Attention amplifies neural responses within areas coding for goal-relevant information and also strengthens the coupling between these areas. This modulation has been found repeatedly in ventral visual cortex and linked to the behavioral effects of attention on perception. However, attention also has a powerful effect on learning and memory behavior, suggesting that such modulation may impact the medial temporal lobe (MTL) memory system. Here we investigated this possibility by examining how visual input into the MTL gets prioritized based on top-down attentional goals. In particular, we focused on two cortical structures, perirhinal cortex (PRC) and parahippocampal cortex (PHC), which project to the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus. These regions are thought to belong to different pathways, with PRC involved in face and object processing and PHC involved in scene and spatial processing. However, in addition to these static networks, we hypothesized that these regions would dynamically couple with ventral visual cortex depending on whether attention is directed to their preferred content - that is, visual cortex would be more coupled with PRC when attending to faces and with PHC when attending to scenes. To test this prediction, subjects were exposed to blocks of composite images containing both face and scene information, but attended to only one category. We measured background connectivity between PRC, PHC, and ventral visual cortex separately during the face and scene attentional states. Region-of-interest and voxelwise analyses revealed an interaction consistent with our prediction, with visual cortex coupling relatively more with PRC during face attention and PHC during scene attention. Interestingly, the degree to which attention modulated a voxel's connectivity was negatively correlated with the voxel's category selectivity - voxels with mixed selectivity had the most malleable connectivity. These findings suggest that attention determines which MTL structures receive the most input from ventral visual cortex. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


The effect of root reinforcement depends on the morphological characteristics of the root system, the tensile strength of individual roots, the soil-root cohesive strength, and the distribution of the root system in the soil. This research looks into Sasumua Backslope in Kenya, where a great deal of erosion is responsible for large soil losses. Shallow mass movements are evident throughout the slope. Root reinforcement effect of nine typical species was assessed, using Wu et al . (1979) model. The plant species comprised of shrubs ( Atriplex halimus ), grasses ( Pennisetum clandistenum and Themeda triandra ), and tree ferns ( Asparagus species ). Physical counting of roots per depth class was conducted to obtain root area ratio (RAR) values of the individual species. For each species, single root specimens were sampled and tested for tensile tests in the laboratory using the Hounsfield Tensometer apparatus. Maximum RAR values were located within 0.1 m for all the species, with maximum rooting depth of 0.7 m for fern tree. Shrubs species showed high RAR values between 0.1 – 0.3 m depth. Tensile force increases with diameter. Generally shrubs break at high tensile force (160 N maximum), followed by tree ferns (maximum 90 N) and lastly grass (maximum 75 N). Root tensile strength decreases with increasing root diameter, and follows a power law equation of the form . Generally, tensile strength can be well predicted by root diameter. The maximum root tensile strength values recorded was 39 N/mm 2 for grass. The results presented in this paper contribute to expanding the knowledge on root resistance behavior and on root density distribution within the soil. The studied location has allowed the implementation of soil–root reinforcement models initially used by Wu et al. (1979) and the evaluation of the vegetation contribution to soil stability.


There is a dearth of empirical studies that examine the link between competitive strategy and organizational performance in developing nations. This paper addresses this gap by assessing the strategy-performance nexus in two disparate emerging economies, Egypt and Peru. Findings support the cost leadership, differentiation, and focus conceptualizations of business strategy in both nations, but no single "best strategy" can be generalized. Focus businesses in Peru appeared to grow at a faster pace than businesses without a niche orientation, but a similar relationship was not found in Egypt. Avenues for future research are discussed, including the need for replications in other African and Latin American nations.


Objective: To examine the effects on nutrition, health and expenditure of extending value added tax (VAT) to a wider range of foods in the UK. Method: A model based on consumption data and elasticity values was constructed to predict the effects of extending VAT to certain categories of food. The resulting changes in demand, expenditure, nutrition and health were estimated. Three different tax regimens were examined: (1) taxing the principal sources of dietary saturated fat; (2) taxing foods defined as unhealthy by the SSCg3d nutrient scoring system; and (3) taxing foods in order to obtain the best health outcome. Data: Consumption patterns and elasticity data were taken from the National Food Survey of Great Britain. The health effects of changing salt and fat intake were from previous meta-analyses. Results: (1) Taxing only the principal sources of dietary saturated fat is unlikely to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease because the reduction in saturated fat is offset by a rise in salt consumption. (2) Taxing unhealthy foods, defined by SSCg3d score, might avert around 2300 deaths per annum, primarily by reducing salt intake. (3) Taxing a wider range of foods could avert up to 3200 cardiovascular deaths in the UK per annum (a 1.7% reduction). Conclusions: Taxing foodstuffs can have unpredictable health effects if cross-elasticities of demand are ignored. A carefully targeted fat tax could produce modest but meaningful changes in food consumption and a reduction in cardiovascular disease.


Background: Soil-transmitted helminthes infection and malnutrition are the major health threat of school-age children (SAC) in developing countries. Schoolbased mass-drug administration (MDA) is cost efficient and effective strategy in reducing the worm load of the parasites but re-infection is the main problem of this strategy. There is scarce data on the association of nutritional status of SAC and STH re-infection. Therefore, the present study was aimed at assessing the association of nutritional status and STH re-infection among SAC in Chencha district from April 20 to May 5, 2015. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to recruit 406 SAC from 10 randomly selected kebeles from the district. Structured questionnaire was used to collect background characteristics of SAC while Kato-Katz thick smear technique was used to quantify number of STH eggs per gram of stool specimen. Pearson chi square and logistic regressions were used to assess association between STH reinfection and nutritional status of SAC. Results and findings: The overall prevalence of malnutrition, stunting and underweight among SAC were 12.3% (95%CI=9.7% to 16.5%), 8.9% (95%CI 6.3% to 12.1%) and 4.2% (95%CI 2.5% to 6.6%) respectively. STH re-infection among stunted children was 25% (n=9) while it was 37.7% (n=139) among non-stunted children. However, this difference was not statistically significant with p-value equal to 0.132. In similar, the prevalence of STH re-infection among underweighted SAC was 52.9% (n=9) but it was by 7.1% lower among non-wasted children though it was not statistically not significant (P=0.151). Conclusions: we found low prevalence of malnutrition among SAC in Chencha district. In addition, malnutrition was not associated with STH re-infection among such population. Further prospective studies with long duration of follow-up shall be conducted in other parts in order to give more strong information about the association.


Cost-effective production of solar fuels requires robust and earth-abundant oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. Herein, we report that ultrathin nanoplates of cobalt-manganese layered double hydroxide (CoMn LDH) are a highly active and stable oxygen evolution catalyst. The catalyst was fabricated by a one-pot coprecipitation method at room temperature, and its turnover frequency (TOF) is more than 20 times higher than the TOFs of Co and Mn oxides and hydroxides, and 9 times higher than the TOF of a precious IrO2 catalyst. The activity of the catalyst was promoted by anodic conditioning, which was proposed to form amorphous regions and reactive Co(IV) species on the surface. The stability of the catalyst was demonstrated by continued electrolysis.


Standard dynamic models of structural transformation, without knife-edge and counterfactual parameter values, preclude balanced growth path (BGP) analysis. This paper develops a dynamic equilibrium concept for a more general class of models --- an alternative to a BGP, which we coin a Stable Transformation Path (STraP). The STraP characterizes the medium-term dynamics of the economy in a turnpike sense; it is the path toward which the economy (quickly) converges from an arbitrary initial capital stock. Calibrated simulations demonstrate that the relaxed parameter values that the STraP allows have important quantitative implications for structural transformation, investment, and growth. Indeed, analyzing the dynamics along the STraP, we show that the modern dynamic model of structural transformation makes progress over the Neoclassical growth model in matching key growth and capital accumulation patterns in cross-country data, including slow convergence.


Maytenus ilicifolia is a medicinal plant largely used in the South Brazilian folk medicine. The aim of this study was to quantify the intra and inter populational genetic variability in three populations of M. ilicifolia, focusing on the genetic conservation of this species, which has been threatened by anthropic action. RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) markers were used to analyze 30 plants of each of the three populations collected in the Alto Uruguai Gaúcho region. Fourteen selected primers generated a total of 158 bands, 71.5% of which were polymorphic. The comparison of Jaccard's distances showed that the intra populational variation was higher than the inter populational variability, and cluster analysis allowed the separation of the three populations. Just 7.6% of the bands were specific of at least two populations. Data indicate that the analyzed M. ilicifolia populations represent a single genetic pool, and therefore any of the population thoroughly can represent the overall genetic variability of the species in the sampled region.


This thesis reports mechanical properties of clear wood from Norway spruce, comprising each orthotropic material direction and plane over the complete loading range till failure. The material properties are quantified in a set of linear, nonlinear and failure parameters. In addition, statistical distributions and inter-parametric correlations are presented. Several quantities have hardly been studied for Norway spruce earlier, and are also scarcely documented for spruce softwood in general. The properties were determined by means of experimental tests in conjunction with numerical analyses. In order to obtain accurate and applicable results suitable for input in numerical simulations, the tests were mostly based on non-standardized procedures. Normal stress behaviour was investigated by means of compressive and tensile tests, whereas shear properties were based on the Arcan method. Constant climatic conditions and loading rates were applied and no effects from variation in humidity, temperature, size, loading rate or load duration were studied. The wood comprises graded and ungraded material from the spruce subspecies Picea Abies (L.) Karst ., with provenance Southern Norway. The use of material from the outer part of wooden stems enabled suitable specimens of various categories with material axes complying with a Cartesian coordinate system. Video extensometry was used for contact free strain measurements. All combinations of load directions and orthotropic measurement planes were tested. The 12 linear elastic orthotropic parameters were based on both loading and unloading, and were, in general, found to correspond relatively well with values reported for other spruce species. Characterization of the upper stress ranges was also emphasized, as accurate predictions of ultimate deformations and capacities are crucial in many analyses. Nonlinearity and ductility were, as normally assumed, found in compression, especially transversely. A more peculiar finding was the observation of a varying degree of nonlinearity in tension, and particularly in shear. The nonlinearity was adapted to bilinear models for each stress component, and for the case of shear, to exponential Voce models. The failure parameters were adapted to the ultimate stress and the Tsai-Wu failure criteria. In order to remove configuration and measurement effects, potentially distorting the material parameters, numerical FEM models were used to modify nominal values. The relatively large quantity of parametric observations enabled investigation of statistical distributions for each material parameter. Moreover, correlations between values determined from the same test could be estimated. Hence, the work constitutes a basis for deterministic and probabilistic numerical analyses of spruce softwood on the macro scale level (0.1–1.0 m), suitable for general three-dimensional studies of details and joints in timber constructions.


THE EFFECTS OF ABDOMINAL TRAINING ON POSTURAL CONTROL, LOWER EXTREMITY KINEMATICS, KINETICS, AND MUSCLE ACTIVATION Matthew J. Gage Department of Exercise Sciences Doctor of Philosophy Context: Abdominal training may decrease the risk of lower extremity injuries through improved balance and postural control. Objective: To determine the effect of an eightweek abdominal-training program on center of pressure, lower extremity joint angles, and abdominal muscle activation during a single-leg drop landing. The effects of abdominal training on abdominal muscle thickness was assessed. Design: A cohort research design. Setting: Research laboratory. Other Participants: Sixty healthy physically active college-aged students participated. They were divided into three groups: Control, Chronic ankle instability (CAI), and Healthy. Nineteen Control (age = 22.0 ± 2.72 yrs, mass = 74.1 ± 13.8 kg, height = 172.6 ± 11.3 cm, BMI = 24.8 ± 3.1 %), 21 CAI (age = 22.1 ± 2.3 yrs, mass = 77.6 ± 14.0 kg, height = 175.4 ± 12.3 cm, BMI = 25.1 ± 2.6 %), and 20 healthy (age = 22.9 ± 3.4 yrs, mass = 70.9 ± 15.6 kg, height = 172.2 ± 8.9 cm, BMI = 23.7 ± 3.3 %). Subjects in the CAI group had a history of CAI and functional ankle instability (FAI). The Ankle Instability Index and the Functional Ankle Ability Measure were used to self-report CAI and FAI respectively. Interventions: The CAI and Healthy groups participated in an eight-week abdominal-training program while the Control group maintained their normal activities of daily living and level of physical activity. Main Outcome Measures: Abdominal muscle thickness was measured biweekly throughout the study. Center of pressure excursion, muscle activation, vertical ground reaction force, and lower extremity joint angles were measured during a single-leg drop landing, preand postabdominal training. Results: Muscle thickness at rest increased in the rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles follow training. Eight weeks of abdominal training decreased vertical ground reaction forces and muscle activation down the lower kinetic chain. Center of pressure excursion and velocity were increased following training. Conclusions: Eight-weeks of abdominal training increased abdominal muscle thickness. Training improved neuromuscular efficiency throughout the kinetic chain and may have improved dynamic postural control. Our data also suggest CAI subjects may utilize both feedforward and feedback mechanisms to maintain postural control.


Spreading processes on networks (graphs) have become ubiquitous in modern society with prominent examples such as infections, rumors, excitations, contaminations, or disturbances. Finding the source of such processes based on observations is important and difficult. We abstract the problem mathematically as an optimization problem on graphs. For the deterministic setting we make connections to the metric dimension of a graph and introduce the concept of spread-resolving sets. For the stochastic setting we propose a new algorithm combining parameter estimation and experimental design. We show well- posedness of this algorithm theoretically and via encouraging numerical results on a benchmark library.


The global explosion of online activity is steadily transforming the relationship between government and the public. The first wave of change, "e-government," enlisted the Internet to improve management and the delivery of services. More recently, "e-democracy" has aimed to enhance democracy itself using digital information and communication technology. One notable example of e-democratic practice is the government-sponsored (or government-authorized) online forum for public input on policymaking. This book investigates these "online consultations" and their effect on democratic practice in the United States and Europe, examining the potential of Internet-enabled policy forums to enrich democratic citizenship. The book first situates the online consultation phenomenon in a conceptual framework that takes into account the contemporary media environment and the flow of political communication; then offers a multifaceted look at the experience of online consultation participants in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France; and finally explores the legal architecture of U.S. and E. U. online consultation. As the contributors make clear, online consultations are not simply dialogues between citizens and government but constitute networked communications involving citizens, government, technicians, civil society organizations, and the media. The topics examined are especially relevant today, in light of the Obama administration's innovations in online citizen involvement.


We have cloned and sequenced the structural genes encoding the delta 5,6 sterol desaturase (ERG3 gene) and the 14 alpha-methyl sterol demethylase (ERG11 gene) from Candida glabrata L5 (leu2). Single and double mutants of these genes were created by gene deletion. The phenotypes of these mutants, including sterol profiles, aerobic viabilities, antifungal susceptibilities, and generation times, were studied. Strain L5D (erg3 delta::LEU2) accumulated mainly ergosta-7,22-dien-3 beta-ol, was aerobically viable, and remained susceptible to antifungal agents but had a slower generation time than its parent strain. L5LUD (LEU2 erg11 delta::URA3) strains required medium supplemented with ergosterol and an anaerobic environment for growth. A spontaneous aerobically viable mutant, L5LUD40R (LEU erg11 delta::URA3), obtained from L5LUD (LEU2 erg11 delta::URA3), was found to accumulate lanosterol and obtusifoliol, was resistant to azole antifungal agents, demonstrated some increase in resistance to amphotericin B, and exhibited a 1.86-fold increase in generation time in comparison with L5 (leu2). The double-deletion mutant L5DUD61 (erg3 delta::LEU2 erg11 delta::URA3) was aerobically viable, produced mainly 14 alpha-methyl fecosterol, and had the same antifungal susceptibility pattern as L5LUD40R (LEU2 erg11 delta::URA3), and its generation time was threefold greater than that of L5 (leu2). Northern (RNA) analysis revealed that the single-deletion mutants had a marked increase in message for the undeleted ERG3 and ERG11 genes. These results indicate that differences in antifungal susceptibilities and the restoration of aerobic viability exist between the C. glabrata ergosterol mutants created in this study and those sterol mutants with similar genetic lesions previously reported for Saccharomyces cerevisiae.


In recent years, there has been a growth in concern about the recruitment and use of child soldiers. A recent survey by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers found that during the period 2001-4 children were actively involved in conflict in some 27 countries around the world. Efforts have focused on prohibiting the recruitment and use of children to participate in hostilities, and, more recently, in seeking to prosecute those responsible for such practices. However, one of the reasons why armed forces and groups recruit child soldiers is that they are more easily led and more suggestible than are adults. Children are less socialised, and more docile and malleable than adults, and hence are more easily persuaded or coerced into committing atrocities. Even if not specifically recruited for such purposes, children's lack of mental and moral development may mean that they are more prone to behaving badly than are adult troops. Indeed, in a number of recent conflicts child soldiers have been used deliberately to commit atrocities. This article seeks to discuss how international law might deal with child soldiers who commit international crimes, focusing on whether there exists a minimum age of criminal responsibility in international criminal law. It concludes that there are good reasons, from a children's rights perspective, for seeing children as moral actors and, hence, accountable for their actions. However, accountability does not always involve criminal responsibility. Even if held criminally responsible for their actions, children should not necessarily be dealt with in the same ways as adults.


On both a volume and value basis, the United States is the world's largest spice importer and consumer, with both imports and consumption on an uptrend for the past 10 years. While the United States imports more than 40 separate spices, seven of these (vanilla beans, black and white pepper, capsicums, sesame seed, cinnamon, mustard, and oregano) account for more than 75 percent of the total annual value of spice imports. While the United States imports spices from more than 50 countries, 5 of these countries (Indonesia, Mexico, India, Canada, and China) regularly account for one-half of the annual value of spice imports. The United States produces nearly 40 percent of its annual spice needs, with imports supplying the remainder. Growing domestic production consists of capsicum peppers, mustard seed, dehydrated onion and garlic, and herbs. U.S. spice exports have also been expanding in recent years, led by dehydrated garlic and onion. Rising domestic use of spices reflects growing Hispanic and Asian populations, a trend toward the use of spices to compensate for less salt and lower fat levels in foods, and heightened popularity of ethnic foods from Asia and Latin America.


Abstract This paper argues that analyses of the gendered character of welfare states should be broadened to include women's share of board and executive roles, as well as the affirmative-action policies (e.g. gender boardroom quotas) that help to overcome the gender stereotypes (e.g. women are 'nice', men are 'assertive') and opaque selection procedures at the root of this. Such indicators may seem beyond the remit of social policy analysis, which is concerned foremost with the analysis of 'social risk'. However, drawing on evidence from across multiple disciplines, this paper argues that achieving a 'critical mass' of women in board and executive positions can bring women's issues onto companies' agendas and lead to the adoption of female-friendly practices, policies, and cultures at the firm level. Crucially, these practices, policies, and cultures can help to reduce the incidence of gendered social risks (employment/care conflicts, economic dependence on a partner) and sexual harassment among women at lower levels of the labour market. Thus, the paper highlights another dimension to the social-regulatory function of welfare states which has to date been overlooked, namely legislative requirements on companies to achieve gender diversity in their leadership structures.


This thesis proposes to make a contribution to the literature concerned with affect and teamwork in complex work domains. It presents a detailed analysis of people's affective experiences in fire incident management teamwork. This particular work activity was chosen because it represents numerous aspects of increasingly important features of high-consequence work environments. In such environments the work is characterised by high interdependency, time pressure and a sense of urgency. People working in such domains are susceptible to being emotionally charged, particularly when the potential consequences are high. Given the complexity and duration of events, it is also likely that they may be influenced by emotional exhaustion. Understanding the role of affect is, therefore, particularly important in this work domain and others like it.
The position taken in this thesis is a sociocultural one and is based on the assumption that people and their contexts cannot be separated. Hence, the experiences of the work context (e.g., as represented by organisational structures and organisational cultures) influences the affective states of incident management personnel.
In addition, there is a relationship between individual affect and collective affect as it plays out in teamwork. Fire incident management teamwork provides an excellent example of the way in which the affective states of incident management team members are interpreted collectively and feed into prevailing norms and values of certain groups that then become positive or negative group stereotypes.
This thesis is based on a qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews (n=70) were conducted across four states in Australia with experienced incident management team personnel. Participants were asked to talk about their experiences when engaged in incident management teamwork. Using a qualitative theory building approach, the data was examined for people's affective experiences whilst engaged in work activity. The way in which organisational cultures are socially constructed within people's affective experiences and work activity were also examined in the data.
The study seeks to extend existing literature and understanding in the following ways. First, by elaborating the linkages between affect (manifested in descriptors of moods and emotions) to constructs such as collective efficacy and team cohesion which are typically cognitively framed. Second, by examining the intersection between individual and collective experiences and the way in which these are mediated by individual and collective affect. Finally, the thesis makes a contribution to the emerging body of literature about the role of affect in the workplace. In the domain under study, for example, the role of affect in emergency incident management teamwork is very present but not readily discussed.
The research concludes by highlighting the importance of the interconnections between affect and culture and the roles both play in teamwork. The thesis presents a model illustrating the ways in which individual and collective experience of affect may be built into models of teamwork. Many models of teamwork in the literature pay lip service to the affective domain but do not systematically examine how affect contributes to enabling and constraining teamwork.
Through the conceptual models of team differentiation, team fragmentation and team integration, the thesis shows how collective affect can either enable or constrain teamwork performance. The thesis concludes with a discussion about the implications from the findings for practitioners, leaders, trainers, professional developers, policy developers and future research.


We use interferometric synthetic aperture radar and geomorphic data to constrain the magnitude and duration of uplift driven by the magma body beneath Socorro, New Mexico, United States. Interferometry spanning 1992–2006 confirms uplift of the Socorro magma body at a rate of ~2.5 mm/yr. However, we find no clear evidence for volcanic uplift after an examination of three rivers (Rio Salado, Rio Puerco, Rio Grande), and two terraces (Llano de Manzano, Llano de Albuquerque) crossing the Socorro magma body. Our geomorphic measurements permit at most 25–50 m of cumulative surface uplift above the Socorro magma body since the middle Pleistocene, but require no long-term uplift. Given previously articulated thermal arguments for the Socorro magma body, we therefore suggest either a recent (within the last few centuries) initiation of uplift at Socorro, or that long-term uplift and subsidence have been essentially equal.


The aim of this research was to track the growth of chicken eggs, and make a decision as to whether the egg was fertilized or not. A digital imaging system has been developed in order to take an image from six different points without damaging the egg shell. All the images were transferred to a PC and turned into binary images. All the images were reduced to 1024 pixels and fed directly into the classification algorithm. The logistic regression method was used to discriminate the fertility of the eggs. Python programming language and the scikit-learn machine learning library was used to carry out the classifications. True positive, true negative, wrong positive, and wrong negative detection numbers in the trials were 350, 344, 56, and 50, respectively. Negative indicates the egg was infertile, and positive indicated that the egg was fertilized. The model accuracy was measured as 0.8675.


Speaking is the earliest skill among other language skills acquired by children and serves as the medium most frequently used in communication. Nevertheless, speaking becomes a difficult skill when performed in public, especially for elementary school. This study aims at describing how the use of video as the media in role playing in teaching speaking to elementary school students can improve their ability in speaking. This is a qualitative study using classroom action research as the design. The subject was the elementary school students at SDI Khaira Ummah Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. The selected video was entitled —As a Result of Telling Lies which was played before the students were asked to speak. The data were the students' oral expression ability collected using tests, interviews, observation and documentation. The results of data analysis show that the students' speaking ability improves in every cycle.
Keywords: Videos, role playing, technique in teaching speaking, elementary school students


The syntactic structure of numbers in Arabic mainly differs from that of Hebrew in terms of the order of units and decades. In Arabic (inverted), two-digit numbers are written and read from right to left, i.e. the first digit is the units and the second is the decades (24 = four and twenty), while in Hebrew (non-inverted), the reverse. Therefore, studying transcoding in the two languages may enable us to tease out the relative effects of linguistic experience (first versus second language) and counting system transparency i.e. the syntactic representation of numbers (inverted versus non-inverted number system). For this purpose, the paradigm of reading and writing two-digit numbers from dictation, in both languages was used. Sixty university bilingual students were given two tasks in both Arabic-L1 (First language) and Hebrew-L2 (Second language): One task involved writing two-digit numbers to dictation, and the other involved reading two-digit numbers aloud. Reading times and the error rates were calculated in both languages according to type of error—total errors, substitution errors (replacement of two-digit number units with decades, and vice versa; for example, 23 ? 32), change errors (change of one digit 23 ? 28), and omission errors (omission of one digit; for example 23 ? 2). The participants made some errors in reading and especially in writing two-digit numbers. Their commonest errors were substitution errors compared to change and omission errors. Such errors were commoner for numbers which require processing the numerical syntactic structure than for decade numbers, or numbers from 11 to 19, which require less attention to numerical syntax. Speed and accuracy are greater in Arabic-L1 than Hebrew-L2, although the Arabic counting system has the inversion feature, and is thus less transparent than Hebrew. It is concluded that familiarity with the verbal counting system of the first language has a greater influence on transcoding than the transparency of the counting system. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


As the cell progresses through the cell cycle, mechanisms must be present to allow the cell to exit one stage and progess to the next one. Ogawa et al. (see the Perspective by La Thangue) investigate the mechanism by which genes are turned off in the G0 stage by the repressor protein E2F-6. They found that E2F-6 exists in a large complex with other proteins, including several DNA-binding factors, a histone methyltransferase, the transcription repressor HP1, and Polycomb proteins. This multiprotein complex is targeted to E2F-6-responsive promoters in quiescent cells but not G1 cells. As malignant tumor cells have lost the ability to enter the G0 stage, the elucidation of the mechanisms governing cell-cycle-dependent gene expression may reveal important information about cell regulation. H. Ogawa, K. Ishiguro, S. Gaubatz, D. M. Livingston, Y. Nakatani, A complex with chromatin modifiers that occupies E2F- and Myc-responsive genes in G0 cells. Science 296, 1132-1136 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text] N. B. La Thangue, Chromatin control--A place for E2F and Myc to meet. Science 296, 1034-1035 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Objectives: This article argues that unless we understand the context in which we aim to build smart cities, we may fail to develop smart cities that are workable and sustainable. Prior work: there is a wealthy body of knowledge on the why, what and how of smart cities, however they do not address the actual needs of the citizens of every city. To make the smart cities solution frameworks work in different cities, we need to tailor these frameworks to the actual needs and constraints of the cities. Approach: To address this gap, this article proposes a contextual participatory approach and demonstrates how to use this approach to conduct smart city projects that address real-life problems and generate workable and sustainable solutions. This study explains why one size smart solution does not fit all cities' problems and delivers a prompt guideline on how to uncover the actual needs of a city and to deliver feasible solutions that make the city smart(er). Results: To build smart cities we need to conceptualize the why, what, and how of smart city considering the actual needs of the citizens in a participatory manner. To get the citizens engaged in the building process of the smart city we need to get them in some real-life situations then expose them to well-constructed questions. Implications: this approach can be of value to researchers and practitioners who are seeking insights on the concept and practice of smart cities regardless of where they live. If employed correctly, this approach promises results, i.e. smarter cities. Value: It generates insightful and practical knowledge on the actual needs of the citizens and the workable and sustainable solutions. The smart cities built by this approach will bring more wealth, ease and happiness to the life of the citizens.


The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination is the United Nations main treaty elaborating on Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations which emphasizes the importance of the prohibition of racial discrimination. CERD has been ratified by 173 countries, which is evidence of its importance in the protection of human rights. CERD went beyond the non-discrimination language of the Charter, however, in two very important ways: 1) it established a requirement for special measures aimed at ensuring the development and protection of certain racial groups or individuals belonging to them to guarantee them the full and equal enjoyment of human rights as well as prohibiting and preventing racial discrimination; and 2) it established equality as a goal alongside the prohibition of racial discrimination. With respect to the prohibition and prevention of racial discrimination, article 2 sets forth a series of affirmative steps that States Parties must take towards its elimination. With respect to the second, it specifically requires that special measures must be adopted for ensuring equality, not only of individuals but of groups. The guarantee of equality in human rights is mentioned in article 2(2) and is further elaborated on in article 5, which provides among other things that State Parties undertake to guarantee equality before the law and in the enjoyment of a list of rights. The latter include political, civil, and economic social and cultural rights. Governments are required to use special measures not only to prevent racial discrimination, but to achieve equality in the enjoyment of these rights. Despite the clear language of these mandates, special measures have been controversial in many countries, though such manifestations have been varied. For example, in the United States, a number of states have prohibited the use of race in making decisions about admissions to universities and the courts have restricted use of race in both employment and education cases unless to remedy intentional discrimination. In South Africa, questions have been raised regarding the effectiveness of some affirmative action programs and concerns have been raised that it does not benefit those who are most disadvantaged from injustice. In Brazil, conflicts arise from the fact that a large percentage of the population is of mixed race with the result that the use of quotas is highly controversial. The controversies that surround the issue may benefit from the elaboration of the obligations by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ("Committee"). Clarification of the requirements may aid governments as they develop and implement programs that are more focused on the goals set forth in the treaty. Further, de facto discrimination along with the continued existence of bias are reasons for continuing to use race-based affirmative action programs, even while the focus on disadvantage and social class may also serve similar purposes for attaining equality. The article gives an overview of the major issues related to the CERD mandate on special measures and then reviews the experience of affirmative action in the United States and South Africa -- both its practice and judicial decisions. These two countries are chosen because of their history of de jure discrimination and their very different approaches to affirmative action. The author suggests, however, that despite those differences lessons can be gleaned from those approaches that provide guidance to the CERD Committee as it develops more concrete standards for the special measures mandate of CERD. In addition to identifying standards that the CERD Committee has enunciated in its review of States Parties reports, the article reviews elements addressed by other U.N. bodies. The article concludes with suggestions for other areas that require further elaboration based on the experiences in the United States and South Africa. These include: 1) the need for affirmative action as long as racial disparities exist in education and employment; 2) the need to address bias through the special measures requirement; 3) the concept of diversity as a helpful means for achieving equality, though it should not replace race based measures for achieving that goal; 4) the need to carefully tailor the measures to the specific goals being sought; and 5) that special measures are only one means for addressing the effects of discrimination and inequality. In August 2009, the CERD Committee adopted General Recommendation 32 which provides its views on the special measures mandates requirements under the treaty. The article includes a short summary of the relevant provisions. The final version of this article is published in English in 16 ILSA J. of Int'l and Comparative Law 627 (2010). It is available in Spanish as "La Obligacion de Adoptar Medidas Especiales en la Convencion Internacional sobre la Eliminacion de Todas Formas de Discriminacion Racial: Lecciones de los Estados Unidos de America y Sudafrica," 16 ILSA J. of Int'l and Comparative Law 751 (2010)


This paper reports a study that explores Egyptian science teachers' views on religion and science within the context of Islam. It also highlights an ontological and epistemological consideration of these views, particularly the ways through which Egyptian Muslim teachers understand such a relationship with reference to the Qur'anic/Islamic attitude toward science and knowledge. The study built upon Barbour's categorization scheme to guide the data collection and analysis and to guide the interpretation of the teachers' responses in the interviews. Informed by a multigrounded theory of the teachers' views of science and religion, and using Roth and Alexander's analytical framework to interpret how teachers accommodate the relationship between science and religion within their belief system, the findings suggest that participants' views of the relationship between science and a specific religion (Islam) confirmed the centrality of teachers' personal religious beliefs to their own thoughts and views concerning issues of both science and Islam. This centralization, in some cases, appeared to lead teachers to hold a conflicting relationship, hence to a creation of a false contradiction between science and Islam. Therefore, it could be concluded that teachers' personal Islamic-religious beliefs inform their beliefs about the nature of science and its purpose. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed95:281–309, 2011


Abstract: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of suicidal behaviour and BDNF levels are decreased in brain and plasma of suicide subjects. So far, the mechanisms leading to down-regulation of BDNF expression are poorly understood. In this work we tested the hypothesis that alterations of DNA methylation could be involved in the disregulation of BDNF gene expression in the brain of suicide subjects. We determined, by three independent quantitative methylation techniques, the DNA methylation degree at BDNF promoter IV and the genome-wide DNA methylation levels in the brain's Wernicke's area of 44 suicide completers and 33 non-suicide control subjects. Results showed in post-mortem brain samples from suicide subjects a statistically significant increase of DNA methylation at specific CpG sites in the BDNF promoter/exon IV compared to non-suicide control subjects. Most of CpG sites lying in the -300/+500 region, on both strands, were low or no methylated with the exception of few sites located near the transcriptional start site that were differentially methylated while genome-wide methylation levels were comparable among the subjects. In conclusions BDNF promoter/exon IV is frequently hypermethylated in post-mortem brain Wernicke's area of suicide subjects irrespective of genome-wide methylation levels, indicating that a gene-specific increase in DNA methylation could cause or contribute to down-regulation of BDNF expression in suicide subjects. The reported data reveal a novel link between epigenetic alteration in brain and suicidal behaviour.


Child health as one of the main indicators of economic development has been included directly in the millennium development goals. Due to the increased rate of mothers' employment and education along with children malnutrition, the effect of mothers' socioeconomic status on children's health was examined in this study. In case study, data on children at birth were gathered from health care records in 10 health centers of Tehran. The sample size of 400 was determined using the Cochran formula with an error margin of 5%. The cases were selected through random cluster sampling. The probit, probit with endogenous variable, and ordered probit models were employed. The mean mother's education was at the level of 3.76, representing higher than diploma and lower than associate degrees. The mean mothers' age, whose children were normal, stunting, and severe stunting, was 32.25, 32.92, and 34.20, respectively. The mothers' employment and education level increased the likelihood of stunting by 93 and 37 percent, respectively. Therefore, mother's employment had a negative effect on child health; i.e. mother's employment increases the possibility of stunting probably because of child malnutrition. In addition, rising education level among unemployed mothers increased the probability of children's health. The parents' education affected positively the health of children, and officeholder father, family size, and being twin had negative effects on children's health.


We explore the structure of magnetic field lines in and around filaments in simulations of molecular clouds undergoing global, multi-scale gravitational collapse. In these simulations, filaments are not in a static equilibrium, but are long-lived flow structures that accrete gas from their environment and direct it toward clumps embedded in the filament or at the nodes at the conjunction with other filaments. In this context, the magnetic field is dragged by the collapsing gas, so its structure must reflect the flow that generates the filament. Around the filament, the gas is accreted onto it, and the magnetic lines must then be perpendicular to the filament. As the gas density increases, the gas flow changes direction, becoming almost parallel to the filament, and magnetic lines also tend to align with it. At the spine of the filament, however, magnetic lines become perpendicular again since they must connect to lines on the opposite side of the filament, resulting in "U"-shaped magnetic structures, which tend to be stretched by the longitudinal flow along the filament. Magnetic diffusive processes, however, allow the gas to continue to flow. Assuming a stationary state in which the ram pressure of the flow balances the magnetic tension, the curvature of the field lines is determined by the diffusion rate. We derive an expression relating the curvature of the field lines to the diffusive coefficient, which may be used to observationally determine the nature of the diffusive process.


An optical processor that realizes a generalized chord transformation is described. The wedge-ring detector samples of an autocorrelation are shown to be the histograms of the chord distributions. This dimensionality reduced set of features is used as the feature vector inputs for a Fisher linear classifier to determine the class of the input object independent of geometrical distortions. Initial discussions on the use of different classifiers, the polarity of the classifier's output, and selection of the image training set are also advanced.


We present a comprehensive numerical study of (2+1)D counterpropagating incoherent vortices in photorefractive crystals, in both space and time. We consider a local isotropic dynamical model with Kerr-type saturable nonlinearity, and identify the corresponding conserved quantities. We show, both analytically and numerically, that stable beam structures conserve angular momentum, as long as their stability is preserved. As soon as the beams loose stability, owing to radiation or non-elastic collisions, their angular momentum becomes non-conserved. We discover novel types of rotating beam structures that have no counterparts in the copropagating geometry. We consider the counterpropagation of more complex beam arrangements, such as regular arrays of vortices. We follow the transition from a few beam propagation behavior to the transverse pattern formation dynamics.


Background: The number of people living with HIV has increased in Iran. Creating standard templates for reporting HIV in Iran that can fulfil the needs of all beneficiaries is a basic necessity for the foundation of integrates health information systems. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the Minimum Data Set (MDS) that is needed in the HIV/AIDS information exchange. Materials and methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was performed in 2016. Data were collected from internet resources by using a checklist. The necessary data elements for designing HIV MDS were identified. In order to make a consensus about the data elements, the decision Delphi technique was applied using a questionnaire. The content validity and reliability of questionnaire were assessed by expert's opinions and test-retest method, respectively. Results: An MDS of HIV was developed. The proposed MDS was divided into three data categories includes nonclinical, clinical and supportive with 10, six and three Data classes and 73, 63 and 24 data elements respectively. Discussion: The primary challenge of HIV/AIDS care systems in Iran is insufficient attention to support and consulting programmes as well as the lack of adequate information for accurate and efficient policy and decision-making. Therefore, the existing MDS has been designed to meet the needs of all groups of care providers, Health politicians, healthcare managers, administrative staff, researchers, public health practitioners and support groups (rehabilitation). Finally, it is suggested to use messaging protocols for HIV/AIDS information exchange.


Humans have become much taller and heavier, and experience healthier and longer lives than ever before in human history. However it is only recently that historians, economists, human biologists and demographers have linked the changing size, shape and capability of the human body to economic and demographic change. This fascinating and groundbreaking book presents an accessible introduction to the field of anthropometric history, surveying the causes and consequences of changes in health and mortality, diet and the disease environment in Europe and the United States since 1700. It examines how we define and measure health and nutrition as well as key issues such as whether increased longevity contributes to greater productivity or, instead, imposes burdens on society through the higher costs of healthcare and pensions. The result is a major contribution to economic and social history with important implications for today's developing world and the health trends of the future.


This editorial illuminates the evidence of how human and social rights and diversity gains at work are under attack in the aftermath of the global economic crisis and in times of austerity. We provide a brief overview of the six articles in this issue, which draw upon a wide range of theories and engage with different, but in many ways connected, issues pertinent to human and social right, diversity and equality in the light of the economic crisis and austerity. The editorial concludes discussing a number of dilemmas and problematic issues that remain despite the increased scholarly attention to the threat to human and social rights and diversity gains at work in current times. Lastly, we offer recommendations to how diversity advocates can develop new approaches and strategies in order to resist the current threat to the diversity agenda internationally.


In 1996, California provided funding to 14 county probation agencies to implement multiagency, comprehensive services to keep troubled youths from recommitting crime and progressing farther into the justice system. We report results of a randomized experiment used to evaluate Ventura County's 4-year demonstration project called the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP). We followed youths for more than 2 years after random assignment to SOCP or routine probation. We found no significant differences between SOCP and routine juvenile probationers on recidivism or other official-record outcomes. Although most youths were rearrested, most did not receive a sustained petition or incarceration. The modest additional services did not affect outcomes.


Arenaria microcalyx M.Koc & Hamzaoglu (Caryophyllaceae) is described as a new species of subgen. Arenaria L. in Turkey. The specimens were collected from Kas (Antalya). The new species is related to Arenaria leptoclados (Rchb.) Guss. and is an endemic species that has a distribution in the Mediterranean region. The differences between the species are discussed. Description, distribution, illustration, and conservation status of the new species are given. Seeds structures were examined by scanning electron microscopy.


Krettnichite, PbMn3+ 2(VO4)2(OH)2, occurs as an accessory ore mineral and as free crystals in vugs with- in the hydrothermal manganite-quartz vein at the historic manganese deposit of Krettnich, Saarland, Germany. Other vein minerals include barite, ankerite, calcian mottramite (minor ore constituents), barian brackebuschite, cobaltoan pyrobelonite, and calcian mottramite (free crystals in vugs). Krettnichite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, Z = 2, a = 9.275(7) A, b = 6.284(3) A, c = 7.682(2) A, b = 117.97(4)° . Krettnichite is brown to black with red internal reflec- tions. It has an excellent cleavage parallel to (001). A distinct cleavage intersecting (001) at high angle is visible in polished section. Polysynthetic twinning with composition plane (001) is common. Under plane polarised reflected light, krettnichite is slightly pleochroic, from very light grey to light brownish grey, and the anisotropy is strong under crossed polars. Krettnichite is a member of the tsumcorite group. It is the second member of this group with vanadate as the dom- inant anionic group, and is thus the Mn3+ analogue of mounanaite PbFe3+ 2(VO4)2(OH)2. The Fe content of krettni- chite is generally low, and some crystals contain less than 0.001 atom Fe pfu. Epitactic intergrowths of krettnichite and brackebuschite are common, with parallel alignment of the b axes of both minerals. This direction corresponds to the extension of trans-trans chains of edge-sharing, Jahn-Teller distorted Mn3+O6 octahedra in krettnichite as well as in brackebuschite. Pyrobelonite is always closely associated with barian brackebuschite. It is not known if true epi- taxy occurs, but the chains of edge-sharing Mn3+O6 octahedra of brackebuschite match edge-sharing chains of Mn2+O6 octahedra in pyrobelonite.


Sustainable economic growth has reemerged as a subject of Caribbean policy
discussions, given the region's relatively lackluster performance in recent
decades. However, most policy discussions still focus on the region's fiscal and macroeconomic constraints instead of on the analysis of underlying productivity drivers. This is due in part to the persistence of fiscal and debt crises across the region since the 1980s, and inadequate data available to perform basic productivity analyses. This brief adapts a benchmarking framework originally developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to identify constraints to growth and help policymakers prioritize actions to address them. It summarizes the original technical background work and presents the results of initial exercises, using this framework, for The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.


Listening does not relate to improved communications in the way peasants are included in China's digital leap forward. Despite having access to cutting-edge communication technologies, the rural participants of this research find themselves with limited means to be involved in the politics of their village. Hungry for information relevant to participation, local calls for the reinstatement of wired radio and regular meetings in the village of Heyang are informed by memories of Maoist mass line politics. Combining historical analysis with ethnographic fieldwork and reflective listening, this article explores how peasants see discursive engagement as the best means to realize their interests.


ABSTRACT A large part of the Armenian community in Cyprus descends from survivors of the 1915 genocide in Anatolia who initially settled in neighbourhoods of the capital Nicosia. Following the independence of the island from British colonialists in 1960, these neighbourhoods fell under Turkish-Cypriot administration. As the ethnic conflict unfolded between Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots from 1963 onwards, these Armenians became displaced from their homes for a second time, seeking refuge in the Greek-Cypriot sector. Demetriou analyses the experience of this displacement and the entanglement of the legal, political and subjective spheres that constitute it. She examines the legal and administrative measures that classified those fleeing from Turkish-Cypriot administered areas as Tourkóplikti (struck by the Turks), a label that reinforced the distinction between Armenians and Greek-Cypriots, the majority of whom were displaced in 1974, and were officially classified as 'refugees' or prósfiyes. By looking at the difference between Tourkóplikti and prósfiyes, Demetriou interrogates the location of the Armenian minority within the Greek-Cypriot community. She argues that the silencing of minority experiences of the conflict does not merely impoverish our understanding of it, but also perpetuates a blindness to subtle structures of discrimination. Understanding these structures can show how victimization may turn into a domination strategy (such as through the production of a hegemonic rhetoric of refugeehood). Attention to such processes, which develop through and in the aftermath of conflict, might offer a better grasp of the complex patterns of post-conflict prejudice and exclusion.


Effective reasoning is fundamental to problem solving and achievement in education and employment. Protocol studies have previously suggested that people with dyslexia use reasoning strategies based on visual mental representations, whereas non-dyslexics use abstract verbal strategies. This research presents converging evidence from experimental and individual differences perspectives. In Experiment 1, dyslexic and non-dyslexic participants were similarly accurate on reasoning problems, but scores on a measure of visual memory ability only predicted reasoning accuracy for dyslexics. In Experiment 2, a secondary task loaded visual memory resources during concurrent reasoning. Dyslexics were significantly less accurate when reasoning under conditions of high memory load and showed reduced ability to subsequently recall the visual stimuli, suggesting that the memory and reasoning tasks were competing for the same visual cognitive resource. The results are consistent with an explanation based on limitations in the verbal and executive components of working memory in dyslexia and the use of compensatory visual strategies for reasoning. There are implications for cognitive activities that do not readily support visual thinking, whether in education, employment or less formal everyday settings.


Abstract : This document summarizes the findings and presents the raw data from the Introducing Requirements Management into Organizations workshop hosted by the SEI (Software Engineering Institute) in November 1996. A transition package consists of a process description, related materials for users of the description, and materials for use by change agents in action teams and technical working groups introducing requirements management processes and tools into their organizations. The workshop participants considered the feasibility of building a transition package to expedite the adoption of effective requirements management practice and concluded that a transition package can and should be built for requirements management. This document records and publicizes the findings of the workshop, including problems and opportunities related to requirements management transition packages identified by workshop participants.


Research abaout agricultural extension field perceptions for the importance the role of extension oil palm plantations in Tapung District Kampar purpose is (1) To determind the organizing of extension oil palm plantation in Tapung District Kampar Regency. (2) To determind the agricultural extension field perceptions for the importance the role of extension oil palm plantations . Research with method of survey and intake of sampel all extension in District Tapung amounting to 5 people and held an interview with as respondent, data analysis use Scale Likert'S Summated Rating ( SLR). Variable role of extension agent the used according to Mardikanto (2009) and UU SP3K Year 2006 . The result illustrate organizing of extension in Tapung District has gone well according the element of extension. Extension workers perceive that the role of education is important for oil palm plantations can be seen from the non-farmers : 1. Facility process study get score 4,14 with important category 2. Amenity access to get score 4,22 with very importent category. 3. Ability of leadership get score 3,98 with important category 4. Developing organizational get score 4,28 with very importan category 5. Analysing and solving problem to get score 4,35 with very important category 6. Developing awareness get score 4,48 with important category 7. Institutionalizing cultural values get score 4,12 with important category 8. Supervision or construction get score 4,63 with very important category 9. Evaluation to get score 4,20 with very important category . Keywords: agricultural extension field perceptions, the importance of role  extension, palm oil


Global health appears to be undergoing a gradual shift in focus away from diseases towards systems. This is partly a response to the difficulties that disease-specific global health initiatives have experienced in meeting individual programme targets and internationally agreed benchmarks, in spite of significant increases in development assistance over the past decade.1 It is also a response to the fiscal constraints caused by the global financial crisis, which has created an environment in which governments and development partners are not only striving to secure resources for development but are also focusing attention on improving returns on spending by strengthening poorly functioning public systems. As a result, there has been increased attention on health systems by major global health initiatives, the governments of the Group of Eight (G8) high-income countries, private foundations, new international partnerships and the World Health Organization (WHO). The latter is demonstrated in particular by its recent resurrection of primary health care.2

The diversity in design of health systems around the world, complicated by the interconnectedness of health systems with the country's body politic, must be considered in any effort to strengthen health systems. Notwithstanding the many differences, health care in a majority of low- and middle-income countries is delivered by a mixed health system – defined as a health system in which out-of-pocket payments and market provision of services predominate as a means of financing and providing services in an environment where publicly-financed government health delivery coexists with privately-financed market delivery.3 This perspective hypothesizes that poor performance is due to interplay between three factors in the mixed health system: (i) insufficient state funding for health; (ii) a regulatory environment that enables the private sector to deliver social services without an appropriate regulatory framework; and (iii) lack of transparency in governance. This triad of determinants acts together to compromise the quality of public services and defeat the equity objective in several ways (see figure at: http://heartfile.org/mhhs1.htm).

Most low- and low middle-income countries spend less than US$ 34 per capita annually on health, the amount considered essential by WHO to secure basic health services. All of the 42 low-income countries (as defined by The World Bank) spend less than US$ 34 per capita on health, except Zambia which spends US$ 35 (see figure at: http://heartfile.org/mhhs2.htm). Among the low to middle-income countries, the following spend less than the benchmark: Azerbaijan, Cameroon, the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Lesotho, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic. Of these, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan have populations greater than 100 million.

Low levels of public financing mean that public health workers are seldom paid at current market rates. Better incentives in the private system lead to workers holding dual jobs, reported to be widespread in mixed health systems. In remote areas, where supervision cannot always be maintained, absenteeism and the "ghost worker" phenomenon is common. Limited public resources result in poorly maintained infrastructure and force users to pay for their care, which can lead to inequity if there is no assistance for the disadvantaged. Private services flourish in such environments where the public system cannot cater to demand. In a weak regulatory environment, which is often the case in developing countries, the private sector can charge very high fees for poor quality service. Weaknesses in governance and transparency can further compromise scarce resources by allowing collusion in procurement and theft from the supply chain. Patronage, tolerance to circumventing procedures and state capture by the elite cannot only cause misappropriation of talent but also bias laws and policies of the country towards issues to obtain selective benefits, which can be detrimental to the equity objective.

When a public and private mix of health-care delivery shows "symptoms" of compromised quality and equity, it can be "diagnosed" as having mixed health systems syndrome. Characteristics of this syndrome are identified using key indicators of poor health systems performance. Failure to achieve "fairness in financing" is shown in the dominance of out-of-pocket payments.4 When care is predominantly provided by the private sector, management and performance problems are manifest in the public system and are hence reflective of poor "responsiveness". In addition, inability to achieve "equity in outcomes" is endemic to these systems.

The public-private mix is not necessarily a guarantee of poor performance. Locally relevant public policies can use private providers in a positive way. As private markets are unlikely to go away in the short-term, it is important to consider their possible impact on health systems goals. Developing countries with mixed health systems should draw on the experiences of many high- and some middle-income countries, which have developed ways to regulate private providers. This involves a major effort to build technical capacity of stewardship and regulatory agencies in developing countries. Such measures should be paralleled with major efforts to broaden the base of public financing for health.

Reform of mixed health systems needs to include measures both within and outside the health-care system. The first priority is to address broader constraints of the political and economic systems that are manifest in inequities of power, money and resources, one of the strongest determinants of health status achievement. Debt limitation, fiscal responsibility and measures to broaden the tax base are necessary to create the needed fiscal space in the developing countries for the health sector; macroeconomic reform is critical for economic growth that benefits the poor and for bridging broader social inequities. Reform of public service and financial management to promote transparency in governance can deeply impact performance of a health system (see figure at: http://heartfile.org/mhhs3.htm).

Second, an increase in public sources of financing for health is critical. Measures can include incremental increases in revenues earmarked for health to support essential services, broadening the base of social protection for the informally employed sector and maximizing pooling through insurance for the formally employed sector. Increased funding, coupled with strategic approaches to reform public service delivery, can help achieve two results: retaining the workforce in the public sector (with appropriate incentives and accountability arrangements) and improving availability of essential medicines and supplies and improving infrastructure (through transparency in management, procurement and supply chains). Public facilities can be better managed through directly managed services, by granting greater autonomy with appropriate supervision or by contracting out, albeit with appropriate safeguards.

Third, regulatory approaches can enable the use of private providers to broaden primary health-care services and achieve greater equity overall. These changes in service delivery and financing arrangements require government health agencies in developing countries to enhance their normative and supervisory role to oversee provision of services, ideally with institutional separation of policy-making, implementation and regulatory functions. With appropriate stewardship of mixed health systems, "health for all" objectives can be pursued by augmenting public financing and harnessing private providers.

Global health initiatives can catalyse change in countries. It is presently not within the remit of most of these initiatives to invest in pre-payment mechanisms, address broader health inequities and build capacity of health systems in pre-service education nor to lend impetus to broad-based health systems reform, which appears to be needed in most countries to bridge some of the critical gaps. Expanding the mandate of these initiatives, possibly through a new health systems financing platform, could permit them to engage in countries with a broader set of issues to boost public financing, maximize the work of a broad range of providers, consolidate health information systems at large, work towards building a sustainable workforce and lobby for workforce retention regulation.5

This broad agenda for reforming a mixed health system can be phased in stages, with the first step being the creation of appropriate laws, policies and frameworks, the next step restructuring in pilot settings, before scaling up across the system.6 Implementation of this kind of broad reform requires political will, perseverance, consistency of policy and the resolve and capacity to implement these changes into policies, laws and institutional arrangements. Limited capacity, the short-term outlook of governments in most developing countries and lack of transparency in governance create impediments and so need to be addressed in tandem with health system reform. ■


Past studies that explored the evolutionary arms race between toxic Crotalaria plants and their herbivores have mostly focused on chemical co-evolution. In this highly speciose genus of plants, we hypothesize that other defenses, such as mechanical protection of the seeds, which are exploited by specialist herbivores for their nutrients and alkaloids, have also been evolving, together with the herbivores' ability to overcome them. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the cost of penetration imposed on a specialist herbivore, the larvae of the Ornate Bella Moth Utetheisa ornatrix , by the pericarps of three Crotalaria species. We tested the Florida native C. pumila , which has supposedly been in co-existence with U. ornatrix in the New World for thousands of years, the introduced species C. spectabilis that is native to Asia, and another introduced species, C. pallida , which is native to Africa, where multiple tiger moth species, including ones ancestral to the genus Utetheisa such as the genus Amphicallia, attack Crotalaria . Our evaluation was based on the ability of larvae to penetrate pods, their mortality, the rate of development of 4th through ultimate instar larvae when reared on open vs. closed pods as diet, and the wing span of resultant adult moths as a measurement of fitness. The cost associated with larval penetration of pericarps was greatest when feeding on C. pallida , followed by C. pumila , with the cost of penetration of C. spectabilis barely detectable in our study. We found that there are important structural and mechanical differences in the cellulose fibers forming the inner layer of the pericarps, which could help explain these differences in cost of penetration. Similar research on other Crotalaria species and associated tiger moths is required to test the evolutionary arms race hypothesis.


Airport management is often challenged by the task of managing aircraft parking positions most efficiently while complying with environmental regulations and capacity restrictions. Frequently this task is additionally affected by various perturbations, affecting punctuality of airport operations. This paper presents an innovative approach for obtaining an efficient stand assignment considering the stochastic nature of the airport environment and emissions reduction target of the modern air transportation industry. Furthermore, the presented methodology demonstrates how the same procedure of creating a stand assignment can help to identify an emissions mitigation potential. This paper illustrates the application of the presented methodology combined with simulation and demonstrates the impact of the application of Bayesian modeling and metaheuristic optimization for reduction of taxi-related emissions.


We analyse the dynamics of the pass-through of banks' marginal cost to bank lending rates over the 2008 crisis and the euro area sovereign debt crisis in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. We measure banks' marginal cost by their rate on new deposits, contrary to the literature that focuses on money market rates. This allows us to account for banks' risks. We focus on the interest rate on new short-term loans granted to non-financial corporations in these countries. Our analysis is based on an error-correction approach that we extend to handle the time-varying long-run relationship between banks' lending rates and banks' marginal cost, as well as stochastic volatility. Our empirical results are based on a harmonised monthly database from January 2003 to October 2014. We estimate the model within a Bayesian framework, using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods (MCMC).We reject the view that the transmission mechanism is time invariant. The long-run relationship moved with the sovereign debt crises to a new one, with a slower pass-through and higher bank lending rates. Its developments are heterogeneous from one country to the other. Impediments to the transmission of monetary rates depend on the heterogeneity in banks marginal costs and therefore, its risks. We also find that rates to small firms increase compared to large firms in a few countries. Using a VAR model, we show that overall, the effect of a shock on the rate of new deposits on the unexpected variances of new loans has been less important since 2010. These results confirm the slowdown in the transmission mechanism.


Some form of the edge-ray principle is used to design most nonimaging systems. (Only systems based on geometrical optics are considered.) For proving certain statements of this principle, the optical system is considered to be surrounded by an enclosure that any ray emerging from the system must intersect. A phase space, of topology Sphere × Disk, corresponding to the intersection of rays with the enclosure is introduced, and the system gives rise to a mapping f among points of this space. The proofs hold only if f is continuous, which is not the case for all real systems. Discontinuities in f may be caused by (1) tangential incidence of a ray with a surface, (2) incidence where the radius of curvature of a surface is zero, (3) transition from refraction to total internal reflection, and (4) intersection of different types of optical surface. Although the condition of the continuity of f is used in the proofs, even among systems in which continuity is absent it is difficult in practice to find counterexamples to the edge-ray principle formulated.


This thesis is concerned with the problem of dynamic control of kinematically redundant manipulators. A robot manipulator is said to be kinematically redundant when it has more degrees of freedom than are necessary to accomplish a particular task. Kinematic redundancy in a robot manipulator is a desirable characteristic since such manipulators have increased dexterity and versatility due to their self-motion. However, kinematic redundancy in a manipulator's structure presents a challenging problem since the richness in the choice of joint motions for the same end-effector trajectory complicates the manipulator kinematics and control problems considerably. The main objective of the work presented in this thesis is to design useful control strategies for kinematically redundant manipulators in order to enhance their performance to achieve the main task as well as the secondary tasks. In particular, in this thesis the following three problems are considered: First, following the impedance control approach, the problem of minimizing redundant manipulator collision impacts is addressed. The configuration control approach is used to reduce impulsive forces, while a simplified impedance control scheme is formulated to minimize rebound effects. Second, a new Cartesian control strategy for redundant flexible-joint manipulators, namely the hybrid Cartesian-joint control scheme, is proposed. The main idea in this scheme is to control not only the manipulator's end-effector, but also its links so as to achieve, specified positions and velocities for the end-effector and the links. Finally, a new application of kinematically redundant manipulators is proposed, namely, that of using redundancy resolution to compensate for joint flexibility. This redundancy resolution scheme is incorporated in a control strategy for redundant flexible-joint manipulators. The problem of possible algorithmic singularities is addressed, and a scheme is proposed which makes the controller robust with respect to such singularities.


Researchers in neurophysiology in Lund have undertaken measurements of the spinal cord in rats where the movement of the spinal cord due to blood flow and breathing has proved to be a major obstacle in their research. Except from manufacturing electrodes specialized for the task, an idea has been to reduce the effect of the motion by moving a table on which the object is placed, in a compensating manner. To further explore this idea, cooperation with an engineer at the department of Neurophysiology, Lund University, has been the subject of this thesis. A table movable in three directions was constructed. DC-motors controlling an eccentric were chosen as actuators for the motion control. A circuit for direct analogue control of DC-motors implementing proportional, integrating and differentiating stages aimed for standard PID control was built. The circuit allows current control to avoid overload of the motor as well as balancing of DC-noise from the amplifier stages. Recordings of the spinal cord motion as well as heart and breathing signals was done with a laser-vibrometer. Signal analysis was performed to investigate the suitability of reference-based feed forward control with the filtered-x LMS algorithm. The analysis showed poor result for this method.


Too often, quality programs fail to improve quality because they concentrate on internal processes which do not affect the customer. This is at least partially due to the alienation of marketing from the quality movement, a situation for which both sides are partially at fault. Ideally, marketing should serve as the eyes and ears of the organization, linking the external customer to managerial processes. One way to do this is to organize the collection of customer satisfaction measures around the managerial processes themselves. This forms a natural bridge from the customer to management and allows management to track the impact of quality improvements all the way from internal process measures to overall customer satisfaction and market share.


Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to have an affinity for digital technologies, often preferring computer-assisted learning to human-assisted learning. Many children with ASD are also diagnosed with Intellectual Disabilities (ID), yet design studies involving children with ASD and ID are scarce. Rewards can have a positive impact on children's learning and motivation, but little is known about the nature and impact of rewards for children with ASD, and/or ID. Digital technologies are well placed to provide task-based rewards, and in combination with a better understanding of the reward preferences of children with ASD and/or ID this has significant potential to enhance learning. This paper presents two robust participatory design (PD) studies involving children with: i) ASD; ii) ID; and iii) both ASD and ID. The studies aimed to identify: i) the reward preferences of children with ASD and/or ID (RQ1) and ii) how rewards might develop throughout a task as the child progresses (RQ2). Results revealed a number of reward categories that were common to all children, as well as children's preferences for how rewards could develop as they progress through computer-based tasks, for the first time. Original implications for designing computer-based rewards embedded within digital intervention/educational technologies for children with ASD and/or ID, are discussed.


In 2018 there was educational change in New Zealand with the introduction of new curriculum content for digital technologies. A key component of the digital technologies curriculum content was computational thinking where all students from Years 1 to 10 were expected to learn core coding concepts. The reasons for introducing coding into schools reflected a range of ideologies including preparing children to contribute meaningfully to society in the digital age. This narrative inquiry aimed to explore the value of coding in the curriculum through the experiences of students in Years 7 and 8. The research questions to meet this aim were; Why do students think coding is taught in school? Do students use coding outside of school? Why do students want to learn how to code and how do students think coding might help them or be useful?  Curriculum ideologies underpinned this study as a theoretical framework to evaluate student experiences of coding across two case studies. The narratives were derived from focus group interviews held at two different schools. Similarities across the case studies included students' beliefs about the benefits of including coding in the curriculum. Students' felt confident that learning coding allowed them to; understand the digital world, create digital products, prepare for the future, teach others and fix broken technology. They could not comprehend what their lives would be like without technology and therefore coding. Some students believed that "without code we would probably be like cave people".  The main difference between the case studies was the level of teacher direction. This reflected a contradiction between competing curriculum ideologies and addressed the broader debate in education of 21st century skills versus powerful knowledge. The contradictions highlighted how the pedagogical design of coding in the curriculum could be effectively structured.  Traditional knowledge and teacher explanation were found to be important to students when learning more complex coding. However, globalisation is a key concept for education in a digital age. Therefore, opportunities can be created for students to build on knowledge and collaborate in new and challenging ways. Treating coding as a social practice by teaching students to connect with the wider community or to use programming for social good can engage them with experiences beyond their own. This does not mean abandoning the elements of 21st century learning, such as students' own experiences or active learning. Drawing on the strengths of both traditional knowledge and 21st century learning approaches can lead to more powerful knowledge creation.


Revised and Expanded Edition. In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, "Why People Believe Weird Things" debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, "Why "Smart" People Believe in Weird Things," Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science. Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. "Why People Believe Strange Things" is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.


Recent work has explored using the stabilizer formalism to classically simulate quantum circuits containing a few non-Clifford gates. The computational cost of such methods is directly related to the notion of stabilizerrank, which for a pure state ψ is defined to be the smallest integer χ such that ψ is a superposition of χ stabilizer states. Here we develop a comprehensive mathematical theory of the stabilizer rank and the related approximate stabilizer rank. We also present a suite of classical simulation algorithms with broader applicability and significantly improved performance over the previous state-of-the-art. A new feature is the capability to simulate circuits composed of Clifford gates and arbitrary diagonal gates, extending the reach of a previous algorithm specialized to the Clifford+T gate set. We implemented the new simulation methods and used them to simulate quantum algorithms with 40-50 qubits and over 60 non-Clifford gates, without resorting to high-performance computers. We report a simulation of the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm in which we process superpositions of χ∼106 stabilizer states and sample from the full n-bit output distribution, improving on previous simulations which used ∼103 stabilizer states and sampled only from single-qubit marginals. We also simulated instances of the Hidden Shift algorithm with circuits including up to 64 T gates or 16 CCZ gates; these simulations showcase the performance gains available by optimizing the decomposition of a circuit's non-Clifford components.


Objectives
Wheat consumption has declined the past two decades amid growing concerns about gluten-sensitivity. To determine if genetic manipulations of wheat contribute to gut inflammation, we investigated the effects of modern and heirloom wheat on gut health under normal and western diet (WD) conditions.

Methods
Six-week old C57BL/6 male mice were utilized in a 2 × 3 factorial design with diet (control [AIN-93 G] or WD, 45% fat) and wheat flour (control, 10% heirloom [Turkey] or modern [Gallagher]) as factors. After 6 wks on diets, body composition was assessed, and blood and tissue specimens were collected to evaluate metabolic parameters, as well as systemic and intestinal indicators of inflammation and barrier integrity. Cecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were also assessed. Data were analyzed using 2-way ANOVA (SAS, Version 9.4) unless tests of normality failed, in which case Friedman's test was performed.

Results
Body weight, % body fat, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, and NEFA were increased with WD and wheat had no effect on these metabolic parameters. Serum C reactive protein and lipopolysaccharide binding protein were not changed by WD or wheat. WD decreased the SCFA, acetic acid, but adding Gallagher wheat to WD restored levels to control (PWD*Wheat < 0.05). No other SCFA were altered. Histological evaluation revealed reduced villi height (P < 0.05) and area (P < 0.05) in the jejunum with WD and wheat did not alter this response. Within the ileum, Gallagher increased villi area (P < 0.01) relative to control, but no other changes were noted. No effects of WD or wheat on villous atrophy or lymphocyte infiltration within the jejunum, ileum or colon were observed. Overall, gene expression of tight junction proteins was unaffected by WD or wheat, except for a reduction in junction adhesion molecule-3 (Jam3) by WD (P < 0.05). Within the ilial lamina propria, WD increased interferon-γ (IFNg) (P < 0.05) and adding Turkey wheat suppressed interleukin-17 (IL17) (PWD*Wheat < 0.05) relative to other groups. No other inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α [Tnf], IFNg, and Il6) were altered by wheat.

Conclusions
These findings indicate modern wheat (Gallagher) did not comprise barrier function or contribute to gut inflammation relative to the Turkey variety.

Funding Sources
Oklahoma Wheat Commission.


Women in ancient Rome challenge the historian. Widely represented in literature and art, they rarely speak for themselves. Amy Richlin, among the foremost pioneers in ancient studies, gives voice to these women through scholarship that scours sources from high art to gutter invective. In Arguments with Silence , Richlin presents a linked selection of her essays on Roman women's history, originally published between 1981 and 2001 as the field of "women in antiquity" took shape, and here substantially rewritten and updated. The new introduction to the volume lays out the historical methodologies these essays developed, places this process in its own historical setting, and reviews work on Roman women since 2001, along with persistent silences. Individual chapter introductions locate each piece in the social context of Second Wave feminism in Classics and the academy, explaining why each mattered as an intervention then and still does now. Inhabiting these pages are the women whose lives were shaped by great art, dirty jokes, slavery, and the definition of adultery as a wife's crime; Julia, Augustus' daughter, who died, as her daughter would, exiled to a desert island; women wearing makeup, safeguarding babies with amulets, practicing their religion at home and in public ceremonies; the satirist Sulpicia, flaunting her sexuality; and the praefica , leading the lament for the dead. Amy Richlin is one of a small handful of modern thinkers in a position to consider these questions, and this guided journey with her brings surprise, delight, and entertainment, as well as a fresh look at important questions.


We develop a novel optimization approach to tone. Its grammatical component consists of the similarity- and proximity-based correspondence constraint framework of Agreement by Correspondence theory (ABC). Its representational component, Q Theory, decomposes segments (Q) into temporally ordered, quantized subsegments (q), which comprise unitary sets of distinctive features, including tone. ABC+Q unites phonological alternations and static lexical patterns, as we illustrate with a programmatic survey of core tonal phenomena: assimilation, dissimilation, lexical tone melodies, and consonant-tone interaction. ABC+Q surmounts long-standing problems for autosegmental-era, multitiered representational approaches to tone, and unites tonal and segmental phonology under the modern umbrella of correspondence theory.


Animal Motifs in Asian Art: An Illustrated Guide to Their Meanings and Aesthetics. By Katherine M. Ball. 1927. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2004. 286 pp., black and white illustrations, index, bibliography (pre-1927), pbk. Few reference texts survive eighty years of shelf life, and in the world of Google scholaring and instant updating one may expect that even fewer will endure "intact" as originally published. This is precisely what makes Dover Publications decision to reissue verbatim Katherine Ball's 1927 Animal Motifs in Asian Art so intriguing. My first impulse was to write it off as a bit of Dover arcana, an outdated curiosity of interest perhaps to a few antiquarians but now superseded by "current" scholarship. Then, more or less on an Urashimo Taro whim, I looked up "The Tortoise" and learned much more than I had expected about the "shelly tribe." Like the venerable Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, Animal Motifs in Asian Art is meant for browsing, not to be devoured cover to cover. Arranged in an idiosyncratic biologic order beginning with "The Dragon" and ending with "The Dragon-Fly and Other Insects," the text contains chapters on creatures real and imaginary, from badgers to unicorns, and the chapters are clearly named. If you need help with foxes, you will find a chapter; waterfowl and serpents have their own chapters, as do lions, peacocks, fish, and bats, to name only a few of the thirty-eight species represented. "Asia," as Ball used the term in 1927, refers primarily to China and Japan, with comparative cross-references to Hindu, Egyptian, Incan, Mayan, and Greek mythologies and iconography. South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Korea are not prominently featured. A pertinent literary or philosophical headnote and illustration opens and closes each chapter, and each begins with an overview of the placement of its "animal" in Asian art, followed by a survey of legends concerning the animal. Ball carefully references linguistic origins of key terms and concepts, ranging comfortably through Japanese, Sanskrit, and Chinese lexicons and history. One of the text's most valuable aspects is its copious illustrations (though the quality of the reproductions is not as high as todays production values might dictate), which Ball sometimes closely "reads" in terms of iconography. She is particularly good at identifying and placing specific thematic motifs and structural elements in the visual and sculptural images (though she does call such motifs and elements "decorative"). In this she anticipates the work of Irwin Panofsky and Edgar Wind later in the first half of the twentieth century. Back to the tortoise, which will serve as a sample of the kinds of lore one will find in the chapters (incidentally, Ball correctly lists tortoises and turtles together under the genus Chelonia). In keeping with her belief that China was the origin for most Asian myths and legends (vii), Ball begins chapter 6 with an exploration of the historical veneration of the tortoise (kuei) and its place in Chinese cosmography. …


OBJECTIVE--To evaluate the power of measurements of left ventricular size and function for predicting long term (82 month) mortality by performing echocardiography in 97 men who had survived an acute myocardial infarction. SETTING--University hospital specialising in cardiology. PARTICIPANTS--97 consecutive male patients who had survived a myocardial infarction. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--The additive prognostic value of functional measurements to that provided by primary risk factors (smoking habits and lipoprotein levels), radiological heart size, exercise capacity, and number of major coronary arteries with haemodynamically significant stenoses was evaluated. An echo index was calculated from three echocardiographic variables (yielding one score point each if: left ventricular diameter at the end of diastole (LVDD) > or = 5.7 cm, left ventricular fractional shortening < or = 24%, and E point-separation (EPSS) > or = 10 mm). MAIN OUTCOME--17 cardiac deaths occurred during follow up. RESULTS--Univariate analysis showed that treatment with loop diuretics for heart failure (P < 0.01), LVDD (P < 0.01), left ventricular diameter at the end of systole (LVDS) (P < 0.001), left atrial diameter (P < 0.001), fractional shortening (P < 0.05), and echo index (P < 0.001) were all associated with cardiac death. Angiographically determined regional wall motion disturbances (P < 0.005) and angiographic ejection fraction (P < 0.001) were also associated with cardiac death, as was the number of major coronary arteries with significant stenosis (P < 0.05). When all significant echocardiographic variables from univariate analysis were entered into Cox proportional hazards survival analysis, LVDS and left atrial diameter contributed independently to the prediction of cardiac death. If angiographic data were also entered into the model, the echo index made an independent contribution to the prediction of cardiac death. CONCLUSIONS--Among young male patients with a previous myocardial infarction, a simple M mode echocardiographic examination can identify high and low risk patients and improve the prediction of cardiac death made from clinical information, exercise test, chest x ray and angiographically determined ejection fraction.


Introduction: Nigeria, the tenth most populous country in the world and the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, has the second highest population of people living with HIV, after South Africa. A variety of endocrinologic, metabolic and nutritional disturbances are common during the course of HIV infection. Most HIV/AIDS patients develop multiple metabolic abnormalities including insulin resistance, lipodystrophy and dyslipidemia leading to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Objective: To assess the lipid profile of HIV/AIDS patients attending antiretroviral (ARV) clinic in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Fifty HIV-seropositive patients on ARV therapy, 50 ARV-naοve HIV patients and also 50 HIV-negative controls were assessed for lipid profile status and CD4 count. BMI of all participants was calculated. Data obtained were analysed using SPSS 15.0. A P- value ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The mean values of lipid profile showed a significantly higher total cholesterol (P < 0.01) and HDL-cholesterol (P < 0.001) in HIV-positive patients on ARV therapy compared with ARV-naive patients and controls. There was a positive significant correlation between CD4 count and total cholesterol as well as between CD4 count and LDL-cholesterol in patients on ARV therapy. A negative significant correlation was found between CD4 count and triglyceride in ARV-naive patients. Atherogenic index was significantly lower (P < 0.01) in HIV-positive patients on ARV therapy. Conclusion: HIV infection leads to dyslipidemia which is probably worsened by ARV therapy; however, these dyslipidemia did not constitute CVD risk.