Investigations examining the use of magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) for the diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) have described comparable accuracy when compared to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The effectiveness of MRC based on overall cost, however, remains unknown. Our aim was to determine the average cost per correct diagnosis using MRC or ERCP as the initial testing strategy for the diagnosis of PSC. A decision analysis model was constructed employing diagnostic test parameters prospectively determined among 73 patients with clinically suspected biliary disease. ERCP was performed within 24 hours after MRC. Cost data were derived from average Medicare reimbursement fee schedules. The prevalence of PSC in the study cohort was 32%. The sensitivity and specificity of MRC for the diagnosis of PSC were 82% and 98%, respectively. The average cost per correct diagnosis of PSC was $724.00 for initial MRC (including the cost of ERCP following a negative MRC examination) versus $793.17 for initial ERCP. In the absence of biliary obstruction, the average cost per correct diagnosis of PSC was $549.64 with MRC versus $623.25 for ERCP. The average cost of managing post‐ERCP–related complications among patients with PSC was $2902.20 (range, $1915.40‐$5031.54). For ERCP to be the optimal initial test strategy, a prevalence rate of PSC greater than 45%, MRC specificity less than 85%, or reduction in the average cost per diagnosis to $538.30 would be required. In conclusion, MRC has comparable accuracy to ERCP and results in cost savings when used as the initial test strategy for diagnosing PSC. (HEPATOLOGY 2004;40:39–45.)


An apparent analytical peculiarity or paradox in the bending behavior of elastic-composite beams with interlayer slip, sandwich beams, or other similar problems subjected to boundary moments exists. For a fully composite beam subjected to such end moments, the partial composite model will render a nonvanishing uniform value for the normal force in the individual subelement. This is from a formal mathematical point of view in apparent contradiction with the boundary conditions, in which the normal force in the individual subelement usually is assumed to vanish at the extremity of the beam. This mathematical paradox can be explained with the concept of boundary layer. The bending of the partially composite beam expressed in dimensionless form depends only on one structural parameter related to the stiffness of the connection between the two subelements. An asymptotic method is used to characterize the normal force and the bending moment in the individual subelement to this dimensionless connection parameter. The outer expansion that is valid away from the boundary and the inner expansion valid within the layer adjacent to the boundary (beam extremity) are analytically given. The inner and outer expansions are matched by using Prandtl's matching condition over a region located at the edge of the boundary layer. The thickness of the boundary layer is the inverse of the dimensionless connection parameter. Finite-element results confirm the analytical results and the sensitivity of the bending solution to the mesh density, especially in the edge zone with stress gradient. Finally, composite beams with interlayer slip can be treated in the same manner as nonlocal elastic beams. The fundamental differential equation appearing in the constitutive law associated with the partial-composite action in a nonlocal elasticity framework is discussed. Such an integral formulation of the constitutive equation encompassing the behavior of the whole of the beam allows the investigation of the mechanical problem with the boundary-element method.


Presented in this work is the investigation and successful illustration of a coupled model of the human nerve fiber. SPICE netlist code was utilized to describe the electrical properties of the human nervous membrane in tandem with COMSOL Multiphysics, a finite element analysis software tool. The initial research concentrated on the utilization of the Hodgkin-Huxley electrical circuit representation of the nerve fiber membrane. Further development of the project identified the need for a linear circuit model that more closely resembled the McNeal linearization model augmented by the work of Szlavik which better facilitated the coupling of both SPICE and COMSOL programs. Related literature was investigated and applied to validate the model. This combination of analysis tools allowed for the presentation of a consistent model and revealed that a coupled model produced not only a qualitatively comparable, but also a quantitatively comparable result to studies presented in the literature. All potential profiles produced during the simulation were compared against the literature in order to meet the purpose of presenting an advanced computational model of human neural recruitment and excitation. It was demonstrated through this process that the correct usage of neuron models within a two dimensional conductive space did allow for the approximate modeling of human neural electrical characteristics.


The ghost of Hamlet's father haunts more than Shakespeare's play. It has become a pervasive figure for the uncanniness of survivals that pressure the distinction between life and death and thereby compel disavowals of the portion death holds in the logic of "survival." The work of Jacques Derrida is especially instructive in this regard. His returns to the figure of the specter's return trace his own investment in what Archive Fever simultaneously affirms as the future to come and as survival's conservation of life, the two being bound to each other by the concept of the archive. Reading Derrida's text beside Shakespeare's, "Against Survival" identifies Hamlet as a crystallizing moment in the ideology of the archive that both animates and constitutes reproductive futurism: a moment that proclaims the injunction that the Child and the future must repeat-and so realize and redeem-the past while assuring, through that very injunction, the constant renewal of a surplus enjoyment, a queerness or perversion, that keeps time out of joint. This queerness, intrinsic to the archive and, as a consequence, to the Child, obtrudes as the death drive that Derrida acknowledges while trying to evade but that Hamlet depicts as essential to futurism's production of the Child in a counterproductive effort to repudiate the fatality of the drive. Like incest-or the ghost-the Child itself queers the order it is meant to secure and Hamlet, by reading that queerness as inseparable from the investment in overcoming it, repudiates the promised triumph of life that Derrida's work would affirm.


Agroforestry has been an important alternative in land management systems to improve rural livelihood due to its capability to generate employment and income. The success story of In-Peng Community Group in Thailand in restoring their agroforestry system after the dark period of monoculture agricultural practices and tree production provide an example of the critical roles of agroforestry (Muktasam 2004). The local community livelihood was deteriorated by the government's decision to grow export-oriented crops through a monoculture system. Putting the critical roles of agroforestry in perspective at the community level, the role of agroforestry can be improved through a systematic value chain analysis of agroforestry products, both timber and non-timber. The analysis provides comprehensive information with regards to chain actors, activities, added value, employment, profit distributions, and gaps in knowledge and skills. Through better understanding of the agroforestry product value chains, various interventions can be taken to promote a more strategic contribution of agroforestry system. A study of existing agroforestry practices in west and east Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia provides an illustration on how value chain analysis supports effective interventions to improve local community livelihood particularly in generating employment opportunities and income. The preliminary data presents the limited activity of the local community, the first level actor in the value chain, in processing products such as fruits, coffee, bamboo, candlenut and honey, due to lack of knowledge and skills. Consequently, the existing agroforestry management has made a limited contribution to employment and income generation. The analysis suggests the need to improve the existing agroforestry system to grow more profitable agroforestry products and increase the capacity of local communities not only in agroforestry management but also in processing and marketing of agroforestry products.


Abstract. Systematic changes of the ozone weekend effect are found over broad areas of Japan. These changes are characterized by (1) spatial reversals from a weekend increase in the vicinity of huge precursor source areas to a weekend decrease in the surrounding rural areas, and (2) temporal reversals from a weekend increase under relatively unsuitable meteorological conditions for ozone formation to a weekend decrease under relatively suitable conditions. We developed a simple numerical advection–reaction model to explain the relationship between the duration of advection and the supplied solar energy, which causes the daily maximum ozone concentration to be lower near the precursor source. Ozone isopleth diagrams for individual advection durations (equivalent to the distance from the source) for a wide range of initial precursor conditions show that both VOC-limited and NOx-limited regimes exist for each advection duration, but the area of NOx-limited regime becomes dominant as the advection duration increases because of the increased exposure of the air mass to solar energy. For given initial VOC and NOx concentrations, the area remote from the source becomes a NOx-limited regime even if the precursor source area is in the VOC-limited regime. The rate of reduction of weekend emissions of NOx is larger than that of VOC, causing a weekend increase in ozone inside an area of VOC-limited regime near the source, but a weekend decrease in remote areas with a NOx-limited regime. The boundary between these two ozone formation regimes depends on meteorological conditions: when sunlight intensity and temperature are relatively low, the change from a VOC-limited to a NOx-limited regime occurs at a point more remote from the source than when they are relatively high, which causes a prevailing ozone weekend increase over a wide geographical area on days with lower ozone potential. Therefore, observations of ozone weekend changes can be interpreted in light of the theoretical implications of our model; they can be used for determination of ozone formation regimes, which change in different locations and under different meteorological conditions.


Introduction The ethical dilemmas associated with conflicts of interest (COI) involving biomedical researchers and institutions is a familiar issue in research ethics. There has been a lot of discourse on the subject, and the main points can be summarized as follows. First, COI occur when "professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patient welfare or the validity of research) tends to be unduly influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain)." (1) Several types of COI exist, depending on the source or nature of the conflicting interest, (2) although it is generally agreed that financial COI are the most pervasive. (3) Second, if not managed or avoided, such conflicts can compromise research integrity, foster negative public perception of the research and jeopardize the welfare of research subjects. (4) Indeed, several high profile cases of COI in the past few years, including the notorious Olivieri and Healy incidents in Canada, have brought the problems posed by COI to the forefront of research ethics debates. (5) Third, the establishment of oversight mechanisms to deal with COI is considered imperative, and two key oversight models have been proffered in relevant literature. The first advocates prohibiting interests or situations that could potentially result in COI, (6) while the second requires management of such conflicts through disclosure and the process of peer review. (7) Institutional oversight policies are generally based on one or a combination of both models. (8) Concerns about COI in the biomedical research environment are particularly significant for emerging technologies like stem cell research. Mere perception of COI involving stem cell researchers and/or other stakeholders could bring adverse public opinion and stifling regulatory scrutiny to the research. Also, as stem cell research moves from the laboratory to the clinical trial stage, it is imperative to eliminate or limit ethical pitfalls that could compromise the safety of research participants, and ultimately jeopardize research continuity. Many of Canada's stem cell researchers receive research funds from the Stem Cell Network (SCN or Network), one of Canada's Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE). (9) The SCN's primary operation is the redistribution of NCE and partner funds to researchers participating in the Network. By virtue of its NCE status, the SCN is responsible for the commercialization of Network-supported research and the management of research portfolios. The SCN is also mandated to maintain close association with private sector interests, both in terms of management and in meeting commercialization objectives. (10) The NCE/SCN funding structure therefore promotes relations between potentially conflicting interests, including academic research, corporate and public interests. In Part 1, this background paper (11) examines actual and potential COI drivers within the stem cell research context, including a consideration of the nature and impact of the NCE program. Much of the discussion in this part examines the potential impact of commercialization in creating opportunities for COI. However, it is important to note that COI is one, and certainly not the only issue associated with the commercialization of research. Excellent reviews of the issues exist in relevant literature (12) and as such, do not warrant repetition in this paper. Part 2 reviews existing COI oversight policies applicable to the Canadian and international stem cell research context. This part also highlights gaps in COI oversight. In the final part, the paper offers recommendations for addressing identified gaps in oversight and policy. 1. Drivers a. The NCE Program, Stem Cell Network and the Commercialization Initiative Canada's NCE program was established in 1989 to steer a "national system of innovation" aimed at linking scientific research with industrial know-how and commercial exploitation. …


The purpose of this study was to build an in vitro-in vivo correlation model for topiramate extended release capsules. Three formulations with different release rate were developed by varying the percentage of the rate controlling polymer ethylcellulose and pore former hypromellose. In vitro dissolution of all formulations was performed by united states of phaemacopiea type I apparatus using multimedia dissolution conditions such as 0.1 N hydrochloric acid pH 1.2 for initial 2 h followed by phosphate buffer pH 6.8 for the rest of 22 h. Total dissolution time was up to 24 h. In vivo pharmacokinetic profile of the immediate release suspension and different extended release formulations were investigated in rabbit model after single oral administration of topiramate at a dose of 10.33 mg/kg in vitro-in vivo correlation model was established by using two stage numerical deconvolution approaches. Unit impulse response was obtained from pharmacokinetic profile of immediate release suspension which was used as a reference formulation. A linear correlation model with a time scaling factor was found to be useful to build level A correlation. The developed in vitro-in vivo correlation model was validated as per food drug administration guideline, and the % prediction error for maximum concentration observed (Cmax) and area under the concentration time curve was within acceptable limits of below 15%. The utility of the developed model was evaluated by testing the targeted formulations. The observed % prediction error was 2.61 and -0.43 for Cmax and area under the concentration time curve, respectively suggesting the usefulness of the present in vitro-in vivo correlation model.


This reconstruction of the Late Ordovician, glacigenic Pakhuis Formation of the Table Mountain Group is based on a variety of diverse datasets. Field observations were made over the full 300 km extent of exposure in a north-south direction. The thin glacigenic package constitutes a minor interlude in the development of a subcontinental, Palaeozoic, siliciclastic basin. The Pakhuis Formation is of special interest because it includes features like the extensive penecontemporaneous folding, an erosional unconformity and the uniform lithological character of the sandy diamictites. A model is presented by which an unusual concurrence of circumstances produced the special features of the Pakhuis glacigenics. These are the ice invasion of a developing basin, an onset zone within basin and a deep trough harboring an ice-stream. Subglacial, grounding zone and iceberg facies associations with their lateral variations are developed. The temperate, glaciation of relative short duration, comprised one major and a second minor advance. During the first advance the grounded ice sheet with slow-moving sheet-flow reached ice-stream characteristics along at least part of a trough. The occurrence of an ice-stream within a slow-moving, low-profile ice sheet provides the glaciological environment for ice-stream draw-down, flanking infill of ice, resulting in compressional ice-flow from the sides. The fundamental requirement for buckling (i.e. the development of the Fold Zone) is layer parallel shortening achieved by the compressional ice-flow. Ice-bed interface features like deforming–bed structures are developed, as well as outsize flutes for which an alternative bulk strain model is proposed. The glacial retreat was rapid, interrupted only by the second, minor advance. A marine environment is attested by the postglacial fauna of a black shale.


Following the description of a new species of Macrobrachium Bate, 1868 for the Pantanal region, Brazil, the complete larval development of Macrobrachium pantanalense was obtained under laboratory conditions, The larval stages are described and illustrated, and morphological characters are compared with those of M. amazonicum from the Amazon estuary The main differences between the larvae of these two closely related species are found on the rostrum and in the development of the pereiopods. The new species presents the fifth pereiopod fully developed from third zoeal stage, while it occurs only from the fourth zoea in M. amazonicum larvae. In spite of intraspecific variability, there are also conspicuous and consistent differences in the setation of pereiopod 5. Additionally, the carapace of larval M. pantanalense never presents an antennal spine which is found from third zoeal stage of M. amazonicum. The present description and the morphological differences found between the larvae of the two species indicate a speciation process occurring within the neotropical Macrobrachium amazonicum complex.


Introduction: The validity of Body Mass Index (BMI) based on self-reported height and weight is of critical importance in the proper assessment of studies that rely on questionnaire-derived data. In this study, we evaluate the accuracy of adolescent overweight and obesity classification bpased on self-reported height and weight factors and propose a regression model for predicting the true BMI. Methods: This cross-sectional study has been conducted on 1546 (+18 years og age) living in the south of Iran. The participants were chosen using a multistage sampling scheme. We compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity as well as the mean and standard deviation (SD) of BMI based on self reported and true height and weight. A multiple regression analysis was carried out to build a regression model to predict the true BMI based on sex, age group, and self-reported BMI. Results: The overall mean±SD of BMI for self reported and real data were 25.2±1.9 and 26.3±2.1, respectively. Estimated prevalence of overweight and obesity were 39.3% and 8.7% based on self reported data, and 60.8% and 15.7% based on the true BMI. On average the true BMI was 1.1 kg/m and 1.3 kg/m higher for men and women, respectively. Consistently over all age groups and weight classes, BMI values computed using exact information were larger than BMI values computed using self-reported data. This finding was more evident for female and obese participants. Regression modeling revealed that sex, age group, and self reported BMI are the most reliable factors for predicting the true BMI. Conclusion: In etiological studies and studies that analyze the relation between various diseases and obesity and overweight, it is preferable to use true values of height and weight. However, in the absence of true data, the suggested regression model can be used to predict the true BMI with a narrow 95% confidence interval and a desirable 95% prediction interval.


PURPOSE
To identify visual factors that are significantly associated with increased vehicle crashes in older drivers.

METHODS
Several aspects of vision and visual information processing were assessed in 294 drivers aged 55 to 90 years. The sample was stratified with respect to age and crash frequency during the 5-year period before the test date. Variables assessed included eye health status, visual sensory function, the size of the useful field of view, and cognitive status. Crash data were obtained from state records.

RESULTS
The size of the useful field of view, a test of visual attention, had high sensitivity (89%) and specificity (81%) in predicting which older drivers had a history of crash problems. This level of predictability is unprecedented in research on crash risk in older drivers. Older adults with substantial shrinkage in the useful field of view were six times more likely to have incurred one or more crashes in the previous 5-year period. Eye health status, visual sensory function, cognitive status, and chronological age were significantly correlated with crashes, but were relatively poor at discriminating between crash-involved versus crash-free drivers.

CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that policies that restrict driving privileges based solely on age or on common stereotypes of age-related declines in vision and cognition are scientifically unfounded. With the identification of a visual attention measure highly predictive of crash problems in the elderly, this study points to a way in which the suitability of licensure in the older adult population could be based on objective, performance-based criteria.


Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) has been widely used in machine learning and data mining. It aims to find two nonnegative matrices whose product can well approximate the nonnegative data matrix, which naturally lead to parts-based representation. In this paper, we present a local learning regularized nonnegative matrix factorization (LLNMF) for clustering. It imposes an additional constraint on NMF that the cluster label of each point can be predicted by the points in its neighborhood. This constraint encodes both the discriminative information and the geometric structure, and is good at clustering data on manifold. An iterative multiplicative updating algorithm is proposed to optimize the objective, and its convergence is guaranteed theoretically. Experiments on many benchmark data sets demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms NMF as well as many state of the art clustering methods.


In this article we present the concept of a FPGA-based GPS receiver architecture with the aim of providing a framework for investigating new receiver architectures for current and upcoming GNSS standards. This development system facilitates researchers to prove new receiver concepts using real signals, which nowadays can only be simulated using tools such as Matlab. One will be able to work with the satellites as soon as they are operational, rather than having to wait for the availability of commercial products. The system allows individual development of signal processing solutions for base-band processing. A soft-core processor implements higher layer services that provide data to the user.


The availability of drought-tolerant maize inbred materials are useful to develop a hybrid or synthetic drought tolerant maize varieties. This research was aimed to select drought tolerant and determine secondary traits for selection of inbred maize. Selection of 31 maize inbred lines was conducted in nested experimental design in which the replicate was nested into the drought stress selection condition and normal irrigation. Drought stress treatment was applied during flowering to milk phase. In the normal irrigation condition the water was supplied every 10 days. The results showed that the medium tolerant to tolerant to drought stress inbred lines were 1044-30, DTPYC9-F46-3-9-1-1-B, CML161 / NEI9008, DTPYC9-F46-1-2-1-2- B, and Mr14. The yield declined of tolerant/medium tolerant inbred lines of about 17.0-38.3% was lower than sensitive inbred lines of about 42.8-70.7% under stress condition. The tolerant/medium tolerant inbred lines can be used for developing drought tolerant or synthetic varieties. The secondary traits effective for selection of drought tolerant inbred lines were shelling percentage, leaf chlorophyll, leaf rolling scores, number of tassel, the female flowering dates, and anthesis silking interval (ASI). The traits were more effected by genetic factors than the environmental factors and correlated to yield under drought stress conditions. Keywords: anthesis silking interval, environmental condition, inbred lines, tassel number, yield


Forests are receiving more attention for the ecosystem goods and services they provide and the potential change agents that may affect forest health and productivity. Highlighting case examples from coastal forests in South Carolina, USA, we describe groundwater processes with respect to stressors and potential responses of a wetland-rich forested landscape, the roles that this area has served, and the need for water resource data to inform forest management decisions. Forested lands in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain provide a rich set of goods and services for the region, and in one case, the Francis Marion National Forest acts as a buffer to urbanization from the surrounding Charleston metropolitan area. Information from two decades of studies in the forested watersheds there may inform scientists and managers in other coastal forested systems. The common hydrological theme in this region, which has a higher average annual rainfall (1370 mm) than the annual potential evapotranspiration (PET = 1135 mm), is a shallow (<3 m) water table condition that supports a large range of natural wetlands and also creates management challenges across the region. Modest changes in the position of the water table can lead to either groundwater flooding and concomitant management challenges for forest services, or ecosystem stresses related to dry conditions in wetlands during times of below-normal precipitation or due to groundwater withdrawal. Development pressures have also stressed forest resources through the extraction of materials such as timber and sand mining, and the conversion to housing construction materials. These areas are also targeted for land development, to meet housing demands. In this paper, we discuss the role of groundwater in coastal forests and highlight opportunities for collaborative studies to better inform forest resource management.


Student populations in post-secondary institutions in the United States have increasingly become more diverse in the past several decades. This diversity includes students from distinct ethnic groups, of various linguistic backgrounds, and from a wide age range. English as a second language students have largely populated these classes, creating an exigency for modifications in the political, social, administrative, and pedagogical practices of these universities and colleges. Some higher education institutions have also diversified their student body by creating early acceptance programs for gifted students. Like second-language students, they might too present peculiarities that require changes in the way the university functions. Early college entrance programs also admit international students, which might result in a classroom space with precocious gifted learners who also have diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. With this in mind, and in the attempt to bridge the scholarship on second-language writers in composition classes and on early college entrance programs, this case study investigates a first-year composition (FYC) classroom to identify the pedagogical practices adopted by the instructor to deal with this complex student demographics. The data collection was based on ethnographic methods, such as class observations, analysis of course material, and a semi-structured interview. The data was gathered and analyzed using Constructivist Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2001). The analysis was also framed utilizing the concepts of negotiation and accommodation from ii Intercultural Rhetoric Theory (Connor, 2011). The results showed that the complexity of the classroom requires subtle adaptations to the teacher's practices and beliefs, which is largely discussed by Intercultural Rhetoric Theory researchers. This study hopes to modestly contribute to the fields of second-language writing and early-college entrants as it attempts to bring these two contexts together within the discussion on writing pedagogies and composition studies.


The current system of a single price per medicine means that, for multi-indication medicines, the relationship between price and "value" can vary substantially. In this OHE Research paper, we consider - What are the economic implications of an alternative to single-price payments for pharmaceuticals? In particular, what are the implications for - payer budgets, patient access, and the incentives for innovation? Varying prices with the use of a drug offers the opportunity to better align payment with value, but the impact on patients, payers, and incentives for innovation are not clear cut. Two key papers offer competing perspectives. Bach (2014) described the potential for IBP to increase transparency and illustrated how IBP could lead to lower prices for lower value indications, while Chandra and Garthwaite (2017) argued that IBP would lead to higher prices overall. The key differences arose from assumptions as to where (single) prices are currently set, and the extent to which IBP could expand patient access by allowing further indications to be developed. In the short term theory suggests that indication-based pricing can improve overall welfare if it means greater patient access, but payers may face higher expenditure. However, the potential longer-term (dynamic) effects of IBP are sometimes neglected - optimising incentives for R&D means indications that can provide cost-effective treatment are likely to be developed, and there is the potential for increased price competition at the indication-level, which could lead to lower prices, so delivering better value to the health system. In order to explore the potential impact of competition, we identify two classes of cancer therapy - tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and show how competing products and competing indications have developed over time. In the case of the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors additional indications are currently in development with more competing therapies expected to enter the market for several further cancer types. We illustrate how competition by indication in the PD-1/PD-L1 space could, in theory, reduce prices below the value-based price. Erratum - 25/07/2018 - Please note that this copy of the report (originally published 09/07/2018) has been updated to correct an error in Table 1 (p.9), whereby the results in columns 7 to 9 were in reverse.


Recent advances in chemotherapy have significantly reduced the risk of disease recurrence and death in breast cancer patients whose tumors are not hormone sensitive, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and 10 other institutions. The findings will be reported in the April 12, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers found that breast cancer patients whose disease had spread to the lymph nodes and was estrogen-receptor-negative (ER-negative) and who were received adjuvant treatments with modern chemotherapy had a much greater improvement in their five-year disease-free survival rate (22.8 percent) than those patients with hormone sensitive tumors (ER-positive) who were treated with the same chemotherapy and tamoxifen (7 percent). The improvement in overall survival rate with the newer chemotherapy regimens was 16.7 percent for ER-negative patients and 4 percent for ER-positive patients. "Our observations add to a growing body of evidence that breast cancer is not one homogeneous disease, but rather a disease with many subtypes and requires a variety of new treatment approaches," said Eric Winer, MD, the paper's senior author and director of Dana-Farber's Breast Oncology Center. Winer and his colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of three large national breast cancer studies that collectively spanned 20 years and involved more than 6,600 patients to assess the cumulative benefits associated with contemporary chemotherapy regimens. These patients had been enrolled in three consecutive studies for patients with node-positive breast cancer conductedby the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, a National Cancer Institute funded cooperative group. They compared the disease-free and survival rates across the three studies for breast cancer patients with ER-negative tumors who were treated with chemotherapy. They did the same for patients with ER-positive tumors who were treated with chemotherapy and tamoxifen. The researchers then compared the rates between ER-negative and ER-positive breast cancer patients. The researchers' analysis found that patients with ER-negative tumors experienced a 55 percent reduction in the relative risk of recurrence, when comparing the standard chemotherapy regimen administered in the 1980s to the current standard. These same patients also experienced a 55 percent reduction in the risk of death. The ER-positive breast cancer patients also benefited from the newer chemotherapies, but substantially less so (26 percent reduction in recurrence risk and 23 percent reduction in risk of death). Although the improvements in chemotherapy provided the greatest benefit for women with ER-negative breast cancers, Winer points out that it would be a misinterpretation of the study's findings to assume that women with ER-positive tumors won't benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. "Such a conclusion would be overstating the case. However, women with ER-negative and ER-positive cancers should be approached differently when it comes to making a decision about adjuvant chemotherapy," said Winer, who is also an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "We need to work to identify which patients with ER-positive tumors get the largest benefit from chemotherapy. And, it must be remembered that women with ER-positive cancers also get a large benefit from treatment with adjuvant hormonal therapy." In addition to Winer, the study's other authors are Donald Berry, Ph.D., University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; Constance Cirrincione, MS, Cancer and Leukemia Group B Statistical Center, Durham, NC; I. Craig Henderson, MD, University of California at San Francisco; Marc Citron, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Lake Success, NY; Daniel Budman, MD, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY; Lori Goldstein, MD, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia; Silvana Martino, DO, Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Santa Monica, Calif.; Edith Perez, MD, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.; Hyman Muss, MD, Vermont Cancer Center, Burlington; and Larry Norton, MD, and Clifford Hudis, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. The research was supported in part by a grant from the National Cancer Institute. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.


We present a framework to support consumable credentials in a logic-based distributed authorization system. Such credentials convey use-limited authority (e.g., to open a door once) or authority to utilize resources that are themselves limited (e.g., to spend money). We design a framework based on linear logic to enforce the consumption of credentials in a distributed system, and to protect credentials from nonproductive consumption as might result from misbehavior or failure. Finally, we give several usage examples in the framework, and evaluate the performance of our implementation for use in a ubiquitous computing deployment at our institution.


The strengths and weaknesses of using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICPMS) measurements of samples in solution for marine environmental analyses using real world examples is discussed. ICPMS can detect nanogram per litre concentrations of trace elements but suffers from polyatomic interferences generated from the sample matrix. Most of the routine trace elements measured in marine biological tissue and sediment digests, with the notable exceptions of iron, chromium, vanadium, and selenium, are not subject to severe interferences. Low recoveries of trace elements from sediments are due to the inability of extraction acids to remove trace elements such as chromium and nickel from sediment matrices. The use of ICPMS offers the advantage that elements such as phosphorus, which previously required elaborate digestion procedures and a colorimetric determination, can be rapidly determined using nitric acid digestion alone. The use of flow injection coupled with ICPMS allows on-line preconcentration of trace metals and metalloids using chelation by ion-exchange resins or hydride generation and trapping as well as separation from matrix elements. Thus, the routine determination of trace elements and inorganic and methylated arsenic, antimony, mercury, and germanium species in open-ocean waters is possible. The coupling of HPLC and GC to ICPMS allows the measurement of metal and metalloid species in biological and sediment extracts. However, extraction of unaltered species from matrices presents a challenge. Many of the species found in the environmental samples are not known and analytical standards are not available. The concurrent use of HPLC-MS is needed to confirm these species.


The activity patterns of springhares Pedetes capensis (Rodentia: Pedetidae) from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, were investigated by counting the number of springhares active above ground at regular intervals throughout the night at different times of the year and under different weather conditions and phases of the moon. A combination of time of year, time of night and level of illumination best explained springhare activity, accounting for 43% of the variation in springhare numbers. Springhare activity generally reached its peak soon after dark, thereafter remaining fairly constant throughout most of the night and only decreasing in the 2–4-h period before sunrise. On those nights when the moon either rose or set during the night, this pattern was modified by the level of illumination. Springhares responded to moonlight by reducing above-ground activity, shifting activity to dark, moonless periods of the night, and by reducing their use of open space. Except for extremes, other weather conditions had no significant effect on springhare activity.


Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are informal and voluntary behaviors that positively contribute to organizational functioning (Organ 1997; Katz & Kahn, 1978). To better understand and encourage such behaviors, the present study investigated the influence of hindrance stressors and positive psychological states in the workplace. Responses from a sample of university employees were analyzed to examine the individual and unit-level effects of role ambiguity, organizational constraints, and lack of job control on individual-level supervisor-rated OCBs through individual and unit-level positive psychological states. Results showed that each hindrance stressor negatively influenced OCB participation directly and through decreased positive psychological states at the individual-level (Level 1). All unit-level (Level 2) hindrance stressors demonstrated negative relationships to OCBs directly, and lack of job control at the unit-level (Level 2) was also a significant direct predictor beyond the individual-level (Level 1). Hindrance stressors at the unit-level (Level 2) mediated by decreased unit-level (Level 2) positive psychological states predicted decreased OCBs above any individual-level (Level 1) effects of hindrance stressors and positive psychological states. These results provide evidence of incremental variance explained by unit-membership in the relationship between hindrance stressors and positive psychological states on OCB performance. Implications for the current literature, future research, and applied interventions to help diminish barriers and increase OCBs are discussed.


Like other macroeconomic variables, residential investment has become much less volatile since the mid-1980s (recent experience notwithstanding.) This paper explores the role of structural change in this decline. Since the early 1980s there have been many changes in the underlying structure of the economy, including those in the mortgage market which have made it easier to acquire a home. We examine how these changes affect residential investment volatility in a life-cycle model consistent with micro evidence on housing choices. We find that a decline in the rate of household formation, increased delay in marriage, and an increase in the cross-sectional variance of earnings drive the decline in volatility. Our findings provide support for the view that the "Great Moderation" in aggregate fluctuations is not just due to smaller aggregate shocks, but is driven at least in part by structural change.


While the return to growth in the US is largely credited to the rapid spreading of information technology, a key policy concern everywhere, and notably in Europe, is whether and when the US economic boom will extend abroad, and what role new technologies are about to play. In this paper, I collect and supplement data on the extent and the contribution to growth of 'new economy' activities in Europe, and in a sample of OECD countries at large, in the 1990s. Available evidence indicates that capital accumulation in information technologies did make a contribution to growth in the EU too, though not equally everywhere. The contribution of new technologies was substantial in the UK and the Netherlands, and rapidly increasing over time in Finland, Ireland and Denmark. These were also the fast EU growing countries in the 1990s. New technologies contributed less in France, Germany, Belgium and Sweden, and marginally in Italy and Spain. Most of these countries were also 'slow growers'. I conclude that the growth gaps between the EU and the US, as well as within the EU, can (also) be associated to the diverse pace of adoption of new technologies across countries.


Recently, Nature published an article comparing the quality of Wikipedia articles to those of Encyclopedia Britannica (Giles 2005). The article, which gained much public attention, provides evidence for Wikipedia quality, but does not provide an explanation of the underlying source of that quality. Wikipedia, and wikis in general, aggregate information from a large and diverse author-base, where authors are free to modify any article. Building upon Surowiecki's (2005) Wisdom of Crowds, we develop a model of the factors that determine wiki content quality. In an empirical study of Wikipedia, we find strong support for our model. Our results indicate that increasing size and diversity of the author-base improves content quality. We conclude by highlighting implications for system design and suggesting avenues for future research.


Diatomite is a natural porous silica material of sedimentary origin, formed by remains of diatom skeletons called "frustules." The abundance in many areas of the world and the peculiar physico-chemical properties made diatomite an intriguing material for several applications ranging from food production to pharmaceutics. However, diatomite is a material still rarely used in biomedical applications. In this chapter, the properties of diatom frustules reduced to nanoparticles, with an average diameter less than 350 nm, as potential drug vectors are described. Their biocompatibility, cellular uptake, and capability to transport molecules inside cancer cells are discussed. Preliminary studies of in vivo toxicity are also presented.


The attention on piezoelectric devices has been moved in the past decade to lead-free ceramics, especially on (Ba,Ca)(Ti,Zr)O3-based materials, due to growing environmental concerns. Here we report a systematic evaluation of the effect that electric field application has on the structure, microstructure and electrical properties of Ba0.9Ca0.1Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 (BCTZ) lead-free ceramics. Powders were prepared by Pechini method. Dense ceramic samples were sintered at 1275 °C for 5 h. As observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), the ceramics are single perovskite-type structure phases and they are homogeneous both at global and local scales. Rietveld analysis of the diffraction patterns for the non-poled sample is consistent with a coexistence of ferroelectric tetragonal P4mm and rhombohedral R3m symmetries. It is shown that the electric field induces changes in rhombohedral–tetragonal relative content that facilitates the polarization process of the system. Ceramics exhibit a significantly high piezoelectric response with a d33 value as high as ∼390 pC N−1, which is comparable to soft Pb(Zr1−xTix)O3 (PZTs). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis showed an average grain size of 20 μm and complex ferroelectric domains. A confocal Raman spectroscopy and imaging study carried out on both types of samples reveals that, upon application of an electric field, the E(LO3) + A1(LO2) + E(TO4) mode of the Raman spectra shifts to lower frequencies, indicating a reduction of the bonding force between the ions at the B-site of the perovskite (Ti4+, Zr4+) and the oxygen ions of the octahedron for the poled samples. Besides, the mentioned spatially resolved mode of the Raman spectra shows a narrower distribution in the poled sample, monitoring the polarization alignment effect in the direction of the field. These characteristics are related to the complex ferroelectric domain distribution. The polar structure changes are revealed after the application of the electric field, as well by the changes on the dielectric permittivity curves as a function of the temperature. Ceramics also display a high ferroelectric remnant polarization (Pr = 15.3 μC cm−2) and low coercive field (EC = 1.5 kV cm−1) at room temperature.


Thermohaline observations in the water column beneath the Ross Ice Shelf and along its terminal face show significant vertical stratification, active horizontal circulation, and net melting at the ice shelf base. Heat is supplied by seawater that moves southward beneath the ice shelf from a central warm core and from a western region of high salinity. The near-freezing Ice Shelf Water produced flows northward into the Ross Sea.


Adam Smith is widely regarded as the 'founder of modern economics'. The author shows, however, that Smith's procedurally based, consequence-detached political economy, an approach shared by America's Founders, finds no expression in the economist's utilitarian, procedurally-detached theory of the state. This 'wrong turn' has meant that, if economists are ill-equipped to address an expanding federal enterprise in which utilitarian considerations trump the Smithian/Madisonian idea that means and ends must be morally and constitutionally constrained, they are also ineffectual bystanders as growing institutional skepticism, demands for 'social justice' and metastasizing rights claims threaten our self-governing republic.


Observations of the areal extent of seasonal hypoxia over the Texas–Louisiana continental shelf from 1985 to 2010 are correlated with a variety of physical and biogeochemical forcing mechanisms. Significant correlation is found between hypoxic area and both nitrogen load (r2 = 0.24) and east–west wind speed (r2 = 0.16). There is also a significant increasing trend in the areal extent of hypoxia in time; a linearly increasing trend over the entire record (r2 = 0.17), a step increase in area for the years 1994 and beyond (r2 = 0.21), and a step increase for 1993 and beyond (r2 = 0.29) were all found to be significantly correlated with area. The year 1988, often included in other studies, was found to be a statistical outlier, in that the statistical regression properties are strongly modified when this year is included. The exclusion of any other year does not have as great an effect as excluding 1988 from the record. The year 1989 is also excluded, as this year had no full shelf survey, for a total of 24 years of data for the record. Multivariable regression models using all possible combinations of the forcing variables considered were calculated. The best performing models included east–west wind, either a linear trend in time or step in time (1994 and beyond), and either nitrogen load or river discharge combined with nitrogen concentration. The range of adjusted correlation coefficients ranged from r2 = 0.47 to 0.67. The best model (east–west wind, a step increase in time 1994 and beyond, river discharge, and nitrogen concentration) has a standard error of 3008 km2.


Spike-based learning circuits have been typically used in conjunction with linear integrate-and-flre neurons. As a new class of current-mode conductance-based silicon neurons has been recently developed, it is important to evaluate how the spike-based learning circuits perform, when interfaced to these new types of neuron circuits. Here, we describe a VLSI implementation of a current-mode conductance-based neuron, connected to synaptic circuits with spike-based learning capabilities. The conductance-based silicon neuron has built-in spike-frequency adaptation, refractory period mechanisms, and plasticity eligibility control circuits. The synaptic circuits exhibits realistic dynamics in the post-synaptic currents and comprise local spike-based learning circuits, controlled by the global post-synaptic eligibility circuits. We present experimental results which characterize the conductance-based neuron circuit properties and the spike-based learning circuits connected to it.


This article critically explores the seduction of contemporary tomboyism for young tweenage girls within neo-liberal postfeminist times and an increasingly commodified (hetero)sexualised girlhood culture. A central aim of the article is to contextualize the persistence of the tomboy discourse and girls' appropriation of tomboyism within competing schizoid discourses of presumed innocence and compulsory normative (hetero)sexuality. Drawing on past and current predominantly UK based ethnographic research mapping girls' relationship to tomboyism, the first half of the article considers how to theorise girls' fluid appropriation of 'being a bit tomboy' within a discursive terrain of multiple femininities and fashion feminism. The second half of the article revisits a case study of one eleven-year-old self-identified tomboy, Eric/a, to re-think conceptualisations of girls' sustained appropriation of 'tomboy' as more than some licensed mimicry of masculinity when it is taken-up as a performative politics of subverting emphasized (hetero)sexualized femininities. The article concludes with a call for future theorizations of girlhood (for example, tomboyism) that foreground the intersection of gender, sex, sexuality, age and time and their socio-cultural and contextual contingency.


Tumor vasculatures express high levels of αVβ3/αVβ5 and α5β1 integrins. Consequently, peptides containing the RGD (Arg‐Gly‐Asp) sequence, which is present in ligands of integrins, is effective in targeting therapeutic reagents to tumor vascular endothelium. In our study, we investigated whether the biologic activity of endostatin can be enhanced by the addition of an integrin targeting sequence. RGD sequence was added to either the amino or carboxyl terminus of endostatin containing a point mutation, P125A‐endostatin. Earlier we have shown that the P125A mutation did not affect the biologic activity of endostatin but in fact had better antiangiogenic activity when compared to the native molecule. Further modification of P125A‐endostatin with the RGD motif showed specific and increased binding to endothelial cells, and the increased binding coincided with improved antiangiogenic properties. Both amino and carboxyl terminal RGD‐modification of P125A‐endostatin resulted in greater inhibition of endothelial cell migration and proliferation. RGD modification increased tumor localization without affecting the circulatory half‐life of P125A‐endostatin, and RGD‐modified P125A‐endostatin was found to be more effective when compared to the P125A‐endostatin in inhibiting ovarian and colon cancer growth in athymic mice. Complete inhibition of ovarian tumor growth was observed when P125A‐endostatin‐RGD was encapsulated into alginate beads. These studies demonstrate that addition of a vascular targeting sequence can enhance the biologic activity of an antiangiogenic molecule. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The last decade or so has witnessed a burgeoning of literature on the role of cross-jurisdictional influences in the design (as well as subsequent interpretation) of national constitutions. The consensus emerging from that literature is that transnational borrowing in the course of constitution making is both inevitable and impossible. In a globalized world, those involved in the design of a new constitution naturally look beyond their borders for inspiration. Borrowing is thus endemic. But borrowing, in any true sense, is also impossible because in the process of migration, constitutional ideas must be de- and then recontextualized in order to fit them for the new legal system.
 What, though, if the object of transnational influence is not a constitutional text or an institutional mechanism but, rather, a scholarly theory? That is the question addressed by this Article. Specifically, the Article examines the intriguing (and little known) story of how John Hart Ely's representation-reinforcing theory of (American) constitutional interpretation was transformed into a blueprint for the design of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. It suggests that Ely's journey to the South Pacific has the potential to illuminate both the study of constitutional migration generally and, more specifically, the linkages between comparative law and constitutional theory.


This book is the second edition of the well-known Psychological Assessment of Adult Posttraumatic States, published in 1997. A major update from the first edition, it presents a detailed, yet practical summary of the major issues and instruments involved in the assessment of posttraumatic disturbance. Dr. Briere analyzes the types of traumas most likely to produce long-term difficulties. He also explains the biological, historical, social, and cultural factors that mediate between trauma and outcome. New research on traumatic events, including rape, stalking, sex trafficking, torture, terrorist attacks, motor vehicle accidents, and disasters, is placed into clinical context. Especially relevant to the clinician, researcher, and forensic specialist, this second edition reviews the available research on standardized measures currently available for evaluating trauma's impact, noting the psychometric characteristics of each instrument. A comprehensive review of new trauma-relevant measures is provided, emphasizing their direct clinical relevance to the assessment of posttraumatic states. In addition, frequently used general psychological tests get a critical look from the trauma assessment perspective. Dr. Briere also makes new recommendations for the composition of trauma-related test batteries that can be customized to fit the clinical question and the time available for assessment. New to the second edition is additional information on the complex process of psychodiagnosis, including coverage of research and controversies in acute stress disorder, brief psychotic disorder, the dissociative disorders, traumatic grief reactions, "complex PTSD," borderline personality disorder, and trauma-related panic disorder. Including over 35 per cent new references, this volume provides a scholarly, yet practical review of trauma theory and measurement.


Spatial patterns of soil dN reflect variation in rates of N-cycling processes across landscapes. However, the manner in which soil dN is affected by vegetation and topoedaphic properties under nonsteady state conditions is understood poorly. Here we propose and evaluate a conceptual model that explains how soil dN values will respond to changes in disturbance regimes (intensification of grazing and removal of fire) and the resultant invasion of a subtropical grassland by woody vegetation dominated by Prosopis glandulosa (honey mesquite), a N-fixing tree legume. Spatially-specific sampling along a catena (hill-slope) gradient where woody plants are known to have displaced grasses over the past 100 years revealed a positive relationship between soil dN and dC, and a negative relationship between NDVI and soil dN on upland portions of the landscape, indicating that plant cover is a critical determinant of dN spatial patterns. Because the dominant woody invader is a N-fixer, its invasion has increased N input and reduced soil dN. However, while honey mesquite also invaded and came to dominate lowland portions of the landscape, soil dN values in woodlands of intermittent drainages were significantly elevated relative to those in uplands. This is likely attributable to higher soil moisture, clay content, and total N in the lower portions of the catena gradient, which create conditions favoring more rapid Ntransformation rates, higher preferential N losses (e.g., gaseous), and thus enrichment of N. Thus, while spatial and temporal variation of soil dN has the potential to be an indicator of disturbance-induced changes in the net N balance, its sensitivity is compromised in topoedaphic settings with where rates of Ntransformation are high. Continued improvements in our understanding of controls over the spatial variability of soil dN at the landscape-scale will enhance our ability to use dN as a diagnostic tool for inferring N dynamics under both steady-state and disturbed conditions.


Cinema Theory has for a long time been haunted by the question: is noir a genre of its own kind or a kind of anamorphic distortion affecting different genres? From the very beginning, noir was not limited to hardboiled detective stories: reverberations of noir motifs are easily discernible in comedies (Arsenic and Old Lace), in westerns (Pursued), in political and social dramas (All the King's Men, The Lost Weekend), etc. Do we have here a secondary impact of something that originally constitutes a genre of its own (the noir crime universe), or is the crime film only one of the possible fields of application of the noir logic? That is, is noir a predicate that entertains toward the crime universe the same relationship as toward comedy or western, a kind of logical operator introducing the same anamorphic distortion in every genre to which it is applied, so that finding its strongest application in the crime film turns on nothing but historical contingency (Žižek, Tarrying with the Negative: Kant, Hegel, and the Critique of Ideology, 1993, pp. 9-10)?


Research Poster illustrating the research data and outcomes. Colour produces powerful sensory responses, yet its role in Interior Design for the ageing population is poorly researched. This paper interprets the phenomena of colour in interiors for older people through review of metadata and visual analysis of case studies in Northern Ireland and Amsterdam. Innovative investigations will seek to explore how a hybrid methodology facilitates a collaborative approach in the assistance of establishing how colour can support a healthy interior space for the ageing population. Colour is not passive; it is a functional component of the environment that can induce powerful sensory responses. The ageing population is a global research priority and there is demand for active and fluid functionality from all elements of the designed environment. Therefore by necessity, the complexity of interior design and colour research for the ageing population has had to bridge disciplines and in doing so not only opens up possibilities for interior designers, but begins a relationship with a process of enquiry that is intensely human, capturing how colour can shape space connecting one environment to another.


Slow, large-amplitude chain motions play an important role in determining the macroscopic mechanical properties of polymers. Although such motions have been studied quantitatively by two-dimensional (2D) nuclear: magnetic resonance (NMR) exchange experiments, overlapping anisotropic patterns hamper spectral analysis, and limit applications. Variable angle correlation spectroscopy (VACSY) has proven useful in resolving such problems for rapidly spinning samples by separating anisotropic spectral patterns according to isotropic chemical shifts. In a previous study [J. Am. Chem. Sec. 115, 4825 (1993)], we described a three-dimensional (3D) NMR experiment that incorporates; the VACSY method and a hop of the rotor axis to correlate the isotropic chemical shifts to 2D anisotropic exchange patterns. The hop of the rotor axis, however, presents experimental difficulties and limits the range of motional rates that may be studied. We present in this paper a new 3D VACSY exchange experiment that obtains the same correlations without the need for the rotor axis hop. A series of 2D exchange spectra are recorded with the sample spinning at different rotation axis angles.' Then using the scaling of the anisotropic frequency at the different angles, we construct the data onto a 3D matrix so that a Fourier transformation directly yields the desired correlations. The technique is applied to C-13 exchange NMR to study the slow molecular motion of ordered isotactic polypropylene.


Purpose
Individuals with developmental dyslexia suffer not only from reading problems as more general motor deficits can also be observed in this patient group. Both psychometric clinical tests and objective eyetracking methods suggest that unstable binocular fixation may contribute to reading problems. Because binocular instability may cause poor eye-hand coordination and impair motor control, the primary aim of this study was to explore in dyslexic subjects the influence of unstable binocular fixation on reaction times (RTs) and implicit motor learning (IML), which is one of the fundamental cerebellar functions.

Methods
Fixation disparity (FD) and instability of FD were assessed subjectively using the Wesson card and a modified Mallett test. A modified version of the Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT) was used to measure the RTs and IML skills. The results for the dyslexic group (DG), which included 29 adult subjects (15 were tested binocularly, DGbin; 14 were tested monocularly, DGmono), were compared with data from the control group (CG), which consisted of 30 age-matched nondyslexic subjects (15 tested binocularly, CGbin; and the other 15 tested monocularly, CGmono).

Results
The results indicated that the DG showed poorer binocular stability and longer RTs in the groups tested binocularly (RTs: 534 vs. 411 ms for DGbin and CGbin, respectively; P < 0.001) as compared with the groups examined monocularly (RTs: 431 vs. 424 ms for DGmono and CGmono, respectively; P = 0.996). The DG also exhibited impaired IML when compared with the CG (EFIML: 25 vs. 50 ms for DG and CG, respectively; P = 0.012).

Conclusions
Unstable binocularity in dyslexia may affect RTs but was not related to poor IML skills. Impaired IML in dyslexia was independent of the viewing conditions (monocular versus binocular) and may be related to cerebellar deficits.


Using numerical simulations, we show that cross-gain modulation between pairs of counter-propagating pulses within a semiconductor optical amplifier can be used to detect the range and reflectivity of a target, forming a compact time-of-flight laser ranger. The range is deduced from multiple contacts along the SOA. The SOA also provides gain to the optical pulses reflected off the target. A single external component is required to provide pulses into back of the SOA, with the front of the SOA being directly coupled to the target.


The burying beetle Nicrophorus pustulatus Herschel can reproduce in both large (Trumbo 1992) and small (Robertson 1992) carcasses in the laboratory, but has never been observed using these iiz the wild (Robertson 1992) and comes more readily to lights than to traps baited with carrion (Anderson 1982; Lingafelter 1995). Under natural conditions. this species has only beell observed breeding in nests of black rat snakes (Blouin-Demers and Weatherhead 2000; Keller and Heske 2001) and may never use carrion for breeding purposes. In 2005 we caught two specimens of N. pustulatus Herschel in flight intercept traps suspended 15 meters or more above the ground in a bottomland hardwood forest in Georgia. We returned in 2006 to suspend carrion traps at three different heights to compare the vertical distribution of N. pustulatus with other burying beetles.


Three anomalously white harbour porpoises ( Phocoena phocoena ) were reported from Turkish Seas. One of them was bycaught on 19 June 2011 in bottom gill nets off the eastern coast of the Turkish Black Sea. The second one was observed four times in May and early June 2012 in the Istanbul Strait. The last one was stranded alive on 7 July 2012 in the Istanbul Strait. Records (published and unpublished) of anomalously white harbour porpoises in the world were reviewed. In total 34 records were found from the world seas; the Black Sea, North Sea, Baltic Sea, North Atlantic Ocean and North Eastern Pacific Ocean. According to these records, three patterns of pigmentation were suggested.


A BSTRACT : The long, continuous, high-latitude, stratigraphic record of Lake Baikal was deposited in three broad sedimentary environments, defined by high-resolution seismic-reflection and coring methods: (1) turbidite depositional systems, by far the most widespread, characterizing most of the margins and floors of the main basins of the lake, (2) large deltas of major drainages, and (3) tectonically or topographically isolated ridges and banks. Holocene sedimentation rates based on radiocarbon ages vary by more than an order of magnitude among these environments, from less than about 0.03 mm/yr on ridges and banks to more than about 0.3 mm/yr on basin floors. Ex-trapolating these rates, with a correction for compaction, yields ten-tative estimates of about 25 and 11 Ma for the inception of rifting in the Central and North basins, respectively, and less than 6 Ma for the 200-m sediment depth on Academician Ridge. The Gilbert-type delta, but its history appears to represent a complex combination of tectonism and sedimentation. The central part of the delta is underlain by prograding, shallow-water sequences, now several hundred meters below the lake surface. These deposits and much of the delta slope are mantled by fine-grained, deep-water, hemipelagic deposits whose base is estimated to be about 650,000 years old. Modern coarse-grained sediment bypasses the delta slope through fault-con-trolled canyons that feed large, subaqueous fans at the ends of the South and Central basins. These relations, along with abundant other evidence of recent faulting and the great depths of the Central and South basins, suggest that these two rift basins have experienced a period of unusually rapid subsidence over the last 650,000 years, during at least part of which sedimentation has failed to keep pace.


What does tort law do? This Article develops an account of the law of torts for the age of settlement. A century ago, leading torts jurists proposed that tort doctrine's main function was to allocate authority between judge and jury. In the era of the disappearing trial, we propose that tort law's hidden function is to shape the process by which private parties settle. In particular, core doctrines in tort help to structure and sustain the systems of private administration by which injury claims are actually resolved. Though an observer could hardly guess it from judge-centric theories of tort or by reading the typical reported appellate cases, repeat-play stakeholders such as the plaintiffs' bar, insurers, and others are developing and managing claims resolution facilities that have turned the resolution of one-off tort claims in the United States into something akin to aggregate litigation or a public compensation program. Hidden deep in the shadows of the law, private administration is becoming a standard feature of torts practice with substantial implications for the theory of tort law and litigation.


Archaeologists have long noted the striking monumentality and large-scale efforts behind the Iron Age hilltop settlements. Yet, because of limited excavations, they represent a controversial part of the Migration Period society and much of their function remains hidden. This paper deals with questions concerning the inner organization and activities that took place within the Iron Age hilltop settlement at Runsa. The study is linked to the ongoing project "Runsa fornborg – En befäst centralplats i östra Mälardalen under folkvandringstid" which aims to investigate the socio-political functions of Runsa. In an attempt to establish a nuanced picture and distinguish space use within the hilltop settlement, a multi-variable approach is used. Alongside more traditional methods, element analysis by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and lipid analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is emphasized.


Burl Ives BBC Radio Four Documentary –

Writer and presenter

This programme explores the life, career and music of Burl Ives's including his co-operation with the 1950s anti-communist trials held by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Burl Ives came from Illinois, where he sang folk songs as a child, dropping out of school in the late 1920s to become an itinerant banjo player during the economic depression. By the 1930s he was appearing on radio, singing the songs he made famous, such as Foggy Foggy Dew, The Bluetail Fly and the hobo ballad Big Rock Candy Mountain. Along with Woody Guthrie, Ives was one of a generation of musicians who were rediscovering American folk music, performing it to politicise their audiences as well as entertain them. Ives was also a talented actor, and during the Second World War he found success in several roles in Broadway productions. Subsequently he won an Oscar for his role in the 1958 film, The Big Country. Like many other left-wing artists, Ives faced blacklisting in the late 1940s, when he was listed in a McCarthyite publication as having possible communist connections. But Ives survived the House Un-American Activities Committee two years later, by informing against other folk musicians, notably Pete Seeger. In 1993, however, two years before Ives's death, Seeger forgave him and the two were reunited and sang at a benefit concert in New York.


An electrochemical sensor combining a molecularly imprinted technique and an electropolymerization method is developed in this work. A molecularly imprinted polymer film was fabricated by electropolymerizing o-phenylenediamine in the presence of paracetamol after depositing carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes onto a glassy carbon electrode surface. The template can be quickly removed in 50% ethanol. The molecularly imprinted sensor was tested in the presence or absence of paracetamol by cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry to characterize the constructed sensor. The molecularly imprinted polymer based sensor displayed an excellent recognition capacity toward paracetamol compared with other structurally similar molecules. Additionally, the linear sweep voltammetry peak current was linear to the concentration of the analyte in the range of 2.0 × 10−7 to 4.0 × 10−5 mol L−1, with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10−8 mol L−1. The prepared sensor also showed stable repeatability and regeneration capacity. The sensor was applied to the determination of paracetamol in real samples successfully, with the recoveries ranging from 94% to 105%.


A wearable device to power implanted sensors by means of an inductive link is presented. The system, having size 69 × 40 mm2, is designed to be embedded into a skin patch and located over the implantation area. The system can transfer up to 15 mW within 6 mm in air. Tested with a 17 mm thick beef sirloin placed between the inductors, the device is able to deliver up to 1.17 mW. Downlink communication with the implanted sensors is performed at 100 kbps by using amplitude modulation. Uplink communication is performed at 66.6 kbps by using load modulation. Long range communication between the system and remote devices is enabled by a bluetooth module. The system is powered by two rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries and has an autonomy of 10 h in stand-by mode and about 1.5 h in transmitting mode.


The emergence of global architecture firms and their role in the production of city architectures raises a number of questions for social scientists. For example, how— indeed do—global architects ensure that the buildings they design are 'in place' and appropriate for the urban cultural, economic, social and political contexts in which they are to be built? The aim of the paper is to consider this question. 'Regulation' is taken in its broadest sense and the paper explores the role of standards and codes as well as other forms of social regulation in the process of emplacing designs. It is argued that, in order to understand how buildings are put in their place, analysis is needed of both the design-side adaptations architects make to buildings and also the consumption side regulation of designs and the way the behaviours of those inhabiting buildings produce 'local' meaning.


The aim of this study is to show how trans-national right-wing linguistic strategies and global xenophobic attitudes are reworked at national levels, and how, as a result, specialized country- and culture-specific coercion and legitimization strategies arise. Using a detailed, quantitative-qualitative method of analysis, we look at the Greek Cypriot extreme-right party ELAM to see how the party's anti-migration rhetoric construes any foreign presence as threat, by proximizing it linguistically as 'invasion.' This strategy allows the conflation of the current 'Other' (migrants) with archetypical adversaries, such as Turkey. Indeed, anchoring the migration issue in the main national narrative, i.e., the long-standing Cypriot conflict, gives their xenophobic language conceptual coherence and strengthens its textual cohesion. In particular two figures of speech are the basis of this invasion script, the word metanasteftiko 'the immigration phenomenon' conceptualized as the kipriako (the Cyprus problem, i.e., the political division of the island). This parallelism opens the way for a number of inferences, while it also enables a conceptual shift from the real phenomenon known as globalization and multiculturalism to the imagined idea of a ( white/Western) genocide . Data include comments responding to ELAM followers' YouTube videos and mainstream press representations. Methodology includes corpus linguistics and discourse analysis focused on the fundamental metaphors found in the data such as migration as unbearable weight and migration as dirt .


Lord prof PhD PhD Momtchil Dobrev-Halachev developed 2008 "Theory of generating of crises " , 2010  "Theory and praxice of the Mafiotismus"  and 2001 " Theory of the mafia". Based on these two theories  this paper  explane   the establishment of the mafiotismus all over the world – principles, theory and praxis  in European Union , European Commission and  in the Republic Bulgaria


Recent large-scale direct numerical simulations (DNS) of high-Reynolds number (high-Re) turbulence, suggest that strong micro-scale tube-like vortices form clusters in localized thin regions of space. However, to this date no thorough quantitative and statistical analysis of the geometry of such vortical clusters has been conducted. This study is intended to generate new statistical tools to study the shape and dynamics of these intense vorticity and strain regions. We first propose a new method for locating and analysing the geometrical properties of thresholded vortical clusters contained inside boxes of a given size. Second, we use this new tool to investigate the natural presence of intense shear layers and their relevance as geometrical features of high-Re homogeneous turbulence. This new method is applied to the DNS of homogeneous incompressible turbulence with up to 40963 grid points, showing that the geometry of high vorticity regions varies strongly depending on the threshold and on the size of the clusters. In particular for sizes in the inertial range of scales and high thresholds, approximately layer-like structures of vortices are extracted and visualized. Agreement of results with previous observations and known features of turbulence supports the validity of the proposed method to characterize the geometry of intense vorticity and strain regions in high-Re turbulence.


Netball is arguably one of England's most successful female team sports, being a core component of the National Curriculum, one of the largest participation sports according to the Active People's Survey, and recognised on the international stage through the Commonwealth Games and World Cup competitions, with the England national team currently ranked third in the world standings. In 2016, the highly successful Vitality Netball Super League renewed its broadcasting relationship with Sky Sports, becoming a showpiece for the newly formed Sky Sport Mix channel, and Loughborough Lightning provided the first opportunities for women to compete as full-time professionals in Britain. However, despite these developments, and the integration of the sport within British society, netball has had limited recognition in both the public and academic sphere, significantly, within the sport history discipline. Histories of netball have been conducted on the leading nations, including Australia and New Zealand where netball is celebrated and recognised as a principle national sport. However, even as one of the first established netballing nations and integral to the sport's foundations, England still lacks recognition. Founded in 1926, the All England Net Ball Association (AENA) provided governance for the sport, which was popularised in the physical education colleges of England and America. This paper aims to detail the early history of netball through examination of its National Governing Body (NGB), considering the individuals involved and their impact on the development of the sport's national and international profile throughout the twentieth century. Keywords: Women's Sport; Netball; England Netball


The interactions between conflict and local development has puzzled scholars and practitioners alike. This article explores why the advent of peace in Colombia's emerald-mining regions for the past few years, as well as a broader national peace process, has not delivered the expected development dividends among mining communities. We contrast differences in stakeholders' perceptions between levels of governance (local, regional and national). Based on the research, we conclude that while stakeholder collaboration is successful at the regional and national levels of governance, it fails at the local level. While peace has allowed an increase in mainstream business investment in mining, this has concentrated production in a few hands leading to a deterioration in many aspects of community livelihoods and wealth distribution. There has been a shift in the concentration of wealth and production from traditional elites to large companies. Communities noted a loss of collective assets and lack of community and institutional capacity to overcome pressing issues in a post-conflict market economy that favors those who control capital and technology. Based on an evaluation of community perceptions through a focus group methodology, this study recommends ways to prepare and better coordinate stakeholders to engage with complex relationships, and protect community assets in a collaborative governance scenario. This research suggests that political reconciliation processes amid complex resource geographies require greater devolution and community engagement on post-conflict economic development during the peace process itself.


Orders are orders, and even the best of Maxine's magic tricks can't disappear the commands from the U.S. government that have her family moving to Texas so her father, Major Larousse, can oversee a Nazi POW camp. Even at eleven, Maxine's a pretty darn good illusionist, and her skills with sleight of hand garner attention from two surprising places. A misfit group called the Gremlins wants Max to prank the school's golden girl, but even more intriguing—and somewhat frightening—is the notice by Felix, a German inmate who shares Max's affinity for magic tricks. When her dad asks her to perform a magic show for the prisoners, she and the Gremlins pull out all the stops, but it's Felix's vanishing act—and that of eleven other prisoners—that steals the spotlight. Escaped Nazis aren't usually fodder for comedy, but Campbell manages a deft balancing act, with a third-person narration that moves from droll wit to a more serious tone. Spunky Maxine and her friends are kids of their time, with Maxine referring to her Japanese-American friend as an "Oriental cowboy" and another girl referencing "devil-worshipping Jews." Contemporary youngsters will nonetheless sympathize with her school dilemma, and she's a relatable character. Maxine's father and Felix are well drawn supporting roles, each recognizing a fellow soldier in the other. The rosy ending requires more than smoke and mirrors to be realistic, but it's nonetheless satisfying. For aspiring Houdinis, comic-strip-formatted instructions for various magic tricks are interspersed throughout the chapters. KQG


Ten years have passed since the inauguration of the Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems (PAJAIS), although it seems so short. This is the last issue that I serve as the Editor in Chief. The journal starts with the goal to help scholars in the region to explore new topics, distribute research findings and share insightful knowledge. After ten years of continuous publication, the journal has become well-known in many countries and received an increasing number of high-quality submissions. Since information technologies change very fast, I intend to position this journal to be a timely publication platform so that authors do not need to endure the lengthy review process. The publication cycle from receiving the submission to paper publication is usually controlled within one to one and half years, although we may not be able to achieve that for every manuscript.


Federal funds futures are popular tools for calculating market-based monetary policy surprises. These surprises are usually thought of as the difference between expected and realized federal funds target rates at the current FOMC meeting. This paper demonstrates the use of federal funds futures contracts to measure how FOMC announcements lead to changes in expected interest rates after future FOMC meetings. Using several 'surprises' at different horizons, timing, level, and slope components of unanticipated policy actions are defined. These three components have differing effects on asset prices that are not captured by the contemporaneous surprise measure.


From the Foreword: "Dietmar Hildenbrand's new book, Introduction to Geometric Algebra Computing, in my view, fills an important gap in Clifford's geometric algebra literature I can only congratulate the author for the daring simplicity of his novel educational approach taken in this book, consequently combined with hands on computer based exploration. Without noticing, the active reader will thus educate himself in elementary geometric algebra algorithm development, geometrically intuitive, highly comprehensible, and fully optimized." --Eckhard Hitzer, International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan Geometric Algebra is a very powerful mathematical system for an easy and intuitive treatment of geometry, but the community working with it is still very small. The main goal of this book is to close this gap with an introduction to Geometric Algebra from an engineering/computing perspective. This book is intended to give a rapid introduction to computing with Geometric Algebra and its power for geometric modeling. From the geometric objects point of view, it focuses on the most basic ones, namely points, lines and circles. This algebra is called Compass Ruler Algebra, since it is comparable to working with a compass and ruler. The book explores how to compute with these geometric objects, and their geometric operations and transformations, in a very intuitive way. The book follows a top-down approach, and while it focuses on 2D, it is also easily expandable to 3D computations. Algebra in engineering applications such as computer graphics, computer vision and robotics are also covered.


This report deals with the nature and extent of environmental crime in Kenya and was commissioned by the Environmental Crimes Project (ECP) of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). The ECP is a project in partnership with the East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO). Its core objective is to enhance human security by improving regional law enforcement and policymaking to fight environmental crime in eastern Africa.


We investigate the competing effects of interlayer exchange coupling and magnetostatic coupling in the magnetic heterostructure ([Co/Pt]/NiO/[Co/Pt]) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). This particular heterostructure is unique among coupled materials with PMA in directly exhibiting both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic coupling, oscillating between the two as a function of spacer layer thickness. By systematically tuning the coupling interactions via a wedge-shaped NiO spacer layer, we explore the energetics that dictate magnetic domain formation using high resolution magnetic force microscopy coupled with the magneto-optical Kerr effect. This technique probes the microscopic and macroscopic magnetic behavior as a continuous function of thickness and the interlayer exchange coupling, including the regions where interlayer coupling goes through zero. We see significant changes in domain structure based on the sign of coupling, and also show that magnetic domain size is directly related to the magnitude of the interlayer exchange coupling energy, which generally dominates over the magnetostatic interactions. When magnetostatic interactions become comparable to the interlayer exchange coupling, a delicate interplay between the differing energy contributions is apparent and energy scales are extracted. The results are of intense interest to the magnetic recording industry and also illustrate a relatively new avenue of undiscovered physics, primarily dealing with the delicate balance of energies in the formation of magnetic domains for coupled systems with PMA, defining limits on domain size as well as the interplay between roughness, domains and magnetic coupling.


.  This paper presents arguments in favor of a pseudocleft analysis of a certain class of sentences in Malagasy, despite the lack of an overt wh-element. It is shown that voice morphology on the verb creates an operator-variable relationship much like the one created by wh-movement in free relatives in English and other languages. The bulk of the paper argues in favor of an inversion analysis of specificational pseudoclefts in Malagasy: a predicate DP is fronted to a topic position from within a small clause constituent. Moreover, it is shown that the same inversion occurs in equative and specificational sentences in Malagasy, which suggests that these types of sentences share the same syntactic structure. The proposed analysis also provides support for the view that specificational pseudoclefts have a topic > focus structure, where the wh-clause has been overtly topicalized.


This article examines the effects of role on terrorists' use of power and affiliative strategies in negotiation as a function of terrorist ideology, incident type, and the outcome that is achieved. Data were scores on eight behavioral scales designed to reflect the dynamics of 186 terrorist negotiations, as reported in detailed chronological accounts. Results supported the hypothesized one-down effect with terrorists' use of power-oriented strategies complemented by authority's use of affiliation-oriented strategies. The extent to which terrorists used aggressive strategies was related to the resolution of the incident, with attenuated outcomes more likely for those using more aggressive strategies. These dynamics differed across incident type, with aerial hijackings involving more overt power strategies than barricade-siege incidents, which were more likely to involve bargaining for certain outcomes. Finally, terrorist ideology and the associated identity concerns magnified the one-down effect, with religious fundamentalists engaging in more violence and less compromising strategies than terrorists with other ideological backgrounds.


High-throughput sequencing for transcript profiling in plants has revealed that alternative splicing (AS) affects a much higher proportion of the transcriptome than was previously assumed. AS is involved in most plant processes and is particularly prevalent in plants exposed to environmental stress. The identification of mutations in predicted splicing factors and spliceosomal proteins that affect cell fate, the circadian clock, plant defense, and tolerance/sensitivity to abiotic stress all point to a fundamental role of splicing/AS in plant growth, development, and responses to external cues. Splicing factors affect the AS of multiple downstream target genes, thereby transferring signals to alter gene expression via splicing factor/AS networks. The last two to three years have seen an ever-increasing number of examples of functional AS. At a time when the identification of AS in individual genes and at a global level is exploding, this review aims to bring together such examples to illustrate the extent and importance of AS, which are not always obvious from individual publications. It also aims to ensure that plant scientists are aware that AS is likely to occur in the genes that they study and that dynamic changes in AS and its consequences need to be considered routinely.


Climate change and socio-economic driving forces will affect Europe's future freshwater resources. A large-scale water model is used to analyse these effects and to identify 'hot spots' of water stress in the Black Sea region, as an example of an area where future water demand is expected to exceed the available water resources. Two scenarios are analysed, describing different developments of water withdrawals. Depending on the scenario, water stress increases or decreases due to changing water withdrawals which are identified as the principal cause of additional water stress in the future. According to the 'economic-oriented' pathway, water withdrawals are expected to increase by 58%. In Turkey and Bulgaria where water is already scarce, a further decrease in water availability will exacerbate the situation. By contrast, the 'quality of life oriented' scenario, assuming raised awareness to save water, results in a reduction of water withdrawals by approximately 59%. The situation of decreasing availability and increasing demand leads to growing competition between users and may finally end in cross-sectoral conflicts. This type of modelling study helps to prepare and foresee which kind of management options (in which sectors especially, and where) would be required to reduce ecological, economic and social consequences.


It has been proposed that four main styles of humour exist. Research with adults and older children has identified links between these four styles of humour and psychosocial adjustment. Whilst adaptive humour styles have been found to be positively related to adjustment, maladaptive humour styles have been found to be negatively related. This thesis consists of four studies investigating the relationship between humour styles and adjustment in children aged 8-11 years, an age group which has previously been neglected. Study One used an experimental approach whereby children were presented with a vignette describing either a male or female child using one of the four styles of humour. Findings demonstrated that those using adaptive styles of humour were perceived more positively than those using maladaptive styles of humour. Study Two involved providing further validation for a measure of the four styles of humour suitable for primary-aged children which was administered alongside measures of psychosocial adjustment. The measure was found to be reliable and valid whilst associations consistent with those found previously were evident between humour styles and adjustment variables. Following on from this, Study Three used a longitudinal design to examine the associations between children's humour styles and adjustment over time. Findings suggest that whilst children's psychosocial adjustment may influence their use of humour styles, it may also be that their use of humour impacts upon their adjustment. Finally Study Four involved designing and evaluating a short intervention aimed at increasing children's awareness of the different styles of humour. Following the intervention it was found that children's understanding of both adaptive and maladaptive forms of humour increased. Overall the studies in this thesis suggest that younger children may use all four styles of humour and that associations with psychosocial adjustment are also present in this age group.


Research over past decades consistently shows that traditional pre-service teacher preparation programs are not adequately preparing beginning teachers for the reality of classrooms. The purpose of this paper is threefold. We describe the development of an online classroom simulation, the specific design features in our initial prototype version of the software and our research into our first trial of this with pre-service teachers. The classroom simulation allows the user to take on the role of the teacher of a virtual Kindergarten classroom, working with students aged 5 to 6 years of age. During the simulation the user is required to make decisions about the organization of teaching and learning experiences, classroom management, and responses to individual students. The user is able to monitor and track the progress of three targeted students throughout the course of the simulation. An embedded tool, what we refer to as the "thinking space", has been developed to enable the user to plan and justify new decisions and reflect upon the consequences of previous decisions.


An improved three-component reaction of cyclohexyl isocyanide is described. The reaction between alkyl isocyanides and dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates in the presence of carboxylic acid arylidene-hydrazides to afford highly functionalized ketenimines in good yields. The reaction was characterized by mild conditions, high selectivity and tolerance to various functional groups.