The amazing development in technology and industry during the last half of the twentieth century has opened totally new research fields. One of them is computational mechanics. Suddenly very complex, three-dimensional nonlinear engineering problems could be solved as a consequence of explosive advances in computers and numerical schemes. On the other hand, by the end of the nineteenth century, great achievements, directly applicable to mechanics, have also been made in mathematics. The new mathematical methods were fundamental for the development of differential geometry and topology. Geometrical methods when combined with analysis resulted in a very rich branch of mathematics, global analysis. In the first part of this thesis the fundamental notions of differential geometry are introduced with immediate illustration of their applicability to examples of geometrically exact formulations of finite-strain beams and inextensible one-director stress resultant shells models in elastodynamics according to J.C.Simo et al. A descriptive way of presentation, instead of a formal mathematical, was chosen to persuade engineers that even abstract modern mathematics is manageable and what is more, is practical and leads to more accurate reliable and effective numerical algorithms. The underlying geometrical structure in formulation of the constrained three-dimensional models of beams and shells often leads to more accurate solutions than other formulations extensively used in the fields. Furthermore, the use of the Hamiltonian structure in the domain of dynamics induces time-stepping algorithms which exactly preserve conservation of the linear and angular momentum and the total energy of the system. The method is stable for long-duration processes in contrast to existing so called stable time-stepping schemes which show an unstable behavior after some period of time. The discrete model inherits the physical properties from the corresponding continuum model. The second part of the thesis consists of submitted papers on the general quadrilateral low-order isoparametric elements in plane stress. In the two first papers a general four-node element with curved boundaries by use of normal, geodesic, coordinates is formulated. The distortion parameters of the element are defined and applied on the inverse map from the normal coordinates to the natural ones. The same parameters are used for curved elements as well as for corresponding chord elements. Other geometrical features of the quadrilateral in the formalism of differential geometry are developed. In the third paper a systematic and thorough investigation of the development of computational methods, in the plane bending domain, is performed. It is based on low-order isoparametric four-node finite elements, compatible and non-compatible. A special attention has been focused on the problem of sensitivity of the finite element method as regards the elements with irregular geometry in a coarse mesh. A definite conclusion of the investigation is that for low order elements of irregular shape, no matter what method of approximation is used, it is not possible to improve existing results for general loading. Thus, consequently no more research on this particular problem is needed.


© Appl. Rheol. 19 (2009) 41969 Abstract: Filament breakup of high viscosity fluids with apparent yield stress has been investigated and strategies for an appropriate characterization of their behavior in CaBER experiments are discussed. Filament profiles of such fluids exhibit significant concave curvature. Accurate determination of filament shape is mandatory for understanding deformation behavior. Therefore, we have set up an optical train including high-speed camera, telecentric objective and telecentric back-light illumination with a blue light emitting diode (LED) providing high contrast filament shape imaging. Image analysis allows for diameter determination with an accuracy of 3.55 mm/pixel. In addition to the transient filament diameter at the neck we have extracted the curvature at this point as a function of time and the region of deformation, in order to characterize the extensional flow behavior. We have investigated the time evolution of filament shape as a function of various experimental parameters like stretching time, velocity profile during stretching, stretching ratio and initial sample volume at constant stretching ratio. Filament thinning is independent of stretching time, ts and stretching velocity profile. But when the same stretching ratio is applied at different initial volume fraction, filament curvature increases strongly with decreasing sample volume leading to an increase of filament life time according to the negative contribution of its curvature to the Laplace pressure inside the fluid.


The tragedies of spinal cord damage in humans would be much alleviated if spinal cord neurons could regenerate, but human neurons show great reluctance to do so. Restricting factors seem to be both intrinsic to the damaged neuron and extrinsic to the surrounding central nervous system (CNS) tissue. In zebrafish, the CNS seems to have less of the general repressive nature, but Mauthner neurons still cannot regenerate reliably. Bhatt et al. now find that application of cAMP (adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate) to the cell body of the Mauthner neuron in zebrafish induced its regeneration and restored Mauthner neuron-dependent behavioral responses. D. H. Bhatt, S. J. Otto, B. Depoister, J. R. Fetcho, Cyclic AMP-induced repair of zebrafish spinal circuits. Science 305, 254-258 (2004). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The biosynthesis, processing, and secretion of parthormone and the effect of calcium on these processes were measured in dispersed porcine parthyroid cells incubated with [(35)S]methionine. Proparathormone was detected at 10 min, the earliest time measured, and was rapidly and apparently quantitatively converted to parathormone. The half-life of the prohomormone pool was 15 min. Secretion of parathormone was detected by 20 min. In pulse-chase experiments there was a period between 20 and 40 min during which the wave of newly-synthesized parathormone was secreted. After 40 min during little additional radioactive hormone was secreted, but dibutyryl cyclic AMP, an agent that can mobilize stored parathormone, when added to the incubation mixtures enhanced radioactive parathormone secretion but only after 60 min, although it increased net hormone secretion as determined by radioimmunoassay to the same extent at all times studied. When the ionized calcium concentration of the medium was lowered, more radioactive hormone was secreted at all times but the effect was greatest on that hormone that was synthesized less than 60 min previously ; however, net hormone secretion in contrast to radioactive hormone was enhanced equally at all intervals. These data could mean that the refractoriness to secretion of parathormone 40-60 min of age was related to maturation of secretory container preparatory to storage. Low calcium (0.5 mM) stimulated hormone secretion up to fivefold compared to high calcium (3.0 mM) but did not affect synthesis of parathormone or proparathormne or conversion of the latter to hormone. During processing at least 70 percent of the intracellular parathormone was lost, presumably through proteolysis and this degradation was greater at high calcium. These data have been interpreted in light of the concept that two secretable pools of parathormone exist within the parathyroid.


Stably stratified flows over a two-dimensional hill are investigated in a channel of finite depth using a three-dimensional direct numerical simulation (DNS). The present study follows onto our previous two-dimensional DNS studies of stably stratified flows over a hill in a channel of finite depth and provides a more realistic simulation of atmospheric flows than our previous studies. A hill with a constant cross-section in the spanwise (y) direction is placed in a 3-D computational domain. As in the previous 2-D simulations, to avoid the effect of the ground boundary layer that develops upstream of the hill, no-slip conditions are imposed only on the hill surface and the surface downstream of the hill; slip conditions are imposed on the surface upstream of the hill. The simulated 3-D flows are discussed by comparing them to the simulated 2-D flows with a focus on the effect of the stable stratification on the non-periodic separation and reattachment of the flow behind the hill. In neutral (K = 0, where K is a non-dimensional stability parameter) and weakly stable (K = 0.8) conditions, 3-D flows over a hill differ clearly from 2-D flows over a hill mainly because of the three-dimensionality of the flow, that is the development of a spanwise flow component in the 3-D flows. In highly stable conditions (K = 1, 1.3), long-wavelength lee waves develop downstream of the hill in both 2-D and 3-D flows, and the behaviors of the 2-D and 3-D flows are similar in the vicinity of the hill. In other words, the spanwise component of the 3-D flows is strongly suppressed in highly stable conditions, and the flow in the vicinity of the hill becomes approximately two-dimensional in the x and z directions.


The U.S. Constitution provides a criminal defendant with a right to trial by jury, and most states and the federal government require criminal juries to agree unanimously before a defendant may be convicted. But what exactly must a jury agree upon unanimously? Well-established doctrine, pursuant to In re Winship, provides that the jury must agree that the prosecution has proven every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Yet what the elements of any given offense are is not as clear as one might expect. Frequently, criminal statutes—especially federal statutes—describe an array of prohibited conduct, leaving ambiguous whether a particular statute sets forth (1) a single offense with alternative means of commission or (2) several different crimes. Under current doctrine, pursuant to Schad v. Arizona, this distinction is a significant one. If the statutory alternatives are determined to be alternative means of committing a single offense—or, more precisely, alternative means of establishing a particular element of a single crime—then a jury need not agree on any of the alternatives before it can convict. By contrast, if the alternatives represent discrete elements, signifying discrete offenses, then the jury must agree unanimously on at least one of the alternatives before it can convict. This Article argues that the ambiguity surrounding "alternative elements" has negative consequences throughout the criminal justice system, not the least of which is that it undermines the proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard. Drawing upon some of the insights set forth in Apprendi v. New Jersey and its progeny, this Article draws out the tensions between Apprendi and Schad and suggests a new approach to "alternative elements" that could strengthen the jury's constitutional role and be a force for greater clarity in our criminal laws.


Fatty alcohol derivatives are used as surfactants and applied in commercial
formulations like laundry detergents, cleaning agents or cosmetic products as
complex mixtures. Different classes of surfactants are combined in formulations to
improve the properties of the product such as cleaning capacity or foam formation.
Furthermore, the individual surfactant classes already consist of a complex mixture
of homologues because of the raw materials used and the production process. Due to
the complexity of this kind of samples, an analytical method is necessary which can
detect all individual substances as well as qualify and quantify them.

In this work, it has been shown that complex mixtures consisting of anionic, nonionic
and amphoteric surfactants can be separated with HILIC by substance class.
Furthermore, a separation by EO homologues was achieved for the ethoxylated
substances while a separation by alkyl chain length distribution was only obtained
for the betaines. In addition, the application of a reversed phase material showed a
very good separation by alkyl chain length distribution whereas the substance
classes could not be separated from each other. The use of different organic mobile
phases can also lead to a separation by EO homologues, if needed. But exemplified
by a special phase material for the analysis of surfactants, it was shown that the onedimensional
separation by substance class, alkyl chain length distribution and EO
homologues of a complex surfactant mixture leads to coelutions and a very
complicated data evaluation.

Since the one-dimensional separation did not lead to the desired result,
comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LCxLC) was implemented.
Firstly, the Neue test was carried out for a closer characterization of the reversed
phase materials used. While the separation in the first dimension was performed by
polar interactions of a HILIC phase, a C 8 diol phase showed the highest orthogonality
when used as second dimension. With this column combination, a separation by
substance class and EO homologues was achieved in the first dimension, while the
separation in the second dimension led to a further separation by alkyl chain length
distribution. Finally, the developed method allowed the separation of about 110
individual substances.

The LCxLC method was successfully applied to the analysis of several real samples
from the home care sector. Furthermore, analyses for the determination of the
reproducibility of peak area and retention time showed that the reproducibility of the
retention time in the first dimension is dependent on the retention time. Apart from a
small sector in the chromatogram where broad signals were obtained, the
reproducibility of the retention time in the first dimension resulted in values below
10%. The retention time in the second dimension showed a very good reproducibility
with a relative standard deviation below 7% for all substances. Concerning the
reproducibility of the peak area, a relative standard deviation below 7% was
achieved for fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEO), fatty alcohol ether sulfates (FAES) and
betaines. For the fatty alcohol sulfates (FAS) and alkyl polyglucoside (AG), higher
values were achieved, which is due to an insufficient and non-reproducible
ionisation. Regarding the betaines and fatty alcohol ethoxylates, it was shown that a
quantification of the surfactants in complex mixtures is possible with an external
calibration or the standard addition method.


Rapid glacier retreats due to rising temperatures have been predicted in the Hindukush–Karakoram–Himalaya (HKKH). Recent findings indicate shrinking glaciers in parts of the Himalayas, affecting ice storage and ultimately water availability. Insights on ice storage of the HKKH remain controversial, where glaciers retreat in some parts, while surging in others. In high-altitude areas only few in-situ observations are available, leading to ambiguous closure of the hydrological balance. Objective of this paper is to analyze the closure for the Upper Indus Basin (UIB). A first-order analysis using long-term flow and precipitation records, estimates of evaporation and ice storage is performed. Satellite information, atmospheric reanalyses, in-situ observations and related uncertainty are independently investigated. Trend analysis of 50-year stream flow indicates a statistically insignificant decrease of basin outflow. Analysis of 100-year precipitation data at valley stations shows no significant long-term trend, whereas temperature has increased moderately. Estimates of evaporation and sublimation in the HKKH system are notably few. Findings suggest that a substantial loss of ice in the UIB during the 1999–2009 decade is unlikely. Ice storage is probably at equilibrium or under slight accumulation, as indicated by recent altimetry studies in the Karakoram. In the UIB there is no evidence for intermediate-term risk to water supply as suggested in recent literature.


Abstract. Ecological models are effective tools for simulating the distribution of global carbon sources and sinks. However, these models often suffer from substantial biases due to inaccurate simulations of complex ecological processes. We introduce a set of scaling factors (parameters) to an ecological model on the basis of plant functional type (PFT) and latitudes. A global carbon assimilation system (GCAS-DOM) is developed by employing a dual optimization method (DOM) to invert the time-dependent ecological model parameter state and the net carbon flux state simultaneously. We use GCAS-DOM to estimate the global distribution of the CO2 flux on 1° × 1° grid cells for the period from 2001 to 2007. Results show that land and ocean absorb −3.63 ± 0.50 and −1.82 ± 0.16 Pg C yr−1, respectively. North America, Europe and China contribute −0.98 ± 0.15, −0.42 ± 0.08 and −0.20 ± 0.29 Pg C yr−1, respectively. The uncertainties in the flux after optimization by GCAS-DOM have been remarkably reduced by more than 60%. Through parameter optimization, GCAS-DOM can provide improved estimates of the carbon flux for each PFT. Coniferous forest (−0.97 ± 0.27 Pg C yr−1) is the largest contributor to the global carbon sink. Fluxes of once-dominant deciduous forest generated by the Boreal Ecosystems Productivity Simulator (BEPS) are reduced to −0.78 ± 0.23 Pg C yr−1, the third largest carbon sink.


Title of dissertation: THE SMALL MECHANOSENSITIVE CHANNEL: ADAPTIVE GATING AND TIMING DURING HYPOOSMOTIC SHOCK. Miriam Sara Boer, Doctor of Philosophy, 2011 Dissertation directed by: Prof. Sergei Sukharev, Dept. of Biology Mechanosensation is the ability to respond to mechanical stimuli. It is present in many organisms. In Escherichia coli (E. coli), mechanosensation manifests in two membrane channels, the large mechanosensitive channel (MscL) and the small mechanosensitive channel (MscS). Both osmoregulatory channels sense membrane tension. MscS, the subject of these studies, consists of a transmembrane region and a cytoplasmic cage. It opens at tensions below those which can cause immediate damage to membranes, contrasting with MscL which opens at near-lytic tensions. Because it opens at non-threatening tensions, MscS not only opens and closes but also inactivates. Inactivation is non-conductive and tension insensitive, and this adaptive behavior was first observed on patch clamp. With the aid of carefully constructed molecular models, the first part of this dissertation evaluates whether inactivation is merely a patch clamp artifact or if it is indeed a part of in vivo MscS function. Working with wild type (WT) alongside fast inactivating and noninactivating mutants proved inactivation does confer a survival advantage to hypoosmotically shocked bacteria. Additionally, light scattering was used to view the swelling and channel response events in WT and knock out (KO) cells lacking mechanosensitive channels upon instantaneous hypoosmotic shock by way of stopped flow. THE SMALL MECHANOSENSITIVE CHANNEL: ADAPTIVE GATING AND TIMING DURING HYPOOSMOTIC SHOCK.


This note analyzes the competing constitutional interests that are at play when a veiled Muslim witness seeks an exemption under the Free Exercise Clause from general court procedures regarding witness attire. Is the liberty interest found in the Free Exercise Clause stronger than that found in the Confrontation Clause? In such a situation, which constitutional right takes precedence? The government is caught in the middle because it has an interest in upholding both constitutional rights. Protecting religious freedom seems just as important as ensuring that criminal defendants receive a fair trial, especially given the explicit guarantees of both the First and Sixth Amendments. This scenario is likely to occur in a post-9/11 world given the heightened awareness of the place of Muslims in American society and an increasing interest in the intersection of religious practice and the law. This is especially true considering the increase in the number of U.S. residents that identify as Muslims. Part I acknowledges the various interests held by the witness, the defendant, and the State. Part II discusses current doctrine regarding the Confrontation Clause as well as religious exemptions analysis under the Free Exercise Clause. Part III demonstrates why the witness could plausibly argue for an exemption given current doctrine for both constitutional provisions. Part IV recognizes the potential problems with granting such an exemption. Finally, this note proposes two possible solutions to the constitutional conflict and analyzes each solution's shortcomings.


Confidentiality has tended to be disconnected from wider debates about citizenship and social inclusion. It has been hived off into self-referential legal and professional discourses concerning the principles that should inform social workers' conduct. The lacuna concerning the significance of confidentiality in wider debates is made more remarkable by the shift towards consumer citizenship, a shift that has ostensibly emphasized service users' rights, including their capacity for active participation in service provision. The rights discourse, as a component of active consumer citizenship, is considered in relation to the perspectives of 'interests' and 'will'. The arguments that support moving in the direction of a critical 'will' perspective, through deliberative processes that involve service users in developing and framing information rights, are highlighted and linked to data from a small-scale empirical study. This perspective is regarded as consistent with a politically dynamic formulation of social citizenship. Such a formulation involves seeing citizenship as a practice that requires on-going debates about claims to rights, moves in the direction of seeking to rectify imbalances in power and recognizes the capacity of service users to act in their own interests as citizens.


In mammalian nuclei, a select number of tissue-specific gene loci exhibit broadly distributed patterns of histone modifications, such as histone hyperacetylation, that are normally associated with active gene promoters. Previously, we characterized such hyperacetylated domains within mammalian β-globin gene loci, and determined that within the murine locus, neither the β-globin locus control region nor the gene promoters were required for domain formation. Here, we identify a developmentally specific erythroid enhancer, hypersensitive site-embryonic 1 (HS-E1), located within the embryonic β-globin domain in mouse, which is homologous to a region located downstream of the human embryonic ε-globin gene. This sequence exhibits nuclease hypersensitivity in primitive erythroid cells and acts as an enhancer in gain-of-function assays. Deletion of HS-E1 from the endogenous murine β-globin locus results in significant decrease in the expression of the embryonic β-globin genes and loss of the domain-wide pattern of histone hyperacetylation. The data suggest that HS-E1 is an enhancer that is uniquely required for β-like globin expression in primitive erythroid cells, and that it defines a novel class of enhancer that works in part by domain-wide modulation of chromatin structure.


The switching of medium voltage electrical motors is typically realized by means of vacuum circuit breakers (VCBs) essentially in view of their elevated number of switching cycles. As known, switching of VCBs generates important transient recovery voltages (TRVs) that need to be properly evaluated for both VCB sizing and insulation coordination. As large medium voltage electrical motors are installed into plants typically controlled by means of Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, maneuvers that involve the motor inrush followed by its sudden de-energization (due to the intervention of an automatic diagnostic function), results into important TRVs. The paper aims at investigating the TRVs due to this specific type of VCB switching by means of a model that has been developed for the purpose, and has then been implemented in the EMTP-RV simulation environment. The validation of the implemented models makes reference to a real plant, and is obtained by comparing the simulation results with some experimental transients provided by the plant data fault recorder. The paper finally discusses the adequacy of different countermeasures by analyzing their effectiveness for the TRVs limitation.


This study aims to investigate Kuwaiti EFL learners' ability to comprehend and produce grammatical collocations in English. It also examines whether their English proficiency level and the type of grammatical collocation influence their comprehension and production of such collocations. The results show that the difference in performance between the advanced learners and intermediate learners was enough to differ statistically on both comprehension and production tests. Furthermore, the most frequent types of errors that may occur as well as some possible reasons for their occurrence have been identified. Noun + preposition and adjective + preposition were the most problematic types in comparison with other types in both groups. It has been suggested that L1 interference plays a central role in the comprehension and production of grammatical collocations by Kuwaiti EFL learners. Particularly, literal translation from Arabic has been found to be the main reason for grammatical collocation errors. The prepositions in Arabic do not usually correspond to their English counterparts e.g., at in angry at, which is literally translated to *angry from in Arabic. Finally, lack of knowledge of grammatical collocations is also an important reason behind such errors. It might be suggested that English language curricula taught in Kuwait do not pay enough attention to grammatical collocations. The study concludes with some pedagogical implications that may help teachers of English as a second/foreign language increase the awareness of grammatical collocations.


Abstract The objective of this study was to determine diagnostic doses (DDs) of 5 insecticides for the Rockefeller susceptible strain of Aedes aegypti, using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bottle bioassay as a tool for monitoring insecticide resistance in the Cuban vector control program. The 30-min DD values determined in this study were 13.5 μg/ml, 6.5 μg/ml, 6 μg/ml, 90.0 μg/ml, and 15.0 μg/ml for cypermethrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, chlorpyrifos, and propoxur, respectively. To compare the reliability of CDC bottle bioassay with the World Health Organization susceptible test, 3 insecticide-resistant strains were evaluated for deltamethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin. Results showed that the bottles can be used effectively from 21 to 25 days after treatment and reused up to 4 times, depending on the storage time. The CDC bottle bioassay is an effective tool to assess insecticide resistance in field populations of Ae. aegypti in Cuba and can be incorporated into vector management programs using the diagnostic doses determined in this study.


The authors present a theoretical model in which a profit-maximizing lender may ration credit to businesses by restricting loan size. Such credit rationing occurs despite the absence of differences across borrowers in default risk or loan administration costs. Moreover, the model predicts an interest rate-loan size pattern that matches that observed in U.S. commercial loan markets.


Good governance is good PR, it is important in every sphere of society, whether it be the corporate environment, the political, or wider society. When resources are too limited to meet the minimum expectations of the people, it is a good governance level that can help to promote the welfare of society. Enlightened companies recognise that there is a clear link between govern ance and corporate social responsibility and make efforts to link the two. Unfortunately this is too often no more than making a claim that good governance is a part of their CSR policy as well as a part of their relationship with shareholders. Corporate Governance and CSR are significant issues in all parts of the world, huge amounts of time and energy are devoted to its global interpretation. Most analysis however is too simplistic to be helpful as it normally resolves itself into simple dualities: rules based v principles based or Anglo-Saxon v Continental. The editors of this book argue that this is not helpful - that the reality is far more complex. They show that Corporate Governance and CSR cannot be understood without taking geographical, cultural and historical factors into account. It is necessary, they say to understand the concerns of people in different parts of the world. Therefore, by using a wealth of case studies, theoretical models, and drawing on the knowledge and perspective of experts from around the world, the editors have produced this valuable book. Global Perspectives on Corporate Governance and CSR discusses issues such as regional and cultural similarities and differences, the contexts of differing legal frameworks and governance codes, differences between large companies and SMEs, governance in new environments (companies and economies) versus stable environments, and the changing environment affecting corporate social responsibility around the world. The editors then synthesise this in a way that will be helpful to business people as well as to academics.


Studying the spermatogenesis of horse is beneficial for the horse industry by identifying the causes of chromosomal abnormalities, which cause embryonic loss, congenital abnormalities and infertility. Little is known about the spermatogenesis in horse. This is the first report that investigates the horse spermatogenesis in detail, particularly metaphase I (MI) and prophase I (PI) stages of the first meiotic division.
Meiotic recombination is considered to be the major outcome of meiosis. It is essential for proper chromosome segregation and formation of normal haploid gametes. Analysis of recombination frequency and distribution are crucial for genomic and association studies. Any alteration of the recombination frequency and positioning can cause non-disjunction and generation of aneuploidy.
The frequency and distribution of chiasmata were estimated at MI chromosomes from fourteen fertile stallions. The average frequency of autosomal chiasmata was 49.45 ± 2.07, corresponding to a genetic length of 2,472.5 cM. All autosomal bivalents had at least one chiasma. The majority of chromosomes have one or two chiasmata, which are mostly distally localized. The frequency and the distribution as well as the genetic length of chiasmata were also estimated for the first time in eight different individual autosomes.
Immunofluorescent localization was used to characterize the early stages of the first meiotic division as well as to examine the frequency and the distribution of DNA mismatch repair protein MutL Homologous Protein 1 (MLH1) foci on synaptonemal complexes (SCs) from sex fertile stallions. The mean frequency of autosomal recombination foci was 50.11±2.35. All autosomal bivalents had at least one recombination focus. In general, foci were located near the distal ends with some foci interstitially distributed. The distribution of MLH1 foci indicated positive interference; however, foci were very close to one another in rare instances. The average SCs relative length was highly correlated with the average number of MLH1 foci. MLH1 have been proposed to mark crossover sites at PI since the frequency and distribuation of MLH1 foci closely correspond to the frequency and distribution of chiasmata on MI chromosomes. iii | P a g e
Spermatozoa viability, which include spermatozoa head and tail membrane integrity, acrosomal integrity and mitochondrial function assessment are the main sperm analysis parameters considered in this thesis to evaluate the stallion fertility using epididymal collected semen samples. The mean percentage of spermatozoa with viable heads and tails, using Chicago sky blue stain, was 81.26 ± 5.06. FITC-Pisum sativum agglutinin (FITC-PSA) and MitoTracer green were used successfully to assess the spermatozoal acrosomal status as well as the mitochondrial function, respectively. The mean percentage of spermatozoa with integrated acrosome was 93.85 ± 1.9, while for functional mitochondria was 95.63 ± 1.63.
In conclusion, this finding is the cornerstone to understanding the genetic basis of normal horse spermatogenesis. Simultaneous assessment of different functional sperm parameters as well as investigating the synapsis and recombination frequency and distribution, at PI or MI, would assist with predictions of stallion fertility prior to breeding. In addition, this study will enable investigators to use linkage analysis in identifying and localising different genetic loci associated with specific traits.


The main aim of this thesis was to uncover common low penetrance variants that influence susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC). This was largely considered in
relation to the analysis of the plethora of genetic data from our large genome‐wide association study. My work includes fine‐mapping of associated loci through additional
genotyping, gene screening, and imputation for the prediction of untyped SNPs, which improved the resolution for fine-mapping and facilitated meta-analysis with datasets
typed on different arrays. This led to the identification of 14 independent risk loci, while an association analysis of the X chromosome revealed evidence for two additional risk variants. I cover the detection of runs of homozygous SNPs to investigate the relationship between homozygosity and CRC and show that there is no evidence for increased homozygosity in cases in the UK population. I go on to
investigate linkage based techniques to perform an analysis of chromosomal regions identical by descent (IBD), which are shared between unrelated cases more often than
controls that could harbour risk variants and identified a number of good candidate genes, such as AXIN2 and E2F7, which require further analysis in additional samples. I
also search for moderate penetrance susceptibility variants in several families with a dominant‐like inheritance and compare identified linkage peaks with the results of a
loss of heterozygosity analysis of tumour DNA from family members to identify potential tumour suppressor genes. This analysis identified several promising regions and led to the detection of a SMAD4 mutation in one family. The associated variants identified in this study provide good evidence that the common‐disease common-variant hypothesis holds true, but that this is not the whole story as these variants account for just 8% of the familial risk. Further research and techniques will be required to uncover the remaining missing heritability.


We propose an actor-critic algorithm that uses past planning experience to improve the efficiency of solving robot task-and-motion planning (TAMP) problems. TAMP planners search for goal-achieving sequences of high-level operator instances specified by both discrete and continuous parameters. Our algorithm learns a policy for selecting the continuous parameters during search, using a small training set generated from the search trees of previously solved instances. We also introduce a novel fixed-length vector representation for world states with varying numbers of objects with different shapes, based on a set of key robot configurations. We demonstrate experimentally that our method learns more efficiently from less data than standard reinforcementlearning approaches and that using a learned policy to guide a planner results in the improvement of planning efficiency.


This paper presents analysis, fabrication and characterization of patterned magnetorheological (MR) elastomers. By taking into account the local magnetic field in MREs and particle interaction magnetic energy, the magnetic-field-dependent mechanical properties of MREs with lattice and BCC structures were theoretically analyzed and numerically simulated. Soft magnetic particles were assembled in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix to fabricate new MR elastomers with uniform lattice and BCC structures, which were observed by a microscope. The field-dependent moduli of the new MR elastomers were characterized by using a parallel-plate MR rheometer. The experimental results agreed well with numerical simulations.


THY Pol-2 intein, from Thermococcus hydrothermalis, belongs to the same allelic family as TLI Pol-2 (PI-TLII), Tfu Pol-2 (PI-TFUII) and TspTY Pol-3 mini-intein, all inserted at the pol-c site of archaeal DNA polymerase genes. This new intein was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. The intein is a specific endonuclease (PI-THY:I) which cleaves the inteinless sequence of the THY DNA pol gene. Moreover, PI-TLII, PI-TFUII and PI-THYI are very similar endonucleases which cleave DNA in the same optimal conditions at 70 degrees C yielding similar 3'-hydroxyl overhangs of 4 bp and the reaction is subject to product inhibition. The three enzymes are able to cleave the three DNA sequences spanning the pol-c site and a 24 bp consensus cleavage site was defined for the three isoschizomers. However, the exact size of the minimal cleavage site depends both on the substrate sequence and the endonuclease. The inability of the isoschizomers to cleave the inteinless DNA polymerase gene from Pyrococcus spp. KOD is due to point substitutions on the 5' side of the pol-c site, suggesting that the absence of inteins of this allelic family in DNA polymerase genes from Pyrococcus spp. can be linked to small differences in the target site sequence.


The quality of software is critically dependent on the quality of Requirements Engineering activities undertaken during software development. This paper outlines a survey of Higher Education (HE) institutions in the UK undertaken to determine the nature of the topics covered relating to Requirement Engineering, and the extent to which such topics are practically taught and assessed. Very few surveys of Requirement Engineering within HE have been conducted, and, to the authors knowledge this will be the first significant one published which focussing on HE in the UK. The paper concludes that a number of key issues exist in the UK provision for teaching in this area, which impact on the ability of industry to leverage the skills gained by students whilst studying at university.


Since ages people have been wondering the inner workings of brain.
There is more and more information about processes involving particular
brain regions, yet synthesizing neural-networks in a large scale has always
been a problem. Despite the fact that the popular desktop computer
is becoming more powerful, simulating massively parallel computations
aways proved to be a challenge. Due to its genericness, in very specialized
work, such as neural networks, it is far better to design and use dedicated
array of processors.
Such approach has been used in development of the Ubichip – a device
designed specifically for such purposes. The design goal was to simplify the
execution elements to suit the needs of efficient neuron model algorithms
emulation.
As with every development cycle of a complex tool there are many tasks
that may be carried out in parallel. This, of course, effects in allowing
the development team to shorten the cycle and provide the solution faster.
This however, requires a set of tools that will allow to prototype and verify
work progress against some set of basic rules.
The Ubichip was already supported by a toolkit named SpiNDeK,
that allowed to create networks and with the use of ModelSim simulate
the code. This solution for proof-checking the algorithms however proved
to be cumbersome and due to many levels of indirection – slow. To increase
efficiency when working with code, the programmer should not
have to wait endlessly watching the progress bars. To remedy this, improve
efficiency and encourage more precise tuning and development of
new neuron-model algorithms the Ubichip Virtual Machine was born.
At first it was just meant to be a simple visualization tool, but as it
turned out there was a missing link in the chain of tools available for the
Ubichip, which had to be filled.
Thus, in this work a virtual machine for the Ubichip has been developed,
as well as a visualization tool that enables a convenient display of
the evolution of spiking neurons in a network.
i


1. Twenty patients with severe chronic airflow obstruction (CAFO), four of whom were hypercapnic, had greatly reduced ventilatory responses to rebreathing CO2 under hyperoxic conditions, compared with the responses in normal subjects. 2. Mouth occlusion pressure (P0.1) responses to CO2 were also reduced in the patients compared with those of normal subjects but the reduction was less severe than in the ventilatory response. 3. in ten patients with CAFO minimum pleural pressure during tidal breathing [Ppl min. (dynamic)] at a Pco2 of 8.0 kPa was only slightly less negative than in the normal subjects (−16.2 cm water vs −23.4 cm water). 4. During rebreathing end-expiratory volume (EEV) fell progressively in the normal subjects (mean fall = 800 ml); in the patients there was a progressive rise in EEV (mean rise = 390 ml). 5. When Ppl min. (dynamic) was compared with minimum static pleural pressures at the same lung volume the patients were generating a much higher proportion of their available static pressure (47.0%) than the normal subjects (26.4%) at a Pco2 of 8.0 kPa, suggesting that despite the slightly less negative Ppl min. (dynamic), inspiratory muscle activation was greater in the patients than in normal subjects. Similar conclusions were reached from an analysis of the inspiratory work of breathing. 6. We conclude that hyperinflation, by impairing the capacity of the inspiratory muscles to lower pleural pressure, reduces the ventilatory response to CO2 and adds to the effects of abnormalities in pulmonary mechanics so that measurements of absolute pleural pressure or work of breathing underestimate inspiratory muscle activation in patients with severe CAFO. 7. Hyperinflation and severe airflow obstruction also reduce the change in P0.1 for a given degree of inspiratory muscle activation. 8. Our results suggest that, despite the impaired pressure and ventilatory response to rebreathing CO2 in the patients, their central respiratory drive was greater than that of the normal subjects.


Those who practice the Muslim faith have resisted examinations of their religion. They are extremely guarded about their religion, and what they consider blasphemous acts by sceptical Muslims and non-Muslims alike has only served to pique the world's curiosity. This critical examination reveals an unflattering picture of the faith and its practitioners. Nevertheless, it is the truth, something that has either been deliberately concealed by modern scholars or buried in obscure journals accessible only to a select few.


Health Promotion is influenced by developments in economics, politics, sociology and demography, many areas of science, and other areas that are not readily apparent to most health promotion professionals. Perspectives Beyond Health Promotion provides short takes on important developments in these fields. The intention is to provide a map of the forces shaping the future of health promotion. The views expressed in this section do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the American Journal of Health Promotion.


As technology develops, more human-made devices are able to make use of Internet to communicate with each other, thus enabling the Internet of Things (IoT) era to emerge. The amount of data IoT entities generate can overwhelm computer infrastructures not prepared for such data deluge and consequent need for more CPU power. Cloud computing offers a solution at infrastructure level that alleviates such a problem by offering highly scalable computing platforms that can be configured on demand to meet constant changes of applications requirements in a pay-per-use mode. Current approaches enabling IoT applications are domain-specific or focus only on interaction with sensors, thus they cannot be easily ported to other domains nor provide means of interactions with data sources other than sensors. To address this issue, in this paper we introduce a data-centric framework for development of IoT applications executed in clouds. The framework handles connection to data sources, data filtering, and utilization of cloud resources including provisioning, load balancing, and scheduling, enabling developers to focus on the application logic and therefore facilitating the development of IoT applications. We present a prototype application executing on AWS, built on top of the Aneka Cloud Application Platform and present experiments demonstrating the use of our framework for building an application capable of processing input from different sources and analysing them using easy-to-use APIs provided by Aneka.


Surveys of women in higher education administrative positions that identified factors which may contribute to career development have been conducted. However, the literature revealed little information regarding the importance placed on those factors by women in higher education administrative positions. The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of selected contributors to career development of women in higher education administration. Data were gathered by a mailed questionnaire to a sample of women administrators employed in Florida state supported community colleges and universities. The 343 useable returned questionnaires represented a 65.5% response rate and 51.3% of the total population. These data were evaluated in terms of: a) the factors identified by women, b) race and age, c) administrative level by institution type, and d) institution type. Descriptive data analysis was conducted using frequency distributions and histograms. Crosstabulation analysis with all statistical options and a oneway analysis of variance were also utilized. There were four factors considered important for which there were no significant differences across the variables of institution type, administrative level by institution type, and selected demographic characteristics. These factors were formal education, willingness to accept added responsibility, timing, and communication skills. The contributing factors showing importance by administrative level by institution type were: chance, participation in a formal administrative internship, committee appointments, and teaching experience. Those factors viewed as important by institution type were: willingness to relocate (community college) and research and publications (university). The factors viewed important by race were personnel administration skills and prior administrative experience. The factors considered important by age were: a) Affirmative Action plans, b) influence of a mentor, c) personnel administration skills, d) participation in a formal administrative internship, and e) research. The results of the study indicated that women desiring to advance into higher education administrative positions should develop a career plan to include the institution type desired for career development. In addition, women should give serious consideration to the four factors showing no significant difference by institution type, administrative level by institution type, or by selected demographic characteristics.


This paper argues that the determination of legal parenthood should fundamentally be about identity; that is, it should be seen as providing an answer to the question: to which family does this child belong? The paper approaches the issue by, first, noting that the determination of legal parenthood has become one of the most contentious issues in family, and that this has ironically happened because of the combination of greater certainty in the determination of biological paternity, and greater instability in family relationships. The historic strategy of using the stigma against illegitimacy and the marital presumption to lock children into fixed family relationships is no longer tenable. The paper examines then the tension between ex ante and ex post definitions of parenthood. Ex ante doctrines, such as those requiring biological parenthood, marriage or adoption, recognize parenthood on the basis the conditions that exist at the time of the assumption of parental responsibilities. These doctrines provide certainty at the expense of the failure to recognize adults who may have played a primary parental role in the child's life. Ex post doctrines, such as de facto or psychological parent, affirm parental standing on the basis of functional relationships in existence at the time of the dispute. They have been criticized for opening the door to recognition of a potentially large and changing group of adults, without clear identification of those most likely to further the child's well-being. Finally, the paper critiques the growing body of law applying the marital presumption, de facto parenthood, parenthood by estoppel, unmarried parents, and stepparents. The paper argues, first, that biology matters even if it is not the only thing that matters; identification of biological parents contributes to a firmer foundation for the recognition of others. Second, the paper maintains the relationships between the adults are important; recognition of functional parents, if parenthood entails a permanent commitment to the child, requires something more than a casual relationship with a legal parent. Third, the paper considers the possibility of "unbundling parenthood," that is, of considering support, custody and identity as separate issues that may produce different results. The paper concludes that recreation of legal parenthood as a constituent of the child's lasting identity requires adult acceptance of permanent responsibilities. This, in turn, means that the law should be designed to prompt a closer correlation between the ex ante institutions and the actual assumption of parental responsibilities.


The objective of this work is to examine the flow structure and heat transfer distribution of a squealer tip rotor blade with purge flow cooling and provide a comparison with a basic flat tip rotor blade without purge flow cooling, under transonic conditions and high inlet freestream turbulence intensity. The blade design was provided by Solar Turbines Inc., and consists of a double squealer around the pressure and suction sides, two purge flow blowing holes located downstream of the leading edge and mid-chord, four ribs in the mid-chord region and a trailing edge bleeder exiting on the pressure side. Blade cavity depth is 2.29 mm (0.09 in.) and the total blade turning angle is 107.5°. Tests were performed in a blow-down facility at a turbulence intensity of 12%, in a seven bladed 2-D linear cascade at transonic conditions. Experiments were conducted at isentropic exit Mach numbers of 0.85 and 1.05, corresponding to Reynolds numbers based on axial chord of 9.75x10 5 and 1.15x10 6 , respectively, and tip clearance gaps of 1% and 2% of the scaled engine blade span. A blowing ratio of 1.0 was used in the squealer tip experiments. Detailed heat transfer coefficient and film cooling effectiveness distributions were obtained using an infrared thermography technique, while oil flow visualization was used to investigate the flow patterns in the blade tip region. With the addition of a squealer tip, leakage flow was found to decrease, as compared to a flat tip blade. With increasing tip clearance gap, the heat transfer coefficients within the cavity and along the squealer rim were found to decrease and increase, respectively. Film cooling effectiveness decreased with increasing tip clearance gap and was mainly observed within the squealer cavity. The maximum heat transfer coefficient was observed on the leading edge, however, comparatively large values were observed on the mid-chord ribs. The presence of the ribs, greatly affected the flow structure and heat transfer distributions within the cavity and downstream towards the trailing edge.


Background Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are uncommon vascular lesions, and hemorrhage secondary to AVM rupture results in significant morbidity and mortality. AVMs may be treated by endovascular embolization, and technical advances in microcatheter design are likely to improve the success and safety of endovascular embolization of cerebral AVMs. Objective To describe our early experience with the Headway Duo microcatheter for embolization of cerebral AVMs with n-butyl-cyanoacrylate (n-BCA). Methods Consecutive patients treated by endovascular embolization of a cerebral AVM with n-BCA delivered intra-arterially through the Headway Duo microcatheter (167 cm length) were identified. Patient demographic information, procedural details, and patient outcome were determined from electronic medical records. Results Ten consecutive patients undergoing cerebral AVM embolization using n-BCA injected through the Headway Duo microcatheter were identified. Presenting symptoms included headache, hemorrhage, seizures, and weakness. Spetzler Martin grades ranged from 1 to 5, and AVMs were located in the basal ganglia (2 patients), parietal lobe (4 patients), frontal lobe (1 patient), temporal lobe (1 patient), an entire hemisphere (1 patient), and posterior fossa (1 patient). 50 arterial pedicles were embolized, and all procedures were technically successful. There was one post-procedural hemorrhage that was well tolerated by the patient, and no other complications occurred. Additional AVM treatment was performed by surgery and radiation therapy. Conclusions The Headway Duo microcatheter is safe and effective for embolization of cerebral AVMs using n-BCA. The trackability and high burst pressure of the Headway Duo make it an important and useful tool for the neurointerventionalist during cerebral AVM embolization.


Human basophils are important tools for studying immediate-type hypersensitivity reactions since they release a variety of mediators (e.g., histamine, leukotriene C4, IL-4 and IL-13) following allergen triggering. Several diagnostic tools have been introduced that measure either leukotriene production or the upregulation of surface markers (CD63 and CD203c) from these cells after antigen stimulation. However, a broad variability in basophil activity exists between different basophil donors and different antigens within one donor. This manifests itself in terms of their reactivity (maximum secretory response), based on the intracellular signaling of the basophils studied, and in terms of their sensitivity. The latter is governed by the number of IgE receptors per basophil, the ratio of antigen-specific IgE to total IgE, and by the number of cell surface antigen-specific IgE molecules for half-maximal responses, termed 'intrinsic sensitivity'. These variables give rise to shifts in the dose-response curves which, in a diagnostic setting where only a single antigen concentration is employed, may produce false-negative data. Thus, in order to meaningfully utilize the current basophil activation tests for diagnostic purposes, each allergen should be pre-evaluated separately in order to determine a suitable stimulation range. Additionally, anti-IgE or anti-FcΕRIα antibodies should serve as positive controls, bearing in mind that 10–20% of basophil donors are not responsive to IgE-mediated stimulation. Diagnostic studies using CD63 or CD203c in hymenoptera, food and drug allergy are critically discussed. Basophil-based tests are indicated for allergy testing in selected cases but should only be performed by experienced laboratories.


Abstract Illite-smectite (I-S) mixed-layer minerals from North Sea oil fields and a Danish outcrop were investigated to determine the detailed structure and the diagenetic clay transformation. Clay layers in the chalk and residues obtained by dissolution of the chalk matrix at pH 5 were investigated. The phase compositions and layer sequences were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) including simulation with a multicomponent program. The structural formulae were determined from chemical analysis, infrared (IR) and 27Al NMR spectroscopies and XRD, and the particle shape by atomic force microscopy (AFM). A high-smectitic (HS) I-S phase and a lowsmectitic (LS) illite-smectite-chlorite (I-S-Ch) phase, both dioctahedral, together constitute 80 - 90% of each sample. However, two samples contain significant amounts of tosudite and of Ch-Serpentine (Sr), respectively. Most of the clay layers have probably formed by dissolution of the chalk, but one Campanian and one Santonian clay layer in well Baron 2 may have a sedimentary origin. The HS and LS minerals are probably of detrital origin. Early diagenesis has taken place through a fixation of Mg in brucite interlayers in the LS phase, this solid-state process forming di-trioctahedral chlorite layers. During later diagenesis involving dissolution of the HS phase, neoformation of a tosudite or of a random mixed-layer trioctahedral chlorite-berthierine took place. In the tosudite, brucite-like sheets are regularly interstratified with smectite interlayers between dioctahedral 2:1 layers, resulting in ditrioctahedral chlorite layers.


This paper discusses the role context plays in promoting engagement and exploration in situated learning experiences during field trips. We look at field trips where children engage with the physical and social environment in order to learn about cultural and social aspects of the city they live in. By drawing on empirical data collected by means of qualitative methods, we discuss how learning unfolds along trajectories of experience towards pre-defined and emerging learning objectives. We reflect of the role technology can play in supporting learning experiences outside the classroom.


Chemoattractant signaling induces the polarization and directed movement of cells secondary to the activation of multiple effector pathways. In addition, chemotactic signals can be amplified and relayed to proximal cells via the synthesis and secretion of additional chemoattractant. The mechanisms underlying such remarkable features remain ill defined. We show that the asymmetrical distribution of adenylyl cyclase (ACA) at the back of Dictyostelium discoideum cells, an essential determinant of their ability to migrate in a head-to-tail fashion, requires vesicular trafficking. This trafficking results in a local accumulation of ACA-containing intracellular vesicles and involves intact actin, microtubule networks, and de novo protein synthesis. We also show that migrating cells leave behind ACA-containing vesicles, likely secreted as multivesicular bodies and presumably involved in the formation of head-to-tail arrays of migrating cells. We propose that similar compartmentalization and shedding mechanisms exist in mammalian cells during embryogenesis, wound healing, neuron growth, and metastasis.


California's San Joaquin Valley is one of the nation's most impoverished areas. Recent developments such as the foreclosure crisis and the Matosantos decision have heightened the Valley's needs, and there is also evidence that the Valley is beginning to garner more attention from financial institutions and federal regulators. These developments create an opportunity for community-based organizations (CBOs) and financial institutions to work together in a mutually beneficial way. This paper describes how stakeholders have successfully collaborated to increase reinvestment in other locales, with lessons learned for the San Joaquin Valley. The results show that CBOs and financial institutions can improve conditions in the region and banks can still make a profit.


Values represent guidelines for behavior and are important determinants of organizational performance. In addition, employeeowned enterprises (EOEs) tend to outperform traditional organizations. Thus, identifying the core values that underlie successful EOEs should provide insights for improved firm performance. Based on an exploratory comparative analysis of eight high-performing, employee-owned companies, a common set of values that form the basis of their cultures was identified. At one level, four core foundational values – honesty, autonomy, empowerment, and egalitarianism – stood out as enhancing the work experience of individual employees. At another level, four organizational values – accountability, transparency, community, and sustainability – were evident. The identified values do overlap and may serve to support, reinforce, or initiate each other. Moreover, these firms appear to have built management practices and policies that bolster these values. Thus, knowledge of the practices, policies, and core values should be beneficial to organizations seeking high performance. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 25 May 2018 Accepted 26 May 2018


Quantitative measures of blood flow and metabolism are essential for improved assessment of brain health and response to ischemic injury. In this report, we demonstrate a multimodal technique for measuring the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) in the rodent brain on an absolute scale (μM O2 / min). We use laser speckle imaging (LSI) at 809 nm and spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) at 655 nm, 730 nm, and 850 nm to obtain spatiotemporal maps of cerebral blood flow (CBF), tissue absorption (μa), and tissue scattering (μs'). Knowledge of these three values enables calculation of a characteristic blood flow speed, which in turn is input to a mathematical model with a "zero-flow" boundary condition to calculate absolute CMRO2. We apply this method to a rat model of cardiac arrest (CA) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. With this model, the zero-flow condition occurs during entry into CA. The CMRO2 values calculated with our method are in good agreement with those measured with magnetic resonance (MR) and positron emission tomography (PET) by other groups. Our technique provides a quantitative metric of cerebral metabolism that can potentially be used for comparison between animals and longitudinal monitoring of a single animal over multiple days, to assess differences in baseline metabolism and track recovery of metabolism in survival studies following ischemia and reperfusion.


Intelligent transport systems, efficient electric grids, and sensor networks for data collection and analysis are some examples of the multiagent systems (MAS) that cooperate to achieve common goals. Decision making is an integral part of intelligent agents and MAS that will allow such systems to accomplish increasingly complex tasks. In this survey, we investigate state-of-the-art work within the past five years on cooperative MAS decision making models, including Markov decision processes, game theory, swarm intelligence, and graph theoretic models. We survey algorithms that result in optimal and suboptimal policies such as reinforcement learning, dynamic programming, evolutionary computing, and neural networks. We also discuss the application of these models to robotics, wireless sensor networks, cognitive radio networks, intelligent transport systems, and smart electric grids. In addition, we define key terms in the area and discuss remaining challenges that include incorporating big data advancements to decision making, developing autonomous, scalable and computationally efficient algorithms, tackling more complex tasks, and developing standardized evaluation metrics. While recent surveys have been published on this topic, we present a broader discussion of related models and applications. Note to Practitioners: Future smart cities will rely on cooperative MAS that make decisions about what actions to perform that will lead to the completion of their tasks. Decision making models and algorithms have been developed and reported in the literature to generate such sequences of actions. These models are based on a wide variety of principles including human decision making and social animal behavior. In this paper, we survey existing decision making models and algorithms that generate optimal and suboptimal sequences of actions. We also discuss some of the remaining challenges faced by the research community before more effective MAS deployment can be achieved in this age of Internet of Things, robotics, and mobile devices. These challenges include developing more scalable and efficient algorithms, utilizing the abundant sensory data available, tackling more complex tasks, and developing evaluation standards for decision making.


Code Release Many large-scale machine learning training and inference tasks are memory-bound rather than compute-bound. That is, on large data sets, the working set of these algorithms does not fit in memory for jobs that could run overnight on a few multi-core processors. This often forces an expensive redesign of the algorithm for distributed platforms such as parameter servers and Spark. We propose an inexpensive and efficient alternative based on the observation that many ML tasks admit algorithms that can be programmed with linear algebra subroutines. A library that supports BLAS and sparseBLAS interface on large SSD-resident matrices can enable multi-threaded code to scale to industrial scale datasets on a single workstation. We demonstrate that not only can such a library provide near in-memory performance for BLAS, but can also be used to write implementations of complex algorithms such as eigensolvers that outperform in-memory (ARPACK) and distributed (Spark) counterparts. Existing multi-threaded in-memory code can link to our library with minor changes and scale to hundreds of gigabytes of training or inference data at near in-memory processing speeds. We demonstrate this with two industrial scale use cases arising in ranking and relevance pipelines: training large scale topic models and inference for extreme multi-label learning. This suggests that our approach could be an efficient alternative to expensive distributed big-data systems for scaling up structurally complex machine learning tasks.


This article presents the results of individual and focus group interviews with the co-teaching partner teachers comprised of general and special educators. In particular, the analysis reveals the teachers' perceptions regarding what principals need to know and understand to support co-teaching in their schools. The co-teaching teams identified the following factors as important for the success of co-teaching in a high school classroom: teacher training, administrator training, compatibility, planning time, student schedules, natural proportions, respect and value for the teaching assignment, administrative support, and professional development. The teams also identified student and teacher benefits from participating in a co-taught classroom. research from co-teaching experience in a high setting. This article presents the results of individual and focus group interviews with the co-teaching partner


This paper examines the economy-wide environmental impacts linked to the manufacturing of PVC and ductile iron (DI) pipes, steel tanks, and to the generation of electricity for pumping in water distribution network optimization. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is used to generate Pareto-optimal solutions of the benchmark 'Anytown' network expansion problem. Selected Pareto-optimal solutions of the 'Anytown' network are evaluated with an economic input–output life-cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) and 14 environmental measures on air emissions, non-renewable energy use and environmental releases. The major findings suggest that DI and PVC pipe manufacturing and electricity generation activities (for pumping) have higher environmental impacts than steel tank manufacturing and construction activities in the 'Anytown' network. The EIO-LCA suggests that DI pipe manufacturing is linked to: (i) carbon monoxide emissions from truck transportation and wholesale trade and (ii) land and underground toxic releases from metal mining activities. PVC pipe manufacturing is linked to: (i) carbon monoxide emissions from truck transportation, (ii) toxic air releases from the plastics material and resin manufacturing sector, (iii) land and underground toxic releases from metal mining and resin manufacturing, and (iv) natural gas use for plastics material and resin manufacturing.


Persian architecture used to be an art dealing with people's daily activities. Also, Iranian architects tried to design the traditional architectural elements with respect to climate and environmental considerations. The income, of course, was an architecture inspired by genius and technical knowledge. Among the traditional architectural elements which improved the general comfort was a wind catcher. Today, however, wind catchers have been forgotten. Through using wind catchers the lost comfort can be revived once again and the consumption of non-renewable fuels are decreased. The cold generated by wind catchers in dry climates is quite valuable. So far, extensive studies have been carried out on wind catchers in terms of their form and location on the roofs. Inspired by the idea of wind catchers, the present study has examined the possibility of spreading cold not from the roof but from the floor. The proposed system is based on qanat – a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels – locally available in dry and hot regions. First, the environmental and climatic conditions of Kerman City, placed in a hot and dry climate, were introduced. Then, the function of wind catchers of two typical houses as case examples was studied: Khane-ye Golab and Khane-ye Movahedi. Finally, an approach was suggested on how a wind catcher may be incorporated in today's buildings to cool them through making minor modifications compatible with modern necessities.


BACKGROUND
Supplemental oxygen is frequently administered to patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), including ARDS secondary to viral illness such as coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). An up-to-date understanding of how best to target this therapy (e.g. arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) or peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) aim) in these patients is urgently required.

OBJECTIVES
To address how oxygen therapy should be targeted in adults with ARDS (particularly ARDS secondary to COVID-19 or other respiratory viruses) and requiring mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit, and the impact oxygen therapy has on mortality, days ventilated, days of catecholamine use, requirement for renal replacement therapy, and quality of life.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and Embase from inception to 15 May 2020 for ongoing or completed randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

SELECTION CRITERIA
Two review authors independently assessed all records in accordance with standard Cochrane methodology for study selection. We included RCTs comparing supplemental oxygen administration (i.e. different target PaO2 or SpO2 ranges) in adults with ARDS and receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care setting. We excluded studies exploring oxygen administration in patients with different underlying diagnoses or those receiving non-invasive ventilation, high-flow nasal oxygen, or oxygen via facemask.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
One review author performed data extraction, which a second review author checked. We assessed risk of bias in included studies using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' tool. We used the GRADE approach to judge the certainty of the evidence for the following outcomes; mortality at longest follow-up, days ventilated, days of catecholamine use, and requirement for renal replacement therapy.

MAIN RESULTS
We identified one completed RCT evaluating oxygen targets in patients with ARDS receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care setting. The study randomized 205 mechanically ventilated patients with ARDS to either conservative (PaO2 55 to 70 mmHg, or SpO2 88% to 92%) or liberal (PaO2 90 to 105 mmHg, or SpO2 ≥ 96%) oxygen therapy for seven days. Overall risk of bias was high (due to lack of blinding, small numbers of participants, and the trial stopping prematurely), and we assessed the certainty of the evidence as very low. The available data suggested that mortality at 90 days may be higher in those participants receiving a lower oxygen target (odds ratio (OR) 1.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03 to 3.27). There was no evidence of a difference between the lower and higher target groups in mean number of days ventilated (14.0, 95% CI 10.0 to 18.0 versus 14.5, 95% CI 11.8 to 17.1); number of days of catecholamine use (8.0, 95% CI 5.5 to 10.5 versus 7.2, 95% CI 5.9 to 8.4); or participants receiving renal replacement therapy (13.7%, 95% CI 5.8% to 21.6% versus 12.0%, 95% CI 5.0% to 19.1%). Quality of life was not reported.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
We are very uncertain as to whether a higher or lower oxygen target is more beneficial in patients with ARDS and receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care setting. We identified only one RCT with a total of 205 participants exploring this question, and rated the risk of bias as high and the certainty of the findings as very low. Further well-conducted studies are urgently needed to increase the certainty of the findings reported here. This review should be updated when more evidence is available.


We introduce the concept of selectable knowledge, which models the information stored in an arbitrary (e.g., quantum mechanical) device. We then analyze a situation where an entity A holds selectable knowledge about some random variable X and quantify the information A has about the output H(X) of a randomly chosen function H applied to X. This generalizes the setting of privacy amplification by universal hashing. In particular, our result can be used to prove that privacy amplification remains secure even if the enemy possesses quantum instead of classical information.


The development of automatic natural language understanding systems remains an elusive goal. Given the highly ambiguous nature of the syntax and semantics of natural language, it is not possible to develop rule-based approaches to understanding even very limited domains of text. The difficulty in specifying a complete set of rules and their exceptions has led to the rise of probabilistic approaches where models of natural language are learned from large corpora of text. However, this has proven a challenge since natural language data is both sparse and skewed and the space of possible models is huge. In this paper we discuss several search techniques used in learning the structure of probabilistic models of word sense disambiguation. We present an experimental comparison of backward and forward sequential searches as well as a model averaging approach to the problem of resolving the meaning of ambiguous words in text.


This study aimed to explore human resource management (HRM) practices in a readymade garment industry in Bangladesh. The incident of Rana Plaza has brought into attention the necessity of compliance with Accord and Alliance guidelines. In addition to building and fire safety, the researchers wanted to explore HRM bundles in Accord and Alliance Compliant and Non-compliant factories. To gain a better understanding, a sample was selected from local and foreign-owned companies. This study selected 11 companies of which 6 were local firms (3 complaint and 3 non-complaint) and 5 were foreign-owned firms (3 complaint and 2 non-compliant). HRM bundle of recruitment and selection practices, training and development practices, compensation and benefit policies, performance appraisal appraisal policies and other key HR practices were analyzed. Research findings indicated significant differences among compliant and non-compliant factories with regard to their local or foreign ownership styles. Aus. Aca. Busi & Eco. Rev Vol  4(2),  April 2018, P 86-102


The item count (IC) method for estimating the prevalence of sensitive behaviors was applied to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to estimate the prevalence of past year cocaine use. Despite considerable effort and research to refine and adapt the IC method to this survey, the method failed to produce estimates that were any larger than the estimates based on self-reports. Further analysis indicated the problem to be measurement error in the IC responses. To address the problem, a new model-based estimator was proposed to correct the IC estimates for measurement error and produce less biased prevalence estimates. The model combines the IC data, replicated measurements of the IC items, and responses to the cocaine use question to obtain estimates of the classification error in the observed data. The data were treated as fallible indicators of (latent) true values and traditional latent class analysis assumptions were made to obtain an identifiable model. The resulting estimates of the cocaine use prevalence were approximately 43 percent larger than the self-report only estimates and the estimated underreporting rates were consistent with those estimated from other studies of drug use underreporting.


The development of the Indonesian food manufacturing industry has experienced a rapid growth. Its performance is very encouraging primarily in the aspects of the structural deepening, the diversification and the market orientation. However, the industry has faced an inefficient use of productive resources accumulation, low efficiency and productivity growth as well as small share in the international market. The objective of this study is to evaluate the competitiveness of the Indonesian food manufacturing industry. At the production level, the social profitability indicators such as the Domestic Resource Cost (DRC), the Net Social Profit (NSP) and the Social Cost Benefit (SCB) were applied to estimate the comparative advantage. In measuring efficiency and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist index were used. To assess a market share, the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and the Relative Trade Advantage (RTA) indicators were employed. The secondary data of inputs-output and trade data in the form of pooled data were collected. The study focused on three different industrial trade policy regimes (imports substitution, exports oriented and emerging and supporting industries). There are 54 sub sectors involved in the comparative advantage analysis, 55 and 42 sub sectors in the efficiency and productivity growth analyses for the total and medium scales and the large scale industries respectively, and 55 sub sectors in the market share analysis. All data are in the form of an international standard industrial classification (ISIC) code at 5 digits. The period of study covered was from 1996 to 2002. Then it was grouped into two sub periods i.e. two years before the economic crisis (1996/1997) and five years after the economic crisis (1998/2002).
The result shows that the Indonesian food manufacturing industry has a comparative advantage and is economically efficient in resource allocation, particularly for the import substitution and export oriented industries. However, under the emerging and supporting industry, only the malt liquors and malt sub sector had a comparative disadvantage. In the period of 1996/1997, 14 of the 54 sub sectors had a comparative disadvantage but the situation improved in the period of 1998/2002 where only three sub sectors were comparatively disadvantageous. It suggests that the industry in the subsequent period was economically efficient in the production process and had a declining trend in their production costs. The result of the sensitivity analysis shows that the import substitution industry was very sensitive to the increase in the production costs. Meanwhile, the export oriented and the emerging and supporting industries were sensitive to the decrease in the output border price and the shadow exchange rate appreciation respectively.
The most efficient industry was found to be the copra sub sector for the total industry, while for the large and the medium scales, the sub sectors of cooking oil made from palm oil, peeling and cleaning roots and copra were fully efficient. It seems that the import substitution and large scale industries were more efficient throughout the period of analysis. The total industry had positive 9.00 percent of the average annual mean TFP growth rate. For large and medium scale industries, 25 and 15 percent TFP growth rates were respectively achieved. The copra sub sector had the highest positive TFP growth. Overall, the large scale industry performed better than did the medium and total scale industries in TFP growth.
The technological change has been the main driving force of TFP growth for all industrial categories. The large scale industry in the period of 1997/1988 was successful in achieving technological mastery. The technological mastery for the total industry was generated from the sub sectors of copra and cooking oil made of coconut oil. In the large scale industry it was contributed by the sub sectors of granular sugar and processing and preserving of fruits and vegetables. In the medium scale industry, it was contributed by the sub sectors of wheat flour, tapioca, granular sugar, sago, bakery products, frozen fish and other similar products, crude palm or vegetable and animal cooking oil, cooking oil made of coconut oil and brown sugar.
In market share estimation, under the import substitution industry, all sub sectors had a comparative disadvantage. Under the exports oriented industry, it seems that many food sub sectors were very competitive. However, most of them were intermediate products. Lastly, the sub sectors under the emerging and supporting industry show a decline in their RCA indices in the subsequent period.


This paper conducts a review of the literature on skills shortages in South Africa. It is demonstrated that different Government departments have different views concerning the definition of skills shortages. This is largely due to the omission in any official government literature of tying the concept of "skills shortages" to productivity. There is also a complex and frequently overlapping institutional architecture that undermines the effective administration of skills development. An important example of this is that the link between providing skills training and accrediting individuals with a qualification that acknowledges this training is very poorly administered, highlighting poor coordination between the Department of Labour and Department of Education. Among Sectoral Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), there is also under-performance on their mandate to provide skills training for the unemployed – an activity that is flagged in this review simply because of the strong public good nature to this activity and the fact that only SETAs are institutionally empowered to effect this change. A variety of policy recommendations are made with respect to both closed- and open-economy solutions to skills shortages. A key point is that immigration legislation must be relaxed in order to help solve the pervasive skills constraints in South Africa.


Article 82(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides that any 'person who has suffered material or non-material damage as a result of an infringement of this Regulation shall have the right to receive compensation from the controller or processor for the damage suffered'. As a consequence, compliance with the GDPR is ensured through a mutually reinforcing combination of public and private enforcement that blends public fines with private damages. After the introduction, the second part of this article compares and contrasts Article 82(1) GDPR with compensation provisions in other EU Regulations and Directives and with the case law of the CJEU on those provisions, and compares and contrasts the English version of Article 82(1) GDPR with the versions of that Article in the other official languages of the EU, and concludes that at least five of the versions of Article 82(1) GDPR are unnecessarily ambiguous, though the CJEU (eventually, if and when it is asked) is likely to afford it a consistent broad interpretation. However, the safest course of action at this stage is to provide expressly for a claim for compensation in national law. The third part of this article compares and contrasts the compensation provisions in the Irish government's General Scheme of the Data Protection Bill 2017 with existing legislation and case law in Ireland and the UK, and with incorporating legislation and Bills in other EU Member States, and concludes that the Heads of the Scheme do not give full effect to Article 82(1) GDPR. Amendments to the Scheme are therefore proposed.
To ensure that any person who has suffered such damage has an effective remedy pursuant to Article 47 CFR, Member States will have to provide, pursuant to Article 19 TEU, remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields of privacy and data protection. In particular, they will have to provide expressly for a claim for compensation, incorporating Article 82(1) GDPR into national law. Claims for compensation are an important part of the enforcement architecture of the GDPR. Private enforcement will help to discourage infringements of the rights of data subjects; it will make a significant contribution to the protection of privacy and data protection rights in the European Union; and it will help to ensure that the great promise of the GDPR is fully realised.


Heritage'
 is not a fixed, unchanging 'thing', but is something that is
constructed, created, constituted and reflected by discourses. This
contingency of 'heritage' upon discourse means that policy is not simply
 a neutral domain within which 'heritage' problems and solutions are
mapped. Rather, policy becomes a site for analysis or a means by which
to explore through discourse the social realities of heritage
management, particularly in terms of the power relations that monitor
and sustain social hierarchies and social change. This article maps a
range of heritage perspectives using Q methodology. Key here is the idea
 that while expressions of heritage may be vocalised in similar ways,
the meanings underpinning those vocalisations may be directed by
different motives and underlying assumptions. Q methodology is thus used
 here to offer a way by which to recognise not only the natural or
commonplace definitions of heritage privileged in national legislation,
but those alternative perceptions understood and adhered to by other,
and often subaltern, groups. As such, this article presents an overview
of the different ways in which 'heritage' is perceived, examining both
the nuances of the dominant perspective embedded in heritage policy, as
well as a range of alternative experiences and perspectives that exist
in tension with that dominant - and authorised - discourse.


Plant flavonoids reported previously to act as molecular signals in the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis are known to bind to estrogen receptors and to exert estrogenic effects on mammalian cells. To further investigate the estrogen-like properties of flavonoids the present study examined whether estrogen and antiestrogens have fla-vonoid-related functions in AM fungi. Bioassays were performed in a monoaxenic system with the AM fungi Giga-spora margarita and Glomus intraradices. The plant flavo-noids quercetin and biochanin A stimulate hyphal growth of G. margarita and G. intraradices, respectively. The stimulatory activity of biochanin A studied at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 10.0 μM shows an estimated EC50 value of 3.26 μM. The present results show that 17β-estradiol and biochanin A exert similar stimulatory effects in G. intraradices. The agonist effect of biochanin A was efficiently suppressed by the new antiestrogen EM-652, which is also consistent with the possible presence of estrogen-...


While extreme concentrations of poor racial minorities, briefl y 'rediscovered' as a social problem by media in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, declined signifi cantly in the 1990s, no research has determined whether the trend reduced exposure to poor neighbourhoods over time or changed racial gaps in exposure. Yet most hypotheses about the social and economic risks of distressed neighbourhoods hinge on such exposure. Using a geocoded, national longitudinal survey matched to three censuses, it is found that: housing mobility continued to be the most important mode of exit from poor tracts for both Whites and Blacks; reductions for Blacks were mainly in exposure to extremely poor neighbourhoods, where neighbourhood change had a huge impact; Blacks remained far more likely than Whites to endure long, uninterrupted exposure; and, racial gaps in the odds of falling back into a poor neighbourhood after exiting one—a major driver of exposure duration that Black renters dominate—widened in the 1990s.


[full article and abstract in English] This study examines the mechanism of the protection of customers of property developers that was introduced into Polish legal system by the Property Development Act adopted on 16 September 2011. Those customers are the weaker party to a property development contract that should be protected by the State. The article presents the very concept of the Polish property development contract, its substance and legal forms as well as its practical aspects. This issue of the protection of customers of property developers is of a great importance not only in Poland but also in other European countries that have experienced a boom in the real estate market in the last decade. The article discusses also the issue of the compatibility of the Property Development Act with the model of the State's protective obligations in horizontal relations that has been established under the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997. The paper concludes by presenting some postulates of amendments to the Property Development Act submitted by consumer organizations, industry representatives and entrepreneurs as well as a very comprehensive draft of the amendment presented in May 2018 by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. This draft is currently at the stage of inter-ministerial consultations and it is difficult to foresee whether the new solutions will be adopted by Parliament in such a form.


This article examines the impact on Canadian trade policy of the failure of official Canadian commitments to adopt gender equity policies. This failure must be understood within the context of broader restructuring of the Canadian state and state‐society relations. As Jane Jenson and Susan Phillips have argued, the Canadian "citizenship regime" has undergone dramatic changes in recent years. Neo‐liberal globalization destabilizes pre‐existing divisions between the national and the international, and puts strain on domestic practices of citizenship and representation. In particular, the article focuses on two related and emerging phenomena. First, international gender commitments, such as those at the Beijing meeting, seem to produce a widening of political space for a gender inclusive polity, although, simultaneously, the commitment to gender‐based analysis coincided with the Canadian state's retreat from materially supporting and empowering grassroots women's groups. Second, women's policy machinery, such as Status of Women Canada, and feminist bureaucrats, "femocrats", have identified international trade as a key policy priority. However, this identification takes place at the margins of the liberal democratic state and under a set of structural constraints. As a result, attempts to promote a gender analysis of trade issues encounter the economic rationalism promulgated by the Department of Finance, and Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The logic of economic rationalism is not gender sensitive. This has significant implications for the relationship between women's grassroots activism and those women pushing a feminist agenda within the state under the terms of economic globalization.


Tired of being good but poor, the authors have amalgamated the world's two oldest professions in a new niche company, HARLOT plc, specialising in How to Achieve positive Results without actually Lying to Overcome the Truth

We've been good. DLS has prohibited sponsors' stockholders, much less employees, from seats on his data safety and monitoring boards and has enforced the banning of pharmaceutical reps from the medical wards at McMaster University. ADO has exposed problems with experts and has promulgated rigorous reviews of research to inform decisions about health care. In sum, we have established impeccable reputations for protecting the validity of randomised trials and systematic reviews, and for exposing lapses in methods, validity, therapeutic claims, and professional conduct.

We've also been poor. DLS drives a clapped out pick-up truck, and his rowing boat leaks. ADO wears worn out blue jeans and hasn't had a new pair of shoes for 10 years.

It has finally dawned on us that being good and being poor are causally related: beinggood doesn't pay. Accordingly, we have decided that it's time for us to find out whether being bad pays better. We're combining the world's oldest and second oldest professions, cashing in on our reputations, and distributing this confidential prospectus for our new company, HARLOT plc.

HARLOT plc will provide a comprehensive package of services to discriminating trial sponsors who don't want to risk the acceptance and application of their products and policies amid the uncertainties of dispassionate science. Through a series of blind, wholly owned subsidiaries, we can guarantee positive results for the manufacturers of dodgy drugs and devices who are seeking to increase their market shares, for health professional guilds who want to increase the demand for their unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic services, and for local and national health departments who are …


Paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) is an effective drug in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). In the salvage setting, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and folinic acid have proved to be effective against MBC as well. Recent preclinical data suggest that paclitaxel plus 5-FU has additive cytotoxicity. Given these observations, we initiated a phase II trial in which 38 women with MBC have been treated with a combination of all three drugs. All patients are currently evaluable for toxicity and 34 are evaluable for response. All women had histologically proven and assessable disease. Patients with prior exposure to paclitaxel were ineligible. Patient characteristics include a median age of 51 years (age range, 31 to 73 years) and a median performance status of 1 (range, 0 to 2). Thirty-three patients have received prior chemotherapy, of whom 23 had adjuvant chemotherapy only. Fifty-eight percent of the patients (22 of 38) had received prior doxorubicin or mitoxantrone; four patients had only hormonal therapy. Four patients had bone-only disease, and three patients had lymphangitic spread or cytologically positive pleural effusion as the only evaluable disease. Treatment consisted of paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 over 3 hours (day 1 only), followed by folinic acid 300 mg over 1 hour, followed by 5-FU 350 mg/m2 on days 1 to 3. Patients received standard paclitaxel premedications. To date, 175 cycles have been administered (median cycle length, 29 days; median number of cycles per patient, five). Toxicities included grade 3/4 infections in nine cycles (5%), grade 3/4 mucositis in three cycles, grade 3/4 nausea/vomiting in three cycles, grade 1 paresthesias in 12 patients (32%), alopecia 100%, and 17 cycles (10%) associated with dose reduction. Based on Cancer and Leukemia Group B toxicity criteria, arthralgia/myalgias were modest and graded mild (32 cycles), moderate (nine cycles), or severe (two cycles). There were two major hypersensitivity reactions, prompting removal of those patients from further protocol treatment. Four patients are unassessable for response due to hypersensitivity reactions (two) and unevaluable disease (two). Among the 34 patients evaluable for response, there were three complete responses, 18 partial responses, one minor response, nine stable disease, and three progressive disease (response rate, 62%). Responses were seen in patients who had received prior doxorubicin or mitoxantrone (11 of 22 patients) and in anthracycline/naive patients (10 of 16 patients). Responses were observed in all metastatic sites: soft tissue, viscera, and bone. Paclitaxel/5-FU/folinic acid appears to be an effective and well-tolerated outpatient regimen for women with MBC, even after failure of anthracycline-containing therapy.