Temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) has become increasingly appealing in recent years due to the pathogen destruction capabilities of the system. However, there has also been concern about the dewatering properties of the sludges created by these systems. A laboratory study was conducted at Virginia Tech to determine the effect of thermophilic solids retention time (SRT) on sludge dewatering properties, to characterize system parameters associated with dewatering, and to understand the mechanisms causing changes in dewatering properties between the thermophilic and mesophilic phases. The study showed that while anaerobic digestion caused dewatering properties to deteriorate, sludges varied little with thermophilic SRT. Acidogenesis was essentially complete after 1.5 days. Subsequent mesophilic digestion resulted in little change to dewatering properties and modest reductions in conditioning doses, but substantial reductions in biopolymer (protein + polysaccharides) occurred. It appears that thermophilic anaerobic digestion creates or releases colloidal materials that cause dewatering to be poor and subsequent mesophilic digestion for 15 days does little to improve sludge properties of TPAD systems.


Abstract Radiolarians have been recovered from lowermost Arenigian rocks of the Cow Head Group in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland. Two new faunal assemblages include eight families, 13 genera, and 25 species. Among these, the family Neoaspiculumidae, the genus Neoaspiculum, and 11 species, Beothuka aitchisoni, B. grosmornensis, B. stougei, B.? stellata, Neoaspiculum cancellium, N. headense, N. transformum, N. laxum, N.? amplum, Proventocitum cylindricum, and P. piriforme, are new. This study elucidates the reason for the significant difference in species composition between pre-Arenigian and Arenigian radiolarian faunas. This difference does not appear to be due to mass extinction, but rather to phylogenetic evolution: most radiolarian families that flourished during pre-Arenig time were gradually but significantly reduced by the earliest Arenig. Characteristic features of the earliest Arenig assemblages that distinguish them from their Tremadocian predecessors are 1) the development of a distinctive skeletal constructional element referred to as "bandage" structure that evolved through modification of a mesh of thin bars and 2) the appearance of multiple concentric shells including a proloculus (or a microsphere), which developed from a primitive three-dimensionally interwoven meshwork or spongy shell wall. These forms, represented by beothukids, antygoporids, and inaniguttids, are rare but they appear to originate in the earliest Arenig. Transitional characteristics among those forms are developed in the Neoaspiculumidae, which flourished during the earliest Arenig. The precise biostratigraphic age of one of the assemblages was determined with the recovery of the index condont Prioniodus adami Stouge and Bagnoli, 1988 from strata belonging to the Tetragraptus approximatus Graptolite Zone, which is at the base of the Arenigian.


Biographies of scientists are generating fresh interest as current movements in the historiography of science increasingly focus on the social aspects of science and on the criteria that most accurately describe a scientific life. Biography is the form through which the work of a scientist can be located in its fullest historical context. It can also reveal much about the construction of reputation and about the reception of ideas. The biographical tradition surrounding the naturalist Charles Darwin from 1882 to the present day has employed a variegated imagery, exemplifying how writings about scientific figures have adjusted to changing cultural and scientific norms.


This chapter provides the first comprehensive overview of hardware integrated circuits (IC) protection by metering. Hardware metering, or IC metering refers to mechanisms, methods, and protocols that enable tracking of the ICs post-fabrication. Metering is particularly needed in the horizontal semiconductor business model where the design houses outsource their fabrication to (mostly offshore) contract foundries to mitigate the manufacturing and labor costs. The designers and/or the design intellectual property (IP) holders are vulnerable to piracy and overbuilding attacks due to the transparency of their designed IP to the foundry that requires a complete description of the design components and layout to fabricate the chips. Because of the prevalence of counterfeit and overbuilt items, and the widespread usage of ICs in a variety of important applications, the problem has recently gained an increased attention by the industry, government, and research community. Post-silicon identification and tagging of the individual ICs fabricated by the same mask is a precursor for metering: In passive metering, each ICs is specifically identified, either in terms of its functionality, or by other forms of unique identification. The identified ICs may be matched against their record in a pre-formed database that could reveal unregistered ICs or overbuilt ICs (in case of collisions). In active metering, not only the ICs are uniquely identified, but also parts of the chip's functionality can be only accessed, locked (disabled), or unclocked (enabled) by the designer and/or IP rights owners with a high level knowledge of the design that is not transferred to the foundry. We provide a systematic view of the field, along with the first detailed taxonomy and descriptions of the various passive and active hardware metering methods available. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Rice University


One of the predominant themes in the criminal justice literature is that prosecutors, not legislators, judges, or police, dominate the justice system. Over 75 years ago, Attorney General Robert Jackson famously proclaimed that the "prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America." In one of the most cited law review articles of all time, Bill Stuntz added that prosecutors, not judges, police, or legislators, "are the criminal justice system's real lawmakers." And an unchallenged modern consensus holds that prosecutors "rule the criminal justice system."

This Article applies a critical lens to longstanding claims of prosecutorial preeminence. It reveals a curious echo chamber enabled by a puzzling lack of dissent. With few voices challenging ever-more-strident prosecutor-dominance rhetoric, academic claims became uncritical, imprecise, and ultimately incorrect.

An unchallenged consensus that "prosecutors are the criminal justice system" and that the "institution of the prosecutor has more power than any other in the criminal justice system," has real consequences for criminal justice discourse. Portraying prosecutors as the system's iron-fisted rulers obscures the complex interplay that actually determines criminal justice outcomes. The overheated rhetoric of prosecutorial preeminence fosters a superficial understanding of the criminal justice system, overlooks the powerful forces that can and do constrain prosecutors, and diverts attention from the most promising sources of reform (legislators, judges, and police) to the least (prosecutors).


Seventy percent of the world's population cannot or chooses not to read! This astounding observation prompted the rise of the orality movement to help missionaries understand and reach oral learners. This article summarizes the recent orality movement by addressing questions that have arisen related to orality, such as: How far-reaching is this movement? Isn't the orality discussion simply about storytelling and auditory learning? How do print and oral learning interact? Are there implications for Western cultures influenced by digital media? To address these questions, this article identifies six common misconceptions about the orality movement and concludes with missiological implications.


THESIS 8709%%%%In this dissertation I focus on the very widely used Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP) as the source of measurements of the policy positions of political parties. The CMP data confuse the separable notions of party's position on an issue and the importance of the issue to that party. Furthermore, the CMP data are provided without a basic feature considered essential to any estimate: a measure of the uncertainty surrounding the estimated quantity. This dissertation comprises of three papers. In the ?? rst paper, drawing on results from linguistic and behavioural research, I show that party's position on an issue and the importance of the issue to that party are conceptually and empirically distinguishable. I show how to differentiate between position and importance in the CMP data, and contrast this to the saliency-based scaling models currently used by CMP consumers. I evaluate these alternative scales in several replication studies, and propose the use of the existing CMP data that is consistent with the standard spatial models of party competition. The second paper focuses on the analysis of the two main stochastic processes that are involved in the creation of the CMP data: manifesto writing and manifesto coding. Decomposition of the possible stochastic elements in the manifesto generation process that leads to the CMP estimates allows the effects of these to be simulated. Based on these simulation studies, I show how to calculate standard errors for each estimate in the CMP data set. Analysing these error estimates, I show that many CMP quantities should be associated with substantial uncertainty. Next I focus on measurement error arising from stochastic variation in the coding of a given observed text by human coders. I develop a more systematic characterisation of the problems of reliability and bias in the data than has hitherto been attempted. I set out a framework for reliability and misclassi?? cation in categorical content analysis, and apply this framework to the CMP coding scheme. In the third paper, I apply the results of the ?? rst two papers to address the question of the effectiveness of democratic representation process. In the paper I focus on one linkage element in the chain of democratic representation: between policy positions of political parties and policy output of governments observed in public spending. Using positional scaling models and correcting for measurement error in the CMP data, I show that most of the positive results previously reported in the literature can be explained by measurement issues (scaling and uncertainty) in the CMP data. Moreover, I show that spending on social security is in???uenced not only by parties that are elected to government, but also by parties in the opposition, thereby undermining the logical consistency of the responsible party model.


This text makes detailed analyses and comments on the MAI from the perspective of a Chinese scholar. The author believes that the "behind closed doors" process of MAI negotiations is unacceptable for developing countries, NGOs, and civil societies, and is inadvisable for any future negotiations on investment rules. The substantive contents of the MAI which include the definition of investor and investment, treatment of foreign investors and investments, treatment for investment protection, and the dispute settlement mechanism are of high standards that render them unreachable and unacceptable for developing countries. The nine chapters of the book include: an introduction; An analysis of the background of the MAI negotiations which briefly reviews the process and results of the negotiations and makes the author's comments on the negotiations; an analysis and evaluation of the main features of MAI provisions and the approaches adopted by the MAI; An exploration of the scope of application of the MAI through the analysis of the respective definition of investor and investment in the MAI, and points out that the purpose of broad definition is to broaden the MAI's scope of application; An analysis and comment on the MAI's general principles of treatment accorded to foreign investors and their investments, and points out that the MAI's provisions in this regard have negative impacts on developing countries; An introduction to the MAI's specific rules of treatment accorded to foreign investors and their investments in such new areas of international investment as performance requirements, investment incentives, key personnel, privatization, as well as monopoly, state enterprises and concessions. There is also: an analysis and commentary on the MAI's treatment provisions on investment protection, that is, the fair and equitable treatment and full and constant protection and security treatment as the general treatment, and the specific treatment with regard to expropriation and compensation, protection from strife and transfers; an introduction to and evaluation of the MAI's dispute settlement mechanism: the state-state procedure and the investor-state procedure, and; a conclusion.


Background Errors in prescribing antiretroviral treatment (ART) are common during the hospitalisation of HIV patients. Interventions to prevent and correct errors improve the quality of health care. Purpose To describe the pharmaceutical interventions made during the hospitalisation period in HIV patients in the validation phase of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in a tertiary hospital. Materials and methods Between 1st September 2012 and 31st March 2013 a prospective study was conducted, in which we validated the ART prescribed with the Assisted Electronic Prescription (AEP) program during the first 24 h of the HIV patients' hospitalisation. Patients receiving specialised pharmaceutical care in our hospital's outpatient dispensing service and also patients from other centres were included. Medicines reconciliation of the HIV patients coming from our centre was performed using the ambulatory AEP program by the clinical pharmacist within 24 h of admission, while the ART of the remaining patients was self-reported. The pharmaceutical interventions were classified as: omission, incorrect dose, incorrect scheduling and drug interaction. Results Sixty-five patients were included, 49 (75%) receiving specialised pharmaceutical care in the outpatient dispensing service of our hospital and 16 (25%) proceeding from other hospitals. Pharmaceutical interventions were recorded in 22 patients. In 16 patients from our centre (32%) a pharmaceutical intervention was required: 4 cases of omission, 6 cases of incorrect dose, 3 cases of incorrect scheduling and 5 drug interactions. Six patients from the other centres (37.5%) needed a pharmaceutical intervention: 2 cases of incorrect dose and 4 drug interactions. The rate of physician acceptance of the interventions was 90%. Conclusions Prescription errors at the ART in HIV hospitalised patients were common during the first 24 h. The most common errors involved were incorrect dose. The pharmaceutical interventions had high rates of acceptance. No conflict of interest.


Sultan Mehmet II, the Grand Turk, known to his countrymen as Fatih, 'the Conqueror', and to much of Europe as 'the present Terror of the World', was once the most feared and powerful ruler in the world. The seventh of his line to rule the Ottoman Turks, Mehmet was barely 21 when he conquered Byzantine Constantinople, which became Istanbul and the capital of his mighty empire. Mehmet reigned for 30 years, during which time his armies extended the borders of his empire halfway across Asia Minor and as far into Europe as Hungary and Italy. Three popes called for crusades against him as Christian Europe came face to face with a new Muslim empire.Mehmet himself was an enigmatic figure. Revered by the Turks and seen as a cruel and brutal tyrant by the west, he was a brilliant military leader but also a renaissance prince who had in his court Persian and Turkish poets, Arab and Greek astronomers and Italian scholars and artists. In this, the first biography of Mehmet for 30 years, John Freely vividly brings to life the world in which Mehmet lived and illuminates the man behind the myths, a figure who dominated both East and West from his palace above the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, where an inscription still hails him as, 'Sultan of the two seas, shadow of God in the two worlds, God's servant between the two horizons, hero of the water and the land, conqueror of the stronghold of Constantinople."


For predicting future volatility, empirical studies find mixed results regarding two issues: (1) whether model free implied volatility has more information content than Black-Scholes model-based implied volatility; (2) whether implied volatility outperforms historical volatilities. In this thesis, we address these two issues using the Canadian financial data. First, we examine the information content and forecasting power between VIXC a model free implied volatility, and MVX a model-based implied volatility. The GARCH in-sample test indicates that VIXC subsumes all information that is reflected in MVX. The out-of-sample examination indicates that VIXC is superior to MVX for predicting the next 1-, 5-, 10-, and 22-trading days' realized volatility. Second, we investigate the predictive power between VIXC and alternative volatility forecasts derived from historical index prices. We find that for time horizons lesser than 10-trading days, VIXC provides more accurate forecasts. However, for longer time horizons, the historical volatilities, particularly the random walk, provide better forecasts. We conclude that VIXC cannot incorporate all information contained in historical index prices for predicting future volatility.


[1] Prestack depth migrations of seismic reflection data collected around the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 210 transect on the Newfoundland nonvolcanic margin delineate three domains: (1) extended continental crust, (2) transitional basement, and (3) apparent slow spreading oceanic basement beyond anomaly M3 and indicate first-order differences between this margin and its well-studied conjugate, the Iberia margin. Extended continental crust thins abruptly with few observed faults, in stark contrast with the system of seaward dipping normal faults and detachments imaged within continental crust off Iberia. Transition zone basement typically appears featureless in seismic reflection profiles, but where its character can be discerned, it does not resemble most images of exhumed peridotite off Iberia. Seismic observations allow three explanations for transitional basement: (1) slow spreading oceanic basement produced by unstable early seafloor spreading, (2) exhumed, serpentinized mantle with different properties from that off Iberia, and (3) thinned continental crust, likely emplaced by one or more detachment or rolling-hinge faults. Although we cannot definitively discriminate between these possibilities, seismic reflection profiles together with coincident wide-angle seismic refraction data tentatively suggest that the majority of transitional basement is thinned continental crust emplaced during the late stages of rifting. Finally, seismic profiles image abundant faults and significant basement topography in apparent oceanic basement. These observations, together with magnetic anomaly interpretations and the recovery of mantle peridotites at ODP Site 1277, appear to be best explained by the interplay of extension and magmatism during the transition from nonvolcanic rifting to a slow spreading oceanic accretion system.


Mutations identified in each Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients are useful for prognosis and to select targeted therapies. Detection of such mutations by the analysis of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) data requires a computationally intensive read mapping step and application of several variant calling methods. Targeted mutation identification drastically shifts the usual tradeoff between accuracy and performance by concentrating all computations over a small portion of sequence space. Here, we present km, an efficient approach leveraging k-mer decomposition of reads to identify targeted mutations. Our approach is versatile, as it can detect single-base mutations, several types of insertions and deletions, as well as fusions. We used two independent AML cohorts (The Cancer Genome Atlas and Leucegene), to show that mutation detection by km is fast, accurate and mainly limited by sequencing depth. Therefore, km allows to establish fast diagnostics from NGS data, and could be suitable for clinical applications.


Thin wafer have become a basic need for a wide variety of new microelectronic products. Wafers that have been thinned using wet etch process on the backside have less stress compared with standard mechanical back grinding. Isotropic wet etching of silicon is typically done with a mixture of nitric and hydrofluoric acids. As the silicon is etched and incorporated in the etching solution the etch rate will decrease with time. This variation has been modeled. The focus of this paper is to compare the process control technique for maintaining a consistent etch rate as a function of time and wafer processed. Keywords : Isotropic and anisotropic etching; MEMS; SOI; LPCVD The Himalayan Physics Vol.2, No.2, May, 2011 Page: 38-42 Uploaded Date: 1 August, 2011


Salmon futures contracts have existed for more than a decade, and futures contracts for aquaculture feed ingredients such as corn, soybean meal and wheat have existed much longer. Fishmeal is also a key feed ingredient, and its industry has been argued to be one of the most volatile business environments of the food sector. Yet, efforts to establish a futures contract for fishmeal have not been seen. This thesis investigates the viability of a potential fishmeal futures contract, based on success factors for futures contracts identified by the literature. To do so, we conduct both quantitative and qualitative analysis. We utilise data on fishmeal prices and production statistics, in addition to prices and trading volumes of soybean meal and corn futures, between 2005 and 2017. The quantitative analysis consists of two separate approaches. First, we conduct a cointegration analysis to investigate whether fishmeal is homogenous and whether it has one or more markets. Second, as a proxy for futures contract success, we apply an empirical model developed by Bekkerman and Tejeda (2017) to predict the probability of a fishmeal futures contract already existing. To obtain estimates for variables included in this model, we conduct a survey of industry experts on fishmeal, in addition to empirically estimate and collect measures. The qualitative analysis takes into consideration the quantitative results and provides a thorough, more nuanced discussion of the viability of a fishmeal futures contract. The cointegration analysis indicates the existence of one fishmeal submarket in the Nordics and one in South America, and that fishmeal may be homogenous only within these submarkets. The model of Bekkerman and Tejeda (2017) predicts a zero percent probability of a fishmeal futures contract already existing. The qualitative analysis reveals that price risk, homogeneity, market size, storability, and lack of relevant and efficient cross-hedging alternatives speak in favour of the viability of a fishmeal futures contract. Optimal contract design can somewhat overcome identified issues, but the existence of market power, vertical integration and lack of transparency are assessed to outweigh the favourable characteristics. Therefore, we conclude that a fishmeal futures contract, under current market conditions, is not viable.


The primary objective of the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies is to determine how the resources of the Grand Canyon respond to the operations of Glen Canyon Dam. Two levels of analysis have been performed. Short-term responses associated with daily and monthly operations and long-term responses associated with seasonal and annual operations. The dynamic nature of the natural resources in the Grand Canyon have required that a combination of field documentation, response analysis, and computer modeling be utilized. The Glen Canyon Environmental Studies have utilized computer models in four different areas of study: Biology; Sedimentation and Hydrology; Recreation; and, Dam Operations. The combination of computer models and actual field data collections have provided the ability to predict responses of the natural and recreation resources. A selective model evaluation and quality assurance process has been developed for each area of study. The application and use of the computer results has been tempered by a thorough understanding of the model limitations and internal assumptions.


We present a new method for the in-plane realignment of nematic liquid crystals in already fully assembled cells with uni-directionally rubbed polyimide as an aligning layer. We use nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) with a relatively high nematic–isotropic transition temperature and we focus the IR laser beam of the laser tweezers selectively onto one or the other of the inner interfaces. The heat generated by the IR absorption locally melts the liquid crystal and creates an isotropic island with well-defined molecular anchoring at the nematic–isotropic interface. By scanning the laser beam along a pre-defined line, the moving isotropic–nematic interface leaves behind a well oriented LC domain, with LC molecules aligned at 45 to the rubbing direction. If we in addition move the sample with respect to this scanning line, we would be able to selectively realign micro-domains of the liquid crystal with respect to the original alignment induced by the PI rubbing. The realignment can be performed independently on each LC– glass interface, thereby producing predefined domains with customized and controllable alignment within an otherwise uniformly aligned cell.


Business-format franchising, which includes the product or service, the brand name or trademark, and the operating system developed by a franchisor, has experienced significant growth over the past few decades. International franchising also is growing at a rapid pace, in part, because of market opportunities that include new trade agreements. The debate over North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) increased the focus on North American franchising. In spite of this attention, there are few, if any, comparative studies of franchising in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. At the same time that international franchising growth is extolled, there is an argument over the extent to which franchising increases business success. A number of studies support the success thesis, however, recently critics claim that franchising does not significantly increase survival rates of franchisee- owned units. The objectives of this study are, first, to extend the study of franchisee success and failure by analyzing franchise executives' perceptions of the importance of a number of characteristics associated with franchisee success and failure, and second, to examine differences among the executives' perceptions of these characteristics based on the location of the franchisor—Canada, Mexico, or the United States. We also analyze the effects of franchise strategy, type of franchise business, and size of the franchise on executive perceptions of the characteristics associated with franchisee success and failure.
Franchisor executives rated the relative importance of 39 statements, taken from previous research, that are associated with perceptions of success. Results from a factor analysis indicate that 30 of the variables load on 5 significant factors. Examination of the content of the factors indicates that the first factor (system quality), and the second factor (brand name) consist of variables that directly relate to the core of business-format franchising, the quality of the operating system and the brand name of the franchise. The third factor (local environment) consists of statements that represent general characteristics of the local franchise environment. The fourth factor (communication) consists of variables that link the franchisee with the franchisor and other franchisees. The fifth factor (franchise activities) consists of variables that represent idiosyncratic characteristics or activities of a franchisee. Franchise executives also rated the relative importance of 16 statements associated with franchisee failure. Of these, 6 statements, associated with franchisor activities, are combined to form a scale of franchisor failure, and 10 statements, associated with franchisee activities, are combined to form a scale of franchisee failure. The findings indicate that there are significant differences in most of the scales of success and failure among franchisor executives' perceptions based on country location. In addition, there is also a significant effect of franchise strategy on perceptions. There are no significant differences by type of franchise business or size of the franchisor. This research contributes to two important areas of research in franchising; the study of perceptions of the characteristics associated with franchisee success and failure, and international franchising research. The study also has practical applications. Knowledge about country differences in perceived characteristics of success and failure will help franchisors to identify aspects of the business system that require increased monitoring and investment. Awareness of country differences will also influence the selection of relevant training and development. Finally, knowledge of differences in perceptions may assist franchisors in adapting systems and policies that are likely to increase the success of their international sites.


The Straž pod Ralskem region is a part of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. The geological profile of the site consists of Quaternary river sediments, Middle Turonian sandstone, Lower Turonian siltstone and Cenomanian collector formed by friable sandstone containing uranium bearing minerals and upper fucoid sandstone forming an overlying back of the ore. The uranium deposit Straž was exploited by underground acidic leaching between 1968 and 1996. More than 14 000 tons of uranium were produced during this period. Minimum 4 million tons of H2SO4, 300 thousand tons of HNO3, 120 thousand tons of NH3 and other chemicals were injected into the Cenomanian sandstones. The chemical mining of uranium resulted in a large contamination of the groundwater collectors in Straž block of North Bohemian cretaceous table and caused serious ecological problems. The lower Cenomanian aquifer containing the U deposit was mainly afflicted. Total salinity of the Cenomanian solutions reaches up to 80 g/l. Overflow of the highly contaminated Cenomanian groundwater to the Turonian collector endangers the sources of drinking water in Northern Bohemia. Our study was focused on analyzing the microbial communities and their nitrate and sulfate reduction potential regarding developing of appropriate bioremediation strategies in the region. Numerical ecology tools were applied for correlating of 16S rRNA gene denatured gradient gel electrophoresis phylogenetic profiles with environmental variables and for selecting of water habitats for further sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA genes, and functional genes for sulfate reduction – aprA, and denitrification – nirS. Significant differences were found between the microbial compositions of the two groundwater collectors. Marker genes for dissimilative reduction of nitrates were detected in waters with pH > 7. Cenomanian waters were characterized by higher diversity and distinct phylogenetic composition of denitrifying bacteria. Regardless the acidic conditions and low bacterial density - 2.7x102 to 5.3x103 cells.ml-1, three aprA gene polymorphs for the -subunit of adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate reductase were identified in the Cenomanian aquatic samples representing the highly polluted groundwaters of Bohemian Cretaceous basin. The prevalent gene variants found in the most contaminated sample C29 (41.9 g/l sulfuric acid, pH 1.68) were affiliated with the obligate chemolithoautotrophic and relevant to in situ bioremediation Thiobacillus and Desulfovibrio spp. The biocatalytic potential of the present extremophile bacteria will be used in development of pilot sulfate-reducing passive bioreactors based on the experience from acid mine drainage treatment.


We investigated the interacting effects of inorganic nitrogen and the main inorganic phosphorus form in dairy manure (dicalcium phosphate, CaHPO 4 ) on growth, nutrient uptake, and rhizosphere pH of young maize plants. In a pot experiment, three levels of CaHPO 4 (0, 167, and 500 mg P pot −1 ) were combined with nitrogen (637 mg N pot −1 ) applied at five NH 4 -N : NO 3 -N ratios (0 : 100, 25 : 75, 50 : 50, 75 : 25, and 100 : 0) and a nitrification inhibitor in a concentrated layer of a typical acid sandy soil from Denmark. 15 N-labeled NH 4 -N was applied to differentiate the role of nitrification and to partition nitrogen uptake derived from NH 4 -N. Among treatments including nitrogen, shoot biomass, rooting and phosphorus uptake were significantly higher at the five-leaf stage when CaHPO 4 was applied with NH 4 -N : NO 3 -N ratios of 50 : 50 and 75 : 25. In these treatments, rhizosphere pH dropped significantly in direct proportion with NH 4 -N uptake. The fertilizers in the concentrated layer had a root-inhibiting effect in treatments without phosphorus supply and in treatments with pure NO 3 -N or NH 4 -N supply. Increased nitrogen uptake as NH 4 -N instead of NO 3 -N reduced rhizosphere pH and enhanced acquisition of applied CaHPO 4 by young maize plants, which may have positive implications for the enhanced utilization of manure phosphorus.


Start building electronics projects with Netduino, the popular open source hardware platform thats captured the imagination of makers and hobbyists worldwide. This easy-to-follow book provides the step-by-step guidance you need to experiment with Netduino and the .NET Micro Framework. Through a set of simple projects, youll learn how to create electronic gadgetsincluding networked devices that communicate over TCP/IP. Along the way, hobbyists will pick up the basics of .NET programming, and programmers will discover how to work with electronics and microcontrollers. Follow the projects in sequence and learn techniques for building your own Netduino-based devices.Get an overview of the Netduino microcontroller family Install the free Visual Studio Express, .NET Micro Framework, and Netduino SDK Write code that lets you turn Netduinos LED on and off Learn how to increase Netduinos capabilities with various expansion shields Measure digital and analog inputs with MakerShield Make a light appear dimmer or brighter with Pulse Width Modulation Use electrical pulses to play a song and control the position of a servo motor Create an app to control your Netduino over the Web


The 2009 Tasmanian Creative Arts Summer School will be held in the City of Launceston from 14-23 January 2009. Nineteen hands-on creative arts workshops will be offered by the University of Tasmania. Newstead Campus will offer the highly successful Rock Summer School. Launceston College will offer their Concert and Stage Band program and also a new Contemporary Dance Summer School. The workshops are open to existing college and university students who wish to attain a credit towards a University degree offered at UTAS. Cross-institutional credit may also apply for national and international students. We also welcome members of the general public wishing to participate either for interest sake alone, or as a bridging means to tertiary study at UTAS.


The matrikine PGP is a mediator of pathological epithelial remodeling in asthma. Extracellular matrix extends its influence in asthma The interplay between immune cells and smooth muscle cells in asthma pathogenesis and response to treatment is under increasing scrutiny. Patel et al. focused on how leukotrienes can modulate immune inflammation and airway hypersensitivity. Mice lacking leukotriene A4 hydrolase had exaggerated epithelial remodeling but dampened immune responses in a house dust mite model of asthma. This was due to release of Pro-Gly-Pro (PGP), a component of the extracellular matrix, which was also elevated in the sputum from severe asthmatics in two clinical cohorts. Their results showcase how the extracellular matrix is a dynamic player in disease and reveal a mediator to be targeted in asthma therapy. It is anticipated that bioactive fragments of the extracellular matrix (matrikines) can influence the development and progression of chronic diseases. The enzyme leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) mediates opposing proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory activities, through the generation of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and degradation of proneutrophilic matrikine Pro-Gly-Pro (PGP), respectively. We show that abrogation of LTB4 signaling ameliorated inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in a murine asthma model, yet global loss of LTA4H exacerbated AHR, despite the absence of LTB4. This exacerbated AHR was attributable to a neutrophil-independent capacity of PGP to promote pathological airway epithelial remodeling. Thus, we demonstrate a disconnect between airway inflammation and AHR and the ability of a matrikine to promote an epithelial remodeling phenotype that negatively affects lung function. Subsequently, we show that substantial quantities of PGP are detectable in the sputum of moderate-severe asthmatics in two distinct cohorts of patients. These studies have implications for our understanding of remodeling phenotypes in asthma and may rationalize the failure of LTA4H inhibitors in the clinic.


This placebo‐controlled, randomized, multicenter trial compared the effects of MTX plus UDCA to UDCA alone on the course of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Two hundred and sixty five AMA positive patients without ascites, variceal bleeding, or encephalopathy; a serum bilirubin less than 3 mg/dL; serum albumin 3 g/dL or greater, who had taken UDCA 15 mg/kg daily for at least 6 months, were stratified by Ludwig's histological staging and then randomized to MTX 15 mg/m2 body surface area (maximum dose 20 mg) once a week while continuing on UDCA. The median time from randomization to closure of the study was 7.6 years (range: 4.6‐8.8 years). Treatment failure was defined as death without liver transplantation; transplantation; variceal bleeding; development of ascites, encephalopathy, or varices; a doubling of serum bilirubin to 2.5 mg/dL or greater; a fall in serum albumin to 2.5 g/dL or less; histological progression by at least two stages or to cirrhosis. Patients were continued on treatment despite failure of treatment, unless transplantation ensued, drug toxicity necessitated withdrawal, or the patient developed a cancer. There were no significant differences in these parameters nor to the time of development of treatment failures observed for patients taking UDCA plus MTX, or UDCA plus placebo. The trial was conducted with a stopping rule, and was stopped early by the National Institutes of Health at the advice of our Data Safety Monitoring Board for reasons of futility. In conclusion, methotrexate when added to UDCA for a median period of 7.6 years had no effect on the course of PBC treated with UDCA alone. Supplementary material for this article can be found on the HEPATOLOGY website (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0270‐9139/suppmat/index.html). (HEPATOLOGY 2005;42:1184–1193.)


It is widely believed that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has grossly fallen short of high expectations raised by the Bush administration in 2002. From the perspective of potential recipient countries, the crucial issue is whether the MCC increased the overall pool of aid resources available to them. We argue that this question extends far beyond the distribution of the limited MCC resources. By employing OLS and treatment-effects estimations, we assess how other US aid agencies and non-US donors reacted to MCC decisions. We find that positive signaling effects tend to dominate possible substitution effects not only for overall US aid but also for multilateral donors. Regarding other bilateral donors the evidence is mixed.


In this study, I have examined how three Serbian Orthodox priests and a bishop, perceive the religious identity of second generation Serbian immigrants and put their responses against selected secularization theses. For this study, I have used qualitative interviews in order to analyze my informants' answers by way of applying different secularization theses. The informants have in interviews explained their experience on how young Serbs relate to Orthodoxy today. They all declared that secularization has affected young Serbs in several ways. There are three elements that have contributed greatly to the increased secularization and I emphasize them as the core factors: secularization as differentiation, the decline of religious belief and practice, and secularism as privatization of religion.In the result section, I have concluded that the informants' answers correspond well to the secularization theory. It is primarily the decline of religious belief and practice, and secularism as privatization of the religion that is proved to be one of the most contributory causes of religion´s decreasing importance among the second generation of young Serbs. This theory is proven by several of my informants who explain that the exercise of religion is not as ubiquitous nor to the extent it should be. This tendency does not have to entail young people abandoning their religion as a whole, merely that there is more freedom to create an individual approach to religion and belief.


The discovery of new medicines requires pharmacologists to interact with a number of information sources ranging from tabular data to scientific papers, and other specialized formats. In this application report, we describe a linked data platform for integrating multiple pharmacology datasets that form the basis for several drug discovery applications. The functionality offered by the platform has been drawn from a collection of prioritised drug discovery business questions created as part of the Open PHACTS project, a collaboration of research institutions and major pharmaceutical companies. We describe the architecture of the platform focusing on seven design decisions that drove its development with the aim of informing others developing similar software in this or other domains. The utility of the platform is demonstrated by the variety of drug discovery applications being built to access the integrated data.An alpha version of the OPS platform is currently available to the Open PHACTS consortium and a first public release will be made in late 2012, see http://www.openphacts.org/ for details.


The majority of deaths from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occur prior to the arrival of medical aid and appear to be due to ventricular fibrillation (VF). Since the premature ventricular contraction and bradycardia are believed to predispose to VF, it has been suggested that administration of atropine or lidocaine during the prehospital phase of AMI may effectively reduce mortality in AMI. To test the efficacy of these drugs in treating arrhythmias during the acute phase of AMI we studied 72 closed-chest conscious dogs in which AMI was produced by inflating a balloon cuff previously implanted around the left anterior descending coronary artery. Ventricular arrhythmias developed in 52 dogs either during occlusion or within 2 min of release of occlusion. Arrhythmias were treated by (1) atropine, (2) atrial pacing, (3) lidocaine, or (4) atropine plus lidocaine. Of the 18 dogs that developed VF, all had ectopic ventricular beats that followed a preceding beat (R-RPVC interval) by ≤0.43 sec; no dog with a ventricular arrhythmia that exhibited only R-RPVC intervals >0.43 sec developed VF. On this basis arrhythmias were defined as "benign" (R-RPVC >0.43 sec) or "malignant" (R-RPVC ≤0.43 sec). Using this classification, we found that benign arrhythmias were successfully suppressed by atropine (10 of 13 arrhythmias), pacing (nine of 11), and lidocaine (three of five); however, atropine suppressed only two of 18, pacing two of 14, and lidocaine none of six malignant arrhythmias. We conclude that (1) not all ventricular arrhythmias are potentially lethal and (2) while atropine, pacing, and lidocaine successfully suppress most benign arrhythmias, they appear considerably less effective in suppressing those faster arrhythmias that frequently lead to the precipitation of VF.


The study aims at developing in-depth understanding on how Open Source Geographic Information System technology is used to provide solutions for data visualization in the health sector of Zanzibar, Tanzania. The study focuses on implementing the health visualization solutions for the purpose of bridging the gap during the transition period from proprietary software to the Free Open-Source Software using Key Indicator Data System. The developed tool facilitates data integration between the two District Health Information Software versions and hence served as a gateway solution during the transition process. Implementation challenges that include outdated spatial data and the reluctance of the key users in coping with the new Geographical Information System technologies were also identified. Participatory action research and interviews were used in understanding the requirements for the new tool to facilitate the smooth system development for better health service delivery.


Since 1983, the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) has collected Earth radiance data from the succession of geostationary and polar-orbiting meteorological satellites operated by weather agencies worldwide. Meeting the ISCCP goals of global coverage and decade-length time scales requires consistent and stable calibration of the participating satellites. For the geostationary imager visible channels, ISCCP calibration provides regular periodic updates from regressions of radiances measured from coincident and collocated observations taken by Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer instruments. As an independent check of the temporal stability and intersatellite consistency of ISCCP calibrations, we have applied lunar calibration techniques to geostationary imager visible channels using images of the Moon found in the ISCCP data archive. Lunar calibration enables using the reflected light from the Moon as a stable and consistent radiometric reference. Although the technique has general applicability, limitations of the archived image data have restricted the current study to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite and Geostationary Meteorological Satellite series. The results of this lunar analysis confirm that ISCCP calibration exhibits negligible temporal trends in sensor response but have revealed apparent relative biases between the satellites at various levels. However, these biases amount to differences of only a few percent in measured absolute reflectances. Since the lunar analysis examines only the lower end of the radiance range, the results suggest that the ISCCP calibration regression approach does not precisely determine the intercept or the zero-radiance response level. We discuss the impact of these findings on the development of consistent calibration for multisatellite global data sets.


This article discusses the features of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) created from accumulated foreign reserves in African countries that export commodities. The author describes the investment targets of African SWFs, using empirical data and a research method based on a detailed analysis of available information on the investment activities of SWFs in the last 20 years. Conclusions from the analysis indicate that, due to the poor transparency of African SWFs, gathering the necessary statistics, general information and literature on the institutional arrangements and business strategies involved still remains a challenge. The study uses press articles and reports that are compared against other sources of information in order to increase credibility. Due to the small size of African SWFs, their role in stimulating the economic development of the continent is limited by many institutional, economic and political factors. African SWFs are not a homogeneous group. They can be beneficial for nations if they are used and structured properly in order to take advantage of their full potential. This implies that most of the African SWFs would have to expand their stabilization goals and move gradually to instruments intended for achieving economic development, intergenerational transfers of resources, financial sector stabilization, and promotion of regional integration.


Ideal for mathematics majors and prospective secondary school teachers, Euclidean and Transformational Geometry provides a complete and solid presentation of Euclidean geometry with an emphasis on solving challenging problems. The author examines various strategies and heuristics for approaching proofs and discusses the process students should follow to determine how to proceed from one step to the next through numerous problem solving techniques. A large collection of problems, varying in level of difficulty, are integrated throughout the text and suggested hints for the more challenging problems appear in the instructor's solutions manual and can be used at the instructor's discretion.


Those concerned with enumerated powers, the Tenth Amendment, and limited governance have many questions about current trends in U.S. governance: Has the federal government grown too large? Is it doing too much? Has it transgressed lawful limits? Is the federal-state relationship out of balance? Assuming that the federal government has gotten too large, what can you do about it? Or, more generally, what can you do if you think that the federal government is too big, or too small, or is doing the wrong things, or is not doing what it should be doing? The obvious answer to the two latter questions is that you win elections. The winners decide what good governance is. There are, however, two problems with that answer. First, once you win an election, you can still lose the next one. As a result, you have an interest in figuring out some method to entrench your policy positions reasonably permanently. Second, some of the things you want to do may be precluded by the existing Constitution, though people obviously disagree about what those things are. (1) The obvious remedy to both of these problems is to amend the Constitution. So to entrench your policy victories, you need to win elections first, and then you might also have to amend the Constitution. I am actually in favor of amending the Constitution in a variety of ways. People disagree about what ought to be amended, but those differences get worked out through the amendment process. The problem with the amendment route is that politicians actually have very few incentives to seriously pursue amending the Constitution, even if they have won an election. The reason for that is two-fold, depending on the type of amendment. The first kind of amendment is substantive. This is the type of amendment that could, for example, restrict the scope of the national government, preventing it from doing certain kinds of things. The second type of amendment is procedural, something like the amendment to let a state override national legislation. Both types of amendments present their own problems. With respect to the substantive amendments, the problem is this: A politician presumably wants to make a substantive amendment in order to enact substantive legislation. But if that politician has the votes in Congress to submit amendments to the states, then he also has the votes necessary to enact the substantive change through ordinary legislation. (2) Politicians have limited time and political capital, which means that they are more likely to use this more straightforward method of attaining their substantive goal. Then, maybe if there is time left over, a politician might make some effort to get an amendment that would be submitted to the states. This submission poses additional incentive problems for politicians, which I will address later in this Essay. This route historically has been used to pursue amendments. (3) In addition to a congressional vote, there is another route to amending the Constitution. This second method is to convene a constitutional convention upon the call of the states. (4) Using this method makes sense only if the substantive change lacks the support necessary to pass in Congress, and there is sufficient control over state legislatures to get the right kind of call for a convention. In other words, it makes sense for a politician to use this method if he does not have two thirds of the votes in both the House and Senate, but his party does control two thirds of the state legislatures, and he thinks there is a decent chance that, within the foreseeable future, he will get control of three quarters of them. Another political obstacle is the myriad of procedural issues about how one goes about convening a convention and what the convention would have the power to do once in session. (5) No matter what the correct resolution of those questions, the uncertainty about them will allow opponents of the amendment to raise fears of a "runaway" convention and the like. …


This article examines the Court's categorical exclusion of mentally retarded defendants from execution and explores how trial courts should employ procedures to accomplish heightened reliability in the mental retardation determination; it maintains that if a mentally retarded defendant is subjected to a death sentence then the Atkins directive has been ignored. To satisfy the Atkins Court's objective of protecting mentally retarded defendants from the "special risk of wrongful execution," the article explores whether trial courts should engage in a unified, pre-trial competency assessment in all capital cases where the defendant asserts mental retardation as a bar to execution and how the ancient in favorem vitae doctrine could ensure fairness and protect defendants who may be at special risk "that the death penalty will be imposed in spite of factors which may call for a less severe penalty."


Jonathan Crisman and Jason Sexton interview Karen Tei Yamashita about motivating and influential features behind her novels and plays, which are difficult to define by genre: they have been called science fiction, speculative fiction, postmodern, postcolonial, magic realist, and most certainly experimental. Between her transnational history, her role as a maker, and the strong spatiality of her writing, Yamashita's insights have shaped the way urban humanities are practiced. Her landmark 1997 novel, Tropic of Orange , has become a key text and model for creative practice for urban humanists based in Los Angeles.


Bayesian optimisation has been successfully applied to a variety of reinforcement learning problems. However, the traditional approach for learning optimal policies in simulators does not utilise the opportunity to improve learning by adjusting certain environment variables: state features that are unobservable and randomly determined by the environment in a physical setting but are controllable in a simulator. This article considers the problem of finding a robust policy while taking into account the impact of environment variables. We present alternating optimisation and quadrature (ALOQ), which uses Bayesian optimisation and Bayesian quadrature to address such settings. We also present transferable ALOQ (TALOQ), for settings where simulator inaccuracies lead to difficulty in transferring the learnt policy to the physical system. We show that our algorithms are robust to the presence of significant rare events, which may not be observable under random sampling but play a substantial role in determining the optimal policy. Experimental results across different domains show that our algorithms learn robust policies efficiently.


Our previous studies revealed that insulin stimulates the tyrosine phosphorylation of caveolin in 3T3L1 adipocytes. To explore the mechanisms involved in this event, we evaluated the association of the insulin receptor with caveolin. The receptor was detected in a Triton-insoluble low density fraction, co-sedimenting with caveolin and flotillin on sucrose density gradients. We also detected the receptor in caveolin-enriched rosette structures by immunohistochemical analysis of plasma membrane sheets from 3T3L1 adipocytes. Insulin stimulated the phosphorylation of caveolin-1 on Tyr14. This effect of the hormone was not blocked by overexpression of mutant forms of the Cbl-associated protein that block the translocation of phospho-Cbl to the caveolin-enriched, lipid raft microdomains. Moreover, this phosphorylation event was also unaffected by inhibitors of the MAPK and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathways. Although previous studies demonstrated that the Src family kinase Fyn was highly enriched in caveolae, an inhibitor of this kinase had no effect on insulin-stimulated caveolin phosphorylation. Interestingly, overexpression of a mutant form of caveolin that failed to interact with the insulin receptor did not undergo phosphorylation. Taken together, these data indicate that the insulin receptor directly catalyzes the tyrosine phosphorylation of caveolin.


This work presents an educational simulation to support students' learning about the formation of the rainbow. The main aim of the simulation is to provide our students with a didactic tool in addition to their traditional laboratory practice, which can be easily implemented in e-learning teaching platforms. A system consisting of a flask filled with water and a screen with a rounded aperture placed between the sun and the flask was simulated; this way a faint rainbow was seen on the simulated screen. The interactive nature of the simulation allowed the students to perform some alterations that would be impossible to do in the real world; thus, the observed rainbow deviated from the simplest model. Additionally, all these modifications could be rendered into an animation, in order to observe changes in real time.


This paper documents a study, carried out in the academic year 20042005, on the role of motivation and comfort-level in a first year object-oriented programming module. The study found that intrinsic motivation had a strong correlation with programming performance as did self-efficacy for learning and performance, r=0.512, p < 0.01 and r=0.567, p < 0.01 respectively. Aspects of comfort level were found to have significant correlations with performance with an instrument on programming-esteem rendering the most interesting results. A regression model based upon these factors was able to account for 60% of the variance in programming performance results.


. Lagrangian trajectory or particle dispersion models as well as semi-Lagrangian advection schemes require mete-orological data such as wind, temperature and geopotential at the exact spatio-temporal locations of the particles that move independently from a regular grid. Traditionally, this high-resolution data has been obtained by interpolating the meteorological parameters from the gridded data of a meteorological model or reanalysis, e.g. using linear interpolation in space and time. However, interpolation errors are a large source of error for these models. Reducing them requires meteorological input 5 fields with high space and time resolution, which may not always be available and can cause severe data storage and transfer problems. Here, we interpret this problem as a single image superresolution task. That is, we interpret meteorological fields available at their native resolution as low-resolution images and train deep neural networks to up-scale them to higher resolution, thereby providing more accurate data for Lagrangian models. We train various versions of the state-of-the-art Enhanced Deep Residual Networks for Superresolution (EDSR) on low-resolution ERA5 reanalysis data with the goal to up-scale these 10 data to arbitrary spatial resolution. We show that the resulting up-scaled wind fields have root-mean-squared errors half the size of the winds obtained with linear spatial interpolation at acceptable computational inference costs. In a test setup using the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART and reduced-resolution wind fields, we demonstrate that absolute horizontal transport deviations of calculated trajectories from "ground-truth


The objective of this article is to identify research gaps in Ethical DecisionMaking (EDM), and develop a conceptual model, to investigate the impact of Ethical Orientation of HRM (EOHRM) on EDM in organizations. EOHRM is a new concept in HRM literature. It is "the extent to which HRM functions have been directed to create, enhance and maintain ethicality within employees, to generate an ethical work force in the organization". Unethical behavior of employees in organizations, mainly due to unethical decisionmaking, has been a burning global issue for many decades. Unethical decision is a decision that is either illegal or morally unacceptable to the society. The influence of HRM functions on employee behavior at work had received much scholarly attention over the past several years. Despite its significance in contributing towards the organizational performance, theoretical or empirical researches have not been conducted on the impact of EOHRM on EDM in organizations. The authors systematically reviewed existent literature on HRM practices, EDM, ethical/unethical behavior of employees etc., published in refereed journals over the past 30 years, edited book chapters and text books by prominent authors on the above subjects, using the archival method. Authors identified six research gaps in EDM in an organization. An integrated conceptual model was developed to investigate the impact of EOHRM on EDM, with the interaction influences of three variables: "Ethical Attitude", Ethical Competence" and "Personal Character" of employee on this relationship. The originality and unique feature of this EDM model is that, it has been developed based on a novel concept in HRM literature, labeled EOHRM. Hence, this article has an original value and significant utility for future research.


The POMC pathway is involved in the regulation of energy and cardiovascular homeostasis in the hypothalamus and the brain stem. Although the acute effects of POMC-derived peptides in different brain locations have been elucidated, the chronic site-specific effects of distinct peptides remain to be studied. To this end, we used a lentiviral gene delivery vector to study the long-term effects of α-MSH in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) of the brain stem. The α-MSH vector (LVi-α-MSH-EGFP) based on the N-terminal POMC sequence and a control vector (LVi-EGFP) were delivered into the NTS of C57BL/6N male mice fed on a western diet. Effects on body weight and composition, feeding, glucose metabolism, and hemodynamics by telemetric analyses were studied during the 12-week follow-up. The LVi-α-MSH-EGFP-treated mice had a significantly smaller gain in the fat mass compared with LVi-EGFP-injected mice. There was a small initial decrease in food intake and no differences in the physical activity. Glucose metabolism was not changed compared with the control. LVi-α-MSH-EGFP increased the heart rate (HR), which was attenuated by adrenergic blockade suggesting an increased sympathetic activity. Reduced response to muscarinic blockade suggested a decreased parasympathetic activity. Fitting with sympathetic activation, LVi-α-MSH-EGFP treatment reduced urine secretion. Thus, the results demonstrate that long-term α-MSH overexpression in the NTS attenuates diet-induced obesity. Modulation of autonomic nervous system tone increased the HR and most probably contributed to an anti-obesity effect. The results underline the key role of NTS in the α-MSH-induced long-term effects on adiposity and in regulation of sympathetic and parasympathetic activities.


The evolution of texture and crystal size distribution of igneous rocks is mainly determined by processes such as nucleation, grain growth, and Ostwald ripening. However, the role played by these processes on the final crystal size distribution is difficult to quantify with conventional methods. Here we present the first direct in situ observation of a crystallizing supercooled basaltic-andesitic liquid in order to directly assess the role of grain-scale processes occurring during magma solidification. The experiments were conducted at 900 °C and 1 bar with a new moissanite cell specifically designed for long-term high-temperature experiments. The method allowed the direct continuous observation of the crystallizing melt until the crystal fraction approached 0.7. Investigation of the evolving texture revealed that individual crystals followed distinct growth histories characterized by intervals of relatively uniform free growth, abrupt size increase due to grain coalescence, and growth reduction due to impingement; the latter played a dominant role at higher crystal fractions. Despite this growth dispersion, average growth rates calculated for single grains showed only little variation (4.9 × 10−6 to 1.9 × 10−6 mm/s). No clear relation between growth rate and crystal size was observed. Crystal coarsening through a combination of overgrowth and coalescence can also account for the counterclockwise rotation and the drop-off at smaller size fractions of the recovered crystal size distributions in our experiments. These results suggest that crystal size distributions of natural rocks do not record the original nucleation rates.


Many terranes of western North America were accreted to the continent from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous time. The location of many of these accretionary events is poorly known because the amount of syn- and post-accretion translation is widely debated. Thus, the paleogeography of the Cordillera before the Cenozoic is poorly known. Here I present a selective summary of a few key interpretations and data sets that I believe indicate that the Early Cretaceous of the North American Cordillera had a major arc-continent collision in the south and northward tectonic escape in the north. I adopt four conclusions from other workers for the Early Cretaceous: (i) the Guerrero terrane was an oceanic arc that collided with Mexico ca. 120 Ma; (ii) the Baja British Columbia (Baja B.C.) block had a moderate amount of northward translation (∼1600-1800 km) in the Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary that was preceded by ∼800 km of southward translation (sinistral faulting) in the Early Cretaceous; (iii) the sinistral faulting in Baja B.C. occurred at the same time as a dextral fault system of 200-400 km offset in eastern California, Nevada, and Idaho; and (iv) the large volume of magmatism in the Sierra Nevada in the Late Cretaceous (100-85 Ma) was mainly due to lithospheric-scale underthrusting of North America under the Sierra Nevada and not arc processes. These conclusions lead to a speculative model. In the model, the earliest Cretaceous (145-125 Ma) was dominated by sinistral oblique convergence. There was a major change in the tectonics of the Cordillera at 125-120 Ma that may have been driven by an arc-continent collision of the Guerrero terrane in Mexico and a change to more westerly absolute motion of the North America plate. These events resulted in major tectonic escape of the central and northern Cordillera to the north away from the arc collision in Mexico from 125 to 105 Ma. The collision and escape were accompanied by renewed eastward thrusting in the Sevier-Rocky Mountain thrust belt. This model is similar in many ways to the modern tectonics of the eastern Mediterranean to Caucasus region. The 105-85 Ma interval had major convergence and the beginning of northward translation of the Baja B.C. block. This interval had two belts of magmatism, one from subduction and the other the result of the underthrusting of North American crust to the west.


The microbiological quality assessment of 21 packaged single and multiple fruit juices sold in Owerri metropolis, Nigeria were assessed using standard methods. MacConkey agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar were used for yeast isolation, total coliform and fungal count at 37°C for 24-48 hours and 96 hours respectively. Different biochemical tests were conducted for the confirmation of the isolates from the fruit juice. Bacterial genera isolated included Bacillus, Proteus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and Escherichia coli. Three genera of fungi were identified, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Saccharomyces. The total heterotrophic bacterial counts ranged from 0.01 × 104 to 2.45 × 104 cfu/mL, while the total fungal counts ranged from 0.70 × 102 to 2.00 × 104 cfu/mL and the total coliform count ranged from 7.00 × 103 to 1.25 × 104 cfu/mL. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was employed to test the equality of the different fruit juices in terms of total microbial count. The presence of microbial contaminants in all the products could be a reflection of the quality of the raw materials, processing equipment, environment, packaging materials, storage conditions and the personnel's involved in the production and distribution process.


The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is quickly becoming one of the most critical global environmental challenges of the twenty first century. However, WEF systems are inherently complex; they typically are dynamic and span multiple land or agro-ecosystems at a regional or global scale. Addressing this challenge requires a systems approach to optimal and sustainable resource management across multiple dimensions. To that end, using Pajaro Valley (California) as a case study, our research aims to (1) highlight synergies and tradeoffs in food and water production, (2) build a dynamic framework capable of examining intertemporal resource relationships, and (3) detail the steps required to develop incentive-compatible financing of the resulting management plans when benefits are not distributed uniformly across users. Using a stylized model, we find that in the long run, inland growers benefit from the halting of seawater intrusion (SWI) due to overpumping of groundwater. We also calculate that the water provided by the proposed College Lake Multi-Objective Management Program-a plan designed to halt SWI and support sustainable water and agricultural development in the region-will generate net revenue of $40-58 million per year, compared to an annualized cost of less than $3 million. An equal cost-sharing plan would be desirable if the benefit of the project exceeded $1,268 per year for each well owner. Since this may not necessarily be the case for smaller well owners, one possible alternative is to allocate costs in proportion to expected benefits for each user.


ABSTRACT This article explores the political and economic factors that are driving shifting data in the context of HIV. In order to measure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3 on health, global health agencies such as UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and PEPFAR all rely on HIV data routinely reported by countries. This data is not produced in a political vacuum. Key populations vulnerable to HIV (men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers and transgender people) are often hidden due to stigma and criminalisation. However, the absence of this data creates a paradox in which invisibility reinforces invisibility. Key population size estimates are a central tool for planning and resourcing national and global HIV programming, but these become hard to obtain when key populations are hidden and political leaders deny their existence. Pressure from health financing agencies is changing these power dynamics in some countries. Key populations who participate in these consultations question size estimates, interrogate the politics of HIV data, and demand that studies be more inclusive, ethical and attuned to their human rights. In the fight against HIV, data is a critical stake in the struggle.


A normal health status is highly depends on body weight. Many health problems may occur or impose risk for extremely obese individuals. Etiopathology of obesity includes interaction of several factors inclusive of genetic and non-genetic factors such as lifestyle changes. This study aimed to launch Malaysian Obesity DNA Bank and determine the prevalence of obesity along with anthropometric measurements of the subjects. The cross-sectional study was conducted on total of 340 subjects (obese = 95, overweight = 122 and normal = 123), aged 19-60 years, in Terengganu. The BMI and well appropriate anthropometric measurements (waist circumference, hip circumference, waist to hip ratio, fat percentage and ASindex) were determined through standard protocols and formulae. The mean difference of anthropometrics was determined by independent t-test. Data was analysed using SPSS ver.16.0.0. The BMI was determined for all subjects and it was found that out of 340 subjects, a total of 95 (27.9%) subjects were obese , followed by a total of 122 (35.8%)  subjects were overweight and normal individuals were 123 (36.1%). The mean of the BMI, WHR, Fat% and ASindex, in Malay obese were 32.83, 0.88, 33.5 and 13.21 respectively, while in normal healthy individuals were 22.1, 0.78, 24.2 and 20.1 respectively. The difference of mean of BMI, WHR, Fat% and ASindex was calculated to be 10.73, 0.1, 9.3 and 6.89 respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in Malaysia, reporting that this is very first Obesity DNA Bank in South East Asia region and prevalence of obesity in Terengganu, Malaysia to be 27.9%. In addition, it indicates a significant mean difference for anthropometric measurements among obese and normal individuals. For Asindex calculations suggest that the prevalence of genocide obesity is greater 89.9% of android obesity in Malay obese attributes Keywords: Obesity, Terengganu, prevalence, Malaysia, body shape, ASindex, anthropometric measurements


The New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NP&WS), under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NSW) ('the Act'), is responsible for the 'care, control. and management' of Aboriginal cultural hentage sites (middens, burial sites, rock art sites, etc.) throughout NSW.2 Section 90 of the Act states that it is an offence to destroy, deface or disturb an Aboriginal site, and that consent to do so must be sought from the Director of the Service. It is questionable not only whether it is appropriate that the Service should wield such power, but also if it is adequately carrying out its statutory duty, when the system under which it operates is leading to the silent, unseen destruction of sites on a daily basis throughout NSW. Whilst the Service, in collaboration with local Aboriginal communities, has achieved much in the preservation an~ protection of significant Aboriginal cultural heritage sites since 1974, it is not above criticism, and areas such as public education programs and identification of sites outside of national parks and reserves have been severely neglected. Part of the problem is the system itself, which, by default, has allocated to the NP&WS the central role of manager, and destroyer, of Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, as opposed to a more regional or community based approach with direct Aboriginal control. Furthermore, the Service, whose primary responsibility is the management of the State's national parks, has limited resources with which to carry out its duty in this area, allocating individual officers vast tracts of the State for which they must bear responsibility for site management. In many cases, ongoing involvement by local Aboriginal communities is limited, voluntary and under-resourced.


Yeast sense the environmental toxin cadmium at the endoplasmic reticulum to prevent the degradation of the toxin's transporter. The environmental toxin cadmium is excreted from cells by the membrane P-type ATPase transporter, called Pca1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In yeast, the abundance of Pca1 is controlled by the rate of the ubiquitinylation and proteasomal degradation of the protein, not through transcriptional or translational mechanisms. As a transmembrane protein, Pca1 is synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Adle et al. identified CUE1, which encodes a protein involved in ER-associated degradation (ERAD), in a screen of yeast genetic knockouts that exhibited increased abundance of green fluorescent protein (GFP)–tagged Pca1. Knockout of DOA10 or UBC7, other genes implicated in the ERAD-C pathway, which degrades ER-associated proteins with lesions in the cytosolic portions, also stabilized GFP-Pca1. Release from the ER was not required for Pca1 stabilization or degradation, as Pca1 was efficiently degraded in yeast defective in ER exit, and cadmium promoted its stabilization. Cadmium did not trigger the unfolded protein response, thus ERAD was not activated because of a nonspecific effect of cadmium on protein folding or damage. Transfer of the N-terminal degron sequence that is necessary for regulation by cadmium and Pca1 degradation, either to another transporter (synthesized in the ER) or to cytosolic GFP, allowed both of these proteins to be stabilized by cadmium and degraded through a DOA10-dependent ERAD process. The Pca1 degron mediated a direct interaction between Pca1 and DOA10 as seen with chemical cross-linking and coimmunoprecipitation experiments. The Pca1 degron bound copper, and this interaction was competed by cadmium. Trypsin sensitivity assays suggested that metal binding to the Pca1 degron alters the conformation of this region, which may prevent the interaction with DOA10 and allow rapid stabilization of Pca1. Thus, by selectively targeting proteins for ERAD-mediated degradation, cells may rapidly respond to changes in environmental conditions. D. J. Adle, W. Wei, N. Smith, J. J. Bies, J. Lee, Cadmium-mediated rescue from ER-associated degradation induces expression of its exporter. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 10189–10194 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The results of experimental study of mechanical properties of samples of sand-lime brick under dynamic loading are presented. The tests were carried out using the traditional Kolsky method and its modification dynamic splitting (the so-called «Brazilian test»). The laws of change in strength and time properties of the investigated material are determined in the strain rate range of 3·10-2.5·10 s under compression and in the stress rate range of 2·10-3·10 GPa/s under tension.


In this article the opinion expressed by Academy of Young Scholars of Polish Academy of Sciences about San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment was presented. Although several doubts about this international document were raised, this declaration is regarded to be an important international document, which is worth being discussed and supported in many aspects.


Lettuce and tobacco chloroplast transgenic lines expressing the cholera toxin B subunit-human proinsulin (CTB-Pins) fusion protein were generated. CTB-Pins accumulated up to ~16% of total soluble protein (TSP) in tobacco and up to ~2.5% of TSP in lettuce. Eight milligrams of powdered tobacco leaf material expressing CTB-Pins or, as negative controls, CTB-green fluorescent protein (CTB-GFP) or interferon-GFP (IFN-GFP), or untransformed leaf, were administered orally, each week for 7 weeks, to 5-week-old female non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. The pancreas of CTB-Pins-treated mice showed decreased infiltration of cells characteristic of lymphocytes (insulitis); insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreatic islets of CTB-Pins-treated mice were significantly preserved, with lower blood or urine glucose levels, by contrast with the few beta-cells remaining in the pancreatic islets of the negative controls. Increased expression of immunosuppressive cytokines, such as interleukin-4 and interleukin-10 (IL-4 and IL-10), was observed in the pancreas of CTB-Pins-treated NOD mice. Serum levels of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), but not IgG2a, were elevated in CTB-Pins-treated mice. Taken together, T-helper 2 (Th2) lymphocyte-mediated oral tolerance is a likely mechanism for the prevention of pancreatic insulitis and the preservation of insulin-producing beta-cells. This is the first report of expression of a therapeutic protein in transgenic chloroplasts of an edible crop. Transplastomic lettuce plants expressing CTB-Pins grew normally and transgenes were maternally inherited in T(1) progeny. This opens up the possibility for the low-cost production and delivery of human therapeutic proteins, and a strategy for the treatment of various other autoimmune diseases.


We derive a unified statistical method with which one can produce substantially improved definitions and estimates of almost any feature of two-party electoral systems that can be defined based on district vote shares. Our single method enables one to calculate more efficient estimates, with more trustworthy assessments of their uncertainty, than each of the separate multifarious existing measures of partisan bias, electoral responsiveness, seats-votes curves, expected or predicted vote in each district in a legislature, the probability that a given party will win the seat in each district, the proportion of incumbents or others who will lose their seats, the proportion of women or minority candidates to be elected, the incumbency advantage and other causal effects, the likely effects on the electoral system and district votes of proposed electoral reforms, such as term limitations, campaign spending limits, and drawing majority-minority districts, and numerous others. To illustrate, we estimate the partisan bias and electoral responsiveness of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1900 and evaluate the fairness of competing redistricting plans for the 1992 Ohio state legislature.


This paper reviews recent attempts by researchers at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to increase the level of student engagement in a final year capstone project by allowing for a greater level of autonomy in project selection and assignment. The paper introduces the context, followed by a justification from current literature, an introduction to the approach and finally a summary of the outcomes obtained by the project. In this study an authentic learning approach was followed which allowed students to propose and tender for capstone projects in a four-year engineering programme, and following a period of tender also give active input into the selection of tenders based on their personal knowledge and experience. From this process, a preference list was obtained from both students and faculty of their opinions of the best way assignments could be allocated followed by applying the Gale-Shapley algorithm to select the optimal assignment of projects to students. It is hoped that this study will inspire other educators in similar situations to consider handing over some measure of control to students during their undergraduate studies in engineering to increase the level of responsibility and thoughtful reflection experienced by students before they enter the profession.


Progress in building systems that acquire knowledge from a variety of sources depends on determining certain functional requirements and ways for them to be met. Experiments have been performed with learning systems having a variety of functional components. The results of these experiments have brought to light deficiencies of various sorts, in systems with various degrees of effectiveness. The components considered here are: interaction language; organization of procedural elements; explanation of system behavior; accommodation to new knowledge; connection of goals with system capabilities; reformulation (mapping) of knowledge; evaluation of behavior; and compilation to achieve efficiency and automaticity. A number of approaches to knowledge acquisition tried within the Instructable Production System (IPS) Project are sketched.


Three experiments investigated irrelevant sound interference of lip-read lists. In Experiment 1, an acoustically changing sequence of nine irrelevant utterances was more disruptive to spoken immediate identification of lists of nine lip-read digits than nine repetitions of the same utterances (the changing-state effect; Jones, Madden, & Miles, 1992). Experiment 2 replicated this finding when lip-read items were sampled with replacement from the nine digits to form the lip-read lists. In Experiment 3, when the irrelevant sound was confined to the retention interval of a delayed recall task, a changing-state pattern of disruption also occurred. Results confirm a changing-state effect in memory for lip-read items but also point to the possibility that, for lip-reading, changing-state effects may occur at an earlier, perceptual stage.


The Carnegie Mellon Statistical Language Modeling (CMU SLM) Toolkit is a set of Unix software tools designed to facilitate language modeling work in the research community. The package, including source code, is freely available for research purposes. As of December 1994, the toolkit is in active use by 23 research groups in 8 countries. It was recently used to process the 2.5 GB NAB corpus for the ARPA CSR community. In this paper, I firstdiscuss the design principles and features of the toolkit. Then, I describe the composition of the NAB corpus, and report on the ngram statistics, standard vocabulary and language models created using the SLM tools.


Currently, Mobile operators are busy with deployment of 4G technology namely, LTE-advanced or WIMAX 802.16m. This 4G technology will be concluded within two years. 5G technology is not standardizing yet, probably 5G standard will define in two to three years, and its deployment will start around 2020. In future, people will expect same quality of internet connectivity as the device is capable. This technology will include all types of advanced features, which make 5G technology more powerful. The main features we want to add in 5G mobile network is that user can simultaneously connect to the multiple wireless technologies and can switch between them. Forthcoming mobile technology has to support IPv6 and flat IP. This paper explains different technology which we want to include making future mobile technology more powerful and more in demand.


Citrus BlackFly (CBF) always represented a threat to Brazil. The impact of the introduc- tion in Brazil of the CBF has led to serious economic and environmental consequences. In this chapter, we will show relevant information on biological aspects, history of occur- rence, and impact of CBF on Citrus in Brazil; data about dynamics populations and spatial distribution patterns and dependence will be presented. We are intending to emphasize in this chapter the main challenges and opportunities of some important tactics to promote sustainable management of CBF in citrus, such as: (i) biological control, (ii) chemical and others methods, and (iii) induced resistance.


In 1884, Edwin Abbott Abbott wrote a mathematical adventure set in a two-dimensional plane world, populated by a hierarchical society of regular geometrical figures-who think and speak and have all too human emotions. Since then Flatland has fascinated generations of readers, becoming a perennial science-fiction favorite. By imagining the contact of beings from different dimensions, the author fully exploited the power of the analogy between the limitations of humans and those of his two-dimensional characters. A first-rate fictional guide to the concept of multiple dimensions of space, the book will also appeal to those who are interested in computer graphics. This field, which literally makes higher dimensions seeable, has aroused a new interest in visualization. We can now manipulate objects in four dimensions and observe their three-dimensional slices tumbling on the computer screen. But how do we interpret these images? In his introduction, Thomas Banchoff points out that there is no better way to begin exploring the problem of understanding higher-dimensional slicing phenomena than reading this classic novel of the Victorian era.


Silver compounds and nanoparticles (NPs) are gaining increasing interest in medical applications, specifically in the treatment and prevention of biomaterial-related infections. However, the silver release from these materials, resulting in a limited antimicrobial activity, is often difficult to control. In this paper, ceria nanocontainers were synthesized by a template-assisted method and were then used to encapsulate silver nitrate (AgNO3/CeO2 nanocontainers). Over the first 30 days, a significant level of silver was released, as determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). A novel type of ceria container containing silver NPs (AgNP/CeO2 containers) was also developed using two different template removal methods. The presence of AgNPs was confirmed both on the surface and in the interior of the ceria containers by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Upon removal of the template by calcination, the silver was released over a period exceeding three months (>90 days). However, when the template was removed by dissolution, the silver release was shortened to ≤14 days. The antimicrobial activity of the silver-containing CeO2 containers was observed and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was determined using the broth dilution method. Investigation on human cells, using a model epithelial barrier cell type (A549 cells), highlighted that all three samples induced a heightened cytotoxicity leading to cell death when exposed to all containers in their raw form. This was attributed to the surface roughness of the CeO2 nanocontainers and the kinetics of the silver release from the AgNO3/CeO2 and AgNP/CeO2 nanocontainers. In conclusion, despite the need for further emphasis on their biocompatibility, the concept of the AgNP/CeO2 nanocontainers offers a potentially alternative long-term antibactericidal strategy for implant materials.


A new Schiff base derived from cuminaldehyde and 4-aminoantipyrine and its metal complexes with Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) have been synthesized and characterized. Their structural features have been established on the basis of analytical, magnetic, conductance, IR, UV- visible, mass, 1 H NMR spectral studies. The low conductance values indicate that the complexes are non-electrolytes. On the basis of colour, magnetic moments and electronic spectral data, octahedral geometry was assigned to Co(II) and Ni((II) complexes, while Cu(II) complex showed distorted octahedral arrangement. The antimicrobial activity of the ligand and its complexes has been studied with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus vulgaris, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger, employing agar-well diffusion method. Both the Schiff base as well as its complexes possess significant antimicrobial activity.


High-frequency broadband clicks were recorded from narwhals (Monodon monoceros) off the Uummannaq region, Northwest Greenland, in April 2012 and 2013 while whales were on their wintering grounds in Baffin Bay. Recordings were made on eight different days directly from the pack ice edge or through holes drilled in pack ice floes at approximately 71o N and between 54o to 60o W. Recordings were conducted using a single hydrophone along with a recording system with a sampling frequency of 500 kHz and an AcousondeTM 3B with a sampling frequency of 250 kHz. The energy in the high-frequency narwhal clicks extended up to 200 kHz. Buzzes with inter-click intervals (ICI) down to 3.2 ms were also recorded; however, no whistles were obtained. This is the first time the whole bandwidth of narwhal echolocation clicks has been reported and the first case for which buzzes have been recorded from narwhals at their wintering ground. These data may have implications for conservation, management, and acoustic monitoring techniques in light of ongoing and expected significant increases in anthropogenic sound (e.g., seismic exploration, shipping) in the Arctic.


The ostracod fauna from la Terma hot spring (26°55′31″ S −68° 08′45.7″W, 4026m above sea level), Southern Altiplano, Argentina, is described and the pool itself characterized. The occurrence of ostracods in this type of environments is registered for the first time in Argentina. Six species were found, two of which are new to the fauna of Argentina: Penthesilenula incae (Delachaux) and Hemicypris panningi (Brehm). Two species were found for the first time in the Altiplano: H. panningi (Brehm) and Cypridopsis fuhrmanni (Mehes). Some comments concerning how and when these species could spread to populate the Dry Altiplano are discussed briefly taking into account paleoclimatic data. This paper provides the first record of recent ostracods from the Southern Altiplano, Argentina.


In this paper we empirically explore the 'make-or-buy' decisions of peripheral services in manufacturing plants using detailed information on a data set from a new plant-level survey from 926 plants distributed in all manufacturing industries in Spain. In particular, survey respondents are asked how their contracting practices of peripheral services had changed in the last three years. The answer to this question is informative of the changes in the importance of backward integration for each of the plants interviewed. Using other information provided in the survey, we relate reported changes in backward integration to changes in other relevant plant characteristics. We show that increases in outsourcing of services are positively correlated with increases in the plant's market share as well as increases in product market competition and product prices. These findings are robust to controlling for whether plants belong to single-plant or multi-plant firms. This result is consistent with the view that market size limits the degree of specialization at the plant level in the Spanish manufacturing industry.


Background: Complex and multidimensional nature of measuring food insecurity has been an
ongoing challenge for researchers. Objective: The current study was conducted to assess household food insecurity in the city of Karaj,
rapidly.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 677 households from different parts of Karaj were selected
by the multi stage cluster sampling method. Information regarding dietary practices was also collected
with semi quantified food frequency questionnaire. Food insecurity was assessed using Household
Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Consistency of research tools were estimated by Cronbach's
alpha coefficient.
Findings: Totally, 76.6% households were food-insecure; with mild, moderate, and severe food
insecurity (47.2%, 21.3% and 8.1%) respectively. 16.8% of households often worried about
inadequate food consumption by household members, and 18.3% were often unable to consume
preferred food because of lack of resources. The secure and mild insecure food groups had
significantly higher oil and meat consumption compared to the moderate and severe insecure group
(P=0.04, P=0.02 respectively). Cronbach's alpha coefficient indicated the high internal consistency
of the used questionnaire (α=0.89). Conclusion: Food insecurity in household level has a high prevalence in the urban area of Karaj.
Targeted and comprehensive policy actions with a combination of short and long term policies seem
to be necessary to offset this problem.
Keywords: Food insecurity, Prevalence, HFIAS


There has been a long-standing interest in the relation between what we eat and cardiovascular risk. Over the years, attention has been given to calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, folic acid, antioxidants and, most recently, flavanols. Flavanol concentrations can be moderately high in a number of foods that have been associated with a reduction in cardiovascular risk including red wine, and black and green tea. Some cocoa and chocolate products are extraordinarily rich in flavanols but, as with other flavanol-containing foods, certain post-harvesting and processing procedures can have a striking influence on the flavanol content of chocolate and cocoa. Endothelial dysfunction with a consequent reduction in nitric oxide production has achieved a central conceptual role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Recent evidence that flavanol-rich cocoa activates vascular nitric oxide synthesis in the intact human raises an interesting possibility of a therapeutic potential.