There is much to like about most "pride"-oriented social movements. Black pride? Obama wouldn't be president without it. Gay pride? It will rightly lead to the legalization of marriage for all. But a new social movement, depicted in a recent Newsweek article, should give social-movement-supporters serious pause. "Mad Pride," as it is called, is "a budding grassroots movement, where people who have been defined as mentally ill reframe their conditions and celebrate unusual (some call them 'spectacular') ways of processing information and emotion." The article follows Will Hall, a diagnosed schizophrenic, whose troubled interactions with the medical establishment have led him to reject traditional conceptions of mental illness. Hall's efforts, formalized by his leadership in the New York-based group the Icarus Project, are not just about fighting the stigma of mental illness. Ending stigma is one aim of Hall's group, but not its primary aim. Instead, Hall and others claim that illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder need not—indeed, should not—be framed as illnesses at all. According to the Icarus Project's Web site, they are "mad gifts to be cultivated and taken care of, rather than diseases or disorders to be eliminated or suppressed." Hall's group raises important questions about the psychiatric establishment, the treatment of the mentally ill, and the rising use of medication as an automatic, go-to remedy. The ever-growing multitude of psychiatric disorders should give us pause. Complaints by some that the psychiatric model reduces people to being "essentially diseased or disordered" ought to be taken seriously. But we can ask legitimate questions about the blurriness of "normal" and "disordered" behaviors without broadly denouncing medical models of illness. And diagnosing mental illnesses does not automatically mean that the people who have them have been reduced to a diagnosis—that they are nothing more than an illness. People like Kay Redfield Jameson, author of An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, offer more nuanced criticisms of mental illness and psychiatry. They seek to end stigma, raise awareness, explore experiences, and encourage conversation about living with mental illness. These efforts are dignified and important undertakings. At first glance, it seems easy to draw parallels between movements like Hall's and those within various disability communities. The Newsweek article does just this, comparing the Mad Pride movement to the resistance of certain deaf communities to "cures" like cochlear implants. In the bioethics literature, Adrienne Asch and others argue convincingly that disabilities are not necessarily bad; rather, they become bad only because able-bodied people see them that way. But in fact, the parallels between the disability and the mad pride movements are limited. It is true that one reason living with a mental illness is difficult is that others stigmatize you. But stigma is not the only thing that makes a mental illness an illness. Most mental illnesses, for most people, are inherently negative. They demoralize people. They halt lives, figuratively and literally. Bipolar disorder could be thought to have gift-like elements, since periods of mania can be characterized by a certain brilliance or creativity, but many other illnesses—like unipolar depression, severe anxiety, OCD, and eating disorders—would hardly be described as gifts by most sufferers. In 2005 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), over thirty-two thousand Americans committed suicide, making it the fourth leading cause of death for people aged ten to sixty-four, and mental illnesses are the likely cause of the vast majority of cases. Anorexia, the deadliest of mental illnesses, claims between 18 and 20 percent of all its sufferers. No matter how destigmatized our society becomes, mental illnesses will always cause suffering. They are not simply different ways of processing information or emotion; they are disorders in the capacities for processing information or emotion. It's one thing, then, to say that mental illnesses should be respected for how they shape and sometimes enrich the lives and personalities of the people who suffer them, and quite another to say that mental illnesses should be embraced by those who suffer them and by the community at large. Mad Pride and the Medical Model


STUDY OBJECTIVE--Coeur en santé St-Henri is a five year, community based, multifactorial, heart health promotion programme in a low income, low education neighbourhood in Montreal, Canada. The objectives of this programme are to improve heart-healthy behaviours among adults of St-Henri. This paper describes the theoretical model underlying programme development as well as our early field experience implementing interventions. DESIGN--The design of the intervention programme is based on a behaviour change model adapted from social learning theory, the reasoned action model, and the precede-proceed model. The Ottawa charter for health promotion provided the framework for the development of specific interventions. Each intervention is submitted to formative, implementation, and impact evaluations using simple and inexpensive methods. PARTICIPANTS--The target population consists of adults living in St-Henri, a neighbourhood of 23,360 residents. Because of costs constraints, the intervention strategy targets women more specifically. The community is one of the poorest in Canada with 46% of the population living below the poverty line and 20% being very poor. The age-sex adjusted ischaemic heart disease mortality in 1985-87 was 317 per 100,000 compared with 126 per 100,000 in an affluent adjacent neighbourhood. RESULTS--Thirty nine distinct interventions have been developed and tested in the community, eight related to tobacco, 10 to diet, seven to physical activity, and 14 which are multifactorial. The interventions include smoking cessation and healthy recipes contests, a menu labelling and healthy food discount programme in restaurants, a point of choice nutrition education campaign, healthy eating and smoking cessation workshops, a walking club, educational material, print and electronic media campaigns, heart health fairs, and community events. CONCLUSION--An integrated heart health promotion programme is feasible in low income urban neighbourhoods but not all interventions are successful. Such a programme requires substantial energy and resources as well as long term commitment from public health departments.


Volume 8 of the Handbook of Mammals of the World (HMW) contains an unusual compilation of important but smaller orders that we now know have either distant or nearly no taxonomic relationships. They include armadillos, sloths and anteaters.


There is an important sense in which our Constitution's structure is not what it appears to be -- a set of activities or functions or geographies, the 'judicial" or the "executive" or the "legislative" power, the "truly local and the truly national." Indeed, it is only if we put these notions to the side that we can come to grips with the importance of the generative provisions of the Constitution: the provisions that actually create our federal government; that bind citizens, through voting, to a House of Representatives, to a Senate, to a President, and even, indirectly, to a Supreme Court. In this article, the author contends that the deep structure of the Constitution is not a set of functions or geographies, but rather a political economy of relations between the governed and the governing. Based on standard assumptions common in institutional economics, she argues that these relations create incentives that can help us predict real (rather than simply theoretical) risks to structural change in actual cases involving both the separation of powers and federalism. By considering the risk from shifting relations not to activity-description but instead to majorities and minorities, we may come closer to understanding real risks to shifting power, from states to nation and from one national department to another. To this end, against the backdrop of constitutional law, the author brings to bear the converging meanings of history, political science, and lost constitutional text, all of which reveal that the canonical view of our Constitution is quite partial to courts and provides an incomplete picture of our Constitution as a whole.


An increase in MMP‐9 gene expression and enzyme activity with stimulating the migration of GBM8401 glioma cells via wound healing assay by 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate (TPA) was detected in glioblastoma cells GBM8401. TPA‐induced translocation of protein kinase C (PKC)α from the cytosol to membranes, and migration of GBM8401 elicited by TPA was suppressed by adding the PKCα inhibitors, GF109203X and H7. Activation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) and c‐Jun‐N‐terminal kinase (JNK) by TPA was identified, and TPA‐induced migration and MMP‐9 activity was significantly blocked by ERK inhibitor PD98059 and U0126, but not JNK inhibitor SP600125. Activation of NF‐κB protein p65 nuclear translocation and IκBα protein phosphorylation with increased NF‐κB‐directed luciferase activity by TPA were observed, and these were blocked by the PD98059 and IkB inhibitor BAY117082 accompanied by reducing migration and MMP‐9 activity induced by TPA in GBM8401 cells. Transfection of GBM8401 cells with PKCα siRNA specifically reduced PKCα protein expression with blocking TPA‐induced MMP‐9 activation and migration. Additionally, suppression of TPA‐induced PKCα/ERK/NK‐κB activation, migration, and MMP‐9 activation by flavonoids including kaempferol (Kae; 3,5,7,4′‐tetrahydroxyflavone), luteolin (Lut; 5,7,3′4′‐tetrahydroxyflavone), and wogonin (Wog; 5,7‐dihydroxy‐8‐methoxyflavone) was demonstrated, and structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies showed that hydroxyl (OH) groups at C4′ and C8 are critical for flavonoids' action against MMP‐9 enzyme activation and migration/invasion of glioblastoma cells elicited by TPA. Application of flavonoids to prevent the migration/invasion of glioblastoma cells through blocking PKCα/ERK/NF‐κB activation is first demonstrated herein. J. Cell. Physiol. 225: 472–481, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the application of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) within tertiary education in a Spanish University. We analyze the results of a new initiative developed by the University of Zaragoza through an innovative project for a virtual campus called 'Anillo Digital Docente'. Data relating to the degree of WebCT's use is analyzed, as well as the academic results achieved by the students using it. These results are compared with the results achieved by other students studying in a traditional teaching setting. Several conclusions are drawn from this comparison: firstly, on how effective these technologies are within regulated university education; and secondly, on how beneficial the extension of its application would be to other educational areas.


The Effect of Zinc and Copper on Male Gametophytes of FloweringPlants1) The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of heavy metals in the development of male gametophytes in flowering plants. Several experiments were conducted to find the best germination medium for the maximum percent germination and pollen tube growth of pollen. Temperature was also found to be an important factor influencing pollen tube growth.2) Three plant species were used in this study. They were Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi, Brassica rapa and Hippeastrum. The optimum germination medium for the pollen under study was found to be species-specific. 3) The best in vitro germination medium for the maximum percent germination and pollen tube growth for Kalanctioe fedtsclienl<oi was 10% PEG and 10% sucrose, while for Brassica rapa dwf2 it was 15% PEG and 10% sucrose.4) A 5 C difference of germination temperature was shown to alter pollen tube growth length in two cultivars of Brassica rapa.5) Presence of zinc in the germinating medium led to reductions in both percent pollen germination and pollen tube length growth in Kalanctioe fedtsctienkoi at high concentrations of zinc. In contrast, Bnassica rapa dwf2 showed a greater reduction in percent pollen germination than in pollen tube length. 6) There was a large inhibitory effect of copper on both the percent pollen germination and pollen tube length of Brassica rapa dwf2.7) Cytoplasmic streaming was found to be a useful indicator of the possible toxicity of heavy metals. The movements of granules on the cytoplasm in the pollen tube slowed down when pollen was incubated in germination medium containing heavy metals. Thus this approach provides a sensitive assay for the effects of heavy metals such as zinc and copper upon male gametophytes.8) Brassica rapa dwf2 grown in water culture medium containing heavy metals showed a reduction in in vivo pollen tube growth. Thus, metal uptake by plants from the growing medium does result in metal reaching the male gametophyte and can in turn result in reduction of pollen tube germination and growth, thus potentially markedly affecting reproduction. I


Aim: This study will investigate whether, and in what ways, learners engage with formative and summative feedback delivered through ePortfolios.

Detailed, appropriate and timely feedback is of the utmost importance for all learners. Feedback can improve achievement in knowledge acquisition and skills development, promote deep learning, improve motivation, increase reflective skills and help learners prepare for future learning events. Feedback is particularly important for health science students who undertake activities in the clinical environment which are less structured and predictable than those in the academic setting, requiring students to respond by learning in a highly flexible manner. Interaction with members of the multi-professional team and with clients adds another challenging dimension to the learning process.

Unfortunately, feedback, a resource-intensive activity, is often under-valued by students and sometimes ignored. For health science students it is critical that feedback, as part of the assessment process, is meaningful and clear, particularly when it relates to clinical practice. The learner who receives no interactive feedback from supervisors and tutors or who fails to engage with feedback when it is offered, is less likely to be able to link theory with practice effectively.

Unlike other forms of online assessment and feedback, ePortfolios have the potential to help learners capture, collate and reflect on feedback, assisting them to develop, over time, a more informed sense of their skills and achievements and their requirements for PDP/CPD. Potential barriers to learner engagement with ePortfolios and feedback could include computer anxiety, lack of access and usability, or inappropriate use by tutors.

We hope to explore, through focus groups, the benefits and barriers of health science learners receiving feedback through ePortfolios and how this compares with their previous experiences of feedback. The project will develop guidelines and case studies for educators to improve learner engagement with feedback through ePortfolios. Our results will be disseminated through a project blog, the HEA, the Centre for Recording Achievement and JiscInfoNet.


From the insight that Americans have an ambivalent attitude about rhetoric but demand it of the president in times of national crisis, the essay examines the response of President George W. Bush to the terrorist attacks of 2001, focusing especially on his speech to a joint session of Congress on September 20. The speech clearly reflects a definition of the situation as war, a choice Bush made immediately and instinctively. Several rhetorical moves are evident in the speech, including distinguishing the war on terrorism from other wars, marginalizing the enemy, forcing all nations to choose sides, minimizing the sacrifice required, and forecasting inevitable victory. The speech was successful in responding to the immediate situation, but it invited long-term risks, ranging from threatening civil liberties to encouraging copycat behavior by other nations and limiting the maneuvering room of the United States.


African migration is often perceived as massive and increasing, mainly directed toward Europe, and driven by poverty and violence. However, these assumptions are not based on empirical evidence. We now have a much better ability to assess the volume and geographical orientation of African emigration, thanks to the Global Bilateral Migration Database (GBMD) on the presence of emigrants abroad. African migration is first and foremost intra-continental. In 2000, 75 percent of all African migrants lived in another African country, while 16 percent were in Europe, 5 percent in America, 4 percent in Oceania and 0.3 per cent in Asia. In fact, African extra-continental emigrant rates seem to be the lowest of all world regions.


Title of Document: A WAVE-CHAOTIC APPROACH TO PREDICTING AND MEASURING ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD QUANTITIES IN COMPLICATED ENCLOSURES Sameer D. Hemmady, Doctor of Philosophy, 2006 Directed By: Dr. Steven M. Anlage ProfessorDept. of Physics Affiliate FacultyDept. of Electrical Engineering The coupling of short-wavelength electromagnetic waves into large complicated enclosures is of great interest in the field of electromagnetic compatibility engineering. The intent is to protect sensitive electronic devices housed within these enclosures from the detrimental effects of high-intensity external electromagnetic radiation penetrating into the enclosure (which acts as a resonant cavity) through various coupling channels (or ports). The Random Coupling Model introduced by Zheng, Antonsen and Ott is a stochastic model where the mechanism of the coupling process is quantified by the non-statistical "radiation impedance" of the coupling-port, and the field variations within the cavity are conjectured to be explained in a statistical sense through Random Matrix Theoryby assuming that the waves possess chaotic ray-dynamics within the cavity. The Random Coupling Model in conjunction with Random Matrix Theory thus makes explicit predictions for the statistical aspect (Probability Density Functions-PDFs) of the impedance, admittance and scattering fluctuations of waves within such wave-chaotic cavities. More importantly, these fluctuations are expected to be universal in that their statistical description depends only upon the value of a single dimensionless cavity loss-parameter. This universality in the impedance, admittance and scattering properties is not restricted to electromagnetic systems, but is equally applicable to analogous quantities in quantum-mechanical or acoustic systems, which also comprise of short-wavelength waves confined within complicated-shaped potential wells or acoustic-resonators. In this dissertation, I will experimentally show the validity of the "radiation impedance" to accurately quantify the port-coupling characteristics. I will experimentally prove the existence of these universal fluctuations in the impedance, admittance and scattering properties of quasi-two-dimensional and three-dimensional wave-chaotic systems driven by one-port or two-ports, and validate that their statistical nature is described through Random Matrix Theory. Finally, I will utilize the Random Coupling Model to formulate a prediction-algorithm to determine the shape and scales of induced voltages PDFs at specific points within complicated enclosures, such as computer boxes, when irradiated by high-intensity, shortwavelength electromagnetic energy. The insight gained from the experimental validation of the Random Coupling Model allows one to conceive of certain designguidelines for cavity-enclosures that are more resistant to attack from an external short-wavelength electromagnetic source. A WAVE-CHAOTIC APPROACH TO PREDICTING AND MEASURING ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD QUANTITIES IN COMPLICATED ENCLOSURES


When designing Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications that use Machine Learning (ML) techniques, feature extraction becomes a significant part of the development effort, whether developing a new application or attempting to reproduce results reported for existing NLP tasks. We present EDISON, a Java library of feature generation functions used in a suite of state-of-the-art NLP tools, based on a set of generic NLP data structures. These feature extractors populate simple data structures encoding the extracted features, which the package can also serialize to an intuitive JSON file format that can be easily mapped to formats used by ML packages. EDISON can also be used programmatically with JVM-based (Java/Scala) NLP software to provide the feature extractor input. The collection of feature extractors is organised hierarchically and a simple search interface is provided. In this paper we include examples that demonstrate the versatility and ease-of-use of the EDISON feature extraction suite to show that this can significantly reduce the time spent by developers on feature extraction design for NLP systems. The library is publicly hosted at https://github.com/IllinoisCogComp/illinois-cogcomp-nlp/, and we hope that other NLP researchers will contribute to the set of feature extractors. In this way, the community can help simplify reproduction of published results and the integration of ideas from diverse sources when developing new and improved NLP applications.


We have carried out a uniform spectroscopic survey of Seyfert 2 galaxies to study the stellar populations of the host galaxies. New spectra have been obtained for 79 Southern galaxies classied as Seyfert 2 galaxies, 7 normal galaxies, and 73 stars at a resolution of 2.2 A over the wavelength region 3500{5300 A. Cross-correlation between the stellar spectra is performed to group the individual observations into 44 synthesis standard spectra. The standard groups include a solar abundance sequence of spectral types from O5 to M3 for dwarfs, giants, and supergiants. Metal-rich and metal-weak F-K giants and dwarfs are also included. A comparison of the stellar data with previously published spectra is performed both with the individual spectra and the standard groups. For each galaxy, two distinct spatial regions are considered: the nucleus and the external bulge. Spectroscopic variations from one galaxy to another and from the central to the external region are briefly discussed. It is found that the central region of a Seyfert 2 galaxy, after subtracting the bulge stellar population, always shows a near-UV spectrum similar to one of three representative categories: a) many strong emission lines and only two visible absorption lines (Ca ii Ka ndG band) (Sey2e); b) few emission lines, many absorption lines, and a redder continuum than the previous category (Sey2a); c) an almost flat continuum and high-order Balmer lines seen in absorption (Sey2b). The proportion of Seyfert 2 galaxies belonging to each class is found to be 22%, 28%, and 50% respectively. We nd no signicative dierences between morphology distributions of Seyfert 2 galaxies with Balmer lines detected in absorption and the rest of the sample. This quick look through the atlas indicates that half of Seyfert 2 galaxies harbour a young stellar population (about or less than 100 Myr) in their central region, clearly unveiled by the high order Balmer series seen in absorption.


History has largely ignored Anglo-Jewish history in the years between the expulsion of
the Jews from England in 1290 and their readmittance in 1656 by Cromwell. This article
revisits that period and disputes the misconception that the Period of Expulsion left
England without any Jews for nearly 400 years. Although the small Jewish population
ebbed and flowed with the rising and waning tides of English anti-Jewish hostilities, it
nevertheless persevered. This article highlights some of the more well-known and thus
well-documented of these Jews, the majority of whom were Crypto-Jews of Spanish or
Portuguese origin.


1. Tino cleverly avoided the punishment. (clever) 2. Uganda's population is steadily rising. (steady) 3. St Thomas choir sang the second compulsory song _______________. (beauty) 4. The host welcomed us ________________. (cheer) 5. We ________________________ waited for his return from Ojipaku market. (patience) 6. Italians have seen the ________________coronavirus attacked. (worse) 7. They answered the question_________________. (wise) 8. A machete is _________________________ bigger than a knife. (usual) 9. The hungry boy ate the mango ______________________. (greed) 10. The hunter _____________ attacked the lion in its den. (brave)


This paper describes cash equity markets in Germany and their evolution against the background of technological and regulatory transformation. The development of these secondary markets in the largest economy in Europe is first briefly outlined from a historical perspective. This serves as the basis for the description of the most important trading system for German equities, the Xetra trading system of Deutsche Borse AG. Then, the most important regulatory change for European and German equity markets in the last ten years is illustrated: the introduction of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) in 2007. Its implications on equity trading in Germany are analyzed against the background of the current status of competition in Europe. Recent developments in European equity markets like the emergence of dark pools and algorithmic / high frequency trading are portrayed, before an outlook on new regulations (MiFID II, MiFIR) that will likely come into force in early 2018 will close the paper.


Abstract Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) has been used extensively as a dietary supplement for athletes and physically active people. HMB is a leucine metabolite, which is one of three branched chain amino acids. HMB plays multiple roles in the human body of which most important ones include protein metabolism, insulin activity and skeletal muscle hypertrophy. The ergogenic effects of HMB supplementation are related to the enhancement of sarcolemma integrity, inhibition of protein degradation (ubiquitin pathway), decreased cell apoptosis, increased protein synthesis (mTOR pathway), stimulation of the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 (GH/IGF-1) axis and enhancement of muscle stem cells proliferation and differentiation. HMB supplementation has been carried out with various groups of athletes. In endurance and martial arts athletes, HMB supplementation revealed positive effects on specific aerobic capacity variables. Positive results were also disclosed in resistance trained athletes, where changes in strength, body fat and muscle mass as well as anaerobic performance and power output were observed. The purpose of this review was to present the main mechanisms of HMB action, especially related to muscle protein synthesis and degradation, and ergogenic effects on different types of sports and physical activities.


OBJECTIVEGeniculate neuralgia (GN) is an uncommon craniofacial pain syndrome attributable to nervus intermedius (NI) dysfunction. Diagnosis and treatment can be challenging, due to the complex nature of ear sensory innervation, resulting in clinical overlap with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN).METHODSA retrospective review of a prospective neurosurgical database at our institution was performed, 2000-2017, with a corresponding systematic literature review. Pain outcomes were dichotomized as unfavorable for unchanged/worsened symptoms versus favorable if improved/resolved. Eight formalin-fixed brains were examined to describe NI at the brainstem.RESULTSEleven patients were surgically treated for GN-9 primary, 2 reoperations. The median age was 48, 7 patients were female, and the median follow-up was 11 months (range 3-143). Seven had ≥ 2 probable cranial neuralgias. NI was sectioned in 9 and treated via microvascular decompression (MVD) in 2. Five patients underwent simultaneous treatment for TN (4 MVD; 1 rhizotomy) and 5 for GPN (3 MVD; 2 rhizotomy). Eleven reported symptomatic improvement (100%); 8 initially reported complete resolution (73%). Pain outcomes at last contact were favorable in 8 (73%)-all among the 9 primary operations (89% vs 0%, p = 0.054). Six prior series reported outcomes in 111 patients.CONCLUSIONSGN is rare, and diagnosis is confounded by symptomatic overlap with TN/GPN. Directed treatment of all possible neuralgias improved pain control in almost all primary operations. Repeat surgery seems a risk factor for an unfavorable outcome. NI is adherent to superomedial VIII at the brainstem; the intermediate/cisternal portion is optimal for visualization and sectioning.


The lichen family Teloschistaceae is one of the larger families of lichenized fungi. Currently it includes one very large heterogenous genus, Caloplaca, with some 1000 or more species with a vast variation in morphology, anatomy and chemistry. The rest of the family is split into 1015 smaller genera, each with 20 or fewer species. There is no modern classification of the family based on molecular data. Here we attempt a first phylogenetic evaluation of a large part of the family, including a total of 337 species. Of these, 162 were used in a combined phylogenetic analysis of the ribosomal RNA sequence markers nrITS, nrLSU and mrSSU, using Bayesian inference. We also analysed all species using nrITS data, split into four different analyses. As a result we propose a new classification of the family, where a total of 39 genera are recognized, of which 31 are newly described or resurrected. The new genera are: Athallia, Austroplaca, Bryoplaca, Calogaya, Cerothallia, Flavoplaca, Gondwania, Haloplaca, Orientophila, Pachypeltis, Parvoplaca, Rufoplaca, Shackletonia, Scutaria, Sirenophila, Solitaria, Squamulea, Stellarangia, Teloschistopsis, Usnochroma, Variospora, Villophora and Wetmoreana. Resurrected genera are Blastenia, Dufourea, Follmannia, Gyalolechia, Leproplaca, Polycauliona, Pyrenodesmia and Xanthocarpia. The species Orientophila subscopularis is described as new. A third subfamily, Teloschistoideae, is proposed to accommodate the genus Teloschistes and related genera, parallel to the two previously recognized subfamilies Xanthorioideae and Caloplacoideae. We also show the large plasticity in both morphological and anatomical characters between closely related species within genera, indicating the low value of these as evolutionary markers. The secondary chemistry is a better marker in some parts of the family. We recognize a large number of geographically delimited clades with clear centres of evolution, but often showing large variation in morphology and anatomy. (Less)


We show that a variety of quasi-phase-matched structures with engineered patterns can potentially be used for soliton control in quadratic nonlinear media. We study geometries with dislocations, tilts, and wells and predict spatial switching between different output soliton states. Experimental implementation conditions are discussed.


The Arab revolutions, often referred to collectively as the 'Arab Spring', posed, and continue to present, a considerable challenge for Al-Qaeda. This article assesses how Al-Qaeda's senior leadership, as well as affiliates and associates, have responded to the Arab Spring, by analysing media material and public communiques issued in the aftermath of the uprisings. The first section discusses the impact of the Arab Spring on Al-Qaeda. The second section explores the AlQaeda core leadership response to the revolutions, especially the ways in which Ayman AlZawahiri has chosen to frame the events. The third section examines the way Al-Qaeda's affiliates and associates have responded to the revolutions, including contributions to the English-language Inspire magazine. Overall, The article describes how Al-Qaeda has sought to interpret the events in its favour and how it hopes to exploit the current turmoil in the wake of the Arab revolutions.


We study the fundamental problem of selecting optimal features for model construction. This problem is computationally challenging on large datasets, even with the use of greedy algorithm variants. To address this challenge, we extend the adaptive query model, recently proposed for the greedy forward selection for submodular functions, to the faster paradigm of Orthogonal Matching Pursuit for non-submodular functions. The proposed algorithm achieves exponentially fast parallel run time in the adaptive query model, scaling much better than prior work. Furthermore, our extension allows the use of downward-closed constraints, which can be used to encode certain fairness criteria into the feature selection process. We prove strong approximation guarantees for the algorithm based on standard assumptions. These guarantees are applicable to many parametric models, including Generalized Linear Models. Finally, we demonstrate empirically that the proposed algorithm competes favorably with state-of-the-art techniques for feature selection, on real-world and synthetic datasets.


Robotic technology has made significant advances in the recent years, yet
robots have not been fully incorporated in our every day lives. Current
robots are executing a set of pre-programmed skills, that can not adapt to
environmental changes, and acquiring new skills is difficult and time
consuming. Additionally, current approaches for robot control focus on
accurately reproducing a task, but rarely consider safety aspects that could
enable the robots to share the same environment with humans. In this thesis, we
develop a framework that allows robots to rapidly acquire new skills, to adapt
skills to environmental changes, and to be controlled accurately and in a safe
manner.

Our framework is based on movement primitives, a well-established concept for
representing modular and reusable robot skills. In this thesis, we introduce a
novel movement primitive representation that not only models the shape of the
movement but also its uncertainty in time. We choose to rely on probability
theory, creating a mathematically sound framework that is capable of adapting
skills to environmental changes as well as adapting the execution speed online.
Our probabilistic framework allows training the robot with imitation learning,
speeding up significantly the process of novel skill acquisition. Hence, our
approach unifies all the significant properties of existing movement primitive
representations and, additionally, provides new properties, such as
conditioning and combination of primitives.

By modeling the variance of the trajectories, our framework enables standard
probabilistic operations to be applied on movement primitives. First, we
present a generalization operator that can modify a given trajectory
distribution to new situations and has improved performance over the current
approaches. Secondly, we define a novel combination operator for the
co-activating of multiple primitives, enabling the resulting primitive to
concurrently solve multiple tasks. Finally, we demonstrate that smoothly
sequencing primitives is simply a special case of movement combination. All
aforementioned operators for our model were derived analytically.

In noisy environments, coordinated movements have better recovery from
perturbations when compared to controlling each degree of freedom
independently. While many movement primitive representations use time as a
reference signal for synchronization, our approach, in addition, synchronizes
complete movement sequences in the full state of the robot. The skill's
correlations are encoded in the covariance matrix of our probabilistic model
that we estimate from demonstrations. Furthermore, by encoding the
correlations between the state of the robot and force/torque sensors, we
demonstrate that our approach has improved performance during physical
interaction tasks.

A movement generation framework would have limited application without a
control approach that can reproduce the learned primitives in a physical
system. Therefore, we derive two control approaches that are capable of
reproducing exactly the encoded trajectory distribution. When the dynamics of
the system are known, we derive a model-based stochastic feedback controller.
The controller has time-varying feedback gains that depend on the variance of
the trajectory distribution. We compute the gains in closed form. When the
dynamics of the system are unknown or are difficult to obtain, e.g., during
physical interaction scenarios, we propose a model-free controller. This
model-free controller has the same structure as the model-based controller,
i.e. a stochastic feedback controller, with time-varying gains, where the
gains can also be computed in closed form.

Complex robots with redundant degrees of freedom can in principle perform
multiple tasks at the same time, for example, reaching for an object with a
robotic arm while avoiding an obstacle. However, simultaneously performing
multiple tasks using the same degrees of freedom, requires combining control
signals from all the tasks. We developed a novel prioritization approach where
we utilize the variance of the movement as a priority measure. We demonstrate
how the task priorities can be obtained from imitation learning and how
different primitives can be combined to solve unseen previously unobserved
task-combinations. Due to the prioritization, we can efficiently learn a
combination of tasks without requiring individual models per task combination.
Additionally, existing primitive libraries can be adapted to environmental
changes by means of a single primitive, prioritized to compensate for the
change. Therefore, we avoid retraining the entire primitive library. The
prioritization controller can still be computed in closed form.


The article is devoted to the problems of the nationalism perception in the liberal journalism in the 1860s. The author reveals the political and ideological factors which prompted liberalism theorists K.D. Kavelin, B.N. Chicherin, A.D. Gradovsky to consider national issues. There are analyzed the common and particular features in the works of publicists of public school. Special attention is paid to their attitude to the Slavic idea, the Polish issue and the Russian nationalism.


Accurate estimation of glottal closure instants (GCIs) and opening instants (GOIs) is important for speech processing applications that benefit from glottal-synchronous processing. The majority of existing approaches detect GCIs by comparing the differentiated EGG signal to a threshold and are able to provide accurate results during voiced speech. More recent algorithms use a similar approach across multiple dyadic scales using the stationary wavelet transform. All existing approaches are however prone to errors around the transition regions at the end of voiced segments of speech. This paper describes a new method for EGG-based glottal activity detection which exhibits high accuracy over the entirety of voiced segments, including, in particular, the transition regions, thereby giving significant improvement over existing methods. Following a stationary wavelet transform-based preprocessor, detection of excitation due to glottal closure is performed using a group delay function and then true and false detections are discriminated by Gaussian mixture modeling. GOI detection involves additional processing using the estimated GCIs. The main purpose of our algorithm is to provide a ground-truth for GCIs and GOIs. This is essential in order to evaluate algorithms that estimate GCIs and GOIs from the speech signal only, and is also of high value in the analysis of pathological speech where knowledge of GCIs and GOIs is often needed. We compare our algorithm with two previous algorithms against a hand-labeled database. Evaluation has shown an average GCI hit rate of 99.47% and GOI of 99.35%, compared to 96.08 and 92.54 for the best-performing existing algorithm.


We will place certain parts of the theory of statistical efficiency into the author's
operator trigonometry (1967), thereby providing new geometrical understanding of statistical efficiency. Important
earlier results of Bloomfield and Watson, Durbin and Kendall, Rao and Rao, will be so interpreted. For
 example, worse case relative least squares efficiency corresponds to and is achieved by the maximal turning antieigenvectors of the covariance matrix. Some little-known historical perspectives will also be exposed. The overall view will be emphasized.


"Things shouldn't be so hard."While the goal of any system of taxation is to be fair, however elusive the concept of fairness, there are two kinds of obstacles that impede or affect our ability to be fair. I categorize these two kinds of obstacles as those that resound in politics and those that are structural. This article deals with the structural aspects of how we go about taxing ourselves. The politics of taxation I leave for another day.Because the United States Internal Revenue Code (the Code) is vast and complicated, I examine the structural problems of taxation in the single context of the Code — the environment — as the vehicle to evaluate the prospects for reform. This focus on a single area is undertaken with two underlying observations. First, the Code is necessarily complex. A focus on a single area is manageable and serves as a useful case study. Second, the problems we all face from a degraded environment allow for the possibility that attention will be paid. The paper will move from the general to the specific, first highlighting the strengths and the weaknesses of the Code, and second, highlighting structural problems that affect tax policy. The aim will be to guide legislators and policymakers toward a sane tax policy.


Ganoderma are cosmopolitan wood decaying white rot basidiomycete fungi,which have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes, particularly in China, Japan
and Korea. It is believed to possess many health benefits and has been reported to be effective against various diseases by virtue of their antioxidant potential. In the present study, solid-substrate fermentation of wheat grains with indigenous Ganoderma spp. selected based on ethnomycological knowledge was carried out. The species included Ganoderma australe (Fr.) Pat. (KUM60813), Ganoderma neo-japonicum Imazeki(KUM61076) and Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) Karst. (VITA GL) (a commercial strain).
Antioxidant activities of the crude aqueous and ethanol extracts of the unfermented and fermented wheat grains were investigated by the ferric reducing antioxidant power
(FRAP), 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging ability and lipid peroxidation assays. Among the six mycelia extracts tested, the ethanol extract from wheat fermented with KUM61076 mycelia showed the most potent antioxidant activities whereas, the ethanol extract of wheat grains fermented with KUM60813 mycelia had good potential to protect palm oil (food grade) against oxidation. Total phenol content (TPC) in the ethanol extracts were higher than that in the aqueous
extracts. The antioxidant activities of the mycelia extracts had a positive correlation with their polyphenol contents. These phenolic compounds may play a vital role in the antioxidant activities of the selected Ganoderma spp. The present study also evaluated the insulin-like properties of extracts of unfermented and fermented wheat grains through lipogenic, lipolytic and adipokine expression. 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with
ethanol extract of wheat grains fermented with KUM61076 mycelia, significantly stimulated lipogenesis (in the absence of insulin) and exerted relatively mild antiiii
adrenaline induced lipolytic activities. In general, the expressions of target genes such as adiponectin, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), glucose
transporter 4 (GLUT4) and hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) were up-regulated by the ethanol extract of wheat grains fermented with Ganoderma spp. mycelia. However,
both the aqueous and ethanol extracts of unfermented and fermented wheat grains demonstrated a dose-dependent inhibition of preadipocyte differentiation and reduced
the expression level of adiponectin in adipocytes when the cells were subjected to oxidative stress. In conclusion, these results suggest that wheat grains fermented with
Ganoderma spp. especially KUM60813 and KUM61076 have good antioxidant and insulin-like properties which may potentially serve as a therapeutic agent in the
management of diabetes. To our knowledge this is the first report on antioxidant and insulin-like properties of extracts from wheat grains fermented by Ganoderma spp.
mycelia.


School mathematics curricula internationally tend to emphasise problem-solving and have led to the development of opportunities for children to do maths in a more open, creative way. This has led to increased interest in 'performance-based' assessment, which involves children in substantial production of written language to serve as 'evidence' of their mathematical activity and achievement. However, this raises two important questions. Firstly, does this writing accurately present children's mathematical activity and ability? Secondly, do maths teachers have sufficient linguistic awareness to support their students in developing skills and knowledge necessary for writing effectively in their subject area? The author of this book takes a critical perspective on these questions and, through an investigation of teachers' readings and evaluations of coursework texts, identifies the crucial issues affecting the accurate assessment of school mathematics.


The most commonly used family of models in representing the UK building stock, BREDEM (the Building Research Establishment Domestic Energy Models), assume that all homes exhibit the same heating pattern and hence can be expected to have similar temperature profiles over the course of a day. The presented research shows that homes differ significantly in their respective temperature profile over the course of the day. A cluster analysis performed on temperature data from 275 living rooms in English homes over three winter months resulted in four different clusters of temperature profiles. The clusters differ significantly in their shape, as revealed by visual inspection, and supported by significant differences in minimum and maximum temperatures and temperature variability across the day. About 40% of homes showed a bimodal temperature pattern as assumed under BREDEM. However, the remaining 60% showed very different profiles. These findings challenge the assumption that one standard pattern fits all homes. Different temperature demand profiles have important implications for future peak power demands, particularly if domestic space heating is switched to electricity. It is also helpful for relating occupant demographics to appropriate forms of fabric retrofit.


The main goal of this work was the study of the applicability of a polymer film heat exchanger concept for the applications in the chemical industry, such as the condensation of organic solvents. The polymer film heat exchanger investigated is a plate heat exchanger with very thin (0.025 – 0.1 mm) plates or films, which separate the fluids and enable the heat transfer. After a successful application of this concept to seawater desalination in a previous work, a further step is in chemical engineering, where the good chemical resistance of polymers in aggressive fluids is the challenge.
Two approaches were performed in this work. The first one was experimental and included the study of the chemical and mechanical resistance of preselected films, made of polymer materials, such as polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). To simulate realistic operating conditions in a heat exchanger the films were exposed to a combined thermal (up to 90°C) and mechanical pressure loads (4-6 bar) with permanent contact with the relevant organic solvents, such as toluene, hexane, heptane and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Furthermore, a lab-scale apparatus and a full-scale demonstrator were manufactured in cooperation with two industrial partners. These were used for the investigation of the heat transfer performance for operating modes with and without phase change.
In addition to the experimental work, a coupled finite element –computational fluid dynamics (FEM-CFD)-model was developed, based on the fluid-structure-interaction (FSI). Two major tasks had to be solved here. The first one was the modelling of the condensation process, based on available mathematical models and energy balances. The second one was the consideration of the partially reversible deformation of the used film during operation. Since this deformation changes the geometry of the fluid channels also has an influence on the overall performance of the apparatus, a coupled FEM-CFD model was developed.
During the experimental study of the chemical resistance of the films, the PTFE film showed the best performance, and hence can be used for all four tested solvents. For the polyimide film, failures while exposed to THF were observed, and the PET film can only be used with water and hexane. With the used lab-scale heat exchanger and the full-scale demonstrator competitive overall heat transfer coefficients between 270 W/m²K and 700 W/m²K could be reached for the liquid-liquid (water-water, water-hexane) operation mode without phase change. For the condensation process, overall heat transfer coefficients of up to 1700/m²K could be obtained.
The numerical approach led to a well-functioning coupled model in a very small scale (1 cm²). An upscale, however, failed due to enormous hardware resources necessary required for the simulation of the entire full-scale demonstrator. The main reason for this is the very low thickness of the films, which leads to tiny mesh element sizes (<0.05 mm) necessary to model the deformation of the film. The modelling of the liquid-liquid heat transfer provided an acceptable accuracy (approx. 10%), but at very low rates the deviations were then higher (over 30%). The results of the condensation modelling were ambivalent. One the one hand a physically plausible model was developed, which could map the entire condensation process. On the other hand, the corresponding energy balance revealed major inaccuracy and hence could not be used for the determination of the overall heat transfer and showed the current limits of the FEM-CFD approach.


Runoff from a land area of approximately 490,000 km 2 enters the Gulf of Bothnia. This runoff is of essential importance for the flushing of the Gulf. A change in the volume of runoff effects the residence time. There are many natural as well as man made changes in the runoff, both in the form of long-term changes over many years and those occurring within one year. The most significant man made changes come from hydropower regulation. This report describes the effect on runoff from the development of the hydropower plants in Sweden and Finland by means of comparing recorded regulated runoff and simulated natural runoff. A recent time period, 1980-91, and a time period before regulation, 1925-36, were simulated. The monthly magnitudes of the redistributed flows were found to be on average 1,700 m 3 /s. The maximum redistributed monthly flow in May – June reached 5,000-6,000 m 3 /s.


Pluralism in the Arab world has not yet matured into functional democratic politics. While ruling establishments, Islamist movements, and secular parties have introduced a much greater degree of pluralism into Arab societies, the imbalance of power and interdependence among these actors limits both the degree of political diversity and its effectiveness at bringing about reforms. The Arab world is likely to grapple with political apathy, low voter turnout, dwindling membership in registered parties, and shrinking constituencies for the foreseeable future. Even the Islamists, who demonstrated great ability to organize and gain followers in the past, have begun showing signs of decreasing popularity. Getting to Pluralism: Political Actors in the Arab World explores the balance of power between the disparate political forces of the Arab world. The essays in this volume examine the characteristics of the major political actors in great detail and assess the weaknesses of the secular parties. They also illustrate the complexities of Islamist participation in the political processes of several Arab countries --pointing out both similarities and differences. Finally, the authors evaluate how incumbent Arab regimes have been able to maintain their grip on power in spite of their claims that they support political and social reform.


SystemC provides a robust set of extensions to the C++ language that enables rapid development of complex models of hardware and software systems. The authors focus on practical use of the language for modeling real systems, showing: A step-by-step build-up of syntax Code examples for each concept Over 8000 lines of downloadable code examples Updates to reflect the SystemC standard, IEEE 1666 Why features are as they are Many resource references How SystemC fits into an ESL methodology This new edition of an industry best seller is updated to reflect the standardization of SystemC as IEEE 1666 and other improvements that reflect feedback from readers of the first edition. The wide ranging feedback also include suggestions from editors of the Japanese and Korean language translations, professors and students, and computer engineers from a broad industrial and geographical spectrum, all who have successfully used the first edition. New chapters have been added on the SystemC Verification Library and the Transaction Level Modeling, and proposed changes to the current SystemC standard. David Black and Jack Donovan, well known consultants in the EDA industry, have teamed with Bill Bunton and Anna Keist, experienced SystemC modeling engineers, to write the second edition of this highly popular classic. As a team the authors bring over 100 years of ASIC and system design experience together to make a very readable introduction to SystemC.


Optimal planners in the classical setting are built around two notions: branching and pruning. SAT-based planners for example branch by trying the values of a selected variable, and prune by propagating constraints and checking consistency. In the conformant setting, a similar branching scheme can be used if restricted to action variables, but the pruning scheme must be modified. Indeed, pruning branches that encode inconsistent partial plans is not sufficient since a partial plan may be consistent and complete (covering all the action variables) and still fail to be a conformant plan. This happens indeed when the plan does not conform to some possible initial state or transition. A remedy to this problem is to use a criterion stronger than consistency for pruning. This is actually what we do in this paper where the consistency-based pruning criterion used in classical planning is replaced by a validity-based criterion suitable for conformant planning. Under the assumption that actions are deterministic, a partial plan can be defined as valid when it is logically consistent with the theory and each possible initial state. A valid partial plan that is complete is guaranteed to encode a conformant plan, and vice versa. Checking validity, however, while useful for pruning can be very expensive. We show then that such validity checks can be performed in linear time provided that the theory encoding the problem is transformed into a logically equivalent theory in deterministic decomposable negation normal form (d-DNNF). In d-DNNF, plan validity checks can be reduced to two linear-time operations: projection (finding the strongest consequence of a formula over some of its variables) and model counting (finding the number of satisfying assignments). We then define and evaluate a conformant planner that branches on action variables, and prunes invalid partial plans in linear time. The empirical results are encouraging, showing the potential benefits of stronger forms of inference in planning tasks that are not reducible to SAT.


Many hurdles, such as inadequate resources, impede the execution of strategies in organizations. These problems could partly be ascribed to the tendency of individuals to feel, in the midst of change, their identity could shift dramatically. Their activities now, therefore, may not seem meaningful to their future. In this state, people become more concerned about their immediate needs, withholding the effort needed to affect future change. Leaders who promote stable, consistent values over time might redress this concern. To assess this possibility, 208 senior managers completed a questionnaire that assesses consistency of values over time, a sense of meaning at work, hurdles that impede the execution of strategy, and firm performance. Consistent with the hypotheses, consistent values over time were positively associated with firm performance, and these relationships were mediated by meaning at work and hurdles that impede strategy. A qualitative study showed that managers utilize many approaches to foster this consistency of values. Specifically, they communicate their strategic plan regularly, redress misalignments between values and practice, encourage the participation of all departments equally, and seek the active support of senior management-all intended to show how perturbations in the organization align to an overarching, enduring vision.


Fifteen years ago, twenty-seven countries in Europe and Central Asia embarked on their economic transition paths. For some, the outcome was a considerable success. Several others are still struggling to shed the inheritance of the past and to correct more recent policy mistakes. Why were post-Communist recessions so long in some countries and growth disappointing? Why was fiscal performance so different? Was democracy a factor, which facilitated reforms or rather slowed them down? This book discusses these questions in the context of new empirical evidence, including a critical examination of the main themes in the economics of transition.


Transplant infectious diseases, a rapidly advancing fi eld, has developed in the past 2 decades into a welldefi ned subspecialty of infectious diseases. Because of the specialty's interdisciplinary nature, advances in the basic science of immune tolerance, immunomodulatory therapy, surgical techniques, antimicrobial therapy, pathogen detection, and global surveillance for emerging infections all intersect in this dynamic fi eld. The third edition of the Transplant Infections textbook is, therefore, a welcome update to the 2003 edition and provides an excellent overview of this rapidly changing fi eld. The contributors to this textbook are primarily infectious disease specialists from many of the largest academic transplant centers worldwide. This textbook's organization refl ects its clinical orientation. It begins with an overview of solid organ transplantation and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; the ensuing chapters review the pharmacology and immunology related to transplant infectious diseases and include useful tables detailing mechanism of action, side effects, and drug interactions. New chapters on infections after solid organ transplantation, donorderived infections, and infections in developing countries highlight the increasing awareness of these topics. The practical organization of the subsequent chapters into infections by type of transplantation, sites of infection, and class of pathogen remains unchanged from the previous edition and provides a quick reference for clinicians. Despite the new emphasis on donor-derived infections and geographic medicine, the pathogen-specifi c chapters variably cover these angles. New chapters on emerging and rare viral infections and on travel medicine, vaccines, and transplant tourism provide brief overviews of these complex topics. A more thorough review of the impact of emerging infections and geographic medicine on transplant medicine would have been useful, given the current era of unprecedented population mobility and the corresponding risk of exposure to emerging pathogens. The shortcoming of textbooks about rapidly changing fi elds is that the details may become quickly outdated. For example, the chapter on infection control issues after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation unfortunately does not include reference to the recently updated 2009 Guidelines for Preventing Infectious Complications among Hematopietic Cell Transplantation Recipients, although it refers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for updated information. This textbook excels as an orientation and update of the fi eld of transplant infectious diseases for the practicing clinician; infectious diseases specialists, surgeons, researchers, and public health practitioners will benefi t from its practical organization and style. For those seeking more comprehensive detail and updated information, it may fall slightly short, but it provides essential background for further exploration.


The Internet is highly susceptible to routing attacks and there is no universally deployed solution that ensures that traffic is not hijacked by third parties. Individuals or organizations wanting to protect themselves from sustained attacks must therefore typically rely on measurements and traffic monitoring to detect attacks. Motivated by the high overhead costs of continuous active measurements, we argue that passive monitoring combined with collaborative information sharing and statistics can be used to provide alerts about traffic anomalies that may require further investigation. In this paper we present and evaluate a user-centric crowd-based approach in which users passively monitor their network traffic, share information about potential anomalies, and apply combined collaborative statistics to identify potential routing anomalies. The approach uses only passively collected round-trip time (RTT) measurements, is shown to have low overhead, regardless if a central or distributed architecture is used, and provides an attractive tradeoff between attack detection rates (when there is an attack) and false alert rates (needing further investigation) under normal conditions. Our data-driven analysis using longitudinal and distributed RTT measurements also provides insights into detector selection and the relative weight that should be given to candidate detectors at different distances from the potential victim node.


The paper describes a project to add value to controlled vocabularies by making inter-vocabulary associations. A methodology for mapping terms from one vocabulary to another is presented in the form of a case study applying the approach to the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Thesaurus and the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Our approach to mapping involves encoding vocabularies according to Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) standards, machine matching of vocabulary terms, and categorizing candidate mappings by likelihood of valid mapping. Mapping data is then stored as machine links. Vocabularies with associations to other schemes will be a key component of Web-based terminology services. The paper briefly describes how the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) is used to provide access to a vocabulary with mappings.


Brown adipose fat tissue of a mouse dissipates the animal's energy in the form of heat. Chronically recording the temperature of this tissue helps biologists to study the metabolism of the animal and gain new insights about the obesity in humans. Such temperature recordings have never been carried out previously. To obtain accurate data during the in vivo tests, the stress introduced on the animal should be minimal. This requires a light-weight, and small sized implant that wirelessly transmits the sensors data to the base-station and allows the mouse to freely move inside the cage. Local temperature measurements also need miniature sensors that can be inserted in the brown fat tissue. The existing implantable systems are not suitable for the specific requirements of this study. In this thesis, a local temperature monitoring system with a light-weight, small sized, remotely- powered, and batteryless implantable unit is developed. The system consists of the base- station which supplies power to the implantable unit via magnetic coupling. The power transfer coils are designed to cover the entire area of a standard size cage. The base-station also receives the sensor data and sends it to a PC for further analysis. The implantable unit performs three main functions. It harvests the energy from the magnetic fields and creates a stable supply for other blocks of the chip. The sensor readout digitizes the sensor response. Finally the data is sent to the base-station by a transmitter. Simple digital circuits are also implemented to control operation of different blocks and generate data packets for communication. The thesis mainly focuses on low-power implementation of the remotely powered chip. Several circuit and system level techniques have been proposed to achieve this goal. A semi-passive rectifier is proposed to efficiently convert the induced AC voltage to a DC voltage for the rectifier loads below 100 μW. High sensitivity thermistors are used to measure the temperature. An ultra low-power time-domain sensor readout circuit is also proposed. This SAR algorithm based circuit directly digitizes the resistance and does not need any low-noise front-end amplifier for operation. A free running oscillator is employed as the transmitter. The communication data-rate is increased by implementing a wide band non-coherent receiver for on-off keying modulated signals. In the system level design, implantable chips sequentially perform different operations in time. The data averaging is also performed at the base-station to achieve higher accuracy. Two prototype implantable chips have been fabricated in 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The first system is continuously powered and needs at least 29 μWto start operation. It records data of one thermistor with accuracy of ±0.09 ◦C. To avoid the interference between the power carrier and data communication, the second system time interleaves power transfer, sensor readout, and data communication. This chip also includes a feedback loop that adjusts the duration of power transfer frame to control the rectified voltage level. This chip dissipates 30 μW while recording two thermistors with accuracy of ±0.05 ◦C. The second fabricated chip has been mounted on an implantable PCB with dimensions of 25 by 14mm2 together with the power reception coil, transmitter antenna and two temperature sensors. This PCB is covered with bio-compatible silicone and weights less than 1.2 g. It has been implanted in a laboratory mouse with weight of about 35 g. First implanted experiment shows vulnerability of data communication to changes in antenna's environment. Further in vivo tests are provisioned to prove the capability of the developed system on recording real-time high accuracy temperature data.


To determine the costs of motor vehicle crashes companies have previously relied upon roughly estimated cost multipliers. Establishing the insurance cost of fleet crashes and obtaining more precise cost multipliers will assist fleet policy planning and provide a framework for cost-benefit analysis of safety measures. This project was designed specifically with this aim and was unique in that it co-ordinated a collaborative research process across insurance agencies that typically restrict access to their data. The data represented all vehicle incidents that occurred between 1999 and 2003 where a property damage claim was filed in relation to the researched fleet. During this period, 10,170 property damage claims were filed. Property damage claims were matched with workers compensation and third party claims. It was found that the average total insurance cost of the 43 matched incidents including property damage, workers compensation and third party costs was $28,122. Cost multiplier values that could be applied to property damage costs to estimate total insurance costs were calculated. The cost multiplier range was found to be between 4.1 and 14.5. Therefore, even at the minimal level an incident costs a further 300 percent in excess of property damage costs. The findings from this report provide current Australian benchmarking data that could be useful to government and industry.


When studying the structure formation and fragmentation of complex atomic and nuclear systems it is preferable to start with simple systems where all details can be explored. Some of the knowledge gained from studies of atomic dimers can be generalised to more complex systems. Adding a third atom to an atomic dimer gives a first chance to study how the binding between two atoms is affected by a third. Few-body physics is an intermediate area which helps us to understand some but not all phenomena in many-body physics.Very weakly bound, spatially very extended quantum systems with a wave function reaching far beyond the classical forbidden region and with low angular momentum are characterized as halo systems. These unusual quantum systems, first discovered in nuclear physics may also exist in systems of neutral atoms.Since the first clear theoretical prediction in 1977, of a halo system possessing an Efimov state, manifested in the excited state of the bosonic van der Waals helium trimer 42He3, small helium and different spin-polarised halo hydrogen clusters and their corresponding isotopologues have been intensively studied the last three decades.In the work presented here, the existence of the spin-polarized tritium trimer ground state, 31H3, is demonstrated, verifying earlier predictions, and the system's properties elucidated. Detailed analysis has found no found evidence for other bound states and shape resonances in this system. The properties of the halo helium trimers, 42He3 and 42He2-32He have been investigated. Earlier predictions concerning the ground state energies and structural properties of these systems are validated using our three-dimensional finite element method. In the last part of this work we present results on the bound states and structural properties of the van der Waals bosonic atomic trimers Ne3 and Ar3. We believe to be the first to find evidence of a possible shape resonance just above the three-body dissociation limit of the neon trimer.


This thesis analyzes in what respect human biosignals are suitable for communication among man and machine. An exemplary communication system is presented which provides the operation of a computer mouse by electro-oculographical signals (EOG) and head movements of the user. Special eyeglasses with integrated electrodes, amplifiers and acceleration sensors measure the biosignals and transfer them to computer-aided signal processing. In order to discuss here the relationship between 'biosignals' and 'information' it is necessary to define precisely these central quantities of man-machine communication. The applied information model with its five hierarchical levels statistics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and apobetics * , and empirically derived laws about information achieves this goal. Therefore, only under certain conditions the energetic-material biosignals of the individual are information carriers concurrently. It is compellingly concluded from the model that information can only be transmitted if the user of the man-machine system has voluntarily influenceable biosignals. Individually dependent, many bioelectric signals (among other biosignals) fulfil this condition: EOG, EMG and EEG signals, e. g.. Therefore, they are potentially suitable for communication in various man-machine systems. The operational man-machine system is based on the principles of the above information model and so exemplarily confirms the general statements. Obviously, biological signals for realistic man-machine communication must generally correspond to this information model.dell genügen. A Zeichenvorrat AC Wechselspannung A ij definierte Aktivitätsbereiche für Computermausfunktionen a(ω), b(ω) Amplitudendichten, willentlich beeinflussbare Spektralanteile a x , a y gemessene Beschleunigungen in x-bzw. y-Richtung


Adsorption of quinoline (pKa = 4.92) and background electrolyte (CaCl2) onto specimen kaolinite and montmorillonite were measured as a function of pH (3-7.5) and ionic strength (1-10 mM), and as a function of quinoline concentration (0.2-1.55 mM) at fixed pH values of maximum adsorption. Maximum sorption of quinoline occurred at pH 3.5-4.0 for kaolinite, and pH 3.0-5.0 for montmorillonite. At their respective pH values of maximum adsorption, the sorption capacity for quinoline was 100 times greater with montmorillonite than kaolinite on a mass basis. Selectivity coefficients, which were calculated from pH edge data, indicated selectivity for cationic quinoline (QH+) over Ca2+ was greater with montmorillonite (Kexc = 27 at pH 4) compared to kaolinite (Kexc = 1.6 at pH 4), and Kexc was not affected by ionic strength for either clay. The results indicate the important role of charged siloxane sites in the adsorption of this N-heterocyclic contaminant.

http://swes.cals.arizona.edu/chorover_lab/pdf_papers/Burgos et al 2002.pdf


Senior executives have discovered through hard experience that prospering at their level is a matter of carefully combining work and home so as not to lose themselves, their loved ones, or their foothold on success. To learn how they reconcile their professional and personal lives, the authors drew on five years' worth of interviews with almost 4,000 executives worldwide, conducted by students at Harvard Business School, and a survey of 82 executives in an HBS leadership course. The stories and advice of these leaders reflect five main themes: defining success for yourself, managing technology, building support networks at work and at home, traveling or relocating selectively, and collaborating with your partner. Some intriguing gender differences emerged in the survey data. For example, men still think of their family responsibilities in terms of breadwinning, whereas women often see theirs as role modeling for their children. And male executives tend to praise their partners for making positive contributions to their careers, whereas women praise theirs for not interfering. Executives of both sexes consider the tension between work and family to be primarily a woman's problem, and most of them believe that one can't compete in the global marketplace while leading a "balanced" life. "Earnestly trying to focus," the authors conclude, "is what will see them through." INSETS: Idea in Brief;ABOUT THE RESEARCH.


In this short review on Ficus microcarpa L. f., the first for the species, current information of the botany, uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology is presented and discussed. A common tree in coastal areas of the West Pacific region, F. microcarpa is characterised by its curtain of dangling aerial roots and small pink fruits. Considered sacred with spiritual significance, the species is an important food sources for birds and mammals, and a popular shade and ornamental plant. Used as traditional folk medicine to treat various diseases and disorders, F. microcarpa is rich in triterpenoids, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and phenolic acids. The aerial roots are most studied, and yielded the highest number of compounds (86), notably, triterpenoids (56), phenylpropanoids (13) and phenolic acids (12). Pharmacological properties of F. microcarpa include antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, anti-diabetic, anti-diarrhoeal, anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic, hepatoprotective and hypolipidemic activities.


Ultrafast vibrational dynamics of monolayers from a rhenium carbonyl complex at solid–liquid interfaces is investigated with the help of 2D ATR IR spectroscopy in dependence of the solvation environment. By changing the solvent from methanol to acetonitrile, we observe a structural transition between two states and find that this transition is fully reversible. The two coexisting states are identified by distinct but closely spaced (∼15 cm–1) vibrational bands in the region of the A′(1) symmetric carbonyl stretch vibration. Surface-dilution experiments suggest that the newly formed state in acetonitrile is related to aggregation of molecules at the surface. The vibrational energy transfer rate between the two species (∼30 ps) is used as a structural measure, based on which the morphology is characterized as partially ordered dimers in an otherwise disordered but closely packed monolayer.


This document, commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and developed by the University of Bologna, presents the advantages, opportunities, and challenges involved in applying Legislative XML to a parliamentary workflow. It is addressed to a diverse audience of experts involved in the parliamentary lawmaking system. In particular, there are five groups of final end users: members, legislative leaders, and other decision-makers; legislative officers and senior legislative clerks; drafters and legislative clerks; ICT managers and staff responsible for the technology used to create and maintain legislative documents; and ICT developers.


Snow dynamics influence seasonal behaviors of wildlife, such as denning patterns and habitat selection related to the availability of food resources. Under a changing climate, characteristics of the temporal and spatial patterns of snow are predicted to change, and as a result, there is a need to better understand how species interact with snow dynamics. This study examines grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) spring habitat selection and use across western Alberta, Canada. Made possible by newly available fine-scale snow cover data, this research tests a hypothesis that grizzly bears select for locations with less snow cover and areas where snow melts sooner during spring (den emergence to May 31st). Using Integrated Step Selection Analysis, a series of models were built to examine whether snow cover information such as fractional snow covered area and date of snow melt improved models constructed based on previous knowledge of grizzly bear selection during the spring. Comparing four different models fit to 62 individual bear-years, we found that the inclusion of fractional snow covered area improved model fit 60% of the time based on Akaike Information Criterion tallies. Probability of use was then used to evaluate grizzly bear habitat use in response to snow and environmental attributes, including fractional snow covered area, date since snow melt, elevation, and distance to road. Results indicate grizzly bears select for lower elevation, snow-free locations during spring, which has important implications for management of threatened grizzly bear populations in consideration of changing climatic conditions. This study is an example of how fine spatial and temporal scale remote sensing data can be used to improve our understanding of wildlife habitat selection and use in relation to key environmental attributes.


Abstract The principal goal of research relative to disasters is to decrease the risk that a hazard will result in a disaster. Disaster studies pursue two distinct directions: (1) epidemiological (non-interventional); and (2) interventional. Both interventional and non-interventional studies require data/information obtained from assessments of function. Non-interventional studies examine the epidemiology of disasters. Interventional studies evaluate specific interventions/responses in terms of their effectiveness in meeting their respective objectives, their contribution to the overarching goal, other effects created, their respective costs, and the efficiency with which they achieved their objectives. The results of interventional studies should contribute to evidence that will be used to inform the decisions used to define standards of care and best practices for a given setting based on these standards. Interventional studies are based on the Disaster Logic Model (DLM) and are used to change or maintain levels of function (LOFs). Relief and Recovery interventional studies seek to determine the effects, outcomes, impacts, costs, and value of the intervention provided after the onset of a damaging event. The Relief/Recovery Framework provides the structure needed to systematically study the processes involved in providing relief or recovery interventions that result in a new LOF for a given Societal System and/or its component functions. It consists of the following transformational processes (steps): (1) identification of the functional state prior to the onset of the event (pre-event); (2) assessments of the current functional state; (3) comparison of the current functional state with the pre-event state and with the results of the last assessment; (4) needs identification; (5) strategic planning, including establishing the overall strategic goal(s), objectives, and priorities for interventions; (6) identification of options for interventions; (7) selection of the most appropriate intervention(s); (8) operational planning; (9) implementation of the intervention(s); (10) assessments of the effects and changes in LOFs resulting from the intervention(s); (11) determination of the costs of providing the intervention; (12) determination of the current functional status; (13) synthesis of the findings with current evidence to define the benefits and value of the intervention to the affected population; and (14) codification of the findings into new evidence. Each of these steps in the Framework is a production function that facilitates evaluation, and the outputs of the transformation process establish the current state for the next step in the process. The evidence obtained is integrated into augmenting the respective Response Capacities of a community-at-risk. The ultimate impact of enhanced Response Capacity is determined by studying the epidemiology of the next event. BirnbaumML, DailyEK, O'RourkeAP. Research and evaluations of the health aspects of disasters, part VII: the Relief/Recovery Framework. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(2):195–210.


Experienced ethnographers express with much heart that "doing" ethnography is as much about learning and experiencing other cultures as it is about your own; it is as much about others as it is about selves (see for example, Ellis, 2007; Gonzalez, 2000; Goodall, 2000). It is about the interconnection between others and selves. I have come to know not only this tenet of ethnography, but also to understand it in an experiential manner. This is the account of an experience that resulted in an understanding of the doing (the methodology) and the being (the ontology) of ethnography. Simply, we become ethnographers by doing ethnography. My purpose in writing this is to mark what might otherwise be unremarkable moments in fieldwork in order to share with emergent ethnographers the smaller, but crucial, ethnographic moments that underlie a larger ethnographic text. In this sense, it is a "confessional tale," an explicit attempt to "demystify fieldwork or participant-observation by showing how the technique is practiced in the field" (Van Maanen, 1988, p. 73). I frame this narrative as I experienced it, in Gonzalez's (2000) Four Seasons of Ethnography. I intend to evoke the experience of the Four Seasons of Ethnography by exposing my own struggles and success with the methodology. At the forefront of this narrative are the daily methodological and ontological complexities of conducting fieldwork. Narrative descriptions of place and identity in Mexico City form the background. Thus, the central focus of this account is on the process and experience of the Four Seasons of Ethnography. More importantly, this text makes transparent a process not generally available to emergent ethnographers about the experience of doing ethnography, and how it can sometimes take five years to find out what the important thing is that you have to say. The experience began with a guided introduction to Gonzalez's (2000) Four Seasons of Ethnography methodology during a cultural immersion in Mexico City in the summer of 2002. Gonzalez (now de la Garza) facilitated the study; Mexico City guided my experience. The purpose of the cultural immersion was to experience the Four Seasons approach by investigating an aspect of Mexican culture. I chose to focus on the connections between place and identity (see Basso, 1996, for an excellent work on this matter). Through the process of the Four Seasons methodology, I found, however, that as I was focusing intently on Mexican identity, my own identity was focusing intensely on me. That is, despite my attempts to focus solely on the "other," my identity became increasingly salient to me as I progressed through the Four Seasons methodology. The Four Seasons of Ethnography Surprisingly, in the decade since its publication, there have been no major ethnographic works reporting on the adoption and significance of the Four Seasons approach. It deserves attention as a rigorous, socially important, and humanly sensitive approach to ethnography. The Four Seasons is an ontologically-based methodology that centers on the awareness of the researcher as human instrument and the natural cycles of knowledge and ethnographic research. This methodology offers an alternative to traditional, linear approaches to ethnography in favor of a more organic process nested in indigenous meanings and natural cycles. Organic, "or natural," as Gonzalez (2003) describes it, means "finding its order from the signs and signals provided in one's environment ... requir[ing] a development of attention to the small details of one's everyday contexts, rather than simply to one's ideas, intentions, or desires" (p. 503). This approach necessitates sensitivity to self and other, but also to the natural process of (re)discovery (Gonzalez, 2000). As such, natural experiences are guides in how the research is done and what it will look like when it is complete (Gonzalez, 1998). The Four Seasons includes all phases from preparing to enter the field (spring), to "experiencing" data (summer), creating meaning (autumn), and finally writing up reports (winter). …


Australian urban water utilities face a significant challenge in designing appropriate demand management and supply augmentation policies in the presence of increasing water scarcity and uncertainty over future dam inflows. This paper considers the design of optimal demand management and supply augmentation policies for urban water. In particular, scarcity pricing is considered as a potential alternative to the predominant demand management policy of water restrictions. A stochastic dynamic programming model of an urban water market is developed based on data from the Australian Capital Territory. The model involves an explicit consideration of uncertainty via a probability distribution over dam inflows. Given a specification of the demand and supply for urban water, state dependent optimal price and investment policies are estimated. The results illustrate how the optimal urban water price varies inversely with the prevailing storage level and how the optimal timing of investment differs significantly between rain dependent and rain independent augmentation options.


The following work is shedding light on the phylogenetic classification on the family of the Chlorobiacea, the members of which are showing signs of preadaptation to symbiosis. Symbioses consisting of purely prokaryotic associations between phylogenetically distinct bacterial species have been widely documented. Only few are available as a laboratory culture to elucidate the molecular basis of their interaction. One of these few model organisms is the phototrophic consortium "Chlorochromatium aggregatum". It consists of 12-20 green sulfur bacteria epibionts surrounding a central, Betaproteobacterium in a highly ordered fashion. The phototrophic partner bacterium, belonging to the green sulfur bacteria, is available in pure culture and its physiology has been studied in detail. In this work, novel insights into the physiology of the central bacterium that was previously uncharacterized are provided.
The family of the Chlorobiaceae represents a phylogenetically coherent and isolated group within the domain Bacteria. Green sulfur bacteria are obligate photolithoautotrophs that require highly reducing conditions for growth and can utilize only a very limited number of carbon substrates. These bacteria thus inhabit a very narrow ecologic niche. For the phylogenetic studies on green sulfur bacteria, 323 16S rRNA gene sequences, including cultured species as well as environmental sequences were analysed. By rarefaction analysis and statistical projection, it was shown that the data represent nearly the whole spectrum of green sulfur bacterial species that can be found in the sampled habitats. Sequences of cultured species, however, did not even cover half of the biodiversity. In the 16S rDNA gene tree, different clusters were found that in most cases correlated with physiological adaptations of the included species. By combining all sampling sites of green sulfur bacteria in a world map, large, unsampled areas were revealed and it could be shown that in some regions, a non-random distribution of GSB occurred. The wide dispersal of green sulfur bacterial species can be seen in sequences that were found ubiquitously all over the world. To imitate the phylogenetical relationships of whole genome analyses, a concatenated tree was constructed including 32 species and 3 different genetic regions, the bchG gene, the sigA gene and the fmoA gene. Comparison with the 16S rRNA gene tree showed more genetic differences between species, and led to a higher resolution and a more dependable phylogeny. A distance matrix comparison showed that the fmoA gene sequence has the highest correlation to the 16S rDNA of the sequences investigated. Additionally, a dissimilarity matrix revealed that the fmoA gene sequence provides the highest phylogenetic resolution among the sequences investigated. Therefore, we showed that the fmoA gene sequence is the most suitable among the sequences investigated to support the 16S rDNA phylogeny of green sulfur bacteria.
To overcome the limitation of immobility, some green sulfur bacteria have entered into a symbiosis with motile Betaproteobacteria in a type of multicelllular association termed phototrophic consortia. Recent genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic studies of "C. aggregatum" and its epibiont provided insights into the molecular basis and the origin of the stable association between the two very distantly related bacteria. However, to date the possibility of a metabolic coupling between the bacterial partners has not been investigated. The symbiotic exchange of metabolites between the two species was therefore investigated by tracking the flux of isotope-labeled CO2 through the two partner organisms using NanoSIMS analysis and magnetic capture, revealing a fast and simultaneous incorporation of labeled carbon into both organisms. The transferred metabolites were identified by isotopologue profiling for which the partner cells were separated by cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation, a method which identified amino acids as one group of substrates to be transferred between the two partners. The addition of external carbon substrates inhibited the transfer between the two partners, suggesting that transporters are the means by which substrates are exchanged.
Genome sequencing revealed the central bacterium to be an aerobic or microaerophilic chemoheterotrophic bacterium. The existence of 32 PAS domains which are responsible for sensing various signals indicate that the central bacterium is responsible for the chemo- and phototactic responses of the consortium. The central bacterium possesses all traits of an autonomous organism. However, transcriptome analysis revealed the central bacterium to be inactive in the dark although external carbon sources were present. Thereby, a yet unexplained dependence on the epibiont is revealed which indicates a complex metabolic coupling between the two symbiotic partner organisms.


OBJECTIVE
To compare linear and volumetric vestibular schwannoma (VS) measurements between different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective case series.

SETTING
Tertiary care university hospital.

PATIENTS
Those with VS that had at least two separate MRI studies containing both T1-weighted contrast (T1C) and high-resolution T2-weighted (HRT2) images.

INTERVENTION
Two neurotologists measured the greatest linear axial dimension and segmentation volumes of VS.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
1) Correlation between T1C and HRT2 VS linear and volumetric measurements. 2) Comparing the interpretation of VS growth between T1C and HRT2 sequences and reviewers, defined as an increase in tumor diameter of more than or equal to 2 mm or a volume increase of more than or equal to 20%.

RESULTS
Twenty-three patients met inclusion criteria. Imaging studies encompassed a median of 25.2 months. At the initial imaging study, inter-observer measurements between reviewers, analyzed with intraclass correlation coefficients, for T1C diameters, T1C volumes, HRT2 diameters, and HRT2 volumes were 0.983 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.972-0.989), 0.989 (95% CI 0.982-0.993), 0.992 (95% CI 0.988-0.995), and 0.998 (95% CI 0.995-0.999), respectively. The Cohen's kappa for growth rates between T1C diameters, T1C volumes, HRT2 diameters, and HRT2 volumes was 0.564 (95% CI 0.284-0.844), 0.704 (95% CI 0.514-0.894), 0.605 (95% CI 0.319-0.891), and 0.475 (95% CI 0.242-0.708), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
There are significant differences in VS volume measurements when utilizing T1C versus HRT2 images. However, there is "excellent" interobserver agreement between T1C and HRT2 diameters and volumes. T1C VS volumes may be more reliable than HRT2 volumes to determine growth.


INTRODUCTION Retroviruses were for many decades well known causative agents of leukemias, lymphomas, other cancers, or chronic inflammations in various animal species. The discovery of the first human retrovirus, human T-cell leukemia virus (now renamed human T-lymphotropic retrovirus type 1; HTLV-1) was reported in 1980 (Poiesz et al., 1981). HTLV-1 was soon identified as the causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), a rapidly progressing cancer of CD4+ T lymphocytes first described in southeastern Japan (Takatsuki et al., 1977). Knowledge gained from HTLV-1 research was important for the subsequent detection of other human retroviruses, first the related HTLV-2 (Kalyanaraman et al., 1982). Soon thereafter, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 was for the first time isolated from a patient with an early stage of the newly recognized acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (Barre-Sinoussi et al., 1983). Two years later, a second AIDS-causing virus, HIV-2, was discovered (Clavel et al., 1986a). Investigations among nonhuman primates showed a wide distribution of viruses resembling both the HTLV and, respectively, HIV groups of retroviruses. Simian Tlymphotropic retrovirus type (STLV)-1 and STLV-2, simian counterparts of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, were identified. STLV-3 forms a third group of lymphotropic viruses infecting various African monkey species. HTLV-3, a counterpart of STLV-3 in man, was recently detected in African pygmies (Calattini et al., 2005; Wolfe et al., 2005; Calattini et al., 2006; Switzer et al., 2006). A further HTLV forming a fourth group, HTLV-4, also has been reported (Wolfe et al., 2005). Together, these viruses now constitute four groups of primate T-lymphotropic retroviruses (PTLV-1, -2, -3, -4), with representatives in both simians (STLV) and humans (HTLV). Similarly, both HIV-1 and HIV-2 were shown to originate from primate lentiviruses collectively named simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV). Other reports of retrovirus infections in humans include isolated cases in which foamy retroviruses (Switzer et al., 2004), simian type-D retrovirus (Lerche et al., 2001) or SIV (Khabbaz et al., 1994) were found in humans as a result of direct cross-species nosocomial transmission from monkeys to caretakers. Transmission of such agents through close and repeated exposure to wild monkeys, for example in bushmeat hunters, also has been reported (Wolfe et al., 2004). Transmission of animal retroviruses to man may not be restricted to viruses of primate origin. Of interest are the recent identification of a betaretrovirus closely related to mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) in patients with the autoimmune disease primary biliary cirrhosis (Mason et al., 2004; Xu et al., 2004) and the isolation of an infectious xenotropic murine retrovirus (XMRV) in a form of familial prostate cancer characterized by homozygosity for a reduced activity variant of the antiviral enzyme RNase L (Dong et al., 2007; Fan, 2007). On the other hand, an earlier claim of a novel human retrovirus, has received no follow-up confirmation. This relates to the "human retrovirus 5" (HRV-5), which now has been identified as a rabbit endogenous retrovirus contaminant, RERV-H (Griffiths et al., 2002). An overview of the currently known exogenous human retroviruses and the diseases associated with them is shown in Table 1. In addition, the question whether endogenous human retroviruses might contribute to human autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis, Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus and others remains unresolved (Perron et al., 2005; Sander et al., 2005).


In this commentary we focus upon resistance to the UK's Work Experience programme that aims to help the young unemployed secure paid employment. The programme hit the news headlines in February 2012 when the group, Right to Work, forced concessions from the UK's Coalition government that removed sanctions for Work Experience conscripts who left their placement after a week. The paper critically engages with the Right to Work's demand for 'real jobs', paying at least the minimum wage, suggesting that such demands are in danger of buttressing capitalist exploitation, rather than providing an alternative to it. The paper argues a more radical approach is required if the role of policies, such as Work Experience, in the societalization of capitalist accumulation is to be avoided.