SUMMARY: This work examines the possible importance of shear-induced diapycnal mixing in controlling the evolution and stability of meanders in oceanic frontal jets. We first review the conditions necessary for vortex stability and investigate how these may be modified in the presence of diapycnal mixing. The procedure used is rather crude but provides a measure of the relative importance of diapycnal mixing. It consists in constructing a simplified equation for the radial velocity that retains the density tendency and examining under what circumstances this velocity may grow in time. Next, we use a simple two-dimensional isopycnic model to examine the intensity of diapycnal mixing in meanders. In the model the alongfront velocity is in geostrophic balance and the ageostrophic contributions are an oscillating deformation field and diapycnal mass exchange. The horizontal deformation field increases the slope of the isopycnals in temporal scales typical of Gulf Stream meanders, causing a reduction of the gradient Richardson number, Ri. The diapycnal flux is calculated as the divergence of the density Reynolds flux, which is parameterized in terms of Ri. The results of the model show that diapycnal mixing increases during the frontogenetical stages, reaching density tendency values of the order of 10 -4 kg m -3 s -1 and convergence/divergence values of the order of 10 -3 s -1 . It turns out that diapycnal mixing in meanders may be intense enough to control the separation and slope of the isopycnals and to condition the possibility of barotropic instability.


Aided by personal documents and institutional archives that were closed for decades, this book recounts the development of physics - or, more aptly, science under stress - in Soviet Russia up to World War II. Focusing on Leningrad, center of Soviet physics until the late 1930s, Josephson discusses the impact of scientific, cultural, and political revolution on physicists' research and professional aspirations. Political and social revolution in Russia threatened to confound the scientific revolution. Physicists eager to investigate new concepts of space, energy, light, and motion were forced to accommodate dialectical materialism and subordinate their interests to those of the state. They ultimately faced Stalinist purges and the shift of physics leadership to Moscow. This account of scientists cut off from their Western colleagues reveals a little-known part of the history of modern physics.


Abstract. A detailed geochemical analysis was performed on the upper part of the Maiolica Formation in the Breggia (southern Switzerland) and Capriolo sections (northern Italy). The analysed sediments consist of well-bedded, partly siliceous, pelagic carbonate, which lodges numerous thin, dark and organic-rich layers. Stable-isotope, phosphorus, organic-carbon and a suite of redox-sensitive trace-element contents (RSTE: Mo, U, Co, V and As) were measured. The RSTE pattern and Corg:Ptot ratios indicate that most organic-rich layers were deposited under dysaerobic rather than anaerobic conditions and that latter conditions were likely restricted to short intervals in the latest Hauterivian, the early Barremian and the pre-Selli early Aptian. Correlations are both possible with organic-rich intervals in central Italy (the Gorgo a Cerbara section) and the Boreal Lower Saxony Basin, as well as with the facies and drowning pattern in the Helvetic segment of the northern Tethyan carbonate platform. Our data and correlations suggest that the latest Hauterivian witnessed the progressive installation of dysaerobic conditions in the Tethys, which went along with the onset in sediment condensation, phosphogenesis and platform drowning on the northern Tethyan margin, and which culminated in the Faraoni anoxic episode. This episode is followed by further episodes of dysaerobic conditions in the Tethys and the Lower Saxony Basin, which became more frequent and progressively stronger in the late early Barremian. Platform drowning persisted and did not halt before the latest early Barremian. The late Barremian witnessed diminishing frequencies and intensities in dysaerobic conditions, which went along with the progressive installation of the Urgonian carbonate platform. Near the Barremian-Aptian boundary, the increasing density in dysaerobic episodes in the Tethyan and Lower Saxony Basins is paralleled by a change towards heterozoan carbonate production on the northern Tethyan shelf. The following return to more oxygenated conditions is correlated with the second phase of Urgonian platform growth and the period immediately preceding and corresponding to the Selli anoxic episode is characterised by renewed platform drowning and the change to heterozoan carbonate production. Changes towards more humid climate conditions were the likely cause for the repetitive installation of dys- to anaerobic conditions in the Tethyan and Boreal basins and the accompanying changes in the evolution of the carbonate platform towards heterozoan carbonate-producing ecosystems and platform drowning.


The shell-type supernova remnant (SNR) RCW 86, possibly associated with the historical supernova SN 185, with its relatively large size (about 40′ in diameter) and the presence of nonthermal X-rays is a promising target for γ-ray observations. The high sensitivity, good angular resolution of a few arcminutes and the large field of view of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) make it ideally suited for the study of γ-ray morphology of such extended sources. HESS observations have indeed led to the discovery of the SNR RCW 86 in very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ-rays. With 31 hr of observation time, the source is detected with a statistical significance of 8.5σ and is significantly more extended than the HESS point-spread function. Morphological studies have been performed and show that the γ-ray flux does not correlate perfectly with the X-ray emission. The flux from the remnant is ∼10% of the flux from the Crab nebula, with a similar photon index of about 2.5. Possible origins of the VHE γ-ray emission, via either Inverse Compton scattering by electrons or the decay of neutral pions produced by proton interactions, are discussed on the basis of spectral features obtained both in the X-ray and γ-ray regimes.


Naturally occurring canine osteoarthritis represents a welfare issue for affected dogs (Canis familiaris), but is also considered very similar to human osteoarthritis and has therefore been proposed as a model of disease in humans. Central sensitisation is recognized in human osteoarthritis sufferers but identification in dogs is challenging. Electromyographic measurement of responses to nociceptive stimulation represents a potential means of investigating alterations in central nociceptive processing, and has been evaluated in conscious experimental dogs, but is likely to be aversive. Development of a suitable anaesthetic protocol in experimental dogs, which facilitated electrophysiological nociceptive withdrawal reflex assessment, may increase the acceptability of using the technique in owned dogs with naturally occurring osteoarthritis. Seven purpose bred male hound dogs underwent electromyographic recording sessions in each of three states: acepromazine sedation, alfaxalone sedation, and alfaxalone anaesthesia. Electromyographic responses to escalating mechanical and electrical, and repeated electrical, stimuli were recorded. Subsequently the integral of both early and late rectified responses was calculated. Natural logarithms of the integral values were analysed within and between the three states using multi level modeling. Alfaxalone increased nociceptive thresholds and decreased the magnitude of recorded responses, but characteristics of increasing responses with increasing stimulus magnitude were preserved. Behavioural signs of anxiety were noted in two out of seven dogs during recordings in the acepromazine sedated state. There were few significant differences in response magnitude or nociceptive threshold between the two alfaxalone states. Following acepromazine premedication, induction of anaesthesia with 1–2 mg kg-1 alfaxalone, followed by a continuous rate infusion in the range 0.075–0.1 mg kg-1 min-1 produced suitable conditions to enable assessment of spinal nociceptive processing in dogs, without subjecting them to potentially aversive experiences. This methodology may be appropriate for obtaining electrophysiological nociceptive withdrawal reflex data in client-owned dogs with naturally occurring osteoarthritis.


Consider a Hamiltonian system that consists of a slow subsystem S and a fast subsystem F. The autonomous dynamics of S is driven by an effective Hamiltonian, but its thermodynamics is unexpected. We show that a well-defined thermodynamic arrow of time (second law) emerges for S whenever there is a well-defined causal arrow from S to F and the back-action is negligible. This is because the back-action of F on S is described by a non-globally Hamiltonian Born–Oppenheimer term that violates the Liouville theorem, and makes the second law inapplicable to S. If S and F are mixing, under the causal arrow condition they are described by microcanonical distributions P(S) and P(S|F). Their structure supports a causal inference principle proposed recently in machine learning.


Every year 2800 deaths in Pacific island countries result from diarrhoea, and most are children under five years of age. These tragic diarrheal deaths are preventable as they are often linked to unsafe water, lack of proper sanitation facilities and poor hygienic practices. Effective preventive management through the framework of a drinking Water Safety Plan (WSP) is an efficient mechanism for ensuring the safe quality of drinking water thereby reducing the burden of water related diseases. The large proportion (81%) of people in Pacific island countries living in rural or outer island communities mostly have their own water supply (for example rainwater tanks or hand-dug wells), and often the water is consumed untreated. The remoteness and isolation of these rural communities prevent national surveillance authorities to regularly visit and provide advice on drinking water safety issues. In such circumstances empowering rural communities to ensure the safety of their drinking water, through trained local facilitators, could be promoted and utilised effectively. However, WSPs for rural communities have to be relatively simple hence tools such as modified sanitary inspections and the presence/absence hydrogen sulfide test could be used. The approach of empowering communities through trained local facilitators to promote the WSP framework has been implemented in the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI). Positive feedback has been received by trained facilitators in RMI on the use of modified sanitary inspections (translated into Marshallese) and the hydrogen sulfide test. It is believed that the approach of empowering communities on WSPs through training local facilitators and equipping them with the above mentioned simple tools is effective and has potential for further replication in rural Pacific communities to improve drinking water quality and reduce the burden of water related diseases.


The authors discuss the challenging aspects of the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children and adolescents, since there is no gold standard for its diagnosis. The different clinical and radiological presentations and the low bacteriological positivity of tuberculosis in childhood are grounds for confrontation to the present. Immunological tests called inter‐ feron gamma release assays (IGRAs) failed to overcome the tuberculin skin test in prac‐ tice. Advances with nucleic acid amplification tests, on the other hand, have contributed to the diagnosis of tuberculosis among adolescents. Standardized systems for diagnosis can be useful as tools for screening or for decision‐making in childhood tuberculosis.


Java is a powerful language for cross-platform, object-oriented application programming. It can be found in many types of applications such as standalone, web, enterprise, and mobile. Advanced Java Programming is a higher level study of many advanced Java topics including JDBC, RMI, EIO, collections, assertions, logging, and concurrency. This advanced course by seasoned Java Developer David Saenz will demonstrate the power of Java and how to implement cutting edge apps that can perform well in mission critical applications. Source code is included. To begin learning today, simply click on the movie links.


An ethological investigation was made on a group of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago. Focal animal sampling and all-occurrences sampling were used to collect data during the months ofJune and July 2000. Qualitative observations were made of the general behavioral patterns of the group, which included feeding and drinking behavior, resting, sleeping, nest construction, grooming behavior, group behavior, dominance hierarchies, zoo-keeper and public oriented behavior, and behavior in novel stimuli situations. Except for female dominance hierarchies, all behavioral patterns were found to be similar to those reported for feral gorillas. The primary focus of this study was on play behavior in infant western lowland gorillas. Play was categorized into three types: solitary play, social play, and mother infant play. In my study group, age, gender, and type of rearing had no influence on the percentage of time spent by each individual in these three play categories. All of the infants spent most of their time engaged in solitary play and social play. Mother-infant play was found to be almost non-existent by the time a gorilla infant reached two years of age. Social play peaked during the early afternoon and consisted mainly of contact play. Infants spent a greater amount of time engaged in object play, as compared to locomotor and self-directed play.


Daily crop water uptake was simulated using algorithms from three crop simulation models, CropSyst, CERES, and EPIC (listed in order of decreasing process detail). Simulated results were compared with measurements of sap flow and soil water content for maize (Zea mays L.) growing at Prosser, WA, under a wet and a dry irrigation treatment, and with soil water content measurements for nonirrigated maize at Davis, CA. At Prosser, the dry treatment imposed only a mild stress; at Davis, the stress was severe. Simulation variables such as maximum crop evapotranspiration, root density by soil layer, and green leaf area index were provided as daily input. At Prosser, all algorithms performed similarly when simulating crop water uptake. For the wet treatment, the root mean square error (RMSE) was 0.27 to 0.28 mm d -1 , and the relative error IRE = 100 (RMSE/Measured average)] was 7.0 to 7.2%. For the dry treatment, simulation accuracy decreased (RMSE = 0.33-0.38 mm d -1 ; RE = 9.0-10.5%). The time evolution of water uptake simulated by CropSyst better depicted the measured sap flow (water uptake) difference between wet and dry treatments. Simulations of soil water content by layer for the wet treatment, compared with measurements available for 17 d, yielded RMSEs from 0.022 to 0.024 m 3 m -3 and REs from 8.5 to 9.2%. For the dry treatment (12 d of measurements), the best simulations were obtained with the water uptake algorithms from CropSyst and CERES, with RMSE = 0.015 m 3 m -3 (both models) and RE = 6.4% (CropSyst) and 6.6% (CERES), compared with RMSE = 0.019 m 3 m -3 and RE = 8.1% for EPIC. Under the severe water stress at Davis, CropSyst had the best performance. This algorithm simulated changes in soil water content by layer (8 d of measurements available) with RMSE of 0.011 m 3 m -3 and RE of 5.0%, while the RMSE and RE values for CERES and EPIC were 0.016 and 0.019 m 3 m -3 and 7.6 and 9.0%, respectively. The more process-oriented algorithm (CropSyst) showed an increasing advantage as water stress severity increased. The EPIC algorithm had the poorest performance under water stress. This could be improved by modifying the value of the water extraction distribution parameter in EPIC, but with this change the wet treatment simulations at Prosser deteriorated substantially, indicative of limitations in EPIC's simple approach.


Satellite stereo imagery is becoming a popular data source for derivation of height information. Many new Digital Surface Model (DSM) generation and evaluation methods have been proposed based on these data. A novel Digital Terrain Model (DTM) extraction method based on the DSM from satellite stereo imagery is proposed in this paper. Instead of directly filtering the DSM, firstly a single channel based classification method is proposed. In this step, no multi-spectral information is used, because for some stereo sensors, like Cartosat-1, only panchromatic channels are available. The proposed classification method adopts the random forests method to get initial probability maps of the four main classes in forest regions (high-forest, low-forest, ground, and buildings). To cover the pepper and salt effect of this pixel based classification method, the probability maps are further filtered based on the adaptive Wiener filtering. Then a cube-based greedy strategy is applied in generating the final classification map from these refined probability maps. Secondly, the height distances between neighboring regions are calculated along the boundary regions. These height distances can be used to estimate the relative region heights. Thirdly, the DTM is extracted by subtracting these relative region heights from the DSM in the order of: buildings - low forest - high forest. In the end, the extracted DTM is further smoothed using median filter. The proposed DTM extraction method is finally tested on satellite stereo imagery captured by Cartosat-1. Quality evaluation is performed by comparing the extracted DTMs to a reference DTM, which is generated from the last return airborne laser scanning point cloud.


This paper reports the findings of a multidisciplinary design workshop with the aim of improving the collaboration between architects and civil engineers in choosing an appropriate structural system configuration for a design project. The workshop was conducted with the participation of undergraduate students of architecture and civil engineering at the Istanbul Kultur University who were asked to work together in selecting an appropriate structural system configuration of a simple reinforced concrete residential dwelling. The participants were asked to experiment with various design options and to evaluate the implications of their design decisions on the overall cost and constructability of the design project. IdeCAD Structural for structural design and IdeCAD Architectural for architectural design, were selected as the software for design collaboration due to the ease of exchanging information, the ability of checking designs according to Turkish design codes and the similarities in the user interfaces.


In the present world, modern power system networks, being a complicated combination of generators, transmission lines, transformers, circuit breakers and other devices, are more vulnerable to various types of faults causing stability problems. Among these faults, transient fault is believed to be a major disturbance as it causes large damage to a sound system within a certain period of time. Therefore, the protection against transient faults, better known as transient stability control is one of the major considerations for the power system engineers. This paper presents the control approach in the transmission line during transient faults by means of Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) in order to stabilize Single Machine Infinite Bus (SMIB) system.  In this paper, SSSC is represented by variable voltage injection associated with the transformer leakage reactance and the voltage source. The comparative results depict that the swing curve of a system increases monotonically after the occurrence of transient faults However, SSSC is effective enough to make it stable after a while.


Vietnam faces a number of important environmental and resource issues including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and water and air pollution. In developing countries the conflict between growth and protecting the environment is particularly acute. This paper provides an overview of existing agri-environmental policies and institutions in Vietnam. It then analyses policy instruments that have been employed to reduce pesticide pollution and discusses the factors affecting the magnitude of transaction costs associated with those policies. A major factor is the large number of microenterprises involved, both farms and input suppliers.


Using the Viet Nam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) with a panel of households present from 2008 to 2016, the study investigates the impact of social capital on household vulnerability.The empirical results indicate that both commune shocks and household shocks are associated with the higher likelihood of having state-run group memberships, except for the case of the political party. Group membership is also strongly influenced by a number of household characteristics. Most importantly, participation in local organizations could reduce both households' probability of being poor and the utility loss caused by covariate risks.In addition, social capital shows its influence on some intermediate factors, which in turn contribute to the lower vulnerability at the household level. While participation in the Women Union or the Farmer Union reinforces the households' ability to overcome negative shocks, the memberships of the Communist Party and the Farmer Union are associated with a higher level of saving. Members of the Communist Party are more likely to possess insurance, and members of the Women Union and the Farmer Union have better access to general information.The findings imply that poverty reduction policies in rural Viet Nam should consider the role of social capital, especially in the forms of group participation, as an effective informal coping strategy.


This paper investigates group/team development in computer engineering courses at a University in the Central USA from the perspective of organization behavior theory, specifically Tuckman's model of the stages of group development. The investigation, conducted through linguistic analysis of student reflection essays, and through focus group interviews, also presents STEM education researchers with a method to obtain nuanced information about interpersonal skills issues such as how groups and teams function. A third contribution of the paper is a review of the organizational behavior literature on teams and groups with a concern for its application to modern engineering education.


Books on driving would seem to be a useful way by which learner drivers or those who have passed their l-test could increase their knowledge about driving. Early in 1980, a check made among 191 newsagents and bookshops that sell books on driving or motorcycling showed that the highway code was very generally available; the Department of Transport's manual "Driving" was the most commonly available of the books on driving which go into this in more detail than the highway code. An enquiry in June 1980 about the use of the highway code showed that 45 per cent of 1043 drivers had read or referred to it during the previous 12 months, 73 per cent of drivers had a copy of it and 22 per cent of drivers had the latest edition which was published in March 1978. (Author/TRRL)


The purpose of this research is to quantify the impact of economic uncertainty shocks in Spain by using an SVAR approach with sign restrictions with data from January 2001 to June 2018. Specifically, we analyze temporary and persistent economic uncertainty shocks. Furthermore, we isolate the uncertainty shocks whose origin is only politic to identify potential differences in the effects of the uncertainty according to its origin. Our results suggest that positive shocks to economic and political uncertainty lead to an increase in unemployment and a fall in consumer confidence, business confidence, IBEX 35 Index and industrial production. Moreover, these negative effects of uncertainty remain for a long-time horizon, especially for the case of industrial production and unemployment. According to these results, we can conclude that economic uncertainty shocks have a significant negative impact on the Spanish economy.


Knut Schmidt–Nielsen, born in Trondheim, Norway, was the leading comparative physiologist of the second half of the twentieth century. He played a key role in the transformation of what, in the first half of the century, had been a well–regarded but essentially local approach to the subject begun by his mentor, August Krogh, into what is now an established, worldwide field. He was a pioneer in integratingfield and laboratory measurements and in recognizing the intimate relationship between an animal's environment and its physiological adaptations. He greatly broadened and provided perhaps the best support for Krogh's notion that mechanisms could often be best illuminated by shrewd choice of experimental material, in particular by using animals in which a particular function met an especially strong challenge. He also drew attention to the way in which the pattern of variation of some feature or function varied withsize—'scaling'—could be used as yet another tool for elucidating function. He began work that integrated animal locomotion and physiology, recognizing that locomotion typically represented an extreme challenge for physiological systems. More than any other person, he changed the way in which physiology is taught to undergraduates in the USA and elsewhere: from a human–oriented perspective derived from its origin in medicine to a comparative outlook compatible with the rest of biology.


On what grounds does the law punish attempted offenses? The dominant answer is that the law punishes attempts to commit an offense precisely because they are attempts (extra-legally), and it is true as a general moral principle that if one should not X, one should not attempt to X. If this is right, then the proper contours of the law of attempts should track the contours of what are attempts (extra-legally). At least to a first approximation, that is, law should track metaphysics. Call this the "Attempt Theory" of attempt liability. Gideon Yaffe's recent book, "Attempts," is a rigorous and philosophically sophisticated critical analysis of attempt law predicated on just this foundational assumption — the assumption, to repeat, that attempts to commit an offense should be criminalized because they are attempts as a pre-legal or extra-legal matter. However, there is another possible answer to the question. Possibly, those things that are in fact attempts are properly criminalized not because they are attempts, but because the best reasons for criminalizing the complete or "perfect" offense are also good reasons to criminalize this conduct, and there are no compelling reasons, of policy or justice, not to. We can call this the "Underlying Reasons Theory" of attempt liability. The Underlying Reasons Theory does recognize that there are things in the world that are attempts and that one who attempts to do what the criminal law forbids should be punished. It just maintains that the fact that an actor attempted to commit an offense is not, strictly speaking, what justifies our punishing her. This short review of Yaffe's book explicates the difference between the Attempt Theory and the Underlying Reasons Theory as approaches to criminal liability for what we presently call "attempts." In a nutshell: paradigmatic attempts would be criminalized on both accounts, but the Underlying Reasons Theory is likely to endorse criminalization of some conduct that the Attempts Theory would not. This paper advocates the Underlying Reasons Theory and argues that we can and should assess the proper scope of "attempt law" without working through the metaphysics of attempts.


International migration flows largely reflect demographic patterns and economic opportunities. Migration flows increase in expected income and other pull factors in potential destinations, and in push factors in the origin, like high unemployment, low wages, and high population growth. Migration flows decrease in the geographic and cultural distance between the potential origin and destination, and in other migration costs. To the extent that migrants are employed, immigration can alleviate challenges arising from population aging. For origin countries, the effects of migration may go either way, depending on whether increased incentives to invest in education are sufficient to compensate the loss of skilled workers. Throughout the 20th century, Northern America and Australia and New Zealand attracted highest immigration flows. Latin America was consistently a continent of emigration. Europe went through a major reversal from a continent of emigration until 1950s to a continent of immigration. In the 21st century, crucial questions for demographic and migration research are how fertility rate and emigration rate are going to develop in Africa. Even modest increases in emigration from Africa would generate major increases in immigration pressure in the rest of the world, mostly in Europe. Other major questions on the future research agenda are the effects of the climate change and rapid improvements in information technology.


In the current report, a preliminary observation to study the adverse effects of the broad use acaricides fipronil (FPN) in rabbits infested with Psoroptes cuniculi. Two separate groups (5 rabbits/each) treated topically (poured on at the base of the neck) with fipronil 5%, 1 vial/ 10 kilogram body weight (kg bw) and 1 vial/ 5 kg bw. After FPN spot on application, rabbits in both groups examined microscopically on the 7th, 14th, and 28th day post treatment and the number of live mites (larvae, nymphs, and adults) on each rabbit counted at the end of the experiment (28th day). The results showed that the number of mites in rabbits topically treated with FPN did not show significant decrease, moreover a decrease in both treated rabbits body weight (bw) and in performance observed clearly, with some attendant mortality. In conclusion, this work showed that FPN was with limited efficacy on P. cuniculi and had some undesirable side effects. Further and in-depth studies on FPN toxicity in rabbits and other animals are necessary.


Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a cytokine that promotes eosinophil survival, maturation, and function. Factors, such as hyaluronic acid, that stimulate production of this cytokine are increased in asthmatic lung, as is the abundance of eosinophils. Eosinophils from asthmatic patients also exhibit elevated GM-CSF. Shen et al. show that Pin1, a peptidyl-prolyl isomerase specific for bonds between phosphorylated Ser-Pro or phosphorylated Thr-Pro, is part of a ribonucleoprotein complex that regulates the stability of GM-CSF mRNA. Pharmacological inhibition of Pin1 with juglone prevented increased mRNA abundance in and secretion of GM-CSF from isolated eosinophils in response to hyaluronic acid. The increase in GM-CSF mRNA was due to increased stability, not increased transcription. Pin1 coimmunoprecipitated with all four subunits of the AU-rich binding protein AUF1 (p45, p42, p40, and p37), of which p45 and p40 each have a potential Pin1 isomerization site. Hyaluronic acid triggered the dissociation of AUF1 from GM-CSF mRNA and the association of hnRNP C with GM-CSF mRNA, but only under conditions in which Pin1 was active. Hyaluronic acid stimulated the dephosphorylation of Pin1, which increased the activity of Pin1, and stimulated the phosphorylation of AUF1. In resting cells, the p37 subunit of AUF1 and Pin1 immunoprecipitated with the exosome-associated protein PM-Scl175, and hyaluronic acid decreased the association of p37 with the exosome. (The exosome is a complex associated with AU-rich mRNA decay.) Juglone blocked the prolonged survival observed for eosinophils isolated from allergen-challenged allergic donor patients, verifying the importance of Pin1 in vivo. The model for Pin1 in mRNA stability is as follows: In resting cells, Pin1 is inactive and the AUF1 complex recruits the exosome to decrease GM-CSF mRNA stability (see Anderson). Upon stimulation, Pin1 becomes dephosphorylated and AUF1 subunits are phosphorylated, leading to the release of the AUF1 complex from the mRNA and the binding of the hnRNP C, which promotes mRNA stability and allows increased production of the GM-CSF protein. Z.-J. Shen, S. Esnault, J. S. Malter, The peptidyl-prolyl isomerase Pin1 regulates the stability of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor mRNA in activated eosinophils. Nat. Immunol. 6, 1280-1287 (2005). [PubMed] P. Anderson, Pin1: A proline isomerase that makes you wheeze? Nat. Immunol. 6, 1211-1212 (2005). [Online Journal]


In this paper, we summarize the new development of hardware-acceler ation techniques and a parallel conformal Finite Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method in computational electromagnetics engineering. We investigate the performance of a parallel conformal FDTD method on different hardware platforms, such as Intel and AMD processors, with vector-arithmeti c logic unit (VALU) acceleration, a regular PC clu ster, a high-performance server cluster, the use of a graphics-process ing unit (GPU), and an IBM CELL processor. The FDTD method, which is parallel in nature, is one of the best candidate numerical methods for using multiple-core processors and computer clusters to efficiently simulate various electromagnetic problems. Several representative examples, such as a UWB (ultra-wideband) antenna array and reflector antennas, are employed to demoRstrate the engineering applications of the parallel conformal FDTD method.


Bitwidth optimization of FPGA datapaths can save hardware resources by choosing the fewest number of bits required for each datapath variable to achieve a desired quality of result. However, it is an NP-hard problem that requires unacceptably long runtimes when using sequential CPU-based heuristics. We show how to parallelize the key steps of bitwidth optimization on the GPU by performing a fast brute-force search over a carefully constrained search space. We develop a high-level synthesis methodology suitable for rapid prototyping of bitwidth-annotated RTL code generation using gcc's GIMPLE backend. For range analysis, we perform parallel evaluation of sub-intervals to provide tighter bounds compared to ordinary interval arithmetic. For bitwidth allocation, we enumerate the different bitwidth combinations in parallel by assigning each combination to a GPU thread. We demonstrate up to 10?1000x speedups for range analysis and 50?200x speedups for bitwidth allocation when comparing NVIDIA K20 GPU implementation to an Intel Core i5-4570 CPU while maintaining identical solution quality across various benchmarks. This allows us to generate tailor-made RTL with minimum bitwidths in hundreds of milliseconds instead of hundreds of minutes when starting from high-level C descriptions of dataflow computations.


For offhsore oil production in water depths beyond 300-350 m, the tension leg platform (TLP) has become an increasingly popular design concept. The TLP is a floating structure with excess buoyancy, anchored to the sea bottom with tethers. Natural periods of the TLP are typically around 1-2 minutes for horizontal (slow-drift) motions, and about 2-4 seconds for vertical (springing) modes. These periods avoid most first-order wave energy. Nonlinear effects, however, give additional forces at sums and differences of wave frequencies. The sum-frequency terms drive resonant springing response, while difference frequencies control slow drift motions. The authors focus in the paper on tether fatigue problems due to springing.


NaCl-induced and -repressed cDNA clones had previously been isolated by differential screening of a cDNA library, prepared from poly(A(^+)) RNA isolated from Distichlis spicata (salt grass) cell cultures grown in the presence of 260 mM NaCl (Zhao, et al., 1989). Eight of these cDNA clones have now been subcloned and/or sequenced and the predicted polypeptides compared with owl sequence data base. Three clones pDZ6.2, pDZVIII 1.2.1 and pDZIX 3.1 encode proline rich proteins, containing an amino acid repeat [PPKKDH(H)Y(Y)]. They have similar amino acid usage to proline-rich cell wall proteins, being rich in P, K, H and Y. The first 20 amino acid residues encode a putative leader sequence, supporting the proposed extracellular role as a cell wall protein. This N-terminal sequence (MPLLVALLLVLAVVAAAGAD) shares some similarity with die leader sequence of a soyabean proline-rich cell wall protein precursor and other extracellular proteins (the conserved residues are underlined). There is an increase in abundance of transcripts hybridising to the inserts from pDZ6.2 and pDZVUI 1.2.1 in response to either 520 mM NaCl or 100 µM ABA, but a decrease in response to 5 mM exogenous proline. It is suggested that the corresponding gene(s) are regulated at the level of either transcription or transcript stability, in response to elevated NaCl, with ABA as a mediator of (or part of) tills response. pDZ6.2 and pDZXI 3.1 have identical nucleotide sequences, whilst pDZVni 1.2.1 differs in three base paks within the putative open reading frame, suggesting that there may be at least two members of a multi gene family. A 68 bp OA repeat has been found in the 5' untranslated region of pDZ6.2 and a corresponding transcript identified by northern analysis using this OA sequence as a probe. Such nucleotide repeats can form triplexes (DNA) or hakpin loops (RNA), which is dependent on pH and ionic conditions. Therefore this OA repeat may play a role in the regulation of the gene corresponding to pDZ6.2 at the level of transcription or translation, possibly by attenuation of these processes, either by the formation of triplexes or hah-pins, or the binding of a protein to this GA region, at low ionic strength. However initial in vitro ttanscription experiments, to compare the transcriptional activity of pDZ6.2 and pDZVin 5.1.1 at different ionic strengths, proved inconclusive. An attempt was also made to identify the corresponding genomic region from D. spicata by anchored PGR.A fourth clone pDZ2.8L encodes a histone 2B protein, having 97.9% similarity to a wheat histone 2B. Its transcript abundance decreased in response to either 520 mM NaCl, 5 mM proline or 100 µM ABA. The sequences of the remaining clones either revealed no significant similarity to any known sequences or were assigned as being cloning artefacts .D. spicata cells accumulate proline within eight hours of exposure to 260 mM NaCl (Heyser, et al., 1989b). An unsuccessful attempt was also made to isolate a pyrroline-5- carboxylate reductase gene homologue from D. spicata, by heterologous probing of Southern blots with a soyabean cDNA pProCl and PCR.


This paper examines the interactions between disease and malnutrition using cross-section data on pre-school children from a low-income area of Karachi. A simultaneous equations model is utilized in the study, the endogenous variables being the number of spells of diarrhoea and respiratory illness reported by the childrens' mothers during the preceding six months (measure of disease) and three alternative measures of malnutrition. The exogenous variables in the model include parents' schooling, weekly food expenditures, age and sex of the child, length of breastfeeding and other dietary measures, immunizations, sanitation practices and housing characteristics. The results of the study indicate that there is, in fact, a high positive correlation between the incidence of disease and malnutrition but that, contrary to what is widely believed, the direction of causality appears to run primarily from malnutrition to disease, rather than vice-versa. The study's findings also indicate that neither the level of family food expenditures nor the education of either parent is significantly related either to the child's nutritional status or to the frequency of illness. On the other hand, the results point to the possible importance of the mother's own health and of infant feeding practices as determinants of the child's nutritional status.


Within the rosid order Malpighiales, Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae (1) are strongly supported as sisters in molecular phylogenetic studies and possibly form a clade with either Ctenolophonaceae (2) or with Linaceae, Irvingiaceae and Caryocaraceae (less well supported) (3). In order to assess the validity of these relationships from a floral structural point of view, these families are comparatively studied for the first time in terms of their floral morphology, anatomy and histology. Overall floral structure reflects the molecular results quite well and Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae are well supported as closely related. Ctenolophonaceae share some unusual floral features (potential synapomorphies) with Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae. In contrast, Linaceae, Irvingiaceae and Caryocaraceae are not clearly supported as a clade, or as closely related to Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae, as their shared features are probably mainly symplesiomorphies at the level of Malpighiales or a (still undefined) larger subclade of Malpighales, rather than synapomorphies. Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae share (among other features) conduplicate petals enwrapping stamens in bud, antepetalous stamens longer than antesepalous ones, a nectariferous androecial tube with attachment of the two stamen whorls at different positions: one whorl on the rim, the other below the rim of the tube, the ovary shortly and abruptly dorsally bulged and the presence of a layer of idioblasts (laticifers?) in the sepals and ovaries. Ctenolophonaceae share with Rhizophoraceae and/or Erythroxylaceae (among other features) sepals with less than three vascular traces, a short androgynophore, an ovary septum thin and severed or completely disintegrating during development, leading to a developmentally secondarily unilocular ovary, a zigzag-shaped micropyle and seeds with an aril. Special features occurring in families of all three groupings studied here are, for example, synsepaly, petals not retarded and thus forming protective organs in floral bud, petals postgenitally fused or hooked together in bud, androecial tube and petals fusing above floral base, androecial corona, apocarpous unifacial styles, nucellus thin and long, early disintegrating (before embryo sac is mature), and nectaries on the androecial tube. Some of these features may be synapomorphies for the entire group, if it forms a supported clade in future molecular studies, or for subgroups thereof. Others may be plesiomorphies, as they also occur in other Malpighiales or also in Celastrales or Oxalidales (COM clade). The occurrence of these features within the COM clade is also discussed.


Abstract. The particle number size distribution is an important parameter to characterize the atmospheric aerosol and its influence on the Earth's climate. Here we describe a new optical particle size spectrometer (OPSS) for measurements of the accumulation mode particle number size distribution in the tropopause region on board a passenger aircraft (IAGOS-CARIBIC observatory: In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System – Civil Aircraft for Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container). A modified KS93 particle sensor from RION Co., Ltd., together with a new airflow system and a dedicated data acquisition system, is the key component of the CARIBIC OPSS. The instrument records individual particle pulse signal curves in the particle size range 130–1110 nm diameter (for a particle refractive index of 1.47-i0.006) together with a time stamp and thus allows the post-flight choice of the time resolution and the size distribution bin width. The CARIBIC OPSS has a 50 % particle detection diameter of 152 nm and a maximum asymptotic counting efficiency of 98 %. The instrument's measurement performance shows no pressure dependency and no particle coincidence for free tropospheric conditions. The size response function of the CARIBIC OPSS was obtained by a polystyrene latex calibration in combination with model calculations. Particle number size distributions measured with the new OPSS in the lowermost stratosphere agreed within a factor of 2 in concentration with balloon-borne measurements over western North America. Since June 2010 the CARIBIC OPSS is deployed once per month in the IAGOS-CARIBIC observatory.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Gastric residual volume is considered as an important parameter for gastric emptying and feeding tolerance. This volume is measured before each time of feeding and it has direct effect on the volume and time of the next feeding. Ginger is one of the medicinal plants that have effect on gastric emptying rate. This study aims to compare the effect of erythromycin and ginger extract on gastric residual volume in patients receiving enteral nutrition order in the intensive care unit. METHODS: This randomized clinical trial was conducted among 74 patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Patients were fed with similar nutrition formula every 3 hours for 24 hours. Before each gavage feeding, the gastric residual volume of patients was aspirated and recorded. The gastric residual volume of 28 patients (more than 200 cc) was allocated to one of the groups of erythromycin (n = 13) and ginger (n = 15). Patients were fed with 2.5 mg/kg erythromycin in 4 divided doses or 2 grams per day ginger extract in 4 divided doses. The gastric residual volume was recorded for 4 consecutive days and the data obtained from the two groups were compared (IRCT: 201505257494N13). FINDINGS: The mean difference of gastric residual volume in erythromycin group was 111.71±7.04 cc before the intervention and 4 days after that, which was not statistically significant. This difference was 108.61±11.47 cc in ginger group. Results demonstrated that mean gastric residual volume in erythromycin and ginger groups were 98.52±27.88 cc and 95.71±18.91 cc, respectively during the first 4 days and there was not a statistically significant difference between these two groups. CONCLUSION: Results of the study demonstrated that the effect of ginger is very similar to erythromycin. Therefore, ginger can be a proper substitute for erythromycin to prevent increased gastric residual volume in patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit.


Code bloat, the excessive increase of code size, is an important issue in Genetic Programming (GP). This paper proposes a theoretical analysis of code bloat in the framework of symbolic regression in GP, from the viewpoint of Statistical Learning Theory, a well grounded mathematical toolbox for Machine Learning. Two kinds of bloat must be distinguished in that context, depending whether the target function lies in the search space or not. Then, important mathematical results are proved using classical results from Statistical Learning. Namely, the Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension of programs is computed, and further results from Statistical Learning allow to prove that a parsimonious fitness ensures Universal Consistency (the solution minimizing the empirical error does converge to the best possible error when the number of examples goes to infinity). However, it is proved that the standard method consisting in choosing a maximal program size depending on the number of examples might still result in programs of infinitely increasing size with their accuracy; a more complicated modification of the fitness is proposed that theoretically avoids unnecessary bloat while nevertheless preserving the Universal Consistency.


Investigations of skeletal remains from key archaeological sites reveal new data and offer insights on prehistoric life and health in the Southeast.The shift from foraging to farming had important health consequences for prehistoric peoples, but variations in health existedwithin communities that had made this transition. This new collection draws on the rich bioarchaeological record of the Southeastern United States to explore variability in health and behavior within the age of agriculture. It offers new perspectives on human adaptation to various geographic and cultural landscapes across the entire Southeast, from Texas to Virginia, and presents new data from both classic and little-known sites.The contributors question the reliance on simple cause-and-effect relationships in human health and behavior by addressing such key bioarchaeological issues as disease history and epidemiology, dietary composition and sufficiency, workload stress, patterns of violence, mortuary practices, and biological consequences of European contact. They also advance our understanding of agriculture by showing that uses of maize were more varied than has been previously supposed.Representing some of the best work being done today by physical anthropologists, this volume provides new insights into human adaptation for both archaeologists and osteologists. It attests to the heterogeneous character of Southeastern societies during the late prehistoric and early historic periods while effectively detailing the many factors that have shaped biocultural evolution.Contributors include: Patricia S. Bridges, Elizabeth Monaham Driscoll, Debra L. Gold, Dale L. Hutchinson, Keith P. Jacobi, Patricia M. Lambert, Clark Spencer Larsen, Lynette Norr, Mary Lucas Powell, Marianne Reeves, Lisa Sattenspiel, Margaret J. Schoeninger, Mark R. Schurr, Leslie E. Sering, David S. Weaver, and Matthew A. Williamson


Research suggests that parents' feeding practices play a critical role in the development of children's tastes, eating habits, nutrition and eventual weight status. Thus if parental feeding practices play such a critical role, the question arises as to whether there is a difference in parental feeding practices that determine different developments in children's nutritional habits. Furthermore, feeding practices are possibly based on the nutritional knowledge of parents. The aim of this study was to assess the Body Mass Index (BMI), nutritional knowledge and behaviour of primary care-givers. This study followed the quantitative research paradigm. A sample of 147 staff members, who were primary caregivers of children at a University in the Western Cape was self-selected to participate in the study. Only primary care-givers of children were invited to participate. The primary care-givers were asked to complete two online questionnaires, the Comprehensive Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFPQ) developed by MusherE-Eisenman and Holub (2007), and the General Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ) for adults. Data analysis was done by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 17). Results indicated that the majority of participants were overweight (46% of the participants). Primary care-givers across all body mass index groups did not lack nutritional knowledge but variations in behaviour were found with regard to feeding practices. However similarities were found in the BMI categories in the areas of teaching about nutrition, pressure to eat at meal times and encouraging balance and variety.


We consider a modified version of the situation calculus built using a two-variable fragment of the first-order logic extended with counting quantifiers. We mention several additional groups of axioms that can be introduced to capture taxonomic reasoning. We show that the regression operator in this framework can be defined similarly to regression in the Reiter's version of the situation calculus. Using this new regression operator, we show that the projection and executability problems are decidable in the modified version even if an initial knowledge base is incomplete and open. For an incomplete knowledge base and for context-dependent actions, we consider a type of progression that is sound with respect to the classical progression. We show that the new knowledge base resulting after our progression is definable in our modified situation calculus if one allows actions with local effects only. We mention possible applications to formalization of Semantic Web services.


Reliability is one of the major keys in product development. While reliability test are conducted in almost every manufacturing plant, the analysis of reliability test data is hardly rigorous, and engineers mainly rely on the softwares that come with the reliability test equipment to perform the test data analysis. Although this is usually sufficient, the underlying assumptions of the analysis are seldom known, and misleading conclusions might be resulted. Also, the sample size for a reliability test is generally determined from an engineering specification, and variation cannot be made when special circumstances arise. Furthermore, confidence interval estimation of MTTF and T50, outlier points identification from test data are usually not given. This could make the test data are usually not given. This could make the test analysis meaningful since point estimate can lead to erroneous decision, and so are the outlier points. In addition, a specified distribution, in particular, the exponential distribution is usually assumed in the data analysis. However, in practical problem, reliability test may be affected by other failure mechanisms. Thus, test data could be from mixture of distributions, and different models need to be identified and analyzed separately. Therefore, to ensure that the reliability test data can be analyzed accurately, the analysis must include sample size determination, parameter and confidence interval estimations, outlier point identification, and failure mode identification. Sample size determination is required so that desirable confidence level can be obtai4ned from test data with acceptable confidence interval. Outlier point identification is required so that undesirable data points can be eliminated and correct analysis for the remaining desirable test dat can be done. Failure mode identification is required so that each failure mode can be analyzed separately as they tend to have different life distributions. In this paper, reliability data analysis software developed by us will be presented that take into account of the above-mentioned, and hence an accurate and complete reliability test data analysis can be performed.


The current study assessed the utility of a responsible gambling (RG) tool that provides players with behavioural feedback about their gambling. Data was obtained from 779 people (n = 694 male; n = 85 female) who gambled online with Svenska Spel (the Swedish gambling operator) and who opted to receive behavioural feedback via an RG tool (Playscan). Importantly, data was also obtained from a matched sample of 779 players who did not opt to receive behavioural feedback. Feedback took the form of a colour-coded risk rating (Green = no issues, Yellow = at-risk, Red = problematic), which was determined by a proprietary algorithm. Additionally, gambling expenditure data (amounts deposited and wagered) was gathered for the week in which players enrolled to use the RG tool, the subsequent week and 24 weeks later (this data was also gathered for the matched sample). Results showed that Yellow (i.e. at-risk) players who used the tool significantly reduced the amounts of money deposited and wagered compared to players who did not use the tool – an effect observed the week following enrolment as well as 24 weeks later. Thus, informing at-risk players who have opted to receive feedback about their gambling appears to have a positive impact on subsequent expenditures.


Critics of liberal peacebuilding have started to move beyond mere criticism and think about what hybrid or post-liberal peacebuilding might mean. This article aims at contributing to this debate by bringing contemporary experiences in that are usually not reflected in the peacebuilding literature. Since the turn of the century, political changes in a series of South American countries, including most notably in the case of Bolivia, have led scholars to identify trends towards post-liberal ways of organising and exercising political rule. The context in which these processes occur is, of course, very different from the so-called post-conflict societies usually studied by peacebuilding scholars. Yet, precisely because of these differences, conditions for a locally driven search for post-liberal democracy are much better in Latin America. In this sense, while the attempt to move beyond liberal peacebuilding does certainly not need yet another template to be implemented worldwide, these experiences might well serve as important inspirations in the ongoing search for locally grown, hybrid variants of a post-liberal peace.


The essential reference for human development theory, updated and reconceptualized
The Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, a four–volume reference, is the field–defining work to which all others are compared. First published in 1946, and now in its Seventh Edition, the Handbook has long been considered the definitive guide to the field of developmental science.

Volume 3: Social, Emotional, and Personality Development presentsup–to–date knowledge and theoretical understanding of the several facets of social, emotional and personality processes. The volume emphasizes that any specific processes, function, or behavior discussed in the volume co–occurs alongside and is inextricably affected by the dozens of other processes, functions, or behaviors that are the focus of other researchers′ work. As a result, the volume underscores the importance of a focus on the whole developing child and his or her sociocultural and historical environment.

Understand the multiple processes that are interrelated in personality development
Discover the individual, cultural, social, and economic processes that contribute to the social, emotional, and personality development of individuals
Learn about the several individual and contextual contributions to the development of such facets of the individual as morality, spirituality, or aggressive/violent behavior
Study the processes that contribute to the development of gender, sexuality, motivation, and social engagement
The scholarship within this volume and, as well, across the four volumes of this edition, illustrate that developmental science is in the midst of a very exciting period. There is a paradigm shift that involves increasingly greater understanding of how to describe, explain, and optimize the course of human life for diverse individuals living within diverse contexts. This Handbook is the definitive reference for educators, policy–makers, researchers, students, and practitioners in human development, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and neuroscience.


In this present study, effects of aqueous extract of Elletaria cardamomum on isolated frog heart and rectus abdominus muscles were studied. The extract was prepared by maceration and its effect was studied for various doses. Results show that aqueous extract of Elletaria cardamomum, dose dependently decreases the heart rate and force of contraction. To assess the probable cause of cardiac depressant action, K+ content was assessed by using flame-photometer. The study of the aqueous extract on the rectus abdominus muscles resulted in smooth muscle relaxation, indicating involvement of muscarinic receptors. The effect of extract was significantly blocked in the presence of atropine, supporting the involvement of muscarinic receptors. The extract has also showed vasodilatory effect in hind limb perfusion experiment. From these studies, we concluded that Elletaria cardamomum has cardiac depressant effect, which might be due to the presence of muscarinic principles.


The extended Hildebrand solubility parameter approach is used to estimate the solubility of nabumetone in binary solvent systems. The solubility of nabumetone in various dioxane-water mixtures was analyzed in terms of solute-solvent interactions using a modified version of Hildebrand-Scatchard treatment for regular solutions. The solubility of nabumetone in the binary solvent, dioxane-water shows a bell-shaped profile with a solubility maximum well below the ideal solubility of the drug. This is attributed to solvation of the drug with the dioxane-water mixture, and indicates that the solutesolvent interaction energy is larger than the geometric mean (δ1δ2) of regular solution theory. The new approach provides an accurate prediction of solubility once the interaction energy (W) is obtained. In this case, the energy term is regressed against a polynomial in δ1 of the binary mixture. Quadratic, cubic, and quartic expressions of 'W' in terms of solvent solubility parameter were utilized for predicting the solubility of nabumetone in various dioxanewater mixtures. But from these three polynomial expressions, a quartic expression of 'W' in terms of solvent solubility parameter was found suitable for predicting the solubility and yields an error in mole fraction solubility of ~7.346%, a value approximating that of the experimentally determined solubility. Thus the method has potential usefulness in preformulation and formulation studies during which solubility prediction is important for drug design.


Abstract Background and purpose. The variability in target delineation for similar cases between centres treating paediatric and adolescent patients, and the apparent differences in interpretation of radiotherapy guidelines in the treatment protocols encouraged us to perform a dummy-run study as a part of our quality assurance work. The aim was to identify and quantify differences in the segmentation of target volumes and organs at risk (OARs) and to analyse the treatment plans and dose distributions. Materials and methods. Four patient cases were selected: Wilm's tumour, Hodgkin's disease, rhabdomyosarcoma of the prostate and chordoma of the skull base. The five participating centres received the same patient-related material. They introduced the cases in their treatment planning system, delineated target volumes and OARs and created treatment plans. Dose-volume histograms were retrieved for relevant structures and volumes and dose metrics were derived and compared, e.g. target volumes and their concordance, dose homogeneity index (HI), treated and irradiated volumes, remaining volume at risk and relevant Vx and Dx values. Results. We found significant differences in target segmentation in the majority of the cases. The planning target volumes (PTVs) varied two- to four-fold and conformity indices were in the range of 0.3–0.6. This resulted in large variations in dose distributions to OARs as well as in treated and irradiated volumes even though the treatment plans showed good conformity to the PTVs. Potential reasons for the differences in target delineation were analysed. Conclusion. Considerations of the growing child and difficulties in interpretation of the radiotherapy information in the treatment protocols were identified as reasons for the variation. As a result, clarified translated detailed radiotherapy guidelines for paediatric/adolescent patients have been recognised as a way to reduce this variation.


Geographical information systems (GIS) software tools that support synchronous collaboration efforts among distributed decision-making participants can be very useful in many application areas, such as urban planning, engineering design, disaster and emergency response, and distant learning. However, most existing GIS tools do not provide adequate support for group interaction on decision-making and design scenarios. Early efforts on developing collaborative GIS tools have focused on collaborative geospatial information sharing and presentation in a group environment, mostly adapted to centralized client-server architecture for specific applications. This thesis presents the results of a research project, aiming at providing such GIS software tools over the Internet. Based on the analysis of two mainstream architectures used in collaborative applications: centralized architecture and replicated architecture, a hybrid architecture is selected to develop a collaborative GIS framework as the platform for prototyping the aforementioned GIS tools. The discussion focuses on synchronous collaboration where people interact with each other using the system at the same time from different places. The prototype system, called GeoLink, addresses some important design and development issues such as session management and floor control through a message sending approach.


Optical freeform components, featured with high functional performance, are of enormous demand in advanced imaging and illumination applications. However, the geometrical complexity and high accuracy demand impose considerable challenges on the existing ultra-precision freeform machining technologies. Surface measurement and characterisation become the key to further improving machining performance. In order to further increase the metrology availability and efficiency, a shift in the approach of surface metrology from offline lab-based solutions towards the use of metrology upon manufacturing platforms is needed. On-machine surface measurement (OMSM) will not only allow the assessment of manufactured surfaces just-in-time without transportation and repositioning, but also provide feedback for process optimization and post-process correction with consistent coordinate frame.

In the thesis, a single point robust interferometer is integrated onto a diamond turning lathe to establish the metrology-embedded ultra-precision manufacturing platform. To extract a priori information for the subsequent OMSM, a theoretical and experimental study of surface generation was carried out for ultra-precision turning of optical freeform surfaces. With the proposed machining methodology and surface generation simulation, two freeform surfaces (sinusoidal grid and micro-lens arrays) were successfully fabricated using the slow tool servo technique. The machined topography of freeform surfaces was uniformly distributed and in agreement with simulated results. Since it operates in the manufacturing environment, the machine tool effects on the OMSM were comprehensively evaluated, including on-machine vibration test, machine kinematic error mapping and linearity error calibration. A systematic calibration methodology for single point OMSM was proposed. Both theoretical and experimental investigation have been conducted to prove the validity of the proposed calibration methodology and the effectiveness of OMSM.

With the aid of OMSM, potential applications were explored to exploit the integration benefits to further enhance the ultra-precision machining performance. OMSM integration will increase the automation level of the manufacturing. As OMSM preserves the coordinate system between the machining and measurement, the process investigation can be carried out in a more deterministic manner. The effect of process parameters on the surface form errors was investigated for ultra-precision cylindrical turning process. An empirical model based on response surface methodology has been established and validated with the experimental results. Moreover, a corrective machining methodology was proposed to further improve the accuracy of diamond turned surfaces with OMSM. According to different correction tasks, corresponding OMSM data processing methods were presented. Profile and surface correction experiments were performed to validate the proposed corrective machining methodology and 40% improvement of surface accuracy was achieved.


This thesis presents new insights into the early events of formation of oriented precursors in flow-induced crystallization of polymers, specifically isotactic polypropylene. Experimental approaches are developed to follow the creation of thread-like precursors during flow. The use of model bimodal polymers provides insight on the role of long chains in the mechanism of formation of oriented precursors. The addition of very long chains (3500 kg/mol) at low concentration ( The phenomenological effects of flow on polymer crystallization have been known for decades, manifested dramatically in most processing techniques due to the high stresses imposed onto the polymer melt. Processing flows can accelerate the kinetics of crystallization by orders of magnitude, and can induce the formation of highly oriented crystallites that, in turn, impact the final material properties in the solid state. The formation of oriented thread-like precursors is at the heart of these effects of flow on polymer crystallization; however, the fundamental mechanisms underlying their development remain elusive. This lack of understanding frustrates the formulation of a predictive model that relates the polymer molecular characteristics and the imposed processing conditions to the ensuing crystallization kinetics, the final morphology, and hence, the ultimate material properties. Here, we develop experimental approaches that provide insight into the physics of formation of the oriented precursors, which identify the essential elements required in a truly predictive model of flow-induced crystallization. In this work, we build on experimental capabilities of imposing well-defined flow and thermal histories onto a polymer melt, and of utilizing small quantities of material so that model polymers can be investigated, which allows us to isolate the effect of specific molecular characteristics and flow conditions. Our apparatus provides us with real-time measurements that probe a range of shear stresses throughout a slit flow channel; thus, we develop a "depth sectioning method" as a strategy to isolate the contribution to the real-time signal that arises from a specific level of shear stress. This method is of utmost importance since the formation of thread-like precursors depends strongly on stress. To separate the development of oriented precursors during flow from the growth of oriented crystallites on them, we develop an experimental approach, the "temperature-jump," inspired by classical nucleation studies. We use a small concentration of ultra-high molecular weight isotactic polypropylene in a matrix of shorter chains to examine the role of long chains in the creation of thread-like precursors. The use of such high molecular weight chains has revealed a richer behavior than could be observed in earlier studies, indicating that there are two stages in thread formation, kick-off and propagation, and that the stress requirement for the first step is more stringent than for the second. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the interaction of long chains with the tip of a shish creates a local orientation that is not found elsewhere in the flowing melt. Finally, we combine the two experimental approaches to perform measurements that capture the development of the threads during flow. For intermediate shearing times, our results are well described by the most promising model currently available, the "recoverable strain model," and lay the groundwork for determining the velocity of propagation of threads at different shearing stresses. Also, it suggests that some modifications to the recoverable strain model should be included to correctly capture kick-off and saturation of the formation of threads. The experimental tools described here can be extended to other model materials, for example, to expose the effects of long chain length > 3500 kg/mol and of the stereo-regularity of the long chains. A larger parameter space can be surveyed in the future to provide additional data to test predictive models that connect molecular characteristics of a resin to structure formation under processing conditions.


The paper describes the basic problems regarding the possibility of using waste plastics and tire rubber waste as raw materials for the preparation of liquid energy carriers for transport (WtL processes) or directly to energy use in a WtE. Simultaneous measurements were performed at Thermal Analyzer STA 449 F3 Jupiter's (Netzsch). The study was conducted for waste samples of different density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and rubber from waste tires. Gasification process of subjecting the sample was recorded TG and DSC curve, observing changes in mass, temperature and enthalpy. These studies were carried out in order to pre-determine the kinetics of thermal decomposition. The study, conducted in an atmosphere of argon/nitrogen (non-oxidizing atmosphere), both in terms of the changes of enthalpy and mass are summarized in the respective charts.


Habitat structure is defined as the composition and arrangement of physical matter at a location. Although habitat structure is the physical template underlying ecological patterns and processes, the concept is relatively unappreciated and underdevel-oped in ecology. However, it provides a fundamental concept for urban ecology because human activities in urban ecosystems are often targeted toward management of habitat structure. In addition, the concept emphasizes the fine-scale, on-the-ground perspective needed in the study of urban soil ecology. To illustrate this, urban soil ecology research is summarized from the perspective of habitat structure effects. Among the key conclusions emerging from the literature review are: (1) habitat structure provides a unifying theme for multivariate research about urban soil ecology; (2) heterogeneous urban habitat structures influence soil ecological variables in different ways; (3) more research is needed to understand relationships among sociological variables, habitat structure patterns and urban soil ecology. To stimulate urban soil ecology research, a conceptual framework is presented to show the direct and indirect relationships among habitat structure and ecological variables. Because habitat structure serves as a physical link between sociocultural and ecological systems, it can be used as a focus for interdisciplinary and applied research (e.g., pest management) about the multiple, interactive effects of urbanization on the ecology of soils.


Web Services is a new concept that promises flexibility and interconnection between different systems. The communication in Web Services uses SOAP $Simple Object Access Protocol, which is based on XML. We have together with an industrial partner made experiments with SOAP in a Web Service environment to find out the response time using SOAP compared to CORBA. It turns out that a direct and naive use of SOAP would result in a response time degradation of a factor 400 compared to CORBA. We identified the major reasons for the poor performance of SOAP and evaluated some performance improvement techniques. After applying these the techniques, the performance of CORBA is 7 times better compared to SOAP.


The biological synthesis of nanoparticles emerges as an eco-friendly and exciting approach in the field of nanotechnology. In the present investigation, we report the extracellular biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNP`s) using plant leaf extracts (Artocarpus heterophyllus) for the reduction of aqueous Ag+ ions and its increased antimicrobial activity. Stable silver nanoparticles were formed by treating aqueous solution of AgNO3 with the plant leaf extracts as reducing agent for reduction of Ag+ ions .The quantitative formation of synthesized nanoparticles monitored by UV-visible spectroscopy. After the characterization, these nanoparticles are evaluated for increasing the antimicrobial activities of different antibiotics against clinically isolated organism. The antibacterial activities of Vancomycin, Amoxyclav and Tetracycline increased in the presence of Ag- NPs against Salmonella paratyphi. Norfloxacin,Ciprofloxacin and Erythromycin antibacterial activities increased in the presence of Ag- NPs against Klebsiella pneumonia.


This exhibition, titled 'Abandoned Field' by the Chinese curator Tian Meng, brought together a large selection of paintings produced during the seven and a half years that I lived and worked as an artist in Chongqing, China. When living and working in such a vastly different culture, cultural and artistic differences may be thrown into sharp relief. However, such an experience also exposes the fluidity of identity and the fragility of cultural autonomy. But what was most interesting was the teasing out of prescient sensibilities long embedded in Chinese pictorial values, which I find to have a contemporary resonance, and have had a profound influence on developments in my painting. Such values are timely when now we face an unprecedented and invasive mass culture, atomising micro-management, and where psychological and physical space are at a premium as never before. The values in question are the silences, the pauses, the action and fluidity of space, inseparable from form, so well perceived in and integral to pictorial ideas originating in China and reaching apotheosis in Japan. These are manifest through the unique conception of space as a force that conditions the 'being' of, say, trees, mountains, water etc. and images that are based on a language of signs, supported by the calligraphic mark. This exhibition demonstrates a commitment to such values, recognising the impossibility, the delusion, of expressing infinity, but at the same time pointing to it. Images such as huts or fences etc act as signs interacting with, challenging or challenged by the space. In a city such as Chongqing, where the speed of development and technologically driven changes is ratchetted up several notches, the air often thick with concrete dust, in addition to other pollutants, the manifest results of intense industrial processes anywhere, the need to harness this parallel reality feels like a matter of contemporary urgency, there and here. Mixing concrete dust as well as other pigments, with alkyd resin on coarse hemp canvas, I sought to give material weight to the space that delivers focus and dignity, and at the same time something between fragility and presence, to the subjects at its centre. The concrete dust was sometimes a thin veil over a textured surface and colour, creating chromatic shifts within the grey. This material idea of space, as well as the presence of images, challenges the 'Romantic', Sublime space of Minimalism; also an influence. Ambiguities as to our relation to nature, and questions around certainties of perception are the focus in this body of work. The materiality of paint, and the Western approach of physically building and layering paintings as integral to their meaning is still a relatively new concept of painting in China. In respect of this, for the VIP opening and to an audience of just over 30 people, I was asked to give demonstrations of some of the technical procedures I draw on. The following day the exhibition opened formally with a seminar discussion with some 50 artists, curators, students, and members of the public. On the panel were Yang Shu, director of Organhaus, the international artists-in-residence programme in Chongqing, Ursula Panhans-Buhler, the German art writer and contributor to the catalogue, and myself.


Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become very popular in the last few decades. Nowadays these vehicles are used for both civilian and military applications which are dull, dirty and dangerous for humans. The remarkable advances in materials, electronics, sensors, actuators and batteries enable researchers to design more durable, capable, smart and cheaper UAVs. Consequently, a significant amount of research effort has been devoted to the design of UAVs with intelligent navigation and control systems. There are certain applications where a single UAV can not perform adequately. However, carrying out such tasks with a fleet of UAVs in some geometric pattern or formation can be more powerful and more efficient. This thesis focuses on a new coordination scheme that enables formation control of quadrotor type UAVs. Coordination of quadrotors is achieved using a virtual structure approach where orthogonal projections of quadrotors on a virtual plane are utilized to define coordination forces. This plane implies planar spring forces acting between the vehicles. Virtual springs are also augmented with dampers to suppress oscillatory motions. While the coordination among the aerial vehicles is achieved on a virtual plane, altitude control for each vehicle is designed independently. This increases maneuvering capability of each quadrotor along the vertical direction. Due to their robustness to the external disturbances such as wind gusts, integral backstepping controllers are designed to control attitude and position dynamics of individual quadrotors. Several coordinated task scenarios are presented and the performance of the proposed formation control technique is assessed by several simulations where three and five quadrotors are employed. Simulation results are quite promising.


The ever-increasing popularity and traffic volume of multicast applications motivates the need for development of methodologies for traffic management and network design that especially cater for multicast traffic. Addressing the disparity between the bandwidth offered by a wavelength and the bandwidth required by a single connection is a key challenge in the efficient usage of any wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) network. This problem is also relevant to WDM networks that support multicast traffic and can be mitigated by multicast traffic grooming. This paper considers multicast traffic grooming with a leaking strategy where a light-tree may deliver the traffic of a multicast connection to nodes that are not in the destination set of the connection. This leaking strategy improves the sharing of light-trees and add/drop ports, leading to lower blocking ratios. Two multicast traffic grooming algorithms with leaking strategy, namely, multicast traffic leaky grooming (MTLG), and multicast traffic hybrid grooming (MTHG) are proposed. MTLG grooms traffic to light-trees if the traffic leaked is less than a given threshold value. MTHG first grooms traffic to light-trees without leaking; if some destinations remain, it then grooms traffic to light-trees with leaking. MTHG is an improvement over MTLG as it can attain higher light-tree sharing with less traffic leaked. Simulations show that the two proposed algorithms perform better than other algorithms at low add/drop port ratios with MTHG showing better performance.


Fossils from the Newvale lignite mine, Southland, are the first substantiated foliar records of Proteaceae
subfamily Persoonioideae. The fossils possess very large stomata, a probable synapomorphy for Persoonioideae, and within
Proteaceae the combination of this feature and more or less parallel-aligned, brachyparacytic stomatal complexes and
undulate anticlinal epidermal cell walls is uniquely found in this subfamily. The new genus Persoonieaephyllum is described
to recognise affinity of the fossil leaves and cuticles with tribe Persoonieae of Persoonioideae and their distinction from its
only other extant representative, Placospermum. Two new species are described. P. ornatum is represented by linear leaves
less than 20mm wide and possessing more or less parallel-aligned major veins. These leaves closely match those of extant
hypostomatic, broad-leaved species of tribe Persoonieae and are distinct from Placospermum in venation and several
cuticular details. P. villosum has so far been recovered only as cuticular material in disaggregated lignite. It is distinct from
P. ornatum in having abundant trichome bases, an absence of surface tubercules, and even larger stomata (guard cells often
>70 mm long). The fossils extend the known record of Persoonioideae in the New Zealand–New Caledonia region by
~20 million years.


Abstract Objectives: Epidemiological studies report associations between exposure to the high-volume chemical and endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA) and cardiovascular disorders, but there is a lack of experimental studies addressing the mechanisms of action of BPA on the cardiovascular system. In the present study, effects on markers for cardiovascular function of exposure to BPA and fructose in vivo in rat cardiac tissues, and of BPA exposure in human cardiomyocytes in vitro, were investigated. Materials: Juvenile female Fischer 344 rats were exposed to 5, 50, and 500 μg BPA/kg bodyweight/day in their drinking water from 5 to 15 weeks of age, in combination with 5% fructose. Further, cultured human cardiomyocytes were exposed to 10 nM BPA to 1 × 104 nM BPA for six hours. Expression of markers for cardiovascular function and BPA target receptors was investigated using qRT-PCR. Results: Exposure to 5 μg BPA/kg bodyweight/day plus fructose increased mRNA expression of Vegf, Vegfr2, eNos, and Ace1 in rat heart. Exposure of human cardiomyocytes to 1 × 104 nM BPA increased mRNA expression of eNOS and ACE1, as well as IL-8 and NFκβ known to regulate inflammatory response. Conclusions:. Low-dose exposure of juvenile rats to BPA and fructose induced up-regulation of expression of genes controlling angiogenesis and vascular tone in cardiac tissues. The observed effects of BPA in rat heart were in line with our present and previous studies of BPA in human endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes. These findings may aid in understanding the mechanisms of the association between BPA exposure and cardiovascular disorders reported in epidemiological studies.


Abstract In the Rio Negro, the third-largest tributary of the Amazon, many turtle species have been important commercial and protein resources for centuries for populations of humans living in the region. For many years, this had been a sustainable activity, but nowadays the outlook for turtle populations in the Amazon is unfavorable due to increasing hunting pressure. Based on 20 yrs of conservation work in the Amazon, we report on the pressure faced by turtle populations in the area and report a sustainable chelonian exploitation alternative developed in the Rio Negro region. We describe the materials and the hand processing artisans use to transform natural resources into artworks. Based on this community program model, we discuss the current government support to local communities of the Rio Negro and provide insights on the application of this economic alternative to substitute for turtle commercialization in the Amazon. The outcomes of this manuscript have direct applications for environmental managers, nongovernmental organizations, and policymakers in Brazil and aim to call government and environmental managers to promote turtle conservation in the Amazon, securing economic safety for local communities.


Prospective Parent Disagreement is an important issue in bioethics that has been upstaged by the related debate on abortion. Of the few pieces of literature that focus directly on this topic, perhaps none is better known than Christine Overall's controversial book Why Have Children?: The Ethical Debate. In the third chapter, Overall discusses both manifestations of prospective parent disagreement, and she makes an argument that fathers should always be held financially responsible for the child their sperm creates, even in the case where the father does not want the baby. She justifies this claim by suggesting that the procreative asymmetry inherent in prospective parent disagreement is justified by the asymmetry displayed by each parent's workload during pregnancy. She further claims that this dynamic holds true even in cases of deceit and purloined sperm, because the child's interests always trump the financial interests of the father. This paper disputes Overall's analysis of prospective parent disagreement by contending that her argument relies upon victim-blaming and misconceived notions of future asymmetries to succeed. Firstly, I argue that Overall's argument for the purloined sperm case relies on an unfeasible, excessively cynical worldview and the psychological fallacy of victimblaming to succeed. Secondly, I convey how the inseminator did act responsibly in the purloined sperm case and why this invalidates any potential financial responsibility he might have towards the resulting child. Furthermore, I draw an analogy between the inseminator of the purloined sperm case and traditional sperm donors, and I argue that there is no morally relevant distinction between the two subjects if the child's interests and well-being always trump the financial interests of the father. Finally, I argue that Overall mistakes a future, potential asymmetry in the procreative workload as justification for the procreative asymmetry inherent in prospective parent disagreement, and I offer a possible solution to quell this procreative asymmetry while respecting the procreative, bodily, and genetic rights of both the gestator and inseminator.


Abstract Fluid-dynamic phenomena study in porous media flow has been of great interest for diverse areas of sciences. These studies not only have evaluated the permeability of porous media, but also to analyze the behavior of the fluid during the flow. Being about to the cement based materials, the measuring of the permeability becomes basic so that the durability of these can be estimate, therefore is the permeability that controls the rate of ingression and movement of deleterious agents inside these materials. Thus, diverse methodologies and mathematical equations have been used to foresee the permeability of cementitious materials, however, some discrepancies and nonsense in the results have been found. Amongst the used methodologies to measure the permeability of porous media, one meets developed it by Thenoz, which it has demonstrated good results in cement based materials. Thus, this work aims at, by means of assay of permeability to air, carried through in accordance with the methodology of Thenoz, to evaluate the fluid-dynamic behavior of air during the assay of permeability in mortars. For this, mortars prepared with two types of Portland cement of blast furnace (CP IIE-32 and CP III - 32), two relations water/cement (0.5 and 0.6) and ages of 14 and 28 days were used. By means of the gotten results it was possible to observe that during the draining the compressibility of air can be ignored, the regimen of draining can be considered as to plate, demonstrating that the methodology proposal for Thenoz and used mathematical equations can result in coefficients of trustworthy air permeability, therefore phenomena and considerations that could influence in this type of flow can be neglected, in accordance with what it is considered by literature.


Recreational Trailers. Predicasts, Inc., 200 University Circle Research Center, 11001 Cedar Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106. September 1971. $250. Analyzes the industry structure and markets for travel vehicles (travel trailers, truck-mount campers, camping trailers, and motorhomes), boat trailers, Snowmobile trailers, etc. Projections are made for each type to 1975 and 1980 within context of recreation and travel environment. Significant companies and distribution are reviewed. Congressional Air Transportation Study, Part I: Federal Aviation Administration Study of Air Traffic Congestion. P. Eldridge and R. G. Belanger. Federal Aviation Authority, Washington, D.C. January 1971. 162p. $3. A report on airport congestion and its cause, including an analysis of load factors and composition of passenger loads, a detailed analysis of peak period delay data, and a summary of operations and delay data for major airports. Order from: National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Com-


Background: Caregivers of individuals suffering from cancer illnesses are at risk of having subjected to mental health consequences. There is a paucity of data comparing the caregiver burden of cancer breast and cancer cervix patients. Aim: The aim of the present study is to compare the caregiver burden of cancer breast and cancer cervix patients. To study the association of caregiver burden with demographic factors like age, gender, duration of caregiving etc. Materials & Methods: This Cross sectional study is performed on the key relatives of patients of 31 cancer cervix and 31 cancer breast patients. Burden assessment schedule was used. Results: Our findings suggest burden is more in male caregivers of breast cancer patients. It is not so in caregivers of cancer cervix patients. Whenever the caregiver is closely related to the patients the burden is high in both groups. Whenever the burden scores were high the depression scores were also high. Treatment modalities as a whole correlates with burden scores in caregivers of breast cancer patients but not in cancer cervix patients. Conclusion: Caregivers with breast and cervical cancer patients are vulnerable if the caregiver is male, from low socioeconomical background, more closely related and when the patients received poor treatment modalities.


The purpose of this study was to examine how patients conceive spinal anesthesia during diagnostic kneearthroscopy. A qualitative design with phenomenographic approach was used and 14 elective day surgery patients were interviewed with semi-structured questions. The outcome resulted in three categories: to perceive various sensitive phenomena, to be exposed and to be noticed. The importance of patient involvement in their care, maintenance of integrity, and to have a working relationship between the patient and staff are some factors that should be lifted in the caring at spinal anesthesia. This study may help healthcare professionals to respond to each patient according to his/her individual needs and thus to ensure good care.


This thesis describes the design and implementation of the intervention 'Excel Kwadraat' in primary schools. This intervention aims to improve teachers' differentiation practices in order to better anticipate pupil differences, including excellent or high-ability pupils. In the end, the intervention aims at enhancing the academic achievement of both high-ability and non-high-ability early primary school pupils. The intervention includes screening pupils' school-entry characteristics, matching their needs with curricular activity levels, and implementing a school-wide approach to differentiation and high-ability. The central question in this thesis is: does Excel Kwadraat, compared with regular education, positively affect high-ability pupils' academic achievement? To answer this question, a number of studies were set up that focus on current teaching practices for high-ability pupils, and the design, development, implementation, and effects of Excel Kwadraat in early primary school.


Persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are known to disrupt steroidogenesis and subsequent concentrations of circulating endogenous hormones. This is also suspected to occur in Arctic predatory species, such as polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and a study was therefore conducted in Greenland sledge dogs (Canis familiaris) as a sentinel species for adverse effects on steroid homeostasis. The control and exposed groups were composed of four sister-bitches all fed pork fat (Suis suis) and organohalogen contaminated minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) blubber, respectively, for 321–576 days. In the exposed group, this constituted a mean daily intake of 128 μg ∑PCBs (5 μg/kg/day). At the end of the study, organohalogen contaminant (OHC) were measured in adipose tissue and hormone levels in blood of sledge dogs. The hormones included 11 products of the steroidogenesis, which were ∑Androgen (dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, testosterone, and dehydrotestosterone), ∑Estrogen (estrone, 17α-estradiol and 17β-estradiol), and ∑Progestagen (pregnenolone, progesterone, 17-OH-pregnenolone, and 17-OH-progesterone) concentrations. This allowed us to study the mechanisms underlying possible disruption of blood steroid concentrations. Results showed that exposed bitches had significantly higher concentrations of all OHC compounds. Unexpectedly, ∑Androgen, ∑Estrogen and ∑Progestagen concentrations were also significantly higher in exposed dogs. Data indicated that daily OHC contaminant exposure were concomitant with elevation in concentrations of steroid hormones in blood plasma of exposed sledge dogs. Based on these unexpected results, data suggest that more investigations should be focused on steroid endocrine disruption and potential health effects in Arctic top predators including domesticated dogs.


ORNAMENTATION IS ONE ASPECT OF MUSIC ASSOCIATED with emotional affect in Baroque music. In an empirical study, the relationship between ornamentation and emotion was investigated by asking a violinist and flutist to ornament three melodies in different ways to express four emotions: happiness, sadness, love, and anger. The performers adapted the type of ornaments to the instructed emotion as well as the characteristics of the ornaments. The flutist specifically varied the duration, timing, and complexity of the ornamentation, while the violinist varied the complexity, density, and sound level of the performances. The ability of the performers to communicate the emotions was tested in a listening experiment. Communication was found to be generally successful, with the exception of the communication of happiness. This success was not due to general consensus about the expression of emotions through ornamentation. Rather the listeners were sensitive to a performer's specific use of ornamentation.


Evidence of Economic Heterosis and Genetic Control of Fruit Yield and Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus Disease Severity Traits of Okra)
Ten diverse genotypes of cultivated and wild species were crossed in half diallel fashion to produce 45 F1 hybrids to determine mode of gene action, extent of economic heterosis and dominance effect, and to estimate combining ability for eight quantitative traits. Predictability ratio revealed overwhelming response of non-additive gene action for controlling fruit length, number of fruits per plant, and fruit yield per plant; additive gene effects for days to 50% flowering, while both additive and non-additive genetic control for node number at first flowering, fruit weight, fruit girth, and PDI of YVMV disease. Appropriate breeding strategies for improvement of studied traits are highlighted here. Significant standard heterosis over two commercial hybrids, Shakti and Abantika was comparatively lower in magnitude for fruit yield per plant (4.62 % and 17.59 %, respectively) and higher in magnitude for PDI of YVMV disease (-71.28 % and -72.28 %, respectively). Partial- to overdominance effects were involved in the inheritance of the studied traits. BCO-1 and 11/RES-6 were identified as potential donors for future use. The study could able to identify an outstanding hybrid (BCO-1 × Arka Anamika) having high tolerance both under field and artificial conditions. This hybrid would definitely make a room in okra growing zones of the tropics after critical testing..