Do wealthier households save a larger share of their incomes than poorer ones? We use Norwegian administrative panel data on income and wealth to answer this empirical question. The relation between saving rates and wealth crucially depends on whether saving includes capital gains. Saving rates net of capital gains ("net saving rates") are approximately constant across the wealth distribution. However, saving rates including capital gains ("gross saving rates") increase markedly with wealth. The proximate explanation is that wealthier households own assets that experience persistent capital gains which they hold onto instead of selling them off to consume ("saving by holding"). These joint patterns for net and gross saving rates challenge canonical models of household wealth accumulation. They are instead consistent with theories in which time-varying discount rates or portfolio adjustment frictions keep households from realizing capital gains. Between 1995 and 2015 Norway's aggregate wealth-to-income ratio rose from approximately 4 to 7. "Saving by holding" accounts for up to 80 percent of this increase.


We propose a minimum span clustering (MSC) method for clustering and visualizing complex networks using the interrelationship of network components. To demonstrate this method, it is applied to classify the social science network in terms of aggregated journal-journal citation relations of the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) Journal Citation Reports. This method of network classification is shown to be efficient, with a processing time that is linear to network size. The classification results provide an in-depth view of the network structure at various scales of resolution. For the social science network, there are 4 resolution scales, including 294 batches of journals at the highest scale, 65 categories of journals at the second, 15 research groups at the third scale, and 3 knowledge domains at the lowest resolution. By comparing the relatedness of journals within clusters, we show that our clustering method gives a better classification of social science journals than ISI's heuristic approach and hierarchical clustering. In combination with the minimum spanning tree approach and multi-dimensional scaling, MSC is also used to investigate the general structure of the network and construct a map of the social science network for visualization. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Some of the many disease-resistance genes transferred into common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by interspecific hybridization have been underutilized in agriculture because of associated negative effects on productivity and end-use quality. The Lr41 gene conferring resistance to leaf rust (caused by Puccinia recondita Rob. ex Desm.) was transferred from the wild diploid goatgrass [Triticum tauschii (Coss.) Schmal], the chromosomes of which recombine readily with those of common wheat (Fritz et al., 1995a). Thus its chromosomesr ecombine readily with those of wheat. This study had three objectives: (i) determine the direct and linked effects of Lr41 on 15 productivity and quality traits in hard red winter wheat under disease-free conditions; (ii) to determine the effects of resistance conferred by Lr41 under a severe leaf rust epidemic and under a light infection; and (iii) to determine the amount of damage inflicted by diseases other than leaf rust in those environments. Six BC₂F₂-derived common wheat lines with Lr41, along with their recurrent parents (hard red winter wheat cultivars TAM 107, TAM 200, and Century), were evaluated in three field experiments with and without fungicide treatment in 1992 and 1994. Lr41 increased grain yield and milling quality under heavy leaf rust infection with no negative effects on those traits in disease-free plots. However, Lr41 was associated with reduced bake-mixing time and water absorption in the absence of disease. Effects of other diseases depended heavily upon the genetic backgrounds (i.e., recurrent parents) of backcross lines. There should be no serious impediments to the use of Lr41 in breeding programs. Contribution no. 96-315-J from the Kansas Agric. Exp. Stn.


The traditional trajectory of young students in higher education in South Africa is currently under sharp scrutiny and the general provision is considered to be inadequate in terms of quality, diversity and quantity. There is a proposal to increase the participation rate of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 from 16% (in 2011) to 23% by 2030 (DHET, 2012). Already, the increase in access to young school leavers without the concomitant resource allocation has resulted in the inability of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to continue to provide access to 'non-traditional' working adults in some of its programmes. The large classes for young undergraduates, the necessary foundation/support programmes to assist under-prepared school leavers, recent demands to increase postgraduate study output and to publish are related pressures influencing the decisions to limit undergraduate part-time studies for adult learners. To address this 'dilemma' an action research project was launched to introduce lifelong learning opportunities that are conceptualised and provided in flexible ways. The intention is to challenge both the university and workplaces to interrogate understandings and approaches to professional development and to support innovation that will enhance successful access and success for working people. The Political Studies department at UWC is one of the pilot sites for the action research and initial reflections on the challenge to introduce flexible modes of teaching and learning revealed that the attempts may be constrained by prevailing conceptions of the trajectories of part-time students. Instead of the traditional, linear transition into higher education – normally associated with younger learners – trajectories for mature adult learners are less linear, more complex, and include 'stop-outs' and discontinuities within transitions (Stevenson & Clegg, 2012). This paper describes the national transitional context of higher education in South Africa and the precarious location of working adults studying at UWC within this context. It further explores the transitional maelstroms as shared by a sample of part-time Political Studies students; it considers the roles and influence of the contextual domains of work, family and self; and examines the implications for mature students, their workplaces and the Political Studies department at the university.


This article is about moments when teachers experience hate speech in education and need to act. Based on John Dewey's work on moral philosophy and examples from teaching practice, I would like to contribute to the discussion about moral education by emphasizing the following: (1) the importance of experience, (2) the problem with prescribed morals and (3) the need for moral imagination in education. My Deweyan proposal for teachers responding to hate speech in education is to use moral imagination in education and take contextual elements into consideration when deciding how to act. Doing this would facilitate work related to doing morals and help to prevent prescribing morals as something that has already been done and that teachers (and students) have to adjust to in schools without being part of the process.


We examine the spatial and dynamic implications of policies aimed at encouraging carbon seques- tration in agricultural soils. We consider incentive mechanisms to encourage the planting of energy multi-annual crops that allow higher carbon sequestration rates for a longer period of time. By using a dynamic micro-economic model, we simulate the sequence of crop plantings over a given time horizon and investigate dierent payment mechanisms (per-ton or per-hectare). We discuss their implications in terms of regulation policy and eciency. This model is then applied to the Central Plains of Thessaly, Greece to assess the marginal costs of carbon sequestration and the optimal timing of switching to multi-annual energy crops. To do so, we couple the dynamic microeconomic model with a carbon accounting model and a geophysical database. We provide an assessment of the potential loss of eciency related to the use of constant per-hectare payments. We also discuss the dynamic implications of these mechanisms, as well as their results in terms of spatial distribution.


Background Schistosomiasis affects 261 million people worldwide, most of them in Africa. Female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) may cause abnormal vaginal discharge, contact bleeding, genital tumours, infertility, ectopic pregnancies and increased susceptibility to HIV. Visualisation of lesions is the key to diagnosis but there is little knowledge about FGS among health professionals. In order to facilitate the use of the WHO pocket atlas for FSG, we present an e-learning module for medical students in endemic areas. The e-learning material is usable on smartphones, and in areas with low internet speed. Methods Two FGS atlases form the platform for the e-learning: The First Colposcopic Atlas of Schistosomiasis in the Lower Female Genital Tract (Norseth et al. 2014) and The WHO Pocket Atlas for FGS (WHO, 2015). Actors were recruited for demonstration of the examination techniques. Medical students were approached to explore their current e-learning platforms. Website creators of two existing e-learning modules were invited to collaborate. The project is part of a larger project that was granted permissions by the Biomedical Research Ethics Administration, University of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. Results A new e-learning tool is presented: all lesions, history taking and the examination techniques for identification of FGS are shown. There is a post-learning quiz for self-evaluation. Medical students in an endemic area were asked to give a qualitative evaluation on the learning outcome. Conclusions There is a need to raise the index of suspicion for FGS as a differential diagnosis among health care professionals. This e-learning may contribute to the dissemination of knowledge of FGS to all health care professionals who can access the internet when furthering knowledge in clinical practice. Furthermore, there is a need to disseminate knowledge to professionals who may not be using the internet.


Despite its long history of captive management, nutrition and dietary husbandry of common marmosets remains a major concern among colony managers in the United States (2004 survey by the Marmoset Research Group of the Americas). Nutrient requirements for the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) are poorly characterized, and dietary husbandry of this species has been informed more by practical and anecdotal experience than it has been by nutritional science. Two health problems have plagued captive common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) colonies for nearly as long as those colonies have existed: marmoset wasting syndrome and metabolic bone disease. We propose that these two common nutritional diseases of captive marmosets are actually different sequelae of the same underlying pathology. Marmosets are known to suffer from diarrheas and from inflammation of the intestinal tract, both of which likely result in varying degrees of nutrient malabsorption. These conditions are likely related, and both can contribute to poor nutritional status and subsequent poor health. Managers of marmoset colonies have routinely found that, regardless of the nutrient levels in the diet, they often have individual "poor doers" in their colony. These animals generally have recurrent or chronic diarrhea, lose weight, and are generally in poor health. On necropsy, the affected animals are found to have extensive inflammatory disease of the intestinal tract. This problem of chronic lymphocytic enteritis (CLE), defined by diffuse-to-segmental lymphocytic enteritis, has beset marmoset husbandry over the years. Sometimes the enteritis becomes acute and animals waste away and die. More frequently, it persists in a subclinical state and is only apparent at necropsy. The term "Marmoset Wasting Syndrome" (MWS) has been applied to the end stages of the acute condition, although the term likely refers to more than one disease entity among callitrichid primate. A survey of institutions (both laboratories and zoos) maintaining callitrichids in captivity found that the highest institutional incidence of MWS was for common marmosets (59%), followed by other Callithrix species and Saguinus species. Interestingly, some callitrichids (e.g. golden lion tamarins, Leontopithecus rosalia, and pygmy marmosets, Cebuella pygmaea) had low institutional incidence of reported MWS (8% and 5%, respectively), despite similar management and husbandry conditions. The proposed sequence is as follows: (1) some initial stimulus causes inflammation of the digestive tract resulting in reduced ability to absorb nutrients (2) reduced ability to absorb nutrients such as vitamin D and calcium results in negative calcium balance (3) osteoclasts are activated to free up calcium from the skeleton in order to compensate for the deficiency (4) if the inflammation progresses to the "wasting" stage then the animal dies of general malnutrition, otherwise eventually bones become brittle, and fractures, usually of the phalanges, but also the femur and spine, occur. We indirectly tested this prediction through an initial investigation of digestive efficiency, as measured by apparent energy digestibility, and serum parameters known to play a part in metabolic bone mineral density of captive common marmoset monkeys. In our initial study on 12 clinically healthy animals (Study 1), we found a wide range of digestive efficiencies, and subjects with lower digestive efficiency had lower serum vitamin D (Figure 1) despite having higher food intakes. A second experiment on 23 subjects including several with suspected bone disease (Study 2) was undertaken to measure digestive and serum parameters, with the addition of a measure of bone mineral density by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Serum calcium was positively associated with apparent digestibility of energy, and subjects with low apparent digestibility had lower serum calcium (Figure 2). Bone mineral density was positively associated with apparent digestibility of energy, vitamin D, and serum calcium. Further, digestive efficiency was found to predict bone mineral density when mediated by serum calcium. These data indicate that a poor ability to digest and absorb nutrients leads to calcium and vitamin D insufficiency. Vitamin D absorption may be particularly critical for indoor-housed animals, as opposed to animals in a more natural setting, because vitamin D that would otherwise be synthesized via exposure to sunlight must be absorbed from their diet. If malabsorption persists, metabolic bone disease is a possible consequence in common marmosets. These findings support our hypothesis that both wasting syndrome and metabolic bone disease in captive common marmosets are consequences of inefficient nutrient absorption, possibly due to intestinal inflammation.


During neuronal activity, synapses sustain neurotransmission by a high fidelity multi-step process called synaptic vesicle (SV) recycling. This process involves endocytosis, neurotransmitter loading and exocytosis of SVs within a timeframe lasting from a few seconds to tens of seconds at different synapses. Despite extensive studies on endo/exocytosis, there is a scarcity of details regarding vesicle loading and its regulation.
Vesicle filling requires two distinct but dependent processes. First, the vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-ATPase) builds a concentration gradient (∆pH) as well as an electrical potential (∆ψ) across the membrane of SVs by pumping of protons into the lumen of the vesicle at the expense of ATP. Vesicular transporters then use this combined electrochemical gradient (∆µH+) to drive the loading of transmitters into the SVs.
Neurotransmitter molecules are differently charged at neutral pH, and although ∆µH+ is required for their transport, the contribution of ∆pH and ∆ψ to their transport is different and depends on their charge. For positively charged monoamines and acetylcholine, ∆pH provides the main driving force. In case of negatively charged glutamate, ∆ψ is more important and for neutral GABA, both components of ∆µH+ play equal roles. Therefore, accumulation of massive amounts of either of these transmitters within the short lifetime of a recycling SV would demand additional compensating mechanisms to maintain the right balance between ∆pH and ∆ψ during each cycle of neurotransmitter uptake.
Existing models so far have proposed that uptake of these transmitters are probably associated with the compensating ion fluxes which are either mediated by the transporter itself or provided by other ion exchangers present on SVs. However, there are still major disagreements. Moreover, whether these compensating mechanisms are different in distinct vesicles, and if this is the case, the molecular mechanisms underlying these differences are still enigmatic, particularly when considering that SVs share the majority of their molecular composition.
In the current study, a novel single vesicle assay was developed to first explore the basic questions about the extent and kinetics of the two components of ∆µH+ at the single vesicle level, and second, to unravel how the balance between ∆pH and ∆ψ is regulated in glutamatergic and GABAergic SVs, which have different bioenergetics requirements. In this assay, SVs purified from transgenic mice expressing super-ecliptic pHluorin in the vesicular lumen (spH-SVs) were imaged using TIRF (total-internal reflection fluorescence) microscopy to accurately measure luminal pH changes above pH 6. In addition, SVs were labeled with voltage sensitive dye VF2.1.Cl to quantitatively measure changes in membrane potential across the lipid bilayer of single SVs for the first time. After measuring ∆pH or ∆ψ, antibody labeling against VGAT or VGLUT1 allowed for unequivocally distinguishing GABAergic from glutamatergic SVs. This study provides evidence that SVs can acidify with sub-second kinetics and their biophysical characteristics such as buffering capacity and proton permeability fall within the range of reported values for other trafficking organelles. Moreover, a detailed comparison of ∆pH and ∆ψ in glutamatergic and GABAergic SVs at the single vesicle level revealed that regulatory mechanisms do exist to optimize the balance of the electrochemical gradient, and that the vesicular transporter itself bears responsibility. It was demonstrated that VGAT transports GABA with a GABA/H+ anitport mechanism. This transport mechanism enables VGAT to keep the balance between the two components of ∆µH+ during neurotransmitter loading. In addition, it was shown that VGLUT can transport Cl- and also functions as a K+/H+ exchanger, both of which assist the transporter to tailor the balance to greater ∆ψ which is the main driving force for glutamate uptake. Together, these findings introduce vesicular transporters as novel regulators of the electrochemical gradient, which would grant additional significance to their role in synaptic transmission regulation.


Background : Circumcision is the most common surgical procedure that is performed in the world today. In some countries non - surgeon person is performed this procedure. The aim of this study was to assessment and comparison of circumcision results i n different group of experience and inexperienced operators. methods : In a randomized study, 1000 children less than 12 years o ld were studied for circumcision outcome. In this study, Symmetry of the skin and mucous and any other forms of abnormal appearance was recorded. The association of morbidity with techniques and operator were evaluated. Results : The age range from one mont h to 12 years (4.5 years ±3.1) and the maximum age at circumcision 1 to 12 months (63.5%) and neonatal period (28%), respectively. Procedure quality in 79 % of patients was satisfied and 21 % of patients had complications. These complications were mainly c osmetic and including excess mucosa (6.1%), asymmetric skin - mucosa junction (3.5%), Excessive residual foreskin (1.3%), Excessive foreskin removal (1.3%) and penile adhesion (1.3%). The rate o f complications in the plastibell device group was less signific antly (P<0.05). As well as the complication rate in the surgeon operator was lower than non surgeon operator (P <0.05), but this difference is not seen for the time using plastibell method. Conclusion : The complication rate in the surgeons group was signif icantly lower than nonsurgeon operators. The best technique of surgery in mass circumcision and inexperience operator is plastibell method. However, it seems doing of this operation by non - specialists need to reassessment.


Excitatory synapses arising from local neurons in the cat visual cortex are much more numerous than the thalamocortical synapses, which provide the primary sensory input. Many of these local circuit synapses are involved in the connections between cortical layers, but lateral connections within layers provide a major component of the local circuit synapses. We tested the influence of these lateral connections in the primary visual cortex of cats by inactivating small patches of cortex about 450 μm lateral from the recording pipette. By use of the neurotransmitter γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA), small patches of cortex were inhibited and released from inhibition in seconds. Orientation tuning curves derived from responses to oriented drifting gratings were obtained during short control periods interleaved with periods of GABA inactivation. About 30% of the cells (18/62, recorded in all layers) changed their orientation tuning when a small portion of their lateral input was silenced. There was no broadening of the orientation tuning curve during lateral inactivation. Instead, the recorded cells shifted their preferred orientation towards the orientation of the inactivated site. One explanation is that the GABA inactivation alters the balance of excitatory and inhibitory inputs to a cell, which results in a shift of the cell's preferred orientation.


Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is an integrated and comprehensive approach to ocean governance and is used to establish a rational use of marine space and reconcile conflicting interests of its users. MSP allows both a high level of environmental protection and a wide range of human activities and emphasizes coordinated networks of national, regional and global institutions. This book focuses on the framework of international law behind MSP and especially on the transboundary aspects of MSP. It first sets out a general framework for transboundary MSP and then moves on to compare and assess differences and similarities between different regions. Specific detailed case studies include the EU with the focus on the Baltic Sea and North Sea, the Bay of Bengal and Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The authors examine the national and regional significance of MSP from an integrated and sustainable ocean governance point of view. They also show how transboundary MSP can create opportunities and positive initiatives for cross-border cooperation and contribute to the effective protection of the regional marine environment.


Commonly reported as a household pest throughout the northern hemisphere, Willowsia nigromaculata (Lubbock) is among the most abundant and widely distributed springtails. However, taxonomic uncertainty due to incomplete morphological descriptions based on specimens from different continents may lead to incorrect identifications and/or prevent the recognition of distinct lineages within this morphospecies. Here, we perform the first comprehensive morphological and genetic comparison between W. nigromaculata specimens collected from North America and Europe. Morphological and genetic evidence reveals that populations in the United States and France represent two distinct nigromaculata-like species, but a phylogenetic analysis indicates both species may also be present in Canada. Based on these results, we redescribe W. nigromaculata from France, provide a description for Willowsia neonigromaculata sp. nov. from the United States, and propose new diagnostic characters for their separation, including the number of inner appendages on the maxillary sublobal plate. We also highlight the need for morphological and molecular investigations of additional populations to better understand the diversity and distribution of W. nigromaculata and related species.


R. D. Lorenz, J. I. Lunine, and C. P. McKay have shown in a manuscript accepted for publication that, for a given ethane abundance and surface temperature, the nitrogen and methane abundances in Titan's atmosphere can be calculated, yielding a surface pressure that can be compared with the observed value. This is potentially a very valuable tool for examining the evolution of Titan's climatology. Its validity does depend on two important assumptions, however: 1) that the atmosphere of Titan is in global radiative equilibrium, and 2) that volatiles present are in vapor equilibrium with the surface. The former assumption has been shown to be likely, but the latter has not. Water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere, in fact, is generally not very close to equilibrium in a global sense. In the present work a heuristic approach is used to examine the likelihood that methane vapor is in equilibrium with Titan's surface. Plausible climate scenerios are examined that are consistent with methane vapor abundances derived from Voyager IRIS data. Simple precipitation and surface diffusion models are incorporated into the analysis. It is tentatively inferred that methane may be in surface equilibrium near the poles, but that equilibrium at low latitudes is more difficult to establish.


This thesis addresses the distinctions between "pirates" and "privateers" and
the reasons for and usefulness of these distinctions. The consolidation of power and
the compromises enacted to quell religious disputes in sixteenth-century England
allowed Queen Elizabeth to assess the problem of piracy. In doing so, she determined
that by sanctioning piracy through official letters of marque and reprisal thereby
bringing pirates under some sort of government control as "privateers," she could add
to her dwindling naval forces and add to her coffers with the spoils of these missions.
Elizabeth's navy had become an important issue because of the threat of
Spanish attack and possible invasion of England. While Elizabeth had wanted to
focus her attentions internally on England itself, she was drawn into continental
affairs—most the rebellion in the Spanish Netherlands. Elizabeth found herself torn
between maintaining peace with Spain and aiding fellow Protestants in the
Netherlands. During this time, the issue of pirates and privateers became most
important. Elizabeth had to avoid conflict because she had insufficient military
forces. Realizing that at her disposal were dozens of experienced sailors with their
own ships, she began to sanction piracy by creating and encouraging a fleet of
privateers, including Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins. Such an act allowed
Elizabeth to whittle away at Spanish hegemony in the Atlantic, thereby increasing her
own influence, culminating in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
The most interesting part of this creation of a privateering corps, is that all the
while, Elizabeth and her council were issuing more stringent laws against pirates and
those who aid pirates. She even allowed Sir Julius Caesar to completely reform the
Court of Admiralty in order to make the capturing and prosecuting of pirates more
efficient. It is this dichotomy in the context of English foreign policy that I will be
exploring as well as the ultimate effects of these policies as they relate to the
establishment of a tried and true Royal Navy and as they contribute to the formation
of English trading companies like the Levant Company.


Despite rapid economic growth and poverty reduction, inequality in Chile has remained high and remarkably constant over the last 20 years, prompting academic and public interest in the subject. Due to data limitations, however, research on inequality in Chile has concentrated on the national and regional levels. The impact of cash subsidies to poor households on local inequality is thus not well understood. Using poverty-mapping methods to asses this impact, we find heterogeneity in the effectiveness of regional and municipal governments in reducing inequality via poverty-reduction transfers, suggesting that alternative targeting regimes may complement current practice in aiding the poor.


Human orbital fibroblasts play a putative role in the pathogenesis of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO). We hypothesize that the hyaluronan accumulation and inflammation in TAO derive from enhanced biosynthetic activities of orbital fibroblasts. CD40, a member of the tumor necrosis factor-α receptor superfamily, is a critical signaling molecule expressed by B lymphocytes. Engagement of CD40 with CD154 or CD40 ligand results in the activation of target genes. Orbital fibroblasts also display CD40. Here we report that CD40 engagement leads to substantial increases in hyaluronan synthesis in orbital fibroblasts. The increase is approximately 5-fold above control values, is comparable to the induction elicited by IL-1β and could be attenuated with dexamethasone but not by SC 58125, a prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthase-2 (PGHS-2)-selective inhibitor. PGHS-2 is also induced by CD40 engagement in a time-dependent manner, and this is mediated through increases in levels of steady-state mRNA. The induction of PGHS-2 leads to a dramatically enhanced prostaglandin E2 production that can be blocked by SC 58125 and dexamethasone. CD40 ligand up-regulates the synthesis of IL-1α, and blocking this cytokine with exogenous IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) or with IL-1α neutralizing antibodies partially attenuates the induction of PGHS-2. In contrast, CD40 ligand up-regulation of hyaluronan synthesis is unaffected by IL-1ra. CD40 cross-linking enhances mitogen-activated protein kinase activation, and interrupting this pathway attenuates the PGHS-2 induction. Thus the CD40/CD40 ligand bridge represents a potentially important activational pathway for orbital fibroblasts that may underlie the cross-talk between these cells and leukocytes. These findings may be relevant to the pathogenesis of TAO and provide insights into previously unrecognized, potential therapeutic targets.


DIY (do-it-yourself) craft is in the midst of a North American renaissance, and the reasons attributed to the phenomenon's meteoric rise are manifold. Thrift, conspicuous consumption, politics, environmental activism, nostalgia, individuality, community: each in turn has been cited as the driving force behind handicraft's recent blossoming. In this dissertation I examine the work of professional and semi-professional crafters through an alternative explanatory lens, one that is noticeably absent from academic investigations of DIY and underutilized in the scholarship on creative work at large: the rhetoric of pleasure. Through an examination of in-depth interviews with Etsy sellers and DIY bloggers, textual analysis of promotional materials from individual crafters and from Etsy.com, and participant observation at indie craft fairs and local knitting groups, I trace pleasure's effect on the chronology of commercial handicraft. First, drawing on Roland Barthes's distinction between jouissance and plaisir, as well as Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi's concept of "flow," I argue that the pleasure crafters derive from the act of making DIY is itself bifurcated, at once concretizing and destabilizing their sense of self. I then direct my attention to the handcrafted object's sale, maintaining that both jouissance and plaisir are folded into the professional crafters' marketing narratives to build their personal brands and signal their creative authenticity. Finally I consider interactions between individuals in the craft community and the nature of the Etsy exchange, suggesting that commercial handicraft functions simultaneously as gift and commodity. However the primacy of pleasure throughout the sale of DIY obscures the challenges that creative entrepreneurship engenders. But in considering these oft unrecognized hardships-the loneliness and isolation; the endless administrative burdens; the pressures of a saturated marketplace--it becomes clear that there is a deep-seated irony at work: the more successful a maker becomes and the bigger her business grows, the farther away she moves from personally experiencing jouissance. I conclude by arguing that this paradox is emblematic of neoliberal creative work at large and points to the limits of the creative class thesis. I suggest that the surest path to the pleasures of creative production might in fact lie outside its professionalization. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Communication First Advisor Sharona Pearl


One of the major issues in the supply chain management is product loss or shrinkage. Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) as an emerging technology has generated enormous amount of interest in the supply chain arena to reduce the phenomena. RFID technology has been used to provide a more efficient way to identify and track items at the various stages throughout the supply chain in large retail industry. This paper describes the proof of concept of real time traceability using RFID technology on LegoRobot simulation environment and LabVIEW developed interface that can be similarly implemented in Small and Medium Scale (SMI) industry.


Biometric systems play an important role in digital investigation process as a important factor of authentication and verification applications, since they are strongly linked to the holder of a biometric  traits  and  possible  suspect.  Thus  it  is  important  that  biometric  systems  can  be designed  to  withstand  attacks  when  employed  in  security-critical  applications,  especially  in unattended  remote  applications  such  as  energy  plants,  access  to  borders  at  airports,  ecommerce  etc.  Biometric  recognition  either  raises  important  legal  issues  of  remediation, authority,  and  reliability,  and,  of  course,  privacy.  The  standard  assumptions  of  the technologists  who  design  new  techniques,  capabilities,  and  systems  are  very  different  from those embedded in the legal  system.  Legal precedent on the  use of biometric technology is growing, with some key cases going back decades and other more recent cases having raised serious questions about the admissibility of biometric evidence in court. In this paper authors is about to explain influence of reliability of biometric system on general acceptance of digital evidence  in  Court  of  Justice  process.  Through  paper  authors  are  also  about  to  propose vulnerability assessment of biometric system as improvementfactor of reliability of existing methodology  for  preserving  chain  of  custody  of  digital  evidence  called  DEMF  (Digital Evidence Management Framework). Improvement proposal is presented as an introduction of phase  of  biometric  vulnerability  evaluation  methodology  within  proposedframework called APDEMF (Admissibility procedure of DEMF). Using UML (Universal Modeling Language) modeling  methodology  authors  are  about  to  represent  a  APDEMF  framework  which  will describe essential phases of the same process.


The saints played a significant role in the life of any medieval Christian: structuring the sense of time through their feast days, appearing in church paintings and sculptures, featuring in sermons and Gospel readings, acting as intercessors and patrons in the business of daily life, to note only a few of their most obvious functions. And within this larger picture, as recent research has shown, the particular uses of a given saint in different populations could be extremely varied across time and place. (1) My focus here is on the role that the saints might have played, as far as we can recover it, in the imagination and spiritual life of the nuns and brethren of Syon and the monks of Sheen, the sibling monasteries founded by Henry V around 1420, and particularly their views of their vocational and spiritual labor within and outside the cloister. (2) I focus here primarily on Syon, the only Brigittine foundation in England, although some of what I have to say also involves Sheen, the strictly enclosed Carthusian monastery located near Syon and closely connected with it. Most lay relationships to the saints also, of course, obtained for professed religious, but nuns and monks had further connections to the saints beyond those of their secular counterparts. They were more likely to read, or frequently to hear read, the lives and writings of the saints; they lived under the rule of a given saint; and their monastery or abbey was quite likely dedicated to a patron saint. In the case of the Brigittines of Syon Abbey, these connections were intensified by the fact that their saintly founder, relatively recently deceased, was emphatically present in all three contexts. (3) Moreover, Birgitta's sense of her own relationship to the saints, and the way this relationship was expressed and instituted in her Revelations and her Rule (conveyed to her directly in a vision, by Jesus), had an important shaping effect on Brigittine spirituality. Essentially, I suggest, the saints, male as well as female, performed a simultaneous function of enclosure and exposure for both Birgitta and her order, acting as a kind of mediating community that structured not only the nuns' and brethren's practices within the monastery, but the public aspects of their foundation and their spirituality, their connections to the larger world. This marks one of the greatest differences between the Brigittines of Syon and the Carthusians of Sheen. If, as Neil Beckett says, "among the noblest expressions of the Carthusian ideal is 'To make many saints but not to publicize them' (Non sanctos patefacere sed multos sanctos facere)," we might say that among the noblest of the Brigittine ideals was, rather, "sanctos patefacere." (4) As one might expect, however, such a public ideal, especially when associated with an order of enclosed women, could rouse anxieties, and the resistance to Birgitta's own canonization and the resulting problems with the foundation of her order reflect this. (5) It was thus necessary for Birgitta and for her order to inflect their claims to a public role (especially in the case of the nuns) by presenting those claims in culturally acceptable terms and imagery. A consideration of what is distinctive in Birgitta's and Brigittine uses of the saints--in the founder's Revelations, in Brigittine church architecture, and in devotional, liturgical, and hagiographic texts composed or copied at Syon--shows us how they modeled, for these holy women and their brethren, a transcendence of the kinds of boundaries that could have made an enclosed life seem more isolated from the world than in fact it was. The saints' overlapping and fluid roles, crossing the gaps between heaven and earth, life and death, domestic and public, male and female, enabled both Birgitta's own public vocation and the collaborative spirituality of Syon. The saints, always a bridge "in medieval culture, became for the Brigittine nuns and brethren also a way to make the enclosed, domesticated, female-ruled space of the Abbey interdependent with the public, political, and seemingly male-dominated world of Lancastrian England. …


The notion that contracts require an offer and an acceptance is one of the last remaining bastions of classical contract law. On reflection, it is striking how poorly the offer-and-acceptance paradigm fits large areas of contracting practice; it is simply untrue that all or even most contracts are formed by means of a salient or even recognizable offer followed by a similarly salient acceptance. Instead, contracts are formed in different ways as suit the different circumstances of contracting parties. For example, the parties might contemporaneously sign a common document, shake hands, use a series of escalatingly certain verbal cues to indicate that they believe themselves to be bound, or allow for a third party or computer technology to match them firmly with one another. Moreover, even in cases that may fit factually into the classical offer-and-acceptance paradigm, the model tends to obscure the substantive and interpretive questions that underlie contract formation. The problem is not necessarily debilitating. Perhaps surprisingly, doing away with the paradigm and terminology of "offer" and "acceptance" would not, on its own, amount to a radical change to modern contract law. Nonetheless, there are several reasons to highlight the weakness of the offer-and-acceptance paradigm. Most directly, highlighting the weakness of the model may discourage courts and commentators from extending it beyond the cases to which it is most directly applicable; stretching the paradigm in this way invites at best awkwardness and at worst poor decisions. Similarly, brushing away the offer-and-acceptance paradigm can highlight useful modes of contract formation that have not received sufficient attention or study. Perhaps more importantly, moving past the offer-and-acceptance paradigm suggests the relatively poor functional basis for what is taken to be a core principle of contract law — namely, that immediately subsequent to an offer that concludes a contract, a promise is established and expectation damages are available. This rule may be loosely justified on grounds of administrability, but it has overall a poor fit in many circumstances with both commercial practice and with the functional, substantive goals of contract law. Once the classical, formalistic offer-and-acceptance model is exposed as inadequate, a question arises as to what should replace it. In modern contract law, a formation doctrine that depends more directly on the timing and possibility of performance preparations, promise reliance, and speculation comports better both with morality and with efficiency.


The efficiency limits, gas-crossover behavior, formation of local pH gradients near the electrode surfaces, and safety characteristics have been evaluated experimentally as well as by use of multi-physics modeling and simulation methods for an integrated solar-driven water-splitting system that operates with bulk electrolyte solutions buffered at near-neutral pH. The integrated membrane-free system utilized a triple-junction amorphous hydrogenated Si (a-Si:H) cell as the light absorber, Pt and cobalt phosphate (Co–Pi) as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen-evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen-evolution reaction (OER), respectively, and a bulk aqueous solution buffered at pH = 9.2 by 1.0 M of boric acid/borate as an electrolyte. Although the solar-to-electrical efficiency of the stand-alone triple-junction a-Si:H photovoltaic cell was 7.7%, the solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency for the integrated membrane-free water-splitting system was limited under steady-state operation to 3.2%, and the formation of pH gradients near the electrode surfaces accounted for the largest voltage loss. The membrane-free system exhibited negligible product-recombination loss while operating at current densities near 3.0 mA cm−2, but exhibited significant crossover of products (up to 40% H2 in the O2 chamber), indicating that the system was not intrinsically safe. A system that contained a membrane to minimize the gas crossover, but which was otherwise identical to the membrane-free system, yielded very low energy-conversion efficiencies at steady state, due to low transference numbers for protons across the membranes resulting in electrodialysis of the solution and the consequent formation of large concentration gradients of both protons and buffer counterions near the electrode surfaces. The modeling and simulation results showed that despite the addition of 1.0 M of buffering agent to the bulk of the solution, during operation significant pH gradients developed near the surfaces of the electrodes. Hence, although the bulk electrolyte was buffered to near-neutral pH, the electrode surfaces and electrocatalysts experienced local environments under steady-state operation that were either highly acidic or highly alkaline in nature, changing the chemical form of the electrocatalysts and exposing the electrodes to potentially corrosive local pH conditions. In addition to significant pH gradients, the STH conversion efficiency of both types of systems was limited by the mass transport of ionic species to the electrode surfaces. Even at operating current densities of <3 mA cm−2, the voltage drops due to these pH gradients exceeded the combined electrocatalyst overpotentials for the hydrogen- and oxygen-evolution reactions at current densities of 10 mA cm−2. Hence, such near-neutral pH solar-driven water-splitting systems were both fundamentally limited in efficiency and/or co-evolved explosive mixtures of H2(g) and O2(g) in the presence of active catalysts for the recombination of H2(g) and O2(g).


Interculturality is a notion that has come to dominate the debate on cultural diversity among supranational bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in recent years. The EU goes so far as to identify interculturality as a key cultural and linguistic characteristic of a union which, it argues, acts as an inspiration to other parts of the world. At the same time, the very notion of interculturality is a core component of indigenous movements in the Andean region of Latin America in their struggles for decolonization. Every bit as contingent as any other concept, it is apparent that several translations of interculturality are simultaneously in play. Through interviews with students and teachers in a course on interculturality run by indigenous alliances, my aim in this essay is to study how the notion is translated in the sociopolitical context of the Andes. With reference points drawn from the works of Walter Mignolo and the concept of delinking, I will engage in a discussion about the potential for interculturality to break out of the prison-house of colonial vocabulary – modernization, progress and salvation – that lingers on in official memory. Engagement in such an interchange of experiences, memories and significations provides not only recognition of other forms of subjectivity, knowledge systems and visions of the future, but also a possible contribution to an understanding of how any attempt to invoke a universal reach for interculturality, as in the case of the EU and UNESCO, risks echoing the imperial order that the notion in another context attempts to overcome.


ABSTRACT Dermatophytes are the most common cause of superficial mycoses in humans and animals. They can coexist with their hosts for many years without causing significant symptoms but also cause highly inflammatory diseases. To identify mechanisms involved in the modulation of the host response during infection caused by the zoophilic dermatophyte Arthroderma benhamiae, cell wall-associated surface proteins were studied. By two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we found that a hydrophobin protein designated HypA was the dominant cell surface protein. HypA was also detected in the supernatant during the growth and conidiation of the fungus. The A. benhamiae genome harbors only a single hydrophobin gene, designated hypA. A hypA deletion mutant was generated, as was a complemented hypA mutant strain (hypAC). In contrast to the wild type and the complemented strain, the hypA deletion mutant exhibited "easily wettable" mycelia and conidia, indicating the loss of surface hydrophobicity of both morphotypes. Compared with the wild type, the hypA deletion mutant triggered an increased activation of human neutrophil granulocytes and dendritic cells, characterized by an increased release of the immune mediators interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). For the first time, we observed the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps against dermatophytes, whose level of formation was increased by the ΔhypA mutant compared with the wild type. Furthermore, conidia of the ΔhypA strain were killed more effectively by neutrophils. Our data suggest that the recognition of A. benhamiae by the cellular immune defense system is notably influenced by the presence of the surface rodlet layer formed by the hydrophobin HypA.


The aim of this study was twofold: First, we investigated whether scores on an admission test administered in proctored and unproctored environments led to similar predictions of future academic success. Second, we explored how Bayesian modeling can be of help in interpreting admission-testing data. Results showed that the two modes of administering an admission test did not require the use of different models for predicting academic success, and that Bayesian modeling provides a very useful and easy-to-interpret framework for predicting future academic success.


The imagined worlds of sci-fi films have to be projected as being founded on both 'rational scientific' reasoning and at the same time have 'no normative ground'. This gives the genre a precarious relationship with not only past and present, but also reality. This could equally be said for socialist realism, which frequently featured films with no normative ground in reality while sporting a logical rationality of what the future would be like. Science fiction, in cinema and literature, gives concrete projections of future, which are both plausible and farfetched.In the Eastern Bloc, science fiction was one of the most cherished film genres. As the genre has functioned worldwide, communist science fiction films were able to fulfill the cinematic medium's potential of creating imagined worlds. Despite this fact, the science fiction films never became mass-produced. In the Soviet Union, in particular, the genre never really took off. In his brief history of the Soviet sci-fi cinema in Sight and Sound (July 2011), James Blackford lists only about 20 Soviet productions, from Aelita (1924) to Zero City (1989), but this is from an industry that made an average of 150 films per year. What were obstacles for producing sci-fi films on a large scale? In this paper, I will argue that there are three ways in which we view this lack of focus: (1) large production cost, (2) socialist realist concerns and (3) issues of colonialism.The paper will look at four Eastern European sci-fi films, Silent Star (1960), Icarus XB 1 (1963), Signal (1970) and Pilot Pirx's Inquest (1979). Nearly, all these films are made in coproduction and with the international cast. Two of the films are made by East German and Polish film companies and one in collaboration with Tallinn film studio in Estonia. Three of the films are based on Stanislaw Lem's stories and one by Calos Rauch, but all have Russian characters, who perform various roles during each film. As professors, scientists, captains of spacecrafts or more ordinary members of space crews, these Russian characters are adhering to the projecting of socialist realism, where harmony and international friendship was the backbone of a full communist future.


Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to understand ecological systems at scales critical to human decision making. Current reward structures are problematic for scientists engaged in interdisciplinary research, particularly early career researchers, because academic culture tends to value only some research outputs, such as primary-authored publications. Here, we present a framework for the costs and benefits of collaboration, with a focus on early career stages, and show how the implementation of novel measures of success can help defray the costs of collaboration. Success measures at team and individual levels include research outputs other than publications, including educational outcomes, dataset creation, outreach products (eg blogs or social media), and the application of scientific results to policy or management activities. Promotion and adoption of new measures of success will require concerted effort by both collaborators and their institutions. Expanded measures should better reflect an...


Violent digital game play has repeatedly been discussed to be strongly related to aggression and emotional instability. Thus, digital game players have to defend against these prejudices through emphasizing positive game-related concepts such as achievement, social interaction, and immersion. We experimentally investigated which positive- and negative-concept players and nonplayers activate when being primed with digital games. Participants were either exposed to violent or nonviolent game content and were required to work on a lexical decision task. Results showed that response latencies for the concept aggression and emotional instability were faster than for neutral concepts (not associated with digital games), but slower than for the positive concepts sociality and competition. Both players and nonplayers felt the need to defend against prejudices and emphasized positive concepts. Neither their own gaming experience nor the game content influenced the results. Being a part of the net generation is sufficient to suppress negative game-related concepts and to support positive game-related concepts to protect digital games as common leisure activity among peers.


We report on the thermal characteristics of Bragg gratings fabricated in polymer optical fibers. We have observed a permanent shift in the grating wavelength at room temperature which occurs when the grating has been heated above a threshold temperature. This threshold temperature is dependent on the thermal history of the grating, and we attribute the effect to a shrinking of the fiber. This effect can be avoided by annealing the fiber before grating inscription, resulting in a linear response with temperature and an increased linear operating temperature range of the grating.


The constraints imposed by the initial system-environment correlation can lead to nonpositive dynamical maps. We find the conditions for positivity and complete positivity of such dynamical maps by using the concept of an assignment map. Any initial system-environment correlations make the assignment map nonpositive, while the positivity of the dynamical map depends on the interplay between the assignment map and the system-environment coupling. We show how this interplay can reveal or hide the nonpositivity of the assignment map. We discuss the role of this interplay in Markovian models.


The Cyp27b1 enzyme (25-hydroxyvitamin D-1alpha-hydroxylase) that converts 25-hydroxyvitamin D into the active metabolite, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)], is expressed in kidney but also in other cell types such as chondrocytes. This suggests that local production of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) could play an important role in the differentiation of these cells. To test this hypothesis, we engineered mutant mice that do not express the Cyp27b1 gene in chondrocytes. Inactivation of both alleles of the Cyp27b1 gene led to decreased RANKL expression and reduced osteoclastogenesis, increased width of the hypertrophic zone of the growth plate at embryonic d 15.5, increased bone volume in neonatal long bones, and increased expression of the chondrocytic differentiation markers Indian Hedgehog and PTH/PTHrP receptor. The expression of the angiogenic marker VEGF was decreased, accompanied by decreased platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 staining in the neonatal growth plate, suggesting a delay in vascularization. In parallel, we engineered strains of mice overexpressing a Cyp27b1 transgene in chondrocytes by coupling the Cyp27b1 cDNA to the collagen alpha(1)(II) promoter. The transgenic mice showed a mirror image phenotype when compared with the tissue-specific inactivation, i.e. a reduction in the width of the hypertrophic zone of the embryonic growth plate, decreased bone volume in neonatal long bones, and inverse expression patterns of chondrocytic differentiation markers. These results support an intracrine role of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) in endochondral ossification and chondrocyte development in vivo.


Background: Myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) occurs in 5% to 10% of all patients with myocardial infarction. Clinical trials of secondary prevention treatment in MINOCA patients are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between treatment with statins, renin-angiotensin system blockers, &bgr;-blockers, dual antiplatelet therapy, and long-term cardiovascular events. Methods: This is an observational study of MINOCA patients recorded in the SWEDEHEART registry (the Swedish Web-system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapy) between July 2003 and June 2013 and followed until December 2013 for outcome events in the Swedish Cause of Death Register and National Patient Register. Of 199 162 myocardial infarction admissions, 9466 consecutive unique patients with MINOCA were identified. Among those, the 9136 patients surviving the first 30 days after discharge constituted the study population. Mean age was 65.3 years, and 61% were women. No patient was lost to follow-up. A stratified propensity score analysis was performed to match treated and untreated groups. The association between treatment and outcome was estimated by comparing between treated and untreated groups by using Cox proportional hazards models. The exposures were treatment at discharge with statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, &bgr;-blockers, and dual antiplatelet therapy. The primary end point was major adverse cardiac events defined as all-cause mortality, hospitalization for myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and heart failure. Results: At discharge, 84.5%, 64.1%, 83.4%, and 66.4% of the patients were on statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, &bgr;-blockers, and dual antiplatelet therapy, respectively. During the follow-up of a mean of 4.1 years, 2183 (23.9%) patients experienced a major adverse cardiac event. The hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for major adverse cardiac events were 0.77 (0.68–0.87), 0.82 (0.73–0.93), and 0.86 (0.74–1.01) in patients on statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, and &bgr;-blockers, respectively. For patients on dual antiplatelet therapy followed for 1 year, the hazard ratio was 0.90 (0.74–1.08). Conclusions: The results indicate long-term beneficial effects of treatment with statins and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers on outcome in patients with MINOCA, a trend toward a positive effect of &bgr;-blocker treatment, and a neutral effect of dual antiplatelet therapy. Properly powered randomized clinical trials to confirm these results are warranted.


ABSTRACT Spodoptera frugiperda SF9 cells infected with mutants of the Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) which lack a functional p35 gene undergo apoptosis, aborting the viral infection. The Spodoptera littoralis nucleopolyhedrovirus (SlNPV) was able to suppress apoptosis triggered by vΔP35K/pol+, an AcMNPVp35 null mutant. To identify the putative apoptotic suppressor gene of SlNPV, overlapping cosmid clones representing the entire SlNPV genome were individually cotransfected along with genomic DNA of vΔP35K/pol+. Using this complementation assay, we isolated a SlNPV DNA fragment that was able to rescue the vΔP35K/pol+ infection in SF9 cells. By further subcloning and rescue, we identified a novel SlNPV gene, Slp49. TheSlp49 sequence predicted a 49-kDa polypeptide with about 48.8% identity to the AcMNPV apoptotic suppressor P35. SLP49 displays a potential recognition site, TVTDG, for cleavage by death caspases. Recombinant AcMNPVs deficient inp35 bearing the Slp49 gene did not induce apoptosis and showed successful productive infections in SF9 cells, indicating that Slp49 is a functional homologue ofp35. A 1.5-kbp Slp49-specific transcript was identified in SF9 cells infected with SlNPV or with vAc496, a vΔP35K/pol+-recombinant bearing Slp49. The discovery of Slp49 contributes to the identification of important functional motifs conserved in p35-like apoptotic suppressors and to the future isolation of p35-like genes from other baculoviruses.


Proper chromosome segregation is essential for maintenance of genomic integrity and instability resulting from failure of this process may contribute to cancer. Here, we demonstrate that a mutation in the mitotic regulator separase is responsible for the cell cycle defects seen in the zebrafish mutant, cease&desist (cds). Analysis of cds homozygous mutant embryos reveals high levels of polyploidy and aneuploidy, spindle defects, and a mitotic exit delay. Carcinogenesis studies demonstrated that cds heterozygous adults have a shift in tumor spectrum with an eightfold increase in the percentage of fish bearing epithelial tumors, indicating that separase is a tumor suppressor gene in vertebrates. These data strongly support a conserved cross-species role for mitotic checkpoint genes in genetic stability and epithelial carcinogenesis.


Deep generative models come with the promise to learn an explainable representation for visual objects that allows image sampling, synthesis, and selective modification. The main challenge is to learn to properly model the independent latent characteristics of an object, especially its appearance and pose. We present a novel approach that learns disentangled representations of these characteristics and explains them individually. Training requires only pairs of images depicting the same object appearance, but no pose annotations. We propose an additional classifier that estimates the minimal amount of regularization required to enforce disentanglement. Thus both representations together can completely explain an image while being independent of each other. Previous methods based on adversarial approaches fail to enforce this independence, while methods based on variational approaches lead to uninformative representations. In experiments on diverse object categories, the approach successfully recombines pose and appearance to reconstruct and retarget novel synthesized images. We achieve significant improvements over state-of-the-art methods which utilize the same level of supervision, and reach performances comparable to those of pose-supervised approaches. However, we can handle the vast body of articulated object classes for which no pose models/annotations are available.


This volume contains papers that represent Leibniz's early thoughts on the problem of evil, centering on a dialogue, the Confessio philosophi, in which he formulates a general account of God's relation to sin and evil that becomes a fixture in his thinking. How can God be understood to be the ultimate cause, asks Leibniz, without God being considered as the author of sin, a conclusion incompatible with God's holiness? Leibniz's attempts to justify the way of God to humans lead him to deep discussion of related topics: the nature of free choice, the problems of necessitarianism and fatalism, the nature of divine justice and holiness. All but one of the writings presented here are available in English for the first time.


Agricultural research in the 21st century has become a collaborative effort. Research on crop pests like Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), commonly known as the fall armyworm (FAW), can involve international collaboration because it is a pest not only in the southern United States, but also in Latin and South America. Our interest to study the genetic variation of 24 subpopulations of FAW from the southern United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Argentina required insect collection procedures that preserve the integrity of DNA for molecular genetic analysis. Fhe samples were collected primarily from maize (Zea mays L.), but also included outliers collected from pigweed (Amaranthus sp.), Royal Paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa (Thunb.) Sieb. and Zucc. ex Steud.), lemon tree (Citrus limon (L.) Burm) and Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.). A common insect preservation technique is to place individual insects in 95% ethanol (EFOH). However, various regulations for shipping and the size of this insect often prevent large sample sizes stored in EFOH from being imported. Genomic DNA from samples preserved in 95% EFOH, lyophilized and fresh insects was extracted and evaluated using DNA quantification and polymerase chain reaction-amplified fragment length polymorphism (PCR-AFLP). All three treatments yielded high-quality/high molecular weight (c. 70–150 μg) DNA. No differences in quality of genomic DNA for AFLP analysis were observed. Lyophilization is a reliable tool to preserve FAW samples, which yields high-quality DNA for use in AFLP genetic analysis.


This research was a case study to PT Etos Suryanusa Surabaya titled : "Analysis of Marketing Prosecedure at PT ETOS SURYANUSA SURABAYA". This research aimed to describe the marketing procedure, also to find out whether marketing procedure at PT ETOS SURYANUSA SURABAYA has run in effective and efficient way To answer above research destination, the writer used two phases analysis. First analyzing marketing order and analyze marketing notice procedure also used effectiveness and efficiency analysis. Marketing order and marketing notice procedure analysis were fitted with base theory which was written by the writer. For measurement, effectiveness and efficiency analysis was smaller the value from income target and real income comparison, more effective it was. Larger the value from income and expenditure, more efficient it was. The result showed that the organization has applied marketing order and marketing notice procedure well. The organization has given report needed by customers about pest attack condition, medicine used, effects, and cost. The company also gave easier way in payment by using two phase payment method. The first payment happened in work contract and the second phase was when the job has done. For effectiveness and efficiency measurement, the organization has reached effectiveness in 2005 with effectiveness value 0,649, smaller than 2006 which reached 1,128. For efficiency measurement, the organization has reached efficiency at 2006 with 22,314 value, larger than 2005 and 2004 which only reached 13,943 and 11,527 value. According above conclusion, the writer suggest that PT. ETOS SURYANUSA SURABAYA has to understand about debt measurement by 5-C, they were character capacity, capital, collateral, and condition to avoid un-paid debt.


Abstract International police now contribute the second largest proportion of personnel to peacekeeping missions after militaries. They are thus key contributors to post-conflict transitions in developing countries. In the past decade Australian police have played a major role in a range of international missions in the Asia-Pacific region, partially funded by Australia's international development budget. Increasingly the Australian Federal Police, as Australia's lead agency in this area, has explicitly adopted the development language of capacity building to describe a significant part of their role. This paper considers the contribution of Australian police to building or developing the capacity of new and/or re-formed police forces following conflict. It also examines the degree to which international police missions are able to contribute to broader development goals and achievements within these settings. In doing so, it engages with the question of 'outsiders' (non-development professionals) performing development work in the increasingly populated space of post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.


ABSTRACT Obtaining reliable and representative mushroom production data requires time-consuming sampling schemes. In this paper, we assessed a simple methodology to detect mushroom emergence by trapping the fungal spores of the fruiting body community in plots where mushroom production was determined weekly. We compared the performance of filter paper traps with that of funnel traps and combined these spore trapping methods with species-specific quantitative real-time PCR and Illumina MiSeq to determine the spore abundance. Significantly more MiSeq proportional reads were generated for both ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungal species using filter traps than were obtained using funnel traps. The spores of 37 fungal species that produced fruiting bodies in the study plots were identified. Spore community composition changed considerably over time due to the emergence of ephemeral fruiting bodies and rapid spore deposition (lasting from 1 to 2 weeks), which occurred in the absence of rainfall events. For many species, the emergence of epigeous fruiting bodies was followed by a peak in the relative abundance of their airborne spores. There were significant positive relationships between fruiting body yields and spore abundance in time for five of seven fungal species. There was no relationship between fruiting body yields and their spore abundance at plot level, indicating that some of the spores captured in each plot were arriving from the surrounding areas. Differences in fungal detection capacity by spore trapping may indicate different dispersal ability between fungal species. Further research can help to identify the spore rain patterns for most common fungal species. IMPORTANCE Mushroom monitoring represents a serious challenge in economic and logistical terms because sampling approaches demand extensive field work at both the spatial and temporal scales. In addition, the identification of fungal taxa depends on the expertise of experienced fungal taxonomists. Similarly, the study of fungal dispersal has been constrained by technological limitations, especially because the morphological identification of spores is a challenging and time-consuming task. Here, we demonstrate that spores from ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungal species can be identified using simple spore traps together with either MiSeq fungus-specific amplicon sequencing or species-specific quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, the proposed methodology can be used to characterize the airborne fungal community and to detect mushroom emergence in forest ecosystems.


Genome-wide, unlinked, simple sequence repeat markers were used to examine genetic variation and relationships within Pyrenophora teres f. teres, a common pathogen of barley, in Western Australia. Despite the region's geographic isolation, the isolates showed relatively high allelic variation compared to similar studies, averaging 7.11 alleles per locus. Principal component, Bayesian clustering and distance differentiation parameters provided evidence for both regional genotypic subdivision together with juxtaposing of isolates possessing different genetic backgrounds. Genotyping of fungicide resistant Cyp51A isolates indicated a single mutation event occurred followed by recombination and long-distance regional dispersal over hundreds of kilometres. Selection of recently emergent favourable alleles such as the Cyp51A mutation and a cultivar virulence may provide an explanation, at least in part, for juxtaposed genotypes. Factors affecting genotypic composition and the movement of new genotypes are discussed in the context of grower practices and pathogen epidemiology, together with the implications for resistance breeding.


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Glia express a variety of ion channels, but the precise subtypes expressed by astrocytes and oligodendrocytes has not been fully elucidated. The Kir7.1 subtype of inwardly rectifying potassium channels (Kir) is highly expressed in retinal pigment epithelium and has been demonstrated in Purkinje neurons of the adult rat cerebellum and pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, but it has not previously been identified in glia. Using quantitative real time PCR, an ion channel profile for the developing mouse optic nerve was constructed and Kir7.1 was identified as one of the major ion channels present. Immunostaining revealed widespread expression of Kir7.1 in glia and neurons in the mouse brain with the highest expression found in optic nerve oligodendrocytes. A major function of Kir is to maintain the membrane potential of glia in the face of large ionic shifts associated with normal neuronal function and pathology. Oligodendrocytes are particularly susceptible to ischemia so the role of Kir7.1 in maintaining oligodendrocyte integrity during oxygen and glucose deprivation (ODG) in the isolated intact mouse optic nerve was examined, using the Kir7.1 channel blocker VU590. Blockade of Kir7.1 resulted in increased cell death of optic nerve oligodendrocytes in normoxic conditions by activating caspase -dependent apoptotic pathways and significantly augmented cell death induced by OGD. Moreover, intracellular calcium fluctuations dependent on store operated calcium entry in optic nerve glia were identified as a potential mechanism for the cellular stress induced by Kir7.1 inhibition. The results presented within this thesis demonstrate functional expression of Kir7.1 in glial cells, and indicate they are important in maintaining oligodendrocytic integrity in both physiological and pathological conditions.


Problems with sexual function have been a long-standing concern in the treatment of hypertension and may influence the choice of treatment regimens and decisions to discontinue drugs. The Treatment of Mild Hypertension Study (TOMHS) provides an excellent opportunity for examination of sexual function and effects of treatment on sexual function in men and women with stage I diastolic hypertension because of the number of drug classes studied, the double-blind study design, and the long-term follow-up. TOMHS was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial of 902 hypertensive individuals (557 men, 345 women), aged 45 to 69 years, treated with placebo or one of five active drugs (acebutolol, amlodipine maleate, chlorthalidone, doxazosin maleate, or enalapril maleate). All participants received intensive lifestyle counseling regarding weight loss, dietary sodium reduction, alcohol reduction (for current drinkers), and increased physical activity. Sexual function was ascertained by physician interviews at baseline and annually during follow-up. At baseline, 14.4% of men and 4.9% of women reported a problems with sexual function. In men, 12.2% had problems obtaining and/or maintaining an erection; 2.0% of women reported a problem having an orgasm. Erection problems in men at baseline were positively related to age, systolic pressure, and previous antihypertensive drug use. The incidences of erection dysfunction during follow-up in men were 9.5% and 14.7% through 24 and 48 months, respectively, and were related to type of antihypertensive therapy. Participants randomized to chlorthalidone reported a significantly higher incidence of erection problems through 24 months than participants randomized to placebo (17.1% versus 8.1%, P = .025). Incidence rates through 48 months were more similar among treatment groups than at 24 months, with nonsignificant differences between the chlorthalidone and placebo groups. Incidence was lowest in the doxazosin group but was not significantly different from the placebo group. Incidence for acebutolol, amlodipine, and enalapril groups was similar to that in the placebo group. In many cases, erection dysfunction did not require withdrawal of medication. Disappearance of erection problems among men with problems at baseline was common in all groups but greatest in the doxazosin group. Incidence of reported sexual problems in women was low in all treatment groups. In conclusion, long-term incidence of erection problems in treated hypertensive men is relatively low but is higher with chlorthalidone treatment. Effects of erection dysfunction with chlorthalidone appear relatively early and are often tolerable, and new occurrences after 2 years are unlikely. The rate of reported sexual problems in hypertensive women is low and does not appear to differ by type of drug. Similar incidence rates of erection dysfunction in placebo and most active drug groups caution against routine attribution of erection problems to antihypertensive medication.


Bitcoin has had a volatile journey since it was launched in 2009, attracting attention among conventional investors as well as the black market. Regulators and policy makers are also following Bitcoin, raising the occasional eyebrow as they evaluate Bitcoin's risks and benefits and how to regulate this little understood virtual currency. Some media reports have confused Bitcoin with more popular electronic money (e-money) schemes used in many low-income countries to reach the unbanked. But the two are markedly different and should not be conflated. This brief provides information about Bitcoin and contrasts Bitcoin with e-money to avoid alarm about the former to the detriment of the latter.


This article assessed the content material of three language textbooks used in public schools at elementary level, specifically grade VI, VII and VIII. The evaluated textbooks are used in public schools of the Punjab province in all the government education sectors in Pakistan. Furthermore, a checklist is specifically designed and applied on the textbooks. The core concern of the evaluation checklist is to analyze the overall impression of textbooks and content analysis along with the activities and organization of contents, topics and course work. The results lead to the conclusion, with the quality features and drawbacks which are considered to be the part of course books. It evolves the objectives, content material and process with approach. Results provide proper recommendation for the revised and alternative adoptable additional material.


In this paper we present an analysis of the contact formation between an n-type TCO and a p-type a- Si:H as used for emitter structures in high efficiency a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction solar cells. By means of transient photoconductance decay measurements it is shown that the deposition of ZnO:Al on (p)a-Si:H/(n)c-Si heterojunctions leads to a reduction of charge carrier lifetime mainly at low injection levels, which is correlated to a reduced implied fill factor. This observation is explained by Schottky contact formation and is reproduced by numerical simulations. An analytical description based on two antiparallel diodes is presented to explain the loss in fill factor of a solar cell and the detrimental effect of the work function difference between ZnO:Al and p-type a-Si:H.


Goths represent one of the most arresting, distinctive and enduring subcultures of recent times. The dedication of those involved to a lifestyle which, from the outside, may appear dark and sinister, has spawned reactions ranging from admiration to alarm. Until now, no one has conducted a full-scale ethnographic study of this fascinating subcultural group. Based on extensive research by an 'insider', this is the first. Immersing us in the potent mix of identities, practices and values that make up the goth scene, the author takes us behind the faade of the goth mystique. From dress and musical tastes to social habits and the use of the internet, Hodkinson details the inner workings of this intriguing group. Defying postmodern theories that claim media and commerce break down substantive cultural groupings, Hodkinson shows how both have been used by goths to retain, and even strengthen, their group identity. Hodkinson provides a comprehensive reworking of subcultural theory, making a key contribution to the disciplines of sociology, cultural studies, youth studies, media studies, and popular music studies. Readable and accessible, this groundbreaking book presents a unique chance to engage with a contemporary, spectacular culture.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative pathogen and the major cause of mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis. The mechanisms that P. aeruginosa strains use to regulate intracellular zinc have an effect on infection, antibiotic resistance and the propensity to form biofilms. However, zinc homeostasis in P. aeruginosa strains of variable infectivity has not been compared. In this study, zinc homeostasis in P. aeruginosa Trent, a highly infectious clinical strain, was compared to that of a laboratory P. aeruginosa strain, ATCC27853. Trent was able to tolerate higher concentrations of additional zinc in rich media than ATCC27853. Further, pre-adaptation to additional zinc enhanced the growth of Trent at non-inhibitory concentrations but the impact of pre-adaption on the growth of ATCC27853 under the same conditions was minimal. The results establish clear differences in zinc-induced responses in Trent and ATCC27853, and how zinc homeostasis can be a promising target for the development of novel antimicrobial strategies for P. aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis patients.


In Flanders, a child and youth impact report (JoKER) must accompany all legislative proposals based on an initiative of the Flemish government, that have a direct impact on the interests of persons under the age of 25. This article presents the results of the first in-depth evaluation carried out of this impact assessment instrument. Based on multiple data collection techniques (including an electronic survey and focus groups), JoKER was critically evaluated as to its scope, quality, process, support and control, effectiveness and impact. The evaluation required maintaining a balance between various perspectives and tensions. A major challenge concerns the tension between mainstreaming JoKER in the more general regulatory impact assessment (ria), on the one hand, and preserving the specificity of a youth and children's rights perspective, on the other.


This paper analyses the understandings and actions of a diverse range of actors on REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and enhancing forest carbon stocks in developing countries) and the current discourse on REDD+, as reflected in the Nepali media. Articles on REDD+ and climate change from three representative newspapers were analysed and in-depth interviews and interactions with nine journalists were conducted. Our analyses show that REDD+ coverage in the Nepali media is limited because the climate change discussion is dominated by concerns over glacial melts, and journalists are reliant on professional experts in the field of forestry and REDD+ to explain the technical language used for REDD reporting. At present, REDD+ coverage is dominated by the global debate and REDD+ is understood as a win-win game operating within the current development aid framework. Media coverage tends to highlight the amount of money that will potentially come from the developed world for the conservation and management of forests in developing countries. While most stakeholders in Nepal, particularly the experts, are optimistic about REDD+ outcomes in addressing climate change mitigation and supporting local livelihoods, journalists and civil society organisations are sceptical because they doubt whether forest-dependent communities and marginalised groups will actually benefit from REDD+. Numerous stakeholders are associated with the current REDD process but few individuals within those institutions are engaged in the REDD+ discourse. The fact that the most dominant and vocal actors in the media are individual technical experts and farmer organisations/federations, followed by the state, shows that the REDD+ debate is currently seen predominantly as a complex, technical issue. More importantly, this shows that the REDD+ debate has not yet become a political focus. Vulnerable groups, such as community representatives, women and Dalit, are absent from the debate because of the technical nature of the conversation and limited forums for these groups to have their say. This shows the exclusivity of current decision-making.


In 2004, as part of its initiative to widen access, a Scottish university offered places for the first time to a group of students coming from further education (FE) colleges with Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs). A longitudinal study has followed the experiences of transition and subsequent progression of this cohort of students. The study, entitled 'From FE to HE' has interviewed and surveyed 45 students at key points since 2004. This paper reports on findings from the study overall, giving particular attention to the views and experiences of the nine Social Work students within the cohort. It will be argued that whilst FE colleges provide considerable support for their students, there is no easy transition to an ancient, research‐led university such as this one. The findings of this study have implications for all those involved in social work education.


The great-power system has been in constant change since the end of the Cold War. The US became the hegemonic power, and under its shelter, the European Union was able to transform into a European-wide political body.

Soon, a group of leading regional powers started to question the universalist aspirations of the Western-led international order. Two members of this club in particular were not satisfied with the role of a regional hegemon and had more global ambitions. China has already become the largest trading nation globally, and Chinese foreign policy has assumed an assertive tone. China has both the potential to challenge US hegemony, as well as the political will to use it. Russia's project to achieve a global great-power status, on the other hand, is inspired by its historical identity and its alleged humiliation by the West after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia longs for recognition of its great-power status in particular from the US.

This report focuses on relations between China and Russia on the one hand and the US and Russia on the other. It analyses the current developments and future trends in these relationships, as well as their implications for the EU.


Interactive tools make data analysis both more efficient and more accessible to a broad population. Simple interfaces such as Google Finance as well as complex visual exploration interfaces such as Tableau are effective because they are tailored to the desired user tasks. Yet, designing interactive interfaces requires technical expertise and domain knowledge. Experts are scarce and expensive, and therefore it is currently infeasible to provide tailored (or precise) interfaces for every user and every task.
We envision a data-driven approach to generate tailored interactive interfaces. We observe that interactive interfaces are designed to express sets of programs; thus, samples of programs-increasingly collected by data systems-may help us build interactive interfaces. Based on this idea, Precision Interfaces is a language-agnostic system that examines an input query log, identifies how the queries structurally change, and generates interactive web interfaces to express these changes. The focus of this paper is on applying this idea towards logs of structured queries. Our experiments show that Precision Interfaces can support multiple query languages (SQL and SPARQL), derive Tableau's salient interaction components from OLAP queries, analyze <75k queries in <12 minutes, and generate interaction designs that improve upon existing interfaces and are comparable to human-crafted interfaces.


Determinisation of non-deterministic finite automata (NFA) is an important operation not only for optimisation purposes, but also the prerequisite for the complementation operation, which in turn is necessary for creating robust pattern matchers, for example in string replacement and robust parsing. In the paper, we present an efficient parallel determinisation algorithm based on a message-passing graph approach. In a number of experiments on a multicore machine we show that the parallel algorithm behaves very well for acyclic and cyclic NFAs of different sizes, especially in the worst case, where determinisation leads to an exponential blow-up of states.


Bebchuk and Fried propose using a series of auctions to implement a market-based methodology for valuing secured claims in a reorganization. This Article demonstrates their procedure can result in a secured creditor receiving more than its ex ante bargain, and that the probability distribution of possible collateral values can be relevant to fulfilling the ex ante bargain. This Article further develops and examines a refinement of the Bebchuk and Fried procedure that provides an approximate solution to the overcompensation of secured creditors. This refinement reconceptualizes collateral as comprising two components: (i) a call option on that property, exercisable at the time the secured claim would become due, with an exercise price of the amount that would be due on the secured claim at the corresponding time, and (ii) the property subject to that call option. This Article details how revising the Bebchuk and Fried proposal in light of this insight can yield a market-based methodology that produces an approximation of the ex ante bargain.


Soil-bound intensive greenhouse production has been scrutinized for its sustainability due to contamination of ground water by over-fertilization resulting in leaching of nutrients. As environmental guidelines are becoming more restrictive worldwide, and especially in Europe, many greenhouse growers have converted to more sustainable production systems including rockwool culture with recycled water and organic cropping systems in soil. The increase in popularity of organic production systems has amplified the debate whether organically grown produce is healthier than conventional produce. So far, little is known about the variations in fruit quality associated with production systems for greenhouse grown tomatoes. Thus, two organic (organic fertilization with and without straw amendment) and three conventional tomato cropping systems (regular and increased nutrient solution in rockwool and regular fertilization in soil) were compared in order to evaluate differences in nutrient availability and effects on fruit quality over a three-year period. Three modern medium-sized round tomato cultivars and one old cultivar were compared. There were no significant interactions between cropping systems and cultivars, so that main effects of systems and cultivars could be evaluated. Fruit yields in the organic systems were similar to those obtained in the conventional soil-bound system, but 15% lower than in the regular rockwool system, even though nitrogen concentrations in soil were not limiting in any of the production systems. Frequent organic amendments resulted in higher soil NO32− contents in the organic system without straw than in the other soil-bound systems, indicating that the organic systems were not yet stable in terms of nutrient availability after three years. A fruit quality index, based on the contents of compounds such as lycopene, β-carotene and vitamin C, was similar in all cropping systems. The old cultivar had a significantly higher quality index, but a lower yield than the other cultivars. According to this study, high quality tomatoes can be obtained through proper adjustment of the quantity and the source of nitrogen fertilizers in organic and conventional cropping systems and the use of selected cultivars with a high nutrient use efficiency for organic systems.


BACKGROUND
In the absence of major contraindications, treatment guidelines recommend that, following a major traumatic event, all patients receive low molecular weight heparin (e.g. enoxaparin) as thromboprophylaxis for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

OBJECTIVE
To estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness of enoxaparin versus low dose unfractionated heparin (UH) for the prophylaxis of DVT following major trauma.

METHODS
Using probabilistic decision-analytic modeling, we estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness of enoxaparin versus unfractionated heparin for the prophylaxis of DVT following moderate to severe trauma (injury severity score > or = 9) over a life-time time horizon from the perspective of the health care payer. Cost effectiveness was calculated based on both the incremental cost (DeltaC) per DVT averted and the DeltaC per life year gained (LYG).

RESULTS
The incremental cost of enoxaparin relative to UH was C$90, and the incremental effectiveness was 0.085 DVTs averted and -0.13 LYG. This resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of C$1,059 per DVT averted, and the conclusion that UH is the dominant strategy in terms of LYG. In addition to the probabilistic analysis, one-way and two-way sensitivity analysis revealed that the model was most sensitive to variation in the discount rate (3% - 7%), but that UH remained the dominant strategy in terms of life years independent of the parameter estimates.

CONCLUSIONS
Although enoxaparin appears to be a cost-effective alternative when considering the intermediate endpoint of DVTs averted, it may be dominated by UH in terms of LYG due to the higher incidence of major bleeds in patients receiving enoxaparin versus UH.


The number of African penguins Spheniscus demersus breeding in South Africa collapsed from about 56 000 pairs in 2001 to some 21 000 pairs in 2009, a loss of 35 000 pairs (>60%) in eight years. This reduced the global population to 26 000 pairs, when including Namibian breeders, and led to classification of the species as Endangered. In South Africa, penguins breed in two regions, the Western Cape and Algoa Bay (Eastern Cape), their breeding localities in these regions being separated by c. 600 km. Their main food is anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and sardine Sardinops sagax, which are also the target of purse-seine fisheries. In Algoa Bay, numbers of African penguins halved from 21 000 pairs in 2001 to 10 000 pairs in 2003. In the Western Cape, numbers decreased from a mean of 35 000 pairs in 2001–2005 to 11 000 pairs in 2009. At Dassen Island, the annual survival rate of adult penguins decreased from 0.70 in 2002/2003 to 0.46 in 2006/2007; at Robben Island it decreased from 0.77 to 0.55 in the same period. In both the Western and Eastern Cape provinces, long-term trends in numbers of penguins breeding were significantly related to the combined biomass of anchovy and sardine off South Africa. However, recent decreases in the Western Cape were greater than expected given a continuing high abundance of anchovy. In this province, there was a south-east displacement of prey around 2000, which led to a mismatch in the distributions of prey and the western breeding localities of penguins.


This section is primarily concerned with developing the background of the describing function for a single sinusoidal signal and showing how it can be used in the analysis and possibly the design of a nonlinear feedback system. After the definition of the describing function, its value is obtained for several specific nonlinear characteristics and then it is shown how the information can be used to explore the possibility of limit cycles in a nonlinear feedback loop. It is shown how the stability of any limit cycles may be ascertained and two examples of use of the DF in control systems problems are given. Uses of the DF for evaluating the closed loop frequency response and for designing compensators to eliminate limit cycles are discussed. The latter part of the presentation discusses describing functions for other signals, including those consisting of more than one component, and their possible uses in studying some aspects of feedback loop analysis and design.


Nicorandil (SG75) is a potent K+-channel activator with an additional nitro moiety. In the present study we investigated the potential mechanisms (K+-channel activation and nitric oxide [NO] release) for the effects of nicorandil on isolated perfused rat hearts during total global ischemia using 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance. After a 10-min control perfusion, hearts were subjected to treatment with nicorandil-containing (100, 300, or 1000 microM) buffer for 10 min, 15 min of total global ischemia, and 30 min of reperfusion. At high dose (10(-3) M), nicorandil reduced ATP depletion during ischemia by 26% compared with untreated hearts. Blockade of K+ channels by glibenclamide prevented this protective effect. At all doses (10(-4) to 10(-3) M), nicorandil reduced the accumulation of protons during ischemia compared with untreated hearts (pH 6.22 +/- 0.03 vs. 6.02 +/- 0.05 in untreated hearts at the end of ischemia). This effect was preserved after blockade of K+ channels by glibenclamide. Hearts treated with nitroglycerine before ischemia also showed reduced proton accumulation. Therefore, NO release accompanied by increased coronary flow before ischemia, which is caused by the nitro moiety of nicorandil and nitroglycerine treatment, results in reduced proton accumulation. During reperfusion, a pro-arrhythmic effect was observed in hearts treated with the nonpharmacologically high dose of nicorandil (1000 microM). Thus, we conclude that the effects of nicorandil are caused by the simultaneous action of both mechanisms K+-channel activation and NO release. The activation of K+ channels prevents deterioration of ATP during ischemia, whereas NO release and increased coronary flow reduce the accumulation of protons--and thus the decrease in pH--during ischemia.