Fontes's novel begins with a corrido announcing typical themes of murder and revenge. But the novel has from the outset been interimplicated in a history of the persecution of the Yoeme (Yaquis) at the turn into the twentieth century. Its three main protagonists become mavericks on the border, as they cross ultimately not only into safety in Arizona but into solidarity with the oppressed. Such crossings are existential, resulting in new identities that eschew racial or ethnic purity but instead embrace mixed ethnicity, or mestizaje (to borrow key concepts from Anzaldua). Such crossings are lateral, non-hierarchic. But Fontes does not allow refuge in some romantic vision: even as one crosses over, one retains one's membership in the group that oppresses. Instead, Fontes's mavericks—and Fontes herself— become tellers of a story too little known, too horrible to be obliterated. United in a kinan of spiritual force, they become potential "drops of water that penetrate and soften the land," leaving prints for others to follow." This article is available in Studies in 20th Century Literature: http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol25/iss1/12 Crossing Laterally into Solidarity in Montserrat Fontes's Dreams of the Centaur J. Douglas Canfield University of Arizona A voice vibrates through me. "Return to your country. Be priests of this vision, and you will be men of action, be men who move without doubt to turn Sonora into a land of generosity. Tell them what you saw here. When they enslave men there, they enslave us here. Tell them. That is why you have been saved. Be drops of water that penetrate and soften the land. Leave prints for others to follow." -Montserrat Fontes, Dreams of the


Malignant melanoma (MM) is an unpredictable tumour that can metastasise to any organ, and is well known for its widespread dissemination. The incidence of metastases to the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract is well documented; this, however, is a late manifestation of the disease with an overall poor prognosis. Most GI metastases are asymptomatic and are only discovered on postmortem, with the majority in the small bowel. The presenting symptoms are usually of obstruction or intussusception; GI bleeding is also common. Fistula formation with the small bowel is rare; ours is believed to be the second case documented.


In this paper, using Ireland, where debt issues are of particular salience as a test case, we seek to understand the extent to which the measures currently employed as national indicators of poverty and social exclusion succeed in capturing over-indebtedness and, more broadly, severity of debt problems. Our analysis reveals a clear gradient with predictive ability increasing sharply as one moves from 'at risk of poverty' to consistent poverty and finally economic vulnerability indicators. In relation to debt problems, the key distinction is between the just under one in five households defined as economically vulnerable and all others. Financial exclusion, relating to access to a bank account and a credit card, was found to increase debt levels. However, such effects were modest. The impact of economic vulnerability seems to be largely a consequence of its relationship to a wide range of socio-economic attributes and circumstances. The manner in which a potential debt crisis unfolds will be shaped by the broader socio-economic structuring of life-chances. Any attempt to respond to such problems by concentrating on household behaviour or, indeed, triggering factors without taking the wider social structuring of economic vulnerability is likely to be both seriously misguided and largely ineffective.


In the time when the world is debating on climate change issues which is basically due to use of fossil fuel, the use of solar energy in various form is relevant. The existing buildings are responsible for use of large amount of energy for lighting, heating, cooling and use of various energy run equipments mostly powered by fossil energy. Today's intention should be to replace this fossil fuel by solar energy which is free and available in abundance.At the moment, solar technologies in the form of photovoltaics and thermal collectors are available in competitive prices. However, their use has not been to the expectation specially in building sector to replace the use of fossil fuels. The main reason for these technologies not being popular in building integration is the lack of good architectural quality rendered not meeting desired design considerations. Innovative approaches have to be explored in terms of design and implementation in order to match the modern technological components to the scale, proportion, material, colour scheme and balance of buildings. So, the objective of this thesis is to pave possible ways of integrating these technologies into buildings, both on existing and new constructions to add emphasis on the overall architectural expression in addition to producing energy. The intention here is to highlight design possibilities regarding the use of solar technologies into buildings with innovative approaches. Basic focus is on the appearance or aesthetics part of integration as this makes the major impact on the people. PVs and thermal collectors can deliberately be used as architectural design elements in a distinctive way.The development towards passive house, zero energy and zero emission buildings will cause a more frequent use of building integrated solar energy systems as a source of renewable energy. Due to the limitations in the integrability of such systems in relation to the design, colour and scale of the building envelope, their integration may ruin the final architectural quality of the building. Many solar systems do exist on the market, and with better and better energy performance. But, if they are not designed to be integrated into buildings to enhance the quality of architecture, probably no one will opt using these systems as a source of renewable energy generators. In this case, even though there will be more and more efficient PV or STC systems in the market, they won't be of use if aesthetic ways of integrating them is not sought. It looks like PV integration have brought about some improvements in the architectural quality of building integration, but the solar thermal collectors lacks on this part to some extent.While the technical development and energy performance improvements are always in progress, the actual use of these systems in buildings is not increasing as it could and should do. Existing buildings account for over 40% of the world's total primary energy use and 24% of greenhouse gas emissions (Wall, 2009). A combination of making buildings more energy-efficient and using a larger fraction of renewable energy is therefore a key issue to reduce the non-renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. With this aim, integration of PV and solar thermal collector systems into buildings becomes very important.Integrating these PV and solar thermal collectors systems into buildings is not only for clean energy but also to use them as multifunctional elements where they replace the conventional building elements. With this, the economical viability of integration is met and most importantly, they become architectural components.So the possible ways of architectural integration of PV and solar thermal collector systems have been explored and analysed in the thesis with special focus made on the aesthetic part of integration. 'Integrability' of both the systems in terms of different integration requirements have been compared. In doing so, integration advantages of both the systems have been explored.


This essay argues that the scenario of Horace's Epode 3 is modeled upon that of Catullus 14. In each case the speaker protests against a practical joke played by a friend; the obvious programmatic stance of the latter poem, moreover, casts light on the operations of the former. In c. 14, Catullus threatens to respond to Calvus' gag volume of doggerel with his own collection of no less awful verse. Suffering heartburn from a dish primed with garlic, Horace meanwhile wishes garlic breath upon his host Maecenas should he try the same trick again. Both malefactors will thus be repaid in kind. Like the anthology of bad poets, the garlic arguably has metapoetic significance, and an allusion to Catullus 13 at the close of the epode suggests that Horace is poking fun at Maecenas' fondness for composing verse in the neoteric style. Fragments of Maecenas' own hendecasyllabics addressed to Horace support that possibility.


Possible changes in the frequency and intensity of windstorms under future climate conditions during the 21st century are investigated based on an ECHAM5 GCM multi-scenario ensemble. The intensity of a storm is quantified by the associated estimated loss derived with using an empirical model. The geographical focus is 'Core Europe', which comprises countries of Western Europe. Possible changes of losses are analysed by comparing ECHAM5 GCM data for recent (20C, 1960 to 2000) and future climate conditions (B1, A1B, A2; 2060 to 2100), each with 3 ensemble members. Changes are quantified using both rank statistics and return periods (RP) estimated by fitting an extreme value distribution using the peak over threshold method to potential storm losses. The estimated losses for ECHAM5 20C and reanalysis events show similar statistical features in terms of return periods. Under future climate conditions, all climate scenarios show an increase in both frequency and magnitude of potential losses caused by windstorms for Core Europe. Future losses that are double the highest ECHAM5 20C loss are identified for some countries. While positive changes of ranking are significant for many countries and multiple scenarios, significantly shorter RPs are mostly found under the A2 scenario for return levels correspondent to 20 yr losses or less. The emergence time of the statistically significant changes in loss varies from 2027 to 2100. These results imply an increased risk of occurrence of windstorm-associated losses, which can be largely attributed to changes in the meteorological severity of the events. Additionally, factors such as changes in the cyclone paths and in the location of the wind signatures relative to highly populated areas are also important to explain the changes in estimated losses.


This report summarizes the results of year seven of a national random-digit-dial public opinion poll asking 1,503 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues, with a special focus on understanding support for increasing revenues for public transit. Ten specific tax options tested were variations on raising the federal gas tax rate, creating a new mileage tax, and creating a new federal sales tax. Other questions probed perceptions related to public transit, including knowledge and opinions about federal taxes to support transit. In addition, the survey collected data on standard sociodemographic factors, travel behavior (public transit usage, annual miles driven, and vehicle fuel efficiency), respondents' views on the quality of their local transportation system, their priorities for government spending on transportation in their state, and environmental concerns. All of this information is used to assess support levels for the tax options among different population subgroups. The survey results show that a majority of Americans would support higher taxes for transportation – under certain conditions. For example, a gas tax increase of 10¢ per gallon to improve road maintenance was supported by 75% of respondents, whereas support levels dropped to just 31% if the revenues were to be used more generally to maintain and improve the transportation system. For tax options in which the revenues were to be spent for undefined transportation purposes, support levels varied considerably by what kind of tax would be imposed, with a sales tax much more popular than either a gas tax increase or a new mileage tax. With respect to public transit, the survey results show that most people want good public transit service in their state. In addition, two-thirds of respondents supported spending gas tax revenues on transit. However, questions exploring different methods to raise new revenues found relatively low levels of support for raising gas tax or transit fare rates. Also, not all respondents were well informed about how transit is funded, with only half knowing that fares do not cover the full cost of transit.


Metal cutting is a widely used method of producing manufactured products. The technology of metal cutting has advanced considerably along with new materials, computers, and sensors. This new edition treats the scientific principles of metal cutting and their practical application to manufacturing problems. It begins with metal cutting mechanics, principles of vibration, and experimental modal analysis applied to solving shop floor problems. Notable is the in-depth coverage of chatter vibrations, a problem experienced daily by manufacturing engineers. The essential topics of programming, design, and automation of CNC (computer numerical control) machine tools, NC (numerical control) programming, and CAD/CAM technology are discussed. The text also covers the selection of drive actuators, feedback sensors, modeling and control of feed drives, the design of real time trajectory generation and interpolation algorithms, and CNC-oriented error analysis in detail. Each chapter includes examples drawn from industry, design projects, and homework problems. This book is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as practicing engineers.


The history of retail and consumption during the eighteenth-century has enjoyed interest from historians for a number of decades, yet few studies have concentrated on large cities or utilised a case study method to develop an in-depth and longitudinal understanding of change across the whole century. This study seeks to rectify this by concentrating on the city of Norwich, which was the second largest city in England in 1700, in order to build up a detailed social history of retail, shopping and consumption. The research seeks to clarify the exact nature of change in urban retail and consumption, exploring the existence of consumer and retail 'revolutions' and the relationship between them. Using a variety of archival sources the study uncovers the extent of the consumption of novel goods, the changing nature of the economic character of each of Norwich's thirty-four parishes and uncovers the dual personality of the city, with evidence for a leisured town set within the larger industrial city. Detailed mapping of directory data points to a concentration of luxury retail in key streets, making up a cultural thoroughfare which linked the traditional cultural centre of the city in the east to the new purpose-built leisure arena on the western boundary. The character of retail change and the role of the shopkeeper is assessed through newspaper advertisements, trade cards, probate inventories, diaries and contemporary visual representations of the city centre. While a clear transformation was detected across the century, the evidence suggests that change was cumulative rather than a big shift at a fixed point in time. However, although the changes noted in this research did not constitute 'revolution' in an immediate sense, the modifications in urban spaces, retail and consumption, which were evident from the beginning of the century, were undoubtedly significant in their long-term effects by laying the foundations for current practice.


Microsoft Office was facing an uphill task in engaging the undergraduate student community. Attracting this audience—the most tech-savvy generation ever—was critical to the future of the Microsoft Office franchise. Microsoft's past advertising efforts to reach this audience had proven lackluster, while its key competitors were gradually entrenching themselves among this demographic. Microsoft's challenge was to determine the best tactics that could successfully connect with this audience. The (A) case describes Microsoft's dilemma and briefly addresses what college students mostly care about: managing homework, creating great-looking schoolwork, preparing for the workplace, and collaborating with friends and classmates. It also provides competitive information, chiefly Google's increasing presence in universities and its focus on the higher education market and the growing influence of Facebook among students and its evolution into a productivity tool. The (B) case describes the qualitative research tools that Microsoft used to get a better understanding of college students: day diaries using Twitter, technology diaries using the Internet and smartphones, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with students. The case helps students understand the value of ethnographic and qualitative research techniques, draw inferences from the data, and subsequently make recommendations. It illustrates how ethnographic and observational studies enrich research by generating deeper consumer insight than traditional methods.

Students will learn: - How online tools in ethnographic and observational research offer new insights not revealed by traditional survey research - How different qualitative market tools are used to collect data, as well as the pros and cons of different ethnographic research techniques - To interpret and synthesize data from qualitative and ethnographic research - How research can influence a firm's marketing and advertising tactics


How do authoritarian governments learn? What kind of events and experiences can lead them to adopt more or less restrictive policies towards social actors? And, how are such lessons from others' experiences integrated into new policies? These questions have been addressed and answered quite differently from various disciplinary perspectives, focusing either on international dynamics such as "authoritarian diffusion" or on domestic policy learning. This article seeks to integrate different perspectives on authoritarian learning by proposing a typological framework of positive and negative learning from three distinct sources: authoritarian peers, democratic countries, and subnational policy experiments. I argue that such a comprehensive framework better accounts for both the relative importance and for the interaction of different kinds of learning in national-level policy processes. To illustrate the framework's added analytical value, I use an exemplary case study of recent legislative changes to China's civil society policy, which have been alternatively interpreted as part of an authoritarian "wave" or as another step in incremental domestic learning processes.


Rapid-cycling recurrent selection has been implemented to produce cassava varieties that deliver provitamin A carotenoids to human populations that are affected by vitamin A deficiency. Rapid-cycling

 selection relies on quantification in just one plant per genotype. This study was conducted to assess the

 reliability of single-plant evaluations and the effect of age of the plant on carotenoid content in cassava

 roots. Variation in aliquot quantifications from the same root was negligible indicating a reliable

 experimental procedure. A large source of variation for carotenoids was due to differences among

 genotypes. Root-to-root variation from the same plant in some cases was surprisingly high and

 accounted for an average of 25% of the total variation. Plant-to-plant variation was not as high and

 accounted for 20% of the total variance. Carotenoid content was shown to vary depending on the age of

 the plant. Single-plant evaluations for carotenoid content in cassava, which is a requirement for rapidcycling recurrent selection is acceptable considering that it reduces in half the time required for

 evaluation and selection. However, it is suggested that 2 to 3 roots per plant be combined together in a

 sample to represent each genotype at a standard plant age.

 Key words: Plant age, environmental influence, rapid cycling, genetic gains, -carotene, repeatability


Switched capacitors are here investigated for use in reconfigurable matching networks, particularly for digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) frequencies. A 0.13-μm CMOS circuit is evaluated through both simulations and measurements. Source grounded nMOS transistors are used to switch high-quality metal capacitors located above metal layer 8. The quality factor and tuning range depend on frequency, switch voltage, capacitor size, and transistor width. There is a clear tradeoff between quality factor and tuning range, and measurements show quality factors above 50, 100, and 150 at tuning ranges of 3.9, 2.4, and 1.6, respectively. A reconfigurable matching network with the switched capacitors has been realized using external inductors and the measured matching domain for the DVB-H frequency band is shown. The total loss of the network is 1.0 dB, a result of the high-quality switched capacitors.


A comprehensive, full-color handbook, packed with hundreds of photographs that showcase the latest in beautiful, welcoming, and efficient kitchen design. 150 Best New Kitchen Ideas offers an in-depth look at exemplary new kitchen designs from today's most renowned architects and designers. Packed with 500 pages of gorgeous full-color photographs, it features the most attractive, functional, and cost-effective kitchen designs from around the world. Here are hundreds of ideas for lighting, floor, wall, and window treatments to create kitchens that are attractive, inviting, and highly functional, as well as a wealth of notions for cabinetry, countertops, sinks, and more. Covering a diversity of current trends, 150 Best New Kitchen Ideas is an indispensable design and decorating resource filled with inspirational ideas for the homeowner, designer, interior decorator, and architect.


We studied the numerical response of a population of the common buzzard Buteo buteo to the fluctuations of its main prey (voles) and alternative prey (forest grouse) in western Finland between 1979 and 1996. Populations of main prey fluctuated in a cyclic manner with three years between peak densities. The nesting success of buzzards averaged 1.7 fledglings per nesting attempt and the brood size averaged 2.2 fledglings per brood. The nesting rate (no. of active nests per number of occupied territories) and the productivity rate (no. of chicks for all territories) positively correlated with the abundance of Microtus voles in the current spring but not with the abundance of grouse. The Alternative Prey Hypothesis (APH) predicts that, in the years when the main prey species decline, generalist predators can shift their diet to alternative prey and thus cause its decline. The Shared Predation Hypothesis (SPH) states that all important prey species, including alternative prey, are under high hunting pressure when the density of predators is high. The predation rate (the combination of numerical response and previously studied functional response) of Microtus voles by buzzards was positively correlated with the densities of these voles in the current spring, whereas the predation rate of grouse tended to peak one year after peak densities of Microtus voles. Therefore, our results appear to support APH rather than SPH and indicate that predation by buzzards may dampen population cycles of main prey (voles) but amplify population fluctuations of grouse.


Modern Russian Grammar Workbook by John Dunn and Shamil Khairov is an innovative book of exercises and language tasks for all learners of Russian. The book is divided into two parts.

Section 1 provides exercises based on essential grammatical structures.
Section 2 practises everyday functions such as making introductions, apologizing and expressing needs.
A comprehensive answer key at the back of the book enables students to check on their progress.

Main features include:

exercises graded according to level of difficulty
cross referencing to the related Modern Russian Grammar
topical exercises which develop students' vocabulary base.
The Modern Russian Grammar Workbook is ideal for all learners of Russian, from beginner to intermediate and advanced students. It can be used both independently and alongside the Modern Russian Grammar: A Practical Guide, also published by Routledge.

John Dunn is Honorary Research Fellow and Shamil Khairov is Lecturer in Russian, both at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Glasgow.


BACKGROUND
Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease diagnosed in women worldwide. Screening with mammography has the ability to detect breast cancer at an early stage. The diagnostic accuracy of mammography screening largely depends on the radiographic density of the imaged breasts. In radiographically dense breasts, non-calcified breast cancers are more likely to be missed than in fatty breasts. As a consequence, some cancers are not detected by mammography screening. Supporters of adjunct ultrasonography to the screening regimen for breast cancer argue that it might be a safe and inexpensive approach to reduce the false negative rates of the screening process. Critics, however, are concerned that performing supplemental ultrasonography on women at average risk will also increase the rate of false positive findings and can lead to unnecessary biopsies and treatments.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the comparative effectiveness and safety of mammography in combination with breast ultrasonography versus mammography for breast cancer screening for women at average risk of breast cancer.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Breast Cancer Group's Specialised Register, MEDLINE (via OvidSP) and EMBASE up until February 2012.To detect ongoing or unpublished studies, we searched the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), ClinicalTrials.gov and the National Cancer Institute's clinical trial database until June 2012. In addition, we conducted grey literature searches using the following sources: OpenGrey; National Institute of Health RePORTER; Health Services Research Projects in Progress (HSRPROJ); Hayes, Inc. Health Technology Assessment; The New York Academy of Medicine's Grey Literature Index and Conference Papers Index.

SELECTION CRITERIA
For efficacy, we considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs), with either individual or cluster randomisation, and prospective, controlled non-randomised studies with a low risk of bias and a sample size of at least 500 participants.In addition to studies eligible for efficacy, we considered any controlled, non-randomised study with a low risk of bias and a study size of at least 500 participants for the assessment of harms.Our population of interest were women between the ages of 40 and 75 years who were at average risk for breast cancer.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors screened abstracts and full-text publications against the inclusion criteria. None of the studies met our inclusion criteria.

MAIN RESULTS
Our review did not detect any controlled studies on the use of adjunct ultrasonography for screening in women at average risk for breast cancer. One ongoing randomised controlled trial was identified (J-START, Japan).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Presently, there is no methodologically sound evidence available justifying the routine use of ultrasonography as an adjunct screening tool in women at average risk for breast cancer.


Process modeling can be a useful tool to aid in process development, process optimization, and process scale-up. When modeling a chromatography process, one must first select the appropriate models that describe the mass transfer and adsorption that occurs within the porous adsorbent. The theoretical understanding of chromatographic behavior can augment available experimental data and aid in the design of specific experiments to develop a more complete understanding of the behavior of a unit operation.


This article discusses the design of light follower chair prototype with speed adjustment of DC motor according to light intensity using microcontroller ATmega328p. This prototype provides a solution for a chair to be back on the position under the table automatically by using a light follower robot principle. There are many possible positions of a chair after being used: perpendicular or sideways to the table. As the positions after being used are varied, the light is used to direct the chair toward under the table since the light can reach the area around the chair except for the back area. This prototype functions well if the chair is heading to the table and is not designed to function in the backward position. LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) sensors are used to detect the light. As the source of light, 1 W high power LED is put under the table. A microcontroller ATmega328p is used to execute the input and output of this system. Two DC motor are used as actuators to control the movement of the chair toward the light under the table. Ultrasonic sensors HC-SR04 are used to measure the distance between the table and the chair so that the chair can stop at the desired position.


Rethinking biology means rethinking the text, the visual program, and assessment. Ordinarily, textbooks are developed by first writing chapters, then making decisions about art and images, and finally, once the book is complete, assembling a test bank and ancillary media. This process dramatically limits the integration across resources, and reduces art, media, and assessments to ancillary material, rather than essential resources for student learning. "Biology: How Life Works" is the first project to develop three pillars the text, the visual program, and the assessment at the same time. All three pillars were developed in parallel to make sure that each idea is addressed in the most appropriate medium, and to ensure authentic integration. These three pillars are all tied to the same set of core concepts, share a common language, and use the same visual palette. In this way, the text, visual program, and assessments are integral parts of student learning, rather than just accessories to the text.RETHINKING THE TEXT Integrated"Biology: How Life Works" moves away from a focus on disparate topics, towards an integrated approach. Chemistry is presented in context, structure and function are covered together, the flow of information in a cell is introduced where it makes the most conceptual sense, and cases serve as a framework for connecting and assimilating information.Selective"Biology: How Life Works" was envisioned not as a reference book for all of biology, but a resource focused on foundational concepts, terms, and experiments. This allows students to more easily identify, understand, and apply critical concepts, and develop a framework on which to build their understanding of biology.Thematic"Biology: How Life Works" was written with six themes in mind. Introduced in Chapter 1 and revisited throughout, these themes provide a framework that helps students see biology as a set of connected concepts. In particular, the theme of evolution is emphasized for its ability to explain and predict so many patterns in biology.RETHINKING THE VISUAL PROGRAMIntegratedAcross "Biology: How Life Works" whether students are looking at a figure in the book, watching an animation, or interacting with a simulation they always see a consistent use of color, shapes, and design.EngagingEvery image still and in motion engages students by being vibrant, clear, and approachable. The result is a visual environment that is expertly designed to pull students in, deepens their interest, and helps them see a world of biological processes.A Visual FrameworkTo help students think like biologists, the visual program is designed to be a framework for students to hang the concepts and connect ideas. Individual figures present foundational concepts; Visual Synthesis figures tie multiple concepts across chapters together; animations bring these figures to life; and simulations let students interact with the concepts. Collectively, this visual framework allows students to move seamlessly back and forth between the big picture and the details.RETHINKING THE ASSESSMENTRangeDeveloped by a broad community of leading science educators, the assessments for Biology: How Life Works address all types of learning, from recall to synthesis. They are designed to be used in a variety of settings and come in a wide range of formats (multiple choice, true/false, free response).IntegratedAssessment is seamlessly integrated into the text and the visual program (both in print and interactive). Each time an instructor asks a student to engage with Biology: How Life Works whether it is reading a chapter, watching an animation, or working through an experiment the opportunity to assess that experience exists.ConnectedMany of the questions and activities for Biology: How Life Works are organized in sets called Progressions. Questions in a Progression are aligned with one or more core concepts, and are designed to move a student from basic knowledge to higher order skills and deeper understanding. Progressions questions can be used individually or in a series as pre-class quizzes, in-class clicker questions or activities, post-class homework, or exams. When used in sequence, Progressions provide a connected learning path for students."


Biosurfactants produced from microbial sources are increasingly viewed by industry as more sustainable and less toxic alternatives to their chemically derived counterparts. One major class of biosurfactant that has the potential for commercial exploitation are the rhamnolipids. Rhamnolipids are composed of one or two rhamnose monosaccharides covalently bonded to fatty acid chains of varying molecular weights. The major microbial producer of rhamnolipid is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, however as this is a known human pathogen many industries are reluctant to utilise rhamnolipids synthesised by this bacterium. In order to avoid this problem a consortium of both academic and industrial partners have been screening marine bacteria for their ability to synthesis biosurfactants in a project called MARISURF. Here we report our findings of rhamnolipid production by two marine bacterial strains. Rhamnolipid production by these strains was first identified via the phenotypic screening of surface tension reduction. Rhamnolipid synthesis was then confirmed and characterised via HPLC-MS and NMR. Both 16S rDNA and subsequent genomic sequencing revealed these strains to be Marinobacter sp. and Pseudomonas mendocina, both species where rhamnolipid production was previously un-reported. Finally, both strains were assessed for potential pathogenicity using the Galleria mellonella model. Importantly for commercial exploitation, neither strain was shown to be harmful to G. mellonella over a 72 h infection period. Confirmed identification of rhamnolipid production in bacterial strains isolated from the marine environment highlights global oceans as an untapped resource in the ocean for the discovery of novel sources of biosurfactants.


We describe the stages of technological development in a 4-year project designed to adapt college-level physics education to the realities of the digital era. The project is a case study that draws on a wide range of complementary innovations to provide a better overall understanding of how technological transitions take place in an educational setting and, in particular, in the education of students in science and engineering fields. The complete lifecycle of technological-change projects is examined. Various longer-term challenges are evaluated, including the development of new skills in teachers and support staff and the need for investments in equipment in participating educational institutions. Québec`s recent Digital Action Plan is used both as a reference funding framework for discussion and as an example of how individual technology-based projects can indirectly benefit from broader government investments that target the college network as a whole.


The Al–Ni system has been intensively studied both experimentally and theoretically. Previous first-principles calculations based on density-functional theory (DFT) typically investigate the stable phases of this system in their experimental stoichiometry. In this work, we present DFT calculations for the Al–Ni system that cover stable and metastable phases across the whole composition range for each phase. The considered metastable phases are relevant for applications as they are observed in engineering alloys based on Al–Ni. To model the Gibbs energies of solid phases of the Al–Ni system, we combine our DFT calculations with the compound energy formalism (CEF) that takes the Bragg–Williams–Gorsky approximation for the configurational entropy. Our results indicate that the majority of the investigated configurations have negative energy of formation with respect to Al fcc and Ni fcc. The calculated molar volumes for all investigated phases show negative deviations from Zen's law. The thermodynamic properties at finite temperatures of individual phases allow one to predict the configurational contributions to the Gibbs energy. By applying a fully predictive approach without excess parameters, an acceptable topology of the DFT-based equilibrium phase diagram is obtained at low and intermediate temperatures. Further contributions can be added to improve the predictability of the method, such as phonons or going beyond the Bragg–Williams–Gorsky approximation that overestimates the stability range of the ordered phases. This is clearly demonstrated in the fcc order/disorder predicted metastable phase diagram.


Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe, musclewasting disease arising from mutations in the massive dystrophin gene that preclude the synthesis of a functional protein. Affected boys show signs of weakness between the ages of 3 to 5 years, become restricted to a wheelchair by the age of 12 years and 90% will die from cardiac or respiratory complications before their third decade. DMD dystrophin gene defects are typically nonsense or frameshift mutations that lead to premature termination of translation. In-frame dystrophin gene mutations can result in a Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), a milder, allelic form of DMD where the shortened dystrophin protein contributes to a milder phenotype. There is considerable variation in severity where some BMD patients become restricted to a wheelchair by the age of 15 years while others are almost asymtopmatic and have been diagnosed late in life (mid 60's). The very mild BMD patients clearly demonstrate that the intact or full-length dystrophin protein is not essential for near normal function.

Antisense oligonucleotides have been used to "knock-out" or suppress specific gene expression, either through the activation of a RNaseH activity or by blocking translation. We have used 2'-O-methyl antisense oligonucleotides (2'- O-Me AOs), which do not induce RnaseH activity, to "knock-in" a defective dystrophin gene so that a functional protein can be produced from a specifically modified transcript. These antisense oligonucleotides were directed to crucial splicing motifs in the dystrophin pre-mRNA, thereby blocking inclusion of specific exons in the mature dystrophin transcript. Such an approach would allow exons carrying nonsense mutations to be removed, or exons flanking a genomic deletion to be skipped to restore the reading frame. The mdx mouse model of DMD has a nonsense mutation in exon 23 of the dystrophin gene which results in premature termination of translation. By targeting antisense oligonucleotides to the 5' splice site of intron 23 of the mouse dystrophin gene, it was possible to specifically induce skipping of exon 23 from the processed dystrophin mRNA. The induced skipping of dystrophin exon 23 removes the nonsense mutation without disrupting the reading frame so that a Becker-like protein could be produced. Delivery of 2'-O-Me AOs to the nucleus of cultured H-2K mdx cells was confirmed using an FITClabelled oligo, and induced exon skipping was assessed by an RT-PCR assay that revealed amplification of a dystrophin transcript missing exon 23. Transfection efficiency was improved by complexing 2'-O-Me AOs with commercially available liposomes. In vivo studies in the mdx mouse have shown synthesis and correct localisation of dystrophin and g-sarcoglycan after repeated i.m. injection of a 2'-O-Me AO:liposome complex. This approach offers an alternative to gene replacement or correction, and future work will assess in vivo toxicity, persistence of the protein and further refine delivery.


Casein kinase 1 (CK1) is a pleiotropic protein kinase implicated in several fundamental processes of eukaryotic cell biology. Plasmodium falciparum encodes a single CK1 isoform, PfCK1, that is expressed at all stages of the parasite's life cycle. We have previously shown that the pfck1 gene cannot be disrupted, but that the locus can be modified if no loss-of-function is incurred, suggesting an important role for this kinase in intra-erythrocytic asexual proliferation. Here, we report on the use of parasite lines expressing GFP- or His-tagged PfCK1 from the endogenous locus to investigate (i) the dynamics of PfCK1 localisation during the asexual cycle in red blood cells, and (ii) potential interactors of PfCK1, so as to gain insight into the involvement of the enzyme in specific cellular processes. Immunofluorescence analysis reveals a dynamic localisation of PfCK1, with evidence for a pool of the enzyme being directed to the membrane of the host erythrocyte in the early stages of infection, followed by a predominantly intra-parasite localisation in trophozoites and schizonts and association with micronemes in merozoites. Furthermore, we present strong evidence that a pool of enzymatically active PfCK1 is secreted into the culture supernatant, demonstrating that PfCK1 is an ectokinase. Our interactome experiments and ensuing kinase assays using recombinant PfCK1 to phosphorylate putative interactors in vitro suggest an involvement of PfCK1 in many cellular processes such as mRNA splicing, protein trafficking, ribosomal, and host cell invasion.


In the paper, the interaction between public debt and inflation including mutual impulse response will be analysed. The European sovereign debt crisis brought once again the focus on the consequences of public debt in combination with an expansive monetary policy for the development of consumer prices. Public deficits can lead to inflation if the money supply is expansive. The high level of national debt, not only in the Euro-crisis countries, and the strong increase in total assets of the European Central Bank, as a result of the unconventional monetary policy, caused fears on inflating national debt. The transmission from public debt to inflation through money supply and long-term interest rate will be shown in the paper. Based on these theoretical thoughts, the variables public debt, consumer price index, money supply m3 and long-term interest rate will be analysed within a vector error correction model estimated by Johansen approach. In the empirical part of the article, quarterly data for Germany from 1991 by 2010 are to be examined.


Circular dichroism contains rich information on the conformation of molecules and, in particular, of biomolecules, and measuring its variation in a pump-probe experiment is very promising but also very challenging. We propose a new technique to measure pump-induced variation of the circular dichroism, which is based on the measurement of the probe ellipticity and its variation with the pump. This technique has the advantage that it does not require modulation of the probe polarization, which allows modulation of the pump intensity. We show theoretically and demonstrate experimentally that this technique is very sensitive and user friendly. We also show that it can be used to measure pump-induced change in the optical rotation, allowing for a complete characterization of pump-induced optical activity.


Research on the neural bases of emotion raises much controversy and few quantitative models exist that can help address the issues raised. Here we replicate and dissect one of those models, Armony and colleagues' neurocomputational model of fear conditioning, which is based on LeDoux's dual-route hypothesis regarding the rat fear circuitry. The importance of the model's modular abstraction of the neuroanatomy, its use of population coding, and in particular the interplay between thalamo-amygdala and thalamo-cortical pathways are tested. We show that a trivially minimal version of the model can produce conditioning to a reinforced stimulus without recourse to the dual pathway structure, but a modification of the original model, which nevertheless preserves the thalamo-amygdala and (reduced) thalamo-cortical pathways, enables stronger conditioning to a conditioned stimulus. Implications for neurocomputational modelling approaches are discussed.


Relevance: The problem of genital prolapse, despite such a long history of the disease, still does not have a definite solution. Currently, the problem of genital prolapse in women remains relevant due to the high impact on the social part of life. Genital prolapse and impaired function of neighboring organs significantly reduce the quality of life. Every year there are more and more articles linking genital prolapse with connective tissue pathology and with a change in collagen structure. This paper describes the relationship of polymorphisms of the collagen genes COL1A1 and COL3A1 and pelvic organ prolapse in women. This study aimed to analyze the effect of rs1800012 and rs1107946 polymorphisms of the COL1A1 gene, rs1800255 of the COL3A1 gene on the development of pelvic organ prolapse in women of the Belgorod region. Material and Methods: In 2018 we analyzed 268 women who were residents of the city of Belgorod and the Belgorod region, among which 2 groups were identified. Group 1 (N = 53) included women who had signs of pelvic organ prolapse. Group 2 (N = 215) consisted of women with an objectively proven absence of prolapse. The study was carried out in the gynecological department of Belgorod Regional Clinical Hospital of St. Joasaph. Results: In our study, it was found that the frequencies of polymorphisms of the COL1A1 and COL3A1 genes in residents of the Belgorod region did not differ from those in representatives of European populations. Thus, in the studied population of Belgorod women, the allele A of the rs1800255 polymorphism of the COL3A1 gene was characterized by a protective effect in relation to the predisposition to pelvic organ prolapse. Conclusion: In our study, a high association of rs1800255 polymorphism of the COL3A1 gene to pelvic organ prolapse in women of the Belgorod region was confirmed. At the same time, no connection between the rs1800012 and rs1107946 polymorphisms of the COL1A1 gene and genital prolapse was detected.


Bronchiectatic patients have impaired health-related quality of life (QoL) and are prone to chronic lower respiratory tract infections. We have investigated whether impaired QoL is related to sputum bacteriology. Eighty seven patients with non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis, in a stable phase of their illness, completed three QoL measures, underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan and lung function tests, and provided a fresh sputum sample for microscopy and culture. The QoL of patients colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa group) was significantly worse than all other patients grouped together (non-Pa group), and specifically those infected by Haemophilus influenzae (Hi group) or who had no bacterial growth (NG group) (p<0.05), but not those infected by other bacterial species (O group). The Pa group had worse lung function, but no significant differences were found between the groups for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow rate. The Pa group had significantly worse bronchiectasis scores than the O, NG and non-Pa groups, but not the Hi group. There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to the number of infective exacerbations in the last year, but the Pa group had significantly more hospital admissions. Patients infected by P. aeruginosa for more than 3 yrs had significantly worse FEV1 (p<0.03) and bronchiectasis scores (p<0.05) than those infected with P. aeruginosa for less time, but not significantly worse QoL. We conclude that, overall, patients infected with P. aeruginosa have worse quality of life, and that P. aeruginosa is associated with a greater extent of disease and worse lung function. Although patients infected with H. influenzae had extensive bronchiectasis their quality of life was better than the P. aeruginosa infected group.


Knowing the position of an apex of a distributive depositional system can provide important spatial constraints on paleogeographic reconstructions, and thus can greatly help facies predictions, at both a system and a basin scale. To date, predicting the position of an apex of a sedimentary system is often limited to generalized statements based on facies mapping and qualitative analyses of paleocurrent readings. This paper presents a user-friendly quantitative methodology based on the von Mises distribution and uses the method of maximum likelihood to obtain an estimated apex and associated confidence regions for a dataset. The methodology presented has been applied to two modern distributive fluvial systems (DFSs), the Taquari DFS, situated in southwestern Brazil, and the Gilbert DFS, situated in northwestern Queensland, Australia. The position of each apex is known for the two systems, thus allowing the accuracy of the methodology to be tested. A range of datasets, within which the amount and spatial distribution of localities were selected independently, was analyzed. The predicted apices came within encouraging proximity of the true apices, ranging in distance from 2.7 km to 40.3 km (1.6 to 23.4% of the total DFS length) away, with accuracy generally increasing with increasing dataset size and proximity to the apex. Data collected from the Late Jurassic Salt Wash DFS were also analyzed using the code. Results have helped to give better geographical constraints on the system and apex location as well as on the southern margin of the Morrison depositional basin. Although tested on modern and outcrop-based datasets from DFS, the methodology can be applied to any dataset, subsurface or surface, in which dispersion occurs from a point source, thus unlocking the potential for better paleogeographic constraint on a broad range of sedimentary environments such as deltas and submarine fans.


MicroCHP involves the coproduction of both heat and electric power in (typically) residential heating systems. A range of different energy conversion technologies are currently receiving attention for this application including Stirling engines, internal combustion engines, fuel cells, and Rankine cycles with steam or organic compounds as working fluids. In this work the use of ThermoPhotoVoltaic (TPV) and ThermoElectric (TE) conversion devices either alone or in combination for power production in an oil-fired heating system have been explored. The focus of this work to date has been on sufficient electric power output to achieve self-powering of the appliance with the consideration that reliability of the heating system during power outages may provide the greatest value to the consumer. Also explored is the potential for producing larger power output levels, to 1 kW. Low cost, currently available TE devices, based on bismuth telluride, have very low thermal to electric power conversion efficiencies. The use of these in self-powered heating appliances for other applications is established art. Further for simply self-powering, a low conversion efficiency is all that is required to produce the 100 watts needed to power the system. Advanced TE materials under development offer strong potential for increased efficiency in the future. TPV, while currently at an earlier state of development offers the potential for higher conversion efficiencies. This work will report the production of power with both TE and TPV integrated with a residential boiler. A hydronic system was selected relative to a forced air system because of the lower electric power requirements. Using a novel pressure atomized oil burner in combination with very low power circulating pumps, the total running power demand has been reduced to 72 watts. In consideration of cycling, it is estimated that a minimum steady state power output level of 120 watts is required. Experimental results on power production with both TE and TPV in this system are presented. The potential for integration of both TE and TPV devices in a hybrid system are discussed.


Some climate change is now inevitable and strategies to adapt to these changes are quickly developing. The question is particularly paramount for low-income countries, which are likely to be most affected. This timely and unique book takes an integrated look at the twin challenges of climate change and development. The book treats adaptation to climate change as an issue of climate-resilient development, rather than as a bespoke set of activities (flood defences, drought plans, and so on), combining climate and development challenges into a single strategy. It asks how the standard approaches to development need to change, and what socio-economic trends and urbanisation mean for the vulnerability of developing countries to climate risks. Combining conceptual thinking with practical policy prescriptions and experience the contributors argue that, to address these questions, climate risk has to be embedded fully into wider development strategies


An estimate of the rate of increase in numerical simulation grid sizes with time is obtained by counting the grids (measured in terms of number of node points) reported in the nine volumes of an established proceedings on the numerical modeling of solidification phenomena dating back to 1980. It is shown that the largest grids used in a given year increase at a rate consistent with the well-known Moore's law on computing power, i.e., the number of nodes in the grids double every 18 months. From this observation, approximate bounds on the available grid size in a current year are established. This approximation is used to provide projections as to when, assuming Moore's law continues to hold, direct simulations of physical phenomena, which resolve to the smallest scale present, will be achievable.


Background In the current analysis, we characterize the prognostic significance of KRAS mutations with concomitant copy number aberrations (CNA) in early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and evaluate the ability to predict survival benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods Clinical and genomic data from the LACE (Lung Adjuvant Cisplatin Evaluation)-Bio consortium was utilized. CNAs were categorized as Gain (CN ≥2) or Neutral (Neut)/Loss; KRAS status was defined as wild type (WT) or mutant (MUT). The following groups were compared in all patients and the adenocarcinoma subgroup, and were correlated to survival endpoints using a Cox proportional hazards model: WT + Neut/Loss (reference), WT + Gain, MUT + Gain and MUT + Neut/Loss. A treatment-by-variable interaction was added to evaluate predictive effect. Results Of the 946 (399 adenocarcinoma) NSCLC patients, 41 [30] had MUT + Gain, 145 [99] MUT + Neut/Loss, 125 [16] WT + Gain, and 635 [254] WT + Neut/Loss. A non-significant trend towards worse lung cancer-specific survival (LCSS; HR =1.34; 95% CI, 0.83–2.17, P=0.232), DFS (HR =1.34; 95% CI, 0.86–2.09, P=0.202) and OS (HR =1.59; 95% CI, 0.99–2.54, P=0.055) was seen in KRAS MUT + Gain patients relative to KRAS WT + Neut/Loss patients. A negative prognostic effect of KRAS MUT + Neut/Loss was observed for LCSS (HR =1.32; 95% CI, 1.01–1.71, P=0.038) relative to KRAS WT + Neut/Loss on univariable analysis, but to a lesser extent after adjusting for covariates (HR =1.28; 95% CI, 0.97–1.68, P=0.078). KRAS MUT + Gain was associated with a greater beneficial effect of chemotherapy on DFS compared to KRAS WT + Neut/Loss patients (rHR =0.33; 95% CI, 0.11–0.99, P=0.048), with a non-significant trend also seen for LCSS (rHR =0.41; 95% CI, 0.13–1.33, P=0.138) and OS (rHR =0.40; 95% CI, 0.13–1.26, P=0.116) in the adenocarcinoma subgroup. Conclusions A small prognostic effect of KRAS mutation was identified for LCSS, and a trend towards worse LCSS, DFS and OS was noted for KRAS MUT + Gain. A potential predictive effect of concomitant KRAS mutation and copy number gain was observed for DFS in adenocarcinoma patients. These results could be driven by the small number of patients and require validation.


This paper examines the effect of exposure to violent crime on students' standardized test performance among a sample of students in New York City public schools. To identify the effect of exposure to community violence on children's test scores, we compare students exposed to an incident of violent crime on their own blockface in the week prior to the exam to students exposed in the week after the exam. The results show that such exposure to violent crime reduces performance on English Language Arts assessments, and no effect on Math scores. The effect of exposure to violent crime is most pronounced among African Americans, and reduces the passing rates of black students by approximately 3 percentage points.


Linkage of paleontological and geological discoveries provides new opportunities to strengthen interpretations of paleogeographic evolution of the Rocky Mountains9 deepest structural basin. We report discovery in the northeastern Hanna Basin (south-central Wyoming) of a lower first molar of Meniscoessus cf. M. robustus , an advanced form of multituberculate mammal known only from the North American Western Interior in Upper Cretaceous local faunas of the Lancian North American Land Mammal Age. It aids in dating patchy outcrops of the Ferris Formation, overlain and covered laterally by significantly younger, thrust-emplaced Hanna Formation. The specimen documents a member of the M. robustus species group, also recovered from more southwesterly strata of the Ferris Formation in the Hanna Basin. The fossil-bearing strata were deposited close to ancient sea level but are tectonically overturned and bounded above and below by what originally were north-vergent thrust faults. We present a new geologic map (scale 1:24,000) including two representative cross sections. Using an interpretive cross-sectional evolutionary model, we propose that the Hanna Basin, until late in Laramide orogenesis, had a markedly more extensive northern existence in the upland areas now occupied by the Freezeout Hills and southern Shirley Mountains. Local Laramide orogenic history in the mapped area is dominated to the north by development of at least 10 kilometers of Cretaceous–early Eocene structural relief across Archean granitic rocks. Those ancient rocks today form the NNE–SSW-oriented, axial core of the asymmetrical Shirley Mountains Anticline. Completion of the Shirley Mountains9 uplift postdated deposition of almost the entire stratigraphic sequence now exposed along the northern Hanna Basin. North-vergent, out-of-the-basin thrust faults developed in response to crowding initiated by the much larger, south-vergent, basement-involved thrust complex known as the Shirley Fault. Those out-of-the-basin thrust faults had mostly bedding-parallel planes of displacement. But they commonly cut stratigraphically down -section during basin-margin deformation, thus placing younger strata of the hanging walls onto older strata of the footwalls. These thin-skinned, younger-on-older fault relationships today exhibit steeply basinward-dipping to overturned strata. The faulting led to greatly thinned stratigraphic sections when juxtaposed against basin-margin, mountainous uplifts expressing oppositely vergent, basement-involved thrust-fault systems. These kinds of down-section thrust faults probably will become recognized as common expressions of basin subdivision along steeply dipping, basin-margin strata throughout the Rocky Mountain province. Furthermore, several occurrences of this phenomenon appear to have been long-misinterpreted as depositional/erosional angular unconformities. Such recognition demands re-thinking of the areas9 geologic histories. Complexities of erosional history constitute central parts of our evolutionary scenario. Locally derived clastic deposits within uppermost Cretaceous and Paleogene sequences of the northern Hanna Basin originated principally from north of the Shirley Mountains and other upland areas that today closely border the basin. Multiple source areas existed across deeply eroding, mountainous landscapes (the Granite Mountains) that existed during latest Cretaceous through Eocene time. Beginning in the latest Eocene and continuing late into the Miocene, dominantly airfall volcaniclastic materials from distant sources covered all but the high peaks of Wyoming. Late in the Miocene, however, the heavily eroded core of the Granite Mountains collapsed via extensional tectonics, allowing preservation of remnant volcaniclastic strata atop the Granite Mountains Graben.


Higher calcium (Ca) concentration in several fleshy fruit including kiwifruit is a pre-requisite for lower incidence of Ca-related diseases and improved fruit nutritional value. This review examines the internal and external factors operating along the soil-to-fruit pathway that are involved in the uptake and partitioning of Ca in kiwifruit vines. After a brief description of fruit growth and the dynamic of nutrient accumulation during fruit development, the review considers the role of soil Ca concentration and availability, root elongation, mass flow in the apoplast, fruit transpiration, competition between fruit and highly transpiring leaves, weather variables and soil moisture. How fruit morphological and anatomical traits, including skin anatomy, xylem development and hydraulic resistance, influence physiological processes such as transpiration and impact on Ca accumulation is also discussed. The review highlights that approximately 80% of the total Ca content of fruit is accumulated during the early weeks after fruit-set, suggesting that failure of good fruit Ca nutrition at that time may lead to poor fruit Ca content at harvest. Therefore, based on the analysis of the internal and external factors that influence Ca accumulation, recommendations are made for orchard practices that maximize Ca accumulation in the kiwifruit berry, including optimal pollination, nutrient and irrigation management, and manipulation of canopy architecture.


ABSTRACT This study analyses the relationship between food choices and morality by exploring how Australian adults conceptualise and negotiate their sugar intake. Fifteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with English speaking adults residing in South Australia. Participants were purposively sampled from a national survey based on their sugar consumption levels, age and gender. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants initially defined sugars as good or bad based on source, colour, texture, taste and impact of sugar on health. On being provided with evidence on amounts of sugar present in commonly consumed foods and drinks, participants redefined their perceptions to consider all sugars as bad sugars. This created moral challenges for the participants leading to two types of justifications for their own sugar consumption. One group of justifications drew on socially evaluative statements that participants used to present themselves as morally virtuous. Here sugar was considered as an essential source of energy and part of a balanced diet; limited to infrequent occasions such as celebrations, social gatherings and cultural practices; and as a cultural obligation. The second group of justifications located the source of morality within the individual and presented sugar intake as important for emotional and psychological wellbeing, and also as something that could be controlled by taking responsibility. There were no differences in discourses between low and high sugar consumers. This study provides new insights on how Australians conceptualise sugar in diet and make consumption decisions, which are important for influencing sugar consumption at a societal level.


We report numerical studies on temperature-tunable, multiple-scattering media with gain. We describe Monte Carlo simulations that model the behavior of such a system through a three-dimensional random walk of light in a temperature-dependent disordered medium with amplification. We compare the results of our model with previous experimental results on a disordered dielectric for which the scattering strength could be tuned by changing the external temperature. The agreement between the numerical and experimental results enables us to predict the spectral features of the emission from the tunable random laser under various conditions. Results obtained from new experimental data are consistent with the predictions of the simulations.


The purpose of this conceptual study was to examine how the National Basketball Association (NBA) should address gender discrimination in sports by implementing the "Hammon" Rule for head coaching and general manager hiring processes. Drawing from societal perceptions (Sagas & Cunningham, 2004; Schaeperkoetter et al., 2017), leadership (Burton, 2015), and the infusion of the EcologicalIntersectional Model (EIM; LaVoi, 2016) as conceptual focal points, this article asserts that the NBA has important opportunities to lead other professional sports leagues to aid in its recruitment and retention of women in front-facing leadership roles. Utilizing Lapchick's (2020a) report on race and gender for the NBA, this study calls for progressive action. As the current literature documents, legal and cultural factors, as well as leadership and lack of advocacy, all play a crucial role in how women are perceived within sport. This study provides a multi-faceted approach to addressing gender discrimination at the coaching and general manager levels, including accountability measures necessary for structural and organizational change to address gender discrimination in the NBA and beyond.


This paper uses data from the 1979 and 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth cohorts (NLSY79 and NLSY97) to estimate changes in the effects of ability and family income on educational attainment for youth in their late teens during the early 1980s and early 2000s. Cognitive ability plays an important role in determining educational outcomes for both NLSY cohorts, while family income plays little role in determining high school completion in either cohort. Most interestingly, we document a dramatic increase in the effects of family income on college attendance (particularly among the least able) from the NLSY79 to the NLSY97. Family income has also become a much more important determinant of college 'quality' and hours/weeks worked during the academic year (the latter among the most able) in the NLSY97. Family income has little effect on college delay in either sample. To interpret our empirical findings on college attendance, we develop an educational choice model that incorporates both borrowing constraints and a 'consumption' value of schooling two of the most commonly invoked explanations for a positive family income schooling relationship. Without borrowing constraints, the model cannot explain the rising effects of family income on college attendance in response to the sharply rising costs and returns to college experienced from the early 1980s to early 2000s: the incentives created by a 'consumption' value of schooling imply that income should have become less important over time (or even negatively related to attendance). Instead, the data are more broadly consistent with the hypothesis that more youth are borrowing constrained today than were in the early 1980s.


Abstract Water crises tend to impact women and men of different ages differently. In most cultures, women of different ages are primarily responsible for the use and management of water resources, sanitation and health at the household level. They are the ones who fetch water, use water for domestic purposes and therefore are affected by the impact of water crises and poor sanitation. The women and girls especially in rural areas walk long distances to fetch water while men rarely participate in such activities. This therefore puts women at a more disadvantaged position when water is scarce or when there are disruptions in the supply systems in the case of urban areas. This paper documents the experiences of women of different ages in the advent of water scarcity in the city of Blantyre. The study utilized a participatory method in collecting data. Literature was also consulted to complement field findings. The data was manually transcribed, coded and analysed by using narratives and content analysis thus highlighted the main themes and sub-themes which provide the basis for presentation of the results. The study found that women especially girls experience the impact more than boys and that their school attendance and performance is disrupted. Provision of the water facilities allow girls and women to equitably compete with the boys in productive activities. Keywords: Water crisis, Malawi, water and gender Introduction Water crises are common in Malawi's major urban areas; women and girls' activities are disrupted as a result of these crises. Although access to safe water is a basic human right and essential for achieving gender equality (freeing women and girls from spending long hours fetching water), sustainable development and poverty alleviation Blantyre city in particular is facing a lot of water scarcity challenges. This does not spare any particular group of people but it is more acute among the poorest urban dwellers. This paper assesses the impact of a water crisis on households in Blantyre city focusing on the urban poor and it also documents some of the coping strategies that have been adopted by the community. The paper is based on the study on access to water conducted in Blantyre as part of the "Cities without Slums" programme and a study on gender and generation under the Gender Research on Urbanization Planning, Housing and Everyday Living (GRUPHEL). The two studies among others identified the problems that slum dwellers face in accessing water and also how the households cope with such problems. The paper highlights the experiences of households in the low-income housing area of Mbayani and Ntopwa in Blantyre. Firstly it presents the right based approach framework to water; it then covers the methodological approach to the study, and then documents the experiences of the women in Mbayani and Ntopwa. The main objective of the paper is to document the experiences of the women in Mbayani and Ntopwa in relation to water problems. This includes documenting the problems women face in accessing water, the coping strategies that they use to sustain themselves in times of water scarcity and then analyze the policy and institutional framework for the provision of water and the challenges that water providers face. Finally recommendation and way forward will be suggested. Access to Water as a Human Right Lack of adequate water to meet their daily needs is a reality for many people around the world especially in developing countries and this has serious health implication (WHO 2007). The lack of water is critical among the poorest people and it has been reported as the main cause of ill health and death among the poor in developing countries. According to United Nations World Water Development report, water related diseases are among the most common diseases causing death in the developing countries. For example in 2000 insufficient sanitation and hygiene claimed about 2,213,000 lives and presently about 1. …


The life cycles and ecology of two closely related species of lampreys of the genus Mordacia were studied in various rivers in south-eastern Australia. In the Moruya River in southern New South Wales, the anadromous parasitic species, M. mordax (Richardson), has a larval life of three and a half years with metamorphosis occurring in late February or early March. The nonparasitic species, M. praecox Potter, metamorphoses at a different time (late October or November) and at a significantly longer length than M. mordax. The latter probably reflects a longer larval life in M. praecox, an estimate of which could not be obtained from the available data. Thus an extension of the larval phase, as well as a reduction in the post-metamorphic stages, may have occurred in the evolution of nonparasitic lampreys from parasitic forms. Evidence is presented to show that seasonal differences in temperature influence the pattern of ammocoete growth throughout the year, while local differences in the density of food are responsible for differences in growth rates in different areas. The effect of flooding and reduction in the water levels on the distribution of ammocoetes is discussed. A description is given of the behaviour of metamorphosing and transformed M. mordax prior to their migration out to sea. The above data is collated with that obtained from other studies to produce an overall picture of the life cycles of the two species of Mordacia.


In response to the rising number of nutrition-related diseases in the country and the inadequate nutrient intake in some patients, hospitals have been offering more
nutritious choice of food. Although guidelines are set in the provision of hospital food, food handlers still face challenges in providing food that complies with the nutrition and food safety policy. This study aims to understand the current level of nutritional and food safety knowledge of respondents and determine the effectiveness of
intervention towards knowledge, attitudes and practices. The exploratory study using pre-test and post-test design involved 33 food handlers and diet technicians of a
private hospital in Penang. The intervention on nutrition and food safety was developed based on pre-test. Refresher training and leaflets were given two months later. Self-administered questionnaire and kitchen observation checklist were used at the beginning and end of study. Majority respondents (58.3%) initially had insufficient nutritional and food safety knowledge indicating the need for intervention. There were significant differences between pre- and post-test scores (p<0.001) for knowledge, attitudes and practices. No significant difference was found between knowledge scores and attendance of training, but was found with level of education (p<0.05). Positive correlation was also found between nutritional and food safety knowledge and attitudes and practices in pre- and post-intervention. The combined knowledge gave the highest impact on improving overall attitudes and practices. Better food handling practices were observed during post-observation. The combined intervention, refresher training and brochures targeted on improving knowledge, attitudes and practices is an effective method. Continuous nutrition and food safety education is recommended


Three species of bats are newly recorded from Guana Island, north of Tortola: Artibeus j. jamaicensis, Molossus molossusfortis, and Brachyphylla cavernarum indet. The known range of B. cavernarum is extended about 20 km northeastward in the Virgin Islands. Guana, at 297 ha and 266 m, is the smallest island in the Antilles with three species. Island elevation seems more important than area in determining bat species diversity in the Virgin Islands.


Some parenting behaviours and child characteristics can result in future behavioural problems. Relatively little is known about parenting behaviours in Pakistani-origin women, and how the timing of migration to the United Kingdom might affect such behaviours. We analysed differences in parenting behaviours and six-month infant temperament by mothers' country of birth in a contemporary community cohort, Born in Bradford. We analysed data on 587 women of Pakistani origin and their infants by maternal country of birth. We used logistic regression to assess differences by country of birth on the most problematic quintile of psychometrically equivalised self-reported parental self-efficacy, warmth and hostility, and children's temperament using two domains of the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (fussy/difficult and unadaptable). We adjusted for psychological distress, socio-demographic variables, questionnaire language, and child temperament in the parenting models. We also compared the self-rating of parental confidence. There was some evidence that mothers born in Pakistan were more likely to report a higher hostile style of parenting, which was associated with being in the United Kingdom for a shorter period/not using English. Mothers born in Pakistan were more likely to have greater confidence in their abilities as parents. Infants of women born in the United Kingdom were more likely to be classified as unadaptable. We saw little evidence of difference in parental warmth and self-efficacy. Our analyses indicate some potential differences in parenting behaviours in women of Pakistani origin living in the United Kingdom by country of birth, which may be related to acculturation. Further work is needed to understand how parenting practices are learned and applied in recent migrants.


Litigation against corporate defendants under the Alien Tort Statute is largely an effort to enlist multinational business interests in a laudable effort to reign in the human rights abuses of repressive regimes. The hard question is whether the costs of this now extensive litigation (and related litigation under state tort law) are worth the benefits. This essay offers number of reasons for skepticism in that regard, although I stipulate that the ultimate answer to this question turns on empirical judgments. Courts considering the difficult issues that arise in these cases should at least be mindful of the possibility that corporate liability may impose great costs on firms subject to suit in the United States while accomplishing little or nothing to improve human rights. And if the door to corporate liability is to remain open, careful attention to the standards for aiding and abetting liability, to the requirements for vicarious liability, and to the measure of damages can both cabin and calibrate corporate liability in ways that enhance its potential to afford constructive incentives.


A self-contained proof is presented of the fact that any increasing, continuous preferences over contingent payoffs that admit a (possibly state-dependent) additive representation are scale (resp. translation) invariant if and only if they take the form of CRRA (resp. CARA) expected utility, with the probabilities and coeffi cient of risk aversion uniquely determined as part of the representation. Thus scale or translation invariance allows a significant simplification of the ordinal foundations of subjective expected utility. ∗Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208.


The source of salinity and the geochemical processes that control the groundwater salinization in the Machile River Basin within the Sesheke and Kazungula districts of Western and Southern provinces of Zambia are not well understood and explained. The central part of the basin contains saline groundwater. Deep boreholes and shallow wells delivering saline water are usually abandoned by communities, who resort to open water holes dug out in dry river beds or surface water resources, where available. Therefore a comprehensive geochemical and isotopic study was carried out in the basin to explain the spatial distribution of fresh and saline groundwater quality and processes that influence variability in salinity. Understanding spatial variability and its controls is indispensable for sustainable groundwater management and protection in the basin.
Thirty four (34) representative groundwater samples were collected from different boreholes for water chemistry and isotope analyses. The samples were analysed for physicochemical properties, cations and anions. Chemical analyses indicate that the fringes of the basin contain a fresh Ca2+ - Mg2+ - HCO3- type of groundwater and the central part of a saline Na+ - SO42- - Cl- type of groundwater. This classification was confirmed by grouping similar water types together by using Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) and Principal Components Analysis (PCA) techniques. This spatial variability may be controlled by dissolution of bedded or disseminated evaporites concentrated by evapo-transpiration processes as revealed by stable isotope (2H and 18O) signatures. The isotopic composition for Deuterium (δ2H) and oxygen 18 (δ18O) of the groundwater in the study area ranged from -53.44 to -23.54‰ and from -7.78 to -3.07‰, respectively. These isotope signatures reveal that the groundwater is recharged by precipitation in the fringes of the basin. Furthermore, the fresh groundwater is young in the recharge areas and regularly recharged whereas the saline water is old. The old water was embedded in the Pleistocene (126 ± 11 Ka) thus have saline water in parts of the basin. Exploitation of water for domestic and commercial use in the basin can be through drilling of boreholes of less than 10m to avoid intersecting the saline layers. In areas, where saline water is closer to the surface, rain water harvesting, ultra-filtration
vi
processing to desalinate the saline groundwater or drilling of boreholes deeper into the basalt that could probably contain freshwater are recommended.


Experiments were done in order to achieve a reproducible method that can be used to infect rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss with Flavobacterium psychrophilum, the causal agent of coldwater disease and rainbow trout fry syndrome. The main method investigated was intraperitoneal injection, and this method was tested using isolates with different elastin-degrading profiles and representing different serotypes. Injecting trout, average weight 1 g, with 10(4) CFU (colony-forming units) per fish caused cumulative mortalities around 60 to 70%. The virulent strains belonged to certain serotypes and degraded elastin. The intraperitoneal injection challenge method could be used on larger fish, but the infection dose was 10(7) CFU per fish before mortalities occurred. Bath infection and bath infection in combination with formalin treatment (stress) seemed to be reproducible methods that could be used as alternatives to the intraperitoneal method, although the mortalities among infected trout were lower. The results of investigated methods were influenced by parameters such as the challenge isolate, number of fish in the tank affecting the infection pressure, origin of fish and weight of fish.


The Voyager probes are the furthest, still active, spacecraft ever launched from Earth. During their 38 year trip, they have collected data regarding solar wind properties (such as the plasma velocity and magnetic field intensity). Unfortunately, a complete time evolution of the measured physical quantities is not available. The time series contains many gaps which increase in frequency and duration at larger distances. The aim of this work is to perform a spectral and statistical analysis of the solar wind plasma velocity and magnetic field using Voyager 2 data measured in 1979, when the gap density is between the 30% and 50%. For these gap densities, we show the spectra of gapped signals inherit the characteristics of the data gaps. In particular, the algebraic decay of the intermediate frequency range is underestimated and discrete peaks result not from the underlaying data but from the gap sequence. This analysis is achieved using five different data treatment techniques coming from the multidisciplinary context: averages on linearly interpolated subsets, correlation without data interpolation, correlation of linearly interpolated data, maximum likelihood data reconstruction, and compressed sensing spectral estimation. With five frequency decades, the spectra we obtained have the largest frequency range ever computed at five astronomical units from the Sun; spectral exponents have been determined for all the components of the velocity and magnetic field fluctuations. Void analysis is also useful in recovering other spectral properties such as micro and integral scales.


The second order rotatory theory of hydrodynamic lubrication was founded on the expression obtained by retaining the terms containing first and second powers of rotation number in the extended generalized Reynolds equation. In the present paper, there are derivations of new equations for pressure and load capacity and some new excellent fundamental solutions with the help of geometrical figures, expressions, calculated tables and graphs for the fitted bearings in the second order rotatory theory of hydrodynamic lubrication. The analysis of equations for pressure and load capacity, tables and graphs reveal that pressure and load capacity are not independent of viscosity and increases slightly with viscosity. Also the pressure and load capacity both increases with increasing values of rotation number. In the absence of rotation, the equation of pressure and load capacity gives the classical solutions of the classical theory of hydrodynamic lubrication. The relevant tables and graphs confirm these important investigations in the present paper.


The process of doing business can be seen as a permanent link between investment means and investment opportunities. During this process ideas are generated, turned into business projects and implemented as innovations. In general, investment means and investment opportunities are joined together on mutually interconnected investment markets. This paper describes the preconditions for efficient operation of these markets, using mathematical analysis and a derived model, based on a theory of cooperative games. Barriers to the use of investment opportunities for SMEs are identified that are due either to the underdevelopment of some segments of the financial markets, or positional investment. Finally, specific recommendations for the support of small and medium-sized enterprises are made.


Abstract. The Two-Stream technique employs simultaneous measurements performed by two elastic backscatter lidars pointing at each other to sample into the same atmosphere. It allows for a direct retrieval of the extinction coefficient profile from the ratio of the two involved lidar signals. During a number of Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI) campaigns dedicated to Arctic research, the AWI's Polar 2 aircraft with the integrated onboard nadir-pointing Airborne Mobile Aerosol Lidar (AMALi) was utilised. The aircraft flew over a vicinity of Ny Alesund on Svalbard, where the zenith-pointing Koldewey Aerosol Raman Lidar (KARL) has been located. This experimental approach gave the unique opportunity to retrieve the extinction profiles with a rarely used Two-Stream technique against a well established Raman technique. Both methods were applied to data obtained for clean Arctic conditions during the Arctic Study of Tropospheric clouds and Radiation (ASTAR 2004) campaign, and slightly polluted Arctic conditions during the Svalbard Experiment (SvalEx 2005) campaign. Successful comparison of both evaluation tools in different measurement conditions demonstrates sensitivity and feasibility of the Two-Stream method to obtain particle extinction and backscatter coefficients profiles without assumption of their relationship (lidar ratio). The method has the potential to serve as an extinction retrieval tool for KARL or AMALi simultaneous observations with the space borne CALIPSO lidar overpasses during the ASTAR 2007.


▪ Abstract Humans skin is the most visible aspect of the human phenotype. It is distinguished mainly by its naked appearance, greatly enhanced abilities to dissipate body heat through sweating, and the great range of genetically determined skin colors present within a single species. Many aspects of the evolution of human skin and skin color can be reconstructed using comparative anatomy, physiology, and genomics. Enhancement of thermal sweating was a key innovation in human evolution that allowed maintenance of homeostasis (including constant brain temperature) during sustained physical activity in hot environments. Dark skin evolved pari passu with the loss of body hair and was the original state for the genus Homo. Melanin pigmentation is adaptive and has been maintained by natural selection. Because of its evolutionary lability, skin color phenotype is useless as a unique marker of genetic identity. In recent prehistory, humans became adept at protecting themselves from the environment through clothin...


Greece is at a decisive moment. It has to choose between defaulting and an economic program of structural reforms, privatization, efficient tax collection, and shrinking of the public sector. Unilateral suspension of debt payments would be an economic catastrophe for Greeks, resulting in deep cuts of civil servants' wages and pensions, bankruptcy for Greek banks, and exclusion of Greece from financial markets. An exit from the Euro would be even more disastrous, since it could lead to hyperinflation and extremely high borrowing costs.Structural reforms and privatization of state corporations will increase competition and efficiency. Reducing the size and increasing the efficiency of the public sector, efficient and fair tax collection, provision of funds for new investment that will promote growth, and bank capital expansion are necessary ingredients of the solution. Rampant corruption has to be dealt with.Given the catastrophic effects of a unilateral suspension of debt payments, there is no doubt that Greece has to choose the alternative of reform no matter how difficult. Greece has to implement deep structural reforms now.


A student-centered teaching methodology is an essential ingredient of a successful Pan- African literary course. Using such an approach, I combine reading assignments with journals, film presentations, and lectures in a productive learning environment in which I play the role of invisible facilitator of intellectual exchange. My method incorporates a variety of Pan-African literary and historical works that help students understand the relations between Blacks of Africa and the Diaspora.


Resting on the simple logic of market economics, this book considers the ways in which groups of States can lawfully and effectively deny market access to the flag of convenience fishing industry.


Despite a well-established framework of practical applications, evidence of the efficacy of music therapy in dementia care is inconsistent. This project tested a new evaluation protocol to look at clients' participation in music therapy from the standpoint of engagement rather than cognitive abilities and behaviour. The first stage involved the development of a new scale of musical engagement to assess the clients' engagement as a function of creativity, duration, energy, and assertiveness. In the second stage 12 elderly clients with dementia participated in 20 weekly music therapy sessions to identify potential relationships between participants' level of musical engagement and their self-assessed quality of life. Results: While relationships between the variables were not statistically significant, there was an indication that increases in self-assessed quality of life may have been related to a decrease and/or stability in the level of musical engagement. Results also showed that the level of musical engagement in 70% of the evaluated group began to increase after the midpoint of the clinical program. Further analysis suggested that the more intuitive approach by the music therapists, more challenging music experiences, and less structure in the program might have been responsible for this increase. Regardless of limited statistical outcomes, the project offers a valuable insight into the techniques and assessment procedures for music therapy with elderly people who have dementia. In future, the scale of musical engagement could be applied to the investigation of moment-to-moment variations in musical engagement of people with dementia, which could lead to a better understanding of momentary changes in clients' quality of life.


When the English landed in Jamestown in 1607, they brought to our shores their language, their government, their commercial system, and their courts. (1) We kept the first three but threw the fourth one back. The court system, at least in the colonies, was badly flawed. Over the seventeen days in which Thomas Jefferson wove the Declaration of Independence, he carefully selected the threads of twenty-seven specific grievances against the King to make his case for American independence. (2) In that document, Jefferson declared that the King had "made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries." (3) When the signers of the Declaration united behind the pen of Jefferson, they literally pledged "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor" to the principle of judicial independence. (4) James Madison, the principal author of the Constitution, considered judicial independence an indispensable component of a democracy. (5) If a declaration of rights was "incorporated into the constitution," he observed, "independent tribunals of justice will consider themselves in a peculiar manner the guardians of those rights; they will be an impenetrable bulwark against every assumption of power in the legislature or executive...." (6) These words came from one who had experienced the abuses of a judiciary whose authority derived more from kings than principles. Our early state constitutions also acknowledged the importance of judicial independence by providing for appointed judges serving within an independent branch of government. (7) Indeed, the Massachusetts Constitution's provisions for life tenure, insisted upon by John Adams, (8) may well have been the model for Article III of the Federal Constitution. (9) Despite the early sentiment in favor of an independent judiciary, it was not fully realized in the early years of the Republic. In 1802, Congress, controlled for the first time by Jeffersonian Republicans, repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801. (10) This repeal essentially handed pink slips to the federal judges created by the Act and appointed by lame duck Federalist John Adams. (11) Resolution of the legitimacy of judges appointed under the Act was delayed when the 1802 Supreme Court term was cancelled by the Republican Congress. (12) Marbury v. Madison was put off until 1803, (13) when the authority of the Supreme Court of the United States to declare federal acts unconstitutional was established, citing the North Carolina case of Bayard v. Singleton as precedent. (14) Still not having exorcised its pique with the judiciary, the Republicans impeached Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase in 1804. (15) Since "high Crimes and Misdemeanors (16) were then, as now, in the eyes and anger of the beholder, (17) Chase was called to account for voiding part of a congressional act while "riding circuit" as a trial judge. (18) Chase must have stood uneasy in the Senate for two reasons: first, the charges themselves and, second, the presiding officer was Vice President Aaron Burr who had only recently shot and killed the Federalists' intellectual leader Alexander Hamilton in their notorious duel. (19) Chase was nevertheless acquitted and served as an effective and distinguished member of the Court until his death. (20) These early excursions into the minefields of our uniquely American brand of judicial independence remind us of the need for constant vigilance. Judicial independence endures because it is not a distant ideal; it does not go in and out of fashion with public opinion; it is not forfeited through the occasional indiscretions of judges or judicial candidates seeking a seat on the bench. It is as indispensable for a justice of the peace as a Justice of the Supreme Court. Judicial independence is precious to our way of life. Judicial independence is a fundamental principle upon which our country was founded and for which Americans have died, not only at Yorktown (21) and Valley Forge, (22) but at the Alamo, (23) Iwo Jima, (24) Inchon, (25) Khe Sanh, (26) and, now, Mazar-E-Sharif. …