In this paper, the design of a minisatellite FLOwer constellation (FC), deploying millimeter-wave (MMW) scanning RADiometers, namely, FLORAD, and devoted to tropospheric observations, is analyzed and discussed. The FLORAD mission is aimed at the retrieval of thermal and hydrological properties of the troposphere, specifically temperature profile, water-vapor profile, cloud liquid content, and rainfall and snowfall rate. The goal of frequent revisit time at regional scale, coupled with quasi-global coverage and relatively high spatial resolution, is here called pseudogeostationary scale and implemented through a FC of three minisatellites in elliptical orbits. FCs are built on compatible (resonant) orbits and can offer several degrees of freedom in their design. The payload MMW channels for tropospheric retrieval were selected following the ranking based on a reduced-entropy method between 90 and 230 GHz. Various configurations of the MMW radiometer multiband channels are investigated, pointing out the tradeoff between performances and complexity within the constraint of minisatellite platform. Statistical inversion schemes are employed to quantify the overall accuracy of the selected MMW radiometer configurations.


Abstract
 We diagnose a new species of Brontotheriidae from a middle Eocene locality, the Clarno Nut Beds, from the Clarno Formation, John Day Basin, Central Oregon. Though renowned for its richness in fossil flora, fossil vertebrates are rare in the Clarno Nut Beds and this new species is the most abundantly represented mammal. Radiometric dating constrains the age of the Nut Beds fauna to about 43.76 Ma within the Uintan North American Land Mammal Age. This new taxon, represented by numerous cranial, mandibular, and dental specimens, is comparatively small for a brontothere and notable for its cranio-caudally shorted nasal incision, a trait shared with three larger-bodied middle Eocene species, Metatelmatherium ultimum. Wickia brevirhinus, and Sthenodectes incisivum. Phylogenetic analysis suggests the sister taxon of the Nut Beds brontothere could be one of two species—Wickia brevirhinus from the Sand Wash Basin of Colorado and Washakie Formation of Wyoming, or Metatelmatherium ultimum, a pan-Beringian species known from the Uintan Formation of Utah (and other Uintan age deposits) and the "Irdin Manha" Formation of Inner Mongolia, China. Phylogenetic results also indicate that the Nut Beds brontothere is a dwarf taxon. Though brontotheres are renowned for having evolved very large body sizes, this new brontothere is one of several discovered in recent decades that suggest evolutionary reductions in body size may have been relatively common in Brontotheriidae.


This paper discusses the potential consequences of the international tax provisions of the recent Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA), drawing on existing research. The TCJA's dividend exemption provision is expected to eliminate distortions to the amount and timing of dividend repatriations. However, the efficiency gains from increased repatriations – which are primarily expected to increase shareholder payout – are likely to be modest. The paper uses the observed behavior of firms during the repatriation tax holiday implemented in 2005 to infer the relative magnitudes of the burdens created by the repatriation tax under the old (pre-TCJA) regime and by the TCJA's new "Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income" (GILTI) tax. It concludes that the TCJA increases the tax burden on US residence for many, and perhaps most, US MNCs. The paper also argues that the GILTI and "Foreign-Derived Intangible Income" (FDII) provisions are likely to create substantial distortions to the ownership of assets, both in the US and around the world. Overall, the scholarly evidence implies that the international provisions of the TCJA can reasonably be expected to create potentially large efficiency losses.


The present volume contains most of the papers read at the colloquium, together with three other papers, one by Professor Vaclav Blažek who could not unfortunately attend and another two which take the place of the presentations given at the colloquium by Professor Tatyana Mikhailovaand Dr Anna Muradova. In all, fifteen papers are published here, reflecting the various interests of the scholars involved in Celto-Slavic research. The volume logically falls into three parts. The first part opens with an important yet provoking paper by Professor Stefan Zimmer who challenges a number of Celto-Slavic comparisons in the field of theonymy, rejecting 'anything like a privileged Slavo-Celtic relation'.The wealth of research into Celto-Slavic carried out by contributors to the volume does not necessarily refute such criticism, but it shows that comparing Celtic and Slavic languages and cultures has merit in its own right. Professor Ranko Matasovic's paper deals with Celto-Slavic etymologies, exploring various linguistic connections existing between Proto-Celtic and Proto-Slavic groups of languages. This paper is based on the major piece of research carried out by Prof Matasovic, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, published in 2009 by Brill, Leiden. It is followed by Professor Blažek's contribution that provides a tentative etymological analysis of the toponyms, oronyms and hydronyms recorded in Ptolemy's description of Central Europe. Dubravka Ivsic devotes special attention to Italo-Celtic isoglosses with a special reference to the correspondences in verb formation which, in her opinion, indicate shared retentions or incidental convergences. Ana Galjanic's paper, offers some typological parallelsin enumerative passages in early Celtic and Greek texts, as well as in some Slavic folklore texts.The second part of the volume is mostly concerned with various linguistic features of Celtic and Slavic languages. It opens with Professor Anna Bondaruk's paper on copular sentences in Irish and Polish, who compares their properties from the points of view of their morphology, of the contexts in which they appear, of their meaning and the syntactic position occupied by the predicative elements in the two languages. Professors Eugeniusz Cyran and Bogdan Szymanek in their joint contribution explore the functions of palatalisation in the phonology and morphology of Irish and Polish. The very presence of palatalisation in the consonantal systems of Irish and Polish and its various features (phonemic contrasts, palatal assimilation in consonantal clusters, segment replacements) make the languages similar; however, on a closer look they highly diverge. Dr Anna Bloch-Rozmej discusses the phonological function of noise in Irish and Ukranian and the property of turbulence in the two languages. Dr Maria Bloch-Trojnar studies the syntax and semantics of de-verbal nominalisationsi n Irish, English and Polish: establishing two nominalising rules(Nomina Verbalia and Nomina De-verbalia), she states that in all the three languages regularly formed nominals are subject to lexicalisation. The important and highly stimulating issue of t loanwords, language borrowings and language shift in Celtic languages is discussed by Dr Elena Parina for Modern Welsh and by Ms Olga Karkishchenko for Middle Irish of the period of the Anglo-Norman conquest. The third part contains papers devoted to parallels between Celtic and Slavic traditions existing in the fields of early narrative and folklore. Professor Dean Miller reports on the issue of colour coding and symbolic' loading' of the category of colour, with special attention given to emblematic conventions existing in Irish and South Slavic narrative traditions in representing red (Hero-function) and grey (Trickster-function) colours. ProfessorTatyana Mikhailova's paper deals with the meaning and the genesis of the comb-motif linked to the attributes of long hair and foretelling death with special reference to the folklore figures of the Irish banshee (Ir. bean si) and the Russian rusalka (Russ. русалка). Dr Anna Muradova scrutinises the concept of the 'wasteland' and reconstructs the PIE root *lendh- on the basis of Breton folklore, toponymic and lexicographic evidence (e.g. lann, lanneg 'wasteland; sacred place') and contemporary Russian ethnographic and lexicographic material in relation to the dialectal Russianl exeme lyada (ляда) 'terra inculta'. The notion of domesticated land is discussed by Dr Maxim Fomin in the light of the land acquisition motif which is found in Irish narratives (describing the arrival of St. Columcille on the island of Tory) and Russian folklore legends (the 'Frog Princess'). Dr Fomin also provides special references to Indian comparanda and to the archaic mythical store of motifs to do with royal inauguration and kingship. Dr Grigory Bondarenko deals with the issue of representation of the autochthonous population in Celtic and Slavic narrative traditions and their descriptions of the Otherworld in which the binary opposition betweent he lower Otherworld and the upper world of the humans becomes a distinctive feature of early mythological narrative.The final paper of the volume is by Professor Alan Titley, who shifts the focus of the conference to Northern Europe and explores the Celtic fringe in Scotland, in particular, the modern Scottish novel and the role that the Russians play as disruptors of the Gaidhealtachd community in such novels.


Summary Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a narrowing of the spinal canal and/or the neuroforamina through which the spinal cord roots enter and exit. The symptoms of LSS usually begin over the course of several months and include neurogenic claudication. This is characterized by low back pain that radiates down one or both legs producing pain or weakness. LSS can be quite debilitating and can have a profound negative effect on one's activities of daily living and overall quality of life. Imaging studies, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are routinely performed in the work-up of suspected LSS. In recent years, there has been much controversy over the actual clinical usefulness of these studies. When compared to electrodiagnostic studies, CT and MRI have been shown to have increased false negative and false positive rates. Electrodiagnostic studies show dynamic physiological neural function and has become a valuable tool in LSS. This information can be used to determine the location and severity of LSS, differentiate LSS from other conditions, and monitor the progression. Electrodiagnostic techniques such as somatosensory evoked potentials, dermatomal somatosensory evoked potentials (DSEPs), and paraspinal mapping (PM) increase both the sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing LSS. DSEPs provide useful information on multi-level, multiple rootlet disease. PM reflects the physiology of nerve roots and has been found to be superior to extremity needle EMG. Electrodiagnostic techniques are becoming the standard in the diagnosis and therapeutic decisions for LSS and other related diseases. Turk J Phys Med Rehab 2010;56:75-80.


The circumscribed quadrature of professional ethics aims to show the necessary shift from deontology to professional ethics, from deontological codes to ethical codes. While deontology and the deontological codes that materialise from it set their sights on professionals' responsibilities, professional ethics and the ethical codes that should derive from it would set their sights on the professional act, on its successful performance. In this way, the stress comes to be placed not only on the professional's responsibility, although that too, but also on the necessary orchestration of the responsibilities shared at numerous levels by everyone involved in the performance of the professional act. The author identifies and typifies five elements present in the professional act. Four of them involve direct the protagonism of the professional, the recipient of the professional service, the institution that makes the service possible and from which the professionals' service is offered, and finally the human factor, the people who are behind the aforementioned factors and their nature, the professional, the recipient of the services and institutions. And each of these factors paves the way for a series of diversified protagonisms: inter-professional cooperation, receiver of professional services and their human environment around them, macro and micro institutions, diverse human profiles. However, all of this takes place within the framework of the fifth important element in professional ethics: a given, specific society as a circumscription of the four elements cited above, which sets the moral bar, a set of convictions and desired collective ethics which unquestionably also affect the performance of professional acts. With this reflection, we take note of the necessary co-responsibility in the provision of professional services, a co-responsibility which we could express simply in healthcare terms: it is not enough to merely have sound healthcare professionals if we do not have good patients with favourable affective environments, nor sound healthcare institutions, nor serious people who are socially committed to their work and their role, nor a society that believes in and fosters given identifiers of the personal and professional health to which we aim. The reflections in this proposal embark on a pathway of reflection which, we believe, deserves to be further explored.


Rac, one member of Rho family GTPases, stimulates c-fos serum response element (SRE)-luciferase reporter gene in Rat-2 fibroblast cells. By transient transfection analysis, we demonstrated that the activation of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and the subsequent production of arachidonic acid (AA) are essential for Rac-induced c-fos SRE activation, implying a critical role for PLA2 in the Rac-signalling pathway to the nucleus. Either pretreatment with mepacrine, a specific inhibitor of PLA2, or co-transfection with the expression plasmid of lipocortin-1, a proposed inhibitory protein of PLA2, selectively abolished RacV12-induced SRE activation. Further, we demonstrated that subsequent metabolism of AA, a major product of Rac-activated PLA2, by lipoxygenase (LO) is essential for Rac-induced c-fos SRE activation. In agreement with the role of the PLA2-AA-LO cascade as a potential mediator of Rac signalling to the nucleus, the addition of exogenous AA stimulated c-fos SRE-luciferase activity in an LO-dependent manner. Together, our results demonstrate that 'Rac-activated PLA2 and subsequent AA metabolism by LO' constitute a novel and specific pathway in Rac GTPase-induced c-fos SRE activation.


Problem. The e-marketplace of today, with millions of buyers and sellers who never get to meet face to face, is susceptible to the presence of dishonest and fraudulent participants, prowling on unsuspecting trading partners to cheat in transactions, thereby increasing their profit to the detriment of their victims. There is also the multiplicity of goods and services with varying prices and quality, offered by a mix of honest and dishonest vendors. In order to participate in trade without incurring substantial loss, participants rely on intelligent agents using a trust evaluation scheme for partner selection. Making good deals thus depends on the ability of the intelligent agents to evaluate trading partners and picking only trustworthy ones. However, the existing trust evaluation schemes do not adequately protect buyers in the e-marketplace; hence, this study focused on designing a new trust evaluation scheme for buyer agents to use to effectively select sellers. -- Method. To increase the overall performance of intelligent agents and to limit loss for buyers in an e-marketplace, I propose CONGRATS—a configurable granular trust estimation scheme for effective seller selection. The proposed model used historical feedback ratings from multiple sources to estimate trust along multiple dimensions. I simulated a mini e-marketplace to generate the data needed for performance evaluation of the proposed model alongside two existing trust estimation schemes—FIRE and MDT. -- Results. At the peak of performance of CONGRATS, T1 sellers with the highest trust level accounted for about 45% of the total sales as against less than 10% recorded by the least trustworthy (T5) sellers. Compared to FIRE and MDT, CONGRATS had a performance gain of 15% and 30%, respectively, as well as an average earning of 0.89 (out of 1.0) per transaction in contrast to 0.70 and 0.62 per transaction respectively. Cumulative utility gain among buyer groups stood at 612.35 as contrasted to 518.96 and 421.28 for the FIRE and MDT models respectively. -- Conclusions. Modeling trust along multiple dimensions and gathering trust information from many different sources can significantly enhance the trust estimation scheme used by intelligent agents in an e-marketplace. This means that more transactions will occur between buyers and sellers that are more trustworthy. Inarguably, this will reduce loss to an infinitesimal level and consequently boost buyer confidence


The bestselling and controversial new history of the 'British Isles', including Ireland from the author of Europe: A History. Emphasizing our long-standing European connections and positing a possible break-up of the United Kingdom, this is agenda-setting work is destined to become a classic. 'If ever a history book were a tract for the times, it is The Isles: A History ...a masterwork.' Roy Porter, The Times 'Davies is among the few living professional historians who write English with vitality, sparkle, economy and humour. The pages fly by, not only because the pace is well judged but also because the surprises keep coming.' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Sunday Times 'A book which really will change the way we think about our past . marvellously rich and stimulating' Noel Malcolm, Evening Standard 'A historiographical milestone.' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Times 'The full shocking force of this book can only be appreciated by reading it.' Andrew Marr, Observer 'It is too soon to tell if [Norman Davies] will become the Macaulay or Trevelyan of our day: that depends on the reading public. He has certainly made a good try. This is narrative history on the grand scale - compulsively readable, intellectually challenging and emotionally exhilirating.' David Marquand, Literary Review


Many bryophytes may depend on epizoochorous dispersal by large mammals for maintaining their populations and colonizing new habitats. On dry grassland we investigated the transport of bryophyte diaspores by sheep, which are known to be effective epizoochorous dispersal vectors of seed plants. Twelve sheep of two breeds were examined by collecting gametophyte fragments from their fleece and hooves. Furthermore, microscopic diaspores from the soil adhering to the hooves were grown in a greenhouse. Species frequency and composition were compared to bryophyte vegetation on the pasture. Considerable amounts of unspecialized gametophyte fragments from 16 moss species, 40% of the species growing on the pasture, were transported by sheep, especially on the belly and the tail. Additionally, we provide first evidence of epizoochorous dispersal of thallus fragments from fruticose lichens. Sheep breeds differed in species spectrum and frequency, i.e. sheep with dense, curly fleece carried more fragments and larger species than those with smooth and fine hair. Among the dispersed bryophytes pleurocarps, certain taxa, sizes (small species) and life forms (mats) were overrepresented compared to the vegetation of the pasture, while large species, acrocarps, wefts and turfs were underrepresented, reflecting fragmentation and adhesion features of the species. In the hooves mostly acrocarpous colonist species were transported. We conclude that sheep are important dispersal vectors with the potential of long-range dispersal for bryophytes, especially for species without sexual reproduction, and that epizoochorous dispersal of microscopic diaspores might be underestimated in its importance so far.


Conventional wisdom has it that, in the eighteenth century, California's mission Indians labored without recompense to support the Spanish military and other costs of imperial administration. This article challenges this conventional wisdom, arguing that it was not until the Spanish empire unraveled in the nineteenth century that Indians labored at missions with little compensation. Spain stopped subsidizing California in 1810, at which point the systematic non-payment of Christian Indians for goods supplied to the California military was implemented as an emergency measure. In 1825, independent Mexico finally sent a new governor to California, but military payroll was never reinstated in its entirety. Not surprisingly, most accounts of military confrontation between California Indians and combined mission/military forces date from the 1810 to 1824 period. By investigating an underutilized source—account books of exports and imports for four missions—the article explores two issues: first, the processes of cooptation inside missions up to 1809, and secondly, the way that Spain's cessation of financing in 1810 affected the relationship with Indians.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the clinico-pathologic features of intraocular osseous metaplasia.

METHODS
Pathology specimens of enucleated eyes submitted to the ophthalmic pathology service at a tertiary eye-care referral center between January 1995 and June 1999 were studied for intraocular osseous metaplasia. Specific histopathologic features noted in specimens with osseous metaplasia were the presence of retinal detachment, gliosis, retinal pigment epithelial hyperplasia, drusen, epiretinal membrane, fibrovascular proliferation and inflammation. Immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody against glial fibrillary acidic protein was performed to assess the glial component within the membranes and the proliferative vitreoretinal mass. Clinical records were reviewed and correlated with histopathologic findings.

RESULTS
Osseous metaplasiaS was noted in 8 of 151 (5.2%) eyes examined. Clinical diagnosis in these was phthisis bulbi, staphyloma, absolute glaucoma and microphthalmos. Enucleation was performed for relief of symptoms (in painful blind eyes) or for cosmesis, and in an eye inciting sympathetic ophthalmia. Retinal detachment, gliosis and retinal pigment epithelial hyperplasia were noted in all the cases. Drusen with calcification or ossification (5 of 8), fibrovascular proliferation in the vitreous (5 of 8) and active inflammation (4 of 8) were the other associated histologic features. Location of ossification was subretinal in 3 cases, preretinal (ora serrata) in 1 case and in both locations in 4 cases. The eyes with subretinal osseous metaplasia had associated calcified drusen, while preretinal ossification was seen within the fibrovascular membranes.

CONCLUSION
Chronic retinal detachment, hyperplasia and transdifferentiation of retinal pigment epithelium appear to be a few of the prerequisites for intraocular osseous metaplasia. Ossification can occur at isolated subretinal and preretinal locations or can involve both. Though a larger study is required to postulate the chronology of events, in this small series, isolated subretinal ossification appears to be initiated by calcification and ossification of drusen, while in the pre-retinal region it is associated with vitreoretinal proliferation.


In certain applications, especially x-ray and gamma-ray photography, pinhole cameras provide one of the only methods of producing sharp images. To increase the image quality, the use of an array of multiple pinholes is found valuable. The resulting blurred image must then be decoded. A particularly direct method of decoding using the original array of pinholes is possible, providing theautocorrelation function of the array is sharply peaked. Preliminary results with representative arrays are discussed.


Ultrafast laser micro-structuring of ceramic alumina, titanium and stainless steel are presented confirming that precision, melt free micro-structuring is indeed possible with intense femtosecond optical pulses. While metals are best machined at a fluence a few times ablation threshold, ceramic alumina, on the other hand shows excellent structuring with no evidence of melt at high fluence F ~ 21Jcm. In PMMA, at 387nm with pulselength ~ 200fs, we demonstrate refractive index modification within the bulk induced by two photon absorption to generate phase gratings. By using a holographic technique combined with 387nm femtosecond radiation and 0.5NA UV objective, sub-micron pitch periodic structures were ablated on stainless steel, titanium and silicon. With a lower (0.15NA) objective and focussing the periodic optical field distribution within bulk PMMA, micron pitch phase gratings can be generated.


A langrangian-based phenomenological model, following the evolution of the individual droplets nucleating at random positions, is applied to the simulation and optimization of hybrid, mixed hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. The proposed mathematical model was originally developed to simulate droplets pattern evolution in the framework of in-flight icing problems and takes into account the surface tension effects (via the advancing and receding contact angle values), the external force balance on the single droplets, as well as the both the condensing and coalescence process. Here, the model is extended to the case of an arbitrary curved substrate surface and a parametric analysis of different cases is carried out, looking for the parameters that help to identify the optimal design for a given set of wettability properties, nucleation site density and wet surface condensation rates. A discussion on the sensitivity of the solutions with respect to the expected high uncertainties on the estimate of some of these parameters in actual practical problems is also presented, in order to assess the effectiveness of the simulation as a design tool. The analysis is carried out for condensation enhancement on both plane surfaces and mini or micro tubes. Comparison with experimental, open literature data ensure the reliability of the approach for both geometries.


EU citizenship played a central role in the debate preceding the Brexit referendum and during the Brexit negotiations. It is inevitable, therefore, that, in the context of Brexit the concept of EU citizenship was and continues to be deeply challenged. This Special Section takes the process of Brexit and the challenges raised against the process of European integration in this context as an invitation to critically reflect on the current state of EU law by focusing, more particularly, on the concept of EU citizenship.


Natural disasters offer a special case for the study of private and public insurance mix. Indeed, the experience accumulated over the past decades has made it possible to transform poorly known hazards, long considered uninsurable, into risks that can be assessed with some precision. They exemplify however the limits of the risk-based premiums method, as it might imply unaffordability for some. The French scheme reflects such ideas and offers a wide coverage for moderate premiums to all, but is shaken by climate change: we show that some wealthier areas, that were not perceived as "at risk" in the past, have become exposed to submersion risk in the future. This singularly makes some well-off properties the potential main beneficiaries of a scheme that was historically thought to protect the worst-off. Acknowledging that some segmentation might become desirable, we examine several models for flood risk and the disparity in premiums they entail. JEL: G22; Q54; Q58


Abstract Vehicular driveline is a lightly damped non-linear dynamic system that is prone to noise and vibration response when subjected to excitation. There are many sources of excitation such as torsional impact caused by the take-up of backlash in the powertrain system. Such sources of excitation exist in transmission backlash, in driveline splines and in pinion-ring gear contact in the differential. Abrupt application or release of the throttle in slow moving traffic or rapid engagement of the clutch can be followed by an onomatopoeic response of the driveshafts, referred to in the industry as clonk. This is a disagreeable, audible and tactile response in some vehicles and can also coincide with every cycle of low-frequency longitudinal vehicle response, commonly referred to as shuffle or shunt. This paper describes the phenomenon of clonk and investigates its occurrence both by an experimental technique and by detailed modal analysis of driveshaft pieces. It is shown that finite element predictions agree well with the experimental findings and that the high-frequency structural modes can lead to discernible radiated noise. The preliminary findings reported here point to a need for a more detailed elasto-acoustic analysis.


EntomologyParasitoid wasps play a crucial role in natural ecosystems and in agriculture. They destroy the eggs, larvae, or cocoons of countless species of insects and arthropods, sometimes with hugely beneficial effects: The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that parasitic wasps save the United States at least $20 billion annually by controlling invasive species. The wasps' unusual genetic makeup has even made one a lab favorite. Entomologists are fascinated by the wasps' sometimes bizarre life histories, and ecologists have recently come to recognize their astonishing diversity. Now, their scientific value is about to increase: On page [343][1] of this week's issue of Science , a 157-person consortium presents the genome sequence of three parasitoid wasps, members of the genus Nasonia , which attack flies. The sequence solidifies Nasonia 's standing as a model organism.

 [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5963/343


Gunning for Gun Control: A State by State Analysis of the Effects of Gun Control Policies on Firearm Mortality Rates Jade Robinson Mr. Gregory Ferrell Gun control is not a new concept; however, due to the growing amount of supporting non profits and recent mass shootings, gun control is becoming a common topic both amongst researchers and the general public. Currently, gun control is a state issue and thus should be studied on a state by state basis. This study examines state gun control policies and firearm mortality rates to determine if there is a correlation between gun control policies and the firearm mortality rate. The years covered by this study were 2000-2014 and nine states were sampled. Two out of the nine states were found to have a statistically significant negative correlation between the gun control and the firearm mortality rate. Confounding variables were also studied for each state that was found to support the hypothesis such as demographics and the economics of each state. Further research still needs to be done to determine the cause and effects of firearm violence as well as possible prevention strategies.


We present new exact solutions to the Einstein and Einstein-Maxwell field equations that model the interior of neutral, charged and radiating stars. Several new classes of solutions in static spherically symmetric interior spacetimes are found in the presence of charge. These correspond to isotropic matter with a specified electric field intensity. Our solutions are found by choosing different rational forms for one of the gravitational potentials and a particular form for the electric field. The models generated contain results found previously including Finch and Skea (1989) neutron stars, Durgapal and Bannerji (1983) dense stars, Tikekar (1990) superdense stars in the limit of vanishing charge. Then we study the general situation of a compact relativistic object with anisotropic pressures in the presence of the electromagnetic field. We assume the equation of state is linear so that the model may be applied to strange stars with quark matter and dark energy stars. Several new classes of exact solutions are found, and we show that the densities and masses are consistent with real stars. We regain as special cases the Lobo (2006) dark energy stars, the Sharma and Maharaj (2007) strange stars and the realistic isothermal universes of Saslaw et al (1996). In addition, we consider relativistic radiating stars undergoing gravitational collapse when the fluid particles are in geodesic motion. We transform the governing equation into Bernoulli, Riccati and confluent hypergeometric equations. These admit an infinite family of solutions in terms of simple elementary functions and special functions. Particular models contain the Minkowski spacetime and the Friedmann dust spacetime as limiting cases. Finally, we model the radiating star with shear, acceleration and expansion in the presence of anisotropic pressures. We obtain several classes of new solutions in terms of arbitrary functions in temporal and radial coordinates by rewriting the junction condition in the form of a Riccati equation. A brief physical analysis indicates that these models are physically reasonable.


The French political world appears to be ready for change. At issue is not just the non vote in the referendum for the European Constitution in May 2005: discontent soars over the relatively dismal performance of the economy, debate rages over the sustainability of the French social model in the face of globalization, and questions abound about France's role in an enlarged Europe and in the wider world. The looming presidential election in 2007 will mold the shape of politics to come. In all likelihood, the ailing President Jacques Chirac will not run again, and, given the disunity of the left, the candidate of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party will probably win. Though Prime Minister Dominique De Villepin is a loyalist and likely successor to the Gaullist Chirac, many believe the role of savior belongs to Nicolas Sarkozy, the ambitious Interior Minister and head of the UMP. If Sarkozy can successfully juggle populism with capitalism, he has a good chance of victory. Sarkozy's pragmatism has steered him into the limelight of French politics. He entered the French government as interior minister in 2002, serving as the finance minister for several months and becoming the UMP chairman in November 2004. Throughout this period, Sarkozy has built an image as a straight talker unafraid to dive headlong into controversial issues and with zero tolerance for crime, especially during the French riots in late 2005. Straight talk is undeniably what the French people need as they come to terms with their country's decline in power over the last few decades, its relative loss of importance in Europe following the EU expansion, its failure to integrate fully its African and Muslim minorities, and its ailing social model, which has created unacceptable levels of unemployment. Sarkozy has experienced friction with the ruling elite and has some stark differences with Chirac and De Villepin. Ever since he supported a rival candidate in the 1995 presidential election, Sarkozy's relationship with the president has been testy. Chirac, as well as De Villepin, opposes the United States on Iraq, favors Franco-German primacy in the European Union, and staunchly supports the French socio-economic model. In all these areas, Sarkozy is quite the prodigal son. Sarkozy and De Villepin present two different visions of France in the international arena. The latter appears to promise a continuation of Chirac's foreign policy. …


A methodology is presented whereby a nominal trajectory for an assembly operation, computed from kinematic constraints alone, is augmented with a fine-motion strategy synthesized through uncertainty and force analyses. Insertion clearances and size tolerances are introduced into the assembly part models in parallel with the manual selection of a perturbed nominal trajectory in contact space. The selection of small clearances, and in turn, small insertion angles allows us to linearize contact space about discrete points in the nominal trajectory. Contact states are represented as affine spaces in a generalized C-space of model error and pose variables. The feasibility of proposed command velocities to be executed in the presence of position, control, and model error is determined through an uncertainty analysis technique based on the forward-projection of convex polytopes in contact space. Our approach further the automates the so-called "manual" methods of motion planning with uncertainty.


Predicting Successful Dental Examination for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Amelia Nataprawira Chim, DDS Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Travis M. Nelson, DDS, MSD, MPH Department of Pediatric Dentistry Purpose: To evaluate characteristics of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that were associated with the ability to tolerate a dental examination following desensitization therapy. Methods: Caregivers of 168 children with ASD who attended a university-based pediatric dental clinic completed pre-visit questionnaires. Questions included demographic information, medical and dental history, behavioral characteristics, communication and self-care abilities. Children visited the clinic for an initial consultation followed by subsequent desensitization visits. The end goal was receiving an oral examination while seated in a dental chair. Bivariate associations with ability to receive a quality dental exam were tested using modified poisson regression. The statistical significance level was set to p<0.05. Results: Participants were 83% male, 4-18 years old. Eighty-eight percent allowed an oral exam when seated in a dental chair; 77.4% within 1-2 visits and 87.5% within 5 or less visits. Multiple factors predicted successful dental examination: (1) ability to be involved in group activities (RR 1.18, P=.02); (2) verbal communication (RR 1.17, P =.002); (3) understanding of most language (RR 1.14, P=.02); (4) moderate caregiver-rated ASD severity (RR 1.24, P=.04); (5) ability to dress self (RR 1.27; P=.04). Conclusion: Of those who were able to learn to accept dental care, most received dental examination within 1-2 desensitization visits and the majority did it by the 5 visit. Social, communication, and self-care abilities were strongly and positively associated with ability to receive dental examination after desensitization.


Ectomycorrhizal seedlings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) inoculated with the nitrotolerant Laccaria bicolor and the nitrophobic Suillus bovinus were exposed to ambient (350 μl l−1) and elevated (700 μl l−1) [CO2]. After 79 d the seedlings were labelled for 28 d with 14CO2, after which they were harvested. 14C was determined in shoots, roots plus mycorrhizas, soil, and below-ground respiration; nitrogen was determined in shoots and roots. Total net 14C uptake increased under elevated [CO2]. The extra carbon did not increase the shoot mass but was translocated to the roots and resulted in a decreased shoot-to-root ratio in the Suillus-inoculated seedlings. Laccaria-inoculated seedlings did not incorporate the additional carbon in root or fungal tissue but only increased below-ground respiration. S. bovinus acquired or transferred nitrogen better than L. bicolor and enabled the seedlings to perform better with regard to net carbon uptake under elevated [CO2]. This resulted in nitrogen concentrations in shoots of Suillus-inoculated seedlings that were twice as high as in Laccaria-inoculated seedlings, irrespective of [CO2]. The higher nitrogen concentration in the shoots resulted in a doubling of the 14C uptake per unit shoot mass. Our results suggest that the ability of ectomycorrhizal Scots pine seedlings to respond positively to elevated atmospheric [CO2] is strongly fungal-species specific.


A pleasing smile can be considered part of an attractive appearance and having "whiter" teeth is perceived as an integral part of achieving this. Tooth whitening is a conservative, relatively quick and inexpensive option that uses bleaching agents such as hydrogen peroxide at various concentrations that have been marketed for in-office and at home use. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of 30% hydrogen peroxide on the nanomechanical properties and the protein content of enamel. The effect of bleaching with 30% hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes and 10% Carbamide peroxide for 8 hours on the mechanical properties of enamel was investigated. This was determined by measuring the hardness and the elastic modulus of twelve sound enamel samples using nanoindentation testing with a Brecovich tip at 250 mN and 25mN force, before and after bleaching. The microhardness tests showed no statistically significant difference in the mean values of the elastic modulus and the hardness of enamel samples following exposure to the bleaching agents. The results obtained from this study showed that bleaching sound enamel with a 30% hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes or 10% Carbamide peroxide for 8 hours does not affect the microhardness of enamel.


The operational efficiency of the longline hauler on an artisanal tuna fishing vessel from Margarita Island, Venezuela, was determined using the average setting velocity, average hauling velocity, hauler input tension (To) and traction strength (P). A direct relationship was found between the average gravity (qmed) on the long-line section and the hauler input tension (To). Considering a strength (Pmed) at the input of the longline hauler (S1), the roller tension (S3) decreases due to the force of H = 23.7 N exerted by the pressure roller, resulting in a strength of S3= 0. The longline average setting velocity was 208 m min-1 (~ 333 hooks/hour) and its hauling velocity was 121 m min-1 (~ 160 hooks/hour), whereas hauler input tension (To) was 1013 N. Therefore, the new traction strength (P) fluctuated between 1.317 and 1.418 N. Based on torque output from the rollers of the longline hauler, the average hauling velocity (vmed) and the transmission relations (k1, k2), a required average strength (Nmed) of 5.3 hp (~ 3.95 kW) for longline retrieval was estimated. Thus, the hauling efficiency (Tp) by longline section was estimated to be 135.4 s.


Abstract Rapid expansion of the KwaZulu-Natal poultry industry has resulted in poultry manure and litter production that in certain areas exceeds the potential for use in crop production. If land application exceeds crop requirements, manure production may result in environmental damage. In this study, potential manure surpluses in intensive poultry producing KwaZulu-Natal areas were quantified. The costs of transferring such surpluses to manure-deficient areas were compared with the economic value of poultry manure as fertiliser. Estimates of potential arable land and pasture for spreading manure took both dairy and feedlot manure production into account. Use of manure surpluses by transfer was found to be economically viable. Public policy actions are needed, however, to promote such transfer.


In order to acquire an effective competitive advantage on the market, the product/ brand must be understood by the prospects in a certain way. The outcome of positioning is the depiction of a clear image in the prospect's mind of what the product can offer or mean. A clear position in the prospect's mind should be one of the most important goals in marketing. The marketing endeavor in any company should be focused on achieving a desired position in a prospect's mind. A marketer must be able to distinguish between real positioning options and wishful thinking, because the barrier between these two is very thin and could lead to success or failure. A strong brand and an enduring position should be planned and attained together by any Small and Medium Enterprise, because they can differentiate the survivors from the perished, the winners from the losers, and the leaders from the pursuers.


In June 1951 Dr. A. R. Ranjha of the Zoological Survey Department, Government of Pakistan, at Karachi, sent me 26 samples of Loricata, together 46 specimens, preserved in 75% rectified spirit, all, except one, from the rockey beach of Manora Island, about two miles West off the Karachi coast, where they had been collected from the tidal area at low tide. The samples were taken at different dates and by several collectors or collecting parties. There are four species and one variety among the material, of which three species and the variety are supposed to be new. Chiton iatricus Winckworth, 1930 Winckworth, R., 1930. Description of a new Chiton from Karachi. Proc. Malac. Soc. London, vol. 19, pp. 78-80, pl. 8b. Material examined: 200 yards W. of Mandir, Manora Island, rocky beach, 26-IV-1950, coll. Sufi, Taher & Qadri, 11 specimens. Manora Creek, W. of Mandir, rocky beach, 11-V-1950, coll. Taher & Sufi, 5 specimens. Manora Creek, Karachi, 16-V-1951, coll. Departmental Survey Party, 12 specimen Λ. Manora Island, rocky beach, 6-X-1950, coll. S. Taher, 5 specimens. Manora Creek, 22-IX-1949, coll. Dr. A. R. Ranjha, 6 specimens. Winckworth gave an excellent description of this species. His specimens were collected near the end of the East Pier at Karachi. The type measures 54 X 36 mm, the largest specimen 66 X 41 mm. The 39 specimens from Manora Island are of a smaller size, the largest measuring 43 X 31, the smallest 8X6 mm. A few additional characters


The growth of online commerce has given consumers a number of convenient options to shop from. This has led to the proliferation of e-commerce players that offer variety of products and services with customer-centric terms and conditions. However, absence of avenues to test the product(s) before buying, shoppers perceive inherent risk associated with online buying, especially related to products' quality and features, terms and conditions of sales, etc. To overcome this pre-purchase dissonance and compensate for the lack of previous experience, they look for reliable information and guidance. Hence, to make decisions, e-buyers rely on the reviews provided by other shoppers. Therefore, it becomes imperative for e-retailers to determine antecedent factors that influence the adoption of online reviews. Using heuristicsystematic model, this study has identified the relative significance of information credibility, argument quality, quantity sufficiency and source credibility in influencing the adoption of reviews available online. It was observed that the two categories of influencers impact the reviews' adoption albeit through the two mediators - perceived usefulness and perceived value of reviews. Theoretical and practical implications have also been highlighted.


Sustainable development is a comprehensive and complex system of systems requiring multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary science and technology inputs with economic, environment and social objectives. The trade space is very wide and the multitude of trade-offs generate considerable challenges and make it often difficult to achieve an effective balance. During the last sixty years the planet's population has grown exponentially, from 2.5 to 7.5 billion people, and the technological progress achieved has been tremendous, especially in the industrialized countries. These trends are expected to continue, even at faster rates. All these associated technological activities in the pursuit of better living standards have created a considerable depletion of resources and pollution of land, water and air. Thus and because most of our resources are limited, it is imperative that we achieve more with less. In broad terms, sustainable development is achieved when the present needs and challenges are met without placing in jeopardy the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and challenges. The global energy demand is expected to increase exponentially, associated with the increase in the global population. The three main reserves of fossil fuels: oil, natural gas and coal are decreasing very rapidly and will not always be available to meet the global demands in the near future. The continuation of fossil fuel emissions will be environmentally deleterious, and there is a need to remediate some of the deleterious effects already sustained by the environment. Energy security has become a major and critical issue as fossil fuels are confined to a few areas in the world and their availability is controlled by political, economic and ecological factors. This means that in a short term, considerable energy efficiencies and savings must be achieved, and alternative and renewable sources of energy must now be developed. In order to enable all these technologies considerable advances in energy storage and conversion materials and technologies such as batteries, super capacitors and fuel cells must be achieved. The transportation industry has by far the largest share of global oil consumption and is now the major producer of global greenhouse gas emissions in most industrialized countries. Mobility projections show that it is expected to triple by 2050 with associated energy use and environmental impact. Considerable achievements have recently been obtained in the development of new and advanced materials such as light weight metallic alloys, metal matrix composites, intermetallic and carbon fiber composites and hybrid materials. A significant number of nano, nano-structured and nano-hybrid materials systems have also been deployed and is now being introduced. In addition, component redesign using a materials and functional systems integration approach is being used resulting in considerable system improvements and energy efficiency. This resulted in their introduction in the energy, transportation and manufacturing industries in a wide variety of devices and components with considerable technological, economic, environment and social impacts. This presentation deals with the role of new and advanced materials and technologies in sustainable development and focus of key areas such as energy, environment, transportation and manufacturing.


The so called refugee crisis of 2015 had several effects, among which the definitive demonstration of the unsustainability of the Dublin system and the need of a radical change in the modalities of allocation of the competence for the exam of asylum claims in the EU. The same credibility of the EU is at stake, as well as the capacities of national governments to manage the relevant flows reaching the Schengen area. This Policy Brief provides sound arguments both for supporting the demand for a new legal framework, and for the determination of new criteria which combines fairness, realism, solidarity, cooperation. A quota approach would be combined with a "genuine link" approach, thus trying to find a proper balance between the States' interests and the point of view (and related behaviors) of asylum seekers, and also between the objections of human rights defenders and the concerns of European public opinion. The need to turn the page with the Dublin age warmly suggests to choose, for the new proposed regulation, a nick name which evokes the features of the current historical (and dramatic) passage of European integration and our deep sense of belonging to a place where much part of our way of thinking and of being a society is rooted: Athens. Having regard to the lessons learnt from decades of regulation of the determination of jurisdiction in civil, commercial and criminal matters, a first step to take is the adoption of a new conception for the role of the asylum seeker, who should be allocated to the State with which he/she holds a substantial link: the configuration of the relevant connecting factors (family relations; economic or social ties) should pay due regard to the empirical dimension of the phenomenon and to the need to avoid unnecessary sufferance and waste of public funds and time. If the asylum seeker has genuine links with more States, a certain relevance to his/her free choice should be awarded. Lacking any connection with a given country, the State with the lowest performance in fulfilling its reference quota should be the competent one. In the same time, an already overburdened country should be afforded the possibility to refuse responsibility, provided that some basic family ties are safeguarded. In such cases, a less connected country should be responsible, or the one less engaged in hosting asylum seekers and refugees, or as extrema ratio the country of first entrance or where the application is lodged. Whether an asylum seeker is allocated to a country where he/she does not have any substantial link and his/her asylum claim receives a positive outcome, the possibility of accepting a genuine job offer in another Member State should be admitted. This way, a partial freedom of circulation for work purposes could be recognized, but its exercise would relieve the first Member State by protection duties. As an accompanying measure, a system of financial incentives/disincentives for Member States should be conceived. 1 Associate Professor of International Law (University of Pisa; firstname.lastname@example.com), Member of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (http://www.iihl.org), Coordinator of the Observatory on European Migration Law (http://immigrazione.jus.unipi.it). The author is grateful to G. Beruto, S. Baldini and to the whole IIHL staff for their precious support, and to A. Baldaccini, C. Hein, S. Marinai, and E. Papastavridis for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this


This thesis examines English teachers' constructions of creativity in three different schools. The investigation is of interest because of the importance given to creativity by English teachers and the contested, shifting role it plays in English teaching and education as a whole. It differs from similar work because it treats creativity as a material resource that teachers can draw on in different ways and measures. In this, it treats the enactment of creativity as a matter of social justice.

The thesis draws on a wide body of literature about creativity. Fundamental to this is an overview of the literature as it relates to creativity and language, with most significance given to Williams' ideas about the centrality of "creativity and self-creation" to knowledge generation (1977: p.212), and to Freire's about "problem posing" and "banking" forms of education (1970: pps.64-65). It also draws on recent research into the effect of accountability measures in schools. This research suggests that such measures have considerable influence on how education is enacted in schools, placing limits, for example, on creative practices.

The data is qualitative in nature and analysed using a framework of critical discourse theory, exploring patterns and omissions in teachers' comments and interrogating them within the context of dominant policy, educational and institutional discourses.

The research itself gathered data from semi-structured interviews with individual English teachers in three different secondary schools, one private and two state comprehensives. The study found that teachers across all three schools constructed creativity in similar ways in the abstract, but in accounts of actual practice, considerable differences emerged across schools. The most pronounced differences were between responses by teachers in the two state schools compared to teachers in the private one. These differences clustered most significantly around constructions of creativity as it related to accountability measures in schools.

The findings are important because they suggest that teachers struggle to draw on creative practices, even as they see them as pedagogically important, because of the restrictive nature of accountability measures. They also suggest that some teachers feel more able than others to enact creative practices, depending on the institutional nature of their school.


One variable that may affect the ability of vitamin D to reduce colon cancer risk is the expression of its high-affinity receptor, VDR. Here, we show that vitamin D does not reduce tumor formation in ApcΔ14/+ mice and that VDR expression is lost in the majority of the colon tumor cells. The extent of VDR loss corresponded inversely to the level of β-catenin nuclear localization and could be observed in early lesions composed of just a few crypts. Analysis of reported VDR regulators showed that the repressing class I histone deacetylases (HDAC) were significantly elevated in the tumors (up to 4-fold), whereas the VDR-activating retinoid X receptors (RXR) were downregulated (∼50%). Expression of the Slug repressor was also increased, but was found primarily in stromal cells. Analysis of epigenetically active compounds on colon cell lines and intestinal organoids showed that HDAC inhibitors were particularly adept at stimulating VDR expression. Treatment of tumor-bearing ApcΔ14/+ mice with the HDAC inhibitor panobinostat increased VDR expression in the tumors and normal mucosa. The RXR agonist bexarotene failed to activate VDR expression, indicating that RXR ligands were not limiting. Analysis of human microarray data indicated that VDR mRNA is frequently downregulated in colon adenomas, which correlated positively with RXRA expression and inversely with HDAC 2 and 8 expression. Human adenomas showed variable VDR protein expression levels, both between and within individual lesions. Determining the mechanisms of VDR regulation in colon neoplasms may significantly enhance our ability to use vitamin D as a cancer prevention agent. Cancer Prev Res; 8(5); 387–99. ©2015 AACR.


A health literate health care organization 1. Has leadership that makes health literacy integral to its mission, structure, and operations. 2. Integrates health literacy into planning, evaluation measures, patient safety, and quality improvement. 3. Prepares the workforce to be health literate and monitors progress. 4. Includes populations served in the design, implementation, and evaluation of health information and services. 5. Meets the needs of populations with a range of health literacy skills while avoiding stigmatization. 6. Uses health literacy strategies in interpersonal communications and confirms understanding at all points of contact. 7. Provides easy access to health information and services and navigation assistance. 8. Designs and distributes print, audiovisual, and social media content that is easy to understand and act on. 9. Addresses health literacy in high-risk situations, including care transitions and communications about medicines. 10. Communicates clearly what health plans cover and what individuals will have to pay for services. Qeios · Definition, July 19, 2019


Introduction: Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) is a rare condition, which could be life-threatening if diagnosed late or mismanaged. Post-intubation TEF is the most common form of acquired, non-malignant TEF and is usually associated with tracheal stenosis, which makes the treatment more challenging. Here, we present our experience of managing 21 patients with post-intubation TEF.
Materials & Methods: Twenty one patients including seven women and fourteen men with mean age of 38.05 years, who had post-intubation TEF were managed in our center (Massih Daneshvari Hospital, Tehran, Iran) during 2004-2013. None of the patients were operated before weaning from mechanical ventilation. Single division and closure of the fistula was performed in one patient who did not have accompanying tracheal stenosis. One-stage surgical repair including tracheal resection, anastomosis, primary closure of the esophageal defect, and muscle flap Interposition was the main treatment method in all other cases. Patients were followed up for at least two years.
Results: Excellent and good results achieved in 85.7% of our patients. Major complications including permanent vocal cord paralysis and recurrence of tracheal stenosis necessitating T-tube insertion occurred in two patients (9.5%). Severe cachexia and sepsis secondary to sputum retention resulted in one mortality (4.8%).
Conclusion: Surgery might provide the best treatment results along with low mortality and morbidity rates in post-intubation TEFs if performed within the proper time.


We consider the problem of distributed caching in next generation mobile cellular networks (a.k.a., 5G) where densely-deployed small base stations (SBSs) are able to store and deliver users' content accordingly. In particular, we formulate the optimal cache allocation policy as a convex optimization problem where a subset of SBSs have their own i) local cost function which captures backhaul consumption aspects in terms of bandwidth and ii) a set of local network parameters and storage constraints. Given the fact that no coordination involves between SBSs, we then solve this problem distributively using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) approach. The proposed ADMM-based algorithm relies on the application of random Gauss-Seidel iterations on the Douglas-Rachford splitting operator, which results in a low-complexity and easy-to-implement solution for SBSs. We examine the convergence of our proposed algorithm via numerical simulations with different parameters of interest such as storage capacity distribution of SBSs, content catalogue size, demand intensity and demand shape. Our numerical results show that the proposed algorithm performs well in terms of convergence and requires less iterations as the number of contents in the catalogue increases.


Dithieno[3,2-a:3′,2′-j][5,6,11,12]chrysene diimides (DTCDIs), a new class of organic dyes, with a twisted molecular backbone were designed and synthesized. The optical and electrochemical properties, charge transport behaviors and the single crystal structure were investigated. The cyanation of the DTCDI backbone was carried out to fine-tune the molecular energy levels. The addition of two cyano groups to the DTCDI backbone reduced the HOMO and LUMO energy levels by 0.35 and 0.30 eV, respectively. The energy levels could be further reduced with the addition of two more cyano groups leading to 0.32 and 0.22 eV reductions in HOMO and LUMO energy levels and stabilization of the energy levels. A tetracyano-substituted DTCDI derivative showed an electron mobility of 0.25 cm2 V−1 s−1 and a current on/off ratio of 106 in its organic thin film transistors.


This study analyzes the effect of one-child policy on marriage market in China, and focuses on leftover situation, marriage age, and the age differential between husband and wife. Taking age of 30 as a cut-off point, the one-child policy has increased the leftover proportion about 1.2%, with 1.8% on men and 0.6% on women. Although the problem of urban leftover women has made eye-catching of the general public, the problem of the leftover men is much more serious than that of women: with the former arising from the true over-supply of men while the latter due to the matching process. The one-child policy on marriage age is positive and significant, no matter for urban, rural residents, or migrants, but the effect is smaller in the urban area, which is consistent with the fact that the sex ratio is more balanced in urban area. This policy also increases the age differential between husband and wife on the whole; however, it is positive and significant for the male-head families but negative for the female-headed families.


To characterize the acoustic properties of oceanic crust and investigate the nature of the oceanic layer 2/3 seismic boundary, we analyze sonic logging waveforms recorded in the two deepest holes ever drilled in intact oceanic crust: Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)/Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole 1256D and Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP)/ODP Hole 504B. Hole 1256D penetrated 15 Ma old crust on a superfast spreading segment of the Cocos plate, while Hole 504B was drilled in a ∼6 Ma old section of an intermediate spreading segment of the Nazca plate. Careful reprocessing of different sets of waveforms allows us to draw depth profiles of the primary parameters controlling wave propagation in the crust: compressional and shear velocities (Vp and Vs), and attenuation. The results underline the importance of proper filtering and processing parameters for the acquisition of acoustic logs in hard rocks. While the reprocessed Vp logs improve previous data, particularly at the bottom of Hole 1256D, the Vs logs represent significant enhancements in quality and in extent of previous profiles in the two holes. Attenuation results provide the first measure of intrinsic attenuation in these holes. The velocity and attenuation logs confirm that Hole 504B had reached oceanic layer 3 without recovering gabbros. Conversely, while gabbros were recovered in Hole 1256D, no layer 3 velocity values were recorded in the interval logged. However, the reprocessed data suggest that the transition to layer 3 might occur within the deepest 87 m of the hole that were not logged or immediately below. Accordingly, the layer 2/3 seismic boundary does not appear to be related to the top of the plutonic crust. Despite different ages, spreading rates, and mineralogy, however, the two sites display remarkably similar velocity and attenuation profiles through the entire crustal sections logged, suggesting that they can be reliably considered representative of the acoustic properties of the Nazca/Cocos spreading system and more generally of undisturbed oceanic crust.


C-elements are used widely in asynchronous VLSI circuits. Fabrication faults in some CMOS C-elements can be undetectable by logic testing. Testable designs of static symmetric and asymmetric C-elements are given in this report which provide for the detection of single line stuck-at and stuck-open faults. We show that driving feedback transistors in the proposed testable static C-elements transforms their sequential functions into combinational AND and OR functions or into repeaters of one of their inputs depending on the driving logic value. This simplifies the testing of asynchronous circuits which incorporate a large number of state holding elements. The scan testable C-element described can be used in scan testing of the asynchronous circuit making the states of its memory elements controllable and observable.


Research corpora are fundamental for the computational study of music. The design criteria with which to create them is a research task in itself. These corpora need to be well suited for the specific research problems to be addressed. Since these research problems are also shaped by musical, cultural and other specific aspects of the music traditions to be studied, the research corpora should take these specificities into account. In this paper we address the problems of creating corpora for computational research on Arab-Andalusian music, considering several relevant criteria for creating such corpora. We focus on the problems raised during the annotation process of the corpora, specifically the language issues surrounding this art music tradition. Following the criteria, we created a research corpus consisting of audio recordings with their corresponding metadata, lyrics and music scores. So far we have gathered 338 recordings from 3 different Arab-Andalusian music schools of Morocco, covering most of the musical modes, rhythms and forms of this art music tradition. The Arab-Andalusian corpus is accessible to the research community from a central online repository. Moreover, the audio recordings of this corpora are freely available through the Internet Archive repository. The Arab-Andalusian corpus can be used to generate test datasets, which can be used as ground truth to test several computational research tasks.


Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. A feasibility study for an automated scheme for spectrum sharing between passive and active users is presented. The needs of spectrum users can be represented by manifolds in a Euclidean hyperspace called electrospace which has 7 dimensions: frequency (f); Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z); angular coordinates (θ,φ), and time (t). The entire globe is tessellated into geographical areas containing spectrum users, called user domains. Each user domain is recursively tessellated into smaller user domains, or subdomains. A computer cluster, or broker, in each smallest subdomain performs the calculations necessary to determine if a particular user in the subdomain experiences interference. Throughout this thesis, the Chicago Loop (area of 4.09 km 2 , population ∼ 21, 000) is taken to be the representative example of a smallest subdomain. Within each subdomain, the number of users served by a broker is reduced to a manageable number by the process of culling. There are three orders of culling. In first-order culling, subdomain pairs without line of sight and not close enough to mutually interfere are culled, or removed from further consideration for interference calculations. In second-order culling, within each subdomain an intersection test of the electrospace manifolds of all user pairs is performed. User pairs whose manifolds do not intersect are culled. In third-order culling a Friis calculation is performed for all remaining user pairs. The output of third-order culling is an RFI flag bit for each user indicating whether interference is present or not. The computational complexity of first-, second-, and third-order culling calculations was determined. Three representative user classes will be discussed: WiFi access points, Terminal Doppler Weather Radars, and passive EESS satellites. The manifold descriptor language (MDL) for each of the three user classes was described. The computational complexity of broker calculations to determine electrospace parameters from the MDL was determined. Using this complexity and the com-iv plexity of culling calculations, the total computational requirements for a broker in a representative subdomain is determined in GFLOPS (Giga Floating Point Operations Per Second).


Nanog levels in pluripotent stem cells are heterogeneous and this is thought to reflect two different and interchangeable cell states, respectively poised to self-renew (Nanog-high subpopulation) or to differentiate (Nanog-low subpopulation). However, little is known about the mechanisms responsible for this pattern of Nanog expression. Here, we have examined the impact of the histone methyltransferase Ezh2 on pluripotent stem cells and on Nanog expression. Interestingly, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells lacking Ezh2 presented higher levels of Nanog due to a relative expansion of the Nanog-high subpopulation, and this was associated to severe defects in differentiation. Moreover, we found that the Nanog promoter in embryonic stem (ES) cells and iPS cells coexists in two alternative univalent chromatin configurations, either H3K4me3 or H3K27me3, the latter being dependent on the presence of functional Ezh2. Finally, the levels of expression of Ezh2, as well as the amount of H3K27me3 present at the Nanog promoter, were higher in the Nanog-low subpopulation of ES/iPS cells. Together, these data indicate that Ezh2 directly regulates the epigenetic status of the Nanog promoter affecting the balance of Nanog expression in pluripotent stem cells and, therefore, the equilibrium between self-renewal and differentiation.


ABSTRACT Sexual minority youth are more likely to run away from home or experience homelessness, leaving them at increased risk of victimization and negative health outcomes. In this study, the authors use a developmental perspective that considers both vulnerable beginnings in families and the risky trajectories that follow to explore the connections between running away or being thrown out by parents and sexual minority women's and men's health in adulthood. Using four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the authors consider multiple dimensions of health and several potential intervening mechanisms. Findings suggest that runaway and thrownaway experiences have persistent negative effects on health into adulthood, in part because of their association with sexual victimization, educational attainment, and relationships with parents. Sexual minority men who have been thrown out by parents report a greater likelihood of suicidal ideation, smoking, and substance use into adulthood. Sexual minority women with runaway experiences have poorer health and increased depressive symptoms, while women with thrownaway experiences engage in more health risk behaviors. Sexual victimization stands out as a key mechanism for sexual minority women's health, as more than half of these young women report experiences of sexual victimization.


STUDY QUESTION
Are prospectively assessed dietary factors, including overall diet quality, macronutrients and micronutrients, associated with luteal phase deficiency (LPD) in healthy reproductive aged women with regular menstrual cycles?

SUMMARY ANSWER
Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), fiber and isoflavone intake were positively associated with LPD while selenium was negatively associated with LPD after adjusting for age, percentage body fat and total energy intake.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
LPD may increase the risk of infertility and early miscarriage. Prior research has shown positive associations between LPD and low energy availability, either through high dietary restraint alone or in conjunction with high energy expenditure via exercise, but few studies with adequate sample sizes have been conducted investigating dietary factors and LPD among healthy, eumenorrheic women.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
The BioCycle Study (2005-2007) prospectively enrolled 259 women from Western New York state, USA, and followed them for one (n = 9) or two (n = 250) menstrual cycles.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
Women aged 18-44 years, with self-reported BMI between 18 and 35 kg/m(2) and cycle lengths between 21 and 35 days, were included in the study. Participants completed baseline questionnaires, four 24-h dietary recalls per cycle and daily diaries capturing vigorous exercise, perceived stress and sleep; they also provided up to eight fasting serum samples during clinic visits timed to specific phases of the menstrual cycle using a fertility monitor. Cycles were included for this analysis if the peak serum luteal progesterone was >1 ng/ml and a urine or serum LH surge was detected. Associations between prospectively assessed diet quality, macronutrients and micronutrients and LPD (defined as luteal duration <10 days) were evaluated using generalized linear models adjusting for age, percentage body fat and total energy intake.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
LPD occurred in 41 (8.9%) of the 463 cycles from 246 women in the final analysis. After adjusting for age, percentage body fat and total energy intake, LPD was positively associated with MDS, adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.70 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17, 2.48), P = 0.01. In separate macro- and micronutrient adjusted models, increased fiber and isoflavone intake showed modest positive associations with LPD: fiber (per g), aOR: 1.10 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.23), P = 0.07; and isoflavones (per 10 mg), aOR: 1.38 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.92), P = 0.06. In contrast, selenium (per 10 mcg) was inversely associated with LPD, aOR: 0.80 (95% CI: 0.65, 0.97), P = 0.03. Additional adjustments for relevant lifestyle factors including vigorous exercise, perceived stress and sleep did not appreciably alter estimates.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
The number of LPD cycles was limited, and thus these findings are exploratory. We relied on participant self-report of their medical history to apply exclusion criteria; it is possible that we admitted to the study women with a gynecologic or medical disease who were unaware of their diagnosis.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Our study suggests that diet quality may be associated with LPD among healthy eumenorrheic women. As LPD may contribute to infertility and early miscarriage, further research is warranted to elucidate how dietary factors, such as MDS, may influence LPD. The inverse association we found with selenium is supported by previous research and deserves further investigation to determine whether this finding has pathophysiologic and therapeutic implications.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS
This work was supported by the Intramural Research Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health. No competing interests declared.


IN RECENT DECADES, HISTORIANS OF EARLY NORTH AMERICA HAVE explored the emergence of the institution of black chattel slavery. They have also investigated ideas of heritable physical differences and inferiorities that justified and defended slavery--concepts that moderns have called race. Chattel slavery and race were critical to the formation of the Atlantic colonial enterprise, even as they were simultaneously the products of it. Unsurprisingly, given the importance of the topic, the mechanisms by which both slavery and race became so firmly entrenched--how, when, where, and why--remain hotly debated questions. The outpouring of scholarship on these questions reveals astonishing regional variations in slavery and in the experiences of enslaved people, as well as the chronologically and geographically uneven development of racial ideologies. The resulting profusion of scholarship is both exciting in its complexity and daunting in its numbers. This is especially true of the region encompassing today's United States South, where understanding slavery and race has been critical to understanding the antebellum South and the so-called New South of the post-Civil War period, yet those nineteenth-century experiences cannot be conveniently applied to comprehending the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. In addition, the very complexity of the colonial South's experiences of slavery and race is difficult to assess synthetically, especially in the context of three European colonial powers, vigorous Indian groups, and free and enslaved blacks. The historiographical problem of slavery and race in the colonial South is in part numerical: scholarly interest in human bondage grew steadily throughout the first half of the twentieth century, exploded during the 1970s, and has expanded geometrically ever since. In the past decade alone, compilers of the Bibliography of Slavery and World Slaving, a comprehensive online database, have added approximately 1,500 titles annually, and at the moment the database contains approximately 25,000 items. Even though not all of these entries deal with Atlantic slavery from 1500 to 1800, the sheer profusion of available research is overwhelming, making it difficult for historians of slavery to construct a coherent whole out of the thousands of fragments of knowledge available. (1) Scholars continually add to what we know by readdressing old questions, finding new evidence, turning new methodologies on familiar evidence, and asking entirely new questions. Indeed, sometimes it seems as if we know too much about race and slavery, rather than too little. The appearance in 1998 of two synthetic works brought order out of chaos for historians of North American slavery. Ira Berlin's Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America tracked the development of slavery and the experience of enslaved blacks in four corners of British North America (the North, the Chesapeake, the Lowcountry, and the lower Mississippi Valley) across three temporal divisions that Berlin labeled charter generations, plantation generations, and revolutionary generations. Berlin also concluded that the concept of race itself was a product of slavery: "the slaveholders' explanation of their own domination generally took the form of racial ideologies." Philip D. Morgan' s Slave Counterpoint: Black Culture in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake and Lowcountry focused on two plantation regions of the British American South, comparing each region's geography, environment, and demographics to outline the processes by which black cultures formed and reformed in the early South. Morgan also noted the early fluidity of race relations in both the Chesapeake and the Lowcountry, in the early and late seventeenth century, respectively. (2) Berlin's and Morgan's syntheses gave scholars of slavery coherent narratives to follow when teaching the topic (I give lectures to undergraduates using Berlin's generational schema). …


OBJECTIVE
This prospective study examined relationships between constructs from social-cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Deci & Ryan, 1991) and the diabetes outcomes of dietary self-care and diabetes control.

METHOD
Longitudinal data were collected from 237 people newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes who filled in questionnaires on dietary self-care, and motivational factors derived from social-cognitive theory and self-determination theory. Blood samples were taken to assess diabetes control (HbA1c). Repeated measurements were taken every 3-4 months for a total of five time points over 18 months. Predictor measures included autonomy support, autonomous and controlled motivation, amotivation, dietary self-efficacy, positive and negative outcome expectancies for dietary self-care and self-evaluation. Age, sex, BMI, and diabetes knowledge were included as control measures.

RESULTS
Using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) analyses two models were tested: a standard model reflecting longitudinal associations between absolute values of predicted and outcome variables; and a change model examining motivational predictors of changes over time in diabetes outcomes of dietary self-care and diabetes control (HbA1c). Dietary self-care was longitudinally associated with self-efficacy, self-evaluation (the strongest predictor) autonomy support and autonomous motivation, but not with controlled motivation or outcome expectancies. Changes in dietary self-care were predicted by changes in self-efficacy, self-evaluation, and controlled motivation but not by changes in autonomous motivation or autonomy support. Negative outcome expectancies regarding diet were longitudinally associated with HbA1c, and changes in negative outcome expectancies predicted changes in HbA1c. However, there were indications that dietary self-care predicted changes in HbA1c.

CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that autonomy support, self-efficacy and, in particular, self-evaluation are key targets for interventions to improve dietary self-care.


In this paper we describe our experience of implementing multicast extensions of AODV (MAODV). Using insight gained from our implementation we propose some enhancements to MAODV that enhance its stability and its performance. We propose the use of a tree optimization scheme based on Group Hello messages, a scheme for merging group partitions, as well as a method to add reliability to the multicast tree formation and maintenance, via the use of an acknowledgement for MACT messages. Our implementation is based on the kernel AODV implementation from NIST. We describe details regarding our implementation that can provide valuable insight to future implementers of ad hoc routing protocols, and in particular, people attempting to implement multicast routing protocols. We also provide a brief description of some basic validation experiments that we used to verify the functionality and the various features of our


Mechanosensory responses of vascular endothelial cells to fluid shear stress are critical for normal control of the vascular system and are key factors in formation of atherosclerotic lesions, which are associated with branch points where blood flow is disturbed. Two papers appearing this week emphasize a central role for PECAM-1, platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1, in sensing shear stress. Tzima et al. used an antibody Fab fragment that recognizes only activated αv integrins to monitor responses of endothelial cells lacking PECAM-1 or another adhesion molecule, VE-cadherin (vascular endothelial cell cadherin). Cells lacking either molecule failed to show either the usual orientation of actin filaments with the direction of fluid flow or activation of NF-κB-dependent transcription. [PECAM-1–/– cells lacked shear stress-induced activation of the tyrosine kinase Src and consequent activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and integrins, whereas the VE-cadherin–/– cells activated Src but not the further downstream signals.] The authors used antibody-coated magnetic beads to selectively apply force to the adhesion molecules and thus showed that PECAM-1 can directly serve as a mechanosensor. The contribution of VE-cadherin to stress sensing appeared to be independent of its function in cell adhesion. Rather, immunoprecipitation studies implicated VE-cadherin as an adaptor protein linking another critical signaling molecule, VEGFR2 (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2), with PI3K. Ectopic expression of PECAM-1, VE-cadherin, and VEGFR2 into COS-7 monkey cells showed that these components are sufficient to confer alignment of cells to fluid flow. PECAM-1 is also likely to contribute to early events in the development of atherosclerosis, as activation of the NF-κB transcription factor and other genes thought to contribute to disease manifestation was not detected in aortas of PECAM-1–/– mice. Fleming et al. provide evidence for a role of PECAM-1 in shear stress-induced activation of the protein kinase Akt and of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (which produces the vasodilator nitric oxide) in endothelial cells. However, they note that PECAM-1 appears not to be the only mechanosensor because, although PECAM-1-deficient cells lack the stress-induced responses noted above, activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) remains intact. Thus, these authors conclude that "the endothelial response to hemodynamic stimuli most likely reflects an integrated response of multiple signaling networks at different subcellular locations." E. Tzima, M. Irani-Tehrani, W. B. Kiosses, E. Dejana, D. A. Schultz, B. Engelhardt, G. Cao, H. DeLisser, M. A. Schwartz, A mechanosensory complex that mediates the endothelial cell response to fluid shear stress. Nature 437, 426-431 (2005). [PubMed] I. Fleming, B. Fisslthaler, M. Dixit, R. Busse, Role of PECAM-1 in the shear-stress-induced activation of Akt and the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in endothelial cells. J. Cell Sci. 118, 4103-4111 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


"The Reasoning Voter" is an insider's look at campaigns, candidates, media, and voters that convincingly argues that voters make informed logical choices. Samuel L. Popkin analyzes three primary campaigns Carter in 1976; Bush and Reagan in 1980; and Hart, Mondale, and Jackson in 1984 to arrive at a new model of the way voters sort through commercials and sound bites to choose a candidate. Drawing on insights from economics and cognitive psychology, he convincingly demonstrates that, as trivial as campaigns often appear, they provide voters with a surprising amount of information on a candidate's views and skills. For all their shortcomings, campaigns "do" matter. "If you're preparing to run a presidential campaign, and only have time to read one book, make sure to read Sam Popkin's "The Reasoning Voter." If you have time to read two books, read "The Reasoning Voter" twice." James Carville, Senior Stategist, Clinton/Gore '92 "A fresh and subtle analysis of voter behavior." Thomas Byrne Edsall, "New York Review of Books""Professor Popkin has brought V.O. Key's contention that voters are rational into the media age. This book is a useful rebuttal to the cynical view that politics is a wholly contrived business, in which unscrupulous operatives manipulate the emotions of distrustful but gullible citizens. The reality, he shows, is both more complex and more hopeful than that." David S. Broder, "The Washington Post""


We investigate novel transmission schemes over multimode fiber with multiple output detectors, providing more efficient utilization of the available spatial-temporal degrees of freedom of the system by combining coherent phase shift keying transmission with direct detection. We evaluate the statistics of the electrical charge generated by each detector, and its dependence on factors such as detector type, dimension and offset position. In the frequency-selective case, we reveal that temporal degrees of freedom resulting from nonoverlapping time pulses modify the decision variable statistics. We apply the ensuing model to propose a novel phase-modulated single input multiple output (SIMO) multimode fiber transmission system employing multiple detectors and multiple input multiple output (MIMO) space-time postdetection signal processing in order to mitigate the ISI stemming from intermodal dispersion.


Earning a college degree correlates with achieving financial security. Thus, improving an individual's access to college is a key tactic used to mitigate poverty and foster intergenerational mobility. Despite the recognized value of higher education, earning a degree remains unattainable for many because of financial constraints. However, research definitively demonstrates that financial aid overcomes that obstacle. It also reveals that some program designs are more effective than others. The Kalamazoo Promise is a place-based scholarship program that offers four-year, fulltuition scholarships to residents who graduate from a Kalamazoo public high school. It is characterized by first-dollar and universal eligibility features, which are fundamental to designs that promote upward economic mobility. Leveraging a rapidly growing body of knowledge that links context (place) to upward mobility, this study examined the relationships between the Kalamazoo Promise, the place where it is based, and intergenerational mobility. My investigation focused on the interplay between the program design and its context. I examined changes, which emerged in the first five years after the program's inception, in four Kalamazoo City characteristics that correlate with mobility. The study revealed increases in residential and school segregation by race and class, intense income inequality, elementary school quality that continued to lag behind the quality in neighboring communities despite improvements in test scores, and a reduction in family stability. These findings suggest that in the first five years the Kalamazoo Promise did not produce impacts to the context, in direction or magnitude, to improve intergenerational mobility. In the future, longitudinal research and mixed methods studies could add richness to our understanding of the people and place. In addition, changes to school assignment policies, modifications to the promise program design, and adjustments to employer recruitment/enticement programs are proposed. PROGRAM DESIGN, CONTEXT, AND MOBILITY: THE KPSP 1 Place-based Scholarship Program Design, Context, and Intergenerational Mobility: A Case Study of the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship Program (KPSP)


[1] Over the past 3 decades, nutrient spiraling has become a unifying paradigm for stream biogeochemical research. This paper presents (1) a quantitative synthesis of the nutrient spiraling literature and (2) application of these data to elucidate trends in nutrient spiraling within stream networks. Results are based on 404 individual experiments on ammonium (NH4), nitrate (NO3), and phosphate (PO4) from 52 published studies. Sixty-nine percent of the experiments were performed in first- and second-order streams, and 31% were performed in third- to fifth-order streams. Uptake lengths, Sw, of NH4 (median = 86 m) and PO4 (median = 96 m) were significantly different (α = 0.05) than NO3 (median = 236 m). Areal uptake rates of NH4 (median = 28 μg m−2 min−1) were significantly different than NO3 and PO4 (median = 15 and 14 μg m−2 min−1, respectively). There were significant differences among NH4, NO3, and PO4 uptake velocity (median = 5, 1, and 2 mm min−1, respectively). Correlation analysis results were equivocal on the effect of transient storage on nutrient spiraling. Application of these data to a stream network model showed that recycling (defined here as stream length ÷ Sw) of NH4 and NO3 generally increased with stream order, while PO4 recycling remained constant along a first- to fifth-order stream gradient. Within this hypothetical stream network, cumulative NH4 uptake decreased slightly with stream order, while cumulative NO3 and PO4 uptake increased with stream order. These data suggest the importance of larger rivers to nutrient spiraling and the need to consider how stream networks affect nutrient flux between terrestrial and marine ecosystems.


In this paper, achievable rates and resource allocation strategies for imperfectly known two-way relay fading channels are studied. Decode-and-forward (DF) relaying is considered. It is assumed that communication starts with the network training phase in which the users and the relay estimate the fading coefficients, albeit imperfectly. Subsequently, data transmission is performed in multiple-access and broadcast phases. In both phases, achievable rate regions are identified by treating the terms that arise due to channel estimation errors and imperfect interference cancellation as Gaussian distributed noise components. The achievable rate region of the two-way relay channel is given by the intersection of the achievable rate regions of multiple-access and broadcast phases. The impact of several training and transmission parameters (such as training power levels, time/bandwidth allocated to the multiple access and broadcast phases, and relay power allocation parameter) on the achievable rate regions and sum rates is investigated.


ABSTRACT Social anxiety is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders that affects up to 13% of individuals in Western society across their lifetime. The debut of the disorder can be recorded as early as the age of 2.5 years. The tendency for social anxiety appears to be stable across the lifespan, and it seems to be stable across life. One of the main impairments is a marked and persistent fear of one or more social and performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. This is usually associated with a distorted processing of social information and social situations. We find that remarkably, links have not been made between early social-cognitive development and later anxiety disorders in preschool children. Research with adults provides evidence for social information processing impairments in those with social anxiety. The bulk of evidence comes from face perception. It is shown that the impairments manifest both in the exacerbation (e.g. for harsh and angry expressions) and lack (e.g. avoidance of foveal fixation) of face processing for emotional expressivity. The paper will argue on how early social information processing (e.g. contingency detection, face and eye gaze perception) could be used to explain and understand the early onset of social anxieties. KEYWORDS: social cognition, social anxiety, face processing OVERVIEW Broadly defined, social cognition among humans refers to the ability to understand other people. It involves the ability to monitor, predict and understand others' behaviours and actions. Research on early social cognition has advanced rapidly over the past years. It is now known that in the first year, infants systematically engage in joint attention (Striano, Reid, & Hoehl, 2006), discriminate intentional from accidental actions (Behne, Carpenter, Call, & Tomasello, 2005), and interpret observed actions as rational or irrational (Gergely, Nadasdy, Csibra, & Biro, 1995). As the definition of social cognition is so very broad, we will focus on four key topics within early social cognition research that have special relevance for understanding the ontogeny and nature of social anxiety. The key topics are (1) Early social interactions; (2) Contingency detection; (3) Face and gaze processing and (4) Detecting goals and intentions of others. After providing an overview of important aspects of early social-cognitive development, we will overview the nature of anxiety and anxiety disorders in preschool children, and we will proceed to outline what we see to be key relationships between the ontogeny and manifestation of anxiety disorders and fundamental components of social cognition in early development. Motivation for the production of this paper is due in part to new models outlining how social anxiety may function (e.g. Rapee & Spence, 2004; Clark, 2001; Hirsch, Clark, & Mathews, 2006). These models in our view may benefit from relations between social anxiety and the assessment of early social-cognitive processing. It is, however, of note that we focus only on aspects of social cognition. We fully acknowledge that there must be relations between social anxiety and other factors, such as temperamental characteristics of the individual. These other aspects are not discussed in this paper due to space constraints, despite undoubtedly having a key part to play in the development of anxiety disorders. KEY COMPONENTS IN EARLY SOCIAL COGNITION Early social interactions One component of social cognition that has been widely investigated in the developmental sciences is infant sensitivity to triadic attention. This is when an infant attends to a location or object while continuously referencing this object or location to an interaction with another person. It has been found that triadic attention is necessary for a wide range of human social cognitive skills, such as social referencing (Moses, Baldwin, Rosicky, & Tidball, 2001), and language learning (Morales, Mundy, & Rojas, 1998; Baldwin, 1993). …