Objective To investigate the association between preoperative,operative,and postoperative factors and persistent pleural effusion after the extracardiac Fontan procedure. Methods Ninety-five consecutive patients diagnosed with univentricular heart underwent extracardiac connection using Gore-Tax conduits at the Department of Children's Heart Centre,Justus-Liebig-University Giessen in Germany from June 1996 to July 2007. The outcome measures were duration and volume of chest tube drainage after surgical intervention. The investigated factors included age and weight at the time of operation,anatomical diagnosis,preoperative oxygen saturation,mean pulmonary artery pressure,ventricular end-diastolic pressure,fenestration,cardiopulmonary bypass time,conduit size,postoperative pulmonary artery pressure,administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors,and postoperative infection. Associations between these factors and persistent pleural effusion after the extracardiac Fontan procedure were analyzed. Results Every patient suffered postoperative effusion. The median duration of postoperative chest tube drainage was 9 days (range,3-69 days),and the median volume was 12 mL·kg-1·d-1 (range,2.0-37.5 mL·kg-1·d-1). Thirty-seven (38.9%) patients had pleural drainage for more than 15 days,and the volume in 35 (36.8%) patients exceeded 25 mL·kg-1·d-1. Nineteen (20%) patients required placement of additional chest tubes for re-accumulation of pleural effusion after removal of previous chest tubes. Fifteen (17.8%) patients were hospitalized again due to pleural effusion after discharge. The median length of hospital stay after the operation was 14 days (range,4-78 days). Multivariate analysis results showed that non-fenestration,low preoperative oxygen saturation,and postoperative infections were independent risk factors for prolonged duration of pleural drainage (P0.05). Long cardiopulmonary bypass time,non-fenestration,small conduit size,and low preoperative oxygen saturation were independent risk factors for excessive volume of pleural drainage (P0.05).Conclusions For reduing postoperative duration and volume of pleural drainage following Fontan procedure,it seems to be important to improve the preoperative oxygen saturation,use large size of conduit,shorten cardiopulmonary bypass time,and make fenestration during the operation,as well as avoid postoperative infections.


Ammonites recovered from Upper Bajocian to Upper Kimmeridgian strata in a core drilled at Sentralbanken High in the northern Barents Sea are described and chronostratigraphically interpreted. The lower part of the core comprises Upper Bajocian to Upper Callovian deposits of the Fuglen Formation with ammonites of the genus Cranocephalites near the base, and Longaeviceras in the upper part. The overlying Oxfordian to Kimmeridgian deposits of the Hekkingen Formation are thin and condensed. The Hekkingen Formation is dominated by Boreal cardioceratid ammonites (Cardioceras, Amoebites, Euprionoceras, Hoplocardioceras), with numerous Subboreal aulacostephanid ammonites (Rasenia, Zenostephanus) at two levels. The occurrences of Boreal and Subboreal ammonites are discussed in relation to the palaeogeography and fluctuations of ammonite faunas within the Boreal Realm during the Kimmeridgian with special attention to levels rich in Subboreal ammonites whose appearance has been controlled by tectonic and climatic factors. The uppermost part of the succession deposited during a time of maximum flooding in the Late Kimmeridgian is dominated by Boreal ammonites.


In 1440, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Florence unexpectedly defeated Milanese forces near the town of Anghiari in eastern Tuscany. Nicholas A. Eckstein reveals the impact of this celebrated victory on Florentine public life and how it could have triggered the custodians of the Brancacci Chapel, the Carmelite friars, to seek the completion of frescoes by Masolino (c.1383-c.1436) and Masaccio (1401-c.1428). Today, tens of thousands of people visit the Brancacci Chapel annually to gaze at the brilliant frescoes of Saint Peter's life. Universally recognized as a canonical masterpiece of the Florentine Renaissance, these glowing murals span the interior in long panels. The first serious examination to position the frescoes at the heart of Tuscan society and culture, Painted Glories teems with fascinating characters and intrigue. In swiftly paced prose, Eckstein explores the chapel's history, medieval culture, and art patronage, progressively peeling back the story's layers amid the tumultuous politics of the 15th-century Florentine state.


We study graphs G in which the maximum number of vertex-disjoint cycles nu(G) is close to the cyclomatic number mu(G), which is a natural upper bound for nu(G). Our main result is the existence of a finite set P(k) of graphs for all k is an element of N-0 such that every 2-connected graph G with mu(G)-nu(G) = k arises by applying a simple extension rule to a graph in P(k). As an algorithmic consequence we describe algorithms calculating minmu(G)-nu(G), k + 1 in linear time for fixed k.


The moving junction is used in craniospinal irradiation (CSI) to smooth out any dose inhomogeneity across the head/spine junction. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the extent of the head/spine junction inhomogeneity in treatment plans of actual patients and to compare stationary and moving junction data. The radiotherapy plans, prescriptions and case notes of 18 patients (12 medulloblastomas, 3 supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumours, 2 pineoblastomas and 1 pineal germinoma) treated with CSI (35 Gy in 21 fractions over 29 days) were examined. At 16 months median follow-up (range 1.5-35.5 months), no junctional recurrences or myelopathy were observed. Using the moving junction technique the mean maximum anterior cord dose, from 5 cm caudal to 3 cm cephalad of the Day 1 junction, was 36.3 Gy, and the mean minimum anterior cord dose was 32.9 Gy, with a mean within-patient variation of 3.4 Gy (9.7% of 35 Gy). In four patients, comparison of dose variation across the field junction was made between the original plans and a re-plan using a stationary junction. The effect of a matched junction, a 2 mm overlap and a 2 mm gap were studied both for moving junction and stationary junction techniques. Dose variations were similar in all cases for exactly-matched fields, but for a 2 mm overlap or gap the dose variation was smaller in all but one case for the moving junction technique. These data suggest that the moving junction is important to minimize the risk of overdose or underdose across the spine/head junction in CSI.


Power system and its installation utility suffer from harmonic pollution due to the nature of non-linear load applications. The most reliable and significant approach, in order to contribute to minimize the harmonic pollution, is to treat each type of load autonomously. Therefore, this paper is investigating all types of power components for a filter circuit which is designed and used to reduce the harmonic amplitudes of the ac supply currents of a three phase six pulse controlled converter. The simulation results show that the filter circuit is active and reliable in the rectification and inversion modes, where dc machine is used as a load or prime mover in order to fulfill both rectification and inversion modes. The suggested method compared with the conventional type shows that a considerable improvements in effective power factor, minimizing harmonics and power distortion. Also different approaches have been presented for all types of power components.


The International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade ends in 1990. Though the Decade has not achieved its numerical objective of universal access to water and sanitation, it has been quite successful in creating awareness about the sector and in developing workable strategies and models which enhance sector sustainability. The disparity in coverage between urban and rural areas, the wide differential between the provision of water supply facilities and those for sanitation, the active and meaningful involvement of women in the management of water and sanitation programmes, and effective means of accelerating coverage in a sustainable manner, are all issues for which effective answers must be found during the 1990s. If the sector were to perform in the 1990s, similar to its performance during the 1980s, a significant proportion of developing countries' population will yet be unserved by the year 2000. Thus, the strategies of the 1990s must be such that their combined effect will make and enormous difference with respect to sector performance. A more management-oriented sector, based on frequent and systematic monitoring at country and global level, with a functional and effective institutionalized entity for global advocacy, should form the corner-stone of the thrust for the 1990s.


An Independent Publication of Bipolar Disorder Investigators Continued on Page 2 News from the Pediatric Bipolar Conference, Mass. General Hospital and Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation, March 2010 in Cambridge, Massachusetts Carbamazepine Extended Release Has Mixed Effects in Children with Bipolar Illness In a poster presentation at the Pediatric Bipolar Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts in March, Gagin Joshi from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) presented positive data from a study on the use of carbamazepine extended release (Equetro) in 27 children ages 6 to 12 with childhood-onset bipolar illness. These data were published this year in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Joshi found substantial overall improvement using an average dose of 788 mg/day, achieving blood levels averaging 6.6 mcg/l. Surprisingly, antidepressant effects were as robust as antimanic effects. Major side effects included headache in 23% of participants, gastrointestinal upset in 18%, sedation in 15%, and dizziness in 8%. However, eleven children dropped out of the study prematurely (two for rash, three for mania, three for lack of efficacy, and three who did not participate in follow up). Joshi felt that carbamazepine extended release was a useful backup strategy, but he was not overly impressed with its overall profile in children, in part because of the high dropout rate.


Worldwide the human population shows an ageing demographic structure. Older people often face the danger of social exclusion; arguably more often than other age groups. Nonetheless, at least in the western world, older people are more interested in local democracy and are more likely to vote than younger people, so their decisions can be important for social policy in general, and potentially in the acceptability of road pricing. Therefore, practitioners proposing road pricing schemes need to understand particularly well the implications for older people and their attitudes towards the policy if they are to deliver effective schemes successfully.

From the literature reviewed it was hypothesised that older people might ascribe more importance to collective consequences and tend to support what could be beneficial for society, a process described as 'pro-social value orientation'. Hence in a transport context, older people may be more likely to express positive or negative attitudes to the acceptability of road pricing depending on whether they believe it would be good or bad for others, or society in general. Family, friends or more generally their significant others may also have a particular influence on older people's evaluations about their intentions and choices – thus the importance of studying the influence of 'social norms' on older people's attitudes towards road pricing.

The Thesis develops a theoretical and empirical understanding of these issues, based on a secondary analysis and predominately on a two-stage primary research scheme consisting of a quantitative survey and a series of focus groups conducted in Bristol, a city that has been near the forefront of UK cities planning road pricing schemes. Robust evidence is provided for the view that the attitudes, social norms and pro-social value orientations of older people towards road pricing are different from those of younger people with those of people aged 60 to 74 being the most negative and those of people aged 75 and over the most positive ones. Finally it is justified that older people's particular pro-social value orientations and social norms do affect their attitudes to road pricing. – mostly negatively for the people aged 60 to 74 and positively for the people aged 75 and over.


Predicting which species will be present (or absent) across a geographical region remains one of the key problems in ecology. Numerous studies have suggested several ecological forces that can determine species presence-absence: environmental factors (i.e. abiotic environments), interactions among species (i.e. biotic interactions), dispersal and demographic stochasticity. While various ecological forces have been considered, less attention has been given to the problem of understanding how dispersal processes, in interaction with other ecological factors, shape community assembly in the presence of priority effects (i.e. initial abundances determine the presence-absence of species). In this thesis, we investigate the consequences of different dispersal patterns and stochasticity on the occurrence of priority effects and species coexistence in multi-species competitive systems. By employing deterministic and stochastic models in one-dimensional space, our study shows the conditions under which priority effects occur and disappear as local dispersal strength changes. Without dispersal, priority effects emerge in the presence of intense biotic interactions, with only one species surviving at any given location (i.e. coexistence is impossible). For moderate dispersal levels, dispersal enhances priority effects and promotes multiple species coexistence. Further increasing dispersal strength leads to the disappearance of priority effects and causes extinction of some species. We also demonstrate contrasting observations of stochasticity on priority effects: while priority effects are more prevalent in the stochastic individual-based models (IBM) than in the deterministic models for large populations, we observe fewer occurrences of priority effects in IBM for small populations. When non-local dispersal is incorporated into the models, priority effects are more pronounced than in the local dispersal models. We also investigate the effects of different dispersal patterns on species coexistence: although very long-range dispersal leads to species extinctions, intermediate-range dispersal permits more outcomes where multispecies coexistence is possible than short-range dispersal (or purely local dispersal). Finally, we extend our model to consider community dynamics in two-dimensional space. We find that knowledge of species' environmental requirements is also crucial


This paper presents an experimental study analyzing common consequence effects with binary choice, willingness-to-pay (WTP), and willingness-to-accept (WTA). Consistent with previous research we do not find clearcut evidence of fanning out in the absence of certainty effects. Violation rates of EU are more pronounced for WTP and WTA than for choice data. Moreover, there is a strong tendency for violations in the direction of fanning out. Our results reinforce the significance of common consequence effects and provide support for the operation of cancellation in prospect theory.


The velocity of nanoparticle agglomerates and 1 μ m latex spheres approaching an impaction surface from a free gas jet was measured by LDA at pressures of 7.4 and 1.8 kPa, respectively. The "aerodynamically transparent" carbon nano-agglomerates gave sufficient LDA signal while the drag force was dominated by the size of the individual primary particles (diameter about 11 nm). The particle velocity as a function of distance from the impaction plate was also modelled on the basis of a CFD simulation of the flow field and subsequent numerical integration of the equation of motion with the slip correction factor as an adjustable parameter. For a pressure of 7.4 kPa the measured and calculated velocities agreed very well, when using the Stokes formula with classical parameters for the slip correction. Surprisingly however, at 1.8 kPa the effective drag on the nanoparticles was lower than predicted by a factor of 17 and on the 1 μ m latex sphere by a factor of 6, respectively. The physical reason for this reduction of the drag is not known so far. The predicted particle impact velocity at 1.8 kPa was 54% of the maximum gas velocity. This factor is much lower than the often used factor of 0.85 derived by Marple.


The concept of 'non-standard' remains somewhat fuzzy during the Early Modern English period. Language change and especially ongoing standardization can make it difficult to pin down an individual feature at any given time as clearly non-standard. Contemporary views of 'good' language, which we also discuss here, need to be taken into account and may lead to a more socially restricted idea of standard and thus a wider area of non-standard. Regionally restricted uses, both with regard to the lexicon and pronunciation, are investigated with the help of (comparing) sources like Ray's dialect dictionary (1674) and the Corpus of English Dialogues, and shown to be relatively rare in writing. Socio-stylistic variation or evidence for non-standard forms, including lower-class, uneducated, and emotive uses (often called 'vulgar' or 'low' by contemporaries), is investigated with the help of metacomments, pauper letters and the treatment of taboo usage. Two case-studies on demonstrative them and non-standard third-person subject-verb concord show the features to be very rare in the Corpus of English Dialogues and to occur predominantly in authentic spoken contexts and with lower-ranking speakers. We argue that rarity is an indicator for non-standard status, but also that the status of these features is different from that of modern sociolinguistic markers.


The nuclear technology base in a developing country is relatively much smaller compared to those in the industrialised countries. Thus, nuclear knowledge and its management are of great importance for those countries which are interested in nuclear technology but are still in the development phase. It is neither desirable nor possible to use imported nuclear technology as a black box. It is important for a developing country to acquire the ability for the safe and efficient operation of a nuclear facility such as a nuclear power plant. This should be done with maximum local participation and a sound institutional memory.


This paper presents results of estimating an exchange rate equation in light of theoretical considerations regarding changes in sterilization and intervention policy and tax policy which imply that the coefficients in the equation will not behave as fixed parameters in a given sample period,as standard econometric practice assumes. We compare the results of ordinary least squares and a random coefficients model of the Japanese Yen-- U.S. dollar exchange rate during the floating period of July 1973 through June 1982.When systematic end of year policy changes affecting Japanese reserves are explicitly modeled, both OLS and the random coefficients model show increased explanatory power. The random coefficients model appears to be superior to OLS however; by allowing the coefficients to vary over time as required by the economic theory discussed above, estimates of the mean response coefficients for the floating period all have the hypothesized sign, and explanatory power is sharply increased.


Engineering education has increasingly become an area of interest at the P-12 level, yet attempts to align engineering knowledge, skills, and habits to existing elementary and secondary educational programming have been parochial in nature (e.g., for a specific context, grade, or initiative). Consequently, a need exists to establish a coherent P-12 content framework for engineering teaching and learning, which would serve as both an epistemological foundation for the subject and a guide for the design of developmentally appropriate educational standards, performance expectations, learning progressions, and assessments. A comprehensive framework for P-12 engineering education would include a compelling rationale and vision for the inclusion of engineering as a compulsory subject, content organization for the dimensions of engineering literacy, and a plan for the realization of this vision. The absence of such a framework could yield inconsistency in authentically educating students in engineering. In response, this study was conducted to establish a taxonomy of concepts related to both engineering knowledge and practices to support the development of a P-12 curricular framework. A modified Delphi method and a series of focus groups—which included teachers, professors, industry professionals, and other relevant stakeholders—were used to reach a consensus on engineering concepts deemed appropriate for secondary study. As a result, a content taxonomy for knowledge and practices appropriate for P-12 engineering emerged through multiple rounds of refinement. This article details the efforts to develop this taxonomy, and discusses how it can be used for standards creation, curriculum development, assessment of learning, and teacher preparation.


Since multiple genetic alterations are involved in the molecular pathogenesis of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC), the role of microsatellite instability (MSI) in its carcinogenesis is not well defined. The reported frequency of MSI in ESCC ranges from 2 to 66.7% but the majority of the results are derived from relatively small studies. Therefore, we carried out a precise MSI analysis on a large number of ESCC samples to clarify the significance of MSI in the ESCC tumorigenesis. The MSI status of the DNA extracted from 62 ESCC samples and 62 counterpart-normal esophageal epitheliums were studied with five NCI panel markers and ten microsatellite markers located in 17q24-25. Forty-four paraffin-embedded samples and 18 frozen samples from the ESCC patients who underwent surgery were studied. The MSI status was classified as MSS (microsatellite stable), MSI-L (low-level MSI; <30% of markers examined showed instability) and MSI-H (high-level MSI; >30% of markers reported instability). Among the 62 ESCC cases analyzed by the 15 microsatellite markers, 38 out of 62 cases (61.3%) showed MSS, 19 out of 62 cases (30.6%) showed MSI-L and 5 out of 62 cases (8.1%) showed MSI-H. Although the MSI status was not associated with the status of lymph node metastasis or a histological type of cancer, the depth of cancer invasion was significantly associated with the frequency of MSS status and the levels of MSI-L were inversely correlated with the depth of invasion (T1/T2 vs. T3/4; P=0.0007). However, MSI status was not associated with the prognosis of the ESCC patients. This is the first large scale MSI analysis of the ESCC in comparison with the clinicopathological features. Relatively high frequency of MSI-L was observed in ESCC and the frequency of MSI-L was inversely correlated with the depth of invasion.


This article deals with insights gained from data analysis of feedback comments on transcripts sent to interviewees. It contributes to understanding of research studies that include transcripts, specifically on the contribution of participants' review of transcripts on the quality of those transcripts, and thus on the quality of research. The transfer of the transcripts to the interviewees was intended to validate the transcripts, to preserve research ethics, and to empower the interviewees by allowing them control of what was written. Interviewee responses related to the ratification of content, the authenticity of that which was said during the interview, corrections of language, additional clarifications, power interactions and changes in the balance of power between the interviewer and interviewees, feelings of embarrassment and threat, research ethics, and reflective responses. The experience of sending the transcripts to the interviewees raised research and ethical issues that require added caution and consideration when sending transcripts to interviewees.


Professor Chan obtained BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1986 and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1992. He is currently Dean and Chair Professor in School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong. He joined the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) as Assistant Professor in 1992 and rose to the rank of Professor in 2006. In 2010, he was appointed Founding Head of Division of Environment. He was Professor of Division of Environment and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at HKUST. Professor Chan has over 30 years of research experience in air pollution and aerosol science. He specializes in aerosol water uptake and phase transformation, gas-aerosol interactions, the formation of secondary aerosols in the atmosphere, and laser spectroscopy of aerosols. Professor Chan received Haagen Smit Award of Atmospheric Environment in 2015, Second Prize of the State Natural Science Award in 2010, and First Prize of the Natural Science Award in 2007. He was the first winner of the Asian Young Aerosol Scientists Award. He was Science Advisor to Secretary of Environment, during his sabbatical at the HKSAR Environment Bureau in 2014. He was an Editor-in-Chief of Atmospheric Environment in 2008-2019.


This article focuses on linguistic and cultural identity constructions in interactions between members of the last generation of a former heritage language speaking community and speakers from the homeland of their ancestors. The data come from fieldwork involving narratives of personal experience in a Norwegian heritage community in the U.S. that is currently undergoing a language shift. Results revealed that speakers negotiated various identities through their categorization strategies and positioning towards their heritage language and culture. Language is still esteemed as a marker of cultural identity; however, emphasis on cultural artifacts and traditions for accentuating ethnic identity in the U.S. is also made by those whose fluency in the heritage language was faltering. Narratives of personal experience provide a privileged site for investigating issues of language, culture and identity among heritage language speakers.


CASE DESCRIPTION The primary purpose of this case is to explore public policy issues and economic development at the community level. The case can be used to explore the intricacies of complex decision making with respect to cost analysis in the economic development goals of local communities and the tradeoffs of long-term environmental and community relationships. The case has a difficulty level of three. The case can be used in a course on Strategic Policy. The case can be presented and discussed in two to four class periods depending on the number of issues considered. Students can be expected to spend about 10 hours of outside preparation to be fully prepared to complete the case. CASE SYNOPSIS As the United States strives toward energy independence, a strategic public policy emphasis on wind energy is growing. The proliferation of wind farms is fueled by a claim that wind power can reliably supply a significant and environmentally benign share of our country's growing demand for electricity. As wind farms have proliferated, however, adverse impacts of wind power are becoming clear to a growing number of citizens. Georgina Oldman, County Judge for Stoneham County, was excited. She had just received a call from a corporation interested in the construction of wind farms in the county. The proposed 406 wind turbine farm would have a capacity of 650MW. The $750 million project would produce an estimated 10-year abated tax revenue of $15 million. The new revenue would fund badly needed services. The local economy had fallen on hard times over the past 2 decades, so the prospect of growth due to wind farms was seen another "oil boom" to the region. For the county, the call from the Shamrock Energy Inc. LLP was a timely godsend. Judge Oldman knew that the county would have to establish a reinvestment zone and grant tax abatements. The required public hearing on the project drew a large crowd with speakers both supporting and opposing the project. Some speakers addressed the positive economic impact of the project, such as job creation, increased tax revenues, and economic stimulation. Others addressed the negative effects of wind farm development citing the impact on tourism, lost of aesthetics, noise and environmental concerns, and the potential impact on the air force base. Having become clear that the county commissioners had much to consider, the county staff was directed to develop a cost / benefit study, analyzing both the tangible and intangible aspects to provide a recommendation regarding the project. STONEHAM COUNTY: THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC POLICY ON WIND POWER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Georgina Oldman, the County Commissioner Court Judge for Stoneham County was excited. She had just received a telephone call from an Irish-based corporation interested in the construction of wind farms in the county. Apparently, several landowners in the county had signed contracts of intent to lease their land to the corporation. Phases I and II of the wind farm project are expected to house 406 wind turbines for a total of 650MW of installed capacity. The total valuation of the project investment is $750 million; a potential estimated yearly unabated tax revenue of $1.25 million. The prospects for increasing county, independent school districts and water district budgets over the next 20 years would provide additional services that the various government entities had been unable to provide in previous years. Recently, voters in the county had failed to approve the district's $85MM education bonds and the $120MM water/sewer bond project. The county was left with how it would deal with getting by without the funds necessary to provide needed community services. In addition, due to the housing crisis, market values for residential homes had fallen by 18% over the past 2 years. The county could not raise the property tax assessed rate on residential property for 5 years because of mandates and caps placed on residential property tax increases by the State. …


In the contemporary global era of false or misleading news spread rapidly by online social media, the need for enhanced media literacy and advanced critical thinking skills has become increasingly urgent. Responsible and accountable political leadership based on reliable and consistent facts and reporting is essential for the development of national and international policies which promote and support a sustainable world. Content analysis can be employed as a useful tool to enhance media literacy by systematically analyzing, evaluating, and comparing media reports and speeches by public officials. Researchers can use a coding procedure to identify and group various units of text to detect key patterns and themes. Content analysis is an objective, systematic, and effective method to improve media literacy and critical thinking skills by combining quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Factors such as the frequency of various vocabulary items and the lexical density of a written text can be measured by content analysis (Creswell, 2005). This presentation demonstrates the practical use of content analysis by examining the first and third inaugural addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt and uses both manifest and latent coding to detect stylistic and thematic similarities between the two different texts from the same source. Manifest coding involves the surface level features of a text that are clearly visible to the reader, while latent coding is used to detect deeper, underlying levels of meaning and major themes (Neuman, 2003). Implications for analyzing and understanding contemporary media reports and political discourse are also addressed.


Sydney J. Harris advises us, "The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows". Never like today, are we in the need to help teachers and professors to guide their students to open windows and get involved with the geopolitical and economic needs of the world. This paper tests the hypothesis that Microsoft OneNote Class Notebook (MONCN), used in undergraduate Finance courses as a tool for digital teaching, can both promote sustainable development and make the students become leaders, using this innovative tool of learning as part of their own activities and lives in the future. The test of the hypothesis also demonstrates that students manage to make the classroom time more effective and efficient for learning when using MONCN as a paperless technological platform. Thus, without impacting the effectiveness and quality of education, MONCN surges as a tool for inspiring the students to become committed citizens that can change the world and collaborate in the fight of climate change.


� Although one of the fundamental goals of AI is to understand and develop intelligent systems that have all the capabilities of humans, there is little active research directly pursuing this goal. We propose that AI for interactive computer games is an emerging application area in which this goal of human-level AI can successfully be pursued. Interactive computer games have increasingly complex and realistic worlds and increasingly complex and intelligent computer-controlled characters. In this article, we further motivate our proposal of using interactive computer games for AI research, review previous research on AI and games, and present the different game genres and the roles that human-level AI could play within these genres. We then describe the research issues and AI techniques that are relevant to each of these roles. Our conclusion is that interactive computer games provide a rich environment for incremental research on human-level AI.


A full-length cDNA clone (HE8a) for a human hepatic UDP-glucuronosyltransferase was isolated from a human liver cDNA library and stably expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 (HK293) cells. Sequence analysis of the cDNA revealed that it was identical to UDPGTh-3 isolated by Chen et al. (Biochemistry 32, 10648-10657, 1993). HE8a is a member of the UGT2B gene family, and it has been designated UGT2B15. Over 100 compounds were tested for their reactivity with the expressed protein. UGT2B15 stably expressed in HK293 cells displayed glucuronidation activity toward several classes of xenobiotic substrates, including simple phenolic compounds, 7-hydroxylated coumarins, flavonoids, anthraquinones, and certain drugs and their hydroxylated metabolites. In addition, the expressed enzyme also catalyzed the glucuronidation of endogenous estrogens and androgens. Apparent KM and enzyme efficiency values for certain food-derived substrates (e.g., naringenin and eugenol) for expressed UGT2B15 were similar to those determined for endobiotic substrates, suggesting that some naturally occurring substances are good substrates for this enzyme and that glucuronidation of endogenous compounds could be affected by xenobiotics derived from dietary sources.


SUMMARY

We present a new time-varying model for palaeomagnetic axial dipole moment (PADM) for the past 2 Myr and compare it with earlier virtual axial dipole moment (VADM) reconstructions which have been based on stacking and averaging scaled relative palaeointensity records. The PADM is derived from both absolute and relative palaeointensity data and constructed using a new penalized maximum likelihood (PML) approach to recover a cubic B-spline representation of axial-dipole field variations on million year timescales. The PML method is explicitly intended to reduce bias in estimating the true axial dipole moment that arises in average VADM reconstructions. We apply the PML method to a set of 96 032 published data (1800 palaeointensities from igneous rocks, 3300 archaeointensities and 86 relative palaeointensity time-series of variable lengths and resolutions). Two models are discussed: PADM2Mp is a trial model based on a subset of the nine longest available sedimentary records; PADM2M uses a comprehensive data set (76 records, 81 446 data; 10 records were eliminated) and is our preferred model. PADM2M has a lower mean than existing VADM reconstructions but shows similarities in long-period variability. Some differences in timing, amplitude and resolution of certain features can be attributed to variations in age assignments. Others result from our more comprehensive data set and a reduction in bias attributable to PML modelling. PADM2M has an average axial dipole moment over 0–2 Ma of 5.3 × 1022 Am2 with a standard deviation of 1.5 × 1022 Am2. The Brunhes chron average (6.2 × 1022 Am2) is higher than for earlier epochs of Matuyama (4.8 × 1022 Am2), as seen in some previous studies. The power spectrum for our model agrees with previous estimates of the global palaeomagnetic power spectrum for frequencies up to about 102 Myr−1. We see no distinctive evidence in the power spectrum for orbital forcing of geodynamo behaviour.


The Fine Gold Intrusive Suite is one of the largest (>2000 km 2 ) and oldest intrusive complexes in the Sierra Nevada batholith (California, USA), and therefore contains a wealth of information about nascent magmatic processes in a convergent margin arc. Because the suite intrudes both accreted oceanic and/or island-arc terranes and continental crust, it provides perspective on how convergent margin magmatism recycles existing crust versus reworking of fringing island arcs into continental crust. Such insight informs our understanding of how continental crust formation may have operated in the Phanerozoic as compared to earlier in Earth history. New zircon U-Pb geochronology shows that the largely tonalitic suite was emplaced over ∼19 m.y. (124–105 Ma), in three pulses that young from west to east. The most recent domain is nested within the previous ones, such that lobes of magma protruding from the main bodies of the Bass Lake Tonalite (the primary member of the Fine Gold Intrusive Suite) are older than interior areas. Zircon δ 18 O (6.1‰–8.0‰) and eHf (–4.7 + 6.4) show temporal trends indicating that early magmas were source mixtures of mantle with as much as 45% Paleozoic to Mesozoic oceanic and/or arc rocks, whereas later magmas contain greater inputs (to 50%) of Proterozoic North American crust. Older domains in the suite were likely generated from isolated sources, including initial high Sr/Y (to ∼90), high Na 2 O magmas consistent with garnet-bearing sources inferred to be relatively deep. Higher 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, lower eHf, and higher Rb/Sr values in younger plutons show a source that tapped greater proportions of North American crust and was presumably more organized and larger, given its more homogeneous isotopic and trace element traits. Our findings also show that expression of the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr = 0.706 isopleth in arc magmas may be delayed until magma sources are sufficiently vigorous to melt and incorporate aged continental crust. Therefore, Sr i values of older stitching plutons may better record the position of discrete terrane boundaries, whereas younger plutons will record the magmatically average position of terrane boundaries. Although the Fine Gold Intrusive Suite is comparable to the Late Cretaceous voluminous intrusive suite of eastern Sierran suites in terms of duration and age zoning of magmatism, the influence of preexisting basement compositions and differing degrees of organization of the magma sources with age is more pronounced. In addition, the findings show that recycling of fringing arc terranes into continental crust is relatively rapid and that estimates of the growth of Phanerozoic continental crust from such reprocessing should be revised upward.


This thesis is primarily concerned with the characterisation of the native defects present in CdTe crystals grown from the vapour phase using two different methods. The principal characterisation techniques used were TEM, SEM and etching/optical microscopy. Crystal defects in bulk CdTe are of great importance since this material is in demand as a substrate for the epitaxial growth of Cd(_x)Hg(_1-x)Te for use in large area infra-red imaging devices. Large single crystals grown using the 'Durham' technique invariably contain first order twin boundaries lying on {111} planes and these are of the 'ortho'-type. Twin boundaries on other planes were characterised using the coincidence site lattice models of twin boundaries in sphalerite which were developed during this work. First order lateral twin boundaries lying on {511}-{111}, {112}-{112}, {001}-{221} and {110}-{114} and second order twin boundaries lying on {111}-{115} {114}-{114} and {22l}-{22l} are discussed. Twinning in CdTe is thought to be due to post-growth stress rather than to a growth phenomenon. The dislocations which are present in crystals grown by the 'Durham' method are predominantly concentrated into well-formed arrays which are sometimes associated with other crystal defects. These arrays were shown by EBIC studies to be electrically active and the average sub-grain dimension was found to be ~ 150 µm. It is thought that the arrays form as a result of dislocation polygonisation during the latter stages of growth. Precipitates, which were identified as being comprised of Te, are found in the bulk of the crystals although they are more often seen on twin boundaries. The relationship between boundary type and the density of precipitates is discussed. Sub-grain boundaries and precipitates were also examined in a small number of CdTe crystals which had been grown by a modified 'Piper-Polich' technique. The differences between the defects in this material and those in CdTe crystals grown by the 'Durham' method are fully explained in terms of the differences in the crystal growth conditions employed in the two techniques. Networks of dislocations in Cd(_0.95) Zn(_0.0 5) Te crystals grown by the 'Durham' technique were also investigated. A mechanochemical polishing machine which was developed during the course of this work and which is capable of producing high quality chemically polished surfaces is described. Also the use of chemical etchants to determine the crystallographic polarity of {111} oriented surfaces is clarified. Important features of this work include; the development of coincidence site lattice models of first order lateral and second order twin boundaries in the sphalerite structure and the thorough characterisation of these boundaries in as-grown CdTe crystals, and the comparison of the sub-grain boundaries and precipitates present in material grown from the vapour phase by two different techniques.


Osteoporosis treatment rates are declining, even among those with past fractures. Novel, low‐cost approaches are needed to improve osteoporosis care. We conducted a parallel group, controlled, randomized clinical trial evaluating a behavioral intervention for improving osteoporosis medication use. A total of 2684 women with self‐reported fracture history after age 45 years not using osteoporosis therapy from US Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW) sites were randomized 1:1 to receive a multimodal, tailored, direct‐to‐patient, video intervention versus usual care. The primary study outcome was self‐report of osteoporosis medication use at 6 months. Other outcomes included calcium and vitamin D supplementation, bone mineral density (BMD) testing, readiness for behavioral change, and barriers to treatment. In intent‐to‐treat analyses, there were no significant differences between groups (intervention versus control) in osteoporosis medication use (11.7% versus 11.4%, p = 0.8), calcium supplementation (31.8% versus 32.6%, p = 0.7), vitamin D intake (41.3% versus 41.9%, p = 0.8), or BMD testing (61.8% versus 57.1%, p = 0.2). In the intervention group, fewer women were in the precontemplative stage of behavior change, more women reported seeing their primary care provider, had concerns regarding osteonecrosis of the jaw, and difficulty in taking/remembering to take osteoporosis medications. We found differences in BMD testing among the subgroup of women with no prior osteoporosis treatment, those who provided contact information, and those with no past BMD testing. In per protocol analyses, women with appreciable exposure to the online intervention (n = 257) were more likely to start nonbisphosphonates (odds ratio [OR] = 2.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26–5.79) compared with the usual care group. Although our intervention did not increase the use of osteoporosis therapy at 6 months, it increased nonbisphosphonate medication use and BMD testing in select subgroups, shifted participants' readiness for behavior change, and altered perceptions of barriers to osteoporosis treatment. Achieving changes in osteoporosis care using patient activation approaches alone is challenging. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.


Practising and honing skills forms a fundamental component of how humans learn, yet artificial agents are rarely specifically trained to perform them. Instead, they are usually trained end-to-end, with the hope being that useful skills will be implicitly learned in order to maximise discounted return of some extrinsic reward function. In this paper, we investigate how skills can be incorporated into the training of reinforcement learning (RL) agents in complex environments with large state-action spaces and sparse rewards. To this end, we created SkillHack, a benchmark of tasks and associated skills based on the game of NetHack. We evaluate a number of baselines on this benchmark, as well as our own novel skill-based method Hierarchical Kickstarting (HKS), which is shown to outperform all other evaluated methods. Our experiments show that learning with a prior knowledge of useful skills can significantly improve the performance of agents on complex problems. We ultimately argue that utilising predefined skills provides a useful inductive bias for RL problems, especially those with large state-action spaces and sparse rewards.


Structural health monitoring (SHM) and damage detection based on vibrationbased techniques have attracted significant attention in the past. Many of these methods rely on appropriate Finite Element (FE) or other mathematical model of a structure and updating the model using the field data. There are a number of existing methods for updating such models and identifying system parameters such as stiffness and mass based on dynamic parameters response of a structure. These methods can be broadly categorized as Physics-based and data-driven models. Since, the model updating problem is an inverse problem, the Physics-based model often provide nonunique solutions. On the other hand, data-driven models using methods like artificial neural networks (ANN) or Genetic Algorithm (GA) utilizes the differences in the data patterns in the structural response in order to update the system parameters. In this study, the FE models of two bridges, a Pre-Stress Concrete Box (PSCB) girder bridge and a Void Slab Bridge have been constructed and updated using measured vibration data. It should be mentioned that both of the bridges are relatively new and there is no reported damage in them. The bridges were instrumented with accelerometers and the modal vectors and frequencies were determined based on ambient vibration tests. The aim of this research is to compare the physics-based and data driven methods of model updating using the data from ambient vibration tests. While the physics-based method was found to be is more precise than GA and NN in both of case studies, the latter two methods provide the flexibility when the data sets are incomplete and noisy. doi: 10.12783/SHM2015/156


James Mill was the consummate utilitarian economist and theorist: his numerous intellectual interests and practical pursuits shatter the net boundaries of modern specialist scholarship in social science. Mill's many-sided genius was primarily a product of the age in which he lived. The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries saw a remarkable flowering of intellectual genius in Scotland in all of the arts and sciences, which gave the country a leading place in the broad European movement known as the Enlightenment, Mill being in fact only one of many brilliant men Scotland produced at that time. Mill's writings in this volume, first published in 1966, cover his development as an economist and are an attempt to assess his contribution to classic political economy. Particular attention is paid to the formative but less well-known pre-Benthamite period of his life. The volume opens with a substantial biographical assessment of Mill's life and work. The selections are specifically divided into four groups consisting of: early economic writings ("An Essay of the Impolicy of a Bounty on the Exportation of Grain," "Commerce Defended," and "Smith on Money and Exchange"); James Mill and David Ricardo ("Elements of Political Economy"); Mill on scope and method ("Whether Political Economy is Useful"); and Mill and India ("History of British India"). Donald Winch provides an introduction to each section that contextualizes the essays in Mill's own work and the economic thought of the time.


The article discusses a novel way of looking at Mondrian's nonfigurative paintings. Different periods of Mondrian's life correspond to distinct types of nonfigurative compositions, but can the distinction be formalized? How many bits or numbers are needed to characterize a typical composition? Can the rules of a composition type be expressed in the language of the computer? If distinct composition types require different computer programs, can these be based on a common frame-work, a mechanism, perhaps? The findings presented here are only tentative, but it is interesting to note that some characteristics can be modeled reasonably well, whereas others still resist formalization in the presented framework. The author's approach borrows principles from genetic programming. Employing a built-in random number generator, it can be used to explore a large space of compositions.


This paper provides a new methodology to test the superior predictive ability (SPA) of technical trading rules relative to the benchmark without potential data snooping bias. Unlike other previous methods, we explicitly approximate the covariance matrix through certain decomposition, which decreases the number of elements needed to be estimated. With the help of covariance matrix, we are able to exploit more information contained in the diagonal and off-diagonal terms and as a result, so that we improve the effectiveness of testing result. Due to the nuisance parameter in composite hypothesis, we choose the generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) test which is of uniform most power, to alleviate such problem and at the same time, to provide a pivotal distribution. Bootstrap procedure is employed in our simulation to obtain the power of the test. The result shows that the GLR test dominates the SPA test proposed by Hansen (2005) in terms of power and our GLR test is sensitive to the inclusion of superior models. Therefore, it increases the power faster than that of SPA test. The result also suggests that the GLR test is less conservative than SPA test.


The performance of a man-portable laser induced breakdown spectrometer was evaluated for the detection of biological powders on indoor office surfaces and wipe materials. Identification of pure unknown powders was performed by comparing against a library of spectra containing biological agent surrogates and confusant materials, such as dusts, diesel soot, natural and artificial sweeteners, and drink powders, using linear correlation analysis. Simple models constructed using a second technique, partial least squares discriminant analysis, successfully identified Bacillus subtilis (BG) spores on wipe materials and office surfaces. Furthermore, these models were able to identify BG on materials not used in the training of the model.


This article seeks to draw conclusions about the potential impact of the Crimes Amendment (Abolition of Defensive Homicide) Act 2014 (Vic). We do so by considering whether defensive homicide served as a safety net in the 2014 case of Director of Public Prosecutions (Vic) v Williams. The article presents a detailed analysis of the trial transcript and sentencing remarks to support the contention that the defence did in fact achieve this purpose. The conclusion rests, principally, upon understanding the jury finding that Williams killed in the belief that her actions were necessary for her own protection, but apparently determined that she had no reasonable grounds for that belief (thereby failing the legal test of self-defence as it then stood). Having looked at how the 2014 legislation also amended relevant evidence laws, and reinforced jury directions to accommodate considerations of family violence, we then consider the implications of these reforms for battered women who kill. We suggest that, in the absence of the offence of defensive homicide, women like Williams may in the future be convicted of murder, even when they kill in response to family violence and with a genuine belief that their actions are necessary in self-defence.


Perceptually salient non-targets typically interfere with target processing, but such disruption can be mitigated by top-down knowledge that the salient item is not taskrelevant (Geng and DiQuattro, 2010). This exploitation of statistical knowledge optimizes behavior and is thought to be underwritten by locus coeruleus – norepinephrine (LC-NE) innervation from neurons in the frontal cortex (Aston-Jones and Cohen, 2005; Minzenberg et al., 2009). The two different modes of LC neuronal firing (i.e., tonic and phasic) are correlated with changes in pupil size, and the shift between these two population conditions mediates the tradeoff between behavioral exploration and exploitation (Gilzenrat et al., 2010). In this study, we investigated the relationship between pupil size and performance on a visual search task in which the probability of the target being perceptually salient was manipulated from block-to-block. Our results demonstrate that when the probability changes (e.g., the ratio of salient target to salient distracters increased from 0:100 to 30:70 to 70:30 to 100:0), a period of uncertainty ensues in which behavior is more variable and the prestimulus pupil diameter increases in size. This suggests that subjects were engaged in exploration of the task statistics during block transitions, but subsequently began to exploit the current paradigm as the new salience probabilities were learned. These results are consistent with the idea that the LC-NE system underlies the tendency to explore or exploit knowledge about environmental structure, and that pupil diameter is a viable measure of perceived task-related uncertainty that influences the strategic allocation of spatial attention. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2013 Received June 26, 2013. © 2013 ARVO


The creation of spaces conducive to healing is a critical aspect of the provision of good nursing care. The nursing sisters of the British Army, having trained in the British hospital system would have been well versed in the need to create and maintain and environment in which healing could take place. The zones into which they were posted during the Second World War and the spaces they were given in which to care for their patients, were however, rarely either favourable to health or to the 'serenity and security' needed for recovery. Extreme weather conditions, limited water supplies, equipment and electricity combined to hinder all aspects of patient care. The often hostile places in which nurses worked demanded that they develop clinical skills and the ability to improvise and innovate in order create healing spaces for their soldier-patients. However, as the chapter argues it was the highly feminised home-maker work that created these spaces, which the nurses themselves credited to be an essential aspect to the healing process in which they were the critical performers.


BMPs can induce redeployment of the developmental program to restore regenerative potential in the mouse digit tip. Regeneration of limbs or digits occurs in three stages: wound closure, generation of a blastema (a mass of undifferentiated or redifferentiated cells at the amputation site), and differentiation or redifferentiation of cells to reform the missing structures. In neonatal and adult mice, regeneration of the digit tip occurs by a mechanism distinct from that by which the digit is generated in the embryo. Digits amputated proximal to the middle of the third phalangeal (P3) element do not regenerate, but digits amputated distal to the middle of P3 regenerate through a process of intramembranous ossification, in which bone is formed without a cartilage intermediate. In contrast, limb and digit formation in the embryo occurs through a process of endochondral ossification, in which bone formation proceeds through a cartilage intermediate. Yu et al. report that treatment with bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) or BMP7 conferred regenerative capacity to digits amputated proximal to the middle of P3. BMPs were required for normal digit regeneration, because application of the BMP inhibitor Noggin to digits amputated distal to P3 prevented regeneration, and genes encoding BMP2 and BMP7 were up-regulated in the blastemas of amputated digits as compared to unoperated digits and to the portions of operated digits proximal to the amputation site. Application of beads coated with BMP2 or BMP7, but not BMP4, induced regeneration of digits amputated proximal to the middle of P3, and regeneration continued even after removal of the beads. Furthermore, digits amputated proximal to the middle of P3 and treated with BMP7 regenerated by a mechanism fundamentally different from that followed by digits regenerated without treatment after amputation distal to the middle of P3. The skeletal elements of digits amputated distal to P3 and left untreated proceeded through direct membranous ossification, whereas digits amputated proximal to P3 and treated with BMPs proceeded through endochondral ossification, as indicated by the expression of endochondral marker genes. Thus, exogenous application of BMPs can induce redeployment of the embryonic developmental limb program at an amputation site, a process which is distinct from the adult type of regeneration normally observed in untreated amputated digits, indicating that it may be possible to induce regeneration in tissues not normally competent to regenerate. L. Yu, M. Han, M. Yan, E. C. Lee, J. Lee, K. Muneoka, BMP signaling induces digit regeneration in neonatal mice. Development 137, 551–559 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The purpose of this study was to explore individual's perceptions of orthotics and footwear. A survey was created by the authors with the expert opinions of physical and occupational therapists and was distributed to two therapy clinics in Tennessee that provide both occupational therapy and physical therapy as well as on several online support groups. Seventy-nine (79) caregivers completed surveys. Thematic analysis was performed using Nvivo 10 (QSR International) and descriptive statistics were generated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) IBM International). Ninety percent (90%) of participants report that orthotics affect what type of shoes the user can wear. Eighty-two percent (82%) report that it is difficult to shop for shoes that accommodate orthotics. Sixty-one percent (61%) report that the user would be more likely to wear their orthotics if they had more options of shoes to wear. Fifty-nine percent (59%) report that the user would be more likely to wear their orthotics if they had shoes that were more attractive. The importance of collaborating with consumers when designing products is essential for the success of both the individual and the product.


The use of molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs), which provides a means for preparing stationary phases with predetermined selectivity for a target molecule in capillary electrochromatography (CEC), is attractive because it combines selectivity, higher separation efficiency and shorter analysis time. A bisphenol A (BPA)-imprinted monolithic capillary BPA/PMAPA column was synthesized for the selective separation of bisphenol A (BPA) from aqueous solutions containing the competitor molecule phenol (PH), which is similar in size and shape to the template molecule. BPA-imprinted monolithic column was prepared in the presence of the template molecule, BPA, which results in the formation of recognition cavities complementary to the template molecule, after the removal of template molecule. An amino acid based monomer, N-methacryloyl-L-phenyl alanine (MAPA), was used as the functional monomer. The new stationary phase contains both charged and hydrophobic groups originating from MAPA monomer, which behaves as both an electroosmotic flow (EOF) supplier and a hydrophobic matrix. The MAPA containing BPA imprinted column behaves as a mixed mode stationary phase, as ion exchanger and hydrophobic matrix depending on the pH of the medium. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the structural features of the molecular imprinted column. MIP column performance was evaluated by the electrochromatographic separation of alkylbenzenes. The novelty of this work originated from dual separation mechanism shown by MAPA, which has the ability to form both hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions by the charged and hydrophobic groups of phenylalanine amino acid. This new column with mixed-mode characteristics was then used successfully as the stationary phase in CEC for the selective separation of BPA in MIP systems.


In this paper, we propose a variety of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) based models for sequence tagging. These models include LSTM networks, bidirectional LSTM (BI-LSTM) networks, LSTM with a Conditional Random Field (CRF) layer (LSTM-CRF) and bidirectional LSTM with a CRF layer (BI-LSTM-CRF). Our work is the first to apply a bidirectional LSTM CRF (denoted as BI-LSTM-CRF) model to NLP benchmark sequence tagging data sets. We show that the BI-LSTM-CRF model can efficiently use both past and future input features thanks to a bidirectional LSTM component. It can also use sentence level tag information thanks to a CRF layer. The BI-LSTM-CRF model can produce state of the art (or close to) accuracy on POS, chunking and NER data sets. In addition, it is robust and has less dependence on word embedding as compared to previous observations.


This activity describes a simulated epidemic using the nontoxic, noninfectious, fluorescent agent
GloGerm. Students rub gauze saturated with mineral oil on a gloved hand; one student in the class
has oil containing GloGerm. The students then proceed through three to five controlled rounds of
handshaking, recording each "encounter." After the last round of handshakes, the spread of the
epidemic is traced by recording the "infected" glowing hands, detectable by ultraviolet light. The
students share and analyze the data from the rounds of handshakes and trace the transmission of the
agent, GloGerm, back to patient zero.


I am writing in response to the editorials on Pharmaceuticals, pharmacists and profits (Aust Prescr 2014;37:146-7 and 148-9). I enjoyed reading the Pharmacy Guild's perspective on troubles facing the industry. However, the editorial failed to mention the financial troubles facing community pharmacists who are not pharmacy owners.

Few people, including those studying to become pharmacists, are aware that the award rate for a full-time pharmacist in charge is $27.16/hour (equivalent to $53 674 annual salary).1 Note that pharmacist interns, pharmacists and experienced pharmacists are all paid less than this. To compare, an unqualified experienced retail employee may earn up to $44 787.2 Pharmacists' wages are significantly below the average Australian wage of $76 804 before tax.3

From this wage, a pharmacist must pay to be registered for insurance and course fees for 40 hours of continuing professional development per year. Debt from university fees must also be paid. There is a current oversupply of pharmacists, and jobs for salaried pharmacists are not easy to obtain.

I understand that some pharmacies are currently experiencing a period of hardship. But should salaried pharmacists be the ones to subsidise the industry by being forced to accept these low rates of pay?


There is increasing empirical evidence that trade specialisation and competition takes place in varieties rather than in products or industries. This paper examines recent changes in the export specialisation of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and their Asian competitors by looking at their vertical specialisation through prices. Three price (or quality) segments are distinguished to compare export performance between the two regions using our BACI database, which provides harmonised bilateral unit values for most countries in the world at the most disaggregated product-level (5,000 products) for the period 1995 to 2004. The technology-content of products is also taken into account. The evidence suggests that LAC is losing out on China which is gaining large market shares, notably in the low-quality segment and low-tech segment. However, LAC has retained its initial overall market share, by slightly upgrading the quality and technology content of its exports. Our estimates of similarities in export structures confirm that varieties exported by the two continents are very different. Moreover, LAC export prices are much higher than those of China, but relatively similar to the ones of other Asian nations. Finally, we analyse the determinants of unit values of Latin American and Asian exports. Econometric tests confirm that the type of global competition differs between the two regions: prices play a bigger role in the case of Asian exports, whereas Latin America competes more on quality in world markets.


Coated platelets, formed by collagen and thrombin activation, have been characterized in different ways: i) by the formation of a protein coat of α-granular proteins; ii) by exposure of procoagulant phosphatidylserine; or iii) by high fibrinogen binding. Yet, their functional role has remained unclear. Here we used a novel transglutaminase probe, Rhod-A14, to identify a subpopulation of platelets with a cross-linked protein coat, and compared this with other platelet subpopulations using a panel of functional assays. Platelet stimulation with convulxin/thrombin resulted in initial integrin αIIbβ3 activation, the appearance of a platelet population with high fibrinogen binding, (independently of active integrins, but dependent on the presence of thrombin) followed by phosphatidylserine exposure and binding of coagulation factors Va and Xa. A subpopulation of phosphatidylserine-exposing platelets bound Rhod-A14 both in suspension and in thrombi generated on a collagen surface. In suspension, high fibrinogen and Rhod-A14 binding were antagonized by combined inhibition of transglutaminase activity and integrin αIIbβ3. Markedly, in thrombi from mice deficient in transglutaminase factor XIII, platelet-driven fibrin formation and Rhod-A14 binding were abolished by blockage of integrin αIIbβ3. Vice versa, star-like fibrin formation from platelets of a patient with deficiency in αIIbβ3 (Glanzmann thrombasthenia) was abolished upon blockage of transglutaminase activity. We conclude that coated platelets, with initial αIIbβ3 activation and high fibrinogen binding, form a subpopulation of phosphatidylserine-exposing platelets, and function in platelet-dependent star-like fibrin fiber formation via transglutaminase factor XIII and integrin αIIbβ3.


This paper presents a three-phase shunt active power line conditioner (APLC) for harmonics and reactive power compensation to enhance the power quality. The compensation process is based on sinusoidal extraction control method, which consists of positive-sequence voltage detector to regulate the distorted supply voltage and instantaneous real-power for fundamental component extraction from the distorted line current. The voltage source inverter (VSI)-based active filter switching pulses is generated through adaptive fuzzy hysteresis current controller (HCC). For the adaptive-fuzzy-HCC, bandwidth is calculated without precise knowledge of the APLC parameters (interface inductor and DC-link voltage), the hysteresis band value can be implemented with a fuzzy logic. A comparative assessment of fixed-HCC, adaptive-HCC and adaptive-fuzzy-HCC is carried out. The shunt APLC system is validated through extensive simulation under distorted supply voltage and non-linear load conditions.


From the time when archaeologists first began to discover the civilization's spectacular ruins, Mexico's Mayan past has been a boundless source of inspiration, ideas, and iconography for the modernist imagination. This study examines the ways artists, architects, filmmakers, photographers, and other producers of visual culture in Mexico, the United States, Europe, and beyond have mined Mayan history and imagery. Beginning his study in the mid-nineteenth century, with the first mechanically reproduced and mass distributed images of the Mayan ruins, and ending with recent works that address this history of representation, Lerner argues that Maya modernism is the product of an ongoing pan-American modernism characterized by a continuing series of reinterpretations, collaborations, and exchanges in which Yucatecans, Mexicans and foreigners, mestizos, Mayas, and others all participate and are free to endorse, misunderstand, reinterpret, or reject each other's ideas.


Abstract. An ion-neutral chemical kinetic model is described and used to simulate the negative ion chemistry occurring within a mixed-reagent ion chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS). The model objective was the establishment of a theoretical basis to understand ambient pressure (variable sample flow and reagent ion carrier gas flow rates), water vapor, ozone and oxides of nitrogen effects on ion cluster sensitivities for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), methyl peroxide (CH3OOH), formic acid (HFo) and acetic acid (HAc). The model development started with established atmospheric ion chemistry mechanisms, thermodynamic data and reaction rate coefficients. The chemical mechanism was augmented with additional reactions and their reaction rate coefficients specific to the analytes. Some existing reaction rate coefficients were modified to enable the model to match laboratory and field campaign determinations of ion cluster sensitivities as functions of CIMS sample flow rate and ambient humidity. Relative trends in predicted and observed sensitivities are compared as instrument specific factors preclude a direct calculation of instrument sensitivity as a function of sample pressure and humidity. Predicted sensitivity trends and experimental sensitivity trends suggested the model captured the reagent ion and cluster chemistry and reproduced trends in ion cluster sensitivity with sample flow and humidity observed with a CIMS instrument developed for atmospheric peroxide measurements (PCIMSs). The model was further used to investigate the potential for isobaric compounds as interferences in the measurement of the above species. For ambient O3 mixing ratios more than 50 times those of H2O2, O3−(H2O) was predicted to be a significant isobaric interference to the measurement of H2O2 using O2−(H2O2) at m∕z 66. O3 and NO give rise to species and cluster ions, CO3−(H2O) and NO3−(H2O), respectively, which interfere in the measurement of CH3OOH using O2−(CH3OOH) at m∕z 80. The CO3−(H2O) interference assumed one of its O atoms was 18O and present in the cluster in proportion to its natural abundance. The model results indicated monitoring water vapor mixing ratio, m∕z 78 for CO3−(H2O) and m∕z 98 for isotopic CO3−(H2O)2 can be used to determine when CO3−(H2O) interference is significant. Similarly, monitoring water vapor mixing ratio, m∕z 62 for NO3− and m∕z 98 for NO3−(H2O)2 can be used to determine when NO3−(H2O) interference is significant.


Gamma-frequency electroencephalogram oscillations may be important for cognitive processes such as feature binding. Gamma oscillations occur in hippocampus in vivo during the theta state, following physiological sharp waves, and after seizures, and they can be evoked in vitro by tetanic stimulation. In neocortex, gamma oscillations occur under conditions of sensory stimulation as well as during sleep. After tetanic or sensory stimulation, oscillations in regions separated by several millimeters or more occur at the same frequency, but with phase lags ranging from less than 1 ms to 10 ms, depending on the conditions of stimulation. We have constructed a distributed network model of pyramidal cells and interneurons, based on a variety of experiments, that accounts for near-zero phase lag synchrony of oscillations over long distances (with axon conduction delays totaling 16 ms or more). Here we show that this same model can also account for fixed positive phase lags between nearby cell groups coexisting with near-zero phase lags between separated cell groups, a phenomenon known to occur in visual cortex. The model achieves this because interneurons fire spike doublets and triplets that have average zero phase difference throughout the network; this provides a temporal framework on which pyramidal cell phase lags can be superimposed, the lag depending on how strongly the pyramidal cells are excited.


Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan parasite that causes Chagas' disease in humans, is capable of invading and replicating within a wide variety of nucleated mammalian cell types. Host cell invasion by infective T. cruzi trypomastigotes is governed by parasite-triggered activation of host cell signaling pathways. Recent studies highlighting a role for host cell phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3Ks) in the T. cruzi invasion process have revealed surprising new insights into the mechanism of host cell invasion by this pathogen. In this Perspective, we discuss these findings and propose alternative models of T. cruzi invasion that incorporate this new information.


The present research aimed to investigate the determinants and impacts on internet addiction on wellbeing and educational adjustment of Thai University students. The major purposes of this current study were (1) to establish the psychometric properties of the Thai translated questionnaires of parenting styles, self-regulation, educational adjustment and psychological well being in Thai settings; (2) to investigate the direct and indirect influences of parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive )on educational adjustment and psychological well-being mediated by self-regulation and internet addiction among university students in Thailand; (3) To examine the influence of parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) on self-regulation among University students in Thailand; and (4) to examine if parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) influences the tendency of internet addiction among University students. Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ), the Internet Addiction Scale (IAT), the Parental Authority Questionnaire (P AQ), Educational adjustment Scale (EAS)and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were the instruments used to collect data from 794 university students from 10 universities in Thailand. The results of the study indicated a direct positive relationship between authoritarian parenting style and life satisfaction and educational adjustment. Permissive parenting style also has a positive relation on educational adjustment. The result also indicates an indirect relationship parenting styles on education adjustment mediated by self-regulation and Internet addiction. The more positive parenting the students experience, that is the more authoritative their parents are, better are their selfregulatory skills and better are their educational adjustment; similarly the more authoritative the parents are lower were their addiction to Internet and better were their educational adjustment.


We demonstrated a Q-switched Ho:YAG ceramic laser operating at 2097 nm. The Ho:YAG ceramic laser was resonantly pumped by a Tm:YLF laser at 1908 nm. The laser performance with two Ho-doping concentrations of Ho:YAG ceramics in a U-shaped resonator was studied. Different pump spots were investigated to obtain high extract efficiency. The wavelength of Ho:YAG ceramic laser was tuned from 2090.70 nm to 2098.10 nm. The Q-switched pulse energy were 9.6 mJ at a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 200 Hz and 10.2 mJ at a PRF of 100 Hz, respectively. The beam quality M(2) factors were measured to be less than 1.1 in both directions.


We consider linear differential-algebraic m-input m-output systems with positive strict relative degree or proper inverse transfer function; in the single-input single-output case these two disjoint classes make the whole of all linear DAEs without feedthrough term. Structural proper- ties - such as normal forms (i.e. the counterpart to the Byrnes-Isidori form for ODE systems), zero dynamics, and high-gain stabilizability - are analyzed for two purposes: first, to gain insight into the system classes and secondly, to solve the output regulation problem by funnel control. The funnel controller achieves tracking of a class of reference signals within a pre-specified funnel; this means in particular, the transient behaviour of the output error can be specified and the funnel controller does neither incorporate any internal model for the reference signals nor any identification mechanism, it is simple in its design. The results are illuminated by position and velocity control of a mechanical system encompassing springs, masses, and dampers.


A new organic crystal, N-(4-aminobenzenesulfonyl)acetamide, was identified as a promising candidate for frequency doubling to the blue region. Large square-bipyramidal single crystals up to 8 mm × 8 mm × 18 mm in size have been successfully grown by the slow-cooling technique. Optical transmission of the crystal ranges from 400 to 1100 nm. The dispersions of refractive indices were measured by the minimum-deviation method. The nonlinear-optical d coefficients at 1064 nm were evaluated to be d33 = 6.2 pm/V, d31 = 3.3 pm/ V, and d15 = 2.8 pm/V by the Maker-fringe technique. Type II phase matching was theoretically and experimentally demonstrated when the crystal was pumped at fundamental wavelengths between 762 and 1064 nm. Detailed characteristics of phase-matched second-harmonic generation were evaluated, along with crystal processing techniques such as cutting, polishing, and antireflection coating.


Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is an ambitious global programme oriented towards improving forest carbon management. It aims to attract new sources of 'green' capital to fund emissions reductions from avoided deforestation and sustainable forest management. REDD+ is transforming forest conservation, as a diverse array of new stakeholders become involved. Not surprisingly, REDD+ has proved divisive, as critics concern themselves with issues of power, justice, and commodification, while practice-oriented researchers tackle similar issues from different perspectives, focusing on benefit sharing, safeguards, additionality, measuring and verification. In this paper we explore the different roles of critical and practical research, and argue that there is a need for greater sharing of knowledge across current divides. We draw on our own experiences of conducting a research project on REDD+ in Indonesia that involved critical and practice-oriented researchers. We argue that critical research disconnected from practical matters can have perverse outcomes for practitioners who are ultimately working towards similar goals; while uncritical practice-oriented research has the potential to lead to a dilution of core values of environmental justice and conservation. In contrast, forms of practical critique provide ways of researching REDD+ that have practical value while maintaining critical insights.


Software developing organizations nowadays have a wide choice when it comes to sourcing software components. This choice ranges from developing or adapting in-house developed components via buying closed source components to utilizing open source components. This study seeks to determine criteria that software developers can use to make this choice. Answering this question will result in a list of criteria that can, after further validation, be used to develop structured decision support in this type of decision. A first step is a literature search resulting in an initial list. Since the literature used was not specifically targeted at the question at hand, it was decided to separately conduct interviews to obtain an independently derived list of criteria. In a second part of the interview the respondents were confronted with the list resulting from literature. Together this resulted in a preliminary proposal for decision criteria for software sourcing.


Thermal treatment of waste using grate-based systems has gained world-wide acceptance as the preferred method for sustainable management of residual waste. However, in order to maintain this position and respond to new challenges and/or priorities, it is necessary to further develop innovative concepts that use safe process engineering technology in terms of climate and resource protection as well as reduction of environmental impacts. MARTIN, in collaboration with research institutes, successfully developed and optimized a multi-stage combustion process in the 1990s. Various pilot and full-scale studies and tests followed. Based on this knowledge, MARTIN and its cooperation partners COVANTA ENERGY (USA), CNIM (F) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (JP) developed the Very Low NOx (VLN) process as a large-scale primary measure for NOx reduction. MARTIN's next step was to develop the Very Low NOx gasification mode (VLN-GM) process. This process has been implemented directly in continuous operation at an industrial-scale Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plant in Switzerland. In VLN-GM operation, the excess air rate in the gas above the grate is decreased from λ = 1.2 to about 0.8.The characteristics of municipal solid waste make it suitable for the generation of heat and power. While boiler concepts implemented in the past often focused on factors such as high availability, reduced downtimes and minimized maintenance costs, measures to increase the efficiency of the overall process are also growing in importance. Energy efficiency can be increased by optimizing boiler efficiency itself on the one hand, and on the other hand by improving peripheral plant devices, in particular by improving energy recovery through changes in the steam parameters.MARTIN has developed corrosion-protected wall and radiant superheater solutions, located in the upper furnace area, and installed these as prototypes in full-scale plants. As a result, steam can be heated about 35 °C (90 °F) in excess of the current state-of-the-art parameters without adversely affecting plant operation due to superheater corrosion.This paper documents that innovative concepts using MARTIN technology successfully provide solutions for a grate-based conversion technology (VLN-GM) as well as measures for increasing the energy efficiency of Energy-from-Waste plants.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


In this paper, we present an accurate and computationally efficient system-level optical propagation technique suitable for the modeling of optical interfaces. Our technique is based on extensions to the angular spectrum technique used to solve the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld formulation. By using a FFT, the angular spectrum technique is efficient and suitable for system-level modeling of the complete system. To support the reflection and transmission at optical interfaces, we implement a semi-vector technique, taking into account the polarization of the optical wavefront. The polarization is used to determine the reflection and transmission coefficients through the use of Berreman's 4x4 matrix. Solutions are provided for typical TE and TM waves, however, wavefronts with arbitrary linear polarization are also supported. In this paper, we present a system-level simulation of a Silicon on Sapphire (SOS) interface.


This paper aims at precisely detecting and identifying anomalous events in IP traffic. To this end, we adopt the link stream formalism which properly captures temporal and structural features of the data. Within this framework, we focus on finding anomalous behaviours with respect to the degree of IP addresses over time. Due to diversity in IP profiles, this feature is typically distributed heterogeneously, preventing us to directly find anomalies. To deal with this challenge, we design a method to detect outliers as well as precisely identify their cause in a sequence of similar heterogeneous distributions. We apply it to several MAWI captures of IP traffic and we show that it succeeds in detecting relevant patterns in terms of anomalous network activity.


Recent experimental results in the Large Helical Device have indicated that a large pressure gradient can be formed beyond the stability criterion for the Mercier (high-n) mode. While the stability against an interchange mode is violated in the inward-shifted configuration due to an enhancement of the magnetic hill, the neoclassical transport and confinement of high-energy particle are, in contrast, improved by this inward shift. Mitigation of the unfavourable effects of MHD instability has led to a significant extension of the operational regime. Achievements of the stored energy of I MJ and the volume-averaged beta of 3% are representative results from this finding. A confinement enhancement factor above the international stellarator scaling ISS95 is also maintained around 1.5 towards a volume-averaged beta, (beta), of 3%. Configuration studies on confinement and MHD characteristics emphasize the superiority of the inward-shifted geometry to other geometries. The emergence of coherent modes appears to be consistent with the linear ideal MHD theory; however, the inward-shifted configuration has reduced heat transport in spite of a larger amplitude of magnetic fluctuation than the outward-shifted configuration. While neoclassical helical ripple transport becomes visible for the outward-shifted configuration in the collisionless regime, the inward-shifted configuration does not show any degradation of confinement deep in the collisionless regime (nu* < 0.1). The distinguished characteristics observed in the inward-shifted configuration help in creating a new perspective of MHD stability and related transport in net current-free plasmas. The first result of the pellet launching at different locations is also reported.


In the software-engineering industry, it seems that hordes of professionals all follow one of a half-dozen or so well-trod "lemming paths". Each path corresponds to a "technology" whose proponents have made outrageous claims that its use will result in great increases in quality or productivity or whatever. Although the paths may lead to great results, nobody on the path really knows. In fact, not even the outspoken proponents know for sure. You have three choices: follow the lemmings, get an eagle-eye perspective, or take the path less traveled. The author suggests you take this last perspective. There is a plethora of rarely used, yet proven techniques that can be used at little or no cost, with little or no risk, to achieve small to moderate gains in quality and productivity. None of these are silver bullets, but all can help your project. None will result in incredibly large increases in quality or productivity, but then neither will fads associated with the lemmings!.<<ETX>>


According to Ernest Burgess and of Harvey Locke in its book of The Family: From Institution Companionship to (1945) defining family as " A group of human being united by marriage braid, adoption or blood which forming a household have; interaction and communicate in social order of them (husband, wife, father, and mother, man child and daughter, brother and sister); and create and develop an culture." Family represent a group of related human being by nuptials braid, blood which forming a interaction household capable to and communicate in social order of them covering husband, wife, mother and father, man child and daughter, brother and sister, braid among hand in glove humanity once, so that they can form a[n domesticity matching with problems which is facing in family. Modern family coloured by situation both of old fellow both of the same do, divorce number earn life mount, family with only one family and people employing child. But conception familiarity and role of that family will change if given on to the condition of broken household or divorce. That divorce happened because of within doors natural doorstep of family disfungsi. During the time we cannot deny that there no quit of family conflict. But every family have the way of separate to overcoming him. Some of that conflict come from marriage of itself and have direct effect to that good child in growth of its personality and also social interaction of child in society and also family. If arising problems, hence every couple surely will try to look for its resolving, but if mentioned not possible, hence will arise parting and divorce, so that this matter can give impact which serious enough to growth of child a period of to come. Above mentioned condition specially the problem of divorce also happened in countryside of Krebet District Of Bululawang Sub-Province Malang. On that account arising an idea of researcher utilize to perform research to know accomplishment of social need and child economics of family of broken home with formula of problem of: (1) How child relation with old fellow which have, (2) How accomplishment of economic social need of child. While its target is : (1) To know child relation with old fellow which have, (2) To know accomplishment of economic social need of child. Research type qualitative with approach of case study, data collecting technique weared is interview in-dept and observation, technique analyse data the used is taxonomy. As for audit technic keaabsahan of data is by as follows: 1. Comparing data result of observation 2. Checking the truth of data which have been obtained from sides able to be trusted 3. Using appliance Assist in collecting data like stationery etcetera 4. Comparing result of interview with content of related data or document. Pursuant to result of research indicate that requirement of child of family of broken home still less fufilled more than anything else in middle family downwards. But there is also its requirement enough fufilled because of informan old fellow represent middle family, beside above mentioned finding is existence of support of that good big family socially, economics, moral and is psychological, so that victim children of broken home do not experience of keterlantaran. Child relation with family spelled out members is good enough, but there are some informan phrasing that child relation with its Father very inharmonious once and child do not want to confess again its Father. Keyword : Broken Home Link: http://skripsi.umm.ac.id/files/disk1/302/jiptummpp-gdl-s1-2009-masyitohum-15074-01+PENDA-N.pdf


The relations between early emotional and behavioral problems in classroom situations and peer social competence were examined for a representative sample of urban Head Start children. Behavior problems were assessed within the context of routine peer, teacher, and structured learning classroom situations early in the preschool year. Two path models were tested: (a) direct effects of preschool situational problems on peer social competence at the end of preschool and (b) direct and indirect effects of preschool situational problems on peer social competence at the end of kindergarten, accounting for preschool peer social competence and child demographic variables. Early problems in peer and socially mediated learning situations consistently predicted lower peer social competence in preschool and kindergarten. Problems in preschool peer situations directly and indirectly predicted greater disruptive play at the end of kindergarten, and problems in structured learning situations predicted lower interactive play at both time points. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.