The bottleneck of the current knowledge in understanding the oil palm flower
development in term of abnormalities and sex ratio is the low number of known flower
genes available. The shortage of these genes is a serious constraint in studying the
mechanisms regulating gene expression in flowers. Therefore, it is vital to obtain as
much information as possible on the complexity and type of genes expressed in the oil
palm floral organ. To dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying these development
processes, a vast amount of genetic resources are required as markers that would enable a
complete picture of the complex floral development processes in oil palm to be
determined. In this study, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were used as a genetic
resource to facilitate the identification of new gene markers on a large-scale basis and
also to provide information on gene expression patterns.
To date, about 1,600 EST clones were isolated and sequenced using cold plaque
screening method. Among the 1,600 ESTs generated from eDNA libraries of oil palm flowers, 266 independent clones with insert size of more than 500bp were subjected to
reverse Northern analysis and this has resulted in classification into 5 major
subpopulations (opff and opmf) based on the level and specificity of expression.
Subpopulation A consisted of clones that were highly expressed in all the tissues
(41%) whereas sUbpopulation B contained clones that were female predominant and
expressed at medium levels (23.3%). Subpopulation C and D consisted of clones that
were expressed at low levels predominantly in the flower (17.7%) and young leaf
(6%), respectively. The last group, subpopulation E contained all the clones that
showed no hybridization signals to all the tissues (12%).
Further characterization of selected opff and opmJ clones by sequence analysis has
revealed 3 maj or classes of ESTs. Class A consisted of sequences with similarity to
known proteins in the database (56%) while class B showed sequences similar to
proteins with unknown function (30%) and class C showed no sequence similarity to
proteins in the database (14%).
Two clones were selected among the cDNA clones identified that have sequence
homology to known sequences in database to be further characterized. They were
putatively known as Squamosa Promoter Binding Protein (OPSBP) and GAstimulated
transcript 1 (OPGAST), respectively. OPSBP was found to be
constitutively expressed throughout flower developement and was localized to bracts,
rachis and carpels. On the other hand, OPGAST was found ubiquitously expressed in
all flower tissues but the transcript levels were higher in the shoot apex. This study
suggested that OPSBP appears to be up-regulated during early flower development.Further characterization of these "clones by Southern genomic hybridization showed
that OPSBP and OPGAST exist as a single copy gene and mUlti-copy genes,
respectively, in the oil palm genome.
In summary, the results indicate that the EST approach was efficient in identifying
and isolating oil palm floral genes that range from those that are expressed at certain
developmental stages to those that have undetectable expression throughout flower
development. This achievement also demonstrated that genes isolated by cold plaque
screening are not restricted to genes that are tissue specific or developmental stage
specific but the technique also enables the isolation of genes that are generally
expressed at low levels.


When the Cold War ended in 1989, American hopes for a new world order were quickly disappointed. A new wave of violence soon erupted, engulfing places from Rwanda and Somalia to Chechnya and Bosnia. These new "clashes of civilizations," fundamentalist jihads, and ethnic massacres appeared to be more savage and less rational than the long twilight struggle with the USSR, during which Washington's adversary was clearly identified and relatively predictable. In an effort to understand these post-Cold War conflicts and to advise the government on how to deal with them, a new school of foreign policy thought has developed. Dubbed "chaos theory," it argues that the much heralded processes of globalization are actually breeding a reaction of irrational violence. Thus, the spread of Western cultural icons through new electronic media often shocks and offends moral sensibilities in traditional societies. The explosive growth of international commerce has triggered a wave of migration and urbanization that throws together people from different cultures and fertilizes xenophobia. Chaos theory has already won converts in the U.S. military, the intelligence community, and the foreign service. Its influence has been manifest in an array of policies, particularly during the U.S. engagement in Bosnia. But chaos theory is mostly wrong. In this book, the author outlines the growth of chaos theory and its growing influence, and then provides a thorough empirical critique. Using detailed studies of Bosnia and global comparisons, he shows that globalization has not played a decisive role in fueling recent conflicts. Indeed, journalists' impressions notwithstanding, there is no evidence that since 1989 warfare has become more savage or even more frequent. The advocates of chaos theory are thus urging the U.S. to invest in preparing for a threat that is largely mythical--a strategy that is at least wasteful and potentially dangerous. The author argues that the most useful tools for preventing or prosecuting post-Cold War conflicts remain the same ones that worked in the recent past: crafty diplomacy, conventional military preparedness, and expanded support for economic development. Previously titled Is Chaos a Strategic Threat? Bosnia and Myths about Ethnic Conflict


Conventional grammar specification and parsing is generally done in a monolithic manner, i.e. the syntax and semantics of a grammar are specified in one large specification. Although this might be sufficient in static environments, a modular approach is required in situations where the syntax or semantics of a grammar specification are subject to frequent changes. The problems with monolithic grammars are related to (1) dealing with the complexity, (2) extensibility and (3) reusability. We propose the concept of {\em parser delegation} as a solution to these problems. Parser delegation allows one to modularise and reuse grammar specifications. To achieve this, the notion of a production rule is specialised into (1) overriding, (2) extending and (3) delegating production rule types. To experiment with parser delegation, we have developed D-yacc, a graphical tool for defining grammars. Parser delegation has been applied for constructing a translator for an experimental language and is currently applied in other domains.


This is a real case involving an SME that produces southern hardwood finished lumber. The family business faces a social responsibility dilemma in terms of displaced workers and limited job opportunities in the surrounding labor market if they purchase a new saw that would modernize production, improve profitability, and eliminate 50 percent of their labor costs.The most logical employment for these workers would be a cutter, loader, or hauler of logs, which have been determined to be some of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. This case requires students to examine the decision-making process of a modest family business in a small, cohesive community and the ramifications of these decisions, as well as issues concerning technology and production improvements, displaced workers, social responsibilities, and the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees.


This ethnohistorical study identifies maritime resources of southwest Australia which were subject to human exploitation prior to 1901 and provides an overview of how, when and why this took place by integrating historical, archaeological, ethnographic, and natural-science information. The resources included for discussion are whales, seals, seabirds, guano, oysters and pearls, and fish. An argument is developed that the socio-spatial relationship which existed between peoples and marineestuarine species in the region was determined by the physiography and climate. This relationship has always been imperfect, if not chaotic because of the unpredictability of the resources through long and short term cyclic phenomena. Control of access was the key to furthering economic and social advantage for all peoples, and this control could be sustained by a complex matrix of customary beliefs and/or law. An abundant resource could occasionally engender friendly interaction, however ruthless competition, and resource over-exploitation emerged as predominant themes. The study proposes that regardless of cultural origins, the finite nature of southwest Australian maritime and estuarine resources has long been recognised, and the resultant priority of people was to maximise effort at the most opportune times in order to augment socioeconomic advantage.


Importance Although there is evidence that adverse childhood experiences are associated with worse mental health in adulthood, scarce evidence is available regarding an emerging concern that the next generation might also be affected. Objective To compare the risk of psychiatric hospitalization in cousins whose parents were vs were not exposed to the Finnish evacuation policy that involved a mean 2-year stay with a Swedish foster family. Design, Setting, and Participants This multigenerational, population-based cohort study of Finnish individuals and their siblings born between January 1, 1933, and December 31, 1944, analyzed the association of evacuee status as a child during World War II in the first generation with the risk of psychiatric hospitalization among offspring in the second generation. Evacuee status during World War II was determined using the Finnish National Archive's registry of participants in the Finnish evacuation. Data on evacuee status were linked to the psychiatric diagnoses in the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register from January 1, 1971, through December 31, 2012, for offspring (n = 93 391) born between January 1, 1950, and December 31, 2010. Sex-specific Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios for risk of psychiatric hospitalization during the follow-up period. Because offspring of evacuees and their nonevacuated siblings are cousins, the Cox proportional hazards regression models included fixed effects to adjust for confounding factors in families. Data analysis was performed from June 15, 2016, to August 26, 2017. Exposures Parental participation in the evacuation during World War II (coded 1 for parents who were evacuated and placed in foster care and 0 for those not evacuated). Main Outcomes and Measures Offspring's initial admission to the hospital for a psychiatric disorder, obtained from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register from January 1, 1971, through December 31, 2012. Results Of the 93 391 study persons, 45 955 (49.2%) were women and 47 436 (50.8) were men; mean (SD) age in 2012 among survivors was 45.4 (6.58) years. Female offspring of mothers evacuated to Sweden during childhood had an elevated risk of psychiatric hospitalization (hazard ratio for any type of psychiatric disorder: 2.04 [95% CI, 1.04-4.01]; hazard ratio for mood disorder: 4.68 [95% CI, 1.92-11.42]). There was no excess risk of being hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder among women whose fathers were exposed to the Finnish evacuation policy during World War II or among men whose mothers or fathers were exposed. Conclusions and Relevance In a prior follow-up study of the Finnish evacuees, girls evacuated to Swedish foster families during World War II were more likely to be hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder—in particular, a mood disorder—in adulthood than their nonevacuated sisters. The present study found that the offspring of these individuals were also at risk for mental health problems that required hospitalization and suggests that early-life adversities, including war-related exposures, may be associated with mental health disorders that persist across generations.


This paper discusses how external spatially inhomogeneous electric fields affect information reproduction in the stimulated-photon-echo response in a three-level system when the information is encoded in the temporal shape of the object pulse and in the time intervals of an echelon of laser pulses taken as the object pulse. The information-locking effect for various encoding schemes is investigated for various unequal spacings of the spectrum of a three-level system.


We study the political opinions of Swedish social scientists in seven disciplines. A survey was sent to 4,301 academics at 25 colleges and universities, which makes the coverage of the disciplines included more or less comprehensive. When it comes to party sympathies there are 1.3 academics on the right for each academic on the left—a sharp contrast to the situation in the United States, where Democrats greatly dominate the social sciences. The corresponding ratio for Swedish citizens in general is 1.1. The most left-leaning disciplines are sociology and gender studies, the most right-leaning ones are business administration, economics, and law, with political science and economic history somewhere in between. The differences between the disciplines are smaller in Sweden than in the more polarized U.S. We also asked 14 policy questions. The replies largely confirm the pattern of a left-right divide – but overall the desire to change the status quo is tepid.


A transonic centrifugal compressor is optimized to improve the performance of the impeller by varying the geometry of blades and the meridional contour in the axial range of the main blades. The main objectives are to increase the isentropic efficiency and the operating range. A genetic algorithm controlling an automated process chain is used as the optimization method. To ensure a wide operating range the optimization is performed at three operating points on the 100 % speed line. A method, which is developed to use stationary CFD calculations for predicting the blade tone noise, the strongest component of the compressor noise, is used to reduce the compressor noise emissions. To evaluate the success of the optimization their best members' fitness values will be analyzed experimentally. The optimization procedure is described in detail. The geometrical modifications leading to the aerodynamic and acoustic improvements are discussed. A mechanical stress optimization of the impeller is planned for the near future.


The degradation behavior of magnesium-based alloys is obviously important for medical applications of biomaterials. Magnesium alloys were investigated as implant materials. This article critically summarizes the in vivo knowledge and experience that has been reported on the use of magnesium and its alloys to advance the field of biodegradable metals. The efficiency of the development approach is discussed. Thermophysical and physical properties of liquid and solid phases during solidification are critical data for simulations. However, the number of alloys for which such information is available is limited, primarily due to the difficulty in experimentally determining these properties during the casting/solidification process. This article will focus on demonstrate the value of integrating the modelling of solidification and the associated. This include show changes in the composition of an magnesium alloys within its specification range can substantially affect its properties during solidification and how properties of the liquid can vary significantly in the mushy zone.


Responses of plasmonic magneto-optical (MO) (gold–garnet) systems in different regimes of light propagation to identify the features of plasmon-modified MO responses are demonstrated. The absorption band associated with excitation of the localized plasmon resonance in gold is shown to influence a cumulative angle of polarization rotation of the considered systems. The resonance is responsible for enhanced polarization rotation when gold–garnet systems are magnetized; however, this enhancement is found to be the reciprocal effect, with no influence on the inherent properties of garnet from the near field. The experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical analysis results.


We demonstrate a possibility to generate localized states in effectively one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates with a negative scattering length in the form of a dark soliton in the presence of an optical lattice (OL) and/or a parabolic magnetic trap. We connect such structures with twisted localized modes (TLMs) that were previously found in the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Families of these structures are found as functions of the OL strength, tightness of the magnetic trap and chemical potential, and their stability regions are identified. Stable bound states of two TLMs are also found. In the case when the TLMs are unstable, their evolution is investigated by means of direct simulations, demonstrating that they transform into large-amplitude fundamental solitons. An analytical approach is also developed, showing that two or several fundamental solitons, with the phase shift π between adjacent ones, may form stable bound states, with parameters quite close to those of the TLMs revealed by simulations. TLM structures are also found numerically and explained analytically in the case when the OL is absent, the condensate being confined only by the magnetic trap.


Abstract This article contends that the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) is European Union's (EU) most visionary trans-regional connectivity project. It theorizes the EU-TRACECA relationship to show that the TRACECA represents different regional integration concepts, and that the EU scripted it invariably for the mutual benefits of its partner states. Conceptually optimistic, the article, nonetheless, discovers certain inextricable complications in the TRACECA's real working for varying economic profiles of and mutual conflicts among its member countries. Simultaneously, however, it argues that TRACECA can be a trailblazer for the 2018 'New EU-Asia Connectivity Strategy' as it has already the requisite infrastructure for the purpose.


After 1905 political sympathies amongst Catholics in the Kingdom of Poland were divided between two parties: the National Democracy and the Party of the Realistic Policy (SPR), which was a group with conservative-amicable direction. Despite the fact that "realists", how members of SPR were being named, had contacts and support from representatives of the polish episcopacy, the political dominance amongst lay and clerical Catholics belonged to the National Democracy. The ideology of the National Democracy in religious-church issues was not accepted by some members of the Catholic environment, even by priests who until than were supporting the National Democracy. The biggest critic of this party was the "group of Czestochowa" – a main part of the ultraconservative environment in the Kingdom of Poland. This group demanded from leaders of the National Democracy program changes. In case of the failure of this undertaking they have a plan of establishing a new, alternative political party for Catholics. This idea became more and more popular in the Catholic environment. Some of them believed that neither the National Democracy, nor SPR were able to represent businesses of Catholics sufficiently. It was supported by some of the priests and representatives of the episcopacy. The biggest supporter of this idea became Roger Lubienski, a historian, a writer, a community worker and an editor of the catholic newspaper – "Faith". The matter of forming the catholic party became current especially in 1908. The idea of Lubienski was supported by environment of the catholic "Daily Newspaper Universal" and his editor priest – Hipolit Skimborowicz. In this newspaper well-known catholic journalists took part in the big discussion about forming the catholic party and also about project of the program. The conclusion of this discussions was, that "catholic camp" should be more active and should aspire to create own national-catholic party. But there was one problem – an absence of unanimity in the "catholic camp". Some of the catholic priests who belonged to the National Democracy or sympathizing with this party opposed. Debate on the project and different positions showed that it was not the appropriate time for realizing a political plan. It also showed that Catholics in the Kingdom of Poland were too divided. The fiasco of the idea of establishing the national-catholic party suited national democrats but they had to consider the fact that in the future in more favorable circumstances catholic community might execute their own idea of political party competitive to the National Democracy.


Over most of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean a hiatus is present between the lower upper Maastrichtian and lowermost Tertiary deposits; sedimentation resumed ∼200 ka (upper zone Pla) after the K-T boundary. Current-bedded volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks at Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 536 and 540, which were previously interpreted as impact-generated megawave deposits of K-T boundary age, are biostratigraphically of pre-K-T boundary age and probably represent turbidite or gravity-How deposits. The top 10 to 20 cm of this deposit at Site 536 contains very rare Micula prinsii, the uppermost Maastrichtian index taxon, as well as low values of Ir (0.6 pbb) and rare Ni-rich spinels. These indicate possible reworking of sediments of K-T boundary age at the hiatus. Absence of continuous sediment accumulation across the K-T boundary in the 16 Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sections examined prevents their providing evidence of impact-generated megawave deposits in this region. Our study indicates that the most complete trans-K-T stratigraphic records may be found in onshore marine sections of Mexico, Cuba, and Haiti. The stratigraphic records of these areas should be investigated further for evidence of impact deposits.


Traditional mammography can be positively complemented by phase contrast and scattering x-ray imaging, because they can detect subtle differences in the electron density of a material and measure the local small-angle scattering power generated by the microscopic density fluctuations in the specimen, respectively. The grating-based x-ray interferometry technique can produce absorption, differential phase contrast (DPC) and scattering signals of the sample, in parallel, and works well with conventional X-ray sources; thus, it constitutes a promising method for more reliable breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Recently, our team proved that this novel technology can provide images superior to conventional mammography. This new technology was used to image whole native breast samples directly after mastectomy. The images acquired show high potential, but the noise level associated to the DPC and scattering signals is significant, so it is necessary to remove it in order to improve image quality and visualization. The noise models of the three signals have been investigated and the noise variance can be computed. In this work, a wavelet-based denoising algorithm using these noise models is proposed. It was evaluated with both simulated and experimental mammography data. The outcomes demonstrated that our method offers a good denoising quality, while simultaneously preserving the edges and important structural features. Therefore, it can help improve diagnosis and implement further post-processing techniques such as fusion of the three signals acquired.


In the last several years, large OLAP databases have become common in a variety of applications such as corporate data warehouses and scientific computing. To support interactive analysis, many of these databases are augmented with hierarchical structures that provide meaningful levels of abstraction that can be leveraged by both the computer and analyst. This hierarchical structure generates many challenges and opportunities in the design of systems for the query, analysis, and visualization of these databases.In this paper, we present an interactive visual exploration tool that facilitates exploratory analysis of data warehouses with rich hierarchical structure, such as might be stored in data cubes. We base this tool on Polaris, a system for rapidly constructing table-based graphical displays of multidimensional databases. Polaris builds visualizations using an algebraic formalism derived from the interface and interpreted as a set of queries to a database. We extend the user interface, algebraic formalism, and generation of data queries in Polaris to expose and take advantage of hierarchical structure. In the resulting system, analysts can navigate through the hierarchical projections of a database, rapidly and incrementally generating visualizations for each projection.


Functional brain exploration methodologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are critical tools to study perceptual and cognitive processes. In order to develop complex and well-controlled fMRI paradigms, researchers are interested in using active interfaces with electrically powered actuators and sensors. Due to the particularity of the MR environment, safety and compatibility criteria have to be strictly followed to avoid risks to the subject under test, the operators or the environment, as well as to prevent artifacts in the images. This paper describes the design of an fMRI compatible mechatronic interface based on MR compatibility tests of materials and actuators. In particular, a statistical test is introduced to evaluate the presence of artifacts in the image sequences that could negatively affect the fMRI studies. The device with two degrees of freedom, allowing one translation with position-feedback along a horizontal axis and one rotation about a vertical axis linked to the translation, was realized to investigate the brain mechanisms of dynamic tactile perception tasks. It can be used to move and orient various objects below the finger for controlled tactile stimulation. The MR compatibility of the complete interface is shown using the statistical test as well as a functional study with a human subject


BACKGROUND: Fluoroscopy-guided epidural steroid injection (ESI) commonly is performed to treat radicular pain yet can lead to adverse events if the needle is not advanced with precision. Accurate preoperative assessment of the distance from the skin to the epidural space holds the potential for reducing the risks of adverse effects from ESI. It was hypothesized that the distance from the skin to the epidural space as measured on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) would agree with the distance traveled by a Tuohy needle to reach the epidural space during midline, interlaminar ESI. This study compared the final needle depth measurement at the point of loss of resistance (LOR) from cervical or lumbar ESI to the distance from the skin to the anterior and posterior borders of the epidural space on the associated cervical and lumbar preoperative MRI. METHODS: This retrospective chart review analyzed the procedure notes, MRI, and demographic data of patients who received a prone, interlaminar ESI at an outpatient chronic pain clinic between June 1, 2013, and June 1, 2015. The following data were collected: body mass index (BMI), age, sex, intervertebral level of the ESI, and LOR depth. We then measured the distance from the skin surface to the anterior border of the ligamentum flavum (ligamentum flavum depth [LFD]) and dura (dura depth [DD]) on MRI. A total of 335 patients were categorized into the following patient subgroups: age ≥65 years, age <65 years, BMI ≥30 kg/m2 (obese), BMI <30 kg/m2 (nonobese), male, and female. Secondary analyses were then performed to compare the agreement between LOR depth and DD with that between LOR depth and LFD within each patient subgroup. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plot were used to assess the agreement between DD or LFD and LOR depth. RESULTS: Data from 335 ESIs were analyzed, including 147 cervical ESIs and 188 lumbar ESIs. Estimated ICC values for the agreement between LOR depth and LFD for all lumbar and cervical measurements were 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85–0.91) and 0.72 (95% CI, 0.64–0.79), respectively. Estimated ICC values for the agreement between LOR depth and DD for all lumbar and cervical measurements were 0.86 (95% CI, 0.82–0.89) and 0.69 (95% CI, 0.60–0.77), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study assessed the agreement between MRI-derived measurements of epidural depth and those determined clinically. MRI-derived measurements from the skin to the anterior border of the ligamentum flavum, which represents the most posterior aspect of the epidural space, revealed stronger agreement with LOR depths than did measurements to the dura or the most anterior aspect of the epidural space. These results require further analysis and refinement before supporting clinical application.


The practices of an annual, hundred-mile pilgrimage to a shrine of healing dirt in New Mexico offer a remarkable discourse on social compassion as participants ritually share the suffering of people whose pleas for prayer they carry. For seven years I have been known as the middle-aged, Anglo professor from Brooklyn who joins them. My participation does not provide me a privileged view but a modest opportunity to learn through my aging body, urban sensibility, and recalcitrant agnostic spirit. As I negotiate the distance of this long passage, I am shaped by the physicality of the road, the geographic conditions of New Mexico, and the context of Hispanic Roman Catholicism that challenge the comfort of my niche in academe and offer me a model of compassion to sustain social concern. The harsh conditions of my journey teach me about sacrifice and humility, not as pietistic attitudes but as "sensible" responses to a life where I am not protected by the privileges of my race, class, and gender.


This article presents the results of a combined grounded theory and community-based participatory action research project with 54 trans and nonbinary youths (TNBY) residing in the province of Quebec, Canada. The project includes two important sensitizing concepts: intersectionality and recognition. In the research, intersectionality was defined as an approach that explores how people navigate manifold identities (class, race, disability, and so on) in the context of structural oppression. Authors applied an intersectional lens to the recruitment of research participants through an iterative, community-based process, and to the analysis of the oppressive structures that negatively influence the well-being of TNBY and the specific factors that enable TNBY to thrive. Drawing on Honneth's concept of recognition, authors argue for a contextualized, dynamic, and relational understanding of how well-being is produced. Specifically, they show two presenting needs: one for affirmation and one for safety, access to which springs from resources of privilege that emerge in the environment in which young people are embedded and from which they self-advocate. Understanding the dynamic relationship between these two needs and how they shift according to context is an important component of applying an intersectional approach to supporting TNBY in social work settings.


This paper explores practical and ethical dilemmas for professionals when securing the protection of children in the complex non-clinical setting of individual families. It is based on a cross-country study on cultural encounters in interventions against child physical abuse and neglect in four countries (England/Wales, Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia). Drawing on national reports of legal-organizational frameworks and socio-cultural backgrounds of European child protection systems, it also presents the results of a series of focus groups with professionals. Data were analysed to identify implicit and explicit discursive constructions as well as normative representations and from this deriving the key ethical issues and dilemmas. Despite a shared normative framework across Europe, intervention cultures vary across the four countries and between the different stakeholder groups. Although each child protection system faced widespread mistrust, policy approaches differ, some relying on strong and detailed guidance whereas others stress professional skill and judgement. We conclude that despite a shared commitment to the protection of children, deliberations and perceived ethical dilemmas suggest interdependency between differences in system cultures and policy approaches that inform the character of professional interventions in the four countries.


Class Struggle and the Industrial Revolution represents both a continuation of, and a stark contrast to, the impressive tradition of social history which has grown up in Britain in the last two decades. Its use of sophisticated quantitative techniques for the dissection of urban social structures will serve as a model for subsequent research workers. This work examines the impact of industrialization on the social development of the cotton manufacturing town of Oldham from 1790-1860; in particular how the experience of industrial capitalism aided the formation of a coherent organized mass class consciousness capable by 1830 of controlling all the vital organs of local government in the town. This will be a useful study to any student of the industrial revolution.


Abstract. The formation and growth of atmospheric aerosol particles is considered using an exact discrete method with molecular resolution in size space. The method is immune to numerical diffusion problems that are a nuisance for typical simulation methods using a sectional representation for the particle size distribution. For condensational growth, a slight modification is proposed for the Fuchs-Sutugin expression, which improves the prediction of the growth rate of nano-sized particles by as much as a factor of two. The presented method is applied to particle formation in a Finnish Boreal forest and is shown to capture the essential features of the dynamics quite nicely. Furthermore, it is shown that the growth of the particles is roughly linear, which means that the amount of condensable vapour is constant (of the order 1013 1/m3).


Background: This study aimed to determine the role of core self-evaluation and job autonomy on nurses' job performance in Sanandaj public hospitals. Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive and correlational one. The study population consisted of the nurses who work in Sanandaj city public hospitals, selected 213 people using stratified random sampling in 2016. In order to data gathering, Paterson job performance scale (1990), Judje et al. core self-evaluation scale (2003) and Gunster job autonomy (1989) were used. Pearson correlation coefficient, regression analysis and multivariate variance analysis (MANOVA) were performed to data analysis. Results: Study results revealed that mean score and SD of core self-evaluation, job autonomy and job performance were 43.84 ± 5.52, 42.65 ± 10.26 and 52.81 ± 5.85 respectively. So that, mean of core self-evaluation and job performance were desirable and job autonomy was at the intermediate level. Also, there was a significant association between core self-evaluation and nurses' performance which this variable was able to predict 15% of job performance variance. While, there was no significant association between job autonomy and nurses' job performance. Also, the study results revealed that there was a significant difference between core self-evaluation and job performance among male and female nurses. Conclusion: Based on study results, core self-evaluation has a significant association with job performance which can predict it among nurses.


Reducing the complexity of building secure software systems is an important goal as increased complexity can lead to more security flaws. This thesis aims at helping to reduce this complexity by investigating new programming techniques and software development methods for implementing secure software. We provide case studies on the use and effects of applying Aspect-oriented software development to Confidentiality, Access Control and Quality of Service implementation. We also investigate how eXtreme Programming can be used for simplifying the secure software development process by comparing it to the security engineering standards Common Criteria and the Systems Security Engineering Capability Maturity Model. We also explore the relationship between Aspect-oriented programming and Agile software development methods, such as eXtreme Programming.


all forms of creative production born of an intimate and individual urge, often secretive, unbound from the conventional art system rules. Through short descriptions of the Outsider art work of prominent artists and new protagonists often hosted in community mental health services, this section intends to investigate the latest developments of the contemporary art scene, where the distances between the edge and the center are becoming more and more vague.


Analysis of poaching activities in Kanji Lake National Park (KLNP) of Nigeria was conducted with the aim of investigating the forms and trend of encroachment experienced in the premier protected area, and to determine the locations where poaching occur. Data for the study were collected using two sets of structured questionnaires and secondary data obtained from administrative records. A set of structured questionnaires was administered randomly to 30% of households in ten selected communities close to the park. The second set of questionnaires was administered to 30% of the staff in park protection section of KLNP. In all 403 households and 53 staff members were sampled. Data on poaching arrest were obtained from administrative records. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics in form of frequencies of count, percentages, graphs, bar chart and pie chart. Grazing of livestock and hunting were the form of encroachment most arrested in the park between 2001 and 2009. Poachers were most attracted in the park by Animals (92.06%), fuel wood (82.13%), Herbs (73.95%), and Fish (73.95%). Between 1995 and 2009 KLNP recorded the highest arrest (372) of poachers in 1999. Increase in the number of staff of KLNP had no significant effect in the number of poachers arrested within this period. Oli and Ibbi were respectively ranked first (69.98%) and second (45.91%) by household respondents as major areas of poaching. About 52.11% of households are optimistic that poaching can be stopped while 39.5% perceived that it can only be minimized. However, 39.15% of household respondents suggested creation of employment opportunities for households as a strategy that can stop poaching in KLNP.


This study reports an analysis of definitional examples of country names posted on the World Wide Web (WWW). It aims at shedding some critical light on a sample of 33 definitional examples with an expectation of some sort of patterns which are indicative of ideological processes. The sample definitional examples were compared and conceptually labelled as positive, negative, and neutral within discourse analytic and Grounded Theoretic frameworks. Patterns were discerned and three categories identified: category I (European countries), category II (Asian, Russian, Middle & Far East nations), and category III (African nations). For the sake of objectifying the analysis, a list containing country names along with definitional examples was administered to 147 randomly selected university students to critically look at each definitional example and indicate the kind of image (positive, negative or neutral) the examples evoke in them. The analysis indicated that the definitional examples have the potential to communicate ideologies beyond exemplifying countries. Congruent to the analysis, images evoked in the respondents shifted from positivity to negativity as we moved from category I to category III countries. The study has brought further evidence for the claims of several studies that Africa is often negatively portrayed by Western Media.


This study investigates the rate of missed opportunities for the HPV vaccine among eligible girls using statewide vaccine registry data. Methods: Using data from the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System (USIIS) from 2008–2012 for approximately 55,000 girls ages 11–18, we assessed the frequency of missed opportunities (receipt of other recommended vaccinations such as TDap, MCV4, and/or flu and not the HPV vaccine) among eligible female patients for the HPV vaccine. USIIS is a free, confidential, web-based information system that contains immunization histories for Utah residents of all ages. Records of all persons born in Utah since 1998 are in USIIS. USIIS is designed to help enrolled healthcare providers track immunization records for patient care by consolidating immunizations from enrolled providers into one centralized record. Vaccine administration from 86% of healthcare providers in Utah is reported to USIIS. USIIS data used for the study include date of birth, age, gender, ethnicity and race, zip code, and date and type of vaccine received. Descriptive statistics and chi- square tests were used to assess rate of missed opportunities for the HPV vaccine and associated demographic factors. Results: Approximately 65% of preteens (ages 11–12; N = 2,593) and 32% of female teens (ages 13–18; N = 4,937) had a missed opportunity for the HPV vaccine between years 2008–2012 in Utah (P < 0.001). Race and ethnicity related to rates of missed opportunities for the HPV vaccine among all girls ages 11–18 (Whites = 36%, N = 2,454; Hispanics = 21%, N = 254) (P < 0.001). Rural and urban locations were also associated with rates of missed opportunities for the HPV vaccine (urban = 31%, N = 4,448; large rural town = 42%, N = 202) (P < 0.001). Conclusions: For more than eight years, a vaccine to prevent cervical and other HPV-related cancers has been available, yet receipt of the 3-dose HPV vaccine in the United States is far below national goals for girls (33% vs. 80%; actual vs. target). Using statewide vaccine registry data, our study demonstrates that administering the HPV vaccine when providing other recommended adolescent vaccinations may dramatically improve rates of HPV vaccination among girls in a state with low HPV vaccine uptake. In addition, targeting rural communities and non-Hispanic White patients may further reduce missed opportunities.


CD4+CD28− T cells arise through repeated antigenic stimulation and are present in diseased tissues of patients with various autoimmune disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). These cells are believed to have cytotoxic properties that contribute to the pathogenic damaging of the target organ. Endogenous cues that are increased in the diseased tissue may amplify the activity of CD4+CD28− T cells. In this study, we focused on IL-15, a cytotoxicity-promoting cytokine that is increased in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients. Using immunohistochemistry, we demonstrate that IL-15 is mainly produced by astrocytes and infiltrating macrophages in inflammatory lesions of MS patients. Moreover, in vitro transmigration studies reveal that IL-15 selectively attracts CD4+CD28− T cells of MS patients, but not of healthy individuals. IL-15 further induces the expression of chemokine receptors and adhesion molecules on CD4+CD28− T cells, as investigated using flow cytometry, resulting in enhanced migration over a monolayer of human brain endothelial cells. Finally, flow cytometric analyses revealed that IL-15 increases the proliferation and production of GM-CSF, expression of cytotoxic molecules (NKG2D, perforin, and granzyme B), and degranulation capacity of CD4+CD28− T cells. Taken together, these findings indicate that increased peripheral and local levels of IL-15 amplify the pathogenic potential of CD4+CD28− T cells, thus contributing to tissue damage in MS brain lesions.


We provide systematic description and discussion for each of 47 species of eutherian ("placental") mammals from the type Ferris Formation of the western Hanna Basin, south-central Wyoming. All records are new for the basin, and for southern Wyoming in general. Although fossiliferous strata are both of Lancian (latest Cretaceous) and Puercan (earliest Paleocene) age, all but a few specimens (restricted to two genera) represent the Puercan. We describe five species of previously known genera as new, all of Puercan age. We also assign a previously described Puercan species to a new genus, to emphasize its distinctness. Ordinal categories are represented by Leptictida, Proteutheria, Condylarthra, and Cete. Except for fossils from lowest parts of the Puercan, the local early Paleocene fauna is biased taxonomically in favor of condylarths, animals of relatively large body size in early parts of the epoch. The taxonomic bias probably is due in part to fluvial size-sorting of specimens related to generally sandy, relatively high-energy depositional environments. The local Puercan mammalian fauna is of keen paleobiogeographic and biostratigraphic importance. Among the 59 species of Puercan mammals now known from the Hanna Basin (combining recently reported multituberculates and peradectians with eutherians considered here), at least 25 represent significant extensions of previously recognized geographic ranges (18 in northerly extent, 7 in southerly). Because many of those extended ranges involve major parts of the continent, confidence becomes greatly heightened in biostratigraphic utility of Puercan mammalian species for temporal correlations, even across vast distances of western North America. Composition of the Hanna Basin9s mammalian fauna confirms utility of most elements of the formalized interval-zones of Puercan time, established in the San Juan and Williston basins. We do, however, abandon use of Puercan Interval-zone Pu 0 as impractical, and use an expanded concept of Pu1 instead. Other than that adjustment, we strictly apply original faunal criteria for recognition of Puercan Interval-zones Pu1 through Pu3 to zonation of the type Ferris Formation. The unusually great thickness of Puercan parts of the formation, combined with our high density of sampled fossiliferous localities, has led to recognition of many extensions of temporal ranges beyond those known previously for individual species. The biostratigraphic importance of this section, therefore, becomes elevated for potential studies in: (1) long-distance temporal correlation of Puercan strata; and (2) many aspects of biological evolution across North America during earliest Cenozoic time. Basal parts of Interval-zone Pu2 in the Ferris Formation uniquely show persistence of some mammalian species known elsewhere only in Pu1. Faunal change within Interval-zone Pu2 greatly exceeds that observed between Pu2 and Pu3, although the evolutionary distinctiveness of Pu2 and Pu3 are confirmed in the present study. The newly discovered mammalian assemblages of Puercan age from southern Wyoming exhibit virtually no geographic endemism. Although they share species both from northern and southern fossil-bearing realms of the North American continent, composition of the Ferris assemblages clearly is more similar to southern than to northern faunas under comparison.


Filtering or sanitization is the predominant mechanism in today's applications to defend against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. XSS sanitization can be difficult to get right as it ties in closely with the parsing behavior of the browser. This paper explains some of the subtleties of ensuring correct sanitization, as well as common pitfalls. We study several emerging web application frameworks including those presently used for development of commercial web applications. We evaluate how effective these frameworks are in guarding against the common pitfalls of sanitization. We find that while some web frameworks safeguard against the empirically relevant use cases, most do not. In addition, some of the security features in present web frameworks provide a false sense of security.


Enteric bacteria, such as E. coli and V. cholerae , encounter the digestive secretion bile in the small intestine. Bile is composed of mainly bile acids, lecithin, bilirubin, bicarbonate ions and fatty acids. Since bile possesses detergent like activity, bacteria have evolved mechanisms to avoid its bactericidal effect. V. cholerae senses bile and activates virulence genes that mediate motility, chemotaxis and adherence in preparation for colonization. The present study identifies a difference in the phospholipid profile of V. cholerae, but not E. coli, when grown in the presence and absence of bile. Mass spectrometry analysis of crude bile showed a variety of fatty acids including several long-chain and polyunsaturated fatty acids. To determine if the fatty acids in bile could be responsible for the differences in the phospholipids, E. coli and V. cholerae were grown in the presence of the individual fatty acids prior to phospholipid analysis. Growth of E. coli in fatty acids showed no significant changes in any phospholipids. However, growth of V. cholerae in fatty acids resulted in an upward shift of cardiolipin in longer chained fatty acids as well as the appearance of two species of phosphatidylethanolamine. There were also fatty acids that caused an appearance of lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine. These results demonstrate that V. cholerae can utilize a wider range of fatty acids than E. coli as reflected in membrane phospholipids. Specific long chain and polyunsaturated fatty acids are identified as being incorporated into V. cholerae phospholipids. V. cholerae is also associated with fatty acid rich marine environments. These environments include colonization of zooplankton and insect egg masses, as well as surviving in aquatic sediment. The survival advantage that this adaptation may provide is discussed.


The Art Firm explores the seemingly unorthodox alliance of the arts, management, and marketing. Art firms-as avant-garde enterprises and arts corporations-have existed for at least two hundred years, using texts, images, and other types of art to create corporate wealth. This book investigates how to apply the methods artists use in creating value to the methods more traditional managers use in running their businesses. Guillet de Monthoux offers a crash course in aesthetics from Kant to Gadamer, showing how aesthetic management and metaphysical marketing can create value. Using case studies of successful art managers from Richard Wagner to Robert Wilson, the author illustrates the creative role-so central to value-making in contemporary economies-performed by aesthetic play in art firms. Along the way, Guillet de Monthoux points out how responsible aesthetic management and marketing can eradicate the problems of banality and totality, the two capital sins of an art-based economy.


Accounting, access and the practice of the profession of chartered accountant from the point of view of women The main objective of this study is to obtain a better understanding of the problems in the access and practice in the accounting profession from the point of view of women who are chartered accountants. To accomplish this objective thirteen interviews were performed to women who are accountants registered in the Portuguese Order of Chartered Accountants. According to the interviewees, despite the easier access to the profession, there are still inequalities, discrimination and sexism that hinder the exercise and progress of women in career. However, interviewees consider that the accounting profession requires organization, rigor, commitment and responsibility, attributes that are best suited to the intrinsic characteristics of women.


This paper will consider spoken word composition as a distinct area of artistic practice and research within an interdisciplinary context by considering the work of a selection of contemporary artists whose creative work is part of an intermittent ongoing tradition of artistic investigation of the spoken word. Although they come from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds including music composition, sound art and performance poetry for each of these artists sounded language and the spoken word provides the materials and often the means by which they carry out their artistic investigations.

In this paper I will identify and discuss some similarities and differences between the various cross- disciplinary approaches to playing with words which run through their works. In many cases their concerns relate back to their historical antecedents such as the poets, performers and other artists working with sound in the early part of the twentieth century, including the Futurists, Zaum poets, Dadaists and Lettristes who sought to invent new languages and new words in order to express their vision of reality and to deconstruct and reduce the power of language. Other artists are examining and revealing the experiences and complexities of contemporary society by engaging with how spoken language works and manifests itself. These works reflect more recent developments in linguistics and the psychology and philosophy of language revealing how meaning is negotiated and transmitted between individuals and groups, across cultures and through languages and their translations.

Most of the sound works mentioned in this paper can be found on a curated audio compilation Playing with Words: an audio compilation freely available online at www.gruenrekorder.de. A double compact disc is also available from Greunrekorder. This compilation features works by over forty artists including Tomomi Adachi, Jaap Blonk, Lars-Gunnar Bodin, Sten Hanson, Mikhael Karikis, Brandon LaBelle, Leigh Landy, Paul Lansky, Katharine Norman, Nye Parry, Amanda Stewart , Barry Truax, Michael Vincent, Trevor Wishart and Pamela Z. Their works negotiate potential oppositions such as semantic play and abstraction, musical and narrative structures, speech and song, one voice and many and draw their influences from many sources including poetry, music, song, theatre, typography and graphic art, philosophy, radio, performance art, linguistics, fine art, literature and the observation and experience of every day life. Many of the artists on these compilation have also contributed to an edited book entitled Playing with Words: the spoken word in artistic practice which is available from Cornerhouse Books at www.cornerhouse.org.


Abstract Introduction Lung ultrasound when used in isolation, usually misses out metabolic causes of dyspnoea and differentiating acute exacerbation of COPD from pneumonia and pulmonary embolism is difficult, hence we thought of combining critical care ultrasonography (CCUS) with arterial blood gas analysis (ABG). Aim of the study The objective of this study was to estimate accuracy of Critical Care Ultrasonography (CCUS) plus Arterial blood gas (ABG) based algorithm in diagnosing aetiology of dyspnoea. Accuracy of traditional Chest X-ray (CxR) based algorithm was also validated in the following setting. Methods It was a facility based comparative study, where 174 dyspneic patients were subjected to CCUS plus ABG and CxR based algorithms on admission to ICU. The patients were classified into one of five pathophysiological diagnosis 1) Alveolar( Lung-pneumonia)disorder ; 2) Alveolar (Cardiac-pulmonary edema) disorder; 3) Ventilation with Alveolar defect (COPD) disorder ;4) Perfusion disorder; and 5) Metabolic disorder. We calculated diagnostic test properties of CCUS plus ABG and CXR based algorithm in relation to composite diagnosis and correlated these algorithms for each of the defined pathophysiological diagnosis. Results The sensitivity of CCUS and ABG based algorithm was 0.85 (95% CI-75.03-92.03) for alveolar (lung) ; 0.94 (95% CI-85.15-98.13) for alveolar (cardiac); 0.83 (95% CI-60.78-94.16) for ventilation with alveolar defect; 0.66 (95% CI-30-90.32) for perfusion defect; 0.63 (95% CI-45.25-77.07) for metabolic disorders.Cohn's kappa correlation coefficient of CCUS plus ABG based algorithm in relation to composite diagnosis was 0.7 for alveolar (lung), 0.85 for alveolar (cardiac), 0.78 for ventilation with alveolar defect, 0.79 for perfusion defect and 0.69 for metabolic disorders. Conclusion CCUS plus ABG algorithm is highly sensitive and it's agreement with composite diagnosis is far superior. It is a first of it's kind study, where authors have attempted combining two point of care tests and creating an algorithmic approach for timely diagnosis and intervention.


Conflict over scarce resources, such as minerals, fish, water, and particularly territory, is a traditional source of armed struggle. Recently, wide-ranging claims have been made to the effect that environmental degradation will increase resource scarcity and therefore contribute to an increase in armed conflict. So far, there has been much controversy and little relevant systematic study of this phenomenon. Most scholarship on the relationship between resources, the environment, and armed conflict suffers from one or more of the following problems: (1) there is a lack of clarity over what is meant by 'environmental conflict'; (2) researchers engage in definitional and polemical exercises rather than analysis; (3) important variables are neglected, notably political and economic factors which have a strong influence on conflict and mediate the influence of resource and environmental factors; (4) some models become so large and complex that they are virtually untestable; (5) cases are selected on values of the dependent variable; (6) the causality of the relationship is reversed; (7) postulated events in the future are cited as empirical evidence; (8) studies fail to distinguish between foreign and domestic conflict; and (9) confusion reigns about the appropriate level of analysis. While no publications are characterized by all of these problems, many have several of them. This article identifies a few lights in the wilderness and briefly outlines a program of research.


Over the last two decades academic libraries in the United States have experienced a paradigm shift from book-centered spaces to learning-centered spaces as they work to provide services and resources in the new ways that users consume information. This article discusses the results of a survey conducted in early 2017 of South Carolina academic libraries to study this larger trend moving to learning-centered spaces. Forty two academic library administrators responded and shared how they are re-purposing their library spaces as they work to improve student and faculty user experiences.


Recent peat deposits of the Fraser Delta have accumulated in a variety of depositional settings and from a wide range of vegetation. Studies of these deposits have enabled evaluation of some factors that control the distribution of sulphur, ash and minor elements in coal. Brackish peat of the lower delta plain is characterized by high total sulphur (up to 5.6%), low C/N (12–5), C/S (<11) and total polysaccharide/C ratios and an ash mineralogy dominated by quartz, feldspar and clays. Freshwater peat has lower total sulphur (0.5%), higher C/N and C/S and higher polysaccharide/C ratios and a clay mineralogy enriched in kaolinite. The highest sulphur values occur in brackish sedge peat whereas the lowest values were obtained from Sphagnum peat. Organic S is the main S form in all peat (>70% of S): carbon-bonded S comprises 28–88% and ester sulphate 6–40% of total S. Pyritic S, elemental S and soluble sulphate S are minor, whereas hydrogen sulphide occurs in trace amounts. Silicon is the most abundant element (2.8–28%) followed by Al (334 ppm—6.4%) or Fe (357 ppm—5.0%), Na (43 ppm—2.3%), Ca (404 ppm—1.1%), Mg (217 ppm—1.2%), and Ti (40–580 ppm). All the minor elements are correlated with low temperature ash. On an ash basis, brackish and freshwater clay facies have higher Al and K and lower Ca contents than organic facies and brackish facies have twice the Fe and Na content of freshwater facies. The abundance of total S and the ash content of the peat reflects the depositional environment and the peat-facies. The higher pH of brackish peat has facilitated bacterial reduction of seawater sulphate leading to higher S peat. The higher kaolinite content of freshwater peat reflects the acid conditions (pH 3–4.5) of the peat bogs and the in situ formation of kaolinite. There is no evidence for formation of pyrite which reflects the low pH that has inhibited microbial mobilization of organic sulphur. The minor element abundance is a product of the distribution of detrital and authigenic ash. The lower total polysaccharides/C and C/N ratios of brackish facies reflects the greater degree of decomposition in this facies.


OBJECTIVE Individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) have a high risk of developing NIDDM. The purpose of this study was to determine whether diet and exercise interventions in those with IGT may delay the development of NIDDM, i.e., reduce the incidence of NIDDM, and thereby reduce the overall incidence of diabetic complications, such as cardiovascular, renal, and retinal disease, and the excess mortality attributable to these complications. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In 1986, 110,660 men and women from 33 health care clinics in the city of Da Qing, China, were screened for IGT and NIDDM. Of these individuals, 577 were classified (using World Health Organization criteria) as having IGT. Subjects were randomized by clinic into a clinical trial, either to a control group or to one of three active treatment groups: diet only, exercise only, or diet plus exercise. Follow-up evaluation examinations were conducted at 2-year intervals over a 6-year period to identify subjects who developed NIDDM. Cox's proportional hazard analysis was used to determine if the incidence of NIDDM varied by treatment assignment. RESULTS The cumulative incidence of diabetes at 6 years was 67.7% (95% CI, 59.8–75.2) in the control group compared with 43.8% (95% CI, 35.5–52.3) in the diet group, 41.1% (95% CI, 33.4–49.4) in the exercise group, and 46.0% (95% CI, 37.3–54.7) in the diet-plus-exercise group (P < 0.05). When analyzed by clinic, each of the active intervention groups differed significantly from the control clinics (P < 0.05). The relative decrease in rate of development of diabetes in the active treatment groups was similar when subjects were stratified as lean or overweight (BMI < or ≥ 25 kg/m2). In a proportional hazards analysis adjusted for differences in baseline BMI and fasting glucose, the diet, exercise, and diet-plus-exercise interventions were associated with 31% (P < 0.03), 46% (P < 0.0005), and 42% (P < 0.005) reductions in risk of developing diabetes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Diet and/or exercise interventions led to a significant decrease in the incidence of diabetes over a 6-year period among those with IGT.


We study the quantum communication protocol of remote state preparation (RSP) for pure states of qubits encoded in single photons transmitted through a double slit, the so-called spatial qubits. Two measurement strategies that one can adopt to remotely prepare the states are discussed. The first strategy is the well-known spatial postselection, where a single-pixel detector measures the transverse position of the photon between the focal and the image plane of a lens. The second strategy, proposed by ourselves, is a generalized measurement divided into two steps: the implementation of a two-outcome positive operator-valued measurement (POVM) followed by the spatial postselection at the focal plane of the lens by a two-pixel detector in each output of the POVM. In both cases we analyze the effects of the finite spatial resolution of the detectors over three figures of merit of the protocol, namely, the probability of preparation, the fidelity, and purity of the remotely prepared states. It is shown that our strategy improves these figures compared with spatial postselection, at the expense of increasing the classical communication cost as well as the required experimental resources. In addition, we present a modified version of our strategy for RSP of spatial qudits which is more » able to prepare arbitrary pure states, unlike spatial postselection alone. We expect that our study may also be extended for RSP of the angular spectrum of a single-photon field as an alternative for quantum teleportation which requires very inefficient nonlinear interactions. « less


Ontogenetic changes in dry weight, elemental composition (CHN), and digestive enzyme activities (total protease, amylase) were studied during the moulting cycle of all larval instars (zoea I-II, megalopa; ZI, ZII, M) of the spider crab Maja brachydactyla Balss, 1922 reared in the laboratory. A gradual but significant increase in biomass was observed throughout the zoeal instars, followed by steeper growth in the megalopa. Maximum values were reached in moult stage D 2 . Digestive enzyme activities also increased significantly throughout larval development. The ZI showed a continuous increase in total protease activity during its moult cycle, suggesting that newly hatched larvae have a gradually increasing need to take up proteins to provide amino acids, which are prime materials for growth and development, and possibly to use them as a metabolic energy source. The largest variations in digestive enzyme activites in relation to the moult cycle were observed in the megalopa instar. After an initial increase in postmoult, enzyme activities decreased to low levels similar to those measured in the zoeal instars at intermoult, followed by another increase to a maximum level in premoult. Metamorphosis involves great physiological and behavioural changes, which could explain the large variations in the megalopa moult cycle. We therefore suggest that the moult cycle stages should be taken into account when nutritional condition indices are used to estimate the physiological performance of decapod crustacean larvae.


From a historic perspective the cod in the Barents Sea-Svalbard region has been the most productive gadoid stock in the Atlantic. Variation in catches has always been large, but during the last 10-15 years catches and stock abundance have reached the lowest level on record. Three major causes of variation have been discussed; stock reduction through exploitation, environmental influences on recruitment, and species interaction effects on maturation, growth and mortality. In addition, interactions between these three sources might be important. The influence of each specific factor is difficult to evaluate from incidental observations and short-term time series. In that respect, the time series on catches and on biological and environmental information of this stock, which partly goes back to the 19th century assumes a unique position in comparison with data on most other stocks. In this paper fluctuations in catches and stock abundance will be compared with changes in recruitment, size/age composition and growth. This information is discussed in view of historic variation in ecological and environmental parameters. The stock has been under particularly high exploitation pressure since the mid-seventies. Further, large changes in growth rates and poor recruitment to the commercially exploited stock have characteristic for the end of the 1980s and the 1990s. The analysis here shows that substantial long-term variation might underlie short-term variability, and, more importantly, that long-term changes roughly coincide with similar fluctuations in the environment. Consequently, it is suggested that inserting on a steady-state perspective on the population dynamics of this stock may lead to mismanagement and to a reduction of long-term yield.


This study concerned first-year students failing in being successful in their academic studies and the reasons behind this. We were also presenting some suggestions, when it came to student support services, to help them succeed in their academic endeavours. We studied a group of 148 first-year students, who were unsuccessful in gaining 20 credits out of 40 requested, during their first year of academic studies at the University College of Boras. The rate of respondents from the six different schools of the UCB was 72 students. The study gave an overview of both organizational and personal reasons for failure. The study was dealing with study hours, students who work extra alongside their studies and the effects this had on study results. We were also discussing whether the available student support services at the UCB were known to the students, used by them or if they were in need of additional study-related support. The most striking results were the dominating numbers of young students under the age of 25, and the fact that most of the respondents had Swedish as their mother tongue. The most significant conclusion of our study was that Student Support Services can play an important part in helping students to succeed in their academic studies.


Antitrust law is designed to be an overarching check against anticompetitive conduct that harms the free market system. Almost as soon as the first antitrust laws were enacted in the United States, however, industry groups began lobbying Congress for exemptions from these laws. Most of the statutory exemptions created over the last one hundred years remain in place, despite widespread changes in economic theory, market structures, and overall antitrust law. Today, some exemptions are merely irrelevant, while others actively harm society by transferring wealth to private individuals and hampering beneficial competition. This Note proposes a fourpart legislative solution to rid the law of stale or harmful exemptions while preserving those that respect the bedrock principles of antitrust law.


STUDY QUESTION
Does late follicular-phase elevated serum progesterone (LFEP) during ovarian stimulation for oocyte donation have an impact on embryo quality (EQ) and cumulative live birth rate (CLBR)?

SUMMARY ANSWER
LFEP does not have an influence on EQ nor CLBR in oocyte donation cycles.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
Ovarian stimulation promotes the production of progesterone (P) which, when elevated during the follicular phase, has been demonstrated to have a deleterious effect in autologous fresh IVF outcomes. While there is robust evidence that this elevation results in impaired endometrial receptivity, the impact on EQ remains a matter of debate. The oocyte donation model is an excellent tool to assess the effects of LFEP on EQ from those on endometrium receptivity separately. Previous studies in oocyte donation cycles investigating the influence of elevated P on pregnancy outcomes in oocyte recipients showed conflicting results.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
This is a retrospective analysis including all GnRH antagonist down-regulated cycles for fresh oocyte donation taking place in a tertiary referral university hospital between 2010 and 2017. A total of 397 fresh donor-recipient cycles were included. Each donor was included only once in the analysis and could be associated to a single recipient.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
The sample was stratified according to serum P levels of ≤1.5 and >1.5 ng/mL on the day of ovulation triggering. The primary endpoint of the study was the top-quality embryo rate on Day 3, and the secondary outcome measure was CLBR defined as a live-born delivery beyond 24 weeks.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Three hundred ninety-seven fresh oocyte donation cycles were included in the analysis, of which 314 (79%) had a serum P ≤ 1.5 ng/mL and 83 (20.9%) had a serum P > 1.5 ng/mL. The average age of the oocyte donors was 31.4 ± 4.7 and 29.9 ± 4.5 years, respectively, for normal and elevated P (P = 0.017). The mean number of oocytes retrieved was significantly higher in the elevated P group with 16.6 ± 10.6 vs 11.5 ± 6.9 in the P ≤ 1.5 group (P < 0.001).In parallel, the total number of embryos on Day 3, as well as the number of good-quality embryos at this stage, was significantly higher in the elevated P group (6.6 ± 5.6 vs 4.15 ± 3.5 and 8.7 ± 6.3 vs 6.1 ± 4.4; respectively, P < 0.001). However, maturation and fertilization rates did not vary significantly between the two study groups and neither did the top- and good-quality embryo rate and the embryo utilization rate, all evaluated on Day 3 (P = 0.384, P = 0.405 and P = 0.645, respectively). A multivariable regression analysis accounting for P groups, age of the donor, number of retrieved oocytes and top-quality embryo rate as potential confounders showed that LFEP negatively influenced neither the top-quality embryo rate nor the CLBR.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
This is an observational study based on a retrospective data analysis. Better extrapolation of the results could be validated by performing a prospective trial. Furthermore, this study was focused on oocyte donation cycles and hence the results cannot be generalized to the entire infertile population.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
This is the first study providing evidence that LFEP does not influence CLBR and is adding strong evidence to the existing literature that LFEP does not harm EQ in oocyte donation programs.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS
Not applicable.


»Grenzziehungen in der Leere: Die ersten Satelliten und die Generierung eines Außenraums«. During the early Cold War, outer space became a politically contested space, and changes in its spatial perception were related to political and ideological controversies. The article highlights the specific relevance of Euclidean geometry in representations of outer space. Focusing on illustrations and expositions in both postwar German States, it argues that shifts within the spatial imagination and representation of space corresponded with the first satellite missions and condensed debates about the future of technology and the moral legacies of the Second World War. In October 1957, Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth and a Soviet construction, urged engineers, scientists, and illustrators to find new ways of depicting and communicating the spaces of outer space to the public and to each other. For decades, space fiction had implicitly stifled theories on the relativity of space and time by hinting at traditional motifs of conquest through machines. Early spaceflight, however, was not about immediate flights to other planets, but about the orbit, a space without a traditional place, yet imagined as being of paramount importance for strategic superiority. Driven by political tensions and drawing on representations established in physics and astronomy, the first satellite projects were designed and explained as missions to places that needed to be defined and controlled because they were strange and new.


Taming Complexity: From Network Science to Network Control. Our biological existence, our ability to communicate, to exchange goods and values, are guaranteed by numerous invisible networks, from the protein and genetic networks in our cells to the world wide web, Internet and financial and trade networks. I will show that the amazingly complex topology of these highly interconnected networks are the result of self-organizing processes governed by simple but generic laws. The ultimate proof of our understanding these complex systems is reflected in our ability to control them. I will therefore explore the controllability of an arbitrary complex network, identifying the set of driver nodes whose time-dependent control can guide the system's entire dynamics. By applying these tools to real networks, helps us unveil how the network topology determines controllability. Finally, I will discuss how network control informs our ability to predict neurons involved in specific processes in the brain, offering an avenue to experimentally test the predictions of network control.


In SIGGRAPH 2010 Courses, attendees learn from the experts in the field and gain inside knowledge that is critical to career advancement. Courses are short (1.5 hours) or half-day (3.25 hours) structured sessions that often include elements of interactive demonstration, performance, or other imaginative approaches to teaching.

The spectrum of Courses ranges from an introduction to the foundations of computer graphics and interactive techniques for those new to the field to advanced instruction on the most current techniques and topics. Courses include core curricula taught by invited instructors as well as Courses selected from juried proposals.


The species of the genus Polydictya Guerin-Meneville, 1844 from Sulawesi and adjacent islands are reviewed and three new species are described: P. bantimurung sp. nov. (Sulawesi), P. basirubra sp. nov. (Sulawesi, Wowoni and Buton) and P. pelengana sp. nov. (Peleng). An identification key for the 6 species recorded in the area is given. Habitus, detailed illustrations and a distribution map are provided for all species. The male genitalia of the three new species are illustrated and described, and the male genitalia of P. thanatos Chew Kea Foo, Porion & Audibert, 2010 are figured and described for the first time. The genus Polydictya now contains 24 species.


Whether the Constitutional Treaty will enter into effect - or the prospect of the EU having a constitutional text is pushed back to a much more distant future - the ratification of an EU Constitution raises questions of fundamental importance from the point of view of national constitutional law. Whilst constitutions have traditionally been linked to states, more recent theories, such as post-national, multi-level, or intertwined constitutionalism, recognise the possibility for a constitution to exist in a non-state context. In this very valuable book, which focuses on the ratification of the European Constitutional Treaty, twenty-eight authorities in constitutional and EU law examine the extent to which such theories have made inroads in national constitutional thinking. The contributors examine the debates and official documents of the political institutions that have been involved in the ratification process in the Member States, as well as constitutional court decisions and scholarly discourse. They also cover a range of closely related issues, such as the amendment of national constitutions, ratification referendums, and the implications of the codification of the principle of primacy in the European Constitution. The book includes reports from 17 EU Member States, as well as a view from a candidate country, Croatia. These reports, along with other papers on the nature and content of the Constitutional Treaty, consider the following issues: the process and legal framework of ratification in each of the examined Member States; the novel category of 'constitutional treaty'; constitutional elements in existing EC/EU treaties; types of constitutions and constitutionalism, and constitutions in non-state contexts; the implications of the primacy clause; ratification referendums; and, eurosceptic fears of the development of a super-state. The book is based on the proceedings of an international conference that was held in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2005. By assessing the implications of the European Constitution from the perspective of national constitutional law, this book fills an important gap in the literature. It also makes a contribution to the emergence of a true European-wide constitutional debate, by providing both researchers and policy-makers with comparative information regarding the constitutional aspects of ratification in Member States. It will be of absorbing interest and value for years to come as the European constitutional debate continues.


The syntactic properties of psych verbs have been debated in theoretical linguistics since the seminal paper by Belletti and Rizzi (1988). However, surprisingly little is known about the neural processes underlying the comprehension of psych verb constructions. Here, we report an electrophysiological study on Italian piacere-class verbs, which were presented in sentences with subject-verb-object (SVO) and object-verb-subject (OVS) orders and contrasted with Agent-Theme ("active") verbs. At the verb position, we observed a biphasic N400–late positivity pattern for active versus piacere-class verbs in object-initial orders and a late positivity for piacere-class versus active verbs in subject-initial orders. These results demonstrate that thematic expectations are generated incrementally and may be based upon only a single argument. They further support the idea of structural differences between piacere-class verbs and other verb classes in Italian and suggest that these are used rapidly to inform language processing.


The purpose of this action research project was to investigate the efficacy of the use of hands on manipulative models in order to teach abstract biochemical processes. Students utilized enactive, hands-on modeling of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, cell division, DNA replication, and protein synthesis in order to advance to symbolic understanding of these subjects. In these activities, students acted out these processes with Students were assessed in order to see if confidence, engagement and understanding were improved. When monitored by a passive observer, increases in student engagement were observed.. Students reported that they were more confident in their ability to learn science material. Students also performed better on exams and showed longitudinal retention of material from the treatment lessons.


International license. Cite this article: Bansal M, Gupta R, Bansal J. Celiac Disease: A Scientometric Analysis of World Publication Output, 2005-2014. OGH Reports. 2017;6(1):8-15. ABSTRACT The paper presents an analysis of 14317 world papers in celiac disease, retrieved from Scopus database for the period 2005-14, experiencing an annual average growth rate of 5.20% and citation impact of 12.53.The 15 most productive countries account for 83.89% share in world output, with largest share (21.40%) coming from U.S.A, followed by Italy (12.61%), U.K. (8.23%), Germany (5.41%) etc., during 2005-14. U.S.A achieved the global citation share (35.13%) followed by Italy (17.16%), U.K. (15.74%) etc. Medicine registered the highest publication share (87.93%), followed by biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology (13.56%), immunology and microbiology (6.73%), agricultural and biological sciences, (5.57%), nursing (3.07%), pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutics (2.74%), neurosciences (2.26%), etc. Diarrhoea contributed the largest share (8.10%) in publications by symptoms during 2005-14, followed by abdominal pain (7.68%), insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (6.84%), Crohn disease (6.22%), enteritis (5.34%), etc. Gluten free diet contributed the largest share (18.47%) among significant keywords. The 15 most productive organisations, authors and journals accounted for 15.06%, 10.71% and 16.57% share of the world publication output respectively during 2005-14. It is concluded that individual countries must foster global research and development, by way of providing increased investment in R and D and increase their specialized manpower and provide adequate training courses and infrastructural facilities to scientists and researchers to control the challenges faced by the spread of this disease.


Despite all the efforts after twenty years, Albania is still considered a transitional government or hybrid regime (Freedom House, 2013). Direct participation of citizens in decision making through referendums is a tool to raise the level of public awareness and encourage critical debate of local community concerns among different actors of the society. Local referendums have the advantage to increase critical mass debate about the concern question raised. However, it is often argued that referendums are problematic because they weaken representative democracy. The notion of referendum implies the coexistence of representative institutions such as local councils and the procedures for the intervention of direct participation of the citizens. Seeing the fact that our representatives are far from representing citizens interests and also the fact of the citizens' apathy, this paper argues that local referendums help to develop local democracy, promoting direct participation and human rights values.


Fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) is a type of gut-derived postprandial hormone. FGF19 plays a key role in coordinating liver bile acid biosynthesis and gallbladder motility and acts as a regulator of metabolic homeostasis, including strengthening insulin sensitivity, decreasing triglyceride concentrations, and reducing body weight. In the present study, we investigated the presence of FGF19 in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and investigated relationships with a cluster of characteristic emotions and behaviors. Eighty-three male subjects were recruited and participated in the study. The levels of CSF FGF19 were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and FGF19 levels showed considerable interindividual variations, ranging from 80.54 to 1479.78 pg/ml. Pearson correlation analysis revealed no correlation between CSF FGF19 levels and age or Body Mass Index. Significant correlations were found between CSF FGF19 levels and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores, Suicide Attitude Questionnaire factors, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale scores, and Beck Depression Inventory scores, and CSF FGF19 levels independently affected Beck Depression Inventory scores. Our findings provide evidence of the presence of FGF19 in human CSF and the role of FGF19 in mood regulation in humans.


In current times of economic austerity, the retail sector in many towns and cities are suffering significantly from funding cuts to public services and a lack of investment. With many retail businesses feeling the effects of reduced consumer spending innovation in business-led initiatives are becoming increasingly important in realising the potential of town/city centres to bring key stakeholders together and to develop solutions that facilitate economic growth. Research, such as the Portas Review on the Future of the High Street, points to the critical role that Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) can play in revitalising the high street and co-ordinating concerted change. In this regard BIDs have become firmly established in the urban landscape as the preferred model for cost effective and innovative local service delivery and area improvement. This paper, based on research findings from a comprehensive survey of 91 formal BIDs across the UK and Ireland, analyses the income and investment capacity of BIDs with evidence suggesting a strong multiplier effect which increases with BID maturity. The paper also demonstrates the viability of the UK BID model in leveraging diverse sources of additional revenue and the increasing influence of commercialisation activities in supporting the BID additionality principle. Specific analysis focuses on the performance of renewed and London-based BIDs in leading the value added contribution which the business-led model is delivering in towns and cities.


It is well‐recognized that both improved nutrition and sanitation infrastructure are important contributors to mortality decline. However, the relative importance of the two factors is difficult to quantify since most studies are limited to testing the effects of specific sanitary improvements. This article uses new historical data regarding total investment in urban infrastructure, measured using the outstanding loan stock, to estimate the extent to which the mortality decline in England and Wales between 1861 and 1900 can be attributed to government expenditure. Fixed effects regressions indicate that infrastructure investment explains approximately 30 per cent of the decline in mortality between 1861 and 1900. Since these specifications may not fully account for the endogeneity between investment and mortality, additional specifications are estimated using lagged investment as an instrument for current investment. These estimates suggest that government investment was the major contributor to mortality decline, explaining up to 60 per cent of the reduction in total urban mortality between 1861 and 1900. Additional results indicate that investment in urban infrastructure led to declines in mortality from both waterborne and airborne diseases.


Akpan is a high-potential, traditional yoghurt-like product made from fermented cereal starch, and consumed as a thirst-quenching beverage in Benin. This study investigated the characteristics of consumers, the traditional processing techniques and constraints, and the quality attributes of the product in order to find out the best options for possible industrial development. For this purpose, a survey was carried out in different municipalities using a questionnaire administered to stakeholders. While the production and commercialization of Akpan are undertaken exclusively by women, consumption cuts across all classes of people, with consumers in a wide range of socio-cultural groups, ages, and educational levels. Four types of Akpan were encountered, varying in their raw materials and processing technologies. Maize and sorghum were used either singly or in combination through submerged or solid-state fermentation processes. Among the product types, Akpan from maize ogi was the most preferred, mainly because of its long-established history, white colour, sour taste, and pronounced ogi aroma.


Continual (sequential) training and multitask (simultaneous) training are often attempting to solve the same overall objective: to find a solution that performs well on all considered tasks. The main difference is in the training regimes, where continual learning can only have access to one task at a time, which for neural networks typically leads to catastrophic forgetting. That is, the solution found for a subsequent task does not perform well on the previous ones anymore. However, the relationship between the different minima that the two training regimes arrive at is not well understood. What sets them apart? Is there a local structure that could explain the difference in performance achieved by the two different schemes? Motivated by recent work showing that different minima of the same task are typically connected by very simple curves of low error, we investigate whether multitask and continual solutions are similarly connected. We empirically find that indeed such connectivity can be reliably achieved and, more interestingly, it can be done by a linear path, conditioned on having the same initialization for both. We thoroughly analyze this observation and discuss its significance for the continual learning process. Furthermore, we exploit this finding to propose an effective algorithm that constrains the sequentially learned minima to behave as the multitask solution. We show that our method outperforms several state of the art continual learning algorithms on various vision benchmarks.


Most conceptual models of epigenic conduit development assume that conduits sourcing karst springs form as water that is undersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals flows from recharge to discharge points. This process is not possible in springs fed by distributed recharge that is transmitted through aquifer matrix porosity, such as unconfined aquifers in eogenetic carbonate rocks. Diffusely recharged water has a long residence time within the aquifer, and thus would have equilibrated with the aquifer rocks prior to discharge to the conduits. The upper Floridan aquifer has high matrix permeability (∼10 −13 m 2 ), and many springs lack discrete inputs of undersaturated allogenic water in their recharge areas. Consequently, another explanation for their development is necessary. During flooding of the Suwannee River in north-central Florida, water highly undersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals commonly recharges the upper Floridan aquifer through spring vents, and solution scallops oriented away from the vents suggest most dissolution along conduit walls occurs during these flow reversals. During a single flow reversal at the Peacock Spring cave system, flood water was capable of dissolving up to 3.4 mm of the conduit wall rock. Dissolution occurs as flow reversals follow preexisting features that include joints and paleo–water-table caves. Lack of speleothems in conduits in the upper Floridan aquifer has been used as evidence that the caves formed in the phreatic zone; however, flooding would dissolve any speleothems that may have formed during previous subaerial exposure. Conduit enlargement during flow reversals suggests that dissolution can progress in the normal upstream directions, and this process may be an important driver of dissolution in any karst aquifer with outflows to surface water that are subject to flooding. Flow reversals would also introduce dissolved organic carbon and oxygen into the groundwater and provide important energy sources for cave ecosystems as well as altering redox chemistry of the aquifer water.


The presentation's focus is the Swedish science policy debates on bibliometrics used for the national funding allocation system for higher education and how it is torn between two qualitatively different systems of research impact measures. At present, the national Swedish bibliometric model recognizes and measure research quality as equivalent of publication and of "being cited"– how well researchers make themselves cite-able in citation based metrics. However, a public inquiry last year proposed a new model similar to the "Norwegian model" of impact based metrics where high quality is seen as equivalent to the prestige of the publication channels, i.e. the status of the scientific journals and publishers. This model is proposed to be implemented from 2014, barely five years after the introduction of the current model. What are the consequences of such a constant reorganization of funding practices and how does it influence the publishing and research practices of scientists? To discuss this, Swedish humanities research will be used as a case, as it during the last years appears - erroneously it will be argued - to have made a great increase in publication rates in Web of Science. In addition I will discuss the lack of transparency and comparability between the various quantitative models of performance indicators such as the bibliometrics models used at faculty and national levels. All in all, the aim is to provide grounds for discussing how citations as well as other bibliometric variables not just reflect but actually effect the quality of research – how bibliometrics is performative.


Abstract. The aerosol-cloud interaction in different parts of the globe is examined here using multi-year statistics of remotely sensed data from two MODIS sensors aboard NASA's Terra (morning) and Aqua (afternoon) satellites. Simultaneous retrievals of aerosol loadings and cloud properties by the MODIS sensor allowed us to explore morning-to-afternoon variation of liquid cloud fraction (CF) and optical thickness (COT) for clean, moderately polluted and heavily polluted clouds in different seasons. Data analysis for seven-years of MODIS retrievals revealed strong temporal and spatial patterns in morning-to-afternoon variation of cloud fraction and optical thickness over different parts of the global oceans and the land. For the vast areas of stratocumulus cloud regions, the data shows that the days with elevated aerosol abundance were also associated with enhanced afternoon reduction of CF and COT pointing to the possible reduction of the indirect climate forcing. A positive correlation between aerosol optical depth and morning-to-afternoon variation of trade wind cumulus cloud cover was also found over the northern Indian Ocean, though no clear relationship between the concentration of Indo-Asian haze and morning-to-afternoon variation of COT was established. Over the Amazon region during wet conditions, aerosols are associated with an enhanced convective process in which morning shallow warm clouds are organized into afternoon deep convection with greater ice cloud coverage. Analysis presented here demonstrates that the new technique for exploring morning-to-afternoon variability in cloud properties by using the differences in data products from the two daily MODIS overpasses is capable of capturing some of the major features of diurnal variations in cloud properties and can be used for better understanding of aerosol radiative effects.


This paper presents a miniature fiber-optic high-temperature pressure sensor fabricated on the tip of a singlemode (SM) fiber by means of fusion splicing, cleaving, and wet chemical etching. A new approach was developed to simplify the fabrication and greatly improve the sensitivity. The sensor is made entirely of fused silica, whose high-temperature sensing capability is explored in detail for the first time. Two sensors were tested up to 611/spl deg/C and 710/spl deg/C, respectively, showing excellent repeatability better than 0.62% and 1.4%. The maximum operating temperature is limited by the mechanical creep of the fused silica diaphragm.


Designs for transmit alphabet constrained space-time codes naturally lead to questions about the design of rank distance codes. Recently, diversity embedded multi-level space-time codes for flat fading channels have been designed by using sets of binary matrices with rank distance guarantees over the binary field and mapping them onto QAM and PSK constellations. In this paper we give the design of diversity embedded space-time codes for fading Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) channels with provable rank distance guarantees. In the process of doing so we also get a (asymptotic) characterization of the rate-diversity trade-off for multiple antenna fading ISI channels when there is a fixed transmit alphabet constraint. The key idea is to construct and analyze properties of binary matrices with the particular structure induced by ISI channels.


A suspension of Neisseria gonorrhoeae was injected into rabbit uterine horns to induce pelvic adhesive disease. There was no statistical difference in the formation of adhesions between the rabbits that were given anti-inflammatory agents and those that received no therapy. This study suggests that anti-inflammatory agents will offer no benefit as adjunctive therapy for the prevention of infection-induced pelvic adhesive disease.