Measurements of large-scale structure are interpreted using theoretical predictions for the matter distribution, including potential impacts of baryonic physics. We constrain the feedback strength of baryons jointly with cosmology using weak lensing and galaxy clustering observables (3$\times$2pt) of Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 1 data in combination with external information from baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and Planck cosmic microwave background polarization. Our baryon modeling is informed by a set of hydrodynamical simulations that span a variety of baryon scenarios; we span this space via a Principal Component (PC) analysis of the summary statistics extracted from these simulations. We show that at the level of DES Y1 constraining power, one PC is sufficient to describe the variation of baryonic effects in the observables, and the first PC amplitude ($Q_1$) generally reflects the strength of baryon feedback. With the upper limit of $Q_1$ prior being bound by the Illustris feedback scenarios, we reach $\sim 20\%$ improvement in the constraint of $S_8=\sigma_8(\Omega_{\rm m}/0.3)^{0.5}=0.788^{+0.018}_{-0.021}$ compared to the original DES 3$\times$2pt analysis. This gain is driven by the inclusion of small-scale cosmic shear information down to 2.5$\arcmin$, which was excluded in previous DES analyses that did not model baryonic physics. We obtain $S_8=0.781^{+0.014}_{-0.015}$ for the combined DES Y1+Planck EE+BAO analysis with a non-informative $Q_1$ prior. In terms of the baryon constraints, we measure $Q_1=1.14^{+2.20}_{-2.80}$ for DES Y1 only and $Q_1=1.42^{+1.63}_{-1.48}$ for DESY1+Planck EE+BAO, allowing us to exclude one of the most extreme AGN feedback hydrodynamical scenario at more than $2 \sigma$.


The Alvin Sherman Library serves as a Funding Information Network Partner of The Foundation Center and provides a wide range of services to help those involved in preparing grants and soliciting funds from foundations.


Northern leaf blight (NLB), caused by Exserohilum turcicum, is one of the main foliar diseases that affect popcorn culture. Farmers use many control measures to minimize damage caused by this disease, among which, the use of cultivars with genetic resistance is the most effective and economical. The aim of this study was to investigate genetic variability influencing resistance to NLB in 25 popcorn maize lines grown under high and low phosphorus conditions in relation to foliar fungal disease caused by E. turcicum. We evaluated the disease incidence and severity, by analysis of variance and cluster test (Scott-Knott). There was sufficient genetic variability between strains for resistance traits. Genotypic variance was higher than environmental variance, and had more discriminatory power. We conclude that new progenies could be selected for the establishment of future populations. P-7, P-9, L-59, L-71, and L-76 progenies possess promising characteristics that simultaneously reduce the severity and the incidence of NLB in popcorn plants.


The paper analyses the demise of the Rule of Law in the EU economic governance, after the reforms enacted to respond to the economic crisis that hit the region after 2008. The analysis engages critically with the marginal role played by the Court of Justice in this context and, in particular, when it comes to the protection of social rights in time of austerity. The paper demonstrates that this situation is only partially attributable to "external" constraints, such as the choice to resort to mechanisms that are outside the EU legal order or the strict requirements concerning the locus standi of private applicants that wish to challenge the validity of EU acts. So far, the Court has been unwilling to fully perform its role, even in those cases where it could have done so.


Preliminary studies show that commercial microprocessors are not suited for many research projects due to the fact that they are closed source and they cannot be modified. Most non-commercial microprocessor architectures do not have proper memory management that can enable and extend their usability. The proper use of computer memory is vital to ensure efficiency of process executions in microprocessor systems. This project designed a memory management of a simplest microprocessor on FPGA platform. The project implements the design of the simplest 32-bit microprocessor and its memory system using schematic approach. The project uses the concept of management as the art of managing the main memory, buffer and registers. The memory management was designed to allow the microprocessor to use main memory or I/O buffers in a controlled manner with the help of the microprocessor signals generated from a well designed control unit by using four operation code bits. This memory management is also designed to improve memory bandwidth so as to reduce the microprocessor to memory speed miss-match. This design showed some of the characteristic of reliable future microprocessor design such as flexibility, programmability, adaptable, reconfigurable. Altera DE2-115 board was used to validate the design.


Eight binary systems consisted of a common smectogenic component (A) p-butyloxy benzal –pchloro aniline [85°C - 91°C] mixed with mesomorphic Schiff's bases B1, B2, B3,……B8. A curve of a phase diagrams drawn from the transition temperatures, determined by the hot stage polarizing microscope versus mole % of component A is extrapolated to zero or 100 mole % of B to determine LTT of either of the component of a binary system. Encouraging results are obtained. Present work was planned to determine LTT of uncommon components B1 to B8 and to understand and establish the effect of terminal end groups on liquid crystal behaviour of Schiff's bases (B). Binary system A + B8 does not show any sort of liquid crystal behaviour, Transition temperatures and LTT of pure components very well matches with the values reported earlier.


The Jahn–Teller (JT) theorem predicts spontaneous symmetry breaking and lifting of degeneracy in degenerate electronic states of (nonlinear) molecular and solid-state systems. In these cases, degeneracy is lifted by geometric distortion. Molecular problems are often modelled using spectral theory for weighted graphs, and the present paper turns this process around and reformulates the JT theorem for general vertex- and edge-weighted graphs themselves. If the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of a general graph are considered as orbitals and energy levels (respectively) to be occupied by electrons, then degeneracy of states can be resolved by a non-totally symmetric re-weighting of edges and, where necessary, vertices. This leads to the conjecture that whenever the spectrum of a graph contains a set of bonding or anti-bonding degenerate eigenvalues, the roots of the Hamiltonian matrix over this set will show a linear dependence on edge distortions, which has the effect of lifting the degeneracy. When the degenerate level is non-bonding, distortions of vertex weights have to be included to obtain a full resolution of the eigenspace of the degeneracy. Explicit treatments are given for examples of the octahedral graph, where the degeneracy to be lifted is forced by symmetry, and the phenalenyl graph, where the degeneracy is accidental in terms of the automorphism group.


William Leith, author of The Hungry Years and Bits of Me Are Falling Apart, tells, in A Northern Line Minute, the darkly humorous tales of his escapades on the Tube - part of a series of twelve books tied to the twelve lines of the London Underground, as Tfl celebrates 150 years of the Tube with Penguin. IT is also available in a boxset. "The nervy prose of William Leith could not be more apt for the rather fraught Northern line, and his manic, anxious account ...is probably the most addictively readable thing [in the series]". (Observer). "Phobic about tunnels, Leith renders his panic and chagrin brilliantly". (Evening Standard). "Authors include the masterly John Lanchester, the children of Kids Company, comic John O'Farrell and social geographer Danny Dorling. Ranging from the polemical to the fantastical, the personal to the societal, they offer something for every taste. All experience the city as a cultural phenomenon and notice its nature and its people. Read individually they're delightful small reads, pulled together they offer a particular portrait of a global city". (Evening Standard). "Exquisitely diverse". (The Times). "Eclectic and broad-minded ...beautifully designed". (Tom Cox, Observer). "A fascinating collection with a wide range of styles and themes. The design qualities are excellent, as you might expect from Penguin with a consistent look and feel while allowing distinctive covers for each book. This is a very pleasing set of books". (A Common Reader blog). "The contrasts and transitions between books are as stirring as the books themselves...A multidimensional literary jigsaw". (Londonist). "A series of short, sharp, city-based vignettes - some personal, some political and some pictorial ...each inimitable author finds that our city is complicated but ultimately connected, full of wit, and just the right amount of grit". (Fabric Magazine). "A collection of beautiful books". (Grazia). Known for his personal writing and humour, William Leith is a journalist and author of, among others, The Hungry Years.


This paper describes a design environment and platform developed to support senior capstone design projects in computer engineering that incorporates the concept of hardware/software codesign. A proposed capstone design project which utilizes this environment is also presented. This project is being undertaken by senior computer engineering students for the first time this year at the authors' university.


A new title in the fantastic "First Reading" series, aimed at children who are beginning to read. Nat and Ned are poor and often hungry, until Ned rescues a fairy. Are all their troubles over for good? Developed in consultation with Alison Kelly, who is a senior lecturer in education and an early reading specialist from Roehampton University. A great value quality hardback with ribbon marker guaranteed to foster pride in book ownership.


Connoisseurship evaluation is a form of evaluation and educational inquiry having qualitative characteristics. In this study, these skills are seen among Malaysian art teachers in secondary schools. Quality assessment depends on the evaluator who has the ability of some aspects. Among these are qualitative nuances experiences as well as ability to judge the goodness of the quality artwork. This study aims to look at the quality and evaluation skills of art teachers in Malaysia. The quality of the work will be seen on school students' digital painting. The evaluation includes composition elements, color, interpretation and creativity of the digital painting. This study employed a quasi-experimental methodology with a single-group design to examine the digital painting among 53 students selected from schools in two districts of Selangor. The paintings were examined by two teachers in art and design education. The group's production of painting was analyzed using Manova repeated measures to determine the skills of evaluating among the art teachers.There was a similarity in marks given among the teachers in four aspects of productive dimensions: composition, color manipulation, interpretation and creativity. This indicated that teachers were able to evaluate according to their expertise in art and design. This study offered a means to assist teachers with appropriate evaluation strategies in digital painting. In theory, this study will add to the understanding of cognitive systems and human information processing that relate to visual imagery system and skill of evaluation.


Cancer cells are well known to require a constant supply of protein, lipid, RNA, and DNA via altered metabolism for accelerated cell proliferation. Targeting metabolic pathways is, therefore, a promising therapeutic strategy for cancers. Isoquercitrin (ISO) is widely distributed in dietary and medicinal plants and displays selective cytotoxicity to cancer cells, primarily by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. The aims of this study were to find out whether ISO could stabilize in a bladder-like acidic environment and inhibit bladder cancer cell proliferation by affecting their metabolism, and to investigate its molecular mechanism. In this study, the exposure of T24 bladder cancer cells to ISO (20-80 μM) decreased cell viability by causing ROS overproduction. This ROS change regulated the AMPK signaling pathway, and caused Caspase-dependent apoptosis as well as metabolism dysfunction. Metabolic alterations elevated metabolic pathway variation, which in turn destabilized lipid synthesis and altered anaerobic glycolysis. This linkage was proved by immunoblotting assay, and metabolomics as identified by UHPLC-QTOF-MS. Our findings provide comprehensive evidence that ISO influenced T24 bladder cancer cell metabolism, and that this process was mainly involved in activating the AMPK pathway. This study could lead to an understanding of how ISO suppresses bladder cancer cell growth, and whether the affected cancer metabolism is a common mechanism by which nutritional compounds suppress cancers.


Low-shot visual learning–the ability to recognize novel object categories from very few examples–is a hallmark of human visual intelligence. Existing machine learning approaches fail to generalize in the same way. To make progress on this foundational problem, we present a low-shot learning benchmark on complex images that mimics challenges faced by recognition systems in the wild. We then propose (1) representation regularization techniques, and (2) techniques to hallucinate additional training examples for data-starved classes. Together, our methods improve the effectiveness of convolutional networks in low-shot learning, improving the one-shot accuracy on novel classes by 2.3× on the challenging ImageNet dataset.


This PhD is focused on how design can play a role in engaging people in potential serious issues, or producing forms of knowledge that are still unstable, or controversial. The research objective is two-fold. At first, to engage my practical skills as a designer to further develop the notion of discursive design, this will be done through a series of hands-on explorations that in different ways aim to mediate and visualise the issue of concern. My role as a designer is meant to reveal new experiences, tell new stories by assuming design is about linking the imagination to material forms. And secondly, to investigate and question how the object of design can be a purposeful, deliberate, direct participant that can open up to dialogue among participants inside as well as outside a project.  This article presents the status of two different research projects in relation to my current key areas of research where I employ my skills within interaction and product design in a co-design research environment.


Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly Wegener's) (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) share many clinical and pathological features, including antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) directed against either proteinase 3 (PR3) or myeloperoxidase (MPO). These two "ANCA-associated" vasculitides (AAV) are associated with a high mortality in untreated patients, substantial morbidity from standard therapies, and a significant risk of disease relapse. The Rituximab in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis (RAVE) trial is a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active- controlled, non-inferiority trial of a new approach to the induction of remission. The RAVE trial represents the first chal- lenge of a biologic agent to CYC as the standard of care for remission induction in AAV. The primary outcome analysis, reported in 2010, compared conventional therapy (the combination of cyclophosphamide (CYC) and glucocorticoids) to the combination of rituximab (RTX) and glucocorticoids. Longer term outcomes to 18 months and beyond have not been reported. The trial aimed to determine if the combination of RTX plus glucocorticoids was non-inferior to the combination of CYC and glucocorticoids. To test this hypothesis, eight clinical centers planned to enroll 200 patients. The randomization was stratified by center and by ANCA subtype. Patients were assigned randomly to each treatment arm in an allocation ratio of 1:1. The primary outcome had two components: 1) the ability of the assigned regimen to induce disease remission by month 6; and, 2) successful discontinuation of prednisone by month 6. All primary analyses were performed on an inten- tion-to-treat basis. A major secondary outcome of interest was the restoration of immune tolerance, defined as disease quiescence and the absence of ANCA following the reconstitution of normal B cell numbers. To meet this definition, pa- tients were required to achieve and maintain disease remissions, complete the prednisone taper, and remain on no immu- nosuppressive medications after discontinuing prednisone. Patients were followed for 18 months after the final patient was enrolled to evaluate the impact of the two treatment regimens on tolerance restoration. In this paper, we describe the development and design of the RAVE trial as a pivotal trial in an orphan disease indication. We illuminate the unique challenges involved in comparing a new treatment approach against an entrenched standard of care in a double-blind, double-dummy trial of a biologic for the treatment of a rare disease.


There is now some evidence of a potential drift towards 'punitive' approaches to regulation in which greater emphasis is placed on criminal sanctions. This new enthusiasm for punishment can be seen in government policy, legislation and some regulators' public stances. There is evidence, however, that companies (even top ones) deal with punitive regulatory risks in a confused manner and that even when they do act rationally, this may not lead to compliance. One response to punitive approaches and their limitations is to move towards greater reliance on stimulating the self-regulatory capacities of corporations. Such stimulation, however, has to be carried out with an awareness of the dangers of self-regulation - notably that it may lead to controls that lack legitimacy, prove unfair and are exclusive and inefficient.


OBJECTIVE--The aim was to examine the long term morbidity experience of men exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). METHODS--A retrospective cohort morbidity study of 158 men first exposed to TCDD between 17 November 1953 and 16 November 1954 subdivided by chloracne state and back calculated TCDD blood lipid concentration, and 161 referents. Cause specific illness absence and admissions to hospital were examined between 1953 and 1989. RESULTS--On an ever or never basis, thyroid disease and appendicitis were diagnosed more often in the study group; these diseases were not differentially distributed by chloracne state, but were increased in the high TCDD subgroup. An 18% increase in total illness episodes was also seen (p = 0.002); illness rates increased with severity of chloracne and higher TCDD concentration within the chloracne subgroup. There were increases in infectious and parasitic diseases (primarily ill defined intestinal infections), disorders of the peripheral nervous system and sense organs, upper respiratory tract infections, and other skin diseases. Several of these increases correlated with chloracne state and infections disease episodes increased with higher TCDD concentration as well. Occurrences of mental disorders correlated with severity of chloracne, but not TCDD concentration. Benign and unspecified neoplasms were marginally increased in the severe chloracne and high TCDD subgroups. Chronic liver disease was marginally increased in the high TCDD subgroup. Findings relative to occurrence of ulcers, chronic lung disease, and kidney and metabolic disorders were unremarkable. DISCUSSION--For various conditions, increased illness episodes were seen among TCDD exposed employees compared with referents and were associated with either or both chloracne severity and back calculated TCDD concentration. The results are derived from insurance data; hence, it is possible that heightened awareness and personal health concerns led to greater utilisation of medical services in the exposed group. The findings based on TCDD concentration should be less subject to this potential bias.


The introduction of the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 (the Act) set new standards for the protection of the child offender by establishing the Child Justice Court. Flowing from the juvenile justice reforms is the principle of restorative justice entrenched by the Act in the criminal justice system with respect to children who are in conflict with the law. One of the primary objects of the Act articulated in s 2(c), is to provide special treatment of children in the justice system. It is designed to break the cycle of crime and promote safe communities by encouraging re-socialisation and re-education programmes for juvenile offenders as held by the court in S v FM (Centre for Child Law as Amicus Curiae) 2013 (1) SACR 57 (GNP) at para 28. Key international instruments - such as Article 17.3 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child - provide that the essential aim of treatment of every child offender shall be his or her reformation, reintegration into his or her family and social rehabilitation.


A frequency synthesizer employing a new digital-frequency measurement method in a feedback loop is described. The synthesizer features high-frequency resolution and a high operating frequency. The mostly digital nature of the synthesizer and relaxed voltage-controlled oscillator requirements also make the synthesizer suitable for integration. Models for the synthesizer are developed and experimental results from a prototype are given.


The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) discourse in Kenya reflects the larger Global War on Terror (GWOT) policy framework. Donor-driven governmental approaches support the top-down efforts to counter violent extremism. CVE initiatives now emerging in response to the rise of homegrown violent extremism in Kenya, in contrast, seek to encourage more community participation in the campaign to limit the activities of Al-Shabaab. This article examines existing countering violent extremism (CVE) initiatives in order to elucidate the effectiveness and shortcomings of CVE interventions. The findings are based on an ethnographic study in the coastal region of Kenya comprising of 249 in-depth interviews with key informants, observations and eight focus group discussions. The article maps existing CVE projects across Kenya's coast including the prevention framework of primary, secondary and tertiary interventions as modelled on preventative public health approaches. Assessment of existing CVE programs provides information elucidating what works and for whom from a community perspective. Feedback from the community is critical for, facilitating effective measures for mitigating the process of youth radicalization in the coast region. The findings reported here recommend periodic consultation with the intended beneficiaries and other CVE initiatives' stakeholders to enhance the sustainability of the projects.


Contemporary literary approaches have caused paradigm shifts in Biblical Studies in the last two decades as it appears in a great deal of Markan studies using narrative, reader-response, deconstructive, feminist, and new historicist approaches. However, literary studies on the Gospel of Mark have not taken into account theoretical questions underlying those approaches. As a result biblical critics are driven by new trends without ever having a chance to examine the critical baggage of the approaches. Consequently, there is a gap of communication between the old and the new one. Therefore this thesis is an attempt to meet the need of enhancing the quality of critical endeavour in biblical studies. In the light of most recent competing critical theories of literature, the first contribution of this thesis is the methodological finding that Bakhtinian dialogic criticism contains the most profound philosophical and practical foundations for solving some crucial theoretical problems in contemporary literary theories. It is a critique to a Saussurian linguistic system of language which becomes the very foundation of modern and postmodern literary criticism. Bakhtinian literary theory shifts the foundation of literary criticism on linguistic signs into the creative activity of the socio-cultural production of human communication. The shift into socio-cultural reality of language communication makes the notion of 'genre' very important to unlock the problem of text and context in literary studies. Since the Gospel of Mark has fascinated most literary critics in Biblical Studies, the problem of 'genre' of this gospel is chosen as the focus of this study. Secondly, as no agreement is reached as to what 'genre' the Gospel of Mark belongs, this thesis makes its contribution to the discussion by locating the problem of 'genre' of Mark in the context of genre theories and argues that the Bakhtinian suggestion to find genre in the socio-cultural sphere by analysing artistic intercourse between narrative agents in Mark has freed the competing analysis from the unresolved problem between the kerygmatic (content oriented) approach and the analogical (form oriented) approach. To achieve finding 'genre' in the socio-cultural sphere, this thesis focuses on Bakhtinian analysis of the process of artistic intercourse between narrative agents. The narrative communicative interrelationships between narrative agents is constructed in this thesis as a 'stereophonic' Bakhtinian model of dialogic communication. This model is an original contribution of this thesis for revising the traditional two dimensional model of narrative communication. Based on this dialogical model of communication, a special role is given to the Bakhtinian 'author-creator' in the realization process of genre through the interaction of polyphonic voices. Through the interaction of voices of the author-artist and the hero we are led to discover a relatively stable type of portraying and controlling reality in Mark, known as the genre of Roman 'satire'. The closest literary affinity is Satyrica by Petronius. This narrative strategy of 'satire' in Mark has its root in the prophetic discourse of the Old Testament which is saturating the speech of the narrator, John the Immerser, the centurion, the people, and even Jesus. Finally, the whole search for Markan 'genre' culminates in the analysis of the realization of genre through the analysis of Bakhtinian chronotope. The reality of the genre of Mark is its social reality that is in its role as dpxrj/ 'beginning'. As the Gospel of Mark proclaims itself as 'a beginning', it defines its claim of socio-cultural 'authority' in early Christianity. It is this 'sense of beginning' which enables the narrating and the narrated world of Mark to interact dialogically.


Targeting the components of a hypoxia signaling pathway in liver could be a strategy to treat diabetes. Hypoxia suppresses the activity of the prolyl hydroxylase family of enzymes (PHD1, PHD2, and PHD3), thereby preventing the degradation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)–1α and HIF-2α and enabling the accumulation of these transcription factors. Taniguchi et al. created mice in which either single-PHD isoforms or combinations of PHD isoforms could be acutely and specifically deleted in hepatocytes. Mice lacking Phd3 in the liver (either by itself or in combination with other PHD isoforms) showed increased abundance of HIF-2α, decreased fasting glucose and insulin concentrations, and increased glucose and insulin tolerance. In addition, mice lacking Phd2 and Phd3 or all three isoforms in the liver developed hepatic steatosis, which the authors speculated could be caused by altered expression patterns of genes involved in gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism, and cellular glucose uptake. Mice lacking Phd3 showed increased abundance of the mRNA and protein for insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2), which correlated with increased phosphorylation and activation of the kinase Akt and the Akt target FoxO1 in response to insulin. The promoter for IRS2 contained a binding site for HIF-2α. Acute deletion of Phd3 in mice fed a high-fat diet showed decreased fasting blood glucose and serum insulin and restored glucose tolerance compared with counterparts that retained Phd3. These effects of Phd3 deletion required HIF-2α and IRS2. Thus, PHD3 could be targeted to treat diabetes. In the accompanying paper, Wei et al. investigated the role of the family of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs), which are encoded by genes targeted by HIF-2α and which bind to VEGF receptors (VEGFRs). Inhibition of VEGF-A in diabetic db/db mice—either by injection with adenoviruses encoding the soluble extracellular ligand-binding domain of mouse VEGFR-1 (Ad-sFlt1) or of VEGFR-2 (Ad-Flk1) or by treatment with aflibercept (a recombinant fusion of human VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 that sequesters VEGF-A)—resulted in improved glucose or insulin tolerance (or both). Ad-sFlt1 or aflibercept treatment induced insulin signaling (as indicated by increased phosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3β), increased the abundance of IRS2, and decreased the abundance of two key gluconeogenic enzymes. Ad-sFlt1, Ad-sFlk1, or aflibercept treatment caused regression of hepatic vasculature, induced hypoxia in the liver, or reduced hepatic perfusion. Ad-sFlt1 treatment enhanced the protein abundance of HIF-2α and the expression of various hypoxia-inducible genes, and the ability of Ad-sFlt1 to improve glucose tolerance, increase phosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3β, and increase the abundance of IRS2 required HIF-2α. Mice expressing in a hepatic-specific manner forms of HIF-2α that could not be prolyl hydroxylated (Ad-HIF-2αPN) or that could not be degraded in the presence of oxygen showed improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, increased IRS2 abundance, increased markers of insulin signaling, and decreased expression of gluconeogenic enzyme-encoding genes. In db/db mice, the ability of Ad-HIF-2αPN expression or Ad-sFlt1 to improve metabolic measures or enhance insulin signaling required IRS2. The transcription factor SREBP-1c represses the transcription of Irs2, and expression of Ad-HIF-2αPN reduced the expression of Srebp-1 in insulin-stimulated hepatocytes and in fed mice. Furthermore, the ability of Ad-HIF-2αPN expression to increase IRS2 abundance in hepatocytes and fed mice was attenuated by expression of an active form of SREBP1c. Thus, VEGF inhibition enhances insulin signaling through a HIF-2α–dependent effect on Irs2 expression, which is partially mediated through repression of Srebp-1. C. M. Taniguchi, E. C. Finger, A. J. Krieg, C. Wu, A. N. Diep, E. L. LaGory, K. Wei, L. M. McGinnis, J. Yuan, C. J. Kuo, A. J. Giaccia, Cross-talk between hypoxia and insulin signaling through Phd3 regulates hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism and ameliorates diabetes. Nat. Med. 19, 1325–1330 (2013). [PubMed] K. Wei, S. M. Piecewicz, L. M. McGinnis, C. M. Taniguchi, S. J. Wiegand, K. Anderson, C. W.-M. Chan, K. X. Mulligan, D. Kuo, J. Yuan, M. Vallon, L. C. Morton, E. Lefai, M. C. Simon, J. J. Maher, G. Mithieux, F. Rajas, J. P. Annes, O. P. McGuinness, G. Thurston, A. J. Giaccia, C. J. Kuo, A liver Hif-2α–Irs2 pathway sensitizes hepatic insulin signaling and is modulated by Vegf inhibition. Nat. Med. 19, 1331–1337 (2013). [PubMed]


The scale of the ethical challenges faced by veterinary surgeons and their perceived stressful consequences were investigated via a short questionnaire, completed by 58 practising veterinary surgeons. Respondents were asked to report how frequently they faced ethical dilemmas, and to rate on a simple numerical scale (zero to 10) how stressful they found three common scenarios. Fifty seven per cent of respondents reported that they faced one to two dilemmas per week, while 34 per cent stated they typically faced three to five dilemmas per week. The three scenarios provided were all rated as highly stressful with 'client wishing to continue treatment despite poor animal welfare' rated as the most stressful (median 9). The female veterinary surgeons gave two of the scenarios significantly higher stress ratings than the male veterinary surgeons. Stress ratings were not influenced by number of years in practice (which ranged from one to more than 25 years). The results show that veterinary surgeons regularly face ethical dilemmas and that they find these stressful. This has implications for the wellbeing of veterinary surgeons and supports the case for increased provision of training and support, especially for those who entered the profession before undergraduate ethics teaching was widely available.


An approach for dynamically optimizing end-to-end quality of transmission (QoT) has been proposed. In this study, the function of the standard control plane of the automatically switched optical network is enhanced to perceive transmission impairments and control tunable physical impairment compensators in the physical layer. The QoT optimization model and algorithm are also developed to make a set of joint compensation budgets, and the compensator performance is adjusted dynamically according to these budgets. Thus end-to-end QoT optimization can be realized on the fly. Simulation results indicate that dynamic end-to-end QoT optimization can implement smooth distribution of signal quality and acceptable transmission performance. Simultaneously, compared with the case of separate compensation by using individual adaptive impairment compensators along the route, end-to-end QoT optimization can also avoid unnecessary compensator adjustments and can lower operating expenditures.


We investigated the invertebrate assemblages that colonised two types of leaf litter bags, which differed considerably in quality: (1) Mixed-species bags made of leaves from indigenous tree and shrub species (Populus nigra L., Rubus ulmifolius SCHOTT, and Salix atrocinerea BROT.); (2) and bags made of the recalcitrant leaves from the exotic species Platanus orientalis L. The study was conducted at two sites differing in riparian canopy located in the Mediterranean stream Rio Vicario, characterised by massive travertine precipitation. The overall density and biomass of invertebrates that colonised the mixed-species bags did not differ significantly from those that colonised the Platanus leaf bags. The same was observed, in general, for the density and biomass of functional feeding groups. The gut content of Leuctra franzi AUB., the most abundant and frequent shredder, showed that only a few individuals (ca. 10 %) had recently consumed leaf litter and only in limited amounts (<15 % leaf remains). Furthermore, the mean percentage of leaf remains in the gut of L. franzi from mixed-species bags did not differ significantly from those colonising Platanus-bags, at the more incrusted site. These results suggest that the travertine crust precipitated on decomposing leaves in Rio Vicario attenuate the effect of leaf litter quality on the macro-invertebrate assemblages colonising leaf bags.


This Article examines and evaluates an alternate cause of overcharging, one that has not received much attention from courts or in the scholarly literature: the extent to which internal personnel policies in prosecutors' offices create incentives to overcharge. The number and seriousness of convictions and the amount of punishment are the basic standards by which the success of prosecutors is measured. In order to curb overcharging and other forms of prosecutorial misconduct, courts should disqualify prosecutors whose offices explicitly or implicitly determine their job status, compensation, or advancement on the basis of their conviction or sentencing record on the ground that such personnel policies create an actual conflict of interest. Career advancement should not be the controlling factor in how charging, prosecuting, and sentencing decisions are made.


Activation of the transcription factor NF-κB after engagement of the T cell receptor (TCR) is important for T cell proliferation and activation during the adaptive immune response. Recent reports have elucidated a signaling pathway that involves the protein kinase C θ (PKCθ), the scaffold protein CARD11 (also called CARMA-1), the caspase recruitment domain (CARD)–containing protein Bcl10, and the paracaspase (protease related to caspases) MALT1 as critical intermediates linking the TCR to the IκB kinase (IKK) complex. However, the events proximal to the TCR that initiate the activation of this signaling pathway remain poorly defined. We demonstrate that 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) has an essential role in this pathway by regulating the activation of PKCθ and through signal-dependent recruiting of both PKCθ and CARD11 to lipid rafts. PDK1-associated PKCθ recruits the IKK complex, whereas PDK1-associated CARD11 recruits the Bcl10-MALT1 complex, thereby allowing activation of the IKK complex through Bcl10-MALT1–dependent ubiquitination of the IKK complex subunit known as NEMO (NF-κB essential modifier). Hence, PDK1 plays a critical role by nucleating the TCR-induced NF-κB activation pathway in T cells.


The primary focus of this dissertation is the doctrine of the Providence of God and it is approached from a distinctive perspective - that of the doctrine of the Trinity. Its fundamental thesis is that the adoption of a trinitarian perspective on Providence provides us with a conceptual paradigm in which varying theological emphases, which often divide understandings of Providence, are best understood in a form of paradoxical tension or creative balance with each being correctly understood only in the context that the other provides.

To demonstrate this, it addresses four issues of Providence that have on occasion divided understandings of Providence in the past and which have become significant issues of contention in the contemporary debate on Providence occasioned by a proposal known as Open Theism. These issues concern the nature of divine transcendence, sovereignty, immutability and impassibility and how each should be understood in the context of divine Providence. Through a detailed examination of three recent trinitarian theologies, which have emanated from the three main communities of the Christian church, it argues that a trinitarian perspective is able to provide significant illumination and explication of these identified issues of Providence and of the tensions that are often intrinsic to this doctrine.

In relation to these identified issues of Providence, it affirms tensional truths in our understanding of the issues of Providence and an articulation that necessarily incorporates a binary form of language - that is, utilising language of both-and rather than either-or. In other words, it posits that divine transcendence ought to be held in paradoxical tension with divine immanence; divine sovereignty ought to be held in paradoxical tension with human responsibility; and divine immutability and impassibility ought not to be understood as immobility or impassivity but as affirming the paradoxical tension of active constancy. The articulation of these tensional truths is followed and completed by an examination of how they might be applied pastorally in the specific area of prayer and its relationship to Providence.

Consequently, this dissertation not only constructively impacts our understanding of divine Providence but also significantly advances the contemporary debate on Providence concerning Open Theism.


Due to the large number of sedimentation ponds used in surface coal mining, efficient, economical, and environmentally acceptable methods for sedimentation pond removal and reclamation are required once mining has been completed. Currently, surface mining regulations require that the design and construction of sedimentation ponds be certified by a professional engineer. However, removal of ponds, including disposal of accumulated sediment, is often accomplished by field personnel, generally without the involvement of a professional engineer. Recent concerns about the environmental impacts of pond removal have prompted both industry as well as government regulators to consider alternate means of dealing with the adverse effects of pond removal. One alternative is to not remove the pond but to leave it in its post-mining condition for recreational or agricultural uses or for the possible establishment of a wetlands. However, for ponds that must be removed, it has been recommended that this process now be certified by a professional engineer so that the long term stability of the reclaimed pond site and impacts to downstream areas are considered. This paper presents some of the problems associated with sedimentation pond removal and reclamation and presents two methods being used in Eastern Ohio for pond removal. One method involves ponds constructed on hillsides, while the other method has been developed for ponds constructed in valley bottoms. Both methods involve disposing of the pond sediment at the pond site itself and have been successfully used in the field.


A femtosecond broadband extreme-ultraviolet quasi-continuum was generated by an intense femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser by two nonlinear optical processes. The first process is the generation of the broadband harmonics by focusing the blueshifted laser pulse through a rare gas. The spectral blueshift is caused by self-phase modulation owing to ionization of the target gas. The second process is the generation of broadband even-order harmonics by the superposition of the second-harmonic electric field upon the fundamental.


Totally nonnegative matrices arise in a remarkable variety of mathematical applications. This book is a comprehensive and self-contained study of the essential theory of totally nonnegative matrices, defined by the nonnegativity of all subdeterminants. It explores methodological background, historical highlights of key ideas, and specialized topics.

 The book uses classical and ad hoc tools, but a unifying theme is the elementary bidiagonal factorization, which has emerged as the single most important tool for this particular class of matrices. Recent work has shown that bidiagonal factorizations may be viewed in a succinct combinatorial way, leading to many deep insights. Despite slow development, bidiagonal factorizations, along with determinants, now provide the dominant methodology for understanding total nonnegativity. The remainder of the book treats important topics, such as recognition of totally nonnegative or totally positive matrices, variation diminution, spectral properties, determinantal inequalities, Hadamard products, and completion problems associated with totally nonnegative or totally positive matrices. The book also contains sample applications, an up-to-date bibliography, a glossary of all symbols used, an index, and related references.


Nondeterminism is pervasive in all but the simplest action domains: an agent may flip a coin or pick up a different object than intended, or an action may fail and may fail in different ways. In this paper we provide a qualitative theory of nondeterminism. The account is based on an epistemic extension to the situation calculus that accommodates sensing actions. Our position is that nondeterminism is an epistemic phenomenon, and that the world is most usefully regarded as deterministic. Nondeterminism arises from an agent's limited awareness and perception. The account offers several advantages: an agent has a set of categorical (as opposed to probabilistic) beliefs, yet can deal with equally-likely outcomes (such as in flipping a fair coin) or with outcomes of differing plausibility (such as an action that may on rare occasion fail).