The effect of 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid, a widely used lipoxygenase inhibitor, on Ca2+ fate in Madin Darby canine kidney cells was examined by using fura-2 as a Ca2+ probe. At concentrations between 2-100 microM 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid increased [Ca2+]i concentration-dependently with an EC50 of 20 microM . Extracellular Ca2+ removal decreased the Ca2+ signals, indicating that 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid triggered Ca2+ release and Ca2+ influx. 5,8,11 -Eicosatriynoic acid (30 microM) induced a [Ca2+]i increase in Ca2+-free medium after pretreatment with carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (2 microM), a mitochondrial uncoupler, and thapsigargin (1 microM), an endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump inhibitor for 20 min. Conversely, 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid pretreatment almost abolished the Ca2+ release induced by carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone and thapsigargin. These results suggest that 30 microM 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid released Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and other stores. Addition of 3 mM Ca2+ increased [Ca2+]i after preincubation with 2-50 microM 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid for 10 min. in Ca2+-free medium concentration-dependently. Pretreatment with 10 microM La3+ abolished 30 microM 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid -induced [Ca2+]i increases, but adding La3+ during the decay phase had no effect. 5,8,11-Eicosatriynoic acid-induced Ca2+ release was not altered by inhibiting phospholipase C with 2 microM 1-(6-((17beta-3-methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl)amino)hexyl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (U73122), but was decreased by 60% by 40 microM aristolochic acid. Several other lipoxygenase inhibitors such as baicalein (50 microM), 184.108.40.206-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA; 0.1-0.2 mM), caffeic acid (5-50 microM), esculetin (5-50 microM), alpha-pentyl-3-(2-quinolinylmethoxy)-benzenemethanol (REV-5901; 0.1-0.2 mM) and alpha-pentyl-4-(2-quinolinylmethoxy)-benzenemethanol (L-655238; 80-100 microM) had no effect on [Ca2+]i. Collectively, the data suggest that the lipoxygenase inhibitor 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid induced a [Ca2+]i increase in renal tubular cells concentration-dependently, by releasing intracellular Ca2+ from multiple stores in an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-independent manner, and by inducing extracellular Ca2+ influx in a La3+-sensitive manner.


Although data analysis has been fully incorporated in the literary studies field for over a decade, an in-depth investigation of the textual or verbal production of public administration with equal quantitative rigor has not occurred. This work relies on data analysis tools to explore all the Italian Presidents» New Year speeches from 1949 to 2015. The 67 speeches are analyzed through quantitative methods such as descriptive statistics, natural language processing, sentiment analysis and opinion mining. The aim is to use data science methodologies to enrich and enhance political studies.* Descriptive statistics were used to quantify the way(s) each President speaks to the Nation. Amongst others, it allowed differentiating elocutionary styles: crisper (202 words/speech) or verbose (3,513 words/speech), direct (17 words/sentence) or convoluted (49 words/sentence), slow (95 words/minute) or fast (142 words/minute), as well as variations to means. When applied to the time series, the descriptive analysis shows the mutations of the elocutionary styles over time and the fact that they are not always in line with the zeitgeist.* Natural language processing methods highlighted the frequency and associations of single or groups of words. This was useful to extract the features of the New Year speeches overall but also the main interests of each President (with the oldest President in the history of the Italian Republic being the most worried about the future of the young generation). Quantified examples are given for 7 themes: unemployment, work/job, youth, culture, terrorism, reform, and homeland. Absolute and relative frequencies of these themes were computed and compared to the average frequency of the same themes in the language overall for the same period. Supported by meaningful independence t-tests and confidence intervals, this approach showed the comparative evolution of the recurrence of the 7 topics. But it also showed it can be generalized to any theme.* After having built a "sentiment dictionary", quantitative sentiment analysis and opinion mining have been applied to quantify the expression of ideas, opinions, and statements as positive or negative based on the wording. Relevant differences between Presidents emerge with, at the 2 extremes, President Pertini (18% positive sentiments against 9% negative) and President Gronchi (27% positive sentiments against 4.5% negative). Also, historical trends become more visible: towards more pessimism in the 1980s followed by a slightly stronger optimism in the 1990s and again more negative sentiments from 2000 onward. Sentiment analysis also made obvious that some Presidents built up their narratives following recurrent "sentiment/opinion patterns". The most evident case is President Napolitano that alternates good and bad news in such a specific manner that it becomes a pattern signature structuring most of his speeches. In conclusion, this work provides unique insights into the institution's textual production and its variation over time. The novel scientific approach adopted in this quantitative analysis has produced unique insights that add an extra dimension to the field of political studies.


Chapter 5 of Performing Music Research focuses on three different types of documents, beginning with pre-existing written, audio, and audiovisual documentation. First, the chapter gives examples of pre-existing documents, such as program notes, which can be used in studies as research data in their own right and as stimuli for research. Second, it considers documentation created specifically for research purposes. This includes recordings of music making, which are a rich source of information in music research, and diaries—whether written, audio, or audiovisual. Third, it considers drawings and other forms of visual representation. Throughout, the chapter highlights the possibilities of obtaining insights from documentary data by using newly developed technologies.


— One of the main challenges in biomedical engineering is creating biomaterials with antimicrobial activity. The interaction of protein molecules with the surface of medical devices or prosthesis may result in the attachment of bacterial cells, which eventually triggers the colonization of cells to the biomaterial surfaces and leads to the formation of biofilm and infection. One way to prevent or postpone the biofilm formation and infection is altering the surface architecture and chemistry such that the surface becomes less prone to biofouling. Here, the surface chemistry and structure of aluminum based surfaces were modified through a cost-effective two step superhydrophobic modification method. In this method, a controlled etching process were applied to create a dual micron- and nano-scale hierarchical structures followed by a fluoro-silanization step to reduce the surface free energy. The surfaces were characterized by SEM, EDAX, AFM, FTIR, contact angel goniometry, surface free energy measurement, flow cytometry and Bradford protein assay. The effect of modification on the biofilm formation was analyzed by using microtiter plate assay using three different bacteria. The results showed that the water contact angle and surface free energy changed from 68 o to 163 o and 43.7 to 0.1mN/m, respectively. A good thermomechanical and chemical stability was observed for modified samples. They also possessed a long-term superhydrophobicity over a 4 mon th study period. It was also found that the BSA protein absorption capacity reduced from 3772 to 378µg.ml -1 .cm -2 after modification. An excellent antibiofilm formation was observed for the modified samples such that, the percent inhibition of biofilm growth was found 71 percent. It was also observed that when Aluminum surface becomes superhydrophobic its bacterial adhesion becomes independent of bacterium type. This could be attributed to the fact that the nano-roughness could limit the level of contact that occurs between the substratum and the bacterium, which results in a reduction of anchor points and aggregate force of adhesion. The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by University of Isfahan Research Council.


In the early years of algebraic number theory, different mathematicians built the theory in terms of different objects, and according to different rules, some seeking always to demonstrate that the objects were computable in principle. Later, prominently in the era in which electronic computers were becoming available for academic research, efforts were initiated by some to compute the objects of the theory in practice. By examining writings, research, and correspondence of mathematicians spanning these early and late computational periods, we seek to demonstrate ways in which ideas from the old tradition influenced the new. Among the connections we seek are personal influence on problem selection, and borrowing of computational methods. In particular, we examine such links among the works of Kurt Hensel, Helmut Hasse, Olga Taussky, and Hans Zassenhaus.


People are often required to disclose Personal Identifying Information (PII) in order to achieve their goals, e.g. when accessing services, obtaining information and goods, etc. Being able to say with absolute certainty that another party can be trusted to properly handle personal data with today's technology is probably unrealistic. Feedback solutions based on reputation mechanisms can address aspects of trust and assurance in relation to how personal data is managed by an enterprise. However they usually rely on subjective feedback which is based on empirical experiences, and typically they do not allow individuals to systematically track and manage their specific experience. In this paper we propose an approach that enables people to monitor the status of their personal data which they have previously shared with an enterprise, service provider or other organisation under specific conditions previously negotiated and actively gather information on how adequately the management of these data meets their personal expectations. Ongoing monitoring and notification, and the ability of the client to form a simple record of past interaction, provides the client with greater confidence and assurance in situations where they need to share personal sensitive information with organisations they would otherwise not be able to claim they trust. This feedback process is based on conditions that are specific to the process of sharing PII and provides the client with assurance that an enterprise is a) capable and b) actually fulfilling PII processing preferences that are agreed at the time the data is disclosed, and which ultimately enables the client to form an opinion about the service provided. We present the principles of our approach and architectural components that support a practical implementation. This is work in progress and the research is ongoing, carried out in the context of PRIME.


This thesis examines the potential to establish a resilient model of urban
development in the Boka Kotorska region of Montenegro (Figure. 1)
against a backdrop of dynamic adjustment to economic models, urban
form and the cultural identity of local communities. As such, it examines
the role of vernacular architecture, ecologies and philosophies as a
stimulus for a more indicative model of facilitating healthier ecosystems within a region that proclaims its ecological ambitions in its post
independence constitution of 2007. Developers in the study appear to be
quick to market the vernacular as a marker of sustainability based on
tradition and supposed innate relationships with cultural heritage.
However, the concept of vernacular is founded on its etymological origins,
therefore open to interpretation, which can result in ambiguous depictions
of vernacular architecture and landscapes within urban developments.
The traditions and cultural heritage of Montenegro and by extension the
Boka Kotorska is complex. Montenegro is geopolitically wavering between
closer relationships with the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation (NATO) and historic connections with Serbia, Russia
and the Eastern Orthodox religion. Additionally, Montenegro is a selfdeclared
eco state, on the face of it committed to ecological values, but
the objective of creating this will be compromised if the population is not
empathetic to environmental objectives.
Examining areas in transformation within the Boka region this thesis
considers the reshaping of urban form and the consequential effect on
cultural identity. Accordingly, the primary objective of this thesis is to
examine the suitability of existing sustainable and resilience models to the
long-term ecological health of the region. Additionally, a pragmatic and
accessible sustainable development tool is initiated as a more culturally
sensitive marker of ecosystem health. The Vernacular Ecology Index (VEI)
is a newly designed assessment method for sustainable urban
development. It is composed of five elements (energy, culture, systems,
placeness and vernacular) that are indicative of the spirit of the subjective
and objective within the context of the urban ecosystem. Within the
components there are integrated indicators that aim to reflect and
measure the viability of the individual element. When synthesized with
their counterparts the index indicates strengths and areas in need of
improvement within the designated study subject. Most importantly the
index acts as a visual illustration of ecological progress as it is a critical
intention to involve communities in the process of ecological appraisal, or put simply 'mutual interaction'. One of the primary purposes of the
Vernacular Ecosystem Index (VEI) tool is to establish networks of
benchmark practice in order to stimulate feedback loops to complimentary
regions, ultimately benefitting the broader bioregion. Applying the index to
a number of projects in a stipulated locality effectively offers an overview
of the urban ecosystem's health that could potentially pinpoint ecological
strengths and weaknesses of the identified region.
If ecological values are to be embedded within the cultural experiences of
local communities there should be a collective understanding of what that
means regarding urban development. It is therefore a foundational aspect
of this thesis to offer a more systematic approach to ecosystem health by
identifying a model of system appraisal based on vernacular conceptual
foundations.


Zambian growth failure is often related to the resource curse. This article evaluates not only this claim, but also whether the new institutional theory can account for Zambia's economic decline. Little empirical support is found for the terms of trade or volatility versions of the resource curse theory, and there is only slightly more support for relative price versions of the theory. Turning to the new institutional theory, the article quantifies the poor quality of institutions in Zambia using a measure for contract intensive money, and supports the hypothesis that 'poor quality' institutions, and especially the failure to protect property and contract rights, played an important role in Zambia's economic decline. Examples are given to support this claim.


This paper considers competition in systems of complementary products and examines how compatibility affects the use of informative advertising by an incumbent to deter entry. Advertising increases demand for a product; customers become price sensitive and competition increases, pre‐empting new market entrants. However, compatibility reduces competition, so incumbent advertising becomes less effective at deterring entry and additional, costly advertising would be required to induce deterrence. Moreover, compatibility increases advertising by a potential entrant; with efficient advertising technology, consumers are informed about all products and the incumbent cannot deter entry by using additional advertising. Therefore, product standardization policies that encourage compatibility can support new market entrants by discouraging pre‐emptive advertising strategies.


Uncertainty in reservoir models can be quantified by generating large numbers of history-matched models, and using those models to forecast ranges of hydrocarbons produced. The need to run large numbers of simulations inevitably drives the engineer to compromises in either the physics represented in the reservoir model, or in the resolution of the simulations run. These compromises will often introduce biases in the simulations, and the unknown reservoir parameters are estimated using the biased simulations, which can lead to biases in the parameter estimates. Solution error models can be used to correct for the effects of the biases. Solution error models work by building a statistical model for the differences between fine and coarse simulations (or between full physics and reduced physics simulations) using data from simulations at a limited number of locations in parameter space. The statistical model then produces estimates of the error elsewhere in parameter space; these estimates are used to correct the effects of the coarse model biases. In this work, we apply a solution error model to material balance calculations. Material balance is frequently used in reservoir engineering to estimate the initial oil in place. However such models are very simple, treating the reservoir as a tank and allowing instantaneous equilibration of fluids within the tank. The results of material balance simulations will therefore not be consistent with multi-cell reservoir simulations. We use a model based on Teal South Reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico to demonstrate how an error model can correct a material balance model to the accuracy of a reservoir simulation.


It is one of the curiosities of history that the most remarkable novel about Jews and Judaism, predicting the establishment of the Jewish state, should have been written in 1876 by a non-Jew -- a Victorian woman and a formidable intellectual, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest of English novelists. And it is still more curious that Daniel Deronda, George Eliot's last novel, should have been dismissed, by many of her admirers at the time and by some critics since, as something of an anomaly, an inexplicable and unfortunate turn in her life and work. Yet Eliot herself was passionately committed to that novel, having prepared herself for it by an extraordinary feat of scholarly research in five languages (including Hebrew), exploring the ancient, medieval, and modern sources of Jewish history. Three years later, to reenforce that commitment, she wrote an essay, the very last of her writing, reaffirming the heritage of the Jewish "nation" and the desirability of a Jewish state -- this well before the founders of Zionism had conceived of that mission. Why did this Victorian novelist, born a Christian and an early convert to agnosticism, write a book so respectful of Judaism and so prescient about Zionism? And why at a time when there were no pogroms or persecutions to provoke her? What was the general conception of the "Jewish question," and how did Eliot reinterpret that "question," for her time as well as ours? Gertrude Himmelfarb, a leading Victorian scholar, has undertaken to unravel the mysteries of Daniel Deronda. And the mysteries of Eliot herself: a novelist who deliberately wrote a book she knew would bewilder many of her readers, a distinguished woman who opposed the enfranchisement of women, a moralist who flouted the most venerable of marital conventions -- above all, the author of a novel that is still an inspiration or provocation to readers and critics alike.


In 1994, three shallow earthquakes of Mw∼ 6 occurred close together on blind thrusts near Sefidabeh in eastern Iran. In an earlier study of the teleseismic waveforms, the geomorphology and the faulting in the epicentral region, it was suggested that these earthquakes were associated with the growth of a ridge above a blind thrust fault system, whose activity could be detected by its effect on the surface drainage. In this study we present a SAR interferogram that precisely determines the location and amount of coseismic surface displacements, showing that the earthquakes in the Sefidabeh sequence probably occurred on en-echelon fault segments associated with three stepping ridges. We also present U/Th dates of ∼100 ka for lake deposits uplifted by the growing ridge. From the cumulative, dated uplift and knowledge of the surface displacements due to an earthquake sequence, we estimate that ∼120 such events have occurred in the past 100 ka, with an average recurrence interval of 830 yr, and an average convergence rate of 1.5 mm yr−1 on the Sefidabeh thrust; each estimate has an uncertainty of a factor of two, either way. We argue that the Sefidabeh fault originally formed by coalescence of many small fault segments, and has grown in length at about 2 cm yr−1 in the past 100 ka. Though the coseismic surface deformation observed in the SAR interferogram closely resembles folding, the overall topography does not, because of inherited topography associated with earlier geological deformation. In spite of this, the activity of the buried thrust fault can easily be detected by its effect on the surface drainage: a significant lesson when interpreting landscapes that are not entirely due to the present-day deformation.


Late pregnant cows often experience nutritional stress in northern Australia, which reduces colostrum secretion, health, and likelihood of survival of neonatal calves. The effect of prepartum supplementation on the transfer of passive immunity and growth of calves was investigated. The decline in prepartum progesterone was the hypothesised mechanism regulating the transfer of passive immunity. Ninety pregnant Droughtmaster heifers and 45 Brahman cows were used. Animals were stratified by body weight and expected calving date, and separated into two blocks of heifers and one block of cows. Animals were randomly allocated into nutritional treatments, where all were fed low quality Rhodes-grass hay: (1) Control hay only; (2) Protein (PRO), supplemented with 1 kg/d of protein supplement; and (3) Yeast fermentation products (YFP), protein supplement plus 14 g Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product (NaturSafeTM). Data for final analyses was available from 92 calves on transfer of passive immunity and from 59 cow/calf pairs on prepartum progesterone decline. Treatment means were compared via orthogonal contrasts for the effect of supplementation PRO and YFP. Protein supplementation for an average of 14 d hastened the decline in the concentration of serum progesterone before parturition (p < 0.01) and tended (p = 0.09) to increase growth rate of calves during the first 10 d (1.0 vs. 0.9 kg/d). However, there was no effect of PRO on neonatal calves plasma immunoglobulin-G1 (IgG1) concentration (p = 0.43). Adding YFP further hastened the progesterone decline before parturition (p < 0.05) and tended to increase plasma IgG1 (p = 0.08). Short term nutritional supplementation prepartum may improve transfer of passive immunity and neonatal calf growth.


A restricted additive Schwarz (RAS) preconditioning technique was introduced recently for solving general nonsymmetric sparse linear systems. In this paper, we provide one-level and two-level extensions of RAS for symmetric positive definite problems using the so-called harmonic overlaps (RASHO). Both RAS and RASHO outperform their counterparts of the classical additive Schwarz variants (AS). The design of RASHO is based on a much deeper understanding of the behavior of Schwarz-type methods in overlapping subregions and in the construction of the overlap. In RASHO, the overlap is obtained by extending the nonoverlapping subdomains only in the directions that do not cut the boundaries of other subdomains, and all functions are made harmonic in the overlapping regions. As a result, the subdomain problems in RASHO are smaller than those of AS, and the communication cost is also smaller when implemented on distributed memory computers, since the right-hand sides of discrete harmonic systems are always zero and therefore do not need to be communicated. We also show numerically that RASHO-preconditioned CG takes fewer iterations than the corresponding AS-preconditioned CG. A nearly optimal theory is included for the convergence of RASHO-preconditioned CG for solving elliptic problems discretized with a finite element method.


Abstract Purpose: To compare tear meniscus height (TMH) and area (TMA) values obtained by optical coherence tomography (OCT) with the Schirmer test and tear-film break-up time (TBUT) values. Materials and methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, the right eyes of 300 consecutive patients were studied. All patients underwent routine ophthalmologic examination. Schirmer and TBUT measurements were taken, and tear-film OCT images were obtained. Using OCT, the TMH (i.e. the line connecting the intersection of the meniscus with the cornea and eyelid) and cross-sectional TMA were calculated. Patients were divided into Groups 1 (Schirmer values ≤5 mm) and 2 (Schirmer values >5 mm). Data were analyzed using SPSS 13.0 software. The Mann–Whitney U-test was used for the comparison of groups. Correlations between tear parameters were analyzed. Results: There were no significant differences in age, logMAR, or IOP values (p = 0.480, 0.077 and 0.146, respectively) between the two groups. Mean TBUTs were 5.1 ± 2.9 and 9.5 ± 4.2 s for Groups 1 and 2, respectively (p < 0.001). Mean TMHs were 237.9 ± 108.9 and 324.3 ± 158.9 μm for Groups 1 and 2, respectively (p < 0.001). Mean TMAs were significantly lower in Group 1 compared to Group 2 (p < 0.001; 0.027 ± 0.028 versus 0.055 ± 0.059 mm2, respectively). Correlations between Schirmer values and TMH, and between Schirmer values and TMA, were significant (p = 0.001 and <0.001, respectively). Conclusions: OCT values were significantly lower in patients with Schirmer values of <5 mm. Tear meniscus measurements obtained by OCT are reliable for establishing a diagnosis of dry eye.


In this paper we extract and visualize the topological skeleton of two‐parameter‐dependent vector fields. This kind of vector data depends on two parameter dimensions, for instance physical time and a scale parameter. We show that two important classes of local bifurcations – fold and Hopf bifurcations – build line structures for which we present an approach to extract them. Furthermore we show that new kinds of structurally stable local bifurcations exist for this data, namely fold‐fold and Hopf‐fold bifurcations. We present a complete classification of them. We apply our topological extraction method to analyze a number of two‐parameter‐dependent vector fields with different physical interpretations of the two additional dimensions.


This article analyses the complexities involved in providing free public online access to the 'public legal information' of the Indian legal system. It starts with some of the causes of the complexity of Indian legal information, then describes the considerable progress that has previously been made in the provision of free access to some types of legal information, but why the result is still below international standards. Developing a free access legal information system for India involves more complex technical and organizational issues than is the case for most other countries. This is because of the complexity of India's constitutional structure and resulting legal institutions, the value it places on democracy (and the particular form of 'monitory democracy' it has developed), human rights and the rule of law, the litigious nature of its citizens, its linguistic complexity, and its expanding market economy. Although India's constitutional right of freedom of speech has been interpreted to include access to information, this constitutional principle has not yet been developed in relation to legal information to require governments to meet the needs of the ordinary citizen to access legal information for free or to international standards of quality. The English language is likely to retain its privileged, but not exclusive, position in the legal system for some time to come. In addition to the separate deficiencies of each of the existing sources of free access online resources in India, the over-riding problem is that no free access source have created facilities so that all of these sources – case law, Central and State legislation, treaties, open access scholarship and law reform – to be searched together. There is no comprehensive site which allows users to search any one of these 'five pillars' of legal information across India, let alone all five of them. The article then presents a project that attempts both to build on, enhance and consolidate much of the good work that has already been done by Indian government organizations, and NGOs, to develop free access to legal information in India, and to overcome many of the deficiencies identified in the previous section. The Legal Information Institute of India (LII of India) is being developed by eight Indian law schools and an international partner (AustLII, the Australasian Legal Information Institute). It has developed in its first year of public operation, the LII of India, a system with over 750,000 searchable documents and 151 databases. The national launch of LII of India was organized and hosted by National Law University, Delhi on 9 March 2011 by Union Minister of Law and Justice, Dr M Veerappa Moily. It was followed by 'satellite launches' in Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Kolkota during March and April 2011, hosted by the respective National Law Universities in those cities. The system is therefore only now becoming known but is receiving over 6,000 page requests per day, and will have received approximately 2.25 million accesses in the 2011 calendar year. The considerable remaining challenges for creation of a world-standard and sustainable system are then outlined, and steps proposed to address them. The extent to which this collaborative project might be a model for development of free access to legal information in other countries is considered. The future of LII of India depends on a number of factors, including establishment of an effective technical team and servers in India, an Indian-based governance structure, collaboration with organizations in India with similar goals, establishment of local financial sustainability, and continuing technical support from AustLII during the establishment phase. These challenges are discussed, as well as the difficulties in extending development at the State level, and the longer term challenges of providing information in languages other than English, and the legal issues surrounding that task.


Past research on figure-ground assignment to contours has largely considered static stimuli. Here we report a simple and extremely robust dynamic cue to figural assignment, based on whether the bounding region of a contour is growing larger within the field of view ("advancing") rather than smaller ("receding"). Subjects viewed a straight or jagged contour dividing two colored regions translating behind a virtual aperture and had to report which color they had seen "moving in front", effectively assigning figure to that side of the contour. Across three experiments, subjects showed a strong preference to assign figure such that the bounded contour was advancing. This was true regardless of the direction of motion of the contour and regardless of the initial/ending size of the bounded regions (i.e., the motion cue served to override the conventional cue to figure-ground of smaller area). In a fourth, control experiment, subjects showed no such bias when it was the aperture, rather than the contour, that moved, demonstrating that the effect depends on contour motion and not simply an increase in area. We discuss a possible explanation for this bias as well as the general implications regarding dynamic factors in form perception.


The Indian Ocean tsunami of 26th December2004 was a series of giant sea waves unleashed by the
massive earthquake beneath the sea with its epicentre located about 250 km South East of Sumatra, Indonesia.
The huge waves of tsunami lashed across thirteen countries of the world, one among the worst hit being India.
Tsunami caused considerable destruction and causalities in the coastal regions of the states including Tamil
Nadu, Pondichery, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. In Kerala, 187 villages were
affected, registering a death toll of 180 persons and huge damage to assets and livelihood. This study was
conducted at different landing centres in the tsunami affected regions of Kerala. The impact of tsunami on the
fisheries was catastrophic as in the case of other affected segments, impinging on the livelihood of already
poverty stricken fisher households. Non-mechanized and motorized segments were the worst affected among
different sectors of marine fisheries. Maximum reduction in landings was experienced by plank-built boats
with gillnet (motorized) and country crafts with gillnets (non-mechanized).


Urban-rural comparisons of childhood undernutrition suggest that urban populations are better-off than rural populations. However, these comparisons could mask the large differentials that exist among socioeconomic groups in urban areas. Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for 11 countries from three regions were used to test the hypothesis that intra-urban differentials in child stunting were greater than intra-rural differentials, and that the prevalence of stunting among the urban and the rural poor was equally high. A socioeconomic status (SES) index based on household assets, housing quality, and availability of services was created separately for rural and urban areas of each country, using principal components analysis. In most countries, stunting in the poorest urban quintile was almost on par with that of poor rural dwellers. Thus, malnutrition in urban areas continues to be of concern, and effective targeting of nutrition programs to the poorest segments of the urban population will be critical to their success and cost-effectiveness.


Gold nanoparticle mediated (GNOME) laser transfection/perforation fulfills the demands of a reliable transfection technique. It provides efficient delivery and has a negligible impact on cell viability. Furthermore, it reaches high-throughput applicability. However, currently only large gold particles (> 80 nm) allow successful GNOME laser perforation, probably due to insufficient sedimentation of smaller gold nanoparticles. The objective of this study is to determine whether this aspect can be addressed by a modification of silica particles with gold nanoparticles. Throughout the analysis, we show that after the attachment of gold nanoparticles to silica particles, comparable or better efficiencies to GNOME laser perforation are reached. In combination with 1 µm silica particles, we report laser perforation with gold nanoparticles with sizes down to 4 nm. Therefore, our investigations have great importance for the future research in and the fields of laser transfection combined with plasmonics.


1 Ham C. Priority setting in the NHS: reports from six districts. BMJ 1993;307:435-8. (14 August.) 2 Robinson R. Purchasing, priorities and rationing. In: Harrison A, ed. Health care UK 1992/3: an annual review of health care policy. London: King's Fund Institute, 1993:106-16. 3 Black NA, Sanderson CF, Freeland AP, Vessey MP. A randomised controlled trial of surgery for glue ear. BMY 1990;300: 1551-6. 4 Audit Commission. Children first: a study of hospital services. London: HMSO, 1993.


This is a case report out of a series of epidemiological studies within fish populations inhabiting the Danube Delta area, of which aim is to gather data on Eustrongylides spp epidemiology, with emphasis on the relationship between host, agent and environment-associated factors, as well as on food safety potential hazards. This investigation has been carried out on zander (Sander lucioperca) between August-November 2016, into a fish processing plant which currently produces fillets for internal and external markets. The fish had been gathered by industrial fishing from the RazelmSinoe area. Following the investigation it resulted that the disease prevalence was over 90 %, with an average of 5-7 larvae/fish fillet (min. 3, max. 10 larvae per fish). Main sites of location are: muscle, gonads, intestine and peritoneum. Most of the larvae were encysted (parasitic nodules of 0.5-1.0 cm in diameter). The study results indicate that there is an increasing consumer's risk associated with the existence of Eustrongylides spp. larvae in fish destined to human consumption, as well as there is a potential of releasing the nematode into new areas, including on fishery farms. Hence, communication of the risk associated to the existence of Eustrongylides spp. within the Danube Delta area, and recommendation of specific biosecurity measures to help prevent the nematode from releasing/establishing into fishery farms in Europe should be called upon.


This thesis focuses on the preparation and characterization of liquid electrolytes (LEs), polymer gel electrolytes (PGEs), and composite polymer gel electrolytes (CPGEs). LEs were first prepared by dissolving ammonium triflate (NH4CF3SO3) in propylene carbonate (PC) using various molar concentrations of NH4CF3SO3. The optimum conductivity (0.7 M) of the liquid electrolyte (LE) was then gelled with different concentrations of MG49. The conductivity of PGE measured by electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed a noteworthy increase by one order (approximately 10" S cm"1) when 3 wt.% MG49 was incorporated into 0.7 M of the LE. This phenomenon is best clarified by the breathing polymeric chain model. Although PGE has a high conductivity (1.23 x 10" S cm"), its physical properties need to be improved for practical application. Therefore, the PGE was dispersed with SiC>2 and AI2O3 to obtain CPGEs. The plot of log a versus 1000/T for all systems implies that the systems follow the Arrhenius rule, in which conductivity is thermally assisted. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was used to study the interaction between components. The changes in band vibration are observable primarily due to the interaction between the C=0 of MG49 and NH4+ of ammonium triflate. An Ubbelohde viscometer was used to measure the viscosity of all systems, which is the only physical property discussed in the current thesis. PGE filled with 8 wt.% of SiC>2 and 7 wt.% of AI2O3 which are the highest conductivities of CPGE were chosen to fabricate a proton battery with the cell configuration of Zn || CPGE || Mn02- The OCV and discharge characteristics of both cells were studied and compared. The CPGE cell with SiC>2 filler (Cell A) was the superior in all aspects because of its higher CPGE conductivity (7.55 x 10"3 S cm"1) compared to Cell B (6.75 x 10'3 S cm"1). Cell A stabilized at 1.49 V under an open cell condition, with discharge capacity of 17.85 mAh at a 0.5 mA current drain. Cell A also had the specific power and specific energy of 0.75 W Kg"1 and 26.78 Wh Kg"1, respectively, at a 0.5 mA current drain.


SATIFICING APPLIED TO SIMULATED SOCCER Jay B. Packard Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Master of Science Satisficing was introduced by the economist Herbert Simon to allow for decisions that are "good enough" when there are insufficient computational resources and knowledge to obtain the optimal outcome. Autonomous multi-agent systems often require such decision making because of the complexity and unknown factors present in such an environment. Satisficing has been extended significantly by Wynn Stirling. Through extended satisficing, he has departed from conventional approaches to autonomous multi-agent systems, based as they usually are on the assumption that each participant is motivated exclusively by its own self interest, and will therefore attempt to maximize its benefit, regardless of the benefit or cost to others. He considers an alternative view based on the assumption that, when forming its preferences, the agent is willing to take into consideration the preferences of others. This thesis explores the application of satisficing to simulated soccer, an autonomous multi-agent system with significant inherent complexity. The work described in this thesis shows that satisficing provides an easy way to switch between an agent's various roles, to take into consideration the likely goals and actions of other agents, and to work in conjunction with a genetic algorithm to help optimize parameters. Some principles of developing simple and concise satisficing code are suggested. Satisficing is thus shown to be an effective solution to decision making in complex multi-agent systems.


Coverage of terrorism can be categorized into either peace journalism or war journalism. Peace journalism highlights peace initiatives and tones down differences, while war journalism emphasizes differences, often legitimizing violence as the means to peace. This article analyses the war/peace journalism binaries by newspapers in reporting the 2015 terror attack on Kenya's Garissa University. The article considers an oppositional reading of mainstream media through social media comments. By allowing opposition reading, social media enables the audience to challenge the war journalism that is prominent in mainstream media reporting of terrorism. While war journalism legitimizes violence as the key counter-terrorism strategy, peace journalism seeks to reveal the root causes of conflict. Although the concept of peace journalism is well grounded, its application to oppositional readings of terrorism news remains under-theorized because terrorism is still outside the bounds of what is considered legitimate war. Reporting from a war journalism perspective, the mainstream media focused on coverage that delegitimized terrorism and paid scant attention to alternative understandings of the event. . Contrary, comments on social media discussed terrorism from a peace journalism perspective, focusing on the root cause as well as possible solutions. As part of peace promotion efforts, this study proposes that journalists should be critical of the dominant knowledge structure and report terrorism from a peace journalism perspective. Key words: Al-Shabaab, Peace journalism, terrorism, war, violence, media, news, social media, oppositional reading.


Both geographic and normative constraints restrict access to surrogate international human rights protection for those seeking a haven from serious human rights abuses. Primary among territorial restrictions has been the fall-out from the US Supreme Court's decision in Sale v. Haitian Council Centers in which the court explicitly ruled that nothing in US statutory law, or in the 1951 Convention on Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, precluded the interdiction of Haitian refugees in international waters and their return to the country of origin without an effective interview on their protection clams. This ruling is in transparent contradiction to the general international law norm of non-refoulement according to modern scholarship and emerging case law. This paper concludes that Sale should be overturned by statute as should related pre-screening practices. A new standard of "jurisdiction" should be adopted which does not depend on territorial access to a signatory state but on whether the state is exercising power in fact. Similar concerns exist with respect to safe third country agreements which often offend the international customary right of the asylum seeker to choose where his or her claim will be filed. This paper argues that the right of choice should be recognized and onward travel and admission to the country of destination allowed. This result is especially called for where return of the alien by the country of first contact raises serious concerns under the law of non-refoulement . Imbalances noted in this paper include those generated by the new terrorism related grounds of inadmissibility in theUnited States and the summary denial of children's asylum claims flowing from gang violence. Other questions are raised in this paper concerning work authorization and detention of asylum seekers. Access to an employment authorization document for those filing colorable claims should be recognized by statute to render US practice consistent with that of most other states. Release from detention, on the other hand, for asylum seekers has now been broadly recognized by the US Department of Homeland Security where the asylum seeker's identity can be ascertained and the claim is non-frivolous in nature. This approach is largely consistent with international law, although there have been unnecessary delays in implementing it. On the substantive law, the international customary norm of non-refoulment has been expanded considerably through the development of opinio juris by scholars and the practice of states. This paper traces efforts in Europe to develop a law of temporary refuge for those fleeing civil war situations characterized by humanitarian law violations. Similarly, case law under the European Convention of Human Rights has now come to focus on the harm the claimant would suffer as the result of conditions in the country of origin without identifying an explicit agent of serious harm. Related to these developments has been the notion of complementary protection under which relief can be conferred where the alien would suffer serious harm upon return to the home state but not for a Convention reason. These approaches have now received approval in the European Union Asylum Qualification Directive so that international protection may now be conferred either because the alien would suffer serious harm on account of the intensity of human rights violations taking place in the country of origin, or those conditions, taken in conjunction with the claimant's personal situation, support a finding that the claimant would be impacted. This paper argues that this latter standard has now been made a part of the customary norm of non-refoulement and that it should be recognized by statute as a basis for non-return and coupled with status where the new standard can be met. Such a measure would help restore the nation's commitment to human rights and humanitarian concerns.


Three species of hydroids referable to the genus Zanclea are recorded from the Apulian waters (Ionian Sea). Species distinction is based mainly on cnidome, and especially on the morphology and position of macrobasic euryteles: Zanclea sessilis growing on bryozoans, with apotrichous macrobasic euryteles with shaft coiled in a horseshoe shape, disposed in a circle around the hypostome, and in the hydrorhiza; Zanclea costata growing on bivalve shells, with holotrichous (?) macrobasic euryteles with a spirally coiled shaft, abundant in the hydrorhiza and rare in the hydranth body; and Zanclea sp. growing on bryozoans, with apotrichous macrobasic euryteles of two sizes, both with shaft coiled along the long axis of the capsule, dispersed in the hydranth body and in the hydrorhiza. The hydroids of Zanclea sessilis and Zanclea sp. were reared under identical controlled conditions for more than one year, but their morphological features remained unchanged and they both produced medusae. The medusae of Zanclea sessilis were reared to maturity, those of Zanclea sp. just to a young age. The main difference between the medusae was the consistent presence of an enlargement of the middle part of radial canals in Zanclea sessilis (from newly released to adult specimens), a feature lacking in Zanclea sp. It is confirmed that, as already suggested by several authors, cnidome is a reliable feature for species identification of Zanclea hydroids, but medusa identification remains more problematic. In spite of the widespread claim that Zanclea is represented world-wide by a single species, it is here demonstrated that the genus comprises at least three species in the Mediterranean.


Background: Pleural tuberculosis (TB) remains difficult to diagnose despite numerous diagnostic tools. Recently, in vitro interferon (IFN)-γ-based assays have been introduced in the diagnosis of latent TB, but these techniques have not been established in the diagnosis of active TB disease, including pleural TB. Objectives: It was the aim of this study to assess the accuracy of the commercially available QuantiFERON® TB Gold assay and adapted variants of the assay, using pleural fluid or isolated pleural fluid cells for the diagnosis of pleural TB. Methods: We recruited 66 consecutive patients with a pleural effusion of unknown cause presenting at a tertiary academic health care centre in Cape Town, South Africa, a high prevalence area of TB. Blood and pleural fluid were collected at presentation for IFN-γ assays and the results evaluated for diagnostic accuracy. Results: The clinical diagnosis was TB in 30 (46%), malignancy in 20 (30%), parapneumonic effusion/empyema in 8 (12%) and effusion due to other causes in 8 patients (12%). Ex vivo pleural fluid IFN-γ levels accurately identified TB in all patients and were superior to the QuantiFERON In Tube assay using blood and pleural fluid (73 and 57% sensitivity, with 71 and 87% specificity, respectively) and the QuantiFERON Gold assay applied to isolated pleural fluid cells (100% sensitivity and 67% specificity). Conclusion: The ex vivo pleural fluid interferon-γ level is an accurate marker for the diagnosis of pleural TB, and the QuantiFERON TB Gold assay performed with peripheral blood or adapted for pleural fluid cells does not add diagnostic value.


In this study examine KP4 steel (HRC 32), a non-thermal treated material among plastic mold steels, a material widely used in the mold industry. The sample will be machined upwards and downwards at different angles (15°, 30°, 45°). To this end, it uses a multicoated carbide tool (1 to 4 layers of AlTiN using physical vapor deposition (PVD) and ion plating). This study presents basic processing data of the multi-coated ball end-mill and discuss the characteristics of high-speed machining. For measuring the roughness of the coated tool surface, this study uses Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) manufactured by PSIA, which can measure specimen surface in nm range. In this experiment, the specimen was scanned by 20×20 μm units, to observe and measure the surface roughness of the tools according to the layers of coating. Mechanical properties of the specimen are found to be the best when the carbide ball end-mill is coated in three layers, with the hardness of the coating layer being 29.7GPa and surface roughness 0.042 μm. The cutting component forces are better in the upwards direction than in downwards, and become smaller as the effective diameter of the tool increases as the angle of inclination of the material got bigger. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.24.1.20216


Low employability among specific populations (e.g., religious/traditional women, the elderly, disabled workers, immigrants) has unfavorable consequences on the: unemployed individual, society, and the state economy. The latter include: poverty, a heavy toll on welfare budgets, diminished growth, and an increase in the "dependency ratio". We suggest a rather novel policy (borrowed from the field of Career Psychology) that could lead to successful integration into the labor market of low-employability populations: the design of tailor-made training programs that respond to work motives; coupled with a working environment that caters to special needs/ restrictions; and complemented with counseling and monitoring. The suggested strategy was illustrated and investigated using a case study of Israeli ultra-religious women, who exhibit lower employment rates than other Israeli women. The motives behind their occupational choices were explored based on data collected by a field experiment. Factor Analysis was then employed to sort out the motives behind their occupational choices, and regression analysis was used to associate job satisfaction with work motivation. Policy implications were suggested based on the findings. There is already some evidence on the successful outcomes of the proposed strategy.


In some specific applicable scenarios, nodes are placed in some geographical areas and limited to move in their own community. We investigate the tradeoff between the delivery delay and the number of transmissions in the above multi-community delay tolerant networks by propagating a data packet in a carefully chosen segment of community. First, three restricted epidemic routings are proposed: the shortest community-hop path scheme, the rectangle scheme, and the parallelogram scheme. Second, the ratios of the average number of communities that can propagate the data packet in the proposed schemes to those that can propagate in the epidemic routing are analyzed. The ratios are found to be small and to decrease with the increase in the number of communities. The tail distribution of the inter-meeting time of any two nodes in the neighboring communities is then demonstrated to be exponential. Third, the delivery delay of the proposed schemes is analyzed by Markovian chain tool. The experiments show that the theoretical model proposed here is reliable, and that the proposed schemes can significantly decrease the number of transmissions, even if these schemes increase the delivery delay to some extent.


The purpose of the investigation covered by this report was the examination of the degree of approach which may be anticipated between laboratory tests on model airplane propellers and results computed by the airfoil theory, based on tests of airfoils representative of successive blade sections. It is known that the corrections of angles of attack and for aspect ratio, speed, and interference rest either on experimental data or on somewhat uncertain theoretical assumptions. The general situation as regards these four sets of corrections is far from satisfactory, and while it is recognized that occasion exists for the consideration of such corrections, their determination in any given case is a matter of considerable uncertainty. There exists at the present time no theory generally accepted and sufficiently comprehensive to indicate the amount of such corrections, and the application to individual cases of the experimental data available is, at best, uncertain. While the results of this first phase of the investigation are less positive than had been hoped might be the case, the establishment of the general degree of approach between the two sets of results which might be anticipated on the basis of this simpler mode of application seems to have been desirable.


Abstract Research on associated risk factors for intestinal parasitic infections and malnutrition in various geographic regions is needed for the development of appropriate control strategies. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections, anaemia, and malnutrition in school children, living in urban and rural areas of northern Ethiopia. Six hundred school children, aged 6–15 years, were randomly selected in a cross-sectional survey from 12 primary schools. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were collected. Faecal samples were examined using direct, concentration, and the Kato–Katz methods. Urine specimens were analysed for Schistosoma haematobium ova. Haemoglobin was measured using a HemoCue spectrometer. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitosis was 72% (95% confidence interval (CI): 66–76%). The prevalence of anaemia, stunting, and thinness were 11% (95% CI: 8–13%), 35% (95% CI: 31–38%), and 34% (95% CI: 30–38%), respectively. Poor personal hygiene habits were generally associated with anaemia and nutritional deficiency (low body mass index). Multivariate logistic regression models related Schistosoma mansoni infection with boys. Boys were also more likely to be malnourished. Hookworm infection was associated with anaemia and unhygienic finger nails. Access to clean water and latrines, with some hygiene and sanitation communication activities, could improve health of children in Ethiopia. The use of smartphone technology in demographic data collection proved to be successful. The potential advantage offered by this technology for parasitological field surveys merits further investigation.


This work investigates the use of hierarchical mesh decomposition strategies for topology optimisation using bi‐directional evolutionary structural optimisation algorithm. The proposed method uses a dual mesh system that decouples the design variables from the finite element analysis mesh. The investigation focuses on previously unexplored areas of these techniques to investigate the effect of five meshing parameters on the analysis solving time (i.e. computational effort) and the analysis quality (i.e. solution optimality). The foreground mesh parameters, including adjacency ratio and minimum and maximum element size, were varied independently across solid and void domain regions. Within the topology optimisation, strategies for controlling the mesh parameters were investigated. The differing effects of these parameters on the efficiency and efficacy of the analysis and optimisation stages are discussed, and recommendations are made for parameter combinations. Some of the key findings were that increasing the adjacency ratio increased the efficiency only modestly – the largest effect was for the minimum and maximum element size parameters – and that the most dramatic reduction in solve time can be achieved by not setting the minimum element size too low, assuming mapping onto a background mesh with a minimum element size of 1. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We study the problem of stabilizing a linear system over a wireless control network. We propose a scheme where each wireless node maintains a scalar state, and periodically updates it as a linear combination of neighboring plant outputs and node states. We make connections to decentralized fixed modes and structured system theory to provide conditions on the network topology that allow the system to be stabilized. Our analysis provides the minimal number of feedback edges that have to be introduced to stabilize the system over a network, and shows that as long as the network connectivity is larger than the geometric multiplicity of any unstable eigenvalue, stabilizing controllers can be constructed at each actuator. A byproduct of our analysis is that by co-designing the network dynamics with the controllers, delays in the network are not a factor in stabilizing the system.


From the Publisher:
A Question of Identity
Life on the Screen is a fascinating and wide-ranging investigation of the impact of computers and networking on society, peoples' perceptions of themselves, and the individual's relationship to machines. Sherry Turkle, a Professor of the Sociology of Science at MIT and a licensed psychologist, uses Internet MUDs (multi-user domains, or in older gaming parlance multi-user dungeons) as a launching pad for explorations of software design, user interfaces, simulation, artificial intelligence, artificial life, agents, "bots," virtual reality, and "the on-line way of life."
Turkle's discussion of postmodernism is particularly enlightening. She shows how postmodern concepts in art, architecture, and ethics are related to concrete topics much closer to home, for example AI research (Minsky's "Society of Mind") and even MUDs (exemplified by students with X-window terminals who are doing homework in one window and simultaneously playing out several different roles in the same MUD in other windows). Those of you who have (like me) been turned off by the shallow, pretentious, meaningless paintings and sculptures that litter our museums of modern art may have a different perspective after hearing what Turkle has to say.
This is a psychoanalytical book, not a technical one. However, software developers and engineers will find it highly accessible because of the depth of the author's technical understanding and credibility. Unlike most other authors in this genre, Turkle does not constantly jar the technically-literate reader with blatant errors or bogus assertions about how things work. Although I personally don't have time or patience for MUDs,view most of AI as snake-oil, and abhor postmodern architecture, I thought the time spent reading this book was an extremely good investment.


There are concerns that the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) has impeded small-business lending. By increasing the fixed regulatory compliance requirements needed to make business loans and operate a bank, the DFA disproportionately reduced the incentives for all banks to make very modest loans and reduced the viability of small banks, whose small-business share of commercial and industrial (C&I) loans is generally much higher than that of larger banks. Despite an economic recovery, the small-loan share of C&I loans at large banks and banks with $300 or more million in assets has fallen 9 percentage points since the DFA was passed in 2010, with the magnitude of the decline twice as large at small banks. Controlling for cyclical effects and bank size, we find that these declines in the small-loan share of C&I loans are almost all statistically attributed to the change in regulatory regime. Examining Federal Reserve survey data, we find evidence that the DFA prompted a relative tightening of bank credit standards on C&I loans to small versus large firms, consistent with the DFA inducing a decline in small-business lending through loan supply effects. We also empirically model the pace of business formation, finding that it had downshifted around the time when the DFA and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act were announced. Timing patterns suggest that business formation has more recently ticked higher, coinciding with efforts to provide regulatory relief to smaller banks via modifying rules implementing the DFA. The upturn contrasts with the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which appears to persistently restrain business formation.


Habitat complexity is a main predictor of the distribution of arthropods on vegetation. However, it remains poorly known whether plant architecture and fine-scale spatial distribution affect the species richness and composition of associated arthropod guilds. In this study, we extensively sampled bromeliad species with a variety of rosette architectures in a megadiversity region. The aims were to investigate whether (i) possible differences in spider species composition among bromeliad species are related to the distinct architectures of the plants, and (ii) bromeliad architectural complexity (an intrinsic feature) and vertical distribution (an extrinsic feature) are good predictors of spider abundance and richness. Contrary to our expectations, spider species composition did not vary significantly among bromeliad species with different architectures. We found a positive effect of the mean number of leaves on spider abundance and species richness, but it occurred indirectly through spider abundance; factoring out the indirect effect revealed a negative effect of leaf number on species richness. Bromeliad species with wider vertical distributions harboured more spider species. Our results suggest that the dominance of a few spider species and reduced space for orb-web spiders to attach their webs are the main explanations for lower spider richness on bromeliad species with higher architectural complexity. Our findings highlight the importance of both intrinsic and extrinsic plant features as co-determinants of predator arthropod diversity.


Dementia is an increasingly common condition among the older population. It is characterised by multiple cognitive deficits leading to decline from premorbid level of functioning. In 2015 it was estimated that there were over 850,000 people in the United Kingdom (UK) living with dementia and approximately 7,000,000 family carers of people with dementia in the UK. Carers are finding themselves providing increasing amounts of care and support for their loved ones, often independently. Whilst carers find that providing support can have its rewards, it is more the case that it can be challenging and have an impact on their psychological and physical health, and can change existing relationships. It can be extremely exhausting and isolating and, additionally, be at great personal financial cost to them.
The aim of this paper is to introduce an Admiral Nurse two year project established in a hospice in the West Midlands, supported by Dementia UK, a national charity often seen as the voice of dementia in the UK. It briefly describes the clinical context of this service and how an independent evaluation was commissioned with a local University to identify the impact of this service from a clinical, operational and strategic perspective. As part of the evaluation strategy, a survey of carers who had used the Admiral Nurse service was conducted. This paper will focus upon the survey and its outcomes and will consider: how these help professionals to appreciate the complex support needs of people with dementia; inform the developing Admiral Nurse's role; and help professionals to think about future hospice services and their client populations. The paper will end with conclusions and recommendations relating to the lived experiences of family carers and the Admiral Nurse's role and its position in future care and support of patients with dementia.


Sometimes technological change is so profound that it rocks the foundations of an entire body of law. Peer-to-peer (P2P) filesharing systems - Napster, Gnutella, KaZaA, Grokster, and Freenet3 - are mere symptoms of a set of technological innovations that have set in motion an ongoing process of fundamental changes in the nature of copyright law. The video tape recorder begat the Sony substantial noninfringing use defense. The digital cassette recorder begat the Audio Home Recording Act. The internet begat the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Napster begat Napster. We see the law morph right in front of our eyes, but its ultimate form is still obscure. As a consequence, the future of copyright is up for grabs. We live in a magical, exhilarating, and frightening time: Many alternative copyfutures shimmer on the horizon, sometimes coming into sharper focus and sometimes fading away. In this heady atmosphere, the idea slingers are at work. Richard Posner and William Landes have proposed indefinitely renewable copyrights. Neil Netanel, William Fisher, and others propose to legalize P2P filesharing and replace the lost revenues with a tax on hardware and internet service. Joseph Liu suggests that the scope of fair use should grow with time. Mark Lemley is debunking ex post justifications for intellectual property. No surprise, the academics do not have a monopoly on idea slinging. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have gone on the offensive, proposing legislation like the Induce Act, targeted at shutting down P2P filesharing services that allow third parties to share copyrighted content. No copywarrior is more prominent and influential than Larry Lessig. Lessig was the brilliant architect of Eric Eldred's failed challenge to the CTEA's retroactive twenty-year extension of copyright terms - effectively a twenty-year moratorium on new works entering the public domain. In Free Culture, Lessig has remade himself as a norm entrepreneur - a public figure with the towering ambition of reshaping copynorms - the fundamental set of social norms that shape perceptions of the morality of filesharing and the legitimacy of legislation that shrinks the public domain. This essay examines the ideas in Free Culture in the context of current controversies over the future of copyright.


Online crowdsourcing provides new opportunities for ordinary people to create original content. This has led to a rapidly growing volume of user-generated content, and consequently a challenge to readily identify high quality items. Due to people's limited attention, the presentation of content strongly affects how people al- locate effort to the available content. We evaluate this effect experimentally using Amazon Mechanical Turk and show that it is possible to manipulate attention to accomplish desired goals.


Practical design and performance solutions for every ad hoc wireless networkAd Hoc Wireless Networks comprise mobile devices that use wireless transmission for communication. They can be set up anywhere and any time because they eliminate the complexities of infrastructure setup and central administration-and they have enormous commercial and military potential. Now, there's a book that addresses every major issue related to their design and performance. Ad Hoc Wireless Networks: Architectures and Protocols presents state-of-the-art techniques and solutions, and supports them with easy-to-understand examples. The book starts off with the fundamentals of wireless networking (wireless PANs, LANs, MANs, WANs, and wireless Internet) and goes on to address such current topics as Wi-Fi networks, optical wireless networks, and hybrid wireless architectures. Coverage includes: Medium access control, routing, multicasting, and transport protocols QoS provisioning, energy management, security, multihop pricing, and much more In-depth discussion of wireless sensor networks and ultra wideband technology More than 200 examples and end-of-chapter problemsAd Hoc Wireless Networks is an invaluable resource for every network engineer, technical manager, and researcher designing or building ad hoc wireless networks.


Background: Premedication for neonatal intubation facilitates the procedure and reduces stress and physiological disturbances. However, no validated scoring system to assess the effect of premedication prior to intubation is available. Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of an Intubation Readiness Score (IRS) to assess the effect of premedication prior to intubation in newborn infants. Methods: Two-center prospective study in neonates who needed endotracheal intubation. Intubation was performed using a standardized procedure with propofol 1–2 mg/kg as premedication. The level of sedation was assessed with the IRS by evaluating the motor response to a firm stimulus (1 = spontaneous movement; 2 = movement on slight touch; 3 = movement on firm stimulus; 4 = no movement). Intubation was proceeded if an adequate effect, defined as an IRS of 3 or 4, was reached. IRS was compared to the quality of intubation measured with the Viby-Mogensen intubation score. Results: A total of 115 patients, with a median gestational age of 27.7 weeks (interquartile range 5.3) and a median birth weight of 1,005 g (interquartile range 940), were included. An adequate IRS was achieved in 105 patients, 89 (85%) of whom also had a good Viby-Mogensen intubation score and 16 (15%) had an inadequate Viby-Mogensen intubation score. The positive predictive value of the IRS was 85%. Conclusions: Preintubation sedation assessment using the IRS can adequately predict optimal conditions during intubation in the majority of neonates. We suggest using the IRS in routine clinical care. Further research combining the IRS with other parameters could further improve the predictability of adequate sedation during intubation.


Light is the prerequisite for spatial perception which is why it is an integral component of architecture. Light design in architecture has become more lively and also more colorful in the last few years. The projects selected for this publication show how good design can be considerably improved with the right light. For interior design, the purpose of the introduction of natural light and the use of artificial light is to create a spatial experience: certain areas are accentuated, spatial units are defined and differing atmospheres are established. Illumination also plays a role with exteriors, not just at night. In addition to the form emphasizing role of light, a striking illumination can lend the building an emblematic uniqueness.


The theory of Aden and Kerker is used to compute the resonant response of large layered spheres to an incident linearly polarized plane wave. Cases considered include hollow spheres and those with transparent and absorbing cores whose diameters range from zero up to that of the particle. Both core and layer resonances are studied. The results are presented as partial wave amplitudes, energy densities, and scattered light intensities for a typical resonant mode, TE(39).


Abstract The securitisation of youth as a social category has been well-documented. For the South and East Mediterranean (SEM) countries, moral panics over demographic youth bulges, Islamist radicalisation and protracted conflicts have placed youth centre-stage as a threat to the security of states and societies. Rejecting such assertions as themselves being what Foucault might have termed 'technologies of power' in a neoliberal order, and instead taking a critical approach to security, the spotlight is turned towards youth themselves as the referent object of study. This reveals the multidimensional hyper-precarity and insecuritisation of young peoples' lives which derive from that same neoliberal economic order and the political structures that sustain it in the SEM countries. The finding resonates with other studies of new, insecure, formats for adulthood in Africa and suggests that we should look at the insecurity of young people today to understand global neoliberal futures in countries beyond the post-industrial 'core'.


Large‐eddy simulations (LES) and observations are often combined to increase our understanding and improve the simulation of deep convection. This study evaluates a nested LES method that uses the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and, specifically, tests whether the nested LES approach is useful for studying deep convection during a real‐world case. The method was applied on 2 September 2013, a day of continental convection that occurred during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) campaign. Mesoscale WRF output (1.35 km grid length) was used to drive a nested LES with 450 m grid spacing, which then drove a 150 m domain. Results reveal that the 450 m nested LES reasonably simulates observed reflectivity distributions and aircraft‐observed in‐cloud vertical velocities during the study period. However, when examining convective updrafts, reducing the grid spacing to 150 m worsened results. We find that the simulated updrafts in the 150 m run become too diluted by entrainment, thereby generating updrafts that are weaker than observed. Lastly, the 450 m simulation is combined with observations to study the processes forcing strong midlevel cloud/updraft edge downdrafts that were observed on 2 September. Results suggest that these strong downdrafts are forced by evaporative cooling due to mixing and by perturbation pressure forces acting to restore mass continuity around neighboring updrafts. We conclude that the WRF nested LES approach, with further development and evaluation, could potentially provide an effective method for studying deep convection in real‐world cases.


The psychological variables have a special relevance in the coronary affectations. The aim of the present work was to study the evolution of different psychological variables, of quality of life and of adjustment psychosocial, in patients who have suffered an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and attended a cardiac rehabilitation program, which included, among other, a module of physical activity. The measurements were made when the ACS debuted and 3 months after the cardiac event in a total of 146 men (57.86 years of age (dt = 9.45)) who had undergone a diagnostic catheterization with therapeutic intent within 3 days. The study design was of the quasi-experimental, prospective and longitudinal type. The results at 3 months after suffering the cardiac event show lower levels of anxiety (Cohen's d = .61; p < .01), depression (Cohen's d = .33; p < .05), psychological distress (Cohen's d =. 72; p < .01) and anger (Cohen's d = .34; p < .01), and higher personal strength scores (Cohen's d = .37; p < .01) or life appreciation (Cohen's d =. 35, p < .01). In the ACS, knowing the psychosocial evolution of the patient is considered fundamental next to the usual medical control.


In current debate, many developmental problems are attributed to the failure of leadership and, in particular, to the absence of either 'ethical leadership' or 'integrity in leadership'. But what is 'ethical leadership'? What is 'developmental integrity'? How is it achieved? And what are the conditions for sustaining it? The existing research on these questions is limited, and the primary objective of this study is accordingly to develop a conceptual framework for thinking about integrity in developmental contexts, not only at the level of individual behaviour, but also at the level of institutions. The core argument is that integrity and ethical leadership for development is not simply a matter of defining and enforcing codes of conduct (or of combating corruption). Instead, developmental integrity is the outcome of the interaction between (1) individual integrity (i.e. the moral choices of individuals); (2) institutions of integrity (the moral 'codes' and norms of behaviour, including legal rules); and (3) the integrity of institutions (institutions that are coherent, perceived as legitimate and that effectively promote development). While the research is therefore primarily theoretical and conceptual, it is intended to help policy-makers think clearly about ethics and integrity in relation to developmental issues.


There is evidence that estimates of long-run impulse responses of structural vector autoregressive (VAR) models based on long-run identifying restrictions may not be very accurate. This finding suggests that using short-run identifying restrictions may be preferable. We compare structural VAR impulse response estimates based on long-run and short-run identifying restrictions and find that long-run identifying restrictions can result in much more precise estimates for the structural impulse responses than restrictions on the impact effects of the shocks.


Through two experiments, this study assessed source and message effects of Instagram-based pro-veganism messages.,Experiment 1 (N = 294) examined effects of organization (brand vs nonprofit) and message types (egoistic vs altruistic) on consumer responses to Instagram-based pro-veganism content. Experiment 2 (N = 288) examined effects of source type (celebrity vs noncelebrity) and message valence (positive vs negative) on consumer responses to Instagram-based pro-veganism content.,Results demonstrated significant main effects of organization type, with consumers indicating more positive attitudes and higher credibility toward the brand. Significant main effects of message type were also found, with altruistic messages eliciting higher perceived information value than egoistic messages. Subjective norms had moderating effects on attitude toward the organization, while attitude toward veganism had moderating effects on perceived information value. Results also indicated significant main effects of message valence on perceived information value of pro-veganism Instagram posts and significant interaction effects of the two manipulated factors on intention to spread electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) about pro-veganism.,Implications for use of Instagram-based health marketing communication about veganism were discussed. Specifically, organizations looking to use social media to influence attitudes and behavioral intentions toward health issues should seek to reach their target audiences through selecting endorsers and messages that will optimally present the health issue in a relatable and engaging way.


This study explores the possibility of using microfinance to improve the economic and social status of women in Tanzania. As originally conceived, microfinance involved the provision of small loans, or "credit," to help poor individuals start or strengthen small business ventures. The perceived success of this credit-focused, group liability model early on generated considerable international attention, and brought women into the center of development planning. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a surge of critical scholarship emerged to challenge early assumptions about the relationship between microfinance, poverty reduction and women's empowerment. Today, academic and popular media discussions of microfinance have devolved into extremes. Its proponents maintain that it is a panacea for poverty and women's empowerment, while the most trenchant critics suggest that microfinance is in fact harmful for women. This study does not adhere to either of the extreme viewpoints that has often characterized the literature on microfinance. Instead, it adds to growing body of scholarship that seeks to develop more nuanced accounts of the utility and structural limitations of microfinance, and to propose guidelines for tailoring microfinance programs in order to have the greatest potential impact on women's economic and social status in Tanzania. To conduct my research, I sought affiliation with the African Probiotic Yoghurt Network (APYN), a community health and microfinance organization operating in Mwanza, Tanzania. Using case study methodology, I examine the effectiveness of the APYN program. The results of this study show that participation in the APYN program has an overall positive impact on various indicators of individual, household and community wellbeing. Study findings further indicate that women in Tanzania face a number of constraints in starting and growing their microenterprises. This includes some widely established issues regarding access to capital and gender discrimination, as well as some less-documented cultural and institutional factors relevant to the APYN program. Drawing on study findings, I propose a series of guidelines for developing microfinance programs that promote not just Tanzanian women's economic livelihood, but also more strategic gains in the reduction of gender-based inequality and the transformation of gender relations at the household and community level.


Why do some companies continue to be successful while others experience difficulties and even failure? In Leading Strategic Change, Eric Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle demonstrate that the key to long-term organizational success is the ability to adapt to and manage different types of change. Drawing on over thirty years' consultancy experience within major firms, they combine theoretical and practical models of organizational change, together with a new theory of leadership, to build a framework for understanding, planning, and leading change. The scope and value of this framework are then shown in relation to nine real-world case studies, ranging from relatively small companies (IndyMac Bank, Infogix) to large multinationals (Starbucks, Westfield). The focus throughout is to provide practical guidance to those concerned with managing and leading change in organizations. This book is an excellent guide to the many lessons to be learned about successful organizational change.


The ECVAM Skin Irritation Task Force was established in November 1996, primarily to prepare a report on the current status of the development and validation of alternative tests for skin irritation and corrosion and, in particular, to identify any appropriate non-animal tests for predicting human skin irritation which were sufficiently well-developed to warrant ECVAM supporting their prevalidation/validation. The task force based its discussions around the proposed testing strategy for skin irritation/corrosion emanating from an OECD workshop held in January 1996. The following have been reviewed: a) structure-activity and structure-property relationships for skin corrosion and irritation; b) the use of pH and acid/alkaline reserve measurements in predicting skin corrosivity; c) in vitro tests for skin corrosion; d) in vitro tests for skin irritation (keratinocyte cultures, organ cultures, and reconstituted human skin models); and e) human patch tests for skin irritation. It was apparent that, although several promising candidate in vitro tests for skin irritation (for example, reconstituted human skin methods, and human and animal skin organ culture methods) were under development and evaluation, a test protocol, a preliminary prediction model and supporting data on different types of chemicals were only available for a method employing EpiDerm™. Thus, it is proposed that this EpiDerm test undergoes prevalidation during 1998. In addition, since it was felt preferable to be able to include other in vitro tests in such a prevalidation study, it is recommended that a "challenge" be set to anyone interested in taking part. This involves submitting data on ten test chemicals selected by the task force, obtained according to a standard protocol with a preliminary prediction model, for review by the task force by 31 May 1998.


This study was carried out to investigate the use of information technology (IT) and
information systems (IS) by Malaysian palm oil industry in managing their supply
chain. This study focused on Felda's palm oil supply chain which comprised of its
subsidiary companies namely Felda Plantations Sdn. Bhd., Felda Palm Industries
Sdn. Bhd., Felda Vegetable Oil Products Sdn. Bhd., Felda Transport Services Sdn.
Bhd. and Felda Marketing Services Sdn. Bhd.. Investigation was also made to
examine the extent of these palm oil companies in managing their primary and
support activities and how IT and IS support those activities to improve the
company's supply chain. In addition, the study was also done to investigate the
utilization of IT and IS in all levels and activities of the company's supply chain.
Data for the study were obtained through close-ended questionnaires that were
mailed to the respondents comprised of managers from Felda's companies that were
involved along supply chain. Data collected from the survey were analyzed using
descriptive analysis, regression analysis, correlation analysis and reliability analysis.Result showed that Felda has effectively managed its primary activities particularly
in estates, palm oil mills and refineries. Felda also has managed its inbound and
outbound logistics as well as its marketing activities effectively. However, the
results revealed that IT has not been fully used to effectively support certain primary
and support activities, particularly in estates operations. However, while IT has
made a lot of contribution to support palm oil mills support activities, it has made
less contribution to support their primary activities. Further, IT has contributed
significantly to support refineries' primary and support activities. At the same time,
the results revealed that IT has effectively support distribution and marketing
activities.
From the findings, several recommendations are given to assist Felda and other palm
oil based companies to enhance the management of their activities along their supply
chain and help them to be more competitive in the industry.


Aim Woody plants were not widely considered to be important invasive alien species until fairly recently. Thousands of species of trees and shrubs have, however, been moved around the world. Many species have spread from planting sites, and some are now among the most widespread and damaging of invasive organisms. This article presents a global list of invasive alien trees and shrubs. It discusses taxonomic biases, geographical patterns, modes of dispersal, reasons for introductions and key issues regarding invasions of non-native woody plants around the world. Location Methods An exhaustive survey was made of regional and national databases and the literature. Correspondence with botanists and ecologists and our own observations in many parts of the world expanded the list. Presence of invasive species was determined for each of 15 broad geographical regions. The main reasons for introduction and dissemination were determined for each species. Results The list comprises 622 species (357 trees, 265 shrubs in 29 plant orders, 78 families, 286 genera). Regions with the largest number of woody invasive alien species are: Australia (183); southern Africa (170); North America (163); Pacific Islands (147); and New Zealand (107). Species introduced for horticulture dominated the list (62% of species: 196 trees and 187 shrubs). The next most important reasons for introduction and dissemination were forestry (13%), food (10%) and agroforestry (7%). Three hundred and twenty-three species (52%) are currently known to be invasive in only one region, and another 126 (20%) occur in only two regions. Only 38 species (6%) are very widespread (invasive in six or more regions). Over 40% of invasive tree species and over 60% of invasive shrub species are bird dispersed. Main conclusions Only between 0.5% and 0.7% of the world's tree and shrub species are currently invasive outside their natural range, but woody plant invasions are rapidly increasing in importance around the world. The objectively compiled list of invasive species presented here provides a snapshot of the current dimensions of the phenomenon and will be useful for screening new introductions for invasive potential.


Background Acute respiratory disorders are a huge burden to acute medical services in any healthcare system. Our institution has two large teaching hospitals providing care to a population of over 600,000 people; a mixture of inner city and rural areas. Aim A retrospective review of outcomes of a new nurse-led specialist respiratory assessment service supported by respiratory consultants for the management of acutely unwell respiratory patients. Methods We developed the ARAS team consisting of 3 specialist respiratory nurses supervised by 2 consultant respiratory physicians. The ARAS team reviewed all acute respiratory admissions, twice daily, to the acute medical specialist unit. They assessed in-patients on medical wards and intensive care, and provided early community discharge reviews. The ARAS team worked with community-based respiratory, oxygen, dietician and smoking cessation services. Results Over 9 months (November 2010 to July 2011), a total of 813 patients were managed through ARAS; 446 (54.9%) COPD, 77 (9.5%) asthma, 111 (13.7%) pneumonia, 90 (11.1%) lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), and 89 (10.9%) with other respiratory conditions. More than half (52.4%) of the patients admitted were discharged within 96 hours. There were 254 (31.2%) patients who had supported discharges, of which 153 (60.2%) were discharged within 96 hours. Early supported discharges (<96 hours) were mainly for patients with COPD (124 (81.0%)) and asthma (23 (15.0%)). The 30-day readmissions were 122 (15% of total), of which 10.2% and <1% of all ARAS-reviewed patients had COPD and asthma, respectively. Conclusion A dedicated specialist service provides high standard of care for patients with acute respiratory disorders and a link between the acute hospital and community services resulting in a reduced length of hospital stay with reasonably low re-admission rates in an area in the UK with high prevalence of respiratory disorders.


Payment for carbon sequestration by agriculture and forestry can provide incentives for adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. However, a project involving contracts with farmers may face high transaction costs in showing that net emission reductions are real and attributable to the project. This paper presents a model of project participation that includes transaction and abatement costs. A project feasibility frontier (PFF) is derived, which shows the minimum project size that is feasible for any given market price of carbon. The PFF is used to analyse how the design of a climate mitigation program may affect the feasibility of actual projects.


Comparative genomics of non-model organisms has resurrected whole genome duplication from being viewed as a somewhat obscure process that happens in plants to a primary driver of eukaryotic diversification. The shadow of past ploidy increases has left a strong signature of duplicated genes organized into gene families, even in small genomes that have undergone effectively complete rediploidization. Nevertheless, despite continually advancing technologies and bioinformatics pipelines, resolving the fate of duplicate genes remains a substantial challenge. For example, many important recognition processes are driven not only by allelic expansion through retention of duplicates but also by diversification and copy number variation. This creates technical difficulties with assembly to reference genomes and accurate interpretation of homology. Thus, relatively little is known about the impacts of recent polyploidization and hybridization on the evolution of gene families under selective forces that maintain diversity, such as balancing selection. Here we use a complex of species and ploidy levels in the genus Arabidopsis (A. lyrata and A. arenosa) as a model to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of a large and complicated gene family known to be under strong balancing selection: the S-related kinases, which include the female component of genetically controlled self-incompatibility. Specifically, we question: 1) How does diversity of S-related kinase (SRK) alleles in tetraploids compare to that in their close diploid relatives? 2) Is there increased trans-specific polymorphism (i.e. sharing of alleles that transcend speciation, characteristic of balancing selection) in tetraploids compared to diploids due to the higher number of copies they carry? 3) Do these highly variable loci show evidence of introgression among extant species/ploidy levels within or outside known zones of hybridization? 4) Is there evidence for copy number variation among paralogs? We use this example to highlight specific issues to consider when interpreting gene family evolution, particularly in relation to polyploids but also more generally in diploids. We conclude with recommendations for strategies to address the challenges of resolving such complex loci in the future, using advances in deep sequencing approaches.


The circular-like sidewall and trench around the periphery of the crater are obtained on Zinc metal surface subjected to fewer than 200 cumulative pulses laser ablation. These patterns can be attributed to the higher secondary heating by regular plasma spherical pressure. The 600 pulses laser ablation, however, results in the formation of undesirable bulk wrinkles of super-heated liquid at the side of the trench. These features may be applied in micro-manufacturing of high localizability and selectivity using laser zone texturing.


The Aging Game simulation activity was designed to improve medical students' attitudes toward older adults. This study was conducted to determine if the Aging Game, adapted for use with allied health students, could yield positive results in the students' levels of anxiety about aging and attitudes toward aging. The modified Aging Game was implemented at a large Midwestern university with 156 students from three allied health areas – nutrition and dietetics, physical therapy, and long-term care administration. All students actively engaged in the simulation activity and completed pre- and posttest questionnaires containing the Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) and the Aging Semantic Differential (ASD) measures. Results indicated most students had low anxiety about aging and positive attitudes toward older adults both before and after the Aging Game activity. Changes in the students' pre- and posttest scores on AAS and/or ASD measures were mixed, with small differences in average scores. The demographics of the sample group for this study may partially explain the effects the simulation experience had on these allied health students. That some students took on a more negative attitude toward older adults after the simulation could be attributed to a more realistic view of the difficulties and challenges of aging. Also, the shortened timeframe of the Aging Game simulation may have affected the students' reactions to the activity. Future activities to complement the simulation, such as reflective writing and interaction with older adults, may improve the impact of the Aging Game on the attitudes of allied health students.


The microenvironment of tumors shows high variability in stiffness compared to normal tissues, suggesting that spatiotemporal changes in mechanics play a role in development and progression. Here, we employ microengineered hydrogels with static, dynamic (magnetic field-mediated stiffening and softening), or gradient matrix elasticity to investigate the influence of matrix mechanics in modulating the stem cell-like phenotype in melanoma and breast cancer cells. Using immunofluorescence staining of molecular markers associated with a cancer stem cell (CSC) state, we show that a subtle increase in local stiffness promotes the CSC phenotype, while different mechanical properties in static or dynamic hydrogelswithout gradient profiles of mechanical propertieshave a negligible influence on phenotype switching toward a CSC state. Inhibition of integrins and downstream effectors of mechanotransduction reveals that distinct signaling pathways play a role in regulating the dynamic CSC state in melanoma and breast cancer cells. Our findings demonstrate how cancer cells respond to the local stiffness gradients with dynamic plasticity during progression.


ADHD is the most common neurobehavioural disorder in children, affecting from 4 to 12% of school children. Asking basic screening questions should be part of any paediatric consultation. These questions could include: How is your child doing at school? Is he / she happy at school? Are there any problems with learning that you or the teacher has seen? Are you concerned with any behavioural problems in school, at home, or when your child is playing with friends? Is your child having problems completing classwork or homework?


A four-dimensional treatment of nonrelativistic space-time gives a natural frame to deal with objective time derivatives. In this framework some well known objective time derivatives of continuum mechanics appear as Lie-derivatives. Their coordinatized forms depends on the tensorial properties of the relevant physical quantities.