The presence of gas in engine liquid cooling systems can have severe consequences for engine efficiency and life. The presence of stagnant, trapped gases will result in cooling system hotspots, causing gallery wall degradation through thermal stresses, fatigue and eventual cracking. The presence of entrained, transient gases in the coolant flow will act to reduce its bulk thermal properties and the performance of the system s coolant pump; critically the liquid flow rate, which will severely affect heat transfer throughout the engine and its ancillaries. The hold-up of gas in the pump s impeller may cause the dynamic seal to run dry, without lubrication or cooling. This poses both an immediate failure threat should the seal overheat and rubber components melt and a long term failure threat from intermittent quench cooling, which causes deposit formation on sealing faces acting to abrade and reduce seal quality. Bubbles in the coolant flow will also act as nucleation sites for cavitation growth. This will reduce the Net Positive Suction Head available (NPSHA) in the coolant flow, exacerbating cavitation and its damaging effects in locations such as the cylinder cooling liners and the pump s impeller.
This thesis has analysed the occurrence of trapped gas (air) during the coolant filling process, its behaviour and break-up at engine start, the two-phase character of the coolant flow these processes generate and the effects it has on coolant pump performance. Optical and parametric data has been acquired in each of these studies, providing an understanding of the physical processes occurring, key variables and a means of validating numerical (CFD) code of integral processes. From the fundamental understanding each study has provided design rules, guidelines and validated tools have been developed, helping cooling system designers minimise the occurrence of trapped air during coolant filling, promote its breakup at engine start and to minimise its negative effects in the centrifugal coolant pump.
It was concluded that whilst ideally the prevention of cooling system gases should be achieved at source, they are often unavoidable. This is due to the cost implications of finding a cylinder head gasket capable of completely sealing in-cylinder combustion pressures, the regular use of nucleate boiling regimes for engine cooling and the need to design cooling channel geometries to cool engine components and not necessarily to avoid fill entrapped air. Using the provided rules and models, it may be ensured stagnant air is minimised at source and avoided whilst an engine is running. However, to abate the effects of entrained gases in the coolant pump through redesign is undesirable due to the negative effects such changes have on a pump s efficiency and cavitation characteristics. It was concluded that the best solution to entrained gases, unavoidable at source, is to remove them from the coolant flow entirely using phase separation device(s).


Investigations were conducted to study the adsorption behavior of heavy metal Cu(II) on the mesoporous silicate SBA-15 (CONH2-SBA-15) in aqueous medium by varying parameters such as contact time, temperature, ionic strength, and competing ions. Heavy metal adsorption was broadly independent of initial metal concentration. Competing ions in the aqueous solution had a small effect on the adsorption of Cu(II) on CONH2-SBA-15. The adsorption data for Cu(II) fit well with the Langmuir and Redlich-Peterson models. Kinetic studies showed that the kinetic data are well described by the pseudo second-order kinetic model. Initial adsorption rate increases with an increase in temperature. The intraparticle diffusion model was the best in describing the adsorption kinetics for the Cu(II) on CONH2-SBA-15. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that the adsorption is spontaneous and endothermic.


The thirst for knowledge and adventure have always been at the forefront of human imagination. In this engrossing tale, John Kendrick takes us on a voyage across the Pacific via the Philippines, New Zealand, the infant British colony at Sydney Cove, and the Tonga Islands, chronicling the life of Alejandro Malaspina, an eighteenth-century Italian navigator in the service of Spain.Malaspina arrived in Spain with a scientific background and an ardent interest in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. A skilled navigator, his 1789 Pacific voyage was the last and most important of his career - a five-year scientific and political examination of the Spanish colonies in the Americas and the Philippines. His appraisal of the British colonies at Sydney Cove and Tonga allowed him to compare life in a place almost untouched by European contact with the situation in the colonies. Malaspina eventually returned to Spain, where he was received by King Charles IV and commissioned to produce a work covering all aspects of his studies that would establish Spain's reputation as a modern enlightened state.Malaspina advised the king that this could be achieved only if all the present ministers were dismissed and replaced with a slate of Malaspina's choosing who would back his visionary ideas. This seemingly naive proposal resulted in a unanimous vote by the council that his plan was false, seditious, and injurious to the sovereignty of Their Majesties and a sentence of ten years imprisonment in the fortress of San Anton. At Napoleon's urging he was released after eight years and exiled to Italy. He died there in 1810, just as the revolts in the Americas were starting, as he had predicted. Using Malaspina's writings, including the journal of his great voyage and his personal letters, John Kendrick makes the life of this extraordinary man available for the first time in English.


Inhibiting protein kinase A in locusts attenuates the acquisition of gregarious behavior, which is required for swarming. Crop destruction by swarms of desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) can contribute to famines in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Before swarming, desert locusts transform from a solitary to a gregarious form, a phenotypic change that is induced by high population densities or crowding and that requires serotonergic signaling. Whereas solitary locusts avoid each other, gregarious locusts are more active and seek out one another. Protein kinase G (PKG) activity is higher in the brains of gregarious locusts compared with those of solitary locusts, and fruit fly larvae carrying the "rover" allele of forager, which encodes a PKG paralog, move over longer distances for food. However, Ott et al. found that solitary locusts injected with KT5720, an inhibitor of protein kinase A (PKA), showed fewer signs of gregarious behavior after crowding than those injected with KT5823, a PKG inhibitor. Neither inhibitor affected the behavior of locusts that had already experienced crowding and showed gregarious behavior before injection. Gregarious behavior after crowding was reduced in solitary locusts treated with RNA interference (RNAi) directed against the pkac1 gene, which encodes the catalytic C1 subunit of PKA, but not with RNAi against the forager ortholog. In the PKA holoenzyme, the catalytic subunits interact directly with and are inhibited by the regulatory subunits, and treatment of solitary locusts with RNAi against pkar1 (which encodes the regulatory subunits) increased gregarious behavior after crowding. The authors speculate that serotonergic signaling in locusts experiencing high population densities activates PKA to phosphorylate substrates (which have yet to be identified) that elicit the changes in gene expression required for gregarious behavior. S. R. Ott, H. Verlinden, S. M. Rogers, C. H. Brighton, P. S. Quah, R. K. Vleugels, R. Verdonck, J. Vanden Broeck, Critical role for protein kinase A in the acquisition of gregarious behavior in the desert locust. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, E381–E387 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Abstract Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a useful tool for subsurface imaging. However, the resulting nonlinear inverse problem is severely under-determined. Smoothness constraints are commonly implemented with least squares to make the problem solvable, but the constraints limit the ability to produce discontinuities in the model parameters. In practice, sharp delineations have been recovered with these constraints by applying appropriate weights or covariance matrices which relax the constraint at different regions. For example in medical imaging, anatomical information has been included in electrical impedance tomography through matrix valued fields. More closely related to this work, prior structural information was added to ERT inversion through matrix valued fields. In this work, we analyze the binary matrix that relaxes the smoothness constraint in locations where there is a known boundary. Analysis of the recovered parameters using this matrix gives insight as to the type of heterogeneities that can be recovered. We conclude that it is more effective to include structural information with and order derivative constraints than with initial parameter estimates. In addition, we show that the derivative constraint produces models with piecewise constant variability, while a derivative will yield linear variability. These conclusions are verified on synthetic ERT inversions in seven different subsurface structures.


The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential use of water hyacinth for the removal of chromium (Cr) from tannery wastewater. This experiment was performed using healthy, young and acclimatized water hyacinth collected from unpolluted Awash River. Cr concentrations of 3, 5, 7, 10 and 20 mg/L were added to five different polyethylene tanks, containing 40 litre tap water cultured with Hoagland's solution. A sixth tank containing Cr-free water was used as a control group. Six plants of equal wet mass (each 12.5 ± 2 g), shoot length (11 ± 2 cm) and root length (6 ± 2 cm) were transferred into each tank and allowed to grow in a greenhouse for 42 days. From each tank plants were harvested randomly every week. Bioaccumulation factor, translocation factor, shoot and root length; wet biomass and dry weight of the shoot and root were measured, and relative growth rate, tolerance index of the root and tolerance index of wet mass were analyzed. The maximum accumulation of 2.52 X 10 3 µg/g of water hyacinth was achieved in the plants exposed to 20 mg/L Cr solution. The root part of the plant accumulated 2.42 to 3.82 times higher than the shoot part. An overall Cr removal efficiency of up to 91% was achieved in this study, but the efficiency decreased as the concentration of Cr in water increased. The growth of the plant was inhibited at high concentration due to Cr toxicity. Therefore, the application of water hyacinth for Cr removal will be sustainable, if the concentration of Cr in wastewater does not exceed about 10 mg/L. The relative growth rate (RGR) of the plant decreased with increasing Cr concentration and the growth was inhibited above 15.3 mg/L Cr in water. Based on the above data, it could be concluded that water hyacinth can potentially be used for the removal of Cr from tannery effluents which is a major environmental problem in Ethiopia. However, further investigation is needed to ascertain the optimum conditions for maximum removal.


Objective There is a need for objective biomarkers to help identify concussion, monitor recovery, and assist clinicians in managing patients. Brain network activation (BNA) analysis is a high-density, multi-channel mapping and analysis technology that uses a subject's event-related potentials to describe cortical activity and functional connectivity. The current study describes BNA analysis in three patients who sustained a concussion. Design Case series. Setting Three primary concussion clinics in the USA. Participants Three subjects who sustained a concussion, ages 16 to 31 years, one male and two females. Outcome measures BNA score, a measure of the how similar the subject's brain activity was to a normative population (0%=no similarity, 100%=complete similarity); Patient-reported symptoms. Main results In the acute time period following their concussion, each patient's BNA score decreased to 10–20%, indicating little similarity to brain activity and connectivity of normative populations. The immediate reduction in BNA score during this time period was accompanied by concussion-related symptoms reported by each patient. In a longitudinal BNA analysis, the patients' BNA scores returned to within a normal range between 23 and 30 days following concussion. In contrast, the recovery trajectory of patients' symptoms varied, with one patient no longer reporting symptoms of concussion though the BNA score was still outside the normal range, while another patient continued to report symptoms of concussion after the BNA score returned to the normal range. Conclusions BNA analysis could provide a biomarker to augment current approaches to assessing and managing patients with concussion. Competing interests AR and HO are employed by ElMindA, the company that manufacturers the BNA technology. APK acts as a consultant for ElMindA, the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League Players' Association, National Football League Players' Association, and US Ski and Snowboard Association. JK, RJE, JG, and DJM None.


Abstract The chronology of the Inca Empire has traditionally relied on ethnohistoric dates, which suggest that a northern expansion into modern Ecuador began in AD 1463 and a southern expansion into modern Argentina began in AD 1471. We test the validity of these dates with two Bayesian models, which show that the ethnohistoric dates are incorrect and that the southern expansion began before the northern one. The first model of seven dates shows that the site of Chamical, Ecuador, was first occupied cal AD 1410–1480 (95% probability) and has a high probability of being built prior to the ethnohistoric date. The second is an outlier model of 26 14C dates and 19 thermoluminescence (TL) dates from 10 sites along the empire's southeastern limit in northwestern Mendoza, Argentina. Here, the Inca occupation began cal AD 1350–1440 (95% probability), also earlier than the ethnohistoric date. The model also suggests that the Inca occupation of Mendoza lasted 70–230 yr (95% probability), longer than previously thought, which calls for new perspectives on the timing and nature of Inca conquests and relationships with local groups. Based on these results, we argue it is time to abandon the traditional chronology in favor of Inca chronologies based on Bayesian models.


ABSTRACT Background: Early discharge from psychiatric inpatient care may pose challenges for the patient's recovery and may incite a rapid return to the hospital. This study identified demographic, clinical, and the continuing of care characteristics associated with rapid readmission into a sample of psychiatric inpatient hospitals. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of 60,254 discharges from state psychiatric hospitals. Logistic regression explored the relationship between predictors of rapid readmission. Results: Eight percent of discharges were readmitted to the same hospital within 30 days after discharge. Factors significantly related with rapid readmission included white (odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.13–1.34), non-Hispanic (1.48, 1.26–1.73), not married (1.53, 1.32–1.76), voluntarily admitted (1.18, 1.05–1.33), with length of stay (LOS) ≤ 7 days (3.52, 3.04–4.08), or LOS 8–31 days (3.20, 2.79–3.66), or LOS 32–92 days (1.91, 1.65–2.22), with a schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders (1.69, 1.46–1.96) or personality disorder (1.76, 1.50–2.06), referred to a setting different from the outpatient (1.27, 1.16–1.40), or with a living arrangement different from private residence (1.54, 1.40–1.68). Conclusions: Disparities in rapid readmission rates exist among state psychiatric hospitals. A national overview of the individuals with mental illness at risk of being prematurely discharged may suggests insights into quality initiatives aimed at reducing rapid readmissions into psychiatric inpatient care.


[Abstract
In the introduction to this special volume the editors focus on the analytical value of "political subjectivities" in emergent social fields that are characterized by multiple diasporic overlaps. They emphasize the central role played by various forms of governance in producing, confirming and contesting politics of transnational incorporation and diasporic participation and consider how these political projects often target members of historically differently situated groups. In particular, they draw attention to moments of exclusion and non-incorporation. The analytical concept of political subjectivity helps to understand how people relate to governance and authorities. It denotes how a single person or a group of actors is brought into a position to stake claims, to have a voice, and to be recognizable by authorities. At the same time the term points to the political and power-ridden dimension within politics of identity and belonging, encompassing the imaginary as well as the judicial-political dimension of claims to belonging and citizenship., Abstract In the introduction to this special volume the editors focus on the analytical value of "political subjectivities" in emergent social fields that are characterized by multiple diasporic overlaps. They emphasize the central role played by various forms of governance in producing, confirming and contesting politics of transnational incorporation and diasporic participation and consider how these political projects often target members of historically differently situated groups. In particular, they draw attention to moments of exclusion and non-incorporation. The analytical concept of political subjectivity helps to understand how people relate to governance and authorities. It denotes how a single person or a group of actors is brought into a position to stake claims, to have a voice, and to be recognizable by authorities. At the same time the term points to the political and power-ridden dimension within politics of identity and belonging, encompassing the imaginary as well as the judicial-political dimension of claims to belonging and citizenship.]


INTRODUCTION: Dehydration via hot bath has been shown to impair resistance training performance when performed the same day. The performance decrements in this instance could potentially be due to a combination of the dehydration and residual effects of the heat exposure and not of the dehydration alone. To date, no research has examined the effects of previous night dehydration on resistance training performance. PURPOSE: The purpose of this ongoing study was to determine the effects of previous night dehydration on performance and perceptual measures during a full-body resistance training protocol. METHODS: Healthy, resistance trained males (n = 4) completed two bouts of a full body resistance training protocol (three sets to failure for bench press, lat pull, overhead press, bicep curl, triceps push down, and leg press), dehydrated (~3% body weight) (DT), or heat exposed with fluid replacement (HT). Heart rate (HR) was taken after every set, and participants estimated ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) after each exercise. Session RPE (SRPE) was estimated 5 minutes following completion of the protocol and estimations for feelings of recovery (PRS), perceived readiness to exercise (PR), thirst, and sleep quality. RESULTS: Analysis revealed a significantly less (p = < 0.001) total reps were completed for DT (163.0 ± 4.8) compared to HT (191.3 ± 10.3), though no differences were found for reps per exercise. No significant differences were found for HR (DT vs HT) at any time point. RPE was significantly higher for DT following bicep curl (p = 0.03) (DT: 7.8 ± 0.96, HT: 6.0 ± 0.82) and triceps push down (p = 0.03) (DT: 7.5 ± 0.58, HT: 6.0 ± 0.82). SRPE was significantly higher (p = 0.003) for DT (8.0 ± 0.0) vs HT (6.3 ± 0.5). Significant differences for PRS (p = 0.004) (DT: 5.0 ± 1.4, HT: 7.5 ± 0.58) and PR (p = < 0.001) (DT: 5.0 ± 0.0, HT: 2.5 ± 0.58) indicate participants expected impaired performance during DT. Feelings of thirst were significantly higher (p = 0.001) for DT (7.98 ± 0.94) vs HT (2.73 ± 1.11). No differences were found for estimations of sleep quality (p = 0.59). CONCLUSION: Even though only preliminary data from a study presently ongoing, the present results suggest that previous night dehydration has a negative influence on both performance and perceptual measures.


This paper presents a monthly indicator of real economic activity for historical accounting and real-time monitoring of business cycles in Turkey. Business conditions, an unobserved component implied by the interaction and co-movement of various macroeconomic variables, are related to a number of observables at multiple frequencies and estimated within a dynamic factor model. We introduce a recession indicator and thereby compare the severity of turbulence/crisis periods during 1987-2011. High degree of uncertainty embodied in the end-of-sample factor estimates complicates real time detection of recessions and thus points to the need for timely information in a forward-looking policy framework.


Social video sites where people share their opinions and feelings are increasing in popularity. The face is known to reveal important aspects of human psychological traits, so the understanding of how facial expressions relate to personal constructs is a relevant problem in social media. We present a study of the connections between automatically extracted facial expressions of emotion and impressions of Big-Five personality traits in YouTube vlogs (i.e., video blogs). We use the Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox (CERT) system to characterize users of conversational vlogs. From CERT temporal signals corresponding to instantaneously recognized facial expression categories, we propose and derive four sets of behavioral cues that characterize face statistics and dynamics in a compact way. The cue sets are first used in a correlation analysis to assess the relevance of each facial expression of emotion with respect to Big-Five impressions obtained from crowd-observers watching vlogs, and also as features for automatic personality impression prediction. Using a dataset of 281 vloggers, the study shows that while multiple facial expression cues have significant correlation with several of the Big-Five traits, they are only able to significantly predict Extraversion impressions with moderate values of R2.


Thin layer chromatography is a simple, easy and cheap technique widely used in Brazilian forensic laboratories, being a screening test for the separation and identification of illicit drugs, such as cocaine and its adulterants. Herein, paper chromatography using the Dragendorff reagent (revealing agent) was employed to analyze cocaine and its adulterants (levamisole, lidocaine, caffeine, and phenacetin). Positive results, i.e. visualization of the orange color, were only observed for cocaine, lidocaine and levamisole. Paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PS-MS) was applied on revealed spots for the construction of a quantification model, for which some figures of merit were determined such as linearity, limit-of-detection (LOD), limit-of-quantification (LOQ) and accuracy. The results showed that PS-MS in positive-ion ionization mode, PS(+)-MS, is an efficient technique for direct analysis of the chromatographic spots on office-type paper revealed by the Dragendorff reagent. The method presented linearity greater than 0.98, and LODs of 6.51 μg mL−1 and 13.53 μg mL−1 for cocaine and levamisole, respectively, and 0.35 mg mL−1 for lidocaine. PS(+)MS was also applied to quantify cocaine in ten street crack samples, where there was no statistically significant difference between PS(+)MS and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) data at a significance level of 5%.


This paper looks at the relevance of a central bank's own finances for its policy work. Some central banks are exposed to significant financial risks, partly due to the environment in which they operate, and partly due to the nature of policy actions. While financial exposures and losses do not hamper central banks' operational capabilities, they may weaken the effectiveness of central bank policy transmission. Against this backdrop, the paper analyses the determinants of a central bank's financial position and the possible implications of insufficient financial resources for policymaking. It also provides a conceptual framework for considering the question of whether central banks have sufficient financial resources.


We consider estimation of frequency offset (FO) and equalization of a wireless communication channel, within a general framework which allows for different frequency offsets for various multipaths. Such a scenario may arise due to different Doppler shifts associated with various multipaths, or in situations where multiple basestations are used to transmit identical information. For this general framework, we propose an approximative maximum-likelihood estimator exploiting the correlation property of the transmitted pilot signal. We further show that the conventional minimum mean-square error equalizer is computationally cumbersome, as the effective channel-convolution matrix changes deterministically between symbols, due to the multiple FOs. Exploiting the structural property of these variations, we propose a computationally efficient recursive algorithm for the equalizer design. Simulation results show that the proposed estimator is statistically efficient, as the mean-square estimation error attains the Crame/spl acute/r-Rao lower bound. Further, we show via extensive simulations that our proposed scheme significantly outperforms equalizers not employing FO estimation.


Contrary to the dominant perception of transnational adoption as an act of goodness, an increasing number of Korean adult adoptees in Denmark have raised critical voices about the political economy of transnational adoption since the mid-2000s. They have participated in the adoption debate not just as individuals, but through collective critiques and mobilisation. This article looks at the development of political mobilisation led by Korean adoptees in Denmark, following their trajectories both in Korea and in Denmark. The article uses two binaries, which have particularly shaped the lives of transnational adoptees, in order to analyse its emergence and implications. First, there is the division between private and public and the restriction of transnational adoption within the domain of private, which naturalises the belief that transnational adoption is a form of family creation, free from the social and structural. This perception not only affects general understanding of adoptees' lives after the adoption, but it also continues to pose challenges to the adoptees' efforts to establish political subjectivity in the adoption debate. I argue that the adoptees' negotiations with this divide illustrate the need to reconceptualise transnational adoption by uncovering the reciprocity between the private and the public in practice. Second, Korean adoptees occupy a liminal position in Danish national imaginaries that tend to erect boundaries between (white) Danes and ethnic minorities. The adoptees' political project is affected by this division, but they also strive to carve out a new space of politics and explore a radically different way of imagining belonging to Danish society.


Terrestrial ecosystems export large amounts of organic carbon (t-OC) but the net effect of this OC on the productivity of recipient aquatic ecosystems is largely unknown. In this study of boreal lakes, we show that the relative contribution of t-OC to individual top consumer (fish) biomass production, and to most of their potential prey organisms, increased with the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC; dominated by t-OC sources) in water. However, the biomass and production of top consumers decreased with increasing concentration of DOC, despite their substantial use (up to 60%) of t-OC. Thus, the results suggest that although t-OC supports individual consumer growth in lakes to a large extent, t-OC input suppresses rather than subsidizes population biomass production.


Specialized areas within broad, close, cell-substratum contacts seen with reflection interference contrast microscopy in cultures of Xenopus embryonic muscle cells were studied. These areas usually contained a distinct pattern of light and dark spots suggesting that the closeness of apposition between the membrane and the substratum was irregular. They coincided with areas containing acetylcholine receptor clusters identified by fluorescence labeled alpha-bungarotoxin. Freeze-fracture of the cells confirmed these observations. The membrane in these areas was highly convoluted and contained aggregates of large P-face intramembrane particles (probably representing acetylcholine receptors). If cells were fixed and then treated with the sterol- specific antibiotic filipin before fracturing, the pattern of filipin- sterol complex distribution closely followed the pattern of cell- substratum contact. Filipin-sterol complexes were in low density in the regions where the membrane contained clustered intramembrane particles. These membrane regions were away from the substratum (bright white areas in reflection interference contrast; depressions of the P-face in freeze-fracture). Filipin-sterol complexes were also in reduced density where the membrane was very close to the substratum (dark areas in reflection interference contrast; bulges of the P-face in freeze- fracture). These areas were not associated with clustered acetylcholine receptors (aggregated particles). This result suggests that filipin treatment causes little or no artefact in either acetylcholine receptor distribution or membrane topography of fixed cells and that the distribution of filipin-sterol complexes may closely parallel the microheterogeneity of membranes that exist in living cells.


Rapid growth of economic globalization in today's world, increasingly tighter the conditions for dynamic growth of industries in developing countries. Developing countries for the successful growth and export of industrial production have no choice but to use High Tech and save on production costs. Technology is considered as one of the major factors that affect economic and industrial development, especially High Tech that plays an important role on growth and progress of industries in those countries. Through classification of technologies in production and export (Resource Based industries, Low Tech, Medium Tech and High Tech) High Tech cause high value added and also the result of this kind of technology affect on other economic sectors and increase their productivity. This paper surveys behavior of 50 developed and developing countries about High Tech Exports using GLS technique on Panel Data for the period 1990-2005 with regard to price and non-price variables and identify factors affecting High Tech Export. The results show that the variables R&D, FDI, exchange rate, the degree of openness of economics and experiences resulting from trade in both groups of countries affect on High Tech Export positively and significantly and economic growth only in the group of developed countries affect on export of these productions.


The Azraq groundwater basin, found in Jordan, is an important resource for available water to the public. Its magnitude and value has been decreasing for the last two decades. The groundwater level has been declining on a yearly basis since the 1980s, and over-pumping, which has tripled since 1983, has led to the drying up of major springs in the 1990s. Overexploitation is considered as the adverse effect on groundwater mass balance, where the abstraction increases yearly and beyond the safe yield. Over-pumping and irrigation activities cause groundwater to become more saline. The isotopic composition of groundwater is divided into two groups. The first group is associated with EMWL, and the second with GMWL. The recharge origin of the first group, which includes the upper and middle aquifers, originate from outside the Azraq basin with a land elevation higher than 1150 m asl. The groundwater of the second group is considered palaeowater. No major recharge component is identified in the basin. Accurate and reliable scientific approaches are indispensable to better understand, plan and manage the groundwater resources.


This paper proposes a new methodology for subs-pace-based state-space identification for linear time-periodic (LTP) systems. Since LTP systems can be lifted to equivalent linear time-invariant (LTI) systems, we first lift input–output data from an unknown LTP system as if they were collected from an equivalent LTI system. Then, we use frequency-domain subspace identification methods to find the LTI system estimate. Subsequently, we propose a novel method to obtain a time-periodic realization for the estimated lifted LTI system by exploiting the specific parametric structure of Fourier series coefficients of the frequency-domain lifting method. Our method can be used to obtain state-space estimates for unknown LTP systems as well as to obtain Floquet transforms for known LTP systems.


The euro area has experienced an unprecedented economic downturn and exceptional financial market turmoil in the past few years. Policymakers have faced the twin challenges of addressing cyclical economic weakness not unlike other industrial countries following the global economic crisis and the underlying weaknesses in the architecture of the currency union, weaknesses that appear to have been masked during the first relatively calm years of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Among member states, many structural weaknesses were exposed when economic performance declined significantly and financial markets became more discerning.This book focuses on the analytical underpinnings of real-time policy advice given to euro area policymakers during three cycles of the IMF's annual Article IV consultations (2012-14) with euro area authorities


Over the last number of years a movement has taken place where conventional point-to-point grab sampling style sensors have slowly been phased out in favor of in situ autonomous sensors. Autonomous sensors provide a better insight into the monitored parameter delivering more data points in a less manual fashion. Over the next ten years, it's predicted that gas sensors will become smaller, consume less power and exhibit much improved performance, and be of substantially reduced cost [1]. Optical sensors certainly are in pole position in terms of development having already met many of the criteria.

The authors present a low cost (< €1) sensing platform. Two L.E.D's are setup as a light sensor (emitter,detector), where the light passing from the emitter to detector L.E.D is modulated by a chemically selective colorimetric film, providing an indirect chemical measurement (this sensing setup is visible in Figure 1). Our presented experimental setup has exhibited a limit of detection in the p.p.b region (0.001145 mg/L or 12 ppb) [2], as well as demonstrating a 95% recovery within 30 seconds of contaminant exposure [2] (example exposures visible in Figure 2).

This work has been done utilizing a bromophenol blue based dye, which was inkjet printed to created reproducible optical pH sensitive slides. However, the target of the device can be tuned by varying the colorimetric coating composition.


A company without proper strategy is like a person without sight. A strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over a long term; which gives advantage for the organization through its configuration o f resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets to fulfill owners' expectation. The business strategy perspective argues that achieving competitive advantage hinges on pursing a coherent competitive strategy. Strategists aver that firms should have the inside to outside approach, whereby strategies are realigned towards making of goods and services that cultivate their own niche in the market and format structures that sustain those markets. Markets are points of exit for the firm's products, and through measures like advertising and adoption o f appropriate strategy, new markets are opened. The research design was a case study o f the National Oil Corporation o f Kenya on competitive strategies adopted. The data collection tool was an interview guide. Content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative primary data which had been collected by conducting interviews and secondary information from the organization. The findings from the study were that the company uses low cost strategy, differentiation, focus and resource based strategy in order to compete with other oil marketers. The strategies enabled the company to minimize costs, outsource services, adopt strategies to increase market share, brand its service stations, quality offerings, marketing capabilities, technological leadership, efficient delivery system, focus on local market, ensuring market penetration and development and ensuring the company sources for resources in order to compete effectively with other companies.


The basic difficulty in the control of flexible link manipulators stems from the fact that the link deflections cannot be controlled directly. Since the number of control inputs, applied by the actuators, is less than the total number of variables to be controlled, control approaches aiming at the suppression of deflections and vibrations are generally insufficient. Another possible approach is to determine new joint trajectories to minimize the error of the end-effector in the operational space. In this paper, a neural network is designed to compute incremental changes for the reference values of the joint angles to achieve successful tip tracking in the operational space. Tip position errors in the x-and y-directions are utilized as inputs to the neural network. The cost function, which is minimized in training the neural network, is also chosen as the sum of squares of the tip position error in both directions. Joint angle control is provided by a PD controller. Simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of the neural-network-based trajectory tracking method, and the results are depicted in both joint and operational spaces.


To evaluate the safety, feasibility and cosmetic results of endoscopic thyroidectomy via improved breast areola approach for male patients with thyroid tumor. From April 2012 to September 2014, 38 male patients with thyroid tumor underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy at our institution. Among all the patients, postoperative diagnosis included 5 cases with nodular hyperplasia, 2 cases of colloid lesion within a nodular goiter, 8 cases of follicular adenoma and 23 cases of micropapillary thyroid carcinoma. The endoscopic thyroidectomy was completed successfully in all patients. The types of endoscopic procedures were 10 cases with lobectomies, 5 cases with subtotal thyroidectomy, 21 cases with thyroidectomy with ipsilateral central compartment dissection, and 2 cases with total thyroidectomy with bilateral ipsilateral central compartment dissection. The average tumor size was 1.39 ± 1.01 cm (range 0.3-3.5 cm), and the average operating time was 128.1 ± 25.8 cm (range 65-195 cm) minutes. The postoperative drainage volume was 124.1 ± 41.7 ml (range 50-200 ml), and the average length of the hospital stay was 5.29 ± 0.92 days (range 4-8 days). There were no patients developed to hypercapnia. Postoperative complications included transient RLN palsy in 2 cases, transient hypocalcemia in 1 case, swallowing discomfort in 1 case and paresthesia of the chest in 3 cases. Endoscopic thyroidectomy via improved breast areola approach in male patients with thyroid tumor is safe and feasible, it can successfully treat bilateral thyroid diseases, and give an excellent cosmetic result. It might become the procedure of choice for male patients who want the best cosmetic results.


We use maximal Lp regularity to study quasilinear parabolic
evolution equations. In contrast to all previous work we only assume that the nonlinearities are defined on the space in which the solution is sought for. It is shown that there exists a unique maximal solution depending continuously on all data, and criteria for global existence are given as well. These general results possess numerous applications, some of which will be discussed in separate publications.


Swine as agricultural products were extremely common in the medieval townscape, but pigs are also notoriously damaging if allowed to run amuck This article explores how local governments tried to regulate pig rearing as an integrated element in urban space, arguing that the authorities attempted to control the movement, feeding, and slaughter of swine as much as possible to circumvent damage to goods, crops, and even people. Urban government and court records from the most populous English urban centers as well as smaller towns from the end of the thirteenth century through the sixteenth century show that swine were not free roamers in towns of the Middle Ages. Because swine were a daily part of urban life, and an integral part of local agricultural production, they required cradle-to-grave controls.


This is the introduction to the guest-edited Playfulness across Media issue of Eludamos. The articles collected here seek to demonstrate the productivity of the concept of playfulness across disciplines and the importance of moving beyond the study of primarily game-based playfulness in order to explore how a playful mood, attitude, or state of mind can manifest itself in and be encouraged by a range of different practices of play and a range of different (post)digital media forms that include, but are certainly not limited to, digital and nondigital games. While there obviously are some very productive intersections between game studies and playfulness studies, the articles also clearly show that the latter cannot and should not be conflated with the former.


Denitrification bioreactors for nitrate removal in agricultural drainage have recently gained attention for their low cost and effectiveness. While research continues to investigate the optimal sizing of these systems, little work has been done on the optimal design geometry (Length to width ratio and cross sectional shape). To address this lack, pilot-scale (1/10th scale) work performed in Iowa during the summer of 2009 explored three shapes of potential bioreactor designs. The objective was to study the nitrate removal effectiveness of each design at various retention times. The pilot bioreactors had a standard volume (0.71 m3) and depth (0.61 m) and different dimensions of 0.76 m x 1.5 m (rectangle), 0.38 m x 3.0 m (channel), and 1.5 m x 1.2 m (trapezoidal). Steady state experiments consisted of the bioreactors being allowed to run at a given retention time for several days/weeks before being changed to a different retention time. A hydrograph flush experiment simulated a drainage hydrograph moving through the bioreactor over the course of a few days. Preliminary results indicated little significant difference between the designs though the channel design seems to provide the most consistent results between the two experiments. Further analysis of this data is expected to guide future full-scale denitrification bioreactor designs.


The performance of face authentication systems has steadily improved over the last few years. State-of-the-art methods use the projection of the gray-scale face image into a Linear Discriminant subspace as input of a classifier such as Support Vector Machines or Multi-layer Perceptrons. Unfortunately, these classifiers involve thousands of parameters that are difficult to store on a smart-card for instance. Recently, boosting algorithms has emerged to boost the performance of simple (weak) classifiers by combining them iteratively. The famous AdaBoost algorithm have been proposed for object detection and applied successfully to face detection. In this paper, we investigate the use of AdaBoost for face authentication to boost weak classifiers based simply on pixel values. The proposed approach is tested on a benchmark database, namely XM2VTS. Results show that boosting only hundreds of classifiers achieved near state-of-the-art results. Furthermore, the proposed approach outperforms similar work on face authentication using boosting algorithms on the same database.


Keeping Track of Photon Phase In optical interferometers or optical communications, information is often stored in terms of the phase of the waveform or light pulse. However, fluctuations and noise can give rise to random jitter in the phase and amplitude of the optical pulses, making it difficult to keep track of the phase. Yonezawa et al. (p. 1514) developed a technique based on quantum mechanical squeezing to determine the phase of randomly varying optical waveforms. The quantum mechanical technique enhanced the precision with which the phase could be determined and, as optical technologies continue to be miniaturized, should be helpful in applications within metrology. A quantum mechanical technique is developed to enhance the phase tracking of photons. Tracking a randomly varying optical phase is a key task in metrology, with applications in optical communication. The best precision for optical-phase tracking has until now been limited by the quantum vacuum fluctuations of coherent light. Here, we surpass this coherent-state limit by using a continuous-wave beam in a phase-squeezed quantum state. Unlike in previous squeezing-enhanced metrology, restricted to phases with very small variation, the best tracking precision (for a fixed light intensity) is achieved for a finite degree of squeezing because of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. By optimizing the squeezing, we track the phase with a mean square error 15 ± 4% below the coherent-state limit.


Abstract: The use of genetically modified organisms - their release into the environment, import, and utilisation as food/feed or food/feed ingredients - is regulated in the European Union (EU). For placing onto the market, current legislations require a comprehensive and science-based risk assessment. This risk assessment (RA) is performed by applicants and then evaluated by national authorities in close cooperation with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) has published a comprehensive set of guidance documents for applicants and risk assessors for the RA of GM plants (GMP), their products for food and/or feed use, and their cultivation. In those documents, the strategy and the criteria to conduct the assessment are explained, as well as the scientific data to be provided by the applicant. The assessment starts with the molecular characterisation of the GMP. If the GMP or products derived from it are to be consumed, the evaluation of its composition, potential toxicity and/or allergenicity, and nutritional value constitute further cornerstones of the process. The environmental risk assessment (ERA) considers biotic and abiotic interactions and the impacts of the management of the GM plant when it is intended for cultivation. In the case of GM trees special emphasis would be placed on assessing their characteristic features such as their longevity, ability to disperse and their ecological significance in a range of environments. The outcome of the assessment is reflected in a published opinion from the EFSA GMO panel that indicates whether the GMP and its products raise any safety issues. This scientific opinion constitutes one of the elements taken into account by the different European regulatory authorities prior to a decision regarding authorisation to commercialise the product.


Pyrazinoporphyrazines and tribenzopyrazinoporphyrazines were synthesized and studied towards their potential applications in photodynamic therapy. The macrocycles were obtained via Linstead macrocyclization with good yields. The expansion of the porphyrazine periphery with hyperbranched aryl substituents was beneficial in terms of purification and isolation of compounds, effectively hampering their aggregation tendency in different concentrations. The obtained macrocycles were assessed for their singlet oxygen generation quantum yields and revealed far better efficacies for tribenzopyrazinoporphyrazines than pyrazinoporphyrazines. A comparison of the crystal packing of two 2,3-dicyanopyrazine derivatives revealed that the recurring motif of the supramolecular architecture is a dimer formed by π–π stacking interactions between aromatic pyrazine and phenyl rings of the inversion center related molecules.


"Increasingly, employees are being falsely treated as 'self-employed'. This phenomenon – the 'gig economy' – is seen as the inevitable shape of things to come. In this book, Colin Crouch takes a step back and questions this logic. He shows how the idea of an employee – a stable status that involves a bundle of rights – has maintained a curious persistence. Examining the ways companies are attacking these rights, from proffering temporary work to involuntary part-time work to 'gigging', he reveals the paradoxes of the situation and argues that it should not and cannot continue. He goes on to propose reforms to reverse the perverse incentives that reward irresponsible employers and punish good ones, setting out an agenda for a realistic future of secure work."


Solid waste management (SWM) in the Pacific Islands has not progressed much over the past four decades. For example, its technical and functional aspects can be succinctly described as being primarily concerned with the collection, disposal and open burning of wastes in landfills (most of which are dumps). The current state of SWM is posited to be underpinned by the paradigms informing SWM. Paradigms model problems and rationalise the course and types of actions taken to resolve problems within any practical field. Consequently, this study critically assessed prevailing paradigms of SWM at the global and regional levels, and examined if there was a need for an alternative paradigm for SWM in Pacific Island Countries (PICs).

The two overarching paradigms of solid waste management recognised globally are public health and environmental protection. The latter is at present the core paradigm for solid waste management, and it also has a number of derivatives which are also considered by their adherents as paradigms in their own right. In PICs, both overarching paradigms underpin SWM with public health protection showing overall dominance because of the historical association of SWM and public health, and the existing legislations and institutional arrangements.

The impacts and influence of these overarching paradigms were examined in detail using a set of indicator wastes within the context of Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands. Although prevailing paradigms were relevant, they exacerbated SWM problems, limited management

options and alienated the biophysical and socioeconomic conditions of Honiara from SWM. Consequently a systems based paradigm was proposed and tested on a set of indicator wastes in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. At the operational level, the systems paradigm advocates for the expansion of SWM interventions across its three sub-systems: (a) material system, (b) consumer system and (c) solid waste system. The systems paradigm offered a fresh perspective on SWM in PICs, and stands out as a potential paradigm for SWM in PICs.


OBJECTIVE
To review the cumulative experience of 10 institutions in treating recurrent malignant gliomas with the brachytherapy device, GliaSite Radiation Therapy System.

METHODS
The patient population consisted of 95 patients with recurrent grade 3 or 4 gliomas, a median age of 51 years, and a median Karnofsky performance status score of 80. All patients had previously undergone resection and had received external beam radiotherapy as part of their initial treatment. After recurrence, each patient underwent maximal surgical debulking of their recurrent lesion and placement of an expandable balloon catheter (GliaSite) in the tumor cavity. The balloon was afterloaded with liquid I (Iotrex) to deliver a median dose of 60 Gy to an average depth of 1 cm with a median dose rate of 52.3 Gy/hr. Patients were carefully followed with serial magnetic resonance imaging and monthly examinations for tumor progression, side effects, and survival.

RESULTS
The median survival for all patients, measured from date of GliaSite placement, was 36.3 weeks with an estimated 1 year survival of 31.1%. The median survival was 35.9 weeks for patients with an initial diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme and 43.6 weeks for those with non- glioblastoma multiforme malignant gliomas. Analysis of the influence of various individual prognostic factors on patient survival demonstrated that only Karnofsky performance status significantly predicted for improved survival. There were three cases of pathologically documented radiation necrosis.

CONCLUSION
Reirradiation of malignant gliomas with the GliaSite Radiation Therapy System after reresection seems to provide a modest survival benefit above what would be expected from surgery alone. This report not only confirms the initial results of the feasibility study but provides evidence that similar outcomes can be obtained outside of a clinical trial.


Abstract This paper aims to show that modeling complex systems inevitably involves non-propositional knowledge and thus the uncertainties associated with the corresponding model predictions cannot be fully quantified. This is exemplified by means of the climate system and climate modeling. The climate system is considered as a paradigm for a complex system, whereby the notion of complexity adopted in this paper is epistemic in nature and does not equate with the technical definition of a complex system as for example used within physics or complexity theory. The epistemic notion of complexity allows to view the climate system as complex with respect to some features, while simple with respect to others. This distinction is of practical significance for political decision making as it allows to treat some climate predictions as (fairly) certain, while acknowledging high uncertainties with others.


A framework is presented for unsupervised learning of representations based on infomax principle for large-scale neural populations. We use an asymptotic approximation to the Shannon's mutual information for a large neural population to demonstrate that a good initial approximation to the global information-theoretic optimum can be obtained by a hierarchical infomax method. Starting from the initial solution, an efficient algorithm based on gradient descent of the final objective function is proposed to learn representations from the input datasets, and the method works for complete, overcomplete, and undercomplete bases. As confirmed by numerical experiments, our method is robust and highly efficient for extracting salient features from input datasets. Compared with the main existing methods, our algorithm has a distinct advantage in both the training speed and the robustness of unsupervised representation learning. Furthermore, the proposed method is easily extended to the supervised or unsupervised model for training deep structure networks.


1. INTRODUCTION It is probably safe to assume that Frank Capra's intentions in his classic film It's a Wonderful Life were to exalt the fundamental virtues of the human character and to caution us against the perils of material temptations. And yet, almost seventy years later, his film remains one of the best portrayals in Hollywood cinematic history of the role and importance of banks in the real economy. This film could easily be used in a classroom to describe a traditional model of financial intermediation centered on banks, defined here as deposit-taking institutions predominantly engaged in lending. (1) The typical bank of the 1940s is embodied in the film's Bailey Building and Loan Association, a thrift institution that takes deposits and invests them in construction loans that allow the local residents to disentangle themselves from the clutches of the greedy monopolist, Henry F. Potter. We also see a bank run developing, and we learn of banks' intrinsic fragility when George Bailey, the film's main character and the manager of the thrift, explains to panicked clients demanding withdrawals that their money is not in a safe on the premises, but rather is, figuratively speaking, "in Joe's house ... that's right next to yours." The film debuted in 1946, but Bailey's bank has remained the dominant model of banking throughout the decades that followed. Indeed, it is by and large the model that has inspired the supervisory and regulatory approach to financial intermediation, at least until recent times. Because of the significant social externalities associated with banks' activities, close monitoring of the banks' books is warranted in order to minimize the risk of systemic events (there is indeed even room for a bank examiner in the film!). However, if we were to remake the film and fit it into the current context, many of the events would need significant adaptation. For instance, we could still have the bank, but it would be an anachronism to retain the idea that depositors' money is in their neighbors' houses. Most likely, the modern George Bailey would have taken the loans and passed them through a "whole alphabet soup of levered-up nonbank investment conduits, vehicles, and structures," as McCulley (2007) incisively puts it when describing financial intermediation's evolution to a system now centered around the securitization of assets. Under the securitization model, lending constitutes not the end point in the allocation of funds, but the beginning of a complex process in which loans are sold into legally separate entities, only to be aggregated and packaged into multiple securities with different characteristics of risk and return that will appeal to broad investor classes. And those same securities can then become the inputs of further securitization activities. The funding dynamics of such activities diverge from the traditional, deposit-based model in several ways. Securitization structures develop the potential for separate funding mechanisms, such as issuance of commercial paper backed by the securitized assets. And the creation of these new classes of securities fuels the growth of other nonbank-centered, secured intermediation transactions, such as repurchase agreements and securities lending, in need of what Gorton (2010) calls "informationally insensitive" collateral. Under such a complex configuration, traditional banks may no longer be needed, as we witness the rise of what McCulley--apparently the first to do so--calls "shadow banks." The goal of our article is to delve more deeply into the analysis of asset securitization activity in order to address the following fundamental question: Have regulated bank entities become increasingly marginalized as intermediation has moved off the banks' balance sheets and into the shadows? Aside from the insights gained, furthering our understanding of the evolution of financial intermediation has first-order normative implications: If regulated banks are less central to intermediation and if intermediation is a potential source of systemic risk, then a diminished bank-based system would require a significant rethinking of both the monitoring and regulatory fields. …


Diagnosis of observational and climate model data reveals that the two major U.S. droughts of the 20th Century had distinct causes. Drought severity over the Southern Plains during 1946–1956 is very likely attributable to remote influences of global sea surface temperatures (SSTs). The Southern Plains and adjacent Southwest are regions particularly sensitive to SST variability, and strong La Niña events that occurred during 1946–1956 exposed that region's drought vulnerability. Drought severity over the Northern Plains during 1932–1939 was likely triggered instead by random atmospheric variability. The Northern Plains lies within a region of comparatively low sensitivity to SST variability, and that region's drought exhibited little sensitivity to SST conditions during the Dust Bowl period. Our results indicate that the southern portions of the Great Plains lie within an epicenter of potentially skillful drought predictions for which an ocean observing system is also a vital drought early warning system.


The last Hungarian repeat station survey was completed between October 2010 and February 2011. Declination, inclination and the total field were observed using one-axial DMI fluxgate magnetometer mounted on Zeiss20A theodolite and GSM 19 Overhauser magnetometer. The magnetic elements of the sites were reduced to the epoch of 2010.5 on the basis of the continuous recordings of Tihany Geophysical Observatory. In stations located far from the reference observatory, the observations were carried out in the morning and afternoon in order to decrease the effect of the distant temporal correction. To further increase the accuracy, on-site dIdD variometer has also been installed near the Aggtelek station, in the Baradla cave, during the survey of the easternmost sites. The paper presents the technical details and the results of our last campaign. The improvement of the accuracy of the temporal reduction by the use of the local variometer is also reported.


Before the introduction of larger vessels such as Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) the length of anchor chain required for safe anchoring was determined using "rules of thumb". New methods incorporate not only the water depth at the anchoring location but also the particulars of the ship, its equipment and the environmental conditions. In this paper a simulation model to predict the behaviour of an anchored VLCC is presented. Model tests were carried out to verify the predictions. A discussion of the results highlights the important features of the method and the significance of the matter is proven in the conclusions.


This paper discusses part of a practitioner research case-study which I carried out with a class of thirty-seven college students learning chemistry in a blended learning context. The full two-year study involved a multi-method interpretivist approach using observations, unsolicited meetings, VLE tracking system, students' reflective journal, online informal discussions, questionnaires, focus groups and individual interviews. The study identified four key student online learning dispositions, i.e., the dispositions of resourcefulness, resilience, reciprocity and responsibility. These dispositions were identified as persona-related enablers for online learning and were found to be crucial for the students to develop a deep approach to learning. They were also instrumental for changes in the students as learners. These included changes in epistemological beliefs, study patterns, study habits and above all, changes in learner roles and learning identities. Notable changes occurred in a group of learners who were initially reluctant to learn from the online environment. This study showed that student learning dispositions may be transferred from one context to another. This includes a transfer of learning dispositions from the online environment to the face-to-face traditional classroom setting. Several educators argue that learning dispositions should be included as educational goals in educational curricula and should serve as practical strategies in creating learning environments. Learning activities should provide students with opportunities to develop and cultivate desirable dispositions for learning.


Following an introductory review of the continuing problem of salmon escaping from aquaculture operations along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, and the considerable uncertainties over ecological impacts, this article examines the law and policy context for preventing escapes from three perspectives. First, the limited guidance for addressing aquaculture escapes under existing global and regional agreements/arrangements is highlighted. Second, how Canada and the USA have sought to control escape events at national and provincial/State levels is summarized. Third, possible future courses are identified, which improve the way salmon escapes are addressed, with stronger regional responses suggested as most promising. Enhancing the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization's role in preventing escapes and placing transboundary aquaculture issues on the agendas of North Pacific regional cooperative arrangements are the potential courses emphasized. This paper was co-authored with Tricia Barry , Dalhousie University ( firstname.lastname@example.com ).


This study examined common and unique genetic and environmental influences on weekend drinking and weekday drinking reported by US male and female adult participants (mean age = 43.9). Data from 96 monozygotic and 82 dizygotic twin pairs were used to estimate bivariate biometric models of daily levels of weekend and weekday drinking volume. Weekend and weekday drinking volume scores were calculated from end-of-day reports of drinking across eight days. As expected, more drinking occurred during weekends. Biometric models provided evidence of significant additive genetic and nonshared environmental influences on both weekend and weekday drinking. Shared environmental influences were nonsignificant. Genetic influences accounted for a greater proportion of drinking variance during weekdays than weekends (0.36 compared to 0.17). However, these apparent differences in heritability—proportion of total variance accounted for by genetic variance—were due to increased nonshared environmental influences on weekend days, rather than greater genetic influences. The study's limitations are noted. Funded by National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Aging and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.


Due to frequent topology changes and routing overhead, selection of routing protocol in Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is a great challenge. A design issue for an efficient and effective routing protocol is to achieve optimum values of performance parameters under network scenarios. There are various routing protocols available for MANET. This paper involves study of four routing protocols (Ad-hoc On Demand Distance Vector Routing, Optimized Link State Routing, Dynamic Source Routing and Distance Sequenced Distance Vector), and performance comparisons between these routing protocols on the basis of performance metrics (throughput, packet delivery ratio, Packet dropped, jitter and end to end delay measured after simulation of network) with the help of NS3 Simulator. Index Terms—AODV, OLSR, DSDV, Throughput, Packet delivery ratio, End to end delay, Jitter, Packet dropped.


Rotating electrical machines play an important role in the world´s industrial life. Hence there is a demand on their reliable and safe operation. Their faults and failures can lead to excessive downtimes and generate enormous costs in reduced output, emergency maintenance and lost revenues. Therefore the detection methods of electrical machines are of real interest. For the rotor faults diagnosis of induction machines one of the most widely used methods is the so-called motor current signature analysis (MCSA). This method can be applied both to the squirrel-cage and to the wound rotor induction motors. For current measurements and a data processing virtual instruments are proposed. In this paper some results obtained in the case of the wound rotor induction machine will be presented.


A system and method are provided for determining the performance of a vessel, such as a hemodialysis access, which communicates blood between two locations of a patient. A conduit, such as an external dialysis circuit or an intravascular catheter, is provided in fluid communication with the vessel, and has a diversion point for diverting blood from the vessel into the conduit. The system further includes means for determining a flow rate of the diverted blood through the conduit. A first sensor in communication with the vessel generates at least one signal that is a function of a blood flow rate in the vessel downstream from the diversion point, wherein the downstream flow rate depends on the determined conduit flow rate and the performance of the vessel can be determined based on the signal. In addition, a processor can be provided in communication with the first sensor for determining a flow rate in the vessel upstream from the diversion point from the signal and the conduit flow rate. In a preferred embodiment, the first sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, and the at least one signal represents a time-averaged mean Doppler velocity of blood flow. Still further, additional sensors may be employed to provide a measure of the upstream flow rate as well as the conduit flow rate.


Objectives:To describe the effectiveness of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary sepsis treatment protocol with regard to both implementation and outcomes and to compare the mortality rates and therapies of patients with septic shock with similar historical controls. Design:Prospective, interventional cohort study with a historical control comparison group. Setting:Urban, tertiary care, university hospital with 46,000 emergency department visits and 4,100 intensive care unit admissions annually. Patients:Inclusion criteria were a) emergency department patients aged ≥18 yrs, b) suspected infection, and c) lactate of >4 mmol/L or septic shock. Exclusion criteria were a) emergent operation, b) prehospital cardiac arrest, and c) comfort measures only. Time period: protocol, November 10, 2003, through November 9, 2004; historical controls, February 1, 2000, through January 31, 2001. Intervention:A sepsis treatment pathway incorporating empirical antibiotics, early goal-directed therapy, drotrecogin alfa, steroids, intensive insulin therapy, and lung-protective ventilation. Measurements and Main Results:There were 116 protocol patients, with a mortality rate of 18% (11–25%), of which 79 patients had septic shock. Comparing these patients with 51 historical controls, protocol patients received more fluid (4.0 vs. 2.5 L crystalloid, p < .001), earlier antibiotics (90 vs. 120 mins, p < .013), more appropriate empirical coverage (97% vs. 88%, p < .05), more vasopressors in the first 6 hrs (80% vs. 45%, p < .001), tighter glucose control (mean morning glucose, 123 vs. 140, p < .001), and more frequent assessment of adrenal function (82% vs. 10%, p < .001), with a nonstatistically significant increase in dobutamine use (14% vs. 4%, p = .06) and red blood cell transfusions (30% vs. 18%, p = .07) in the first 24 hrs. For protocol patients with septic shock, 28-day in-hospital mortality was 20.3% compared with 29.4% for historical controls (p = .3). Conclusions:Clinical implementation of a comprehensive sepsis treatment protocol is feasible and is associated with changes in therapies such as time to antibiotics, intravenous fluid delivery, and vasopressor use in the first 6 hrs. No statistically significant decrease in mortality was demonstrated, as this trial was not sufficiently powered to assess mortality benefits.


1. Emergence of foreign language teaching policy Systematic attempts to define a national policy of foreign language teaching are of relatively recent origin. The growing need for such a policy is due to a number of developments. The fact that the teaching of foreign languages has expanded to encompass larger sections of the population including both younger and adult learners means that language teaching has become increasingly more institutionalized. Like any system, it requires systematic planning and evaluation. In the United States the growing enthusiasm for teaching foreign languages in the elementary schools (FLES) led to the National Defence Education Act (1958) in the aftermath of Sputnik, and the Bilingual Education Act (1968). The "Strength Through Wisdom" commission report (1979) made a number of recommendations to improve the declining situation in language teaching. In Finland a national commission (1979) outlined a comprehensive plan for foreign language teaching policy for the next three decades. Another commission (1990) analysed what implications the recent changes in Europe had for the language teaching provision (see Takala 1993a, 1993b). A major language teaching policy document has recently been produced for The Netherlands (van Els -- van Hest 1992; van Els 1993). It seems that a major development in education in general, and in language education as a specific instance, is a growing realization of them as social institutions, as social systems that serve some fundamental social desires, needs and functions. Language teaching serves basic communication needs, and as its importance tends to increase all the time, it acquires the characteristics of any institutionalized process. This means, among other things, that language education is becoming and needs to become more and more organized, i.e. roles and role relationships are specified in greater detail. Language teaching becomes more systematized, which means that tasks are also specified and it also entails that language teaching is not dependent on particular individuals. Language teaching is not only the activity of individual teachers--it is a system of activities. In order to understand it as a system, we need to realize its boundaries, its central purposes and its level in a larger context. We must be aware of its various subsystems and of their interrelationships. For all this we need models to help us to describe and work out the practical consequences of different approaches. One possible model (Takala 1979) is presented in Figure 1. It is an adaptation of similar models proposed by Mackey (1970), Stern (1970), Strevens (1977), Spolsky (1978) and others. All of these models seek to define what disciplines contribute to language education; what the tasks of theoreticians, applied linguists and practitioners are in language education; what factors/major variables interact to place language learning into its sociopolitical context. There seems to be a broad consensus that a general model for second/foreign language teaching theory and practice needs to be comprehensive (cover all possible situations); it needs to stress the principle of interaction (the interdependence of components) and the multifactor view (no single factor can predominate), and it needs to recognize that scholarship underlying language teaching is multidisciplinary (Stern 1983: 35-50). According to the model above, and other similar models, formal language teaching in a school-type context takes place in a complex setting consisting of a number of levels. At level 1, the societal level, the need of language proficiency is manifested in a more or less clearly defined language teaching policy and it is recognized in the form of societal support for language teaching. At level 2, the school system level, we are concerned with the foundations of language teaching, its infrastructure: the organizational and administrative framework and the traditions of language teaching. …


Abstract Macroinvertebrates are readily available at the undergraduate level and provide an indicator of stream quality. DNA barcoding is the use of a sequence comparison of a specific region of the DNA that allows for classification of the organism. In most undergraduate courses, the discussion of genetic identification and stream quality assessment remain separated concepts. However, joining these lectures into a three-part laboratory learning module could bridge this gap and prepare students for a real-world application. During the first week of the proposed activity, students perform taxonomic identification. The following week, they perform a DNA isolation. In the last week, they use polymerase chain reaction and electrophoresis, possibly with a lecture examining a barcode for an example of the final outcome. In our research, we have determined effective methods that will allow all three sections to be completed in three three-hour undergraduate lab sessions, with minor modifications. Furthermore, the data we collected showed 54% efficiency. The methods we outline introduce new techniques and skills that prepare students for next-level education or employment and attempt to integrate ecological or environmental analysis with genetic analysis and DNA extraction techniques, making this lab series worth exploring at the undergraduate level.


This inspiring book accompanies the first traveling exhibition about Doris Duke's estate Shangri La and its influential synthesis of modernist architecture and Islamic art and design. Situated on five acres of terraced gardens and pools overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Honolulu's Diamond Head, Shangri La was the idyllic paradise of philanthropist Doris Duke, reflecting her personal passion for the art, architecture, and design of the Islamic world. The estate incorporates unique architectural features, such as carved marble doorways, jalis, and floral ceramic tiles, and the decor includes artifacts, such as silk textiles, jewel-toned chandeliers, and gilt and coffered ceilings, many collected during her travels. This volume presents an exclusive tour of Shangri La's breathtaking interiors and landscape, including the splendid furnishings and art. Archival photographs of Duke and friends as well as correspondence and drawings provide a view into a lifestyle defined by the highest sense of aesthetics. Doris Duke's Shangri La is sure to inspire both art and design lovers.


Background: The establishment of appropriate working length is one of the most critical steps in endodontic therapy. There is alteration in accuracy of apex locators in presence of irrigants, pulp/blood and open apices. Hence their accuracy in these conditions needs to be evaluated. Aim: The aim of this in vitro study was to determine the accuracy in measuring the working length by using CanalPro, Apex ID and Root ZX mini Apex locators in different simulated clinical conditions. Materials and Methods: 60 freshly extracted single-rooted teeth were equally assigned to three groups according to simulated clinical conditions: Group 1; Presence of irrigant, Group 2; open apex, Group 3; presence of blood & pulp. The working length was determined with all the apex locators and was then compared with actual working length of the tooth. The difference between the length measured by electronic apex locator (EAL) and actual length (AL) was tabulated and statistically analyzed using one way ANOVA and Post hoc Bonferroni test. Results: The accuracy in working length measurement by Root ZX mini was 100%, 60% and 80%; Apex ID was 100%, 80% and 90% and CanalPro was 100%, 90% and 90% in group 1, group 2 and group 3 respectively within ± 0.5 mm of AL. ANOVA revealed that comparison of the mean difference between length measured by all EAL's and AL was statistically insignificant in group I. In group II and III, CanalPro showed the least difference between AL and length measured by it though it was statistically insignificant as compared to Apex ID. Root ZX showed the maximum difference between actual length and length measured by it. Conclusion: CanalPro showed highest accuracy in all conditions with accepted accuracy percentage above 90%.


Abstract. This paper presents a general concept and mathematical framework of particle hygroscopicity distribution for the analysis and modeling of aerosol hygroscopic growth and cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) activity. The cumulative distribution function of particle hygroscopicity, H(κ, Dd) is defined as the number fraction of particles with a given dry diameter, Dd, and with an effective hygroscopicity parameter smaller than the parameter κ. From hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) and size-resolved CCN measurement data, H(κ, Dd) can be derived by solving the κ-Kohler model equation. Alternatively, H(κ, Dd) can be predicted from measurement or model data resolving the chemical composition of single particles. A range of model scenarios are used to explain and illustrate the concept, and exemplary practical applications are shown with HTDMA and CCN measurement data from polluted megacity and pristine rainforest air. Lognormal distribution functions are found to be suitable for approximately describing the hygroscopicity distributions of the investigated atmospheric aerosol samples. For detailed characterization of aerosol hygroscopicity distributions, including externally mixed particles of low hygroscopicity such as freshly emitted soot, we suggest that size-resolved CCN measurements with a wide range and high resolution of water vapor supersaturation and dry particle diameter should be combined with comprehensive HTDMA measurements and size-resolved or single-particle measurements of aerosol chemical composition, including refractory components. In field and laboratory experiments, hygroscopicity distribution data from HTDMA and CCN measurements can complement mixing state information from optical, chemical and volatility-based techniques. Moreover, we propose and intend to use hygroscopicity distribution functions in model studies investigating the influence of aerosol mixing state on the formation of cloud droplets.


Background and Aim: Health policies and public health practices have always been confronting with dilemmas about proper extent to achieve its goal and conflicts with individual freedoms in its activities. This study aimed to explore the prominence of ethical principles and moral norms in the areas of clinical and public health practice. Methods: In this study, literature was purposefully searched in English in the original databases, including ISI, Scopus, Embase and PubMed in the period 1980-2016, and then, related articles were analyzed. Results: Contrary to public health activities focused on maintaining and improving the health of populations, because of the patient-centered approach of clinical practice, its activities are focused mainly on the treatment or rehabilitation. So that, the principle of respect for patient autonomy, plays a central role in clinical practice. But, in the field of public health the principle of justice has central role in order to reducing inequalities in health outcomes. Moreover, in addition to the distribution of opportunities, benefits and resources, strengthening the autonomy of individuals for healthy choices rather than restriction of autonomy is necessary. Conclusion: Public health authorities committed to incorporate ethics in their practice should create an organizational context with an ethical ground. It is strongly recommended to create a public health ethics framework for decision-making in public health policies and interventions.


The comments which follow relating to the role of agriculture in Minnesota's economic development are organized into four sections. First a brief look is taken at historical changes in production agriculture in Minnesota. Second some crude comparisons are made of growth over time in agriculture and in other major economic sectors. Third a brief assessment is made of current employment and income in Minnesota's agriculture and related industries. Finally, a list is presented of several future issues which appear important for Minnesota's agriculture with particular reference to its natural resource base.


Recent studies suggest that copy number polymorphisms (CNPs) may play an important role in disease susceptibility and onset. Currently, the detection of CNPs mainly depends on microarray technology. For case-control studies, conventionally, subjects are assigned to a specific CNP category based on the continuous quantitative measure produced by microarray experiments, and cases and controls are then compared using a chi-square test of independence. The purpose of this work is to specify the likelihood ratio test statistic (LRTS) for case-control sampling design based on the underlying continuous quantitative measurement, and to assess its power and relative efficiency (as compared to the chi-square test of independence on CNP counts). The sample size and power formulas of both methods are given. For the latter, the CNPs are classified using the Bayesian classification rule. The LRTS is more powerful than this chi-square test for the alternatives considered, especially alternatives in which the at-risk CNP categories have low frequencies. An example of the application of the LRTS is given for a comparison of CNP distributions in individuals of Caucasian or Taiwanese ethnicity, where the LRTS appears to be more powerful than the chi-square test, possibly due to misclassification of the most common CNP category into a less common category.


Discourse cohesion is presumably an important facilitator of comprehension when individuals read texts and hold conversations. This study investigated components of cohesion and language in different types of discourse about Newtonian physics: A textbook, textoids written by experimental psychologists, naturalistic tutorial dialogue between expert human tutors and college students, and AutoTutor tutorial dialogue between a computer tutor and students (AutoTutor is an animated pedagogical agent that helps students learn about physics by holding conversations in natural language). We analyzed the four types of discourse with Coh-Metrix, a software tool that measures discourse on different components of cohesion, language, and readability. The cohesion indices included co-reference, syntactic and semantic similarity, causal cohesion, incidence of cohesion signals (e.g., connectives, logical operators), and many other measures. Cohesion data were quite similar for the two forms of discourse in expository monologue (textbooks and textoids) and for the two types of tutorial dialogue (i.e., students interacting with human tutors and AutoTutor), but very different between the discourse of expository monologue and tutorial dialogue. Coh-Metrix was also able to detect subtle differences in the language and discourse of AutoTutor versus human tutoring.


ABSTRACT Aim: Carboplatin dosing is usually calculated with the Calvert formula on the basis of the patient's glomerular filtration rate (GFR) to achieve the target area under the plasma drug concentration - time curve (AUC) for each patient: Dose(mg)= target AUC(mg/ml×min)×[GFR(ml/min)+ 25]. However, the practical application of the Calvert formula in adult Japanese patients with renal insufficiency has not been studied. Methods: Between February 2011 and July 2013, 9 adult Japanese patients who had estimated GFR (eGFR) lower than 30 mL/min/1.73m2 or were on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) were studied for carboplatin pharmacokinetics after 1-hour infusion of the drug, which were combined with etoposide, gemcitabine, or paclitaxel in the treatment of their advanced cancers. The dosage of carboplatin was calculated with the Calvert formula, in which GFR was directly measured by inulin clearance or was assumed to be 0 in those requiring HD. HD was started 23 hours after the end of carboplatin infusion. Plasma concentrations of free platinum were measured with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Results: Although there was a good correlation between estimated (GFR+25) and measured carboplatin clearances, the estimated clearances were constantly higher than the measured (MPE±SE=41 ± 10%) among all the 7 patients with renal insufficiency (eGFR, median 22.4, range 14.8 - 26.6 mL/min/1.73m2; inulin clearance, median 21.4, range 7.8 - 31.4 mL/min) and the 2 hemodialysis patients. Actual AUC were 5.4, 5.7, 6.2, and 9.0 for 4 patients with the target AUC of 5; 5.7, 6.2, and 7.1 for 3 with the target AUC of 4; and 5.1 and 8.7 for the two HD patients with the target AUC of 5 in both. The pre-dialysis carboplatin clearances of the HD patients were 20.5 and 11.1 ml/min, suggesting that the constant value of 25 of the Calvert formula, which closely corresponded to the non-renal clearance, might be too high for adult Japanese patients, particularly when they have renal insufficiency. Conclusions: For adult Japanese patients with renal insufficiency, even with the use of GFR exactly measured on the basis of inulin clearance, the Calvert formula inherently could cause carboplatin overdosing as a result of apparent overestimation of carboplatin clearance. Disclosure: Y. Yasuda: endowed chair : MSD, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Kowa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim, Nihon Medi-Physics Co. Ltd. Research support: Pfizer adviser to drug development: Astellas pharma Inc.; Y. Ando: Research support: Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd. and Yakult Pharmaceutical industry Co., Ltd. Honoraria(lecture fee): Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Honoraria(manuscript fee): Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


A newly developed Michelson interferometer for Fourier spectroscopy is described. It utilizes a nutating retroreflector (cube-corner mirror) to generate alterations in geometrical and optical paths. The nutation is achieved by the rotation of the retroreflector eccentrically, and it is tilted with reference to the optical axis of the interferometer. The forward–backward stop-and-go movement of a reflecting element of conventional Michelson interferometers is thus replaced by a continuous rotation. The design aims at a fast, simple, rugged and service-free, reliable spectrometer for field or airborne atmospheric monitoring. For Fourier spectroscopy, the instantaneous and the maximum difference between the two optical paths of the interferometer is of substantial importance. Performing the Fourier transform requires knowledge of the instantaneous difference; the maximum difference determines the spectral resolution of the device. The mathematical deduction of the path of a beam of radiation traversing the retroreflector is performed. First ray tracing is calculated for a fixed retroreflector, dependent on the angle of incidence. Then the path of a ray is deduced for the rotating retroreflector as a function of angle of incidence, eccentricity, and angle of rotation. It is shown that the path difference changes sinusoidally with the angle of rotation. The maximum path difference is expressed as a function of eccentricity and angle of incidence. Numerical results are presented.


This study focuses on two villages in Central Java and examines the following: (a) What silvicultural practices do farmers apply in their teak plantations? (b) What is the performance (growth and quality) of farmers' teak plantations? and (c) Do farmers' socio-economic and perceptional characteristics influence their silvicultural management activity? A total of 66 farmers were interviewed and 121 inventory plots measured. Most of the usual silvicultural practices were implemented, although thinning was rarely conducted. In older plantations (>5 to 7 years old), low growth was most likely due to a lack of thinning. Farmers allocated minimum inputs for silvicultural management, mainly because teak was not one of the farmers' main income sources. None of the farmers' socio-economic and perceptional characteristics influenced their silvicultural management activity. In order to improve teak growth and quality, farmers need motivated and skilled extension officers to advise them in site selection and in thinning and pruning techniques.


The international community joined together during the late twentieth century to form a world trade system. Although imperfect, the world trade system contains adjudicable and enforceable norms designed to facilitate global economic activity. Human health is at least as important as trade in terms of its effects on the wellbeing of populations. Moreover, health hazards-biological, chemical, and radionuclear-have profound global implications. Whether these threats' origins are natural, accidental, or intentional, the harms, as well as the response, transcend national frontiers and warrant a transnational response. Despite their high importance, the International Health Regulations (IHR) are antiquated, limited in scope, and burdened by inflexible assumptions and entrenched power structures.' This essay examines problems of obsolescence, narrow reach, and rigidity associated with the IHR, and proposes a new conception for world health law in the 21st Century.


The ability to adaptively control manufacturing equipment in cloud environments is becoming increasingly more important. Industry 4.0, supported by Cyber Physical Systems and the concept of on-demand, scalable and pay-for-usage resource-sharing in cloud environments offers many promises regarding effective and flexible manufacturing. For implementing the concept of manufacturing services in a cloud environment, a cloud control approach for the sharing and control of networked manufacturing resources is required. This paper presents a cloud service-based control approach which has a product perspective and builds on the combination of event-driven IEC 61499 Function Blocks and product manufacturing features. Distributed control is realised through the use of a networked control structure of such Function Blocks as decision modules, enabling an adaptive run-time behaviour. The control approach has been developed and implemented as prototype systems for both local and distributed manufacturing scenarios, in both real and virtual applications. An application scenario is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the control approach. In this scenario, Assembly Feature-Function Blocks for adaptive control of robotic assembly tasks have been used.


Atherosclerosis refers to the plaque deposition in the arteries that can eventually lead to any of the three cardiovascular diseases, namely, heart attack, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease, depending upon the site of the blockage in the human arterial network. This work attempts to prognose this pathological condition via lumped cardiovascular modeling while utilizing the radial artery blood pressure measurements. To achieve this, the cardiovascular system has been modeled as a third order non-linear system with explicit emphasis on the systemic circulation. The parameters of the model are estimated using non-linear least squares estimation technique by minimizing the error between the measured and the estimated arterial pressure waveforms. The arterial pressure is found to be sensitive to three of the model parameters, namely, arterial compliance, systemic vascular resistance, and the peak cardiac muscle elastance. Based on the analysis, a growth model of systolic blood pressure is developed as a function of the arterial blockage. A particle filter based mathematical framework is then utilized to predict the time it would take to reach the stage of critical arterial blockage that may cause heart attacks.


Displacement and exile have been recurrent and durable phenomena affecting Iraqi society for the last 90 years. The process of forming an Iraqi state from the ruins of the Ottoman empire, which Aristide Zolberg has analyzed as a prime factor generating refugee flows,has been ongoing since 1920. Unfinished endeavours to build a state and nation have been characterized by almost incessant antagonistic claims over the nature of the state and national identity, the exercise of and access to political power, control of natural resources and border sovereignty. Political repression, violent regime change, redefinition of national identity, demographic engineering, and domestic or international armed conflicts have resulted in eviction, deportation, denaturalization, political emigration, and flight from violence. A large part of displacement in Iraq has been internal. But vast numbers of refugees and exiles have also formed a regional and global diaspora extending from Iran, Jordan, Israel, Syria, all the way to such distant emigration countries as New Zealand.


Lymphocytes are essential for the generation of specific immunity. Development of B cells in the bone marrow and T cells in the thymus have several analogous features, and are tightly regulated processes. Even though there is an increasing amount of information concerning lymphopoiesis, a lot of questions remain. The aim of this thesis has been to understand some of the molecular events that contribute to the control of lymphocyte development.Expression of the B cell receptor is an important checkpoint in B lymphocyte development. The Dµ protein is a truncated B cell receptor that can induce some of the signals elicited by full length µ, but cannot promote further B cell differentiation. In order to determine if this could stem from an impaired survival signal, we introduced Bcl-2 into RAG2 deficient Dµ transgenic mice. Analysis of these mice showed that Dµ could not support pre-B cell maturation despite extended survival of B cell precursors by Bcl-2. In addition, data from recombination competent Dµ transgenic mice demonstrated that the Dµ induced partial block is permissive for marginal zone B cell development, whereas the formation of follicular B cells is severely reduced.The bHLH family of transcription factors is known to be involved in the regulation of lymphocyte development. Whereas the roles of E2A and HEB have been well documented in both B- and T-lymphocytes, detailed knowledge concerning E2-2 is lacking. To address the role of E2-2 in B cell development, we have reconstituted mice, using E2-2 deficient fetal liver cells, and analysed the B cell compartments. We also measured mRNA expression patterns for the three E-proteins in wildtype mice. Resulting data show that, in addition to a role in B cell lineage entry, E2-2 is required for efficient expansion of pro-B cells, and also influences the follicular versus marginal zone decision.While focusing on assigning a role for E2-2 in T-cell development, we analyzed the expression of the E-proteins during this process and performed functional studies in fetal thymic organ cultures. E2-2 deficient mouse embryos were shown to display a partial block at the DN3 stage, which was not due to proliferation or apoptosis defects. In addition, analysis of expression levels of the pre-Talpha chain suggests that E2-2 may play a role in the regulation of transcription of pre-Talpha, and therefore in the assembly of the pre-T cell receptor.