With more and more success of Software Defined Networking (SDN) in academia and industry, people have started to explore how to integrate SDN into military coalitions, to realize a software-defined coalition (SDC) infrastructure. However, the integration of SDN into SDC is non-trivial due to the insufficiencies of the SDN datapath for expressing the data plane behavior in SDC systems. In particular, SDC systems operate in highly dynamic tactical networks (e.g., wireless networks) and requires the data plane to support a wider range of events other than the traditional incoming packet event in wired SDN. In addition, SDC systems widely adopt in-network processing (INP) such as network coding, and supporting these functionalities in the data plane requires flexible storage for packets and complex operations on both packet headers and payload, which are not supported in the existing SDN datapath. In this paper, we tackle these issues by designing OpenSDC, a novel, generic SDC datapath which extends the current match-action primitive, with three new primitives: event, packet buffer, and packet INP block. The implementation of the proposed primitives can be optimized using a range of techniques to accelerate the event processing efficiency of OpenSDC. We implement a prototype of the proposed datapath, and demonstrate its ability to support network-coding-based 1+1 data delivery protection in dynamic tactical networks. Evaluation results show that compared with a state-of-the-art proactive protection system implemented using only match-action tables, our prototype significantly improves the efficiency and resiliency of tactical networks.


We address the quantisation of a model that induces the Little Sibling of the Big Rip (LSBR) abrupt event, where the dark energy content is described by means of a phantom-like fluid or a phantom scalar field. The quantisation is done in the framework of the Wheeler–DeWitt (WDW) equation and imposing the DeWitt boundary condition; i.e., the wave function vanishes close to the abrupt event. We analyse the WDW equation within two descriptions: First, when the dark energy content is described with a perfect fluid. This leaves the problem with the scale factor as the single degree of freedom. Second, when the dark energy content is described with a phantom scalar field in such a way that an additional degree of freedom is incorporated. Here, we have applied the Born–Oppenheimer (BO) approximation in order to simplify the WDW equation. In all cases, the obtained wave function vanishes when the LSBR takes place, thus fulfilling the DeWitt boundary condition.


"The Geometry of Type" explores 100 traditional and modern typefaces in loving detail, with a full spread devoted to each entry. Characters from each typeface are enlarged and annotated to reveal key features, anatomical details, and the finer, often-overlooked elements of type design, which shows how these attributes affect mood and readability. Sidebar information lists the designer and foundry, the year of release and the different weights and styles available, while feature boxes explain the origins and best uses for each typeface, such as whether it is suitable for running text or as a display font for headlines. To help the reader spot each typeface in the wider world, the full character set is shown, and the best letters for identification are highlighted. This beautiful and highly practical work of reference for font spotters, designers and users is a close-up celebration of typefaces and great type design.


Pediatric Critical Care Medicine www.pccmjournal.org e379 Objectives: Fetal tracheal occlusion of hypoplastic rabbit lungs results in lung growth and alveolarization although the surfactant protein messenger RNA expression is decreased and the transforming growth factor-β pathway induced. The prenatal filling of healthy rabbit lungs with perfluorooctylbromide augments lung growth without suppression of surfactant protein synthesis. We hypothesizes that Intratracheal perfluorooctylbromide instillation improves lung growth, mechanics, and extracellular matrix synthesis in a fetal rabbit model of lung hypoplasia induced by diaphragmatic hernia. Setting and Interventions: On day 23 of gestation, DH was induced by fetal surgery in healthy rabbit fetuses. Five days later, 0.8ml of perfluorooctylbromide (diaphragmatic hernia-perfluorooctylbromide) or saline (diaphragmatic hernia-saline) was randomly administered into the lungs of previously operated fetuses. After term delivery (day 31), lung mechanics, lung to body weight ratio, messenger RNA levels of target genes, assessment of lung histology, and morphological distribution of elastin and collagen were determined. Nonoperated fetuses served as controls. Measurements and Main Results: Fetal instillation of perfluorooctylbromide in hypoplastic lungs resulted in an improvement of lungto-body weight ratio (0.016 vs 0.013 g/g; p = 0.05), total lung capacity (23.4 vs 15.4 μL/g; p = 0.03), and compliance (2.4 vs 1.2 mL/cm H2O; p = 0.007) as compared to diaphragmatic herniasaline. In accordance with the results from lung function analysis, elastin staining of pulmonary tissue revealed a physiological distribution of elastic fiber to the tips of the secondary crests in the diaphragmatic hernia-perfluorooctylbromide group. Likewise, messenger RNA expression was induced in genes associated with extracellular matrix remodeling (matrix metalloproteinase-2, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2). Surfactant protein expression was similar in the diaphragmatic hernia-perfluorooctylbromide and diaphragmatic hernia-saline groups. Distal airway size, mean linear intercept, as well as airspace and tissue fractions were similar in diaphragmatic hernia-perfluorooctylbromide, diaphragmatic hernia-saline, and control groups. Conclusions: Fetal perfluorooctylbromide treatment improves lung growth, lung mechanics, and extracellular matrix remodeling in hypoplastic lungs, most probably due to transient pulmonary stretch, preserved fetal breathing movements, and its physical characteristics. Perfluorooctylbromide instillation is a promising approach for prenatal therapy of lung hypoplasia. (Pediatr Crit Care Med 2014; 15:e379–e388)


This paper presents a kind of message conversion method between wired/wireless hybrid network, aiming at meeting the encapsulation and transmission application requirements of Building Automation and Control network (BACnet) protocol messages in ZigBee network. It also proposes a kind of compatible frame structure and addressing method which is specific to wired/wireless network hybrid transmission. It discusses a design of BACnet/ZigBee wireless temperature sensor node from the point of software and hardware, and completes node software and hardware design of BACnet/ZigBee wireless temperature sensor by the embedded system Lm3s6911+, and bidirectional parsing, encapsulating, addressing, sending and receiving process between ZigBee messages and BACnet Ethernet messages are realized. This solution also can extend the current transmission and application range of BACnet messages, and provide an effective way to wired/wireless network hybrid transmission of building automation data.


INTRODUCTION Banks protect customers' security in three main techniques: passwords, encryption, and firewalls/server security. Passwords and user names are an essential element of online security. Passwords ensure that only those authorized have access to an account. However, a hacker could intercept a user name and password during transmission and uses them to access the account. This study proposed that there is a need for an additional authentication due to the fact that trust has new dimensions in financial services. Several studies have identified trust as an important factor influencing customer participation in web-based commerce (Cheung & Lee, 2000; Koufaris et al, 2005; Stewart et al, 2001; Saleh, 2003). Saleh assumed Internet security to be a major obstacle to the adoption of online banking, which made customers concerned about the safety of their online accounts and risk of fraudulent transactions. Based on the findings of Saleh dissertation, improved security can improve Trust in Online Banking (Saleh, 2003). THREAT AND VULNERABILITY OF ONLINE SERVICES The threat can come from anyone with the motivation to attempt to gain unauthorized access to the network, or from anyone with authorized access to the network. Therefore, it is possible that the threat can be anyone. The vulnerability to the threat depends on several factors, such as motivation and trust. Motivation can be assessed by analyzing how useful access to or destruction of the network might be to someone. Trust can be determined by knowing how well an organization can trust the authorized users and/or how well trained the users are in their understanding of what is acceptable use of the network and what is not acceptable use. Most threats that users face are not new, but the Internet makes them potentially more dangerous. Vulnerability essentially comes from failures of the security system to protect the network from an unauthorized person gaining access to the banking network system. In addition, it can come from failures to protect the network system from someone within the network (e.g., an unauthorized employee) intentionally or accidentally gaining access to or damaging the network. "Hackers count on the fact that many organizations won't have addressed certain vulnerabilities on their systems; unfortunately, they're often correct" (Betts, 2000). Banks protect customers' security by means of passwords, encryption, and firewalls (a combination of computer hardware and software that restrict the flow of information between computers). However, this study finds that there have been security breaches that bring serious question whether the banking system is fully capable of protecting existing bank accounts from cyber criminals. "So far, at least one person has taken advantage of the flaw in the system. That individual bragged to an Internet newsgroup that he or she had transferred $25,000 (US$) from an account that "has millions of dollars in funds" and had withdrawn $4,500 in cash" (Greenberg & Caswell, 2001). Several modern models in preventing and detecting fraud are evolving and being applied to many banking systems. However, they have no effective detection mechanism to identify legitimate users and trace their unlawful activities (Dandash et al, 2007). ONLINE BANKING SECURITY SYSTEM All major retail banks offer an online channel for transaction processing as well as product sales to a certain extent. Still, the most advanced channels are often provided by direct banks, but by far not all direct banking customers are also online banking customers. A lot still prefer traditional telephone banking or ATMs and service terminals (Berger & Gensler, 2007). In online banking as with traditional banking methods, security is a primary concern. Banks have taken every precaution necessary to be sure that information is transmitted safely and securely. The security of online banking application is addressed at three levels (see figure 1). …


This study investigated gambling among Danish and Swedish male elite football players. A cross-sectional design was used to survey 323 players (Mage = 22.08, SD = 5.15). The survey included a screening tool for gambling, as well as measures for depression and sport anxiety. The overall rate of players identified as at-risk gamblers was 16.1%. Linear regression analyses revealed that depression and sport anxiety significantly predicted gambling behaviours, and explained 2% and 6% of variance, respectively. The age of the players and the age at which they specialize did not moderate these relationships. Further research on gambling in football and its relation to mental disorders is needed.


We propose modifications to the Code such that use of a hyphen in the name of a fossil-genus is treated as an error to be corrected by deletion of the hyphen. This will circumvent the need to conserve the numerous de-hyphenated names against unused hyphenated forms. We propose changes to Art. 60 of the Code to allow this correction, and the addition of a phrase in Art. 20 to add clarity to the naming of fossil-genera.


OBJECTIVE
MR neurography (MRN) has increasingly been used in clinical practice for the evaluation of peripheral nerve disease. This article reviews the historic perspective of MRN, the current imaging trends of this modality, and the future directions and applications that have shown potential for improved imaging and diagnostic capabilities.

CONCLUSION
MRN has come a long way in the past 2 decades. Excellent depiction of 3D nerve anatomy and pathology is currently possible. Further technical developments in diffusion-based nerve and muscle imaging, whole-body MRN, and nerve-specific MR contrast agents will likely play a major role in advancing this novel field and understanding peripheral neuromuscular diseases in the years to come.


Considering either two independent i.i.d. samples, or two independent samples generated from a heteroscedastic regression model, or two independent Poisson processes, we address the question of testing equality of their respective distributions. We first propose single testing procedures based on a general symmetric kernel. The corresponding critical values are chosen from a wild or permutation bootstrap approach, and the obtained tests are exactly (and not just asymptotically) of level . We then introduce an aggregation method, which enables to overcome the difficulty of choosing a kernel and/or the parameters of the kernel. We derive non-asymptotic properties for the aggregated tests, proving that they may be optimal in a classical statistical sense.


In order to test the role of large-scale magnetic fields in quasi-periodic oscillation phenomena observed in microquasars, we study the oscillatory motion of charged particles in the vicinity of a Schwarzschild black hole immersed into an external asymptotically uniform magnetic field. We determine the fundamental frequencies of small harmonic oscillations of charged test particles around stable circular orbits in the equatorial plane of a magnetized black hole, and discuss the radial profiles of frequencies of the radial and latitudinal harmonic oscillations in dependence on the mass of the black hole and the strength of the magnetic field. We demonstrate that assuming relevance of resonant phenomena of the radial and latitudinal oscillations of charged particles at their frequency ratio 3 : 2 ?> , the oscillatory frequencies of charged particles can be well related to the frequencies of the twin high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations observed in the microquasars GRS 1915+105, XTE 1550–564 and GRO 1655–40.


The Si-phenyl derivatives of 1-, 2-, 9- silaanthracenes have been subjected to theoretical analysis with density functional theory (B3LYP/6-31G(d)) to obtain their molecular orbital properties. 2-silaanthracene has been found to be thermodynamically the most stable derivative among the trio. Moreover, the effects of the position of the Si substitution and phenyl attachment on the aromaticity of the parent anthracene have been investigated by NICS calculations at ring centers. The structures have been found to be less aromatic with respect to their unsubstituted counterparts.


Increasing antibiotic resistance of veterinary importance is of global health significance and concerns, due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria originating from animals; therefore, easily obtainable and cheap alternatives to antibiotic use in prophylaxis and also as growth promoters are imperative. Antibiotic resistance of 73 and 51 gram-negative, indicator bacterial strains isolated from 68 crop and 51 gizzard contents of layer hens respectively, and identified as Citrobacter , Enterobacter , Escherichia coli , Klebsiella , Proteus , Salmonella , Shigella and Vibrio species were determined. The bacterial flora exhibited in vitro resistance to one or more antibiotics but the most generally resisted antibiotics (discs) were amoxycillin (66.7 to 100%; 71.4 to 100%), augmentin (64.3 to 100%; 50.0 to 100%), cotrimoxazole (42.6 to 100%; 42.1 to 100%), nitrofurantoin (32.1 to 66.7%; 25.0 to 100%) and tetracycline (36.4 to 60.0%; 42.1 to 100%) respectively; while 31 different antibiotic resistant patterns were recorded. Essential oils of Eugenia aromatica (90.9 to 100%), Ageratum (27.3 to 100%), Chrysophyllum albidum juice (22.2 to 100%), lactic acid (100%), acetic acid (72.7 to 100%) and carvone (33.3 to 100%) were however, inhibitory towards the multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria. This study is the first to conclude that essential oils of Ageratum, Eugenia, Anacardium, as well as carvone, Chrysophyllum albidum juice, lactic and acetic acids can serve as easily-produced, natural bio-antibacterial agents of poultry importance instead of antibiotics, in Nigeria.


Expert critiquing systems are a type of human-computer collaborative system in which a computer agent presents reasoned opinions about a human agent's problem-solving process for a given task. The challenge in such systems is to provide timely critiques relevant to the user's focus of attention. A problem with many expert critiquing systems is that their critiques are not always timely or relevant; consequently such systems interfere with problem-solving rather than provide assistance. The problem arises in part from insufficient representations of the human's problem-solving processes. In this paper, we discuss the flexible use of an agent model based on a task-decomposition hierarchy of human experts in a critiquing system called SEDAR. The model differs from previous research efforts in three ways: 1) the structure of the model, 2) the function the model performs in the expert critiquing system, and 3) the influence of the model on communication between the computer and human agents. A prototype of SEDAR was implemented for the flat and low-slope roof design domain. The results of early testing on the prototype show that SEDAR assists users effectively and reduces the error rate.


The recently developed poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) has been gaining attraction as a biomaterial for tissue engineering applications. Reported in 2002, a simple polycondensation method was developed to synthesize PGS for soft tissue engineering applications. It has since become a highly sought after biomaterial due to its soft, robust and flexible characteristics and it is relatively low cost compared to other biodegradable elastomers currently available in the market. We summarise in this review, the various synthetic approaches of PGS and highlight selected applications in nerve guidance, soft tissue regeneration, vascular and myocardial tissue regeneration, blood vessel reconstruction, drug delivery, and the replacement of photoreceptor cells. A critical assessment of the material is provided as a scope for future improvement. The future outlook of this material is also provided at the end of this review.


In this paper we continue our study of the Frobenius instability locus in the
coarse moduli space of semi-stable vector bundles of rank $r$ and degree $0$
over a smooth projective curve defined over an algebraically closed field of
characteristic $p>0$. In a previous paper we identified the "maximal" Frobenius
instability strata with opers (more precisely as opers of type $1$ in the
terminology of the present paper) and related them to certain Quot-schemes of
Frobenius direct images of line bundles. The main aim of this paper is to
describe for any integer $q \geq 1$ a conjectural generalization of this
correspondence between opers of type $q$ (which we introduce here) and
Quot-schemes of Frobenius direct images of vector bundles of rank $q$. We also
give a conjectural formula for the dimension of the Frobenius instability
locus.

 Comment: 17 pages; Final version Epijournal de G'eom'etrie Alg'ebrique, Volume
 4 (2020), Article Nr. 17


nfectious diseases are the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is increasing concern of indiscriminate use of antibiotics and incidences of multiple antibiotic resistances in human pathogens. The potential of higher plants as source of new drug leads has been demonstrated but is still under explored. In Africa and most developing countries, traditional medicine still forms the backbone of rural medicinal practice. Although a number of American and Asian countries medicinal herbs have been evaluated scientifically and their medicinal properties demonstrated. In Africa, attempts to evaluate medicinal plants in relation to their biological activities and medicinal usefulness are limited. The emergence of antibiotic resistance has led to increased use of herbal medicine as an alternative to combat various ailments. This study aimed at determining the antimicrobial activity of Vernoa hildebrandtii, Acacia stuhlmannii and Moringa oleifera leafy and root bark extracts using disc diffusion technique. Crude extracts were obtained from dried powder by single solvent maceration with ethanol and water. Bioassays were used to evaluate the bioactivity of the extracts against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureas. Antimicrobial activity was determined by measuring the zones of growth inhibition in mm. Moringa aleifera root water extract was the most potent fraction with bioactivity arrange of between 6-32 mm followed by Acacia stuhlmannii root bark water extracts with bioactivity range between 12-31 mm and Moringa oleifera root bark with bioactivity range of between 6-29 mm. Vernoa hildebrandtii leave alcohol and Acacia stuhlmannii Taub root barkalcohol extract had bioactivity range of between 9-28 and 5-28, respectively. However, Acacia stuhlmannii leaf extracts did not show any antimicrobial activities. The antimicrobial effects of the plant extracts were dose dependent. These findings validate what have been known about Moringa oleifera. They also demonstrate potential biochemical agents in Vernoa hildebrandtii and Acacia stuhlmannii extracts in the management of gram positive and gram negative bacteria.


'Smyrna' type figs (Zidi 'ZD': dark fruit and Thgagli 'THG'; Bidhi 'BD' and Khedri 'KHD': white fruit) originated from two areas of fig production in Tunisia were subject to physico-chemical description and spectrophotometric analysis for their sugar (glucose, fructose and sucrose) and organic acid (citric and malic) contents. Fruit weight ranged between 54 and 82 g, fruit width between 47 and 59 mm, ostiole width between 5.5 and 13.7 mm, total soluble solids (TSS) between 16.1 and 18.4% and titratable acidity (TA) between 2.0 and 4.7 mEq/kg of fresh weight (FW). Tunisian figs were characterized by the predominance of glucose (6.3 g/100g FW) and fructose (5.1 g/100g FW). Citric acid (0.38 g/100g FW) was the major organic acid in all cultivars and almost three times higher than malic acid (0.13 g/100g FW). Differences between cultivars were significant (p ≤0.05). Highly significance was recorded related to malate content contrary to citrate levels which were almost the same in the four cultivars. Purple black 'ZD' fruit was the richest on reducing sugars and malic acid and is more suitable for fresh consumption. 'BD' fig had the most interesting physico-chemical properties with round shape, light skin colour and highest concentrations on soluble solids and is better adapted to drying Compared to common fruits, figs are exceptionally rich on sugars responsible in major part of enhancing food ration and intake of people living in the Mediterranean region. Quality parameters described in the present work are fundamental to judge about the potential of local cultivars. Considering quality a prime target for plant breeders, present data could help for fig breeding and cultivars selection.


Activities directly interacting with the seabed, such as pile-driving, can produce vibrations that have the potential to impact benthic invertebrates within their vicinity. This stimuli may interfere with crucial behaviors such as foraging and predator avoidance, and the sensitivity to vibration is largely unknown. Here, the responsiveness of benthic invertebrates to sediment vibration is discussed in relation to laboratory and semi-field trials with two marine species: the mussel (Mytilus edulis) and hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus). Sensory threshold curves were produced for both species in controlled laboratory conditions, followed by small-scale pile-driving exposures in the field. The merits of behavioral indicators are discussed, in addition to using physiological measures, as a method of determining reception and measuring responses. The measurement and sensors required for sediment vibration quantification are also discussed. Response and threshold data were related to measurements taken in the vicinity of anthropogenic sources, allowing a link between responsiveness and actual operations. The impact of pile-driving on sediment-dwelling invertebrates has received relatively little research, yet the data here suggest that such activities are likely to impact key coastal species which play important roles within the marine environment.


Dr Appelbaum's specific criticisms of our study1 rely on two general assertions with which he begins his commentary: that 'dozens of studies' have 'confirmed' the high prevalence of the therapeutic misconception (TM) and that our current study 'exemplifies' our group's overall research programme on TM, going so far as to attribute a non-scientific motive to our efforts. We think the readers deserve a fuller picture of the actual state of TM research as well as a more accurate picture of our overall TM research programme. Such a picture will explain why, in the current study, we used the methods we did and how we interpreted the results.

First, we agree that the conventional wisdom takes it as a 'given' that TM is ubiquitous. But we disagree that the current evidence base supports that conventional view. Even after decades and 'dozens' of studies on TM, there is no widely accepted definition of TM.2 Some definitions in fact incorporate conceptual errors, such as the idea that desire for benefit is inherently an indication of TM,3 ignoring the fact that people volunteer for studies with the hope for benefit but understand perfectly well that the study's primary purpose is not to benefit them. In fact, research subjects quite often respond to interview questions intended to measure TM with answers that both support and contradict the presence of TM,3–5 making it difficult to interpret what they actually believe.6 The desire to understand and clarify this messy state of …


Kenny Mancuso shot his childhood buddy Moogey Bues and then jumped bail. Now bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is on the case to track Kenny down. Then someone finished Moogey off, Kenny can't be found, twenty-four coffins are missing, and there's some ex-army heavy artillery roaming the streets. And Joe Morelli - the cop with more than a professional interest in her every move - is tailing Stephanie. With a healthy disregard for the law, and an unhealthy dependence on marshmallow hot chocolate, Stephanie's a match for anyone - even Morelli. That is, until her eccentric grandmother goes AWOL and little pieces of corpses start to disappear...


Impedance control and compliant behavior for safe human-robot physical interaction of industrial robots normally can be achieved by using active compliance control of actuators based on various sensor data. Alternatively, passive devices allow controllable compliance motion but usually are mechanically complex. We present another approach using a novel actuation mechanism based on magneto-rheological fluid (MRF) that incorporates variable stiffness directly into the joints. In this paper, we have investigated and analyzed principle characteristics of MRF actuation mechanism and presented the analytical-model. Then we have developed the static and dynamic model based on experimental test results and have discussed three essential modes of motion needed for human-robot manipulation interactive tasks.


Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been an unforeseen pressure and stress to the already burdened health-care systems. This necessitated an urgent need to reallocate the health-care resources and prompted immediate suspension and postponement of non-emergent health-care services including infertility treatments. This pandemic brought additional stress to the couples seeking infertility treatment and resulted in an indefinite time lag to their treatment thereby adding to the psychological distress among this vulnerable population. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has also predisposed them to various psychiatric disorders by affecting their mental, reproductive, and relationship status. These included emotional disorders ranging from frustration, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and guilt, feelings of worthlessness in life to psychiatric disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and dysthymic disorder. The social isolation imposed grave psychological consequences and lead to an unpredicted change in attitudes and beliefs of such infertile couples. The implication of the loss of employment has further dwelled on their financial constraints and made this population even more labile. Thus, the current time has brought forth some unique and unexpected challenges and emotional turmoil that needs due recognition and prompt professional support. Furthermore, it is high time to review our health-care policies and hence restart infertility services striking a balance between the safety of both patient and health-care professionals amidst this pandemic while helping these unfortunate couples achieve parenthood. The resumption of infertility services post-COVID-19 has challenges of its own. The clinician and the paramedical staff had to undergo specific training to adapt to the new norms of workplace while minimizing in person interactions and exposure risk.


Abstract Previous studies have examined vegetative cover and land use immediately surrounding American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) nest sites. However, the relationship of landscape-level habitat structure to nest-site selection has received little attention. Between 1995 and 2007, we erected nest boxes in pastures and meadows in northwestern New Jersey. The number of breeding pairs in boxes ranged from 2 in 1995 to 59 in 2002. We used a Geographic Information System to model habitats used by kestrels (open areas dominated by herbaceous vegetation) and delineated patches of contiguous suitable habitat within the study area and statewide. Nest boxes available in large (>1000 ha) patches of suitable habitat were occupied by kestrels at rates significantly higher than those in medium (250–1000 ha) or small (<250 ha) patches. Large patches exhibited relatively high occupancy rates every year, medium patches were most likely to be occupied during years when kestrels were abundant in the study area, and small patches were used infrequently, regardless of how many breeding pairs were present in the study area. That kestrels disproportionately select nest sites in contiguous patches sufficiently large to include many breeding territories has important implications for conservation strategies. We currently are using information on patch size to implement a statewide nest-box program for kestrels in New Jersey.


The ancient art of the Andes achieved its most sophisticated expression in weaving and painted pottery, as well as stone sculpture. Yet these objects have long been dismissed as craft items by observers for whom art means paintings on canvas and other manifestations of the European art tradition. In this major, paradigm-shifting book, first published in Buenos Aires in 1989 as Piedra abstracta, Cesar Paternosto offers the first comprehensive analysis of ancient Andean art in its own terms. Drawing all manifestations of Andean art--textiles, pottery, stone sculpture, carved rock outcrops, and the famous lines in the Nazca desert--into one coherent whole, he persuasively argues that these were the art media that fulfilled the symbol-making needs of a society that made no distinction between art and craft. Challenging the notion that abstraction is a development of the modern West, Paternosto reveals its deep roots as an indigenous American tradition and shows how that tradition reverberates in the work of twentieth-century artists such as Joaquin Torres Garcia, Barnett Newman, Adolph Gottlieb, and Josef Albers. This section of the book, significantly expanded from the Spanish original, adds an important new chapter to the art history of the Americas. Engagingly written and beautifully illustrated, The Stone and the Thread unveils the masterpieces of ancient Andean art that have been long secluded in anthropological and natural history museums. It will open up new ways of seeing indigenous American art for a wide readership. A resident of New York City, Cesar Paternosto is a leading abstract artist who has exhibited widely in the Americas, Europe, and Japan.


Citrus canker is a plant disease caused by Gram-negative bacteria from the genus Xanthomonas. The most virulent species is Xanthomonas citri ssp. citri (XAC), which attacks a wide range of citrus hosts. Differential proteomic analysis of the periplasm-enriched fraction was performed for XAC cells grown in pathogenicity-inducing (XAM-M) and pathogenicity-non-inducing (nutrient broth) media using two-dimensional electrophoresis combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Amongst the 40 proteins identified, transglycosylase was detected in a highly abundant spot in XAC cells grown under inducing condition. Additional up-regulated proteins related to cellular envelope metabolism included glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase, dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose-3,5-epimerase and peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans-isomerase. Phosphoglucomutase and superoxide dismutase proteins, known to be involved in pathogenicity in other Xanthomonas species or organisms, were also detected. Western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses for transglycosylase and superoxide dismutase confirmed that these proteins were up-regulated under inducing condition, consistent with the proteomic results. Multiple spots for the 60-kDa chaperonin and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase were identified, suggesting the presence of post-translational modifications. We propose that substantial alterations in cellular envelope metabolism occur during the XAC infectious process, which are related to several aspects, from defence against reactive oxygen species to exopolysaccharide synthesis. Our results provide new candidates for virulence-related proteins, whose abundance correlates with the induction of pathogenicity and virulence genes, such as hrpD6, hrpG, hrpB7, hpa1 and hrpX. The results present new potential targets against XAC to be investigated in further functional studies.


ABSTRACT Natural organic matter (NOM) is a major water constituent that affects the performance of water treatment processes. Several studies have shown that NOM can be adsorbed on the surface of oxides and may compete with other ions. The overall goal of this study was essentially to investigate the competitive adsorption between fluoride and NOM on activated alumina (AA). For this purpose, a humic acid (HA) was used as a model compound for NOM. The interaction of NOM with fluoride, the simultaneous competitive adsorption, and the effect of preloading AA with NOM were investigated. The specific absorbance of HA was determined at 254 nm. Size-exclusion chromatography measurements confirmed the adsorption of aromatic fractions of NOM onto AA. The presence of HA in the system inhibited fluoride sorption onto AA and the removal yield using fresh AA decreased from 70.4 % to 51.0 % in the presence of HA. The decrease was more pronounced using AA preloaded with HA, reaching 37.7 %. The interference of coexisting ions and their effect on fluoride removal capacity were evaluated, showing a severe impact of the presence of phosphate on the removal capacity unlike nitrates and sulfates, which slightly improved the fluoride sorption.


Given the complexity of modern software systems and its pervasiveness in many aspects of our lives, software faults (i.e., bugs) are a dangerous threat. Unfortunately, it is impossible to assure that software is perfect despite of advances in software engineering. Therefore, mission- and safety-critical systems have to provide fault tolerance algorithms and mechanisms to mitigate this threat. Software Fault Injection emerged in the last decades as a means for testing and improving fault-tolerant systems. This approach deliberately introduces faults in a software in order to assess its behavior in the presence of software faults.

In order to be adopted by practitioners in the development of critical systems, and to assure an effective and trustworthy evaluation of fault tolerance, the realism of faults being injected (fault representativeness) need to be assured, i.e., the injected faults should reflect the residual faults that escape the development process and that can affect the system. This thesis addresses fault representativeness with respect to three aspects. First, it proposes an approach for selecting code locations in which to inject software faults in a complex software system. The approach identifies locations in which faults are more likely to hide from testing, in order to focus the injection on the most representative locations and to reduce the number and cost of experiments at the same time. Second, it proposes a method for improving the accuracy of faults injected in binary code, which is required when the source code is not available as in the case of third-party software. Finally, this thesis proposes a technique for emulating concurrency faults, which are a significant part of faults affecting complex software. These contributions are instrumental to advance Software Fault Injection and make it an effective and practical approach for developing fault-tolerant systems.


Detailed mapping studies of Quaternary stratovolcanoes provide critical frameworks for examining the long-term evolution of magmatic systems and volcanic behaviour. For stratovolcanoes that have experienced glaciation, edifice-forming products also act as climate-proxies from which ice thicknesses can be inferred at specific points in time. One such volcano is Tongariro, which is located in the southern Taupō Volcanic Zone of New Zealand's North Island. This study presents the results of new detailed mapping, geochronological and geochemical investigations on edifice-forming materials to reconstruct Tongariro's volcanic and magmatic history which address the following questions: (1) Does ice coverage on stratovolcanoes influence eruptive rates and behaviour (or record completeness)? (2) What is the relationship between magmatism, its expression (i.e. volcanism) and external but related processes such as tectonics? (3) How are intermediate-composition magmas assembled and what controls their diversity? (4) What are the relative proportions of mantle-derived and crust-derived materials in intermediate composition arc magmas? (5) Do genetic relationships exist between andesite and rhyolite magmas in arc settings?  Samples from 250 new field localities in under-examined areas of Tongariro were analysed for major oxide, trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope compositions. Analyses were performed on whole-rock, groundmass and xenolith samples. The stratigraphic framework for these geochemical data was established from field observations and 29 new 40Ar/39Ar age determinations, which were synthesised with volume estimates and petrographic observations for all Tongariro map units. Mapping results divide Tongariro into 36 distinct map units (at their greatest level of subdivision) which were organised into formations and constituent members.   New 40Ar/39Ar age determinations reveal continuous eruptive activity at Tongariro from at least 230 ka to present, including during glacial periods. This adds to the discovery of an inlier of old basaltic-andesite (512 ± 59 ka) on Tongariro's NW sector that has an unclear source vent. Hornblende-phyric andesite boulders, mapped into the Tupuna Formation (new), yield the oldest 40Ar/39Ar age determination (304 ± 11 ka) for materials confidently attributed to Tongariro. Tupuna Formation andesites are correlated with Turakina Formation debris flows that were deposited between 349 to 309 ka in the Wanganui Basin, ~100 km south of Tongariro, which indicates that Ruapehu did not exist at this time, at least not in its current form.  Tongariro has a total edifice volume of ~90 km3, 19 km3 of which is represented by exposed mapped units. The total ringplain volume immediately adjacent to Tongariro contains ~60 km3 of material. The volume of exposed glacial deposits are no more than 1 km3. During periods of major ice coverage, edifice-building rates on Tongariro were only 17-21 % of edifice-building rates during warmer climatic periods. Because shifts in edifice-building rates do not coincide with changes in erupted compositions, differences in edifice-building rates reflect a preservation bias. Materials erupted during glacial periods were emplaced onto ice masses and conveyed to the ringplain as debris, which explains reduced preservation rates at these times.   MgO concentrations in Tongariro stratigraphic units with ages between 230 and 0 ka display successive and irregular cyclicity that occurs over ~10-70 kyr intervals, which reflect episodes of enhanced mafic magma replenishment. During these cycles, more rapid (≤10 kyr) increases in MgO concentrations to ≥5-9 wt% are followed by gradual declines to ~2-5 wt%, with maxima at ~230, ~160, ~117, ~88, ~56, ~35, ~17.5 ka and during the Holocene.   Contemporaneous variations in Tongariro and Ruapehu magma compositions (e.g. MgO, Rb/Sr, Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios) for the 200-0 ka period coincide with reported zircon growth model-ages in Taupō magmas. This contemporaneity reflects regional tectonic processes that have externally regulated and synchronised the timings of elevated mafic replenishment episodes versus periods of prolonged crustal residence at each of these volcanoes.  Isotopic Sr-Nd-Pb data from metasedimentary xenoliths, groundmass separates and whole-rock samples indicate that two or three separate metasedimentary terranes (in the upper 15 km of the crust) were assimilated into Tongariro magmas. These are the Kaweka terrane and the Waipapa or Pahau terranes (or both). Subhorizontal juxtapositioning of these terranes is indicated by the coexistence of multiple terranes in the same eruptive units.  Paired whole-rock and groundmass (interstitial melt) samples have effectively equal Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios for the complete range of Tongariro compositions. Despite intra-crystal isotopic heterogeneities that are likely widespread, the new data show that crystal fractionation and assimilation occur in approximately equal balance for essentially all Tongariro eruptives.  Assimilated country rock accounts for 22-31 wt% of the average Tongariro magma. Initial evolution from a Kakuki basalt-type to a Tongariro Te Rongo Member basaltic-andesite reflects the addition of 17 % assimilated metasedimentary basement with a mass assimilation rate/mass crystal fractionation rate ratio—a.k.a. 'r value' of 1.8-3.5. Subsequent evolution from a Te Rongo Member basaltic-andesite to other Tongariro eruptive compositions represents 5-14 % more assimilated crust (r values of ~0.1-1.0). Magma evolution from high (>1) to lower (0.1-1.0) r values can explain the dearth of andesitic melt inclusions in (bulk) andesite magmas observed globally. High relative assimilation rates characterise rapid evolution from basalt to basaltic-andesite bulk compositions which contain andesitic interstitial melts. Thus, andesitic melt inclusions have a reduced chance of being preserved in crystals which can explain their low representation in global datasets.


Objectives To determine whether implementation of comprehensive in-school eyecare results in measurable benefits for children and young people in terms of visual status, classroom behaviours and how well their visual needs are met. Design School-based observational study. Participants & Methods 200 pupils [mean age 10 years 9 months, 70% male, majority moderate (40%) or severe (35%) learning difficulty] of a special education school in the UK. A sector-agreed in-school eyecare framework including full eye examination and cycloplegic refraction, dispensing of spectacles (as appropriate) and written reporting of outcomes to parents/teachers was applied. Classroom behaviours were observed and recorded prior to, and after, the in-school eyecare. Surveys were employed to obtain visual histories from parents/teachers. School records and statutory documents were reviewed for diagnostic and learning disability classifications. Visual function and ocular health were profiled at baseline and significant visual deficits identified. Where such deficits were previously unrecognised, untreated or not compensated for (e.g. correction of refractive error, enlargement of educational material) they were recorded as 'unmet visual need'. At follow-up, 2–5 months after initial (baseline) measures, eye examinations, parent/teacher surveys and behaviour observations were repeated. Follow-up measures were used to determine if measurable improvements were evident in visual function, ocular health, the level of unmet need and classroom behaviour following implementation of in-school eyecare. Results 199 participants completed baseline and follow-up measures. 122 (61%) participants presented with at least one significant visual or ocular health deficit and 90 (45%) participants had at least one unmet visual need. Younger pupils and those with no previous history of eyecare were more likely to demonstrate unmet visual needs at baseline (OR 1.12 95% CI 1.03 to 1.21) p = 0.012; (OR 4.44 95% CI 1.38 to 14.29 p = 0.007 respectively). On follow-up, the number of pupils with unmet visual needs dropped significantly to 36 (18%) (McNemar's test p<0.001). Visual and behavioural metrics of participants without significant visual deficits or whose visual needs were adequately addressed at baseline remained relatively unchanged between baseline and follow-up (Wilcoxon signed rank p>0.05). Where significant refractive deficits were corrected at follow-up, near visual acuity improved significantly (Wilcoxon signed rank p = 0.013), however, poor spectacle compliance was a persistent cause of unmet visual need. Off-task behaviour reduced significantly after actions to address unmet visual needs were communicated to parents and teachers (Wilcoxon signed rank p = 0.035). Conclusions The present study demonstrates for the first time measurable visual and behaviour benefits to children in special education settings when they receive comprehensive in-school eye examinations, on-site spectacle dispensing and jargon-free reporting of outcomes to teachers and parents.


As a consequence of industrialization, we face unprecedented pressures on the carrying capacity of the earth. Desertification, pollution and global climate changes can only increase these pressures, and will cause vast increases in the number of refugees and widespread risks to human health. Increasing inequalities between rich and poor nations are potential causes of conflict. Since the industrial countries are mainly responsible for our economic problems, they must give a lead in global arrangements to alleviate them. A major change in our habitual patterns of thought is essential, in which we reassess how we perceive values, and how we measure wealth and well-being. This must be accompanied by governmental action: on population numbers and the refugee problem; on the efficient use of energy; on new methods of land use, and on regulation of damaging industrial activities. To act in these ways, governments must reorganize their domestic policies and increase international co-operation.


This paper seeks to add to the literature on working with fathers by focusing on early intervention. It draws on research into fathers involved in a home visitation service delivered by the Family Nurse Partnership in England and evaluates the men's experiences of the intervention. The vulnerability of fathers was striking and many were helped to develop their practical skills and confidence in caring for their babies. The intervention was effective because of the quality time that was invested in developing relationships with fathers (as well as mothers), the focus on their strengths as well as areas for improvement and the skilled, therapeutically oriented, holistic approach through which the service was delivered. The 'early' nature of the help was crucial to its success because of how it so effectively tapped into the men's redefinition of themselves as caring fathers during pregnancy and following the birth. We argue that there is important learning here for social care and health services in general about how to engage men and promote fathers' capacities to care for their children.


Studies were performed as recommended by the Technical Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (TWGDAM) committee to validate the AmpFISTR Blue PCR Amplification Kit for forensic casework applications. The kit coamplifies the tetranucleotide short tandem repeat (STR) loci D3S1358, vWA, and FGA. The dye-labeled amplification products were electrophoresed and detected directly using the ABI PRISM 377 DNA Sequencer or the 310 Genetic Analyzer. CEPH family studies demonstrated Mendelian inheritance of these loci and probability of identity values from population studies were 1/4,830 (African-American), 1/5,479 (U.S. Caucasian), and 1/3,443 (U.S. West Coast Hispanic). In all studies examining different body tissues and fluids, the expected genotypes were observed. Studies to determine and test the PCR reagent components and thermal cycling parameters demonstrated specificity, sensitivity, and balance over a wide range of conditions. Reliable results were obtained from DNA quantities as low as 0.25 ng. A variety of environmental studies were performed, as forensic samples are often exposed to different environmental conditions and substances which may degrade DNA or inhibit the amplification process. Highly degraded samples demonstrated that FGA was the first locus to become undetectable, followed by vWA, and then D3S1358; this is the expected pattern according to locus size. In studies of PCR inhibition, the pattern in which the loci became undetectable was different; FGA was the first locus to become undetectable, followed by D3S1358, and then vWA. Single versus multiple locus amplifications revealed no benefit to single locus analysis, even in cases of degradation or inhibition. The occurrence of preferential amplification was very rare, particularly in noncompromised, unmixed samples. Artifact peaks were not observed in any instance. Mixture studies confirmed the ability to detect mixed DNA samples and included the characterization of stutter and peak height ratios; the limit of detection was 1:10 for 1 ng total genomic DNA and 1:30 for 5 ng. DNA extracted from nonprobative case evidence was successfully amplified and genotyped. All such studies indicate that the AmpFISTR Blue PCR Amplification Kit will reproducibly yield specific and sensitive results.


Abstract A large collection of macrurous decapod crustaceans is recorded from the middle–late Anisian (Middle Triassic) Guanling Formation in Yunnan Province, China. A remarkable assemblage of over 20,000 vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant fossils collectively referred to as the Luoping Biota has been collected from quarries in the vicinity of the city of Luoping. Among these, arthropods including the decapods are the most common element although articulated fish and reptiles are also common. The decapods represent new taxa, including Koryncheiros luopingensis n. gen. n. sp. within Clytiopsidae, a newly elevated family within Erymoidea; Tridactylastacus sinensis n. gen. n. sp. within Glypheidae; and Yunnanopalinura schrami n. gen. n. sp. within Palinuridae. A single specimen has been referred to Palinuridae sp. Koryncheiros luopingensis exhibits a unique cheliped architecture and the second through fourth chelipeds are subchelate, an extremely rare configuration. Tridactylastacus sinensis also exhibits subchelate closures of pereiopods 2–4, but it bears a distinctive subchelate first pereiopod with an intercalated spine between the fingers on the distal margin of the propodus. Yunnanopalinura schrami represents the oldest occurrence of Palinuridae and Achelata. Collectively, these expand our knowledge of Chinese decapods significantly in that only six species of fossil decapods have been described previously from the country.


The eurozone countries are currently sitting on an aggregate exposure to Greece exceeding €300 billion. If the country were to exit the eurozone, it would certainly not be able to service its debt in the short run when the exchange rate overshoots. Over the longer run, however, the exchange rate is likely to return to a longer-run equilibrium and growth is likely to slowly resume closing the output gap. Moreover, exports are likely to grow by more than GDP, thus increasing over time the capacity of the country to service foreign debt. Therefore, the authors conclude, whether or not an exit from the eurozone is followed by default on the official debt depends decisively on the willingness (and ability) of Greece's European partners to wait and finance the bridge between the short and the long run.


The article deals with the mutual links between the power and the law. The reasoning proceeds from the statement that a social normativity (including the ethics and the law) by virtue of its instructing nature is an expression of the power. In it's turn, the power can not be set up otherwise as based on the law of the power. Inasmuch as the beings have a free will, the power in human societies must be recognized (or justified) by its participants. It makes the legitimization of power be the ground of its existence in a human society. The power can exist the when and the where, whereat its law was established. The specificity of the power relations is determined with a transcendental instance, which serves as a source and basic of the power. The appeal to the transcendental instance is the foundation of the legitimization of power for its participants. The characteristic of a legitimate power is that that it is becoming a social recognized source of the social normativity (including the ethics and the law). According to the diversity of a transcendental instance there are five major types of the legitimization of the power: based on the custom, the power of God, the advantage of the best, the superiority of force, a human confidence. The particularities of all these types are analyzed in the article. All types of the legitimization to some extend always are engaged in the real historic political-legal systems. Their all-embracing impact provides the stable legitimization of power and the efficacy of social regulators. At the same time, the ideal types of the political-legal systems could be singled out, in which the one of the main principle of the legitimization dominates. The power based on a custom is corresponding to traditional society; the power of God – to archaic (sacred) or theocratic state; the power of the advantage of the best – to estate state; the power of the superiority of force – to tyrannical (autocratic) regime; the power of a human confidence – to system of a representative democracy.


Coronation ceremonies are traditional rites to formally install kings to the throne of their forefathers as community leaders who are symbol of authority between their people and the outside world. The funfairs that accompany these ceremonies are worth documenting using printmaking as a vehicle of visual and historical expression. The prints represented in this paper are expression of myths and mythologies demonstrating African culture, which stands out as sacred. This discourse also relies on oral testimonies, written and archival documents. The materials used for the execution of the prints are rubber, wood, plate, offset printing inks and glass, which records the events as an alternative to the use of photographic documentation.

 Key words: Coronation ceremony, kingship, mythology in prints, cultural expression.


Abstract Background Relational aspects of primary care are important, but we have no standard measure for assessment. The 'working alliance' incorporates elements of the therapeutic relationship, shared decision-making, goal setting and communication skills. The Working Alliance Inventory (short form) (WAI-SF) has been used in adult psychology, and a high score on the survey is associated with improved outcomes for clients. Objective To adapt the WAI-SF for use between GPs and patients and to test its concurrent validity with measures of shared decision-making and the doctor–patient relationship and discriminant validity with measures of social desirability. Methods Two rounds of online survey feedback from 55 GPs and 47 patients were used to adapt the WAI-SF—the WAI-GP. The tool was then completed by 142 patients in waiting rooms after seeing their GP and by 16 GPs at the end of their session. Concurrent validity with measures of shared decision-making and patient–doctor depth of relationship was determined using Spearman Rho correlations. Patients also completed two social desirability surveys, and discriminant validity with WAI-GP was assessed. Results Following feedback, the survey was re-worded to remove phrases that were perceived as judgmental or irrelevant. The patient measure of the WAI-GP was strongly correlated with Dyadic OPTION (rho = 0.705, P = 0.0001) and Patient–Doctor Depth of Relationship scale (rho = 0.591, P = 0.0001) and not with measures of social desirability. Conclusion The psychometric properties of the WAI-GP support its use for measuring GP-patient alliance. Possibilities for use include assessing the influence of therapeutic alliance on the effectiveness of interventions.


Despite advances in antithrombotic therapy, the risk of recurrent coronary/cerebrovascular ischemia or venous thromboembolism remains high. Dual pathway antithrombotic blockade, using both antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy, offers the promise of improved thrombotic protection; however, widespread adoption remains tempered by substantial risk of major bleeding. Here, we report a dual pathway therapeutic capable of site-specific targeting to activated platelets and therapeutic enrichment at the site of thrombus growth to allow reduced dosing without compromised antithrombotic efficacy. We engineered a recombinant fusion protein, SCE5-TAP, which consists of a single-chain antibody (SCE5) that targets and blocks the activated GPIIb/IIIa complex, and tick anticoagulant peptide (TAP), a potent direct inhibitor of activated factor X (FXa). SCE5-TAP demonstrated selective platelet targeting and inhibition of thrombosis in murine models of both carotid artery and inferior vena cava thrombosis, without a significant impact on hemostasis. Selective targeting to activated platelets provides an attractive strategy to achieve high antithrombotic efficacy with reduced risk of bleeding complications.


Modern constructivist approaches to education dictate active experimentation with the study material and have been linked with improved learning outcomes in STEM fields. During classroom time we believe it is important for students to experiment with the lecture material since active recall helps them to start the memory encoding process as well as to catch misconceptions early and to prevent them from taking root. In this paper, we report on our experiences using ASQ, a Web-based interactive presentation tool in a functional and logic programming course taught at the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. ASQ allowed us to collect immediate feedback from students and retain their attention by asking complex types of questions and aggregating student answers in real time. From our experience we identified several requirements and guidelines for successfully adopting ASQ. One of the most critical concerns was how to estimate the time when to stop collecting the students' answers and proceed to their evaluation and discussion with the class. We also report the students' feedback on the ASQ system that we collected in the form of the standard SUS questionnaire.


BACKGROUND
Dietary nut intake has been associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease mortality; however, the mechanism is unclear. Since components of nuts may have antiarrhythmic properties, part of the benefit may be due to a reduction in sudden cardiac death.

METHODS
We prospectively assessed whether increasing frequency of nut consumption, as ascertained by an abbreviated food frequency questionnaire at 12 months of follow-up, was associated with a lower risk of sudden cardiac death and other coronary heart disease end points among 21 454 male participants enrolled in the US Physicians' Health Study. Participants were followed up for an average of 17 years.

RESULTS
Dietary nut intake was associated with a significantly reduced risk of sudden cardiac death after controlling for known cardiac risk factors and other dietary habits (P for trend,.01). Compared with men who rarely or never consumed nuts, those who consumed nuts 2 or more times per week had reduced risks of sudden cardiac death (relative risk, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.30-0.92) and total coronary heart disease death (relative risk, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.50-0.98). In contrast, nut intake was not associated with significantly reduced risks of nonsudden coronary heart disease death or nonfatal myocardial infarction.

CONCLUSION
These prospective data in US male physicians suggest that the inverse association between nut consumption and total coronary heart disease death is primarily due to a reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac death.


Background Oral history captures and preserves patients' voices and involves them in the process of producing their own life histories. A Macmillan pilot project has created five oral history services in the north of England and Northern Ireland, additional to a service in Sheffield established in 2007. To understand the role of oral history in palliative care and bereavement, a further project has explored its significance amongst patients and bereaved family. Aim To assess the impact of recording an oral history with palliative care patients, and to understand how the recording is received in bereavement by family. Method Literature review and survey of life story work in palliative care settings; analysis of an existing archive of oral histories; semi-structured interviews with patients, family, bereavement group members and health care professionals. Results Analysis of archival and qualitative interview material has highlighted that patients and family appreciate a voice recording. Patients value having time to reflect and express identity in an oral history interview, and recording personal life stories can engender a sense of autonomy at a time when they wield little power in their lives. Bereaved relatives find the recording comforting: "It's a memory for me. I've got something that's a little bit of her." Both patients and family find oral history cathartic. Conclusions We have established that oral history enhances patient experience of palliative care by providing them with opportunities to talk about their past and present in a non-medical context. Bereaved family highlight that a voice recording is extremely important to them. This research provides vital information to support the future shape and direction of oral history services.


Goal: Because of the outbreak of coronavirus infection, healthcare systems are faced with the lack of medical professionals. We present a system for the differential diagnosis of coronavirus disease, based on deep learning techniques, which can be implemented in clinics. Methods: A recurrent network with a convolutional neural network as an encoder and an attention mechanism is used. A database of about 3000 records of coughing was collected. The data was collected through the Acoustery mobile application in hospitals in Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan from April 2020 to October 2020. Results: The model classification accuracy reaches 85%. Values of precision and recall metrics are 78.5% and 73%. Conclusions: We reached satisfactory results in solving the problem. The proposed model is already being tested by doctors to understand the ways of improvement. Other architectures should be considered that use a larger training sample and all available patient information.


Picornaviruses are non-enveloped, positive sense single-stranded RNA viruses which cause many diseases ranging from slight illness to fatal meningitis and encephalitis. There are no vaccines against most picornaviruses so drugs need to be developed. Human parechoviruses (HPeVs) are being increasingly recognised as important human pathogens, but are genetically diverse from other picornaviruses. We therefore need to understand the details of virus replication to improve the opportunities to develop antiviral drugs. Viruses often rearrange the ER, ERGIC and Golgi to give a new membrane structures involved in viral replication and/or assembly. To improve our understanding of HPeV replication, we first studied the secretory pathway compartments and we found in HPeV-infected cells that the Golgi was rearranged and became more concentrated near to the replication complex. ER seemed to disappear almost completely. In terms of HPeV non-structural proteins, 2C had a major effect on the compartments and also co-localised and aggregated lipid droplets. Many viruses such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Dengue virus recruit lipid droplets to replication complexes. We found that lipid droplets became larger in HPeV-infected cells, but do not co-localise with replication complexes. To investigate the interaction between 2C and lipid droplets we made several 2C mutants. Mutation of NTPase domain of 2C did not change the interaction with lipid droplets. Instead we found that other domains, including a novel amphipathic helix are important. The results suggest that lipid droplets play a role in HPeV replication and so we investigated the effect of drugs which target lipid droplet formation and lipid homeostasis on HPeV replication. We demonstrated that drugs which target the enzyme DGAT1, which is involved in lipid droplet formation, have a potent effect on HPeV replication. Our results suggest that blocking lipid droplet formation is could be an important strategy for the treatment of HPeV infection.


INTRODUCTION
While many studies have been conducted investigating the efficacy of varicocele treatment on fertility, the literature is comparatively sparse concerning the association between varicocele, varicocelectomy, and erectile dysfunction (ED).

AIM
This study aimed to estimate the associations between varicocele, varicocelectomy, and ED using a population-based dataset.

METHODS
This study used data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 in Taiwan. A total of 32,856 cases and 98,568 randomly selected controls were included in this study. Conditional logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between ED and having been previously diagnosed with varicocele or having underwent a varicocelectomy.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
The odds of prior varicocele or having underwent a varicocelectomy between cases and controls.

RESULTS
Of the sampled patients, the prevalence of prior varicocele was 3.3% and 1.2% for cases and controls, respectively (P < 0.001). Conditional logistic regression analysis suggested that the odds ratio (OR) of being previously diagnosed with varicocele for cases was 3.09 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.67-3.49) when compared with controls after adjusting for monthly income, geographic location, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, hypogonadism, obesity, and alcohol abuse/alcohol dependence syndrome. Furthermore, cases were 1.92 (95% CI = 1.52-2.43) times more likely to have undergone a varicocelectomy than controls. Furthermore, subjects aged between 18 and 29 had the highest ORs for prior varicocele among cases when compared with controls (OR = 5.20; 95% CI = 3.27-8.28).

CONCLUSION
This investigation succeeded in identifying an association between both varicocele and ED. We also realized that varicocele patients who underwent a varicocelectomy had lower magnitudes of association with ED than those who did not.


This study was conducted with the aim of exploring the quality of teaching materials developed by prospective mathematics teachers and their viewpoints on developing teaching materials. The study was carried out with 170 prospective teachers from 4 classes in the Fall Semester of 2014-2015 Academic Year. During the first 8 weeks of the 14-week-long study, the theoretical parts and teaching technologies of the course were introduced. In the next 6 weeks, the prospective teachers were expected to present the materials they developed in a classroom environment. The data in this study were collected through the materials prepared by the prospective teachers, classroom observations, and survey questions. The data gained went under content and descriptive analysis. Findings indicate that prospective teachers can use the teaching technologies on a satisfactory level and prepare materials in accordance with the attainments. It also became evident that they believed they gained the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes in this course to develop and use teaching materials, and they would like to take advantage of these knowledge and skills in their teaching profession. In accordance with the findings, it is concluded that prospective teachers have positive views and attitudes to general teaching technologies and material development.


Replication is an area of interest to both distributed systems and databases. The solutions developed from these two perspectives are conceptually similar but differ in many aspects: model, assumptions, mechanisms, guarantees provided, and implementation. In this paper, we provide an abstract and "neutral" framework to compare replication techniques from both communities. The framework has been designed to emphasize the role played by different mechanisms and to facilitate comparisons. The paper describes the replication techniques used in both communities, compares them, and points out ways in which they can be integrated to arrive to better, more robust replication protocols.


To many science and engineering students, the task of writing may seem irrelevant to their future professional careers. At MIT, however, students discover that writing about their technical work is important not only in solving real-world problems but also in developing their professional identities. MIT puts into practice the belief that "engineers who don't write well end up working for engineers who do write well," requiring all students to take "communications-intensive" classes in which they learn from MIT faculty and writing instructors how to express their ideas in writing and in presentations. Students are challenged not only to think like professional scientists and engineers but also to communicate like them.This book offers in-depth case studies and pedagogical strategies from a range of science and engineering communication-intensive classes at MIT. It traces the progress of seventeen students from diverse backgrounds in seven classes that span five departments. Undergraduates in biology attempt to turn scientific findings into a research article; graduate students learn to define their research for scientific grant writing; undergraduates in biomedical engineering learn to use data as evidence; and students in aeronautic and astronautic engineering learn to communicate collaboratively. Each case study is introduced by a description of its theoretical and curricular context and an outline of the objectives for the students' activities. The studies describe the on-the-ground realities of working with faculty, staff, and students to achieve communication and course goals, offering lessons that can be easily applied to a wide variety of settings and institutions.


" ...one of Heidegger's most important and extraordinary works...indispensable for anyone interested in Heidegger's thought as well as in current trends in hermeneutics, ethics, and political philosophy." - "Interpretation". "Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics" is among the most important readings in this century of Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason". This authoritative English translation will play an important role in determining Heidegger's reputation in the coming years." - "Choice". "Heidegger's interpretation of Kant remains a challenging way to address the issues that both Kant and Heidegger saw as crucial...In reading "Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics", we can struggle with some basic issues of human existence in the company of two great minds." - "International Philosophical Quarterly". Since its original publication in 1929, Martin Heidegger's provocative book on Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" has attracted much attention both as an important contribution to twentieth-century Kant scholarship and as a pivotal work in Heidegger's own development after "Being and Time". The work is significant not only for its illuminating assessment of Kant's thought but also for its elaboration of themes first broached in "Being and Time", especially the problem of how Heidegger proposed to enact his destruction of the metaphysical tradition and the role that his reading of Kant would play therein.


The Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is successfully operating on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) observatory, launched on October 28, 2011. Numerous components of the prelaunch test program for sensor bands centered below 1 μm were dictated by the performance requirements for ocean-color (OC) retrievals; several of these characterization activities evolved from those for the legacy sensor, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Addition of the Traveling Spectral Radiance and Irradiance Responsivity Calibration Using Uniform Sources (TSIRCUS) laser-based test source provided superior characterization for spectral testing and for radiometric response knowledge. Analysis suggests that band-to-band radiometric uncertainty is well below 0.5% for the OC bands, and resolution of spectral characteristics are known to better than 0.1 nm. The expected improvements in VIIRS performance testing from using T-SIRCUS and some benefits that accrue from these tests are reviewed.


Consider the following process, known as $r$-bootstrap percolation, on a graph $G$. Designate some initial infected set $A$ and infect any vertex with at least $r$ infected neighbors, continuing until no new vertices can be infected. We say $A$ percolates if it eventually infects the entire graph. We say $A$ is a minimal percolating set if $A$ percolates, but no proper subset percolates. We compute the size of a largest minimal percolating set for $r=2$ in the $n$-dimensional hypercube.


Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine whether selected sociodemographic and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific clinical factors are associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among pediatric patients chronically infected with HBV. Methods: Children with chronic HBV enrolled in the Hepatitis B Research Network completed the Child Health Questionnaire at study entry. Caregivers of children 5 to <10 years completed the parent-reported form (CHQ-Parent Report Form); youth 10 to <18 years completed the child-reported CHQ-Child Report Form. We examined univariable associations of the Child Health Questionnaire scores with selected independent variables: sex, adoption status, maternal education, alanine aminotransferase (U/L), aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index, and HBV-specific symptom count. Results: A total of 244 participants (83 young children 5–<10 years, 161 youth 10–<18 years) were included, all HBV treatment-naïve. Among young children, increased alanine aminotransferase level was negatively associated with CHQ-Parent Report Form psychosocial summary t score (r = −0.28, P = 0.01). No other subscale comparisons for young children were statistically significant. Among youth, adoption was associated with better physical functioning and general health (P < 0.01). Higher maternal education was associated with better role/functioning-physical and -emotional scores (P < 0.05). Maternal education and adoption status were linked with adoption associated with higher maternal education. Increased symptom count in youth was associated with worse HRQoL in subscales measuring bodily pain, behavior, mental health, and self-esteem (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Although overall HRQoL is preserved in children with chronic HBV, some sociodemographic and HBV-related clinical factors were associated with impaired HRQoL in our pediatric patients at baseline. Measurement of HRQoL can focus resources on education and psychosocial support in children and families most in need.


Cognitive Radios' is recognized as a novel approach to improve the utilization of a precious wireless communication natural resource; the radio frequency spectrum. Historically, telecom regulators assigned fixed spectrum bands to the licensee wireless network operators, this spectrum management approach is guarantee interference free environment, except of some configurations faults or illegal usage. However, with the increasing demand for more bandwidth in the finite radio spectrum, the concept of secondary operator's was emerged, but with emphases to not influence licensed operators. Consequently, Cognitive Radio Networks (CRN) architecture enters the market as an intelligent solution to these issues, with concentration on the spectrum sensing procedures to achieve the regulatory constraint. The most successful sensing algorithms is those applying cooperation and scheduling to have better scanning information, however those algorithms are developed base on the primary network activities which is good in terms of reducing the expected interference, but it lay more computational loads on the CRN. In this paper, a novel sensing scheduler algorithm is proposed, the idea is to utilize the CRN by fairly distribute the sensing task among the sensors, then utilizing the radio spectrum shared with the primary networks.


Despite commitments made under the Grand Bargain and other international instruments to direct a greater share of humanitarian funding to local and national actors, there remains limited data (quantitative or qualitative) at the national level on the barriers local agencies face in accessing funds to respond to needs.  Commissioned by Oxfam and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework in Uganda, this paper assesses the current situation of humanitarian funding in Uganda and the perceptions of the actors involved. The study puts forward recommendations on how to involve local actors more effectively to strengthen their access to funding for emergency responses.


Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) has long been considered the gold standard for treating myelopathy and radiculopathy due to disk degeneration. One major complication of this procedure is adjacent segment degeneration. Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) has been proposed as an alternative to ACDF and as a means to reduce ASD. This chapter briefly recounts the advent of CDA. Additionally, it describes the most common implants and biomechanical properties associated with those designs. Critical to CDA is meticulous operative technique including implant positioning and hemostasis. Data in the form of FDA IDE studies and more recent meta-analyses of existing studies have demonstrated non-inferiority of CDA when compared to ACDF. This chapter also reviews the most common complications associated with CDA including heterotopic ossification and ankylosis of the involved segment. While more technically demanding than ACDF, CDA does represent a viable alternative in the proper patient.


This study investigated whether the modality effect of content presentation modes on students' cognitive load and listening comprehension depends on the moderating effect of the learners' language proficiencies in a mobile learning context. One hundred and sixty-two students majoring in English in a technology university used personal digital assistants (PDAs) as the learning tool for a mobile listening comprehension activity. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two presentation modes: (1) a single mode in which students were engaged in auditory materials only and (2) a dual mode in which they were exposed to audio and textual inputs simultaneously. Hierarchical regression was employed to examine the moderating effect of the learners' proficiencies. The results confirmed the moderator role of English proficiency on cognitive load: students with lower proficiency appeared to be more perceptive of the text aid. However, the moderating effect was not obtained on the task performance in that students provided with the dual mode outperformed their single mode counterpart across the proficiency level. This study recommends that written text be displayed when students are engaged in a mobile English listening comprehension task to reduce learners' cognitive load. The study also provides pedagogical implications for mobile language learning.


Utopia has been one of the dominant ideas for many of the avant-garde movements that, since the enlightenment, have sought to use architectural means as part of a strategy to create an 'ideal' social order. If the utopian has lost its significance within the architecture of late capitalism, this article looks at ways in which that tradition is being maintained within the discourse of Science Fiction, where utopian concepts are bound to speculative engagements with new and imagined technologies. One of the most sustained recent attempts to develop and explore utopian ideas can be found in the science fiction novels and stories by Iain M. Banks set in the Culture. The Culture is a space-dwelling society developed by Banks over a series of nine full-length novels and a collection of short stories. The Culture is a technologically advanced post-scarcity civilization supervised by powerful Artificial Intelligences (AIs) called Minds and comprising trillions of 'humanoid' subjects living together with various forms of machine 'life' forms. In these stories, Iain M. Banks shows himself to be one of the most innovative writers on a possible future; while his writing is clearly fiction, it explicitly draws upon scientific, philosophical and political ideas, as well as extensive use of nanotechnology, genetic engineering and augmentation, augmented and virtual realities, and numerous forms of AI.

The article starts by mapping out a definition of science fiction with respect to Darko Suvin's 'novum' and the concept, developed by Frederic Jameson following Suvin, that the utopian is itself a sub-genre of science fiction, and goes on to suggest that some of the most significant speculative avant-garde architectures of the last 100 years should be considered 'as' full-blown works of science fiction. This argument is developed through an analysis of one of the most far-reaching and politically explicit utopian projects – Constant Nieuwenhuys' New Babylon, a society based on the concept of Homo Ludens and the use of automation that clearly shows the existence of a number of 'novum'. The final section of the article is a detailed examination of Banks' the Culture and shows how many of the themes of New Babylon reappear in Banks' Culture novels. The purpose of looking at Banks in detail is to see how he is exploring, albeit through fiction, ambitious spatial and cultural models predicated on a post-scarcity civilization, as part of a direct lineage from New Babylon, and how this is a direct response to the very problems that are facing contemporary society. The article concludes by arguing that if architecture is to re-invigorate itself in the twenty-first century it needs to embrace its links to speculative discourses such as science fiction.


Extremely low density planets ('super-puffs') are a small but intriguing subset of the transiting planet population. With masses in the super-Earth range (1 − 10 M⊕) and radii akin to those of giant planets (> 4 R⊕), their large envelopes may have been accreted beyond the water snow line and many appear to be susceptible to catastrophic mass loss. Both the presence of water and the importance of mass loss can be explored using transmission spectroscopy. Here, we present new HST WFC3 spectroscopy and updated Kepler transit depth measurements for the super-puff Kepler-79d. We do not detect any molecular absorption features in the 1.1−1.7 μm WFC3 bandpass and the combination of Kepler and WFC3 data are consistent with a flat line model, indicating the presence of aerosols in the atmosphere. We compare the shape of Kepler-79d's transmission spectrum to predictions from a microphysical haze model that incorporates an outward particle flux due to ongoing mass loss. We find that photochemical hazes offer an attractive explanation for the observed properties of super-puffs like Kepler-79d, as they simultaneously render the near-infrared spectrum featureless and reduce the inferred envelope mass loss rate by moving the measured radius (optical depth unity surface during transit) to lower pressures. We revisit the broader question of mass loss rates for super-puffs and find that the age estimates and mass loss rates for the majority of super-puffs can be reconciled if hazes move the photosphere from the typically assumed pressure of ∼ 10 mbar to ∼ 10 μbar.


Due to the cumulative nature of innovation, access to knowledge is important. Although evidence exists concerning the positive impact of increased knowledge access on the rate of inventive activity, less is known about its influence on the direction of inventive activity. I examine how a change in the cost of access to knowledge influences inventive activity by exploiting the hack of Microsoft Kinect as an exogenous event resulting in a sudden and unexpected reduction in the cost of motion-sensing research technology. Specifically, I examine changes in the publication rate of academic papers that use motion-sensing keywords and the composition of authorship on these papers before and after the launch of Kinect relative to other academic publications in selected control subfields of electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics. Despite a growing emphasis on the importance of specialists for knowledge creation, I identify researchers with broader exposure to knowledge – generalists – as playing a particularly important role in the process through which this shock influenced inventive activity. First, generalists have a higher propensity than specialists to respond to opportunities for knowledge creation enabled by the reduction in cost of motion-sensing technology. Second, generalists play a central role in connecting non-motion-sensing specialists to these opportunities, thus influencing the direction of inventive activity.


The Framers of the Constitution addressed the issues of presidential disability and succession in the document they wrote in Philadelphia in 1787 but they did so in ambiguous and uncertain language. Article II, section 5, states that "In case of the removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation, or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected." Two daunting problems emerged from this wording. First, it is not clear whether the words "the same" refer to the presidential office itself or to the powers and duties of the presidential office, an important distinction (Feerick 1992, 3). If the office passes to the vice president, he/she becomes president of the United States; if the powers and duties of the office are transferred, the vice president becomes acting president while the president continues to hold the office. Although the debates at the constitutional convention suggest strongly that the Framers preferred an acting presidency by the vice president rather than an actual succession to the presidential office (Ferrand 1911, 495), the Constitution itself neglects to make this clear. Further compounding the problem was that in 1841, after President William Henry Harrison became the first U.S. president to die in office, Vice President John Tyler's insistence that he had become president, and not simply acting president, of the United States, was accepted by Congress and the country. This created a powerful precedent supporting vice presidential succession to the office itself (Goldstein 1995, 522). The second problem arising from constitutional ambiguity is that the Framers unwisely placed together in the same sentence of the document three permanent and irreversible reasons for presidential separation from office (death, resignation, and removal) with one that is temporary and possibly even fleeting (inability). Because they failed to define "inability" or indicate how it might be determined, the constitutional configuration they adopted contributed to understandable reluctance by presidents to admit any inability to discharge the powers and duties of their office because they feared that if they did so, the result would be the same as if they permanently vacated it. The vice president would become president and they were uncertain whether they would be able to regain the office when their inability ended. Their reluctance was most unfortunate, because many presidents have suffered debilitating--although often well-concealed--illnesses while serving as the nation's chief executive. John Adams remained away from the capital for more than six months while trying to recover from the effects of probable hyperthyroidism (Ferling and Braverman 1998, 83). Madison suffered from a high fever and was delirious for almost a month, being described by some of his aides as deranged (Brandt 1961, 210). Jackson was afflicted with pulmonary hemorrhages, excruciating headaches, and shortness of breath. William Henry Harrison succumbed 30 days following his inauguration after developing viral pneumonia (Marx 1960, 113-14, 131). Cleveland underwent two concealed surgeries for cancer of the jaw while on board a yacht that traveled slowly up the Hudson River, procedures not disclosed until 1928, more than 30 years after he left the White House (Post and Robins 1992, 7-9). During the twentieth century, Woodrow Wilson suffered a massive stroke that paralyzed his left side and made his speech labored and indistinct, but the White House at first described his condition as a digestive upset (Smith 1964, 91). Harding suffered a heart attack while traveling from Vancouver to San Francisco but his White House physician publicly attributed his illness to crabmeat poisoning (Ferrell 1996, 15). …


I have written before about what I call "tax myopia" - the tax law's failure to consider insights from other areas of law that would inform the tax debate. (Tax Myopia, 13 Va. Tax Rev. 517 (1994); http://ssrn.com/abstract=799007). One illustration of this theme is how the tax law has ignored insights from other areas of law on perhaps the dominant social issue of our time: when does human life begin? The question was addressed in two tax cases decided over 55 years ago, and then revisited recently. Although Wilson v. Commissioner, 41 B.T.A. 456 (1940), refused to treat an unborn child as a person for purposes of the income tax dependency exemption, Faulkner v. Commissioner, 41 B.T.A. 875 (1940), treated as unborn child as a person for purposes of the gift tax annual exclusion. The Board of Tax Appeals justified the different results on the ground that the dependency exemption benefitted the parents while the annual exclusion benefitted the unborn child. In subsequent rulings, the Service has rejected this distinction and refused to treat unborn children as persons for both income tax and gift tax purposes. In Cassman v. United States, 31 Fed. Cl. 121 (1994), the Court of Federal Claims recently denied the dependency exemption for an unborn child but accepted the Board's facile distinction permitting unborn children to be treated as persons for tax purposes where they benefit from that treatment. Cassman thus perpetuates the schizophrenic state of the tax law in this area and ignores both basic tax principles and nontax considerations in addressing this pivotal issue.


Higher risk for long-term behavioral and emotional sequelae, with attentional problems (with or without hyperactivity) is now becoming one of the hallmarks of extreme premature (EP) birth and birth after pregancy conditions leading to poor intra uterine growth restriction (IUGR) [1,2]. However, little is know so far about the neurostructural basis of these complexe brain functional abnormalities that seem to have their origins in early critical periods of brain development. The development of cortical axonal pathways happens in a series of sequential events. The preterm phase (24-36 post conecptional weeks PCW) is known for being crucial for growth of the thalamocortical fiber bundles as well as for the development of long projectional, commisural and projectional fibers [3]. Is it logical to expect, thus, that being exposed to altered intrauterine environment (altered nutrition) or to extrauterine environment earlier that expected, lead to alterations in the structural organization and, consequently, alter the underlying white matter (WM) structure. Understanding rate and variability of normal brain development, and detect differences from typical development may offer insight into the neurodevelopmental anomalies that can be imaged at later stages. Due to its unique ability to non-invasively visualize and quantify in vivo white matter tracts in the brain, in this study we used diffusion MRI (dMRI) tractography to derive brain graphs [4,5,6]. This relatively simple way of modeling the brain enable us to use graph theory to study topological properties of brain graphs in order to study the effects of EP and IUGR on childrens brain connectivity at age 6 years old.


W here should litigants-in-person (LiPs) sit in the courtroom? Do they have a right to sit at "counsel's tables" or do they need leave? Why have certain practices developed in this regard and why do they matter? These questions emerged from court observations during research on LiPs in the New Zealand civil courts (Bridgette Toy-Cronin "Keeping Up Appearances: Accessing New Zealand's Civil Courts as a Litigant in Person" (PhD Thesis, University of Otago, 2015)). This article reports the findings about practice in the High Court and Family Court and examines them in a procedural, historical and social context. It concludes that current practice needs reform to create greater consistency and avoid messages of exclusion that may undermine the legitimacy of the court.


The influence of a repump laser on a nearly degenerate four-wave-mixing (ND-FWM) spectrum was investigated. We found the amplitude and the line shape of the NDFWM depended strongly on the detuning of the repump field. A five-peak structure was observed, and at some certain repump detuning a dip appeared at the central peak. A rough analysis was proposed to explain this effect.


In Named Data Networking (NDN) architecture, packets carry data names rather than source or destination addresses. This change of paradigm leads to a new data plane: data consumers send out Interest packets, routers forward them and maintain the state of pending Interests, which is used to guide Data packets back to the consumers. NDN routers' forwarding process is able to detect network problems by observing the two-way traffic of Interest and Data packets, and explore multiple alternative paths without loops. This is in sharp contrast to today's IP forwarding process which follows a single path chosen by the routing process, with no adaptability of its own. In this paper we outline the design of NDN's adaptive forwarding, articulate its potential benefits, and identify open research issues.


The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of older South African adults (65 years and older) towards euthanasia. The subjects of the study were people 65 years of age and older who resided in homes for the aged within the rural and urban areas of the Cape Town Metropolis. An equal number of subjects from the African, Coloured and European communities were randomly selected. A biographical questionnaire, the Euthanasia Attitude Scale and the Purpose In Life Test were administered. The influence of four variables – namely age, ethnicity, meaning in life and health – was investigated. A Pearson correlation coefficient analysis and a one-way ANOVA analysis were used. Age was the only variable found to have a significant correlation with euthanasia. The findings are discussed and certain recommendations are made.