1. We have studied activity of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase in needle liver biopsy specimens obtained from 12 human cirrhotic subjects, five subjects who had ingested anticonvulsants and from control subjects. Liver iron concentrations and quantitative urinary excretions of porphyrins plus their precursors were also determined. 2. In liver homogenates from subjects of each group, addition of an exogenous system for generation of succinyl-coenzyme A (CoA), including succinic thiokinase, resulted in appreciable enhancement of activity beyond that obtained without this system. 3. Mean activities for delta-aminolaevulinate synthease were not significantly different among patient groups when assayed without the exogenous succinyl-CoA-generating system, but liver homogenates from cirrhotic patients and subjects ingesting anticonvulsants had significantly higher activities than control subjects in the presence of the succinyl-CoA-generating system. 4. Although mean liver iron concentration in the cirrhotic group was slightly higher than in control subjects, and in control subjects there was some correlation between liver iron concentration and activity of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase, variations in this activity could not be accounted for solely on the basis of chronic hepatic deposition. Nor were these variations ascribable to differences among subjects in ingestion of ethanol before biopsy or severity of hepatic inflammation as judged biochemically and histologically. 5. Cirrhotic subjects excreted more uro- and copro-porphyrin than control subjects, whereas subjects ingesting anticonvulsants excreted more delta-aminolaevulinic acid and porphobilinogen than control subjects. However, these increases were small and not sufficient to account for all the increased delta-aminolaevulinic acid which potentially could have been formed by these subjects. 6. These considerations raise the possibilities that in vivo: (a) rate of human hepatic synthesis of delta-aminolaevulinic acid is modulated by the supply of succinyl-CoA; (b) the rate of hepatic synthesis of haem is increased in cirrhotic patients and subjects ingesting anticonvulsants; (c) other important routes exist for disposition of haem precursors in these subjects, besides utilization for haem synthesis.


Education policy in Pakistan, as in other developing countries, faces the challenge of poor implementation. The article explores the history of education policy in Pakistan and describes the conventional accounts of policy failures. It particularly highlights the issues of unclear goals, political commitment, governance, centralisation, resources and foreign aid. Generally, it is assumed that overcoming these conventional challenges will result in better policy outcomes. Although this is partially true, Spillane, Reiser and Reimer (2002) direct our attention to the cognitive factors that play a critical role in policy implementation. They argued that implementing agents try to make sense of policy provisions before acting on them. This article extends their views to emphasise that a more deepened understanding the process of sense-making requires incorporation of insights from the neuro-cognitive sciences. Based on the neuro-cognitive understanding of learning that is developed in this article, some cognitive constraints on learning and sense-making are proposed. It is argued that both conventional and neuro-cognitive constraints need to be optimally satisfied to avoid serious policy failures.


The ultimate goal of logic synthesis is to explore implementation flexibility toward meeting design targets, such as area, power, and delay. Traditionally, such flexibility is expressed using "don't cares" and we seek the best implementation that does not violate them. However, the calculation and storing of don't care information is CPU and memory-intensive. In this paper, we give an overview of logic synthesis approaches based on techniques developed for Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG). Instead of calculating and storing don't cares explicitly, ATPG-based logic synthesis techniques calculate the flexibility implicitly. Low CPU and memory usage make those techniques applicable for practical industrial circuits. Also, the basic ATPG-based logic level operations create predictable, small layout perturbations, making an ideal foundation for efficient physical synthesis. Theoretical results show that an efficient, yet simple add-a-wire-and-remove-a-wire operation covers all possible complex logic transformations.


Abstract. We study the problem of sinking particles in a realistic oceanic flow, with major energetic structures in the mesoscale, focussing on the range of particle sizes and densities appropriate for marine biogenic particles. Our aim is to evaluate the relevance of theoretical results of finite size particle dynamics in their applications in the oceanographic context. By using a simplified equation of motion of small particles in a mesoscale simulation of the oceanic velocity field, we estimate the influence of physical processes such as the Coriolis force and the inertia of the particles, and we conclude that they represent negligible corrections to the most important terms, which are passive motion with the velocity of the flow, and a constant added vertical velocity due to gravity. Even if within this approximation three-dimensional clustering of particles can not occur, two-dimensional cuts or projections of the evolving three-dimensional density can display inhomogeneities similar to the ones observed in sinking ocean particles.


Newly-determined mass of 1.97 $\pm$ 0.04 $M_{\odot}$ for PSR J1614-2230 has been a challenge for the neutron star with a hyperon core (namely hyperon star), since hyperons usually reduce the theoretical maximum mass of the star. In this article, we consider dark matter as another possible constituent in hyperon stars' interior to loose this mass constrain. We take dark matter as self-interacting Fermi gas with certain repulsive interaction among the dark matter particles and non-interaction between dark matter and ordinary matter as is generally assumed. We find that the star maximum mass is sensitive to the particle mass of dark matter, and a high enough star mass larger than 2 $M_{\odot}$ could be achieved when the particle mass is small enough. In this particular model, a strong upper limit 0.64 GeV for dark matter mass is obtained in strongly-interacting dark matter and 0.16 GeV for dark matter mass in weakly-interacting dark matter. Dark matter accumulated around the star could also contribute to the mass measurement, however, such contribution could be safely ignored when the generally used dark matter density is assumed.


In many cities, pilot projects are set up to test or develop new technologies that improve sustainability, urban quality of life or urban services (often labelled as "smart city" projects). Typically, these projects are supported by the municipality, funded by subsidies, and run in partnerships. Many projects however die after the pilot stage, and never scale up. Policymakers on all levels consider this as a challenge and search for solutions. In this paper, we analyse the process of upscaling, focusing on smart city projects in which several partners –with different missions, agenda's and incentives- join up. First, we review the extant literature on upscaling from development studies, business studies, and the transition management literature. Based on insights from these literatures, we identify three types of upscaling: roll-out, expansion and replication, each with their own dynamics, context sensitivity and scaling barriers. We illustrate the typology with recent smart city projects in Amsterdam. Based on desk research and in-depth interviews with a number of project stakeholders and partners of the Amsterdam Smart City platform, we analyse three projects in depth, in order to illustrate the challenges of different upscaling types. i) Energy Atlas, an EU-funded open data project in which the grid company, utilities and local government set up a detailed online platform showing real-time energy use on the level of the building block; ii) Climate Street, a project that intended to make an entire urban high street sustainable, involving a large number of stakeholders, and iii) Ikringloop, an application that helps to recycle or to re-use waste. Each of the projects faced great complexities in the upscaling process, albeit to a varying degree. The paper ends with conclusions and recommendations on pilot projects and partnership governance, and adds new reflections to the debates on upscaling.


This dissertation examines the development of high-technology capability in a developing country, using the example of the Brazilian informatics industry. Technological capability, essentially the ability to use technology effectively, accumulates through 'learning' resulting from the technological efforts of people, firms, and regions. There are two highly interdependent components to high-technology capability: first, the positive use of foreign technology and the development of an indigenous research capability, and second, the development of supporting infrastructures. Infrastructures are based on supporting institutional structures, such as universities, firms, markets, and suppliers, and on the spatial linkages that connect these structures. Higher stages of technological capability are fostered by the development of human resources, research networks, and infrastructural spatial agglomerations.Government policies may help stimulate these efforts through industry protection and regulation of foreign technology, and by improving the technological infrastructure. In the case of the Brazilian informatics industry, policy extends beyond the past pattern of import substitution by reserving low-end segments of the domestic computer market to nationally owned companies, effectively eliminating competition from multinational corporations. Brazil's protectionist policies can be criticized on the grounds of higher production costs and lagging technological levels, however, this research illustrates that the domestic computer industry has contributed to the development of technological capabilities; namely the intensification of the human infrastructure, the deepening of research and development capabilities in industry, government, and university centers, and the improved ability to select, adapt, and develop technologies appropriate and beneficial to the national situation.


Purpose Three previous studies have tested for an association between high myopia and polymorphisms in the open angle glaucoma gene, myocilin (MYOC), all in subjects of Chinese ethnicity. In two of the studies, a significant association was found while in the third, there was no association. We sought to investigate the association between high myopia and polymorphisms in MYOC in subjects of European ethnicity. Methods Subjects were recruited from two sites, Cardiff University in the UK and Duke University in the United States. The Cardiff University cohort was comprised of 164 families with high myopia (604 subjects) plus 112 unrelated, highly myopic cases and 114 emmetropic controls. The Duke University cohort was comprised of 87 families with high myopia (362 subjects) plus 59 unrelated, highly myopic cases. Subject DNA was genotyped with a panel of MYOC single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including those found previously associated with high myopia. The Cardiff cohort was also genotyped for two flanking microsatellite markers analyzed in prior studies. Association between high myopia and MYOC polymorphisms was assessed using the Unphased program. Results Since there was no evidence of heterogeneity in genotype frequencies between families and singleton samples or between cohorts, both subject groups (families and unrelated subjects) from both recruitment sites were analyzed jointly for those SNPs genotyped in common. Two variants showed significant association before correction for multiple testing. These two variants were rs16864720 (p=0.043) and NGA17 (p=0.026). However, there was no significant association after Bonferroni correction. The estimated relative risk (RR) conferred by each of the MYOC variants was low (RR<1.5). Conclusions Our results suggest that MYOC polymorphisms have a very low, or possibly negligible, influence on high myopia susceptibility in subjects of European ethnicity.


While everyone wants energy that is clean, cheap, and secure, these goals often conflict: traditional fossil fuels tend to be cheaper than alternative fuels, but they are hardly clean or (in the case of oil) secure. This timely book provides an easy-to-understand explanation of the issues as well as sensible proposals for a truly sustainable energy policy. Economist James Griffin points out that current energy policies are fatally flawed and that government policies should focus on "getting the prices right" so that the prices of fossil fuels reflect their true costs to society--including greenhouse gas and security costs. By using carbon and security taxes, alternative energy forms will be able to compete on a more even playing field against fossil fuels. This will unleash advances in alternative energy and conservation technologies enabling the marketplace and consumers to find the right balance among energy sources that are cheap, clean, and secure.


Background: The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and risk factors for hypertension in a rural community in north-east India. Materials and Methods: A door-to-door survey was conducted amongst all residents of a village in Uttarakhand province. All residents were interviewed and data were was relating to the demographics of the individuals, dietary habits, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, psychosocial stress, past medical history and drug history. Blood pressure (BP) and anthropometric data was recorded and blood samples taken. Results: We identified 1348 people living in the village. Assessment was carried out on all those aged 15 years and over (n=968, 71.8%). Hypertension, defined as BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg or cases of known hypertensive on medication, were present in 30.9% (95% CI 25.6 to 36.0) of males and 27.8% (95% CI 23.4 to 32.2) of females. Standardisation to the World Health Organization (WHO) world population gives an overall prevalence of 32.3% (95% confidence interval, CI 28.9 to 35.8). Increasing age and higher body mass index (BMI) were independent predictors of hypertension in both sexes, with psychosocial stress an additional independent predictor in males. Conclusions: Rates of hypertension in the rural community under study are similar to those seen in high-income countries and in urban India. With the exception of age, all the risk factors identified were potentially modifiable.


In this paper, we present a new model for constructing poverty lines. The model uses consumer theory to construct both food and nonfood poverty thresholds. Although one cannot completely eliminate the value judgments inherent in the construction of poverty thresholds, this model helps to make the ad hoc assumptions that are generally made more justifiable. The model ensures that poverty line is consistent across regions. The methodology developed in the paper is used to illustrate the construction of poverty thresholds in Pakistan.


Abstract Objective To determine the effects of diets varying in carbohydrate to fat ratio on total energy expenditure. Design Randomized trial. Setting Multicenter collaboration at US two sites, August 2014 to May 2017. Participants 164 adults aged 18-65 years with a body mass index of 25 or more. Interventions After 12% (within 2%) weight loss on a run-in diet, participants were randomly assigned to one of three test diets according to carbohydrate content (high, 60%, n=54; moderate, 40%, n=53; or low, 20%, n=57) for 20 weeks. Test diets were controlled for protein and were energy adjusted to maintain weight loss within 2 kg. To test for effect modification predicted by the carbohydrate-insulin model, the sample was divided into thirds of pre-weight loss insulin secretion (insulin concentration 30 minutes after oral glucose). Main outcome measures The primary outcome was total energy expenditure, measured with doubly labeled water, by intention-to-treat analysis. Per protocol analysis included participants who maintained target weight loss, potentially providing a more precise effect estimate. Secondary outcomes were resting energy expenditure, measures of physical activity, and levels of the metabolic hormones leptin and ghrelin. Results Total energy expenditure differed by diet in the intention-to-treat analysis (n=162, P=0.002), with a linear trend of 52 kcal/d (95% confidence interval 23 to 82) for every 10% decrease in the contribution of carbohydrate to total energy intake (1 kcal=4.18 kJ=0.00418 MJ). Change in total energy expenditure was 91 kcal/d (95% confidence interval −29 to 210) greater in participants assigned to the moderate carbohydrate diet and 209 kcal/d (91 to 326) greater in those assigned to the low carbohydrate diet compared with the high carbohydrate diet. In the per protocol analysis (n=120, P<0.001), the respective differences were 131 kcal/d (−6 to 267) and 278 kcal/d (144 to 411). Among participants in the highest third of pre-weight loss insulin secretion, the difference between the low and high carbohydrate diet was 308 kcal/d in the intention-to-treat analysis and 478 kcal/d in the per protocol analysis (P<0.004). Ghrelin was significantly lower in participants assigned to the low carbohydrate diet compared with those assigned to the high carbohydrate diet (both analyses). Leptin was also significantly lower in participants assigned to the low carbohydrate diet (per protocol). Conclusions Consistent with the carbohydrate-insulin model, lowering dietary carbohydrate increased energy expenditure during weight loss maintenance. This metabolic effect may improve the success of obesity treatment, especially among those with high insulin secretion. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02068885.


The softening process consists of recovery and recrystallization. Despite the significant effect of recovery on the softening, recovery has not enjoyed the attention as much as recrystallizaion has mostly due to difficulties in the microstructural characterization of recovery. The present study introduced GOS qualitatively and quantitatively to gauge the microstructural evolution occurring during annealing. Then the GOS analysis was applied to discern alloying effects on recrystallization in hot deformed Al-Cu-Mg alloys. Recovery seems accountable for the retardation of recrystallization in the Mn containing alloys. By adding Zr to Al-Cu-Mg-Mn, recrystallization could be further inhibited.


We study the problem of online learning with primary and secondary losses. For example, a recruiter making decisions of which job applicants to hire might weigh false positives and false negatives equally (the primary loss) but the applicants might weigh false negatives much higher (the secondary loss). We consider the following question: Can we combine "expert advice" to achieve low regret with respect to the primary loss, while at the same time performing {\em not much worse than the worst expert} with respect to the secondary loss? Unfortunately, we show that this goal is unachievable without any bounded variance assumption on the secondary loss. More generally, we consider the goal of minimizing the regret with respect to the primary loss and bounding the secondary loss by a linear threshold. On the positive side, we show that running any switching-limited algorithm can achieve this goal if all experts satisfy the assumption that the secondary loss does not exceed the linear threshold by $o(T)$ for any time interval. If not all experts satisfy this assumption, our algorithms can achieve this goal given access to some external oracles which determine when to deactivate and reactivate experts.


This active learning exercise demonstrates the fundamental problem in economics that resources are scarce, while wants are relatively infinite.  Students are exposed to four mechanisms for rationing scare resources: markets, queue, coupons, and lottery.  An Apple iPad® pre-loaded with music, videos, and games is used as the good to be rationed. The uncertain value of the good allows for differences in willingness to pay.  Students are guided through an exercise that highlights the efficiency/equity tradeoffs in different allocation mechanisms by observing who gets the iPad in each round and whether any secondary market transactions occur to change the allocation.


First of all we would like to thank you for visiting our exhibition stand at the fair Iran Plast 2017 . We hope that you have enjoyed our latest closing developments. The requested data will be arriving within the next few days.


Abstract. Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) remains poorly understood due to the lack of comprehensive measurements at high time resolution for tracking its dynamic features and the lack of long-term observation for tracking its seasonal variability. Here, we present highly time-resolved and seasonal compositions and characteristics of non-refractory components in PM with a diameter less than 1 μm (NR-PM1) at a suburban site in Hong Kong. The measurements were made with an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Air Quality Research Supersite for 4 months, with one in each season of the year. The average NR-PM1 concentration of ~ 15 μg m−3 is higher than those AMS measurements made in South Korea and Japan, but lower than those in North China, the Yangtze River Delta and the nearby Pearl River Delta. The seasonal dependence of the total NR-PM1 monthly averaged concentrations was small, but that of the fractions of the species in NR-PM1 was significant. Site characteristic plays an important role in the relative fractions of species in NR-PM1 and our results are generally consistent with measurements at other non-urban sites in this regard. Detailed analyses were conducted on the AMS data in the aspects of (1) species concentrations, (2) size distributions, (3) degree of oxygenation of organics, and (4) positive matrix factorization (PMF)-resolved organic factors in a seasonal context, as well as with air mass origin from back-trajectory analysis. Sulfate had the highest fraction in NR-PM1 (> 40%), and the surrogates of secondary organic species – semi-volatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SVOOA) and low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosol (LVOOA) – prevailed (~ 80%) in the organic portion of NR-PM1. Local contributions to the organic portion of NR-PM1 at this suburban site was strongly dependent on season. The hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA) factor related to local traffic emissions contributed > 10% to organic aerosols in spring and summer but only 6–7% in autumn and winter. The cooking organic aerosol (COA) factor contributed > 10% to organic aerosols in winter. With the aid of highly time-resolved data, diurnal patterns of the degree of oxygenation of organic aerosols were used to determine the sources and formation processes of the least understood organic portion of PM. The oxygen-to-carbon atomic ratio (O : C) and average carbon oxidation state OS C) showed little variation in autumn and winter, when the long-range transport of oxidized organics dominated, whereas they peaked in the afternoon in spring and summer, when locally produced secondary organic aerosol prevailed. Air mass origin, in contrast, had a strong influence on both NR-PM1 concentrations and the fractions of species in NR-PM1. The findings of the current study provide a better understanding of the role of air mass origin in the seasonal characteristics of the PM composition and the relative importance of local vs. transported organic aerosols in this region.


A systematic investigation of the interaction of microwave irradiation with microcrystalline cellulose has been carried out, covering a broad temperature range (150 → 270 °C). A variety of analytical techniques (e.g., HPLC, (13)C NMR, FTIR, CHN analysis, hydrogen-deuterium exchange) allowed for the analysis of the obtained liquid and solid products. Based on these results a mechanism of cellulose interaction with microwaves is proposed. Thereby the degree of freedom of the cellulose enclosed CH2OH groups was found to be crucial. This mechanism allows for the explanation of the different experimental observations such as high efficiency of microwave treatment; the dependence of the selectivity/yield of glucose on the applied microwave density; the observed high glucose to HMF ratio; and the influence of the degree of cellulose crystallinity on the results of the hydrolysis process. The highest selectivity toward glucose was found to be ~75% while the highest glucose yield obtained was 21%.


By sharing geographic space, species are forced to interact with one another and the contribution of this process to evolutionary and ecological patterns of individual species is not fully understood. At the same time, species turnover makes that species composition varies from one area to another, so the analysis of biological interaction cannot be uncoupled from the spatial context. This is particularly important for clades that show high degree of specialization such as hummingbirds, where any variation in biotic pressures might lead to changes in morphology. Here, we describe the influence of biological interactions on the morphology of Hylocharis leucotis by simultaneously considering potential competition and diet resources. We characterized the extent of local potential competition and local available floral resources by correlating two measurements of hummingbird diversity, floral resources and the size of morphological space of H. leucotis along its geographic distribution. We found that H. leucotis shows an important morphological variability across its range and two groups can be recognized. Surprisingly, morphological variation is not always linked to local hummingbird richness or the phylogenetic similarity of. Only in the southern part of its distribution, H. leucotis is morphologically more variable in those communities where it coexist with closely related hummingbird species. We also found that morphological variation in H. leucotis is independent from the availability of floral resources. Our results suggest that abiotic factors might be responsible for morphological differences across populations in Hylocharis leucotis being biological interactions of minor importance.


Accurate age determination is an important component of assessing and managing fish populations, yet traditional ageing using growth bands is time-consuming and has limitations. In the present study, an alternative approach to shark age estimation using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was investigated using two species. The ages of Sphyrna mokarran and Carcharhinus sorrah vertebrae that had been traditionally aged and validated were successfully predicted up to 10 years of age using NIRS. The correlations between the known ages of the vertebrae and their near infrared spectra were strong, with R2 values of 0.89 and 0.84 for S. mokarran and C. sorrah respectively. The major advantage of the NIRS ageing approach was the rapid speed of age estimation, which could enable large numbers of sharks to be aged quickly. This would offer the fisheries management benefit of improving the reliability of age information for stock and risk assessments.


This research aims to measure and to model the urban expansion of Greater Muscat using the combined techniques of geographical information systems (GIS) and satellite remote sensing (RS). Basing on detailed datasets and knowledge of historical land use maps, attempts were made to simulate future growth patterns of the city. A significantly detailed dataset of land use for Greater Muscat, derived from an assemblage of aerial photographs and high resolution satellite imagery, was assessed. The outcome of this exercise was the design of six land use maps covering the years 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2003. The results show that the area of Greater Muscat has expanded by 650% in the period 1970-2003 with an annual growth rate of approximately 20%. An important objective of this study is to determine the extent to which such changes could be modeled and used to forecast and simulate patterns of change in the future. After intensive literature review, the SLEUTH model, developed by Keith Clarke from Santa Barbara University, was employed. Six image inputs (slope, land use, excluded areas, urban extent, transportation and hillshade) were used to model future urban expansion. The SLEUTH model agreed with average annual increased especially the average of increased between 1990 -2003. The model was also be able to identify the sequences of future urban expansion.


The London-based weekly the New Age, edited by A. R. Orage from 1907 to 1922, was known for promoting spirited debates on politics, literature, and the arts. Scholars have been attentive to what Ann Ardis terms the magazine's 'unusual commitment to […] Bakhtinian dialogics in the public sphere', but less so to the role that the letters column played in facilitating these often contentious, often transnational debates. This essay argues that the letters column functioned as a forum for linking not only individual readers and contributors from around the world, but also wider discursive and periodical communities. A case study of global dialogics, the essay focuses on an eleven-month debate that unfolded in New Age correspondence concerning the so-called black peril — the purported epidemic of black men attempting to rape white women in South Africa, which historians today regard as a moral panic fuelled by a desire to reinforce white supremacy. The flames of the panic were stoked by the Umtali case of 1910, in which Lord Gladstone commuted the death sentence of an Umtali native convicted of attempted rape to life imprisonment. This decision sparked mass protests and petitions among the white community in South Africa and a heated discussion about race and racism that reverberated throughout the empire, including in the columns of the New Age. The letters column served as an international forum, drawing in white settlers from Johannesburg, Crisis editor and NAACP founder W. E. B. Du Bois, Sudanese-Egyptian writer Dusé Mohamed Ali, and British suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, among others. This essay examines the gendered and racial politics of this debate and how it was shaped by its specific periodical context and by the national and ideological contexts of its interlocutors.


Introduction: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) V defines Postpartum Depression (PND) as depression with onset within 4 weeks of delivery, symptoms lasting for a minimum of two weeks, causing clinically significant impairment of functioning. PND has important implications for the welfare of the family and the development of the child. Objectives were to determine the prevalence of postnatal depression among women attending a rural maternity hospital in South India and to identify the risk factors determining postnatal depression. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study, at a rural maternity hospital near Bangalore. One hundred and eighty women were selected through consecutive sampling. The Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used administered to assess postnatal depression. Results: Prevalence of probable depression was found to be 18%. Risk factors found to be significantly associated with postnatal depression were high risk pregnancy, being unhappy with in-laws, low income of the family, mood swings and low mood during pregnancy. Conclusion: This study identified certain socio-demographic and obstetric risk factors for postnatal depressive symptoms in a rural community which helps to design intervention and preventive strategies for postpartum depression.


As early as 1865, survivors of the Civil War were acutely aware that people were purposefully shaping what would be remembered about the war and what would be omitted from the historical record. In "Remembering the Civil War," Caroline E. Janney examines how the war generation--men and women, black and white, Unionists and Confederates--crafted and protected their memories of the nation's greatest conflict. Janney maintains that the participants never fully embraced the reconciliation so famously represented in handshakes across stone walls. Instead, both Union and Confederate veterans, and most especially their respective women's organizations, clung tenaciously to their own causes well into the twentieth century. Janney explores the subtle yet important differences between reunion and reconciliation and argues that the Unionist and Emancipationist memories of the war never completely gave way to the story Confederates told. She challenges the idea that white northerners and southerners salved their war wounds through shared ideas about race and shows that debates about slavery often proved to be among the most powerful obstacles to reconciliation.


The IASB emphasizes the demand for academic research in the standard setting process. Ewert and Wagenhofer (2012) specifically refer to the post-implementation review (PIR) process and point out that "academics can, and should, play a significant role in a PIR." We follow these requests and aim to contribute to the current PIR on IFRS 3 Business Combinations. In particular, we evaluate the impact of the introduction of the impairmentonly approach for goodwill accounting in 2004 from two perspectives. Firstly, we analyze the comment letters submitted by stakeholders in response to the Request for Information (RfI) during the PIR. Secondly, we systematically review related academic literature. The analysis of comment letters sheds light on the advantages and disadvantages of the goodwill impairment test perceived by interested stakeholders. By reflecting on these perceptions with respect to academic research, we identify differences between the two perspectives as well as research opportunities. Our findings show that stakeholders' views about the usefulness of the information provided by the impairment test are mixed, while they share widespread concerns about the cost-benefit relation and the extent of discretion involved in the tests. Academic research tends to support the assumption that the impairment-only approach increases the usefulness of financial reporting. However, the concerns expressed about subjectivity and managerial discretion are confirmed by a number of empirical studies. In this dilemma, we advise the IASB not to withdraw the current concept immediately, but rather recommend some short-term measures to address areas of improvement identified in the PIR. In the longterm, we need a larger project – reasonably in cooperation with the FASB – in which the subsequent treatment of goodwill is holistically reviewed.


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Abstract The intercalation of the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium (C16TMA) into the interlayer of an acid-activated clay in the presence of different anions has been studied in detail. When Br or OH anions were used, the basal spacing increased significantly, the increase being related to the loading concentration of the surfactant solution. For intercalated compounds prepared from the hydroxide form, the basal spacing at room temperature varied from 1.6 to 3.8 nm. However, for organoclays prepared from the surfactant bromide, the basal spacing is almost loading- independent (1.9 nm). The use of hydroxide and bromide at higher pH is crucial to intercalating larger amounts of C16TMA cations and, hence, to improving the exfoliation of the silicate sheets. Magic-angle spinning 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicates that the intercalated surfactants exhibit a significant degree of gauche conformation. According to in situ powder X-ray diffraction, an increase of the basal spacing to 4.08 nm is observed at intermediate temperatures of 50 to 150°C for organoclay with an initial basal spacing of 3.7 nm. At higher temperatures, decomposition of the surfactant occurs and the basal spacing decreases to ~1.4 nm.


In this paper we discuss seven related matters or issues: 1) that planning for disasters encompasses four different but related aspects, namely mitigation or prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. We shall note that while the research knowledge is uneven about the different phases, nonetheless the necessity of linking them in the planning process is clear. 2) possible social differences between developing and developed countries that have implication for disaster planning. This is necessitated by the fact that the great bulk of disaster research has been undertaken in developed countries; the extrapolation or applicability of the research results to the situation in developing countries has to be considered. 3) in what ways, if any, a rural way of life differs from an urban one given that almost all developing societies are basically rural in nature. If there are some major differences, they would have important implications for disaster planning. 4) the criteria which can be used to assess disaster planning. Sets of such criteria have implicitly or explicitly been advanced in a variety of sources so we will primarily confine ourselves to presenting mostly a checklist that could be used, taking into account all the four phases of disaster planning. 5) the extent to which disaster planning can be integrated into developmental planning, particularly as the latter takes regional form. In a short examination, we will assess the extent to which such integration can occur with respect to the four aspects of disaster planning. 6) the nature of the possible participation of citizens and local communities in disaster planning. In a selective discussion, we shall give some indications what research in the disaster area suggests about getting citizen and community involvement, and 7) that the future will not be the same as the past or even the present insofar as disaster planning is concerned. Not only are developing societies ever changing, but the nature of disasters themselves are in flux moving us towards more and worse disasters.


We report the isolation, characterization and analysis of the small subunit rRNA genes in Plasmodium cynomolgi (Ceylon). As in other Plasmodium species, these genes are present in low copy number, are unlinked and form two types that are distinct in sequence and are expressed stage specifically. The asexually expressed (type A) genes are present in four copies in the Ceylon- and in five copies in the Berok-strain. Surprisingly, the sexually expressed (type B) gene is present in a single copy. The vast majority of the differences between gene types is confined to the variable regions. The pattern of divergence is different from that observed in Plasmodium berghei or in Plasmodium falciparum. Analysis of the small subunit rRNA sequences of P. cynomolgi, P. berghei and P. falciparum, indicates that the two gene types do not evolve independently but rather interact (through gene conversion or some form of recombination) to such an extent as to erase whatever stage-specific sequence signatures they may have had in the last common ancestor.


Weak bisimulations are typically used in process algebras where silent steps are used to abstract from internal behaviours. They facilitate relating implementations to specifications. When an implementation fails to conform to its specification, pinpointing the root cause can be challenging. In this paper we provide a generic characterisation of branching-, delayed-, $\eta$- and weak-bisimulation as a game between Spoiler and Duplicator, offering an operational understanding of the relations. We show how such games can be used to assist in diagnosing non-conformance between implementation and specification. Moreover, we show how these games can be extended to distinguish divergences.


A multi-wavelength solar radiometer has been used to monitor the directly transmitted solar radiation at discrete wavelengths spaced through the visible and near-infrared wavelength regions. The relative irradiance of the directly transmitted sunlight at each wavelength was measured during the course of each cloud-free day, from which the total optical depth of the atmosphere was determined using the BouguerLangley method. From the spectral variation of total optical depth the ozone absorption optical depths, and hence total ozone content of the atmosphere, have been derived. By subtracting the molecular scattering and estimated ozone absorption contributions from the total optical depth, the aerosol optical depth for each day and wavelength can be determined provided the wavelengths selected have no additional molecular absorption bands. Results of this analysis for 133 clear stable days at Tucson, Arizona are presented for a 29month period between August 1975 and December 1977. Monthly averages of the total and aerosol optical depths are presented for five wavelengths between 0.4400 and 0.8717 pm. The aerosol optical depth obtains a maximum in July and August with a secondary maximum in April and May. The median aerosol optical depth for the entire data set decreases with wavelength from 0.0508 (A = 0.4400 pm) to 0.0306 (A = 0.8717 pm). Also presented are daily values of total ozone content which exhibit the characteristic seasonal cycle with peak values in early May and an annual mean value of 275 m atm-cm.


Public debate about energy relations between the EU and Russia is distorted. These distortions present considerable obstacles to the development of true partnership. At the core of the conflict is a struggle for resource rents between energy producing, energy consuming and transit countries. Supposed secondary aspects, however, are also of great importance. They comprise of geopolitics, market access, economic development and state sovereignty. The European Union, having engaged in energy market liberalisation, faces a widening gap between declining domestic resources and continuously growing energy demand. Diverse interests inside the EU prevent the definition of a coherent and respected energy policy. Russia, for its part, is no longer willing to subsidise its neighbouring economies by cheap energy exports. The Russian government engages in assertive policies pursuing Russian interests. In so far, it opts for a different globalisation approach, refusing the role of mere energy exporter. In view of the intensifying struggle for global resources, Russia, with its large energy potential, appears to be a very favourable option for European energy supplies, if not the best one. However, several outcomes of the strategic game between the two partners can be imagined. Engaging in non-cooperative strategies will in the end leave all stakeholders worse-off. The European Union should therefore concentrate on securing its partnership with Russia instead of damaging it. Stable cooperation would need the acceptance that the partner may pursue his own goals, which might be different from one's own interests. The question is, how can a sustainable compromise be found? This thesis finds that a mix of continued dialogue, a tit for tat approach bolstered by an international institutional framework and increased integration efforts appears as a preferable solution.


This note tries to apply two versions of Sah and Stiglitz's "The Architecture of Economic Systems: Hierarchies and Polyarchies" model (SandS) to highlight some important differences between the development paths of India, the largest democracy, and China, the largest of the few remaining communist ruled economies. It argues that the original SandS model is applicable to private organisations but not to governments, to which a revised model is applied. It is the reliability of the government's decisions and the ability of the investor to rely on them that the modified SandS model tries to capture. As a communist country, China is as centralized as a huge polity of its size can be. A decision of the central authorities, a contract or promise confirmed by Beijing, can be relied upon. This provides a degree of security to the investor that his contract will be honoured and she will not be dispossessed. In the Indian federation the investor has to assure herself that all authorities involved agree to support her project, because any agency that has any say may be able to derail it. These differences are accounted for by the adjusted Sah and Stiglitz model. These differences affect not only the total quantity of investments but also their composition. Clearly, no claim is made or implied that the models introduced below provide the explanation for the differences in the development paths of these two Asian giants in the past few decades. They merely add a new perspective to the economic systems dimension of the development process.


UNLABELLED
Gene targeting is a protocol for introducing a mutation to a specific gene in an organism. Because of the importance of in vivo assessment of gene function and modeling of human diseases, this technique has been widely adopted to generate a large number of mutant mouse models. Due to the recent breakthroughs in high-throughput sequencing technologies, RNA-Seq experiments have been performed on many of these mouse models, leading to hundreds of publicly available datasets. To facilitate the reuse of these datasets, we collected the associated metadata and organized them in a database called RNASeqMetaDB. The metadata were manually curated to ensure annotation consistency. We developed a web server to allow easy database navigation and data querying. Users can search the database using multiple parameters like genes, diseases, tissue types, keywords and associated publications in order to find datasets that match their interests. Summary statistics of the metadata are also presented on the web server showing interesting global patterns of RNA-Seq studies.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
Freely available on the web at http://rnaseqmetadb.ece.tamu.edu.


Purpose: The present article aims to analyse the main sources, availability, and uses of knowledge relating to enterprise performance in Bogota, Colombia. Design/methodology/approach: This exploratory descriptive study used a survey of 919 executives and non-executives of 59 enterprises from different economic sectors in Bogota. Information was gathered via a questionnaire elaborated by the researchers consisting of 11 closed multiple-choice questions. Findings: Results indicate that in the participant enterprises knowledge management activities do not have any emphasis either on the use of technologies or on activities relating to individuals' behaviour as sources of competitive advantage, as occurs in North American enterprises (emphasising the intensive and effective use of technologies in their different activities), and in Japanese enterprises (emphasising the development of individuals' potential as their competitive advantage). Research limitations/implications: It is an exploratory and descriptive study from which it is not pertinent to make generalisations of the previously described results about the whole group of enterprises in Bogota motivating the development of new studies that allow the in-depth identification of the true role of knowledge management activities in enterprise performance. Practical implications: Contributes to the empirical knowledge of business reality and to the need for designing strategies allowing a better use of knowledge management to improve the competitive capacities of enterprises. Social implications: Contributes to the reflection on the importance of the essential differences providing sustainable competitive advantages to nations, organisations, and individuals over prolonged periods of time understanding knowledge as the strategic resource of contemporary society. Developing countries require best practices in the identification, transfer, spread, and use of knowledge management. Originality/value: Compares the theory on knowledge management with the empirical evidence of what really happens internally in enterprises in developing countries with respect to knowledge management activities as a competitive strategy.


Connections among different assets, asset classes, portfolios, and the stocks of individual institutions are critical in examining financial markets. Interest in financial markets implies interest in underlying macroeconomic fundamentals. In Financial and Macroeconomic Connectedness, Frank Diebold and Kamil Yilmaz propose a simple framework for defining, measuring, and monitoring connectedness, which is central to finance and macroeconomics. These measures of connectedness are theoretically rigorous yet empirically relevant. The approach to connectedness proposed by the authors is intimately related to the familiar econometric notion of variance decomposition. The full set of variance decompositions from vector auto-regressions produces the core of the 'connectedness table.' The connectedness table makes clear how one can begin with the most disaggregated pair-wise directional connectedness measures and aggregate them in various ways to obtain total connectedness measures. The authors also show that variance decompositions define weighted, directed networks, so that these proposed connectedness measures are intimately related to key measures of connectedness used in the network literature. After describing their methods in the first part of the book, the authors proceed to characterize daily return and volatility connectedness across major asset (stock, bond, foreign exchange and commodity) markets as well as the financial institutions within the U.S. and across countries since late 1990s. These specific measures of volatility connectedness show that stock markets played a critical role in spreading the volatility shocks from the U.S. to other countries. Furthermore, while the return connectedness across stock markets increased gradually over time the volatility connectedness measures were subject to significant jumps during major crisis events. This book examines not only financial connectedness, but also real fundamental connectedness. In particular, the authors show that global business cycle connectedness is economically significant and time-varying, that the U.S. has disproportionately high connectedness to others, and that pairwise country connectedness is inversely related to bilateral trade surpluses. Available in OSO:


Background: Insomnia is a physically, mentally, and psychologically complicated and distressing medical condition that can affect adults with or without comorbid conditions. Research indicates that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an underutilized, but extremely beneficial intervention that may support individuals in overcoming insomnia and other comorbid conditions, without ever ingesting a pill. Unfortunately, CBT is underutilized due to the patient educational time requirements; therefore, medication is often prescribed as a first line of treatment for insomnia. Adults suffering from insomnia with or without comorbid conditions such as psychiatric disorders or cancer have benefitted from CBT as opposed to oral medications such as Ambien and therefore, CBT should be the first line treatment of insomnia in the primary care setting. Provider recommendation of CBT to treat insomnia may be increased with the addition of an online interactive CBT program, thereby decreasing the tolerance and addiction to prescribed sleep medications. Purpose: The purpose of this quality intervention project was to improve DNP and Psych NP students' education about using CBT and SHUTi, an online CBT program to treat insomnia among the adult patient population. Methods: DNP and Psych NP students were asked to complete a pre-test about CBT and SHUTi, watch 2 videos on CBT and SHUTi about treating insomnia, browse the SHUTi demo product, and complete a post-test about these treatments. Students' knowledge about CBT and SHUTi were evaluated based on answering questions correctly in the post-test versus the pre-test. Results: Of the 18 students surveyed, only 13 completed both the pre and post-tests. The other 5 completed only the pretest. Results demonstrated that these 13 students who completed both the pre and post tests scored higher about CBT and SHUTi in the post-test versus the pre-test. None of the students in the pre-test had heard about SHUTi, and in the post-test, most of the students stated that they USING CBT TO TREAT INSOMNIA IN ADULTS 5 were very likely to use SHUTi for future patients. Additionally, the average score of correct questions among all participants in the post-test was 94% as opposed to 43% in the pre-test, indicating that the 13 students acquired knowledge about CBT and SHUTi to treat insomnia after the intervention. Implications to Practice: This project demonstrates the benefit of teaching nurse practitioner students about SHUTi and CBT as the first line of treatment for insomnia in the adult population. Teaching these students may increase the likelihood that CBT and SHUTi will be recommended to future patients suffering from insomnia. Conclusion: Providing NP students with information about CBT and SHUTi increased their likelihood to recommend CBT and SHUTi for future patients experiencing insomnia.


Entrapment technique, served as one kind of polymer surface functionalization strategies, has been developed in recent decades. All previous studies focused on polar polymer surface modification. In this thesis, aiming to polymer surface hydrophilic and antifouling modification, a variety of (macro)molecules have been applied to entrap into polar polyestersulfone (PES) and nonpolar polypropylene (PP) surface respectively. It was found that the modification conditions for PES are not suitable for PP membrane surface; and the conditions for PP membrane are not exactly effective for PP film. Furthermore, the entrapment mechanism has been studied and discussed.
In the beginning of this thesis, polar PES microfiltration (MF) membrane has been used as base polymer. Two different routes, abbreviated as E1 and E2 have been tested for PES surface modification. In E1, the modifiers were anticipated to diffuse into swelling region in modifier solution, and then they were fixed into PES surface by deswelling in water (solvent extraction); in E2, the base polymer was swollen in solvent, and the modifiers were anticipated to entrap into PES surface quickly in water solution. Present studies revealed that PES surface can be hydrophilic modified via entrapment of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-containing homo-/copolymers; and E1 showed much better efficiency than E2. Therefore, E1 was selected as the entrapment approach for the following studies of PP surface modification.
Then nonpolar PP surface was endowed with hydrophilicity, thermo-responsibility, as well as cationic charge after entrapment with corresponding modifiers respectively. For instance, it was validated that entrapment of small amphiphilic molecule octaethyleneglycol monooctadecylether (C18EO8) into Membrana PP MF membrane surface improved outer surface and inner surface hydrophilicity, as well as the corresponding antifouling properties. Wettability and water flux of poly(butyl acrylate)-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PBA-b-PNIPAAm) entrapment modified PP membrane surface were time-dependent, which had abrupt change at the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PBA-b-PNIPAAm. This thermo-responsive property could be further used for protein desorption. In addition, non-porous Membrana PP plate surface was also functionalized with the same procedure, and modified PP plates showed similar modification efficiency and surface properties as for porous PP membranes. Moreover, zeta potential measurement validated that the Celgard PP film surface showed cationic after entrapment with methyl and octyl groups quarternized poly(n-butyl acrylate)-block-poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PBA-b-PqDMAEMA).
The mechanism of entrapment behavior was further investigated in the final section of this thesis. In case of Membrana PP MF surface modification in nonpolar solution, entrapment of a variety of ethyleneoxide-containing substances into PP surface was studied. All results revealed that PEGs were ineffective, while many nonionic amphiphilic substances, especially some tri-block copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) were very effective for PP surface hydrophilic modification. The relationship between modifier structure and architecture and entrapment behavior was investigated by studying the reverse micellization of amphiphilic modifiers in nonpolar solutions via pyrene-probe fluorescence and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The balanced structure of nonionic tri-block modifiers, the lowest reverse critical micelle concentration (RCMC) had been observed. It was concluded that a balance block copolymer structure and architecture promoting the self-association in the nonpolar solvent is the basis for a high entrapment efficiency. In case of modification in polar solution, the swelling degree for diffusion of modifier is one important factor. Moreover, the deswelling step in a second solvent is another important factor to entrap the modifier into base polymer surface.


In many application areas, including control systems, careful management of system resources is key to providing the best application performance. Traditional control systems with multiple control loops statically allocate a fixed portion of the system resources to each controller based on their average or worst-case resource requirements. However, controllers' resource needs vary depending on the jobs they perform and the state of the systems they control. A controller of a plant operating close to its equilibrium requires fewer resources than a controller of a plant operating far from its equilibrium point. The Draco dynamic rate control system exploits this fact by dynamically allocating resources to control systems based on system state. Our research demonstrates that Draco provides significantly better overall control performance with much less resources than static controllers. Our experimental evaluation shows that in the control scenarios we examined Draco provides up to 25 percent better control performance with 30 percent less resources.


To reduce the cost of infrastructure and electrical energy, enterprise datacenters consolidate workloads on the same physical hardware. Often, these workloads comprise both transactional and long-running analytic computations. Such consolidation brings new performance management challenges due to the intrinsically different nature of a heterogeneous set of mixed workloads, ranging from scientific simulations to multitier transactional applications. The fact that such different workloads have different natures imposes the need for new scheduling mechanisms to manage collocated heterogeneous sets of applications, such as running a web application and a batch job on the same physical server, with differentiated performance goals. In this paper, we present a technique that enables existing middleware to fairly manage mixed workloads: long running jobs and transactional applications. Our technique permits collocation of the workload types on the same physical hardware, and leverages virtualization control mechanisms to perform online system reconfiguration. In our experiments, including simulations as well as a prototype system built on top of state-of-the-art commercial middleware, we demonstrate that our technique maximizes mixed workload performance while providing service differentiation based on high-level performance goals.


This article sets out to examine changes in the structure of men's wages in the 1980s, on a regional basis. The analysis corroborates evidence presented by other authors of a rising return to skill in the United States during the decade. It also demonstrates that the changes in wage structure were not uniform across regions. ; The wages of college graduates rose in all regions relative to the less educated, but to varying extents and perhaps for different reasons. The study finds that changes in relative supplies of labor were generally not behind the rising returns to skill. Rising returns to college education coincided with increases in the supply of more educated workers, indicating increased relative demand for such workers.


AIM: To investigate the effects of a nurse-led multidisciplinary programme (NMP) of pulmonary rehabilitation in primary health care with regard to functional capacity, quality of life (QoL), and exacerbations among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHOD: A 1-year longitudinal study with a quasi-experimental design was undertaken in patients with COPD, 49 in the intervention group and 54 in the control group. Functional capacity was assessed using the 6-minute walking test, and quality of life (QoL) was assessed using the Clinical COPD Questionnaire. Exacerbations were calculated by examination of patient records. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the groups in functional capacity and QoL after 1 year. The exacerbations decreased in the intervention group (n = –0.2) and increased in the control group (n = 0.3) during the year after NMP. The mean difference of change in exacerbation frequency between the groups was statistically significant after one year (p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: The NMP in primary care produced a significant reduction in exacerbation frequency, but functional capacity and QoL were unchanged. More and larger studies are needed to evaluate potential benefits in functional capacity and QoL.


We propose and experimentally demonstrate an extended range of tunable optical delay obtained from four-wave mixing wavelength conversion and dispersion. The conversion bandwidth and the maximum delay are enlarged through dynamic control of the optical phase by gain-transparent stimulated Brillouin scattering. The delay range is increased by 37%. Bit-error-rate measurements show a maximum power penalty of 2.0 dB with reference to back-to-back performance. The technique can be applied to different configurations of tunable delay lines constructed with a fiber parametric process and dispersion.


This paper proposes a framework with six dimensions that can be useful for evaluating the potential and the current stage of a bio-based platform chemical. The framework considers the technological and strategic challenges to be fulfilled by a company that intends to lead a platform based on a bio-based chemical. A platform chemical should be an intermediate molecule, with a structure able to generate a number of derivatives, that is produced at a competitive cost, capable of allowing exploitation of the scale and scope economies, and inserted within a complete innovation ecosystem that is able to create value with governance mechanisms that are capable of allowing coordination of the innovation process and facilitation of the value capture by the focal company leading the platform, in our case the producer of the platform molecule. Based on these six dimensions, three potential platform chemicals - succinic acid, butanol and farnesene - are compared and discussed. It is possible to identify important differences concerning the technological dimensions and the strategic dimensions as well. Two of the molecules - farnesene and succinic acid - adhere to most of the conditions required to structure a platform chemical. However, the innovation ecosystem is not complete and the governance mechanisms are still under development, so it is not clear if they will be capable of allowing a favorable position for value capture by the platform leader. Butanol structuring for a platform does not seem promising. The potential of the molecule is apparently not high and the strategic initiatives are in general not focused on innovation ecosystem structuring.


Cyclin E is an unstable protein that is degraded in a ubiquitin- and proteasome- dependent pathway. Two factors stimulate cyclin E ubiquitination in vivo: when it is free of its CDK partner, and when it is phosphorylated on threonine 380. We pursued the first of these pathways by using a two-hybrid screen to identify proteins that could bind only to free cyclin E. This resulted in the isolation of human Cul-3, a member of the cullin family of E3 ubiquitin-protein ligases. We found that Cul-3 was bound to cyclin E but not to cyclin E-Cdk2 complexes in mammalian cells, and that overexpression of Cul-3 increased ubiquitination of cyclin E but not other cyclins. Conversely, deletion of the Cul-3 gene in mice caused increased accumulation of cyclin E protein, and had cell-type-specific effects on S-phase regulation. In the extraembryonic ectoderm, in which cells undergo a standard mitotic cycle, there was a greatly increased number of cells in S phase. In the trophectoderm, in which cells go through endocycles, there was a block to entry into S phase. The SCF pathway, which targets cyclins for ubiquitination on the basis of their phosphorylation state, and the Cul-3 pathway, which selects cyclin E for ubiquitination on the basis of its assembly into CDK complexes, may be complementary ways to control cyclin abundance.


Abstract This study describes the composition and structure of a mature, second-growth Pinus taeda (Loblolly Pine) and Pinus echinata (Shortleaf Pine)-dominated old-field stand. Now owned by the University of Arkansas, this 22.5-ha parcel just outside of the city of Monticello, AR, has been protected as a de facto natural area since the 1950s. Many of the overstory pines exceeded 75 cm in diameter at breast height (DBH) and some have reached 100 cm. Increment cores indicated that most of the pine overstory originated between 80 and 100 years ago, probably following agricultural abandonment. Pine recruitment occurred somewhat gradually until the canopy closed, after which tree species establishment became dominated by hardwoods. Of the nearly 6000 tree seedlings/saplings per hectare in the interior of this stand, just under 4% were pine—the under- and midstory were dominated by shade-tolerant hardwoods. No obvious evidence of past land-management practices remained, save the rare old stump or formerly open-grown pine or oak. Coarse woody debris is beginning to accumulate in some portions of the stand, primarily from the senescence of short-lived hardwoods. Comparisons with other tracts in southern Arkansas suggest that this stand differs from other contemporary examples of mature pine-dominated timber, with a richness in composition and structure not apparent in managed stands of natural or planted origin.


Purpose: To determine the therapeutic value and long-term effects of Computed Tomography (CT)- guided translaminar and transforaminal lumbar epidural steroid injections for spinal pain management.
Materials and Methods: Between December 2011 and June 2013, 428 CT-guided epidural steroid injections of the lumbar spine for 310 patients were assessed retrospectively. There were 325 Translaminar (TL) (in 225 patients) and 103 Transforaminal (TF) (in 85 patients) injections performed. The clinical effectiveness of the injection after the therapy was assessed using Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The patients were classified into three groups (A-C) after injections according to the reduction in the VAS's.
Results: Technical success rate of 100% without any major complication related to needle placement or drug administration. There were 27 (6.3%) reported minor complications (n: 3 orthostatic hypotension (0.7%) and n: 24 transient motor weaknesses of lower extremities (5.6%). The mean visual analog scores before and after the injections were recorded as 8.9 ± 1.1 and 4.8 ± 2.5 retrospectively (p<0.001). In 23 of 310 patients epidural injections were repeated in different times during study and 73 epidural injections (n: 61 TL and n: 12 TF) were performed.
Conclusion: CT guided epidural injection in the lumbar spine is safe, repeatable and efficacious pain management technique. Both translaminar and transforaminal epidural steroid injections can provide reliable pain relief for up to average 5.5 and 5.6 months respectively.


Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of death in the Western societies. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the highly prevalent diseases, which remarkably accelerates the development of CAD. Experimental evidence indicates that decreased bioavailability of coronary endothelial nitric oxide (NO) contributes to the development of CAD in DM. There are recent studies showing that a selective impairment of NO synthesis occurs in coronary arteries of DM patients, which is mainly due to the limited availability of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) precursor, l-arginine. Importantly, these studies demonstrated that DM, independent of the presence of CAD, leads to selective up-regulation of arginase-1. Arginase-1 seems to play an important role in limiting l-arginine availability in the close proximity of eNOS in vessels of DM patients. This brief review examines recent clinical studies demonstrating the pathological role of vascular arginase-1 in human diabetes. Whether arginase-1, which is crucial in the synthesis of various fundamental polyamines in the body, will represent a potent therapeutic target for prevention of DM-associated CAD is still debated.


In the search for new materials potentially useful as SOFC components perovskite-like oxides of the Sr2EuNb1−xTixO6−δ series have been obtained, the solubility limit being ca. x = 0.15. Rietveld refinements of XRD data and SAED and HRTEM have demonstrated that these compounds are monoclinic with cell parameters a ≈ b = ap√2 ≈ 5.88 A, c = 2ap ≈ 8.28 A, and S.G. P21/n. As required for SOFC materials, these oxides are stable under a wide range of oxygen partial pressures from the ambient condition to pO2 ≈ 10−30 atm. Aliovalent substitution of Nb5+ by Ti4+ improves the electrical conductivity in air by two orders of magnitude for the end-member of the series (x = 0.15) compared with the parent material. Magnetic measurements, pO2 dependence of conductivity and ion-blocking measurements demonstrate that the predominant conduction mechanism depends on the oxygen partial pressure. In the high pO2 region (from 10−5 to 0.21 atm) p-type conduction is dominant due to the presence of oxygen vacancies which are being annihilated as pO2 increases. Under severe reducing conditions (pO2 below 10−22 atm), n-type conduction dominates. Magnetic measurements demonstrate reduction of Eu3+ occurs whereas the rest of the elements remain in their highest oxidation states. Thus, the Eu3+/Eu2+ redox pair participates in the equilibrium defect responsible for n-type conduction. For intermediate pO2 (10−20 to 10−8 atm) a significant pO2-independent ionic conduction, due to the motion of anionic vacancies, is the dominant conduction mechanism, though a minor electronic n-type contribution is also observed, associated with the reduction of Eu3+ (this occurs at pO2 as high as 10−10 atm). Oxides in the Sr2EuNb1−xTixO6−x/2 series constitute an interesting example of rare-earth perovskites in which the rare-earth ions play a role not only in the structural but also in the electrical behaviour.


This paper addresses the problem of reducing the delivery time of data messages to cellular users using instantly decodable network coding (IDNC) with physical-layer rate awareness. While most of the existing literature on IDNC does not consider any physical layer complications, this paper proposes a cross-layer scheme that incorporates the different channel rates of the various users in the decision process of both the transmitted message combinations and the rates with which they are transmitted. The completion time minimization problem in such scenario is first shown to be intractable. The problem is, thus, approximated by reducing, at each transmission, the increase of an anticipated version of the completion time. The paper solves the problem by formulating it as a maximum weight clique problem over a newly designed rate aware IDNC (RA-IDNC) graph. Further, the paper provides a multi-layer solution to improve the completion time approximation. Simulation results suggest that the cross-layer design largely outperforms the uncoded transmissions strategies and the classical IDNC scheme.


The current study reports on the kinetic analysis of the free-radical polymerization of several seven-membered cyclic ketene acetal monomers and in particular 2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane (MDO) and 5,6-benzo-2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane (BMDO). Such monomers are known to undergo a complete ring-opening to afford polyester chains by a radical pathway. The influence of experimental conditions (e.g., nature and concentration of the initiator, temperature, solvent, etc.) on the kinetics and molar mass distribution was studied. Whereas it was shown that BMDO cannot be polymerized using peroxides due to H-abstraction, the experimental results also demonstrated that the polymerization kinetics were strongly driven by the nature of the propagating radical, with reactivity order: MDO > BMDO > 4,7-dimethyl-5,6-benzo-2(chloromethyl)-1,3-dioxepane (MeBMDO). The copolymerization of MDO and BMDO (1 : 1) was also investigated. The incorporation of both monomers was identical but the polymerization kinetics were governed by the monomer with the lowest reactivity. The experimental results were finally rationalized by the combination of DFT calculations of the propagation rate constants with PREDICI modelings.


Objective. This study compares quality of life among couples who had adopted a child 4–5.5 years previously with couples whose conception was spontaneous, as well as with couples who had successful or unsuccessful in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Design. Cross‐sectional study. Setting. Tertiary level university hospital. Sample. From the following groups, 979 responses were obtained: adoption; successful IVF; unsuccessful IVF–living with children; unsuccessful IVF–living without children; and childbirth after spontaneous conception (controls). Methods. Quality of life was studied with the Psychological General Well Being (PGWB) and Sense of Coherence (SOC) instruments. Demographic, socio‐economic and health data were obtained with additional questionnaires. Multiple variance analysis was applied. Main outcome measures. The PGWB and SOC scores. Results. After adjustment for seven confounders, the adoption group had higher PGWB scores than the unsuccessful IVF–living without children and the controls and higher SOC scores than all other groups. The unsuccessful IVF–living without children had lower PGWB and SOC scores than all other groups. The PGWB and SOC scores among controls did not differ from those with successful IVF or unsuccessful IVF–living with children. Conclusions. Adjusted PGWB and SOC scores revealed a high quality of life in the adoption group. However, the group unsuccessful IVF–living without children had low quality of life scores. Quality of life appears to be independent of the outcome of IVF treatment as long as there are children in the family.


Abstract Young people increasingly communicate and interact via social digital media such as Social Network Sites (SNS), where they discuss and display alcohol-related content. SNS have also become an important aspect of the alcohol industry's multi-platform marketing strategies, which may contribute to the creation of intoxigenic digital spaces in which young people learn about alcohol. This paper presents findings of a content analysis of the extent, nature, and user interaction with SNS-based alcohol marketing for brands popular among young people in the UK. It provides a systematic analysis of both official and user generated marketing content on brand Facebook and Twitter profiles, and user interaction with such content. Findings from peer group interviews (N = 14) also present young people's (N = 70) perspectives and experiences regarding alcohol marketing on SNS. New SNS engagement marketing strategies extended existing multi-platform brand marketing. Young people interacted with such strategies as part of their identity-making practices, yet through a discourse of immaturity distanced themselves from certain brands, online marketing practices and the idea that their own actions were influenced by marketing. Local night life economy marketing appeared more meaningful and relevant to young people and led to further interaction with brand marketing. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the influence of alcohol marketing on young people, and the implications for current regulatory frameworks.


Background and Objectives: Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person's intake of energy and/or nutrients. In cancer, malnutrition is the common status in patients because of combination of undernourishment and in?ammation. In oral cavity cancer patients, malnutrition is becoming more and more common because of the localization of the tumor. The aim of this study is to evaluate the malnutrition risks and other related factors in patients with oral cavity cancer.
Methods and study design: The cross-sectional research was carried out with the participation of 220 patients aged 18 years and older from May 2018 to October 2019 in attempt to evaluate the malnutrition risk and pathological factors of oral cavity cancer cases.
Results: In accordance with the PG-SGA toolkit, while the percentage of patients facing mild and moderate malnutrition risk was 63.2%, that of severe malnutrition risk was 18.2%. Besides, 23.2% was malnourished as regard to BMI classification. Patients in stage IV had a higher possibility of malnutrition (4.71 times) than those in stage I (OR(95% CI):4.71(1.08-20.57)). The method of preparing food for patients by ordering ready-to-eat foods raised the malnutrition situation by 6.67 times in comparison with incorporating the hospital diet (OR(95% CI);6.67(1.68-26.44)). Additionally, losing more than 10% of weight within 6 months also made the proportion of malnourished patients grow higher than those who experienced whether weight gain or unchanged within 6 months, the results were statistically significant. Furthermore, people with gastrointestinal symptoms were many times more likely to suffer from malnutrition than those without, the findings were of statistical significance.
Conclusions: Oral cavity cancer patients posed a significant chance of malnutrition. Patients in late stage of disease, weight loss, gastrointestinal symptoms and non-compliance with pathological nutrition care were at greater risk of malnutrition than most cases.


The programme of work comprised two maj or aspects of enquiry. Firstly, the work aimed to identify specific situations which promote the Type A coping response. Secondly, the research aimed to investigate the biological mechanisms by which Type A behaviour may be translated into coronary heart disease. Specifically, the sympathetic adrenomedullary process operating via platelet and prostaglandin activity provided a major focus of the work.
Type A's (defined by both the Bortner and Thurstone Scales) have been shown to perceive performance tasks as more threatening than Type B's. not only by their enhanced cardiovascular reactivity (heart rate and systolic blood pressure), but also by their superior word recall performance. Dyadic interactive situations, in which combinations of Type A's and Type B's work together on a task, and only one member of the dyad has response control, promote intriguing behavioural, and
cardiovascular coping patterns. On a difficult task, Type A dyads (and dyads in which Type A's lacked response control) performed poorer than other dyadic combinations. Cardiovascularly, Type A's demonstrated the greater heart rate, systolic and diastolic pressure, and slower cardiovascular recovery, particularly, if they lacked control of responding, or were paired with another Type A.
A long-term naturalistic study provided validity for the acute laboratory tasks. Behavioural, cardiovascular and haematological response patterns, and the timing of reactivity, differentiated Type A's from Type B's. Whilst preparing for and following final year examinations, Type A individuals demonstrated the greater elevations in heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, plasma adrenaline and noradrenaline. They also demonstrated the faster platelet aggregation (although percentage aggregation decreased similarly for both groups), together with the greater increase in the anticoagulant, antithrombin III.
The complexity of these haenatological findings encouraged the examination of two prostaglandins which control platelet function (the coagulatory thromboxane A2 , and the anticoagulatory prostacyclin). Different response patterns emerged prior to, and following a mental arithmetic challenge. The task anticipation effect involved elevated heart rate, systolic and diastolic pressure, plasma adrenaline and prostacyclin. Type A's demonstrated the greater reactivity in all parameters. Following the task, a decrease in the percentage and speed of aggregation was recorded, together with an increase in plasma noradrenaline and thromboxane A 2 . At this stage, Type A's demonstrated the faster platelet aggregation, and the
greater noradrenai.ine levels. The thromboxane/prostacyclin ratios, however, remained similar for both groups.The Type A psychobiological response pattern, characterised by the greater magnitude and duration of potentially pathological cardiovascular and hasnatological parameters, may exert profound effects on the development of atherosclerosis and the onset of clinical coronary events.


The purpose of this study was to analyze the dividend performance of eight UAE based banks between the years 2001 and 2005. The analysis was undertaken by examining three sets of financial ratios that are routinely used to measure bank dividend performance. The main ratios that were employed put a particular focus on the banks' ability to pay dividends in relation to market value of its share, earnings and ability to cover the payments. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to rank the performance, measuring the dispersion and the stability-variability of the indicators. Conclusions were then drawn from the computation of the descriptive analysis of ratios that allowed the author to make an effective comparison of said banks. This type of analysis was used to summarize the performance of each bank based on three criteria, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation of each banks performance. The findings showed that eight banks performed reasonably well during the period studied, but have different strategies in paying their dividends across the years under study. The analysis reveals that these banks have been affected by both internal and external factors.


The ring dove (Streptopeliafi sotia) has proved an excellent animal model for studies in reproductive endocrine-behaviour interactions for many years. It shows bi-parental care and has a stereotyped breeding cycle. Androgen receptor and progesterone receptor immunoreactivity (AR-ir and PR-ir) were localised in the brain of male and female ring doves. Nuclear AR-ir in courting birds was widespread throughout the telencephalong
diencephalon, and mesencephalon. Nuclear PR-ir was only localised in discrete regions of the preoptic-hypothalamus of both sexes. In the anterior and posterior hypothalamus, high density of AR-ir and PR-ir neurones was concentrated and co-localised in the nucleus preopticus anterior (POA), nucleus preopticus mediahs (POM), nucleus medialis, pars
medianis (POMm), nucleus preopticus paraventricularis magnocellularis (PPM), nucleus hypothalami laterahs posterioris (PLH), and tuberal. hypothalamus (Tu). Investigation of the effects of the breeding cycle on anterior pituitary gland and hypothalamic AR-ir and
PR-ir showed a significant (p<0.001) increase in AR-ir cells in courting birds when compared with birds at other stages of the breeding cycle. AR-ir cells in birds brooding
young was significantly reduced or absent altogether. In the anterior pituitary gland of both sexes, PR-ir cells increased during courtship and significantly decreased in brooding birds.
In the anterior hypothalamus of both sexes, no significant change in PR-ir density was observed. However, a significant increase (p<0.05) of PR-ir neurones was seen 'in the ventral and lateral Tu of incubating male and female doves, respectively, whilst a significant decrease in PR-ir neurones was seen in the ventral region of the Tu in birds brooding young (p<0.001). Although no sex difference was obtained in the number of AR-ir neurones, significantly higher staining intensity for AR-ir was measured in male than female doves, in all hypothalamic regions investigated. Similarly, increased PR-ir staining intensity was measured in courting birds than in birds at other breeding stages. In the anterior pituitary gland and all regions of the hypothalamus the percentage co locahsation between AR-ir and PR-ir changes With breeding cycle. The highest percentage of PR-ir and AR-ir
co-localisation (70-909/6w) as obtained in courting birds and the lowest (0.27-24%) in birds brooding young.

The association between steroid receptor expression and aromatase P450 enzyme(P450AROM)activity in the brain of the ring dove was also investigated. Sexually experienced
ring doves were injected intramuscularly with the aromatase inhibitor fadrozole (0.2 ml of 1 mg n-A-') and paired with saline injected controls in a cage containing a nest bowl and nesting material. The fadrozole/ saline vehicle was administered for 3 days at 12-hour intervals. Saline injected control males displayed aggressive and nest-orientated behaviours whereas fadrozole treated males showed none of these behaviours. Similarly, saline injected
control females displayed nest-onented behaviours and were sitting on the nest by day 2, whereas fadrozole injected females showed none of these behaviours. On day 4 of
courtship, birds were perfuse-fixed and the brains and anterior pituitary glands subjected to immunocytochernistry for androgen receptor (AR), progesterone receptor (PR) and
aromatase (P450ARONýIn* saline treated birds of both sexes, nuclear AR-ir and PR-ir were seen in the PON, PPM, POM, POMm, PLH and Tu. In contrast, fadrozole treatment in
both sexes resulted in the complete absence of detectable nuclear AR-ir expression, together with a significant decline in the expression of PR-ir in the POM and POMm, and
all regions of the Tu (p< 0.001). A sex difference in PR-ir expression was seen in the POA and PPM (p<0.001) of fadrozole treated birds. Fadrozole administration caused decrease in the percentage co-localisation of AR-ir and PR-ir in both sexes. A high density of AROMir neurones was observed in the POM and POMm of saline injected males, which was found to co-express PR-ir (99%).

The viability of maintaining in vitro brain slice preparations was studied with the aim to identify and confirm neural circuits involving the anterior and posterior hypothalamus in the initiation of sexual and parental behaviours in this species. Sections were pressure
injected with fluorogold (FG) or Dil (8 -15 nl) in the POA, POM, and the ventral, lateral and dorsal regions of the Tu. Results obtained confirm previous reports of neural
connections between the Tu and POA. Neural connections were also seen between the Tu and the nucleus medialis hypothalan-ii posterioris (PMH), and several other regions of the mesencephalon and telencephalon, including the nucleus intercollicularis JCo), nucleus ovoidalis (Ov), dorsolateralis posterior thalami (DLP), archistriatum, pars ventrale (Av) and archistriatum, pars dorsalis (Ad).

It is concluded that in the dove, central AR-ir and PR-ir expression and co-localisation are closely associated with the sexual stages of the reproductive cycle. Increases 'in AR-ir neurones in the preoptic-hypothalamus in courting birds are consistent with the behavioural role of androgen acting in this brain area during this time. Similarly, the high PR-ir neurones in the preoptic-hypothalamus are consistent with the progesterone-induced initiation of incubation in this species. The high percentage of AR-ir and PR-ir colocalisation in the preoptic-hypothalamus of courting doves supports previous reports involving progesterone acting in these brain regions to terminate the androgen-dependent aggressive courtship behaviour in male doves. The decrease in the number of co-localised
AR-ir and PR-ir neurones M the preoptic-hypothalamus following oestrogen synthesis inhibition suggests a role for oestrogen in the progesterone-dependent termination of
aggressive courtship display in males, and models proposing a mechanism involving oestrogen in the orchestration of central systems associated with courtship behaviour in the
ring dove are presented. Neural connections between the POA and Tu, and Tu with the PMH, ICo, Ov, DLP, Av and Ad may represent the neuroanatomical pathways involved in
the integration of courtship display, vocalisation (nest-coos and/or bow-coos), auditory, propriosceptive signals and gonadotropM secretion in the reproductive cycle of the ring dove. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the POA, Tu and the midhypothalamus are involved in the orchestration of sexual and parental behaviour of the ring dove.


A key goal of whole genome sequencing (WGS) for human genetics studies is to interrogate all forms of variation, including single nucleotide variants (SNV), small insertion/deletion (indel) variants and structural variants (SV). However, tools and resources for the study of SV have lagged behind those for smaller variants. Here, we used a cloud-based pipeline to map and characterize SV in 17,795 deeply sequenced human genomes from common disease trait mapping studies. We publicly release site-frequency information to create the largest WGS-based SV resource to date. On average, individuals carry 2.9 rare SVs that alter coding regions, which affect the dosage or structure of 4.2 genes and account for 4.0-11.2% of rare high-impact coding alleles. Based on a computational model, we estimate that SVs account for 17.2% of rare alleles genome-wide whose predicted deleterious effects are equivalent to loss-of-function (LoF) coding alleles; ~90% of such SVs are non-coding deletions (mean 19.1 per genome). We report 158,991 ultra-rare SVs and show that ~2% of individuals carry ultra-rare megabase-scale SVs, nearly half of which are balanced and/or complex rearrangements. Finally, we exploit this resource to infer the dosage sensitivity of genes and non-coding elements, revealing strong trends related to regulatory element class, conservation and cell-type specificity. This work will help guide SV analysis and interpretation in the era of WGS.


This study examines farm to wholesale prices spreads to measure the impact of the BSE disease outbreak on the Canadian beef industry. The study uses structure break tests developed by Gregory and Hansen (1996) and Hansen (1992) examine possible breaks within co integrating relationships. The study finds evidence that the industry began realignment as a result of the UK BSE disease outbreak, and the Canadian BSE disease outbreak was simply the largest realignment of the process beginning with the UK disease outbreak. However, the only statistically significant break was the BSE disease outbreak itself in May 2003. Stability was not restored until the border was reopened in 2005. Specific results indicated that the processing sector exploited the border closure in May 2003 to enhance its market power and that the system returned to a competitive one after the border re-opened in July 2005.


Organisms and their cells vary greatly in their tolerance of low oxygen environments (hypoxia). A delineation of the determinants of hypoxia tolerance is incomplete, despite intense interest for its implications in diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction. The insulin/IGF-1 receptor (IGFR) signaling pathway controls survival of Caenorhabditis elegans from a variety of stressors including aging, hyperthermia, and hypoxia. daf-2 encodes a C. elegans IGFR homolog whose primary signaling pathway modulates the activity of the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16. DAF-16 regulates the transcription of a large number of genes, some of which have been shown to control aging. To identify genes that selectively regulate hypoxic sensitivity, we compared the whole-organismal transcriptomes of three daf-2 reduction-of-function alleles, all of which are hypoxia resistant, thermotolerant, and long lived, but differ in their rank of severities for these phenotypes. The transcript levels of 172 genes were increased in the most hypoxia resistant daf-2 allele, e1370, relative to the other alleles whereas transcripts from only 10 genes were decreased in abundance. RNAi knockdown of 6 of the 10 genes produced a significant increase in organismal survival after hypoxic exposure as would be expected if down regulation of these genes by the e1370 mutation was responsible for hypoxia resistance. However, RNAi knockdown of these genes did not prolong lifespan. These genes definitively separate the mechanisms of hypoxic sensitivity and lifespan and identify biological strategies to survive hypoxic injury.


This paper presents a novel method that synthesizes a free-viewpoint based on multiple textures and depth maps in multi-view camera configuration. This method solves the cracks and holes problem due to sampling rate by performing an inverse warping to retrieve texture images. This step allows a simple and accurate resampling of synthetic pixel. To enforce the spatial consistency of color and remove the pixels wrapped incorrectly because of inaccuracy depth maps, we propose some processing steps. The warped depth and warped texture images are used to classify pixels as stable, unstable and disoccluded pixels. The stable pixels are used to create an initial new view by weighted interpolation. To refine the new view, Graph cuts is used to select the best candidates for each unstable pixel. Finally, the remaining disoccluded regions are filled by our inpainting method based on depth information and texture neighboring pixel value. Our experiment on several multi-view data sets is encouraging in both subjective and objective results.


The Supreme Court, in Jones v. Harris, broadly affirmed the Second Circuit's Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc. analysis of section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 194'8 holding that the standard of liability under the statute is whether the fee charged is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arm's-length bargaining. Adding to this narrow holding, the Supreme Court set forth a fresh approach to judicial review of an investment adviser's fiduciary obligation with respect to receipts of compensation for services, or of payments of a material nature. Following an examination of the divergent interpretations of Gartenberg addressed by the Supreme Court in its opinion, the authors interpret the Court's focus on all relevant circumstances, as opposed to the Gartenberg Factors, to be a more nuanced approach to section 36(b) liability. The authors then contend that the Supreme Court adopted a dependent bifurcated analysis that incorporates a sliding scale of substantive scrutiny based on the level of procedural fairness. Finally, the authors argue that the Court's critique of fund fee comparisons prevents their use as evidence to demonstrate that a fee charged is within the range of arm's-length bargaining.


Although National Income and Product Account (NIPA) saving measures, and especially NIPA saving rates, are widely used in both scholarly and journalistic treatments, they are seriously defective as representations of the variables derived from economic analysis, either for measuring economic performance or as elements of the explanation for consumption behavior. The cost-based value of a restricted class of assets recorded in the national income and product accounts is a version of the financial accounting for the tangible assets of a business firm. Economic analysis calls instead for the current asset market value of business enterprises (and their equivalents) as the measure of wealth, and the annual change in that value as the measure of saving. National Balance Sheet data on wealth at asset market value presented in this paper show that NIPA saving measures are not good proxies for market value measures. The picture of recent national saving experience that emerges from market value data is quite different. Various conceptual and data quality issues are discussed.


This paper assesses some of the implications and practicalities stemming from the removal of land and sea internal border controls in an enlarged EU on December 2007. Freedom of movement represents a central feature of the supranational status of EU citizenship. Its practical application to the enlarged EU territory has constituted a necessary step to ensure equality among all European citizens. After providing an account of the processes and logic leading to the removal of checks at common borders, the state of play within the Schengen area is described. Particular attention is paid to the national security strategies carried out by the EU-15 member states currently in place and their consequences on the freedom of movement of individuals and on liberty. It is argued that by setting the removal of border checks as an important security challenge, we are witnessing the emergence of alternative and scattered security measures on the mobility of people which might weaken the Europeanisation processes inherent to the liberalisation of mobility inside the EU.