The relationship between cultural models, social support and quality of family environment in context with different degrees of urbanization. The present study aimed to investigate the differences in perceived social support for mothers of three contexts with distinct urbanization; to analyze the correlation of support with the quality of the family environment and to establish which variables models explain the perceived support in each context. A total of 150 mothers living in three contexts answered a questionnaire about sociodemographic data, items of current quality of family life and Scale of Social Support. Through the statistical analysis it has been found significant differences in dimensions of Social Support, with best perception of the Affective and Emotional support in Eastern context and lower perception for material support in the Capital. In regression models, the number of children and current quality of family life proved to be the predictors of support. It has been concluded that the quality of family environment is important in supporting and both individual characteristics and cultural characteristics should be considered when investigating social support.


This report is a terminal evaluation of a UN Environment-GEF project implemented between 2011 and 2017. The project's overall development goal was to build capacity in Kiribati to more effectively manage a large protected area in the form of PIPA and create a sustainable financing system for such large sites that could be used as a model for application elsewhere. The evaluation sought to assess project performance (in terms of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency), and determine outcomes and impacts (actual and potential) stemming from the project, including their sustainability. The evaluation has two primary purposes: (i) to provide evidence of results to meet accountability requirements, and (ii) to promote learning, feedback, and knowledge sharing through results and lessons learned among UN Environment, the GEF and their executing partner the Government of Kiribati Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development and the project partners and stakeholders.


Title of Document: REGULATION OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO VIRULENCE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI Arindam Mitra, Doctor of Philosophy, 2008 Directed By: Assistant Professor, Dr. Suman Mukhopadhyay, Department of Veterinary Medicine Extraintestinal pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli cause a wide range of diseases including colibacillosis in chickens and urinary tract infections in humans. Persistent infections in E. coli and other gram-negative species are associated with populationdependent physiological processes such as cell-cell signaling and biofilm formation. Such social behaviors require careful coordination and modulation of gene expression in response to environmental cues. Adaptive response of bacteria in new environment is predominantly achieved through a signaling cascade called twocomponent regulatory systems. The function of the BarA/UvrY two-component regulatory system and its downstream factors in controlling virulence associated processes, specifically regulation of AI-2 based signaling and biofilm formation was investigated. In E. coli, a type of cell-cell signaling termed Quorum Sensing involves release, detection, and response to small molecule called autoinducer (AI-2), synthesis of which is dependent on luxS gene products via methyl cycle. The BarA-UvrY and Csr system displayed dual regulation on luxS expression at the level of transcription and post-transcription. The uptake of AI-2 by the Lsr transporter is also modulated by the signaling cascade suggested a balance between AI-2 synthesis and uptake in the cell. The role of transcriptional regulator uvrY in biofilm formation in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli was also studied. Mutation of uvrY reduced expression of fimA and papA, major fimbrial subunit of Type 1 and Pap pilus respectively. Acidic exopolysaccharide accumulation and the ability to swarm are also being impaired. Finally, uvrY mutants demonstrated poor colonization in kidneys and bladders in an ascending model of UTI. Overall, the effect of uvrY on biofilm formation seems to be multi-factorial and might play a critical role in adaptation and colonization of UPEC. The fine tuning of processes associated with cell-cell communication and biofilm formation at the level of transcription and post-transcription by the BarA/UvrY/CsrA signaling cascade indicated that this system might be crucial for quick adaptation, social behavior, colonization and virulence attributes in Escherichia coli. REGULATION OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO VIRULENCE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI


A microRNA-based therapeutic approach could be used to promote cardiac regeneration through the transient activation of cardiomyocyte proliferation. With limited ability to repair itself after injury, the mature heart may need to look to development for some lessons. By reactivating pathways that are present during mammalian development, it may be possible to encourage cardiac regeneration. In mice, Tian et al. found that the microRNA cluster mir302-367 stimulates cardiomyocyte proliferation during early heart development by inhibiting the Hippo pathway. Transient treatment with miR302-367 mimics promoted cardiac regeneration in mice after myocardial infarction, suggesting that such small RNAs can be harnessed therapeutically to repair the adult heart. Y. Tian, Y. Liu, T. Wang, N. Zhou, J. Kong, L. Chen, M. Snitow, M. Morley, D. Li, N. Petrenko, S. Zhou, M. Lu, E. Gao, W. J. Koch, K. M. Stewart, E. E. Morrisey, A microRNA-Hippo pathway that promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation and cardiac regeneration in mice. Sci. Transl. Med. 7, 279ra38 (2015). [Abstract] G. Tao, J. Wang, J. F. Martin, Small RNA: From development to regeneration. Sci. Transl. Med. 7, 279fs12 (2015). [Abstract]


This research examined the context of incised stones in the Great Basin. Incised stones are small tabular shaped stones, that are easily portable, and have designs incised on the surface. The Great Basin is located in western North America and encompasses a roximately California, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. The landscape was used by prehistoric hunter-gatherers for over 10,000 years. The incised stones were left at caves, rock-shelters and open-air sites. This research focused on five sites that are either caves or rock shelters: Camels Back Cave, Gatecliff Shelter, Hogup Cave, Ruby Cave and Swallow Shelter. Context was used as a fundamental theoretical lens to approach incised stones. A contextual analysis was achieved by employing three analytical methods: chronology, spatial analysis, and design grammar. The chronology of incised stones was discussed in terms of how climate trends affect the number of incised stones left at sites. The spatial analysis examined the incised stones through a chronology at the unit or trench level. The design grammar classifies the imagery of the incised stones. The design grammars were contextualised into the spatial placement of the designs and analysed. The results of this doctoral thesis will highlight how incised stones were connected with specific activities. Interpretations of the incised stones are inferred from this research.


This report presents an empirical typology of pension regimes in the European Union, the US, Canada, Australia and Norway. The categorisation is based on 34 quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the mandatory parts of the pension systems in these countries. The empirical analysis shows that Esping-Andersen's classical distinction between liberal, corporatist and social-democratic welfare regime types does not entirely hold in the case of pension systems. The empirical traits of the various pension systems can be summarised on two main dimensions: the general level of pension provision and the existence of private schemes within the mandatory part of the pension system. On these dimensions four clusters of countries, or pension regime types, have been identified empirically. Two of those are as one would theoretically expect: the corporatist group has rather high earnings-related pension benefits, while the liberal pension regime type provides a more basic, means-tested pension. However, two other clusters are not in line with the standard classification of welfare regimes. In the 'moderate pensions' cluster, the level of pension provision is lower than in the corporatist countries, but it surpasses the standards attained by countries with a liberal pension regime. In countries belonging to the 'mandatory private' cluster, the government obliges employees to participate in private pension schemes, which are generally funded and based on defined contributions. The pension level in this group is moderate or high.


Abstract. In this article, we describe the first operational implementation of the GHER hydrodynamic model. This happened onboard the research vessel "Alliance", in the context of the Turkish Straits System 2008 campaign, which aimed at the real-time characterization of the Marmara Sea and (south-western) Black Sea. The model performed badly at first, mainly because of poor initial conditions. Hence, as the model includes a reduced-rank extended Kalman filter assimilation scheme, after a hindcast where sea surface temperature and temperature and salinity profiles were assimilated, the model yielded realistic forecasts. Furthermore, the time required to run a one-day simulation (about 5 min of simulation, or 10 min with pre-processing and data transfers included) is very limited and thus operational use of the model is possible.


Urban Agriculture (UA) has been promoted as an activity with the potential to bring food production closer to the point of consumption, to contribute to urban food security, strengthen community cohesion and to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of those involved. UA is often associated with informal, grassroots action; however more formal initiatives, often organised by large institutions or special interest groups, have become more common in recent years. While proponents cite assumed social benefits of formal UA, there is still much to be explored regarding the way in which the practice is perceived and experienced by its participants. As institution-led urban food projects proliferate across the UK amidst austerity-induced local authority cutbacks, it is important to consider not only how these imposed ventures affect the people they are intended to help, but also to unravel the motives and methods of those who manage the projects. Real Food Wythenshawe (RFW) is an example of such a project and was awarded £1 million by the Big Lottery to pioneer the practice of UA in Wythenshawe, South Manchester. The project, which is run by staff at Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, seeks to encourage the people of Wythenshawe to grow and cook fresh, healthy, local food and has stimulated the development of several UA activities across the area. This research adopted a case study approach to seek an in-depth appreciation of how participants of two UA sites - a community garden and an urban farm - perceive and interact with growing spaces that have been developed or restored by RFW. It also explored the ambitions of the team who designed the project and the motivations driving its implementation. Results presented here, show that RFW staff were motivated by a desire to help the local population and to change public perceptions of Wythenshawe, promoting it as a green and pleasant place to live. Growing group members were largely motivated to attend the growing sessions through a desire to help others and to socialise, which can be considered as a type of "Do It Yourself (DIY) citizenship" or "quiet sustainability", whereby UA participants are not explicitly driven by a desire for radical social change. The resulting impacts experienced by those interviewed at both sites were wide-ranging and included increased growing knowledge leading to home-growing and sharing of produce, increased social confidence, strengthened community bonds, therapy and friendship. Results suggest that volunteers at the urban farm may have had a more rewarding experience if they were afforded a greater sense of autonomy and ownership over the project activities. Similarly, the project may have been able to strengthen relationships with partnering organisations through a decentralisation of control and budget, which may have had the effect of increasing the initiative's impact and reach. These results are discussed with reference to the growing body of UA literature, and suggestions for future work place the initial findings within the context of the wider research framework.


We present the first developmental model of interval timing. It is a memory-based connectionist model of how infants learn to perceive time. It has two novel features that are not found in other models. First, it uses the uncertainty of a memory for an event as an index of how long ago that event happened. Secondly, embodiment – specifically, infant motor activity – is crucial to the calibration of time-perception both within and across sensory modalities. We describe the model and present three simulations which show (1) how it uses sensory memory uncertainty and bodily representaions to index time, (2) that the scalar property of interval timing (Gibbon, 1977) emerges naturally from this network and (3) that motor activity can synchronize independent timing mechanisms across different sensory modalities.


We introduce a new kind of projection dynamics by employing a ray-projection both locally and globally. By global (local) we mean a projection of a vector (close to the unit simplex) unto the unit simplex along a ray through the origin. Using a correspondence between local and global ray-projection dynamics we prove that every interior evolutionarily stable strategy is an asymptotically stable fixed point. We also show that every strict equilibrium is an evolutionarily stable state and an evolutionarily stable equilibrium. Then, we employ several projections on a wider set of functions derived from the payoff structure. This yields an interesting class of so-called generalized projection dynamics which contains best-response, logit, replicator, and Brown-Von-Neumann dynamics among others.


Vehicle Ad hoc Networks (V ANET) have been proposed to provide safety on the road and deliver road traffic information and route guidance to drivers along with commercial applications. However the challenges facing V ANET are numerous. Nodes move at high speeds, road side units and basestations are scarce, the topology is constrained by the road geometry and changes rapidly, and the number of nodes peaks suddenly in traffic jams. In this thesis we investigate the physical and link layers of V ANET and propose methods to achieve high data rates and high throughput. For the physical layer, we examine the use of Vertical BLAST (VB LAST) systems as they provide higher capacities than single antenna systems in rich fading environments. To study the applicability of VB LAST to VANET, a channel model was developed and verified using measurement data available in the literature. For no to medium line of sight, VBLAST systems provide high data rates. However the performance drops as the line of sight strength increases due to the correlation between the antennas. Moreover, the performance of VBLAST with training based channel estimation drops as the speed increases since the channel response changes rapidly. To update the channel state information matrix at the receiver, a channel tracking algorithm for flat fading channels was developed. The algorithm updates the channel matrix thus reducing the mean square error of the estimation and improving the bit error rate (BER). The analysis of VBLAST-OFDM systems showed they experience an error floor due to inter-carrier interference (lCI) which increases with speed, number of antennas transmitting and number of subcarriers used. The update algorithm was extended to VBLAST -OFDM systems and it showed improvements in BER performance but still experienced an error floor. An algorithm to equalise the ICI contribution of adjacent subcarriers was then developed and evaluated. The ICI equalisation algorithm reduces the error floor in BER as more subcarriers are equalised at the expense of more hardware complexity. The connectivity of V ANET was investigated and it was found that for single lane roads, car densities of 7 cars per communication range are sufficient to achieve high connectivity within the city whereas 12 cars per communication range are required for highways. Multilane roads require higher densities since cars tend to cluster in groups. Junctions and turns have lower connectivity than straight roads due to disconnections at the turns. Although higher densities improve the connectivity and, hence, the performance of the network layer, it leads to poor performance at the link layer. The IEEE 802.11 p MAC layer standard under development for V ANET uses a variant of Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA). 802.11 protocols were analysed mathematically and via simulations and the results prove the saturation throughput of the basic access method drops as the number of nodes increases thus yielding very low throughput in congested areas. RTS/CTS access provides higher throughput but it applies only to unicast transmissions. To overcome the limitations of 802.11 protocols, we designed a protocol known as SOFT MAC which combines Space, Orthogonal Frequency and Time multiple access techniques. In SOFT MAC the road is divided into cells and each cell is allocated a unique group of subcarriers. Within a cell, nodes share the available subcarriers using a combination of TDMA and CSMA. The throughput analysis of SOFT MAC showed it has superior throughput compared to the basic access and similar to the RTS/CTS access of 802.11.


The broadcasting sector is a subject of continual debate in modern society. One of the oldest segments of the rapidly-evolving information technology and communications industry, it is still the most content rich and the most popular. Australians who watch television spend more time doing so than doing any other leisure activity - except those who fish (ABS 1998). Broadcasting is highly pervasive. Some kind of service is available and used in every Australian household. Everyone is an expert, everyone has an opinion. Since the Federal Government decided to allow the introduction of domestic subscription television in 1992, pay television has been broadly dismissed by its media rivals as being unpopular, unprofitable and unnecessary. In turn, the Australian pay television industry considers that it is over-regulated, especially compared to the free-to-air sector, and that much of this regulation severely constrains its ability to grow its subscriber base. This thesis examines whether the Australian subscription television industry has achieved the aims set for it by the legislators in 1992 - that is, whether it has 'met its promise'. To achieve this, the thesis first identifies the 'promises' of an Australian subscription television industry. In assessing whether the industry has met its promise, the thesis considers various aspects of the industry, including what the industry has needed to do to make itself profitable and ensure its longevity and the environment within which the industry operates. The thesis examines the role that content plays in attracting subscribers and considers whether minimal content regulation has resulted in a paucity of local content on subscription television in Australia. The thesis draws on existing academic literature, government publications, information released by the subscription television industry itself and interviews conducted in the course of the project with the Australian subscription television sector. It also uses and builds on ratings data to examine the programs and channels that are offered by Australian pay television services. In concluding, this thesis makes an assessment of whether the Australian pay television industry has met its promise.


1. An improved method is presented for quantifying all the information relating to individual kidney function that is contained in the renogram. 2. From the convolution theorem, functions are derived which are equivalent to the renograms that would be obtained by simultaneous injections of the indicator into each renal artery, fractionated according to renal blood flow. 3. The 'pulse-input' renograms so derived can have the blood background subtracted by a process of 'kinetic discrimination', which dispenses with the prior injection of human serum albumin. 4. The 'pulse-input' renograms with blood background subtracted are analysed by the techniques used in conventional indicator dilution methods. 5. The value of this approach in clinical and experimental work is illustrated by comparison of examples drawn from 400 consecutive studies of patients with normal data.


Recent assessments of future risk to atoll habitability have focused on island erosion and submergence, and have overlooked the effects of other climate‐related drivers, as well as differences between ocean basins and island types. Here we investigate the cumulative risk arising from multiple drivers (sea‐level rise; changes in rainfall, ocean–atmosphere oscillations and tropical cyclone intensity; ocean warming and acidification) to five Habitability Pillars: Land, Freshwater supply, Food supply, Settlements and infrastructure, and Economic activities. Risk is assessed for urban and rural islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5, in 2050 and 2090, and considering a moderate adaptation scenario. Risks will be highest in the Western Pacific which will experience increased island destabilization together with a high threat to freshwater, and decreased land‐based and marine food supply from reef‐dependent fish and tuna and tuna‐like resources. Risk accumulation will occur at a lower rate in the Central Pacific (lower pressure on land, with more limited cascading effects on other Habitability Pillars; increase in pelagic fish stocks) and the Central Indian Ocean (mostly experiencing increased land destabilization and reef degradation). Risk levels will vary significantly between urban islands, depending on geomorphology and local shoreline disturbances. Rural islands will experience less contrasting risk levels, but higher risks than urban islands in the second half of the century.


This article examines the governance of Islamic finance in two non-Muslim-majority sites of its expansion, the United States and the United Kingdom. An alternative form of economic rationality is being constructed and practiced across diverse sociospatial contexts to produce what we term cosmopolitan financial geographies. Building from recent debates about territoriality, embeddedness, and relationality in economic geography, we respond to calls for a more complex treatment of agency, developing the concept of cosmopolitan legalities to capture the dynamic multiterritorial, relational governance of Islamic banking and finance (IBF) that melds Western and Islamic financial rules and practices through the embodied religious authority of Shari'a scholars. These complex legalities demonstrate the significance of postcolonial and religious sociospatial contexts in the formation of financial markets suggestive of an evolving postcolonial political economy of "south-driven" alliances in a financial landscape dominated by neoliberal rationalities and subjectivities. The development of IBF has at the same time prompted regulatory shifts in the United States and United Kingdom, demonstrating the ongoing coconstitution of Islamic and interest-based financial markets.


Oceanic baroclinic modes in the equatorial Pacific are estimated using results from the SODA system. Our result suggests that the vertical stratification increases at the upper levels after the late 1970s due to changes in the vertical temperature structure. After the late 1970s, the variability of the higher‐order baroclinic mode contributions to current anomalies and surface pressure significantly increases in the central equatorial Pacific. This is associated with an increase of the dominant period of the ENSO variability. Simple coupled model experiments indicate that when atmospheric forcing projects more onto the higher baroclinic modes according to the results of the SODA decomposition, the amplitude and dominant period of ENSO increase similarly to what is observed at the Pacific decadal shift. Our results support that the changes in the behavior of ENSO after the late 1970s are associated with oceanic vertical structural changes in temperature that tend to increase the contribution of higher‐order baroclinic modes.


Gas sensors have a wide application in everyday life, whether in industry, medical, agriculture and environmental monitoring. A good sensor should be selective, sensitive, responsive, reliable and cost effective. Currently available gas sensors are lacking in one or more of these criteria. Therefore, there is a need to develop new sensing materials and technologies.

Carbon nanotubes have a potential to be developed as a new gas sensing material due to their inherent properties such as small, high strength, high electrical and thermal conductivity, and high specific surface area. As a result, it is possible to create a miniaturized sensor, which can lead to low power consumption, lighter and low cost.

This research was carried out to investigate the absorption effect of the following selected gases namely, carbon dioxide, ammonia, acetylene, natural gas and hydrogen towards the change of resistance of CNTs pellet as sensor signal. CNTs used in this research were synthesized by means of Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition (FC-CVD) method. Benzene was used as a hydrocarbon source while ferrocene as a source of catalyst with Hydrogen and Argon as carrier and purge gas respectively.

From the research, it can be concluded that FC-CVD method produced high quality CNTs at temperature range of 750˚C-850˚C. CNTs show high sensitivity towards ammonia, acetylene and carbon dioxide at room temperature. Maximum increment in CNTs pellets' resistance upon exposure to ammonia, acetylene and carbon dioxide are 21.75, 26.53 and 18.91 respectively. However, for natural gas and hydrogen no detection was observed at room temperature. It is predicted that sensor activity can be enhanced by doping the CNTs and/or increasing the temperature of the sensing activity.

It is expected that many applications of CNT-based sensors will be explored in future as the interest of the nanotechnology research community in this field increases. However, CNTs have yet to overcome many technological barriers in order to fulfill their potential as the preferred material for sensor applications.


This work introduces a novel information visualization technique for mobile devices through Augmented Reality (AR). A painting boundary detector and a features extraction modules have been implemented to compute paintings signatures. The computed signatures are matched using a linear weighted combination of the extracted features. The detected boundaries and the features are exploited to compute the homography transformations. The homography transformations are used to introduce a novel user interaction technique for AR. Three different user interfaces have been evaluated using standard usability methods.


Sketches of everyday atrocity In his introduction to the 1984 edition of Walter Abish's collection of short stories, In the Future Perfect (first published in 1975), Malcolm Bradbury declares the author to be 'quite the most important writer to have emerged in the United States over the past ten years, and the one whose serious inquiry is most surely still continuing'.[1] Winner of the 1980 PEN/Faulkner award for his novel on German Holocaust memory and terrorism, How German Is It (1980), Abish has, indeed, been repeatedly cast by critics as one of the foremost exponents of contemporary, American, avant-garde post-modernism. For Bradbury, however, the affinity between Abish's prose and the postmodern is 'misleading', although he does assert that they 'share' one 'tendency': 'a refusal to name what we call reality as real, a sense that the language which authenticates this or that as history, geography, or biography is a language of human invention' (IFP, p. x). Before examining the underlying tenets of postmodernism, it would be useful to analyse the first short story, 'The English Garden', from In the Future Perfect, which presents an image of language, composition, and sociality that is rather more complicated than Bradbury's brief characterization. The epigraph to the story, an extract from John Ashbery's 'Three Poems', raises the problem of representational remainders immediately: 'Remnants of the old atrocity subsist, but they are converted into ingenious shifts in scenery, a sort of "English Garden" effect, to give the required air of naturalness, pathos and hope' (IFP,p.1). Brumholdstein, the town portrayed in the story, is built on the foundations of a concentration camp, Durst; this is its atrocity. As the epigraph suggests, the past is not simply abolished by the change of scene. In being forced to 'subsist', it remains persistent, lurking. If the aim of such an aesthetic is to replace the ineffable with an array of surfaces, these surfaces have two distinct sides. The first paragraph of the story indicates as much by incorporating an image of doubled textuality that is irreducible to the purely linguistic: One page in the coloring book I bought showed details of the new airport, the octagonal glass terminal building to the left, and a Lufthansa plane coming in for a landing in the background. It is a German coloring book and the faces accordingly are coloring book faces, jolly faces, smiling and happy faces. By no means are they characteristically German faces. Nothing is intrinsically German, I suppose, until it receives its color. (IFP,p.1) On the one hand, the text presents a series of limits: the images exceed narratorial rendering to the same degree that the picture of the plane is not about to land, and the faces are manifestly 'coloring book faces'. That each sign or image cannot fully contain its own signification, or control its referent, is precisely why it can and needs to be filled in. On the other hand, this incertitude is not limited to representation, for things are also coloured by indeterminacy: 'Nothing is intrinsically German'. Nor is anything intrinsically a sign, as the colouring book is itself recognized as inhabiting a space of everyday life: 'Thousands of children each day gravely apply a color [. . .] to everything that fills a space on the pages of the colouring book in much the same way it occupies, visually at least, a space in real life' (IFP, p. 1). Because 'everything one encounters' in Germany requires a 'determining' of its 'lifelikeness', each determination must be seen as making a reality possible.[2] That is to say, if the character of a thing is elicited with each performance, then what is made real is its own potentiality. Consequently, every event or thing remains to some degree a sign of itself, although this does not alter the fact that it takes place and exists as such. In as much as postmodernism has variously been defined by Jean-Francois Lyotard, Fredric Jameson, and others as an 'incredulity' towards 'grand narratives' or 'metanarratives';[3] a 'radical break' or 'coupure' whereby history is viewed as having come to an end, and a 'dissolution' of a separate, 'autonomous sphere of culture' such that aesthetics is under the hegemony of 'commodity production generally',[4] the questions raised by Abish's text are quintessentially about postmodernism. …


Background: Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) is a rare spinal vascular malformation with an annual incidence of 5-10 cases per million. The data on efficacy, recurrence rates and complications of endovascular versus surgical treatment of SDAVF is limited. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 27 adult patients with a diagnosis of SDAVF and who underwent treatment at Duke University Hospital between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 2012. We compared the outcome measures by Aminoff–Logue score (ALS) in patients who underwent treatment with endovascular embolization versus surgical ligation of fistula. We compared complication rates, recurrence rates as well as data on long-term follow up in these patients. Results: Out of 27 patients in the study, 10 patients underwent endovascular embolization (Onyx was used in 5 patients and NBCA in 5 patients) as the first line therapy. Seventeen patients underwent surgical ligation as initial therapeutic modality. Patients in both groups showed significant improvement in clinical status (ALS) after treatment. One patient in endovascular group developed spinal infarction due to accidental embolization of medullary artery. Three patients in embolization group had recurrence of fistula during the course of follow up requiring surgical ligation. Two patients in surgical group developed local wound infection. None of the patients in surgical group had recurrence of fistula during the course of follow up. Conclusions: Endovascular embolization and surgical ligation are effective treatment strategies for SDAVF. Our observations show that surgical ligation may offer permanent cure without any recurrence. Endovascular approach is associated with higher incidence of recurrence, especially with use of onyx.


The extreme levels of intensity with which people live in large urban centers began to affect the productivity and quality of life of cities and their inhabitants, some of which have reached extremes close to collapse, as is the case of traffic congestion in the main cities of the world. On the other hand, from digital innovation and economic development, it is necessary to provide intelligent solutions to current problems, promoting the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the collaborative economy. Each government should administer, manage and update information from each region, and distribute it in the most convenient way to each company or agency that is part of a smart city. To achieve smart cities, we must train digital citizens and take into account the accessibility conditions provided by technology. For this, the implementation of Internet of Things (IoT) at all possible levels is of the utmost importance. From these points of view, mobility has become a central issue of urban development. Its relationship with sustainability issues and its ability to generate competitiveness and quality of life, puts us before the need to rethink its future. These are certain considerations to include in possible models of quality that allow to study the degree of intelligence of the cities. When talking about indicators or metrics, it begins to pose a problem of being able to generalize / extend each of these measures. In this line of research, a board of metrics and indicators has been defined that are applicable to an ad hoc quality model whose


Niger is a landlocked Sahelian country, two-thirds of which is in the Sahara Desert. Although only one-eighth of the land considered arable, the overwhelming majority of Niger's households is involved in rain-fed agriculture largely for subsistence. Given erratic rainfall and low soil fertility, most smallholders fail to produce enough food to meet household requirements. Income diversification is thus the norm among these rural households and different income-generating activities offer alternative pathways out of poverty for households as well as a mechanism for managing risk in an uncertain environment. Empowerment is likely to be an important factor affecting the ability of households to diversity their activity portfolio and may also affect activity-incomes and thereby household welfare. In this study, I use new household- and individual-level empowerment data from the Tahoua region of Niger and regression analysis to quantify the effects of a range of human capital measures including empowerment on the activity portfolio and activity incomes of rural households. My findings reveal that empowerment in particular plays an important role in enabling households to engage in mixed diversification strategy, which combines staple cropping with nonfarm activities and migration. This is a "last resort†strategy for households in lower landholding quintiles to ensure food security and complement an inadequate resource base. Controlling for activity choice, three empowerment indicators in particular—confidence, group membership, and tenure security—strongly and positively affect income from staple and cash cropping, which on average makes up about 90 percent of household income. In fact, empowerment is the only human capital variable that strongly and positively affects total household income, opening up interesting avenues for policy interventions aimed at augmenting a household's noncognitive ability through, for example, leadership training or encouraging producer group membership—to increase incomes of the rural poor.


In this paper, we present a comprehensive experimental investigation of an all-Raman ultrawide single-band transmission system for both 10 and 40 Gb/s line rates. Enabling technologies include forward-Raman pumping of the transmission fiber, counter-Raman pumping of the fiber spans and dispersion compensation modules, wideband dispersion, and dispersion-slope compensation, and modulation formats resistant to both linear and nonlinear impairments. Ultralong-haul (ULH) 128/spl times/10 Gb/s return-to-zero (RZ) and ultrahigh-capacity (UHC) 64/spl times/40 Gb/s carrier-suppressed (CS) RZ transmission are demonstrated for commercially deployed fiber types, including both standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) and nonzero dispersion shifted fibers (NZDSF). The span losses of 23 dB (NZDSF) and 20 dB (SSMF) are consistent with those encountered in terrestrial networks. The optical reaches for 10 Gb/s rate are 4000 km (NZDSF) and 3200 km (SSMF). Using the same distributed Raman amplification (DRA) scheme, UHC over 2.5 Tb/s at a 40-Gb/s per channel rate is also demonstrated for all of the tested fiber types and for optical reaches exceeding 1300 km. We then study the impact of including optical add/drop modules (OADMs) in the transmission system for both 10 and 40 Gb/s channel rates. System performance is characterized by the system margin and the transmission penalty. For all of the experiments shown in this paper, industrial margins and small transmission penalties consistent with operation in commercially deployable networks are demonstrated, showing the feasibility of practical implementation of all-Raman amplified systems for ULH and UHC optical backbones. Attractive features of single-wideband transmission enabled by DRA include simplicity of design, flexible gain and gain-ripple control, good noise performance, and a small system footprint.


OBJECTIVE
In the present era of cost containment, physicians need reliable data about specific interventions. The objectives of this study were to assist practitioners in interpretation of economic analyses and estimation of their own costs of implementing recommended interventions.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE search from 1966 through 1995 using the text words cost or expense and medical subject heading (MeSH) terms costs and cost analysis, cost control, cost of illness, cost savings, or cost-benefit analysis.

STUDY SELECTION
The 4 eligibility criteria were clinical trial with random assignment; health care quality improvement intervention tested; effects measured on the process or outcome of care; and cost calculation mentioned in the report.

DATA EXTRACTION
After independent abstraction and after consensus development, financial data were entered into a costing protocol to determine which costs related to the intervention were provided.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Of 181 articles, 97 (53.6%) included actual numbers on the costs of the intervention. Of 97 articles analyzed, the most frequently reported cost figures were in the category of operating expenses (direct cost, 61.9%; labor, 42.3%; and supplies, 32.0%). General overhead was not presented in 91 (93.8%) of the 97 studies. Only 14 (14.4%) of the 97 studies mentioned start-up costs. The text word $ in the abstract and the most useful MeSH index term of cost-benefit analysis appeared with nearly equal frequency in the articles that included actual cost data (37.1 % vs 35.1%). Two thirds of articles indexed with the MeSH term cost control did not include cost figures.

CONCLUSIONS
Statements regarding cost without substantiating data are made habitually in reports of clinical trials. In clinical trial reports presenting data on expenditures, start-up costs and general overhead are frequently disregarded. Practitioners can detect missing information by placing cost data in a standardized protocol. The costing protocol of this study can help bridge care delivery and economic analyses.


A total of 332 fecal samples were collected from 245 diarrheic as well as 75 recovered and 12 healthy camel calves in four different areas in Sudan [north (River Nile), east (Gedarif), central to south (Sennar, Blue Nile) and west (Kordofan) States]. Using ELISA, 46 samples (13.9%) were found positive for group A rotavirus. Out of 46 ELISA positive calves, we found 35 diarrheic up to 3 months of age, 7 recovered 4-6 months of age and 4 clinically healthy 8-12 months of age. Using EM, 6 out of 22 ELISA positive samples showed the well defined wheel-like structure characteristic of rotavirus. The results indicate the significant role of rotavirus in the epidemiology of camel calf diarrhea in Sudan. Attempts to isolate the camel group A rotavirus in MA104 cell culture were carried out on 21 ELISA-positive samples with successful isolation of the virus in 18. The isolated viruses were identified by ELISA and EM. Cytopathic effects (CPE) were manifested as rounding, elongation, triangulation, vacuolation and granulation of cells while the cell sheet remains intact. The CPE appeared on days 3-5 on the first to the second passages after treatment of the inocula and the cell culture media with trypsin. To our knowledge this is the first report on the isolation of camel rotavirus in cell culture.


Background: The proposed basis for NRTI-associated clinical toxicities involves cellular mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depletion and mitochondrial dysfunction. Critical questions remain about optimal monitoring for mitochondrial toxicity. Results are presented from two Australian sites investigating effects of antiretroviral treatment on mtDNA depletion in adipose tissue (Perth and Melbourne) and peripheral blood (Melbourne) using real time-PCR assays.

Methods: Adipose samples were prospectively collected in Perth via suprailiac excisional biopsy (72 study visits, 60 patients [pts]) and in Melbourne via punch biopsies at the thigh and calf (160 study visits, 62 pts). Concurrent peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples were obtained from Melbourne pts. mtDNA copies/cell were determined using real time-PCR. Statistical analyses were performed using linear mixed effects models, accounting for multiple measures on individuals.

Results: mtDNA was lower in all tissues from those receiving at least one dideoxynucleotide (dNRTI, d4T, ddI or ddC) (p < 0.005). Current dNRTI use was the only treatment association with lowered mtDNA in limb fat. mtDNA in suprailiac fat was also lower in those on AZT than those on neither AZT nor dNRTIs (p = 0.0002). In PBMCs, mtDNA tended to be lower in those on ddI or ddC than those in whom d4T was the only dNRTI (p = 0.07). There was no effect of age, CD4 cell count, viral load, treatment with protease inhibitors, or duration of known HIV infection on mtDNA in any tissue examined. Among subjects who initiated (n = 5) or ceased (n = 13) dNRTI therapy on study, mtDNA was lower in fat samples taken on dNRTIs (p = 0.02), but there was no effect of time on current treatment on mtDNA in any tissue, suggesting that any changes in mtDNA occur rapidly.

Conclusions: The findings of these independent studies involving 232 biopsy samples are concordant in demonstrating significant mtDNA depletion in adipose tissue associated with dNRTI therapy, consistent with clinical data implicating choice of NRTI as an important determinant of lipodystrophy risk. mtDNA depletion occurs rapidly on exposure to dNRTIs, and this is reversible on cessation of drug.


Cell based biosensors are increasingly used as detection tools for tracing toxins in environmental samples. In such biosensors the reaction of cells cultivated in vitro is monitored upon exposing them to different samples. As the sample will be in close contact with living cells, controlling the sample properties, especially osmolarity, is necessary. Osmolarity difference across the cell membrane can lead to cell death upon exposure to the sample [1]. Herein, we present a microfluidic cartridge designed to realize the adjustment of the sample osmolarity to any desired level without the need for an external osmometer. This cartridge is easy to fabricate, and can be simply integrated in a cell-based microfluidic system for regulating the osmolarity on-line.


The Third Industrial Revolution that began in 1973 promises increased productivity, large reductions in the world-wide inequality of wealth, and substantial increases in world-wide living standards. The immediate sources of the changes are large increases in capacity and productivity resulting from major political and technological progress. The political dynamic behind this Third Industrial Revolution is the spread of capitalism in response to the world-wide failure of communism, socialism and other central planning systems. This move to market-oriented, open economic systems is putting 1.2 billion Third World workers into world product and labor markets over the next generation. Over a billion of these workers currently earn less than $3 a day, while the approximately 250 million workers in the U.S. and the European Union currently earn $85 a day. With relatively modern technology, experience indicates that these Third World workers can produce from 85% to 100% of the output of their Western compatriots. The major shifts in the world product markets brought about by the 90 million workers in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan in the past 30 years provide some insight into the even greater changes that are yet to take place in the West. One can confidently forecast that the transition to open capitalist economies will generate great conflict over international trade as special interests try to insulate themselves from competition. The transition of established industrial economies will require a major redirection of Western labor and capital to activities where it has a comparative advantage. The upshot of all this for Western workers is that their real wages are likely to continue their sluggish growth and some will fall dramatically over the coming two or three decades, perhaps as much as 50% in some sectors. Wages will, however, reach a trough and recover as the cycle works its way through the system. Remember, these 1.2 billion Third World workers and their families represent huge new markets as well as competitors.


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Despite three decades of studies examining music interventions as a mitigant of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), to date, no systematic review of this literature exists.
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LITERATURE SEARCH
PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo®, CINAHL®, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched. Keywords for all databases were music, chemotherapy, and nausea.
.

DATA EVALUATION
All studies were appraised for methodology and results.
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SYNTHESIS
10 studies met inclusion criteria for review. Sample sizes were generally small and nonrandomized. Locus of control for music selection was more often with the investigator rather than the participant. Few studies controlled for the emetogenicity of the chemotherapy administered, nor for known patient-specific risk factors for CINV.
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IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH
The existing data have been largely generated by nurse scientists, and implications for nursing practice are many, because music interventions are low-cost, easily accessible, and without known adverse effects. However, this specific body of knowledge requires additional substantive inquiry to generate clinically relevant data.


PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED
Medical care in rural Canada has long been hampered by insufficient numbers of physicians. How can a rural community's physicians change the local medical culture and create a new approach to sustaining their practice?

OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAM
To create a sustainable, collegial family practice group and address one rural community's chronically underserviced health care needs.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Elements important to physicians'well-being were incorporated into the health care group's functioning to enhance retention and recruitment. The intentional development of a consensus-based approach to decision making has created a supportive team of physicians. Ongoing communication is kept up through regular meetings, retreats, and a Web-based discussion board. Individual physicians retain control of their hours worked each year and their schedules. A novel obstetric call system was introduced to help make schedules more predictable. An internal governance agreement on an alternative payment plan supports varied work schedules, recognizes and funds non-clinical medical work, and pays group members for undertaking health-related projects.

CONCLUSION
This approach has helped maintain a stable number of physicians in Marathon, Ont, and has increased the number of health care services delivered to the community.


It was performed the leucocitary picture of 180 females buffaloes of the Jafarabadi, Hurrah and Mediterranea breeds, clinically healthy and created in the Vale do Ribeira region at Estado de Sao Paulo. The blood samples were obtained by puncture of jugular vein and collected in tubes containing 0.05 ml of a 10% EDTA solution. The counts of the global nunber of leucocytes were determined by Neubauer modified hemocytometer and the differential leucocytes counts were realized in blood smears stained by Rosenfeld's technique. The means of global counts and of the types of leucocytes were showed in tables according to the animal breeds and ages. There was not found any statistically difference among breeds. According to the increase of the female buffaloes age it was verified a significant decrease of the global number of leucocytes, absolute and relative values of total and typical limphocytes and absolute values of atypical limphocytes and a significant increase of the relative values of sepnented and total neutrophils and absolute and relative values of eosinophils.


A real-time tracking algorithm that uses contextual information is described. The method is capable of simultaneously tracking multiple, non-rigid objects when erratic movement and object collisions are common. A closed-world assumption is used to adaptively select and weight image features used for correspondence. Results of algorithm testing and the limitations of the method are discussed. The algorithm has been used to track children in an interactive, narrative playspace.


Writing Group: Professor P Armstrong (Imaging), Dr J Congleton,* Mr S W Fountain (Chairman),* Dr T Jagoe, Dr D F McAuley,* Dr J MacMahon,* Dr M F Muers,* Mr R D Page,* Dr P K Plant,* Dr M Roland, Dr R M Rudd, Mr W S Walker,* Dr T J Williams*. Specialist advisors: Professor M I Saunders (Royal College of Radiologists), Dr A G Nicholson (Royal College of Pathologists). *Members of the core Writing Group.


The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases in women after menopause along with levels of complement protein C3. Recent data has shown higher cardiovascular fat in postmenopausal women. Increasing evidence suggest this fat depots are a source of cytokines and various inflammatory markers. Both complement protein C3 and cardiovascular fat are associated with increased risk of CVD. The association between these factors needs to be evaluated in women at midlife. Hypothesis: Circulating complement protein levels in women at midlife are positively associated with arterial calcification, and this association can be explained by higher volumes of cardiovascular fat. Methods: Pilot data from the SWAN were used. C3 and C4 were measured by immunoturbidimetric assay. EBCT scans were used to measure the arterial calcification (aortic-AC and coronary-CAC) using Agatston scores and the volumes of fat around the heart (total heart adipose tissue-TAT) and the descending thoracic aorta (perivascular adipose tissue-PVAT). Arterial calcification and fat volumes were log transformed. Tobit regression was used for statistical analyses. Results: A total of 100 women (50% late peri/postmenopausal; 73% Caucasian) were included. In models adjusted for age, race, menopausal status, and LDL-C, C3 was significantly associated with both CAC (β(SE)=0.43(0.17),p=0.012) and AC (0.59(0.28),p=0.036) per 1 standard deviation increase of C3 (SD=33.28 mg/dl). Additional adjustment for either TAT or PVAT nullified the association of C3 with both CAC and AC. Association between C3 and AC was more pronounced at higher volumes of TAT, independent of potential covariates (p=0.036). C4 was not associated with any of the calcification measures. Conclusions: Higher levels of C3 were significantly associated with greater CAC and AC scores in women at midlife. These associations were explained by volumes of TAT and PVAT. Our findings extend support to the outside-in theory of atherosclerosis and suggest TAT as a potential source of circulating C3. Similar results are reported in unhealthy populations. The public health significance lies in the fact that by extending these findings to the general population, we have potentially found a non-invasive biomarker that could be useful in early diagnosis of subclinical atherosclerosis. These findings need to be replicated in larger samples.


BACKGROUND
Onychomycosis is a relatively common fungal infection. Current treatments have limited applicability and low cure rates. Recently introduced laser therapy has shown to be a safe and effective treatment for onychomycosis. In this study, we evaluate a submillisecond Nd:YAG 1,064 nm laser for treating onychomycoses of the tonail.

METHODS
Thirteen subjects (9 female, 4 male) with 37 affected toenails received 1 to 3 treatments 4 and/or 8 weeks apart with a sub-millisecond 1,064 nm Nd:YAG laser. Diagnosis of onychomycosis was confirmed with microscopy. Average follow-up time was 16 weeks post-final treatment. Photos were taken and degree of turbidity was determined using a turbidity scale (ranging from "0 = clear nail" to "10 = completely turbid nail") at each visit. Improvement in turbidity was determined by comparison of turbidity scores at baseline and 16-week follow-up on average. Efficacy was assessed by an overall improvement scale (0 to 4), which combined improvement in turbidity scores and microscopic examination. Overall improvement was classified as "4 = complete clearance" if the turbidity score indicated "0 = clear nail" accompanied by a negative microscopic result. No microscopic examination was performed unless the turbidity score showed "0 = clear nail."

RESULTS
Treatments were well tolerated by all subjects and there were no adverse events. Of the 37 toenails treated, 30 (81%) had "moderate" to "complete" clearance average of 16 weeks post-final treatment. Nineteen toenails (51%) were completely clear and all tested negative for fungal infection on direct microscopic analysis. Seven (19%) toenails had significant clearance and four (11%) had moderate clearance.

CONCLUSIONS
The preliminary results of this study show this treatment modality is safe and effective for the treatment of onychomycosis in the short term. Additional studies are needed to more fully assess the clinical and mycological benefits as well as optimize the treatment protocol and parameters.


The Apache Ant presents certain characteristics that seem to make it suitable as a workflow language and engine. Features such as native dependency structured build targets make it easy to write declarative dependency-based workflows. We propose a framework enabling Ant build files (and its specifications) to be used as workflow scripts. Features like being semi structured and having standard specification make it easy to create, parse and render the workflow scripts. Sometimes workflow scripts need to be used repeatedly with a little change, framework enables reusable scripts to be created, stored and edited for later use. This allows sharing and dynamic modifications of workflows between multiple participants. The framework is composed of web-based interactive admin and user tools enabling creation and invocation of workflow templates and corresponding scripts.


The groundwater flow behaviour was analysed during pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons. At first, the groundwater model was analysed in the steady state, and then the same was applied in the transient state to predict the spatio-temporal behaviour of groundwater in the region. Transient flow model was also developed to estimate the potential impact of pumping of groundwater due to mining activities. The results of the analysis show that the model is most sensitive to hydraulic conductivity and recharge parameters. Two scenarios are considered to predict aquifer responses under varied conditions of groundwater abstraction.


Probabilistic roadmaps (PRMs) are a popular representation used by many current path planners. Construction of a PRM requires the ability to generate a set of random samples from the robot's configuration space, and much recent research has concentrated on new methods to do this. In this paper, we present a sampling scheme that is based on the manipulability measure associated with a robot arm. Intuitively, manipulability characterizes the arm's freedom of motion for a given configuration. Thus, our approach is to sample densely those regions of the configuration space in which manipulability is low (and therefore the robot has less dexterity), while sampling more sparsely those regions in which the manipulability is high. We have implemented our approach, and performed extensive evaluations using prototypical problems from the path planning literature. Our results show this new sampling scheme to be quite effective in generating PRMs that can solve a large range of path planning problems.


Background: This study was designed to ascertain this claim and to investigate the possible mechanism of action in relation to their phytochemical contents, using crude extracts of N. latifolia and M. esculenta leaves on topical wound in a rat model of Type 1 diabetes. Methods and Materials: The leaves were air-dried under shade and subjected to cold extraction in 95% ethanol. Normoglycaemic male Wistar rats were subjected to 2-month high-energy diet/ fat emulsion manipulation and injected with alloxan (150 mg/kg BW/day, i. p. ). Fasting plasma glucose was determined after 7 days and rats with values exceeding 200 mg/dl were selected. 16 diabetic rats (120 – 180 g) were randomly assigned to four groups of four animals each. Wound was inflicted on the back of each rat by excision method. The crude extracts were topically applied over a period of 21 days. The scar tissues were removed at 7 days interval for collagen quantification and wound margin reduction was also monitored using tracing paper. Results : The crude extracts showed efficient wound healing activity as revealed by increased collagen content (scar tissues versus fresh wound tissues ab initio ). Percentage wound closure also progressed significantly (p< 0.05) upon topical application of the extracts. Conclusion: The crude extract of N. latifolia leaves has proven to be more potent than that of M. esculenta in wound healing in Type I diabetic rats. It stimulated wound contraction and collagen formation, making it a promising natural product for further screening in search of new chemical entities that can be useful in diabetic wound management.


Would you want to be operated on by a surgeon trained at a medical school that did not evaluate its students? Would you want to fly in a plane designed by people convinced that the laws of physics are socially constructed? Would you want to be tried by a legal system indifferent to the distinction between fact and fiction? These questions may seem absurd, but there are theories being seriously advanced by radical multiculturalists that force us to ask such questions. These scholars assert that such concepts as truth and merit are inextricably racist and sexist, that reason and objectivity are merely sophisticated masks for ideological bias, and that reality itself is nothing more than socially constructed mechanism for preserving the power of the ruling elite. In Beyond All Reason, liberal legal scholars Daniel A. Farber and Suzanna Sherry mount the first systematic critique of radical multiculturalism as a form of legal scholarship. Beginning with an incisive overview of the origins and basic tenets of radical multiculturalism, the authors critically examine the work of Derrick Bell, Catherine MacKinnon, Patricia Williams, and Richard Delgado, and explore the alarming implications of their theories. Farber and Sherry push these theories to their logical conclusions and show that radical multiculturalism is destructive of the very goals it wishes to affirm. If, for example, the concept of advancement based on merit is fraudulent, as the multiculturalists claim, the disproportionate success of Jews and Asians in our culture becomes difficult to explain without opening the door to age-old anti-Semitic and racist stereotypes. If historical and scientific truths are entirely relative social constructs, then Holocaust denial becomes merely a matter of perspective, and Creationism has as much "validity" as evolution. The authors go on to show that rather than promoting more dialogue, the radical multiculturalist preference for legal storytelling and identity politics over reasoned argument produces an insular set of positions that resist open debate. Indeed, radical multiculturalists cannot critically examine each others' ideas without incurring vehement accusations of racism and sexism, much less engage in fruitful discussion with a mainstream that does not share their assumptions. Here again, Farber and Sherry show that the end result of such thinking is not freedom but a kind of totalitarianism where dissent cannot be tolerated and only the naked will to power remains to settle differences. Sharply written and brilliantly argued, this book is itself a model of the kind of clarity, civility, and dispassionate critical thinking which the authors seek to preserve from the attacks of the radical multiculturalists. With far-reaching implications for such issues as government control of hate speech and pornography, affirmative action, legal reform, and the fate of all minorities, Beyond All Reason is a provocative contribution to one of the most important controversies of our time.


Recently, there have been increasing demands to construct compact deep architectures to remove unnecessary redundancy and to improve the inference speed. While many recent works focus on reducing the redundancy by eliminating unneeded weight parameters, it is not possible to apply a single deep network for multiple devices with different resources. When a new device or circumstantial condition requires a new deep architecture, it is necessary to construct and train a new network from scratch. In this work, we propose a novel deep learning framework, called a nested sparse network, which exploits an n-in-1-type nested structure in a neural network. A nested sparse network consists of multiple levels of networks with a different sparsity ratio associated with each level, and higher level networks share parameters with lower level networks to enable stable nested learning. The proposed framework realizes a resource-aware versatile architecture as the same network can meet diverse resource requirements, i.e., anytime property. Moreover, the proposed nested network can learn different forms of knowledge in its internal networks at different levels, enabling multiple tasks using a single network, such as coarse-to-fine hierarchical classification. In order to train the proposed nested network, we propose efficient weight connection learning and channel and layer scheduling strategies. We evaluate our network in multiple tasks, including adaptive deep compression, knowledge distillation, and learning class hierarchy, and demonstrate that nested sparse networks perform competitively, but more efficiently, compared to existing methods.


Abstract We used internal ice layers from a radio-echo sounding profile between the Kohnen and Dome Fuji deep drilling sites to infer the spatio-temporal pattern of accumulation rate in this sector of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Continuous internal reflection horizons can be traced to about half of the ice thickness and have a maximum age of approximately 72.7 ka BP. To infer palaeo-accumulation rates from the dated layers, we derived the thinning functions from a flow calculation with a high-resolution higher-order model of Dronning Maud Land embedded into a three-dimensional thermomechanical model of the Antarctic ice sheet. The method takes into account complex ice-flow dynamics and advection effects that cannot be dealt with using traditional local approaches. We selected seven time intervals over which we determine the average accumulation rate and average surface temperature at the place and time of origin of the layer particles. Our results show lower accumulation rates along eastern parts of the profile for the late Holocene (0–5 ka BP) than are shown by existing maps, which had no surface control points. During the last glacial period we find a substantially lower accumulation rate than predicted by the usual approach linking palaeo-accumulation rates to the condensation temperature above the surface inversion layer. These findings were used to fine-tune the relation between accumulation rate and temperature.


Hypothermia is defined as a core body temperature of 35°C or less and can be
induced (i.e. therapeutic) or accidental. It is well established that hypothermia
leads to a positive inotropic response which causes an increase in the magnitude
of cardiac contraction, however rewarming from hypothermia is associated with
a negative inotropic response, and the underlying mechanisms of this remain
unclear. Accidental hypothermia is further complicated by risk of ventricular
arrhythmias and cardiac arrest. This contributes to high mortality rates among
these patients. Although hypothermia is used extensively as a therapeutic
intervention and survival is possible after extreme exposure, treatment of
arrhythmias during rewarming is still challenging. In order to develop targeted
anti-arrhythmic strategies in this very specific situation, we first need to
understand the basis for pro-arrhythmia during cooling and rewarming. This
study aimed to examine the effect of hypothermia and rewarming on aspects of
cardiac inotropy and excitability.
An in vitro model of hypothermia and rewarming using isolated rat ventricular
cardiomyocytes showed that following 3 hours of hypothermia there was a
significant reduction in shortening upon rewarming. This was not accompanied
by a change in intracellular Ca2+, suggesting a rewarming induced decrease in
myofilament sensitivity to Ca2+. In separate experiments, animals underwent an
in vivo hypothermia/rewarming procedure and displayed evidence of rewarming
induced contractile dysfunction. Epicardial action potential (AP) measurements
on these hearts showed a shortened AP duration (APD) when compared to
normothermic control animals, which suggests that a sustained
electrophysiological effect that could manifest as a shortened QT interval. In
contrast to this, a period of transient hypothermia had alternative detrimental
effects on the cardiac APD when compared to prolonged hypothermia, an effect
that could predispose to the induction of long QT related arrhythmias and
ventricular tachycardia.
Separate experiments assessed the effect of moderate (31˚C) and severe (17˚C)
hypothermia on cardiac excitability in Langendorff perfused rabbit hearts.
Moderate hypothermia prolonged PR and QT intervals whilst in severe
hypothermia all ECG parameters were prolonged. Ventricular activation times
were unaffected at 31°C whilst action potential duration (APD90) was
significantly prolonged. At 17°C there were significant and proportionally similar
delays in both activation and repolarisation. Ventricular fibrillation (VF)
threshold was significantly reduced at 31°C (pro-arrhythmic), but at 17°C VF
threshold was >2x baseline (37°C) (anti-arrhythmic). At 31°C, transverse
conduction (CVt) was relatively insensitive to cooling versus longitudinal
conduction (CVl) but at 17°C both CVt and CVl were proportionately reduced to a
similar extent. The gap junction uncoupler heptanol had a larger relative effect
on CVt than CVl, and at 31°C was able to restore the CVt/CVl ratio, returning VF
threshold to baseline values. This suggests that moderate hypothermia creates
repolarisation abnormalities and is pro-arrhythmic. These divergent effects
appear to be linked to a lower temperature sensitivity of gap junctions, a
conclusion supported by the anti-arrhythmic effect of heptanol at 31°C.


Bacterial abundance and production in hyporheic interstices of the Toss River, a gravel-bed stream in Switzerland, were examined focusing on spatial distribution patterns in relationship to potential resources and meio- and macrofaunal consumers. The subsurface flow regime at the study site was characterized by a cross-sectional hydraulic gradient, with ground water exfiltration at the left margin and surface water infiltration at the right margin; in midstream, horizontal advection along the channel flow prevailed. Measurement of biotic and abiotic parameters were performed down to sediment depths of 150 cm within each hydrological exchange type. Bacterial abundances ranged between 1.6×10 5 to 4.8 × 10 8 cells/ml interstitial volume containing water and fine particles and differed significantly between upper and deeper sediment strata. This change with depth was significantly modulated by the type of hydrological exchange. The bacterial carbon portion of total POC varied between 0.06 % and 5.3 % and tended to decrease with depth. Bacteria were most numerous at sediment depths where inflow of stream water occurred, but had been attenuated. Bacterial production was highest in hyporheic interstices dominated by surface water inflow. Bacterial abundance and production were strongly correlated to interstitial particulate organic matter; the best predictor for both was the content of particulate nitrogen, explaining 75 % and 72 % of the variation, respectively. Inclusion of hyporheic positions, defined by sediment depth and hydrological exchange type, improved the explanatory power of models to 88 % and 84 %, respectively. Hyporheic positions provide information on flowpath connections, which were particularly relevant when one uses dissolved organic carbon and interstitial fine sediment as explanatory variables. Abundance of several hyporheic invertebrate taxa, taxa richness and total invertebrate density were positively correlated to bacterial abundance and production. The hyporheic fauna exhibited a gradient between interstitial positions influenced by surface water and those dominated by phreatic ground water. The coupling of sediment depth and hydrological exchange type revealed flowpath connections as being superimposed vectors in determining hyporheic abiotic and biotic gradients.


One of the fundamental challenges for peer-to-peer (P2P) systems is the ability to manage risks involved in interacting and collaborating with priorly unknown and potentially malicious parties. Reputation-based trust management can mitigate this risk by deriving the trustworthiness of a certain peer from that peer's behavior history. However, the existing reputation systems do not provide adequate reaction to quick changes in peers' behavior, raising serious concerns regarding their effectiveness in coping with dynamic malicious peers. In this paper we investigate the requirements on the dynamics of trust in P2P systems and propose a versatile trust metric which satisfies these requirements. In particular, our proposed metric is capable to detect and penalize both the sudden changes in peers' behavior and their potential oscillatory malicious behavior. Moreover, our metric is flexible to implement different types of trust dynamics. We evaluate our metric through simulation and show its unique features and advantages over the existing metrics.


The purpose of this applied research is to study about the effectiveness of inventory control system through deeper study on standard operating procedure and the problems arise due to
inventory control system deficiencies. This study covers the information from a manufacturing and distributing of lubricant company and the process of managing the inventory. Objectives of this study are to examine the standard operating procedure and
identify any loopholes in practice and procedure on inventory management of the company manufacturing and distributing lubricant and also to investigate to what extent these problems
arise due to inventory control system deficiencies, if any, in the manufacturing and distributing lubricant company. The methodology use to gather the information is based on content analysis and observations. The scope cover the information from 2008 - 2012 and focusing on department of supply chain management in ABC Sdn Bhd.There are five findings of standard operating procedure provided by this company which are
receiving of finished goods from supplier, delivery of finished goods to customer (3rd party warehouse), delivery of finished goods to customer (outbound), receiving of finished goods
(inbound) and receiving finished goods (imported).Finally, this study suggests six recommendations in improving the effectiveness of inventory control system management in the company. The limitations and suggestion for future research also described at the end of the study


Classification of motion mode (walking, running, standing still) and device mode (hand-held, in pocket, in backpack) is an enabler in personal navigation systems for the purpose of saving energy and design parameter settings and also for its own sake. Our main contribution is to publish one of the most extensive datasets for this problem, including inertial data from eight users, each one performing three pre-defined trajectories carrying four smartphones and seventeen inertial measurement units on the body. All kind of metadata is available such as the ground truth of all modes and position. A second contribution is the first study on a joint classifier of motion and device mode, respectively, where preliminary but promising results are presented.


Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS together with Nuclear Safety Institute RAS is working on a hybrid system with a neutron source based on the gas-dynamic trap (GDT) and sub-critical blanket for incineration of high-activity long-lived radioactive wastes. This report gives an overview of recent results obtained in collaborative development of modeling tools for the described system. Particularly, DOL code was created for the source plasma parameters calculation, NMC code was applied to model neutron transport processes and NMC+ module was developed for burnup calculations. The codes are shortly described in the article. Validation results are also presented.


ABSTRACT Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an inhabitant of estuarine and marine environments that causes seafood-borne gastroenteritis worldwide. Recently, a type 3 secretion system (T3SS2) able to secrete and translocate virulence factors into the eukaryotic cell has been identified in a pathogenicity island (VP-PAI) located on the smaller chromosome. These virulence-related genes have previously been detected only in clinical strains. Classical virulence genes for this species (tdh, trh) are rarely detected in environmental strains, which are usually considered to lack virulence potential. However, during screening of a collection of environmental V. parahaemolyticus isolates obtained in the North Adriatic Sea in Italy, a number of marine strains carrying virulence-related genes, including genes involved in the T3SS2, were detected. In this study, we investigated the pathogenic potential of these marine V. parahaemolyticus strains by studying their adherence ability, their cytotoxicity, their effect on zonula occludin protein 1 (ZO-1) of the tight junctions, and their effect on transepithelial resistance (TER) in infected Caco-2 cells. By performing a reverse transcription-PCR, we also tested the expression of the T3SS2 genes vopT and vopB2, encoding an effector and a translocon protein, respectively. Our results indicate that, similarly to clinical strains, marine V. parahaemolyticus strains carrying vopT and vopB2 and that other genes included in the VP-PAI are capable of adhering to human cells and of causing cytoskeletal disruption and loss of membrane integrity in infected cells. On the basis of data presented here, environmental V. parahaemolyticus strains should be included in coastal water surveillance plans, as they may represent a risk for human health.


The concept of the `surveillance society' has become a central part of the emerging transdisciplinary narrative of surveillance studies, and is now to be found as much in criminology as in many of the other domains upon which it draws. This piece takes on two key problems generated by contemporary use of the term `surveillance society'; those of its historical novelty and its general geographical or cultural generalizability. In this article, I show that the historical development of arguments about surveillance have created particular and changing ideas of the `surveillance society'. However the contemporary period opens up questions of geography and culture. With reference to the comparative case of Japan, I argue both that a contextual understanding of both surveillance and `surveillance society' is crucial. While surveillance is involved with processes of globalization, it is also not necessarily the same `surveillance society' that one sees in different places and at different scales. Surveillance is historically, spatially and culturally located.


Objective: We conducted a survey to understand the challenges faced by the staff of residential aged care facilities (RACF), during the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: In the current pandemic, the RACF workforce has been required to work under stressful conditions, with immense mental and physical pressures, resulting in anxiety and stress felt towards their jobs. Study design and methods: We electronically surveyed both clinical and non-clinical staff at public and private RACFs in Australia in June and August 2020. The survey asked a mix of open-ended and closed questions about preparedness for the pandemic, information flow, experience with personal protective equipment (PPE), management of suspected COVID cases, restrictions on visitors, and impact on RACF staff personal and home life. Quantitative data were analysed in SPSS; qualitative data using content analysis. Results: We received 371 responses: 198 from clinical staff and 168 from non-clinical staff. Respondents were between 20–71 years old, and 87% were female most commonly from Victoria (28%) or New South Wales (28%). The majority (80%) felt that Australian RACFs were well-prepared for the pandemic and 87% agreed that relevant healthcare authorities were contactable for information needed. A total of 37% reported challenges in estimating and ordering appropriate quantities of protective equipment. Ninety percent of facilities reported screening residents for possible symptoms and 77% introduced precautions or quarantine measures to protect residents. Most participants (98%) reported their RACF implemented restrictions on visitor access and 43% reported unfair or abusive treatment by family or friends of the residents. Commonly reported personal impacts included: workload increase, stress, emotional toll, family issues and fatigue. Support from colleagues as well as training, de-brief sessions and frequent meetings were identified as helpful facilitators during this time. Conclusion: We identified a wide range of practices and coping strategies among Australian RACFs. Whilst a majority of respondents reported coping well, a large proportion reported struggling both mentally and physically. Factors reported as helpful by the respondents may assist RACFs in planning for future pandemics. Implications for research, policy and practice: Understanding the challenges faced by all levels of staff within RACFs may aid decision-makers on a range of different levels – researchers, aged care providers, local/regional/state health departments and national leaders within government to help inform the development of interventions that may help the sector to recover, as well as prepare for potential future outbreaks. Of particular importance, are interventions or initiatives that focus on supporting the physical and mental health of staff i.e. those that prevent or minimise worker fatigue, emotional burnout and stress.
What is already known about the topic?

Nursing staff in Australian RACFs did not feel prepared for the COVID outbreak in their workplace.
Early in 2020, RACF nurses experienced a greater overall workload and some had their staff hours reduced by their employers due to financial constraints caused by the outbreak.

What this paper adds

This paper offers a comprehensive insight into how RACF staff coped both individually and as part of the facility overall during the COVID crisis.
It identified that a commonly reported source of stress was first-hand verbal abuse from family or friends of residents in response to visitor and lockdown restrictions implemented by the authorities.
The paper highlighted that whilst the majority of respondents felt that RACFs were well prepared for managing residents during the pandemic, some facilities experienced significant problems with workloads, PPE and human resourcing.
Furthermore, the survey showed that on an individual level, some staff experienced significant mental and physical stress during the outbreak.


The ability to tune magnetic properties of solids via electric voltages instead of external magnetic fields is a physics curiosity of great scientific and technological importance. Today, there is strong published experimental evidence of electrical control of magnetic coercive fields in composite multiferroic solids. Unfortunately, the literature indicates highly contradictory results. In some studies, an applied voltage increases the magnetic coercive field and in other studies the applied voltage decreases the coercive field of composite multiferroics. Here, we provide an elegant explanation to this paradox and we demonstrate why all reported results are in fact correct. It is shown that for a given polarity of the applied voltage, the magnetic coercive field depends on the sign of two tensor components of the multiferroic solid: magnetostrictive and piezoelectric coefficient. For a negative applied voltage, the magnetic coercive field decreases when the two material parameters have the same sign and increases when they have opposite signs, respectively. The effect of the material parameters is reversed when the same multiferroic solid is subjected to a positive applied voltage.


The Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands have requested ECN and MNP to assess the potential and cost consequences to reduce Dutch greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 and to assess the potential and costs of increasing the rate of energy efficiency improvement between 2010 and 2020. Over 150 measures to limit emissions and energy consumption have been assessed and used as the basis to analyse the possibility to reach three indicative emission targets (220, 200 and 180 Mton of CO2 equivalents). The measures have been combined and ranked based on minimising the national cost of emission reduction. It appears that the identified measures can be combined to represent a technical emission reduction potential of 90 Mton CO2 eq emissions in 2020. This implies a theoretical potential to reduce the national greenhouse gas emission from 251 Mton, as projected in the Global Economy scenario (variant) for 2020, to 160 Mton. Several emission targets, ranging from 220 to 180 Mton CO2 eq have been studied in detail. In a cost minimising package to limit emissions to 180 Mton CO2 eq, the largest contribution will come from energy savings followed by CO2 capture and storage and nuclear energy. It must be noted that the feasibility and availability of policy instruments to overcome the barriers to implement these measures have not been studied or taken into account. In the packages for emission reduction the rate of energy efficiency improvement will be increased from 1.0% in the baseline to 1.4-1.6% per year. An energy efficiency improvement rate of over 2% per year can theoretically be reached on the basis of the measures that were assessed. Several sensitivity analyses were performed. They show that the national mitigation costs depend amongst others on the assumptions for CO2 storage capacity, and acceptance of the nuclear option. Furthermore, higher oil prices do not strongly influence the feasibility of reaching the indicative emission targets or energy efficiency rates. However, they lead to a decrease of the overall costs. Layout: 11 June 2008


Infrared (IR) absorption spectra of matrix-isolated HCCCH(2) have been measured. Propargyl radicals were generated in a supersonic pyrolysis nozzle, using a method similar to that described in a previous study (Jochnowitz, E. B.; Zhang, X.; Nimlos, M. R.; Varner, M. E.; Stanton, J. F.; Ellison, G. B. J. Phys. Chem. A 2005, 109, 3812-3821). Besides the nine vibrational modes observed in the previous study, this investigation detected the HCCCH(2) X̃ (2)B(1) out-of-plane bending mode (ν(8)) at 378.0 (±1.9) cm(-1) in a cryogenic argon matrix. This is the first experimental observation of ν(8) for the propargyl radical. In addition, seven overtone and combination bands have also been detected and assigned. Ab initio coupled-cluster anharmonic force field calculations were used to guide the analysis. Furthermore, ν(12), the HCCCH(2) in-plane bending mode, has been assigned to 333 (±10) cm(-1) based on the detection of its overtone (2ν(12), 667.7 ± 1.0 cm(-1)) and a possible combination band (ν(10) + ν(12), 1339.0 ± 0.8 cm(-1)). This is the first experimental estimation of ν(12) for the propargyl radical.


This study aimed to evaluate the mechanical stress on resected mandibular bone against occlusal force using dental implant without any bone grafting by fi nite element analysis to reduce the risk of the bone fracture. A model of marginal resection of the symphysis of the mandible, in which the bone height of the region was 5, 10 or 15 mm, was prepared. Two, four, or six implant-supported fi xed prostheses (superstructure) or overdenture were set up in the model and loaded with 500N of occlusal force. The von Mises stress on the resected region was the highest when two implants were bilaterally placed at positions closest to the resected region. The von Mises stress value on the resected region could be high enough to induce the bone fracture. The mechanical stress was reduced up to < 50 % by adding implant at posterior position and connecting all implants. The presence of superstructure on 4 or 6 implants signifi cantly decreased the von Mises stress when the residual bone height was 10 or 15 mm. Use of 6 implants showed no signifi cant advantage at the stress reduction compared to use of 4 implants. When the residual bone height was 5 mm, reinforcement of the residual bone or bone graft should be considered to avoid the bone fracture. Although the present results were obtained under restrictive conditions, the number of implant, implant position, and prostheses style could reduce the von Mises stress and the risk of bone fracture on the resected region.


Graphite is a layered material that is very flexible, in which each layer is able to curve in order to form cages, nanotubes, nanocoils, nanocones, etc. In this paper, we demonstrate that various synthetic routes are capable of producing graphite-like nanomaterials with fascinating electronic and mechanical properties. There are other layered systems, which could curl and bend, thus generating novel nanostructures with positive and negative Gaussian curvature. In this context, we will also demonstrate that hexagonal boron nitride, tungsten disulfide (WS2), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and rhenium disulfide (ReS2) are also able to create nanocages, nanotubes and nano-arrangements exhibiting novel physico-chemical properties that could revolutionize materials science in the 21st century.


Leadership Studies courses often face challenges of educating students for a focused area of specialization. We challenged this by offering an innovative leadership course whose aim was to socialize graduate students into their discourse communities. In this paper, we describe a course and the study we conducted to learn from the process and reflect on the implications. During and after the course, we gathered data through interviews and document analysis. The findings indicate that students can benefit from experiential courses that expose them to their discourse communities where they explore career opportunities and engage in higher-level conversations that address contemporary leadership issues. In general, such courses present authentic opportunities where theory and practice converge.


The integration of diverse forms of informative data by learning an optimal combination of base kernels in classification or regression problems can provide enhanced performance when compared to that obtained from any single data source. We present a Bayesian hierarchical model which enables kernel learning and present effective variational Bayes estimators for regression and classification. Illustrative experiments demonstrate the utility of the proposed method. Matlab code replicating results reported is available at http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~srogers/kernel_comb.html.


Capital stability of the banking system is the basis of its effective development and realization of its main function – optimal redistribution of capital. So, the aim of the article is to develop indicators of capital stability of the banking system, and to propose the frameworks for the long term capital stability strategy of the banking system in Ukraine. For this purpose, the analysis of micro- and macroeconomic indicators of the capital stability of domestic banks within the period 2007–2016 is made. To carry out the research, there were used the statistic data of the National Bank of Ukraine, its legis-lative and regulatory documents, the Basel Accords. Capital stability of the banking system has been defined in the article as the process of ensuring capitalization that is adequate to the banking risks and cyclical economic development. It has been detected that a significant reduction in return on equity of the Ukrainian banks in 2014–2015 even with restoring their liquidity has had a crucial destabilizing impact on their capital stability. In order to improve the assessment of capital stability, its key indicators for the groups of domestic banks have been studied. The necessity of refocusing macroprudential requirements of the National Bank of Ukraine from quantitative indicators to qualitative ones to ensure economic development has been proved. It has been concluded that a necessary condition for restoring the Ukrainian banking system was to develop an effective strategy for ensuring its capital stability, which should be focused on the creation of its diversified structure.


As Nigeria enters a period of potentially rapid economic growth due to the increase in the working age population, it is critical to understand why fertility remains so high there. Nigeria's current total fertility rate (TFR) of 5.5 (0.2 fewer children per woman than the TFR of 5.7 reported in both the 2003 and 2008 NDHS surveys) is projected to continue to decline, but questions remain about whether this decline is inevitable and whether it will continue apace. Regardless, Nigeria's population growth will continue through at least 2050 due to simple population momentum. Other challenges are the persistent and vast fertility differentials; many groups remain above replacement fertility across various social and geographical sub-units of the country. Using data primarily from the 2013 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), as well as from 2003 and 2008 surveys, we document that many population subgroups and zones of the country are finally beginning to show signs of fertility convergence and decline. Nevertheless, some population subgroups still have higher fertility, especially: Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri women, women who live in the North West geopolitical zone, Muslim and traditionalist women, women who live in poor households, women who have lower levels of education, women who are opposed to family planning, women who marry early, and women who give birth early. In order for the projected decline in the TFR to continue, these subgroups must be highlighted, understood, and targeted with fertility-and poverty-reducing interventions.


Flying fox is the common name of all fruit bat spe cies of the genus Pteropus. Prior to this study, Vietnamese flying foxes were poorly studied and their ecology was almost unknown. To fill this gap, we conducted monthly surveys betw een January and September 2014 in Soc Trang province with emphasis on variations of colony size , di t and roosting behavior of flying foxes. The surveys included observational counting, field dentification of flying foxes and identification of food samples and their roosting trees. Results f rom the surveys indicated that the colony comprises two species, the larger of which is Pteropus lylei and the smaller one is provisionally identified as Pteropus cf. hypomelanus . Although there are nearly one thousand trees in t he s udy site, flying foxes roost under the canopies of very f w. The colony size varies weekly, monthly and seasonally with a total number of individuals rangi ng between 453 in April and 1,753 in February. This paper also provides a risk assessment and reco mmendations for urgent conservation of these threatened mammals.


Evolution of the local plate tectonic and volcanic system relationship at Kyushu Island is defined by major changes in tectonics and volcanic style at ca. 15, 10, 6, and 2 Ma. Plate reconstructions presented here suggest that prior to 15 Ma, the Pacific plate subduction dominated Kyushu tectonics. From 15 to 6 Ma, the evolving relative plate motions shifted the triple junction between the Pacific plate, Philippine Sea plate, and southwest Japan northwards, so that the Philippine Sea plate was subducted beneath Kyushu. We suggest that a lack of subduction-related volcanism from 10 to 6 Ma is due to shallow subduction of the young Shikoku Basin lithosphere. By 6–5 Ma, changes in the Philippine Sea plate motion led to more rapid, nearly trench-normal, subduction of the Eocene west Philippine Basin crust beneath Kyushu. This model is supported by an increase in arc-like geochemistry of lavas since ca. 6.5 Ma. Subduction of fluid-rich features such as the Kyushu-Palau ridge introduced large volumes of fluids into the Kyushu arc system, leading to voluminous volcanism across Kyushu, focused particularly in areas where the ridge subduction occurs in tandem with local extensional tectonics. Key issues, such as the timing of Izu arc collision with central Japan and the history of motion of the Philippine Sea plate, are reassessed here, resulting in a model that favors Izu arc–central Japan collision at ca. 8–6 Ma, rather than the more widely accepted date of ca. 15 Ma.


We found unprecedentedly high abundances of microbially produced CH4 in the anoxic deep waters of Lake Untersee, an oligotrophic, perennially ice‐covered Antarctic freshwater lake. The maximum CH4 concentration (approaching 21.8 ± 1.4 mmol L−1) is one of the highest observed so far in a natural aquatic ecosystem. Although surficial lake sediments are the predominant source of CH4 in Lake Untersee, methanogenesis occurs also within the anoxic waters. Radiocarbon labeling experiments show that H2/CO2 reduction is the predominant methanogenic pathway (90–100%) both in the sediments and the water column, whereas acetate is only a minor CH4 precursor. This result is consistent with the stable carbon isotope fractionation between coexisting CH4 and CO2. In the water column, CH4 is partly consumed by both aerobic and anaerobic microbial oxidation as evidenced by CH4 concentration patterns, stable isotope analyses (13C, 2H), and 14C‐CH4 assays. Dissimilatory sulfate reduction also occurs and peaks at 84 m water depth (1.83 µmol SO4 L−1 d−1). Intense methanogenesis in surficial lake sediments, diffusion of CH4 from sediments to the water column, additional CH4 production in the water column, gross CH4 production higher than CH4 consumption, and lack of mixing because of the permanent ice cover cause the exceptionally high CH4 concentration in the lake. Our studies demonstrate that H2/CO2 reduction may sometimes be the major pathway of methanogenesis in low‐sulfate freshwater environments even at low temperatures. This pathway is obviously more important in Antarctic lakes than hitherto assumed.


An ideal reference guide for case managers who work with complex, multimorbid patients, The Integrated Case Management Manual helps readers enhance their ability to work with these patients, learn how to apply new evidence-based assessments, and advocate for improved quality and safe care for all patients. This text encourages case managers to assess patients with both medical and mental health barriers to improvement in order to coordinate appropriate integrated health interventions and treatment planning.</p. Built upon the goals and values of the Case Management Society of America (CMSA), this manual guides case managers through the process of developing new and important cross-disciplinary skills. These skills will allow them to alter the health trajectory of some of the neediest patients in the health care system.