Background Long-term maintenance of functional activity of thyroid cells is an essential requirement for basic in vitro studies on the physiology and pathology of the thyroid. An important prerequisite of thyrocytes' functional activity in vivo and in vitro is their follicle organization. Aim This study aimed at developing a method of cultivation of functionally active rat thyroid follicles in Matrigel under three-dimensional conditions. Methods Undamaged rat thyroid follicles were isolated by enzymatic digestion with collagenase/dispase, then embedded into Matrigel, and cultivated for 2 weeks. Thyroglobulin, thyroxine and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) localization were revealed by immunofluorescence analysis. Iodide organification was tested by protein-bound 125I (PBI) measurement. Results Integrity of the follicles was preserved during the whole period of cultivation and was confirmed by 3D reconstruction of ZO-1 localization. Thyroglobulin was detected in the thyrocyte cytoplasm, as well as in the intrafollicular lumen. Thyroxine was observed predominantly at the apical side of thyrocytes. Also, generated cultures were characterized by a high level of iodide organification: PB125I represented 39% of the total radioactivity in the Matrigel drop embedding the follicles; at the same time, methimazole almost totally inhibited this process (0.2% of total radioactivity). Conclusion The method of rat thyrocyte cultivation in Matrigel, as described here allows to maintain the structural integrity and the functional activity of thyroid follicles in vitro and could be used for wide ranges of basic and applied researches in thyroidology.


Objective The combination of constrained resources, patient complexity and rapidly increasing demand has meant that healthcare productivity constitutes a significant problem for emergency medicine. However, healthcare productivity remains a contentious issue, with some criticising the level of professional engagement. This paper will propose that productivity improvements in healthcare could occur (and be sustained) if professionals' perceptions and views of productivity were better understood. Methods An 8-month ethnographic study was conducted in a large UK ED, using semistructured interviews with healthcare professionals (HCPs) (n=26), a focus group and observation. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken based on an interpretivist philosophy. Results The data demonstrate that HCPs accept productivity improvement as part of their contemporary professional role. In particular, their understanding of productivity is focused around five key domains: the patient; the professional; the culture; the process of work and the economic. Conclusions By exploring how these HCPs experienced and made sense of productivity improvement and productive healthcare, the data reveals how HCPs may reconcile a culture of caring with one of efficiency. Understanding healthcare productivity from this perspective has potential implications for service improvement design and performance measurement.


Grid computing is a distributed computing and storage infrastructure which provides high end computing or supercomputing capability by sharing the resources of computers over the network. To achieve grid computing, development of secure and friendly environment is required. Even being a trustworthy computing environment there are number of threats a grid has to face. A grid can face security hazards due to defenselessness, security compromises, getting hit directly by hackers, security breaches and many more. This paper analyzes the complete analysis of various threats to grid and the possible solutions of it. Keywords—Grid Computing; Data Grid; Snooping; Brute Force Attack; Grid Architecture


To examine the relationship among identification, fan expectations, and sponsorship outcomes, this study examined Alabama and Clemson fan expectations and responses to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) football championship game outcome. This case study sought to understand how fans of winning and losing teams evaluated a sporting event's sponsor following the conclusion of an event, positing that highly identified fans would demonstrate a halo effect, and report favorable attitudes toward the sponsoring brand as suggested by previous research. However, there is a lack of theoretical evidence regarding consumer expectations when applied within the context of sport. Thus, using the theoretical framework of identification and expectation violation theory, the authors inquired to what extent the outcome of the game and one's expectations of the outcome influenced their evaluation of the event sponsor. The results support previous research regarding potential halo effects, but also add nuance to earlier work demonstrating that a halo effect is not unilaterally applied for all fans. Given the unpredictable nature of sport and the increasing cost of sponsoring sporting events, these findings help explain the extent to which violations of one's expected outcome affect subsequent evaluations of a sponsor.


ABSTRACT Upon completion, China's national emissions trading scheme (C-ETS) will be the largest carbon market in the world. Recent research has evaluated China's seven pilot ETSs launched from 2013 on, and academic literature on design aspects of the C-ETS abounds. Yet little is known about the specific details of the upcoming C-ETS. This article combines currently understood details of China's national carbon market with lessons learned in the pilot schemes as well as from the academic literature. Our review follows the taxonomy of Emissions Trading in Practice: A Handbook on Design and Implementation (Partnership for Market Readiness & International Carbon Action Partnership. (2016). Retrieved from www.worldbank.org): The 10 categories are: scope, cap, distribution of allowances, use of offsets, temporal flexibility, price predictability, compliance and oversight, stakeholder engagement and capacity building, linking, implementation and improvements. Key policy insights Accurate emissions data is paramount for both design and implementation, and its availability dictates the scope of the C-ETS. The stakeholder consultative process is critical for effective design, and China is able to build on its extensive experience through the pilot ETSs. Current policies and positions on intensity targets and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credits constrain the market design of the C-ETS. Most critical is the nature of the cap. The currently discussed rate-based cap with ex post adjustment is risky. Instead, an absolute, mass-based emissions cap coupled with the conditional use of permits would allow China to maintain flexibility in the carbon market while ensuring a limit on CO2 emissions.


Leiomyomas occur at various anatomical sites. While gastrointestinal leiomyomas are relatively uncommon, the female genital tract leiomyomas are one of the most common benign tumors. It is important to rule out the possibility of leiomyosarcoma whenever examining leiomyomas. At times this may be quite taxing as the nuclear atypia may be minimal. Not only many sections have to be submitted but also each section has to be carefully scrutinized for mitotic counts. Even slightly increased mitotic counts have been associated with malignancy. On the other hand, there are occasionally tumors which despite having very high mitotic counts are benign. These tumors are clinically distinct and if proper attention is given diagnosis of malignancy in such cases can be avoided. We describe here a case of vaginal leiomyoma with high mitotic counts in which correct diagnosis was achieved with patience and proper consultation.


Ten years after the land invasions of 2000, this book provides the first full account of the consequences of these dramatic events. This land reform overturned a century-old pattern of land use, one dominated by a small group of large-scale commercial farmers, many of whom were white. But what replaced it? This book challenges five myths through the examination of the field data from Masvingo province: Myth 1 Zimbabwean land reform has been a total failure Myth 2 The beneficiaries of Zimbabwean land reform have been largely political 'cronies' Myth 3 There is no investment in the new resettlements Myth 4 Agriculture is in complete ruins creating chronic food insecurity Myth 5 The rural economy has collapsed By challenging these myths, and suggesting alternative policy narratives, this book presents the story as it has been observed on the ground: warts and all. What comes through very strongly is the complexity, the differences, almost farm by farm: there is no single, simple story of the Zimbabwe land reform as sometimes assumed by press reports, political commentators, or indeed much academic study. Ian Scoones, Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, with co-authors Nelson Marongwe, Blasio Mavedzenge, Jacob Mahenehene, Felix Murimbarimba and Chrispen Sukume. Zimbabwe: Weaver Press Southern Africa: Jacana


The Danish power system has a large penetration of wind power. The wind fluctuation causes a high variation in the power generation, which must be balanced by other sources. The battery storage-based Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEVs) may be a possible solution to balance the wind power variations in the power systems with high wind power penetrations. In this paper, the integration of plug-in electric vehicles in the power systems with high wind power penetrations is proposed and discussed. Optimal operation strategies of PEV in the spot market are proposed in order to decrease the energy cost for PEV owners. Furthermore, the application of battery storage based aggregated PEV is analyzed as a regulation services provider in the power system with high wind power penetrations. The western Danish power system where the total share of annual wind power production is more than 27% of the electrical energy demand is chosen as the studied case. The results show that an optimal operation of PEV in both spot market and regulation market can not only decrease the energy costs for PEV owners, but also significantly decrease the power deviations between West Denmark and Union for the Coordination of Electricity Transmission (UCTE) control areas.


The child who starts school soon becomes aware that it is important to learn to read and write. When it is educated in written literacy, pictures are used in reading textbooks and other school materials. The child is also asked to draw and talk about pictures in other contexts. Against this background, the aim of the study is to investigate the importance of pictures for children's learning to read and write. The aim includes a description and analysis of the existing reading and writing discourse. The study problemises relational aspects of school practice, research and teacher education. This problemisation visualises a need for both a change and a development of the field of reading and writing. The thesis starts with a knowledge survey of the field of reading and writing. The survey provides the basis of a text study in which 11 Swedish theses, published between 1996 and 2003, are discussed and related to report materials published by The Swedish National Agency for School Improvement and the Board of Education. The text study is followed by an analysis of pictures, where the empirical material consists both of pictures taken from reading textbooks and reading diagnoses and pictures produced by children. The total result shows that there is consensus about the importance of different methods being applied through balanced reading programmes. At the same time it seems as if the field includes two discourses, a reading and a writing discourse. The dominant reading discourse is characterised by a strong emphasis on the teacher's competence in terms of being able to see, create progression, arrange in order, settle up and correct for the purpose of providing good preconditions for learning. Pictures are given here a clearly subordinate role. As for the writing discourse, there is a clear shift from the teacher to the child as a meaning carrying and meaning creating subject. To some extent pictures are then recognised as a complementary form of mediation in connection with writing. In the reading discourse it is clear that pictures are traditionally used as illustrations of texts for the purpose of proficiency training. In that case pictures are given a complex role. On the one hand they are criticised for being ambiguous. This ambiguity can lead the child away from effective decoding. On the other hand it is presupposed, paradoxically enough, that there is a one-to-one relationship between picture and text. In contrast, children themselves seem to be able to apply a well-integrated use of picture and text where the intention is superordinate to the convention. The picture-text relation is then expansive: through the child's involvement the interplay between words and pictures is functional and creates meaning. The thesis shows that a widened text concept, and consideration for the forms of production and presentation that characterise our culture, may yield knowledge contributing to developing the field of reading and writing. In order for this development to be possible, a complementary description of what characterises the respective discourse is required. In this description the concepts of communication and language, society and context and understanding and action function as an active intertriad for handling the teaching of reading and writing not as two separate fields but as a broadened, and at the same genuinely inclusive, field of knowledge.


Rise of the Picture Press: Photographic Reportage in Illustrated Magazines 1918-1939 International Center for Photography New York, New York March 27 - June 16 "Rise of the Picture Press: Photographic Reportage in Illustrated Magazines 1918-1939," held at the International Center for Photography (ICP) in New York City, took as its subject large-format illustrated magazines produced in Europe and the United States between the World Wars, including examples of well-known publications such as Harp Harper's Weekly, Life, Picture Post, Match and Vu; as well as lesser known publications such as USSR In Construction, Let's Produce!, BIZ (Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung), Muncher Illustrirte Presse, Voila, Lilliput, Look and Regards. Work by several now-canonized art photographers appeared in the exhibit, including Bill Brandt, Brassai, Alexander Rodchenko, El Lissitzky, Andre Kertesz, John Heartfield, Man Ray, Margaret Bourke-White and Robert Capa, to name just a few. However, the work of these photographers blended relatively smoothly into the larger context of the exhibit, which is to say that name-recognition was, for the most part, sacrificed to the social, historical and formal contribution of illustrated magazines. In fact, the exhibition organizers, Christopher Phillips and Venessa Rocco, and the exhibition designers Julie Ault and Martin Beck highlighted the collaborative nature 'of illustrated magazines by defining the different roles played by photographers, writers, editors, layout designers and various press agencies in determining the look and content of the end product. They also included wall text showcasing Stephan Lorant and Henry Luce, the most prominent and influential editor and publisher, respectively, of illustrated magazines at the time. The most provocative example highlighting the collaborative nature of magazine work, however, was the wall-sized mural of marked-up contact sheets from a photo-essay entitled "How the Picture Post is Produced" that ran on December 24, 1938. The enlarged contact sheets show editor Stephan Lorant sorting through newswire photographs at his desk; men and women working the printing presses, collating the pages and finally bundl ing up the finished product. Next to the wall mural, in a small case, the issue in which the story originally appeared was opened to reveal the first two-page spread of the essay, in which one of the pictures of Lorant, circled in yellow on the wall mural (and thus probably selected by Lorant himself), leads the story. This kind of innovative exhibition design was unfortunately not consistent throughout the entire show. Most ineffective was a large section of the exhibit in which framed spreads from the magazines jutted out from the wall. Some of these displays appeared beneath a row of images at eye-level, placed flush with the wall, but others were placed above those at eye-level, making the images, and especially the print, barely legible. At first I dismissed this slight annoyance and vowed to have my eyesight checked until I noticed several other visitors experiencing the same difficulty. A quibble hardly worth mentioning except that it raised questions about how one might ideally display such printed matter without doing irreparable damage to the essential character and context of the magazine format. This commentary is not meant to diminish the accomplishment of "Rise of the Picture Press," for it takes on a body of material often neglected by museums and galleries. While there have been several major exhibits in the last five years focusing on photojournalism or the work of particular photojournalists, the material selected for this exhibit is different. Primarily because the photographs on display are shown in their original context of the magazine, rather than reprinted and framed as single images hung separately on the wall without text, save the typical wall-label identifying artist, title and date. …


BACKGROUND: Treatment modalities for keloids, which are commonly found in Asians, include intralesional corticosteroid injections and cryotherapy as well as a combination of these two modalities. Few studies have been performed in a controlled fashion to evaluate the efficacy of these treatments. OBJECTIVE: A controlled study, to evaluate the combined effect of intralesional corticosteroid injection with cryotherapy vs. intralesional corticosteroid or cryotherapy alone. METHODS: Ten patients completed the study: eight patients had at least three keloids and two had two keloids. Patients were treated for at least three sessions 4 weeks apart. The outcome of the lesions was compared between the treatments regarding the thickness of the lesion using a caliper and phoKeywords: tographic assessment, and the presence of itch and pain before and after treatment using a visual analogue scale. RESULTS: In terms of thickness, the keloids responded significantly better to combined cryotherapy and triamcinolone vs. triamcinolone alone or cryotherapy alone ( P < 0.001). Pain intensity was significantly lowered with all treatment modalities; however, itch was lowered only with the combined treatment and intralesional corticosteroid alone. No significant side effects were noted with any of the treatments and no re-occurrence of keloids was noted with the combined therapy. CONCLUSION: Combined injection of intralesional steroids with cryotherapy appears to be superior to other current modalities.


ABSTRACT It has been speculated that the N-terminal half of the readthrough domain (RTD) encoded by open reading frame 5 of Soybean dwarf virus (SbDV) is related to the vector specificity. To further investigate this hypothesis, transmissibility via aphids was tested on 17 SbDV isolates and comparisons of the deduced amino acid sequences of the coat protein (CP) and other proteins encoded by the RTD were made between these isolates. Isolates were distinguished into four strains: YS, causing yellowing in soybean and transmittable by Aulacorthum solani; DS, causing dwarfing and transmittable by A. solani; YP, causing yellowing and transmittable by Acyrthosiphon pisum; and DP, causing dwarfing and transmittable by A. pisum. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the trees for the CP and the C-terminal half of the RTD sequences contained clusters of isolates of the same symptom type, whereas the tree for the N-terminal half of the RTD contained clusters of isolates of the same aphid vector type. These results agreed with our previous data of the complete nucleotide sequences of four SbDV isolates, and strongly indicated a close relationship between the N-terminal half of the RTD amino acid sequences and aphid transmission specificity of SbDV.


The cellular prion protein acts as a receptor for β-amyloid. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with the accumulation of insoluble β-amyloid (Aβ) protein to form plaques in the brain; however, the formation of soluble, oligomeric Aβ precedes plaque formation. Oligomeric Aβ blocks hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), among other effects, but how these effects are mediated is unclear. Laurén et al. made a synthetic, biotin-tagged form of Aβ peptide that could be denatured to form oligomeric Aβ. Oligomeric, but not monomeric, Aβ bound to hippocampal neurons, being most concentrated at postsynaptic densities. A screen of a mouse brain cDNA library, expressed in COS-7 cells, for binding of oligomeric Aβ identified the cellular prion protein (PrPC) as a candidate. Oligomeric Aβ did not bind to COS-7 cells expressing PrPSc, a misfolded version of PrPC that causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Although PrPC was the best candidate from the in vitro screen, binding of oligomeric Aβ to hippocampal neurons from PrPC-deficient (Prnp–/–) mice was 50% of that to neurons from wild-type (WT) mice, indicating that other potential receptors might exist. Analysis of deletion mutants of PrP mapped the oligomeric Aβ binding site to between residues 95 and 110. Electrophysiology experiments showed that oligomeric Aβ blocked LTP in hippocampal slices from WT mice, which was prevented by an anti-PrP antibody, but had no effect on LTP in slices from Prnp–/– mice. Together, these data suggest that PrPC mediates oligomeric Aβ-induced synaptic dysfunction. As Cisse and Mucke discuss, this potential link between AD and CJD should lead to interesting therapeutic possibilities. J. Laurén, D. A. Gimbel, H. B. Nygaard, J. W. Gilbert, S. M. Strittmatter, Cellular prion protein mediates impairment of synaptic plasticity by amyloid-β oligomers. Nature 457, 1128–1132 (2009). [PubMed] M. Cisse, L. Mucke, A prion protein connection. Nature 457, 1090–1091 (2009). [PubMed]


Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) is best known as the founder of pragmatism - the philosophy that assesses the meaning of what we say by its practical consequences. His writings cover a wide range of subjects and his influence can be seen in ethics, aesthetics, symbolic logic, religion, epistemology and metaphysics, and also scientific topics. The greater part of Peirce's papers were unpublished during his lifetime and upon his death several hundred manuscripts were left to Harvard University. This eight-volume collection also includes Peirce's writings on general philosophy, logic, pragmatism, metaphysics, experimental science, scientific method and philosophy of mind, as well as reviews and correspondence. Paragraphs are numbered for easy reference and contents arranged by subject.


This article discusses the challenges to Kattaikkâttu, a folk theatre performed in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu, in the context of the changing economic and social circumstances in which the theatre has to operate. The article tries to emphasise the social and cultural significance of this art form. Kattaikkâttu fulfils an important role in providing a powerful cultural medium of expression that is interactive, flexible, democratic, and accommodating, and geared to the entertainment and ritual/religious demands of its rural spectators. The article proves that a folk art form can provide not only a varied labour market but also a platform where local relationships, problems and politics are acted out and – to some extent – commented and reflected upon.


BACKGROUND
Thimerosal is an ethylmercury-containing preservative in vaccines. Toxicokinetic studies have shown children received doses of mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) that were in excess of safety guidelines. Previously, an ecological study showing a significant association between TCVs and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs) in the US was published in this journal.

MATERIAL/METHODS
A two phased population-based epidemiological study was undertaken. Phase one evaluated reported NDs to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) following thimerosal-containing Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular-Pertussis (DTaP) vaccines in comparison to thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines administered from 1997 through 2001. Phase two evaluated the automated Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) for cumulative exposures to mercury from TCVs at 1-, 2-, 3-, and 6-months-of-age for infants born from 1992 through 1997 and the eventual risk of developing NDs.

RESULTS
Phase one showed significantly increased risks for autism, speech disorders, mental retardation, personality disorders, and thinking abnormalities reported to VAERS following thimerosal-containing DTaP vaccines in comparison to thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines. Phase two showed significant associations between cumulative exposures to thimerosal and the following types of NDs: unspecified developmental delay, tics, attention deficit disorder (ADD), language delay, speech delay, and neurodevelopmental delays in general.

CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that exposure to mercury from TCVs administered in the US was a consistent significant risk factor for the development of NDs. It is clear from these data and other recent publications linking TCVs with NDs that additional ND research should be undertaken in the context of evaluating mercury-associated exposures and thimerosal-free vaccines should be made available.


Understanding the extent to which an intervention 'works' can provide compelling evidence to decision-makers, although without an accompanying explanation of how an intervention works, this evidence can be difficult to apply in other settings, ultimately impeding its usefulness in making judicious and evidence-informed decisions. In this paper, we describe causal chain analysis as involving the development of a logic model, which outlines graphically a hypothesis of how an intervention leads to a change in an outcome. This logic model is then used to anchor subsequent decisions in the systematic review process, including decisions on synthesis. In this paper, we outline the steps taken in building a logic model, which usually consists of a series of boxes depicting intervention components and processes, outputs, and outcomes with arrows depicting connecting relationships. The nature of these connecting relationships and their basis in causality are considered, through a focus on complex causal relationships and the way in which contextual factors about the intervention setting or population may moderate these. We also explore the way in which specific combinations of intervention components may lead to successful interventions. Evidence synthesis techniques are discussed in the context of causal chain analysis, and their usefulness in exploring different parts of the causal chain or different types of relationship. The approaches outlined in this paper aim to assist systematic reviewers in producing findings that are useful to decision-makers and practitioners, and in turn, help to confirm existing theories or develop entirely new ways of understanding how interventions to effect change.


To simulate the retaining capacity of an oil barrier in an uniform flow field, experiments were carried out in a laboratory flume at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH) by using Light Expanded Clay Aggregates (LECA) and plastic particles. It was demonstrated that under appropriate assumptions for the effects of buoyancy and gravity forces, the Shields approach is suitable to predict both the entrainment of suspended granules behind a barrier and the start of leakage underneath. The phenomenon was also simulated numerically with a multiphase model using a CFD code, Fluent, and the results were compared to those of the physical experiments. The "Eulerian model" multiphase model of FLUENT was selected to simulate the phenomenon. The numerical model successfully predicts the evolution of the slick shape behind the barrier for various flow conditions. The amount of LECA that leaked from the barrier agreed well with the experimental observations.


Cellulose dissolution and regeneration are old topics that have recently gained renewed attention. This is reflected in both applications - earlier and novel - and in scientific controversies. There is a current discussion in the literature on the balance between hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions in controlling the solution behavior of cellulose. Some of the key ideas are recalled.


Interfacial gas/liquid transport can be improved by employing superhydrophobic surfaces. The gas entrapped in the micro-structures of such surfaces make these substrates slippery, thereby reducing the resistance towards fluid flow. The amount of effective wall slip depends on the microscopic geometry of the gas/liquid interface. A non-zero liquid velocity at the wall is not only beneficial for increasing momentum transport, but also for enhancing interfacial mass transport.

In this study, the influence of the bubble mattress interface geometry on both momentum and mass transport is investigated by quantification of the effective slip length and the mass transfer enhancement. A bubble mattress is a superhydrophobic surface containing bubbles that are positioned transversely to the flow direction.

Experiments utilising micro-particle image velocimetry demonstrate the strong dependency of effective wall slip on both bubble protrusion angle and surface porosity for liquid flow over a bubble mattress. This dependency is confirmed by numerical predictions and is in agreement with previously published analytical and numerical results.

Simulations reveal that solute transport across slippery interfaces can be significantly enhanced compared to non-slippery interfaces as a result of the non-zero liquid wall velocity. Mass transfer enhancements up to 25% can be achieved.


Background Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) hydrolyses the neuromuscular blocking agents, succinylcholine and mivacurium used during general anaesthesia. Hereditary low BChE activity may result in an extensively prolonged duration of action of these drugs, especially in patients who are homozygous for the atypical or silent variants. We present three novel mutations in the butyrylcholinesterase gene (BCHE) identified in three families in which a member had experienced severely prolonged duration of action of succinylcholine. Methods As the phenotypes of the three probands could not be established with certainty using conventional biochemical tests, DNA samples were collected from two of the probands and four relatives. Genotypes were determined using complete nucleotide sequencing. Results Three novel mutations were identified: BCHE*FS126, BCHE*I3E4-14C and BCHE*328D. The proband in family 1 was genotyped as BCHE*115D*I3E4-14C/BCHE*FS126, whereas the proband in family 3 was compound heterozygous for BCHE*328D and BCHE*142M. In both patients, BChE activity was below detection limit, and they experienced an extensively prolonged duration of action of succinylcholine. The proband in family 2 was not sequenced, but a relative was heterozygous for BCHE*FS126. BCHE*I3E4-14C was in linkage with a known silent variant. Conclusions Two novel variants of BCHE are silencing the enzyme function. BCHE*FS126 results in a truncated protein lacking the active site and is therefore inactive. The second variant is BCHE*328D, also resulting in an inactive protein, as this change in amino acid is radical and furthermore situated in the gorge harbouring the active site. These variants result in extensively prolonged duration of action of succinylcholine.


Introduction Breath-holding spells (BHSs) are involuntary pauses of breathing, sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness. They usually occur in response to an upsetting or surprising situation. Breath-holding spells are usually caused by either a change in the usual breathing pattern or a slowing of the heart rate. In some children, BHSs may be related to iron deficiency anemia. The aim of the work was to study the clinical and laboratory profile of BPHs in children presented to the Neuropediatric Clinic at Sohag University Hospital. Methods An observational prospective study was done at Sohag University Hospital over a period of one year on children diagnosed as having BHSs by clinical history and laboratory evaluation, including complete blood count (CBC), serum iron, serum ferritin, total iron binding capacity, and Electroencephalography (EEG). Results During the period of study (one year), we reviewed data of 32 children who had been diagnosed as having BHSs. We found that cyanotic spells (71.88%) predominated over pallid spells. There were positive family histories (31.25%) and consanguinity (53.135) in the studied patients. We found a high incidence of iron deficiency anemia (62.5%) in association with BHS. Abnormal EEGs were found in (65.63%) of studied children. Conclusion BHS is a common, important problem associated with iron deficiency anemia, which is, in turn, a common nutritional problem in our country.


Most research on underrepresented members in science focuses on gender or on race/ethnicity, ignoring intersections embodied by women of color. This article, which draws from a qualitative, longitudinal study, addresses this gap by focusing on ten minority female physics students who negotiate three incongruent realms: field of study, gender, and race/ethnicity. It examines ways in which these students sense that their belonging and competence in science are questioned because their bodies do not conform to prevalent images of the "ordinary" white male physicist. To persevere in physics, they engage in bodily projects of (1) approximating ordinariness through fragmentation, which entails using strategies of racial or gendered "passing," or (2) rejecting these practices in favor of multiplicity, which entails employing stereotype manipulation or performances of superiority. By highlighting accounts of individuals who persevere in the elite physics field, this article provides insight into how university departments should reform to promote more women and underrepresented minorities in science.


Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC) is an objective function for end-to-end sequence learning, which adopts dynamic programming algorithms to directly learn the mapping between sequences. CTC has shown promising results in many sequence learning applications including speech recognition and scene text recognition. However, CTC tends to produce highly peaky and overconfident distributions, which is a symptom of overfitting. To remedy this, we propose a regularization method based on maximum conditional entropy which penalizes peaky distributions and encourages exploration. We also introduce an entropy-based pruning method to dramatically reduce the number of CTC feasible paths by ruling out unreasonable alignments. Experiments on scene text recognition show that our proposed methods consistently improve over the CTC baseline without the need to adjust training settings. Code has been made publicly available at: https://github.com/liuhu-bigeye/enctc.crnn.


We demonstrate the Taagle system for top-k retrieval in social tagging systems (also known as folksonomies). The general setting is the following: users form a weighted social network, which may reflect friendship, similarity, or trust; items from a public pool of items (e.g., URLs, blogs, photos, documents) are tagged by users with keywords; users search for the top-k items having certain tags. Going beyond a classic search paradigm where data is decoupled from the users querying it, users can now act both as producers and seekers of information. Hence finding the most relevant items in response to a query should be done in a network-aware manner: items tagged by users who are closer (more similar) to the seeker should be given more weight than items tagged by distant users. We illustrate with Taagle novel algorithms and a general approach that has the potential to scale to current applications, in an online context where the social network, the tagging data and even the seekers' search ingredients can change at any moment. We also illustrate possible design choices for providing users a fully-personalized and customizable search interface. By this interface, they can calibrate how social proximity is computed (for example, with respect to similarity in tagging actions), how much weight the social score of tagging actions should have in the result build-up, or the criteria by which the user network should be explored. In order to further reduce running time, seekers are given the possibility to chose between exact or approximate answers, and can benefit from cached results of previous queries (materialized views).


Structural, sedimentological, and provenance data from Paleogene synorogenic deposits of the east-central flank of the Bighorn Mountains provide new information about the development of footwall growth synclines, the evolution of fault-related folds, and the erosional unroofing history of intraforeland uplifts. Three conglomerate units, the upper conglomerate member of the Fort Union Formation and the Kingsbury and Moncrief Members of the Wasatch Formation, are incorporated within an asymmetric, east-verging growth syncline in the footwall of the main range-bounding thrust system. Three stages of footwall deformation are recorded within these conglomerates. Analysis of mapped progressive unconformities, retrodeformed balanced cross sections, and conglomerate clast composition data define these stages as part of a continuum of deformation associated with the development of footwall growth synclines. Development of an anticline-syncline pair marked the earliest stage of growth syncline formation (stage I). Rotation of the shared fold limb resulted in amplification of the growth syncline. Fine-grained, synorogenic sediment derived from easily eroded Mesozoic mudstone bypassed the growth syncline during this stage. By the end of Lebo Shale deposition, an average of 12.1% of shortening and 6.46 km of uplift had occurred along the range margin. Continued growth syncline development was marked by the deposition of the Kingsbury Conglomerate. The Kingsbury Conglomerate was derived from resistant, middle and lower Paleozoic carbonate strata in the uplifted source terrane. Intraformational unconformities, recording as much as 55° of bed rotation, were developed within the Kingsbury Conglomerate as fold limb rotation occurred coeval with deposition. Cross sections indicate that during this early stage of fault-related folding, an average of 16.9% shortening and 8.12 km of uplift occurred along the eastern flank of the Bighorn Mountains (end of stage I). The intermediate stage (stage II) of footwall growth syncline development involved partial truncation of the growth syncline by the advancing thrust faults and deposition of the Moncrief Conglomerate. The lower portion of the Moncrief Conglomerate was rotated basinward in the developing growth syncline. The final stage of deformation (stage III) was dominated by the thrust faulting of middle and lower Paleozoic strata eastward over steeply dipping Mesozoic strata and rotated Eocene synorogenic conglomerate. During this stage of deformation, the Moncrief Conglomerate was deformed, as the initially blind thrusts propagated into the near-surface conglomerate deposits, truncated the entire footwall syncline, and overrode the synorogenic conglomerate package. Cross sections in areas where this final stage of deformation is well developed indicate that an average of 24.1% shortening and 9.7 km of uplift had occurred along the eastern margin of the Bighorn Mountains. The caliber of synorogenic deposition in the Powder River basin was linked directly to the lithologic composition of the Bighorn Mountains. Approximately half of the 3.6-km-thick source-stratigraphic section of the eastern Bighorn Mountains was eroded prior to accumulation of conglomerate. The majority of this eroded material was derived from Mesozoic mudstone and poorly indurated sandstone that were incapable of generating coarse detritus. The first Paleogene conglomerates deposited along the east-central Bighorn Mountains, therefore, do not represent the initiation of Laramide uplift, but instead represent the exposure of coarse-clast–forming rock types from the lower half of the hanging-wall stratigraphic section (i.e., the Mississippian Madison Limestone and Ordovician Bighorn Dolomite).


This paper analyzes data from a randomized experiment on mean returns to capital in Sri Lankan micro-enterprises. The findings show greater returns among men than among women; indeed, returns were not different from zero for women. The authors explore different explanations for the lower returns among female owners, and find no evidence that the gender gap is explained by differences in ability, risk aversion, or entrepreneurial attitudes. Differential access to unpaid family labor and social constraints limiting sales to local areas are not important. However, there is evidence that women invested grants differently from men. A smaller share of the smaller grants remained in the female-owned enterprises, and men were more likely to spend the grant on working capital and women on equipment. The gender gap is largest when male-dominated sectors are compared with female-dominated sectors, although female returns are lower than male returns even for females working in the same industries as men. The authors examine the heterogeneity of returns to determine whether any group of businesses owned by women benefit from easing capital constraints. The results suggest there is a large group of high-return male owners and a smaller group of poor, high-ability, female owners who might benefit from more access to capital.


The Tropical Andes in Colombia is in the top 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world (Myers and others 2000). It has the highest level of species endemism in the world and they comprise 12 percent of the world's species. Humans have lived in the Colombian Andes for over 12,000 years. Population estimates of native peoples at the time of Spanish contact range between 3 to 5 million and about 60 percent of them lived in the Andes (Colmenares 1997, Etter and van Wyngaarden 2000). Today, about 45 million people call Colombia home, and 66 percent of them live in the Andes (Etter and van Wyngaarden 2000). Over the past several thousand years, the Andes region has progressively become a highly fragmented landscape, where only 30 percent or less of the original forest cover remains (Etter 1993, Cavelier and Etter 1995, Armenteras and others 2003, Etter and others 2006). Deforestation and conversion to agricultural land uses have eliminated much of the native ecosystems in the Andes region. Brooks and others (2002) state that the extent of habitat loss is a good predictor of the number of threatened or extinct endemic species because many biologists recognize fragmentation of habitat and its loss as the principal cause of biodiversity loss in the world (Armenteras and others 2003).


A. Pelicano, M. Divo de Sesar, N. Zamuner, J. L. Danelon, and M. Yoshida. 2007. The effect of asexual propagation and persistence of the vegetative growth of Morus alba on silk cocoon production. Cien. Inv. Agr. 34 (2):81-89. The goal of this work was to establish an effi cient protocol for vegetative propagation of Morus alba. At the same time this study aimed to evaluate the infl uence of this propagation protocol on the feeding of the larvae of Bombyx f mori and crude silk production. Vegetatively propagated mulberry plants were transplanted to 4 L containers and treated with 15 g of fertilizer, N:P:K (15:15:15,), and/or 6-benzyladenine (5 mg·L -1 ) (Ck). In autumn and spring, leaves were used for the feeding of one cohort of third stage larvae. It was observed that 60% of the plants treated with Ck sprouted before the others, in July, and the rest in August. Although the fertilized plants (TF) and those fertilized and treated with 6-benzyladenine (TFCk) sprouted shortly before the control (T), the Ck treated plants were notably uniform and had more and larger leaves. In the TFCk treatment, the percentage of fi ber, insoluble in neutral detergent (FIND) free from ash, was minor (29.73%). The quality of the food was refl ected in the weight gain and in crude silk percentage. Although interaction between TF and Ck was not signifi cant, there were signifi cant differences between control plants (T) and those treated with TF, TCk and TFCk. In the autumn test, the TCk treatment negatively affected the larvae of B. mori. These larvae twisted, assiduously inducing intestine evacuation. This caused reduced food consumption, and it was a transitory effect, but that meant a lower fi nal weight. The results of this work are very promising and useful for massive production since a longer vegetative cycle for M. alba would allow a greater number of B. mori generations per year.


For climate scientists, extreme weather is risky territory. There is no question that global warming is real, but the science linking any one hurricane, drought, or flood to climate change is shaky. And yet laypeople, politicians, and activists inevitably seize on vivid, easy-to-grasp weather events to make points about abstract, long-term climate. But climate researchers aren9t giving up. With more research and new methods for gauging the links between climate change and weather, they may be able to answer the "Is this climate change?" question on the spot—and turn extreme weather events into moments of teachable science.


Aim The aim of this study was to identify factors predictive of serious infections over time in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods A multi-ethnic, multi-national Latin American SLE cohort was studied. Serious infection was defined as one that required hospitalization, occurred during a hospitalization or led to death. Potential predictors included were sociodemographic factors, clinical manifestations (per organ involved, lymphopenia and leukopenia, independently) and previous infections at baseline. Disease activity (SLEDAI), damage (SLICC/ACR Damage Index), non-serious infections, glucocorticoids, antimalarials (users and non-users), and immunosuppressive drugs use; the last six variables were examined as time-dependent covariates. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the predictors of serious infections using a backward elimination procedure. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed. Results Of the 1243 patients included, 1116 (89.8%) were female. The median (interquartile range) age at diagnosis and follow-up time were 27 (20–37) years and 47.8 (17.9–68.6) months, respectively. The incidence rate of serious infections was 3.8 cases per 100 person-years. Antimalarial use (hazard ratio: 0.69; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48–0.99; p = 0.0440) was protective, while doses of prednisone >15 and ≤60 mg/day (hazard ratio: 4.18; 95 %CI: 1.69–10.31; p = 0.0019) and >60 mg/day (hazard ratio: 4.71; 95% CI: 1.35–16.49; p = 0.0153), use of methylprednisolone pulses (hazard ratio: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.10–2.13; p = 0.0124), increase in disease activity (hazard ratio: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01–1.04; p = 0.0016) and damage accrual (hazard ratio: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.11–1.34; p < 0.0001) were predictive factors of serious infections. Conclusions Over time, prednisone doses higher than 15 mg/day, use of methylprednisolone pulses, increase in disease activity and damage accrual were predictive of infections, whereas antimalarial use was protective against them in SLE patients.


The technique of laser-induced gratings (LIGs) has been applied to the simultaneous determination of speed of sound and thermal diffusivity of four 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ([EMIm])-based room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs)-[EMIm][N(CN)2], [EMIm][MeSO3], [EMIm][C(CN)3], and [EMIm][NTf2]-at ambient pressure (1 bar (0.1 MPa)) and temperature (28 °C (301 K)). Transient laser-induced gratings were created as a result of thermalization of a quasi-resonant excitation of highly lying combinational vibrational states of the RTIL molecules and electrostrictive compression of the liquid by radiation of a pulse-repetitive Q-switched Nd:YAG pump laser (1064 nm). The LIGs temporal evolution was recorded using Bragg diffraction of the radiation from a continuous-wave probe laser (532 nm). By fitting the temporal profiles of the LIG signals, the speed of sound and thermal diffusivity were determined, and the isentropic compressibility and thermal conductivity were calculated. Independently, the special experimental arrangement allowed the measurement of the damping of the laser-excited acoustic waves and the derivation of the RTIL bulk viscosity for the first time.


Sea turtles show temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and information on sex ratios at different life stages is necessary both for population dynamics models for conservation and to shed light on the possible adaptive value of TSD. Adults represent the less abundant class of sea turtle populations and adult sex ratios at foraging grounds are very difficult to obtain. We first analysed biometric data of 460 juvenile and adult loggerhead sea turtles ranging from 60 to 97.5 cm curved carapace length (CCL), in which a clear bimodal distribution of tail length (the main secondary sexual character of adult males) was observed in the size class >75 cm CCL. We then sexed 142 adult turtles in this size class collected from the Tunisian shelf and from the southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea, observing a proportion of females of 51.5% (95% CI: 41.2-61.8%; n=97) and 40.0% (95% CI: 25.7-55.7%; n=45) respectively. Our results complement previous studies and support their findings of similar and more balanced sex ratios in adult and juvenile loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean, in contrast with highly female-biased sex ratios of hatchlings.


Since the early 1990s, some developing countries have experienced a coincidence of rising exports – especially those related to global value chains – and improved labor market outcomes. During 2000–10, rising trade was associated with falling poverty and inequality in many developing countries. However, the Arab Republic of Egypt was not one of these countries, although it signed several trade agreements. The lack of trade-related improvements in labor market outcomes – including poverty, inequality, average wage levels, informality, and female labor force participation – could be explained by at least two possibilities. First, it is possible that trade agreements did not produce the same increase in trade for Egypt as for other countries. Second, it is possible that exports do not generate the same kinds of changes in labor market outcomes as experienced in other countries. After presenting the trends in key labor market outcomes over 2000–19, this paper evaluates both hypotheses. Using a gravity model approach, the results suggest that the changes in Egypt's exports following trade agreements are above internationally estimated averages. Second, the results from a Bartik approach find no significant relationship between rising exports and wages, informality, or female labor force participation. Additional analysis shows that Egypt's average wage levels are among the highest among countries that export the same goods exported by Egypt, possibly suggesting that Egypt has a relatively weak comparative advantage in currently exported goods, and thus might need to rethink its export basket.


TET2 is mutated/deleted with high frequencies in multiple forms of myeloid malignancies including MDS, CMML, MPN, and AML. However, little is known regarding the biological function of TET2 and its role in the pathogenesis of myeloid malignancies. To study the function of TET2 in vivo, we generated a Tet2 knock out mouse model. Deletion of Tet2 in mice led to dramatic reduction in the 5-hydroxymethylcytosine levels and concomitant increase in the 5-methylcytosine levels in the genomic DNA of BM cells. The Tet2(-/-) mice contained an increased Lin(-)Sca-1(+)c-Kit(+) (LSK) cell pool before the development of myeloid malignancies. A competitive reconstitution assay revealed that Tet2(-/-) LSK cells had an increased hematopoietic repopulating capacity with an altered cell differentiation skewing toward monocytic/granulocytic lineages. Approximately 1/3 of Tet2(-/-) and 8% of Tet2(+/-) mice died within 1 year of age because of the development of myeloid malignancies resembling characteristics of CMML, MPD-like myeloid leukemia, and MDS. Furthermore, transplantation of Tet2(-/-), but not wild-type (WT) or Tet2(+/-) BM cells, led to increased WBC counts, monocytosis, and splenomegaly in WT recipient mice. These data indicate that Tet2-deficient mice recapitulate patients with myeloid malignancies, implying that Tet2 functions as a tumor suppressor to maintain hematopoietic cell homeostasis.


In this work, electrocatalyst with core-shell structure (Pd as core and Pt as shell on VulcanXC-72R) was synthesis. Not only this structure can reduce the amount of platinum but it also can increase the gas diffusion electrode (GDE) performance in cathode reaction (Oxygen Reduction Reaction or ORR) of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). To this meaning, one series of electrocatalyst with different molar ratio of metals (Pd @ Pt), was prepared and applied in electrode fabrication. The used synthesis method was impregnation with hydrothermal. The performance of the electrodes in ORR was studied by linear sweep voltametery (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), chronoamperometery techniques and the MEA were also tested. Inductive coupled plasma (ICP), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques was used to characterize the electrocatalyst. The results indicated that the electrocatalyst with 3:1 molar ratio for Pd: Pt enhanced the cathode in MEA performance. This result can be attributed to the positive effect of Pd, particle size and catalyst distribution on substrate that consequently, provide the best three phase zone.


The technology of Augmented Reality exists for several decades and it is attributed the potential to provide an ideal, efficient and intuitive way of presenting information.
However it is not yet widely used.
This is because the realization of such Augmented Reality systems requires to solve many principal problems from various areas.
Much progress has been made in solving problems of core technologies, which enables us now to intensively explore the development of Augmented Reality applications.

As an exemplary industrial use case for this exploration, I selected the order picking process in logistics applications.
This thesis reports on the development of an application to support this task, by iteratively improving Augmented Reality-based metaphors.
In such order picking tasks, workers collect sets of items from assortments in warehouses according to work orders.
This order picking process has been subject to optimization for a long time, as it occurs a million times a day in industrial life.

For this Augmented Reality application development, workers have been equipped with mobile hardware, consisting of a wearable computer (in a back-pack) and tracked head-mounted displays (HMDs).
This thesis presents the iterative approach of exploring, evaluating and refining the Augmented Reality system, focusing on usability and utility.
It starts in a simple laboratory setup and goes up to a realistic industrial setup in a factory hall.
The Augmented Reality visualization shown in the HMD was the main subject of optimization in this thesis.
Overall, the task was challenging, as workers have to be guided on different levels, from very coarse to very fine granularity and accuracy.
The resulting setup consists of a combined and adaptive visualization to precisely and efficiently guide the user, even if the actual target of the augmentation is not always in the field of view of the HMD.

A side-effect of this iterative evaluation and refinement of visualizations in an industrial setup is the report on many lessons learned and an advice on the way Augmented Reality user interfaces should be improved and refined.


The aim was to evaluate whether adjunctive T3 can help accelerate the antidepressant response and improve overall outcomes when used under naturalistic conditions. Fifty consecutive psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder who were initiated on antidepressant therapy were randomized to receive adjunctive T3 or placebo in a double-blind manner over the course of 6 wk. There were no restrictions placed on the selection of antidepressant agent, dosing, ancillary medications, or psychotherapy, and there were few exclusion criteria. A positive response was defined as a > or = 50% reduction in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scores. Response rates were higher for the adjunctive T3 cohort compared to the adjunctive placebo cohort after 1 wk (45% vs. 24%) and 2 wk (57% vs. 33%) of treatment. The likelihood of experiencing a positive response at any point over the 6-wk trial was 4.5 times greater in the adjunctive T3 cohort (95% CI 1.3-15.7). The study provides preliminary evidence that T3 can successfully be used in clinical practice to accelerate the antidepressant response and improve overall outcomes. The effectiveness model may be an untapped mechanism for evaluating the value of psychopharmacological agents.


The COVID-19 pandemic brought widespread health, social and economic hardship to households and businesses across Illinois, the nation, and the world. This report provides an initial look at some early evidence regarding one element of COVID-19 economic challenges by conducting comparative analysis of small business conditions in Illinois and in neighboring states. The analysis relies primarily on two data sources: The US Census Bureau Small Business Pulse (SBFS) surveys and Opportunity Insights economic tracker. More than 90% of Week 1 Illinois SBFS survey respondents said that the pandemic had a moderate or large negative effect on their business. This was similar to the national (U.S.) share but somewhat higher than other states in the region with the exception of Michigan. The share of respondents with such a negative response gradually declined over the next eight weeks in Illinois and nationally. The data from the SBFS survey, which reports small business' self-assessment of the pandemic's economic impact, suggests that the effect in Illinois has moderated somewhat over time and is quite similar to the impact nationally and among neighboring states. Opportunity Insights data is based on actual market transaction from a possibly non-random selection of private sector sources. Based on this data, Illinois' Cook county its surrounding counties suffered a precipitous decline in the share of businesses that were open beginning in early March. Each of the counties recovered somewhat as time progressed, but all remained far below their January 2020 levels as late as March 2020. Indiana counties exhibited a similar pattern. We also examined Illinois border counties and find that in most cases they suffered consequences similar to their pair across state borders despite the somewhat different timing and strictures of state stay-at-home orders. We see similar patterns between Illinois and each of its neighboring states and there is little evidence that states' stay-at-home orders were a significant predictor of the negative economic outcomes for small business.


For decades, if not centuries, the term imperialism has been used in manifold and ambivalent ways. Some historians, such as William Hancock, therefore shied away from using it in their texts, while others set up theories to explain as much as possible with regard to the European expansion into the non-European world – and in some cases even beyond. Taking the three cases of German colonial policy before 1890, the granting of "responsible government" to the so-called British dominions and the expansion of British power in South Asia from the mid-eighteenth century to 1914, this article seeks to show to what extent a knowledge of both older and more recent theories of imperialism can still be useful for empirical research in the humanities and the social sciences.


Background Dysmorphophobia may improve after a variety or combination of treatments, but which elements of a treatment are useful is usually not certain. Method In a single out-patient case study rational role-play ('paradoxical discourse') was added to exposure plus cognitive restructuring (CR) for a dysmorphic delusion study comprised of 20-minute sessions one week apart. Results Previous exposure plus attempted CR had improved anxiety, phobias, work and social leisure, but not dysmorphic belief. Added brief rational role-play was followed by resolution of the dysmorphic belief. All measures remained much improved at 18-month follow-up. Conclusions Rational role-play deserves a controlled trial in dysmorphophobia and other problems and exploration of its mechanism of action.


Per capita consumption of avocado in the United States has nearly doubled between 2000 and 2010. The California avocado industry supplies almost 40% of U.S. demand and the remaining 60% is supplied by imports from Latin America and New Zealand. The Tea Shot Hole Borer (TSHB) is an ambrosia beetle from Asia that forms a symbiosis with a new, yet undescribed Fusarium sp. and is a serious problem for the Israeli avocado industry (3). The beetle also causes severe damage on the branches of tea (Camelia sinensis) in Sri Lanka and India (1). In California, TSHB was first reported on black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) in 2003, but there are no records of fungal damage (4). In 2012, nine backyard avocado trees (cvs. Hass, Bacon, Fuerte, and Nabal) exhibiting branch dieback were observed throughout the residential neighborhoods of South Gate, Downey, and Pico Rivera in Los Angeles County. Upon inspection, symptoms of white powdery exudate, either dry or surrounded by wet discoloration of the outer bark in association with a single beetle exit hole, were found on the trunk and main branches of the tree. Examination of the cortex and wood under the exit hole revealed brown discolored necrosis. The TSHB was also found within galleries that were 1 to 4 cm long going against the grain. Symptomatic cortex and sapwood tissues were plated onto potato dextrose agar amended with 0.01% tetracycline (PDA-tet). The TSHB was dissected and plated onto PDA-tet after surface disinfestation following methods described by Kajimura and Hijii (2). After 5 days of incubation at room temperature, regular fungal colonies with aerial mycelia and reddish brown margins were produced. Single spore isolations were used to establish pure culture of the fungus. Fifty conidia were hyaline, clavate with a rounded apex, and initially aseptate (4.1 to 12.0 × 2.4 to 4.1 μm) becoming one- to three-septate (7.6 to 15.1 × 2.8 to 4.5 μm, 9.2 to 17.2 × 3.4 to 4.8 μm, and 13.5 to 17.6 × 4.3 to 4.7 μm, respectively). Identity of the fungal isolates was determined by amplification of the rDNA genes with primers ITS4/5 and EF1/2, respectively. Sequences were deposited into GenBank under Accession Nos. JQ723753, JQ723760, JQ723756, and JQ723763. A BLASTn search revealed 100% similarity to Fusarium sp. (Accession Nos. JQ038020 and JQ038013). Detached green shoots of healthy 1-year-old avocado were wounded to a depth of 1 to 2 mm and 5-mm mycelial plugs from 5-day-old cultures (UCR 1781 and UCR 1837) were placed mycelial side down onto the freshly wounded surfaces and then wrapped with Parafilm. Control shoots were inoculated with sterile agar plugs and five replicates per treatment were used. Shoots were incubated at 25 ± 1°C in moist chambers for 3 weeks. Lesions were observed on all inoculated shoots except for the control. Mean lesion lengths were 10.7 and 12.8 cm for UCR1781 and UCR1837, respectively, and were significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) from the control. Both isolates were reisolated from 100% of symptomatic tissues of inoculated shoots to complete Koch's postulates. This experiment was conducted twice and similar results were obtained. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Fusarium sp. and its vector E. fornicatus causing Fusarium dieback on Avocado in California. References: (1) W. Danthanarayana. Tea Quarterly 39:61, 1968. (2) H. Kajimura and N. Hijii. Ecol. Res. 7:107, 1992; (3) Mendel et al., Phytoparasitica, DOI 10.1007/s12600-012-0223-7, 2012. (4) R. J. Rabaglia. Annals Entomol. Soc. Amer. 99:1034, 2006.


ABSTRACT While Cryptosporidium parvum infection of the intestine has been reported in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals, biliary infection is seen primarily in adult AIDS patients and is associated with development of AIDS cholangiopathy. However, the mechanisms of pathogen-induced AIDS cholangiopathy remain unclear. Since we previously demonstrated that the Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) system is involved in paracrine-mediated C. parvum cytopathicity in cholangiocytes, we also tested the potential synergistic effects of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transactivator of transcription (Tat)-mediated FasL regulation on C. parvum-induced apoptosis in cholangiocytes by semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR, immunoblotting, immunofluorescence analysis, and immunogold electron microscopy. H69 cells do not express CXCR4 and CCR5, which are receptors required for direct HIV-1 viral infection. However, recombinant biologically active HIV-1-associated Tat protein increased FasL expression in the cytoplasm of cholangiocytes without a significant increase in apoptosis. We found that C. parvum-induced apoptosis was associated with translocation of intracellular FasL to the cell membrane surface and release of full-length FasL from infected H69 cells. Tat significantly (P < 0.05) increased C. parvum-induced apoptosis in bystander cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, Tat enhanced both C. parvum-induced FasL membrane translocation and release of full-length FasL. In addition, the FasL neutralizing antibody NOK-1 and the caspase-8 inhibitor Z-IETD-fmk both blocked C. parvum-induced apoptosis in cholangiocytes. The data demonstrated that HIV-1 Tat enhances C. parvum-induced cholangiocyte apoptosis via a paracrine-mediated, FasL-dependent mechanism. Our results suggest that concurrent active HIV replication, with associated production of Tat protein, and C. parvum infection synergistically increase cholangiocyte apoptosis and thus jointly contribute to AIDS-related cholangiopathies.


Over the last decades, the United States has become increasingly integrated in the world economy. Very low trade barriers and comparatively liberal migration policies have made these developments possible. What drove US congressmen to support the recent wave of globalization? While much of the literature has emphasized the differences that exist between the political economy of trade and migration, in this paper we find that important similarities should not be overlooked. In particular, our analysis of congressional voting between 1970 and 2006 suggests that economic drivers that work through the labor market play an important role in shaping representatives' behavior on both types of policies. Representatives from more skilled-labor abundant districts are more likely to support both trade liberalization and a more open stance vis-a-vis unskilled immigration. Still, important systematic differences exist: welfare state considerations and network effects have an impact on the support for immigration liberalization, but not for trade; Democratic lawmakers are systematically more likely to support a more open migration stance than their Republican counterparts, whereas the opposite is true for trade liberalization.


The maize pl locus encodes a transcriptional activator of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. The Pl-Rhoades (Pl-Rh) allele confers robust purple anthocyanin pigment in several tissues. Spontaneous derivatives of Pl-Rh, termed Pl'-mahogany (Pl'-mah), arise that confer reduced pigment and are meiotically heritable. These derivatives influence other Pl-Rh alleles such that only Pl'-mah alleles are transmitted form a Pl-Rh/Pl'mah heterozygote. Genetic crosses establish that chromosomal segregation distortion does not explain this exclusive transmission and suggest that Pl-Rh invariably changes to Pl'-mah when exposed to Pl'-mah. Such behavior is a hallmark of paramutation. Cosegregation experiments demonstrate that this paramutagenic activity is genetically linked to the pl locus. By visually quantifying pl action through successive crosses, we find that phenotypic expression is inversely related to paramutation at two other maize loci, b and r. Previous analysis of b and r paramutation revealed extensive differences and led to suggestions of distinct molecular mechanisms. Consideration of the common features of all three systems reinvigorates the interpretation that the mechanistic processes of these three allelic interactions are similar.


Sir, We read with interest the recent report by Cox et al. on the association of atopic dermatitis with the beta subunit of the high-affinity IgE receptor (Fc1RI-b). The gene was originally identified as a candidate for atopy on human chromosome 11q. Fc1RI-b has been shown to be involved in the amplification of Fc1RI-mediated signalling that might be related to the pathogenesis of atopic disease. Because of the predominantly maternal transmission of atopy, it has been strongly suggested that the gene for Fc1RI-b may show a parent-of-origin effect such as genomic imprinting. One previous report consistent with this notion showed maternal transmission of the I181L allele in a British population, while another showed no parent-of-origin effect of the transmission of the E237G allele in an Australian population. The report by Cox et al. again raises this issue by demonstrating exclusive maternal transmission of Fc1RI-b alleles to offspring with atopic dermatitis. None the less, as far as we know, there has been no direct test of possible allele-specific expression of this gene. To study the possible involvement of a genomic imprinting mechanism, we have used the widely applicable mouse model system. We find, as detailed below, that the Fc1RI-b gene shows no parent-of-origin-specific expression, using F1 hybrids between a laboratory mouse strain (C57BL/6J) and wild mouse strains [either Mus musculus molossinus (MOLF/Ei) or M. spretus (SPRET/Ei)]. The parental mouse strains (C57BL/6J, MOLF/Ei, SPRET/ Ei) were purchased from Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME, U.S.A.). Cloning, sequencing, total RNA extraction and reverse transcription±polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of Fc1RI-b were done as described previously. Based on a human genomic DNA sequence (GenBank M89796) and a mouse cDNA sequence (GenBank J05019), we designed a PCR primer pair spanning exon 6, intron 6 and exon 7 of the Fc1RI-b gene, so that an intron could be included in the PCR target. This allowed us to measure the gene expression directly, without interference by possible contamination of genomic DNAs in RNA samples. Sequence polymorphisms among C57BL/6J, MOLF/Ei and SPRET/Ei were identified by sequencing PCR products from each strain (deposited in GenBank; accession numbers U90217±U90219). A 395-base pair (bp) fragment of the gene for Fc1RI-b was amplified from cDNAs with primers up6: 5 0-ATCCTGGCCTTTTGCAGTGC-3 0 and dn10: 5 0-TGTATGTGAAATTGTGACAC-3 0. To obtain enough DNA for analyses, a shorter fragment (361 bp) was reamplified from the PCR products with primers up6 and dn4: 5 0-GGAGTGAATGATATCCGCAA-3 0. Allele-specific expression in reciprocal crosses between C57BL/6J and MOLF/Ei was examined by using a Sau3AI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in a 361-bp PCR product (Fig. 1A). For RFLP analysis, 3 mL of unpurified PCR products were digested with 5 U of Sau3AI in a 15-mL reaction mixture at 37 8C for 3 h, then electrophoresed in a 12% polyacrylamide gel. The gel was stained by ethidium bromide and photographed under ultraviolet radiation. Both paternally and maternally derived alleles were expressed in all examined tissues, i.e. embryo, placenta and yolk sac at 14 ́5 days postconception, whole body and skin at the newborn stage (Fig. 1B), and spleen, lung and colon in adults (not shown). The data clearly demonstrate the biallelic expression of the gene for Fc1RI-b. To confirm these data, interspecific hybrids between a laboratory mouse strain and M. spretus were used. In these crosses, the C57BL/6J-specific allele (296 bp) can be distinguished from the SPRET/Ei-specific allele (279 bp) by length


Satellite‐based radar interferometry is a technique capable of measuring small surface elevation changes at large scales and with a high resolution. In vadose zone hydrology, it has been recognized for a long time that surface elevation changes due to swell and shrinkage of clayey soils can serve as an estimate for soil water storage change. Therefore, satellite‐based radar interferometry can potentially offer an alternative methodology to estimate soil water storage change at field or regional scales. This paper introduces principles of satellite‐based radar interferometry and identifies limitations and potential applications of the technique to measure surface elevation changes from clay shrinkage. In situ measurements were performed and a linear relation between soil water storage depletion and layer shrinkage was obtained. Data from the TerraSAR‐X satellite over the measurement area were analyzed to identify the most favorable conditions for radar interferometry to measure vertical shrinkage. High‐quality phase observations over clayey areas in polders with limited vegetation can be explained from differences in land use and soil type. Signal noise over sparsely vegetated agricultural fields was successfully reduced by multilooking over agricultural fields at the cost of spatial resolution. Good resemblance between in situ measured shrinkage and differential phase change was found in a test period. Based on this study, we expect that radar interferometric processing of data from the future satellite mission Sentinel‐1 can play a crucial role in providing much‐needed observations of vadose zone processes at the field scale and beyond.


Voslařova E., B. Janackova, L. Rubesova, A. Kozak, I. Bedaňova, L. Steinhauser, V. Vecerek: Mortality Rates in Poultry Species and Categories during Transport for Slaughter. Acta Vet. Brno 2007, 76: S101-S108. Transport-related mortality rates were compared for various poultry species and categories where published data are limited. The numbers of broilers, hens and cockerels, turkeys, ducks, and geese transported for slaughter, and the numbers that died during such transport, were recorded from 1997 to 2006 in cooperation with the State Veterinary Administration of the Czech Republic. The mortality rate for individual poultry species and categories was calculated overall, and was also recorded for the following transport distances: up to 50 km, from 51 km to 100 km, from 101 km to 200 km, from 201 km to 300 km, and over 300 km. Transport of poultry for slaughter was accompanied by varying mortality rates depending on poultry species and categories. The highest mortality rates occurred in hens and cockerels (1.013%), followed by turkeys (0.272%), broilers (0.253%), ducks (0.103%), and geese (0.056%). Differences among the mortality rates estimated were highly significant ( p < 0.001). Mortality rates highly correlated with transport distance. The lowest mortality rates were for the shortest transport distances: In broilers (0.154%), turkeys (0.164%), and hens and cockerels (0.595%) for a transport distance up to 50 km; and in ducks (0.069-0.111%) and geese (0.021 - 0.053%) for transport distances up to 300 km. Highest mortality rates in hens and cockerels (1.892%), turkeys (0.341%), and broilers (0.536%) were observed for transport distances over 200 km, while in ducks (0.147%) and geese (0.253%), highest mortality rates were with transport distances exceeding 300 km. The highest mortality rates for all transport distances were in hens and cockerels, followed by turkeys and broilers. The mortality rate in turkeys for a transport distance up to 50 km was significantly higher than that in broilers. No significant differences were found between mortality rates in turkeys and broilers for transport distances of 51-100 km and 101-200 km whereas, for a distance of 201-300 km and in distances exceeding 300 km, the mortality rates in broilers were significantly higher compared to turkeys. The lowest mortality rates were observed in ducks and geese, with a significant difference between them only for transport distances of 51 to 100 km, where the mortality rate in ducks was higher, and over 300 km, where the mortality rate in geese was higher. When planning the transport of poultry for slaughter, susceptibility to stress induced by transport and transport distance (i.e. the duration of transport) of poultry species and categories should be considered. broiler chicken, hen, cockerel, turkey, goose, duck, mortality, poultry processing plant, transport distance


Cannabis use is associated with psychosis, particularly in those with expression of, or vulnerability for, psychotic illness. The biological underpinnings of these differential associations, however, remain largely unknown. We used Positron Emission Tomography and 18F-fallypride to test the hypothesis that genetic risk for psychosis is expressed by differential induction of dopamine release by Δ9-THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis). In a single dynamic PET scanning session, striatal dopamine release after pulmonary administration of Δ9-THC was measured in 9 healthy cannabis users (average risk psychotic disorder), 8 patients with psychotic disorder (high risk psychotic disorder) and 7 un-related first-degree relatives (intermediate risk psychotic disorder). PET data were analyzed applying the linear extension of the simplified reference region model (LSRRM), which accounts for time-dependent changes in 18F-fallypride displacement. Voxel-based statistical maps, representing specific D2/3 binding changes, were computed to localize areas with increased ligand displacement after Δ9-THC administration, reflecting dopamine release. While Δ9-THC was not associated with dopamine release in the control group, significant ligand displacement induced by Δ9-THC in striatal subregions, indicative of dopamine release, was detected in both patients and relatives. This was most pronounced in caudate nucleus. This is the first study to demonstrate differential sensitivity to Δ9-THC in terms of increased endogenous dopamine release in individuals at risk for psychosis.


The ubiquity of smartphones has led to the emergence of mobile crowdsourcing tasks such as the detection of spatial events when smartphone users move around in their daily lives. However, the credibility of those detected events can be negatively impacted by unreliable participants with low-quality data. Consequently, a major challenge in mobile crowdsourcing is truth discovery, i.e., to discover true events from diverse and noisy participants' reports. This problem is uniquely distinct from its online counterpart in that it involves uncertainties in both participants' mobility and reliability. Decoupling these two types of uncertainties through location tracking will raise severe privacy and energy issues, whereas simply ignoring missing reports or treating them as negative reports will significantly degrade the accuracy of truth discovery. In this paper, we propose two new unsupervised models, i.e., Truth finder for Spatial Events (TSE) and Personalized Truth finder for Spatial Events (PTSE), to tackle this problem. In TSE, we model location popularity, location visit indicators, truths of events, and three-way participant reliability in a unified framework. In PTSE, we further model personal location visit tendencies. These proposed models are capable of effectively handling various types of uncertainties and automatically discovering truths without any supervision or location tracking. Experimental results on both real-world and synthetic datasets demonstrate that our proposed models outperform existing state-of-the-art truth discovery approaches in the mobile crowdsourcing environment.


In a groundbreaking book that challenges familiar narratives of discontinuity, disease-based demographic collapse, and acculturation, Michael V. Wilcox upends many deeply held assumptions about native people in North America. His provocative book poses the question, What if we attempted to explain their presence in contemporary society five hundred years after Columbus instead of their disappearance or marginalization? Wilcox looks in particular at the 1680 Pueblo Revolt in colonial New Mexico, the most successful indigenous rebellion in the Americas, as a case study for dismantling the mythology of the perpetually vanishing Indian. Bringing recent archaeological findings to bear on traditional historical accounts, Wilcox suggests that a more profitable direction for understanding the history of Native cultures should involve analyses of issues such as violence, slavery, and the creative responses they generated.


The Data Encryption Standard (DES) has shown noticeable signs of aging during the last two decades. In this paper we develop a system that is a DES-variant with more resistance towards the possible attacks against DES. The developed system has a sub-key generation algorithm that is completely different from the original DES. The developed system uses 84-bit initial key instead of the 56-bit key originally used. It has substitution boxes inside the key generation algorithm and mod2 additions. The choice of arrangement of substitution boxes in the main algorithm for each round is sub-key dependent. The result of the design is a DES-variant cryptographic system that has higher resistance against brute-force attack, differential cryptanalysis, and linear cryptanalysis. The proposed system design also cancelled the weak-keys and complement keys properties of the DES.


The lung contains a host of extracellular matrix components that comprise the supporting and adhesive elements of conducting airways, alveoli and the vascular tree. While none of these components is unique to the lung, their peculiar distribution determines the architecture and function of this gas exchange organ. Cells and tissues of the lung interact with the matrix through a variety of surface receptors, especially the integrins and adhesive molecules, some of which may play important roles in lung injury and repair. Collagen type I is the predominant determinant of tensile strength, but as many as 11 other genetic types of collagen with specialized adhesive and connecting functions can be found in various lung structures, including cartilage and basement membranes. Excessive matrix accumulation in the lung is the result of a complex set of influences on gene regulation, part of which may be due to the presence of inflammatory cytokines that directly stimulate matrix synthesis. However, degradation and turnover of the matrix are also critical processes influenced by many of the same mediators. Collagenase and gelatinase (type IV collagenase) are tightly-regulated metalloenzymes that, together with a set of specific inhibitors of metalloproteinases, determine the net abundance and distribution of collagen. Elastases of several biochemical types are also under tight regulation by proteinase inhibitors. Elastin is essential to lung function at the level of alveolar wall resiliency and patency, and loss of elastin in emphysema appears to be due to uncontrolled degradation of the embryologically-established pattern of elastic fibres accompanied by nonfunctional replacement as a response to injury. Injury to the vascular endothelium of the lung, as well as other physiological insults that elevate pulmonary blood pressure, can lead to the excessive accumulation of collagen and elastin in the conductance and resistance arteries of the pulmonary circulation. Mechanical stress and endothelial injury may mediate the medial hypertrophy of these vessels. Extracellular matrix components are critically involved in every stage of lung biology: development, normal function and acute and chronic disease states. To date, only glucocorticoids, cross-linking inhibitors, and protease inhibitors have been used in a general attempt to suppress either excessive matrix accumulation or loss. More detailed understanding of the regulation and specific interactions of matrix components is central to the analysis of disease states and the development of appropriate therapeutic strategies.


The work presented in this thesis resulted in the development and application of different mathematical sub-models to describe the physics of turbulent reacting spray typical for gas turbine combustors. The resulting complete models were formulated in the Eulerian-Lagrangian context. Emphases were primarily put on the interaction between solid particles and turbulence seeking a correct prediction of turbulent quantities in turbulent two phase flows. The investigation of the feedback mechanism of particles on the continuous phase within the turbulent two-phase flow which is known as turbulence modulation was carried out with three different modulation models. Computations reveal that the obtained results of the turbulent kinetic energy using the thermodynamically consistent model, reproduce well both the turbulence attenuation and production. Indeed, the standard model underestimates the turbulence. This model is dissipative for small and big particles, whereas the model by Crowe is overall productive. Two evaporation models have been developed, integrated in FASTEST/LAG3D code and subsequently applied. The computations were achieved using a fully two-way coupling process. A systematical study of the interaction processes including turbulence, turbulence modulation, mass and heat transfer has been satisfactory carried out. Simulations showed that non equilibrium model agree most favorably with experimental measurements of the droplet mass flux. In order to characterize the turbulence-droplet vaporization interaction regimes, a vaporization Damkoehler number (Dav) has been introduced. Numerical results have demonstrated that in case of Dav>1 turbulence augmentation enhances the evaporation rate, whereas for DaviU1 the opposite phenomenon takes place, namely the rate of evaporation is reduced. The spray combustion was studied in a complex industrial configuration, which consists of a single annular combustor that was experimentally measured by Rolls-Royce Deutschland. Simulations were performed using k-eps as well as Reynolds Stress model (Jones Musonge) for turbulence, an assumed shape of probability density function to prescribe turbulence combustion interaction and different models describing the turbulence modulation. Equilibrium and a flamelet chemistry approaches were used. Results showed that predicted RTDF distributions are satisfactory and provide plausible results compared with measurements. The use of the thermodynamically consistent modulation model allows an acceptable behavior of the temperature distribution compared to the standard modulation model. On the other hand, both evaporation models (equilibrium and non-equilibrium) provided similar results for the temperature distribution. Numerical computations including the flamelet turbulent combustion model predicted a lower peak reaction temperature and a more gradual temperature decrease than predictions using equilibrium chemistry. As final conclusion one can reiterate that the combination of the following sub-models: thermodynamically consistent model for the turbulence modulation, Langmuir-Knudsen non-equilibrium model for the evaporation, Reynolds Stress Model for the turbulence and flamelet model for the chemistry establish a reliable complete model that seems to allows a better description of reactive multi-phase flow studied in the frame of this work.


Introduction Age-related declines in locomotion have been related to declines in the triceps surae muscle-tendon unit (MTU) capacities1. We aimed to determine if drop jump height or motor task execution strategy differences existed between young and middle-aged adults, when triceps surae MTU capacities (muscle strength and tendon stiffness) were matched. Methods The triceps surae MTU mechanical properties of 26 younger (20 to 30 years) and 29 middle-aged (50 to 65 years) adults were assessed during isometric voluntary ankle plantarflexion contractions using dynamometry and ultrasonography simultaneously. The 12 young adults with the lowest and the 12 middle-aged adults with the greatest triceps surae muscle strength then completed a series of drop jumps from different heights. Ground contact time, average vertical ground reaction force, average mechanical power and jumping height were determined. Results Younger and middle-aged adults achieved similar jumping heights, independent of the drop jump starting height. Significant age effects were found for ground contact time (p < 0.01) and average vertical ground reaction force during ground contact (p < 0.01), with the middle-aged group showing higher ground contact times but lower forces, reflected in a significant age effect on mechanical power (p < 0.05). Significant (p < 0.05) correlations were found between triceps surae MTU capacities and drop jump height (0.41 ≤ r ≤ 0.81; p < 0.05). Conclusions The results of the current study demonstrate that when triceps surae MTU capacities are matched, young and middle-aged adults show comparable performance of a jumping task, despite different motor strategies. Countering the degeneration of the triceps surae MTU capacities may help to prevent the decline in locomotor function. Finally, the results suggest that neuromuscular factors other than maximum isometric strength and tendon stiffness may influence motor task execution strategy during jumping. References 1. Kulmala et al. (2014) J R Soc Interface, 11, 20140858.


Aims: To determine the frequency and distribution of dental caries, periapical lesions, the periodontal disease, ante-mortem tooth loss and enamel hypoplasia in a high status, urban post-medieval population from the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, and to compare these rates with those obtained from contemporary populations from urban and rural Latvian cemeteries. Materials: The sample analysed consisted of the dental remains of 108 individuals (39 male, 42 female and 27 non-adults) excavated from the Jelgava Holy Trinity Church cemetery in Latvia. A total of 1,233 teeth and 1,853 alveoli were examined. Results: The frequency of the observed conditions in this population was overall high but not anomalous for the post-medieval period in Latvia. The differences between the age and the sex groups when comparing the number of individuals affected were not significant. The number of teeth and/or alveoli affected by caries, the periodontal disease and the ante-mortem tooth loss proved to be significantly higher in females than males in both age groups and in total. The prevalence of enamel hypoplasia was high in both sex groups. Conclusions: The overall high rates of destructive dental diseases in this population were linked to the diet high in soft carbohydrates and refined sugars. The significant differences between the number of teeth and alveoli in male and female dentitions affected by caries, the periodontal disease and the ante-mortem tooth loss were linked to a differential diet, as well as high fertility demands and differences in the composition of male and female saliva. The large number of the adult individuals affected by enamel hypoplasia proved that most of the population was subject to severe metabolic stress episodes during childhood, but that many children were likely to survive these hardships into adulthood. The comparison with other contemporary populations proved that all the Holy Trinity Church cemetery population had an equally high prevalence of dental diseases, especially with regards to other urban populations.


This is a volume of original contributions from scholars in eight different humanities and social science disciplines. The aim of the book is to present a range of surveillance technologies used in everyday life and investigate the politics of their use. It is truly an interdisciplinary project that will find purchase in courses on security studies and the sociology of culture and the sociology of science. Courses on security studies and its impact on culture can be found in a variety of academic departments including STS, criminology, sociology, women's studies, anthropology, political science and justice studies.


Looking at new public-space formations today, the roles of new technologies grow not only prominent but also noticeably time-sensitive. Due in part to the rapidly changing nature of communications media and the diverse stakeholders, the theatrical "entr'acte" appears to be an apt model for forms and durations of public space with diverse performers (both human and material elements) of different sorts: entr'acteurs. How is public space as physical construct changing with new embedded forms of computing? How is a public formed? What new material sensibilities emerge? And what role does their essentially fleeting or transitional character play?


A conceptual precipitation–runoff model was applied in five glacierized catchments in Central Asia. The model, which was first developed and applied in the Alps, works on a daily time step and yields good results in the more continental climate of the Tien Shan mountains for present-day climate conditions. Runoff scenarios for different climates (doubling of CO2) and glacierization conditions predict an increased flood risk as a first stage and a more complex picture after a complete glacier loss: a higher discharge during spring due to an earlier and more intense snowmelt is followed by a water deficiency in hot and dry summer periods. This unfavourable seasonal redistribution of the water supply has dramatic consequences for the Central Asian lowlands, which depend to a high degree on the glacier melt water for irrigation and already nowadays suffer from water shortages.


Link prediction is a popular research area with important applications in a variety of disciplines, including biology, social science, security, and medicine. The fundamental requirement of link prediction is the accurate and effective prediction of new links in networks. While there are many different methods proposed for link prediction , we argue that the practical performance potential of these methods is often unknown because of challenges in the evaluation of link prediction, which impact the reliability and reproducibility of results. We describe these challenges, provide theoretical proofs and empirical examples demonstrating how current methods lead to questionable conclusions, show how the fallacy of these conclusions is illuminated by methods we propose, and develop recommendations for consistent, standard, and applicable evaluation metrics. We also recommend the use of precision-recall threshold curves and associated areas in lieu of receiver operating characteristic curves due to complications that arise from extreme imbalance in the link prediction classification problem.


The values of material physical properties are vital for the successful use of numerical simulations for electromagnetic processing of materials. The surface tension of materials can be determined from the experimental measurement of the surface oscillation frequency of liquid droplets. In order for this technique to be used, a positioning field is required that results in a modification to the oscillation frequency. A number of previous analytical models have been developed that mainly focus on electrically conducting droplets positioned using an A.C. electromagnetic field, but due to the turbulent flow resulting from the high electromagnetic fields required to balance gravity, reliable measurements have largely been limited to microgravity. In this work axisymmetric analytical and numerical models are developed, which allow the surface tension of a diamagnetic droplet positioned in a high DC magnetic field to be determined from the surface oscillations. In the case of D.C. levitation there is no internal electric currents with resulting Joule heating, Marangoni flow and other effects that introduce additional physics that complicates the measurement process. The analytical solution uses the linearised Navier-Stokes equations in the inviscid case. The body force from a DC field is potential, in contrast to the AC case, and it can be derived from Maxwell equations giving a solution for the magnetic field in the form of a series expansion of Legendre polynomials. The first few terms in this expansion represent a constant and gradient magnetic field valid close to the origin, which can be used to position the droplet. Initially the mathematical model is verified in microgravity conditions using a numerical model developed to solve the transient electromagnetics, fluid flow and thermodynamic equations. In the numerical model (as in experiment) the magnetic field is obtained using electrical current carrying coils, which provides the confinement force for a liquid droplet. The model incorporates free surface deformation to accurately model the oscillations that result from the interaction between the droplet and the non-uniform external magnetic field. A comparison is made between the analytical perturbation theory and the numerical pseudo spectral approximation solutions for small amplitude oscillations.