Human C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase protein, and elevated levels of CRP are present in patients with infections, inflammatory diseases, necrosis such as myocardial infarction, or malignancies including multiple myeloma (MM), lymphoma, and carcinoma. CRP is able to bind a variety of ligands and receptors, activating the classical complement pathway. Accumulating evidence strongly suggests that in cardiovascular disease CRP is not only a marker of inflammation, but also contributes to pathogenesis of the disease. These findings led to our hypothesis that CRP may have a functional effect on tumor cells. The present study was undertaken in a myeloma setting to determine whether CRP might affect tumor cell growth and survival. When added to the culture of primary myeloma cells isolated from patients, CRP promoted cell proliferation and reduced cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. To confirm this result, we examined the effects of CRP on myeloma cell lines under stressed conditions and showed that CRP protected myeloma cells from apoptosis induced by serum starvation or IL-6 deprivation. More importantly, CRP also protected myeloma cells from apoptosis induced by dexamethasone or melphalan, two common chemotherapy drugs for MM. The protection was significant since CRP reduced cell death by 50 to 60%, and may be clinically relevant because the results were reproduced in myeloma-SCID mouse models. Injection of CRP prior to treatment of myeloma-bearing mice with dexamethasone or melphalan significantly undermined the therapeutic effects of these chemotherapy drugs. Mice receiving CRP with dexamethasone or melphalan had significantly larger tumor burdens compared with mice treated with dexamethasone or melphalan alone, whereas treatment with CRP alone had no effects on the tumor cells. CRP protected tumor cells from apoptosis by downregulating Bax expression, inhibiting phosphorylation of Bcl-2, and upregulating phosphorylation of Bad, which led to inhibited caspase-9, caspase-3 and PARP activation induced by dexamethasone. We next examined cell surface receptors for CRP and found that CRP bound Fcγ RII CD32A and/or CD32C, but not CD32B. Specific siRNAs that inhibited CD32A or CD32C but not CD32B expression, and antibodies against CD32A/C that blocked receptor-ligand interaction abrogated CRP-mediated protection of cell apoptosis. These results indicate that CRP mediated its effects via activating immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-containing Fcγ RII. By binding to these receptors, CRP increased the level of phosphorylated Akt, ERK1/2, and IkBa; relocalized NFkB p65 to the nucleus; and inhibited p38 kinase activity. Inhibitors against these signaling molecules blocked the activity of these pathways and abrogated CRP-mediated protection of myeloma cell apoptosis induced by dexamethasone. Therefore, our results provide strong evidence for a novel effect of CRP on myeloma cells. This study also implicates CRP as a potential target for MM therapy.


Autonomous micro aerial robots can operate in three-dimensional unstructured environments, and offer many opportunities for environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and first response. I will describe the challenges in developing small, agile robots and our recent work in addressing these challenges. I will also discuss the deployment of large numbers of aerial robots, focusing on the control and planning problems with applications to cooperative manipulation and transport, construction, and exploration and mapping.


g e o m e t r y p l ay s a key role in the world of modern computing. In science and engineering, mathematical models of geometry are crucial for applications like simulation and manufacturing. In the arts and entertainment, mathematical models of geometry are ubiquitous in applications like games and movies, and are useful even for image editing. Developing new variants of these models that are both intuitive and computationally efficient remains an area of intense research in computer graphics. One classical problem in this area is that of deformable modeling; that is, deforming a given shape into a target shape via some type of mathematical method (ideally an interactive one). Solutions to this problem lie at the core of most current computer animation systems. One standard approach for these methods is to view the shape as being comprised of a deformable material and having a collection of embedded shape handles. Typically, these shape handles are either points or piecewise linear shapes connecting these points that a user may manipulate interactively. In this framework, the deformation method computes a "reasonable" deformation of the shape based on some simple physical model. One interesting question here is what corresponds to a "reasonable" deformation. Historically, the simplest mathematical models for deformations have been piecewise polynomials. In the one-dimensional case, these models (such as B-splines) are simple, intuitive, and expressive. For twodimensional shapes, piecewise linear deformations are again simple and intuitive. However, higher-order piecewise polynomial models lack the smoothness and flexibility needed in many applications. Since univariate polynomials are the solutions to simple differential equations, many modern deformation schemes model smooth deformations as the solutions to a partial differential equation (PDE). Most deformation methods based on PDEs typically focus on either harmonic functions (solutions to Laplace's equation) or, more recently, biharmonic functions (solutions to the iterated Laplace's equation). In this vein, Jacobson et al. construct a deformation method that allows a wide range of handle types (points, line segments, open and closed polygons) and produces deformations that are biharmonic functions. In this framework, the positions of the handles are treated as boundary conditions for the associated PDE. An important fact to note is that the use of biharmonic functions in place of the harmonic functions is due to the inclusion of isolated handles. Harmonic functions are typically used to model the idealized deformation of thin elastic membranes while biharmonic functions are typically used to model deformations of thin elastic plates. Interpolating an isolated handle with a thin membrane (harmonic) will lead to non-smooth deformations that often fold back on themselves. Interpolating an isolated handle with a thin plate (biharmonic) normally yields a smooth deformation with no fold back. Jacobson et al.'s main technical innovation is the addition of linear inequality constraints to their model to ensure the resulting solutions to the harmomic equation are bounded. Most modeling methods based on partial differential equations restrict themselves to linear constraints to ensure the solution process is interactive. The drawback with these purely linear methods is that the solution to a problem with non-negative boundary values may occasionally have a solution that is not strictly non-negative everywhere. In practice, this issue makes modeling a desired deformation as a combination of deformations formed by perturbing one shape handle at time less intuitive. The mathematical solution to this problem is to use a combination of linear equality and inequality constraints to ensure the resulting solutions to the PDE are non-negative. Using the authors' formulation of these constraints, the resulting problem is both bounded and convex and, as a result, can be solved efficiently using a standard sparse quadratic programming solver. In practice, the method discretizes the shape and pre-computes independent deformations for each individual handle. This main solution process is done as a pre-computation and takes on the order of, at most, seconds for most examples. Since the problem is linear, the desired deformation corresponding to a specific set of handle locations can be computed interactively by taking linear combinations of the pre-computed deformations for each individual handle. Locality and convexity ensure the resulting deformations follow the boundary conditions in an intuitive manner. The method is an excellent example of the state of the art in deformation methods. The method combines the use of the biharmonic equation to achieve smooth local deformations while restricting these deformations to be non-negative and have no local minima through the use of linear inequality constraints. Since the deformation is computed as a solution to the PDE only over the shape, the resulting deformations depend only on the positions of the handles that are nearby in terms of distance inside the shape. More generally, the paper points in the direction for interesting future work on the use of advanced mathematical methods for representing complex deformations and the use of sophisticated numerical solvers to compute these deformations in practice.


In this famed collection of full-color photographs, Birney Imes reveals a previously unexplored and now nearly vanished domain, the black juke joints of the Mississippi Delta. Imes's work transforms these common gathering places in Delta cultural life into something rich and strange. The evocative Mississippi place names in Imes's photographs are as captivating as the names of the juke joints themselves: the Pink Pony in Darling, the People's Choice Cafe in Leland, Monkey's Place in Merigold, the Evening Star Lounge in Shaw, the Playboy Club in Louise, Juicy's Place in Marcella, the Social Inn in Gunnison, and A. D.'s Place in Glendora. To the volume Richard Ford, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sportswriter and Independence Day, contributes a long, perceptive essay that probes the photographs for their aesthetic value and for what they reveal beyond their obvious documentary qualities. Juke Joint includes approximately sixty photographs taken between 1983 and 1989 as Imes traveled throughout the Delta. Many of the images are the result of long exposures that show the blur of human movement as a figure lounges at a bar or steps across a room to feed quarters into a juke box. The resulting ""ghosts"" animate the pictures and give them an otherworldly quality. Today, many of these places no longer exist. And yet these photographs continue to inspire songs, poetry, movie sets, and the interior designs of countless bars, restaurants, and live music venues striving for authenticity and that inimitable Delta Blues feeling.


Background: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder leading to muscle weakness and respiratory failure, with death following, on average, within three years after symptom onset. Currently, there is no effective therapy and the mainstay of care for patients with ALS aims at improving the quality of life and at the management of symptoms. Therefore, there is a pressing unmet need for effective therapy. Despite the conduct of dozens of clinical trials and promising preclinical results, none of the evaluated drugs obtained global market authorization. Objective: This thesis aims to identify and address the main bottlenecks of the clinical drug development for ALS. Methods: Part 1 of this thesis aims at exploring and addressing the sources of clinical heterogeneity in trial populations and treatment responses. Part 2 evaluates the performance of classical efficacy outcomes as compared to innovative measures of disease progression. In addition, a comparison of different statistical strategies is given that optimizes the use of information by combining multiple efficacy outcomes. Part 3 evaluates how incorporating interim analyses or data-driven assumptions may improve the use of time and resources. Finally, a data-driven and evidence-based integration of Parts I-III is illustrated for a real-world setting. Results: Large efficiency gains can be obtained by replacing eligibility criteria for prognostic survival models, by implementing new efficacy outcomes such as plasma biomarkers or remote healthcare technology, by innovating overall design settings with event-based and group-sequential monitoring schemes and by optimizing analytical strategies with the use of a joint modeling framework. Compared to classical trial design, optimizing clinical trial design could lead to considerable reductions in the size and duration of clinical trials, which lowers the burden for patients and optimizes the use of the available resources. Conclusions: Clinical trials for ALS are complicated by the unpredictable and variable course of the disease, the insensitivity of clinical outcome measures and by suboptimal or unrealistic design assumptions. This thesis expanded the ALS clinical trial toolbox and takes a first step towards data-driven, evidence-based guidance for future settings. Ultimately, these innovations could circumvent important pitfalls encountered by classical trial design and accelerate the development of effective therapy against this debilitating disease.


We present a new sample of M subdwarfs compiled from the seventh data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. With 3517 new subdwarfs, this new sample significantly increases the number of spectroscopically confirmed low-mass subdwarfs. This catalog also includes 905 extreme and 534 ultra sudwarfs. We present the entire catalog, including observed and derived quantities, and template spectra created from co-added subdwarf spectra. We show color–color and reduced proper motion diagrams of the three metallicity classes, which are shown to separate from the disk dwarf population. The extreme and ultra subdwarfs are seen at larger values of reduced proper motion, as expected for more dynamically heated populations. We determine 3D kinematics for all of the stars with proper motions. The color–magnitude diagrams show a clear separation of the three metallicity classes with the ultra and extreme subdwarfs being significantly closer to the main sequence than the ordinary subdwarfs. All subdwarfs lie below (fainter) and to the left (bluer) of the main sequence. Based on the average (U, V, W) velocities and their dispersions, the extreme and ultra subdwarfs likely belong to the Galactic halo, while the ordinary subdwarfs are likely part of the old Galactic (or thick) disk. An extensive activity analysis of subdwarfs is performed using Hα emission, and 208 active subdwarfs are found. We show that while the activity fraction of subdwarfs rises with spectral class and levels off at the latest spectral classes, consistent with the behavior of M dwarfs, the extreme and ultra subdwarfs are basically flat.


We describe the use of swept-wavelength interferometry for distributed fiber-optic sensing in single- and multimode optical fiber using intrinsic Rayleigh backscatter. The interrogation technique is based on measuring the spectral shift of the intrinsic Rayleigh backscatter signal along an unaltered standard telecommunications grade optical fiber and converting the spectral shift to strain or temperature. This technique shows great utility as a method for highly distributed sensing over great distances with existing, pre-installed optical fiber. Results from sensing lengths greater than 1 km of optical fiber with spatial resolutions better than 10 cm are reported.


Subdivision or Multiplication? The Choice of Calibration Design for Multiples of Kilogram The realization, maintenance and dissemination of the SI base unit, the kilogram, is one of the tasks of the NMI's mass laboratory and is assured by means of reference standards which are traceable to the International Kilogram Prototype through the mass of the National Prototypes. This paper describes the dissemination of mass scale from 1 kg reference standard to weights of E1 class between (1…10) kg, using one of the two methods of calibration: subdivision or multiplication. The paper compares the variance of each weight obtained by both methods. The presented subdivision method deals with a link of standards following the example of Mihailov - Romanowski where the measurements start downwards from 10 kg to 1 kg. The multiplication method is the one usually used in many calibration laboratories and starts from 1 kg to 10 kg. The paper also presents an example of calibration and uncertainty calculations.


This article interrogates the role of tragedy within the work of International Relations theorists including Michael Dillon, Mervyn Frost, Richard Ned Lebow and Hans Morgenthau. It argues that a tragic sensibility is a constituent part of much thinking about politics and the international, and asks what the reasons for this preoccupation might be. Noting that a number of diverse theoretical appeals to tragedy in International Relations invoke analytically similar understandings of tragic-political subjectivity, the article problematises these by building on Michel Foucault's intermittent concern with the genre in his Collège de France lecture series. It proposes that a genealogical consideration of tragedy enables an alertness to its political associations and implications that asks questions of the way in which it is commonly conceived within the discipline. The article concludes by suggesting that International Relations theorists seeking to invoke tragedy must think carefully about the ontological, epistemological, ethical and political claims associated with such a move.


This is the official curriculum of the Apple Mavericks 101: OS X Support Essentials 10.9 course and preparation for Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) 10.9 certification as well as a top-notch primer for anyone who needs to support, troubleshoot, or optimize OS X Mavericks. This guide provides comprehensive coverage of Mavericks and is part of the Apple Pro Training seriesthe only Apple-certified books on the market. Designed for support technicians, help desk specialists, and ardent Mac users, this guide takes you deep inside the Mavericks operating system. Readers will find in-depth, step-bystep instruction on everything from installing and configuring Mavericks to managing networks and system administration.Whether you run a computer lab or an IT department, youll learn to set up users, configure system preferences, manage security and permissions, use diagnostic and repair tools, troubleshoot peripheral devices, and moreall on your way to preparing for the industry-standard ACSP certification. Covers updated system utilities and new features of OS X Mavericks, including iCloud Keychain and Tags. Features authoritative explanations of underlying technologies, troubleshooting, system administration, and much more. Focused lessons take you step by step through practical, realworld tasks. Lesson files and bonus material available for downloadincluding lesson review questions summarizing what youve learned to prepare you for the Apple certification exam.


Water chemistry data on two small boreal rivers in southern Finland were analysed in relation to local and regional (NAO) weather conditions. The data set was based on daily weather and runoff measurements and weekly chemical sampling. The data set started in autumn 1994 and continued until the end of 2000. The results indicated that air temperature and precipitation explained a high proportion of the annual and seasonal variability in water quality in these two rivers. However, the relationships between the weather and water quality variables were masked by time lags in hydrology, seasonality and complexity of the affecting factors. Based on the regression analyses of the different seasons, the seasonal and annual nutrient concentrations could be modelled adequately using hydrological data. This implies that weather conditions are among the most important driving forces in determining the nutrient concentrations of the out-flowing waters in these boreal drainage basins. The results indicate that, in terms of nutrient leaching from the drainage basins, the most sensitive periods of the year are late autumn and winter. At that time the regional and local weather conditions were highly correlated, as were the local weather and discharge. In the short-term, the most critical meteorological factors appear to be air temperature and precipitation, since they strongly affect nutrient leaching and transportation from the drainage basin.


The partnership structure influences the possibility to implement jodint goals in general. It can develop, maintain or encumber the collaboration process and value of a partnership. Thus, the facilitative structure of a partnership is an actual constituent of efficient inter-organizational partnership implementation. The aim of the research is to develop a conceptual structural model for effective interorganizational partnership in Local Government. There are two such models presented in the article. Models are based on principles of involvement, participation, commitment, personal and group responsibility and comprise vertical and horizontal interaction of social subjects. These models: a) allow to reduce bureaucratic obstacles that occur because of the influence and powers of sponsoring institutions and supervisory authorities on initiation and implementation of inter-organizational programmes and projects; b) eliminate subordinate relations among municipalities and other partnership participants; c) encourages social responsibility of interorganizational interaction participants since organizations realizing programmes and projects become partially economically interested not only in achievement of the set goals but also in assurance of positive social effect in a long-term perspective.


The mammalian zona pellucida is an extracellular matrix that surrounds growing oocytes, ovulated eggs and early embryos. The mouse zona is composed of three sulfated glycoproteins: ZP1, ZP2 and ZP3. Each is critically involved in fertilization, the postfertilization block to polyspermy and protection of the preimplantation embryo. We have previously isolated cDNAs encoding mouse ZP2 and ZP3 and now report the isolation of a full-length cDNA encoding ZP1. Mouse ZP1 is composed of a 623 amino acid polypeptide chain with a signal peptide and a carboxyl terminal transmembrane domain, typical of all zona proteins. Sequence comparison demonstrate that mouse ZP1 is an orthologue of a rabbit zona protein, R55. The expression of R55 has been reported previously in both oocytes and granulosa cells. However, by northern analysis and in situ hybridization with 33P-labelled antisense probes to each of the three mouse zona mRNAs, we have determined that the expression of each mouse zona gene is restricted to the oocyte. ZP2 transcripts, but not ZP1 or ZP3, are detected in resting (15 microns diameter) oocytes, and all three zona transcripts coordinately accumulate as oocytes begin to grow. Together they represent approximately 1.5% of the total poly(A)+ RNA in 50-60 microns oocytes. In the latter stages of oogenesis, their abundance declines and each zona transcript is present in ovulated eggs at less than 5% of its maximal level. No zona transcripts were detected above background signal in granulosa cells. We conclude that, in mice, the three zona pellucida genes are expressed in a coordinate, oocyte-specific manner during the growth phase of oogenesis. Our data support the hypothesis that the transcription of the zona genes is controlled, in part, by shared regulatory element(s).


Any time the Federal Reserve or the official sector more broadly provides support to the economy during a crisis, the intervention raises concerns related to moral hazard. Moral hazard can occur when market participants do not bear the negative consequences of the risks they take. This lack of consequences can encourage even greater risks, due to the expectation of future government help. In this post, we consider the potential for moral hazard stemming from the official sector's response to the coronavirus pandemic and explain why moral hazard concerns were likely more severe in 2008.


This technical publication describes how to compute coupled fields and coupling coefficients in the Advanced Systems Analysis Software (ASAP®) from Breault Research Organization (BRO). The emphasis of this document is on the steps necessary to compute coherent coupled fields and coupling coefficients in ASAP. A brief discussion is also included on some of the important issues in modeling physical optics phenomena that are found in telecommunication devices. The coupling calculation is illustrated in two realworld systems: a ball coupling lens, and an optical feedback system that produces narrow linewidths for dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) applications. The methodology presented here serves as a general roadmap for performing other types of coupling calculations in ASAP.


Background Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the autonomous nervous system modulation on heart rate and is associated with several pathologies, including cardiac mortality. While mechanistic studies show that smoking is associated with lower HRV, population-based studies present conflicting results. Methods We assessed the mutual effects of active smoking status, cumulative smoking history, and current smoking intensity, on HRV among 4751 adults from the Cooperative Health Research In South Tyrol (CHRIS) study. The HRV metrics standard deviation of normal-to-normal (NN) inter-beat intervals (SDNN), square root of the mean squared differences of consecutive NN intervals (RMSSD), total power (TP), low (LF) and high frequency (HF) power, and their ratio (LF/HF), were derived from 20-minute electrocardiograms. Smoking status, pack-years (PY), and tobacco grams/day from standardized questionnaires were the main exposures. We fitted linear mixed models to account for relatedness, non-linearity, and moderating effects, and including fractional polynomials. Results Past smokers had higher HRV levels than never smokers, independently of PY. The association of HRV with current smoking became apparent when accounting for the interaction between smoking status and PY. In current smokers, but not in past smokers, we observed HRV reductions between 2.0% (SDNN) and 4.9% (TP) every 5 PY increase. Furthermore, current smokers were characterized by dose-response reductions of 9.8% (SDNN), 8.9% (RMSSD), 20.1% (TP), 17.7% (LF), and 19.1% (HF), respectively, every 10 grams/day of smoked tobacco, independently of common cardiometabolic conditions and HRV-modifying drugs. The LF/HF ratio was not associated with smoking status, history, or intensity. Conclusions Smoking cessation was associated with higher HRV levels. In current smokers, heavier smoking intensity appears gradually detrimental on HRV, corroborating previous evidence. By affecting both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system indexes, but not the LF/HF balance, smoking intensity seems to exert a systemic dysautonomic effect.


In breast cancer, Lysine-specific demethylase-1 (LSD1) and other lysine demethylases (KDMs), such as Lysine-specific demethylase 6A also known as Ubiquitously transcribed tetratricopeptide repeat, X chromosome (UTX), are co-expressed and co-localize with estrogen receptors (ERs), suggesting the potential use of hybrid (epi)molecules to target histone methylation and therefore regulate/redirect hormone receptor signaling. Here, we report on the biological activity of a dual-KDM inhibitor (MC3324), obtained by coupling the chemical properties of tranylcypromine, a known LSD1 inhibitor, with the 2OG competitive moiety developed for JmjC inhibition. MC3324 displays unique features not exhibited by the single moieties and well-characterized mono-pharmacological inhibitors. Inhibiting LSD1 and UTX, MC3324 induces significant growth arrest and apoptosis in hormone-responsive breast cancer model accompanied by a robust increase in H3K4me2 and H3K27me3. MC3324 down-regulates ERα in breast cancer at both transcriptional and non-transcriptional levels, mimicking the action of a selective endocrine receptor disruptor. MC3324 alters the histone methylation of ERα-regulated promoters, thereby affecting the transcription of genes involved in cell surveillance, hormone response, and death. MC3324 reduces cell proliferation in ex vivo breast cancers, as well as in breast models with acquired resistance to endocrine therapies. Similarly, MC3324 displays tumor-selective potential in vivo, in both xenograft mice and chicken embryo models, with no toxicity and good oral efficacy. This epigenetic multi-target approach is effective and may overcome potential mechanism(s) of resistance in breast cancer.


This thesis examines the development of elite clerical culture in fourteenth-century Iceland. Following ecclesiastical reforms of the late thirteenth century (staðamal), a small number of clerics gained access to large farms (staðir) as benefices, and gained wealth and power from their new benefices. Over the course of the century, this small group developed a shared identity, one based on clerical values such as familiarity with canon law, as well as on a shared sense of interdependence and a new, clerical set of personal networks and connections. This thesis examines the development of this shared identity, particularly as expressed through clerical narrative writing, and through the role of ecclesiastical administration at the sub-episcopal level (diocesan officers and the holders of major benefices).

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to current scholarly approaches to fourteenth-century Iceland, while discussing the historical context for the study of ecclesiastical administration and clerical identity. Chapter 2 surveys the primary sources which form the basis of this thesis. Chapter 3 is a study of the structure of the Icelandic Church, with a focus on the role of individual agents in shaping the development of ecclesiastical institutions. Chapter 4 consists of a social and cultural study of the sub-episcopal elite clergy in Iceland. The first part of this chapter examines the economic and social basis for the development of an elite clergy, while the second part provides an analysis of the social and cultural history of the sub-episcopal elite, with a focus on the social networks of the sub-episcopal elite, and different types of relationship within these networks. Chapter 5 consists of a thematic study of Icelandic clergy in Norway; through an analysis of evidence for voyages to Norway undertaken by the sub-episcopal elite, I provide insight into the particular relationship between Iceland and Norway in the fourteenth century.


This article examines the representation of women in Libyan national traditional media before, during and after the February 2011 revolution that led to the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime. What roles did female journalists assume within national traditional newsrooms and how did these roles evolve from activism in the defense of women?s causes and the official revolutionary ideals of the former regime to spreading the message of the revolutionaries during the uprising? This article further reflects on changes in the nature of female journalists? roles in the new post-revolution media landscape. The opening of the media market to private ownership for the first time in Libya?s history is accompanied by an expansion of women?s presence in Libyan newsrooms, where this increased visibility is to be viewed primarily as a mean of attracting audiences. In the shaky media landscape that characterizes the post-revolutionary period, this expansion reflects the clash between the conservative values of Libyan society and the liberal values of the open market. I argue that the growing number of women in national Libyan media post-revolution is not reflective of a general trend towards women?s empowerment in a country struggling with the spread of violence and the legacy of the past. Rather, the thorny process of restructuring national media post-revolution and the need for new media outlets capable of catering for large audiences are empowering the presence of women in newsrooms as a strong marketing asset.


Two main approaches appear in the popular literature on constitutional interpretation: originalism and nonoriginalism. An originalist approach refers back to some aspect of the framers' and ratifiers' intent or action to justify a decision. A non-originalist approach bases the goal of constitutional interpretation in part on consideration of some justification independent of the framers' and ratifiers' intent or action. What is often unappreciated in addressing the question of whether to adopt an originalist or non-originalist approach to constitutional interpretation is the complication that emerges if one concludes that the framing and ratifying generation believed in the model of a living Constitution. Under such a model, later legislative, executive, or social practice, or judicial precedents, can change the meaning of a constitutional provision. Thus, while standard originalist supporters share the premise that the original meaning of constitutional text is fixed at the time each provision is framed and ratified, interpretation according to originalism actually does not commit the interpreter to a static or fixed interpretation of the Constitution. Instead, a true originalist form of interpretation can incorporate the principle that the provision was capable of evolution over time.


We introduce a novel methodology for mapping academic institutions based on their journal publication profiles. We believe that journals in which researchers from academic institutions publish their works can be considered as useful identifiers for representing the relationships between these institutions and establishing comparisons. However, when academic journals are used for research output representation, distinctions must be introduced between them, based on their value as institution descriptors. This leads us to the use of journal weights attached to the institution identifiers. Since a journal in which researchers from a large proportion of institutions published their papers may be a bad indicator of similarity between two academic institutions, it seems reasonable to weight it in accordance with how frequently researchers from different institutions published their papers in this journal. Cluster analysis can then be applied to group the academic institutions, and dendrograms can be provided to illustrate groups of institutions following agglomerative hierarchical clustering. In order to test this methodology, we use a sample of Spanish universities as a case study. We first map the study sample according to an institution's overall research output, then we use it for two scientific fields (Information and Communication Technologies, as well as Medicine and Pharmacology) as a means to demonstrate how our methodology can be applied, not only for analyzing institutions as a whole, but also in different disciplinary contexts. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Since the 1980s, new supernatural movements have become highly visible additions to Thailand's spiritual landscapes and religious marketplaces. Focused on supernatural intervention to bring success, wealth and prosperity in Thailand's expanding economy, these movements are often only tangentially related to orthodox Theravada Buddhist teachings and practice. These highly commodified wealthoriented movements emerged in the context of Thailand's economic boom in the 1980s and 1990s, and have continued to grow in popularity and develop further through the 1997 Asian economic crisis and the political conflicts that have destabilized Thai society over the past decade. The large number of colourful special issues of Thai postage stamps devoted to supernatural cults of prosperity released since 2004 reflects the relocation of these movements from the margins to the centre of national religious practice. These stamp special issues also reflect a major shift in the regime of power over public imaging that depicts the participation of Thailand's economic, political and royal elites in new forms of supernatural ritual. This ritual has now been incorporated into state projects under the aegis of officially sponsored Theravada Buddhism. No longer kept hidden or private, elite participation in supernatural ritual is becoming an increasingly visible and politically significant dimension of the symbolism and exercise of power in early twenty-first-century Thailand.


The objective of this project was to evaluate the in-use fuel economy and emission differences between hybrid-electric and conventional transit buses for the Ames, Iowa transit authority, CyRide. These CyRide buses were deployed in the fall of 2010. Fuel economy was compared for the hybrid and control buses. Several older bus types were also available and were included in the analysis. Hybrid buses had the highest fuel economy for all time periods for all bus types. Hybrid buses had a fuel economy that was 11.8% higher than control buses overall, 12.2% higher than buses with model years 2007 and newer, 23.4% higher than model years 2004 through 2006, 10.2% higher than model years 1998 through 2003, 38.1% higher than model years 1994 through 1997, 36.8% higher than model years 1991 through 1993, and 36.8% higher for model years pre-1991. On-road emissions were also compared for three of the hybrid buses and two control buses using a portable emissions monitor. On-average, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hybrid carbon emissions were much higher for the control buses than for the hybrid buses. However, on average nitrogen oxide emissions were higher for the hybrid buses.


The need for a Web portal to support the rapidly growing field of learning technology has been well established through a number of national surveys and scoping studies over recent years. The overarching vision has been the provision of a virtual environment to assist in informing and developing professional practice in the use of learning technologies. This paper outlines the issues and challenges in creating such a portal through the experiences of developing the RESULTs Network. In the paper, design and participation issues are considered within the wider context of online and networked approaches to supporting practice and professional development. User participation methodologies and technical developments for RESULTs are described in relation to a review of existing representations of practice and a comprehensive survey amongst the learning technology users' community. An outline of key achievements and experiences is presented, followed by some conclusions regarding the cultural and political issues in creating a viable and sustainable facility and suggestions for possible future direction in national provision. DOI:10.1080/0968776030110309


Bogdanov and Lee suggested a homomorphic public-key encryption scheme based on error correcting codes. The underlying public code is a modified Reed-Solomon code obtained from inserting a zero submatrix in the Vandermonde generating matrix defining it. The columns that define this submatrix are kept secret and form a set $L$. We give here a distinguisher that detects if one or several columns belong to $L$ or not. This distinguisher is obtained by considering the code generated by component-wise products of codewords of the public code (the so called "square code"). This operation is applied to punctured versions of this square code obtained by picking a subset
$I$ of the whole set of columns. It turns out that the dimension of the punctured square code is directly related to the cardinality of the intersection of $I$ with $L$. This allows an attack which recovers the full set $L$ and which can then decrypt any ciphertext.


ABSTRACT It is believed that a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), was passed from palm civets to humans and caused the epidemic of SARS in 2002 to 2003. The major species barriers between humans and civets for SARS-CoV infections are the specific interactions between a defined receptor-binding domain (RBD) on a viral spike protein and its host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). In this study a chimeric ACE2 bearing the critical N-terminal helix from civet and the remaining peptidase domain from human was constructed, and it was shown that this construct has the same receptor activity as civet ACE2. In addition, crystal structures of the chimeric ACE2 complexed with RBDs from various human and civet SARS-CoV strains were determined. These structures, combined with a previously determined structure of human ACE2 complexed with the RBD from a human SARS-CoV strain, have revealed a structural basis for understanding the major species barriers between humans and civets for SARS-CoV infections. They show that the major species barriers are determined by interactions between four ACE2 residues (residues 31, 35, 38, and 353) and two RBD residues (residues 479 and 487), that early civet SARS-CoV isolates were prevented from infecting human cells due to imbalanced salt bridges at the hydrophobic virus/receptor interface, and that SARS-CoV has evolved to gain sustained infectivity for human cells by eliminating unfavorable free charges at the interface through stepwise mutations at positions 479 and 487. These results enhance our understanding of host adaptations and cross-species infections of SARS-CoV and other emerging animal viruses.


Improving our knowledge of the normal state of high-temperature cuprate superconductors is believed to represent an important, and maybe necessary, step to advance in our understanding of their unconventional superconducting state. In this talk we present an angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy of an overdoped cuprate system (La1.77Sr0.23CuO4) [1,2]. We will show how the nodal low-energy excitations are consistent with true Landau Fermi quasiparticles [1]. Furthermore, we will show how the quasiparticle description of the excitations breaks down both for high energies and in spectra recorded in the anti-nodal region [2]. [1] C. G. Fatuzzo et al., submitted. [2] J. Chang et al., Nature Communications, 4, 2559 (2013)


The paper discusses the linearization of DP-internal Romanian adjectives, along the lines of Stavrou (2001), against the background of phase theory (Chomsky 2005). A system of adjective classification is proposed, taking into account whether they combine with NPs or DPs, whether they are kind- or object-level and whether they combine with nominals by functional application or by th- identification. On this basis, it is shown that adjectives, like nouns, may have a family of related denotations and that the syntax of an adjective, including its position with respect to the head completely follow from the adjective's denotation. It is claimed that the ordering of adjectives is cyclic, and there are two phasal domains of linearization, the n* domain and the d* domain. The final sections detail the syntactic, interpretative and linearization properties of adjectives in the n*/d* domains.


ABSTRACT Amphicyonidae are a common element of carnivoran faunas in the early and middle Miocene of Eurasia and North America, but by the Messinian they had become extinct there, except possibly on the Indian subcontinent. In Africa, amphicyonids are poorly known from a scattering of records from the late Oligocene to the late Miocene. In this paper, we describe the last-surviving amphicyonid in Africa, from Messinian-age sediments (dated c. 6.5–5.3 Ma) of Ethiopia (Gona) and Kenya (Lothagam and possibly Lemudong'o). This new taxon shows unique adaptations to hypercarnivory in the lower molars and was small for an amphicyonid, dentally about the size of a coyote, Canis latrans.


The Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction was associated with a collapse in the carbon isotopic (δ13C) gradient between planktonic and benthic foraminifera and a decrease in bulk carbonate δ13C values. These perturbations have been explained by several hypotheses: global collapse of primary productivity (Strangelove Ocean), greatly reduced export but not primary productivity (Living Ocean), little or no reduction in export productivity (Resilient Ocean), and geographic heterogeneity in the change of export productivity (Heterogeneous Ocean). We tested primary versus export productivity changes in the paleoshelf of New Jersey, where δ13C values and organic carbon accumulation rates can distinguish among different ocean responses. On the shelf, the K/Pg boundary is associated with a ~2.5‰ δ13C decrease in bulk carbonate, a ~0.8‰ δ13C decrease in organic carbon, a collapse of the surface to bottom δ13C gradient, and a drop in organic carbon accumulation rates. We interpret an early Danian ~1.0‰ planktonic foraminiferal δ13C gradient, a ~0.75‰ cross-shelf benthic foraminiferal δ13C gradient, and a drop in carbon accumulation rates to reflect the presence of active primary but limited export productivity, consistent with the Living Ocean hypothesis. We evaluated interbasinal deep-sea benthic foraminiferal δ13C gradients between the Pacific (Site 1210) and Atlantic (Site 1262) oceans as a proxy for changes in export productivity. The interbasinal δ13C gradient was reduced after the mass extinction, suggesting a reduction in global export productivity. Although our data support the Living Ocean hypothesis, evidence from paleoupwelling zones shows significant export productivity, indicating spatial heterogeneity in the wake of the K/Pg mass extinction (Heterogeneous Ocean).


As a means of modulating lasers, acousto-optical cells are a relatively simple and generally satisfactory solution. When used in the zero-order mode to modulate the undiffracted light, they do suffer from the disadvantage that the maximum contrast between the on and off states is typically 10 to 1. This cannot be improved by increasing cell length because it orginates from rediffraction of once-diffracted light. By spatial filtering the light between passes through multiple cells, or alternatively, multiple passes through a single cell, this contrast can be improved by removing the once-diffracted orders before they can be rediffracted into the zero-order beam. Experimentally we have demonstrated an improvement of a factor of 10 in contrast by using two cells, each of which by itself produces only a 10 to 1 contrast. In addition to using filters consisting of stops and apertures, it is possible to achieve similar results with polarization filters. Multiple applications of this filtering improve contrast as the power of the contrast of a given step, thus contrast of modulation in zero order can be improved to any desired degree.


We review the mechanisms established by the Ramsar Convention for reporting on the status and change in the ecological character of wetlands. We assess the extent of their implementation and compliance, but not issues of the adequacy of their design nor the consequences of their extent of implementation. We conclude that, with the exception of qualitative national-scale reporting in triennial Contracting Party National Reports, there is inadequate implementation and compliance with most of these mechanisms, notably concerning required reporting under Article 3.2 of the Convention and the updating of the Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS). This limits the ability of the Convention to assess the status, and trends in status, of designated Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), and to inform future decision-making and priority-setting for the wise use of all wetlands. As has been recognised by the Ramsar Convention, unless compliance with these mechanisms is improved, sufficient information will not be gathered through the mechanisms of Ramsar Convention to assess fully the Sustainable Development Goal 6.6.1 indicator supported by the Convention on change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time.


High fat diet induced insulin resistance correlates with dyslipidaemia and ectopic fat deposits in skeletal muscle and liver. The effects of Sutherlandia frutescens, an antidiabetic medicinal plant, on lipid metabolism were evaluated in an insulin resistant (IR) rat model and in 3 T3‐preadipocytes. Wistar rats received normal diet (ND) or high fat diet (HFD). After the onset of IR in the HFD group, the rats were subdivided into two subgroups, which either continued with HFD or were treated with 50 mg S. frutescens/kg BW/day and HFD (HFD + SF). After 4 weeks, the HFD + SF rats had a significantly lower body weight than the HFD rats (p < 0.05). Blood plasma analysis showed a decrease in insulin, free fatty acids and triglycerides. Related changes in lipid parameters were observed in the liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. To investigate the effects of S. frutescens on adipose tissue, 3 T3‐L1 cells were used as a model. Treatment with S. frutescens led to a decrease in triglyceride accumulation, whilst glucose consumption and lactate production were increased (p < 0.05). These results indicate that S. frutescens directly affects mitochondrial activity and lipid biosynthesis in adipose tissue and provide a mechanism by which S. frutescens can restore insulin sensitivity by modulating fatty acid biosynthesis. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


SUMMARY: The Mediterranean sea is an area which has a longlived oceanographic tradition. Since the remote antiquity, it has been the object of observations and descriptions in which maritime activities and fishing ho Id a para mount place. This paper presents a synthe tic view on the history of the fisheries research and its evolution in the area. The very rich mediterranean fauna and the highly multispecific nature of the catches certainly favoured the fact that the first works were mainly oriented towards attempts of exhaustive descriptions of the vital cycles and biological param eters of a given species. The passage from marine biology sensu-stricto to fisheries research is relatively recent in the Mediterranean; the first attempts to apply sorne mathematical population dynamics models to the exploited stocks were realized in France and Spain in the last sixties. Most of these analyses used the "global production models" which come out to be quite disappointing when applied in the area. Several mediterranean work programmes are now oriented towards the use of "direct evaluations" and "analytical" methods of modelling of the exploited stocks. Quanti tatively, the mediterranean state of knowledge about fisheries is not far from what we can find in man y atlantic european fishing grounds. A recent innovation in the research about mediterranean fishing is to take in account the activity of the "small-scale" fleets and their interactions with other types of fisheries. Catch and effort statistics remain a weak point, as the official statistical data are still often very far from reflecting the reality. To avoid this situation, the latest works in the area have consisted in perfecting sampling and assessment strategies. There is also an increasingly generalized awareness of the socio-economic importance of fishing, and of the fact that the effects of the anthropic coastal activities should be taken into account, as at a mundiallevel there is a general tendency to redirect the target of the fisheries science from ressources to entire ecosystems equilibriums. The success of this evolution will depend mostly on a new wave of investment in a multidisciplinary fundamental research which might lead to a new start in the evolutive dynamics of the finalised research depending on il. So the growing interest in semi-industrial and small-scale fisheries which is expressed today at an international level can make mediterranean fisheries research a valuable model.


Abstract:  A recent prospective study indicated that melatonin supplements may reduce the progression of idiopathic scoliosis, the most common deformity of the spine. This form of scoliosis occurs during rapid skeletal growth. To date, however, there is no direct evidence regarding an antiproliferative effect of melatonin at the level of osteoblasts. Herein, we investigated whether melatonin inhibits cell proliferation in a normal human fetal osteoblastic cell line hFOB 1.19. MTT staining showed that at 1 mm concentrations, melatonin significantly inhibited osteoblast proliferation in time‐dependent manner. Flow cytometry demonstrated that melatonin significantly increased the fraction of cells in G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle, while simultaneously reducing the proportion in the G2/M phase rather than the S phase. Western blot and real‐time PCR analyses further confirmed that melatonin's inhibitory effect was possibly because of downregulation of cyclin D1 and CDK4, related to the G1 phase, and of cyclin B1 and CDK1, related to the G2/M phase. There was no downregulation of cyclin E, CDK2, and cyclin A, which are related to G1/S transition and S phase. In addition, the trypan blue dye exclusion assay showed that cell viability was not changed by melatonin relative to control cells. These findings provide evidence that melatonin may significantly delay osteoblast proliferation in a time‐dependent manner and this inhibition involves the downregulation of cyclin D1 and CDK4, related to the G1 phase, and of cyclin B1 and CDK1, related to the G2/M phase.


The shelf around Grand Cayman consists of two seaward-sloping terraces separated by a mid-shelf scarp . Except along the exposed windward margin where coral growth is dominant, the upper terrace (0-10 m bal) largely consists of a barren rocky pavement traversed by erosional furrows. Exposure related trends in the morphology and distribution of these erosional features, and the lack of coral growth , demonstrates that the terrace is the result of contemporary erosion during seasonal storms . The upper terrace is terminated by a mid-shelf scarp (10-20 m bal) that, in most areas, is partially to completely buried by modern carbonate deposits . Along narrow sections of the leeward shelf, the scarp is commonly exposed and displays an erosional intertidal notch at - 18.5 m. The lower terrace (12-40 mbsl) extends from the mid-shelf scarp to the shelf edge. Its surface is a modern reef-and- sediment wedge that thickens toward the shelf edge, reaching up to 40 m in thickness. These deposits are underlain by a seaward-sloping bedrock terrace (20-40 m bal). This buried terrace and the mid-shelf scarp, which are geomorphic equivalents of the upper terrace and coastal cliff, represent an earlier episode of marine planation when sea level was stabilized at a lower position. The contemporary erosional features of the upper -shelf terrace and the presence of identical terraces around recently uplifted islands demonstrates that the terraces on Grand Cayman were sculptured by marine erosion during the last deglacial sea-level rise. The lower terrace and the mid-shelf scarp were eroded during a slow-rise episode from 11- 7 ka and were subsequently drowned by an extremely rapid, 5 m rise-event at - 7 ka. Following this catastrophic event, which drowned fast -growing Acropora reefs in other areas of the Caribbean , sea-level stabilized and rose slowly to its present position , producing the upper terrace. This pronounced stepped pat tern in Holocene sea-level rise remains to be confirmed from outside the Caribbean-Atlantic reef province but is consistent with the stepped nature of pre-Holocene sea-level curves. The presence of seaward sloping terraces on many shelves around the world suggests that erosional terrace cutting is a common phenomenon during sea-level rise. In contrast, terraces in areas that have undergone relative sea-level fall are constructional in origin, produced entirely by reef accretion. This suggests that there is a genetic relationship between the sea-level cycle and terrace type: erosional terraces form during rise and constructional terraces during fall.


The objective of this research is to develop a layer-wise finite prism method for studying the elastic buckling of steel foam sandwich members. Foamed steel, literally steel with internal voids, enables lightweight and stiff components. Steel foam sandwich panels (steel face sheets and low-density, highly porous foam core) exhibit higher bending rigidity and plate buckling strength in comparison to slender, steel plates with the same weight. Analytical sandwich plate buckling solutions are not applicable to buckling analysis of cold-formed sandwich members with interaction between local and global buckling modes. Finite element analysis (either solid 3D or shell representation) provides the most reliable solution; however, its use is complicated, computationally expensive, and not practical for engineers. The proposed layer-wise finite prism solution is an alternative, easy-to-use tool, which builds upon the shape functions available in the literature, and is verified against eigenbuckling finite element solutions implemented in LS-DYNA software. Future research is needed to incorporate the elastic buckling solutions in the direct strength design of sandwich panel members. Copyright © (2013) by the Structural Stability Research Council (SSRC).


BACKGROUND
Interacting with social robots, such as the robotic seal PARO, has been shown to improve mood and acute pain for people with dementia. Little attention has been paid to the effect of PARO on people with dementia and chronic pain.

OBJECTIVE
To explore how people with mild to moderate dementia and chronic pain perceive PARO as an alternative intervention to manage their pain and mood.

DESIGN
A descriptive qualitative approach nested within a pilot randomised controlled trial.

METHODS
Participants with dementia and chronic pain were recruited from three residential aged care facilities. They interacted with PARO for 30 min, five days a week over a six-week period. A sample of 11 participants completed individual semi-structured interviews at the end of the intervention. Data were collected from January 2018 to January 2019. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken. Reporting of findings followed the COREQ checklist.

RESULTS
Four themes emerged from the data: (1) Perceptions of PARO; (2) Therapeutic effects of PARO; (3) Limitations of PARO; and (4) Program improvement. Residents with dementia expressed positive attitudes towards the use of PARO and acknowledged the therapeutic benefits of PARO on mood improvement and relaxation for pain relief but also mentioned the limitations of its weight, voice and characteristics. Residents' responses could also fluctuate during the intervention process, and individual preferences need to be considered.

CONCLUSIONS
The PARO intervention is a promising intervention to improve positive emotion and there is some anecdotal evidence that pain may be decreased from the perspectives of people living with chronic pain and dementia.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Long-term care staff may incorporate PARO therapy into daily dementia care. Understanding of individual's preferences may enhance the implementation of PARO for pain management in this group.


To determine the geophysical structure of a region, we measure seismic travel times and reconstruct velocities at different depths from this data. There are several algorithms for solving this inverse problem, but these algorithms do not tell us how accurate these reconstructions are. Traditional approach to accuracy estimation assumes that the measurement errors are independently normally distributed. Problem: the resulting accuracies are not in line with geophysical intuition. Reason: a typical error is when we miss the first arrival of the seismic wave; it is not normal (bounded by the wave period ∆) and not independent. Typically, all we know is the upper bound ∆ on the measurement error, so when the measured value is x̃, we conclude that x ∈ [x̃−∆, x̃+∆]. For this interval uncertainty, the resulting velocity accuracy is, qualitatively, in much better accordance with geophysics. Interval uncertainty naturally appears in other applications as well. In this paper, we describe Monte-Carlo-Type techniques for processing interval uncertainty, and their geophysical and engineering applications.


ABSTRACT The paper offers an analysis of empirical evidence on the equity impacts of operational Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in the Global South. The focus is on vertical equity, i.e. whether BRT systems achieve progressive benefits for poorer segments of the population. Findings from Africa, Asia, and Latin America all suggest that BRT does offer significant benefits to low-income groups, in terms of travel time and cost savings, access enhancement, and safety and health benefits. However benefits are often skewed toward medium-income users and thus less progressive than they might be. Two primary reasons for this are insufficient spatial coverage and inappropriate fare policies. While many features of BRT potentially allow it to deliver pro-poor outcomes, such outcomes only materialize if BRT implementers pay specific and sustained attention to equity. The paper identifies key issues that need to be addressed to steer BRT implementation toward more socially sustainable outcomes—including better integration with other transit, paratransit, and nonmotorized transport services, and with the housing sector.


A large-scale, controlled study of universal immunization of newborns against HBV infection has been conducted in the high incidence area of hepatocellular carcinoma, Qidong County of China. This area has a stable population, standardized cancer registration system, and an epidemiological base for measurements of liver cancer prevention by vaccine. Randomization was done on the community level. The vaccination and the control group each will consist of 38,000 children by the end of 1990. It is anticipated that the design will provide high statistical power to detect 50% reduction in the prevalence rate of chronic hepatitis among the vaccinees vs. the controls at 6 to 10 years of age, and 50% reduction in the incidence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma at 35 to 40 years of age. The vaccine used is Hep-B Vax, donated by Merck and Co. through WHO. The vaccine was administered at 0, 1, and 6 months after birth, the dosage of 5 or 2.5 micrograms in the pilot study as used before 1985 and of 5 micrograms dose level during the main study starting from January 1, 1985. About 85% of the cohorts have now entered the protocol. The vaccination coverage during 1984 to 1989 was 98.0% (35,064/35,789). Follow-up of the vaccinees and the age-matched controls at 5 years has exceeded 97%. The cumulative mortality in the vaccinated group up to 1988 was 1.29% (354/27,450). No single death nor serious adverse reaction was found that was associated with vaccination. The use of HBV vaccine at a reduced dose was especially important for the developing countries at the present time in order to achieve widespread immunization. Five-year results of the pilot study of this vaccination project showed that significant protection against HBV infection was achieved with the 5 or 2.5 micrograms per dose regimen plus a booster of 5 micrograms given at 3.5 to 4 years of age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Cellular signalling is classically investigated by measuring optical or electrical properties of single or populations of living cells. Here we show how cell-derived vesicles can be used for anlaysing transmembrane signalling. The vesicles are derived from live mammalian cells by using either chemicals, or by optical tweezers and they comprise parts of the plasma membrane and cytosol of the mother cell. We measured in vesicles derived from individual cells with single molecule sensitivity the different steps of G protein-coupled receptor mediated signalling like ligand binding to receptors, subsequent G protein activation and finally receptor deactivation by interaction with arrestin. Cell-derived plasma membrane vesicles represent the smallest autonomous containers capable of performing cellular signaling reactions thus functioning like minimal cells. Observing cellular signalling reactions in individual vesicles opens the door for downscaling bioanalysis of cellular functions to the attoliter range, multiplexing single cell analysis and investigating receptor mediated signalling in multiarray format.


McLeod TC, Lewis JH, Whelihan K, Bacon CE. Rest and return to activity after sport-related concussion: a systematic review of the literature. J Athl Train 2017; 52: 262–287.

The international Concussion in Sport group consensus statement advocates rest (physical and cognitive) until the resolution of symptoms following sport-related concussion. It also recommends that athletes follow a graduated stepwise progressive protocol to safely return-to-sport (RTS).1 There is currently insufficient evidence1 for implementation of 'Rest' and/or 'Graduated RTS protocol' for concussion management, nor precise evidence-informed guidelines in terms of timing, quantity and duration for these interventions.

The aim of the systematic review was to synthesise the literature related to rest and RTS/activity recommendations following sport-related concussion.

The articles were retrieved using the search terms such as brain concussion, mild traumatic brain injury, physical and cognitive rest and return-to-activity. The databases were explored from the time of inception until October 2015, and these included the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Educational Resources Information …


The Ethiopian education system has been very dynamic over recent years, with a series of large-scale education program interventions, such as the Second Phase of General Education Quality Improvement Project (GEQIP-II) that aimed to improve student learning outcomes. Despite the large-scale programs, empirical studies assessing how such interventions have worked and who benefited from the reforms are limited. This study aims to understand the impact of the reform on Grade 4 students' maths learning outcomes over a school year using two comparable Grade 4 cohort students from 33 common schools in the Young Lives (YL, 2012-13) and RISE (2018-19) surveys. We employ matching techniques to estimate the effects of the reform by accounting for baseline observable characteristics of the two cohorts matched within the same schools. Results show that the RISE cohort started the school year with a lower average test score than the YL cohort. At the start of Grade 4, the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) is lower by 0.36 SD (p<0.01). In terms of learning gain over the school year, however, the RISE cohort has shown a modestly higher value-added than the YL cohort, with ATT of 0.074 SD (p<0.05). The learning gain particularly is higher for students in rural schools (0.125 SD & p<0.05), which is also stronger among rural boys (0.184 SD & p<0.05) than among rural girls. We consider the implications of our results from a system dynamic perspective; in that the GEQIP-II reform induced unprecedented access to primary education, where the national Net Enrolment Rate (NER) rose from 85.7 percent in 2012-13 to 95.3 percent in 2019-20, which is equivalent to nearly 3 million additional learners to the primary education at a national level. This shows that learning levels have not increased in tandem with enrolment, and the unprecedented access for nearly all children might create pressure on the school system. Current policy efforts should therefore focus on sustaining learning gains for all children while creating better access.


Background: Pimpinella anisum known for its various medicinal properties is also a natural
antioxidant and a free radical scavenger with no documented evidence as a nephroprotective
agent. Objective: To evaluate the nephroprotective activity of aqueous extract of Pimpinella
anisum seeds in a rodent model of gentamicin induced nephrotoxicity. Materials and Methods:
Wistar albino rats of either sex, weighing 150–200 g was divided into 5 groups; normal saline,
gentamicin 80mg/kg, intraperitoneally for 8 days, aqueous extract of Pimpinella anisum seeds
at 1, 2, and 4g/kg, per oral for 8 days, the test extract administered 3 days prior and concurrently
with gentamicin for 5 days. Blood urea, serum creatinine, uric acid and blood urea
nitrogen analyses and microscopic examination of kidney were performed. Results: Gentamicin
treatment caused nephrotoxicity as evidenced by marked elevation in serum urea, serum
uric acid, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (107.5±16.92mg/dl, 0.8±0.09 mg/dl,
3.05±0.29 mg/dl, 47.8±9.07 mg/dl) respectively when compared to the saline treated groups.
Co-administration of Pimpinella anisum extract with gentamicin decreased the rise in these
parameters in a dose dependent manner. Histopathological analysis revealed epithelial loss
with intense granular degeneration in gentamicin treated rats, whereas aqueous extract of
Pimpinella anisum mitigated the severity of gentamicin-induced renal damage. Conclusion:
To conclude, our data suggest that aqueous extract of Pimpinella anisum exhibits renoprotective
effect in gentamicin induced renal damage and further studies on its mechanism
of action are warranted.


Physico-chemical and erodibility characteristics of soil under anthropogenic disturbance by mechanically land-grading along the underground (tunnel) drainage construction sites in Uyo, Nigeria were investigated using standard methods and correlated with gully growth and soil loss. Statistical and parameter analyses evaluated spatial variability, correlations and significant differences. The disturbed soil had predominantly coarse grain sands(86%), low fines ( 40%). Soil chemical properties had low correlations with gully morphometric degradation and soil loss; however, physical properties, particularly low clay and silt content, total sand, and bulk density highly reduced gully geometric degradation and volume of soil loss. Large proportions of bases (Ca ++ and Mg ++ ) sufficiently reduced SAR, hence reduced soil erodibility at base sites. Silt and clay correlated highly with width and depth increments, and volume loss (r = 0.70–0.78) down the slope but longitudinal degradation was the resultant effect of runoff on the steep side-slope. Clay, silt, total sand and bulk density moderately reduced width and depth erodibility, correlating with 60% of volume loss.


This paper proposes a simple baseline framework for video-based 2D/3D human pose estimation that can achieve 10 times efficiency improvement over existing works without any performance degradation, named DeciWatch. Unlike current solutions that estimate each frame in a video, DeciWatch introduces a simple yet effective sample-denoise-recover framework that only watches sparsely sampled frames, taking advantage of the continuity of human motions and the lightweight pose representation. Specifically, DeciWatch uniformly samples less than 10% video frames for detailed estimation, denoises the estimated 2D/3D poses with an efficient Transformer architecture, and then accurately recovers the rest of the frames using another Transformer-based network. Comprehensive experimental results on three video-based human pose estimation and body mesh recovery tasks with four datasets validate the efficiency and effectiveness of DeciWatch. Code is available at https://github.com/cure-lab/DeciWatch.


A series of field based investigations were undertaken to establish the mood state and salivary immunoglobulin-A (S-IgA) response to different training loads in amateur boxing. Mood states were initially monitored via the Profile of Mood States (McNair, Lorr & Droppleman, 1971) and thereafter through the development of a boxing specific, shortened version. S-IgA was analysed through enzyme-linked irnmunosorbent assays. Results ofthe early investigations showed mood disturbances in fatigue, vigor, tension and anger with intensified training. Immunological data showed S-IgA to significantly decrease following interval training, with the principal factor in the suppression being a reduction in saliva flow rates. Boxers were seen to have unusually low saliva flow rates compared to sedentary individuals and this was linked to the weight-classified nature of the sport. There was no relationship found between psychological and immunological measures. Subsequent investigations focused on the recovery process from amateur boxing. Massage was compared with control conditions as a post training recovery intervention. Results showed massage to induce psychological regeneration in the form of decreased perceptions of fatigue and increased recovery. Massage did not affect saliva flow rates post training. A final laboratory based investigation documented the effects of massage on psychological regeneration, physiological recovery and repeated amateur boxing performance on a boxing ergometer. Massage was seen to promote psychological regeneration, but did not affect blood lactate clearance or subsequent performance when compared with a no-massage condition. It was concluded that amateur boxing training can result in detrimental psychological and immunological effects. It was argued that the role of passive recovery strategies in sport are still poorly understood and researched, but that preliminary support could be given to the vast amount of anecdotal evidence suggesting positive psychological effects of massage as a regeneration strategy. The use of massage for physiological recovery and as a performance enhancement modality was questioned.


Various ecosystems, including shallow lakes, are suggested to possess alternative stable state dynamics. The response of such systems to environmental change is non-linear and not fully reversible, which calls for identification of feedback mechanisms and subtle changes connected to structural stability. Here, we used a 25-year data series on water chemistry to make inferences on processes prior to a recent shift from a clear to a turbid state in Lake Takern, Sweden. Before the shift, annual concentration of total organic nitrogen (TON) described a cyclic pattern, with a periodicity of eight years. Annual TON was negatively correlated with the magnitude of a summer decline in calcium carbonate, treated as a proxy of the seasonal production of submerged vegetation. Cross-correlations of TON and the north Atlantic oscillation (NAO) indicated a possible connection to climate. The strongest correlation was obtained by a three-year lag of the NAO index. Using a set of linear time series models, the most parsimonious model was a 3(rd) order autoregressive model with NAO, delayed three years, as a covariate. Analyses of seasonality indicated that the delayed NAO signal was strongly correlated with summer TON. Also, the autocorrelation function was very similar for these two time series, and autoregressive models including NAO as a covariate were strongly supported (sum of Akaike weights = 0.93). These results indicate that climate may have contributed to the regime shift through lowered macrophyte production at the time of the shift, and therefore most likely also a depleted resilience of the clear water state. The delayed effect of climate is suggested to result from indirect and inter-year dependent response of submerged vegetation to fish kills during harsh winters. (Less)


Abstract
This thesis investigates the marketisation of further education (FE) in England in
the 1990s with specific reference to gender. A major restructuring of the public
sector has taken place in recent years, and colleges have undergone significant
changes, with reductions in funding, an increased emphasis on efficiency and
accountability, and a new business ethos all evident.
This research was conducted in two inner-city colleges m 1997-98, usmg a
combination of in-depth interviews, observation, and the examination of
documents. The main aim was to identify dominant discourses and practices in the
newly corporatised colleges, and to investigate the impact of these on gendered
(raced, and classed) power relations. The thesis explores issues of funding and
quality, new managerialism, and the restructuring of staffing, spaces and spatial
relations. The importance given to new technological developments and their
perceived role in the reconstruction of learning, learner and professional identities
are also discussed. A further chapter explores the attention paid to equality
concerns.
A Foucauldian concept of discourse is used to examine the knowledges and
perspectives that are legitimised or suppressed within the new FE, and the
research draws upon feminist and other critical analyses of marketisation,
organisation and management. It is argued that the Cartesian mind-body
dichotomy, with its reification of 'rationality' and gendered implications, can be
3
seen to underpin the dominant discourses of the market, managerialism and new
learning technologies in further education, and the thesis explores the processes
by which gendered identities and power relations are maintained and reconstructed
in this context.
Differences within and between the colleges are discussed, and oppositional
discourses which assert professional educational values, an ethic of care and a
commitment to challenging inequalities are all identified. The thesis concludes
with an analysis of resistance, and an account of more recent policy developments
in the sector.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether corporate social media information helps improve analysts' forecast accuracy.

Design/methodology/approach
This study uses hand-collected information on S&P 500 firms' official Facebook pages and uses posts and reactions to such posts to measure corporate Facebook information. Multivariate regression models are estimated to test the relationship between analysts' forecast accuracy and corporate Facebook information.

Findings
The results indicate that analysts forecast accuracy is unresponsive to posts. However, analyst forecast errors are decreasing in reactions to posts. These findings are robust to the inclusion of control variables, firm and time fixed effects, and alternative specifications of forecast errors and different pre-forecast time windows.

Research limitations/implications
This study has some limitations. It focuses only on the S&P 500 firms, which are large and generally provide better information to the market. The sample period coincides with the early period of the corporate Facebook culture. However, more recent data sets are likely to provide stronger results.

Practical implications
The findings of this study provide support for "information generation" role of social media and show that reactions to corporate Facebook posts are the new and unique information generated from corporate social media activities, which help information intermediaries in improving their forecasting accuracy.

Originality/value
This study makes an important contribution to the literature by separating the information dissemination role of social media from information generation role and establishes the first evidence on how corporate social media information affects forecast accuracy of financial analysts.


Important advances have been made in solar water desalination technology but their wide application is restricted by relatively high capital and running costs. Until recently, solar concentrator collectors had usually been employed to distill water in compact desalination systems. Currently, it is possible to replace these collectors by the more efficient evacuated tube collectors, which are now widely available on the market at lower prices. This paper describes the results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the operation of a novel small-scale solar water desalination technology using the psychometric humidification and dehumidification process coupled with a heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector with an aperture area of ∼1.73 m2. Solar radiation during spring in the Middle East was simulated by an array of halogen floodlights. A synthetic brackish water solution was used for the tests and its total dissolved solids (TDSs) and electrical conductivity were measured. A mathematical model was developed to describe the system's operation. A computer program was written to solve the system of governing equations to perform the theoretical calculations of the humidification and dehumidification processes. The experimental and theoretical values for the total daily distillate output were found to be closely correlated. The test results demonstrate that, at temperatures of 55–60°C, the system produces ∼5–6 kg/h of clean water with a high desalination efficiency. Following the experimental calibration of the mathematical model, it was demonstrated that the performance of the system could be improved to produce a considerably higher amount of fresh water.


Six days after an InStyle-worthy wedding in Los Angeles, Lisa Fineberg Cook left behind her little red Jetta, her manicurist of ten years, and her very best friend for the land of the rising sun. When her husband accepted a job teaching English in Nagoya, Japan, she imagined exotic weekend getaways, fine sushi dinners, and sake sojourns with glamorous expatriate friends. Instead, she's the only Jewish girl on public transportation, and everyone is staring. Lisa longs for regular mani/pedis, valet parking, and gimlets with her girlfriends, but for the next year, she learns to cook, clean, commute, and shop like the Japanese, all the while adjusting to another foreign concept -- marriage. Loneliness and frustration give way to new and unexpected friendships, the evolution of old ones, and a fresh understanding of what it means to feel different -- until finally a world she never thought she'd fit into begins to feel home-like, if not exactly like home.


Since the turn of the 21st century, libraries of almost all types have been providing clients with access to the Internet through wireless networks. In the process, wireless networking has become an important part of the continuing effort to extend access to library services through networked information technologies. The expansion of the wireless access offered by libraries, now approaching ubiquity among academic and public libraries, has been driven by a number of factors, not the least of them being the tremendous growth in the numbers of so-called "smart" devices capable of connecting to wireless networks and the parallel increases in the bandwidth available via wireless networks. Looking to the future, wireless access as provided libraries is vital to their function as public computing centers. The continued development of and improvements in mobile applications is also essential, but the construction of mobile-friendly Websites is probably far more important, given the evidence that mobile users are accessing content with increasing frequency and in progressively larger numbers. Similarly, the security and privacy of mobile applications and services must be ensured with the greatest possible vigor, inasmuch as the confidence of users is closely aligned with their continuing use of digital library resources.


Abstract Purpose: The study examines the influence of socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) on employees' voluntary environmental behavior (VEB), and it tests the moderating effect of ecocentric leadership (EL). Design/Method: We adopted deductive reasoning in a positivist paradigm by applying quantitative analytical techniques and structural equation modeling. We selected 187 respondents from clothing industry through a self-administered questionnaire survey in Chattogram, the commercial capital of Bangladesh. Findings: The outcomes revealed that both SRHRM and EL influence VEB. However, the moderation analysis indicated that EL negatively intervenes in the effect of SRHRM on VEB. Implications: One of the essential contributions of our study is its development of the knowledge related to valuing, developing, and measuring SRHRM's contribution to improving VEB in a moderated model with the help of EL to ensure long-term sustainability. Originality: Very little is known about the importance of SRHRM in fostering employees' voluntary environmental behavior, so this study will be one of the first to examine the topic. Moreover, the moderating effect of EL posits that its interaction effect is not substantial in stimulating voluntary environmental behavior if organizations can institutionalize SRHRM.


Prior to the 1960s Zambia had an estimated elephant population of over 250, 000, but by 1989 it had fallen to about 18 000 individuals. After about 10 years of improved law enforcement operations and the involvement of local communities, populations stabilized and even started to increase by 1996. In order to update and compare population estimates, aerial surveys using similar methods used in the past were conducted between October 17 and December 5, 2008. Methods used were aerial sample counts, total counts and block counts in seven ecosystems; Nsumbu-Mweru wa Ntipa – Lusenga, Bangweulu, Luangwa Valley, Lower Zambezi, Upper Zambezi, Kafue and Chete-Sikula Islands. The national population estimate was 27, 529 an increase of 18% over the 1996 estimate. Of this population estimate 20, 200 (73%) were in the Luangwa, 3348 (12%) in Kafue, 2464 (9%) in Upper Zambezi and 1299 (5%) in Lower Zambezi ecosystems. The Luangwa Valley was thus the most important elephant habitat in Zambia. The current survey omitted West Lunga ecosystem which should be surveyed in future. Ground census should be introduced in the Nsumbu ecosystem because the itigi thickets impede visibility from the air and thus aerial counts may yield under estimates. It is also being recommended that some populations be translocated from well populated areas to ecosystems where populations are still too low so as to speed up population recovery from poaching depression.

 Key words: Aerial surveys, estimate, trend, distribution, Luangwa, Kafue.


The aim of this thesis is through using the appropriate tools of econometric analysis to identify some of the variables having impact on the development, whether positively or negatively, on selected Sustainable Development Goals. They became part of the agenda in United Nations back in 2015. As the sample used for the analysis contains observations on around 170 countries in a time period from 2000 till 2016, the panel data approach for econometric modeling is the most suitable to rely on. There are plenty econometric studies focused on analyzing the SGDs through cross-sectional examples, however only few of them are looking at them from a global perspective. The main findings of the analysis do not include only statistically significant explanatory variables identified. Supported by a concrete example, there is an evidence that some of the goals require more focus on proper data collecting on their corresponding indicator. This turns some of them to be hardly measurable and the simple tools of econometric analysis become inapplicable. Finally, Slovakia, a country in the European Union, which does not fulfill any of the selected targets is part of the last section before conclusion. It includes a discussion about whether the significant explanatory variables identified in the core analysis are also behind the non-attainment of these targets in the cross-sectional example.


Searchable encryption is a cryptographic primitive that allows users to search for keywords on encrypted data. It allows users to search in archives stored on cloud servers. Among searchable encryption schemes, those supporting multiuser settings are more suitable for daily application scenarios and more practical. However, since the cloud server is semi-trusted, the result set returned by the server is undefined, and most existing multi-user searchable encryption schemes rely heavily on trusted third parties to manage user permission. To address these problems, verifiable multi-user searchable encryption schemes with dynamic management of user search permissions, weak trust on trusted third parties and are desirable. In this paper, we propose such a scheme. Our scheme manages user permission and key distribution without a trusted third party. User search permission and user access permission matrices are generated separately to manage user permissions dynamically. In addition, our scheme can verify the result set returned by the cloud server. We also show that our scheme is index and trapdoor indistinguishable under chosen keyword attacks in the random oracle model. Finally, a detailed comparison experiment is made by using the actual document data set, and the results show that our scheme is efficient and practical.


Abstract. We present the first analysis of population structure and cohort distribution in a fossil oyster shell bed based on 1121 shells of the giant oyster Crassostrea gryphoides (von Schlotheim, 1813). Data derive from terrestrial laser scanning of a Lower Miocene shell bed covering 459 m2. Within two transects, individual shells were manually outlined on a digital surface model and cross-checked based on high-resolution orthophotos, resulting in accurate information on center line length and area of exposed shell surface. A growth model was calculated, revealing this species as the fastest growing and largest Crassostrea known so far. Non-normal distribution of size, area and age data hints at the presence of at least four distinct recruitment cohorts. The rapid decline of frequency amplitudes with age is interpreted to be a function of mortality and shell loss. The calculated shell half-lives range around a few years, indicating that oyster reefs were geologically short-lived structures, which could have been fully degraded on a decadal scale. Crassostrea gryphoides reefs were widespread and common along the Miocene circum-Tethyan coasts. Given its enormous growth performance of  ∼  150 g carbonate per year this species has been an important carbonate producer in estuarine settings. Yet, the rapid shell loss impeded the formation of stable structures comparable to coral reefs.


Image registration is widely used in different areas nowadays. Usually, the efficiency, accuracy, and robustness in the registration process are concerned in applications. This thesis studies these issues by presenting an efficient intensity-based mono-modality rigid 2D-3D image registration method and constructing a novel mathematical model for intensity-based multi-modality rigid image registration. For mono-modality image registration, an algorithm is developed using RapidMind Multi-core Development Platform (RapidMind) to exploit the highly parallel multi-core architecture of graphics processing units (GPUs). A parallel ray casting algorithm is used to generate the digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) to efficiently reduce the complexity of DRR construction. The optimization problem in the registration process is solved by the Gauss-Newton method. To fully exploit the multi-core parallelism, almost the entire registration process is implemented in parallel by RapidMind on GPUs. The implementation of the major computation steps is discussed. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the new method. For multi-modality image registration, a new model for computing mutual information functions is devised in order to remove the artifacts in the functions and in turn smooth the functions so that optimization methods can converge to the optimal solutions accurately and efficiently. With the motivation originating from the objective to harmonize the discrepancy between the image presentation and the mutual information definition in previous models, the new model computes the mutual information function using both the continuous image function representation and the mutual information definition for continuous random variables. Its implementation and complexity are discussed and compared with other models. The mutual information computed using the new model appears quite smooth compared with the functions computed by others. Numerical experiments demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of optimization methods in the case that the new model is used. Furthermore, the robustness of the new model is also verified.


This paper is the first to extend industrial (or business-to-business) marketing principles to the market for traditional season tickets. In doing so, a three-dimensional characterization of the season ticket holder (STH) is developed and provides a new foundation upon which market segmentation and ticket sales initiatives can be built. This study then uses this new framework to segment and examine the key renewal factor differences across STH account types. Specifically, group differences on perceived venue related and non-venue related barriers to renewal, overall product quality, and account representative relationship quality are analyzed. This study finds business-toconsumer (B2C) accounts are more concerned with product quality and typical barriers to purchase as they consider renewing their account for the following season than business-to-business (B2B) accounts. Additionally, this study finds B2C accounts report higher levels of intention to renew than B2B accounts.


South Africa is coming under increasing pressure to conform to the rest of the world in terms of emissions regulations. The pressure is caused by a number of factors: international organisations requiring local companies to adhere to environmental conservation policies, evidence from within South Africa that efforts are being made to reduce environmental pollution in line with other countries and keeping abreast of the latest technologies that have been incorporated into vehicles to reduce emissions. In light of these problems associated with emiSSions, a study was initiated by the Department of Transport and the School of Bioresources Engineering and Environmental Hydrology at the University of Natal to investigate and develop a method of predicting emissions from a diesel engine. The main objective of this research was to incorporate this model into SimTrans in order to estimate emissions generated from a vehicle while it is travelling along specific routes in South Africa. SimTrans is a mechanistically based model, developed at the School, that simulates a vehicle travelling along a route, requiring input for the road profile and vehicle and engine specifications. After a preliminary investigation it was decided to use a neural network to predict emissions, as it provides accurate results and is more suitable for a quantitative analysis which is what was required for this study. The emissions that were predicted were NOx (Nitric oxide-NO and Nitric dioxide-N02), CO (carbon monoxide), HC (unbumt hydrocarbons) and particulates. The neural netWork was trained on emissions data obtained from an ADE 447Ti engine. These neural networks were then integrated into the existing SimTrans. Apart from the neural network, an algorithm to consider the effect of ambient conditions on the output of the engine was also included in the model. A sensitivity analysis was carried out using the model to prioritise the factors affecting emissions. Finally using the data for the ADE 447Ti engine, a trip with a Mercedes Benz 2644S-24 was simulated using different scenarios over the routes from Durban to Johannesburg and Cape Town to Johannesburg in South Africa to quantify the emissions that were generated.


A microcarrier co-culture system for aortic endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) was developed as a model for metabolic interactions between cells of the vessel wall. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) metabolism in SMCs was significantly influenced by co-culture with endothelium. The numbers of high affinity receptors for LDL was increased more than twofold (range, 2.1-5.6), with concomitant increases in LDL receptor-mediated endocytosis and degradation. These effects reached a plateau at an endothelial cell/SMC ratio of 1. Kinetic analysis of the endocytic pathway for LDL in SMCs indicated that, in co-culture with endothelium, there was no alteration in the binding affinity of LDL to its receptors but that the internalization rate constant declined and the rate constant for degradation increased. This analysis suggested that the formation and migration of endocytic vesicles was the rate-limiting step of enhanced LDL metabolism under co- culture conditions. Two mechanisms by which endothelial cells influenced smooth muscle LDL metabolism were identified. First, mitogen(s) derived from endothelial cells stimulated entry of SMCs into the growth cycle, and the changes in LDL metabolism occurred as a consequence of G1-S transition. Second, SMC lipoprotein metabolism was stimulated in the absence of mitogens by a low molecular weight (less than 3,500) factor or factors. Co-culture was a required condition for the latter effect, suggesting that the mediator(s) may be unstable or that cell-cell communication was necessary for expression. These results (a) demonstrate that vascular cell interactions can modify LDL metabolism in SMCs, (b) provide some insights into the mechanisms responsible, and (c) identify co-culture as an experimental approach appropriate to certain aspects of vascular cell biology.


We present a numerical analysis of mean relative intensity noise (RIN) transfer in a fiber Raman amplifier (FRA) using multiple-wavelength pumps. For the first time, the RIN transfer is investigated to include pump-to-pump and signal-to-signal RIN transfers, together with the ldquotraditionalrdquo pump, to signal transfer in a multiple-wavelength pumped FRA. We show that for a multiple-wavelength pumped FRA, pump-to-pump and signal-to-signal RIN transfers induce an increase of RIN transfer magnitude. For a multiple-wavelength counter pumped FRA, in additional to the major pump to signal RIN transfer, pump-to-pump RIN transfer is considerable, and signal-to-signal RIN transfer is very small. For a multiple-wavelength co-pumped FRA, both pump-to-pump and signal-to-signal RIN transfers increase RIN transfer magnitude significantly. In addition, for both a co- and counter pumped FRAs, particularly for the co-pumped FRA, the longer wavelength signals experience more RIN transfer than the shorter wavelength signals. Furthermore, the bandwidth of RIN transfer is significantly increased in a multiple-wavelength co-pumped FRA with multiple input signals compared to a single-wavelength co-pumped FRA with an input signal.