The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in social interaction and stereotyped behaviors. For the majority of individuals with ASD, the causes of the disorder remain unknown; however, in up to 25% of cases, a genetic cause can be identified. Chromosomal rearrangements as well as rare and de novo copy-number variants are present in ∼10-20% of individuals with ASD, compared with 1-2% in the general population and/or unaffected siblings. Rare and de novo coding-sequence mutations affecting neuronal genes have also been identified in ∼5-10% of individuals with ASD. Common variants such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms seem to contribute to ASD susceptibility, but, taken individually, their effects appear to be small. Despite a heterogeneous genetic landscape, the genes implicated thus far-which are involved in chromatin remodeling, metabolism, mRNA translation, and synaptic function-seem to converge in common pathways affecting neuronal and synaptic homeostasis. Animal models developed to study these genes should lead to a better understanding of the diversity of the genetic landscapes of ASD.


In situ spatial soot and temperature distributions were investigated experimentally for B20 (20% v/v butanol and balance mineral diesel blend) vis-a-vis mineral diesel using endoscopic visualization technique. Endoscope captured the in-cylinder combustion images in a production-grade direct injection compression ignition (DICI) engine at varying engine operating conditions. A comparative combustion data analysis using pressure-crank angle history and the captured endoscopic images was performed. An attempt was made to correlate the results of these two experimental investigations. Combustion duration (CD) obtained from the endoscopic images was relatively longer than the CD calculated from the thermodynamic analysis. Most research on soot and NOx emitted from the engine using a raw exhaust gas emission analyzer provides bulk, time-averaged, and cycle-averaged information about the pollutant formation. This investigation is unique wherein the spatial or time-resolved soot and NOx formation (Via spatial temperature distribution) are evaluated. The findings of this study support the research finding available in the open literature using an emission analyzer. This study and the technique therein on the deployment of engine endoscopy as an emerging optical technique is potentially useful to original automotive manufacturers (OEMs) in designing more efficient engines, capable of meeting upcoming stringent emission norms.


This thesis describes a research project which investigates certain aspects of the alkali-silica reaction in concrete. A factorial approach was adopted for the experimental stages of the investigation. Such an approach is based on proven statistical techniques and has the advantage of allowing any interaction between the experimental factors to be studied in addition to studying the main effect of each separate factor.

The experimental work was carried out in three stages. The first and second stages comprised physical tests which involved the monitoring of expansion in the test specimens. The third stage involved chemical analysis to determine the alkali content of the test specimens.

The main parameters which were included in the investigation were:

(a) the alkali content of the Portland cement
(b) the use of pulverised fuel ash as a cement replacement material
(c) the amount of reactive aggregate
(d) the free water content of the mix

In addition, the use of pulverised fuel ash as an admixture and the different effects produced by the two most commonly used reactive aggregates in laboratory tests (namely Pyrex glass and Beltane opal) were studied.

In general the experimental work was carried out using standard test methods as specified by the British Standards Institution and the American Society for Testing and Materials. In particular the "mortar bar method", as described 1n A.S.T.M. e227, was used extensively. Where necessary the standard test methods were adapted to suit the experimental nature of the investigation.

It is shown that the main effects of the experimental factors are all highly significant and thus have a considerable contribution towards the expansion of the mortar bar specimens. Moreover, the level of interaction between certain of the factors is also shown to be significant. This indicates that, in some cases, the effects of the individual factors are not independent. The experimental results also show the different responses produced by the two reactive aggregate materials.

With respect to the use of pulverised fuel ash, certain time dependent trends are discussed which may suggest some long term instability in the beneficial effect which pulverised fuel ash can achieve by reducing expansions. The factorial approach assisted in highlighting this time dependent effect in the experimental data.

The chemical analysis results have shown that pulverised fuel ash tends to increase the alkali content of the mortar bars. This is discussed with respect to the mode of operation of pulverised fuel ash in inhibiting expansion due to alkali-silica reaction, which is considered to be one of chemical reaction and not a simple dilution effect. An explanation of the contribution of pulverised fuel ash and the differences noted between its use with Pyrex glass and Beltane opal is hypothesised in terms of the relative affinity of each of these three materials for reaction with the hydroxyl ion present in the pore fluids.


The holiday mood is a seductive one, with its many competing discourses of hope, indulgence, generosity and belonging. We don rose coloured glasses to look back at our successes and dare to keep them on while looking forward. We fully expect that in the next few weeks, when our toes are firmly in the sand and our rosy glasses are at their most glorious tint, we will receive the promised report of the CYF 'overhaul.' This seasonal blog post is in anticipation of this. It is written by Bobby Bryan, a new social work academic at Te Kuritini o Waikato (Wintec). Bobby has worked for Child Youth and Family, the Office of the Children's Commissioner, Ministry of Health, Department of Corrections, non-government Youth Health Services, Kaupapa Māori family violence services, and as a social services consultant. He looks back on the good times of social services in Aotearoa New Zealand with the hope that the memory of these will provide strength for social workers and for Child Youth and Family in 2016


Abstract
Background: Despite the rise in the occurrence of skin cancer, primary care nurse practitioners are reluctant to perform skin cancer assessments during patient visits. Melanoma is almost always curable if detected in the early stages, but invasive disease accounts for 9,000 deaths per year (American Cancer Society, 2013). Changing knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding skin cancer assessments potentially leads to early detection and treatment of skin cancers and impacts patient outcomes. However, in order to change knowledge and attitudes, we must first assess them. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to validate a new skin cancer assessment tool instrument called KAP-SCA to measure knowledge, attitude, and practice in primary care NPs. Methods: Sequential mixed methods were used. First, focus group interviews with 14 primary care nurse practitioners were conducted during Phase I. Interviews were audio-recorded then transcribed verbatim and imported into ATLAS.ti. Phase II involved instrument development from a blueprint and calculation of content validity indexes (CVI) for items and
subscales. Phase III of this study included testing the validity and reliability of a KAP instrument using quantitative methods. This new instrument assesses primary care nurse practitioner knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding skin cancer assessment. Results: Content validity for the subscales was evaluated by CVI ranged from .90 to .95. The Cronbach's alpha was highest for the practice subscale (alpha =.89) while the lowest was seen with the knowledge subscales (alpha =.50). Construct validity assessed by exploratory factor analysis indicated the presence of three underlying factors, confidence in practice, confidence relating to education and NP role in practice. Implications for Practice: Interventions need to be developed based on the knowledge deficits and barriers to practice identified by these NPs including educational programs that focus on increasing primary care NPs' knowledge and confidence levels regarding skin cancer assessments and identification of malignant lesions. Conclusion: Beginning evidence of validity and reliability were found for the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice-Skin Cancer Assessments (KAP-SCA), however further studies are warranted.


We investigate the effect of finite bandwidth of the incident radiation on scattering by thin layers that introduce random phase or amplitude variations. In particular, we calculate the scintillation index of the propagating radiation for smoothly varying and fractal phase screens and for random telegraph wave and checkerboard amplitude screens. Increasing the bandwidth of the incident radiation reduces the fluctuations of the scattered intensity over the whole propagation path, except in the case of the smoothly varying phase screen, where geometrical optics features in the pattern persist in the focusing region.


The study of the climate variability in the past and present, correlating those with changes in the distribution range of species, has attracted considerable research interest. The genus Ablepharus consists of 10 recognized species, of which A. bivittatus , A. grayanus , and A. pannonicus are documented from Iran. In the present study, we modeled with MaxEnt the potential distribution areas and determined the suitable habitats in the past [mid-Holocene (MH) and the last interglacial (LIG)] and their current distribution for two species of snake-eyed skinks ( A. grayanus and A. pannonicus ) separately. Models of the species indicated good fit by the average high area under the curve (AUC) values ( A. grayanus = 0.929 ± 0.087 and A. pannonicus = 0.979 ± 0.007). Precipitation of the driest quarter of the year, mean temperature of the coldest quarter of the year, and precipitation of the driest month variables made important contributions to A. grayanus . Two important climate variables contributed importantly to A. pannonicus : temperature seasonality and mean temperature of the wettest quarter of the year and one topographic variable, slope. We conclude that these variables form a natural barrier for species dispersal. The MH and the LIG models indicated a larger suitable area than the current distribution.


Background. Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive disease even in early stages. There is a 30% five-year recurrence rate in stage I-III primary operable population. By gene expression analysis, an intrinsic heterogeneity was identified corresponding to different chemo sensitivity. A tendency towards aggressive adjuvant treatment is observable even though there are good prognostic histologies. Methods. We conducted a systematic review in order to identify the prognostic factors studied in early stages of TNBC. Results. Young age, metaplastic histology, peritumoral vascular invasion, high tumoral grade and high expression of Ki-67 were consistently prognostic factors for early recurrence. From biomolecular point of view, we found that bazal like, and the more recently described claudin low subtype, along with BRCA mutational status are clearly associated with poor 5-year disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Significantly associated with negative clinical outcome are also, EGFR overexpression, p53 deleterious mutation, Bcl2 negativity and androgen receptor down regulation. Despite having a questionable feasibility, the prognostic signatures, which in case of hormone negative tumors are based on immune modulatory genes, could lead to a new therapeutic approach and spare many newly diagnosed breast cancer patients from an aggressive therapeutic approach. Conclusion. Assessment of several biomarkers might indicate the high risk TNBC population is able to benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.


Cadherins are the primary calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion molecule and are essential to vertebrates. They ensure the integrity of epithelial barriers that allow for maintenance of homeostasis in humans and protection against invading microorganisms. A common invader capable of forging past this line of defense is the fungus Candida albicans. The main virulence mechanism of C. alibans in acidic environments is its secreted aspartyl proteinases (SAPs), which are hydrolytic enzymes that degrade cadherin-mediated cell adhesion leading to infection of the underlying tissues. Cadherin is normally resistant to cleavage by proteases due to stabilization of the protein structure by bound calcium and the high levels of calcium in the extracellular space. The binding of calcium to cadherin requires intact, functional calcium binding sites comprising clusters of carbonyls and negatively charged carboxylates. Thus, there are two main environmental factors that contribute to the ability of the SAPs to degrade cadherins in vivo: low pH protonates acidic carboxylates in the calcium binding sites, thereby decreasing the calcium binding affinity, and the dysregulated calcium concentration in the acidic lumen of the host tissue. This thesis investigates the pH and pCa dependence of protease susceptibility of Neural-cadherin (N-cadherin). The model protease used here is Endoproteinase Glu-C. As predicted, we observed an increase in susceptibility with a decrease in pH and an increase in pCa. There is one stable fragment that is formed after exposure to the protease with an apparent size of ~10,000 D based on migration in SDS-PAGE. Scanning the sequence of N-cadherin identified possible cleavage sites. Future studies will reveal the identity of this stable fragment.


The adhesion durability of coatings and encapsulant materials utilized in electronic packaging is vital for device reliability in the microelectronics industry. Due to adverse operating conditions such as high moisture and high temperature environments, the adhesion between an adhesive and its substrate is typically compromised. This thesis addresses the advantages of employing plasma pretreatments and surface derivatization using silane coupling agents as surface modification techniques in an effort to enhance the adhesive bonding of epoxy to SiC coated Si wafers (SiC/Si). Durability was evaluated by immersing coated-Si samples in aqueous solutions at elevated temperature (60 °C) to simulate prolonged severe operating conditions. Three surface modification approaches for the SiC/Si substrate to be discussed include: 1) a silane coupling agent treatment, which involves a reaction of either 3aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) or 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPS) with the substrate, 2) an oxygen plasma pretreatment followed by a silane treatment, and 3) a water/oxygen plasma pretreatment followed by a silane treatment. Samples were immersed in aqueous solutions at various pH at 60 °C for extended periods of time. Adhesion durability of treated epoxy/SiC/Si systems was qualitatively evaluated by visual inspection for debonding, and quantitatively evaluated using a probe test to evaluate the critical strain energy release rate Gc. Additionally, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) surface characterization was carried out following the surface treatments and again after complete failure in the durability tests. The durability tests illustrated that surface treatments involving an oxygen plasma pretreatment prior to silane derivatization resulted in significant improvement in adhesive performance. Furthermore, the results of XPS analysis suggested that the improved bonding was due to cleaning of the substrate surface, promotion of silane adsorption and the formation of a thicker oxide layer. The effectiveness of the surface modification methods in relationship to surface chemistry and adhesion for the epoxy/SiC/Si system is reported and discussed in this work.


Multiple-input and multiple-output processing techniques in fiber optical communications have been proposed as a promising approach to meet increasing demand for information throughput. In this context, the multiple channels correspond to the multiple modes or multiple cores or both in the fiber. In this paper, we characterize the distribution of the mutual information with Gaussian input in a simple channel model for this system. Assuming significant crosstalk between cores, negligible backscattering and near-lossless propagation in the fiber, we model the transmission channel as a random complex unitary matrix. The loss in the transmission may be parameterized by a number of unutilized channels in the fiber. We analyze the system in a dual fashion. First, we evaluate a closed-form expression for the outage probability, which is handy for small matrices. We also apply the asymptotic approach, in particular the Coulomb gas method from statistical mechanics, to obtain closed-form results for the ergodic mutual information, its variance as well as the outage probability for Gaussian input in the limit of large number of cores/modes. By comparing our analytic results to simulations, we see that, despite the fact that this method is nominally valid for large number of modes, our method is quite accurate even for small to modest number of channels.


The essays that Jill Stauffer and Bettina Bergo collect in this volume locate multiple affinities between the philosophies of Nietzsche and Levinas. Both philosophers question the nature of subjectivity and the meaning of responsibility after the "death of God." While Nietzsche poses the dilemmas of a self without a ground and of ethics at a time of cultural upheaval and demystification, Levinas wrestles with subjectivity and the sheer possibility of ethics after the Shoah. Both argue that goodness exists independently of calculative reason--for Nietzsche, goodness arises in a creative act moving beyond reaction and ressentiment; Levinas argues that goodness occurs in a spontaneous response to another person. In a world at once without God and haunted by multiple divinities, Nietzsche and Levinas reject transcendental foundations for politics and work toward an alternative vision encompassing a positive sense of creation, a complex fraternity or friendship, and rival notions of responsibility. Stauffer and Bergo group arguments around the following debates, which are far from settled: What is the reevaluation of ethics (and life) that Nietzsche and Levinas propose, and what does this imply for politics and sociality? What is a human subject--and what are substance, permanence, causality, and identity, whether social or ethical--in the wake of the demise of God as the highest being and the foundation of what is stable in existence? Finally, how can a "God" still inhabit philosophy, and what sort of name is this in the thought of Nietzsche and Levinas?


Lateral buckling is a global response to excessive compressive axial force due to thermal and internal pressure loads which when combined, exceeds the initiating Euler Buckling force and overcomes the lateral friction force reacting against a pipeline laid on the seabed.According to DNV-RP-F110, the integrity of a pipeline susceptible to buckling can be assured by either restraining the pipeline, thus sustaining large axial compressive forces, or releasing them through a combination of pipeline displacements; lateral buckles. Buckling may be rogue in nature or engineered at predetermined locations, either of which must demonstrate compliance to DNV OS F101. Engineered lateral buckles are a cost effective way to manage for example HP/HT pipelines as opposed to the construction of restraint designs. However, uncertainty in the initial buckle formation process and buckle behaviour may reduce design reliability; resulting in an increased level of redundancy in a buckle management system.This paper presents the vision of an engineering tool aimed at providing an integrated single model environment which enables straightforward engineering analysis, with application to all phases of design, and providing support to operations. Verification of buckling forces and post-buckling configurations is undertaken through comparison with Hobbs and Kerr analytical models and validated against ABAQUS.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


The behavior of unsaturated flow was investigated in a laboratory model. A constant and uniform supply of chemically equilibrated water was introduced to the upper surface of three artificial fractures in a surrogate fracture network consisting of a thin wall of uncemented limestone blocks. Water was collected from the lower boundary via fiberglass wicks placed at the bottom of each artificial fracture. Eight experiments were conducted to evaluate the repeatability of flow under nearly identical conditions and to characterize general patterns in flow behavior. Collected data revealed that flow generally converged to a single fracture in the bottom row of blocks. Periods of pathway switching were observed to be more common than periods with steady, constant flow pathways. We noted the importance of fracture intersections for integrating uniform flow and discharging a "fluid cascade," where water advances rapidly to the next capillary barrier creating a stop and start advance of water through the network. Under very similar initial moisture and boundary conditions, flow in the system was less repeatable than expected. The results of this simple experiment suggest that the interaction of multiple fracture intersections in a network creates flow behavior not generally recognized in popular conceptual and numerical models, (i.e., convergence of flow, pathway switching, and fluid cascades).


Glucocorticoids are used for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, cancer, and in prevention of organ rejects. A frequent secondary effect of longterm treatment with corticoids is the loss of bone mass, caused by several mechanisms: decrease in the intestinal calcium absorption, increase of the renal calcium excretion at the distal renal tubule, suppressive effect on the osteoblast and also in apoptosis of osteoclasts, inhibition in local production of IGF I (Insulin-like growth factor) and IGFBPs (binding IGF I proteins necessary for bone metabolism), and decrease on osteocalcin production. Longterm treatment with corticoids is associated with osteoporosis and vertebral fractures. To improve this condition, treatment with bisphosphonates has been proposed. We present here a clinical case of a girl with dermatomyositis and severe osteoporosis with vertebral crushes, who responded well to oral bisphophonate treatment.


From a practical point of view, the calibration of micro-simulation route choice parameters is a complex work. It is mainly the case in urban networks where the link travel time variability due to traffic lights and the high number of path possibilities make the traffic flow stability difficult to reach. This prensentation starts with a brief theoretical approach of route choice models and then underlines the specific problems of urban networks calibration. Some examples based on the Lausanne city network model are also shown. At the end, a discussion is open about the pertinence of the route choice models based on the user-equilibrium models. Indeed, different studies and practical experiences emphasize that the user knowledge of the different path possibilities and the currents traffic conditions are not as good as supposed by these methods. Finally some conclusions are displayed at the end of the presentation.


Architects and urbanists have been invited to submit ideas for the redevelopment of the South Bank Centre. This book discusses these ideas. The ten pre-finalist's projects include: Michael Hopkins and Partners; Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones; Richard Rogers Partnership; and Sir Norman Foster and Partners. The final chapter focuses on the three short-listed projects. The text includes a statement from each of the ten architects about cultural centres. The book also includes the edited transcript from a symposium held at the Centre, where a broad spectrum of participants voiced their views on "The Future of the South Bank". There is a short historical overview to introduce the volume, with contributions from Robert Maxwell and Andrew Saint.


There is no standardized solution to implement Internationalized Domain Name Systems (IDNS). Nowadays non-English Websites are being used without proper standardization, for example Chinese, Japanese & Korean (CJK), Arabic, French, German, Hindi and others are using their different solutions to implement Non-ASCII domain names, and enabling the Non-English users to use their own Websites in their own local scripts. This paper focuses on the currently used solutions, which unfortunately did not received acceptance by researchers and international organization like Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Multilingual Internet Names Consortium (MINC). We then present the concept of Meta Domain Name System (MDNS), which we believe, enables ASCII, as well as Non-ASCII, domain names to be resolve in simple and easy way.


A review of the reports required by federal regulations and the plant-specific Radiological Effluent Technical Specifications (RETS) for operations conducted during 1983 was performed. The periodic reports reviewed were the Annual Radiological Environmental Operating Report for 1983 and the Semiannual Radioactive Effluent Release Reports for 1983. The principal review guidelines were the plant's specific RETS, NUREG-0133, ''Preparation of Radiological Effluent Technical Specifications for Nuclear Power Plants'', and NRC Guidance on the Review of the Process Control Programs. The Licensee's submitted reports were found to be reasonably complete and consistent with the review guidelines. 8 refs.


One of the most brilliant courtiers and military leaders in Renaissance France, Jacques de Savoie, duke of Nemours, was head of the cadet branch of the house of Savoy, a dynasty that had ruled over a collection of lands in the Western Alps since the eleventh century. Jacques' cousin, Emanuel Filibert, duke of Savoy and ruler of the Sabaudian lands, fought against Jacques, and each expanded their influence at the other's expense, while also benefitting from the other's position. This study examines the complex and rich relationship of the noble cousins that spanned the battlefields, bedchambers, courts, and backrooms of taverns from Paris to Turin to the frontiers between the Genevois and Geneva. Each prince played key roles in sixteenth-century European politics due to their individual and dynastic identities. Jacques' apanage of the Genevois was a virtual state-within-a-state, the institutional expression of a simultaneously competitive and cooperative relationship between two branches of a sovereign house. Here Matthew Vester provides a new picture of the nobility and of the European political landscape that moves beyond old views and taps into the unspoken cultural rules governing dynastic relations.


This guide is intended as a starting point for research on Djibouti and lists resources on in BU Libraries African Studies collection as well as selected resources freely available online.


Influenza A virus (IAV) infections lead to severe inflammation in the airways. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) characteristically have exaggerated airway inflammation and are more susceptible to infections with severe symptoms and increased mortality. The mechanisms that control inflammation during IAV infection and the mechanisms of immune dysregulation in COPD are unclear. We found that IAV infections lead to increased inflammatory and antiviral responses in primary bronchial epithelial cells (pBECs) from healthy nonsmoking and smoking subjects. In pBECs from COPD patients, infections resulted in exaggerated inflammatory but deficient antiviral responses. A20 is an important negative regulator of NF-κB-mediated inflammatory but not antiviral responses, and A20 expression was reduced in COPD. IAV infection increased the expression of miR-125a or -b, which directly reduced the expression of A20 and mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS), and caused exaggerated inflammation and impaired antiviral responses. These events were replicated in vivo in a mouse model of experimental COPD. Thus, miR-125a or -b and A20 may be targeted therapeutically to inhibit excessive inflammatory responses and enhance antiviral immunity in IAV infections and in COPD.


This Paper provides a game theoretic extension of Radner's (1993) model of hierarchical information aggregation. It studies the role of the hierarchy design for the speed and quality of a collective decision process. The hierarchy is described as a programmed network of agents. The programme describes how information is processed within the network. The network of P identical managers has to aggregate information in the form of a set of n data items in order to make an informed decision. Each manager benefits from reaching an accurate decision but suffers from an individual cost of effort, which has to be provided in order to understand the information contained in a data item properly. We find that decentralized information processing increases incentives for information provision. There may be boundaries on the appropriate extend of decentralization, however. We also compare three different hierarchy designs: two balanced hierarchies and the fastest (skip-level) hierarchy, proposed by Radner. Skip-level reporting outperforms balanced hierarchies in terms of decision speed and in terms of decision quality.


Fisheries co-products are relatively high in some natural biological active components. The presented study attempts to investigate on the effect of natural pure ink and the muscle extract of the cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) on Cholestrol level of Wistar Rats consuming a high fat diet. The effects of the nutrient intake lipid rich on hypercholesterolemia was determined by a 30-day experiment, in 24 male rats of Wistar strain, aged six weeks and weighing about 200 g. The observed rats are divided into 4 homogeneous groups of six (no: 6); one group receives throughout the experiment a commercial standard diet; the other 03 groups are subjected to a ten-day adaptation phase with a standard commercial diet supplemented with lipids (30% animal fat) (high fat diet: R-HL). After a period of 30 days experiment, a group still consumed the same diet R-HL, the 2nd observed group consumed the HM R-HL supplemented with 250 mg/kg of muscle hydrolysate cuttlefish, and the 3rd EP group consumes the R-HL supplemented with 250 mg/kg pure ink of the cuttlefish. At the 30th date of experiment, the results have shown that the R-HL supplementation of HM and EP has no effect on the contents of total lipids in serum and liver in four groups of rats. However, it modifies their contents in different lipids (total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids). They also cause a 20% increase in the levels of serum proteins in the HM group compared to the HL group. Furthermore, assessment of lipid peroxidation by measuring the TBARS in serum and liver reveal a reduction of 50% in the HM group compared to the HL group. It is observed that some of bioactive components in muscle hydrolysates and pure ink of the cuttlefish (PUFA and bioactive peptides) studied possess considerable metabolic activities (anti-inflammatory and antioxidant). In conclusion, the study claims that the effect of Muscle Hydrolisate Supplementation (MHS) and natural pure ink of the cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) have a significant effects on lowering Cholestrol level, which will be interesting for an industrial development, for their role in prevention against cardiovascular complications associated with hypercholesterolemia.


Adipose tissue (AT) is the primary energy reservoir organ, and thereby plays a critical role in energy homeostasis and regulation of metabolism. AT expands in response to chronic overnutrition or aging and becomes a major source of inflammation that has marked influence on systemic metabolism. The chronic, sterile inflammation that occurs in the AT during the development of obesity or in aging contributes to onset of devastating diseases such as insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular pathologies. Numerous studies have shown that inflammation in the visceral AT of humans and animals is a critical trigger for the development of metabolic syndrome. This work underscores the well-supported conclusion that the inflammatory immune response and metabolic pathways in the AT are tightly interwoven by multiple layers of relatively conserved mechanisms. During the development of diet-induced obesity or age-associated adiposity, cells of the innate and the adaptive immune systems infiltrate and proliferate in the AT. Macrophages, which dominate AT-associated immune cells in mouse models of obesity, but are less dominant in obese people, have been studied extensively. However, cells of the adaptive immune system, including T cells and B cells, contribute significantly to AT inflammation, perhaps more in humans than in mice. Lymphocytes regulate recruitment of innate immune cells into AT, and produce cytokines that influence the helpful-to-harmful inflammatory balance that, in turn, regulates organismal metabolism. This review describes inflammation, or more precisely, metabolic inflammation (metaflammation) with an eye toward the AT and the roles lymphocytes play in regulation of systemic metabolism during obesity and aging. © 2017 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 7:1307-1337, 2017.


During Reconstruction, an alliance of southern planters and northern capitalists rebuilt the southern railway system using remnants of the Confederate railroads that had been built and destroyed during the Civil War. In the process of linking Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia by rail, this alliance created one of the largest corporations in the world, engendered bitter political struggles, and transformed the South in lasting ways, says Scott Nelson. Iron Confederacies uses the history of southern railways to explore linkages among the themes of states' rights, racial violence, labor strife, and big business in the nineteenth-century South. By 1868, Ku Klux Klan leaders had begun mobilizing white resentment against rapid economic change by asserting that railroad consolidation led to political corruption and black economic success. As Nelson notes, some of the Klan's most violent activity was concentrated along the Richmond-Atlanta rail corridor. But conflicts over railroads were eventually resolved, he argues, in agreements between northern railroad barons and Klan leaders that allowed white terrorism against black voters while surrendering states' control over the southern economy. |Focusing on the Reconstruction era, this book links the expansion of Southern railways by Southern planters and northern capitalists to issues of State's rights, racial violence, and big business.


In his preface to F. Wedekind's play, Spring Awakening, J. Lacan defended several theses, not only about adolescence, but also about what adolescence reveals and that is applicable to all. We will focus in particular on one of these theses: there is no initiation. From there, we will attempt to isolate the basis of the difficulty, and at the same time the necessity, of the adolescent's detachment from the knowledge of the parental Other.


Importance: Non-contrast head CT scan is the current standard for initial imaging of patients with head trauma or stroke symptoms.
Objective: To develop and validate a set of deep learning algorithms for automated detection of following key findings from non-contrast head CT scans: intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and its types, intraparenchymal (IPH), intraventricular (IVH), subdural (SDH), extradural (EDH) and subarachnoid (SAH) hemorrhages, calvarial fractures, midline shift and mass effect.
Design and Settings: We retrospectively collected a dataset containing 313,318 head CT scans along with their clinical reports from various centers. A part of this dataset (Qure25k dataset) was used to validate and the rest to develop algorithms. Additionally, a dataset (CQ500 dataset) was collected from different centers in two batches B1 & B2 to clinically validate the algorithms.
Main Outcomes and Measures: Original clinical radiology report and consensus of three independent radiologists were considered as gold standard for Qure25k and CQ500 datasets respectively. Area under receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) for each finding was primarily used to evaluate the algorithms.
Results: Qure25k dataset contained 21,095 scans (mean age 43.31; 42.87% female) while batches B1 and B2 of CQ500 dataset consisted of 214 (mean age 43.40; 43.92% female) and 277 (mean age 51.70; 30.31% female) scans respectively. On Qure25k dataset, the algorithms achieved AUCs of 0.9194, 0.8977, 0.9559, 0.9161, 0.9288 and 0.9044 for detecting ICH, IPH, IVH, SDH, EDH and SAH respectively. AUCs for the same on CQ500 dataset were 0.9419, 0.9544, 0.9310, 0.9521, 0.9731 and 0.9574 respectively. For detecting calvarial fractures, midline shift and mass effect, AUCs on Qure25k dataset were 0.9244, 0.9276 and 0.8583 respectively, while AUCs on CQ500 dataset were 0.9624, 0.9697 and 0.9216 respectively.


The question is to know which is the most fruitful procedure for the jurist who wishes to familiarize himself with a foreign law: is it preferable for him to use a synthesis - established for his use by the specialists in that field - of fundamental characteristics of the envisaged foreign law; or is it better that he should himself search for these characteristics in the cases, notes and commentaries? The question regarding the method of introductory works for the study of foreign laws therefore appears to us to be but one application of a more general problem: the problem of knowing whether the reasoning of jurists should proceed from principle or from particular instances. The answer to this complex question depends on certain data, i a those enumerated above; consequently it can be of relative value only.


Inflammatory cytokines modulate immune responses in the tumor microenvironment during progression/metastasis. In this study, we have assessed the role of IL-1 and IL-17 in the control of antitumor immunity versus progression in a model of experimental lung metastasis, using 3LL and B16 epithelial tumor cells. The absence of IL-1 signaling or its excess in the lung microenvironment (in IL-1β and IL-1R antagonist knockout [KO] mice, respectively) resulted in a poor prognosis and reduced T cell activity, compared with WT mice. In IL-1β KO mice, enhanced T regulatory cell development/function, due to a favorable in situ cytokine network and impairment in APC maturation, resulted in suppressed antitumor immunity, whereas in IL-1R antagonist KO mice, enhanced accumulation and activity of myeloid-derived suppressor cells were found. Reduced tumor progression along with improved T cell function was found in IL-17 KO mice, compared with WT mice. In the microenvironment of lung tumors, IL-1 induces IL-17 through recruitment of γ/δ T cells and their activation for IL-17 production, with no involvement of Th17 cells. These interactions were specific to the microenvironment of lung tumors, as in intrafootpad tumors in IL-1/IL-17 KO mice, different patterns of invasiveness were observed and no IL-17 could be locally detected. The results highlight the critical and unique role of IL-1, and cytokines induced by it such as IL-17, in determining the balance between inflammation and antitumor immunity in specific tumor microenvironments. Also, we suggest that intervention in IL-1/IL-17 production could be therapeutically used to tilt this balance toward enhanced antitumor immunity.


[1] The northern Gulf of Alaska (GOA) shelf experiences carbonate system variability on seasonal and annual time scales, but little information exists to resolve higher frequency variability in this region. To resolve this variability using platforms-of-opportunity, we present multiple linear regression (MLR) models constructed from hydrographic data collected along the Northeast Pacific Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (GLOBEC) Seward Line. The empirical algorithms predict dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) using observations of nitrate (NO3−), temperature, salinity and pressure from the surface to 500 m, with R2s > 0.97 and RMSE values of 11 µmol kg−1 for DIC and 9 µmol kg−1 for TA. We applied these relationships to high-resolution NO3− data sets collected during a novel 20 h glider flight and a GLOBEC mesoscale SeaSoar survey. Results from the glider flight demonstrated time/space along-isopycnal variability of aragonite saturations (Ωarag) associated with a dicothermal layer (a cold near-surface layer found in high latitude oceans) that rivaled changes seen vertically through the thermocline. The SeaSoar survey captured the uplift to <100 m of dense, high-pCO2 waters at the shelf break that had been forced by the passage of a Yakutat eddy. During this event, the aragonite saturation horizon (depth where Ωarag = 1) shoaled to a previously unseen depth in the northern GOA. This work is similar to recent studies aimed at predicting the carbonate system in continental margin settings, albeit demonstrates that a NO3−-based approach can be applied to high-latitude data collected from platforms capable of high-frequency measurements.


Urban infrastructure is poised for some major changes in the country with the current trends of rising levels of urbanisation. However, both Urban Local Bodies and Water Utilities are not fully prepared to meet with the challenge due to their dependence on old governance structures based on public management. What is required in the changing context is governance reform with change in their outlook and orientation, which requires a change in their structure, approach and functioning for giving better service performance. Mumbai is one such large Indian city experiencing this situation due to its tilt towards public ownership and management of water supply. This paper gives an overview of water supply system functioning in Mumbai city and the outcomes first; it then suggests that an improvement in water supply service is possible in the city through reforming the service through institutional restructuring, better functioning and private sector participation. It also discusses successful examples that could be replicated in the city and also the learnings from the failures of such attempts.


In this paper, we discuss security issues for cloud computing, Big data, Map Reduce and Hadoop environment. The main focus is on security issues in cloud computing that are associated with big data. Big data applications are a great benefit to organizations, business, companies and many large scale and small scale industries. We also discuss various possible solutions for the issues in cloud computing security and Hadoop. Cloud computing security is developing at a rapid pace which includes computer security, network security, information security, and data privacy. Cloud computing plays a very vital role in protecting data, applications and the related infrastructure with the help of policies, technologies, controls, and big data tools. Moreover, cloud computing, big data and its applications, advantages are likely to represent the most promising new frontiers in science.


Computationally hard search and optimization problems occur widely in engineering, business, science and logistics, in domains ranging from hardware and software design and verification, to drug design, planning and scheduling. Most of these problems are NP-complete, so no known polynomial-time algorithms exist. Usually, the available solution for a user facing such problems involves mathematical programming for example, integer-linear programming tools, constraint logic programming tools and development of custom-designed implementations of algorithms for solving NP-hard problems. Successful use of these approaches normally requires a deep knowledge of programming, and is often time consuming. Another approach to attack NP search problems is to utilize the knowledge of users to produce precise descriptions of the (search) problem in a declarative specification or modelling language. A solver then takes a specification, together with an instance of the problem, and produces a solution to the problem, if there is any. Model expansion (MX), the logical task of expanding a given (mathematical) structure by new relations, is one of the well-studied directions of this approach. Formally, in MX, the user axiomatizes their problem in a language. This axiomatization describes the relationship between an instance of the problem (a given finite structure, i.e., a universe together with some relations and functions), and its solutions (certain expansions of that structure). This thesis presents the Enfragmo system for specifying and solving combinatorial search problems. Enfragmo takes a problem specification, in which the axioms are expressed in an extension of first-order logic, and a problem instance as its input and produces a propositional conjunctive normal form formula that is sent to a propositional satisfiability (SAT) solver. In this thesis, we describe several techniques that we have developed in order to build our well performing solver, Enfragmo.


A novel strain of m-cresol-degrading bacterium, named as Lysinibacillus cresolivorans , was isolated from aerobic sludge from a coking wastewater treatment plant. This bacterium is able to utilise m-cresol as its sole source of carbon and energy. The optimal pH for growth is 6.8 ~ 7.3 and the optimal temperature is 35°C. Compared to organic nitrogen sources, inorganic nitrogen sources were easily utilised for the m-cresol biodegradation. The degradation rate of m-cresol at different starting concentrations was analysed with zero-order kinetic characteristics. When the initial concentration of m-cresol was 224.2 mg·l-1, the reaction rate reached a maximum at 46.80 mg·(l·h)-1.The cell growth kinetics was also investigated with initial m-cresol concentrations varying from 0 to 1 200 mg·l-1. The growth kinetics was well described by the Haldane kinetic models. The parameter values of m-cresol on cell growth were μmax = 0.89 h-1, Ks = 426.25 mg·l-1, Ki = 51.26 mg·l-1. Experiments supplementing growth with glucose indicated that this substrate increased the biomass, and also induced the biodegradation of m-cresol. From the results, it can be concluded that Lysinibacillus cresolivorans is an efficient m-cresoldegrading bacterium and that glucose plays multiple roles in the co-substrate condition. Keywords: m-cresol; biodegradation; Lysinibacillus cresolivorans; high efficient degrading bacterium


Wal-Mart's mighty presence is no longer restricted to America. To the alarm of the UK retail sector, June 1999 saw Wal-Mart devour Asda. And given Wal-Mart's track record in the rest of the world, such alarm is well-founded. For instance, within seven years of Wal-Mart invading Canada and Mexico it became the largest retailer in both countries. It took less than two years for it to become the fourth largest retailer in Germany, while France and several Scandinavian countries now look destined for Wal-Mart's shopping basket. In Sam We Trust offers an exhaustive in-depth investigation into this powerful retailing empire. Bob Ortega, The Wall Street Journal's authority on Wal-Mart, goes beyond the headlines and Sam Walton's carefully crafted public image to reveal the ruthless penny-pinching manipulator behind the visionary genius. He also provides an illuminating history of retailing that includes case studies of such important Wal-Mart competitors as Sears, J.C. Penny, Price Clubs and, of course, Kmart. In Sam We Trust describes in detail not only how Wal-Mart became what it is, but also how it works today. In this new edition, Bob Ortega brings us up to date with Wal-Mart's worldwide shopping spree and gives us a unique peep behind the doors of the Asda deal and its likely impact on British retailing, shoppers and communities. In Sam We Trust provides a fascinating context for current developments: Ortega's incisive analysis of Sam Walton's controversial rise to power and the creation of the world's most successful retail business makes for a shocking yet compelling read.


We consider the following (promise) problem, denoted ED (for Entropy Difference): The input is a pair of circuits, and YES instances (resp., NO instances) are such pairs in which the first (resp., second) circuit generates a distribution with noticeably higher entropy. On one hand we show that any language having a (honest-verifier) statistical zero-knowledge proof is Karp-reducible to ED. On the other hand, we present a public-coin (honest-verifier) statistical zero-knowledge proof for ED. Thus, we obtain an alternative proof of Okamoto's result by which HVSZK: (i.e., honest-verifier statistical zero knowledge) equals public-coin HVSZK. The new proof is much simpler than the original one. The above also yields a trivial proof that HVSZK: is closed under complementation (since ED easily reduces to its complement). Among the new results obtained is an equivalence of a weak notion of statistical zero knowledge to the standard one.


It has been reported that overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (erbB1) or its homologous receptor, HER2 (erbB2), can confer antiestrogen resistance to estrogen receptor (ER)-positive human breast cancer cells. Aberrant signaling by receptors of the erbB network up-regulates a number of signaling pathways, which include phospholipase C-gamma1, Ras-Raf-mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase-mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase and its target, the serine/threonine kinase Akt, stress-activated protein kinases, signal transducers and activators of transcription, and c-Jun-NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK). Akt has been reported to induce estrogen-independent transcription of ER. Here we show that transfection of ER-positive, HER2 gene-amplified BT-74 cells with an expression vector encoding dominant-negative (K179M) Akt1 partially restored the ability of tamoxifen to inhibit estradiol-stimulated ER reporter activity. Infection of MCF-7 cells with an adenovirus encoding myristoylated, constitutively active Akt induced ER reporter activity in the absence of estradiol and resulted in tamoxifen resistance of these cells in culture. Data will be presented to suggest that, in addition to mitogen-activated protein kinase, Akt is an important mediator of HER2-mediated antiestrogen resistance in human breast cancer cells.


This work covers electron positron pair production in spatially homogeneous electric (and magnetic) fields. Different field configurations are looked at in order to study various phenomena including multiphoton pair production, Sauter-Schwinger pair production and dynamically assisted pair production. The main focus lies on pulsed, rotating fields with one main frequency component which are called rotating Sauter pulses. The results are obtained via different numerical methods, that rest on different theoretical approaches. A generic method is derived from the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner (DHW) formalism which entails a modified quantum kinetic equation. We call the numerical solution of this equation the Wigner method. Other types of equations are derived from the DHW formalism as well and numerically solved with the aim to include magnetic fields. In the case of rotating Sauter pulses a completely different numerical method is developed, which is based on a semiclassical approach and therefore called the semiclassical method. A number of parameter studies are conducted to understand pair production in these rotating Sauter pulses. In those studies the Wigner method and the semiclassical method are compared exhaustively and found to complement each other. This makes it possible to cover the complete range of parameters of the rotating Sauter pulse, which helps to calculate the pair production rates for experiments involving counter-propagating circularly polarized laser light. An interpretation of the resulting pair production spectra is given. Due to the general nature of the Wigner method it is possible to study more general field configurations which include pulses with elliptic polarization, chirped pulses or bichromatic rotating Sauter pulses. Each of these exhibit interesting features, including the dynamically assisted Schwinger effect in bichromatic pulses, which could be useful in planning high-intensity laser experiments.


A user-oriented reliability model has been developed to measure the reliability of service that a system provides to a user community. It has been observed that in many systems, especially software systems, reliable service can be provided to a user when it is known that errors exist, provided that the service requested does not utilize the defective parts. The reliability of service, therefore, depends both on the reliability of the components and the probabilistic distribution of the utilization of the components to provide the service. In this paper, a user-oriented software reliability figure of merit is defined to measure the reliability of a software system with respect to a user environment. The effects of the user profile, which summarizes the characteristics of the users of a system, on system reliability are discussed. A simple Markov model is formulated to determine the reliability of a software system based on the reliability of each individual module and the measured intermodular transition probabilities as the user profile. Sensitivity analysis techniques are developed to determine modules most critical to system reliability. The applications of this model to develop cost-effective testing strategies and to determine the expected penalty cost of failures are also discussed. Some future refinements and extensions of the model are presented.


ABSTRACT The excavation of the Abri des Autours, a rock-shelter located in southern Belgium, enabled the discovery of three human burials, two dated to the Early Mesolithic and a third dated to the Middle Neolithic. In addition to the human bones, more than 200 faunal remains were uncovered. A taphonomic analysis was undertaken to determine whether their presence resulted from anthropogenic activities and whether they are linked to the burials. Two assemblages were distinguished. The majority of the fauna corresponds to remains of animals found scattered throughout the cave, including in the Mesolithic levels. These are mainly portions of carcasses brought in to the rockshelter by scavengers or predators. Therefore, their deposition did not result from human activity. Thus far, no animal bone had been found in direct association with Mesolithic burials in Belgium, and this site conforms to that pattern. Moreover, this interpretation corroborates the archaeological study, which did not uncover any traces of domestic activity in the cave, during either the Mesolithic or the Neolithic. On the other hand, several bone artefacts, including various tools and a pendant, were also identified. With the exception of an isolated artefact, all of these were clearly associated with the Middle Neolithic burial (Michelsberg culture). This is only the fourth Neolithic cave burial to have yielded animal bone artefacts in Belgium. A preliminary micro-wear analysis has confirmed that these objects had been used before being deposited and has allowed us to propose several hypotheses concerning their original use.


Law often compels the disclosure of information in particular—and, increasingly today, in visual—forms. Some judges conclude that such modern disclosure requirements break with the First Amendment interest in ensuring that consumers are "well informed." This Article brings an empirically dedicated perspective to such judicial analyses and provides a specific delineation—for three existing legally required visual communications—of data and tools that facilitate evidencebased assessment of the degree to which consumer perceptions are factually accurate in the presence versus the absence of such legally required visual communications.


Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is currently being deployed in government mandated livestock identification schemes across the world. RFID in its basic function can help authorities identify animals, especially when traceability becomes paramount during disease outbreaks across regions. This paper provides a view of how an RFID-enabled dairy farm can leverage mobile network infrastructure towards achieving total farm management. The data for the study was collected from two case studies, both NLIS (national livestock identification system) compliant dairy farms on the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia. The Cochrane and Strong Farms were used as models to illustrate the core and auxiliary technology components of an RFID-enabled dairy farm. This paper provides the first end-to-end view of the infrastructure and processes required to achieve an advanced RFID-enabled state-of-the-art dairy farm.


This paper addresses the question of how planning research could be reasserted to balance the relationship between theory and practice. To that end, a twofold approach is taken: on the one hand, different interrelations among planning theory, research and practice are set out building on Jacques Lacan's 'four discourses'—the master's, the university's, the hysteric's and the analyst's. On the other hand, a process to formulate the plan regulador (local normative master plan) of a canton in southern Costa Rica is drawn upon, through storytelling, to shed light on the aforementioned relations. The article's in-conclusion is that among planning theory, research and practice, rather than a synergic co-constitution, linkages that challenge, occlude, bypass or control one another are generated. Moreover, due to the apophenic ability of universal(izing)-technocratic(ized) theories to obviate the 'right measure' between action and reaction, discourses of research and practice are manipulated and the role of theory as 'master signifier' upheld. However, the 'counter-discourses' of both the hysteric and the analyst could be articulated by a planning 'critical-hysterical' research, which, in turn, would allow epiphanies to come to the fore, separate action from reaction and, pragmatically and dynamically, co-constitute planning theory, research and practice.


Two hundred and fifty-two schoolgirls with covert bacteriuria were followed up for 5 years. Forty-one girls were prescribed obligatory chemotherapy because of renal involvement, mainly scarring. Of the remaining 211 girls, 106 were randomly allocated to a no chemotherapy group and 105 to a chemotherapy group to receive a 2-year course of chemotherapy. Treatment was highly effective with 98% showing some response bacteriologically and 90% being culture-negative at 2 years. However, at 5 years—that is 3 years after stopping treatment—this had fallen to 64%. In the no chemotherapy group 40% had spontaneously become culture-negative at 2 years and this had increased to 49% at 5 years. The difference at 5 years between the two groups attains statistical significance. During follow-up, 11% of the no chemotherapy group and 9·5% of the chemotherapy group developed symptomatic disease of the urinary tract. Renal growth was measured by calculating regression lines for the relationship between kidney length and the distance between the 1st and 3rd lumbar vertebrae. The rate of growth of the kidneys over 5 years in the two randomised groups was similar. Only one girl (no chemotherapy group) developed a new renal scar during the study. Measurement of the growth rate of individual kidneys in the obligatory chemotherapy group showed that, despite chemotherapy, there was below average growth in 21 out of 33 scarred kidneys and in 8 patients the degree of renal scarring had increased. It was concluded that, when kidneys were radiologically normal, covert bacteriuria did not lead to renal damage or impaired renal growth in the subsequent 5 years, even if it remained untreated. Consequently, it is recommended that schoolchildren should not be screened for covert bacteriuria until a non-radiological method can be devised to detect those with renal scarring.


PDMS-based polyurethanes (PUs) grafted with monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG) were synthesized to develop a coating material for urinary catheters with a silicone surface for minimizing urinary tract infections. MPEG was grafted on PDMS-based PUs by two methods depending on the PU synthetic routes: esterification and allophanate reactions. It was confirmed from mechanical characterization that an increase of the hard segment amount enhanced the ultimate strength and Young's modulus, while reducing elongation at the end-points. The incorporation of MPEG in PDMS-based PUs induced a decrease in tensile strength and Young's modulus, and increased elongation at the break point due to its high flexibility. When hydrated in distilled water, mechanical properties of all PUs synthesized in this study deteriorated due to water absorption. It was evident from the bacterial adhesion test that PDMS-based PUs showed moderate resistance to adhesion of E. coli on their surfaces compared to Pellethane®, while the incorporation of MPEG significantly enhanced repellency to bacteria, including E. coli and S. epidermidis. We also studied the release behavior of an antibiotic drug, rifampicin, from the polymeric devices fabricated by solvent evaporation. Although rifampicin is hydrophilic and soluble in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer, it showed a sustained release over 45 days from PDMS-based PUs with MPEG that were grafted on ethylene glycol residues by allophanate reaction. This release characteristic was predominantly influenced by a hydrogen bond interaction between the polymers and rifampicin, which was confirmed through an ATR-IR study. This may imply that the specific interaction is responsible for the delayed release. Considering the mechanical properties, morphologies of drug-incorporated polymeric matrices, and drug release behaviors, PDMS-based PU with MPEG that were grafted on ethylene glycol (a chain extender) residues by allophanate reaction showed better material properties for uretharal catheter coating pusposes in order to minimize urinary tract infections.


Considerable improvements in the aerodynamic performance of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) can be achieved by integrating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and wind tunnel investigation in their design improvement. With the growing demand for energy worldwide, conventional sources are becoming more scarce and expensive. Wind is among the most popular and fastest growing sources of alternative energy in the world. It is an inexhaustible, indigenous resource, pollution-free, and available almost any time of the day, especially in coastal regions. Industry experts predict that, with proper development, wind energy could provide 20% of the nation's energy needs. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) may be as efficient and practical as, and simpler, and significantly cheaper to build and maintain than, horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). They have other inherent advantages; for example, they always face the wind. VAWTs include both a drag-type configuration, such as the Savonius rotor, and a lift-type configuration, such as the Darrieus rotor. The Savonius wind turbine is the simplest. Its operation depends on the difference in drag force when the wind strikes either the convex or concave part of its semi-cylindrical blades. It is good at self-starting and works independently of wind direction. However, its efficiency is relatively lower than that of the lift-type VAWTs. Due to its simple design and low construction cost, Savonius rotors are primarily used for water pumping and to generate wind power on a small scale and its large starting torque makes it suitable for starting other types of wind turbines that have inferior starting characteristics. Recently, some generators with high torque at low rotational speed, suitable for small-scale wind turbines, have been developed, suggesting that Savonius rotors may yet be used to generate electric power. The main goal of this research work is to improve the aerodynamic performance of the three bladed vertical axis Savonius wind turbine. Based on this goal, the objective of this project is to study the performance characteristics of the Savonius wind turbine scale models both experimentally and numerically. The turbine scale models will have different designs with different overlap ratios (ratio of gap between two adjacent blades and the rotor diameter) and without overlap within three blades. The experimental measurements and testing will be conducted in front of a low speed subsonic wind tunnel at different Reynolds number and the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) flow simulation around those design models will be performed by commercial CFD software FLUENT and GAMBIT.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


In a paper presented by Heimovaara (1993) a method of calibrating TDR sensors was presented using air and water. Time has moved on but time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors are still calibrated in a number of different ways. In this article we present a rigorous investigation of the method proposed by Heimovaara and demonstrate its accuracy. We demonstrate that the placement of a starting point in any place other than the one determined using Heimovaara's method results in erroneous permittivity measurement. This will be most significant at low values of permittivity. We propose that Heimovaara's method be adopted as a standard method for calibrating TDR sensors for measuring permittivity. The discussion centers on the placement of the first time marker used to measure the signal travel time from which permittivity is measured. Our modeling results suggest that this point is slightly forward of the apex of the bump on the waveform which corresponds to the impedance increase as the wave travels from the cable into the TDR sensor head. We also demonstrate that using the apex of this bump as a starting point reference can lead to erroneous measurements of travel time in layered dielectric media. Finally we examine the use of long cables to connect sensors to the TDR. We demonstrate that the travel time in the cable changes as a function of temperature and that fixed travel time markers based on cable length cause error in the measurement of travel time. For a 2.6-m cable the error was 1.6% at 50°C, and 4.7% for a 10.3-m cable, relative to calibration at 25°C. Software that tracks the sensor head either through the impedance mismatch caused by the head or using an electrical marker eliminates this source of error.


Despite the large number of studies on happiness at work in organizations, they are disperse and divergent and thus inconclusive. This makes the evolution of research on this topic and practicioners' decision-making regarding the happiness at work difficult. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this article proposes a perspective that encompasses the knowledge developed so far. To do so, it explores three issues: how happiness at work has been defined; the impact of happiness at work on organizational performance; and, what makes people happy at work. The integrated perspective this paper advances draws on the principles from Kahneman and Riis (2005), mainly focusing on antecedents of happiness at work and their impact on individual behavior in the organization.


This thoroughly revised new edition of a classic book provides a clinically inspired but scientifically guided approach to the biological foundations of human mental function in health and disease. It includes authoritative coverage of all the major areas related to behavioral neurology, neuropsychology, and neuropsychiatry. Each chapter, written by a world-renowned expert in the relevant area, provides an introductory background as well as an up-to-date review of the most recent developments. Clinical relevance is emphasized but is placed in the context of cognitive neuroscience, basic neuroscience, and functional imaging. Major cognitive domains such as frontal lobe function, attention and neglect, memory, language, prosody, complex visual processing, and object identification are reviewed in detail. A comprehensive chapter on behavioural neuroanatomy provides a background for brain-behaviour interactions in the cerebral cortex, limbic system, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebullum. Chapters on temperolimbic epilepsy, major psychiatric syndromes, and dementia provide in-depth analyses of these neurobehavioral entities and their neurobiological coordinates. Changes for this second edition include the reflection throughout the book of the new and flourishing alliance of behavioral neurology, neuropsychology, and neuropsychiatry with cognitive science;major revision of all chapters; new authorship of those on language and memory; and the inclusion of entirely new chapters on psychiatric syndromes and the dementias. Both as a textbook and a reference work, the second edition of Principles of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology represents an invaluable resource for behavioural neurologists, neuropsychologists, neuropsychiatrists, cognitive and basic neuroscientists, geriatricians, physiatrists, and their students and trainees.


We analyze the acceleration records of a vertical array to study the linear and nonlinear behavior of the soft soil layers at LSST site, Lotung, Taiwan. This array includes five triaxial accelerometers deployed at depths of 0, 6,11, 17 and 47 m. During a 6-year operation from 1985 to 1990, 30 earthquakes (4.0≦ML≦6.5) triggered this array. The maximum PGA value is 258 gals recorded at the surface station. Spectral analyses show that the strong motion (PGA>150 gals) causes the peaks of ratios to shift to lower predominant frequencies. The averaged spectral ratios of 15 well-recorded weak motion data (PGA <100 gals) are selected as a reference; the shift of the maximum predominant frequency can reach 20%. Compared with the weak motions, the strong motions also decrease the amplification factor. The maximum reduction of the amplification can reach 50%. The results of waveform simulation show that the linear model based on the Haskell method can well predict the weak motions at various depths. However, this linear model does not work for the strong motion data. Here a nonlinear numerical scheme, such as DESRA-2, is required and can significantly improve the simulation results although the PGA value at the surface station is still underestimated. Overall, the nonlinear numerical calculation is feasible to predict the strong motions for a horizontal layered structure.


The antifungal agent fluconazole was found to be a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 (P450) 2C9 (Ki = 7-8 microM), the principal enzyme responsible for the clearance (85%) of the more potent anticoagulant (S)-warfarin to the inactive (S)-7- and (S)-6-hydroxywarfarin metabolites in vivo. Fluconazole was also found to be a potent inhibitor of the P4503A4-catalyzed formation of (R)-10-hydroxywarfarin (Ki = 15-18 microM) as well as the low KM P450 enzymes responsible for the formation of (R)-6-, (R)-7-, and (R)-8-hydroxywarfarin (Ki = 2-6 microM). By contrast, experiments with the P4501A2 inhibitor furafylline and cDNA-expressed P4501A2 indicate that fluconazole is a weak inhibitor of this enzyme (Ki > 800 microM), as measured by the inability of fluconazole to significantly suppress the P4501A2-dependent 6-hydroxylation of (R)-warfarin. The prediction generated from these studies, that fluconazole is a potent in vivo inhibitor of warfarin metabolism, , is tested in complementary studies reported in the accompanying article, "Warfarin-Fluconazole II".


The debate on the relationship between the economy and the environment focuses on the question whether there is a trade-off between economic growth and environmental quality. In order to enable a quantification of this essentially empirical question, it is necessary to integrate the environment into economic models. This article considers the integration of the environment in models of economic growth. According to these models, technical progress constitutes a major driving force for economic growth. First, we give a short survey of the theory of endogenous growth, where, unlike in traditional growth theory, the pace of economic growth may depend on economies of scale in the production process. Furthermore, it is discussed how the concept of sustainable development can be made operational within the framework of models of economic growth. Next, we give an example of both a theoretical model of endogenous growth which integrates the environment, and of an empirical model based on the theory of economic growth. Finally, mechanisms of structural change are described that may be exploited by policy makers in order to enhance environmental quality in a growing economy.


Abstract Environmental managers in Russia face severe problems, both from Soviet-era and continuing environmental degradation and due to the weakness of current institutions with responsibilities for environmental protection. This paper draws on surveys, a case study of water pollution, and workshops on Russian environmental decisionmaking to explore prospects for environmental improvements. Using concepts from the regulatory reform literature on next-generation environmental policies, it focuses on the use of market incentives, the construction of a civil society, and community involvement, and emphasizes that Russian nongovernmental organizations may have a particularly important role to play in improving environmental management. Solidifying their legal base, coalition-building skills, and capability to conduct independent, pragmatic policy analyses would enhance their contribution.


Abstract Objective To estimate long term survival, health, and educational/social functioning in patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis compared with the general population. Design Nationwide population based cohort study using national registers. Setting Denmark. Participants All Danish residents diagnosed during 1986-2016 as having Lyme neuroborreliosis (n=2067), defined as a positive Borrelia burgdorferi intrathecal antibody test and a clinical diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis, and a comparison cohort from the general population matched on sex and date of birth (n=20 670). Main outcome measures Mortality rate ratios, incidence rate ratios of comorbidities, and differences in educational and social outcomes. Results Mortality among patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis was not higher than in the general population (mortality rate ratio 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.79 to 1.03). Lyme neuroborreliosis patients had increased risk of haematological (incidence rate ratio 3.07, 2.03 to 4.66) and non-melanoma skin cancers (1.49, 1.18 to 1.88). At diagnosis, Lyme neuroborreliosis patients had slightly higher employment and lower disability pension rates. After five years, patients and comparison cohort members had similar numbers of hospital contacts (difference −0.22, 95% confidence interval −0.45 to 0.02, in-hospital days/year; 0.37, −0.10 to 0.83, outpatient visits/year), employment rates (difference 1.5%, −2.1% to 5.1%), income (difference −1000, −20 000 to 18 000, Danish kroner), days of sick leave (difference −0.3, −3.5 to 3.0, per year), rates of receipt of a disability pension (difference −0.9%, −3.2% to 1.3%), and number of children (difference –0.10, −0.27 to 0.08). More patients were married (difference 4.8%, 2.2% to 7.4%) and had completed high school education (difference 7%, 1% to 12%). Conclusion A verified diagnosis of Lyme neuroborreliosis had no substantial effect on long term survival, health, or educational/social functioning. Nevertheless, the diagnosis decreased labour market involvement marginally and was associated with increased risk of haematological and non-melanoma skin cancers.


Second primary cancers (SPCs) account for an increasing proportion of all cancer diagnoses and family history of cancer may be a risk factor for SPCs. Using the Swedish Family‐Cancer Database on non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), we assessed the influence of family history on risk of SPCs and of SPCs on survival. NHL patients were identified from the years 1958 to 2015 and generalized Poisson models were used to calculate relative risks (RRs) for SPCs and familial SPCs. Among 14,393 NHL patients, a total of 1,866 (13.0%) were diagnosed with SPC. Familial risk of nine particular cancers was associated with risks of these cancers as SPCs, with twofold to fivefold increase in RRs. At the end of a 25‐year follow‐up period, the survival probability for persons with SPC was only 20% of that for patients without SPC; the hazard ratio for SPC was 1.59 (95% CI: 1.46–1.72). Survival could be predicted by the prognostic groups based on first cancers and HRs increase systematically with worse prognosis yielding a trend of p = 4.6 × 10−5. SPCs had deleterious consequences for survival in NHL patients. Family history was associated with increasing numbers of SPCs. Prevention of SPCs and their early detection is an important target in the overall strategy to improve survival in NHL patients. Counseling for avoidance of risk factors and targeted screening based on family history are feasible steps in risk reduction.


Background Chronic fatigue syndrome is likely to be a heterogeneous condition. Previous studies have empirically defined subgroups using combinations of clinical and biological variables. We aimed to explore the heterogeneity of chronic fatigue syndrome. Method We used baseline data from the PACE trial, which included 640 participants with chronic fatigue syndrome. Variable reduction, using a combination of clinical knowledge and principal component analyses, produced a final dataset of 26 variables for 541 patients. Latent class analysis was then used to empirically define subgroups. Results The most statistically significant and clinically recognizable model comprised five subgroups. The largest, 'core' subgroup (33% of participants), had relatively low scores across all domains and good self-efficacy. A further three subgroups were defined by: the presence of mood disorders (21%); the presence of features of other functional somatic syndromes (such as fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome) (21%); or by many symptoms – a group which combined features of both of the above (14%). The smallest 'avoidant–inactive' subgroup was characterized by physical inactivity, belief that symptoms were entirely physical in nature, and fear that they indicated harm (11%). Differences in the severity of fatigue and disability provided some discriminative validation of the subgroups. Conclusions In addition to providing further evidence for the heterogeneity of chronic fatigue syndrome, the subgroups identified may aid future research into the important aetiological factors of specific subtypes of chronic fatigue syndrome and the development of more personalized treatment approaches.


We studied the vapour-phase oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethyl lactate with air to give ethyl pyruvate over V2O5/TiO2 catalysts in a fixed-bed reactor. The nature of the vanadia species is changed by varying the vanadium surface density, and the corresponding structure of the VOx species was determined by XRD, UV-vis spectroscopy, XPS and H2-TPR. Monomeric and isolated vanadia species dominate at lower vanadium surface densities. As the surface density increases, two-dimensional polyvanadates and bulk-like vanadia crystallites become predominant. The activity per vanadium decreases with increasing vanadium surface density, indicating that the monomeric VOx species is better for pyruvate production and that the V–O–Ti bonds play an important role in the ODH of ethyl lactate. This is also confirmed by the superior catalytic performance of V2O5/TiO2 compared to vanadium supported on MgO, Al2O3, ZrO2 and CeO2. In situ DRIFT spectroscopy coupled with mass analysis shows that the reaction can involve three possible adsorption modes of ethyl lactate on the V2O5/TiO2 surface. Under anaerobic conditions, 2-hydroxypropionate forms, giving ethyl acetate as the major product. Conversely, under aerobic conditions, oxygen that is chemisorbed on V2O5/TiO2 is active and easily replenished from the gas phase, converting the ethyl-propionate-2-oxide intermediate into ethyl pyruvate.


As the nature of work in today's organizations becomes more complex, dynamic, and global, there has been increasing emphasis on distributed, "virtual" teams as organizing units of work. Despite their growing prevalence, relatively little is known about this new form of work unit. The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical framework to focus research toward understanding virtual teams and identifying implications for effective leadership. The authors focus on delineating the dimensions of a typology to characterize different types of virtual teams. First, the authors distinguish virtual teams from conventional teams to identify where current knowledge applies and new research needs exist. Second, the authors distinguish among different types of virtual teams, considering the critical role of task complexity in determining the underlying characteristics of virtual teams and leadership challenges the different types entail. Propositions addressing leadership implications for the effective management of virtual teams are proposed and discussed.


Functional and Structural Studies of Influenza B Virus Hemagglutinin by Fengyun Ni Influenza A and B viruses are major causes of seasonal flu epidemics each year. Hemagglutinin (HA) mediates the binding of virus to host cell and the fusion with host membrane. The crystal of HA in complex with antibody that reveals the mechanism by which antibody recognizes HA may not diffract to high resolution, thereby preventing the accurate interpretation of the structural model. The application of normal mode refinement that aims for improving the structure quality at the low resolution is tested. These studies provide some guidelines for future refinement of HA-antibody complex structures. By comparing the residues constituting the base of the receptor binding site of influenza A and B virus HAs, it is found that they share some similarities, except for a Phe at position 95 of influenza B virus hemagglutinin (BHA) versus Tyr in of influenza A virus hemagglutinin (AHA). The recombinant protein BHA containing the F95Y mutation exhibits the increased receptor binding affinity and specificity. However, recombinant viruses with the Phe95Tyr mutation show lower erythrocyte agglutination titer and decreased binding abilities with different cell lines. The replication of the Phe95Tyr mutant virus in mice is also attenuated. These data suggest that the increased receptor binding ability of HA alone is not advantageous to the pathogenesis of the viruses. The structure of BHA2 (a portion of BHA near the C-terminus) at the post-fusion state has been determined to 2.45 Å resolution. This protein forms a hairpin-like conformation rich in -helices. About 70 residues from the N-terminus is a threestranded coiled coil, and the remaining of the protein packs in anti-parallel against the groove formed by the central helices. In the post-fusion state of BHA2, the helix converted from the B-loop in pre-fusion state contacts the C-terminal fragment of this protein with more hydrophobic interactions as compared to AHA2. This structure illustrates the distinct stabilization strategy employed by BHA2 to form a post-fusion state that resembles that for AHA2. These studies will further the understanding of BHA with respect to its role in receptor binding ability and fusion.


Many 0/1 datasets have a very large number of variables; however, they are sparse and the dependency structure of the variables is simpler than the number of variables would suggest. Defining the effective dimensionality of such a dataset is a nontrivial problem. We consider the problem of defining a robust measure of dimension for 0/1 datasets, and show that the basic idea of fractal dimension can be adapted for binary data. However, as such the fractal dimension is difficult to interpret. Hence we introduce the concept of normalized fractal dimension. For a dataset D, its normalized fractal dimension counts the number of independent columns needed to achieve the unnormalized fractal dimension of D. The normalized fractal dimension measures the degree of dependency structure of the data. We study the properties of the normalized fractal dimension and discuss its computation. We give empirical results on the normalized fractal dimension, comparing it against PCA.


The President (Sir Peter Kent) congratulated Dr Maltman on a clear exposition of the problem. He commented that the Author had observed that no contacts of the ultramafic rocks were exposed, and asked whether it was not possible to produce an exposure by an artificial cut. Dr R. R. Skelhorn wondered whether two of the main pieces of evidence put forward by the author against the solid emplacement of the ultramafic masses, namely, the absence of shearing and the presence of mesh-textured serpentine, were valid. Was it possible that the rocks were sheared during emplacement and that the later process of serpentinization has masked the evidence; the ultramafic masses had acted as sponges to the water in the adjacent country rocks? If, however, the ultramafic masses were not tectonically emplaced then what evidence is there which indicates the nature of the magma and the process by which it crystallized? Dr N. H. Woodcock commented that, if the regional and small-scale structures were wholly post-emplacement, their style was largely irrelevant to the emplacement problem. Whilst the weight of evidence supported non-tectonic emplacement, the apparent absence of syn-emplacement structures was itself inconclusive. Detailed work on tectonically emplaced Mesozoic ophiolites in Greece (Smith & Woodcock, Proc. 5th Conf. Aegean Geol., in press) had revealed very little minor or major folding obviously associated with emplacement. Mr A. H. F. Robertson stated that according to the widely accepted definition of an ophiolite—a complete sequence of ultramafic and gabbroic rocks, sheeted dykes and mafic volcanics


A visit to the Leiden Museum by Professor Dr. L. F. de Beaufort, assembling data for his next volume on the Fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago, prompted me to investigate the nomenclatorial difficulties still existing around the Plectognath genus Triodon and its single known species. One of the principal items consulted, Herre's 1953 Check List of Philippine Fishes, itself not without serious flaws and therefore illustrative for the present problem, proved a very satisfactory starting-point, especially as it contains the only recent and rather extensive compilation of previous literature on the subject. Still, Herre's enumeration of references is not at all exhaustive, and numerous additions taken both from systematic literature and from general works, and a few from anatomical papers, can be added. A considerable number of these, though obviously still far from complete, can be found in the list of literature at the end of the present paper. Perusing through some sixty odd papers, it appeared that the genus Triodon hitherto has been ascribed mostly to Cuvier, occasionally to Reinwardt, or to Reinwardt in Cuvier, 1829. It further was clear that the name used for the single known species of the genus has almost invariably been Triodon bursarius, the authorship going to Cuvier, Reinwardt, or Reinwardt in Cuvier, but Reinwardt apparently having preference in most publications. Triodon macropterus Lesson hardly ever occurred (Dareste, 1849: Triodon macroptere), but it was given together with Triodon bursarius, without showing preference, in some of the old French "Dictionaires" (Guichenot in Guerin, 1839; Drapiez, 1845, 1853; Ba(udement?) in d'Orbigny, 1869). Finally, it was interesting to observe that nowhere any references are given to a publication by Reinwardt.


In sequential designs, one or more intermediate analyses of the emerging data are conducted to evaluate whether the experiment should be continued. This may be done to conserve resources or to allow a data monitoring board to evaluate safety and efficacy when subjects are entered in a staggered fashion over a long period of time. Conditional power (a frequentist concept) is the probability that the final result will be significant, given the data obtained up to the time of the interim look. Predictive power (a Bayesian concept) is the result of averaging the conditional power over the posterior distribution of effect size. Both of these methods fall under the heading of stochastic curtailment techniques. Further reading about the theory of these methods can be found in Jennison and Turnbull (2000), Chow and Chang (2007), Chang (2008), Proschan et.al (2006), and Dmitrienko et.al (2005).


The objectives of this preliminary study were to identify the Cladobotryum-like isolate and assess the antagonistic activity of this fungus against G. boninense and other fungal pathogens. Based on both morphological and molecular approaches, the unknown fungus was later described as Cladobotryum semicirculare. Under dual-culture assays, Cladobotryum semicirculare was observed to suppress radial mycelial growth of all the tested fungi with G. lucidum and G. boninense G37's growth being inhibited the most, 74.8% and 74.7%, respectively. Clonostachys sp. inhibited the least (12.7%). Through poison agar test, filtrates from C. semicirculare at 50% concentration were observed to suppress the mycelial growth of G. boninense G14 (35% inhibition) and G. lucidum (25% suppression), and with 100% filtrate concentration both Ganoderma species were showing more than 49% inhibition. Growth of all tested Ganoderma isolates and C. semicirculare, was faster under aerobic (2.2 to 3.8 mm per day for Ganoderma isolates and 4.3 mm for Cladobotryum) compared to anaerobic (1.6 to 2.2 mm per day for Ganoderma isolates and 1.4 mm per day for Cladobotryum) condition. In vitro mycoparasitism test confirmed that C. semicirculare reduced the re-isolation of G. lucidum (33.3%) and G. boninense (66.7%) mycelia. This study also provided the first report of G. boninense as the host for C. semicirculare.


This paper investigates the impact of risk attitudes on the decision to become an entrepreneur. In contrast to previous research, we handle endogeneity issues relying on an instrumental variables strategy considering as a source of exogenous variation in risk aversion the early exposure to a massive earthquake. Using several waves of the Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth (SHIW), we find that individuals experiencing an earthquake become significantly more risk averse. Second-stage estimates show that risk aversion has a significant negative impact on the probability of becoming an entrepreneur.


Electroluminescent (EL) color shift of Si-rich SiOx with its O/Si composition detuned by changing the RF plasma powers during N2O/SiH4 vapor deposition are investigated. The higher O/Si composition ratio of Si-rich SiOx films when enlarging the RF plasma power contributes to an increment of the insulating SiO2 resistivity and the shrinkage silicon quantum dots (Si-QDs), indicating the fewer injected carriers in Si-QDs. The increasing oxygen content in Si-rich SiOx shortens the diffusion length of Si atoms to constrain the buried Si-QD size. In contrast to the blue-shift of EL peak wavelength induced by enlarging the RF plasma powers, the lengthening deposition time causes a thicker Si-rich SiOx film with more excessive Si atoms, thus providing larger Si-QDs for longer wavelength EL. The EL spectra of metal-oxide-semiconductor light-emitting diodes are red-shifted with increasing the Si-rich SiOx thickness due to the varied Si-QD size and degraded electron conductivity. The uniformity of Si-QDs in Si-rich SiOx layer contributes to the obvious wavelength shift when applying the biased current. The EL peak has a slightly blue-shifted phenomenon when the biased current increases under the band filling effect.


The self-organizing map (SOM) has been widely used as a software tool for visualization of highdimensional data. Important SOM features include information compression while trying to preserve topological and metric relationship of the primary data items. As the SOM networks are used extensively for data display, usually the output grid is 2-D. The assumption of topological preservation in SOM is not true for many data mappings involving dimension reduction. With the automation of cluster detection in SOM, higher output dimensions can be used in problems involving discovery of classes in multidimensional data. This paper presents the U-array as an extension of the U-matrix for 3-D SOM output grids. The algorithm uses the watershed transform as well as a heuristic approach for determining the image markers to perform volume segmentation. Examples of automatic class discovery using U-arrays are also presented.


In this thesis I examine how and why political Islam has come to occupy the position of ontological "other" for the United States, in particular in the period after September 11th and in the context of the "war on terror". In order to do this, I argue that much of the language employed in analyses of political Islam within the various genres of academic writing, political statements, opinion pieces and think-tank reports during this period can be seen to constitute a "discourse" in the Foucaudian sense. In considering its epistemological, historical and ideological roots and manifold contemporary expressions, I demonstrate how this discourse has come to perform both an identity-constructing/affirming role, as well as a politically expedient, rhetorical justificatory function in mainstream political thought and action vis-a-vis the Muslim world. Despite its seemingly hegemonic hold on mainstream perspectives on political Islam, I examine the increasing body of literature that attempts to subvert the discourse on political Islam through critical reflection on issues of U.S./western identity, deconstruction of the discourse's central assumptions and paradigms and, finally, the development of a counter-discourse in its place. These critical endeavours, as well as my own contributions to the counter-discourse, are also discussed in this thesis.


Due to increased human population, industrialization, use of fertilizers and manmade activity, water is highly polluted with different harmful contaminants. Ground water gets contaminated due to weathering of rocks, leaching of soils, mining processes, etc. It is, therefore, necessary that the quality of drinking water should be checked at regular time interval, because use of contaminated drinking water by human population leads to various water borne diseases. In the present study, ground and surface water were collected from different site of Brambe and Central University of Jharkhand Campus, at Brambe, Ranchi District located in India for investigation of its physiochemical parameters. The local community is dependent on the groundwater and surface water for drinking and irrigation purpose. The objective of this study is to find out the quality of ground water and surface water around Brambe, and CUJ campus and report its suitability for domestic and agricultural purpose after appropriate treatment. These parameters are essential in determining quality of ground water and surface water. The results were compared with the drinking water guidelines of Indian Standard IS 10500 and IS 2296. Laboratory experiments were done using titrimetric method for analysis of various parameters like acidity, alkalinity, conductivity, pH, total hardness, free carbon dioxide and total solid and TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) were done using drying oven (105°C). Result of all parameters are within IS standard except alkalinity.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the long-term effects on swallowing function of concomitant continuous infusion hydroxyurea and hyperfractionated radiation therapy used to treat advanced head and neck carcinoma.

DESIGN
A prospective evaluation of swallowing function was performed on an inception cohort by analyzing posttreatment videoflouroscopic swallow function studies using radiological descriptors for pharyngeal transport abnormalities and temporal measures of structural movements, as well as by conducting patient interviews to assess alimentation, more than 1 year after tumor treatment (range, 52-124 weeks; median, 70 weeks).

SETTING
Academic tertiary care referral medical center.

PATIENTS
Ten patients, aged 44 to 71 years, with stage III and IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, or hypopharynx.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Radiographic and temporal swallow abnormalities, as well as functional status, were documented and compared with published norms and results of earlier swallowing studies when possible.

RESULTS
Pharyngeal transport dysfunction and anterior segment abnormalities, manifested by epiglottic dysmotility, vallecular residue, laryngeal penetration, or aspiration, were evident in all 10 patients. Posterior segment abnormalities, such as pharyngeal stasis, constrictor dysmotility and piriform residue were documented in 8 patients. Three patients developed late aspiration, and the majority of patients showed persistent or worsened delay in laryngeal movement compared with their earlier posttreatment evaluations. Also, 3 patients developed a hypopharyngeal stricture, and 6 patients continued to require gastrostomy tube supplementation beyond 1 year. There was no association between site of primary, duration to swallowing evaluation, and severity of dysfunction.

CONCLUSION
Prolonged and debilitating functional swallowing abnormalities may occur after this aggressive concomitant chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimen.


The paper addresses the way in which modern linguistics, − in particular, but not exclusively, the generative tradition − , has constructed its core concepts. It argues that a particular form of construction, reminiscent of, but crucially different from, abstraction, which is dubbed 'idealisation', plays a central role here. The resemblances and differences between abstractions and idealisations are investigated, and consequences of the reliance on idealisations are reviewed.