The political history of Brazil includes a period of colonization by the Portuguese, the establishment of an imperial court, a period of rule by various military juntas, dictatorship and democracy. Drawing on archival based research conducted in Brazil, this study focuses on the forces that transformed the modus operandi of accountants in this country within this changing context, at times constraining and at times providing opportunities in their quest for professional status. Perceived as a low-status occupation since colonial times, the pursuit of professional status was driven by those with superior educational qualifications as a mean of differentiating themselves from those with only practical experience. Such activity peaked between 1900 and 1946, a period of dictatorship and centralisation, and was only successful because some of the key protagonists were in positions of power within the centralised state. Unlike professional projects in the AngloAmerican mode, here the emphasis was on legislating for improved educational qualifications which then provided a platform for professional organisation. Emerging as the product of such legislation, a national accounting body was created in 1946, although issues pertaining to the dedicated functions of accounting professionals and their perceived status remained unresolved.


The permeability of the bacterial outer membrane, enclosing Gram-negative bacteria, depends on the interactions of the outer, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) layer, with surrounding ions and molecules. We present a coarse-grained model for describing how cationic amphiphilic molecules (e.g., antimicrobial peptides) interact with and perturb the LPS layer in a biologically relevant medium, containing monovalent and divalent salt ions (e.g., Mg^{2+}). In our approach, peptide binding is driven by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions and is assumed to expand the LPS layer, eventually priming it for disruption. Our results suggest that in parameter ranges of biological relevance (e.g., at micromolar concentrations) the antimicrobial peptide magainin 2 effectively disrupts the LPS layer, even though it has to compete with Mg^{2+} for the layer. They also show how the integrity of LPS is restored with an increasing concentration of Mg^{2+}. Using the approach, we make a number of predictions relevant for optimizing peptide parameters against Gram-negative bacteria and for understanding bacterial strategies to develop resistance against cationic peptides.


The debate and litigation over the constitutionality of the individual mandate during the past few years has revealed an utter lack of consensus on the bench and in the academy concerning the scope of and limits on the congressional commerce power. The parties here are divided into two different camps and see questions and cases from opposing perspectives which color and frame their perception and understanding of the topic. One perspective is a dynamic take on the New Deal Settlement which sees Congress as possessing essentially unlimited legislative power over commerce. The other perspective freezes doctrine in place and accepts the New Deal Settlement and cases decided before the individual mandate debate, but will go no farther than that. This article takes up the question of whether Congress' power to regulate commerce also includes the power to mandate commerce and uses it to reciprocally explore and illuminate both the individual mandate debate and the dueling perspectives which underlie and shape that debate. It does this by examining the ways in which the meaning and significance of the activity/inactivity distinction and the words "regulate," "commerce," "mandate" and "commandeer" are understood, analyzed and argued from the two perspectives and then trying to determine what progress toward consensus is attainable there.


Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a "systematic and integrative process" (Wood, 2003) in which an investor, the proponent, is legally obliged to produce an assessment of the environmental (and in some cases social and/or economical) impacts of a proposed activity in a report to the competent authority containing project design details and mitigation measures to prevent or reduce negative impacts. In this way EIA aims to ensure that environmental implications of decisions are taken into account before decisions are made. This research focuses on the hypothesis by Kolhoff et al. (2009) that the low performance of the EIA system in developing countries is a result of the gap between the ambitions as laid down in legislation and the capacity of actors in the EIA system. Ghana is selected as the focus country for this research because, as a low to middle income country with an ambitious EIA legislation but low EIA performance (Kolhoff et al., 2012), it suits the aims of this research. The central research question for this study is: To what extent do actor capacities influence EIA system performance in Ghana? The EIA system is defined in this research as the EIA regulations and the capacities of the actors involved (Kolhoff et al., 2009). EIA system performance is measured in terms of achieving the goals of EIA: to contribute to well-informed decision-making and environmental protection. The definition of capacity for this research is formulated as the set of attributes or abilities that help an actor to achieve its goals. The actor capacities identified in this research are: ownership, power, knowledge, resources, network, leadership and adaptability. This research focuses on establishing a measurable relation between the effect of actor capacities on the performance of the EIA system in Ghana. After establishing the conceptual framework and operationalizing the conceptual framework in relation to the Ghanaian EIA process, two case studies are analyzed using the operationalized conceptual framework: the Ahafo South project and the Nzema project, two large-scale gold mines in Ghana. Based on a comparison of the results for the two cases and an analysis of current developments in Ghana's mining sector, the main conclusions with regard to the effect of actor capacity on EIA performance are that the capacity of ownership, defined as the ability of an actor to identify with EIA process goals, is a key determinant with regard to EIA system performance. Furthermore, it is established that, when an actor possesses limited knowledge, resources and/or network capacity, the actor is hampered in its goal attainment. With regard to leadership, a collaborative interaction style is associated with high EIA system performance, though this is a co-varying relationship rather than n explanatory relationship. With respect to adaptability it is shown that if an actor, when faced with resistance, exhibits a shift in the use of knowledge, resources and/or network, then this actor shows high goal attainment. IF the actor's goals are aligned with EIA process goals, the resultant effect is high EIA performance; if the actor is not oriented towards EIA goals, the effect is low EIA performance.


Background/Aims Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) often report poor sleep quality. Whether poor sleep is associated with tryptophan (Trp) metabolites is unknown. We compared serum Trp metabolites in women with IBS and healthy controls (HCs) using targeted liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based profiling. In IBS only, we explored whether Trp metabolites are associated with IBS symptoms and subjective and objective sleep indices, serum cortisol, plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and cortisol/ACTH levels. Methods Blood samples were obtained every 80 minutes in 21 HCs and 38 IBS subjects following an anticipation-of-public-speaking stressor during a sleep laboratory protocol. Subjects completed symptom diaries for 28 days. Adjacent values of metabolites were averaged to represent 4 time-periods: awake, early sleep, mid-sleep, and mid-to-late sleep. Thirteen of 20 targeted Trp metabolites were identified. Results Ten of 13 Trp metabolites decreased across the night, while nicotinamide increased in both groups. A MANOVA omnibus test performed after principal component analysis showed a significant difference in these 13 principal component (P = 0.014) between groups. Compared to HCs, nicotinamide levels were higher and indole-3-lactic acid levels lower in the IBS group. Melatonin and indole-3-acetic acid levels were associated with several subjective/objective sleep measures; decreased stool consistency/frequency and abdominal pain were positively associated with melatonin and serotonin in the IBS group. The kynurenine and kynurenic acid were associated with ACTH (positively) and cortisol/ACTH (negatively). Conclusions Nighttime Trp metabolites may provide clues to poor sleep and stress with IBS. Further study of the mechanism of metabolite action is warranted.


Land change in the Greater Antilles differs markedly among countries because of varying socioeconomic histories and global influences. We assessed land change between 2001 and 2010 in municipalities (second administrative units) of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Our analysis used annual land-use/land-cover maps derived from MODIS satellite imagery to model linear change in woody vegetation, mixed-woody/plantations and agriculture/herbaceous vegetation. Using this approach, we focused on municipalities with significant change ( p ≤ 0.05). Between 2001 and 2010, the Greater Antilles gained 801 km 2 of woody vegetation. This increase was mainly due to the return of woody vegetation in Cuba, and smaller increases in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Despite relatively similar environments, the factors associated with these changes varied greatly between countries. In Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, agriculture declined while mixed-woody vegetation increased, mostly in montane regions. In contrast, Cuba experienced an extensive decline in sugarcane plantations, which resulted in the spread of an invasive woody shrub species and the increase in woody vegetation in areas of high agricultural value. In Haiti, the growing population, fuelwood consumption, and increase in agriculture contributed to woody vegetation loss; however, woody vegetation loss was accompanied with a significant increase in the mixed woody and plantations class. Most regional analyses often treated the Greater Antilles as a homogeneous unit; our results suggest that historical and socio-economic differences among countries are crucial for understanding the variation in present day land change dynamics.


Background: Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) may detect early changes in cardiac mechanics in patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). We aimed to evaluate whether changes in strain or strain rate, as measured by 2D-STE, precede a decrease in LVEF in patients with lymphoma undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy (AC).
Methods: We studied patients with lymphoma who underwent 2D-STE before and after starting AC. A cardiotoxicity "event" was defined as a decrease in LVEF by ≥10% or to <50%. Standard echocardiographic and strain indices were analyzed.
Results: A total of 46 patients with lymphoma (54% men; mean (SD) age, 64 (14) years) were included. An event occurred in 12 patients after starting AC. Abnormalities were detected in global longitudinal strain (GLS), peak systolic global longitudinal strain rate (GLSRs), and global circumferential strain rate (GCSR) at <6 months and in global longitudinal early diastolic strain rate (GLSRe) at 6-12 months before a decrease in LVEF (GLS odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) 1.86 (1.28-2.91), P<0.001; global circumferential strain OR (95% CI) 1.47(1.13-1.97), P=0.005; GLSRs OR (95% CI) 1.31 (1.10-1.61), P=0.002; and GCSR OR (95% CI) 1.08 (1.00-1.19), P=0.0495).
Conclusions: GLS and GLSRs were the earliest and most predictive echocardiographic strain parameters for AC-induced cardiomyopathy in this pilot study. These parameters may be incorporated into cardiotoxicity surveillance protocols for patients undergoing AC.


Lateral mass redistribution in soils is the key to understanding field‐scale solute transport, but the underlying assumptions of common transport theories are violated under transient‐flow conditions. We tested the applicability of two limiting cases for solute spreading under transient‐flow conditions in the field after an appropriate time coordinate transformation: no lateral mass redistribution, described by the convective‐lognormal transfer function (CLT), vs. perfect lateral mass redistribution, described by the convection–dispersion equation (CDE). A Br− transport experiment was performed in six zero‐tension lysimeters and in the field for almost 3 yr under atmospheric conditions. Sampling in the field was performed by extracting soil cores during seven campaigns. According to time‐domain reflectometry readings, only slight variations in water content were measured in space and time in the lysimeters. In contrast, water content was lower and more variable in the plow layer in the field. The variance of solute spreading was better predicted by the CDE assuming perfect lateral mass redistribution. This hints at the importance of molecular diffusion. Both models have the flexibility to fit the flux‐averaged breakthrough curve in the lysimeters and the averaged concentration profiles in the field, but not with one set of parameters. The CLT parameters obtained from the lysimeter experiment better predicted the measured concentration profiles in the field for shorter times, but both models failed for longer times. Due to the occurrence of local saturation at the lower boundary of zero‐potential lysimeters, differences in water regimes hamper the transferability of transport parameters from lysimeters to the field.


Abstract This laboratory study confirmed that the strategy of adult terrestrial Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say); Coleoptera Chrysomelidae) to survive the threat of drowning in water is based on avoidance of water crossings. It also showed that beetles at the surface of a body of water after failing to avoid it, long considered limited to passive floating and phoretic transport were in fact likely to rely on a complex fight or flee response. Beetles showed capacity to swim in a pattern similar to land foraging beetles. Beetles also tolerated submergence and walked underwater. These active behaviours should improve their probability of finding shore or refuge for longer survival. Results confirmed that Colorado potato beetles are likely to accumulate near water features in the potato agro-ecosystem landscape but suggest that successful crossings and colonisation of crops on the other side are more likely than previously expected. On a larger scale, new information provided by this study combined with our knowledge of dominant winds and currents should make it possible for future research to better predict the probability of surviving encounters with water and the orientation of invasive Colorado potato beetle colonisers dispersing at the surface of bodies of water.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and yield of the soybean in response to the application of plant growth regulator to a soybean crop. For this purpose, seeds of the cultivar BRS 246 RR were sown in October of the agricultural years 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, in an experimental layout of complete blocks, with randomized treatments and four replications. The treatments, arranged in factorial design, consisted of the combination of seed treatments and plant growth regulator (with and without 0.5 L 100kg-1 of seeds) and five doses of the product (0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.375 and 0.5 L ha-1) applied to the leaves at two stages of the crop development (V5 or R3). A liquid growth regulator, Stimulate®, from Stoller of Brazil Ltda was used, consisting of three plant growth regulators in the following concentrations: 0.005% indolebutyric acid IBA - IBA (auxin analogue), 0.009% kinetin (cytokinin) and 0.005% gibberellic acid - GA3 (gibberellin). The use of plant growth regulator had an influence on the increase in productivity; oil and protein levels were altered by the action of the regulator, which tended to favour the protein content.


Abstract In the European security calculus, terrorism has become one of the key strategic threats. Alarmingly, the continent has also become a centre of radical Islamist propaganda and activism, with a number of European countries worried over the potential of their own 'home-grown' religious extremists. Latest studies indicate a disturbing trend of a section of the youth, generally belonging to the Muslim communities of West African and South Asian origin from a poor or middle class socioeconomic background, embracing extremism and terrorism in Europe. This article examines the agenda of some prominent radical Islamic organisations, namely, 'Hizb ut-Tahrir' and 'Al-Muhajiroun', active in Europe, which also have South Asia in their focus. Taking advantage of the communications revolution, these organisations have succeeded in establishing an effective propaganda network. A silent radicalisation of young Muslims in Europe is also influencing Muslim youth in the subcontinent because of the inter-linkages and continuous propaganda established through the Internet.


Context. The observed proportionality between the centripetal contribution of the dynamically insignificant HI gas in the discs of spiral galaxies and the dominant contribution of dark matter (DM) – the "Bosma effect" – has been repeatedly mentioned in the literature but largely ignored. Since this phenomenology, if statistically significant, tells us something about the relationship between the visible baryonic and invisible DM, it is important to re-examine the reality of this effect using formal tests and more modern data. Aims. We have re-examined the evidence for the Bosma effect, either by scaling the contribution of the HI gas alone or by using both the observed stellar disc and HI gas as proxies. Methods. We have calculated Bosma effect models for 17 galaxies in The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey data set. The results are compared with two models for exotic cold DM: internally consistent cosmological Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) models with constrained compactness parameters, and "universal rotation curve" (URC) models using fully unconstrained Burkert density profiles. Results. Fits to spiral galaxy rotation curves computed using just HI scaling are inadequate, despite the clear proportionality seen in the outer discs. The poor performance is obviously related to the prominent decrease in the HI surface density in regions of high stellar surface density, where HI has been converted into molecules and stars. The Bosma models that partially correct for this physical effect using the stellar discs as additional proxies are statistically nearly as good as the URC models and clearly better than the NFW ones. Conclusions. We confirm the correlation between the centripetal effects of DM and that of the interstellar medium of spiral galaxies. The efficacy of "maximal disc" models is explained as the natural consequence of "classic" Bosma models which include the stellar disc as a proxy in regions of reduced atomic gas. The perception that the Bosma effect could be due to the near-equality of the HI surface density and the projected mass density of a cold DM halo is incorrect, both theoretically and empirically. The standard explanation – that the effect reflects a statistical correlation between the visible and exotic DM – seems highly unlikely, given that the geometric forms and hence centripetal signatures of spherical halo and disc components are so different. A literal interpretation of the Bosma effect as being due to the presence of significant amounts of disc DM requires a median visible baryon to disc DM ratio of about 40%.


New Zealand forests grow under highly oceanic climates on an isolated southern archipelago. They experience a combination of historical and environmental factors matched nowhere else. This paper explores whether the New Zealand tree flora also differs systematically from those found in other temperate and island areas. A compilation of traits and distributions from standard floras is used to compare the New Zealand tree flora with those of Europe, North America, Chile, southern Australia, Fiji and Hawaii. New Zealand has a large number of trees (215 species ≥6 m in height). It is more tree-rich than temperate North America and Europe having up to 50% more species at a quadrat scale of 2.5o latitude x 2.5o longitude. However, this richness is due to a greater abundance of small trees (≤15 m in height) and we argue that it is a legacy of allopatric speciation and radiation during the late Neogene (2.5–10 million yrs ago) when the New Zealand landmass was repeatedly split into smaller island groups and mountain building occurred. The leaves of New Zealand trees, along with those of southeast Australia, are smaller and narrower than those of the temperate northern hemisphere. Dominance of the canopy by small-leaved evergreen conifers and angiosperms may have facilitated the persistence of small tree species in the lower canopy. The proportion of tree species with a deciduous or divaricating habit, and toothed-margin leaves, increases with latitude, suggesting a link with lower winter temperatures in the south. Tree species richness decreases with increasing latitude and, in conformity with Rapoport's Rule, latitudinal range width increases. Wide-range trees are mainly bird-dispersed, fast-growing seral small trees, or long-lived, tall podocarps. Wide-range trees appear to have no greater tolerance of climate extremes than narrow-range trees, and their persistence at high latitudes derives from their enhanced colonization ability.


The book begins with an analysis of copyright law as it applies to the physical and the digital world. The challenges that the law has to face in the digital environment are specifically addressed by illustrating how the self-regulating features of the copyright regime have been jeopardized with the advent of Internet and digital technologies. The book subsequently analyses the role of private ordering in the regulation of information and presents the various mechanisms of self-help that have been developed so far to address the challenges of the digital world. The contrast is between the use of end-user licensing agreements and technological measures of protection (e.g. DRM) intended to restrict the consumption of digital works beyond the scope of the copyright regime, and the use of Open Content licenses (e.g. Creative Commons) intended to support a greater dissemination and broader availability of works, amidst other goals. The book finally investigates the corresponding advantages and drawbacks of these two divergent approaches, and concludes by addressing the justifications for governmental intervention in regulating the operations of private ordering.


Tactical Persistent Surveillance Radar with Applications introduces technologists to the essential elements of persistent surveillance of tactical targets from both a hardware and software point of view, using simple Mathcad, Excel and Basic examples with real data. It is based on the type of surveillance done by drones like Scan Eagle, Predator, Reaper, Global Hawk, and manned aircraft like U-2, ASTOR, and JSTARS as well as spacecraft. The general topic is cellphone and datalink intercept, ground moving target radar, synthetic aperture radar, navigation, tracking, electronic scanning and cueing electro-optical sensors for activity based surveillance. Examples are taken from a wide range of technologies and techniques including passive detection, radar detection, antenna monopulse, active electronic scanned antennas (AESA), moving target tracking (MTT), motion compensation, tactical target spectral characteristics, moving target detection (MTI), space time adaptive processing (STAP), synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, change detection (CCD), and synthetic monopulse. Over 120 example applications programs are included in the appendices and as downloads as well as over 100 SAR and GMTI raw IQ data files. These allow the curious to experiment with their own parameters and notions to achieve a greater understanding of the underlying behaviors. Based on the author's 55-year experience in engineering design, leadership, teaching and consulting, this book is an essential text for researchers, advanced students and technologists working in radar and related fields in computing and aerospace system design.


Predicting the future trajectories of multiple interacting agents in a scene has become an increasingly important problem for many different applications ranging from control of autonomous vehicles and social robots to security and surveillance. This problem is compounded by the presence of social interactions between humans and their physical interactions with the scene. While the existing literature has explored some of these cues, they mainly ignored the multimodal nature of each human's future trajectory. In this paper, we present Social-BiGAT, a graph-based generative adversarial network that generates realistic, multimodal trajectory predictions by better modelling the social interactions of pedestrians in a scene. Our method is based on a graph attention network (GAT) that learns reliable feature representations that encode the social interactions between humans in the scene, and a recurrent encoder-decoder architecture that is trained adversarially to predict, based on the features, the humans' paths. We explicitly account for the multimodal nature of the prediction problem by forming a reversible transformation between each scene and its latent noise vector, as in Bicycle-GAN. We show that our framework achieves state-of-the-art performance comparing it to several baselines on existing trajectory forecasting benchmarks.


The hospital discharge report plays an important role in the communication between hospital and general practice. However, the discharge report is often sent several days after discharge, and may not be received when the patient first visits his general practitioner after discharge. An intervention to reduce this delay was carried out between November 1993 and July 1994 at all hospital departments (n = 35) in the County of Funen, Denmark. The intervention consisted of a detailed evaluation of all routines concerning discharge reports followed by initiatives to reduce the waiting time. Criteria and standards for waiting time and quality of discharge reports were stated and evaluated before and after the intervention. As standard for waiting time, at least three-quarters of all discharge reports should be received by the general practitioner within ten days after discharge. Before the intervention half of all departments met this standard. After the intervention two-thirds met the standard. The quality of discharge reports was acceptable both before and after the intervention. This study shows that it was possible to reduce the delay of discharge reports by an intervention made in collaboration between hospital and general practice.


As a result of the liberalization of the 1980s, the financial system has acquired a prominent role in developing economies. It is now conventional wisdom that 'financial liberalization' is the means to stimulate economic development. Investment Finance in Economic Development challenges this assumption and offers an alternative view. The book presents a post-Keynesian approach to the role of banks, financial markets and savings in economic development. It departs from the conventional belief that financial institutions are mere intermediaries between savers and investors, to show that banks have a key, active role in the process of investment finance and growth. Further, financial markets, as the loci of allocation of financial savings, are shown to have an important role in supporting financial stability during the process of growth.


Although the existence of a brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS) had been proposed five decades ago, we still struggle to understand how it functions. The main reason for this is the virtual lack of renin at brain tissue sites. Moreover, although renin's substrate, angiotensinogen, appears to be synthesized locally in the brain, brain angiotensin (Ang) II disappeared after selective silencing of hepatic angiotensinogen. This implies that brain Ang generation depends on hepatic angiotensinogen after all. Rodrigues et al. (Clin Sci (Lond) (2021) 135:1353-1367) generated a transgenic mouse model overexpressing full-length rat angiotensinogen in astrocytes, and observed massively elevated brain Ang II levels, increased sympathetic nervous activity and vasopressin, and up-regulated erythropoiesis. Yet, blood pressure and kidney function remained unaltered, and surprisingly no other Ang metabolites occurred in the brain. Circulating renin was suppressed. This commentary critically discusses these findings, concluding that apparently in the brain, overexpressed angiotensinogen can be cleaved by an unidentified non-renin enzyme, yielding Ang II directly, which then binds to Ang receptors, allowing no metabolism by angiotensinases like ACE2 and aminopeptidase A. Future studies should now unravel the identity of this non-renin enzyme, and determine whether it also contributes to Ang II generation at brain tissue sites in wildtype animals. Such studies should also re-evaluate the concept that Ang-(1-7) and Ang III, generated by ACE2 and aminopeptidase A, respectively, have important functions in the brain.


The concept of sustainability in wastewater reclamation and reuse in the Mediterranean area needs to be expressed in a realistic and practical way. This paper suggests a suitable methodology for sustainable wastewater reuse in the Mediterranean area by considering not only technical and economic, but also, environmental and social aspects of wastewater reuse. Alternative strategies based on different treatment and storage technologies are evaluated by using the Multicriterion Decision Analysis (MCDA) method. Alternative strategies are formulated by combining elements such as different treatments, different disposal sites, the type of irrigation scheme, crop pattern, water pricing and the use of fertilizers. The criteria used to evaluate the most sustainable strategy include firstly public health and environmental factors, that pose risks on human health, water pollution during and after irrigation, efficiency of water use, secondly economic factors, including the water cost, the initial cost of the irrigation system, maintenance costs and crop profitability, and thirdly social issues including the employment of rural labour. Various MCDA techniques, namely, ELECTRE-3, ELECTRE-4 and Compromise Programming (CP) may be employed to rank alternative strategies and find out the most sustainable alternative.


Design optimization techniques are often used at the beginning of the design process to explore the space of possible designs. In these domains illumination algorithms, such as MAP-Elites, are promising alternatives to classic optimization algorithms because they produce diverse, high-quality solutions in a single run, instead of only a single near-optimal solution. Unfortunately, these algorithms currently require a large number of function evaluations, limiting their applicability. In this article we introduce a new illumination algorithm, Surrogate-Assisted Illumination (SAIL), that leverages surrogate modeling techniques to create a map of the design space according to user-defined features while minimizing the number of fitness evaluations. On a 2-dimensional airfoil optimization problem SAIL produces hundreds of diverse but high-performing designs with several orders of magnitude fewer evaluations than MAP-Elites or CMA-ES. We demonstrate that SAIL is also capable of producing maps of high-performing designs in realistic 3-dimensional aerodynamic tasks with an accurate flow simulation. Data-efficient design exploration with SAIL can help designers understand what is possible, beyond what is optimal, by considering more than pure objective-based optimization.


In recent decades, education systems in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have rapidly expanded access to schooling, but learning has lagged behind. There are many reasons for low learning in LMICs. Proximate determinants (such as insufficient financing or poor school management) receive much attention, but focus on these often ignores underlying system drivers. In this chapter we use a systems approach to describe underlying system dynamics that drive learning outcomes. To do so, we first describe the RISE education systems framework and then apply it to two cases. In the case of Sobral, Brazil, the systems framework illustrates how a coherent package of reforms, improving upon multiple system components, produced positive outcomes. In the case of Indonesia, a reform that increased teacher pay, but did not change underlying system dynamics, had no impact on learning. The chapter shows how a systems approach can help to understand success, diagnose failure, and inform action to bring about improvements to children's learning.


We introduce a model in which agents in a network can trade via bilateral contracts. We find that when continuous transfers are allowed and utilities are quasi-linear, the full substitutability of preferences is sufficient to guarantee the existence of stable outcomes for any underlying network structure. Furthermore, the set of stable outcomes is essentially equivalent to the set of competitive equilibria, and all stable outcomes are in the core and are efficient. By contrast, for any domain of preferences strictly larger than that of full substitutability, the existence of stable outcomes and competitive equilibria cannot be guaranteed.


My specific project in this paper is to combine several related and notorious questions in the history of Judaism into one: What is the nexus among the semi-divine (or high angel) figure known in the Talmud as Metatron, the figure of the exalted Enoch in the Enoch books (1-3 Enoch!), "The One Like a Son of Man" of Daniel, Jesus, the Son of Man, and the rabbinically named heresy of "Two Powers/Sovereignties in Heaven?" I believe that in order to move towards some kind of an answer to this question, we need to develop a somewhat different approach to the study of ancient Judaism, as I hope to show here. I claim that late-ancient rabbinic literature when read in the context of all contemporary and earlier texts of Judaism—those defined as rabbinic as well as those defined as non-, para-, or even anti-rabbinic—affords us a fair amount of evidence for and information about a belief in (and perhaps cult of) a second divine person within, or very close to, so-called "orthodox" rabbinic circles long after the advent of Christianity. Part of the evidence for this very cult will come from efforts at its suppression on the part of rabbinic texts. I believe, moreover, that a reasonable chain of inference links this late cult figure back through the late-antique Book of 3 Enoch to the Enoch of the first-century Parables of Enoch—also known in the scholarly literature as the Similitudes of Enoch—and thus to the Son of Man of that text and further back to the One Like a Son of Man of Daniel 7.


With new government regulations and emerging knowledge of the risk to the environment posed by the failure of stormwater pipelines, stormwater infrastructure asset management is becoming increasingly important in the U.S. An essential aspect of asset management practice is the accurate performance assessment of one's assets. This paper presents a weighted factor framework to determine the performance of stormwater pipes. This paper prepares a list of 50 parameters affecting the performance of stormwater pipelines; the list is based on a review of the literature, existing asset management plans, and feedback from utilities. This list is broken down into essential and preferential parameters. Indeed, not all utilities necessarily possess sufficient resources to collect such a large set of parameters. This study also develops a three-level hierarchical structure of the degradation of stormwater pipeline infrastructure. The structure consists of five failure modules and the essential parameters only. On the basis of the survey results gathered from 10 utilities across the EPA regions, the study combines the essential parameters into a performance index. The index is a scale of 1 to 5, similar to the National Association of Sewer Service Companies' Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program grading system. Grade 1 implies excellent condition and Grade 5 implies collapse is imminent.


Zeusdelphys complicatus is one of the most enigmatic metatherians from the Itaboraí Basin. The type and only known specimen was previously regarded as the upper dentition of Eobrasilia; an M4 of a new taxon; an M3 of a Kollpaniidae (now regarded as a group of "condylarths"); a probable M1 of an incertae sedis taxon; and as an M1 of a Protodidelphidae. Herein, we present a morphological review of the dental structures of Zeusdelphys complicatus , presenting new interpretations and comparing it with other North and South American taxa. We also perform a phylogenetic analysis in order to test the affinities of Zeusdelphys and the validity of most studied characters. The results recovered Zeusdelphys complicatus as more closely related to Hatcheritherium alpha than to any other metatherian. Glasbiidae were recovered as the sister lineage of Protodidelphidae within Didelphimorphia, as true marsupials. Ectocentrocristus was recovered as the sister taxon of Zeusdelphys + Hatcheritherium , as a Hatcheriformes. The analysis recovered this suborder as an independent lineage from Polydolopimorphia, being more closely related to "Alphadontidae". The affinities with Protodidelphidae are a result of convergent evolution, as Zeusdelphys is more closely related to Hatcheritherium alpha from the Late Cretaceous of North America. The results support a North American origin for Hatcheriformes. The presence of strong sea-level lowstands and islands in the Caribbean Plate during the Late Cretaceous provide valid data to support a faunal interchange between Americas during the latest Late Cretaceous. Based on the results, Zeusdelphys represents a South American early Eocene surviving Hatcheriformes.


A comprehensive book on DWDM network design and implementation solutionsDesign Software Included Study various optical communication principles as well as communication methodologies in an optical fiber Design and evaluate optical components in a DWDM network Learn about the effects of noise in signal propagation, especially from OSNR and BER perspectives Design optical amplifier-based links Learn how to design optical links based on power budget Design optical links based on OSNR Design a real DWDM network with impairment due to OSNR, dispersion, and gain tilt Classify and design DWDM networks based on size and performance Understand and design nodal architectures for different classification of DWDM networks Comprehend different protocols for transport of data over the DWDM layer Learn how to test and measure different parameters in DWDM networks and optical systemsThe demand for Internet bandwidth grows as new applications, new technologies, and increased reliance on the Internet continue to rise. Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is one technology that allows networks to gain significant amounts of bandwidth to handle this growing need. DWDM Network Designs and Engineering Solutions shows you how to take advantage of the new technology to satisfy your network's bandwidth needs. It begins by providing an understanding of DWDM technology and then goes on to teach the design, implementation, and maintenance of DWDM in a network. You will gain an understanding of how to analyze designs prior to installation to measure the impact that the technology will have on your bandwidth and network efficiency. This book bridges the gap between physical layer and network layer technologies and helps create solutions that build higher capacity and more resilient networks.Companion CD-ROM The companion CD-ROM contains a complimentary 30-day demo from VPIphotonics™ for VPItransmissionMaker™, the leading design and simulation tool for photonic components, subsystems, and DWDM transmission systems. VPItransmissionMaker contains 200 standard demos, including demos from Chapter 10, that show how to simulate and characterize devices, amplifiers, and systems.


NiTi shape memory thin films are potentially desirable for MEMS actuators. Traditionally, there are two approaches to obtain NiTi shape memory thin films. One is to anneal amorphous NiTi films in a vacuum chamber and the other is to deposit NiTi on a high temperature substrate (about 500 °C). Both approaches have difficulty in terms of compatibility with traditional IC techniques, and are not applicable for annealing a prescribed local area of a NiTi film at the micron scale. In this paper, a new approach, CO2 laser annealing, which can overcome both problems mentioned above, is presented. Results of optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveal the crystalline structures and phase transformation in annealed NiTi films. Furthermore, a CO2 laser annealed line, about 100 µm in width, demonstrates the capability of a CO2 laser for local annealing of NiTi thin film.


This report was commissioned following discussions in 2014, between the authors of this report and staff members from ICiPS about the paucity of relevant research about the current status of continuous (CI) in the UK. The purpose of this report is therefore, to examine the status of CI in ICiPS members in 2015, with a view to helping ICiPS serve the needs of its members, and also to provide an agenda for research organisations such as the Centre for Service Management (CSM) at Loughborough University. This report covers seven case studies and draws out common themes. In this report, CI is understood to mean: 'where all members of the organisation work together on an ongoing basis improving processes and reducing errors to improve overall performance for the customer' (Fryer, Antony, and Douglas, 2007, p. 498). This report is required, because although CI has been on the agenda for many years for Public Services Organisations there has not been a review as to how this has progressed recently.


Contrasting his own position with that of those who conceive the moral challenge of global poverty in terms of a positive duty to help, Thomas Pogge suggests that "we may be failing to fulfill our stringent negative duty not to uphold injustice, not to contribute to or profit from [emphasis added] the unjust impoverishment of others" (p. 197). We should conceive of our individual donations and of possible institutionalized initiatives to eradicate poverty not as helping the poor but "as protecting them from the effects of global rules whose injustice benefits us and is our responsibility" (p. 23, emphasis added). Pogge also claims that such activities should be understood in terms of compensation: "The word 'compensate' is meant to indicate that how much one should be willing to contribute toward reforming unjust institutions and toward mitigating the harms they cause depends on how much one is contributing to, and benefiting from, their maintenance" (p. 50, emphasis added). In characterizing wrongful involvement in an unjust social order and the compensatory duties that arise from it, Pogge refers to the terms contribution/responsibility as well as to benefit/profit (the latter are used interchangeably). The first of these factors is unobjectionable: we can take it for granted that there is a negative duty not to contribute to injustice and that those who are responsible for harmful institutions should compensate their victims. I want to raise doubts, however, about the role that Pogge assigns to benefiting from injustice in the determination of our duties toward the victims of injustice. I shall do so by challenging his claim that there is a negative duty not to benefit from injustice, and that the role that benefiting from injustice plays in determining our duties to work toward reforming unjust practices and mitigating their harmful effects is best understood in terms of compensation.


The Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol, Version 3, (L2TPv3) defines a protocol
for tunneling a variety of data link protocols over IP networks. This
document describes the specifics of how to tunnel Frame Relay over
L2TPv3, including frame encapsulation, virtual-circuit creation and
deletion, and status change notification. [STANDARDS-TRACK]


Identification and monitoring of farm animals are effective tools for traceability. Current livestock identification systems are not 100% efficient and present certain disadvantages such as losses, breakages and an unreadable identification code. The use of injectable transponders may be a reliable method for individual identification, providing an improvement in data recording and farm management. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the practical aspects concerning injection technique, readability and retrieval of injectable transponders in live rabbits. A total of 60 rabbits (40 fatteners and 20 does) were injected with 23x3mm passive FDX-B transponders (Datamars, Switzerland), inserted into a needle, wrapped in a sterilised package and applied by a specific injector (Planet ID, Germany). Two different body sites were evaluated: back scapular (n=30) and armpit (n=30) position. The readings of the transponders were performed by using an i-max plus portable reader (Datamars, Switzerland) at different times: before and after injection, one day, one week and one month after injection. Does were read monthly during 1 year, while fatteners before the slaughtering process. To evaluate the effect on productive performance, fattening rabbits were compared to a control group. The readability of transponders injected in fatteners until slaughter and in does until 1 year after injection was 100%. No harmful effects were observed and no significant difference in weight was found in the two injection groups, compared with the control group. The retrieval was performed by a single operator at skinning, with 100% of transponders recovered. The site of the injection did not affect the migration rate, although it was high in both cases. The feasibility of subcutaneous transponder injection in live rabbits is recommended in the two body positions analysed. However, specific training and operator experience are necessary to improve the efficiency of this identification system.


Albrecht Dürer's engraving Melencolia I gives its viewers a rare glimpse into the Medieval and Renaissance "view" (psychological and aesthetic) of melancholia. Nevertheless the frame, which literally draws a line between the "real world" and the engraving, is unable to hold firm due to the uncanny, penetrating gaze of Melencolia, the winged female melancholic figure. Hers are not the downcast eyes formerly attributed to the melancholic or child of Saturn; she gazes outward beyond the frame, staring into that unknowable outer space. This paper argues that Dürer's Melencolia I offers more than a medical, psychological or philosophical "moral" (by characterizing the melancholic as a sick or insane person, or a person worn down by thinking about geometry and architecture). Rather, it presents a melancholic Faustian figure with an age-old craving for forbidden or "uncanny" knowledge. Thus the primary focus here is on the uncanny nature of melancholia in Dürer's Melencolia I; also explored will be the question of "the melancholy Other" and "the ecstasy of the signs of melancholia."


Waste management is one of the central environmental challenges in todays linear economy. Moreover, we are forced to admit that concept of linear economy as well as the term "waste" itself are outdated and does not meet today's needs of the humanity. Recycling and reusing become the main approaches of waste management and many countries are bringing their economies closer and closer to the concept of circular economy. While, also developing this concept we need to take in account that infinite recycling is impossible: todays technology allows to recycle some kinds of plastic several times, and this number is even smaller, if we are speaking about cellulosic materials. It means that by recycling we cannot avoid the end of life management of these materials, it is possible only to postpone it, so traditional recycling technology is not a solution that allow to achieve circulation of carbon in economy. Even less this goal can be achieved using waste incineration, that not only wastes carbon as a resource, but also is a source of atmospheric pollution and serious problems connected with it.
Pyrolysis and gasification are alternative thermal processing approaches suitable for most of carbon containing wastes, that probably can overcome mentioned problems. This approach still can not be considered as well developed, while multiple technologies are established and successfully commercialised. The aim of this study is to review historical development of pyrolysis and gasification technologies, to characterise physical and chemical processes characteristic for waste pyro-gasification as well as to examine future perspectives of such approach. Literature review and statistical analysis of literature data are used to achieve this aim. Results show great perspectives of this approach.


Strombolian-type eruptive activity, common at many volcanoes, consists of regular explosions driven by the bursting of gas slugs that rise faster than surrounding magma. Explosion quakes associated with this activity are usually localized at shallow depth; however, where and how slugs actually form remain poorly constrained. We used spectroscopic measurements performed during both quiescent degassing and explosions on Stromboli volcano (Italy) to demonstrate that gas slugs originate from as deep as the volcano-crust interface (∼3 kilometers), where both structural discontinuities and differential bubble-rise speed can promote slug coalescence. The observed decoupling between deep slug genesis and shallow (∼250-meter) explosion quakes may be a common feature of strombolian activity, determined by the geometry of plumbing systems.


[1] This study investigated the consistency between microwave and optical water path estimates of oceanic clouds from Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR). We used microwave estimates from the Wentz algorithm for warm, nonprecipitating clouds and both Wentz retrievals and standard TMI profiles for cold, precipitating clouds. Optical estimates were derived from cloud optical thickness and particle effective radius. For warm, nonprecipitating clouds the two methods showed good agreement at the 25-km resolution of the microwave measurements, with liquid water path means being within 5–10%, an overall correlation of 0.85, and RMS difference of � 25 g m � 2 . Multiangle optical retrievals showed only weak variations with view zenith angle, building further confidence in the results. An error analysis suggested that optical estimates were more certain than microwave ones, primarily because 1-D plane-parallel radiative transfer seemed to apply well at the coarser comparison scales. However, there appeared to be a slight but systematic dependence on cloud amount as microwave retrievals increasingly overestimated optical ones at cloud fractions below � 65%. For cold, precipitating clouds we tested three common interpretations of optical retrievals: liquid water path, ice water path, and total water path. The relationship between microwave and optical estimates was weak in all cases, with correlations no more than 0.5, and RMS differences at least an order of magnitude larger than for warm clouds. The weakest correlation (0.37) was found when optical retrievals were interpreted as ice water paths. If anything, optical estimates appeared best correlated with microwave cloud liquid water paths.


Yamato-86032 is a shock-lithified anorthositic fragmental breccia. It consists mainly of highly feldspathic meta-breccias and meta-meltrocks and possibly contains a small contribution from mare lithologies, but there is no indication of a KREEP component. In many respects Y-86032 is similar to the previously described lunar meteorites Y-82192/3,but there are some notable differences. We have analyzed about 40 major and trace elements in bulk matrix, impact melt, and clast samples from two chips of Y-86032. The abundances of most lithophile and incompatible elements are lower in Y-86032 than in Y-82192 (which contains very low abundances compared to normal lunar highland rocks). The REE abundances are comparable to those of Y-82192. The elements Sc, Cr, Mn, Fe and Co have significantly lower abundances than in Y-82192,and the siderophile element pattern is also different. Since cosmic ray exposure data indicate pairing of Y-86032 with Y-82192/3,the source region for these meteorites on the moon must have been fairly heterogeneous.


The Otherside is an advanced open-source multimedia system, designed to run as a server application. It is essentially a sound synthesis system that allows for the creative collaboration of a number of people or machines over computer networks. Unlike most similar attempts to create network-based audio applications, the Otherside does not require any specialized audio software or massive amounts of computer processing power. The audio processing is done on the server side and directed to listeners using a simple Internet Radio protocol. Any listener can then choose to participate in the sound creation process by using a simple web-browser-based chatroom, or by utilising their own advanced systems for network control.


A software architecture manifests the major early design decisions, which determine the systems development, deployment and evolution. Thus, making better architectural decisions is one of the large challenges in software engineering. Software architecture knowledge management is about capturing practical experience and translating it into generalized architectural knowledge, and using this knowledge in the communication with stakeholders during all phases of the software lifecycle. This book presents a concise description of knowledge management in the software architecture discipline. It explains the importance of sound knowledge management practices for improving software architecture processes and products, and makes clear the role of knowledge management in software architecture and software development processes. It presents many approaches that are in use in software companies today, approaches that have been used in other domains, and approaches under development in academia. After an initial introduction by the editors, the contributions are grouped in three parts on "Architecture Knowledge Management", "Strategies and Approaches for Managing Architectural Knowledge", and "Tools and Techniques for Managing Architectural Knowledge". The presentation aims at information technology and software engineering professionals, in particular software architects and software architecture researchers. For the industrial audience, the book gives a broad and concise understanding of the importance of knowledge management for improving software architecture process and building capabilities in designing and evaluating better architectures for their mission- and business-critical systems. For researchers, the book will help to understand the applications of various knowledge management approaches in an industrial setting and to identify research challenges and opportunities.


Background The importance of Staphylococcus aureus as a persistent nosocomial and community acquired pathogen has become a global health concern. It has a remarkable capability of evolving different mechanisms of resistance to most antimicrobial agents. The aim of the present study is to establish the incidence of S. aureus in clinical specimens and its antibiotic sensitivity pattern to various antibiotics in this locality. Methods One hundred and fifty consecutive isolates of S. aureus obtained from various clinical specimens between January and December 2009 sent to the Medical Microbiology Laboratory Department of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) were confirmed by standard bacteriological procedures. Antibiotic sensitivity pattern was carried out by disc diffusion method. Results The age group with the highest number of isolates was (0-10)yrs while wound infection had the highest frequency of S. aureus isolates (30.7%) in the study. Males (62.0%) were more infected than females (38.0%). The sensitivity pattern of S. aureus to the following antibiotics; Gentamicin, Amoxycillin/clavulanate, Streptomycin, Cloxacillin, Erythromycin, Chloramphenicol, Cotrimoxazole, Tetracycline, Penicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin, Levofloxacin, Ceftriaxone, Amoxycillin and vancomycin were 92.4%, 63.0%, 44.2%, 35.8%, 52.4%, 61.9%, 15.5%, 31.2%, 7.1%, 78.9%, 76.6%, 100%, 71.4%, 30.7% and 100% respectively. Methicillin resistant isolates were sensitive to Levofloxacin 93.7% and Ofloxacin 68.7%. Conclusion The results of the present study show that the fluoroquinolones are effective in the management of Staphylococcus aureus infections including methicillin resistant strains in this environment.


We study the linear filtering problem for systems driven by continuous Gaussian processes V1 and V2 with memory described by two parameters. The processes Vj have the virtue that they possess stationary increments and simple semimartingale representations simultaneously. It allows for straightforward parameter estimations. After giving the semimartingale representations of Vj by innovation theory, we derive Kalman-Bucy-type filtering equations for the systems. We apply the result to the optimal portfolio problem for an investor with partial observations. We illustrate the tractability of the filtering algorithm by numerical implementations.


This thesis describes the characterisation and commissioning of the heterodyne receiver "German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies" (GREAT) aboard of the airborne "Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy" (SOFIA).

GREAT is a modular dual-channel-receiver designed for frequencies between 1.25 and 4.7 THz. Currently three single-pixel frequency channels are available. A fourth one is currently under construction and two multi-pixel systems are planned for 2014. In the frequency range observable with GREAT one can find a lot of transitions of molecules, such as rotational transitions of CO, and of atoms and ions, e.g the fine structure lines of C+ and O. Line emission of these transitions is often observed in photon-dominated regions (PDR) in space. These regions form at the edges of denser clouds of the interstellar medium which are illuminated by strong UV fields, e.g. of nearby OB-""stars. The UV-radiation heats up the gas and dust of the cloud and dissociates and ionizes the gas particles. These reactions depend on the intensity of the UV field, which drops down with increasing depth inside the clouds, and the density, which rises, leading to a characteristic stratification of the ions, atoms and molecules.

After two short introductory chapters describing astronomy and receivers in the THz regime and especially the GREAT receiver and the SOFIA observatory, this thesis starts with a description of the build-up of the local oscillator (LO) for the L#1-channel (1.25-1.5 THz) of GREAT. This includes the design of a cross-channel LO housing and its certification by NASA and FAA. Then the used frequency multiplier chains, manufactured by Virginia Diodes Inc., are characterised. Afterwards the developed control electronics and security circuits for these chains are presented.

The next chapter is dedicated to the commissioning of GREAT on SOFIA. GREAT's configuration during the first flights consisted of the L#1- and L#2-channel (1.82-1.92 THz). A short note on the adjustment of the cross-channel common optics is given. Then, the text presents a description of the developed alignment procedures and methods to derive the positions of the GREAT beam in SOFIA's focal plane and on its sub-reflector. Final values for pointing, telescope coupling and co-alignment between the two channels measured before the first and second flight series (April and July 2011) are given. The sensitivity and stability of the GREAT system are investigated. Noise temperatures of the L#1-channel lie in the range of 1200-1400 K, for the L#2-channel in the range of 1300-1800 K. The spectroscopic Allan times are above 100 seconds.

The fifth chapter of this thesis presents results of the Cepheus B (CepB) project, one of the first observed with GREAT on SOFIA. CepB is part of a giant molecular cloud and shows sequential star formation. The UV radiation of a nearby OB star cluster illuminates the cloud surface, thereby creating several PDRs and possibly triggering new star formation processes. The existence of several embedded stars, including a luminous B-star, inside CepB is known. The aim of this project is to measure the dynamics of the triggering of star formation by UV radiation. [CII] and high rotational transitions of CO are used to trace the hot gas in CepB. A velocity resolved map containing the embedded star, two PDRs and two dense clumps was observed. Integrated-intensity maps are presented showing emission which is consistent with previous radio continuum and 13CO observations. A global velocity gradient across the map is visible in the velocity channel maps of [CII]. A value of (3.6 +/- 0.6) * 10^{-3} km/s*arcsec^{-1} was calculated which is consistent with former observations of Beuther et al. (2000). [CII] and CO(11-10) observations show a localized inversion of this gradient between the positions of two CO(11-10) emission maxima. Three possible scenarios are proposed for this discovery and further high resolution CO and [NII] observations to clarify this situation are suggested. Together with 13CO observations of Mookerjea et al. (2006), a clear stratification, consistent with the expected emission pattern of a simple 1-dimensional PDR, in a region of the map near the embedded star was observed. The embedded star is found to be the source of the UV radiation creating this PDR. The distances between the emission maxima were measured and compared with model calculations. The results are consistent with Mookerjea's and constrain the surface density of the PDR to 10^4 - 10^6 cm^{-3}.


We present a method for reasoning about the synchronization behavior of reshuffled handshaking expansions. The technique introduced converts the handshaking expansion into communicating hardware processes. We identify and discuss some of the limitations of the method. We show how the approach can be applied to analyze both the performance and the correctness of handshaking expansions.


In this study, a synthesis tool using a novel multirate folding technique, which handles each FIR filter in a multirate DSP system as a single node, is developed. A new architecture is presented for the multiplierless realization of a fold of multirate FIR filters. This synthesizer fully exploits the redundancies (i.e. "idle" and "missing" cycles) and common terms in multirate systems without sacrificing overall system quality to produce multiplierless multirate systems, It also enables the usage of a single clock for all parts of the circuit.


As a means of comparing the performance capabilities of various helicopter propulsion systems, charts have been presented for estimating the hovering endurance of a helicopter in the form of a hovering-endurance parameter as a function of the ratio of total fuel load to helicopter initial weight for a range of initial thrust coefficients from 0.002 to 0.012 and for values of rotor mean lift coefficient from 0.24 to .072. The charts were presented for a helicopter having rotor blades with ideal twist. However, corrections may be applied to the hovering endurance to account for other combinations of twist and taper. The effects of stall and compressibility have been neglected.


The Buyuk Menderes is one of the most important geostructural features of highly seismically active western Anatolia, Turkey. This article aims to analyze the geological features and the shallow crust structure of the Buyuk Menderes graben. To achieve this, six different edge detection filters and a 3D inversion method were applied to the Bouguer gravity data to detect new lineaments and shallow crust topographies. A renewed fault map of the Buyuk Menderes graben is the significant contribution of the present study. New lineaments were detected in the western, southeastern, and northern parts of the region, where intense seismicity was observed. The basement, the upper-lower crust undulation, and their relations were analyzed in detail. The maximum sediment thickness was defined as 4.1 km. The subsurface depths are increasing in N-S and W-E directions. The new determined lineaments may be a topic of future research to warrant attention.


Aim: This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the original 14-item version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) and the short 7-item version (SWEMWBS) to validate these scales for use among Norwegian adolescents. Method: Cross-sectional data were collected by distributing questionnaires among students in five upper secondary schools in Norway with a net sample of n = 1814. Exploratory- and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and a reliability analysis were conducted and possible floor and ceiling effects were examined to evaluate the scales. A correlation analysis was conducted to examine criterion-related validity. Results: The preliminary exploratory factor analysis gave strong indications of a one-dimensional solution for both versions of the scale. Furthermore, both scales showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .93 for the WEMWBS and α = .88 for the SWEMWBS). The SWEMWBS showed the best fit in the CFA and a strong correlation with the WEMWBS (r = .94). The score distributions of both scales indicated the possibility of a small ceiling effect. Both scales showed high correlations with related constructs in the expected direction. Conclusions: In our study, based on the CFA results and the high correlation between the original scale and the short version, the SWEMWBS was found to be most suitable for use among Norwegian adolescents.


Recently, renewable energy (RE) has become a trend in power generation. It is slowly evolving from an alternative energy source into the main energy source. The technology is currently working as an auxiliary to the existing generators. Demands for electricity is expanding rapidly nowadays, which require generators to run near its operation limit. This activity put grieve risk to the generators. Nonetheless, the extensive analysis should be conducted upon RE integration into the existing power system. This paper assesses its economic impact on the power system. Setting up RE technology such as photovoltaic and wind turbine are costly, yet may reduce generator's fuel cost in the long run. Thus, economic load dispatch (ELD) is conducted to compute the operating cost of power system with the integration of RE system. In this study, the operating cost represents the fuel cost of conventional fossil-fuel generators. Furthermore, a novel optimization technique namely Differential Evolution Immunized Ant Colony Optimization is proposed as the optimization engine. Comparative studies are conducted to assess the performance of the proposed approach.


This collection of essays demonstrates in vivid detail how a range of formal and informal networks shaped the Irish experience of emigration, settlement and the construction of ethnic identity in a variety of geographical contexts since 1750. It examines topics as diverse as the associational culture of the Orange Order in the nineteenth century to the role of transatlantic political networks in developing and maintaining a sense of diaspora, all within the overarching theme of the role of networks. This volume represents a pioneering study that contributes to wider debates in the history of global migration, the first of its kind for any ethnic group, with conclusions of relevance far beyond the history of Irish migration and settlement. It is also expected that the volume will have resonance for scholars working in parallel fields, not least those studying different ethnic groups, and the editors contextualise the volume with this in mind in their introductory essay. This book was previously published as a special issue of Immigrants and Minorities.


Abstract Time constitutes social life and time management is central to the everyday conduct of international politics. For some reason, however, the practice turn in International Relations (IR) has produced knowledge about how past practices constitute international politics but not about how the future is also a constitutive feature in and on social life. Introducing a novel perspective on practice and temporality, the article argues that intersubjectively situated representations of the future by practitioners in international politics contribute substantially to our understanding of political processes and the making of international politics. To develop what appears a contradiction in terms – that 'future-practices' are driven by tacit know-how and conscious reflection simultaneously – the article develops the concept of doxic futures: representations of the future rooted in practical knowledge and tacit assumptions about the self-evident nature of the social world. The argument is illustrated with a case study of European security and defence diplomacy after the UK voted to leave the EU. Through the envisioning of two concrete doxic futures, a 'Europe of buying together' and the UK as a third country in EU defence, diplomats effectively tried to save European security and defence cooperation from the potentially disintegrating effects of Brexit.


"Rising urban and environmental demand for water has created growing pressure to reallocate water from traditional agricultural uses. The evolution of water markets has been more complicated than those for other resources. In this paper, we first explain these differences by examining water rights and regulatory issues. Second, we place our research in the context of the economics literature on water marketing. Third, we present new, comprehensive data on prices and the extent, nature, and timing of water transfers across 12 western states from 1987 to 2005. We find that prices are higher for agriculture-to-urban trades versus within-agriculture trades, in part, reflecting the differences in marginal values between the two uses. Prices for urban use are also growing relative to agricultural use. Markets are responding in that the number of agriculture-to-urban transactions is rising, whereas the number of agriculture-to-agriculture transfers is not. Further, there is a shift from using short-term leases to using multiyear leases of water and permanent sales of water rights. This pattern underscores the need to consider the amounts of water obligated over time rather than examining only annual flows in assessing the quantities of water traded as is the common practice in the literature. Considering water obligated over time, termed committed water, we find significantly more is transferred and the direction of trading is different than if the focus is on annual flows. Finally, the data reveal considerable variation in water trading across the states." ("JEL" Q2, N5, L5, K3) Copyright (c) 2007 Western Economic Association International.


The responsiveness to information is thought to be one channel through which education affects health outcomes. The author tests this hypothesis by examining the effectiveness of an information campaign that aims at preventing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Uganda. Previous studies in the epidemiological literature have generally concluded that, in Africa, there was either a positive association or no association between HIV infection and schooling levels. Using individual level data from a cohort study following the general population of a cluster of villages in rural Uganda over 12 years, the author shows that, after more than a decade of prevention campaigns about the dangers of the epidemic, there has been a substantial evolution in the HIV/education gradient. Early in the epidemic, in 1990, there was no robust relation between HIV/AIDS and education. In 2000, among young individuals, in particular among females, education lowers the risk of being HIV positive. Results on HIV incidence in a duration framework confirm that finding by establishing that, for young individuals, education reduces the probability of seroconversion. These findings reveal that educated individuals have been more responsive to the HIV/AIDS information campaigns. The analysis of sexual behavior reinforces that conclusion: condom use is associated positively with schooling levels.


Mathematical models of biochemical networks are useful tools to understand and ultimately predict how cells utilize nutrients to produce valuable products. Hybrid cybernetic models in combination with elementary modes (HCM) is a tool to model cellular metabolism. However, HCM is limited to reduced metabolic networks because of the computational burden of calculating elementary modes. In this study, we developed the hybrid cybernetic modeling with flux balance analysis or HCM-FBA technique which uses flux balance solutions instead of elementary modes to dynamically model metabolism. We show HCM-FBA has comparable performance to HCM for a proof of concept metabolic network and for a reduced anaerobic E. coli network. Next, HCM-FBA was applied to a larger metabolic network of aerobic E. coli metabolism which was infeasible for HCM (29 FBA modes versus more than 153,000 elementary modes). Global sensitivity analysis further reduced the number of FBA modes required to describe the aerobic E. coli data, while maintaining model fit. Thus, HCM-FBA is a promising alternative to HCM for large networks where the generation of elementary modes is infeasible.


Language is a socio-cultural phenomenon. A large number of language learning strategies arise from the interactions between individuals and their socio-cultural contexts. The aim of this article was to explore the relationship between EFL learners' language learning strategies and their social and cultural capital. To this end, the Social and Cultural Capital Questionnaire (SCCQ) and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) were administered to a sample of 63 undergraduate students majoring in English language so that the researchers could examine the best predictors of language learning strategies in terms of five factors of the SCCQ, namely, social competence, social solidarity, literacy, cultural competence, and extraversion. Results from Pearson product-moment correlation showed highly significant correlations between all five factors of SCCQ and learners' language learning strategies. Moreover, results from the regression analysis revealed that a combination of literacy, social solidarity, and extraversion was the best predictor of language learning strategies by explaining 50% of the variances in EFL learners' language learning strategies scores. The implications of the study are discussed.


The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently a new public health crisis threatening the world. This pandemic disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus has been reported to be originated in bats and by yet unknown intermediary animals were transmitted to humans in China 2019. The SARSCoV- 2 spreads faster than its two ancestors the SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV) but has reduced fatality. At present, the SARS-CoV-2 has caused about a 1.16 million of deaths with more than 43.4 million confirmed cases worldwide, resulting in a serious threat to public health globally with yet uncertain impact. The disease is transmitted by inhalation or direct contact with an infected person. The incubation period ranges from 1 to 14 days. COVID-19 is accompanied by various symptoms, including cough, fatigue. In most people the disease is mild, but in some other people, such as in elderly and people with chronic diseases, it may progress from pneumonia to a multi-organ dysfunction. Many people are reported asymptomatic. The virus genome is sequenced, but new variants are reported. Numerous biochemical aspects of its structure and function are revealed. To date, no clinically approved vaccines and/or specific therapeutic drugs are available to prevent or treat the COVID-19. However, there are reported intensive researches on the SARSCoV- 2 to potentially identify vaccines and/or drug targets, which may help to overcome the disease. In this review, we discuss recent advances in understanding the molecular structure of SARS-CoV-2 and its biochemical characteristics.


The popularity of online surveys is rising, yet the validity of survey data collected online is frequently questioned. This study compares online surveys versus paper surveys administered via regular mail in the tourism context, and examines in detail the extent and nature of survey bias resulting from survey format specific respondent self-selection. Results suggest that (1) both online and mail samples deviate from census data population statistics regarding socio-demographics to the same extent (but differ in nature), (2) no differences exist in the contamination of data by response styles, (3) online respondents have a lower dropout rate and produce less incomplete data, and (4) responses to tourism-related questions differ significantly, indicating that survey format can dramatically influence results of empirical studies in tourism. Our findings show that neither pure online surveys nor pure paper surveys administered through regular mail are unbiased. Format-specific self-selection of respondents to participate leads to systematic biases in both cases, making multi-method survey approaches the most reliable way of data collection at present.


One Health is an approach that addresses the interrelation between to animal, human, and environment health. One Health seeks to unite efforts at solving health issues by providing a more holistic approach to public health. A One Health approach to the prevention of rabies transmission from bats to humans has received little attention, but, could have great benefits. This project seeks, by providing a One Health recommendation to governmental entities in Wyoming including the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), to lower the incidence of rabies exposure. Methods utilized in this paper were a literature review, analysis of other state public health programs, and collaboration with WDH. Primary recommendations include bat vaccination research, an increase in inter-departmental communication and collaboration, and an education program to alert the public to the risk of rabies. Recommendations for next steps include a pilot study to determine general knowledge of rabies recommendations and protocols among professionals, pilot research on a rabies vaccine in bats, and implementation of a communication flow and an education program on rabies risk mitigation.


The empirical implications of the consumption-oriented capital asset pricing model (CCAPM) are examined, and its performance is compared with a model based on the market portfolio. The CCAPM is estimated after adjusting for measurement problems associated with reported consumption data. The CCAPM is tested using betas based on both consumption and the portfolio having the maximum correlation with consumption. As predicted by the CCAPM, the market price of risk is significantly positive, and the estimate of the real interest rate is close to zero. The performances of the traditional CAPM and the CCAPM are about the same.


Errol Morris's Standard Operating Procedure offers the U.S. soldiers accused of detainee abuse at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq a forum in which to give accounts of their infamous photographs. However, the vexing digitality of those images foregrounds the role of interpretation in the construction of visual evidence.


Regulation of the sleep-waking cycle is complex and involves diverse brain circuits and molecules. On one hand, an interplay among many neuroanatomical and neurochemical systems including acetylcholine, dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin, histamine, and hypocretin has been shown to control the waking state. On the other hand the sleep-onset is governed by the activity of sleep-promoting neurons placed in the anterior hypothalamus that utilize GABA to inhibit wake-promoting regions. Moreover, brainstem regions inhibited during wakefulness (W) and slow wave sleeps (SWS) become active during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Further complexity has been introduced by the recognition of sleep-promoting molecules that accumulate in the brain in prolonged W as well as the physiological role of gene expression during sleep. The sleep-wake cycle is currently undergoing intense research with many new findings leading to new paradigms concerning sleep regulation, brain organization and sleep function. This review provides a broader understanding of our present knowledge in the field of sleep research.


The objective of this paper is to watch pollution on roads and track a vehicle that causes pollution, to unravelthis downside, several countries and regions have already bestowed a series of emissions standards, meantime some ways has been developed, as well as update motor engine or up the standard of the gasoline. However, these actions have not caused hanging impact, as we tend to expect. During this system, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology as an inexpensive and mature wireless communication methodology is adopted to gather and transmit emissions data of vehicles and Internet of Things (IoT) concept is proposed. Moreover, The RFID devices have to be put in on the traffic lights so reliable reading of emissions signals from a vehicle may be interrogated once the vehicles stop ahead of the red light .By applying the system; it is possible to smoothly realize green traffic network.


The statement of Jesus in Matthew 5:17-20 forms a pivotal point of Matthew's teaching on the law. Yet, some scholars argue that these verses reveal a strong Jewish character, with eclectic layers of traditions that even contradict one another. Matthew is being accused of careless inclusion of this material into his text which led to an inconsistent overall teaching of the law. This article proposes that a careful reading of the different elements of the statement within its context reveals its coherence. The statement forms an inherent part of the Sermon on the Mount and the rest of the Gospel through which Matthew in a pastoral manner addresses concerns of his community regarding their righteousness.


Objectives: UV irradiation may cause dermal ageing and carcinoma. The molecular action mechanism of such an effect and the methods for prevention are still lacking. Materials and Methods: UVA (320-400 nm) plus UVB (290-320 nm) (hereafter denoted as UVAB) was used to induce skin damages in human fibroblast WS1 (hfWS1) cells. The parameters evaluated included the cell viability, expressions of relevant enzymes including MMP-1, MMP-2, catalase, and LDH; some biochemical indices such as elastin content and lipid peroxidation. Arbutin (AB) and ursolic acid (UA) were used to evaluate whether they could show any protective effect. Results: UVAB inhibited the viability of hfWS1 cells, leading to a lowered elastin biosynthesis, enhanced release of LDH, and up-regulation of MMP-1, MMP-2 and catalase. Moreover it accelerated lipid peroxidation. In this regard, AB and UA behaved differently. On treatment with AB and/or UA, the cell viability was effectively protected by AB at dose <10 M and by UA at 1 M. In contrast, apparent cytotoxicity was shown by UA at 10 M. Although the extracellular elastin levels were recovered, yet were insignificant. At a dose of 100 M, the lipid peroxidation was effectively suppressed by UA but not by AB. At 0.1 M, both AB and UA effectively suppressed the LDH release to the control level. Molecular action mechanism revealed both AB and UA at 1-2 M significantly down-regulated the expressions of catalase, MMP-2 but not MMP-1.


Why isn't the whole world as rich as the United States? Conventional views holds that differences in the share of output invested by countries account for this disparity. Not so, say Stephen Parente and Edward Prescott. In Barriers to Riches, Parente and Prescott argue that differences in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) explain this phenomenon. These differences exist because some countries erect barriers to the efficient use of readily available technology. The purpose of these barriers is to protect industry insiders with vested interests in current production processes from outside competition. Were this protection stopped, rapid TFP growth would follow in the poor countries, and the whole world would soon be rich. Barriers to Riches reflects a decade of research by the authors on this question. Like other books on the subject, it makes use of historical examples and industry studies to illuminate potential explanations for income differences. Unlike these other books, however, it uses aggregate data and general equilibrium models to evaluate the plausibility of alternative explanations. The result of this approach is the most complete and coherent treatment of the subject to date.


This article evaluates the impact of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 on statutory interpretation and on the role of the courts in the United Kingdom. The Act's new interpretative obligations create a myriad of issues that will occupy litigants and courts in the future. I explain how the complexities of the Act should be disentangled and how courts should exercise their policy choices under the terms of the Act. I show that the assumption that Brexit is a clear break from EU law is in several respects contradicted by the detail of the legislative scheme. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA)'s strong theme of legal continuity has the consequence that domestic law will remain considerably intertwined and aligned with EU law after exit day. I also demonstrate that the 2018 Act adjusts the relationship between the courts and Parliament in a way that is not foreseen. EU membership has shaped this relationship and Brexit does not mean that it is profoundly restructured. The Act has the potential to strengthen rather than weaken the institutional and constitutional position of the courts.
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, Brexit, Supreme Court, retained EU law, judicial law-making, statutory interpretation, parliamentary sovereignty.


The determination of the chemical composition of meimechites – which are unique and rarely occurring ultra-high MgO igneous rocks – can be complicated due to their porphyric structure, the presence of acid-insoluble minerals, and wide variation of major and trace element contents. In the present study the optimal analytical strategy based on a combination of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods was suggested for the determination of the elemental composition of meimechites. The preparation of glass beads using a lithium tetraborate and metaborate mixture proved to be suitable for the XRF determination of major oxides. A comparative study of the sample decomposition procedures for the determination of trace elements by ICP-MS clearly showed that fusion with lithium metaborate was the most appropriate sample preparation technique for complete digestion of meimechites. The open beaker HF-HNO3-HClO4 acid digestion was insufficient because the results for Nb, Ta, V, Zr, Cr and Hf were underestimated by 20–80% compared to those determined using the fusion method due to the presence in the rock samples of acid-resistant accessory minerals. It is shown that using analytical data from acid digestion may lead to erroneous interpretation of geochemical data. Supplementary material: Comparing the results obtained by 'wet chemistry' and XRF methods; ICP-MS data for meimechite samples; ICP-MS analysis of reference materials are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4226786


I was in second grade in Kentucky when my friend Bobby invited me to spend Friday night with him and go fish a farm pond the next morning. His father, a long haul truck driver, was off work for the weekend and drove us some thirty miles out of town where we baited simple bream hooks with red worms and carefully watched our white and red bobbers, in youthful hope of success. I have no recollection of how long we fished, how long we anticipated fish action, how big or small the pond was. My only clear memory is that I caught a channel catfish from a place midway on the pond dam. And then at some other time in the morning, Bobby caught a handsized bluegill. This was my not my first fish, but it was my first catfish. I had never had someone carefully explain to me—as Bobby's father did that morning—how to remove a catfish from a hook without getting stuck by the spines on the side of the fish. Just as he was helping me remove the fish from the hook and thread it onto the stringer, Bobby approached me with his freshly caught bluegill. "I'll trade you this bluegill for your catfish," he offered. I looked at the glistening beauty of the bluegill scales, looked at my catfish, looked at Bobby. After careful comparison, I told him I wanted the catfish, that it was my first, that it was bigger, that I had caught it. We should keep what we caught, I explained. That was the right decision. By the time I arrived home with that lone catfish, not overly big, but bigger than any fish I'd caught before, I was completely enchanted with the idea of my catch. I filled a galvanized tub with water, slowly introduced the fish to new water, and then called for my family to come see what I believed a kind of miracle. Always knowing I would eventually eat the channel cat, I left him to swim in the tub all night, waiting to learn to skin, clean, and cook him first thing in the morning; my first fried catfish the centerpiece of a magical breakfast, a culinary celebration. "A significant part of the pleasure of eating," writes Wendell Berry, "is one's accurate consciousness of the lives and the world from which food comes."1 Food we gather for ourselves, food we process ourselves, food that calls us to engage in the work and wonder of sustenance matters so much more than mere food consumption. We cannot and do not have to be the catcher of all we consume, but the deeper our involvement in the origin of our meals the more fully we feel connected to place, to water, to the confluence of tributaries that bring what feeds and matters, to our own small presence in the world, to what we eat for pleasure and what we eat to endure.


The research problem of concern here is: What criteria should be used when congregations are analysed? Congregations as faith communities are defined variously. Discerning the local congregation as a defined and as an empirical subject plays a major role in answering the research question. The theological points of departure are that any measure of a local congregation has to deal with issues like faithfulness to the gospel and the missional identity and integrity of the congregation as a contextual faith community. The hypothesis is that, when theologically informed and motivated, congregations can and should be analysed in the process of continuing reformation. This article describes a number of approaches to and outcomes of empirical research related to congregational analysis. Follow-up research to be submitted for publication will deal with the missional identity, the ministerial role-fulfilment of the congregation, and a proposal to analyse these in a way that is theologically faithful and contextually relevant.


Hantavirus activity in 39 National Parks in the eastern and central United States was surveyed by testing 1,815 small mammals of 38 species for antibody reactive to Sin Nombre virus. Antibody-positive rodents were found throughout the area sampled, and in most biotic communities. Antibody was detected in 7% of 647 deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), 2% of 590 white-footed mice (P. leucopus), 17% of 12 rice rats (Oryzomys palustris), 3% of 31 cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), and 33% of 18 western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis). Antibody was also found in three of six species of voles, and in one of 33 chipmunks (Tamias minimus). Prevalence among Peromyscus was highest in the northeast. Although few cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome have been identified from the eastern and central regions, widespread infection in reservoir populations indicates that potential exists for human infection throughout much of the United States.


The osce is actively engaged in current activities addressing the various facets of security sector reform (SSR). From the perspective of an institution which considers that the security of States and their citizens are mutually reinforcing, such an engagement appears completely natural. ssr represents a common concern for States in transition from war to peace and from authoritarian rule to democracy, as well as for any rule of law State. Democratic governance of the security sector is essential at all stages of the conflict management cycle: while having the potential for reducing the risk of armed violence in conflict-prone States, it happens to be an inescapable component of compromise packages conducive to a final peace settlement and constitutes a crucial element of peacebuilding strategies in post-conflict settings. A State with a dysfunctional security sector can disrupt political stability within its own region. As the security sector is linked to effective government authority, strong democratic institutions based on the rule of law also contribute to the prevention and combating of transnational threats, risks and challenges such as organized crime, terrorism and illicit trafficking of all kinds. However, the OSCE involvement on the ssr turf is plagued with a regrettable conceptual deficit due to the absence of an integrated concept of SSR. The present analysis offers a critical overview of osce achievements at both the normative (standard-setting) and operational level before assessing the consequence of the lack of overarching guiding principles governing the OSCE's SSR-related activities.


A new data set called the South African Financial Diaries has been produced, based on a sample of 166 households, drawn from three different areas in South Africa – Langa, Lugangeni and Diepsloot. The selected households represent a range of dwelling types and wealth categories. A unique methodology was used to create a year-long daily data set of every income, expense and financial transaction used by every one of these households. Within this sample, households used, on average, 17 different financial instruments over the course of the study year. A composite household portfolio, based on all 166 households, would have an average of four savings instruments, two insurance instruments and 11 credit instruments. The same composite household portfolio would have about 30 per cent formal instruments and 70 per cent informal instruments. Interestingly, it was found that rural households use as many financial instruments as urban ones.


© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012. All rights are reserved. Their story began 500 million years ago, but we only started to get to know them in 1746, when Linne described the first ostracod species. Vividly portraying the freshwater ostracods, this comprehensive reference work gathers the knowledge gained during some 250 years, but which to date has remained scattered throughout the literature. It starts with an introduction to the class Ostracoda with a special focus on freshwater ostracods and highlights practical methods in their study. The systematic part includes an introduction to all families; identification keys for all subfamilies, genera and species; diagnoses for each subfamily and genus; and lists of synonyms and distribution of species. The text is richly illustrated with distribution maps, line drawings of key generic characteristics, and numerous SEM photographs. Serving as an excellent starting point for all further research on freshwater ostracods, it can be widely used not only by ostracodologists, but also by crustaceologists, evolutionists and ecologists.


Signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM, CD150, or SLAMF1) is a self-ligand receptor on the surface of activated T- and B-lymphocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs). Here we examine the effect of SLAM/SLAM interactions on CD40L-induced CD40 signaling pathways in human DCs. CD40L-expressing L929 cells induced DCs to produce interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and IL-12, which was strongly inhibited by coexpression of SLAM on the surface of the L929 cells. Similarly, transfection of DCs with SLAM strongly reduced CD40L-induced IL-12 production. Furthermore, the negative effect of SLAM/SLAM interactions on CD40L-induced DC activation was also detected in the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS-induced IL-12 secretion, however, was not inhibited by SLAM engagement. CD40L-activated DCs affected by exposure to SLAM/SLAM engagement were impaired in their ability to induce differentiation of naive T lymphocytes into interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-producing T-helper 1 (Th1) effector cells. These inhibitory effects were not the result of a general unresponsiveness of DCs to CD40L, as SLAM/SLAM interactions did not prevent CD40L-induced up-regulation of CD83, CD86, or human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQ on the surface of DCs. Taken together, the results indicate that SLAM/SLAM interactions inhibit CD40-induced signal transduction in monocyte-derived dendritic cells, an effect that was not detectable in earlier studies using anti-SLAM monoclonal antibodies.