Open education has the potential to transform the higher and distance education landscape around the world. It has opened up opportunities for universities to reconsider quality and diversity of education offerings, their traditional business models and award systems for degrees, and provided a venue for addressing their visions and missions. Open education has also benefited many learners and educators globally, through access to a diverse range of free and open learning resources. For many universities, open education has also challenged their funding models, resources and strategic priorities in learning and teaching (Bossu, Brown, & Bull, 2014b). The promise of open education, including the massive open online courses (MOOCs) and Open Educational Practices (OEP), has also been recognised by some Australian universities as a way to meet a number of key institutional strategies, such as enhancing reputation and brand, increasing enrolments, contributing to areas of social and community need and enhancing curriculum offerings. However, research has shown that many challenges to the open education movement still remain. Some of them are: • Lack of awareness; • A concern about the quality of OER resources available; • Insufficient institutional support to encourage and promote the adoption of open education; • Copyright and intellectual property policies issues; and • Lack of sustainable business models (Bossu, Brown, & Bull, 2014a). In order to further realise some of these benefits and overcome the challenges, systematic and institution-wide approaches need to be considered in order to address the disruptive elements of open education within the current role that technology enhanced learning plays in delivering university programs (Butcher & Hoosen, 2014). This report will describe the conceptualisation and processes involved during the development of an institution-wide framework for the adoption of open education at Swinburne University of Technology, including consultation with key university stakeholders, strategies to build capacity and raise awareness within the institution, approaches for development and implementation, and opportunities for research and collaboration. These elements will then be explored in light of existing recommendations, frameworks and guidelines for open education at institutional levels, such as the Feasibility Protocol (Bossu et al., 2014b), the 2012 Paris Declaration (UNESCO, 2012), and Guidelines for open educational resources in higher education(Commonwealth of Learning, 2015). The results of the analysis undertaken here inform the institutional readiness for open education at Swinburne, which will support its open education trajectory and provide recommendations for future directions. These directions will be aligned and informed by the Learning Transformations Unit's Strategic Plan 2015.


In organisms with complex life cycles living in seasonal environments, the synchronisation of phenological events is important from the ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Life history transitions should be synchronised to a greater degree at northern latitudes. We quantified hatching and emergence timing and synchrony in the obligate univoltine damselfly Lestes sponsa along a latitudinal gradient covering its entire north-south range in Europe. In our first experiment, populations from different latitudes were grown in separate climate chambers simulating temperature and photoperiod conditions occurring at their sites of origin. Northern populations expressed early and high synchronous hatching and emergence, central populations intermediate, and southern populations late and low synchronous hatching and emergence. This pattern was expressed at both population and full-sibling family levels, indicating stronger selection for timing and synchronisation in the north compared to the south. In our second experiment, populations from all latitudes were reared in conditions simulating an average temperature and photoperiod over the latitudinal gradient. Interestingly, the pattern of timing and synchronisation was reversed with respect to latitude when compared to the pattern shown in the first experiment, indicating the importance of environmental factors in shaping phenological events. Our results indicate strong selection for timing and synchronisation of life history events at northern latitudes, caused by time constraints. Our results also show that it is important to use as natural conditions as possible in experiments on life history shifts in organisms with complex life cycles in order to achieve a correct understanding of these shifts.


Introduction Understanding the number of cases of podoconiosis, its geographical distribution and the population at risk are crucial to estimating the burden of this disease in endemic countries. We assessed each of these using nationwide data on podoconiosis prevalence in Cameroon. Methods We analysed data arising from two cross-sectional surveys in Cameroon. The dataset was combined with a suite of environmental and climate data and analysed within a robust statistical framework, which included machine learning-based approaches and geostatistical modelling. The environmental limits, spatial variation of predicted prevalence, population at risk and number of cases of podoconiosis were each estimated. Results A total of 214 729 records of individuals screened for podoconiosis were gathered from 748 communities in all 10 regions of Cameroon. Of these screened individuals, 882 (0.41%; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.44) were living with podoconiosis. High environmental suitability for podoconiosis was predicted in three regions of Cameroon (Adamawa, North West and North). The national population living in areas environmentally suitable for podoconiosis was estimated at 5.2 (95% CI 4.7 to 5.8) million, which corresponds to 22.3% of Cameroon's population in 2015. Countrywide, in 2015, the number of adults estimated to be suffering from podoconiosis was 41 556 (95% CI, 1170 to 240 993). Four regions (Central, Littoral, North and North West) contributed 61.2% of the cases. Conclusion In Cameroon, podoconiosis is more widely distributed geographically than was initially expected. The number of cases and the population at risk are considerable. Expanding morbidity management and follow-up of cases is of utmost necessity. Promotion of footwear use and regular foot hygiene should be at the forefront of any intervention plan.


ABSTRACT Indications of a relationship between cervical cancer and sexual activity have been available for over a century. Early studies described sexual variables mainly in terms of marital status, age at first marriage and reproductive life, whereas more recent epidemiological studies have assessed the role of sexual habits and specifically identified the number of sexual partners and age at first intercourse as the most important risk factors. The finding of an independent effect of the number of sexual partners, and the increased risk for women whose husbands reported multiple sexual partners strongly pointed to the importance of a sexually transmitted infectious agent, although other factors such as smoking, parity and oral contraceptive use were also suggested to be important. For more than two decades, attention focused on herpes simplex virus type 2 as an etiological agent. However, subsequently it was suggested by Professor zur Hausen that certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) might play a key etiological role. Although there at that time was laboratory evidence supporting this hypothesis, it was initially difficult to test it epidemiologically. With the technological development and the collaboration between epidemiologists, virologists and clinicians it became increasingly clear that HPV is a necessary factor in the development of cervical cancer and also is causing a proportion of other anogenital cancers in both women and men such as cancer of the vagina, vulva, penis and anus. In addition, it is associated with certain types of head and neck cancer. Based on the research within this area, vaccines against certain types of HPV have now been developed and we have moved from hypothesis to prevention in some 40 years. Disclosure S.K. Kjaer: Received lecture fees, advisory board fees, and research grants through her institution from Merck and Sanofi Pasteur MSD.


In 1935, George Beadle and Boris Ephrussi developed a technique to transplant optic discs between fruit fly larvae. They developed it while at the California Institute of Technology in Pasedena, California. Optic discs are tissues from which the adult eyes develop. Beadle and Ephrussi used their technique to study the development of the eye and eye pigment. (1) The experimenter dissects a donor larva, which is in the third instar stage of development, and removes the optic disc (colored red) with a micropipette. Because the antenna disc is attached to the optic disc, they are often removed and transplanted together. (2) The experimenter then implants the optic disc into a host larva, in the part of the host that will develop into an adult abdomen. As the host larva matures to adulthood, the implanted optic disc develops into an eye inside the body cavity of the adult. (3) The adult host has an eye within its body, which Beadle and Ephrussi found by dissecting the adult hosts. If the antenna disc was also transplanted, sometimes the resulting eye developed with an antenna attached.


'The best life of Lawrence yet published' - "The Express". Lawrence was a brilliant propagandist, rhetorician and manipulator, who deliberately turned his life into a conundrum. But who was the real man behind the masks? Lawrence began the GreatWar as a map-clerk and ended it as one of the greatest military heroes of the 20th century. He altered the face of the Middle East, helped to lead the Arabs to freedom and formulated modern guerilla warfare. Yet he refused any honours and spent therest of his life in near obscurity. Desert explorer and Arabist, Michael Asher, set out to solve this riddle and discovers a hero whose greatness owed as much to his weaknesses as to his strengths.


The formal process of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is fraught with tensions, ambiguities and mutual misunderstandings. Overall, this paper argues that these problems are primarily due to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people having divergent views concerning the ultimate aim of reconciliation; with the former generally promoting Indigenous autonomy and the latter generally expecting Indigenous assimilation. Also, the non-Indigenous notion of 'white' superiority is identified as the foremost cause in thwarting both the reconciliation process, and the ability for Indigenous people to have their reconciliatory needs acknowledged and met. Drawing on Hegelian philosophy, the idea of fostering a dialectical or ontological approach to reconciliation is proposed as a counter-measure to these problems. The theory of ontological reconciliation is expounded upon in context of three interrelated motifs – unity in difference, knowing the self, and knowing the Other – and each is also juxtaposed against key problems inherent to the 'white' dominated formal reconciliation process. Practical examples of what ontological reconciliation looks like are provided, first by comparing the notion with Langton's three categories of intersubjectivity, and then by examining three cross-cultural projects in Australia. The demonstrated effectiveness of these projects in reconciling differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews, and in contending with serious problems in Indigenous communities, supports the proposal of adopting an ontological approach to reconciliation on a national scale. Finally, in the spirit of ontological reconciliation, this paper also proposes that the teaching of English and an Indigenous language be introduced into the curriculum of all schools for all students, as a nation-wide strategy for bridging the gap of miscommunication and misunderstanding that prevails between Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews.


Biopharmaceuticals are finding wide applications in the management of diverse disease conditions. Pulmonary delivery of proteins may constitute an effective and efficient non-invasive alternative to parenteral delivery, which is currently the main route of administration of biopharmaceutical drugs. A particular area, in which pulmonary delivery of peptides and proteins may find ready application, is in the local delivery of antimicrobial peptides and proteins to the airway, a measure that could potentially bring about improvements to currently available antipseudomonal therapies. This thesis has therefore sought to develop inhalable antimicrobial proteins in combination with antibiotics that have particularly good antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in the respiratory tract of people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Through process optimisation, a suitable spray drying method was developed and used for the preparation of active, inhalable dry powder formulations of the antimicrobial protein, lactoferrin, and aminoglycosides (tobramycin and gentamicin). The physicochemical properties, aerosolisation performance and the antibacterial properties of the various spray-dried formulations were assessed. In addition, a relevant in vitro cellular model was employed to investigate the potential cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory effects of the various formulations on four bronchial human epithelial cells together with their effectiveness at reducing bacterial colonies when administered on to biofilm co-cultured on the epithelial cells. It was found that following spray drying the particles obtained were mostly spherical, amorphous and possessed suitable aerosolisation characteristics. The various spray-dried antimicrobial proteins (lactoferrin or apo lactoferrin) and co-spray dried combinations of the proteins and aminoglycosides were found to exhibit bactericidal activity against planktonic and biofilms of P. aeruginosa. In general, the spray drying process was found not to significantly affect the antimicrobial activities of the protein. Treatment of the different bronchial epithelial cell lines with the antimicrobial formulations showed that the various formulations were non-toxic and that the co-spray dried combinations significantly reduced established P. aeruginosa biofilms on the four bronchial epithelial cells. Overall, the results from this thesis demonstrates that spray drying could potentially be employed to prepare inhalable antimicrobial agents comprised of proteins and antibiotics. These new combinations of proteins and aminoglycosides has promising applications in the management of P. aeruginosa in the airway of cystic fibrosis patients.


This paper proposes a novel spontaneous facial expression classification method using the facial motion magnification which transforms the subtle facial expressions into the corresponding exaggerated facial expressions. Facial motion magnification consists of four steps: First, we perform the active appearance model (AAM) fitting to extract 70 facial feature points in the face image sequence. Second, we align the face image sequence using the static three feature points. Third, we estimate the motion vectors of 27 feature points using the feature point tracking method. Finally, we obtain the exaggerated facial expressions by magnifying the motion vectors of the 27 feature points. After facial motion magnification, we recognize the exaggerated facial expressions using the support vector machines (SVM) to classify the facial expression features. Experimental results of the subtle facial expression recognition show promising results of the proposed method.


Large-scale courses such as Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) can be a great data source for researchers. Ideally, the data gathered on such courses should be openly available to all researchers. Studies could be easily replicated and novel studies on existing data could be conducted. However, very fine-grained data such as source code snapshots can contain hidden identifiers. For example, distinct typing patterns that identify individuals can be extracted from such data. Hence, simply removing explicit identifiers such as names and student numbers is not sufficient to protect the privacy of the users who have supplied the data. At the same time, removing all keystroke information would decrease the value of the shared data significantly. In this work, we study how keystroke data from a programming context could be modified to prevent keystroke latency based identification whilst still retaining information that can be used to e.g. infer programming experience. We investigate the degree of anonymization required to render identification of students based on their typing patterns unreliable. Then, we study whether the modified keystroke data can still be used to infer the programming experience of the students as a case study of whether the anonymized typing patterns have retained at least some informative value. We show that it is possible to modify data so that keystroke latency based identification is no longer accurate, but the programming experience of the students can still be inferred, i.e. the data still has value to researchers. In a broader context, our results indicate that information and anonymity are not necessarily mutually exclusive.


Attacks that exploit memory errors are still a serious problem. We present data randomization, a new technique that provides probabilistic protection against thes e attacks by xoring data with random masks. Data randomization uses static analysis to partition instruction operands into equivalence classes: it places two operands in the same class if they may refer to the same object in an execution that does not violate memory safety. Then it assigns a random mask to each class and it generates code instrumented to xor data read from or written to memory with the mask of the memory operand's class. Therefore, attacks that violate the results of the static analysis have unpredictable results. We implemented a data randomization prototype that compiles programs without modifications and can prevent many attacks with low overhead. Our prototype prevents all the attacks in our benchmarks while introducing an average runtime overhead of 11% (0% to 27%) and an average space overhead below 1%.


Several lymphangiogenic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs), have been found to drive the development of lymphatic metastasis in bladder cancer (BCa). Here, we have analyzed the gene expression of lymphangiogenic factors in tissue specimens from 12 non-muscle invasive bladder cancers (NMIBC) and 11 muscle invasive bladder cancers (MIBC), considering tumor and tumor-adjacent normal bladder areas obtained from the same organs. We then compared the results observed in patients with those obtained after treating human primary bladder microvascular endothelial cells (MEC) with either direct stimulation with VEGF-A or VEGF-C or by co-culturing (trans-well assay) MEC with bladder cancer cell lines varying in VEGF-A and VEGF-C production based on tumor grade. The genes of three markers of lymphatic endothelial commitment and development (PDPN, LYVE-1 and SLP-76) were significantly overexpressed in tissues of MIBC patients showing positive lymphovascular invasion (LVI+), lymph node metastasis (Ln+) and tumor progression. Their expression was also significantly enhanced either after direct stimulation of MEC by VEGF-A and VEGF-C or in the trans-well assay with each bladder cancer cell line. SLP-76 showed the highest gene expression. Both VEGF-A and VEGF-C also enhanced the expression of SLP-76 protein in MEC. However, a correlation between increase of SLP-76 gene expression and the ability of MEC to migrate could only be seen after induction by VEGF-C. The significant expression of SLP-76 in LVI+/Ln+ progressive MIBC and its overexpression in MEC after VEGF-A and VEGF-C stimulation suggest the need to develop this regulator of developmental lymphangiogenesis as a diagnostic tool in BCa.


Observational and numerical studies gave hints that the hot gaseous haloes of ETGs may be sensitive to the galaxy internal kinematics. By using high resolution 2D hydro simulations, and realistic two-component (stars plus dark matter) axisymmetric galaxy models, we study the evolution of the hot haloes in a suite of flat ETGs of fixed mass distribution, but with variable amounts of azimuthal velocity dispersion and rotational support, including the possibility of a counter-rotating inner stellar disc. The hot halo is fed by stellar mass losses and heated by SNIa explosions and thermalization of stellar motions. We measure the value of the thermalization parameter gamma (the ratio between the heating due to the relative velocity between the stellar streaming and the ISM bulk flow, and the heating attainable by complete thermalization of the stellar streaming motions). We find that 1) the X-ray emission and the average temperature are larger in fully velocity dispersion supported systems; 2) 0.1<gamma<0.2 for isotropic rotators (with a trend for being larger for lower dark mass models); 3) systems that are isotropic rotators at large radii with an inner counter-rotating disc, or fully velocity dispersion supported systems with an inner rotating disc, have gamma=1, again with a trend to increase for lower dark mass contents. We also find that the lower X-ray luminosities of isotropic rotators cannot be explained just by their low gamma, but are due to the complicated flow structure, consequence of the angular momentum stored at large radii. X-ray emission weighted temperatures and luminosities nicely match observed values; the X-ray isophotes are boxy in case of significant galaxy rotation. Overall, it is found that rotation has an important role to explain the observational result that more rotationally supported ETGs on average show a lower X-ray emission [abridged].


We are reporting an experimental study performed on a granular gas enclosed into a 2D cell submitted to controlled external vibrations. Experiments are performed in microgravity during parabolic flights. High-speed optical tracking allows to obtain the kinematics of the particles and the determination of all inelastic parameters as well as the translational and rotational velocity distributions. The energy into the medium is injected by submitting the experimental cell to an external and controlled vibration. Two model gases are studied beads and disks; the latter being used to study the rotational part of the particle ' s dynam- ics. We report that the free cooling of a granular medium can be predicted if we consider the velocity dependence of the normal restitution coefficient and that the experimental ratio of translational versus rotational temperature decreases with the density of the medium but increases with the driving velocity of the cell. These experimental results are compared with existing theories. We also introduce a model that fairly predicts the equilibrium temperatures along the direction of vibration.


A growing segment of the U.S. workforce --older workers --face challenges such as a greater chance of being unemployed for a longer period of time than younger workers and skill obsolescence in contemporary societies. In an age of fast-paced economic and technological change, ongoing investment in human capital in the form of skill training represents a potential strategy for improving older workers' employment prospects. However, empirical evidence is lacking on the relationship between basic skill competencies and employment outcomes for older workers in general. This study analyzed nationally representative data of adults aged 45-65 (n = 2,169) from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Literacy skills were used as the main measure of competencies. Results from multinomial logistic regression identified statistically significant positive associations between literacy skills and employment among older workers. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.


Comparison of new benthic foraminiferal δ18O and δ13C records from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1263 (Walvis Ridge, southeast Atlantic, 2100 m paleodepth) and Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 366 (Sierra Leone Rise, eastern equatorial Atlantic, 2200–2800 m paleodepth) with published data from Atlantic and Southern Ocean sites provides the means to reconstruct the development of deep-water circulation in the southeastern Atlantic from the late-middle Eocene to the earliest Oligocene. Our comparison shows that in the late-middle Eocene (ca. 40 Ma), the South Atlantic was characterized by a homogeneous thermal structure. Thermal differentiation began ca. 38 Ma. By 37.6 Ma, Site 1263 was dominated by Southern Component Water; at the same time, warm saline deep water filled the deeper South Atlantic (recorded at southwest Atlantic ODP Site 699, paleodepth 3400 m, and southeast Atlantic ODP Site 1090, paleodepth 3200 m). The deep-water source to eastern equatorial Site 366 transitioned to Northern Component Water ca. 35.6–35 Ma. Progressive cooling at Site 1263 during the middle to late Eocene and deep-water thermal stratification in the South Atlantic may be attributed at least in part to the gradual deepening and strengthening of the proto–Antarctic Circumpolar Current from the late-middle Eocene to the earliest Oligocene, as the Drake and Tasman gateways opened. Our isotopic comparisons across depth and latitude provide evidence of the development of deep-water circulation similar to modern-day Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.


Web ranking is one of the most successful and widely used collaborative computing applications, in which Web pages collaborate in the form of varying degree of relationships to assess their relative quality. Though many observe that links display strong source-centric locality, for example, in terms of administrative domains and hosts, most Web ranking analysis to date has focused on the flat page-level Web linkage structure. In this paper we develop a framework for link-based collaborative ranking of the Web by utilizing the strong Web link structure. We argue that this source-centric link analysis is promising since it captures the natural link-locality structure of the Web, can provide more appealing and efficient Web applications, and reflects many natural types of structured human collaborations. Concretely, we propose a generic framework for source-centric collaborative ranking of the Web. This paper makes two unique contributions. First, we provide a rigorous study of the set of critical parameters that can impact source-centric link analysis, such as source size, the presence of self-links, and different source-citation link weighting schemes (e.g., uniform, link count, source consensus). Second, we conduct a large-scale experimental study to understand how different parameter settings may impact the time complexity, stability, and spam-resilience of Web ranking. We find that careful tuning of these parameters is vital to ensure success over each objective and to balance the performance across all objectives


In comparison to GATT law, WTO law is characterized by a notably expanded coverage. Since its inception in 1995, its material density and reach has been further extended. It was only a question of time until the demand would come up for this branch of law to fulfil objectives laying outside the traditional borders of International Economic Law. In particular, it was recognized that WTO law touches in many way upon human rights issues. Vigorous claims were made to transform the WTO order into a human rights organization. Some authors were of the opinion that human rights law could be integrated into WTO law via the interpretative rules of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. This contribution tries to evidence that such attempts are inherently flawed. There is no possibility and not even a perceptible need to transform the WTO system into a human rights instrument. After examining the many areas of interaction between Human Rights Law and International Economic Law it is evidenced that the many common ends of each branch of International Law are best served if both masses of law are mutually coordinated but at the same time maintain their autopoietic nature. At the same time this is to demonstrate that fragmentation as a so-called problem of International Law is overrated.


How skills acquired in vocational education and training (VET) affect wages and employment is not clear. We develop and estimate a search and matching model for workers with a VET degree. Workers differ in interpersonal, cognitive and manual skills, while firms require and value different combinations of these skills. Assuming that match productivity exhibits worker-job complementarity, we estimate how interpersonal, cognitive and manual skills map into job offers, unemployment and wages. We find that firms value cognitive skills on average almost twice as much as interpersonal and manual skills, and they prize complementarity in cognitive and interpersonal skills. The average return to VET skills in hourly wages is 9%, similar to the returns to schooling. Furthermore, VET appears to improve labour market opportunities through higher job arrival rate and lower job destruction. Workers thus have large benefits from acquiring a VET degree.


This thesis considers the fundamental problem of "partitioning" which is all- pervasive in computer science. It has applications in "Big Data" because the vast amounts of data encountered in "Big Data" applications cannot be processed in a sin- gle block, but are better analyzed when it is partitioned in various monolithic units. It also has direct applications in numerous areas including databases, process schedul- ing, mapping and image retrieval. In this research we consider a specific instantiation of the Object Partitioning Problem, namely the Equi-Partitioning Problem (EPP), in which the partitions are equi-sized. In particular we concentrate on the various Learn- ing Automata (LA)-based solutions. In this regard, the Object Migration Automata (OMA), and its variants have been the benchmark solutions.


Background Epigenetics, particularly DNA methylation, has recently been elucidated as important in gastric cancer (GC) initiation and progression. We investigated the clinical and prognostic importance of whole blood global and site-specific DNA methylation in GC. Methods Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of 105 Omani GC patients at diagnosis. DNA methylation was quantified by pyrosequencing of global DNA and specific gene promoter regions at 5 CpG sites for CDH1, 7 CpG sites for p16, 4 CpG sites for p53, and 3 CpG sites for RUNX3. DNA methylation levels in patients were categorized into low, medium, and high tertiles. Associations between methylation level category and clinicopathological features were evaluated using χ2 tests. Survival analyses were carried out using the Kaplan-Meier method and log rank test. A backward conditional Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify independent predictors of survival. Results Older GC patients had increased methylation levels at specific CpG sites within the CDH1, p53, and RUNX-3 promoters. Male gender was significantly associated with reduced global and increased site-specific DNA methylation levels in CDH1, p16, and p53 promoters. Global DNA low methylation level was associated with better survival on univariate analysis. Patients with high and medium methylation vs. low methylation levels across p16 promoter CpG sites, site 2 in particular, had better survival. Multivariate analysis showed that global DNA hypermethylation was a significant independent predictor of worse survival (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1–3.8; p = 0.02) and high methylation mean values across p16 promoter sites 1–7 were associated with better survival with HR of 0.3 (95% CI, 0.1–0.8; p = 0.02) respectively. Conclusions Analysis of global and site-specific DNA methylation in peripheral blood by pyrosequencing provides quantitative DNA methylation values that may serve as important prognostic indicators.


A bacterial pathogen reverses the modification of a host cell protein involved in membrane trafficking. Pathogenic bacteria encode effector proteins that AMPylate (covalently attach adenosine monophosphate to) target host factors, such as Rho or Rab guanosine triphosphatases. AMPylation interferes with downstream signaling events, thereby promoting microbial infection. How AMPylation of host factors is regulated during infection and whether it can be reversed within cells is unclear. Neunuebel et al. have now discovered that Legionella pneumophila, in addition to secreting an AMPylation enzyme, also translocates a de-AMPylase, SidD, into host cells. SidD thus represents the missing link between the processes of early Rab1 accumulation and subsequent Rab1 removal from Legionella-containing vacuoles during infection. M. R. Neunuebel, Y. Chen, A. H. Gaspar, P. S. Backlund Jr., A. Yergey, M. P. Machner, De-AMPylation of the small GTPase Rab1 by the pathogen Legionella pneumophila. Science 333, 453–456 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text]


This essay examines the relationship between constitutional narratives, causation, and normativity in the context of Barry Friedman's book, The Will of the People: How Public Opinion Has Influenced the Supreme Court and Shaped the Meaning of the Constitution. In his book, Friedman provides a grand narrative of American constitutional history that emphasizes the role of public opinion in the development of American constitutional law. That narrative involves both implicit and explicit claims about the causal forces that shape constitutional doctrine and about normative constitutional theory. The aim of this essay is to identify those claims, excavate their theoretical assumptions, and to determine whether the narrative offered by Friedman vindicates these causal and normative claims, theories, and assumptions.The Will of the People is what can be called a "causally committed historical narrative." It makes implicit and explicit causal claims. These claims are problematic in three ways. First, historical narratives can suffer from a selection bias problem. For example the story of American constitutional law could be told in terms of the causal effects of considerations internal to legal doctrine or in terms of the effects of elite group opinion. On the surface, these stories might appear as plausible as the story that Friedman tells. Selective narratives cannot themselves establish causal claims. Second, The Will of the People implicitly relies on claims about counterfactuals. Friedman's story assumes that if public opinion had been different at crucial junctions in the history of American constitutional law, the narrative would have been substantially altered. But narrative itself only establishes what actually happened; it does not provide direct evidence for counterfactual claims. Third, Friedman does not offer a systemic account of the mechanisms by which popular opinion might determine constitutional doctrine. The Will of the People does include a limited discussion of the political science literature on this question, but the sources that Friedman cites do not provide support for his assertions about causal mechanisms.The Will of the People is "normatively charged"; Friedman makes both explicit and implicit normative claims. One of these claims concerns the relationship between constitutional law and democratic legitimacy, but Friedman does not offer a theory or account of democratic legitimacy to ground this claim and it is not clear whether he will be able to do so. A theory of democratic legitimacy might be grounded in either in a theory of democratic equality or a theory of deliberative democracy, but neither theory would justify the kind of influence that public opinion has on constitutional law in the narrative Friedman offers. Another normative claim in The Will of the People implicates the debate between living constitutionalists and originalists. Friedman's narrative offers a delegitimating story about the development of originalist constitutional theory, but the evidence offered by Friedman rests on an implausible interpretation of originalist writings.Despite the difficulties with the causal and normative claims made in The Will of the People, there is much to admire in its grand and synthetic historical narrative. It offers the best historical account we have of the relationship between popular opinion and the constitutional decisions of the United States Supreme Court.


The present case study first describes the difficulties a Turkish dyslexic learner faces in learning English as a foreign language. It then explores the effects of positive teacher support and some motivational strategies on this specific student's learning process. Data were collected through observation, interviews and analysis of documents including student work, assignment sheets and exam papers over a period of six weeks. The results indicate that the participant benefited greatly from positive teacher support and special teaching techniques and methods employed. Implications are included for practices of inclusive education and pre-service and in-service teacher education programs in the country. © 2012 IOJES. All rights reserved


Abstract. The water vapor distribution in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS) region has a strong impact on the atmospheric radiation budget. Transport and mixing processes on different scales mainly determine the water vapor concentration in the UTLS. Here, we investigate the effect of mountain waves on the vertical transport and mixing of water vapor. For this purpose we analyze measurements of water vapor and meteorological parameters recorded by the DLR Falcon and NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V research aircraft taken during the Deep Propagating Gravity Wave Experiment (DEEPWAVE) in New Zealand. By combining different methods, we develop a new approach to quantify location, direction and irreversibility of the water vapor transport during a strong mountain wave event on 4 July 2014. A large positive vertical water vapor flux is detected above the Southern Alps extending from the troposphere to the stratosphere in the altitude range between 7.7 and 13.0 km. Wavelet analysis for the 8.9 km altitude level shows that the enhanced upward water vapor transport above the mountains is caused by mountain waves with horizontal wavelengths between 22 and 60 km. A downward transport of water vapor with 22 km wavelength is observed in the lee-side of the mountain ridge. While it is a priori not clear whether the observed fluxes are irreversible, low Richardson numbers derived from dropsonde data indicate enhanced turbulence in the tropopause region related to the mountain wave event. Together with the analysis of the water vapor to ozone correlation, we find indications for vertical transport followed by irreversible mixing of water vapor. For our case study, we further estimate greater than 1 W m−2 radiative forcing by the increased water vapor concentrations in the UTLS above the Southern Alps of New Zealand, resulting from mountain waves relative to unperturbed conditions. Hence, mountain waves have a great potential to affect the water vapor distribution in the UTLS. Our regional study may motivate further investigations of the global effects of mountain waves on the UTLS water vapor distributions and its radiative effects.


All B.Eng. courses offered at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) must now follow CDIO standards. The final "capstone" course in the B.Eng. education is Process Design, which for many years has been typical of chemical engineering curricula worldwide. The course at DTU typically has about 30 students. The B.Eng. education lasts for 3½ years (seven semesters), of which the 5th semester consists of practical training with a company and the final (7th) semester consists of a research project. The design course falls in the 6th semester, and is thus the last formal instruction that the students receive. The education is designed to provide students with the necessary tools to become productive in a company in a short time – so there is a strong industrial focus. Some students choose to continue with their studies and can then complete an M.Sc. after a further two years of study. The demands of the CDIO standards – especially standard 3 – Integrated Curriculum - means that the course projects must draw on competences provided in other subjects which the students are taking in parallel with Process Design – specifically Process Control and Reaction Engineering. In each semester of the B.Eng. education, one course is designated the "project" course, which should draw on material learned in parallel courses. In the 6th semester, Process Design is the project course. Process Control and Reaction Engineering are then incorporated into the final plant design project. Specifically, almost all chemical plants will incorporate one or more chemical reactors. In the initial stages of a process design, it is sufficient to express simply the reactor inputs and outputs. However in later stages, details about the reactor need to be specified. This is only possible using tools learned in the course Reaction Engineering. In order to incorporate reactor design into process design in a meaningful way, the teachers of the respective courses need to collaborate (Standard 9 – Enhancement of Faculty CDIO skills). The students also see that different components of the chemical engineering curriculum relate to each other. Similarly, in process design, steady state is always assumed for processes (i.e. production of a given chemical occurs at a constant rate, temperature, pressure and composition; feeds enter the plant at constant rates, etc.). However, in practice, chemical plants need to be carefully controlled to operate at a specified set of steady-state conditions. This is the science of Process Control and the students are asked to apply what they have learned here in order to show how to control the operation of the plant they have designed. The key difference from typical (earlier) process design courses is that the interaction between the courses is formalized, requiring (amongst other things) increased, broader teacher competence and communication between teachers across different disciplines, thereby also tying in with Standard 9 – Enhancement of Faculty CDIO skills.


In vascular endothelial cells, tetrahydrobiopterin serves as an essential cofactor required for enzymatic activity of nitric oxide synthase. GTP cyclohydrolase I is the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin. Previous studies have demonstrated that proinflammatory cytokines stimulate production of tetrahydrobiopterin in endothelial cells. Long-term regulation of GTP cyclohydrolase I gene expression in endothelium has not been studied. The present study was designed to determine whether the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interferon-g (INF-g), and interleukin-1b (IL-1b) stimulate tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis by increasing expression of GTP cyclohydrolase I mRNA in endothelial cells. The relative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify expression of GTP cyclohydrolase I mRNA in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Nuclear run-on assay was performed to determine the transcription rate of GTP cyclohydrolase I gene. GTP cyclohydrolase I enzymatic activity and production of tetrahydrobiopterin were measured in cell extracts. After incubation with TNF-a (2 mg/mL), INF-g (200 U/mL), and IL-1b (5 U/mL) for 24 hours, significantly increased expression of GTP cyclohydrolase I mRNA was detected. Cytokines increased the transcription rate of GTP cyclohydrolase I 3.6-fold. This increase was associated with increased GTP cyclohydrolase I enzymatic activity and elevation of intracellular levels of tetrahydrobiopterin. An RNA synthesis inhibitor, actinomycin D (2 mg/mL), inhibited cytokine-induced expression of GTP cyclohydrolase I gene. A protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (0.5 mg/mL), did not affect expression of GTP cyclohydrolase I mRNA but blocked the increase in enzyme activity, as well as production of tetrahydrobiopterin. Incubation of endothelial cells for 24 hours in the presence of 8-bromoadenosine 39:59-cyclic monophosphate (10 mol/L) did not affect expression of GTP cyclohydrolase I mRNA. These results demonstrate that in vascular endothelial cells, cytokines increase production of tetrahydrobiopterin by stimulating expression of GTP cyclohydrolase I gene. This effect is apparently due to increased transcription rather than stabilization of mRNA. Regulation of GTP cyclohydrolase I gene expression by cytokines may play an important role in control of endothelial nitric oxide synthesis. (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1998;18:27-32.)


Aggregate productivity, fundamental cause of long-run economic growth, plays a crucial role in determining economic development and living standards of nations. The main source of aggregate productivity growth is technological advances that are the outcomes of firms' and entrepreneurs' innovative activity. Complementary to the growing literature that studies how firm dynamics shape technological change, my dissertation focuses on how financial decisions of these agents affect this process. The three chapters of my dissertation provide theoretical, empirical, and quantitative investigation of the interplay between financial and innovative actions of heterogeneous firms along with its implications on aggregate productivity growth. Chapter one studies the impact of financial system on net firm entry, an important source of aggregate productivity growth. Selective funding of most promising ideas by financial intermediaries creates a trade-off between the mass of entrant firms and their average contribution to aggregate productivity. This chapter highlights the relevance of firm heterogeneity for the relationship between finance and growth, and discusses the theoretical and empirical implications of the resulting trade-off in firm entry. Chapter two also builds on the above mass-composition link, and uses it to study the permanent productivity losses due to sudden stops (SS). The model embeds the main mechanism into a real business cycle small open economy framework to measure the forgone productivity contribution of entrants deprived of funding. The theoretical prediction is that, during SS, smaller yet on average more productive cohorts enter the market. Chilean plant-level data that cover the 1998 SS verify this prediction, while the calibrated model demonstrates the quantitative significance of heterogeneity and selection in measuring the long-run productivity loss. Chapter three focuses on a specific financial intermediary that is especially relevant to innovation and growth, namely venture capital (VC) finance. It studies VC's quantitative impact on firm dynamics and economic growth using a new dynamic equilibrium model of technological change with heterogeneous firms and an explicit VC market. Distinctively, the model incorporates a unique feature of VC firms: their operational knowledge (OK) bundled with their investment. Experiments based on the estimated model highlight the quantitative relevance of OK and analyze policy implications. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Economics First Advisor Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde


What happens to a profession that loses the memory of its moral independence? And what happens then to those reliant on its honor, its advocacy, its initiative? In an era of biotechnological adventure, medical audacity, ecological disruption, fiscal strain, and financial temptation, these are urgent questions for all life scientists and for all they serve. Profession of Conscience is an exposition, analysis, and application of a political-ethical tradition in, of, and for the life sciences, from molecular genetics to clinical medicine to environmental biology. Sprinkle's goal is avoidance of the fate of physics - the previous "super science" - whose technological transformations several generations ago so enhanced its political and economic value to governments, societies, and corporations that it lost control of its own conduct. He discovers within the life sciences a long-evolving profession-specific standard for political action and activism, tracing it from conception in Hellenic and Roman imperial times, through birth and baptism in the Scientific Revolution, then through a naively optimistic adolescence in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and finally into a self-conscious maturity, solemnized at the Nuremberg Trials but tested ever more subtly since, even down to the present day. The protagonist of this book is a set of ideas. The product is "life-sciences liberalism."


A theoretical formalism for nongeostrophic eddy transport in zonal-mean flows, using a transformed Eulerian-mean (TEM) approach in z coordinates, is discussed. By using Andrews and McIntyre's coordinate-independent definition of the "quasi-Stokes streamfunction," it is argued that the surface boundary condition can be dealt with more readily than when the widely used quasigeostrophic definition is adopted. Along with the "residual mean circulation," the concept of "residual eddy flux" arises naturally within the TEM framework, and it is argued that it is this residual eddy flux, and not the "raw" eddy flux, that might reasonably be expected to be downgradient. This distinction is shown to be especially important for Ertel potential vorticity (PV). The authors show how a closed set of transformed mean equations can be generated, and how the eddy forcing appears in the TEM momentum equations. Under adiabatic conditions, the "eddy drag" is just proportional to the residual eddy flux of PV along the mean isopycnals; in the diabatic layer close to the surface, it is more complicated, but becomes very simple for small Rossby number (without any assumption of small isopycnal slope).


INTRODUCTION: Treatment-emergent central sleep apnea (TECSA) is observed in some patients when they are treated with positive airway pressure (PAP) after significant resolution of the preexisting obstructive events in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature for studies describing the natural history of TECSA. METHODS: PubMed, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochran Library databases were searched through June 29, 2017. RESULTS: Five studies were identified that discussed the natural history of TECSA. TECSA developed in 3.5%–19.8% of PAP-treated patients. Treatment-persistent central sleep apnea (TPCSA), representing protracted periods of PAP therapy-related central apneas, was noted in 14.3%–46.2% of patients with TECSA. Delayed-TECSA (D-TECSA) represents an anomalous TECSA entity appearing weeks to months after initial PAP therapy. D-TECSA was observed in 0.7%–4.2% of OSA patients undergoing PAP treatment (after at least 1 month). In patients with TECSA, a higher apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) and central apnea index at their baseline study or a higher residual AHI at their titration study may be associated with an increased likelihood of conversion to TPCSA. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, TECSA developed in 3.5%–19.8% of PAP-treated patients with OSA. The vast majority will experience complete resolution of central apneas over a few weeks to months. Unfortunately, about a third of patients with TECSA may continue to exhibit persistence of central sleep apnea on reevaluation. A small proportion may experience D-TECSA after few weeks to several months of initial exposure to PAP therapy.


This extension booklet presents, in a simple language and aided by tables and illustrations, the initial results of a collaborative research project being carried out in the Bragantina and Guama regions, State of Para, in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon. The project aims to develop ways to increase the economic value of secondary forests growing in smallholder farms, and is coordinated by the Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA), the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the State of Para (FCAP), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE). The booklet represents an effort to devolve information to farmers. It includes results of a socio-economic study on the role of secondary forests in farmers' livelihoods, floristic inventories in secondary forests on smallholder farms and a market survey of promissing products from secondary forests.


Motor speech impairments are often present in movement disorders. Our aim in the current review is to present an overview of studies carried out in functional neuroimaging and assessing speech and language in Parkinson's disease. The overall results lead us to consider the existence of "functional pathophysiologies" dependent on function: brain activation profiles imply specific compensatory recruitments that are driven either by the motoric nature itself or the activation deficits related to the pathology. The variety of methodologies used, the small number of patients studied and the non-homogenous therapeutic conditions still make it difficult to compare the listed studies.


This paper presents an account of the application of medium-energy ion scattering (MEIS) to the investigation of thin-film metallic multilayers grown using molecular-beam epitaxy. MEIS can provide high resolution compositional and structural information as a function of depth in the near surface region (0–250 A); these parameters are inextricably linked with the magnetic properties exhibited by materials of this type. Amongst the information available from MEIS is the accurate determination of the layer spacings, structural information from individual layers (even at thicknesses close to a monolayer), and high sensitivity to disorder in the layers. MEIS therefore provides additional information above that provided by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction monitoring during growth and ex situ x-ray diffraction measurements so that it represents an ideal complementary technique for the analysis of thin-film magnetic multilayer materials of this type. An Au/Fe multilayer sample of a type previously shown to exhibit giant magnetoresistance (GMR) was analyzed. Individual gold layers were clearly resolved and a measurement of the bilayer spacing obtained; this parameter determines the magnitude of the exchange coupling and GMR. Au/Fe/Au trilayer samples grown on both MgO(100) and sapphire(112¯0) substrates were also analyzed for a series of Fe layer thicknesses between 2 and 16 A. The MgO(100) grown samples showed unusually high second-layer Au signal consistent with atomic layer spacings in the Fe layers that lead to enhanced illumination of the second-layer Au. This effect could be modeled using bcc(100) layer spacings thus confirming the structure to be bcc(100) Fe between fcc(100) Au layers. In the sapphire-grown samples, twinned fcc(111) structure was observed in the individually resolved Au and Fe layers. The amplitude of the Fe blocking features was reduced with increasing Fe layer thickness indicating a reduction in crystallinity until for the highest thickness there was little indication of structure within the layer. The maximum layer thickness for fcc(111) Fe growth was seen to lie between 8 and 16 A.


Car manufacturers deploy vehicle immobiliser systems in order to prevent car theft. However, in many cases the underlying cryptographic primitives used to authenticate a transponder are proprietary in nature and thus not open to public scrutiny. In this paper we publish the proprietary Texas Instruments DST80 cipher used in immobilisers of several manufacturers. Additionally, we expose serious flaws in immobiliser systems of major car manufacturers such as Toyota, Kia, Hyundai and Tesla. Specifically, by voltage glitching the firmware protection mechanisms of the microcontroller, we extracted the firmware from several immobiliser ECUs and reverse engineered the key diversification schemes employed within. We discovered that Kia and Hyundai immobiliser keys have only three bytes of entropy and that Toyota only relies on publicly readable information such as the transponder serial number and three constants to generate cryptographic keys. Furthermore, we present several practical attacks which can lead to recovering the full 80-bit cryptographic key in a matter of seconds or permanently disabling the transponder. Finally, even without key management or configuration issues, we demonstrate how an attacker can recover the cryptographic key using a profiled side-channel attack. We target the key loading procedure and investigate the practical applicability in the context of portability. Our work once again highlights the issues automotive vendors face in implementing cryptography securely.


Predictions of initial source-rock distribution, thickness and quality are key input parameters to quantitative basin models. This article describes a workflow where process-based modelling of deposition and preservation of organic matter at basin scale is performed to provide the input to modelling of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion from source rocks. As the vertical resolution of the depositional- and source-rock models is significantly higher than for conventional basin models, a means of upscaling the source-rock properties is needed when providing these as input to hydrocarbon generation modelling. To illustrate the modelling workflow, an example from the Triassic Kobbe Formation of the Norwegian Barents Sea was used. Two alternative source-rock models for the Kobbe Formation were constructed and discussed. During the modelling process preservation conditions were fine-tuned to better match local well data within the Nordkapp Basin. The second model provided a better calibration both for the source-rock model to the well data and for the secondary migration model to known hydrocarbon accumulations of the Nordkapp Basin.


Accurate genetic prediction of quantitative traits related to complex disease risk would have potential clinical impact, so investigation of statistical methodology to improve predictive performance is important. We compare a simple approach of polygenic scores using top ranking single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to a set of shrinkage models, namely Ridge Regression, Lasso and Hyper‐Lasso. These penalised regression methods analyse all genotyped SNPs simultaneously, potentially including much larger sets of SNPs in the models, not only those with the smallest P values. We compare the accuracy of these models for predicting low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, two lipid traits of clinical relevance, in the Whitehall II and British Women's Health and Heart Study cohorts, using SNPs from the HumanCVD BeadChip. For gene scores, the most accurate predictions arise from multivariate weighted scores and include only a small number of SNPs, identified as top hits by the HumanCVD BeadChip. Furthermore, there was little benefit from including external results from published sets of SNPs. We found that shrinkage approaches rarely improved significantly on gene score results. Genetic predictive performance is trait specific, depending on the heritability and genetic architecture of the trait, and is limited by the training data sample size. Our results for lipid traits suggest no current benefit of more complex methods over existing gene score methods. Instead, the most important choice for the prediction model is the number of SNPs and selection of the most predictive SNPs to include. However further comparisons, in larger samples and for other phenotypes, would still be of interest.


In human breast carcinomas, overexpression of the macrophage colony–stimulating factor (CSF-1) and its receptor (CSF-1R) correlates with poor prognosis. To establish if there is a causal relationship between CSF-1 and breast cancer progression, we crossed a transgenic mouse susceptible to mammary cancer with mice containing a recessive null mutation in the CSF-1 gene (Csf1op) and followed tumor progression in wild-type and null mutant mice. The absence of CSF-1 affects neither the incidence nor the growth of the primary tumors but delayed their development to invasive, metastatic carcinomas. Transgenic expression of CSF-1 in the mammary epithelium of both Csf1op/Csf1op and wild-type tumor-prone mice led to an acceleration to the late stages of carcinoma and to a significant increase in pulmonary metastasis. This was associated with an enhanced infiltration of macrophages into the primary tumor. These studies demonstrate that the growth of mammary tumors and the development to malignancy are separate processes and that CSF-1 selectively promotes the latter process. CSF-1 may promote metastatic potential by regulating the infiltration and function of tumor-associated macrophages as, at the tumor site, CSF-1R expression was restricted to macrophages. Our data suggest that agents directed at CSF-1/CSF-1R activity could have important therapeutic effects.


Abstract:Previous studies have found that intergenerational income persistence is relatively high in the United States and Britain, especially as compared to Nordic countries. We compare the association between family income and sons' earnings in the United States (National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979), Britain (British Cohort Study 1970), and Sweden (Population Register Data, 1965 cohort), and find that both income elasticities and rank-order correlations are highest in the United States, followed by Britain, with Sweden being clearly more equal. We ask whether differences in educational inequality and in return to qualifications can explain these cross-country differences. Surprisingly, we find that this is not the case, even though returns to education are higher in the United States. Instead, the low income mobility in the United States and Britain is almost entirely due to the part of the parent-son association that is not mediated by educational attainment. In the United States and especially Britain, parental income is far more important for earnings at a given level of education than in Sweden, a result that holds also when controlling for cognitive ability. This goes against widespread ideas of the United States as a country where the role of ascription is limited and meritocratic stratification prevails.


Hydrogels are commonly used in research and energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and biomedical applications. These uses typically require hydrogel mechanics and internal water transport, described by the poroelastic diffusion coefficient, to be characterized. Sophisticated indentation-based approaches are typically used for this purpose, but they require expensive instrumentation and are often limited to planar samples. Here, we present Shape Relaxation (SHARE), an alternative way to assess the poroelastic diffusion coefficient of hydrogel particles that is cost-effective, straightforward, and versatile. This approach relies on first indenting a hydrogel particle via swelling within a granular packing, and then monitoring how the indented shape of the hydrogel relaxes after it is removed from the packing. We validate this approach using experiments in packings with varying grain sizes and confining stresses; these yield measurements of the poroelastic diffusion coefficient of polyacrylamide hydrogels that are in good agreement with those previously obtained using indentation approaches. We therefore anticipate that the SHARE approach will find broad use in a range of applications of hydrogels and other swellable soft materials.


Seismic hazard studies have become progressively more important for earthquake engineering applications in western Anatolia, which contains one of the world's best examples of a rapidly extending intra-continental tectonic regime. A two-stage regression analysis was applied to peak ground acceleration and 5%-damped spectral acceleration values of 168 recordings from 49 earthquakes in order to develop empirical attenuation relationships which can be used to predict ground motion for western Anatolia. Moment magnitudes for earthquakes range between 4.0 and 6.4 while the hypocentral distances range between 15 and 200 km in our dataset. Site classifications, as one of the predictor variables for the regression analysis, were obtained using horizontal to vertical spectral ratio estimates. These estimates, together with empirical attenuation relationship predictions, have shown that soil amplification is significant in western Anatolia. Attenuation relationship models that are obtained explicitly account for nonlinear sediment effects for deep soil sites in the region. Nonlinear effects of deep soil sites at lower periods are significant at the higher levels of shaking and manifest over-prediction for acceleration values, while they manifest lower prediction values at lower levels of shaking. Both results from the horizontal to vertical ratio method and the regression analysis show that the number of strong motion stations located on the rock sites in the region should be increased and the present site classification of strong motion stations in Turkey should be re-evaluated in detail. When obtained attenuation relation models were compared with the attenuation relationships based on data from tectonically similar regions, the attenuation relations modelled for a specific region could not, in general, be used in engineering applications realized for another region. Our results also indicate that the spectral acceleration model defined in the Turkish Building Code cannot adequately explain magnitude and distance dependencies in western Anatolia.


Background The outcomes of unplanned surgery for bone sarcomas have not been frequently discussed. However, it is important to recognize patterns, treatment, and clinical outcomes of unplanned surgeries for patients with bone sarcomas. This multicenter study aimed to characterize the clinical outcomes of patients with bone sarcomas who underwent unplanned surgeries. Patients and Methods Data of 43 patients with bone sarcomas who underwent unplanned surgery between 2006 and 2017 were obtained from 23 hospitals in Japan. These included 18 cases of osteosarcoma, 9 of Ewing sarcoma, 8 of chondrosarcoma, and 6 of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. The study included 28 men and 15 women, with a mean age of 46 years. The mean follow-up duration was 59 months. Results The main primary tumor sites were the femur (n = 19), spine (n = 6), pelvis (n = 5), tibia (n = 3), and humerus (n = 3). The primary diagnoses were benign bone tumor (n = 24), trauma (n = 7), bone metastasis (n = 5), osteomyelitis (n = 4), degeneration (n=2), and unknown (n = 1). As unplanned surgeries, curettage, with or without bone graft, was performed in 26 patients; internal fixation was performed in 7; spinal surgery in 5; arthroplasty in 4; and arthroscopy in one. Thirty-eight patients received additional standard treatments. Thirty-four of these patients underwent surgical tumor resections, including amputation (n = 10), and the remaining 4 received radiotherapy or carbon ion radiotherapy as additional standard treatments. The 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rates in patients with osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, and chondrosarcoma were 65.5%, 58.3%, and 72.9%, respectively. Twelve (27.9%) patients developed local recurrences (LR); among the total 43 patients studied, the 5-year DSS rates were significantly worse for those who developed LR compared to those who did not (p = 0.03). The 5-year DSS rates in patients with and without LR were 44% and 73.8%, respectively. Conclusion We recommend that patients who have undergone unplanned surgery be administered standard treatment, including the option of amputation because herein, LR was shown to be a risk factor for decreased DSS.


ABSTRACT There is a growing recognition of the roles of marine microenvironments as reservoirs of biodiversity and as sites of enhanced biological activity and in facilitating biological interactions. Here, we examine the bacterial community inhabiting free-living and particle-associated seawater microenvironments at the Pivers Island Coastal Observatory (PICO). 16S rRNA gene libraries from monthly samples (July 2013 to August 2014) were used to identify microbes in seawater in four size fractions: >63 μm (zooplankton and large particles), 63 to 5 μm (particles), 5 to 1 μm (small particles/dividing cells), and <1 μm (free-living prokaryotes). Analyses of microbial community composition highlight the importance of the microhabitat (e.g., particle-associated versus free-living lifestyle) as communities cluster by size fraction, and the microhabitat explains more of the community variability than measured environmental parameters, including pH, particle concentration, projected daily insolation, nutrients, and temperature. While temperature is statistically associated with community changes in the <1-μm and 5- to 1-μm fractions, none of the measured bulk seawater environmental variables are statistically significant in the larger-particle-associated fractions. These results, combined with high particle-associated community variability, especially in the largest size fraction (i.e., >63 μm), suggest that particle composition, including eukaryotes and their associated microbiomes, may be an important factor in selecting for specific particle-associated bacteria. IMPORTANCE By comparing levels of particle-associated and free-living bacterial diversity at a coastal location over the course of 14 months, we show that bacteria associated with particles are generally more diverse and appear to be less responsive to commonly measured environmental variables than free-living bacteria. These diverse and highly variable particle-associated communities are likely driven by differences in particle substrates both within the water column at a single time point and due to seasonal changes over the course of the year.


From cataclysmic recessions to unprecedented climate disasters, our cities seem awash with unintended consequences borne of complex times. While city administrations grapple with developing systemic supports, our infrastructure, communities and individual wellbeing are increasingly succumbing to the strain. This paper examines a practice gaining recent traction for improving our cities' sustainable resilience: service design. As an inherently user-centered, reflexive and iterative practice, it develops service systems by drawing upon a range of disciplinary roles – from makers to strategists, and ethnographers to technologists. I examine three New York City-based case studies which each attempt to improve the services its residents use and need. While responding to the complex needs of the same city, these case studies illustrate the vastly different possibilities for improving broken civic services through institutional intervention: housing in civic service design, mobility in private sector service design, and online access, in what I term 'generative', community-based service design.


The number of states in a dynamic process is exponential in the number of objects, making reinforcement learning (RL) difficult in complex, multi-object domains. For agents to scale to the real world, they will need to react to and reason about unseen combinations of objects. We argue that the ability to recognize and use local factorization in transition dynamics is a key element in unlocking the power of multi-object reasoning. To this end, we show that (1) known local structure in the environment transitions is sufficient for an exponential reduction in the sample complexity of training a dynamics model, and (2) a locally factored dynamics model provably generalizes out-of-distribution to unseen states and actions. Knowing the local structure also allows us to predict which unseen states and actions this dynamics model will generalize to. We propose to leverage these observations in a novel Model-based Counterfactual Data Augmentation (MoCoDA) framework. MoCoDA applies a learned locally factored dynamics model to an augmented distribution of states and actions to generate counterfactual transitions for RL. MoCoDA works with a broader set of local structures than prior work and allows for direct control over the augmented training distribution. We show that MoCoDA enables RL agents to learn policies that generalize to unseen states and actions. We use MoCoDA to train an offline RL agent to solve an out-of-distribution robotics manipulation task on which standard offline RL algorithms fail.


We consider qubit networks where adjacent qubits besides interacting via XY-coupling, also dissipate into the same environment. The steady states are computed exactly for all network sizes and topologies, showing that they are always symmetric under permutation of network sites, leading to a uniform distribution of the stationary entanglement across the network. The maximum entanglement between two arbitrary qubits is shown to depend only on the total number of qubits in the network, and scales linearly with it. A possible physical realization by means of an array of doped cavities is discussed for the case of a linear chain.


This is a learning activity for students of Spanish Language in Final Year (BA) or for anyone who is in the levels C1 or C2 of The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). It aims at showing different linguisitc strategies for the correct and purposeful use of reported speech in the professional context of journalism. It contains three sheets, one with all the background readings and videos and the plan for the whole set of activities, another with the exercises of Activity 4 (Reported Speech in Spanish), and one with an assessed task. It is connected to existing video resources in this repository. This work was presented and used in the 2010 E. Allison Peers Symposium (University of Liverpool) to the participating students, writers and academics.


The Dao of Muhammad: A Cultural History of Muslims in Late Imperial China, by Zvi Ben-Dor Benite. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2005. xi + 280 pp. US$45.00/£29.95/euro41.50 (hardcover). Between the late Ming dynasty and the late Qing, Muslim scholars in China created a sophisticated corpus in the Chinese written language that set out the principles and practices of Islam. This corpus is known by Muslims in China as the han kitab, the Sinophone Islamic books, and includes both translations of Persian and Arabic texts and original works. The system of learning that gave rise to the Sinophone Islamic books is known as jingtang jiaoyu, or Sinophone Islamic learning. The scholarly network that developed and propagated this system of learning, and their relationship to other Chinese scholarly elite networks, is the subject of Svi Ben-Dor Benite's first book-length publication, based on a PhD thesis of a similar title written under the supervision of Benjamin Elman. The Dao of Muhammad is, at heart, a close textual analysis of an important biographical text that chronicles the early teachers of Sinophone Islamic learning. Written by a certain Zhao Can in Kaifeng in the 1670s and published in 1989 under the title Jingxue xi chuanpu, or "Genealogy of Classical Learning", the text describes twenty-five major teachers in the scholarly tradition with which the author himself identified, documenting where and from whom these teachers gained their knowledge, to whom they passed it on, and any worthy accomplishments they may have achieved. The founder of this tradition, Zhao tells us, was known as Grand Master Hu, who gained his knowledge during several years of study under a "turbaned elder" in Central Asia. On his return to China, Grand Master Hu established a school where he taught the new style of Islamic learning that became known as jingtang jiaoyu. His students founded further new schools, and so the network spread. Ben-Dor Benite takes the detailed information provided by Zhao Can and interprets it through the concept of a "scholarly network", derived from Elman's work on Confucian scholarly networks. He begins by raising the issues involved with researching an Islamic scholarly community in China and introducing an intellectual (Chapter 1), and proceeds to a skillful exposition of the scholarly network of Sinophone Islamic learning and the movement of texts through this network. In Chapter 3, he draws on Zhao Can's text supplemented by other biographical sources to address the question of how Islamic principles were articulated in a Chinese medium (hence the title of the book). In this chapter Ben-Dor Benite overemphasizes the importance of the specific vocabulary used by these Sinophone Islamic scholars. For example, he describes the transformation of Muhammad from Prophet to Sage at the hands of the Sinophone Islamic scholars, without discussion of what the characteristics of a prophet (Ar. rasul, nabi) are as defined by the broad tradition of Islamic learning, or the status of the sage (Ch. …


The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which emerged from Wuhan, China, is now a pandemic, affecting across the globe. Bangladesh also is experiencing the rapid growth of COVID-19 infection and death cases started from 8th March 2020. The purpose of providing a simple yet effective explanatory model for prediction of the future evolution of the contagion and verification of the effectiveness of the containment and lockdown measures in Bangladesh. In this study, using a modified SIR (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) model a forecast is generated to predict the trends of COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh. The epidemic model was proposed to accommodate the effects of lockdown and individual based precautionary measures. Data has been taken and analyzed for before and after the movement control order (MCO) and during the MCO period. Modified SIR model in this work offers us an idea how the outbreak would progress based on the current data. It also has estimated that, the peak in terms of the number of infected cases will start from last of June 2020. For the total population (100%) the model gets the peaks at 214875 (infected cases) and 7743 (death cases). For the 90% population, the model shows the peaks at 244356 (infected cases) and 9100 (death cases). Analysis revealed that the lockdown and recommended individual hygiene can slow down the outbreak but unable to eradicate the disease from the society. With the current infection and death rate and existing level of personal precautionary the number of infected individuals will be increasing.


Background/Aims The economic impact of dyspepsia in regions with a diverse healthcare system remains uncertain. This study aimed to estimate the costs of dyspepsia in a rural and urban population in Malaysia. Methods Economic evaluation was performed based on the cost-of-illness method. Resource utilization and quality of life data over a specific time frame, were collected to determine direct, indirect and intangible costs related to dyspepsia. Results The prevalences of dyspepsia in the rural (n = 2,000) and urban (n = 2,039) populations were 14.6% and 24.3% respectively. Differences in socioeconomic status and healthcare utilisation between both populations were considerable. The cost of dyspepsia per 1,000 population per year was estimated at USD14,816.10 and USD59,282.20 in the rural and urban populations respectively. The cost per quality adjusted life year for dyspepsia in rural and urban adults was USD16.30 and USD69.75, respectively. Conclusions The economic impact of dyspepsia is greater in an urban compared to a rural setting. Differences in socioeconomic status and healthcare utilisation between populations are thought to contribute to this difference.


The importance of information to the success of any academic institution should not be underestimated. Ukpanah (2006) affirms that in an academic community, information is used for learning, teaching, research and leisure. Information according to Ajiboye and Tella (2007), is used primarily for academic purposes. These findings agree with Kakai et.al (2004), when they observed that students information-seeking behaviours promote academic excellence. Mabawonku (2005) highlights ways in which students seek for information, which include colleagues, the internet, library, friends, family members, etc. Furthermore, Akinade and Ogunyade (2002) and Onohwakpor (2007) asserted that valuable information to students determines to a very large extent their success and future development. Sequel to this, it is imperative for Academic libraries, which are attached to tertiary institutions to support the Teaching, Learning and Research processes in such institutions. Students, according to Adesina (2003) , have been found to be majority of library users in an academic library. Hence, Popoola (2008) affirmed that the information resources and services available in institutional information systems must be capable of supporting research activities among students and faculty members. These students could be challenged or normal library users. The challenged students will need assistance while in the library but the normal students may need little or no assistance. Onifade and Sowole (2009) quoting Ojo rightly noted that, for libraries to add to the advancement of knowledge, they must not only provide resources but also ensure that the resources are effectively used. In this regard, academic libraries should be committed to providing equal access to all categories of students, whether normal or challenged. Therefore this paper attempts to look at information availability and services provided the physically challenged students ( students using wheelchair, crutches, and braces for mobility) to the library, in eight academic libraries in Ogun state, Nigeria, their accessibility to the library and the problems they encountered.


When an extended system is coupled at its opposite boundaries to two reservoirs at different temperatures or chemical potentials, it cannot achieve a global thermal equilibrium and is instead driven to a set of current-carrying nonequilibrium states. Despite the broad relevance of such a scenario to metallic systems, there have been limited investigations of the entanglement structure of the resulting long-time states, in part, due to the fundamental difficulty in solving realistic models for disordered, interacting electrons. We investigate this problem by carefully analyzing two "toy" models for coherent quantum transport of diffusive fermions: the celebrated three-dimensional, noninteracting Anderson model and a class of random quantum circuits acting on a chain of qubits, which exactly maps to a diffusive, interacting fermion problem. Crucially, the random circuit model can also be tuned to have no interactions between the fermions, similar to the Anderson model. We show that the long-time states of driven noninteracting fermions exhibit volume-law mutual information and entanglement, both for our random circuit model and for the nonequilibrium steady-state of the Anderson model. With interactions, the random circuit model is quantum chaotic and approaches local equilibrium, with only short-range entanglement. These results provide a generic picture for the emergence of local equilibrium in current-driven quantum-chaotic systems, and also provide examples of stable, highly-entangled many-body states out of equilibrium. We discuss experimental techniques to probe these effects in low-temperature mesoscopic wires or ultracold atomic gases.


A novel photo-responsive anionic surfactant with a dimethylamino-substituted azobenzene located at the end of the hydrophobic chain, 6-(4-dimethylaminoazobenzene-4'-oxy)hexanoate sodium (DAH), has been designed. Through the host-guest interaction in aqueous solution, the trans-DAH could be spontaneously included by using two native α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) molecules. The formed hydrophilic inclusion complex (DAH@2α-CD), however, could act as a gelator to induce the formation of a supramolecular hydrogel, which is driven mainly by hydrogen bonds between neighboring α-CDs and also between the carboxylate in DAH and water. Compared with common hydrogels that consist of networks with fibres or discrete polymer chains, the hydrogel formed by DAH@2α-CD was composed of periodic lamellar structures possessing good shear-thinning behavior and much swollen water layers. The more interesting point for such a hydrogel was its visible-light responsibility for gel-sol reversible phase transition. This originated from the introduction of an electron-donating group (dimethylamino) to azobenzene, which noticeably red-shifted the responsive wavelength for its trans-to-cis isomerization. It was also worth noting that the host-guest interaction between azobenzene in DAH and α-CD significantly improved the photo-transition efficiency from trans to cis forms of azobenzene, which played a critical role in the visible-light responsibility of the hydrogel. This unique visible-light-responsive behavior combined with the inherent thermo-responsive property from α-CD should make the prepared hydrogel find more potential applications in biomedical systems.


G Boots is a real-time 3D puzzle video game. It uses OpenGL, using GLSL for shaders, in order to implement cross platform support of advanced rendering and shading techniques. A level editing system was implemented so that anyone can make or edit levels that can then be played in the game. At the end of two quarters of development by a single developer, one polished proof of concept level was created using the level editing system in order to show the feasibility of the project.


This study, aims at investigating the relationship between financial literacy and household investment choices. Specifically, the study establishes whether households with high financial literacy levels are more likely to choose to invest; through a bank investment account, with an informal group, in a personal business or invest in Agriculture. Financial literacy is measured using three questions that capture an understanding of the basic financial concepts of interest rate, discounting and borrowing. Both bivariate and multivariate analysis techniques and a Probit model are used to tease out the levels of financial literacy, its determinants and its relationship with household investment choices. The study results reveal low levels of financial literacy in Uganda. Also, the study reveals that financial literacy is significantly associated with household socio-demographic factors. The study finds that, financial literacy is positively and significantly associated with household investment choices. The study establishes a key investment venture of Agriculture which requires to be revamped since it is neglected yet it is still very essential to the country's economy. The results also contribute to the government's National Financial Literacy Strategy by establishing the population segments that is most/least financially literate hence such initiatives should be directed towards such population groups with low financial literacy levels.


The NLRP3 inflammasome is a protein complex responsible for caspase-1–dependent maturation of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1&bgr; and IL-18. Gain-of-function missense mutations in NLRP3 cause the disease spectrum known as the cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS). In this study, we generated Nlrp3-knockin mice on various KO backgrounds including Il1b/Il18-, caspase-1–, caspase-11– (Casp1/11-), and Tnf-deficient strains. The Nlrp3L351P Il1b–/– Il18–/– mutant mice survived and grew normally until adulthood and, at 6 months of age, exhibited marked splenomegaly and leukophilia. Injection of these mice with low-dose LPS resulted in elevated serum TNF levels compared with Nlrp3L351P Casp1/11–/– mice and Il1b–/– Il18–/– littermates. Treatment of Nlrp3A350V mice with the TNF inhibitor etanercept resulted in all pups surviving to adulthood, with normal body and spleen/body weight ratios. Nlrp3A350V Tnf–/– mice showed a similar phenotypic rescue, with marked reductions in serum IL-1&bgr; and IL-18, reduced myeloid inflammatory infiltrate in the skin and spleen, and substantial decreases in splenic mRNA expression of both inflammasome components (Nlrp3, Pycard, pro-Casp1) and pro-cytokines (Il1b, Il18). Likewise, we observed a reduction in the expression of both pro-Casp1 and pro-Il1b in cultured Nlrp3A350V Tnf–/– BM-derived DCs. Our data show that TNF is an important transcriptional regulator of NLRP3 inflammasome components in murine inflammasomopathies. Moreover, these results may have therapeutic implications for CAPS patients with partial responses to IL-1–targeted therapies.


This research aimed at describing perceived social support and its relation to academic achievement in a sample of 760 Argentinean college students. Perception of social support was assessed in terms of four possible sources: parents, teachers, classmates, and boyfriend/girlfriend or best friend. Academic achievement was measured using three different indicators: the rate of passed, failed and dropped classes in the time since the academic career was initiated. The main hypothesis posed was that a higher perception of social support would be related to a better academic achievement (a bigger rate of passed classes, and a smaller rate of failed and dropped classes). Findings showed that women perceived significantly more support than men from all sources, except from teachers. Both males and females perceived more support from best friends or boyfriends/girlfriends, and identified teachers as the less supportive source. A higher perception of social support was associated with better academic achievement but only for females. Limitations of the study and implications for the set in motion of different interventions in the academic field, which could be specific to certain type of students, are discussed.


Marine benthic communities, including meiofauna, have commonly been used as a focus
of monitoring programs and of research into the effects of human activities in the marine
environment. In Antarctica, benthic communities have been shown to be good indicators
of human impacts, however, there is very limited information on Antarctic meiofaunal
communities and how they may respond to anthropogenic disturbances. The main types
of contamination present in marine sediments around Antarctic stations are metals and
hydrocarbons.
A survey of sediment meiofaunal communities was done at Casey Station, Antarctica,
with sampling at a range of spatial scales, from 10 meters to kilometers, to determine the
spatial patterns of community composition and abundance. This included a comparison of
control and disturbed areas (adjacent to old waste disposal sites). An MDS of all 47
samples supported by one way ANOSIM (Global R= 0.955, P< 0.001) showed the
variation within locations was less than the variation between locations (kms) and
significantly different between control and polluted locations. From the total meiofauna,
a higher percentage of nematodes, by comparison to harpacticoid copepods in both
controlled (nematode, 94.8%: harpacticoid copepods, 5.2%) and disturbed locations
(nematode, 95.4%: harpacticoid copepods, 4.6%).
Multivariate biological (meiofaunal communities) and environmental datasets were
examined to determine whether there were any correlations between patterns of community composition and environmental variables. The analysis suggested that the
most influential variables on the community pattern were metals of anthropogenic origin
such as tin, lead, iron, copper, and zinc but also metals that probably relate to local
differences in mineralogy such as silver, barium, uranium and arsenic. Grain size
parameters were found to have a much lower capacity to explain differences in
meiofaunal communities, although there did appear to be some influence.
An experiment was setup in which four different hydrocarbons (SAB diesel fuel, and
clean, used and biodegradable lubricant oils) were added to defaunated marine sediments
and deployed in trays in a sheltered marine bay. The communities colonizing the
sediments were monitored for up to five years. The effects of hydrocarbon contamination
on meiofaunal communities were different for each type of hydrocarbon. The Control and
Biodegradable treatments had the most similar meiofaunal communities at all sampling
times. Effects of hydrocarbon treatments were still evident after five years. Results also
suggest that changes in nematode composition are ideal for long term pollution
monitoring. By comparison, copepods appeared to be less sensitive to hydrocarbon
pollution. Long-term monitoring is essential to understand the true extent to which
lubricants impact the community structure.


Aquarium originated marine green alga Caulerpa taxifolia was introduced into the Mediterranean Sea accidentally in 1984. This invasion has been negatively affecting the sub-littoral ecosystem of the Mediterranean. One of the important reasons for its success in the Mediterranean is its secondary toxic metabolite called caulerpenyne (CPN). Furthermore, CPN has anti-proliferative and apoptotic activities, therefore, CPN can be considered as a potential native source in cancer therapy. For that reason, modeling this metabolite might be of importance. Increase and decrease of the CPN level before reaching the critical level can be expressed by means of a queueing system in which the number of 'customers' increases and decreases. In fact, production of CPN shows fluctuations for many environmental reasons, which allow us to apply queueing theory. In the present study, the expected time to reach the maximum caulerpenyne level was analyzed and evaluated using queueing theory.


The program described in this paper is the essential first step in reviving and reinitiating the delivery of aviation maintenance technology instruction. The demand for aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs) is rapidly increasing and there is a need to provide as many as 679,000 AMTs over the next 20 years (Boeing, 2016). Given the high cost of certification, new aviation maintenance schools are unlikely to be certificated in the near future, and ramping up the existing schools to meet the anticipated demand is unlikely without incorporating attractive cost-effective measures such as competency-based and distance education. The purpose of this study is to develop a model curriculum for aviation maintenance technician schools (AMTSs) based upon three federal documents: {Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools, dated 10/02/2015, Advisory and Rulemaking Committees Review Part 147 (Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools Curriculum and Operating Requirements) dated 12/08/2008, and FAA AMT testing standards (draft dated 02/17/2017)}. The model encapsulates college credits and respective clock hour times associated with common subject area groupings within the guidelines of one college credit minimum for each course, approximately 1900 hours of instruction, and recommended objectives for each course. The Delphi methodology was used to collect data from a group of aviation maintenance technology education and regulatory experts.


Laccase-catalysed degradation is a promising technology for the degradation of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs). However, depending on their physicochemical properties (e.g., chemical structures), non-phenolic TrOCs appear to be resistant to laccase-catalysed degradation, thus requiring an additional treatment process. In this study, the performance of an integrated laccase and persulfate (PS) mediated oxidation process was explored and elucidated for the first time. Compared to that achieved during treatment with laccase alone, the addition of PS at 1–10 mM concentration into batch enzymatic bioreactors showed concentration-dependent improvement in the degradation of the five TrOCs selected, namely diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, bisphenol A and oxybenzone. The results obtained from a series of batch tests also confirmed that the structural components (e.g., carbohydrate moieties in the enzyme) as well as the possibility of PS acting as a final acceptor of electrons from the type II and type III active sites of laccase may have led to PS activation. A continuous treatment system was developed by integrating a nanofiltration (NF) membrane with the laccase/PS process (NF-MBRlaccase/PS), which achieved TrOC-specific degradation. Importantly, the degradation of non-phenolic TrOCs (diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole and carbamazepine) further improved by 10 to 65% in the NF-MBRlaccase/PS system. This improvement could be attributed to: (i) the prolonged contact time between laccase/PS and TrOCs, which was possible due to their complete retention by the NF membrane; and (ii) retention of oxidative cross coupling agents or secondary radicals enhancing TrOC degradation. The NF membrane not only retained the moderately degraded carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole effectively but also effectively removed toxic transformation products and residual estrogenicity of the final effluent as evaluated by cytotoxicity and estrogenicity assays, respectively. These observations indicate the significance of the high retention membrane in the NF-MBRlaccase/PS system for producing high quality permeate suitable for disposal and potentially for water reuse applications.


Anthropologists have recently been puzzled by surprising features on a handful of ancient American skeletons that resemble those of Europeans rather than Asians, the presumed ancestors of the first people to cross the Bering Strait into the Americas. Now a new genetic study may link Native Americans and people of Europe and the Middle East, offering tantalizing support to a controversial theory that a band of people who originally lived in Europe or Asia Minor were among this continent9s first settlers. The new data come from studies of a genetic marker called Lineage X, which has been found both in living Native Americans and in certain groups in Europe and Asia Minor, including Italians, Finns, and certain Israelis--but not in any Asian population.