Abstract.
 The environmental transformations that occurred during the Neogene had profound effects on spatiotemporal biodiversity patterns, yet the modulating role of traits (i.e., physiological, ecological, and life-history traits) remains little understood. We tested this idea using the Neogene fossil record of chondrichthyans along the temperate Pacific coast of South America (TPSA). Information for georeferenced occurrences and ecological and life-history information of 38 chondrichthyan fossil genera in 42 Neogene sites was collected. Global georeferenced records were used to estimate present-day biogeographic distributions of the genera and to characterize the range of oceanographic conditions in which each genus lives as a proxy of their realized niche. Biogeographic range shifts (Neogene-present) were evaluated at regional and local scales. The role of traits as drivers of different range dynamics was evaluated using random forest models. The magnitude and direction of biogeographic range shifts were different at both spatial scales. At a regional scale, 34% of genera contracted their ranges, disappearing from the TPSA. At a local scale, a similar proportion of genera expanded and contracted their southern endpoints of distribution. The models showed a high precision at both spatial scales of analyses, but the relative importance of predictor variables differed. At a regional scale, disappearing genera tended to have a higher tolerance to salinity, lower sea surface temperature (SST) range, and smaller body sizes. At a local scale, genera contracting their ranges tended to live at greater depths, tolerate lower levels of primary productivity, and show a reduced tolerance to higher and lower SST ranges. The magnitude and direction of the changes in the range distribution were scale dependent and variable across the genera. Hence, multiple environmental exogenous factors interacted with taxon traits during the Neogene, creating a mosaic of biogeographic dynamics.


The article discusses the prospects for the development of the mass communication science in the direction of including in its discourse the modern achievements in the field of the relation between quantum physics and consciousness as well as the artificial intelligence. It will give the media new opportunities to influence mass consciousness, and to impact social processes.It allows to forecast the rise of the next, the fourth stage of the information revolution and to recognize the ways for preparation to it.

Quantum physics appears as classical physics develops in the study of the world. Scientists explain quantumness as the relations of everything with everything. Quantumism and consciousness are an already mastered topics of modern science. If we talk about mass consciousness, it should be recognized as a scholar problem and the existence of quantumness as an underlying phenomenon in mass communication. Perhaps this will be the content of the new, fourth stage of the information revolution – after its computer, Internet and mobile stages.

Therefore, the urgency of the problem we are addressing is the need to "let in" quantum methods into the thinking, creation and dissemination of the mass-information product in the mass audience. Theorists of our scientific discipline are interested in precisely the new knowledge of quantum "confusion" in the depths of mass consciousness, which exists and manifests itself in the processes of mass communication. Then the quantum approach can be extremely fruitful here.

Quantumism here appears both as a universal connection of everything with everything, and as the unpredictability of the nature of these connections from the point of view of ordinary and even dialectical logic. Here, the quantum logic of mass communication should be discovered. It should be noted that so far almost no one has noticed that media interference in the natural mental life of large human communities gives rise to a phenomenon similar to quantum "confusion", when a change in the state of one "mass" thoughts occurs along with a change in the state of another.

Quantum "confusion" is what permeates all the "matter" of human communication / existence. All participants in mass communication are "confused" with themselves, like photons in physics. And they're not just confused, everybody is one and the part of whole in the external, "physical", existing, and is the part of the ideal world, with its thoughts, hopes, emotions, "confused" in the Internet

The introduction of quantumness as the leading principle of influence on mass consciousness is one of the three steps to a new stage in the information revolution. The second is the growing potential of artificial intelligence. The third is the gradual creation of quantum computers. All these together will make it possible to reach each recipient of information, to enter the inner, ideal world of an individual person, and even to see in this communication an intrapersonal discussion of a person with himself – and to control its course. Probably, the result will be the opportunity to learn to predict the unpredictable in behavior of "this" person in his behavior – in personal, group, intergroup, mass ones.


Abstract Samples of atmospheric Rn, CO, CH4, Freon-11 and CC1CCl4 were taken at various altitudes over the Arctic Ocean north of the Greenland Sea. The concentrations of these components were correlated and interpreted with respect to varying meteorological conditions related to air mass movements. Pronounced concentration gradients were seen in frontal zones, and evidence is found for low-level flow of continental air, both from North America and Europe, into the Arctic region. Comparisons show that Arctic air contains more Rn, CO and CH4 in winter than in summer. It is suggested that the Arctic Ocean could act as a sink (rather thin a source) for atmospheric CO during winter months. The rapid transport of Freon-11 from Europe to the Arctic is also in evidence, while the, observed behavior of CCl4 is difficult to interpret.


The
family of viruses belonging to Coronaviridae mainly consist of virulent
pathogens that have a zoonotic property, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS-CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) of this family have emerged
before and now the SARS-CoV-2 has emerged in China. Characterization of spike
glycoproteins, polyproteins and other viral proteins from viruses are important
for vaccine development. Homology modelling of these proteins with known
templates offers the opportunity to discover ligand binding sites and explore
the possible antiviral properties of these protein ligand complexes. In this
study we did a complete bioinformatic analysis, sequence alignment, comparison
of multiple sequences and homology modelling of the SARS-CoV-2
whole genome sequences, the spike protein and the polyproteins for homology
with known proteins, we also analysed receptor binding sites in these models
for possible binding with ligands that exhibit antiviral properties. Our
results showed that the tertiary structure of the polyprotein isolate SARS-CoV-2_HKU-SZ-001_2020
had 98.94 percent identity with SARS-Coronavirus NSP12 bound to NSP7 and NSP8
co-factors. Our results indicate that a part of the
viral genome (residues 3268 -3573 in Frame 2 with
306 amino acids) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus isolate Wuhan-Hu-1
(Genbank Accession Number MN908947.3) when modelled with template 2a5i of the PDB database had 96 percent identity with a 3C like
peptidase of SARS-CoV which has ability to bind with Aza-Peptide Epoxide (APE)
which is known for irreversible
inhibition of SARS-CoV main peptidase. Docking profile with 9 different conformations
of the ligand with the protein model using Autodock Vina showed an affinity of
-7.1 Kcal/mol. This region was conserved
in 831 genomes of SARS-CoV-2. The part of the genome (residues 1568-1882 in Frame 2 with 315 amino acids) when
modelled with template 3e9s of the PDB database had 82 percent identity with a
papain-like protease/deubiquitinase which when complexed with ligand GRL0617
acts as inhibitor which can block SARS-CoV replication. Docking profile with 9
different conformation of the ligand with the protein model using Autodock Vina showed
an affinity of -7.9 Kcal/mol. This
region was conserved in 831 genomes of SARS-CoV-2. It is possible that these ligands
can be antivirals of SARS-CoV-2.


The purpose of the present work is to evaluate the volume of air measured in domestic water supply pipe connections. Tests were performed to evaluate the efficiency and applicability of air reducing valves in domestic water supply connections. The results obtained under regular water supply conditions showed that the volume of air in the water measured by the hydrometers is comparable to the one found in natural waters. On the other hand, other tests, right after emptying the network connected to the domestic water supply pipe, revealed that the volume of water which gets to the gauged reservoir comprehends up to 21% of the total air-water volume recorded by the hydrometer for the experiments performed under pressure of 500 kPa.


This paper discusses the use of essays as tools for communication and reflection in a collaborative research and development process between a philosopher, an anthropologist, and two private companies. Findings from the project "The Meaning of Work Life" will be presented along with a discussion about their relevance for the involved companies. To specify the general anthropological strategy of defamiliarization, the notion of verfremdung1 is used to detail out specific features of the analytical and representational perspective employed. The paper concludes that the meaning of research results cannot be controlled, as they will always be interpreted according to personal or professional agendas, which is why a style of representation that lays bare their status as interpretations is not only appropriate but may even — by way of estrangement - be revealing and innovative. This conclusion is not new to anthropology as such, but within the context of business ethnography (in which more and more anthropologists are engaged) it has a renewed relevance.


Although both the Lithuanian authorities and Lithuanian courts had already started to apply EC law well before accession, the quality of application of EC law and the frequency of its use have only improved within the last two years. Nevertheless, there is still room and need for improvement in this area before proper application of EC law in all sectors is achieved. This article analyses some cases decided by the Lithuanian authorities and the highest Lithuanian courts for both administrative and general jurisdiction, mainly in the fields of competition law and intellectual property law. Summarising the application of EC law by the Lithuanian Supreme Court in the area of civil jurisdiction, particularly intellectual property rights, on the one hand, and the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court and the Lithuanian Competition Council, with a special focus on competition law, on the other, the authors contend that the application of EC law in the areas under consideration is far from ideal. In most cases, courts have not yet developed a general view of Community law as a sui generis system of law. There are still difficulties in distinguishing between EC law and ordinary international law. Instead of referring to the specific nature of EC law, which is accepted in both constitutional jurisprudence and national legislation, courts treat EC law as something analogous to international law. The principles set forth by the ECJ concerning the 'ideal' application of Community law by the national judiciary have apparently not yet been fully comprehended by Lithuania's courts. While they seem to have learned that supremacy must be given to EC law, in most cases they are unable to consistently incorporate reasoning based on such supremacy into their judgments. However, when these two 'pioneer' fields of EC law application are analysed, it is obvious that changes are gradually occurring. The first examples of application by both supreme courts were very poor ones, lacking a systematic approach to application and insufficient in both quality and quantity. The development of case law in trademark disputes permits a more positive evaluation, while in the area of competition law EC law has begun to be applied much more purposefully. ECJ case law is being referred to, and arguments by the parties based on EC law are given due consideration. Still, these two areas represent the most well-developed ones, while similar progress has not yet been seen in other fields of EC law. Hopefully, satisfactory practice in the fields considered here will spill over into a more general awareness of EC law and, accordingly, its proper application. Since 'the will' to apply EC law seems to exist on the part of national courts and institutions, 'the way' to apply it correctly must also be found. For the moment, the way is time, training and practice.


Mobile game-based learning (mGBL) is a game purposely employed for learning which is played on mobile devices such as mobile phones. The development of mGBL is indeed a crucial task in ensuring the player to be motivated enough to keep playing until the game goal has been achieved. Various game development methodologies have been introduced for different types of games (genre, platform), which are available in their own specifications. Although there are many introduced methodologies which are currently practiced, studies show that customized phases and steps to develop mGBL applications are necessary. Henceforth, this paper proposes phases and main steps to be included in mGBL engineering model. This model is proposed intentionally for developing mGBL applications. A review on available mobile game development methodologies and an expert consultation to mobile game developers are conducted to identify the phases that are presently applied by developers to develop mobile games. Through this study, we analyzed and compared the diversity of the phases and steps involved in the current practiced methodologies.


* McCauley, Michael P. (2005). NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, pp. 185. * Heil Jr., Alan L. (2003). Voice of America: A History. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, pp. 538. Two radio services distinguish our national voice to the world, and both have had more than their share of trials and triumphs. Despite the lofty visions that gave rise to the Voice of America and National Public Radio, government-funded broadcasting irks some, while others are happy to spend tax dollars-so long as they have some control over its channels and content. Regardless of how the reader views it, both authors set forth intriguing looks into behind-the-scenes struggles that infused life into public broadcasting, and kept federal faucets from dripping dry at critical times. Michael P. McCauley's historical review of National Public Radio offers insights necessary for understanding the birth, growth, and maturation of NPR. This is not a book about NPR's entertainment and music programs, though; it's about the people and events that shaped three decades of its growth in radio journalism. Major players, such as Kevin Klose, Frank Mankiewicz, and Douglas Bennet, make key decisions affecting NPR, while familiar names like Barbara Cochran and Lawrence Lichty figure in the process. Because less homage is paid to NPR's on-air stars, it may disappoint readers hoping for greater context there. Only a few sentences cover the controversial exit of Bob Edwards from Morning Edition in 2004, for example: "Some Managers said Edwards fell out of Morning Edition's future plans when he insisted on remaining as the program's only host-an assertion Edwards vigorously denies," McCauley tantalizingly reveals, but the full story is lacking. He is committed to writing in such a way that, "when all is said and done," he could look each one of his subjects "in the eye, and still be comfortable with what has been written." The reader may not be as comfortable though-if left puzzled by what exactly has taken place. The book is more useful covering NPR's off-air controversies: the frustration employees felt after President Delano Lewis failed to deliver on his financial promises; the conflicts created by the Minnesota Public Radio challenge, particularly its showcase program, Prairie Home Companion. Former NPR President Frank Mankiewicz's shunned Garrison Keillor's show, which he regarded as "yuppie" fare. In places where political axes grind and budget deficits threaten its lifeblood, McCauley's account of lastminute heroics and hardball tactics on NPR's behalf proves invaluable. At 185 pages, the stories are as crisp and concise as a feature on All Things Considered, and readers teaching broadcast journalism should certainly appreciate that. More detailed is Alan Heil Jr.'s chronicle of the Voice of America, which draws inspiration from his thirty-eight years of service to its "straightarrow news, public-service programming, and enlightened comment of value to people everywhere." From 1962 to 1998, Heil rose from news writer to become a deputy director, and took seriously VOA's global commitment to tell the truth-good or bad. When critics asked why it is still necessary to have such a global service of broadcast news when CNN is available in hotel rooms of foreign capitals throughout the world, his answer is simple. Four-fifths of the listeners gather news from VOA's foreign language broadcasts-not only in hotel rooms though-but in the refugee camps around the world, where radio is their main source of news. One Chinese professor told a VOA staffer, "I owe my life to you," and explained how as a youth he attended "VOA university," by learning the radio service's "Special English" (a 1,500-word vocabulary with a single idea per sentence). …


Study of spatial and temporal dynamics of zooplankton community structure in the Jakarta Bay. The purpose are analyzing the abundance, distribution, diversity, and dominance index with indicators of water quality spatial and temporal waters of Jakarta Bay. The research was conducted from July-October 2013. Sampling was done four times (July, August, September, and October). The water quality was analysed by Laboratory Productivity and Water Environment at Department of Resources Management, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Bogor Agricultural University. Zooplankton were analyzed using the method of enumeration (census SRC), in Micro Biology Laboratory Faculty. Based on the distribution patterns were its indicates that the landward dissolved oxygen (DO) is increasingly high, especially in August, September, and October, and increase the abundance of zooplankton as much as 1.3106 Ind/m3. DO with a high spatial concentration value reaches the range of 6.2-14.5 mg/L in Muara Marunda (Station 10), and increase the abundance of zooplankton as much as 5.1106 Ind/m3, with a majority composition of crustacea. Results of classification was diversity moderate, stable uniformity, and high dominance index.


In this paper, I analyse the synchronisation of business cycles within the European Union (EU), as this is an important ingredient for the implementation of a successful monetary policy. The business cycles of twelve EU countries and two sub-groups of countries are extracted for the period 1989Q1-2010Q2. The cycle of G3, the group of the three largest European economies (Germany, France and Italy) is then used as a benchmark series for the comparisons. The sensitivity of the data to alternative cycle extraction methodologies is explored employing the Hodrick-Prescott and Baxter-King filters using alternative parameter specifications and leads/lags. The strength of cycle synchronisation is measured using linear regressions, crosscorrelation coefficients and the Cycle Synchronisation Index (CSI). To assess whether synchronisation is stronger after the introduction of the common currency, we also test two sub-samples pre- and post-EMU (1999Q1). The empirical results provide evidence that cycle synchronisation within the euro area has become stronger in the common currency period.


This thesis describes the development of a procedure that tunes a wind turbine drivetrain
damper (DTD) automatically. This procedure, when integrated into the controller
of any utility-scale variable-speed wind turbine, will allow the turbine to
autonomously and automatically tune its DTD on site. In practice this means that the
effectiveness of the damper becomes independent on the accuracy of the model or the
simulations used by the control engineers in order to tune the damper. This research is
motivated by the fact that drive-train failures are still one of the biggest problems that
stigmatises the wind turbine industry. The development of an automatically tuned
DTD that alleviates the drive-train fatigue loads and thus increases the reliability and
lifetime of the drive-train is thus considered very beneficial for the wind turbine
industry.
The procedure developed begins by running an experimental procedure to collect data
that is then used to automatically system identify a linear model describing the drivetrain.
Based on this model a single band-pass filter acting as a DTD is automatically
tuned. This procedure is run for a number of times, and the resulting DTDs are
compared in order to select the optimal one.
The thesis demonstrates the effectiveness of the developed procedure and presents
alternative procedures devised during research. Finally, insight into future work that
could be performed is indicated in the last chapter of the thesis.


THE RISE OF TONY BLAIR and "New Labour" has generally been understood as the result of the 18-year-long hegemony of Conservative Party rule under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, from 1979 until 1997, wherein the Labour Party was forced to make fundamental changes to its program and values, ditching shibboleths and apparently "unpopular" policies, to make itself again electable. This process, however, involved deepening divisions within the party until the defeat of the Labour Left and the rise of "New Labour." The latter's takeover of the Labour Party could not have happened without the abandonment or modification of its traditional policies. It was the debate launched over the significance of Labour's loss of the general election in June 1983, the second out of four successive electoral defeats between 1979 and 1992, which became the fulcrum of division across the Left, and not just within the Labour Party. It is from this particular historical conjuncture that we can see the opening up of what would become the path towards New Labour as the debate led to the "rethinking" and "realignment" of the Left and the abandonment of many of the traditional objectives of "Old Labour." The debate brought out intense struggles within both the Labour and Communist parties, and their subsequent loss of thousands of members. It is the process, however, which has not been understood and the role of individuals who have contributed to that process: Eric Hobsbawm and the rhetoric of "realistic Marxism."


In electronics, resonance occurs when the admittances of circuit components, the imaginary parts of the component impedances, cancel each other out. Operation of circuits at their resonant frequencies can cause oscillation of signals at extreme levels. Nikola Tesla developed the concept of harnessing the capabilities of resonance by transmitting energy wirelessly between two inductively resonant coils. In 1897, his newly patented design, known as the Tesla coil, was an early prototype used to realize his theory. However, only in relatively recent history has the idea been expanded upon and used for commercial applications. Medical devices, such as pacemakers, are powered through resonant inductive coupling; this form of wireless technology has been in use since the 1960s. Battery-operated toothbrushes are typically charged with one or more small coils in the toothbrush and in the cradle, with power transmitted from the cradle to the toothbrush wirelessly. Newer emerging technology, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) and near field communication (NFC) has provided end-users with relatively simple products for proximity dependent interaction with their personal devices, such as smartphones. This paper describes the theory and limitations of this emerging technology through the design and construction of a wireless NiCd battery charger, as well as through an investigation of some of the more common protocols for wireless data transmission.


Air pollution is becoming a more and more important aspect for transportation, particularly car emission in urban area. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the global emission of a transport network based on probe car and sensor data. Probe vehicles allow an accurate estimation of the emission at different points in the network and these results could be extrapolated to the whole network by using traffic sensor data. To begin, data emission which can be extracted from probe car must be tested. Therefore, the first task is an evaluation of the differences between the simulated vehicle emission (provided by using the microsimulator; AIMSUN) and estimation of vehicle emission from a sample of simulated vehicles representing the population of probe vehicles. The aim of the second part of this study is to determine the optimal penetration rate of probe vehicles. Then, the global emission and its accuracy could be determined. This methodology shows that using probe car gives good estimation of the real data emission (90-95 %). Furthermore, depending of the network configuration a penetration rate of 10-15 % of probe car is enough to obtain satisfactory results of the global emission data.


The environmental impact related to ornamental stones (such as marbles and granites) is largely debated. Starting from the industrial revolution, continuous improvements of machineries led to a higher exploitation of this natural resource and to a more international interaction between markets. As a consequence, the environmental impact of the extraction and processing of stones has increased. Nevertheless, if compared with other building materials, ornamental stones are generally more durable, natural, and recyclable. From the scientific point of view, studies on stone life cycle sustainability have been carried out, but these are often partial or not very significant because of the high percentage of approximations and assumptions in calculations. This is due to the lack, in life cycle databases (e.g. Ecoinvent, Thinkstep, and ELCD), of datasets about the specific technologies employed in the stone production chain. For example, databases do not contain information about diamond wires, chains or explosives, materials commonly used in quarries and transformation plants. The project presented in this paper aims to populate the life cycle databases with specific data of specific stone processes. To this goal, the methodology follows the standardized approach of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), according to the requirements of UNI 14040- 14044 and to the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook guidelines of the European Commission. The study analyses the processes of the entire production chain (fromcradle- to-gate system boundaries), including the extraction of benches, the cutting of blocks into slabs/tiles and the surface finishing. Primary data have been collected in Italian quarries and transformation plants which use technologies representative of the current state-of-the-art. Since the technologies vary according to the hardness of the stone, the case studies comprehend both soft stones (marbles) and hard stones (gneiss). In particular, data about energy, materials and emissions were collected in marble basins of Carrara and in Beola and Serizzo basins located in the province of Verbano Cusio Ossola. Data were then elaborated through an appropriate software to build a life cycle model. The model was realized setting free parameters that allow an easy adaptation to specific productions. Through this model, the study aims to boost the direct participation of stone companies and encourage the use of LCA tool to assess and improve the stone sector environmental sustainability. At the same time, the realization of accurate Life Cycle Inventory data aims at making available, to researchers and stone experts, ILCD compliant datasets of the most significant


Adolescents frequently present to the emergency department or to primary care physicians for acute health concerns that range from minor to life-threatening. This issue of AM:STARs focuses on many of the more urgent and emergent health problems and concerns that bring adolescents to clinics, private offices, and emergency department settings.


The aim of this article is to discuss the status of the human right to a healthy environment in Lithuania, answering the question of current status of this right in Lithuanian environmental law. This question is topical and substantial for Lithuanian environmental law doctrine, which hasn't explained and described the status of such type of right yet. While having no correct explanation of this right, the environmental law doctrine has a gap, which leaves uncertainty at theoretical level, and, consequently, in practice. The article introduces the right to a healthy environment as such, analyses its essence. The author's intention is to explain the status of this right in the light of three main points of view: the right to a healthy environment as social, constitutional or environmental right. The first approach explains the right to a healthy environment as a social human right. This position is criticisable, because all other human rights also might be reasonably called social rights, because they are created and developed in society. The second opinion is to consider the right to a healthy environment as a constitutional right; some states of the European Union establish that in their constitutions. However, this point of view is true only if such right directly derives from the Constitution of a particular state. Third position looks at the right to a healthy environment and reasonably links and encompasses environment, environmental protection and human rights as three interrelated elements, concentrated in the content of this right. Since there are no direct references and no direct statements constituting right to a healthy environment in the Constitution of Republic of Lithuania, the right to a healthy environment is not a constitutional right in this sense. The Convention on Access to information, Public Participation in Decision making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) is the first international legally binding treaty, which introduces the human right to the healthy environment and serves to solve the problem of identification of status of right to a healthy environment in Lithuanian environmental law. This endorses the objectively existing cohesion between elements of environment and the state of human health, depending on the quality of environment, and the necessity to continually improve the quality of environment. The right to a healthy environment could be defined as environmental human right, which embodies three interrelated elements: human rights, healthy environment and environmental protection. Proper level of environmental protection determines the enjoyment of the right to a healthy environment.


Multiple factors contributed to the elevation of jazz as "high art" in mainstream media reception by the 1980s. The stage was thus set for hip-hop groups in the late-1980s and early 90s (such as Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest, and Digable Planets) to engage in a relationship with jazz as art and heritage. "Jazz codes" in the music, said to signify sophistication, helped create a rap-music subgenre commonly branded "jazz rap." Connections may be identified between the status of jazz, as linked to a high art ideology in the 1980s, and the media reception of jazz rap as an elite rap subgenre (in opposition to "gangsta" rap and other subgenres). Contemplation of this development leads to larger questions about the creation of hierarchies, value judgments, and the phenomenon of elite status within music genres.


This work explores some issues arising from the widespread use of computer based assessment of Mathematics in primary and secondary education. In particular, it considers the potential of computer based assessment for testing "process skills" and "problem solving". This is discussed through a case study of the World Class Tests project which set out to test problem solving skills.
The study also considers how on-screen "eAssessment" differs from conventional paper tests and how transferring established assessment tasks to the new media might change their difficulty, or even alter what they assess. Once source of evidence is a detailed comparison of the paper and computer versions of a commercially published test – nferNelson's Progress in Maths - including a new analysis of the publisher's own equating study.
The other major aspect of the work is a design research exercise which starts by analysing tasks from Mathematics GCSE papers and proceeds to design, implement and trial a computer-based system for delivering and marking similar styles of tasks. This produces a number of insights into the design challenges of computer-based assessment, and also raises some questions about the design assumptions behind the original paper tests. One unanticipated finding was that, unlike younger pupils, some GCSE candidates expressed doubts about the idea of a computer-based examination.
The study concludes that implementing a Mathematics test on a computer involves detailed decisions requiring expertise in both assessment and software design, particularly in the case of richer tasks targeting process skills. It concludes with the proposal that, in contrast to its advantages in literacy-based subjects, the computer may not provide a "natural medium for doing mathematics", and instead places an additional demand on students. The solution might be to reform the curriculum to better reflect the role of computing in modern Mathematics.


Despite the fact that Robert Penn Warren was one of the most prolific critics of the twentieth century, Charlotte H. Beck s Robert Penn Warren, Critic is the first thorough study of Warren as a literary critic in his own right. Part of the blame for this surprising omission lies with Warren himself, who tended to belittle his critical persona, considering himself a poet first, fiction writer second, and critic last. Although Warren was educated at Vanderbilt and befriended by the original New Critics, Warren created and honed his own critical method, often in striking opposition to that of the New Critics. Using a largely chronological approach, Charlotte Beck has carefully traced the evolution of Warren s criticism, focusing on seminal examples of the critical books, essays, and introductions that Warren produced over a period of almost seventy years. Her surprising conclusions often run counter to previous evaluations of Warren s criticism, especially to those that complacently link Warren to Cleanth Brooks, his lifelong friend and collaborator, and to New Criticism in general. Beck demonstrates that Warren consistently treats writers holistically, taking into account biographical as well as historical data, to account for their entire body of work, rather than focusing on a single literary text. Beck s analysis of Warren s criticism will appeal not only to scholars of American literature and Southern literary history but also will contribute to the contemporary resurgence of interest in Warren s writing, demonstrating that Warren belongs in the first rank of twentieth-century American critics."


William E. Wheeler A study of waterfowl production was conducted on two study areas in the James River Valley of South Dakota in 1971 and 1972. Its objectives were to measure rates of reproductive success and to determine the effect of land use and other influences on duck production. The five most abundant species of nesting ducks were blue-winged teal (Anas discors), mallard(�. platyrhvnchos), gadwall (,h. strepera), shoveler(�. clypeata), and pintail(�. acuta). Seventy-two percent of the wetland habitat on the study areas consisted of temporary (Type l and Type 3) water areas, Only 3.9 per cent of the wetlands represented semipermanent (Type 4) and permanent (Type 5) ponds. In 1971, on the Twin lakes Area, only four wetlands held water of sufficient depth for brood-rearing throughout the brood season. In 1972, this area had 48 water areas that served as potential brood-rearing habitat. Wet ponds were sufficiently abundant in early spring to attract modest numbers of breeding pairs. The 2-year average density of surface-feeding ducks was 35 pairs per square mile. This was 60 percent of the average density of surface-feeding ducks on the Waubay Study Area, generally acknowledged to be an area of high duck production in the Prairie Hills region of South Dakota. In 1971, dry conditions were accompanied by an influx of pairs from surrounding lands onto the more stable water areas of the two study areas. Many of these immi grants were believed to be unsuccessful breeding pairs and/or non breeding birds. Forty-seven percent of all duck nests were concentrated in tame hay. The most productive nesting cover, however, consisted of gamemanagement lands. These areas made up only 4 percent of the land area, yet contained 17 percent of all nests and 22 percent of all successful nests. Overall nest success in both years combined was 28.9 percent. This was close to the minimum level of nest success under which duck populations are apparently able to maintain their numbers. Predation and hay-mowing were the principal causes of nest destruction. An average of 21 successful nests was produced per 100 breeding pairs. Brood observations showed 32 broods per 100 pairs present in late July of 1971 and 50 broods per 100 pairs in 1972. The latter two figures were believed to be inflated by brood ingress. Low rates of duck production in the James River Valley suggest that pioneering birds may be contributing substantially to maintenance of breeding populations in that region. In some years, the region may attract breeding ducks that might otherwise have nested in other areas where better reproductive success could be realized.


Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia culminated in the March 2010 signing of the Riyadh Declaration, through which he and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulazizal-Saud agreed to a far-reaching expansion of bilateral relations. Building on the Delhi Declaration of 2006, Singh's visit resulted in agreements promising increased security cooperation, joint research and development initiatives, and reciprocal extradition policies. Yet it is Riyadh's February 2010 decision to nearly double crude oil shipments to India that reveals Saudi Arabia's true strategic interests in Asia. The Kingdom, already the largest supplier of oil to China and India, is building new refineries and increasing exports with the aim of strengthening political and economic ties with Asia's growing economic giants. These petropolitical partnerships are key to Saudi Arabia's efforts to contain Iran's political influence and military growth, especially its nuclear program. Through oil diplomacy, Saudi Arabia hopes to sap Iran of important regional partners, a diplomatic coup the United States and other Western nations have so far failed to achieve. Despite Saudi Arabia's considerable economic clout, geopolitical constraints, and the economic incentives facing China and India present considerable obstacles to this ambitious foreign policy goal. Though Israel and the Western world are deeply concerned about Iran's nuclear development goals, the Gulf states of the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, may have the most to fear from Tehran's ambitions. The mere presence of an Iranian bomb would strengthen Iran's clout in the Middle East, potentially stirring up Saudi Arabia's restive Shia minorities and strengthening radical groups such as Hezbollah and the Islamic Brotherhood that the Kingdom considers both political dangers and terrorist threats. Iran's growing military presence on the Persian Gulf and the historic tensions between Arabs and Persians also contribute to the Saudis' fears of Iranian dominance. To Riyadh, a nuclear-armed Iran would truly be, as US President Barack Obama has put it, a game changer--if not a checkmate. The most plausible threat to Iran's nuclear ambitions would be harsh UN sanctions designed to stymie Iran's energy sector and incite domestic unrest. Though the United States and other Western nations have pushed for such sanctions for years, Iran has successfully used its clout as the world's second largest oil producer to fend them off. Iran is China's third largest oil supplier, and Beijing has invested billions of dollars in developing Iranian oil fields. The Chinese government, which has veto power over any UN Security Council resolution, is reluctant to alienate such an important economic partner. India, a rising power player in Asia despite its lack of a permanent UN Security Council seat, has also invested much in Iran's energy sector; an agreement on a US$7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan-India oil pipeline is nearing completion after more than 10 years of negotiation. This project and similar ventures could provide Iran with regional clout indefinitely. Saudi Arabia, the only country that produces more oil than Iran, is determined to eliminate Iran's geopolitical trump card. At the urging of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saudal-Faisal has assured China that the Kingdom will meet China's energy needs if it stops importing oil from Iran, and has attempted to convince Beijing that a nuclear-armed Iran will foment instability throughout the Middle East. …


The author's international reputation as an atomic spectroscopist commenced with the
publication of the first paper, and subsequent patents, describing the use of the inductively
coupled annular plasma as an emission source. Prior to this he had achieved recognition
for other innovative papers [3-7, 10] in the field of analytical chemistry. The
accompanying collection of papers refer to the period after the author's entry into the field
of atomic spectroscopy with high temperature plasmas. [Continues.]


Todd Saunders (*1969) is one of the most important young contemporary Canadian architects working internationally. His architecture, simple yet powerful, incorporates elements of his country's architectural identity - including the use of wood and carefully picked Modernist influences - bringing it at the same time into the 21st century with excellent execution, carefully chosen materials and a hands-on approach. Saunders (he lives and works in Bergen, Norway) has successfully executed work in both Canada, Norway, and Finland, creating architecture with a strong sense of northern identity, an individual approach that is informed by the strongness of natural landscape. The most important projects: Aurland Lookout, Long Studio, Fogo Island, Tower Studio, Fogo Island, Squish Studio, Fogo Island and Villa G. The first reference monograph on a remarkable young architect working in Scandinavia and Canada. The monograph provides interesting unpublished documents, curated by Jonathan Bell (Architecture Editor, Wallpaper* magazine) and Ellie Stathaki (Deputy Architecture Editor, Wallpaper* magazine) as well as three interviews by Olaf Gipser, Zita Cobb, and Brian MacKay-Lyons. The artwork of the book is by the international renowned graphic designer Henrik Nygren.


This report describes SutraGUI, a flexible graphical user-interface (GUI) that supports twodimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) simulation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SUTRA ground-water-flow and transport model (Voss and Provost, 2002). SutraGUI allows the user to create SUTRA ground-water models graphically. SutraGUI provides all of the graphical functionality required for setting up and running SUTRA simulations that range from basic to sophisticated, but it is also possible for advanced users to apply programmable features within Argus ONE to meet the unique demands of particular ground-water modeling projects. SutraGUI is a public-domain computer program designed to run with the proprietary Argus ONETM package, which provides 2D Geographic Information System (GIS) and meshing support. For 3D simulation, GIS and meshing support is provided by programming contained within SutraGUI. When preparing a 3D SUTRA model, the model and all of its features are viewed within Argus 1 in 2D projection. For 2D models, SutraGUI is only slightly changed in functionality from the previous 2D-only version (Voss and others, 1997) and it provides visualization of simulation results. In 3D, only model preparation is supported by SutraGUI, and 3D simulation results may be viewed in SutraPlot (Souza, 1999) or Model Viewer (Hsieh and Winston, 2002). A comprehensive online Help system is included in SutraGUI. For 3D SUTRA models, the 3D model domain is conceptualized as bounded on the top and bottom by 2D surfaces. The 3D domain may also contain internal surfaces extending across the model that divide the domain into tabular units, which can represent hydrogeologic strata or other features intended by the user. These surfaces can be non-planar and non-horizontal. The 3D mesh is defined by one or more 2D meshes at different elevations that coincide with these surfaces. If the nodes in the 3D mesh are vertically aligned, only a single 2D mesh is needed. For nonaligned meshes, two or more 2D meshes of similar connectivity are used. Between each set of 2D meshes (and model surfaces), the vertical space in the 3D mesh is evenly divided into a user-specified number of layers of finite elements. Boundary conditions may be specified for 3D models in SutraGUI using a variety of geometric shapes that may be located freely within the 3D model domain. These shapes include points, lines, sheets, and solids. These are represented by 2D contours (within the vertically-projected Argus ONE view) with user-defined elevations. In addition, boundary conditions may be specified for 3D models as points, lines, and areas that are located exactly within the surfaces that define the model top and the bottoms of the tabular units. Aquifer properties may be specified separately for each tabular unit. If the aquifer properties vary vertically within a unit, SutraGUI provides the Sutra_Z function that can be used to specify such variation.


In its divided 2014 decision in Sierra Club v. Jewell, the D.C. Circuit held that plaintiffs who observe landscape have Article III standing to sue in federal court to protect those views even if they have no legal right to physically enter the private property that they view. The D.C. Circuit's decision could significantly enlarge the standing of plaintiffs to sue federal agencies or private parties over changes to private lands that the plaintiffs have no right to enter. Because the Supreme Court has inconsistently applied both strict and liberal approaches to standing, it is difficult to predict how it would decide this issue. Environmentalists and nature observers would generally favor broad standing rights, but property rights advocates would argue that only those with a legal right to enter a property should have the right to sue to protect it. If it addresses whether plaintiffs must have a legal interest in any property they seek standing to protect, the Supreme Court might be forced to resolve the contradictions in its standing doctrine.


1. Gliadin from which carbohydrate was removed by treatment with carbohydrase from Aspergillus niger was fed to three coeliac patients in remission. 2. Xylose absorption, mucosal morphology and brush-border enzymes were used to assess the toxicity of the carbohydrase-treated gliadin. 3. Gliadin treated with carbohydrases did not damage the intestinal mucosa of the coeliac patients. 4. The primary structure of the gliadin proteins was not altered by the enzyme treatment.


We use experimental data to obtain a detailed description of individuals' pro-sociality. Participants are faced with a large number of decisions involving variations in the tradeoffs between own and others' payoffs, as well as in other potentially important factors like individuals' positions vis-a-vis others. We find that decisions are affected by payoff trade-offs in an intuitive way but also by whether individuals obtain more or less than others. We find little reciprocity of the type linked to menu-dependence. The influence of social welfare preferences is stronger than that of difference aversion; however, Leontieff preferences are not more important than difference aversion in our data.


Exploitation of the digital revolution offers great potential for less affluent and least economically developed countries (LEDCs) and for the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, LEDCs typically have poorly resourced national research systems. If they cannot participate in research based on big and open data, the gap could grow exponentially in coming years. They will be unable to collect, store and share data, unable to participate in the global research enterprise, unable to contribute as full partners to global efforts on climate change, health care, and resource protection, and unable to fully benefit from such efforts, where global solutions will only be achieved if there is global participation. Thus, both emerging and developed countries have a clear and direct interest in helping to fully mobilize LEDC science potential and thereby to contribute to achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The initiative described here (African Open Science Platform or AOSP) is directed towards minimising a divide between emerging and developed countries in what is arguably the most important current opportunity to enhance the power and efficiency of the scientific enterprise and its contribution to societal benefit.


Delaying retirement improves retirement preparedness, but older workers cannot work longer if employers do not hire or retain them. This study examines one way in which public policy potentially makes older workers more attractive to employers: state regulatory restrictions on how much employer premiums are permitted to increase at small firms with older, unhealthier workforces. The study uses data from the Current Population Survey from 1989-2013 to compare older individuals' overall employment, small-firm employment, and earnings in states with varying degrees of premium regulation, and among workers of different educational backgrounds. The analysis shows mixed results. Stronger premium regulations were not effective in increasing employment: employment at small firms, which are most sensitive to premium increases, saw no statistically significant increase, and overall employment for older workers at both large and small firms increased only slightly. The earnings gap between large and small firms is also smaller in states with tighter restrictions, but older workers were not helped appreciably more than younger workers. These results suggest that indirect efforts to lower the price of hiring an older worker are not likely to be effective in improving their job prospects.


This paper describes a study that investigates the mediating effects of information technology (IT) on the relationships among product and process innovations and firm performance (measured in multiple profitability and growth rate metrics). Using structural equation modeling on a sample of 397 small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), we find evidence that (1) increases on the strategic emphasis placed on innovation, both product and process, positively impact the prominence managers place on IT; (2) the impact of innovation (both product and process) on performance (both profitability and growth) is primarily indirect, felt via the mechanism of the importance managers place on IT; and (3) an increased emphasis on IT abets managers' perception of their firms' performance, as compared with that observed among peer firms (other SMEs).


The author develops a simple approach for computing the probability that an initial asset allocation will breach a pre-specified policy weight over a given time horizon. The model is consistent with assumptions made in most Asset Liability Management (ALM) studies and the closed-form analytic expression "buys" the user a variety of robust insights. After calibrating this model to broadly defined alternative investment asset class data, the author concludes that a conservative 5% commitment to an illiquid asset class has a 1/3 chance of doubling (i.e., to 10% of the fund) within 5 years, and tripling (i.e., to 15% of the fund) within 15 years. Paradoxically, the lower the effective correlation between the performance of a given asset class and the remainder of the portfolio—which is normally something to be coveted in strategic asset allocation—the greater the chances of breaching a given policy weight. The results suggest that initial target allocations to illiquid asset classes should be reduced relative to their liquid counterparts, when a conventional mean-variance analysis was used to obtain these policy weights.


This study examined Probit model analysis of smallholder's farmers decision to use agrochemical inputs in Gwagwalada and Kuje Area Councils of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. Primary data were used for this study. Data were obtained using structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered to sixty smallholder's farmers sampled using a two-stage sampling technique. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Probit model. Eight estimators, age; farm-size; education–level; extension services; access to credit; off-farm income; experiences in farming; in the Probit model were found statistically significant. Results show that the probability of using agrochemical inputs increases with age; farm-size; family-size; education-level; extension services; experiences in farming but decreases where they have off-farm income and access to credits. Mc Fadden Pseudo-R2 gives 0.6866 and Probit model correctly classified 93%. This study concluded that capacity of agricultural extension agents needs to be improved in the study area to educate farmers to invest in agrochemicals and improved agricultural technologies. Also, Government needs to improve on good road networks and appropriate policies to regulate standard, use, safety needs and environment of use of agrochemicals in the study area.


We present a range-gating delayed detection super-resolution imaging lidar with high accuracy based on the signal intensities of three consecutive delay samples. The system combines the range and signal intensity information from multi-pulse detections to calculate the pulse peak position under the assumption of a Gaussian pulse shape. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm effectively calculates pulse peak position and exhibits excellent accuracy with super-resolution. Accuracy analysis shows that accuracy is best improved by enhancing signal-to-noise ratio, strategically selecting samples, reducing pulse width, and appropriately choosing the delayed periods between samples.


At each moment in history, every democratic government finds itself facing many national problems in need of solution, and as a result, a primary mission of government is formulating, proposing, evaluating, ratifying, and implementing policies to address numerous issues. Throughout the history of the United States, much of government's attention has been devoted to such domestic issues as unemployment, crime, education, social welfare, health care, environmental pollution, energy provision, and more. Such problems pose immediate and obvious threats to American citizens, apparent in many people's daily lives. At the same time, however, the U.S. government has always spent a great deal of effort dealing with issues of international relations: managing cooperation with allies; providing financial aid to countries in need; managing trade relations; building, equipping, and maintaining the U.S. military; combating terrorism, and at times, going to war. This process of formulating policies and implementing them is importantly shaped by a nation's populace, via many routes. Citizens can and do make their policy attitudes known to government officials via opinion polls, by giving money to lobbying organizations, and by attending rallies. Individuals can also communicate their views on policy issues directly to elected representatives by sending letters or making telephone calls. And citizens can use their policy attitudes when deciding which candidates for public office to support, thus enhancing the likelihood that the elected officials will share voters' own views. In order for the members of the general public to take any of these steps, they must have formed attitudes on policy issues. They must think about and understand an issue enough to decide which policy approaches they wish to support and which they wish to oppose. Therefore, understanding when citizens form and express opinions on policy issues and when they do not has been a topic of study for political scientists for decades. One particularly intriguing question in this arena has been the extent to which Americans form and express opinions on foreign policy issues. According to some scholars, most people are only engaged by policy matters that directly touch their own lives, such as taxes and health care (e.g., Almond 1950; Kagay and Caldeira 1980; Light and Lake 1985; Rosenau 1961). Foreign policy, by its very nature, involves matters that play out far away from most citizens. Certainly, the news media have brought vivid images of distant places into Americans' living rooms, and very recent history has made the everyday relevance of foreign peoples especially apparent to all Americans. But relations with African countries, economic aid to Mexico, and weapons agreements with Russia have implications for most people that are vague at best. Therefore, say some scholars, most issues of foreign affairs are unlikely to be of sufficient concern to most people most of the time for them to form opinions about desirable or undesirable courses of action (e.g., Almond 1950; Converse 1964; Hughes 1978; Rosenau 1961). As a result, vote choices and lobbying organization efforts will rarely reflect such opinions. But who composes the minority contradicting this general rule? Who does, in fact, use international relations matters to decide which candidates to support and to give money to lobbying organizations with purely international foci? Two different and competing scholarly answers to these questions are evident in the literature. According to Almond (1950), this subgroup is the "attentive public," an elite group of citizens who are especially attentive to and informed about a wide range of public affairs issues. People for whom CNN and The New York Times are central components of everyday life cannot help but learn and ruminate about a wide range of foreign affairs issues, so they form and use attitudes on all of them. To the extent that government's foreign policy actions are shaped by public opinion, it is these individuals' opinions that should be consequential because these are the people with such opinions (e. …


ABSTRACT This article considers the relationship between landed culture and the emergent middle classes in a rapidly expanding urban context substantially removed from the more familiar examples. The port of Grimsby expanded rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century, displaying many facets in common with other industrial centres and boasting a substantial middle-class presence from a relatively early stage. At the same time the extent to which Grimsby's middle classes assumed a leading role in the town's development is questionable and subject to qualification.


extract] I have advanced the outlines of an expectation theory of estoppel elsewhere. However, it is a thesis for which I was unable to supply much doctrinal support. The weight of judicial opinion seemed to me to fall clearly on the side of the reliance thesis. But Dr Ong thinks otherwise. According to Ong, the expectation thesis of estoppel finds ample support in the judgment of Dixon J in Grundt v Great Boulder Proprietary Gold Mines Limited. This is venerable authority indeed. It is the locus classicus on the doctrine of estoppel by conduct, both in Australia and in England. But it cannot be conscripted to the cause of the expectation thesis. In the first part of this reply I show that Ong's reading of Grundt is mistaken. In the second part I criticise his attempt to draw support for the expectation thesis from the law governing equitable relief for breach of contract.


Plasma levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the 15,000 molecular weight gross cystic disease fluid protein (GCDFP-15) were determined in 30 patients with metastatic breast carcinoma before, during, and after treatment with fluoxymesterone. Within 2 weeks after initiation of treatment, plasma levels of GCDFP-15 increased 50% above basal values in 15 (79%) of 19 patients. Similar increases in plasma CEA levels occurred in only 5 (23%) of 22 patients. Eight (33%) of 24 patients achieved increases in GCDFP-15 of 500% or more above basal levels after 14-336 days of therapy. Within 2 weeks of fluoxymesterone termination, 14 (93%) of 15 patients had a decrease in plasma GCDFP-15 levels, and in 12 (80%) the decrease exceeded 33% (the inverse of a 50% increase). Conversly, only 5 (33%) of 15 patients experienced a decrease in plasma CEA levels within 2 weeks of therapy termination, and in only 1 (6.7%) subject did the decrement exceed 33%. Nine (90%) of 10 patients who had 50% increases in plasma GCDFP-15 during initial androgen therapy also had significant decreases in plasma GCDFP-15 following termination of therapy. Data on 3 prospectively studied patients demonstrated that plasma GCDFP-15 rose within 24 hours of initiation of fluoxymesterone therapy and continued to rise for at least 6 days. Increased plasma levels of GCDFP-15 were reflected in increased urinary excretion of the glycoprotein.


In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using accurate prediction models for the prediction of protoporphyrin bleaching dynamics to achieve photobleaching-insensitive methods to improve the evaluation of data in an existing clinical fluorescence-guided resection technique. To simulate the scenario, measurements were carried out in vivo on skin of healthy volunteers using a compact fiber-based fluorescence spectroscopy system. We have developed an effective method for the parameterization of sequences of bleaching spectra. We analyze convergence and decay rates with respect to initial conditions and excitation irradiance. We also discuss the consequences and the potential for bleaching-insensitive measurements and their applicability in a few examples from in vivo open brain surgery.


Abstract

Background: Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a disease with high incidence in stroke patients. It is reported that about one third of stroke patients may develop depression after stroke. Elevated levels of plasma fibrinogen are found in stroke patients. Our study aims to find out whether there is a relationship between plasma fibrinogen level and PSD.

Methods and Findings: 406 acute ischemic stroke patients were admitted to our study. Plasma fibrinogen levels were assayed at hospital admission and measured by the method of Clauss and a Stago auto analyer with STA fibrinogen kit (Diagnostic Stago, Taverny, France). Clinical depression was diagnosed according to DSM-V criteria and a HAMD 17 score of ≥ 7 one month after the stroke.

Results: We found that 140 patients (34.5%) developed PSD, PSD group had a higher levels of plasma fibrinogen (3.73 g/l ±0.92), which was statistically different with non-PSD group (3.24 g/l ±0.73) (P<0.001). Meanwhile, elevated plasma fibrinogen levels (≥3.69 g/l) were independently associated with PSD, which developed at one month after acute ischemic stroke (OR 3.446, 95%CI 1.839-6.456, P<0.001).

Conclusions: Patients with a high level of plasma fibrinogen at admission are related to the development of PSD and may be an independent predictor for the generation of depression one month after stroke.


This thesis deals with the investigation of internationally operating project teams, using the automotive division of the cooperation partner and topic initiator Marquardt Group. The overall research question examines which skills in terms of emotions, culture and know how are required from program managers as a result of globalization. Background information about globalization, project management and the company itself is provided as a first step. In order to get an overview, qualitative expert interviews are conducted with program managers, their superiors, disciplinary supervisors and team members. The interview process serves to gain a stronger knowledge of the weaknesses in project management within the Marquardt Group. The results reveal clear problems, particularly in the analyzed subject areas processes, intercultural competence and communication.
Further information concentrating on intercultural competence and its potential training measures, as well as communication in so-called virtual teams due to the lacking face-to-face communication is given, followed by recommendations for improvements for the analyzed fields with weak points. It can be concluded that globalization and the consequent internationalization have a major impact on project teams requiring especially the advancement of professional, the related methodological, as well as leadership and social competences of program managers.


Background: Adult oral reading in consistent orthographies, like Spanish, is argued to proceed through sublexical spelling-to-sound conversion. Hence, it was surprising that Davies and Cuetos (2005) observed a Spanish-speaking aphasic patient, MJ, who showed some capacity to read words aloud—producing many semantic errors—alongside an inability to read nonwords. MJ's symptoms are congruent with deep dyslexia. We investigated whether her reading could be improved through therapy addressing those deep dyslexic symptoms (de Partz, 1986). Aims: We expected to see joint improvement in word and nonword reading if therapy aimed at facilitating improvement in nonword reading succeeded, due to the consistency of the orthography. We hypothesised that occurrence of semantic paralexias in reading should decrease as reading skills improved. Alternatively, if therapy had led to the establishment of a lexical-semantic reading strategy not available to the patient before injury, then we anticipated the possibility that semantic errors could actually increase in occurrence as more therapy was received over time. Methods & Procedures: Our study began 18 months after MJ's brain injury, and continued over 2 years. Training was given in completing spelling–sound mappings at the level of grapheme–phoneme correspondences, syllables and words, in phoneme awareness and the combination of phonemes, and in word–picture association. We tested oral reading with the same word and nonword stimuli at four time points through the period of our investigation. We analysed accuracy and error types. Outcomes & Results: By the end of our investigation, MJ presented near-normal word reading and greatly improved, though still impaired, nonword reading. Production of semantic errors disappeared. Thus, adding to some previous case studies (Friedman, 1996), our patient's symptoms evolved from those typical of deep dyslexia to those typical of phonological dyslexia. Conclusions: Our findings show that, even in a language with a transparent orthography, readers can be aided by therapy addressing both lexical and non-lexical reading. The implication is that premorbid reading in a transparent orthography may depend on lexical and non-lexical reading. This conclusion is supported by the superior improvement of word compared to nonword reading, and by the decline in production of semantic paralexias accompanying the improvement in reading performance.


Objective In treating patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), how concomitant medications influence the response to infliximab is largely unexplored. We aim to evaluate whether proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) affect the response to infliximab therapy in patients with IBD. Design Patient-level data of adult patients with moderate-to-severe IBD treated with infliximab were obtained from the Yale Open Data Access Framework. Multivariable analysis and propensity score-matched analysis were performed to assess week 30 remission rates, week 54 remission rates and hospitalisation rates in patients on infliximab therapy with and without PPI exposure. Results Among the five randomised controlled studies, there were 147 and 889 patients on infliximab with and without PPI therapy, respectively. Patients on PPI were older, more likely to be Caucasian and were less likely to be on immunomodulator therapy. Patients on PPI were significantly less likely to achieve week 30 remission on multivariable analysis (OR 0.45, p<0.001). Following propensity score matching adjusting for baseline difference in patient characteristics, the week 30 remission rates were 30% and 49% in patients with and without PPI therapy, respectively (p<0.001). Analysing separately for disease, the findings remained statistically significant in Crohn's disease but did not reach significance in UC. Similar results were seen with week 54 remission rates. Patients on PPI were also more likely to be hospitalised (15% vs 8%, p=0.007). Rates of adverse events such as gastroenteritis were not different between the two groups. Conclusion In this patient-level meta-analysis of randomised controlled studies, we found that patients with IBD taking PPI were less likely to achieve remission while on infliximab therapy. The results of our study warrant further investigation into the effect of PPI on IBD outcomes and therapies.


Although neglect is a common form of child maltreatment, it can be difficult to detect within a clinical interview between a social work clinician and client for the purpose of assessment and intervention, leading to a failure to act and secure a child's safety. This Canadian study utilized the objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) to assess social work clinicians' ability to recognize and respond to a case of suspected child neglect. Twenty-three participants (social work students, recent graduates of a Masters in Social Work programme, and experienced social workers) conducted a 15-minute interview with a standardized client followed by a structured reflective dialogue focusing on case conceptualization and emotional awareness. Qualitative analysis of the reflective dialogues revealed participants' difficulty in detecting child neglect as opposed to focusing on a client's negative self-beliefs or mental health issues. Implications for social work education and practice are suggested.


This work reports a new technique for measuring permeability of magnetic alloy films above 1 GHz by using an inductance-line, which has a magnetic alloy films(M)/conductor(C)/magnetic alloy films(M) stacked structure and is installed in a microstrip circuit. The imaginary part of the relative permeability /spl mu//sub r/" was estimated from the magnetic absorption in the M/C/M inductance-line, by analyzing its transmission characteristics. The Kramers-Kronig relation was used for the transformation from /spl mu//sub r/" to the real part /spl mu//sub r/'. Complex relative permeability was measured in the 1 MHz-20 GHz frequency range for NiFe-SiO/sub 2/, CoZrNb-SiO/sub 2/ and CoFe-SiO/sub 2/ multilayer films. The /spl mu//sub r/-f characteristics, static relative permeability /spl mu//sub r/"(0) and ferromagnetic resonance frequency f/sub k/ values were confirmed to agree with those obtained by the conventional M/C/M technique and by calculation. >


Molecular (5S rDNA spacer and chloroplast DNA RnPs) and morphological data sets are informative at different levels of the eucalypt clade. They allow separate analysis of major subclades, the results of which, when combined, give a single, phylogenetic tree for Angophora Cav. and Eucalyptus L'Her. For taxonomic revision, the tree supports the recognition of bloodwood eucalypts as monophyletic, but shows that informal subgenus Corymbia Pryor & Johnson is paraphyletic. The tree supports recognition of three major clades within the non-bloodwood eucalypts ('eudesmids', 'symphyomyrts' and 'monocalypts') and suggests relationships for taxa within each of these. Ovule and seed characters proved to be most informative in the morphological data set. The phylogenetic hypothesis suggests interpretations for homoplasious morphological characters, including parallel evolution of sepaline and petaline opercula (and associated stemonophore) and types of conflorescence.


Abstract New millipede specimens from the Paleozoic of Scotland are described, including Archidesmus macnicoli Peach, 1882, from the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Tillywhandland Quarry SSSI and three new taxa—Albadesmus almondi, Pneumodesmus newmani, and Cowiedesmus eroticopodus—from the mid Silurian (late Wenlock—early Ludlow) Cowie Formation at Cowie Harbour. Cowiedesmus eroticopodus new species is placed within the new Cowiedesmidae within the new order Cowiedesmida. Kampecaris tuberculata Brade-Birks from the Lower Devonian (Siegenian) of the Lanark Basin near Dunure is shown not to be a kampecarid myriapod, redescribed as Palaeodesmus tuberculata and placed order incertae sedis within Archipolypoda. Anthracodesmus macconochiei Peach is also redescribed and tentatively placed order incertae sedis within Archipolypoda. Archidesmus macnicoli, Albadesmus almondi, and Palaeodesmus tuberculata are each demonstrated to have broad sternites with laterally placed coxal sockets and paramedian pores containing paired valves. These pores are interpreted as having housed eversible vesicles. Some specimens of Archidesmus macnicoli and Cowiedesmus eroticopodus are male and have a pair of modified legs on trunk segment 8, identified as leg pairs 10 and 11, respectively. The presence of modified anterior legs restricted to segment 8 increases the range of variability known in modified appendage location in male millipedes and compounds existing uncertainty about using the presence of gonopods on trunk segment 7 as a synapomorphy of Helminthomorpha. An affinity between Archidesmida and Cowiedesmida is suggested based on possession of modified legs on segment 8 and Archidesmida + Cowiedesmida is placed along with Euphoberiida in Archipolypoda based on possession of free, broad sternites with bivalved paramedian pores and fused pleurotergites. The oldest known evidence of spiracles is demonstrated in Pneumodesmus newmani, proving that the oldest known millipedes were fully terrestrial.


We previously studied hospitals in the United States of America that are losing money despite limiting the hours that operating room (OR) staff are available to care for patients undergoing elective surgery. These hospitals routinely keep utilization relatively high to maximize revenue. We tested, using discrete-event computer simulation, whether increasing patient volume while being reimbursed less for each additional patient can reliably achieve an increase in revenue when initial adjusted OR utilization is 90%. We found that increasing the volume of referred patients by the amount expected to fill the surgical suite (100%/90%) would increase utilization by <1% for a hospital surgical suite (with longer duration cases) and 4% for an ambulatory surgery suite (with short cases). The increase in patient volume would result in longer patient waiting times for surgery and more patients leaving the surgical queue. With a 15% reduction in payment for the new patients, the increase in volume may not increase revenue and can even decrease the contribution margin for the hospital surgical suite. The implication is that for hospitals with a relatively high OR utilization, signing discounted contracts to increase patient volume by the amount expected to "fill" the OR can have the net effect of decreasing the contribution margin (i.e., profitability).


Peripheral Dopamine 2 Receptors Both Modulate Central Dopamine Release and Adapt Similarly to Central Dopamine 2 Receptors J. Daniel Obray Department of Psychology, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Alcohol use disorder is a debilitating disorder affecting nearly 5% of people in the United States. Despite the prevalence of alcohol use disorder few affected individuals seek treatment and of those who do many will relapse. This highlights a need to develop new treatments for alcohol use disorder that are both more accessible and more effective. This dissertation characterizes a novel pathway involved in ethanol enhancement of dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens as well as investigating alterations in dopamine 2 receptor expression and function following an acute dose of ethanol. This was done by using microdialysis to measure dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, single-unit recordings of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area to measure dopamine neuron activity and place conditioning to measure the rewarding properties of the intravenous dopamine and ethanol. It was found that activation of peripheral dopamine 2 receptors by intravenous dopamine enhanced dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens and dopamine neuron firing rate in the ventral tegmental area. Additionally, intravenous dopamine produced a modest conditioned place preference. Domperidone, a peripheral dopamine 2 receptor antagonist blocked each of these effects. Further, domperidone blocked ethanol enhancement of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and bidirectionally modulated the sedating effects of ethanol depending on the dose of ethanol administered. The involvement of peripheral dopamine 2 receptors in ethanol reward could not be ascertained in these studies as domperidone produced a weak conditioned place aversion. Finally, acute ethanol was found to enhance dopamine 2 receptor expression in the nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex while also enhancing dopamine 2 receptor expression on NK and B cells. Additionally, ethanol was found to reduce desensitization of dopamine 2 receptors in the ventral tegmental area. These results demonstrate that activation of peripheral dopamine 2 receptors can enhance dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens and that this effect has relevance in understanding the effects of ethanol on dopamine release in the mesolimbic pathway. These results also provide evidence for transient upregulation of dopamine 2 receptors in the brain and on leukocytes suggesting that dopamine 2 receptor levels on leukocytes may be a useful biomarker for central dopamine function.


DNA methylation, the addition of a methyl (CH3) group to a cytosine residue, is an evolutionarily conserved epigenetic mark involved in a number of different biological functions in eukaryotes, including transcriptional regulation, chromatin structural organization, cellular differentiation and development. In the slime mold Dictyostelium, previous studies have shown the existence of a DNA methyltransferase (DNMA) belonging to the DNMT2 family, but the extent and function of 5-methyl-cytosine in the genome is unclear. Here we present the whole genome DNA methylation profile of Dictyostelium discoideum using deep coverage, replicate sequencing of bisulfite converted gDNA extracted from post-starvation cells. We find an overall very low level of DNA methylation, occurring at only 462 out of the ~7.5 million (0.006%) cytosines in the genome. Despite this sparse profile, significant methylation can be detected at 51 of these sites in replicate experiments, suggesting they are robust targets for DNA methylation. These 5-methyl-cytosines are associated with a broad range of protein-coding genes, tRNA-encoding genes and retrotransposable elements. Our data provides evidence of a minimal, but functional, methylome in Dictyostelium, thereby making Dictyostelium a candidate model organism to further investigate the evolutionary function of DNA methylation.


BACKGROUND
Several studies showed benefits of long-term zinc supplementation on the incidence, severity, and duration of diarrhea and on the incidence of respiratory infections. Prolonged zinc supplementation also improves cell-mediated immunity in severely malnourished children.

OBJECTIVE
We studied the effect of short-term zinc supplementation on intrinsic and specific immune and inflammatory responses in moderately malnourished children with acute shigellosis.

DESIGN
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in Shigella-infected children aged 12-59 mo. Elemental zinc (20 mg) and a multivitamin containing vitamins A and D, thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinamide, and calcium at twice the recommended dietary allowance were given daily for 2 wk to the zinc group (n = 28), whereas the multivitamin alone was given to the control group (n = 28). Standard antibiotic therapy was given to all patients.

RESULTS
Serum zinc concentrations increased in both groups during convalescence; however, zinc supplementation showed a significant effect. The lymphocyte proliferation response in the zinc group increased relative to that in the control group (P = 0.002), but no significant effects were seen on concentrations of cytokines (interleukin 2 and interferon gamma) released from mitogen-stimulated mononuclear cells or on concentrations of cytokines (interleukin 2, interferon gamma, and interleukin 1beta) in feces. Among the antigen [lipopolysaccharide and invasion plasmid-encoded antigen (Ipa)]-specific antibodies, plasma Ipa-specific immunoglobulin G responses at day 30 were significantly higher in the zinc group than in the control group. However, the 2 groups did not differ significantly in the other antigen-specific responses in plasma and stool.

CONCLUSION
A 14-d course of zinc supplementation during acute shigellosis increases the lymphocyte proliferation response and the Ipa-specific immunoglobulin G response.


This study explores how interference manipulation breaks through the diffraction limit and induces super-resolution nano-optical hot spots through the nonlinear Fabry-Perot cavity structure. The theoretical analytical model is established, and the numerical simulation results show that when the thickness of the nonlinear thin film inside the nonlinear Fabry-Perot cavity structure is adjusted to centain value, the constructive interference effect can be formed in the central point of the spot, which causes the nanoscale optical hot spot in the central region to be produced. The simulation results also tell us that the hot spot size is sensitive to nonlinear thin film thickness, and the accuracy is required to be up to nanometer or even subnanometer scale, which is very large challenging for thin film deposition technique, however, slightly changing the incident laser power can compensate for drawbacks of low thickness accuracy of nonlinear thin films. Taking As(2)S(3) as the nonlinear thin film, the central hot spot with a size of 40nm is obtained at suitable nonlinear thin film thickness and incident laser power. The central hot spot size is only about λ/16, which is very useful in super-high density optical recording, nanolithography, and high-resolving optical surface imaging.


Cathodoluminescence (CL) was used to investigate the mode and compositional zoning of plagioclase in fine-grained metapelites of the Imjingang Belt, Korea. Minute, untwinned grains of plagioclase are indistinguishable from quartz under the polarized light microscope. However, distinct colour and intensity of the CL of plagioclase permit not only rapid identification but also characterisation of its compositional zoning on a thin-section scale without extensive compositional mapping. The abundance of plagioclase in the analysed samples suggests that this mineral could be more common in low- to medium-grade metapelites than previously recognized. CL colours of plagioclase vary from dull green through green to bright greenish yellow as the An content increases. Furthermore, CL petrography suggests the syn-kinematic growth of outer part of plagioclase (An 51-69 ). Hence, CL microscopy can provide a wealth of information not only for deciphering P-T-t paths but also for microfabric analysis of fine-grained schists.


Abstract Background Health information systems have developed rapidly and considerably during the last decades, taking advantage of many new technologies. Robots used in operating theaters represent an exceptional example of this trend. Yet, the more these systems are designed to act autonomously and intelligently, the more complex and ethical questions arise about serious implications of how future hybrid clinical team–machine interactions ought to be envisioned, in situations where actions and their decision-making are continuously shared between humans and machines. Objectives To discuss the many different viewpoints—from surgery, robotics, medical informatics, law, and ethics—that the challenges of novel team–machine interactions raise, together with potential consequences for health information systems, in particular on how to adequately consider what hybrid actions can be specified, and in which sense these do imply a sharing of autonomous decisions between (teams of) humans and machines, with robotic systems in operating theaters as an example. Results Team–machine interaction and hybrid action of humans and intelligent machines, as is now becoming feasible, will lead to fundamental changes in a wide range of applications, not only in the context of robotic systems in surgical operating theaters. Collaboration of surgical teams in operating theaters as well as the roles, competencies, and responsibilities of humans (health care professionals) and machines (robotic systems) need to be reconsidered. Hospital information systems will in future not only have humans as users, but also provide the ground for actions of intelligent machines. Conclusions The expected significant changes in the relationship of humans and machines can only be appropriately analyzed and considered by inter- and multidisciplinary collaboration. Fundamentally new approaches are needed to construct the reasonable concepts surrounding hybrid action that will take into account the ascription of responsibility to the radically different types of human versus nonhuman intelligent agents involved.


ECON 3305 Economic Demography (3 semester credit hours) A general introduction to economic demography, addressing the following kinds of questions: What are the economic consequences of immigration to the U.S.? Will industrial nations be able to afford the health and pension costs of aging populations? How has the size of the baby boom affected its economic well-being? Why has fertility been high in Third World countries? In industrial countries, why is marriage postponed, divorce high, fertility so low, and extramarital fertility rising? What are the economic and environmental consequences of rapid population growth? Prerequisite: ECON 3310. (3-0) R


The strength of modern lightweight thin-wall structures is generally limited by the strength of the compression members. An adequate design of these members requires a knowledge of the compressive stress-strain graph of the thin-wall material. The "pack" method was developed at the National Bureau of Standards with the support of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to make possible a determination of compressive stress-strain graphs for such material. In the pack test an odd number of specimens are assembled into a relatively stable pack, like a "pack of cards." Additional lateral stability is obtained from lateral supports between the external sheet faces of the pack and outside reactions. The tests seems adequate for many problems in structural research.


Household food security is an important measure of well-being. Although it may not encapsulate all dimensions of poverty, the inability of households to obtain access to enough food for an active, healthy life is surely an important component of their poverty. Accordingly, devising an appropriate measure of food security outcomes is useful in order to identify the food insecure, assess the severity of their food shortfall, characterize the nature of their insecurity (for example, seasonal versus chronic), predict who is most at risk of future hunger, monitor changes in circumstances, and assess the impact of interventions. However, obtaining detailed data on food security status—such as 24- hour recall data on caloric intakes—can be time consuming and expensive and require a high level of technical skill both in data collection and analysis. This paper examines whether an alternative indicator, dietary diversity, defined as the number of unique foods consumed over a given period of time, provides information on household food security. It draws on data from 10 countries (India, the Philippines, Mozambique, Mexico, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mali, Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya) that encompass both poor and middle-income countries, rural and urban sectors, data collected in different seasons, and data on calories acquisition obtained using two different methods. ....[D]ietary diversity would appear to show promise as a means of measuring food security and monitoring changes and impact, particularly when resources available for such measurement are scarce.


In ongoing efforts to limit the proportion of budgets allocated to healthcare, governments have closed hospitals, reduced bed numbers, and minimised staffing levels. These efficiency drives in Australia and elsewhere have led to the healthcare system being more sensitive to shocks and disruptions because there is little excess capacity to absorb extra demand. Among other impacts, this has resulted in hospital emergency departments (EDs) having to balance patient throughput with patient queues. This balance is often difficult to achieve and EDs become overwhelmed, resulting in long patient waits, overcrowded treatment areas and excessive stress for ED staff. Much research has been done in an effort to limit the frequency and severity of these "overcrowding" incidents. Projects have been driven by preconceived ideas about activities in EDs and often employ parametric methods to identify correlated factors. As such they are limited by the extent of analysts' knowledge or observations. While these approaches have added to knowledge about ED operations, the problem of patient overcrowding persists. This research questioned whether patient treatment could be implicated in ED overcrowding. Process-based thinking was used in order to derive a simplified model of emergency department operations. This "process-focussed" model of ED operations directed thinking towards the identification of homogenous clusters of treatment with similar activities, so each treatment cluster could be considered to have matching inputs, outputs and resource consumption. Scientific Method was selected as an appropriate methodology for the research. Techniques from the dissociated methods of Data Mining and Management Science were combined within the hypothesis / experimentation framework of Scientific Method. Undirected clustering techniques from Data Mining were used to identify definitive treatment clusters. Discrete event simulation techniques from Management Science were used to drive the study towards the overcrowding problem. The treatment clusters were verified and validated through a number of studies. Process perspectives were employed together with the treatment clusters to simulate patient flows through the ED at an aggregated level. The clusters were combined with patient urgency and disposition to create "patient treatment types" that were tracked through the ED. Analysis of the simulated ED indicated that simultaneous occupation of the ED by certain patient types made the ED unable to accept any new patients for treatment. This thesis contributes to the understanding of ED overcrowding by confirming that exit block is the most likely direct cause of ED overcrowding, and by suggesting that the mix of patients types in, and arriving at, the ED are the most likely precursors of ED overcrowding. It concludes that there will always be a finite chance that a mix of patient types will occur who require admittance to hospital or have long ED treatment times, and consequently, are likely to block the ED. This suggests that it will never be possible to completely eliminate ED overcrowding. Rather, acceptable levels of risk of overcrowding need to be determined. The capacity of EDs and of hospitals to admit ED patients may then be determined based on how risk adverse the hospital is to ED overcrowding.


The contribution attempts to analyse aspects of language and translation as a part of a migration experience. The point of departure for the analysis is selected works by three Polish-Danish authors. The above-mentioned aspects are considered to be a permanent fixture in Polish-Scandinavian migration literature. The term 'translation' should not only be understood as a linguistic operation but also as a necessary attempt to make oneself and one's own identity understandable in a new cultural and intellectual context. The authors (Janina Katz, Alicja Fenigsen and Bronislaw Świderski) are all Polish Jews, who had to leave Poland after 1968, during a period of increasing anti-Semitism. They present different attitudes and feelings (nostalgia, duplicity and rootlessness) towards their mother tongue, Polish, and different strategies on how to deal with the foreign reality – from attempting to assimilate to recognizing the impossibility of altering their image (and self-image) as strangers. Although all the works analysed are autobiographically inspired, they express the universal condition of the subject in an era of migration.


Emphasising the creative aspect of music technology, this introduction sets out an overview of the field for music students in a non-scientific and straightforward way. Engaging and user-friendly, the book covers studio concepts: basic audio and the studio workflow, including audio and MIDI recording. It explores synthesisers, samplers and drum machines as well as basic concepts for electronic performance. In considering the role of the DJ, the book addresses remixing and production, drawing upon many examples from the popular music repertoire as well as looking at the studio as an experimental laboratory. The creative workflow involved in music for media is discussed, as well as controllers for performance and the basics of hacking electronics for music. The book as a whole reflects the many exciting areas found today in music technology and aims to set aspiring musicians off on a journey of discovery in electronic music.


Based on a porous carbon electrode, capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising desalination technology in which ions are harvested and stored in an electrical double layer. However, the ion removal capacity of CDI systems is not sufficient for desalting high-concentration saline water. Here, we report a novel desalination technique referred to as "hybrid capacitive deionization (HCDI)", which combines CDI with a battery system. HCDI consists of a sodium manganese oxide (Na4Mn9O18) electrode, an anion exchange membrane, and a porous carbon electrode. In this system, sodium ions are captured by the chemical reaction in the Na4Mn9O18 electrode, whereas chloride ions are adsorbed on the surface of the activated carbon electrode during the desalination process. HCDI exhibited more than double the ion removal sorption capacity (31.2 mg g−1) than a typical CDI system (13.5 mg g−1). Moreover, it was found that the system has a rapid ion removal rate and excellent stability in an aqueous sodium chloride solution. These results thus suggest that the HCDI system could be a feasible method for desalting a highly concentrated sodium chloride solution in capacitive techniques.


Tumor cell resistance to many unrelated anticancer drugs is a major obstacle during cancer chemotherapy. One mechanism of drug resistance is thought to be due to the efflux of anticancer drugs caused by P-glycoprotein. In recent years, magnetic fields have been found to enhance the potency of anticancer drugs, with favorable modulation of cancer therapy. In this study, KB-ChR-8-5-11, a multidrug resistant (MDR) human carcinoma subline, was used as a model to evaluate the ability of pulsed magnetic fields (PMF) to modulate the potency of daunorubicin (DNR) in vivo and to determine the appropriate order of exposure to drugs and PMF using an in vitro cytotoxicity assay. Solenoid coils with a ramped pulse current source were used at 250 pulses per second for both in vivo and in vitro experiments. For the in vivo study, KB-ChR-8-5-11 cells were inoculated into thymic Balbc-nu/nu female mice. Treatment was begun when the average tumor volume reached 250-450 mm3. Treatment consisted of whole body exposure to PMF for one hour, followed immediately by intravenous (i.v.) injection of 8 mg/kg DNR designated as day 0, and repeated on days 7 and 14. Among the various groups, significant differences in the tumor volume were found between PMF + saline and PMF + DNR groups (p = 0.0107) at 39 days and 42 days (p = 0.0101). No mice died in the PMF alone group, and no toxicity attributable to PMF was found during the experimental period. For the in vitro studies, the sulforhodamine blue (SRB) cytotoxicity assay was used to determine the effect of the sequence which cells are exposed to PMF and/or DNR. Cells were exposed to PMF either before (pre-PMF) or after (post-PMF) drug was added. Results showed that the IC50 was significantly different between controls and pre-PMF + DNR groups (P = 0.0096, P = 0.0088). The IC50 of the post-PMF + DNR group was not found to be significantly different from control groups. Thus, the data in this report demonstrates that PMF enhanced the potency of DNR against KB-ChR-8-5-11 xenograft in vivo, while the efficacy of DNR was potentiated in vitro by PMF exposure only when PMF exposure occurred in the presence of drug. The data in vitro suggest that the mechanism by which PMFs modulate DNR's potency may be by inhibition of the efflux pump, P-glycoprotein. Further work to determine conditions for maximum modulation of drug potency by PMFs is warranted.