Despite the astonishing progress in treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with direct-acting antiviral agents, liver fibrosis remains a major health concern in HCV infected patients, in particular due to the treatment cost and insufficient HCV screening in many countries. Only a fraction of patients with chronic HCV infection develop liver fibrosis. While there is evidence that host genetic factors are involved in the development of liver fibrosis, the common variants identified so far, in particular by genome-wide association studies, were found to have limited effects. Here, we conducted an exome association study in 88 highly selected HCV-infected patients with and without fibrosis. A strategy focusing on TGF-β pathway genes revealed an enrichment in rare variants of the endoglin gene (ENG) in fibrosis patients. Replication studies in additional cohorts (617 patients) identified one specific ENG variant, Thr5Met, with an overall odds ratio for fibrosis development in carriers of 3.04 (1.39–6.69). Our results suggest that endoglin, a key player in TGF-β signaling, is involved in HCV-related liver fibrogenesis.


Alpha matting refers to the problem of softly extracting the foreground from an image. Given a trimap (specifying known foreground/background and unknown pixels), a straightforward way to compute the alpha value is to sample some known foreground and background colors for each unknown pixel. Existing sampling-based matting methods often collect samples near the unknown pixels only. They fail if good samples cannot be found nearby. In this paper, we propose a global sampling method that uses all samples available in the image. Our global sample set avoids missing good samples. A simple but effective cost function is defined to tackle the ambiguity in the sample selection process. To handle the computational complexity introduced by the large number of samples, we pose the sampling task as a correspondence problem. The correspondence search is efficiently achieved by generalizing a randomized algorithm previously designed for patch matching[3]. A variety of experiments show that our global sampling method produces both visually and quantitatively high-quality matting results.


In my work I offer a comparative study of the removal experiences of the Cherokees of Georgia and the Sutherland Gaels in the Highlands of Scotland. Examining the effects of colonialism and cultural imperialism on indigenous populations, the following examines the ways in these peoples mediated their colonial experiences through their own cultural mores, how the removals were carried out, and the resultant impact on these indigenes. The following focuses largely on the role of acculturation, or assimilation, of the elite into the colonizing society's values and life ways, and how this led to a growing distance between the chiefs and commoners of Gaelic and Cherokee societies. In turn, this increasing distance and loss of traditional obligation between chief and clan informed and influenced the role that these indigenous elite played in the ultimate dislocation of their people. In the case of the Cherokee Removal, many monographs provide a dichotomized examination of the events leading up to and surpassing removal from the Southeast; many authors favor either the pro removal or anti removal parties and consequently demonize the opposing party. This work attempts to provide a more balanced representation, offering insight into the reasoning behind each party's stance. Additionally, in regard to the Highland Clearances, the events have been represented as the inevitable result of industrialization and modernization or the cultural genocide of the Highland Gaels. Focusing largely on the Sutherland region, this work offers an examination of the Gaelic elites' reasoning behind the massive removals of Gaels from the inland regions of Sutherland, and the reaction of the average Highlander to this loss of protection and parental interest from their chiefs. This work adds to the growing body of literature in the ethnohistorical examination of Celts and Native Americans and in this way shows the universality of colonialism and its effects on indigenous populations, which is vital to the understanding of history and equally as relevant in today's modern world.


The quantitative determination of moganite in flint and chert plays an important role in the characterisation of these silica rocks and in the study of their genesis and evolution. Both Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopy promise to be rapid and cost-effective tools for such studies. However, the use of vibrational spectra of moganite in silica rocks is hampered by the proximity of specific moganite bands with IR and Raman vibrations bands of non-bridging Si-O in silanol (SiOH) groups of chalcedony, the main coexisting silica phase. This may result in spectral interferences that lead to an overestimation of the moganite concentration. In order to calibrate quantitative moganite detection using IR and Raman spectroscopy, the spectra of chalcedony/moganite mixtures were studied using spectral decomposition. Heat treatment of the samples prior to their analysis is found to reduce the contribution of chalcedony silanol-bands to the measurement of the moganite bands, facilitating in this way the interpretation of the spectra. A new calibration curve is proposed for quantitative moganite detection using Raman spectroscopy. Infrared spectroscopy is also found to be useful for moganite quantification: a molar absorption coefficient of 43 L/mol·cm for the specific moganite-band at 575 cm−1 is derived for the first time. The exact position of the specific IR and Raman moganite-bands is found to depend on whether the mineral occurs intermixed with chalcedony or in pure form. This study opens new prospects for quantitative moganite detection in silica rocks using vibrational spectroscopy.


We observe that some natural mathematical definitions are lifting properties relative to simplest counterexamples, namely the definitions of surjectivity and injectivity of maps, as well as of being connected, separation axioms $T_0$ and $T_1$ in topology, having dense image, induced (pullback) topology, and every real-valued function being bounded (on a connected domain).
We also offer a couple of brief speculations on cognitive and AI aspects of this observation, particularly that in point-set topology some arguments read as diagram chasing computations with finite preorders.


This paper examines the application of passive vibration control methods to a simplified satellite boom. It is suggested that such methods may allow an efficient means by which to control structural vibrations. In this research, an initial structure is designed having a regular, repeating geometric pattern. This design is then modified using a Genetic Algorithm (GA), which is one of a number of recently developed evolutionary computing methods. Here the GA changes the geometry of the design by altering the three-dimensional coordinates of its joints. The aim is to minimize the band averaged noise transmission along the boom. This paper shows that by altering the geometry in this way, significant improvements in the structure's noise performance can be achieved. While this research is far from complete, the work outlined demonstrates the potential usefulness of this approach for controlling structural vibrations.


The exploitation of nonlinear phase shifts (ΦNL) in chirped-pulse fiber amplifiers has been demonstrated recently. Systematic optimization of the performance of a femtosecond-pulse fiber amplifier in the presence of substantial ΦNL is a challenging multivariable problem. We introduce an approximate theoretical model that is valid as long as the ΦNL is not so large that the spectrum changes substantially. The model allows an arbitrary chirped-pulse amplification system to be described by a set of four universal curves. These reveal the scaling of performance and allow determination of the optimal values of residual group-velocity dispersion and third-order dispersion for a given pulse duration and energy.


Despite the evidence that social video conveys rich human personality information, research investigating the automatic prediction of personality impressions in vlogging has shown that, amongst the Big-Five traits, automatic nonverbal behavioral cues are useful to predict mainly the Extraversion trait. This finding, also reported in other conversational settings, indicates that personality information may be coded in other behavioral dimensions like the verbal channel, which has been less studied in multimodal interaction research. In this paper, we address the task of predicting personality impressions from vloggers based on what they say in their YouTube videos. First, we use manual transcripts of vlogs and verbal content analysis techniques to understand the ability of verbal content for the prediction of crowdsourced Big-Five personality impressions. Second, we explore the feasibility of a fully-automatic framework in which transcripts are obtained using automatic speech recognition (ASR). Our results show that the analysis of error-free verbal content is useful to predict four of the Big-Five traits, three of them better than using nonverbal cues, and that the errors caused by the ASR system decrease the performance significantly.


The purpose of this research was to optimize the extraction conditions of polyphenols from murici ( Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth) using the response surface methodology. Temperature (from 10 to 70°C), acetone concentration (from 10 to 100%), extraction time (from 0 to 160 min), and solid-liquid ratio (from 20 to 140 mg/mL) were investigated as independent variables in order to obtain the optimal conditions for extraction and to maximize the total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (DPPH) of obtained extracts. Experimental results were fitted to the second-order polynomial model where multiple regression and analysis of variance were used to determine the fitness of the model and optimal condition for investigated responses. The solid-liquid did not interfere in the two responses. The results showed that for TPC extraction, the optimal conditions were obtained with an acetone concentration of 44%, a temperature of 29°C, and an extraction time of 51 min. For DPPH, the optimal conditions were the following: an acetone concentration of 45%, a temperature of 40°C, and an extraction time of 53 min. The use of such conditions allowed the maximum extraction of antioxidant murici at a lower cost of production, which may contribute to large-scale industrial applications and future pharmacological research.


Zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) deficiencies are well-documented public health issue and an important soil constraint to crop production. Generally, there is a close geographical overlap between soil deficiency and human deficiency of Zn and Fe, indicating a high requirement for increasing concentrations of micronutrients in food crops. Breeding new plant genotypes for high grain concentrations of Fe and Zn (genetic biofortification) is the most cost-effective strategy to address the problem; but, this strategy is a long-term process. A rapid and complementary approach is therefore required for biofortification of food crops with Zn and Fe in the short term. In this regard, a fertilizer strategy (agronomic biofortification) represents an effective way for biofortification of food crops. In this paper, several examples are presented showing that application of Zn fertilizers greatly contribute to biofortification of cereal grains with Zn. By contrast, application of various inorganic and chelated Fe fertilizers remains ineffective for increasing grain Fe concentration. However, improving nitrogen (N) nutritional status of plants promoted accumulation of Fe (and also Zn) in grain. It appears that N nutritional status of plants plays a critical role in biofortification of cereal grains with Zn and Fe.


The development of earnings inequality and the earnings gender gap is analysed among full-time, full-year workers in Sweden using an additively decomposable inequality index. Earnings inequality is found to first decrease then increase and the earnings gender gap is found to move similarly. The results show that the changed earnings gap has some importance for the changed inequality. However, most of the changes were due to changes in inequality within the categories male and female. Between one tenth and one fifth of the inequality in particular segments of the labour market would be eliminated if its gender gap were to be totally eliminated. If the gender gap were to be eliminated in specific segments of the labour market, to what extent would earning inequality decrease?


Objectives & Background Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) is a major cause of mortality in Trinidad and Tobago. Previous studies have demonstrated differences in the presenting symptoms between older and younger patients with ACS. However, to our knowledge, no such work has been done on older patients in the developing world. The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the reported symptoms of ACS between the older patients (age≥65) and younger adults (age 18–64) in the ED. A secondary objective was to determine if differences in reported symptoms also exist between men and women. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study of all adult patients admitted to the ED of the San Fernando General Hospital with a discharge diagnosis of ACS from August 1, 2012–May 31, 2013 was conducted. Elderly patient symptoms were compared with other adult patients using descriptive and analytic methods. Symptoms were similarly compared between males and females. Symptoms were compared using odds ratios. All results were presented with 95% confidence intervals and 'p' values. Results The symptoms of 1148 adult patients with ACS were analyzed. The mean age of presentation was 61.6 years (SD12.2). 41.3% of patients were elderly and 47.0% were males. Syncope (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.1, 3.7), Paroxysmal Nocturnal Dyspnea [PND] (OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.0, 1.7) and orthopnea (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0, 1.6) were more likely to be reported in the elderly while chest pain on exertion (OR 0.7; 95% CI 0.5, 0.9) and chest pain in the past 24 hours (OR 0.8; 95% CI 0.6, 1.0) were less likely to be reported in the elderly. Females were more likely to report shortness of breath (SOB) at rest (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1, 1.8), PND (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.3, 2.4), orthopnea (OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.6, 2.7), palpitations (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.3, 2.2), and nausea (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.2, 1.9) than males. Chest pain at rest was still the most frequent symptom reported in all groups. Conclusion This study demonstrates significant differences in symptoms between older and younger patients as well as between men and women. Clinical assessment of older patients with ACS should be tailored to their common presenting features. Further work is needed to develop a clinical assessment tool for older patients with ACS that accounts for differences in presentation.


Managerial Issues of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems-David Louis Olson 2004 The primary purpose of this text will be to lie out the scope of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Systems implementation, explain the competitive advantages of using ERP Systems and support general concepts with short case studies. This text covers the fundamental issues important in ERP implementation and management, starting from an information systems/information technology project management perspective. Each chapter will include a review of real cases of ERP implementations related to that particular chapter content. The text is meant to be software product independent, in order to allow schools to select their own ERP Systems software tools and use them as time permits. The benefit to this approach is that in addition to learning key concepts related to ERP Systems operations and implementation, adopters want to see lots of illustrations and examples, especially case studies.


We describe the general phenomenon of 'induced-charge electro-osmosis' (ICEO) – the nonlinear electro-osmotic slip that occurs when an applied field acts on the ionic charge it induces around a polarizable surface. Motivated by a simple physical picture, we calculate ICEO flows around conducting cylinders in steady (DC), oscillatory (AC), and suddenly applied electric fields. This picture, and these systems, represent perhaps the clearest example of nonlinear electrokinetic phenomena. We complement and verify this physically motivated approach using a matched asymptotic expansion to the electrokinetic equations in the thin-double-layer and low-potential limits. ICEO slip velocities vary as $u_s \,{\propto}\,E_0^2 L$, where $E_0$ is the field strength and $L$ is a geometric length scale, and are set up on a time scale $\tau_c \,{=}\,\lambda_D L/D$, where $\lambda_D$ is the screening length and $D$ is the ionic diffusion constant. We propose and analyse ICEO microfluidic pumps and mixers that operate without moving parts under low applied potentials. Similar flows around metallic colloids with fixed total charge have been described in the Russian literature (largely unnoticed in the West). ICEO flows around conductors with fixed potential, on the other hand, have no colloidal analogue and offer further possibilities for microfluidic applications.


We address the problems of privacy-preserving duplicate tuple matching (PPDTM) and privacy-preserving threshold attributes matching (PPTAM) in the scenario of a horizontally partitioned database among N parties, where each party holds a private share of the database's tuples and all tuples have the same set of attributes. In PPDTM, each party determines whether its tuples have any duplicate on other parties' private databases. In PPTAM, each party determines whether all attribute values of each tuple appear at least a threshold number of times in the attribute unions. We propose protocols for the two problems using additive homomorphic cryptosystem based on the subgroup membership assumption, e.g., Paillier's and ElGamal's schemes. By analysis on the total numbers of modular exponentiations, modular multiplications and communication bits, with a reduced computation cost which dominates the total cost, by trading off communication cost, our PPDTM protocol for the semihonest model is superior to the solution derivable from existing techniques in total cost. Our PPTAM protocol is superior in both computation and communication costs. The efficiency improvements are achieved mainly by using random numbers instead of random polynomials as existing techniques for perturbation, without causing successful attacks by polynomial interpolations. We also give detailed constructions on the required zero-knowledge proofs and extend our two protocols to the malicious model, which were previously unknown.


Measures of underwriter and top management team prestige have been shown to signal the underlying quality of a company in an initial public offering (IPO). We extend these measures to include the entire coalition (i.e., managers, board, venture capitalists (VCs), underwriters, auditors, and both sets of lawyers) and surprisingly find VCs to have the highest explanatory power in predicting IPO outcomes (completion or withdrawal). Companies with deep management and a separation of the CEO/chair role are more likely to hire prestigious underwriters and successfully complete IPOs. Although companies with prestigious VCs are more likely to have prestigious underwriters, companies with VC-backing are more likely to withdraw the offering, likely to take advantage of better market opportunities. Companies with prestigious underwriters are more likely to have successful IPOs, although we show that the capabilities of underwriters and other intermediaries are more likely driven by activity level (i.e., market share), rather than prestige in affecting IPO outcome. Using an agency framework, we test how signals of monitoring, information asymmetry, bonding, and incentive alignment affect IPO outcomes and show that signals of lower agency costs are associated with a greater likelihood of IPO completion. Finally, because many of these measures are shown to endogenously affect IPO completion, a selection bias may exist in previous IPO studies as up to 70% of IPOs filed annually are not completed.


The Internet has become a major sales platform, assuming a growing importance in increasing the economic growth of a company. Therefore it is of great importance to analyse the incorporation of Web 2.0 tools and their relation to the website success and its design. Through a systematic exploration of the 36 most visited Portuguese e-commerce websites, according to the ranking published by Marktest, information was gathered about the adoption of Web 2.0 tools by these online retailers. Results indicate that the most frequently implemented tools are social networking, Rich Internet Application (RIA), mashups and Really Simple Syndication (RSS feeds). The least often adopted were semantic search, wikis and blogs. Based on these results and those in additional studies, an optimized model of Web 2.0 tools implementation is proposed for online retailers operating in Portugal. In the short term, it is suggested that the retailer should implement easier features which bring quicker success in terms of return on investments, such as social networking, mashups, RSS feeds and tagging, each one of which leads to a specific business benefit. In the medium-to-long term, it is suggested that retailers should adopt RIA-based features and podcasts/vodcasts. The adoption of these Web tools must be based on a complete and differentiated set tools.


According to prevailing interpretations of the Warren Court's Due Process Revolution, the Supreme Court constitutionalized criminal procedure to constrain the discretion of individual officers. These narratives, however, fail to account for the Court's decisions during that revolutionary period that enabled discretionary policing. Instead of beginning with the Warren Court, this Essay looks to the legal culture before the Due Process Revolution to provide a more coherent synthesis of the Court's criminal procedure decisions. It reconstructs that culture by analyzing the prominent criminal law scholar Jerome Hall's public lectures, Police and Law in a Democratic Society, which he delivered in 1952 on the differences between democratic and totalitarian police forces. Hall's definition of democratic policing appealed to self-rule, then to the rule of law, and finally, to due process, as he struggled to account for twentieth-century police forces that were not, in important ways, governed by the people or entirely constrained by law. Hall ultimately settled on the idea that in a democratic society due process meant that the police did not decide the outcome of a "fair trial"—a definition that is different from today's understanding of due process, which emphasizes judicial review of police action. The Essay applies the methodology of cultural history to argue that during the Cold War, Hall articulated a concept of due process that was not just a legal norm but also a cultural value that rationalized discretionary policing and served to distinguish two competing systems of government that both relied on discretionary authority. The Essay concludes by exploring how Hall's explication of due process, which was representative of midcentury views, might revise standard accounts of the Due Process Revolution. Understanding the legal culture that came before—and informed—the Warren Court's criminal procedure decisions suggests that due process functioned as much to justify as to restrain police discretion.


This article critically analyses capacity-building and local ownership in the context of UN peace operations through interviews with UN staff and NGO representatives in Liberia and Burundi. The argument is that these concepts are left ambiguous and undefined to avoid accountability for peace operations while still functioning as value-adding and legitimizing discursive instruments for the latter. This article proves that the many paradoxes and contradictions surrounding the concepts clearly deter their operation in practice, while their positive connotations remain important, discursively, as legitimizing tools.


Rescheduling programmed tasks, when an unexpected event occurs, may affect the smooth operation of the
plant if the initial schedule is not taken into account. This work addresses the penalty incurred by rescheduling
actions and the optimization procedure to preserve schedule stability. To adjust the rescheduling process to
the needs of the decision-maker, rescheduling costs are included to the initial objective function. Namely,
unit reallocation and sequencing alterations are the sources of rescheduling costs. A mixed-integer linear
programming (MILP) model for the simultaneous rescheduling of multiple operations that permits local
reordering, unit reallocation, and accommodation of new orders, is considered. The need to consider
rescheduling penalties in the optimization procedure is highlighted through several case studies. As a result,
the production plant stability and efficiency are preserved, whereas the generation of pseudo-optimal schedules
is avoided. In addition, the tradeoff between the original objective function optimization and the smooth operation of the plant is thoroughly examinated.


This study examined effectiveness of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback-assisted stress management training in reducing anxiety and stress in pregnant women and the effect of maternal stress management skills practice on fetal heart rate measures in real time. Participants were seven working pregnant women who volunteered in response to recruitment announcements and invitations from cooperating midwives. Reported state and trait anxiety and pregnancy specific stress were measured during five 45- to 50-minute training sessions. Training included bibliotherapy, instruction in the use of emotion-focused stress management techniques, and HRV biofeedback. Subjects used portable biofeedback units for home practice and were encouraged to practice the skills for 20 minutes a day and for short periods of time during stressful life events. At the end of training, fetal heart rate was monitored and concurrent maternal HRV measures were recorded. Repeated measures ANOVA and paired samples t-test analysis of study data revealed no statistically significant reductions in state or trait anxiety measures or in pregnancy specific stress measures. Partial eta squared (n²) and Cohen's d calculations found small to medium effect sizes on the various test scales. Friedman's analysis of variance of biofeedback measures showed a statistically significant decrease in low HRV coherence scores (X2 = 10.53, p = .03) and medium HRV coherence scores (X2 = 11.58, p = .02) and a statistically significant increase in high HRV coherence scores (X2 = 18.16, p = .001). This change is an indication of improved autonomic function. Results of concurrent maternal and fetal HRV recordings were generally inconclusive. A qualitative discussion of individual subject results is included. During follow-up interviews five subjects reported that they felt they were better able to cope with stress at the end of the study than at the beginning, that they used the stress management skills during labor, and that they continue to practice the skills in their daily lives.


A RP-HPLC assay method has been developed and validated for the estimation of gallic acid. Chromatography was carried on C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm I.D., 5 μm) by isocratic elution utilizing a mobile phase of acetonitrile and water containing 0.01 % v/v ortho phosphoric acid (in the ratio of 80: 20% v/v) with UV detection at wavelength 270 nm at the flow rate 1mL/min. The proposed method was validated for sensitivity, specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, ruggedness, robustness and solution stability. The response of the drug was linear in the concentration range of 20-120 μg/mL. Limit of detection and limit of quantification was found to be 6.13 μg/mL and 18.57 μg/mL respectively. The % recovery ranged within 98-102%. Method, system, interday and intraday precision were also found to be within the limits of acceptance criteria. Method was found to be rugged when analysis was carried out by different analyst. The proposed method is rapid, simple and also it can be applied for the routine analysis of herbal formulations


In situ thermal desorption (ISTD) is a remediation technique that increases the effectiveness of soil vapor extraction through the simultaneous application of heat and vacuum. In this study, ISTD was applied to remove a chlorinated solvent source from unsaturated soil beneath an existing aboveground infrastructure. A material flow analysis (MFA) was applied for the first time to assess the effectiveness of ISTD in the vadose zone and to reveal the total emission of chlorinated solvents into the environment before and during remediation. The principle of matter conservation used in MFA enabled the quantification of chlorinated solvent flows in all matrices affected: soil, groundwater, and soil vapor. The MFA results revealed that the mass removed by ISTD was similar to the mean chlorinated solvent mass estimated to have been present in the soil before remediation, indicating high effectiveness in contaminant removal. The remediation target value in soil vapor was achieved after 9 mo of remediation, demonstrating the time efficiency of ISTD for this particular site. The MFA additionally provided an overview of the processes and contaminant transformations occurring in the soil, water, and air compartments during the course of remediation.


Applied Theatre: Creative Ageing examines the complex social, political and cultural needs of a diverse group in our society and asks how contemporary applied theatre responds to those needs. For the first time, this publication allows an examination of innovative national and international practice in applied theatre that responds to the needs of older adults to encourage outcomes such as wellbeing and social inclusion. The volume does so while also questioning how we, as a society, wish to respond to the complex needs of older adults and the process of ageing and how applied theatre practices can help us do so in a way that is both positive and inclusive.
In Part One Sheila McCormick reviews and historicises the practice of applied theatre with, for and by the elderly. It argues that pioneering applied theatre strategies are vital if the creative practice is to respond to the growing needs of older members of society, and reflects on particular cultural responses to ageing and the elderly.
The second part of the book is made up of essays and case studies from leading experts and practitioners from Britain, America and Australia, including consideration of applied theatre approaches to dementia, health, wellbeing, social inclusion and Alzheimer's disease.


This study identifies the impacts of supportive housing on the lives of male youth. The researcher studied the Five Beds to Home (Five Beds) supportive housing facility for male youth, located in Cambridge, Ontario. The study focused on two areas: one, the current engagement of tenants and second, the long term impacts on past tenants. Impacts include areas such as progress on or achievement of goals/overcoming challenges, employment and education status, happiness and health, and housing stability. The general research questions were as follows: 1) What are the impacts of supportive housing on the lives of male youth?, 2) What have been the long term impacts on the youth?, 3) Are the current tenants engaged in Five Beds? Why? Why not?, and 4) What makes a good supportive housing facility for male youth? The objectives of the study were to identify both the strengths and challenges of the program, and to provide the youth with an opportunity to share their experiences in the hopes of improving services not just at Five Beds but services to homeless male youth and youth in general. The researcher completed qualitative, in-depth interviews with four former tenants of Five Beds, five current tenants and five staff. The researcher approached the topic using a critical social science and interpretivism/constructivism framework, utilizing empowerment and critical social theory. Elements of Participatory Action Research (PAR) were also used. Several themes emerged from the findings, related to factors external and internal to Five Beds. A prominent theme was that the Five Beds staff approach is overall, very effective. The approach blends support and caring, with the maintenance of boundaries and structure. An interesting and unique sub theme which was noted is that Five Beds feels "like home" for many tenants. In addition, Five Beds has succeeded in engaging many youth. The factors which combine to lead to tenant engagement at Five Beds were found to be: a positive bond or relationship with staff, progressing towards or achieving personal goals or overcoming challenges, experiencing improvements in health and happiness, feeling positively about moving downstairs, feeling involved in what happens at Five Beds, experiencing Five Beds as being "like home" and maintaining stable housing. In addition, most of the youth who have lived at Five Beds have stabilized; and/or achieved or taken significant steps to reach goals or overcome challenges. The former tenants are also maintaining stable housing. In addition, engagement and empowerment of youth in their residential setting was found to be crucial to better outcomes. The findings also indicate that while Five Beds has been successful with many youth, the model is not the most innovative because it contains elements of a custodial model. The findings support previous research which identifies that scattered site, integrated apartments in the community is the best model of supportive housing. Such a model gives tenants a greater degree of ownership and control in their living environment. Five Beds does not facilitate a significant amount of ownership or control for tenants. However, the findings also show that the Five Beds model is effective for male youth experiencing or at risk of persistent homelessness, which is the specific demographic that Five Beds serves. This finding suggests that male youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness may benefit from a living environment which incorporates some elements of a custodial model. Another finding strongly suggests that Five Beds would operate more effectively were it a stand-alone facility (currently the facility is in the basement of a male youth shelter). The information gleaned from the study may help service providers improve their services and better engage male youth and youth in general. The findings are presented here, including research and practice implications as well as recommendations to improve Five Beds.


Article history: Received Febryary 16, 2017 Received in revised format: February 22, 2017 Accepted April 12, 2017 Available online April 15 2017 Medical tourism industry is an international phenomenon, which most of medical tourists for some reasons such as high costs of treatment, long waiting queues, lack of insurance and lack of access to health care in the origin country, travel long distances to benefit from health care services of destination country. Given the competitive nature of this industry, most countries are designing practical and legal services and planning for their development. For this purpose, this study has been conducted to develop a strategic planning framework for development of medical tourism industry in Yazd province of Iran; because in recent years Yazd has recognized as the health pole by patients in developing countries. In sum, emphasizing on servicing, enhancing and developing specialized treatment centers, has attracted patients from center, south and east of the country as well as Middle East and Central Asia countries. The dominant approach in this study is developmental – practical and also the research method is descriptive, analytical and survey. In order to analyzing the data, the SWOT model and best-worst techniques have been used. In the following, after identifying strategic position of Yazd province in terms of medical tourism industry, the related strategies were formulated and practical results were presented. Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 8 © 201


ABSTRACT The system effect of tritium arises from the interaction of tritium in the gas phase with water on the surface of piping materials. It has been reported that the system effect can be quantified by applying the serial reactor model to the piping system, connection of perfect mixed flow type reactors and plug flow type reactors, and that adsorption and isotope exchange reactions play the main roles in the trapping of tritium. In this study we made a calculation code of the system effect using the serial reactor model where 304SS, aluminum, copper or graphite is used for the piping material. Comparison of the calculated value using this code gives the good agreement with the experimental data taken at the cooperative experiment using a box made of stainless steel type 304 in Tritium Processing Laboratory in JAERI and that is called as the Caisson. It is observed that the isotope exchange reaction between tritiated water in the air and surface water on the 304SS surface controls the tritium trapping performance at the room temperature although HTO/HT ratio is around 0.1 in this experiment.


Under normal conditions, immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies are anti-inflammatory, yet during infection, they can protect the body by recruiting inflammatory cells or pathways. Kaneko et al. now show that IgG can alternate between these states by modifying the sialylation of polysaccharides on the nonvariable part of the IgG that is responsible for binding and activating receptors on immune cells. These receptors bind sialylated forms of IgG less strongly, which signals the cell to load its surface with inhibitory proteins. However, under situations of immune challenge, the sialic acid residues are lost, which allows IgG to bind more tightly and so turn up inflammatory signaling. By switching activity in this way, IgG antibodies may restrict their pro-inflammatory effects to periods of infection and so limit the potential for inadvertent harm resulting from their activity. Y. Kaneko, F. Nimmerjahn, J. V. Ravetch, Anti-inflammatory activity of immunoglobulin G resulting from Fc sialylation. Science 313, 670-673 (2006). [Abstract] [Full Text] D. R. Burton, R. A. Dwek, Sugar determines antibody activity. Science 313, 627-628 (2006). [Summary] [Full Text]


Traditional clustering techniques are inapplicable to problems where the relationships between data points evolve over time. Not only is it important for the clustering algorithm to adapt to the recent changes in the evolving data, but it also needs to take the historical relationship between the data points into consideration. In this paper, we propose ECKF, a general framework for evolutionary clustering large-scale data based on low-rank kernel matrix factorization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that clusters large evolutionary data sets by the amalgamation of low-rank matrix approximation methods and matrix factorization-based clustering. Since the low-rank approximation provides a compact representation of the original matrix, and especially, the near-optimal low-rank approximation can preserve the sparsity of the original data, ECKF gains computational efficiency and hence is applicable to large evolutionary data sets. Moreover, matrix factorization-based methods have been shown to effectively cluster high-dimensional data in text mining and multimedia data analysis. From a theoretical standpoint, we mathematically prove the convergence and correctness of ECKF, and provide detailed analysis of its computational efficiency (both time and space). Through extensive experiments performed on synthetic and real data sets, we show that ECKF outperforms the existing methods in evolutionary clustering.


The vision of nomadic computing with its ubiquitous access has stimulated much interest in the Mobile Ad Hoc Networking (MANET) technology. However, its proliferation strongly depends on the availability of security provisions, among other factors. In the open, collaborative MANET environment practically any node can maliciously or selfishly disrupt and deny communication of other nodes. In this paper, we present and evaluate the Secure Message Transmission (SMT) protocol, which safeguards the data transmission against arbitrary malicious behavior of other nodes. SMT is a lightweight, yet very effective, protocol that can operate solely in an end-to-end manner. It exploits the redundancy of multi-path routing and adapts its operation to remain efficient and effective even in highly adverse environments. SMT is capable of delivering up to 250% more data messages than a protocol that does not secure the data transmission. Moreover, SMT outperforms an alternative single-path protocol, a secure data forwarding protocol we term Secure Single Path (SSP) protocol. SMT imposes up to 68% less routing overhead than SSP, delivers up to 22% more data packets and achieves end-to-end delays that are up to 94% lower than those of SSP. Thus, SMT is better suited to support QoS for real-time communications in the ad hoc networking environment. The security of data transmission is achieved without restrictive assumptions on the network nodes' trust and network membership, without the use of intrusion detection schemes, and at the expense of moderate multi-path transmission overhead only.


Botnet is most dangerous and widespread among all threats in today's cyber world. It is basically group of compromised computers connected via internet, mostly the vulnerable hosts, are remotely accessed and controlled by botmaster to deliver various network threats and malicious activities. Which includes, spamming, click fraud, ID theft, backdoor entry, spoofing and phishing. Among challenging characteristic of botnet, Command and Control centre is most basic one through which botnet can be used to update and command. Recently malicious botnets evolve into HTTP botnets out of typical IRC botnets. Data mining algorithms allow us to automate detecting characteristics from large amount of data, which the conventional heuristics and signature based methods could not apply.


Transplantation of laws from a foreign country is an explicit regulatory choice. It is a choice made by governments and influenced by local and international interest groups. This Article analyzes a complex junction where international legal transplantation encounters destructive transactional and behavioral patterns in countries-recipients. The governments must respond to such inefficiencies and attempt to reduce resulting transaction costs by introducing corrections to a foreign model, i.e., a "domestic gradient." This research focuses on a very peculiar "gradient": combining public ownership of financial utilities with close regulatory oversight as a way to mitigate destructive socioeconomic, behavioral and transactional patterns in developing markets.The Article focuses on a relatively unchartered territory - transplanting of clearing and settlement (C&S) institutions. First, the research analyzes the purposes and development of centralized C&S in the U.S. and Europe. Second, the Article contrasts westernized C&S transplants with their application in the tumultuous economies of Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan.Third, to assess the transplants, the research builds a theoretical "trust model." The model suggests that making the national governments active players in a financial industry like C&S, whose sole purpose is minimizing transaction costs and improving capital exchange, does not address the underlying behavioral and regulatory problems that the "gradient" is supposed to remedy. These problems, the Article emphasizes, are a multifaceted lack of trust among private parties, weak reputational constraints, the low observability of conversion from trustworthy to untrustworthy market actors, and an equally potent lack of trust towards government entities in the sample. The Article concludes by hazarding a few policy proposals on how to modify the destructive behavioral and regulatory patterns and thus improve C&S and capital markets. Specifically, instead of transplanting and adjusting foreign law, the governments should resort to institutional transplantation and introduce a neutral umpire: a purely foreign economic party.


Pathogenic microbes introduce pores in the host plasma membrane as part of the infectious process. Gurcel et al. determined that pore-forming toxins, such as aerolysin from Aeromonas and α-toxin from Staphylococcus aureus, stimulate the SREBP (sterol response element–binding protein) transcription factors to promote membrane repair. RNA differential display analysis suggested that aerolysin increased the expression of the gene encoding SREBP-2. Indeed, exposure of cells to either aerolysin or α-toxin increased the activity of SREBP-2. In Chinese hamster ovary cells, exposure to aerolysin stimulated proteolytic processing of SREBP-1 and SREBP-2 to release these membrane-bound transcription factors from the endoplasmic reticulum and allowed translocation to the nucleus of the transcriptionally active fragment. The increase in the activity of the SREBPs was verified by an increase in the expression of target genes and an increase in total cellular cholesterol through both increased biosynthesis and uptake (the low-density lipoprotein receptor is encoded by a SREBP-responsive gene). Mutant aerolysin subunits that could not form pores were incapable of stimulating SREBP-2 activity, and SREBP-2 activation required K+ efflux but did not require an increase in intracellular calcium concentration. Indeed, exposure of cells to a K+, but not a Na+, ionophore, triggered SREBP-2 activation. Decreased intracellular K+ concentration is known to activate caspase 1 through activation of inflammasomes with either the IPAF or NALP3 subunits, which are intracellular pattern recognition receptors. When RNA interference was used to knock down subunits of the IPAF or NALP3 inflammasome, the activation of caspase 1 and SREBP-2 in response to aerolysin was diminished. Pharmacological inhibition or knockdown of caspase 1 also prevented SREBP-2 activation. SREBP-2 was not directly cleaved by caspase 1; instead, caspase 1 activated the known SREBP-activating pathway that involves SCAP (an escort protein) and S1P and S2P (the two enzymes responsible for SREBP proteolysis and release). Using various pharmacological and RNAi approaches, the authors showed that activation of the inflammasome caspase 1 and the SREBPs was required for cell survival after exposure to aerolysin. Saleh discusses these findings. L. Gurcel, L. Abrami, S. Girardin, J. Tschopp, F. G. van der Goot, Caspase-1 activation of lipid metabolic pathways in response to bacterial pore-forming toxins promotes cell survival. Cell 126, 1135-1145 (2006). [Online Journal] M. Saleh, Caspase-1 builds a new barrier to infection. Cell 126, 1028-1030 (2006). [Online Journal]


The standard paradigm for the analysis of genome-wide association studies involves carrying out association tests at both typed and imputed SNPs. These methods will not be optimal for detecting the signal of association at SNPs that are not currently known or in regions where allelic heterogeneity occurs. We propose a novel association test, complementary to the SNP-based approaches, that attempts to extract further signals of association by explicitly modeling and estimating both unknown SNPs and allelic heterogeneity at a locus. At each site we estimate the genealogy of the case-control sample by taking advantage of the HapMap haplotypes across the genome. Allelic heterogeneity is modeled by allowing more than one mutation on the branches of the genealogy. Our use of Bayesian methods allows us to assess directly the evidence for a causative SNP not well correlated with known SNPs and for allelic heterogeneity at each locus. Using simulated data and real data from the WTCCC project, we show that our method (i) produces a significant boost in signal and accurately identifies the form of the allelic heterogeneity in regions where it is known to exist, (ii) can suggest new signals that are not found by testing typed or imputed SNPs and (iii) can provide more accurate estimates of effect sizes in regions of association.


Millions of Americans purchased real estate during the housing bubble of the mid 2000s, when prices reflected a constant upward trend, and real estate appeared to be an ideal investment. When the bubble burst, however, the value of real property plummeted, yet homeowners remain obligated to pay their bubble era mortgage amounts. This has created a situation where many Americans must pay creditors significantly more than the current value of the properties for which they borrowed to purchase. When property values plummet in this way foreclosure rates skyrocket and in a cyclical manner, values continue to drop, crime rates rise, and tax bases and consumer markets whither.State and federal governments have struggled, with minimal success, to address the issue of excessive debt created by the housing bubble as it continues to mire the economy in a slow and lurching recovery. Most efforts to eliminate debt overhang have been based on incentivizing lenders to forgive and restructure debt in various ways. Unfortunately these incentives have generally not been sufficient, and programs have foundered. This Article examines an alternative plan to address excessive housing debt through the operation of investor funded use of the governmental power of eminent domain to acquire and restructure debt. This Article argues that this plan has the potential to resolve many of the shortcomings of previous efforts to alleviate debt, but that, as conceived, this plan also has many problems. This Article will identify the primary barriers to the operation of such a plan and thereby indicate how to modify the plan to address those barriers.


Rhizoctonia crown and root rot (RCRR), caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2, is an increasingly important disease of sugar beet in Minnesota and North Dakota. Disease ratings are based on subjective, visual estimates of root rot severity (0-to-7 scale, where 0 = healthy and 7 = 100% rotted, foliage dead). Remote sensing was evaluated as an alternative method to assess RCRR. Field plots of sugar beet were inoculated with R. solani AG 2-2 IIIB at different inoculum densities at the 10-leaf stage in 2008 and 2009. Data were collected for (i) hyperspectral reflectance from the sugar beet canopy and (ii) visual ratings of RCRR in 2008 at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after inoculation (WAI) and in 2009 at 2, 3, 5, and 9 WAI. Green, red, and near-infrared reflectance and several calculated narrowband and wideband vegetation indices (VIs) were correlated with visual RCRR ratings, and all resulted in strong nonlinear regressions. Values of VIs were constant until at least 26 to 50% of the root surface was rotted (RCRR = 4, wilting of foliage starting to develop) and then decreased significantly as RCRR ratings increased and plants began dying. RCRR also was detected using airborne, color-infrared imagery at 0.25- and 1-m resolution. Remote sensing can detect RCRR but not before initial appearance of foliar symptoms.


Low-grade chronic inflammation is a major characteristic of obesity and results from deregulated white adipose tissue function. Consequently, there is interest in identifying the underlying regulatory mechanisms and components that drive adipocyte inflammation. Here, we report that expression of the transcriptional corepressor complex subunits GPS2 and SMRT was significantly reduced in obese adipose tissue, inversely correlated to inflammatory status, and was restored upon gastric bypass surgery-induced weight loss in morbid obesity. These alterations correlated with reduced occupancy of the corepressor complex at inflammatory promoters, providing a mechanistic explanation for elevated inflammatory transcription. In support of these correlations, RNAi-mediated depletion of GPS2 and SMRT from cultured human adipocytes promoted derepression of inflammatory transcription and elevation of obesity-associated inflammatory markers, such as IL-6 and MCP-1. Furthermore, we identified a regulatory cascade containing PPARγ and TWIST1 that controlled the expression of GPS2 and SMRT in human adipocytes. These findings were clinically relevant, because treatment of diabetic obese patients with pioglitazone, an antidiabetic and antiinflammatory PPARγ agonist, restored expression of TWIST1, GPS2, and SMRT in adipose tissue. Collectively, our findings identify alterations in a regulatory transcriptional network in adipocytes involving the dysregulation of a specific corepressor complex as among the initiating events promoting adipose tissue inflammation in human obesity.


We enumerate and classify up to equisingular deformation all irreducible plane sextics constituting the so called classical Zariski pairs. In most cases we obtain two deformation families, called abundant and non-abundant. Four sets of singularities are realized by abundant sextics only, and one exceptional set of singularities is realized by three families, one abundant and two complex conjugate non-abundant. This exceptional set of singularities has submaximal total Milnor number 18.


We use the entanglement negativity, a measure of entanglement for mixed states, to probe the structure of entanglement in the ground state of a topologically ordered system. Through analytical calculations of the negativity in the ground state(s) of the toric code model, we explicitly show that the entanglement of a region $A$ and its complement $B$ is the sum of two types of contributions. The first type of contributions consists of \textit{boundary entanglement}, which we see to be insensitive to tracing out the interior of $A$ and $B$. It therefore entangles only degrees of freedom in $A$ and $B$ that are close to their common boundary. As it is well-known, each boundary contribution is proportional to the size of the relevant boundary separating $A$ and $B$ and it includes an additive, universal correction. The second contribution appears only when $A$ and $B$ are non-contractible regions (e.g. on a torus) and it consists of long-range entanglement, which we see to be destroyed when tracing out a non-contractible region in the interior of $A$ or $B$. Only the long-range contribution to the entanglement may depend on the specific ground state under consideration.


BACKGROUND
Plasma triglyceride analyses to evaluate the clearance of IV fat emulsion are necessary in patients receiving parenteral nutrition. Enzymatic kits for triglyceride analysis measure the glycerol that is hydrolyzed from triglyceride. This study investigates the effect of fat emulsion free glycerol on plasma triglyceride determination.

METHODS
Venous blood from fasting volunteers (n = 10) was drawn into tubes containing EDTA and was centrifuged to separate the plasma. An IV fat emulsion containing 2.25% glycerol was added to plasma samples to create serial dilutions ranging from 0.049% to 0.245% final lipid concentration. Total triglyceride and free glycerol concentrations were determined in each dilution and control sample. The free glycerol concentration was subtracted from the total triglyceride concentration to yield a true triglyceride value.

RESULTS
Increasing concentrations of fat emulsion added to donor plasma produced increases in total triglyceride and free glycerol concentrations. The increase in free glycerol concentration produced significant concentration-related differences between total and true triglyceride concentrations.

CONCLUSIONS
The total triglyceride level overestimated the true triglyceride concentration due to fat emulsion free glycerol. To assure reliable triglyceride results in patients receiving fat emulsion, blanking for free glycerol should be considered.


Sociologists have long argued that spatial mismatch, or costs for workers associated with the distance from home to work, determines the extensive margin of labour supply of urban areas in developed countries (Kain 1968; Wilson, 1987). But what about in rural contexts where labour supply vastly exceeds demand? Using data from fieldwork in Findon, Cote d'Ivoire, this article examines an unexplored aspect of spatial mismatch theory, namely, its application to a rural context in the developing world. Sociological research has suggested the best way to correct spatial mismatch is by either bringing people to jobs or jobs to people. The cashew processing firms of CAFAC have brought jobs to people by locating their factories in secondary towns and cities around Cote d'Ivoire, hiring workers from the surrounding rural areas. An estimated ninety-five percent of these workers are women. Qualitative evidence from interviews provides new insights into how far these women travel to work in an attempt to see if the spatial mismatch has been corrected by CAFAC. Policymakers and private sector actors are urged to take into account the spatial-determinants of work-related arrangements when creating more, and better, agroprocessing jobs for women in rural areas.


Following SARS-CoV-2 emergence in China, a specific surveillance was implemented in France. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences retrieved through this surveillance suggests that detected initial introductions, involving non-clade G viruses, did not seed local transmission. Nevertheless, identification of clade G variants subsequently circulating in the country, with the earliest from a patient who neither travelled to risk areas nor had contact with travellers, suggests that SARS-CoV-2 might have been present before the first recorded local cases.


Adaptive kinetic façades are systems capable of modifying their shape to optimize their behavior regarding real time outdoor and indoor conditions. They are typically evaluated based on quantifiable physical parameters such as illuminance levels, with little attention – for lack of evaluation criteria – given to subjective appreciation of the façade and the resulting daylight patterns. The present study investigates the daylighting performance of a kinetic shading system based on simulations combined with physical mock-up testing, to assess its viability as an alternative shading solution that complements conventional functions by enhancing the occupants' experience of the space. Based on performance assessment and perceptual studies, the shortcomings of traditional blinds are identified and a promising prototype design, controlling the blinds' opening by means of torsional deformations, is proposed.


One of the most troubling aspects of addiction is the chronic and cyclical nature of this disorder. In particular, the desire to use drugs and subsequent relapse can occur after months or even years of absence. Amongst human drug abusers, exposure to stressful life events and style of stress-coping have been shown to predict relapse. Similarly, in rodents stress can induce the reinstatement of drug seeking, a model of stress-induced relapse. In the following series of experiments the neuronal mechanisms mediating acute 21-48h food deprivation (FD)-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking are investigated. Previously, our laboratory has demonstrated that this form of reinstatement can be attenuated by systemic injection of the dopamine (DA) D1 receptor antagonist SCH 23390. Thus, in chapter 1, the neuronal circuitry mediating the role of DA, acting at the D1 receptor, in acute FD-induced reinstatement was examined. The five experiments described in the chapter reveal a significant attenuation of heroin seeking in rats infused with SCH 23390 into the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) or basolateral amygdala (BLA). However, acute FD-induced reinstatement was not affected by infusions of SCH 23390 into the NAc core, or ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC).
Compulsive drug seeking and the propensity to relapse have been attributed to pathological synaptic plasticity, resulting from drug-induced changes in glutamate synapses. Thus, in chapters 2 and 3 the role of glutamate in acute FD-induced reinstatement was inspected. In chapter 2, neuroadaptations in the glutamatergic projection from the ventral subiculum (vSub) of the hippocampus to the NAc shell were investigated. The vSub to NAc shell pathway is an important excitatory input, providing spatial and affective information that is modulated by DA release within the NAc. Here, acute 48h FD was shown to block the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in both heroin-trained and heroin-naive rats. In chapter 3, changes in the expression of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor subunits were investigated in rats trained to self-administer heroin and subsequently tested for acute FD-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. The results of this study reveled a tendency toward a reduction in GluA2 and NR1 expression in the dmPFC and NAc, respectively, of heroin-trained food deprived rats, compared to heroin-trained sated rats, as well as a significant increase in GluA2 expression in the VTA of heroin-trained-sated rats compared to drug-naive sated rats. Finally, FD increased GluA2 expression, in the BLA, in drug-naive but not heroin-trained rats. Together, these findings demonstrate an important role for both DA and glutamate in acute FD-induced reinstatement. The current results support existing models that suggest a critical role for DA and glutamate transmission, and the interaction between the two systems, in the reinstatement of drug seeking.


We consider practicality of a "verified" account of Net Ecosystem Carbon Budget for forest ecosystems (CA) that supposes reliable assessment of uncertainties, i.e. understanding "uncertainty of uncertainties". The FCA is a fuzzy (underspecified) system, of which membership function is inherently stochastic. Thus, any individually used method of FCA is not able to estimate structural uncertainties and usually reported "within method" uncertainties are inevitably partial. Attempting an estimation of "full uncertainties" of the studied system we follow the requirements of applied systems analysis integrating the major methods of terrestrial ecosystems carbon account, assessing the uncertainties "within method" for intermediate and final indicators of CA with their following mutual constraints. Landscape-ecosystem approach (LEA) 1) serves for strict systems designing the account, 2)contains all relevant spatially distributed empirical and semi-empirical data and models, and 3) is presented in form of an Integrated Land Information System (ILIS). By-pixel parametrization of forest cover is provided by utilizing multi-sensor remote sensing data (1 RS products used) within GEO-wiki platform and other relevant information based on special optimization algorithms. Major carbn fluxes within the LEA (NPP, HR, disturbances etc.) are estimated based on fusion of empirical data with process-based elements by sets of regionally distributed models. Uncertainties within LEA are assessed for each module and at each step of the account. "Withi method" results and uncertainties (including LEA, process-based models, eddy covariance, and inverse modelling) are harmoized based on the Bayesian approach. The above methodology have been applied to carbon account of Russian forests for 2000-2010;uncertainties of the FCA for individual years were estimated in limits of 25%. We discussed strengths and weaknesses of the paproach, system requirements to different methods of FCA, information and research needs, obtained and potential levels of uncertainties.


Mobile Internet access from smartphones and other mobile devices is
accelerating the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses. IPv6 is widely seen as
crucial for the continued operation and growth of the Internet, and in
particular, it is critical in mobile networks. This document discusses
the issues that arise when deploying IPv6 in mobile networks. Hence,
this document can be a useful reference for service providers and
network designers. This document is not an Internet Standards Track
specification; it is published for informational purposes.


The U.S. Freedom of Navigation (FON) Program has recently drawn significant attention in the United States and abroad. An argument could be made that the program has received more attention in 2015 than in its preceding 35 years combined. This recent focus arose as the world witnessed China engage in reclamation (enhancement of naturally-formed areas of land) and "clamation" (construction of artificial islands on low-tide elevations and submerged features) in the Spratly Island group in the South China Sea – activities on an unprecedented scale and with questionable intent.Senior U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, have publicly declared that the United States "will continue to sail, fly, and operate anywhere that international law allows." The world now watches as U.S. military vessels and aircraft conduct FON operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea, including in the waters and airspace around the features in question. Much has been said and written recently about U.S. FONOPs – some of which is incomplete, inaccurate, or both. This article is an attempt to set the record straight on the matter, based upon this author's prior experience with the U.S. FON Program at the operational, theater-strategic, and policy levels of the U.S. military.


ABSTRACT In most countries, men are more likely to vote for parties of the populist radical right (PRR) than women. The authors argue here that there are two mechanisms that might potentially explain this gender gap: mediation (women's attitudes and characteristics differ from men's in ways that explain the PRR vote) and moderation (women vote for different reasons than men). They apply these two mechanisms to general theories of support for PRR parties—the socio-structural model, the discontent model, and the policy vote model—and test these on a large sample of voters in seventeen Western and Eastern European countries. The study shows that the gender gap is produced by a combination of moderation and mediation. Socio-structural differences between men and women exist, but the extent to which they explain the gender gap is limited, and primarily restricted to post-Communist countries. Furthermore, women generally do not differ from men in their level of nativism, authoritarianism or discontent with democracy. Among women, however, these attitudes are less strongly related to a radical-right vote. This suggests that men consider the issues of the radical right to be more salient, but also that these parties deter women for reasons other than the content of their political programme. While the existing research has focused almost exclusively on mediation, we show that moderation and mediation contribute almost equally to the gender gap.


Over the years, Royal Philips Electronics has been responsible for an impressive series of breakthrough inventions, such as compact audio cassettes and compact discs. What is less well-known is that the company was set up in 1891 to exploit somebody else's invention--Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan's carbon filament lamp. Commercial success generated considerable revenues that enabled the firm to produce its own inventions and eventually become one of the world's most innovative corporations. How could Philips get such a good head start? From 1869 until 1912, Holland had no patent law. This meant that local entrepreneurs could copy foreign inventions for their own profit, as long as they could figure out how the inventions worked. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ericsson, the well-known Swedish phone company, was formed in 1876, the same year Alexander Graham Bell made his first phone call. After it received some of the new devices to repair, Ericsson figured out how to make them, and by 1878 the company was selling its own phones to the Swedish public. Bell had neglected to file a patent on his invention in Sweden. The rest, as they say, is business history. In 1960, Texas Instruments filed a patent in Japan on the integrated circuit, arguably one of the most important inventions of the second half of the 20th century. The Japan Patent Office took 29 years to grant the patent, by which time Japanese companies, free to read the patent specification 18 months after filing, acquired the technology, improved it, and came to control 80 percent of the US market for computer semiconductors. A little further back in time, Richard Arkwright's cotton spinning machine, patented in England a few years before the independence of the United States, was copied by entrepreneurs in the United States who did not have to worry about patents because there was no patent law until 1790. Intriguingly, the machine's obvious lack of novelty by 1791 did not stop a businessman from receiving a US patent for it. Once again, in a world of highly varied national patent laws--or in some cases, no laws at all--one country's invention was also another country's economic gain. Setting aside the rights and wrongs of such "borrowings," the point is that such behavior, of which many more examples could be given, broke no international rules. Furthermore, the freedom to use such technologies often benefitted not only the imitator companies, but also the national economies in which they were based. Indeed, none of the benefiting countries remained copiers for long; eventually, they became some of the world's most technologically advanced manufacturers. Might it be that the freedom to imitate was, and continues to be, an essential step toward real innovation? Evidence suggests that this was probably true in the past for Holland, Sweden, Japan, the United States, and more recently, the Asian tiger economies. If so, it might also be true for today's developing countries. In 1970, India weakened its patent system in order to achieve greater national self-reliance. This period of protection from foreign competition allowed the country's pharmaceutical sector to grow and prosper into the largest in the developing world, with a growing capacity to perform cutting-edge research. Tripping over Agreements The above question is timely because current international patent rules make it very difficult, if not impossible, for states to repeat the kinds of behavior described. Until recently, international law permitted national and regional patent systems to vary widely. Efforts on the global level by the wealthier countries to iron out these differences began in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The result was the 1994 Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), whose main effect was to make the intellectual property (IP) systems of developing countries more like those of developed ones. …


You may not be a professional Web designer, but you do want to design a decent Web page. There's no place better to start than with the de facto tool of choice for just about anybody creating Web pages and this slim, low-priced guide to it! The same things that have made Dreamweaver so popular with the pros--an easy-to-use, no-nonsense interface and a slew of features and utilities--also make it the perfect tool for your purposes. This full- guide provides the quickest route to creating a fun and functional Web page with it. Each short chapter uses big, bold screen shots and step-by-step instructions to illuminate one aspect of the process. By the end of the volume, you will have created a simple Web site, filled it with text and graphics, added navigation and links, and tested and posted the final product. Timely tips and occasional sidebars detailing good design practices round out the package.


Travel time is considered as one of the most important performance measures for roadway systems, and dissemination of travel time information can help travelers to make reliable travel decisions such as route choice or time departure. Since the traffic data collected in real time reflects the past or the current conditions on the roadway, a predictive travel time methodology should be used to obtain the information to be disseminated. However, an important part of the literature either uses instantaneous travel time assumption, and sums the travel time of roadway segments at the starting time of the trip, or uses statistical forecasting algorithms to predict the future travel time. This study benefits from the available traffic flow fundamentals (e.g. shockwave analysis, bottleneck identification), and makes use of both historical and real time traffic information to provide travel time prediction. The experimental results based on the loop detector data on Californian freeways indicate that the proposed method provides promising travel time predictions under varying traffic conditions.


The 14th ICML held in Lugano in June 2017 was preceded by a closed workshop (organized in collaboration with the American Association for Cancer Research and the European School of Oncology) where experts in preclinical and clinical research in lymphomas met to discuss the current drug development landscape focusing on critical open questions that need to be addressed in the future to permit a more efficient drug development paradigm in lymphoma. Topics discussed included both preclinical models that can be used to test new drugs and drug combinations, as well as the optimal design of clinical trials and the endpoints that should be used to facilitate accelerated progress. This report represents a summary of the workshop. Clin Cancer Res; 24(13); 2993–8. ©2018 AACR.


It is well-known that selective outcome reporting and publication distort the information that is made publicly available, and so undermine the reliability of what we consider evidence-based knowledge. Perhaps less known is that the risk of bias extends beyond the process of reporting and publishing results. Two further sources of bias are spin and selective citing. Spin relates to selective interpretation, meant to transform a basically negative conclusion into a more positively toned one; citation bias is the phenomenon that positive findings tend to be cited more than negative ones. The effects of these sources of imbalance accumulate, and the consequences can be huge. This issue of JCPP contains several articles with wholly or partly negative findings, which hopefully will be cited frequently. Publications regarding negative findings comprise an underrepresented and often undervalued minority, and therefore deserve all the support they can get.


The improvement of our quantitative understanding of the processes steering the atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the past is a long-term effort of many disciplines. Ice cores provide a direct atmospheric archive of both the CO2 concentration and its carbon isotopic composition (d13C). Precise and accurate measurements of d13C on ice cores can help attribute atmospheric CO2 changes to fluxes from and to the reservoirs of the global carbon cycle. Ice core d13C measurements performed over the last 20 years already contributed to constrain and quantify the possible processes underlying the glacial/interglacial and the Holocene CO2 dynamics. Methodological hurdles during the gas extraction of the trapped gases and the mass spectrometric measurement have so far limited d13Cs interpretative power in global carbon cycle models. We developed a new sublimation-GC-IRMS system, which combines high-precision d13C analysis (0.06 permil) with a low sample demand (~6 g ice per measurement) to enable high-resolution 13C time series. The applied sublimation extraction technique allows us to quantitatively extract the trapped air in both bubble and clathrate ice. Using a gas-chromatographic separation prior to the measurement excludes troubles from isobaric interferences. To improve our understanding on the Holocene CO2 fluctuations with regard to the Ruddiman hypothesis, new d13C data will be presented and discussed.


Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is an important complement-activating protein of the human immune system. As a result of one of three structural gene mutations in exon 1 (variants B, C and D) and/or the presence of a low-efficiency promoter polymorphism, MBL deficiency may be associated with increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and to autoimmune disorders, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Using a combined approach of heteroduplex generator and polymerase chain reaction, a systematic search for mutations in exon 1 and the promoter region of the MBL gene was performed in a Chinese study population comprising 41 SLE patients and 111 healthy controls. Two alleles, a wild-type allele A and a variant allele B (a previously reported mutation of GGC to GAC at codon 54), were identified in MBL exon 1. The frequency of the B allele (0.15) was higher in the SLE patients than in the healthy controls (0.09), but the difference did not attain statistical significance (P > 0.05). However, for two polymorphisms at positions -550 and -221 in the promoter region, the frequency of the low-MBL-producing haplotype (LX) in the patients (0.2073) was significantly higher than that in the controls (0.0855) (P = 0.003, relative risk = 2.79). Our results suggest that the LX haplotype represents a strong risk factor among Chinese SLE patients. Although of lesser importance, the MBL B allele also may be a risk component in the developing process of SLE in Chinese patients.


The Doctrine of Karma is a direct outcome of the extension of the age-old and well-established principle as you sow, so you reap to the spiritual sphere. In other words, this doctrine is nothing but the extension of the physical phenomenon observed in every day experience in nature that every action has a reaction, every effect has a cause and vice versa. The present study is an effort to delineate its role in the psychological well-being and life satisfaction of an individual. The meaning of the word Karma commonly accepted in Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. is activity, work, deed or act. It also implies sacrifices or yagyas performed as a part of Bhramanic rituals as well as the prescribed formalities like fasting and other forms of worship called Karma-Kand. According to the karma doctrine the course of life of every living being here and hereafter is determined by his Karma or his deeds and a pious life leads to comforts, contentment and general well-being in the present life and rebirth in higher and better forms of existence. Evil actions result in birth in lower forms of existence in future life and unhappiness or misery in the present existence. Upon study and reflection, many of us would conclude that the theory of karma does not have relevance even in today world. Basically it implies a strong cause/effect relationship. And it is the same cause/effect relationship on which the scientific and technological world is based. The question then is: if the cause and effect relationship is so powerful in the material world we live in, why should it not be just as powerful in the psychological world? If we accept this line of reasoning the theory of karma will be easier to accept because it is nothing but a cause/effect psychological phenomenon. To understand the role of faith in psychological well being and life satisfaction of an individual using matched group design and two groups were matched on age and socio-economic status. An empirical study was done on two group of age group 25-35 years: one who has the faith in the doctrine of karma and other who do not have the faith in the doctrine of karma. These two groups were formed on the basis of response to a questioner developed to assess the faith in the doctrine of karma. Then psychological well-being and life satisfaction of these two groups was measured. Results indicated that there was a significant difference in the psychological well-being and life satisfaction of these two groups with higher scores obtained by those who have faith in the doctrine of karma.


Based on a detailed investigation of factors influencing infiltration in a drainage basin, functional relationships amongst the abstractions during a storm period, storm characteristics and condition of the basin at the beginning of a storm are developed for a basin. Graphical multiple correlations are also obtained for estimating the abstractions. Basin characteristics like area, slope and soil characteristics are treated as time-invariant. When abstractions during a storm period due to other causes are negligible, the sum of the abstractions can be approximated to infiltration during the storm period. For 10 basins with 60 storms, graphical multiple correlations are prepared for estimating abstractions. These correlations are verified using a different set of 112 storms in addition to the 60 storms used in the calibration phase. The results obtained are discussed.


I discuss many-body models for correlated fermions in two space dimensions which can be solved exactly using group theory. The simplest example is a model of a quantum Hall system: two-dimensional (2D) fermions in a constant magnetic field and a particular non-local four-point interaction. It is exactly solvable due to a dynamical symmetry corresponding to the Lie algebra gl(infinity) circle plus gl(infinity). There is an algorithm to construct all energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of this model. The latter are, in general, many-body states with spatial correlations. The model also has a non-trivial zero temperature phase diagram. I point out that this QH model can be obtained from a more realistic one using a truncation procedure generalizing a similar one leading to mean field theory. Applying this truncation procedure to other 2D fermion models I obtain various simplified models of increasing complexity which generalize mean field theory by taking into account non-trivial correlations but nevertheless are treatable by exact methods.


This empirical study explores the nature of and profiles in primary teachers' educational beliefs in the Chinese educational settings. A survey of 820 primary school teachers was conducted using a questionnaire focusing on teachers' traditional and constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning. Analysis of variance and cluster analysis were applied. Results show that gender and subject domain affect traditional educational beliefs. Significant differences appear considering economic and geographical context variables. Cluster analysis helps to delineate four teacher belief profiles: a constructivist profile, a mixed constructivist/traditional profile, a traditional profile, and a mixed low constructivist/traditional profile. Inter-relation between teacher belief profiles and school categories are discussed.


In the modern digital era of big data applications, there is an ever-increasing demand for higher memory capacity that is both reliable and cost effective. In the domain of non-volatile memory systems, Flash-based storage devices have dominated the consumer space for the past 15 years and have also entered the enterprise storage system in the past 2-3 years. However, with Flash memory devices facing serious scalability limits, there is an imminent need to explore the viability of other non-volatile memory technologies that can replace or complement Flash-based storage in the near future. Significant research efforts have been invested by various universities and research organization across the globe into realizing the so-called next-generation memories (NGMs). Phase-change memory is one such technology, which is viewed as the most promising candidate among the emerging technologies. Phase-Change Memory (PCM) technology is not new as the principle of storing information in chalcogenide-based materials was first explored in the 1960s. However, with the predominance of charge-based memory technology (DRAM, Flash storage, etc) thriving thanks to the technological advancements ofmetal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) based devices, it was not until the late 90s that renewed interest in the class of phase-change materials was ignited. This is the same genre of materials as have been widely used in laser driven optical storage (rewritable CDs and DVDs) during the past 20 years or so. Although PCM chips have already been mass-produced by companies like Micron and Samsung, their capacity was limited as they were based on single-level cell (SLC) storage. The primary research focus of this thesis is on increasing the memory capacity by storing more than one bit of information per device, known as multilevel-cell (MLC). Achieving MLC capability is quite challenging, and we disclose some of our significant achievements in the realization of MLC PCM in the past few years. In this thesis, a comprehensive thermoelectric model is proposed for investigating the thermoelectrics physics in PCM device operation. With the increasing role of thermoelectrics at the smaller technology nodes, the proposed model provides valuable insights for a complete understanding of device operation. The model is validated by comparing the simulation results with experimental measurements. The model can also be used for fine-tuning the material properties, device design and geometry to improve the efficacy of these devices. In the second part of the thesis, the dominant reliability concerns in PCM technology are addressed, particularly focusing on MLC operation. We present a readout circuit for PCM specifically designed for drift resilience in MLC operation. Drift resilience is achieved through the use of specific non-resistance-based cell-state metrics which, in contrast to the traditional cell-state metric, i.e., the low-field electrical resistance, have built-in drift robustness. By employing novel MLC-enabling techniques, we succeeded in demonstrating for the first time, reliable 3-bits/cell memory density with a data retention of 1 week at temperatures ranging from 30±C to 80±C on devices that had been pre-cycled one million times.


The study of sediment dynamics within the Seine estuary and its adjacent shelf permits some conclusions regarding sediment exchanges in this coastal zone. On the shelf, sediment transport is directed toward the Seine estuary and contributes to the infilling of the estuary by marine sands and muds; these were originally derived from land carried to the shelf at times of lower sea level, and subsequently transported shoreward by dominant tidal and wave-induced currents. In the estuarine section, tidal processes form a turbidity maximum both by inducing strong bed resuspension and by trapping fluvial and marine sediments due to flood current predominance. Occasionally this turbid zone extends seaward during periods of river floods, and sediment is redispersed onto the shelf. This phenomenon has been amplified by man-made modifications of the estuarine morphology. However, currents patterns tend to retard the natural seaward escape of fluvial material, mainly due to dredging operations at the present time. Thus, man has changed the natural role of the estuary from a sink to a source of fluvial sediments for the shelf. A tentative sedimentary budget is proposed, taking into account the various sources of material and the complexity of sediment dynamics.


One of the aims of Natural Language Processing (NLP) is to facilitate the use of computers by allowing users to interact with systems in natural language. Since such interactions often take the form of question-answering sessions, the process of question-answering is an important part of NLP. In this paper, we are concerned with the progress made towards building question-answering systems which are natural and satisfying to users, allowing them to express themselves freely and answering questions appropriately. Such systems are said to provide graceful interaction. We survey the evolution of question-answering programs, presenting steps and approaches that have been taken towards providing graceful man-machine interaction, and pointing out efficiencies of existing programs and theories. Our emphasis is on the various issues and difficulties encountered in building a user-friendly question-answering program.


Long-period gratings have been made in nonphotosensitive optical fibers by irradiation of the core of a fiber with a focused beam of high-energy protons. The irradiated fibers exhibit relatively low loss, even before thermal annealing, and possess strongly wavelength-dependent transmission. The absence of a mask provides the opportunity to tailor the grating to a desired profile, and a variety of grating profiles were explored. The profile most resembling a sinusoid was found to produce the cleanest transmission spectra.


Strength is an important requirement in the game of rugby union. Activities such as tackling, scrummaging, rucking, mauling make upper body strength essential for success at the higher levels of competition. This aspect of strength has been assessed by a variety of weight lifting tests but no tests based on a sport specific movement have been developed for rugby.The aim of this study therefore was to develop a test to measure the upper body strength of rugby union players. Isokinetic assessment of shoulder abduction and adduction strength was identified as providing a sport specific measurement based on the muscle actions involved in the rugby tackle.A pilot study was conducted to assess the reliability of the isokinetic assessment of shoulder abduction and adduction. Test re-test measurements of concentric and eccentric strength at 1.08 rad-s[-1] and 2.16 rad-s[-1] in the dominant and non-dominant shoulder were made on 10 male subjects, 1 week apart. Intra-class correlation (ICC) ranged from r = 0.80 to 0.97 and the standard error of measurement (SEM) ranged from +/- 3.2Nm to +/- 14.9Nm. The most reliable measure was the average torque at 2.16 rad-s[-1] in the dominant shoulder (concentric abduction r = 0.96, SEM +/- 3.2Nm; eccentric adduction r = 0.97, SEM +/- 4.2Nm).Isokinetic shoulder strength was measured in 29 male rugby union players at three stages of the season, the pre-season training stage (PS), at the start of the competitive season (SS) and midway through the league season (MS). 19 subjects completed all 3 tests. Measurements were made of concentric abduction and eccentric adduction of the dominant shoulder at 2.16 rad-s[-1].There were no significant differences between test measures taken at different stages of the season. Values for eccentric adduction were significantly greater than those for concentric abduction (P<0.001). Within the group changes in strength between tests were weakly correlated with initial strength (PS-SS, concentric abduction r = -0.48, p<0.05 and SS-MS, eccentric adduction r = -0.53, p<0.05) but not with the number of weight training sessions undertaken.A comparison of strength between positional roles showed that forwards were significantly stronger than backs in absolute terms but that there was no significant difference when the strength was expressed relative to body weight.The results of this study demonstrate that the isokinetic assessment of shoulder abduction and adduction provides a reliable measure of upper body strength in rugby union players.The use of this test to measure strength during the season has shown that the playing and training activities of the players produced no consistent effects on shoulder strength. The greater absolute strength of forwards is related to their greater body mass, rather than to differences in positional roles.The mean of the PS, SS and MS measures can be used to provide normative data for shoulder strength in rugby union players.


Ontology similarity calculation iswidely used in various fields such as biology science. In this paper, we propose new algorithmsfor ontology similarity measurement such that the new computational models consider operational cost in the real implement.Then,we apply it into biology science and it is highlighted that new calculating version is designed for multidividing setting. The experiment dataon "Go" ontology demonstrate the new algorithm have higher efficiency in biology science application.


In his novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Czech author Milan Kundera suggests that a novel is "an investigation of human life in the trap the world has become". Novels are, indeed, arguably the most subtle tool of ontological inquiry, insightful meditations on how individuals, faced with questions and enigmas related to human existence, make sense of their 'being in the world.' (Heidegger, 1962). I have always admired the mastery with which great novelists are able to dissect and convey the most intricate aspects of human situations through their characters and plots. Novelists' investigations are typically triggered by twists and turns that generate disturbance in the status quo and call for interpretations on the part of the characters involved. I refer to this disturbance as 'noise'. In this essay, I shall comment on a tale of three cities that share the attribute of noise and are depicted in literary works by Milan Kundera, Robert Musil and Italo Calvino. I shall use this tale to develop considerations that are relevant to the world of organizations, and I shall also highlight some ways in which organizational scholars can learn from novelists.


The deformation radius is widely used as an indication of the eddy length scale at different latitudes. The radius is usually calculated assuming a flat ocean bottom. However, bathymetry alters the baroclinic modes and hence their deformation radii. In a linear quasigeostrophic two-layer model with realistic parameters, the deep flow for a 100-km wave approaches zero with a bottom ridge roughly 10 m high, leaving a baroclinic mode that is mostly surface trapped. This is in line with published current meter studies showing a primary EOF that is surface intensified and has nearly zero flow at the bottom. The deformation radius associated with this "surface mode" is significantly larger than that of the flat bottom baroclinic mode. Using World Ocean Atlas data, the surface radius is found to be 20%–50% larger over much of the globe, and 100% larger in some regions. This in turn alters the long Rossby wave speed, which is shown to be 1.5–2 times faster than over a flat bottom. In addition, the larger deformation radius is easier to resolve in ocean models.


A search for dark matter linelike signals iss performed in the vicinity of the Galactic Center by the H.E.S.S. experiment on observational data taken in 2014. An unbinned likelihood analysis iss developed to improve the sensitivity to linelike signals. The upgraded analysis along with newer data extend the energy coverage of the previous measurement down to 100 GeV. The 18 h of data collected with the H.E.S.S. array allow one to rule out at 95% C.L. the presence of a 130 GeV line (at l ¼ − 1 . 5 °, b ¼ 0 ° and for a dark matter profile centered at this location) previously reported in Fermi -LAT data. This new analysis overlaps significantly in energy with previous Fermi -LAT and H.E.S.S. results. No significant excess associated with dark matter annihilations was found in the energy range of 100 GeV to 2 TeV and upper limits on the gamma-ray flux and the velocity weighted annihilation cross section are derived adopting an Einasto dark matter halo profile. Expected limits for present and future large statistics H.E.S.S. observations are also given.


Based on a critical reading of relevant literature and in-depth interviews with football referees from various levels of the game in England, the aim of this study is to understand why referees become involved and, more pertinently, why they remain committed to the role despite the abuse and disrespect which they regularly encounter. Having considered the development of the football referee, the essay then examines existing literature concerned with refereeing as well as studies of job commitment in other human-service occupations. The subsequent data analysis leads to conclusions which both confirm and challenge findings of the limited research previously conducted in this area. Finally, the study suggests directions for organisations to follow in order to ensure the retention of referees.


A variety of mouthwashes and gargles are commercially available. Although cosmetic mouthwashes may have the ability to temporarily control or reduce bad breath, and leave the mouth with a pleasant taste, they don't kill the bacteria causing the bad breath. Neither do they help reduce plaque, gingivitis, cavities or chemically inactivate odour-causing compounds.
Therapeutic mouthwashes may be used as part of an oral treatment regime, i.e. to treat infection, prevent or reduce gingivitis (an early stage of gum disease), reduce inflammation, relieve pain, reduce halitosis and freshen the breath, or to deliver fluoride locally for caries prevention. These mouthwashes can also be used to help reduce plaque, decrease the speed with which tartar forms on the teeth and to control tooth decay.


For three years, the Powerful Voices for Kids program, a university-school partnership program of the Media Education Lab at the University of Rhode Island, developed a multifaceted approach to integrate news and current events into in-school and after-school instruction in K-6 schools. Three case studies detailing the program's impact on an undergraduate novice instructor, an in-school technology mentor, and an experienced classroom teacher illustrate the ways in which different stakeholders at the school approached news integration. Though approaches, interests, and values of each teacher vary considerably, all teachers share a commitment to the following classroom principles: (1) the use of inquiry to guide lesson development, (2) the role of ambiguity and uncertainty in otherwise structured learning environments, (3) the use of scaffolding and planning to limit and shape students' experiences with a variety of unpredictable media texts in the classroom, and (4) written reflection on how individual teacher values and motivations contribute to the unique classroom culture. Implications for future professional development in K-6 news literacy are explored.