The glucagon-secreting A cell is a vital component of the organ system which regulates the distribution of fuel--the islets of Langerhans. Bihormonal control of glucoregulation through a push-pull system maintains the glucose concentration of extracellular fluid within narrow limits irrespective of glucose flux rates through relative equality of glucose influx and efflux. This equality requires appropriate secretion mixtures of the biologic antagonists, insulin and glucagon, directed by a glucose sensor. In severe diabetes, there are virtually no B cells and A cells are in contact largely with other A cells and their glucose-sensing capacity is lost. The A cell hypersecretes and in most juvenile type diabetics aggressive therapy with insulin fails to restore it to normal. Glucagon is a factor in the development of endogenous hyperglycemia, and ketoacidosis. Its suppression may provide a possible approach in the future pharmacologic management of diabetic hyperglycemia.


At the scale of centimeters or millimeters, marine sediment surfaces are sculptured into complex three‐dimensional landscapes. A detailed study of fluxes through the diffusive boundary layer (DBL) therefore requires concurrent information on the surface structure. Using natural sediment in a laboratory flume, we investigated the impact of small‐scale sediment topography on diffusive oxygen flux through the DBL. Topographic maps of the sediment surface with 0.1 mm horizontal resolution were acquired with a custom‐made optical technique, and immediately afterward the oxygen diffusion field across the sediment‐water interface was measured with microsensors in known orientation within the described topography. A method was developed to calculate the three‐dimensional diffusive flux through the DBL, based on the combination of vertical O2 microprofiles and the high‐resolution topographic data. Even though the sediment surface investigated was elaborately sculptured by fauna, the combined influence of increased surface area and horizontal concentration gradients within the DBL induced less than 10% difference between one‐dimensional and three‐dimensional diffusive flux calculations. The relatively low impact of surface topography is explained by the geometry of the diffusion field, as well as effects of the rapid diffusion of O2 at small scales.


We analyse the redistributive power of the Spanish central government budget to diminish regional disparities in per capita income in the 1991-1996 period. It firstly makes a brief overview of the most relevant empirical studies carried out on this subject, analysing their methodologies and results. Secondly, it estimates the redistributive power of the budgetary policies of the Spanish central government. Its principal interest lies in the fact that the data base used allows the redistributive effect of the main items of revenue and expenditure to be analysed, whereas the majority of studies carried out limit the categories of expenditure to the case of transfers. The results obtained are in line with those from other studies. The redistributive power of the central budget is around 40%, expenditure being much more redistributive than revenue, with the exception of individual income tax.


In this paper, we address the problem of how to make the wireless service provider (WSP) earn profits in a wireless video broadcast network with consideration of advertisement insertion. At the beginning, this study examines the profit components by analyzing traffic provision and advertisement insertion. This study considers using two components for profit maximization-one is the function for allocating video rates, and the other is the function for inserting advertisement duration. The maximum achievable profit depends on joint optimization of optimal video-rate vectors and advertisement-duration vectors, which are usually computationally intensive. To resolve such a complexity problem, this work also proposes an effective algorithm for joint optimization. First, the overall profit is formulated as the solution of four local optimization problems through horizontal and vertical decomposition. Second, a theoretic polymatroidal framework is introduced in our work for optimization as this framework is proved effective in profit maximization of multiuser systems. Third, this study shows that the overall profit can be maximized by finding the optimal profit points on the boundary of the rate and duration regions. As a result, the optimum points and the total profit can be obtained through a hierarchical greedy algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of making maximum profits for WSPs in a wide range of broadcasting rates.


This paper estimates the short-run impact of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA2006) on holdings of employer stock in defined contribution pension plans. PPA2006 allowed participants in plans with employer stock to diversify their holdings. However, stand-alone ESOPs, i.e., those that do not allow employee elective deferrals or after-tax contributions, were exempt from this provision. Using detailed Form 5500 financial data for stand-alone ESOPs and those that allow employee elective deferrals or after-tax contributions, so-called KSOPs, from 2003-5 (before) and 2007-9 (after) the PPA and a quasi-experimental empirical framework, two primary empirical findings emerge. First, the share of plan assets in company stock fell 7 percentage points for KSOPs, because of the diversification provisions in PPA2006, a substantial decline. There was no change in holdings for stand-alone ESOPs. Second, most of the decline occurred in plans that had between 25-50 percent of plan assets in employer stock. Nonetheless, in 2009 still two-thirds of KSOPs had more than 10 percent of assets in company stock, the statutory limit for defined benefit pension plans.


Montgomery and Runger's bestselling engineering statistics text provides a practical approach oriented to engineering as well as chemical and physical sciences. By providing unique problem sets that reflect realistic situations, students learn how the material will be relevant in their careers. With a focus on how statistical tools are integrated into the engineering problem-solving process, all major aspects of engineering statistics are covered. Developed with sponsorship from the National Science Foundation, this text incorporates many insights from the authors' teaching experience along with feedback from numerous adopters of previous editions.


The cultural icons of Pharaonic Egypt, from the Great Sphinx at Giza to the famous burial of Tutankhamun, are among the world's most renowned works of art. Less well known, but equally impressive, are the rare and ancient images of people, animals, and landscapes made by the Egyptians who lived prior to the age of the pharaohs, when the formal conventions of Egyptian art had not yet fully evolved. With illustrations of more than 180 objects created from about 4000 to 2650 BC, Dawn of Egyptian Art presents the art forms and iconography in which the early Egyptians recorded their beliefs about the land where they lived, the yearly events that took place there, and what they thought was important to the eternal survival of their world. Comprehensive texts explore the origins and early development of the culture of ancient Egypt while discussing the relationship between image and writing as well as the representation of the self and the universe.


Society is complicated. But this book argues that this does not place it beyond the reach of a science that can help to explain and perhaps even to predict social behaviour. As a system made up of many interacting agents people, groups, institutions and governments, as well as physical and technological structures such as roads and computer networks society can be regarded as a complex system. In recent years, scientists have made great progress in understanding how such complex systems operate, ranging from animal populations to earthquakes and weather. These systems show behaviours that cannot be predicted or intuited by focusing on the individual components, but which emerge spontaneously as a consequence of their interactions: they are said to be self-organized. Attempts to direct or manage such emergent properties generally reveal that top-down approaches, which try to dictate a particular outcome, are ineffectual, and that what is needed instead is a bottom-up approach that aims to guide self-organization towards desirable states. This book shows how some of these ideas from the science of complexity can be applied to the study and management of social phenomena, including traffic flow, economic markets, opinion formation and the growth and structure of cities. Building on these successes, the book argues that the complex-systems view of the social sciences has now matured sufficiently for it to be possible, desirable and perhaps essential to attempt a grander objective: to integrate these efforts into a unified scheme for studying, understanding and ultimately predicting what happens in the world we have made. Such a scheme would require the mobilization and collaboration of many different research communities, and would allow society and its interactions with the physical environment to be explored through realistic models and large-scale data collection and analysis. It should enable us to find new and effective solutions to major global problems such as conflict, disease, financial instability, environmental despoliation and poverty, while avoiding unintended policy consequences. It could give us the foresight to anticipate and ameliorate crises, and to begin tackling some of the most intractable problems of the twenty-first century.


Summary

Perspectives from business and academia on the relative importance of various skills and attributes were compared. The perspective from academia came from the University of Guelph learning objectives and the AEB simple and complex skills required for undergraduate majors. A survey of Canadian agribusiness firms, including governmental agencies, provided the business perspective. Different types and sizes of businesses were consistent in ranking the relative importance of the various skills and attributes. The rankings by business were also consistent with the hierachial learning objectives from the University of Guelph and the disciplinary skills from the AEB. The hypothesis that business and academia are more convergent than divergent as to what our students should know is supported by these results.

Both business and academia rank communication skills highly. Business ranks personal qualities slightly higher than communication skills, but universities recognize that they can only screen for personal qualities, as opposed to the skills that they can enhance through education. Relatively low rankings of technical, computer and quantitative skills and experience should not be interpreted to mean they are unimportant, but rather that they are necessary but not sufficient for entry-level employees to succeed in agribusiness firms.


Synthesis of heat exchanger networks (HENs) is inherently a mixed integer and nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem. Solving such problems leads to difficulties in the optimization of continuous and binary variables. This paper presents a new efficient and robust method in which structural parameters are optimized by genetic algorithm (G.A.) and continuous variables are handled due to a modified objective function for maximum energy recovery (MER). Node representation is used for addressing the exchangers and networks are considered as a sequence of genes. Each gene consists of nodes for generating different structures within a network. Results show that this method may find new or near optimal solutions with a less than 2% increase in Hen annual costs.


ASSTRACT.--Recently, we acquired DNA of two rare species of heron, the Neotropical Zigzag Heron (Zebrilus undulatus) and the African White-crested Bittern (Tigriornis leucolophus). To estimate their phylogenetic relationships to other herons, we compared these species with representatives of the major heron clades using DNA-DNA hybridization. Even though the Zigzag Heron resembles a tiger-heron in its barred plumage and forest habitat, it is most closely related to bitterns. The White-crested Bittern is monophyletic with the New World tiger-herons (Tigrisoma) and, thus, is better termed the White-crested Tiger-Heron. These findings accord well with phylogenetic analyses based on osteology. The remaining uncertainties in higher-level heron phylogeny are principally: (1) the position and composition of some enigmatic genera (e.g. Gorsachius, Agamia, Pilherodius, and Ardeola); and (2) the identification of the basal heron lineage, which appears to be either tiger-herons or the Boatbilled Heron (Cochlearius). Received 15 June 1994, accepted 27 January 1995.


In order to share skills and knowledge on children and young people's participation (CYPP), ChildHope UK has worked with partners in Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, India and Peru to develop guidance on CYPP. Through doctoral research carried out to examine CYPP in evaluation in varying contexts, a 'Change-scape' model was developed. This links agency, identity and interest of children and young people in the centre of the framework to various aspects of context, including the commitment and capacity in organisations, the political economy, institutional settings and cultural beliefs and traditions. In applying this, I have subsequently found that, while this is helpful in training trainers in national organisations, it is vital to use this alongside a range of other theoretical models and frameworks for participation and inclusion, also discussed in this paper. In this way, training can be modified depending on the capacity and interests of trainers, and the cultural, political and institutional context. Training proved to be successful when it was inclusive with girls, boys, staff and decision-makers who can help to change the context of children and young people's participation locally.


Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a high-priority treatment area for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and dissemination patterns of innovative, efficacious therapies can inform areas for potential improvement of diffusion efforts and quality prescribing. In this study, we replicated a prior examination of the period prevalence of prazosin use as a function of distance from Puget Sound, Washington, where prazosin was first tested as an effective treatment for PTSD and where prazosin use was previously shown to be much greater than in other parts of the United States. We tested the following three hypotheses related to prazosin geographic diffusion: (1) a positive geographical correlation exists between the distance from Puget Sound and the proportion of users treated according to a guideline recommended minimum therapeutic target dose (>/=6 mg/d), (2) an inverse geographic correlation exists between prazosin and benzodiazepine use, and (3) no geographical correlation exists between prazosin use and serotonin reuptake inhibitor/serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SSRI/SNRI) use. Among a national sample of veterans with PTSD, overall prazosin utilization increased from 5.5 to 14.8% from 2006 to 2012. During this time period, rates at the Puget Sound VHA location declined from 34.4 to 29.9%, whereas utilization rates at locations a minimum of 2,500 miles away increased from 3.0 to 12.8%. Rates of minimum target dosing fell from 42.6 to 34.6% at the Puget Sound location. In contrast, at distances of at least 2,500 miles from Puget Sound, minimum threshold dosing rates remained stable (range, 18.6 to 17.7%). No discernible association was demonstrated between SSRI/SNRI or benzodiazepine utilization and the geographic distance from Puget Sound. Minimal threshold dosing of prazosin correlated positively with increased diffusion of prazosin use, but there was still a distance diffusion gradient. Although prazosin adoption has improved, geographic differences persist in both prescribing rates and minimum target dosing. Importantly, these regional disparities appear to be limited to prazosin prescribing and are not meaningfully correlated with SSRI/SNRI and benzodiazepine use as indicators of PTSD prescribing quality.


Developing the autonomy and vocabulary learning of learners specially language learners is one of the important issues in foreign language teaching area. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of different dictionary tasks in EFL learners' autonomy and vocabulary learning. To this aim, 60 EFL guidance and high school students (13-17 years old) were chosen. They were divided into two groups, experimental group (n=30) and control group (n=30). First, a pretest was given to both groups. Then, the teacher of experimental group gave different tasks for using dictionary in teaching new vocabularies and reviewing last words for 8 sessions. The tasks were chosen based on some features such as novelty, attractiveness, easiness, etc. For example, students were supposed to identify the place of stress or find the synonyms for each word. At the end, a posttest was given to both groups. [T-test was used to analyze data]. The findings of the study revealed a significant relationship between using dictionary tasks and improving EFL learners' autonomy and permanent vocabulary learning. This study can help the teachers who seek effective ways to teach vocabulary and improve learners' autonomy, and also teachers who can't employ new technologies. Moreover, it can be beneficial for learners who search for self-study effective vocabulary learning techniques.


We present a novel approach for providing a comprehensive operational picture of heterogeneous networks by collecting system information from physical, data-link, network and application layers using extended methods and mechanisms for OAM, which take into account particularities of persistent access heterogeneity and IoT. A heterogeneous OAM (H-OAM) framework is proposed with a toolset for streamlined failure detection and isolation, and automated performance measurement and monitoring. The framework combines extended standardized OAM toolsets for physical and data-link layers with multiple well-defined and recognized IP network layer toolsets, which introduces possibilities for a tactical view of the monitored system and quick root cause analysis with unified interpretation and cross-correlation of horizontal and vertical levels. A practical deployment of an H-OAM system is presented and its use is demonstrated in a live mobile IoT testbed environment where performance is a function of a wide variety of physical layer parameters that need to be tuned and monitored by the operator. Results of two concrete usage scenarios performed in cooperation with two largest Slovenian mobile operators demonstrate how continuity check and connectivity verification, and performance diagnostics are conducted for Web-based IoT applications and network services of a live operational environment.


Romantic Disillusionment in the Later Works of Mary Shelley argues that, despite a growing consensus among modern critics that Mary Shelley's works, and especially the novels written after Percy Bysshe Shelley's death, are of lesser quality than her earlier novels, especially Frankenstein, the later works deserve more attention than they have hitherto received. The title Romantic Disillusionment, at once establishes my disagreement with those of Shelley's critics who insist that her work is continuous with her father's, her mother's and her husband's. No doubt, she rehearses various elements that characterise her family's writings, revisits their favourite themes, but she does so in a way that is distinctively her own. The thesis locates in Shelley's work a more general sense of disillusionment with Romantic ideas, amongst them a reverence for the sublime, a confident faith in the power of the imagination, and a belief in human perfectibility, ideas current in her father's writing and discussed in the circles in which he moved, as well as those she joined as Percy Bysshe Shelley's lover and wife. The influence of her parents and husband and other contemporaries is traced with particular attention to the disillusionment that she at first shared with them and later came to feel in them. Shelley often invokes Romantic ideals, but characteristically she invokes them only to ironise or undermine them.
 The thesis is organized in six chapters: an introduction is followed by four chapters on the four novels Shelley wrote after her husband's death, and a conclusion. The introduction gives an overview of Shelley's early novels, Frankenstein and Valperga, as well as the novella Matilda, trying to establish how far Shelley even in her early writings did not simply, as seems to be the consensus, follow her family's notions. This is followed by a chapter on The Last Man, which discusses the opposition between the public and the private life, between a life devoted to public activity and a life spent in seclusion. This chapter also explores Mary Shelley's understanding of creativity and in particular her interest in biography. Indeed, all Mary Shelley's later novels can be understood as disguised biographies, substitutes for the book that she had been forbidden to write, the biography of her husband. This chapter also discusses the function of the plague as, like death itself, a leveller, the destroyer not simply of humanity but of all human ideals. I understand the novel in conclusion as a parodic challenge to Godwin's and P.B. Shelley's belief in human perfectibility and the millenarian cast of mind that the two men shared. The following chapter on The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck examines Shelley's single later experiment in the historical novel. Clearly she is responding to the achievement of Walter Scott, as well as to his extraordinary commercial success, but once again hers is an active response. Unlike Scott, she does not pretend to offer a disinterested description of historical events but instead undertakes a passionate engagement with history. She effects, I will argue a self-conscious feminization of the genre of the historical novel. The chapter on Lodore focuses on education, especially the question of female education that has preoccupied not only Shelley's mother, but many of the most significant female intellectuals of her mother's generation. In the penultimate chapter, I argue that Falkner is an appropriate culmination of Shelley's career as a novelist. It is a novel in which she incorporates disguised the 'Lives' of Godwin and Shelley, as well as a novel in which she attempts a vindication of the reputation of her mother. It is a novel in which she is especially concerned with her relationship with her father, but for her it is a literary as much as a personal relationship. The novel is modelled, I shall argue, on Hamlet, the play in which Shakespeare explores most complexly the fraught relationship between the parent and the child, and it can also be understood as a re-writing of her own father's most successful novel, Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams.


This paper explores patterns of interaction in late sixteenth-century personal letters. Self-mention (I) and addressee inclusion ( you vs nominal title) are studied quantitatively and qualitatively in the letters of Norfolk gentleman Nathaniel Bacon and his correspondents to see how social relationships are mutually constructed. The results suggest that Bacon used more first- and second-person pronouns with his inferiors and equal family members than with his superiors, style-shifting to "humiliative" discourse when writing to social superiors, and to "friendly" discourse when writing to inferiors. Noblemen writing to Bacon employed somewhat similar patterns, but Bacon's inferiors seemed to be more mixed in their usage. It is argued that differences in educational background and consequent repertoires of stylistic literacy may explain such differences.


Abstract International political outcomes are deeply shaped by the balance of power, but some military capabilities rely on secrecy to be effective. These "clandestine capabilities" pose problems for converting military advantages into political gains. If clandestine capabilities are revealed, adversaries may be able to take steps that attenuate the advantages they are supposed to provide. On the other hand, if these capabilities are not revealed, then adversaries will be unaware of, and unimpressed by, the real balance of power. Most of the existing literature emphasizes that states have few incentives to signal their clandestine capabilities. This conclusion deserves qualification: the condition of long-term peacetime competition can make signaling a profitable decision. Within this context, two important variables help determine whether a state will signal or conceal its secret capabilities: the uniqueness of the capability and the anticipated responsiveness of the adversary. An extended case study of Cold War strategic antisubmarine warfare confirms these predictions.


International Symposium and Exhibition on Geoinformation is the premier educational event for professionals involved in geoinformation technologies, including geographic information systems (GIS), GPS, remote sensing, automated mapping/facilities management (AM/FM), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and related geospatial technologies. ISG brings together scientist from academia, industry and government to analyze progress and to explore new research directions. It focuses on emerging topics and basic research findings across all sectors of geoinformation technologies. The conference program aims to attract leading geoinformation researchers from all fields to reflect the interdisciplinary breadth of geoinformation, including cognitive science, computer science, engineering, geography, information science, mathematics, philosophy, psychology and social science. ISG offer an exciting technical program, including plenary session, technical sessions and in-depth workshops. The symposium is designed to meet scientific, technical and business needs of the geoinformation community testing.


Life cycle savings is proposed as one explanation for much of the increase in savings and economic growth in Asia. The association between the age composition of a nation's population and its savings rate, observed within 16 Asian countries from 1952 to 1992, is reestimated here to be less than a quarter the size reported in a seminal study, which assumed lagged savings is exogenous. Specification tests as well as common sense imply, moreover, that lagged savings is likely to be endogenous, and when estimated accordingly there remains no significant dependence of savings on the age composition, measured in several ways. Research should consider lifetime savings as a substitute for children, and model the causes for the decline in fertility which changes the age compositions and could thereby account for savings and growth in Asia.


Protein drugs may encounter conformational perturbations during the formulation processing of lipid-based solid dosage forms. In aqueous protein solutions, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy can investigate these conformational changes following the subtraction of spectral interference of solvent with protein amide I bands. However, in solid dosage forms, the possible spectral contribution of lipid carriers to protein amide I band may be an obstacle to determine conformational alterations. The objective of this study was to develop an ATR FT-IR spectroscopic method for the analysis of protein secondary structure embedded in solid lipid matrices. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was chosen as a model protein, while Precirol AT05 (glycerol palmitostearate, melting point 58 ℃) was employed as the model lipid matrix. Bovine serum albumin was incorporated into lipid using physical mixing, melting and mixing, or wet granulation mixing methods. Attenuated total reflection FT-IR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) were performed for the analysis of BSA secondary structure and its dissolution in aqueous media, respectively. The results showed significant interference of Precirol ATO5 with BSA amide I band which was subtracted up to 90% w/w lipid content to analyze BSA secondary structure. In addition, ATR FT-IR spectroscopy also detected thermally denatured BSA solid alone and in the presence of lipid matrix indicating its suitability for the detection of denatured protein solids in lipid matrices. Despite being in the solid state, conformational changes occurred to BSA upon incorporation into solid lipid matrices. However, the extent of these conformational alterations was found to be dependent on the mixing method employed as indicated by area overlap calculations. For instance, the melting and mixing method imparted negligible effect on BSA secondary structure, whereas the wet granulation mixing method promoted more changes. Size exclusion chromatography analysis depicted the complete dissolution of BSA in the aqueous media employed in the wet granulation method. In conclusion, an ATR FT-IR spectroscopic method was successfully developed to investigate BSA secondary structure in solid lipid matrices following the subtraction of lipid spectral interference. The ATR FT-IR spectroscopy could further be applied to investigate the secondary structure perturbations of therapeutic proteins during their formulation development.


Processing motion information is an important problem in building automated vision systems. A moving sensor can obtain knowledge about the environmental layout, its own motion, and motion of objects in the scene by processing the temporal information in the imagery. We provide algorithms that can determine self-motion (or egomotion) by observing a sequence of images produced by a moving sensor in a rigid, stationary environment. The algorithms make use of optical flow information extracted from the sequence, and unlike most alternative methods, are global and robust to inaccuracies in the flow data.
Two algorithms are presented. Both algorithms assume that the first stage of visual motion analysis, the computation of an image vector flow field that describes the instantaneous motion of individual points, has been solved.
The first algorithm, the flow circulation algorithm, determines the rotational parameters using the curl of the flow field, which under many conditions is approximately a linear function. The coefficients of the linear function, which maybe determined by simple regression, are the desired rotational parameters. Circulation values, defined to be contour integrals of the vector field on the image plane, may be used in place of curl values, resulting in robustness. The second algorithm determines the translational parameters of the motion. The inner product of the image vector flow field and a certain circular vector field gives rise to a scalar function that is of a particular quadratic polynomial form when the center of the circular field is chosen appropriately. This correct choice of the center is related to the translational parameters and can be found by projecting the inner product function onto suitable subspaces determined by the quadratic polynomial form. Three different methods, of increasing complexity and accuracy, are developed. A fourth, fast but approximate method is also presented.
The algorithms are described, analysed and experimental results are shown. The thesis contains mathematical observations that provide insight into the problem of motion analysis, and experimental observations that demonstrate the applicability of the algorithms.


As the worldrs population is projected to reach 10 billion or more by 2100, devastating fossil fuel shortages loom in the future unless more renewable alternatives to energy are developed. Bioenergy, in the form of cellulosic biomass, starch, sugar, and oils from crop plants, has emerged as one of the cheaper, cleaner, and environmentally sustainable alternatives to traditional forms of energy.n Handbook of Bioenergy Crop Plantsnbrings together the work of a panel of global experts who survey the possibilities and challenges involved in biofuel production in the twenty-first century. Section Onenexplores the genetic improvement of bioenergy crops, ecological issues and biodiversity, feedstock logistics and enzymatic cell wall degradation to produce biofuels, and process technologies of liquid transportation fuels production. It also reviews international standards for fuel quality, unique issues of biofuel-powered engines, life-cycle environmental impacts of biofuels compared with fossil fuels, and social concerns. Section Twonexamines commercialized bioenergy crops, including cassava, Jatropha, forest trees, maize, oil palm, oilseedn Brassicas,nsorghum, soybean, sugarcane, and switchgrass. Section Threenprofiles emerging crops such asn Brachypodium,ndiesel trees, minor oilseeds, lower plants,n Paulownia,nshrub willow, sugarbeet, sunflower, and sweet potato. It also discusses unconventional biomass resources such as vegetable oils, organic waste, and municipal sludge.
 Highlighting the special requirements, major achievements, and unresolved concerns in bioenergy production from crop plants, the book is destined to lead to future discoveries related to the use of plants for bioenergy production. It will assist in developing innovative ways of ameliorating energy problems on the horizon.


Background/Context School districts are increasingly expected to support students in meeting ambitious mathematical learning goals. Many schools and districts are investing significant resources in the provision of time for teacher collaboration in the hope that this will help teachers improve their instruction in ways that support students in meeting ambitious learning goals. While existing research points to the potential of this collaboration time to support teacher learning, findings from previous work suggest that use of this time varies in ways that are likely to be consequential for teachers' learning. Research Question In this analysis, we investigate the question: In what ways do focus and facilitation shape teachers' opportunities to learn during collaborative conversations? Research Design The data for this analysis comes from a 4-year study of 4 large urban school districts that examines what it takes to improve the quality of middle school math instruction at scale. Our analysis draws on the broader data set by first using teacher-level data (observed instructional quality) from 30 schools to identify schools that exhibited the most growth in instructional quality. We then analyze audio recordings of teacher collaborative meetings at those schools to better understand how the conversations that take place in these meetings might function to support teachers' professional learning. In particular, we examine differences in facilitator questioning and subsequent facilitator press on teachers to elaborate their pedagogical reasoning. Findings/Results We observed two foci in identified sessions: writing learning targets and lesson co-planning. As enacted, the lesson co-planning sessions held greater potential for supporting teachers' professional learning. Use of an activity-structuring tool was related to higher quality facilitator questions in these sessions but was not related to improved facilitator press on teachers to elaborate on their responses to these questions. These facilitator moves are marked by (1) solicitation of detailed representations of teachers' classrooms and practice, (2) orientation toward students as sense-makers, and (3) press for teachers to articulate rationales for instructional decisions that are tied to goals for student learning. We provide examples of facilitator questioning and press that are generative for teacher learning. Conclusions/Recommendations This work contributes to the research on the ways collaborative time can support teacher learning. It identifies specific practices that facilitators can draw on to support teachers' professional learning—which has the potential to inform both teacher learning and the training of facilitators. This work can additionally inform the design and use of tools (protocols) that can help productively structure teacher collaborative time and also reveal the limitations of such tools. Importantly, we offer a coding scheme for analyzing the quality of facilitation through questioning and press that can subsequently be challenged, problematized, and built upon in the field.


[1] This paper compares by land cover type seasonal and spatial variations of MODIS leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (0.4–0.7 μm) absorbed by vegetation (FPAR) from 2.5 years with those from the Common Land Model (CLM) and investigates possible reasons for notable differences. The FPAR value is mainly determined by LAI in MODIS and both LAI and stem area index (SAI) in CLM. On average, the model underestimates FPAR in the Southern Hemisphere and overestimates FPAR over most areas in the Northern Hemisphere compared to MODIS observations during all seasons except northern middle latitude summer. Such overestimation is most significant in winter over northern high latitudes. The MODIS LAI is generally consistent with the model during the snow-free periods but may be underestimated in the presence of snow, especially for evergreen trees. The positive FPAR bias is mainly attributed to CLM SAI of deciduous canopy and higher LAI than MODIS for evergreen canopy as well. The negative FPAR bias results from several factors, including differences in LAI and soil albedo between CLM and MODIS or limitations of the geometric optics scheme used in the model. Therefore the MODIS algorithm needs to better represent the winter LAI retrievals, while the model needs to better quantify LAI and SAI. Since stems will not have the same single-scattering albedo as green leaves, it may be inappropriate for the model to treat LAI and SAI the same in the FPAR and albedo parameterizations. If so, the role of SAI in these parameterizations needs reformulation.


A master photographer, Alfred Stieglitz was also a visionary promoter and an avid collector of modern American and European art from the first half of the twentieth century. Operating a succession of influential Manhattan galleries from 1905 to 1946, he exhibited many of the most important artists of the era, including Constantin Brancusi, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Vasily Kandinsky, John Marin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O'Keeffe, Francis Picabia, and Pablo Picasso. The collection he assembled of their works-by purchase, gift, and happy accident-was of exceptional breadth and depth and has since become the cornerstone of the Metropolitan Museum's holdings of modern art since 1949. This volume is the first catalogue of the Metropolitan's unparalleled Alfred Stieglitz Collection: more than four hundred paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints made between the 1880s and the 1940s. After an illuminating introduction that traces the collection's formation and surprising denouement, thirty-one short essays serve as focused biographies of the dealer and each of the artists he cultivated and collected, demonstrating the intense and often intimate relationships that affected artistic direction, financial well-being (or its opposite), and social and professional prestige. These discussions are enriched by new scholarship, technical analysis, and archival research, and many works in the colleciton are published here for teh first time. Seen together in splendid color reproductions, they present a portrait of a supreme connoisseur-a man who acted as "midwife" in the creation of twentieth-century art.


A simple method was developed for direct shoot regeneration of wheat ( Triticumaestivum L.). Various types of plant growth regulators singly or in combinations were investigated. Regenerated plantlets from wheat embryogenic callus were placed in MS medium supplemen ted with different types and concentrations of growth regulators. Shoot seedlings successfully produced adventitious shoots (tillers) in cytokinins concentrations; TDZ singly has the superiority over all treatments tested, it has achieved the highest perce ntage of the emergence of the shoots (tillers) (90 - 100%) followed by BA with (60 - 90%); while KN was less encouraging for shoot sprouting (40 - 50%).The highest mean numbers of shoots (2.1±0.3a) and (1.9±0.3 a) were obtained in MS medium supplemented with 4.0 and 3.0 mg/l TDZ respectively. The sprouted shoots successfully rooted in MS medium supplemented with either NAA or IBA concentrations; however NAA was favorable for root number; whereas the greatest mean number of roots was obtained in MS medium supplemented with NAA concentrations ranged between (2.0 - 0.5mg/l); while the longest roots were produced in BA concentrations ranged from (0.5 - 2.0) mg/l. The rooted shoots were established well in the soil. This simple method yielded a number of shoots (ti llers) within a short period of time. As wheat regeneration percentages from embryogenic callus is very low; this protocol will be used for micro propagation of the regenerated plantlets derived from embryogenic callus, then use them in different purposes.


Phase-space formulation based on the Wigner distribution has been presented for analyzing phase-contrast image formation. Based on the statistical nature and affine canonical covariance of Wigner distributions in the phase space, we show that the partial coherence effects of incident x-ray wave field on image intensity are simply accounted for by a multiplication factor, which is the reduced complex degree of coherence of the incident x-ray wave field. We show especially that with the undulator sources one cannot obtain the phase-contrast intensity by summing over the contributions from all electron positions, since the van Cittert-Zernike theorem fails in general for undulators. We derive a comprehensive formula that quantifies the effects of partial spatial coherence, polychromatic spectrum, body attenuation, imaging-detector resolution, and radiation dose on phase-contrast visibility in clinical imaging. The results of our computer modeling and simulations show how the formula can provide design guidelines and optimal parameters for clinical x-ray phase-contrast imaging systems.


The recording of a 3-D object is greatly improved when it is possible to view the object and image from many directions. A simple apparatus is described for constructing and observing cylindrical holograms of 360 degrees field of view with a minimum of effort and expense. The recording is essentially a known technique but some improvements have been introduced. To view the image a new technique was considered where all the light of the laser beam or incoherent source is directed to the cylindrical hologram by means of an easily assembled scanner, while the recording geometry is reproduced. Good holograms are made with bright, undistorted, free of shadows, and unblurred images. This hologram viewer should prove useful for many display applications.


Abstract. MIPAS observations of temperature, water vapor, and ozone in October 2009 as derived with the scientific level-2 processor run by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) and CSIC, Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA) and retrieved from version 4.67 level-1b data have been compared to co-located field campaign observations obtained during the MOHAVE-2009 campaign at the Table Mountain Facility near Pasadena, California in October 2009. The MIPAS measurements were validated regarding any potential biases of the profiles, and with respect to their precision estimates. The MOHAVE-2009 measurement campaign provided measurements of atmospheric profiles of temperature, water vapor/relative humidity, and ozone from the ground to the mesosphere by a suite of instruments including radiosondes, ozonesondes, frost point hygrometers, lidars, microwave radiometers and Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectrometers. For MIPAS temperatures (version V4O_T_204), no significant bias was detected in the middle stratosphere; between 22 km and the tropopause MIPAS temperatures were found to be biased low by up to 2 K, while below the tropopause, they were found to be too high by the same amount. These findings confirm earlier comparisons of MIPAS temperatures to ECMWF data which revealed similar differences. Above 12 km up to 45 km, MIPAS water vapor (version V4O_H2O_203) is well within 10% of the data of all correlative instruments. The well-known dry bias of MIPAS water vapor above 50 km due to neglect of non-LTE effects in the current retrievals has been confirmed. Some instruments indicate that MIPAS water vapor might be biased high by 20 to 40% around 10 km (or 5 km below the tropopause), but a consistent picture from all comparisons could not be derived. MIPAS ozone (version V4O_O3_202) has a high bias of up to +0.9 ppmv around 37 km which is due to a non-identified continuum like radiance contribution. No further significant biases have been detected. Cross-comparison to co-located observations of other satellite instruments (Aura/MLS, ACE-FTS, AIRS) is provided as well.


The performance of the U.S. rural economy has varied significantly from that of urban areas in recent years. After growing at a rate similar to urban areas in the 1970s, rural America fell behind in the 1980s. However, a look at some broad measures of population and income growth suggests the rural economy is picking up steam in the current decade. In general, recent gains for rural areas have closely paralleled, and in some cases even exceeded, those of urban areas. In particular, rural population growth has experienced a remarkable turnaround in this decade. The changing fortunes of rural areas naturally raise questions about the factors that have prompted the recent improvement. For example, how do the changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and other sectors affect the economic welfare of rural residents? And more importantly, can the recent improvement in rural economic performance be sustained? The answers to these questions will help rural residents and policymakers cope with change and find prosperity in the future.


The innovative and imaginative theatre company Moncton-Sable has been working as a collective troupe in Moncton, New Brunswick since 1997. Since their first successful piece, entitled Moncton-Sable, they have collectively created eight pieces, generally basing their work on objects or matter. The group consists of six francophone artists: Louise Lemieux, director; Jean Surette, musician; Philip Andre Colette, Amelie Gosselin, and Lynne Surette, actors; and, since 2001, Karene Chiasson, actor. As a collective, the group researches and rehearses each piece over an extended period of time before sharing their work with an audience. During the development phase, they use physical and vocal improvisation techniques to flesh out the characters and themes. Most often, they work closely with one or more musicians during the process, who help transform the playing space and generate an aesthetic through sound and music. The writer is also part of the creative process, and the text is developed during the rehearsal process rather than prior. To date, the writers that have collaborated with the company include France Daigle, Paul Bosse, and Monique Snow, all of whom write in other forms (poetry, novel) aside from theatre. There is no hierarchical order within the company and all creative decisions happen collectively; rather than making authoritative decisions, the director facilitates the process. In a short period of rime the company has attracted a strong following, frequently playing to sold out theatres. Their professional standards have also attracted funding from the Canada Council and the New Brunswick Arts Council, but, perhaps more importantly, their original approach to working is having, according to Dave Lonergan, "a major impact on the theatrical scene in Moncton" (xi). Moncton-Sable has quickly gained artistic respect within the province of New Brunswick through their physical, visual, and poetic work, and the company's uniqueness complements other more established francophone groups such as Theatre de l'Escaouette and Theatre Populaire d'Acadie. The following interview that I conducted with artistic director Louise Lemieux in January 2005 provides deeper insights into the company's approach and vision of theatre, and the context in which they work. George Belliveau (GB): How would you describe the company's way of working? Louise Lemieux (LL): En debut de travail, nous faisons beaucoup de travail d'improvisation muette. Les impros servent a analyser et a incarner les personnages et les situations, dans un vocabulaire physique et concret. Nous travaillons souvent tous sur le meme personnage, cherchant des rythmes, des impulsions physiques. Plus tard, la personne qui jouera le personnage puisera dans les impros pour construire son personnage. Nous tolerons bien le chaos et laissons les scenes et moments theatraux passer par un grand desordre avant de les organiser. Pendant plusieurs semaines, le futur spectacle ressemble plutot a une accumulation d'elements disparates. Quand le tout est assez riche et complexe, nous passons a une phase d'organisation. A ce moment, le texte est generalement termine et servira a organiser la representation. GB: Do you begin working towards a particular goal? Or, is it the process that informs where you'll be going? LL: Nous commencons a repeter avant que le texte soit ecrit, et les auteurs ecrivent de leur cote, n'assistant que rarement au travail de repetition. Nous nous entendons sur un theme, souvent une matiere, et travaillons en parallele. Quand le texte est deja ecrit, nous en tirons une liste de personnages et de situations, et travaillons plusieurs semaines sans texte. Nous repetons de dix a douze semaines, dont six a huit sans texte. GB: Does someone record the rehearsal process in order to remember or build on for the next session? LL: Comme nous ne travaillons pas dans le but d'ecrire, nous avancons sans prendre de notes de repetition. …


In this article I examine the nexus, the mutually reinforcing connection between neoliberal and neoconservative ideology and social and political forces, and variation between countries such as Britain, the USA and Turkey. This analysis is then applied in particular to neoliberal/ neoconservative education `reform' in England, focusing on marketisation, high-stakes testing, privatization and pre-privatisation, and the increased surveillance of teachers as a result of new public managerialism in education, as reinforced and enforced by the school inspection system. These effects are then related to the lived work experiences of specific teachers, using their own word. I conclude the article by examining and calling for resistance, for teachers and critical education workers to educate, agitate and organize in various arenas, and to consider the importance of political programme- in particular to consider the utility of the transitional programme as advanced by Trotsky.


A small stamp seal bearing the inscription "belonging to Malkiyahu, son of the king," arguably belonged to Mulek, son of Zedekiah, who accompanied one of the Israelite groups that settled in the New World. Jeremiah 38:6 mentions "Malchiah the son of Hammelech," which could also be a reference to this same Mulek. Discussion centers on similar seals, the meaning of Ben Hamelek , the possible age of Malkiyahu, and Book of Mormon claims about Mulek. This seal could conceivably have been left behind in Jerusalem and found centuries later, thus representing an archaeological artifact of a Book of Mormon personality. Abstract


The K–Pg mass extinction event occurred at the end of the Cretaceous System (K, for kreta or chalk, a common Cretaceous rock type) and the beginning of the Paleogene System (Pg). During the last million years of the Cretaceous, just prior to the K–Pg boundary, between 40% and 75% of marine invertebrate and terrestrial vertebrate species disappear from the fossil record. Included in this extinction are such well-known groups as dinosaurs (but not birds), pterosaurs, mosasaurs, ammonites and many species of marine plankton. Although there is broad consensus that these extinctions were driven by climate/oceanographic change, the potential causes of these changes remain topics of controversy. What is known is that the Earth was subjected to a substantial fall in sea-level (c. 100 m), widespread volcanism, and a large comet/meteor impact during the extinction interval.

Key Concepts:

Mass extinctions occur when atypically high numbers of organismal extinctions take place within geologically short intervals of time.

Stratigraphic successions are characterised by stacked intervals of net sediment accumulation and discontinuities that mark intervals of no sediment accumulation or active erosion.

Molecular phylogenetic data indicate that many groups originally thought to have radiated after the K–Pg extinction (e.g. mammals and birds) have deeper histories than is indicated by the fossil record and should be regarded as K–Pg survivors.

Sea-level changes across the K–Pg boundary indicate that more complete records of the biotic change will be found in shallow marine environments rather than in terrestrial or deep-marine settings.

Patterns of species extinction in complete K–Pg successions indicate that this event occurred over a prolonged interval (e.g. tens to hundreds of thousands of years) prior to the K–Pg boundary rather than suddenly and coincident with the K–Pg boundary.

Of the three main K–Pg extinction mechanisms – sea-level change, volcanism, asteroid/comet impact – all affect the environment in remarkably similar ways.

Flood basalt volcanism is the only extinction mechanism that exhibits a consistent association with intervals of mass extinction.

The multiple-cause model – in which a geologically unusual juxtaposition of sea-level change, volcanism and asteroid/comet impact seems the most likely candidate for the cause of this extinction event.

Keywords:

extinction;
stratigraphy;
volcano;
sea level;
comet;
asteroid;
dinosaur;
fossil;
palaeontology


This paper seeks to understand the features of public spending in the agricultural sector within the context of Nigeria's federal structure and decentralized system. Specifically, the study aims to examine the extent to which the level and composition of public spending in the agricultural sector is consistent with both national and subnational priorities. The study also analyzed the efficiency of public resource allocation to agriculture in line with stated priorities at the federal and subnational levels. It provides analysis of public expenditures at the federal and state levels, the latter drawing from three case study states: Cross River, Niger, and Ondo states. The main period covered in this study are three important policy regimes: the era of NEEDS (National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy) during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the seven-point agenda era of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, and the era of Vision 20:2020 of President Goodluck Jonathan. Although considerable efforts have been made to identify development priorities and articulate policies and strategies for improved performance of the agricultural sector, no sharp connection has been made with the expenditure policy. At the federal level, the situation was beginning to improve in the aftermath of the articulation of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and alignment of expenditures toward the attainment of targets set in various strategic components of the agenda. At the subnational level, expenditure decisions do not follow a results-based framework, and there is no analytical basis for a logical assessment of expenditure impact. The defective linkage between expenditure decisions and prioritization of projects manifests in the study states, in particular where some activities that were not budgeted for ended up being funded whereas those already budgeted for receive no funding at all. Future research should conduct political economy analysis to shed light on circumstances that lead to a disconnect, and what factors lead to a stronger relationship between the design of strategies and actual public expenditures undertaken


Proteomic analysis and computational methods identify potential targets for reversing kidney damage. This Podcast features an interview with Ravi Iyengar and John He, authors of a Research Article published in the 4 February 2014 issue of Science Signaling, about using network modeling to predict strategies for repairing kidney damage. Kidney damage is often characterized by changes in the morphology of podocytes. The highly specialized morphology of podocytes is critical for the kidney's ability to filter waste products out of the blood without allowing proteins and other large molecules to leak from the blood into the urine. A group led by Ravi Iyengar and John He identified changes in protein abundance that were associated with damaged kidneys and used computational methods to predict drug targets for restoring normal podocyte morphology and function.


We propose a mechanism for labor-market polarization based on the nonhomotheticity of demand that we call the income-driven channel. Our mechanism builds on a novel empirical fact: expenditure elasticities and production intensities in low- and high-skill occupations are positively correlated across sectors. Thus, as income grows, demand shifts towards expenditure-elastic sectors, and the relative demand for low- and high-skill occupations increases, causing labor-market polarization. A calibrated general-equilibrium model suggests this mechanism accounts for 90% and 35% of the increase in the wage-bill share of low- and high-skill occupations observed in the US during 1980-2016, and for 64% and 28% of the rise in the employment shares of low- and high-skill occupations. This mechanism is similarly important for the polarization of labor markets in Western Europe during 1980-2016, as well as in the US during earlier decades and, possibly, the near future.


The base Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) includes audit commands that only allow a Call Agent to audit endpoint and/or connection state one endpoint at a time. This document describes a new MGCP package for bulk auditing of a group of gateway endpoints. It allows a Call Agent to determine the endpoint naming convention, the list of instantiated endpoints as well connection and endpoint state for the group of endpoints.


Introduction Land-use planning--and, more specifically, the process by which scarce natural resources are allocated--has always been a controversial and difficult task for governments in Canada, as else where. This has become especially true of late giver the troubled existence of many resource-dependant communities as a result of market downturns, tariffs limiting market access, resource collapse, and heightened conflict among resource users. To many observers, a contributing cause of this troubled existence is the conventional system of resource management in most Western countries a system which Dryzek (1997) characterizes as 'administrative rationalism' owing to its reliance on professionals working within centralized and disaggregated agencies responsible for fish, forests or flooding, who employ systematic techniques to arrive at decisions deemed to be in the public interest. (1) Critics of the top-down approach have increasingly called for the devolution of management responsibility for natural resources from distant-centred professionals to those people directly impacted by resource-management decisions. IN this sense, devolution implies not only a downward shift along Arnstein's (1969) ladder but also a scaling down of management responsibility from large, centralized agencies to smaller agencies and organizations at regional and even local levels. Among environmental stakeholders, support for devolution has largely been based upon the belief--or perhaps assumption--that transferring resource-management authority to local communities better ensures the sustainable use of those resources. Indeed, this opinion has increasingly been advanced in the literature, be it with respect to water, fisheries, forestry or wildlife (see, e.g., Fellizar 1993; Burda et al. 1997; Clapp 1999; Milich 1999; Newell and Ommer 1999 Serageldin 1999; Gunter and Jodway 2000; Egan et al. 2001; Martin 2001). Such a regulatory shift would clearly represent an innovation in resource and environmental management with great potential for improving its practice. However, this desired end will not be achieved if newly empowered communities are not credible in their management of local resources or have insufficient capacity to do so. That is, communities must display a genuine desire to steward local resources in the interests of all stakeholders--including future generations and nonlocals--and have sufficient capacity to manage the resource base in order to achieve adequate and stable returns. These hypothesized contingent conditions of effective community-based resource management are the primary foci of this paper. The larger aim of the paper is to review and critique the concept of community-based resource management, paying attention to its purported strengths and limitations as expressed in recent scholarship. Following a brief review of the current practice of and rationales for community-based resource management, the paper turns its attention to the issues of community credibility and capacity. In the two subsequent sections, these necessary conditions of effective community-based resource management are described and illustrated based on two examples in western Canada in which communities have been empowered to determine the use of local resources. The first, which highlights the issue of community credibility, centres on the 1984 siting of a hazardous-waste treatment facility near the town of Swan Hills, Alberta, while the second, which highlights the issue of community capacity, traces the development of the Community Forest Pilot Project in British Columbia. These illustrations represent an initial attempt to critique the practice of community-based resource management. The many concerns and questions that they raise, which are summarized in the paper's conclusions, suggest a need for further, in-depth investigation. The use of the illustrations necessitates two disclaimers. First, neither provides an extreme example of devolution, given the retention of some authority by provincial agencies. …


Sobin (1997) proposes an analysis of several prestige constructions of English under which they result from grammatical viruses. Counter to his claim, I argue that plural agreement in expletive constructions introduced by there results not from a virus but from the grammar of English, because it lacks signature properties of viruses. I show that the flat agreement seen in expletive constructions with conjoined associates can be explained as a processing effect. I then argue that singular agreement with plural associates represents a second alternative allowed within the grammar.


How do job losers use default -- a phenomenon 6x more prevalent than bankruptcy --as a type of "informal" unemployment insurance, and more importantly, what are the social costs and benefits of this behavior? To this end, I establish several new facts: (i) job loss is the main reason for default, not negative equity (ii) people default because they are credit constrained and cannot borrow more, and (iii) the value of debt payments is a significant fraction of a defaulter's earnings. Using these facts, I calibrate a general equilibrium model with a frictional labor market similar to Burdett and Mortensen (1998) and Menzio and Shi (2009, 2011) and individually priced debt along the lines of Eaton and Gersovitz (1981) and Chatterjee et al. (2007). After proving the existence of a Block Recursive Equilibrium, I find that the extra self- insurance job losers obtain by defaulting outweighs the subsequent increase in the cost of credit, and as a result, protectionist policies such as the Mortgage Servicer Settlement of 2012 or the CARD Act of 2009 improve overall welfare by .1%. The side effect of the policies, however, is a .2-.5% higher unemployment rate during recessions that persists throughout the recovery.


The article challenges the cultural gap thesis in Africa's democratization. The thesis argues that democratization in Africa falters because there is a cultural gap in the democratic framework, such as the absence of democrats, i.e., culture, and the subsequent perversion of the democratization process. The argument holds only if there is one single democracy, and therefore, only one acceptable political culture, which is seldom the case. The problem of democracy in Africa is not due to a unique flaw in the African way of life that forecloses the feasibility of sustainable democracy in the continent. It must be that the democratization that is being promoted does not reckon much with the historicity of democracy and the uniqueness of Africa. The paper concludes with some recommendations on how to reclaim democratization and adapt it to African reality as a way of its consolidation.


The multiple benefits of automating steering in agricultural vehicles have resulted in various autoguidance systems commercially available, most of them relying on satellite-based positioning. However, the fact that farm equipment is typically oversized, heavy, and highly powered poses serious challenges to automation in terms of safety and reliability. The objective of this research is to improve the reliability of front-wheel feedback signals as a preliminary stage in the development of stable steering control systems. To do so, the angle turned by each front wheel of a conventional tractor was independently measured by an optical encoder and fused to generate the Ackerman feedback angle. The proposed fusion algorithm analyzes the consistency of each signal with time and checks the coherence between left and right front wheels according to the vehicle steering mechanism. Field experiments demonstrated the benefits of using redundant sensors coupled through logic algorithms for estimating Ackerman angles as the harsh conditions of off-road environments often resulted in the unreliable performance of electronic devices.


In this paper we present our new findings on the growth, characterization and nano-devices based on ZnO nanowires. We will limit the scope of this article to low temperature grown ZnO nanowires, due to the fact that low temperature growth is suitable for many applications. On growth and size control we will present our methodology for the growth of ZnO nanowires on Si substrates using low temperature techniques. The effect of the annealing on these low temperature grown ZnO nanowires is investigated and discussed. We then present our results on the surface recombination velocity of ZnO nanowires. This will be followed by the demonstration of new prototype nano-devices. These nano-devices include the demonstration of two new electrochemical nano-sensors. These are the extended gate glucose sensor and the calcium ion selective sensor using ionophore membrane coating on ZnO nanowires. Finally we will present results from light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on our ZnO nanowires grown on p-type organic semiconductors. The effect of the interlayer design of this hybrid organic–inorganic LED on the emission properties is highlighted.


In recent years, Electrical Bioimpedance (EBI) methods have gained importance. These methods are often based on obtaining impedance spectrum in the range of β-dispersion, i.e. from a few kHz up to some MHz. To measure EBI a constant current is often injected and the voltage across the tissue under study is recorded. Due to the performance of the current source influences the performance of the entire system, in terms of frequency range, several designs have been implemented and studied. In this paper the basic structure of a Voltage-Controlled Current Source based on a single Op-Amp in inverter configuration with a floating load, known as load-in-the-loop current source, is revisited and studied deeply. We focus on the dependence of the output impedance with the circuit parameters, i.e. the feedback resistor and the inverter-input resistor, and the Op-Amp main parameters, i.e. open loop gain, CMRR and input impedance. After obtaining the experimental results, using modern Op-Amps, and comparing to the theoretical and simulated ones, they confirm the design under study can be a good solution for multi-frequency wideband EBI applications because of higher values of the output impedance than 100kΩ at 1MHz are obtained. Furthermore, an enhancement of the basic design, using a current conveyor as a first stage, is proposed, studied and implemented.


The economic theory of fertility choice builds predominantly on the unitary model of the household, in which there is a single household utility function and potential intra-household disagreement is abstracted from. Empirical evidence suggests, however, that many (potential) mothers and fathers disagree on whether to have children, on how many children to have, and on when to have them. In this paper, we review existing work that brings models of intrahousehold conflict and bargaining to bear on fertility choice, and we point out promising future directions for this line of research.


This study examined the attitudes of head nurses toward nurses' performance in special and general wards in instructional hospitals of Zahedan .Nurses have different roles in providing nursing cares .since prevention is one of the important goals of nursing cares. They take care of people with physical, mental, social and emotional aspects. These people have special needs which are associated with each of these dimensions. This study purpose is to examine the views of head nurses and to recognize strengths and weaknesses of these wards for planning right things to do. The aim of this study was to assess the performance quality of nurses, from the viewpoints of headnurses in special and general wards in instructional hospitals Zahedan city. This study is a cross sectional analytic study. In the study 252 graduated nurses who were working in the special and general wards of instructional hospitals in Zahedan were selected during the study .sampling was census 102 nurses were selected in special wards and 150nurses in general wards were selected randomly. The questionnaire was a ministry health checklist which was given to all head nurses for assessment. Statistical analysis was done using Pearson correlation and T test. Based on study results, quality performance scores of the nursing in special and general wards were respectively 103/1 and 109/2. There was a Significant statistical difference between the mean of nursing quality performance in special and general wards (p<0/001). A significant statistical correlation was observed between experience and the nursing performance quality score (p=0/03/ c=0.17). For each year of experience performance score has increased by 0/17. Results showed that the score of nurses' performance in special wards was lower than general wards and since nursing care is more specialized in special wards and patients are dependent to nurses, it is necessary to improve the strengths and omit the weaknesses for proper planning.


The inherited bacterium Wolbachia spreads through the manipulation of host reproduction, and has been suggested to be an important factor in arthropod evolution, from host speciation to the evolution of sex–determination systems. Past work has shown that members of this group may produce cytoplasmic incompatibility, feminize genetically male hosts, and induce host parthenogenesis. Here, we report an expansion of the range of reproductive manipulations produced by members of this clade, recording Wolbachia strains that kill male hosts during embryogenesis in two host species, the ladybird Adalia bipunctata, and the butterfly Acraea encedon. Both male–killing bacteria belong to the B group of Wolbachia. However, phylogenetic analyses were unable to resolve whether the bacteria in the two species are monophyletic, or represent independent origins of male–killing among the B–group Wolbachia. We also found significant divergence within the wsp gene of Wolbachia strains found in different A. bipunctata individuals, suggesting this host species contains two Wolbachia strains, diverged in wsp sequence but monophyletic. Our observations reinforce the notion that Wolbachia may be an important agent driving arthropod evolution, and corroborates previous suggestions that male–killing behaviour is easily evolved by invertebrate symbionts.


We introduce irregular product codes, a class of codes where each codeword is represented by a matrix and the entries in each row (column) of the matrix come from a component row (column) code. As opposed to standard product codes, we do not require that all component row codes nor all component column codes be the same. Relaxing this requirement can provide some additional attractive features such as allowing some regions of the codeword to be more error-resilient, providing a more refined spectrum of rates for finite lengths, and improved performance for some of these rates. We study these codes over erasure channels and prove that for any 0 <; ε <; 1, for many rate distributions on component row codes, there is a matching rate distribution on component column codes such that an irregular product code based on MDS codes with those rate distributions on the component codes has asymptotic rate 1 - ε and can decode on erasure channels having erasure probability <; ε (and having alphabet size equal to the alphabet size of the component MDS codes).


Ambient airborne particulate matter is known to cause various adverse health effects in humans. In a recent study on the environmental impacts of coal and tire combustion in a thermal power station, fine crystals of PbSO(4) (anglesite), ZnSO(4)·H(2)O (gunningite), and CaSO(4) (anhydrite) were identified in the stack emissions. Here, we have studied the toxic potential of these sulfate phases as particulates and their uptake in human alveolar epithelial cells (A549). Both PbSO(4) and CaSO(4) yielded no loss of cell viability, as determined by the WST-1 and NR assays. In contrast, a concentration-dependent increase in cytotoxicity was observed for Zn sulfate. For all analyzed sulfates, an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), assessed by the DCFH-DA assay and EPR, was observed, although to a varying extent. Again, Zn sulfate was the most active compound. Genotoxicity assays revealed concentration-dependent DNA damage and induction of micronuclei for Zn sulfate and, to a lower extent, for CaSO(4), whereas only slight effects could be found for PbSO(4). Moreover, changes of the cell cycle were observed for Zn sulfate and PbSO(4). It could be shown further that Zn sulfate increased the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) DNA binding activity and activated JNK. During our TEM investigations, no effect on the appearance of the A549 cells exposed to CaSO(4) compared to the nonexposed cells was observed, and in our experiments, only one CaSO(4) particle was detected in the cytoplasm. In the case of exposure to Zn sulfate, no particles were found in the cytoplasm of A549 cells, but we observed a concentration-dependent increase in the number and size of dark vesicles (presumably zincosomes). After exposure to PbSO(4), the A549 cells contained isolated particles as well as agglomerates both in vesicles and in the cytoplasm. Since these metal-sulfate particles are emitted into the atmosphere via the flue gas of coal-fired power stations, they may be globally abundant. Therefore, our study is of direct relevance to populations living near such power plants.


Integrally moulded hinges and tension bands are important features in packaging components for plastic closures and their function is critically dependent on the flow induced micromorphology in the hinge section. Polymer characteristics and processing of the hinge also have an influence on the hinge properties obtained. This study is aimed at obtaining interrelationships between polymer characteristics, in-cavity flow, microstructure development and hinge properties, to produce hinges with enhanced functional properties. Three different virgin polypropylene (PP) grades were investigated (homopolymer PP-H, random copolymer PP-RC and impact copolymer PP-IC) and injection moulding simulation was carried out using Moldflow software.
In-cavity data acquisition has been carried out for different sets of injection moulding conditions, using high performance transducers and a data acquisition system. A comparison between Moldflow simulation and practical injection moulding data suggests that, for thin wall injection moulded components the real time pressure data are in close agreement during the injection stage. During the packing stage there is some disagreement between these data, since the thickness of hinge and tension band sections are 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm respectively, suggesting that these dimensions are extending the capability of the software.An extensive study using a design of experiments (DoE) approach was carried out on both practical and predictive data. Injection velocity and melt temperature were the most influential factors on the component mechanical properties. From the optical micrographs it is observed that PP-RC has a finer micro-structure compared to PP-H and PP-IC and some micrographs confirm Moldflow simulation results in which hesitation effects are evident, as the flow converges into the thin hinge and tension band sections.
PP-clay nanocomposites (PP-CN) were prepared using a twin screw compounder. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has shown some evidence of dispersion and exfoliation of the clay particles in the PP matrix. However, X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show a reduction in inter-layer spacing of PPCN s possibly due to clay compaction. The addition of nano-clay however has not resulted in any significant improvements in the mechanical properties of hinges and tension bands. The high degree of molecular orientation induced in the hinge and tension-band sections appears to mask any improvements attributed to the addition of nano-clay.
From the reprocessed and post consumer recyclate (PCR) study conducted on hinges and tension bands, it is seen that with an increase in both the re-processing and PCR content there is a decrease in the component strength of around 14%, giving scope to potentially use PCR in future packaging applications.
Investigations conducted on colour pigments (violet and green) reveal that the onset of crystallisation for green pigmented mouldings is considerably higher (16°C) than for natural and violet mouldings. Optical micrographs also reveal a finer microstructural texture for green components, indicating a high nucleating capability of the green pigment. Irrespective of the colour, both for hinges and tension bands, the yield stress values were around twice as high as the values quoted in the manufacturer s data sheet for isotropic PP, due to the high levels of molecular orientation in the hinge and tension band sections.
In order to industrially validate the findings from the DoE study, commercial closures were produced in industry on a production tool then characterised. In the case of tension bands, there was a good agreement between the results obtained from lab scale and industrial study due to the relatively simple geometry. For hinges this agreement is not so clear.
Finally a comparison of mechanical properties of the 3 PP grades shows that PP-H has a higher yield stress compared to PP-IC and PP-RC and yield stress is significantly higher (yield strain values are lower) than values quoted by the manufacturer. The PhD study has confirmed the process conditions that are able to optimise all the interactive effects to improve functional properties in high volume parts in the packaging industry.


A wearable system based on a breathable cloth wristband equipped with stretchable strain gauge sensors were assembled and tested to detect a set of 16 different hand gestures. The sensors embedded on the wristband prototype do not require a direct contact with the skin, thus maximizing comfort. To evaluate the performance of the developed band, different gestures were labelled by using grasping information detected in real-time by commercial Force-Sensing Resistor (FSR) sensors. Signals recorded by the wristband were processed through two machine-learning algorithms, i.e. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), reaching accuracies of 87% and 95% respectively.


The typical educational profile of a youth placed in out-of-home care was
developed, and the needs of these students were compared to a variety of
educational settings available. The observations made at the Boys & Girls Homes
School and the interviews of teachers, administrators, social workers, and youths
were then used to develop a method of measuring the success of these youths
and the schools they attend. Results showed that as educators apply the
principles of individualization while understanding the concepts of resiliency
and a solution-focused approach, students who have been placed in out-of-home
care will succeed.


The dam safety regulations imposed by the individual states in the United States vary widely and provide inconsistent protection for the citizens of different states. The proximity of dams to inhabited areas, insufficient government dam safety regulations, and lax enforcement of existing regulations can result in a hazardous situation, especially if sufficient measures are not in place to provide a warning of impending dam failure. This paper reviews the various safety measures available to dam owners to reduce the impacts of a dam failure on downstream areas including Emergency Action Plans, dam inspections, and remote monitoring systems.


Most meteorites are fragments from recent collisions experienced in the asteroid belt. In such a hypervelocity collision, the smaller collision partner is destroyed, whereas a crater on the asteroid is formed or it is entirely disrupted, too. The present size distribution of the asteroid belt suggests that an asteroid with a 100 km radius is encountered 1014 times during the lifetime of the solar system by objects larger than 10 cm in radius; the formed craters cover the surface of the asteroid about 100 times. We present a Monte Carlo code that takes into account the statistical bombardment of individual infinitesimally small surface elements, the subsequent compaction of the underlying material, and the formation of a crater and a regolith layer. For the entire asteroid, 10,000 individual surface elements are calculated. We compare the ejected material from the calculated craters with the shock stage of meteorites with low petrologic type and find that these most likely stem from smaller parent bodies that do not possess a significant regolith layer. For larger objects, which accrete a regolith layer, a prediction of the thickness depending on the largest visible crater can be made. Additionally, we compare the crater distribution of an object initially 100 km in radius with the shape model of the asteroid (21) Lutetia, assuming it to be initially formed spherical with a radius that is equal to its longest present ellipsoid length. Here we find the shapes of both objects to show resemblance to each other.


Summary

1. In cultural landscapes, lake response to climate can be masked by land-use change and nutrient loss from their catchments. Palaeolimnological methods were used to reconstruct the ecological response of diatoms in a eutrophic lowland lake (White Lough, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland) to altered nutrient P loading and precipitation variability over c. 100 years.

2. 210Pb-dated sediment cores were analysed to determine diatom assemblage variability, biogenic silica concentration, geochemical phosphorus concentration and accumulation rate. Manure P and agricultural N surplus data were collated from documentary sources. Long-term trends in annual temperature and precipitation were derived from the Armagh Observatory.

3. Diatom community turnover from 1890 until c. 1960 was limited, and assemblages were dominated by Aulacoseira subarctica; after this date, changes primarily reflected a eutrophication sequence owing to increased diffuse nutrient inputs associated with intensification of land use (external P loading increased by a factor of three).

4. Diatom and biogenic Si profiles were compared with North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) records, an index of regional weather patterns. Biogenic Si exhibited a c. 7-year cycle, which tracked a cycle of similar timescale in the Armagh climate record for dry summers. In turn, this cycle was related to the variation in the NAO.

5. Monitoring data from 1971 to 2007 of nitrate exports from the Blackwater River showed that these too followed a roughly 7-year cycle at least up to 2000, in which dry summers were followed by sharp increases in nitrate export. It is argued that diatom production in White Lough reflects the cyclic behaviour in nitrate loading and the constraints that nitrogen availability places on the spring diatom bloom in a lake that is dominated by cyanobacteria.


The main purpose of this study is to assess the degree to which transformational leadership was practiced in the technical vocational education and training institutions (TVETIs) of Ethiopia. To this end, cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. The study was conducted in seven government TVET institutions selected through simple random sampling techniques. From these institutions, 122 participants were selected through proportionate, simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Questionnaire and interview were employed to collect data from teachers and leaders respectively. Both descriptive and inferential statistics, including mean, standard deviation and independent sample t-test were used to analyze the quantitative data. The data gathered through interviews were analyzed qualitatively using narration. The study found that the five transformational leadership models were being practiced low or below average in the TVET institutions. But, when the models were independently considered, the variable enabling others to act and model the way were rated relatively high whereas the remaining three leadership practices, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process and encouraging the heart were rated low by the respondents. The result shows that majority of the trainers in the TVETIs were not satisfied with the leaders' engagement in the five leadership practice of Kouzes and Posner's transformational leadership models. Leaders' failure to effectively lead change and innovation, lack of professional support for TVETI leaders and their incapability to use various approaches in securing and utilizing resources were the major problems hindered effective implementation of change in the institutions. It is recommended that the Oromia TVET commission should plan and invest resources in the development of leadership in the TVETIs of the region. The plan should focus on the utilization of best leadership practices that directly influence institutional effectiveness, relevant to the management of training institutions.

 Key words: Transformational leadership, educational change, Ethiopia, technical vocational education and training (TVET).


Overview Ineffective management of heart disease, asthma, diabetes and other chronic diseases costs the Australian health system more than $320 million each year in avoidable hospital admissions. At best, our primary care system provides only half the recommended care for many chronic conditions. Only a quarter of the nearly one million Australians diagnosed with type 2 diabetes get the monitoring and treatment recommended for their condition. Each year there are more than a quarter of a million admissions to hospital for health problems that potentially could have been prevented. Yet each year the government spends at least $1 billion on planning, coordinating and reviewing chronic disease management and encouraging good practice in primary care. Three quarters of Australians over the age of 65 have at least one chronic condition that puts them at risk of serious complications and premature death. Social, economic and environmental changes are the best way to prevent these diseases. But there are much better outcomes where good quality primary care services are in place. Our primary care system is not working anywhere near as well as it should because the way we pay for and organise services goes against what we know works. The role of GPs is vital, but the focus must move away from fee-for-service payments for one-off visits. A broader payment for integrated treatment would help to focus care on patients and long-term outcomes. Primary Health Networks should be given more responsibility for local primary care services. The evidence shows that a consistent, coordinated approach to specific diseases helps primary care more effectively prevent and manage chronic conditions. In regional areas, clear targets and well-designed incentives for disease prevention are vital. Simple reforms can reduce the burden on Australian hospitals, and make patients healthier for longer.


This review looks back at five decades of research into genetic susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC) and the insights these studies have provided. Initial evidence of a genetic basis of CRC stems from epidemiological studies in the 1950s and is further provided by the existence of multiple dominant predisposition syndromes. Genetic linkage and positional cloning studies identified the first high-penetrance genes for CRC in the 1980s and 1990s. More recent genome-wide association studies have identified common low-penetrance susceptibility loci and provide support for a polygenic model of disease susceptibility. These observations suggest a high proportion of CRC may arise in a group of susceptible individuals as a consequence of the combined effects of common low-penetrance risk alleles and rare variants conferring moderate CRC risks. Despite these advances, however, currently identified loci explain only a small fraction of the estimated heritability to CRC. It is hoped that a new generation of sequencing projects will help explain this missing heritability.


In The Hidden Rules of a Modern Antitrust, Ramsi Woodcock argues that courts' systematic use of the rule of reason, which underpins most of contemporary antitrust law, effectively amounts to an unwarranted blanket exemption from liability for potentially egregious practices. According to Woodcock, this is due to the interaction between the exorbitant cost of prosecuting cases under this standard (compared to the cost of enforcing per se rules), the courts' increasing application of the rule of reason, and the shrinking budgets of antitrust enforcement agencies.

As this Response discusses, Woodcock's bold claims ignore or misconstrue several critical aspects of the modern antitrust apparatus. Chief among these is the uncertainty that underpins antitrust enforcement, and the rule of reason's role in decreasing this uncertainty. It takes time and experience for courts to form an opinion about the value of certain forms of business conduct, and rule of reason litigation increases the accuracy of all subsequent litigation—and the ability of both economic actors and antitrust enforcers to predict judicial outcomes and adjust their practices accordingly. This stands in stark contrast to Woodcock's model, which assumes that courts are unable to differentiate between forms of ambiguous conduct (and yet simultaneously well informed enough about enforcers' budget constraints to know whether they can "afford" to litigate under the rule of reason).

Winston Churchill famously quipped that "it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time . . . ." Much of the same could be said about the rule of reason. While it is certainly not perfect, policymakers have yet to find another standard that provides the same flexibility to accommodate ever-evolving forms of conduct with initially ambiguous effects on consumer welfare. Woodcock's paper underplays these important virtues, while his more pointed critiques often miss the mark.


Geodynamic controls on Late Pliocene–Holocene kinematics of the Hellenic forearc are assessed using the fan–deltaic basin fill of the Messaras forearc basin of south–central Crete. Previously unrecognized 070° sinistral faults developed in wrench-dominated transtension with strike-slip:normal-slip ratios of 10:1 to 100:1. Coeval folds developed in proximity to the 070° sinistral faults during deposition of the Galini Formation, making them candidates to have developed in transtension, and new chronostratigraphic and 87Sr/86Sr data constrain the age of initial sinistral transtension and associated folding to c. 3.4 Ma. Sinistral fault activity continued through Late Holocene time based on the ages of displaced units with implications for seismic hazards in central Crete. The Messaras structural assemblages are symptomatic of the regional-scale Hellenic forearc with Plio-Pleistocene basins both offshore and onshore Crete controlled by sinistrally dominated 070° faults and secondary 020° extensional oversteps. Although the post-Miocene plate-convergence vectors became increasingly oblique, deformation in transtension, not transpression, has driven Hellenic forearc kinematics. Incipient collision with an African promontory blocked further outward expansion of the Aegean plate boundary along western Crete but induced forearc slivers to be displaced northeastward and sheared sinistrally off the free expanding edge of Aegea as the Cretan–Rhodes forearc was simultaneously stretched. Such a kinematic regime has probably operated since c. 3.4 Ma when the Messaras 070° wrench-dominated system became active and represents tectonic escape during incipient continental collision.


Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is a rapidly developing technology that employs optical fibers to detect acoustic disturbances in the subsurface. The Aquistore CO2 storage project uses time-lapse DAS VSP's to monitor injected CO2 in a deep geological reservoir (>3200 m) beneath the study site near Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada. Reservoir monitoring is a crucial component to any geological storage project, and aims to ensure the safe and effective containment of the injected fluids, and evaluate the integrity of the storage and sealing units.
An assessment of the ability of DAS VSP's to detect the CO2 response has been conducted for the Aquistore site. Prior to injection, fluid flow simulations were performed to predict CO2 distributions in the reservoir. These simulations were used to model the response of the CO2 plume in 2D time-lapse DAS VSP's. The expected responses were compared with estimates of time-lapse noise computed with field data from the baseline survey, and it was demonstrated that the plume would be visible in the reservoir after 27 kt of injection.
After 36 kt of CO2 injection, the first monitor dataset was acquired. 4D VSP processing and imaging were applied to produce time-lapse difference volumes of the reservoir. Acceptable repeatability was attained, with normalized root-mean-square (nRMS) values less than 0.4 beneath the observation and injection wells. An anomaly in the lower part of the reservoir near the observation and injection wells was attributed to the replacement of brine with CO2.
Updated fluid flow simulations were obtained that better replicated the injection parameters observed at the study site. Forward seismic modeling was then performed for 36 kt and 97 kt injection scenarios that reflected the 3D shot and receiver geometry in the field acquisitions. These data were processed using the same sequence applied to the field data to obtain comparable time-lapse difference volumes. Comparisons between the field and synthetic 36 kt anomalies were used to refine interpretations of the CO2 distribution in the reservoir. However, they also revealed the need to update the geological model to better reproduce the laterally asymmetric plume expansion.


The problem of detecting and tracking point targets in a sequence of infrared images with very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is investigated in this paper. A track before detect algorithm for infrared (IR) point target is developed based on particle filter. The particle filter is used to estimate the state of the target in track stage. The unnormalized weights of the output of the filter are used to approximately construct the likelihood ratio for hypothesis test in detection stage. Experiment results with the real image sequences that SNR is about 2.0 show that the proposed algorithm can successfully detect and track point target.


Ping-Wei San (PWS), a Chinese medical decoction, was used to improve digestive absorption. This study was aimed to determine whether treatment with PWS reduce gastric ulceration induced by indomethacin and influencing its anti-inflammatory effect. PWS was extracted with boiling water and the decoction was freeze-dried into powder (H-PWS). The amounts of glycyrrhizin and hesperidin in H-PWS were analyzed by a HPLC method to be 38 and 19 mg/g, respectively. Co-administration of H-PWS resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of indomethacin-induced gastric mucosal cell death. H-PWS (200 mg/kg) also alleviated the indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in male Wistar rats in vivo. The inhibition effects of NO and PGE2 production were enhanced by indomethancin co-treatment with H-PWS from LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. H-PWS (200 mg/kg) also augmented the anti-inflammatory effect of indomethacin in 1% carrageen-induced paw edema. Moreover, H-PWS co-treatment with indomethacin produced a lower PGE2 level in scrum than only indomethacin. Based on the results, co-treatment with H-PWS reduced the occurrence of indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers without affecting the anti-inflammatory effect of indomethacin. Therefore, we suggested that H-PWS can be developed as an anti-ulcer drug and H-PWS could be taken with indomethacin to decrease ulceration.