BACKGROUND
Conservative treatments have been proposed for people with shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS), such as strengthening of the rotator cuff and scapular muscles and stretching of the soft tissues of the shoulder. However, there is a lack of studies analyzing the effectiveness of eccentric training in the treatment of SIS.

OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the effects of eccentric training for shoulder abductors on pain, function, and isokinetic performance during concentric and eccentric abduction of the shoulder in subjects with SIS.

METHODS
Twenty subjects (7 females, 34.2 SD 10.2 years, 1.7 SD 0.1 m, 78.0 SD 16.3 kg) with unilateral SIS completed the study protocol. Bilateral isokinetic eccentric training at 60º/s for shoulder abductors was performed for six consecutive weeks, twice a week, on alternate days. For each training day, three sets of 10 repetitions were performed with a 3-minute rest period between the sets for each side. The range of motion trained was 60° (ranging from 80° to 20°). The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire was used to evaluate functional status and symptoms of the upper limbs. Peak torque, total work and acceleration time were measured during concentric and eccentric abduction of the arm at 60º/s and 180º/s using an isokinetic dynamometer.

RESULTS
DASH scores, peak torque, total work and acceleration time improved (p<0.05) after the period of intervention.

CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that isokinetic eccentric training for shoulder abductors improves physical function of the upper limbs in subjects with SIS.


Power sector reforms across Latin America in the 1990s based on privatization, liberalization, and market forces were largely unavoidable. This book argues that while there is no turning back from this process, many reforms may not prove sustainable without further efforts to build a stronger institutional platform to support them. The analytical framework presented in this book establishes a baseline for the sustainability of reforms and identifies additional areas for exploration, analysis and inquiry. This baseline is critical to setting the stage for the next generation of reforms- or mid-course corrections- that will be necessary to enhance the sustainability of changes in progress. It includes case studies of power sector reforms in Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala, as well as a timely section on the security of supply.


Abstract. During the Devonian period (419 to 359 million years ago), life on Earth witnessed decisive evolutionary break-throughs, most prominently the colonisation of land by vascular plants and vertebrates. At the same time, it is also a period of major marine extinction events coinciding with marked changes in climate. There is limited knowledge about the causes of these changes and their interactions. It is therefore instructive to explore systematically how the Devonian climate system responds to changes in critical boundary conditions. Here we use coupled climate-model simulations to investigate separately the influence of changes in orbital parameters, continental configuration and vegetation cover on the Devonian climate. Variations of Earth's orbital parameters affect the Devonian climate system, with the warmest climate states at high obliquity and high eccentricity, but the amplitude of global temperature differences is smaller than suggested by an earlier study based on an uncoupled atmosphere model. The prevailing mode of climate variability on decadal to centennial timescales relates to surface air temperature fluctuations in high northern latitudes which are mediated by coupled oscillations involving sea-ice cover, ocean convection and a regional overturning circulation in the Arctic. Furthermore, we find only a small biogeophysical effect of changes in vegetation cover on global climate during the Devonian, and the impact of changes in continental configuration is small as well. Assuming decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations throughout the Devonian, we then set up model runs representing the Early, Middle and Late Devonian. Comparing the simulations for these timeslices, the temperature evolution is dominated by the strong decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide. In particular, the albedo change due to the in- crease in land vegetation alone cannot explain the temperature rise found in Late Devonian proxy data which remains difficult to reconcile with reconstructed falling carbon-dioxide levels. Simulated temperatures are significantly lower than estimates based on oxygen-isotope ratios, suggesting a lower δ18O ratio of Devonian seawater.


This paper examines the tourism demand and assesses the consumer surplus of visiting a unique tourist attraction site: glaciers in Mt. Yulong, Yunnan, China by using the zonal travel cost method (henceforth, TCM). We aim to uncover the use value of this particular site in tourism development. We divide domestic travelers into 20 groups based on the demographical and geographical characteristics of their place of residence. The empirical results show that the economic value of the glaciers in the tourism industry is more than three billion Chinese Yuan, roughly equivalent to 500 million dollars, which is approximately ten percent of the local GDP. The high estimated value of the glaciers suggests that some conservation policy interventions are necessary.


Osteoporosis is a common complication of AS, with an incidence between 18.7% and 62%. The prevalence of osteoporosis is greater in males, and increases with increasing patient age and disease duration. Osteoporosis is also more common in patients with syndesmophytes, cervical fusion, and peripheral joint involvement. These variables are not all independent, as they may be indicators of disease duration. Osteoporosis in patients with AS is largely confined to the axial skeleton, in contrast to the pattern of osteoporosis seen in rheumatoid arthritis. BMD at the lumbar spine and femoral neck may be severely reduced, while most studies indicate that carpal and radial BMD remain within normal limits. The development of syndesmophytes in late AS can lead to difficulties in the use of DEXA scanning to determine lumbar BMD, as the extraspinal bone may obscure osteoporotic vertebrae. Under these circumstances more accurate assessment of lumbar BMD, and one that correlates better with femoral neck BMD, may be obtained by quantitative CT scanning or DEXA scanning of the lateral aspect of the L3 vertebra. Osteoporosis in AS significantly increases the risk of vertebral compression fractures within 5 years of the diagnosis of AS. The risk of a vertebral compression fracture occurring over a 30 year period following the diagnosis of AS is 14%, compared to 3.4% for population controls. In patients with vertebral osteoporosis relatively minor trauma, such as slipping, can lead to spinal fracture and dislocatior with subsequent damage to the spinal cord. There is a higher incidence of spinal cord injury following spinal fracture dislocations in patients with AS, and the resulting neurological deficit can range from mild sensory loss to complete paraplegia. Cytokines such as TNF-alpha and IL-6 may play an important part in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in early AS, and IL-6 levels have been correlated with markers of disease activity and severity. In late AS, mechanical factors such as decreased mobility and the support provided by extraspinal bone may play a role in vertebral osteoporosis. Screening patients with AS for the presence of osteoporosis is an important, but contentious subject. This and subsequent monitoring needs to be considered in all patients, but longterm studies are needed to determine with confidence which patients should undergo screening, by which methods, and how often. The treatment of osteoporosis in AS is at present similar to that used for primary osteoporosis, except that due to the male predominance and a relatively young age of patients, there is a limited role for hormone replacement therapy. Exercise regimens and bisphosphonates are widely used, but a study of the relative efficacy of different bisphosphonate agents in patients with AS is required.


This book presents a review and criticism of all sociological literature on suicide, from Emile Durkheim's influential "Suicide" (1897) to contemporary writings by sociologists who have patterned their own work on Durkheim's. Douglas points out fundamental weaknesses in the structural-functional study of suicide, and offers an alternative theoretical approach. He demonstrates the unreliability of official statistics on suicide and contends that Durkheim's explanations of suicide rates in terms of abstract social meanings are founded on an inadequate and misleading statistical base. The study of suicidal actions, Douglas argues, requires an examination of the individual's own construction of his actions. He analyzes revenge, escape, and sympathy motives; using diaries, notes, and observers' reports, he shows how the social meanings of actual cases should be studied.Originally published in 1967.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


This paper presents an analysis of user studies from a review of papers describing new visualisation applications and uses these to highlight various issues related to the evaluation of visualisations. We first consider some of the reasons why the process of evaluating visualisations is so difficult. We then dissect the problem by discussing the importance of recognising the nature of experimental design, datasets and participants as well as the statistical analysis of results. Finally, we propose explorative evaluation as a method of discovering new things about visualisation techniques, which may give us a better understanding of the mechanisms of visualisations.


: The "Danijela" trumpet orchestra from Arilje is the first ensemble in Serbia whose 'first trumpet' and leader, in every sense, is Danijela Veselinović (1993). Apart of Danijela, there are men in the orchestra; they are Danijela's brothers, cousins and colleagues from the University. Such orchestras (of the family type), in which women Vesna Mikić. play, or in which the leader is a woman in the ensemble, are not unknown in the world as they even existed in the 19 th century. This paper analyses the relationship between men and women regarding theory of gender and the way it is covered by the media and in other ways. Through this theory, I examine Danijela's approach to the trumpet in every detail, as an instrument that is considered as a 'male' instrument in Serbia today. This is based upon my personal interview with Danijela Veselinović. This con-sideration of the trumpet as a male instrument is not unusual, bearing in mind its historical background and its role in society. Through an ethnomusicological comparative analysis of three interpretation, I shall to try to conclude whether, as regards performance, it is a 'copy' of the male trumpet orchestra or whether it just leaves a personal touch, and also, whether that touch comes from the gender viewpoint, or, simply said, whether it is a question of the influence of the formal musical education which Danijela's trumpet orchestra possesses.


We tested the activity of dolastatin 10 (a natural product derived from the shell-less marine mollusk, Dolabella auricularia, a sea hare) and its structural modification, auristatin PE, alone and in combination with bryostatin 1 (a protein kinase C activator derived from the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina) on a human B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell line (WSU-CLL) and in a severe combined immune deficient (SCID) mouse xenograft model bearing this cell line. WSU-CLL cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 at a concentration of 2 x 10(5)/ml using a 24-well plate. Agents were added to triplicate wells, and cell count, viability, mitosis, and apoptosis were assessed after 24 h of incubation at 37 degrees C. Results showed that dolastatin 10 had no apparent inhibition of cell growth at concentrations less than 500 pg/ml. Auristatin PE, on the other hand, showed significant growth inhibition at concentrations as low as 50 pg/ml. Auristatin PE-treated cultures, at this concentration, exhibited 27 and 4.5% mitosis and apoptosis, respectively. Dolastatin 10, at the same concentration, did not exert any effect and was comparable with that of control cultures. In the WSU-CLL-SCID mouse xenograft model, the efficacy of these agents alone and in combination with bryostatin 1 was evaluated. Tumor growth inhibition (T/C), tumor growth delay (T-C), and log10 kill for dolastatin 10, auristatin PE, and bryostatin 1 were 14%, 25 days, and 1.98; 2%, 25 days, and 1.98; 19%, 13 days, and 1.03, respectively. Auristatin-PE produced cure in three of five mice, whereas dolastatin 10 showed activity but no cures. When given in combination, auristatin PE + bryostatin 1-treated animals were all free of tumors (five of five) for 150 days and were considered cured. Dolastatin 10 + bryostatin 1-treated animals produced cure in only two of five mice. We conclude that: (a) auristatin-PE is more effective in this model than dolastatin 10; (b) auristatin PE can be administered at a concentration 10 times greater than dolastatin 10; (c) there is a synergetic effect between these agents and bryostatin 1, which is more apparent in the bryostatin 1 + auristatin PE combination. The use of these agents should be explored clinically in the treatment of CLL.


The article analyses the construction process, the evolution and the disturbing future of the facade enclosure of the collective housing constructions built during the developmental period in the province of Gipuzkoa. 128 residential complexes were checked, and 17 people who directly took part in the construction of many of these buildings were interviewed. After examining the material and elements that make up the conventional facade solution used in Gipuzkoa and in much of Spain not only during those years but also up to the present time, the effects and causes of its main damages and flaws were studied. Its complex and costly adaptation to current demands is going to require a strong effort from society at large, and this raises the question of whether the life cycle of this construction system should be terminated once and for all.


Two lesser-known fragments written by Heiner Müller in 1979 and 1990 openly refer to Brecht and offer perspectives on the problematic relationship between the two playwrights. Form and content in Brechtian dialectical theatre are treated ironically in both fragments. Müller reveals an ambivalence that accepts the tenets of Brechtian dramaturgy in order to surpass them. Müller criticizes perceived limitations in Brecht's poetics yet redirects the dialectic for the postmodern times in which he lived. The degree to which Müller radicalizes Brecht's principles and practice represents an endpoint of (but not an all-out break with) Brechtian dramaturgy. An important corollary of this conclusion is that Müller is still associated with the Enlightenment project. This latter assertion is at odds with many readings of the later plays as documentations of 'the end of history', a category Müller roundly criticized in his life and resisted in his own dialectical drama.


[1] Black carbon is ubiquitous in the atmosphere and is the main anthropogenic absorbing particulate. Absorption by black carbon is thought to be comparable to the cooling associated with sulfate aerosols, although present-day satellites are incapable of obtaining this measurement, and model estimates are highly uncertain. More measurements of black carbon concentration are necessary for improving and validating transport and general circulation models. The Aerosol Robotics Network (AERONET) of 180 worldwide radiometers offers an opportunity to obtain these measurements. We use the Maxwell Garnett effective medium approximation to infer the column-averaged black carbon concentration and specific absorption of AERONET retrievals at 46 locations. The yearly averaged black carbon column concentrations exhibit the expected regional dependence, with remote island locations having values about an order of magnitude lower than the continental biomass burning locations. The yearly averaged black carbon specific absorption cross section is consistent with other measured values, 9.9 m2 g−1 for 19,591 retrievals, but varies from 7.7 to 12.5 m2 g−1. We attribute this variability to the details of the size distributions and the fraction of black carbon contained in the aerosol mixture. We also used the Maxwell Garnett equations to parameterize the imaginary refractive index with respect to the black carbon volume fraction, enabling simple but accurate absorption estimates for aerosol mixtures when the black carbon fraction and size distribution is known. The black carbon concentrations that we derive from AERONET measurements correctly describe the radiance field and represent an alternative to absorption optical thickness in the link between models and AERONET measurements.


A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the water, sanitation, and hygiene status and the knowledge, attitude and practice of home-based care clients of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) regarding water, sanitation and hygiene (WSH). Interviews and observation of WSH facilities were carried out on 331 randomly selected PLWHA in Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia. Though the latrine coverage was high, 43% use latrines not easily accessible, 31% use contaminated latrines and 73.4% of the latrines lacked hand-washing facilities. Thirty-four per cent did not have a reliable source of water and 196 (59%) of the households stored water at home for more than one day. Women were more likely to practice personal hygiene as compared to their men counterparts. Although a good level of knowledge and favourable attitudes about WSH related health problems were observed, two-thirds of the participants believed that diarrhoeal infection is not preventable. HIV/AIDS and WSH programmes need to be integrated for better intervention activities in Ethiopia.


Abstract. The aim of this article is to critically examine the notion that the creative class may or may not play as a causal mechanism of urban regeneration. I begin with a review of Florida's argument focusing on the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings. The second section develops a critique of the relationship between the creative class and growth. This is followed by an attempt to clarify the relationship between the concepts of creativity, culture and the creative industries. Finally, I suggest that policy‐makers may achieve more successful regeneration outcomes if they attend to the cultural industries as an object that links production and consumption, manufacturing and service. Such a notion is more useful in interpreting and understanding the significant role of cultural production in contemporary cities, and what relation it has to growth.


A well-known and accepted aerosol measurement technique, the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), is applied to characterize colloidally dispersed nanoparticles. To achieve a transfer from dispersed particles to aerosolized particles, a newly developed nebulizer (N) is used that, unlike commonly used atomizers, produces significantly smaller droplets and therefore reduces the problem of the formation of residual particles. The capabilities of this new instrument combination (N + SMPS) for the analysis of dispersions were investigated, using three different dispersions, i.e. gold–PVP nanoparticles ( 20 nm), silver–PVP nanoparticles ( 70 nm) and their 1 : 1 (m : m) mixture. The results are compared to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements and two frequently applied techniques for characterizing colloidal systems: Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and analytical disc centrifugation (ADC). The differences, advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed, especially with respect to the size resolution of the techniques and their ability to distinguish the particle sizes of the mixed dispersion. While DLS is, as expected, unable to resolve the binary dispersion, SEM, ADC and SMPS are able to give quantitative information on the two particle sizes. However, while the high-resolving ADC is limited due to the dependency on a predefined density of the investigated system, the transfer of dispersed particles into an aerosol and subsequent analysis with SMPS are an adequate way to characterize binary systems, independent of the density of concerned particles, but matching the high resolution of the ADC. We show that it is possible to use the well-established aerosol measurement technique (N + SMPS) in colloid science with all its advantages concerning size resolution and accuracy.


Biofilm associated with decomposing mangrove leaf litter is a food source for shrimp post-larvae (PL). PL of giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon foraging on leaf litter of Rhizophora mucronata with developing biofilm at 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8 wk of decomposition were tested for specific growth rate (SGR, %) and percentage survival (SR, %). Biofilm was analyzed for species composition, abundance, and biomass of microalgae and epifauna. Microalgal biomass increased with the progress of litter decomposition. Diatoms, especially Navicula sp. and Nitzschia sp., dominated the first 6 wk of litter decomposition with a percentage cover of 88 and 99% during the third and fourth weeks, respectively. Cyanobacteria dominated in the 8 wk old biofilm with 61% cover. Copepods dominated the epifauna during the first 3 wk of litter decomposition. In the 4 to 5 wk old litter, polychaetes were most abundant whereas nematodes were dominant in litter that had decomposed for 8 wk. PL foraging on 4 wk old litter had a higher SGR (1.6 +/- 0.5%) and SR (39.8 +/- 4.8%) coincident with the maximum abundance of microalgae and epifauna. The study illustrated that nutritionally rich biofilm for PL shrimp is: (1) developed during the fourth week of mangrove leaf litter decomposition and is dominated by diatoms, polychaetes, harpacticoid copepods, and oligochaetes; and (2) limited by the collapse of the epifauna and subsequent colonization by cyanobacteria in mangrove leaf litter decomposed beyond 4 wk.


A major problem in classification of hyperspectral datasets is the reliable selection of reference spectra to classify heterogeneous vegetated areas. In this work, different approaches of end-member collection for spectral unmixing of hyperspectral data are presented, evaluated and compared to each other. The selected methods include high resolution ground spectroradiometric measurements, a scene based approach and modelling of the end-member spectra using a SVAT (soil-vegetation-atmosphere-transfer) approach. The presented methods are discussed and verified with an extensive ground truth collected in the observed area.


Abstract Clinical question Recent 15-year updates of sigmoidoscopy screening trials provide new evidence on the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening. Prompted by the new evidence, we asked: "Does colorectal cancer screening make an important difference to health outcomes in individuals initiating screening at age 50 to 79? And which screening option is best?" Current practice Numerous guidelines recommend screening, but vary on recommended test, age and screening frequency. This guideline looks at the evidence and makes recommendations on screening for four screening options: faecal immunochemical test (FIT) every year, FIT every two years, a single sigmoidoscopy, or a single colonoscopy. Recommendations These recommendations apply to adults aged 50-79 years with no prior screening, no symptoms of colorectal cancer, and a life expectancy of at least 15 years. For individuals with an estimated 15-year colorectal cancer risk below 3%, we suggest no screening (weak recommendation). For individuals with an estimated 15-year risk above 3%, we suggest screening with one of the four screening options: FIT every year, FIT every two years, a single sigmoidoscopy, or a single colonoscopy (weak recommendation). With our guidance we publish the linked research, a graphic of the absolute harms and benefits, a clear description of how we reached our value judgments, and linked decision aids. How this guideline was created A guideline panel including patients, clinicians, content experts and methodologists produced these recommendations using GRADE and in adherence with standards for trustworthy guidelines. A linked systematic review of colorectal cancer screening trials and microsimulation modelling were performed to inform the panel of 15-year screening benefits and harms. The panel also reviewed each screening option's practical issues and burdens. Based on their own experience, the panel estimated the magnitude of benefit typical members of the population would value to opt for screening and used the benefit thresholds to inform their recommendations. The evidence Overall there was substantial uncertainty (low certainty evidence) regarding the 15-year benefits, burdens and harms of screening. Best estimates suggested that all four screening options resulted in similar colorectal cancer mortality reductions. FIT every two years may have little or no effect on cancer incidence over 15 years, while FIT every year, sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy may reduce cancer incidence, although for FIT the incidence reduction is small compared with sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy. Screening related serious gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse events are rare. The magnitude of the benefits is dependent on the individual risk, while harms and burdens are less strongly associated with cancer risk. Understanding the recommendation Based on benefits, harms, and burdens of screening, the panel inferred that most informed individuals with a 15-year risk of colorectal cancer of 3% or higher are likely to choose screening, and most individuals with a risk of below 3% are likely to decline screening. Given varying values and preferences, optimal care will require shared decision making.


Background: The increasing number of women graduating from medical schools doubles the level of responsibility and increases competition with males. Therefore, the assessment of the emotional exhaustion impact on women has become necessary to avoid over-stress at work. This study aims to assess and discuss the gender differences in nine-item emotional exhaustion (EE) subscale of the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) among a sample of Iraqi physicians.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted over the first half of 2014. Data was collected from 576 doctors using a self-administered questionnaire with a multistage sampling technique. An independent sample t-test used to compare the means.
Results: More than half of respondents (310, 53.8%) were females with a mean age (±SD) of 40.43 years (±8.59). Female doctors are less affected than males in term of emotional draining from work (p=0.008) and strained by people (p=0.009) respectively. Male doctors are less affected than females in being used up at the end of the week (p<0.001), stressed by working with people (p<0.001), burned out from work (p<0.001) and frustrated by job (p<0.001). However, both male and female doctors are equal in feeling fatigue in the morning (p=0.286), feeling of working too hard (0.284) and of being unable to stand (0.358).
Conclusion: This study supports the results of previous studies that female doctors show more empathy when dealing with patients, however, they appeared more prone to burnout and stress.


Laser-pumped laser characteristics of a Tm:Ho:Y3Al5O12(YAG) crystal were measured as a function of the wavelength and energy of the alexandrite-laser pump source. Laser thresholds and slope efficiencies were recorded for 765-, 780-, and 785-nm pump wavelengths. Simultaneous laser emission was observed at 2.060, 2.065, 2.097, and 2.101 μm, and the relative intensities of these peaks were measured as a function of absorbed pump energy. Changes in temporal and spectral profiles of the laser emission were observed with variations in absorbed pump energy. When measurements were made with a monolithic crystal cavity instead of an open cavity, laser emission from Ho3+ was observed at 2.097 μm, and an additional laser peak was observed that may be due to transitions of the Tm3+ ions.


This paper examines a language teacher education professional development programme in New Zealand that draws on the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum. At the heart of the Learning Languages area in the curriculum is communicative competence, with the understanding that communication involves language knowledge and cultural knowledge. The New Zealand Ministry of Education expects that schools will be able to offer all Years 7–10 students the opportunity to learn an additional language in order for them to participate effectively in multicultural settings, both in New Zealand and internationally. To deliver this, language teachers and generalist teachers are being encouraged to undertake professional development. This paper reports on a research evaluation of a Ministry-sponsored language teacher professional development programme. The findings reveal success in increasing teacher understanding of how to develop learners' language knowledge, because this part of the programme was underpinned by a deep principled knowledge base, and teachers had opportunities to acquire knowledge and participate in a language teaching community. However, teacher understanding of how to increase learners' cultural knowledge was less successful, because of a lack of a principled knowledge base of intercultural language teaching. We argue that effective professional development programmes need both to be based on deep principled knowledge and to offer learning that involves acquisition and participation.


Previous studies have used psycholinguistic techniques such as eye-tracking and selfpaced reading in order to investigate the psychological validity of corpus-derived collocations (e.g. Conklin & Schmitt 2008; McDonald & Shillcock 2003a; 2003b; Underwood et al. 2004; Huang et al. 2012). The results of these studies reveal that sequences of words which form collocations are read more quickly and receive fewer fixations than sequences of words which do not form collocations. However, behavioural data and eye-tracking data can only ever provide an indirect measure of what is going on in the brain during language processing. In this thesis, I therefore investigate the psychological validity of corpus-derived collocations using a direct measure of neural activity, namely electroencephalography (EEG). More specifically, I use the event-related potential (ERP) technique of analysing brainwave data. Very few ERP studies focus on collocation, and those that do focus on collocation conceptualize and operationalize the notion differently from how it is conceptualized and operationalized in this thesis, or indeed in most corpus linguistics work. For example, although Molinaro and Carreiras (2010:179-180) use corpus-derived collocations for an ERP study, they explicitly state that they only extract collocations which are "idioms or cliches". By contrast, in this thesis, collocation is conceptualized as a more fluid phenomenon, as compositional or non-compositional word pairs where the words have a high probability of occurring together. In Experiment 1, which is the first of four ERP experiments presented in this thesis, I aim to pilot a procedure for determining whether or not there is a neurophysiological difference in the way that the native speaker brain processes collocational adjective-noun bigrams compared to non-collocational adjective-noun bigrams. In Experiment 2, I aim to replicate the results of the pilot study using another group of native English speakers; while, in Experiment 3, I aim to investigate the processing of collocational adjective-noun bigrams and noncollocational adjective-noun bigrams in non-native speakers of English (specifically, native speakers of Mandarin Chinese). In Experiment 4, the final experiment of this thesis, I then aim to investigate the gradience of the ERP response as well as the psychological validity of different association measures, namely transition probability, mutual information, loglikelihood, z-score, t-score, Dice-coefficient, MI3, and raw frequency. The results of these studies reveal that there is a neurophysiological difference in the way that the brain processes corpus-derived collocational bigrams compared to matched noncollocational bigrams, suggesting that the phenomenon of collocation can be seen as having psychological validity. An important finding of this thesis is the discovery of the 'Collocational N400': an ERP component reflecting the increase in cognitive load associated with reading a collocational violation. This increase in cognitive load is greater for non-native speakers compared to native speakers, as non-native speakers have less flexibility than native speakers in their use of (non-)collocational patterns. Moreover, while there is a strong correlation between the amplitude of the collocational N400 and all of the measures of collocation strength that I investigate in Experiment 4, the strongest correlations exist between amplitude and the hybrid association measures, including z-score, MI3, and Dice co-efficient. This suggests that mutual information and log-likelihood, which are two of the most commonly used association measures in corpus linguistics (Gries 2014a:37), are not necessarily always the optimal choice. I discuss these results in relation to prior literature from the fields of corpus linguistics and cognitive neuroscience.


The growth and survival of business houses hinges on the liquidity and profitability. The dexterity to lever between the two domains is of paramount significance for the financial managers. The current study makes an earnest endeavor to investigate the relationship between liquidity and profitability of companies listed in Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). The study encompasses 99 listed companies in Tadawul. The data are culled and collated from audited annual financial statements of listed companies for a period of five years from 2008 to 2012. The profitability facets of the companies are represented by the variables, namely, Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). The liquidity of the companies is gauged by current ratio, quick ratio and the absolute liquid ratio. The overall results revealed that there is only one positive significant relationship between Return on Assets (ROA) and Current Ratio (CR) of the companies in Saudi Arabia. Further, it is revealed that there is negative but insignificant relationship between the Return on Assets (ROA) and Quick Ratio (QR) & Cash Ratio (CHR) of the companies in Saudi Arabia. Likewise in the case of Return on Equity (ROE), there is insignificant relationship with the three selected independent variables, namely, Current Ratio (CR), Quick Ratio (QR) and Cash Ratio (CHR).


This paper describes the design and construction of a cooperative, heterogeneous robot group comprised of one semi-autonomous aerial robot and two autonomous ground robots. The robots are designed to perform automated surveillance and reconnaissance of an urban outdoor area using onboard sensing. The ground vehicles have GPS, sonar for obstacle detection and avoidance, and a simple color- based vision system. Navigation is performed using an optimal mixture of odometry and GPS. The helicopter is equipped with a GPS/INS system, a camera, and a framegrabber. Each robot has an embedded 486 PC/104 processor running the QNX real-time operating system. Individual robot controllers are behavior-based and decentralized. We describe a control strategy and architecture that coordinates the robots with minimal top- down planning. The overall system is controlled at high level by a single human operator using a specially designed control unit. The operator is able to task the group with a mission using a minimal amount of training. The group can re-task itself based on sensor inputs and can also be re- tasked by the operator. We describe a particular reconnaissance mission that the robots have been tested with, and lessons learned during the design and implementation. Our initial results with these experiments are encouraging given the challenging mechanics of the aerial robot. We conclude the paper with a discussion of ongoing and future work.


BACKGROUND
The recent identification of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) in the blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) establishes that a retrovirus may play a role in the pathology in this disease. Knowledge of the immune response might lead to a better understanding of the role XMRV plays in this syndrome. Our objective was to investigate the cytokine and chemokine response in XMRV-associated CFS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Using Luminex multi-analyte profiling technology, we measured cytokine and chemokine values in the plasma of XMRV-infected CFS patients and compared these data to those of healthy controls. Analysis was performed using the Gene Expression Pattern Analysis Suite and the Random Forest tree classification algorithm.

RESULTS
This study identifies a signature of 10 cytokines and chemokines which correctly identifies XMRV/CFS patients with 93% specificity and 96% sensitivity.

CONCLUSION
These data show, for the first time, an immunological pattern associated with XMRV/CFS.


Narrative Medicine has emerged as a discipline from within the medical humanities1 and takes inspiration from philosophy, literature, poetry, art and social sciences theories. In particular, it is underpinned by philosophical approaches such as phenomenology, postmodernism and narratology, proposing that clinicians must attend to the lived experience of their patients and apply the science to the person.2 Meanwhile, the link between medicine and literature is evident in the growing volume of texts written about professionals', or lay people's experiences of illness and disease.3–8 In exploring this link further, Charon9 has contributed greatly to consolidate the theory of Narrative Medicine. She defines it as 'medicine practiced with the narrative competencies to recognise, absorb, interpret and be moved by the stories of illness'.9 She suggests that, in exploring texts and reading them closely, one finds the tools of language such as metaphor, plot, character and temporality. She suggests that learning such skills enables clinicians to recognise that same language when it appears in clinical interaction practice. This 'narrative competence' can be fostered through education initiatives that particularly explore literature, creative and reflective writing, storytelling and poetry.9

As Lewis2 explains, the question is about what kind of healthcare we want to deliver. Those who practise Narrative Medicine suggest that the adoption of this approach may help marry the art and science, thus improving quality in delivering a more person-centred type of care.2 ,10 With its emphasis on the patient experience, Narrative Medicine complements the current dominance of productivity, efficiency and evidence-based care. Similarly, Narrative Medicine contributes to attempts to go beyond the positivist dominance in healthcare that threatens quality of care, as science alone cannot help us to understand the unpredictability and frailty of people.11–13 To secure support for Narrative Medicine education, there …


The advantages of having a strong professional identity include ethical performances,
 promoted wellness, and increased awareness of roles and functions among individual
 counselors (Brott & Myers, 1999; Grimmit & Paisley, 2008; Ponton & Duba,
 2009). Scholars in the counseling field have underscored the importance of unified
 professional identity of counseling, but have yet to create or comprehensively measure
 the construct. The purpose of this study was to construct a reliable and valid
 instrument the Professional Identity Scale in Counseling (PISC). The PISC is a 62-item
 instrument designed to measure professional identity in counseling professionals across
 all counseling sub-specialties and sub-populations. The PISC's development was based on
 a comprehensive definition of professional identity derived from the counseling
 literature. To investigate the factor structure of the PISC, an exploratory factor analysis with the
 Principle Component Analysis extraction and the varimax rotation method was conducted.
 The factor analysis produced a meaningful six-factor solution with a total of 54 items.
 These six factors were Engagement Behaviors, Knowledge of the Profession, Professional
 Roles and Expertise, Attitude, Philosophy of the Profession, and Professional Values.
 They approximately accounted for 43.54% of the total variance in a sample of 371
 participants. Reliability was supported by internal consistency values as reflected in high Cronbach's
 coefficient alpha for four factors and acceptable Cronbach's alpha for one factor.
 Regarding validity, support for convergent validity of the PISC was illustrated as all
 six subscales significantly correlated with one subscale of the PIVS, Professional
 Orientation and Values, and five subscales significantly correlated with the other
 subscale of the PIVS, Professional Development. Social desirability that was measured
 using the M-C (20) did not appear to impact participants' responses to the instrument
 items, providing evidence of discriminant validity of the PISC. Additional analysis was conducted to investigate differences among participant groups on
 the PISC total scores. Results showed significant group differences between
 master's-level and doctoral-level counseling professionals. Implications for counselors
 and counselor educators are also discussed related to the findings.


Background/Aims: Apparent treatment resistant hypertension (aTRH) is highly prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The impact of aTRH and achievement of recommended blood pressure (BP) values on the rate of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) loss in CKD patients is poorly known. To assess the role of aTRH and time-updated BP control (BPC) on the progression of CKD in patients with T2D and hypertension (HT) in real life clinical practice. Methods: Clinical records from a total of 2,778 diabetic patients with HT and stage 3 CKD (i.e. baseline eGFR values between 30 and 60 ml/min) and regular visits during a four-year follow-up were analyzed. The association between BPC (i.e. 75% of visits with BP <140/90 mmHg) and eGFR loss (i.e. a >30% reduction from baseline) or worsening of albuminuria status over time was assessed. Results: At baseline 33% of patients had aTRH. Over the 4-year follow-up, 20% had a >30% eGFR reduction. Patients with aTRH had an increased risk of eGFR loss >30% (OR 1.31; P<0.007). In patients with aTRH, BPC was associated with a 79% (P=0.029) greater risk of eGFR reduction despite a 58% (P=0.001) lower risk of albuminuria status worsening. In non-aTRH, no association was found between BPC and renal outcome. Conclusion: In patients with stage 3 CKD the presence of aTRH entails a faster loss of eGFR. More effective prevention of aTRH should be implemented as this condition is associated with a burden of risk not modifiable by tight BP reduction.


This chapter built on a contribution delivered to the 2010 conference Alternative Practices in Design: The Collective – Past, Present and Future, at RMIT in Melbourne. The multi-disciplinary event was a response to the resurgence of interest in design as a collective practice, and as a core component of social activism. The research underpinning Whitworth's work was ESRC-AHRC funded within the Cultures of Consumption research project, and drew heavily on primary sources in the National Archives and the University of Brighton Design Archives. It took as its focus the first government-sponsored design-promotional body in the world; the United Kingdom's Council of Industrial Design (Design Council from 1972).

The work recovered an energetic programme of public engagement and consumer education. The Council's first Director, in particular, refused to contemplate the role before agreement was reached on this aspect of its otherwise significantly industrial remit. The vision developed by the fledgling organisation was of a virtuous circle, within which people were able to respond critically to their material environment, and articulate the wishes and needs that would underpin future product development and materials research. These early years coincided with the country's turbulent period of economic and social re-alignment, as peacetime manufacturing and reconstruction resumed. Taken as a whole, the volume resonates with current debates arising from present day economic challenges within the creative economy.


Modulating the activity of ion channels by blockers yields information on both the mode of drug action and on the biophysics of ion transport. Here we investigate the interplay between ions in the selectivity filter (SF) of K+ channels and the release kinetics of the blocker tetrapropylammonium in the model channel KcvNTS. A quantitative expression calculates blocker release rate constants directly from voltage-dependent ion occupation probabilities in the SF. The latter are obtained by a kinetic model of single-channel currents recorded in the absence of the blocker. The resulting model contains only two adjustable parameters of ion-blocker interaction and holds for both symmetric and asymmetric ionic conditions. This data-derived model is corroborated by 3D reference interaction site model (3D RISM) calculations on several model systems, which show that the K+ occupation probability is unaffected by the blocker, a direct consequence of the strength of the ion-carbonyl attraction in the SF, independent of the specific protein background. Hence, KcvNTS channel blocker release kinetics can be reduced to a small number of system-specific parameters. The pore-independent asymmetric interplay between K+ and blocker ions potentially allows for generalizing these results to similar potassium channels.


We report the experimental demonstration of deep-submicrometer inversion-mode In0.75Ga0.25As MOSFETs with ALD high-k Al2O3 as gate dielectric. In this letter, n-channel MOSFETs with 100-200-nm-long gates have been fabricated. At a supply voltage of 0.8 V, the fabricated devices with 200-130-nm-long gates exhibit drain currents of 232-440 muA/mum and transconductances of 538-705 muS/mum. The 100-nm device has a drain current of 801 muA/mum and a transconductance of 940 muS/mum. However, the device cannot be pinched off due to severe short-channel effect. Important scaling metrics, such as on/off current ratio, subthreshold swing, and drain-induced barrier lowering, are presented, and their relations to the short-channel effect are discussed.


MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses have emerged in the discourse of the present day higher education as a solution for the 21st century educational challenges. This paper discusses how realistic and appropriate the original ideas of MOOCs are in the wider, global context, particularly in the context of developing regions. Do MOOCs promote democratization of education by making it accessible to all? Or do they reinforce educational hegemony of the Western world thus constituting a further link in the history of cultural imperialism of the global North over the global South? We will argue in this paper that in order to open up education through MOOCs, local adaptations are required. The contextualization of MOOCs, particularly pedagogical and linguistic considerations, are examined and design recommendations formulated.


ABSTRACT We investigated the silica-scaled chrysophyte flora from the Ukrainian Polissia by means of electron microscopy. Overall, 49 taxa were recorded, including three species each of Chrysosphaerella Lauterborn and Paraphysomonas De Saedeleer emend. Scoble & Cavalier-Smith, one unidentified Lepidochromonas Kristiansen taxon, two Spiniferomonas E.Takahashi species, 28 Mallomonas Perty taxa and 12 Synura Ehrenb. taxa. Only six species have previously been reported from this region and 29 of the taxa encountered in this study are reported for the first time from Ukraine. Two taxa, Synura petersenii f. columnata Siver and S. korshikovii Kapustin & Gusev were found for the second time since their original descriptions. We hypothesize that the latter species is an endemic of Polissia, however, to test this idea it would be necessary to sample the water-bodies from the adjacent territories of Belarus and Russia.


This paper examines how social capital aids in post-disaster community recovery and redevelopment. While previous studies on social capital and post-disaster recovery have tended to focus on social networks as a source of necessary assistance, the primary focus of this study is on how social capital in the form of collective narratives affects post-disaster recovery. We argue that collective narratives can shape the recovery strategies that individuals adopt. To illustrate this we examine the post-Katrina recovery efforts in St. Bernard Parish, an area devastated by flooding and significant environmental damage. In particular, we focus on the shared narrative that dominated qualitative interview data collected in St. Bernard, namely, its shared identity as a close-knit, family-oriented community comprised of hard workers. This narrative led community members to adopt a strategy that emphasized self-reliance.


Disasters can be described as feats of spontaneous occurrences, in that they can happen at any minute
at any time. There are two classifications of disasters, which are, natural disasters that cannot be
predicted and continuously occur throughout society. While the other classification of disaster is that
of man-made disasters, where disasters are caused not by natural phenomena, but by man's or
society's actions, involuntary or voluntary, sudden or slow, with grave consequences to the population
and the environment (Hays, 2008). Both these types of disasters can be controlled to a certain extent
through appropriate disaster management plans and if managed efficiently have the potential to
reduce the likelihood of overwhelming loss of lives and property. The Disaster Management cycle is
split into four elements of response, recovery, mitigation and preparedness which contribute to
emergency protocols of a nation when disaster strikes. Therefore, nations should incorporate them in
their development plans and ensure efficient follow-up measures at community, national and
international levels. This paper investigates worldwide disasters in order to examine how these
disasters were managed and to identify the lessons learned. It provides an analysis of five worldwide
case studies of recent disasters (Tsunami in Sri Lanka, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Earthquake
in Pakistan, Summer floods in the UK and Flooding of the West-Link in Northern Ireland) mapping
those to the four staged disaster management cycle. The paper analyses in detail the strategies
adopted at each stage of the cycle comparing strengths and weaknesses of each case. It concludes that
there had been satisfactory progress in both response and recovery phases but more attention is
needed for disaster mitigation and preparedness.


This paper formulates and shows how to solve the problem of selecting the cache size and depth of cache pipelining that maximizes the performance of a given instruction-set architecture. The solution combines trace-driven architectural simulations and the timing analysis of the physical implementation of the cache. Increasing cache size tends to improve performance but this improvement is limited because cache access time increases with its size. This trade-off results in an optimization problem we referred to as multilevel optimization, because it requires the simultaneous consideration of two levels of machine abstraction: the architectural level and the physical implementation level. The introduction of pipelining permits the use of larger caches without increasing their apparent access time, however, the bubbles caused by load and branch delays limit this technique. In this paper we also show how multilevel optimization can be applied to pipelined systems if software- and hardware-based strategies are considered for hiding the branch and load delays. The multilevel optimization technique is illustrated with the design of a pipelined cache for a high clock rate MIPS-based architecture. The results of this design exercise show that, because processors with pipelined caches can have shorter CPU cycle times and larger caches, a significant performance advantage is gained by using two or three pipeline stages to fetch data from the cache. Of course, the results are only optimal for the implementation technologies chosen for the design exercise; other choices could result in quite different optimal designs. The exercise is primarily to illustrate the steps in the design of pipelined caches using multilevel optimization; however, it does exemplify the importance of pipelined caches if high clock rate processors are to achieve high performance.


Capacitance sensing is an emerging technology for monitoring cell viability. This work extends a previously developed sensor that measured capacitive loading by cells on the oscillation frequency of a current-starved ring oscillator and converted the frequency to a digital value by counting oscillation cycles. The new sensor array has been developed into a one-chip lab-on-CMOS system with integrated temperature sensors, serial readout to an external microcontroller using an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus, and automatic scanning to allow for autonomous data collection. To allow sensing at the required aF levels, the system was realized on single chip to reduce the baseline capacitance, and long counting times were employed. The I2C module was moved to the edge of the chip prevent exposing cells to unacceptably high temperatures during viability studies.


This first ethnographic study of factory workers engaged in radical labor protest gives a voice to a segment of the Japanese population that has been previously marginalized. These blue-collar workers, involved in prolonged labor disputes, tell their own story as they struggle to make sense of their lives and their culture during a time of conflict and instability. What emerges is a sensitive portrait of how workers grapple with a slowed economy and the contradictions of Japanese industry in the late postwar era. The ways that they think and feel about accommodation, resistance, and protest raise essential questions about the transformation of labor practices and limits of worker cooperation and compliance.


The Learning Partnerships Model (LPM) (Baxter Magolda & King, 2004) is a framework for promoting self-authorship. Self-authorship is a holistic development theory that employs three dimensions (epistemological, intrapersonal, interpersonal). The LPM can be tailored to a variety of academic tasks, including course design and curriculum development. The model has also been used in co-curricular settings to design community-standards programs, internship programs, and to improve academic advising. An exhaustive review of the literature on one particular co-curricular setting, the student conduct office, revealed studies about the conduct process and student outcomes achieved through that process but no research on student conduct and self-authorship. I explored how the principles of the LPM are evident in student conduct environments where learning is occurring. The sample consisted of student conduct environments at three institutions where students involved in the conduct process achieve learning outcomes that exceed the learning outcomes achieved by like students at other institutions based on a national quantitative assessment (NASCAP). I spent three days on each campus, observing office operations that included 21 conduct hearings. I interviewed every hearing officer in the three student conduct offices (n=8). I found that the principles of the LPM were evident in these environments. Hearing officers created conditions for learning and development to occur. Specifically hearing officers' engaged in four key behaviors that support the principles of the LPM. They created a connection with the student, sought to understand the conduct incident, provided encouragement, and promoted learning and autonomy. Hearing officers purposefully built a welcoming environment in order to solicit information that would enable them to understand students' lived experiences and developmental capacities. They partnered with students to create expectations for future behavior that encouraged student autonomy and accountability. These actions by hearing officers created conditions intentionally to promote learning and development. The findings provide tangible strategies that can be used in the student conduct process to promote self-authorship.


Objective: To elucidate cytotoxic activity of fractions from chloroform and methanol extracts of D. bulbifera organs on T47D breast cancer cells. Method: The vegetative organs of D. bulbifera were extracted gradually using chloroform and methanol. Cytotoxicity tested on T47D cells using MTT Assay. The most toxic extract was fractioned by vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) followed by thin layer chromatography (TLC). The extract and fractions potential were tested on the Vero cells using the same method as cancer cells. The most toxic fraction was analyzed using TLC followed by the application of various spray reagents for the identification of active compound. Results: The chloroform extract of the D. bulbifera leaves was the highest cytotoxic on T47D cells (IC50 115.63±86.01 μg/mL). Moreover, the cytotoxicity test on the combined fractions of leaves chloroform extract showed that fraction 5 (F5) and fraction 6 (F6) were the most toxic fractions compared to those of other fractions. The IC50 of both fractions were 14.55±8.62 and 7.12±4.43 μg/mL respectively. However, Its were very weak compared to those of cancer medicine (Doxorubicin) with the IC50 was 0.04±0.02 μg/mL. Potential fractions were not toxic against Vero cells with IS>10. The active compounds in those fractions were alkaloid and terpenoid. Conclusion: Chloroform extract of the D. bulbifera leaves had the highest cytotoxic effect on T47D cells. Potential fractions were not toxic against Vero cells. The active compounds in those fractions were alkaloid and terpenoid.


The standard IEEE 802.11 has been shown to be quite inefficient in multihop networks. In addition to the hidden-terminal and exposed-terminal problems, there is also an unreachability problem, which may result in link/routing failures and unfairness among multiple traffic flows. In this paper, a medium access control (MAC) protocol, called eMAC, is proposed. Under the proposed scheme, stations maintain double-hop neighborhood (DHN) graphs while exchanging designated e MAC tables to share their knowledge about their neighborhood topology. Using a DHN graph and an adaptive unreachability reporting mechanism, stations are reliably informed about their neighbors' unreachability status. Hence, they avoid establishing link-layer connections with their unreachable neighbors, and consequently, network resources are not consumed for unsuccessful connection-establishment efforts. Furthermore, we propose an adaptive table broadcasting technique to facilitate topology information dissemination in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). The performance of the proposed schemes is evaluated and compared with that of earlier schemes through simulations. Our results show a performance enhancement due to better handling of unreachability, possible heterogeneous power distributions among contending stations, and mobility issues.


In the forward of this text, Peg Connolly noted that there is "an increased momentum of change surrounding us in our professional practice areas. . ." (p. ix). She cautioned the reader to be "diligent" in our review of our profession and described the purpose of this text as providing the reader with a "professional vehicle for review" of our profession. As promised, Compton's Issues in Therapeutic Recreation: Toward a New Millennium does provide its readers, students and professionals alike, an opportunity to examine the field of therapeutic recreation in areas ranging from advocacy to practice techniques. Introducing new and critical issues appropriate for the new millennium such as legislation, health care financing, credentialling, and research, this text provides a wide range of issues and concepts to understand and discuss.


AIM--To determine if human graft versus host disease (GvHD) is associated with any detectable change in cytokine gene expression in the skin and lymphoid organs. METHODS--Reverse transcriptase and the polymerase chain reaction were used to amplify mRNA for interleukins-1 (IL-1), -2 (IL-2), -4 (IL-4) and -6 (IL-6), IL-2 receptor (IL-2R), tumour necrosis factors alpha (TNF-alpha) and beta (TNF-beta), gamma interferon (IFN gamma) and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in frozen punch biopsy specimens of skin and necropsy samples of skin, lymph node, and spleen. RESULTS--No cytokine mRNA was detected in the punch biopsy specimens except weak signals for IL-6 and IL-1 and GM-CSF in two normal donors and IL2-R in one patient with GvHD. In samples of skin taken at necropsy, however, significant quantities of mRNA for TNF-alpha, TNF-beta, and IL-4 were detected in patients who had or had had GvHD in contrast to those without the disease whose skin lacked mRNA for these products but contained detectable quantities of IL-1, IL2-R, IL-6 and GM-CSF. There seemed to be a reciprocal relation between TNF-alpha and IL-4. In necropsy samples of lymph node and spleen a pattern of cytokine production similar to that in the skin was observed with a preponderance of TNF-alpha, TNF-beta and IL-4 in patients with GvHD and GM-CSF and IL-6 in those without the disease. CONCLUSIONS--The local synthesis of these molecules would explain many of the morphological and immunohistological features of GvHD. The failure to detect TNF-alpha, TNF-beta, and IL-4 in skin biopsy specimens exhibiting GvHD is probably due to their small size but further investigations are required.


This thesis explores the role of small RNAs as regulators of early vertebrate
development using the frog species Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis as
experimental systems. Firstly, I investigate spatial control of Nodal signalling, which is
critical for organisation of the vertebrate body plan during gastrulation, by uncovering
the functional relevance and mechanism of spatial regulation of the Nodal coreceptor
Cripto-1 in the early X. laevis embryo. Xenopus Cripto-1 (XCR1) mRNA is ubiquitous
in the early embryo, but the protein is absent in the prospective endoderm, from which
Nodal signalling originates. Cripto-1 is a stem cell marker and upregulated in many
cancers and Nodal signalling is reactivated in melanomas and prostate cancer. Therefore
understanding how control of Nodal signalling and XCR1 regulation is achieved may
have implications for its misregulation in cancer. I show that spatial regulation of XCR1
is critical for the location, timing and magnitude of Nodal signalling in the early
Xenopus embryo. Spatial regulation occurs at the level of translational repression, is
dependent on the 3' UTR and the microRNA-processing enzyme Dicer and is abolished
by mutating four nucleotides in the minimal regulatory region of the 3' UTR. I show
that XCR1 is negatively regulated by xla-miR-427 in a 3' UTR-independent
mechanism, adding to recent research in Xenopus and zebrafish showing microRNA
control of Nodal signalling at the ligand, receptor and antagonist level.
Whilst studying Xenopus Cripto-1, it became clear that relatively little was known
about microRNAs in early vertebrate development. To fill this void, I performed
genome-wide sequencing of all small RNAs expressed in the early X. tropicalis embryo
at three stages of development. This revealed dynamic and localised expression of
hundreds of microRNAs in the early embryo and the presence of Piwi-interacting RNA
sequences. Extensive validation of the small RNA-seq dataset is presented, and novel
microRNAs and a novel class of intronic small RNAs are uncovered within the 95 % of
the early vertebrate embryo small RNAome that was previously uncharacterised.


Two-point hot-wire measurements of streamwise velocity were performed in the logarithmic and wake regions of turbulent pipe flow for Reynolds numbers, based on pipe diameter, ranging from 7.6 × 104 to 8.3 × 106 at four wall-normal positions with azimuthal probe separation. The azimuthal correlations were found to be consistent with the presence of very large-scale coherent regions of low-wavenumber, low-momentum fluid observed in previous studies of wall-bounded flows and were found to be independent of changing Reynolds number and surface roughness effects. At the edge of the logarithmic layer the azimuthal scale determined from the correlations was found to be similar to that observed for channel flows but larger than that observed for boundary layers, inconsistent with the concept of a universal logarithmic region. As the wall-normal position increased outside the logarithmic layer, there was a decrease in azimuthal scale relative to that of channel flow. Using cross-spectral analysis, high-wavenumber motion was found to grow azimuthally with wall-normal distance at a faster rate than the low-wavenumber motions.


Machining is a common and essential part of manufacturing of almost all metal products, and also or other materials like wood and plastic. In the today's era of automatic machines optimization of machining operations is one of the key requirements. During turning operation, unbroken chips pose a major hindrance during machining and hence appropriate control of the chip shape becomes a very important task for maintaining reliable machining process. The continuous chip generated during turning operation deteriorates the workpiece precision and causes safety hazards for the operator. In particular, effective chip control is necessary for a CNC machine or automatic production system because any failure in chip control can cause the lowering in productivity and the worsening in operation due to frequent stop. Chip control in turning is difficult in the case of mild steel because chips are continuous. Thus the development of a chip breaker for mild steel is an important subject for the automation of turning operations. In this study, the role of different parameters like speed, feed and depth of cut, tool flank wear and chip breaker height and width are studied. In this study chip characteristics were tested for changing tool flank wear values. Response surface methodology was used to analyze the relationship between several explanatory variables and two predecided response variables. The chips obtained were found to have greater thickness at low feed and depth of cut, and gradually decreased as feed and depth of cut increases. The analysis lead to the conclusion that cutting speed and depth of cut are the most significant factors along with their higher order terms and interactions between variables.


A wide body of modeling and theoretical scaling studies support the concept that changes to the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), whether forced by winds or buoyancy fluxes, can be understood in terms of a simple causative relation between the AMOC and an appropriately defined meridional density gradient (MDG). The MDG is supposed to translate directly into a meridional pressure gradient. Here two sets of experiments are performed using a modular ocean model coupled to an energy‐moisture balance model in which the positive AMOC‐MDG relation breaks down. In the first suite of seven model integrations it is found that increasing winds in the Southern Ocean cause an increase in overturning while the surface density difference between the equator and North Atlantic drops. In the second suite of eight model integrations the equation of state is manipulated so that the density is calculated at the model temperature plus an artificial increment DT that ranges from 238 to 98C. (An increase in DT results in increased sensitivity of density to temperature gradients.) The AMOC in these model integrations drops as the MDG increases regardless of whether the density difference is computed at the surface or averaged over the upper ocean. Traditional scaling analysis can only produce this weaker AMOC if the scale depth decreases enough to compensate for the stronger MDG. Five estimates of the depth scale are evaluated and it is found that the changes in the AMOC can be derived from scaling analysis when using the depth of the maximum overturning circulation or estimates thereof but not from the pycnocline depth. These two depth scales are commonly assumed to be the same in theoretical models of the AMOC. It is suggested that the correlation between the MDG and AMOC breaks down in these model integrations because the depth and strength of the AMOC is influenced strongly by remote forcing such as Southern Ocean winds and Antarctic Bottom Water formation.


Background: Preterm birth (PTB) may be caused by several etiological factors and there is some evidence that administration of progesterone has an effect in the prevention of preterm birth, however its role is not well defined. Study Design: This study was planned to know the effect of vaginal progesterone on women with a history of PTB on pregnancy and neonatal outcome. A total of 64 women with a singleton pregnancy (between 14-28 weeks gestation), with at least one previous preterm delivery were prospectively studied and received vaginal micronized progesterone 100 mg twice daily starting at 14–28 weeks [recruitment period] and continued till 34 weeks of pregnancy. Results: In the study, 1.66% women delivered before 34 weeks, 14 (23.33%) women delivered between 34 and 36 + 6 weeks period of gestation. Overall 15/60 (25%) patients delivered before 37 weeks and 45/60 (75%) delivered after 37 weeks. Mean gestation of delivery was 37.31 ± 1.58 (Range: 33–39 weeks). Conclusions: This study provides some evidence that vaginal administration of progesterone in high-risk women for PTB starting in the second trimester and continued till 34 weeks can lower the PTB and improve the neonatal prognosis, without causing any adverse effect to the neonate.


While individual inventors are key to technological progress, it is becoming increasingly necessary for inventors and their firms to exploit information and capabilities outside the firm in order to combine one's own resources with resources from the external environment. To better understand the collaborative process in inventions, we collected detailed information on a sample of triadic patents, focusing on the invention process, sources of ideas, and collaboration (the RIETI-Georgia Tech inventor survey), with over 1900 responses from the US and over 3600 responses from Japan. Our results suggest that in both countries, just over 10% of inventions involved an external co-inventor and about 30% involved external (non-co-inventor) collaborators (with the rate of collaboration somewhat higher in Japan). Cross-organizational co-inventions increase as firm size declines, especially in Japan. In both countries, vertical collaborations (both co-inventions and other collaborations) with users and suppliers were the most common. The most important knowledge sources were similar in the two countries: patents, customers, publications, and information from other parts of the firm, although their relative rankings varied somewhat. In particular, patent literature is a relatively more important information source in Japan and scientific literature is relatively more important in the US. Since our evidence suggest that inventors see literature globally, such difference does not seem to be driven by the difference of the disclosed literature (for an example, more early patent disclosure in Japan) as suggested by earlier literature but by that of the incentive and capability of the inventors. While in both countries most R&D funding is provided internally, venture capital and government funding play a greater role in the US than in Japan, with venture capital funds especially important for the smallest US firms. On the other hand, industry funding plays a greater role for university researchers' inventions in Japan. There is some evidence that "open innovation" through collaborations enhances not only the technical significance of the invention, but also the probability of its commercialization through, for an example, vertical collaboration facilitating better matches between the needs of customers or the capabilities of suppliers.


Abstract. Further research is needed to reduce the existing uncertainties on the effect that specific aerosol particle sources have on light extinction and consequently on climate. This study presents a new approach that aims to quantify the mass scattering and absorption efficiencies (MSEs and MAEs) of different aerosol sources at urban (Barcelona – BCN), regional (Montseny – MSY) and remote (Montsec – MSA) background sites in the north-western (NW) Mediterranean. An analysis of source apportionment to the measured multi-wavelength light scattering (σsp) and absorption (σap) coefficients was performed by means of a multilinear regression (MLR) model for the periods 2009–2014, 2010–2014 and 2011–2014 at BCN, MSY and MSA respectively. The source contributions to PM10 mass concentration, identified by means of the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, were used as dependent variables in the MLR model. With this approach we addressed both the effect that aerosol sources have on air quality and their potential effect on light extinction through the determination of their MSEs and MAEs. An advantage of the presented approach is that the calculated MSEs and MAEs take into account the internal mixing of atmospheric particles. Seven aerosol sources were identified at MSA and MSY, and eight sources at BCN. Mineral, aged marine, secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate and V-Ni bearing sources were common at the three sites. Traffic, industrial/metallurgy and road dust resuspension sources were isolated at BCN, whereas mixed industrial/traffic and aged organics sources were identified at MSY and MSA. The highest MSEs were observed for secondary sulfate (4.5 and 10.7 m2 g−1, at MSY and MSA), secondary nitrate (8.8 and 7.8 m2 g−1) and V-Ni bearing source (8 and 3.5 m2 g−1). These sources dominated the scattering throughout the year with marked seasonal trends. The V-Ni bearing source, originating mainly from shipping in the area under study, simultaneously contributed to both σsp and σap, being the second most efficient light-absorbing source in BCN (MAE = 0.9 m2 g−1). The traffic source at BCN and the industrial/traffic at MSY exhibited the highest MAEs (1.7 and 0.9 m2 g−1). These sources were major contributors to σap at BCN and MSY; however at MSA, secondary nitrate exerted the highest influence on σap (MAE = 0.4 m2 g−1). The sources which were predominantly composed of fine and relatively dark particles, such as industrial/traffic, aged organics and V-Ni, were simultaneously characterized by low single scattering albedo (SSA) and a high scattering Angstrom exponent (SAE). Conversely, mineral and aged marine showed the lowest SAE and the highest SSA, being scattering the dominant process in the light extinction. The good agreement found between modelled and measured particle optical properties allowed the reconstruction of σsp and σap long-term series over the period 2004–2014 at MSY. Significant decreasing trends were found for the modelled σsp and σap (−4.6 and −4.1 % yr−1).


Given the global trends of rising energy demand and the increasing utilization of low-grade renewable energy, low-temperature heating systems can play key roles in improving building energy efficiency while providing a comfortable indoor environment. To meet the need to retrofit existing buildings in Nordic countries for greater energy efficiency, this study focused on human subjects' thermal sensation, thermal comfort, thermal acceptability, draft acceptability, and perceived air quality when three low-temperature heating systems were used: conventional radiator, ventilation radiator, or floor heating with exhaust ventilation. Human subject tests were carried out in the climate chamber at the Technical University of Denmark. In total, 24 human subjects, 12 females and 12 males, participated in the tests during the winter season. The results show that no significant differences in thermal sensation and thermal comfort between the three heating systems. Ventilation radiator promised a comfortable indoor environment with a decreased water supply temperature and floor heating with exhaust ventilation can provide a basic thermal comfort level. Thermal acceptability and draft acceptability show variations in different heating systems. Gender has significant influences on thermal sensation, draft acceptability, and preference of clo values. Personal thermal preference is observed between males and females. The males prefer to dress lighter than the females, but both can get the same thermal comfort level. It is concluded that low-temperature heating systems using exhaust air ventilation are a potentially solution when buildings are being retrofitted for improved energy efficiency and comfort of the occupants.


The braconid endoparasitoid Microctonus hyperodae was successfully introduced into New Zealand in 1991 to control the exotic pastoral pest Argentine stem weevil (ASW). The wasp parasitises adult ASW and the weevil normally dies only when the fifth-instar parasitoid larva emerges. However, during biocontrol research over the last 20 years, premature mortality of ASW has been observed under conditions of high parasitoid pressure in the field and laboratory. It was hypothesised that this occurs because of injection of venom without an egg. To conclude absence of a parasitoid egg in a prematurely dead weevil, a sensitive method is needed to detect a newly oviposited parasitoid egg. However, this cannot be confirmed by visual observation or by dissection, because fresh tissue is subsequently needed to detect venom. A molecular method was therefore developed. Firstly, to model oviposition, eggs were dissected from the ovaries of an adult parasitoid and one ovarian parasitoid egg was used to spike ASWs that had been dissected to confirm absence of parasitism. Secondly, multiplex-PCR was successful in detecting a single ovarian egg in ASW. This result greatly benefits research into the observed premature mortality of ASW after being exposed to M. hyperodae.


OBJECTIVE: The goal was to determine whether decannulation can be safely achieved in children with persistent oxygen requirements. DESIGN: The study was a prospective evaluation of 12 oxygen-dependent children at a tertiary care academic children's medical center. METHODS: Twelve tracheotomy-dependent children with persistent oxygen requirements were evaluated for decannulation. Patients requiring more than 35% FiO2 were not considered. Direct laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy were performed in all patients. Two required single-stage laryngotracheoplasty to correct subglottic stenosis, 1 required tracheal resection, and 7 required removal of suprastomal granulation tissue. Oxygen was administered after decannulation through a nasal cannula. RESULTS: Decannulation was successful in 92% (11 of 12) of patients. At final follow-up, oxygen requirements decreased in 58% of patients after decannulation. CONCLUSIONS: Decannulation can be successful in children who remain oxygen dependent; conversion to a more physiologic airway may be an adjunct to reducing or eliminating their oxygen demand.


HumanRobot Interaction in Social Robotics explores important issues in designing a robot system that works with people in everyday environments. Edited by leading figures in the field of social robotics, it draws on contributions by researchers working on the Robovie project at the ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, a world leader in humanoid interactive robotics. The book brings together, in one volume, technical and empirical research that was previously scattered throughout the literature. Taking a networked robot approach, the book examines how robots work in cooperation with ubiquitous sensors and people over telecommunication networks. It considers the use of social robots in daily life, grounding the work in field studies conducted at a school, train station, shopping mall, and science museum. Critical in the development of network robots, these usability studies allow researchers to discover real issues that need to be solved and to understand what kinds of services are possible. The book tackles key areas where development is needed, namely, in sensor networks for tracking humans and robots, humanoids that can work in everyday environments, and functions for interacting with people. It introduces a sensor network developed by the authors and discusses innovations in the Robovie humanoid, including several interactive behaviors and design policies. Exploring how humans interact with robots in daily life settings, this book offers valuable insight into how robots may be used in the future. The combination of engineering, empirical, and field studies provides readers with rich information to guide in developing practical interactive robots.


UNLABELLED
Motion perception is determined by changing patterns of neural activation initiated by spatiotemporal changes in stimulus features. These changing stimulus features may serve as input to systems dedicated to processing a specific type of feature, or to systems that flexibly compute motion from a variety of feature types. Spatiotemporally changing luminance detected by motion energy mechanisms is representative of such a dedicated system, while counterchange (oppositely signed changes in neural activation initiated by spatiotemporal changes in any feature) is representative of a flexible motion detection mechanism. Dedicated motion detection computations likely occur earlier in the visual system than more flexible ones, possibly before information from the eyes has been combined, raising the possibility that dedicated motion detection mechanisms may benefit less from dichoptic integration than more flexible mechanisms.

METHOD
Two experiments compared dichoptic and monocular viewing of multistep apparent motion with varying frame durations. The monocular stimulus comprised one of the interleaved halves of the dichoptic stimulus. Experiment 1 utilized Kanizsa squares to create counterchange-based translating motion of an illusory square surface. Experiment 2 created apparent motion by sequentially incrementing the luminance of stationary, explicitly drawn squares.

RESULTS
Luminance-based motion perception was best for shorter frame durations, and counterchange-based motion perception was best for longer frame durations. Perception of motion improved with dichoptic viewing for both stimuli, as compared to monocular viewing.

DISCUSSION
Dedicated (motion energy-based), and flexible (counterchange-based) motion computations may occur at different stages in the visual processing stream, but both benefit from dichoptic integration. Flexible counterchange mechanisms are a likely basis for 3rd order motion perception (Lu & Sperling, 1995), and are well suited for the integration of information distributed to the two eyes. However, such integration is not a definitive indicator of 3rd order motion processing. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


ABSTRACT The 2008 US subprime mortgage crisis demonstrated how developments in real estate markets can cause instability in the banking sector and raised concerns in many emerging economies with significant real estate development and a rapidly growing commercial banking sector, particularly in China. There is clear evidence that commercial banks in China, especially regional commercial banks, have lent significantly to the real estate sector. The recent slowdown in the housing market in China and the increase in nonperforming loans (NPLs) in China's commercial banking sector motivated us to investigate the connection between real estate markets and banking stability. This paper proposes three testable hypotheses linking the growth of investment in real estate and the stability of regional commercial banks in China, measured by NPLs. Our empirical results reveal a close connection between the growth of investment in real estate and the NPLs among regional commercial banks, and its sensitivity to real estate market cycles. When real estate market activity declines, our results suggest, regional commercial banks can find themselves in trouble if they have significant exposure to one type of (real estate) asset. In addition, we find that regional bank competition plays a critical role in defining the relationship between bank stability and real estate investment activity.


Infra-red laser beam shaping has the inherent difficulty that simple ray tracing methods often yield anomalous results, due primarily to the propagation effects at longer wavelengths. Techniques based on diffraction theory have been developed to overcome this, with associated parameters to determine when one approach is needed versus another. In this paper, infra-red (IR) beam shaping by diffractive methods is investigated and compared to refractive methods. Theoretical results on the beam shapers are calculated through a combination of analytical and numerical techniques, and using both ideal and non-ideal inputs. We show that the diffractive optical element (DOE) is remarkably resilient to input errors of wavelength and beam quality, while the refractive shaper is found to be difficult to model. Optical elements based on the two approaches were designed, and then fabricated from ZnSe. A comparison between the fabricated elements and the designed elements is presented, and some of the findings on practical problems in having such elements fabricated are highlighted.


Prediction markets are popular mechanisms for aggregating information about a future event. In situations where market participants may significantly influence the outcome, running the prediction market could change the incentives of participants in the process that creates the outcome. We propose a new game-theoretic model that captures two aspects of real-world prediction markets: (1) agents directly affect the outcome the market is predicting, (2) some outcome-deciders may not participate in the market. We show that this game has two types of equilibria: When some outcome-deciders are unlikely to participate in the market, equilibrium prices reveal expected market outcomes conditional on participants' private information, whereas when all outcome-deciders are likely to participate, equilibria are collusive - agents effectively coordinate in an uninformative and untruthful way.


If you asked the average South African (if there were such an animal) whether we were a predominantly free-market economy or a socialist one, the answer would almost automatically be a nod for the former. However, that would be ignoring the rapid inroads by government and its regulators into almost all aspects of our daily living. There is almost no sphere of human activity were we are not regulated in one way or the other, in many ways far more intrusive and authoritarian than what we voted to change almost 20 years ago.


ABSTRACT This study examined whether the Incredible Years (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) program implemented as a school-wide preventive intervention at 1st to 3rd grade in a regular school setting reduces the development of problem behavior and improves social competence. Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, the IYTCM was implemented in 21 schools and compared with 22 matched schools that did not receive the program. A total of 241 1st to 3rd grade teachers and 1518 students aged 6 to 8 years took part in the trial. Mixed-model analyses found small positive effects on changes in students' social competence (dw = 0.19), while effects on change in students problem behavior were less than small (dw < 0.20). When the program is implemented as school-wide universal preventive intervention, results suggest a small preventive impact of the IYTCM program in regular school settings for some of the outcomes measured in the study.


Permanganate oxidation of farnesoate esters 12a-d afforded perhydro-2,2'-bifuranyl compounds 16a-d, with control of relative stereochemistry at four new stereocenters. Subsequent oxidative cleavage of 16a-d then provided tetrahydrofuran-containing fragments 17a-d, one of them 17b possessing the same relative stereochemistry present in the C13-C21 portion of the polyether antibiotic semduramycin (1). Control of the absolute stereochemistry was achieved through the use of the Oppolzer sultam chiral auxiliary. The requisite starting trienes were prepared stereoselectively in just three steps from geranyl chloride or neryl chloride, providing a short and versatile route to polyether fragments.


The oceanic feeling is a frequent topic of discussion in both creativity research and aesthetics. Characterized by a sensation of self-boundary dissolution, the feeling has been reported to involve experiences of fusion with various objects, including works of art. In this article, I discuss the oceanic feeling in the specific context of painterly creativity. I begin by arguing that the oceanic feeling cannot be classified as an emotion, mood, or bodily feeling, in the established definitions of these terms. I then introduce philosopher Matthew Ratcliffe's theory of existential feelings to help formulate a more accurate view of the oceanic feeling. Specifically, I suggest that oceanic feelings should be classified as shifts in existential feeling. In conclusion, I briefly discuss the implications of my account of the oceanic feeling for the more general pursuits of painterly creativity and artistic selftransformation.


Context. Galaxies either live in a cluster, a group, or in a field environment. In the hierarchical framework, the group environment bridges the field to the cluster environment, as field galaxies form groups before aggregating into clusters. In principle, environmental mechanisms, such as galaxy–galaxy interactions, can be more efficient in groups than in clusters due to lower velocity dispersion, which lead to changes in the properties of galaxies. This change in properties for group galaxies before entering the cluster environment is known as preprocessing. Whilst cluster and field galaxies are well studied, the extent to which galaxies become preprocessed in the group environment is unclear.
Aims. We investigate the structural properties of cluster and group galaxies by studying the Fornax main cluster and the infalling Fornax A group, exploring the effects of galaxy preprocessing in this showcase example. Additionally, we compare the structural complexity of Fornax galaxies to those in the Virgo cluster and in the field.
Methods. Our sample consists of 582 galaxies from the Fornax main cluster and Fornax A group. We quantified the light distributions of each galaxy based on a combination of aperture photometry, Sérsic+PSF (point spread function) and multi-component decompositions, and non-parametric measures of morphology. From these analyses, we derived the galaxy colours, structural parameters, non-parametric morphological indices (Concentration C; Asymmetry A, Clumpiness S; Gini G; second order moment of light M20), and structural complexity based on multi-component decompositions. These quantities were then compared between the Fornax main cluster and Fornax A group. The structural complexity of Fornax galaxies were also compared to those in Virgo and in the field.
Results. We find significant (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test p-value < α = 0.05) differences in the distributions of quantities derived from Sérsic profiles (g′−r′, r′−i′, Re, and μ̄e,r′), and non-parametric indices (A and S) between the Fornax main cluster and Fornax A group. Fornax A group galaxies are typically bluer, smaller, brighter, and more asymmetric and clumpy. Moreover, we find significant cluster-centric trends with r′−i′, Re, and μ̄e,r′, as well as A, S, G, and M20 for galaxies in the Fornax main cluster. This implies that galaxies falling towards the centre of the Fornax main cluster become fainter, more extended, and generally smoother in their light distribution. Conversely, we do not find significant group-centric trends for Fornax A group galaxies. We find the structural complexity of galaxies (in terms of the number of components required to fit a galaxy) to increase as a function of the absolute r′-band magnitude (and stellar mass), with the largest change occurring between −14 mag ≲Mr′ ≲ −19 mag (7.5 ≲ log10(M*/M⊙) ≲ 9.7). This same trend was found in galaxy samples from the Virgo cluster and in the field, which suggests that the formation or maintenance of morphological structures (e.g., bulges, bar) are largely due to the stellar mass of the galaxies, rather than the environment they reside in.


This essay presents coercive municipal amalgamation as one of the most serious threats to local government today. But this is without rational base, as all recent empirical investigations deny a connection between size and efficiency in such cases; theory, likewise, speaks against automatic efficiency gains, as efficiency is task-dependent and thus a function of appropriateness. Then the Estonian case is reviewed, finding that the current, traditional attempts at coercive amalgamation are a typical example of non-rational public-sector reform. Finally, the essay makes the point that matters so fundamental for democracy as municipal autonomy are beyond expert opinion anyway, which necessarily has the habit of changing, but they need to be decided by the citizens involved themselves.


Key Points Since its creation in 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has developed a tradition of making decisions by consensus. This requirement for general agreement among all members on positions or actions taken in the name of NATO has survived serious internal rifts and four rounds of enlargement. Yet influential Americans are asking whether the consensus rule impedes the ability of NATO to make rapid and effective decisions--especially on military operations. Concerns predate the agreement reached in November 2002 on a fifth round of enlargement involving seven Central and East European states, but they have also been fueled by resentment over intra- Alliance divisions related to the war in Iraq. In May 2003, the Senate gave voice to these concerns by asking the Bush administration to raise the possibility of changing the consensus rule and "suspending" a NATO member before the North Atlantic Council. Options exist to facilitate decisionmaking on the planning and conduct of operations that would not fundamentally change the role of consensus, a procedure whose advantages should not be underestimated. However, a judicious balance needs to be found between the desire for efficient military action in response to common threats and the need to ensure that all members have a chance to be heard. Moreover, if the United States were to seek changes, it would face a Catch-22: the consensus rule can only be altered by consensus. ********** It should come as no surprise that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials are fond of citing Mark Twain's retort to doomsayers that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. Having survived many rough tests since its birth, the 54-year-old alliance is still working to recover from a bruising disagreement among its members over the decision by some to oust Saddam Hussein's regime. Its services, however, are still very much in demand: * About 37,000 NATO-led military personnel remain on crisis management duty in the Balkans. * NATO recently launched its first out-of-Europe operation, taking command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. * In July 2003, the Senate voted unanimously to encourage the Bush administration to seek help from NATO in Iraq. * Several prominent Members of Congress and nongovernmental experts have called for a NATO peacekeeping mission between Israelis and Palestinians. But how does NATO make such commitments? Will a large--and enlarging--Alliance be capable of planning and managing potentially complex military operations in the future? Or do the drawbacks of running a "war by committee" (as some have described the 1999 Kosovo air campaign) make NATO an unwieldy instrument for managing modern coalition warfare? All of these questions revolve around the perceived ability of NATO, or lack thereof, to make timely and effective decisions to respond to 21st-century threats in a way that equitably shares the risks and responsibilities of Alliance membership. Consensus: A Primer Although international security affairs cognoscenti often refer to the NATO consensus rule, the North Atlantic Treaty does not specify how collective decisions are to be made, with one exception: the Article 10 provision that "unanimous agreement" is necessary to invite a state to join the Alliance. Absent any explicit voting procedure, NATO has developed a set of customary practices. Most decisions are based on draft proposals circulated to all Allies by the Secretary General, who chairs the North Atlantic Council (NAC), or by the chairperson (always an International Staff [IS] official) of one of the hundreds of NATO committees and working groups. These draft proposals may be initiated by the Secretary General, the IS, or individual Allies. Written proposals generally are preceded by consultations in a variety of forums, including bilateral or multilateral discussions in allied capitals, allied missions at NATO Headquarters, the NAC, and committees and working groups established by the NAC. …