Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation (VCA) is an emerging field encompassing transplantation of limbs and face. In clinical VCA, combination therapy with two or more immunosuppressive drugs is standard. Nonetheless, side effects associated with the administration of lifelong, high dose, multidrug immunosuppression continue to hamper wider implementation of VCA. Greater feasibility, wider acceptability and routine applicability of VCA will only be realized if the risks of transplant rejection and chronic immunosuppression are minimized. An immediate goal is the exploration of novel strategies that achieve donor-specific immune hypo-responsiveness via local immunomodulation, minimizing or eliminating the need for systemic immunosuppression.

Interestingly, the cells of our bodies have evolved to utilize a host of strategies to maintain immunological homeostasis, representing a level of sophistication that dwarfs current attempts at immunosuppression. As a hallmark example, our bodies contain a subset of lymphocytes called regulatory T cells (Treg) that play a critical role in establishing and maintaining immunological homeostasis. However, because Tregs are found in low numbers throughout the body, strategies to harness them for therapeutic use have thus far focused on ex vivo expansion followed by in vivo re-administration. Though promising, the clinical implementation of these approaches is faced with numerous logistical and regulatory hurdles.

To this end, our group has developed synthetic approaches utilizing cell sized, biocompatible, biodegradable microspheres composed of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) acid (PLGA) capable of releasing factors that can locally enrich for Treg. Specifically, PLGA microparticles that release the Treg recruiting chemokine CCL22 (referred to as Recruitment-MP) were fabricated and tested for their ability to prevent allograft rejection in a rodent model of hindlimb transplantation. Indeed, Recruitment-MP was able to prolong hind limb survival indefinitely and promote donor antigen-specific tolerance.

Finally, an alternative strategy to locally enrich for Tregs via their induction from Naive T cells was described. Treg Inducing microparticles (TRI-MP) that release TGF-, Rapamycin, and IL-2, were also able to promote long-term graft survival and (importantly) induce donor-specific tolerance. Taken together, the Treg enriching formulations described herein are synthetic systems that take inspiration from nature's mechanisms for resolving inflammation and have the potential to prevent aberrant inflammation in the context of allotransplantation.


Alcohol consumers show strong variations in demographic characteristics, alcohol intake, frequency, duration and profile of consumption. Individuals consuming up to two drinks per day (men) or one drink per day (women) are defined as moderate drinkers and do not have an increased risk compared to abstainers. Conversely, a high-risk pattern, defined as daily consumption above those limits, or binge drinking episodes, cause health, personal and social problems. This definition separates chronic drinkers from binge drinkers, as their drinking patterns are different. Binge drinking implies "drinking too much too fast". Periods of binge drinking (several consecutive days, weeks or months) are typically followed by periods of abstinence or, in some cases, significantly lower levels of consumption.1 The threshold of alcohol intake per episode which is used to define binge drinking varies from one study to another. In order to propose a consensual definition, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (Bethesda, Maryland, USA) defines binge drinking episodes as consumption of five or more drinks (male) or four or more drinks (female) in the space of about 2 h.2 This definition is not clear-cut. It does not consider the amount of alcohol intake in one binge episode, nor the possibility that some individuals may go on several binges during the same day. Moreover, the behaviour of some binge drinkers may overlap that of chronic drinkers, with several binges over several consecutive days. The latter issue has been partially addressed by previous studies showing that repetition of binge episodes during adolescence constitutes a risk factor for being a chronic drinker during adulthood.

A considerable increase in binge drinking is currently being seen in Western countries. This tendency appears to be more striking in beer- and spirit-drinking cultures in the UK and northern Europe.3 Young people seem particularly prone to …


Distributed MIMO network topology is one of the most promising technologies in modern communication networks. Compared to classical Single Input Single Output (SISO) links, where information is broadcasted from one sender over huge distances, the distance between two points in multi-hop networks is rather small. By means of such relay networks it becomes possible to guarantee a constant throughput while meeting a given end-to-end (e2e) outage constraint over extensive areas. In each hop several relay nodes form a virtual antenna array (VAA). By using this concept, capacity improving techniques like distributed space time codes can be implemented [Doh03]. The possibility of allocating recourses like transmit power is much more complex in distributed networks than in SISO links. The goal of power optimization in relay networks is to minimize the total transmit power while meeting a given e2e outage constraint. However, in practical scenarios, the structure of a relaying network does not have to follow certain geometrical regularities but can be arranged asymmetrically. As a consequence of that, the closed form expression of power allocation for asymmetric networks is intricate. In this paper the performance of power allocation for an adaptive asymmetric distributed relay networks is analyzed. The significant power saving compared to a non adaptive network is demonstrated by numerical calculations.


There but for the is the sparkling satirical novel by bestselling Ali Smith 'There once was a man who, one night between the main course and the sweet at a dinner party, went upstairs and locked himself in one of the bedrooms of the house of the people who were giving the dinner party ...' As time passes by and the consequences of this stranger's actions ripple outwards, touching the owners, the guests, the neighbours and the whole country, so Ali Smith draws us into a beautiful, strange place where everyone is so much more than they at first appear. There but for the was hailed as one of the best books of 2011 by Jeanette Winterson, A.S. Byatt, Patrick Ness, Sebastian Barry, Boyd Tonkin, Erica Wagner and Nick Barley. 'Dazzlingly inventive' A.S. Byatt 'Whimsically devastating. Playful, humorous, serious, profoundly clever and profoundly affecting' Guardian 'A real gem' Erica Wagner, The Times 'Eccentric, adventurous, intoxicating, dazzling. This is a novel with serious ambitions that remains huge fun to read' Literary Review 'If you liked Smith's earlier fiction, you will know that she enjoys setting up a situation before chucking in a literary Molotov cocktail then describing what happens' Sunday Express 'Wonderful, word-playful, compelling' Jeanette Winterson 'Smith can make anything happen, which is why she is one of our most exciting writers today' Daily Telegraph 'I take my hat off to Ali Smith. Her writing lifts the soul' Evening Standard


For one-shot learning gesture recognition, two important challenges are: how to extract distinctive features and how to learn a discriminative model from only one training sample per gesture class. For feature extraction, a new spatio-temporal feature representation called 3D enhanced motion scale-invariant feature transform (3D EMoSIFT) is proposed, which fuses RGB-D data. Compared with other features, the new feature set is invariant to scale and rotation, and has more compact and richer visual representations. For learning a discriminative model, all features extracted from training samples are clustered with the k-means algorithm to learn a visual codebook. Then, unlike the traditional bag of feature (BoF) models using vector quantization (VQ) to map each feature into a certain visual codeword, a sparse coding method named simulation orthogonal matching pursuit (SOMP) is applied and thus each feature can be represented by some linear combination of a small number of codewords. Compared with VQ, SOMP leads to a much lower reconstruction error and achieves better performance. The proposed approach has been evaluated on ChaLearn gesture database and the result has been ranked amongst the top best performing techniques on ChaLearn gesture challenge (round 2).


Embryonic signaling pathways, in particular those mediated by Wnt and TGF-β, are known to play key roles in tumor progression through the induction of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Their simultaneous targeting could therefore represent a desirable anticancer strategy. On the basis of recent findings that both Wnt and TGF-β–associated pathways are regulated by Hippo signaling in mammalian cells, we reasoned that targeting the latter would be more effective in inhibiting EMT. In a search for such inhibitors, we identified a small molecule (C19) with remarkable inhibitory activity not only against Hippo, but also against Wnt and TGF-β pathways. C19 inhibited cancer cell migration, proliferation, and resistance to doxorubicin in vitro, and exerted strong antitumor activity in a mouse tumor model. Mechanistically, C19 induced GSK3-β–mediated degradation of the Hippo transducer TAZ, through activation of the Hippo kinases Mst/Lats and the tumor suppressor kinase AMPK upstream of the degradation complex. Overall, this study identified C19 as a multi-EMT pathway inhibitor with a unique mechanism of action. The findings that both AMPK and Mst/Lats mediate the antitumor activity of C19 shed light on a potential cross-talk between metabolic and organ size control pathways in regulating cancer progression. By simultaneously targeting these two pathways, C19 may represent a new type of agents to suppress cancer progression and/or its recurrence. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(6); 1457–67. ©2014 AACR.


Grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluations (GRADE) is arguably the most widely used method for appraising studies to be included in systematic reviews and guidelines. In order to use the GRADE system or know how to interpret it when reading reviews, reading several articles and attending a workshop are required. Moreover, the GRADE system is not covered in standard medical textbooks. Here, we explain GRADE concisely with the use of examples so that students and other researchers can understand it.


Objectives: This study investigated the effect of grape seed extract on swim exercise and oxidative stress in acute and chronically exercised rats. Methods: This study was attempted on one month old male albino Wistar rats. Rats were exposed to swim exercise daily for duration of 30 min Day-1. During the experiment estimation of blood parameters, lipid profile, antioxidant enzymes and oxidative stress parameters were evaluated. Results: The endurance capacity was increased by 2.7-fold in the supplemented trainees as compared to the unsupplemented swim trainees which showed an increase by 1.9 fold by the end of 9 weeks compared to the first week. Plasma lactate showed a significant reduction by 25% and 37% in swim trained and supplemented trainees compared to the sedentary. The haemoglobin level showed an increase in the swim trained rats by 19% and 28% in the supplemented trainees compared to the sedentary animals. The packed cell volume increased in swim trained rats by 10% and 19% in the supplemented trainees compared to the sedentary animals. Supplemented trained rats showed a reduction in total cholesterol by 13 % and 15.55% in swim trainees with and without supplementation compared to the sedentary rats respectively. The catalase activity exhibited a significant change in supplemented trainees compared to the sedentary by 20% in Soleus and 71% in extensor digitorum longus compared with the respective sedentary muscle and by 7.5% and 28% compared to the unsupplemented trainees. Conclusion: In conclusion, grape seed extract reduces oxidative stress by increasing antioxidant enzymes activity.


Abstract. A spectroscopic analysis of 115 wintertime particulate matter samples collected in rural California shows that wood smoke absorbs solar radiation with a strong spectral selectivity. This is consistent with prior work that has demonstrated that organic carbon (OC), in addition to black carbon (BC), appreciably absorbs solar radiation in the visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. We apportion light absorption to OC and BC and find that the absorption Angstrom exponent of the light-absorbing OC in these samples ranges from 3.0 to 7.4 and averages 5.0. Further, we calculate that OC would account for 14% and BC would account for 86% of solar radiation absorbed by the wood smoke in the atmosphere (integrated over the solar spectrum from 300 to 2500 nm). OC would contribute 49% of the wood smoke particulate matter absorption of ultraviolet solar radiation at wavelengths below 400 nm and, therefore, may affect tropospheric photochemistry. These results illustrate that BC is the dominant light-absorbing particulate matter species in atmospheres burdened with residential wood smoke and OC absorption is secondary but not insignificant. Further, these results add to the growing body of evidence that light-absorbing OC is ubiquitous in atmospheres influenced by biomass burning and may be important to include when considering particulate matter effects on climate.


Contrastive learning approaches have achieved great success in learning visual representations with few labels of the target classes. That implies a tantalizing possibility of scaling them up beyond a curated"seed"benchmark, to incorporating more unlabeled images from the internet-scale external sources to enhance its performance. However, in practice, larger amount of unlabeled data will require more computing resources due to the bigger model size and longer training needed. Moreover, open-world unlabeled data usually follows an implicit long-tail class or attribute distribution, many of which also do not belong to the target classes. Blindly leveraging all unlabeled data hence can lead to the data imbalance as well as distraction issues. This motivates us to seek a principled approach to strategically select unlabeled data from an external source, in order to learn generalizable, balanced and diverse representations for relevant classes. In this work, we present an open-world unlabeled data sampling framework called Model-Aware K-center (MAK), which follows three simple principles: (1) tailness, which encourages sampling of examples from tail classes, by sorting the empirical contrastive loss expectation (ECLE) of samples over random data augmentations; (2) proximity, which rejects the out-of-distribution outliers that may distract training; and (3) diversity, which ensures diversity in the set of sampled examples. Empirically, using ImageNet-100-LT (without labels) as the seed dataset and two"noisy"external data sources, we demonstrate that MAK can consistently improve both the overall representation quality and the class balancedness of the learned features, as evaluated via linear classifier evaluation on full-shot and few-shot settings. The code is available at: https://github.com/VITA-Group/MAK


This paper discusses the source- and site-effects on the distribution of macroseismic intensity, estimated or observed, following the 29 July 2008 M 5.4 earthquake in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan region. We refer to the instrumental intensities according to the ShakeMap procedure (Wald et al. 2006) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Community Internet Intensity Map (CIIM; Atkinson and Wald 2007). The CIIMs are also known as the "Did You Feel It?" questionnaires (DYFI). Both ShakeMap and CIIM are openly available through the USGS Web site (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter). Note that the traditional modified Mercalli intensities (MMI; Wood and Neumann 1931) from the so called felt reports are not available for the study earthquake.

Three original techniques designed to address intensities are used here: 1) a simple kinematic formula for S -body-waves, KF (Sirovich 1996, 1997); 2) a "parametric KF scenario" (Sirovich and Pettenati 2004b, 2009; Pettenati and Sirovich 2006; Pettenati et al. 2008); and 3) the isoseismals obtained through natural neighbor interpolation (Sirovich et al. 2002; and see below.

We also test our KF parametric technique for hazard planning and its chance of improving fast information after moderate earthquakes (mostly in regions with insufficient instrumental coverage, where an isotropic, predictive, empirical equation is not satisfactory).

Intensities are treated here as integer values for two reasons: first, to adhere to the original definition of MMI by Wood and Neumann (1931), and second, because our strategic target is the treatment of the remarkable database of high-quality traditional macroseismic observations, obtained by seismologists and historians, which is available in Europe going back at least to the XVI–XVII centuries (see, for example, the Italian intensity data in Stucchi et al. 2007).

Figure 1 shows the ShakeMap instrumental intensities near the meizoseismal area, modified to indicate integer values rather than …


Over the years, there has been a steady stream of scholarly papers, essays, case studies, reports, and similar narratives that seek to document, describe, or analyze corrupt practices and accountability problems in government. Curiously neglected, if not missing in these initiatives, particularly in the Philippines, is the analysis of so-called "whistleblowers" or those who voluntarily expose corrupt practices after having witnessed or participated in these acts. The phenomenological method is adopted as a framework towards understanding the realities and dynamics of corrupt practices. Phenomenology is a philosophy that derives its knowledge from direct and actual experience by an actor who has personal knowledge of phenomena. The whistleblower's account can be used as a study in the phenomenological method for us to better understand the hidden and unknown realities of corrupt practices. The paper looks at a case of an insider or what has been referred to as the whistleblower. In 2005, Sandra Cam, a self-confessed participant in the gambling payoffs for illegal jueteng operations in Bicol, the Philippines, courageously exposed links and collection activities.


This document describes a method for streaming multimedia attachments
received by a resource constrained and/or mobile device from an IMAP
server. It allows such clients, which often have limits in storage
space and bandwidth, to play video and audio e-mail content. The
document describes a profile for making use of the URLAUTH authorized
IMAP URLs (RFC 5092), the Network Announcement SIP Media Service (RFC
4240), and the Media Server Control Markup Language (RFC 5022).


Abstract. Organic aerosols (OA) that strongly absorb solar radiation in the near-UV are referred to as brown carbon (BrC). The sources, evolution, and optical properties of BrC remain highly uncertain and contribute significantly to uncertainty in the estimate of the global direct radiative effect (DRE) of aerosols. Previous modeling studies of BrC optical properties and DRE have been unable to fully evaluate model performance due to the lack of direct measurements of BrC absorption. In this study, we develop a global model simulation (GEOS-Chem) of BrC and test it against BrC absorption measurements from two aircraft campaigns in the continental US (SEAC4RS and DC3). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to compare simulated BrC absorption with direct aircraft measurements. We show that BrC absorption properties estimated based on previous laboratory measurements agree with the aircraft measurements of freshly emitted BrC absorption but overestimate aged BrC absorption. In addition, applying a photochemical scheme to simulate bleaching/degradation of BrC improves model skill. The airborne observations are therefore consistent with a mass absorption coefficient (MAC) of freshly emitted biomass burning OA of 1.33 m2 g−1 at 365 nm coupled with a 1-day whitening e-folding time. Using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model integrated with the RRTMG radiative transfer model, we estimate that the top-of-the-atmosphere all-sky direct radiative effect (DRE) of OA is −0.344 Wm−2, 10 % higher than that without consideration of BrC absorption. Therefore, our best estimate of the absorption DRE of BrC is +0.048 Wm−2. We suggest that the DRE of BrC has been overestimated previously due to the lack of observational constraints from direct measurements and omission of the effects of photochemical whitening.


Software projects that use a compiled language are built hundreds of thousands of times during their lifespan. Hence, the compiler is invoked over and over again on an incrementally changing source base. As previous work has shown, up to 97 percent of these invocations are redundant and do not lead to an altered compilation result. In order to avoid such redundant builds, many developers use caching tools that are based on textual hashing of the source files. However, these tools fail in the presence of modifications that leave the compilation result unchanged. Especially for C projects, where module-interface definitions are imported textually with the C preprocessor, modifications to header files lead to many redundant compilations.

In this paper, we present the cHash approach and compiler extension to quickly detect modifications on the language level that will not lead to a changed compilation result. By calculating a hash over the abstract syntax tree, we achieve a high precision at comparatively low costs. While cHash is light-weight and build system agnostic, it can cancel 80 percent of all compiler invocations early and reduce the build-time of incremental builds by up to 51 percent. In comparison to the state-of-the-art CCache tool, cHash is at least 30 percent more precise in detecting redundant compilations.


The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) held its 1996 Fall Symposia Series on 9 to 11 November in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This article contains summaries of the seven symposia that were conducted: (1) Configuration; (2) Developing Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities; (3) Embodied Cognition and Action; (4) Flexible Computation: Results, Issues, and Opportunities; (5) Knowledge Representation Systems Based on Natural Language; (6) Learning Complex Behaviors in Adaptive Intelligent Systems; and (7) Plan Execution: Problems and Issues.


An engineer who creates a design needs to determine whether the design is free of errors that can lead to high manufacturing costs, tragic accidents because of design defects, low use because of poor product quality, and a host of other downstream concerns. The domain of engineering design is much harder than other domains, and errors are more likely to arise and remain undetected until it is too late to do something about them. One way to reduce these errors is to introduce the use of expert critics into the designer's electronic support environment. Critics are a promising approach for organizing a next-generation design support environment (DSE). Unfortunately, expert-critiquing theory offers inaccurate but widely followed guidance for helping builders create usable critic programs. Existing critics rely on batch, after-task, debiasing of experts. This form of criticism turns out to be overly limited and too often leads to user frustration. As a step toward correcting this deficiency, this article presents lessons learned from following the incorrect theory along with guidance for a more robust approach to criticism system construction. Future research needs are also identified that should help builders realize the full potential of critics in engineering DSEs.


Grassland fire is a cause of major disturbance to ecosystems and economies throughout the world. This paper investigated to identify risk zone of wildfire distributions on the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia. The study selected variables for wildfire risk assessment using a combination of data collection, including Social Economic, Climate, Geographic Information Systems, Remotely sensed imagery, and statistical yearbook information. Moreover, an evaluation of the result is used field validation data and assessment. The data evaluation resulted divided by main three group factors Environmental, Social Economic factor, Climate factor and Fire information factor into eleven input variables, which were classified into five categories by risk levels important criteria and ranks. All of the explanatory variables were integrated into spatial a model and used to estimate the wildfire risk index. Within the index, five categories were created, based on spatial statistics, to adequately assess respective fire risk: very high risk, high risk, moderate risk, low and very low. Approximately more than half, 68 percent of the study area was predicted accuracy to good within the very high, high risk and moderate risk zones. The percentages of actual fires in each fire risk zone were as follows: very high risk, 42 percent; high risk, 26 percent; moderate risk, 13 percent; low risk, 8 percent; and very low risk, 11 percent. The main overall accuracy to correct prediction from the model was 62 percent. The model and results could be support in spatial decision making support system processes and in preventative wildfire management strategies. Also it could be help to improve ecological and biodiversity conservation management.


The emergence of dendritic arbor structure in vivo depends on synaptic inputs. We tested whether inhibitory GABAergic synaptic transmission regulates Xenopus optic tectal cell dendritic arbor development in vivo by expressing a peptide corresponding to an intracellular loop (ICL) of the γ2 subunit of type A GABA receptors (GABAAR), which is required to anchor GABAA receptors to the postsynaptic scaffold. Enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-tagged ICL (EGFP-ICL) was distributed in a punctate pattern at putative inhibitory synapses, identified by vesicular GABA transporter immunoreactive puncta. ICL expression completely blocked GABAAR-mediated transmission in 36% of transfected neurons and significantly reduced GABAAR-mediated synaptic currents relative to AMPA receptor-mediated synaptic currents in the remaining transfected neurons without altering release probability or neuronal excitability. Further analysis of ICL-expressing neurons with residual GABAAR-mediated inputs showed that the capacity of benzodiazepine to enhance GABAergic synaptic responses was reduced in ICL-expressing neurons, indicating that they were likely depleted of γ2 subunit-containing GABAAR. Neurons expressing a mutant form of ICL were comparable to controls. In vivo time-lapse images showed that ICL-expressing neurons have more sparsely branched dendritic arbors, which expand over larger neuropil areas than EGFP-expressing control neurons. Analysis of branch dynamics indicated that ICL expression affected arbor growth by reducing rates of branch addition. Furthermore, we found that decreasing GABAergic synaptic transmission with ICL expression blocked visual experience dependent dendritic arbor structural plasticity. Our findings establish an essential role for inhibitory GABAergic synaptic transmission in the regulation of dendritic structural plasticity in Xenopus in vivo.


We investigated whether a set of indicators of the employability dimensions proposed by Fugate, Kinicki, and Asforth (i.e., career identity, personal adaptability, and human and social capital) are related to university graduates' employment status and five indicators of the quality of their jobs (pay, hierarchical level, vertical and horizontal match, and job satisfaction). We analyzed a representative sample of university graduates (N = 7,881) from the population of graduates who obtained their degree from the University of Valencia in the period 2006–2010. The results showed that indicators of human and social capital were related to employment status, whereas indicators of human and social capital and career identity were related to distinct job quality indicators. These results support the validity of the conceptual model proposed by Fugate et al. to investigate employability in samples of university graduates.


This is no ordinary book about boxing. Dark Trade is Donald McRae's vivid personal journey through the intense and forbidding world of the professional fight game. Tyson, Bruno, Hamed, Benn, Eubank, Watson, Jones, De La Hoya and Toney confide in him their fears and longings. Their fantastic, almost mythological stories are uncovered in new and striking detail, derived from the hundreds of hours McRae has spent in their company. With wit, compassion and lucidity, Dark Trade examines the way in which race and violence beat at the heart of our society, and asks what forces men to pursue this most brutal kind of stardom, what drives their outrageous ambition.


The use of crop rotation systems involving winter-annual grazing can help peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) producers increase profitability, although winter-annual grazing could result in excessive soil compaction, which can severely limit yields. We conducted a 3-yr field study on a Dothan loamy sand in southeastern Alabama to develop a conservation tillage system for integrating peanut with winter-annual grazing of stocker cattle under dryland conditions. Winter-annual forages and tillage systems were evaluated in a strip-plot design, where winter forages were oat (Avena sativa L.) and annual ryegrass (Lolium mutiflorum L.). Tillage systems included moldboard and chisel plowing, and combinations of noninversion deep tillage (none, in-row subsoil, or paratill) with/without disking. We evaluated soil water content, peanut leaf stomatal conductance, plant density, peanut yield, peanut net return, and total system annual net return. Peanut following oat increased soil water extraction (15%), stands (12%), and yields (21%) compared with peanut following ryegrass. Strict no-till resulted in the lowest yields (2.29 Mg ha -1 , 42% less than the mean) and noninversion deep tillage (especially in-row subsoil) was required to maximize water use and yields with conservation tillage. Net return from annual grazing ($185 ha-1 , USD) represented 40% of the total return for the best treatment (no-tillage with in-row subsoil following oat = $462 ha -1 ). Integrating winter-annual grazing in this region using noninversion deep tillage following oat in a conservation tillage system can benefit peanut growers, allowing extra income without sacrificing peanut yields.


This publication continues the author's previous publication from 2020 on mental barriers hindering a more accurate interrogation of the COVID 19 pandemic phenomenon and which focused on an analysis from sociological, philosophical and anthropological perspectives. The current publication completes this trajectory of inquiry by presenting a biological perspective which demonstrates the human organism as one in which viruses are a co-host in the fullest sense. The publication continues to document the author's hypothesis that the essence of the COVID-19 pandemic is reduced effectiveness of those evolutionarily born defensive mechanisms which are integral to humans. Such a situation has resulted from the plundering of natural resources (including those of health) which characterised the industrial era.


For many earlier southern white writers, the southern rural landscape was the repository of nostalgia for lost ways of life, whether it was the plantation fantasy that Thomas Nelson Page pined for in his stories In Ole Virginia (1887) or the segregated agrarian ideal that many contributors yearned for in I'll Take My Stand (1930). For modern southern white writers, beginning most prominently with William Faulkner, the rural landscape has conjured up unsettling guile about a way of life that flourished on the backs of the black people who tilled that land. And not surprisingly, for many black writers the southern rural landscape has been the repository of troubled memories--"slavery's old backyard," as Eddy Harris terms it in South of Haunted Dreams (1993). African American writers such as Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison started their lives and their plots in the rural South and then fled its racism. During the Harlem Renaissance, writers such as Jean Toomer and Zora Neale Hurston found the rural South to be a storehouse of African American culture, a culture that Hurston's anthropology professor Franz Boaz thought might be lost during the Great Migration of blacks from the South, a culture that she reclaimed. Many contemporary African American writers, no matter their region of origin, have found that at some time in their writing lives they must go South in their fiction to understand their history, to confront old enemies, and to heal old wounds. For writers not native to the South, the turn South is often made in historical fictions recounting slavery or segregation--Charles Johnson's Middle Passage, Toni Morrison's Beloved, Sherley Anne Williams's Dessa Rose, and Bebe Moore Campbell's Your Blues Ain't Like Mine. In David Bradley's The Chaneysville Incident, Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, Gloria Naylor's Mama Day, and Octavia Butlers Kindred, contemporary characters delve into their ancestors' southern rural past in order to understand their racial heritage. Document Type Book Chapter Publication Date 2002 Publisher Statement Copyright © 2002 Louisiana State University Press. This chapter first appeared in South to a New Place. Please note that downloads of the chapter are for private/personal use only. Purchase online at Louisiana State University Press. Recommended Citation Jones, Suzanne W. "I'll Take My Land: Cotemporary Southern Agrarians." In South to a New Place, edited by Suzanne Jones and Sharon Monteith, 121-46. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2001.  Download


Virtually all uropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli, the primary cause of cystitis, assemble adhesive surface organelles called type 1 pili that contain the FimH adhesin. Sera from animals vaccinated with candidate FimH vaccines inhibited uropathogenic E. coli from binding to human bladder cells in vitro. Immunization with FimH reduced in vivo colonization of the bladder mucosa by more than 99 percent in a murine cystitis model, and immunoglobulin G to FimH was detected in urinary samples from protected mice. Furthermore, passive systemic administration of immune sera to FimH also resulted in reduced bladder colonization by uropathogenic E. coli. This approach may represent a means of preventing recurrent and acute infections of the urogenital mucosa.


During learning computer science theory, it is essential to learn sorting algorithms, but it is not easy to understand the concept of the different sorting algorithms. This paper describes a system called PLASPS (PDA-based Learning Algorithm System Using Participatory Simulation). This is an interactive simulation system to learn the sorting algorithms. Learners use it to deeply understand the sorting algorithms. Using this system, the teacher can assign tasks to his student and ask them to sort a list of numbers according to a certain algorithm. Learners receive these tasks, collaborate together and send the result to the server. The system will check it and feedback the student with the positions of the numbers if there is a mistake. The learners will correct the number positions and send it back to the server. Learners can understand the algorithm through the dissections and their errors. This system is like 'scaffolding'. Scaffolding is a great technique that can help the students to master understanding the sorting algorithm. At the beginning, this system assists the students by supporting some instructions, and later the fading process is starting where the students have to practice independently. There are two parts in this system, one is the system-driven, which uses scaffolding technique, and the other is the learner-driven, which allows the student to work independently. This system was developed and evaluated. In this paper, we describe how the system uses participatory simulation environment for sorting algorithm learning, how we use the scaffolding technique to develop this system. We also describe the implementation of the PLASPS, the evaluation of the system and the plan of the future work. Participatory Simulation 3 Using Participatory Simulation Support Learning Algorithms


La Flor Wildlife Refuge and nearby beaches on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua are important nesting sites for various species of endangered marine turtles. However, illegal harvesting of turtle eggs threatens the survival of marine turtles. In this study, we analysed the different motivations of local villagers for complying with a ban on harvesting marine turtle eggs in a context, in which government authorities do not have the means to fully enforce existing regulations. We also analysed the effectiveness and the participation of locals in an incipient performance-based nest conservation payment programme to protect turtle eggs. The analysis of survey-based data from 180 households living in Ostional, the largest village near La Flor Wildlife Refuge, indicates remarkable socio-economic differences between harvesters and non-harvesters. Our findings suggest that harvesters are associated mainly with a lack of income from other activities and the absence of productive assets, such as land for cattle and/or agriculture. In addition, the lack of legitimacy of prevailing institutions (i.e., actual regulations) also seems to perpetuate illegal harvesting. The performance-based payments programme is an effective option for protecting nests on isolated beaches, however, it is not clear if it changes harvesting behaviour overall. Normative motivations to protect the turtles are important determinants of participation in this programme, although the financial reward is also an important incentive, particularly since most participants who are egg harvesters depend on this activity as their main source of income.


A new method of predicting the solar heat gain through complex fenestration systems involving nonspecular layers such as shades or blinds has been examined in a project jointly sponsored by ASHRAE and DOE. In this method, a scanning radiometer is used to measure the bidirectional radiative transmittance and reflectance of each layer of a fenestration system. The properties of systems containing these layers are then built up computationally from the measured layer properties using a transmission/multiple-reflection calculation. The calculation produces the total directional-hemispherical transmittance of the fenestration system and the layer-by-layer absorptances. These properties are in turn combined with layer-specific measurements of the inward-flowing fractions of absorbed solar energy to produce the overall solar heat gain coefficient. This paper describes the method of measuring the spatially averaged bidirectional optical properties using an automated, large-sample gonioradiometer/photometer, termed a ``Scanning Radiometer.`` Property measurements are presented for one of the most optically complex systems in common use, a venetian blind. These measurements will form the basis for optical system calculations used to test the method of determining performance.


Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) gives an estimate of long-term average glycemic status. It is used routinely to assess glycemic control in diabetics to attain treatment goals and prevent long term complications. Its recommendation for diagnosis of diabetes mellitus has evoked mixed response worldwide. We reviewed a number of published articles to analyze the pros and cons of using HbA1c for diagnosis of Diabetes mellitus in India. We observed that though HbA1c has some indisputable advantages over fasting plasma glucose estimation for diagnosing diabetes mellitus, a number of biochemical, clinical and economical factors limit its use as single diagnostic agent. Diagnostic methods and laboratories are insufficiently standardized for HbA1c in India. The clinician must consider the overall patient profile in addition to a number of local variations and disorders especially hemoglobinopathies /anemias before accepting an abnormal HbA1c value. Supportive or repeat tests may be required leading to increase in cost and delay in diagnosis. In the present Indian scenario, especially the fragmented unorganized health care sector in suburban areas, HbA1c cannot be accepted as a sole and independent test to diagnose diabetes mellitus.


The colors in a digital image do not only depend on the scene's reflectances, but also on the lighting conditions and on the characteristics of the imaging device. It is often necessary to separate the influence of these three elements, in particular to separate the contribution of the object's reflection properties from the one of the incident light. Both are usually represented by spectral quantities, i.e., defined over the visible spectrum. The retrieval of illuminant and reflectances from an RGB image, which provides three values per pixel, is an under-determined problem and requires additional information or assumption on the scene's content in order to be solved. In this thesis, we study how redundant information across a set of images can be exploited to recover either illuminant or reflectance knowledge. We demonstrate that accurate object color can be retrieved as tristimulus values from standard RGB images captured with an unknown camera under uncontrolled lighting conditions and no access to raw data, but containing a limited number of reference colors in the form of a specific calibration target. The correction must be constrained to a limited range of colors similar to the one of the object of interest, which are compared to pre-computed references for the derivation of a linear transform. We implement this method for two consumer oriented applications in Makeup and Home Decor, respectively, which provide users with color advice. The correction accuracy is of ΔE*ab ≃ 1 to 2 depending on the design of the target. We show that this accuracy is sufficient for the applications at hand. We also developed a method to retrieve illuminant spectra from a set of images taken with fixed location cameras, such as panoramic or surveillance ones. In pictures captured with such devices, there will be changes in lighting and dynamic content, but there will also be constant objects. We propose to use these elements as reference colors to solve for color constancy. More precisely, we exploit that their reflectances, while unknown, remain constant across images. We invert a series of image formation models in parallel for a set of test illuminants and, by forcing the output reflectances to match, deduce the illuminant under which each image was captured. Simulations on synthetic RGB patches demonstrate that real daylight illuminants can be retrieved with a median angular under 3° from sets containing as little as four images using a limited number of reference surfaces.


Globally, states use state-owned companies (SOCs) or public corporations to provide public goods, limit private and foreign control of the domestic economy, generate public funds for the fiscus, increase service delivery and encourage economic development and industrialisation. Particularly given its unique socio-political and economic dynamics, a country such as South Africa clearly needs this type of strategic enterprise. Yet, that does not mean that everything at our SOCs is as it should be. The beleaguered South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has recently seen the resignation of board members, shareholder interference in its operational affairs, and a high turnover of chief accounting officers and other executive management members. Due to non-performance, it has also received several cash injections from its shareholder to enable it to continue to deliver its services. In addition, the shareholder minister took it upon herself to amend the SABC's memorandum of incorporation, conferring upon herself the authority to appoint, suspend or even dismiss key executive members. South African Airways (SAA), in turn, has had seven CEOs in less than four years, has had to be bailed out at a cost of R550 million, and has in addition been granted a R5 billion guarantee by the shareholder for a restructuring exercise. Other SOCs such as Eskom, the Post Office and Telkom have also experienced high board and executive management turnover, perennial underperformance necessitating regular bailouts, and challenges regarding the division of power between their boards and the various shareholder ministers. Another issue that seems to plague South Africa's SOCs is the appointment of board members and executive officials with questionable qualifications. By critically examining the corporate governance challenges besetting the SABC, SAA and Eskom in particular, this article seeks to explore the root causes of the corporate governance deficiencies of SOCs, and how their corporate governance can be enhanced. It is concluded that the challenges faced by the country's SOCs are twofold: firstly, the SOCs boards' lack of appreciation of the cardinal corporate governance rules, and secondly, the role of government as a single or dominant shareholder, which results in substantial political interference in the running of the SOCs. This dual problem requires a dual solution. To arrest the problem of poor corporate governance in SOCs, government as the shareholder should firstly appoint fit and proper directors, having followed a sound due-diligence process. Once it has established such properly skilled and competent boards, however, government should adopt an arm's-length approach to the affairs of the SOCs as a way of insulating these corporations from political interference. Keywords: State-owned companies; corporate governance; deficiencies; South Africa; SAA; SABC; Eskom


This paper addresses the debated application of the jurisdictional regime in contractual matters provided in the Brussels Ia Regulation to cases involving mixed contracts, which comprise elements of a sale of goods, as well as a provision of services, and are not expressly regulated by that legal instrument. The starting point of the assessment is a recent Italian Supreme Court ruling, which is further compared with the relevant CJEU and national case law. Then, some broader considerations are proposed with regard to the actual desirability of specific provisions concerning these types of contracts within the Brussels system.


The Saccharomyces cerevisiae MCM1 protein, which is essential for viability, participates in both transcription activation and repression as well as DNA replication. However, neither the full network of genes at which MCM1 acts nor whether MCM1 itself mediates a regulatory response is known. Thus far, sites of MCM1 action have been identified by chance during analysis of particular genes. To identify a more complete set of genes on which MCM1 acts, we isolated a library of yeast genomic sequences to which MCM1 binds and then identified known genes within this library. Fragments of genomic DNA, bound to bacterially expressed MCM1 protein, were collected on a nitrocellulose filter, cloned, and analyzed. This selected library contains a large number of genes. As expected, it is enriched for strong MCM1 binding sites and contains cell-type-specific genes known to require MCM1. In addition, it also includes sequences upstream (or near the 5' end) of a number of identified yeast genes that have not yet been shown to be controlled by MCM1. These include genes whose products are involved in (i) the control of cell cycle progression (CLN3, CLB2, and FAR1), (ii) synthesis and maintenance of cell wall or cell membrane structures (PMA1, PIS1, DIT1,2, and GFA1), (iii) cellular metabolism (PCK1, MET2, and CCP1), and (iv) production of a secreted glycoprotein which is heat shock inducible (HSP150). The previously unidentified MCM1 binding site in the essential PMA1 gene is required for expression of a PMA1:lacZ fusion gene, providing evidence that one site is functionally important. We speculate that MCM1 coordinates decisions about cell cycle progression with changes in cell wall integrity and metabolic activity. The presence in the library of three genes involved in cell cycle progression reinforces the idea that one of the functions of MCM1 is indeed analogous to that of the mammalian serum response factor.


Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide as cancer cells have the ability to develop resistance to chemotherapeutic agents due to their high expressions of resistance gene. More research on alternative strategies to eradicate this type of malignant cells is highly desired by using natural products with fewer side effects. This study initially investigates the cytotoxicity of 20 novel semi-synthetic cardamonin derivatives and complexes in A549 lung and HK1 nasopharyngeal cancer cell lines. Structure activity relationship analysis revealed the factors affecting cytotoxicity were modification of hydroxyl group, presence of alkene group, addition of chemical groups, with the greatest cytotoxicity advantage being complexing with metal ions. Cardamonin-Cu(II) and cardamonin-Fe(II) complexes were determined as the two most cytotoxic compounds and were selected for further cytotoxic analysis in normal MRC5 lung and normal Hs68 foreskin cell lines. Results showed toxicity in MRC5 lung cells but was less toxic in Hs68 foreskin cells, suggesting some level of selectivity from cardamonin, cardamonin-Cu(II) and cardamonin-Fe(II) depending on the type of cells exposed to. Subsequently, cardamonin and its two complexes were tested in Jurkat T leukaemic cells and results showed highest susceptibility in this leukaemic cell line prompting further investigation on differential susceptibility of adherent and suspension cells. THP-1 monocytic leukaemia cell line cultured in both suspension and adherent phase demonstrated increased resistance in THP-1-derived macrophages in adherent phase compared to THP-1 monocytes in suspension form. Herein, we investigated the effects of interference from inhibitors of p38α and p38β MAP kinase and found THP-1-derived macrophages' increased resistant towards cardamonin, cardamonin-Cu(II) and cardamonin-Fe(II) complexes were independent of p38α and p38β MAP kinase pathway. As Jurkat T cells exhibited lowest IC50 values in cardamonin, cardamonin-Cu(II) and cardamonin-Fe(II)-treated cells, we next explored the underlying mechanism of action in this cell. All three compounds were found to induce apoptotic cell death via the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway in Jurkat T cells as evidenced by the morphological changes, phosphatidylserine externalisation, caspase-3, -9 and PARP-1 cleavage, and collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential. Caspase-8, an initiator caspase of the extrinsic pathway was not activated. The presence of a caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK, was able to inhibit caspase processing and block cell death, further confirming the induced apoptotic cell death was caspase-dependent. As previous studies have reported the ability of metals to induce apoptosis through oxidative stress, the effects of these three compounds on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels were explored. Results revealed cardamonin and cardamonin-Fe(II)-induced depletion of intracellular GSH and production of ROS; whereas cardamonin-Cu(II) did not significantly affect intracellular GSH levels but generated ROS. The presence of low molecular weight thiols, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), L-cysteine and GSH as well as Trolox, a ROS scavenger, blocked cardamonin and cardamonin-Fe(II)-induced Jurkat T cell death, while D-cysteine, which cannot be metabolised to GSH had no effect. However, these low molecular weight thiols had no effect on cardamonin-Cu(II)- treated cells with the exception of Trolox, confirming the role of ROS in cardamonin- Cu(II)-induced Jurkat T cell death. Furthermore, intracellular ROS and GSH levels were recovered close to levels of untreated Jurkat T cells in the presence of Z-VAD- FMK. In conclusion, this study demonstrates cardamonin, cardamonin-Cu(II) and cardamonin-Fe(II) induced apoptotic cell death in Jurkat T cells via an oxidative stress mediated intrinsic mitochondrial pathway that was caspase-dependent.


Sulfonic acid-functionalized mesostructured silicas have demonstrated excellent catalytic behaviour in the acetalisation of glycerol with acetone to yield 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4-methanol, also known as solketal. This molecule constitutes an excellent compound for the formulation of gasoline, diesel and biodiesel fuels. The activity achieved with arenesulfonic acid-functionalized silica is comparable to that displayed by Amberlyst-15. Optimal production of solketal over arenesulfonic acid mesostructured silica has been established for a reaction system consisting of three consecutive 2-step batches (30 min under reflux and an evaporation step under vacuum), and using a 6/1 acetone/glycerol molar ratio. The use of lower grades of glycerol, such as technical (purity of 91.6 wt%) and crude (85.8 wt%) glycerol, has also provided high conversions of glycerol over sulfonic acid-modified heterogeneous catalysts (84% and 81%, respectively). For refined and technical glycerol the catalysts have been reused, without any regeneration treatment, up to three times, keeping the high initial activity. However, the high sodium content in crude glycerol deactivates the sulfonic acid sites by cation exchange. This deactivation is readily reversed by simple acidification of the catalyst after reaction.


The paper presents solutions to increasing the transfer capacity (book rating) of two critical 345kV tie lines. Described are computer modeling techniques using laser survey data coupled with finite element tower and conductor analysis. Rising the conductor elevation through re-tensioning and by employing unique methods to increase the height of the insulator points of support are discussed. Topics address include assessment of tower performance using original design holds under current ASCE code checks; evaluation of marginal capacity and tower upgrades techniques for new loading conditions; limitations of suspension towers modified with suspended deadend configurations; and conductor system as-built modeling and its response to removal of creep generated sag. Methods discussed will demonstrate powerful opportunities to increase the value of the transmission asset.


Background and purpose: Inappropriate complementary feeding practices are one of the causes of malnutrition worldwide. This study was aimed to determine the complementary feeding practices according to World Health Organization recommendation in Sari, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study on complementary feeding practices assayed the different aspect of infant feeding based on maternal, childbirth, and infant characteristics. This study was conducted during the period between March and June 2013 on 401 mothers of infants under 1 year of age attending primary health centers using Poisson random sampling method and semi-structured questionnaire. A chi-square test was used to analyze the data. Results: Almost 83.6% of mothers started complementary feeding at recommended age of 6 months. The most common starting food was Fereni (51.5%). About half of mothers fed their infants complementary food of appropriate consistency (49%) with recommended frequency (54.6%). Fathers' educational level was found to be the significant associated factor with appropriate complementary feeding practices (P = 0.02). Conclusion: Complementary feeding practices by mothers in the capital city of Mazandaran province are still inappropriate in term of consistency, frequency and type of food introduced. Emphasis should be given to educating mothers and fathers about this important issue.


Rapid anthropogenic climate change is already affecting species distributions and ecosystem functioning worldwide. We applied niche‐based models to analyse the impact of climate change on tree species and functional diversity in Europe. Present‐day climate was used to predict the distributions of 122 tree species from different functional types (FT). We then explored projections of future distributions under one climate scenario for 2080, considering two alternative dispersal assumptions: no dispersal and unlimited dispersal. The species‐rich broadleaved deciduous group appeared to play a key role in the future of different European regions. Temperate areas were projected to lose both species richness and functional diversity due to the loss of broadleaved deciduous trees. These were projected to migrate to boreal forests, thereby increasing their species richness and functional diversity. Atlantic areas provided an intermediate case, with a predicted reduction in the numbers of species and occasional predicted gains in functional diversity. This resulted from a loss in species within the broadleaved deciduous FT, but overall maintenance of the group. Our results illustrate the fact that both species‐specific predictions and functional patterns should be examined separately in order to assess the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and gain insights into future ecosystem functioning.


Purpose To compare choroidal thickness maps (CMs) in patients with non-exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and control subjects using swept source optical coherence tomography (Swept-OCT). Methods CMs were automatically measured in the different Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) sectors in eyes with early non-exudative AMD (early AMD) (large soft drusen: group 1; reticular pseudodrusen: group 2 and variable combination of large soft drusen and reticular pseudodrusen: group 3), late non-exudative AMD/geographic atrophy (GA) (late AMD) (group 4) and control subjects (group 5). Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) images were overlaid to sectorial CMs in late-AMD group (group 4). Results A total of 90 eyes (90 patients, 79.7±8.34 years old) were included. CMs were significantly reduced in early-AMD group 2 and 3 and late-AMD group 4 compared with control subjects in group 5 and early-AMD group 1 (large soft drusen alone) for each ETDRS sectors (p<0.05). No difference in CMs was found by comparing group 2 with 3 and group 2 and 3 with group 4. No statistical differences in CMs were found among ETDRS sectors with >50% absence of FAF ('Hypo FAF' sectors) resulting from retinal atrophy versus ≤50% absence of FAF ('hyper/iso FAF' sectors owing to >50% preserved retina) in late-AMD group (group 4) (p=0.328). Conclusions CMs appeared thinner in early non-exudative AMD with intermediate distribution of reticular pseudodrusen versus control subjects and early non-exudative AMD with drusen alone. Same results were found in the group with variable combination of large soft drusen and reticular pseudodrusen. In GA eyes, a choroidal thinning could be detected independently of the retinal pigmented epithelium status.


Economics models used by California, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the EU Commission all predict significant emissions from conversion of land from forest and pasture to cropland in response to increased biofuel production. The models attrib-ute all supply response not captured by increased crop yields to land use conversion on the extensive margin. The dramatic increase in agricultural commodity prices since the mid-2000s seems ideally suited to test the reliability of these models by comparing actual land use changes that have occurred since the price increase to model predictions. Country-level data from FAOSTAT were used to measure land use changes. To smooth annual variations, changes in land use were measured as the change in average use across 2004 to 2006 compared to average use across 2010 to 2012. Separate measure-ments were made of changes in land use at the extensive margin, which involves bring-ing new land into agriculture, and changes in land use at the intensive margin, which includes increased double cropping, a reduction in unharvested land, a reduction in fallow land, and a reduction in temporary or mowed pasture. Changes in yield per harvested hectare were not considered in this study.


Background: Memecylon sisparense Gamble (MSG) belongs to Melastomataceae family, having a wide range of pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory. Objective: The present study aimed for the first time toward the identification of biologically active compounds in MSG leaf ethyl acetate extract (MSGLEAE) by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and compared with docking studies along with its nephroprotective activity against cisplatin (CP)-induced nephrotoxicity in mice. Materials and Methods: MSGLEAE was subjected to GC-MS analysis and molecular docking studies. Swiss albino male mice were treated with MSGLEAE (250, 500 mg/kg, PO) against CP 12 mg/kg IP evaluated for nephroprotective activity. The changes in renal tissue were assessed from serum biochemical renal toxicity, antioxidant stress markers along with histopathological studies. Results: Out of 41 compounds identified, 20 were found having biological activities such as nephroprotective, hepatoprotective, anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial and inhibition of uric acid production. The nephroprotective active compounds (N,N,O-triacetylhydroxylamine, 2(4H)-benzofuranone, 5,6,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,4,7a-trimethyl-, N-{(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) methyl}-8-methyl-6-nonenamide) had shown binding energy of −5.27, −5.98, −5.27 (ΔG(Kcal/mol)), respectively, in docking studies. MSGLEAE showed a significant protective effect against CP-induced nephrotoxicity because of the identified compounds by reducing the oxidative stress in renal tissue evident by histopathological studies. Conclusion: This is the first ever report in terms of identification of bioactive constituents in MSGLEAE. Pretreatment has a significant therapeutic benefit during CP therapy by inhibiting oxidative stress, enhancing nephroprotective activity. Abbreviations used: MSGLEAE: Memecylon sisparense Gamble leaf ethyl acetate extract; CP: Cisplatin; BUN: Blood urea nitrogen; SOD: Superoxide dismutase; CAT: Catalase; GSH: Glutathione; NO: Nitric oxide; MDA: Malondialdehyde; IAEC: Institutional Animal Ethics Committee; TCA: Trichloroacetic acid; DTNB: 5,51-dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid; FC: Folin–Ciocalteu reagent; SNP: Sodium nitroprusside; H and E: Hematoxylin and eosin.


The principal objective of this thesis is the development of a palladium catalyst supported on woven fabrics of activated carbon fibers (ACF) for the reactions of hydrogenations in liquid phase and the design of multiphase reactors using the characteristics of these structures. This work was focused on Preparation, characterization and optimization of catalysts supported on the woven fabrics of activated carbon fibers; The intrinsic kinetics of the selective hydrogenation of 2-butylene-1,4-diol to 2-butyne-1,4-diol as model reaction; The comparison of the activity of our structured catalyst with that of commercial catalysts; Increase the catalyst concentration in the multiphase reactors with the design of a loop reactor containing a bubble column staged with the fiber fabrics supporting the catalyst, its characterization and the startup of this loop reactor which can operate in continuous or in batch mode. Chapter 4 presents the methods of manufacture of our palladium catalysts supported on woven structures of activated carbon fibers, their reproducibility and their homogeneous deposition. The characteristics of the support such as its handiness, its resistance to mechanical forces, the opening of its surface to liquid flow, its great specific surface area and its homogeneous distribution of micropores are defined there. The deposition of nanoparticules of active phase (0.5-5%mass) is characterized by metal surface obtained (280-87 m2/g), the dispersion of this surface (62.8-19.6%) and the average diameter of the nanoparticles (1.78-5.72 nm). The total degree of initial reduction (before reaction) was confirmed. Chapter 5 is devoted to the study of the reaction of selective hydrogenation of the 2-butyne-1,4-diol (B3) to 2-butylene-1,4-diol (B2) with a commercial palladium catalyst supported on activated carbon powder. A zero value even slightly negative was found for B3 partial order and equal to one for hydrogen. The activity obtained for this catalyst is large (37.1 mol(H2)/h gPd) but its initial selectivity is particularly low (SB3,0 = 76.8 %). Effect of support was tested and highlighted. Two supports (CaCO3 and Al2O3) gave reaction rates approximately half the size of those of the carbon support, but an initial selectivity close to 99 %. In chapter 6, selective hydrogenation in an autoclave with an agitator containing structured catalyst is tested. This reactor is first of all evaluated like a reactor working in kinetic mode for the selected reaction. Kinetics was studied and showed that the fibrous support does not change the orders of reaction compared to the commercial catalyst. Energy of activation of 30 kJ/mol was found in the studied configuration. A variation of the catalytic amount on woven structure was studied and gave a reaction rate of 19.4 (mol(H2)/h gPd) for an initial selectivity of 98 % for the best catalyst (Pd(2%)/ACF). The reuse of this catalyst with an in situ reactivation in hydrazine allowed a stabilization of the activity at 50% of the initial activity after four experiments. A constant Turn Over Frequency (TOF) for catalysts with high deposits (2-5%) was given. An increase in the TOF for the low deposits (0.5% and 1%) was found. This increase in the TOF agrees with a fall of the initial selectivity. The effect of several variables of the reaction such as pressure, temperature and pH of the solution were examined. Within the framework of the variation of pH an initial selectivity of 100% and selectivity during reaction remaining higher than 95% until a conversion of 90 % were obtained. This profit of selectivity was achieved only with the detriment to the reaction rate which decreased by a factor 2.5. Finally, experiments with even less harm to the environment were made without solvent thus allowing the avoidance of purification. The rate of hydrogenation in this configuration is very high (79.2 mol(H2)/(h gPd)). But in this configuration, this increase in activity is not done at the expense of the initial selectivity (98 %). In chapter 7, the increase in the catalyst concentration in the reactor was required for higher productivity. For that purpose, a new concept of reactor was studied. This new reactor is a loop reactor containing a bubble column staged with woven catalytical structure. The pressure drop, the emulsion crossing the bubble column and the RTD were characterized. The reactor, functioning in batch or continuous mode, was studied. The productivity in batch was improved by an order of magnitude due to the increase in the catalytic concentration. A unit worked during 50 hours continuously without deactivation of catalyst providing 160 g of B2 per hour (> 1 tons/year). The reaction led to a conversion of 85% with a selectivity of 96 %.


Research has indicated that self-expression for individuals on the autism spectrum may be facilitated through written language by promoting a more flexible environment within which to express beliefs, opinions, ideologies and expectations—in essence, creating a safe place for communication. Such safe places have burgeoned with the evolution of the Internet, and many individuals with autism have taken the opportunity to express themselves publicly by developing their own virtual communities, some of which have taken place on discussion forums, websites and weblogs. This research study evaluates natural discourse in an Asperger Syndrome discussion forum to explore social communication in the autism spectrum community by using the pragmatic profile questionnaire of the CELF. A discussion forum for individuals with learning disabilities was used to explore similarities and differences in online pragmatic language use among people who self-identified as belonging to one of the two groups. The findings highlight the nuances in pragmatic language use in online discussion forums and the need to consider these skills in context. Researchers and practitioners should refrain from making one-size-fits-all recommendations regarding the creation of supportive social spaces for individuals on the autism spectrum.


Abstract. Traditional stationarity strategy for extrapolating future design floods requires renovation in response to the possible nonstationarity caused by changing climate. Capable of tackling such problem, the expected-number-of-events (ENE) method is employed with both Annual Maximum (AM) and Peaks over Threshold (POT) sampling schemes expatiated. The existing paradigms of the ENE method are extended focusing on the over-dispersion emerged in POT arrival rate, for which by virtue of the ability to account, the Negative Binomial (NB) distribution is proposed as an alternative since the common assumption of homogeneous Poisson process would likely be invalid under nonstationarity. Flood return levels are estimated and compared under future climate scenarios (embodied by the two covariates of precipitation and air temperature) using the ENE method for both sampling schemes in the Weihe basin, China. To further understand how flood estimation responds to climate change, a global sensitivity analysis is performed. It is found that design floods dependent on nonstationarity are usually but not necessarily more different from those analyzed by stationarity strategy due to the interaction between air temperature and precipitation. In general, a large decrease in flood projection could be induced under nonstationarity if air temperature presents dramatically increasing trend or reduction occurs in precipitation, and vice versa. AM-based flood projections are mostly smaller than POT estimations (unless a low threshold is assumed) and more sensitive to changing climate. The outcome of the biased flood estimates resulting from an unrestricted use of the Poisson assumption suggests a priority to the NB distribution when fitting POT arrival rate with significantly larger variance than the mean. The study supplements the knowledge of future design floods under changing climate and makes an effort to improve guidance of choices in flood inference.


Code of ethics represents the principles that form the fundamental basis of the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists in pharmaceutical practice.
According to pharmacy practice, pharmacists are confirmed as healthcare professionals with unique knowledge, skills and responsibilities for safe and efficient medication therapy management in order to optimize therapeutic outcomes.
The scope of pharmacy practice includes technical aspects of pharmaceutical services, the preparation of pharmaceutical dosage forms, drug supply and also patient care services.
Therefore, Pharmaceutical Chamber of Macedonia, as professional association of pharmacists, in accordance with Code of Ethics, promotes the basic principles of professional ethics of pharmacists in order to establish professional behavior in implementation of pharmaceutical care.


Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology The Third Edition of the Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology is built on the solid foundation of the previous editions. All of the articles have been rewritten and updated and many new subjects have been added to reflect changes in chemical technology through the 1970s. The new edition, however, will be familiar to users of the earlier editions comprehensive, authoritative, accessible, lucid. The Encyclopedia remains an indispensable information source for all producers and users of chemical products and materials. In the Third Edition, emphasis is given to major present-day topics of concern to all chemists, scientists, and engineers--energy, health, safety, toxicology, and new materials. New subjects have been added, especially those related to polymer and plastics technology, fuels and energy, inorganic and solid-state chemistry, composite materials, coating, fermentation and enzymes, pharmaceuticals, surfactant technology, fibers and textiles. New features include the use of SI units as well as English units, Chemical Abstracts Service's Registry Numbers, and complete indexing based on automated retrieval from a machine-readable composition system. Once again this classic serves as an unrivaled library of information for the chemical and allied industries. Some comments about Kirk-Othmer-- The First Edition "No reference library worthy of the name will be without this series. It is simply a must for the chemist and chemical engineer..." --Chemical and Engineering News The Second Edition "A necessity for any technical library." --Choice


Rényi divergence is related to Rényi entropy much like information divergence (also called Kullback-Leibler divergence or relative entropy) is related to Shannon's entropy, and comes up in many settings. It was introduced by Rényi as a measure of information that satisfies almost the same axioms as information divergence. We review the most important properties of Rényi divergence, including its relation to some other distances. We show how Rényi divergence appears when the theory of majorization is generalized from the finite to the continuous setting. Finally, Rényi divergence plays a role in analyzing the number of binary questions required to guess the values of a sequence of random variables.


The high degree of overlap of race and poverty in our society has led to the presumption in both research and practice that ethnic disproportionality in special education is in large measure an artifact of the effects of poverty. This article explores relationships among race, poverty, and special education identification to arrive at a more precise estimate of the contribution of poverty to racial disparities. District-level data for all 295 school corporations in a midwestern state were analyzed for this study. Records included information on disability category, general and special education enrollment by race, socioeconomic level, local resources, and academic and social outcomes for 1 school year. Simple correlations among the variables demonstrate that correlations between race and poverty of even moderate strength do not guarantee that the 2 variables will function in the same way with respect to outcome variables, such as identification for special education services. Results of regression analyses indicate that poverty makes a weak and inconsistent contribution to the prediction of disproportionality across a number of disability categories. On the other hand, rates of suspension and expulsion consistently predict district rates of special education disproportionality. Inconsistent relationships between special education disproportionality and achievement may indicate a developmental trend in the systemic contribution to racial disparity. Ideal-type analyses examining race— poverty relationships indicate that where poverty makes any contribution above and beyond race in predicting disability identification, its primary effect is to magnify existing racial disparity.


Carbon compounds are ubiquitous in the solar system but are challenging to study using remote sensing due to the mostly bland spectral nature of these species in the traditional visible‐near‐infrared regime. In contrast, carbonaceous species are spectrally active in the ultraviolet (UV) but have largely not been considered for studies of solar system surfaces. We compile existing UV data of carbon compounds—well‐studied in contemplation of the ISM extinction "bump"—to review trends in UV spectral behavior. Thermal and/or irradiation processing of carbon species results in the loss of H and ultimately graphitization. Graphitization is shown to produce distinct spectral features in the UV, which are predicted to be more readily detected in the inner solar system, whereas outer solar system bodies are expected to be more dominated by less‐processed carbon compounds. Throughout the solar system, we can thus consider a "carbon continuum" where the more evolved carbons in the inner solar system exhibit a stronger UV absorption feature and associated far‐UV rise. We compare carbon spectral models with spacecraft data of two bodies from different points in the carbon continuum, Ceres and Iapetus. We find that the apparent strong far‐UV upturn in Ceres' spectrum (in the 150–200 nm range) can be explained by an anthracite‐like species while Iapetus' spectrum features a reflectance peak consistent with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We make generalized predictions for UV spectral characteristics in other regions of the solar system.


Stress is an immense problem in modern society; approximately half of all occupational illnesses are directly or indirectly related to stress. The work of a bus driver is typically associated with high stress levels that negatively influence individual well-being as well as workforce management. The current study examined the impact of newly proposed working conditions on bus drivers' occupational stress by monitoring heart rate and by collecting data on mental workload with a questionnaire in operational driving conditions. The main determinants of stress levels were identified through multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that bus drivers experienced considerably lower stress levels under a new control strategy that shifts the performance objective from schedule adherence to service regularity. Higher stress levels were recorded during extreme weather conditions and peak hours and among inexperienced drivers. The measurements were performed with low-cost sports devices that can easily be used by practitioners.


While the debate that has followed the intervention by the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (ramsi) has centered on the suitability of the failed state label to Solomon Islands, I argue that this debate is misdirected because the concept of state failure itself is accepted uncritically. Examining what is meant by state failure is crucial, because (a) it has assumed an almost commonsensical mantle, which obscures its particular political and ideological underpinnings; and (b) it has considerable conceptual limitations that render it a problematic framework for explaining the roots and possible trajectories of the conflict in Solomon Islands. State failure is essentially a descriptive category with limited explanatory capacity, grounded in a depoliticized and ahistorical theorization of institutions, state, and society. At its core is an unhelpful preoccupation with state capacity as measured against a hypothetical legal-rational good-governance model. Conflicts are understood in this framework as the result of poor governance or recalcitrant social forces. ramsi, consequently, has sought to strengthen the institutional capacity of Solomon Islands as the key to conflict resolution as well as a preventative long-term peace-building initiative. In contrast, I argue that unless we develop a clearer understanding of the causes and dynamics of conflict, ramsi's state-building approach is likely to exacerbate rather than alleviate tensions in Solomon Islands. This approach involves a shift in emphasis away from the current fixation on institutional capacity audits associated with the failed state concept, toward a more constructive theorization of the historically contingent relationship between changing patterns of economic development and social conflict.


This Essay, developed in a prologue and three parts, adopts Latinas'/os' world traveling as a metaphor for Latina/o multidimensionality and as a springboard for LatCrit theorizing. The Prologue is a brief diary entry of unfin de semana viajando mundos - a weekend of actual traveling between New York and Miami; law and familia; profesora and learner; colleague and hija; espanol and English; norte y sur; normativa and other; indigenous and alien. This abbreviated record of a Latina's life reveals, exposes, and unveils Latinas'/os' daily crossdressing simply by virtue of their latinidad. This Prologue thus serves as a concrete backdrop for the analytical, political, and theoretical points addressed in the remaining parts of this Essay which explores two sets of relationships vis-a-vis their significance to and impact on the development of LatCrit theory.Part I uses narrative to compare and contrast NLW and Latina/o normativities of race, ethnicity, nationhood, and language. It exposes the race, color, ethnicity, gender, nationality, culture, and language fronteras Latinas/os must cross-the "othering" we experience-while traversing the world as defined by the dominant culture. This comparing and contrasting of Latina/o and "American" normativities in Part I defines the need for a LatCrit theoretical model that does not subordinate the Latina/o experience. In Part II this Essay exposes how Latinas' assorted deviations from the normative male prototype, combined with gendered Latino norms, including the gendered nature of the Spanish language adding to these internal boundaries and confines, multiplies their fronteras and complicates their journeys. The borderlands created for Latinas by the overlapping gender biases of the external American and internal Latino normativities, exacerbated by gendered cultural norms, underscore the need for the development of teortas that specifically will recognize, embrace, and espouse Latinas' identities, interests, and issues. LatCrit is a teoria that can address the concerns of Latinas in light of both our internal and external relationships in and with the worlds that have marginalized us. Finally, in Part III this Essay proposes a LatCrit theoretical model that uses Latina/o panethnicity, representative of race, gender, nationality, color, language, ethnicity, and cultural diversity, to stimulate and inspire the construction of a LatCrit matrix that places multidimensionality at the center of paradigm formation by plaiting a multicultural, multilingual, multiethnic fabric into its philosophy, construction, and logic. This model is important because it will recognize the multidimensionality of Latinas/os and the particular position of Latinas' dual relationship with the internal comunidad Latina and the external American culture in developing a discourse which incorporates our realities and identities.


Database research mainly focuses on forward-moving data flows: source data is subjected to transformations and evolves through queries, aggregations, and view definitions to form a new target instance, possibly with a different schema. This Forward Paradigm underpins most data management tasks today, such as querying, data integration, data mining, etc. We contrast this forward processing with Reverse Data Management (RDM), where the action needs to be performed on the input data, on behalf of desired outcomes in the output data. Some data management tasks already fall under this paradigm, for example updates through views, data generation, data cleaning and repair. RDM is, by necessity, conceptually more difficult to define, and computationally harder to achieve. Today, however, as increasingly more of the available data is derived from other data, there is an increased need to be able to modify the input in order to achieve a desired effect on the output, motivating a systematic study of RDM. We define the Reverse Data Management problem, and classify RDM problems into four categories. We illustrate known examples of RDM problems and classify them under these categories. Finally, we introduce a new type of RDM problem, How-To Queries.


This report describes the results of the interviews that were held with professionals, policy makers, and researchers (working in the field of sexuality and/or residential and foster care) in three countries in order to answer the following question: 'Which competencies (i.e. knowledge, skills, and attitude) do professionals working in care need in order to support healthy sexual development of young people in care? Chapter 3 describes the characteristics of young people growing up in care. Young people in care are generally more vulnerable than their peers living in normal families since they have grown up in unsafe family environments. They are often insecurely attached, have a lack of positive role models and positive sexual experiences, have not grown up with clear norms and values concerning sexuality, have low self-esteem and little knowledge about (healthy) sexuality. This set of characteristics makes them more likely to cross their own boundaries and that of others and to make unhealthy choices with regard to sexuality. Therefore, young people in care have special needs with regard to sexuality that professionals working in care should know about and act upon. To meet the special needs of young people in care, professionals should create a safe environment and be there for the young people, in order to make them feel safe and secure again. In addition, they should act as positive role models, set boundaries, help young people to gain self-confidence, and give them space to have positive sexual experiences and to discover their own norms and values. Professionals working in care should provide sexual education that supports young people in their knowledge, skills, and attitudes concerning sexual development and teaches them to make wise and responsible decisions for themselves. Professionals need to put aside prejudices about boys and girls and treat them equally. Chapter 4 describes opportunities to start a conversation with young people in care about sex, intimacy and relationship and what professionals should teach foster parents. Opportunities to start a conversation with young people in care are: 1. When one of the boys or girls spontaneously starts to talk about sexuality; 2. When young people have discussions about boyfriends, girlfriends, or sex. 3. When young people watch clips on social media in which sexuality plays a role. Important topics to discuss are: healthy sexual behaviour, relationships, wishes, boundaries, making your own decisions, changing behaviour after regretting something, norms and values, and social media. Professionals working in foster care should teach foster parents that: 1. It is their task to speak about this topic with their foster child; 2. They should already start talking about this topic to toddlers; 3. It is normal to have difficulties talking about this topic; 4. They should not only speak about the risks of sex but also about sexual pleasure, desire, love, and respect. Chapter 5 describes the personal characteristics and general competencies that professionals working in care should have in order to support the sexual development of young people in care. These are: 1. Have a high degree of self-awareness concerning their own limits, norms and values, and how this influences the way they work, 2. Know that norms and values are dependent on time and culture, 3. Treat children, young people, and parents with respect, 4. Have a good sense of professional judgment, 5. Feel responsible for one's actions, 6. Have knowledge about trauma theory. Chapter 6 describes what organisations can do to support healthy sexual development of young people in care. Organisations can do the following on the organizational level: 1. Provide structural resources for training and reflection, 2. Create a safe environment and reflective culture, 3. Create diversity among team members, 4. Create access to experts on the topic of sexuality, 5. Pay attention to competencies during hiring processes, 6. Have organisational and institutional policies on the topic of sexuality, 7. Have organisational structures and tools to support relationships and conversations with young people. Chapter 7 describes factors at the professional, organisational, and societal level that may contribute to sexuality-related difficulties in both residential and foster care. Some of these factors are not specifically related to residential or foster care, such as low self-efficacy of professionals, insufficient time for reflection and negative media influences. Other factors are specifically related to residential care, such as having insufficient possibilities to experiment with sexuality (in residential care) and fear of foster parents being accused (in foster care).


Section 129(1)( a ) read with section 130(1) and 130(3) of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (the NCA) provides that, as a required procedure before debt enforcement, a credit provider must draw the default to the consumer's notice in writing and propose that the consumer refer the credit agreement to a debt counsellor, alternative dispute resolution agent, consumer court or ombud with jurisdiction, with the intent that the parties resolve any dispute under the agreement or develop and agree on a plan to bring the payments under the agreement up to date. Even though section 129(1)( a ) is silent as to the method by which the default should be brought to the consumer's notice, section 130(1)( a ) provides clarity by requiring the section 129(1)( a ) notice to be delivered . It appears that a credit provider who fails to comply with the provisions of section 129(1)( a ) prior to debt enforcement by means of litigation will be in a procedural predicament as the credit provider will not possess a complete cause of action thus, for instance, rendering the summons excipiable. The crucial question thus appears to be whether or not in a given situation one may say that there was proper compliance with section 129(1)( a ) as this directly affects the existence or absence of a complete and proper cause of action. A number of factors has to be considered in order to address this question, the most important being if the section 129(1)( a ) notice was duly 'delivered'. In this regard two questions are especially relevant: a)     When exactly can it be said that a section 129(1)( a ) notice was 'delivered' for purposes of the NCA? b)     Is it necessary for such notice to be received by the consumer in order to constitute proper compliance with the delivery requirement pertaining to section 129(1)( a )? The above questions were decided on in a recent judgment, Marimuthu Munien v BMW Financial Services (SA) (Pty) Ltd Case no 16103/08 (KZD) (unreported). This article will analyse section 129(1)( a ) of the NCA by inter alia considering the above questions against the backdrop of the particular decision.


This work is a sociological study of Quakers, which investigates the impact that sectarianism has had on identity construction within the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland. The research highlights individual Friends' complex and hybrid cultural, national and theological identities, mirrored by the Society's corporate identity. This publication focuses specifically on examples of political and theological hybridity. These hybrid identities resulted in tensions that impact on relationships between Friends and the wider organisation. How Friends negotiate and accommodate these diverse identities is explored. It is argued that Irish Quakers prioritise 'relational unity' and have developed a distinctive approach to complex identity management. It is asserted that in the two Irish states, 'Quaker' represents a meta-identity, which is counter-cultural in its non-sectarianism, although this is more problematic within the organisation. Furthermore, by modelling an alternative, non-sectarian identity, Quakers in Ireland contribute to building capacity for transformation from oppositional, binary identities to more fluid and inclusive ones.


Abstract. Santa Maria's Church finds its origins in a medieval mosque located in the city of Daroca, whose historical centre was declared a Historic-Artistic Complex (1968) and, at present, it is considered an "Asset of Cultural Interest". The bell tower is the only remnant of the Islamic mosque that is preserved. In the 14th century, the Mudejar tower was covered with ashlar masonry and increased in height. The conjunction of successive stages of construction, with the different construction systems and materials used in each period, as well as the different architectural styles that can be contemplated in this tower, convert it into a unique and complex exemplary work. However, despite being a bell tower of great heritage value, there is no rigorous planimetry available of any kind allowing its in-depth study. Due to its complexity and diversity of materials, it has required the use of the 3D laser scanning technology. The shortage of space and light made it necessary to carefully plan the sequential stationing process and the results have been very satisfactory. The scanning has allowed detection of the tower's inclination with great precision and has facilitated the visualization of the meeting point of both Arabesque and Christian remnants. It has also been proven that the bell tower's inclination is not uniform throughout the height of the closing wall, but is slightly straightened from the Christian period. This communication describes the process followed to perform the scanning and subsequent manipulation of point clouds, presenting the results obtained.


This paper gives a technical overview of different networking technologies, such as Internet, ATM. It describes different approaches of how to run IP on top of an ATM network, and assesses their potential to be used as an integrated services network. Keyword List: ATM, IPv4, IPv6, RSVP, differentiated-services, LANE, CLIP, NHRP, MPOA, Arequipa, IP-Switching, Tag-Switching Executive Summary: Current and future applications make use of different technologies as voice, data, and video. Consequently network technologies need to support them. For many years, the ATM based Broadband-ISDN has generally been regarded as the ultimate networking technology, which can integrate voice, data, and video services. With the recent tremendous growth of the Internet and the reluctant deployment of public ATM networks, the future development of ATM seems to be less clear than it used to be. In the past IP provided (and was though to provide) only best effort services, thus, despite its world wide diffution, was not considered as a network solution for multimedia application. Currently many of the IETF working groups work on areas related to integrated services, and IP is also proposing itself as networking technology for supporting voice, data, and video services. This paper give a technical overview on the competing integrated services network solutions, such as IP, ATM and the different available and emerging technologies on how to run IP over ATM, and tries to identify their potential and shortcomings.


We use an established neural network model of the primate visual system to show how neurons might learn to encode the gender of faces. The model consists of a hierarchy of 4 competitive neuronal layers with associatively modifiable feedforward synaptic connections between successive layers. During training, the network was presented with many realistic images of male and female faces, during which the synaptic connections are modified using biologically plausible local associative learning rules. After training, we found that different subsets of output neurons have learned to respond exclusively to either male or female faces. With the inclusion of short range excitation within each neuronal layer to implement a self-organizing map architecture, neurons representing either male or female faces were clustered together in the output layer. This learning process is entirely unsupervised, as the gender of the face images is not explicitly labeled and provided to the network as a supervisory training signal. These simulations are extended to training the network on rotating faces. It is found that by using a trace learning rule incorporating a temporal memory trace of recent neuronal activity, neurons responding selectively to either male or female faces were also able to learn to respond invariantly over different views of the faces. This kind of trace learning has been previously shown to operate within the primate visual system by neurophysiological and psychophysical studies. The computer simulations described here predict that similar neurons encoding the gender of faces will be present within the primate visual system.


Audit mechanisms are essential for privacy protection in permissive access control regimes, such as in hospitals where denying legitimate access requests can adversely affect patient care. Recognizing this need, we develop the first principled learning-theoretic foundation for audits. Our first contribution is a game-theoretic model that captures the interaction between the defender (e.g., hospital auditors) and the adversary (e.g., hospital employees). The model takes pragmatic considerations into account, in particular, the periodic nature of audits, a budget that constrains the number of actions that the defender can inspect, and a loss function that captures the economic impact of detected and missed violations on the organization. We assume that the adversary is worst-case as is standard in other areas of computer security. We also formulate a desirable property of the audit mechanism in this model based on the concept of regret in learning theory. Our second contribution is an efficient audit mechanism that provably minimizes regret for the defender. This mechanism learns from experience to guide the defender's auditing efforts. The regret bound is significantly better than prior results in the learning literature. The stronger bound is important from a practical standpoint because it implies that the recommendations from the mechanism will converge faster to the best fixed auditing strategy for the defender.