Objective Therapeutic agents that are transformable via introducing cleavable linkage by locally enriched MMP-2 within inflamed synovium would enhance therapeutic efficacy on chronic inflammatory arthritis. Transforming growth factor-β-inducible gene-h3 (βig-h3), which consists of four fas-1 domains and an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif, intensifies inflammatory processes by facilitating adhesion and migration of fibroblast-like synoviocyte in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to investigate whether a MMP-2-cleavable peptide complex consisting of a fas-1 domain and an RGD peptide blocks the interaction between βig-h3 and resident cells and leads to the amelioration of inflammatory arthritis. Methods We designed βig-h3-derivatives, including the fourth fas-1 domain truncated for H1 and H2 sequences of mouse (MFK00) and MMP-2-cleavable peptide complex (MFK902). MMP-2 selectivity was examined by treatment with a series of proteases. MFK902 efficacy was determined by the adhesion and migration assay with NIH3T3 cells in vitro and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model using male DBA/1J mice in vivo. The mice were treated intraperitoneally with MFK902 at different dosages. Results MFK902 was specifically cleaved by active MMP-2 in a concentration-dependent manner, and βig-h3-mediated adhesion and migration were more effectively inhibited by MFK902, compared with RGD or MFK00 peptides. The arthritis activity of murine CIA, measured by clinical arthritis index and incidence of arthritic paws, was significantly ameliorated after treatment with all dosages of MFK902 (1, 10, and 30 mg/kg). MFK902 ameliorated histopathologic deterioration and reduced the expression of inflammatory mediators simultaneously with improvement of clinical features. In addition, a favorable safety profile of MFK902 was demonstrated in vivo. Conclusion The present study revealed that MMP-2-cleavable peptide complex based on βig-h3 structure is a potent and safe therapeutic agent for chronic inflammatory arthritis, thus providing reliable evidence for a MMP-2-cleavable mechanism as a tissue-targeted strategy for treatment of RA.


Future air traffic concepts of operation may couple autoflight functions to ADS-B targets in high traffic density airspace operations. However, selection (and de-selection) of other aircraft raises a host of issues. The selected traffic may then require special designations. The pilot may require assistance with identifying aircraft that subsequently needs to be de-selected. This research examines the required minimum standards for ADS-B applications relative to air traffic procedures, traffic displays, and flight crew interfaces for selection and de-selection of ADS-B targets. Specifically, a Pilot-in-the-Loop experiment looked at `Interval Management' (IM) and `Closely Spaced Parallel Operations' (CSPO) in an integrated flight simulator - air traffic control simulator facility. Pilots needed to de-designate traffic in situations where the other aircraft did not behave as expected, or where it was confusing to identify and enter the correct aircraft. These scenarios were picked to represent potential `gotcha' situations that might pose safety concerns. Results indicate that pilots generally (but not always) caught errors with disruptive IM scenarios, where the target aircraft was immediately ahead on the traffic display, although not always in a timely fashion. Conversely, pilots rarely identified problems with the pre-designation and de-designations targets during the arrival for CSPO operations.


We report the results of a V and Ga nuclear magnetic resonance ~NMR! study of Fe2VGa at temperatures between 4 and 450 K. The presence of magnetic antisite defects is deduced from the NMR linewidth, which displays a Curie-law temperature dependence. The absence of associated NMR shifts indicates the material to be intrinsically nonmagnetic. At low temperatures the NMR spin-lattice relaxation rate exhibits Korringa behavior, indicating a small carrier density at the Fermi level. At elevated temperatures, the Knight shifts and NMR relaxation rates go over to a thermally activated response, a semiconductor-like behavior. These results are consistent with pseudogap features identified by recent band structure calculations. The Fermi level density of states deduced from NMR is considerably smaller than given by the specific heat coefficient, g . The electronic properties are compared to the isostructural semimetal Fe2VAl.


ABSTRACT Aim: A better knowledge of HER family receptor expression in pancreatic cancer (PC) may be useful to find new targets for therapy or predictive markers for response to anti-EGFR treatment. The aims of this study were to investigate expression of HER-1, HER-2 ad HER-3 in PC samples and evaluate the association between HER-family receptors expression and patients clinical outcome. Methods: Tissue samples from 91 PC were subjected to immunohistochemical staining. Semiquantitative scores of zero (no staining or staining in less than 10% of cancer cells), 1 + , 2 + , or 3+ were assigned to each sample based on the intensity of staining for HER receptors. Scores of 2+ or 3+ were defined as positive staining. Results: HER-1 overexpression was observed in 41 out of 91 samples (45.1%) while HER-2 was not overexpressed in the samples analyzed. HER-3 was found to be overexpressed in 37 samples (40.6%) and it was found to be associated with advanced UICC stage. In particular, HER-3 was overexpressed in 11 out of 14 (78.6%) stage IV patients compared to only 33.7% in stage I-III patients (p= 0.004). Among 79 patients with available survival data, the 6 patients with strong HER-3 expression (score 3+) had a shorter survival compared to remaining patients, (median overall survival 6.9 months vs 12.3 months). Conclusions: HER-1 and HER-3 were found to be expressed in a significant proportion of PC patients. HER-3 strong expression represents an indicator of poor prognosis in PC patients being associated with advanced stage and shorter survival. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


The record of metamorphism, deformation, and melting in the North Cascades continental arc provides insights into the timing and mechanisms of extensional unroofing that followed crustal thickening. The Skagit Gneiss (North Cascades) is composed of variably deformed 90–45 Ma tonalitic to granitic intrusive rocks. These lithologies and metasedimentary rocks are migmatitic. Zircon and monazite from different textural varieties of migmatite from three outcrops along an east-west transect were analyzed using the isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) technique. The data reveal two main migmatization pulses: (1) 68–63 Ma and (2) 53–47 Ma. In the westernmost locality, leucosome zircon yields group 1 dates, and mesosome (sillimanite-garnet-biotite gneiss) zircon is as young as 61 Ma. Leucosome zircon in the easternmost outcrop yields only group 2 dates, and biotite gneiss contains 47 Ma zircon. The third outcrop has leucosome dates from both groups: 65 Ma and 53 Ma. Monazite from leucosomes and mesosomes likely records the timing of prograde metamorphism (ca. 69 Ma) and later synkinematic ± fluid-mediated growth (49–46 Ma). These results indicate that partial melting occurred during 71–61 Ma metamorphism and lasted through 46 Ma deformation associated with exhumation. The results and field observations suggest the presence of ductilely deforming crust from 68 to 46 Ma. The similarity between the youngest U-Pb dates in the migmatites and cooling and basin-filling ages suggests a link between ductile and brittle processes over a range of structural levels in the arc, from a zone of crustal melting, flow, and migmatite crystallization to Earth9s surface.


Antibodies to intact rhabditiform and filariform larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis were measured by indirect immunofluorescence using quantitative fluorescence microscopy. Forty-four of 48 sera from infected patients (92 per cent) were positive for IgG antibodies specific for surface antigens of filariform larvae. None of 30 North American adult control sera were positive. All sera from patients with Schistosoma mansoni, Loa loa, or hookworm infections or with idiopathic hypereosinophilia were negative. Three of nine sera from patients with Bancroftian filariasis were weakly positive. Pre- and posttreatment sera from seven patients were tested, and there was a marked decrease in antibody titers in all posttreatment sera. Twelve sera from infected patients were also tested for the presence of IgA and IgM antibodies specific for surface antigens of filariform larvae; all sera were negative for specific IgA, and only one exhibited a weak positivity for specific IgM. Nine of the IgG-positive sera were tested for the presence of IgA and IgG antibodies directed against surface antigens of S. stercoralis rhabditiform larvae. No parasite-specific IgA was detected in any of the sera, but most sera contained small amounts of parasite-specific IgG. We conclude that the majority of patients with chronic uncomplicated strongyloidiasis develop specific IgG antibodies directed against the surface of filariform larvae, the invasive stage of the parasite. such antibodies may be involved in host defenses that prevent fatal hyperinfection in immunocompetent individuals. In addition, our results confirm that the indirect immunofluorescence employing filariform larvae as antigen is a sensitive and specific test that may be a useful adjunct to stool examination in the diagnosis of strongyloidiasis.


Grounded in Self Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan 1985a; 2000), the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the unintentional and pernicious effects of sexual imagery in advertising on life aspirations, situational motivation for consumption, satisfaction with basic needs, state self-esteem and body image (dis)satisfaction while accounting for the mediating effects of the individual differences variables: contingent self-esteem, general causality orientations and sexual liberalism. Results from two laboratory experiments test the hypotheses. Data were collected via a series of quasi-experiments utilizing a 2 x 4 full factorial design; gender served as a 2-level quasi-experimental variable and nudity as a 3-level experimental variable (nude, semi-nude, clothed) with a product-only condition as the control condition. The experimental stimuli comprised 16 advertisements utilizing products relevant to sexual imagery (Vodka, Whiskey, Wrist watches, Jeans and Perfumes). Before exposure to the experimental stimuli, participants were asked to complete the individual differences questionnaires, and after exposure to the experimental stimuli, participants were asked to complete the questionnaire comprising the outcome variables and basic demographic information. The results provide counter-intuitive information about the function of sexual imagery across increasing levels of nudity and across genders. The original hypotheses about the directionality of effects hold only partially. Individuals exhibit mixed results regarding the effects in aspirations (study 1 and study 2), the situational motivation for consumption is not found to differ across conditions (study 1 and 2), state self-esteem and body image (dis)satisfaction show indications compensatory mechanisms but only for study 1. In study 2 sexual imagery impacts the satisfaction with basic needs. Females are more pre-occupied with image, meaningful relationships and health (study 1 and study 2) while men are more preoccupied with fame (study 1). Females also exhibit lower state self-esteem (study 1) and lower body satisfaction (study 1). Taken together the results indicate that the negative effects of sexual imagery can be offset by conscious image processing, autonomous self-determination and other defensive strategies. Finally, differences between advertising conditions of nudity may be susceptible to arousal and mating profile effects.


FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER Hubert Vedrine was an architect of NATO'S Kosovo invasion, but he made his biggest impression on American France-watchers last June in Warsaw. There, at the close of a "democracy summit," he alone refused to sign a final statement, put forward by U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, which set out what she saw as the West's vision for encouraging emerging democracies. It was a toothless, rather anodyne document -- filled with platitudes about promoting a free press and respecting labor rights -- so there wasn't much constructive reason to vote for it. But there wasn't much reason to vote against it, either -- aside from France's anger that, at a time when the rules of the world are being redrafted, the United States gets to do all the redrafting. Vedrine didn't beat around the bush about his motivations. As he said last spring, shortly before the conference, he is intent on a redefinition of French-American relations. The Cold War is over. In negotiations with the United States, F rance must stand up for France. On international panels (as in Warsaw), France's value-added comes from its difference. It must thus move "from a grumpy oui to a respectful non." In turn, France's aggressively confident posture has resuscitated American francophobia, particularly among conservatives. But the vision of France that appears in American business newspapers like the Wall Street Journal --involuted, fixated on its past, an economic archaism, reflexively antiAmerican - is drifting farther and farther from reality. France is up to something bigger. It remains true that France is overregulated by American standards (although it is a considerably freer country in such lifestyle matters as smoking and accommodating pets). The country is still very bureaucratized (despite good-faith efforts by conservative Gaullist president Jacques Chirac to cut red tape). It is still arrogantly insistent on its global stature. But France's claims to that stature are now stronger than they have been for decades. France remains the No. 4 economic power in the world, and in the three years since the election of Socialist Premier Lionel Jospin, it has been transformed from the Sick Man of Europe into the world's healthiest economy -- outside of the United States. Its rate of job creation is the second highest of any western economy (the U.S., again, leads), and its rate of high-tech job creation is tops. Measured by hours on the job, it has the hardest-working labor force in Europe. Its victory in the World Cup in 1998 started a process of national self-esteem-boosting: For Bastille Day this year, the popular weekly Marianne ran an outsized issue listing the dozens of ways in which France was still the world's leading country. Campaigning politicians (not to mention a growing caste of high-tech startup entrepreneurs who give motivation lectures) speak constantly of la France qui gagne ("a France that wins"). And France now leads Europ e formally, holding the European Union's rotating presidency through the end of the year. Most important, France's intellectual and business classes have come together behind a national mission that looks as if it will provide the country with a principle of political organization and even an ideology over the coming decades. All of France's politics is, fairly explicitly, about globalization. Walk through a French bookstore and it seems half the volumes on the bestseller wall have the word mondialisation in the title. The French think dialectically; they carved out an important global role for themselves in the bipolar world of the Cold War. France spent the conflict as a steady American ally, but an exceedingly high-maintenance one, wringing gestures of respect from the West by standing at its leftmost edge and feigning irresolution. To understand what France is thinking now, one must remember how badly the French were punished by the dislocations wrought by the global economy in the past decade, particularly from 1993 to 1997. …


Four Middle-to-Late Miocene barren plutonic complexes that occur between the giant porphyry copper deposits of the central Chilean Andes were selected for U-Pb LA-ICPMS geochronology and Hf-isotope systematics on single zircon grains. Major and trace elements and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope whole rock geochemical studies were undertaken to compare with slightly younger or coeval barren and fertile intrusive rocks between 32° and 34°S. The studied granitoids yield resolvable crystallization ages of 11.3±0.1 Ma (Cerro Meson Alto massif), 10.3±0.2 Ma (La Gloria pluton), 14.9±0.2 Ma/14.9±0.1 Ma (Yerba Loca stock) and 11.2±0.1 Ma/14.7±0.1 Ma (San Francisco Batholith). Major and trace elements discard an adakitic signature as suggested for coeval porphyric intrusions at 32°S, slightly younger mineralized porphyries at Rio Blanco-Los Bronces deposit and other Cenozoic adakites. Volcanic host rocks are less fractionated than the intrusive rock units. The same observation can be made for the unmineralized northern plutons compared to the southern ones. Initial Sr-Nd isotope data show insignificant variation (0.703761-0.704118 and 0.512758- 0.512882), plotting in the mantle array. Trace element enrichment can be explained by addition of subducted-slab fluids and/or terrigenous sediments to the mantle wedge prior to and/or slight crustal input during magma ascent. Zircon grains separated from these barren intrusives share a similar initial eHf-data variation for the younger age group (10-12 Ma; 7.04-9.54) and show a more scattered range for the older one (14-15 Ma; 8.50-15.34); both sets plot between the DM and CHUR evolution lines. There is evidence that magma evolution was slightly distinct through time from older to younger barren magmatism, compared to a few fertile porphyritic rocks from Rio Blanco-Los Bronces porphyry copper deposit. It is suggested that chronological inconsistencies within these complexes might be related to differential shortening across the NE-SW-trending Yeso Valley transfer fault, assumed as coeval, which also explains the local lack of easterly magmatic arc front migration.


Starting from a general understanding that experience of hazards is important in motivating protective response, this paper reports a novel study to understand the relationship between householder experience, understanding and response to two natural hazards – flooding and sea‐level rise – in three contrasting high‐risk areas of England. It presents a generic Individual Understanding and Response Framework (IURF) as a simple but potentially valuable means of comparing hazards and expressing the dynamic processes that appear to heighten or attenuate understanding and drive or constrain responses to specific natural hazards. The IURFs confirm the complexity of factors underlying householder understanding and response. Even in high‐risk areas a lack of recent direct personal experience of flood events serves to attenuate understanding and to constrain motivation to take personal action. For sea‐level rise, as yet a largely 'unknown' hazard in the local context, perceived responsibility to act is transferred to others. Social networks are confirmed as important local sources of information often more important than the official. People evaluate potential protection or mitigation measures in terms of their efficacy, cost and implementation barriers. The paper concludes with discussion of the communication and engagement implications for communities at risk from natural hazards.


Regulation in cyberspace does not consist only of laws issued and enforced by sovereigns. Instead, private parties and standard-setting bodies, employing the technology of online interaction, will increasingly be able to regulate activity, which might potentially upset many of the provisional balances we as a society have struck in areas such as free speech, privacy, and intellectual property. The question then becomes: how do we evaluate this "private" regulation? Are constitutional norms applicable? Answering such questions requires a reinvestigation of legal doctrine and theory concerning the distinction between "state action" (which is generally subject to constitutional constraints) and "private ordering" (which is not). Critics have repeatedly argued that this distinction is incoherent, but courts nevertheless have shown no inclination to rethink the state action doctrine. In addition, most Americans are likely to resist, on an intuitive level, scholarly attempts to erode the distinction between public and private. Therefore, it may be that a different sort of argument is necessary. This article offers one such argument, based on what I call "constitutive constitutionalism." Instead of repeatedly claiming that seemingly private activity is actually public, we could instead focus on the cultural benefits we might derive from using the Constitution to debate fundamental societal values, public or private. Constitutional adjudication can foster constructive societal debate about social and political issues. It can permit courts to perform an educative function by articulating values and constructing narratives that help constitute our national identity. And, constitutional adjudication can create opportunities for courts to operate as deliberative fora in which difficult political issues are addressed. For all of these reasons, we may decide that measuring a broader range of activities against constitutional norms carries significant cultural benefits. Of course, such an argument does not necessarily outweigh the reasons for viewing the scope of the Constitution more narrowly. Nevertheless, before we can truly analyze the costs and benefits of the state action doctrine, we must consider the constitutive cultural value of constitutional adjudication. Such consideration may be particularly important in the context of debating online regulation, because in cyberspace it is perhaps easier to see how private entities can threaten cherished constitutional norms.


The fabrication of lasers in monoclinic double tungstates has advanced from bulk and planar waveguide lasers toward the recent demonstration of channel waveguide lasers in the 1-μm and 2-μm wavelength regions [1-4]. Not only do these lasers provide a footprint reduction and low thresholds, but also appreciable output powers of several hundreds of milliWatts and slope efficiencies up to 71%. A drawback to these lasers is that the mirrors are not integrated, requiring the rather unstable butt-coupling of mirrors. Further integration of the lasers with on-chip mirrors [5] is naturally the next step towards integrated channel waveguide lasers in this material. Co-doped layers with different thulium doping levels of 1.5–8at.% and maximum gadolinium and lutetium doping levels, replacing all yttrium to obtain the maximum index contrast with the pure KYW substrate, are grown by liquid-phase epitaxy at 920–923°C. In this way, a refractive-index contrast of up to ~1.9×10-2 for E||Np (= transverse-magnetic, TM) polarization at 1950 nm is obtained. The layers are lapped and surface-polished to a laser-grade quality with a planar layer thickness of ~3–4.5 μm. Strip-loaded, corrugated silicon-nitride (SixNy) channel waveguides are patterned as follows: a SixNy layer with a thickness of ~400 nm is deposited onto the thulium-co-doped planar layer by PECVD. A 45-nm-thick chromium mask is subsequently sputtered onto the SixNy layer, followed by the deposition of an electron-beam-compatible resist with a thickness of ~180 nm. A corrugated channel waveguide pattern with a width of 20–30 μm, a periodicity of ~500 nm, and a duty cycle of 50% is written into the e-beam resist using a Raith 150TWO e-beam lithographic system. The channels are aligned such that the light propagates along the Ng optical axis. The pattern is developed and etched into the chromium layer by wet etching. Finally, the pattern is transferred into the SixNy layer by etching 400-nm deep using reactive ion etching. Finally, the chromium mask residue is removed. The resulting grated-waveguide structure is shown in Fig. 1. The characterization of the integrated lasers is ongoing and the results will be reported at the conference. In conclusion, SixNy layers have been deposited onto thulium-co-doped double tungstate layers and strip-loaded corrugated channel waveguides have been patterned into them using electron-beam lithography, providing on-chip integrated mirrors in a double tungstate channel waveguide configuration.


In this paper we propose a formal framework for studying privacy in information systems. The proposal follows a two-axes schema where the first axis considers privacy as a taxonomy of rights and the second axis involves the ways an information system stores and manipulates information. We develop a correspondence between the above schema and an associated model of computation. In particular, we propose the \Pcalc, a calculus based on the $\pi$-calculus with groups extended with constructs for reasoning about private data. The privacy requirements of an information system are captured via a privacy policy language. The correspondence between the privacy model and the \Pcalc semantics is established using a type system for the calculus and a satisfiability definition between types and privacy policies. We deploy a type preservation theorem to show that a system respects a policy and it is safe if the typing of the system satisfies the policy. We illustrate our methodology via analysis of two use cases: a privacy-aware scheme for electronic traffic pricing and a privacy-preserving technique for speed-limit enforcement.


Background: Empathy is an important factor in the relationship between the therapist and the patient and leaves positive impacts on the health outcomes. Objectives: To investigate the level of empathy for patients among students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. A sample of 420 students was selected based on stratified sampling method. Jefferson Scale of Empathy was used to measure the level of empathy. Scores in the range of 20-60, 61-100, and 101-140 were regarded as the low, moderate, and high level of empathy, respectively. Data analysis was performed using independent t-test and one-way ANOVA in SPSS-16.. Results: The total score of empathy of students was 103.5±16. The lowest and highest scores in empathy were obtained in dimensions of "standing in the patients shoes" and "compassionate care", respectively. The mean score of empathy for male students (102.15±5.23) was lower than that of females (103.16±2.39). Scores of empathy subscales, except "perspective taking", were higher in female students than male ones. In addition, there was a significant difference between male and female students in terms of the mean score of "perspective taking", "compassionate care", and "standing in the patients shoes". Conclusion: The study findings indicated that the level of empathy for patients among the studied students is moderate and higher. However, given the positive impacts of empathy on treatment outcomes, it is recommended that students level of empathy be further improved through appropriate interventions.


The problems of sharing natural resources (SNR) are constantly growing in their practical importance. The pattern of the distribution of natural resources is highly irregular and the price for natural resource extraction is high. Moreover, due to intensive exploitation, some resources are becoming scarce and others are approaching exhaustion. These problems affect the pattern of resource exploitation in different parts of the world and eventually the strategies for national development. Thus there is stress upon the necessity for defining reasonable proportions of development with due regard for the trade-offs between restricted natural resources and the requirements for growth over time.

One approach to dealing with the SNR problem is based on the direct involvement of men in a model. This enriches the properties of a model considerably and moves it closer to reality. Such an approach to the solution of complex problems is known as gaming or interactive simulation and has been under development for some time. Existing experience with gaming simulation shows its high potentiality as an instrument for studying development strategies in systems with multiple conflicting goals.


Approaches based on local features and descriptors are increasingly used for the task of object recognition due to their robustness with regard to occlusions and geometrical deformations of objects. In this paper we present a local feature based, rotation-invariant Neoperceptron. By extending the weight-sharing properties of convolutional neural networks to orientations, we obtain a neural network that is inherently robust to object rotations, while still being capable to learn optimally discriminant features from training data. The performance of the network is evaluated on a facial expression database and compared to a standard Neoperceptron as well as to the scale invariant feature transform (SIFT), a-state-of-the-art local descriptor. The results confirm the validity of our approach


Abstract. Global monitoring of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is improving our knowledge about the photosynthetic functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. The feasibility of SIF retrievals from spaceborne atmospheric spectrometers has been demonstrated by a number of studies in the last years. In this work, we investigate the potential of the upcoming TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite mission for SIF retrieval. TROPOMI will sample the 675–775 nm spectral window with a spectral resolution of 0.5 nm and a pixel size of 7 km × 7 km. We use an extensive set of simulated TROPOMI data in order to assess the uncertainty of single SIF retrievals and subsequent spatio-temporal composites. Our results illustrate the enormous improvement in SIF monitoring achievable with TROPOMI with respect to comparable spectrometers currently in-flight, such as the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) instrument. We find that TROPOMI can reduce global uncertainties in SIF mapping by more than a factor of 2 with respect to GOME-2, which comes together with an approximately 5-fold improvement in spatial sampling. Finally, we discuss the potential of TROPOMI to map other important vegetation parameters at a global scale with moderate spatial resolution and short revisit time. Those include leaf photosynthetic pigments and proxies for canopy structure, which will complement SIF retrievals for a self-contained description of vegetation condition and functioning.


The article aims to examine how governance frameworks under regulatory and liability rules in the United States and Canada respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by three-dimensional printing (3DP) applications in health. The discussion demonstrates that 3DP applications in health currently fall between regulated and unregulated innovation, given that existing governance frameworks do not sufficiently capture 3DP's unique attributes and potential. In identifying approaches to regulatory intervention in the governance of 3DP innovation, the discussion outlines characteristics of 3DP that lend themselves to a model of innovation governance that would allow pre-emptive regulatory actions for optimal outcomes. Thus, the article advances the position that the state of the technology's development in health applications has matured to such a level that a dedicated regulatory framework is necessary for addressing the uncertainty of risks and for promoting an understanding of the applicability of existing regulatory requirements to guide the flourishing innovation.


Empirical researchers are increasingly faced with rich data sets containing many controls or instrumental variables, making it essential to choose an appropriate approach to variable selection. In this paper, we provide results for valid inference after post- or orthogonal $L_2$-Boosting is used for variable selection. We consider treatment effects after selecting among many control variables and instrumental variable models with potentially many instruments. To achieve this, we establish new results for the rate of convergence of iterated post-$L_2$-Boosting and orthogonal $L_2$-Boosting in a high-dimensional setting similar to Lasso, i.e., under approximate sparsity without assuming the beta-min condition. These results are extended to the 2SLS framework and valid inference is provided for treatment effect analysis. We give extensive simulation results for the proposed methods and compare them with Lasso. In an empirical application, we construct efficient IVs with our proposed methods to estimate the effect of pre-merger overlap of bank branch networks in the US on the post-merger stock returns of the acquirer bank.


This article reviews the experiences, obstacles, and lessons learned from development and deployment of the México Participa e-participation platform as a case study for future platforms, both in Mexico and in transitional democracies with similar sociopolitical characteristics such as pervasive distrust of public institutions and limited civic participation. México Participa was released three months before the June 2015 midterm Mexican presidential election. Although the platform continues to operate, this article focuses on the period leading up to the election. 3,054 participants offered 336 suggestions and provided 14,033 peer-to-peer assessments. A postelection survey highlighted the need for a platform such as México Participa to be continually available to sustain citizen evaluation of government performance and to promote transparency and accountability.


We study the identification problem for Bates stochastic volatility model, which is widely used as the model of a stock in finance. By using the exact simulation method, a particle filter for estimating stochastic volatility and its systems parameters is constructed. Simulation studies for checking the feasibility of the developed scheme are demonstrated.


The aim of this research is to design a collaboratory that is a socio-technical platform to support sharing research data collection instruments in a social science discipline, in particular library and information science. A socio-technical approach to design that includes a literature review, an empirical study and use cases, are used to create specifications for a collaboratory prototype. Future work includes an evaluation of the collaboratory prototype.


We propose and evaluate the task of technology term recognition: a method to extract technology terms at a synchronic level from a corpus of scientific publications. The proposed method is built on the principles of terminology extraction and distributional semantics. It is realized as a regression task in a vector space model. In this method, candidate terms are first extracted from text. Subsequently, using the random indexing technique, the extracted candidate terms are represented as vectors in a Euclidean vector space of reduced dimensionality. These vectors are derived from the frequency of co-occurrences of candidate terms and words in windows of text surrounding candidate terms in the input corpus (context window). The constructed vector space and a set of manually tagged technology terms (reference vectors) in a k-nearest neighbours regression framework is then used to identify terms that signify technology concepts. We examine a number of factors that play roles in the performance of the proposed method, i.e. the configuration of context windows, neighborhood size (k) selection, and reference vector size.


The secrecy problem for security protocols is the problem to decide whether or not a given security protocol has leaky runs. In this paper, the (initial) secrecy problem for bounded protocols with freshness check is shown to be NEXPTIME-complete. Relating the formalism in this paper to the multiset rewriting (MSR) formalism we obtain that the initial secrecy problem for protocols in restricted form, with bounded length messages, bounded existentials, with or without disequality tests, and an intruder with no existentials, is NEXPTIME-complete. If existentials for the intruder are allowed but disequality tests are not allowed, the initial secrecy problem still is NEXPTIME-complete. However, if both existentials for the intruder and disequality tests are allowed and the protocols are not well-founded (and, therefore, not in restricted form), then the problem is undecidable. These results also correct some wrong statements in Durgin et al., JCS 12 (2004), 247-311.


This article highlights Stahl's role as a leading expert on the central biological process of 'genetic recombination' (Stahl, 1987, 1988) during the last six decades as his main research interest, as well as his collaborations in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication, mutagenesis and genetic mapping. Starting with Stahl's PhD thesis (Stahl, 1956) on the genetic recombination of phage T4, and continuing with Stahl's seminal collaboration on the 'Meselson–Stahl experiment' which established how DNA replicates, a discovery for which both Meselson and Stahl remain best known, the article grounds Stahl's various contributions to molecular biology in his institutional legacies at the University of Rochester (PhD 1955), Caltech in the mid- and late 1950s and the University of Oregon at Eugene since 1959. The article further highlights Stahl's role as a foundation member of its Institute of Molecular Biology, his long-term collaboration with his late spouse Mary Morgan Stahl (1934–1996), his mentorship of two generations of students and his current collaboration, as a professor emeritus, with his former PhD student and partner Henriette (Jette) Foss. Stahl's contributions to the history of molecular biology, as both author and editor, are also mentioned.

Keywords:

Stahl;
genetic recombination;
bacterial culture;
DNA replication;
semiconservative replication;
density gradient;
critical (or crucial) experiment;
Meselson;
the M–S experiment;
molecular biology;
phage lambda;
mutagenesis


BACKGROUND
Problems with social functioning are a major area of difficulty for children with autism. Such problems have the potential to exert a negative influence on several aspects of the children's functioning, including their ability to access education. This study looked to examine if a computer-based activity program could improve the social functioning of these children.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Using a pooled subject design, 100 children with autistic spectrum disorder were randomly allocated, controlling where possible for age and gender, to either an intervention or a control group. The children in the intervention group were encouraged to use the Nintendo (Kyoto, Japan) Wii™ and the software package "Mario & Sonic at the Olympics" in addition to their routine school physical education classes over a 9-month period. The control group attended only the routine physical education classes.

RESULTS
After 1 year, analysis of the changes in the scores of teacher-completed measures of social functioning showed that boys in the intervention group had made statistically significant improvement in their functioning when compared with controls. The number of girls in the study was too small for any change to reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS
This type of intervention appears to have potential as a mechanism to produce improvement in the social functioning, at least of boys, as part of a physical education program.


The burning of our diminishing fossil fuel reserves is accompanied by a large anthropogenic CO2 release, which is outpacing nature's CO2 recycling capability, causing significant environmental harm. Much is being done to avert this crisis including more efficient technology for usage, savings and replacing carbon fuels with alternatives whenever feasible. The capture of CO2 followed by sequestration (CCS) into geologic formation or under the seas has also been proposed and in some cases implemented. Carbon capture and recycling (CCR) to fuels and materials is another promising approach. At first, capturing carbon dioxide from concentrated sources such as fossil fuel burning power plants, industrial plants and natural sources might be the most practical. However, the capture of CO2 from the atmosphere is also technically feasible despite its low concentration (∼390 ppm) and presents even some benefits compared to point source CO2 capture. The present article reviews methods developed for the capture of CO2 directly from the air as well as their advantages and drawbacks. While strong bases such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide could be used, their regeneration is energy intensive, requiring high temperatures. Amines either physically or chemically immobilized on solid supports require much lower temperatures for their regeneration and are therefore promising candidates.


Epoxidation of aldrin was studied using highly purified soybean lipoxygenase in the presence of linoleic acid. Dieldrin, the primary stable reaction product, was quantified by electron-capture gas chromatography. The oxidation of aldrin to dieldrin was dependent on the concentration of linoleic acid, aldrin, and enzyme. The epoxidation was linear with time and exhibited a pH optimum of 7.4. The optimal conditions to observe maximum enzyme velocity included the presence of 0.25 mM linoleic acid, 200 microM aldrin, and 20 nM enzyme. Lipoxygenase inhibitors nordihydroguaiaretic acid, phenidone, 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid, and 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid significantly inhibited epoxidation in a dose-dependent manner. Catalytic potential of lipoxygenase as expressed in terms of its turnover numbers was approximately 4.0 nmol/min/nmol of enzyme, and it appears that lipoxygenase is up to 20 times a better catalyst of aldrin epoxidation than cytochrome P-450. These results suggest that lipoxygenase, which is widely distributed in plants and animals, may represent yet another important pathway for epoxidation of aldrin.


Psychological acceptability has been mentioned as a requirement for secure systems for as long as least privilege and fail safe defaults, but until now has been all but ignored in the actual design of secure systems. We place this principle at the center of our design for Adage, an authorization service for distributed applications. We employ usability design techniques to specify and test the features of our authorization language and the corresponding administrative GUI. Our testing results reinforce our initial design center and suggest directions for deployment of our authorization services. A modular architecture allows us to experiment with our design during short term integration, and evolve it for longer term exploration. An RBAC foundation enables coherent design of flexible authorization constraints and queries. We discuss lessons learned from the implementation of this service through a planned deployment in a context that must balance new research in risk management with dependencies on legacy services.


This paper discusses existing problems in protecting rights and interests of land-expropriated farmers during urbanization, such as those farmers failure to obtain benefits from land increment, difficult employment and imperfect social security system. Reasons for losses of farmers' rights and interests mainly include defects in land management and expropriation system, and uncoordinated development of urbanization and industrialization. However, the basic reason is urban and rural dual economic structure. On the basis of these situations, it puts forward solutions to protecting rights and interests of land-expropriated farmers: let land-expropriated farmers share land-increment benefits from land marketization; establish effective employment security system and perfect social security system, to make land-expropriated farmers share supply of public goods equal between rural and urban areas, and realize the inclusive growth balancing urban and rural areas.


Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the impact on dementia caregivers' experienced stress and health status of 2 Internet-based intervention programs. Design and methods: Ninety-one dementia caregivers were given the choice of being involved in either an Internet-based chat support group or an Internet-based video conferencing support group. Pre-post outcome measures focused on distress, health status, social support, and service utilization. Results: In contrast to the Chat Group, the Video Group showed significantly greater improvement in mental health status. Also, for the Video Group, improvements in self-efficacy, neuroticism, and social support were associated with lower stress response to coping with the care recipient's cognitive impairment and decline in function. Implications: The results show that, of 2 Internet-based intervention programs for dementia caregivers, the video conferencing intervention program was more effective in improving mental health status and improvement in personal characteristics were associated with lower caregiver stress response.


For almost 30 years, Rick Doblin has pushed the idea of using the drug MDMA, better known as ecstasy, in psychotherapy. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which he founded, has funded two phase II trials of MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one with encouraging results, and is supporting several others. Doblin and some other scientists believe the drug may help PTSD patients relive their traumas with a therapist in a safe atmosphere without overwhelming emotions. Swiss neurobiologist Franz Vollenweider says Doblin has a political agenda and lacks the expertise or the money to organize a phase III study.


A Non-simulative Algebraic Semantics is defined and its range of applicability is proven to be the K-RACi class of the Features and Fluents framework. The comparative assessment reveals the semantics epistemologically equivalent and ontologically stronger than the Abductive Logic Programming, the Action Description Language A and the PMON entailment. The semantics is shown to be decidable.


ABSTRACT Streptomyces sp. strain NTK 937 is the producer of the benzoxazole antibiotic caboxamycin, which has been shown to exert inhibitory activity against Gram-positive bacteria, cytotoxic activity against several human tumor cell lines, and inhibition of the enzyme phosphodiesterase. In this genome announcement, we present a draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. NTK 937 in which we identified at least 35 putative secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters.


Objective: Lateral skull base tumor resection can lead to many complications, including seizures. The actual cause of such seizures is not well understood. We carried out this retrospective study to help identify predictors of post-lateral skull base tumor resection seizures. Methods: Twenty-eight American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade I-II adult patients, aged 18-62 years who underwent lateral skull base tumor resection were included in this retrospective study. Clinical data were obtained from electronic medical records. Data on of operation time, anesthesia time, end tidal CO2 and use of dexamethasone, mannitol and furosemide were obtained from electronic anesthesia records. MRI signal value of temporal lobe on MRI was determined from preoperative and postoperative MRI images take taking from on the lesion side and from the contralateral side. Data were analysed using the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test or the Chi-square test. Results: Of the 28 subjects in this study, 4 had seizures after surgery, 2 generalized and 2 partial. These 4 subjects were put into a group called S+ and the remaining 24 subjects were put into a group called S-. Comparison of clinical data for members of the two groups showed no significant differences in basic clinical characteristics, aside from preoperative total protein levels, which were significantly lower in the S+ group compared to the S- group (66.50 ± 5.26 vs. 73.42 ± 5.34). Interestingly, operation time and anesthesia time were significantly shorter in the S+ group (3.34 ± 1.67 h and 3.77 ± 1.64 h, respectively) compared to the S- group (6.84 ± 2.60 h and 7.35 ± 2.64 h, respectively). In addition, postoperative MRI signal value on MRI was significantly higher in the S+ group compared to the Sgroup (509.50 ± 24.91 vs. 411.79 ± 72.70). Conclusion: Acute temporal lobe swelling may lead to seizures after lateral skull base surgery, especially after surgeries lasting less than 4 h.


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the market orientation literature from a managerial perspective and to discuss and integrate the implementation lessons that can be drawn from it. Design/methodology/approach - The paper starts with a review of the managerial implications of the market orientation literature. It then provides an overview of nine implementation approaches. It draws on an integrative model of marketing orientation to organize the implementation lessons from the literature into an actionable approach to implementing a market orientation. Findings - The paper finds that the literature offers a rich, yet fragmented, picture of what market orientation is, and how it can be improved. Research limitations/implications - The paper identifies a conceptual gap in the literature between market orientation and customer value generation and offers a model to bridge this gap that can serve as a guide for future theory development and empirical research. Practical implications - The paper identifies four design enablers and three development enablers that can guide managerial action to improve market orientation and offers practitioners a structured way to go about the implementation of a market orientation. Originality/value - Despite significant advances in the development of market orientation theory, there is still a void in the literature with respect to the implementation of a market orientation. This paper is the first to review the market orientation literature from a managerial perspective, to provide an overview of the implementation approaches published to date, and to integrate the managerial implications of the market orientation literature.


In higher eukaryotes, the polypyrimidine-tract (Py-tract) adjacent to the 3' splice site is recognized by several proteins, including the essential splicing factor U2AF65, the splicing regulator Sex-lethal (Sxl), and polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB), whose function is unknown. Iterative in vitro genetic selection was used to show that these proteins have distinct sequence preferences. The uridine-rich degenerate sequences selected by U2AF65 are similar to those present in the diverse array of natural metazoan Py-tracts. In contrast, the Sxl-consensus is a highly specific sequence, which can help explain the ability of Sxl to regulate splicing of transformer pre-mRNA and autoregulate splicing of its own pre-mRNA. The PTB-consensus is not a typical Py-tract; it can be found in certain alternatively spliced pre-mRNAs that undergo negative regulation. Here it is shown that PTB can regulate alternative splicing by selectively repressing 3' splice sites that contain a PTB-binding site.


Laser-based three-dimensional (3D) printing of polymers is a promising technology in fabricating complicated structures for applications in bioengineering, optics and molding. Infrared (IR) laser-assisted thermal curing printing technique offers high controllability by heating up the sample locally. Compared with other techniques like ultraviolet (UV) curing, IR laser-assisted thermal curing avoids yellowing issue, which is a common problem in UV curing. Accurate thermal simulations of the polymer curing processes under the laser heat is crucial to the design and improvement of the printing apparatus. In this work, a multi-physics simulation is carried out to predict the temperature rise and the curing extent profile of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) heated by a periodic, pulsed laser. The simulation incorporates the coupling between the local heating and the curing extent change. The cured spot sizes are provided for the given duty cycle and laser pulse period. The exothermic enthalpy of PDMS during the curing process is also measured to improve the simulation accuracy. The simulation results are validated with experiments using a pulsed 2 μm IR laser. This technique can control the polymer curing to achieve a minimum feature size of ~20 μm. Various patterns are fabricated to demonstrate the flexibility of this technique.


Single planes of Si nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in a SiO2 matrix were synthesized by annealing SiO2/SiO/SiO2 multilayer structures deposited on Si (100) substrates by e-beam evaporation. The dependence of the shape, size, and areal density of Si NCs on the thickness of the initial SiO layer was investigated using atom probe tomography and validated by energy filtered transmission electron microscopy. Three kinds of samples were prepared with SiO layer thicknesses of 4, 6, and 10 nm. The size of Si NCs enlarged with increasing SiO layer thickness. The shape of Si NCs was mainly extended spheroid in all three kinds of samples. In the sample with the 4 nm-thick SiO layer, the Si NCs were more prolate than those in the other two samples. Moreover, many rod-shaped Si NCs appeared in the sample with the 10 nm-thick SiO layer. These rod-shaped Si NCs were found to be connected by small Si NCs. The areal densities of Si NCs were in the order of 1012 NCs per cm2 in all samples.


Subsidies can reduce the cost of fishing operations and enhance revenues that make fishing enterprises more profitable. However, in Malaysia, overcapitalization and excessive fishing capacity leading to the overexploitation of fishery resources. The study obtained information about the type of fishing subsidies that has been given to fishing communities, benefits earned from these subsidies and views on the best possible policy directions for fisheries subsidy that will redirect funds towards promoting sustainable livelihoods and food security. Data collected for the study from three fishing districts of Peninsular Malaysia (Kedah, Perak, and Terengganu) through face to face interview. A total 246 fisher respondents were selected through a random selection process from the list of fishers with the Department of Fisheries. This study used institutional analysis and development model, which is explaining the importance of community factor characteristics (attributes of community) such as fishing communities. The results also showed that subsistence allowance is less effective for the livelihoods of fisher because it makes fisherman more dependent on subsidy. The termination of this allowance will not affect fishermen's livelihoods. However, both A and B boat participants put importance on this monthly allowance as they found it very useful during the crisis time. The results demonstrated that fuel subsidy was the most important item for the fisher as it reduced fishing operation costs. The fuel subsidy has important implication for fisheries resource sustainability. Most fisherman families depend solely on fishing for their livelihood. The government should undertake effective fisheries management to reduce fishing pressure in the sea.


Survival rates for sudden cardiac death treated with external defibrillation are estimated to be up to five times greater compared to cardio-pulmonary resuscitation alone. Computational modeling can be used to investigate the relationship between patch location and defibrillation efficacy. However, credibility of model predictions is unclear. The aims of this paper are to: (1) assess credibility of a commonly used computational approach for predicting impact of patch relocation on defibrillation efficacy; and (2) provide a concrete biomedical example of a model validation study with supporting applicability analysis, to systematically assess the relevance of the validation study for a proposed model context of use (COU). Using an electrostatic heart and torso computational model, simulations were compared against experimental recordings from a swine subject with external patches and multiple body surface and intracardiac recording electrodes. Applicability of this swine validation study to the human COU was assessed using an applicability analysis framework. Knowledge gaps identified by the applicability analysis were addressed using sensitivity analysis. In the swine validation study, quantitative agreement (R2=0.85) was observed between predicted and observed potentials at both surface and intracardiac electrodes using a left-right patch placement. Applicability analysis identified uncertainty in tissue conductivities as one of the main potential sources of unreliability; however, a sensitivity analysis demonstrated that uncertainty in conductivity parameters had relatively little impact on model predictions (less than 10% relative change for two-fold conductivity changes). We believe the results support pursuing human simulations further to evaluate impact of patch relocation.


Dogs were used to elaborate two instrumental reactions – flexing the left or right forepaw respectively to pull a dish of food within reach of its mouth. If both paws were simultaneously fixed to levers, dog was faced with a choice between two reactions. In preliminary trials right paw preference was strong despite equal effectiveness of the left paw in obtaining the food. The aim of the experiment was to alter this right paw preference by forcing the use of the left paw. Each ten training trials were followed by a test with free choice of paws. According to the probabilities PL = 0.8 and PR = 0.2, a random table was used to determine the order of forced use of the right or left paw. In all, 1,000 training trials and 100 tests with free choice were carried out on each of three dogs. According to the training program in every 100 training trials the left paw was made to display the reaction a total 80 times, the right paw, 20 times. Absolute alteration in the preference occurred even though in all trials with free choice both forepaws were equally effective in obtaining food. Thus, use as well as condition of reinforcement is important in instrumental conditioning.


G1P[8] rotaviruses are responsible for the majority of human rotavirus infections worldwide. The effect of universal mass vaccination with rotavirus vaccines on circulating G1P[8] rotaviruses is still poorly understood. Therefore we analyzed the complete genomes of the Rotarix™ vaccine strain, and 70 G1P[8] rotaviruses, detected between 1999 and 2010 in Belgium (36 before and 34 after vaccine introduction) to investigate the impact of rotavirus vaccine introduction on circulating G1P[8] strains. All rotaviruses possessed a complete Wa-like genotype constellation, but frequent intra-genogroup reassortments were observed as well as multiple different cluster constellations circulating in a single season. In addition, identical cluster constellations were found to circulate persistently over multiple seasons. The Rotarix™ vaccine strain possessed a unique cluster constellation that was not present in currently circulating G1P[8] strains. At the nucleotide level, the VP6, VP2 and NSP2 gene segments of Rotarix™ were relatively distantly related to any Belgian G1P[8] strain, but other gene segments of Rotarix™ were found in clusters also containing circulating Belgian strains. At the amino acid level, the genetic distance between Rotarix™ and circulating Belgian strains was considerably lower, except for NSP1. When we compared the Belgian G1P[8] strains collected before and after vaccine introduction a reduction in the proportion of strains that were found in the same cluster as the Rotarix™ vaccine strain was observed for most gene segments. The reduction in the proportion of strains belonging to the same cluster may be the result of the vaccine introduction, although natural fluctuations cannot be ruled out.


With the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) now entering in its seventh year of operation, this report takes stock of the largest multi-sector greenhouse gas trading scheme in the world. It reviews the experiences of the pilot phase from 2005-07, assesses the adjustments introduced in the second phase (2008-12) and looks ahead to the radical changes that will come into effect in the third phase starting in 2013. The assessment is based on a literature review of recently published ex-post analyses and ex-ante studies and draws as well on our own calculations. It investigates the main controversies surrounding the EU ETS, such as its environmental effectiveness, economic rents, windfall profits and fairness, the role of CDM and JI and its impact of on industrial competitiveness. It also evaluates the scheme's ability to promote innovation and low-carbon technology deployment. Finally, the study addresses the fundamental question of whether the ETS has lived up to its promise to "promote reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective and economically efficient manner�?, and if not, what are the prospects of its doing so in the future and what additional changes will be required.


The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii in captive wild animals of the Carnivora and Primates orders and identify the epidemiologic variables involved in its presentation. The study was conducted at the Patronato del Parque de las Leyendas Zoo, Lima, Peru. Blood samples were collected (Carnivora, n=49; Primates, n=52). In addition, samples were collected from 87 urban rodents and 18 domestic cats captured in the zoo. Surveys were done to identify potencial risk factors for each Order. Furthermore, morphometric parameters, estimated age, sex and body weight from rats and age and sex from cats were recorded. Indirect hemaglutination test was used for the diagnosis of T .gondii. Dilutions were prepared from 1:16 to 1:2048, considering positive a titre over 1/16. IgM antibodies were measured by using 2-Mercaptoethanol to determinate acute infections. The associations between the seroprevalence to T. gondii and the variables sex, origin, time in the institution and type of feeding were analyzed by the odds ratio (OR). The seroprevalence of T. gondii in captive mammals of the Carnivora and Primates orders was 87.8 and 80.8% respectively. Significant association (p<0.05) was only found between seroprevalence of T. gondii in primates and the type of feeds, where the omnivore diet had a significant risk factor (OR: 40.9) for the presentation of the infection. The frequency of anti-T. gondii antibodies in rodents (Rattus sp) and cats was 25.3 and 77.8% respectively.


The present work deals with the synthesis, characterization, and fabrication of Si-M-C-based ceramic nanocomposites (M = B and V). These were produced by the thermal transformation of tailor-made single-source-precursors, which were synthesized by the chemical modification of an allyl-hydrido polycarbosilane with suitable precursors (i.e., borane dimethylsulfide, allyl-functionalized carboranes, vanadium acetylacetonate and vanadium oxytriisopropoxide). The typical approach to this synthesis consists of a pyrolytic ceramization of the precursors, which converted into amorphous single-phase SiMC(O)-based materials. They are further subjected to high temperature treatment for phase separation and crystallization processes to furnish SiC-based ceramic nanocomposites.
The preceramic polymer allyl-hydrido polycarbosilane (commercial name SMP-10) and derived SiC-based ceramics were thorougly investigated with respect to cross-linking behavior, polymer-to-ceramic transformation as well as high-temperature phase composition and microstructure. This knowledge served to optimize the processing of the preceramic polymeric precursor to produce dense and crack-free SiC-based monolithic ceramics by pressureless technique. The obtained ceramic monoliths have been shown to exhibits residual porosity of 15-25 vol%, which however can further be reduced by the use of polymer-infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) to about 0.5 vol%.
Boron-containing single-source-precursors were synthesized upon reactions of SMP-10 with borane dimethylsulfide complex (BMS) or with allyl-functionalized carboranes (AFC). In case of BMS-modified SMP-10 (BMS-SiBC), a detailed structural characterization has been done by means of various spectroscopic techniques. The main aspects addressed in case of BMS-modified SMP-10 (BMS-SiBC) are the fate of boron in the prepared SiBC ceramics, which was not been clarified unambiguously so far, and the role of boron in terms of densification of SiC. X-ray diffraction data, corroborated with X-ray photoelectron spectrocopy, Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopic results indicate that in the SiBC ceramic prepared from the BMS-SiBC, boron preferably gets incorporated within the segregated carbon phase. Moreover, it was shown that the incorporation of boron has a positive effect on the densification behavior of SiC; so monolithic SiC ceramics with residual porosity below 5 vol% could be produced with pressureless processing. The SiBC material prepared from the AFC-modified SMP-10 shows a different phase composition, indicating the presence of a boron-rich boron carbide phase, which was not detected in BMS-SiBC. The results shows the crucial effect of the molecular architecture and chemism of the single-source-precursors on the phase composition and consequently properties of the resulting ceramic materials.
Vanadium-containing single-source-precursors were obtained upon chemical modification of SMP-10 with vanadyl acetylacetonate or vanadium oxytriisopropoxide. High temperature treatment of the resulting single-source-precursors in argon atmosphere initially led to an amorphous single-phase ceramic (SiVCO) which was then converts into ceramic nanocomposites consisting of a non-stoichiometric vanadium carbide phase (V8C7) finely dispersed in a polycrystalline β-SiC matrix. In this context, the first investigation was carried out on biomorphic and the template-assisted processing of single-source-precursor to form porous monolithic samples. In addition, preliminary results of the catalytic activity of SiVC(O) show that the nanocomposites are active for the decomposition of the ammonia. The maximum ammonia conversion efficiency was found to be 35 % at around 650 oC which is higher than that of pure V8C7 reported in the literature (13 %).
The results of this study show that the processing of ceramics starting from suitable preceramic polymer is a versatile technique for the production of SiC-based ceramic nanocomposites with tailored phase composition, microstructure, and property profiles. Moreover, the single-source-precursor technique used for the preparation of ceramic nanocomposites allows flexibility with respect to processing. Thus it is possible, starting from preceramic precursors to prepare ceramic powder, crack-free and dense monoliths as well as materials/components with tailored porosity which can be used flexibly for different applications.


Saturated lipids increase inflammation in white adipose tissue through effects on gut microbiota. White adipose tissue (WAT) inflammation and metabolic diseases are associated with diets rich in saturated fatty acids, and host dietary composition affects the gut microbiota. Caesar et al. investigated whether WAT inflammation was mediated by the gut microbiota in response to the type of lipids in the diet. Mice were fed isocaloric diets that were based either on lard (a source of saturated lipids) or fish oil (a source of polyunsaturated lipids). After 11 weeks, the lard-fed mice gained more weight and had higher fasting insulin and glucose concentrations than mice fed a fish oil–based diet. Cell lines expressing Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) or TLR4, which respond to microbial products, showed increased activation when exposed to serum from lard-fed mice compared with serum from fish oil–fed mice. Lard-fed mice lacking the TLR adaptor protein MyD88 (MyD88–/– mice) gained less weight and had smaller adipocytes compared with lard-fed wild-type mice. Immune cell infiltration of the WAT was reduced in lard-fed MyD88–/– mice or those lacking the TLR adaptor protein TRIF (Trif–/– mice) compared with lard-fed wild-type mice. Principal component analysis (PCA) of data from 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene (which are a component of prokaryote ribosomes and can be used to reconstruct phylogenies) in cecal contents revealed that the phylogenetic diversity of the gut microbiota of the lard-fed mice was decreased compared with that of the fish oil–fed mice. In addition, conventionally raised mice gained more weight than germ-free mice, whether on the lard or fish oil diet. Antibiotic-treated mice that received transplanted microbiota from fish oil–fed mice gained less weight when subsequently fed a lard-based diet compared with mice that received microbiota from lard-fed mice. In the WAT of lard-fed mice, the expression of Ccl2 (which encodes a chemokine that attracts macrophages) was greater in mice that were conventionally raised than in germ-free mice and in wild-type mice than in MyD88–/– or Trif–/– mice. Adipocytes and macrophages exposed to serum from lard-fed, conventionally raised mice showed increased expression of the gene encoding the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor–α, suggesting that factors in the blood of lard-fed mice stimulated an inflammatory response. Last, germ-free mice that were conventionalized and treated with a CCL2 inhibitor had decreased infiltration of immune cells in WAT compared with WAT from control mice. Thus, this study suggests that an interaction between gut microbiota and lipids in the diet increases WAT inflammation. R. Caesar, V. Tremaroli, P. Kovatcheva-Datchary, P. D. Cani, F. Bäckhed, Crosstalk between gut microbiota and dietary lipids aggravates WAT inflammation through TLR signaling. Cell Metab. 22, 658–668 (2015). [PubMed]


This paper presents the experimental results obtained throughout the outdoor testing of a sensory tracking system specifically designed as part of a training tool for improving the utilisation of hand-held detectors. The proposed system is able to acquire information in two different scenarios: when the expert's skills are studied in order to quantify some critical performance variables and when the deminers' performance is evaluated during the close- in-detection training tasks, in order to give the operator significant feedback for improving their competences. Additionally to previously studied variables such as the safety distance to advance the detector search-head on each sweep, the sweep velocity, the scan height, the inclination of the hand-held detector head with respect to the ground and the coverage area, a special emphasis related to the geo-referencing of the hand-held detector head in real-time is provided.


Terahertz light is electromagnetic radiation, similar to visible light. The photons that the terahertz light is comprised of carry a much smaller amount of energy compared to the visible light photons. Unlike visible light, terahertz light can pass through materials like plastic, cardboards, wood etc.; a very useful property which enables it to replace harmful X-rays in many security applications. However, it is not possible to see the terahertz photons with our naked eyes, and it requires special detectors to observe them. A lot of attention has been drawn to terahertz radiation recently because of its potential use in various applications in national security (as mentioned before), and in the biomedical and the semiconductor industries. Essential to any terahertz device is a suitable terahertz source. There are different methods to generate this type of radiation. After the advent of ultrafast lasers, an optical technique was developed which became very popular afterwards. In very simple terms, this technique can be considered as producing an extremely quick disturbance in a suitable material using an extremely quick flash of laser light. Here the phrase `extremely quick' refers to femtosecond time scales where one femtosecond is one millionth of one billionth of a second. The quick electromagnetic disturbance can lead to the emission of a pulse of electromagnetic radiation of a different frequency: terahertz light. Certainly, this process depends on the material in which the disturbance is created, which we will see in a bit more detail below. It is this method of terahertz generation we focus on in this thesis. Let us now have a closer look at this. Only certain materials have this property of converting a flash of laser light efficiently into a flash of terahertz light, for example, some semiconductors. What type of a disturbance can a flash of laser light, (a laser pulse), create in such a material? In the case of semiconductors, the incident light pulse can lead to the excitation of mobile conduction electrons by providing them with the required energy. The semiconductor becomes momentarily a conductor. If it was initially kept under an external voltage bias, a momentary current is thus induced by the light pulse. A time-varying current can act as a source of electromagnetic waves. The emitted flash of light in this case is a terahertz pulse. Similar momentary disturbances can also be produced in certain nonlinear crystals without really exciting electrons from their bound states, but by causing an ultrafast displacement of the bound charges. In both these cases, the emitted light pulse carries information about the material's response to the femtosecond flash of light, which in fact is information about the material per se. For example, we see that the illumination of graphite with femtosecond laser pulses results in the emission of terahertz light pulses. The properties of the emitted terahertz pulse are suggestive of a transient photocurrent produced in the material. Graphite consists of stacks of atomic planes of carbon which are loosely attached to each other. Electric conductivity along a direction perpendicular to these planes is known to be very low as in this case electrons have to jump from one plane to the other. However, in our experiments the emitted terahertz pulses indicate a resultant photocurrent flowing in that direction. Oxidized copper surfaces are known to act as a semiconductor-diode. A semiconductor diode is a device which restricts the electric current to flow through it in only one direction. In the case of oxidized copper surfaces, this is possible by a potential barrier formed at the interface between copper and cuprous oxide. When a femtosecond light pulse excites electrons at such an interface, and frees electrons in it, a quick pulse of current flows across the interface. This transient current emits a terahertz pulse. The same idea can also be applied to different other semiconductor-metal interfaces. We have shown that terahertz pulses can be produced by exciting thin films of germanium and silicon deposited on a gold substrate. If the thin films of these semiconductors prepared on a glass substrate are illuminated with femtosecond light pulses, the emitted terahertz pulses are very feeble. When the thin films of the semiconductors are on a gold substrate, a surprising enhancement of the generated terahertz light from such thin films is observed. The later part of the thesis concentrates on the different possible ways in which the gold substrate can contribute to the enhancement of terahertz radiation from thin films. When coherent laser light is incident on an extremely thin film of a semiconductor material deposited on a metal surface, light reflected from the top and the bottom of the film can result in a complete or partial reduction of the reflected light. It is equivalent to trapping the light inside the film, which leads to enhanced absorption in the thin film. This is sometimes called `coherent optical absorption'. Very strong absorption of the pump light can be achieved in thin films as compared to bulk materials, as a result of this. When light is strongly absorbed by the semiconductor, more electrons will be freed and a stronger transient current can be produced which can result in a stronger terahertz emission. This leads to the counter-intuitive result that less material emits more terahertz light. The concentration of laser light inside the terahertz generation material can also be done by making use of surface plasmon excitation. Surface plasmons are light waves bound to the interface between a metal and a dielectric. In our case, since the terahertz generation takes place at the interface between a metal and a semiconductor, surface plasmons can play a role in the process. As surface plasmons are bound to the interface, they can enhance the local intensity of the pump light at the interface where the generation of terahertz radiation takes place. Using this method, we demonstrate the enhancement of terahertz emission from a layer as thin as a single molecular layer of a nonlinear optical material called hemicyanine. We also go on to show that enhanced terahertz emission can be achieved from semiconductors deposited on a nanostructured metal surface, where again surface plasmons are excited. Concentration of the laser light intensity using plasmonics also leads to terahertz emission from the metal surfaces itself, i.e., without any semiconductor on top. In short, this thesis discusses the possibilities of terahertz generation from ultrathin semiconductor layers, metals and their interfaces, and on different optical techniques to enhance the terahertz emission. These techniques not only help in the study of the properties of ultrathin layers of materials, but can also help in miniaturizing terahertz sources for various applications.


Given $\eta \in [0, 1]$, a colouring $C$ of $V(G)$ is an $\eta$-majority colouring if at most $\eta d^+(v)$ out-neighbours of $v$ have colour $C(v)$, for any $v \in V(G)$. We show that every digraph $G$ equipped with an assignment of lists $L$, each of size at least $k$, has a $2/k$-majority $L$-colouring. For even $k$ this is best possible, while for odd $k$ the constant $2/k$ cannot be replaced by any number less than $2/(k+1)$. This generalizes a result of Anholcer, Bosek and Grytczuk, who proved the cases $k=3$ and $k=4$ and claim a weaker result for general $k$.


Tanning in the newly emerged fly is induced by a hormone secreted by neurosecretory cells situated in the pars intercerebralis of the brain. The same hormone is contained in the compound ganglion of the thorax, in concentrations six times as high as in the brain. This hormone is believed to act directly on the eflector organ, and not through the secretion of ecdyson or a corpus allatum hormone; its release is effected through nervous impulses reaching the brain by way of the ventral nervous system a few minutes after the fly has emerged from the puparium. The hormone appears to be different from both the prothoraco-tropic and the gonadotropic hormones.


This paper highlights the economic challenges that would be associated with a successful effort by industrial countries to meet the goal of devoting 0.7 percent of their GNP to official development assistance (ODA) to help poor countries. To help achieve the Millennium Development Goals, enhanced ODA must be as productive as possible. In weighing the distribution of aid among countries, it is necessary to limit potentially adverse 'real transfer effects'. A multi-pronged approach to ODA is recommended that includes the use of trust funds and the financing of global public goods, in addition to direct bilateral transfers.


Some predominantly marine fish families include a small proportion of species that are obligate freshwater inhabitants, and there is accumulating evidence for obligate freshwater species within the family Muraenidae. Whether the muraenid Gymnothorax polyuranodon (Bleeker, 1854) can survive, grow and coexist over an extended period in captive freshwater conditions was tested following repeated observations of this species in freshwater streams of the Australian Wet Tropics. Changes in the body size of four individuals held in a 1200 litre freshwater aquarium revealed that yearly growth ranged from a minimum of 21.0cm total length (TL) and 2.4 times body mass to 26.5 cm TL and 3.9 times body mass. Maximum daily ration of individuals (fed worms, prawns and fish) ranged from 3.4% to 3.9% of body mass. Individuals coexisted peacefully, with only brief bouts of intraspecific aggression that included biting. While the full life cycle of G. polyuranodon remains unresolved, the current study reinforces field observations and microchemistry insights indicating that this species can occupy and grow in freshwater ecosystems, and points toward the likelihood that the species probably plays an important and previously unrecognised mesopredatory role.


The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was established in 1993 in order to follow up the commitments made by member states at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. As the CSD has recieved increasing criticism for its lack of effectiveness, a main objective for this study will be to evaluate what the Commission has accomplished during its first ten-year period. Furthermore, this report aims to describe and explain the mechanisms that affect the work of the CSD, in order to understand how it would be possible to enhance the potential for effectiveness. The first part of the analysis concentrates on evaluating and determining the degree of the CSD's accomplishments by comparing them to the CSD's mandate. Based on the perspectives of 'distribution of capabilities', 'institutional design' and 'entrepreneurial leadership', I evaluate which mechanisms explain the degree of the CSD's performances in the second part. I conclude that the CSD has achieved some results in monitoring the process and promoting dialogue, due to the role of the secretariat and nonstate actors. However, the member states' positions and interests have had a major impact on the low degree of accomplishments in the area of policy guidance.


Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) (Heterodera glycines) commonly infests soybean (Glycine max), but has also been reported to infest haricot bean, mung bean, adzuki bean, some species of Lespedeza and Melilotus (3), purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum), henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), and shepherd's-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) (4). During 2009 to 2011, a survey for plant parasitic nematodes on tobacco was made in Xuchang, Henan Province, central China. Thirty six percent of 50 tobacco fields showed yellowing symptoms, and females and cysts of cyst-forming nematode were observed in the yellowing tobacco roots. The cysts were characterized by a lemon shape, with posterior protuberance, ambifenestrate, bullae, and underbridge present. The key morphometrics of cysts were fenestra length (38 to 44 μm) and width (34 to 40 μm), vulval silt (41 to 50 μm), and underbridge length (73 to 99 μm), all of which were similar to SCN (1). DNA was extracted by putting a single cracked cyst collected from the tobacco root to a 0.2-ml Eppendorf tube containing 10 μl double distilled water, 8 μl 10 × PCR Buffer (Mg-), and 2 μl of proteinase K (600 μg/ml) and frozen at -70°C for 30 min, then incubated at 65°C for 1 h and at 95°C for 10 min. After centrifugation at 12,000 rpm for 2 min, the DNA suspension was used for PCR amplification. Primers TW81 (5'-GTTTCCGTAGGTGAACCTGC-3') and AB28 (5'-ATATGCTTAAGTTCAGCGGGT-3') were used to amplify the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and a PCR fragment of 1,030 bp was obtained. The sequence (GenBank Accession No. JX561139) showed 99% similarity to H. glycines strain Hg1-Ark1 (EF611124). Duplex PCR containing the universal primers D2A (5'-ACAAGTACCGTGAGGGAAAGTTG-3'), D3B (5'-TCGGAAGGAACCAGCTACTA-3') and SCAR primers SCNFI (5'-GGACCCTGACCAAAAAGTTTCCGC-3'), SCNRI (5'-GGACCCTGACGAGTTATGGGCCCG-3'), obtained a 477-bp fragment, which is specific for SCN populations (2). Based on both morphological and molecular identification, the populations of cyst-forming nematodes on tobacco from Henan, China were confirmed as SCN. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on 30 each of 50-day-old tobacco and 5-day-old soybean plants (one plant per pot), respectively, by adding 2 ml of a suspension of 1,000 eggs and J2 of cysts collected from tobacco roots. After 35 days, 20 to 35 white females could be detected in each of the tobacco roots, and the yellowing symptom on almost all of tobacco plants was observed. Although infection on soybean plants was observed, the nematodes infected in roots was just 10 to 20 per pot, and they all stayed in the infective J2 stage. Except for one J3 until 48 dpi, no mature females could be found, and the nematode population could not reproduce on soybean tested. This suggests that the cyst nematode population from tobacco is a new pathotype of SCN. To our knowledge, this is the first report of SCN parasitized on tobacco in naturally infected fields, which is a potential threat to tobacco growth and should attract worldwide attention. References: (1) R. H. Mulvey. Can. J. Zool. 50:1277, 1972. (2) S. Ou et al. Nematology 10:397, 2008. (3) R. D. Riggs. In: Biology and Management of the Soybean Cyst Nematode, p. 107-114, 1992. (4) R. Venkatesh et al. Weed Technol. 14:156, 2000.


The search for consensual, effective and meaningful agreements over the purposes, means and outcomes of quality assurance continues to tax the inventiveness (and at times, patience) of academics, administrators and other stakeholders in many institutions of higher education, educational systems and quality assurance agencies. Studies into several systems reveal that there are significant differences of opinion between key stakeholders, particularly about the effectiveness, appropriateness and insightfulness of operating schemes and new proposals. Yet internal and external monitors of quality assurance claim that progress is being made, quality assured, even enhanced, albeit whilst simultaneously identifying weaknesses and gaps which need to be addressed. One pivotal aspect surrounds the ways in which both departments/programmes within institutions and institutions as a whole in responding to external agencies position themselves in the handling of quality assurance. The array of responses is complex, multi-stranded and often evolutionary; however, the relative weighting of two components, strategy and tactics, appears to be highly influential. Predominately tactical responses, it is argued, may succeed, in terms of the outcomes of external evaluations of quality assurance but are unlikely to build either an institutional or system-wide culture of quality assurance and continuous improvement. The evidence that has been gained over the past decade of quality assurance in higher education points to the centrality of strategy over tactics, and within the former, to the need to align leadership with ownership, and internal cultures with quality cultures.


Recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning have bolstered the predictive power of data analytics. Research tools based on these developments will soon be commonplace. For the past two years, the three of us have been working on a project called Blue J Legal. We started with a view to understanding how machine learning techniques can be used to better predict legal outcomes. In this paper, we report on our experiences so far. The paper is set out in four parts. In Part 1, we discuss the importance of prediction. In many fields, humans are outperformed by mechanical and algorithmic prediction. We explore this phenomenon and conclude that the legal field is no different. In Part 2, we discuss recent advances in machine learning that have generated powerful tools for prediction. These new methods outperform traditional statistical techniques in predicting outcomes. In Part 3, we describe the Blue J Legal project. We discuss how Blue J Legal is using these machine learning technologies to provide predictions in grey areas of tax law. We provide a number of examples to illustrate the strength of these predictions. In part 4, we discuss the broader possibilities for technologies such as those powering Blue J Legal. We foresee a world where information about legal rights and responsibilities is more affordable; where the informational asymmetries that lead to wasteful expenditure on litigation is reduced; and where regulators use these tools to create a more effective and efficient administration of government. A final section concludes.


This paper presents an application of satellite remote sensing techniques to detect and to analyze the spatial changes as well as quantify the shoreline change in Rokan estuary, Riau Province, Indonesia. Coastal zone of Rokan estuary, a place through which Rokan River flows into Malacca Strait is dynamically changed because of the hydrodynamic nature and high sediment transport in downstream of Rokan River. By integrating modern techniques of remote sensing and GIS (Geographic Information System), the rates of shoreline change would be easily and quickly determined for a regional area. Landsat satellite images were used with a combination of histogram thresholding and band ratio method for shoreline change detection for last 14 years from 2000 to 2014. The shoreline data then were adjusted for serving as an input for GIS tool to estimate the erosion and deposition rates. The statistical method called as LRR (Linear Regression Rate) in DSAS (Digital Shoreline Analysis System) was used in this study. The results of this study present shoreline changes map of Rokan estuary for last 14 years. Quantitatively, the shoreline of Rokan estuary is dynamically changed over a time because accretion rate is very high. The accretion rates in Halang, Barkey, and Serusai Island within 14 years are 67 m/yr, 53 m/yr, and 114 m/yr respectively.This occurs because


Honey bee populations have been fluctuating within recent years. No one cause has been attributed to colony fluctuations due to the theory that multiple stressors interact with one another to impact colony health. Consequently, microorganisms such as internal parasites of honey bees have been understudied as a contributor to colony health decline. Molecular diagnostics were utilized to detect the presence of two honey bee trypanosome parasites, Crithidia mellificae and Lotmaria passim, in managed and feral honey bee populations from eight states in the United States (USA). Because studies on trypanosome infections are lacking in the USA, it is important to know how frequently honey bee colonies are infected and if management techniques are impacting colony susceptibility to trypanosome infections. This is the first national survey for honey bee trypanosomes in the USA. This study confirmed that L. passim is present in the USA, but C. mellificae was not observed from the sampled colonies. From the 1,360 honey bee colonies that were screened, 11% were infected with L. passim. New York samples had the highest infection rate and Utah samples had the lowest. One state from the survey (Mississippi) did not have any samples positive for L. passim. The proportion of samples positive for L. passim was significantly different between managed and feral honey bee colonies. Results from this study revealed that L. passim has a widespread distribution in the USA and should be monitored as a contributor to honey bee health decline. Subsequent analyses were performed on the data set to understand trypanosome infections between two honey bee subspecies, co-infection with a fungal pathogen, seasonality in the USA, and if queen breeding facilities are distributing trypanosomes in the USA. This research demonstrates the importance of learning more about internal parasites because it is unknown to what extent internal parasites impact honey bee health. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how internal parasites impact honey bees. Further research should be conducted to observe how trypanosomes are spread in the environment and what type of preventative measures should be taken to ensure colonies remain healthy.


Recent geographical studies of music (e.g., Anderson, 2002; Wood et al., 2007) suggest their potential to contribute to critical utopian thinking. This study offers a preliminary examination of musical utopianism, focusing in particular on its contribution to several questions provoked by the emerging dialogue between urban spatial theory and artistic cultural practice (Pinder, 2008). Drawing insights from philosophy, musicology, sociology, geography, and urban studies, this theoretical investigation centers on how music creates imagined spaces and whether these spaces might be considered utopian. Following a discussion of black music's distinctive engagement with utopia and the city, the Chicago-based work of the composer and bandleader Sun Ra is examined as a complex, experimental exploration of musical utopia in a post-utopian age.


Most mental health problems are formally identified according to an assessment of clinical symptoms, rather than by taking blood tests, scans, etc. As such, particular care in arriving at a diagnosis is required if these or similar symptoms can to some extent occur in the general population. Such symptoms may of course be influenced by societal factors, which would be less likely with physical health problems and it is probably safe to say that we have now reached a consensus that genes, personal circumstances and the environment each play a part in the manifestation of most psychiatric disorders. Stephen Hinshaw and Richard Scheffler in The ADHD Explosion focus on the contentious issues surrounding this particular condition, particularly those to do with recognition and treatment. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is clearly a controversial concept and this book does not shy away from the controversy. It is written by a psychologist (Hinshaw) and an economist (Scheffler) – on the face of it very different disciplines, but it can be argued that they are closer than we might think (Rabin, 1998). Although the debate about the existence, nature and treatment of ADHD can polarise people, this book does state as an intention its desire to strike a balance. However, even in the early pages it is apparent that much of the material will be contested. A major theme running through the book is the extent to which ADHD has been noticed because of the education system leading "children ... to attend school and perform tasks that human brains and minds never evolved to do, like learning to read". Whether engaging in formal education flies in the face of evolutionary progress and thereby results in the emergence of attention problems is certainly a hypothesis worthy of testing and a key question is therefore whether this book goes on to achieve that. The book is accessible and nicely presented with a mixture of case studies and empirical data. It does not claim to show whether ADHD is indeed a 'real' problem – by default it assumes it is and also suggests that it causes clear personal and societal suffering. There is a hint at the outset that the book will address issues such as whether treatment for ADHD could be rolled out to the wider population in order to enhance well-being. Such an extension of treatment is of course controversial, particularly as the mainstay one is the use of stimulants. There are parallels elsewhere, for example,


Introduction. Part I: Getting into the Swing of Things. Chapter 1: Swing Trading from A to Z. Chapter 2: Understanding the Swing Trader's Two Main Strategies. Chapter 3: Getting Started with Administrative Tasks. Part II: Determining Your Entry and Exit Points: Technical Analysis. Chapter 4: Charting the Market. Chapter 5: Asking Technical Indicators for Directions. Chapter 6: Analyzing Charts to Trade Trends, Ranges, or Both. Part III: Digging Deeper into the Market: Fundamental Analysis. Chapter 7: Understanding a Company, Inside and Out. Chapter 8: Finding Companies Based on Their Fundamentals. Chapter 9: Six Tried-and-True Steps for Analyzing a Company's Stock. Part IV: Developing and Implementing Your Trading Plan. Chapter 10: Strengthening Your Defense: Managing Risk. Chapter 11: Fine-Tuning Your Entries and Exits. Chapter 12: Walking through a Trade, Swing-Style. Chapter 13: Evaluating Your Performance. Part V: The Part of Tens. Chapter 14: Ten Simple Rules for Swing Trading. Chapter 15: Ten Deadly Sins of Swing Trading. Appendix: Resources. Index.


Abstract - Demographic-economic interrelationships have been broadly examined in the literature from a macro perspective using mostly cross-country panel regressions. A limited strand of literature has emphasized the need to examine the demographic-economic dynamics in a reversed way; inspect dual-causality relation between demographic and economic factors. In this paper, I examine the effect of changes in income distribution and fertility behavior on the speed of demographic transition. I moreover examine the reverse relation by testing effect of changed household structure on income distribution and income disparities in Egypt. Empirical results show that wealth redistribution in Egypt and moving up to higher wealth quintiles did not have a significant effect on decreasing child dependency. Moreover, results also indicate that demographic transition process and the decline in dependency levels that took place since the nineties of the past century didn't have a significant effect on income disparities in Egypt. The results affirm my previous empirical findings with Nassar et al. (2016); that the dominant effect that has led to changes in child dependency in Egypt was rather the modification in fertility behaviors within wealth groups than the changes in socioeconomic factors.