The isothiocyanate sulforaphane [SF; 1-isothiocyanato-4(R)-methylsulfinylbutane] is abundant in broccoli sprouts in the form of its glucosinolate precursor (glucoraphanin). SF is powerfully bactericidal against Helicobacter pylori infections, which are strongly associated with the worldwide pandemic of gastric cancer. Oral treatment with SF-rich broccoli sprouts of C57BL/6 female mice infected with H. pylori Sydney strain 1 and maintained on a high-salt (7.5% NaCl) diet reduced gastric bacterial colonization, attenuated mucosal expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β, mitigated corpus inflammation, and prevented expression of high salt-induced gastric corpus atrophy. This therapeutic effect was not observed in mice in which the nrf2 gene was deleted, strongly implicating the important role of Nrf2-dependent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory proteins in SF-dependent protection. Forty-eight H. pylori–infected patients were randomly assigned to feeding of broccoli sprouts (70 g/d; containing 420 μmol of SF precursor) for 8 weeks or to consumption of an equal weight of alfalfa sprouts (not containing SF) as placebo. Intervention with broccoli sprouts, but not with placebo, decreased the levels of urease measured by the urea breath test and H. pylori stool antigen (both biomarkers of H. pylori colonization) and serum pepsinogens I and II (biomarkers of gastric inflammation). Values recovered to their original levels 2 months after treatment was discontinued. Daily intake of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts for 2 months reduces H. pylori colonization in mice and improves the sequelae of infection in infected mice and in humans. This treatment seems to enhance chemoprotection of the gastric mucosa against H. pylori–induced oxidative stress.


The relationship between attachment loss and occlusal trauma has been debated for many years. When a patient presents with advanced periodontal disease, a decision has to be made on whether the teeth can be saved or extracted. In this treatment example, the decision process in therapeutic planning for a patient with stage IV periodontal disease is discussed. The main dilemma is whether the patient should receive a prosthodontic reconstruction supported by osseointegrated implants or by periodontally compromised natural teeth. It is assumed that implants do better than teeth over the long term based on firm documentation in the literature, but this article describes why a periodontal prosthesis is still a viable treatment option.


This paper, presents an adapted serious game for rating social ability in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The required measurements are obtained by challenges of the proposed serious game. The proposed serious game uses reinforcement learning concepts for being adaptive. It is based on fuzzy logic to evaluate the social ability level of the children with ASD. The game adapts itself to the level of the autistic patient by reducing or increasing the challenges in the game via an intelligent agent during the play time. This task is accomplished by making more elements and reshaping them to a variety of real world shapes and redesigning their motions and speed. If autistic patient's communication level grows during the playtime, the challenges of game may become harder to make a dynamic procedure for evaluation. At each step or state, using fuzzy logic, the level of the player is estimated based on some attributes such as average of the distances between the fixed points gazed by the player, or number of the correct answers selected by the player divided by the number of the questioned objects. This paper offers the usage of dynamic AI difficulty system proposing a concept to enhance the conversation skills in autistic children. The proposed game is tested by participating of 3 autistic children. Each of them played the game in 5 turns. The results displays that the method is useful in the long-term.


The objectives of this paper are twofold. The first is to analyze the Italian Rural Development Programs in order to investigate how Italian regional authorities have interpreted the potential role of the new RD programs and identified the specific strategies to be pursued. The second objective is to evaluate the coherence between strategies and tools indicated in the different programs. For developing the analysis we will adopt the menu approach (Terluin and Venema, 2004). We will analyze three main steps which have to be taken in applying this method: (1) identification of rural development priorities; (2) selection of rural development measures coherent with these rural development priorities; and (3) allocation of financial means to these rural development measures. Following this approach, 21 Italian Rural Development Programs will be compared.


Vehicle platooning has been studied for several decades, with objectives such as improved traffic throughput on existing infrastructure or reduced energy consumption. All the time, it has been apparent that safety is an important issue. However, there are no comprehensive analyses of what is needed to achieve safety in platooning, but only scattered pieces of information. This paper investigates, through a systematic literature review, what is known about safety for platooning, including what analysis methods have been used, what hazards and failures have been identified, and solution elements that have been proposed to improve safety. Based on this, a gap analysis is performed to identify outstanding questions that need to be addressed in future research. These include dealing with a business ecosystem of actors that cooperate and compete around platooning, refining safety analysis methods to make them suitable for systems-of-systems, dealing with variability in vehicles, and finding solutions to various human factors issues.


Excessive drinking is a global health problem which is responsible for a wide range of both chronic and acute illness, and which costs the UK National Health Service (NHS) £1.7 billion annually. Current health policy aims to reduce alcohol-related problems by promoting early identification of risk followed by brief intervention to facilitate positive changes in drinking level or patterns of consumption. However, practical and philosophical barriers concerning screening and brief alcohol intervention have so far impeded its uptake in routine primary care. This qualitative study aimed to simultaneously explore and compare health professionals' and patients' views on the acceptability and feasibility of screening and brief alcohol intervention in primary care. Focus groups were held with (a) four primary care teams, (b) two general practitioner (GP) and two nurse groups and (c) six patient groups in the north-east of England. A thematic framework approach was used to analyse audio-taped data via transcripts. Both health professionals and patients reported that raising and discussing alcohol-related risk was acceptable in primary care, when combined with other lifestyle issues or linked to relevant health conditions. Targeted rather than universal screening was the most acceptable method of identifying alcohol-related risk and would fit well with existing practice. However, there was uncertainty among health professionals about the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions and some disagreement with patients concerning who was best placed to deliver them. Health professionals felt that nurses were best placed for such work whilst patients reported that they would initially raise the subject with GPs. There was broad acceptance of brief intervention approaches but a lack of support and specific incentives for this work impeded its delivery in routine practice.


Despite significant advances in the development of sensitive tools for studying genetics and signal exchange in legume-rhizobium symbioses, many uncertainties remain about the in vivo role of bacterial and plant signals in symbiotic gene regulation. In this study, we adapted TnpR recombinase-based in vivo expression technology (RIVET) to document gene regulation in Sinorhizobium meliloti. The substrate for TnpR, the res1-tet-res1 cassette, is stably inherited when cloned into a neutral site of the S. meliloti genome. Bicistronic promoterless tnpR-beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporters were constructed to track expression ("resolution") of symbiotically relevant S. meliloti genes during different stages of the interaction. In proof of principle experiments, the resolution of the nodC::tnpR reporter was detected within 4 h of exposure to micromolar levels of the nod operon inducer luteolin and after overnight incubation in the rhizosphere. RIVET demonstrated that cell division gene ftsZ2 was not strongly expressed in the rhizosphere but was activated inside the nodules and on agar surfaces. Rhizosphere expression of the N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) synthase sinI::tnpR-GUS reporter was modest in prequorate microcolonies, and then increased with time. AHL synthase sinI and an AHL-regulated gene, expG, were activated inside the nodules.


Brucellosis is an emerging zoonotic disease that poses a threat to both livestock and public health in east Africa. There are several reports of occurrence of the disease in livestock populations especially in Tanzania and Kenya, suggesting chances of increased spread to humans, and the disease being misdiagnosed for malaria. The objective of this study was to determine brucellosis prevalence in livestock and incidence in humans among pastoralists and agro-pastoralists communities in some areas of Kenya and Tanzania. A total of 2349 ruminants were screened using different serological techniques, in the selected areas. Serum samples from the Southern Highlands Zone (SHZ), Northern zone (NZ) and Eastern Zone (EZ) were screened using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) antigen, and later positive samples were confirmed using competitive enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay (c-ELISA). Results showed prevalence of 11.4% in the SHZ (n=799), 2.4% in the EZ (n=169) and 1% in the NZ (n= 408). Milk ring test was used to test milk samples from Migori, West Pokot and Mwingi, and the prevalences recorded in cattle were 17.9% (n=56) in 2012 and 11.7 (n=77) in 2014. Within the same period, West Pokot recorded prevalence of up to 21.9% (n=96) in cattle and 16.7% (n=6) in goats. Generally, Migori had lower prevalence in Kenya, but being the third lower in Tanzania and Kenya with the prevalence being 4.3% (n=70) in goats and 2.2% (n=45) in goats. Serum from cattle and goats were tested using compliment fixation test (CFT); showing 0.9% (n=212) prevalence in Migori. In West Pokot, the prevalence was 4.0% (n=101) in cattle, 20% (n=100) in goats and 13.8% (=29) in sheep; whereas in Mwingi prevalence was 4.75% (n=43) and 9.5% (n=21) in cattle and goats respectively. A total of 1,140 human cases were followed up in selected study areas where livestock samples were collected, and an overall incidence of 22.7% (n=1140) was confirmed. Selected areas in Tanzania had an incidence of 28.2% (n=578) and in Kenya 17.1% (n=562). Brucellosis is endemic in many areas of Tanzania and Kenya and pose a high risk to human health. Key Words: Agro-pastoral, pastoral, public health


The Sustainability Science and Society program addresses the interactions between social and ecological systems with new perspectives and academic approaches.


Digital image inpainting refers to a technique used for filling in the missing or corrupted regions of an image using information from the surrounding area. Inpainting techniques have found widespread use in applications that include, but are not limited to error recovery, red-eye removal, multimedia editing. This thesis will discuss inpainting techniques in the context of digital artwork restoration. Due to an extensive research in the field of digital inpainting and to rapid advances in technology, new and improved inpainting techniques are continuously proposed. Improved digital image inpainting algorithms could provide substantial support for future artwork restoration. However, as the latter is characterised by a high demand in quality, methods for an accurate evaluation of the performance of inpainting algorithms are needed. A literature review showed however, that currently, there is an acknowledged lack of quantitative metrics for image inpainting evaluation. In this thesis the performance of eight representative inpainting algorithms will first be evaluated by means of a psychophysical experiment. Based on the obtained perceptual data, a ranking of the algorithms will be established, that confirms that exemplar based methods generally outperform Partial Differential Equation based methods. Two novel inpainting quality metrics, proposed in this thesis, eight general image quality metrics and four quality metrics specially developed for inpainting assessment will then be evaluated against human observers. Two types of evaluation will be carried out; one investigates the performance of the metrics over the entire image database considered, and the other assesses the correlation of the metrics for individual images. Results show that none of the considered metrics can adequately predict inpainting quality over the entire image database, and that the performance of the metrics is imagedependent. The two newly proposed metrics outperform some of the existent inpainting quality metrics for the first type of evaluation. However, additional work is needed to find metrics that correlate well with the percept.


Maximize your interpretative skills in breast imaging with this clinically oriented resource. Ideal for residents in radiology, this image-rich text fosters the development of skills necessary to facilitate and maximize interpretive skills in all aspects of breast imaging from mammography ultrasound, and MRI to imaging-guided procedures. This title will also help readers learn how to incorporate clinical and imaging findings to pathology during diagnosis and patient management. With Clinical Breast Imaging readers will: master key concepts required to care for patients presenting for breast imaging, with an emphasis on clinical relevance and imaging-pathology concordance - all enhanced by high quality images, chapter summaries and patient discussions; prepare for board exams with comprehensive self-assessment questions in both the printed book and interactive eBook; and become well-versed in how to describe relevant findings, all while incorporating recommended terminology for mammography, breast ultrasound and breast magnetic resonance imaging. Now with the print edition, enjoy the bundled interactive eBook edition, offering tablet, smartphone, or online access to: complete content with cross-linked pages for easier navigation; powerful search tool that pulls results from book content, user notes and the web; highlighting tool to emphasize and easily reference key content; share tool to collaborate with friends and colleagues during note-taking; and tab tool to flag important content for future reference.


Successful management of herds of captive wildlife (small populations) requires monitoring of herd size over years. In many zoos, herd size is documented in the course of annual inventories without considering other epidemiological parameters. Here, the concept of the 'anti-clockwise cycle' of the relation between mortality and population size is introduced for herd management. Four different phases of this cycle can be distinguished: (I) herd size increases while mortality decreases; (II) herd size and mortality increase; (III) herd size decreases and mortality still increases; (IV) herd size and mortality decrease. Consequently, a herd can still prosper in size (I, II) while an increase in mortality rates (II) already indicates that it is heading towards collapse (III). All four phases of the cycle of herd development could be observed in 28 small, closed ruminant breeding groups at the Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation, Qatar. Applications of the concept presented here to evaluate herd development in captivity may help to stabilize or even increase the size of a herd in care, which is particularly important for breeding herds of threatened species. The 'anti-clockwise cycle' shows that a simple monitoring of the herd size in numbers is not enough to evaluate the sustainability and quality of the herd.


:Introduction: Lichen planus, is a chronic autoimmune, mucocutaneous disease affecting the oral mucosa besides the skin, genital mucosa, scalp and nails.The exact etiology of oral lichen planus is unknown. The disease most commonly affects middle-aged females. Oral lichen planus usually presents as white striations (Wickham's striae), white papules, white plaque, atrophic , ulcerative, erosive or as blisters. There is a well established correlation between oral lichen planus and liver disease. Opinion amongst researchers vary on terminology of lichen planus and lichenoid drug reaction . Recent literature reported association between lichen planus and thyroid disease. Aim: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the association between oral lichen planus and thyroid disease and its prevalence amongst patients visiting our dental institute. Materials and methods: . the Excel sheet and was analysed using SPSS analysis. Results: Results showed a positive association between oral lichen planus and thyroid disease, mainly hypothyroidism (7.46%). Females were more affected than males (53.7%).The erosive variant of oral lichen planus was more prevalent among the study population (44.7%). There was a positive correlation between predominant clinical variety of Lichen planus and site involved. The positive correlation between hypothroid state and lichen planus is also reported. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study establishes an association between oral lichen planus and a coexisting thyroid disorder mainly hypothyroidism .


The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) acknowledges the challenges the region faces and is developing a set of publications, guidelines and tools to increase knowledge of the vulnerability of transport infrastructure. The objective of this document is to disseminate the methods used by IDB to develop climate change projections based on key vulnerability assessment maps for 26 countries in LAC. Realistic Greenhouse gas emissions scenarios were used to develop different sets of climate projections (precipitation, temperature and sea level rise) and their potential impact on the transport sector.


The production of high purity steel is a major task for the iron and steel enterprises in the 21st century. To improve the quality of steel products and produce the cleanness steel, the key technique is to control inclusions in the molten steel. In the present investigation, a novel fine inclusion removal technology due to the dispersed in-situ phase induced by the composite ball explosion reaction was put forward. A composite ball with this function has been designed and the industrial experimental investigation was also carried out. The results indicate that feeding composite ball in RH ladle is a novel technology and the inclusion in the molten steel can be removed effectively. Compared with conventional inclusion removal technology, the number of the oxide inclusion can be decreased to a lower level and the inclusion size becomes much finer. Using this novel technology, the total oxygen in the as-cast slab can approach to 6ppm. This novel technology can be achieved without special facility and be realized in most steelmaking plant.


Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations are increasingly used for a wide range of applications, and networks of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) are being rapidly installed to provide centimetre-level relative positioning. It is becoming increasingly important to determine and report on the quality control of these installations. This is necessary for legal traceability of data and measurements as well as for long-term stability studies of station coordinates. This paper presents the automation of high-precision daily coordinate solutions of stations in CORSnet-NSW, using the Bernese software. CORSnet-NSW is a rapidly expanding network of CORS stations separated by significant distances (up to 275 km in remote regions) in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Coordinates are obtained in ITRF2005 and transformed into GDA94. The ongoing analysis of these coordinates can reveal: 1) Site specific velocities of a network at higher densities than those provided by the IGS network, 2) A medium density sampling of the local distortions present in the GDA94 datum and the distortions in ellipsoidal heights derived from the Australian Height Datum 1971 (AHD71) and AUSGeoid98, and 3) Trends in site coordinates revealing local ground deformation. GPS data collected over a short period (60 days) in 2009 is sufficient to calculate station coordinates at millimetre-level precision, and velocities with 2-4 mm/yr precision that agree with expected tectonic motions. Significant differences are shown to exist between the coordinates of CORSnet-NSW stations obtained from the Bernese solution and their published GDA94 and ellipsoidal height coordinates at the 0.2 m and 0.3 m levels horizontally and vertically, respectively. The published coordinates are calculated from local tie-surveys and retain local distortions in GDA94 and AHD71 for the benefit of local users. Network-RTK error modelling methods, legal traceability via national 'Regulation 13' position certification, and overlapping CORS networks will soon require station coordinates in a more homogeneous datum, such as ITRF. Ever-increasing GNSS accuracy will highlight the local distortions present in GDA94 and AHD71/AUSGeoid98 and cause possible confusion for users. For these reasons, the time has come to review and renew the national horizontal and vertical datums.


Introduction: Hypertension (HPT) is a significant public health challenge worldwide and is the single most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. As life expectancy rates improve in Ghana and the prevalence of risk factors increase, the burden of non-communicable diseases such as HPT is also expected to increase. However, little is known about the specific factors that predispose of Ghanaians to a higher risk of HPT.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Dormaa Municipality in Ghana using the World Health Organization STEPwise approach to investigate risk factors for HPT. Study participants were recruited by probability proportional sampling technique. In all, 202 males and 198 females participated in this study.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 50.06 years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 48.46–51.66). In all, 40% of all participants in this study had elevated blood pressure (BP) (BP ≥140/90 mmHg). Further, the rate of isolated systolic HPT was 11.2% among the study population (12.9% in males and 9.6% in females). Risk factors as measured in the population were advancing age >45 years (odds ratio [OR] = 2.745, CI 1.20–6.30, p = 0.017), gender (44.6% males versus 35.4% females with elevated BP, male OR = 0.492, CI 0.28–0.86, p = 0.012), and tobacco use (OR = 2.66, CI 1.41–5.04, p = 0.003). Males reported higher mean portions of fruits (p = 0.036) and vegetable servings than females (p = 0.009) and spent more time each day on physical activities compared to females (p = 0.000).
Conclusion: The results of the present study provide useful data on HPT prevalence and associated risk factors in the Dormaa Municipality and the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. To be able to control HPT in the municipality, health practitioners and policymakers should focus on these modifiable risk factors.


Speech synthesis has improved in both expressiveness and voice quality in recent years. However, obtaining full expressiveness when dealing with large multi-sentential synthesized discourse is still a challenge, since speech synthesizers do not take into account the prosodic differences that have been observed in discourse units such as paragraphs. The current study validates and extends previous work by analyzing the prosody of paragraph units in a large and diverse corpus of TED Talks using automatically extracted F0, intensity and timing features. In addition, a series of classification experiments was performed in order to identify which features are consistently used to dis-tinguish paragraph breaks. The results show significant differences in prosody related to paragraph position. Moreover, the classification experiments show that boundary features such as pause duration and differences in F0 and intensity levels are the most consistent cues in marking paragraph boundaries. This suggests that these features should be taken into account when generating spoken discourse in order to improve naturalness and expressiveness.


The CLARA Simplified Planning Tool (CLARA-SPT) supports economic planning of water supply and sanitation system alternatives by applying life cycle cost (LCC) principles. The cost functions used in the tool were developed based on standard designs, bill of quantities and a database of country specific unit rates. In order to make reasonable economic comparison among system alternatives, the simulations of the tool should be able to predict costs of actual systems efficiently. In this paper, various statistical validation measures were employed to evaluate the simulation accuracy of the CLARA-SPT for eight water supply and nine sanitation technologies commonly implemented in Ethiopia. After evaluating the simulated outputs against observed cost data, appropriate corrective measures were introduced for technologies that did not replicate the reality fairly. Costs of seven water supply and six sanitation technologies were able to be represented by the CLARA-SPT with good accuracy. Disinfection was however mimicked fairly. In addition, poor simulation accuracy was identified for three sanitation technologies (i.e. UDDT, Composting toilet and Faecal sludge collection ). Therefore, the tool developers are advised to correct internal design assumptions of these three sanitation technologies to improve the simulation accuracy of the CLARA-SPT.


This report presents an overview of the various types of evidence which can be used to determine whether a woodland site is likely to be designated as 'ancient' and discusses how these can be used as part of the decision making process. It has been commissioned by the Woodland Trust as part of their work promoting the value of ancient woodlands and getting the importance of such sites recognised through the planning process. An ancient woodland is defined as a woodland which has been continuously wooded from before 1600 AD. The evidence used to determine whether a site is ancient woodland is therefore: • evidence which indicates the continuity of woodland cover at a site from before 1600. • evidence which indicates that woodland was established post-1600 on a site. • evidence of a gap in woodland cover and the presence of other land uses, e.g. farmland, at that site since 1600. The robustness of the evidence sources varies, modern sources are often more robust and easier to verify but only demonstrate woodland cover in recent times. Care needs to be taken with all sources in their interpretation and use. Guidance has been provided regarding some of the potential limitations of the various types of evidence and recommendations have been made. General recommendations when seeking to identify/confirm an ancient woodland: • Ideally multiple sources of evidence should be obtained. • The reliability of the evidence used should be considered in the analysis. • A wide range of evidence sources should be consulted. • It needs to be recognised that absence of reference to a woodland on a map or in a document is not necessarily evidence of the absence of a woodland at that site. • In looking for evidence to determine whether a site is an ancient woodland it is as important to look for evidence that there was another land use at this site (i.e. evidence of a gap in woodland cover as shown by farmland on a map) as it is to look for evidence that there has been a continuity of woodland cover. • Field based evidence should normally be used to support map and archive evidence. However, ancient woodland plants can aid in ascribing antiquity where archive evidence alone is insufficient. • The evidence used to support the designation of a woodland as ancient or not needs to be clearly stated. As indicated previously, evaluation of the historical and other evidence for a site being an ancient woodland or not is a matter of judgement. Much of the evidence used is historic and not scientific, yet a rigorous scientific approach needs to be taken in determining the status of a possible ancient woodland site. It is recommended that in the near future further investigations into developing a more rigorous method for identifying and verifying the status of a site as an ancient woodland should be investigated. It is also recommended that the statutory agencies consider the development of detailed advice to consultants, planners and other workers involved in decisions relation to identify or potential ancient woodlands. It is hoped that this document may aid in this development.


Ice break-up on northern rivers presents a unique research challenge because of its dynamic nature and complexity of physical, chemical and biological processes. Rapidly moving ice, ice jamming, flood levels, and enhanced flow velocities can produce significant sediment transport and trace-element fluxes. Systematic sampling for these parameters, however, is rarely conducted because of logistical difficulties. This paper discusses the magnitude and relative significance of sediment and trace-element fluxes during break-up of the Liard River in northern Canada. Historical data for the open-water and stable ice-covered periods are compared to that measured during the 1987 and 1993 break-up events. Analysis reveals that a break-up pulse occurs during this period that if not accounted, can lead to significant underestimation of suspended sediment and trace-element fluxes. More generally, any estimates of annual sediment or trace-elements for northern rivers that do not include data for the critical break-up period must be regarded as being conservative.


Research projects are primarily collaborative in nature through internal and external partnerships, but what role does funding play in their formation? Here, we examined over 43,000 funded projects in the past three decades, enabling us to characterise changes in the funding landscape and their impacts on the underlying collaboration patterns. We observed rising inequality in the distribution of funding and its effect was most noticeable at the institutional level in which the leading universities diversified their collaborations and increasingly became the knowledge brokers. Furthermore, these universities formed a cohesive core through their close ties, and such reliance appeared to be a key for their research success, with the elites in the core over-attracting resources but in turn rewarding in both research breadth and depth. Our results reveal how collaboration networks undergo previously unknown adaptive organisation in response to external driving forces, which can have far-reaching implications for future policy.


Of many dinitrophenylated (DNP) protein conjugates tested, only DNP conjugated to polymerized flagellin (DNP-POL) (or the structurally related bacterial flagella) elicited a primary anti-DNP response in vitro. Other DNP proteins, such as DNP-monomeric flagellin (DNP-MON), were capable of inducing secondary responses in vitro. The capacity of DNP-POL to immunize spleen cell suspensions devoid of thymus-derived cells was the reason for the greater immunogenicity of DNP-POL, since even large numbers of flagellin-reactive activated thymus cells did not increase the anti-DNP response of normal spleen cells immunized with DNP-POL, whereas the thymus-dependent response to DNP-MON was markedly increased. The capacity of various batches of DNP-POL to immunize normal spleen cells in vitro varied markedly, depending on the number of DNP groups conjugated. DNP-POL with few DNP groups conjugated was immunogenic, but even at very high concentrations did not induce tolerance. In contrast, highly conjugated DNP-POL did not immunize, but readily induced tolerance. DNP-POL with intermediate degrees of conjugation were, like unconjugated polymeric flagellin, capable of inducing both immunity and tolerance. Since DNP-POL immunizes bone marrow-derived lymphocytes (B cells) directly the reduced response was not due to a masking of carrier determinants, necessary for cell collaboration. By using mixed DNP-5-(dimethylamino)-1-naphthalyl (dansyl)-POL conjugates, it was found that the inhibitory effect of a high degree of hapten conjugated was hapten specific. Depolymerization of DNP-POL to DNP-MON, which does not induce primary anti-DNP responses, was excluded by centrifugation analysis and electron microscopy. The relationship of the degree of hapten conjugation on DNP-POL to the capacity to induce tolerance and immunity in B cells has clarified the mechanism of immunological triggering of these cells. A model of the mechanism of "signal" discrimination between immunity and tolerance in B cells, based on these findings, is proposed.


This article outlines one school's approach to planning with the new orders, to include: understanding the new Order reviewing existing schemes of work identifying appropriate resources reviewing the existing design and technology policy With the publication of the new National Curriculum orders in 1995 , our school began the review and reorganisation of its policies and schemes of work . It was decided that design and technology should be one of the first subjects to be reviewed as it is considered to be a cornerstone in the school's cross-curricular project system - a system that a l l staff wanted to continue. It was felt that it was important to build upon existing design and technology work in school , recognising the good practice that was in place already. We wanted to produce a coherent programme of learning for each year group that would fit our project  approach and , at the same time , would ensure continuity and progression across each year group and key stage.


The specificity factor of Rubisco is a measure of the relative capacities of the enzyme to catalyse carboxylation and oxygenation of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate and hence to control the relative rates of photosynthetic carbon assimilation and photorespiration. Specificity factors of purified Rubisco from 24 species of C3 plants found in diverse habitats with a wide range of environmental growth limitations by both water availability and temperature in the Balearic Islands were measured at 25°C. The results suggest that specificity factors are more dependent on environmental pressure than on phylogenetic factors. Irrespective of phylogenetic relationships, higher specificity factors were found in species characteristically growing in dryer environments and in species that are hemideciduous or evergreen. Effects of temperature on specificity factor of the purified enzyme from 14 species were consistent with the concept that higher specificity factors were associated with an increase in the activation energy for oxygenation compared to carboxylation of the 2,3-enediolate of RuBP to the respective transition state intermediates. The results are discussed in terms of selection pressures leading to the differences in specificity factors and the value of the observations for identifying useful genetic manipulation to change Rubisco polypeptide subunits.


Increased labour efficiency is imperative in the developing world and particularly in Nigerian Agriculture which should be in its leaping phase. The interaction between labour efficiency and ICTs is inevitable in the realisation of the nation's agribusiness potentials. Following a vivid descriptive statistics on main occupations and access to ICTs among the Nigerian populace, this study assessed effects of ICTs on the probability that a working aged Nigerian chose agricultural occupation over non-agricultural occupations. In doing so, the study analysed the effects of access to ICTs on agricultural labour efficiency in Nigeria. Data used for the analysis were drawn from the Nigerian General Household Survey-Panel held in 2010-2011 period. Analytical framework for the study include: Logistic Regression and Multiple Regression Models. Results show that access to mobile phones, using the internet to obtain information, and using the internet to send or receive mails were significant factors of the probability that a Nigerian chose agriculture or its related activities as a main occupation. Again, access to personal computers, use of the internet for e-banking, e-learning and for reading e-newspapers had significant impact on agricultural labour efficiency in Nigeria. The study recommends that labour policies should find a place for the role of ICTs, particularly the internet.


Mandate and accountability theory state that governments should implement the policies that they promised voters. Accordingly, this study addresses a key lacuna by exploring the role of electoral politics in shaping public policy on sport. Attention centres on issue-salience and policy framing in party manifestos in post-war UK elections. In an era of multi-level governance, the analysis also explores the impact of devolution in the UK where, since 1998, sport policy is mandated in four electoral systems in place of earlier, single state-wide ballots. The findings reveal that there has been a sharp increase in issue-salience over recent decades – thereby confirming the party politicization of sport as part of the wider rise of 'valence politics'. They also show how parties increasingly frame sport proposals to achieve non-sport aims such as promoting social welfare and boosting international standing. Notably, the data underline the territorialization of sport policy following the UK's move to quasi-federalism – as policy framing is now contingent on 'regional' socio-historical factors and party politics, including nation – building by civic nationalist parties.


In this design science research paper, we report on our constructing and evaluating an attention-guidance system that we integrated into a computer-supported collaborative learning system. Drawing on social constructivist literature, our proposed design focuses on attracting, retaining, and, if necessary, reacquiring users' attention on task-relevant information in online collaborative literature processing. The investigation involved an experiment across two sections of students in a human-computer interaction course. Results show that the new design allowed users to consistently reflect and evaluate the content of a text as they capitalized on one another's reasoning to resolve misconceptions. Moreover, we found that the new system increased users' perceptions of learning. However, the difference in knowledge gain scores was marginally significant and represented a medium effect size. Interestingly, we found that the attention-guidance system supported more efficient learning. Finally, we discovered that task-oriented reading of text, revisions of incomplete or incorrect ideas, and perceptions of learning mediated the relationship between software system and learning efficiency. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications.


The final six shortlisted entries for the IEA Brexit Prize Second Place: Cutting the Gordian knot: A road map for British exit from the European Union by Rory Broomfield and Iain Murray Summary: The UK should withdraw from the EU not through Article 50 procedures but via a Parliamentary Act repealing the 1972 European Communities Act and creating a Royal Commission to examine the inherited legacy of EU law and regulation since that date. The exit provides opportunities for a move towards a much more free-market approach in fisheries, trade, immigration, agriculture, foreign direct investment, and energy, environment and transport. In all of these areas apart from immigration and air transport the benefits of being freed from EU controls and moving in this direction will significantly exceed the costs. About the authors: Rory Broomfield and Iain Murray Rory Broomfield is Director of The Freedom Association and Director of the Better Off Out campaign. Rory has worked for a number of prominent Conservative Members of Parliament and several small businesses. He is also a former Director and Board Member of the United Nations Association in the UK (UNA-UK) and holds a First Class degree in Politics from the University of York along with Masters degrees from both City University London and Warwick Business School. Iain Murray is Vice President for Strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington DC. He is the author of the best-selling books, The Really Inconvenient Truths and Stealing You Blind: How Government Fat Cats Are Getting Rich Off of You. Before joining CEI, he was Senior Analyst and then Director of Research at the Statistical Assessment Service Third place: Old Friends, New Deals: The Route to the UK's global prosperity through International Networks by Tim Hewish Summary: After an exit the UK has at its disposal the power of the Commonwealth and the wider Anglosphere. The Statute of Westminster sets a precedent for both exit and a future strategy. The UK will be able to re-engage with the world through negotiated Free Trade Agreements and bilateral investment agreements. There should be an overhaul of the UK visa system with a restoration of the Commonwealth track and a growth of business visas. The aim is a policy that charts the UK along a path with its Commonwealth and Anglosphere partners through exchange of trade, people, ideas and culture. About the author: Tim Hewish is Director and Co-Founder, Commonwealth Exchange. He read for a Masters in Imperial and Commonwealth History at King's College London. He currently works as a researcher for a Conservative Member of Parliament. He recently authored, Common-Trade, Common-Growth, Common-Wealth, an inquiry into the establishment of freer trade, growth and prosperity across Britain and the Commonwealth. Remaining three shortlisted entries: IEA Brexit Prize: Britain outside the European Union by Ben Clement Summary: The UK should leave the EU following a referendum vote through (ideally but not necessarily) a negotiated agreement. There are a number of options for future trade and other relations, including membership of EFTA and the EEA but the best would be the Swiss model of EFTA membership plus bilateral Free Trade Agreements. This will open up possibilities for greater openness to the rest of the world and a significant shift in the pattern of world trade. There would be policy responses over a wide range of government policy areas, including trade, fiscal policy, employment and immigration, energy policy, environmental regulation, and taxation. About the author: Ben Clements is reading for a BA (hons) in Chinese and Japanese at the University of Manchester. A Brexit Blueprint: Britain revitalised and Independence Regained By Prof Stephen Bush Summary: Leaving the EU is a unique opportunity to revitalise Britain and escape from a persistent failure to produce enough things and thereby generate enough jobs, to pay for our way of life and a respected place in the world. There should be a clean break from the EU with a move to EFTA and the negotiation of a free trade agreement with the EU. There should be a long-term secure energy strategy and a program to rebuild British manufacturing, based on a new form of manufacturing organisation called Leopard Clusters. A new Act of Supremacy and a British Rights and Duties Act would be introduced to replace the repealed European Communities Act, Extradition Act, Human Rights Act, and Climate Change Act. About the author: Prof Stephen Bush is Emeritus Professor of Process Manufacture and of Polymer Engineering at the University of Manchester. He has also been a well-known campaigner on political issues over a period of some 25 years. He has written 5 substantial pamphlets on economic, political and educational issues and been a contributor to most of the major British TV and radio current affairs programmes. IEA Brexit Prize: The plan to leave the European Union by 2020 by Daniel. C. Pycock Summary: Within one year a Treaty should be signed effecting a complete withdrawal of the UK from the EU. The UK should be a member of EFTA and at the same time enter into Free Trade Agreements with other trading partners and areas such as NAFTA. There will be major reforms to financial services and their regulation, monetary policy and targets, and taxation and fiscal policy to make the UK economy both more dynamic and more stable. There will also be a major shift of policy on both energy and immigration. About the author: Daniel Pycock recently graduated from the University of St. Andrews, having studied History and Economics. He has conducted research for a number of writers on subjects including the early life of Colonel Qaddafi, the economic histories of Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore, and the economy of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1989. He has also worked at the Adam Smith Institute, where he evaluated the policies of the ECB, the NHS, DfID and the Bank of England, and undertook research on Incapacity Benefit waste prior to the 2010 general election.


A critical feature of human cognition is the ability to flexibly adapt one's thoughts and behaviours towards a current goal. The capability to select and process those mental representations which are contextually appropriate, while simultaneously suppressing responses to prepotent, yet inappropriate representations (i.e. cognitive inhibition), is fundamental to the control of basic behaviours and thoughts. Recent studies have suggested that deficits of cognitive inhibition may underlie key symptoms of a number of psychiatric disorders. This association is further supported by brain imaging studies; whereby, cognitive inhibitory processes involve the activation of frontostriatal circuitry, the same brain circuitry implicated across a number of psychiatric disorders. However, to date, the specific nature of these frontally-mediated cognitive inhibitory deficits within various psychiatric disorders is poorly understood. This thesis explores the presence of these neurocognitive inhibitory deficits across two highly prevalent and devastating psychiatric disorders: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Alcohol Dependence (AD). Despite significantly different clinical symptomatology, the cognitive inhibitory processes, and the involvement of frontostriatal circuitry, are nevertheless remarkably similar across both disorders. Therefore, the current thesis aimed to (i) examine the presence of cognitive inhibitory deficits across both psychiatric populations, (ii) utilize newly developed brain stimulation techniques to assess the involvement of the disrupted frontostriatal circuitry, and (iii) discuss the potential clinical ramifications of these frontally-mediated cognitive inhibitory deficits. To examine regulatory deficits across the two disorders, three cognitive inhibitory tasks were administered: The Sustained Attention to Response Task, Emotional Stroop, and the Random Number Generation Task. Each of these tasks characterizes a distinct aspect of cognitive inhibitory function and provides a frontally-mediated measure of cognitive inhibition within depressive and alcohol dependent patients. To assess the involvement of the frontostriatal circuitry, two newly-developed transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) techniques were delivered across both patient groups. Deep TMS was administered to the MDD patients to explore whether stimulation of the frontal cortex and deeper cortical structures could attenuate cognitive inhibitory impairment within a MDD sample. The combined TMS and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) technique was administered to the AD group to provide the first direct measure of altered cortical excitability within the frontal cortex of an alcohol dependent sample. The major research aims were achieved. In terms of MDD, significant cognitive inhibitory deficits were observed within the depressive population, and the frontostriatal circuitry was found to play a critical role in cognitive symptoms of depression. With regards to AD, enduring cognitive inhibitory deficits were revealed within the alcohol dependent post detoxification population, and a direct index of altered cortical inhibition within the frontal cortex of alcohol dependent patients was demonstrated for the first time. When combined, these studies provide empirical evidence of the presence of cognitive inhibitory deficits, and the involvement of the frontostriatal circuitry, across both depressive and alcohol dependent disorders. Further insight into these frontally-mediated cognitive inhibitory deficits may advance our understanding of the cognitive features of these disorders, and expand the current pathophysiological models of depression and alcohol dependence.


ObjectivesThere is emerging evidence that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can produce analgesic effects in clinical samples and in healthy adults undergoing experimentally induced pain; and the field of minimally invasive brain stimulation for the management of pain is expanding rapidly. Although motor cortex is the most widely used cortical target for TMS in the management of neuropathic pain, few studies have systematically investigated the analgesic effects of a full range of device parameters to provide initial hints about what stimulation intensities and frequencies are most helpful (or even potentially harmful) to patients. Further, there is considerable inconsistency between studies with respect to laboratory pain measurement procedures, TMS treatment parameters, sophistication of the sham methods, and sample sizes. MethodsThis study used a sham-controlled, within-subject, cross-over design to examine the effects of 5 different TMS treatment parameters across several quantitative sensory measures in a sample of healthy adult volunteers. Sixty-five participants underwent quantitative sensory testing procedures pre and post-40-minutes of real and sham motor cortex TMS. TMS was delivered at 1 Hz 80% resting motor threshold (rMT), 1 Hz 100% rMT, 10 Hz 80% rMT, 10 Hz 100% rMT, or 50 Hz triplets at 90% of active motor threshold (intermittent theta-burst). ResultsThe mean painfulness rating of real TMS stimulation itself was 3.0 (SE=0.36) out of 10 and was significantly greater than zero [t(64)=8.17, P<0.0001]. The sham TMS methods used permitted matching between real and sham TMS-induced scalp sensations and participants were successfully blinded to condition (real versus sham). Findings suggest that the effects of motor cortex TMS on quantitative sensory tests in healthy adults vary across different treatment parameters with the smallest observed effect for intermittent theta-burst stimulation (Cohen's d=0.03) and the largest for 10 Hz 100% rMT (d=0.34). DiscussionOverall, TMS was associated with statistically significant effects on warm and cool sensory thresholds, cold pain thresholds, suprathreshold stimulus unpleasantness ratings, and wind-up pain. With respect to device parameter effects, higher frequency stimulation seems to be associated with the most analgesic and antisensitivity effects with the exception of intermittent theta-burst stimulation. The present findings support several clinical research findings suggesting that higher TMS frequencies tend to be associated with the most clinical benefit in patients with chronic pain.


Load and source pull measurement data has for some time now been a critical and integral part of the power amplifier design process, offering accurate performance data of the actual device that is to be used. This data can be used directly to generate graphical representations of key parameters such as output power, efficiency and gain as functions of source and load impedance, for model verification or perhaps more interestingly as the basis of a model itself. There are a number of excellent research groups across Europe looking into these interesting areas, however until recently, collaboration and dissemination of information has been limited. TARGET, a network of excellence has provided a close working relationship between these groups where, for the first time these key capabilities have been compared and contrasted.


We report a measurement of the t{bar t} production cross section using dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy in p{bar p} collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. Using a 197 {+-} 12 pb{sup -1} data sample recorded by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab, we use two complementary techniques to select candidate events. We compare the number of observed events and selected kinematical distributions with the predictions of the standard model and find good agreement. The combined result of the two techniques yields a t{bar t} production cross section of 7.0{sub -2.1}{sup +2.4}(stat){sub -1.1}{sup _1.6}(syst) {+-} 0.4(lum) pb.


abstract:This article explores domestic religious practices of Iranian Muslim women in Los Angeles. In the diasporic context, Iranian women's voluntary engagement in vernacular Islamic practices is often associated with an unreflexive pursuit of religion and lack of agency or with complicity with the Islamic Republic's conservative brand of Shiism. To examine the complexities of such practices in the United States, this research relies on the ethnography of a monthly domestic gathering in LA that offers a hybrid blend of multiple devotional and social genres. The article demonstrates that the event's performative and affective characteristics cater to a range of individual framings of the shared ritual and allow for complex and multilayered modes of engaging with the practice of faith. Further, it argues that vernacular Islamic practices in the diaspora are not always tied to individuals' expression of religious conviction and pursuit of piety. By depicting the material and sensory aspects of the space, the article suggests that such rituals can serve as sites for engaging in a mode of diasporic nostalgia that does not commonly have a place in Iranian communities' nostalgic narratives of the homeland.


Background: Mutations in the PRSS1 gene explain most occurrences of hereditary pancreatitis (HP) but many HP families have no PRSS1 mutation. Recently, an association between the mutation N34S in the pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (SPINK1 or PSTI) gene and idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) was reported. It is unclear whether the N34S mutation is a cause of pancreatitis per se, whether it modifies the disease, or whether it is a marker of the disease. Patients and methods: A total of 327 individuals from 217 families affected by pancreatitis were tested: 152 from families with HP, 108 from families with ICP, and 67 with alcohol related CP (ACP). Seven patients with ICP had a family history of pancreatitis but no evidence of autosomal dominant disease (f-ICP) compared with 87 patients with true ICP (t-ICP). Two hundred controls were also tested for the N34S mutation. The findings were related to clinical outcome. Results: The N34S mutation was carried by five controls (2.5%; allele frequency 1.25%), 11/87 (13%) t-ICP patients (p=0.0013 v controls), and 6/7 (86%) affected (p<0.0001 v controls) and 1/9 (11%) unaffected f-ICP cases. N34S was found in 4/108 affected HP patients (p=0.724 v controls), in 3/27 (11%) with wild-type and in 1/81 (1%) with mutant PRSS1, and 4/67 ACP patients (all p>0.05 v controls). The presence of the N34S mutation was not associated with early disease onset or disease severity. Conclusions: The prevalence of the N34S mutation was increased in patients with ICP and was greatest in f-ICP cases. Segregation of the N34S mutation in families with pancreatitis is unexplained and points to a complex association between N34S and another putative pancreatitis related gene.


Metrics for assessing adoption of good development practices are a useful way to ensure that software is sustainable, reusable and functional. Sustainability means that the software used today will be available - and continue to be improved and supported - in the future. We report here an initial set of metrics that measure good practices in software development. This initiative differs from previously developed efforts in being a community-driven grassroots approach where experts from different organisations propose good software practices that have reasonable potential to be adopted by the communities they represent. We not only focus our efforts on understanding and prioritising good practices, we assess their feasibility for implementation and publish them here.


The theory of standardized time series, initially proposed to estimate a single steady-state mean from the output of a simulation, is extended to the case where more than one steady-state mean is to be estimated simultaneously. Under mild assumptions on the stochastic process representing the output of the simulation, namely a functional central limit theorem, we obtain asymptotically valid confidence regions for a (multivariate) steady-state mean based on multivariate standardized time series. We provide examples of multivariate standardized time series, including the multivariate versions of the batch means method and Schruben's standardized sum process. Large-sample properties of confidence regions obtained from multivariate standardized time series are discussed. We show that, as in the univariate case, the asymptotic expected volume of confidence regions produced by standardized time series procedures is larger than that obtained from a consistent estimation procedure. We present and discuss experimental results that illustrate our theory.


This thesis is based on nine research publications (I – IX) on structure and reactivity of RNA vis-a-vis DNA. The DNA and RNA are made of flexible pentose sugar units, polyelectrolytic phosphodiester backbone, and heterocyclic nucleobases. DNA stores our genetic code, whereas RNA is involved both in protein biosynthesis and catalysis. Various ligand-binding and recognition properties of DNA/RNA are mediated through inter- and intra-molecular H-bonding and stacking interactions, beside hydration, van der Waal and London dispersion forces. In this work the pH dependant chemical shift, pKa values of 2'-OH group as well as those the nucleobases in different sequence context, alkaline hydrolysis of the internucleotidic phosphodiester bonds and analysis of NOESY footprints along with NMR constrained molecular dynamics simulation were used as tools to explore and understand the physico-chemical behavior of various nucleic acid sequences, and the forces involved in their self-assembly process. Papers I – II showed that the ionization of 2'-OH group is nucleobase-dependant. Paper III showed that the chemical characters of internucleotidic phosphate are non-identical in RNA compared to that of DNA. Papers IV – VI show that variable intramolecular electrostatic interactions between electronically coupled nearest neighbor nucleobases in a ssRNA can modulate their respective pseudoaromatic character, and result in creation of a unique set of aglycons with unique properties depending on propensity and geometry of nearest neighbor interaction. Paper VII showed that the cross-modulation of the pseudoaromatic character of nucleobases by the nearest neighbor is sequence-dependant in nature in oligonucleotides. Paper VIII showed that the purine-rich hexameric ssDNA and ssRNA retain the right-handed helical structure (B-type in ssDNA and A-type in ssRNA) in the single-stranded form even in absence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The directionality of stacking geometry however differs in ssDNA compared to ssRNA. In ssDNA the relatively electron-rich imidazole stacks above the electron-deficient pyrimidine in the 5' to 3' direction, in contradistinction, the pyrimidine stacks above the imidazole in the 5' to 3' direction in ssRNA. Paper IX showed that the pKa values of the nucleobases in monomeric nucleotides can be used to show that a RNA-RNA duplex is more stable than a DNA-DNA duplex. The dissection of the relative strength of base-pairing and stacking showed that the relative contribution of former compared to that of the latter in an RNA-RNA over the corresponding DNA-DNA duplexes decreases with the increasing content of A-T/U base pairs in a sequence.


Aviation emissions have been found to cause 5% of global anthropogenic radiative forcing and ∼16 000 premature deaths annually due to impaired air quality. When aiming to reduce these impacts, decision makers often face trade-offs between different emission species or impacts in different times and locations. To inform rational decision-making, this study computes aviation's marginal climate and air quality impacts per tonne of species emitted and accounts for the altitude, location, and chemical composition of emissions. Climate impacts are calculated using a reduced-order climate model, and air quality-related health impacts are quantified using marginal atmospheric sensitivities to emissions from the adjoint of the global chemistry-transport model GEOS-Chem in combination with concentration response functions and the value of statistical life. The results indicate that 90% of the global impacts per unit of fuel burn are attributable to cruise emissions, and that 64% of all damages are the result of air quality impacts. Furthermore, nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), and contrails are collectively responsible for 97% of the total impact. Applying our result metrics to an example, we find that a 20% NOx stringency scenario for new aircraft would reduce the net atmospheric impacts by 700 m USD during the first year of operation, even if the NOx emission reductions cause a small increase in CO2 emissions of 2%. In such a way, the damage metrics can be used to rapidly evaluate the atmospheric impacts of market growth as well as emissions trade-offs of aviation-related policies or technology improvements.


Bobby, Lisa Marie. Shaping Attitudes Towards Psychological Help Seeking. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation. University of Northern Colorado, 2012. Despite a high need for effective mental health treatment, psychological services are often underutilized. Prior research has revealed factors associated with help-seeking behaviors or avoidance of psychological services. However, little is currently known about how to communicate effectively about psychological services in a manner that may increase rates of utilization. This dissertation documents original research that compared the impact of message framing on factors known to be associated with help seeking; particularly attitude, self-stigma, and intention. One-hundred and fifty-one freshmen at a Midwestern University were exposed to either a positive, negative or neutrally framed message about psychological services on campus. They were then assessed in a variety of domains including: Attitudes towards psychological services; perceptions of self-stigma; and intention to seek help. Information about demographic variables was also collected, including previous experience in mental health treatment, current levels of psychological distress, gender, race, and age. MANOVA procedures comparing the effect of the messages in the population as a whole, and between participants with and without current subjective psychological distress showed that there was not a significant relationship between message framing on attitude, stigma or intention. However, message framing was shown to have significant impact on attitude, stigma and intention (particularly around perceptions of self-stigma) when explored in the context of moderating variables iv including gender, past experience with mental health treatment, and race. It was shown that men experience greater self-stigma around help seeking after being exposed to a negatively framed message. People with past experience in therapy reported higher positive attitudes towards therapy and greater intentions to seek help after being exposed to a positively framed message. People with past experience in therapy reported lower levels of self-stigma after being exposed to a positive message about mental health treatment. Additionally, this study found some evidence to suggest that participants identifying as Hispanic may hold poorer attitudes, greater perceptions of self-stigma and lower intentions to seek help after being exposed to either a positively or negatively framed message about psychological service, as compared to a neutral control message. The clinical implications of these findings are addressed, and suggestions for future research are provided.


Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder with prevalence rates increasing yearly. Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, specific language abnormalities, behavioural stereotypes, and a range of cognitive deficits. The presence of symptoms and the severity impairments vary from individual to individual with deficits ranging from non-verbal and severe intellectual disabilities, to high-functioning. Currently, there is no cure for autism. However, intensive behavioural intervention (IBI) is gaining worldwide popularity as the treatment of choice. Intensive behavioural interventions have roots in applied behavioural analysis. The efficacies of the methodologies that have been used worldwide have varied. This paper compares the original IBI program developed by Lovaas with the current program used by the Toronto Partnership for Autism Services. Research is needed to determine what aspects of IBI are most effective for children with autism, which children benefit the most, if IBI is needed on a continued basis to maintain gains that are made, and if IBI programs are cost-effective for


We present a novel high-energy, single-mode, all-fiber-based master-oscillator-power-amplifier (MOPA) laser system operating in the C-band with 3.3-ns pulses and a very widely tunable repetition rate, ranging from 30 kHz to 50 MHz. The laser with a maximum pulse energy of 25 \muJ and a repetition rate of 30 kHz is obtained at a wavelength of 1548 nm by using a double-clad, single-mode, Er:Yb co-doped fiber power amplifier.


First published in 1996 to great critical and popular acclaim, the Grove Book of Operas, is a collection of synopses and descriptions of over 250 operas. Each succinct yet insightful entry is written by a leading authority on the opera and includes a full synopsis of the plot, a cast list, a note on the singers in the original production, and information on the origins of the work and its literary and social background. Contributions conclude with a brief comment on the particular work's place in operatic history. A glossary offers brief and accessible definitions of terms that may be unfamiliar to the reader. And indices of role names and of arias and ensembles allow the reader to find operas containing their favorite aria or a well-known character. The second edition brings the book up to date with several recently composed operas and a fascinating introductory essay by David Levin on opera performance in the 21st century. Recent additions to the operatic repertory included for the first time in this edition include Nicholas Maw, Sophie's Choice; Poul Ruders, A Handmaid's Tale; John Adams, Death of Klinghoffer; and Mark Adamo, Little Women. Covering all operas in the current repertory along with some less-well-known early and very modern ones, this is an ideal volume for the general opera lover.


We study inflation as a 'cosmic' renormalization-group (RG) flow. The flow, which encodes the dependence on the background metric, is described by a running coupling α, which parametrizes the slow roll, a de Sitter free, analytic beta function and perturbation spectra that are RG invariant in the superhorizon limit. Using RG invariance as a guiding principle, we classify the main types of flows according to the properties of their spectra, without referring to their origins from specific actions or models. Novel features include spectra with essential singularities in α and violations of the relation r + 8n t = 0 to the leading order. Various classes of potentials studied in the literature can be described by means of the RG approach, even when the action includes a Weyl-squared term, while others are left out. In known cases, the classification helps identify the models that are ruled out by data. The RG approach is also able to generate spectra that cannot be derived from standard Lagrangian formulations.


Background Adenoma of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a rare intraocular tumor that can simulate other pigmented tumors such as choroidal melanoma. We report a case of non-pigmented adenoma of the RPE initially diagnosed as choroidal hemangioma. Case report A 42-year-old woman presented to Kurume University Hospital in November 1992 with an orange-yellow tumor nasal to the optic disc in the left fundus. The tumor was 9.0 × 9.0 mm in diameter, 6.0 mm thick, and was characterized by high intensity on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), low intensity on T2-weighted MRI, and enhancement on gadolinium MRI. Fluorescein angiography revealed early hypofluorescence and late hyperfluorescence of the tumor and retinal feeder vessels. By April 1996, exudate had developed around the tumor margins. The patient was treated with external beam radiation therapy (20 Gy) in July 1996, but the tumor did not diminish in size. Subsequently, she developed extensive loss of vision due to total retinal detachment. Accordingly, her left eye was enucleated in June 2005 because of severe ocular pain due to absolute glaucoma. Histopathological examination indicated that the tumor was contiguous with the normal surrounding RPE and was composed of cords and tubules of mostly non-pigmented spindle-shaped cells with round to oval nuclei and a small amount of cytoplasm containing melanin granules. The tumor cells were immunoreactive for vimentin, S-100 protein, and cytokeratin 18. The final diagnosis was adenoma of the RPE. Conclusion Adenoma of the retinal pigment epithelium may be associated with incompetent vessels leading to serous retinal detachment and extensive visual loss, and may exhibit clinical characteristics similar to choroidal hemangioma.


The Psychology National Course Exam accomplished by all of the last year students (seniors) in the year of the 2000 revealed a high correlation between the rank attributed to each course and its application/openings ratio (r = 0,69; p < 0,001). Therefore, it might be possible that the Psychology 2000 National Course Exam employed to rank all the Brazilian psychology courses is sensitive to general student differences imposed by the college entrance exam. To verify this possibility, 386 psychology first year students (freshmen) took the multiple-choice portion of the Psychology 2000 national exam. The freshmen were distributed among 4 courses selected according to its course rank (A, B, C and E). The results revealed that, in fact, coming freshmen students presented performance differences according to the course rank. Senior performance increment in relation to freshmen was differentiated among the four courses with different ranks. Senior students from courses ranked as A and B presented a larger increment in relation to senior students from courses ranked C and E. An item analysis revealed different validity degrees among the 39 multiple-choice questions. A re-analysis of the results, considering only 20 items that presented good validity, indicated an absence of performance difference among the coming freshmen distributed among the 4 courses. On the other hand, senior students from the different courses presented performance differences in accordance to the course rank. Finally, an analysis of the specific contents of each one of the 39 items of Psychology 2000 Course National Exam revealed a deficit in academic education among senior students in basic psychology subjects related to experimental psychology, scientific methodology and measurement and psychological evaluation.


This article discusses a latent variable model for inference and prediction of symmetric relational data. The model, based on the idea of the eigenvalue decomposition, represents the relationship between two nodes as the weighted inner-product of node-specific vectors of latent characteristics. This "eigenmodel" generalizes other popular latent variable models, such as latent class and distance models: It is shown mathematically that any latent class or distance model has a representation as an eigenmodel, but not vice-versa. The practical implications of this are examined in the context of three real datasets, for which the eigenmodel has as good or better out-of-sample predictive performance than the other two models.


Tuneable nitrogen doped carbogels have been synthesised by a simple one-pot hydrothermal carbonisation, followed by pyrolysis at 1000 °C, using highly available and low cost precursors such as glucose and ovalbumin. Different physical activation ratios of nitrogen/oxygen were used to demonstrate a sustainable and easy method for changing surface area, pore size and elemental composition in order to investigate their effect on the oxygen reduction reaction when used as electrocatalysts. A ratio of nitrogen mixed with 2% of oxygen was found to be most beneficial for enhancing the catalytic activity by creating a high surface area of 874 m2 g−1 as well as a favourable ratio of pyridinic to graphitic nitrogen. The influence of sulphur doping and/or boron on the carbogel structure was investigated. Incorporation of sulphur does not interfere with the structure formation, but decreases the surface area and nitrogen content resulting in diminished ORR performance. However, boron doping with boric acid results in a different carbogel structure by acting as a catalyst, creating an altered morphology, surface area, pore properties and higher nitrogen content by fully utilising ovalbumin as a nitrogen source instead of as a structure directing/surface stabilising agent. Nitrogen content is found to determine the limiting current, while the oxygen content has a small influence on the onset potential. An assumed synergistic effect between nitrogen and boron generates higher electron transfer numbers and lower hydrogen peroxide yields in boron nitrogen co-doped carbogels than those observed in purely nitrogen doped systems.


Methods for estimating the aerospace system parameters and controlling them through two neural networks are presented in this study. We equate the energy function of Hopfield neural network to integral square of errors in the system dynamics and extract the parameters of a system. Parameter convergence is proved. For control, we equate the equilibrium status of a "modified" Hopfield neural network to the steady state Riccati solution with the system parameters as inputs. Through these two networks, we present the online identification and control of an aircraft using its nonlinear dynamics.


A new feed-forward control technique for a dc-dc step-up converter based on the asymmetric multistage stacked boost architecture (MSBA) is proposed. The developed feed-forward controller directly handles the load current and the perturbations that may be caused by the dynamic operation of the converter. Thus, there is no time delay for estimating the error in a control process, and therefore, both robust steady-state operation and high dynamic performance can be achieved. The asymmetric MSBA dc-dc converter is a single-output high-voltage topology that embodies several in-series active voltage-balancing circuits. Thus, there is a need for an improved balancing control method. This can be accomplished by replacing the conventional proportional-integral controllers with feed-forward type and therefore improved balancing between the stages can be attained, because the steady-state errors are suppressed and the dynamic response can be enhanced. A thorough theoretical analysis is conducted for verifying the stability of the suggested feed-forward control technique in an asymmetric MSBA converter, and selective simulation and experimental results are demonstrated in order to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed control scheme.


Objective: Medical Infrared Imaging (MII) is an investigative method that can be used to non-invasively detect specific heat signatures associated with disease, with a potential to be used in emergency care. There are no existing protocols for the use of MII in the Emergency Department (ED), and it is not known if this procedure is feasible in an ED setting. Methods: To determine the optimum protocol a preliminary study was conducted on 20 healthy volunteers. The right and left arms were imaged in Thermal Infra-Red (TIR), in a series of positions (anterior and posterior surfaces). TIR video recording of both arms held in extension (2 minutes) was also conducted. Results: Gender, side of body and length of time held in extension did not significantly affect the thermal images. There were significant differences between the anterior and posterior views of the arm, so this should be standardised. Conclusions: A standardised, yet practical protocol has been successfully developed. This 'Leicester ED MII Protocol' is proposed as the standard for future thermography in emergency care, to allow studies to be comparable, and now requires feasibility testing in the emergency care environment.


China's prospective membership in the World Trade Organization is one of the most significant developments relating to international institutions to take place in the past several decades. It comes in the midst of the broad transformation of post-World War II command economies to market orientation. It comes shortly after the transition of the GATT into a more comprehensive international economic organization, based on the rule of law. It represents the potential integration of over one-fifth of the world's population into the primary system established for the purpose of enhancing worldwide economic growth and employment. It will transform the WTO into an inclusive organization, and the WTO may become a less comfortable place from an OECD country standpoint than it has been for the past 50 years. China's prospective entry into the WTO is an opportunity and a challenge for China, for the United States and other industrialized states, and for the WTO.Despite grounds for concern, the advantages to the United States and other countries of bringing China into the WTO system seem obvious. China would agree to open its huge internal market to foreign goods and services. China would provide assurances of fair treatment to importers and foreign service providers. China would agree to be bound by the rule of law in the conduct of its trade relations. China would be anchored in the global economy in ways that would encourage stability in external security relations. On China's side, the advantages of membership in the WTO also seem obvious. As its economy gains strength and becomes more competitive with OECD economies, it would reduce the risk of being arbitrarily shut out of export markets. It would less likely be subject to ad hoc decisions by foreign governments about whether it would continue to enjoy trade privileges. The security of its access to foreign capital markets and foreign direct investment would be enhanced. It would have access to neutral dispute settlement. The integration of China into the WTO also means international economic relations will be playing a greater role in its external world view. Stable external economic relations are becoming increasingly important to the vitality of China's economy. Military-security relations and concerns of the Cold War era are being translated into economic relations and concerns. On the whole, this transition appears to be a positive one for the international community.There appears to be a consensus among United States and European Union trade negotiators strongly in favor of China's accession to the WTO, but on the condition that China accept the 'fundamental rules' applicable to WTO Members, and that China accept a level of commitments that 'is commensurate to the size and importance of that economy." This approach appears to have merit.The use of transitional arrangements intended to bring China's market access commitments in line with those of other major WTO economies appears to be a reasonable course. The OECD business community and financial markets are incessantly anxious for immediate results. Yet it is useful to recall that the member states of the European Economic Community agreed to liberalize the Community services market in 1957/58, and that major progress had been largely unrealized until implementation of the 1992 Plan. Whether China's services markets are open in 5 years, 10 years, or even 15 years, is not a burning question for the international economic system; provided that China is committed to meeting a defined timetable which ultimately produces a substantive result commensurate with that of other WTO Members.The end of the Cold War era is demanding more inclusive international economic institutions. The widening of membership in these institutions cannot be accomplished without some element of risk. This risk should be welcomed in a trade-off against the greater risk of isolating and alienating the major economic and political powers whose transition to market orientation may otherwise portend a very positive contribution to the international community.


Submergence tolerance is an important trait for rice (Oryza sativa L.) in rainfed lowland conditions and is being evaluated as a weed control strategy for rice seeded directly into standing water. The trait is largely controlled by a major gene designated Subl. The present study was conducted to assess the use of the microsatellite marker RM219 and the codominant PCR-based marker RM464A (derived from a microsatellite marker, RM464) to select for submergence tolerance. The two markers RM219 and RM464A were found to be linked to Subl by 3.4 and 0.7 cM, respectively. These two markers were further tested in 55 diverse indica and japonica rice cultivars and breeding lines. RM219 was highly polymorphic in this set of cultivars, showing 14 different alleles, and none of the 55 cultivars had the same allele as the submergence tolerance source IR40931-26. RM464A showed three different alleles in the 55 cultivars. The allele of RM464A of most japonica genotypes was 231 bp in size, 5 bp larger than that of IR40931-26, whereas the allele of most indica rice samples was the same as that of IR40931-26. This indicated that the marker RM219 could be used in breeding programs to select for the Subl gene in a wide range of backgrounds, whereas RM464A was more useful in selection for the Subl gene in japonica rice background. The two markers were used to identify lines from backcrossing a submergence tolerance donor to the temperate japonica cultivar M-202. Several lines were identified that were homozygous for RM219, RM464A, and Subl, and were otherwise genetically similar to M-202. Near isogenic lines (NILs) developed from these sources will be a valuable tool for genetic and physiological studies of submergence tolerance and will also be valuable for evaluating submergence tolerance as a useful trait in water-seeded temperate rice production.


Ergonomics is the scientific discipline that studies the interactions between human beings and the elements of a system and presents multiple applications in areas such as clothing and footwear design or both working and household environments. In each of these sectors, knowing the anthropometric dimensions of the current target population is fundamental to ensure that products suit as well as possible most of the users who make up the population. Anthropometry refers to the study of the measurements and dimensions of the human body and it is considered a very important branch of Ergonomics because its considerable influence on the ergonomic design of products. Human body measurements have usually been taken using rules, calipers or measuring tapes. These procedures are simple and cheap to carry out. However, they have one major drawback: the body measurements obtained and consequently, the human shape information, is imprecise and inaccurate. Furthermore, they always require interaction with real subjects, which increases the measure time and data collecting. The development of new three-dimensional (3D) scanning techniques has represented a huge step forward in the way of obtaining anthropometric data. This technology allows 3D images of human shape to be captured and at the same time, generates highly detailed and reproducible anthropometric measurements. The great potential of these new scanning systems for the digitalization of human body has contributed to promoting new anthropometric studies in several countries, such as United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France or USA, in order to acquire accurate anthropometric data of their current population. In this context, in 2006 the Spanish Ministry of Health commissioned a 3D anthropometric survey of the Spanish female population, following the agreement signed by the Ministry itself with the Spanish associations and companies of manufacturing, distribution, fashion design and knitted sectors. A sample of 10415 Spanish females from 12 to 70 years old, randomly selected from the official Postcode Address File, was measured. The two main objectives of this study, which was conducted by the Biomechanics Institute of Valencia, were the following: on the one hand, to characterize the shape and body dimensions of the current Spanish women population to develop a standard sizing system that could be used by all clothing designers. On the other hand, to promote a healthy image of beauty through the representation of suited mannequins. In order to tackle both objectives, Statistics plays an essential role. Thus, the statistical methodologies presented in this PhD work have been applied to the database obtained from the Spanish anthropometric study. Clothing sizing systems classify the population into homogeneous groups (size groups) based on some key anthropometric dimensions. All members of the same group are similar in body shape and size, so they can wear the same garment. In addition, members of different groups are very different with respect to their body dimensions. An efficient and optimal sizing system aims at accommodating as large a percentage of the population as possible, in the optimum number of size groups that better describes the shape variability of the population. Besides, the garment fit for the accommodated individuals must be as good as possible. A very valuable reference related to sizing systems is the book Sizing in clothing: Developing effective sizing systems for ready-to-wear clothing, by Susan Ashdown. Each clothing size is defined from a person whose body measurements are located toward the central value for each of the dimensions considered in the analysis. The central person, which is considered as the size representative (the size prototype), becomes the basic pattern from which the clothing line in the same size is designed. Clustering is the statistical tool that divides a set of individuals in groups (clusters), in such a way that subjects of the same cluster are more similar to each other than to those in other groups. In addition, clustering defines each group by means of a representative individual. Therefore, it arises in a natural way the idea of using clustering to try to define an efficient sizing system. Specifically, four of the methodologies presented in this PhD thesis aimed at segmenting the population into optimal sizes, use different clustering methods. The first one, called trimowa, has been published in Expert Systems with Applications. It is based on using an especially defined distance to examine differences between women regarding their body measurements. The second and third ones (called biclustAnthropom and TDDclust, respectively) will soon be submitted in the same paper. BiclustAnthropom adapts to the field of Anthropometry a clustering method addressed in the specific case of gene expression data. Moreover, TDDclust uses the concept of statistical depth for grouping according to the most central (deep) observation in each size. As mentioned, current sizing systems are based on using an appropriate set of anthropometric dimensions, so clustering is carried out in the Euclidean space. In the three previous proposals, we have always worked in this way. Instead, in the fourth and last approach, called kmeansProcrustes, a clustering procedure is proposed for grouping taking into account the women shape, which is represented by a set of anatomical markers (landmarks). For this purpose, the statistical shape analysis will be fundamental. This contribution has been submitted for publication. A sizing system is intended to cover the so-called standard population, discarding the individuals with extreme sizes (both large and small). In mathematical language, these individuals can be considered outliers. An outlier is an observation point that is distant from other observations. In our case, a person with extreme anthopometric measurements would be considered as a statistical outlier. Clothing companies usually design garments for the standard sizes so that their market share is optimal. Nevertheless, with their foreign expansion, a lot of brands are spreading their collection and they already have a special sizes section. In last years, Internet shopping has been an alternative for consumers with extreme sizes looking for clothes that follow trends. The custom-made fabrication is other possibility with the advantage of making garments according to the customers' preferences. The four aforementioned methodologies (trimowa, biclustAnthropom, TDDclust and kmeansProcrustes) have been adapted to only accommodate the standard population. Once a particular garment has been designed, the assessing and analysis of fit is performed using one or more fit models. The fit model represents the body dimensions selected by each company to define the proportional relationships needed to achieve the fit the company has determined. The definition of an efficient sizing system relies heavily on the accuracy and representativeness of the fit models regarding the population to which it is addressed. In this PhD work, a statistical approach is proposed to identify representative fit models. It is based on another clustering method originally developed for grouping gene expression data. This method, called hipamAnthropom, has been published in Decision Support Systems. From well-defined fit models and prototypes, representative and accurate mannequins of the population can be made. Unlike clothing design, where representative cases correspond with central individuals, in the design of working and household environments, the variability of human shape is described by extreme individuals, which are those that have the largest or smallest values (or extreme combinations) in the dimensions involved in the study. This is often referred to as the accommodation problem. A very interesting reference in this area is the book entitled Guidelines for Using Anthropometric Data in Product Design, published by The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. The idea behind this way of proceeding is that if a product fits extreme observations, it will also fit the others (less extreme). To that end, in this PhD thesis we propose two methodological contributions based on the statistical archetypal analysis. An archetype in Statistics is an extreme individual that is obtained as a convex combination of other subjects of the sample. The first of these methodologies has been published in Computers and Industrial Engineering, whereas the second one has been submitted for publication. The outline of this PhD report is as follows: Chapter 1 reviews the state of the art of Ergonomics and Anthropometry and introduces the anthropometric survey of the Spanish female population. Chapter 2 presents the trimowa, biclustAnthropom and hipamAnthropom methodologies. In Chapter 3 the kmeansProcrustes proposal is detailed. The TDDclust methodology is explained in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 presents the two methodologies related to the archetypal analysis. Since all these contributions have been programmed in the statistical software R, Chapter 6 presents the Anthropometry R package, that brings together all the algorithms associated with each approach. In this way, from Chapter 2 to Chapter 6 all the methodologies and results included in this PhD thesis are presented. At last, Chapter 7 provides the most important conclusions.


Where are we going?

This exhibition forms part of a trilogy revolving around the context of the Mediterranean immersed in unresolved individual and collective contradictions: political and social transformations that represent a change of a global nature and question the idea of frontier, altering the models of identity and management of the conflicts of a continuous present marked by migration and diaspora. Different creators and thinkers have dealt with these subjects – now openly – in the history of contemporary art, from a more encrypted angle.

In 2015 it was "La Mer au Milieu des Terres // Mare Medi Terraneum", an exhibition curated by Cecile Bourne-Farrell; the following year, "Waste Lands", directed by Piedad Solans, and in 2017 we present the project developed by the curator Sonia Becce, who has, on the basis of works of a pronouncedly conceptual nature, carried in new significances and questions about displacements. Becce, a great connoisseur of the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres, whose proposals influenced several generations of artists, has researched these issues to give rise to this exhibition device presented under the title of "Where are we going?".

Text by the curator Sonia Becce

One may think of human beings as "subject to frontiers", since right from birth they are driven to cross them either for their own pleasure, because they are forced to by nature or pressured by diverse situations. Birth is a great inaugural act that transcends the physical and symbolic barrier between dependency and self-sufficiency, an act by which one abandons the stability of a homeostatic atmosphere for the vicissitudes of a world that has everything except equilibrium. Later on in life, another limit is transposed over and over – that of the home. The door that opens and closes behind you, leaving your personal universe behind you, with the safety of your own things, the familiar, the private, to give way to the unpredictable meeting of other people, other worlds, the political and the public.

The sentence "Where are we going?" may refer to the question we repeat, as citizens, when faced with the misgivings caused by the political decisions that affect us or – another possibility – to what, alarmed by the urgent climatic catastrophe we are obviously responsible for, we ask ourselves, shattered, regarding the future of the planet, or we could imagine that the question is the one asked by an individual, a group who have met up by chance or a family, when they start to conceive of flight, escape, leaving the places where they belong, urged on by wars, social violence, economic unrest or in search of a better destiny.

For a long time now the world has witnessed migratory movements between countries where life is worth little or nothing to others where one can at least imagine that existence has a certain degree of dignity. The desperate attempts to reach other territories, to cross that imaginary limit imposed by geopolitics, causes thousands and thousands of deaths, a terrifying scenario witnessed every day from the safe coasts of first-world countries.

The works included in the exhibition deal with questioning the identity and methods of recognition of the individual, question the scopes of the country and state as custodians of personal freedoms, delve into fictional or real documents as testimonies of wars in different latitudes or bear witness to solitary or group migrant traffic as a tool of self-knowledge or a last hope.

This exhibition proposes a polyphonic conversation between videos, installations, photographs and documents, belonging to artists with extremely diverse origins. Ergin Cavuso glu (Targovishte, Bulgaria, 1968), Felix Gonzalez-Torres (Guaimaro, Cuba,1957- Miami,1996), Carmela Gross (Sao Paulo, 1946), Paulo Nazareth (Governador Valadares, Brazil, 1977), Nuria Guell (Vidreres, Gerona, 1981) and Walid Raad-The Atlas Group (Chbanieh, Lebanon, 1967), activate an imaginary dialogue and call for discernment of the reasons why individuals move, struggle or risk everything – even their lives and those of their loved ones – for ideals, fatalities or simply out of desperation.


It is now accepted that hippocampal lesions impair episodic memory. However, the precise functional role of the hippocampus in episodic memory remains elusive. Recent functional imaging data implicate the hippocampus in processing novelty, a finding supported by human in vivo recordings and event-related potential studies. Here we measure hippocampal responses to novelty, using functional MRI (fMRI), during an item-learning paradigm generated from an artificial grammar system. During learning, two distinct types of novelty were periodically introduced: perceptual novelty, pertaining to the physical characteristics of stimuli (in this case visual characteristics), and exemplar novelty, reflecting semantic characteristics of stimuli (in this case grammatical status within a rule system). We demonstrate a left anterior hippocampal response to both types of novelty and adaptation of these responses with stimulus familiarity. By contrast to these novelty effects, we also show bilateral posterior hippocampal responses with increasing exemplar familiarity. These results suggest a functional dissociation within the hippocampus with respect to the relative familiarity of study items. Neural responses in anterior hippocampus index generic novelty, whereas posterior hippocampal responses index familiarity to stimuli that have behavioral relevance (i.e., only exemplar familiarity). These findings add to recent evidence for functional segregation within the human hippocampus during learning.