Excerpt] Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) generally prohibits discrimination in the workplace, but does not contain an express prohibition against harassment. The Supreme Court, however, has interpreted the statute to prohibit certain forms of harassment, including sexual harassment. Since first recognizing the viability of a Title VII harassment claim in a unanimous 1986 decision, the Court has also established legal standards for determining when offensive conduct amounts to a Title VII violation and when employers may be held liable for such actionable harassment, and created an affirmative defense available to employers under certain circumstances. Given this judicially created paradigm for analyzing sexual harassment under Title VII, this report examines key Supreme Court precedent addressing Title VII sexual harassment claims, the statutory interpretation and rationales reflected in these decisions, and examples of lower federal court decisions applying this precedent. The report also discusses various types of harassment recognized by the Supreme Court such as "hostile work environment," quid pro quo, constructive discharge, and same sex harassment and explores tensions, disagreements, or apparent inconsistencies among federal courts when analyzing these claims. Finally, this report examines sexual harassment in the context of retaliation. Does Title VII's anti retaliation provision protect an employee from being fired, for example, for reporting sexual harassment? How do federal courts approach the analysis of a Title VII claim alleging that an employer retaliated against an employee by subjecting him or her to harassment? The report discusses Supreme Court and federal appellate court precedent relevant to these questions.


The three-dimensional conformations of non-coding RNAs underpin their biochemical functions but have largely eluded experimental characterization. Here, we report that integrating a classic mutation/rescue strategy with high-throughput chemical mapping enables rapid RNA structure inference with unusually strong validation. We revisit a paradigmatic 16S rRNA domain for which SHAPE (selective 2′-hydroxyl acylation with primer extension) suggested a conformational change between apo-and holo-ribosome conformations. Computational support estimates, data from alternative chemical probes, and mutate-and-map (M2) experiments expose limitations of prior methodology and instead give a near-crystallographic secondary structure. Systematic interrogation of single base pairs via a high-throughput mutation/rescue approach then permits incisive validation and refinement of the M2-based secondary structure and further uncovers the functional conformation as an excited state (25±5% population) accessible via a single-nucleotide register shift. These results correct an erroneous SHAPE inference of a ribosomal conformational change and suggest a general mutate-map-rescue approach for dissecting RNA dynamic structure landscapes.


The variation in selected leaf morphological traits was examined across the geographic ranges of two Tasmanian rainforest species, Tasmannia lanceolata (Poiret) A.C.Smith and Eucryphia milliganii Hook.f. Comparisons of field- and glasshouse-grown plants for both species showed that there is strong genetic control of all the morphological characters measured. Two distinct morphotypes, occupying similar areas of Tasmania, were identified in each species. The geographic boundary between the morphotypes is similar in both species and runs more or less east-west, separating each species into northern and southern forms. Southern E. milliganii differs from the northern form in having ovate leaves with dense marginal trichomes and a pubescent abaxial leaf lamina. A new sub-species, E. milliganii ssp. pubescens, is described to encompass this intra-specific variation in southern Tasmania. Southern T. lanceolata has encrypted stomata, contrasting with the superficial stomata of the northern form, but is not considered sufficiently different to warrant separate taxonomic status. The boundary is difficult to explain in terms of modern environmental factors. A past period of significantly different climate from the present, perhaps combined with anthropogenic fire regimes, may have enabled allopatric differentiation within each species.


Manure application to the soil surface may not be as effective as incorporated manure for crop production, because of potential N loss. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of composted (compost) and noncomposted manure from beef cattle (Bos taurus) feedlots on corn (Zea mays L.) yield and N uptake under two tillage systems in 4 years. Conventional and no-till systems were used as main plots, and subplots consisted of application of composted and noncomposted manure and fertilizer to provide for corn N requirements, and check treatments. Manure and compost were applied and immediately incorporated by disking in the conventional system and left on the surface in the no-till. Fertilizer was incorporated in the conventional system and surface-applied in the no-till system each spring prior to planting. Results showed that in 3 out of 4 years there was no effect of tillage on corn grain yields of plots receiving manure or compost. Manure and compost application resulted in similar grain yield as that for fertilizer treatment in all years except for no-till in 1996. First-year N availability was approximately 38% for manure and 20% for compost in both tillage systems. Apparent N use efficiency was 17% for manure, 12% for compost, and 45% for the fertilizer treatment across 4 years. Chlorophyll meter readings, indicating relative plant N concentration at different stages of growth, were closely related to N uptake and grain yield in years with adequate water supply, but not in the drier year of 1995. Stalk NO 3 - -N concentration at harvest was above the critical level of 2000 mg kg -1 for the fertilizer treatment in 1995 but was low (<200 mg kg -1 ) for manure and compost treatments. Stalk NO 3 - -N concentration did not exceed the critical level for any treatment in other years. When the correct N availability factor is used, beef cattle feedlot manure and compost can be effectively utilized in no-till corn production systems.


Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) threatens cassava production in eastern and southern African countries. Diagnostic protocols currently available for the causal agents of CBSD, Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) and Cassava brown streak Uganda virus (CBSUV), were unreliable but were urgently needed. In this study, sampling procedures and diagnostic protocols were developed for accurate and reliable detection of both CBSV and CBSUV. The cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method of RNA extraction was optimized for sample preparation from infected cassava plants and compared with the commercial kit RNeasy (Qiagen) for sensitivity and reproducibility. Results showed that both protocols were reliable but CTAB was more cost-effective and ideal for resource-poor laboratories. Mixed infections of cassava mosaic begomoviruses (CMBs) that cause cassava mosaic disease (CMD), CBSV and CBSUV have become more common with the recent spread of CBSD at mid-altitudes. A multiplex PCR for the simultaneous detection of viruses that cause both diseases, the first of its kind for cassava, was therefore developed to detect CBSV and CBSUV along with the three commonly occurring CMBs (African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV), East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV), and East African cassava mosaic virus-Uganda (EACMVUG) in eastern Africa. Similarly, a duplex PCR was developed for the simultaneous detection of CBSV and CBSUV, both viruses being detected in field-collected samples from Tanzania and Kenya. The genetic diversity of more than 40 CBSD isolates from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique was further examined by sequencing the coat protein (CP) gene and partial HAM1 gene sequences. The phylogenetic tree clustered the CBSD isolates into two groups reflecting the two virus species causing CBSD. In this study, various strategies were carried out for generating infectious clones of CBSV; gateway cloning, in vivo and in vitro transcription methods, and amplification of the viral genome in three fragments. Although 3 overlapping CBSV fragments were successfully cloned, the presence of an unexpected mutation at one of the cloning sites unfortunately did not allow reassembling of the fragments to construct the full-length cDNA.


Abstract Disparities in health exist among ethnic/racial groups, especially among members with limited English proficiency (LEP). The session described in this paper aimed to teach medical students the skills needed to communicate with patients with LEP. Description - We created a required session titled "Cross-Cultural Communication-Using an Interpreter" for third-year medical students with learning objectives and teaching strategies. The session plans evolved over three years. Program Evaluation - Students' perceived efficacy using retrospective pre/post test analysis (n = 110, 86% response rate) administered 7 weeks post-session revealed that 77.3% of students felt "more prepared to communicate with a patient with LEP", 77.3% to "give proper instructions to an untrained interpreter" and 76.4% to "access a hospital language line". Conclusion - Our curricular intervention was effective in increasing students' perceived efficacy in communicating with a patient with LEP, using untrained interpreters and accessing a hospital language line. Skills practice and discussion of using interpreters should be a part of medical education.


Twenty two samples were studied to investigate the nature and evolution mechanism of mixed-layer kaolinite-smectite (K-S). We examined the <2 µm or <0.2 µm fraction of K-S formed by hydrothermal and hypergenic alteration of volcanic material. The samples are from three localities: 20 specimens from a Tortonian clay deposit in Almería, Spain; one specimen from weathered Eocene volcanic ash from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico; and one sample from a weathered Jurassic bentonite from Northamptonshire, England. The samples were studied using chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD patterns of the oriented, glycolated mounts were modeled using NEWMOD and the proportion of smectite and kaolinite layers was determined, ranging between 0 and 80% kaolinite. The analysis of the OH-stretching region of the FTIR spectra at different temperatures (180–550°C) showed the progressive dehydroxylation of kaolinite domains and, perhaps, of smectite domains, but no detailed information could be obtained about the sequential OH loss in different cation environments. The abundance and short-range ordering of the octahedral cations were studied using the OH-bending bands. The chemical and FTIR-estimated octahedral cation abundances were broadly similar. Aluminum showed a tendency to mix with Fe and Mg rather than to form AlAl pairs. Al-for-Mg substitution accompanying kaolinization was evident from the increase in AlAl pairs and decrease in AlMg pairs. Iron is retained in the structure. No other octahedral cation rearrangement was observed. The intensity of the 750 cm−1 band, assigned to translational vibrations of external OH groups in a kaolinitic environment, was quantified and modeled in relation to kaolinite layer proportion. The chemical data show that there are residual interlayer cations in kaolinite domains, which, in accordance with the model mentioned above, disturb external OH-translation vibrations. These results indicate the persistence of certain chemical and structural smectite features in kaolinite domains and thus support a smectite kaolinization process via a solid-state transformation. This confirms previous XRD, thermal, chemical and NMR analyses of the same sample set.


This study deals with the provision of software and develops an approach to the analysis and design of software deployment contexts in which software is provided centrally for many. The provision of the web-based cooperation platform CommSy in two different constellations exemplifies the necessity of such a software supply approach for understanding and designing software supply contexts. The present work provides the foundation for the business model Application Service Providing and its extension to the software provisioning approach eASP (evolutionary Application Service Providing). The business model can thus be used for IT. Through eASP, the effects and services of software provision can be taken into account in the evolutionary and participatory software development and IT-supported organization design. eASP is not understood as a model of software provision, but as a pattern that helps to understand and design a concrete software provision.


In this note, we describe an error in the proof for CLRW2 given by Landecker et al. in their paper at CRYPTO 2012 on the beyond-birthday-bound security for tweakable block ciphers. We are able to resolve the issue, give a new bound for the security of CLRW2, and identify a potential limitation of this proof technique when looking to extend the scheme to provide asymptotic security.


Sarcomere disruptions are observed in the adductor longus (AL) muscles following voluntary reloading of spaceflown and hindlimb suspension unloaded (HSU) rat, which resemble lesions in eccentrically challenged muscle. We devised and tested an eccentric contraction (ECCON) test system for the 14‐day HSU rat AL. Six to 7 hours following ECCON, ALs were fixed to allow immunostaining and electron microscopy (EM). Toluidine blue‐stained histology semithin sections were screened for lesion density (#/mm2). Serial semithin sections from the ECCON group were characterized for myosin immunointensity of lesions. Five myofibrillar lesion types were identified in histological semithin sections: focal contractions; wide A‐bands; opaque areas; missing A‐bands; and hyperstretched sarcomeres. Lesion density by type was greater for ECCON than NonECCON ALs (P ≤ 0.05; focal contractions and opaque regions). Lesion density (#‐of‐all‐five‐types/mm2) was significantly different (ECCON: 23.91 ± 10.58 vs. NonECCON: 5.48 ± 1.28, P ≤ 0.05; ECCON vs. SHAM: 0.00 ± 0.00; P ≤ 0.025). PostECCON optimal tension decreased (Poi‐drop, 17.84 ± 4.22%) and was correlated to lesion density (R2 = 0.596), but prestretch tension demonstrated the highest correlation with lesion density (R2 = 0.994). In lesions, the darkly staining A‐band lost the normally organized thick filament alignment to differing degrees across the different lesion types. Ranking the five lesion types by a measure of lesion length deformation (hypercontracted to hyperstretched) at the light microscopy level, related to the severity of thick filament registry loss across the lesion types at the electron microscopic level. This ranking suggested that the five lesion types seen in semithin sections at the light level represented a lesion progression sequence and paralleled myosin immunostaining loss as the distorted A‐band filaments spread across the hyperlengthening lesion types. Lesion ultrastructure indicated damage involved calcium homeostasis loss (focal contraction lesions) and "thick‐filamentcentering" failure of titin (wide A‐band lesions) in the early stages of lesion development. Anat Rec 254:39–52, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Study of the cadaver is integral to both medical education and research, but how is cadaveric material to be obtained in the 21st-century world? Historical precedents are of little assistance, built as they are on the most unethical of practices, including body snatching and murder. This constitutes a major challenge for modern anatomy: has it been able to cast off all semblance of this unsavoury past? In this paper it is contended that the continued use of unclaimed bodies has proved problematic, ignoring as it does the fundamental ethical impetus of altruism. The use of bequeathed bodies is regarded as ethically preferable, even though cultural practices vary significantly, with the result that the availability of cadavers is uneven across societies. Recent legislation has brought the role of informed consent to the fore, and this is a welcome development. Nevertheless, immense challenges remain for anatomists, a major one being that posed by the large-scale public exhibitions of plastinated bodies, the prime exponent of which is Body Worlds. In assessing the manner in which the plastinates are displayed, those with Renaissance allusions have most in common with an educational rationale, although lacking a research ethos. The contemporary genre plastinates are the furthest removed from any traditional anatomical approach, and generally lack any teaching focus. They are also the most problematic ethically when assessed in terms of the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence. Additionally, the character of donation is changed within the context of these public exhibitions.


We study the universal critical behavior of two-dimensional (2D) lattice bosonic gases at the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition, which separates the low-temperature superfluid phase from the high-temperature normal phase. For this purpose, we perform quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the hard-core Bose-Hubbard (BH) model at zero chemical potential. We determine the critical temperature by using a matching method that relates finite-size data for the BH model with corresponding data computed in the classical $XY$ model. In this approach, the neglected scaling corrections decay as inverse powers of the lattice size $L$, and not as powers of $1/\mathrm{ln}L$, as in more standard approaches, making the estimate of the critical temperature much more reliable. Then, we consider the BH model in the presence of a trapping harmonic potential, and we verify the universality of the trap-size dependence at the BKT critical point. This issue is relevant for experiments with quasi-2D trapped cold atoms.


As one of the main development directions in the information field, big data technology can be applied for data mining, data analysis and data sharing in the massive data, and it created huge economic benefits by using the potential value of data. Meanwhile, it can provide decision-making strategies for social and economic development. Big data service architecture is a new service economic model that takes data as a resource, and it loads and extracts the data collected from different data sources. This service architecture provides various customized data processing methods, data analysis and visualization services for service consumers. This paper first briefly introduces the general big data service architecture and the technical processing framework, which covered data collection and storage. Next, we discuss big data processing and analysis according to different service requirements, which can present valuable data for service consumers. Then, we introduce the detailed cloud computing service system based on big data, which provides high performance solutions for large-scale data storage, processing and analysis. Finally, we summarize some big data application scenarios over various fields.


Current simulation programmes for analyzing car accidents uses impact velocity, mass, user-defined overlay and a coefficient of restitution for defining the value of EES (Energy Equivalent Speed). However, the impact velocity must be entered manually through the expert ́s own calculation of EES parameter depending on the level of car damage. To do this, experts can choose from several available methods. Latest programmes allow us to calculate the EES parameter from the user-given deformation of the certain part of a vehicle. The main aim of this paper is to show the significance of deformation characteristics in the impact into rigid barrier as well as the significance of deviation determined by EES calculation between the real and linear deformation characteristics.


Child support guidelines in more than half of the states provide for an adjustment when a child is in shared physical custody. When compared with the outcome under the same guideline for a child in sole custody, the adjusted child support received by the primary household is generally lower, with an accompanying reduction in the standard of living in the child's primary household. The question posed by this article is whether mandating a reduced standard of living for the child in the primary household is good policy. The answer is no; at least without significant change, the adjustment is not worth the candle. The author provides three arguments for a mandatory shared-custody child support adjustment. She concludes there is little reason to support a mandatory adjustment at least in its present form. Despite a legal history of at least three decades, studies have not demonstrated that the adjustment is worth the cost it imposes on children, whether in terms of offsetting improvements in children's well-being or development, in terms of improved economic fairness between the parents, or in terms of enhanced parental incentives about spending time with children.


Governments are increasingly involving local communities and non-governmental organizations in the management of natural resources. The ways in which different stakeholders are involved varies from being consulted to taking a central role in planning and monitoring, and—infrequently—being given the legal right to manage resources. There can be many benefits from involving a wider group of stakeholders in natural resource management, including reducing the burden on government agencies, reducing conflicts, and greater resource efficiency. This is part of a series of eight linked papers in this special issue of the International Review for Environmental Strategies describing a study to draw from the RISPO Good Practices Inventory useful lessons for environmental policymakers in developing countries. The study was based on analysis of case studies collected by the project Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options (RISPO), which was led by the Institute for Global Environmental Studies, Hayama, Japan. This study highlights how participation by different stakeholder, governments, local/indigenous people, NGOs and the private sector, in natural resource management in Asia leads to resource efficiency for the government, contributes to broader devolution of power, and reflects the changing attitude of governments towards people's participation. The findings should encourage governments to extend community management of natural resources to other ecosystems, such as coastal fisheries or production forests.


Pharmacists cannot effectively function in isolation of other healthcare professionals in the healthcare arena. Medicine has become a team sport and pharmacists find themselves increasingly in defensive positions due to the functions we perform. We are the final safety net for prescribing health professionals. In this peculiar position however, pharmacists are oftentimes experienced as adversaries instead of teammates. Pharmacists also suffer the scorn of patients when we attempt to protect them against themselves. Along these lines, I have decided to share with you a few powerful communication tools that will make your attempts at persuading fellow healthcare professionals to follow your recommendations, a bit more effective and less confrontational. As long as you remind yourself that your recommendations are ethically founded and your actions are for the good of the patient and not purely manipulative, you will be successful in persuasion. The moment however you ignore these kind words of advice, you will invariably find yourself ridiculed and in a much less desirable position.


Earlier approximations for multiple scattering by uncorrelated random distributions of large, low-refracting, absorbing particles are generalized by retaining the internal backscattered flux for the case of negligible coherent reflection. For a plane wave normally incident on a slab-region distribution, we obtain more complete results for the flux into a detecting cone at an arbitrary angle of observation, in terms of one-particle scattering functions, scatterer concentration, and distribution thickness. The approximations cover the full range of concentration; although the results near full packing are in general physically unrealizable, they are shown to be in accord with elementary physical considerations. The special forms for the total transmitted flux and total backscattered flux are similar to forms obtained by the diffusion-equation approach. However, the present development, based on averaging the absolute square of the solution of the wave equation for a large number of particles, provides approximations for the bulk parameters and for the flux in terms of results for an isolated scatterer.


Over half of all infant formula sold in the U.S. is purchased through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). An ERS study, the first to consider the impact of retail prices on WIC costs, finds that the cost of providing infant formula has increased in recent years. Since WIC is a discretionary program with fixed funding, this trend, if sustained, means that additional funds will be needed to maintain the level of services or that fewer lowincome infants, young children, and women will be served. Federal law requires that WIC State agencies enter into cost-containment contracts with infant formula manufacturers. Contracts are awarded to the manufacturer offering the lowest net wholesale price— the manufacturer's wholesale price minus a rebate or discount provided by the manufacturer. In exchange for the rebate, the manufacturer receives an exclusive sales arrangement within the State: WIC participants in the State are given vouchers that can be redeemed in authorized retail foodstores only for that brand of formula. The cost of infant formula to WIC has two components: (1) the net wholesale price—the payment ultimately received by the manufacturer; and (2) the retail markup—the retail price of the formula minus its wholesale price. Supermarket scanner data indicate that, for most States, the retail markup accounts for about 60 percent of the total cost to WIC. The size of the markup relative to the net wholesale price is largely due to the effectiveness of the rebate program. Rebates as a percentage of the wholesale price have ranged from 65 to 98 percent since 1998. In other words, infant formula purchased through WIC has cost States only 2 to 35 percent of its wholesale price, plus the retail markup. This analysis suggests that both net wholesale price and retail markup have increased over time. However, much of the increase in costs is due to higher prices for infant formula supplemented with DHA and ARA (two fatty acids found in breast milk); these supplemented formulas average a much greater retail markup than unsupplemented formulas. DHAand ARA-supplemented formulas were first introduced in 2002, and by mid2004 they accounted for almost two-thirds of total dollar sales of formula in supermarkets. Often, "new and improved" products carry price premiums that disappear over time. It is possible that the retail markups observed in this study for the supplemented formulas may lessen over time as well.


Recently, cardiovascular disease has become the second most common cause of death in Japan following malignant neoplasm formation. Therefore, it is necessary to diagnose atherosclerosis during its early stages because atherosclerosis is one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases. The carotid sinus is a site that is easily affected by atherosclerosis [C. K. Zarins et al.: Circ. Res. 53 (1983) 502]; therefore, the diagnosis of this disease at this site is important [S. C. Nicholls et at: Stroke 20 (1989) 175], However, it is difficult to accurately diagnose atherosclerosis in the carotid sinus in the long-axis plane, which is parallel to the axis of the vessel, using conventional linear scanning because the carotid sinus is not flat along the axis of the vessel, and the ultrasonic beams used in linear scanning are perpendicular to the arterial wall in a limited region. Echoes from regions that are not perpendicular to the ultrasonic beams are very weak and the arterial wall in such regions is hardly recognized in a B-mode image. In this study, the position of the arterial wall was predetermined on the basis of the B-mode image obtained by conventional linear scanning, then ultrasonic beams were transmitted again so that all beams were almost perpendicular to the arterial wall. In basic experiments, a nonflat object made of silicone rubber was measured and it was shown that it is possible to image a nonflat object over the entire scanned area using the proposed beam steering method. Furthermore, in in vivo experiments, the intima-media complex was imaged over the entire scanned area at the carotid sinus


A misalignment between the combustor exit and the nozzle guide vane (NGV) platform commonly exists due to manufacturing tolerances and thermal transience. This study investigated, experimentally and computationally, the effect of the combustor-turbine misalignment on the heat transfer for an axisymmetric converging endwall with a jet purge cooling scheme at transonic conditions. The studies were conducted at engine-representative Maexit = 0.85, inlet turbulence intensity of 16%, Reexit,Cax = 1.5×106. A film cooling blowing ratio of 2.5 (design condition) and 3.5 and an engine-representative density ratio of 1.95 were used in the study. Three various step misalignments, combustor exit being 4.9% span higher than turbine inlet (backward-facing), no step (baseline), and combustor exit being 4.9% span lower than turbine inlet (forward-facing), were tested to demonstrate the misalignment effect on endwall heat transfer. Results indicated that the step misalignment affects the cooling performance by altering the interaction between the coolant and the cavity vortex, horseshoe vortex, and passage vortex. At the design blowing ratio of 2.5, the backward-facing step leads to increased coolant dissipation, causing the coolant to be later dominated by the passage vortex and leading to poor cooling performance. Meanwhile, a forward-facing step induced more coolant lift-off. At the blowing ratio of 3.5, the additional momentum ensures that enough coolant enters the passage to form a stable boundary layer. Therefore, the step misalignment no longer has a first-order effect.


This book reveals the theories that inspire al-Qaeda. There is no other accessible book on the subject. This is the sect that threatens the stability of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Wahhabism has been generating controversy since it first emerged in Arabia in the 18th century. In the wake of September 11th instant theories have emerged that try to root Osama Bin Laden's attacks on Wahhabism. Muslim critics have dismissed this conservative interpretation of Islam that is the official creed of Saudi Arabia as an unorthodox innovation that manipulated a suggestible people to gain political influence. David Commins' book questions this assumption. He examines the debate on the nature of Wahhabism, and offers original findings on its ascendance in Saudi Arabia and spread throughout other parts of the Muslim world such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also assesses the challenge that radical militants within Saudi Arabia pose to the region, and draws conclusions which will concern all those who follow events in the Kingdom. "The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia" is essential reading for anyone interested in the Middle East and Islamic radicalism today.


In WATCHING THE ENGLISH anthropologist Kate Fox takes a revealing look at the quirks, habits and foibles of the English people. She puts the English national character under her anthropological microscope, and finds a strange and fascinating culture, governed by complex sets of unspoken rules and byzantine codes of behaviour. The rules of weather-speak. The ironic-gnome rule. The reflex apology rule. The paranoid-pantomime rule. Class indicators and class anxiety tests. The money-talk taboo and many more ...Through a mixture of anthropological analysis and her own unorthodox experiments (using herself as a reluctant guinea-pig), Kate Fox discovers what these unwritten behaviour codes tell us about Englishness.


A focused library of methacrylate terpolymers was synthesized to explore the effects of varying surface chemistry and adhesive peptide ligands on cell function. The chemical diversity of methacrylate monomers enabled construction of a library of polymers in which one can systematically vary the chemical composition to achieve a wide range of contact angle, Young's modulus, and T(g) values. Furthermore, the materials were designed to allow surface immobilization of bioactive peptides. We then examined the effects of these material compositions on protein adsorption and cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. We observed that chemical composition of the polymers was an important determinant for NIH 3T3 cell attachment and proliferation, as well as human mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, and correlated directly with the ability of the polymers to adsorb proteins that mediate cell adhesion. Importantly, functionalization of the methacrylate terpolymer library with an adhesive GRGDS peptide normalized cellular responses. RGD-functionalized polymers uniformly exhibited robust attachment, proliferation, and differentiation irrespective of the underlying substrate chemistry. These studies provide a library-based approach to rapidly explore the biological functionality of biomaterials with a wide range of compositions and highlight the importance of cell and protein cell adhesion in predicting their performance.


The paper describes experimental results on low temperature plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of GaN/AlN heterostructures on both 6H-SiC and Si(111) substrates. We demonstrate that application of migration enhanced epitaxy and metal-modulated epitaxy for growth of AlN nucleation and buffer layers lowers the screw and edge(total)threading dislocation (TD) densities down to 1.7·108 and 2·109 cm-2, respectively, in a 2.8-μm-thick GaN buffer layer grown atop of AlN/6H-SiC. The screw and total TD densities of 1.2·109 and 7.4·109 cm-2, respectively, were achieved in a 1-μm-thickGaN/AlNheterostructure on Si(111). Stress generation and relaxation in GaN/AlN heterostructures were investigated by using multi-beam optical stress sensor (MOSS) to achieve zero substrate curvature at room temperature. It is demonstrated that a 1-μm-thick GaN/AlN buffer layer grown by PA MBE provides planar substrate morphology in the case of growth on Si substrates whereas 5-μm-thick GaN buffer layers have to be used to achieve the same when growing on 6H-SiC substrates.


The United Kingdom's obesity epidemic requires a national and concerted response similar to that which has developed in the past 50 years to tackle smoking, doctors have said.1

A working party from the Royal College of Physicians has said that every hospital trust should have a lead doctor on obesity to work with commissioning groups, be a source of information for patients, and act as a link between the hospital and the community.

And there should be a national lead on obesity to drive a coordinated government strategy within and across departments, including health, the Treasury, education, agriculture, work and pensions, and local government, said the working party's report.

With …


We study food Engel curves among the poor population targeted by a conditional cash transfer programme in Colombia. After controlling for the endogeneity of total expenditure and for the (unobserved) variability of prices across villages, the best fit is provided by a log-linear specification. Our estimates imply that an increase in total expenditure by 10% would lead to a decrease of 1% in the share of food. However, quasi-experimental estimates of the impact of the programme on total and food consumption show that the share of food increases, suggesting that the programme has more complex impacts on expenditure patterns than those induced by higher household income and expenditure.


A water-quality, data-collection network on a 26.2-mile reach of Cedar Creek in west-central Illinois was operated from May through December 1985 and from March through October 1986. The study reach drains a 60.8-square-mile area of predominantly agricultural land. However, the city of Galesburg contributes combinedand storm-sewer discharge to the creek that can affect the water quality. This report presents the streamflow and water-quality data collected and describes the methods and instrumentation used. Continuous discharge data were determined at eight gaging stations five on the main stem and three on tributaries of Cedar Creek. Flows ranged from 0 to 1,200 cubic feet per second. A total of 8 storm sewers and 51 combined sewers were monitored or inspected as part of the study. Continuous precipitation data were collected at five sites. The maximum hourly precipitation intensity during the study period was 1.97 inches per hour. The maximum total precipitation for a storm during the study period was 4.16 inches. Sediment-oxygen-demand rates were measured at 45 locations in the creek. The measured sediment-oxygen-demand rates ranged from 0.4 to 9.1 grams of oxygen per square meter per day. Ninety-seven bottom-material samples were collected and analyzed for chemical oxygen demand, percentage of volatile organic constituents, and concentrations of total organic plus ammonia nitrogen, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, and zinc. Traveltime and reaeration rates were determined for 15 subreaches of Cedar Creek during various flow conditions. The reaeration rates ranged from 3.10 to 20.8 per day. Three intensive diel (24-hour) data collections were conducted during low-flow conditions. Data included dissolved oxygen concentration, biochemical oxygen demand, nutrient concentrations, and metal concentrations. During storm-related high-flow conditions, water-quality samples were collected at 5 main-stem sites, 3 tributary sites, the Galesburg wastewatertreatment-facility outfall, and 15 sewer outfalls. These samples were analyzed for nutrients and metals, suspended solids, chemical oxygen demands, and biochemical oxygen demands. This report describes methods for measuring stage/ discharge, precipitation, sediment oxygen demand, traveltime, and reaeration rate. Collection methods for bottom-material samples, diel water-quality data and samples, combined-sewer overflow frequency and duration, and storm-related sampling of combined sewers, storm sewers, and streams are described. A brief discussion of streamflow computation methods also is presented.


The main objective of this study was to investigate reasons of mitigated membrane fouling based on a mathematical prediction of daily excess sludge (DES) and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) accumulation in a laboratory-scale vertical submerged membrane bioreactor (VSMBR) fed with glucose. Yield coefficient, growth rate, and decay rate of autotrophic and heterotrophic micro-organisms were estimated by measuring oxygen uptake rate (OUR). From kinetic estimation, it was concluded that the DES from the VSMBR was only 4% of the total DES produced by the activated sludge process (ASP). This resulted from the lower yield biomass and the higher decay of heterotrophic biomass in the VSMBR. In part of the experiment, transmembrane pressure (TMP) was affected by a rapid increase in EPS concentration. Later, a second rapid increase of TMP was observed although EPS concentration was stable indicating that the second increase of TMP was caused by interfiber clogging other than EPS accumulation.


The potential synergistic anti-myeloma effect for thalidomide combining with interferon alpha was not yet clear clinically. From March 2001 to January 2004, a total of 28 heavily pretreated multiple myleoma (MM) patients were enrolled in this open-labeled, randomized Phase II study. Patients with refractory MM were randomized to receive either thalidomide alone (200 mg/day up to the maximum dose 800 mg/day, arm B) or the combination of thalidomide and interferon alpha (3 MIU/m2 subcutaneous injection 3 times weekly, arm A). The objective of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of thalidomide alone to combined regimen. The patients' characteristics were similar between the 2 arms. However, the average treatment duration was significantly longer in the arm B than the arm A (236 days versus 101 days, p = 0.029). Serum levels of paraprotein decline ≥ 25 percent were obtained in 6 of 12 patients (50.0 percent) treated with arm B and 3 of the 16 patients (18.8 percent) treated with arm A. The estimated time to event was 7.9 months (95 percent confidence interval [95%CI], 0.5–15.4) for arm B and 1.5 months (95%CI, 0.0–3.4) for arm A (log-rank test, p = 0.0193). The major adverse events in both arms consisted of neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, constipation, somnolence, and skin rash. Our study showed that thalidomide alone was effective and tolerated in patients with relapsed or refractory MM. The thalidomide combined with interferon alpha resulted in a lower frequency of paraprotein response, shorter treatment-duration and 25 percent of patients' refusing rate. It may be concluded that the combined regimen is not well tolerated in our patients and needed to be further evaluated in the future.


Bennett and Hatzimasoura (2011) derive a new class of poverty measures suitable for ordinal variables. These indices are weighted sums of the population probabilities of attaining each state of the ordinal variable which is below the poverty line. The weights are uniquely determined by the choice of the classi?single parameter and by the number of ordinal states below the poverty line. However, as I show in this note, such restrictive propery is not necessary for the derivation of poverty measures for ordinal variables that satisfy a broad array of desirable properties, including those advocated by Bennett and Hatzimasoura. The class of measures proposed in this note include those of the authors, as a specific subclass. Since the class of admissible poverty measures for ordinal variables is unbounded, the note provides two dominance conditions whose fulfillment ensure the agreement of ordinal poverty comparisons among measures belonging to subfamilies within the class.


Departing from the traditional yardsticks for measuring the performance and effectiveness of regional institutions, this paper proposes a new framework to investigate their effect in the socialization (i.e. internalization of group norms by newcomers) of new members. Called Type III internalization, it represents a middle ground between Type I (i.e. member states simply acting according to group expectations, even if they may not agree with them), and Type II (i.e. states transforming themselves by adopting the interests and identities of the group) internalization. In Type III internalization, states act both instrumentally and normatively. While their interests and values do not change permanently, there is enough change to induce substantially new kinds of cooperative behavior, in trade and security. Type III internalization is non-legalistic and consensual, moving at a pace in which everyone is comfortable, but there is no danger of backtracking. New members moderate their competitive instincts and pursue common objectives. The impact of institutional norms such as "open regionalism" and "cooperative security" transmitted through institutions such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the ASEAN Regional Forum on Viet Nam, India, and the People's Republic of China attests to the existence of a Type III internalization.


Objective: This research aims to get the relevant animal model for epithelial ovarian cancer and ultrasonography approach to detect volume and size of ovarian cancer. Methods: Induction of ovarian cancer in rats was carried out using 7,12-Dimethylbenz [a] anthracene (DMBA) coated on silk suture and then implanted in the left ovary of female Wistar rats. Nodule were determined weekly after the first surgery by palpating the abdominal wall of rats. Utrasonography was carried out at 20 th week. Rats were euthanized, ovarian organs were taken and histopathological examination was performed with haematoxylin and eosin staining. Results: Nodules in DMBA-treated rats were noted at 16 th weeks post implantation and reaching a cummulative incidence of 96, 4% at 24 th weeks. On ultrasound examination at the 20th week, there were significant differences in left and right ovarian size and volume. The histological type of induced tumor included: serous carcinoma cell, clear cell carcinoma, sarcoma and squamous carcinoma. Conclusion: The implanted 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) coated silk suture in the ovaries rats can be used as animal model for testing therapeutics agent of ephitelial ovarian cancer and ultrasonography can determine the size and volume of tumors formed in ovary. Key words: 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, Animal model, Epithelial ovarian cancer, Ultrasonography.


Extensible Dependency Grammar (XDG; Duchier and Debusmann (2001)) is a recently developed dependency grammar formalism that allows the characterization of linguistic structures along multiple dimensions of description. It can be implemented efficiently using constraint programming (CP; Koller and Niehren 2002). In the CP context, parsing is cast as a search problem: The states of the search are partial parse trees, successful end states are complete and valid parses. In this paper, we propose a probability model for XDG dependency trees and an A-Star search control regime for the XDG parsing algorithm that guarantees the best parse to be found first. Extending XDG with a statistical component has the benefit of bringing the formalism further into the grammatical mainstream; it also enables XDG to efficiently deal with large, corpus-induced grammars that come with a high degree of ambiguity.


The effect of mechano-chemically bound polypropylene modifiers on the mechanical performance and thermal-oxidative stability of polypropylene composites has been studied. The mechanical performance of unmodified polypropylene containing silane coupled glass and Rockwool (mineral) fibre was poor by comparison with a similar commercially produced glass reinforced composite; this was attributed to poor fibre-matrix adhesion. Mechano-chemical binding with unsaturated additives was obtained in the presence of a free radical initiator (di-cumyl peroxide). This process was inhibited by stabilisers present in commercial grades of polypropylene composites by chemical bond formation between the chemically bound modifier and the silane coupling agent on the fibre surface, resulting in a dramatic improvement in the mechanical properties, dimensional stability and retention of mechanical performance after immersion in fluids typically found in under-bonnet environments.A feature unique to some of these modifiers was their ability not only to enhance the mechanical properties of polypropylene composites to levels substantially in excess of currently available commercial materials, but their ability to act as effective thermal-oxidative polypropylene stabilisers. The mode of action was shown to be a chain-breaking mechanism and as a result of the high binding levels achieved during melt processing, these modifiers were able to efficiently stabilise polypropylene in the most severe volatilising and solvent-extracting environments, thus giving much better protection to the polymer than currently available commercially stabilised grades of polypropylene.


Multi-server distributed systems are becoming increasingly popular with the emergence of cloud computing. These systems need to provide high throughput with low latency, which is a difficult task to achieve. Manual performance tuning and diagnosis of such systems, however, is hard as the amount of relevant performance diagnosis data is large. To help system developers with performance diagnosis, we have developed a tool called Performance Anomaly Detector (PAD). PAD combines user-driven navigation analysis with automatic correlation and comparative analysis techniques. The combination results in a powerful tool that can help find a number of performance anomalies. Based on our experience in applying PAD to the Orleans system, we discovered that PAD was able to reduce developer time and effort detecting anomalous performance cases and improve a developer's ability to perform deeper analysis of such behaviors.


Introduction
Genitourinary surgery constitutes approximately 1.15% of procedures performed for combat injuries. During forward deployment, surgeons usually deploy without urology support. To better understand the training and skills maintenance needs for genitourinary procedures by describing in detail the genitourinary surgical workload during 15 years of combat operations and compare our findings with those from previously published articles.

Material and Methods
A retrospective analysis of the Department of Defense Trauma Registry (DoDTR) was performed for all Roles 2 and 3 medical treatment facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, from January 2002 to May 2016. The 177 ICD-9-CM procedure codes identified as genitourinary procedures were grouped into 15 anatomic categories by subject matter experts. Select groups were further subdivided by procedure types. Descriptive analyses were performed and stratified workload percentiles were calculated for the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles. Data analysis was performed using Stata Version 14 (College Station, TX, USA). This quality improvement project was deemed exempt from institutional review board review by the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research.

Results
A total of 3,963 genitourinary surgical procedures were identified, the majority occurring at Role 3 medical treatment facilities (3,512, 88.6%). The most common procedure groups were testis (20.6%), bladder (18.8%), scrotum (17.7%), and kidney (13.5%). The single most common individual procedures performed were unilateral orchiectomy (394, 9.9%), suture of laceration of scrotum and tunica vaginalis (373, 9.4%), nephroureterectomy (360, 9.1%), and other suprapubic cystostomy (268, 6.8%). Of the 77 gynecological procedures, 15 were C-sections. Genitourinary caseload per facility was low, never exceeding nine procedures per month.

Conclusions
All deploying surgeons may be required to evaluate, stage, and surgically manage genitourinary, gynecologic, and obstetrical conditions. Surgery on the male genitalia, bladder, and kidney were the most commonly required genitourinary operative procedures in deployed facilities; therefore, non-urological surgeons should receive pre-deployment training in these techniques. The workload data from our study can be used to help guide the development of pre-deployment training to ensure military surgeons have the skills to perform the specialty procedures required while deployed.


OBJECTIVE Misdiagnosis of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) remains widespread, despite the benefits of optimized management. This cross-sectional study examined diagnostic misclassification of MODY in subjects with clinically labeled young adult-onset type 1 and type 2 diabetes by extending genetic testing beyond current guidelines. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Individuals were selected for diagnostic sequencing if they displayed features atypical for their diagnostic label. From 247 case subjects with clinically labeled type 1 diabetes, we sequenced hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 α (HNF1A) and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 α (HNF4A) in 20 with residual β-cell function ≥3 years from diagnosis (random or glucagon-stimulated C-peptide ≥0.2 nmol/L). From 322 with clinically labeled type 2 diabetes, we sequenced HNF1A and HNF4A in 80 with diabetes diagnosed ≤30 years and/or diabetes diagnosed ≤45 years without metabolic syndrome. We also sequenced the glucokinase (GCK) in 40 subjects with mild fasting hyperglycemia. RESULTS In the type 1 diabetic group, two HNF1A mutations were found (0.8% prevalence). In type 2 diabetic subjects, 10 HNF1A, two HNF4A, and one GCK mutation were identified (4.0%). Only 47% of MODY case subjects identified met current guidelines for diagnostic sequencing. Follow-up revealed a further 12 mutation carriers among relatives. Twenty-seven percent of newly identified MODY subjects changed treatment, all with improved glycemic control (HbA1c 8.8 vs. 7.3% at 3 months; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS The systematic use of widened diagnostic testing criteria doubled the numbers of MODY case subjects identified compared with current clinical practice. The yield was greatest in young adult-onset type 2 diabetes. We recommend that all patients diagnosed before age 30 and with presence of C-peptide at 3 years' duration are considered for molecular diagnostic analysis.


We use an integral equation formulation approach to value shout options, which are exotic options giving an investor the ability to "shout" and lock in profits while retaining the right to benefit from potentially favourable movements in the underlying asset price. Mathematically, the valuation is a free boundary problem involving an optimal exercise boundary which marks the region between shouting and not shouting. We also find the behaviour of the optimal exercise boundary for one- and two-shout options close to expiry.


The MPEG-4 standard specifies a set of low-level animation parameters for body animation, but does not provide any high-level functionality for the control of avatars or embodied agents. In this paper, we discuss the required features for a script format allowing designers to easily specify complex bodily behaviors, and describe a system and its associated syntax - Body Animation Script (BAS) - which fulfills these requirements in a flexible way. The described architecture allows the organization and parametrization of predefined MPEG-4 animations and their integration with real-time algorithmic animations, such as pointing at a specific location or walking. This system has been implemented at EPFL in the framework of the EU SoNG project, in order to allow intelligent software agents to control their 3D graphical representation and end-users to trigger rich nonverbal behaviors from an online interface. It has been integrated into AML - the Avatar Markup Language.


Importance, Challenges, and Opportunities of Gene-Environment Interactions (GxE) Research: A Study of Parkinson's Disease Nirupama Nini Shridhar Chair of the Supervisory Committee Dr. Karen Edwards Department of Epidemiology Objective. This interdisciplinary dissertation comprised a normative analysis: social justice in genomics research, and a statistical and functional analyses: evaluating gene-environment interactions (GxE) in Parkinson's disease (PD) research. The normative analysis examined the potential for unfair health distribution created by the genomics research agenda, and evaluated research methodologies that may be more socially just. The statistical and functional analyses evaluated gene-environment interactions GxE in PD. GxE are thought to be causal in complex disease risk. Understanding the mechanisms by which GxE alter risk in complex diseases represents a leverage point by which to modify disease biology. The intent here, was to find new susceptibility genes that are mutable (by environmental exposures), and in the causal pathway to PD risk. Smoking has been consistently shown to be associated with reduced risk of developing PD. One of the biggest effects of smoking is DNA methylation. This research used a novel gene selection method by following the environment into the body, by identifying genes that are known to be methylated by smoking. This set up an a priori hypothesis that somewhere along the network of genes known to be methylated by smoking is an interaction with gene networks involved in PD risk. The research also hypothesized that regulatory single nucleotide polymorphisms (rSNPs) on genes that are differentially methylated by smoking act as genetic determinants to epigenetic modifications. Methods. Normative Methods: A normative bioethical analysis was conducted in looking at the question of "what would be a socially just genomics research agenda?''. The analysis used Sen's 'capabilities approach', and work by other capabilities theorists, to define the framework for social justice. This framework was then applied to genomics research to examine social justice in genomics research. Statistical and Functional Methods: GxE association analysis were performed using case-control data from the NeuroGenetics Research Consortium (NGRC). The NGRC data contain 2000 PD cases and 1986 unrelated controls (n= 3986). The dataset, included genotype information for the SNPs on the 39 genes selected (n= 2281), and the environmental factor (smoking use). The genes were tiered based on evidence: Tier 1 (3 genes and 747 SNPs), and Tier 2 (36 genes and 1534 SNPs). The threshold for statistical significance (after adjusting for multiple comparisons) were: Tiers 1 and 2 (p=1.13 x 10 and p=5.67 x 10). Based on the results of the association analysis, the SNP results were then further characterized for functional consequence by synthesizing multiple lines of evidence to identify PD susceptibility genes from the perspective of the environmental exposure. Results. Normative Analysis: Gene-centric approaches do not meet the demands of social justice. GxE approaches have the potential to meet the demands of social justice. It is a socially just method because it could to lead to translational outcomes with public health utility. Association and Functional Analyses: No interactions were statistically significant (in either tier). They were however, statistically suggestive. Layering the functional evidence over the statistical evidence, a single gene emerged in Tier 2 that was statistically suggestive and with significant functional evidence. RARA, a gene in the retinoic acid signaling pathway coding for the protein RARα. The two SNPs showing evidence for functional consequences, (rs2120200 and rs36030243) are SNPs that alter gene expression and bind transcription factors. Results from the association analysis also had two SNPs from the same gene among the top 10 SNPs in the sensitivity analysis (rs12103711 and rs2715553). Rs12103711 is an intronic SNP of RARA (OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.232.65, p = 0.002802) and rs2715553 is a cSNP of RARA (OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.57 0.91, p = 0.00563). Linkage disequilibrium(LD) was evaluated between the four SNPs in RARA (two from the functional analysis, and two from the statistical analysis) to determine if these SNPs were all pinpointing a single signal with evidence for regulation, and found that the four SNPs are in strong LD with each other, although the rs2715553, a cSNP is physically some distance away (35 kb) from the other three SNPs. We found rs2120200 and rs36030243 are likely rSNPs on the RARA gene that interact with smoking and are in LD with a coding SNP on the same gene. Conclusion. To our knowledge, no prior analysis has used a capabilities approach to examine social justice in genomics research. We developed a framework by which to analyze social justice in genomics research, and using a case study of Parkinson's disease (PD), we demonstrated that gene-environment interaction (GxE) methods meet the demands of social justice in genomics research. This exploratory analysis demonstrated that selecting genes by following the effect of the environmental exposure is a valid method of identifying susceptibility genes for complex diseases. We have used a novel approach to identifying genes and characterizing SNP results that warrant further study in understanding the interaction between smoking and PD. For genomic research to be effective and socially just, we need to gain a better understanding of how the environment interacts with genes to modify complex disease risk.


Standing to raise a claim before a judicial tribunal is notoriously contested. Federal courts during the last century developed an increasingly rule-like and rigid doctrine around the concept of private injury to govern access to the federal forum. Some states followed the federal lead. Others have created important exceptions, and even in federal courts, issues like organizational standing, legislative standing, and standing of qui tam relators have proved controversial. We describe a broader taxonomy of agenda control rules, of which standing rules are a special case, to understand why and how courts and other institutions govern their choices of what to decide.

Dividing agenda control rules among ex ante and ex post rules and between procedural, membership-based, and subject matter-based rules, we identify standing as a set of rules analyzing a relationship between the entity raising an issue and the subject matter of the issue that is being proposed for decision. Using the broader toolkit of agenda rules, we analyze basic institutional considerations and how the rules within our taxonomy work together to serve various institutional goals. We elaborate the model using a peculiar standing regime employed by Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals as a concrete case study.


The Gram-negative bacterium Flavobacterium psychrophilum, which is the causative agent of rainbow trout fry syndrome (RTFS), and infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), the causative agent of infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN), are both highly pathogenic for rainbow trout fry. Several 'persistent' cases of RTFS have been observed concomitant with IPNV. Cultivation alone mlght not be sufficient for evaluation of the disease situation as both pathogens can be cultivated from fish that do not show any clinical signs of disease. In such cases it may be difficult to decide whlch pathogen should be considered the primary cause of the mortality observed. Further, it may be difficult to cultivate the bacterium in later stages of the disease or from dead flsh that have been transported without cooling. In the case of (suspected) double infections it is therefore suggested that immunohistochemistry be included as a supplementary diagnostic tool, allowing correlation of the presence of either pathogen with pathological lesions. In the present study, fry representing different stages of RTFS from 3 clinical out- breaks were shown to suffer from ongoing double infections as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and supported by cultivation of the 2 pathogens. The general finding was that single cells of the exocrine pancreas were positive for the virus, whereas bacteria were mainly demonstrated in the interstitial tissue surrounding the pancreatic islets. In some endothelial cells of the head kidney, both pathogens were detected in the same cell. These findings as well as various protocols in relation to the methodology are discussed.


Natural health products (NHPs) include naturally derived botanical and nonbotanical products. Past research indicates a high prevalence of NHPs use amongst adults in the United States and Canada but does not clearly characterize NHPs use amongst students, ethnic variations of such use, or how users learn about NHPs. We hypothesize that there is a difference between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students in how they learn about NHPs. To investigate this question, we conducted a cross-sectional study at First Nations University of Canada and the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, during the fall of 2011. Aboriginal (n=214) and non-Aboriginal (n=749) students participated in the 28 question survey. Our results indicate that Aboriginal students who use NHPs are found in all age groups, are mostly female, are smokers and nonsmokers, and learn about NHPs from Elders and healers. Compared to non- Aboriginal students, Aboriginal students rely significantly less on alternative and conventional health providers, electronic media, print media, and advertising as their sources of information about NHPs. Thus, Aboriginal students use Elders or healers as a primary source of information to learn about NHPs, as compared to non-Aboriginal students. Future work should investigate the role of Elder traditional educators to convey NHPs information


It is necessary to model and analyze the ionospheric effects due to a direct relationship between Global Positioning System (GPS) applications and changes in the ionosphere. In order to monitor these changes, the ionosphere can be represented by the vertical total electron content (VTEC) which can be used to analyze ionospheric conditions from a variety of stations. In this study, 21 stations were used to carry out analysis and estimation of VTEC. Three days during a geomagnetic storm, namely, 7, 8, and 9 January 2005, are chosen for investigation. In addition, the de-correlation time of the VTEC was estimated to define ionospheric variations in time using autocorrelation analysis. The de-correlation time of the ionosphere is based on correlation times estimated by using autocorrelation functions. From the high-latitude stations, the mean of the correlation times decreased from 8 to 6 epochs during a storm. In this time period, it was found from the station results that the ionosphere was more affected at the high-latitude than at the mid-latitude region.


The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, 4505 people per km2 and the only source of water is represent by groundwater. The water quality in Gaza is very poor and the groundwater is affected by many different contaminants sources including soil/water interaction in the unsaturated zone due to recharge and return flows, mobilization of deep brines, sea water intrusion or upcoming and disposal of domestic and industrial wastes into the aquifer. Previous reports on the water quality in Gaza discussed the high levels of major ions (especially of chloride, nitrate and fluoride) in the drinking water. Moreover, little or no information is available for trace elements in the groundwater of the Gaza Strip. The sources of trace elements in groundwater could be natural and anthropogenic. 58 wells were sampled during July 2010, and were analyzed major ions and trace elements to check if the water quality is improving from the previous report. This study has revealed that no groundwater in Gaza Strip meets all WHO drinking water standards. The contaminants which affected the Gaza Strip are of different types and they originate from different sources. The environmental conditions are no safe for the population and some actions to improve the groundwater conditions are necessary to safeguard the population.


Sensors, mobile devices and social platforms generate an immense amount of stream data in various formats and schemata. For these areas, the idea of Linked Stream Data is to extend RDF data model to cope with the heterogeneity of data sources and to enable the data integration—not only among themselves, but also with other existing sources. This would enable a vast range of new, near real-time applications. Such applications drive the demand for processing engines that support continuous queries over Linked Stream Data and Linked Data. These engines must not only support the necessary functionalities but also meet the typical low-latency response requirement of stream processing applications. Since unmodified data stream management systems (DSMSs) and triple storages do not provide full functionalities required by Linked Stream Data processing, the rewriting approach could be used to delegate the processing to those systems. However, this suffers from the overhead of data transformation and does not enable full control over the query execution process. The overhead might be prohibitively expensive for the low-latency response requirement and the lack of full control of the execution process restricts optimisations partially and locally in each underlying sub-system. Moreover, the graph-based model of RDF data poses many challenges to designing a physical storage and optimising the processing when mapped to a relation-based data model. Nevertheless, most techniques and algorithms of DSMSs assume stream data being represented in that way. Therefore, algorithms and techniques for DSMSs and triple stores need to be carefully re-engineered to build an efficient and scalable processing engine for Linked Stream Data and Linked Data. In this work, we present an adaptive and native execution framework for Linked Stream Data and Linked Data, called CQELS (Continuous Query Evaluation over Linked Streams). The framework introduces one of the first continuous query languages over Linked Stream Data and Linked Data which is compatible with SPARQL 1.1. The flexibility of our execution framework enables performance gains of several orders of magnitudes over other related systems. For dealing with large RDF datasets and high update throughput RDF streams, we propose an efficient hybrid physical data organisation using novel data structures that support algorithms for efficient incremental evaluation of continuous query operators over Linked Stream Data. The framework also provides several adaptive optimisation algorithms. To demonstrate the advantages of the framework and of the CQELS processing engine in terms of performance, the thesis provides extensive experimental evaluations. The evaluations cover a comprehensive set of parameters that dictate the performance of a continuous queries over Linked Stream Data and Linked Data.


31 Detection of viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an important component of innate immunity. 32 However, many endogenous RNAs containing double-stranded regions can be misrecognized 33 and activate innate immunity. The interferon inducible ADAR1-p150 suppresses dsRNA 34 sensing, an essential function for ADAR1 in many cancers, including breast. Although ADAR1- 35 p150 has been well established in this role, the functions of the constitutively expressed 36 ADAR1-p110 isoform are less understood. We used proximity labeling to identify putative 37 ADAR1-p110 interacting proteins in breast cancer cell lines. Of the proteins identified, the RNA 38 helicase DHX9 was of particular interest. Knockdown of DHX9 in ADAR1-dependent cell lines 39 caused cell death and activation of the dsRNA sensor PKR. In ADAR1-independent cell lines, 40 combined knockdown of DHX9 and ADAR1, but neither alone, caused activation of multiple 41 dsRNA sensing pathways leading to a viral mimicry phenotype. Together, these results reveal 42 an important role for DHX9 in suppressing dsRNA sensing by multiple pathways. 43


This study addressed delamination detection of concrete slabs by analyzing global dynamic responses of structures. Both numerical and experimental studies are presented. In the numerical examples, delaminations with different sizes and locations were introduced into a concrete slab; the effects of presence, sizes, and locations of delaminations on the modal frequencies and mode shapes of the concrete slab under various support conditions were studied. In the experimental study, four concrete deck specimens with different delamination sizes were constructed, and experimental tests were conducted. Traditional peak-picking, frequency domain decomposition, and stochastic subspace identification methods were applied to the modal identification from dynamic response measurements. The modal parameters identified by these three methods correlated well. The changes in modal frequencies, damping ratios, and mode shapes that were extracted from the dynamic measurements were investigated and correlated to the actual delaminations and can indicate presence and severity of delamination. Finite element (FE) models of reinforced concrete decks with different delamination sizes and locations were established. The modal parameters computed from the FE models were compared to those obtained from the laboratory specimens, and the FE models were validated. The delamination detection approach was proved to be effective for concrete decks on beams.


With House Of Glass comes the final chapter of Pramoedya's epic quartet, set in the Dutch East Indies at the turn of the century. A novel of heroism, passion, and betrayal, it provides a spectacular conclusion to a series hailed as one of the great works of modern literature. At the start of House of Glass, Minke, writer and leader of the dissident movement, is now imprisoned - and the narrative has switched to Pangemanann, a former policeman, who has the task of spying and reporting on those who continue the struggle for independence. But the hunter is becoming the hunted. Pangemanann is a victim of his own conscience and has come to admire his adversaries. He must decide whether the law is to safeguard the rights of the people or to control the people. He fears the loss of his position, his family, and his self-respect. At last Pangemanann sees that his true opponents are not Minke and his followers, but rather the dynamism and energy of a society awakened.


We report on the design and experimental validation of a distributed Brillouin-based optical fiber sensor embedded into concrete structures for temperature and strain measurement. A composite-made wave-like coating designed by finite-element analysis ensures the sensor is transferring optimally temperature and strain fields from the concrete to the optical fiber, where Brillouin scattering takes place. During all experiments, sensors have been interrogated with a commercially available Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometer unit. First, temperature sensitivity of the Brillouin frequency shift were evaluated in PANDA and SMF28 optical fibers, before wrapping them into the specific sheath for embedment into a 3 m-long reinforced concrete beam. Temperature measurements during concrete beam casting agreed with reference measurements, and showed the significant sensor coating influence. A month later, strain measurements performed during a four-point bending experiment showed promising results: linearity and reliability of measurements were demonstrated, under tensile as well as compressive loadings.


A method of fault detection and classification (FDC) for semiconductor manufacturing equipment e-diagnostics using equipment data is presented. Detecting faulty processes, identifying any anomaly at their onsets, and rapidly classifying the root cause of the fault are crucial for maximizing equipment utilization in current semiconductor manufacturing; however, tool data acquired from production equipment contains much information that is often challenging to analyze due to its sheer volume and complexity. In this paper, modular neural network (MNN) modeling is presented as a method for fault detection modeling in plasma etching. Based on the result from the MNN modeling, a tool data set is grouped according to its related subsystems, and FDC is performed using Dempster-Shafer (D-S) theory to address the uncertainty associated with fault diagnosis. Subsystem level fault detections, such as radio frequency (RF) power source module, RF power bias module, gas delivery module, and process chamber module, are presented by combining related parameters, and successful fault detection is achieved. The evidential reasoning of RF probe is also beneficial for the detection of chamber leak simulation, and the classification of fault is made by further investigating voltage signal of RF probe. Successful fault detection in subsystem level with zero missed alarms was demonstrated using D-S theory of evidential reasoning, and the classification for finding root cause of the fault is presented in the chamber leak fault simulation. We realized that successful FDC can be accomplished by combining various related information and by incorporating engineering expert knowledge.


Cells of the pathogenic bacterium Proteus mirabilis clump together to form colonies that, on meeting other colonies, can distinguish self from foreigners. Proteus detects, then deters, interlopers of the same species using polypeptide weapons called proticines. Gibbs et al. investigated the genetic basis of this self-non-self recognition system in Proteus and discovered a locus of six genes that seem to constitute general and specific recognition determinants, as well as accessory genes. Within infected hosts, P. mirabilis infections are usually clonal, so this recognition system could be a way for an established clone to prevent superinfection by another clone and to avoid competition. K. A. Gibbs, M. L. Urbanowski, E. P. Greenberg, Genetic determinants of self identity and social recognition in bacteria. Science 321, 256-259 (2008). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Effective HIV prevention requires knowledge of the structure and dynamics of the social networks across which infections are transmitted. These networks most commonly comprise chains of sexual relationships, but in some populations, sharing of contaminated needles is also an important, or even the main mechanism that connects people in the network. Whereas network data have long been collected during survey interviews, new data sources have become increasingly common in recent years, because of advances in molecular biology and the use of partner notification services in HIV prevention and treatment programmes. We review current and emerging methods for collecting HIV-related network data, as well as modelling frameworks commonly used to infer network parameters and map potential HIV transmission pathways within the network. We discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of existing methods and models, and we propose a research agenda for advancing network analysis in HIV epidemiology. We make the case for a combination approach that integrates multiple data sources into a coherent statistical framework.


Urodilatin is a recently described member of the atrial natriuretic peptide family, thought possibly to be synthesized in the kidney. To determine if urodilatin binding sites are present in rat and human kidney, we evaluated the effect of urodilatin on iodine-125-labeled atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) (100 pM) binding to tissue sections using an in situ autoradiographic technique. 125I-ANP binding occurred primarily in glomeruli and medullary structures of both rat and human kidney. Increasing concentrations of urodilatin yielded a monophasic displacement of 125I-ANP binding with an IC50 of 4.2 nM, a value nearly identical to that achieved with unlabeled ANP (7.2 nM). In additional experiments, rat glomeruli and inner medullary collecting duct cells were isolated and incubated in vitro with either ANP or urodilatin (10(-11) to 10(-6) M) and cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate accumulation measured by radioimmunoassay. Dose-response curves for the two peptides were superimposable in each tissue; at 10(-6) M, ANP generated 613 +/- 41 and urodilatin 603 +/- 55 fmol cyclic guanosine monophosphate per 10 minutes per milligram protein in inner medullary collecting duct cells (p = NS). Thus, urodilatin is as effective as ANP in displacing 125I-ANP binding to both rat and human renal tissue and in generating cyclic guanosine monophosphate in renal target cells in the rat, suggesting that its physiological effects may occur through the same receptors and signaling pathways that mediate the actions of ANP.


In Atwater v. City of Lago Vista the Supreme Court upheld the arrest and jailing of a woman for a seat belt violation even though her offense was punishable only with a small fine, and there was no reason why the police officer could not have simply issued a citation. Atwater thus permits, and indeed encourages, unnecessary and disproportionate arrests (along with the various searches and other hardships which routinely accompany an arrest). The extremely broad arrest power recognized by the Court also creates a grave potential for abuse in light of the breadth of modern traffic laws (almost every driver violates some minor traffic rule), the broad search powers which accompany an arrest, the documented tendency for some officers to engage in pretextual investigations and/or racial profiling, and the absence of effective legal limits on pretexts and profiling. The Atwater decision is puzzling as well as troubling. The majority opinion admits that Ms. Atwater's arrest was "pointless" and, as explained in this article, the Court's reasons for upholding her arrest are not persuasive. This decision can best be explained in the context of other recent Fourth Amendment cases which, like Atwater, reveal the Court's attempts to limit further applications of case-specific "reasonableness balancing." However, even if the concerns underlying this latent trend are valid, they did not justify the decision in Atwater. The proper resolution of a case like Atwater can benefit from, and contribute to, current theories of constitutional interpretation. Atwater shows the severe limitations of originalism and textualism, but it adds considerable support to (and helps to further refine) Professor Cass Sunstein's theory of "minimalism" - that the Court should generally decide cases narrowly both in terms of the scope of the ruling and its reasoning. The facts and case-specific policy arguments in Ms. Atwater's case were compelling, and the Court's broad grant of arrest power risks many adverse unintended consequences. The Court easily could and should have ruled narrowly, deciding only that, for non-jailable traffic violations, the police must show a legitimate need to arrest rather than issue a citation. These legitimate needs are well defined in statutes and rules found in a number of states. Given the broad scope of traffic laws, and the infrequent circumstances which justify arrest for these minor violations, strict limitations on arrest powers are both essential and administratively feasible. All states should enact similar limitations by statute or criminal rule; if such limitations are not forthcoming, courts should not hesitate to recognize them under state constitutions.


By using X-ray diffraction and immunochemical techniques, we have exploited the use of monoclonal antibodies raised against hen egg lysozyme (HEL) to study systematically those factors responsible for the high specificity of antigen-antibody interactions. HEL was chosen for our investigations because its three-dimensional structure and immunochemistry have been well characterized and because naturally occurring sequence variants from different avian species are readily available to test the fine specificity of the antibodies. The X-ray crystal structure of a complex formed between HEL and the Fab D1.3 shows a large complementary surface with close interatomic contacts between antigen and antibody. Thus single amino acid sequence changes in heterologous antigens give antigen-antibody association constants that are several orders of magnitude smaller than that of the homologous antigen. For example, a substitution of His for Glu at position 121 in the antigen is sufficient to diminish significantly the binding between D1.3 and the variant lysozyme. The conformation of HEL when complexed to D1.3 shows no significant difference from that seen in the free molecule, and immunobinding studies with other anti-HEL antibodies suggest that this observation may be generally true for the system of monoclonal antibodies that we have studied.


I. INTRODUCTIONThe world-class resorts that shape Las Vegas' neon skyline draw millions of visitors each year. These tourists are the lifeblood of the economy, and they come to enjoy the attractions and densely concentrated along Las Vegas Boulevard. resort district, known as the Strip, offers visiting pedestrians architectural views, inexpensive meals, live sidewalk shows, access to numerous hotel-casinos. However, while these attractions have been proven to effectively generate profits for resort owners, another force now aggressively competes for the time and attention of would-be resort patrons.Visitors walking along the Strip are constantly bombarded with adult- themed handbills distributed by off-premises canvassers.1 The majority of this material depicts graphic advertisements for referral services that provide erotic dancers directly to visitors' hotel rooms.2Because of its dense concentration of relatively new resorts, the Strip is often inundated with pedestrians using inadequately sized sidewalks to travel between attractions.3 This congestion has created what county commissioners have termed a "captive audience" for opportunistic adult outcall businesses, which use canvassers to obstruct high-traffic areas, effectively forcing their handbills on visitors.4 To make matters worse, the frequency of pedestrian delay has increased significantly during recent years as a result of fierce competition between outcall services. Because each service aims to outsell its competitors, each has the incentive to have the largest canvassing presence in the most congested locations.5 This "competitive cycle" has resulted in a glut of handbillers lining both sides of the Strip's bottlenecked sidewalks, creating gauntlets of graphic advertising "through which pedestrians must pass and in which the pedestrians are forced to take the proffered advertising."6 Occasionally, pedestrians wishing to avoid the graphic material are forced into the dangerous street as they attempt to bypass the cordons of canvassers.7This competitive and congested atmosphere has resulted in tourist harassment, physical disputes among canvassers, and extreme amounts of sexually charged litter.8 These conditions directly affect resort patronage, particularly at the resorts abutting premium canvassing locations.9 As a result, between 1994 and 1996, numerous resorts and other businesses brought civil actions to enjoin canvassers from engaging in such obstructive and abusive practices. This led to the issuance of over twenty court orders concerning pedestrian abuse.10Recognizing the need to regulate aggressive canvassing tactics, Clark County has repeatedly attempted to enact a legislative solution. In 1994, county commissioners enacted the Obstructive Use Ordinance in an effort to alleviate sidewalk congestion by criminalizing pedestrian obstruction.11 Unlike later restrictions, this ordinance did not implicate canvassers' expressive rights, but instead prohibited them from "stacking and storing their distribution materials on sidewalks."12 However, as is evident from the litany of injunctions issued after its passage,13 the Obstructive Use Ordinance failed to prevent pedestrian obstruction.In 1996, the county made a second legislative attempt to resolve its persistent concerns for pedestrian safety. It patterned the new ordinance after a law previously enacted in Key West, Florida, a tourist community with similar canvassing problems. On its face, the Key West ordinance completely banned all off-premises canvassing in the city's tourist district,14 and, like the Clark County ordinance, it was enacted only after less restrictive efforts had failed. The Key West model was attractive to Clark County's commissioners because it was both demonstrably effective and had survived a First Amendment challenge at the Eleventh Circuit.15Clark County's version of the ordinance, known as Section 16.12, took effect on January 1, 1997, and made it a misdemeanor to engage in "off-premises canvassing" within the Las Vegas Resort District. …


Pair programming is a software development method which describes two programmers working together on the same computer, sharing one keyboard. This approach requires programmers to communicate frequently, which can lead the pair to experience certain benefits over solo programming, such as faster problem solving and a greater enjoyment of their work (Cockburn and Williams, 2001, Bryant et al., 2006). Many programmers approach their first pairing experience with scepticism, having doubts about their partner's working habits and programming style, and about the additional communication aspects that this programming style entails (Williams et al., 2000). Despite a significant amount of research into pair programming of over 15 years, it is not evident what communication between the pair contributes to the task of pair programming. This work presents an analytic coding scheme which was derived from the observation of the communication of expert pairs working in industry. Over 35 hours of communication across 11 different pairs was analysed. This coding scheme was further refined to produce industry-inspired pair programming guidelines that assist novice pair programmers to improve their experience of pair communication. Findings indicate that introducing these guidelines to novice student pairs can have a positive impact on their perception of intra-pair communication, and on their perception of their partner's contribution. Feedback received from expert pairs was used to add detail to the guidelines, which have been made publically available through an online resource.


As an emerging complex concept, GeoDesign requires an innovative theoretical basis, tools, supports and practices. For this reason, we propose a new concept, "WikiGIS", designed to answer some dimensions of the GeoDesign process. WikiGIS focuses on the needs of GeoDesign, but we leave the door open for future improvement when tested in other areas that may have additional needs. WikiGIS is built on Web 2.0 technologies—and primarily on wiki—to manage the tracking of participants' editing (i.e., managing the contributions history). It also offers GIS functions for geoprocessing and a design-based approach for sketching proposals. One of the main strengths of WikiGIS is its ability to manage the traceability of contributions with an easy and dynamical access, data quality and deltification. The core of this paper consists of presenting a conceptual framework for WikiGIS using UML diagrams. A user interface is presented later to show how our WikiGIS proposal works. This interface is simply a means to illustrate the concepts underlying WikiGIS.


In this article we present a detailed description of the event structure of the reciprocal situations expressed lexically in Spanish. The description is based on the sentences extracted from a Spanish corpus. We put forward a proposal that involves differentiating between t he simple or multiple nature of the reciprocal event and also between the independent or dependent relation of the subevents that make up a reciprocal situation. We characterize reciprocal verbs according to an aspectual typology and we also contribute a new analysis of the so-called collective verbs in order to distinguish them from reciprocal predicates. Finally, we propose a redefinition of the condition of bidirectionality for reciprocal situations.


In a search problem, an agent uses the membership oracle of a target concept to find a positive example of the concept. In a shaped search problem the agent is aided by a sequence of increasingly restrictive concepts leading to the target concept (analogous to behavioral shaping). The concepts are given by membership oracles, and the agent has to find a positive example of the target concept while minimizing the total number of oracle queries. We show that for the concept class of intervals on the real line an agent using a bounded number of queries per oracle exists. In contrast, for the concept class of unions of two intervals on the real line no agent with a bounded number of queries per oracle exists. We then investigate the (amortized) number of queries per oracle needed for the shaped search problem over other concept classes. We explore the following methods to obtain efficient agents. For axis-parallel rectangles we use a bootstrapping technique to obtain gradually better approximations of the target concept. We show that given rectangles R ⊆ A ⊆ ℝd one can obtain a rectangle A' ⊇ R with vol(A') / vol(R) ≤ 2, using only O(d ⋅ vol(A) / vol(R)) random samples from A. For ellipsoids of bounded eccentricity in ℝd we analyze a deterministic ray-shooting process which uses a sequence of rays to get close to the centroid. Finally, we use algorithms for generating random points in convex bodies (Dyer et al., 1991; Kannan et al., 1997) to give a randomized agent for the concept class of convex bodies. In the final section, we explore connections between our bootstrapping method and active learning. Specifically, we use the bootstrapping technique for axis-parallel rectangles to active learn axis-parallel rectangles under the uniform distribution in O(d ln(1/e)) labeled samples.


Most people with dementia remain living at home as long as possible after being diagnosed, and hence their lives also include activities in the public space. The aim of this study was to illuminate experiences of accessibility in public space in people with Alzheimer's disease. A qualitative grounded theory approach with repeated in-depth interviews was used. The core category, accessibility as a constantly changing experience, was characterized by changes in the relationship between informants and public space. Changes in the relationship took place in activities and use of place and related to familiarity and comfort, individual motives and interests, and planning and protecting. Other changes occurred in places and problematic situations related to everyday technologies, crowded places with high tempo and noise, and change of landmarks. These changes reduced feelings of accessibility and increased difficulties in carrying out activities in public space. These findings may be helpful when providing support, and supporting community living.


Investigation of the features of the transition of self-oscillations of current from one type to another in highly compensated silicon doped with impurity atoms of manganese, zinc and sulfur is of great interest from the point of view of studying both the mechanisms of self-sustained oscillations of the current and the physics of nonequilibrium processes. Based on the results obtained and the analysis performed, it has been established that the observed self-oscillations of the current in strongly compensated silicon are associated with nanoclusters of primus atoms. A model of a strongly compensated semiconductor is proposed to explain the mechanism of self-oscillations of the current in strongly compensated silicon, taking into account the multi-charge character of nano-clusters of atoms. It was found that the proposed model is in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results.