Objective: To determine the level of Selenium (Se) in peripheral and intracranial serum in pediatric patients with intracranial tumor. Selenium has chemopreventive potentials and acts as neuromodulator. Methods: This study was conducted on 13 pediatric patients with intracranial tumors who were treated in Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung in the period of February 2014 to February 2015. Samples were taken from peripheral and intracranial serum. The results were analyzed with independent t-test and Pearson correlation test. Significance is defined as p≤0.05 with 95% confidence interval. Results: The results showed that the average Se concentration in peripheral serum was significantly higher than the Se concentration in intracranial serum (95.92±20.95 μg/L and 66.62±22.37 μg/L, respectively). After classifying the subjects into groups based on sex, age, tumor location, and grades, the difference between Se concentrations were still statistically significant (p≤0.05), with the exception of the supratentorial group (p=0.0053). Pearson correlation test showed very-low to medium strength correlations between peripheral and intracranial serum Se concentration in all groups (r=0.16–0.59, p>0.05). Conclusions: A significant difference is seen between the peripheral and intracranial serum Se concentration means in pediatric patients with intracranial tumors, with higher concentrations observed in the peripheral serum. Further studies are required to investigate the roles of Se in the management of pediatric patients with intracranial tumors. Keywords: Pediatric intracranial tumor patients, selenium concentration in peripheral and intracranial serum DOI: 10.15850/ijihs.v4n2.835


The combination of ultrafiltration (UF) and powdered activated carbon (PAC) has gained in importance over the last 15 years. The aim of applying PAC-UF hybrid processes is to improve the rejection capacity and the performance of membrane processes. In this work the influence of PAC-addition on membrane flux decline and fouling formation was studied with a submerged module using different water matrices. The PACs used were characterized by measurements of the surface area, the particle size distribution and the surface charge to get a better understanding of the observed effects. Results showed that the membrane flux decline was dependent on the applied type of activated carbon. When adding Picachem 8P, the transmembrane pressure (TMP) increased very quickly and the membrane performance was even worse than that without PAC. However, when adding Norit SA-UF under identical filtration conditions, the TMP was stable and the membrane performance was better than that without PAC. The fouling layers of the two PACs applied showed entirely different structures. Therefore the selection of a suitable PAC is a main factor for the overall performance of PAC-UF hybrid systems with submerged membranes.


School vouchers have been proposed as a way to bypass the political pathologies of school reform and improve school quality by transforming students and parents into consumers. What if we did the same for prisons - what if convicted criminals could choose their prison rather than being assigned bureaucratically? Under a voucher system, prisons would compete for prisoners, meaning that they will adopt policies valued by prisoners. They would be more flexible as a constitutional matter - faith-based prisons would be fully constitutional, and prisons would also have increased freedom to offer valued benefits in exchange for the waiver of constitutional rights. As far as prison quality goes, the advantages of vouchers would plausibly include greater security, decent health care, and good educational and vocational opportunities - features that are also valued by prison reformers and have rehabilitative value. The counterarguments are twofold. "Market failure�? arguments hold that, because of informational or other problems, prisoner choice would not succeed in improving overall prison quality. "Market success�? arguments, on the other hand, hold that prison choice would improve prison quality too well, satisfying inmate preferences that are socially undesirable or diluting the deterrent value of prison. These counterarguments have substantial force, but it is still possible that these disadvantages are outweighed by the socially desirable improvements. I conclude with thoughts about the politics of prison vouchers, both before and after their adoption.


The Mtr (Multiple transferable resistance) transport system in Neisseria gonorrhoeae was found to confer the resistance of gonococci to penicillin and structural diverse hydrophobic agents (HAs), such as drugs, dyes, detergents and host-derived compounds (fatty acids and bile salts), as well as some cationic antimicrobial peptides. The mtr operon encodes an energy-dependant efflux pump system and this MtrC-MtrD-MtrE system is negatively regulated by the transcriptional repressor MtrR. The first part of this thesis presents insights into a structural study of the two membrane components, the inner membrane protein MtrD and the outer membrane protein MtrE. MtrD and MtrE have been overexpressed, purified and crystallized using the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of membrane protein crystallography, the best resolution of the MtrE crystals was only 8A and of the MtrD crystals was 20A, so the structures of both MtrE and MtrD haven't been solved yet. However, this preliminary X-ray analysis leads to the possibility of solving these structures in the near future. In the mean time, using pull-down assay, growth curve analyses and ITC( Isothermal Titration Calorimetry), we established that the antiporter MtrD, the adaptor MtrC and the outer membrane protein MtrE form a contiguous complex. Assembly of the pump is constitutive, even in absence of substrate. Without the assistance of MtrC, MtrD was unable to export its substrate, Nafcillin, and the efficiency of this assembly could be enhanced by the presence of the outer membrane protein MtrE. MtrD could interact with MtrE independently in pull-down assays, showing they can form a complex even in the absence of MtrC. This behaviour is consistent with the increased hypersensitivity to Vancomycin of the recombinant strain expressing MtrE-MtrD, which indicated that MtrE could be opened by MtrD in the presence of the substrate. However, the interaction between them was not detected by ITC, suggesting this interaction is weak or energetically unfavourable. The a-helical hairpin domain of MtrC was also over expressed and purified to test for its interaction with MtrE or MlrD. Fascinatingly, the cross-linked hairpin formed a hexamer and AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) studies revealed it arranged into a cylindrical structure. In addition, ITC studies revealed that the hairpin domain could bind to both MtrE and MtrD, suggesting that MtrC might form a channel, one end of which interacts with MtrD and the other with MtrE. Growth curves also showed that the periplasmic hairpin domain could enhance the transport activity of MtrCDE, but couldn't activate the transport of MlrD. indicating it probably works by stabilizeing the open form of MtrE. The expression of mtrCDE is believed to be under the control of a TetR-type transcriptional regulator repressor, mtrR. MtrR foims a dimer but with presence of dsDNA, it forms a tetramer. Fragments of the antimicrobial polypeptide LL-37 were synthesized and tested by titrating to MtrR by ITC. The C-tenninal of LL-37(29-37) is the part that binds to MtrR and N-terminal (I-II) is not. Interestingly, interaction of MtrR with Penicillin G demonstrated for first time that MtrR might work as a s-lactamase; with its enzyme activity reduced after mutanting His l05 to Tyr, which was reported to be found naturally in penicillin sensitive N, gonorrhoeae strains.


The efficiency of solar energy harvesting systems is largely determined by their ability to transfer excitations from the antenna to the energy trapping center before recombination. Dark state protection, achieved by coherent coupling between subunits in the antenna structure, can significantly reduce radiative recombination and enhance the efficiency of energy trapping. Because the dark states cannot be populated by optical transitions from the ground state, they are usually accessed through phononic relaxation from the bright states. In this study, we explore a novel way of connecting the dark states and the bright states via optical transitions. In a ring-like chromophore system inspired by natural photosynthetic antennae, the single-excitation bright state can be optically connected to the lowest energy single-excitation dark state through certain double-excitation states. We call such double-excitation states the ferry states and show that they are the result of accidental degeneracy between two categories of double-excitation states. We then mathematically prove that the ferry states are only available when N, the number of subunits on the ring, satisfies N=4l+2 (l being an integer). Numerical calculations confirm that the ferry states enhance the energy transfer power of our model, showing a significant energy transfer power spike at N=6 compared with smaller N values, even without phononic relaxation. The proposed mathematical theory for the ferry states is not restricted to this one particular system or numerical model. In fact, it is potentially applicable to any coherent optical system that adopts a ring-shaped chromophore arrangement. Beyond the ideal case, the ferry state mechanism also demonstrates robustness under weak phononic dissipation, weak site energy disorder, and large coupling strength disorder.


This paper scopes the contemporary literatures that examine sexualities in/of the Global South. Recognising the complexities of both 'sexualities' and 'the Global South', the paper outlines key areas that can be explored under these headings. It questions the conflation of sexualities with homosexualities and contests the assumptions that spatial analyses of the Global South are confined within the discipline of geography. Instead a broad range of material is drawn upon and pointed to highlighting the breadth and possibilities of this field. The paper concludes by considering the shifting and contingent power relations of authors writing the 'Global South' from positions of privilege in the Global North. Yet like many before us we call for a reflexive approach that is not afraid of researching these areas but that does recognise the importance of destabilising existing power relations both in terms of geopolitical interventions, and in interrogating academic hegemonies.


The unpublished letters of William Herle, diplomat and intelligencer to the court of Elizabeth I reveal startling insights into the role of such agents in political affairs. As well as their more obvious content of sensitive information, Herle's letters expose his primary impetus behind the pursuit of intelligence; of the construction and maintenance of a patronage alliance based upon the judicious exchange and release of knowledge at politically sensitive moments. This epistolary aspect of intelligence letters overlooked by much scholarship reveals the complex strategies Herle implements to circumvent the disruption of social hierarchy at the moment of counsel, the private transfer of knowledge in a medium often subject to broadcast, and the uncomfortable union of potent intelligence and familiar affect. This dissertation investigates the world of Elizabethan intelligence operations as experienced by William Herle, focusing on the topics of religion, early modern diplomacy, imprisonment, secret communication and patronage relationships based upon intelligence-exchange. The letters are an invaluable resource for scholars of early modern history and sixteenth-century letter writing, documenting the lengths to which a client would go to secure and maintain patronage in this period, encompassing the giving of gifts, the transmitting of books, and the strategic deployment of potent information. Scrutinizing intelligence operations from a social and textual standpoint offers the scholar a wider picture of the agent's position and relation to the political landscape. This dissertation examines Herle's evolving status of common informant, prison spy, diplomatic envoy, and special ambassador, surmounting obstacles of social hierarchy whilst maintaining a marginal, secret status. By identifying the epistolary and social minutiae of Herle's letters, this study relocates the position of the Elizabethan intelligencer, departing from the typical notion of skulking spy and instead positioning the agent directly in contact, both textual and physical, with the political power-base.


1. Empirically, parasite distributions are often best described by the negative binomial distribution; some hosts have many parasites while most have just a few. Thus identifying heterogeneities in parasite burdens using conventional parametric methods is problematical. In an attempt to conform to the assumptions of parametric analyses, parasitologists and ecologists frequently log-transform their overdispersed data prior to analysis. In this paper, we compare this method of analysis with an alternative, generalized linear modelling (GLM), approach. 2. We compare the classical linear model using log-transformed data (Model 1) with two GLMs: one with Poisson errors and an empirical scale parameter (Model 2), and one in which negative binomial errors are explicitly defined (Model 3). We use simulated datasets and empirical data from a long-term study of parasitism in Soay Sheep on St Kilda to test the efficacies of these three statistical models. 3. We conclude that Model 1 is much more likely to produce type I errors than either of the two GLMs, and that it also tends to produce more type II errors. Model 3 is only marginally more successful than Model 2, indicating that the use of an empirical scale parameter is only slightly more likely to generate errors than using an explicitly defined negative binomial distribution. Thus, while we strongly recommend the use of GLMs over conventional parametric analyses, either GLM method will serve equally well.


This article examines a number of different performances of jazz ballad melodies in order to investigate the nature of expressive timing used by jazz soloists. Three performances of My Funny Valentine and two performances of Naima , taken from commercial recordings by master soloists, are examined. Expressive timing is seen to be a kind of tempo rubato involving a flexibility of melodic rhythm
 over a steady underlying beat. A typical strategy used is to begin the melody "late" relative to the accompaniment, and speed up over the course of a phrase. This delay-accelerate strategy is modulated
 in a number of ways. First, the nominal rhythms of motives are modified so as to preserve their categorical identity; below the level of the motive there is more expressive freedom. Second, there is a strong
 tendency for melodies to align with the accompaniment at cadential locations, serving to clarify hierarchic phrase structure. Finally, notes belonging to the underlying harmonies tend to be displaced more
 than nonharmonic tones, a tendency which is more pronounced at downbeats. These rhythmic procedures are thus found to be related to musical structure in a variety of ways.


We present a new method for analyzing eye diagrams that always provides a unique solution by making use of a robust, least-median-of-squares (LMS) location estimator. In contrast to commonly used histogram techniques, the LMS procedure is insensitive to outliers and data distributions. Our motivation for developing this algorithm is to create an independent, benchmark method that is both amenable to a thorough uncertainty analysis and can function as a comparison tool since no standardized industry algorithms currently exist. Utilizing this technique, we calculate the fundamental parameters of an eye diagram, namely the one and zero levels, and the time and amplitude crossings. With these parameters determined, we can derive various performance metrics, such as extinction ratio and root-mean-square jitter, and perform eye-mask alignment. In addition to describing our algorithm in detail, we compare results computed with this method to those of a commercial oscilloscope, and obtain excellent agreement. Finally, we suggest new definitions of eye height and eye width that are more robust than those that are commonly used.


Service-oriented architectures have climbed up the path from theory to being widely implemented for use in productive computing environments in both eCommerce and eGovernment. In the latter field of application, new tasks and challenges have arisen from the European Union's Services Directive, entailing on-demand collaboration of back-office services. Despite the striking success that cooperating web service landscapes have experienced over the last couple of years, there are still serious shortcomings that hinder further propagation of SOAs for collaborative ad-hoc computing scenarios, such as to sufficiently deliver high-quality services in the eGovernment sector. Based on our practical experience in the EU-funded research project Access-eGov, we outline the shortcomings of traditional SOAs, prove the necessity of introducing semantic technologies and show how ontologies and semantically enriched process workflows can be utilised in order to mitigate them.


Mach-Zehnder interference (MZI) construction is broadly exploited to implement optical switches and modulators in the field of integrated optical/photonic technology. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides have been increasingly developed to implement highly integrated photonic devices and systems. In this work, for the SOI-waveguide MZI-type electro-optic (EO) modulated devices with free-carrier dispersion (FCD) effect, the FCD-induced extra optical absorption (EOA) loss and its negative impact upon the device performance are studied. An intrinsic limitation to this type of device is found to be the tension between the EOA loss and the interaction length for a half-wave modulation. The numerical calculation and professional software simulation show the EOA loss of <1.0dB determines an interaction length of 4-mm. The performance decay processes of both EO switch and modulator due to the modulation-induced EOA loss are modeled. The numerical calculation shows the optical on-chip (OC) loss is 1.0dB and the isolation between two outputs is 21dB for the EO switch, while for the EO modulator the OC loss is 1.0dB and 2.5dB at the off- and on-state, respectively, and the extinction ratio only approaches 20dB. The negative influence of this intrinsic limitation to the bandwidth of EO modulator is also analyzed.


Hyperthermia-induced hyperventilation has been proposed to be a human thermolytic thermoregulatory response and to contribute to the disproportionate increase in exercise ventilation (VE) relative to metabolic needs during high-intensity exercise. In this study it was hypothesized that VE would adapt similar to human eccrine sweating (E(SW)) following a passive heat acclimation (HA). All participants performed an incremental exercise test on a cycle ergometer from rest to exhaustion before and after a 10-day passive exposure for 2 h/day to either 50 degrees C and 20% relative humidity (RH) (n = 8, Acclimation group) or 24 degrees C and 32% RH (n = 4, Control group). Attainment of HA was confirmed by a significant decrease (P = 0.025) of the esophageal temperature (T(es)) threshold for the onset of E(SW) and a significantly elevated E(SW) (P < or = 0.040) during the post-HA exercise tests. HA also gave a significant decrease in resting T(es) (P = 0.006) and a significant increase in plasma volume (P = 0.005). Ventilatory adaptations during exercise tests following HA included significantly decreased T(es) thresholds (P < or = 0.005) for the onset of increases in the ventilatory equivalents for O(2) (VE/VO(2)) and CO(2) (VE/VCO(2)) and a significantly increased VE (P < or = 0.017) at all levels of T(es). Elevated VE was a function of a significantly greater tidal volume (P = 0.003) at lower T(es) and of breathing frequency (P < or = 0.005) at higher T(es). Following HA, the ventilatory threshold was uninfluenced and the relationships between VO(2) and either VE/VO(2) or VE/VCO(2) did not explain the resulting hyperventilation. In conclusion, the results support that exercise VE following passive HA responds similarly to E(SW), and the mechanism accounting for this adaptation is independent of changes of the ventilatory threshold or relationships between VO(2) with each of VE/VO(2) and VE/VCO(2).


Local chicken in Indonesia is commonly maintained traditionally for meat consumption so that ithas the potential to be developed as an economical livestock commodities. The increasing of meat local chicken demand should be followed by the increasing of its quality. FMO3 gene as a gene that control meat quality especially controlling fish odor in livestock product, can be used as a functional gene in its function as a genetic marker. This research was aimed to identify the FMO3 gene polymorphism in exon 6 inbroiler, kampung,sentul, merawang, pelung and nunukan chicken population. Identification of polymorphism was used 129 samples from those populations. Alwn Ienzyme was used in PCR-RFLP technique to digest PCR product overnight.Genotypingshowed only AA genotype (275/249 bp) in 524 bp product amplification. There was no polymorphism found in every population. It needs further study in the different sequences to findthe polymorphism of FMO3 in local chicken.


Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, the causal agent of bacterial speck of tomato, has recently become an increasing problem in California due to the evolution and prevalence of highly aggressive race 1 strains. In resistant plant genotypes, the type III effectors AvrPto and AvrPtoB are recognized by the tomato proteins Pto and Prf. We investigated the prevalence of avrPto and avrPtoB in strains collected over the last 13 years in California. All race 1 strains retained avrPtoB but did not express AvrPtoB protein at detectable levels in vitro. However, deletion of avrPtoB indicated that this effector protein is still expressed at low levels in race 1 during infection. avrPto was detected in four race 1 strains but a key amino acid polymorphism prevents this new protein from interacting with and eliciting Pto-mediated resistance. Growth curve analyses demonstrate that this new avrPto allele is still functional and can enhance P. syringae virulence on tomato. Multilocus sequence typing was used to resolve phylogenetic relationships and revealed that the majority of race 0 and 1 strains were most closely related to P. syringae T1. Collectively, these data support the hypothesis that existing P. syringae populations evolved to overcome genetic resistance by altering the expression and sequence of avrPto and avrPtoB effectors.


The main aim of this article is to show how difficulties in communication across cultural boundaries can be addressed effectively by taking account of the complex interplay between individual, culture-specific and universal aspects of social interaction. The article considers an unconventional, creative and effective approach to dealing with a critical incident situation that arose in an intercultural EFL classroom. The description and analysis of the problem situation draw on Carl Rogers' (see Kirschenbaum and Henderson, 1989) core conditions for facilitative educational practice and the key concepts of Relevance-theoretic pragmatics (Sperber and Wilson, 1986, 1995), showing how the mechanisms of communication can be used in building positive rapport between the interactants as whole integrated individuals.


We experimentally characterize the two-photon response of a GaAsP photodiode by use of a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser tuned below the diode bandgap. The photodiode is shown to be highly suitable for real-time second-order autocorrelation measurements of pulses as short as 6fs in duration and with energies as small as a few picojoules.


We present the synthesis of branched poly(butyl acrylate)s using photo-induced free radical polymerization of (n/t)-butyl acrylate in the presence of tri(propylene glycol) diacrylate (TPGDA) as a crosslinker and varying amounts of dodecanethiol (DDT) as a chain transfer agent to prevent macroscopic gelation. Thereby, the monomer–thiol ratio strongly influences the molecular weight of the obtained materials from 5000 g mol−1 up to 100 000 g mol−1. Reactions were performed in a scalable photo-flow reactor to allow homogenous irradiation and prevention of local "hot spots", to increase monomer conversion, and to improve control over reaction conditions (i.e. temperature and viscosity). The reactions were monitored by NMR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) to determine the conversion and molecular weight, respectively. The robustness of this system is demonstrated by using different photo initiators, thiols and tube diameters. Due to their inherently low viscosity, branched poly(n-butyl acrylate)s could be synthesized in the bulk up to full conversion within 20 min and, hence, under solvent free conditions, which is very untypical of flow radical polymerization.


Introvert people tend to have distress. Psicosomatic manifestation from distress on women can be appeared as premenstrual syndrome. The aim of this study is to know the correlation between social introversion stage and premenstrual syndrome. This study is an analitic observasional study with cross sectional approach, which was held on November 2006 on Medical Faculty UNS Solo. Samples were taken by purposive sampling with restriction on new university studentsclass 2006 Medical Faculty of UNS. The requirements are : (1) on premenstrual or menstrual phase, and (2) does not have reproduction organ disease. Subject  fi  lled (1) Kuesioner Riwayat Menstruasi dan Ginekologi (Gynecology and Menstrual History Questionair) to know subject's menstrual cycle, (2) Kuesioner Skala L-MMPI (L-MMPI Scale Questionair) to state honesty in answering questions given, (3) Kuesioner Sindroma Pramenstruasi (Premenstrual Syndrome Questionair) consisted of pramenstrual syndrome's aspects, (4) Kuesioner Skala-0 MMPI (MMPI 0-Scale Questionair) to state social introversion stage. It's obtained 42 subjects data. Social introversion stage (SI) and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) data were then analyzed with (1) Normality test by Shapiro Wilk, and (2) Hypothetic test by Pearson correlation used SPSS 11.0 for Windows computer program.Results of this study are (1) Premenstrual subjects are bigger amount than non-premenstrual subjects (88,1% vs 11,9%), (2) there is signifi  cant positive correlation between social introversion stage and premenstrual syndrome with strong correlation (r=0,551; P<0,05). The conclusion of this study is there is signifi  cant positive correlation between social introversion stage and premenstrual syndrome. Keywords: Social introversion, premenstrual syndrome


Introduction: The first part of the paper analyses off pump coronary bypass surgery (OPCAB), which is compared with traditional on-pump procedures (ONCAB). Furthermore ,the paper evaluates the use of a new automatic device for performance of the proximal anastomosis and finally the effect of intracoronary shunt on myocardial ischemia during OPCAB. The main goal of the paper is to demonstrate the importance of careful clinical studies during introduction of the new techniques in cardiac surgery. Methods: Statistical analysis was performed on a large clinical database from Buffalo, NY, USA comparing OPCAB and ONCAB. Subsequently, a sequential controlled clinical study compared patients operated with a new automatic connector device to patients operated with classic suture technique. Finally a randomized study was performed to evaluate the effect of the use of an intracoronary shunt during construction of distal anastomosis. Results: The studies from Buffalo demonstrated reduced complications rates in high risk patients when OPCAB techniques were used. The use of connector devices in saphenous venous anastomosis was clearly inferior to standard technique. Intracoronary shunt was found to be beneficial by preventing ischemia. Discussion: Numerous studies have studied the results of OPCAB vs ONCAB and although results are variable it seems that OPCAB is advantageous in high risk patients, while in low risk patients there are much less if any benefit. The results of the studies of connector devices caused the product to be taken off the market. The value of shunt in OPCAB was clearly demonstrated by the randomized studies. Conclusion: The investigations presented in this paper clearly demonstrates the importance of well-designed studies when new surgical methods are introduced. In the present period of rapid technological development, carefully controlled, un-biased clinical trials are crucial to preserve patient safety and avoid unjustified societal cost.


You're smart. This book can make you smarter. Mind Performance Hacks provides real-life tips and tools for overclocking your brain and becoming a better thinker. In the increasingly frenetic pace of today's information economy, managing your life requires hacking your brain. With this book, you'll cut through the clutter and tune up your brain intentionally, safely, and productively. Grounded in current research and theory, but offering practical solutions you can apply immediately, Mind Performance Hacks is filled with life hacks that teach you to: Use mnemonic tricks to remember numbers, names, dates, and other flotsam you need to recallPut down your calculator and perform complex math in your head, with your fingers, or on the back of a napkinSpark your creativity with innovative brainstorming methodsUse effective systems to capture new ideas before they get awayCommunicate in creative new ways-even using artificial languagesMake better decisions by foreseeing problems and finding surprising solutionsImprove your mental fitness with cool tricks and games While the hugely successful Mind Hacks showed you how your brain works, Mind Performance Hacks shows you how to make it work better.


The aim of this study is to examine the differences of force production in 50 -70 year old athletes and active subjects, both before and after the strength training and, on the other hand the effects of such a 16 week strength training on height jump in bosco protocol (SJ, CMJ, DJ). The strength training is based on the alternative use of light and heavy leads. A population sample of 23 subjects was studied which was divided into two groups (athletes n=11- and active subjects n=12-) and two test were performed, before and after strength training (independent variable). The dependent variables were maximum jumping height in Bosco protocol (SJ, CMJ, DJ) measured with pressure platform (lisenced faculty of Physical activity and sport sciences, Granada University). The results suggested that the maximum jumping height in SJ, CMJ, DJ is higher in athletes than in active subjects of the same ages. A strength training based on heavy and light load contrast caused both groups to significantly improve their maximum jumping height. To sum up, we suggest that an improve on force production can be achieved by a 16-week strength training programme based on a one-session heavy and light loads contrast method. KEY WORDS: training, contrast, aging, strength


Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy and a major cause of death in middle-aged women. It results from genetic and environmental factors leading to the accumulation of mutations in essential genes, BRCA 1and BRCA2. To date, germline mutations in the BRCAI and BRCA2 genes in patients with early-onset breast and/or ovarian cancer have not been identified within the Iranian population. This study was set for two main purposes, in first for a cohort study of selected population (Iranian women) with early-onset breast cancer and secondly to evaluate and improve upon existing mutation detection techniques with respect to the BRCA genes. With the collaboration of two main centres for cancer research and treatment in Tehran-Iran, clinical information, family history and peripheral blood were obtained from 96 unrelated families for scanning of germline mutations in the BRCA 1 and BRCA2 genes. These sets of samples consists of 104 women under the age of forty-five, 88 patients affected with early-onset breast cancer or ovarian cancer and 16 unaffected individuals with strong family history of breast and/or ovary cancer. BRCA1 exons 11 and BRCA2 exons 10 and 11 by the Protein Truncation Test (PTT) and BRCAI exons 2, 3, 5, 13 and 20 and BRCA2 exons 9, 17,18 and 23 with the Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP)assay were analysed on genomic DNA amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Ten sequence variants were identified: five are frame shift (putative mutations-four novel); three missense changes of unknown significant and two polymorphisms, one seen [BRCA2 (IVSI6-14T>C)] commonly in both Iranian and British population. Identification of these novel mutations suggests that any given population should develop a mutation database for its breast cancer screening. The pattern of mutations seen in the BRCA genes does not appear to differ from other populations studied. Early-onset breast cancer (less than 45 years) and a limited family history is sufficient to justify mutation screening with a detection rate of over 250/0 in this group, whereas sporadic early-onset breast cancer (detection rate less than 5%) is unlikely to be cost-effective. To address the penetrance and mutation spectrum of germline mutation of the contributed genes within Iranian population further studies should be performed. Meta-PCR technique was evaluated for its implication of BRCA genes scanning. Three distinct sets of BRCA gene fragments were selected to assemble with different approach for downstream analysis: the first set consisted ofBReA1 exons 2, 20 and BRCA2 exon 18 and their subsequent analysis by Protein Truncation Test; the second set comprised BRCAI exons 2, 20, 23 and 24 and their subsequent analysis by direct sequencing; and the last one contained six key coding regions from the BRCA genes, the 5' and 3'termini of exon 11 from both BRCAI and BRCA2 genes and exons 2 and 20 from BRCAI. Downstream analysis of Meta-PCR products by Protein Truncation Test was used rather than direct nucleotide sequencing because the total assembled above fragments size (~2.8kb) is sufficiently big to ignore analysing by the latter approach. PTT and direct sequencing were chosen because of their high sensitivity and specificity. These three trials were performed successfully suggesting that it may be possible to assemble the entire of coding regions of BRCAI and BRCA2 genes in a multi-step procedure.


On February 12, 2009, Muzzammil Hassan informed police that he had beheaded his wife. Hassan had emigrated to the United States 30 years ago and, after a successful banking career, had founded Bridges TV, a Muslim-interest network which aims, according to its website, "to foster a greater understanding among many cultures and diverse populations. " Erie County district attorney Frank A. Sedita III told The Buffalo News that "this is the worst form of domestic violence possible, " andKhalid Qazi, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Western New York, told the New York Post that Islam forbid such domestic violence. While Muslim advocacy organizations argue that honor killings are a misnomer stigmatizing Muslims for what is simply domestic violence, a problem that has nothing to do with religion, Phyllis Chesler, who just completed a study of more than 50 instances of North American honor killings, says the evidence suggests otherwise. - The Editors Published in the Spring 2009 Middle East Quarterly, pp. 61-69. by Phyllis Chesler When a husband murders a wife or daughter in the United States and Canada, too often law enforcement chalks the matter up to domestic violence. Murder is murder; religion is irrelevant. Honor killings are, however, distinct from wife battering and child abuse. Analysis of more than fifty reported honor killings shows they differ significantly from more common domestic violence.1 The frequent argument made by Muslim advocacy organizations that honor killings have nothing to do with Islam and that it is discriminatory to differentiate between honor killings and domestic violence is wrong. Background and Denial Families that kill for honor will threaten girls and women if they refuse to cover their hair, their faces, or their bodies or act as their family's domestic servant; wear makeup or Western clothing; choose friends from another religion; date; seek to obtain an advanced education; refuse an arranged marriage; seek a divorce from a violent husband; marry against their parents' wishes; or behave in ways that are considered too independent, which might mean anything from driving a car to spending time or living away from home or family. Fundamentalists of many religions may expect their women to meet some but not all of these expectations. But when women refuse to do so, Jews, Christians, and Buddhists are far more likely to shun rather than murder them. Muslims, however, do kill for honor, as do, to a lesser extent, Hindus and Sikhs. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that 5,000 women are killed each year for dishonoring their families.2 This may be an underestimate. Aamir Latif, a correspondent for the Islamist website Islam Online who writes frequently on the issue, reported that in 2007 in the Punjab province of Pakistan alone, there were 1,261 honor murders.3 The Aurat Foundation, a Pakistani nongovernmental organization focusing on women's empowerment, found that the rate of honor killings was on track to be in the hundreds in 2008. 4 There are very few studies of honor killing, however, as the motivation for such killings is cleansing alleged dishonor and the families do not wish to bring further attention to their shame, so do not cooperate with researchers. Often, they deny honor crimes completely and say the victim simply went missing or committed suicide. Nevertheless, honor crimes are increasingly visible in the media. Police, politicians, and feminist activists in Europe and in some Muslim countries are beginning to treat them as a serious social problem.5 Willingness to address the problem of honor killing, however, does not extend to many Muslim advocacy groups in North America. The well-publicized denials of U.S. -based advocacy groups are ironic given the debate in the Middle East. While the religious establishment in Jordan, for example, says that honor killing is a relic of pre-Islamic Arab culture, Muslim Brotherhood groups in Jordan have publicly disagreed to argue the Islamic religious imperative to protect honor. …


Abstract: Field relations, structure and geochronology demonstrate that controversial rocks on Akilia, SW Greenland, cannot host evidence of Earth's oldest life. Mafic–ultramafic gneiss that contains a layer of quartz–amphibole–pyroxene gneiss, a few metres thick, with purported biogenic graphite is not cross-cut by the protoliths of >3.82–3.65 Ga tonalitic gneiss. The contact between these gneisses is tectonic so their relative ages are unknown. Multiple episodes of intrusion and deformation in the tonalitic gneiss preceded the earliest deformation fabrics and structures seen in the mafic–ultramafic gneiss. Although previously interpreted as a volcano-sedimentary stratigraphy, the mafic–ultramafic gneiss displays no evidence of such an origin, and could be partly or wholly derived from igneous intrusions. Existing geochronology indicates that the mafic–ultramafic and qtz–am–px gneisses have ages <3.67 Ga. Metamorphic zircon in the qtz–am–px gneiss grew at c. 2.68 Ga during late Archaean high-grade events that complicate any protolith interpretation. U–Pb dating of apatite from a variety of rocks on Akilia shows that this mineral crystallized, or possibly recrystallized, at c. 1.75 Ga and it thus provides no indication of an early Archaean age for any associated graphite, regardless of whether or not the latter is biogenic. Supplementary material: Ion microprobe U–Pb analytical methods and isotope data tables are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18333.


The global economic and financial crisis substantiated the recognition that the mathematical and statistical models applied in the financial sector may lead to costly decision mistakes. The need for managing the risks associated with modelling also arises from the regulatory side. Since European regulations refer to modelling risks among operational risks, this article examines the process of evaluating and managing model risks and the possibility of integrating it into the operational risk management process. Based on practical experiences and the specificities of model risks, the basis of risk management in the case of model risks should be, instead of a capital cover, the formulation of a process replete with adequate controls. Moreover, a seamlessly functioning model risk management system can be designed within the process of operational risk management through the shared loss database, risk self-assessment and the definition of key risk indicators.


Professor Andrew Jay McClurg maintains that the Second Amendment has been used to create a right to store firearms negligently. It is conceivable that some such thing could happen, just as the Supreme Court has used the First Amendment to require plaintiffs who are public figures to prove more than negligence in defamation actions. But Professor McClurg presents no evidence to support his claim. To accept his claim that the Second Amendment has caused courts to distort the application of standard tort principles, we would have to believe that they secretly relied on the Second Amendment and that they undertook this insidious project before they believed there was a legal basis for what they were doing. This is completely implausible. Professor McClurg, however, makes two additional claims that require a more extended response.First, he maintains that courts have misapplied well-established tort principles in refusing to hold the victims of gun thefts liable for injuries subsequently inflicted with the stolen weapons. This is wrong. Courts are simply applying traditional tort doctrines — including proximate cause and limits on duties to protect strangers from wrongdoing by others — when they refuse to impose liability on a gun owner whose unsecured gun is stolen and subsequently used to commit a crime. Second, Professor McClurg contends that legislatures have irresponsibly failed to impose objectively reasonable safe-storage duties on gun owners. Unfortunately, he has conflated his personal policy preferences with what is objectively reasonable. He advocates a rule requiring gun owners to store their guns in a sturdy, non-portable gun safe whenever they are not within the owner's immediate control. This rule simply assumes away the costs of safe-storage practices, which include the expense of gun safes and the risk of being unable to quickly access the gun in an emergency. Furthermore, the imposition of such a duty — whether by courts or legislatures — would raise serious Second Amendment questions.


The author describes existing procedures, tools, and ongoing development to improve the process of updating appliances, remote systems, and individual computers using ZFS. This paper describes a mechanism for replacing the operating system image with a newer image in a safe and atomic fashion. This system allows for fail-safe unattended upgrades of remote appliances and machines with a built in automatic recovery mechanism in the event of failure. Current and planned enhancements to 'poudriere image' are described as well as improvements to support tools including bectl and zfsbootcfg.


We present an optical-diffraction method for quantitative characterization of two-dimensional colloidal polycrystalline materials. From the angular-diffraction profile we can estimate both the average size of the crystalline grain and the defect density within the grains. Our statistical diffraction model shows that the diffraction line shape is close to a Lorentzian profile if a lot of defects exist within a grain, and it becomes close to Gaussian if the grains are essentially free of defects. This method is used for analyzing the quality of polystyrene colloidal crystals produced by the evaporation technique. The results are compared with direct statistical analysis of microscope images.


In many formal theories of grammar, pairs of expressions such as the active and the passive are treated as variants of each other — the passive typically being a secondary construction derived from the active by operations that change the syntactic structure. Recent accounts based on Cognitive Grammar and Construction Grammar have questioned the validity of such an analysis, arguing that these "variants" are actually independent constructions with their own usage conditions and meaning. An important piece of evidence comes from so-called split constituents, discussed by Croft (2001: 191), who argues that expressions like A guy who I hadn't seen since high school came in vs. A guy came in who I hadn't seen since high school differ in their grammatical structure and usage. In this paper we discuss the Finnish split genitive construction where the assumed genitive modifier is separated from its head by intervening material, typically the finite verb. In many respects, the split genitive resembles constructions of external possession, but its range of usage is relatively limited, and in the grammatical system of Finnish it can be seen in an intermediate position between adnominal genitive constructions, on the one hand, and productive external possessor constructions based on local cases, on the other hand. Traditionally, the split genitive has been taken to be a discontinuous variant of a contiguous NP where the genitive is positioned next to its head. However, this study shows that the two constructions differ in pragmatic, semantic and grammatical terms. The split genitive construction is more limited in its usage, and it serves more specific semantic functions such as the topicalization of the genitive-marked element that carries the role of an experiencer. As in many external possessor constructions cross-linguistically, these constraints restrict the types of genitive modifiers that are available in the split genitive construction.


Olive oil extraction is one of the ancient agricultural industries all over the Mediterranean area and even today it is of fundamental economic importance for many industries found over the whole Mediterranean. However, this industry generates large amounts of olive mill wastewater (OMW) and due to its physicochemical characteristics it causes severe environmental concerns and management problems in the Mediterranean area, which is facing water scarcity. Technologies to reuse this wastewater will have a high impact at the economic and environmental level. The work presented aims to improve the use of jet-loop reactors technology for the aerobic biotreatment of OMW. A jet-loop reactor (100 L) coupled with an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane (MBR) system (JACTO.MBR_100 L) were tested for the influence of hydraulic parameters on OMW degradation and scale-up to 1,000 L. Chemical oxygen demand and total phenols (TP) decreased notably (up to 85% and 80% removal efficiency, respectively) after the biological treatment. The treated OMW (UF permeate) was evaluated as a source for irrigation and its impact on the soil and plant growth and their quality parameters.


The contribution of this research note is a systematic description of levels of party nationalisation in Switzerland, using results from the elections to the Swiss National Council between 1991 and 2015. Party nationalisation is understood as the territorial homogeneity of a party's electoral performance and measured using the inverted and standardised Gini index. Our results indicate a trend towards more nationalisation in the Swiss party system over the time period covered, and distinct patterns for single parties. The SVP and the GLP have made big leaps towards stronger nationalisation, with the former closing in on the levels of the SP and the FDP, while the CVP remains a weakly nationalised party, considering its size.


The location and topography of the first three visual field maps in the human brain, V1-V3, are well agreed upon and routinely measured across most laboratories. The position of 4th visual field map, 'hV4', is identified with less consistency in the neuroimaging literature. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, we describe landmarks to help identify the position and borders of hV4. The data consist of anatomical images, visualized as cortical meshes to highlight the sulcal and gyral patterns, and functional data obtained from retinotopic mapping experiments, visualized as eccentricity and angle maps on the cortical surface. Several features of the functional and anatomical data can be found across nearly all subjects and are helpful for identifying the location and extent of the hV4 map. The medial border of hV4 is shared with the posterior, ventral portion of V3, and is marked by a retinotopic representation of the upper vertical meridian. The anterior border of hV4 is shared with the VO-1 map, and falls on a retinotopic representation of the peripheral visual field, usually coincident with the posterior transverse collateral sulcus. The ventro-lateral edge of the map typically falls on the inferior occipital gyrus, where functional MRI artifacts often obscure the retinotopic data. Finally, we demonstrate the continuity of retinotopic parameters between hV4 and its neighbors; hV4 and V3v contain iso-eccentricity lines in register, whereas hV4 and VO-1 contain iso-polar angle lines in register. Together, the multiple constraints allow for a consistent identification of the hV4 map across most human subjects.


Climbing film evaporators are in widespread use in the South African sugar industry, with the vast majority of the local sugar mills currently utilising these evaporators as first effect vessels in multiple effect evaporator sets. However. it is generally considered that the perfonnance of these evaporators has not been maximised, and that improvements could be achieved by properoptimisation of the operating parameters. Unfortunately, very little comprehensive design infonnation has been published in the literature. owing to the complexity of the heat transfer and hydrodynamic interactions in the evaporator tube. Attempts at performance improvement have been hampered by the lack of any theory to explain fully the effects of the operating parameters and physical properties of the feed liquor on the performance of the evaporator. In this study. a mathematical model of the climbing film evaporator system was developed in order to assess the effects of changing operating conditions on evaporator performance, based on as solid a theoretical foundation as cunendy possible. The model was tested against experimental data from a pilot plant climbing film evaporator and this experimental data was used to enhance the accuracy of the model by means of process identification. Because of the complexity of the model and the extensive computational time required for its solution, a simplified evaporator model was also developed, based on Iinearisation of the system of ordinary differential equations describing the climbing film evaporator system. This simplified model was used to predict trends in evaporator behaviour under various operating conditions.


This thesis is composed of seven chapters. The first chapter highlights Malaysia's aspirations to become a high income economy by upgrading its human capital (HC). The upgraded HC will increase productivity of Malaysian firms and Malaysian firms will be willing to pay higher compensation to employees for this higher productivity, leading to higher household incomes, which will in turn enable Malaysia to become a high income economy. There is little published research on the link between various HC based inputs, firm productivity and other human capital based outputs, in Malaysia. The rest of the chapters examine these links, consider implications of pertinent findings and provide recommendations to enable Malaysia to fine-tune applicable policies to become a high income nation. The second chapter reviews relevant literature in HC accounting and indicates that current HC accounting literature presents two disparate theoretical HC measurement approaches. One of these approaches measures HC in terms of its cost (HC based inputs). The other approach measures HC in terms of its value (HC based outputs). The third chapter of this thesis (published) develops a new theory by suggesting that these cost and value based approaches can be integrated. Based on this new theory, a conceptual framework is formulated, called the human capital valuation framework (HCVF). The HCVF divides human capital based expenditures into four categories, based on the cost-benefit relationships. Chapter four (published) presents an application of this conceptual framework in a Malaysian capital market setting. In chapter four, the conceptual variable termed as HC cost is operationalised as labour costs and the conceptual HC value variable is operationalised as the market value of firms. Chapter four finds that the voluntarily disclosed HC costs (labour costs) are value relevant in the Malaysian setting. As such, policies to promote voluntary disclosures of HC based information are recommended, since investors seem to find these disclosures useful. The fifth chapter (published) applies the new cost-benefit (or input-output) integrated theory in the Malaysian SME (small and medium scale enterprises) setting. The HC based input conceptual variable is operationalised as firm size based on employee headcount. The HC based output conceptual variables are operationalised as value added per employee and output per employee. Chapter five finds that sometimes smaller firms are more productive than larger firms. As such, flexible policies to help SMEs of different sizes to reach their full potential, rather than policies that principally drive growth, are recommended for enabling the Malaysian SME sector to achieve optimal productivity. Chapter six (published) expands on the recommendations presented in Chapter 5, by examining the overall Malaysian SME enabling framework and drafting a complementary supporting structure composed of small business development units (SBDUs) in research intensive universities. The SBDUs could provide a flexible SME support system that tailors the assistance provided for SMEs to the SMEs' specific circumstances. Chapter seven integrates the overall work, suggesting that SBDUs can help promising SMEs to grow into PLCs. The HC based metrics examined herein can help PLCs and SMEs to make relevant HC based decisions.


The genus Ficus is one of the largest genera of angiosperms with more than 800 species. This study aimed at investigating the pharmacological properties of Ficus carica linn. Leaves were collected in two seasons (May and October) and were extracted by Soxhlet extractor with different percentages of methanol-water, ethanol-water and pure water solvents. 100% methanol and 95% ethanol offered the highest yield (about 23%). Those extracts were further extracted/partitioned with nbutanol. May samples showed higher TPC, TFC and AA results than October samples. The ethanolbutanol extract had the highest TPC results (150.7±0.5 mg GA/g extract), while methanol-butanol extract showed the highest results for TFC and AA (350±4.3 mg Rutin/g extract and 368.1±1.9 mg FeSO4/g extract, respectively). Ethanol and methanol extracts were weakly active against E. coli, while the extracts showed good inhibition activity against oral flora, where October samples gave higher activity than May samples. Some components of extracts were analyzed by a newly developed HPLCPDA method. Eight compounds were identified: chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, coumaric acid, rutin and trans-cinnamic acid. Quercetin was identified after acid hydrolysis of extracts in all sample extracts, while ferulic acid was present in water extract only.


Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation and the menstrual cycle may independently influence plasma lipids and lipoproteins following acute exercise. PURPOSE: The current study investigated the effects of dietary fish oil supplement and acute eccentric exercise on plasma lipids and lipoproteins during two different phases of the menstrual cycle [mid-follicular (MF) vs. mid-luteal phase (ML)]. METHODS: As a doubleblind, placebo-controlled design, 22 healthy young females (age= 20.861.39 years) volunteered. Participants were randomly assigned to either the fish oil (N=11) or the placebo (N=11) group. The fish oil group took a total of 6 capsules of fish oil per day (6g total; each capsule with 2.4 g of eicosapentaenoic acid and 1.8 g of docosahexaenoic acid), while the placebo group took 6 capsules of safflower oil/day (6g total; 2.8 g of lauric acid, 1.1g of myristic acid, 0.4 g of caprylic acid, 0.4 g of oleic acid, and 0.09 mg of linoleic acid) for 3 weeks. Participants in each group performed an acute eccentric single-leg exercise protocol during the MF and ML phases, which consisted of 10 sets of 10 repetitions with a 3-min resting between sets at an isokinetic speed of 300/sec. The leg exercised for the MF phase was randomly selected and the opposing leg exercised during the ML phase. Plasma samples were collected at pre-, 6-hours postexercise (6-hr PE), and 24-hours post-exercise (24-hr PE)] to analyze total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), lipoprotein (a), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C). Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (p < 0.05). If a significant interaction was found, a Tukey's post-hoc test was performed. RESULTS: Plasma lipids and lipoproteins were not different between the fish oil and placebo groups or before and after the acute eccentric leg exercise. However, HDL-C was significantly higher (p = 0.041) during the ML (61.66 ± 2.44 mg/dL) phase than that of the MF (54.53 ± 2.44 mg/dL) phase. CONCLUSION: Although it didn't reach a statistical significance, the overall lipid and lipoprotein profile tended to improve following a relatively short-term fish oil supplement in healthy, young women. Acute eccentric exercise may not negatively affect plasma lipids and lipoproteins. Elevated HDL-C during the mid-luteal phase may possibly be associated with increased estradiol levels. It is recommended for future studies that an extended period of fish oil supplement using different dosages and exercise regimen be implemented to examine a long-term benefit of fish oil supplement in a variety of sample groups.


Keeping Egg Production Going Whether oogenesis ceases around birth in vertebrate ovaries has been a topic of long-standing interest and considerable debate. Nakamura et al. (p. 1561, published online 20 May) now identify germline stem cells in the ovary of the teleost fish medaka. The stem cells are found as clusters of germ cells (termed germinal cradles) in a cord-like structure that expresses sox9, a gene critical for testis formation in mammals. The cords are buried within the ovary within the germinal epithelium. This work in fish shows that there can indeed be continuing egg production from vertebrate germline stem cells. Ongoing follicle production is maintained by stem cells in an adult fish ovary. Germline stem cells continually produce sperm in vertebrate testes, whereas there is no direct evidence showing that germline stem cells are present in adult vertebrate ovaries. By using transgenic methods and clonal analysis, we identified germline stem cells that supported oogenesis and the production of offspring in the ovaries of adult medaka fish. Early-stage germ cells were localized in clusters along interwoven threadlike cords of sox9b-expressing somatic cells (termed germinal cradles) where the germ cells developed. Germline stem cells gave rise to germ cells that divided to produce cysts, which then underwent cell death or separated to form follicles. Our results provide insight into the germline stem cell biology of medaka and provide a model system for studying vertebrate stem cell niches.


The College of Human Ecology is distinguished by its community contacts, extension programs, and land-grant mission to the state, all of which enrich its academic programs immeasurably. New Human Ecology students are introduced to these and other aspects of the college through an expanded orientation program. But the real undergraduate experience is best portrayed by the stories of the five outstanding New York State students profiled on these pages. There was a point in time, according to Charles McClintock, associate dean of research and academic administration, when a student could graduate from the College of Human Ecology without fully realizing what fields were studied there. No more, he says. The college now ensures that incoming freshmen and transfer students know the breadth of what Human Ecology offers. The answer is a one-credit course, Human Ecology 110, Exploration in Human Ecology. "We've always done an extended orientation for new students," McClintock says. "Five or six years ago we decided to focus on the multicultural teaching environment. We offered a faculty presentation and then an hour-long discussion in which students broke into small groups and met with faculty members to discuss the issues." Although that program was successful, McClintock says it couldn't accomplish all the administration's goals. "We wanted to introduce students to the full range of subject matter in the college at an early stage so that they could make intelligent choices about courses and majors. We also wanted to continue the close contact the students had at the beginning of the year with the faculty. We couldn't do all of that in two hours, so working with the faculty educational policies committee, we decided to establish a five-week course." Human Ecology 110, in its second year, has a structure that's similar to that of the original one-day program. There is a faculty presentation before students break into small discussion groups with faculty members. The difference is that four of the lectures are team taught and focus on the college's four areas of content: nutrition and health, economic and social well-being, human development, and environmental design and technology. McClintock believes the team teaching approach is particularly beneficial to new students. "Two faculty members from different departments teach each lecture, so students can see how different departments contribute to the four program areas." This year seventeen faculty members - representing each of the departments - participated as discussion leaders, says Jennifer Gerner, assistant dean for undergraduate and graduate studies. "Nearly all the freshmen and transfer students participated in the course. We are still experimenting with format and content. In the future, we might try having a single theme across the five lectures. We also are hoping to provide incoming students with readings in the summer so they can prepare for the lectures." The first lecture of the course, which McClintock taught last fall, is an introduction. He discusses the need for respectful discourse about a full range of values and ideas that pertain to college subject matter. "The basic point of that first session is that this is an intellectual community; ideas are a core part of the business we're in." Neither students nor faculty members can fully benefit from this environment, however, if they aren't willing to engage in civil discourse about controversial subjects, McClintock says. "We need to do a better job of exploring ideas, especially conflicting ones. In every course we should be broadening the ideological spectrum where that's relevant. The faculty need to bring out conflicting points of view on subjects involving value conflicts. Let them present a model of how you use logic and data to think through these difficult questions." McClintock notes that though some professors "shy away" from controversial topics, there are those like Stephen Ceci, professor of human development and family studies, and Elizabeth Peters, associate professor of consumer and economics housing, who are willing to embrace a volatile issue. …


In Flora v. United States, 362 U.S. 145 (1960), the Supreme Court held that 28 USC section 1346(a)(1) requires the full payment of all assessed tax before a refund lawsuit can be maintained in a district court or the Court of Federal Claims. Justice Whittaker, in his dissent (joined by three other Justices), railed against a side consequence of the holding, noting that, under the ruling, "taxpayers who pay assessments in installments would be without remedy to recover early installments that were wrongfully collected should the period of limitations run before the last installment is paid." He thought it "grossly unfair and, to me, shockingly inequitable" to apply the full payment requirement where a taxpayer "is unable to pay the balance within the two-year period of limitations." Since 1960, Congress has overruled the Flora full payment rule in one situation where the rich asked it to: In 1998, in 26 USC section 7422(j), Congress allowed an estate that had elected to pay estate taxes in installment lasting 10 years to bring a refund lawsuit without full payment as long as the estate was current on its installment payments. The author now proposes a similar exception from the full payment rule for the poor - one that would finally end the "shocking inequit[y]": Add a new subsection to the Internal Revenue Code that would allow a taxpayer to maintain a refund lawsuit, even without full payment, if the taxpayer is paying all or part of the remaining uncollected balance of any tax under an installment payment agreement or the IRS has placed the taxpayer into currently not collectible status.


While velocity contrasts are responsible for most of the events recorded in our data, the long wavelength behavior of the velocity model is responsible for the geometrical shape of these events. For isotropic acoustic materials, the wave dependency on the long (wave propagation) and short (scattering) wavelength velocity components is stationary with the propagation angle. On the other hand, in representing a transversely isotropic with a vertical symmetry axis medium with the normal moveout velocity, the anellepticity parameter η, the vertical scaling parameter δ, and the sensitivity of waves vary with the polar angle for both the long and short wavelength features of the anisotropic dimensionless medium parameters (δ and η). For horizontal reflectors at reasonable depths, the long wavelength features of the η model is reasonably constrained by the long offsets, whereas the short wavelength features produce very week reflections at even reasonable offsets. Thus, for surface acquired seismic data, we could mainly invert for smooth η responsible for the geometrical shape of reflections. On the other hand, while the δ long wavelength components mildly affects the recorded data, its short wavelength variations can produce reflections at even zero offset, with a behavior pattern synonymous to density. The lack of the long wavelength δ information will mildly effect focusing but will cause misplacement of events in depth. With low enough frequencies (very low), we may be able to recover the long wavelength δ using full waveform inversion. However, unlike velocity, the frequencies needed for that should be ultra‐low to produce long‐wavelength scattering‐based model information as δ perturbations do not exert scattering at large offsets. For a combination given by the horizontal velocity, η, and ε, the diving wave influence of η is absorbed by the horizontal velocity, severely limiting the η influence on the data and full waveform inversion. As a result, with a good smooth η estimation, for example, from tomography, we can focus the full waveform inversion to invert for only the horizontal velocity and maybe ε as a parameter to fit the amplitude. This is possibly the most practical parametrization for inversion of surface seismic data in transversely isotropic with vertical symmetry axis media.


The cities of the ever prevalent neomedieval fantasy roleplaying game are integral to their gameworlds. They act as quest hubs, goals, centres for action and places of safety. Much of the loop of the game revolves around leaving the city to complete quests, then returning to the city again, and repeat. In this paper, I take a closer look at the boundaries of the city. I begin by proposing a model to help define what a city's boundary is and how it is expressed to the player. Then, I look at how and why players cross those borders back and forth. Through this, I hope to facilitate a better understanding of how the city functions in roleplaying games, and how the ways in which it produces boundaries alters and affects how players interact with the


This empirical study tests the short-term stock abnormal returns associated with cross-border M&A announcements. Our countries of interest are the US and Japan. This thesis contains three empirical chapters. In the first two empirical chapters, we test the announcement effects of acquirers and targets according to acquirer and target industry characteristics and deal characteristics. We find that the factors that explicitly related to synergistic effects show significant explanatory power for the abnormal returns. In contrast, the explanatory power of the factors that are associated with agency motive tend to be mixed. In the third empirical chapter, we test the explanatory power of acquirer and target financial characteristics to the announcement returns. We find that some of the variation in the abnormal returns can be explained by the financial characteristics of the firms.
Our test provides several contributions to the M&A literature. Firstly, we show that investors are more likely to be influenced by multiple factors in response to M&A announcements. In addition, investors can have inconsistent interpretation to the same information. Secondly, we employ F-F-C four-factor CAPM that has less misspecification problems for our test compared with the standard CAPM. Also, we use the adj. BMP t-statistic to overcome the potential upward bias associated with the BMP t-statistic. Inconsistent with previous studies, we find that cross-border M&As do not always generate positive ARs for acquirers. Finally, we find that the market shows inconsistent reaction to the M&A announcements made by the US and Japanese acquirers. However, when we control for the deal characteristics and financial characteristics of acquirers and targets, we find some common patterns of the abnormal returns.


—The recent resurrection of Calamophis Meyer, 1874, type species C. jobiensis, from the synonymy of Brachyorrhos Kuhl in Schlegel, 1826, and the description of three new species of Calamophis, have changed concepts of homalopsid diversity in the Vogelkop Peninsula of West New Guinea. Both Brachyorrhos and Calamophis are now accepted to comprise four species each and are considered representatives of a unique fangless, nonvenomous, terrestrial to semi-fossorial, homalopsid lineage. With the original and only specimen of C. jobiensis lost, the genus Calamophis is now characterized by only six specimens (4 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀), comprising holotypes and paratypes of the remaining three species; in each case the species is defined only by specimens of a single sex. We here present the description of the first female specimen of C. sharonbrooksae, the largest specimen of the genus discovered so far, which exhibits a slightly longer body (96% of SVL vs. 91%) and a higher ventral scale count (158 vs. 149 or 150) than the two males, combined with a significantly shorter tail (4.4% of total length vs. 8.6%) and a lower subcaudal scale count (12 pairs vs. 17 or 19 pairs). This is the first time both sexes of a Calamophis species have been available for comparison. The specimen is also the first mainland Papuan Calamophis documented outside the administrative boundaries of the Manokwari Residency, suggesting a wider distribution for the genus than previously thought.


ABSTRACT Integrated schooling is known to induce interethnic friendship relations; however, it also creates the opportunity of interethnic dating. Interethnic personal relationships or long-term exposure decreases ethnic prejudice, thus it is proposed that willingness to date between ethnic groups may also increase. The question arises, whether in the school context exposure is enough for this mechanism to emerge, or personal contact is necessary. It must also be taken into account that romantic relationships are embedded in status relations within schools. Based on a 'social exchange' mechanism, it is assumed that the less popular members of the majority groups are those who are more willing to form interethnic dating relations. To address the above questions empirically, the data of 1213 Hungarian 9th grade students in 43 classes were analysed. Preferences of Roma and non-Roma students were measured by dyadic attribution of physical attractiveness and nominations of willingness to date. Results of multilevel p2 models suggest that mixed groups are not sufficient, but personal contacts are necessary to decrease same-ethnicity preferences in dating. An additional tendency is salient: among majority students, those who are isolated from the friendship networks are the ones who are more willing to date members of the minority group.


Introduction: Poor bioavailability of drugs from ocular dosage forms is mainly due to the tear production, nonproductive absorption, transient residence time, and impermeability of corneal epithelium. The aim of the present study was to design, characterize of a novel nanoemulsion (NE) system as an ocular delivery system for celecoxib (CXB) and to evaluate its physicochemical characteristics and rabbit corneal permeability to enhance the penetration of the drug. Methods: CXB NEs were prepared by testing its solubility in oils, surfactants, and cosurfactants. Utilizing pseudoternary phase diagram, the optimum ratios were chosen and full factorial design was used with 3 variables at 2 levels for preparing eight formulations. The prepared NEs were evaluated regarding their viscosity, pH, particle size, differential scanning calorimetry thermograms, stability, in vitro drug release, and corneal rabbit permeability. Results and Discussion: The results showed that the mean droplet size range of NE formulations was in the range of 6.96-26.65 nm and pH was 6.5-6.9, respectively. Viscosity range was 118-245 cps. Drug release profile showed that 82.6% of the drug released in the 24 h of the experiment. The maximum and minimum drug permeated percentage through rabbit cornea was observed in NE component (NEC)-5 (15.73%) and NEC-1 (6.1%), respectively. All NE formulations with different compositions and properties significantly increased partitioning, flux, and permeability coefficient from rabbit cornea. Dapp and Papp parameters in NEC-3 and NEC-5 formulation were 0.0233 cm2 h−1, 0.13 cm/h, and 46.62, 7.23 times higher than those of control (CXB suspension, 1%), respectively. The flux (Jss) of CXB from NEC-5 was 0.65 mg cm−2 h−1, 21.68 times higher than those of control. Conclusion: This present study showed that any change in content and composition of NEs could be changed physicochemical properties and permeability parameters during drug permeation from NE formulations. The phenomenon may be due to alteration of the cornea structural changes in the presence of NECs.


When nodes can repeatedly update their behavior (as in agent-based models from computational social science or repeated-game play settings) the problem of optimal network seeding becomes very complex. For a popular spreading-phenomena model of binary-behavior updating based on thresholds of adoption among neighbors, we consider several planning problems in the design of \textit{Sticky Interventions}: when adoption decisions are reversible, the planner aims to find a Seed Set where temporary intervention leads to long-term behavior change. We prove that completely converting a network at minimum cost is $\Omega(\ln (OPT) )$-hard to approximate and that maximizing conversion subject to a budget is $(1-\frac{1}{e})$-hard to approximate. Optimization heuristics which rely on many objective function evaluations may still be practical, particularly in relatively-sparse networks: we prove that the long-term impact of a Seed Set can be evaluated in $O(|E|^2)$ operations. For a more descriptive model variant in which some neighbors may be more influential than others, we show that under integer edge weights from $\{0,1,2,...,k\}$ objective function evaluation requires only $O(k|E|^2)$ operations. These operation bounds are based on improvements we give for bounds on time-steps-to-convergence under discrete-time reversible-threshold updates in networks.


Stylet increment analysis is a method of octopus age estimation that quantifies growth rings
within stylets (reduced internal shells found in the mantle). This method was applied to wild Octopus
pallidus to determine gender and seasonal influences on age and growth. A total of 503 individuals
(94 males and 409 females) were aged, revealing that O. pallidus can reach a maximum age of approximately
1.6 yr and that spawning occurs throughout the year. Male octopuses on average were significantly
larger (550 and 482 g for males and females, respectively) and older (259 and 243 d for males and
females, respectively) than female, and overall growth rates were positively correlated with temperature
at hatching. However, these differences were secondary to individual growth heterogeneity.
Growth of males ranged from 1.32 to 5.33% body weight (bw) d–1 and females from 1.55 to 6.9% bw d–1,
with no relationship between age and size evident regardless of sex. Stylet increment analysis is a
promising technique that could play a role similar role to statoliths in squid as an ageing tool.


Customers and employees can co-create a resolution following a service failure through integrating their resources. Their activities and interactions during resource-integration shape the customers' service recovery experiences. Prior research overlooks resource integration between all involved actors in a co-created service recovery process. This research details the process with two empirical studies. Study 1 is a qualitative analysis of narratives of service recovery experiences; Study 2 is a quantitative assessment of scenario-based survey data. The results show that a favourable service recovery experience is resulted from integrating all involved actors' resources in a mutually beneficial manner. Three key resources are financial compensation, service skills including communication and timing. Our findings indicate that co-created service recovery fails in the absence of just one resource or mismatches in their integration. The combined studies reveal that customers use their justice perceptions to assess activities and interactions for resource integration in service recovery.


A considerable body of work highlights the relevance of collaborative research, contract research, consulting and informal relationships for university–industry knowledge transfer. We present a systematic review of research on academic scientists' involvement in these activities to which we refer as 'academic engagement'. Apart from extracting findings that are generalisable across studies, we ask how academic engagement differs from commercialisation, defined as intellectual property creation and academic entrepreneurship. We identify the individual, organisational and institutional antecedents and consequences of academic engagement, and then compare these findings with the antecedents and consequences of commercialisation. Apart from being more widely practiced, academic engagement is distinct from commercialisation in that it is closely aligned with traditional academic research activities, and pursued by academics to access resources supporting their research agendas. We conclude by identifying future research needs, opportunities for methodological improvement and policy interventions.


Unusual shapes are becoming more and more prevalent in the cityscape, however they often rely on large and complex configurations of material. New and empowered digital tools parametric modelling software allow for continuous structural optimisation parallel with the design process. This enhances the synergy between architects and engineers and complements the search for alternative solutions with a better use of resources. Shell structures provide the opportunity of combining artistic shapes and low use of material due to their efficient load bearing capacity. The efficiency of the shell is dependent on its shape and gets challenged when exerted to external asymmetric loading pushing it out of its ideal shape. Until now, previous research papers and articles have provided information about form finding of shell structures exposed to symmetric pressure while omitting asymmetric loading. This leaves an important question of how to cope with such load situations? In this thesis, the objective thus became to come up with a parametric design procedure for a timber grid shell where the structure was robust enough to handle the asymmetric pressure from climate induced loads. The grid shell in question is to be a cabin built by the students at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for the use of NTNU students in the Norwegian mountains. Through the studies in this thesis it was found that Eurocode (EC) provides limited information about design loads for shell structures, and that it can only be adopted to a certain extent. By comparing the EC loads to a load configuration-algorithm built in Grasshopper, it was discovered how EC did in fact not give the worst-case load scenarios. However, the load distributions obtained from the algorithm showed some contradictions with regards to the guidelines in EC and were thus not accounted for in the design. It was illustrated how the shape is crucial for the efficiency and structural behaviour of the shell, and how double curvature gives a more robust structure which is less prone to deflect. Optimisation of the cabin's shape was executed through minimising displacements from external loads. Initially the shape showed substantially larger displacements for the Drifted (asymmetric) snow load case from EC compared to the Undrifted (symmetric) case, and the optimised shape displayed an increase in the initial double curvature. The optimisation approach led to an improved structural performance and a smaller gap between the structural response for the Undrifted and Drifted load cases.


There is a need for noninvasive biomarkers that can identify patients with progressive liver fibrosis and monitor response to antifibrotic therapy. An equally important need is identification of patients with spontaneous fibrosis regression, since they may not need treatment nor be included in clinical studies with fibrosis as end point. Circulating biomarkers, originating from defined fragments of the scar tissue itself, may serve as valuable tools for this aspect of precision medicine. We investigated a panel of serological collagen formation and degradation markers to identify patients likely to regress or progress in absence of a therapeutic intervention. Plasma samples from patients with moderate-stage hepatitis C receiving placebo treatment in a phase II trial of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonist farglitazar were included. The patients had matched liver biopsies at baseline and 52 wk of follow-up. Serological biomarkers of collagen formation (PRO-C3, PRO-C4, PRO-C5) and collagen degradation (C3M, C4M, and C6M) were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis including PRO-C3 and C6M identified subjects with progressive liver fibrosis with an AUROC of 0.91 ( P < 0.0001) and positive and negative predictive values (PPV/NPV) of 75.0%/88.6%. Low levels of PRO-C5 predicted a spontaneous regression phenotype, with an odds ratio of 33.8 times higher compared with patients with high levels ( P < 0.0025) with an AUROC of 0.78 ( P < 0.0001) and PPV/NPV of 60.0%/95.7%. Two collagen fragments (PRO-C3 and C6M) identified liver fibrosis progressors, and one collagen fragment (PRO-C5) identified liver fibrosis regressors. These biomarkers may improve patient stratification and monitor treatment efficacy in studies with fibrosis as clinical end point. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In this study we report two biomarkers of collagen fragments (PRO-C3 and C6M) that are able to identify liver fibrosis progressors while one biomarker (PRO-C5) identified liver fibrosis regressors. In particular, we present three noninvasive biomarkers that can be used to identify patients with progressive liver fibrosis, monitor response to antifibrotic therapy, and also identify the spontaneous liver fibrosis regression phenotype.


Within a contemporary context of self-revelation, which Jon Dovey has called the 'selfspeaking society' and Ken Plummer has described as the 'auto/biographical society', public funds are being directed towards inviting members of the public to represent themselves on public platforms. This thesis asks how processes of mediation shape these self-representations in public sector projects in the cultural sphere. The notion of mediation as a process delineates a specific form of enquiry which stresses both the multiple factors that shape meaning, and the open-ended nature of meaning-making. Within this broad concern, this study focuses on the processes of mediation implicated when public service institutions invite members of the public to represent themselves, assist them in constructing their self-representations and then frame and disseminate the finished texts. Three overlapping but distinct processes of mediation are examined: institutional, textual (including technological) and cultural. The empirical analysis explores the production processes in two cases: BBC Wales' Capture Wales and The Museum of London's London's Voices. The case studies are multi-method, including in-depth interviews and observations with participants and producers, and the textual analysis of selected self-representations. The empirical research suggests that processes of mediation in London's Voices and Capture Wales are constituted through a series of tensions that are both challenging and productive. The public museum and public service broadcaster constitute markedly different contexts and consequently the particular ways in which tensions emerge in each case study are distinctive. Nevertheless self-representations in both Capture Wales and London's Voices are mediated by tensions in four areas: Purposes, Quality, Ordinary people, and Community. Institutional personnel hold varied conceptions of purpose and participants take part for a range of reasons, from imagining audiences for what they produce, to training in specific skills. Some stakeholders emphasise quality of process while others emphasise quality of outcome. The category of the 'ordinary person' is both strategically avoided, and invoked and, in the texts produced, the 'ordinary person' is both brought into being and simultaneously undermined. 'Community' is something which these projects aim to engender and, at the same time, is seen as always already there. In analyzing the empirical data, I draw on Nikolas Rose's Foucauldian analysis of structures of governance to argue that the categories of 'ordinary people' and 'community', as revealed in the case studies, work to constrain how members of the public represent themselves. At the same time the empirical analyses reveal cracks in these structures of governance, which are potentially challenging to their very operation. However, I argue that it is also possible to imagine these cracks as valves, which allow the structures of governance to continue to function all the more effectively. Finally, the thesis considers the normative and critical arguments for the continuation of publicly funded projects of this kind. In particular, I suggest that projects of this kind present a challenge to the increasingly formatted representation of members of the public in media and cultural spaces that is evidenced, for example, in the expansion of reality television formats across the television channels.


We conducted a decomposition analysis of material flows in a dynamic system, focusing on factors in the generation of waste consumer durables. A methodology for the analysis of consumer durables was developed and applied to three common consumer durables: cathode ray tube TVs, refrigerators, and passenger cars. The methodology decomposed changes in the numbers of waste products into three factors: changes in lifespan distribution, past trends in replacement sales, and past trends in sales for additional purchases. The decomposed equation clearly showed that the number of waste products would not necessarily be reduced by lifespan extension alone. This is because the number of waste products generated is affected not only by current lifespan distribution but also by past trends in sales for replacement and in additional purchases. The results show that changes in past replacement sales influence the current generation of waste, even if current replacement sales are declining. To reduce the generation of waste products on a short‐term basis, lifespan must be extended until the waste‐reducing effect of lifespan extension exceeds the waste‐increasing effect of the other two factors. From a long‐term perspective, controlling current replacement and additional purchases can be used to prevent future waste product generation.


Large-scale adverse health and developmental outcomes related to tobacco affect millions of people across the world, raising serious questions from a human rights perspective. In response to this crisis, this timely book provides a comprehensive analysis of the promotion and enforcement of human rights protection in tobacco control law and policy at international, regional, and domestic levels.


Background Suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) are major public health concerns that affect millions of young people worldwide. Consequently, there is a strong need for up-to-date epidemiological data in this population. Aims To provide prevalence and trend estimates of suicidal thoughts and behaviours and NSSH thoughts and behaviour in university students. Method Data are from a 2018 national health survey for higher education in Norway. A total of 50 054 full-time students (69.1% women) aged 18–35 years participated (response rate 31%). Suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and NSSH were assessed with three items drawn from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, and thoughts of NSSH were assessed with one item from the Child and Adolescent Self-Harm in Europe study. Results Lifetime suicidal thoughts were reported by 21.0%, and 7.2% reported having such thoughts within the past year. In total, 4.2% reported a suicide attempt, of whom 0.4% reported attempting suicide within the past year. The prevalence of lifetime NSSH behaviour and thoughts was 19.6% and 22.6%, respectively. All four suicidal behaviour and NSSH variables were more common among students who were single, living alone and with a low annual income, as well as among immigrants. There was an increase in suicidal thoughts from 2010 (7.7%) to 2018 (11.4%), which was evident in both men and women. Conclusions The observed high and increasing prevalence of suicidal thoughts and NSSH among college and university students is alarming, underscoring the need for further research, preferably registry-linked studies, to confirm whether the reported prevalence is representative of the student population as a whole. Declaration of interest None.


Bullying is a common form of school violence, which is a major issue of concern for students, parents, teachers, and administrators across the country. Episodes of school violence beginning in the 1990s have created a national focus on school safety and the problems associated with bullying. Schools across the country are attempting to deal with the problem of student bullying by writing anti-bullying policies, instituting bully-prevention programs, and developing character-education programs. Because teachers spend the most time with and around students, they are often the most familiar with the issues their students face. They have the opportunity to observe bullying as it takes place in schools.
The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher experiences with student bullying. Data were collected from interviews with 13 different teachers in 5 rural middle schools. Information from the interviews was divided into three domains: Teachers' Experiences with Student Bullying; Interventions; and Professional Development and Participation in the Development of Policy. Interviews revealed a diverse set of teacher experiences with student bullying as told through each teacher's story. Several common categories emerged from the data including: (a) dimensions of bullying, (b) discrimination and harassment, (c) adolescent behavior and development, (d) the secrecy of bullying, and (e) teachers' perceptions. The second domain included interventions which teachers considered to be effective or ineffective. The following types of interventions emerged from the teacher interviews: (a) observation of student behavior, (b) trusting relationship, (c) counseling students, (e) involving others, (f) and unsure how to handle the situation. The last section listed the types of professional development teachers had been exposed to, and whether or not teachers had participated in the development of anti-bullying policy. Information gathered from the interviews revealed that teachers thought bullying was a serious issue for schools and it was important for them to be able to know and recognize bullying when it happens. Teachers also said that bullying can happen in many forms including physical, verbal, emotional, and psychological. They said socialization and the developmental changes middle school students go through tend to compound bullying. Teachers were divided as to the impact of the rural environment on student bullying but agreed that their schools probably experience less bullying than schools serving more urban or suburban populations. The most frequent intervention teachers discussed was the development of a trusting relationship between teachers and students. Teachers also listed team teaching and character-education programs as effective interventions for dealing with student bullying.
The interviews revealed that very few teachers had experienced any sort of professional development in relation to student bullying, and very few had been involved with the development of anti-bullying policy.


The U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) currently provides disability benefits to 2.72 million veterans of U.S. military service through the Disability Compensation (DC) program. Until recently, the medical eligibility criteria for this program were the same across service eras, with the key condition being that the disability was caused or aggravated by military service. But in July of 2001, the VA relaxed the eligibility criteria for Vietnam veterans by including diabetes in the list of conditions covered by DC. This change was motivated by an Institute of Medicine report, which linked exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used by the U.S. military in Vietnam, to the onset of diabetes. In this paper, we investigate the impact of this policy change on DC enrollment, expenditures, and the sensitivity of the program to economic conditions. Our findings demonstrate that the Agent Orange decision increased DC enrollment by 7.6 percentage points among Vietnam veterans and that an additional 3.3 percent enjoyed an increase in their DC benefits. Our estimates further suggest that the policy change increased program expenditures by $2.69 billion during the 2006 fiscal year and by $45 billion in present value terms. After the policy took effect, we find that the sensitivity of the program to local economic conditions increased substantially. Taken together, our results suggest that even relatively narrow changes in the medical eligibility criteria for federal disability programs can have a powerful effect on program enrollment and expenditures.


Commentary on : Hakim J, Musiime V, Szubert AJ, et al . Enhanced Prophylaxis plus Antiretroviral Therapy for Advanced HIV Infection in Africa. N Engl J Med 2017;377:233–45.

Despite expansion of HIV testing and recommendations to start antiretroviral therapy (ART) immediately, people living with HIV (PLWH) often present late in the disease. In poorer countries, 30%–40% of PLWH starting ART have CD4 counts <200 cells/µL and 20% have a CD4 count <100 cells/µL.1 PLWH with advanced immunosuppression are at greater risk for complications and death, and their care is more complex than those with early disease.

The WHO promotes differentiated service delivery2—a strategy that varies the intensity, frequency and location of treatment. To date, this has focused on deintensifying treatment for patients with higher CD4 counts. Hakim and colleagues offer a strategy for PLWH presenting with advanced disease.3 …


The effect of characteristics of pig enterprise and its owner, along with management applied in farms on regional pig meat productivity of commercial pig units in Greece was examined. The results showed that most of the enterprises were family operated, belonging to a sole owner of old age and low educational level, whose children were not involved or plan to get involved with the enterprise. The analysis of a generalised linear model showed that only the "Age of farm's equipment" and "Size class of sow herd' were significant in explaining the variation of pig meat productivity.