Abstract Background: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and on hemodialysis (HD) are at increased risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as a result of defective immunity. Our aim was to examine if ESRD and the length of HD treatment impact the clinical utility of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) and rheumatoid factor (RF) as diagnostic tools for RA. Methods: We included 94 subjects in our study: 37 healthy volunteers and 57 patients with ESRD who had been undergoing HD for 1–12 years, and without confirmed RA. In order to test our hypothesis, we measured and correlated anti-CCP and RF as laboratory markers of RA. Results: Our study showed that there is no significant difference between values for anti-CCP (p=0.11) and RF (p=0.98) in control subjects as well as in patients undergoing HD, regardless of the length of time that patients had been undergoing HD treatment. Conclusions: Our study indicates that HD does not impair the specificity of anti-CCP and RF for RA in patients where the disease has not yet developed. Future prospective studies may show whether there is any use in determinating RF, and especially anti-CCP, as early predictors of RA in patients with ESRD who are at greater risk of developing this condition. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:959–62.


Every autumn in local parks throughout the United States, thousands of Scots come together to have an ethnic conflict. Kilted chieftains from all the major clans--the MacGregors and Campbells, the McDonalds and Wallaces--march along with tartan banners held high. Bagpipers parade back and forth, drones erect and chanters skirling. Clansmen and clanswomen let out war whoops as they descend onto the soccer field or baseball diamond. Occasionally, someone denounces the English. Eventually, one of the clans receives a trophy for being the fiercest, and then everyone decamps to the beer tent. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] These are the peculiar rituals of Scottish Highland games, a large and growing form of weekend entertainment for people of Celtic heritage. But the eager participants, standing in line for a sample of Scotch whisky or a lunch of meat pie and shortbread, are centuries away from a time when the Scots were less quaint: when thousands of people were killed in inter-clan feuding, when Highlanders staged bloody rebellions against English rule, and when the English crown and feudal lords responded with what would now be considered ethnic cleansing--forcibly removing Highland farmers in a sweeping campaign known as the Clearances. That was the eighteenth century, when northern Scotland was a land of social conflict, violence, and danger. "Till the Highlanders lost their ferocity, with their arms, they suffered from each other all that malignity could dictate, or precipitance could act ... Every provocation was revenged with blood, and no man that ventured into a numerous company ... was sure of returning without a wound," wrote Samuel Johnson during a tour of the region in 1773. His depiction stands in stark contrast to the conditions in modern Scotland, which has been devoid of mobilized violence since the eighteenth century. But the Scottish example raises an intriguing question: why do some disputes that we now label "ethnic conflicts" seem to endure across the centuries, while others become the purview of suburbanites who happen to spend their weekends puffing on bagpipes? Judging from the Scottish experience, it does not seem unreasonable to believe that being a Chechen, Serb, or Hutu could one day become the same thing as being a Highland Scot. But even posing the question in this way raises important issues about the nature of civil wars and the "ethnic" component of ethnic conflicts. The Nature of Civil Wars The 1990s seemed to be the age of ethnic conflict. Around the world, the end of superpower competition heralded a sudden upsurge in age-old animosities. Federations collapsed and genocidal wars broke out, each one over basic differences of religion, language, and history. This is one common reading of the last two decades, but it is in large measure inaccurate. In the first place, the very label "ethnic conflict" is largely a product of perception and representation, not an analytical tag that describes a unique kind of social violence. No violent conflict ever involves all, or even most, members of one ethnic group suddenly rising up and deciding to kill all the members of another group. This is the cartoon version of ethnic war, but it is seriously out of step with reality. Rather than an entire ethnic group universally declaring war on another, it is generally small factions of committed militants that execute wars. Governments can also adopt the causes of ethnic, religious, clan, or regional factions, casting themselves as either defenders or avengers of a certain group. However, their determination and brutality can often create the social dividing lines that they claim to be defending. This, in turn, leads to new injustices, which the next generation may seek to avenge. Mobilized ethnic groups certainly can and do have an effect on politics, but the opposite can also be true: politics can help create mobilized ethnicity in the first place. …


This paper utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to explore the dimensions of domination and freedom within two significant public forums on climate change in Utah: (1) the resolution HJR 12 passed in the Utah State Legislature in 2010 and (2) the Blue Ribbon Committee on Climate Change (BRAC) process organized in 2006. The resolution HJR 12 reflects an extremist or inflammatory rhetoric point of view, while BRAC presents itself as a beacon of bureaucratic rationality, efficiency, and hierarchy. Forums such as these are force-feeding Americans subtly and not so subtly with divisive discourse and restrictive visions that pollute American politics and weaken the nation's capacity to address and solve its most challenging problems. HJR 12 exemplifies the role interpretive control plays in silencing those who disagree. The BRAC process illustrated how bureaucracy and rationalization may constrain future vision and action, reinforce current power structures, and encourage extreme rhetoric further down the road. This analysis uncovers the idealization of rational power underlying both forums. This idealization creates an unstable ground where powerplays, poorly disguised as rational policy making, dominate while silencing other voices. Scholars, government bureaucracies at all levels, and the American public wishing to deal with today's complex challenges must purposefully address destructive assumptions associated with idealized rational processes, while recognizing the important role uncertainty, values, worldviews, and interests play in encouraging or discouraging policy change.


The effects of social transfers on growth are still unclear. The limitations of aggregated data at sub-national levels have confined the analysis to the use of simulation models and household surveys. As an alternative, this paper contributes to the empirical literature by assessing the effects of Colombia's Familias en Accion, a human development cash transfer programme, on municipality level growth rates during its initial stage of implementation between 2000 and 2004. The natural experiment that resulted from the scaling-up of the intervention facilitated the set-up of a difference-in-differences analysis. The lack of sub-national GDP accounts is tackled by using luminosity data generated by satellites orbiting the earth, which have demonstrated to be a suitable proxy for economic growth and per capita growth. The results show that the programme can generate large positive effects on municipality level economic growth rates. Robustness checks confirm the reliability of these findings.


Critical analysis of the capability of a proposed canalized waterway to economically move the tonnage of anticipated commerce is necessary, particularly in those instances where channel dimensions are limited and lock sitings are less than ideal. Plotting of probable vessel movements through the entire waterway, or critical reaches, by graphical means is a valuable tool in measuring waterway capacity. Essentially, the graphic method permits analysis of vessel movements by showing the position on the waterway of all vessels at any one time, and the trace of these movements show graphically interferences to movements and resultant delays for each and all vessels. Physical elements of a waterway may be evaluated in reference to the capability of each to perform in balance with the others. The total practical tonnage capacity of the waterway may be determined, and time of transit for vessels may be more accurately estimated to determine the cost of moving commodities through the waterway.


Erb-B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 4 (ErbB4) is a kinase that can signal via a proteolytically released intracellular domain (ICD) in addition to classical receptor tyrosine kinase–activated signaling cascades. Previously, we have demonstrated that ErbB4 ICD is posttranslationally modified by the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) and functionally interacts with the PIAS3 SUMO E3 ligase. However, direct evidence of SUMO modification in ErbB4 signaling has remained elusive. Here, we report that the conserved lysine residue 714 in the ErbB4 ICD undergoes SUMO modification, which was reversed by sentrin-specific proteases (SENPs) 1, 2, and 5. Although ErbB4 kinase activity was not necessary for the SUMOylation, the SUMOylated ErbB4 ICD was tyrosine phosphorylated to a higher extent than unmodified ErbB4 ICD. Mutation of the SUMOylation site compromised neither ErbB4-induced phosphorylation of the canonical signaling pathway effectors Erk1/2, Akt, or STAT5 nor ErbB4 stability. In contrast, SUMOylation was required for nuclear accumulation of the ErbB4 ICD. We also found that Lys-714 was located within a leucine-rich stretch, which resembles a nuclear export signal, and could be inactivated by site-directed mutagenesis. Furthermore, SUMOylation modulated the interaction of ErbB4 with chromosomal region maintenance 1 (CRM1), the major nuclear export receptor for proteins. Finally, the SUMO acceptor lysine was functionally required for ErbB4 ICD-mediated inhibition of mammary epithelial cell differentiation in a three-dimensional cell culture model. Our findings indicate that a SUMOylation-mediated mechanism regulates nuclear localization and function of the ICD of ErbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase.


A major earthquake on the Seattle fault, Washington, ca. A.D. 900–930 was first inferred from uplifted shorelines and tsunami deposits. Despite follow-up geophysical and geological investigations, the rupture parameters of the earthquake and the geometry of the fault are uncertain. Here we estimate the fault geometry, slip direction, and magnitude of the earthquake by modeling shoreline elevation change. The best fitting model geometry is a reverse fault with a shallow roof ramp consisting of at least two back thrusts. The best fitting rupture is a SW-NE oblique reverse slip with horizontal shortening of 15 m, rupture depth of 12.5 km, and magnitude Mw = 7.5.


Objective:  To study the trends of GBS and dengue in Hong Kong, the ecological associations between GBS, dengue, and local meteorological factors. To examine the non-stationary oscillating association among these factors. Introduction:  Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a severe paralytic neuropathy associated with virus infections such as Zika virus and Chikungunya virus. There were also case reports of dengue fever preceding GBS. With the aim to understand the mechanisms of GBS and dengue outbreaks, this ecological study investigates the relationships between GBS, dengue, meteorological factors in Hong Kong and global climatic factors from January 2000 to June 2016. Methods:  The correlations between GBS, dengue, Multivariate El Nino Southern Oscillation Index (MEI) and local meteorological data were explored by Spearman's Rank correlations and cross-correlations. Three Poisson regression models were fitted to identify non-linear associations among GBS, dengue and MEI. Cross wavelet analyses were applied to infer potential non-stationary oscillating associations among GBS, dengue and MEI. Results:  We found a substantial increasing of local GBS and dengue cases (mainly imported) in recent year in Hong Kong. The seasonalities of GBS and dengue are different, in particular, GBS is low while dengue is high in the summer. We observed weak but significant correlations between GBS and local meteorological factors. MEI could explain over 17% of dengue's variations based on Poisson regression analyses. We report a possible non-stationary oscillating association between dengue fever and GBS cases in Hong Kong. Conclusions:  We report increasing patterns of both local GBS cases and imported dengue cases in Hong Kong, and investigate the possible mechanism behind these patterns.This study has led to an improved understanding about the timing and ecological relationships between MEI, GBS and dengue.


This article analyzes the credit rating agency reform provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act's "Improvements to the Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies" in light of the massive failures in the ratings of structured finance securities leading up to the 2008 credit crisis. The primary cause of ratings failure was the flawed quantitative ratings models used by the rating agencies; conflicted behavior on the part of the rating agencies was also an important but secondary cause. The key mechanical flaw in the ratings models was the method used to determine correlation, a measure of the likelihood that one borrower would default in the event that another did. In addition to flawed correlation measures, other important causes of informational failure in real estate-backed collateralized debt obligations include the decline in collateral quality at the peak of the housing boom and ratings arbitrage on the part of investment banks sponsoring structured finance transactions. While the Dodd-Frank Act contains important reforms meant to reduce the likelihood of future ratings failure, it does not attempt to regulate the ratings process directly but instead relies on the traditional securities law strategies of disclosure and liability to incentivize the production of accurate ratings. Such an indirect approach may be both puzzling and disappointing to critics of the rating agencies. It does however reflect the prevailing rule that the SEC may not regulate the substance of credit ratings and the practical limitations of legislators and regulators in this hypercomplex area, as well as a psychological aversion on the part of legislators and the public to understanding a central cause of the credit crisis as a primarily mechanical failure.


The paper puts into the context of practical applications my case study research of responsive wood located in Czechia, being inspired by Norwegian and oriental traditional architecture. Approaching the field from a socio-environmental perspective, the article relates human, social and biotic behaviour with climatic and geographical data, addressing interactions in the performance of architectures and its additional issues in urban design. The opportunistic activities, use or habitation of spaces and objects, meets its performance through environment – material and/or design interactions. The paper claims that, at least in observed climatic locations, semi-interior, or so called non-discrete architecture addressed by Hensel and others, are the grounds for and generators of individualistic and social activities in public and public-private spaces, securing environmental comfort. In this time of increased weather extremes coming with climatic change in certain locations, noise, light pollution, etc., the topic is gaining greater relevance. Inspired by Library of Systemic Relations for GIGA-mapping introduced by Sevaldson (Sevaldson 2016a), the relationing of such in GIGA-maps required its own coding or update and/or combination of the existing proposed library. The maps are expressing different ranges and intensities of behaviour or performance in relation to placement or designs that are represented by informational layers of images. Relating gradients within (Allen 2011; Banham 2009; Hensel and Menges 2009; Hight 2009) and among the fields, thus generating a matrix of interlinked information where zooming, sequencing or feedback looping appears. This way somewhat develops the core ideas of Allen from 1997 on matrixes and fields (Allen 2009). The three thematic GIGA-maps are in fact developed ZIP-analyses (Sevaldson 2016b) of each other, zooming a problem of the theme's topic. The semi-interior or non-discrete spaces as a climatic, sound, etc. and biotic – including social gradient-are complex interlinkings of outside and inside environments and have implications for activities and forms of life. Therefore, a systemic approach is needed to fully understand it.


A shelter environment tends to present different types of stressors dogs need to cope with. Recent work has shown that olfactory enrichment with essential oils might be able to modify the affective states of certain species (dogs, cats, horses, zoo animals…). In these studies, the welfare measurements included physiological indicators, such as corticosteroid levels,and/or behaviors related to chronic stress. The olfactory effects of 9 essential oils ( Cananga odorata,Cistus ladaniferus, Citrus aurantium, Cupressus sempervirens, Juniperus communis var. montana, Lavandula angustifolia, Laurus nobilis, Litsea citrata, Pelargonium graveolens ) and a blend of these oils were explored on a cognitive bias test, cortisol levels and the behaviors of 110 shelter dogs (n= 10 dogs within each group). Olfactory enrichment with the blend resulted in a reduced latency to the ambiguous cue, indicating a more optimistic bias and improved welfare. The results of this study suggest that olfactory enrichment with essential oils can have specific effects on the affective states and behaviors of shelter dogs, and could therefore be useful for shelter management. In addition, as not all of the essential oils tested individually were effective, more research should be conducted to better understand the effects of each individual essential oils on dogs. Keywords: behavior; cognitive bias; cortisol; dogs; essential oils; olfactory enrichment; shelter; welfare.


Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of fear sentiment with a novel data set on Bitcoin's (BTC) return, volatility and transaction volume. The authors divide the sample into two subperiods to capture the changing dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors retrieve the novel fear sentiment data from Thomson Reuters MarketPsych Indices (TRMI). The authors denote the subperiods as pre- and post-COVID-19 considering January 13, 2020, when the first COVID-19 confirmed case was reported outside China. The authors use bivariate vector autoregressive models given below with lag-length k, to investigate the dynamics between BTC variables and fear sentiment.

Findings
BTC market measures have dissimilar dynamics before and after the Coronavirus outbreak. The results reveal that due to the excessive uncertainty led by the outbreak, an increase in fear sentiment negatively affects the BTC returns more persistently and significantly. For the post-COVID-19 period, an increase in fear also results in more fluctuations in transaction volume while its initial and cumulative effects are both negative. Due to extreme uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, investors may trade more aggressively in the initial phases of the shock.

Practical implications
The authors are convinced that the results in this paper have more far-reaching implications for other markets regulated by the states. BTC provides a natural benchmark to understand how fear sentiment drives and impacts the markets isolated from any interventions. Hence, the results show that in the absence of regulatory frameworks, market dynamics are likely to be more volatile and the fear sentiment has more persistent impacts. The authors also highlight the importance of using micro, asset-specific sentiment measures to capture market dynamics better.

Originality/value
BTC is not associated with any regulatory authority and is not produced by the governments and central banks. COVID-19 as a natural experiment provides an opportunity to explore the pure effects of market sentiment on BTC considering its decentralized and unregulated features. The paper has two main contributions. First, the authors use BTC-specific fear sentiment novel data set of TRMI instead of more general market sentiments used in the existing studies. Next, this is the first study to examine the association between fear and BTC before and after COVID-19.


We present geographic multicast routing (GMR), a new multicast routing protocol for wireless sensor networks. It is a fully localized algorithm that efficiently delivers multicast data messages to multiple destinations. It does not require any type of flooding throughout the network. Each node propagating a multicast data message needs to select a subset of its neighbors as relay nodes towards destinations. GMR optimizes the cost over progress ratio where the cost is equal to the number of neighbors selected for relaying and the progress is the overall reduction of the remaining distances to destinations. Such neighbor selection achieves a good tradeoff between the bandwidth of the multicast tree and the effectiveness of the data distribution. Our cost-aware neighbor selection is based on a greedy set merging scheme achieving a O(Dnmin(D,n)3) computation time, where n is the number of neighbors of current node and D is the number of destinations. As in traditional geographic routing algorithms, delivery to all destinations is guaranteed by applying face routing when necessary. Our simulation results show that GMR outperforms position based multicast in terms of cost of the trees and computation time over a variety of networking scenarios


In recent years, the petroleum industry achieved marked advances in the development of full 3D geomechanical models (both static as well as dynamic). If robust, these 3D models provide the benefit for more accurate well and field development planning in structurally complex settings such as areas with significant topography or/and faulting, or/and when substantial pore pressure changes in response to injection or/and depletion are likely to cause changes in the in situ stress field. These stress changes may then be accompanied by phenomena such as fault and fracture reactivation, reservoir compaction and surface subsidence etc. Furthermore, proper 3D geomechanical modeling is often required when wells are planned to intersect salt diapirs or other frictionless bodies/layers with different material characteristics. In many cases, these 3D geomechanical models also require advanced finite element modeling coupled with reservoir simulation. To maximize the value from such modeling, in particular understanding the in situ stresses, pore pressure, and material properties and their variability (lateral, in depth as well as with time) are of critical importance to better evaluate and mitigate risk during the drilling, completion, and production phase of a field development. In other words, a sound and accurate 3D structural model is critically important, since it not only covers the structural elements and layering (stratigraphy) of the reservoir but also the overburden all the way to the surface (or seafloor in offshore environments); it thereby provides the basis for a 3D geomechanical model. When combined with a well calibrated fracture network model (e.g., DFN), 3D geomechanical models can be utilized to investigate the possibility for natural fractures to be or become critically-stressed in response to production or injection and evaluate the impact on the reservoir-wide permeability tensor as a function of time. This presentation will provide an overview of the basics of 3D static as well as dynamic geomechanics and how it is linked and integrated with structural modeling, discrete fracture network models as well reservoir simulation. Current model limitations and a future outlook as to where technology develop is and should head is also included in the discussion.


We investigated the effects of fire-induced plume-rise on the simulation of carbon monoxide (CO) over Africa and its export during SAFARI 2000 using the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) with a CO tracer and a plume-rise parameterization scheme. The plume-rise parameterization scheme simulates the consequences of strong buoyancy of hot gases emitted from biomass burning, including both dry and cloud-associated (pyro-cumulus) lofting. The current implementation of the plume-rise parameterization scheme into the global model provides an opportunity to examine the effect of plume-rise on long-range transport. The CAM simulation with the plume-rise parameterization scheme seems to show a substantial improvement of the agreements between the modeled and aircraft-measured vertical distribution of CO over Southern Africa biomass-burning area. The plume-rise mechanism plays a crucial role in lofting biomass-burning pollutants to the middle troposphere. In the presence of deep convection we found that the plume-rise mechanism results in a decrease of CO concentration in the upper troposphere. The plume-rise depletes the boundary layer, and thus leaves lower concentrations of CO to be lofted by the deep convection process. The effect of the plume-rise on free troposphere CO concentration is more important for the source area (short-distance transport) than for remote areas (long-distance transport). A budget analysis of CO burden over Southern Africa reveals the plume-rise process to have a similar impact as the chemical production of CO by OH and CH 4 . In addition, the plume-rise process has an minor impact on the regional export. These results further confirm and extend previous findings in a regional model study. Effective lofting of large concentration of CO by the plume-rise mechanism also has implications for local air quality forecasting in areas affected by other fire-related pollutants.


IZA DP No. 14321 APRIL 2021 Labor Market Institutions and the Incidence of Payroll Taxation Despite unambiguous predictions of the canonical model of a competitive labor market, empirical studies on the labor market effects of payroll taxation provide conflicting evidence. Our meta-analysis shows that varying degrees of labor market competitiveness across places and time could be one explanation for the mixed results. We then estimate the labor market impacts of payroll taxation in Singapore, the country with most competitive and flexible labor market among the countries investigated in the literature. By exploiting the sharp reduction in payroll tax rate when workers turn 60, we find that the payroll tax cut in Singapore has a large effect on wages without changes in employment. We provide novel evidence corroborating the canonical model prediction that the welfare costs of social insurance programs financed by payroll taxes can be minimized in a competitive labor market. JEL Classification: H24, I31, J22


A complete computation of the effect of the spacecraft potential on electron moments is presented. We adopt the perfect detector concept to estimate how measured density, velocity and temperature are affected by the constraints imposed by the detector, such as the finite lower energy cutoff and the spacecraft potential. We investigate the role of the potential in different plasma regimes usually crossed by satellites. It appears that the solar wind is the region where the moments are most compromised, as the particle temperature is low. To a lesser extent the moments calculated in the magnetosheath may also deviate from the real moments, displaying up to 40% overestimation for the density under typical detector operation. The analysis allows us to identify a range of spacecraft potential values which minimizes the variation in the estimation; it is found that it corresponds to the common value adopted by potential controlling experiments.


Criminologists are primarily concerned with the analysis of actions that violate existing laws. But a growing number have begun analyzing crimes as actions that inflict harm, regardless of the applicability of legal sanctions. Even as they question standard definitions of crime as law-breaking, scholars of crime have few theoretical frameworks with which to understand the etiology of harmful action. In Why We Harm , Lois Presser scrutinizes accounts of acts as diverse as genocide, environmental degradation, war, torture, terrorism, homicide, rape, and meat-eating in order to develop an original theoretical framework with which to consider harmful actions and their causes. In doing so, this timely book presents a general theory of harm, revealing the commonalities between actions that impose suffering and cause destruction. Harm is built on stories in which the targets of harm are reduced to one-dimensional characters-sometimes a dangerous foe, sometimes much more benign, but still a projection of our own concerns and interests. In our stories of harm, we are licensed to do the harmful deed and, at the same time, are powerless to act differently. Chapter by chapter, Presser examines statements made by perpetrators of a wide variety of harmful actions. Appearing vastly different from one another at first glance, Presser identifies the logics they share that motivate, legitimize, and sustain them. From that point, she maps out strategies for reducing harm.


A large number of simple or complex translocation involving the CML and AML chromosomal abnormalities has been described. This study was aimed to investigate the complex chromosome aberrations in the series of myeloid malignancies including CML and AML. The present report deals analyzed 187 consecutive with CML and AML patients, using Methotrexate  cell synchronization and  un-stimulated cultures of   cells to determine the incidence of chromosomal aberrations and association of complex variant chromosome anomalies according to  French American British morphological subtypes. The results revealed an abnormal karyotype with a novel complex translocation involving chromosomes 1,2,4,9,11,22.  Complex variant translocations   were found in two cases of AML and two cases of CML. The present reports provides sufficient grounds for assuming that a chromosomes involving of complex abnormalities  plays an important  role in the development of malignancy.


The countries in the East African Community (EAC) are among the fastest growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. The EAC countries are making significant progress toward financial integration, including harmonization of supervisory arrangements and practices and the modernization of monetary policy frameworks. This book focuses on regional integration in the EAC and argues that the establishment of a time table for the eliminating the sensitive-products list and establishing a supranational legal framework for resolving trade disputes are important reforms that should foster regional integration.


Biochemical and electrophysiological studies have provided evidence that a complex comprising the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor and the phencyclidine (PCP) recognition site exists in mammalian brain. This complex, which has been compared to that established for the inhibitory amino acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and the benzodiazepine anxiolytic, diazepam, is sensitive to the effects of the divalent cation Mg2+, which has suggested the presence of a third, ion channel component. Using a radioreceptor assay for the PCP receptor, L-glutamate (L-Glu) produced a concentration-dependent increase in the binding of [3H]thienyl cyclohexylpiperazine ([3H]TCP) in well washed membranes from rat forebrain. The EAA produced a maximal increase in specific binding of 400%, with an EC50 value of 340 nM. The ability of L-Glu to enhance [3H]TCP binding was 10-fold more potent in the presence of 30 microM Mg2+, which inhibits NMDA-evoked responses in intact tissue preparations and produces a 50% increase in [3H]TCP binding on its own. Analysis of saturation curves indicated that the effect of both L-Glu and Mg2+ could be attributed to an increase in receptor affinity as well as increases in the proportion of a high affinity state of the PCP-binding site. Assessment of the effect of a number of EAAs on basal [3H]TCP binding (well washed membranes in the absence of either L-Glu or Mg2+) showed that the EAA recognition site involved in the effects of L-Glu was the NMDA subtype. Further studies examined a series of compounds thought to interact with either the NMDA or PCP components of the receptor complex under four binding conditions: basal, +Mg2+; +L-Glu; and +Mg2+/L-Glu. These results showed that dissociative anesthetics, such as dexoxadrol and PCP, as well as the novel anticonvulsant MK-801, selectively interact with the high affinity state of the PCP receptor. NMDA antagonists, such as CPP, were also found to inhibit binding to the high affinity state of the PCP receptor, although not as potently as the dissociative anesthetics. Interestingly, the NMDA antagonists did not inhibit any of the binding to the low affinity state of the receptor. The sigma ligands (+/-)-SKF 10,047 and haloperidol recognized two components of [3H]TCP binding only in the presence of L-Glu. The results of the present study are consistent with the finding that agonists of the NMDA receptor induce a high affinity state of the PCP receptor.


The performance of Broadway Musicals by high school students as an integral part of their public school music education is a relatively new concept. The apparent absence of any written material directly relating to the concept has created a need for information among directors faced with the task of producing a show ·using high school students. The purpose of this study was to prepare a guide to the anticipation and solution of these problems endemic to high school student productions of Broadway Musicals. The preparation of a catalog of those agencies that rent the scores, scripts, dialogue books, stage manager's guides, orchestra parts, sets, costumes, scenery, and properties was to be compiled to assist directors in their planning of a production. Directors and other professional persons involved in the theater or in businesses or industries directly related or closely associated with the theater were interviewed where possible to gain information applicable to this study. Written correspondence and telephone conversations were also employed in an effort to gain information for inclusion in the study. The Turfery and Palmer book The Musical Production, Engel's book Planning and Producing the Musical Show, and Huber's Producing Opera In The College were read and related portions were discussed to allow application of the material to the production of musicals by high school students. Observations of the working methods of professional persons were made and those methods capable of incorporation were discussed. An experimental production employing the recommendations of the study was undertaken to test the validity of those recommendations. The results of the experimental production were consistent with the purposes of the study and appeared to lend credence to the validity of the procedures suggested. The results of the study would appear to support the following conclusions: 1. The performance of Broadway Musicals by high school students offers educators a vehicle for enjoyable student self realization and the development of aesthetic discrimination. Thus, such endeavors serve both an educational and an aesthetic function which justifies their inclusion as an integral part of the school curriculum. 2. Performances of Broadway Musicals by high school students offer a means of earning revenue for school use consistent with the purposes of education. Recommended Citation Boyer, Donald Hornbeck, "A Guide to the Production of Broadway Musicals in High School in a Selected Geographical Area" (1966). OBU Graduate Theses. 40. https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/grad_theses/40 To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader you may Download the file to your hard drive. NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing Ouachita Baptist University Archives and Special Collections Ouachita Baptist University Academic Schools and Departments Sponsored by the RileyHickingbotham Library


The role of simulation has increased during the last
few years due to an increasing complexity of
components and the rising number of objects involved
in large-scale systems. This book gives an
introduction of utilising the High-Level Architecture
(HLA, IEEE 1516-2000) to simulate an airborne radar
federate able to detect objects on ground. It
provides an overview of HLA, giving engineers the
ability to simulate complex systems in large networks
with many simulation participants and introduces a
common scenario to show the abilities of the
aircraft-attached radar model.


Work on automating vulnerability discovery has long been hampered by a shortage of ground-truth corpora with which to evaluate tools and techniques. This lack of ground truth prevents authors and users of tools alike from being able to measure such fundamental quantities as miss and false alarm rates. In this paper, we present LAVA, a novel dynamic taint analysis-based technique for producing ground-truth corpora by quickly and automatically injecting large numbers of realistic bugs into program source code. Every LAVA bug is accompanied by an input that triggers it whereas normal inputs are extremely unlikely to do so. These vulnerabilities are synthetic but, we argue, still realistic, in the sense that they are embedded deep within programs and are triggered by real inputs. Using LAVA, we have injected thousands of bugs into eight real-world programs, including bash, tshark, and the GNU coreutils. In a preliminary evaluation, we found that a prominent fuzzer and a symbolic execution-based bug finder were able to locate some but not all LAVA-injected bugs, and that interesting patterns and pathologies were already apparent in their performance. Our work forms the basis of an approach for generating large ground-truth vulnerability corpora on demand, enabling rigorous tool evaluation and providing a high-quality target for tool developers.


This study aimed to introduce a systematic framework for the interactive instruction of reading based on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). To do so, 60 undergraduate TEFL students taking an advanced reading course were assigned to two equal groups. Both groups were pre-tested for their comparability, and then the experimental group was treated with SFL-oriented knowledge for 13 two-hour sessions with the control group just receiving the traditional grammar-oriented method of teaching reading. Following the treatment, a post-test was administered to both groups the results of which indicated that there was a significant difference at p < .05 in the performance of the two groups on reading comprehension. Detailed analyses revealed that the treated group had a better performance on understanding the lower-level intra-sentential relationships and higher-level contextual components involved in reading comprehension. It was concluded that the SFL-based teaching of reading comprehension had a great effect on the reading comprehension of Iranian TEFL students.


The UK's higher education funding councils have proposed reducing the number of submitted outputs from four to three in the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework to reduce the burden on panel members. This reduction is considered to be sufficient for panels to form a robust view of the achievements of individuals and their departments. The key issue is whether the subject panels would have sufficient information to judge the quality of research at departmental level with details of only three outputs per staff. Two journal quality indicators are used in this note to test the assumption that three publications is likely to be as useful to the panels as four to measure research quality in three cognate units of assessment (business & management, economics & econometrics and accounting & finance). In fact, the results indicate that two publications would be sufficient, thereby providing more time for a careful assessment of submitted outputs.


This review traces the development of nanofluid pool boiling from its beginning (1984) to the present through a sampling of studies that have interested the authors and which have led to the latest findings at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). The studies of thermophysical properties of nanofluids are briefly covered. Several works in the last 7 years are highlighted to illustrate the modes of nanofluid pool boiling testing, the variability of nanofluid boiling heat transfer (BHT), and the postulations of causes of this behavior. Starting in 2006, the wettability increase in the nanoparticle coating, generated during the nanofluid pool boiling, is recognized as the source of critical heat flux (CHF) enhancement through its effect on the dynamics of hot spots and departing bubbles. The reasons for the observed contradictory BHT behavior are not yet fully clear, but recently at UTA, nanofluid boiling heat transfer has shown to be transient due to the dynamic nature of the formation of the nanoparticle coating. Also at UTA, the mechanism of nanoparticle deposition on the heated surface has been further confirmed. Thus, nanofluid boiling has led back to heat transfer enhancement through surface modification in nanoscale. These developments from 2006 are covered in more detail.


Research type is research of eksplansi, researcher observation with collecting data at PT. Malang Intermedia Mass media of Jl Arjuna No 23 Worse luck with research title that is " Analysis Influence Of Competence Human Resource To Performance Employees of PT. Malang Intermedia media pers" Target of this first research to know employees competence of PT. Malang Intermedia media pers. Second to know employees performance of PT. Malang Intermedia media pers. Third, to analyse how far influence of competence of skill and of knowledge, role social employees to employees performance of PT. Malang Intermedia media pers. Fourth, identifying and analysing dominant variable variable which influence performance. As for usefulness of research which wish to be reached specially to company as information input to company in improving human resource interest and performance and can be used for the development of company. Analyzer which this research is using spanning and scale of regresi doubled linear. Pursuant to result of analysis span scale hence know that employees competence at PT. Malang Intermedia media pers enter in enough competence while employees performance enter in high. Result of test of F can be concluded that variable of competence human resource covering skill, and knowlege of role social together have influence is significant to employees performance of PT. Malang Intermedia media pers. pursuant to result of test of t can be proved that by persial there are influence is significant human resource is skill, knowledge, role social to employees performance of PT. Malang Intermedia Pers. pursuant to variable regresi koefesian can prove that variable of human resource being in the case of skill have influence is dominant to employees performance of PT. Malang Intermedia media pers. Pursuant to conclusion of ari result of research, hence raised some suggestion that is In order to performance all employees expected in process employees selection precisely according to procedure which have been specified. To be expected company management always try to improve ability had by employees in effort the performance all employees. Real step able to be done by company that is passing execution of training program to all periode employees both for conducted by company and also outside company environment. Expected company can become mediator in taking care of is harmonious of good relation between employees and also with company, the effort conducted in order to creating the condition of really supporting activity of activity employe in company so that all employees can work maximally. Keyword : Kompetensi, Skill, Knowledge, Sosial Role, Kinerja Link terkait : http://skripsi.umm.ac.id/files/disk1/280/jiptummpp-gdl-s1-2008-sumarno036-13982-PENDAHUL-N.pdf


We find that real interest rates paid on government debt depend significantly upon current and expected future levels of debt, in Europe as in the US. But this result only emerges when we condition on foreign interest rates, illustrating financial international integration. The previously strong effect of debt on US interest rates has been diluted by the addition of 2004-2006 data to the sample, perhaps reflecting the effect of massive purchases of US securities by foreign central banks. Another finding is that the asymmetry in the effect of US interest rates on European interest rates has not disappeared with the coming of European Economic and Monetary Union in 1999, as one might have thought.


In a frank and unpretentious series of letters addressed to a teenage granddaughter, this highly original book teaches us to know and understand the world we live in and its rules, and how to behave in it. In these thirty letters, Alan Macfarlane answers his granddaughter's questions about how the world works, how it got to be as it is, what it could be, and where she fits in. Lily's enquiries range from the intimate, personal and moral to the political, social and philosophical. What is the nature of good and evil? What is religion? How can I be truly me? Is right and wrong the same wherever you are? What is beauty? Does there have to be torture? Does money matter? Is knowledge always good? What is progress? What is truth? What is sex? Is democracy a good idea? These are just a few of the questions. In responding to Lily's challenging problems, Alan Macfarlane, from a lifetime's experience as a historian, anthropologist and teacher, ranges through history and across the world's cultures. Her questions are timeless. His answers add up to a classic.


Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has significant potential to improve the energy utilization efficiency and provides a means for sustainable seawater desalination and water purification technologies. Although rational design of evaporative materials and surfaces is essential to the interfacial solar water vaporization process, tailoring the surface wettability states of solar evaporators to accelerate the vapor generation rate remains unexplored. Here we demonstrate hydrophilic hydrogel evaporators with hydrophobic island-shaped patches, capable of achieving a record evaporation rate of ∼4.0 kg m−2 h−1 with 93% efficiency under 1 sun irradiation (1 kW m−2). This exceptional high rate results from both wetting regions, which function synergistically. The increased thickness of the water layer in the hydrophilic region leads to the rapid escape of water molecules, while relatively long contact lines promise considerable water evaporation from the hydrophobic region, further contributing to this process. Molecular dynamics simulations provide a consistent outcome on a molecular basis, in which an inhomogeneous surface wetting property could modulate the escape behavior of water molecules to speed the evaporation. Under natural sunlight, a 3D printed portable solar water purification jug using this hydrogel evaporator delivers purified water far above the EPA drinking water standards, highlighting its potential for water purification.


Designed for quick point-of-care reference, this handbook offers evidence-based guidelines on use of antiepileptic drugs for seizures, psychiatric disorders, pain, and headache. Chapters cover all drugs, including the recently approved drug pregabalin. For each drug, the authors list FDA-approved indications and summarize the evidence for efficacy and tolerability from clinical trials for epileptic, psychiatric, pain, and headache indications. Also included are recommendations from professional societies such as the American Academy of Neurology, American Psychiatric Association, and Association for the Study of Headache. Tables in the final chapter summarize these recommendations and indicate the authors' choice of drug in various clinical situations.


Localised mRNA translation is a widespread mechanism for targeting protein synthesis, important for cell fate, motility and pathogenesis. In Drosophila, the spatiotemporal control of gurken/TGF-α mRNA translation is required for establishing the embryonic body axes. A number of recent studies have highlighted key aspects of the mechanism of gurken mRNA translational control at the dorsoanterior corner of the mid-stage oocyte. Orb/CPEB and Wispy/GLD-2 are required for polyadenylation of gurken mRNA, but mis-localised gurken mRNA in the oocyte is not fully polyadenylated1. At the dorsoanterior corner, Orb and gurken mRNA have been shown to be enriched at the edge of Processing bodies, where translation occurs2. Over-expression of Orb in the adjacent nurse cells, where gurken mRNA is transcribed, is sufficient to cause mis-expression of Gurken protein3. In orb mutant egg chambers, reducing the activity of CK2, a Serine/Threonine protein kinase, enhances polarity defects, consistent with a phenotype relating to a mutation of a factor involved in gurken translation4. Here we show that sites phosphorylated by CK2 overlap with active Orb and with Gurken protein expression. We also consolidate the current literature into a working model for gurken mRNA translational control and review the role of kinases, cell cycle factors and polyadenylation machinery highlighting a multitude of conserved factors and mechanisms in the Drosophila egg chamber.


One day of fasting leads to a significant suppression of pulsatile LH secretion in adult male rhesus monkeys that is evident within the first 4-6 h after a missed meal. Restricting food intake may suppress the central drive to the reproductive axis via metabolic signals occurring during the transition from a fed, energy storing state to a fasted, energy mobilizing state or via signals associated with the "psychological stress" imposed by withholding food. To distinguish between these two general types of signals, we chose the experimental strategy of providing monkeys with a great excess of calories on the day before fasting (i.e. overfeeding on the day before fasting) in order to maintain them in a metabolically fed state on the following day when they were fasted, without preventing the psychological stress associated with fasting. We reasoned that if metabolic signals are responsible for causing the fasting-induced suppression of LH secretion, overfeeding on the day before fasting would prevent the fasting-induced suppression of LH secretion. Eight adult male rhesus monkeys with indwelling venous catheters were studied on three occasions: on a day of normal feeding (receiving approximately 30 pellets of monkey chow at 1100 h on the day of the study), on a day of fasting after a day of normal feeding, and on a day of fasting after a day of overfeeding (receiving one meal of 100 pellets on the day before the study). Pulsatile LH secretion on a day of fasting after a day of normal feeding (0.4 +/- 0.2 pulses/6 h, measured from 1200-1800 h) was significantly suppressed, P < 0.05, compared to a day of normal feeding (1.8 +/- 0.3 pulses/6 h). In contrast, on a day of fasting after a day of overfeeding there was no significant difference in LH secretion measured from 1200-1800 h (1.5 +/- 0.3 pulses/6 h) compared to a day of normal feeding. Overfeeding the day before fasting prevented the normal fasting-induced suppression of plasma T3 concentrations and delayed the normal fasting-induced decline in plasma insulin concentrations. Overfeeding did not prevent the display of agitated behavior that we have previously documented in monkeys when they are fasted. These results support the hypothesis that the signal(s) which suppresses normal LH secretion after brief periods of fasting is related to the metabolic status of the body during the transition from a fed to a fasted state, rather than a function of the psychological state imposed by withholding food.


Oligomerization of angiotensin II receptors contributes to Alzheimer's disease. Impaired signaling through receptors coupled to Gαq/11, such as the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, is associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In a pair of papers, AbdAlla et al. report that sequestration of Gαq/11 in β-amyloid (Aβ)–induced oligomers of angiotensin II receptors (AT2R) may contribute to the progression of AD. By comparing samples of prefrontal cortex from patients with AD and control patients, the author found decreased signaling (phosphoinositide hydrolysis) in response to either carbachol (muscarinic receptor agonist) or direct G protein activators, as well as decreased activation of Gαq/11. Western blots of the samples from AD patients also showed oligomeric AT2R associated with Gαq/11, whereas control brain samples had only monomeric AT2R that was not associated with Gαq/11. Cerebral injection of Aβ into mice produced a dose-dependent increase in oligomeric AT2R. The formation of oligomers was blocked by treatment with antioxidant, and Gαq/11-associated oligomers were induced by injection of transglutaminase, which suggests that oxidation followed by transglutamination underlies oligomer formation. By subjecting APPSw mice (a mouse model of AD) to stress, which accelerates disease progression, the authors showed that, compared with unstressed APPSw mice, the brains of the stressed mice had increased production of insoluble Aβ, oligomerization of AT2R associated with Gαq/11, and neurodegeneration, as well as impaired learning. Signaling in response to carbachol was also diminished in stressed APPSw mice. If AT2R was knocked down by hippocampal injection of RNAi, then insoluble Aβ formation and Tau phosphorylation were decreased and signaling through muscarinic receptors was retained in the stressed APPSw mice. In the second paper, AbdAlla et al. expressed AT2R and various mutants in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells to show that tyrosine residues in the cytoplasmic loop between transmembrane helices III and IV were necessary for the oxidative induction of dimers and that transglutamination to form oligomers required the C-terminal domain. Using the heterologous expression system, they also confirmed that AT2R oligomers sequestered Gαq/11 and inhibited muscarinic receptor signaling. Expression of a C-terminal truncated mutant AT2R prevented oligomerization of the receptor and restored muscarinic receptor responsiveness in the heterologous expression system. Viral delivery of this C-terminal truncation mutant into the hippocampus of stressed APPSw mice decreased AT2R oligomerization, decreased neurodegeneration, improved learning, and restored Gαq/11 activation, providing further support for AT2R oligomerization in progression of AD. S. AbdAlla, H. Lother, A. el Missiry, A. Langer, P. Sergeev, Y. el Faramawy, U. Quitterer, Angiotensin II AT2 receptor oligomers mediate G-protein dysfunction in an animal model of Alzheimer disease. J. Biol. Chem. 284, 6554–6565 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text] S. AbdAlla, H. Lother, A. el Missiry, P. Sergeev, A. Langer, Y. el Faramawy, U. Quitterer, Dominant negative AT2 receptor oligomers induce G-protein arrest and symptoms of neurodegeneration. J. Biol. Chem. 284, 6566–6574 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]


LATIF, SHEHZAD A., M.S., March 2008, Electrical Engineering Effects of Lightning on Low-Frequency Navigation Systems (65 pp.) Director of Thesis: Frank van Graas Low Frequency (LF) navigation systems operate in the frequency band from 30 to 300 kHz. In this frequency band, the effect of atmospheric noise caused by lightning is one of the primary contributors to the noise floor as observed by a receiver. This Thesis investigates the effects of lightning on the Long Range Navigation (Loran-C) system which operates at 100 kHz with a 20-kHz bandwidth. Flight test data were collected and analyzed for both normal and lightning conditions for electric field (E-field) and magnetic field (H-field) antennas. It was found that both the E-field and H-field antennas are affected similarly by lightning-induced noise. Pulse durations due to lightning discharges are on the order of 0.l to 0.6 ms, both during normal and thunderstorm flight test conditions. The average number of noise pulses per second during normal conditions was approx. 111 pulses for both antennas. During thunderstorm conditions, the average number of noise pulses per second increased by a factor of three for both antennas compared to the number during normal conditions. By discarding Loran pulses affected by lightning, an improvement in SNR was achieved for both E-field and H-field


In this paper, cold atmospheric pressure brush-shaped plasmas are reported. The brush, which is driven by a direct current (dc) power supply, is capable of generating plasmas glow up to 30-mm wide with no gas flow supplement. The plasmas can be touched by bare hand without any feeling of electrical shock or warmth. Current measurements show that the discharge in air appears periodically pulsed, while the discharge in argon actually presents either pulsed, except for their discharge mechanism placed at differently. For understanding this particular characteristic, a 2-D fluid model is developed with the use of Comsol Multiphysics software, under the condition of discharge in argon treated as an example. The simulation results are in good agreement with our discharge experiment in argon, which further indicate that the space charges trapped along the whole dielectric surface in air but only confined in the hole ahead the anode needle tip in argon may be responsible for the generation of the different pulsed discharges.


Lipase-assisted acidolysis of algal oils with a medium-chain fatty acid (capric acid) was studied. Five commercially available lipase preparations from Candida antarctica, Mucor miehei, Pseudomonas sp., Aspergillus niger and Candida rugosa were initially used as biocatalysts for the incorporation of capric acid (CA) into selected algal oils. The algal oils of interest were arachidoinc acid single cell oil (ARASCO), docosahexaenoic acid single cell oil (DHASCO) and single cell oil rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and docosapentaenoic acid (DP A) (OMEGA-GOLD). Among the lipases examined, Pseudomonas sp. was the most efficient. -- Effects of various reaction variables, namely the mole ratio of substrates, enzyme amount, time course, temperature and the amount of added water were examined for Pseudomonas sp. Response surface methodology was used to obtain a maximum incorporation of CA into algal oils. The process variables studied were the amount of enzyme (2-12 %), reaction temperature (25-55°C) and incubation time (12-48h). All experiments were conducted according to a face-centred cube design. Under optimum conditions (12.3 % of enzyme; 45°C; 29.4 h), the incorporation of CA was 20.0 % into ARASCO. Optimization of acidolysis of DHASCO with CA gave rise to a maximum of 22.6 % at 4.2 % enzyme amount, and a reaction temperature of 43.3°C and reaction time of 27.1 h. Similarly, the maximum incorporation of CA into the OMEGA-GOLD oil was obtained when enzyme amounts, reaction temperature and time were 2.5 %, 46.6°C and 25.2 h, respectively. -- Stereospecific analysis was performed to establish positional distribution of fatty acids on the glycerol backbone of modified ARASCO, DHASCO and the OMEGA-GOLD oil. In all oils examined CA was mainly located at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triacylglycerol (TAG) molecules. In ARASCO-based SL, arachidonic acid (ARA) was mostly esterified at the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone. In DHASCO-based SL, DHA was concentrated in the sn-2 position, but also present in the sn-1,3 positions. DHA or DP A were preferentially esterified at the sn-2 position of the modified OMEGA-GOLD oil. -- The oxidative stabilities of enzymatically modified oils as well as their unmodified counterparts were assessed under Schaal oven conditions at 60°C over a 72 h storage period. Conjugated dienes (CD), and 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were used to follow the primary and secondary products of oxidation, respectively. Among the oils tested, the structured lipids (SL) of ARASCO, DHASCO, and the OMEGA-GOLD oil had higher conjugated dienes than those of their unmodified counterparts. TBARS values of modified DHASCO were significantly higher than their origin oil at all times. TBARS values of both modified and unmodified ARASCO increased gradually over the entire storage period. TBARS values of the OMEGA-GOLD-based SL increased steadily with increasing storage time. The results presented in this study suggest that enzymatically modified oils are more susceptible to oxidation than their unmodified counterparts. However, when the three oils (ARASCO, DHASCO and the OMEGA-GOLD) were subjected to the same procedure steps, the stabilities of the oils were adversely affected to a large extent. This observation might possibly be due to the loss of natural antioxidants during the reaction work up.


Laws governing adolescent sexuality are incoherent and chaotically enforced, and legal scholarship on the subject neither addresses nor remedies adolescents' vulnerability in sexual encounters. To posit a meaningful relationship between the criminal law and adolescent sexual encounters, one must examine what we know about adolescent sexuality from both the academic literature and the adults who control the criminal justice response to such interactions. This article presents an in-depth study of In re John Z., a 2003 rape prosecution involving two seventeen-year-olds. Using this case, I explore the implications of the prosecution by interviewing a variety of experts and analyzing the contemporary literature on sexual norms among youth. I also relate a series of interviews conducted with the major players in the prosecution. Examining this case from a variety of perspectives permits a deeper understanding of how the law regulates adolescent sexual encounters and why it fails.


The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is scheduled for launch in February 2020 to monitor air quality (AQ) at an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution from a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) for the first time. With the development of UV–visible spectrometers at sub-nm spectral resolution and sophisticated retrieval algorithms, estimates of the column amounts of atmospheric pollutants (O3, NO2, SO2, HCHO, CHOCHO, and aerosols) can be obtained. To date, all the UV–visible satellite missions monitoring air quality have been in low Earth orbit (LEO), allowing one to two observations per day. With UV–visible instruments on GEO platforms, the diurnal variations of these pollutants can now be determined. Details of the GEMS mission are presented, including instrumentation, scientific algorithms, predicted performance, and applications for air quality forecasts through data assimilation. GEMS will be on board the Geostationary Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite 2 (GEO-KOMPSAT-2) satellite series, which also hosts the Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI) and Geostationary Ocean Color Imager 2 (GOCI-2). These three instruments will provide synergistic science products to better understand air quality, meteorology, the long-range transport of air pollutants, emission source distributions, and chemical processes. Faster sampling rates at higher spatial resolution will increase the probability of finding cloud-free pixels, leading to more observations of aerosols and trace gases than is possible from LEO. GEMS will be joined by NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) and ESA's Sentinel-4 to form a GEO AQ satellite constellation in early 2020s, coordinated by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS).


Coastal dune budgets depend on sediment input by wind from the beach. Calculation of aeolian transport is thus a primary factor to understand coastal dune evolution and beach-dune coupled dynamics. However, measuring aeolian sediment transport in coastal areas presents fundamental technical and conceptual limitations that make numerical modeling difficult. Wind tunnel experiments isolate and reduce the number of variables to study, which is a necessary procedure to clearly manifest mechanistic relationships between cause and effect. But even with refinement and inclusion of new variables, traditional sediment transport formulas derived from wind tunnel experiments do not usually work well in natural areas. Short-term experiments may include precise instrumentation to obtain high frequency, detail time series of variables involved in aeolian transport, but inferring information at larger scales is problematic without knowledge of the timing and magnitude of particular transport events. There are two primary problems in attempting to predict sediment inputs to coastal dunes over periods of weeks, months or years: 1) to determine an appropriate set of predictive equations that incorporate complexities such as surface moisture content, beach width and the presence of vegetation; and 2) to provide quantitative data on these variables for input into the model at this time scale. Remote sensing techniques and the use of GIS software open the possibility to monitor key parameters regulating sediment transport dynamics at high spatial and temporal resolution over time scales beyond short-term experiments. These were applied at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island National Park (Canada), in an attempt to measure factors affecting aeolian sediment input to the foredune at a medium scale. Three digital cameras covering different sections of the beach and foredune provide time series on shoreline position, fetch distances, vegetation cover, ice/snow presence, or superficial moisture content. The rectification of oblique images to UTM maps allows to keep the spatial variability of these factors, and thus to perform detailed analysis on their complex evolution. Auxiliary instrumentation such as anemometers, safires, or erosion-deposition pins completes the basic set up. Data is processed using ArcGIS 9.2 and PCI Geomatica 9.1, and managed by an ArcCatalog Geodatabase. The coupling of new technologies (digital imagery) with traditional instrumentation (e.g. anemometers), and the extensive GIS capabilities both in the spatial and temporal domain, permits a new set of questions in aeolian coastal research. The overall goal is to obtain information on what is the frequency and magnitude of transport events at the beach or what are the key parameters regulating them. Challenges remain in improving methodologies to measure sediment transport rates. Ironically enough, we are able to obtain high quality time series on the factors affecting aeolian transport at the beach, but actual transport rates are measured with rather rudimentary techniques or instrumentation not adapted to meso-scale monitoring. This information is needed to test new approaches in modeling and understanding aeolian sediment input from the beach to the foredunes.


TiO2 has gained great popularity for environmental treatment and purification process; however it shows poor absorption of visible light and requires UV light for activation. CNS codoped TiO2 (CNS-TiO2) photocatalyst prepared by sol-gel method is visible light active. The photocatalyst was characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with EDAX analysis. Amidoblack-10B dye (AB-10B) solution under visible light irradiation was used to determine the photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic test indicated that the modified TiO2 photocatalyst has higher visible light activity than TiO2.


The aim of this study was to determine the effect of slaughter season on the postmortem metabolic characteristics of dromedary camel longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle. A total number of thirty male camels (5-7 years old) were included in this work. Ten camels were slaughtered according to season of the year (winter, spring and summer). The samples were analyzed for muscle pH, muscle temperature, electrical conductivity, drip loss (DL), cooking loss(CL) and thawing loss (TL). No significant (p> 0.05) effect of slaughter season on muscle pH and cooking loss was observed. However, slaughter season significantly (p< 0.05) influenced the electrical conductivity, muscle temperature, drip loss and thawing loss. All of these parameters were higher (p< 0.05) during summer as compared to winter and / or spring seasons. Moreover, several correlations between different studied parameters were reported. In conclusion, these findings indicated that slaughter season had a significant (p< 0.05) effect on several postmortem metabolic parameters of camels. Therefore, this study demonstrated that the electrical conductivity late postmortem measurement can be used as a suitable method for the evaluation of camel's meat quality.


Banks E, Beral V, Reeves G. The epidemiology of epithelial ovarian cancer: a review. Int J Gynecol Cancer 1997; 7: 425–438.

This paper presents a review of the scientific literature investigating the epidemiology of epithelial ovarian cancer. Epithelial ovarian cancer is an important cause of cancer death among women in industrialized countries, and incidence increases with age. It is more common among women of low parity and among those with a family history of the disease. Oral contraceptive use, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and sterilization have all been shown to protect against epithelial ovarian cancer, while the role of other reproductive and environmental factors, such as infertility, fertility drugs and hormone replacement therapy, is less clear. The evidence to date is discussed in this review.


Mixed reality and 3D user interface technologies have increased the immersion, presence, and physicality of user interactions. These technologies can also increase the physicality of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) by making the ECAs occupy and interact with the physical space. We propose that increasing the physicality of an ECA can increase the ECA's social presence, that is, the feeling that the ECA is a real person. In this paper, we examine existing research and formalize the idea of ECA physicality. We also explored the relationship between physicality and social presence by conducting two user studies (n 18 and n 29). Both user studies took place in a medical team training context and involved virtual human ECAs as fellow team members. The first study's results suggested that increasing physicality increased social presence and elicited more realistic behavior. The second study's results suggested that individual dimensions of physicality affect social presence to different extents.


One of the main challenges in livestock production is to manage disease risks. Producers can implement preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of becoming infected; however, such efforts exhibit positive spillover effects that generate strategic behaviors. In this setting, prior work has shown that multiple equilibria could arise, particularly when one's risk management choices and neighbors' choices are strategic complements. We expand on prior work to examine how the availability of multiple risk management choices, as well as the role of market price responses, may affect the uniqueness and stability of strategic outcomes. We find that modeling multiple choices is important because the presence of these choices can significantly alter the predicted strategic interactions and outcomes; for instance, we can identify conditions under which having multiple choices is more likely to yield unique and stable Nash equilibria. We have found that appropriate policies are able to improve social welfare and to reduce the risk of coordination failure. In addition, our results show the importance of considering the role of market price responses, which can also facilitate risk management to promote stability and uniqueness.


In this work, we revisit the 1999 Gordon Bell Prize winning PETSc-FUN3D aerodynamics code, extending it with highly-tuned shared-memory parallelization and detailed performance analysis on modern highly parallel architectures. An unstructured-grid implicit flow solver, which forms the backbone of computational aerodynamics, poses particular challenges due to its large irregular working sets, unstructured memory accesses, and variable/limited amount of parallelism. This code, based on a domain decomposition approach, exposes tradeoffs between the number of threads assigned to each MPI-rank sub domain, and the total number of domains. By applying several algorithm- and architecture-aware optimization techniques for unstructured grids, we show a 6.9X speed-up in performance on a single-node Intel® XeonTM1 E5 2690 v2 processor relative to the out-of-the-box compilation. Our scaling studies on TACC Stampede supercomputer show that our optimizations continue to provide performance benefits over baseline implementation as we scale up to 256 nodes.


Abstract. Flow separation can occur when a stratified flow passes over an obstacle. Previous studies concerning flow separation are mostly observed in the shallow water regions, e.g., fjord, driven by tidal flows. In this study, a novel view of flow separations of the intermediate water over the Hengchun Ridge and Ryukyu Arc off Taiwan is firstly reported using seismic oceanography by reprocessing the seismic data from two cruises 97306 and EW9509 in 2001 and 1995, respectively. Both seismic images show that water masses are separated by internal interfaces detached from sill crests. Over the Hengchun Ridge, it was previously considered that the intermediate water flowed out of the South China Sea into the Hengchun Trough. Flow separation occurred at the lee-side of the ridge forming a continuous interface > 15 km between the intermediate and deep water at 900 m depth. This interface suggests that (1) mean flow of the intermediate water always flowed eastward and (2) no lee wave was generated or radiated even during a spring ebb tide. Near the East Taiwan Channel, the only major passage of the Kuroshio into the Okinawa Trough, flow separation occurred when the Kuroshio intermediate water flowed over the Ryukyu Arc at 500 m depth. The separation interface is nearly horizontal and extends > 25 km from the sill break to the trough. Parameter estimations and morphologic comparisons show that both separation cases are neither boundary-layer separation nor post-wave separation. Model data from OFES (Ocean General Circulation Model For the Earth Simulator) reveal dense pools existing downstream of the sill crests. We propose that a density-forced flow separation mechanism could be responsible for the observed flow separations and absence of lee waves in this study.


Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is currently preferred as a minimally invasive treatment for lower urinary tract pathologies. Although BoNT injections have become widespread globally for the past 5 years, today, the urological use of BoNT Type A (BoNT-A) is only licensed for the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity and overactive bladder. Despite the relative evidence for the use of BoNT-A in benign prostatic enlargement, there is no high-level evidence data for the use in detrusor sphincter dyssynergia, interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, and chronic pelvic pain. In this comprehensive review, we mention the mechanism of action and efficacy of BoNT in various urological disorders, present the reliability, and evaluate the literature data supporting its use.


Highly integrated biological systems can provide a challenge in terms of understanding how such systems arose during the course of evolution. One such system involves the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which arose from a gene duplication deep in the vertebrate lineage. MR binds to and is activated by the hormone aldosterone, which only appeared much later, in the lineage leading to tetrapods, raising the question of how each component "anticipated" the presence of the other. Bridgham et al. (see the Perspective by Adami) analyze the evolution of this system by reconstructing the ancestral corticoid receptor (AncCR) that gave rise to MR and GR and show that it already had substantial affinity for aldosterone as a consequence of its affinity for other more ancient hormones, possibly including 11-deoxycorticosterone. Furthermore, two single-nucleotide mutations in the AncCR yield a GR-like receptor with present-day low affinity for aldosterone. J. T. Bridgham, S. M. Carroll, J. W. Thornton, Evolution of hormone-receptor complexity by molecular exploitation. Science 312, 97-101 (2006). [Abstract] [Full Text] C. Adami, Reducible complexity. Science 312, 61-63 (2006). [Summary] [Full Text]


Interprofessional education (IPE) has been widely advocated and developed as a means to encourage effective collaboration in order to improve public sector services. An IPE curriculum was introduced at Bournemouth University from 2005 for all nursing branches, midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, operating department practice and social work students (n=600). Challenges of this ambitious and large scale project included facilitating meaningful interprofessional learning while balancing structural complexities of professional body requirements and the logistics of large student numbers and multi-site teaching. A web-based simulated community was created, known as Wessex Bay, as a learning resource to facilitate interprofessional learning around case scenarios.

An evaluation of student and staff experiences of IPE over two years, focusing principally on the use of technology in the education process was implemented. Student and staff data were collected via e-surveys, focus groups and open-ended questionnaires with additional feedback from external reviewers specifically on Wessex Bay. Qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. Whilst the findings are not claimed to be representative, they provide a rich insight into student and staff experiences of technology enhanced learning in IPE.

The richness and complexity of data has led to a number of project outcomes with wide-ranging implications for interprofessional education. This research has led to the identification of three major territories of praxis in which individuals, both students and tutors, are operating in IPE, namely professional differences and identity, curriculum design and learning and teaching strategies, and technology enhanced learning. For the purposes of this report, we will discuss the findings related to student and staff experiences of technology enhanced learning in IPE.

The evaluation of the findings highlighted three issues; the level of student and staff knowledge and skill in using learning technologies impacted significantly on learning; there was a need to capitalise on the use of web-based learning resources by increasing interactivity within the scenarios; and finally student and staff experiences of the learning resources was enhanced by a positive learning culture to facilitate creative use of materials.

All project aims and objectives were met, and whilst more focused staff and student development in using learning technology is required, a culture of working interprofessionally among students and academic staff has begun to develop, leading to the sharing of ideas about content and learning processes. Recommendations resulting from the project include the introduction of assessed development of student and staff learning technology skills; development of more interactive web-based learning embedded within the case scenarios; and streamlining of the scenarios to provide fewer, but more developed, cases.


Zircons extracted from five chemically diverse granulite-facies crustal xenoliths from La Olivina cinder cone, Chihuahua, Mexico, were analyzed by SHRIMP ion microprobe in order to determine the age of the deep crust in northern Mexico. The results demonstrate the extreme age diversity of the deep crust in this region: zircon populations of ca. 1, 25-37, ca. 200, 350, 1100, and 1370 Ma are present. Nearly all samples contain 0-20 Ma zircons, reflecting recent granulite-facies conditions in the deep crust. In addition, high-grade metamorphism may also have occurred at 200 Ma and 1.10 Ga (Grenville). The paucity of Carboniferous-Permian ages in the xenoliths suggests that the Ouachita collision event provided little thermal input to the deep crust beneath La Olivina.


Executives today recognize that their firms face a wave of retirements over the next decade as the baby boomers hit retirement age. At the other end of the talent pipeline, the younger workforce is developing a different set of values and expectations, which creates new recruiting and employee retention issues. The evolution from an older, traditional, highly-experienced workforce to a younger, more mobile, employee base poses significant challenges, particularly when considered in the context of the long-term orientation towards downsizing and cost cutting. This is a solution-oriented book to address one of the most pressing management problems of the coming years: How do organizations transfer the critical expertise and experience of their employees before that knowledge walks out the door? It begins by outlining the broad issues and providing tools for developing a knowledge-retention strategy and function. It then goes on to outline best practices for retaining knowledge, including knowledge transfer practices, using technology to enable knowledge retention, retaining older workers and retirees, and outsourcing lost capabilities.


Mid‐rise to high‐rise buildings in seismic areas are often braced by slender reinforced concrete (RC) walls, which are interconnected by RC floor diaphragms. In design, it is typically assumed that the lateral forces are distributed in proportion to the wall's elastic stiffness. Pushover analyses of systems comprising walls of different lengths have, however, shown that large compatibility forces can develop between them, which should be considered in design, but the analyses have also shown that the magnitude of the computed forces is very sensitive to the modelling assumptions. Using the results of a complex shell element model as benchmark, different simple hand‐calculation methods and inelastic beam element models are assessed and improved to yield reliable estimates of the base shear distribution among the individual walls comprising the interconnected wall system. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Recently, there has been considerable debate about a reform of the Dutch system of student support, in which grants will be (partly) replaced by loans. The discussion focuses on the effects on student enrollment decisions. Surprisingly, no study has yet analysed the effect of receiving a grant on parental contribution. Parents may decrease their contribution when their child receives a grant, in which case subsidies meant for the students unintentionally end up with the parents. Understanding the corresponding parental behaviour will contribute to a more in-depth discussion on the financial aid system. This paper focuses on the effect of the supplementary grant on the parental contribution in the Netherlands. The supplementary grant is meant to support students from disadvantaged families. Parents from students with the supplementary grant have less disposable income, which probably implies a lower contribution. Our identification strategy separates this income effect from the effect due to the payments of the supplementary grant. The results suggest substantial substitution. Each additional euro spent on supplementary grant reduces the parental contribution with approximately 20-60 cents. A broad range of sensitivity analyses support our main estimation results. Nevertheless, some caution in interpreting the results is needed because of data limitations.


At fine spatial scales, savanna-rainforest-grassland boundary dynamics are thought to be mediated by the interplay between fire, vegetation and soil feedbacks. These processes were investigated by quantifying tree species composition, the light environment, quantities and flammability of fuels, bark thickness, and soil conditions across stable and dynamic rainforest boundaries that adjoin grassland and eucalypt savanna in the highlands of the Bunya Mountains, southeast Queensland, Australia. The size class distribution of savanna and rainforest stems was indicative of the encroachment of rainforest species into savanna and grassland. Increasing dominance of rainforest trees corresponds to an increase in woody canopy cover, the dominance of litter fuels (woody debris and leaf), and decline in grass occurrence. There is marked difference in litter and grass fuel flammability and this result is largely an influence of strongly dissimilar fuel bulk densities. Relative bark thickness, a measure of stem fire resistance, was found to be generally greater in savanna species when compared to that of rainforest species, with notable exceptions being the conifers Araucaria bidwillii and Araucaria cunninghamii. A transect study of soil nutrients across one dynamic rainforest – grassland boundary indicated the mass of carbon and nitrogen, but not phosphorus, increased across the successional gradient. Soil carbon turnover time is shortest in stable rainforest, intermediate in dynamic rainforest and longest in grassland highlighting nutrient cycling differentiation. We conclude that the general absence of fire in the Bunya Mountains, due to a divergence from traditional Aboriginal burning practices, has allowed for the encroachment of fire-sensitive rainforest species into the flammable biomes of this landscape. Rainforest invasion is likely to have reduced fire risk via changes to fuel composition and microclimatic conditions, and this feedback will be reinforced by altered nutrient cycling. The mechanics of the feedbacks here identified are discussed in terms of landscape change theory.


Information about change is necessary for updating Land Use/ Land Cover LULC maps and the management of natural resources (XiaoMei Y, & RongQing L.Q.Y., 1999). The paper aims to map the changes in the LULC using different classification methods and to quantify the land use/ land cover change that took place in the Jordan Valley. The paper promotes the classification of LULC based on remote sensing information (obtained mainly through the utilization of Thematic Mapper TM and Enhance Thematic Mapper ETM scenes) to generate data products that are both appropriate to, and immediately usable within different scientific applications. The advancement of remote sensing technology in the developing countries such as Palestine encouraged the use of remotely sensed data to monitor the land use changes in an effective and more frequent manner. Three classification approaches were deployed and the appropriateness of the classifications to derive accurate land use maps for the pilot area using Landsat scenes were evaluated. The results showed that the use of spectral mixture analysis classification approach enhanced the classification accuracy and the ability to categorise the LULC on the pixel level.


Multiple selections, though heavily used in file managers and drawing editors, are virtually nonexistent in text editing. This paper describes how multiple selections can automate repetitive text editing. Selection guessing infers a multiple selection from positive and negative examples provided by the user. The multiple selection can then be used for inserting, deleting, copying, pasting, or other editing commands. Simultaneous editing uses two levels of inference, first inferring a group of records to be edited, then inferring multiple selections with exactly one selection in each record. Both techniques have been evaluated by user studies and shown to be fast and usable for novices. Simultaneous editing required only 1.26 examples per selection in the user study, approaching the ideal of 1-example PBD. Multiple selections bring many benefits, including better user feedback, fast, accurate inference, novel forms of intelligent assistance, and the ability to override system inferences with manual corrections.


BACKGROUND
Many people undergo surgical operations during their life-time, which result in surgical wounds. After an operation the incision is closed using stiches, staples, steri-strips or an adhesive glue. Usually, towards the end of the surgical procedure and before the patient leaves the operating theatre, the surgeon covers the closed surgical wound using gauze and adhesive tape or an adhesive tape containing a pad (a wound dressing) that covers the surgical wound. There is currently no guidance about when the wound can be made wet by post-operative bathing or showering. Early bathing may encourage early mobilisation of the patient, which is good after most types of operation. Avoiding post-operative bathing or showering for two to three days may result in accumulation of sweat and dirt on the body. Conversely, early washing of the surgical wound may have an adverse effect on healing, for example by irritating or macerating the wound, and disturbing the healing environment.

OBJECTIVES
To compare the benefits (such as potential improvements to quality of life) and harms (potentially increased wound-related morbidity) of early post-operative bathing or showering (i.e. within 48 hours after surgery, the period during which epithelialisation of the wound occurs) compared with delayed post-operative bathing or showering (i.e. no bathing or showering for over 48 hours after surgery) in patients with closed surgical wounds.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched The Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register (30th June 2015); The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library); The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) (The Cochrane Library); Ovid MEDLINE; Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations); Ovid EMBASE; EBSCO CINAHL; the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP).

SELECTION CRITERIA
We considered all randomised trials conducted in patients who had undergone any surgical procedure and had surgical closure of their wounds, irrespective of the location of the wound and whether or not the wound was dressed. We excluded trials if they included patients with contaminated, dirty or infected wounds and those that included open wounds. We also excluded quasi-randomised trials, cohort studies and case-control studies.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We extracted data on the characteristics of the patients included in the trials, risk of bias in the trials and outcomes from each trial. For binary outcomes, we calculated the risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). For continuous variables we planned to calculate the mean difference (MD), or standardised mean difference (SMD) with 95% CI. For count data outcomes, we planned to calculate the rate ratio (RaR) with 95% CI. We used RevMan 5 software for performing these calculations.

MAIN RESULTS
Only one trial was identified for inclusion in this review. This trial was at a high risk of bias. This trial included 857 patients undergoing minor skin excision surgery in the primary care setting. The wounds were sutured after the excision. Patients were randomised to early post-operative bathing (dressing to be removed after 12 hours and normal bathing resumed) (n = 415) or delayed post-operative bathing (dressing to be retained for at least 48 hours before removal and resumption of normal bathing) (n = 442). The only outcome of interest reported in this trial was surgical site infection (SSI). There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of patients who developed SSIs between the two groups (857 patients; RR 0.96; 95% CI 0.62 to 1.48). The proportions of patients who developed SSIs were 8.5% in the early bathing group and 8.8% in the delayed bathing group.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
There is currently no conclusive evidence available from randomised trials regarding the benefits or harms of early versus delayed post-operative showering or bathing for the prevention of wound complications, as the confidence intervals around the point estimate are wide, and, therefore, a clinically significant increase or decrease in SSI by early post-operative bathing cannot be ruled out. We recommend running further randomised controlled trials to compare early versus delayed post-operative showering or bathing.


The aim of the present study was to determine the spleen cytoarchitecture in alpacafetuses of different stages of development. Sixteen alpaca fetuses were obtained fromfemale alpacas slaughtered in the central highlands of Peru. The fetuses were distributedin six groups according to their fetal age (55, 100, 120, 150, 180, and 200 days). Spleens were dissected and samples were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (cellular distribution),Masson s trichrome (collagen and muscle fibers), and periodic acid Schiff for argenticimpregnation (reticular fibers) for histological evaluation. Macroscopically, the spleen at55 days of age is slightly outlined, at 120 days is lobed with a triangular shape and at 150days had the appearance of the mature animal. Microscopically, at 55 days there is apredominance of transitional embryonic connective tissue to reticular tissue and somelymphoid cells are located in large vessels, plus cells compatible with hematopoieticneststhat are seen in all later stages. At day 100, fibrous connective tissue of the capsuleinfiltrates the parenchymato form trabecules and lymphoid cells form lymphoid cumulithat surround the large vessels. At day 120, lymphoid cumuli can be named as white pulp,and the hematopoietic nests become the erythroid series by day 150. At 180 days, lymphoidfollicles are filled with lymphocytes resembling mature lymphoid follicles, where thecentral arteriole is displaced to the surface. Finally, by day 200, the spleen has similarhistological appearance of the adult.


Objectives: Semantic Feature Analysis was designed to improve lexical retrieval of aphasic patients via activation of semantic networks of the words. In this approach, the anomic patients are cured with semantic information to assist oral naming. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Semantic Feature Analysis treatment on anomia of two nonfluent aphasic patients. Methods: A single-subject study with ABA design was applied to two Persian-speaking patients with chronic nonfluent aphasia. Assessment, baseline, intervention and maintenance phases were carried out respectively during 6 weeks. A picture naming task which was made up of pictures with high nameagreement comprising 12 target, 18 non-treated control and 5 easy words was used for probes and intervention. Intervention was performed in 5 successive days, 60 minutes per session. Descriptive statistics, level, trend & slope analyses, C and d statistics were used for data analysis. Results: Both participants revealed statistically significant improvements in naming target words. Some generalizations to control words was also occured. A minimal decrease in naming of target words was observed in maintenance phase but the naming ability was still above the baseline. The therapy maintenance effect size for both patients were obtained as medium. Discussion: The findings of the current study seems to confirm Semantic Feature Analysis as an effective intervention for improving naming ability of Persian- speaking aphasic patients.


With the possible exception of international peace and security, global economic development has been the dominant theme in international law and international relations since the end of the Second World War. The tenor and intensity has varied over the decades, but the objectives, centering on institutional arrangements and programs to promote the global economy, have remained the same. Broches' collection of essays, originally written between 1957 and 1992, attests to his intimate knowledge of the workings of the IBRD and its related agencies. In addition to providing both the history and the jurisprudential analysis of these institutions, these essays constitute a discourse on public as well as private international law. They contribute, moreover, to a progressive development of the international law of foreign investment. Essentially, this is a book about arbitration and dispute settlement, with its history told and explained by one who was present at its creation. Broches puts international arbitration into both the contexts of private and public international law. This book contains twenty-five essays and is divided into six parts: (1) the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; (2) Registration of Treaties and International Agreements; (3) the International Center for the Settlement of Investment of Disputes; (4) International Commercial Arbitration; (5) Investment Disputes; and (6) a section devoted to miscellaneous topics.


Study objectives Oral appliances have gained their place in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) where custom-made titratable mandibular advancement devices (MAD) have become the oral appliance of choice. This study aimed to asses the value of the drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) using a MAD in the prediction of treatment outcome for OSAHS Methods This is a prospective, single-center cohort study that enrolled sixty-six consecutive patients with diagnosed OSA (5 events/h < apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) < 50 events/h) to be treated with a custom-made titratable MAD. The patients were evaluated polysomnographically with the MAD in situ after the adaptation and titration period of 3 months. The associations between findings during DISE and treatment outcome were assessed Results The subjects showed a wide range of severity of OSAHS pre-treatment: median AHI was 43.10 with a range from 20.13 to 66.07. The simulation bite was associated with a significant increase in cross-sectional area at level of the velopharynx, tongue base and epiglottis. MAD treatment response in the studied population was 91%, with a mean AHI improving from 43.10 to 12.93. Conclusions Drug-induced sleep endoscopy with simulation bite is an acceptably reproducible technique for determining the sites of obstruction in OSAHS subjects; it thus offers possibilities as a prognostic indicator for treatment with MAD