As machine learning becomes ubiquitous, the need to deploy models on real-time, embedded systems will become increasingly critical. This is especially true for deep learning solutions, whose large models pose interesting challenges for target architectures at the "edge" that are resource-constrained. The realization of machine learning, and deep learning, is being driven by the availability of specialized hardware, such as system-on-chip solutions, which provide some alleviation of constraints. Equally important, however, are the operating systems that run on this hardware, and specifically the ability to leverage commercial real-time operating systems which, unlike general purpose operating systems such as Linux, can provide the low-latency, deterministic execution required for embedded, and potentially safety-critical, applications at the edge. Despite this, studies considering the integration of real-time operating systems, specialized hardware, and machine learning/deep learning algorithms remain limited. In particular, better mechanisms for real-time scheduling in the context of machine learning applications will prove to be critical as these technologies move to the edge. In order to address some of these challenges, we present a resource management framework designed to provide a dynamic on-device approach to the allocation and scheduling of limited resources in a real-time processing environment. These types of mechanisms are necessary to support the deterministic behavior required by the control components contained in the edge nodes. To validate the effectiveness of our approach, we applied rigorous schedulability analysis to a large set of randomly generated simulated task sets and then verified the most time critical applications, such as the control tasks which maintained low-latency deterministic behavior even during off-nominal conditions. The practicality of our scheduling framework was demonstrated by integrating it into a commercial real-time operating system (VxWorks) then running a typical deep learning image processing application to perform simple object detection. The results indicate that our proposed resource management framework can be leveraged to facilitate integration of machine learning algorithms with real-time operating systems and embedded platforms, including widely-used, industry-standard real-time operating systems.


Longitudinal standards for height and height velocity are essential to monitor for appropriate linear growth. We aimed to construct standards in Korean children and adolescents through the population-based longitudinal Kangwha study. Our study was a part of a community-based prospective cohort study from 1986 to 1999 with 800 school children. Height and height velocity were recorded annually from age 6 until final height. Results were compared with cross-sectional data from the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts. Final height was 173.5 cm in boys and 160.5 cm in girls. Although final height was similar between longitudinal and cross-sectional standards, the mean height for age was higher in the longitudinal standard by 1-4 cm from age 6 until the completion of puberty. Using the longitudinal standard, age at peak height velocity (PHV) was 12 in boys and 10 in girls; height velocity at PHV was 8.62 cm/yr in boys and 7.07 cm/yr in girls. The mean height velocity was less than 1 cm/yr at age 17 in boys and 15 in girls. Thus, we have presented the first report of longitudinal standards for height and height velocity in Korean children and adolescents by analyzing longitudinal data from the Kangwha cohort.


The International Energy Agency's 2011 review of Hungary's energy policies and programmes. The review finds that regional co-operation is a vital element of Hungary's energy market and energy security policy. Hungary, which shares borders with seven countries, is well placed to improve regional energy security by catalysing the development of closely integrated regional markets for electricity and natural gas.
A country strongly dependent on natural gas imports, Hungary has taken several commendable steps to manage risks to its supply. It has enhanced storage capacity and diversified cross-border capacity, and is developing new supply routes. Hungary is also working hard to strengthen the regional electricity market through new interconnectors and market coupling.
Electricity demand within Hungary is expected to grow, while generating capacity is rapidly ageing. Investments are needed for grid improvements and generating capacity, both for increasing capacity (especially for low-carbon electricity) and replacing ageing plants. Ensuring predictable and attractive framework conditions for investing in energy infrastructure is crucial.
The government is considering additional nuclear power units. The extent to which nuclear power capacity will be expanded should be clarified without unnecessary delay, as it will have broad implications for the viability of other current and future base-load technologies.
Although per-capita energy consumption in Hungary is well below the OECD average, considerable potential remains for improving energy efficiency across all sectors. Measures to reduce consumption in the large existing building stock should be the government�fs top priority for energy policy. Gradually, Hungary should also replace broad subsidies for energy use with direct support to those in need.


The article seeks to determine how time pressure and missing information in decision-making affect the behavior of decision makers. Data was collected through an experimental task of simulating the purchase of a car, which was structured with the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) multi-criteria method in a Decision Support System. When pressured by time, the experimental subjects focused on the car of their choice; whereas with no time pressure, some of them rationalized more, used the information, and did not agree with the chosen car. Assumptions of the Theory of Image justified some findings, indicating that previously structured images in the mind of the decision maker are a way to cope with time pressure. Given the missing information, the use of background knowledge and individual experience were the most prominent coping strategy.


There is no denying the transformational role of the computer in the evolution of contemporary architectural practice. Butdoes this techno-determinist account tell the whole story? Are humans becoming irrelevant to the overall development of thebuilt environment? Building (in) the Future confronts these important questions by examining the fundamental human relationships that characterize contemporary design and construction. Thirty-four contributors including designers, engineers, fabricators, contractors, construction managers, planners, and scholars examine how contemporary practicesof production are reshaping the design/construction process. Through observations, arguments, and detailed project explorations contributors describe new models of practice and reorganizations of labor for the 21st century. Chapters include a reconsideration of craft in light of digital fabrication; anexploration of new methods of collaboration; an analysis of changes in contracts and standards; and an assessment of thenew market realities of mass production and customization.


The prevalence of intestinal parasitoses by protozoans and helminths was determined in an aboriginal community located 6 km from Tartagal, province of Salta, Argentina. The age of the inhabitants studied ranged from 1 to 49 years old. A total of 112 stool samples were collected in sodium acetate-acetic acid- formalin solution (SAF). Each sample was obtained in three different days, alternatively. Ritchie biphasic concentration method and Faust flotation technique were applied. For survey of Enterobius vermicularis, 68 samples were collected during six consecutive days using anal swabs. For the diagnosis of Dientamoeba fragilis, the modified trichrome Gomori-Wheatley staining technique was used. One hundred and six (94.6%) subjects resulted positive for enteric parasites. Forty-four (41.5%) individuals were positive for four or more parasites. The parasites more frequently found were, among the protozoans Blastocystis hominis (58.9%), Entamoeba coli (51.8%), Giardia lamblia (27.7%) and Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (24.1%). Among the helminths, the most frequent were hookworms (58.0%), Hymenolepis nana (31.2%) and Strongyloides stercoralis (24.1%). This is the first time that Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (24.1%) and Dientamoeba fragilis (2.7%) have been registered in the suburbs of Tartagal. This study reveals how intestinal parasitoses constitute a critical problem of public health in aboriginal communities like the one examined, where the lack of adequate sanitation conditions and unsuitable supply of water coexist.


Face perception in humans is governed more by right-hemispheric than left-hemispheric neural correlate. Some but not all neurophysiological studies depict a right-side dominance for face responsive neurons in the brains of macaques. Hence, it is an open question whether and to what extent a right-hemisphere preference of processing faces exists across primate brains. We investigated chimpanzees discriminating chimeric faces of chimpanzees and humans, i.e., the combination of either left or right sides of a face vertically flipped and merged into a whole face. We found an effect of choosing the left-chimeric face more often than the right-chimeric face as being the one of the two that is closer to the original face, reflecting an advantage for the right side of the brain to process faces, as reported in humans. Moreover, we found a modulation by age of the participants, suggesting that the exposure history with a particular category shapes the right-hemispheric neural correlate to a configural/holistic processing strategy. In other words, the findings in chimpanzee participants parallel those in human participants and are suggestive for similar neural machineries in the occipital-temporal cortices in both species.


Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is an important cancer-causing human retrovirus that has infected approximately 15 million individuals worldwide. Many aspects of HTLV-1 replication, including virus particle structure and assembly, are poorly understood. Group-specific antigen (Gag) proteins labeled at the carboxy terminus with a fluorophore protein have been used extensively as a surrogate for fluorescence studies of retroviral assembly. How these tags affect Gag stoichiometry and particle morphology has not been reported in detail. In this study, we used an HTLV-1 Gag expression construct with the yellow fluorescence protein (YFP) fused to the carboxy-terminus as a surrogate for the HTLV-1 Gag-Pol to assess the effects of co-packaging of Gag and a Gag-YFP on virus-like particle (VLP) morphology and analyzed particles by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy (FFS) were also used to determine the Gag stoichiometry. We found that ratios of 3:1 (Gag:Gag-YFP) or greater resulted in a particle morphology indistinguishable from that of VLPs produced with the untagged HTLV-1 Gag, i.e., a mean diameter of ~113 nm and a mass of 220 MDa as determined by cryo-TEM and STEM, respectively. Furthermore, FFS analysis indicated that HTLV-1 Gag-YFP was incorporated into VLPs in a predictable manner at the 3:1 Gag:Gag-YFP ratio. Both STEM and FFS analyses found that the Gag copy number in VLPs produced with a 3:1 ratio of Gag:Gag-YFP was is in the range of 1500–2000 molecules per VLP. The observations made in this study indicate that biologically relevant Gag–Gag interactions occur between Gag and Gag-YFP at ratios of 3:1 or higher and create a Gag lattice structure in VLPs that is morphologically indistinguishable from that of VLPs produced with just untagged Gag. This information is useful for the quantitative analysis of Gag–Gag interactions that occur during virus particle assembly and in released immature particles.


Changing conditions along plate boundaries are thought to result in the reactivation of preexisting structures. The offshore southern California Borderland has undergone dramatic adjustments as conditions changed from subduction tectonics to transform tectonics, including major Miocene oblique extension, followed by transpressional fault reactivation. However, consensus is still lacking about stratigraphic age models, fault geometry, and slip history for the near-offshore area between southern Los Angeles and San Diego (California, USA). We interpret an extensive data set of seismic reflection, bathymetric, and stratigraphic data from that area to determine the three-dimensional geometry and kinematic evolution of the faults and folds and document how preexisting structures have changed their activity and type of slip through time. The resulting structural representation reveals a moderately landward-dipping San Mateo–Carlsbad fault that converges downward with the steeper, right-lateral Newport-Inglewood fault, forming a fault wedge affected by Quaternary contractional folding. This fault wedge deformed in transtension during late Miocene through Pliocene time. Subsequently, the San Mateo–Carlsbad fault underwent 0.6–1.0 km displacement, spatially varying between reverse right lateral and transtensional right lateral. In contrast, shallow parts of the previously identified gently dipping Oceanside detachment and the faults above it appear to have been inactive since the early Pliocene. These observations, together with new and revised geometric representations of additional steeper faults, and the evidence for a pervasive strike-slip component on these nearshore faults, suggest a need to revise the earthquake hazard estimates for the coastal region.


A 4-month controlled laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the impact of spatial configurational change on spectral characteristics of grasses. Eight different planting configurations were examined of two grass seed mixtures (sun and shade grass and Kentucky bluegrass) of equal composition (50% each). Spectral properties were quantified using (i) leaf area index (LAI), (ii) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), and (iii) an unsupervised iterative self-organizing data analysis (ISODATA) classification. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were performed for LAI, NDVI, and SAVI; Tukey's post-hoc tests showed significant differences between random and all other treatments for LAI means, no significant differences for NDVI means, and significant differences between irregularly patchy and regularly patchy treatments for SAVI means. Chi-square tests on the four-class aggregation results for ISODATA indicated that configuration does influence the spectral characteristics that drive image classification. This study reflects upon the importance of configuration in spatial pattern analysis for remote sensing of similar surface features with internally heterogeneous properties.


Splendid public celebrations projected the grandeur of rulers' authority to the general public, which served to enhance ideas of cosmic order and transcendental hierarchy to uphold rulers' power, particularly in times of social unrest. Spanish Naples presents an ideal case study for an investigation of a festive culture flourishing in the midst of a conflictive society. This study explores the interaction of factors which defined the viceregal court's festive culture: Spanish foreign rule, the viceroys' relative political fragility, and the city's social imbalances. It will focus on celebrations promoted by the viceroys on special occasions related to the Spanish monarchy to assess both the role played by the Spanish administration while organizing a festive program and the response of local social groups to the call for celebration. It will then evaluate the degree of success of characteristically Spanish elements in Neapolitan festivities, exploring the transmission of Spanish tournaments and their reception among the local population.


This volume offers a systematic overview of the different tools through which the human rights accountability of transnational corporations may be improved. The book first examines the responsibility of States in controlling transnational corporations, emphasizing both the limits imposed by the protection of the rights of investors under investment treaties and the potential of the US Alien Tort Claims Act and other similar extra-territorial legislations. It then turns to self-regulation by transnational corporations through the use of codes of conduct or international framework agreements. The book also discusses recent attempts at the global level to improve the human rights accountability of corporations by the direct imposition on corporations of obligations under international law. Finally, it considers the use of public procurement policies or of conditions in the lending policies of multilateral lending institutions to provide incentive for transnational corporations to behave ethically. Altogether, the book offers a rigorous legal analysis of these different developments and critically appraises their potential.


1. We review studies of viruses in natural and constructed wetlands, focusing on the importance of surfaces as viral habitat, and differences in viral ecology between wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems. 2. Viruses in natural wetlands are predominantly associated with sediment, macrophytes and other submerged surfaces. In constructed wetlands, these surfaces are critical to the removal of viral pathogens and indicator organisms from wastewater. 3. Interactions between viruses and other ecosystem components have rarely been examined in wetlands, and the role of viruses in regulating wetland microbial communities is unclear. Environmental factors such as temperature and flooding regime are important abiotic controllers of viral abundances in wetlands but few studies have examined how abiotic or biotic factors affect community structure. Even basic information on wetland viral diversity is lacking. 4. Future research should include broad surveys of different types of wetlands, an emphasis on differences between microhabitats, and an increased use of molecular approaches to examine wetland viral diversity and its relationship to microbial community structure. Such studies should consider wetlands as part of the broader landscape, and emphasize interactions between wetlands and adjacent terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.


Survival after acute paediatric (014 years), adolescent (15-19 years) and young adult (20-39 years) leukaemia has improved substantially over the last five decades, particularly for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute promyelocytic leukaemia, a subtype of acute myeloid leukaemia. This progress represents one of the most successful achievements in the history of medicine and has been attributed to the development of effective chemotherapy regimens, improvement in supportive care, better risk stratification, use of targeted therapies, and advances in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Currently, long-term survival for children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is 80%-90% in developed countries. Strikingly, survival among adolescents and young adults with this disease is about 60% and 40% respectively. In addition, in these countries, 5-year survival for young patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (excluding acute promyelocytic leukaemia) remains approximately 60% in the modern era of treatment. This project aimed to evaluate how survival and, when appropriate, early death (death occurring within 30 days of diagnosis) after acute leukaemia varied during almost 25 years in California, the most populous and racially/ethnically diverse state in the United States (US). A second aim was to investigate the association between sociodemographic and selected clinical factors and outcomes. Using high-quality data from the California Cancer Registry, I evaluated survival trends from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia among patients aged 0-19 years, and survival and early death trends after acute myeloid leukaemia among patients aged 0-39 years. I also investigated whether early death has decreased among young patients after the approval by the US Food and Drug Administration of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukaemia. The overall results of this thesis showed improvement in survival over time for all age groups and subtypes of leukaemia. Early death after acute promyelocytic and myeloid leukaemias declined during the study period. However, these outcomes varied widely by age at diagnosis and were associated with sociodemographic and clinical factors. Racial/ethnical survival inequalities were identified and found to persist even after adjustment for other covariates. These inequalities were more marked among patients of Hispanic (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia) and black race/ethnicity (for acute lymphoblastic and myeloid leukaemias). Patients living in lower socioeconomic neighbourhoods had worse survival than those living in higher socioeconomic neighbourhoods (for acute lymphoblastic and myeloid leukaemias). Early death and worse survival were associated with initial care at hospitals not affiliated with National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centres (for acute myeloid leukaemia) and lack of health insurance (for acute myeloid and promyelocytic leukaemias). Intriguingly, over the 25-year study period, adolescents and young adults with acute leukaemia continued to have worse survival than children. These results suggest that lack of timely access to treatment and suboptimal care have influenced outcome among vulnerable patients. In conclusion, survival and early death after acute leukaemia has greatly improved among young patients in California. However, inequalities in outcomes remain and are likely a result of multiple factors. My studies highlight the importance of population-based data to reveal the actual burden of the disease in this population and help clinicians, policy makers, government, and researchers better understand the predictors of outcomes. I expect my work to contribute to the development of strategies aimed at improving survival from acute leukaemia, especially among


This article presents the state of the arts about suor Arcangela Tarabotti, once "little less than a foot-note" well-known to scholars only (even if by Benedetto Croce, the most important of all XXth century Italian historians) and nowadays a literary case and a well-recognised proto-feminist, whose works are now all translated into English. The article examins the fortune (or misfortune) she enjoyed over the centuries, the reasons of her current international success, her life according to real documents and to her more fantasist accounts, the archives research and recent publications on her. It also explores the theoretical issues currently in place within Italian women's studies, moving from the 1970s' emphasis on witches, to the 1980s' passion for women saints, and the current obsession with queens and "winners", in order to prove that Arcangela Tarabotti was someonw unique who paid an enormous price for her bravery and outspokness, having been cloistered without a religious vocation.


As the number of people displaced by disaster reaches record highs, this article describes how international law is relevant to disaster displacement, how refugee law is probably not the answer, and synthesises recent developments into contemporary application. New interpretations of international human rights law have advanced legal protections such that planning and preparedness to address future disasters now form an express component of states' international legal obligations. At the same time, climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, exacerbating factors that cause disaster and displacement and rendering the effective implementation of international law more difficult. The further 'othering' of migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic could stymie the realisation of protections as national governments close borders, anti-immigration sentiment is stoked, and economies decline.


The Catholic Reformation provides a comprehensive history of the 'Counter Reformation in early modern Europe. Starting from the middle ages, Michael Mullett clearly traces the continuous transformation of the Catholic religion in its structures, bodies and doctrine. He discusses the gain in momentum of Catholic renewal from the time of the Council of Trent, and considers the profound effect of the Protestant Reformation in accelerating its renovation. This book explores how and why the Catholic Reformation occurred, stressing that moves towards restoration were underway well before the Protestant Reformation. Michael Mullett also shows the huge impact it had not only on the papacy, Church leaders and religious ritual and practice, but also on the lives of ordinary people - their culture, arts, attitudes and relationships. Ranging across the continent, The Catholic Reformation is an indispensable new survey which provides a wide-ranging overview of the religious, political and cultural history of the time.


Previous studies have shown marine bivalves to be suitable bioindicators for heavy metal pollution in the marine environment. In this study, the potential of the Green Mussel, Perna viridis to be a bioindicator of copper and cadmium contamination in the marine environment was explored. The study aimed to develop a toxicity bioassay using P. viridis, and explored if a dose-response relationship between fertilisation in P. viridis and increasing concentrations of copper and cadmium could be established. The effect of copper and cadmium on embryo formation was also examined. Few fertilisation assays involve the use of the P. viridis, a tropical marine bivalve. Rather, a temperate mussel Mytilus sp., is more commonly used. As such, this study is relevant to the Southeast Asian region. Mussel gametes were subjected to increasing concentrations of cadmium and copper over a 24h test period. Following this, the number of unfertilised eggs was counted under a microscope. Data obtained was then arcsine transformed and subjected to one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Dunnett's test to determine if a significant dose-response curve could be established. Results indicated significant treatment effects and a degeneration of unfertilised eggs when gametes were subjected to cadmium and copper solutions.


In 1913 and 1914, A. Mitchell Innes published a pair of articles that stand as two of the best pieces written in the twentieth century on the nature of money. Only recently rediscovered, these articles are reprinted and analyzed here for the first time.


This study addresses co-production in business support, arising from interventions between small enterprise owner/managers and business support intermediaries, and the effect on strategy formation. There is a significant amount of literature in the distinct areas of co-production; strategy; and business support, however much of the extant co-production literature focusses on public services, and there is a gap in literature which focuses specifically on co-production in business support and strategy formation. The research was undertaken against a backdrop of major change in business support policy and provision, which had a notable impact throughout the study. A conceptual framework was developed that identified the key components of co-production in business support interventions and how these interact and add value. Taking a mixed methods approach, using qualitative research as the dominant method, the study has focused on relationships between Dorset small enterprises and intermediaries that provided business advice, mentoring, brokerage, coaching and consultancy. A contextual quantitative survey was undertaken to provide baseline data on business support and strategy in Dorset small enterprises. The contributions to knowledge are as follows: 1) This study has responded to a call to extend co-production research into other areas, outside of public services, and has subsequently linked the themes of business support and strategy formation to co-production and value creation; 2) This study has identified where value is added in co-production business support interventions, through the development of the critical mix; and 3) This study makes a methodological contribution by identifying the need for triangulation of owner/managers' perceptions of a range of 'hard' and 'soft' outcomes, to assess the value created though interventions. Implications for practice include: an increased understanding of how the aspirations of owner/managers influence the direction of business support interventions, leading to more targeted provision; the need for improved mechanisms for measuring business support outcomes; and business support has been shown to add value, but sustainable programmes are needed to maximise success.


Financial time series prediction is a challenging task due to the fluctuation of trading or economic exchange that is difficult to predict. Researchers from different fields have been attracted to perform several techniques for identifying reliability of the financial time series prediction. Finding of research papers, the financial trend patterns repeat itself in the history. Thus, this research motivates and aims to investigate the repeat behaviour and pattern of trends from the historical financial time series data, and utilise the strength of machine learning techniques to develop a promising financial time series predictor engine. In this research, two frameworks are proposed for financial time series prediction. In the first proposed framework, candlestick pattern is utilised as
technical analysis method to identify the financial trends. Thereafter, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms are implemented separately to train with the trend patterns for predicting the movement direction of financial trends. In the second proposed framework, Linear Regression Line (LRL) is utilised to identify the trend patterns from historical financial time series, which is supported by ANN and SVM for classification process separately. Subsequently,
Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm is utilised through brute force to predict the trend movement. The experimental results showed that the second proposed model is consistent with the hypothesis, which provides better accuracy of prediction. Therefore, the findings of this research help in improving the accuracy of prediction model.


We regard the background of space-time as a physical system composed of discrete volume elements at the Planck scale and get the internal energy of space-time by Debye model. A temperature-dependent minimum energy limit of the particles is proposed from the thermal motion part of the internal energy. As decreases of the temperature caused by the expansion of the universe, more and more particles would be"released" because of the change of the energy limit, we regard these new particles as a source of dark energy. The minimum energy limit also leads to a corrected number of particles in universe and a modified conservation equation. According to the modified conservation equation, an effective cosmological constant consistent with its observed value is obtained.


As nursing education has moved into the academic setting, nursing faculty have focused on the traditional components of scholarship in the faculty role: research and publication, teaching, and service. However, dramatic changes have occurred in higher education and health care forcing nursing faculty to reexamine their roles in both systems. A survey was conducted to explore the views held by deans and faculty of colleges of nursing on scholarship and to describe ways in which these views on scholarship reflect faculty practice. Principal findings of this study indicated that nursing deans and faculty view scholarship as the generation, dissemination, application, and advancement of nursing knowledge. The components of scholarship in the nursing faculty role were described as research and publication, teaching, service, faculty practice, and presentations. The strongest theme to emerge from the study was the role conflict and fragmentation experienced by faculty as they tried to balance all the components of scholarship. The topic of faculty practice was considered to be an important issue in nursing, with the majority of nursing faculty involved in faculty practice in environments where it is not accommodated, mandated, or formally expected. The findings of this study suggest that faculty practice roles could be considered a component of scholarship as long as scholarly outcomes are demonstrated.


We give an overview of our approach to the extraction of interactions between pharmacogenomic entities like drugs, genes and diseases and suggest classes of interaction types driven by data from PharmGKB and partly following the top level ontology WordNet and biomedical types from BioNLP. Our text mining approach to the extraction of interactions is based on syntactic analysis. We use syntactic analyses to explore domain events and to suggest a set of interaction labels for the pharmacogenomics domain.


Abstract We describe the use of browsing and searching (in libraries, online, inside sources, at meetings, in abstracts, etc.) as a way to stimulate the teacher of undergraduate mathematics, specifically in differential equations. The approach works in all other areas of mathematics. Browsing can help build new and refreshing teaching materials based on how mathematics is used and explored in places other than mathematics. These "other" places are where almost all of our students will be going after they study with us and we should: (i) know about their journey and arrival points; and (ii) understand the disciplinary approaches for those areas which sent these students to us in the first place for their mathematics studies. We describe a personal browsing experience that spanned almost 40 years and proved to be very worthwhile in finding applications of differential equations to modeling Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in the human body.


Sornpaisarn, B., & Shield, K. (2014). Introduction to a special issue on alcohol control policies in low and middle income countries. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 3 (3), 182 – 183. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v3i3.182 In response to the World Health Assembly's adoption in 2010 of a resolution which endorsed a Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol, many countries, especially those considered low- and middle-income (LMIC), formulated, and in some instances implemented, a variety of alcohol control policies. However, the supporting knowledge and evidence used to evaluate the effectiveness of alcohol control policies stem primarily from high-income countries (HIC) (Babor et al., 2010; World Health Organization, 2010). This lack of knowledge and evidence from LMIC is a considerable public health problem, as differences between the socio-economic and cultural contexts of LMIC and HIC may influence the effectiveness of an alcohol control policy (Anderson et al., 2009; Lachenmeier, 2011).


The poet Pentti Saarikoski (1937-1983) was one of the most significant Finnish writers of the 20th century. He was also a prolific translator, who received many prestigious awards for his literary production. Throughout his life Saarikoski showed evidence of a certain psychopathology and mental complications for which he was twice hospitalized. The paper argues that Saarikoski possessed a large number of autistic traits and elevated symptomatology of ADHD. The traits of these conditions are often found in persons with high creative achievement. The works of the psychiatrist Michael Fitzgerald provide the theoretical background, on which the biographic evidence from Saarikoski's childhood and adult life is analyzed. The identity diffusion under which the poet suffered can be shown as beneficial to this level of creativity. Saarikoski was an autistic writer, who visualized his poetry which eventually provided him with artistic identity. In addition to autistic traits and high intelligence, Saarikoski also sought novelty and sensation, which can be attributed to his ADHD traits.


In our attempts to understand crime, researchers typically focus on proximate factors such as the psychology of offenders, their developmental history, and the social structure in which they are embedded. While these factors are important, they don't tell the whole story. Evolutionary Criminology: Towards a Comprehensive Explanation of Crime explores how evolutionary biology adds to our understanding of why crime is committed, by whom, and our response to norm violations. This understanding is important both for a better understanding of what precipitates crime and to guide approaches for effectively managing criminal behavior. This book is divided into three parts. Part I reviews evolutionary biology concepts important for understanding human behavior, including crime. Part II focuses on theoretical approaches to explaining crime, including the evolution of cooperation, and the evolutionary history and function of violent crime, drug use, property offending, and white collar crime. The developmental origins of criminal behavior are described to account for the increase in offending during adolescence and early adulthood as well as to explain why some offenders are more likely to desist than others. Proximal causes of crime are examined, as well as cultural and structural processes influencing crime. Part III considers human motivation to punish norm violators and what this means for the development of a criminal justice system. This section also considers how an evolutionary approach contributes to our understanding of crime prevention and reduction. The section closes with an evolutionary approach to understanding offender rehabilitation and reintegration. * Reviews how evolutionary findings improve our understanding of crime and punishment* Examines motivations to offend, and to punish norm violators* Articulates evolutionary explanations for adolescent crime increase* Identifies how this knowledge can aid in crime prevention and reduction, and in offender rehabilitation


This study explores the awareness and attitudes of English teachers in South Korea (ETSK) toward eight selected varieties of English: American English (AmE), British English (BrE), Canadian English (CaE), Singaporean English (SiE), Indian English (InE), Chinese English (ChE), Japanese English (JaE) and Korean English (KoE). Data, consisting of 204 questionnaires and 63 interviews, is collected from both Korean and non-Korean English teachers, from two major regions, Busan Gyeongnam and Seoul Gyonggi in South Korea. The results are analysed using a number of quantitative data analysis methods (e.g., One way ANOVA, Post hoc test, and Crosstab multiple comparison) as well as applying qualitative data analysis. Little statistical differences in both awareness and attitude were found between three categorical groups (i.e., gender, Korean and non-Korean English teachers, area of residence). The findings are presented thematically from the perspective of the paradigm of English as an International Language (EIL), using a theoretical framework incorporating cognitive, affective and behavioural components of attitude (Baker, 1992; Garrett, 2010).
The findings indicate that ETSK lack awareness of different varieties of English, as indicated by the frequent statement made by ETSK: 'I don't know about these Englishes'. Aspects of phonology appear to be a salient dimension in determining participants' self-assessment of awareness of different varieties of English. There is a marked preference for Inner Circle varieties of English in attitude. In particular, AmE firmly remains the most sought after English variety in South Korea, being described as 'the most powerful, practical and the Base of English'. The ideologically laden notion of AmE superiority is deeply rooted in the minds of a large number of ETSK's, while Expanding Circle English varieties are disfavoured, with JaE in particular, rated as the least favourable. KoE was found to be more favoured than all other selected Outer and Expanding Circle varieties of English, and was considered to be a 'friendly' and 'pleasant' English, thereby displaying participants' positive attitude to KoE in the affective component of attitudes. However, because of the internal conflicts found in the behavioural component of participants' attitudes, they were unwilling to speak in KoE. The presented study confirms the absolute favouritism shown by the Korean Ministry of Education (KME) and ETSK towards Inner Circle varieties of English and towards AmE in particular, as ideal teaching models.
The findings indicate that teachers' lack of awareness may have a negative impact on the way they react to other varieties of English and their lack of awareness would be considered as a kind of 'handicap', under which teachers operate with varying degrees of success in international communication. There is a very complex interrelationship within the various factors which influence attitudes towards these issues. The special position of AmE has been allowed to develop uncritically and the stigmatisation of 'other' Englishes has deeply penetrated the mindset of ETSK.
The findings also suggest that a greater awareness and understanding of language variation and its processes would play a significant role in the development of positive attitudes towards English varieties and to the acceptance of a pluralistic model of the English language. This thesis argues that disclosing and questioning the hidden discursive practices embedded in the English education policy in South Korea may be the first step in changing negative attitudes and in embracing diversified Englishes. The findings are also discussed in relation to the implications that researching awareness and attitude has for pedagogical considerations and for teacher training.


"Three periods must be distinguished with respect to every war: its inception; its prosecution, before victory is gained; and the period after victory." -- Francisco Suarez On 13 November 2001, President George W. Bush, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, issued an order that would allow suspected foreign terrorists to be tried by US military tribunals. (1) At the time, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated that he had not yet had a chance to fully research the legal and practical ramifications of implementing such proceedings. But resort to military tribunal, which has a long history of customary use in the United States dating back to the American Revolution (see Madson v. Kinsella, 1952), has been considered by the Supreme Court (Ex Parte Quinn, 1942; Application of Yamashita, 1946), and ruled to be an appropriate venue for the trial of non-citizen belligerents accused of offenses against the law of war. It is the considered opinion of many military legal experts that the Supreme Court would affirm the constitutionality of such use of military commissions in the context of the current war on terrorism, together with the rules for them promulgated by Secretary Rumsfel d, if and when this question ever comes before it. (2) Nevertheless, the issue of military commissions is already on trial in the court of public opinion, where it is widely assumed that the projected effects of this order on American security and civil liberties will be largely negative. (3) Even before the events of 11 September 2001 provided the impetus for the President's order, the apprehension of Slobodan Milosevic had already brought our role in international war crimes tribunals into question. (4) Arguments against our participation in such proceedings have been advanced to the effect that it is disingenuous to imagine that the rule of law applies to warfare; that war crimes tribunals serve only to enforce "victor's justice" on those whose only real crime was having had the bad moral luck to be raised in a society that approved of genocide and other crimes against humanity, or to have served in a military that engaged in war crimes; that war crimes "show trials" cannot undo past wrongs, nor can laying blame further peace and reconciliation; that international jurisdiction over war criminals threatens national sovereignty; and that trumped-up charges and unfair trials in "kangaroo courts" might be used as a means for disgruntled weaker nations to take out their resentments on the soldiers o f more powerful ones. In essence, these objections break down into arguments that war crimes trials are either philosophically or procedurally flawed, or impracticable. Some of these objections, like those based on cultural relativism, the supposed impossibility of imposing the rule of law on warfare, or "bad moral luck" are specious. Others, like concerns for sovereignty and the fairness of both accusations and judgments handed down by war crimes tribunals, raise serious legal and practical concerns, but do not necessarily constitute sufficient reason for us to categorically absent ourselves from these proceedings. I argue, to the contrary, that the meting out of punishment for crimes against humanity and war crimes, whether in international tribunals or in our own civil courts, courts-martial, or military tribunals, is in fact the natural, logical, and morally indispensable end stage of Just War. If Just War is undertaken to right wrongs done by a group or groups of people to another--if in fact the only acceptable reason for go ing to war is, as Michael Walzer (5) and other Just War theorists contend, to do justice--then stopping short of trying and punishing those most responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity which either led to war or were committed in its prosecution may be likened to declaring "checkmate" and then declining to take your opponent's king. …


BACKGROUND: Primary bone sarcomas that are associated with a pathological fracture are rare and as a group have a worse prognosis than their non-fractured counterparts.
QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: Traditionally limb ablation was advised; however, recent evidence suggests that limb salvage is a safe and acceptable form of treatment for both surgeon and patient.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: We present a retrospective review of a series of six patients referred to our unit with pathological fractures. These were treated by initial traction and neo-adjuvant chemotherapy where indicated with subsequent resection and endoprosthetic replacement.
RESULTS: The age range of our series is from 20 to 81 years, with four males and two females. All had distal femur involvement with a 60% incidence of osteosarcoma and 40% chondrosarcoma. Three patients required total femur resection due to extensive tumour involvement. Our results show 100% of patients had clear margins at postoperative histology. Due to the aggressive nature of these types of tumours they carry a worse long-term prognosis and as such we had three deaths in our series. One patient died of a myocardial infarction post-operatively, and two patients developed lung metastases and died 2 years later.
CONCLUSION: Our conclusion is that with careful planning, a safe margin can be achieved. Endoprosthetic replacement allows for rapid reconstruction and mobilisation in this group of patients facilitating further oncological management.


Proponents of the use of social media in healthcare are angry about efforts by regulatory bodies in Australia to develop a social media policy for health professionals.

A preliminary consultation paper on a draft policy was leaked recently ahead of its planned release for public consultation later this year,1 provoking a storm of commentary on health professionals' blogs and on Twitter.

Doctors and other health professionals say that the draft policy risks putting up barriers to the use of social media to improve healthcare and services and to promote public health.

The 14 national boards that regulate the health professions asked for preliminary feedback on the policy to be made to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency by 14 September. The issue is to be considered as part of an upcoming review of the boards' codes and guidelines for …


Identifying the ancestry of chromosomal segments of distinct ancestry has a wide range of applications from disease mapping to learning about history. Most methods require the use of unlinked markers; but, using all markers from genome-wide scanning arrays, it should in principle be possible to infer the ancestry of even very small segments with exquisite accuracy. We describe a method, HAPMIX, which employs an explicit population genetic model to perform such local ancestry inference based on fine-scale variation data. We show that HAPMIX outperforms other methods, and we explore its utility for inferring ancestry, learning about ancestral populations, and inferring dates of admixture. We validate the method empirically by applying it to populations that have experienced recent and ancient admixture: 935 African Americans from the United States and 29 Mozabites from North Africa. HAPMIX will be of particular utility for mapping disease genes in recently admixed populations, as its accurate estimates of local ancestry permit admixture and case-control association signals to be combined, enabling more powerful tests of association than with either signal alone.


Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with reduced work capacity, but there is limited knowledge about MS patients' sources of income. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to elucidate MS patients' earnings and social benefits compared to those of the general population. Methods: From nationwide registers of all residents in Sweden aged 21–64 years in 2010 (n=5,291,764), those with an MS diagnosis (n=13,979) were compared to a propensity score matched reference group (n=69,895). Descriptive statistics and regression models were used to estimate the percentage difference between the MS patients and the matched references regarding the following annual incomes: earnings, disability pension, sickness absence, disability allowance, unemployment compensation and social assistance. Results: Both MS patients and the matched references received most of their income from earnings followed by disability pension and sickness absence. MS patients that were diagnosed in 2010 had 15% lower earnings than the matched references, while MS patients diagnosed before 2005 had 38% lower earnings. Corresponding figures regarding summed social benefits were 33% and 130% higher for MS patients, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicate that MS patients are overrepresented, in relative and absolute terms, regarding health-related benefits and have lower levels of earnings. However, the redistributing welfare systems appear to financially compensate the MS patients considerably.


The letters of Saint Augustine are an invaluable source of information in the areas of church history, liturgy, spirituality, theology, civil history, etc. The correspondence of Augustine includes 308 letters: 252 that he wrote himself, 49 that others sent him, and 7 letters that others sent to a third party (29 additional letters were added by Professor Divjak in 1981). Some can actually be classified as books as Augustine notes in his Revisions. Each letter is preceded by its own introduction in which the translator offers valuable information about the persons, content, and background pertinent to the letter. Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the letters is not so much the great variety of themes and persons, but the personality of Augustine himself that emerges. The reader comes to know a very human and affectionate Augustine, especially in his writings to Nebridius and other friends. We see Augustine the reconciler, the man of justice and mercy, the healer. While he is steadfast in his many ideas and opinions, he also shows flexibility and a penchant for listening. Certainly, from these letters the reader will learn much about history and church history of that era and will gain insights into church teaching, law, and liturgy. Without a doubt one will encounter and be fascinated by the multifaceted Augustine. Volume 4 contains Letters 211 to 270.


Background Some studies show that greater parental control over children's eating habits predicts later obesity, but it is unclear whether parents are reacting to infants who are already overweight. Objective To examine the longitudinal association between maternal feeding restriction at age 1 and body mass index (BMI) at age 3 and the extent to which the association is explained by weight for length (WFL) at age 1. Methods We studied 837 mother–infant pairs from a prospective cohort study. The main exposure was maternal feeding restriction at age 1, defined as agreeing or strongly agreeing with the following question: "I have to be careful not to feed my child too much." We ran multivariable linear regression models before and after adjusting for WFL at age 1. All models were adjusted for parental and child sociodemographic characteristics. Results 100 (12.0%) mothers reported feeding restriction at age 1. Mean (SD) WFL z-score at age 1 was 0.32 (1.01), and BMI z-score at age 3 was 0.43 (1.01). Maternal feeding restriction at age 1 was associated with higher BMI z-score at age 3 before (β 0.26 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.48)) but not after (β 0.00 (95% CI −0.17 to 0.18)) adjusting for WFL z-score at age 1. Each unit of WFL z-score at age 1 was associated with an increment of 0.57 BMI z-score units at age 3 (95% CI 0.51 to 0.62). Conclusions We found that maternal feeding restriction was associated with children having a higher BMI at age 3 before, but not after, adjusting for WFL at age 1. One potential reason may be that parents restrict the food intake of infants who are already overweight.


This essay reviews the impact of President Ronald Reagan's policies on civil rights enforcement in the 1980s, as he tried to turn back the clock on civil rights. Reagan devastated the civil rights enforcement agencies, as he pandered to the white nationalists who helped him win election. But Reagan's attempts ultimately failed, and leave behind an important lesson for President Donald Trump. Reagan's appointments to and policies at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, and the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) seriously damaged civil rights enforcement. But employment discrimination law has survived and continues to be an often-effective tool against racism, misogyny, homophobia, religious hatred, and other forms of discrimination. Title VII cases (and claims under parallel statutes) continue to be a major part of the caseload in federal courts. Why? Because the Civil Rights Act is largely enforced by private civil rights groups and lawyers in private practice who bring cases before independent judges pursuant to a private right of action.

Did a progressive Congress have the foresight to recognize that a private right of action would protect the victims of discrimination from future administrations hostile to civil rights, and thus include it in the statute as a check against enforcement agencies captured by civil rights opponents? Hardly. Rather, moderate and conservative Senate Republicans, resigned to the fact that an employment discrimination law was inevitable, and fearful of a powerful federal agency that would restrict business autonomy in the manner of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), substituted a private right of action for agency adjudication in an attempt to sabotage the effectiveness of Title VII. In 1964, the adoption of a private right of action was widely seen as a great loss for civil rights advocates, turning Title VII from an enforceable law to an ineffectual call for voluntary compliance with anti-discrimination policies. Almost no one foresaw the development of a private bar of plaintiffs' employment discrimination lawyers.

Those who tried to sabotage the enforcement of civil rights through a private right of action should be turning in their graves, having inadvertently given civil rights advocates a powerful tool to resist assaults on civil rights.


Sarcoidosis is a disease involving the growth of abnormal inflammatory granulomas and affecting multisystems. It has an unknown etiology. The lung and the skin are the most commonly involved organs. Although large amounts of research have focused on the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis, little is known about the link between cutaneous sarcoidosis and pulmonary sarcoidosis. Moreover, the gene expression profiles provide a novel way to find diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in pulmonary sarcoidosis and cutaneous sarcoidosis patients and to compare them to healthy individuals. DEGs and their biological functions are dynamically dysregulated, and several common disease-related genes and mutual disease progression-related genes were identified which linked pulmonary sarcoidosis and cutaneous sarcoidosis together. The biological functional pathways regulated by these DEGs may allow to define the common mechanism shared by different type of sarcoidosis, providing novel insight into the common pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and opening the way to the development of new therapeutic strategies.


This paper focuses on non-data aided estimation of the symbol rate and detecting the data symbols in linearly modulated signals. A blind oversampling-based signal detector under the circumstance of unknown symbol period is proposed. First, the symbol rate is estimated using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. However, within the framework of EM algorithm, it is difficult to obtain a closed form for the loglikelihood function and the density function. Therefore, these two functions are approximated in this paper by using the Particle Filter (PF) technique. In addition, a symbol rate estimator that exploits the cyclic correlation information is proposed as an initialization estimator for the EM algorithm. Second, the blind data symbol detector based on the PF algorithm is designed. Since the signal is oversampled at the receiver side, a delayed multi-sampling PF detector is proposed to manage the intersymbol interference caused by oversampling, and to improve the demodulation performance of the data symbols. In the PF algorithm, the hybrid importance function is used to generate both data samples and channel model coefficients, and the Mixture Kalman Filter (MKF) algorithm is used to marginalize out the fading channel coefficients.


Accelerating cancer research is expected to require new types of clinical trials. This report describes the Intensive Trial of OMics in Cancer (ITOMIC) and a participant with triple-negative breast cancer metastatic to bone, who had markedly elevated circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that were monitored 48 times over 9 months. A total of 32 researchers from 14 institutions were engaged in the patient's evaluation; 20 researchers had no prior involvement in patient care and 18 were recruited specifically for this patient. Whole-exome sequencing of 3 bone marrow samples demonstrated a novel ROS1 variant that was estimated to be present in most or all tumor cells. After an initial response to cisplatin, a hypothesis of crizotinib sensitivity was disproven. Leukapheresis followed by partial CTC enrichment allowed for the development of a differential high-throughput drug screen and demonstrated sensitivity to investigational BH3-mimetic inhibitors of BCL-2 that could not be tested in the patient because requests to the pharmaceutical sponsors were denied. The number and size of CTC clusters correlated with clinical status and eventually death. Focusing the expertise of a distributed network of investigators on an intensively monitored patient with cancer can generate high-resolution views of the natural history of cancer and suggest new opportunities for therapy. Optimization requires access to investigational drugs.


We present baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) scale measurements determined from the clustering of 1.2 million massive galaxies with redshifts 0.2 < z < 0.75 distributed over 9300 deg(2), as quantified by their redshift-space correlation function. In order to facilitate these measurements, we define, describe, and motivate the selection function for galaxies in the final data release (DR12) of the SDSS III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This includes the observational footprint, masks for image quality and Galactic extinction, and weights to account for density relationships intrinsic to the imaging and spectroscopic portions of the survey. We simulate the observed systematic trends in mock galaxy samples and demonstrate that they impart no bias on BAO scale measurements and have a minor impact on the recovered statistical uncertainty. We measure transverse and radial BAO distance measurements in 0.2 < z < 0.5, 0.5 < z < 0.75, and (overlapping) 0.4 < z < 0.6 redshift bins. In each redshift bin, we obtain a precision that is 2.7 per cent or better on the radial distance and 1.6 per cent or better on the transverse distance. The combination of the redshift bins represents 1.8 per cent precision on the radial distance and 1.1 per cent precision on the transverse distance. This paper is part of a set that analyses the final galaxy clustering data set from BOSS. The measurements and likelihoods presented here are combined with others in Alam et al. to produce the final cosmological constraints from BOSS.


Accountability is a critically important protection for any justice system; its absence provides an opportunity for shortcuts that may undermine procedural fairness or even change case outcomes. Yet, the United States Tax Court, which is an Article I court, is not subject to Administrative Office of U.S. Courts or the U.S. Judicial Conference - institutions that serve and oversee the federal judiciary. In addition, because the Tax Court is not an administrative agency, it is not covered by the Administrative Procedure Act or the Freedom of Information Act. The principal source of oversight of Tax Court actions is appellate review. Although the appeals process allows for correction of errors in individual cases, it is a poor vehicle for systemic oversight. Notably, it contains no mechanism for oversight of actions taken outside of the official record of a case. Moreover, appellate review is not available in about half of the cases on the Tax Court's docket. In those cases, the Tax Court's decision on what procedures to adopt and how to apply them is final. Given this lack of accountability, it may not be surprising that the Tax Court has adopted opaque processes in a number of contexts in which transparency is the norm among courts. It has kept various case files, factfinding reports, and even opinions confidential. It also releases only limited aggregate statistics, and changed a procedural rule to eliminate transparency in certain large cases. Moreover, until it was criticized by the United States Supreme Court in Ballard v. Commissioner, 544 U.S. 40 (2005), the Tax Court adopted and amended its Rules of Practice and Procedure without input from the public. An investigation after Ballard was decided revealed several cases with substantial amounts at stake in which the Tax Court's official opinion not only differed significantly from the trial judge's findings, it held for the other party. The Tax Court should be subject to the same systemic oversight that our system demands of Article III courts and the Court of Federal Claims. Making the Tax Court subject to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts and, with respect to its rulemaking, to the U.S. Judicial Conference, would increase the Tax Court's accountability significantly. It would also increase trust in the court. In addition, adoption of this proposal would occasion minimal increased cost to the federal government because it would utilize established bodies that already provide services and oversight to other courts.


The nucleus is separated from the cytoplasm by a selective structural barrier - the nuclear envelope in eukaryotic cells. The nuclear envelope is composed of inner and outer nuclear membranes (INM and ONM) separated by a perinuclear space (PNS). The specific INM integral proteins interact with the nuclear lamina and are associated with a variety of human diseases, collectively termed nuclear envelopathies. In eukaryotes the SUN domain proteins form a conserved family, the majority of which localize to the INM. UNC-84, which is the first SUN domain protein discovered in Caenorhabditis elegans, has been well studied and shown to be involved in nuclear anchorage and migration. Sun1, a novel INM protein, is the closest homolog to Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-84 in mammals. We show that Sun1 is broadly expressed in various mouse tissues. It spans the inner nuclear membrane three times via transmembrane domains with the N-terminus facing the nucleoplasm and the C-terminus residing in the perinuclear space. Like other inner nuclear membrane proteins Sun1 interacts with chromatin. Sun1 proteins are able to form homo-oligomers with a reduced lateral mobility, which are further stabilized by disulfide bonds. Sun1 can also oligomerize with Sun2, another SUN domain paralogous mammalian protein, at the nuclear envelope. The Sun1 C-terminus directly interacts with the KASH domain of Nesprins. These nuclear spectrin repeat containing proteins are able to bind directly to the actin cytoskeleton. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Sun1 is required for the proper nuclear envelope localization of Nesprin-1 and -2 by RNA interference and dominant negative interference studies. Together these data support a model in which SUN proteins tether Nesprins at the envelope via interactions inside the perinuclear space. In this way, SUN proteins and Nesprins form a physical link between the nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton. We propose that SUN domain proteins by serving as mechanical adaptors and nuclear envelope receptors allow the physical integration and signaling interplay of cytoplasmic and nucleoplasmic compartments.


Introduction: Pathophysiology of vertigo in patients having neck pain is not well understood, and many theories have been postulated. Cervical spondylitis is one of the most common causes of neck pain, and these are the group of patients who often complain of vertigo. The role of vascular flow alteration in these patients in causing vertigo is under investigation. We intended to study the vascular flow pattern in the vertebral circulation using color Doppler ultrasound in these patients and compare it with controls. Material and Methods: Fifteen cases and 11 controls were evaluated using color Doppler ultrasound. All these patients were evaluated in detail by the Ear, Nose, Throat and the orthopedics department. The statistical analysis was done by IBP SPSS version 22 software. Independent t-test was performed to compare the case and control groups. Results: The mean intimal thickness of common carotid artery of cases was significantly less than the controls (0.35 mm vs. 0.51 mm for the right common carotid artery and 0.38 mm vs. 0.54 mm for the left common carotid artery, P < 0.05). The diameter of the right vertebral artery (VA) in neutral and left rotation positions was less in cases than in controls, but the difference was not significant, whereas the diameter in the right rotation position was the same both in cases and controls. The blood flow velocity in the right VA was less in the cases than controls, but this difference was not statistically significant. The diameter of the left VA in all the three positions (neutral, right rotation, and left rotation) was less in cases than in controls, and this was statistically significant (P < 0.05) for neutral and left rotation positions. The blood flow velocity in the left VA was less in the cases than controls for all the three positions, but this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: 1. Our study demonstrates the role of vascular compromise in the VA circulation in patients suffering from cervical spondylosis and vertigo. Narrowing of VA was present in cases and that too on the left side. The cause behind left-sided predilection could not be ascertained with certainty. Since the difference in blood flow was not significant in cases and controls, a definitive correlation is possible only if the sample size is more and results are replicated 2. Mild relief in symptoms after physiotherapy in the form of transcutaneous nerve stimulation and interferential therapy also points toward a possible role of nerve irritation in causing vertigo in patients of cervical spondylosis. The causation seems to be multifactorial in nature.


Seeds of four colonizing species which occur together in a recently revegetated sedge meadow were tested for germination after storage under three different conditions. Seeds were tested at an alternating temperature regime of 21° C dark, and 32° C light. Three species, Bidens frondosa, B. coronata, and Scirpus cyperinus germinated most successfully when stored under moist-cool conditions. Germination of Carex scoparia was consistently high and was not affected by storage condition. Differences in seed germination among the four species may contribute to their coexistence in highly disturbed environments such as newly revegetated sedge meadows.


AbstractTo what extent may the prayers and ceremonial actions of the usus antiquior be used in the celebration of Mass according to the Missal of Pope Paul VI? Examples of some elements being used by Archbishop Ranjith and Pope Benedict XVI seem to contradict in practice the idea that such enrichment is forbidden. An often quoted text from Notitiae, which discouraged the use of traditional elements, is examined and found wanting, especially in the light of Summorum Pontificum, which is considered in terms of its application to the celebration of the newer form of Mass. The enhancement of the newer form of Mass by the addition of elements from the usus antiquior is distinguished from arbitrary deformation of the liturgy and from the imposition of the priest's personal whims. Some possible future practical developments are outlined.


We use a random gap model to describe a metal-insulator transition in three-dimensional semiconductors due to doping and find a conventional phase transition, where the effective scattering rate is the order parameter. Spontaneous symmetry breaking results in metallic behavior, whereas the insulating regime is characterized by the absence of spontaneous symmetry breaking. The transition is continuous for the average conductivity with critical exponent equal to 1. Away from the critical point the exponent is roughly 0.6, which may explain experimental observations of a crossover of the exponent from 1 to 0.5 by going away from the critical point.


We present a study of the effect of imperfections on the transmission and crosstalk in programmable photonic meshes with feedback loops consisting of tunable couplers and phase shifters. The many elements in such a mesh can generate a multitude of parasitic paths when the couplers and phase shifters deviate even slightly from their nominal value. Performing Monte Carlo simulations, we show that small stochastic imperfections in the phase and coupling (<1.0%) can introduce unwanted interferences and resonances and significantly deteriorate the frequency response of the circuit. We also demonstrate that, in the presence of imperfections, the programming strategy of the unused couplers can reduce effects of such parasitics.


Present study was designed to evaluate the hypoglycemic effect and antioxidant potential of polyherbal formulation in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Five different groups were made including 10 rats in each group. An aqueous suspension of herbal mixture containing 5 ingredients of equal amounts– leaves of Azadirachta indica (Margosa), leaves of Gymnema sylvestre (Gurmar), fruits of Momordica charantia (Bitter gourd), seeds of Syzigium cumini (Black plum) and seeds of Trigonella foenum (Fenugreek) was administered orally once a day at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight for a period of 4 weeks. In these groups lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH) , glutathione S -transferase (GST), proteins, urea & cholesterol was estimated in liver and kidney as bioindicators of oxidative stress. The antidiabetic effect of herbal formulation was compared with antidiabetic drug 'Glibenclamide'. Our observations showed that herbal treatment restored the elevated blood glucose level to normal range in diabetic rats. The formulation also prevented the diabetes-induced decrease in the body weight of rats. Results showed an increased level of GSH and GST and significant decline in LPO with herbal treatment in the tissues of normal and diabetic animals, while no significant change was observed in GSH & GST level with glibenclamide treated diabetic group. Level of serum urea increased to almost two fold in diabetic rats as compared with the values observed in the control group. The urea level restored to normal range in diabetic rats after receiving the herbal mixture. Serum cholesterol was significantly lower in diabetic rats as compared to control. The combination of these five herbal drugs appeared more effective in low dose as an antidiabetic and antioxidant agent than the individual herbal drug, when used alone. This herbal formulation also appeared to be devoid of any significant toxic effect in animals.


therapeutic colonoscopy is a rare but serious complication [1]. It is usually managed with immediate open surgery. However, conservative therapy has recently been advocated [2], provided that adequate precolonoscopic bowel preparation hasbeen carriedout and that noperitoneal signs are present [3]. Asymptomatic perforations after colonoscopic polypectomy have been conservatively managed using close observation, even in the presence of intra-abdominal free air [4]. Recently, endoclip closure was used to treat iatrogenic colonic perforation conservatively [5]; however, endoclipping cannot be used to repair perforations that are larger than the endoclip (diameter 11mm) [5]. We report the case of a large iatrogenic rectal perforation due to endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and its subsequent conservative treatment. A 65-year-old woman with a flat 30-mmwide rectal adenoma underwent EMR after injection of 0.4% sodium hyaluronate (●" Fig. 1a). The lesionwas completely removed; however, a 25-mm-wide perforation was noted on the posterior wall at 10 cm from the anal verge. The perforation was too large to be closed by endoclipping, so the marginal mucosa of the perforation was circumferentially attached to the presacral tissue adjacent to the rectum using endoclips (●" Fig. 1b). Computed tomography (CT) revealed free air in the presacral space, but no pneumoperitoneum (●" Fig. 2a). Closure of a rectal perforation by clipping the margins to presacral tissue


Vibration attenuation techniques in cutting tools can save old machines and enhance design flexibility in new manufacturing systems. The finite element method is employed to investigate structural stiffness, damping, and switching methodology under the use of smart material in tool error attenuation. This work discusses the limitations of using lumped mass modeling in toolpost dynamic control. Transient solution for tool tip displacement is obtained when pulse width modulation (PWM) is used for smart material activation during the compensation of the radial disturbing cutting forces. Accordingly a Fuzzy algorithm is developed to control actuator voltage level toward improved dynamic performance. The required minimum number of PWM cycles in each disturbing force period is investigated to diminish tool error. Time delay of applied voltage during error attenuation is also evaluated. Toolpost static force-displacement diagram as required to predict voltage intensities for error reduction is tested under different dynamic operating conditions.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


The paper analyses the relevant issue of the relationship of international law and European Union law. Therefore, independent systems of law exist, which inevitably arise the issue of relationship and interaction of these systems. Legal literature analyses the question of the relationship of these two systems of law on the basis of various aspects. The author has chosen the following structure of the paper: first, the general problem of the relationship of international and European Union law is discussed. While describing the problem, the nature of the European Union and international law, as well as the distinguishing features of these systems of law, is analysed. The paper also provides a discussion about the decisions of the Strasbourg court and the Court of Justice of the European Union, which provide the basis of solving the problem of the relationship of these systems of law. In the second part of this paper, the main theories are analysed: the monistic, dualistic and coordination theories, which can be used to answer the issue of interaction of the two systems of law – international law and European Union law.


Abstract The first-year seminar has historically been concerned with socializing students into collegiate life. As with any type of socialization, the first-year seminar perpetuates and is perpetuated by assumptions of "the good." Despite these moral assumptions, little research has discussed the first-year seminar in moral terms. In this article, I investigate the moral assumptions of first-year seminar research and practice to demonstrate the cost of failing to recognize the seminar as morally animated space. Following my analysis, I envision the first-year seminar from the person up.


We review the responses of the Federal Reserve to financial crises over the past 100 years. The authors of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 created an institution that they hoped would prevent banking panics from occurring. When this original framework did not prevent the banking panics of the 1930s, Congress amended the Act to give the Federal Reserve considerably greater powers to respond to financial crises. Over the subsequent decades, the Federal Reserve responded more aggressively when it perceived threats to financial stability and ultimately to economic activity. We review some notable episodes and show how they anticipated in several respects the Federal Reserve's responses to the financial crisis of 2007-09. We also discuss some lessons that can be learned from these responses and some of the challenges that face a lender of last resort.


As a rapidly developing lower-middle income country, Bangladesh has been maintaining
a steady growth of +5% in the gross domestic product (GDP) annually since
2004, eventually reaching 7.1% in 2016. The country is targeting to become uppermiddle-
income and developed by 2021 and 2041 respectively, which translates to an
annual GDP growth rate of 7.58% during this period. The bulk of this growth
is expected to come from the manufacturing sector, the significant shift towards
which started at the turn of this century. Energy intensity of manufacturing-based
growth is higher, the evidence of which can be seen in the 3.17 times increase in
national energy consumption between 2001 and 2014. Also, Bangladesh aims to
achieve 100% electrification rate by 2021 against an annual population growth rate
of 1.08%. With the increasing per capita income, there is now a growing middle
class fuelling the growth in demand for convenient forms of energy. Considering
the above drivers, the Bangladesh 2050 Pathways Model suggested 35 times higher
energy demand than that of 2010 by 2050. The government and private sector have
started a substantial amount of investments in the energy sector to meet the signi
ficant future demand. Approximately US$104 billion would be invested in the
power sector of Bangladesh for establishing 33 GW installed capacity by 2030, the
majority of which would be financed by national and international loans. However,
Bangladesh is one of the most corrupted country in the world which may influence
the energy planning development. The current policies of Bangladesh power sector
paved the future direction towards predominantly coal-based energy mix which
would augment the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions five times (117.5 MtCO2e) in
2030 than that of 2010. By increasing GHG emissions, the country would undermine
the worldwide effort of keeping global temperature rise in 21st century below 2°C,
as per the Paris agreement and COP21.
V
The objective of this research was to develop a framework to explore the cost of
decarbonizing the Bangladesh's energy sector by 2050. For the study, six emissions
scenarios business as usual (BAU), current policy (CPS), high-carbon (HCS),
medium-carbon (MCS), low-carbon (LCS) and zero-carbon scenarios (ZCS), and
three economic conditions high, average and low costwere considered. The
combination of emissions and economic scenarios rendered 18 different emissionseconomic
scenarios for the research. The results showed that Bangladesh would
emit 343 MtCO2e by 2050 without any emissions reduction strategies under HCS.
However, Bangladesh can reduce 23% GHG emissions by 2050 under LCS than that
of HCS by adopting decarbonization strategies such as energy mix change towards
renewable and nuclear. On the optimistic side, the emissions can be reduced 73%
by 2050 under ZCS than that of HCS. The study demonstrated that a zero carbon
future is not yet feasible for Bangladesh by 2050 because the operational fossil fuel
based plants would be operational. Therefore, the GHG emissions are going to rise
even if Bangladesh adopts renewables and nuclear dominating energy mix. However,
it will be possible to keep the GHG emissions approximately 2 tCO2e/capita
threshold if the country adopts LCS. On the other hand, only MCS and LCS can
meet the projected energy demand by 2050. The energy sector can meet the projected
demand under ZCS only if the electricity consumption is reduced 26% by
2050. In terms total cost, the MCS was found to be 3.9% expensive than that of
LCS by 2050. LCS would have a higher cost than that of MCS up to 2030, due to
the high capital cost of renewable technologies. The total cost under LCS would
start to be lower than of MCS after 2035 for the fossil fuel cost. Accumulated fuel
cost would reach $250 billion in 2050 under HCS, which can be reduced 23% under
ZCS. The cost of decarbonization would be 3.6, 3.4 and 3.2 times under average
cost of MCS, LCS, and ZCS, than that of HCS. As the energy sector of Bangladesh
is under rapid development, the accumulated capital would be comparatively high
by 2050. However, fuel cost can be significantly reduced under LCS and ZCS which
would also ensure lower emissions. The study suggested that energy mix change,
technological maturity, corruption and demand reduction can influence the cost
of decarbonization. However, the most significant influencer for the decarbonization
of Bangladeshi energy sector would be the corruption. Results showed that if
Bangladesh can minimize the effect of corruption on the energy sector, it can reduce
the cost of decarbonization 45-77% by 2050 under MCS, LCS, and ZCS.


Long before the phrase 40 acres and a mule was coined to describe what black Americans were owed for slavery, abolitionists discussed compensating slaves for what had been unjustly taken from them. Today, the debate over reparations for slavery and Jim Crow - whether African-Americans should be compensated for decades of racial subjugation - stands as the most racially divisive issue in American politics. Discussion of reparations leads often to more animosity than serious consideration of the issue, with reparations advocates and skeptics taking extreme positions, rather than reaching for common ground. In a concise compass, Reparations Pro and Con considers the debate over reparations from the 1700s to the present, examining the arguments on both sides of the current debate. Brophy tells the story of the black reparations movement from Thaddeus Stevens, through the dark days of Jim Crow and then the Harlem Renaissance, to critical race theory, and relates it to other movements for racial justice. Most importantly, he puts the debate into context of the practice of reparations, such as for Jewish victims of the Holocaust, Native Americans, and for the detainment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The book also considers litigation and legislation past and present, examining failed and successful lawsuits, and reparations actions by legislatures, newspapers, schools, and businesses, including apologies and truth commissions. Reparations: Pro and Con concludes with a frank and sober look at the case for reparations and where, if anywhere, the movement is going. It suggests that the movement may lead to a renewed advocacy of social-welfare programs regardless of race.


The Brodatz Album has become the de facto standard for evaluating texture algorithms, with hundreds of studies having been applied to small sets of its images. The authors compare two powerful recognition algorithms, principal components analysis and multiscale autoregressive models, by evaluating them on a 999-image database derived from the entire Brodatz Album. The variety of homogeneous and nonhomogeneous images studied is thus nearly an order of magnitude larger than has been compared before, giving one snapshot of the state of the art in real-time texture recognition.<<ETX>>


Obtaining detailed evidence on disabilities and their covariates is important as India's elderly population (60 years or more) is growing three times faster than the population as a whole. This study is the first of its kind to provide an analysis of disability and its covariates among the elderly in 2012, based on the India Human Development Survey 2015, a nationally representative panel survey. Our analysis throws light on factors associated with (reported) disabilities in 2012.Given better reporting of disabilities in 2012, we examine the role of their covariates in 2005. Variations in both disabilities by count and type are analysed. Based on probit and ordered probit specifications, we find that vulnerability of the elderly people to (reported) disabilities in 2012 is associated with important covariates in 2005: a largely rural population, low assets, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), disabilities, lack of school education, widowhood, aging, and lack of participation in social networks. Similar associations are found for variations in disabilities by type in 2012, using the covariates in 2005..Thus disabilities are not just a medical or social problem but an outcome of their interplay. While the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 is laudable in its intent and procedural detail, it is largely silent on disabilities among the elderly. A major overhaul of the health system is proposed to address better the disabilities of India's aging population.


Introduction Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) collect data on births, deaths and migration from relatively small, geographically defined populations primarily in Africa and Asia. HDSS occupy a grey area between research, healthcare and public health practice and it is unclear how ethics guidance that rely on a research-practice distinction apply to HDSS. This topic has received little attention in the literature. In this paper, based on empirical research across sub-Saharan Africa, we map out key ethical issues for HDSS and assess the relevance of current ethics guidance in relation to these findings. Methods We conducted a qualitative study across seven HDSS sites in sub-Saharan Africa, including individual in-depth interviews and informal discussions with 68 research staff, document reviews and non-participant observations of surveillance activities. Qualitative data analysis drew on a framework approach led by a priori and emergent themes, drawing on the wider ethics and social science literature. Results There were diverse views on core ethical issues in HDSS, including regarding the strengths and challenges of community engagement, informed consent and data sharing processes. A key emerging issue was unfairness in the overall balance of benefits and burdens for residents and front-line staff when compared with other stakeholders, particularly given the socioeconomic contexts in which HDSS are generally conducted. Conclusion We argue that HDSS operate as non-traditional epidemiologic research projects but are often governed using ethics guidance developed for traditional forms of health research. There is a need for specific ethics guidance for HDSS which prioritises considerations around fairness, cost-effectiveness, ancillary care responsibilities, longitudinality and obligations of the global community to HDSS residents.


Author(s): Gupta, Pritha | Advisor(s): Lusis, Aldons J | Abstract: This dissertation is the culmination of my graduate studies in the laboratory of Jake Lusis at UCLA. The research presented here utilizes systems genetics studies performed in mice to aid in discovery in human disease in three separate studies. A significant portion of disease-oriented research is performed in mice, but a major criticism from the medical community is that laboratory mice are generally inbred and thus have no genetic variation among individuals. Almost 15 years ago, the Lusis lab developed a novel genetic resource for association analysis in the mouse called the Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel (HMDP). The HMDP is a panel of inbred mouse strains that was developed for performing association studies with adequate statistical power and resolution for mapping of complex traits. Mouse genome wide association studies (GWAS) studies are a powerful tool and can be performed relatively easily, but translating the data obtained from these studies to human disease is still in its infancy. My dissertation work reveals three different novel approaches to the utilization of data from GWAS studies performed on the HMDP for translation into human disease processes, namely cardiovascular disease. The first study utilizes novel genetic signatures in murine macrophages to predict disease incidence and survival in humans. The second study utilizes a traditional GWAS to candidate gene discovery to elucidate the mechanisms underlying cardiac remodeling in humans. Lastly, the third study utilizes mouse GWAS data for novel heart failure biomarker discovery in humans. As an introduction to this dissertation, Chapter 1 briefly summarizes the history of GWAS in mice using the HMDP and GWAS in humans. Chapter 2 is a completed and accepted first-author manuscript entitled "Natural diversity reveals macrophage activation spectra predictive of inflammation and cancer survival." Chapter 3 explores the role of CD200, a candidate gene obtained from a large heart failure GWAS study in mice, and it's receptor, CD200R1 in cardiac homeostasis and injury. Chapter 4 describes a novel approach to biomarker discovery for human heart failure using data from a large heart failure GWAS study. Chapter 5 is a departure from mouse systems genetics. In this chapter, I describe the strengths and pitfalls of exome sequencing. In addition, I describe two cases of rare cardiovascular disease in which exome sequencing is utilized to find causal variants of disease. Ultimately, I'd like to use what I've learned in my studies of mouse genetics and translate this to discovery in human disease. In conclusion, this dissertation work contributes significant findings to the expanding knowledge of utilizing mouse GWAS for discovery in human disease.


Objective The aetiology of ADHD is complex, with genetic and environmental factors both implicated in the disorder. The most recent ADHD genome-wide association study identified 12 loci that showed significant association with the disorder. However, as highlighted by the authors, these loci "only capture a tiny fraction" of the risk for ADHD. It has been suggested that it may be important to disentangle: (1) the clinical complexity of the disorder, and (2) the complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors, in order to better dissect the aetiology of the disorder. Method We have conducted a clinically-relevant Pharmaco-Behavioural Genetic study in a large group of children with ADHD (~850 families) over the last 15 years. The study includes detailed evaluation of quantitative behavioural and neuropsychological phenotypes, as well as short-term response of these phenotypes to treatment with a fixed dose of methylphenidate (0.5mg/kg in a b.i.d. dose). Specific genetic markers and environmental factors were examined for their association with these dimensions. Results Here we present results that highlight the importance of examining genetic association with quantitative traits, including those constructs having relevance to Research Domain Criteria (RDoC). Further, we demonstrate that by conducting association analysis in groups of children stratified based on exposure to key environmental exposure (maternal smoking or stress during pregnancy), we are able to increase the sensitivity for finding genes involved in the disorder. Conclusion These results suggest that deep phenotyping and heterogeneity reduction may be imperative in order to uncover the "missing heritability" of the disorder.


The needs for increasing the power generation make the use of solar cells plays an important role in the daily life. For this reason, it is important to use solar tracking system to increase or getting almost optimum amount from solar cells. In this paper, proposed intelligent controllers were designed and used to make solar cells facing the sun over the year. The proposed controller was trained by two ways; the first was trained by supervised feed forward neural network and the second by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) the results obtained for both designs are then compared. The controller was trained using MATLAB and then converted to SIMULINK model in order to test it, and convert it to a Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) language using MATLAB tool box in order to download it on Spartan 3A Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) card. This makes the implementation of the intelligent controller more efficient and easy to use because of its reprogram-ability and the high speed performance. The controller was designed to a fully controlled DC motor driver which is used to rotate two DC motors in X-axis and Y-axis directions respectively. The experimental results show that tracking sun increases the efficiency of the system to produce energy from solar cell about 44.3778 % more energy than the solar cell without tracking system.


Abstract Our objective was to identify whether rare genetic variation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) candidate survival genes modifies ALS survival. Candidate genes were selected based on evidence for modifying ALS survival. Each tail of the extreme 1.5% of survival was selected from the UK MND DNA Bank and all samples available underwent whole genome sequencing. A replication set from the Netherlands was used for validation. Sequences of candidate survival genes were extracted and variants passing quality control with a minor allele frequency ≤0.05 were selected for association testing. Analysis was by burden testing using SKAT. Candidate survival genes UNC13A, KIFAP3, and EPHA4 were tested for association in a UK sample comprising 25 short survivors and 25 long survivors. Results showed that only SNVs in UNC13A were associated with survival (p = 6.57 × 10−3). SNV rs10419420:G > A was found exclusively in long survivors (3/25) and rs4808092:G > A exclusively in short survivors (4/25). These findings were not replicated in a Dutch sample. In conclusion, population specific rare variants of UNC13A may modulate survival in ALS.


Over the past three decades, racial prejudice in America has declined significantly and many African American families have seen a steady rise in employment and annual income. But alongside these encouraging signs, Thomas Shapiro argues in The Hidden Cost of Being African American, fundamental levels of racial inequality persist, particularly in the area of asset accumulation--inheritance, savings accounts, stocks, bonds, home equity, and other investments-. Shapiro reveals how the lack of these family assets along with continuing racial discrimination in crucial areas like homeownership dramatically impact the everyday lives of many black families, reversing gains earned in schools and on jobs, and perpetuating the cycle of poverty in which far too many find themselves trapped. Shapiro uses a combination of in-depth interviews with almost 200 families from Los Angeles, Boston, and St. Louis, and national survey data with 10,000 families to show how racial inequality is transmitted across generations. We see how those families with private wealth are able to move up from generation to generation, relocating to safer communities with better schools and passing along the accompanying advantages to their children. At the same time those without significant wealth remain trapped in communities that don't allow them to move up, no matter how hard they work. Shapiro challenges white middle class families to consider how the privileges that wealth brings not only improve their own chances but also hold back people who don't have them. This "wealthfare" is a legacy of inequality that, if unchanged, will project social injustice far into the future. Showing that over half of black families fall below the asset poverty line at the beginning of the new century, The Hidden Cost of Being African American will challenge all Americans to reconsider what must be done to end racial inequality.