Introduction : Thanks to its efficiency and the exclusive use of metal-free ceramics, in oral rehabilitation it has been possible to achieve aesthetic and mechanical standards, maintaining or even exceeding the quality of the treatments compared to traditional metal-ceramic restorations. Currently, free ceramic manufacturing mechanisms are increasingly evolving towards CAD-CAM machined technologies and decreasing their conventional production through the PRESS Injection technique. Objective : Compare the survival rate of single-unit fixed prostheses made with conventional feldspathic ceramics and reinforced with lithium disilicate by the CEREC® CAD/CAM chairside system, with the conventional PRESS laboratory injection method. Methods : A systematic review was conducted of scientific evidence included in papers published until the year 2019 in PubMed, PubMed Clinical Queries, Epistemonikos, Tripdatabase, Cochrane Library, electronic resources of Los Andes Peruvian University, and retrograde bibliography. The papers selected dealt with conventional and lithium-disilicate reinforced feldspathic ceramic single-unit prostheses made by CAD/CAM and/or the conventional method. Results : A total 28 papers met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 21 were observational cohort studies, four were randomized clinical assays and three were non-randomized assays. Short- and mid-term, CEREC® CAD/CAM achieved survival rates of 98% and 91.9%, respectively. The conventional system achieved survival rates of 97.5% short-term and 93% mid-term. Conclusions : As described in the literature, CEREC® CAD/CAM had a slightly higher survival rate than the conventional system in the short term. In the medium term, however, CEREC® CAD/CAM displayed a slight reduction in comparison with the conventional system. No studies are available to determine the clinical survival of the treatments in the long term.


The problem of modeling housing prices has attracted considerable attention due to its importance in terms of households' wealth and in terms of public revenues through taxation. One of the main concerns raised in both the theoretical and the empirical literature is the existence of spatial association between prices that can be attributed, among others, to unobserved neighborhood effects. In this paper, a model of spatial association for housing markets is introduced. Spatial association is treated in the context of spatial heterogeneity, which is explicitly modeled in both a global and a local framework. The global form of heterogeneity is incorporated in a Hedonic Price Index model that encompasses a nonlinear function of the geographical coordinates of each dwelling. The local form of heterogeneity is subsequently modeled as a Finite Mixture Model for the residuals of the Hedonic Index. The identified mixtures are considered as the different spatial housing submarkets. The main advantage of the approach is that submarkets are recovered by the housing prices data compared to submarkets imposed by administrative or geographical criteria. The Finite Mixture Model is estimated using the Figueiredo and Jain (2002) approach due to its ability in endogenously identifying the number of the submarkets and its efficiency in computational terms that permits the consideration of large datasets. The different submarkets are subsequently identified using the Maximum Posterior Mode algorithm. The overall ability of the model to identify spatial heterogeneity is validated through a set of simulations. The model was applied to Los Angeles county housing prices data for the year 2002. The results suggests that the statistically identified number of submarkets, after taking into account the dwellings' structural characteristics, are considerably fewer that the ones imposed either by geographical or administrative boundaries.


Deterioration of flavour quality during processing and storage is often brought about by oxidative processes. These typically involve oxygen or an active form of oxygen in effecting transformation of a wide range of volatile and non-volatile compounds, including key quality chemicals, flavour precursors and antioxidants. To investigate the nature of the chemical and biochemical change within vegetables and herbs, unblanched frozen parsley was selected as a suitable tissue.

The chemical status of parsley during technological processing was determined using novel analytical protocols (SNCV A/SNCNV A) implemented as part of a unified strategy for the quantitative analysis of volatile and non-volatile species. The analysis utilized a single stabilized solution produced from plant tissue, under a regime which minimized isolation stress and artifact formation.

On frozen storage (-10OC) the principal volatiles of parsley, myrcene, beta-phellandrene and menthatriene were extensively degraded to non-volatile products at differential rates. p-Cymenene and the tentatively assigned menthatriene diepoxide were formed as minor volatile oxidation products. Myristicin remained largely unchanged. Under similar frozen storage, chlorophyll 'a' displayed significant degradation with only minor amounts of chlorophyllide 'a', pheophytin 'a' and 13[superscript]2 hydroxychlorophyll 'a' formed. Ascorbic acid was extensively degraded in timescales preceding monoterpene and chlorophyll loss. Thermal blanching of parsley extensively prevented the degradation of the monoterpenes, suggesting that endogenous enzymes were responsible for the changes. Elimination of oxygen, in the absence of blanching, prevented volatile loss, confirming the requirement for oxygen.

The hypothesis that peroxidase can operate in a co oxidative couple with the flavonoid, apigenin-7-glucoside and hydrogen peroxide, as proposed by Yamauchi (1985), was investigated to establish its potential role in the degradation of terpenoids and chlorophyll. In model experiments, using horseradish peroxidase, menthatriene and chlorophyll showed extensive degradation only when all components of the couple were present. In addition the requirement for oxygen was also established. Naringenin and umbelliferone have been shown to behave similarly to apigenin, as co-substrates for peroxidase. Lycopene, with some structural similarity to menthatriene, was also susceptible to co-oxidation. Polyphenol oxidase, proposed to operate in a similar fashion to peroxidase with mono- and di-phenols as substrates (Montedoro et al. 1995), in model experiments did not cause the degradation of chlorophyll. The co-oxidative role of lipoxygenase in parsley is believed to be of minor significance, however, it is likely to be responsible for the production of low levels of hexanal observed during thawing of frozen parsley.

From this thesis it is concluded that the aroma and colour quality loss in frozen unblanched parsley probably results from the oxidative degradation of the unsaturated monoterpenes and chlorophyll 'a' respectively via an oxidative cascade initiated by the action of peroxidase.


The paper presents an approach of numerical modelling of alloy solidification in permanent mold and transient heat transport between the casting and the mold in two-dimensional space. The gap of time-dependent width called "air gap", filled with heat conducting gaseous medium is included in the model. The coefficient of thermal conductivity of the gas filling the space between the casting and the mold is small enough to introduce significant thermal resistance into the heat transport process. The mathematical model of heat transport is based on the partial differential equation of heat conduction written independently for the solidifying region and the mold. Appropriate solidification model based on the latent heat of solidification is also included in the mathematical description. These equations are supplemented by appropriate initial and boundary conditions. The formation process of air gap depends on the thermal deformations of the mold and the casting. The numerical model is based on the finite element method (FEM) with independent spatial discretization of interacting regions. It results in multi-mesh problem because the considered regions are disconnected.


This thesis presents the development and testing of a new transmitter in an ultrasound imaging tool used for imaging the inside of oil wells in temperatures of up to 180 ◦C. The imaging tool can have up to 288 transducer elements, driven by 16 transmitters. This generates a need for lots of switches, increasing the load capacitance, which results in a demanding current requirement. Every part of the original transmitter is analyzed and potential improvements is proposed and implemented. After improving the design and component choices, a new layout is performed for one channel, using the same area as the old channel. Both the old and new design is soldered on one PCB to test them under the exact same circumstances. Tests have been done during the design process to verify components and to obtain coefficients for calculating core loss. This is used for calculating core loss and optimizing the core size. With ultrasound imaging, the resolution is highly dependent on signal frequency. This is why Bergen Technology Center uses ultrasound transducers with upper frequencies of up to 6 MHz, especially for thickness measurements. But, the transmitter in use today for driving the transducers is only capable of maximum output signals up to 2 MHz. The new design has been tested both with dummy loads and in a complete tool. Tested with a complete ultrasound imaging tool, the new transmitter showed an increase in amplification from the old design of 24 dB at 6 MHz. Temperature tests have been performed with dummy loads up to an ambient temperature of 180 ◦C. With maximum frequency, temperature and frame rate, the new design shows an amplification of 36 dB, 23 dB higher than the old design under the same circumstances. Temperature rise of the critical components has been logged during the tests, and is used with power dissipation for calculating thermal resistance. Improvements has also been proposed for other parts of the imaging tool. New switches are proposed that will reduce the switch capacitance with 29 %, improving slew rate and output signal amplitude. A modification of the input signal is proposed that will decrease the output pulse duration and give better axial resolution.


The aim of the topic is to deal with television programs as an informative medium which gives information and opinions about society and its impact that are supposed to have on the cultural position of individuals and groups. Further, it presents major role of television on life style of adult people and their religious understanding. One of the functions of television is education of the audiences. It will be shows on the change according to life style, administration and educational policy. Nevertheless television has a great importance on educating of the people. Many of them take shape their religious understanding by watching television. We will also deal with the position of media in modern Turkey especially about adult education, we will look into television programs from a socio-cultural and educational perspective, exemplifying this by two Turkish television programs called 'Ekmek Teknesi' (Means of Livelihood) and 'Sir Kapisi' (Door to Secret). In this article we aim to examine both positive and negative effects of these soap operas in context of religious education and theological perspective


The bromodomain and PHD‐finger containing transcription factor (BPTF) is part of the nucleosome remodeling factor (NURF) complex and has been implicated in multiple cancer types. Here, we report the discovery of a potent and selective chemical probe targeting the bromodomain of BPTF with an attractive pharmacokinetic profile enabling cellular and in vivo experiments in mice. Microarray‐based transcriptomics in presence of the probe in two lung cancer cell lines revealed only minor effects on the transcriptome. Profiling against a panel of cancer cell lines revealed that the antiproliferative effect does not correlate with BPTF dependency score in depletion screens. Both observations and the multi‐domain architecture of BPTF suggest that depleting the protein by proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) could be a promising strategy to target cancer cell proliferation. We envision that the presented chemical probe and the related negative control will enable the research community to further explore scientific hypotheses with respect to BPTF bromodomain inhibition.


The goal of this study is to understand how different admission statuses of varying degrees of restrictiveness (informal, voluntary, emergency admission, and involuntary admission on medical certification) are used in the psychiatric emergency room. The study included 656 consecutively admitted patients from a psychiatric emergency room over 28 months. Data were analyzed univariately and using two discriminant function models. Only six (0.9%) patients were informal admissions. Voluntary admissions (24.9%, n = 163) tended to be for patients with affective disorders, those who were self-referred, suicidal risks, those who had a marital or family problem, and those who were over age 60. Nonvoluntary admissions (74.2%) tended to be for patients with schizophreniform symptoms and those referred by police or court. Involuntary admission on medical certification (53.2%, n = 349) tended to be for patients who were family referred, younger than 20 years old, had social interpersonal nonfamily stressors, were suicidal risks, were or had been married, had organic psychotic disorder, history of violence, and manic episode or schizophrenia. Emergency admission patients (21%, n = 138) were characterized by being between 40 to 50 years old, having a diagnosis of psychoactive substance abuse, having previous outpatient treatment, and having been referred by emergency service. The major difference between involuntary admissions and voluntary was that the former were more often actively psychotic or referred by police or court. The major difference between emergency admission and involuntary admission on medical certification seemed to be that patients with a more available support system, whose primary diagnoses was not substance abuse and who were suicidal, were preferred for involuntary admission on medical certification.


This article presents a number of issues on the topic of Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) testing that were raised during a plenary discussion at the 30th annual Language Testing Forum. The comments particularly focused on (a) past and current conceptualizations and categorizations of LSP tests, (b) tensions between specificity and practicality in LSP test design, and (c) the role of locality in LSP testing. The views exchanged on each of these themes are reported and considered in light of current research and debates. Suggestions are made for future research in the area of LSP testing.


A two-line laser-excited fluorescence technique has been developed to measure the rotational temperature of the OH molecule. This technique eliminates problems encountered in the application of other laser fluorescence methods for measuring the OH temperature in combustion environments, such as fluorescence trapping, nonequilibrium excited state population, spectral bandwidth sensitivity, and quenching. The technique consists of exciting a specific rotational level of the OH molecule in the A(2)Sigma (upsilon' = 0) excited state from two different rotational levels in the X(2)Pi(upsilon'' = 0) ground state using a tunable dye laser and monitoring the broadband fluorescence. An example of the implementation of this technique in an atmospheric pressure methane-air flat flame is included. The possible application of this technique in turbulent combustion is also evaluated.


Abstract. In the United States, automobile route guides were important precursors to the road maps that Americans are familiar with today. Listing turn-by-turn directions between cities, they helped drivers navigate unmarked, local roads. This paper examines the early business of route guide publishing through the Official Automobile Blue Book series of guides. It focuses specifically on the expansion, contraction, and eventual decline of the Blue Book publishing empire and also the work of professional "pathfinders" that formed the company's data-gathering infrastructure. Be- ginning in 1901 with only one volume, the series steadily grew until 1920, when thirteen volumes were required to record thousands of routes throughout the country. Bankruptcy and corporate restructuring in 1921 forced the publishers to condense the guide into a four-volume set in 1922. Competition from emerging sheet maps, along with the nationwide standardization of highway numbers, pushed a switch to an atlas format in 1926. Blue Books, however, could not remain competitive and disappeared after 1937. "Pathfinders" were employed by the publishers and equipped with reliable automobiles. Soon they developed a shorthand notation system for recording field notes and efficiently incorporating them into the development workflow. Although pathfinders did not call themselves cartographers, they were geographical data field collectors and considered their work to be an "art and a science," much the same as modern-day cartographers. The paper concludes with some comments about the place of route guides in the history of American commercial cartography and draws some parallels between "pathfinders" and the digital road mappers of today.


It's not hard to describe what tort law does. As a first approximation, we might say that tort empowers those who suffer certain sorts of injuries or invasions to seek remedies from those who brought about those injuries or invasions. The challenge is to explain why tort does that, or to explain what tort is trying to do when it does that. After all, it is not obvious that we should have an institution specially concerned with the injuries and invasions that count as torts. In this essay (delivered as the 2012 Monsanto Lecture at Valparaiso University School of Law), I argue that tort is concerned with those injuries and invasions because it aims at corrective justice, not efficiency. But I contend that the corrective justice tort pursues is not best understood on an Aristotelian model, which requires that wrongful transactions be reversed. Rather, I argue, tort pursues corrective justice in much the same way that revenge does — by offering a performance aimed at persuading us that victim and wrongdoer are even in respect of the wrong.


BACKGROUND
The mechanisms underlying amiodarone-induced sinoatrial node (SAN) dysfunction remain unclear, so we used 3-dimensional endocardial mapping of the right atrium (RA) to investigate.

METHODS AND RESULTS
In a matched-cohort design, 18 patients taking amiodarone before atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation (amiodarone group) were matched for age, sex and type of AF with 18 patients who had undergone AF ablation without taking amiodarone (no-amiodarone group). The amiodarone group had a slower heart rate than the no-amiodarone group at baseline and during isoproterenol infusion. Only the amiodarone group had sick sinus syndrome (n=4, 22%, P=0.03) and abnormal (>550ms) corrected SAN recovery time (n=5, 29%; P=0.02). The median distance from the junction of the superior vena cava (SVC) and RA to the most cranial earliest activation site (EAS) was longer in the amiodarone group than in the no-amiodarone group at baseline (20.5 vs. 10.6mm, P=0.04) and during isoproterenol infusion (12.8 vs. 6.3mm, P=0.03). The distance from the SVC-RA junction to the EAS negatively correlated with the P-wave amplitudes of leads II (r=-0.47), III (r=-0.60) and aVF (r=-0.56) (P<0.001 for all).

CONCLUSIONS
In a quarter of the AF patients, amiodarone causes superior SAN dysfunction, which results in a downward shift of the EAS and reduced P-wave amplitude in leads II, III and aVF at baseline and during isoproterenol infusion.


To promote the birdlife in grazelands and increase the multiplicity of plants and animals in flooded meadows (used for harvesting fodder) there is call for a continued cultivation of these areas. For many years these areas were harvested manually, or grazed by cattle from farms located nearby. Due to the rationalization in farming has the cultivation of flooded meadows diminished in extent. These meadows are unique with their plants and animal life and characterized by the annual flooding with nutritious water from local lakes and water-courses. To maintain the cultivation by the use of grazing animals would the livestock of the local region have to be increased a lot. Since this option isn't feasible today, there's an enhanced need for mechanization of cultivation practices at flooded meadows. As the cultivation of flooded meadows has been discontinued will the shores be choked with tall-growing species which means that the amount of biomass increases. This results in a soil with a reduced oxygen content which leads to a slower decomposition of plant remnants. The process elevates the ground and causes overgrowing into much the same as mainland vegetation. Birds of flooded meadows needs low vegetation and distances of at least 100 meters to the nearest bushes or trees. Plant remnants needs to be taken away otherwise it will become a disturbing element for these birds. These meadows will thereby turn into a beneficial environment for nesting and feedseeking birds. The experiences from cultivation of flooded meadows in our country are of various kinds. From conventional ley harvest methods practised in the south to the management of wetland cultivation up north. New methods have been tried out here and there, using for example special constructed machinery or applied military training with crawler type vehicles. These measures can be used for the actual work of putting flooded meadows in order. An essential problem is the carrying capacity for this kind of soil. Therefore considerable requirements are made upon the bearing parts of the used vehicles. To reduce the pressure from beneath the wheels needs the load either be decreased or the carrying surface be increased. The bearing wheels sinks until the surface of support becomes as large, as the pressure on its surface becomes equal with the carrying capacity. Resistance to taxiing comes of tracking and calls for extra energy. To avoid this effect it is better to increase the diameter of the wheels than of the width of the tyres. When the carrying capacity is crucial it is no more than the connected surface layer that gives it any support. At passage across the field becomes the surface of the soil exposed to shearing. The shearing can be decreased through an additional number of wheels or having the machines equipped with crawlers. On soils like these it is the axial weight that influences the carrying capacity. Alternative methods to put fields like these in order is to mill off soil, burn off vegetation or to use a pasture trimmer. Special purpose machines are nowadays under testing. These machines are manufactured by the companies LVR AB and NOVASS AB. Another of these machines is being developed and tested privately by Jossi Kyllenen. There are different kinds of mowers and one of these is the knife mower which is low in weight, power efficient and shears the grass but sensitive towards strange objects lying in the way of its course. Another is the rotary mower that is more dependable in service and works through a combination of shearing and striking. The latter one has a higher capacity but requires an increased engine effect and weight of the tractor. There is also the flail forage harvester that strikes off the grass with flails and transports the material directly to a carriage. The machine can on the other hand pick up pieces of soil and gravel together with the harvested material. Dry soils can be cultivated with conventional ley machines while wet soils sometimes just allow one or two passages across at maximum. The later condition requires direct loading into a collector trailer, alternatively with the mower aggregate mounted in the front of the tractor. When harvesting hey it's often necessary to turnover the material at least once. For the purpose of harvest are various balers and self-loading trailers obtainable. Balers are usually heavy while self-loading trailers can be found in many sizes and often equipped with bogie. They are also flexible as they can carry small loads on quite wet soils. Transport of the harvested material can be done through two different systems. Either directly to final disposal or through transhipment at the roadside of fields. When distances of transport are less than 30 to 40 kilometers transport by tractor can be considered as less expensive than transport by truck. Round bales and rectangular big bales are easy to load and transport on open-sided trailers. The trailers can take a full load with a relatively good utilization of the loading capacity of the carriage. Because of their weight these bales must be loaded on carriages by machine. Using small bales is another beneficial alternative, but these bales need to be heaped up during long-distance transport which requires extra labour to a certain extent. Harvested material that is not baled can either be transported with a self-loading trailer or a truck carrying containers. The self-loading trailer is good at shorter distances of transport but less suitable for transhipment. The removed material can be deposited in the following ways: • Forage to livestock. The forage can be of special value if classified as KRAV-approved feed. It can also become horse-feed to a certain extent. • Green manuring of arable land. The material needs in this case to be chopped. Material with nitrogen deficiency can tie itself to the nitrogen of the soil in connection with the decomposition. The nitrogen dissolves itself when the process of decomposition is concluded. • Soil at vegetable production. The material should be chopped and the method can result in positive effects upon noxious insects, weed, soil moisture and soil structure. • Composting. Fresh material should be mixed with other substances. Two alternatives are: 1. Windrow composting has many disadvantages and is not recommended. 2. Compost blended with parkwastes has more advantages than drawbacks. • Retting. In the process of retting biogas is produced. Research is in progress and several interesting byproducts can be extracted, as for example forage. The condition is an existing and suitable plant for biogas production located nearby. • Incineration. It requires particular furnaces with certain properties of combustion. • Landfill. The material is not suitable for established municipal set-ups and the initial cost for new set-ups can be extensive. Not recommended. Other important issues to take into consideration: • How is the nutrient and energy content of the green forage utilized? • Is there any economic value in the green forage? • How can transportation work be minimized? • Which resources and possibilities are available? Finally, from a general point of view it is nearly impossible to decide which machinery that is most suitable for a particular type of soil or the cost of cultivation of flooded meadows. The conditions varies a lot between the regions, which means that many aspects needs to be taken into account for in each case.


After stems die, the wood persists in the ecosystem, either as standing deadwood or woody debris on the ground. Deadwood plays an important role in forest ecosystems, providing significantly different substrate, nutrient source, and microclimate to seedlings as well as habitat to vertebrates and invertebrates. Measurements of dead material on the forest floor can be used to more completely estimate biomass, carbon pools, and carbon fluxes. These methods continue the philosophy of the ForestGEO demography data by tracking the status of individual woody stems after mortality and thereby extending observations to the entire period each woody stem exists in the forest.


Read, write and space efficiency make it easier to compare database algorithms. By efficiency I mean the amount of work, CPU and storage, per user request. While the algorithms for a b-tree and log structured merge tree are different, in the end we can measure their efficiency for real workloads and then make models to explain what we measure. I don't think it is possible for one algorithm to be optimal for read, write and space efficiency. Therefore we can pick the algorithm based on the one or two efficiency metrics that matter most for each deployment. I will discuss how to do that in the context of MySQL and MongoDB now that we have a RocksDB storage engine for both.


The definitive biography of the mercurial Soviet leader who succeeded and denounced Stalin. Nikita Khrushchev was one of the most complex and important political figures of the twentieth century. Ruler of the Soviet Union during the first decade after Stalin's death, Khrushchev left a contradictory stamp on his country and on the world. His life and career mirror the Soviet experience: revolution, civil war, famine, collectivization, industrialization, terror, world war, cold war, Stalinism, post-Stalinism. Complicit in terrible Stalinist crimes, Khrushchev nevertheless retained his humanity: his daring attempt to reform communism prepared the ground for its eventual collapse; and his awkward efforts to ease the cold war triggered its most dangerous crises. This is the first comprehensive biography of Khrushchev and the first of any Soviet leader to reflect the full range of sources that have become available since the USSR collapsed. Combining a page-turning historical narrative with penetrating political and psychological analysis, this book brims with the life and excitement of a man whose story personified his era.


This thesis investigates the concept of honour and why this is a relevant concept in the teaching of literature in the school subject of Swedish. In order to investigate this I have analyzed two Young Adult books; Heder (2002) and Fallen flicka (2009) by the author Christina Wahlden. These books show how young women of today are systematically subordinated and how their lives are controlled by male relatives. This culturally specific oppression of young women is constituted by ancient concepts of honour, which in turn are interlinked with women's sexuality and the male control of it. The oppression has its roots in patriarchal and traditional thinking which is specifically characteristic for an honour culture. Both the male as well as the female characters are modeled by the author in order to make a didactic point. She wants to put the oppressive males on display in order to make us (the readers) aware of the horrific situation that many young women of today suffer from. In order to problematize this I apply postcolonial theory. This theoretical approach allows me to question the way in which the characters are constructed in the books. The standpoint which Christina Wahlden takes in writing her books is disputed, and in this thesis I discuss different viewpoints on this matter. On the one hand there are those intellectuals who agree with the above stated. On the other hand there are others who disagree and instead of a clear-cut cultural pattern, view the concept of honour and how it is used in societal debate with great suspicion. For them the finger pointing only cements prejudices and construct clear-cut difference-markers between Us: the good and modern, and Them: the evil and barbaric. Postcolonial theory lends its support to this latter way of thinking. In this thesis I therefore discuss postcolonial theory at lengths. In this discussion I rely on three theorists' viewpoints in particular: Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak and Homi Bhabha. My own understanding of postcolonial theory is founded on the central thoughts which these theorists advocate. Besides lending its theoretical viewpoints to my readings of Christina Wahlden's books, Postcolonial theory also influences my didactic discussions. In these discussions I try to explore why, and in what way, Postcolonial theory is applicable to the school subject of Swedish. My own view is that it can be used as a pedagogic tool to enable critical readings. I find this theoretical approach valuable in order for the school subject of Swedish to become a democratic one which engages the students to practice critical thinking and together read, write and discuss texts dealing with the conflicts that surrounds them in today's multicultural society. In this thesis I argue strongly for this kind of awareness, an awareness which results in an understanding for the purpose of teaching Literature as a way of dealing with topics of significance for the students as members of a democratic society.


This paper provides a utility-based definition of binge-drinking and
examines the compatibility of this phenomenon with a rational decision making. Prohibition
of young people's consumption of alcohol is frequently
violated by binge-drinking in groups. The analysis considers the roles of
peer-pressure, full price of alcohol and crowding in underage group-drinking
sessions and identifies the conditions for binge-drinking by expected utility
maximizing members. Rational binge-drinking occurs when the impact of the
peer-pressure on the individual member's utility exceeds the loss of utility
from the forgone spending on all other goods associated with the expected full
marginal cost of consuming alcohol.


Fermented beverages are frequently contaminated with histamine produced by lactic acid bacteria exhibiting histidine decarboxylase activity. In wine, the presence of histamine is associated with a lack of hygiene during the winemaking process. Determination of histamine is important because it can be toxic to humans. Therefore, we developed two rapid, inexpensive, and simple methods—a colorimetric technique and a thin-layer chromatography technique—to determine histamine concentration in wine and culture medium without the need for complicated extraction procedures. The new colorimetric method showed a good correlation between absorbance and histamine concentration in the range of 1.0 to 100 mg/L of histamine in wine and Moeller culture broth samples (r2 = 0.9981 and 0.9941, respectively). Thin-layer chromatography with a new visualization reagent also demonstrated a good correlation between histamine concentrations of 5.0 to 100 mg/L and absorbance (r2 = 0.9882 and 0.9839 for wine and Moeller culture broth samples, respectively). Both methods showed a high correlation with ELISA (colorimetric method: r2 = 0.9972; thin-layer chromatography: 0.9968) and exhibited good histamine recovery (higher than 87%). The detection limits of the new methods were comparable to those of existing analytical methods. Both methods seem suitable for routine analysis to monitor histamine in any research or quality-control laboratory.


The goals of using resources that are available at the site of exploration and pursuing the philosophy of "living off the land" instead of bringing it all the way from Earth are to achieve a reduction in launch and delivered mass for exploration missions, a reduction in mission risk and cost, enable new missions not possible without in situ resource utilization (ISRU), and to expanded the human presence in space. Past studies have shown making propellants and other mission critical consumables (life support and power) in situ can significantly reduce mission mass and cost, and also enable new mission concepts (e.g., surface hoppers). Experience with the Mir and International Space Station, and the recent grounding of the Shuttle fleet, have highlighted the need for backup caches or independent life support consumable production capabilities, and a different paradigm for repair of failed hardware from the traditional orbital replacement unit (ORU) spares and replacement approach for future long duration missions. Lastly, for future astronauts to safely stay on the Moon or Mars for extended periods of time, surface construction and utility/infrastructure growth capabilities for items such as radiation protection, power generation, habitation space, and surface mobility will be required or the cost and risk of these missions will be prohibitive. However, before ISRU capabilities are incorporated into mission architectures, Earth and flight demonstrations of critical processes and systems will be required to validate performance goals and increase confidence in mission planners.


The majority of systems extracting high-level music descriptions from audio signals rely on a common, implicit model of the global sound or polyphonic timbre of a musical signal. This model represents the timbre of a texture as the long-term distribution of its local spectral features. The
underlying assumption is rarely made explicit: the perception of the timbre of a texture is assumed to result from the most statistically significant feature windows. This thesis questions the validity of this assumption. To do so, we construct an explicit measure of the timbre similarity between
polyphonic music textures, and variants thereof inspired by previous work in Music Information Retrieval. We show that the precision of such measures is bounded, and that the remaining error rate is not incidental. Notably, this class of algorithms tends to create false positives - which we call hubs - which are mostly always the same songs regardless of the query. Their study shows that the perceptual saliency of feature observations is not necessarily correlated with their statistical significance with respect to the global distribution. In other words, music listeners routinely "hear" things that are not statistically significant in musical signals, but rather are the result of high-level cognitive reasoning, which depends on cultural expectations, a priori knowledge, and context. Much of the music we hear as being "piano music" is really music that we expect to be piano music. Such statistical/ perceptual paradoxes are instrumental in the observed discrepancy between human perception of timbre and the models studied here.


The residents of Caxambu, a squatter neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, live in a state of insecurity as they face urban violence. Living with Insecurity in a Brazilian Favela examines how inequality, racism, drug trafficking, police brutality, and gang activities affect the daily lives of the people of Caxambu. Some Brazilians see these communities, known as favelas, as centers of drug trafficking that exist beyond the control of the state and threaten the rest of the city. For other Brazilians, favelas are symbols of economic inequality and racial exclusion. Ben Penglase's ethnography goes beyond these perspectives to look at how the people of Caxambu themselves experience violence. Although the favela is often seen as a war zone, the residents are linked to each other through bonds of kinship and friendship. In addition, residents often take pride in homes and public spaces that they have built and used over generations. Penglase notes that despite poverty, their lives are not completely defined by illegal violence or deprivation. He argues that urban violence and a larger context of inequality create a social world that is deeply contradictory and ambivalent. The unpredictability and instability of daily experiences result in disagreements and tensions, but the residents also experience their neighborhood as a place of social intimacy. As a result, the social world of the neighborhood is both a place of danger and safety.


Neutrophil granules contain secretory molecules that contribute to the implementation of all neutrophil functions. The molecular components that regulate the exocytosis of neutrophil granules have not been characterized. In this study, using small interfering RNA gene‐targeting approaches and granulocytes from genetically modified mice, we characterized the Rab27a effectors JFC1/Slp1 and Munc13‐4 as components of the exocytic machinery of granulocytes. Using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy analysis, we show that Rab27a and JFC1 colocalize in predocked and docked vesicles in granulocytes. Next, we demonstrate that JFC1‐downregulated granulocytes have impaired myeloperoxidase secretion. Using immunological interference, we confirm that JFC1 plays an important role in azurophilic granule exocytosis in human neutrophils. Interference with Rab27a but not with JFC1 impaired gelatinase B secretion in neutrophils, suggesting that a different Rab27a effector modulates this process. In similar studies, we confirmed that Munc13‐4 regulates gelatinase secretion. Immunofluorescence analysis indicates that Munc13‐4 localizes at secretory organelles in neutrophils. Using neutrophils from a Munc13‐4‐deficient mouse model (Jinx), we demonstrate that Munc13‐4 plays a central role in the regulation of exocytosis of various sets of secretory organelles. However, mobilization of CD11b was not affected in Munc13‐4‐deficient neutrophils, indicating that secretory defects in these cells are limited to a selective group of exocytosable organelles.


With the rising popularity of artisanal cheese in the United States, the soft washed rind category has emerged as a fast-growing segment of the marketplace. There is much anecdotal evidence to suggest a common sensorial defect in soft washed rind cheese is a gritty/sandy texture attributed to crystal growth on the rind of these cheeses A preliminary study was undertaken to develop a set of criteria to visually identify crystals found on soft washed rind cheeses. Single crystal identities were presumptively determined using polarized light microscopy (PLM), and cross-checked using powder xray diffractometry (PXRD). Two distinct crystal groupings were determined based on these metrics. Group 1 crystals had high birefringent coloring, angle of extinction (AE) ≈ 90°, and were smaller and less circular than Group 2 crystals (P<0.05). Group 2 crystals had no birefringent coloring and AE ≈ 18°. Using established mineralogical data, Group 1 and Group 2 crystals were identified to be struvite and ikaite, respectively. These crystalline bodies are situated in an amorphous cheese matrix (i.e. smear), which create difficulties when examining via PLM and PXRD, leading to high background noise. To remedy these issues, a novel method for harvesting crystals was developed. Smear scrapings were immersed in NaOH (pH=10) to dissolve smear material, which resulted in improved PLM and PXRD performance. A subsequent observational study was conducted to understand the prevalence of surface crystals and grittiness associated with washed rind cheeses sourced from the U.S.A. and Europe. Crystal types were identified via PXRD and PLM. Crystal size and shape (circularity) metrics were determined via PLM and image analysis. A descriptive sensory panel (n=12) was used to evaluate grittiness presence and intensity. Identified crystal types included ikaite, struvite, calcite, and brushite. Mean crystal length and area ranged from ~30μm to ~1100μm, and ~500μm to ~200,000μm, respectively. Sensory perception threshold for grittiness occurred at a mean crystal length of ~70μm and mean crystal area of ~2900μm. Below these threshold levels, cheeses presented with negligible grittiness. Above these threshold levels, grittiness was highly correlated with crystal length and area (r=0.93 and 0.96, respectively; P<0.001). These results indicate surface crystals have a direct impact on the sensorial quality of soft washed rind cheeses.


Cortisone is the most common class of injection in musculoskeletal medicine. Expert guidelines, such as the 2017 edition of Therapeutic Guidelines: Rheumatology (Australia),1 generally recommend corticosteroid injections (CSI) as a treatment for most tendon and joint pain conditions (including those listed in table 1). I quote, 'local corticosteroid injections should only be given by, or under the supervision of, clinicians with appropriate training and experience'.1 I find it remarkable that the guidelines do not spell out that cortisone injections should only be given where high-quality evidence shows that benefits outweigh the harms; that is, the widespread recommendations to use CSI for multiple joints and multiple tendons are 'eminence-based' (who should give them) rather than 'evidence-based' (when they should be given).

View this table:

Table 1
Comparison of short-term (mainly benefit) versus long-term effects (possible harm) of corticosteroid injection for common indications

To be fair, I see that 'appropriate training' could cover 'knowing the indications' for a treatment but at a time where medical overtreatment is incontrovertible—it exists and no one denies it exists—I argue that the case for 'indication-based treatment' should be explicit.

Systematic reviews have examined whether cortisone injections are beneficial or harmful. A typical systematic review concludes as per the text in box 1. This conclusion was from a 2002 systematic review on the use of CSI for tennis …


Methylation of CpG islands (CGIs) in the promoter regions of tumour suppressor genes is common in colorectal cancer and occurs also in an age-dependent manner in the morphologically normal colorectal mucosa. In this study, we quantified the level of methylation of six genes associated with the Wnt signalling pathway (adenomatous polyposis coli, DKK1, WIF1, SFRP1, SFRP2 and SFRP5) together with long-interspersed nuclear element-1 as a surrogate for global methylation. DNA methylation was analysed in 260 individual colorectal crypts obtained from eight female patients with no evidence of colorectal disease and five with colorectal cancer. Significant variation in methylation levels for each of the six genes existed between crypts from the same biopsy. The variation in both global and gene-specific CGI methylation between crypts from the same individual was significantly less than that between individuals. Bisulphite sequencing provided insight into the mechanism of aberrant methylation showing that CGI methylation occurs in an 'all-or-none' manner by the directional spreading of methylation from further upstream. Univariate statistical analyses revealed that there were significant differences in crypt-specific methylation associated with both aging and disease status. A multivariate statistical modelling approach was able to distinguish both subject age and health status based on crypt-specific methylation profiles. Our results indicate that the differential methylation of genes associated with the Wnt signalling pathway affecting individual morphologically normal crypts may contribute to the age-dependent generation of the colonic field defect and, in combination with mutations, to the stepwise development of colorectal neoplasia.


HDHPLUS® is a hydroconversion process which was developed in PDVSA Intevep, and offers a high vacuum residue con- version, generating a high volumetric yield into high-quality products like gasoline and middle distillates. Engineering projects including HDHPLUS® technology require the plant evaluation using commercial process simulation tools that allow the fast prediction of the process behavior, generating required data for the completion of the equipment design in each stage of the project. This simulation initially requires the reactor products yield prediction by using proprietary mathematical model, which are incompatible with the commercial process simulators. This situation generates a high data handling to make the proprietary models results compatible with the process simulator, so a lot of man-hours are demanded. Considering the criticality of the plant simulation in the working schedule in an engineering project, the transformation of the models used for the prediction of the HDHPLUS® reactors yield was considered, in order that they could be compatible with commercial process simulators. In that sense, software components that implement such that models were developed, taking into consideration the "CAPE OPEN" international standards for the development of process engineering application. As a result, one file with ".dll" extension per each technology reactor were obtained, which once registered in the operative system are recognized by any simulation platform that is based on the CAPE OPEN standard. In addition, this development guarantee that the plant simulation is executed in a single working environment, so the time consumption in a critical working process for refining major projects of PDVSA is decreased.


This paper describes the requirements for a weighted visibility classification of seats in the University of New Brunswick's (UNB) Aitken University Centre (AUC). Price levels for seats are typically set for sections of seats based on promoter preferences. In a visibility classification, the digital elevation model (DEM) is created for the AUC and includes possible view obstructions. The view obstructions taken into account for this design were the penalty boxes, player bencher, and the rink boards. There were no other major obstructions in the AUC. The visibility calculations compute the number of visible pixels of the rink surface for each seat. It is expected that seats with a higher number of visible pixels will also have better visibility. The number of viewable pixels is weighted by distance to the center of ice surface to account for the preference of seats that are closer to the rink surface. This paper outlines the collection of data, weighted visibility classification method, and the development of information products. There are two main objectives of this weighted visibility classification and seating plan: (a) to demonstrate that a weighted visibility classification is a viable method to classify seats, and that this methodology could be used to set price levels for a venue and (b) create online web applications to suit the functionality for users and venue administrators. The user web application allows the user to pan, zoom and perform limited searches in the interactive map.


Presidents Clinton and Bush have revived a quiescent executive power, that of recess appointments to the bench. For both Presidents the attractive feature of this route is that it placed their nominees on the bench without Senate confirmation. But because of this by-pass these appointments have been questioned, on political and constitutional grounds. This article is about the constitutional part of the debate and here the questions examined are: (1) whether the present use of the recess appointments clause is so expansive as to exceed the power in fact granted by the clause, thereby infringing the senatorial prerogative of "advice and consent" and (2) whether recess appointments to the bench infringe a right, as derived from Article III of the Constitution, to be heard by judges "free of political domination." As regards the right: Same as all such appointees, recess appointees to the bench receive a temporary appointment, good only until the end of the next session of the Senate. Whether the appointee gains a permanent seat on the bench is contingent upon renomination by the President and confirmation by the Senate. When the appointee hears a case, then, he or she remains subject to this political pressure and therefore acts in face of the right - as may be claimed by any party whose claim the appointee hears - to be heard by a politically independent judge. Both of the above questions, about the scope of the power and (assuming the power) about the exercise of it in face of the right to a judge free of political domination, can straightforwardly be answered by a close examination of the text and purposes of the clause and of Article III requirements respecting judicial autonomy. However, the answers thus provided have been clouded by an unfortunate resort to history, more-or-less according to Justice Frankfurter's dictum that "a systematic, unbroken, executive practice, long pursued to the knowledge of the Congress and never before questioned . . . may be treated as a gloss on 'executive Power'." But the history thus deployed seems wrong, both in content and technique. With this history thus discounted, a return to the answers produced by the text and purposes of the relevant constitutional provisions is in order. These answers, as I take it, show that the present uses of the recess appointments clause exceed the power granted, and that assuming the power the right to a judge free of political domination trumps it.


The upswing in Germany is starting to falter. In the third quarter, the economy shrank for the first time in three years. This decline was primarily due to special factors. In particular, problems with the new vehicle certification standard (WLTP) affected the automotive industry. In addition to that, low water levels in the Rhine river impaired production. As these temporary factors expire, the economic expansion will pick up again. However, even so the upswing will increasingly face its limits. In the face of very high capacity utilisations, companies are having appreciable difficulties to keep expanding production at a quick pace. This is especially apparent in the construction sector, where production probably has reached its limit already, such that further increases will only be possible insofar as firms are able to expand their capacities. The palpable tightness of the labour market will continue. This will restrict employment growth and lead to strong wage increases. Household disposable incomes should continue to rise markedly. Next year, extensive tax reductions and transfer increases will provide an additional boost. Therefore, private consumption will probably increase substantially. Exports will quickly move on from their current weakness, which was to a large extent due to the recent troubles in the car sector. But the gradual cooling down of the global economic expansion will also reduce the dynamism of exports in the future. Against this backdrop, we have reduced our forecast for German GDP by 0.4 percentage points since autumn, such that we now expect growth of 1.5 percent in 2018. In 2019, we see the economy growing by 1.8 percent (autumn: 2.0 percent). A similar rate is expected for 2020, because while economic dynamism will slow down markedly, the high number of working days will give a boost to GDP in that year.


Feeding by insect herbivores can affect plant growth and the concentration of defense compounds in plant tissues. Since plants provide resources for soil organisms, herbivory can also influence the composition of the soil community via its effects on the plant. Soil organisms, in turn, are important for plant growth. We tested whether insect herbivores, via their effects on the soil microbial community, can influence plant‐soil feedbacks. We first examined the effects of above‐ground (AG) and below‐ground (B) insect herbivory on the composition of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in roots and on soil fungi in roots and rhizosphere soil of ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris). The composition of fungal communities in roots and rhizosphere soil was affected by both AG and BG herbivory, but fungal composition also differed considerably between roots and rhizosphere soil. The composition of PAs in roots was affected only by BG herbivory. Thirteen different fungal species were detected in roots and rhizosphere soil. The presence of the potentially pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum decreased and that of Phoma exigua increased in presence of BG herbivory, but only in soil samples. We then grew new plants in the soils conditioned by plants exposed to the herbivore treatments and in unconditioned soil. A subset of the new plants was exposed to foliar insect herbivory. Plant‐soil feedback was strongly negative, but the feedback effect was least negative in soil conditioned by plants that had been exposed to BG herbivory. There was a negative direct effect of foliar herbivory on plant biomass during the feedback phase, but this effect was far less strong when the soil was conditioned by plants exposed to AG herbivory. AG herbivory during the conditioning phase also caused a soil feedback effect on the PA concentration in the foliage of ragwort. Synthesis. Our results illustrate how insect herbivory can affect interactions between plants and soil organisms, and via these effects how herbivory can alter the performance of late‐growing plants. Plant‐soil feedback is emerging as an important theme in ecology and these results highlight that plant‐soil feedback should be considered from a multitrophic AG and BG perspective.


Continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy and imaging enable tissue hemodynamics and oxygenation to be determined non-invasively. Movements of the investigated subject can cause movement artifacts (MAs) in the recorded signals. The strength and type of MAs induced depend on the measurement principle. The aim of the present study was to investigate the quantitative relationship between different single-distance (SD) and multi-distance (MD) measurement methods and their susceptibility to MAs. We found that each method induces MAs to a different degree, and that MD methods are more robust against MAs than SD methods.


BACKGROUND
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease mainly affecting the spine and sacroiliac joints. Macrophage migration inhibitory (MIF) factor is a regulatory cytokine that inhibits random immune cell migration. MIF gene promoter polymorphisms play a role in the progression of several inflammatory disorders.

AIMS
To investigate the relationship between the MIF gene -173 G/C single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and AS.

STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.

METHODS
In this study, a total of 161 AS and 194 normal controls were recruited. The MIF gene -173 G/C SNP was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction using the restriction fragment length polymorphism method.

RESULTS
There was no significant difference between groups in terms of genotype distribution (p>0.05). When wild-type G/G and G/C+C/C genotypes are compared in terms of clinical characteristics, there is a significant difference between the average age and the duration of disease in AS patients (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION
No significant relationship between AS disease and MIF -173 G/C polymorphism was found. MIF -173 G/C polymorphism (C allele) may affect the time of onset and the duration of disease in AS patients.


The rotator cuff musculature imparts dynamic stability to the glenohumeral joint. In particular, the balance between the subscapularis anteriorly and the infraspinatus posteriorly, often referred to as the rotator cuff "force couple," is critical for concavity compression and concentric rotation of the humeral head. Our goal was to determine the effect of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on rotator cuff tear injury in rat model. 48 rats underwent detachment of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus and were randomly assigned to control and pentadecapeptide BPC 157 group. BPC 157 animals were regularly treated with pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (10µg/kg) intraperitoneally, control animals got equivalent volume of saline. Animals were observed during experiment and were sacrificed 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after the surgery. Macroscopic observation (muscle atrophy (m(non‐operated m triceps)/m‐operated(m triceps)), movement range, front leg length) and functional analysis (walk pattern (SFI), front limb muscle strength (weightlifting time) were performed. In animals treated with pentadecapeptide BPC 157 was observed total functional recovery similar to healthy animals, along with supraspinate and infraspinate tendon healing. In controls, mobility rage, muscle strength, and leg length were reduced compared to pentadecapeptide BPC 157 treated animals. In conclusion, pentadecapeptide BPC 157 could be successfully used in healing and functional recovery of rotator cuff tear injury.


It is well documented that urbanization changes the hydrology of watersheds (Hammer 1972; Booth 1991; Rose and Peters 2001). Increases in runoff volume and velocity from urbanization result in stream channel degradation (Hammer 1972; Henshaw and Booth 2000; Walsh et al. 2005; Leopold et al. 2005a; Poff et al. 2006). While stormwater management measures may be implemented to reduce the impact of stormwater runoff on streams, these practices do not reverse stream channel degradation that has already occurred. Stream restoration utilizing Natural Channel Stream Design (NCD) techniques is an effective way to reverse the effects of urbanization and return natural function to a stream. The design (bankfull) discharge for an NCD stream restoration project is the cornerstone of a restoration design. Existing methodologies for determining design discharges, such as hydrologic modeling and bankfull identification, have not worked well for NCD stream restoration projects in urban watersheds. The use of hydraulic geometry relationships serves as an alternative method for determining design discharge, but the required information is not generally available for urban Northern Virginia streams. However, rural regional curves developed for the Maryland piedmont, adjusted for watershed impervious area, provide a means to determine design discharges for urban stream restoration projects in Northern Virginia.


This anthology brought together the most important historical, legal, mythological, liturgical, and secular texts of the ancient Near East, with the purpose of providing a rich contextual base for understanding the people, cultures, and literature of the Old Testament. A scholar of religious thought and biblical archaeology, James Pritchard recruited the foremost linguists, historians, and archaeologists to select and translate the texts. The goal, in his words, was "a better understanding of the likenesses and differences which existed between Israel and the surrounding cultures." Before the publication of these volumes, students of the Old Testament found themselves having to search out scattered books and journals in various languages. This anthology brought these invaluable documents together, in one place and in one language, thereby expanding the meaning and significance of the Bible for generations of students and readers. As one reviewer put it, "This great volume is one of the most notable to have appeared in the field of Old Testament scholarship this century." Princeton published a follow-up companion volume, The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament (1954), and later a one-volume abridgment of the two, The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures (1958). The continued popularity of this work in its various forms demonstrates that anthologies have a very important role to play in education--and in the mission of a university press.


Regional impacts of agricultural policies have emerged as a key concern in Turkey for both domestic reasons and because of Turkey's desire to join the European Union. This study uses a spatial equilibrium model to analyze the regional impacts of 2 alternative dairy support policies that are currently being considered: a price premium policy and a target price/deficiency payment policy. Both policies are found to exacerbate the post-1980 trend toward a greater share of milk produced in the more prosperous western regions of Turkey. Regional disparity in milk production increases more under the target price policy than under the price premium policy.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between language skills and behavioural problems and the potential moderating role of the quality of classroom emotional support in this relationship among 242 preschool children from low-income families. The Preschool Language Scale-5 was administered individually to each child. The quality of classroom emotional support was measured using the Emotional Support domain of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System for Pre-Kindergarten. Teachers and parents completed the Child Behaviour Checklist for Ages 1½–5. Results indicated the inverse relationship between language skills and behaviour problems varied by the level of classroom emotional support provided by teachers. Specifically, children with lower language skills exhibited higher levels of behaviour problems in classrooms where teachers provided lower levels of emotional support. Findings from this study have important implications for enhancing teachers' emotional support aimed at children with lower language skills and for future research.


The goal of the present study is to gain better insight into how dancers establish, through dancing, a spatiotemporal reference frame in synchrony with musical cues. With the aim of achieving this, repetitive dance patterns of samba and Charleston were recorded using a three-dimensional motion capture system. Geometric patterns then were extracted from each joint of the dancer9s body. The method uses a body-centered reference frame and decomposes the movement into nonorthogonal periodicities that match periods of the musical meter. Musical cues (such as meter and loudness) as well as action-based cues (such as velocity) can be projected onto the patterns, thus providing spatiotemporal reference frames, or 9basic gestures,9 for action-perception couplings. Conceptually speaking, the spatiotemporal reference frames control minimum effort points in action-perception couplings. They reside as memory patterns in the mental and/or motor domains, ready to be dynamically transformed in dance movements. The present study raises a number of hypotheses related to spatial cognition that may serve as guiding principles for future dance/music studies.


Home accidents are the main cause of death and morbidity in early childhood. Working-class children are at greatest risk. A study in an inner city area of the effects of a national television campaign about child accident prevention and of a locally designed health education initiative showed that 55% of families with young children in the study area did not watch any of the television programmes. Only 9% of a group specially encouraged to watch the programmes took any action to make their homes safer. In a comparable group who also received a home visit at which specific advice was given 60% took action to make their homes safer. The families studied were well aware before the television campaign of the importance and preventability of children's accidents. The problems disadvantaged families face are therefore not ones of ignorance or apathy about hazards but practical difficulties in converting their concern into action. Administrative arrangements must be developed for providing health workers--especially health visitors--with detailed local information to pass on to parents.


Bordetella pertussis isolates that do not express pertactin (PRN) are increasing in regions where acellular pertussis vaccines have been used for >7 years. We analyzed data from France and compared clinical symptoms among infants <6 months old infected by PRN-positive or PRN-negative isolates. No major clinical differences were found between the 2 groups.


The mobile RFID system is a new application to use mobile phone as RFID reader with a wireless technology and provides new valuable services to user by integrating RFID and ubiquitous sensor network infrastructure with mobile communication and wireless internet. Contrast to the traditional RFID system, the communication channel between the database and the RFID reader is not assumed to be safe in the mobile RFID system any more. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a hash-based authentication protocol suitable to mobile RFID systems. The proposed protocol requires only hash, XOR and simple calculations but can provide good security and privacy protection features. It is effectively secure against threats such as impersonation, traceability and reply attack.


Finite systems of deterministic ordinary nonlinear differential equations may be designed to represent forced dissipative hydrodynamic flow. Solutions of these equations can be identified with trajectories in phase space. For those systems with bounded solution~, it is f~un~ th~t .n~)Qperiodic solutions ~re ordin~rily unstable with respect to small modifications, so that slightly dlffenng initial states can evolve Into conSider ably different states. Systems with bounded solutions are shown to possess bounded numerical solutions. A simple system representing cellular convection is solved numerically. All of the solutions are found to be unstable, and almost all of them are nonperiodii:. The feasibility of very-long-range weather prediction is examined in the light of these results.


The aim of this study is to characterize the behaviors of laser-welded joint between pure nickel (Ni200) weld clip and Kovar base metal under various mechanical loadings, i.e. shear and fatigue in shear. A Nd:YAG laser source with 1064 nm was used to weld a Ni200 piece onto a Kovar substrate by single weld spot. These samples were then subjected to shear test. While the shear fatigue cyclic tests on the four welding spots that joined Ni200 saddle shape weld clip onto the Kovar base metal. Results show that power density is the key parameter that determines the beam penetration depth and overlapping area. The pulse width has dominant effects on the weld width while the charge voltage dominant the depth of penetration and thus increases the absorbed power density. The maximum shear force requires to break a joint is ranged between 90-95, 70-75, and less than 45 N when welded by 380, 360, and 340 V, respectively. The shear strength is very much depends on the spot welding diameter and beam penetration depth. In general, higher pulse width increases the joint diameter and thus reduces the shear strength. The condition of dimples observed in the fracture surface after shear test provides important indication on the properties of the weld joints. The fatigue life for the weld formed by using the selected welding condition ranges from 1178 to 1813 cycles. The fatigue ratios obtained show that the stress below endurance limit has about 17%-23% possibility that fatigue failure will never occur for joints formed by using this range of welding conditions. The surface condition of the fracture surface after shear fatigue test provide direct indication on the crack propagation rate. Observations of all fracture surfaces by scanning electron microscope (SEM) help in understanding the deformation and damage mechanisms of Ni200 laser-welded joint at room temperature.


This study examines the acquisition of English locational and directional prepositions by Malaysian Chinese speakers in relation to the issues concerning the Failed Functional Features Hypothesis in SLA (Second Language Acquisition) within the Minimalist Program framework. In particular, this study tests the hypothesis of the inaccessibility of a parameterized functional feature [Dir] which is not instantiated in adult learners' L1 (first language) inventory due to the critical period effect.
Chinese is argued to be a language that has no [Dir] feature for its directional expression is controlled by a verb. On the other hand, the English language requires a [Dir] feature which is found in English prepositions to express directionality. Therefore, it is postulated that Malaysian Chinese speakers have persistent difficulty in recognizing the directional reading expressed by English directional and ambiguous prepositions. In contrast, these speakers have no difficulty in recognizing the locational reading expressed by English locational and ambiguous prepositions probably due to the presence of a [Loc] feature in the learners' L1 inventory.
It is argued that after the age of seven (the end of the critical period), L1 Chinese L2 English speakers are not able to acquire the [Dir] feature as the feature is not found in the learners' L1 inventory and at the same time, the learners are also unable to reset their L1 parameter settings into L2 parameter settings. Two tasks, a Grammaticality Judgment Task (GJT) and a Directionality Judgment Task (DJT) were administered to 100 adult L1 Chinese speakers of L2 English. The former comprises grammatical and ungrammatical items with locational, directional and ambiguous prepositions. The latter consists of items with locational, directional and ambiguous prepositions which convey locational and directional readings. In addition, an Oral Production Task on describing directions was carried out with 12 of the respondents.
The findings indicate that while the Chinese speakers were able to acquire the surface structure of the English prepositions, they nevertheless had not acquired the underlying associated features. Such findings are consistent with the view that parameterized uninterpretable functional features are subject to a critical period.


Introduction: Hypospadias and its surgical correction is a challenging urologic discipline. Various surgical procedures for correction of this anomaly have evolved, in order to reduce complication rate and improve cosmetic outcome. The aim of this study is to review the complication rate and cosmetic outcome in patients who had hypospadias surgery at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. Patients and Methods: The case records and clinical appearance of 54 patients with hypospadias who had surgery between June1998 and June 2008 were reviewed. The effect of different variables on the overall complication rates were evaluated, including: the degree of chordee; the urethral meatal site after correction of any penile curvature; the age of the patient at surgery; the source of the neourethra; and tubularization of the flap. Result: The mean age of the patients was 1.97 (0.5-12) years. Most patients had their repair at 2 years of age. Twenty-six had distal hypospadias while twenty-eight were mid penile or proximal hypospadias. Distal hypospadias have a better outcome than proximal hypospadias. Onlay flaps have lower stricture and fistula compared with tubularized flaps. Repairs are done recently at earlier age with equal or better outcome. Conclusion: Skin flap procedures have had sufficiently extensive use to support the feasibility of a one-stage repair of different types of hypospadias. Snodgrass is gaining popularity in recent times, and more procedures are likely to evolve in order to improve cosmetic outcome.


Background : Heart Rate Variability (HRV) analysis is easy to perform, has good reproducibility and provides prognostic information about Coronary Heart Disease. Objective: This work was devised to correlate exercise induced HRV with BMI and compare gender variability among healthy Indian children aged 13-20 years. Methods: The Heart Rate Variability of sixty-five students in the 13-20 years age group was assessed by time- domain methods during resting and after exercise. On the basis of BMI, the subjects were grouped into T1 group (BMI<18) and T2 group (≥18). The HRV of these groups were analyzed. In addition, based on gender, male students were divided on the basis of BMI as follows: M1 group <18 and M2 group ≥ 18. Likewise females were grouped into F1 and F2 groups. The HRV of 3 male groups and 3 female groups were also separately analysed. A paired t- test was used for the dependent variables and an unpaired t-test was carried out for normally distributed variables using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 11.0 for windows. Results : Females showed higher HRV than males during resting condition. But immediately after exercise, the HRV increased in all groups and there was no difference in HRV based on gender and BMI. When recorded 5 minutes after exercise, the HRV decreased further regardless of gender and BMI. However, the HRV taken 30 minutes after exercise behaved more like the resting condition. The HRV recorded 30 minutes after exercise increased from the "5 minutes after exercise��u value but still remained lower in all groups regardless of gender and BMI. Conclusions : The results demonstrate that, in healthy adolescents, the parasympathetic activity is higher in females than in males during the rest period. Exercise induced sympathetic activity lasts longer in females with higher BMI and lower age, resulting in decreased HRV.


The tobacco specific carcinogens 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) are metabolically activated to 4-oxo-4-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanediazohydroxide (7), which is known to pyridyloxobutylate DNA. A substantial proportion of the adducts in this DNA releases 4-hydroxy-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (HPB, 11) under various hydrolysis conditions, including neutral thermal hydrolysis. These HPB-releasing DNA adducts have been detected in target tissues of animals treated with NNK and NNN as well as in lung tissue from smokers. Although their presence in pyridyloxobutylated DNA was conclusively demonstrated 15 years ago, their structures have not been previously determined. We investigated this question in the present study by determining the structures of products formed in reactions with dGuo and DNA of 4-(acetoxymethylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNKCH(2)OAc, 3), a stable precursor to 7. Reaction mixtures from NNKCH(2)OAc and dGuo were analyzed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) with selected ion monitoring at m/z 415. A major peak was detected and identified as 7-[4-oxo-4-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]dGuo (37) by its ESI-MS fragmentation pattern and by neutral thermal hydrolysis, which converted it to 11 and 7-[4-oxo-4-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]Gua (26). The latter was identified by comparison to synthetic 26 using LC-ESI-MS with selected ion monitoring at m/z 299, M + 1 of 26. Further evidence was obtained by NaBH(4) reduction of 26 to 7-[4-hydroxy-4-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]Gua, which was also matched with a standard. Adduct 37 was similarly identified in enzyme hydrolysates of DNA reacted with NNKCH(2)OAc, accounting for 30-35% of the HPB-releasing adducts in this DNA. Several other adducts resulting from pyridyloxobutylation of the N(2)- and O(6)-positions of Gua were also identified as products in the dGuo or DNA reactions by comparison to standards; their concentrations were considerably less than that of 37. These adducts were N(2)-[4-oxo-4-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]dGuo (23), N(2)-[4-oxo-4-(3-pyridyl)but-2-yl]dGuo (25), N(2)-[2-(3-pyridyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl]dGuo (31a) (or its open chain tautomer 31b), and O(6)-[4-oxo-4-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]dGuo (10). Adducts 23, 25, and 10 did not release HPB upon neutral thermal hydrolysis. The results of this study provide the first structural identification of an HPB-releasing DNA adduct of the tobacco specific nitrosamines NNK and NNN.


This study is the first ever to employ a large-scale Internet survey to investigate priorities in English pronunciation training. Well over 500 native speakers from throughout the English-speaking world, including North America, the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand, were asked to detect and evaluate Dutch pronunciation errors in sentences read by bilingual actors. Through the application of up-to-date statistical procedures, these assessments were analysed and then used to construct hierarchies of error for pronunciation training in the most commonly taught varieties of British and American English.

The attitudes of the various groups of native speakers towards error detection and evaluation were found to be strikingly different. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that almost all natives attach considerable significance to pronunciation errors that impede intelligibility. In those cases where there is no loss of intelligibility, they often respond negatively to features that are socially marked in native varieties of English. This effect of stigmatisation was found to differ considerably, for example, between countries such as the United States and Britain. Even non-native pronunciation errors that are very similar to features actually attested in respondents' own accents are not necessarily judged more leniently.
In addition to discussing the effects of linguistic background on the judgements of native speakers, this study also considers the error assessments of Dutch teachers and students of English, and provides a brief overview of pronunciation training in the Netherlands.

This research will be of interest not only to phoneticians and sociolinguists with an interest in second language acquisition, but also to teachers and students of English pronunciation and accent varieties.


ABSTRACT India is witnessing growing violence against women including horrific rapes even in major metropolitan areas that have attracted considerable media attention. Insecurity and physical threat to women is real and a major concern. Justice Verma Commission that examined the Delhi rape case has recommended several measures including changes in laws involving crimes against women, yet little has changed. In this paper we conduct a variety of qualitative and quantitative analyses using open source data to understand the nature and extent of crimes against women in India. Police records indeed suggest a growing escalation in serious crimes against women. The paper also critically examines the efforts of the police and others, particularly non-governmental groups to combat such crimes. A number of policy recommendations are made for prevention including comparative efforts in Korea where crimes against women are similarly serious.


This paper develops a theoretical model of private school entry and estimates it using data from Brazilian municipalities. The school market is different from other markets because students are both consumers and inputs in the production fuction of education. There is a benefit to study among good peers. The theoretical model predicts a segregated equilibrium where the better students attend the private schools, rendering these with a better (endogenous) quality than the public ones. Hence, a private institution only needs to attract the best local students to be better than the existing public schools. The model's main prediction is that educational inequality induces entry. We use a panel data of private school entry in Brazilian municipalities between 1995 and 2000 to estimate an entry model. The econometric results confirm the main theoretical finding: education inequality has a positive effect on entry. A higher degree of inequality increases the private schools' ability to cream skim the best students. We also observe a decrease in the quality of the public schools, as measured by math and reading test scores, when a private school enters at own.


Handel's English church music spans the complete period of his active career in London: his first anthem and the Utrecht Te Deum were composed soon after his arrival in London, and his last works nearly 40 years later. The repertory, which includes the Coronation Anthem Zadok the Priest , forms one of the most impressive and engaging areas of Baroque church music. Most of it was stimulated by Handel's creative contact with the English Chapel Royal, a group of professional singers in a different tradition from the opera stars with whom he worked in the theatre.
This is the first full-length study of Handel's English Church music. As well as dealing with the many aspects of the compositions themselves, it traces the background to the diverse items in the repertory, which relates directly to Handel's constant but changing relationship with the Hanoverian British royal family, and was affected by political and dynastic events. It also examines the circumstances of Handel's performances, the building which (unlike his theatres) still survives in London today.


In this paper, we describe a demo of a light virtualisation solution for Android phones. We named our solution MOSES (MOde-of-uses SEcurity Separation). MOSES is a policy-based framework for enforcing software isolation of applications and data. In MOSES, it is possible to define distinct security profiles within a single smartphone. Each security profile is associated with a set of policies that control the access to applications and data. One of the main characteristics of MOSES is the dynamic switching from one security profile to another. Each profile is associated with a context as well. Through the smartphones sensors, MOSES is able to detect changes in context and to dynamically switch to the security profile associated with the current context. Our current implementation of MOSES shows minimal overhead compared to standard Android in terms of latencies and battery consumption.


Vertical integration is a growth strategy whereby a firm engages in multiple stages of the value chain. Although the benefits of vertical integration are well documented, few studies have examined its relevance in real estate. In response to this lack of research, this paper explores tenant perceptions of property managers' vertical integration and effectiveness. The results of this international study show the benefits of vertical integration extend to residential real estate, such that renters are more trusting, loyal, committed, and desirable when they perceive their property manager as vertically integrated. This paper also uncovers a concering finding that many tenants are living in unaffordable rental accomodations, requiring further research. This study contributes to a large body of vertical integration literature and extends the empirical examinations to real estate and property management.


The morphology of self-organized InP islands on GaInP buffer layers were probed by the whole island energy and surface energy. The island morphology was affected by Mismatch between GaxIn_(1-x)P buffer layer and InP island (MBI). With MBI increasing, the island elongates itself. The calculation also shows that the island metamorphosis was elongated with the increasing of the island volume. The morphology of different InP/GaxIn_(1-x)P systems, grown on GaAs substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method, was consistent with calculations. The self-organized islands at the surface of buffer layers were analyzed by scaling theories to show a periodical distribution. Buffer layers such as the mismatched GaInP on the GaAs (100) tilt to (111) 15 Celsius degree could improve the periodicity of the island separation distribution. The result also shows that the dislocations had different functions in island distribution along different directions, [110] and [1-10] directions.


The recent temperature measurements of the two older isolated neutron stars PSR 1929+10 and PSR 0950+08 (ages of 3 × 106 and 2 × 107 yr, respectively) indicate that these objects are heated. A promising candidate heat source is friction between the neutron star crust and the superfluid it is thought to contain. We study the effects of superfluid friction on the long-term thermal and rotational evolution of a neutron star. Differential rotation velocities between the superfluid and the crust (averaged over the inner crust moment of inertia) of ω̄ ~ 0.6 rad s-1 for PSR 1929+10 and ~0.02 rad s-1 for PSR 0950+08 would account for their observed temperatures. These differential velocities could be sustained by the pinning of superfluid vortices to the inner crust lattice with strengths of ~1 MeV per nucleus. Pinned vortices can creep outward through thermal fluctuations or quantum tunneling. For thermally activated creep, the coupling between the superfluid and crust is highly sensitive to temperature. If pinning maintains large differential rotation (~30 rad s-1), a feedback instability could occur in stars younger than ~ 105 yr causing oscillations of the temperature and spin-down rate over a period of ~ 0.3tage. For stars older than ~ 106 yr, however, vortex creep occurs through quantum tunneling and the creep velocity is too insensitive to temperature for a thermal-rotational instability to occur. These older stars could be heated through a steady process of superfluid friction.


Stress is a trigger increased blood glucose levels that sought to reduce, by knowing the causes of stress. The objective of this study was to identify stress levels in patients with diabets mellitus. This study used descriptive research design with the variable was stress level. Samples were taken using simple random sampling, with 34 patients with Diabetes mellitus in Dr. Ramelan Navy Hospital, Surabaya. Data collection was undertaken using questionnaire (Problem Areas in Diabetes), glucometers and observation sheet (blood glucose and diabetic foot ulcers). Data were then analyzed descriptively. The results showed that most of the respondents had diabetes-related distress, as many as 25 patients (73,5%) (mean+ SD 50,15 + 13,057). Most respondents experience distress caused by worrying about the threat of more severe disease (hyperglycemia and diabetic foot ulcers) and negative perceptions such as feeling depressed and desperate when thinking about illness and treatment (diet and medication). Positive perceptions are needed to improve motivation in performing the treatment. Keywords : Stress level, blood glucose level, diabetic foot ulcer, Diabetes mellitus


The gradual liberalization of Chinese economic sectors and the associated growth in the income of Chinese consumers in recent years has created interest in how China will influence world agricultural markets should it decide to liberalize its food sector. Using Chinese agricultural and resources data and an adaptation of the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek international trade model, Hayes and Fuller project what Chinese trade, production, and consumption patters would be if China allowed the laws of comparative advantage to direct production and trade decisions. They show that today's Chinese agriculture is dramatically different from what would have evolved had it been open to trade and factor mobility. In particular, the use of capital is many times lower than it would otherwise be, and the use of labor is many times greater.


Subglacial eruptions are often associated with rapid penetration of overlying ice and release of large flow rates of water as jokulhlaups. Observations of recent subglacial eruptions indicate rapid syn-eruptive ice melting within liquid-filled subglacial cavities, but quantitative descriptions of possible heat transfer processes need to be developed. Calculations of heat flux from the ice cavity fluid to the melting ice surface indicate that up to 0.6 MW m−2 may be obtained for fluids undergoing single-phase free convection, similar to minimum estimates of heat flux inferred from observations of recent eruptions. Our model of boiling two-phase free convection in subglacial cavities indicates that much greater heat fluxes, in the range 3–5 MW m−2, can be obtained in the vent region of the cavity and may be increased further by momentum transfer from the eruption jet. Rapid magma-water heat transfer from fragmented magma is needed to sustain these heat fluxes. Similar heat fluxes are anticipated for forced convection of subcooled cavity water induced by momentum transfer from an eruption jet. These heat fluxes approach those required to explain jokulhlaup flow rates and rapid ice penetration rates by melting in some, but not all recent eruptions.


Abs capable of effectively neutralizing HIV-1 generally exhibit very high levels of somatic hypermutation, both in their CDR and framework-variable regions. In many cases, full reversion of the Ab-framework mutations back to germline results in substantial to complete loss of HIV-1–neutralizing activity. However, it has been unclear whether all or most of the observed framework mutations would be necessary or whether a small subset of these mutations might be sufficient for broad and potent neutralization. To address this issue and to explore the dependence of neutralization activity on the level of somatic hypermutation in the Ab framework, we applied a computationally guided framework-reversion procedure to two broadly neutralizing anti–HIV-1 Abs, VRC01 and 10E8, which target two different HIV-1 sites of vulnerability. Ab variants in which up to 78% (38 of 49 for VRC01) and 89% (31 of 35 for 10E8) of framework mutations were reverted to germline retained breadth and potency within 3-fold of the mature Abs when evaluated on a panel of 21 diverse viral strains. Further, a VRC01 variant with an ∼50% framework-reverted L chain showed a 2-fold improvement in potency over the mature Ab. Our results indicate that only a small number of Ab-framework mutations may be sufficient for high breadth and potency of HIV-1 neutralization by Abs VRC01 and 10E8. Partial framework revertants of HIV-1 broadly neutralizing Abs may present advantages over their highly mutated counterparts as Ab therapeutics and as targets for immunogen design.


This study aims to develop bandit algorithms that automatically exploit tendencies of certain environments to improve performance, without any prior knowledge regarding the environments. We first propose an algorithm for combinatorial semi-bandits with a hybrid regret bound that includes two main features: a best-of-three-worlds guarantee and multiple data-dependent regret bounds. The former means that the algorithm will work nearly optimally in all environments in an adversarial setting, a stochastic setting, or a stochastic setting with adversarial corruptions. The latter implies that, even if the environment is far from exhibiting stochastic behavior, the algorithm will perform better as long as the environment is "easy" in terms of certain metrics. The metrics w.r.t. the easiness referred to in this paper include cumulative loss for optimal actions, total quadratic variation of losses, and path-length of a loss sequence. We also show hybrid data-dependent regret bounds for adversarial linear bandits, which include a first path-length regret bound that is tight up to logarithmic factors.


Elder maltreatment is pervasive in all countries in the WHO European Region, and estimates suggest that at least 4 million people in the Region experience elder maltreatment in any one year. Most countries in the Region have an ageing population, and one third of the population is forecast to be 60 years and older in 2050, putting more people at risk of elder maltreatment. Elder maltreatment has far-reaching consequences for the mental and physical well-being of tens of millions of older people, and if left unchecked will result in their premature death. Estimates suggest that about 2500 older people may lose their lives annually from elder maltreatment. The report highlights the numerous biological, social, cultural, economic and environmental factors that interact to influence the risk and protective factors of being a victim or perpetrator of elder maltreatment. There is some evidence of effectiveness, and examples include psychological programmes for perpetrators and programmes designed to change attitudes towards older people, improve the mental health of caregivers and, in earlier life, to promote nurturing relationships and social skills learning. The evidence base needs to be strengthened, but much can be done by implementing interventions using an evaluative framework. Prevention and social justice for older people can only be achieved by mainstreaming this response into health and social policy. Surveys show that the public and policy-makers are increasingly concerned about the problem, and the policy response needs to be strengthened to meet this demand.


A general framework is presented to unify diverse models of natural selection. This framework is based on the Price Equation, with two additional steps. First, characters are described by their multiple regression on a set of predictor variables. The most common predictors in genetics are alleles and their interactions, but any predictor may be used. The second step is to describe fitness by multiple regression on characters. Once again, characters may be chosen arbitrarily. This expanded Price Equation provides an exact description of total evolutionary change under all conditions, and for all systems of inheritance and selection. The model is first used for a new proof of Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection. The relations are then made clear among Fisher's theorem, Robertson's covariance theorem for quantitative genetics, the Lande‐Arnold model for the causal analysis of natural selection, and Hamilton's rule for kin selection. Each of these models is a partial analysis of total evolutionary change. The Price Equation extends each model to an exact, total analysis of evolutionary change for any system of inheritance and selection. This exact analysis is used to develop an expanded Hamilton's rule for total change. The expanded rule clarifies the distinction between two types of kin selection coefficients. The first measures components of selection caused by correlated phenotypes of social partners. The second measures components of heritability via transmission by direct and indirect components of fitness.

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Abstract This paper will examine three related concepts: access, RPL & pathways . The purpose of the paper is to expand and broadened perspectives in relation to these three concepts with the view to encouraging innovative practice in promoting lifelong learning and pathways. The concept of access will be discussed with reference to the spectrum of access models as outlined by Harrison (1993). Secondly, recent research into the up take and occurrence of RPL in Australia will be presented along with differing models of RPL from international literature. Lastly, the concept of pathways and progression routes will be explored. The discussion will conclude with the presentation of a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to promoting lifelong learning. The model was originally developed as a result of current doctoral and Adult Learning Australia (ALA) funded research focused specifically on jobseekers, however the model and its four integrated components has much wider applications. For example, it can be used with those groups with little or no post compulsory education and training, groups that are under-represented in tertiary education and those in transitional phases of their lif e course (re-enter, redundancy, career change). The model draws upon several bodies of knowledge, which includes theories of self and identity, social cognitive theory, models of adult learning, educational and cognitive psychology and new literacies studies. The paper offers insights into innovative ways to promote pathways and lifelong learning with ramifications and applications across all sectors and within a variety of learning communities.