The present study is an evaluation of the current strengths and weaknesses of the oil palm smallholder sector in Cameroon, or more precisely of the non-industrial sector, as some holdings owned by elites can reach hundreds of hectares. A randomized sample of oil palm producers was chosen after categorization into elites, migrants, natives and company workers (past and present) in four palm oil production basins in the Southern part of the country. 176 semi-structured questionnaires were administered. The production basins included: Eseka, Dibombari, Muyuka, and Lobe. Results from the study revealed that elites owned larger average areas (41.3 ha) than the other categories of oil palm producers. All categories recorded low average plantation yields, ranging from 7 to 8.4 t FFB/ha/year (with minimum yields of 3 t FFB/ha). Though the elites showed better bargaining power and higher income, all categories of producers faced similar problems such as the high cost of inputs with no governmental subsidies, the difficulty in accessing loans with low interest rates and the use of rudimentary working tools. Despite such weaknesses, the sector also demonstrates some strengths such as the ability to impose little threat to the primary forest when compared to agro-industrial plantations, the availability of a domestic and sub-regional market for red palm oil, the availability of artisanal mills with low extraction rates although able to generate more income for the producers. There is a need for governmental policies that will strengthen partnership between small and medium oil palm producers and agro- industries as it was the case during the Fonader period, in order to converge with the poverty reduction strategy intiated by the government of Cameroon.


Th17 cells provide protective immunity to infections by fungi and extracellular bacteria as well as cancer but are also involved in chronic inflammation. The cells were first identified by their ability to produce interleukin 17A (IL-17A) and, subsequently, associated with chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. Th17 cells have some gene profile similarity with stem cells and can remain dormant in mucosal tissues for long periods. Indeed, recent studies suggest that functionally distinct subsets of pro- and anti-inflammatory Th17 cells can interchange phenotype and functions. For development, Th17 cells require activation of the transcription factors STAT3 and RORγt while RUNX1, c-Maf, and Aiolos are involved in changes of phenotype/functions. Attempts to harness Th17 cells against pathogens and cancer using vaccination strategies are being explored. The cells gain protective abilities when induced to produce interferon γ (IFNγ). In addition, treatment with antibodies to IL-17 is effective in treating patients with psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and refectory rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, since RORγt is a nuclear receptor, it is likely to be a potential future drug target for modulating Th17 functions. This review explores pathways through which Th17 subsets are induced, the molecular basis of their plasticity, and potential therapeutic strategies for their modulation in diseases.


There is a general agreement that we have entered the information economy, that higher education is a critical element in this knowledge society. This has placed a new demand on its teaching and research functions, with growing emphasis on lifelong learning and more flexible forms of higher education delivery. Notwithstanding, there is also a widespread scepticism as to whether educational systems will be able to overcome their traditional inertia and respond to the challenge of the knowledge-based revolution.
Currently the prominence of ICT and other external influencing factors; economic, social, cultural and the changing role of governmental policy are driving the inner life of the higher education sector. In that respect many higher educational institutions are turning to e-learning technologies for improving the quality of learning by means of access to resources, services, long distance collaborations and exchanges. However this transition has been characterized by a mixed sense of optimism, skeptism and a lack of "adequate benchmarks".
It is within this background that this explorative study sought to carry out a descriptive comparison between Germany, UK and the USA with the objective of identifying the current trends, establishing tendencies of differences or similarities and identifying future trends (next 5 years) across the three countries. This is directed at synthesising "best practices" which could facilitate international knowledge transfer and the future development of e-learning. In pursuance of these aims the study employed the use of both quantitative and qualitative data sources. In obtaining the quantitative data, national and international reports that detail out the activities of e-learning in higher educational institutions across the three countries were reviewed and relevant data filtered. Further explanations, clarifications as well as predictions of future trends were sought through expert interviews (n=30 experts).
The findings indicate that: 1) The three countries did not exhibit much differences in terms of policy however they exhibited differences in terms of strategy and tactics in e-learning. 2) The three countries exhibited differences in terms of the prevalent e-learning technologies used as well as the application of such technologies. 3) In terms of didactical approaches and orientation to either local or international markets the three countries exhibited differences iv) In terms of impact and limiting factors the three countries exhibited differences in scale and proportion though qualitative impact was difficult to estimate. 5) In terms of future trends or scenarios different projections were made across the three countries.
The implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations offered for further research.


J. Martin has succeeded in writing an eminently readable book about telecommunications that is refreshingly different from the usually stuffy textbooks full of technical jargon. Future Developments in Telecommunications is provocative, informative, and will be enjoyed equally by laymen with a passing interest in telecommunications, sociologists who are looking for thought-provoking notions of the effect of future communications on society, businessmen whose future life blood will be at the mercy of telecommunications, and the "experts" in the field of telecommunications, namely the computer users and the communications systems analysts. It is remarkable indeed that a book can be written that would have such a wide audience without becoming trivial to persons actively engaged in the development and operation of telecommunications systems. However, J. Martin has succeeded in one of his aims by demonstrating to nontechnical and technical audiences alike, the catalytic effect that communications presently have on the development of society and how this effect is likely to be magnified in the future, even–to the extent of affecting world prosperity and political systems. He raises many interesting and thought-provoking questions on the social challenges we will have to overcome as telecommunications grinds inexorably forward affecting more and more of the lives of each of us.


The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, a transient global warming event, is characterized by extensive evidence of a more active hydrological cycle. This includes a widespread pulse of kaolinite accumulation on continental margins, viewed as the by-product of either enhanced chemical weathering consistent with much more humid conditions and/or increased erosion of previously deposited laterites. The former would be more consistent with yearround humid conditions, whereas the latter might be indicative of extreme seasonal precipitation patterns. To assess these hypotheses, we present a new high-resolution clay mineral assemblage and oxygen isotope record from Bass River, a site on the New Jersey margin (east coast of North America), which shows a sharp rise in the abundance of kaolinite beginning a few thousand years before the onset of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE). The δ18O of the <2-μm-size fraction exhibits a shift toward lower values during the event. On the basis of a coeval shift in clay assemblages, the shift in δOClays can be explained by a shift in the relative percent of the primary clay phases rather than a change in the isotopic composition of kaolinite, as would be expected if the kaolinite had been produced primarily during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. This fi nding points to accelerated exhumation and erosion of kaolinitic soils, most likely Cretaceous laterites. GEOLOGY, July 2012; v. 40; no. 7; p. 591–594; doi:10.1130/G32785.1; 2 fi gures; Data Repository item 2012184. © 2012 eological Society of America. For permission to copy, contact Copyright Permissions, GSA, or email@example.com. 1GSA Data Repository item 2012184, detailed methods, an in-depth discussion on the mixing of clays and its impact on the isotopic ratio of the clays, and Figures DR1 and DR2, is available online at www.geosociety.org/pubs/ft2012.htm, or on request from firstname.lastname@example.com or Documents Secretary, GSA, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301, USA. on June 16, 2012 geology.gsapubs.org Downloaded from


With the increasing popularity of online video streaming and broadcasting applications, video transmission has become the most bandwidth consumed application in the Internet. Unless resource utilisation is further optimised, existing networks would not be able to accommodate the forecasted demand for high volume video traffic. Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) is a promising approach to increase the network throughput and robustness in order to facilitate high volume traffic. However, the performance gain obtained using RLNC decreases when the network packet loss rate increases. In response, this paper proposes to incorporate RLNC with a combined interleaving and a coding technique to improve the effectiveness of generating redundant packet combinations over classical RLNC to enhance the robustness against packet losses. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed method improves the probability of recovering lost data over the classical RLNC and the video transmission simulation results exhibit up to 5dB increase in PSNR and up to 14% increase in VQM utilising the same network resources at the same network conditions.


Abstract. In mid and high latitudes, the stable isotope ratio in precipitation is driven by changes in temperature, which control atmospheric distillation. This relationship forms the basis for many continental paleoclimatic reconstructions using direct (e.g. ice cores) or indirect (e.g. tree ring cellulose, speleothem calcite) archives of past precipitation. However, the archiving process is inherently biased by intermittency of precipitation. Here, we use two sets of atmospheric reanalyses (NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) and ERA-interim) to quantify this precipitation intermittency bias, by comparing seasonal (winter and summer) temperatures estimated with and without precipitation weighting. We show that this bias reaches up to 10 °C and has large interannual variability. We then assess the impact of precipitation intermittency on the strength and stability of temporal correlations between seasonal temperatures and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Precipitation weighting reduces the correlation between winter NAO and temperature in some areas (e.g. Quebec, South-East USA, East Greenland, East Siberia, Mediterranean sector) but does not alter the main patterns of correlation. The correlations between NAO, δ18O in precipitation, temperature and precipitation weighted temperature are investigated using outputs of an atmospheric general circulation model enabled with stable isotopes and nudged using reanalyses (LMDZiso (Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique Zoom)). In winter, LMDZiso shows similar correlation values between the NAO and both the precipitation weighted temperature and δ18O in precipitation, thus suggesting limited impacts of moisture origin. Correlations of comparable magnitude are obtained for the available observational evidence (GNIP (Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation) and Greenland ice core data). Our findings support the use of archives of past δ18O for NAO reconstructions.


PURPOSE
The multicenter trial ALL-REZ BFM (ie, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Relapse Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster) 90 was designed to improve prognosis for children with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) by time-to-relapse- and site-of-relapse-adapted stratification and by introduction of novel chemotherapy elements and to evaluate new prognostic parameters in a large, population-based cohort.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Five hundred twenty-five patients stratified into risk groups A (early bone marrow [BM] relapses), B (late BM relapses), and C (isolated extramedullary relapses) received alternating short-course intensive polychemotherapy (in blocks R1, R2, or R3) and cranial/craniospinal irradiation followed by maintenance therapy. Block R3 (high-dose cytarabine and etoposide) was introduced to improve the outcome compared with historical controls. Patients with early BM or T-ALL relapse (poor prognosis group [PPG]) were eligible for experimental regimens. One hundred seventeen patients received stem-cell transplantation (SCT).

RESULTS
The probabilities (and standard deviations) of event-free survival (pEFS) and overall survival (pOS) at 10 years were 0.30 +/- .02 and 0.36 +/- .02, respectively. Significant differences existed between strategic groups (pEFS(A) = .17 +/- .03; pEFS(B) = .43 +/- .04; pEFS(C) = .54 +/- .06; pEFS(PPG) = .15 +/- .03; log-rank P < .001). Patients of high-risk groups A plus PPG did better with SCT than with chemotherapy (pEFS = .33 +/- .05 v 0.20 +/- .05; P = .005). The pEFS was similar to trials ALL-REZ BFM 85/87 (.36 +/- .03. v 0.37 +/- .03; P = .419; PPG excluded). Time point, site of relapse, immunophenotype, and SCT were significant predictors of pEFS in multivariate analyses.

CONCLUSION
More than one third of patients in this large, population-based trial were cured. Neither R3 nor adaptation of chemotherapy intensity was capable of improving pEFS or of overcoming prognostic factors. In high-risk patients, remission induction regimens must be improved, and allogeneic SCT should be recommended in patients achieving second complete remission.


Aims: The aim of this study was to describe associations between physician-reported patient characteristics, treatment modalities and assessed outcomes in children diagnosed with ADHD in six countries.
Methods: Clinical records of ADHD patients were retrospectively reviewed by treating physicians. Patients had optimal treatment success (OTS) if the physician assessed them as having complete symptom control and was highly satisfied with treatment.
Results: Out of the 708 patients, 505 (71.3%) were treatment adherent. OTS was reported in 28.1% of patients (33.7% adherent and 14.3% nonadherent; p < 0.0001). Among adherent patients, there was no association between treatment type and OTS. Multivariate logistic regression models suggest that patients achieving OTS were more likely to have fewer comorbidities and lower reported impairment levels for ADHD-associated symptoms/behaviors.
Conclusion: Overall, OTS was low. Among adherent patients, those with more comorbidities/greater ADHD impairment achieved lower OTS. There was no difference between treatment modalities, suggesting that opportunities exist to develop improved ADHD treatments.


Biological systems are made up of very large numbers of different components interacting at various scales. Most genes, proteins and other cell components carry out their functions within a complex network of interactions and a single component can affect a wide range of other components. Interactions involved in biological processes have been previously characterized individually, but this ''reductionist'' approach suffers from a lack of information about time, space, and context in which the interactions occur in vivo. A global, integrative, approach has been developed for several years, focusing on the building of protein-protein interaction maps (interactomes). These interaction networks are complex systems, where new properties arise. This is part of an emergent field, called systems biology which is ''the study of an organism, viewed as an integrated and interacting network of genes, proteins and biochemical reactions which give rise to life'' (http://www.systemsbiology.org/). This interdisciplinary approach, involving techniques from the mathematical, computational, physical and engineering sciences is required to understand complex networks. Detailed knowledge of protein interactions and protein complex structures is therefore fundamental to understand how individual proteins function within a complex and how the complex functions as a whole.
This PhD thesis targeted the characterization by structural and functional proteomics approaches of selected protein complexes involved in relevant molecular processes and can have an impact on their industrial applications. The following systems of biotechnological interest have been analysed in this study: 1) Phenol Hydroxylase (PH) from Pseudomonas sp. OX1. It is a bacterium endowed with the ability to grow on a wide spectrum of hydroxylated and non-hydroxylated aromatic compounds for this reason it can be use in bioremediation of contaminated environments. In this context the research has been aimed at characterizing the endogenously expressed Phenol Hydroxylase (PH) complex from Pseudomonas sp. OX1, using biochemical approaches integrated to mass spectrometry analysis. Moreover, in order to define the protein-protein interaction networks of this complex a functional proteomic approach was carried out. 2) Characterization of the complex between pLG72 and human D-amino acid oxidase (hDAAO), linked to the onset of schizophrenia. The molecular basis of schizophrenia is still elusive and current treatments focus on eliminating the symptoms of the disease. The clarification of the role of this specific complex and the identification of other physiological or conditional partners in this biochemical process will be useful in developing molecules that can be effective in the disease treatment.
Moreover, as a parallel goal, and strictly connected with the former issue, I worked at 3) the development of an innovative structural analysis approach based on the use of a femtosecond UV laser as a novel zero length protein-protein cross-linker. Such photo-physical approach could obviate many of the problems associated with standard chemical cross-linking reagents, and put cross-linking in a proteome-wide position for the characterizations of protein-protein interactions in vivo in intact cells, the study of the transient interactions among proteins, mapping molecular interfaces in protein complexes, providing information on the dynamics of the contacts within a multi-protein complex.


The global hospitality industry is currently facing many challenges from the external business environment. These include the effects of global recession, a downturn in overall trade and an increased demand for service excellence from a much more quality conscious clientele. A more recent challenge, however, relates to an increase in global awareness of environmental issues. Contemporary consumers require goods and services to be produced, or delivered, in environmentally friendly ways. As a result, managers are being forced to reconsider their business strategies and activities. Indeed a wide range of industries has already responded to consumers' dictates on conservation issues. It is now universally accepted that organisations can only achieve their strategic objectives by adopting an environmentally friendly philosophy. The global hotel industry, like any other industry sector, can no longer resist this trend. This study, therefore, shall examine the extent of environmental management practice in the hotel industry, which is one of the major sectors responsible for the development of sustainable tourism. In particular, this study investigated the extent of Green Practice within the Phuket hotel industry, in Thailand. It reports the findings from a two-stage methodology that was designed to shed light on both the current extent of environmental practice within the Phuket hotel industry, as well as the motivation(s) for such practice. Empirical research is reported on a survey of Phuket hotels, with results suggesting that whilst there is evidence of environmentally sensitive practice within the Phuket hotel industry, this is not widespread and rather uncoordinated. The results further suggest low levels of environmental awareness amongst Phuket hoteliers and that where environmentally sensitive practices have been operationalised, this has been due more to the search for bottom line savings than any internalised believe in the value of any such practice.


Life is filled with goals or intentions that people hope to realize. Some of these are rather mundane (e.g., remembering to purchase a key ingredient for a recipe when stopping at the market), while others are more significant (e.g., remembering to pick up one's child from school at the end of the day). Prospective memory represents the ability to form and then realize intentions at an appropriate time. A fundamental aspect of prospective memory is that one is engaged in one or more tasks (i.e., ongoing activities) between the formation of an intention and the opportunity to realize the goal. For instance, in the shopping example, one might form the intention at home and then travel to the market and collect several other items before walking past the desired ingredient. Considerable research has demonstrated that the efficiency of prospective memory declines with age, although age-related differences are not universal.
 The neurocognitive processes underpinning age-related differences in the formation and realization of delayed intentions have been investigated in studies using event-related brain potentials. This research reveals that age-related differences in prospective memory arise from the disruption of neural systems supporting the successful encoding of intentions, the detection of prospective memory cues, and possibly processes supporting the retrieval of intentions from memory when a cue is encountered or efficiently shifting from the ongoing activity to the prospective element of the task. Therefore, strategies designed to ameliorate age-related declines in prospective memory should target a variety of processes engaged during the encoding, retrieval, and enactment of delayed intentions.


Here we discuss materials and construction of particular solar cells that could be possible replacement for the current silicon-based photovoltaic cells, and methods of studying their performance. Solar cells based on the general perovskite structure (ABX3) attracted in recent years much attention. These materials, due to the possible variability of both cations and anions in their composition, offer almost endless possibilities for synthetic preparation. For the active layer of a solar cell is often used the CH3NH3PbI3-2Cl2 perovskite structure, i.e., a structure containing an organic component. We have built photovoltaic cells with such an active layer and tested them by static and dynamic methods using the unique photoelectric research instrument by Zahner using the method CIMPS (Controlled Intensity Modulated Photocurrent Spectroscopy).


We report here a unique method for the preparation of aggregated crystals with well-defined shape and size using a solvent penetration-mediated phase transformation. An unusually fast phase transformation of sulfadiazine was observed. The aggregated sulfadiazine crystals are obtained through a water penetration mediated transformation of sulfadiazine N-methyl pyrrolidone solvate. The aggregated particles keep the same shape and size of the parent crystals.


This study reports on the levels of heavy metals and radionuclides in  Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) grown in Bahi wetlands in Dodoma Region. The farm soil in Bahi wetland has been reported to contain elevated concentrations of  238 U,  232 Th and  40 K due to the existence of shallow uranium deposit in the area. In this study, spinach (Spinacia oleracea) grown in three zones of Bahi district were analyzed for heavy metals and radioactivity associated with the uranium deposit in the area. The concentrations of elements were determined by Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDXRF) of Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission, Arusha. The activities of the radionuclides were calculated from their concentration in µg/g. The concentrations of Pb and Cd in all samples were found to be higher than the maximum tolerable limits recommended by Codex 2015. The results show that, the mean activities of  232 Th (10.8 Bq/kg) and  40 K(686.9 Bq/kg)in the samples are lower than the maximum tolerable limits (1000 Bq/kg) recommended by WHO/FAO, yet higher than their activities in samples of spinach collect from a control area. Hence, regular monitoring of heavy metals and radioactivity level in farm soils and agricultural products is recommended Key words:  Heavy metals, radioactivity, spinach, Bahi Wetland, EDXRF


Assuming that understanding object-oriented programming requires the understanding of object-interaction, this article outlines the development of a theoretical model that provides a framework to assess a hierarchy of competences related to object-interaction. A newly developed test allows for an in-depth analysis of this hierarchy, including its relationship with other (e.g. more 'traditional') factors that impact students' understanding of object- oriented programming. Based on a study at two learning institutions, we conclude that the proposed model is an effective tool for describing different competence levels. The analysis of how different factors influence students' object-interaction skills shows a correlation between object-interaction and imperative programming, as well as self-efficacy; the correlation between object-interaction and math, however, was weak. We found that the degree of visibility of object-interaction in the program text is the most critical factor for understanding object-interaction. The analysis is followed by a discussion of the implications of the findings for teaching.


The view of scurvy being exclusively a nutritional disorder needs to be updated. Genetic polymorphisms of HFE and haptoglobin (Hp) may explain the geographic variability of mortality caused by the European famine of the mid-19th century. In this period, potatoes had fallen victim to the potato blight and Ireland was more severely hit than continental Europe. Hereditary hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder with mutations in the HFE gene, characterized by iron overload (with a reduced vitamin C stability) and with a predominance of affected men. The Irish have the world's highest frequency of the C282Y mutation and the particular iron metabolism of the Irish helps to understand the size of the catastrophe and the observed overrepresentation of male skeletons showing scurvy. Hp is a plasma α2-glycoprotein characterized by 3 common phenotypes (Hp 1-1, Hp 2-1 and Hp 2-2). When the antioxidant capacity of Hp is insufficient, its role is taken over by hemopexin and vitamin C. The relative number of scurvy victims corresponds with the Hp 2-2 frequency, which is associated with iron conservation and has an impact on vitamin C stability. As iron is more abundant in males, males are overrepresented in the group of skeletons showing scurvy signs.


Granular materials such as sand have both liquid-like and solid-like properties similar to both liquids and solids. Dry sand in an hour-glass can flow just like water, while sand in a sand castle closely resembles a solid. Because of these interesting properties granular matter has received much attention from numerous physicists. Part of the research on these materials focuses on the statistics of contact forces between individual particles and how these statistics can be used to understand and predict material properties. Contact forces in granular materials are organized in so-called forces networks. A common quantity to characterize these force variations is the probability distribution of the contact force, P(f). A long-standing issue is the asymptotic behavior of this distribution. In particular, one discusses whether the tail of P(f) is exponential, Gaussian, or has a different form. Furthermore, its relation with material and system properties is unclear. In view of the technical difficulty to measure contact forces, especially in the bulk of the material, we used computer simulations in the so-called force network ensemble of Snoeijer et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., 2004, 92, 054302). Unfortunately, the estimation of P(f) for large contact forces f is inefficient. The reason is that by far the largest fraction of generated force networks contains only small forces. For unambiguous conclusions on the asymptotic behaviour of P(f), extremely long (of the order of years or even centuries) computer calculations are needed. To obtain better statistics for large contact forces, we developed an umbrella sampling method for the force network ensemble. In Chapter 1, an overview is given of the different methods to study the statistics of force networks. We also explained the umbrella sampling method that we developed to obtain excellent statistics for large forces. In Chapter 2, we applied this method to study the tail of the force distribution P(f) for different systems. The average number of contacts of a particle and the packing configuration are shown not to be important for the asymptotic behavior of P(f). Only the dimensionality of the system has a significant influence: P(f)~exp[-c f a] with a?2.0 for two-dimensional systems, a?1.7 for three-dimensional systems and a?1.4 for four-dimensional systems. In Chapter 3, a possible explanation is presented for the Gaussian decay of large contact forces in two-dimensional systems. It was found that mechanical balance on each particle is essential for the tail of the contact force distribution, which throws serious doubts on the statement that exponential statistics are a generic property of static granular materials. In Chapter 4, we focused on several details of the contact forces and their distribution. We also investigated how well the force network ensemble describes systems with "real" interactions.


We present a short and self-contained proof of Jin's theorem about the piecewise syndeticity of difference sets which is entirely elementary, in the sense that no use is made of nonstandard analysis, ergodic theory, measure theory, ultrafilters, or other advanced tools. An explicit bound to the number of shifts that are needed to cover a thick set is provided. Precisely, we prove the following: If $A$ and $B$ are sets of integers having positive upper Banach densities $a$ and $b$ respectively, then there exists a finite set $F$ of cardinality at most $1/ab$ such that $(A-B)+F$ covers arbitrarily long intervals.


The proximity framework has attracted considerable attention in a scholarly discourse on the driving forces of knowledge exchange tie formation. It has been discussed that too much proximity is negatively associated with the effectiveness of a knowledge exchange relation. However, little is known about the key factors that trigger the formation of the boundaryspanning knowledge ties. Going beyond the "dyadic" perspective on proximity dimensions, this paper argues that the key factor in bridging distances may reside at the "triadic" level. We build on the notion of "the strength of weak ties" and its recent development by investigating the innovative performance and relations of more than 600,000 German firms. We explored and extracted information from the textual and relational content of firms' websites by using machine learning techniques and hyperlink analysis. We thereby proxied the innovative performance of firms using a deep learning text analysis approach and showed that the triadic property of bridging dyadic relations is a reliable predictor of firms' innovativeness. Relations embedded in cliques (i.e., strong ties) that connect cognitively distant firms are more strongly associated with firms' innovation, whereas inter-regional relations connecting different parts of a network (i.e., weak ties) are positively associated with firms' innovative performance. Also, the results suggest that a combination of strong inter-community and weak inter-regional relations are more positively related with firms' innovativeness compared to the combination of other relation types.


Are hurricanes becoming more powerful and destructive? Are these changes due to a natural cycle of hurricane activity or are they caused by human-induced climate change? Although this is currently a hot debate among scientists, new research suggests that the destructive potential of hurricanes is increasing due to the heating of the oceans. Two weeks before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, leading hurricane expert Dr. Kerry Emanuel published that he had discovered statistical evidence that hurricanes were indeed affected by global warming. He found that the duration and intensity of hurricanes worldwide have increased by about 50 percent since the 1970s and that this trend directly corresponds with a global increase in tropical sea surface temperature. Dr. Emanuel will share his groundbreaking research on how climate change can affect hurricane activity, provide an engaging portrayal of the science behind these awe-inspiring meteorological events, and discuss how to predict the long-term risk of hurricanes.


Interactions between wildlife species are numerous and diverse, ranging from commensalism to predation. Information on cross-species interactions in anthropogenic habitats are rare but can serve to improve our understanding of animal behavioural and ecological flexibility in response to human-induced changes. Here we report direct observations of interactions between chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and wild and domesticated species in a forest-farm mosaic at Bossou, Guinea, recorded between 1997 and 2009. The low diversity and abundance of wildlife, in particular typical chimpanzee prey species, are reflected in both the low interaction rates (one interaction per 400 observation hours) and the low number of species with which chimpanzees interacted (nine species, mostly mammals, but also birds and reptiles). Chimpanzees generally chose either to make direct physical contact with a species or not; interactions that involved direct contact lasted longer than noncontacts. Interactions with mammals showed the greatest diversity in nature and duration. Adults most often consumed a captured animal, while immatures most often engaged in playful behaviours with other species. Immatures also exhibited distinctive accompanying behaviours whereas adults rarely did so. Species-specific behaviours that depend on the age-class of the interactant are consistent with the idea that chimpanzees categorise different animals. We anticipate that chimpanzee interactions with sympatric species inhabiting humanised habitats will change over time to include more domesticated species. Conservation management strategies should anticipate behavioural flexibility in response to changing landscapes.


Aliphatic polycarbonates are promising materials in the biomedical field due to their low toxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. A popular approach in obtaining these materials is through the organocatalyzed ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic carbonates. Functional polycarbonates can be obtained by (co)polymerizing allyl-functional cyclic monomers, which can be chemically modified via radical thiol–ene click reactions after the ROP process. To date, allyl-bearing 6-membered cyclic carbonates have been reported, however their polymerization kinetics are slow. In previous works, larger cyclic carbonates (e.g. N-substituted eight membered cyclic carbonates) have demonstrated superior reactivities over their smaller counterparts and hence, in this work, we investigated the preparation and ROP of two allyl bearing N-substituted eight membered cyclic carbonates. One of these monomers, with a pendent carbamate group, displayed substantially enhanced polymerization kinetics that allowed for efficient homopolymerizations and co-polymerizations with commercially available monomers (e.g. trimethylene carbonate, or TMC). Lastly, the polymers underwent almost quantitative post-polymerization modification via thiol–ene chemistry to yield different functionalized polycarbonates. We also demonstrated that the post-polymerization reaction could be used to form polycarbonate-based gels with multifunctional thiols.


The EWS gene, which maps to band q12 of human chromosome 22, is involved in a wide variety of human solid tumors including Ewing sarcoma, related primitive neuroectodermal tumors, malignant melanoma of soft parts and desmoplastic small round cell tumors. In these tumors, the EWS is fused to genes encoding transcriptional activators/repressors, like Fli-1 or erg or ATF 1 or wt1. To better understand the function of the EWS protein, we cloned the EWS cDNA. Sequence analysis of this cDNA revealed differential splicing involving two exons encoding 72 amino acids. Both alternatively spliced transcripts, EWS and EWS-b, are expressed in a variety of cells. Because EWS proteins contain putative conserved RNA binding motifs, we studied the RNA binding properties of the EWS protein. The EWS-b protein binds to RNA in vitro and, specifically, to poly G and poly U. The RNA binding activity was localized to the carboxy terminal 86 amino acids, which constitute RGG box. Thus the amino terminal domain of EWS (NTD-EWS), which is involved in chromosome translocation may regulate the specificity of RNA binding activity of EWS. An EWS-erg chimeric protein, which is found in Ewing's sarcoma cells, functions as a transcriptional activator. Mutational analysis of EWS-erg chimeric protein revealed that NTD-EWS functions as a regulatory domain for the transcriptional activation properties of EWS-erg chimeric protein.


Analysis of the regional distribution of equity finance.

Our descriptive analysis of the equity investment activity in the UK from 2011 to 2017 confirms results of previous studies in that London, the South East and East of England regions received in that period 67% of all equity deals and 75% of all invested funds in the UK. The concentration in London has increased over time since it has the highest average annual growth rate in equity investments (in both number of deals and invested amounts).

The three regions (London, South East and East of England) received higher proportions of equity investments in the UK than expected based on the number of high-growth firms (HGFs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2011-2017. Scotland received higher than expected number of deals but not invested amounts.

The detailed econometric analysis of firm-level data explaining the determinants of equity funding revealed that, after controlling for a wide range of firm and industry specific variables, the probability of a firm getting funded (any equity funding) is up to 50% lower in nearly all regions outside London. More specifically, in the period 2011-2017, the odds ratios that an identical company in a given region will get equity funding compared to London are the following (in descending order): Scotland (1.24), , East of England (0.80), South East (0.77), South West (0.70), North West (0.65), West Midlands (0.54), Yorkshire and Humberside (0.53), East Midlands (0.51). The results for the North East (1.01), Northern Ireland (0.96), Wales (0.85) are not statistically significant.

Firms able to communicate to outside investors attributes of the entrepreneurial and management team such as commitment, entrepreneurial experience, knowledge and management industry and technical know-how, and relevant networks increase their likelihood of accessing finance. Thus, the experience and composition of the board is important factor in gaining finance and venture success. Firms seeking equity investment are likely to compile larger initial boards aimed at capturing and signaling to potential investors these range of skills, business experience and evidence of networks. Moreover, the analysis showed that directors' previous experience of equity finance is associated with significantly higher odds of obtaining equity finance after controlling for a wide range of variables related to the financial and non-financial situation of a company (financial ratios, size, age, charges on assets), directors' characteristics, industry sectors' failure rate and macroeconomic environment, directors' previous experience of equity finance is associated with significantly higher odds of obtaining equity finance. By contrast, family firms have on average smaller odds of obtaining equity finance.

The econometric analysis of individual equity deal size (deal value) showed that all else equal, compared to London, in other regions the deal values are lower by up to 41%: East of England (-9% - but not significantly different from London), South East (-14%), Northern Ireland (-16% - but not significant), Scotland (-20%), Wales (-20%), South West (-25%), North West (-27%), East Midlands (-27%), West Midlands (-29%), Yorkshire and Humberside (-35%), North East (-41%). The models controlled for a range of variables related to the financial and non-financial situation of a company (financial ratios, size, age), deal characteristics (announcement, government involvement, stage), industry sector and macroeconomic environment.

In conclusion the differences in the probability of obtaining equity finance provision between London and other regions are magnified by the differences in deal values.

Analysis of equity finance supply in the regions.

An analysis of investor-investee pairs revealed that investors located in Northern Ireland, North West, Wales, North East and London invest most of their funds in their home region. The percentages of funds invested in the head office region (in descending order) are: Northern Ireland (93%), North West (70%), Wales (66%), North East (52%), London (52%), South East (49%), Scotland (45%), East of England (45%), Yorkshire and Humberside (24%), West Midlands (21%), East Midlands (19%), and South West (14%).

Overseas investors invest about 84% of their funds into companies located in London, East of England and South East. The percentages (in descending order) of overseas funds invested into companies with a primary trading address in particular regions are: London (60%), East of England (13%), South East (11%), South West (4%), North West (3%), Scotland (3%), North East (2%), West Midlands (2%), Yorkshire and Humberside (1%), Wales (1%), East Midlands (1%), and Northern Ireland (0.2%).

The proportions of company-investor pairs involving government (local, regional, devolved, or central) are the following (in descending order): North East (53.4%), Wales (39%), North West (34.6%), Yorkshire and Humberside (33.9%), Scotland (33.4%), Northern Ireland (28.4%), West Midlands (27.5%), East Midlands (9.3%), East of England (7.3%), London (5.1%), South East (8.3%) and the South West (5.1%).

Analysing distances between investor and invested company we find support for the spatial proximity hypothesis that the number of equity investments decreases with the distance from the investor. The frequency of equity deals decreases with the distance between the invested company and the nearest investor's office. The exceptions to this rule are investors headquartered in Yorkshire and Humberside, West Midlands and East Midlands since they fund a relatively large number of deals further from their nearest offices. The pattern persists also after excluding government-backed funds.

Private investors are more likely to fund an equity deal outside their head office or branch office region if government is involved as a syndicated investor or if a director has past experiences with equity finance. In both cases the odds of equity investment from private investors located outside a focal firm's region increases by about 20%, after controlling for deal value, investor type, announcement, stage and macroeconomic environment.

Analysis of the demand for equity finance in the regions.

Using the propensity score matching methodology we identified companies that share similar characteristics to those that have received equity finance. These firms are potential targets for equity investors. Then for these targeted companies we imputed deal values based on the characteristics of known deals. The sum of the deal values forms the estimate of the potential additional demand for equity finance (i.e. the 'equity gap') and is compared with actual stock of equity investments in regions.

The ranking of regions in terms of the potential demand for equity finance in 2011-2017 shows that the highest potential additional demand for equity finance was in Yorkshire and Humberside, followed by East Midlands, West Midlands, Northern Ireland, South West, North West, Wales, Scotland, South East, East of England, London and North East. (The presented order is on the basis of the potentially invested amounts imputed by the regression approach per one million pounds of actual equity investment, but the order remains virtually unchanged if other measures are used).

Using the plausible parameters to account for proportion of companies seeking expansion, willingness to take equity investor and the acceptance rate of equity funders we provide estimates of the aggregate 'equity gap' i.e. the total shortfall of equity funding in the economy. Analysis from alternative methods of estimation suggests that the size of the aggregate 'equity gap' is of the order of £6.5bn - £12bn.

Breaking this estimate down, the greatest additional demand in absolute terms seems to be in London (£1.9bn - £3.6bn), followed by the South East (£1bn- £1.8bn), the East of England and North West (£0.6bn - £0.86bn), and the South West (£0.5bn - £0.93bn). The West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside and East Midlands have a similar situation in that the potential 'equity gap' is approximately in the range £0.4bn - £0.7bn. Scotland follows closely after them (£0.3bn - £0.6bn). The lowest volumes of potential additional demand for equity funding seem to be in Wales (£0.16 - £0.3bn), the North East (£0.1bn - £0.17bn) and Northern Ireland (£0.06bn - £0.16bn).

In relative terms, the highest relative demand for additional equity funding in relation to the actual stock is in the East Midlands, followed by Yorkshire and Humberside, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland. At the other end of the spectrum, there is London and the North East.


Grasping plays a central role in our daily life. To interact with objects surrounding them, people use a large diversity of hand configurations in combination with forces ranging from the small ones involved in manipulating a pen for writing, to larger forces such as when drinking a cup full of water, and even larger ones such as when wielding a hammer. In this paper we present a setup to capture human hand configuration and motion as well as the forces applied by the hand on objects while performing a task. Hand configuration is obtained through the use of a data glove device while interaction forces are measured through an array of tactile sensors. Current approaches in the state-of-the-art are limited in that they only measure interaction forces on the fingers or the palm, ignoring the important role of the sides of the fingers in achieving a grasp/manipulation task. We propose a new setup for a "sensorized" data glove to address these limitations and through which a more complete picture of human hand response in grasping and manipulation can be obtained. This setup was successfully tested on five subjects performing a variety of different tasks.


Objective The present study aimed to compare the shaping ability of the F6 SkyTaper® (F6S), HyFlex® EDM OneFile (HEDM), and One Curve® (OC) nickel-titanium single-file instruments using micro-computed tomography. Methods Fifty-two mesiobuccal roots of maxillary first molars, with a degree of curvature between 20° and 42°, were randomised into three experimental groups (n=15 per group): F6S, HEDM, and OC, and a non-instrumented control group (n=7). All specimens were scanned by micro-computed tomography before and after instrumentation. The following parameters were evaluated: preparation time, volume of dentine removed, cutting efficiency, unshaped surfaces, and canal transportation. Cutting efficiency was analysed using an ANOVA parametric test and Tukey's multiple comparison post hoc test. Other parameters were analysed using a non-parametric Kruskall-Wallis test followed by Dunn's multiple comparison post hoc test. Results No instrument separation occurred during instrumentation. No significant differences were found between the instrument groups with respect to all the parameters (p>0.05). All the instruments induced morphological changes in the root canal dentine (p<0.05) and tended to increase canal transportation toward the coronal portion of the root canals (p>0.05). Conclusion All instruments were able to shape curved canals and preserve their original anatomy. Single-file endodontic procedures with these instruments can be used with comparable changes in the root canal shape with minimal transportation.


Background A nationwide lockdown was implemented in France on 17 March 2020 to control the COVID-19 pandemic. People living in precarious conditions were relocated by the authorities to emergency shelters, hotels and large venues. Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) then intervened to provide medical care in several of these locations in Paris and in Seine-Saint-Denis, one of its suburbs, between March and June 2020. A seroprevalence survey was conducted to assess the level of exposure to COVID-19 among the population living in the sites. To our knowledge, this is the first assessment of the impact of the pandemic on populations living in insecure conditions in Europe. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional seroprevalence study in the food distribution sites, emergency shelters and workers residences supported by MSF in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis, to determine the extent of COVID-19 exposure as determined by SARS-CoV2 antibody seropositivity. The detection of SARS-COV2 antibodies in serum was performed at the Institut Pasteur of Paris using two LuLISA (Luciferase-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) assays and a Pseudo Neutralization Test. A questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics, living conditions, adherence to sanitary recommendations and symptom manifestations was also completed. We describe here the seroprevalence site by site and identify the risk factors for seropositivity using a multivariable logistic regression model with site random effects. We also investigated associations between seropositivity and symptoms eventually reported. Findings Overall, 426/818 individuals tested positive in the 14 sites investigated. Seroprevalence varied significantly with the type of site (chi2 p<0.001). It was highest at 88.7% (95%CI 81.8-93.2) among individuals living in workers residences, followed by 50.5% (95%CI 46.3-54.7) in emergency shelters and 27.8 % (95%CI 20.8-35.7) among individuals recruited from the food distribution sites. Seroprevalence also varied significantly between sites of the same type. Among other risk factors, the odds for seropositivity were higher among individuals living in crowded sites (medium: adj. OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.5-5.1, p=0.001; high: adj. OR 3.4, 95%CI 1.7-6.9, p<0.001) compared with individuals from low crowding sites and among those who reported transit accommodation in a gymnasium before the lockdown (adj. OR 3.1, 95%CI 1.2-8.1, p=0.023). More than two-thirds of the seropositive individuals (68.3%; 95%CI 64.2-72.2) did not report any symptoms during the recall period. Interpretation The results demonstrate rather high exposure to SARS-COV-2 with important variations between study sites. Living in crowded conditions was identified as the most important explanatory factor for differences in levels of exposure. This study describes the key factors which determine the risk of exposure and illustrates the importance of identifying populations at high risk of exposure in order to orient and adapt prevention and control strategies to their specific needs.


This dissertation concerns a re-evaluation of the 'Enlightenment' and its historiography within cultural theory in relation to contemporary debates concerning the limits and possibilities of active and inclusive citizenship, participatory democracy and a pluralistic public sphere. I interrogate what the eighteenth-century European Enlightenment encompasses and how this period and its legacy have been understood in relevant areas of philosophy and social theory. My contention is that an overly reductionist and negative understanding of the Enlightenment has come to dominate cultural theory over the past thirty years owing partly to a simplified reading of theorists including Foucault and Derrida. Using the work of, among others, Jurgen Habermas, I hope to demonstrate that a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of the Enlightenment and its legacy will aid contemporary social theory in formulating conceptions for a more just and equitable society. To this end, I show how contemporary figures within the Enlightenment, including Moses Mendelssohn, Mary Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouges, are relevant to current theoretical concerns. I identify with Habermas's argument in favour of an 'enlightened critique of the Enlightenment' and his assertion that modernity represents an 'unfinished project' rather than a static model of social superiority. At a time when religious fundamentalism and ideological extremism are dominant forces in global relations, and nationalism and cultural essentialism inform much of the public discourse on citizenship and democracy, a considered affirmation of the precepts of the Enlightenment is necessary to the realisation of socially progressive theory.


Identification and analysis of farmers' vulnerability associated with their risk aversion degree is one of the necessary requirements for planning and reducing impacts of drought in Iran. So, this study was investigated three risk vulnerability parameters (economic, social and technical) among wheat farmers categorized in accordance with their risk aversion degree in the Mashhad County (Iran) between drought years of 2009-2011. Vulnerability parameters were determined by Delphi technique. For measuring vulnerability and risk aversion degree, formula of Me-Bar and Valdes and method of Safety First Rule were applied respectively. Findings revealed that in social vulnerability indicators; education level, collaboratively farming activities and dependency on government and in technical vulnerability; irrigation method, cultivation method and type of cultivation; risk averse farmers have had the highest vulnerability level under drought conditions. While respecting economic vulnerability, risk neutral farmers (in insuring for crops, sale prices of crops and the type of land ownership), have had the highest vulnerability level.


Retrieval of cloud properties from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard the NASA Aqua satellite has been investigated. The cloud products from the collocated MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data are used to characterize the AIRS sub‐pixel cloud information such as cloud phase, cloud coverage, and cloud layer information. A Minimum Residual (MR) approach is used to retrieve cloud microphysical properties once the cloud top pressure (CTP) and effective cloud amount (ECA) are determined from AIRS CO2 absorption channels between 720 and 790 cm−1. The cloud microphysical properties can be retrieved by minimizing the differences between the observations and the calculations using AIRS longwave window channels between 790 and 1130 cm−1. AIRS is used to derive cloud properties during the Mixed Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (MPACE) field campaign. Comparison with measurements obtained from lidar data is made for a test day, showing that AIRS cloud property retrievals agree with in situ lidar observations. Due to the large solar zenith angle, the MODIS operational retrieval approach is not able to provide cloud microphysics north of Barrow, Alaska; however, AIRS provides cloud microphysical properties with its high spectral resolution IR measurements.


As increasing volumes of RDF data are being produced and analyzed, many massively distributed architectures have been proposed for storing and querying this data. These architectures are characterized first, by their RDF partitioning and storage method, and second, by their approach for distributed query optimization, i.e., determining which operations to execute on each node in order to compute the query answers. We present CliqueSquare, a novel optimization approach for evaluating conjunctive RDF queries in a massively parallel environment. We focus on reducing query response time, and thus seek to build flat plans, where the number of joins encountered on a root-to-leaf path in the plan is minimized. We present a family of optimization algorithms, relying on n-ary (star) equality joins to build flat plans, and compare their ability to find the flattest possibles. We have deployed our algorithms in a MapReduce-based RDF platform and demonstrate experimentally the interest of the flat plans built by our best algorithms.


This study is specially designed to investigate the critical factors affecting development of infrastructure in Nigeria focusing on the Nigeria fourth republic (1999 till date). Questionnaire was used to obtain information on factors that affect development of infrastructure in Nigeria. The targeted sample population for this study comprises of two hundred (200) Nigerian citizens in the study Area. Analysis and interpretation of data was used of frequently distribution table and simple percentage. Chi – Square statistical method was used in testing the hypotheses in order to arrive at valid conclusion. The data shows the Factors Affecting Development of Infrastructure in Nigeria. The findings in the table depicted that 20% Strongly Agreed, a majority of 60% agreed. However, a few 17% of the respondents disagree while 10% of the respondents strongly disagreed that Dearth of Visionary Leaders is one of the major factor affecting the Development of Infrastructure in Nigeria. Also demand and supply as a factor affecting development of infrastructure: majority of 51% of the respondents Agreed, 23% strongly Agreed, 20% disagreed while the lowest percentages (10%) strongly disagreed to the statement. Low Level of Technology; majority 86% of the respondents Agreed, 13% strongly agreed while 1% disagreed. Capital Flight, Capital Sink and Capital Stagnancy: 49% of the respondents agreed while majority of 51% strongly agreed to the statement. Corruption pestles Analysis and Development Matrix: 49%, 38%, 31% agreed respectively, 38%, 49%, 37% strongly agreed respectively, 6.5%, 6.5%, 17% disagreed respectively, while 10%, 10%, 15% strongly disagreed to the statements respectively. The factors affecting of infrastructure development in fourth republic are many. It was conclude that Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Legal, Environmental have effect on Infrastructure Development in Nigeria. The demand surpasses the supply and finance that will stimulate rapid provision is not there. Due to wide gap between provision and needs, the leadership classes are in arrears in all sectors. The political situation is not encouraging to foreign investors. Governments do not set the priority right in infrastructure development. Projects are supposed to meet objectives, but in most cases, projects embarked upon are white elephant projects. KeywordsAffecting, Critical, Development, Factors and Infrastructure.


Citrus aurantium L. essential oil is commonly used as a flavouring agent. In the present study, the essential oil of fresh Citrus aurantium L. (CaEO) flowers cultivated in North East of Tunisia (Nabeul) was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. 33 compounds were identified, representing 99% of the total oil. Limonene (27.5%) was the main component followed by E-nerolidol (17.5%), α-terpineol (14%), α-terpinyl acetate (11.7%) and E. E-farnesol (8%). The antimicrobial activity of the CaEO was evaluated against a panel of 13 bacteria and 8 fungal strains using agar diffusion and broth microdilution methods. Results have shown that the CaEO exhibited moderate to strong antimicrobial activity against the tested species. The investigation of the mode of action of the CaEO by the time-kill curve showed a drastic bactericidal effect after 5 min using a concentration of 624 μg/ml. The antioxidant activities of the CaEO were assayed by DPPH and beta carotene tests. Results showed that CaEO displayed an excellent DPPH scavenging ability with an IC₅₀ of 1.8 μg/ml and a strong Beta-carotene bleaching inhibition after 120 min of incubation with an IC₅₀ of 15.3 μg/ml. The results suggested that the CaEO possesses antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, and is therefore a potential source of active ingredients for food and pharmaceutical industry.


Voice over IP (VoIP) is gaining more popularity in today's communications. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is becoming one of the dominant VoIP signalling protocol[1, 2], however it is vulnerable to many kinds of attacks. Among these attacks, flood-based denial of service attacks have been identified as the major threat to SIP. Even though a great deal of research has been carried out to mitigate denial of service attacks, only a small proportion has been specific to SIP. This project examines the way denial of service attacks affect the performance of a SIP-based system and two evolutionary solutions to this problem that build on each other are proposed with experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of each solution. In stage one, this project proposes the Security-Enhanced SIP System (SESS), which contains a security-enhanced firewall, which evolved from the work of stage one and a security-enhanced SIP proxy server. This approach helps to improve the Quality-of-Service (QoS) of legitimate users during the SIP flooding attack, while maintaining a 100 percent success rate in blocking attack traffic. However, this system only mitigates SIP INVITE and REGISTER floods. In stage two, this project further advances SESS, and proposes an Improved Security-Enhanced SIP System (ISESS). ISESS advances the solution by blocking other SIP request floods, for example CANCEL, OK and BYE flood. JAIN Service Logic Execution Environment (JAIN SLEE) is a java-based application server specifically designed for event-driven applications. JAIN SLEE is used to implement enhancements of the SIP proxy server, as it is becoming a popular choice in implementing communication applications. The experimental results show that during a SIP flood, ISESS cannot only drop all attack packets but also the call setup delay of legitimate users can be improved substantially compared to and unsecured VoIP system.


The keeping of small ruminants is a common practice in most urban and peri-urban areas in Africa, despite its illegality. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of endoparasites in sheep and goats kept by farmers in Kisumu Municipality, Kenya. Faecal samples were collected from 66 sheep and 60 goats, from different areas in the municipality. The helminth and coccidia species were identified and the level of infection compared between age, sex, body condition and area of origin. The prevalence of various types of parasites in sheep and goats were respectively: strongyles 80%, 90%; Strongyloides spp 5%, 13%; Trichuris spp 0%, 2%; Fasciola spp 37%, 36%; Paramphistomum spp 30%, 12%; Moniezia spp 21%, 16%; Coccidia 35%, 48%; Entamoeba spp 87%, 77%; Balantidium coli 2%, 3%; and Giardia spp 10%, 10%. Majority of animals excreted either 2 or 3 parasite types, while only a few sheep had 4 different parasite types. A relatively higher number of animals had heavy infections with strongyles (mean EPGs of 1253 and 1108 in sheep and goats, respectively), while for other helminths and coccidia most animals had light infections. Although the adults had higher levels of infections with trematodes, young animals had higher infections of the other types of parasites. Apart from trematodes and coccidia, male animals had higher prevalence and intensity of the other parasites. Sheep with poor body condition were significantly associated with higher mean EPGs of strongyles while in goats it was Moniezia spp. The association between the prevalence and intensity of the parasites and the independent factors are discussed. The occurrence of parasites with zoonotic significance (Fasciola spp, Entamoeba spp, Balantidium coli, and Giardia spp) is also discussed in the light of livestock farming in urban areas. Key word: Goats, Kisumu, parasites, sheep, urban and peri-urban farming, zoonoses


We present Keck high-quality rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) through optical spectra of 21 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the redshift range 0.11 ⩽ z ⩽ 0.37 and a mean redshift of 0.22 that were discovered during the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) SN Survey. Using the broadband photometry of the SDSS survey, we are able to reconstruct the SN host-galaxy spectral energy distributions (SEDs), allowing for a correction for the host-galaxy contamination in the SN Ia spectra. Comparison of composite spectra constructed from a subsample of 17 high-quality spectra to those created from a low-redshift sample with otherwise similar properties shows that the Keck/SDSS SNe Ia have, on average, extremely similar rest-frame optical spectra but show a UV flux excess. This observation is confirmed by comparing synthesized broadband colors of the individual spectra, showing a difference in mean colors at the 2.4σ–4.4σ level for various UV colors. We further see a slight difference in the UV spectral shape between SNe with low-mass and high-mass host galaxies. Additionally, we detect a relationship between the flux ratio at 2770 and 2900 Å and peak luminosity that differs from that observed at low redshift. We find that changing the UV SED of an SN Ia within the observed dispersion can change the inferred distance moduli by ∼0.1 mag. This effect only occurs when the data probe the rest-frame UV. We suggest that this discrepancy could be due to differences in the host-galaxy population of the two SN samples or to small-sample statistics.


Background Intestinal parasitic protozoa represent a serious problem of public health particularly in developing countries. Protozoa such as Blastocystis, Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba histolytica and Cryptosporidium spp. are associated with diarrheal symptoms. In Colombia, there is little region-specific data on the frequency and circulating genotypes/species of these microorganisms. Therefore, the main objective of our study was to employ molecular detection and genotyping of G. intestinalis and Blastocystis, Cryptosporidium and Entamoeba spp. in samples from different biogeographical regions of Colombia. Methods We collected 649 human fecal samples from five biogeographical regions of Colombia: the Amazon, Andean, Caribbean, Orinoco and Pacific regions. Blastocystis, G. intestinalis, Cryptosporidium spp. and Entamoeba complex were detected by microscopy and conventional PCR. Molecular genotyping was conducted to identify Blastocystis subtypes (STs) (18s), G. intestinalis assemblages (triose phosphate isomerase and glutamate dehydrogenase) and Cryptosporidium species (18s). Genetic diversity indices were determined using dnasp.5. Results We detected G. intestinalis in 45.4% (n = 280) of samples, Blastocystis in 54.5% (n = 336) of samples, Cryptosporidium spp. in 7.3% (n = 45) of samples, Entamoeba dispar in 1.5% (n = 9) of samples, and Entamoeba moshkovskii in 0.32% (n = 2) of samples. Blastocystis STs 1–4, 8 and 9 and G. intestinalis assemblages AII, BIII, BIV, D and G were identified. The following Cryptosporidium species were identified: C. hominis, C. parvum, C. bovis, C. andersoni, C. muris, C. ubiquitum and C. felis. The Caribbean region had the highest frequency for each of the microorganisms evaluated (91.9% for G. duodenalis, 97.3% for Blastocystis, 10.8% for Cryptosporidium spp., 13.5% for E. dispar and 2.7% for E. moshkovskii). The Orinoco region had a high frequency of Blastocystis (97.2%) and the Andean region had a high frequency of G. intestinalis (69.4%). High and active transmission was apparent in several regions of the country, implying that mechanisms for prevention and control of intestinal parasitosis in different parts of the country must be improved.


Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com Page 1 of 6 SUMMARY The development of alternative fuels for transport is a necessity to reduce the EU's dependence on imports of crude oil, as well as to decarbonise transport and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Significant innovation and technological progress have been made in new forms of fuels, to power different transport modes and using combustion or electric engines. One of the challenges which hamper the development of vehicles and vessels using rechargeable battery packs, hydrogen fuel cells or compressed or liquefied natural gas is the lack of infrastructure for recharging or refuelling. Insufficient coverage of fuelling points on the transport network and the low numbers of alternative-fuel vehicles interact in a vicious circle, preventing market take-up of these technologies. The European Commission has therefore proposed a Directive which would set minimum requirements and targets for Member States to foster the deployment of infrastructure for the supply of these alternative energies for road and waterway transport on their territory. This Directive would also require technological standardisation in this area and improved information to users. The European Parliament is currently examining the proposal. In this briefing:


Before the Second World War, few universities in the United States had earned high respect among the international community of scholars and scientists. Since 1945, however, the distinctive attributes of American higher education-decentralized administration, pluralistic and research-minded faculties, and intense competition for government funding-have become world standard. Whether measured by Nobel and other prizes, international applications for student admissions and faculty appointments, or the results of academic surveys, America's top research universities are the best in the world. The Rise of American Research Universities provides a fresh historical interpretation of their ascendancy and a fresh, comprehensive estimate of their scholarly achievement. Hugh Davis Graham and Nancy Diamond question traditional methods of rating the reputation and performance of universities; they offer instead an empirical analysis of faculty productivity based on research grants received, published research, and peer approval of that work. Comparing the research achievements of faculty at more than 200 institutions, they differ with most studies of higher education in measuring performance in every academic field-from medicine to humanities-and in analyzing data on research activity in terms of institutional size. In this important and timely work, Graham and Diamond reassess the success of American universities as research institutions and the role of public funding in their developmentfrom the expansionist "golden years" of the 1950s and '60s, through the austerity measures of the 1970s and the entrepreneurial ethos of the 1980s, to the budget crises universities face in the 1990s.


This research focuses on developing a biannual net revenue forecasting model for hog producers based on Monte Carlo simulation of the joint distribution of hog, corn and soybean meal price series. The relative forecasting power of historical volatility, implied volatility and GARCH-based volatility is examined. Consistent with recent research, the performance of these three methods is both commodity and horizon specific, which means there is no single best predictor. However, implied volatility often performs well. Thus, implied volatility is used to forecast variance. Historical covariance is introduced to capture the co-movement of the three price series. Our forecasting model performs well out of sample; most of the realized net revenues fall in 95 percent prediction interval. Based on this forecasting model and the assumption of a utility function, we compare our prospective evaluation with retrospective evaluation of risk management strategies. Though prospective evaluation is not significantly superior to retrospective evaluation for this particular dataset, it is useful because all the market information has been incorporated in this model and because it did protect producers from adverse price movements.


When considering player voice in the context of game sound, existing examinations remain inconclusive. As player voice exists in a liminal position between reality and virtuality, some academics see them as sonic violations of the game space. Voice can convey information about identity, which may oppose our understanding of the avatars within the game world. Voice can facilitate social communication, which may remind us of the physical world outside the virtuality. Mediations of voice into the virtual world may introduce obstacles or inflections that interfere with our enjoyment of the virtual space. Alongside these concerns, however, we can also find virtual worlds that prioritize and privilege player voice. Player voice can become part of character identity. Gameworlds can encourage us to communicate ludically, without disrupting immersion. Interruptions and disruptions can be limited by players.
 Amongst others, the virtual world of the long-running MMORPG EVE Online demonstrates how voice can coexist with immersion. Marketing materials for the game now place player voice at the center of consumer focus. Including an interview with one of the videographers who placed player voice at the center of his fan videos, the article uses EVE Online as a case study for the integration of player voice into virtual worlds.
 By examining virtual worlds and the role of voice within them, this article develops a framework for understanding player voice in the context of game sound. This allows us to recognize how player voice, an often overlooked aspect of game sound, can function within virtual worlds.


Guava leaves have been utilized traditionally as medicine and known as an antimicrobial agent as well. In this research, guava leaves were extracted using maceration method. The solvents used in this research were water, ethyl acetate, and hexane. Guava leaves extracts were tested towards Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Penicillium sp. by the agar diffusion method. The objectives of this research were to (1) determine the MIC and MBC of guava leaves extracts towards tested microbes, (2) determine the active compound in guava leaves extract, (3) observe the influence of certain pH, sugar concentration, salt concentration, and heat treatment on the antimicrobial activity of guava leaves extract. The result showed that ethyl acetate extract could inhibit all the test ed bacteria excluding Penicillium sp. The MIC and MBC for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereuswas0.017% and 0.067%, 1.177% and 4.707%,0.126% and 0.504%, respectively. The active compounds found in guava leaves were alkaloid, saponin, tannin, phenol, flavonoid, triterpenoid, and steroid. The results indicate ethyl acetate extract was influenced by pH and effective at pH 4. Sugar addition could increase the antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, low concentration of salt could decrease the antimicrobial activity towards B. cereus as well as that by heat. Moreover, the results also indicate ethyl acetate extract could inhibit the growth of B. cereus spores.


Seventy percent of the total energy required to produce a car is consumed in the paint shop. With the lack of reliable and e^Ncient simulation tools for the paint shop processes the current practise for validation is based on individual experience and physical measurements. There is therefore great need for new virtual tools for veri^Lcation of the paint and surface treatment processes and to optimize them to be more environmentally friendly, energy and cost e^Ncient, and to give a higher product quality. In this paper we discuss the possibility to apply multiple criteria decision making to optimize the paint shop ovens.


While the taxi industry is highly regulated, the public perception of taxi drivers can be quite negative. Taxi drivers are often considered to be dangerous drivers, flaunting the road rules and taking unnecessary risks. If they do in fact drive less safely, then in addition to their own wellbeing, taxi drivers place their passengers, pedestrians, and other road users at risk as well. Risky driving may also arise from the challenges taxi drivers face while driving that many other drivers do not have to contend with, including long hours in their vehicles, and pressure from clients to make trips as quickly (and cheaply) as possible. Crash patterns of taxis were compared to those of cars registered as fleet vehicles and nonfleet vehicles. Analyses were conducted for crash-related variables, driver-related variables, and behaviour-related variables. One of the principal findings was that the crash rates for taxis were higher than for other cars, but those crashes were less likely to be fatal. Additionally, crashed taxis were less likely to have been travelling at excessive speed at the time of the crash, and the crashed taxi driver was less likely to have been fatigued. However, of particular concern was that crashed taxi drivers were significantly less likely to have been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. As taxis are workplaces, the results have implications for occupational health and safety as well as road safety.


This article offers an overview of ancient Greek handwritten wall inscriptions, or graffiti, in the city of Herculaneum and the first contextual analysis of these inscriptions. First, we address how much Greek is found, where it appears, and what was being written in Greek. We then offer a discussion of Greek alphabets and personal names inscribed in Greek, which together account for half of the graffiti in Greek at Herculaneum. Finally, we examine Greek graffiti in context and discuss two locations in Herculaneum where the graffiti have survived and are still visible in situ. By presenting where Greek graffiti appear, what they contain, and how they communicate and interact with other texts, we aim to provide a more comprehensive picture of the distribution and context of Greek in Herculaneum and to offer new insights into the culture of writing in Campania. Additional figures appear under this article's abstract on AJA Online.


User fee systems are becoming increasingly popular at local levels of government. By shifting the burden from a tax and spend, to user-pay delivery of services, local governments are able to provide and manage local services with greater efficiency and accountability. A stormwater utility concept has been created for dealing with the often-expensive construction, maintenance, upgrading, and management of storm sewers and associated infrastructure. By examining the various user-pay systems for stormwater management, local governments and researchers can make a more informed decision on whether or not it is an appropriate method to raise revenues. The collection of fees is not based on consumption, as in many other public utilities, but on the property owner's contribution to the problem. Therefore, any user-pay stormwater utility must be easily understood and defensible to the general public. As well, the utility creation, administration, and management process can be aided by the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS). Data can be easily collected, stored, and analyzed, as well as be displayed in a way that is easy to understand, not only by the managers and analysts, but by the general public as well.


Objectives Work-related risk factors, such as long work hours, and physically demanding work have been suggested to adversely influence pregnancy outcome. The authors aimed to examine associations between various aspects of physically demanding work with fetal growth in different trimesters during pregnancy and the risks of adverse birth outcomes. Methods Associations between physically demanding work and fetal growth were studied in 4680 pregnant women participating in a population-based prospective cohort study from early pregnancy onwards in the Netherlands (2002–2006). Mothers who filled out a questionnaire during mid-pregnancy (response 77% of enrolment) were included if they conducted paid employment and had a spontaneously conceived singleton live born pregnancy. Questions on physical workload were obtained from the Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and concerned questions on lifting, long periods of standing or walking, night shifts and working hours. Fetal growth characteristics were repeatedly measured by ultrasound and were used in combination with measurements at birth. Results There were no consistent significant associations between physically demanding work nor working hours in relation to small for gestational age, low birth weight or preterm delivery. Women exposed to long periods of standing had lower growth rates for fetal head circumference (HC), resulting in a reduction of approximately 1 cm (3%) of the average HC at birth. Compared with women working <25 h/week, women working 25–39 h/week and >40 h/week had lower growth rates for both fetal weight and HC, resulting in a difference of approximately 1 cm in HC at birth and a difference of 148–198 g in birth weight. Conclusion Long periods of standing and long working hours per week during pregnancy seem to negatively influence intrauterine growth.


PURPOSE
To determine characteristic MR imaging features of Zellweger syndrome.

METHODS
Clinical records, laboratory records, and MR studies of six patients with Zellweger syndrome were reviewed retrospectively. MR studies were examined for the state of myelination; the presence, extent, and morphologic appearance of cerebral cortical anomalies; the status of the cerebellar cortex, basal nuclei, and brain stem; and the presence or absence of any regions of abnormal signal intensity.

RESULTS
The diagnosis of Zellweger syndrome was established in all patients by clinical findings combined with laboratory and MR results. All patients had impaired myelination and diffusely abnormal cortical gyral patterns that consisted of regions of microgyria (primarily in the frontal and perisylvian cortex) together with regions of thickened pachygyric cortex (primarily perirolandic and occipital). The pachygyric regions were in the form of deep cortical infoldings. Germinolytic cysts were visible in the caudothalamic groove in all patients, seen best on coronal or sagittal T1-weighted images. One patient had T1 shortening in the bilateral globus pallidus, presumably related to hepatic dysfunction and hyperbilirubinemia.

CONCLUSION
The combination of hypomyelination, cortical malformations that are most severe in the perisylvian and perirolandic regions, and germinolytic cysts are highly suggestive of Zellweger syndrome in the proper clinical setting.


Objective: We aimed to develop and validate a simple UV-spectrophotometric method relates to the estimation of curcumin in standardised polyherbal formulations. Methods: Pure curcumin was received as generous gift sample from Andhra University, India, all solvents and reagents of analytical reagent (AR) grade were procured from local suppliers and readily used for the method development. The method validation parameters were evaluated as per International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. Further, this method was applied for the assay of curcumin in marketed product Live-well™, CUMIN (standardised turmeric extract (STE) fortified with standardised black pepper (SBE) extract) capsules using UV-spectrophotometric method. Results and Discussion: It was confirmed from the results of method validation characteristics such as specificity, linearity, range, precision, accuracy, and robustness were keeping within the limits of acceptance criteria defined under ICH guidelines, 76.0560% of curcumin was estimated to be present in each Live-well™, CUMIN capsule containing a minimum 95% of the total curcuminoids (label claimed). Conclusion: In summary, our method was found to be reliable in detecting the unknown percentage of curcumin in Live-well™, CUMIN capsule formulation. Also, the method was proved to be specific, linear, precise, accurate and robust to use for routine analysis of polyherbal formulations containing curcumin as their principal component in the extracts. Key words: UV-spectrophotometric method, Curcumin, ICH Guidelines, Live-well™, CUMIN.


During 1979-82 hospital discharge rates after emergency admission for acute appendicitis were higher in Eire (17-4 per 10 000 population) than in England (10-3), Scotland (11 1), or Wales (12 3). Comparison of food consumption between the four countries, and between the health board areas of Eire and regions of Scotland, shows that appendicitis rates are highest in communities that consume more potatoes, sugar, and cereals, and less non-potato vegetables and fruit. The rates are also related to mortality from enteric and respiratory infections, to general practice consultations for infective disease, and to postneonatal mortality. This is evidence in favour of the hygiene hypothesis for the aetiology of appendicitis.


This article is concerned with estimating the additive components of a nonparametric additive quantile regression model. We develop an estimator that is asymptotically normally distributed with a rate of convergence in probability of n−r/(2r+1) when the additive components are r-times continuously differentiable for some r ≥ 2. This result holds regardless of the dimension of the covariates, and thus the new estimator has no curse of dimensionality. In addition, the estimator has an oracle property and is easily extended to a generalized additive quantile regression model with a link function. The numerical performance and usefulness of the estimator are illustrated by Monte Carlo experiments and an empirical example.


It is through the influence process that people generate and manage change. As such, it is important to understand fully the workings of the influence processes that produce compliance with requests for change. Fortunately, a vast body of scientific evidence exists on how, when, and why people comply with influence attempts. From this formidable body of work, one can extract six universal principles of influence that generate compliance in the widest range of circumstances. Reciprocation states that people are more willing to comply with requests (for favors, services, information, concessions, etc.) from those who have provided such things first. Commitment/Consistency states that people are more willing to be moved in a particular direction if they see it as consistent with an existing commitment. Authority states that people are more willing to follow the directions or recommendations of a communicator to whom they attribute relevant expertise. Social Proof states that people are more willing to take a recommended action if they see evidence that many others, especially similar others, are taking it. Scarcity states that people find objects and opportunities more attractive to the degree that they are scarce, rare, or dwindling in availability. Finally, Liking states that people prefer to say yes to those they like, such as those who are similar to them and who have complimented them.


Commercial truck driving is an essential part of the national supply chain but one that adversely affects the environment. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of the potential environmental benefits, among other factors, on continued use of bypass systems that can be discontinued at any time by a driver. The results from our study show that (1) economic benefits and industry pressures positively influence drivers' use of bypass systems but (2) the environmental benefits of the technology do not, even though system vendors and state transportation agencies emphasize these benefits of the technology. Based on these findings, we conclude that sustainable information systems can be a viable option in a business context if usage leads to economic benefits. Our results and conclusions support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's differentiation of public policy versus business perspectives on sustainable technology.


Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is the enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) into acetic acid and choline, a crucial mechanism for regulation of neurotransmission at synapses in all nervous systems. According to the cholinergic hypothesis, depleted levels of ACh are associated with Alzheimer's disease. As part of a program aimed at preparing new bioactive heterocycles with kinase and AChE inhibition properties, we designed and synthesized a series of (Z)-2-arylidene- and 2-aminomethylene derivatives of thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine by a convenient multicomponent method. The products were fully characterized by 1D- and 2D-NMR, high resolution ESI-MS/MS and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, which indicated a consistent Z configuration at the arylidene and amino methylene double bond. Additionally, molecular docking simulations of the series of 2-arylidene/aminomethylene-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine derivatives to human AChE (PDB ID: 4m0f, chain A) were conducted to investigate the binding mode of those compounds in comparison to Territrem B, used as positive control. The results indicate that some of the test compounds have binding energies to AChE that are comparable, or better, than the positive control, Territrem B. Biological activity studies are underway to assess the activities of the new compounds [1-4].

References:

Francis, P.; Palmer, A.; Snape, M.; Wilcock, G. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 1999, 66, 137-147.
Zhi, H.; Chen, L.; Zhang, L.; Liu, S.-j.; Wan, D. C. C.; Lin, H.; Hu, C. Arkivoc 2008, 13, 266-277.
Jin, C.H.; Jun, K.Y.; Lee, E.; Kim, S.; Kwon, Y.; Kim, K.; Na, Y. Med. Chem. 2014, 22, 4553-4565.
Cheung, J.; Gary, E. N.; Shiomi, K.; Rosenberry, T. L. ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2013, 4, 1091-1096.


Interest in alternative medicine and plant-derived medications that affect the "mind" is growing. The aim of present study was to explore the anti-anxiety activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Coriandrum sativum (Linn.) using different animal models (elevated plus maze, open field test, light and dark test and social interaction test) of anxiety in mice. Diazepam (0.5 mg/kg) was used as the standard and dose of hydroalcoholic extract of C. sativum fruit (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) was selected as per OECD guidelines. Results suggested that extract of C. sativum at 100 and 200 mg/kg dose produced anti-anxiety effects almost similar to diazepam, and at 50 mg/kg dose did not produce anti-anxiety activity on any of the paradigm used. Further studies are needed to identify the anxiolytic mechanism(s) and the phytoconstituents responsible for the observed central effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of C. sativum.


Human enterovirus71 (HEV71) together with other enteroviruses such as Coxsackie A16 and Coxsackie A10 is known to be responsible for hand, foot and mouth disease. Several of the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) outbreaks caused by HEV71 were associated with neurological manifestations and deaths. In Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, even though huge outbreaks of HFMD have never been reported; HEV71 strains however, were isolated periodically from HFMD cases throughout the year. From 2001 to 2009, four genetic lineages of HEV71 have been found to be prevalent in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. The predominant circulating strain was subgenogroup B4 in 2001 and this was later followed by subgenogroup B5 in 2003. The subgenogroup B5 was dominant between 2005 and 2009. Viruses belonging to subgenogroups C1 and C4 were also detected.

 Key words: Human enterovirus, neurological diseases, molecular epidemiology, gene sequences


Gravitational microlensing, when finite size source effects are relevant, provides a unique tool for the study of source star stellar atmospheres through an enhancement of a characteristic polarization signal. This is due to the differential magnification induced during the crossing of the source star. In this paper, we consider a specific set of reported highly magnified, both single and binary exoplanetary systems, microlensing events towards the Galactic bulge and evaluate the expected polarization signal. For this purpose, we consider several polarization models which apply to different types of source stars: hot, late type main sequence and cool giants. As a result we compute the polarization signal P, which goes up to P = 0.04 per cent for late-type stars and up to a few per cent for cool giants, depending on the underlying physical polarization processes and atmosphere model parameters. Given an I-band magnitude at a maximum magnification of about 12 and a typical duration of the polarization signal up to 1 d, we conclude that the currently available technology, in particular the polarimeter in FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) on the Very Large Telescope (VLT), potentially may allow the detection of such signals. This observational programme may take advantage of the currently available surveys plus follow-up strategy already routinely used for microlensing monitoring towards the Galactic bulge (aimed at the detection of exoplanets). In particular, this allows one to predict in advance for which events and at which exact time the observing resources may be focused to make intensive polarization measurements.


This chapter presents a collaboration between a sociologist and a translationscholar. Reflecting on the transdisciplinarity of translation and interpretingstudies, the authors highlight differences, similarities and connections betweenthis 'interdiscipline' and sociology. It starts with a record of the relationshipsbetween sociology and translation studies, moving to a reflection on the relationshipbetween research and practice, then it focuses on social constructivismas a potential bridge. In particular, it analyses the contributions of actor-networktheory and social systems theory. The chapter culminates with thequestion of the combinability of social theories.


A series of cyanine dyes used in photography, with reduction potentials from -1.35 to -0.20 volts, were tested for their ability to inhibit mitosis and cell growth in fertilized sea urchin eggs. Low concentrations of dyes with reduction potentials more negative than -1.0 volt generally inhibited mitosis and growth, whereas those with more positive reduction potentials did not. The active dyes penetrated the cell, entered all subcellular compartments, were bound to numerous macromolecules, and inhibited synthesis of macromolecules. Thus mitosis and growth may be retarded with substances that can alter electrochemical activity in cells.


Moon phase and variation in ambient light conditions can influence predator and prey behaviour. Nocturnal predators locate prey visually, and prey may adjust their activity to minimise their predation risk. Understanding how native mammals in Australia respond to varying phases of the moon and cloud cover (light) enhances knowledge of factors affecting species' survival and inference regarding ecological and population survey data. Over a two-year period within a fenced conservation reserve, in south-eastern Australia, with reintroduced native marsupial predator and prey species (eastern barred bandicoot, southern brown bandicoot, long-nosed potoroo, rufous bettong, Tasmanian pademelon, brush-tailed rock-wallaby, red-necked wallaby, eastern quoll, spotted-tailed quoll, and naturally occurring swamp wallaby, common brushtail possum, common ringtail possum), we conducted monthly spotlight surveys during different moon phases (full, half and new moon). We found an interaction between cloud cover and moon phase, and an interaction of the two depending on the mammal size and class. Increased activity of prey species corresponded with periods of increasing cloud cover. Predators and medium-sized herbivores were more active during times of low illumination. Our findings suggest that moon phase affects the nocturnal activity of mammal species and that, for prey species, there might be trade-offs between predation risk and foraging. Our findings have implications for: ecological survey design and interpretation of results for mammal populations across moon phases, understanding predator and prey behaviour and interactions in natural and modified (artificial lighting) ecosystems, and potential nocturnal niche partitioning of species.


This year Republicans in the House of Representatives lashed out at Rafael Moure-Eraso (left), chairman of the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), which is charged with investigating major chemical accidents. Rep. Darrell E. Issa (R-Calif.) and several other House Republicans accuse Moure-Eraso of serious management problems at CSB, which they blame for long-delayed reports and allegations of a hostile working environment by some staff. Moure-Eraso said the charges were political and asserted that he would not resign. Instead, he offered a reform plan. ...