Local budgets are characterized by a high dependence rate on transfers from the state budget, without the existence of some intense concerns on the creation of own funds. In the category of transfers from state budget there are included the amounts broken down to balance local budgets, the state subsidies and a series of financial amounts from special funds of the Government. This paper comes to detail the mechanism of local financing by the Fund of reserve and the Fund of intervention used by Government. In the recent years, they have become a support source for communities that fail to survive using their current financial resources. It can be interpreted as a variant of political favor to some municipalities, because there are no set some by the law clear criteria required by distribution of these funds.


Introduction: Breast implants remain a very popular option both for aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgeries. A number of factors can affect the results of breast implant surgeries. The adequate planning on incision placement, need to associate mastopexy, insertion plane, and implant model increase the likelihood of adequate outcomes and reduce the need for secondary surgical treatment. This study describes the experience of a Plastic Surgery Service at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre from 2011 to 2016 by correlating surgical planning with complication rates and surgical reintervention. Methods: A retrospective cohort that analyzed patients who underwent breast implants at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre between 2011 and 2016, and included only cases of aesthetic breast augmentation, associated or not with mastopexy. All patients had their records analyzed, and after that an interview by phone was conducted to complement the information of the questionnaire. The analyzed was concluded with an appointment with a plastic surgeon of the service who examined the patient and confirmed the data collected for the questionnaire. No patients was evaluated by the assistant surgeon in last examination. Results: There was no significant difference between variation in surgical planning and incidence of complications. Conclusion: Still, no consensus exists regarding the best access route and plan for the breast implant. Further studies are necessary to compare the different routines of each service. Currently, best results are still based on routine systematization, precise surgical dissection and minimal contamination. ■ ABSTRACT


Over the last years, numerous evidence on the existing relationship between nutrition and chronic degenerative diseases have led investigators to search for the optimal dietary pattern to maintain a good health status. It's well known, in fact, that nutrition is capable of substantially modifying the risk profile of a subject in primary and/or secondary prevention. Several models of diet have been imposed on public attention, but the one that got the most interest is certainly the Mediterranean diet. Recently, several studies have shown that a strict adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with a lower incidence of mortality and incidence of chronic degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Meta-analyses conducted by our group have revealed, in a population of over than 2 million of people, that adherence to Mediterranean diet determines a significant reduction on the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents. To the best of the knowledge the most effective indications for an optimal therapeutic strategy in nutrition include: increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables up to the recommended 5 servings a day, prefer whole grains, replace saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats, reduce the consumption of sugar and sweetened beverages, and limit salt intake. With these simple indications, together with recommendations of following the principles of the traditional Mediterranean diet, a substantial reduction of the risk of incidence and / or mortality from cardiovascular disease can be easily obtained. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of Fondazione Simone Cesaretti.


Background: The purpose of this study was to identify the causes, clinical features, and outcomes of intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, and panuveitis in patients managed in a mid-Atlantic tertiary care center. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, and panuveitis patients seen at the University of Virginia from 1984 to 2014. Results: One hundred and fifty-nine intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, and panuveitis patients (237 eyes) were identified. The patient population was 54.72% female; 67.30% of patients were Caucasian, and 22.01% were African–American. Mean age at diagnosis was 45.5 years. Mean duration of follow-up was 3.95 years. Mean number of visits to the clinic was 10.35. Of 491 uveitis patients, 26 (5.30%) had intermediate uveitis, 62 (12.60%) had posterior uveitis, and 71 (14.50%) had panuveitis. The leading diagnoses in the intermediate uveitis group were pars planitis (73.08%) and sarcoidosis (11.54%); toxoplasma uveitis (17.74%), multifocal choroiditis (14.52%), undifferentiated posterior uveitis (14.52%), and birdshot chorioretinitis (11.29%) in the posterior uveitis group; and undifferentiated panuveitis (29.58%), post-surgical panuveitis (18.31%), sarcoidosis (12.68%), acute retinal necrosis (12.68%), and toxoplasma uveitis (4.23%) in the panuveitis group. The most common treatment modalities included local steroids (57.23%) and systemic steroids (42.14%). Ocular hypertension was found in 38 patients (23.90%). Glaucoma surgery was performed in 18.24% of patients and cataract surgery in 21.38%. Mean best-corrected visual acuity was 0.66 logMAR at baseline across all anatomical locations and 0.57 logMAR at final follow-up. Best-corrected visual acuity improved or remained stable during follow-up in all groups. Conclusion: The most common diagnoses in our series by anatomical location were pars planitis (intermediate uveitis), toxoplasmosis (posterior uveitis), and undifferentiated uveitis (panuveitis). Panuveitis had significantly worse visual outcomes and higher rates of complications than did intermediate or posterior uveitis, a finding that confirms earlier reports. In this series, unilateral disease, regardless of anatomical location, was associated with poorer visual outcome, in contrast with the findings of other reports. Optometry; Visual science; Pharmacology and drug therapy in eye diseases; Basic Sciences; Primary and Secondary eye care; Patient and Quality of


REDD+, a climate change mitigation mechanism that values carbon in tropical forests, is expected to provide Africa with a range of environmental and socio-economic benefits. Drawing on a vast array of literature and personal experiences, this review analyzed particular features and challenges that REDD+ implementation has faced on the continent. The distinct contexts and major challenges regarding governance, finance and technical capacities are discussed, and mechanisms to fill these gaps are suggested. Radical land tenure reform and a perfect safeguard mechanism that transfers forest land and carbon to the communities are unlikely. REDD+ should rather look for systems that respect local institutional arrangements, and allow forest-based communities to participate in decision-making and benefit sharing, particularly benefits from emerging REDD+. Finances for REDD+ infrastructure and the results-based payment are in short supply. While negotiating for potential external sources in the short term, Africa should generate domestic financial resources and look for additional payments for ecosystem services. Africa should also negotiate for forest monitoring capacity building, while strengthening local community forest monitoring. This review contributes to an improved understanding of the contexts and challenges to consider in the capacity and policy development for REDD+ implementation.


Introduction: Rural-dwelling adults are particularly vulnerable to cognitive problems given known higher rates of associated risk factors and limited resources and access to care. Early cognitive changes remain understudied in this population.

Objective: To determine if and how rural residence is a unique risk factor for delayed detection of early-stage cognitive impairment.

Methods: Studies 1 and 2 involved secondary data analyses of the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set and compared older rural- and urban-dwelling adults on key characteristics and cognitive symptom severity. Study 1 used a cross-sectional design to examine sociodemographic factors, comorbid conditions and cognitive symptom severity between groups. Study 2 used the same variables from Study 1, to examine possible differences in results using two geographic classification schemes. Studies 3 and 4 used qualitative methods including semi-structured, in-home interviews with participants with early cognitive changes and care partners. Study 3 explored perceived determinants of health in these rural-dwelling dyads using thematic content analysis. Study 4 described their subjective experiences at three time periods around a specialty research center visit.

Results: Study 1. Rural and urban groups differed significantly in mean (±SD) years since onset of cognitive symptoms (2.98±1.91 in rural and 3.89±2.70 in urban adults, t[260]= -2.23, P = .03), but they did not differ across sociodemographic features, comorbid conditions, or cognitive symptom severity. Study 2. Results varied both in magnitude and direction of odds ratio differences between two geographic classification schemes for outcome variables. Study 3. Six themes emerged about perceived determinants of health: 1) Staying active, 2) Eating well, 3) Living with cognitive changes, 4) Living rural, 5) Connecting with neighbors and community, and 6) Relying on children. Study 4. Dyad experiences varied across the three time periods. Dyads sought to learn more about cognitive symptoms and described the impact of cognitive changes on everyday life.

Conclusions: There were no significant differences in cognitive symptom severity between rural- and urban-dwelling participants. Qualitative findings highlight critical aspects of rural adults' perceived determinants of health and reactions to cognitive symptoms and diagnosis, which may be used to help target earlier diagnosis and improve long-term disease management.


One of the most intriguing questions in evolution is how organisms exhibit suitable phenotypic variation to rapidly adapt in novel selective environments. Such variability is crucial for evolvability, but poorly understood. In particular, how can natural selection favour developmental organisations that facilitate adaptive evolution in previously unseen environments? Such a capacity suggests foresight that is incompatible with the short-sighted concept of natural selection. A potential resolution is provided by the idea that evolution may discover and exploit information not only about the particular phenotypes selected in the past, but their underlying structural regularities: new phenotypes, with the same underlying regularities, but novel particulars, may then be useful in new environments. If true, we still need to understand the conditions in which natural selection will discover such deep regularities rather than exploiting 'quick fixes' (i.e., fixes that provide adaptive phenotypes in the short term, but limit future evolvability). Here we argue that the ability of evolution to discover such regularities is formally analogous to learning principles, familiar in humans and machines, that enable generalisation from past experience. Conversely, natural selection that fails to enhance evolvability is directly analogous to the learning problem of over-fitting and the subsequent failure to generalise. We support the conclusion that evolving systems and learning systems are different instantiations of the same algorithmic principles by showing that existing results from the learning domain can be transferred to the evolution domain. Specifically, we show that conditions that alleviate over-fitting in learning systems successfully predict which biological conditions (e.g., environmental variation, regularity, noise or a pressure for developmental simplicity) enhance evolvability. This equivalence provides access to a well-developed theoretical framework from learning theory that enables a characterisation of the general conditions for the evolution of evolvability.


Background: Deoxycholic acid has been used in Chinese traditional medicine "Niuhuang" that is known to have Immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. Preliminary evidences have shown that Deoxycholic acid modulates the immune system by way of stimulation and helps in maintaining a disease-free state within an individual. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Deoxycholic acid on immunophenotyping analysis of peripheral blood and splenic lymphocytes in CD57 female mice. Methods: Animals were treated with control, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg of Deoxycholic acid for 14 days. The animals were euthanized on Day 15 and blood and intact spleens were collected. The homogenized spleens were collected aseptically and prepared single cell suspension of splenocytes. The whole blood and spleen cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: At 100 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg, 2-fold increase in total lymphocytes (CD45) and significant increases in lymphocyte (T-cell) population and sub-populations of T-cell (Helper T-cell, Cytotoxic T-cell) were observed. Increased (up to 77%) proliferation of B-cells was observed at these doses. Similar trends, but at lesser magnitude as compared to 100 and 500 mg/kg, were observed at 1000 mg/kg, this was due to the toxicity observed at this dose. No treatment related changes in the populations of Lymphocytes of spleen. Conclusion: From the results of the present study, it was suggested that Deoxycholic acid treatment modulates the immune system by activating both cell mediated and humoral immune system.


Cybersecurity remains a critical issue facing regulators, particularly with the advent of the Internet of Things. General-purpose security regulators such as the Federal Trade Commission continually struggle with limited resources and information in their oversight. This Essay contends that a new approach to cybersecurity modeled on the negligence per se doctrine in tort law will significantly improve cybersecurity and reduce regulatory burdens. It introduces a taxonomy of regulators based upon the scope of their oversight and the pace of technological change in industries within their purview. Then, the Essay describes negligence per se for cybersecurity, which establishes a floor for security precautions that draws upon extant security standards. By focusing on the worst offenders, this framework improves notice to regulated entities, reduces information asymmetries, and traverses objections from legal scholars about the cost and efficacy of cybersecurity mandates. The Essay concludes by offering an emerging case study for its approach: regulation of quasi-medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration. As consumer devices increasingly offer functionality for both medical and non-medical purposes, the FDA will partly transition to a general-purpose regulator of information technology, and the negligence per se model can help the agency balance security precautions with promoting innovation.


The gut microbiota has recently been identified as an environmental factor that may promote metabolic diseases. To investigate the effect of gut microbiota on host energy and lipid metabolism, we compared the serum metabolome and the lipidomes of serum, adipose tissue, and liver of conventionally raised (CONV-R) and germ-free mice. The serum metabolome of CONV-R mice was characterized by increased levels of energy metabolites, e.g., pyruvic acid, citric acid, fumaric acid, and malic acid, while levels of cholesterol and fatty acids were reduced. We also showed that the microbiota modified a number of lipid species in the serum, adipose tissue, and liver, with its greatest effect on triglyceride and phosphatidylcholine species. Triglyceride levels were lower in serum but higher in adipose tissue and liver of CONV-R mice, consistent with increased lipid clearance. Our findings show that the gut microbiota affects both host energy and lipid metabolism and highlights its role in the development of metabolic diseases.


Congenital anomalies occur in about 2 – 3% of liveborn and 20% of stillborn infants. They constitute a serious public health and epidemiological problem. The etiology of congenital anomalies is complex; they can result from genetic factors, environmental factors, or a combination of both. It is estimated that genetic factors represent an important cause of congenital anomalies and may be due to different genetic mechanisms: aneuploidies, deletions and duplications of DNA segments, and single gene disorders. Due to the genetic complexity, the targeted prenatal genetic diagnostics of congenital anomalies is usually problematic and challenging. In recent years new diagnostic algorithms for pre- natal genetic testing are being developed with the advent of new genomic technologies, like molecular karyotyping and next-generation sequencing. These technologies offer testing options that exceed conventional karyotyping and targeted molecular genetic testing with better diagnostic yield. In this chapter, an overview of the conventional genetic diagnostic approach and the use of new genomic technologies in the diagnostic algorithm of prenatally detected congenital anomalies are discussed.


The paper aims at analyzing the performance of two of the equity valuation models, the residual income (RIVM) and the pricing - multiples model. I test first how the residual income valuation model performs relative to the pricing - multiples model for a set of different value drivers and industries, second whether the performance of the different multiples increases when these are measured either with the mean, the median or the harmonic mean of the absolute prediction error and the signed prediction error. The pricing - multiples approach is in most cases a better predictor of market prices than the residual income valuation model. In addition, the harmonic mean yields to more reliable estimates of value for a set of different industries. Finally, there are some value drivers that are supposed to be more reliable than others in specific industries, but there isn't any value driver that dominates all the industries.


Angiogenesis is the process by which new blood vessels develop by splitting of or by sprouting from existing vessels. In sprouting angiogenesis vessels branch out and connect with other sprouts to form a new network. This process involves both the endothelial cells, which make up the inner lining of a vessel, and the perivascular cells, which surround the vessel. The collective behavior of these cells results in the formation of sprouts and eventually vascular networks. The cells involved in angiogenesis differ in shape and behavior, which affects their collective behavior. Furthermore, the cells also affect one another via diffusive and membrane bound signaling molecules. In this thesis we aim to understand how interactions between multiple cell-types exhibiting subtle differences in behavior change the resulting collective angiogenic sprouting. To this end, we developed cell-based, computational models of angiogenesis, based on the cellular Potts model. The inputs of these models are the observed or hypothesized behavior of individual cells and the output is the resulting collective cell behavior: e.g., the formation of angiogenic sprouts or vascular networks. By assigning different behavior to a subset of the cells, these models can be used to study the interplay between cell types exhibiting different behavior.


The first digital sensor used in intraoral radiography, RadioVisioGraphy was introduced in 1987. It was based on the activity of a charged-Coupled Device (CCD) sensor. Later on, other digital sensors became commercially available, including the Digora featuring an imaging plate coated with photostimulable phosphor (PSP) in 1994 and the complementary metal-oxide semiconductorbased sensor, CDR active pixel sensor, in 1998. These technologies have recently undergone considerable improvement, and several dental clinics have switched from film-based systems to digital imaging. In the early days, digital sensors were considered inferior to film in clinical diagnostics, but according to recent research results, there is no longer any significant difference because of the improvement in performance. However, our latest research using a new evaluation method and a precise phantom model indicated some differences between the performance of CCD and PSP systems and further differences between PSP systems of different function and performance.


This Greek grammar, newly revised and reset for the second edition, can be used profitably in three ways: as an instrucitve handbook, as an intermediate level textbooks and as a basic reference work to the Greek of the New Testament. Students needing a tool to guide them from elementary textbooks to fully fledged reference grammars will welcome Idioms of the Greek New Testament. The major topics of Greek grammar are treated in a useful pedagogical sequence. Substantial discussions are provided on Greek verb structure, the case system, the use of prepositions, particles, and various types of clauses, among others. This book charts new ground in many of its chapters. Among the innovative treatments are those on tense and aspectm mood and attitude, conditional clauses, word order and clause structure, and discourse analysis. The entire grammar is written with one eye on the traditional categories of Greek grammar and with the other on recent discussions of structural linguistics. Reference to other Greek grammars is made throughout, and a glossary of terms and full indexes are provided.


ABSTRACT

Adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have the ability to differentiate into different cell types such as osteoblasts, adipocytes, chondrocytes, myoblasts, neural cells etc. The multipotency of mesenchymal stem cells, its easy isolation and culture as wells as their high ex vivo expansion potential make these cells to be exploited for therapeutic purpose. Despite enormous data available at molecular and cellular levels, it is evident that number of fundamental queries regarding molecular and cellular mechanisms needs to be elucidated. The present study is aimed at understanding differentiation of osteoblasts from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) by certain candidate genes. shRNA based library screening was performed in our laboratory to silence specific mRNA that interfere with osteoblasts differentiation from MSC. shRNA library led to the identification of several candidate genes of known as well as unknown function.
We focused our studies on candidate genes whose function is unknown and termed as osteoblasts inducer (ObI/OB). Current study is limited to understand a particular gene termed as 'OB3' in succession to our previously identified and characterized genes.
OB3 gene identified during shRNA library screening was validated in both bone marrow stromal cell lines as well as murine primary mesenchymal stem cells. Its expression during osteoblasts differentiation has to been elucidated and its silencing effects on bone markers has been shown. We have by microarray few targets that are repressed upon OB3 silencing and involved in osteoblasts differentiation. Moreover, OB3 protein undergoes proteasome degradation and we have attempted if not completely to show that OB3 degradation is mediated through ubiquitin-proteasome.
We have identified Creb3 as a partner of OB3 and have attempted to show creb3 silencing during osteoblasts differentiation. Furthermore overexpression of both OB3 and Creb3 independently delay osteoblasts differentiation. Attempts to identify the molecular mechanisms through which these two candidate genes are involved in osteoblasts differentiation is being explored.


Abstract Tsunami warning traditionally has been perceived within the scientific community as an essentially deterministic process. This may be satisfactory in regions where tsunami monitoring is very extensive and the uncertainty in tsunami forecasting is low. However, where there is significant uncertainty, the worthy aspiration to achieve a zero-tolerance policy on tsunami fatalities is set against the reduction in public alert compliance associated with previous false alerts. A risk-informed approach is presented, which outlines a decision process that allows for a decline in alert compliance due to false alerts. This risk-informed approach assesses probabilistically the tsunamigenicity of fault rupture, using data not just from historical catalogues but also the geological record. Prior probabilities could be automatically updated in real time by a Bayesian Belief Network from observations obtained in real time: earthquake depth information; pressure sensor recordings, tide gauge measurements; or visual reports of coastal inundation. A decision to issue a general evacuation warning in a specific region might be made provided the updated posterior probability reached a critical threshold.


Informed by theory and debate associated with the field of media studies, this thesis presents a comparative analysis of two Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations in the West Midlands between 1972 and the mid 1980s: BRMB Radio in Birmingham and Beacon Radio, which served Wolverhampton and the Black Country. It locates the two stations in the context of the development of British broadcasting policy, which had been shaped from the start by the British model of public service broadcasting. ILR was a public radio service which was funded by the sale of advertising time. Similar to commercial radio elsewhere, the survival of BRMB and Beacon Radio depended on the income they could generate, but the commercial imperative was constrained by the legislative and regulatory framework of British public service broadcasting. The thesis argues that the fortunes of the two stations depended largely on the approaches taken by their respective management teams to these conflicting influences.
The success or failure of an ILR station, in terms of profit or programming, was shaped by its management team. BRMB Radio was an example of a station with an appropriate balance of experience and expertise. From the beginning it was headed by a managing director with a commercial background and a programme controller who was experienced in regulated public service broadcasting. In contrast, Beacon Radio was a station with the wrong people in charge. Both the managing director and the programme controller were from a commercial broadcasting background, and their approach brought the station into conflict with the Independent Broadcasting Authority, ILR"s regulator. Almost every aspect of the Beacon operation was designed to make money. The profit motive took precedence over the fulfilment of its public service obligations. Beacon"s deficiencies in terms of local coverage and its aggressive sales tactics caused some parts of the local community to reject the station, with some calling on the IBA to remove the Beacon licence.
Formulating the correct type of programmes and working with the regulator was a necessity. To generate revenue a station needed to sell an audience to advertisers. To build an audience it had to create programming to which listeners could relate. Music policy, the personality of presenters, and predictability of output were specifically relevant to BRMB and Beacon. Above all, each station had to have access to the airwaves, and with the IBA as gatekeeper to the airwaves it had to abide by its rules and regulations, especially those relating to programming and content. This was exemplified by the case of Beacon Radio: it was only after the IBA had refused to renew its licence that Beacon recognised the importance of having programmes which met the prescribed standard of quality and public service, and working with the regulator and not against it.


This section will review those books whose content and level reflect the general editorial policy of Technometrics. Publishers should send books for review to Ejaz Ahmed, Department of Mathematics and Sciences, BrockUniversity, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1 (email@example.com). The opinions expressed in this section are those of the reviewers. These opinions do not represent positions of the reviewer's organization and may not reflect those of the editors or the sponsoring societies. Listed prices reflect information provided by the publisher and may not be current. The book purchase programs of the American Society for Quality can provide some of these books at reduced prices for members. For information, contact the American Society for Quality at 1-800-248-1946.


The series Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications comprises interdisciplinary research covering the theory, foundations and domain-specific topics pertaining to security. Publications within the series are peer-reviewed monographs and edited works in the areas of:   biological and chemical threat recognition and detection (e.g., biosensors, aerosols, forensics)  crisis and disaster management  terrorism  cyber security and secure information systems (e.g., encryption, optical and photonic systems)  traditional and non-traditional security  energy, food and resource security  economic security and securitization (including associated infrastructures)  transnational crime  human security and health security  social, political and psychological aspects of security  recognition and identification (e.g., optical imaging, biometrics, authentication and verification)  smart surveillance systems  applications of theoretical frameworks and methodologies (e.g., grounded theory, complexity, network sciences, modelling and simulation)  Together, the high-quality contributions to this series provide a cross-disciplinary overview of forefront research endeavours aiming to make the world a safer place.


Early time-series studies that examined the impact of unions on labor's share of income were primarily descriptive. They generally found that unions did not impact labor's share of income. In contrast, later studies, using either panel data or cross-section data, have produced mixed results. This study adds to our understanding of this topic by first developing an analytical model based on imperfect competition and then testing the model using time-series data for the US manufacturing sector from 1949–2006. The results demonstrate that unions have a positive impact on labor's share of income. They show that for each one percentage point reduction in union density, the proportion of income received by production workers declines by about 0.2 percentage points, holding other factors constant. From 1949 to 2006, labor's share of income declined approximately 25 percentage points; around 28% of that decline is explained by the decline in unionization. This paper is distinctive in estimating the proportion of the decline in labor's share attributable to declining unionization. It also has important implications for the Employee Free Choice Act and sheds light on whether social or institutional forces can affect the distribution of income.


In order to quantify real time pasture biomass from SAR image, regression model between ground measurements of biomass and ENVISAT ASAR backscattering coefficient should be built up. An important prerequisite of valid and accurate regression model is accurate grass backscattering coefficient which, however, cannot be obtained when there is speckle. Speckle noise is the best known problem of SAR images because of the coherent nature of radar illumination imaging system. This study aims to choose better adaptive filter from NEST software to reduce speckle noise in homogeneous pasture area, with little regard to linear feature (e.g. edge between pasture and forest) or point feature (e.g. pond, tree) preservation. This paper presents the speckle suppression result of ENVISAT ASAR VV/VH images in pasture of Western Australia (WA) using four built-in adaptive filters of the NEST software: Frost, Gamma Map, Lee, and Refined Lee filter. Two indices are usually used for evaluation of speckle suppression ability: ENL (Equivalent Number of Looks) and SSI (Speckle Suppression Index). These two, however, are not reliable because sometimes they overestimate mean value. Therefore, apart from ENL and SSI, the authors also used a new index SMPI (Speckle Suppression and Mean Preservation Index). It was found that, Lee filter with window size 7×7 and Frost filter (damping factor = 2) with window size 5×5 gave the best performance for VV and VH polarization, respectively. The filtering, together with radiometric calibration and terrain correction, paves the way to extraction of accurate backscattering coefficient of grass in homogeneous pasture area in WA.


The ever-increasing spread and emergence of antibiotic resistance poses a serious threat to global public health. With the existence of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) produced by the Klebsiella Pneumoniae bacteria, it renders the use of carbapenems, the last-resort class of β-lactam antibiotics, useless against combating against bacterial infections. Such infections reduce the ability to treat complex infections due to the lack of antibiotic options for treatment, leading to CRE-associated mortalities. Current methods of detection, like CarbaNP test and Modified Hodge's Test, have significant limitations in that the time taken for detection of carbapenemase activity ranges between hours to days, and are non-specific in detecting the specific phenotype, making it challenging to isolate patients rapidly and to devise appropriate treatment for infected patients. We propose a methodology by utilising Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) to study bacterial β-lactamase activity. This is done via the use of gold nanostars (AuNS), which have reported excellent SERS properties, conjugated with a β-lactam antibiotic ceftriaxole, as a proof-of-concept study to analyse the changes in the SERS spectra associated with cleavage of the β-lactam ring upon interaction with the New Delhi Metalloproteinase (NDM)- producing Escherichia coli (Class B β-lactamase). We are able to obtain detection of carbapenemase activity within 25 minutes, with the associated changes in SERS spectra being diminishing of SERS peaks at 1358cm-1 and 1495cm-1. This project can be further extended to study the activity of other classes of β-lactamases and other β-lactam antibiotics to improve this state of technology for potential adoption by healthcare institutions.


BACKGROUND
Schwannomas are rare, slow-growing, benign tumors consisting of Schwann cells. They may cause pressure along a bony structure, resulting in increased pain and discomfort. Less than 1% of schwannomas become malignant, and localization in the foot is uncommon (2%-3% of reported cases).

METHODS
We present a case of a schwannoma of a branch of the posterior tibial nerve sheath. The goal is to assist in recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of schwannoma in the foot and ankle. This is a case of a 51-year-old male soccer player with a soft-tissue mass along the medial ankle at the tarsal tunnel area with an insidious onset (2 years). Physical examination revealed a 3.0 × 2.5-cm mass; magnetic resonance imaging confirmed location, size, and depth.

RESULTS
Surgical resection of the soft-tissue mass was performed under general anesthesia. The mass was found to be superior to the flexor retinaculum and attached by a small nerve branch of the posterior tibial nerve that traveled through the flexor retinaculum. A tissue specimen was sent to the pathology laboratory, and a schwannoma was confirmed histologically.

CONCLUSIONS
Schwannomas can occur after trauma, especially if the posterior tibial nerve or its branches are affected intrinsically or extrinsically, leading to discomfort, pain, and numbness along the tarsal tunnel. Also, unique to this case, a schwannoma may occur along the small branches of the posterior tibial nerve and present anatomically superior to the flexor retinaculum.


The Fugitive Warrants Unit of the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office tracked down a Kentucky man who had escaped from jail in Simpson County Kentucky. He had last been seen August 5 th while on a work release program. The investigators, assisting the US Marshals Service, learned that 35-year old Harlan Edward McIntosh may be hiding out in the Destin area. On the night of August 15 th , they found a stolen white Buick Rainier Harlan was believed to be driving parked at the beach access near the southwest front of the Destin Bridge. They located McIntosh sleeping on the beach and took him into custody as a fugitive from justice based on a warrant from Kentucky State Police for escape. McIntosh had the keys to the stolen car on him. The OCSO investigators found stolen items from Bay County Florida and Birmingham Alabama in the car. Meantime, the county van that Kentucky State Police believe McIntosh made off with in his initial getaway was located in Bay County, being driven by 29-year old Garret Callahan, who was arrested on a charge there of driving without a valid license. McIntosh told OCSO investigators Callahan took the van he stole from Kentucky because McIntosh had taken the Buick from Callahan. The Buick had been reported stolen from a woman in Birmingham Alabama.


Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a cheap source of protein and rich in minerals for people living in developing countries. In order to assess the existing molecular genetic diversity and determine population structures in selected Ethiopian chickpea germplasm accessions (118), a set of 46 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers equally distributed on the chickpea genome were genotyped. A total of 572 alleles were detected from 46 SSR markers, and the number of alleles per locus varied from 2 (ICCM0289) to 28 (TA22). The average number of alleles per locus, polymorphism information content, and expected heterozygosity were 12, 0.684, and 0.699, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the 118 chickpea genotypes from diverse sources into three evolutionary and/or biological groups (improved desi, improved kabuli, and landraces). The population structure analysis revealed six sub-populations from 118 chickpea genotypes studied. AMOVA revealed that 57%, 29%, and 14% of the total genetic variations were observed among individuals, within populations, and among populations. The insights into the genetic diversity at molecular levels in the Ethiopian germplasm lines can be used for designing conservation strategies as well as the diverse germplasm lines identified in this study can be used for trait dissection and trait improvement.


Opinion about the reliability of economic forecasts ranges widely. Some argue that they are literally worthless, at the same time that most forecasters can point to a sequence of near perfect predictions. How much confidence should one place in economic forecasts? The errors vary with many factors. ; A crucial determinant of the size of forecast errors is the forecast period; some periods are very difficult to predict while others are relatively easy. By far the largest errors were the sustained underestimations of the acceleration of inflation in 1973-75 and again in 1978-80. In addition, variations in the difficulty of predicting different variables can be illustrated by examining the forecasts. The results show drastic differences among variables in the forecasters ability to outperform a naive standard of comparison. Finally, much of the interest in forecast accuracy stems from the wish to know \\"Who is the best forecaster?\\" Even a cursory examination of the information in this article shows that no single forecaster dominates all outliers for all, or even most, of the variables.


At the end of 2008, a new left colon clinical pathway was implemented in our hospital and set up by a multidisciplinary team, monitored by a clinical pathway coordinator. Our aim was to evaluate the quality of left and sigmoid colectomy management, to simplify the clinical pathway and to assess its impact on the patient, the medical and nursing staffs. A sample of 290 patients with benign or malignant disease requiring a laparoscopic of laparotomy left colon resection (mainly sigmoid) was included in this clinical pathway during the years 2009–2017. Our analysis focused particularly on the compliance with the protocol, the pain felt, the suture leak rate, the hospital stay, the re-hospitalization rate and redo surgery within 30 days. Our work leads to the conclusion that the introduction of a clinical pathway, when it is well prepared and brings together all the implicated per-sons with the same goal, is feasible with convincing results. These are directly beneficial to the patient and to the quality of its management.


We examine the impact of publicly funded biomedical research on the in-house research of the for-profit pharmaceutical industry. Qualitative analysis of the history of the discovery and development of a sample of 21 significant drugs, and a program of interviews with senior managers and scientists reveals a complex and often bidirectional relationship between the public and private sectors of the industry, illustrating the difficulties inherent in estimating the rate of return to public support of basic research. This analysis also highlights the importance for private sector firms of maintaining close connections to the upstream' scientific community, which requires them to make significant investments in doing in-house basic research and adopting appropriate internal incentives and procedures. We measure the extent and nature of this connectedness' using data on coauthorship of scientific papers between pharmaceutical company scientists and publicly funded researchers. These measures are significantly correlated with firms' internal organization, as well as their research performance in drug discovery as measured by important patents per research dollar. The size of the estimated impact of connectedness' to private research productivity implies a substantial return to public investments in basic research.


This case report describes the therapeutic process of a young person with a variety of symptoms, including increased irritability, impulse control disorder, mood swings, restrictive eating, and antisocial behaviour. Since childhood she has presented abnormalities in the form of impulsivity, rulebreaking, attention deficit and hyperactivity. During voluntary hospitalisation a hyperkinetic conduct disorder and an atypical eating disorder were diagnosed. Individual psychotherapy with multimodal treatment, including cognitivebehavioural and psychodynamic approaches and psychopharmacological therapy, was initiated and continued throughout outpatient therapy. Systemic, familycentred interventions, including regular family and parent sessions, played an important role in the therapy. Following a stabilisation period the youth developed depressive symptoms accompanied by suicidal behaviour and selfinflicted injuries, which improved again at a later stage. After initial difficulties, a stable, trusting and transparent therapeutic relationship was established, focusing on a variety of topics. Interdisciplinary collaboration with parents, teachers, and all the professionals involved allowed resources to be strengthened and important success experiences to be achieved.


We report the identification of a new recessive prenatal lethal insertional mutation, amnionless (amn). amn mutant embryos first appear abnormal during the Early Streak stage, between E6.5 and E7.0, when they initiate mesoderm production. Subsequently, the amn mutants become developmentally arrested between the Mid and Late Streak stages of gastrulation and they die and are resorbed between E9.5 and E10.5. While extraembryonic structures, including the chorion, yolk sac blood islands, and allantois appear to develop normally, the small embryonic ectoderm remains undifferentiated and generates no amnion. In addition, the embryonic mesoderm that is produced does not become organized into node, notochord, and somites and there is no morphological evidence of neural induction. Interspecific backcross and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses map the transgene insertion, and thus the amn mutation, to the distal region of mouse chromosome 12, which has synteny with human chromosome 14q32. A gene encoding a 7.5-kb transcript has been identified at a junction between the integrated transgene and host chromosome 12 sequences that meets three criteria expected of a candidate amn gene. This gene maps to the site of transgene insertion; it is transcribed during gastrulation, and its expression is disrupted in amn mutant embryos. Nucleotide sequencing studies show that the 567 amino acid protein encoded by the 7.5-kb transcript is a member of the newly defined family of putative signal transducing proteins, TRAFs, that associate with the cytoplasmic domains of members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily. Thus, we have named the gene encoding the 7. 5-kb transcript TRAFamn. TRAFamn is identical to a recently reported protein (CD40bp, CAP-1, CRAF1, LAP1) that can bind the cytoplasmic domains of CD40 and the lymphotoxin beta receptor (LTbetaR), both of which are known members of the TNF receptor superfamily. The implications of these findings regarding a possible role for the TNF receptor superfamily during gastrulation are discussed.


Seeking to shed light on the extent to which self-regulation works in the Mexican securities market, the study involves an empirical analysis of 128 decisions issued by the Mexican Stock Exchange (MSE) during a recent five-year period, involving 89 cases of trading suspension sanctions. The research inquires on: i) the nature and aim of the self-regulation, on account of the wrongdoing governed and sanctioned; ii) the issuing companies targeted; and iii) how they respond to the sanctions, in terms complying. Reaction to the findings through a series of semi-structured interviews with key players of Mexico's securities market further illustrate the development, role, and challenges of the self-regulation. Among other findings, the research concludes that the self-regulation is largely preventive and procedural in nature, aimed primarily at inducing timely and complete governance compliance, rather than at more serious misconduct. Moreover, the firms targeted and sanctioned are usually smaller and less profitable. Nonetheless, compliance rates are fairly high, and trade is often resumed within hours. Even if the trading suspensions do not seem to have an impact on the price of stock, issuers apparently care significantly about being suspended. The study also points to challenges faced by the current self-regulatory regime, including certain wrongdoing not being detected, the absence of stronger sanctions like fines, the need for more revision and auditing, and to overcome the conflicts of interest derived from the Mexican Stock Exchange becoming a publicly-held company, policing the same market that it manages and in which it trades. This paper involves an initial effort to collect and assess empirical data on enforcement activity for Latin America, a region with widespread support for market development but with a hostile corporate environment, often characterized by concentrated ownership structures, strong controlling owners, and tunneling, that could benefit from a better understanding of securities enforcement for its development. Moreover, the research adds new dimensions to the existing literature by both focusing on an emerging region, and addressing self-regulation by stock exchanges as an alternative enforcement channel with the potential of strengthening markets.


Soil solution metal concentrations and hence metal bioavailability are controlled by sorption-desorption reactions at the surfaces of soil colloids. Compared with the numerous studies on sorption of metals by soils, there are relatively few that examine desorption, and even fewer that have measured desorption kinetics. The objective of this study was, using techniques and models developed previously for studies with synthetic oxides, to examine the effect of sorption period on the subsequent desorption kinetics of Cd and Co from two natural soil clay fractions. Cobalt was less readily desorbed from the clay fractions than Cd, but with both metals and clay fractions, increases in sorption period were accompanied by substantial decreases in the proportions of sorbed metal desorbed. As with the oxides studied previously, desorption kinetics for Cd and Co sorbed onto clay fractions were found to be described well by both a two-site first-order model and a model involving a lognormal distribution of first-order rate constants. Reaction half-lives derived from the models suggested a movement of Cd and Co to slower desorption reactions with increasing sorption period. However, some caution should be used in interpreting such parameters.


This article provides a comprehensive review of the emerging domestic violence literature using a race, class, gender, sexual orientation intersectional analysis and structural framework fostered by women of color and their allies to understand the experiences and contexts of domestic violence for marginalized women in U.S. society. The first half of the article lays out a series of challenges that an intersectional analysis grounded in a structural framework provides for understanding the role of culture in domestic violence. The second half of the article points to major contributions of such an approach to feminist methods and practices in working with battered women on the margins of society.


This paper describes a remote sensing‐based approach for detailed topographic investigations in steep periglacial high‐mountain faces. The study was conducted at one of the highest periglacial rock faces in the European Alps, the permafrost‐affected and partially glacierised east face of Monte Rosa. Strongly increased rock and ice avalanche activity on this rock wall has caused major topographic change in recent decades. A time series of high‐resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) with a 2‐m resolution was produced from digital aerial photogrammetry for 1956, 1988 and 2001 and from airborne LiDAR for 2005 and 2007. The DTM comparisons reveal a total volume loss of permafrost‐affected bedrock and glacier ice of more than 20 × 106 m3 over the past 50 years, with the majority of the loss since 1988. Analysis of all unstable areas and detachment zones showed that the sequence of the main slope failures is spatially connected and that there is coupling between permafrost bedrock instability and the condition of adjacent hanging glaciers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


New alleles influencing resistance to potato virus Y (PVY) would be valuable for developing resistant tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cultivars. The first objective of this research was to evaluate materials possessing an introgressed genomic region (Nafr) from N. africana Merx. & Buttler for their resistance against an array of nine PVY isolates. Seven near-isogenic genotypes of flue-cured tobacco cultivar K326 were produced that possessed Nafr and the recessive resistance gene, va, in different combinations and zygosities. Nafr provided little protection against mild non-necrotic isolates, but imparted significant increased resistance against the necrotic effects of two severe isolates. Data indicated that Nafr and va can be combined to increase the range and level of resistance or tolerance to PVY. A second objective was to evaluate five backcross-derived K326 Nafr/Nafr isolines and corresponding nemizygous F 1 hybrids for yield and quality characteristics in field experiments in the absence of PVY Infection. The K326 Nafr/-genotypes were not significantly different from K326 for yield or cash return, and produced cured leaf with improved quality. The Nafr/Nafr genotypes were inferior to Nafr/- genotypes for yield, cash return, and cured leaf quality. Genotypes of the Nafr/- valva combination may have the greatest practical value when yield, quality, and reaction to PVY infection are collectively taken into consideration.


When the method of contouring an object surface by electronic speckle pattern interferometry is based on shifting the illumination beams, the shifted phase of the interference speckle pattern has a new relationship with the depth of the test surface. Therefore the contour interval as well as the fringe sensitivity of this method has new forms. The geometry of such a situation, which differs from that of either the method of two-wavelength contouring or the method of contouring by tilting the test object is presented. The requirements on the experimental conditions for this method are also presented. Experimental results are in agreement with these analyses.


Extending Liles' work in the development of an effective "enabling strategy," the author has formulated a set of 20 operating guidelines for effective venture capital funds management. The guidelines presented in this paper are the result of a detailed study of 368 venture capital investments which were analyzed along three critical investment parameters. These parameters are: (1) the capital requirements of investee ventures, (2) investment liquidity, and (3) the riskiness of venture capital investing. In addition, the characteristics of investments in "start-up" and "later-round" situations are compared.


Survival in avalanche terrain is about being in the right place at the right time, i.e. taking the right decisions regarding avalanche danger. Psychological research has shown that emotions like fear and safety (absence of fear) influence our decisions. Perceived safety might therefore be an important part of the human factor in avalanche accidents. Few studies have examined perceived safety from a skier`s perspective. The aim of this study was to develop a scale for assessing perceived safety among off-piste and backcountry skiers. Based on focus group interviews with skiers, a survey was developed and distributed thru the internet to Norwegian skiers. Factor analysis of the results yielde the factors Perceived Exposure, Collective Safety, Safe Objects, Knowledge & Skills and Experience, all with satisfactory psychometric properties. Findings are discussed in the light of knowledge gained from the focus groups and from a literature review.


Three studies were conducted to improve simple artificial insemination in sheep using chilled extended semen and evaluate methods to predict fertility in ewes. The first study evaluated the effect of semen extenders and storage temperature on motility parameters of ram semen stored for up to 72 h. Single semen collected from each ram was divided into four parts and extended using four extenders: milk, TRIS, TEST, and CJ-2, diluted to 600 million sperm/ml and loaded into 0.25 ml straws for storage at 4 and 15° C. Most of the CASA motility parameters were higher after extension and storage at 4 compared with 15° C (P < 0.05). Ram semen stored using milk or TRIS based extenders at 4° C maintained similar sperm motility parameters but both were higher compared with TEST or CJ-2 extenders after storage for up to 3 d (P < 0.05). The second study evaluated the effects of different combinations of extenders, ethylene glycol (EG), egg yolk and penicillamine, hypotaurine and epinephrine (PHE) on ram sperm motility parameters during storage. Semen electroejaculated from each ram was distributed across treatment combinations consisting of either TRIS or milk extenders supplemented with 5 or 20% (v/v) egg yolk, ± EG, and ± PHE. Milk extender supplemented with 1% EG, PHE and either 5 or 20% egg yolk can protect sperm cells better than other extender and supplement combination after storage at 4° C for up to 72 h. The third study was conducted to correlate serum AMH and lambs born with estimated breeding values determined through National Sheep Improvement Program for reproductive performance (NLB or number of lambs born; NLW or number of lambs weaned; MWWT or maternal weaning weight; and the Katahdin index) and WWT or weaning weight. Additionally, correlation between AMH quartiles and lambs born after fall versus summer breeding was determined. There was no correlation between serum AMH and EBVs for NLB, NLW, MWWT, WWT and the Katahdin index in Katahdin ewes (P > 0.05). Ewes in the lowest quartile (Q1) had lower number of offsprings born from summer breeding compared with ewes in other AMH quartiles.


The gender issue as it relates to development and peace in Nigeria is examined in this paper. The paper highlights the fact that women as part of the gender issue need to be recognised more as contributors to development in order for peace to be maintained. The gender issue in most countries has become overwhelming along the same line as the need for national development, particularly in the areas of technology. Peace as a factor also has become the focus of urgent attention. This is because development cannot take place where there is no peace.


The supply of new diagnostics and treatments is insufficient to keep up with the increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and multidrug resistance (MDR) as older medicines are used more widely and microbes develop resistance to them. At the same time, significant quantities of antibiotics are used on patients and animals that do not need them, while others who do need them lack access. Effective responses to AMR/MDR require effort by both the public and private sectors to develop and disseminate new diagnostics, vaccines and treatments on a global scale, as well as to adapt them to local needs. This calls for good governance to identify priorities, raise awareness and ensure effective stewardship at global, regional and national levels to minimize the development of resistance. Failure to act appropriately in one country will adversely impact all countries as resistance travels fast. Based on a review of recent literature, this WIPO Global Challenges Report includes a broad overview of current approaches and consortia designed to meet the challenge of research and development (R&D) investment for new treatments. It also examines patent applications by both the public and the private sectors as an indicator of innovative activity. This report finds that there is a need to address the unique market challenges and specific uncertainties associated with the development of new diagnostics and treatments, where current approaches are not optimal. An effective global framework that achieves the necessary political support while ensuring effective local implementation is crucial. There is an opportunity to complement this work by formulating mechanisms that drive innovation for results to incentivize success, while feeding expertise and experience into stewardship and access efforts. Intellectual property (IP) could be used in a constructive manner as one element in any reward or prize system for AMR/MDR R&D – both in terms of providing an incentive and governance.


Firms can manipulate their stock price by restricting the tradable float. When risk averse investors have differences of opinion and are short-sale constrained, reductions in the float freeze out pessimistic investors, pushing up prices. When the float is released, prices fall. To formally test this idea, I examine a series of corporate events in Japan in which firms actively reduced their float between 0.1 and 99.9 percent for periods of one to three months. Consistent with the theory, (a) prices rise when the float is contracted and fall when the float is released, and (b) returns are cross-sectionally related to the reduction in float. Firms are more likely to issue equity or redeem convertible debt during the period when float is low, suggesting strong incentives for manipulation. More generally, the results may explain why several pricing anomalies are associated with low float.


While teacher effectiveness has been a particular focus of federal education policy, and districts allocate significant resources toward professional development for teachers, these efforts are guided by an unexplored assumption that classroom practice can be improved through intervention. Yet even assuming classroom practice is responsive, little information is available to inform stakeholder expectations about how much classroom practice may change through intervention, or whether particular aspects of classroom practice are more amenable to improvement. Moreover, a growing body of rigorous research evaluating programs with a focus on improving classroom practice provides a new opportunity to explore factors associated with changes in classroom practice, such as intervention, study sample, or contextual features. This study examines the question of responsiveness by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized experiments of interventions directed at classroom practice. Our empirical findings indicate that multiple dimensions of classroom practice improve meaningfully through classroom practice-directed intervention, on average, but also find substantial heterogeneity in the effects. Implications for practice and research are discussed.


Learning Objectives Qatar systematic model for governing the ethical conduct of health research in Qatar 2. The inclusion of core Islamic ethical principles in the current regulatory policies. 3. Promulgation of existing regulations into a health research Governance law. Qatar-Research In recent years, Qatar has placed a great emphasis on education and research. The country has embarked on an ambitious national research program to build a knowledge-based economy. Qatar-Research Governance The Supreme Council of Health ("SCH") has the highest authority in health care services and research governance. The mission of the Research Department (RD) at SCH is to ensure that research is carried out with the highest scientific and ethical standards in order to provide high quality research directed at improving the effectiveness and quality of health care. The Research Department at SCH has been successful in setting forth a research governance model to enable ethical and scientifically robust research practices, in protecting research participants through processes and guidelines, and in detecting research misconduct through systematic auditing SCH systematic model of research governance Establishment of Qatar National Research Ethics Committee (QNREC) Development of national policies and regulations Coducting an auditing program to ensure IRB compliance with SCH regulations Initiating a legislative act for human subject protection law Research Governance Challenges: Localization of regulations. The core Islamic ethical principles such as equity; consent; privacy; ownership; intervention; and public benefit, need to be embedded in the national health research's regulations and policies. Conclusion Research regulation in Qatar overcomes the challenge of adapting international regulations by customizing its regulations according to cultural and religious concerns. Via stakeholder exchange mechanism, small-scale panels, and open public seminars, critical remarks have been raised and proposed plans for future actions have been established. A research governance law has been developed to implement the regulations and to ensure safety and wellbeing of research participants is in place.


The evolution in Internet and Multimedia Technology and the continuously increasing demand for enhanced remote and mobile services render as essential the adaptation of educational material in these requirements. The main topic addressed in this paper is to propose an alternative process for students attending courses. It refers to multiple types of students meaning that the educational material can be accessed by in campus, remote and mobile students. This paper describes a methodology for creating and adapting synchronous and asynchronous communication for each type of students. The educational material, such as SCORM based courses and video lectures, are transmitted via streaming media technologies, through an open source greek LMS, called ASDL.


There are many SPG who dress un-accordingly to the teachings of Islam when they are running product promoton actvites. This study uses qualitatve research method with a phenomenological approach. Subjectsin this study were women who worked as SPG, while the research object was in Semarang City. The results of this study indicates that the use of Sales Promoton Girl is potental to violate Islamic Sharia because of theinadequacy of the clothes used by SPG, since in the marketng system, the clothes used by Sales Promoton Girl are considerate un-accordingly to the provisions of the islamic sharia or not in accordance with the Islamic perspective.


Wavelet transform filters the signal without changing the pattern of the signal. The transformation techniques have been applied to the continuous time domain signals. The chapter is devoted to the study of the EEG (ElectroEncephaloGram) Signal processing using Haar wavelet transform and Maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT) for the analyzing of Epilepsy. Haar transform returns the approximation coefficients and detail coefficients. Detail coefficients are generally referred to as the wavelet coefficients and are a highpass representation of the input. In this chapter, with the help of Haar transform, the detailed coefficients of the input signal have been analyzed for the detection of Epilepsy. Maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform filters the noise coefficients of the input signal in each and every level, and it has displayed the filtered output signal.


This document specifies the "THTTP" resolution protocol - a trivial
convention for encoding resolution service requests and responses as
HTTP 1.0 or 1.1 requests and responses. This memo defines an
Experimental Protocol for the Internet community. This memo does not
specify an Internet standard of any kind. Discussion and suggestions
for improvement are requested.


Based on the 2983 peanut samples from 122 counties in six provinces of China's Yangtze River ecological region collected between 2009–2014, along with the dietary consumption data in Chinese resident nutrition and health survey reports from 2002 and 2004, dietary aflatoxin exposure and percentiles in the corresponding statistics were calculated by non-parametric probability assessment, Monte Carlo simulation and bootstrap sampling methods. Average climatic conditions in the Yangtze River ecological region were calculated based on the data from 118 weather stations via the Thiessen polygon method. The survey results found that the aflatoxin contamination of peanuts was significantly high in 2013. The determination coefficient (R2) of multiple regression reflected by the aflatoxin B1 content with average precipitation and mean temperature in different periods showed that climatic conditions one month before harvest had the strongest impact on aflatoxin B1 contamination, and that Hunan and Jiangxi provinces were greatly influenced. The simulated mean aflatoxin B1 intake from peanuts at the mean peanut consumption level was 0.777–0.790 and 0.343–0.349 ng/(kg·d) for children aged 2–6 and standard adults respectively. Moreover, the evaluated cancer risks were 0.024 and 0.011/(100,000 persons·year) respectively, generally less than China's current liver cancer incidence of 24.6 cases/(100,000 persons·year). In general, the dietary risk caused by peanut production and harvest was low. Further studies would focus on the impacts of peanut circulation and storage on aflatoxin B1 contamination risk assessment in order to protect peanut consumers' safety and boost international trade.


Abstract Introduction We aimed to establish and validate a risk score for fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) using only prenatal ultrasound findings. Material and Methods Derivation (2011–2016, n = 350) and validation (2006–2010, n = 270) cohorts were obtained from a Japanese CDH study group database. Using a logistic regression analysis, we created a prediction model and weighted scoring system from the derivation dataset and calculated the odds ratio of an unsatisfactory prognosis (death within 90 days of life or hospitalization duration exceeding 180 days). Five adverse prognostic factors obtained using prenatal ultrasound, including an observed/expected lung area-to-head circumference ratio (o/eLHR) <25%, liver herniation occupying more than one-third of the thoracic space, thoracic stomach, right-side CDH, and severe malformations, were used as predictors. The obtained model was validated using the validation cohort. Results The unsatisfactory prognosis prediction model was obtained based on the adjusted odds ratios. The C statistics of the model were 0.83 and 0.80 in the derivation and validation datasets, respectively. The five variables were weighted proportionally to their adjusted odds ratios for an unsatisfactory prognosis (o/eLHR <25%, 1 point; liver herniation occupying more than one-third of the thoracic space, 1 point; thoracic stomach, 1 point; right-side CDH, 2 points; and severe malformations, 3 points). Unsatisfactory prognosis rates for the low- (0–2 points), intermediate- (3–5 points), and high-risk (6–8 points) groups were 17, 46, and 100%, respectively (p < 0.001), in the validation cohort. Conclusion Our simple risk score effectively predicted the prognosis of fetuses with CDH.


So far, eight rounds of China-Japan-Korea FTA negotiations have been conducted. From 2015 on, the negotiations are expected to make great progress. Accordingly, CJK FTA has drawn increasing attention of scholars from multidimensionality. Still, there lacks concerns over the possible arrangement of each specific issue under such framework. Building on prior scholarship, this paper attempts to view such fragmented debate from the perspective of building a new international economic order. It suggests a developing track for CJK FTA to consider in designing its details: WTO→CJK FTA→RCEP(OBOR)→TPP→A New Multilateral Order. Only by so viewing can the important trilateral FTA play an appropriate role in future regional and global governance, so as to obtain the Asian voice in restructuring the international rules. Based on that, this paper further exemplifies a possible stepping stone regarding regional antidumping regimes and proposes adopting the WTO ADA Plus in CJK FTA. Such a proposal would become a crucial 'blueprint' for restructuring the multilateral ADA mechanism.


Abstract Modern geoinformatic techniques allow the automated creation of detailed glacier inventory data from glacier outlines and digital terrain models (DTMs). Once glacier entities are defined and an appropriate DTM is available, several methods exist to derive the inventory data (e.g. minimum, maximum and mean elevation; mean slope and aspect) for each glacier from digital intersection of both datasets. Compared to the former manual methods, the new grid-based statistical calculations are very fast and reproducible. The major aim of this contribution is to help in standardizing the related calculations to enhance the integrity of the Global Land Ice Monitoring from Space (GLIMS) database. The recommendations were prepared by a working group and also contribute to the European Space Agency project GlobGlacier. The document follows the former UNESCO manual for the production of the World Glacier Inventory published in 1970, identifies the potential pitfalls, and describes the differences from the former methods of compilation. The online background material for this paper (see http://www.glims.org) contains example scripts for calculation of each parameter and will be updated when required.


A small but significant fraction of screw placement in the proximal femur for hip fractures results in iatrogenic fractures associated with the screw hole [1]. There is evidence that the failure occurs under fatigue, and it is likely that those individuals experiencing failure have greater stresses in the proximal femur as dictated by key morphometric variables, such as cortical thickness and bone size. Finite element analysis (FEA) could greatly facilitate fracture risk assessment in the presurgical phase by predicting the local stresses, however, executing FEM in a patient customized fashion would be costly, time consuming, and technically difficult for surgeons to perform.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


by Kate M. Nichols This literature review defines an information literate person as someone who can recognize when they have a problem that requires additional information to solve, find credible information, analyze it, and form their own opinion. An information literate person is committed to lifelong learning. They are constantly seeking new information and applying it for the betterment of their daily lives. This paper addresses the need for information literacy. Students who are taught information literacy skills know how to search the Internet and various other forms of information effectively, they know how to spot misinformation published on a website, and know how to use information ethically. The final part of this literature review gives suggestions on how librarians can incorporate information literacy skills into their curriculum. There are information literacy standards, objectives, and Common Core State Standards. Teaching methods are addressed as well as incorporating critical thinking skills, and teaching with technology. INFORMATION LITERACY: THE DEFINITION, THE NEED FOR IT, AND THE CURRICULUM


A collaborative hapto-visual virtual system consisting of two similar networked stations allowing two users to collaborate within a learning environment is designed and implemented. This system uses a server--client configuration for haptic rendering. The haptic component runs a real-time operating system and consequently allows for better response. A second component used for haptic collaboration runs on a separate real-time operating system and transmits the haptic devices coordinates over a local area network or the Internet, and compensates for network time delay. The user interacts with the system through a haptic device and a three-dimensional computer graphics which simulates a surgery environment and allows for graphical rendering and physical simulation. A finite element method is used to simulate the tissue deformation. The system is enhanced by multimedia collaboration between the two remote users. This system is designed to be used for remote surgical training, allowing surgeons to remotely train students to perform simple tasks. This research uses and optimizes many technologies and aspects of hapto-visual virtual environments to implement an efficient system for surgical tele-mentoring. Testing of the system showed that it is useful for remotely guiding users to perform simple tasks and also to evaluate their performance by sensing their movements through the haptic device. The demonstrated feasibility of such a training system and its use of regular Internet bring it closer to practical applications. Moreover, the system provides a platform for studying many aspects of collaborative virtual environments and their applications.


The past decade has been an exciting one for the field of psychosomatic medicine. It has been recognized as a specialty and now has a certification examination. In this Special Report, we discuss some of the approaches that are being taken to special populations within the psychosomatic medicine community.


Over the years, a pattern has emerged where judges routinely engage in practices that violate the constitutional rights of the defendants who come before them, and which run counter to the ethical conduct that we have a right to expect and demand from those empowered to engage in critical decisions concerning the liberty of our citizens. The Supreme Court, when it held that plea bargaining between a prosecutor and defense counsel did not violate the defendant's constitutional rights, offered a caveat: "Of course, the agents of the State may not produce a plea by actual or threatened physical harm or by mental coercion overbearing the will of the defendant." The Court must realize what is patently clear: in at least some situations, judicial involvement in plea negotiations can constitute mental coercion. The most appropriate way of dealing with that possibility is to adopt a prophylactic rule, a "bright-line" prohibition. Such a ban on the judge negotiating a plea with the defendant exists in the federal courts, the time is long overdue for it to apply to the state courts as well.


Experiments were performed to determine the effect of ouabain on the release of relaxing factor(s) from cultured endothelial cells, and its action on the effect of the relaxing factor(s) on arterial smooth muscle. A column of porcine aortic endothelial cells grown on microcarrier beads in suspension culture was perfused with modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution. The release of relaxing factor(s) by the endothelial cells was detected under bioassay conditions by measuring the relaxing activity of the perfusate overflowing a ring of canine coronary artery (without endothelium) contracted with prostaglandin F2α. Incubation of the endothelial cells with ouabain did not affect the relaxation of the bioassay ring under basal conditions or upon stimulation of the endothelial cells with ADP but impaired the relaxation Induced by bradykinin or the calcium ionophore A23187. Incubation of the bioassay ring with ouabain reduced the relaxation under basal conditions as well as the relaxation induced by ADP but did not affect the relaxation observed upon stimulation with bradykinin and A23187 and the endothelium- independent relaxations induced by nitric oxide. These experiments suggest that cultured porcine aortic endothelial cells release two endothelium-derived relaxing factors; one is released under basal conditions and upon stimulation with adenosine diphosphate and the other (which presumably is nitric oxide) upon stimulation with bradykinin and the calcium ionophore A23187.


Statistical agencies routinely publish aggregate data in the form of contingency tables.

In this paper, we consider the problem of releasing private contingency tables so that

the privacy of individual respondents in the table is preserved. We first uncover funda-

mental problems with existing cell suppression algorithms that are used for this purpose.

We then present a rigorous definition of privacy and a generic algorithmic framework

for cell suppression given this definition. Using this framework we build a complete

cell suppression solution for the special case of boolean private attributes. We study

both theoretically and experimentally the utility of our approach. Along the way, we

demonstrate a connection to the query auditing problem in statistical databases and

make a foundational contribution to this problem as well. In particular, we analyze an

unexamined assumption from the literature regarding the prior knowledge of attackers.


Background: Health information from Health management information system (HMIS) is the core essential operator for strengthening the health system. The effectiveness of the Myanmar health system is challenged by the poor-quality assurance of healthcare data.  Methods: The aim of the quantitative study was to evaluate the township HMIS to assess the factors affecting the data quality assurance through three main aspects; organizational, technical, and behavioral. In this cross-sectional study, eight townships from four districts in Bago Region were randomly picked. Under these townships, from a random sample of 117 public health facilities altogether, 273 public health professionals (PHPs) were culled and 291 HMIS registers and 1270 HMIS monthly reports were reviewed. The researchers applied the PRISM tools developed for assessing district and facility HMIS. SPSS assisted the researchers in computing the frequencies and percentages, practicing cross-tabulation, and analyzing bivariate statistics using the Cox proportional hazards model.Results: Out of 281 PHPs invited, 273 were likely to participate in this study. The overall prevalence of the HMIS data quality was 30.4%. Poor data quality assurance was associated with the burden of workload (95%CI-1.16-2.91), poor management ability of the supervisors (95%CI-1.22-2.54), weak handover practice of the HMIS document (95%CI-1.65-2.22), and unavailability of HMIS resources (95%CI-1.12-2.45). The statistically significant relationships were found between low-quality data and some technical factors such as inexpertness for data analysis (95%CI-1.14-2.19), over-workload of paper-based HMIS (95%CI-1.21-2.44), differences between information systems (95%CI-1.22-2.81), and multiple reporting (95%CI-1.64-2.36). There were significant associations between the unacceptable data quality and the human factors such as lower scores of perceived confidences (95%CI-1.18-2.29), competence (95%CI-1.17-2.77), and promotion of the culture of information (95%CI-1.09-2.33).Conclusions: Current township HMIS data quality is unacceptable. It is necessary to strengthen several factors relating to organization, technology and behaviors of HMIS and to develop the effective township-level strategic plan for improving data quality.


Densities of abalone in southern California have been dramatically reduced by overfishing and disease, leading to the collapse of some populations, and low fertilization rates may be hindering population recovery. This is a pattern typical of abalone species globally. However, movement may produce clustered distributions that promote fertilization success in broadcast spawners, such as abalone, even at low regional densities. We translocated wild, adult pink abalone Haliotis corrugata to an existing pink abalone patch to create a high-density aggregation, and then used acoustic telemetry to characterize abalone movement and monitor aggregation maintenance for a period of 14 mo in the Point Loma kelp forest near San Diego, California. Abalone showed a minimal flight response to handling that did not differ between the resident or translocated groups. Most individuals exhibited small home ranges (median area 183 m2) and homing behavior consisting of regular back-and-forth movement to a single point. Nomadic movement was also observed in several individuals. Though site fidelity may help maintain aggregations, abalone density decreased, and nearest neighbor distances increased at our site to nearinitial levels after 18 mo via a combination of mortality, large movements of a few individuals, and small, incremental movements of most individuals. No coordinated movements that would suggest spawning behavior were observed. Translocation of wild abalone to produce aggregations may not result in high rates of fertilization success that promote population recovery. However, the homing behavior observed may provide more opportunities for mating than expectations based on static measures of density and aggregation state.


Grit, or more specifically the perseverance dimension of grit, positively predicts academic achievement. Yet the mechanisms through which grit might lead to academic success remain less explored, particularly in cross-cultural research. The current study investigated such mechanisms by examining the possible mediating effects of self-regulated learning strategies (control, memorization, elaboration) and motivational beliefs (instrumental motivation and self-efficacy) on the predictive relations of students' perseverance to their academic achievement in multiple school subjects (reading, mathematics and science). The sample for the study came from the PISA 2000 dataset and included 24,352 population representative 15-year-old students from six PISA-participating countries representing distinct cultures: East Asia (HongKong and the Republic of Korea) and English-speaking Western culture nations (Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and the US). Students' perseverance positively predicted their strategy use, motivation, and achievement, and the effects were of similar magnitude across subject areas, but stronger in East Asian cultures. Mediation analysis indicated that motivation and self-regulated strategy use mediated the effect of perseverance on achievement; these effects were stronger in Asian cultures. There were cultural differences in which perseverance showed indirect effects through different mediators on achievement; self-efficacy and control strategy had positive and substantially stronger indirect effects in Western countries. Instrumental motivation, memorisation and elaboration strategy use showed more negative indirect effects in Western countries. The results provide important new information on the relationship between perseverance and achievement in different countries, cultures, and domains, and so have important implications for educational practice in these countries.


The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) offers population-based screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) across Australia. The aims of this paper were to highlight the inequities in CRC screening in South Australia (SA) and the system-related barriers and enablers to CRC screening from the perspective of participants identified as having inequitable participation. First, de-identified data for the SA population of the NBCSP were statistically analysed and then mapped. Second, 117 in-depth interviews were conducted with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups, Indigenous and Anglo-Saxon Australians. Participation rates in the NBCSP were geographically and statistically significantly different (P < 0.0001) on the basis of gender (higher for women), age (higher for older people) and socioeconomic status (higher for more affluent people). The main system-related barriers were the lack of awareness of CRC or CRC screening within these groups, the problems with language due to most of the information being in English and the lack of recommendation by a doctor. This study revealed that inequity exists in the NBCSP participation in SA, and we identified both barriers and facilitators to CRC screening that require action at the level of both policy and practice. There is a large role in primary health care of both recommending CRC screening and facilitating equitable participation.


Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) can establish symbiotic interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, and can be infected by several pathogenic viruses. Here, we investigated the impact of mycorrhization by the fungus Glomus mosseae on the Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) infection of tomato plants by transcriptomic and hormones level analyses. In TSWV-infected mycorrhizal plants, the AM fungus root colonization limited virus-induced changes in gene expression in the aerial parts. The virus-responsive upregulated genes, no longer induced in infected mycorrhizal plants, were mainly involved in defense responses and hormone signaling, while the virus-responsive downregulated genes, no longer repressed in mycorrhizal plants, were involved in primary metabolism. The presence of the AM fungus limits, in a salicylic acid-independent manner, the accumulation of abscissic acid observed in response to viral infection. At the time of the molecular analysis, no differences in virus concentration or symptom severity were detected between mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal plants. However, in a longer period, increase in virus titer and delay in the appearance of recovery were observed in mycorrhizal plants, thus indicating that the plant's reaction to TSWV infection is attenuated by mycorrhization.


Evaluating volcanic hazards requires knowledge of the processes that trigger eruptions and the nature and timing of geophysical signals related to these processes. One approach to addressing this need is to link geophysically observable signals (e.g., those related to seismic, aeromagnetic, inflationary, or degassing processes) to pre-eruptive magmatic events deduced (in hindsight) from studies of erupted magmas. Here we present data on sanidine crystals from the A.D. 79 eruption of Vesuvius that show abrupt changes in Ba concentration caused by magma chamber recharge events prior to eruption. These changes have been degraded by diffusion during the time interval between recharge and eruption, and we have determined the length of this time interval by modeling the measured Ba concentration gradients. The results identify three distinct recharge events in the century before the eruption, the most recent occurring ∼20 yr beforehand.


This article presents an analysis of norm change, and, more specifically, how gender equality norms are negotiated in Bosnia. The immediate reason for asking these questions is the adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000 on women, peace and security and the massive global effort to change gender equality norms in order to improve peacebuilding efforts. We argue that implementation of the United Nations' Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda rests on localization of gender equality norms. Our contention is that this process takes place on different levels. Based on a series focus group interviews in Bosnia we offer depth to what a localization process can look like. We discuss what this means for the WPS agenda in Bosnia, for norm change and for political psychological scholarship.


Previous reconstructions of ice-sheet changes in Antarctica's Weddell Sea sector since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) at 19–23 cal. (calibrated) kyr B.P. suffered from large uncertainties and were partly contradictory. As a consequence, the contribution of this sector to the LGM sea-level lowstand and post-LGM sea-level rise was unclear. Furthermore, whether and how precursor water masses for Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) were formed in the Weddell Sea Embayment under glacial conditions is unknown, as this today requires the existence of the floating Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. Here we present new marine geophysical and marine geological data from the outer shelf section of the Filchner paleo–ice stream trough documenting that grounded ice had advanced onto and retreated from the outer shelf prior to 27.5 cal. kyr B.P., i.e., >4500 yr before the LGM. The data reveal the presence of a stacked grounding-zone wedge (GZW) just south of 75°30′S. This GZW was formed during two episodes of grounding-line re-advance onto the outer shelf after 11.8 cal. kyr B.P., with data further inshore implying paleo–ice stream retreat from the GZW location prior to 8.7 cal. kyr B.P. Our findings show that (1) ice-sheet buildup in the Weddell Sea sector made only limited contributions to the LGM sea-level lowstand, (2) ice-ocean interaction below an ice shelf in outer Filchner Trough could have contributed to AABW production at the LGM, and (3) numerical models need to take into account a highly dynamic ice-sheet behavior in regions of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and East Antarctic Ice Sheet confluence.


This article explores the relationship between school contextual factors and teacher retention decisions in New York City. The methodological approach separates the effects of teacher characteristics from school characteristics by modeling the relationship between the assessments of school contextual factors by one set of teachers and the turnover decisions by other teachers in the same school. We find that teachers' perceptions of the school administration has by far the greatest influence on teacher retention decisions. This effect of administration is consistent for first-year teachers and the full sample of teachers and is confirmed by a survey of teachers who have recently left teaching.

http://web.stanford.edu/~sloeb/papers/Admin and Retention 12_12_09.pdf


PREMISE OF THE STUDY
Many arctic-alpine species have vast geographic ranges, but these may encompass substantial gaps whose origins are poorly understood. Here we address the phylogeographic history of Silene acaulis, a perennial cushion plant with a circumpolar distribution except for a large gap in Siberia.

METHODS
We assessed genetic variation in a range-wide sample of 103 populations using plastid DNA (pDNA) sequences and AFLPs (amplified fragment length polymorphisms). We constructed a haplotype network and performed Bayesian phylogenetic analyses based on plastid sequences. We visualized AFLP patterns using principal coordinate analysis, identified genetic groups using the program structure, and estimated genetic diversity and rarity indices by geographic region.

KEY RESULTS
The history of the main pDNA lineages was estimated to span several glaciations. AFLP data revealed a distinct division between Beringia/North America and Europe/East Greenland. These two regions shared only one of 17 pDNA haplotypes. Populations on opposite sides of the Siberian range gap (Ural Mountains and Chukotka) were genetically distinct and appear to have resulted from postglacial leading-edge colonizations. We inferred two refugia in North America (Beringia and the southern Rocky Mountains) and two in Europe (central-southern Europe and northern Europe/East Greenland). Patterns in the East Atlantic region suggested transoceanic long-distance dispersal events.

CONCLUSIONS
Silene acaulis has a highly dynamic history characterized by vicariance, regional extinction, and recolonization, with persistence in at least four refugia. Long-distance dispersal explains patterns across the Atlantic Ocean, but we found no evidence of dispersal across the Siberian range gap.


Pulsed laser ablation (PLA) in high-density media—high-pressure gases, liquids, and supercritical fluids—has shown to be promising for nanomaterials fabrication and as an analysis technique in extreme environments, for example, the exploration of deep ocean levels and planetary atmospheres and surfaces. Despite the high potential of this technique, it is still not very widely used. The objective of the present chapter is to present the reader with an overview of recent advances in the use of pulsed laser ablation in pressurized media, the fundamental characteristics, especially the dynamics of cavitation bubbles and the optical emission, and the applications to the fabrication of metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles, and diamond molecules, the so-called diamondoids. Finally, a short overview of the use of pulsed laser ablation in pressurized media as a promising tool for the analysis of extreme environments is presented.


We present Delta execution, a technique that speeds up state-space exploration of object-oriented programs. State-space exploration is the essence of model checking and an increasingly popular approach for automating test generation. A key issue in exploration of object-oriented programs is handling the program state, in particular the heap. We exploit the fact that many execution paths in state-space exploration partially overlap. Delta execution simultaneously operates on several states/heaps and shares the common parts across the executions, separately executing only the "deltas" where the executions differ. We implemented Delta execution in two model checkers: JPF, a popular general-purpose model checker for Java programs, and BOX, a specialized model checker that we developed for efficient exploration of sequential Java programs. The results for bounded-exhaustive exploration of ten basic subject programs and one larger case study show that Delta execution reduces exploration time from 1.06x to 126.80x (with median 5.60x) in JPF and from 0.58x to 4.16x (with median 2.23x) in BOX. The results for a non-exhaustive exploration in JPF show that Delta execution reduces exploration time from 0.92x to 6.28x (with median 4.52x).


There is a need to include dimensions other than poverty to explain the alarming increase in violent crime among young Brazilian males beginning in the late 1970s, the author highlights that poverty should not be taken as the (economic) determination of crime in a determinist approach by objectivist sociology that considers causality in a single direction, excluding subjectivity and indetermination. Working with the model of complexity, she reconstructs part of the larger debate on the rise in crime and violence in the city of Rio de Janeiro. She points to new theories that could shed light on the hottest issues in this debate, such as the theory of subjective formation in the warrior ethos (Norbert Elias), informalization (Cas Wouters), and the ecological theories focusing more on the idea of social disorganization, but seeking the vulnerabilities and inconsistencies in the socialization processes for youth in the family and neighborhoods, taking into account the various forms of neighborhood association, the governmental and nongovernmental organizations working in these neighborhoods, and the supply of public services to educate and serve young people.


Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the international deep seabed area is named "the Area", which, together with its resources, is the common heritage of mankind.1 No State should claim or exercise sovereignty or sovereign rights over any part of the Area or its resources, nor should any State or natural or legal person appropriate any part thereof.2
Since deep seabed areas beyond the limit of national jurisdiction have been treated as the common heritage of mankind, all activities there are governed by the international regime created under the UNCLOS. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) was accordingly established on 16 November 1994, upon the entry into force of the UNCLOS. The ISA has its headquarters in Kingston,
Jamaica and functions as the representative of the whole of mankind for the management of deep seabed mining. The ISA is an autonomous international organization under the UNCLOS and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the 1994 Agreement),3 and through it States Parties to the UNCLOS can, in accordance with the regime for the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (the Area) established in Part XI and the 1994 Agreement, organize and control activities in the Area, particularly with a view to administering the resources of the Area.4 Deep seabed mining,once described as 'a remote possibility',5 has gradually become a more realistic proposition, as can be seen from the increased activities carried out by States
concerned. In State practice, China's activities and contributions to the deep seabed mining regime merits closer examination.