This study aimed to test a structural model to examine the protective role of psychosocial variables, such as social support, emotional intelligence and their interaction, on the cognitive dimension of subjective positive well-being (life satisfaction) and negative well-being (depression) in Moroccan adolescents. The participants consisted of 1277 students (571 men, 694 women and 12 missing values) with a mean age of 16.15 years (SD = 2.22; range = 9 to 23) who attended 26 public schools in different territories of Morocco. These students were in secondary education (n = 893) and high school (n = 378) (6 missing values). The scales for measuring the variables of interest had to be adapted and validated as a previous step for the further proposal of a model of relations. Statistical analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed model. The model that optimally adjusted the data confirmed the protective role of social support in the well-being of Moroccan adolescents. Consistent with previous studies, social support was directly related to well-being. However, it also modulated levels of satisfaction with life. Likewise, the inclusion of emotional intelligence as an additional protective factor contributed to the explanation of the well-being mechanisms in adolescents. In addition to direct associations with the levels of social support, satisfaction with life and depression (negative in the latter case), emotional intelligence participated in a complex chain affecting life satisfaction and life satisfaction affecting depression. Moreover, the interaction of emotional intelligence with social support was confirmed to determine levels of life satisfaction in adolescents. Specifically, social support multiplied the effects of the relationship between satisfaction with life and emotional intelligence in cases of moderate and high levels in Moroccan adolescents. This study fills a gap in the literature by adapting and further analyzing several scales with Moroccan samples of adolescents and by proposing and verifying a relational model that can help researchers and teachers to more precisely clarify these relations according to their context. The enhancement of protective factors, such as social support and emotional intelligence, will promote healthy youth development, thus creating healthier societies in the future.


While the United States has made strides in increasing college access among low-income students, college completion has remained low. Graduation rates are particularly low at the nation's community colleges, which enroll a disproportionate percentage of low- income and nontraditional college students. Only 20 percent of full-time, first-time, degree-seeking students at public two-year colleges earn degrees within three years.

Seeking to address this problem, in 2014 three community colleges in Ohio — Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cuyahoga Community College, and Lorain County Community College — undertook a new strategy to help more of their lowest-performing students succeed academically. The highly successful Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) developed by the City University of New York (CUNY) provided a model.

ASAP is a comprehensive program that provides students with up to three years of financial and academic support and other support services to address multiple barriers to student success, with the goal of helping more students graduate within three years. MDRC's random assignment evaluation of CUNY ASAP found that after three years, 40 percent of ASAP students graduated compared with just 22 percent of control group students. After six years, ASAP students continued to outperform the control group, with 51 percent of the program group earning degrees compared with 41 percent of the control group.

The Ohio programs are based closely on the CUNY ASAP program with a few adjustments. Like the CUNY ASAP model, the Ohio program model as designed required students to enroll full time and encouraged them to take developmental (remedial) courses immediately; provided comprehensive support services such as intensive advising; provided financial support to help students meet participation requirements; and offered blocked courses and condensed schedules.

This brief presents academic effects after two years for the pooled, full study sample in the ASAP Ohio demonstration. The findings show that students in the program group clearly outperformed the control group with respect to persistence in school, credit accumulation, and graduation. Graduation rates more than doubled: 19 percent of the program group earned a degree or credential after two years compared with 8 percent of the control group. The brief also presents some findings from analyses of the programs' implementation and costs.


BACKGROUND
The ACST has randomised over 1670 patients to determine if carotid endarterectomy (CEA) prolongs stroke free survival when compared with best medical treatment alone. This study aims to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic cerebral infarcts in patients grouped by sex, age, mean blood pressure (MBP), total cholesterol, diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD).

METHODS
The type of study was retrospective. Patients with preoperative CT scans were included. In those with previous stroke, only the contralateral cerebral hemisphere was studied for presence of infarcts. One thousand one hundred and forty-two patients were studied.

RESULTS
The proportion of patients with CT infarcts was 19% (211/1142). Men (155/777) had a higher incidence of CT infarction (20% vs 15%, p = 0.01). Mean age was 68 years and mean MBP was 107 mmHg. The incidence of CT infarcts was not associated with age or MBP. Diabetics or those with definite CAD had no difference in the incidence of cerebral infarction. Diabetics with definite CAD (51/796) had a greater incidence of CT infarcts (33% vs 21%, p = 0.03) compared with those without evidence of CAD and diabetes together (745/796).

CONCLUSIONS
In ACST, CT infarcts are more prevalent in men compared to women, and in diabetics with CAD. There was no difference in the incidence of CT infarction by age, mean BP, or by the presence of diabetes or CAD alone.


'New Japanese Object' is made from life size printed images of Fujizuka rocks mounted on thick cardboard and carefully positioned on a construction made from furniture and salvaged wood. A video documents the 2 artists working on the assembly of this armature of material gathered from their studio and apartment. Made without discussion, agreement or prior planning, the video reveals a creative process that resembles the circumnavigation of 2 workers carrying out often-repeated tasks. Meanwhile the flat-pack, 'card board cut outs', the antithesis of sculptural form, all but fill the remaining space.

'The New Fuji in Meguro', a woodcut by Hiroshige Utagawa (1797-1858), depicts a small group of people standing on a Fuji shaped mound looking across a landscape at the distant Mountain. This image portrays one of over a thousand 'Fujizuka', made during the Edo period (1603 to 1868) in the Kanto region by groups of Fuji devotees known as Fuji-ko.

At that time when women and the infirm were not permitted or able to climb the sacred mountain, these 'land art' constructions were built for the local community, to simulate the experience of climbing the final and most sacred stage of Fuji.

Fujizuka were constructed of tonnes of lava rocks collected and transported from the volcano. Unlike the European landscape garden with picturesque elements (such as the miniature Matterhorn at Friar Park in Surrey), the Fujizuka is a humble, human-scale fragment, of this most potent symbol of Japan. Ranging from 1 to 30 metres high, each Fuji-ko group's interpretation of the Mountain was specific and unique. This collaborative endeavour carried out with great effort, deep seriousness and commitment resonated with Dunhill and O'Brien's own preoccupations.

Using the Tokyo Street Atlas and guidance from friends and strangers O'Brien located and visited 36 of the 50 Fujizuka still existing in Tokyo. Incongruous and often obscured among high-rise offices and apartments each site was surveyed and photographed. Capturing detailed images of the imported lava rocks and other stones provided the raw material for a work that was to be developed later in London and in the residency studio in Tokyo in July 2014.


The main aim of this paper is to shed light on two somewhat underappreciated theories, which, by drawing attention to the relational nature of the self, both went beyond the individualistic paradigm long before most current leading approaches in the field. The paper first considers the routes out of the crisis of this paradigm proposed by care ethics. The first part focuses mainly on Carol Gilligan's relational account of subjectivity, which served as an inspiration for the development of care ethics as a moral theory, and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of her account. In the next step, the paper sets out to compare the view of the self deployed by care ethics with Donald Winnicott's account of the transitional area of play. The paper argues that both care ethics and Winnicott's theory make it possible to understand human subjectivity as at the same time dependent and mature, ambivalent and integrated, vulnerable and responsible, relational and non-arbitrary. Winnicott and care ethicists jointly demonstrate that it is neither an absolute symbiosis with others, nor a total separation from them, that is decisive for the well-being of an individual and a social field. Rather, it is beneficial and morally desirable to cultivate concrete interpersonal relationships in the area of complex relationality. The paper concludes that the crisis of the individualistic and disembodied paradigm of the self cannot be overcome by an uncritical emphasis on the positive function of relational, embodied and supra-individual aspects of human existence. Though essential, these aspects are at the same time complex and developmentally conditioned.


Schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders have a severe impact on the lives of patients and the people close to them. Psychotic symptoms include hearing voices that others cannot hear, and the conviction that others have bad intentions towards you. These symptoms can also occur in other disorders such as bipolar disorder, but also Parkinson's disease or hearing loss. Moreover, we know that healthy individuals can also have frequent psychotic experiences such as hearing voices – also known as auditory verbal hallucinations. An important risk factor for the development of psychotic experiences, in patients as well as healthy individuals, is childhood trauma. For example, patients with a psychotic disorder are almost three times more likely to have been exposed to childhood trauma compared to controls. This dissertation describes potential pathways by which childhood trauma is linked to the development of psychotic experiences later in life. We started by investigating the prevalence of auditory hallucinations in the general population. By combining the results of 25 studies in a meta-analysis, our estimations are based on 84 711 individuals. We found that auditory hallucinations were reported by almost 10% of the general population during lifetime. Notably, prevalence rates were higher in children and adolescents compared to adults and elderly. These results disprove the popular notion that psychotic experiences are rare and invariably indicative of full-blown psychosis, which can help in de-stigmatizing these phenomena in general, and psychotic illness in particular. In our subsequent studies, we identified several pathways that together with childhood trauma could mediate the effect childhood trauma may have to induce psychotic experiences. Increased levels of neuroticism, reduced executive functioning, gray matter loss in the frontal and insular regions and maladaptive coping with stressful events encountered later in life, are potential mechanisms by which childhood trauma may increase the risk for developing psychotic experiences and even full-blown psychosis. Future exploration, ideally in longitudinal datasets, is necessary to identify the pathways that link a history of childhood trauma to the development of psychotic experiences and psychosis later in life and, importantly, why some individuals pass the psychosis threshold while others do not.


With the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty about to end its activities in New York, time is ripe for a reflection on the state of health of the non-proliferation regime. After the troubled phase of the early 2000s, the 2010s have witnessed some important, albeit reversible, improvements. The US-launched Nuclear Security Summits have contributed to mainstreaming key non-proliferation issues, such as securing nuclear material and facilities, into the international agenda. More importantly, the recent breakthrough in the Iran nuclear talks might pave the way for a final agreement whose importance for the non-proliferation regime should not be belittled. Unfortunately, progress on non-proliferation has not been matched by anything comparable on the disarmament front, with the 2010 US-Russian New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty standing out as an isolated success.


A metaheuristic is a generic algorithmic template that can be used for finding high quality solutions of hard combinatorial optimization problems. To arrive at a functioning algorithm, a metaheuristic needs to be configured: typically some modules need to be instantiated and some parameters need to be tuned. We call these two problems "structural" and "parametric" tuning, respectively. More generally, we refer to the combination of the two problems as "tuning". Tuning is crucial to metaheuristics optimization both in academic research and for practical applications. Nevertheless, a precise definition of the tuning problem is missing in the literature. In this thesis, we show that the problem of tuning a metaheuristic can be described and solved as a machine learning problem. Using the machine learning perspective, we are able to provide a formal definition of the tuning problem. Moreover, we propose F-Race, a generic metaheuristic tuning algorithm. Our machine learning perspective also allows us to highlight some flaws in current metaheuristics research methodologies. Based on this discussion, we propose some methodological guidelines for future empirical analysis in metaheuristics research. The thesis also contains an experimental analysis of F-Race and some examples of practical applications.


The never-ending debate about the substantive and procedural rules in our criminal justice system rarely addresses itself to the most fundamental question- why do we punish at all?The answer to this threshold question has traditionally taken one of two lines, retributionist or utilitarian. On the one hand, there is the view that punishment of the morally derelict is its own justification for it is right for the wicked to be punished. This imperative flows from a view of the very nature of man as a responsible moral agent to whom rewards or punishment should be assessed according to the morality of his choice of behavior. On the other hand, there is the teleological, utilitarian view that the only proper justification for punishment is the prevention or reduction of antisocial behavior. The critical questions which the latter theory asks about any social action, law or institution are to be answered in terms of how much good will it produce, at what cost, and is it worth it?The utilitarian justification for punishment and the popularity of the behavioral model reached its zenith in the 196os. This attitude is displayed in the conclusions of the Ouimet Report which stated confidently that "the Committee regards the protection of society not merely as the basic purpose but as the only justifiable purpose of the criminal law in contemporary Canada" and "that the rehabilitation of the individual offender offers the best long-term protection for society.' The widespread support for the rehabilitative ideal crossed political and ideological boundaries.As attractive as these ideas appeared to their proponents, the force of the rehabilitative ideal on the philosophy of punishment diminished as the empirical reality of this brave new world came into focus. This paper examines the reasons for the displacement of the "rehabilitative ideal" as the dominant theory of correctional philosophy and will assess the revival of the retributive rationale in its new form in the justification of punishment.


PURPOSE
To determine whether adjuvant tamoxifen treatment for breast cancer (BC) is associated with reduced contralateral breast cancer (CBC) risk for BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 mutation carriers.

METHODS
Analysis of pooled observational cohort data, self-reported at enrollment and at follow-up from the International BRCA1, and BRCA2 Carrier Cohort Study, Kathleen Cuningham Foundation Consortium for Research into Familial Breast Cancer, and Breast Cancer Family Registry. Eligible women were BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers diagnosed with unilateral BC since 1970 and no other invasive cancer or tamoxifen use before first BC. Hazard ratios (HRs) for CBC associated with tamoxifen use were estimated using Cox regression, adjusting for year and age of diagnosis, country, and bilateral oophorectomy and censoring at contralateral mastectomy, death, or loss to follow-up.

RESULTS
Of 1,583 BRCA1 and 881 BRCA2 mutation carriers, 383 (24%) and 454 (52%), respectively, took tamoxifen after first BC diagnosis. There were 520 CBCs over 20,104 person-years of observation. The adjusted HR estimates were 0.38 (95% CI, 0.27 to 0.55) and 0.33 (95% CI, 0.22 to 0.50) for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers, respectively. After left truncating at recruitment to the cohort, adjusted HR estimates were 0.58 (95% CI, 0.29 to 1.13) and 0.48 (95% CI, 0.22 to 1.05) based on 657 BRCA1 and 426 BRCA2 mutation carriers with 100 CBCs over 4,392 person-years of prospective follow-up. HRs did not differ by estrogen receptor status of the first BC (missing for 56% of cases).

CONCLUSION
This study provides evidence that tamoxifen use is associated with a reduction in CBC risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Further follow-up of these cohorts will provide increased statistical power for future prospective analyses.


Purpose: This study aimed to gain an understanding of what factors induce individuals to alter their opinions about a health condition after being informed about disease adaptation and being given time to reflect and deliberate on this information. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) states are used as an illustration. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 members of the general population. They completed two time trade-off exercises for three RA states and underwent an adaptation exercise (AE) which consisted of listening to recordings of patients discussing how they adapted to RA. Also included was a structured discussion to encourage the participant to reflect on how the patients have adapted. Participants were shown their own health state values, as well as patient values. Findings: After being informed about disease adaptation and reflecting on the information, participants were more likely to consider adaptation and alter their opinions of RA if they were able to empathise with the patients in the AE. This enabled individuals to feel that they could cope by reflecting on their experience of RA in family and friends, by drawing on others for support if they had RA, and by having a positive attitude towards life. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that there is a range of reasons for which people change their perceptions about RA; this requires further exploration.


In a series of recent writings, Paul Robinson has defended "empirical desert" as the way of deriving distributive principles for determining who should be punished and by how much. Desert is, of course, an idea with a long history, and its precise role in criminal law has been much debated. In addressing various criticisms of desert in criminal law, Robinson distinguishes empirical desert from what he calls "deontological desert" and "vengeful desert." Robinson's strategy, which I call "divide and deflect," fights off various objections traditionally leveled against the use of desert in criminal law by arguing that most of those objections may be valid for "deontological" and "vengeful" desert but are not applicable to "empirical desert." So, for instance, "vengeful desert" can be too harsh, may be based on anger and hatred, and give only vague guidance, and "deontological desert" judgments may be too contested to be useful for policy makers, but, Robinson claims, empirical desert suffers from no such defects. Robinson's core claims – about the need to tie desert assessments close to ordinary intuitions and the substantial crime control benefits to be derived when the state can successfully command respect as a moral authority – are valid. However, Robinson's "empirical desert" needs what he calls "vengeful desert" and "deontological desert" to succeed, and his attempts to make his proposal resistant to the usual anti-retributivist objections by jettisoning the latter two may in the end hurt his project more than help.


Washington State's Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) legislation was created to reduce traffic congestion, energy consumption, and air pollution. Among other actions, it requires certain businesses to develop programs that will meet single-occupancy vehicle and vehicle miles traveled reduction goals. Many companies will attempt to reach these goals through transportation demand management (TDM) programs. Before the passage of this legislation, a number of large employers around the country had created and implemented TDM programs. However, little detailed information existed about these companies' efforts. Although some limited studies had documented the types of incentives they offered to workers, they had not included any information concerning the reasons that some organizations' TDM efforts had succeeded while others had failed. This project studied a select population of employers in a tri-county area (King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties) in order 1) to gain a detailed understanding of what other TDM programs have done, 2) to uncover the factors that help determine a program's effectiveness and its utilization by an organization's employees, and 3) to give direction to research and planning as the state's legislated TDM efforts begin and develop. The findings of this study led to several conclusions and recommendations regarding the ways that TDM policies can be reformulated to better accomplish their desired goals. Six specific recommendations arose from a combination of survey, interview, and program review findings: 1) jurisdictions and organizations must first identify all policies that relate to the targeted behavioral changes and then make those policies consistent in their support of the change goals; 2) the primary means of communication about an organization's TDM program efforts should be informational sessions provided in work group settings; 3) extensive, specific "how-to" information on selecting and utilizing HOV commute modes should be provided to all employees; 4) behavioral change goals should be graduated and public; 5) program efforts should include public monitoring and specific feedback regarding behavioral change goal attainment; and 6) supervisors and managers should be encouraged or required to model and reinforce the importance of HOV commuting by doing so themselves.


APPLawD (Accurate Disk Potentials for Power Law Surface densities) determines the gravitational potential in the equatorial plane of a flat axially symmetric disk (inside and outside) with finite size and power law surface density profile. Potential values are computed on the basis of the density splitting method, where the residual Poisson kernel is expanded over the modulus of the complete elliptic integral of the first kind. In contrast with classical multipole expansions of potential theory, the residual series converges linearly inside sources, leading to very accurate potential values for low order truncations of the series. The code is easy to use, works under variable precision, and is written in Fortran 90 with no external dependencies.


The benefits of breast-feeding are well-documented in literature, especially in terms of the growth of the child during the first few months of life. However, a close examination of the literature related to extended breast-feeding suggests that breast-feeding beyond 12 months of age in developing countries is associated with a greater risk for under-nutrition, as defined by lower weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height. The central hypothesis of this study is to determine the effects of extended breastfeeding on the anthropometric measurements of children in India and its regions using cross-sectional National Family Health Survey-2 data. A simulative approach has been adopted in the paper to find out the effects of extended breast-feeding. Results suggest that extended breast-feeding without supplementary diet was not beneficial for children of all the regions of India. The effect of different extended durations (12-17 months and 18-23 months) of breast-feeding with supplements did not show any significantly different impact on the anthropometric measurements of child health. Further, results suggest that breast-feeding beyond 23 months, along with supplements, has a significantly negative impact on child health. The magnitude of different anthropometric measurements according to different durations of breast-feeding suggests that breast-feeding beyond 23 months is not beneficial.


The objective of this paper is to design a miniaturized dual-spiral antenna for implantable bio-medical application in the frequency range 2.41 GHz of ISM band. A parametric model of a skin, fat and muscle implantable antenna is designed and analysed their parameters such as return loss, impedance matching, gain, VSWR and radiation patterns etc. The total size of the proposed antenna is 30 mm and the thickness is 1.6 mm. To make the proposed antenna is suitable for implantation and the proposed antenna is made up of alumina (Al2O3) substrate. The proposed antenna is fed by coplanar waveguide method for high frequency response. It shows the lower return loss, good impedance matching and high gain compared to other antennas. The proposed antenna design methodology can be applied to optimize antenna for several implantation scenarios and ISM band applications.


Open quantum many-body systems play an important role in quantum optics and condensed matter physics, and capture phenomena like transport, the interplay between Hamiltonian and incoherent dynamics, and topological order generated by dissipation. We introduce a versatile and practical method to numerically simulate one-dimensional open quantum many-body dynamics using tensor networks. It is based on representing mixed quantum states in a locally purified form, which guarantees that positivity is preserved at all times. Moreover, the approximation error is controlled with respect to the trace norm. Hence, this scheme overcomes various obstacles of the known numerical open-system evolution schemes. To exemplify the functioning of the approach, we study both stationary states and transient dissipative behavior, for various open quantum systems ranging from few to many bodies.


E. Joseph LaFave is Chair of the firm's Private Wealth Planning Section. He provides personalized service to individuals, families and family businesses in managing the wealth transfer process. Joe handles traditional estate planning, business transaction planning, estate and trust administration and fiduciary disputes. He works regularly with family entities, including operating companies. Joe works on fiduciary investment issues and has extensive experience with family investments and business entities, often multi-generational. He recognizes the importance of family culture and is attentive to the needs of each family member and generational group. Joe's practice is multi-disciplinary and he works closely with colleagues from the Best & Flanagan Business Law Section to assist family members in reorganizing their corporate structures to streamline business operations and to maximize the opportunities for efficient wealth transfer. Joe particularly values the long-term relationships he is privileged to have with clients at Best & Flanagan. Joe is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He has been named a "Super Lawyer" and acknowledged by the Best Lawyers in America.


The view of nature and technology inhabiting totally different, even opposite, spheres persists across time and cultures. Most people would consider an English countryside or a Louisiana bayou to be "natural," though each is to an extent the product of technology. Pollution, widely thought to be a purely man-made phenomenon, results partly from natural processes. All around us, things from the natural world are brought into the human world. At what point do we consider them part of culture rather than nature? And does such a distinction illuminate our world or obscure its workings? This compelling new book challenges the view that a clear and unwavering boundary exists between nature and technology. Rejecting this dichotomy, the contributors show how the history of each can be united in a constantly shifting panorama where definitions of "nature" and "technology" alter and overlap. In addition to recognizing the artificial divide between these two concepts, the essays in this book demonstrate how such thinking may affect societies' ability to survive and prosper. The answers and ideas are as numerous as the landscapes they consider, for there is no single path toward a more harmonious vision of technology and nature. Technologies that work in one place may not in another. Nature that is preserved in one community might become the raw material of technological progress somewhere else. Add to this the fact that the natural world and technology are not passive players, but are profoundly involved in cultural construction. Understanding such dynamics not only reveals a new historical complexity; it prepares us for coping with many of the most difficult and pressing social issues facing us today.ContributorsPeter Coates * Craig E. Colten * Stephen H. Cutcliffe * Hugh S. Gorman * Betsy Mendelsohn * Joy Parr * Peter C. Perdue * Sara B. Pritchard * Martin Reuss * William D. Rowley * Edmund Russell * Joel A. Tarr * Ann Vileisis * James C. Williams * Thomas Zeller


Relationship Between Remission of Symptoms and Screening for Depression by Juliann Molecavage MHA, Walden University, 2014 BSHCM, Walden University, 2013 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Healthcare Administration Walden University December 2017 Abstract Depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Insufficient evidence is available about the types of follow-up care that may be most effective. The purpose of this quantitative, retrospective cohort study was to determine whether remission of depression symptoms was associated with recommended follow-up care when controlling for age, gender, and number of previous episodes of depression, and whether symptomDepression is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Insufficient evidence is available about the types of follow-up care that may be most effective. The purpose of this quantitative, retrospective cohort study was to determine whether remission of depression symptoms was associated with recommended follow-up care when controlling for age, gender, and number of previous episodes of depression, and whether symptom reduction was more likely for those who completed a course of treatment from a mental health specialist in comparison to those who were treated by their primary care providers (PCPs) when controlling for the same variables. The theoretical framework for this study was Reingold's theory of outbreak investigations. Existing was retrieved from Geisinger Health System's electronic health record. The following covariates were evaluated for their effects on the re lationship between positive depression screening and follow-up care: baseline (initial) depression screening score, date of service, age, gender, consecutive depression screening score, date of consecutive depression screening, outcomes, and documented previous history of depression. Retrospective cohort data from 1,246 patients were collected from the study site and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t tests, ANOVAs, and multiple linear regression. Findings showed that PCP-initiated medication change and referral to community health were significantly associated with successful intervention. Findings may be used to encourage routine depression screening and increase positive health outcomes for patients with depression. Relationship Between Remission of Symptoms and Screening for Depression by Juliann Molecavage MHA, Walden University, 2014 BSHCM, Walden University, 2013 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Healthcare Administration Walden University December 2017


Introduction It has been shown that clinicians are inaccurate at prognostication (White et al., 2016) and recognising dying patients (Neuberger et al., 2013). Patients who would benefit from palliative care may be missed because validated prognostic tools (Pirovano et al., 1999; Morita et al., 1999) are not routinely used, either due to the perceived complexity or inconvenience. The surprise question (SQ) ("Would you be surprised if this patient died within the next χ months?") offers an alternative to standard prognostic estimates. Aim To evaluate the performance of the SQ in patients nearing the end of life. Methods We searched numerous databases, including: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, AMED. Studies were included if they reported the SQ and were written in English. Results Out of the 357 studies identified, 22 were included in the review. In these studies, 25 718 estimates were reported. The results showed a wide variation in the reported accuracy of the SQ, with sensitivity ranging from 11.6% to 96.6% and specificity ranging from 13.9% to 78.6%. The AUROC score across the studies ranged from 0.512 to 0.822. Doctors appeared to be more accurate than nurses at recognising people in the last year of life (c-statistic=0.735 vs. 0.688). Conclusions The performance of the SQ varied greatly across the studies. Further work is required to understand the processes by which clinicians arrive at their prognostic estimates, to refine the accuracy of the SQ and to compare its performance against other more sophisticated prognostic tools, particularly in populations where a higher proportions of deaths occur. References . Morita, T., Tsunoda, J., Inoue, S. and Chihara, S., 1999. The Palliative Prognostic Index: a scoring system for survival prediction of terminally ill cancer patients. Supportive Care in Cancer, 7(3), pp.128–133. . Neuberger, J., Guthrie, C. and Aaronovitch, D., 2013. More care, less pathway: a review of the Liverpool Care Pathway. Department of Health. . Pirovano, M., Maltoni, M., Nanni, O., Marinari, M., Indelli, M., Zaninetta, G., Petrella, V., Barni, S., Zecca, E., Scarpi, E. and Labianca, R., 1999. A new palliative prognostic score: a first step for the staging of terminally ill cancer patients. Journal of pain and symptom management, 17(4), pp.231–239. . White, N., Reid, F., Harris, A., Harries, P. and Stone, P., 2016. A systematic review of predictions of survival in palliative care: How accurate are clinicians and who are the experts?. PLoS One, 11(8), p.e0161407.


Immaturity, pulmonary barotrauma, and oxygen toxicity have been implicated in the pathogenesis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Although the physiologic and biochemical consequences of oxygen toxicity have been described in newborn and adult animals, there have been no controlled observations in prematures. We compared the physiologic and morphologic effects of prolonged hyperoxia with those of clinically appropriate oxygen in premature baboons with hyaline membrane disease (HMD) supported with conventional positive pressure ventilation and continuous distending airway pressure (PPV/PEEP). Twenty-one premature baboons were delivered at 140 days gestation, intubated and resuscitated, and supported with PPV/PEEP and standard NICU techniques for 11 days. The FIO2, PaO2, PaCO2, pHa, ventilator and airway pressures, and blood pressure were intermittently measured and recorded. The physiologic observations could be divided into 3 distinct phases. During Phase 1 (0 to 42 h) there were no significant intergroup differences, and (a/A)PO2 and IO2 (oxygenation index; (a/A)PO2/Paw) remained stable. In Phase 2 (43 to 96 h) there was a rapid improvement in (a/A)PO2 and IO2 in both groups, but the response in the hyperoxic animals was significantly dampened. During Phase 3 (97 to 264 h) there was continued improvement in the "prn" animals, which contrasted with progressive deterioration in those exposed to FIO2 1.0. Five of 11 "prn" and 3 of 10 FIO2 1.0 baboons developed air leaks during Phase 1 or early Phase 2. Four of 10 of the hyperoxic animals died after the late onset of air leak. Pathologic changes of BPD were found in all FIO2 1.0 animals surviving more than 6 days but in none of the "prn" long-term survivors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


It is rare to give a semantic definition of a full-scale programming language, despite the many potential benefits. Partly this is because the available metalanguages for expressing semantics - usually either L<scp>a</scp>TEX for informal mathematics, or the formal mathematics of a proof assistant - make it much harder than necessary to work with large definitions.
 We present a metalanguage specifically designed for this problem, and a tool, ott, that sanity-checks such definitions and compiles them into proof assistant code for Coq, HOL, Isabelle, and (in progress) Twelf, together with L<scp>a</scp>TEX code for production-quality typesetting, and OCaml boilerplate. The main innovations are:(1) metalanguage design to make definitions concise, and easy to read and edit;(2) an expressive but intuitive metalanguage for specifying binding structures; and (3) compilation to proof assistant code.
 This has been tested in substantial case studies, including modular specifications of calculi from the TAPL text, a Lightweight Java with Java JSR 277/294 module system proposals, and a large fragment of OCaml (around 306 rules), with machine proofs of various soundness results. Our aim with this work is to enable a phase change: making it feasible to work routinely, without heroic effort, with rigorous semantic definitions of realistic languages.


This report analyzes the employment and unemployment experiences of adult foreign-born men, both among themselves and in comparison with the native born. The empirical analysis uses microdata from the 1990 Census of Population. Three dependent variables are analyzed, weeks worked (employment) in 1989, unemployment status in the reference week in 1990, and a proxy measure of unemployment compensation benefits received in 1989. The theoretical model focuses on the job search behavior of the foreign born within the context of an immigrant adjustment model based on the imperfect transferability of skills and labor market information acquired prior to immigration. In particular, the model focuses on the effects on employment and unemployment of schooling, labor market experience, marital status and the agricultural sector, in addition to English language fluency and country of origin. The hypotheses developed from the model are found to be consistent with the data. Employment is significantly lower, and unemployment is significantly higher, among the foreign born in the U.S. for three or fewer years, but then reaches a level after which there is little variation by duration of residence. Unemployment problems associated with immigrants appear to be short-term transitional adjustments.


Artificial joint materials often wear out due to poor lubrication, affecting its service life. A compound texture (com-texture) was prepared, to improve the spreading of lubricant at the friction interface and reduce the friction and wear of artificial joint pairs UHMWPE and Ti6Al4V. The com-texture was divided into rough and smooth parts on the surface. The rough area was a hexagonal convex texture with a texture ratio of 66%, and it was covered with a recoagulated layer left by laser processing to absorb and transport lubricant to the friction interface. The smooth area was a convex texture with a texture ratio of 85%, which was the friction contact area. The texture morphology of the rough region was characterized by SEM and laser focusing microscope. It was found that the edge of the texture covered with recondensed mountains after laser processing and corroded micro-nano pits, which helped to prepare super-hydrophilic surfaces. Besides, the flow law of simulated body fluid (SBF) on textured surface was explored, and the motion process was recorded by high-speed camera. The results showed that the com-texture could transport SBF to the friction region smoothly and quickly. The friction test results indicated that the structure had improved tribological properties.


Enlightenment thinkers were transfixed by "the Jewish Question" – how to incorporate the manifestly unassimilated Jewish community into a modern nation-state predicated on the idea of a uniform and homogenous citizenry. Their solution was to strip the Jewish community of its collective political character and recapitulate the Jews as abstract citizens of the state. Each Jew was henceforth to be "a man on the street and a Jew at home." American constitutional law has confronted its own version of the Jewish question in the problematic position of local governments. Like the Jewish ghettos of feudal Europe, cities historically were autonomous corporate entities that stubbornly resisted the sovereign authority of the state. Thus, just as the Enlightenment purported to resolve the Jewish question by formally abolishing the Jewish community as a corporate body, our jurisprudence has sought to assimilate municipalities into the state by conceptualizing them as mere aggregations of individuals rather than as collective political entities. For example, in the landmark decisions of Reynolds v. Sims and Avery v. Midland County, the United States Supreme Court mandated that states and local governments, respectively, apportion voting power in accordance with the principle of "one person, one vote," thereby ensuring that only individuals, and not collectivities, would be admitted to the political sphere. This article argues, though, that while Reynolds and its progeny have presumed to emasculate local governments, those decisions have had exactly the opposite impact. Under the guise that local governments have been rendered inert, courts surreptitiously permit municipalities to exercise a substantial degree of autonomy. The one person/one vote rule provides local governments with a veneer of legitimacy that enables courts to rationalize self-serving local behavior as the effectuation of a grand public interest. This seeming inconsistency in the courts' treatment of local governments reflects an uneasy compromise between the Enlightenment dream to dissolve groups such as the Jewish community into the abstract "rights of man" and a pragmatic realization that group identity is ineradicable. This compromise, I argue, has troubling consequences: it enables those with sufficient political or financial power to retreat into insulated enclaves under the aegis of state neutrality, while foreclosing recompense for those excluded from such enclaves by deploying the fiction that they still retain their abstract rights. The article concludes accordingly that the egalitarian promise of the one person/one vote jurisprudence rings hollow.


In this paper, we study the problem of online spelling correction for query completions. Misspelling is a common phenomenon among search engines queries. In order to help users effectively express their information needs, mechanisms for automatically correcting misspelled queries are required. Online spelling correction aims to provide spell corrected completion suggestions as a query is incrementally entered. As latency is crucial to the utility of the suggestions, such an algorithm needs to be not only accurate, but also efficient.
 To tackle this problem, we propose and study a generative model for input queries, based on a noisy channel transformation of the intended queries. Utilizing spelling correction pairs, we train a Markov n-gram transformation model that captures user spelling behavior in an unsupervised fashion. To find the top spell-corrected completion suggestions in real-time, we adapt the A* search algorithm with various pruning heuristics to dynamically expand the search space efficiently. Evaluation of the proposed methods demonstrates a substantial increase in the effectiveness of online spelling correction over existing techniques.


Background: Minimal attention has been given to the perspectives and experiences of individuals post incarceration regarding stigma and its impact on reintegration and occupational engagement. This research aimed to understand how stigma is experienced among individuals who were formerly incarcerated and its influence on occupational engagement, specifically social participation, work, and school occupations. This research also examined the role of occupational therapy as an intervention in addressing stigma from the perspectives of individuals who were formerly incarcerated to inform practice and mitigate the influence of stigma. Method: Interviews were conducted with 10 participants of a work rehabilitation program for people who had previously been incarcerated. A thematic analysis was performed to identify major themes. Themes were organized into concept maps related to stigma as experienced by those who were formerly incarcerated. Results: Four overarching themes emerged. These themes, internal and external perceptions, and family and community systems, served to enable as well as disable the impact of stigma on daily life post incarceration. Conclusion: The themes presented increased the understanding of stigma as experienced by individuals who were formerly incarcerated and supported the need for further research and occupational therapy programming specifically aimed at minimizing the impact of stigma. Comments This study was approved by the university's institutional review board and completed in partial fulfillment of the university's occupational therapy postprofessional doctorate program. No conflicts of interest are declared. This study was completed in partial fulfillment of the first author's postprofessional OTD at Thomas Jefferson University.


Contemporary Hollywood films seem at first glance to be opposed to capital punishment. However, this article's consideration of five surprisingly similar films (Dead Man Walking, The Chamber, Last Dance, True Crime, and The Life of David Gale) finds they do not truly and consistently condemn capital punishment. Instead of suggesting that the practice of capital punishment is fundamentally immoral and should in general be ended, the films champion only worthy individuals on death row and delight primarily in the personal growth of other characters who attempt to aid the condemned. In the end, Hollywood offers only a muted message regarding the on-going use of capital punishment.


In this paper, we use stochastic dynamic programming to model the choice of a municipality which has to design an optimal waste management program under uncertainty about the price of recyclables in the secondary market. The municipality can, by undertaking an irreversible investment, adopt a flexible program which integrates the existing landfill strategy with recycling, keeping the option to switch back to landfilling, if profitable. We determine the optimal share of waste to be recycled and the optimal timing for the investment in such a flexible program. We find that adopting a flexible program rather than a non-flexible one, the municipality: (i) invests in recycling capacity under circumstances where it would not do so otherwise; (ii) invests earlier; and (iii) benefits from a higher expected net present value.


The objective of study was to assess the effectiveness of performance appraisal systems in the banking industry in Tanzania by focusing on Barclays Bank Tanzania Limited as a case study. Performance appraisal, though an important function of human resource management, has not received the degree of significance it deserves. This function, if properly exercised by organizations, can serve a number of purposes, mainly administrative and developmental in nature. Bank's staff members (both supervisors or managers and non-supervisors) were selected and administered questionnaires and some interviewed with the objective of assessing the effectiveness of the appraisal system. Data was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative techniques as appropriate. Findings in Barclays Bank Tanzania show that most of the non-supervisory respondents perceived performance appraisal as a punishment tool contributing little to motivation while their supervisory counterparts perceived it as an administrative and developmental tool. It was then recommended that criteria in the existing appraisal format need to be revised so as to reflect changes in the operational environment, appropriate and practical trainings that aim at increasing raters' knowledge to be conducted and management of the Bank to consider evaluation by other parties apart from the existing practice of evaluation by immediate supervisors. These among others would go a long way to help in the achievement of organizational goal, of becoming the best bank in the industry in Tanzania.


Setting a New Standard Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007. Volume 1: First Nephi, 469 pp.; Volume 2: Second Nephi–Jacob, 626 pp.; Volume 3: Enos–Mosiah, 543 pp.; Volume 4: Alma, 845 pp.; Volume 5: Helaman–Third Nephi, 669 pp.; Volume 6: Fourth Nephi–Moroni, 698 pp. (each with bibliography and index). $39.95 each except vol. 4 ($49.95). Beginning with George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl's sevenvolume Commentary on the Book of Mormon (1955–61), Latterday Saints have produced commentaries on the Book of Mormon. Few, however, have measured up to Reynolds and Sjodahl's intent to respond to the Book of Mormon in a scholarly manner that takes the antiquity of the Book of Mormon as a given and then comes at the text with reflection informed by as much contemporary scholarship as possible. Brant A. Gardner takes up that challenge: "My goal is to concentrate the insights of many disciplines and scholars to provide greater understanding of a particular passage, and as a result, the greater message of the text as a whole" (1:xi). I would say that Gardner's is the first such textually based and academically informed commentary on the Book of Mormon since Reynolds and Sjodahl. Each entry in these volumes begins with a pericope of scripture from the Book of Mormon. That is important because this is a textual commentary that "concentrates on the composition and structure of the original text on the plates that Joseph Smith translated" (1:xii). Gardner is interested in history, ideas, culture, theology, and so forth, James E. Faulconer 80 • The FARMS Review 21/1 (2009) and his commentary shows it. But he ties that interest directly to the text, beginning from it and using it as the standard for judging the things he says. Gardner follows the pericope with two kinds of comments, those on text and those on context. The textual analysis may involve anything from a discussion of "the composition and structure of the original plates" (1:xii) to a look at the import of variations in the original and printer's manuscripts of the Book of Mormon or an analysis of the rhetoric of the passage. The content analysis responds to matters in the text such as doctrine (which Gardner is quite right to call, instead, "scripture," eschewing any claim to authority on what the Book of Mormon teaches), geography, and symbolism, and it includes Gardner's attempts to understand the history and culture of Book of Mormon peoples. Importantly, when Gardner comments on such things as Book of Mormon geography (in which he follows John L. Sorenson's correlation of the Book of Mormon to Mesoamerican geography), he "attempts to find Mesoamerica in the Book of Mormon rather than the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerica" (1:4). In other words, Gardner looks for things that we know about Mesoamerican culture that will bring light to our understanding of the Book of Mormon rather than trying to show how the influence of Book of Mormon peoples can be found in Mesoamerica. The result is a responsible application of scholarship to the Book of Mormon. As Mark Alan Wright says on the dust jacket for the Alma volume, "Gardner paints a vivid picture of events in Alma through his deft application of reputable scholarship in Mesoamerican culture. Warfare, economics, agriculture, religious practices—all take on new solidity in this fascinating approach." Readers can see an example of this application of contemporary scholarship in Gardner's discussion of the Gadianton robbers: "Mormon is describing, not a band of thieves or brigands, but a city-state that had its own agricultural base but increased its wealth by subjugating other cities and forcing them to pay tribute" (5:247). More important, however, than Gardner's careful and responsible use of contemporary scholarship is his careful and responsible reading Gardner, Second Witness (Faulconer) • 81 of the text itself. Though he does not give as much credence as many other scholars do to Royal Skousen's theory that the Book of Mormon is a "tight" translation (in other words, one in which there is tight control over how the underlying text is translated rather than one in which the translator exercises judgment in the translation process), Gardner gives reasons for his difference with Skousen,1 and Gardner's comments are very helpful. For example, he introduces his textual commentary on 1 Nephi with an excellent discussion of the parallels between 1 Nephi and the account of Israel's exodus from Egypt. Further, he insists on reading the Book of Mormon as an ancient text. In other words, he considers the conventions of ancient texts to be important in understanding the Book of Mormon. See, for example, the way Gardner deals with Alma 7:23–24 (4:133– 36), where he discusses each term of the series in Alma's admonition (humble, submissive, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of patience and long-suffering, temperate in all things, diligent in keeping the commandments, asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, always returning thanks) but avoids making the mistake of thinking that each term can be understood independently of the rest. Having discussed each, he reminds us that many of the terms are "conceptual repetitions of other attributes in the same paragraph" (4:136), a literary technique of triangulating meaning that is also found in both Maya and, later, Aztec literature. And Gardner is careful to note that this parallel between the Book of Mormon and those Mesoamerican languages is worth noting but not a proof of connection between the original language of the Book of Mormon and those languages. Also indicative of Gardner's faithfulness to the Book of Mormon itself is his discussion of the Nephite understanding of God (1:214– 22). Gardner responds to the question of how to understand the original Book of Mormon manuscript's "mother of God" (1 Nephi 15:18) by asking what it means in the Book of Mormon rather than how to make what it says fit with the usual contemporary Latter-day Saint understanding of the text. He refers to the scholarship on the Israelite kings Josiah and Hezekiah, using that and other scholarship to lay 1. See, for example, 1:15 n. 2. 82 • The FARMS Review 21/1 (2009) out a coherent, intelligible interpretation of the Book of Mormon understanding of God, one that does its work without, as so many have done, falling into the trap of interpreting the Book of Mormon's teaching through the lenses of medieval Christian theology. By itself this excursus makes Gardner's contribution valuable, and all the more valuable because it insists on giving the Book of Mormon its due while also insisting that since the book is ancient, we can read it against an ancient background. Gardner not only provides a unique tool for understanding the Book of Mormon as an ancient document written by real, living prophets, but he sets a standard for Latter-day Saint thinking and writing about scripture, providing a model for all who follow. One can only hope that others who write about scripture will see what he has done and imitate it in their own way. Gardner's commentary is sufficiently expensive that few Latterday Saints are likely to buy it for personal use. I recommend, however, that they consider doing so. Save up your money! No other reference source will prove as thorough and valuable for serious readers of the Book of Mormon.


In many areas of industrial manufacturing, cooling liquids are essential to ensure the machining process, the quality of produced parts, and the lifetime of machines. Among other things, those liquids are designed to have maximum air release properties and minimum foamability. However, during usage such liquids are subject to change, resulting in a reduced cooling efficiency. Our costumer wanted to monitor this behavior in order to optimize grinding processes at a large manufacturing site. After a series of attempts to differentiate between fresh and used cooling oil based on typical standard chemical lab characterizations and manual foam tests, our costumer contacted us for further consulting and support on this project. The application report presented here contains a foam study on fresh and used samples of two different cooling liquids, carried out at the KRÜSS Applications & Science Labs. We found a measurement procedure which finally facilitated a reliable and highly reproducible monitoring of the change of such cooling liquids.


Purpose The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) on total prostate volume and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Methods Between January 2007 and June 2014, 110 patients who received androgen deprivation treatment were enrolled in this retrospective study. Clinical parameters and urodynamic parameters along with changes at follow-up were analyzed. Factors such as reduction in prostate volume, changes in LUTS, and prostate volume tertiles were compared 1 year after ADT. Results After ADT, the total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) score decreased from 17.45 to 12.21 and the IPSS voiding subscore decreased from 9.16 to 6.24. Maximal uroflow rate increased from 8.62 to 11.50 mL/sec and residual urine also reduced significantly by 29.34 mL. Change in prostate size was more prominent (–51.14%) in the patients with less than 1 year of ADT (n=21) than those who had more than 1 year of treatment (n=89, –44.12%). The decrease in the IPSS voiding subscore was greater within 1 year of ADT than after 1 year of treatment (–4.10 vs. –2.65). The differences were more significant in the 30–50 g group (n=59) and >50 g group (n=11) than the <30 g group (n=40) of the IPSS voiding subscore improvement (–3.76 , –4.91 vs. –2.10), and maximal uroflow rate improvement (2.78, 2.90 vs 1.49). Conclusion ADT resulted in statistically significant clinical improvement in terms of prostate volume, urodynamic parameters, and LUTS for patients with prostate cancer when analyzed by ADT duration and prostate volume.


Summary.  Background: The effect of anticoagulant prophylaxis on the prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) should include an investigation of both clinical and subclinical DVT. We conducted a systematic review to determine whether anticoagulant prophylaxis reduces the risk of asymptomatic DVT compared to no prophylaxis in at‐risk hospitalized medical patients. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched through March 2007 for randomized trials of anticoagulant prophylaxis for the prevention of asymptomatic DVT, assessed by venogram or ultrasound. We assessed four outcomes: all asymptomatic DVT, asymptomatic proximal DVT, major bleeding and mortality. Random effects meta‐analyses were performed and results were expressed using relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: Four trials including 5516 patients were eligible. Our pooled analysis demonstrated that compared to placebo, anticoagulant prophylaxis was associated with a significantly lower risk of any asymptomatic DVT (RR 0.51; 95% CI 0.39–0.67) and asymptomatic proximal DVT (RR 0.45; 95% CI 0.31–0.65). Anticoagulant prophylaxis was associated with a significantly increased risk of major bleeding compared to placebo (RR 2.00; 95% CI 1.05–3.79). There was no significant difference in the pooled estimate for all‐cause mortality. Anticoagulant prophylaxis conferred an absolute risk reduction of any DVT and proximal DVT of 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively, and was associated with a 0.5% absolute risk increase in major bleeding. Conclusions: Anticoagulant prophylaxis is effective in preventing asymptomatic DVT in at‐risk hospitalized medical patients but is associated with an increased bleeding risk. The therapeutic benefits of anticoagulant prophylaxis appear to outweigh the risks of bleeding.


Volmat et al. studied how signals are terminated by observing the inactivation of mitogen-associated protein kinases (MAPKs). They found that the stimulation of cells with various factors (mitogenic or not) promoted the nuclear relocalization of the phosphorylated MAPKs extracellular-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1) and ERK2, but that long-term stimulation, on the order of several hours, actually led to a large accumulation of unphosphorylated ERK1 and ERK2 in the nucleus. Subsequent dephosphorylation of the activated, nuclear MAPKs required the de novo synthesis of protein phosphatases. Although the data suggest that the phosphatases involved were the MAPK-specific phosphatases, MKP1 and MKP2, definitive proof remains to be provided. However, microinjection of a peptide from the p90 ribosomal S6 protein kinase (p90rsk) COOH-terminus into cell nuclei, previously shown to disrupt the interaction of MAPKs and MKPs, did inhibit the dephosphorylation of nuclear-accumulated MAPKs, suggesting that MKPs were involved in the nuclear inactivation of MAPKs. Because previous reports indicated that nuclear phosphatases can also function to tether, and thus sequester, unphosphorylated MAPKs such as p38 MAPK and JNK3, the authors suggest that MKP1 and MKP2 might extinguish ERK1- and ERK2-dependent signaling through dephosphorylation and tethering in the nucleus. V. Volmat, M. Camps, S. Arkinstall, J. Pouysségur, P. Lenormand, The nucleus, a site for signal termination by sequestration and inactivation of p42/p44 MAP kinases. J. Cell Sci. 114, 3433-3443 (2001). [Online Journal]


Neural networks are known to model statistical interactions, but they entangle the interactions at intermediate hidden layers for shared representation learning. We propose a framework, Neural Interaction Transparency (NIT), that disentangles the shared learning across different interactions to obtain their intrinsic lower-order and interpretable structure. This is done through a novel regularizer that directly penalizes interaction order. We show that disentangling interactions reduces a feedforward neural network to a generalized additive model with interactions, which can lead to transparent models that perform comparably to the state-of-the-art models. NIT is also flexible and efficient; it can learn generalized additive models with maximum $K$-order interactions by training only $O(1)$ models.


TITLE: Experimental determination of the stiffness and strength of continuity tie connections in large wood roof diaphragms, and impact on the collective chord model AUTHOR: ABSTRACT Experimental determination of the stiffness and strength of continuity tie connections in large wood roof diaphragms, and impact on the collective chord model The goal of this thesis is to determine whether continuity ties in large wood diaphragms are stiff enough to engage and provide diaphragm flexural stiffness in a collective chord model. Four series of continuity tie assemblies using Simpson Strong-Tie steel connectors were tested to determine the stiffness of each assembly. The results found from testing were applied to an example building and then analyzed using both the traditional chord method and the collective chord method. The completed analysis on a typical size warehouse building showed that the collective chord model will act inadvertently on an existing building designed with a traditional chord, or alternatively will potentially act intentionally in the design of a new building. The relative stiffness of the continuity ties will determine if they engage and allow them to act collectively. The testing and analysis completed creates a basis for further research into the actual static and dynamic behavior of these diaphragms. The collective chord model does seem to be a reasonable approximation for how diaphragms actually behave. If more research is conducted into different shaped and sized buildings to confirm that the collective chord model will work on most buildings then it will be a more accurate way to design new diaphragms and analyze existing diaphragms than the current traditional model.


New age telecommunication sector (GSM) has been based on new customer acquisition plans and tactics. For this purpose, evaluation of the call traffic data from the data warehouses and making some predictions by data mining algorithms are so important. Data mining is a process for filtering massive amounts of data to find useful information to optimize decision making in the firms. Data mining methods use the Neural Networks as a tool for mining data from the data warehouses. In our case, we use Cellular Neural Networks to predict future usage of the GSM lines and data services and try to estimate some promotions to gain market opportunity in the Turkish market for the ARIA GSM Company. This work focus on for defining patterns and implementing Cellular Neural Networks to gain knowledge acquisition from the data warehouses and determining the customer profiles and behaviors.


The Fuzzy Vault scheme is an encryption scheme, which can tolerate errors in the keys. This leads to the possibility of enhancing the security in environments where these errors can be common, such as biometrics storage systems. Although several researchers have provided implementations, we find that the scheme is vulnerable to attacks when not properly used. This paper describes an attack on the Fuzzy Vault scheme where the attacker is assumed to have access to multiple vaults locked by the same key and where a non-maximal vault size is used. The attack effectively reduces the vault size by identifying and removing chaff points. As the vault size decreases, the rate at which chaff points are identified increases exponentially. Several possible defenses against the attack are also discussed.


PURPOSE: Heterogeneous sensitivity of melanoma cells to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced apoptosis may lead to outgrowth of TRAIL-resistant cells and limit successful treatment by TRAIL. The present study aims to better understand the biological characteristics of melanoma cells resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We generated TRAIL-resistant melanoma cells by prolonged exposure to TRAIL and characterized the cells in terms of their sensitivity to killing induced by a panel of cytotoxic agents using biological and biochemical methods. RESULTS: TRAIL-resistant melanoma cells are cross-resistant to apoptosis induced by another death ligand FasL, the DNA-damaging agent cisplatin, the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberic bishydroxamate, and the antimicrotubule Vinca alkaloid, vincristine. The apoptotic signaling seemed to be inhibited upstream of mitochondrial apoptotic events and was associated with decreased expression of multiple apoptotic mediators, including pro-caspase-8, Fas-associated death domain, Bid, Bim, p53, and the products of its proapoptotic target genes. Despite being resistant to apoptosis, TRAIL-resistant melanoma cells were more vulnerable to cisplatin-induced nonapoptotic cell death. This was characterized by lack of DNA fragmentation, delayed externalization of phosphatidylserine, caspase and p53 independence, and severe mitochondrial disruption, and was preceded by poly(ADP)ribose polymerase (PARP) activation and depletion of intracellular ATP, indicative of necrotic cell death. Inhibition of PARP activity partially converted the mode of cell death from necrosis to apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: TRAIL-resistant melanoma cells are cross-resistant to apoptosis induced by various apoptotic stimuli but are more sensitive to nonapoptotic cell death induced by cisplatin. Exploration of chemotherapy-induced nonapoptotic cell death may provide an alternative strategy in overcoming resistance of melanoma cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.


Carbon and nitrogen are essential to all living organisms, owing to their abundance and remarkable characteristics when participating in chemical bonds. Their essentiality dates back to the very origin of life, where current theories hypothesize either a prebiotic abundance of organic compounds rich in carbon and nitrogen, or an ability to assimilate them inorganically through abiotic reactions that might have been catalyzed on ancient mineral surfaces. This chapter details the core reactions essential to the assimilation of these elements in biologically useful forms—the so-called fixation of carbon and nitrogen—focusing on recent literature and insights from comparative genomics and phylogenetics.

Though considerable debate continues on the antiquity of these pathways, especially whether or not they might have been present in the last common ancestor (LCA) of modern organisms, it is clear that carbon and nitrogen fixation pathways were of crucial importance to the primitive ancestors of extant life. Furthermore, the biological assimilation of inorganic carbon (autotrophy) and atmospheric nitrogen (diazotrophy) represent pivotal juxtapositions of biological and geological cycles. It is thought that atmospheric CO2 concentrations have decreased substantially since the proposed origin of life some 3.8 billion years ago, due in large part to either primary (fixation) or secondary (e.g., weathering) influence by biota (Hayes 1994; Rye et al. 1995; Des Marais 1997; Lowe and Tice 2004). Though the biosphere accounts for a relatively small fraction of the total carbon on Earth, the rate of carbon flux through the biosphere far exceeds that through any geological reservoirs (Des Marais 1997). Biological carbon fixation is closely balanced to carbon recycling through biological oxidation, and the future stability of this and other CO2 reservoirs (and our ability to influence or understand them) depends critically on these biological underpinnings (e.g., Falkowski et al. 2000).

Conversely, nitrogen, especially the …


DRR Dhan 54 [IET 25653 (RP 5943-421-16-1-1-B)] was released for aerobic system of cultivation in water limiting areas of Zone II (Haryana), III (Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand), VI (Gujarat) and VII (Telangana) through Central Sub-committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops vide S.O. 500(E) dated 29th Jan 2021 [CG-DL-E-03022021-224901]. DRR Dhan 54 was developed from the cross of RP 5124-11-4-3-2-1/IR 78877-208-B-1-1. It was tested in Aerobic trials in AICRIP during 2015-2018 and found to be a top ranking entry on overall basis in three years (2018, 2016 and 2015). Across multiple zones, DRR Dhan 54 ranked 1st with 15.8%, 4th with 12% and 5th with 17% yield advantage over the BVC in 2018, 2016 and 2015, respectively indicating its wider adaptability and yield stability. It has desirable grain quality traits in terms of high HRR%, intermediate AC% and multiple pest and disease resistance.


Consideration of the distinct sequences within the Northern Belt suggests that the Southern Upland fault (SUF) lies to the north of the 'conventional' line in E Scotland, SW Scotland and NE Ireland. Comparisons of clasts in mass flow conglomerates in the Southern Uplands with granites in western Newfoundland suggest large Ordovician and Silurian strike-slip movements, while southerly-derived clasts in Late Silurian Midland Valley conglomerates suggest post-Silurian movements. In western Ireland, the pre-Devonian movements on the SUF probably continued along the Skird Rocks Fault. Post-Silurian movements on the SUF may have extended along the Clew Bay fault zone or the Fergus shear zone.


Zooplankton biomass and distribution in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight were investigated in relation to environmental parameters during summer (January–February 2010) and winter (July–August 2010). Mean zooplankton biomass was significantly higher in winter (17.1 mg dry weight [DW] m–3) than in summer (9.5 mg DW m−3). In summer, total biomass was evenly distributed within the central bight, low off the Thukela River mouth and peaked near Durban. In winter, highest biomass was found offshore between Richards Bay and Cape St Lucia. Zooplankton biomass in each size class was significantly, negatively related to sea surface temperature and integrated nitrate, but positively related to surface chlorophyll a and dissolved oxygen. Zooplankton biomass was significantly related to bottom depth, with greatest total biomass located inshore (<50 m). Distribution across the shelf varied with zooplankton size. Seasonal differences in copepod size composition suggest that a smaller, younger community occupied the cool, chlorophyll-rich waters offshore from the St Lucia upwelling cell in winter, and a larger, older community occurred within the relatively warm and chlorophyll-poor central bight in summer. Nutrient enrichment from quasi-permanent upwelling off Durban and Richards Bay appears to have a greater influence on zooplankton biomass and distribution in the bight than the strongly seasonal nutrient input from the Thukela River.


In Central Spain, it is possible to distinguish two main types of peraluminous late-Hercynian granites: the PI types and
the PS types. The distinction between both types is made on the basis of differences in peraluminosity (PS types are more
peraluminous than PI types) and also on the appearance of some characteristic mafic minerals; PS types have biotite,
cordierite and monazite as the most typical accessory phase, whereas PI types have biotite, amphibole (in the less evolved
facies) and allanite as the accessory mineral. Both granite types have similar trace element ratios and initial Sr, Nd and Pb
isotopic signatures. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of both types exhibit a large range from 0.7073 to 0.7193, whereas initial eNd
varies in a restricted range from -5.4 to -6.6. The scarce associated basic rocks do not play a significant role in the
chemical variability of these peraluminous granites which follow low pressure crystal fractionation trends from granodiorite/monzogranite
parental magmas. Mixing and AFC modelling of Sr and Nd isotopic data reveal an unrealistically high
mantle contribution. Based on major and trace element and isotopic data, an orthogneissic protolith for both granitic series is
proposed. Nevertheless, none of the metamorphic country rocks of Central Spain has the appropriate Sr isotopic composition
to satisfy the origin of these granitic rocks, and so, it is argued that progressive isotopic re-equilibration of crustal material
during the granulization of the lower Hercynian crust, together with the possibility of isotopic disequilibrium during melting
as has been demonstrated in migmatitic terranes in nearby areas. may explain the isotopic differences between the granites
and the high level metamorphic country rocks


Under modern VLSI technology, process variations greatly affect circuit performance, especially clock skew which is very timing sensitive. Unwanted skew due to process variation forms a bottleneck preventing further improvement on clock frequency. Impact from intra-chip interconnect variation is becoming remarkable and is difficult to be modeled efficiently due to its distributive nature. Through wire shaping analysis, we establish an analytical bound for the unwanted skew due to wire width variation which is the dominating factor among interconnect variations. Experimental results on benchmark circuits show that this bound is safer, tighter and computationally faster than similar existing approach.


We consider methods that try to find a good policy for a Markov decision process by choosing one from a given class. The policy is chosen based on its empirical performance in simulations. We are interested in conditions on the complexity of the policy class that ensure the success of such simulation based policy search methods. We show that under bounds on the amount of computation involved in computing policies, transition dynamics and rewards, uniform convergence of empirical estimates to true value functions occurs. Previously, such results were derived by assuming boundedness of pseudodimension and Lipschitz continuity. These assumptions and ours are both stronger than the usual combinatorial complexity measures. We show, via minimax inequalities, that this is essential: boundedness of pseudodimension or fat-shattering dimension alone is not sufficient.


Temperature is an important controlling factor for ecological functions. In‐stream geomorphic structures affect stream thermal regimes by facilitating hyporheic exchange of water and heat between stream channels and underlying sediments. We varied the height of an experimental weir (representing debris dams, log dams, and boulder weirs) in a small stream during the summer and monitored the hydraulic and thermal response of surface and subsurface water using a three‐dimensional sensor array. The presence of the structure altered stream temperature patterns, increasing thermal heterogeneity in surface water and shallow sediments by up to ~1.0ºC. We estimated heat conduction and weir‐induced hyporheic heat advection across the streambed, and evaluated their response to key parameters. Conduction and advection were of similar magnitude and oscillated over the stream's diel temperature cycle. Weir‐induced hyporheic heat advection caused slight cooling of the surface stream (up to ~0.01ºC), and increased with weir height, but was considerably less important to the overall heat budget of the stream than was atmospheric heat exchange. Streambed hydraulic conductivity appears to be the overriding factor determining the magnitude of weir‐induced hyporheic influence on surface water temperatures. We conclude that weir‐type structures will induce ecologically significant surface and subsurface thermal heterogeneity in many stream settings, but that weir‐induced hyporheic heat advection will have ecologically significant thermal effects on surface water only in coarse streambeds. Because these structures are common in natural streams and stream restoration projects, such thermal effects may be important on a landscape level.


The thrust of this study was to examine the effects of principals' leadership styles on students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Homabay County, Kenya. This study was based on combinations of modified Bossert's framework and Pitner's moderated effects model of effective schools. The main objective of the study was to examine the extent principals leadership styles influence students' academic performance in national examinations in HomaBay County Kenya. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design. Combinations of stratified random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to draw 216 secondary school teachers and 39 principals yielding a sample size of 255 respondents. The study employed a questionnaire for teachers and interview guide for principals.  It was established that school principals  utilize   diverse  leadership behaviour, some pointing to the more democratic and transactional styles while others skewed towards the  more autocratic and laissez-faire types. The use of diverse leadership behaviour notwithstanding, it was evident that most principals were deficient in the types of leadership behaviour that support the creation of a conducive learning environment and support to teachers necessary for effective teaching and the expected enhanced students' academic achievement.  A test of null hypothesis retained the null hypothesis that that there was no statistically significant relationship between principals' leadership styles and students' academic performance.  It was recommended that school principals   should aspire to establish a school environment which is conducive for effective teaching and learning (236 words). Keywords: Leadership styles, principal,   public secondary schools, HomaBay County, Kenya.


With the advancement of nanotechnology in various fields of science and engineering, the lifestyle of human being has changed dramatically in good ways. However, due to the fact that everything is so small in nanoscale, it is very hard to study phenomena that would be very interesting. In this dissertation, optical, plasmonic, electrolyte properties of nanostructures and theoretical and experimental characterization methodologies are presented.

First, the plasmon assisted optical absorption in silicon nanowire is studied. Recently, it was shown that a silicon nanowire coated with silver can produced hot luminescence which would have been very hard to happen with silicon by itself because silicon is an indirect bandgap material. We propose possible mechanisms that make the optical absorption in silicon possible, which eventually leads to hot luminescence. The results show qualitative agreement with experimental results reported in the literature.

Second, numerical simulations were performed using an open source finite different time domain (FDTD) simulator, meep, to study the plasmonic properties of non-precious metals like copper, nickel, and aluminum as a replacement of a precious metal, silver. The scattering cross section calculations show the non-precious metals can be as effective as silver in the visible region.

Finally, a method of synthesis ZnO quantum dots (QDs), characterizations of various properties of ZnO QDs, techniques to immobilize and measure electrostatic force of QDs, and their effect on ion currents of a neuronal cell are presented. Our results show that the quantum dots that produce electrostatic field can affect the ion channel dynamics that can lead to many applications.


hen Rachel Stein (not her real name) was a small child, she would pace around in a circle shaking a string for hours at a time, mentally spinning intricate alternative plots for her favorite television shows. Usually she was the star—the imaginary seventh child in The Brady Bunch, for example. "Around the age of eight or nine, my older brother said, 'You're doing this on the front lawn, and the neighbors are looking at you. You just can't do it anymore,' " Stein recalls. So


The present paper deals with the acquisition of finiteness in German and Dutch child language. More specifically, it discusses the assumption of fundamental similarities in the development of the finiteness category in German and Dutch L1 as postulated by Dimroth et al. (2003). A comparison of German and Dutch child corpus data will show that Dimroth et al.'s assumption can be maintained as far as the overall development of the finiteness category is concerned. At a more fine-grained level, however, German and Dutch children exhibit different linguistic behaviour. This concerns in particular the means for the expression of early finiteness and the status of the auxiliary hebben/haben 'to have'. The observed differences can be explained as the result of target language specific properties of the input.


This piece reviews Richard Posner's revision of his seminal work, Antitrust Law. It analyzes Judge Posner's success in updating the original work to account for developments in antitrust law and theory in the past 25 years. The review contends that Judge Posner succeeds in his explanation of the economic approach to antitrust and his focus on the issues presented by the new economy. It also maintains that the author does not sufficiently grapple with developments in the past 25 years, in particular, theories offered by the Post-Chicago School. Finally, it critiques Judge Posner's numerous proposals for improving antitrust law, concluding that they are not sufficiently developed and not calibrated to the need for revision.


The past few decades have seen an explosion in theoretical and empirical scholarship exploring the law of evidence. From a variety of disciplines and distinct methodological perspectives, this work has illuminated important issues regarding types of evidence, legal rules and doctrine, the reasoning processes of judges and juries, the structure of proof, and the normative considerations underlying these various issues. This Article takes up the theoretical project writ large. Exploring the landscape of evidence scholarship, the Article examines a number of methodological and metatheoretical questions: What would a successful evidentiary theory look like? By what criteria should we assess such a theory? What is the purpose of such theorizing? What is the relationship between the theoretical and empirical projects? In exploring these questions, the Article identifies criteria by which to evaluate theorizing in this area. To that end, the Article first identifies two considerations that underlie any theoretical account of the evidentiary proof process and its components: factual accuracy and allocating the risk of erroneous decisions. Next, it articulates and defends general criteria by which to evaluate theoretical accounts in evidence scholarship in light of these considerations. Finally, it applies the general criteria to evaluate two theoretical accounts — a probabilistic conception and an explanatory conception — and concludes that the probabilistic conception fails and the explanatory conception succeeds in light of the theoretical criteria. Along with clarifying evidence theory, the Article also clarifies the relationship between theoretical and empirical scholarship in this area.


The molecular karyotypes of P.chabaudi and P.falciparum have been compared by pulse field gradient electrophoresis. P.chabaudi has 3 extra chromosomes in the 750 - 2000 Kb range although the overall number appears to be 14 as is the case for P.falciparum. The chromosomal location of the rRNA genes has been determined for P.chabaudi together with that of a 24 Kd antigen gene. The corresponding cDNA 443 may code for a protein unusually rich in tyrosine and contains sequences highly repetitive in P.falciparum.


Background: Amazonian
riverside communities consume large quantities of freshwater fish, comparable to marine fish consumption
of Inuit, Scandinavian and Japanese populations. Few studies have considered
the relation of high freshwater fish consumption and intake of omega-3 fatty
acids (FA). Objective: The objective
of the present study was to determine the profile of the concentrations of
plasma phospholipid FAs and its relation with freshwater fish
intake in 12 riverside communities in the Tapajos River basin (State of Para, Brazilian Amazon). Design: This
cross-sectional study included 333 adults (15 - 86 years old). Fish meal frequency was
determined using a 7-day interview-administered dietary recall
questionnaire. Fish were categorized as
piscivorous and non-piscivorous fish on trophic level. Plasma phospholipid FAs were
measured by capillary gas-liquid chromatography. Results: Participants consumed 5 to 6 fish meals a week,
with twice as many non-piscivorous fish than piscivorous fish (4.4 fish/week vs
2.2 fish/week, respectively). The omega-3 FA levels in plasma phospholipids were
low (EPA + DHA = 31.21 mg/L; %EPA + DHA = 2.59%). Omega-3 FAs increased with
frequency of fish intake, and particularly with piscivorous fish, controlling for sociodemographic,
anthropometric and lifestyle characteristics. DHA levels were greater
in women than in men. Conclusions: Omega-3 FA in this Amazonian population
increased with fish consumption, but although they consumed freshwater fish
almost daily, the concentrations of omega-3 FA were relatively low and
comparable to fish-eater communities for which fish is not a dietary mainstay.
It is possible that nutrients present in marine, but not in certain freshwater
fish species, may facilitate absorption of omega-3 FA. Sex and/or gender differences
must be taken into account when assessing the relationship between fish
consumption and plasma phospholipid omega-3 FA levels.


When passed in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act represented the federal government's most dramatic foray into the elementary and secondary public school policymaking terrain. While critics emphasized the Act's overreliance on standardized testing and its reduced schooldistrict and state autonomy, proponents lauded the Act's goal to close the achievement gap between middle- and upper-middle-class students and students historically ill served by their schools. Whatever structural changes the No Child Left Behind Act achieved, however, were largely undone in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act, which repositioned significant federal education policy control in state governments. From a federalism standpoint, the Every Student Succeeds Act may have reset education federalism boundaries to favor states, far exceeding their position prior to 2001.
While federal elementary and secondary education reform efforts since 2001 may intrigue legal scholars, a focus on educational federalism risks obscuring an even more fundamental development in educational policymaking power: its migration from governments to families, from regulation to markets. Amid a multidecade squabble between federal and state lawmakers over education policy authority, efforts to harness individual autonomy and market forces in the service of increasing children's educational opportunity and equity have grown. Persistent demands for and increased availability of school voucher programs, charter schools, tax credit programs, and homeschooling demonstrate families' desire for greater agency over decisions about their children's education. Parents' calls for greater control over critical decisions concerning their children's education and schooling options may eclipse state and federal lawmakers' legislative squabbles over educational federalism.


We propose and analyze a model of bilateral trade in which private information about the quality of an asset can be acquired only gradually over time. An asset is characterized by a vector of binary i.i.d. attributes. The value of this asset to the seller and buyer is a weighted sum of the attributes, where the buyer's weights differ from the seller's. Initially, the seller is uninformed about the quality of the asset. In each period he decides whether to make a price offer (based on his current information) or to inspect the asset (postponing the sales offer). In the latter case, he chooses an attribute and (costlessly) learns its realization. The buyer does not observe the realized attributes before purchasing the good, however, he may or may not observe which inspections were performed by the seller (we consider both cases). We study the seller's strategic scheduling of inspections in this environment and its effect on the realized gains from trade in equilibrium. We identify the necessary and sufficient conditions under which the players can realize some gains from trade, and all gains from trade.


When we use the Internet, we know that copyright law limits our freedom. We know, for example, that downloading popular music is legally risky. Those who want to get moralistic about it argue that illegal downloading violates a "property" right of the copyright holder. But what about our property rights in our computers? Even if copyright is a form of property, it maintains a parallel existence as an intrusion upon property rights. This intrusion is increasingly a part of daily life, as copyright's literal scope sweeps broadly enough to threaten a range of everyday activities that social norms regard as acceptable. These observations form the basis of a "moral" critique of copyright law, but they do not figure prominently in modern doctrine. This Article looks to the common law property rights of copyright users to develop a framework for limiting copyright's reach. If we take seriously traditional rules governing the interplay between statutes and preexisting common law rights, courts have room to incorporate user property rights into copyright doctrine. First, the common law provides a baseline against which the Copyright Act should be construed. Courts should be reluctant to interpret the statute in a manner that negates longstanding expectations that personal property may be used in conjunction with copyrighted material for personal purposes. Second, the property rights of copyright users offer a new foundation for implied license doctrine. Instead of looking solely to the conduct of the licensor (i.e., the copyright holder) to determine whether an implied license to use copyrighted content exists, courts should appreciate the reasonable expectations of consumers in their control of personal property used to interact with the protected works. Expanding our conception of implied license in this manner would help address the uneasy status of personal uses of copyrighted works under modern law.


A spectacular visual biography of the life and work of Le Corbusier (1887–1965), one of Modernism's most influential architects, urban planners, and theorists. Approximately 2,000 images and documents, many previously unpublished, feature his major built works, urban plans, paintings, publications, and furniture as well as sketches, archival photographs, and personal correspondence. Rarely seen photographs and correspondence shed new light on Le Corbusier's relationships with Josephine Baker, Eileen Gray, Fernand Leger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Prouve, and many others. Insightful introductory essay by France's most authoritative architectural historian and critic, Jean-Louis Cohen, and incisive chapter introductions by highly regarded Le Corbusier scholar Tim Benton.


Abstract.
 Sexual dimorphism is thought to have evolved via selection on both sexes. Ostracodes display sexual shape dimorphism in adult valves; however, no previous studies have addressed temporal changes on evolutionary timescales or examined the relationships between sexual shape dimorphism and selection pressure and between sexual shape dimorphism and juvenile shape. Temporal changes in sexually dimorphic traits result from responses of these traits to selection pressure. Using the Gaussian mixture model for the height/length ratio, a valve-shape parameter, we identified sexual differences in the valve shape of Krithe dolichodeira s.l. from deep-sea sediments of the Paleocene (62.6–57.6 Ma) and estimated the proportion of females in the fossil populations at 11 time intervals. Because the proportion of females in a population is altered by the mortality rate of adult males, it is reflective of selection pressure on males. We attempted to correlate the height/length ratios between the sexes with the proportion of females, taking into consideration that the valve shape was not linked with the selection pressure on males. In time-series data of the height/ length ratio, both sexes indicate no significant changes on evolutionary timescales, even though the sex ratio of the population changed from female skewed to male skewed during the late Paleocene. The sexual shape dimorphism was not driven by sexual selection. The static allometry between the height/length ratio and length indicates that the sexual shape dimorphismdid not function for sexual display. The absence of change over time in the female allometric slope suggests that the evolution of valve shape was constrained by stasis.


Who would not be attracted by a book title such as Stop Plagiarism: A Guide to Understanding and Prevention? If you are a teacher, learning advisor or librarian, any clues you can find to help prevent plagiarism would be welcome. If you do judge a book by its cover (or by those details that can be gleaned in the first few pages) you might be attracted or repelled by the fact that that it has such an assertive title and by the fact that it originates in the United States. Are your concerns well-founded?