The focal depth of an arbitrary image is extended by optimization of the amplitude and phase distributions over the entire image. We propose a general method that takes advantage of a detector's (possibly nonlinear) response to incident intensity. We demonstrate the method by computer simulations and experimentally, using computer-generated holograms.


Credit plays a vital role in our daily lives. Unless we have large amounts of cash and other savings, it is almost unimaginable that we will not at some time need to make use of credit. Most of us will one day have to apply for vehicle finance, or a home loan, or personal loan. Not many people can afford to pay cash for things, especially expensive things like houses, motor vehicles, and furniture. Consumers buying goods on credit are an everyday occurrence. Even businesses use credit to buy their stock, and people use credit to pay for their consumables such as clothing, food, and even school fees. Many people have credit cards or loans. Today all these type of credit agreements are regulated by the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 ('the NCA').


Abstract The World Bank's recent concern for 'empowerment' grows out of longer standing discussions of participation, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society. While commitments to empowerment enter World Bank texts with relative ease, their practice within Bank-funded projects is far more contingent, and the meanings they assume become much more diverse. This paper considers the relationship between such texts and the development practices which emerge, using an analysis of the 'organisational cultures' of the Bank and the many organisations on which it depends in the implementation of its rural development programmes. The paper presents a framework for analysing these organisational cultures in terms of (a) the broader contexts in which organisations and their staff are embedded; (b) the everyday practices within organisations; (c) the power relations within and among organisations; and (d) the meanings that come to dominate organisational practice. A case study of a development programme in Bangladesh is used to illustrate the ways in which cultural interactions between a variety of organisations – the World Bank, government agencies, NGOs, organisations of the poor, social enterprises – mediate the ways in which textual commitments to empowerment are translated into a range of diverse practices.


In the Local Government Act 2000, central government mandated a change in political arrangements within English local authorities. Through introducing a blended separation of powers to the majority of local authorities, with a leader, cabinet and overview and scrutiny committees, the legislation moved the constitutional structure from a form of assembly government to a Westminster-style split between decision-makers and those who scrutinise those choices. One of the goals was to remove the party group grip on decision-making. Given the evidence of the strength of groups in authorities (Maud 1967, Widdicombe 1986, Copus 1999a) there are questions but no clear answers about how group behaviour has changed since this legislation (OPDM, 2002, Ashworth 2003, Copus & Leach, 2004, ELGNCE, 2004, 2006). This research assesses the impact of the change on major political parties. Due to the shift in the institutional environments, this thesis uses a rational choice institutionalist approach to consider how the legislation has affected groups; through assessing methods used to satisfice their goals. Using a mixed-methods approach incorporating survey research and case studies, the research has discovered that despite the reform to remove group influence, the legislation served to make local government more prone to domination by party groups.


The pressing demand to deploy software updates without stopping running programs has fostered much research on live update systems in the past decades. Prior solutions, however, either make strong assumptions on the nature of the update or require extensive and error-prone manual effort, factors which discourage the adoption of live update. This paper presents <italic>Mutable Checkpoint-Restart</italic> (<italic>MCR</italic>), a new live update solution for generic (multiprocess and multithreaded) server programs written in C. Compared to prior solutions, MCR can support arbitrary software updates and automate most of the common live update operations. The key idea is to allow the running version to safely reach a quiescent state and then allow the new version to restart as similarly to a fresh program initialization as possible, relying on existing code paths to automatically restore the old program threads and reinitialize a relevant portion of the program data structures. To transfer the remaining data structures, MCR relies on a combination of precise and conservative garbage collection techniques to trace all the global pointers and apply the required state transformations on the fly. Experimental results on popular server programs (<italic>Apache httpd</italic>, <italic>nginx</italic>, <italic>OpenSSH</italic> and <italic>vsftpd</italic>) confirm that our techniques can effectively automate problems previously deemed difficult at the cost of negligible performance overhead (2 percent on average) and moderate memory overhead (3.9<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$ </tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="giuffrida-ieq1-2584066.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> on average, without optimizations).


This paper shows the design of an UHF antenna which can be used for monitoring a bone fracture. A simple cylindrical model is proposed to replicate the properties of bone with an inclusion representing a blood-mimicking lesions, indicating bone fracture. The proposed dipole antenna with dimensions of 150 mm x 110 mm is analyzed into CST Design Studio to show the s-parameters variations to indicate the presence of fracture. Two identical antennas are used on the top and bottom of the bone. The proposed method may serve the purpose of a low cost and non-invasive procedure for fracture monitoring.


The Swedish Institute of Computer Science (SICS) is the vendor of SICStus Prolog.
To decrease execution time and reduce space requirements, variants of SICStus
Prolog's virtual instruction set were investigated. Semi-automatic ways of finding
candidate sets of instructions to combine or specialize were developed and used.
Several virtual machines were implemented and the relationship between improvements
by combinations and by specializations were investigated. The benefits of specializations
and combinations of instructions to the performance of the emulator is on the
average of the order of 10%. The code size reduction is 15%.


Despite an underlying inclusion agenda, sexuality equality remains a low priority in education. A large body of literature suggests the marginalization of sexual minority young people (SMYP) in schools and indicates the need to enhance understanding in this area to change existing practice. Whilst other disciplines have begun to examine professional practice with regard to heterosexism (defined as a socially created value system which contrasts heterosexuality as normal and non-heterosexuality as inferior, Fish 2008), educational psychologists have not yet embraced action which locates intervention at the social level. This study explores Educational Psychologists' (EPs') constructions of sexuality and the implications for practice. Discursive psychology (Potter and Wetherell 1987) was used to analyse semi-structured interview data from seven EPs. Multiple and context dependent constructions of sexuality emerged from the study. The research revealed that participants oriented to the need to maintain a non-prejudiced position and managed tensions of accountability using rhetorical strategies and various interpretive repertoires. Conclusions centre on the need for reflexive practice to challenge taken for granted assumptions regarding sexuality in education and psychology communities. Training is also recommended which is underpinned by social constructionist methods to develop awareness of the cultural barriers for SMYP and reveal the complexities of sexuality diversity. It is intended that such training would develop confidence for EPs in this area so that new discourses infuse the drive towards a sexuality inclusive school culture.


The window of implantation has long posed as a challenge in understanding the exact synchronized cross talk that must take place in order for a developing embryo to be appropriately received by the endometrium. This is due mostly to the fact that it is difficult to study human models of implantation without sacrificing the potential for pregnancy. For many who present with a diagnosis of infertility with an otherwise unexplained etiology, recurrent implantation failure or a displaced window of receptivity may be an underlying, silent cause. As assisted reproductive technology (ART) continues to advance and offer new scientific breakthroughs allowing greater insight and understanding to reproductive failure and infertility, endometrial receptivity testing may offer answers to struggling patients.


The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe deaf college students' perceptions of their experiences learning academic English literacy vis a vis their teachers. The study examined the narrated academic English literacy acquisition experiences and practices of 11 deaf and hard-of-hearing students at a hearing university with a large deaf student population. Through paradigmatic analysis of narrative data, the study located common themes, which revealed students' perceptions of academic English literacy acquisition, particularly with regard to their teachers. Methods employed in the study were phenomenological interviewing and recursive analysis. The primary data sources were participant interviews and a focus group. Analysis was conducted through recursive interaction with the data, in which repeated reviews served to first elicit themes and meanings and then confirm interpretation of same. The study resulted in the following findings: Participants' experiences resulted in a preference for instructors who are highly competent communicators, and these tended to be deaf instructors. Participants encountered communication challenges, including the inability of instructors to sign clearly or to understand what their students were saying to them, that restricted their learning. They also perceived instructors to hold expectations that were either too low, unclear, or rigid, which created internal contradictions between challenge and remediation. The study concluded by showing how understanding deaf college students' perceptions of academic English literacy acquisition may inform and improve teaching practices with this population.


In this paper, we propose a two-step training procedure for source separation via a deep neural network. In the first step we learn a transform (and it's inverse) to a latent space where masking-based separation performance using oracles is optimal. For the second step, we train a separation module that operates on the previously learned space. In order to do so, we also make use of a scale-invariant signal to distortion ratio (SI-SDR) loss function that works in the latent space, and we prove that it lower-bounds the SI-SDR in the time domain. We run various sound separation experiments that show how this approach can obtain better performance as compared to systems that learn the transform and the separation module jointly. The proposed methodology is general enough to be applicable to a large class of neural network end-to-end separation systems.


To avoid extinctions and other harms to ecological health from escalating climatic change, scientists, resource managers, and activists are considering and even engaging in "assisted migration" - the intentional movement of an organism to an area in which its species has never existed. This Article explores the profound implications of climate change for American natural resource management through the lens of this controversial adaptation strategy. It details arguments regarding the scientific viability and legality of assisted migration under the thicket of laws that govern natural resources in the United States. The Article asserts, however, that the fundamental tensions raised by this strategy are ethical: to protect endangered species or conserve native biota; to manage ecological systems actively or leave nature wild and uncontrolled; and to preserve resources or manage them to promote their fitness under future conditions. The Article explains why contemporary natural resource law's fidelity to historic baselines, protecting preexisting biota, and shielding nature from human activity is increasingly untenable, particularly in light of climate change. Active, anticipatory strategies such as assisted migration may not only be permissible but even necessary to avert substantial irreversible harm to ecological systems. Scientists and resource managers should focus on developing scientific data to aid analyses of the risks and benefits of assisted migration in particular circumstances. To help develop such data while minimizing ecological harm, the Article proposes provisionally limiting experimental translocations to situations where translocation is technically and economically feasible, and where the species is endangered, ecologically valuable, and compatible with the proposed site. More broadly, assisted migration illustrates how the institutions and goals of natural resource law must be changed to better reflect a dynamic, integrated world. Climate change forces a radical reconsideration of the aims, foci, and standards of natural resource management. Accordingly, the crucial project of natural resource law must be improving governance by cultivating agency accountability and learning to better manage uncertainty, promoting opportunities for inter-jurisdictional collaboration, and fostering public information and deliberation over the tradeoffs of strategies like assisted migration and the resource values that matter.


The economic vitality and national security of the United States depend on the reliable supply of numerous nonfuel mineral commodities. Over the past six decades, many of these commodities have been sourced increasingly from outside the United States. The mix of commodities for which the United States is import dependent has changed as technologies have advanced, as substitute materials have been developed, and as world economies have changed. Although reliance on imports is only one of the many factors that determine supply risk, a clear, long-term trend has emerged from the data compiled and published by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Minerals Information Center (USGS–NMIC), and its predecessor organizations. Because the global distribution of mineral resources and reserves is not uniform, the United States has always been import reliant for some mineral commodities. Essentially, the type of commodities and the countries from which they are sourced determine risk related to import dependence. In light of projections that 2.5 billion to 3 billion people globally could move into the middle class by 2030 (Rohde, 2012), the demand for many types of mineral commodities is likely to continue to increase. Recent concerns regarding so-called "critical minerals" have been driven by market dislocations in the rare-earth-element supply chain in 2010 that resulted from a short-term policy decision by the Government of the People's Republic of China to limit exports. That policy has since been changed as a result of actions by the World Trade Organization, but the events that followed, such as higher prices and intensive efforts to diversify sources of supply, illustrate the underlying issues of supply risk and the influence that disruptions can have on supply. These factors are often used in the classification of a mineral commodity as "critical" (National Research Council, 2008). The USGS–NMIC collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis for more than 90 nonfuel mineral commodities from more than 180 countries. These data indicate that from 1954 through 2014 there was (1) a clear increase in the number and type of nonfuel mineral commodities for which the United States was net import reliant, (2) an increase in the percentage of import reliance for individual nonfuel mineral commodities, and (3) a shift in the geographic distribution of the source countries.


The cardiac literature has shown that the stress of a patient's illness may increase the partner's vulnerability to develop psychological and physical illness. However, not all partners experience a crisis in response to the patients' illness. The following study explored the experiences of being a partner of a person with cardiac problems. The aims of the study were a) to determine whether cardiac partners were distressed b) to investigate the reasons for the partners distress c) to explore the relationship between sense of coherence, cardiac beliefs and levels of partners distress d) to identify gaps in the care provided and opportunities for service development. A cross-sectional questionnaire study, followed by smaller scale interviews of partners of patients eligible for cardiac rehabilitation was conducted. 89 partners completed a questionnaire which included data on a) The "Sense of Coherence Scale" (SOC); b) cardiac beliefs; c) HADS; d) general questions on demographics problems, needs and experiences. Following analyses of the questionnaire, it was decided that the interviews would focus on the group of partners with the lowest HADS scores, as they would benefit the most from additional support. 8 partners were interviewed. In general, the sample of partners was in good health and coping well. The linear regression analysis showed that the partners' sense of coherence and cardiac beliefs accounted for 62.5% of the variance in the partners psychological distress. Out of the two variables, SOC was a better predictor of HADS. The main reasons for partners' dissatisfaction and distress included poor health, caregiver burden, conflict within the relationship, and inadequate support from health professionals. A framework of partners interventions was discussed, so that partner interventions would become both an integral and an intrinsic part of nursing care. The cardiac beliefs questionnaire has a valuable role in cardiac partner interventions, not only as a research tool, but also as a, cost effective, easy to deliver clinical intervention. The SOC would provide cardiac staff a framework to organise both the questions that they ask the partners and the information that they provide them. In addition to providing support for partners in distress, a salutogenic framework could help staff promote the resources to ensure that the non-distressed partners (and patients) remain healthy.


OBJECTIVE
To compare effects of a commercially available omeprazole paste and a compounded omeprazole suspension on healing of gastric ulcers in Thoroughbred racehorses in active training.

DESIGN
Randomized controlled trial.

ANIMALS
32 horses with gastric ulcers.

PROCEDURE
Horses were assigned to 2 groups on the basis of endoscopic gastric ulcer severity. Group-1 horses were treated with omeprazole suspension for 30 days and with omeprazole paste for an additional 30 days. Group-2 horses were treated with omeprazole paste for 30 days and omeprazole suspension for an additional 30 days. Serum omeprazole concentrations were measured in 4 additional healthy horses after administration of a single dose of each formulation. In all instances, omeprazole was administered at a dose of 4 mg/kg (1.8 mg/lb), p.o..

RESULTS
Ulcer severity scores on day 0 were not significantly different between groups. On day 30, ulcer severity score was significantly decreased, compared with day-0 score, in group-2 but not in group-1 horses. On day 60, ulcer severity score was significantly decreased, compared with day-0 and day-30 scores, in group-1 horses. In group-2 horses, ulcer severity score on day 60 was significantly lower than the day-0 score but was not significantly different from the day-30 score. Maximum observed serum omeprazole concentration and area under the concentration-time curve were significantly higher after administration of the paste versus the suspension formulation.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results suggest that although administration of the commercially available paste omeprazole formulation was effective in promoting healing of gastric ulcers in these horses, administration of the compounded omeprazole suspension was ineffective.


Objective To discuss the epidemiology of Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) and HIV co-infections, the role of TV in acquisition and transmission of HIV, special treatment considerations for TV among women with HIV and the prevention of TV among HIV-infected persons. Design Systematic review. Data source Review of literature of EMBASE and PubMed databases from January 1990 to February 2013. Search keywords included TV, HIV co-infections, HIV acquisition, HIV transmission, HIV shedding, TV treatment, HIV and couples studies. Review method We included studies of any design that contained the selected search words and were published during the specified time frame. We then searched the reference lists of included papers for additional papers and included these when relevant. Results There is strong evidence that TV increases both transmission and acquisition of HIV among women, and that successful treatment for TV can reduce HIV genital shedding. Single dose metronidazole (MTZ) should no longer be used for HIV+ women with TV given the high rates of asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis co-infections and other factors that may render MTZ less effective in HIV+ women. Prevention of TV among HIV+ persons is similar to among HIV, including promotion of condoms as well as regular screening and prompt treatment. There may be a role for expedited partner treatment for the prevention of repeat infections, but most repeat infections are clinical treatment failures. Diligence in screening and treating TV among both HIV- susceptible and HIV+ persons is an important public health strategy.


The Year Book of Surgery brings you abstracts of the articles that reported the year's breakthrough developments in surgery, carefully selected from more than 500 journals worldwide. Expert commentaries evaluate the clinical importance of each article and discuss its application to your practice. There's no faster or easier way to stay informed! The Year Book of Surgery is published annually in September, and includes topics such as: Trauma; Burns; Critical Care; Transplantation; Surgical Infection; Would Healing; Oncology; Vascular Surgery; and General Thoracic Surgery.


Modern processors are becoming more complex and as features and application size increase, their evaluation is becoming more time-consuming. To date, design space exploration relies on extensive use of software simulation that when highly accurate is slow. In this paper we propose ReSim, a parameterizable ILP processor simulation acceleration engine based on reconfigurable hardware. We describe ReSim's trace-driven microarchitecture that allows us to simulate the operation of a complex ILP processor in a cycle serial fashion, aiming to simplify implementation complexity and to boost operating frequency. Being trace driven, ReSim can simulate timing in an almost ISA independent fashion, and supports all SimpleScalar ISAs, i.e. PISA, Alpha, etc. We implemented ReSim for the latest Xilinx devices. In our experiments with a 4-way superscalar processor ReSim achieves a simulation throughput of up to 28MIPS, and offers more than a factor of 5x improvement over the best reported ILP processor hardware simulators.


Socio-economic changes that followed the 1990 and demographic evolutions have decisively influenced the evolution and structure of labour force in Central Region, as well as the needs for qualification. From this perspective, the present study aimed to capture the opinion of employers in Centre Region with regard to the need for personnel in the following period and the labour market tendencies from the perspective of required qualifications within organisations. The method of the research is direct, the sample being available and composed of 247 subjects. The research is supported by the SOPHRD contract 64/3.3/S/33409 "Establishment of the Permanent Technical Secretariat of the Regional Pact for Employment and Social Inclusion in Centre Region".


Current recommender systems often show the same most-highly recommended items again and again ignoring the feedback that users neither rate nor click on those items. We conduct an online field experiment to test two ways of manipulating top-N recommendations with the goal of improving user experience: cycling the top-N recommendation based on their past presentation and serpentining the top-N list mixing the best items into later recommendation requests. We find interesting tensions between opt-outs and activities, user perceived accuracy and freshness. Cycling within the same session might be a "love it or hate it" recommender property because users in it have a higher opt-out rate but engage in more activities. Cycling across sessions and serpentining increase user activities without significantly affecting opt-out rates. Users perceive more change and freshness but less accuracy and familiarity. Combining cycling and serpentining does not work as well as each individual manipulation separately. These two ways of manipulations on top-N list demonstrate some attractive properties but also call for innovative approaches to overcome their potential costs.


Finding minimum distortion of adversarial examples and thus certifying robustness in neural network classifiers for given data points is known to be a challenging problem. Nevertheless, recently it has been shown to be possible to give a non-trivial certified lower bound of minimum adversarial distortion, and some recent progress has been made towards this direction by exploiting the piece-wise linear nature of ReLU activations. However, a generic robustness certification for general activation functions still remains largely unexplored. To address this issue, in this paper we introduce CROWN, a general framework to certify robustness of neural networks with general activation functions for given input data points. The novelty in our algorithm consists of bounding a given activation function with linear and quadratic functions, hence allowing it to tackle general activation functions including but not limited to four popular choices: ReLU, tanh, sigmoid and arctan. In addition, we facilitate the search for a tighter certified lower bound by adaptively selecting appropriate surrogates for each neuron activation. Experimental results show that CROWN on ReLU networks can notably improve the certified lower bounds compared to the current state-of-the-art algorithm Fast-Lin, while having comparable computational efficiency. Furthermore, CROWN also demonstrates its effectiveness and flexibility on networks with general activation functions, including tanh, sigmoid and arctan.


Railroads, roads and associated traffic have been shown to adversely affect ecosystems by killing wildlife and altering the landscape. Relatively little research has been conducted along railroads. Given the probable growth of railroads, it is imperative that we understand the impacts railroads exhibit on wildlife. In this thesis, I reviewed the documented impacts of railroads on wildlife then conducted analyses on data collected along the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) through Banff and Yoho National Parks (~134 km). In the study area, over 1000 train strikes with 26 mammal species have been recorded between 1990 and 2010, which included 579 elk (Cervus elaphus), 185 deer (Odocoileus spp.) and 79 bears (Ursus spp.). The goal of this research was to provide an initial assessment of the factors affecting strikes with ungulates and bears along the CPR. To accomplish these goals, I studied four general factors that have been hypothesized to affect the rate and spatial distribution of strikes. These are: wildlife abundance, anthropogenic foods, and railroad design. I compared strike rates along three mile long rail segments to train spilled grain, train and railroad design variables. I developed an estimate of risk using line transect data so that I could determine if there was evidence for nonconstant strike risk. Statistical models were used to identify which factors best explained strike rates. I detected correlations between the density of train-spilled grain and bear foraging rates but not with bear strikes. I identified locations where corrective measures or mitigation solutions may be needed and identified railroad designs and landscape variables associated with those locations. Hotspots were identified for elk and deer but not bears. Relative abundance was generally correlated with strike rates. High risk locations, where more strikes occurred than were expected, were identified. Train speed limit and right-of-way width was positively associated with strikes for elk and/or deer. For bears, the number of structures (e.g. highway overpasses) and bridges were positively associated with strikes. These results were used to suggest management recommendations including train speed reductions, habitat modifications and railroad design alterations to reduce the risk of strikes.


The use of targeted sanctions has dramatically increased. The EU runs 29 different sanctions regimes, mainly geographically defined but also including two counterterrorist regimes. These measures are under great judicial pressure: more than 250 natural and legal persons have challenged their listings. In several high profile cases, the EU courts struck down sanctions based on UN lists, autonomous EU sanctions, counterterrorist sanctions and sanctions against third country regimes, triggering significant reforms in EU listing procedures. This article sets out the different regimes and addresses questions such as: what standard of judicial review should the EU courts apply? What is the relevance of the case law on counterterrorist sanctions for third country sanctions? Can the EU courts acknowledge procedural improvements in the UN context? Are EU sanctions preventive measures? Are they suitable to achieve their own objective of changing behaviour?


In this paper, the authors deal with the problem of chromium present in various products and materials, and the health and environmental risks that this chromium can represent if uncontrolled. Special emphasis is given to various chrome tanned wastes generated by the leather industry. The agent that makes this waste potentially hazardous is hexavalent chromium. Its compounds can have negative effects on human health and some chromium VI salts are considered carcinogens. The authors present the risks of spontaneous oxidation of trivalent chromium to its hexavalent form in various conditions, as well as an analytical method for detection of small concentrations of both forms of chromium using Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra of hexavalent chromium and simultaneous detection of the two valences of chromium obtained from leather samples are presented. Another important issue addressed in this paper are technologies processing various kinds of chrome-tanned waste. From the technological point of view, there are several ways of handling primary leather waste, but no satisfactory technology has been developed so far for the secondary waste (manipulation waste, e.g. leather scraps, and used leather products). An innovative hybrid technology of processing the secondary waste is presented and tested in industrial conditions and its application on used leather goods is discussed, as well as possibilities of commercial utilization of the products generated by the technology. Keywords— Hexavalent chromium, spontaneous oxidation, leather waste porcessing, Raman spectroscopy.


Current spatial database systems offer limited querying capabilities beyond binary topological relations. This paper introduces a model for projective relations between regions to support other qualitative spatial queries. The relations are ternary because they are based on the collinearity invariant of three points under projective geometry. The model is built on a partition of the plane into separate zones that are obtained from projective properties of two reference objects: then, by considering the empty/nonempty intersections of a primary object with these zones, the model is able to distinguish between 34 different projective relations. Then, the paper proposes original algorithms for computing the relations under the assumption that regions of the plane are stored as vector polygons in a spatial database. These algorithms run in optimal O(nlogn) time


The emergence of a harm reduction approach for drug users has prompted extensive debate in many countries. However, in Malaysia the pertinent issues regarding the bases of such an approach and its consonance with the criminal justice approach have received little attention. This thesis examines the justifications for the harm reduction approach in Malaysia, its compatibility with the existing criminal justice approach and ways of reconciling both approaches in the event of conflicts between them within a socio-legal sphere of analysis. Building on philosophical and scientific judgements, this thesis argues that Malaysia should implement the harm reduction approach and argues that it is congruent with public health ethics, utilitarianism, human rights protection and the Islamic principles of 'hajiyyat' (needs), 'darurah' (necessity) and 'al-∂arar al-ashaddyuzalu bi'l-∂arar al-akhaff'(tolerating a lesser harm to eliminate a greater one). The approach also fits in with the abstinence orientation adopted within drug prohibition policy and the confines of the international drug control conventions. The Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) and Needle and Syringe Exchange Programme (NSEP) harm reduction measures are further justified by their efficacy and cost-effectiveness in decreasing drug use and HIV pathogen transmission. This thesis also argues that any alleged unintended adverse consequences of harm reduction are limited or absental together. Moreover, with regard to the issue of compatibility between the harm reduction and criminal justice approaches, this thesis emphasises that there are significant theoretical and practical conflicts between the two approaches as they are currently understood and practised in Malaysia. The tensions arises principally from law enforcement practices, predominantly the street-level policing activities, reflecting the lack of commitment of criminal justice actors to the harm reduction strategy, despite the existence of government initiatives to support harm reduction. The thesis suggests important options for reconciling both approaches, particularly at a conceptual level.Finally, this thesis argues for incorporating the harm reduction approach as an important component of overall drug policy under a sustained prohibitionist framework.


This thesis examines the Christian context of the former pagan sanctuary of Zeus Labrandeus in Caria during the Early Byzantine period, ca. 325-730 A.D. The focus is on the church, positioned outside the pagan sanctuary's temenos area. The architecture of the church has been empirically analysed. It is argued that the church shows strong Syrian influences. The Syrian features are a tripartite sanctuary enclosed by a straight back wall, an interior supported by pilasters and a west part with two towers. The study of the architecture has also been used in an attempt to discuss the liturgy at Labraunda. The finds from the excavations of 1951-2005 have been categorized and examined in order to establish a terminus post quem for the Christian presence at the site of the church. This has been crucial for the dating of the church. Furthermore, the finds illustrate the social and economic conditions that prevailed at Labraunda during the Early Byzantine period. Finally, this study tries to enlighten the process of transition from a pagan sanctuary into a Christian place of worship.


Purpose: Characterization of colorectal cancer transcriptome by high-throughput techniques has enabled the discovery of several differentially expressed genes involving previously unreported miRNA abnormalities. Here, we followed a systematic approach on a global scale to identify miRNAs as clinical outcome predictors and further validated them in the clinical and experimental setting. Experimental Design: Genome-wide miRNA sequencing data of 228 colorectal cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset were analyzed as a screening cohort to identify miRNAs significantly associated with survival according to stringent prespecified criteria. A panel of six miRNAs was further validated for their prognostic utility in a large independent validation cohort (n = 332). In situ hybridization and functional experiments in a panel of colorectal cancer cell lines and xenografts further clarified the role of clinical relevant miRNAs. Results: Six miRNAs (miR-92b-3p, miR-188-3p, miR-221-5p, miR-331-3p, miR-425-3p, and miR-497-5p) were identified as strong predictors of survival in the screening cohort. High miR-188-3p expression proves to be an independent prognostic factor [screening cohort: HR = 4.137; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.568–10.917; P = 0.004; validation cohort: HR = 1.538; 95% CI, 1.107–2.137; P = 0.010, respectively]. Forced miR-188-3p expression increased migratory behavior of colorectal cancer cells in vitro and metastases formation in vivo (P < 0.05). The promigratory role of miR-188-3p is mediated by direct interaction with MLLT4, a novel identified player involved in colorectal cancer cell migration. Conclusions: miR-188-3p is a novel independent prognostic factor in colorectal cancer patients, which can be partly explained by its effect on MLLT4 expression and migration of cancer cells. Clin Cancer Res; 23(5); 1323–33. ©2016 AACR.


The upgraded IGISOL facility with JYFLTRAP, at the accelerator laboratory of the University of Jyvaskyla, has been supplied with a new cyclotron which will provide protons of the order of 100 μA with up to 30 MeV energy, or deuterons with half the energy and intensity. This makes it an ideal place for measurements of neutron-induced fission products from various actinides, in view of proposed future nuclear fuel cycles. The groups at Uppsala University and University of Jyvaskyla are working on the design of a neutron converter that will be used as neutron source in fission yield studies. The design is based on simulations with Monte Carlo codes and a benchmark measurement that was recently performed at The Svedberg Laboratory in Uppsala. Inorder to obtain a competitive count rate the fission targets will be placed very close to the neutron converter. The goal is to have a flexible design that will enable the use of neutron fields with different energy distributions. In the present paper, some considerations for the design of the neutron converter will be discussed, together with different scenarios for which fission targets and neutron energies to focus on.


Covariance matrices have attracted attention for machine learning applications due to their capacity to capture interesting structure in the data. The main challenge is that one needs to take into account the particular geometry of the Riemannian manifold of symmetric positive definite (SPD) matrices they belong to. In the con- text of deep networks, several architectures for these matrices have recently been proposed. In our article, we introduce a Riemannian batch normalization (batch- norm) algorithm, which generalizes the one used in Euclidean nets. This novel layer makes use of geometric operations on the manifold, notably the Riemannian barycenter, parallel transport and non-linear structured matrix transformations. We derive a new manifold-constrained gradient descent algorithm working in the space of SPD matrices, allowing to learn the batchnorm layer. We validate our proposed approach with experiments in three different contexts on diverse data types: a drone recognition dataset from radar observations, and on emotion and action recognition datasets from video and motion capture data. Experiments show that the Riemannian batchnorm systematically gives better classification performance compared with leading methods and a remarkable robustness to lack of data.


This paper suggests that some refinements might need to be considered to current codes of ethics for dissemination of research. The growth of research in music education over the last decade is reviewed, with examples from new journals, conferences and professional associations. It is argued that nowadays researchers have to address a multidisciplinary number of audiences and this should be taken into account in the regulations for conferences and publications with the incorporation of guidelines for contributors to address their specific audience and to explain any previous dissemination. The authorship of papers is also considered, in particular issues arising from multiple authorship, as well as the research participants' contribution to the final report. Some of these issues are discussed with reference to studies focussed on a particular topic (creativity in music education) within the context of music education research, but it is acknowledged that the discussion also applies to other fields of the ...


Aug. 15, 2006 - A large, population-based, multicenter study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center provides the clearest picture yet of the prevalence and predictors of mutations in the breast-cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 among women in the general population. Most research on these genes in relation to breast and ovarian cancer has focused on rare, high-risk families and younger women. Until now, the impact of these genetic mutations among women in the population at large - particularly among African-Americans and those age 45 and older - has been understudied and, as a result, poorly understood, according to lead investigators Kathleen E. Malone, Ph.D., Elaine A. Ostrander, Ph.D., and colleagues, whose findings appeared in the August 15, 2006 issue of Cancer Research. "Prior studies focused on high-risk families and younger, Caucasian women. Clarifying the prevalence and predictors of these mutations in a wider spectrum of the general population, including understudied groups like African-Americans and older women, is important and long overdue," said epidemiologist Malone, a member of the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division. In a study of more than 2,300 African-American and Caucasian women with and without breast cancer from five U.S. metropolitan areas, the researchers found that among breast-cancer cases overall, 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent carried mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, respectively. BRCA1 mutations were significantly more common in white (2.9 percent) versus black (1.4 percent) cases and in Jewish (10.2 percent) versus non-Jewish (2.0 percent) cases. BRCA2 mutations were slightly more common in black (2.6 percent) versus white (2.1 percent) cases. The researchers also examined predictors of carrying a mutation in either gene. The strongest and most significant predictors of carrying a BRCA1 mutation were diagnosis before age 45 in the case herself or in a relative, ovarian cancer in a relative and Jewish ancestry. Predictors of BRCA2 mutation status included early age at diagnosis in the case herself or in her relatives. "These data are critical for identifying women who would most benefit from genetic testing," said geneticist Ostrander, formerly head of the genetics program at the Hutchinson Center who is now chief of the Cancer Genetics Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute. A unique aspect of the study was the inclusion of African-American women, Malone said. "Until now there have been very little data regarding BRCA-carrier status in African-American women. The absence of data on such women could lead to the misconception that they are less likely to carry a mutation in one of these genes. In fact, this study confirms that African-American women carry mutations in broadly similar proportions to Caucasian women," she said. Among breast-cancer cases with a family history of ovarian cancer, 14 percent were found to carry a BRCA 1 mutation. Among those who had a family history of both breast and ovarian cancer, 27 percent carrieda BRCA 1 mutation. While the population-based study confirmed what previously has been observed in high-risk families - that BRCA mutations are indeed most common in younger women with breast cancer - the research also provided the first direct evidence that women diagnosed with breast cancer later in life also can be mutation carriers, although the probability decreases with age. The prevalence of BRCA mutations fell to about 2 percent among breast-cancer cases diagnosed at ages 60 to 64. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 192,000 U.S. women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Among women who carry a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2, an estimated 36 percent to 85 percent (360 to 850 women out of 1,000) will get breast cancer. In addition, women with breast cancer who carry a mutation also face an increased risk for developing a second breast cancer or ovarian cancer. "While the primary thrust of this research was to identify predictors of carrying the high-risk mutations and to clarify mutation prevalence in understudied groups, the relatively small proportion of cases found to carry a mutation serves as a continued reminder that the majority of women with breast cancer, even those with a positive family history, do not carry mutations in these genes," said Malone, who is also a research professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine. For the study, Malone, Ostrander and colleagues examined the frequency and predictors of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in 1,628 women with breast cancer and 674 women without the disease. The womenranged in age from 35 to 64 and were participants in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences (CARE) Study, which involved women from the Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. The research team included investigators from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles; Wayne State University in Detroit; the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, Mass.; the National Cancer Institute (NCI); the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The NICHD and NCI funded the research. For more information, contact: Kristen Woodward; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Tel.: 206.667.5095; Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


PURPOSE
Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) slab is one of the mostly used phantoms for studying breast dosimetry in mammography. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the equivalence between exposure factors acquired from PMMA slabs and patient cases of different age groups of Taiwanese women in mammography.

METHODS
This study included 3910 craniocaudal screen/film mammograms on Taiwanese women acquired on one mammographic unit. The tube loading, compressed breast thickness (CBT), compression force, tube voltage, and target/filter combination for each mammogram were collected for all patients. The glandularity and the equivalent thickness of PMMA were determined for each breast using the exposure factors of the breast in combination with experimental measurements from breast-tissue-equivalent attenuation slabs. Equivalent thicknesses of PMMA to the breasts of Taiwanese women were then estimated.

RESULTS
The average ± standard deviation CBT and breast glandularity in this study were 4.2 ± 1.0 cm and 54% ± 23%, respectively. The average equivalent PMMA thickness was 4.0 ± 0.7 cm. PMMA slabs producing equivalent exposure factors as in the breasts of Taiwanese women were determined for the age groups 30-49 yr and 50-69 yr. For the 4-cm PMMA slab, the CBT and glandularity values of the equivalent breast were 4.1 cm and 65%, respectively, for the age group 30-49 yr and 4.4 cm and 44%, respectively, for the age group 50-69 yr.

CONCLUSIONS
The average thickness of PMMA slabs producing the same exposure factors as observed in a large group of Taiwanese women is less than that reported for American women. The results from this study can provide useful information for determining a suitable thickness of PMMA for mammographic dose survey in Taiwan. The equivalence of PMMA slabs and the breasts of Taiwanese women is provided to allow average glandular dose assessment in clinical practice.


Structural fire safety capacity of concrete is very complicated because concrete materials have considerable variations. In this paper, constitutive models and relationships for concrete subjected to fire are developed, which are intended to provide efficient modeling and to specific fire-performance criteria of the behavior of concrete structures exposed to fire. They are developed for unconfined concrete specimens that include residual compressive and tensile strengths, compressive elastic modulus, compressive and tensile stress-strain relationships at elevated temperatures. In this paper, the proposed relationships at elevated temperatures are compared with experimental result tests and pervious existing models. It affords to find several advantages and drawbacks of present stress-strain relationships and using these results to establish more accurate and general compressive and tensile stress-strain relationships. Additional experimental test results are needed in tension and the other main parameters at elevated temperatures to establish well-founded models and to improve the proposed relationships. The developed models and relationships are general, rational, and have good agreement with experimental data.


To answer questions from parents of children autism spectrum more than 300 children from various Arab countries as well as Arab expatriates residing in the foreign and Arab countries. We found that 90% of children have been exposed to neglect inadvertently leaving them in front of children's channels in the first year for a long time or screens devices in the first year or second. The most of them left by parents to watch the channels that repeat content and songs. We also found more cases that led to leaving the child of the TV is: 1. Working mother 2. Expatriate mother or traveling 3. Pregnant another child early 4. Busy father 5. Ignorance of the seriousness of the TV. 6. Addiction mother on social networking sites such as Face book. We also found the answer from the mothers of the children and some of the videos that the child's behavior after the birth and to the pre-watch TV normally be in terms of sounds, movement and visual communication, hearing, especially in the first 6 months. Symptoms of TV autism spectrum - Lack of eye contact - Lack of attention to the appeal - Link TV or screens - Age-stop linguistic and stop mental age where he does not fit the true age - Non-participation of children playing - Trouble sleeping and eating Repetitive movements - problems in some senses such as smell - touch - taste - and the sensitivity of sound. We have reached the symptoms depend on several factors and varies from child, including: 1- In any month of the child's age began to watch TV for a long time in the first year it led to a mental age and freeze them know mental age of a child. 2- How much the period that lasted for Child Show TV screens or devices and the way parents interact with the child and that will affect the senses and by how the brain works and the impact of television addiction children how we came to cause these symptoms TV and how it works to freeze the mind and the senses. The idea of therapy By how the brain works for the Very young child's mind when they are born to be his mind Loader with operational program acquired genes. This operational program provides for the is 1- To pay attention to what is repeated. 2- Pay attention to visual and auditory stimuli. 3- The basis of learning is repetition and stimulate the senses Comes from the interaction, in order for this program works must interact with the child to stimulate the child's mind and its cells nerve The most important year of the child is the first year then the second and child neglect in the first two years whether to let him watch TV or maid or not to interact with it leads to stop some senses and stop the mental and linguistic age of the child. The child is born and all the senses memory empty and the sense of each storage and retrieval program it must be filled to the age of 18 months and the formation of memory for each sense. Repetition is the basis of learning, the basis for the work of the senses is the interaction what happens when you watch the child to repeat content channels and songs and cartoons How the impact of the TV screens in the senses and the mind happens 1- The sense of sight To operate the sense of sight must be watched repeated things and stores it in memory of sight colors, sizes and shape as well as the normal speed stored in memory in order to be considered and very young children learn best by relating to real live people. In the case that the child was TV it stores the two-dimensional images without the size without touching without smell. What happens in a child's memory - will not be storage size and shape and the smell will not prolong the consideration of the fact things Because he used to watch Photos shown great speed and two-dimensional resulting in lack of eye contact of the child Things really are not two-dimensional 2- Example hearing Natural that a child hears different intensity, size and level far and close sounds and different directions And heard his name many times and pay attention to the call and stores voice his name and repetition soon be named in memory of hearing When you call it retrieves the sound of the voice memory and quickly analyze the mind and pay attention to the call quickly In the case of watching TV heard voices and one level - from one direction - will store specific sounds like what you watch from songs and animation films - Due to the channels repeating the content of the songs and songs will be stored these sounds in the audio memory and where the child spends a long time without having heard the sound of his name or Call it will become the voice of his name store down memory because the foundation is repetition will lose the sound of his name and therefore will not respond to the call of his parents, although he pay attention to the voices of the TV - also cause sensitivity of the hearing because the ear will be used on a one-level sounds also happen speech problems Because child labor channels to repeat songs, therefore the child tends to happen almost addictive frequencies songs to find that the child does not respond to the call of his father, but as soon as the employment of children are attracted to channel quickly even if the child was in another room 3- The lack of movement and sitting in front of the TV for a long time Problem will happen in the system estimate distances, balance and touch 4- Eating natural person is an important topic when watching TV in a mind will not eat cares tastings - this is what happens to the child while watching TV will be attentive to the TV will weaken the sense of taste and also in the future and also will not be digested without eating has swallowed digest TV addiction will lead to feelings and not to freeze the growth of social relations and do not care even in the absence of the mother in some cases. 5- Speech and becomes a child receives only laziness happens to think and speak weaken the speech where language acquisition results from the interaction with others and not to watch TV and weaken the sense of touch, smell, at least in this moment of interaction depends mental age As the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended preventing children less than two years of watching TV and that our recommended weaning in two years and we recommend that leaving the child less than two years to television is crime. We demand from channels that repeat content and songs put a warning on the channel to prevent viewing of less than two years for the prevention of the spread of autism spectrum Recommendation prevent children less than two years to watch TV once, especially in the first year of interaction with the child as much as possible with sound and movement and smile and touch. There are some people messages, most of which prove that the child is exposed to neglect is intentional to leave him in front of children's channels, especially with a nanny does not speak baby language was the mother is busy with work or pregnancy in the most important months needed for the child to interact and evolve and also busy mothers to the Internet and social networking sites and it is clear that children channels a major reason for the increased prevalence of autism spectrum leaving the child who is less than two years, is to watch TV screens is a crime. Can restart the mind and the senses again by reverse engineering and without medication starts to work the mind and the senses notice of appeal identifying himself and prolong the matter and get ready to learn and make up for lost and begin the appearance of improvement in the first week. Channels affecting children and that repeated content Channels of the most influential in the children come to the fore Channel Toyyour aljannah TV by 70% and it shares Space Toon – BRAAEAM TV - Tom and Jerry. Message from one of the mothers of children born harmony boy and girl Posted says that the child has a lack of eyes contact - do not pay attention to the appeal - does not realize what around him - not following orders - the child likes to eat only cake and yogurt An inquiry was made of them Does the child and the girl child and how much TV they been seen an hour and why his sister was not affected The answer is as follows: From the age of 6 months, the child watches TV more than 7 hours per day Is his sister was watching TV a period equal to the period of her brother or less? The answer is that the mother of his twin sister was watching TV a period of not less concerned with road a lot - and always come out with me and leave the other child sits at home with his grandmother.


New materials and production technology have been introduced into LDMOS RF-PA transistors to provide advanced thermal features and increased thermal conductivity (Kth). Recently Kth of WCu flanges has been increased by nearly 25% from near 160 W/mK to near 200 W/mK. Further improvements in the latest generation of the RF-PA utilize novel flange materials such as Cu-laminate with even higher Kth, by more than 25% compared to WCu. The development of Cu-laminate flange structures, involved optimization between achieving higher Kth and preserving desired mechanical properties for low stress and long-term reliability. Such optimization provided desired flatness for the RF-PA; yielding in lower interfacial thermal resistance between the RF-PA transistor flange and the next level heat sink. Furthermore, well characterized, highly thermally conductive, and very robust AuSi die attach was employed for efficient and reliable thermal coupling. Constellation of such materials and production technology improved overall quality of the RF-PA, enabling successful implementation in base-stations.


SUMMARY Objective: To review the literature concerning pain mechanisms in fibromyalgia [FMS]. Findings and Conclusions: Thirteen investigations using different methods, comprising 250 patients with FMS, confirm a biological dysfunction of the nociceptive system, especially in the central nervous system in the majority of patients with FMS. The hyperexcitability in the nociceptive nervous system may have different causes in the individual patient. Localized long-standing muscle pain, chronic stress, genetic factors, and hormonal changes may all play a role. Pain generators in the muscle may not be specific for FMS but may be of importance for initiating and maintaining pain and allodynia/hyperalgesia.


Beliefs about the Devil cannot be regarded as superstitions because the Devil is a very real figure in Christian religion. If people ascribe unrealistic and improbable characteristics to the Devil, these are referred to as folk beliefs. Afrikaans folk beliefs about the Devil and his works are illustrated primarily by the many references to this character in everyday language, folksongs. stories and jokes. In earlier years a very broad section of the population still believed firmly in certain features of the Devil which have today faded to mere humorous references. As far as his appearance is concerned. there are certain characteristics which remain embedded in folk beliefs because this is how he is almost consistently represented, namely with goat horns. goat hooves, an arrow-tipped tail and a trident.


We present a new method for Lu-Hf geochronology using lawsonite, an index mineral of high-pressure, low-temperature metamorphism. The method uses common cation exchange chromatography to purify Lu and Hf from the sample and analysis by multicollector inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. Lawsonite 176 Lu/ 177 Hf ratios are elevated and are similar to other minerals commonly used in Lu-Hf geochronology such as garnet or apatite. We obtain an age of 145.5 ± 2.4 Ma for lawsonite-blueschist facies metamorphism at Ring Mountain within the Franciscan Complex, California, the lawsonite type locality. The age agrees well with published geochronology and thermochronology for the Franciscan Complex. The new method provides a powerful tool to investigate processes and time scales of blueschist to eclogite facies metamorphism, crust-mantle recycling via subduction, and the geodynamics of convergent margins.


Isosorbide, succinyl chloride and isophthaloyl chloride are polycondensed under various reaction conditions. The heating in bulk with or without catalysts as well in an aromatic solvent without catalyst, and polycondensation with the addition of pyridine only yield low molar mass copolyesters. However, heating in chlorobenzene with addition of SnCl2 or ZnCl2 produces satisfactory molar masses. The number average molecular weights (Mn) of most copolyesters fall into the range of 700015,000 Da with polydispersities (PD) in the range of 39. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra almost exclusively displayed peaks of cyclics indicating that the chain growth was mainly limited by cyclization and not by side reactions, stoichiometric imbalance or incomplete conversion. The glass-transition temperatures increased with the content of isophthalic acid from 75 to 180 degrees C and the thermo-stabilities also followed this trend.


In this paper, the control system which has been proposed to upgrade the toroidal field coil (TFC) power source at JFT-2M tokamak machine in Japan Atomic Energy Reseach Institute is presented. This power source, us-ing four dc generator-motors with flywheel (DCG) for storing 210MJ of the energy, can produce 51.3MW (2.7kV, 19kA) of the flat top over 1 sec. The control characteristics of the DCG operating as generator are described, especially emphasized such features as the unique method for opening the contactor of a main-circuit-switch by controlling the field current of DCG. A pair of thyristor convertors for DCG exiciter are used not only for rapidly varing the coil current between zero and 19kA, which are original purposes, but also for reducing it to less 10A to make the contactor of the gaseos circuit braker (GCB) for the switch open. The system configuration and the operating principle of the proposed control system are explained, and the basic characteristics which have been investigated by solving directly the linearized equations for the system or the analog simulation for it are presented. The required performance has been achieved through the field-tests, and some of test results were compared and got good agreement with the simulation results.


We introduce a maximum margin framework realizing a regression type learning in an arbitrary Hilbert space whilst the corresponding dual problem preserving the structure and, therefore, the complexity that of the binary Support Vector Machine(SVM). We demonstrate via some examples this learning framework is broadly applicable in several seemingly different problems. One example is the multiclass classification problem which, in this way, can be implemented with the complexity of a binary SVM. The reduction of the complexity does not involve diminishing performance but, in some cases this approach can improve the classification accuracy. The multiclass classification is realized where the output labels are vector valued. Other examples implement multiview learning problems.


A decentralized feedback control scheme is proposed for optimization of large-scale systems. First, local controllers are used to optimize each subsystem, ignoring the interconnections. Next, an additional compensating controller was applied to minimize the effect of interactions and improve the performance of the overall system. At the cost of the suboptimal performance, this optimization strategy ensures stability of the systems under structural perturbations. To account for the modeling uncertainties, both a local Kalman filter and recursive least square algorithm are used to estimate all local states and interactions for each subsystem. The controller uses these estimates, optimizes a given performance index and then regulates the system. A sample three-bus system is given to illustrate the proposed methodologies.


In this study the structural response of post-tensioned structural glass beams is investigated. This is done through four-point bending tests on two series of post-tensioned glass beam specimens. The beams consist of three layers of annealed float glass and are posttensioned by means of two stainless steel tendons positioned along the upper and lower edge of the beams. In addition, a series of reference beams, with identical geometry but without tendons, is tested. From the results it is concluded that post-tensioning a glass beam is a feasible concept, which provides the beams enhanced initial breakage strength and enhanced post-breakage performance. More specifically, the post-tensioned beams reach up to 80% higher initial breakage loads than the reference beams. Furthermore the post-tensioned glass beams reach postbreakage load levels up to 200% of their initial glass breakage load and demonstrate highly ductile post-breakage response. Further studies will focus in more detail on this promising concept of post-tensioning glass beams.


Are contracts options to perform or pay damages, or are they obligations to perform? This paper adopts a "both-and" answer to what commentators have spent decades debating as an "either-or" question. The correct theory of contract depends on the parties; applying the wrong theory harms the parties' autonomy and economic interests. Recent empirical evidence shows that most people see contracts as obligations to perform. If the law applies the option theory to those parties' contracts, it does not enforce the agreement to which they consented. The gap between the contract as understood at formation and the contract as enforced after breach not only limits the parties' autonomy but also leads the parties to enter contracts that are not Pareto optimal. Adjusting the remedies can solve these deficiencies. Damages can be raised so as to be fully compensatory, covering not just the value of the unprovided contracted-for good or service but also the non-economic harm caused by the failure to perform. Forcing the breaching party to internalize the full costs of breach, as experienced by the non-breaching party, creates the correct incentives before and after formation. The computation of the remedy, and the theory underlying it, differ for contracts among merchants. Merchants typically contract for value, not performance, so the option theory better serves their autonomy and economic interests. Contracts among merchants already fall under different rules of formation and interpretation than other contracts; a dual approach to contract remedies provides a logical next step.


Philosophy of Psychedelics is the first scholarly monograph in English devoted to the philosophical analysis of psychedelic drugs. Its central focus is the apparent conflict between the growing use of psychedelics in psychiatry and the philosophical worldview of naturalism, which holds that the natural world is all that exists. The book reviews scientific evidence that psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin can be given safely in controlled conditions, and can cause lasting psychological benefits with one or two administrations. Supervised psychedelic sessions can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and addiction, and improve well-being in healthy volunteers for months or even years. But these benefits seem to be mediated by 'mystical' experiences of cosmic consciousness, which prompts a philosophical concern: Do psychedelics cause psychological benefits by inducing false or implausible beliefs about the metaphysical nature of reality? The author integrates empirical evidence and philosophical considerations in the service of a simple conclusion: This 'Comforting Delusion Objection' to psychedelic therapy fails. Exotic metaphysical ideas do sometimes come up, but they are not the central driver of change in psychedelic therapy. Psychedelics cause lasting psychological benefits by altering the sense of self and changing how people relate to their minds—not by changing their beliefs about the ultimate nature of reality. The upshot is that a traditional conception of psychedelics as agents of insight and spirituality can be reconciled with naturalism. Controlled psychedelic administration can lead to genuine knowledge gain and spiritual growth, even if no cosmic consciousness or divine Reality exists.


In this thesis, solutions to the first two of three phases associated with on-orbit debris removal are proposed. The first phase concerns the development of optimal space robot manipulator deployment manoeuvres which ensure zero-attitude displacement by the end of the trajectory. Three common pseudospectral optimal control tools are used to develop the trajectories, and the optimality of each solution is assessed using well-established validation techniques. The second phase addresses the compliant capture of a cooperative target using a nonlinear disturbance observer coupled with an impedance controller, and the observer is shown to be asymptotically stable for the case of a free-flying space robot. The performance of the techniques proposed for each phase are first verified in simulation, then through an experimental validation campaign using Carleton University's Spacecraft Robotics and Control Laboratory.


Collective habitat has been part of the housing history in Chile through the poor inhabitant's incursion in the city since more than one century. First, as round rooms, 'cites' and 'conventillos', and afterwards as 'colectivos'. Later in informal settlements that evolved into self-organised and self-built neighbourhoods. During the last decades, in social condominiums. This form of co-habitation has adopted different shapes according to their historical moment, the spatial configuration of the places that inhabitants stayed or co-produced, the social and/or political organisation, the political and institutional context in which they were subscribed. Ones better than others were simultaneously embracing and configuring a specific model of habitat in which the base of 'the collective' is the historical memory, the tradition of organisation, and the parental and neighbours' networks. Today, these collective ways of living remain in our cities opening paths for their consideration in programmes and projects of collective inhabit in the country.


Recently, two branches of legal scholarship have generated particularly illuminating insights through analyses of citizenship-related issues: scholars of Critical Race Theory (CRT), with their focus on the failure of the United States to fulfill the promises of full equality made to its citizens of color, and mainstream immigration legal theorists, with their exploration of the shifting parameters of national citizenship in the context of globalization and massive migration. Oddly, however, these inquiries have largely proceeded separately, with very little overlap. This Article probes the complementary forms of taken-for-grantedness that exist on the part of CRT scholars and mainstream immigration scholars where matters of citizenship are concerned. In CRT, while race has been thoroughly deconstructed and interrogated, the notion of citizenship has rarely been examined with a critical eye. Meanwhile, in mainstream immigration legal scholarship, citizenship is subject to rigorous interrogation, but the concept of race is rarely raised and its social construction is infrequently challenged. The authors, an immigration scholar and a Critical Race scholar, argue that discussions of citizenship in legal theory will be far richer when these branches of inquiry are integrated. This brief Article maps the important citizenship-related contributions of the CRT and immigration fields; offers preliminary explanations for why they have often proceeded on separate tracks; and draws on recent events such as Hurricane Katrina and the immigrant marches of 2006 to emphasize that the workings of citizenship in contemporary American society cannot be fully understood unless race and immigration lenses are used together. Finally, the Article outlines a future collaborative project that bridges the gap by addressing issues of race, ethnicity, and immigration in the context of work and citizenship.


[Abstract] With over 20 years' development after the beginning of economic reform, China's private economy has grown from nothing. From small-scale to large-scale, from weak to strong, the economic form has become one of the strongest powers that support China's economic growth and has shown its great vitality. However, China's private economy has never escaped from the vicious circle of "short life" which strongly indicates that sustainable development has inevitably become a new outlet for China's private economic future growth. The paper begins with the definition of sustainable development of China's private economy, describes the importance of private economy to China's overall economic development, analyzes key factors that affect sustainable development of China's private economy and raises relevant measurements based on above listed respects, for better growth of China's private economy. [Keywords] China's private economy; sustainable development; restrictive factors; measurements Introduction In accordance with "Private Economy Blue Book 2006", till the end of 2005, China's domestic capital private economy accounted for 50% of GDP, there also exists a number of family enterprises earning annual revenue of over 10 billion RMB such as "Suning" and "CHINT". Private economy is exhibiting its vitality as a vital part of the socialist market economy. However, it encounters a problem that private enterprises are usually difficult to grow and short in life. According to statistical data, 60% of China's private enterprises fail within 5 years, 85% within 10 years and the average life is 2.9 years, which perfectly agrees with Kuznets Curve. The failure of once popular brands such as "Juren", "Idall" and "Sanzhu" serves as good examples. Therefore, how to realize long-term, stable and healthy sustainable development has become an urgent issue for China's private enterprises. Definition of Private Economy and Sustainable Development of Private Economy Private economy contains three levels: private economy of broader sense, domestic capital and narrower sense. Private economy of broader sense refers to general designation of all economic forms in China except state-owned or state-controlled enterprises; private economy of domestic capital refers to that of broader sense minus Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and foreign invested enterprises; private economy of narrower sense refers to private individual economy. This paper focuses on analysis of private economy of narrower sense; i.e., private individual economic form. This paper defines the sustainable development of private economy as: sustainable developments of private economic behavior; organic combination and coordinative development of short-term and long-term, partial and overall, individual and common interest of private economy development; sustainable development of healthy operation, overall coordination, sustainable growth, capability strengthened, etc., of private economy; in order to gain a common prosperity for society. Importance of Private Economy to China's Economic Development The sustainable development of private economy is vital to China's sustainable development. It generally reflects as respects below: Private economy has grown to be an important power that pulls up China's economic development and is playing one of the most important roles of China's economy. In 2005, domestic capital private economy accounted for 49.7% in GDP, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan invested economy accounted for around 15%-16%, sum up over 65% of total GDP. Private economy has become one of the main channels of employment rate increase and basic factors to achieve social stability. The share of private economy in the 2nd and 3rd industry employment rate has grown from 77.5% in 2000 to 84.1% in 2005; the share of private economy of overall employment rate in rural area has grown from 65% in 2000 to over 75% in 2005. As we can see, private economy has released the pressure of employment rate and made important contributions toward the stability of society. …


Advance knowledge of which files in the next release of a large software system are most likely to contain the largest numbers of faults can be a very valuable asset. To accomplish this, a negative binomial regression model has been developed and used to predict the expected number of faults in each file of the next release of a system. The predictions are based on the code of the file in the current release, and fault and modification history of the file from previous releases. The model has been applied to two large industrial systems, one with a history of 17 consecutive quarterly releases over 4 years, and the other with nine releases over 2 years. The predictions were quite accurate: for each release of the two systems, the 20 percent of the files with the highest predicted number of faults contained between 71 percent and 92 percent of the faults that were actually detected, with the overall average being 83 percent. The same model was also used to predict which files of the first system were likely to have the highest fault densities (faults per KLOC). In this case, the 20 percent of the files with the highest predicted fault densities contained an average of 62 percent of the system's detected faults. However, the identified files contained a much smaller percentage of the code mass than the files selected to maximize the numbers of faults. The model was also used to make predictions from a much smaller input set that only contained fault data from integration testing and later. The prediction was again very accurate, identifying files that contained from 71 percent to 93 percent of the faults, with the average being 84 percent. Finally, a highly simplified version of the predictor selected files containing, on average, 73 percent and 74 percent of the faults for the two systems.


We aim to address the problem of Natural Language Video Localization (NLVL) — localizing the video segment corresponding to a natural language description in a long and untrimmed video. State-of-the-art NLVL methods are almost in one-stage fashion, which can be typically grouped into two categories: 1) anchor-based approach: it first pre-defines a series of video segment candidates (e.g., by sliding window), and then does classification for each candidate; 2) anchor-free approach: it directly predicts the probabilities for each video frame as a boundary or intermediate frame inside the positive segment. However, both kinds of one-stage approaches have inherent drawbacks: the anchor-based approach is susceptible to the heuristic rules, further limiting the capability of handling videos with variant length. While the anchor-free approach fails to exploit the segment-level interaction thus achieving inferior results. In this paper, we propose a novel Boundary Proposal Network (BPNet), a universal two-stage framework that gets rid of the issues mentioned above. Specifically, in the first stage, BPNet utilizes an anchor-free model to generate a group of high-quality candidate video segments with their boundaries. In the second stage, a visual-language fusion layer is proposed to jointly model the multi-modal interaction between the candidate and the language query, followed by a matching score rating layer that outputs the alignment score for each candidate. We evaluate our BPNet on three challenging NLVL benchmarks (i.e., Charades-STA, TACoS and ActivityNet-Captions). Extensive experiments and ablative studies on these datasets demonstrate that the BPNet outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.


ABSTRACT It was in the 1990s, that the possibility of increased transmission of HIV with the use of injectable contraceptive Depo-Provera®, was first flagged in medical literature. This has posed a challenge for its use in countries, particularly in the African region, where the prevalence and transmission rate of HIV is high. In 2015, a randomised 'clinical' trial, the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) was launched in four African countries to resolve the question whether the increased risk was causal. Contrary to expectations, the ECHO trial successfully recruited and randomised the specified number of girls/women participants. This paper argues that this was made possible by exercising undue influence, by using incentives, coercive language, and by concealing the real nature of the clinical trial during recruitment. The ECHO trial is unique in subjecting a group of healthy girls/women knowingly to a contraceptive drug with an intention not of finding out whether it is efficacious as a contraceptive, but to find out how risky or life-threatening its use could be. Thus, the ECHO trial has violated one of the central tenets of the Helsinki Declaration by privileging pursuit of knowledge over the interests of the girl/women trial participants from Africa.


The recommendation system collects and analyzes users' preferences, and recommend information or commodities to users automatically. In this research, we developed an online book recommendation system based on users' brainwave information. We collected users' brainwave information by electroencephalography (EEG) device, and applied empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to decompose the brainwave signal into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). A back-propagation neural networks (BPNN) model was developed to portrait the user's brainwave-preference correlations based on IMFs of brainwave signals, and it was applied to design and develop the recommendation system. This research has highlighted a research direction about human computer interaction (HCI) design about recommendation system.


The proximate, fatty and amino acids composition of two commercially important
freshwater fish species Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zillii . purchased from local fishermen in two landing sites in Lagos State, Nigeria were determined. Live specimens of C. gariepinus were purchased while samples of T. zillii were stored in an ice chest at 40C and conveyed to the laboratory for analyses. The chemical composition of the samples was determined using AOAC methods. The protein content of C. gariepinus and T. zillii was 18.8% and 19.0% (% wet weight), respectively. The total lipid content was high for C. gariepinus (9.3%) but low for T. zillii (1.1) %. Lipid composition varied in the two species but differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The ash was 1.2% for both species. The moisture content was higher in T. zillii (80.4%) than in C. gariepinus (74.3%). The percentage composition of individual fatty acids as a ratio of total muscle lipids of C. gariepinus ranged from 0.1% to 26.0% and that of T. zillii from 0.1% to 32.2%. Among them, those occurring in the highest proportions were myristic acid (C14:0, 4.2-5.2%), palmitic acid (C16: 0, 22.0-32.2%), palmitoleic acid (C16:1, 3.6-13.2%), heptadecanoic acid (C17:0, 0.7-3.0%), stearic acid (C18:0, 8.1-9.5%), linoleic acid (C18:2, 1.4-12.3%) and oleic acid (C18:1). Amino acids from sample protein in C. gariepinus ranged from 0.30% to 17.81% and that of T.zillii from 0.27% to 18.16%. The most abundant amino acids in the two fish species were glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine and lysine ranging from 9.49% to 18.16%. The ratio of ω3/ω6 fatty acids was less than 1 in C. gariepinus while in T. zillii it was 2.70. The two freshwater fish species contain essential fatty acids particularly eicosapentaenoic acids and docosahexaenoic acids and essential amino acids for promoting good health, prevention and healing of diseases in humans. The two freshwater fish were therefore found to be important sources of nutrients. Keywords : Proximate, Freshwater, fish, fattyacids, aminoacids. AJFAND Vol. 9 (1) 2009: pp. 609-621


Simple and sensitive conductometric method has been developed for the determination of Ramipril and Enalapril maleate using phosphotungestic acid in pure form and in tablets. The proposed method  is based on the conductometric determination of 5-20 mg and 7-20 mg of Ramipril and Enalapril maleate by titration with phosphotungstic acid (PTA) in aqueous solution. All the reaction conditions for the proposed methods have been studied. The proposed methods were applied successfully for the determination of Ramipril and Enalapril maleate  in tablets, the RSD values were not exceeding 2 for both drugs. The results obtained were compared statistically with those obtained by the reference method and showed no significant differences regarding accuracy and precision.


The existing Ethernet networks are designed with high redundancy and over-dimensioning so they can provide reliable services during peak traffic demand periods. However, this has increased the total energy consumption and operational cost. In this paper, we propose an energy saving algorithm (ESA) to reduce the energy consumption of green routers by considering the buffer status and the traffic load. We develop a Network Simulator, version 2, (NS-2)–based simulation model for ESA to evaluate its performance with respect to real traffic traces. Performance bounds of the proposed algorithm are derived. Numerical evaluations are conducted to verify the accuracy of the simulation model against derived bounds. Performance evaluations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms candidate algorithms, thereby providing greater energy savings with an acceptable packet delay and loss. We show that the introduced delay is bounded by an upper bound that is slightly larger than half of the sleep timer. Furthermore, performance comparisons are extensive and detailed, thus providing insights into the performance of different energy saving functions considered by the candidate algorithms.


Much of what is wrong with American criminal justice is increasingly blamed on prosecutors. This paper explores the nature of the power that prosecutors exercise, and the reasons why they have accumulated it. Prosecutorial power is not a product, ultimately, of rising caseloads, the increasing reliance on plea bargaining, or the punitive turn in American criminal justice. Instead, the growing prominence of prosecutors, both in the United States and elsewhere, stems from the prosecutor's preeminent ability to bridge organizational and conceptual divides in criminal justice. Above all else prosecutors are mediating figures, straddling the frontiers between adversarial and inquisitorial justice, between the police and the courts, and between law and discretion. By blurring these boundaries, prosecutors provide the criminal justice system with three different kinds of flexibility — ideological, institutional, and operational — and they strengthen their own hands in in a legal culture that increasingly disfavors institutional rigidity and hard-and-fast commitments. At the same time, though, the mediating role of the prosecutor frustrates traditional strategies for making government accountable. The bridges that prosecutors provide — between law and politics, rules and discretion, courts and police, advocacy and objectivity — make curtailing prosecutorial power and taming prosecutorial discretion trickier business than is often suggested, or at least a different kind of business.


Living Cyprideis torosa (Jones, 1850) was found in Germany along the North Sea coast and on some islands, within the Baltic Sea and in coastal waters near the Baltic Sea, but also in some inland natural and anthropogenic saline waters. The natural inland waters were probably colonized by birds because this species was found only in permanent saline shallow lakes that provide resting places for migrating birds. Information on the fossil and Recent record and on the biology of C. torosa and its accompanying ostracod fauna is discussed.


In the tropics, staples such as maize are often contaminated with mycotoxins, harmful by-products of fungal metabolism. In particular, high exposure to aflatoxins may cause fatal illness in people and animals, while chronic exposure can cause liver cancer in humans and, in domestic animals, growth depression and immune suppression. However, little is known about the potential health risks of milk contaminated with aflatoxins. Moreover, because of different consumption patterns and biology, men, women, boys and girls may experience different levels of risk, while because of gender roles, men and women may have different capacity to mitigate risk; yet, there are few gendered analyses of aflatoxins. This study conducts a qualitative, gendered study on awareness and perceptions of mycotoxins and how these influence risk of dietary exposure to mycotoxins among dairy farmers in Kenya. First, a risk map was developed based on previous occurrence of aflatoxicosis and relevant factors such as farming systems and dairy cattle density. This resulted in three risk categories: high risk with historical outbreaks of human aflatoxicosis, high risk without historical outbreaks and low risk with historical outbreaks. From each category, three districts were randomly selected and from each district, three villages. A focus group discussion (FGD) tool was developed and used for interviews to assess factors related to the potential risk of exposure to mycotoxins in identified risk regions and how perception of risk and risk management differed by gender. In each village, two sex-disaggregated FGDs were conducted, yielding a total of 54 FGDs. This study found that overall risk categories, awareness of mycotoxicosis and carcinogenic effects was generally low, but awareness that eating mouldy food is harmful was high. Women were more cautious than men about feeding spoilt maize to cattle. Preventive measures against fungal contamination were more common post-harvest than pre-harvest. With respect to dairy cow diets and disposal of mouldy foods, women were key decision-makers. Although commercial feeds are expensive and may be contaminated with mycotoxins, farmers regularly fed them to their cattle in low quantities to potentiate milk production. Milk was mainly sold for income generation. The farmer families consumed milk mainly in tea, which was not given to children below school-going age, thus reducing exposure to mycotoxins but also the nutritional benefits of milk. Meat was considered safe even if the cattle had been fed mouldy feeds. This study shows that there is a low understanding of the dangers of mycotoxins in food, and that certain practices among farmers may increase the risk for exposure. Gender analysis reveals that groups having knowledge are not always responsible for risk mitigation. Keywords: farmer, dietary exposure, moulds, mycotoxins, gender, dairy, Kenya, aflatoxins


Metastatic growth is the dominant cause of cancer related deaths, and therapeutic targeting of metastases remains challenging. Metastasis refers to a multistep process in which cancer cells migrate away from the primary tumor, disseminate throughout the body and colonize a distant tissue. We have studied metastasis by visualizing tumor cells at high resolution in living mice using intravital microscopy (IVM). IVM is an excellent technique to study dynamic processes; however, it can only be used to study metastatic prone organs such as the liver for ~ 36 hours. Because metastatic colonization takes place over multiple days we developed a new IVM instrument called the Abdominal Imaging Window that allowed us to intravitally image abdominal organs over weeks. Using this window we found a new stage during metastatic colonization, which is referred to as a pre-micrometastasis stage. During this stage the tumor cells are highly migratory and proliferative. Blocking migration during this pre-micrometastasis stage reduced metastatic outgrowth. As such, it may be used as a new target for pharmacological inhibition of metastatic growth. Next to studying migration during colonization we have also studied tumor cell migration during other steps of metastasis. We found that the death receptor CD95, which is well known for its apoptosis inducing effects, can stimulate migration and invasion in colorectal cancer cells. It does so by promoting Tyr 783 phosphorylation of phospholipase C-g1, resulting in phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-biphosphate (PIP2) hydrolysis. This activates cofilin, an actin-severing protein which is required for migration. To study the role of the microenvironment in inducing tumor cell migration we have developed a tool called Cryosection Labeling and Intravital Microscopy (CLIM). It allowed us to re-identify intravitally imaged regions in cryosections. By performing immune cell staining on the imaged areas we found a positive correlation between the in vivo migratory behavior of tumor cells and the presence of CD3+ T cells. We could confirm that CD3+ T cells stimulate tumor cell migration by depleting T cells in vivo. Taken together, this shows the use of IVM as an important tool to study complex dynamic processes in vivo such as metastasis. Furthermore, we found that migration is an important parameter during the entire metastatic process and we have identified the microenvironment and a new pathway as important players during tumor cell migration


Over the past decade systematic reviews of interprofessional education (IPE) have provided a more informed understanding of the effects of this type of education. This paper contributes to this literature by reporting an update of a Cochrane systematic review published in this journal ten years ago (Zwarenstein et al., ). In updating this initial review, our current work involved searches of a number of electronic databases from 1999–2006, as well as reference lists, books, conference proceedings and websites. Like the previous review, only studies which employed randomized controlled trials, controlled-before and-after-studies and interrupted time series studies of IPE, and that reported validated professional practice and health care outcomes, were included. While the first review found no studies which met its inclusion criteria, the updated review located six IPE studies. This paper aims to add to the ongoing development of evidence for IPE. Despite some useful progress being made in relation to strengthening the evidence base for IPE, the paper concludes by stressing that further rigorous mixed method studies of IPE are needed to provide a greater clarity of IPE and its effects on professional practice and patient/client care.


DETERMINING THE MECHANISM OF DOUBLE STRANDED RNA INDUCED CELL DEATH IN OVARIAN CANCER By Danielle Nicole Van, B.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011 Major Director: Jessica K. Bell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ovarian cancer is the most lethal of all gynecological cancers. Current ovarian cancer drug regimens, including taxanes and platinum-based agents, are susceptible to chemoresistance necessitating the development of novel chemotherapeutics. Within tumors pathogen-derived ligands, such as dsRNA, can activate pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that are capable of inducing apoptosis. In this dissertation we have found that in ovarian cancer cell lines (DOV-13, SKOV-3, CAOV-3, and OVCAR-3), dsRNA treatment alters cell survival. When treated with dsRNA, ovarian cancer cell lines and patient xxii samples could be divided into two categories, responsive which undergo significant levels of apoptosis (CAOV-3 and OVCAR-3) or non-responsive which are unaffected (DOV-13 and SKOV-3). Following dsRNA treatment, dsRNA receptor expression levels increase in responsive cell lines and patient samples only. This suggests a potential role for dsRNA receptors as biomarkers to identify dsRNA-responsive patients. Detailed investigation of the mechanism by which cell lines succumb to or avoid dsRNA-induced cell death showed that in responsive cell lines, NF-kappaB, IFN-beta and caspase 3 activation occurred. Cell death was caspase and IFN-dependent. In non-responsive cell lines, increased c-IAP2 levels and RIP1 kinase ubiquitination occurred, as well as, an increase in basal level autophagy with dsRNA stimulation. However, individual blockade of these pathways did not restore dsRNA-induced apoptosis. In a non-responsive cell line, dsRNA enhanced the action of paclitaxel, carboplatin, and vorinostat through an as yet undetermined mechanism. In a responsive cell line, dsRNA produced a synergistic effect when combined with these drugs. These novel dual therapies, innate immune ligand plus cytotoxic agent, may find application in chemoresistant ovarian cancers. 1 CHAPTER