In this article, the author also considers market timing, not as a strategy, but as a reaction to an earlier faulty decision. Rather than viewing market timing as the result of investor belief that they can always foresee price movements at the asset level earlier than other participants, Brunel considers market timing as a reaction of panic by investors who have adopted too aggressive an asset allocation strategy or have not taken the time to create such a long-term strategy. He compares the performance of a "panicky" investors portfolio to the result of a normal portfolio mix, naively rebalance on a monthly basis, on both pre- and after-tax bases and concludes that the cost of making a market timing error is substantially higher in the after-tax world. While such a conclusion may no be a surprise, Brunel argues it makes the case for adopting an appropriate and comfortable strategic asset allocation even stronger.


Millions of ringgits have been spent annually for road maintenance. The causes of road
problems may be due to incorrect selection of pavement material. The study shows that
there is the tendency for using the same pavement material for the whole stretch of a
project. Some important factors that affect pavement material were not considered by
road designers, because there is no systematic pavement material selection system
available. At present, road designers refer to some road design standard procedures
which are not updated consistently and there is little exposure to some other pavement
materials. A systematic pavement material selection based on expert guidance to guide
the road designers is needed.
This thesis looks into the first development of a Road Construction Material Selection
System (RC-MSS), based on the outcomes of questionnaires from the selected pavement
experts using the Friedman' statistical analysis and documented sources. The study also looks into what the practitioners want if a pavement material selection system is
developed. The survey shows that pavement materials were governed by soil conditions,
expected load repetitions and geometric features of vertical gradient and horizontal
curvature. Besides, the selection of the appropriate construction materials for the
various layers for various traffic-loading under the type of terrains such as flat, rolling
and mountainous was incorporated as important parameters. All these factors were
found to be indispensable in the formulation of a material selection system for road
construction.
In the Friedman hypothesis testing of this study, it was found that there is significant
difference in terms of durability, performance and ease of construction from each
suggested pavement material in nine site conditions out of 30 site conditions. Multiple
comparisons have been used to the rejected null hypothesis to determine which materials
were significantly different in these nine rejected null hypothesis site conditions
respectively. Positions were then given to the pavement materials based on the outcomes
from the multiple comparisons method. The factors were then incorporated into
developing of the specific rules of the system framework and the 30 site conditions were
associated with the documented source and used as knowledge database for the system.
In order to make the system user-friendly, compatible and flexible, the system was
developed into the software using a programming language. RC-MSS developed
interfaces are easy to use and have non-complicated procedures. The user can go straight
to the output fast. The system can help the user in better decision-making of pavement
material selection as it provides more feasible alternative materials.


Electronic, software-managed mechanisms using, for example, radiofrequency identification (RFID) cards, enable great flexibility in specifying access control policies to physical spaces. For example, access rights may vary based on time of day or could differ in normal versus emergency situations. With such fine-grained control, understanding and reasoning about what a policy permits becomes surprisingly difficult requiring knowledge of permission levels, spatial layout, and time. In this paper, we present a formal modeling framework, called ACCESS NETS, suitable for describing a combination of access permissions, physical spaces, and temporal constraints. Furthermore, we provide evidence that model checking techniques are effective in reasoning about physical access control policies. We describe our results from a tool that uses reachability analysis to validate security policies.


This study explores aggregate profitability in Italy from 1994 to 2008 in its connection with structural change and gender employment disparities. Using decomposition analysis, the study finds that aggregate profit rate declined, but the profit share did not. Male variables – such as earnings, output, employment, and working hours – tended to have more weight than female ones in explaining aggregate outcomes. Structural change also played a major role, as the economy specialized in sectors with falling real wages and wage shares, especially the financial sector and construction. Further falls in the wage share and widening wage gaps may not guarantee a rise in profitability. This result entails that "neo-mercantilist" approaches to solve the crisis might only prepare the next crisis, while a coordinated expansion of demand could be more successful. Moreover, gender issues should not be neglected in terms of favoring women's employment and entrepreneurship.


Neuronal gamma-band synchronization shapes information flow during sensory and cognitive processing. A common view is that a stable and shared frequency over time is required for robust and functional synchronization. To the contrary, we found that non-stationary instantaneous frequency modulations were essential for synchronization. First, we recorded gamma rhythms in monkey visual area V1, and found that they synchronized by continuously modulating their frequency difference in a phase-dependent manner. The frequency modulation properties regulated both the phase-locking and the preferred phase-relation between gamma rhythms. Second, our experimental observations were in agreement with a biophysical model of gamma rhythms and were accurately predicted by the theory of weakly coupled oscillators revealing the underlying theoretical principles that govern gamma synchronization. Thus, synchronization through instantaneous frequency modulations represents a fundamental principle of gamma-band neural coordination that is likely generalizable to other brain rhythms.


In each L. flavolineata colony only one 'dominant' female reproduces at a given time, but all of the females, apparently, have the potential to achieve dominant status. I provide detailed census data, which shows that the majority of wasps inherit dominance in an age-based manner, i.e. the oldest individual becomes the dominant when the previous dominant dies. However, I also provide evidence of 'cheats' that achieve dominance before older individuals. Focusing upon 'cheating' individuals, I look at their relative size and genetic relatedness in relation to their nestmates to provide clues as to how they are able to 'queue-jump'. This study reveals that queue jumpers tend to be the sisters of wasps they jump in the queue yet queue jumpers are generally no larger than the rest of their nestmates. I then proceed to look at the prior foraging effort of queue jumpers before the queue jump took place. I conclude that queue jumping is an opportunist act performed when the dominant shows cues as to the imminent arrival of her death. I provide data regarding the general genetic structure of L. flavolineata colonies, focusing particularly upon the relatedness of the dominant to subordinate ranks. This study reveals no correlation between rank and relatedness to the dominant. Finally, I look at foraging effort and how it corresponds to rank and group size. Cant and Field (2001) have developed a Kin Selection model in which they predict the optimum levels of foraging effort for a subordinate individual according to its rank and the group size of its nest. L. flavolineata is a suitable species upon which to test this model as rank is revealed to be independent of relatedness to the Dominant. The results shown here are in good agreement with the predictions of the Kin Selection model.


BACKGROUND
This article presents evidence-based clinical recommendations regarding the intake of fluoride from reconstituted infant formula and its potential association with enamel fluorosis. The recommendations were developed by an expert panel convened by the American Dental Association (ADA) Council on Scientific Affairs (CSA). The panel addressed the following question: Is consumption of infant formula reconstituted with water that contains various concentrations of fluoride by infants from birth to age 12 months associated with an increased risk of developing enamel fluorosis in the permanent dentition?

TYPES OF STUDIES REVIEWED
A panel of experts convened by the ADA CSA, in collaboration with staff of the ADA Center for Evidence-based Dentistry (CEBD), conducted a MEDLINE search to identify systematic reviews and clinical studies published since the systematic reviews were conducted that addressed the review question.

RESULTS
CEBD staff identified one systematic review and two clinical studies. The panel reviewed this evidence to develop recommendations.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
The panel suggested that when dentists advise parents and caregivers of infants who consume powdered or liquid concentrate infant formula as the main source of nutrition, they can suggest the continued use of powdered or liquid concentrate infant formulas reconstituted with optimally fluoridated drinking water while being cognizant of the potential risks of enamel fluorosis development. These recommendations are presented as a resource to be considered in the clinical decision-making process. As part of the evidence-based approach to care, these clinical recommendations should be integrated with the practitioner's professional judgment and the patient's needs and preferences.


Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major pathogen that induces chronic hepatitis in approximately 400 million people worldwide frequently leading to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Woodchucks infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) demonstrate virological and immunological profiles of infection and liver disease patterns highly comparable to those seen in human hepatitis B. Many attributes of HBV and the immune system interactions remain unknown, particularly how HBV persists and causes chronic liver disease. In the current studies, we investigated several aspects of the hepadnavirus-host immune system interaction and examined a role in these interactions of interferon gamma (IFNγ), which is known to be a potent antiviral and immune system regulatory cytokine. The specific objectives of our studies were to: (1) clone and express woodchuck IFNγ and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in the baculovirus and Escherichia coli (E.coli) expression systems; (2) establish an in vitro model in which the effect of WHV genome expression on the hepatocyte surface presentation of the class 1 major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules can be investigated and, by using this system, to determine which WHV translation product interferes with the class 1 antigen display and whether this interference can be reversed by hepatocyte treatment with IFNγ, and (3) investigate the modulator effect of IFNγ on a DNA vaccine in preventing WHV infection. In the course of these studies, we have successfully produced biologically active recombinant woodchuck IFNγ and TNFα. The data showed that the baculovirus-derived IFNγ and TNFα had considerably greater biological potency than the same cytokines produced in E. coli. In a subsequent study, we established an in vitro model to examine hepadnavirus interference with hepatocyte class 1 MHC expression. The results revealed that the class 1 antigen presentation was significantly inhibited on hepatocytes transcribing the complete WHV genome, similarly as it was previously reported by this laboratory for hepatocytes in chronic WHV hepatitis. WHV envelope preS2 protein was found to be responsible for the class 1 MHC antigen suppression, while transcription of WHV X gene significantly augmented the class 1 antigen display on the hepatocytes surface. This defect in class 1 MHC presentation may diminish the susceptibility of hepatocytes to virus-specific T cell-mediated elimination, hamper hepadnavirus clearance, and contribute to the establishment of chronic hepatitis. Importantly, we also demonstrated that IFNγ, a stimulator of class 1 MHC expression, can reverse this WHV-induced inhibitory effect and restore class 1 MHC presentation on hepatocytes, suggesting that the same could be true for hepatocytes in chronic hepadnaviral hepatitis. Further, our results demonstrated that DNA vaccination with combined WHV core gene and IFNγ DNA provided significantly better protection against serologically evident WHV infection and hepatitis than WHV core DNA vaccine alone. However, our study revealed that protection against the virus is never complete. The data also showed that IFNγ can serve as an adjuvant and can augment immune response against hepadnavirus, as well as possibly clear infection in a non-cytopathic manner. In summary, the results and the investigative tools generated should advance our understanding of the complexity of molecular interactions occurring between hepadnavirus, hepatocytes and the host immune system which govern development of HBV persistence and chronic hepatitis. They may also aid in the development of novel more effective therapies against HBV.


This Article focuses on some of AG Jacobs' opinions regarding matters of competition, starting with his contributions on the meaning of "undertaking" in Hofner and AOK, under a combination of the Treaty Establishing the European Community ("EC Treaty") Articles 82 and 86 (special and exclusive rights), and Risparmio, under Articles 86 and 87 (State aids). It does not deal with many other opinions he wrote on the meaning of "undertaking," such as those in Albany and Pavlov. Finally, it discusses his opinions on refusals to deal in Bronner and Syfait, along with a selection of other judgments on the topic. ADVOCATE GENERAL JACOBS' CONTRIBUTION TO COMPETITION LAW


Ownership structure represents the distribution of equity with regard to votes and capital but also by the identity of the equity owners. These structures are of major importance in corporate governance because they determine the incentives of managers and thereby the economic efficiency of the corporations they manage. This papers analyzes the relationship between governance, ownership structure and CSR practices among companies in Romania. The results of this study allows corporates and the public to formulate a well substantiated opinion on the way particular organizations carry out their businesses in Romania regarding CSR where CSR practices reflect culture and are partially county and ownership specific. The CSR practices implemented in Romania may not always reflect the societal views but rather the public ownership / government views, on what is thought to be important. Keywords: governance, ownership, emerging economies, Romania, corporate social responsibility, CSR practices


Nanomaterials under REACH Nanosilver as a case study Some adjustments are needed in the European chemicals legislation REACH to assess and control the risks of nanomaterials. The information on substances to be provided under REACH is not sufficient to determine the specific properties of nanomaterials, nor to assess how these properties affect their behaviour and effects in humans and the environment. RIVM concluded this following research into the suitability of REACH for nanomaterials. RIVM therefore proposes an adapted set of minimum information requirements, to be applied to all nanomaterials to be registered under REACH, independent of their volume of production and import. These requirements allow a risk assessment of nanomaterials. Over the last years the use of nanomaterials has strongly increased. As yet, nanomaterials are defined as substances of which the discrete parts have at least one dimension smaller than one hundred nanometres. Due to their nanosize they have specific properties. Legislation should focus on controlling the potential hazards and risks of these nanomaterials. By conducting a hypothetical registration of nanosilver it was investigated whether REACH is suitable for assessing the safe use of nanomaterials. From this it appeared that no definition of a nanomaterial is present, and that a relevant measure for expressing harmfulness and exposure is as yet not known. In addition, the standard information requirements are insufficient to assess hazard and exposure. They are also insufficient for a proper characterisation of the nanomaterial. Consequently, it cannot be determined to what extent the nanoform of a substance corresponds to the non-nanoform of the same substance. Furthermore, it is unclear whether current risk reduction measures and extrapolation methods in risk assessment, as established for non-nanomaterials, are applicable to nanomaterials.


Sediment redistribution at the seafloor is a widespread process in marine environments. In the last years, increasing evidence has been found that sedimentary budgets for biogenic silica and other components may be strongly biased by sediment focusing. The natural radioisotope Thorium-230 provides a method for correcting fluxes into the sediment for this lateral transport. The 230Th-normalization method has so far been applied to individual sediment cores and some longitudinal sectionsonly, giving a first impression of the strong influence of sediment redistribution. However, the database of 230Th-corrected data had been too scarce to calculate reliable spatial budgets for whole ocean basins. Here we present a comprehensive set (114 samples) of 230Th-corrected biogenic silica accumulation rate data for surface sediments in the South Atlantic and adjoining areas. The focusing-corrected budgets for silica are considerably lower than earlier estimates.The focusing-corrected accumulation rates, representing vertical fluxes intothe sediment, will facilitate the comparison of core data to model results.


A new technique for suppressing the nonresonant contribution to the coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) signal is presented. This involves two-laser three-beam CARS generation using picosecond pulses in which one of the pump beams is delayed with respect to the two others. A reduction of 2 orders of magnitude is obtained for the 656-cm−1 vibrational line of CS2 in a 10% mixture of CS2 in toluene. This reduction is limited by the ratio of the energy in our pulse laser to that in its trailing background, which is about 100:1. Use of alternative laser systems would reduce the background by about 1012:1.


Conventional enhanced oil recovery (EOR) approaches are inefficient in unconventional reservoirs. This paper provides a novel approach to enhance oil recovery from unconventional oil reservoirs through synchronous inter-fracture injection and production (SiFIP) and asynchronous inter-fracture injection and production (AiFIP). The compartmental embedded discrete fracture model (cEDFM) is introduced to simulate complex fracture geometries to quantitatively evaluate the performance of SiFIP and AiFIP. EOR performances using multiple producing methods are investigated (i.e., depletion, fluid flood, fluid Huff and Puff, SiFIP, and AiFIP). Higher cumulative oil production rates can be achieved by AiFIP and SiFIP. AiFIP yields the highest oil recovery factor, two times higher than depletion. Compared with SiFIP, AiFIP may be a preferred method when CO2/water resources are short. The impacts of fracture and injection parameters on oil production are discussed. The feasible well completions for AiFIP and SiFIP are provided. AiFIP (CO2) achieves the best EOR performance among different producing methods. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of SiFIP and AiFIP to improve oil recovery. The proposed methods improve flooding performance by transforming fluid injection among wells to among hydraulic fractures from the same multi-fractured horizontal well (MFHW), which is a promising EOR approach in unconventional oil reservoirs. The proposed EOR method (AiFIP-CO2) can improve oil recovery and mitigate the emission of CO2 as well as reduce the waste of water resources.


This study investigates the relationship between export structure and economic growth in Russian regions. We hypothesize that it is not industry variety per se but the variety of related industries located relatively close to each other in the product space that significantly contributes to economic growth in Russian regions. The empirical analysis presented in the paper confirms that the density of the product space around the products for which a region had a comparative advantage determined the economic development in Russian regions in the 2003-2008 period. We conclude that the presence of a local related variety of industries in a region is one of the most important regional factors in economic development.


Adaptive gradient methods, which adopt historical gradient information to automatically adjust the learning rate, despite the nice property of fast convergence, have been observed to generalize worse than stochastic gradient descent (SGD) with momentum in training deep neural networks. This leaves how to close the generalization gap of adaptive gradient methods an open problem. In this work, we show that adaptive gradient methods such as Adam, Amsgrad, are sometimes "over adapted". We design a new algorithm, called Partially adaptive momentum estimation method, which unifies the Adam/Amsgrad with SGD by introducing a partial adaptive parameter $p$, to achieve the best from both worlds. We also prove the convergence rate of our proposed algorithm to a stationary point in the stochastic nonconvex optimization setting. Experiments on standard benchmarks show that our proposed algorithm can maintain fast convergence rate as Adam/Amsgrad while generalizing as well as SGD in training deep neural networks. These results would suggest practitioners pick up adaptive gradient methods once again for faster training of deep neural networks.


New Zealand's defence policy over the last 25 years has changed dramatically, going from being anchored in a Realist view of the world to being one influenced more by a Liberal Internationalist view of international relations. This has meant that defence policy has gone from one reliant on a balanced military force and collective security with allies to one that is attuned primarily to peace-keeping and determinedly independent of allies. The change is mainly the result of the increasing influence of the Labour party's ideology on defence policy.


Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors are rapidly emerging as a new generation of therapeutic drug in combination with chemotherapy or radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer. The mechanisms underlying its antitumor effects are not fully understood and more thorough preclinical trials are needed to determine if COX-2 inhibition represents a useful approach for prevention and/or treatment of breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the growth inhibitory mechanism of a highly selective COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib, in an in vivo oncogenic mouse model of spontaneous breast cancer that resembles human disease. The oncogenic mice carry the polyoma middle T antigen driven by the mouse mammary tumor virus promoter and develop primary adenocarcinomas of the breast. Results show that oral administration of celecoxib caused significant reduction in mammary tumor burden associated with increased tumor cell apoptosis and decreased proliferation in vivo. In vivo apoptosis correlated with significant decrease in activation of protein kinase B/Akt, a cell survival signaling kinase, with increased expression of the proapoptotic protein Bax and decreased expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. In addition, celecoxib treatment reduced levels of proangiogenic factor (vascular endothelial growth factor), suggesting a role of celecoxib in suppression of angiogenesis in this model. Results from these preclinical studies will form the basis for assessing the feasibility of celecoxib therapy alone or in combination with conventional therapies for treatment and/or prevention of breast cancer.


The problem of navigation system design for autonomous aircraft landing is addressed. New nonlinear filter structures are introduced to estimate the position and velocity of an aircraft with respect to a possibly moving landing site, such as a naval vessel, based on measurements provided by airborne vision and inertial sensors. By exploring the geometry of the navigation problem, the navigation filter dynamics are cast in the framework of linear parametrically varying systems (LPVs). Using this set-up, filter performance and stability are studied in an H/sub /spl infin// setting by resorting to the theory of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The design of nonlinear, regionally stable filters to meet adequate H/sub /spl infin// performance measures is thus converted into that of determining the feasibility of a related set of LMIs and finding a solution to them, if it exists. This is done by using-widely available numerical tools that borrow from convex optimization techniques. The mathematical framework that is required for integrated vision/inertial navigation system design is developed and a design example for an air vehicle landing on an aircraft carrier is detailed.


We formulate the interaction between the communicating nodes and an adversary within a game-theoretic context. We show that earlier information-theoretic capacity results for a jammed channel correspond to a pure Nash Equilibrium (NE). However, when both players are allowed to randomize their actions (i.e., coding rate and jamming power) new mixed Nash equilibria appear with surprising properties. We show the existence of a threshold (JTH) such that if the jammer average power exceeds J TH, the channel capacity at the NE is the same as if the jammer was using its maximum allowable power, JMax, all the time. This indicates that randomization significantly advantages powerful jammers. We also show how the NE strategies can be derived, and we provide very simple (e.g., semi-uniform) approximations to the optimal communication and jamming strategies. Such strategies are very simple to implement in current hardware and software.


Spatial microsimulation techniques have become an increasingly popular way to fulfil the need for generating small area data estimates. Nevertheless, this technique poses numerous methodological challenges, including those that relate to fundamental differences between the multiple data sources which spatial microsimulation techniques seek to combine. Using two different databases simultaneously to produce estimates of population characteristics may come up against problems related to different distributions of key variables within the two databases. Such differences can make it difficult to adequately validate small area estimates, as it can be hard to assess whether differences between synthetic and original data are due to failures or inaccuracies within the estimation procedure, or simply to the differences within the underlying data. This study presents a case study of this problem using a very important small area estimate – child poverty rates. We compare how income distributions for children are different in two Australian databases being combined within a spatial microsimulation model. We then assess the extent to which this affects our estimates of child poverty, and gauge its impact on the apparent validity of these synthetic small area poverty rates.


The Stoffel fragment of Taq DNA polymerase lacks the 5' to 3' exonuclease activity that hydrolyzes potentially blocking DNA strands during primer extension. We there-fore asked whether by using this fragment in the PCR, non-extendable, base-paired oligonucleotides could inhibit amplification in a sequence-dependent manner. Model targets were chosen from the partially conserved ribosomal 16S rDNA of three bacterial species: E. coli, Bacillus subtilis and Neisseria gonorrhoea. A single pair of primers was capable of amplifying a homologous 240-bp region from all three. Two non-extendable "blocking" oligonucleotides were synthesized with sequences complementary to the inter-primer regions of E. coli and B. subtilis, respectively. Both blockers were shown specifically to prevent amplification of their complementary targets, but not of the reciprocal control targets or of the reciprocal control targets or of the non-complementary N. gonorrhea. Specificity was further confirmed by an internal positive control. Similar inhibition was seen with mixtures of targets in a single reaction. With intact Taq DNA polymerase, no blocking was observed. Primers and blockers targeting specific regions of N. gonorrhoea rDNA were used to confirm the requirement that blockers be directed to the inter-primer region. Sequence-dependent amplification inhibition, such as that demonstrated here, would be applicable to PCR-related strategies using primers capable of using multiple targets, where such selective inhibition could be useful.


Effective haptic feedback in virtual reality (VR) is an essential element for creating convincing immersive experiences. To design such feedback, state-of-the-art VR setups provide APIs for programmatically generating controller vibration patterns. While tools for designing vibrotactile feedback keep evolving, they often require expert knowledge and rarely support direct manipulation methods for mapping feedback to user interactions within the VR environment. To address these challenges, we contribute a novel concept called Weirding Haptics, that supports fast-prototyping by leveraging the user's voice to design such feedback while manipulating virtual objects in-situ. Through a pilot study (N = 9) focusing on how tactile experiences are vocalized during object manipulation, we identify spatio-temporal mappings and supporting features needed to produce intended vocalizations. To study our concept, we built a VR design tool informed by the results of the pilot study. This tool enables users to design tactile experiences using their voice while manipulating objects, provides a set of modifiers for fine-tuning the created experiences in VR, and allows to rapidly compare various experiences by feeling them. Results from a validation study (N = 8) show that novice hapticians can vocalize experiences and refine their designs with the fine-tuning modifiers to match their intentions. We conclude our work by discussing uncovered design implications for direct manipulation and vocalization of vibrotactile feedback in immersive virtual environments.


Many researchers have used a cointegration approach to test for the Fisher effect. This note argues that the cointegration of the nominal interest rate and the inflation rate is consistent with any theory implying a stationary ex post real interest rate and so is not a sufficient condition for the Fisher effect to hold. The sufficient condition is the unpredictability of the inflation forecast error implied by the nominal interest rate and this condition may be tested using the signal extraction framework of Durlauf and Hall (1988, 1989).


Researchers will debate for years why violent crime in the United States increased sharply in the 1980s and early 1990s before dropping just as precipitously in the mid- to late-1990s. All researchers agree, however, that general trends in violent crime during this period had much to do with changing rates of youth crime.
With the recent release of crime data for the year 2000, it is possible to review crime trends over the entire span of years between 1980 and 2000. This report examines these trends and analyzes what portion of the recent crime drop can be attributed to juveniles (under age 18) and young adults (ages 18 to 24). The results demonstrate that while young people helped to generate the growth in violence before 1994, they contributed an even more disproportionate share to the decline in violence after 1994. Most of the recent decline in violent crime, in fact, was due to falling rates of violent crime among the young.


Abstract Background. The availability of quality assured, population-based cancer registries and biobanks with high quality samples makes it possible to conduct research on large samples sets with long follow-up within a reasonable time frame. Defined quality for both cancer registries and biobanks is essential for enabling high quality biobank-based research. Recent networking projects have brought these infrastructures together to promote the combined use of cancer registries and biobanks in cancer research. Materials and methods. In this report we review the current status and future perspectives of cancer registries and biobanks and how the interface between them should be developed to optimally further cancer research. Results and discussion. Major conclusions for future improvements are that the research exploiting cancer registries and biobanks, and the research that is building and optimising the infrastructure, should evolve together for maximally relevant progress. Population-based and sustainable biobanks that continuously and consecutively store all samples ("Biological registries") under strict quality control are needed. There is also a need for increased education, information and visibility of the interdisciplinary sciences required for optimal exploitation of these resources.


Functional illiteracy, youth delinquency and lack of technological innovation all point to the failures of state schooling. They raise the question of why governments should be involved in education at all. One justification for state intervention in education is that, without it, there would not be educational opportunities for all. However, the great majority of people would not need state intervention for funding or provision of educational opportunities. Intervention would at most be required for a minority in need of financial support. This conclusion is supported by historical evidence from Victorian England and Wales, and from more recent experience around the world, of educational entrepreneurs stepping in to provide desired opportunities where state education is failing. A second justification offered is that equality of opportunity requires state intervention in education. When the record is examined, it is not clear that states anywhere have been able to provide equality. Strong theoretical arguments undermine the suggestion that they ever would. Moreover, arguments against 'markets' in schooling which purport to show how they increase inequality actually point to problems not with markets, but with state regulation and provision themselves. Many influential philosophers and economists agree that justice or fairness requires that everyone has adequate opportunities. But markets - with a funding safety-net - could provide adequate opportunities for all, and more effectively than further state intervention. A final justification is that state regulation of, inter alia, the curriculum is required. Lessons from the recent history of the national curriculum illustrate the general undesirability of government intervention in the curriculum. The problems of 'competing visions' and the 'knowledge problem' and considerations of the nature of education point to the folly of not leaving decisions to parents and young people themselves. If state intervention in education is not justified, except for a funding safety-net, how can we move towards markets in education? A simple proposal is put forward, linked to recent discussion of the learning society and lifelong learning accounts. Lowering the school leaving age to 14, and simultaneously giving young people two years' state funding for them to use in a Lifelong Individual Fund for Education (LIFE) would help liberate the educational demand side which, coupled with liberation of the supply side, would lead to an enlivening and nurturing of the enterprise of education.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine trends in frequency and daily dosage of opioid use and related adverse health outcomes in a commercially insured population. Methods: We examined medical claims from the Truven Health MarketScan commercial claims database for 789,457 continuously enrolled patients ages 18 to 64 years to whom opioids were dispensed during the first half of 2008. We tracked them every 6 months until either opioid use was discontinued or the end of 2010. We compared outcomes among all opioid users with those for patients who used opioids with only limited interruptions during the index period, referred to as "daily users." We contrasted the experience of daily users, other users, and nonusers for various outcomes. Results: Of all claimants, 10.7% had at least one opioid prescription during the first 6 months of 2008. Of these, 39.9% continued through a second 6-month period, and 18.0% continued through the end of 2010. Only 9.0% of all users qualified as daily users, but 87.1% of them continued some use of opioids through the end of 2010. Only 43.8% of all users who continued use through 2010 initially qualified as daily users. Among all users who continued use through 2010, days of use and daily dosage increased with duration of use. Among daily users, only dosage increased, rising from 101 to 114 morphine milligram equivalents/day over the 3 years. The prevalence of benzodiazepine use was greater for daily than all users, exceeding 40% among daily users who continued opioid use for 3 years. Drug abuse and overdose rates increased with longer use. Daily users accounted for 25.0%, other users for 43.6%, and nonusers for 31.4% of opioid analgesic overdoses. Conclusions: Adverse health outcomes can increase with accumulating opioid use and increasing dosage. Existing guidelines developed by specialty societies for managing patients using opioids daily or nearly daily do not address the larger number of patients who use opioids intermittently over periods of years. Practitioners should consider applying such guidelines to patients who use opioids less frequently.


The field of Deep Learning is rich with empirical evidence of human-like performance on a variety of prediction tasks. However, despite these successes, the recent Predicting Generalization in Deep Learning (PGDL) NeurIPS 2020 competition suggests that there is a need for more robust and efficient measures of network generalization. In this work, we propose a new framework for evaluating the generalization capabilities of trained networks. We use perturbation response (PR) curves that capture the accuracy change of a given network as a function of varying levels of training sample perturbation. From these PR curves, we derive novel statistics that capture generalization capability. Specifically, we introduce two new measures for accurately predicting generalization gaps: the Gi-score and Pal-score, which are inspired by the Gini coefficient and Palma ratio (measures of income inequality), that accurately predict generalization gaps. Using our framework applied to intra and inter-class sample mixup, we attain better predictive scores than the current state-of-the-art measures on a majority of tasks in the PGDL competition. In addition, we show that our framework and the proposed statistics can be used to capture to what extent a trained network is invariant to a given parametric input transformation, such as rotation or translation. Therefore, these generalization gap prediction statistics also provide a useful means for selecting optimal network architectures and hyperparameters that are invariant to a certain perturbation.


Social networks often encode community structure using multiple distinct types of links between nodes. In this paper we introduce a novel method to extract information from such multi-layer networks, where each type of link forms its own layer. Using the concept of Pareto optimality, community detection in this multi-layer setting is formulated as a multiple criterion optimization problem. We propose an algorithm for finding an approximate Pareto frontier containing a family of solutions. The power of this approach is demonstrated on a Twitter dataset, where the nodes are hashtags and the layers correspond to (1) behavioral edges connecting pairs of hashtags whose temporal profiles are similar and (2) relational edges connecting pairs of hashtags that appear in the same tweets.


The electronic correlation strength is a basic quantity that characterizes the physical properties of materials such as transition metal oxides. Determining correlation strengths requires both precise definitions and a careful comparison between experiment and theory. In this paper, we define the correlation strength via the magnitude of the electron self-energy near the Fermi level. For the case of LaNiO3, we obtain both the experimental and theoretical mass enhancements m/m by considering high resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements and density functional+dynamical mean field theory (DFT+DMFT) calculations.We use valence-band photoemission data to constrain the free parameters in the theory and demonstrate a quantitative agreement between the experiment and theory when both the realistic crystal structure and strong electronic correlations are taken into account. In addition, by considering DFT+DMFT calculations on epitaxially strained LaNiO3, we find a strain-induced evolution of m/m in qualitative agreement with trends derived from optics experiments. These results provide a benchmark for the accuracy of the DFT+DMFT theoretical approach, and can serve as a test case when considering other complex materials. By establishing the level of accuracy of the theory, this work also will enable better quantitative predictions when engineering new emergent properties in nickelate heterostructures.


We present a statistical investigation into the magnetosonic Mach number dependence of the efficiency of reconnection at the Earth's dayside magnetopause. We use the transpolar voltage V PC, derived from radar observations of the ionospheric electric field, as a proxy for the dayside reconnection voltage. Our results show that the IMF clock angle dependence of V PC is closely approximated by the function f($\theta$) = sin2($\theta$/2), which we use in the derivation of a solar wind transfer function E* = E SW f($\theta$), wherein E SW is the solar wind electric field. We find that V PC is strongly related to E*, increasing almost linearly with small E* but saturating as E* becomes high. We also find that E* is strongly dependent on the magnetosonic Mach number, M MS, decreasing to near-zero values as M MS approaches 12, due principally to decreasing values of the IMF strength. V PC, on the other hand, is only weakly related to M MS and, for lower, more usual values of E*, actually shows a modest increase with increasing M MS. This result has implications for the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction at the outer planets where the Mach number is typically much higher than it is at 1 AU. Examples of SuperDARN convection maps from two high Mach number intervals are also presented, illustrating the existence of fairly typical reconnection driven flows. We thus find no evidence for a significant reduction in the magnetopause reconnection rate associated with high magnetosonic Mach numbers.


Submaximal training can induce adaptational changes in the skeletal muscles, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, endocrine system, etc. Knowledge of the signs of adaptation and its magnitude, the factors causing it, as well as an awareness of the significance of the adaptation for the improvement of physical capacity to exercise is essential to develop an optimal training programme and with an adequate recovery process to achieve the maximum positive effect with the minimum negative effect on the athlete's health. Body adaptation resulting from regular aerobic training can involve adaptation of the muscle enzyme systems, changes in the vascularization and type characteristic of muscle fibers, metabolic changes in the trained muscles and muscle groups related to the glucose utilization and the use of glycogen and fats as sources of energy, changes in the blood, the immune and coagulation status of the body, as well as changes in the parameters of aerobic working capacity of the organism. Regular submaximal exercises have been found to increase the activity of key oxidative enzymes in the metabolic pathway for the breakdown of carbohydrates - hexokinase (HK) and citrate synthase (CS) and fats – 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (3-HAD) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) and in the respiratory chain citochrome c oxidase (CCO). Submaximal training induces vascularization in the muscles containing predominantly oxidative muscle fibers. The muscle fibers in the groups of muscles trained submaximally can even undergo a type transformation. The insulin-mediated glucose transport in the cells of the recruited muscles is selectively increased. A metabolic adaptation occurs as the body shifts from using carbohydrates for energy to using fats; the subsequent "glycogen-sparing" effect enhances the working capacity. Permanent changes occur in the humoral immunity evidenced by the increase of the serum IgA and IgG concentrations. The system of oxygen transport in the blood adjusts to more economical operation. As a final result both the external system of oxygen delivery and the mitochondrial system of oxygen utilization undergo adaptation which leads to a moderate increase of maximal oxygen consumption, but greater increase of the oxygen running economy.


A fundamental challenge of managing mutable data replication in a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) system is how to efficiently maintain consistency under various sharing patterns with heterogeneous resource capabilities. This paper presents a framework for balanced consistency maintenance (BCoM) in structured P2P systems. Replica nodes of each object are organized into a tree for disseminating updates, and a sliding window update protocol is developed to bound the consistency. The effect of window size in response to dynamic network conditions, workload updates and resource limits is analyzed through a queueing model. This enables us to balance availability, performance and consistency strictness for various application requirements. On top of the dissemination tree, two enhancements are proposed: a fast recovery scheme to strengthen the robustness against node and link failures; and a node migration policy to remove and prevent the bottleneck for better system performance. Simulations are conducted using P2PSim to evaluate BCoM in comparison to SCOPE \cite{SCOPE}. The experimental results demonstrate that BCoM significantly improves the availability of SCOPE by lowering the discard rate from almost $100\%$ to $5\%$ with slight increase in latency.


Objectives: (1) to identify common errors in data organization and metadata completeness that would preclude a "reader" from being able to interpret and re-use the data for a new purpose; and (2) to develop a set of best practices derived from these common errors that would guide researchers in creating more usable data products that could be readily shared, interpreted, and used. Methods: We used directed qualitative content analysis to assess and categorize data and metadata errors identified by peer reviewers of data papers published in the Ecological Society of America's (ESA) Ecological Archives. Descriptive statistics provided the relative frequency of the errors identified during the peer review process. Results: There were seven overarching error categories: Collection & Organization, Assure, Description, Preserve, Discover, Integrate, and Analyze/Visualize. These categories represent errors researchers regularly make at each stage of the Data Life Cycle. Collection & Organization and Description errors were some of the most common errors, both of which occurred in over 90% of the papers. Conclusions: Publishing data for sharing and reuse is error prone, and each stage of the Data Life Cycle presents opportunities for mistakes. The most common errors occurred when the researcher did not provide adequate metadata to enable others to interpret and potentially re-use the data. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize these mistakes through carefully recording all details about study context, data collection, QA/ QC, and analytical procedures from the beginning of a research project and then including this descriptive information in the metadata.


The act of enrichment or improving the quality of product concentration, i.e. 'pre-concentration', has been studied with respect to uranium plant effluent, which contains uranium in 10?30 ppm level intermingled with a huge number of interfering ions, such as magnesium, in percent level. The effects of different operating conditions, such as concentration of uranium in the effluent, pH, the time required for uptake of uranium and the effect of the presence of other elements in the effluent, in batch experiments have been investigated. Using this in-house novel resin for preferential uranium uptake, the sorbed matrix has been eluted with different eluant concentration for further enrichment of radionuclides in the elute. High uptake values for uranium ions prove its selectivity, and fractional elution ensures further reuse of sorbent and significant improvement in uranium enrichment.


We introduce a family of multilayer graph kernels and establish new links between graph convolutional neural networks and kernel methods. Our approach generalizes convolutional kernel networks to graph-structured data, by representing graphs as a sequence of kernel feature maps, where each node carries information about local graph substructures. On the one hand, the kernel point of view offers an unsupervised, expressive, and easy-to-regularize data representation, which is useful when limited samples are available. On the other hand, our model can also be trained end-to-end on large-scale data, leading to new types of graph convolutional neural networks. We show that our method achieves competitive performance on several graph classification benchmarks, while offering simple model interpretation. Our code is freely available at this https URL.


Food losses occur throughout the entire food chain, from primary production via postharvest handling and storage, to food processing, distribution, retailing and consumption. Globally, food losses account for about one third of the total food produced for human consumption. The aim of this report was to map the production and utilisation of co-streams in the food processing industry in Norway and to discuss possibilities for alternative utilisation based on qualitative aspects of the co-streams, and current legislation. This report is produced by work package 3 in the CYCLE project (2013-2016), "Total utilisation of raw materials in the supply chain for food with a bio-economical perspective". The CYCLE project aims to improve resource utilisation in the Norwegian food chain by developing sustainable eco-friendly bio-processes and novel technology, in close relationship with food industry partners. Inputs and outputs of organic materials were roughly mapped at selected food processing plants presenting three Norwegian food chains: 1) Vegetables and potatoes; 2) white and pelagic fish; and 3) poultry. Data was collected during plant visits in June 2013, and later checked by staff from the described plants. The report describes the qualitative properties of co-streams, and their current utilisation as feed, fertiliser and as substrate for bioenergy production. We also present relevant regulations in EU and Norway regarding processing and utilisation of co-streams, and discuss alternative utilisation. Altogether, the food processing plants had significant market shares in Norway within fresh potatoes (38%), lettuce (17%), poultry meat (24%) and white and pelagic fish, where export makes up a large proportion. Generally, a large proportion of the raw materials were utilised as food and feed. On average for all plants, 75% of the raw material was utilised in food products, 21% in feed products, 1% in fertiliser and bioenergy production and 3% was deposited in landfill. The plants used in average 8.6 tonnes of process water per tonne of food produced, but the amount varied considerably between the plants. Possible improvements in the utilisation of raw materials and co-streams include a higher degree of utilisation in food products, and developing new or improved feed components from co-streams with increased nutritional value. Due to the current high degree of utilisation in food and feed applications with high economic values, the potential for bioenergy and fertiliser production is limited to certain risk materials. Feed potatoes and vegetables and feathers, bones, blood, viscera and skin from fish or poultry have considerable potential for better utilisation for food or feed. Relevant processing methods for these co-streams are fractionation, hydrolysis, fermentation and drying.


Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly being used as instruments for conservation and management of coastal and marine biodiversity, with most MPAs being located within the territorial waters of specific nation states. Most inshore and coastal areas are defined by complex systems of local or customary tenure, and cannot really be classified as 'open access' areas. This paper explores the extent to which tenure rights are recognized in marine protected areas. Based on a review of recent literature the paper examines whether the tenure rights of local communities have been respected in MPA practice. It draws attention to cases where tenure rights have been weakened or extinguished, and the displacement, social conflict and sense of alienation associated with them. At the same time several more positive examples are offered - primarily driven by local communities - where tenure rights have been strengthened during MPA practice. The paper emphasizes the importance of recognizing and respecting the tenure rights of local communities, both as a means for more effective and sustainable conservation and management (given the link that has been observed between biological and social success in relation to MPAs), and as an end in itself - reflecting the commitment of MPA practitioners to respecting human rights. The paper suggests some key steps and principles with respect to tenure rights that need to be part of MPA practice.


It has become increasingly popular to obtain machine learning labels through commercial crowdsourcing services. The crowdsourcing workers or annotators are paid for each label they provide, but the task requester usually has only a limited amount of the budget. Since the data instances have different levels of labeling difficulty and the workers have different reliability for the labeling task, it is desirable to wisely allocate the budget among all the instances and workers such that the overall labeling quality is maximized. In this paper, we formulate the budget allocation problem as a Bayesian Markov decision process (MDP), which simultaneously conducts learning and decision making. The optimal allocation policy can be obtained by using the dynamic programming (DP) recurrence. However, DP quickly becomes computationally intractable when the size of the problem increases. To solve this challenge, we propose a computationally eficient approximate policy which is called optimistic knowledge gradient. Our method applies to both pull crowdsourcing marketplaces with homogeneous workers and push marketplaces with heterogeneous workers. It can also incorporate the contextual information of instances when they are available. The experiments on both simulated and real data show that our policy achieves a higher labeling quality than other existing policies at the same budget level.


Canopy layers form essential structural components, affecting stand productivity and wildlife habitats. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) provides horizontal and vertical information on canopy structure simultaneously. Existing approaches to assess canopy layering often require prior information about stand characteristics or rely on pre-defined height thresholds. We developed a multi-scale method using ALS data with point densities >10 pts/m2 to determine the number and vertical extent of canopy layers (canopylayer, canopylength), seasonal variations in the topmost canopy layer (canopytype), as well as small-scale heterogeneities in the canopy (canopyheterogeneity). We first tested and developed the method on a small forest patch (800 ha) and afterwards tested transferability and robustness of the method on a larger patch (180,000 ha). We validated the approach using an extensive set of ground data, achieving overall accuracies >77% for canopytype and canopyheterogeneity, and >62% for canopylayer and canopylength. We conclude that our method provides a robust characterization of canopy layering supporting automated canopy structure monitoring.


As part of a project conducted by the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), methods are being developed to assess infrastructure condition and health with a focus on pavements on the Interstate Highway System. The project scope includes development of prototype tools to provide FHWA and State DOTs ready access to key information on pavement and bridge performance based on these methods for assessing condition and health. These tools are designed to allow a better and more complete view of infrastructure health nationally and form the foundation for a performance management system for the US highway system. In support of this goal, a pilot study was conducted on a three-state corridor to investigate and compare methods for assessing pavement condition and, subsequently, health. As part of the pilot, three sets of data were compiled, processed, and compared: National (Highway Performance Monitoring System), State (primarily State Pavement Management System data and supporting information), and field data collection using an automated multi-function vehicle. This paper explores the results on the approach for categorizing pavement condition as Good/Fair/Poor. A summary of the findings are presented along with recommendations for future activities necessary to develop a pavement condition performance indicator.


Diseases and infections that are transmitted between vertebrate animals and man are known as zoonoses. Nearly, two-thirds of infectious diseases known to affect mankind are zoonotic. Many of these zoonoses are caused by viruses – some of these are rare, but others are of great epidemiological importance based on high mortality and morbidity and global distribution. New viral zoonoses continue to emerge from all parts of the world, particularly as wildlife and humans come into closer contact, given the present-day dynamics of global development. Human Immunodeficiency virus is one of the most profound examples of zoonosis which through a species jump has established in the human population and has gained worldwide distribution. Important emerging viral zoonotic diseases include Avian Influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, West Nile fever and hantavirus infection with pulmonary syndrome.

Key Concepts:

Many viruses can be transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans and cause disease. This is known as zoonoses.

Close to two thirds of infectious diseases that affect mankind are zoonoses.

Most emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin.

Viral pathogens are more likely to emerge as zoonoses due to their propensity to adapt and mutate.

Changes in human ecology contribute to emerging zoonoses from wildlife.

Keywords:

zoonoses;
zoonotic diseases;
emerging diseases;
animal viruses;
viral diseases;
One Health


Modern Bayesian Network learning algorithms are time-efficient, scalable and produce high-quality models; these algorithms feature prominently in decision support model development, variable selection, and causal discovery. The quality of the models, however, has often only been empirically evaluated; the available theoretical results typically guarantee asymptotic correctness (consistency) of the algorithms. This paper describes theoretical bounds on the quality of a fundamental Bayesian Network local-learning task in the finite sample using theories for controlling the False Discovery Rate. The behavior of the derived bounds is investigated across various problem and algorithm parameters. Empirical results support the theory which has immediate ramifications in the design of new algorithms for Bayesian Network learning, variable selection and causal discovery.


To many, the U.S. health care system has become an unintelligible alphabet soup of three-letter health plans. There is little agreement about which characteristics distinguish one type of plan from another. In this article we chip away at what has become a Tower of Babel of managed care and health insurance terminology. We review past and current trends in the market for nontraditional health benefit plans and propose a taxonomy, or system of classification, that will aid in understanding how managed care plans differ from conventional health insurance and from one another. Also included is a comprehensive glossary of terms.


Induction of labor when the cervix is not ready or ripe often leads to cesarean section. There is evidence that a significant number of inductions have no medical indication and that women's requests for induction are contributing to these rising numbers. Midwives have historically included women in the delivery decision-making process while priding themselves on the use of evidence-based research when making clinical decisions. In this manuscript, an ethical dilemma is examined with respect to patient requested induction of labor and ways to arrive at a clinical decision that includes ethical theory, clinical presentation and the complexities of the individual.


Continental crust is thought to be formed as a result of arc magmatism, but many of the lavas produced in these settings are basaltic, while those that are silicic are commonly evolved, with lower Mg #s than the continental crust. The bulk composition of continental crust can be produced by mixing of end-member basaltic and silicic compositions, via magma mixing or in mechanical, tectonic juxtaposition, but some process is required to remove the cumulates and residues formed during generation of the silicic, "granitic" end-member. We consider convective instability of dense mafic and ultramafic lower crust as a means to remove mafic residues of basalt differentiation in order to produce end-member compositions that can mix to form the bulk composition of the continental crust. Using a range of lower crustal and mantle bulk compositions, ranging from mafic and ultramafic cumulates to primary liquid compositions, we calculated the subsolidus phase assemblage and resulting density. The results show that densities of likely lower crustal lithologies can exceed those of the mantle (by ∼50–250 kg m−3), but the density contrast is a strong function of composition, temperature, and pressure. For a "cold" geotherm with a Moho temperature of 300°C, relevant to cratonic settings, densities of all of the lower crustal compositions that we considered, except granulite, exceed the density of the underlying mantle at pressures as low as 0.8 GPa. For a "hot" geotherm with a Moho temperature in the range of 800–1000°C, the density of the lower crust is much more variable, with gabbroic and granulite compositions having lower densities than the mantle, while "arc gabbronorite" and ultramafic cumulate compositions having higher densities than the mantle at pressures similar to that for the cold geotherm. Instability times calculated for a two-dimensional Rayleigh-Taylor convective instability, where a dense lower crustal layer sinks into a lower-density mantle, show that high temperatures (>700°C, or >500°C with a background strain rate) are required for this process to occur on a timescale of 10 Myr with rheological parameters expected for the crust and mantle. The high temperature required for dense lower crustal mafic-ultramafic cumulates to sink into the mantle suggests that this process is restricted to arcs, volcanic rifted margins, and continental regions that are undergoing extension, are underlain by a mantle plume, or have had part of the conductive upper mantle removed.


The aim of this study was to examine the impact of waste management practices in the informal sector on climate change in Zimbabwe with particular reference to the cities of Harare and Mutare A multi-methods research design that triangulates quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed. A multi-methods research design that triangulates quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed. In Harare and Mutare, the city councils are experiencing major problems in collecting and minimizing the huge amounts of waste that could otherwise have negative impacts on local climate. Analysis of results gathered from the study, therefore, highlighted (a) the lack of recognition of the crucial role that could be played by the enterprises in reducing the amount of waste; and (b) the low rates of resource recovery and recycling in the enterprises which are vital waste minimization strategies as postulated in the principles of industrial ecology. Field investigations in the informal sector enterprises of Harare and Mutare indicated that waste minimization practices such as re-use and recycling are essential in reducing the impact of greenhouse gases on the environment. Governments of cities in African countries could be assisted in appreciating the value of informal sector solid waste management. The role of the informal sector recycling in climate change abatement should therefore not be underestimated in developing countries. All in all, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from solid waste, conventional solid waste management needs to be replaced by resource management.


Hereditary neuropathies are classified into HMSN/Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), hereditary motor neuropathies (HMN) and hereditary sensory (and autonomic) neuropathies (HSAN). The clinical features of HMSN are generally characterized as distal dominant motor and sensory involvements. However, we have reported a novel HMSN with proximal dominancy (HMSN-P) originated in Okinawa and Shiga prefectures, Japan. The gene locus is located in the centromere region of chromosome 3. In 2008, a new family with the HMSN-P was reported from Brazilians of Japanese ancestry. This Brazilian family was initially diagnosed as having "a familial ALS". The HMSN-P linked to ch.3 is not limited in Japan, but may be present in the worldwide. The overseas scientific research for the elucidation of the mechanism of HMSN-P supported by JSPS KAKENHI (21406026) is planning. Recently several other types of HMSN-P have been reported; HMSN-P with urinary disturbance and paroxysmal dry cough, a patient with both CMT 1A and mild spinal muscular atrophy and CMT1A with severe paresis of the proximal lower limb muscles. Therefore the clinical concept of HMSN is not limited as the disease with distal dominant motor sensory involvement. HMSN has the wider spectrum from distal to proximal and motor/sensory to autonomic neuropathies.


For many societies, the world of the dead reflects the world of the living. Studies of mortuary practices are a fundamental way for scholars to research ancient societies,
rituals and belief systems. This thesis examines the transformations in funerary practices in the North-Central Andes from AD 1000 to 1799, a period covering both
the Inca and Spanish colonisations. This research demonstrates how historical events, political actions and manipulation can affect the habitus of a society. By
studying the ways that people treat their dead, scholars can track changes in the social and cultural practices of ancient groups. This research has a multi-disciplinary approach that combines archaeological and ethnohistorical data. It investigates the ideology related to the
use of tombs, within a framework of changing social organisation. By drawing on the existing archaeological and historic reports, a unique database has been created
which catalogues the tombs of the Ancash highlands in a systematic way. This includes basic formal descriptions of the tombs and analysis of their variability in order to propose specific time periods for tomb use. Archival work completed in Spain and Peru provided information about what people continued to do, or had changed, in their mortuary practices after the arrival of the Spanish and
Catholicism. Archival documentation also provided details about the religious organisation and evangelisation of the region. The results demonstrate that there were no drastic changes in mortuary practices with Inca and Spanish colonialism. This would suggest that, in the Ancash
highlands, changes in mortuary practices were not a priority for the Incas, who probably ruled the region indirectly through administrative centres. During Spanish
colonisation, data reveals two types of behaviour, a continuity in the use of Prehispanic mortuary customs and an adoption of the new ones. Nevertheless, this
dualistic practice is a more complex process, where both groups actively adapted and negotiated their cultural identities over two centuries.


Approximately one-third of people who have obtained refugee status live in high-income countries. Over recent years, the number of refugees has been increasing, and there are questions on how many of them need mental health care and which type of interventions are beneficial. Meta-analyses showed highly variable rates of mental disorders in adult refugees. This variability is likely to reflect both real differences between groups and contexts, and methodological inconsistencies across studies. Overall prevalence rates after resettlement are similar to those in host populations. Only post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is more prevalent in refugees. In long-term resettled refugees, rates of anxiety and depressive disorders are higher and linked to poor social integration. Research on mental health care for refugees in high-income countries has been extensive, but often of limited methodological quality and with very context-specific findings. The existing evidence suggests several general principles of good practice: promoting social integration, overcoming barriers to care, facilitating engagement with treatment and, when required, providing specific psychological treatments to deal with traumatic memories. With respect to the treatment of defined disorders, only for the treatment of PTSD there has been substantial refugee-specific research. For other diagnostic categories, the same treatment guidelines apply as to other groups. More systematic research is required to explore how precisely the general principles can be specified and implemented for different groups of refugees and in different societal contexts in host countries, and which specific interventions are beneficial and cost-effective. Such interventions may utilise new communication technologies. Of particular importance are long-term studies to identify when mental health interventions are appropriate and to assess outcomes over several years. Such research would benefit from sufficient funding, wide international collaboration and continuous learning over time and across different refugee groups.


This study assessed comparative strength of three versatile knots widely used in big-game fishing. Experiment One compared Uni and San Diego knots tied in 30-, 40- and 50-pound-test monofilament line (the modal strengths), finding no statistically significant differences in knot strength. Experiment Two attached 40-pound-test monofilament line to 50- and 65pound-test solid spectra, and to 60-pound-test hollow spectra line using a Double Uni knot, and found the 40-to-65 connection was strongest. High levels of variation in knot strength which were observed raises concern about the durability and consistency of monofilament line.


To date, little is known about the effect of levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium on kenaf grown in nutrient solution culture. The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of different nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels on kenaf growth such as diameter, plant height, leaf number, root dry weight, stem dry weight and leaf dry weight and physiology like chlorophyll content, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. Treatment consisted of 5 different levels of nitrogen viz. 0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/L and 5 different levels of phosphorus and potassium viz. 0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/L replicated thrice in a completely randomized design in a shade house. Growth (diameter, plant height and leaf number), chlorophyll content and photosynthesis were measured once weekly and plant components biomass was measured, 28 DAT. Different levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium had significant effects on all the parameters studied. The highest values for diameter, plant height, leaf number, root dry weight, stem dry weight, leaf dry weight, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were obtained from 200N, 100P and 100K whereas values decreased with further increase in levels of nutrient concentration. All the growth rates, chlorophyll content and photosynthesis declined with lower level of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Among the plant components, leaf dry weight had the greatest decrease while root/shoot ratio increased under N deficiency. The results of this study provide new knowledge to produce kenaf with better nutrient management in the field.


With increasing internationalization of urban planning throughout the twentieth century and in the past several decades in particular, planning ideas and practices have been exported from a few, and imported in many countries. However, this 'trade' happens without clear expectations about the ensuing dynamics between the internal context and external influences. This paper attempts to enhance understanding of how planning systems evolve and which factors affect them. The conceptual frameworks and typologies used to characterize planning systems and their determinants are reviewed. Building on previous work, an integrated framework is proposed that captures the process, factors and outcomes of urban planning systems. The history of planning in Serbia and Montenegro is used to illustrate how a planning system evolves under changing circumstances and influences and to demonstrate the complexity of such process. The case study is not intended to provide a detailed historical account of the country's planning trajectory, but to highlight the applicability of elements of the framework in a real setting. In particular, the focus is on conditions of imposition versus voluntary adoption of planning ideas as a way of examining the interaction between the local context and imported models, as well as the implications of such interaction. The article concludes with several pointers about the necessary research on the nature of planning exports and imports and their effects on the resultant urban systems, processes, environments and quality of life.


What does populism look like beyond the nation-state? This article introduces the concept of transnational populism as a way of understanding how populists construct "the people" above the national level, thus disentangling the oft-conflated concepts of populism and nationalism. It defines transnational populism, distinguishes it from international cooperation between populists and provides illustrative examples from across the globe to demonstrate what it looks like in practice. The article also addresses why transnational populism is so rare, arguing that "the people" of transnational populism is far more difficult to construct than nationally bounded conceptions of "the people". To flesh out this claim, the article draws Ernesto Laclau's work on populism together with the work of those authors associated with the "constructivist turn" in political representation, exploring the role of both audiences and constituencies in answering representative claims made on behalf of the transnational "people". Finally, the article turns to the role of media—both old and new—in broadcasting and (more problematically) answering transnational populist claims.


Hop glandular trichomes are developing on the epidermis of hop cones bracts. The anticline cross cut of hop peltate glandular trichomes in Environment Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) observations confirmed spheroid shape of cells. In our research, length of internal peltate glandular trichomes cells varied from 16.00 to 21.47 μm, width from 4.21 to 4.70 μm and volume from 1.19 × 10-6 to 1.99 × 10-6 mm3. The diameter of cell walls varied from 2.11 to 2.94 μm. Volume of observed peltate glandular trichomes varied from 1.65 × 10-2 to 1.95 × 10-2 mm3. The cell structure of bulbous glandular trichomes in anticline cross cut was not observed. According to 121 observations, bulbs formation was visible on the surface of peltate glandular trichomes in the last phase of morphogenesis. Biosynthesis of hop secondary metabolites and activation of their genetic mechanisms are the most intensive at the end of technological maturity of hop cones of hop cultivar Aurora. It is possible that bulbous glandular trichomes represent the final stage of peltate glandular trichome morphogenesis, instead of being separate morphological formations. During biosynthesis of hops secondary metabolites partial pressures of liquids and gasses increase causing breakage of cell walls, which withdraw towards tunica and form papillary texture.


The leaf area index (LAI) is a critical variable used to characterize the terrestrial ecosystem and model land surface processes. Remote sensing is an ideal tool for mapping the LAI. However, the quality of current satellite LAI products does not meet the requirements of the user community in terms of estimation accuracy and data consistency. One way to address these issues is to develop LAI integration algorithms that incorporate existing multiple LAI products and prior knowledge. This paper presents a new data integration method based on empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The proposed EOF integration algorithm can be operated on both fine and coarse spatial resolution to accommodate the problems arising from a large volume of data. Two runs of multivariate EOF analysis are proposed to address the issue of incompatible temporal resolutions among different data sets. Comparisons with high-spatial-resolution LAI reference maps at 12 sites over North America show that the proposed method can improve LAI product accuracy. After data integration, R2 increases from 0.75 to 0.81 and the root mean square error (rmse) decreases from 1.04 to 0.71 over moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) products. The improvement of R2 and rmse over Carbon cYcle and Change in Land Observational Products from an Ensemble of Satellites (CYCLOPES) products is not as significant as that over MODIS products. However, the use of a combination of multiple data sources reduces the bias of the LAI estimate from MODIS's 0.3 and CYCLOPES's -0.2 to -0.1.


TRPC6 is a non-voltage-gated Ca2+ entry/depolarization channel associated with vascular tone regulation and remodeling. Expressed TRPC6 channel responds to both neurohormonal and mechanical stimuli, the mechanism for which remains controversial. In this study, we examined the possible interactions of receptor and mechanical stimulations in activating this channel using the patch clamp technique. In HEK293 cells expressing TRPC6, application of mechanical stimuli (hypotonicity, shear, 2,4,6-trinitrophenol) caused, albeit not effective by themselves, a prominent potentiation of cationic currents (ITRPC6) induced by a muscarinic receptor agonist carbachol. This effect was insensitive to a tarantula toxin GsMTx-4 (5 &mgr;mol/L). A similar extent of mechanical potentiation was observed after activation of ITRPC6 by GTP&ggr;S or a diacylglycerol analog 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol (OAG). Single TRPC6 channel activity evoked by carbachol was also enhanced by a negative pressure added in the patch pipette. Mechanical potentiation of carbachol- or OAG-induced ITRPC6 was abolished by small interfering RNA knockdown of cytosolic phospholipase A2 or pharmacological inhibition of &ohgr;-hydroxylation of arachidonic acid into 20-HETE (20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid). Conversely, direct application of 20-HETE enhanced both OAG-induced macroscopic and single channel TRPC6 currents. Essentially the same results were obtained for TRPC6-like cation channel in A7r5 myocytes, where its activation by noradrenaline or Arg8 vasopressin was greatly enhanced by mechanical stimuli via 20-HETE production. Furthermore, myogenic response of pressurized mesenteric artery was significantly enhanced by weak receptor stimulation dependently on 20-HETE production. These results collectively suggest that simultaneous operation of receptor and mechanical stimulations may synergistically amplify transmembrane Ca2+ mobilization through TRPC6 activation, thereby enhancing the vascular tone via phospholipase C/diacylglycerol and phospholipase A2/&ohgr;-hydroxylase/20-HETE pathways.


Ultrarelativistic hadron collisions, such as delivered since a couple of years at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), provide new
insights into the properties of strongly interacting matter at high temperatures and densities, which is expected to have existed a few of
a millionth seconds after the big bang. Electromagnetic probes, such as leptons and photons, are emitted during the entire collision.
Since they do not undergo strong interactions, they reflect the entire evolution of the collision.\\
Pairs of leptons, so called dileptons, have the advantage compared to real photons, that they do not only carry momentum, but also have a
non-zero invariant mass. The invariant mass spectrum of dileptons is a superposition of several components and allows to address different
characteristics of the medium.\\
To understand dielectron production in heavy-ion collisions, reference measurements in proton-proton (pp) collisions are necessary. pp
collisions reflect the vacuum contribution of the particles produced in heavy-ion collisions. The analysis of pp collisions is an essential
step towards the extraction of medium influences on the vector meson spectral functions and the thermal radiation in heavy-ion collisions.\\
In this thesis, the production of electron-positron pairs (dielectrons) in pp collisions at a collision energy of $7$~TeV in the ALICE
central barrel is analysed. ALICE has unique particle identification capabilities at low momentum. Electrons and positrons are identified
with a high purity and combined to pairs. The invariant mass distribution of dielectrons is corrected for detector effects and the
selection criteria in the analysis with Monte Carlo simulations.\\
The dielectron invariant mass spectrum of known hadronic sources is calculated based on the cross sections measured in other decay channels
using the known decay kinematics. This so called hadronic cocktail represents the dielectron spectrum at the moment of kinematic
freeze-out and can be compared to the measured dielectron invariant mass spectrum. The cocktail is consistent with the measured dielectron
invariant mass spectrum within the quoted statistical and systematic uncertainties. \\
Additionally, the fraction of direct over inclusive virtual photons is measured as a function of transverse momentum from dielectron yields
at high pair momentum. The ratio is used to calculate the cross section of direct real photons, which is compared to
next-to-leading order perturbative Quantum-Chromodynamics calculations. The theoretical calculations are consistent with the measurement
for pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $7$~TeV.\\
The analysis and results of this work are the basis for future dielectron measurements of heavier collision systems.


One of the most-talked about works of fiction to emerge from China in recent years, this novel about an urban youth "displaced" to a small village in rural China during the Cultural Revolution is a fictionalized portrait of the author's own experience as a young man. Han Shaogong was one of millions of students relocated from cities and towns to live and work alongside peasant farmers in an effort to create a classless society. Translated into English for the first time, Han's novel is an exciting experiment in form-structured as a dictionary of the Maqiao dialect-through which he seeks to understand and translate the local life and customs of his strange new home. Han encounters an upside-down world among the people of Maqiao: a con man dupes his neighbors into thinking that he has found the fountain of youth by convincing them that his father is in fact his son; to be scientific" is to be lazy; time and relationships are understood using the language of food and its preparation; and to die young is considered "sweet," while the aged reckon their lives to be "cheap." As entries build one upon another, Han meditates on the ability of a waidi ren (outsider) to represent the ways of life of another community. In this light, the Communist effort to control the language and history of a people whose words and past are bound together in ineluctably local ways emerges as an often comical, sometimes tragic exercise in miscommunication.


Objective: To determine the effect of obesity on pregnancy compared to non-obese pregnant Saudi women. Methodology: This is a prospective cohort research conducted over seven months in Jeddah Maternity and Children Hospital (MCH), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Sample included pregnant women with single fetus and cephalic presentation came to the booking clinic. Participants were classified into five groups depending on their BMI according to WHO criteria as underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese & morbidly obese. SPSS was used with p-value of< 0.05 to calculate statistical significance. Results: The frequency of abortion, postdated pregnancy and Caesarean section were higher in obese women compared to non-obese women. Conclusion: Obese women pregnancy is a high risk for pregnancy and labor complications. It is advisable to achieve normal BMI before conception.


This article tested the hypothesis that role expectations may constrain or facilitate innovation. The case of female managers provided the context for this. Study 1 examined differential role expectations (for the roles of male and female managers) (N = 55), and Study 2 investigated the constraints of male and female manager roles on solution type and character. Using a focused interview format (N = 20), potential barriers to innovation were also examined. The results suggest that innovative solutions were attributed more often to a male than a female manager, whereas adaptive solutions were attributed more often to a female than a male manager. Risks identified as potential barriers to innovation among female managers included the risk attached to consequences of failure or mistake, the risk of criticism, and the risk of not receiving credit for ideas. However, differential role expectations did not have an impact on the production of actual solutions. The findings are discussed for their potential to complement existing research on role expectations and innovation as well as their implications for the development of a new research agenda.


Much of the credit for the U.S's recordbreaking economic expansion and productivity surge has been attributed to technological advances, particularly within information technology (IT) industries or in the application of these technologies to other industry sectors. While the so-called new economy is benefiting all U.S. regions, the level and character of IT/high-tech (IT/HT) development varies widely from one region to another. This Chicago Fed Letter examines regional measures of IT/HT presence and their implications for regional growth.


We study rational maps of the real or complex projective plane of degree two or more, concentrating on those that map a genusone curve onto itself, necessarily by an expanding map. We describe relatively simple examples with a rich variety of interesting dynamical behaviors that are perhaps familiar to the applied dynamics community but not to specialists in several complex variables. For example, we describe smooth attractors with riddled or intermingled attracting basins, and we observe "blowout" bifurcations when the transverse Lyapunov exponent for the invariant curve changes sign. In the complex case, we prove that the genus-one curve (a topological torus) can never have a trapping neighborhood, yet it can have an attracting basin of large measure (perhaps even of full measure). We also describe examples in which there appear to be attracting Herman rings (topological cylinders mapped to themselves with irrational rotation number) with open attracting basin. Section 8 provides a more general discussion of Herman rings and Siegel disks for arbitrary holomorphic maps of ℙ2(ℂ), and the last section outlines open problems.


Abstract The eating disorders provide one of the strongest indications for cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). This bold claim arises from two sources: first, the fact that eating disorders are essentially cognitive disorders and second, the demonstrated effectiveness of CBT in the treatment of bulimia nervosa, which has led to the widespread acceptance that CBT is the treatment of choice. In this paper the cognitive behavioural approach to the understanding and treatment of eating disorders will be described. A brief summary of the evidence for this account and of the data supporting the efficacy and effectiveness of this form of treatment will be provided. Challenges for the future development and dissemination of the treatment will be identified.


PURPOSE
Bullying is a specific pattern of repeated victimization explored with great frequency in school-based literature, but receiving little attention within sport. The current study explored the prevalence of bullying in sport, and examined whether bullying experiences were associated with perceptions about relationships with peers and coaches.

METHOD
Adolescent sport team members (n = 359, 64% female) with an average age of 14.47 years (SD = 1.34) completed a pen-and-paper or online questionnaire assessing how frequently they perpetrated or were victimized by bullying during school and sport generally, as well as recent experiences with 16 bullying behaviors on their sport team. Participants also reported on relationships with their coach and teammates.

RESULTS
Bullying was less prevalent in sport compared with school, and occurred at a relatively low frequency overall. However, by identifying participants who reported experiencing one or more act of bullying on their team recently, results revealed that those victimized through bullying reported weaker connections with peers, whereas those perpetrating bullying only reported weaker coach relationships.

CONCLUSION
With the underlying message that bullying may occur in adolescent sport through negative teammate interactions, sport researchers should build upon these findings to develop approaches to mitigate peer victimization in sport.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Colonoscopy is protective against CRC through the detection and removal of neoplastic polyps. Unfortunately, the procedure is highly operator dependent with significant miss rates for polyps. Artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-aided detection software offers a promising solution by providing real-time assistance to highlight lesions that may otherwise be overlooked. Rapid advances have occurred in the field with recent prospective clinical trials demonstrating an improved adenoma detection rate (ADR) with AI assistance. Deployment in routine clinical practice is possible in the near future although further robust clinical trials are necessary and important practical challenges relating to real-world implementation must be addressed.


This cookbook is organized in a linear, progressive way allowing it to be read from start to finish, as well as to be used as a useful resource for specific tasks. The HTML5 examples and recipes will have you making dynamic, interactive, and animated charts and graphs in no time. You don't need to have a background in HTML5 or Canvas but you do need to have a basic understanding of how HTML works and know how to code in any language (preferably in JavaScript). In this book we will not explain how to learn to code but how to create projects and how to plan and execute them in the process.


: Purpose: This elaboration features an attempt of describing the research sample's uniformity and estimating the average engagement of family members in the family business' functioning (hereinafter referred to as family engagement). The study's context was based on a set of organisational effectiveness factors (identified independent variables) and an evaluation of their significance. In this paper, the effectiveness is deemed as the engagement of family members in the functioning of family businesses. Methodology: The paper presents the results of surveys conducted among 200 Polish family businesses with registered seats in two voivodeships. Organisational effectiveness was measured in terms of 8 key analysis fields identified. Findings: The paper presents the results of own research on organisational effectiveness in family businesses. It especially confirmed the alternative hypothesis that the dependent variable, i.e. family engagement, in terms of evaluating 8 independent variables using statistical tests, does not have a normal distribution. Practical Implications : The obtained results provide the basis for selection and future use of advanced statistical tests enabling the verification of a substantial dependency between the dependent variable (e.g. family engagement) and the independent variables identified within organisational effectiveness fields. Originality/Value : The conducted study supplements the knowledge on strategic management by specifying a set of family member engagement factors in family businesses. When analysing the widespread phenomenon of organisational effectiveness in family businesses, the authors analysed family engagement in terms of the effectiveness' studied variables.


Status and future outlook of III-V compound semiconductor visible-spectrum light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are presented. Light extraction techniques are reviewed and extraction efficiencies are quantified in the 60%+ (AlGaInP) and ~80% (InGaN) regimes for state-of-the-art devices. The phosphor-based white LED concept is reviewed and recent performance discussed, showing that high-power white LEDs now approach the 100-lm/W regime. Devices employing multiple phosphors for "warm" white color temperatures (~3000-4000 K) and high color rendering (CRI>80), which provide properties critical for many illumination applications, are discussed. Recent developments in chip design, packaging, and high current performance lead to very high luminance devices (~50 Mcd/m2 white at 1 A forward current in 1times1 mm2 chip) that are suitable for application to automotive forward lighting. A prognosis for future LED performance levels is considered given further improvements in internal quantum efficiency, which to date lag achievements in light extraction efficiency for InGaN LEDs


BACKGROUND
Regular physical activity improves physical and mental health, yet children's physical activity levels were low in England's 2014 Report Card. Within this paper, we update the 2014 Report Card to assess current information for the 9 indicators of physical activity.

METHODS
A search for nationally representative data on 9 indicators of physical activity was conducted and the data were assessed by an expert panel. The panel assigned grades [ie, A, B, C, D, F, or INC (incomplete)] to each indicator based on whether children across England were achieving specific benchmarks. The 2016 Report Card was produced and disseminated.

RESULTS
The following grades were awarded: Overall Physical Activity Levels: D-; Organized Sport Participation: D; Active Play: INC; Active Transportation: C-; Sedentary Behaviors: INC; Family and Peers: INC; School: B+; Community and the Built Environment: B; Government Strategies and Investment: INC.

CONCLUSIONS
The grades have not improved since the 2014 Report Card and several gaps in the literature are still present. While children's physical activity levels remain low alongside competing sedentary choices, further national plans and investment with local actions are urgently needed to promote physical activity especially via active play, active transport, and family support.


The Telecommunications Act of 1996 attempts to address distributional issues in its "universal services "provisions, which establish a regulatory framework for equitable and affordable access to advanced communications services. This Article examines the Federal Communication Commission's most significant and debated universalservices decision to date under the 1996 Act-the "e-rate" program for providing low-cost, educational access to the Internet-and finds that the FCC has chosen a mechanism that likely imposes high social costs compared to the costs that would be incurred under alternative policies. It argues that these costs are unnecessary to achieve the equitable goals embodied in the universal services provision and that they undermine rather than advance the statutory "public interest" criteria that guide the Commission's regulatory decisionmaking. The authors suggest that the FCC could implement a more efficient policy without impairing the affordability or distribution of telephone service in the United States.