The understanding of the relationship between plasmonic and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) properties of dynamic nanoparticle assemblies is of paramount importance for the optimal design of related plasmonic nanostructures, especially for SERS applications. In this regard, recent studies have provided new important insights for well-ordered nanoparticle assemblies but little is known about the relationship between the physical and optical properties for large ensembles of randomly aggregated metal nanoparticles in suspension, which still represents the simplest and most common route to obtain highly effective SERS substrates. Here we exploit the triplex-assembling ability of DNA-conjugated silver nanoparticles to engineer interparticle junctions with controlled interparticle distance and tune the aggregation rate to allow accurate investigation into the correlation between the averaged time-dependent plasmonic and SERS responses within a complex ensemble of nanoparticles in suspension. Solution-based single particle tracking was used to characterize the heterogeneity of the nanoparticle assembly with statistical reliability, acting as a key tool to unravel the connection between these two bulk responses. To achieve this, we report the first example of the parallel hybridization of dye-labeled locked nucleic acid (LNA) silver nanoparticle probes to double stranded DNA bridges of different lengths to form a triplex assembly, that provides SERS enhancements directly related to the interparticle distance imposed by the high structural rigidity of the double stranded linker. This is also a crucial step towards utilising SERS for the study of DNA in its natural double stranded state and, ultimately, to obtain nanoscale distance-dependent information in challenging biological environments using specially designed nanoparticles.


Long-form reading of literary and non-literary texts is historically an essential component of education. However, in many schooling contexts, the amount of long-form reading is diminishing. Are digital technologies augmenting this trend? And are these technologies affecting assignments and student reading patterns in other ways? This article begins by arguing for the relevance of long-form reading and then reviews prior research on how much assigned reading students in higher education report completing. With these findings as background, university faculty in the United States and Norway were surveyed to gauge contemporary reading assignments and student reading practices in humanities and social sciences disciplines, which traditionally are reading intensive. Several of the questions focused on the potential impact of technology on reading assignments, including their length and complexity. This exploratory research suggests that digital technologies are contributing to reduced long-form reading in higher education.


Summary Eucalyptus dunnii is grown in plantations in subtropical Queensland, beyond its endemic distribution of northern NSW. As the plantation industry has expanded into subtropical Australia there has been an increase in the incidence of defoliating insects and foliar pathogens. This study measured the incidence and severity of damage (abiotic damage, fungal damage, insect defoliation, insect-induced necrosis and or other insect damage), four times over one year, in eight plantations aged 1,2,3 and 4 y where E. dunnii was the dominant species: four near Brisbane and four near Bundaberg. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis showed little separation between the two regions so all data for the study were combined. During the study period, the monthly rainfall was substantially lower than over the previous 30 y, particularly in all months except September to January where higher-than-average rainfall occurred in both regions. This resulted in a strong seasonal effect. The greatest damage was caused by defoliating insects (39.6% of total damage) most notably chrysomelids, followed by insect necrosis (19.2%). The pests and diseases causing most damage (e.g. chrysomelids) were present most of the year and are known to be multivoltine in subtropical regions of Australia. Only chrysomelid damage increased over the survey period, while fungal damage decreased slightly in the same period. Insect necrosis was present all year round, with most damage occurring in winter and least damage in summer. Other insect damage was highest in 1,75–3-y-old trees, peaking in winter at 9.1% in the 1.75-y-old trees. This study has provided some interesting insights into the incidence and severity of abiotic stress, pests and pathogens over four seasons. These findings may influence future plantation management of pests and diseases in establishing plantations.


The hyperthermophilic archaeon ES4, a heterotrophic sulfur reducer isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, is capable of protecting itself from thermal stress at temperatures above its optimum for growth. The thermotolerance of ES4 was determined by exposing log-phase cells to various lethal high temperatures. When ES4 was shifted from 95 to 102 degrees C, it displayed recovery from an exponential rate of death, followed by transient thermotolerance. When ES4 was shifted directly from 95 to either 105 or 108 degrees C, only exponential death occurred. However, a shift from 95 to 105 degrees C with an intermediate incubation at 102 degrees C also gave ES4 transient thermotolerance to 105 degrees C. The protein composition of ES4 was examined at temperatures ranging from 75 to 102 degrees C by one-dimensional electrophoresis. Two proteins with molecular masses of approximately 90 and 150 kDa significantly decreased in abundance with increasing growth temperature, while a 98-kDa protein, present at very low levels at normal growth temperatures (76 to 99 degrees C), was more abundant at higher temperatures. The enhanced tolerance to hyperthermal conditions after a mild hyperthermal exposure and the increased abundance of the 98-kDa protein at above-optimal temperatures imply that ES4 is capable of a heat shock-like response previously unseen in hyperthermophilic archaea.


Historically crop models have been used to evaluate crop yield responses to nitrogen (N) rates after harvest when it is too late for the farmers to make in-season adjustments. We hypothesize that the use of a crop model as an in-season forecast tool will improve current N decision-making. To explore this, we used the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) calibrated with long-term experimental data for central Iowa, USA (16-years in continuous corn and 15-years in soybean-corn rotation) combined with actual weather data up to a specific crop stage and historical weather data thereafter. The objectives were to: (1) evaluate the accuracy and uncertainty of corn yield and economic optimum N rate (EONR) predictions at four forecast times (planting time, 6th and 12th leaf, and silking phenological stages); (2) determine whether the use of analogous historical weather years based on precipitation and temperature patterns as opposed to using a 35-year dataset could improve the accuracy of the forecast; and (3) quantify the value added by the crop model in predicting annual EONR and yields using the site-mean EONR and the yield at the EONR to benchmark predicted values. Results indicated that the mean corn yield predictions at planting time (R2 = 0.77) using 35-years of historical weather was close to the observed and predicted yield at maturity (R2 = 0.81). Across all forecasting times, the EONR predictions were more accurate in corn-corn than soybean-corn rotation (relative root mean square error, RRMSE, of 25 vs. 45%, respectively). At planting time, the APSIM model predicted the direction of optimum N rates (above, below or at average site-mean EONR) in 62% of the cases examined (n = 31) with an average error range of ±38 kg N ha−1 (22% of the average N rate). Across all forecast times, prediction error of EONR was about three times higher than yield predictions. The use of the 35-year weather record was better than using selected historical weather years to forecast (RRMSE was on average 3% lower). Overall, the proposed approach of using the crop model as a forecasting tool could improve year-to-year predictability of corn yields and optimum N rates. Further improvements in modeling and set-up protocols are needed toward more accurate forecast, especially for extreme weather years with the most significant economic and environmental cost.


Joseph Terch IV Teachers' Perspectives on Grade Retention, is it Effective? 2002-2003 Dr. Xin Master of Arts in Special Education Grade retention has been a problem since the mid1 9th century when the concept of individual grades replaced the one room schoolhouse. Extensive research was reported on grade retention, its effect, and impact on the referral of students with learning disabilities, parent and teacher perspectives. The research findings on retention are inconclusive and questionable. The purposes of this study are (a) to evaluate the teacher attitudes towards grade retention, and (b) to compare the differences of teacher attitudes at elementary, middle and high school levels. A survey was developed and approximately 150 were distributed to teachers. Of these 150, 120 were returned and analyzed. In all 66% of teachers (N=73) agreed that grade retention is a necessary educational practice, and 55% of teachers (N=64) agreed that they have or would recommend retention to the principal or to parents. Significant differences were found among the elementary, middle and high school teachers on their responses to 6 questions/statements. Overall, teachers in this survey support retention and believed that it should be implemented in the early grades. The teachers suggest that the decision to retain should not be affected by student physical status, or standardized test scores; instead it should be influenced by the student's ability to complete assignments. Overall, the teachers do not feel that grade retention harms a student's self-concept instead it may help aid in student maturity.


Fiber reinforced polymer composites are used in many engineering applications because of their low strength to weight ratio. Delamination is one of the major problems in manufacturing of the polymer composites. In this work, the delamination of acid treated basalt fiber reinforced composites was studied through drilling operation. Ba salt fiber reinforced composites is prepared by using hand layup techniques with unsaturated polyester. Taguchi design of experiment was used to investigate the effects of drilling parameters such as spindle speed (2500, 2750, 3000 rpm), feed rate (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 mm/rev) and point angle (90°, 118°, 135°). A series of experiments based on L9 orthogonal arrays are conducted using CNC machine and resulting delamination factor was determined. It was observed that speed and point angles are highly influencing parameters than feed rate for the delamination of the basalt fiber r einforced polymer composites.


Over the past years, memory has developed as an important theme, as much in public space in general as in the historical field in particular. Now, it can be perceived circulating around historical education. What benefits can we expect from this? After having recalled the modern conception of historical education and its goals, the paper considers, first, the place and role that memory occupies in the field of history, and, second, its possible place and role in the field of history education. Before concluding that the advantages to be drawn from this tendency are not evident, it may be wise to anticipate some effects opposite to what is expected from a modern historical education.


Solar Orbiter is the first space mission observing the solar plasma both in situ and remotely, from a close distance, in and out of the ecliptic. The ultimate goal is to understand how the Sun produces and controls the heliosphere, filling the Solar System and driving the planetary environments. With six remote-sensing and four in-situ instrument suites, the coordination and planning of the operations are essential to address the following four top-level science questions: (1) What drives the solar wind and where does the coronal magnetic field originate?; (2) How do solar transients drive heliospheric variability?; (3) How do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?; (4) How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? Maximising the mission's science return requires considering the characteristics of each orbit, including the relative position of the spacecraft to Earth (affecting downlink rates), trajectory events (such as gravitational assist manoeuvres), and the phase of the solar activity cycle. Furthermore, since each orbit's science telemetry will be downloaded over the course of the following orbit, science operations must be planned at mission level, rather than at the level of individual orbits. It is important to explore the way in which those science questions are translated into an actual plan of observations that fits into the mission, thus ensuring that no opportunities are missed. First, the overarching goals are broken down into specific, answerable questions along with the required observations and the so-called Science Activity Plan (SAP) is developed to achieve this. The SAP groups objectives that require similar observations into Solar Orbiter Observing Plans, resulting in a strategic, top-level view of the optimal opportunities for science observations during the mission lifetime. This allows for all four mission goals to be addressed. In this paper, we introduce Solar Orbiter's SAP through a series of examples and the strategy


The paper discusses the costs and benefits to be expected by least-developed and lowincome ('vulnerable') economies if they accede to the WTO, the impact of current debates about WTO reform on vulnerable economies, and measures to make it easier for vulnerable economies to accede to and actively participate in the WTO. The main conclusion is that the benefits from WTO membership in terms of improved market access for traditional exports are likely to be limited. However, by submitting a wide range of trade-related policies to international scrutiny and by entering into binding commitments on the conduct of these policies, reform-oriented governments in vulnerable economies can make it more likely that their reforms will be successful.


Background & objectives: Ovarian cancer is the most common female reproductive cancer which is caused due to the malignant transformation of ovarian cells. This type of cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women and the primary cause of cancer deaths in the world. Axin2 gene is a tumor suppressor gene of the Axin family in WNT cycle which is essential for embryonic development. WNT proteins in this pathway have important intermediary role in cell messaging and in primary and secondary development of the embryo. Axin2 gene is activated as a negative feedback to prevent excessive proliferation of cells with simultaneous activation of WNT messaging. The aim of this study was to find the frequency of mutation in rs1133683 region of exon 5 in Axin2 gene and its relation with the risk of ovarian cancer. Methods: In this case-control study, 100 patients with ovarian cancer together with equal number of same age as controls were collected from Imam Khomeini Hospital. DNAs were extracted from blood and tissue and then were investigated by PCR-RFLP. Data analysis was performed using software SPSS (version 19) using logistic regression. Results: The results of study of mutation in rs1133683 region of exon 5 in Axin2 gene between two groups of case and controls indicated that there is no significant association between CT genotype with ovarian cancer (OR=1.26, 95%CI; 0.70-2.27,p=0.43). Also no association was observed between TT genotype of Axin2 gene and ovarian cancer risk (OR=1.56, 95%CI; 0.49-4.96, p=0.44). Conclusion: Study of mutation in rs1133683 region showed that there was no association between TT genotype carriers of Axin2 gene and the risk of ovarian cancer.


Pen shells is a common bivalve living associatedly with seagrass in marine and brackish water. This species regularly sought after by the local people in Malaysia as the daily protein source. Over the past 15 years, intensifies exploitation of pen shells natural stocks has led to a decline in production and now it gazetted as an endanger species in Malaysia. This book provides information regarding biology, ecology and distribution of Malaysia pen shells. It is aimed as technical reference and baseline study for students, researchers, professionals and managers of the fisheries resource management.


The aim of this study is to estimate the green, blue and grey water footprint of wheat in a spatially-explicit way, both from a production and consumption perspective. The assessment is global and improves upon earlier research by taking a high-resolution approach, estimating the water footprint of the crop at a 5 by 5 arc minute grid. We have used a grid-based dynamic water balance model to calculate crop water use over time, with a time step of one day. The model takes into account the daily soil water balance and climatic conditions for each grid cell. In addition, the water pollution associated with the use of nitrogen fertilizer in wheat production is estimated for each grid cell. We have used the water footprint and virtual water flow assessment framework as in the guideline of the Water Footprint Network.

The global wheat production in the period 1996–2005 required about 108 billion cubic meters of water per year. The major portion of this water (70%) comes from green water, about 19% comes from blue water, and the remaining 11% is grey water. The global average water footprint of wheat per ton of crop was 1830 m3/ton. About 18% of the water footprint related to the production of wheat is meant not for domestic consumption but for export. About 55% of the virtual water export comes from the USA, Canada and Australia alone. For the period 1996–2005, the global average water saving from international trade in wheat products was 65 Gm3/yr.

A relatively large total blue water footprint as a result of wheat production is observed in the Ganges and Indus river basins, which are known for their water stress problems. The two basins alone account for about 47% of the blue water footprint related to global wheat production. About 93% of the water footprint of wheat consumption in Japan lies in other countries, particularly the USA, Australia and Canada. In Italy, with an average wheat consumption of 150 kg/yr per person, more than two times the word average, about 44% of the total water footprint related to this wheat consumption lies outside Italy. The major part of this external water footprint of Italy lies in France and the USA.


Integrating industrial technologies within education curricula, as well as creating fabrication laboratories, has become inevitable for Architecture Departments: digital design tools(eg: CGandCADsoftware)and digital fabrication tools(eg: cutting, printing, and milling technologies)have become standard assets almost every University has a digital fabrication lab, or at least a 3D printer, or a laser cutting machine. The education system itself is striving to find new pedagogic methods to best involve students in the learning process: learning-by-doing, project-based learning, gamification,"tailored" curricula, etc. All of these methods require simplification of the basic theoretical set of knowledge which is fundamental in any profession, especially in Architecture. Moreover,thefirstoutcomesofappliedlearning-by-doing programs show that such programs are as time-demanding as traditional programs [1]. On the other hand, the use of advanced tools such as parametric/generative software and prototyping/fabrication machines demands a high degree of interdisciplinary preparation, always crossing the boundaries of the specific field of study. Therefore, the integration of design and fabrication technologies in Architecture Education is not a simple process and it requires a redesign of the whole curriculum as well as the creation of an educational transition system from secondary schools to university. Switchingfromstandardarchitecturaldesignprocessestoadvanceddigitaldesignand fabrication enhanced processes is possible by learning how to code.


Proper radio link design requires an accurate prediction of the effective earth radius factor (the kfactor) distribution, for the location where propagation is intended. Though a median value of k equals 4/3 is normally use for communication design purposes, in reality the true k-factor values differ, for different locations, globally. The effective earth radius factor distribution for Southern Africa was evaluated in the dissertation. The two Southern African countries chosen for the study are Botswana and Republic of South Africa. The dissertation reports in detail a study on the topic using three years radiosonde data obtain in Maun, Botswana and ten months radiosonde data collected in Durban, South Africa. An analytical model was proposed, which predicts the probability density function of the k-factor for the Southern Africa using the data from these two countries. Also a comparison of the data from the two countries was done in the analysis and reported in the write-up. The application of the work was also investigated and reported by simulating a radio link between Sherwood and Umlazi in Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The consequence of using inappropriate design value of k on link reliability was also investigated and reported. Recommendation for future work was given in the concluding chapter for future improvement on the study. Radio communication designers will find the results obtain in the report useful. Effective Earth Radius factor Distribution For Southern Africa, Odedina.P. K. Feb,2005 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Declaration Acknowledgement Abstract Table of


Amid the turbulence of political assassinations, the civil rights struggle, and antiwar protests, American society was experiencing growing affluence and profound cultural change during the 1960s. The film industry gradually redirected its energies, resulting in a distinctive break from traditional business and stylistic practice and emergence of a new "cinema of sensation." Feature films became faster-paced and more graphic, the antihero took his place alongside the classic Hollywood hero, and "downer" films like Midnight Cowboy proved as popular as those with upbeat fare. Paul Monaco gives a sweeping view of this exhilarating decade, ranging from the visceral sensation of Bonnie and Clyde, to the comic-book satire of Dr. Strangelove, to the youthful alienation of The Graduate.


The determination of uranium elemental concentrations and isotope ratios has been a major task
for the BGS inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) laboratory over the last
five years. UK government departments and the nuclear industry have ongoing environmental
monitoring programmes which require high quality data. The need for a greater understanding of
chemical pathways, sinks and sources has been a driver for BGS to continue to improve
analytical performance but with a minimal increase in costs. This study seeks to identify whether
isotope dilution could provide a significant increase in analytical performance with minimal cost
implications.
This report reviews the fundamental concepts of isotope dilution and its advantages over related
techniques such as internal standardisation. It considers the potential benefits of quadrupole ICPMS
(ICP-QMS) over other techniques where high productivity is an issue, such as for
environmental monitoring. The optimisation of the ICP-MS acquisition parameters including
peak dwell times, detector dead-times, spike concentrations and operating conditions are
examined.
Isotope dilution (ID) relies heavily on the accurate calibration of the 233U spike and the process
of reverse isotope dilution is used and discussed as part of this study. A series of experiments
was conducted to ascertain the degree of chemical preparation required for accurate isotope
dilution determination. These included comparing the effectiveness of using the 233U spike with
internal standardisation by a proxy element, to overcome ICP-MS matrix effects and changes in
sensitivity. Finally, the proposed methodology was tested using a range of natural rock reference
materials with known uranium concentrations covering various common igneous and metasedimentary
types.
This project established that the use of 233U, a by-product of nuclear fuel processing, provided
superior precision when used as an internal standard for measurements of other uranium isotope
concentrations, compared to indium, rhenium or bismuth.
The data suggest that the within sample precision is better when full ID quantification is
performed, regardless of the matrix, than when using the spike as an internal standard. The
IDMS technique could potentially eliminate the current column separation procedure, which
would achieve significant savings in staff time and consumables. A small systematic bias has
been observed in the data. It is thought that one of the most likely factors is the assumption made
about the density of the 233U spike solution, which would affect the IDMS calculations but have
no influence when 233U is used as an internal standard.
It will not always be appropriate to use this method for the determination of uranium isotope
concentrations and a decision tree needs to be devised to determine the appropriate method to be
used for each potential application.
The investigation has proved the value and potential of this methodology for isotope
concentration analysis by quadrupole ICP-MS. Once a robust, fit for purpose methodology can
be applied routinely, the possibility of the use of IDMS for other stable isotopes should be
considered.


A time-dependent emission model for blazar jets, taking acceleration due to Fermi-I and Fermi-II processes for electrons and protons as well as all relevant radiative processes self-consistently into account, is presented. The presence of highly relativistic protons within the jet extends the simple synchrotron self-Compton case not only in the very high energy radiation of blazars, but also in the X-ray regime, introducing non-linear behaviour in the emitting region of the model by photon-meson production and emerging electron positron pair cascades. We are able to investigate the variability patterns of blazars in terms of our model in all energy bands, thus narrowing down the parameters used. The blazar 1 ES 1011+496 serves as an example of how this model is applied to high frequency peaked BL Lac Objects in the presence of non-thermal protons within the jet. Typical multiband patterns are derived, which are experimentally accessible.


Abstract. Ubi caritas et amor. A Comparatist Reading of Le Baiser au lépreux and O Veleiro de Cristal. Le Baiser au lépreux (The Kiss to the Leper), by François Mauriac, and O Veleiro de Cristal (The Crystal Sailboat), by José Mauro de Vasconcelos, are a priori aimed at two different audiences. Le Baiser au lépreux is indeed generally considered to be Mauriac's first important book, whereas O Veleiro de Cristal belongs to "children's literature", like O Meu Pé de Laranja Lima (in English "My Sweet Orange Tree"), by the same author, which was very successful in Brazil but also in France. However, the two stories share deep similarities, so we can draw parallels between them. As far as the narrative level is concerned, both of the books tell the story of a human being who suffers because of his physical appearance; Jean Péloueyre in Le Baiser au lépreux and Eduardo in O Veleiro de Cristal are rejected by their close relatives and hide from other people. They try to escape from their painful experience, thanks to the religion in the case of Jean Péloueyre, even if the latter gives rise to an existential drama, and thanks to the imagination in the case of Eduardo, who discovers in the house where his aunt Anna has led him animals who are able to talk. In both stories, eventually, the theme of charity is fundamental: in Mauriac's novel, Noémi marries Jean and ends up loving him with a love based on charity and that can be defined as agapè, while in O Veleiro de Cristal Anna renounces all vanity to devote herself to her nephew, her charity echoing the one of the animals who live in the Crystal Sailboat.


The rapid expansion of the population age 60 and older has a number of economic implications. The people in this group, about 18 percent of the population, account for about 30 percent of all health care expenditures. They use hospitals at nearly three times the rate of younger persons, average seven to eight medical visits per year, and occupy the majority of nursing residence beds. Providing information on the relationship of socio-economic and other factors to nutrient intake is basic to improving the health and well-being of the elderly. This exploratory investigation provides estimates of the effects of selected characteristics of the household and its constituents on individual nutrient consumption of elderly heads of households. Formal education was positively related to nutrient consumption. The elderly who live in households with income below 130 percent of the poverty level tended to have lower nutrient intakes than those elderly in households with higher incomes. Blacks, urbanites, and Southerners generally consumed less of the selected nutrients. Neither participation in the Food Stamp Program nor receipt of surplus foods was a significant factor in nutrient intake of elderly individuals. Possible nutrition interventions focus on targeted audiences and programs.


The problem of multi-objective optimisation of air-conditioning (AC) systems is treated in the paper in the framework of intuitionistic fvzzy (lF) set theory. The nature of the problem is multi-objective one with requirements for minimal costs (generally, life cycle costs; more specifically, energy costs) and maximal occupants' comfort (minimal discomforl). Moreover, its definition by conventional means is bounded to a number of restrictions and assumptions, which are often far from the real-life situations. Attempts have been made to formulate and solve this problem by means of the fuzzy optimisation [4]. The present paper makes further step by exploring the innovative concept of IF sets [6] into definition of the trickiest issue: comfort and discomforr definition. The new approach allows to formulate more precisely the problem which compromises energy saving and thermal comfort satisfaction under given constraints. The resulting IF optimisation problem could be solved numerically or, under some assumptions, analytically Il]-t21. An example illustrates the viability of the proposed approach. A solution which significantly (with 3S%) improves comfort is found which is more energetically expensive with only 0.6Yo. This illustrates the possibility to use the approach for trade-off analysis in multi-objective optimisation of AC systems.


Objective: To explore the Patients and Basic Knowledge of Medications in Saudi Arabia. Methods: It is a 4-months cross-sectional survey of patient and basic knowledge of medicines. The survey consisted of twopart, demographic information and second part forty-nine questions divided into four domains. It included domain 1: Primary or essential information about patient medication, domain 2: patient information about the drug-related problem, domain 3: patient information about drug-related cost and domain 4: patient's perception about medications. Medline Plus health information and DailyMed-INH elements information from National Institute of Health United State of America were used. The 5-point Likert response scale system was used. The questions were open and closed-ended. The survey distributed through social media and at 500-bed pediatrics and maternity hospital in Asir region, at ambulatory care pharmacy. The authors did the patients interview with electronic survey documentation. The survey was made in an electronic format and it analyzed domain one Primary or necessary information about patient medication through survey monkey system. Results: The total responders were (614) patients with Saudi 564 (96.1%) and Non-Saudi was 23 (3.9%) nationalities. The gender distribution 523 (85.2%) were females and 91 (14.8%) were males. The most type of medications used was anti-diabetic and anti-hypertension medicines, Skin medications and drugs for Respiratory Diseases. The responders showed poor knowledge either they do not know or weak information about the generic name of Medicines 300 (54.8%), the trade name 246 (46.8%). While adequate knowledge both complete and incomplete information of drug strength 324 (60.9%) and dosage form of medication 377 (70.6%). The patients showed adequate knowledge about medications with both complete information and incomplete information about drug indication 456 (77.8%), how to use medications 496 (84.78%), the administration time 493 (84.71%), the potential to adhere medication 431 (73.9%) and the time to stop drugs 391 (67.1%). The majority of responders used health care providers 346 (57%), drug bulletin 341 (56.2%), Internet 221 (36.4%) and Relatives and friends 137 (22.57%) as sources of drug information. Conclusion: The finding showed indigent essential drug information knowledge. Targeting of public awareness of necessary information about their medications and patient counseling system will prevent drug misadventures and drug-related morbidity and mortality in Saudi Arabia. Key words: Patient, Knowledge, Medications, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.


The concept of ethics is something that all researchers must come to terms with every time they consider a study involving humans or animals. Since the Nuremberg Trials, the changing needs of the research community with regards to research design and the recruitment of participants has seen requirements for participation in studies change dramatically with respect to ethical guidelines. The aim of this thesis is to investigate, through well-documented long-term public health cohort studies, how changing perceptions of ethics have impacted on research design and outcomes. The research has been undertaken particularly from an epidemiological point of view as well as in terms of rates of participation.
In order to explore the evolution of ethical thinking and its potential effect on long-term longitudinal cohort studies with a public health bias, an iterative search process was employed to determine eligible studies and to extract relevant papers for the literature review. Examination of response rates in the context of the recruitment processes and ethical constructs in place at the time of recruitment was also undertaken. In addition to qualifying the nature of change in the ethical landscape, it is important to note that questions and changes resulting from ethics frameworks and committees may affect both the implementation and interpretation of the proposed work. By establishing this framework of change, the thesis explores and examines the impact of what can be coined as the ―New Ethics Research Environment‖. A retrospective examination of landmark studies with respect to how they may be affected by contemporary guidelines was used to illustrate the influence of the New Ethics Research Environment on large scale cohort studies which impact on health research outcomes at both an international and local level.
The significance of this thesis is that it highlights the fact that ethics, as a construct in long-term research, generally has the most impact during recruitment and initial implementation of the study. Ethics, as an evolving concept, does not appear to affect long term studies which do not, themselves, change in scope – that is, those studies with only one cohort and no change in methodology. However, when cohorts are continually recruited, changing ethics and changing perceptions have significantly impacted on cohort selection and methodology both prospectively and retrospectively.


This paper presents the CITYCLUSTER project, a virtual-reality networking matrix, in a high-tech framework with original technological features, navigation, interactivity, graphic, and content style, in which multiple environments, ambiences, and cities, both real and imagined, can be hosted, coexist, and be interrelated within themselves through a common virtual territory. It can be interconnected by high-speed network, enabling remote participants to access, interact, and collaborate in shared environments and work together in a common virtual space over distance in real time. The framework can be expanded and modified in accordance with the digital environment to be incorporated. Meta-Net-Page, a virtual-reality collaborative networking tool, was designed and implemented ad hoc for CITYCLUSTER. From the Renaissance to the Megabyte Networking Age is the first CITY-CLUSTER virtual-reality networked application, which offers visitors a thrilling interactive journey, from the Renaissance to the Super Broadband Networking and Electronic Age. Florence represents the Renaissance Age, Chicago the Gigabits Networking Age. Each virtual city is inhabited by a group of avatars: David, Venus, and Machiavelli in Florence, and Mega, Giga, and Picasso in Chicago. The implementation of CITYCLUSTER has given rise to a range of technological challenges, which in turn have revealed innovative aspects and salient features relative to content management, the development of juxtaposed virtual environments, networking interactive techniques, avatar design, architecture, and virtual effects. A series of special features and enhancements have been added to the software Ygdrasil, to satisfy content and quality levels of interactivity. In consequence, the Ygdrasil system was further refined as software tools that aid the rapid and intuitive development of interactive virtual environments for artists and other nontechnical users. The CITYCLUSTER project is primarily designed to run in the CAVE and on the AGAVE (Access Grid Augmented Virtual Environment). It can run either locally or through remote networking in both SGIs and the Linux platform.


The concentration, size, and composition of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) was measured over Mexico City and central Mexico with a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) onboard the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft as part of the MILAGRO field campaign. This was the first aircraft deployment of the HR-ToF-AMS, in which the instrument performed very well, and provided 12 s data. The aerosol mass from the AMS correlates strongly with other aerosol measurements on board the aircraft. Organic aerosol (OA) species dominate the NR-PM1 mass. OA correlates strongly with CO and HCN indicating that pollution (mostly secondary OA, SOA) and biomass burning (BB) are the main OA sources. The OA to CO ratio indicates a typical value for aged air of around 80 ?g m?3 (STP) ppm?1. This is within the range observed in outflow from the Northeastern US, which could be due to a compensating effect between higher BB but lower biogenic VOC emissions during this study. The O/C atomic ratio for OA is calculated from the HR mass spectra and shows a clear increase with photochemical age, as SOA forms rapidly and quickly overwhelms primary urban OA, consistent with Volkamer et al. (2006) and Kleinman et al. (2007b). BB OA is marked by signals at m/z 60 and 73, and also by a signal enhancement at large m/z indicative of larger molecules or more resistance to fragmentation. The main inorganic components show different spatial patterns and size distributions. Sulfate is regional in nature with clear volcanic and petrochemical/power plant sources, while the urban area is not a major source for this species. Nitrate is enhanced significantly in the urban area and immediate outflow, and is strongly correlated with CO indicating a strong urban source. The importance of nitrate decreases with distance from the city likely due to evaporation. BB does not appear to be a strong source of nitrate despite its high emissions of nitrogen oxides, presumably due to low ammonia emissions. NR-chloride often correlates with HCN indicating a fire source, although other sources likely contribute as well. This is the first aircraft study of the regional evolution of aerosol chemistry from a tropical megacity.


The Fabaceae species have a major role to play in sustainable farming systems, but they have lagged behind other families in respect to the development of doubled haploid protocols for plant improvement. Currently, no plant improvement program uses doubled haploids on a routine basis for any member of the Fabaceae. There has recently been renewed interest in haploid research as the usefulness of doubled haploid material in molecular mapping has become clear. This review provides a comprehensive account of the current information regarding the development of haploid protocols in the Fabaceae. In the Fabaceae crop species there have been isolated reports of haploid plant induction in the phaseoloid clade; soybean, cowpea and pigeonpea, as well as promising progress towards haploidy in peanut and winged bean. As yet there have been no reports of haploid plant production in the galegoid clade, but early stage haploid embryogenesis has been achieved in chickpea, field pea, and lupin. Success in the production of haploid plants has also been reported within the pasture genera Lotus, Medicago, and Trifolium and the arboreal genera Cassia, Peltophorum, and Albizzia. A review of the literature has enabled us to identify some general similarities between the protocols developed for haploid plant induction across the various legumes. These are the culture of intact anthers; use of a cold pretreatment to induce sporophytic development; targeting of microspores at the uninucleate stage of development; and use of MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) based nutrient medium with plant growth regulators to encourage continued division following induction. These protocol commonalities will assist researchers to identify approaches suited to their target Fabaceae species. The paucity of research funding for haploid research in most Fabaceae species has highlighted the need for strong collaborative linkages between institutions and researchers. Referees: Professor Laima Kott, Crop Science Department, University of Guelph, Guelph ON N1G 2W1.


We study the Isomorphism Conjecture proposed by Berman and Hartmanis. It states that all sets complete for NP under polynomial-time many-one reductions are P-isomorphic to each other. From previous research it has been widely believed that all NP-complete sets are reducible each other by one-to-one and length-increasing polynomial-time reductions, but we may not hope for the full p-isomorphism due to the existence of one-way functions. Here we showed two results on the relation between one-way functions and the Isomorphism Conjecture. Firstly, we imporve the result of Agrawal [Agrawal, CCC'02] to show that if regular oneway functions exist, then all NP-complete sets are indeed reducible each other by one-toone, length-increasing and P/poly-reductions. A consequence of this result is the complete description of the structure of many-one complete sets of NP relative to a random oracle: all NP-complete sets are reducible each other by one-one and length-increasing polynomialtime reductions but (as already shown by [Kurtz etal, JACM 95]) they are not P-isomorphic. Neverthless, we also conjecture that (different from the random oracle world) all one-way functions should have some dense easy parts, which we call P/poly-easy cylinders, where they are P/poly-invertible. Then as our second result we show that if regular one-way functions exist and furthermore all one-one, length-increasing and P/poly-computable functions have P/poly-easy cylinders, then all many-one complete sets for NP are P/poly-isomorphic.


We put aside our sadness at the death of Erika Sutter, at the impressive age of 98, to celebrate the life of a truly remarkable pioneering ophthalmologist and inspirational human being. Some of the Community Eye Health Journal's readers will have been touched by Erika's powerful promotion of community development in her capacity as an ophthalmologist, a teacher at the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) in London and the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel, and author of academic papers and educational books, most notably Hanyane, A Village Struggles for Eye Health. Erika Sutter was born and raised in Basel, Switzerland. After completing a doctorate in plant physiology in 1952, she worked for Roche and then the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Throughout this time her faith guided her towards a missionary life. She joined the Swiss Mission in South Africa and took up the position of laboratory technician at the missionary hospital in Elim, an impoverished rural area in NorthEastern South Africa. Here her alertness to social disparities made her acutely aware of the injustices of apartheid and the need to address the political and social causes of disease. In 1956, Erika was accepted to study medicine in South Africa. As there was a need for an eye specialist at Elim Hospital, she trained further in Switzerland, returning to South Africa in 1965 as a fully qualifi ed ophthalmologist. She worked tirelessly at Elim Hospital while at the same time developing dreams for a comprehensive approach to blindness prevention. Her dreams were realised in three important projects: the introduction of a Diploma in Ophthalmic Nursing, the establishment of the Rivoni Rehabilitation Centre for Visually Impaired and Blind People, and, most notably, the Elim Care Group Project. Having treated the late effects of trachoma for many years, Erika realised that "it was necessary to come out of the hospital and to the people, there where the disease starts – in order to reach those who could still do something to prevent it." Working with Selina Maphorogo, she founded the Care Groups, village self-help groups working for better health in their communities. Within three years of starting the project, the prevalence of active trachoma had decreased by 50%. The movement is still strong more than 30 years later with around 2,000 members in over 200 villages working for improved health and social development. Those of us who worked with Erika at ICEH admired her for her humility, her dogged determination to do a job properly with meticulous attention to detail, and her belief that the perspectives of the powerless – village women, and health workers low down in the medical hierarchy – are crucial to fi nding solutions.


Skeletal muscle relaxants are a broad class of active pharmaceutical ingredients routinely prescribed for a variety of clinical conditions. The design of a successful product in this category relies primarily on the formulation strategies as compared to the drug in question. Almost all of the skeletal muscle relaxants known till date are extensively metabolised by first pass metabolism when administered orally, reducing their bioavailability and thus creating a need for newer methods to deliver the drugs into the body. Another drawback of oral delivery for these drugs relates to the possible side effect profiles. The main objective of this review is to report the current approaches for the delivery of skeletal muscle relaxants. Here, we have discussed the outcome of different techniques adopted in delivering the skeletal muscle relaxants through different routes of administration with an aim of lowering the side effects and providing sufficient concentration of drug in the body.


W we began our last strategic planning review for the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) in 1997, California's economy was booming. The state was experiencing doubledigit revenue gains, largely fueled by the high-technology sector, and UC saw its base budget increasing after the lean years of the early 1990s. The Division also shared in new revenues during the boom times, with ANR research augmented $1.5 million in 1997-1998 and Cooperative Extension's (CE) budget increased $3 million between 1998 and 2000. As we entered the new millennium, we were planning for expansion in our CE advisor and specialist ranks and modest, but incremental growth in our research. This changed suddenly and dramatically in early 2002 on news that a sharp decline in tax revenues would leave California facing a $35 billion budget shortfall. As a consequence, UC lost nearly $1 billion in state funds over the next 24 months; ANR saw its research program cut $19 million (20%) and CE by $12.5 million (25%). Since ANR state funds mainly pay for salaries and benefits, the cuts caused significant reductions in administrative, field support and academic positions. In all, nearly 350 campus and systemwide positions were lost through retirements, layoffs and attrition, or will not be filled. We eliminated or consolidated a number of statewide programs, allocated temporary funds to salaries and benefits to avoid further layoffs and made deep reductions in administrative budgets in Oakland. When the potential impact of the state budget crisis became clear in late 2002, the deans, other ANR leaders and I began the process of re-evaluating the scope of programs for ANR. We were determined to get a clear picture of available resources, shortand long-term, evaluate and identify the strengths and limitations of the Division, and change how we do business. Our goal was to think more strategically about ANR. What should we look like in the future? How should we invest our limited resources? Where could ANR make a difference? Early on we recognized the value of fully involving external stakeholders and the ANR community in both an advisory and consultative role during these deliberations. In spring 2003, we commissioned three studies that looked at organizing CE for the future, potential cost-recovery programs to augment CE funding, and options for improving the ANR statewide organization. The recommendations and findings from these reports were posted online to make them accessible to as broad an audience as possible. In January and February 2004, we held five listening sessions across the state to solicit input from stakeholders, partners and ANR employees. More than 500 people attended these public meetings and their input, insights and recommendations were invaluable. Several recurrent themes emerged. Participants urged us to focus ANR programs and resources on high-priority issues; maintain county-based CE; improve coordination across campus, county and statewide programs; and increase opportunities for external stakeholder participation in ANR planning efforts. I want to share our progress in focusing ANR programs and resources on high-priority issues. This recommendation was heard from our stakeholdeers at every listening session, and makes sense fiscally and programmatically given the budget cuts of the past 2 years. We realize we cannot continue to try to be all things to all people. We know that our options, over the short term, are somewhat limited without an infusion of new permanent state funding. In the meantime, ANR's leadership will focus the Division's resources on programs where we can make the greatest difference. In September 2004, on the recommendation of the ANR Program Council, we adopted a set of priorities or core issues, which will be used in the short term for the allocation of discretionary ANR resources to fund competitive grant programs and other collaborative efforts. Over the long term, they are expected to influence hiring decisions for CE advisors and specialists and to further define ANR programs and priorities. The Program Council identified and recommended 21 core issues they considered to be of the greatest relevance and importance to California's agricultural, natural and human resources sectors and appropriate to ANR's mission. High-priority core issues are food safety, invasive species, pest management, sustainability and viability of agriculture, water quality and youth development. Medium-priority core issues are air quality, biosecurity, human nutritional status, land use, obesity, organic production, soil quality, sustainable use of natural resources, waste management, water supply and allocation, and wildland fire. Low-priority core issues are agricultural labor, community development, family and consumer well-being, and food security. The low-priority issues, while recognized as representing critical needs for California and important fields of endeavor for ANR, are areas where new investment of resources is not likely in the near future. We are already using the core issues and priorities established by the Program Council as the basis for a new ANR competitive grants program announced on Sept. 15. The UCANR Core Issue & Target Opportunity Grants Program will allocate approximately $800,000 in discretionary funds for collaborative research projects, based on the six high-priority core issues and two of the medium-priority issues (obesity and sustainable use of natural resources). Proposals are due Nov. 15. By focusing our limited resources according to these priorities, ANR will continue to deliver the high-quality research and extension programs that Californians need to remain competitive in global markets and maintain their quality of life. For more information, go to http://groups.ucanr.org/directions/ ANR Looks to the Future


ABSTRACT Heavy metal in wastewater is a crucial concern due to its toxicological manifestations on human health, particularly in developing countries. Compared to different conventional heavy metal removal methods, cyanobacteria mediated heavy metal removal is a potential method, as it is a cost-effective, in situ operable, and green chemistry approach. They are excellent tools for multidirectional metal sequestration operations as they can simultaneously sequester metal through biosorption and bioaccumulation. Biosorption is a cell surface phenomenon, whereas bioaccumulation occurs inside the cell. This study reviewed deeply how cyanobacteria sequester heavy metal ions by these two processes from an ambient water body and the defense mechanism of cyanobacteria against metal-induced toxicity. Further, among the different components of the cyanobacteria's cell wall, this blue–green algae biosorb the metal ion mainly through Exopolysaccharide (EPS). The article discusses several pathways of EPS biosynthesis to know the potential engineering approach for producing this incredible polymer, which facilitates its metal ion adsorption property. Furthermore, we compare different cyanobacterial species' ability to sequester heavy metals from water in different environmental conditions. Limnococcussp, Nostocmuscorum, and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 shows optimum efficiency based on heavy metal removal, multi-metal removal by biosorption and bioaccumulation, and contact time. Finally we for the first time, discussed the circadian clock application in the cyanobacterial metal ion sequestration process, which might disclose the molecular-level mechanisms of cyanobacteria to sequester metal ions and different defense mechanisms. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Background: γ-Glutamyltransferase (GGT), which maintains cellular concentrations of glutathione, may be a marker of oxidative stress, and GGT itself may produce oxidative stress. We performed a prospective study to examine whether serum GGT predicts diabetes and hypertension.

Methods: Study participants were 4844 black and white men and women 18–30 years of age in 1985–1986; they were reexamined 2, 5, 7, 10, and 15 years later. Year 0 GGT cutpoints were 12, 17, 25, and 36 U/L (overall 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles; the laboratory cutpoints for abnormal are 40 U/L in women and 50 U/L in men). We deleted 32 participants with prevalent diabetes and 140 participants with prevalent hypertension from the respective incidence analyses.

Results: After adjustment for study center, race, sex, and age in proportional hazards regression, the hazard ratios across year 0 GGT categories were 1.0, 1.6, 1.7, 4.0 (95% confidence interval, 2.0–8.1), and 5.5 (2.7–11.1) for 15-year incident diabetes and 1.0, 1.2, 1.7 (1.2–2.2), 2.3 (1.7–3.2), and 2.3 (1.7–3.2) for hypertension. Additional adjustment for year 0 alcohol consumption, body mass index, cigarette smoking, and physical activity attenuated this relationship, but GGT remained a significant predictor.

Conclusions: Serum GGT within a range regarded as physiologically normal is associated with incident diabetes and hypertension. Considering known functionality of GGT, these associations are consistent with a role for oxidative stress in risk for diabetes and hypertension.


An increasing access and enrolment do not necessarily ensure school effectiveness or educational progress. They are, of course, other parameters of development of education, rather than being measures of standards of quality education. The present paper opts to scrutinize whether infrastructural development in schools at all ensures good educational development or not. To accomplish this, Education Infrastructural Index has been prepared through Access, Facility and Teacher Index whereas a combination of Enrollment Index and Literacy Index gave rise Educational Development Index. The study reveals that accessibility factor begets a division within rural spaces in the form of backward rural, rural and prosperous rural that manifests through the availability of the teachers and facilities. In the urban areas, wherein accessibility is not a matter of concern, facilities and teachers matter in making difference between the less developed and developed urban areas. The higher Educational Development Index at the non-rural areas indicates town- centric nature of the development of our educational system. Superimposition of the infrastructural and developmental parameters revealed that good infrastructure does not always ensure good educational achievement. In the light of these backdrops, the key purpose of this article is to measuring spatiality in infrastructure and development of high school education in Hooghly District of West Bengal, India.


The present study provides empirical evidence on
resource allocation in paddy farming under different tenure
categories based on data collected from 105 paddy farms by
The Agro-Economic Survey of Indonesia (SAE), for the 1980/ 1981
wet season at two villages in East Java.
To observe resource allocation in different tenure
categories, Cobb-Douglas production function analysis was
employed by introducing dummy variables for owner operator,
fixed rental and mixed tenant. In this analysis the assumption that
no difference exists in the slope of production function between
share tenant and the other three tenure categories
A dummy variable for village was also introduced to
differences in production functions between the two
being studied. The difference between pure owner
tenant in terms of their constant terms or
parameter and output elasticity of input or slope of the production function was also observed in this analysis .
Analysis of resource use efficiency was done by using the
ratio of Marginal value product (MVP) to its marginal factor cost
to examine the allocation of the resources in paddy farming under
different tenure categories. Results obtained from Least Square estimates based on the
Cobb-Douglas type production function indicated significant
differences between share tenant farms in their production
function. Share tenant appeared to be in the lowest category in
their paddy production, while the highest was mixed tenant
followed by owner operator and fixed rental farms.
Between pure owner and pure tenant there were significant
differences in their constant term and their slopes of production
function with respect to land and human labour input. This
implied that there were significant differences in their land and
human labour productivity. Pure owner appeared to be more
productive in using their land input relative to pure tenant, and
tenant appears more productive in using their human labour input
than pure owner.
Paddy farm income of share tenant was observed to be the
lowest relative to the other tenure categories (significant at 1%). The average annual per capita income also appeared to be
the lowest as compared to owner operator or fixed rental farmer,
although statistically was not significant.
Analysis of resource use efficiency indicated that for
all categories of tenure input factors
allocated. This implied that re-al1ocation
were inefficiently
of resources would
have important impact on the yield of paddy. In this analysis,
it was observed that hired human labour and current inputs, which consist of expenses on seed, insecticide, fertilizer and the rent
of sprayer, were used below optimum levels


Treatments that target the GTPase RAC1 signaling could be developed as antidepressants. In the chronic social defect stress model of depression, smaller mice are repeatedly confronted with larger, more aggressive mice, which results in the majority of the smaller mice developing social avoidance and anhedonic responses (referred to as "susceptible" mice) and the remaining mice showing resilience. Susceptible mice have an increase in dendritic spines with an "immature" or stubby morphology in medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens. Because the changes in dendritic spine morphology implicate proteins that control cytoskeletal organization, Golden et al. analyzed Rho guanosine triphophatase (GTPase)–related genes and found that the expression of Rac1 was decreased in the nucleus accumbens of susceptible mice, but not resilient mice, an effect that was partially reversed by chronic treatment with the antidepressant imipramine. Genome-wide promoter analysis indicated that the Rac1 promoter in susceptible mice was repressed, as indicated by decreased histone H3 acetylation and increased H3 Lys9 trimethylation (H3K27me3). Local administration of an HDAC inhibitor into the nucleus accumbens of susceptible mice reversed social avoidance behavior and increased Rac1 mRNA abundance. Susceptible mice showed reduced social avoidance after overexpression of a constitutively active form of Rac1 in the nucleus accumbens. In contrast, mice lacking Rac1 or that overexpressed a dominant-negative form of Rac1 in the nucleus accumbens developed social avoidance and anhedonia after a subthreshold microdefeat stress, which involves shorter and fewer exposures to aggressor mice and is designed to measure susceptibility to stress. Mice experiencing chronic social defeat had an increase in immature stubby spines on medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens. The change in stubby spine density in susceptible mice was attenuated by overexpression of constitutively active Rac1 and stubby spine density correlated with social avoidance behavior. Deletion of Rac1 in the nucleus accumbens increased stubby spine density in nonstressed mice and mice subjected to microdefeat stress. Analysis of postmortem nucleus accumbens tissue samples indicated that RAC1 mRNA abundance was lower in individuals with major depressive disorder who were not on medication at their time of death compared with nondepressed individuals and that RAC1 mRNA abundance correlated with H3 acetylation, although not with trimethylation status. In the associated commentary, Duman notes that therapies that target RAC1 signaling could be used to treat major depressive disorders. S. A. Golden, D. J. Christoffel, M. Heshmati, G. E. Hodes, J. Magida, K. Davis, M. E. Cahill, C. Dias, E. Ribeiro, J. L. Ables, P. J. Kennedy, A. J. Robison, J. Gonzalez-Maeso, R. L. Neve, G. Turecki, S. Ghose, C. A. Tamminga, S. J. Russo, Epigenetic regulation of RAC1 induces synaptic remodeling in stress disorders and depression. Nat. Med. 19, 337–344 (2013). [PubMed] R. S. Duman, Remodeling chromatin and synapses in depression. Nat. Med. 19, 267–268 (2013). [PubMed]


To be convicted of a crime in the United States, a person must be proven guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt." But what is reasonable doubt? Even sophisticated legal experts find this fundamental doctrine difficult to explain. In this accessible book, James Q. Whitman digs deep into the history of the law and discovers that we have lost sight of the original purpose of "reasonable doubt." It was not originally a legal rule at all, he shows, but a theological one. The rule as we understand it today is intended to protect the accused. But Whitman traces its history back through centuries of Christian theology and common-law history to reveal that the original concern was to protect the souls of jurors. In Christian tradition, a person who experienced doubt yet convicted an innocent defendant was guilty of a mortal sin. Jurors fearful for their own souls were reassured that they were safe, as long as their doubts were not "reasonable." Today, the old rule of reasonable doubt survives, but it has been turned to different purposes. The result is confusion for jurors, and a serious moral challenge for our system of justice.


An exemption in the Swedish Employment Security Act (LAS) in 2001 made it possible for employers with a maximum of ten employees to exempt two workers from the seniority rule at times of redundancies. Using this within-country enforcement variation, the relationship between employment protection and sickness absence among employees is examined. The average treatment effect from the exemption is found to decrease sickness absence by more than 13 percent at those establishments that were treated relative to those that were not and this was due to a behavioral, rather than a compositional, effect. The results suggest that the exemption had the largest impact on shorter spells and among establishments with a relatively low share of females or temporary contracts.


It is well established that the psychosis-inducing effects of the dissociative anesthetics phencyclidine (PCP) and ketamine, when used at subanesthetic doses such as in drug abuse, are produced by blockade of neurotransmission at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type glutamate receptors. However, their mechanisms of action at the brain circuitry level are poorly understood. Behrens et al. found that exposure of mice to subanesthetic doses of ketamine triggers an early and profound increase in neuronal superoxide production that is specifically due to induction of the inflammatory enzyme complex, NADPH oxidase-2 (Nox2). This in turn leads to the loss of phenotype of a specific subset of GABAergic interneurons, the parvalbumin-positive (PV) fast-spiking interneurons. Prevention of superoxide effects in the brain using a brain-permeable superoxide dismutase mimetic, as well as apocynin, a Nox2 inhibitor, strongly attenuated the ketamine-induced loss of parvalbumin and GAD67 immunoreactivity. M. M. Behrens, S. S. Ali, D. N. Dao, J. Lucero, G. Shekhtman, K. L. Quick, L. L. Dugan, Ketamine-induced loss of phenotype of fast-spiking interneurons is mediated by NADPH-oxidase. Science 318, 1645-1647 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]


This work deals with an indirect and non destructive measurement of tritium in solids. Instead of measuring tritium, we propose to measure the production rate of the decay product: 3He. The amount of tritium enclosed inside a waste drum can be determined with an adapted 3He ingrowth method that takes into account the leak rate of the drum. The model leads to different ways to quantify tritium in the drum. It is confirmed using reference drums that measuring the 3He leak by confining the drum during its equilibrium state gives the same result as sampling the drum atmosphere at the beginning of the storage. For each method, the appropriate apparatus, experimental procedures and calculation of tritium activity from mass spectrometric 3He measurements are detailed. Performances of these techniques are studied and discussed. In addition, we describe a novel and fully automated apparatus based on the confinement method that makes it possible to achieve a close tritium inventory of all the waste drums stored or produced at CEA Valduc.


Polymer monoliths have gained significant interest as stationary phase materials over the last 25 years. More recently, enthusiasm for polymer high internal phase emulsions (polyHIPEs) in chromatographic separations has grown, primarily due to their large pore sizes (greater than 10 µm), which make polyHIPEs highly permeable and ideal for high flow rate separations. In this study, the applicability of polyHIPE materials as stationary phase materials was investigated and novel methods to increase their surface area explored. A range of different polyHIPEs were prepared using monomers such as Sty, GMA and VBC to impart varying surface functionalities. The first instance of an OTCEC polyHIPE column was demonstrated and applied in a modest separation of alkylbenzenes.

Upon development of various polyHIPE materials, it was found that styrenic polyHIPEs gave an ideal morphology and were most appropriate for HPLC separations compared with VBC and GMA polyHIPEs. Previously, polyHIPEs have predominantly been utilised in gradient separations of protein standards. However, the applicability of these materials as stationary phase materials have not yet been investigated in isocratic separations. PS-co-DVB polyHIPEs within silcosteel columns (100 mm x 1.02 mm in I.D) were fabricated and chromatographic performance characteristics of the columns produced were established. The separation efficiency for alkylbenzenes investigated was lower than traditional polymer monoliths. However, the polyHIPEs of low surface area demonstrated a high separation capacity in comparison to traditional polymer monoliths produced in previous studies and presented the novel use of PS-co-DVB polyHIPEs for the separation of alkylbenzenes in HPLC. In addition the resolution, peak asymmetry, and high batch-to-batch reproducibility of %RSD of up to 3% were established of the polyHIPEs as stationary phases.

While separation capacity of the PS-co-DVB polyHIPEs were exceptional for such low surface area materials of 20 m2 g-1, surface area would become a major limitation upon developing the materials for more complex analytes. Methods such as inclusion of NPs during emulsion fabrication, agglomeration of NPs after amination and inclusion of additional porogens were utilised to enhance the surface area of the polyHIPEs. The inclusion of additional porogen toluene and agglomeration of gold NPs were investigated; the polyHIPEs were unsuitable for downstream applications because of mechanical rigidity and permeability issues respectively. The inclusion of GONPs within the PS-co-DVB emulsion was found to decrease the surface area of the material by up to 40% (16 m2 g-1). Nonetheless, the GONP modified polyHIPEs were utilised in HPLC in their reduced and non-reduced states. The GONP modified polyHIPEs showed no difference in selectivity; however were found to give similar separation capacities when compared to the unmodified higher surface area polyHIPE. The significance of these results was that the GONP modified polyHIPEs demonstrated a superior method of adsorption for the RP-HPLC of alkylbenzenes.

Finally, the first instance of fabrication of a polyHIPE coated OTCEC column using a multiple layer polymerisation technique was investigated in an attempt to increase the separation efficiency of the polyHIPE materials. The successfully fabricated coated columns had an increased efficiency of up to 3460 plates. However, poor injection-to-injection reproducibility was observed with increasing injections resulting in co-eluted peaks and greater diffusion effects. In addition, effects on the polyimide coatings in OTCEC in general when using organic modifier ACN was also expected to be an attributing factor to the low injection-to-injection reproducibility. The latter, however, was deemed an issue in which OTCEC polyHIPE columns would not be able to overcome.

From this study, it was established that polyHIPE materials have potential as stationary phase materials; however, the issue of low surface area, mechanical rigidity and inherent concave void structure of polyHIPEs will ultimately need to be addressed to minimise low separation capacities and higher diffusion effects. Throughout this thesis, strategies have been explored to negate these issues, and additional strategies have been proposed for future work. It is certain that if these issues are addressed, polyHIPEs have the potential to not only be comparable to traditional polymer monoliths in terms of chromatographic performance, but to exceed these traditional formats in terms of fabrication reproducibility, ultimately increasing their application in real world applications.


Many racialized immigrants, particularly Caribbean immigrants, leave their countries in hope of attaining a better life in Canada. In addition, skilled immigrants are lured to Canada by an aggressive immigration policy which promotes the notion that there is potential for immigrants to improve their lives and succeed as well rounded citizens who contribute to the Canadian society (Teelucksingh and Galabuzi, 2005). However, when many racialized immigrants try to enter the Canadian labour market, they face various challenges which sometimes continue after finding employment. This study will address the concerns relating to the barriers that Canadian labour market policies can present in the labour market, and the ways in which some Caribbean immigrants understand the policies, and experience its impact through systemic barriers. With the use of interviews by key informants from the Caribbean community, this paper seeks to explore the ways in which some racialized immigrants are acutely affected by Canada's labour market policies.


In this collection of essays, a group of musical enthusiasts assess the international careers of great Welsh soloists in the context of the national musical tradition. These individual careers are examined against the background of wider local traditions such as the Eisteddfod, religious festivals and male voice choirs. The emphasis of the book will be on the classical and operatic but the sheer variety and perpetually evolving nature of popular music in Wales is reflected in both general essays and in studies of two of the country's most successful entertainers. The book includes detailed chapters of Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and Bryn Terfel, alongside contemporary music phenomenons such as The Stereophonics, Catatonia and the Manic Street Preachers.


This study is undertaken on the premise that Islam and Islamic law is to be taken into serious consideration in any future legislative reform of laws in Malaysia. Islam being the religion of the country and the strong religious sentiment of the Muslims (who form the majority in Malaysia) cannot be overlooked or dismissed lightly by the legislators in Malaysia. Reformation of intellectual property laws is timely, as we are now approaching to the dateline set by GATF-Trips agreement which aim is to improve our standard of intellectual property protection. This study seeks to analyze and evaluate the current legislation pertaining to intellectual property in Malaysia in terms of the philosophy and rules governing the existence, ownership and exercise of these rights and their consistency and inconsistency with Islam and Islamic law. The main objective of this study is to prove that a coherent and logical conceptual framework of ownership of intellectual property can be derived from an Islamic perspective which not only offers the basis of rights but also defines the scope of these rights. From the point of ownership of rights, support can be obtained from the normative framework of property rights within the traditional classification of 'mal' (property) and 'haqq al-milkiyyah' (ownership rights) under Islamic law. From the point of exercise of rights, the exact scope can be defined from the analysis of fundamental concepts which have been developed by Muslim jurists. It has been established that Islam and Islamic law offers a sound and systematic paradigm, which in deeper analysis, can satisfy both our current obligations under international treatises, as well as our responsibility to practise our religion to the fullest.


Potential regulation of use of artificial intelligence by business should minimize the risks for consumers and the society without impeding the possible benefits. To do so, we argue, the legal reaction should be grounded in an empirical analysis and proceed case-by-case, bottom-up, as a series of responses to concrete research questions. The ambition of this report has been to commence and facilitate that process. We extensively document and evaluate the market practice of the corporate use of AI, map the scholarly debates about (consumer) law and artificial intelligence, and present a list of twenty five research questions which, in our opinion, require attention of regulators and academia. The report is divided into four sections. The first explains our understanding of the concepts of "artificial intelligence" (a set of socio-technological practices enabled by machine learning and big data) and "consumer law" (various legal instruments concretizing the principles of the weaker party protection, non-discrimination, regulated autonomy and consumer privacy). The second section documents the ways in which the business uses artificial intelligence in seven sectors of the economy: finance and insurance, information services, energy and "smart solutions", retail, autonomous vehicles, healthcare and legal services. For each analyzed sector we study the gains for the businesses stemming from the deployment of AI, the potential gains, but also challenges for consumers, as well as third party effects. In the third section, we repeat the analysis through the lens of four general "uses" of AI by businesses in various sectors: knowledge generation, automated decision making, advertising and other commercial practices and personal digital assistants. Finally, in the fourth section, we present the questions which we believe should be addressed in the next stage of the research. We cluster them into: normative questions about regulatory goals, technological and governance questions about regulatory means, and theoretical questions about concepts and preconceptions.


Metadiscourse has received considerable attention in recent years as a way of understanding the rhetorical negotiations involved in academic writing. But while a useful tool in revealing something of the dynamic interactions which underlie persuasive claim making, it has little to say about the role of nouns in this process. We address this gap by exploring the rhetorical functions of what we call metadiscursive nouns (such as fact, analysis, belief) and by mapping them onto a model of metadiscourse. The study examines 'metadiscursive noun + post-nominal clause' patterns, one of the most frequent structures containing such nouns, in a corpus of 120 research articles across six disciplines. Developing a rhetorically based classification and exploring the interactive and interactional use of metadiscursive nouns, we show that they are another key element of metadiscourse, offering writers a way of organizing discourse into a cohesive flow of information and of constructing a stance towards it. These interactions are further shown to realize the epistemological assumptions and rhetorical practices of particular disciplines.


The word is nearly ubiquitous: at the grocery store we shop for "sustainable foods" that were produced from "sustainable agriculture"; groups ranging from small advocacy organizations to city and state governments to the United Nations tout "sustainable development" as a strategy for local and global stability; and woe betide the city-dweller who doesn't aim for a "sustainable lifestyle." Seeming to have come out of nowhere to dominate the discussion-from permaculture to renewable energy to the local food movement-the ideas that underlie and define sustainability can be traced back several centuries. In this illuminating and fascinating primer, Jeremy L. Caradonna does just that, approaching sustainability from a historical perspective and revealing the conditions that gave it shape. Locating the underpinnings of the movement as far back as the 1660s, Caradonna considers the origins of sustainability across many fields throughout Europe and North America. Taking us from the emergence of thoughts guiding sustainable yield forestry in the late 17th and 18th centuries, through the challenges of the Industrial Revolution, the birth of the environmental movement, and the emergence of a concrete effort to promote a balanced approach to development in the latter half of the 20th century, he shows that while sustainability draws upon ideas of social justice, ecological economics, and environmental conservation, it is more than the sum of its parts and blends these ideas together into a dynamic philosophy. Caradonna's book broadens our understanding of what "sustainability" means, revealing how it progressed from a relatively marginal concept to an ideal that shapes everything from individual lifestyles, government and corporate strategies, and even national and international policy. For anyone seeking understand the history of those striving to make the world a better place to live, here's a place to start.


This paper reviews the existing research on the measurement of the value of knowledge and the impact of KMS on organizations in the Information Systems, Finances and Management literatures to try and derive a better understanding of the strategic value of knowledge. The papers argues that the focus of existing metrics is at the operational rather than the strategic level and subsequently does not provide a sound basis to determine strategic value, a metric important in Finance. The paper proposes that the strategic value of knowledge can be derived from an aggregated sum of the metrics at the operational level supplemented by some measure of the alignment of knowledge value aggregates with strategic goals and plans and another measure of the opportunity cost of tacit knowledge. An exploratory exemplar of a Thai company is used to illustrate the framework.


On 1 May 2004, the Republic of Cyprus entered the European Union, unaccompanied by the Turkish-Cypriot population in the northern third of the island. The Green Line – the militarized border marking the cessation of hostilities in 1974 – now defi nes the outer edge of the European Union, creating a fl uid and uncertain borderland which has become the focus for ongoing att empts to construct both the new Cyprus and the new Europe. Tourism has a central and contradictory role to play in these processes. It off ers an avenue for stimulating economic activity and raising income levels in the Turkish-Cypriot north, and presents an opportunity to develop complementary tourism products north and south which could widen the appeal of the island as a whole and promote collaborative ventures between Greekand TurkishCypriots. On the other hand, such developments face strong resistance from sections of the population north and south, who fear they will lead either to the legitimation and tacit recognition of the Turkish-Cypriot state in the north, or to a return to relations characterized by Greek-Cypriot dominance and Turkish-Cypriot dependence. The paper refl ects on the author's involvement in a village tourism development project in Cyprus in 2005–2006 in order to explore what an anthropological approach to the use of tourism for political ends can tell us about confl ict, and when, and under what conditions, tourism might be a force for peace and reconciliation.


[1] Experiments were conducted during the NASA Equatorial Ionospheric Study (EQUIS) II sounding rocket campaign on Kwajalein Atoll to investigate the dynamics and stability of the postsunset equatorial F region ionosphere prior to the onset of equatorial spread F (ESF). Experiments took place on 7 and 15 August 2004, each composed of the launch of an instrumented and two chemical release sounding rockets. The instrumented rockets measured plasma number density, vector electric fields, and other parameters to an apogee of about 450 km. The chemical release rockets yielded lower thermospheric wind profile measurements. The Altair radar was used to monitor coherent and incoherent scatter in UHF and VHF bands. In both experiments, large-scale waves preceded the emergence of ESF depletions and irregularities. We propose that the large-scale waves were produced by a collisional shear instability. A three-dimensional electrodynamic model is constructed that can reproduce the shear flow observed by the rockets. On the basis of the model, we calculate the linear growth rate for the collisional shear instability and show that it can compete with the generalized Rayleigh Taylor instability. A scenario where the former generates the large-scale waves and initiates the latter is discussed.


This dissertation presents an experimentally verified numerical simulator to predict dynamic loads imposed on diverter systems during the well unloading following a shallow gas blowout event. Chapter I presents an overview of important aspects of well control and diverter systems. Also in this chapter, the objective of this research is precisely defined. The following chapter reports the latest efforts of the oil industry to provide diverter systems with more reliable designs and operational procedures. In Chapter III, the apparatus and procedures for the experimental work are discussed. Nine experimental runs have been conducted and the results are reported in a graphical format. Also in Chapter III, an experimental simulator for a gas reservoir is described and its performance is evaluated. Chapter IV is devoted to the derivation of a numerical simulator for determining dynamic pressure loads imposed on diverter systems during well unloading experiments. The simulator is based on an unsteady state two-phase flow methodology that solves a system of flow differential equations by using the method of finite differences. Two-phase critical flow phenomenon is considered by the simulator. xiii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The following chapter describes the implementation of this procedure in a computer program. Simulation results have shown an acceptable agreement to the experimental data. In Chapter VI the computer program is modified to simulate real diverter operations. A gas reservoir mathematical model has been developed and incorporated into the modified computer program. Four field cases have been analyzed. The last chapter shows important conclusions drawn during the development of this research and recommendations for future work.


Conjugated, semiconducting polymers are widely used as active compounds of optoelectronic devices. Usually, they are applied as thin films or layers. However, most "conventional" luminogens show an aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ), which is detrimental for their application. In 2001, Tang et al. reported a novel aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon: Such luminogens weakly emit in dilute solution but intensely in the aggregated state. Restriction of intramolecular motions has been demonstrated to be the main mechanism for occurrence of the AIE effect by theoretical and experimental studies. Till now, plenty of AIE-active molecules have been synthesized, for the applications in organic light emitting devices (OLEDs), chemo/biosensors, cell imaging, and so on. However, most of them are low molecular weight compounds. Based on superior film forming and mechanical properties, also the design of high molecular weight, polymeric luminogens is promising, e.g. for the use in large-area or flexible devices.
 In this thesis, we introduce a new class of AIE polymers with AIE- or crystallization-induced emission (CIE)-active tri-/tetraphenylethylene and 2,3,3-triphenylacrylonitrile (TPAN) side chains. This strategy guarantees the occurrence of AIE properties without greatly affecting the electronic properties of the polymers' backbones. The obtained AIE-active polymers were applied in the detection of nitroaromatic explosives with two main benefits: a) their high fluorescence quantum yields in the aggregated state; b) their twisted and loose structure, which accelerates the diffusion of analyte molecules, thus enhancing the quenching efficiency. This thesis is comprised of four parts.
 1. Carbazole is a typical electron-rich building block, which is beneficial for the interaction with electron-deficient nitroaromatic explosives based on the fluorescence changes. Hence, a series of polycarbazoles (PCz3PEs, PCzTPEs) with AIE-active tri-/tetraphenylethylene side groups have been designed and synthesized. Among them, PCzTPEs showed distinct AIE effect and possess high fluorescence quantum yields in solid film. For the application in the detection of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) as prototypical nitroaromatic analyte, a sensitive
and amplified quenching effect was observed with a maximum quenching constant of 1.26×10 6 M -1 based on PCzTPE0.5 aggregates in 1/9 THF/water. Solid-state paper strips experiments based on PCzTPE and PCzTPE0.5 also showed sensitive PL quenching.
 2. Similar to carbazole, triphenylamine (TPA) buiding blocks also exhibit electron-rich characteristics and can serve as electron-donor moiety. Polytriphenylamines ( P1 and P2 ) with tetraphenylethylene (TPE) side chains have been synthesized. P1 and P2 showed distinct AIE behavior and have been used as films for the detection of TNB vapour, with excellent fluorescence response. 89% PL quenching within 10 min and outstanding repeatability have been observed. One disadvantage of P1 and P2 is their poor solubility. To solve this problem, bis( tert -butyl)-TPE groups were introduced to the backbone of the copolymers. The obtained copolymers showed improved solubility in common organic solvents and reasonable AIE properties leading to high solid state fluorescence quantum yields.
 3. Two polymers PCzTPAN and PTPATPAN have been developed with electron-rich carbazole- or TPA-based backbones and 2,3,3-triphenylacrylonitrile (TPAN) side chains. As a congener of TPE, TPAN is crystallization-induced emission (CIE)-active. Our polymers containing TPAN side groups showed distinct AIE properties. Moreover, the introduction of the electron-deficient TPAN units led to the occurrence of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) effects. For TNB detection, both polymers showed sensitive PL responses with a maximum PL quenching constant of 5.5×10 5 M -1 . Furthermore, PTPATPAN was used as dopant for detecting the glass transition temperature of polymers, with polystyrene as the example. The method is a straightforward, simple and sensitive way for the detection of the glass transition temperature, especially of thin films.
 4. In the last part, we designed conjugated polymers with electron-rich phenothiazine (PTz)- and thiophene-based backbones and TPE or TPAN as side chains. The obtained PTz polymers showed the expected AIE phenomenon. The polythiophenes, however, displayed ACQ effects, also in the presence of the AIE-active side chains, thus demonstrating a competition between intermolecular π-stacking and restriction of intramolecular motion. The photophysical properties of the polymers were studied in detail.


The nature of my work is to lift the veil on the optically impossible task of visually observing subatomic particles by translating the Standard Model into a coherent visual language. No one has ever seen, nor will anyone ever see, anything as small or fast as a Quark or a Neutrino; one could argue that they could look like anything, if they have looks at all. On the other hand, a translation to visual aesthetics of their properties and behavior may offer a basis for a discussion of their visual qualities. The proposal, as seen in the Fermilab Gallery, contextualizes the particles in a syntax where their properties like velocity, color, mass and spin are represented as visual elements within an order of itself. And perhaps yet more important, a visual perception of subatomic particles and their interaction makes this fantastic and beautiful world available to a broader audience.


Objective. Biologic therapies can improve disease control for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) but may be both overused and underused. We aimed to identify predictors of greater use of biologic therapies and to identify factors associated with persistent glucocorticoid use. Methods. Using national US Veteran's Affairs databases 2005–2016, we identified patients with RA receiving a first-ever prescription of methotrexate (MTX), requiring ≥ 6 months of baseline data. We evaluated predictors of biologic therapy initiation within 2 years of starting MTX and factors associated with baseline and persistent glucocorticoid use at 6–12 months using multivariable models. Results. Among 17,415 patients starting MTX, 3263 patients received biologic therapy within 2 years (20.6% 2-yr incidence). In adjusted analyses, biologic use was substantially lower in older patients [e.g., aHR 0.20 (95% CI 0.16, 0.26) for patients ≥ 80 vs < 50] and patients with more comorbidities [aHR 0.79 (95% CI 0.72, 0.87) for Charlson score ≥ 3 vs < 3]. Patients with heart failure [aHR 0.68 (95% CI 0.54, 0.84)], cancer [aHR 0.78 (95% CI 0.66, 0.92)], or who were nonwhite [aHR 0.79 (95% CI 0.72, 0.87)] were also less likely to receive a biologic. In contrast, baseline and persistent glucocorticoid use was similar across age groups and more common in patients with greater comorbidity. Conclusion. Biologic therapy is initiated less frequently in patients with RA who are older, have more comorbidities, and who are nonwhite. While biologics may be avoided in older and sicker patients because of safety concerns, glucocorticoid use is similar regardless of age and is more frequent in patients with comorbidities, with implications for patient outcomes.


Based on a systematic study of fifteen years of passion murder cases, this article concludes that reform challenges our conventional ideas of a "crime of passion" and, in the process, leads to a murder law that is both illiberal and often perverse. If life tells us that crimes of passion are the stuff of sordid affairs and bedside confrontations, reform tells us that the law's passion may be something quite different. A significant number of the reform cases the author has studied involve no sexual infidelity whatsoever, but only the desire of the killer's victim to leave a miserable relationship. Reform has permitted juries to return a manslaughter verdict in cases where the defendant claims passion because the victim left, moved the furniture out, planned a divorce, or sought a protective order. Even infidelity has been transformed under reform's gaze into something quite different from the sexual betrayal we might expect -- it is the infidelity of a fiancee who danced with another, of a girlfriend who decided to date someone else, and of the divorcee found pursuing a new relationship months after the final decree. In the end, reform has transformed passion from the classical adultery to the modern dating and moving and leaving. And because of that transformation, these killings, at least in reform states, may no longer carry the law's name of murder.


In social species that cooperatively defend territories the decision to retreat or attack in contests between groups is likely to depend on ecological and social factors. Previous studies have emphasized the importance of the encounter location or the size of competing groups on the outcome. In addition, the identity of the intruder, whether familiar or stranger, may also play a role. To test whether the same factors affect the resident group's decisions already at the beginning of contests, we simulated intergroup encounters in banded mongooses (Mungos mungo). When spotting rival groups banded mongooses emit "screeching calls" which lead group members to bunch up. With playbacks of these calls, we tested how the groups' response was affected by the following factors: 1) the location of the playback in relation to their territory (exclusive use vs. overlap); 2) the number of resident individuals; and 3) the origin of calls (neighbor vs. stranger) used. Subjects were more likely to approach the loudspeakers and arrive within 1 m of the speakers in the exclusive use zone than in the overlap zone. Moreover, larger groups tended to be more likely to move toward the loudspeakers and were also more likely to arrive there. The origin of calls used in the playbacks did not affect the groups' responses. These findings exemplify the importance of the combined effect of location and group size on group decisions during impending intergroup contest. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.