SUMMARY Seismic data is arguably always nonstationary in its Fourier spectral character since anelastic attenuation processes are present everywhere. The major mathematical tool for dealing with this effect in seismic data processing is the Wiener deconvolution algorithm, which is at least a half century old. Paradoxically, this algorithm assumes that the seismic time series is stationary. Nevertheless, Wiener's algorithm deals with a limited class of attenuation effects in an average sense. When posed in the Fourier domain, the algorithm suggests its own generalization using a nonstationary extension of the Fourier transform such as the Gabor transform. A simple computational scheme for the Gabor transform is presented that is based on a set of windows that form a partition of unity. The use of the Gabor transform in a nonstationary deconvolution scheme is enabled because it factorizes the nonstationary convolutional model for a seismic trace with attenuation. The Gabor transform of a seismic signal is shown to be given approximately by the product of the Fourier transform of the source signature, the time-frequency attenuation function, and the Gabor transform of the reflectivity. Gabor deconvolution smooths the Gabor magnitude spectrum of the seismic signal to estimate the product of the magnitudes of the attenuation function and the source signature. A phase function is then estimated using the minimum phase assumption. The result is a complex-valued, time-frequency function that we call the spectrum of the propagating wavelet. When the original Gabor spectrum is divided by this time-frequency spectrum of the propagating wavelet, the result is an estimate of the Gabor spectrum of the reflectivity. Testing on nonstationary synthetic signals shows that Gabor deconvolution is dramatically effective in producing a very broadband reflectivity estimate, far better than Wiener's algorithm. Testing on real data also shows very highly resolved images from Gabor deconvolution. When compared with a "standard" image created using surface-consistent Wiener deconvolution together with time-variant spectral whitening, the Gabor images show subtle enhancement of detail and greater robustness in the presence of coherent noise and coverage gaps.


Scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with electron energy-loss spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the spatial and spectral characterization of the plasmonic modes of lithographically defined photonic meta-atoms. As an example, we present a size dependence study of the resonance energies of the plasmonic modes of a series of isolated split-ring resonators. Furthermore, we show that the comparison of the plasmonic maps of a split-ring resonator and the corresponding complementary split-ring resonator allows a direct visualization of Babinet's principle. Our experiments are in good agreement with numerical calculations based on a discontinuous Galerkin time-domain approach.


Although anti-retroviral treatments have significantly reduced the incidence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and AIDS, there remains, for the foreseeable future, a group of adolescents who have been perinatally infected. Noting the paucity of information regarding the impact of paediatric AIDS and its intersection with residential care, this paper investigates the lived realities of 20 South African adolescents who were vertically infected with HIV and AIDS, were abandoned, and have been raised in residential care. The exploratory study highlights that for these youth the dimensions of their adolescence, HIV-positive status and associated abandonment as well as life in residential care are mutually reinforcing and interconnected. Issues of race and class also interact with these social dimensions. Ultimately, these dimensions intersect to create a particular form of social exclusion. Intentional, critical intervention is required on the micro level to support these teens develop a coherent identity. On the meso level, the residential facility should actively facilitate community integration, particularly with the adolescents' communities (and where possible, families) of origin. Governments need to strengthen intersectoral, rights-based responses and in particular, address the consequences of cognitive impairment associated with perinatal transmission.


Elizabeth Silverthorne has gathered an intriguing bouquet of folklore about forty-four of Texas' most fascinating wildflowers such as water lily, Queen Anne's lace, honeysuckle, dogwood, and morning glory. Only recently have people again become aware that the lowliest wildflower may harbor an important secret. Native Americans reportedly made a weak tea from the paintbrush to treat rheumatism. Violets have been used to cure cancer, while sunflowers were planted by nineteenth-century pioneers to protect families from malaria. In ancient times when people were more aware of their dependence on plants to provide food, medicine, fuel, and materials for clothing, there grew up a vast amount of folklore, much of which is described in these wildflower profiles. For each flower in this book Silverthorne describes the significance and origin of its common name, identifies where the flower grows naturally, what uses it has had historically, and what legends are associated with it. She offers everyone who has admired the beauty of wildflowers a fuller appreciation of them.


Background Traditional epidemiological research methods exhibit limitations leading to high logistics, human, and financial burden. The continued development of innovative digital tools has the potential to overcome many of the existing methodological issues. Nonetheless, Web-based studies remain relatively uncommon, partly due to persistent concerns about validity and generalizability. Objective The objective of this viewpoint is to summarize findings from methodological studies carried out in the NutriNet-Santé study, a French Web-based cohort study. Methods On the basis of the previous findings from the NutriNet-Santé e-cohort (>150,000 participants are currently included), we synthesized e-epidemiological knowledge on sample representativeness, advantageous recruitment strategies, and data quality. Results Overall, the reported findings support the usefulness of Web-based studies in overcoming common methodological deficiencies in epidemiological research, in particular with regard to data quality (eg, the concordance for body mass index [BMI] classification was 93%), reduced social desirability bias, and access to a wide range of participant profiles, including the hard-to-reach subgroups such as young (12.30% [15,118/122,912], <25 years) and old people (6.60% [8112/122,912], ≥65 years), unemployed or homemaker (12.60% [15,487/122,912]), and low educated (38.50% [47,312/122,912]) people. However, some selection bias remained (78.00% (95,871/122,912) of the participants were women, and 61.50% (75,590/122,912) had postsecondary education), which is an inherent aspect of cohort study inclusion; other specific types of bias may also have occurred. Conclusions Given the rapidly growing access to the Internet across social strata, the recruitment of participants with diverse socioeconomic profiles and health risk exposures was highly feasible. Continued efforts concerning the identification of specific biases in e-cohorts and the collection of comprehensive and valid data are still needed. This summary of methodological findings from the NutriNet-Santé cohort may help researchers in the development of the next generation of high-quality Web-based epidemiological studies.


Arial 10) The abstract comes after title page in the manuscript. Abstract must be integrated and independent which is consist of introduction and purpose, methods, results, conclusion and suggestion. However the abstract should be written as a single paragraph without these headers. For this reason, References should be avoided. Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself. Abstract must be written using 150 until 200 words which has no reference and accompanied keywords. .................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................. .


Animal living in desert environments are forced to survive despite severe heat, intense solar radiation, and both acute and chronic dehydration. Indeed, these animals have evolved phenotypes that effectively address these environmental stressors. To begin to understand the ways in which the desert adapted rodent P. eremicus survives, we performed an experiment by which we subjected reproductively mature adults to profound acute dehydration, during which they lost on average 23% of their body weight. Animals react via a series of changes in the kidney, which include modulating expression of genes responsible for reducing the rate of transcription, and maintaining water and salt balance. Extracellular matrix turnover appears to be decreased, and apoptosis is limited. Serum Creatinine and other biomarkers of kidney injury are not elevated, which is different than the canonical human response, suggesting that transcriptional changes caused by acute dehydration effectively prohibit widespread kidney damage in the cactus mouse.


Innovative drug development is essential to improve therapy over time by offering better efficacy, safety and/or treatment convenience. This thesis summarizes the sequential clinical development of three innovative fertility drugs namely follitropin-b (recombinant FSH), ganirelix (GnRH antagonist) and corifollitropin alfa (recombinant long-acting FSH agonist). Follitropin-b replaced urinary FSH, ganirelix introduced a new and short treatment protocol, and corifollitropin alfa replaced the first 7 daily (r)FSH injections during ovarian stimulation in a GnRH antagonist protocol. The development of these drugs has dramatically changed hormonal treatment of women participating in an ART program from being lengthy and complicated to short and simple.

Comparative preclinical pharmacology is essential to determine the mechanism of action, specificity, and bioactivity to predict the potency in humans. The first-in-human phase I studies of follitropin-b and corifollitropin alfa included subjects with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) as the immunogenicity is hard to predict in preclinical models. Apart from safety and pharmacokinetics, it was examined whether follitropin-b could stimulate multiple follicular growth in the complete absence of LH activity. The first-in-human study of the fusion molecule corifollitropin alfa in HH men was focusing on its potential immunogenicity. Only thereafter, a phase I study in pituitary-suppressed female volunteers was performed with increasing doses of corifollitropin alfa.

Phase II research of follitropin-b was limited to the question whether patients down-regulated with different GnRH agonist protocols could be treated with pure recombinant FSH lacking LH activity. In contrast, the GnRH antagonist ganirelix was tested in a double-blind, dose-finding study including 6 dose groups of which the lowest and highest dose group were discontinued and finally one dose was selected for further development. Corifollitropin alfa was initially tested in a feasibility study and thereafter in a phase II controlled dose-finding study that demonstrated that the optimal dose was between the lowest and highest test dose. Subsequent dose selection was based on modeling and simulation taking into account the inverse relationship between exposure to corifollitropin alfa and body weight and that FSH activity has to retain for 7 days above the threshold to support multiple follicular development.

In comparative phase III studies of follitropin-b, ganirelix and corifollitropin alfa, the number of oocytes or the pregnancy rate was the primary endpoint. In time, follitropin-b was compared to urinary FSH and developed in a long GnRH agonist protocol. Subsequently, the GnRH antagonist ganirelix was compared to a long GnRH agonist protocol and finally a single dose of corifollitropin alfa was compared to daily follitropin-b using a ganirelix protocol. Main safety endpoints during phase III trials focused on the incidence of adverse events including Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), hypersensitivity, immunogenicity, and the health outcome of offspring. Registration of new drugs requires a positive benefit/risk ratio based on the evaluation of all efficacy and safety parameters. Following drug approval, retrospective analyses may support further development of treatment regimens or for specific subgroups of patients. Prospective Phase IV studies may obtain additional efficacy and/or safety data to extend labeling to the final drug posology and profile.


Understanding cross-border flows of disembodied knowledge, often associated with intellectual property (IP), is essential to analyzing how modern economies operate. This paper documents how available data to document these IP flows are distorted by various factors, including tax planning by multinational enterprises. It finds that tax-induced mismeasurement could be more than 35%, and greater for individual countries particularly high-tax-rate countries.


A reconnaissance level study of the Pilgrim Springs geothermal system was conducted to determine the near-surface thermal regime and to obtain information on the ground water flow regime within the thawed ground area. Measurements included soil temperatures, apparent electrical conductivity of the soil, electrical conductivity and temperature in the Pilgrim River, saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil and ground water flow characteristics (direction and velocity). In addition the size, number and characteristics (geometry, direction of flow) of near-surface convective plumes were investigated. Measured temperature profiles were used to estimate ground water flow velocities. There are approximately 2–3 km2 of thawed ground surrounded by permafrost on the order of 100 m in thickness. The highest temperatures were found in the southwest quadrant of the thawed area where a pool of ground water at ≈ 92°C exists at 14–32 m below the ground surface. Temperature measurements suggest that water in the pool is flowing laterally and vertically. Temperature and electrical conductivity measurements suggest that this pool of water underlies most of the thawed ground area although the possibility of several, unconnected sources of hot water and multiple pools has not been ruled out. Conductivity measurements suggest that hot and/or saline water rises in convective plumes from the pool at about 40–60 sites. The Pilgrim River appears to be heated by heat transfer from the geothermal area. Saline ground water enters the Pilgrim River, probably through its bed, increasing the conductivity of the river water.


The LIN-1 ETS transcription factor plays a pivotal role in controlling cell fate decisions during development of the Caenorhabditis elegans vulva. Prior to activation of the RTK/Ras/ERK-signaling pathway, LIN-1 functions as a SUMOylated transcriptional repressor that inhibits vulval cell fate. Here we demonstrate using the yeast two-hybrid system that SUMOylation of LIN-1 mediates interactions with a protein predicted to be involved in transcriptional repression: the RAD-26 Mi-2β/CHD4 component of the nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylation (NuRD) transcriptional repression complex. Genetic studies indicated that rad-26 functions to inhibit vulval cell fates in worms. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we showed that the EGL-27/MTA1 component of the NuRD complex binds the carboxy-terminus of LIN-1 independently of LIN-1 SUMOylation. EGL-27 also binds UBC-9, an enzyme involved in SUMOylation, and MEP-1, a zinc-finger protein previously shown to bind LIN-1. Genetic studies indicate that egl-27 inhibits vulval cell fates in worms. These results suggest that LIN-1 recruits multiple proteins that repress transcription via both the SUMOylated amino-terminus and the unSUMOylated carboxy-terminus. Assays in cultured cells showed that the carboxy-terminus of LIN-1 was converted to a potent transcriptional activator in response to active ERK. We propose a model in which LIN-1 recruits multiple transcriptional repressors to inhibit the 1° vulval cell fate, and phosphorylation by ERK converts LIN-1 to a transcriptional activator that promotes the 1° vulval cell fate.


This research project sought to assist business three (3) students of Faith Senior High School to
enhance their performance in budgeting and budgetary control using cognitive apprenticeship
model of instruction. Many have argued that, our educational curriculum should be modelled to
equip students with the requisite employable and entrepreneurial skills. Some scholars argue that
the best form of education that give hands on practical training is the apprenticeship model of
education and think it can be incorporated into our educational system. This can be done by
replicating/bringing the process in the traditional apprenticeship that is the modeling, scaffolding,
coaching, articulation and exploration into the classroom. The research was conducted in a way that
saw the replication of all the elements of the apprenticeship model in the classroom for the impact to
be evaluated. All the students in the class took part in the study. The researcher used exercises,
observations, interview and administered questionnaire to gather data and used tables and
figures/charts to analyze the data. The post-intervention results showed that the performance of the
students improved consistently over the study period. The results mean that students' performance
can be enhanced if the cognitive apprenticeship model of instruction is used.


We provide an abstract characterization of boosting algorithms as gradient decsent on cost-functionals in an inner-product function space. We prove convergence of these functional-gradient-descent algorithms under quite weak conditions. Following previous theoretical results bounding the generalization performance of convex combinations of classifiers in terms of general cost functions of the margin, we present a new algorithm (DOOM II) for performing a gradient descent optimization of such cost functions. Experiments on several data sets from the UC Irvine repository demonstrate that DOOM II generally outperforms AdaBoost, especially in high noise situations, and that the overfitting behaviour of AdaBoost is predicted by our cost functions.


This paper is a study into some of the regulatory implications of cryptocurrencies using the CAMPO research framework (Context, Actors, Methods, Methods, Practice, Outcomes). We explain in CAMPO format why virtual currencies are of interest, how self-regulation has failed, and what useful lessons can be learned. We are hopeful that the full paper will produce useful and semi-permanent findings into the usefulness of virtual currencies in general, block chains as a means of mining currency, and the profundity of current 'media darling' currency Bitcoin as compared with the development of block chain generator Ethereum. While virtual currencies can play a role in creating better trading conditions in virtual communities, despite the risks of non-sovereign issuance and therefore only regulation by code (Brown/Marsden 2013), the methodology used poses significant challenges to researching this 'community', if BitCoin can even be said to have created a single community, as opposed to enabling an alternate method of exchange for potentially all virtual community transactions. First, BitCoin users have transparency of ownership but anonymity in many transactions, necessary for libertarians or outright criminals in such illicit markets as #SilkRoad. Studying community dynamics is therefore made much more difficult than even such pseudonymous or avatar based communities as Habbo Hotel, World of Warcraft or SecondLife. The ethical implications of studying such communities raise similar problems as those of Tor, Anonymous, Lulzsec and other anonymous hacker communities. Second, the journalistic accounts of BitCoin markets are subject to sensationalism, hype and inaccuracy, even more so than in the earlier hype cycle for SecondLife, exacerbated by the first issue of anonymity. Third, the virtual currency area is subject to slowly emerging regulation by financial authorities and police forces, which appears to be driving much of the early adopter community 'underground'. Thus, the community in 2016 may not bear much resemblance to that in 2012. Fourth, there has been relatively little academic empirical study of the community, or indeed of virtual currencies in general, until relatively recently. Fifth, the dynamism of the virtual currency environment in the face of the deepening mistrust of the financial system after the 2008 crisis is such that any research conclusions must by their nature be provisional and transient.All these challenges, particularly the final three, also raise the motivation for research – an alternative financial system which is separated from the real-world sovereign and which can use code regulation with limited enforcement from offline policing, both returns the study to the libertarian self-regulated environment of early 1990s MUDs, and offers a tantalising prospect of a tool to evade the perils of 'private profit, socialized risk' which existing large financial institutions created in the 2008-12 disaster. The need for further research into virtual currencies based on blockchain mining, and for their usage by virtual communities, is thus pressing and should motivate researchers to solve the many problems in methodology for exploring such an environment.


There are typically two different methodologies that can be used to predict squeal in a disc brake, i.e., complex eigenvalue analysis and dynamic transient analysis. The positive real parts of complex eigenvalues indicate the degree of instability of the disc brake and are thought to associate with squeal occurrence or noise intensity. On the other hand, instability in the disc brake can be identified as an initially divergent vibration response using transient analysis. From the literature it appears that the two approaches were performed separately, and their correlation was not much investigated. In addition, there is more than one way of dealing the frictional contact in a disc brake. This paper explores a proper way of conducting both types of analyses and investigates the correlation between them for a large degree-of-freedom disc brake model. A detailed three-dimensional finite element model of a real disc brake is developed. Three different contact regimes are examined in order to assess the best correlation between the two methodologies.


Constant connectivity, which is the phenomenon of being connected anytime and anywhere has been drawing increasing attention among researchers. Existing research almost exclusively focus on specific devices or applications. In addition, there is only little research, which considers that different types of users react differently to the phenomenon of constant connectivity and develop very different coping strategies. In other words, there is little understanding how knowledge workers deal with constant connectivity and how their connectivity behaviour differ from each other. To close these gaps we conducted a Q methodological study among IT consultants and developed a typology of different individuals. Our results reveal four types, which are the pragmatist, bricoleur, maniac, and passenger. The types differ significantly in terms of key aspects of constant connectivity, such as responsiveness and autonomy; they cover a complexity of various dimensions and are dynamic in nature. We compare these types against typologies from the literature and identify similarities and differences. Our study's main contribution lies in establishing connectivity types that address constant connectivity as a whole and are well suited to describe and explain connectivity related behaviour in the real world.


Global service firms are increasingly moving advanced tasks to popular offshoring destinations such as India. Despite the significant influence of micro-level motivational mechanisms on the implementation and success of such offshoring strategies, empirical research in this area is still in its early stages. In this paper, taking a grounded theory approach, we present qualitative data from a German electronics firm working with IT developers in a Bangalore subsidiary, and the UK division of a large global professional services firm which has offshored its tax reporting work to a captive unit in Bangalore. From a cross-case analysis of these two settings, we develop a grounded model of the complex interdependencies between offshoring strategies and offshore-onshore motivational processes. We identify three interlocking and self-reinforcing circles between (a) task allocation strategies, (b) motivational processes onshore, and (c) motivational processes offshore. These circles function to either inhibit or support the offshoring strategies. We highlight several theoretical and practical contributions with regard to micro-macro level interdependencies in offshoring strategies of global firms.


It is around 5 years since my colleague, Tooraj Jamasb, and I reviewed the EU's progress with electricity reform (Jamasb and Pollitt, 2005). At that time many countries were still struggling to implement elements of the EU wide policy on electricity sector liberalisation that they had signed up to. In this short update paper we review the latest evidence on progress with electricity liberalisation in the EU. We begin with a short review of the legislative background. We continue with a look at the evolution of markets and trading in electricity across the EU. Next we outline progress with the key reform elements and their impact on market structure issues within the EU. We look at the performance of the whole sector and company level performance. We proceed to discuss progress in reducing emissions and promoting renewables. In closing we note recent developments in electricity reform.


Provides state-of-the-art algorithms for sound capture, processing and enhancement Sound Capture and Processing: Practical Approaches covers the digital signal processing algorithms and devices for capturing sounds, mostly human speech. It explores the devices and technologies used to capture, enhance and process sound for the needs of communication and speech recognition in modern computers and communication devices. This book gives a comprehensive introduction to basic acoustics and microphones, with coverage of algorithms for noise reduction, acoustic echo cancellation, dereverberation and microphone arrays; charting the progress of such technologies from their evolution to present day standard. Sound Capture and Processing: Practical Approaches Brings together the state-of-the-art algorithms for sound capture, processing and enhancement in one easily accessible volume Provides invaluable implementation techniques required to process algorithms for real life applications and devices Covers a number of advanced sound processing techniques, such as multichannel acoustic echo cancellation, dereverberation and source separation Generously illustrated with figures and charts to demonstrate how sound capture and audio processing systems work An accompanying website containing Matlab code to illustrate the algorithms This invaluable guide will provide audio, R&D and software engineers in the industry of building systems or computer peripherals for speech enhancement with a comprehensive overview of the technologies, devices and algorithms required for modern computers and communication devices. Graduate students studying electrical engineering and computer science, and researchers in multimedia, cell-phones, interactive systems and acousticians will also benefit from this book.


Based on an analysis of the Survey of Convicted Prisoners relating to eight Latin American countries, this document contributes to a deepening of the knowledge about women who have been imprisoned. First, the results of this indepth study highlight the gender differences in terms of criminal behavior, as well as the level to which social exclusion is prevalent prior to imprisonment. Women tend to commit less violent and aggressive crimes, have a shorter criminal history, and are more likely to commit a crime while accompanied by a male figure on whom they are dependent. Similarly, women are found to have been far more vulnerable compared to men prior to entering prison. The proportion of women who are unemployed is not only higher than that of men, but childcare responsibilities typically fall upon the woman. Second, this report applies multivariate regression models to identify the risk factors associated with the criminal trajectory of imprisoned women; these indicate where intervention is required in order to prevent female delinquency. The report also emphasizes the fact that a girl's social interactions (primarily her peer group) can influence her criminal behavior, as do particular sociodemographic characteristics such as having children. Furthermore, the document suggests that such factors must be taken into account in terms of preventive measures as well as the uniqueness of incarcerated women when designing policies that relate to detention and social reintegration. JEL Codes: H76, J16, K14, K42


New results are presented from an extended experimental investigation of anomalous heat production in a special type of
reactor tube operating at high temperatures. The reactor, named E-Cat, is charged with a small amount of hydrogen-loaded
nickel powder plus some additives, mainly Lithium. The reaction is primarily initiated by heat from resistor coils around the
reactor tube. Measurements of the radiated power from the reactor were performed with high-resolution thermal imaging
cameras. The measurements of electrical power input were performed with a large bandwidth three-phase power analyzer.
Data were collected during 32 days of running in March 2014. The reactor operating point was set to about 1260 oC in the
first half of the run, and at about 1400 °C in the second half. The measured energy balance between input and output heat
yielded a COP factor of about 3.2 and 3.6 for the 1260 oC and 1400 oC runs, respectively . The total net energy obtained
during the 32 days run was about 1.5 MWh. This amount of energy is far more than can be obtained from any known
chemical sources in the small reactor volume.
A sample of the fuel was carefully examined with respect to its isotopic composition before the run and after the run, using
several standard methods: XPS, EDS, SIMS, ICP-MS and ICP-AES. The isotope composition in Lithium and Nickel was found to agree with the natural composition before the run, while after the run it was found to have changed substantially .
Nuclear reactions are therefore indicated to be present in the run process, which however is hard to reconcile with the fact
that no radioactivity was detected outside the reactor during the run.


This article argues that adolescent dating violence should be considered within a social ecological model that embeds the individual within the context of adolescent friendships and romantic relationships, as well as family and other social institutions that shape a young person's sense of self. Two additions to the model are recommended. First, gender is considered in the model at the individual, interactional and structural levels. Second, identity is treated as a metaconstruct, affecting and being affected by all levels of the social ecology. Examples from research are presented and recommendations for future research are offered.


Public preferences for charging tuition are important for determining higher education finance. To test whether public support for tuition depends on information and design, we devise several survey experiments in representative samples of the German electorate (N>19,500). The electorate is divided, with a slight plurality opposing tuition. Providing information on the university earnings premium raises support for tuition by 7 percentage points, turning the plurality in favor. The opposition-reducing effect persists two weeks after treatment. Information on fiscal costs and unequal access does not affect public preferences. Designing tuition as deferred income-contingent payments raises support by 16 percentage points, creating a strong majority favoring tuition. The same effect emerges when framed as loan payments. Support decreases with higher tuition levels and increases when targeted at non-EU students.


Abstract Background This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the results of empirical studies on the effects of CPM on rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction. The research question was: what are the effects of CPM on ROM, swelling and pain after ACL reconstruction? Patients/Material and Methods We searched in MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane and PEDro up to January 2018. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were expressed as Hedges' g, in order to correct for overestimation of the true effect in small study samples. The 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for both the individual studies and the overall weighted estimate. Outcomes were range of motion, pain and swelling. Results Eight studies comprising 442 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Beneficial effects of CPM could be identified for the need for pain medication (Hedges' g = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.41 to 1.45 during the first 24 hours after surgery), the number of PCA button pushes by the patient during the first 24 hours after surgery (MD = 31.20; 95% CI = 11.35 to 51.05), on regaining knee flexion on the third to the seventh postoperative day (MD = 11.6°; 95% CI = 1.96 to 21.33) as well as in the third to the sixth postoperative week (Hedges' g = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.41 to 1.44) and on swelling of the knee in the fourth to sixth postoperative week (Hedges' g = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.35 to 1.18). Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that CPM has beneficial effects on pain reduction during the first two postoperative days, on knee flexion during the first to the sixth postoperative weeks and on swelling between the fourth and the sixth postoperative weeks. However, the risk-of-bias scores do not allow a high level of evidence.


Barry Simon's book both summarizes and introduces the remarkable progress in constructive quantum field theory that can be attributed directly to the exploitation of Euclidean methods. During the past two years deep relations on both the physical level and on the level of the mathematical structure have been either uncovered or made rigorous. Connections between quantum fields and the statistical mechanics of ferromagnets have been established, for example, that now allow one to prove numerous inequalities in quantum field theory.In the first part of the book, the author presents the Euclidean methods on an axiomatic level and on the constructive level where the traditional results of the P(O)2 theory are translated into the new language. In the second part Professor Simon gives one of the approaches for constructing models of non-trivial, two-dimensional Wightman fields--specifically, the method of correlation inequalities. He discusses other approaches briefly.Drawn primarily from the author's lectures at the Eidenossiehe Technische Hochschule, Zurich, in 1973, the volume will appeal to physicists and mathematicians alike; it is especially suitable for those with limited familiarity with the literature of this very active field.Originally published in 1974.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905."


The aim of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to compare the early clinical outcome of slip-cast glass-infiltrated Alumina/Zirconia and CAD/CAM Zirconia all-ceramic crowns. A total of 30 InCeram® Zirconia and Cercon® Zirconia crowns were fabricated and cemented with a glass ionomer cement in 20 patients. At baseline, 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year recall appointments, Californian Dental Association (CDA) quality evaluation system was used to evaluate the prosthetic replacements, and plaque and gingival index scores were used to explore the periodontal outcome of the treatments. No clinical sign of marginal discoloration, persistent pain and secondary caries was detected in any of the restorations. All InCeram® Zirconia crowns survived during the 2-year period, although one nonvital tooth experienced root fracture coupled with the fracture of the veneering porcelain of the restoration. One Cercon® Zirconia restoration fractured and was replaced. According to the CDA criteria, marginal integrity was rated excellent for InCeram® Zirconia (73%) and Cercon® Zirconia (80%) restorations, respectively. Slight color mismatch rate was higher for InCeram® Zirconia restorations (66%) than Cercon® Zirconia (26%) restorations. Plaque and gingival index scores were mostly zero and almost constant over time. Time-dependent changes in plaque and gingival index scores within and between groups were statistically similar (p>0.05). This clinical study demonstrates that single-tooth InCeram® Zirconia and Cercon® Zirconia crowns have comparable early clinical outcome, both seem as acceptable treatment modalities, and most importantly, all-ceramic alumina crowns strengthened by 25% zirconia can sufficiently withstand functional load in the posterior zone.


This paper aims to investigate the link between green brand awareness and consumer purchasing intentions in green marketing activities. This is a quantitative based descriptive study in relational model. The gathered data explored the mediating effect of the variables using the partial least squares (PLS) approach for the analysis of structural equation model. A field study was conducted on 387 individuals living in Ankara by using a survey technique. The outcomes of the literature reviews and hypothesis analyzes indicate that consumers' purchasing behavior is affected by the green awareness of brands and green marketing activities. Also, the results acquired with the PLS method stated that green marketing activities in the retail market products mediates the link between the green brand awareness and the consumer purchasing intention. Besides, consumer's education level and income situation, partially mediates the relationship between green brand awareness and consumer buying intention. It should be noted that there are many sub-elements which may lead to the change of terms in these relations. Such as, consumer's brand awareness level and the interest about the benefits and features of the green brand concept are the important indicators. The demographic and psychographic characteristics of the consumers have also contributed to the research in understanding these relationships.


INTRODUCTION: Control of oxygen uptake (VO2) during the rest-to-exercise transition is thought to be dominated by intracellular processes rather than oxygen delivery. However, large changes in arterial pressure (i.e., supraphysiologic) have been shown to alter VO2 and its kinetics. Importantly, no studies have investigated the consequence of physiologic alterations in blood pressure on VO2 and its kinetics during exercise in humans. PURPOSE: The aim of this preliminary study was to assess the effect of modest reductions in MAP achieved via neck suction upon Vo2 across the rest-exercise transition, to test the hypothesis that physiologic reductions in arterial pressure during moderate intensity, steady-state exercise will not alter VO2. METHODS: Five subjects completed four exercise trials of 6 minute leg cycling at the workloads 50% of VO2max. Each workload was completed with and without carotid baroreceptor loading (i.e., Neck Suction: blood pressure lowering stimulation) with a 20 minute resting period between trials. Heart rate, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and VO2 at the mouth, were continuously measured while upper arm blood pressure was taken every minute. RESULTS: MAP tended to be reduced during the Neck Suction condition (delta MAP: Control 13.0±8.7 vs Neck Suction 6.3±6.3 mm Hg, P=0.079). However, there was no main effect for exercise condition on VO2 (Control 13.25±1.70 vs Neck Suction 13.17±1.72 ml/kg/min, P=0.61). In addition, the on-transient mean response time was not different between groups (Control 46.7±27.2 vs Neck Suction 40.9±16.2 s). CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings indicate that oxygen uptake or its kinetics during moderate intensity leg cycling are not affected by modest reductions in blood pressure.


The need for an adequate information system for the Highways Departments in the United Kingdom has been recognised by the report of a committee presented to the Minister of Transport in 1970, (The Marshall Report). This research aims to present a comprehensive information system on a sound theoretical basis which should enable the different levels of management to execute their work adequately. The suggested system presented in this research covers the different functions of the Highways Department, and presents a suggested solution for problems which may occur during the planning and controlling of work in the different locations of the Highways Department. The information system consists of:- 1. A coding system covering the cost units, cost centres and cost elements. 2. Cost accounting records for the cost units and cost centres. 3. A budgeting and budgetary control system covering, the different planning methods and procedures which are required for preparing the capital expenditure budget, the improvement and maintenance operation flexible budgets and programme of work, the plant budget, the administration budget, and the purchasing budget. 4. A reporting system which ensures that the different levels of management are receiving relevant and timely information. 5. The flow of documents which covers the relationship between the prime documents, the cost accounting records, budgets, reports and their relation to the different sections and offices within the department. A comprehensive cost units, cost centres, and cost elements codes together with a number of examples demonstrating the results of the survey, and examples of the application and procedures of the suggested information system have been illustrated separately as appendices. The emphasis is on the information required for internal control by management personnel within the County Council.


The pursuit of circuits and metabolic pathways of increasing complexity and robustness in synthetic biology will require engineering new regulatory tools. Feedback control based on relevant molecules, including toxic intermediates and environmental signals, would enable genetic circuits to react appropriately to changing conditions. In this work, variants of qacR, a tetR family repressor, were generated by computational protein design and screened in a cell-free transcription-translation (TX-TL) system for responsiveness to a new targeted effector. The modified repressors target vanillin, a growth-inhibiting small molecule found in lignocellulosic hydrolysates and other industrial processes. Promising candidates from the in vitro screen were further characterized in vitro and in vivo in a gene circuit. The screen yielded two qacR mutants that respond to vanillin both in vitro and in vivo. While the mutants exhibit some toxicity to cells, presumably due to off-target effects, they are prime starting points for directed evolution toward vanillin sensors with the specifications required for use in a dynamic control loop. We believe this process, a combination of the generation of variants coupled with in vitro screening, can serve as a framework for designing new sensors for other target compounds.


With over 350 million records containing sensitive personal information having been compromised since 2005, it is evident that data breaches are an epidemic problem. After demonstrating the security breach problem, the Note begins by discussing California's pioneering data breach notification law, which requires breached entities to notify those affected that their personal information has been compromised. Drawing on various provisions found in California's notification law, the Note evaluates current state and federal data breach laws. To further explore the relationship between federal and state enforcement, two recent data breaches, the ChoicePoint and TJX breaches, are discussed in-depth. The Note then examines proposed federal and state legislation to strengthen the argument that data breach laws, which currently focus on notification, must also advance to breach prevention. Finally, the Note proposes a solution for preventing data breaches by increasing liability for merchants who fail to meet heightened security standards based on those used in the credit card industry. I. INTRODUCTION In an age when internet transactions have become a part of everyday life, both individual users and corporations have become more sophisticated. Users who used to receive content only passively now actively engage in e-commerce. Companies that used to only keep paper files now maintain digital databases worldwide. Because private information is increasingly available over the internet, there is a rising demand for data breach laws that protect private information. Approximately eighty to ninety percent of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies have experienced data breaches.1 Since January 2005, over 350 million records containing sensitive personal information have been compromised in data breaches.2 The leading cause of these security breaches is hacker intrusion, followed by stolen laptops and computers, and insider thefts of private information.3 Terrorists have also increasingly utilized the internet not only to communicate and recruit, but also to perpetrate online crimes to obtain financial support for their agendas.4 Furthermore, data breaches often result in fraud. The Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that fraud-related losses totaled $264.6 million in 2008, up from $239.1 million in 2007.5 These figures only address reported losses; computer crime experts agree that most computer-related crimes go either undetected or unreported.6 With personal information being compromised almost daily in data breaches,7 the main question is: what are state and federal governments doing about this problem? Having demonstrated that a security breach problem exists, this Note will go on to describe the current state and federal laws addressing the problem, highlight certain enforcement actions that have been undertaken in response to the problem, and, finally, propose that lawmakers craft legislation that focuses not only on notification of injured parties and damage control but also on data breach prevention. Part II begins by discussing California's pioneering data breach law and then draws on that law to evaluate current state data breach laws. Part III examines the current federal laws addressing data breach issues, specifically the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and various Federal Trade Commission acts. Part IV illuminates the need for legislation that goes beyond requiring consumer notification after data breaches to prevent such breaches. This section also explores the relationship between federal and state data breach laws using the Choice Point and TJX breaches. Part V discusses pending state and federal legislation to demonstrate that data breach laws need to progress toward preventing data breaches. Finally, Part VI proposes a solution: data breaches can be prevented by increasing liability for merchants who fail to meet heightened security standards based on those used in the credit card industry. …


This thesis reports on the development of new types of nanoscale optical light sources driven by free-electrons and on the investigation of the underpinning physical phenomena. It is focused on three types of nanoscale light sources with increasing degree of complexity: a nanoscale antenna, an undulator-based tuneable nanoscale light source and a metamaterial-based spatially coherent light source. I have demonstrated for the first time that a nanoscale Hertzian antenna can be driven by free-electrons. The studied nano-antennas consisting of pair of gold nano-rods spaced by a gap resemble conventional radio dipole antennas. Nanoantennas, driven by electron beam produce emission in the visible part of the spectrum. I show that these nanoantennas are most efficiently fed in the region of closest proximity between their two elements, in particular, where the light density of states reaches a maximum. I have developed for the first time a tuneable nanoscale light source driven by free-electrons, the light-well. Alike a free-electron laser that exploits magnet-based undulators, the light-well is based on a nanoscale undulator, a cylindrical channel through alternating metal-dielectric nano-layers. A fast electron propagating through the channel emit light at the wavelength linked to the electron energy and the period of the undulator, thus allowing for a continuous tuning of the output radiation. It has been achieved a 200 nm tunability range in the vis-NIR range at wavelengths between 750 and 950 nm with light at the level of 200W/cm2. Furthermore, I have performed a comprehensive numerical analysis of the light-well by modeling a free electron propagating in the undulator which has lead to a deeper understanding of its physical mechanisms. I demonstrate for the first time an electron-beam driven metamaterial light source that converts the kinetic energy of tree-electrons into spatially coherent optical radiation. It is based on a fundamentally new radiation phenomenon: the injection of free electrons into the metamaterial leads to a directed light emission that comes from synchronized plasmonic oscillations of the ensemble of metamolecules, the individual building blocks of the nanostructure. The effect results from the synchronizing interactions between the metamolecules leading to the spectrum narrowing with the increasing number of metamolecules involved. Depending on the type of metamaterial used I observed emission of narrow-divergent radiation in the visible range from 640 to 760 nm. These results - in principle - demonstrate an alternative to the laser, a threshold-free way of generating spatially coherent and spectrally narrow electromagnetic radiation.


Wedge waves (WWs) in wedges, including their dispersion characteristics and mode transformation, are investigated using the laser ultrasound technique. Pulsed laser excitation and optical deflection beam method for detection are used to record WWs. Numerous WWs are detected by scanning the excitation laser along the wedge tip. Dispersions of WWs are obtained by using the two-dimensional (2D) Fourier transformation method, and different WW orders are revealed on the wedges. Mode transformation is determined by fixing the distance between the excitation and detection position, as well as by scanning the samples along the normal direction of the wedge tip.


This thesis reports on the analysis and development of rigorous
modal expansion techniques for determining the scattering properties of
singly-periodic diffraction gratings. Both reflection and transmission
gratings are considered, and although emphasis is given to a theoretical
study of the formalisms, many numerical results obtained with the latter
are also presented. Most of the formalisms pertain to gratings having
specific groove geometries and infinitely-conducting surfaces. However,
in two cases one or other of these constraints is removed.
Several of the established formalisms, based on a variety of nonmodal
techniques, are reviewed, and the essence of their method described.
The advantages that modal treatments have over these methods are explained,
and previous applications of the former are summarised.
Initial theoretical investigations concern the rectangular-groove
grating. Intensive studies reveal an alternative approach to the concept
of diffraction resonance anomalies. They also provide new insight into
the understanding of this grating 1s overall behaviour, including its
blazing and passing-off properties in the first-order Littrow mounting.
These ideas are usefully extended throughout the thesis to encompass the
behaviour of all gratings.
The theoretical treatment for the rectangular-groove grating is
adapted to account for the diffraction properties of three unusual
profiles which also possess a rectangular geometry. Two of these
structures consist of a transmission grating on a reflecting element,
and are shown to exhibit a pronounced resonance action. Tuning of the
various grating parameters governs the behaviour of the resonances and
indicates the potential use of these devices as a type of reflecting
Fabry-Perot interferometer. The third structure is a stepped reflection grating which proves capable of accurately mode l1 i ng the performance of
general profile gratings including those with sinusoidal and triangular
profi 1 es.
Single and bi-modal expansions are shown to provide useful field
approximations for not only the conventional rectangular-groove grating,
but also for two of the three related structures. These approximations
aid in the examination of resonances and other spectral phenomena.
Their regions of accuracy and validity are determined.
The assumption of perfect conductivity is relaxed in a formalism
which is described for dielectric and lossy metallic surfaces. The
method is tailored specifically to the rectangular-groove profile and is
one of the few modal expansion techniques appropriate to non-perfectly
conducting gratings.
The thesis concludes with the presentation of two formalisms
which employ an impedance-related condition to completely specify a set
of modal functions. The first formalism prescribes a solution for a
grating whose grooves are semi-circular in cross-section. Eigenfunctions
for a circular waveguide constitute the modal functions. The second
formalism accommodates reflection profiles of general groove crosssection,
and utilizes a superposition of the rectangular-waveguide eigenfunctions.
The first formalism is employed to evaluate in detail the
spectral performance of the semi-circular groove grating, while the second
is applied, not only to this grating, but also to the triangular and
sinusoidal groove gratings.


Geography is not a compulsory subject of study beyond the age of 14 in English schools and this has had an impact on both absolute and relative participation rates over recent years. Geodemographic analysis reveals that pupils domiciled within more affluent and less ethnically diverse areas record the highest rates of participation and attainment in GCSE Geography, and that the stratified patterns of participation have increased between 2005 and 2009. Within this period, those schools that have stopped supplying successful GCSE Geography entries by 2009 were found to have overall low aggregate attainment and to draw pupils from more deprived areas. The profile of schools visited by the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) (RGS-IBG) Ambassador Scheme was also considered to assess the extent that the schools visited are representative of pupils who are most at risk of non-participation.


Single cell manipulation technology has been widely applied in biological fields, such as cell injection/enucleation, cell physiological measurement, and cell imaging. Recently, a biochip platform with a novel configuration of electrodes for cell 3D rotation has been successfully developed by generating rotating electric fields. However, the rotation platform still has two major shortcomings that need to be improved. The primary problem is that there is no on-chip module to facilitate the placement of a single cell into the rotation chamber, which causes very low efficiency in experiment to manually pipette single 10-micron-scale cells into rotation position. Secondly, the cell in the chamber may suffer from unstable rotation, which includes gravity-induced sinking down to the chamber bottom or electric-force-induced on-plane movement. To solve the two problems, in this paper we propose a new microfluidic chip with manipulation capabilities of single cell trap and single cell 3D stable rotation, both on one chip. The new microfluidic chip consists of two parts. The top capture part is based on the least flow resistance principle and is used to capture a single cell and to transport it to the rotation chamber. The bottom rotation part is based on dielectrophoresis (DEP) and is used to 3D rotate the single cell in the rotation chamber with enhanced stability. The two parts are aligned and bonded together to form closed channels for microfluidic handling. Using COMSOL simulation and preliminary experiments, we have verified, in principle, the concept of on-chip single cell traps and 3D stable rotation, and identified key parameters for chip structures, microfluidic handling, and electrode configurations. The work has laid a solid foundation for on-going chip fabrication and experiment validation.


With the launch of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, a whole new age of high-quality solar image analysis was started. With the generation of over 1.5 Terabytes of solar images, per day, that are ten times higher resolution than high-definition television, the task of analyzing them by scientists by hand is simply impossible. The storage of all these images becomes a second problem of importance due to the fact that there is only one full copy of this repository in the world, therefore an alternate and compressed representation of these images is of vital importance. Current automated image processing approaches in solar physics are entirely dedicated to analyze individual types of solar phenomena and do not allow researchers to conveniently query the whole Solar Dynamics Observatory repository for similar images of their interests.
We developed a Content-based Image Retrieval system that can automatically analyze and retrieve multiple different types of solar phenomena, this will fundamentally change the way researchers look for solar images in a similar way as Google changed the way people searched the internet. During the development of our system, we created a framework that would allow researchers to tweak and develop their own content-based image retrieval systems for different domain-specific applications with great ease and a deeper understanding of the representation of domain-specific image data. This framework incorporates many different aspects of image processing and information retrieval such as: image parameter extraction for reduced representation of solar images, image parameter evaluation for validation of image parameters used, evaluation of multiple dissimilarity measures for more accurate data analysis, analyses of dimensionality reduction methods to help reduce storage and processing costs, and indexing and retrieval algorithms for faster and more efficient search. The capabilities of this framework have never been available together as an open source and comprehensive software package.
With these unique capabilities, we achieved a higher level of knowledge of our solar data and validated each of our steps into the creation of our solar content-based image retrieval system with an exhaustive evaluation. The contributions of our framework will allow researchers to tweak and develop new content-based image retrieval systems for other domains (e.g astronomy, medical field) and will allow the migration of astrophysics research from the individual analysis of solar phenomenon into larger-scale data analyses.


This paper compares the fatigue life of neat and modified pressure aging vessel (PAV)-aged binders and mastics and determines the influence of dust on fatigue life using the Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) method. It will also compare these results with results from the Dissipated Energy Ratio (DER) and 50% Drop Methods as reported in previous research. The binders used were PG 58-28, PG 64-22, PG 70-22, PG 76-28 and PG 82-22. The dust content for the mastic binder was 0%, 5%, and 15% dust to binder by mass. Using the fatigue life of the binder with 0% dust as a baseline, a range of temperature (based on the difference between high and low performance grade) of 86 may make the binder susceptible to fatigue however increasing the range to 92-104 may produce an increase in fatigue life for small amounts of dust (5%). Although the PG 82-22 experienced a decrease in fatigue life with the addition of a small amount of dust, the change was very small prospectively (dropping only 0.7%) suggesting that this binder also experiences a slight increase in fatigue life with the addition of 5% dust. It was determined that two types of failure (mode I and mode II) were occurring in the LAS tests and that the results from the DER and 50% Drop tests may have been either of these failure types. This made it difficult to compare the two procedures based on the results. Further studies must be performed to determine what causes the two different failure types (mode I and mode II). Overall, the binders with higher range in PG grade appear to be less sensitive to addition of dust and binder should be appropriately selected if sensitivity to dust is to be minimized.


Euryhaline adaptations in Pennsylvanian vertebrates allowed them to inhabit the marine to freshwater spectrum. This is illustrated by new assemblages of fish and tetrapods from the early Moscovian Minto Formation of New Brunswick, Canada. Fish include chondrichthyans (xenacanthids and the enigmatic Ageleodus), acanthodians (gyracanthids and acanthodiforms), sarcopterygians (rhizodontids, megalichthyids and dipnoans), and actinopterygians (eurynotiforms). Tetrapods include small‐ to medium‐sized, and largely aquatic, stem tetrapods (colosteids) and anthracosaurs (embolomeres). A key finding is that the parautochthonous fossil assemblages are preserved across a salinity gradient, with diversity (measured by the Simpson Index) declining from open marine environments, through brackish embayments, and reaching a nadir in tidal estuaries. Chondrichthyans dominate the entire salinity spectrum (65% of fossils), a distribution that demonstrates a euryhaline mode of life, and one large predatory chondrichthyan, Orthacanthus, may have practised filial cannibalism in coastal nurseries because its heteropolar coprolites contain juvenile xenacanthid teeth. In contrast, other fish communities were more common in open marine settings while tetrapods were more common in coastal brackish waters. While all these faunas were also likely to have been euryhaline, their osmoregulation was, perhaps, less versatile. The demonstration of widespread euryhalinity among fish and aquatic tetrapods explains why Pennsylvanian faunas generally show a cosmopolitan biogeography because taxa were able to disperse via seaways. It also resolves the paradox of enriched strontium isotopic signatures observed in these faunas because organisms would have been, at times, exposed to continental water bodies as well. Therefore, our new findings contribute to the long‐running debate about the ecology of Pennsylvanian fishes and tetrapods.


Working quietly and without much public attention for more than 20 years, American fashion designer Ralph Rucci suddenly became a headline topic in 2002, when he was invited to show his collection at the haute couture in Paris--the first American to receive such an invitation since Mainbocher in the 1930s. This sumptuously illustrated book is the first to explore in depth Rucci's life and work, including the inspirations behind the extraordinarily beautiful and very expensive clothes he creates. The contributors to the volume explore many aspects of Rucci's genius and emergence as a master in the fashion world. Valerie Steele places his life and work in the context of modern fashion history and discusses his connections with such figures as Balenciaga and Halston. Patricia Mears closely examines the garments he designs, reveals what makes them so special, and considers influences on his work. Clare Sauro describes Rucci's accessories, which complete the aesthetic vision that his fashions embody. The book is enriched with more than 100 photographs that include runway images, fashion shots of Rucci's clients, Chado Ralph Rucci garments from the collection of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology and from his own archives, as well as various inspirational objects and fashions.


The concern at the heart of this research is that students are not always able to make informed decisions in relation to course and college choices in the transition from school as evidenced by both the drop-out rates and numbers of students expressing dissatisfaction with their choice of college or course. This study was motivated by a personal and professional need to understand the influences that are brought to bear on the decision-making process for these young people so that I might be able to help them make more informed decisions as part of my practice as a career guidance counsellor. Central to this study were semi-structured interviews with three groups: five students in the midst of the decision-making process; five students returning from college at Christmas, and five teachers closely involved in advising and helping the students, comprising careers advisors, subject teachers and a year head. During the interviews, aspects of the students' lives, their experiences, their perceptions of education and how each of these impinged on their choices, unfolded through the 'stories' they share. A consideration of historical and policy particularities impacting on the development of education, including the provision of career guidance, advice and information in Ireland sets the scene here for the analysis and discussions of these narratives. The term stories or narratives are not used as they would be in an ethnographic study, where the stories of the participants are used to describe the culture of a group in a detailed and complex manner (Punch 2009). This research project is quite specific and the term stories or narratives are used in relation to the students' experiences of the decision-making process as told by the students themselves. The resulting dissertation thus blends career guidance theory, research and policy in the area and an interpretation of the realities as experienced by the students and from the perspectives of the teachers who have responsibilities for helping the students decide on their next pathway.
A grounded theory methodology is used to interpret data from the interviews and a questionnaire was used to inform the questions asked as part of the interview process. Career guidance, advice and information is often seen as a matching process supporting the criticism frequently levelled at 'trait and factor' approaches that they are an over simplification of a complex process. This study explains the importance of influences such as the family, peers, socio-economic factors, school and geographical location.

The research methodology highlights the different ways in which students experience the decision-making process. A constructivist approach is taken to interpret individual realities for students as they make choices in the transition from school. A social constructivist approach to practice is proposed where career advisors and students actively participate together to make more informed choices.
From an interpretation of the findings from this study, analysis of professional knowledge in relation to career guidance, and reflections on my own practice, implications and recommendations for a different modified provision of career guidance, advice and information are presented.


Prenatal exposure to excess androgen may result in impaired adult fertility in a variety of mammalian species. However, little is known about what feedback mechanisms regulate gonadotropin secretion during early gestation and how they respond to excess T exposure. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of exogenous exposure to T on key genes that regulate gonadotropin and GnRH secretion in fetal male lambs as compared with female cohorts. We found that biweekly maternal testosterone propionate (100 mg) treatment administered from day 30 to day 58 of gestation acutely decreased (P < .05) serum LH concentrations and reduced the expression of gonadotropin subunit mRNA in both sexes and the levels of GnRH receptor mRNA in males. These results are consistent with enhanced negative feedback at the level of the pituitary and were accompanied by reduced mRNA levels for testicular steroidogenic enzymes, suggesting that Leydig cell function was also suppressed. The expression of kisspeptin 1 mRNA, a key regulator of GnRH neurons, was significantly greater (P < .01) in control females than in males and reduced (P < .001) in females by T exposure, indicating that hypothalamic regulation of gonadotropin secretion was also affected by androgen exposure. Although endocrine homeostasis was reestablished 2 weeks after maternal testosterone propionate treatment ceased, additional differences in the gene expression of GnRH, estrogen receptor-β, and kisspeptin receptor (G protein coupled receptor 54) emerged between the treatment cohorts. These changes suggest the normal trajectory of hypothalamic-pituitary axis development was disrupted, which may, in turn, contribute to negative effects on fertility later in life.


The second of three short papers on technology in school, this article will examine an important family of metalforming techniques, seldom, if at all, represented in school work . Some of these might be described as unusual or even exotic, but in pursuing the alternative approaches theme I shall attempt to indicate how they might be brought into school at a minimal cost . It would be impossible in such a short space to discuss all the techniques in depth, and what follows makes no apology for appearing somewhat superficial and emphasising practical rather than theoretical considerations. The literature on all that follows is enormous, and if any of this work is to be developed, it is an easy matter to consult standard texts and obtain advice from suppliers and manufacturers.


Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) refers to critical events occasionally observed during tumor progression, including invasion and metastasis, by which cancer cells acquire a fibroblast-like phenotype. Since the stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/CXCR4 system can facilitate lymph node metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), we have explored the possibility that this system might be involved in EMT. Oral SCC cells, B88 and HNt, which have functional CXCR4 and lymph node metastatic potential, were found to lose their epithelial cell morphology due to SDF-1. In this context, the downregulation of epithelial markers, cytokeratin, E-cadherin and beta-catenin, and the upregulation of mesenchymal marker, vimentin and snail were detected. Furthermore, upregulation of vimentin by treatment with SDF-1 was impaired by phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor Wortmannin, but not by mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor U0126. In the type I collagen embedding culture, SDF-1-treated B88 cells formed protruding extensions, but the effect was impaired by treatment with Wortmannin. These results suggested that EMT induced by the SDF-1/CXCR4 system might be involved in the lymph node metastasis of oral SCCs via activation of PI3K-Akt/PKB pathway.


Practice expansion: estate and gift taxation across international borders. While most CPAs recognize the international aspects of income tax compliance, it's not unusual for little or no attention to be paid to the transfer tax implications of being a foreign executive. As commerce becomes more international in scope, executives must increasingly be mobile on a global scale and be prepared for the possibility that they could die while on assignment in the United States. The U.S. estate and gift tax system applies to either citizens or residents, regardless of where their property is located. The system also taxes property transfers of nonresident aliens if that property has a "situs" or is physically located (situated) within the United States. This article describes the U.S. estate and gift tax concerns international executives face and offers valuable information CPAs can use to advise this growing segment of the corporate population. CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS The determination of whether a person is a U.S. citizen is made under federal nationality and immigration laws. Whether someone is a resident for estate and gift tax purposes, however, is determined by domicile. Under Treasury regulations sections 20.0-1 (b)(1) and 25.2501-1 (b) and applicable state law, a person is domiciled where he or she resides with no definite current intention (the crucial factor) of moving. State laws generally look to things such as location of the principal residence and tangible personal property; memberships in civic, social and religious organizations; place of business; voting registration; financial relationships and driver's license. (See "Factors in Establishing a New Domicile," JofA, Dec.95, page 8.) Before applying these domicile tests, however, any tax treaty between the United States and the other country where domicile may exist should be examined since treaty provisions, if a treaty exists, are determinative. ESTATE AND GIFT TAXATION OF RESIDENT ALIENS If a noncitizen is found to be a U.S. domiciliary, then the federal estate and gift tax generally applies to transfers of all property, irrespective of its situs. Obviously, this leads to the possibility of double taxation: * To the extent property has a situs in a particular country, that country also may impose a tax on that property's transfer. * A foreign country may tax the worldwide transfers--at death or by gift--of both its citizens and its domiciliaries. Thus, if a person is a U.S. citizen but a foreign domiciliary--or vice versa--each country may assert worldwide taxation. * Two or more countries could determine that a particular person is a domiciliary or citizen. In such situations, applicable tax treaties must be consulted. Generally, when a country asserts taxation based only on situs, the country asserting a tax based on citizenship or domicile will allow a credit to the extent of the situs-based tax. When both countries assert a worldwide tax, treaties generally grant a credit that effectively apportions the more burdensome tax between countries proportionate to the tax each would assess independently. For nonresident aliens, the U.S. estate and gift tax rules apply to estates and gifts having situs within the United States. Under Internal Revenue Code section 2501(a)(2), the gift tax does not apply to transfers of intangible personal property, such as royalties and copyrights, even though such property may have U.S. situs. Otherwise, application of the situs rules depends on the property's character. Real property. Real property that is located in the United States has U.S. situs. The determination of whether property is real depends on local lax~; which may vary from state to state for items such as condominiums and longterm leases. Tangible personal property. If such property is physically located in the United States, it generally has U. …


Prediction of outcome in colorectal cancer (CRC) is currently based on the TNM staging classification; however, histopathological classification alone is insufficient for accurately predicting survival in stage II and III patients. Studies indicate that microarray gene expression profiles can predict survival in CRC. We hypothesize that tumor gene expression in combination with clinical parameters, is a better predictor of outcome in stage II and III colorectal cancers than the TNM stage classification alone. Clinical records and follow-up data were retrospectively reviewed for 58 Stage II and Stage III patients with primary colorectal cancer, who did not receive any neoadjuvant therapy preoperatively and whose samples had been previously analyzed for gene expression profiles using the Affymetrix U 133a Gene chip. For molecular classification of patients as being at high or low risk for poor survival, samples were divided into two clusters by hierarchical cluster analysis of genes selected by SAM. Univariate and multivariate analyses vii using Cox proportional hazard models were done to identify significant prognostic factors The 3-year and 5-year survival estimates were 72.41% (SE=5.8%) and 55.17% (SE=6.7%), respectively, for all 58 patients. Univariate analysis showed that advanced stage, older age, high-risk molecular classification, positive lymph nodes were the statistically significant prognostic factors of poor survival (p<0.05), while gender, preoperative CEA level, and family history of CRC in first degree relatives were not statistically significant. In multivariate analysis molecular classification, age and body mass index were independent significant prognostic factors. In Cox proportional hazard model, the estimated hazard ratios for Stage III vs II was 2.45 (95%CI: 0.85-7.04), for high vs low molecular risk was 3.83 (95%CI: 1.22-12.06) and old vs young age was 3.72 (95%CI: 1.2-11.49). Model containing clinical stage in conjunction with molecular risk, body mass index, and age was a stronger indicator of clinical outcome (p= 0.0056) than model with clinical stage alone. Gene expression profiles predict survival independent of clinical parameters, and the addition of gene expression profiles to stage is more predictive of survival than stage alone. Further analysis needs to be done to validate the molecular classification on an independent dataset.


This presentation attempts to contribute to answering the question "In what sense is linguistics or grammar always prescriptive?" This contribution will be anchored in the statements of Bonet (1989) and Cuenca (2001), who clearly state that it is both description and prescription which finally impose a model on linguistic reality. In addition, when the descriptivism or prescriptivism of a text is discussed, what is actually being considered is its aim. Thus, a direct approach from the point of view of the speech act theory (locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary) is needed. The way of providing the answer is to present an analysis of Fabra's discourse in his Gramatica catalana (1933), which is still currently the official Catalan grammar. This analysis will encompass a two-pronged approach. On the one hand it will be based on Berrendonner's (1982) theoretical foundations and classification that demonstrate how French normative grammar hides its arbitrary and authoritarian character and on the other, Costa Carreras' (2008) general outlook on Catalan prescriptive discourse will also be taken into account.


The growing disconnect between China's market-oriented economy with its emerging civil society, and the brittle, anachronistic, and authoritarian state has given rise to intense discussion and debate about political reform, not only by Western observers, but also among Chinese intellectuals. While some expect China's political reform to lead to democratization, others have proposed to strengthen the institution of single-party rule and provide it with a solid legal base. This book brings the ongoing debate to life and explores the options for political reform. Offering the perspectives of both Western and Chinese scholars, it presents the controversial argument for building a consultative rule of law regime as an alternative to liberal democracy, provides several critiques of this thesis, and then tests the thesis through empirical studies on the development of the rule of law in China.


Heightened attention to bullying in research and in the media has led to a proliferation of school climate surveys that ask students to report their level of involvement in bullying. In this study, the authors reviewed the challenges associated with measuring bullying and the implications they have on the reliability of school climate surveys. Then they used data from a sample of 810 students in a large public high school in New Jersey to evaluate the merits of using a more generalized definition of aggression in school climate research. Similar to national surveys of bullying, the authors found that boys were more likely than girls to be involved as aggressors, victims, and victim-aggressors for verbal aggression, physical aggression, threats, and damage to property. Girls were more likely to be involved in social aggression. Few differences were observed in aggressive behaviors by grade, but grade level moderated the differences by gender for all types of aggression. The findings demonstrate what school social workers can expect to learn about school climate by using a survey instrument to measure the prevalence of specific categories of aggression that do not include the requisite power differential, a minimum duration of victimization, or an intentionality test. Language: en


BACKGROUND: Currently, puberty takes place earlier, especially in those girls with elevated BMI, hyperinsulinism, insulin resistance and hyperleptinemia. Leptin and insulin seem to be implicated in this advanced activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis, and moreover, insulin enhances the early secretion of estrogens. All this also causes a faster tempo of puberty that traduces a decreased adult height, and many psychological consequences.
JUSTIFICATION: In girls with advanced puberty (8-9 years) GnRH agonists haven't given a good response in increasing adult height, and there is a need to find an effective treatment. In LBW-PP girls, metformin has shown favourable results in delaying puberty and improve final height. Our intention is try to reproduce the results in girls without LBW or PP, but with a BMI over the mean, taking benefit of the effects of metformin in reducing weight and leptin levels, as well as insulin levels and insulin resistance, and also in reducing steroidogenesis.
OBJECTIVES: Study if metformin therapy in girls with early puberty and with a BMI above the mean, can delay age of menarche and improve adult height, lipid profile and body composition indices (BMI and waist).
DESIGN: Randomized double blinded clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Subjects will be Caucasian girls between the age of 8-9 years old in the beginning of puberty (Tanner 2 or 3) with a BMI in percentile 50 or over. 158 subjects will be selected (79 taking metformin and 79 taking placebo) according to inclusion and exclusion criteria.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome: Age of menarche. Secondary outcomes: height, BMI, waist, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides.
INTERVENTION AND METHOD: The girls will be distributed randomly in a 1: 1 ratio to receive metformin or placebo. They will take one pill of Metformin 850 mg or placebo every day during 3 years. The total follow-up for each girl will be of 5 years. Baseline determination and visits every 6 months with new determinations in each visit will be performed.
SETTING: Multicentre. The study will be performed in outpatient of three hospitals: Dr. Josep Trueta (Girona), Sant Joan de Deu (Barcelona) and Vall d'Hebron (Barcelona)


Whilst continuous improvement (CI) programs have had an enduring appeal for several decades, their sustainability has been a concern for almost as long. Sustaining a CI program requires permanent support of all its stakeholders, particularly of the most important ones—employees. Some authors argue that continuous improvement programs are beneficial for employee wellbeing, while others contest this. We contribute to the small empirical basis for such claims by presenting results from research among care workers in Flemish nursing homes. Questionnaires from 553 care workers in a nursing home applying continuous improvement and in a reference group of nine comparable homes were analyzed to study differences in job demands, job resources, burnout risk, and work engagement. In addition, we have drawn on interviews, site visits, and other qualitative data to assess the extent to which the differences found may be attributed to the CI program used. Overall, the care workers in the nursing home with the CI program evaluated their jobs as better than their colleagues in the reference group. These differences are at least partly caused by the continuous improvement program. We argue that the main effect is that over time, daily work processes become more structured. The work pressure decreases as work becomes less hectic.


Digitisation of library and archival collections has recently been facilitated by improvements in digital storage technologies and related scanners and software. However the success of such initiatives is also contingent on the financial and staff resources available to make best use of these new and evolving digitisation opportunities. University of Wollongong Library has, since 2011, undertaken a comprehensive digitisation program which has seen a changing landscape in regards to budget allocations, technological requirement and staffing. Scholarly and popular journals, theses, books and historic archival collections have been digitised and made available on open access as part of this project. However, within an environment of budgetary constraints and diminishing staff resources, adaptions to the program have been necessary. This has in some measure been mitigated by the developing expertise of individual staff members and the select use of outsourcing based on assessment of overall efficiency, effectiveness and cost. A sustainable digitisation program is achievable during such periods of constraint if supported by a detailed and strategic digitisation plan and the willingness of the organisation to accommodate opportunities which arise in regards to high profile projects, changing priorities or extensions to deadlines.


Chambers SK, Ivins CM,Carcangiu ML. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator in epithelial ovarian cancer: A poor prognostic factor, associated with advanced stage. Int J Gynecol Cancer 1998; 8: 242–250.

Objective: Expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), a CSF-1 (macrophage colony stimulating factor) inducible gene, has been associated with invasion and metastatic properties, as well as with poor prognosis in a variety of epithelial cancers. In ovarian cancer metastases, co-expression of CSF-1 and CSF-1 receptor has been shown to be an independent poor prognostic factor for clinical outcome. Moreover, CSF-1 stimulated invasion of ovarian cancer cells in vitro is mediated by uPA activity. Ovarian cancers contain a higher concentration of uPA and its receptor, uPAR, than benign ovarian tumors. Reports, however, on the prognostic value of uPA content in ovarian cancer tissue extracts, which contain tumor epithelium, stroma, and infiltrating inflammatory cells, have been conflicting. The objectives of this study are to determine: (1) the prognostic value of uPA or uPAR expression in ovarian cancer epithelium, (2) the level of uPA or uPAR staining in the stromal cells, and (3) if there is an association between expression of uPA/uPAR and CSF-1/CSF-1 receptor in ovarian cancers.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to study the primary and metastatic tissues from 131 epithelial ovarian carcinomas, which included all stages of disease. The intensity and extent of staining for uPA and uPAR in the tumor epithelium was scored. Kaplan-Meier curves of survival were compared with the log-rank test. The Cox regression model was used for multivariate analysis. The Chi square test was used to study the association between uPA/uPAR immunohistochemical positivity and clinicopathologic parameters, as well as with CSF-1 and CSF-1 receptor expression.

Results: For the invasive cases, 66% of the primary tumors and 57% of the metastases expressed uPA, while only 32 % of the primary tumors and 23% of the metastases expressed uPAR. There was low level staining for uPA or uPAR in the stromal cells surrounding the tumor. Tumor cell expression of uPA in the invasive primary tumors was strongly predictive of a shorter overall survival; the median survival of 29 months for the 76 patients whose primary tumors expressed uPA was extended to 53 months for the 40 patients whose primary tumors did not express uPA. The prognostic value of uPA expression was retained in the subgroup of patients with residual disease ≥ 2 cm, but not among patients with minimal or no residual disease. Urokinase expression was, however, significantly associated with advanced stage and older age, and was not an independent factor for survival on multivariate analysis. Expression of uPAR alone, or in combination with uPA, had no prognostic value in this study. Co-expression of uPA and uPAR was strongly associated with co-expression of CSF-1 and CSF-1 receptor.

Conclusions: The current study is the first to describe the prognostic significance of uPA/uPAR expression localized to ovarian cancer epithelium. Two previous studies on ovarian cancer, as well as studies on breast, lung, gastric, colon, and cervical cancers, examined the prognostic value of uPA content in tissue extracts. We demonstrate that uPA expression in the primary tumor epithelium is a common finding which is significantly predictive of a shorter overall survival, but is not an independent factor, most likely due to its close association with advanced stage. On the other hand, ovarian cancer stromal staining for uPA was of a low level and was not a prominent feature. In this study, a significant association was found between co-expression of uPA/uPAR and of CSF-1/CSF-1 receptor; thus components of the uPA system may act as a mediator of the invasive, poor prognosis phenotype conferred by CSF-1 in epithelial ovarian cancers.


For the conventionally polished fused silica substrate, an around 100 nm depth redeposition polishing layer was formed on the top of surface. Polishing compounds, densely embedded in the redeposition polishing layer were the dominant factor that limited the laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of transmission elements in nanosecond laser systems. Chemical etching, super-precise polishing and ion beam etching were employed in different ways to eliminate these absorbers from the substrate. After that, Antireflection (AR) coatings were deposited on these substrates in the same batch and then tested by 1064 nm nano-pulse laser. It was found that among these techniques only the ion beam etching method, which can effectively remove the polishing compound and did not induce extra absorbers during the disposal process, can successfully improve the LIDT of AR coatings.


Purbrick's research has been focused on detailed analysis of the socio-cultural contexts of a variety of historical phenomena.
This text studies the meanings of objects created, sustained or altered through the practices of everyday domesticity in Britain
since 1945. Such practices, the subject of analysis across a range of fields and disciplines (material culture studies and
anthropology, cultural studies and sociology as well as design history), are usually placed under the rubric 'consumption'. The
Wedding Present, however, questions this overarching explanatory framework, challenging orthodox accounts of the
relationship between consumption and individual identity. Rather than focusing upon personal selections made at the point of
purchase, it examines the objects imposed upon people and how these are preserved or abandoned in ways that develop social
and familial relationships rather than an individual self. At its centre is an analysis of the gift, which contributes to the
theorisation of the act of exchange, a particular concern within anthropology, and an understanding of the construction of the
'home', a cross-disciplinary project.
The Wedding Present is an ethnography, a case study drawn from the Contemporary Mass-Observation Project comprising
detailed responses to a 'directive' entitled Giving and Receiving Presents collected in 1998 analysed over a period of eight
years. The dominant, often overlooked, methodologies underpinning consumption studies are debated in the text, which also
sets out an argument for much closer critical attention to be paid to method and for furthering comparative approaches. The text
provides a critical appraisal of the developing field of material culture and consumption studies.
In completing The Wedding Present, between October 2002 and June 2003, Purbrick was supported by the Arts and
Humanities Research Board through its Research Leave Scheme.
It has been so far cited by Laurie Taylor, 'Thinking Allowed', BBC Radio 4, 14 February 2007.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/thinkingallowed/thinkingallowed_20070214.shtml.


The composition and properties of sea spray aerosol, a major component of the atmosphere, are often controlled by marine biological activity; however, the scope of impacts that ocean chemistry has on the ability for sea spray aerosol to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) is not well understood. In this study, we utilize a mesocosm experiment to investigate the impact of marine biogeochemical processes on the composition and mixing state of sea spray aerosol particles with diameters < 0.2 µm produced by controlled breaking waves in a unique ocean‐atmosphere facility. An increase in relative abundance of a distinct, insoluble organic particle type was observed after concentrations of heterotrophic bacteria increased in the seawater, leading to an 86 ± 5% reduction in the hygroscopicity parameter (κ) at 0.2% supersaturation. Aerosol size distributions showed very little change and the submicron organic mass fraction increased by less than 15% throughout the experiment; as such, neither of these typical metrics can explain the observed reduction in hygroscopicity. Predictions of the hygroscopicity parameter that make the common assumption that all particles have the same bulk organic volume fractions lead to overpredictions of CCN concentrations by 25% in these experiments. Importantly, key changes in sea spray aerosol mixing state that ultimately influenced CCN activity were driven by bacteria‐mediated alterations to the organic composition of seawater.


Bone disorders dramatically affecting the functional status of many individuals, which are suffering from bone diseases such as fractures, significant pain and height loss, disability to stand up, and walk. Vitamin D play an important role to improve the patients' quality of life with respect to bone disorders. The current study aimed to evaluate the potential of The Trivedi Effect ® - Biofield Energy Healing on vitamin D 3 and DMEM as test item (TI) on bone cell differentiation using human osteoblast cell line (MG-63, Osteosarcoma). Bone health biomarkers such as alkaline phosphatase enzyme (ALP) activity, collagen levels and bone mineralization were evaluated. The test items were treated with The Trivedi Effect® by Victoria Lee Vannes and divided as Biofield Energy Treated (BT) and untreated (UT) test items. Cell viability using MTT data showed that the test items were found to be safe. ALP level was significantly increased by 114.3%, 304.8%, and 314.3% at 0.1 µg/mL in the UT-DMEM+BT-TI, BT-DMEM+UT-TI, and BT-DMEM+BT-TI groups, respectively as compared to the untreated group. Collagen content was significantly increased by 82.5%, 138.4%, and 100.8% at 0.1, 1, and 10 µg/mL, respectively in the UT-DMEM+BT-TI, while 120.6% and 64.6% increased collagen at 0.1 and 1 µg/mL in BT-DMEM+UT-TI group and 261.9%, 179.8%, and 116.0% increased collagen in BT-DMEM+BT-TI group at 0.1, 1, and 10 µg/mL, respectively as compared with the untreated group. Moreover, the percent of bone mineralization was significantly increased by 261.2% and 239.9% at 1 µg/mL UT-DMEM+BT-TI and BT-DMEM+UT-TI groups, respectively as compared with the untreated group. However, BT-DMEM+BT-TI group showed a significant increased bone mineralization by 324.5% at 50 µg/mL. Thus, Biofield Energy Treated vitamin D 3 and DMEM would play an important role to control the osteoblast function, improves bone mineralization, and calcium absorption in many bone disorders. Moreover, the bone health parameters such as collagen, calcium and ALP were significantly improved and can be used as supplement to improve bone health. Based on the outstanding results, it is assumed that the Biofield Energy Treated vitamin D 3 could be a powerful alternative dietary sources and supplements to fight against various bone related diseases including low bone density and osteoporosis, osteogenesis imperfecta, Paget's disease of bone, rickets, osteomalacia, bone and/or joint pain, increased frequency of fractures, deformed bones, osteoma, chondrodystrophia fetalis, hormonal imbalance, stress, aging, bone loss and fractures.