Kidney exchange, where candidates with organ failure trade incompatible but willing donors, is a lifesaving alternative to the deceased donor waitlist, which has inadequate supply to meet demand. While fielded kidney exchanges see huge benefit from altruistic kidney donors (who give an organ without a paired needy candidate), a significantly higher medical risk to the donor deters similar altruism with livers. In this paper, we begin by proposing the idea of liver exchange, and show on demographically accurate data that vetted kidney exchange algorithms can be adapted to clear such an exchange at the nationwide level. We then explore crossorgan donation where kidneys and livers can be bartered for each other. We show theoretically that this multiorgan exchange provides linearly more transplants than running separate kidney and liver exchanges; this linear gain is a product of altruistic kidney donors creating chains that thread through the liver pool. We support this result experimentally on demographically accurate multi-organ exchanges. We conclude with thoughts regarding the fielding of a nationwide liver or joint liverkidney exchange from a legal and computational point of view.


Title of dissertation: HIERARCHICAL MAPPING TECHNIQUES FOR SIGNAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS ON PARALLEL PLATFORMS Lai-Huei Wang, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Dissertation directed by: Professor Shuvra S. Bhattacharyya Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Dataflow models are widely used for expressing the functionality of digital signal processing (DSP) applications due to their useful features, such as providing formal mechanisms for description of application functionality, imposing minimal data-dependency constraints in specifications, and exposing task and data level parallelism effectively. Due to the increased complexity of dynamics in modern DSP applications, dataflow-based design methodologies require significant enhancements in modeling and scheduling techniques to provide for efficient and flexible handling of dynamic behavior. To address this problem, in this thesis, we propose an innovative framework for modeand dynamic-parameter-based modeling and scheduling. We apply, in a systematically integrated way, the structured mode-based dataflow modeling capability of dynamic behavior together with the features of dynamic parameter reconfiguration and quasi-static scheduling. Moreover, in our proposed framework, we present a new design method called parameterized multidimensional design hierarchy mapping (PMDHM), which is targeted to the flexible, multi-level reconfigurability, and intensive real-time processing requirements of emerging dynamic DSP systems. The proposed approach allows designers to systematically represent and transform multi-level specifications of signal processing applications from a common, dataflow-based application-level model. In addition, we propose a new technique for mapping optimization that helps designers derive efficient, platform-specific parameters for application-to-architecture mapping. These parameters help to maximize system performance on state-of-theart parallel platforms for embedded signal processing. To further enhance the scalability of our design representations and implementation techniques, we present a formal method for analysis and mapping of parameterized DSP flowgraph structures, called topological patterns, into efficient implementations. The approach handles an important class of parameterized schedule structures in a form that is intuitive for representation and efficient for implementation. We demonstrate our methods with case studies in the fields of wireless communication and computer vision. Experimental results from these case studies show that our approaches can be used to derive optimized implementations on parallel platforms, and enhance trade-off analysis during design space exploration. Furthermore, their basis in formal modeling and analysis techniques promotes the applicability of our proposed approaches to diverse signal processing applications and architectures. HIERARCHICAL MAPPING TECHNIQUES FOR SIGNAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS ON PARALLEL PLATFORMS


Simple sequence repeats (SSR) or micro-satellites are becoming standard DNA markers for plant genome analysis and are being used as markers in marker assisted breeding. De novo generation of micro-satellite markers through laboratory-based screening of SSR-enriched genomic libraries is highly time consuming and expensive. An alternative is to screen the public databases of related model species where abundant sequence data is already available. All the genomic sequences of Medicago from the public domain database were searched and analysed of di, tri, and tetra nucleotide repeats. Of the total of about 156,000 sequences which were searched, 7325 sequences were found to contain repeat motif and may yield SSR which will yield product sizes of around 200 bp. Of these the most abundantly found repeats were the tri-nucleotide (5210) group. Except for a very small proportion (436), these link to the gene annotation database at TIGR ( http://www.tigr.org ). To facilitate further exploration of this resource, a dynamic database with options to search and link to other resources is available at ( http://www.icrisat.org/text/research/grep/homepage/genomics/medssrs1.asp ) and on CDs from email@example.com .


The liquid alternative fuels discussed in the present work include alcohol fuels such as ethanol, butanol and methanol, neat vegetable oils and biodiesel fuels. From the review, it is observed that the emissions pollutants (HC, CO, NOx and PM) are typically the same or lower with regards to ethanol fuels than conventional diesel fuel. Methanol contains oxygen in its chemical structure; hence less air is required for complete combustion. This is the reason for reduced CO2 emissions from motor vehicles using methanol/diesel blends. However, this could also increase NO x. The previous studies revealed the beneficial effects of using various blends of n-butanol with diesel fuel on smoke and CO emissions at various loads, however at the expense of higher NOx and HC emissions. Again, it is the high oxygen content of n-butanol that leads to enhanced in-cylinder soot oxidation, which is responsible for the decrease in smoke emissions. The combustion of straight vegetable oil (SVO) in internal combustion engines has shown conflicting results in emissions. Vegetable oils with high percentages of fully saturated fatty acids have the potential to produce lower NOx emissions. The reported value of oxides of nitrogen emission from biodiesels were higher as compare to diesel, whereas the carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and smoke emission of biodiesel fuels are lower than diesel. From the review, it is observed that the combustion characteristics of biodiesel are almost similar to that of diesel and slightly inferior performance as compared to diesel.


Refugee response has become an important topic in economic-development policy, but the majority of macro-level analyses do not find an association between country income level and refugee numbers. We argue that the apparent lack of association stems from using the United Nations High Commission for Refugees' count of refugees as the dependent variable in these analyses. Refugee counts reflect processes that take place in countries of arrival. In contrast, the decision to seek asylum may be more closely linked to conditions, including income, in countries of origin. Drawing on the 'migration-hump' concept from economic migration, we model counts of refugees and asylum seekers from conflict-affected countries for the same time period and find that differences in the level of gross domestic product (GDP) predict new asylum applications but not new refugee numbers. We outline reasons for this statistical finding, and discuss theoretical and practical consequences for our understanding of the relationship between country income and asylum-seeking.


Wittman, F. (2016). Halfway there – The evolution of local alcohol control in California. Part I: The system as it has developed.  The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5 (3), 101-107. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i3.228 Local control over retail alcohol sales in California cities provides substantial capacity to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harm. This paper shows how local control works in California to prevent harm at retail alcohol outlets. Prior to issuing a retail license to an outlet operator, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department (ABC) waits until the local jurisdiction (city or county) issues a land-use permit (also called a zoning permit or use permit). Localities have discretionary authority to impose preventive "conditions" on the use permit to protect public health and safety by imposing restrictions on setting design, operation, and hours of operation for the retail alcohol outlet. Within the state/local control system, city options include Level 1 permissive zoning (no restrictions), Level 2 problem-solving zoning (restrictions on new/expanded outlets), and Level 3 community oversight (restrictions on existing and new outlets). Since 1980 the scope of local control has progressed from nil (Level 1 permissive zoning) to Level 3 preventive surveillance for all outlets. Higher-level zoning requires local politics in which the ABC is not involved. A companion article (Wittman, 2016) describes the evolution of local control for retail alcohol availability in California's local jurisdictions from 1980 to 2015.


This paper concerns the growing role of cheap and potentially recyclable ammonium salts in CO2 mineralization. The powerful hyphenated technique TG-FTIR, along with XRD and ICP-AES, were used to shed light on the underlying chemistry and measure the efficiency of magnesium ion extraction from a Finnish serpentinite in contact with molten ammonium sulfate above 300 °C. From micro- and gram-scale tests, flux extraction as epsomite [MgSO4·7H2O] proceeds via the intermediacy of Tutton salts, NH4/Mg double sulfates increasingly rich in Mg. Extraction is effected through the agency of acidic derivatives, principally ammonium bisulfate and sulfamic acid, which are created sequentially from ammonium sulfate in situ. However, sulfamic acid volatilizes and/or decomposes at a significant rate by 400 °C. This loss mechanism is primarily responsible for the modest recovery of Mg (50–60%). An improved process would operate below 400 °C where Mg extraction as efremovite [(NH4)2Mg2(SO4)3] is effective. Future experiments evaluating the use of humid air to stabilize the bisulfate and impede the loss of flux are recommended.


Changes in the distribution of both pathogen and flora provided data on pathogen decline and on survival, colonisation and regeneration of plant species in defined plots in open dry sclerophyll forests of the Brisbane Ranges 23-30 years after invasion by Phytophthora cinnamomi. The density of the stringybark eucalypts (Eucalyptus informal subgenus Monocalyptus) which dominate the overstorey was halved on some plots. The survivors now show vigorous crown growth but few seedlings are present. Regeneration of the understorey occurred in three stages. Firstly, resistant sedges and then seedlings of resistant opportunists rapidly colonised ground left vacant by the destruction of the dominant understorey species, Xanthorrhoea australis. In the second stage, moderately susceptible species such as Banksia marginata and Grevillea steiglitziana resprouted from old stumps and prostrate legumes increased their ground cover. In the third stage some highly susceptible species, such as X. australis, Dillwynia glaberrima, Hibbertia stricta and Monotoca scoparia have regenerated from seed on sites previously badly affected by the pathogen. Some plants of these species have survived for 10 years, despite the continued presence of scattered pockets infected with of P. cinnamomi. However, Isopogon ceratophyllus, frequent in the understorey of the plot prior to disease, has not regenerated.


The study of complex multi-faceted scientific questions demand innovative computing solutions—solutions that transcend beyond the management of big data to dedicated semantics-enabled, services-driven infrastructures that can effectively aggregate, filter, process, analyze, visualize and share the cumulative scientific efforts and insights of the research community. From a technical standpoint, E-Science purports technology-enabled collaborative research platforms to (i) collect, store and share multi-modal data collected from different geographic sites, (ii) perform complex simulations and experiments using sophisticated simulation models; (iii) design complex experiments by integrating data and models and executing them as per the experiment workflow; (iv) visualize high-dimensional simulation results; and (v) aggregate and share the scientific results (Fig 1). Taking a knowledge management approach, we have developed an innovative E-Science platform— termed Platform for Ocean Knowledge Management (POKM)—that is built using innovative web-enabled services, services-oriented architecture, semantic web, workflow management and data visualization technologies. POKM offers a suite of E-Science services that allow oceanographic researchers to (a) handle large volumes of ocean and marine life data; (b) access, share, integrate and operationalize the data and simulation models; (c) visualization of data and simulation results; (d) multi-site collaborations in joint scientific research experiments; and (e) form a broad, virtual community of national and international researchers, marine resource managers, policy makers and climate change specialists. (Fig 2) The functional objective of our E-Science infrastructure is to establish an online scientific experimentation platform that supports an assortment of data/knowledge access and processing tools to allow a group of scientists to collaborate and conduct complex experiments by sharing data, models, knowledge, computing resources and expertise. Our E-Science approach is to complement data-driven approaches with domain-specific knowledge-centric models in order to establish causal, associative and taxonomic relations between (a) raw data and modeled observations; (b) observations and their causes; and (c) causes and theoretical models. This is achieved by taking a unique knowledge management approach, whereby we have exploited semantic web technologies to semantically describe the data, scientific models, knowledge artifacts and web services. The use of semantic web technologies provides a mechanism for the selection and integration of problem-specific data from large repositories. To define the functional aspects of the e-science services we have developed a services ontology that provides a semantic description of knowledge-centric e-science services. POKM is modeled along a services-oriented architecture that exposes a range of task-specific web services accessible through a web portal. The POKM architecture features five layers—Presentation Layer, Collaboration Layer, Service Composition Layer, Service Layer and Ontology Layer (Fig 3). POKM is applied to the domain of oceanography to understand our changing eco-system and its impact on marine life. POKM helps researchers investigate (a) changes in marine animal movement on time scales of days to decades; (b) coastal flooding due to changes in certain ocean parameters; (c) density of fish colonies and stocks; and (d) time-varying physical characteristics of the oceans (Fig 4 & 5). In this paper, we present the technical architecture and functional description of POKM, highlighting the various technical innovations and their applications to E-Science.


This study presents a cluster-based transform domain communication system (TDCS) to improve spectrum efficiency. Unlike the utilities of clusters in orthogonal frequency division multiplex systems, the cluster-based TDCS framework divides entire unoccupied spectrum bins into L clusters, where each one represents a data stream independently, to achieve L times of spectrum efficiency compared to that of the traditional one. Among various schemes of spectrum bin spacing and allocation, the TDCS with random allocation scheme appears to be an ideal candidate to significantly improve spectrum efficiency without seriously degrading power efficiency. In multipath fading channel, the coded TDCS with random allocation scheme achieves robust bit error rate (BER) performance owing to a large degree of frequency diversity. Furthermore, this study shows that the smaller spectrum bin spacing should be configured for the cluster-based TDCS to achieve higher spectrum efficiency and more robust BER performance.


Ultra-Wideband Communication is increasingly being considered as an attractive solution for high data rate short range wireless and position location applications. Knowledge of the statistical nature of the channel is necessary to design wireless systems that provide optimum performance. This thesis investigates the spatial characteristics of the channel based on measurements conducted using UWB pulses in an indoor office environment. The statistics of the received signal energy illustrate the low spatial fading of UWB signals. The distribution of the Angle of arrival (AOA) of the multipath components is obtained using a two-dimensional deconvolution algorithm called the Sensor-CLEAN algorithm. A spatial channel model that incorporates the spatial and temporal features of the channel is developed based on the AOA statistics. The performance of the Sensor-CLEAN algorithm is evaluated briefly by application to known artificial channels. UWB systems co-exist with narrowband and other wideband systems. Even though they enjoy the advantage of processing gain (the ratio of bandwidth to data rate) the low energy per pulse may cause these narrow band interferers (NBI) to severely degrade the UWB system's performance. A technique to suppress NBI using multiple antennas is presented in this thesis which exploits the spatial fading characteristics. This method exploits the vast difference in fading characteristics between UWB signals and NBI by implementing a simple selection diversity scheme. It is shown that this simple scheme can provide strong benefits in performance.


The purpose of this study was to aggregate the findings of three distinct areas of research into one model of team effectiveness. Specifically, it was hypothesized that, in accordance with prior research findings, aspects of personality related to social intelligence would predict informal leadership emergence. Furthermore, it was predicted that multiple leaders within a team would positively influence that team's subsequent level of performance, through the mediating influence of team mental model similarity and team mental model accuracy. Participants included 40 computer science and engineering teams, who completed their surveys at time one, whereas performance criterion measures were collected at time two. Contrary to prediction, results indicated that social intelligence was not a significant predictor of leadership emergence, and leadership dispersion did not directly impact team performance. However, leadership dispersion positively impacted team mental model accuracy, and team mental model accuracy and similarity positively affected subsequent team performance, as hypothesized. Therefore, the current study provides partial support for a model of team performance that takes into account multiple leadership within teams and its positive influence on the dissemination and development of important, task-related knowledge structures among team members.


This volume reviews a range of empirically supported approaches to prevention and treatment of adolescent substance use problems. The focus is on motivationally based brief interventions that can be delivered in a variety of contexts, that address key developmental considerations, and that draw on cutting-edge knowledge on addictive behavior change. From expert contributors, coverage encompasses alcohol skills training; integrative behavioral and family therapy; motivational interviewing; interventions for dually diagnosed youth; Internet-based education, prevention, and treatment; and applications to HIV prevention. The volume is extensively referenced and includes numerous clinical illustrations and vignettes.


Abstract Many cholesterol-laden foam cells in atherosclerotic lesions are macrophages and much of their cholesterol is present in their lysosomes and derived from low density lipoprotein (LDL). LDL oxidation has been proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We have shown previously that LDL can be oxidised in the lysosomes of macrophages. α-Tocopherol has been shown to inhibit LDL oxidation in vitro, but did not protect against cardiovascular disease in large clinical trials. We have therefore investigated the effect of α-tocopherol on LDL oxidation at lysosomal pH (about pH 4.5). LDL was enriched with α-tocopherol by incubating human plasma with α-tocopherol followed by LDL isolation by ultracentrifugation. The α-tocopherol content of LDL was increased from 14.4 ± 0.2 to 24.3 ± 0.3 nmol/mg protein. LDL oxidation was assessed by measuring the formation of conjugated dienes at 234 nm and oxidised lipids (cholesteryl linoleate hydroperoxide and 7-ketocholesterol) by HPLC. As expected, LDL enriched with α-tocopherol was oxidised more slowly than control LDL by Cu2+ at pH 7.4, but was not protected against oxidation by Cu2+ or Fe3+ or a low concentration of Fe2+ at pH 4.5 (it was sometimes oxidised faster by α-tocopherol with Cu2+ or Fe3+ at pH 4.5). α-Tocopherol-enriched LDL reduced Cu2+ and Fe3+ into the more pro-oxidant Cu+ and Fe2+ faster than did control LDL at pH 4.5. These findings might help to explain why the large clinical trials of α-tocopherol did not protect against cardiovascular disease.


we study algorithmic approaches for rate-fidelity optimal packetization of a single and multiple scalable source code streams with uneven erasure protection (UEP). A new algorithm is developed to obtain the globally optimal solution for scalable source codes of convex rate-fidelity function and for a wide class of erasure channels, including channels for which the probability of losing packets is monotonically nonincreasing in , and independent erasure channels with packet erasure rate smaller than 0.5. This is achieved at linear space complexity and near-linear time complexity in the transmission budget, representing significant improvement over the known globally optimal algorithm. When applied to SPIHT compressed images, the results of the proposed algorithm are virtually the same as the global optima. The above success is also extended to UEP packetization of multiple scalable code streams. We improve the existing algorithms in both speed and performance.


The paper considers several aspects of Bantu and Romance DPs, including: (i) Noun Class and grammatical gender; (ii) apparently derivational properties of the two; (iii) ordering among nouns and their modifiers; and (iv) concord in DPs. Several conclusions are argued for. Firstly, Bantu Class is a gender system like that of Romance, with gender-specific Spell-Out of number features. Secondly, despite some surface evidence to the contrary, gender/Class is an uninterpretable feature, without derivational functions. Thirdly, DPs of the two languages share a common architecture; and fourth, in both families concord is the result of the Agree relation. Thus many properties of nouns and DPs are common to both language groups, as the hypothesis of UG leads us to expect.


This paper analyses the potential implications that the Spezzino case may have for third sector organisations wishing to take part in the public procurement of certain service contracts. The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) held as admissible in Spezzino to award directly and on a preferential basis some service contracts to not-for profit organisations compliant with certain requirements. This decision by the CJEU constitutes a major derogation of the principles of Articles 49 (freedom of establishment) and 56 (freedom of services) of the TFEU. The paper is structured around the requirements established by CJEU in Spezzino, the impact it may have on third sector organisations across the EU and its relationship going forward with Directive 2014/24/EU, particularly the new "light touch regime" for specific categories of contracts. This paper argues that the scope for impact on third sector organisations is smaller than anticipated at first glance. The exception created by Spezzino only applies to contracts subject to primary EU law, that is contracts with a cross-border interest but not covered by either Directive 2004/18/EC or Directive 2014/24/EU. Furthermore, the grounds for the exception need to be interpreted restrictively. In consequence, going forward it is arguable that it only applies to all emergency ambulance service contracts, as these are explicitly excluded from Directive 2014/24/EU, and urgent ambulance service contracts with a value under €750,000 and a cross-border interest.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if a commonly used violence prevention curriculum, Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum, leads to a reduction in aggressive behavior and an increase in prosocial behavior among elementary school students.

DESIGN
Randomized controlled trial.

SETTING
Urban and suburban elementary schools in the state of Washington.

PARTICIPANTS
Six matched pairs of schools with 790 second-grade and third-grade students. The students were 53% male and 79% white.

INTERVENTION
The curriculum uses 30 specific lessons to teach social skills related to anger management, impulse control, and empathy.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Aggressive and prosocial behavior changes were measured 2 weeks and 6 months after participation in the curriculum by parent and teacher reports (Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher Report Form, the School Social Behavior Scale, and the Parent-Child Rating Scale) and by observation of a random subsample of 588 students in the classroom and playground/cafeteria settings.

RESULTS
After adjusting for sex, age, socioeconomic status, race, academic performance, household size, and class size, change scores did not differ significantly between the intervention and control schools for any of the parent-reported or teacher-reported behavior scales. However, the behavior observations did reveal an overall decrease 2 weeks after the curriculum in physical aggression (P=.03) and an increase in neutral/prosocial behavior (P=.04) in the intervention group compared with the control group. Most effects persisted 6 months later.

CONCLUSIONS
The Second Step violence prevention curriculum appears to lead to a moderate observed decrease in physically aggressive behavior and an increase in neutral and prosocial behavior in school.


Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) is a highly conserved protein in mammals, since point mutation usually lead to a reduce water permeability. A recent study investigated the effect of a mutation in AQP4 gene in AQP4 membrane protein expression and water permeability.
Chloride channels are also involved in the maintenance of homeostasis in the brain and in particular, volume-regulated anion channels (VRAC) mainly address this task. VRACmolecular identity, partially solved in 2014 consist of an essential sub-unit termed as leucine rich repeat containing 8 family member A.
Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the molecular and functional interactions between the mutant D184E of aquaporin 4 protein, with the ion channels TRPV4 and VRAC. Moreover, three antibody raised against LRRC8A antigenic polypeptides have been produced to investigate the expression of VRAC underpinning subunits in cortical astrocytes and mouse brain.
The main findings and contribution to theory of my PhD project are the following:
1-the functional antagonism between TRPV4 and VRAC in a heterologous system, previously reported in HEK-293 cells (98), can be overcome by co-expression of AQP4 and TRPV4.
2-The evidence that a D184E mutation of the M1 isoform of AQP4 gene impair the molecular interaction between TRPV4 and AQP4.
3-The definition of the expression pattern of LRRC8A subunits, underpinning VRAC conductance (REF), in COS-7 heterologous system, in astrocytes and in the mouse brain.

In conclusion, the results of my PhD studies provide new insights into key molecular and functional player involved central nervous system homeostatic volume regulation. In particular they suggested and reinforce the tenet that a macromolecular complex or a straight functional interaction between TRPV4, AQP4 and VRAC might be essential for the cell volume regulation.


This article examines the effect of GDP growth on bank profitability in China over the period 2003-2009. The one-step system GMM estimator is used to test the persistence of profitability in Chinese banking industry. The empirical findings suggest that cost efficiency is positively related to bank profitability, while lower profitability can also be explained by higher taxes paid by banks. In addition, there is a negative relationship between GDP growth and bank profitability. Furthermore, the results show that (1) the profitability in Chinese banking industry is significantly affected by the level of non-performing loans, and (2) Chinese banks with higher level of capital have lower profitability. Finally, we find that the departure from a perfect competitive market structure in Chinese banking industry is relatively small.


Colon cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the world. It kills approximately 529,000 people annually and around two thirds of these deaths are in the developed world. These figures can be attributed to the fact that colorectal cancers are well advanced before they are detected. Effective prevention of the disease is early detection and removal of pre-cancerous polyps. In cases where cancer has already developed, early detection still significantly improves the chances of cure by surgically removing the cancer before the disease is able to metastasise.
However, in metastatic colorectal cancers, in order to ascertain an effective treatment regimen and determine the prognosis of a patient after surgery a prognostic tool that accurately portrays the extent of the disease needs to be developed. Currently, the most commonly used prognostic tool to assess colorectal cancer spread is the clinicopathological staging system. However, there is a need for additional markers of metastasis as nearly one-third of patients with a clinical diagnosis of Dukes' B, a commonly used pathological staging system for colorectal cancer prognosis, will die of the disease despite complete resection of the primary tumour.
In several human cancers such as breast, prostate and the lung, tumour vascularity has been shown to be of prognostic value. However, studies correlating the significance of the number of tumour vessels to prognosis in colorectal cancers are relatively lacking or show conflicting results. Moreover, it is not yet fully understood if factors involved in the complicated cascade of tumour blood vessel formation (tumour angiogenesis), such as proteases cathepsin B and dipeptidyl peptidase IV aid colorectal cancer progression. Two of the most potent angiogenic growth factors: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) playa significant role in the development of tumour vessels; however, their influence on the production of these proteases is not clear.
Therefore, this study set out to i) establish a reliable method to quantify colorectal tumour vessels ii) to assess the correlation between vessel counts and prognostic parameters associated with metastasis iii) to ascertain the pattern of spatial distribution of tumour vessels in order to defme the relationship between the positions of the vessels in relation to areas of tumour growth iv) investigate the levels of the enzyme expression of tumour associated proteases cathepsin B and dipeptidyl peptidase IV, at both protein and mRNA level, in colorectal tumours of varying clinicopathological grades and to v) assess the influence of VEGF and bFGF on CB and DPPIV proteolytic enzyme activity in human colon, rectal cancer cells and normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells.
The study established that an effective method to examine tumour vascularity, was by immunolocalising tumour endothelial cells by CD31 and quantifying all of stained vessels present within each cross-sectional area. As a result of tumour endothelial cell marker assessment it was noted that CD34 was highly specific to certain vessels and distinctly immunonegative to others and that the same vessels were positive to CD31. These vessels were morphologically assessed by using the standard histological criteria identified as lymph vessels.
Tumour blood and lymph vessels were quantified and a positive correlation to prognostic parameters relating to cancer spread was identified. The pattern of distribution of colorectal tumour vessels was also examined and a distinct pattern was observed in metastatic tumours with greater numbers of vessels in the peripheral regions and the invasive fronts.
Qualitative analysis of protease expression and mRNA intensity, in colorectal tumours, revealed increased levels of CB and DPPIV in tumours with clinicopathological parameters associated with metastasis. mRNA localization near tumour vessels highlighted the potential for, not only cancer cells but also tumour endothelial cells, to produce proteolytic enzymes to aid the process of tumour angiogenesis and hence tumour growth and metastasis.
The study also demonstrated that the angiogenic factors VEGF and bFGF up-regulated CB and DPPIV activity in human colon, rectal cancer cells and normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells.The presence of tumour lymph vessels and their positive correlation to metastatic parameters signifies an important role for such vessels in the process of colorectal cancer spread. The positive relationship of tumour blood vessels to parameters associated with metastasis re-instates the important role of tumour angiogenesis in colorectal cancer. Other factors that were investigated such as tumour associated proteases CB and DPPIV and the influence of the potent angiogenic proteins upon their activity suggests that these factors have a direct role in colorectal cancer metastasis.
Therefore, it can be concluded from the results of this thesis that tumour blood vessel counts can be used as a reliable prognostic marker in colorectal cancer. Tumour angiogenic factors as well as the colorectal tumour lymph vessels have the potential to be used as additional prognostic markers in clinical prognostic evaluations. This has important implications in allowing clinicians to accurately assess post-operative survival rates and to devise an effective treatment regimen in order to prolong the lives and possibly cure colorectal cancer patients.


This study offers an ecumenical exploration of human transformation through the examination of this topic in the thought of Karl Barth (1888-1968), a Swiss Reformed theologian; Joseph Ratzinger (b. 1927), a Roman Catholic theologian; and John Zizioulas (b. 1931), a Greek Orthodox theologian. Describing and understanding human transformation stands as a crucial task for theology because no one is simply born a Christian—in order to be a Christian one must become a Christian. The first chapter introduces this topic, the three theologians (highlighting their commonalities), and the three questions that guide the analysis of each theologian and the thesis as a whole: What is the goal of human transformation? What is the basis of human transformation? How are humans transformed? Chapters 2, 3, and 4 treat the topic of human transformation in the theology of Barth, Ratzinger, and Zizioulas, respectively. All three understand the goal of human transformation to be the prayer of the children of God, and locate its basis in God's reconciling act in Jesus Christ—an act itself based in the primordial divine decision to be God pro nobis. Even within this broad agreement, however, differences are evident, especially with regard to eschatology. Consideration of how this transformation occurs reveals significant differences concerning the agency of Jesus Christ in relation to the Holy Spirit and the church. The final chapter explores 1) the convergences and divergences between Barth, Ratzinger, and Zizioulas regarding human transformation; 2) the contributions of this study to the interpretation of Barth, Ratzinger, and Zizioulas; and 3) the relationship between human transformation and participation in God. Throughout, attention is given to the relationship between Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church, the eschaton, and the triunity of God and human transformation. All three accounts of human transformation point beyond the transition between sinful and redeemed humanity to a dynamic anthropology in which the constant asking, receiving, thanking, and asking again is the very "ontological location" of the eschatological life of humanity: our being is in becoming.


In this paper, a novel game-theoretic model of the complex interactions between network service providers (NSPs) and users in heterogeneous small-cell networks is investigated. In this game, the NSPs selfishly aim at maximizing their profit while, simultaneously, the users seek to optimize their chosen service's quality-price tradeoff. A Stackelberg formulation in which the NSPs act as leaders and the users as followers is proposed. The users' interactions are modeled as a general nonatomic game. The existence of a Wardrop equilibrium (WE) in the users' game is proven, and its expression as a solution of a fixed-point equation is provided (irrespective of the number of NSPs, services offered, pricing policies, and QoS functions). Moreover, a set of sufficient conditions that ensure the uniqueness of the WE is provided. Notably, the uniqueness of the equilibrium for the particular case of congestion games is shown. An algorithm approximating these equilibria is provided and its convergence to an ε-WE is proven. The existence of Nash equilibria for the leaders' game is shown and illustrated via numerical simulations.


Sympatric stream-dwelling river chub (Nocomis micropogon) and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) were video-taped swimming in the presence of single cylinders spanning a flume. Fish were acclimated and tested at 13, 18 and 23 degreesC swimming in an increasing-velocity test with single vertically or horizontally oriented cylinders 6.4, 13, 19 or 25 mm in diameter. Cylinder orientation had little effect on entrainment. Both species avoided cylinders at low speeds. At intermediate speeds, some fish entrained on the cylinders, but they were displaced at higher speeds. Entrained fish made no regular swimming motions, but the median and paired fins and the body moved continuously and irregularly. The periodicity of body perturbations decreased and the amplitude increased with current speed. These also increased with cylinder diameter, but the variability was high and differences were not significant. Chub entrained in larger numbers and for longer over a wider range of current speeds and temperatures than bass. Entrainment by chub increased with cylinder diameter up to 13-19 mm, but declined for 25 mm cylinders. Bass did not entrain on 6.4 mm and 25 mm cylinders and showed very little entrainment at 13 and 18 degreesC, but entrainment was similar to that of chub at 23 degreesC.


"The Yemen National Social Protection Monitoring Survey (NSPMS) is a household longitudinal survey with a nationally representative balanced sample of 6,397 households (of an initial sample of 7,152). Each household in the balanced sample was visited on a quarterly basis over a 12-month period between October 2012 and September 2013. The survey had two key objectives: (1) to provide up-to-date data on how the poor and vulnerable have coped since the 2011 crisis; and (2) to produce evidence on the targeting of the Social Welfare Fund (SWF) cash transfer programme and to assess its impact on some developmental indicators. The NSPMS provides data on the SWF, living conditions, water, sanitation, education, child nutrition, child and maternal health, child protection, work and income, livelihoods and food security. This Executive Summary encompasses a description of the sampling design, key indicators of the survey and findings of the SWF impact assessment."(...)


Public opinion polls conducted from 1936 to 2002 found that Americans support both euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Although public opinion regarding end-of-life decisions appears to have been influenced by the events of the times, Americans have consistently favored the freedom to end one's life when the perceived quality of life has significantly diminished, either by one's own hand or with the assistance of a physician. This paper indicates that existing policy regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide conflicts with the American public's attitudes regarding the matter, as well as examines implications for social workers who serve clients facing end-of-life decisions. Keywords: euthanasia, end-of-life decisions, physician-assisted suicide, death and dying issues ********** The concept of euthanasia inevitably provokes a moral dilemma for many Americans, because euthanasia gives individuals the freedom to choose whether to live or die. This article examines the opinions of a cross-section of the American public concerning the ethics of death and dying, attitudes toward euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, and a patient's right to forego life-sustaining treatment. Before we interpret the results of studies on these issues, we briefly present definitions, discuss religious perspectives, and examine the history of euthanasia. Euthanasia has been debated for many centuries. Two factors that have contributed to euthanasia's prominence in modern culture are both an increasing sense of self-determinism and medical innovations that have the potential of substantially prolonging human life (Loewy & Loewy, 2000). Our findings indicate that existing policy regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide unquestionably contradict the American public's attitudes regarding the matter. To clarify essential terms, "passive euthanasia" is the withholding or withdrawal of artificial life support or other medical treatment and allowing a patient to die. "Physician-assisted suicide" refers to a physician's provision of the means (such as medication or other interventions) of suicide to a competent patient who is capable of carrying out the chosen intervention. With "active voluntary euthanasia," a physician administers a lethal dose of medication to a competent person who explicitly requests it. "Involuntary euthanasia" involves the intentional administration of medication or other interventions to cause a competent person's death, without informed consent or an explicit request. "Non-voluntary euthanasia" involves ending the life of an unwilling individual (i.e., a death sentence) or mentally incompetent person who is unaware of what is happening (Csikai, 1999). The decision to end life in the ways that the first two terms imply is often based on the judgment of disproportionate burden, that is, the judgment that treatment will be useless, cause the patient more pain and suffering, or not restore the patient to an acceptable quality of life (Vose & Nelson, 1999). Literature Review Religion and Culture As Miller, Hedlund, and Murphy (1998) note, euthanasia is a significant factor in the religious beliefs and spiritual values of people worldwide. However, various cultures and religions view euthanasia and assisted suicide differently. The ancient Greeks believed it was morally acceptable to end one's life if one no longer considered one's life to be worthwhile (Snyder, 2001). This belief is similar to that of the Irish culture, in which death is often the most celebrated experience of the life cycle (Miller et al., 1998). Christians also have a wide range of perspectives on euthanasia. Some believe that it is acceptable to advocate for euthanasia, whereas others oppose the idea that individuals can choose to die (Darr, 2002). According to traditional Christian philosophy, euthanasia was considered immoral until recently and was universally condemned in all societies with Christian traditions. …


The dashrule package makes it easy to draw a huge variety of dashed rules (i.e., lines) in LATEX. dashrule provides a command, \hdashrule, which is a cross between LATEX's \rule and PostScript's setdash command. \hdashrule draws horizontally dashed rules using the same syntax as \rule but with an additional, setdash-like parameter that species the pattern of dash segments and the space between those segments. Because dashrule's rules are constructed internally using \rule (as opposed to, e.g., PostScript \specials) they are fully compatible with every LATEX back-end processor.


An experimental apparatus has been constructed to generate a controlled and repeatable size and mass distribution of glowing firebrands. The present study reports on a series of experiments conducted in order to characterize the performance of this firebrand generator. Firebrand generator characterization and subsequent structural ignition experiments were performed at the Fire Research Wind Tunnel Facility (FRWTF) at the Building Research Institute (BRI) in Tsukuba, Japan. The firebrand generator was fed with mulch generated from Korean Pine trees. To produce repeatable initial conditions for each experiment, the Korean Pine mulch was sorted using a series of filters prior to being loaded into the firebrand generator. The size and mass distribution of firebrands produced from the generator was tuned to be representative of firebrands produced from burning trees. After the size and mass distribution of firebrands was characterized, the device was then used to direct firebrand fluxes towards a structure installed inside the FRWTF. A gable vent was installed on the front face of the structure and three different steel screens were installed behind the gable vent to ascertain the ability of the screen to block firebrands from penetrating into the structure. The mechanism of firebrand penetration through screens was observed for the first time. The firebrands were not quenched by the presence of the screen and would continue to burn until they were able to fit through the screen opening. Results of the study are presented and discussed.


The structure of the U.S. financial services industry has been transformed during the past two decades by the combined forces of new technologies, deregulation and financial innovation. Large banks, securities firms and life insurers have responded to these forces by pursuing a twofold consolidation strategy - acquiring direct competitors within their traditional industry sector and making cross-industry acquisitions in other sectors. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 ratified the ongoing trend toward cross-industry consolidation and facilitated the creation of large financial conglomerates. Based on empirical studies and the experience of the past two decades, it is highly doubtful whether the predicted benefits of financial conglomeration (e.g., greater efficiency, profitability, safety and convenience) will actually be realized. In addition, financial conglomeration has intensified the problem of systemic risk in the financial markets and has increased the probability that the "too big to fail" ("TBTF") doctrine will be applied to major financial holding companies. Current supervisory approaches (including the proposed new Basel capital accord) are inadequate to cure the problems of supervisory forbearance and moral hazard that have been created by the TBTF policy. I propose a new plan for bank regulation and deposit insurance that will (1) insulate the deposit insurance funds from the cost of TBTF bailouts, (2) require financial conglomerates to internalize the costs of such bailouts, and (3) encourage greater market discipline over such institutions.


In face recognition, quality is typically thought of as a property of individual images, not image pairs. The implicit assumption is that high-quality images should be easy to match to each other, while low quality images should be hard to match. This paper presents a relational graph-based evaluation technique that uses match scores produced by face recognition algorithms to determine the "quality" of images. The resulting analysis demonstrates that only a small fraction of the images in a well-studied data set (FRVT 2006) are low-quality images. It is much more common to find relationships in which two images that are hard to match to each other can be easily matched with other images of the same person. In other words, these images are simultaneously both high and low quality. The existence of such contrary images represents a fundamental challenge for approaches to biometric quality that cast quality as an intrinsic property of a single image. Instead it indicates that quality should be associated with pairs of images. In exploring these contrary images, we find a surprising dependence on whether elements of an image pair are acquired at the same location, even in circumstances where one would be tempted to think of the locations as interchangeable. The results presented have important implications for anyone designing face recognition evaluations as well as those developing new algorithms.


Automatic story generation has a long-standing tradition in the field of Artificial Intelligence. The ability to create stories on demand holds great potential for entertainment and education. For example, modern computer games are becoming more immersive, containing multiple story lines and hundreds of characters. This has substantially increased the amount of work required to produce each game. However, by allowing the game to write its own story line, it can remain engaging to the player whilst shifting the burden of writing away from the game's developers. In education, intelligent tutoring systems can potentially provide students with instant feedback and suggestions of how to write their own stories. Although several approaches have been introduced in the past (e.g., story grammars, story schema and autonomous agents), they all rely heavily on handwritten resources. Which places severe limitations on its scalability and usage. In this thesis we will motivate a new approach to story generation which takes its inspiration from recent research in Natural Language Generation. Whose result is an interactive data-driven system for the generation of children's stories. One of the key features of this system is that it is end-to-end, realising the various components of the generation pipeline stochastically. Knowledge relating to the generation and planning of stories is leveraged automatically from corpora and reformulated into new stories to be presented to the user. We will also show that story generation can be viewed as a search task, operating over a large number of stories that can be generated from knowledge inherent in a corpus. Using trainable scoring functions, our system can search the story space using different document level criteria. In this thesis we focus on two of these, namely, coherence and interest. We will also present two major paradigms for generation through search, (a) generate and rank, and (b) genetic algorithms. We show the effects on perceived story interest, fluency and coherence that result from these approaches. In addition, we show how the explicit use of plots induced from the corpus can be used to guide the generation process, providing a heuristically motivated starting point for story search. We motivate extensions to the system and show that additional modules can be used to improve the quality of the generated stories and overall scalability. Finally we highlight the current strengths and limitations of our approach and discuss possible future approaches to this field of research.


The accuracy of measurement in computer-assisted total knee arthroplasty is dependent on the quality of data acquisition at the start of the procedure; errors in landmark identification could lead to misalignment and therefore poorer longterm outcomes. Some navigation systems require the surgeon to explicitly identify the femoral epicondyles in order to calculate the trans-epicondylar axis, whereas other systems are able to interpolate the epicondylar location based on a number of points acquired from the distal femoral surface. Significant inter-observer variability in landmark identification has been previously reported in dry bone studies. The purpose of this study was to test the accuracy of identification of the epicondyles during a simulated total knee replacement on a fresh cadaveric specimen. An unfixed fresh cadaveric left lower limb was used to perform a navigated total knee replacement using the Orthopilot® (B|Braun-Aesculap, Tuttlingen, Germany) image-free navigation system. Sixteen surgeons attending an advanced navigation training course were invited to take part. A single consultant surgeon performed initial dissection and pin placement, up to the point of landmark acquisition. Each subject was then asked to use a pointer tool to identify the medial and lateral epicondyles, as they would in an operative situation. Data were recorded by the Orthopilot® system, and exported as a 3D array for further analysis. Initial visualisation with a 3D scatter plot showed that points were evenly distributed within a circular pattern around each epicondyle. The length of a vector between each point on each epicondyle was calculated in turn. The maximum distances between points were 15.6mm for the medial epicondyle, and 19.9mm for the lateral epicondyle. We then calculated the length and angulation of the trans-epicondylar axis (TEA) for each observer, equivalent to the vector between each pair of points (medial and lateral epicondyle). An average TEA was calculated, and the range and standard deviation of angulation were determined. In the x axis the range was 16.3° (–8.3° to 7.9°, SD 5.1°), in the y axis the range was 18.7° (–8.7° to 10°, SD 5.2°) and in the z axis the range was 20.5° (–10.1° to 10.4°, SD 6.5°). Range of recorded TEA length was 64.5 to 74.9mm (mean 70.6mm, SD 3.3mm). We conclude that in this simulated operative scenario, surgeons exhibited considerable variability when locating the epicondyles. Range of angulation of the TEA exceeded 16° (SD >5.1°) in all 3 planes. We cannot recommend the use of a trans-epicondylar axis determined from 2 single points, as a reliable landmark in navigated total knee replacement.


We have constructed a single longitudinal mode XeCl laser using microwave discharge waveguide laser technology. The pulse duration, repetition rate, and simplicity of construction associated with waveguide excimer lasers lend this system unique capabilities and a broad utility for interfacing with other excimer devices. The coherence length of the laser emission has been found to be ~6 m with a corresponding bandwidth of <22 MHz that is near the transform limit. The laser has been used to demonstrate pulsed UV Doppler velocity measurement in a simple homodyne configuration.


Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the vasculature that is initiated by cholesterol deposition into the arterial wall, which triggers the infiltration of immune and inflammatory cells, including monocytes and macrophages. As atherosclerotic plaques progress, localized hypoxia promotes compensatory angiogenesis from the vasa vasorum. Immature neovessels are prone to leakage, thus destabilizing the plaque and leading to intraplaque hemorrhage. Macrophages with different phenotypes, ranging from classical inflammatory subtypes to alternatively activated antiinflammatory macrophages, have been identified in atherosclerotic lesions. Antiinflammatory hemoglobin-scavenging CD163+ macrophages are present in neovessel- and hemorrhage-rich areas; however, the role of these macrophages in atherogenesis has been unclear. In this issue of the JCI, Guo, Akahori, and colleagues show that CD163+ macrophages promote angiogenesis, vessel permeability, and leucocyte infiltration in human and mouse atherosclerotic lesions through a mechanism involving hemoglobin:haptoglobin/CD163/HIF1&agr;-mediated VEGF induction. This study thus identifies proatherogenic properties of CD163+ macrophages, which previously were thought to be beneficial.


When the initial state of an epidemic is uncertain, mathematical descriptions of that epidemic in terms of initial conditions must be modified by regarding these initial conditions as random variables having particular distribution functions. In this paper we assume a beta distribution as the initial proportion of infected in an SIR epidemic model. Numerical simulations are carried out on the various classes of the model as the uncertainties are propagated. The probability density functions of the random solutions of these classes over time are also calculated numerically. Some properties of the random solution and the effect of the parameters of the beta distribution on the behaviour of the epidemic are investigated.


Chilli puree is a product in semi-solid form having quality close to the fresh ones and is
convenient to use. At present, the quality of chilli puree in the market is not acceptable to
the food manufacturers as a raw material for making other products derived from chilli
as it contains high amount of preservatives and has unattractive dark colour. Therefore,
development of an appropriate processing technique for production of chilli puree having
a quality acceptable to the users is of prime importance.
Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimum
conditions for drying chilli. Fresh chilli was dried using two different techniques;
cabinet and vacuum oven dryer. Changes in the Hunter colour parameters (L, a, b) of
chilli during drying were investigated. Sensory evaluation was used to determine the
quality of dried chilli in terms of colour, texture, aroma and overall acceptability. It found that changes in colour during drying of chilli by cabinet oven drying were
apparent. On the other hand, an increase in the temperature of vacuum oven dryer
did not give significant effect on the colour of dried chilli produced. The optimum
conditions for the cabinet oven drying of chilli were found to be at 50oC for 5 days,
while that of vacuum oven drying was at 80oC for 7 hours.
Dried chillies (Capsicum annuum variety Kulai) were reconstituted using two
different soaking techniques (cold water and boiled water soakings), crushing and
stone-grinding into fine puree and pasteurized with and without citric and/or acetic
acids. The quality attributes of chilli puree were evaluated in terms of pH, moisture,
Hunter surface colour (L, a, b and hue angle and chroma), extractable colour (ASTA
units) and capsaicinoid content. Results showed that different soaking techniques had
a pronounced effect on the pH, moisture content, Hunter surface colour, extractable
colour, hue angle and chroma and of the puree. However, chilli puree prepared by
boiled-water soaking had lower capsaicin and di-hydro capsaicin concentrations
compared to cold water soaking. Pasteurization at different pHs did not seem to give
an effect on the Hunter surface colour (L, a, and b), ASTA unit and pungency of the
purees produced. Overall, the combined treatments of boiled water soaking and
pasteurized in the presence of acid(s) conferred purees of similar quality attributes.
The colour degradation kinetics of chilli puree prepared from dried chilli (Capsicum
annuum variety Kulai) was evaluated using a fraction conversion technique during
thermal treatment at 60, 70, 80 and 90oC (up to 30 min) and storage of chilli puree at
5, 28 and 45oC (up to 10 weeks). Chilli puree was subjected to heat treatment at
different temperatures in a well-stirred water bath. Test samples were removed from the water bath at selected time intervals (0-30 min after come-up), cooled
immediately and analyzed for colour using Hunterlab colorimeter. Chilli puree
colour was expressed in terms of tristimulus colour value a and combination (L x a x
b). First order reaction kinetics adequately described the change in colour values
during both thermal treatment and storage of puree. The quality of chilli puree stored
at three different storage conditions during 10 weeks of storage were evaluated in
terms of pH, water activity, Hunter colour (L, a, b and hue angle and chroma),
extractable colour (ASTA units), capsaicinoid content, volatile compounds and
microbiological quality. Different storage conditions used had significant effects on
the hunter surface colour, extractable colour, hue angle and chroma, volatile
compounds and microbiological quality of the final puree product. Capsaicinoids, pH
and water activity values were retained during storage. Data obtained in this study
showed that a combination of low temperature storage, pH and heat treatment
synergistically enhanced the quality of chili puree and prolonged its shelf life.


This paper tackles post-hoc interpretability for audio processing networks. Our goal is to interpret decisions of a network in terms of high-level audio objects that are also listenable for the end-user. To this end, we propose a novel interpreter design that incorporates non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). In particular, a carefully regularized interpreter module is trained to take hidden layer representations of the targeted network as input and produce time activations of pre-learnt NMF components as intermediate outputs. Our methodology allows us to generate intuitive audio-based interpretations that explicitly enhance parts of the input signal most relevant for a network's decision. We demonstrate our method's applicability on popular benchmarks, including a real-world multi-label classification task.


We tested the hypothesis that increased systemic vascular resistance in spontaneously hypertensive rats may be secondary to enhanced phospholipase C activity in response to vasoconstrictor stimuli. Activation of phospholipase C by angiotensin II (Ang II), thromboxane A2, arginine vasopressin, and endothelin-1 was compared in cultured glomerular mesangial cells and mesenteric vascular smooth muscle cells taken from 13- to 14-week-old hypertensive and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (blood pressure, 185 +/- 1 versus 135 +/- 2 mm Hg). Phospholipase C was assessed by measuring cytosolic free calcium and by the accumulation of radiolabeled inositol phosphates. Basal cytosolic calcium did not differ between mesangial cells taken from both strains but was greater in smooth muscle cells from hypertensive rats (210.1 +/- 8.2 versus 149.2 +/- 4.7 nM). The responsiveness of cytosolic calcium and inositol phosphate accumulation to Ang II was significantly enhanced in mesangial cells from hypertensive rats (10(-7) M Ang II: peak increase of calcium, 1,266 +/- 181 versus 603 +/- 93 nM; percent increment of inositol phosphates at 1 minute, 266 +/- 26 versus 98 +/- 10%). Vascular smooth muscle cells from hypertensive rats, when compared with normotensive rats, showed a similar augmentation of Ang II-stimulated intracellular calcium and inositol phosphates. Thromboxane A2-induced enhancement of intracellular calcium and inositol phosphate accumulation in vascular smooth muscle cells was also greater in hypertensive animals. However, the responses to vasopressin and endothelin in mesangial or vascular smooth muscle cells did not differ between the normotensive and hypertensive animals. There was no significant difference in Ang II receptor number and affinity between hypertensive- and normotensive-derived mesangial cells. We conclude that genetically increased blood pressure in rats may be secondary to enhanced post-receptor signaling in glomerular mesangial cells activated by Ang II and to enhanced signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells stimulated by either Ang II or thromboxane A2.


Trading is a job that is highly recommended in Islam, because the Prophet and the companions also a traders. So it should as a good Muslim in performing daily activities in accordance with the guidance of the Prophet in order to be successful the world and the hereafter included in trade. Ethics of trade was good manners and behavior in the trade so the customers were satisfied. This study aims to determine the understanding of ethical trade in the Muslim traders Wonokromo Market Surabaya. This study used a qualitative approach with descriptive case study method. Determination of informants using purposive sampling technique. Data collected by means of semi-structured interviews and documentation. Data analysis using descriptive analytical model. The results of this study indicate that generally Muslim traders Wonokromo Markets have understood the ethical trade based on the principle of unity, equilibrium, free will, responsibility and truth in a way that is honest and good trade (do not cheat), provide information to the customer in accordance with reality, appropriately weigh, not hold a fake offers, do not tucking rotten fruit into a nice fruit, and helping others among fellow traders nor traders with collector.


Since the 1970s, the largest oil and gas reservoirs have been discovered in the Permian–Early Triassic formations in Saudi Arabia. Thus, this time period is important for the discovery of new oil reserves in Iran. The Arabian passive continental margin has undergone lithospheric extension during the Permian–Triassic, which led to the formation of the Neo-Tethys. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of the continental rift basin in the Zagros region based on the tectono-sedimentological evolution. We have studied well-log data to specify the distribution of synrift deposits in the Zagros and have related this information to the modelling. Environmental changes indicated by various sedimentary sequences, from a siliciclastic basin to a carbonate platform setting, are described. The Cambrian Hormuz salt, which overlies the metamorphosed Precambrian basement, becomes effective as a basal detachment layer influencing the style of overburden deformation during the Permian–Triassic extension event. We have investigated the formation of various structures linked to the presence or absence of the Hormuz layer by analogue modelling and relating these structures to the Late Palaeozoic sedimentation. Based on results of the analogue modelling, we argue that the basal detachment layer (Hormuz series) has contributed to the various structural styles of the extensional basin development in the Fars domain and the Lorestan domain.


Control of sunbeds is mandatory in France to ensure consumers protection against UV radiation. This control is performed by authorized body with array spectroradiometers that must be calibrated and traceable to SI. These spectroradiometers have defects (stray light) that need to be taken into account while performing the calibration. We propose a calibration method that is based on light sources which spectrum is similar to that of the light sources found in sunbeds, and by comparison to a reference spectroradiometer. This paper report on the bench and procedure developed to calibrate the array spectroradiometer as well as the calibration uncertainty.


It is commonly assumed that a strong link exists between genetic variability and environment influence on the onset of many human genetic diseases, the majority with features and peculiarities that have not only medical/physical implications but also a psychological and social nature, with a relevant impact on the personal Self of any individual. Protocols of support by a multidisciplinary team of different professional healthcare providers have not been reported as yet, therefore, through a review and analysis of the extent literature, we propose an "integrated" model and some possibly helpful recommendations with specific regard to the psychological care provided by a therapist during the genetic counseling process within a multidisciplinary clinical team. This paper is specifically focused on the role, interventions and positioning (addressed to the patient and the caregivers as well) of the psychologist and aims to demonstrate that he/she has a pivotal role in genetic counseling and which vocational education and training, skills and approach should the therapist preferentially have to provide the best support to patients affected by genetic diseases.


Materialized views (MV) can significantly improve the query performance of relational databases. In this paper, we consider MVs to optimize complex scenarios where many heterogeneous nodes with different resource constraints (e.g., CPU, IO and network bandwidth) query and update numerous tables on different nodes. Such problems are typical for large enterprises, e.g., global retailers storing thousands of relations on hundreds of nodes at different subsidiaries.
 Choosing which views to materialize in a distributed, complex scenario is NP-hard. Furthermore, the solution space is huge, and the large number of input factors results in non-monotonic cost models. This prohibits the straightforward use of brute-force algorithms, greedy approaches or proposals from organic computing. For the same reason, all solutions for choosing MVs we are aware of do not consider either distributed settings or update costs.
 In this paper we describe an algorithmic framework which restricts the sets of considered MVs so that a genetic algorithm can be applied. In order to let the genetic algorithm converge quickly, we generate initial populations based on knowledge on database tuning, and devise a selection function which restricts the solution space by taking the similarity of MV configurations into account. We evaluate our approach both with artificial settings and a real-world RFID scenario from retail. For a small setting consisting of 24 tables distributed over 9 nodes, an exhaustive search needs 10 hours processing time. Our approach derives a comparable set of MVs within 30 seconds. Our approach scales well: Within 15 minutes it chooses a set of MVs for a real-world scenario consisting of 1,000 relations, 400 hosts, and a workload of 3,000 queries and updates.


Over the past century, numerous studies have used oral biofilm models to investigate growth kinetics, biofilm formation, structure and composition, antimicrobial susceptibility and host-pathogen interactions. In vivo animal models provide useful models of some oral diseases; however, these are expensive and carry vast ethical implications. Oral biofilms grown or maintained in vitro offer a useful platform for certain studies and have the advantages of being inexpensive to establish and easy to reproduce and manipulate. In addition, a wide range of variables can be monitored and adjusted to mimic the dynamic environmental changes at different sites in the oral cavity, such as pH, temperature, salivary and gingival crevicular fluid flow rates, or microbial composition. This review provides a detailed insight for early-career oral science researchers into how the biofilm models used in oral research have progressed and improved over the years, their advantages and disadvantages, and how such systems have contributed to our current understanding of oral disease pathogenesis and aetiology.


A morphological and molecular study of Ornithodoros (Subparmatus) viguerasi (Acari: Argasidae) was carried out. Free-living males and females of this tick species were collected in Calcehtok cavern, Yucatan, Mexico. The morphology of the females of O. viguerasi was identical to the holotype female from Cuba. The only difference was related to size; females from Mexico were bigger than the holotype female. The male of O. viguerasi was described for the first time from the specimens collected in Mexico. The diagnostic characters are a combination of a genital aperture covered by a semicircular flap, a central sclerotized plate posterior to genital aperture, a transverse and thin plate anterior to the genital aperture located at the level of the anterior margin of coxae I, a pair of sclerotized plates bordering coxae II, III and IV, basis capituli rectangular in shape and protrusible, a hypostome roughly blunt at the apex with small denticles (it appears to be functionless), and article I of the palpi with a medial integumental extension which has a long setae on the medial margin. A comparative morphological analysis of the male described in this work with the paratype specimens from Cuba was also conducted; we conclude that the nymphs described in the original description of O. viguerasi correspond to males. Sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene of both male and female ticks from Mexico were identical. In a phylogenetic analysis, the monophyly of the subgenus Subparmatus could not be resolved.


Distributors are important export channels for internationally active small and medium sized manufacturers. Effective governance of these channel members is crucial for the manufacturers' sales and marketing success. Unilateral incentive schemes represent one mechanism to govern distributors. The variety of incentives is noticeable, among them, incentive travel programmes are one possible instrument for sales managers to steer and motivate their sales partners. This paper examines how incentive travel initiatives can be designed in international business and provides an insight into their application by manufacturing companies. Based upon a literature review a schema for organizing the variety of incentives is developed and at that point travel incentives are classified within this taxonomy. Then, general design possibilities for incentive travel programmes are discussed. A qualitative study conducted within 5 manufacturing enterprises highlights how the design is used by Austrian manufacturers. The results suggest that the investigated companies rather use a bilateral governance approach when applying incentive travel programmes in order to strengthen the relationship with the distributors in the long term and not primarily to motivate them in the short run. This contradicts the common classification of incentive travel in the literature and questions the common practice of artificially separating governance mechanisms and their (unilateral or bilateral) characteristics without taking business reality into account. Finally, the study provides some insights about country and culturally specific aspects which ought to be considered when designing an incentive travel programme. The paper concludes that especially the specific nature of different countries opens a wide range of opportunities for further research in the area of channel governance through incentive travel.


Domain name system (DNS) security has garnered substantial interest due to DNS cache-poisoning attacks. In this article, a model checking method is employed to verify the security of the DNS protocol, especially when it is under DNS cache-poisoning attacks. The DNS protocol is first translated into a simpler model that preserves all the attack behaviour to be verified. Extended finite state machine models are given and represented in PROMELA which can be identified by SPIN; and then the whole process of model checking is proposed. The initial results on verification of the DNS under DNS cache-poisoning attacks using SPIN are also proposed. From the experimental results it can be seen that the security of DNS should be carefully considered.


Southwest Slovenia is a region well-known for frequent episodes of strong and gusty Bora wind, which may damage structures, affect traffic, and poses threats to human safety in general. With the increased availability of computational power, the interest in high resolution modeling of Bora on local scales is growing. To model it adequately, the flow characteristics of Bora should be experimentally investigated and parameterized. This study presents the analysis of wind speed vertical profiles at Razdrto, Slovenia, a location strongly exposed to Bora during six Bora episodes of different duration, appearing between April 2010 and May 2011. The empirical power law and the logarithmic law for Bora wind, commonly used for the description of neutrally stratified atmosphere, were evaluated for 10-min averaged wind speed data measured at four different heights. Power law and logarithmic law wind speed profiles, which are commonly used in high resolution computational models, were found to approximate well the measured data. The obtained power law coefficient and logarithmic law parameters, which are for modeling purposes commonly taken to be constant for a specific site, were found to vary significantly between different Bora episodes, most notably due to different wind direction over complex terrain. To increase modeling precision, the effects of local topography on wind profile parameters needs to be experimentally assessed and implemented.


Impurity spectra have been measured to evaluate impurity behavior and plasma parameter in the tandem mirror GAMMA 10. An ultraviolet and visible (UV/visible) spectroscopic system has been designed to measure the impurity emission intensity in detail. It consists of two spectrometers to obtain an entire wavelength range of UV/visible impurity spectra in one plasma shot. The time-varying emission intensity of radiation spectra have been measured successfully with electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) or pellet injection plasmas. We evaluate radiation loss with ECRH from the GAMMA 10 plasma in the UV/visible range; further we estimate the electron density and temperature after applying the spectral intensity data measured from the pellet injection experiment to a collisional-radiative model.


Because of an overwhelming interest in translation in recent years, Translation Studies has attracted considerable attention. Its disciplinary expansion in the 1990s has greatly increased its visibility. Yet its identity is still somewhat obscure, if not confusing. Translation Studies has borrowed theoretical paradigms and research methodologies from other disciplines, thus generating hybrid formations of transdisciplinarity. Thus it tends to focus on investigating the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary process of recognition, construction, confrontation, and transformation, which involves meaning, interpretation, signification, and representation. With dimensions of cultural and social attitudes, discourses, and myriad forms of power brought into Translation Studies to address the complex nature of translation practice, the subject has inevitably acquired an interdisciplinary identity. In an increasingly globalized world, academic research in China has long extricated itself from its past state of isolation. China has seen an unprecedented boom in Translation Studies thanks to its intercultural interaction with the outside world, brought about by massive translation practice, and Chinese translation scholars manifest an eagerness to learn from the West and also to play an active role in promoting the development of the discipline. Translation Studies purports to probe into the implications of translation strategies and resulting discourses, including conditions of signification and politics of appropriation.


Although many scholars have proposed all kinds of key successful factors (KSFs) for ERP activity to smoothly enhance the implementation of ERP, the KSFs are based too much on concept and protocol cannot help an enterprise to achieve this objective. Therefore, this research through qualitative interview method, integrating the KSFs and dynamic capability to set up a model so as to exhibit the kind of dynamic capability needed for each factor. This result not only creates practical value for the KSFs and displays implementable effectiveness for the dynamic capability concept, but also brings a new direction to the academic research.


Importance
With the increase in patients who identify as transgender, it is crucial that gynecologists are culturally and clinically competent in understanding their unique needs.

Objective
The aim of this study was to identify the key gynecologic issues facing transgender patients and develop an overarching framework of tools needed to address these issues.

Evidence Acquisition
A review of the existing literature was undertaken to address the key clinical aspects of care.

Results
Various aspects of the gynecologic care of transgender patients, including health maintenance and cancer screening examinations, hormone replacement therapy, hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy, and referral and collaboration with the patient's care team, are outlined.

Conclusions and Relevance
Transgender patients are more likely to be engaged and seek care if their identity and their needs are understood. While many aspects of transgender health care follow standard practices, there are significant and important differences, including gender-affirming therapies. This article aims to give gynecologists the necessary tools to partner in the care of transgender patients.


Kinetics of non-isothermal crystallization of coconut-based cholesteryl ester was performed by differential scanning calorimetry under various heating rates. Different analysis methods were used to describe the process of non-isothermal crystallization. The results showed that the Avrami equation could describe the system very well. However, the Ozawa analysis failed. A probable reason is the difference in the crystallization kinetics at high and low relative crystallization. The phase transitions of the coconut-based cholesteryl ester were also observed through optical polarizing microscopy.


Genetic diversity and population structure of Tasmanian populations of Eucalyptus pauciflora were assessed using chloroplast and nuclear microsatellite markers. Maternal trees and open-pollinated progeny from 37 populations were sampled across the species' geographic and altitudinal distribution in Tasmania. The distribution of chloroplast haplotype richness showed a clear geographic structure with suggestion of three major refugia (Storm Bay, Tamar Valley and St Pauls River Valley), two of which are consistent with previously reported glacial refugia. Chloroplast haplotype affinities provided evidence of migration of populations from the north and east towards the south and west of Tasmania. High nuclear microsatellite diversity was observed across the species' range. Most of this variation was distributed within populations with low but significant FST, suggesting high gene flow among populations that is more pronounced in mature stands. Higher nuclear genetic diversity in newly colonised areas compared with lowland putative refugial regions, and the converse in chloroplast DNA markers, suggest limited seed dispersal into newly colonised regions combined with high pollen flow between different source populations in newly colonised areas. Our results do not support the suggestion that highland populations of E. pauciflora originate from in situ high-altitude refugia, but instead argue they originate from lowland refugia.


This paper analytically addresses the question, to which degree the market power of OPEC is the key reason for the world market price of crude oil to exceed marginal extraction costs. Describing the various determinants of both extraction costs and the oil price constitutes the basis for an in-depth discussion on the relative impact of these variables. We argue that despite OPEC's significant market power, other forces such as steadily increasing global demand, temporary supply constraints, or a growing importance of resource pragmatism and nationalism play a much greater role than OPEC's market power.


Social policy evaluations usually use classical statistical methods, which may, for example, compare outcomes for program and comparison groups and determine whether the estimated differences (or impacts) are statistically significant — meaning they are unlikely to have been generated by a program with no effect. This approach has two important shortcomings. First, it is geared toward testing hypotheses regarding specific possible program effects — most commonly, whether a program has zero effect. It is difficult with this framework to test a hypothesis that, say, the program's estimated impact is larger than 10 (whether 10 percentage points, $10, or some other measure). Second, readers often view results through the lens of their own expectations. A program developer may interpret results positively even if they are not statistically significant — that is, they do not confirm the program's effectiveness — while a skeptic might interpret with caution statistically significant impact estimates that do not follow theoretical expectations. This paper uses Bayesian methods — an alternative to classical statistics — to reanalyze results from three studies in the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ (HtE) Demonstration and Evaluation Project, which is testing interventions to increase employment and reduce welfare dependency for low-income adults with serious barriers to employment. In interpreting new data from a social policy evaluation, a Bayesian analysis formally incorporates prior beliefs, or expectations (known as "priors"), about the social policy into the statistical analysis and characterizes results in terms of the distribution of possible effects, instead of whether the effects are consistent with a true effect of zero. The main question addressed in the paper is whether a Bayesian approach tends to confirm or contradict published results. Results of the Bayesian analysis generally confirm the published findings that impacts from the three HtE programs examined here tend to be small. This is in part because results for the three sites are broadly consistent with findings from similar studies, but in part because each of the sites included a relatively large sample. The Bayesian framework may be more informative when applied to smaller studies that might not be expected to provide statistically significant impact estimates on their own.


Background Tofacitinib (CP-690,550) is a novel, oral Janus kinase inhibitor investigated as a targeted immunomodulator for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives This is an analysis of the populations pooled across Phase 2 and 3 RA studies to assess whether there is consistency in the treatment effect of tofacitinib in subgroups of patients. Methods The demographic and baseline disease characteristics of patients in the Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies were similar, which supports the pooling of these data. Data from patients receiving tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily (BID) or placebo in all randomised Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies ≥3 months in duration (monotherapy studies NCT00550446, NCT00687193, and NCT00814307; background DMARD Studies NCT00413660, NCT00603512, NCT00960440, NCT00847613, NCT00856544, and NCT00853385) were pooled. ACR20 response rates and rates of improvement from baseline of at least 0.22 in the HAQ-DI at Month 3 were analysed by baseline demographics and disease characteristics and results were expressed as probability ratios (proportion of responders randomised to tofacitinib treatment(s) divided by that of placebo at Month 3) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Treatment comparisons included 5 mg BID, 10 mg BID, and 5 and 10 mg BID groups combined, vs placebo. Additionally, ACR20 response rates and change from baseline in the HAQ-DI at Month 3 were analysed by previous treatment experience (traditional DMARDs and TNF inhibitors). Results In an analysis of 3442 patients in total, tofacitinib demonstrated consistent efficacy in reducing signs and symptoms of RA and improving physical function, as measured by ACR20 and HAQ-DI, respectively, compared to placebo. The probability ratios for all treatment comparisons for ACR20 and HAQ-DI responder rates were ≥1, with the lower boundary of the 95% CIs also ≥1 for all but one subgroup. Efficacy was seen in all subgroups evaluated including: age (18-44, 45-64, and ≥65 years); gender; weight (<60, 60-100, and >100 kg); body mass index (BMI, <18.5, 18.5 to <25, 25 to <30, and ≥30); race (white, black, Asian, other); region (USA, Latin America, Europe plus Canada, and rest of the world); RA duration (<2, 2 to <5, 5 to <10, and ≥10 years); serological status (RF or CCP +), and baseline DAS28-4 (ESR) (≤5.1 and >5.1). The black race group appeared to have lower response rates than the other race groups, although the CI for this group was wide and the sample size relatively small. Tofacitinib also demonstrated consistent efficacy in patients previously treated with traditional DMARDs or TNF inhibitors, irrespective of the number of previous treatments. Conclusions Tofacitinib was consistently efficacious, as measured by ACR20 and HAQ-DI, across the range of baseline demographics and disease characteristics such as age, gender, weight, BMI, race, geographic region, disease duration, serological status, disease activity and previous treatment experience. Disclosure of Interest J. Kremer Grant/Research support from: Pfizer Inc, Consultant for: Pfizer Inc, C. Zerbini: None Declared, E. B. Lee Consultant for: Pfizer Inc, D. Gruben Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, S. Krishnaswami Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, S. Zwillich Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, T. Koncz Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, J. Bradley Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, C. Mebus Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc


This present research is motivated by observing the diversity of views held in
understanding the portrayal of Solomon in 1 Kgs 1-11, its importance in resolving the
problem of the composition of DtrH, and especially by a certain doubt about the
pervasive Josianic understandings of Solomon. The main concern of the present study is
to establish a sound understanding of Solomon as portrayed in I Kgs 1-11 in relation to
the theories of the composition of Kings, especially the Josianic redaction theory. This
study seeks to understand Solomon in 1 Kgs 1-11 from the perspective of the text's
persuasive function in relation to the reader.
Chapter one surveys modem researches on Kings in general and the Solomon narrative
(1 Kgs 1-11) in particular. It shows that the essential question in studies of Kings and
the Solomon account is the understanding of the thematic tensions in relation to their
composition. This chapter also argues that a rhetorical approach is methodologically
relevant in solving the question.
Chapter two defines what rhetorical criticism is, and in relation to the definition, shows
how a rhetorical approach will be applied to our study of 1 Kgs 1-11. Rhetorical
criticism is a methodology concerned with determining the means of persuasion
employed in the communication, through an analysis of the text in its final form. This
chapter also establishes four practical steps for discovering the argumentative or
persuasive function of the Solomon text: the rhetorical unit, arrangement (dispositio)
and style (elocutio), argumentation (inventio), and finally the rhetorical situation and the
original reader.
Following these steps, chapter three identifies 1 Kgs 1-11 as a rhetorical unit by
showing 1 Kgs 1-2 as the true beginning of the narrative through the structural and
rhetorical connections between 1 Kgs 1-2 and 3-11. Chapter four examines how 1 Kgs
1-11 as a persuasive narration has been arranged in order to have an impact on the
reader's apprehension of the Solomon narrative. It shows the concentric structure of 1
Kgs 1-11 based on the function of repetition, which guides the reader to the picture of
Solomon's incapacity in his `covenant relationship' with Yahweh. Chapter five
examines I Kgs 1-11 from the point of view of argumentation or invention, and deals
with the understanding or evaluation of the issue in I Kgs 1-11. The narrator in 1 Kgs 1-11 shows the reader Solomon's failure in the relationship with Yahweh based on his
ethical and rational, and emotional, appeal. Chapter six defines the rhetorical situation
which causes the existence of 1 Kgs 1-11. It shows that Kings would be a fitting
response to the rhetorical situation of the Jewish exilic community in Babylon. The
community may have held very different views about their past, their identity, or the
continuity of the covenant relationship with Yahweh in the exilic or post-exilic period.
Our conclusion in this study of 1 Kgs 1-11 is that the subtle portrayal of Solomon in 1
Kgs 1-11 does not display a Josianic standpoint, but an exilic view, persuading the
Babylonian exiles to recover their covenant relationship with Yahweh or to find a new
understanding of this through the portrayal of Solomon in the light of his inevitable
failure in relationship with Yahweh.


Bringing together issues of religion and life, politics and personal identity, feminism and liberation theology, Dorothee Soelle presents a powerful critique of modern society, striking at dehumanizing elements that combine to oppress both women and men. Over the years, Soelle had challenged European and American readers with incisive commentary on a variety of social, ethical, literary, and theological topics. This work embodies the constant drive to radicalization and the passionate involvement that have always been the hallmark of her writing.


We were born communicating. We do not have to learn to communi- W cate .... But if the quality (representational accuracy) of our communication depends on the quality of our thinking, and the quality (degree of satisfaction) of our relationships depends on the quality of our communication, we might enjoy more satisfying relationships through working to improve our thinking and communicating. One way involves striving to become students of advanced thinking by infusing our vocabularies with mathematics and general semantics terms, and using them to modify our assumptions and beliefs and so improve our usual ways of thinking-feeling, talking about and doing things. Advanced thinking is not about what, or how much anyone knows. Advanced thinking refers specifically (and only) to moments of awareness - the contents of which involve "consciousness of abstracting": thinking in a general semantics (non-allness, non-identifying, ???-elementalistic, heuristic, multidimensional, propositional, etc.) way about the ways we think about whatever we happen to be thinking about or reacting with - including ourselves. Many of our problems in communication and other relationships start - depending on where we stop our thinking. In the spirit of "non-allness, non-identity, and conscious timebinding" (seeking improvement through applying general semantics), students of advanced thinking remain curious-lifelong-learners: When other thinking "say" "It is so," students of advanced thinking wonder and take a structural approach: "Is it so? - If so - How so?" Grounded in the principles of "non-allness and non-identity," the proposition "advanced thinking" is based on the following criteria culled from "Webster's Collegiate Dictionary": "being beyond the elementary or introductory; greatly developed beyond initial stage; further on in time or course; being beyond others in progress or ideas; gradual betterment; to bring or move forward; progress in development." A school of thinking claiming to have superseded general semantics would in effect be supporting and illustrating the principle of "non-allness" - "We cannot sense, think, imagine, understand, know, say, write, all about anything or anyone - including ourselves:" We could avoid many personal, communication, and other problems by just remembering this seemingly simple />ro/>osi/io«-principle. As advanced thinking starts where other thinking stops, students of advanced thinking, following a "non-allness, nonidentity, propositional approach," become engaged in continuous self-educating, self-correcting, self improving way of communicating with themselves, others, and the world around them. Recognizing that there were no generally accepted everyday communication standard, Alfred Korzybski proposed using his general semantics as a general way toward improving human communication-relationships. General Semantics constitutes a system about systems involving a generalization of the methods and approach of science and mathematics and includes the following interrelated propositions-pnnciples-tools: "A General Theory of Time-binding (tools for improvements and adjustments), a general theory of evaluation and sanity, a general theory of psychotherapy, a general theory of values, a foundation for a theory of ethics, an international common denominator for communication and mutual understanding, among others." As this system has not yet been generally recognized or accepted, we miss many useful and effective tools for improving communication-and-relationships, and for understanding and resolving many of our disagreements, conflicts, violent outbursts, and societal breakdowns. A Mathematical Approach Helps us Improve Communication The progress of science, technology, and our expanding and improving knowledge of the world (including ourselves) results mainly from applying mathematics in our communicating-relationships with our diverse environments. In his book Science And Sanity expounding the "General Theory of Time-binding," on page 728, Alfred Korzybski proposed: "Science and mathematics show the working of the 'human mind' at its best. …