest day's models is truer to the actual experience than that of a typical day's travel.


An engaging account of American socialism, past and future, as witnessed by a key historian and founder of one of the modern left's most important news magazines, In These Times . The Long Detour is an intellectually engaging overview of the history of socialism in the United States and of the continuing relevance of socialist principles today. Historian and journalist James Weinstein, a lifelong socialist and one-time Communist, takes readers from the movement's early years of utopian communities, through the heyday of engagement with the makers of corporate America, and into the future of a de-industrializing era. He contends that socialism as a political movement was sidetracked when Communist domination of the American left stifled creative social thought and diverted the traditional left into sterile disputes over the true nature of the Soviet Union. And he argues that while "real existing socialism" - which is what the Soviets called their system - is dead, the humane social principles articulated by Marx and the leaders of the pre-1917 socialist movement remain vitally important to those on the left who seek to realize the promise of American democracy.


We evaluated American three-toed woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis) response to spatial heterogeneity of burn severity and prey availability over multiple scales at the 56 000 ha Hayman Fire (2002) located in the Colorado Front Range. In 2003 and 2004, we quantified the response of three-toed woodpeckers to burn severity, beetle occurrence, and tree size at three levels: home-range scale (36 ha), foraging patches (∼1 ha), and trees within foraging patches. We used the differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR) to quantify burn severity at the home range scale. Woodpecker response to burn severity was strongly scale dependent. Three-toed woodpeckers generally established territories in moderately burned areas containing patches of live and dead trees, and were less common in unburned forests and in large severely burned areas lacking live trees. Woodpeckers disproportionately foraged in patches with a higher proportion of severely burned trees than were available in moderately burned areas, but rarely foraged in severely burned patches within severely burned areas. Burn severity was similar among trees within foraging patches and was not useful for predicting woodpecker use at this scale. Three-toed woodpecker response to beetle occurrence and tree size also varied across scales. Tree size and beetle occurrence were both greater in foraging patches compared to available trees. At the largest scale (home range), burn severity best accounted for three-toed woodpecker use, whereas tree size and beetle occurrence played a stronger role at the smallest scale (individual trees). At the intermediate scale (foraging patches), all factors were important in explaining woodpecker use. Our results indicate that the scaling of burn severity patterns can affect the woodpecker's use of burned forests and demonstrate the importance of evaluating burn severity across multiple spatial scales. The prevalence of breeding three-toed woodpeckers in mixed-severity areas with both lightly and severely burned trees highlights the importance of mixed-severity regimes to such fire-dependent species and the need for fire management that includes a range of fire behaviors, including high-severity fires.


The dual interaction of science and technology with defence, security and infrastructures for service provision as energy is a major theme in modern times. The era after the Second World War and in the course of the Cold War was accompanied and spurred by an amazing number of great technological advances and changes. The study investigates and discusses dimensions of the interaction between technology changes and innovation and defence, security and infrastructure systems in a small country as Sweden after the Cold War. The main result of the study is a proposal for an anatomy of technology innovation which can be seen as a predecessor to a system (or enterprise) architecture for technology innovation in defence, security and infrastructure systems. The approach is developed from previous international research and theories of innovation systems. Infrastructure and defence systems are investigated on three levels, technologies, system integration and services provided. Establishing an anatomy is supported by case studies which apply a stake holder perspective on development and innovation in systems. Prominent elements of the proposed anatomy for technology innovation are framework conditions or context, economic organizational factors such as people, knowledge, business models and finance, and last but not least culture for development and innovation, and the customer and user in the processes. Contexts and environmental conditions in recent times are characterised by more complicated threats and disturbances which potentially imply larger disruptions. The study explores how contexts and emerging conditions translate into plausible scenarios and their effect on the anatomy and the various stages of the innovation processes. The vital role in the anatomical framework played by culture for innovation is illuminated in the case studies. Other basic elements of the anatomy are the people, inventors and developers as the knowledge underpinning. Risk taking and sharing and the rights and responsibilities of the stake holders play substantial roles in the anatomy as some main economic organizational factors and elements of innovation.


BACKGROUND
Surveillance of congenital anomalies is important to identify potential teratogens. Despite known associations between different anomalies, current surveillance methods examine trends within each subgroup separately. We aimed to evaluate whether hierarchical statistical methods that combine information from several subgroups simultaneously would enhance current surveillance methods using data collected by EUROCAT, a European network of population-based congenital anomaly registries.

METHODS
Ten-year trends (2003 to 2012) in 18 EUROCAT registries over 11 countries were analyzed for the following groups of anomalies: neural tube defects, congenital heart defects, digestive system, and chromosomal anomalies. Hierarchical Poisson regression models that combined related subgroups together according to EUROCAT's hierarchy of subgroup coding were applied. Results from hierarchical models were compared with those from Poisson models that consider each congenital anomaly separately.

RESULTS
Hierarchical models gave similar results as those obtained when considering each anomaly subgroup in a separate analysis. Hierarchical models that included only around three subgroups showed poor convergence and were generally found to be over-parameterized. Larger sets of anomaly subgroups were found to be too heterogeneous to group together in this way.

CONCLUSION
There were no substantial differences between independent analyses of each subgroup and hierarchical models when using the EUROCAT anomaly subgroups. Considering each anomaly separately, therefore, remains an appropriate method for the detection of potential changes in prevalence by surveillance systems. Hierarchical models do, however, remain an interesting alternative method of analysis when considering the risks of specific exposures in relation to the prevalence of congenital anomalies, which could be investigated in other studies. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:480-10, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


With a high level of accuracy and ease of use, the technology of biometrics has the recent years gained popularity and in many cases replaced traditional identification methods based on passwords or tokens. While fingerprint matching is the most mature and most widely used technique of today, several others exist. Among these is ear recognition, which so far has received scant attention, but still has showed good results in performance. The thesis gives a general presentation of the biometric technology, with its advantages and challenges. In addition, the new and novel technology of ear recognition using thermal imagery is elaborated and discussed. An experiment of small scale, aiming to test the ability of thermal ear recognition as a method for identification, was performed. The test also considers the affect on the performance when the ear temperature varies. An EER of 20.7 % with a corresponding detection rate of 78 % was achieved when considering only ears with the same temperature. By including the applied temperature changes, an increase in the EER to 31.5 % with a corresponding detection rate of 72 % was observed. The results indicate that thermal images of the ears are not sufficiently distinguishable for use in establishing identity by itself, but it might be suitable as a supplement to other biometric techniques.


Compared to their uninfected peers, youth living with HIV experience greater distress related to a multitude of stressors they face. In order to enhance the lives of youth who are living with HIV, it is important to identify the personal and social resources that these individuals might bring to coping with their disease. Using the compensatory hypothesis and resiliency theory as conceptual frameworks, the present study examined the function of both psychological acceptance and sibling relationships for youths in managing depression and HIV-related stigma. In addition, the current study investigated the interactive effects of psychological acceptance and sibling relationship quality on these outcomes for youths living with HIV. The participants for the current study included 68 youth who were recruited as part of another study examining adolescents infected with HIV and their caregivers. The racial composition of the final sample consisted of 94% African Americans and 6 % who identified as another racial minority. The current sample consisted of 28 males, 38 females, and 2 transgendered youth between the ages of 12 and 23 (M= 17.9, SD= 2.8). In the sample, 56% of youth were perinatally infected and 44% were behaviorally infected. Regression analyses indicated no support for the complex associations among resources posited in the resiliency model and the compensatory hypothesis. Greater psychological acceptance was associated with both less depression and less stigma. Both the positive and negative aspects of sibling relationships demonstrated importance for youth's psychological well-being, such that supportive sibling relationships were associated with lower depression and negative sibling relationships were associated with greater perceived stigma. Exploratory analyses demonstrated interactions with gender, age, and route of transmission not explained by the proposed models, which suggests that further research is needed to understand their impact. Future research endeavors should examine the efficacy of intervention programs in individual and group settings to determine if the predicted benefit of both personal and social resources are compounding factors in the psychosocial well-being for youth living with HIV. INDEX WORDS: Sibling relationships, HIV, Acceptance, Depression, Stigma, Youth THE IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ACCEPTANCE AND SIBLING RELATIONSHIP QUALITY ON DEPRESSION AND PERCEIVED STIGMA FOR YOUTH LIVING WITH HIV by


The thesis comprises a collection of ten published works in the field of
individual differences and student learning in a, mainly, higher education context
involving undergraduate student participants. The works revolve primarily around
three principal conceptual areas, identified within the field on the grounds of being
recognized mediators of learning and achievement - namely, learning style, academic
control beliefs and student self-evaluation.
Students' perceptions of themselves as learners, and their use of various
processes to regulate their learning, have been identified as critical factors in the
analyses of academic development and achievement. On the basis of this, the thesis
presents a programme of work concerned with establishing a clearer understanding of
the conceptualisation, measurement and pedagogical utility of learning style,
academic control beliefs, student peer assessment and student self-assessment. It is
argued that each of these constructs plays a major role in the development and
practice of student self-regulated learning (SRL).
SRL theory therefore provides the theoretical context which unifies and
integrates the principal research areas addressed in the thesis. Accordingly, learning
style, academic control beliefs and student self-evaluation are suggested as key
component processes of SRL. The study of SRL is increasingly being identified as
highly relevant to both research and practice-based pedagogy (e.g. Baumert et al.,
2000; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). It is therefore further suggested that the existing
conceptual bases of SRL may represent the foundations for the development of a
composite theory capable of characterising, and facilitating, translational modelling of
much of the work involving individual differences in learning.


Model validation is the process of determining the degree to which a model is an accurate representation of the real object. Most of existing model verification metrics rely on massive data, which are expensive to obtain in complex engineering problems. This paper first proposes a new enhanced Mahalanobis distance (EMD) metric by multiplying the original Mahalanobis distance with a direction angle to incorporate the correlation information using limited experimental and simulation data. Combining with the EMD, an angle metric is developed as an alternative of the area metric to reduce the misjudgment rate of model validation. In order to quantify the uncertainty due to insufficient experimental and simulation data, the angle metric is further extended to a new interval angle metric, named the interval EMD-pooling angle metric as the ultimate metric, for validating models at multiple sites. The proposed interval EMD-pooling angle metric is compared with other existing metrics through three numerical case studies to demonstrate its advantages when both experimental and simulation data are insufficient. An engineering example regarding ultrasonic welding is also provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed metric for practical model validation problems.


Prion disease is a fatal, incurable neurodegenerative disease of humans and other mammals caused by conversion of cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a self-propagating neurotoxic conformer (prions; PrPSc). Strong genetic proofs of concept support lowering PrP expression as a therapeutic strategy. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) can provide a practical route to lowering 1 target mRNA in the brain, but their development for prion disease has been hindered by 3 unresolved issues from prior work: uncertainty about mechanism of action, unclear potential for efficacy against established prion infection, and poor tolerability of drug delivery by osmotic pumps. Here, we test ASOs delivered by bolus intracerebroventricular injection to intracerebrally prion-infected WT mice. Prophylactic treatments given every 2–3 months extended survival times 61%–98%, and a single injection at 120 days after infection, near the onset of clinical signs, extended survival 55% (87 days). In contrast, a nontargeting control ASO was ineffective. Thus, PrP lowering is the mechanism of action of ASOs effective against prion disease in vivo, and infrequent — or even single — bolus injections of ASOs can slow prion neuropathogenesis and markedly extend survival, even when initiated near clinical signs. These findings should empower development of PrP-lowering therapy for prion disease.


The present paper investigates the latest developments in the Japan-South Korea economic and political relationship, reviewing the recent (2019) far-reaching consequences of the conflict over the compensation for forced labour. The paper argues that the issue of wartime forced labour has been intensely politicized by both governments, and their inability to find consensus on this particular historical issue has severely corroded economic and diplomatic ties. Ultimately, the analysis of bilateral relations shows that both governments have been acquiring political capital from positioning themselves one against the other.


Search engines have become so indispensable that they rank second only to e-mail as the most popular online activity. To respond to queries in a timely fashion, search engines make use of large indices of word occurrences on Web pages to cross-reference websites to keywords. Such indices are maintained by spiders, a special kind of computer program that browses the Web autonomously. However, due to a variety of technological limitations, a single spider has proven insufficient to maintain a search engine's index. Hence, in this book, we review several alternatives to split a spider's work into multiple processes, and define a methodology to preserve an up-to-date index of the Web. SharpSpider, our prototype spider, has been evaluated using the resources of PlanetLab, a globally distributed platform for developing and deploying planetary-scale services. Despite the utilisation of very modest equipment, we have performed large crawls of the Web, distributing the workload amongst various computers spread across different continents. The statistics derived from our research offer valuable insight into the nature of educational Web resources.


A recombinant fusion protein composed of the diphtheria toxin with the receptor-binding domain replaced by human epidermal growth factor (EGF). When administered, EGF binds to the endothelial cell growth factor receptor, EGFR, which is upregulated in many solid tumors. After binding to the EGF receptor, the agent is internalized by the cell, where the diphtheria toxin moiety exerts its cytotoxic effect, inhibiting protein synthesis through ADP-ribosylation of elongation factor 2. (NCI04)


The LIBER MARC Harmonization Task Force has its origins in an initiative of the past President of LIBER, Professor Elmar Mittler from the Gottingen State and University Library. Professor Mittler asked Dr Elisabeth Niggemann from Die Deutsche Bibliothek to take part in the meeting of the MARC Harmonization Coordinating Committee in Ottawa in May 2001. Following that meeting the LIBER MARC Harmonization Task Force was founded at the LIBER Annual Conference in July 2001 in London. The LIBER MARC Harmonization Task Force held its first meeting on 14 January 2002 at Die Deutsche Bibliothek Frankfurt am Main, with the aim of gaining an overview of format activities in Europe. The group's aim was to concentrate on European developments and to build up stronger cooperation in the library world in order to strengthen Europe's international influence. The LIBER MARC Harmonization Task Force held a second meeting at the IFLA 2002 Conference in Glasgow and discussed the first draft of its report and recommendations to LIBER. After final discussion within the group, this report has been further revised and was submitted to LIBER. The aim of the report is to give an overview of format activities in European countries and to make recommendations to LIBER regarding the use and development of data formats in Europe. The annex includes reports on migration activities from different countries. The report is based on information on data formats collected and compiled on the basis of a questionnaire distributed to the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL). Cataloguing issues were further discussed at the 1st IFLA Meeting of Experts on an International Cataloguing Code held in Frankfurt in July 2003. Further meetings will be held at the IFLA conferences in Buenos Aires (2004) and Seoul (2006).


This article analyzes English textbooks used in Israel to examine whether their cultural content is appropriate for the Palestinian Arab learner. This topic is significant, as the English curriculum in Israel is uniform in all sectors. The article presents a critical discourse analysis of six English textbooks used in Israeli high schools to examine the recurrence of seven discursive devices that might possibly serve as a means for shaping or (re)producing ideological values: (1) culturally distinctive names, (2) pronouns, (3) the passive/active voice when relating to the Other, (4) explicit statements defining the target audience, (5) narratives involving faraway cultures that perpetuate Western stereotypes and exclude the Other, (6) a demand for culturally specific prior knowledge, and (7) discourse constructing identities and collective memories. These devices serve to foster English learners imbued with Western oriented Jewish-Zionist ideology, while reproducing and perpetuating hegemonic ideology. Thus, English textbooks in Israel marginalize the Palestinian Arab minority, its culture and common traditions, thereby engendering a learning environment that creates a negative learning experience for students of this sector.


In this thesis is discussed the photochemical behaviour of polyoxometalates in different media with concomitant oxidation of water. Polyoxometalate anions (POMs) are a large group of complex inorganic compounds which are easily prepared in H2O from inexpensive, readily accessible precursors such as MO42- where M = W or Mo. 18WO42- + 32H3PO4 + 23H+ → P2W18O626- + 30H2PO-4 + 18H2O [1] POMs are generally large metal-oxygen clusters that form a unique, structurally diverse class of inorganic materials. The application of polyoxometalates in science is remarkably diverse: from medicine to catalysis, electronic devices to membranes etc. The most important application of polyoxometalates over the past two decades is in catalysis. In fact polyoxometalates often exhibit most of the features of a perfect environmentally benign oxidation catalyst: O2 is the only oxidant used, water can be used as the solvent (depending on the cation), and the catalyst possesses no organic ligands. Often they are also thermodynamically stable toward oxidative degradation. An interesting application for polyoxometalates as catalysts is the production of H2 and oxygen. Some general properties that make polyoxometalates an attractive class of material for catalysis have been reported. Selection of a suitable countercation can make the polyoxometalate soluble in either aqueous or organic solvents. Typically tetrabutylammonium (Bu4N+) is chosen as the countercation for reactions in organic solutions, and Na+ or K+ are commonly chosen for reactions in aqueous solutions. Generally speaking, molybdates are better oxidizing reagents than tungstates. Thus, their reoxidation by dioxygen is very slow, often requiring the use of activated carbon with dioxygen or the use of hydrogen peroxide. It is also possible to electrochemically regenerate the starting material by applying an oxidizing current that is positive enough to oxidize back the molybdenum polyoxometalate. When a polyoxometalate is photolysed by UV and near-visible light in the presence of a suitable electron donor (ED), for example isopropanol, a series of photoreactions result in stepwise reduction of the polyoxometalate and oxidation of the ED. In the case of (CH3)2CHOH the overall mechanism may be represented as follows: 2POMn- + (CH3)2CHOH → 2POM(n+1)- + (CH3)2CO + 2H+ [2] Reduction is accompanied by only minor structural changes as the reducing electrons occupy orbitals that are essentially non-bonding. As reduction proceeds, the POM anions acquire an increasing negative charge thereby encouraging protonation, thus the negative charge is lowered and encourages further reduction. It has been noticed during photochemical experiments that in molecular solvents, photo-reduction with the tungsten based polyoxometalates was achieved only if an efficient electron donor such as isopropanol is present. In contrast, the photo-reduction of the molybdenum based polyoxometalates was achieved in molecular solvents without the addition of isopropanol with water present in the solvent acting as an electron donor: [S2Mo18O62]4- + hν → [S2Mo18O62]*4- [3] 2[S2Mo18O62]*4- + H2O → 2[S2Mo18O62]5- + ½ O2 + 2H+ [4] Photo-reduction of [S2Mo18O62]4- to [S2Mo18O62]5- was confirmed by RDE voltammograms and visually colour change, while the Clark-type electrode recorded the increase of oxygen during irradiation with light. However, quantitative photoreduction of all polyoxometalates studied in this thesis occurred when POMs were dissolved in protic (DEAS, DEAP) or aprotic ([BMIM][BF4] and [BMIM][PF6]) room temperature ionic liquids containing adventitious or deliberately added water. Photo-reduction of POMs was also noted when these ionic liquids were used as electrolyte in molecular solvents. Thus, under these conditions water acted as efficient electrons donor when ionic liquids were employed as neat solvents or dissolved in concentration ≥ 0.05 M in molecular solvents. Ionic liquids represent a relatively new class of solvent that consist entirely of ionic species. They have many fascinating properties which make them of fundamental interest to chemists. Significantly, both the thermodynamics and kinetics of reactions carried out in ionic liquid media differ from those in conventional molecular solvents. The achievement of water oxidation in ionic liquids can be explained by the different nature of water, compared to molecular solvents, in this medium. Thus water oxidation was possible by the different nature of water molecules when surrounded by ionic liquid molecules clusters. It is possible that in ionic liquids the oxygen-hydrogen bond in water molecules is much weaker than in molecular solvents. This characteristic allows the break of this bond with the resultant production of oxygen and protons. The importances of the studies conducted in this thesis are innovative to achieve water oxidation. In this thesis it is proposed a new pathway using ionic liquid media for water oxidation using polyoxometalates that was not presented before my studies. Furthermore, water oxidation was achieved in aqueous solutions containing ionic liquids as electrolytes. This will allows extended electrochemical studies that were not possible in neat ionic liquids.


The undergraduate research project is almost universally treated as the culmination of all previous lecture, lab and tutorial work. The project allows for the development of individuality and confers ownership of a challenge possessing an originality that goes far beyond the communal legacy presented by age old lab scenarios. Central to this is the magical transition of the student from a consumer of knowledge to a producer, yet the journey is often both daunting and perplexing when considering where to start and how to reach the destination using the resources provided and in the allotted time. There are numerous books within the social sciences which provide students with guidance on how to conduct a "successful" project but few can be found in relation to the physical sciences. This can be ascribed to the fact that the former has a very similar structure and procedural methodology whereas the latter can possess a near fractal differentiation into a myriad of sub disciplines and specialisms thereby preventing the provision of a single, expansive catchall text. This book adapts some of the components and ethos of the Projects in Controlled Environments (PRinCE2) project management approach to physical science projects. This is the industry and government standard and was introduced to address the common causes of project failure ie. not delivering projects on time, within budget, within scope or to the right quality. It has rapidly emerged as an international standard and most graduates will doubtless encounter it upon moving outside academia and into the wider world. It is a concise, multilevel resource that provides guidance on the core components common to almost every project within the physical, engineering and life sciences (problem assessment and contextualisation, literature review practices, sources and citation, data presentation, reporting styles, data analysis and error etc). It standardises the delivery of the material but, more importantly, links the components together by outlining a coherent procedural road map that can highlight to the student "what to do", "when to do it" and "how to solve it" procedures. The content of the book is presented through case studies so as to enhance the relevance of the processes, presents examples of good practice and, in keeping with the toolbox approach, can be readily adapted and applied by the students. The book is an accessible reference guide for students, written in a light style, suitable for dipping in and out of as required and the "how to/when to/what if" examples are presented in an often humorous light. It includes flow charts to emphasize the project planning, dissertation components etc and charts to highlight presentation of data, analysis, interpretation and error.


International law as a governing institution, has gained prominence, with the advent of globalization. This is of specific relevance for the governance of state-market relations. Nowhere has this been as pronounced as in the international investment regime. Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) have today become some of the most potent legal tools underwriting economic globalization. These are established through pacts, which have to be adhered to, through all stages of performance of the treaty. This paper argues against the shift of bilateral investment treaties (BIT) from a pro-sovereign, to a pro-investor approach. It does so by explaining the present situation of bilateral investment treaties while pointing out their disadvantages. The basic idea of a BIT is questioned in order to understand its purpose and examines its failure in achieving the same. The partial approach towards the investors by the tribunals, is frowned upon and the lack of justifications and defenses on the part of the state is reviewed. Modest suggestions on improving this situation are provided by using cases decided by tribunals at an international level, taking up the example of Argentina.


This article focuses on the formal similarities between Christianity and the Islam present during the later middle ages - a period in which both legacies subscribed to a relatively totalitarian societal condition manifested in the existence of their respective empires . The ideal of the Corpus Christi as the societas perfecta of medieval Christianity is explained in the light of the contest between church and state during the later middle ages. This legacy was eventually challenged by an intellectual movement initiated by John the Scott and William of Ockham that caused the breaking apart of the former ecclesiastically unified culture. The alternative development within the Islam world is sketched before the spirit of modernity is explained as a secularization of biblical Christianity. Humanism initially inspired explicitly totalitarian theories of the state. It was only within the Protestant countries of Europe that the modern constitutional state under the rule of law emerged, accompanied by a process of societal differentiation unparalleled in world history. Although the more recent attempts of Islamic countries to benefit from the fruits of the modern natural sciences inspired them to introduce the teaching of the natural sciences within the Muslim world, these countries did not succeed in benefiting from the significant transformation of the medieval empires into modern democratic states. Since the Muslim world is still embedded in the relatively undifferentiated embrace of a societal setting guided and integrated by the Muslim faith it did not succeed as yet to transcend the inherent limitations entailed in a typical empire in the classical sense of the word. Acta Theologica Vol.24(1) 2004: 168-185


Over time, there has been a tendency for political jurisdictions and residents to converge on a single currency. Monopoly over seigniorage is a source of political power and a valuable lifeline when sovereignty is threatened. Moreover a uniform currency, insofar as it is free of counterparty and liquidity risk, facilitates economic activity. But will digital currencies now reverse this trend toward uniformity, given the apparent ease with which they can be created? The information sensitivity of those units, evident in the fact that they trade at varying prices, suggests that they do not yet provide the core functions of money. So-called stable coins are intended to bridge this gap, but whether they can be successfully scaled up and maintain their stability is doubtful. The one unit that can clearly meet these challenges is central bank digital currency. But there would be both costs and benefits of moving in this direction.


The body of work presented here is focussed on five published papers which address solving
inorganic scale problems experienced by the North Sea oil industry with a focus on the Norwegian
Continential Shelf (NCS) over the last ten years or so. The degree of increasing difficulty in
addressing issues of serious barium sulphate scaling, in the reservoir and wellbore areas,
complicated by seawater breakthrough, the authorities demand for improvement in environmental properties of the chemistries deployed, the cost driven push for longer treatment life and with the increasing awareness of the damaging effects of deploying water based scale inhibitors into water sensitive reservoirs, is described in detail.
The work focuses on industry developed laboratory test methods, synthesising novel chemistries and
developing improved deployment designs as a means of solving these significant problems.
The work is not a pure chemistry programme, it is an applied chemistry study focused on solving reallife oilfield scale problems. The project(s), planning and strategy involved leveraging knowledge and input from across the disciplines of production chemistry, petroleum engineering and near wellbore region modelling. It should be noted the real driver for the work was the inability of the available commercialised chemistries to resolve the problems. The resultant loss of production and associated
remedial treatments were of a significant financial and environmental cost to the industry.
The papers cover the design testing and deployment of co-polymers and terpolymers to produce innovative molecules which offer higher performance scale inhibition and life of treatments in actively producing oil wells. The new molecules meet the environmental requirements of biodegradation, bioaccumulation and toxicity.
The projects offered are under the following headings:
 Enhanced inhibitor squeeze treatment life through "Bridging"
 Field experiences in Application of Inhibitor Interactive Packages Resulting in Increased
Squeeze Life.
 Development of multi-functional chemicals for efficient "fines" control and squeeze life
enhancement in producing oil wells.
 Development of highly efficient and environmentally friendly scale inhibitor molecules for oilfield use, including reference to more efficient placement technology.
 Oil soluble scale inhibitor development.
The papers describe synthesis, laboratory testing and field deployment experiments leading to
adoption of the new technology by multi-national oil companies. In most cases patents have also
been granted. The value added of the work is also quantified in both environmental and financial
aspects.


BACKGROUND
The pathogenetic mechanisms of fetal growth restriction associated with placental malaria are largely unknown. We sought to determine whether placental malaria and related inflammation were associated with disturbances in the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis, a major regulator of fetal growth.

METHOD
We measured IGF-1 and IGF-2 concentrations in plasma from 88 mother-neonate pairs at delivery and IGF binding proteins 1 and 3 (IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3, respectively) in cord plasma from a cohort of Papua New Guinean women with and without placental malaria. Messenger RNA levels of IGF-1, IGF-2, and the IGF receptors were measured in matched placental biopsy specimens.

RESULTS
Compared with those for uninfected pregnancies, IGF-1 levels were reduced by 28% in plasma samples from women with placental Plasmodium falciparum infection and associated inflammation (P = .007) and by 25% in their neonates (P = .002). Levels of fetal IGFBP-1 were elevated in placental malaria with and without inflammation (P = .08 and P = .006, respectively) compared with uninfected controls. IGF-2 and IGFBP-3 plasma concentrations and placental IGF ligand and receptor messenger RNA transcript levels were similar across groups.

CONCLUSION
Placental malaria-associated inflammation disturbs maternal and fetal levels of IGFs, which regulate fetal growth. This may be one mechanism by which placental malaria leads to fetal growth restriction.


Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.] is a warm-season perennial grass native to the North American Great Plains region and has been used as a low-maintenance turfgrass. Turf-type buffalograsses are available and are commonly used on nonirrigated land. Our objectives were to determine the deepest planting depth of burrs that would allow acceptable emergence, and to evaluate planting depth effects on buffalograss seedling morphology. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted in Fall 2000. Experimental design was a randomized complete block with 4 replications and a 3 (cultivar) x 6 (planting depth) factorial treatment arrangement. Results showed that buffalograss emergence decreased as planting depth increased. All cultivars had 50 mm. Emergence rate indices were greatest when plantingdepth was 13 mm and were significantly lower at planting depths of 51 and 76 mm. Average coleoptile length was 11 mm. Coleoptile length was similar between all planting depths except for the 13 mm depth which resulted in 9-mm-long coleoptile. Subcoleoptile internode length increased with planting depth up to 38 mm. Planting depths deeper than 38 mm did not significantly increase subcoleoptile internode length.


In this article is analyzed the importance of urban agglomerations in the regional organization of Serbian space at one side, and on the other side they are taken as carriers of the future integration of the Serbian urban system into the urban of the South-Eastern Europe (SEE). In the regional configuration of Serbia, more different forms of territorial impacts of urbanization, urban areas and urban regions. High level of urban centralization is formed under the influence of the population density and functions of the metropolitan area of Belgrade. The problems of unbalanced disposition of population growth and qualitative transformation of urban centers are stressed and analyzed. Based on the role in integration process in the SEE, the metropolitan region of Belgrade is pointed out as its principal carrier and the metropolitan region of Nis as its secondary carrier, as well as the urban centers of importance for the cross-border regional cooperation. As the most suitable instrument of internal regional integration the model of Functional Urban Regions (FURs) or Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) is proposed, and for external regional integration is proposed the model of Metropolitan European Growth Areas (MEGAs). The coherent short-term and long-term development strategies for Serbian towns and their regions seem absent.


The Gene Ontology (GO) and its related annotation databases provide information for measuring similarity between gene products. The topological features of GO terms (i.e., their inter-relationships in the ontology) and the statistical features of the terms in annotation databases (i.e., frequency) are both exploited by information-theoretic approaches to measuring functional similarity among gene products. Previous research has shown that GO-driven, functional similarity of pairs of genes correlates with sequence similarity [1]. This study aims to support the integration of GO-driven similarity for functional prediction problems. It focuses on the quantitative assessment of relationships between GO-driven similarity and expression correlation. It also offers insights into the consistency of the functional information represented in the GO and resulting databases. The GO and annotations derived from the S. cerivisiae Genome Database (SGD) were analyzed to calculate functional similarity of gene products. Three methods for measuring similarity were implemented: Resnik's, Lin's and Jiang's metrics. Using a known gene expression dataset in yeast [2], several million pairs of gene products were compared on the basis of these properties. This analysis was performed separately on the three hierarchies of the GO. It confirms that highly correlated genes exhibit strong similarity based on information originating from the GO hierarchies. Such a similarity is significantly stronger than that observed between weakly correlated genes. This observation holds for the three GO hierarchies and for the three metrics under investigation.