Injecting drug use is a key driver of the HIV epidemic in Asia as a whole. An estimated 4.5 million people inject drugs in Asia and UNAIDS estimates that around 16% of these are living with HIV, although prevalence is much higher in some countries (Burma/Myanmar has around 38% prevalence, Thailand has between 30% and 50% prevalence). Laws and practices relating to the control of the illicit drug trade are highly punitive in this region and governments are still committed to make ASEAN drug-free by 2015. This goal underpins a zero-tolerance approach to drug use which manifests itself in a harsh legislative environment that criminalises people who use drugs and reinforces stigma and discrimination towards an already vulnerable and marginalised population group. This repressive approach does not prioritise the health of people who use drugs and presents significant structural barriers to evidence-based harm reduction and drug treatment programmes. There have been some trends in the region to move towards harm reduction in an effort to address HIV in people who inject drugs as can be seen in China and Malaysia, however there are still counterproductive laws and practices which undermine these efforts. The first Regional Dialogue for the Asia-Pacific will take place on February 24-25, 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition to giving voice to regional and country perspectives on issues of HIV and the law, the dialogue aims to contribute to regional efforts for creating enabling legal environments which support effective HIV responses. In this paper, IDPC asks that the Commission considers a number of issues in relation to addressing punitive laws and practices that effectively criminalise the lives of people who use drugs in South East Asia and calls on governments to address these issues as a matter of urgency.


Integral imaging is a technique capable of displaying 3D images with continuous parallax in full natural color. It has been reported by many research groups and is becoming a viable alternative for 3D television. With the development of 3D integral imaging, image compression becomes mandatory for the storage and transmission of 3D integral images. In this paper, the use of the lifting scheme in the application of a 3D Wavelet Transform for the compression of 3D Integral Images is proposed. The method requires the extraction of different viewpoint images from an integral image. The 3D wavelet decomposition is computed by applying three separate 1D transforms along the coordinate axes of the given sequence of Viewpoint Images. The spatial wavelet decompositions on a single viewpoint and on the inter-viewpoint images are performed using the biorthogonal Cohen-Debauchies-Feauveau 9/7 and 5/3 filter banks, respectively. All the resulting wavelet coefficients from application of the 3D wavelet decomposition are arithmetic encoded. Simulations are performed on a set of different grey level 3D Integral Images using a uniform scalar quantizer with deadzone. The results for the average of the four intensity distributions are presented and compared with previous use of 2D DWT and 3D-DCT based schemes. It was found that the algorithm achieves better rate-distortion performance and reconstructs the images with much better image quality at very low bit rates.


The serine/threonine protein kinase casein kinase 1α (CK1α) functions as a negative regulator of Wnt signaling, phosphorylating β-catenin at serine 45 (P-S45) to initiate its eventual ubiquitin-mediated degradation. We previously showed that the repurposed, FDA-approved anthelminthic drug pyrvinium potently inhibits Wnt signaling in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we proposed that pyrvinium's Wnt inhibitory activity was the result of its function as an activator of CK1α. An understanding of the mechanism by which pyrvinium activates CK1α is important because pyrvinium was given an orphan drug designation by the FDA to treat familial adenomatous polyposis, a precancerous condition driven by constitutive Wnt signaling. In the current study, we show that pyrvinium stimulates the phosphorylation of S45 β-catenin, a known CK1α substrate, in a cell-based assay, and does so in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Alternative splicing of CK1α results in four forms of the protein with distinct biological properties. We evaluated these splice products and identified the CK1α splice variant, CK1αS, as the form that exhibits the most robust response to pyrvinium in cells. Kinetic studies indicate that pyrvinium also stimulates the kinase activity of purified, recombinant CK1αS in vitro, increasing its catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) toward substrates. These studies provide strong and clear mechanistic evidence that pyrvinium enhances CK1α kinase activity.


Kerr frequency combs generated from microresonators are the subject of intense study for potential applications ranging from short pulse generation to frequency metrology to radiofrequency signal processing. Most research employs microresonators with anomalous dispersion, for which modulation instability is believed to play a key role in initiation of the comb. Comb generation in normal-dispersion microresonators has also been reported but is less well understood. Here, we report a detailed investigation of few-moded, normal-dispersion silicon nitride microresonators, showing that mode coupling can strongly modify the local dispersion, even changing its sign. We demonstrate a link between mode coupling and initiation of comb generation by showing experimentally the pinning of one of the initial comb sidebands near a mode-crossing frequency. Associated with this route to comb formation, we observe direct generation of coherent, bandwidth-limited pulses at repetition rates down to 75 GHz, without the need to first pass through a chaotic state. Our results with normal-dispersion devices highlight mode interactions as a beneficial tool for comb initiation and pulse formation.


Nab-alumina is a two- dimensional ionic conductor in which conducting planes of Na+ ion are separated by insulating spinel block layers. For practical use, Nab- alumina needs not only high ionic conductivity but also mechanical reliability. Therefore, we prepared preferentially oriented Nab-alumina ceramics by hot pressing and evaluated the ionic conductivity and mechanical strength. The ionic conductivity perpendicular to the c-axis-oriented plane was five times higher than that parallel to c-axis. From the preferentially oriented Nab-alumina ceramics three types of test pieces were cut for a three-point bending test. In one type of test piece, the longest side was parallel to the hot-pressing direction, while the longest sides were perpendicular to that direction in the other types of test pieces. The latter test pieces showed mechanical strength 1.5 times that of the former.


Summary form only given. The objective of this paper is to present the development of a simulation model involving materials handling in a large steel company from Arcelor Group. The project had a return of more than 2 million USD and points to a kind of application that seems to be a typical case where static analysis may cause great errors comparing to a dynamic one (because the results were also observed in another Brazilian steel company). The project focused in the processes involving pig iron transportation between the blast furnaces and its discharge in the steelmaking plant. It allowed the evaluation of several operational parameters such as for the 7.5 Mt/year production rhythm, a great increase from the actual production of 5 Mt/year. "Bottlenecks" in the flow were identified through the results and the scenarios gave the support to the decision of increasing the number of torpedo-cars and locomotives in the system.


Abstract Super‐resolution optical fluctuation imaging (SOFI) is a super‐resolution microscopy technique that overcomes the diffraction limit by analyzing intensity fluctuations of statistically independent emitters in a time series of images. The final images are background‐free and show confocality and enhanced spatial resolution (super‐resolution). Fluorophore photobleaching, however, is a key limitation for recording long time series of images that will allow for the calculation of higher order SOFI results with correspondingly increased resolution. Here, we demonstrate that photobleaching can be circumvented by using fluorophore labels that reversibly and transiently bind to a target, and which are being replenished from a buffer which serves as a reservoir. Using fluorophore‐labeled short DNA oligonucleotides, we labeled cellular structures with target‐specific antibodies that contain complementary DNA sequences and record the fluctuation events caused by transient emitter binding. We show that this concept bypasses extensive photobleaching and facilitates two‐color imaging of cellular structures with SOFI.


Since it first secured a foothold in the southern United States in the 1930s from its native South America, the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren has now spread to more than 20 countries and territories. We update the status of S. invicta in Australia, China and Taiwan and discuss the invasion threat posed to other countries in the region, including India, Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. An analysis of the manner of spread and responses by governments to the invasion reveals some important lessons: (a) S. invicta can be eradicated if detected early enough, (b) there has been a level of unpreparedness and under-resourcing of quarantine agencies in some countries to deal with the pest, (c) strict controls on the movement of products likely to harbor S. invicta are essential in preventing or slowing the spread of the pest and has a major influence on the success or failure of eradication efforts and (d) a coordinated agency response is necessary to prevent treatment failure. Currently, cargo container traffic is the main mechanism for movement of S. invicta around the world and can only be addressed by international collaboration. Given the recent fire ant propagule pressure on Japan and South Korea via container traffic from China, it is likely that China may be a new bridgehead for the invasion of its neighbors in Asia and beyond.


This paper reviews some of the current debates on the reform of the international monetary system. Despite its deficiencies, the United States (US) dollar will remain the dominant currency and Special Drawing Rights (SDR) cannot serve as either an international medium of exchange or a reserve currency. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has changed its position to accept capital controls under certain circumstances. Refining control instruments better tuned to present day markets may bring about greater acceptance. The 2008–2009 global financial crisis has dimmed much of the earlier hope for the multilateralized Chiang Mai Initiative. The currency swap arrangements portend a new form of international cooperation. Finally, for the Group of Twenty (G20) to matter, the systemically important countries need to ensure the stability of their financial systems and economies.


The theory of polynomials orthogonal with respect to one inner product is classical. We discuss the extension of this theory to multiple inner products. Examples include the Lamé and Heine–Stieltjes polynomials. As a consequence, we give a new characterization of these classical families of polynomials by their orthogonality properties, without reference to differential equations.


Lucid dreaming has been defined as the experience of becoming aware that is one is dreaming during a dream, as evidenced by the statement, "I am dreaming," or "This is a dream" in the context of the dream report. This categorical treatment stands in contrast to observations and empirical findings that reflectiveness, volition, and other aspects of waking mentation are present in lucid and non-lucid dreams alike, and may have distinct functions in accelerating psychological integration, dream ego responsiveness, and personality development within the dream state. This study tested the impact of middle-of-the-night meditation and dream reliving on lucidity, as well as non-lucid levels of dreamer development––Reflectiveness and Constructive Engagement––as described originally by Rossi (1972). Using one instrument designed to measure levels of Reflectiveness and Constructive engagement, and another instrument designed to measure levels pre-lucidity and lucidity, we investigated whether this middle-of-the night tandem treatment would result in significant increases in post-treatment measures. Despite several validity problems, some significant results were found. We discuss the implications for using this tandem intervention for promoting positive outcomes in dreaming, as well as for the specific attenuation of distressing dreams.


We present an evaluation of sources, sinks and turbulent transport of nitrogen oxides, ozone and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the boundary layer over French Guyana and Suriname during the October 2005 GABRIEL campaign by simulating observations with a single-column chemistry and climate model (SCM) along a zonal transect. Simulated concentrations of O 3 and NO as well as NO 2 photolysis rates over the forest agree well with observations when a small soil-biogenic NO emission flux was applied. This suggests that the photochemical conditions observed during GABRIEL reflect a pristine tropical low-NO x regime. The SCM uses a compensation point approach to simulate nocturnal deposition and daytime emissions of acetone and methanol and produces daytime boundary layer mixing ratios in reasonable agreement with observations. The area average isoprene emission flux, inferred from the observed isoprene mixing ratios and boundary layer height, is about half the flux simulated with commonly applied emission algorithms. The SCM nevertheless simulates too high isoprene mixing ratios, whereas hydroxyl concentrations are strongly underestimated compared to observations, which can at least partly explain the discrepancy. Furthermore, the model substantially overestimates the isoprene oxidation products methlyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR) partly due to a simulated nocturnal increase due to isoprene oxidation. This increase is most prominent in the residual layer whereas in the nocturnal inversion layer we simulate a decrease in MVK and MACR mixing ratios, assuming efficient removal of MVK and MACR. Entrainment of residual layer air masses, which are enhanced in MVK and MACR and other isoprene oxidation products, into the growing boundary layer poses an additional sink for OH which is thus not available for isoprene oxidation. Based on these findings, we suggest pursuing measurements of the tropical residual layer chemistry with a focus on the nocturnal depletion of isoprene and its oxidation products.


The magnitude of the legal violence exercised by the French to colonize and occupy Algeria (1830–1962) is such that only aesthetic works have been able to register its enduring effects. In Decolonizing Memory Jill Jarvis examines the power of literature to provide what demographic data, historical facts, and legal trials have not in terms of attesting to and accounting for this destruction. Taking up the unfinished work of decolonization since 1962, Algerian writers have played a crucial role in forging historical memory and nurturing political resistance—their work helps to make possible what state violence has rendered almost unthinkable. Drawing together readings of multilingual texts by Yamina Mechakra, Waciny Laredj, Zahia Rahmani, Fadhma Aïth Mansour Amrouche, Assia Djebar, and Samira Negrouche alongside theoretical, juridical, visual, and activist texts from both Algeria's national liberation war (1954–1962) and war on civilians (1988–1999), this book challenges temporal and geographical frameworks that have implicitly organized studies of cultural memory around Euro-American reference points. Jarvis shows how this literature rewrites history, disputes state authority to arbitrate justice, and cultivates a multilingual archive for imagining decolonized futures.


In times of high market transparency and rapidly evolving technologies, customer requirements are constantly rising and long-term customer loyalty is hard to achieve. Therefore, enterprises have spent enormous efforts on professionalizing their customer relationship management (CRM). Complaint management holds a key position in CRM, since it helps restoring customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions. This teaching case deals with the development of a complaint management process at a German fleet management company using PROMET BPR, a well-established method for business process reengineering (BPR). Further, the introduction of a software that supports the newly introduced complaint management process is described. The teaching case presents valuable findings for practitioners, planning to establish professional complaint management procedures within their own company, as well as students, learning how a scientific grounded BPR method can be applied in practice.


Background : The improvement of management in healthcare system is one of the basic goals of the modern management style of Serbia. Among the most significant institutions of public healthcare is the Institute of Public Health, which has a long tradition within the country. Methods : This cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2007 to January 2008 at the Institution of Public Health (IPH) in Kikinda. The study involved a population from the North Banat district, who, at the time, used some of the Institution's services: hygienic-ecological, epidemiological, and microbiological. The instrument of the study was a questionnaire which was used to assess the opinion of the users of the Institution's services in terms of the performance and the quality of the services provided. Results : The relation between political factors in the country and the public health services provided was highly assessed by the responders, with the highest influence being attributed to the changes in the government, i.e. state elections, and the lowest to the local authorities. The responders were satisfied with the quality of the provided services but satisfaction regarding the collaboration between the IPH and various regional organizations was lower. The social factors, population aging and multicultural environment, were evaluated as being the most significant for the performance of the IPH. Conclusions : The identification of population needs and requirements for active inclusion in resolving priority problems should incorporate in the strategic management of public healthcare institutions, which would lead to the achievement of defined goals, as well as to the improved satisfaction of the users.


To improve the outcomes of drug therapy, there is increasing interest in the community pharmacist providing medicines management services (MMS) (Department of Health, 2000b, 2003a). In 2001, the Department of Health funded the Community Pharmacy Medicines Management Project (CPMMP) to evaluate the introduction of a community pharmacy led MMS.

This thesis set out to critically assess the views and experiences of community pharmacists and general practitioners (GPs) participating in the CPMMP; exploring how relationships and perceptions of each other could influence community pharmacists carrying out a MMS, from the viewpoint of both community pharmacists and GPs.

This is a qualitative study whereby eight focus groups were conducted with thirty five community pharmacists, and semi-structured telephone interviews were carried out with twenty one GPs and twenty eight community pharmacists. Data was analysed using the broad principles of Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967).

Almost all pharmacists and GPs stated they had a good working relationship with each other prior to the MMS commencing, although a number of attitudinal barriers were identified. These included professional hierarchy, GPs' lack of awareness of a pharmacist's training and role in health care, and concerns that commercial interests could potentially affect a community pharmacist's advice. However, these data suggested that where there was an established relationship between the two professions, the most positive feedback about the MMS was reported.

These data also suggested that some GPs were not supportive for community pharmacists to undertake a MMS and were generally unwillingly for the community pharmacist to have full access to patients' medical records. There were also some concerns around boundary encroachment.

The project had a limited impact on improving relationships between community pharmacists and GPs, with relationships and GPs' perceptions remaining unaltered in many instances. This piece of research has highlighted that attitudinal barriers need to be addressed in order to accomplish effective collaborative working between community pharmacists and GPs.


The Kosi River shifts laterally over the Himalaya foreland plain by continual minor cutoffs and bank cutting and by episodic major shifts across watersheds, by moving into and then out of preexisting, adjacent, less actively aggrading streams. Migration is unidirectional because after a channel is filled to instability, floodwater will drain preferentially into a new adjacent low rather than across it to the next watershed or back to the last abandoned channel. Major shifts seem stochastic and autocyclic; they do not correlate with the many severe quakes and floods that undoubtedly helped prime the system for shifts.


In the 1990s, social expectations of single mothers shifted towards the notion that most should, could, and would work, if given the proper incentives. This shift in expectations culminated in the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996, commonly known as welfare reform. As a result, ADFC/TANF caseloads fell along with cash transfers to single mothers who did not work. A decade later the earnings and household income of single mothers are significantly higher and moving more in synch with the U.S. economy. In stark contrast and despite espoused goals to the contrary, public policies toward working age men and women with disabilities have remained imbued with the notion that most cannot and thus, would not work, no matter what incentives they faced. As a result, SSDI/SSI expenditures and caseloads have increased and the earnings and household income of working age men and women with disabilities have fallen, leaving them even further behind the average working age American than they were a decade ago. Using data from the Current Population Survey we follow the economic well-being and employment of single mothers and working age men and women with disabilities over the past two major United States business cycles (1982-1993 and 1993-2004) and show that despite the dramatic decline in AFDC/TANF funding, single mothers' economic well-being, labor earnings and employment all have risen substantially. In contrast, despite the dramatic increase in SSDI/SSI funding, the economic wellbeing of working age men and women with disabilities remained stagnant, as their labor earnings and employment plummeted.


The prevalence of obesity is rapidly increasing throughout the world. Correspondingly, anesthetic procedures in obese patients are also increasing due to both treatment of obesity and other surgical problems of obese patients. Anesthesia-related complications are also seen in obese patients than in normal-weighted population. The importance of anesthetic applications in obese patients originates from physiological and pharmacokinetic alterations. Inhalation of these patients via mask or intubation during general anesthesia may be difficult or even impossible. Determination of extubation time after awakening from anesthesia is also a critical decision. Sleep apnea syndrome and postoperative atelectasis are more common in obese patients than in normal-weighted population. Another vital complication that should be emphasized is thromboembolism, whose incidence and severity may be decreased by pharmacological and functional preventive modalities. This patient population has elevated risk of perioperative mortality and morbidity. Prior to any elective surgical procedure, an obese patient should be thoroughly evaluated to check medical conditions that may increase perioperative mortality risk. Since anesthesiologists will gradually encounter more obese patients, they need a better comprehending of the difficulties of obesity during anesthetic procedures and taking more preventive measures for their patients to avoid complications, or rendering them less traumatic, if any.


A magnificent epic set against a history of seven thousand years of the struggles of Gods and Kings and men - of strange lands and events - of fate and a prophecy that must be fulfilled! THE BELGARIAD It had all begun with the theft of the Orb that had so long protected the West from the evil God Torak. Before that, Garion had been a simple farm boy. Afterward, he discovered that his aunt was really the Sorceress Polgara and his grandfather was Belgarath, the Eternal Man. Then, on the long quest to recover the Orb, Garion found to his dismay that he, too, was a sorcerer. Now, at last, the Orb was regained and the quest was nearing its end. Of course, the questors still had to escape from this crumbling enemy fortress and flee across a desert filled with Murgo soldiers searching for them, while Grolim Hierarchs strove to destroy them with dark magic. Then, somehow, they must manage to be in Riva with the Orb by Erastide. After that, however, Garion was sure that his part in these great events would be finished. But the Prophecy still held future surprises for Garion - and for the little Princess Ce'Nedra! THUS CONTINUES BOOK FOUR OF THE BELGARIAD


Food processing is the transformation of raw ingredients into food, or of food into other forms. Food processing typically takes clean, harvested crops or butchered animal products and uses these to produce attractive, marketable and often long shelf-life food products. Benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases yearly availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms. Processed foods are usually less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are better suited for long distance transportation from the source to the consumer. The extremely varied modern diet is only truly possible on a wide scale because of food processing. Food Dehydration is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of microorganisms. The dehydration process has to check various parameters like heat-mass transfer, atmospheric pressure, equipments suitable for drying etc. to ensure suitable dehydration of food. Food processing techniques have to take measures on to maintain food safety and control risks and hazards associated with food processing. The book includes dehydration process of Onion, roasting of coffee beans, development process of Guava squash, preparation of fried potato chips, processing of rice, butter and margaraine, canning of chilies Plums, processing and preservation of jack fruit, characteristics of sweetened dahi, cereal grains, instant chutneys from pudina and gongura, starch isolated from potato tubers, coating of cashew kernel baby bits, ripening changes in mango fruits, mechanical and thermal properties of maize, storage of basmati rice under carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere, effect of different varieties of soya bean on quality of paneer, analysis of menthol content in pan masala samples, preparation of dehydrated potato cubes, quality evaluation of raw dried mango slices khatai and mango powder amchur, packaging and storage of biscuits containing finger millet flour, storage effect on microbial safety of potato flour, processing and quality evaluation of ready-to-eat watermelon nectars etc. The book is highly recommended to new entrepreneurs, existing units who wants to get more information of processing of fruits and vegetables.


Cholinesterase (ChE) activity is present in crustacean muscle extracts. However, since acetylcholine (ACh) is not a neuromuscular transmitter in these animals, the role and exact localization of ChE was unknown. The histochemical localization of the enzyme was studied in whole muscle and in the sarcoplasmic reticulum fraction of the extract, 50-µm frozen sections of glutaraldehyde-fixed crayfish tail flexor muscle were incubated with acetylthiocholine (ATC) as substrate, and examined under the electron microscope. After some modifications in published techniques, dense deposits were found associated with the sarcolemma, sarcolemmal invaginations, and transverse tubules. No deposits were found in 10-4 M eserine, or if butyrylthiocholine (BTC) was substituted for ATC. The vesicles in the sarcoplasmic reticulum fraction which demonstrate the activity must represent minced bits of these membranes. Using a spectrophotometric method, the kinetics of the crustacean muscle enzyme was compared to the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) on mammalian red blood cells and in the lobster ventral nerve cord. Surprisingly, and contrary to previous reports, the crustacean muscle enzyme did not demonstrate substrate inhibition. While a number of similarities to AChE were found, this lack of substrate inhibition makes questionable an unequivocal similarity with classical AChE.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Previously it was demonstrated that digitalis-like cardiotonic steroid, marinobufagenin (MBG), is implicated in the development of ethanol addiction in rats. We hypothesized that (i) levels of sodium pump ligand, MBG, would be negatively correlated with the amount of ethanol consumed by rats, and (ii) that spironolactone would oppose the MBG induced ethanol-seeking behavior and blood pressure in rats.

METHODS
Voluntary consumption of 9% alcohol (vs. water) during 10 days period by 11 adult male Wistar rats was studied. Eight weeks after the beginning of the experiment, the animals were divided into two treatment subgroups: high alcohol drinkers (HAD, n=6, daily consumption of ethanol > 4 g/kg) and low alcohol drinkers (LAD, n=5, daily consumption of ethanol < 4 g/kg) rats. Spironolactone treatment (7 days) was started following 3-day habituation to intragastric vehicle administration. Consumption of ethanol and blood pressure were recorded daily.

RESULTS
Urinary MBG excretion at baseline was 11.2±0.6 pmoles in HAD rats and 19.1±2.9 pmoles (p<0.05) in LAD rats, respectively. Seven days of spironolactone treatment was associated with reduction in ethanol intake (2.9 g/kg/24 hr), reduction in systolic blood pressure (5 mm Hg), and increase in sodium excretion (1 mmol/24 hr).

CONCLUSION
Levels of MBG may be a predisposing factor to voluntary ethanol intake. Spironolactone, along with antihypertensive effect, decreases ethanol intake.


The path towards developing effective therapeutics to either cure or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related neurodegenerative dementias has been plagued by challenges. Nevertheless, innovative treatments and clinical frameworks that represent our current understanding of the trajectory of disease may help to reduce morbidity, or delay symptom onset, for patients in the pre-dementia stages. Late-life AD dementia develops over an extended period, first as an asymptomatic phase referred to as preclinical AD, which affects an estimated 46 million people in the United States alone (1). Following preclinical AD is the first symptomatic phase known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD. Collectively, both stages offer a unique chance for early intervention.


Eddy current testing (ECT) of tiny fatigue surface cracks are mostl y carried out by means of differential probes . Among their various designs, Split-D reflection differential probes, named after their D-shaped internal cores and receiver coils, are particularly interesting because of their small footprint that mak es them suitable for inspecting short surface cracks. In many of ECT theories and modelling trials that have been published on the interaction of fatigue cracks with the magnetic field of ECT probes, fatigue cracks are simplif ied and replaced by semi-elliptical notches. Therefore, in model-based ECT studies, electrical discharge machined (EDM) notch es are frequently used since they are advantageous in terms of their low manufacturing cost as well as their u sefulness in calibration and model verification procedures. Additionally, ECT signals obtained from EDM notc hes can roughly estimate those obtained from real fatigue cracks having the same size. Accordingly, in the pr esent study a commercially available splitD surface probe is modeled based on its actual dimensions and material prop erties. The dimensions of the probe are extracted from a CT-scan reconstruction and inserted in the 3-D model. The probe scanning over 3 semi-elliptical notches having different sizes is simulated using the AC/DC module of COMSOL Multiphysics. A test frequency of 500 kHz is considered in the simulations, and the test block containing the no tc s is assigned with material properties of aluminum. The effect of simulation parameters, such as mesh size and distribution, is investigated, and hence the parameters are finely tuned to achieve consistent results. Afterwards, the reliability of the simulation outputs is assessed by comparing them to impedance measurements of semi-ell iptical surface notches in an aluminum block. This validation study shows acceptable matching of the probe 's impedance obtained from both simulations and measurements. After validation of the model, the sensitivity of eddy c urrent signals to variations of the notch geometry (e.g., notch opening, depth and length) is studied using the 3-D simulations. The importance of studying the notch opening originates from the fact that by decreasing this opening in t he simulations, a better approximation of a fatigue crack shall be achieved. On the other hand, the ECT signals obtained fr om ifferent notch lengths and depths establish a size dependent signal archive at the selected test frequency. This archive can be u sed as a basis for inversion purposes using artificial intelligence algorithms to be pursued in future studies.


This paper investigates the relationship between director shareownership and corporate performance in South Africa using a sample of 169 listed firms from 2002 to 2007. Our results suggest a statistically significant and positive association between director shareownership and corporate performance. By contrast, we find no evidence of a non-linear effect of director shareownership on corporate performance. Our findings are robust across a raft of econometric models that control for different types of endogeneity problems and corporate performance proxies. Overall, our results provide support for agency theory, which suggests that director shareownership can reduce agency problems by aligning more closely the interests of shareholders and corporate executives, and thereby improving corporate performance.


OBJECTIVES
The use of triclosan within various environments has been linked to the development of multiple drug resistance (MDR) through the increased expression of efflux pumps such as AcrAB-TolC. In this work, we investigate the effect of triclosan exposure in order to ascertain the response of two species to the presence of this widely used biocide.

METHODS
The transcriptomes of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SL1344 and Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 after exposure to the MIC of triclosan (0.12 mg/L) were determined in microarray experiments. Phenotypic validation of the transcriptomic data included RT-PCR, ability to form a biofilm and motility assays.

RESULTS
Despite important differences in the triclosan-dependent transcriptomes of the two species, increased expression of efflux pump component genes was seen in both. Increased expression of soxS was observed in Salmonella Typhimurium, however, within E. coli, decreased expression was seen. Expression of fabBAGI in Salmonella Typhimurium was decreased, whereas in E. coli expression of fabABFH was increased. Increased expression of ompR and genes within this regulon (e.g. ompC, csgD and ssrA) was seen in the transcriptome of Salmonella Typhimurium. An unexpected response of E. coli was the differential expression of genes within operons involved in iron homeostasis; these included fhu, fep and ent.

CONCLUSIONS
These data indicate that whilst a core response to triclosan exposure exists, the differential transcriptome of each species was different. This suggests that E. coli K-12 should not be considered the paradigm for the Enterobacteriaceae when exploring the effects of antimicrobial agents.


In December of 1993, Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberries and Chocolate, 1993) swept the awards at the Havana Film Festival (officially Festival del Nuevo Cine Latino-Americana 15, or the 15th New Latin American Film Festival). The film won the top overall prize (the Coral), the Popular Choice prize, best director, best actor, and the international critics' award, among others. That this film, directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea and the highly respected young director Juan Carlos Tabio was completed and screened at all is astonishing, considering that discrimination against homosexuals is the central narrative theme of the film. It is all the more remarkable for a state that only as recently as the mid-1980s officially decriminalized homosexuality.(1) Fresa y Chocolate is not a film by an exile seeking to undermine the Revolution. Rather, it is the premiere film of a national Festival designed to show off the Cuban film achievement to the world. Alea is arguably the most accomplished and esteemed film director in Cuba, and the film was produced under the stewardship of the founding director of Cuba's National Film Institute, Alfredo Guevara, who is also a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Also significant, this taboo-breaking film appears at the time of greatest economic crisis in Cuban history since the 1959 Revolution, one of only two films Cuba had the resources to produce in 1993. This "special period," the term leader Fidel Castro has given for the current economic and political crisis in Cuba, is the result of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and subsequent loss of financial support from that area and Eastern Europe; the intensification of the United States blockade; and internal conflicts regarding the economic and political direction of the country. Resources in Cuba for film production are so scarce that Fresa y Chocolate was made possible only as a co-production of Cuba, Mexico and Spain. Moreover, as a result of this new period of economic scarcity, for the first time, monies for feature production must be generated by the commercial revenues of the films themselves rather than from state subsidy. In this sense, Cuba has already accepted the inevitability of an increasingly market-oriented economy, in which the film industry as well as other sectors of Cuban society must learn to compete. The convergence of these new, and in some ways seemingly contradictory, factors in Cuba is particularly striking because of the special role Cuban film has played in the society. Film has been, since its inception, the preeminent cultural project of the Cuban Revolution, and Fresa y Chocolate represents a freeze-frame portrait, posing questions about the historic and evolving relationship of film and the film industry to the goals of the Cuban Revolution and acts as an expression of the current period of crisis. The Film: Fresa y Chocolate Fresa y Chocolate concerns the growing friendship of a gay artist and a young student in the late 1970s. They are introduced through a fairly transparent plot device: Diego, the artist, approaches David, the student and young communist, telling him he has pictures of David and the girlfriend who has just rejected him to marry an older, more financially secure man. In this scene, which takes place in the famous Copellia ice cream restaurant in Havana, Diego exaggerates stereotypically gay mannerisms, at one point lasciviously rolling a strawberry in his mouth to David's disgust and amusement. Diego gradually captivates David despite the latter's discomfort, partly because of Diego's charm, more because of his complete immersion in and passion for Cuban art and culture. Diego introduces and sensitizes David to literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, and music. One critic, Frank Padron, called Diego "an authentic animator of culture."(2) The images and soundtrack of the film are filled with cultural references, from the baroque to graffiti. …


OBJECTIVE
To compare the opinions of Swedish orthodontists and American orthodontists regarding the association between third molar eruption and dental crowding.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A survey was distributed to Swedish orthodontists (n = 230) asking their views on the force exerted by erupting third molars, its relationship to crowding, and their recommendations for prophylactic removal. Results were compared with those from a similar study conducted in the United States. Chi square analysis was used to determine differences in responses to questions between Swedish and American orthodontists. P < or = .05 was considered significant.

RESULTS
Both Swedish and American orthodontists believed that lower third molars were more likely than upper third molars to cause force (65% and 58% for Swedish and American orthodontists, respectively) and crowding (42% and 40%, respectively). No statistically significant differences were seen between the answers of American and Swedish orthodontists regarding the role of upper and lower third molars in causing crowding. Although only 18% of Swedish orthodontists "generally" or "sometimes" recommended prophylactic removal of mandibular third molars, 36% of American orthodontists "generally" or "sometimes" recommended removal (P < .0001).

CONCLUSIONS
Most orthodontists in the United States and Sweden do believe that erupting lower third molars exert an anterior force; however, they also believe that these teeth "rarely" or "never" cause crowding of the dentition. The reason that more American orthodontists recommend prophylactic removal of mandibular third molars remains unexplained.


Traffic exchange services enable members to bring traffic to their websites from a diverse pool of IP addresses, in return for visiting sites of other members. We examine the world of traffic exchanges to characterize their makeup, usage, and monetization. We find that the ecosystem includes a range of services, from manual exchanges where participants must solve CAPTCHAs between successive page views, to exchanges that provide tools that automatically surf without requiring any user action. By "milking" a sample of these exchanges, we analyze month-long datasets to examine the nature of URLs that members submit to them. We find a wide prevalence of URLs for services that pay users in return for views to their content, and at least 30% of the requested impressions are for pages that clearly participate in a class of impression fraud called referrer spoofing. We also analyze the size and composition of a sample of these exchange networks by making purchases, finding that the exchanges delivered visits from roughly 200K unique IP~addresses, and that in some exchange networks, the majority of visits came from cloud hosting services.


The thermodynamic data for the lanthanide and actinide metals have been combined with spectroscopic data to develop a method of estimating the energies of the electronic configurations of the neutral gaseous atoms. Energies are tabulated for the lowest spectroscopic level of each configuration. Many of the odd terms of La i have been reclassified.


Abstract. Emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds are though to contribute significantly to secondary organic aerosol formation in the tropics, but understanding these transformation processes has proved difficult, due to the complexity of the chemistry involved and very low concentrations. Aerosols from above a Southeast Asian tropical rainforest in Borneo were characterised using liquid chromatography–ion trap mass spectrometry, high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICRMS) techniques. Oxygenated compounds were identified in ambient organic aerosol that could be directly traced back to isoprene, monoterpenes and sesquiterpene emissions, by combining field data on chemical structures with mass spectral data generated from synthetically produced products created in a simulation chamber. Eighteen oxygenated species of biogenic origin were identified in the rainforest aerosol from the precursors isoprene, α-pinene, limonene, α-terpinene and β-caryophyllene. The observations provide the unambiguous field detection of monoterpene and sesquiterpene oxidation products in SOA above a pristine tropical rainforest. The presence of 2-methyl tetrol organosulfates and an associated sulfated dimer provides direct evidence that isoprene in the presence of sulfate aerosol can make a contribution to biogenic organic aerosol above tropical forests. High-resolution mass spectrometry indicates that sulfur can also be incorporated into oxidation products arising from monoterpene precursors in tropical aerosol.


Recent years have seen a growing movement toward externally imposed regulations directed specifically at improving TNCs' environmental and social performance. This movement draws on a long history, and its most recent incarnation is largely a reaction to disappointment on the part of many with the results of private voluntary initiatives among global firms. A number of international level initiatives have emerged, including the UN's Global Compact and the inclusion of an environment chapter in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Because these efforts, while externally driven, are voluntary on the part of firms, there have been growing calls for a binding international treaty on corporate accountability. Industry has been extremely resistant to this idea. Many see such a treaty as vital for developing countries, as it could bolster their ability and willingness to monitor and enforce environmental regulations. This is especially important in the Global South, as these countries have seen the bulk of the negative environmental impacts of TNCs in recent decades.


The Northern Jaguar Reserve is in the western foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental and in a broad transition zone between Nearctic and Neotropical faunal realms. We have assessed the distribution and abundance of birds across all four seasons in foothills thornscrub, oak woodland, and adjacent riparian areas, and discuss issues relevant to conservation and management. Since 2007, we have observed 205 species of birds including 131 that are Neotropical migrants, 104 that likely breed on the reserve, and 35 species of binational conservation concern. Observations suggest this 20,140 -ha reserve has significant conservation value to migratory birds that traverse an inland migratory flyway that includes the Sky Islands; breeding species that use foothills thornscrub, oak woodland, and riparian woodlands along the Rio Aros and its tributaries; and numerous species and populations of significant conservation value. Existing conservation efforts include land purchase, cattle exclusion, invasive plant removal, and habitat restoration on both neighboring private ranches and the reserve.


One fundamental problem in computer vision and image processing is modeling the image formation of a camera, i.e., mapping a point in three-dimensional space to its projected position on the camera's image plane. If the relationship between the space and the image plane is assumed to be linear, the relationship can be expressed in terms of a transfor-mation matrix and the matrix is often identified by regression. In this paper, we show that the space-to-image relation-ship in a camera can be modeled by a simple neural network. Unlike most other cases employing neural networks, the structure of the network is optimized so as for each link between neurons to have a physical meaning. This makes it possible to effectively initialize link weights and quickly train the network.


Active contours (snakes) provide a unified account of a number of visual problems, including detection of edges, lines and subjective contours as well as motion tracking and stereo matching. Since their first apparition the researchers of the image processing community have simply applied this model to their problems without explaining where its parameters come from nor how to obtain its motion equations. To get a reality-based interpretation of the classic snake parameters (i.e. elasticity and bending) we propose an approach originates from the theory of the elasticity. Then we derive the motion equations from the variational method and we finally give some examples of segmentation. An alternative way of computing the external force field which increases the performance of snakes in presence of concavities is studied. We finally propose a new approach based on the dynamic modification of fi that improves the snake behavior at corners.


Abstract. We report the effects of actinic illumination on the heterogeneous ozonation kinetics of solid pyrene films and pyrene adsorbed at air-octanol and air-aqueous interfaces. Upon illumination, the ozonation of solid pyrene films and pyrene at the air-aqueous interface proceeds more quickly than in darkness; no such enhancement is observed for pyrene at the air-octanol interface. Under dark conditions, the reaction of pyrene at all three interfaces proceeds via a Langmuir-Hinshelwood-type surface mechanism. In the presence of light, Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics are observed for solid pyrene films but a linear dependence upon gas-phase ozone concentration is observed at the air-aqueous interface. We interpret these results as evidence of the importance of charge-transfer pathways for the ozonation of excited-state pyrene. The dramatically different behaviour of pyrene at the surface of these three simple reaction environments highlights the difficulties inherent in representing complex reactive surfaces in the laboratory, and suggests caution in extrapolating laboratory results to environmental surfaces.


Abstract There is a global non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus epidemic, and through understanding the foetal origins of the disease it may become possible to impact the development of the disease. During pregnancy a foetus is entirely dependent on nutrients supplied by the mother via the placenta, meaning alterations to the composition or quantity of maternal nutrition can lead to infants being born with low birth weights. Low birth weight is classified as a weight at birth of ≤ 2.5 kg by the World Health Organisation. In 1990 Dr. David Barker published the "foetal origins of adult disease" hypothesis in order to explain the observed epidemiological relationship between birth-weight and future disease development. It is now understood that alterations to gene expression occurring during foetal development, can then go on to increase the risk developing chronic non-communicable diseases, such as noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in adulthood. However, the exact mechanisms through which this takes place remains unclear. The events during development which result in diminished foetal growth are multifactorial. A foetus's maximal growth potential is determined genetically, however maternal nutrition both pre and post conception is capable of influencing growth trajectory. This review will examine the existing body of evidence regarding the role of adaptive changes occurring during foetal development in relation to the subsequent development of NIDDM in adulthood. As well as considering the potential mechanisms through which these events could be mediated.


In an environment in which libraries increasingly need to demonstrate their value to faculty and adminis-trators, providing evidence of the library's contribution to student learning through its instruction program is critical. However, building a culture of assessment can be a challenge, even if librarians recognize its importance. In order to lead change, coordinators of library instruction at institutions where librarians are also tenure-track faculty must build trust and collaboration, lead through influence, and garner support from administration for assessment initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to explore what it takes to build a culture of assessment in academic libraries where librarians are faculty through the High Performance Programming model of organizational change. The guidelines for building a culture of assessment will be exemplified by case studies at the authors' libraries where instruction coordinators are using collaboration to build a culture of assessment with their colleagues.


In this article we focus on the potential of fault-overlap zones as conduits for fluid flow in a variety of reservoir types. Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology were applied to collect a three-dimensional, spatially constrained data set from a well-exposed fault-overlap zone that crops out in the Devil's Lane area of the Canyonlands National Park in Utah. A virtual outcrop was generated and used to extract structural and stratigraphic data that were taken into a reservoir modeling software and reconstructed. The outcrop-based model was flow simulated and used to test fluid flow through a real-world fault-overlap zone. A structural framework was built based on collected outcrop data and combined with a series of nine different facies models. The different facies models included an eolian model based on the outcrop and a range of synthetic fluvial and shallow marine systems. Results show that, for certain depositional models, cross-fault reservoir communication may be poor despite the geometric connectivity of the relay beds. This was the case for low net/gross fluvial models and shoreface models. Conversely, high net/gross fluvial systems and eolian systems show good communication through the same relay zone. Overall, the results show that, in the presence of a fault-overlap zone, pressure communication across a relay ramp may still be poor depending on the scale of the faults and relay ramp as well as the geometry and volume of the sands.


The author's previous work on the computation of algebraic higher order aberration coefficients and their derivatives has been illustrated numerically by providing explicit calculations, relating to a certain simple triplet operating over a relatively small field and at low aperture. Doubts have been expressed as to the usefulness of using such aberration coefficients to describe the (geometrical) behavior of systems operating at higher apertures and over wider fields. In this paper, therefore, all the primary, secondary, and tertiary aberration coefficients, and the coefficient of quaternary spherical aberration are given for two further systems, viz. (i) a wide angle objective operating at an aperture of f/4.5 and over a field of 70°; and (ii) an objective operating at an aperture of f/2.3 over a field of 40°. A number of diagrams compare the predicted displacements, relative to the ideal image point, of the intersection points with the ideal image plane of certain selected (a) tangential pencils, (b) sagittal pencils, and (c) general skew pencils of rays, with the actual displacements as obtained from trigonometrical traces. The agreement is very satisfactory. Even in cases, however, in which the agreement—for the largest apertures or fields considered—leaves something to be desired a knowledge of the coefficients and their derivatives provides a powerful tool for the control over the performance of the system. A detailed elementary example illustrating this assertion is included.


Survival function estimation is used in many disciplines, but it is most common in medical analytics in the form of the Kaplan-Meier estimator. Sensitive data (patient records) is used in the estimation without any explicit control on the information leakage, which is a significant privacy concern. We propose a first differentially private estimator of the survival function and show that it can be easily extended to provide differentially private confidence intervals and test statistics without spending any extra privacy budget. We further provide extensions for differentially private estimation of the competing risk cumulative incidence function. Using nine real-life clinical datasets, we provide empirical evidence that our proposed method provides good utility while simultaneously providing strong privacy guarantees.


A cell-based model for the Las Vegas Wash Watershed in Clark County, Nevada, USA, was developed by combining the Thornthwaite water balance model and the Soil Conservation Survey9s Curve Number method with pixel-based computing technology. After the model was validated, it was used to predict the 2030 and 2050 hydrologic conditions under future scenarios of climate and land-use changes. The future climate projections were based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) B1 climate scenario, and the land-use scenarios were derived from a CA-Markov land-use model. Results indicate that under these hypothetical conditions, the future surface runoff in the watershed will significantly decrease in winters but increase in summers. Climate change will be the primary controlling factor over runoff. Urban development is projected to increase runoff and may contribute 1.1–18.7% of the changes. This finding may be useful in devising future urban development plans and water management policies.


With the advance of high-throughput methods enabling deep characterization of the cell
on different cellular layers, ideas to combine different data types for inference of regulatory
processes have emerged. Such integration promises an improved molecular understanding of
physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms, which aids in the identification of drug
targets and in the design of therapies. Current integration approaches are based on the
idea of reducing false negatives by reinforcing concordant information between datasets. In
most cases optimized for a specific integration setting and data structure, these approaches
are rarely accompanied by bioinformatic tools enabling researchers to work on their own
datasets.
In this thesis I present the public knowledge guided integration of phosphoproteomic,
transcriptomic and proteomic time series datasets on the basis of signaling pathways. This
integration allows to follow signaling cascades, to identify feedback regulation mechanisms and
to observe the coordination of molecular processes in the cell by monitoring temporal variation
upon external perturbation. To extract these cellular characteristics the cellular layers on
which the individual datasets have been generated are taken into consideration. Separate
downstream and upstream analyses of phosphoproteome and transcriptome data, respectively,
and subsequent intersection analysis are coupled with a combination of network reconstruction
and inference methods. Graphical consensus networks and co-regulation patterns can be
extracted by this cross-platform analysis. Moreover, it provides high flexibility in terms of
high-throughput platforms used for data generation as analysis is based on preprocessed
datasets.
On the examples of epidermal growth factor signaling and B cell receptor signaling
we were able to show that the results gained by this integration method confirm known
regulatory patterns but also point to interactions that were not described previously in these
contexts. This is demonstrated by performing a response-specific analysis instead of the
typical layer-specific analysis.
Limitations of the approach described here are linked to database-bias and -dependency,
to the low temporal resolution of high-throughput measurements and to data standardization.
While overcoming these issues constitutes a challenge for the whole systems biology community,
the integration approach itself can be optimized in future by working with refined disease-specific and tissue-specific signaling pathway models and database entries. The presented
integration method was implemented as R software package 'pwOmics' and made available
to other researchers.


This document describes for the historical record the motivation
behind the Datagram Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP), an unreliable
transport protocol incorporating end-to-end congestion control. DCCP
implements a congestion-controlled, unreliable flow of datagrams for
use by applications such as streaming media or on-line games. This
memo provides information for the Internet community.


Assisted suicide is hard to discuss. The subject is simultaneously particular and universal, rife with tensions between the individual and the community and between the personal and policy. While frequently cloaked in a rhetoric of autonomy and individual rights, end-of-life decisions?including assisted suicide?have broader communal implications. The individual makes these decisions as a member of a community, and the community, in turn, is affected by the individual's choices. Given these many concerns, it is useful to discuss assisted suicide in terms of the various conversations at play. The first is a personal conversation in which the individual struggles with her own emotions, beliefs, and needs. The second is a conversation on a societal level which considers collective needs, obligations, and values. The third reflects an interplay between the first two and can be viewed as a conversation between the individual and society (or between our atomistic and social selves) over personal and collective concerns. In Part II of this chapter I propose a framework in which individuals and society attempt in parallel ways to resolve the tensions between what is good for the individual and what is good for society as a whole. I will suggest that individuals are of two minds. In one mind, they ask what they want for themselves. For simplicity's sake, I call this "I-for-me" thinking. In the other mind, they ask what would be good for society ("I-for-us" thinking). Similarly, society has two minds. In one mind, it asks what is good for it as a collectivity ("we-for-us" thinking). In the other, it asks what is good for its members as individuals ("we-for-me" thinking). Understanding these perspectives and their implications for the development of social norms can help mediate some of the conflicting tensions in the assisted-suicide debate. Part III frames the arguments in support of and in opposition to assisted suicide in terms of these categories. Arguments for recognizing an individual right to physician assisted suicide emphasize both the importance of individual autonomy and the reasons a terminally ill person might plausibly decide to end her life ? I-for-me reasoning. The arguments most persuasive to the Court in Glucksberg and Quill consisted of various forms of we-for-me reasoning. The Court was concerned about potential deficiencies in the way people make decisions that might undermine their ability to act in their own best interest. The Court was also concerned about numerous slippery-slope possibilities ? that is, arguments examining the adverse effects that recognizing a right to assisted suicide might have on non-competent and non-terminally ill persons. Scanted in the Supreme Court's opinions and much of the surrounding debate, however, are the concerns reflected in we-for-us and I-for-us reasoning. Do concerns over the sanctity of life justify a social norm prohibiting assisted suicide? Does the individual have any collectively based obligation to refrain from assisted suicide, regardless of whether it might be atomistically rational? To answer these questions, we will step back from the debate over assisted suicide and scrutinize the relationship between individual and state. Part IV outlines a vision of society as an effort to shape a vibrant collective identity while simultaneously cultivating authentic individual efforts at self-definition and self-perfection. Reconciling the apparently contradictory goals of individual and society requires constant mediation between I-for-me and we-for-us reasoning. I will argue that the doctrine of substantive due process and the category of I-for-us rationality are uniquely suited to this mediating role and can help govern the formation of social norms. Part V returns to the assisted suicide debate and explores how the positions for and against assisted suicide might be made more harmonious as a matter of policy and practice. Alternating consideration of the four perspectives in the matrix can promote the convergence of views at both an individual and a social level. Part V reexamines the reasons terminally ill people consider suicide and uncovers numerous communal as well as individual concerns. It explores the limitations of addressing the problems raised by assisted suicide solely in terms of individual autonomy or in terms of decision defects and slippery slopes. Finally, Part V reevaluates arguments concerning the sanctity of life and asks how norms predicated upon the value of life might be formed without sacrificing the dignity and decency of individual lives. While I cannot resolve all these issues, I hope to suggest a framework and a process that might introduce new approaches to a perduring problem.


Here we present unique evidence of a k −1 scaling behaviour in the atmospheric boundary layer and its connection to large scale coherent structures within the boundary layer. Wind lidar measurements were conducted above a lake under cold atmospheric conditions. The large coherent structures could be visually observed over Lake Geneva in Switzerland when cold air met the relatively warm water. Proper orthogonal decomposition of the experimental data acquired with the wind lidar clearly reveals coherent oscillations of both the fluctuating velocity field and the water aerosol field over the surface of the lake. Precise identification of the large coherent structures propagating in the flow allows for detailed analysis of their contribution to the total spectral budget. Additionally, it is shown that the experimental data agree well with recent theoretical predictions.


Bachground: Acinetobacter baumannii as an opportunistic gram-negative bacterium is the leading cause of nosocomial infections, especially in patients admitted to intensive care units. Given the increment of resistance to multidrug-resistant A. baumannii isolates and the lack of suitable treatment options, the needs for investigating new drugs or combinations of drugs are felt. The aim of this study was to determine the synergistic effects of Vancomycin in combination with Tigecycline, Levofloxacine, Gentamycin, Colistin and Meropenem and the combination of Colistin with Meropenem and Rifampin against the infections caused by multidrug-resistance A. baumanni isolates. Material and Methods: This experimental study was done on multi-drug A. baumannii isolates (n=10) from blood cultures, tracheal tube samples, sputum and the urine of patients hospitalized in the Beheshti Hospital between June 2014 and June 2015. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion method according to CLSI standards. synergy testing was done by disk diffusion method. Results: On combining the Vancomycin with Tigecycline Levofloxacine, Gentamycin, Colistin and Meropenem, no synergy was detected. The combination of Colistin/Meropenem and Colistin/Rifampin were indifferent with no synergistic effect. Conclusion: The combination of other antibiotics could be considered as an alternative antibiotic treatment for multi-drug A. baumannii isolates. Due to the smaller sample size in our study, for taking better results the future studies should focus on well-designed in vitro models on a large scale.


Background: Self-myofascial release is widely used by athletes but the scientific evidence of its supposedly positive effects is limited. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of foam rolling as a warm-up routine in comparison with a dynamic stretching routine and how it may affect the jumping performance among subjects familiar with weight training. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effect of foam rolling vs. a standardized dynamic stretch warm-up routine on jumping performance. Method: Twelve subjects, mean (SD) age 25.1 (± 3.0) years, participated in a randomized, controlled, crossover study. All subjects completed a standardized foam rolling (FR) and a dynamic stretch (DS) warm-up routine on separate days of testing. Squat jump (SJ), counter movement jump (CMJ) and loaded counter movement jump (L-CMJ) all performed bilaterally and unilaterally were conducted to investigate the acute effect of the two warm-up routines. A dependent T-test was used to investigate differences between the warm-up routines. Results: A statistical significant difference in favor of the DS was found for SJ performed bilaterally among males (p = 0.009). The mean (SD) jumping height for SJ FR was 35.6 (± 4.7) cm and for SJ DS 37.9 (± 5.2) cm. The male group also improved more in L-CMJ performed on the right leg with an external load of 54kg after DS compared to FR. No other statistical significant differences were found between the two interventions. A near statistical significant difference was found for SJ performed bilaterally for the total sample (p = 0.057) also in favor of the DS. The mean (SD) jumping height for SJ FR was 29.3 (± 8.7) cm and for SJ DS 30.5 (± 9.9) cm. Conclusion: Findings from this study supports a dynamic stretch warm-up routine prior to performing high intensity bilateral plyometrics instead of a foam rolling warm-up routine. However the data was inconsistent and more research with larger sample sizes is needed to further investigate the possible effects of foam rolling as a warm-up routine on jumping performance performed both bilaterally and unilaterally.


We present a study of Antarctic sea-ice thickness estimates made using a shipborne Geonics EM31 electromagnetic (EM) instrument, based on both 1D and 3D models. Apparent conductivities measured in the vertical coplanar (VCP) geometry are shown to be the measured quantity most sensitive to changes in the height of the instrument above seawater. An analysis of the effect of instrument orientation on the measured VCP apparent conductivity shows that the effects of pitch and roll on the calculated sea-ice thickness can be neglected except in the case of very thin sea ice. Because only a single (quadrature) component of the magnetic field is measured at a single frequency, interpretation of shipborne EM31 data must necessarily be based on very simple models. For a typical sea-ice bulk conductivity of ∼60 mS/m, a uniform half-space model representing conductive seawater is appropriate for interpretation of VCP EM31 measurements over level sea ice up to ∼2.5 m thick. For thicker, more conductive sea ice, the interpretation model must account for the effect of the finite sea-ice conductivity. Simultaneous acquisition of EM data at several frequencies and/or transmitter-receiver geometries permits interpretation of the data in terms of multilayered models. A synthetic example shows that 1D inversion of single-frequency in-phase and quadrature data from two transmitter-receiver geometries can yield reliable estimates of sea-ice thickness even when the ice contains thin, highly conductive brine layers. Our 3D numerical model calculations show that smoothing the measured response over the system footprint means that the sea-ice thickness recovered over multidimensional sea-ice structures via half-space inversion of apparent conductivity data yields a highly smoothed image of the actual keel relief. The dependence of footprint size on the height of the system above seawater results in the interpreted sea-ice thicknesses being dependent on the deployment height of the instrument. Sea-ice thickness data acquired using an EM31 equipped with a hardware processing module can be transformed to apparent conductivity and then inverted assuming a conductive half-space model. For EM system heights >4.5 m above seawater, corresponding to large altitude and/or thick sea ice, inversion assuming a conductive half-space model yields an improved estimate of the true sea-ice thickness compared to that obtained using the processing module. However, the noise level in the estimated depth to seawater is relatively large (±0.1 m) in comparison with typical Antarctic sea-ice thicknesses, and thickness estimates made using the shipborne system may be significantly in error over thin ice.


Factorial experimental designs have many applications in the behavioral sciences. In the context of intervention development, factorial experiments play a critical role in building and optimizing high-quality, multicomponent behavioral interventions. One challenge in implementing factorial experiments in the behavioral sciences is that individuals are often clustered in social or administrative units and may be more similar to each other than to individuals in other clusters. This means that data are dependent within clusters. Power planning resources are available for factorial experiments in which the multilevel structure of the data is due to individuals' membership in groups that existed before experimentation. However, in many cases clusters are generated in the course of the study itself. Such experiment-induced clustering (EIC) requires different data analysis models and power planning resources from those available for multilevel experimental designs in which clusters exist prior to experimentation. Despite the common occurrence of both experimental designs with EIC and factorial designs, a bridge has yet to be built between EIC and factorial designs. Therefore, resources are limited or nonexistent for planning factorial experiments that involve EIC. This article seeks to bridge this gap by extending prior models for EIC, developed for single-factor experiments, to factorial experiments involving various types of EIC. We also offer power formulas to help investigators decide whether a particular experimental design involving EIC is feasible. We demonstrate that factorial experiments can be powerful and feasible even with EIC. We discuss design considerations and directions for future research.


For the past twenty years there has been a slow trickle of research disseminated through a variety of channels on the nature and use of computer interactives within museum and gallery environments. This research has yet to be consolidated into a robust and coherent evidence base for considering and understanding the continued investment in such interactives by institutions. Simultaneously however, the technology has changed almost beyond recognition from early kiosk-based computer exhibits featuring mostly film and audio content, through to the newer generation of multi-touch interfaces being introduced in the
UK and beyond. This paper seeks to establish what can be gleaned from prior research in the field of computer interactives, to inform the study of these latest technological forms. It reports preliminary observations from the study of multi-touch interfaces and discusses issues identified for their continued investigation; principally, asking questions about the nature of
experience and interactivity in such encounters and the research methods that we might use to better explore and understand their use in the future.


An extension of the recently introduced nonlinear finite-difference time-domain technique [Opt. Lett.21, 1138 (1996)] for the study of electromagnetic wave propagation in a non-linear Kerr medium to include absorption is presented. The optical limiting and switching of short pulses by use of a nonlinear quarter-wave reflector (a one-dimensional photonic bandgap structure) with a defect is studied. Comparison with an optical limiter and with an optical switch with a perfect nonlinear quarter-wave reflector shows that introducing a defect can improve the performance of these devices.


Brushless DC motors are having a major problem with harmonics in torque. The variations in speed and production of noise should be minimized by using proper topologies. BLDC motors have been gaining attention from different Industrial and domestic appliance manufacturers, because of their high efficiency, high power density and easy maintenance and low cost. This paper presents a three phase BLDC motor with low cost drive to be driven without DC link capacitor. The proposed technique uses an electronic commutation and operates the machine exclusive of the intermediate DC link capacitor. The designing of Brushless DC motor drive system along with control system for torque ripple minimization, speed controller and current controllers are presented using MATLAB / SIMULINK and results are evaluated. Keywords— Brushless machines, Torque ripple compensation, six-phase voltage source inverter (VSI), harmonics suppression, pulse width modulation (PWM).


SUMMARY The effect of nitrogen and sulphur application and seed inoculation on the yield of beans (Vicia faba) was studied at two locations in 1979–80 and 1980–1. Nitrogen was applied at flowering, whereas sulphur was applied as foliar applications in elemental form, several times during the growth cycle of plants or only once at four different growth stages. Results showed high and significant increases in yield, particularly when the three treatments were combined. Results additionally suggested that a single application of sulphur at 45 days after emergence was as effective as four separate applications.


Background: Hyperglycemia is a known problem in the critical care setting. Impaired compensatory response to β cells and increased counter-regulatory hormones are thought to stimulate endogenous glucose production and contribute to insulin resistance. A growing body of evidence advocates strict maintenance of normoglycemia in order to decrease morbidity and mortality. The American College of Endocrinology recommends a blood glucose upper limit of 110 mg/dL for ICU patients and 180 mg/dL for patients outside the ICU. Standardized protocols for subcutaneous and intravenous insulin have been developed. However, for a variety of reasons, guidelines are not always adhered to. Several groups have attempted to computerize these protocols in order to improve compliance. The objective of this study was to perform a literature review of computer-based insulin protocols in the intensive care setting. Methods: A PubMed review was conducted using the keywords (insulin or diabetes mellitus) and (software or software validation or software design or computer) and (intensive care or hospitalization or inpatients) in February 2008. Results: The search returned 80 articles published between 1971 and 2008. Fifteen of these articles, published between 2002 and 2008, discussed computer-based insulin protocols in the intensive care setting. The majority of these efforts used software that was independent of existing electronic medical record systems, required duplicate entry of data already found within the medical record, did not provide a rationale with each recommendation, and used little historical data to customize a patient's insulin regimen. Conclusions: Based on lessons learned from these efforts, an optimal system would incorporate the following characteristics. It would fit into the existing clinical workflow through a tight integration with computerized physician order-entry systems. To avoid duplicate data entry, it would automatically extract data from the electronic medical record or glucometers. To increase confidence and encourage compliance, it would provide an explanation with each recommendation. Finally, it would take advantage of the computational model by incorporating complex algorithms and historical data when making recommendations.


Several cover crop mixes were planted in a winegrape vineyard in Sacramento County to test their effects on vine growth, production, juice composition, soil microbial ecology, and gopher activity over a three-year period (1998 to 2000). The trial was conducted in a Vitis vinifera L. cv. Merlot vineyard on a silt loam soil. Vines were planted in 1993 on 5BB rootstock, spaced 2.1 x 3.4 m. The mixes used were: California native perennial grass (no-till), annual clover (no-till), green manure (disked), cereals (disked), and disked control. Cover crops were planted on either side of entire rows, with a disked alley separating treatment replicates. A 1.2-m herbicide strip was maintained under the vines. Drip irrigation and fertigation were applied uniformly across all treatments, but additional nitrogen fertilizer was applied to the grass mixes. Weed biomass increased in the clover mix but decreased in the native grass mix. Grapevine petiole nitrogen content was highest in the bell bean mix and very low in the native grass mix. There were very few differences in leaf water potential or pruning weights of the vines, and in yields or juice Brix, pH, or titratable acidity in any year. Cover-cropped soils had greater microbial biomass than disked or berm soils, and the no-till mixes had greater microbial biomass than the disked mixes. Gophers were very numerous in 1999 only, with nearly all activity exclusively in the clover mix.


Urban development in Indonesia raises some urban problems. One of them is the switch function of agricultural land to residential and industrial. Meanwhile, the food needs of communities dependent on agricultural commodities which in fact require land as a place of production. The concept of urban agriculture emerged as an answer to deal with the problem of urban land and the sustainable development efforts. According to the Farm Bill and Trade Act of 1990, meaning the practice of sustainable agriculture crop production and livestock production systems integrated with certain rules so that it can continue in the long term. Sustainable Agriculture-System (SAc-S) is a proposed solution to address the sustainability of land and food in urban areas as well as a form of sustainable development by looking at the social, economic and environmental. Our idea to realize the urban farm located in one-story building that do not spend the urban land. In addition, the building will be surrounded by several other concepts, namely livestock, fisheries, horticulture and agroforestry. This concept can be applied in the city center to achieve food self-sufficient green city. Keywords: urban land issues, sustainable development, green city


The distributed order concept, which is a parallel connection of fractional order integrals and derivatives taken to the infinitesimal limit in delta order, has been the main focus in many engineering areas recently. On the other hand, there are few numerical methods available for analyzing distributed order systems, particularly under stochastic forcing. This paper proposes a novel numerical scheme for analyzing the behavior of a distributed order linear single input single output control system under random forcing. The method is based on the operational matrix technique to handle stochastic distributed order systems. The existing Monte Carlo, polynomial chaos, and frequency methods were first adapted to the stochastic distributed order system for comparison. Numerical examples were used to illustrate the accuracy and computational efficiency of the proposed method for the analysis of stochastic distributed order systems. The stability of the systems under stochastic perturbations can also be inferred easily from the moment of random output obtained using the proposed method. Based on the hybrid spectral framework, the optimal design was elaborated on by minimizing the suitably defined constrained-optimization problem.


Meskoob literary genius can best be seen in his two seminal interpretations of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. In the first few sentences of Moqaddame'i bar Rostam va Esfandiar [An Introduction to Rostam and Esfandiar he clearly set his interpretation of Ferdowsi's epic apart from those in the long tradition of Persian literature. Indeed, it can safely be claimed that Meskoob's explanations, interpretation and analysis of Shahnameh in this meager volume surpassed all previous works on the subject. His love for Ferdowsi's epic tale culminated in his second work, Syavosh dar Marg va Rastakhiz [Mourning for Syavosh in Death and Resurrection].
A serious evaluation of Meskoob life-long work on Shahnameh alone demands an independent and extensive research. For him, however, this was not and exclusive preoccupation. His other literary and historical interests ranged far and deep. He was as much engrossed in classical Sufi texts, both in Persian and Arabic, as he was in Iranian mythology and old religious texts. He believed in the symbiotic connection between the various parts of Iranian literature and culture far beyond the geographic boundaries of Iran itself. For him one could not fathom Iranian culture without being immersed, at the least, in western cultural norms and traditions. Hence, his constant striving to be able to read and interpret European literary and philosophical texts in their original languages.


Hypothyroid is a relatively common disease worldwide. It defined as clinical state resulting from insufficient secretion of thyroid hormone due to structural and or functional impairment of thyroid hormone production. Hypothyroid affect all organ systems including respiratory system although the respiratory manifestations are seldom the major compliant in hypothyroidism. This involvement has been attributed to decrease in both expiratory and inspiratory muscles strength, alveolar hypoventilation and decrease in maximal breathing capacity. The objective of this study is to evaluate the spirometry in patients with hypothyroidism. A case control study was done in the period between February 2016 to March 2017 in the center of endocrinology in Al-Sadr Medical City, Najaf, Iraq. Thirty patients with hypothyroidism and thirty age and sex matched controls were recruited. Simple spirometry, oxygen saturation, anthropometric and thyroid function were performed. Hypothyroid patients showed FVC was significant lower as compared to control group while other parameters SPO2, FEV1, FEV1/FVC were statistically insignificant. Nine (30%) hypothyroid patients had restrictive pulmonary function test. SPO2, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC were significantly associated with T4 level with direct significant correlation. In conclusion, respiratory system can be affected in hypothyroid patients in a restrictive pattern.


We present a 60 ks Chandra ACIS-S observation of the thermal composite supernova remnant 3C 391. The southeast-northwest elongated morphology is similar to that previously found in radio and X-ray studies. This observation unveils a highly clumpy structure of the remnant. Detailed spatially resolved spectral analysis of the small-scale features reveals that the interior gas is generally of normal metal abundance and has approached or basically reached ionization equilibrium. The hydrogen column density increases from southeast to northwest. Three mechanisms, radiative rim, thermal conduction, and cloudlet evaporation, may all play roles in the X-ray appearance of 3C 391 as a "thermal composite" remnant, but there are difficulties with each of them in explaining some physical properties. Comparatively, the cloudlet evaporation model is favored by the main characteristics such as the highly clumpy structure and the uniform temperature and density distribution over most of the remnant. The directly measured postshock temperature also implies a young age, ~4 × 103 yr, for the remnant. The postshock gas pressure derived from the northeast and southwest rims, which harbor maser spots, is consistent with the estimate for the maser regions. An unresolved X-ray source is observed on the northwest border, and its spectrum is best fitted by a power law.


Histological images analysis is widely used to carry out diagnoses of different types of cancer. Digital image processing methods can be used for this purpose, leading to more objective diagnoses. Segmentation techniques are applied to identify cellular structures indicative of diseases. In addition, the extracted features from these specific regions can aid pathologists in diagnoses decision using classification techniques. In this paper, we present an evaluation of evolutionary algorithms applied to lymphoma images for segmentation of their neoplastic cellular nuclei. In a second stage, we investigated the performance of the segmented images in the classification step. Initially, the R channel from RGB color model was processed with histogram equalization and Gaussian filter. In the segmentation step, optimization methods were analyzed in combination with the fuzzy 3-partition technique. Then, we also applied the valley-emphasis method and morphological operations to remove false positive regions in the post-processing step. Intensity and texture features were extracted and classified by the support vector machine method for diagnoses of 62 and 99 images of follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, respectively. The results were evaluated through qualitative and quantitative analyses and the differential evolution method has reached the best results in the segmentation step. This technique allowed a relevant performance on the classification task with a mean value of accuracy of 99.38%.


In 1987 the federal government permitted states to raise the speed limit on their rural interstate roads, but not on their urban interstate roads, from 55 mph to 65 mph. Since the states that adopted the higher speed limit must have valued the travel hours they saved more than the fatalities incurred, this institutional change provides an opportunity to estimate an upper bound on the public's willingness to trade off wealth for a change in the probability of death. Our estimates indicate that the adoption of the 65‐mph limit increased speeds by approximately 4 percent, or 2.5 mph, and fatality rates by roughly 35 percent. Together, the estimates suggest that about 125,000 hours were saved per lost life. When the time saved is valued at the average hourly wage, the estimates imply that adopting states were willing to accept risks that resulted in a savings of $1.54 million (1997 dollars) per fatality, with a sampling error roughly one‐third this value. We set out a simple model of states' decisions to adopt the 65‐mph limit that turns on whether their savings exceed their value of a statistical life. The empirical implementation of this model supports the claim that $1.54 million is an upper bound, but it provides imprecise estimates of the value of a statistical life.


The book presents new figurative models of interchange between Judaism and Christianity. It demonstrates the nexus connecting the account of Creation and the Tabernacle using Jewish and Christian texts and artistic images from late antiquity to the late Middle Ages.


The demonstrated Raman microprobe uses optical fibers and GRIN lenses to focus an exciting laser and record Raman scattering. Due to the small size of the optical components, the two parts are spatially separated; therefore much specular light or diffused light is removed from the collected light. Five collecting channels are used to increase the collecting efficiency. Experiments show that the stray light is efficiently reduced and the intensity of the Raman signal is more than ten times higher than the intensity of the spectrum obtained with a conventional Raman microscope. An exciting spot of less than 9 μm in diameter is obtained.


Abstract In crush spread commodity trading strategies it is a common practice to select portfolio positions not based on statistical properties, but instead based on physical refinery conditions and efficiency in extracting byproducts from crushing raw soybeans to get soymeal and soyoil. The selected portfolio positions based on knowledge of refinery efficiency are then used to provide a basis for constructing the so called spread series, which is investigated separately using a model with a linear Gaussian structure. In this paper we take a statistical approach instead based on forming portfolio positions following from the cointegration vector relationships in the price series, which we argue endogenously take into consideration the respective demand and supply equilibrium dynamic associated to each component of the soybean complex spread. We propose an extension of the standard Cointegrated Vector Autoregressive Model that allows for a hidden linear trend under an error correction representation. The aim of this paper is to perform Bayesian estimation of the optimal cointegration vectors jointly with latent trends and to this end we develop an efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. The performance of this method is illustrated using numerical examples with simulated observations. Finally, we use the proposed model and MCMC sampler to perform analysis for soybean crush data. We will find the evidence in favour of the model structure proposed and present empirical justification that cointegration portfolio selection based on physical features of soybean market is sensitive to different roll adjustment methods used in the industry.


This paper describes a transport modelling framework which is being produced as part of the UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (ITRC). The aims of this consortium are to deliver research, models and decision support tools to enable analysis and planning of a robust national infrastructure system. ITRC research is structured around four major challenges: 1) How can infrastructure capacity and demand be balanced in an uncertain future; 2) what are the risks of infrastructure failure and how can we adapt national infrastructure to make it more resilient; 3) how do infrastructure systems evolve and interact with society and the economy; and 4) what should the UK strategy be for integrated provision of national infrastructure in the long term. A number of interdependencies exist between infrastructure systems, and ITRC aims to explicitly account for these interdependencies by developing an integrated framework of geographically explicit national-scale models of energy, transport, water, waste water and solid waste systems. The models will then be used to evaluate the impacts of a range of scenarios and strategies on the infrastructure systems in the period up to 2100. The modelling framework will be based on Capacity-Demand Assessment Models (CDAMs) for each of the infrastructure systems, and this paper gives details of the Transport CDAM and presents some preliminary results. Initial work involved a review of relevant data sources and existing models and the development of a national level Fast Track Analysis. Subsequent work has involved the development of a more detailed CDAM that builds on existing UK modelling capabilities, explicitly considers interactions within and between passenger and freight transport and with other economic sectors, and considers a much longer time period than most other long-term models. The model forecasts transport demand and capacity within and between 142 zones based on local authorities, covering the whole of Great Britain. A 'base year' representation of the transport infrastructure system was produced, along with current usage levels for this system. The infrastructure system modelled comprises link-based trunk road and rail networks, along with nodes representing all major airports and major seaports. Although vehicles are not normally considered to form a part of 'infrastructure' they are nevertheless an important consideration in this study, in particular in terms of vehicle technology and alternative fuels. GIS-based methods are used to integrate the model infrastructure network with usage data, which for the model 'base case' came from a range of sources, including for example 'Average Annual Daily Flow' traffic counts, rail ticket sales, and Department for Transport bus statistics. Taken together, this provided base data for the model outputs, which include road passenger and freight vehicle km, rail passenger numbers and freight traffic volumes, within-zone bus passenger numbers, airport passenger numbers, freight tonnage handled at ports, infrastructure capacity utilisation levels, and transport energy consumption and emissions. The CDAM can then be used to forecast future levels of these outputs based on a number of variables, including infrastructure capacity changes (both at a national average level or describing specific interventions), GDP, population, employment, energy prices, fuel mix, fuel efficiency, public transport fares, taxation levels, speed limits (and other legal interventions), and inputs from other ITRC sector models. These variables are adjusted to represent particular scenarios, such as the construction of new high speed rail lines, or a large and sustained increase in oil prices. It thus provides a virtual environment in which to test strategies for long term investment, and can help understand how these strategies perform with respect to policy constraints such as reliability and security of supply, cost, carbon emissions and adaptability to demographic and climate change. Overall, the ITRC project will inform analysis, planning and design of national infrastructure, through the development and demonstration of new decision support tools in partnership with government and industry.