The responses of the atmospheric water cycle and climate of West Africa and the Atlantic to radiative forcing of Saharan dust are studied using the NASA finite volume general circulation model (fvGCM), coupled to a mixed layer ocean. We find evidence of an "elevated heat pump" (EHP) mechanism that underlines the responses of the atmospheric water cycle to dust forcing as follow. During the boreal summer, as a result of large-scale atmospheric feedback triggered by absorbing dust aerosols, rainfall and cloudiness are enhanced over the West Africa/Eastern Atlantic ITCZ, and suppressed over the West Atlantic and Caribbean region. Shortwave radiation absorption by dust warms the atmosphere and cools the surface, while longwave has the opposite response. The elevated dust layer warms the air over West Africa and the eastern Atlantic. As the warm air rises, it spawns a largescale onshore flow carrying the moist air from the eastern Atlantic and the Gulf of Guinea. The onshore How in tuna enhances the deep convection over West Africa land, and the eastern Atlantic. The condensation heating associated with the ensuing deep convection drives and maintains an anomalous large-scale eas€-west overturning circulation with rising motion over West Afrieaieastern Atlantic, and sinking mofion over the Caribbean region. The response also includes a strengthening of the West African monsoon, manifested in a northward shift of the West Africa precipitation over land, increased lose-level westerly flow over West Africa at the southern edge of the dust layer, and a near surface westerly jet underneath the dust layer over the Sahara. The dust radiative forcing also leads to significant changes in surface energy fluxes, resulting in cooling of the West African land and the eastern Atlantic, and warming in the West Atlantic and Caribbean, The EHP effect is most effective for modCorrespondence to: K. M. Lau (william.k.lau (i^ nasa.gov ) erate to highly absorbing dusts, and becomes minimized for reflecting dust with single scattering albedo at 0.95 or higher.


Abstract. We use a recently proposed spectral sampling technique for measurements of atmospheric transmissions called the Spectral Structure Parameterization (SSP) in order to retrieve total water vapor columns (WVC) from reflectivity spectra measured by the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME). SSP provides a good compromise between efficiency and speed when performing retrievals on highly structured spectra of narrow-band absorbers like water vapor. We show that SSP can be implemented in a radiative transfer scheme which treats both direct-path absorption and absorption by singly-scattered light directly. For the retrieval we exploit a ro-vibrational overtone band of water vapor located in the visible around 590 nm. We compare our results to independent values given by the data assimilation model of ECMWF. In addition, results are compared to those obtained from the more accurate, but more computationally expensive, Optical Absorption Coefficient Spectroscopy (OACS).


BACKGROUND
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become more prominent among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. The extent to which CVD mortality rates are changing is unclear.

METHODS
We analyzed surveillance data for all persons aged ≥13 years with HIV infection between 2001 and 2012 reported to the New York City HIV Surveillance Registry. We examined age-specific and age-standardized mortality rates due to major CVDs. We compared mortality time trends among persons with HIV with the general population, and examined differences among HIV-infected persons by RNA level.

RESULTS
There were 29 588 deaths reported among 145 845 HIV-infected persons. Ten percent of deaths were attributed to CVD as the underlying cause, including chronic ischemic heart disease (42% of CVD deaths), hypertensive diseases (27%), and cerebrovascular diseases (10%). While proportionate mortality due to CVD among persons with HIV increased (6% in 2001 to 15% in 2012, P < .001), the CVD mortality rate decreased from 5.1 to 2.7 per 1000 person-years. After controlling for sex, race/ethnicity, borough of residence, and year, those with HIV had significantly higher CVD mortality than the general population in all age groups through age 65. The CVD mortality rate was highest among viremic persons (adjusted rate ratio [RR], 3.53 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 3.21-3.87]) but still elevated among virally suppressed (<400 copies/mL) persons (adjusted RR, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.41-1.66]) compared with the general population.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings support continued emphasis by HIV care providers on both viremic control and preventive measures including smoking cessation, blood pressure control, and lipid management.


The global bedbug resurgence has left the scientific community racing to fill large gaps in our understanding of the biology and ecology of this forgotten pest. Studying the ecology of a species so closely associated with humans has inherent difficulties, necessitating the development of laboratory arenas that replicate natural infestations. The arena developed herein provides bedbugs with the opportunity to exhibit natural foraging, hiding and dispersal behaviours on a scale that reflects their natural environment.

Using this arena I test hypotheses relating to; 1) how bedbugs use harbourage space, and 2) the factors affect their dispersal. My research revealed that harbourages in the vicinity of the host are used first and peripheral harbourages only form as the infestation develops. The preferential use of harbourages adjacent to the host is explained by the finding that feeding frequency was negatively correlated with distance from the host. However, despite this advantage of residing in close proximity to the host, bedbugs form discontinuous harbourages, leaving regions of unoccupied space. This suggests that there are factor(s) that limit harbourage density.

Female dispersal was unaffected by males presence, suggesting that sexual harassment does not drive dispersal in the bedbug. However, variation in the distribution of the sexes across harbourages suggests that females may be able to avoid males through harbourage selection.
Increased harbourage availability significantly delayed the onset of dispersal, suggesting that competition for harbourages near the host is a factor driving dispersal from the natal infestation. Given that a host is an almost unlimited food source and that the cost of dispersing is likely to be high, it is not immediately apparent why bedbugs choose to actively disperse. However, theoretical models show that where relatedness is high, dispersal always occurs to reduce competition. The high cost of dispersal may therefore be offset by kin selection.


Abstract. A high-resolution ocean circulation modelling system forced with a high-resolution numerical wind product was used to study the mesoscale and sub-mesoscale eddy population of the North-Western Mediterranean Sea, contrasting eddy-activity between the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian sub-basins. Numerical solutions reproduced some of the known regional dynamics, namely the occurrence and oceanic implications of Mistral events, the convective cell leeward of the Gulf of Lion, as well as the Balearic frontal system. Calculated transport across the Corsica Channel followed a similar trend, when compared to the transport computed from a moored current meter. The analysis of the results showed that surface eddy activity is mostly confined to the boundary-currents, whereas in the deeper layers most eddies are concentrated on the central-deeper part of the basins. The Liguro-Provencal basin shows a much higher concentration of intermediate and deep-water eddies, when compared to the Tyrrhenian basin. Sub-mesoscale surface eddies tend to merge and migrate vertically onto intermediate waters. Intense eddy activity in the boundary-current surrounding the Liguro-Provencal Gyre, concentrate high-productivity, manifested by higher concentrations of mean sea surface chlorophyll, in the central part of the gyre, defined herein as the Ligurian Productive Pool (LPP). On average, the Tyrrhenian was mostly oligotrophic except for a small productive vortice in the south-eastern (leeward) side of Corsica. The transport in the Tyrrhenian Gyre, and across the basin is one order of magnitude higher than the transport calculated for the Liguro-Provencal basin. A high concentration of eddies in the passage between the Balearic Archipelago and Sardinia suggests retention and longer residence times of nutrient rich water in the "Ligurian pool", compared to a "fast draining" Tyrrhenian basin. Previous studies support the cyclonic gyre circulation generated in the Liguro-Provencal basin but more studies are needed to address the surface and deep mesoscale activity of the Tyrrhenian basin.


We consider the interplay of climate change impacts, global mitigation policies, and the interests of developing countries to 2050. Focusing on Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, we employ a structural approach to biophysical and economic modeling that incorporates climate uncertainty and allows for rigorous comparison of climate, biophysical, and economic outcomes across global mitigation regimes. We find that effective global mitigation policies generate two sources of benefit. First, less distorted climate outcomes result in typically more favourable economic outcomes. Second, successful global mitigation policies reduce global fossil fuel producer prices, relative to unconstrained emissions, providing a substantial terms of trade boost to structural fuel importers. Combined, these gains are on the order of or greater than estimates of mitigation costs. These results highlight the interests of most developing countries in effective global mitigation policies, even in the relatively near term, with the likelihood of much larger benefits post 2050.


BACKGROUND
Published data indicate that antiprogestins and antiestrogens could inhibit prostate cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo. The main objective of the present studies was to explore the role of bcl(2) and TGFbeta(1) for induction of apoptosis in LNCaP prostate cancer cells growing in culture as a treatment response to the antiprogestin, mifepristone, and the antiestrogen, 4-hydroxytamoxifen.

METHODS
In vitro cell viability (cytotoxicity), DNA fragmentation, and changes in the expression of bcl(2) and TGFbeta(1) proteins were assessed using the sulforhodamine B protein dye-binding assay, specific ELISA, and competitive inhibition assays.

RESULTS
Both steroid antagonists induced a significant time- and dose-dependent cell growth inhibition (cytotoxicity). This inhibition of viable cells was associated with a significant increase in DNA fragmentation (apoptosis), downregulation of bcl(2), and induction of TGFbeta(1) protein. Abrogation of the mifepristone- and 4-hydroxytamoxifen-induced cytotoxicity by TGFbeta(1)-neutralizing antibody and by the addition of mannose-6-phosphate confirmed the correlation between induction of active TGFbeta(1) and subsequent prostate cancer cell death. The effect of mifepristone was not significantly reduced or prevented by occupying the progesterone or glucocorticoid receptors by their corresponding high-affinity native ligands. On the contrary, the effect of a combination of mifepristone with progesterone or hydrocortisone on the increase in DNA fragmentation, bcl(2) downregulation, and induction of TGFbeta(1) protein was additive and significantly different (P < 0.05) from the effect of mifepristone monotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that mifepristone and tamoxifen are effective inducers of apoptosis and may represent nonandrogen-ablation, novel therapeutic approaches to overcome a potential intrinsic apoptosis resistance of androgen-independent prostate cancer cells.


Synchronic variability in the area of phonetics, phonology, vocabulary, morphology and syntax is a natural feature of any language, including English. The existence of competing variants is in itself a fascinating phenomenon, but it is also a prerequisite for diachronic changes. This volume is a collection of studies which investigate variability from a contemporary and historical perspective, in both native and non-native varieties of English. The topics include Middle English spelling variation, lexical differences between Middle English dialects, Late Middle and Early Modern English forms of address, Middle English negation patterns, the English used by Polish immigrants living in London, lexical fixedness in native and non-native English used by Polish learners, and the phenomenon of phonetic imitation in Polish learners of English. The book should be of interest to anyone interested in English linguistics, especially English phonetics and phonology as well as history of English, historical dialectology and pragmatics.


Abstract BackgroundThis study aimed (i) to ascertain the number of treatment referrals and information about protection orders given to survivors of domestic violence presenting for emergency trauma care, as reported at the one-month visit, (ii) to obtain a profile of violent incidents and injuries, and (iii) to assess self-esteem and posttraumatic and depressive symptomatology in the aftermath of injury. MethodsA survey of 62 participants presenting in the acute aftermath of domestic violence (as defined by the Domestic Violence Act of 1998) was conducted over 12 weeks at the Trauma and Resuscitation Unit of a Level One trauma centre in an urban public hospital in South Africa.1 Following informed consent, face-to-face structured interviews were conducted during admission and a month later. The following instruments were administered at baseline: a Demographic and Injury Questionnaire, the Beck Depression and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventories, and the Davidson Trauma Scale. A psychosocial questionnaire was administered at the one- month follow-up. ResultsFifty-eight per cent of the participants were female and 42% were male. Seventy-four per cent of the perpetrators were male. Ninety-five per cent of the participants said that no health professional had informed them about where or how they could find help. Although all were seriously injured, 76% of the participants said only the researcher had asked about their experience. Sixty-six per cent of the cases of domestic violence were related to intimate partner violence. Overall, subjects displayed high levels of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptomatology that had neither been treated nor adequately referred. ConclusionEven though domestic violence poses significant health threats and costs to the health system, it appears to be a neglected area of South African health care. Health professionals should at least be able to identify and intervene within the "open window" period when psychosocial opportunities are pivotal.


BACKGROUND
Clinical trials have shown the benefits of cholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. It is not known whether treatment benefits continue after the progression to moderate-to-severe disease.

METHODS
We assigned 295 community-dwelling patients who had been treated with donepezil for at least 3 months and who had moderate or severe Alzheimer's disease (a score of 5 to 13 on the Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination [SMMSE, on which scores range from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating better cognitive function]) to continue donepezil, discontinue donepezil, discontinue donepezil and start memantine, or continue donepezil and start memantine. Patients received the study treatment for 52 weeks. The coprimary outcomes were scores on the SMMSE and on the Bristol Activities of Daily Living Scale (BADLS, on which scores range from 0 to 60, with higher scores indicating greater impairment). The minimum clinically important differences were 1.4 points on the SMMSE and 3.5 points on the BADLS.

RESULTS
Patients assigned to continue donepezil, as compared with those assigned to discontinue donepezil, had a score on the SMMSE that was higher by an average of 1.9 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3 to 2.5) and a score on the BADLS that was lower (indicating less impairment) by 3.0 points (95% CI, 1.8 to 4.3) (P<0.001 for both comparisons). Patients assigned to receive memantine, as compared with those assigned to receive memantine placebo, had a score on the SMMSE that was an average of 1.2 points higher (95% CI, 0.6 to 1.8; P<0.001) and a score on the BADLS that was 1.5 points lower (95% CI, 0.3 to 2.8; P=0.02). The efficacy of donepezil and of memantine did not differ significantly in the presence or absence of the other. There were no significant benefits of the combination of donepezil and memantine over donepezil alone.

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with moderate or severe Alzheimer's disease, continued treatment with donepezil was associated with cognitive benefits that exceeded the minimum clinically important difference and with significant functional benefits over the course of 12 months. (Funded by the U.K. Medical Research Council and the U.K. Alzheimer's Society; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN49545035.).


Eating disorders are increasing in our society and prior research has considered
the role of families, carers, partners and children in the development of these
difficulties. Siblings, however, have been largely overlooked. The role of sibling
relationships is not well understood, despite siblings being a long term,
significant feature of many individuals with eating disorders' lives. This study
aims to investigate the experiences of women with eating disorders and their
sibling relationships.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to investigate the
lived experiences of three women with diagnosed eating disorders. The women
were interviewed, using a semi structured interview schedule designed for the
study, and transcripts were analysed closely, following the principles of IPA.
Results
Three superordinate themes were identified for each participant. These are
'Seeking Balance', 'Being Bad' and 'I Don't Correlate' for Amy, 'Not Being
Noticed', 'Mealtimes are Stressful' and 'Everyone Runs Around After Her' for Jo
and 'Being The Runt', 'Being Pushed Out' and 'Lost Identity' for Sarah. Four
subthemes were also identified. These were 'Being Cut Off' for Amy, 'Being
Pushed Out' and 'Shying Away' for Jo and 'Being Ridiculous' for Sarah.
Conclusion
The sibling relationships in this sample were characterised by competition,
rivalry, lack of understanding, conflict and distress. Many of the experiences
shared were negative and were related as damaging to the individual.
However, each relationship also contained strengths and all participants desired
improved relationships and closeness with their siblings. Findings are
discussed in terms of their implications for our current knowledge and further
research.


OlfactionOlfaction is a primitive sensory ability that is common to vertebrates and insects, but the neural circuits that underlie the ability to smell are very complex. Before an odor is recognized, it has to be processed through several stages by neurons in the olfactory system. Olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), which detect odors at the first stage of processing, form precise connections with cells in brain structures called glomeruli, whose specific activation patterns contain information about odor identity. Despite the common design principles in vertebrates and insects, there are important differences. OSNs drive the formation of glomeruli in vertebrates, but cells in glomeruli develop independently of OSNs in adult insects.

Olfactory projection neurons (left, red) are absent following early unilateral ablation of presynaptic sensory neurons (right).

This week in PLOS Biology, Lucia Prieto-Godino of the University of Cambridge and her collaborators report the results of the first systematic investigation of how the olfactory network assembles in fruit fly embryos. They found that the activity of OSNs is crucial for the proper formation of connections in the olfactory system during these early stages of development. The findings reveal surprising similarities between vertebrates and insect embryos in the formation of olfactory networks.

Specifically, they found that projection neurons in the glomeruli of fruit fly embryos only formed extensions that would eventually connect with other neurons after being contacted by OSNs, unlike the pattern seen in adult fruit flies. Projection neurons were more likely to survive when they were contacted by OSNs, and the activity of OSNs controlled the growth of extensions formed by projection neurons.

OSN activity also controlled how OSNs formed connections with cells in glomeruli. When the researchers genetically silenced OSN activity, they found that the OSNs formed connections that extended across a broader-than-normal swath of glomeruli, similar to previous findings in vertebrates. This suggests that OSN activity is crucial for the normal wiring of the olfactory network.

The study reveals new insights into the development of the olfactory network in insect embryos and shows that OSN activity plays a key role in guiding the development of the olfactory circuitry. Surprisingly, these patterns resemble those observed in vertebrates, but not adult fruit flies. Because neural circuits in other sensory and motor systems share similar properties, the findings may represent general mechanisms that underlie the development of networks in the nervous system.

Prieto-Godino LL, Diegelmann S, Bate M (2012) Embryonic Origin of Olfactory Circuitry in Drosophila: Contact and Activity-Mediated Interactions Pattern Connectivity in the Antennal Lobe. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001400


We investigate the structure of quantizer rules at the local sensors in distributed detection networks, in the presence of eavesdroppers (Eve), under asymptotic regime (number of sensors tending to infinity) for binary hypotheses. These local quantizers are designed in such a way that the confidentiality of sensor data is preserved while achieving optimal detection performance at the fusion center (FC). In the case of Eve with noisier channels, for a general channel model, we show that these optimal quantizer rules at the local sensors are always on the boundaries of the achievable region of sensor's ROC. If there is a constraint on the Eve's performance, based on our numerical results, we conjecture that the structure of an optimal quantizer is LRT-based. The above argument is corroborated with a numerical example using BSC channels for the Eve and ideal channels for the FC. In the case of Eve with better channels, we prove that the quantizer rules that can provide confidentiality along with optimal detection performance, cannot send any useful information to the fusion center (FC). We propose a jamming scheme for the FC against Eve and evaluate the optimal distribution for the Gaussian jamming signal that requires minimum energy to make both FC and Eve's channel similar in distributed detection performance.


Patients with a limited life expectancy use many medications, some of which may be questionable. Objectives  To identify possible solutions for difficulties concerning medication management and formulate recommendations to improve medication management at the end of life. Methods  A two-round Delphi study with experts in the field of medication management and end-of-life care (based on ranking in the citation index in Web of Science and relevant publications). We developed a questionnaire with 58 possible solutions for problems regarding medication management at the end of life that were identified in previously performed studies. Results  A total of 42 experts from 13 countries participated. Response rate in the first round was 93%, mean agreement between experts for all solutions was 87 % (range 62%–100%); additional suggestions were given by 51%. The response rate in the second round was 74%. Awareness, education and timely communication about medication management came forward as top priorities for guidelines. In addition, solutions considered crucial by many of the experts were development of a list of inappropriate medications at the end of life and incorporation of recommendations for end-of-life medication management in disease-specific guidelines. Conclusions  In this international Delphi study, experts reached a high level of consensus on recommendations to improve medication management in end-of-life care. These findings may contribute to the development of clinical practice guidelines for medication management in end-of-life care.


Comparative research has shown that, even at the level of the largest firms, corporate ownership structure tends to be highly concentrated, with dispersed ownership structures characterizing only the Anglo/American context. What explains these national boundaries between dispersed and concentrated ownership structures? Earlier in this decade, several authors (most notably, Mark Roe) proposed "political" theories of corporate finance under which dispersed ownership was viewed as largely the result (in the U.S.) of regulatory constraints imposed on the development of financial intermediaries. Under this view, a deep-rooted American political ideology disfavored concentrated financial power, with the alleged result that the Berle/Means model of the firm (with its characteristic "separation of ownership and control") became dominant in the U.S. (but not elsewhere). More recently, economists working on the privatization of transitional economies have focused on the difficulties in establishing viable securities markets. Based on survey data, they have concluded that common law regimes vastly outperform civil law regimes in fostering the development of equity markets. Even if this research is still at a preliminary stage, this data suggests an alternative "legal" hypothesis for the observed dichotomy between concentrated and dispersed ownership: namely, only those legal systems that provide significant protections for minority shareholders can sustain active equity markets. This "legal" hypothesis is the mirror image of the earlier noted "political" theory of corporate finance: under the "legal" hypothesis, dispersed ownership evidences not the overregulation of institutional investors, but the law?s success in encouraging investors to accept the status of minority owners. Similarly, financial intermediaries fail to grow to the scale observed in Japan and Germany, because individuals do not need to rely upon them as collective investment vehicles. These two contrasting theories yield very different predictions about the likelihood that globalization will produce significant convergence in corporate governance. Emphasizing the inertial impact of path dependency, proponents of the former political theory have focused on the barriers to formal convergence and been skeptical of the prospects for legislative change. Proponents of the "legal" hypothesis have yet advanced no logical corollary to their arguments, but this article examines an alternative and more likely route to significance convergence in corporate governance: namely, functional convergence attained, first, through the migration of foreign issuers to the U.S. securities markets and, second, through international harmonization of securities regulation and disclosure standards. Empirically, the migration of foreign issuers to the U.S. markets has accelerated in this decade, and this article examines several hypotheses for this trend, including (i) the possibility that a U.S. listing is a bonding mechanism by which issuers assure minority shareholders that they will not be exploited; (2) the existence of network externalities associated with securities exchange that attract issuers even in the face of high regulatory costs; and (3) the possibility that the "strong" position of management in the Berle/Means corporate structure protects minority shareholders from the danger that the subsequent formation of a control block will permit a new controlling shareholder to expropriate value from them. Finally, this article argues that convergence in corporate governance will occur not at the level of corporate laws, but at the level of securities regulation. In particular, it emphasizes the critical, but often overlooked, role for securities regulation in reducing agency costs. In this regard, developments in the United States may foreshadow future international corporate convergence, as, it is argued, the predominance of federal securities law has largely overshadowed variations in state corporate laws and rendered unimportant the competition among American states for corporate charters. Similarly, on the international level, securities harmonization may trivialize path dependent variations in national law.


There have been speculations among scholars in the past on the reason for the perceptible difference in the tonal pattern of the Abankeleke Igbo. Prominent among these is that there is a feature of the upstep tone in this dialect group especially in Izii and Ezaa dialects that is absent in most other Igbo dialects. This paper therefore sets out to investigate the truth or otherwise of this claim in Izii and Ezaa dialects by analyzing the tone levels operational in these dialects and in the Standard Igbo and to compare them with those of the Standard Igbo. The data are collected through personal interview. Three respondents are randomly selected; one for Izii, Ezaa and Standard Igbo respectively. An adapted version of the Ibadan wordlist of 400 Basic Items was used and the data were recorded electronically. The data were transcribed and analyzed electronically using the Speech Tools Analyzer version 3, 0.1 (1996-2007) and the Phonology Assistant version 2.2 (1995-2005) software packages developed by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) International. The result of the perceptual analysis, which is confirmed by the instrumental analysis reveals that there is a feature of the high raising tone in Izii and Ezaa which is absent in most other Igbo dialects (among other factors) that contributes to the peculiar tonal phenomenon perceptible in the speech form of this dialect group.


[1] Dynamic changes in live fuel moisture (LFM) and fuel condition modify fire danger in shrublands. We investigated the empirical relationship between field-measured LFM and remotely sensed greenness and moisture measures from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS). Key goals were to assess the nature of these relationships as they varied between sensors, across sites, and across years. Most AVIRIS-derived measures were highly correlated with LFM. Visible atmospherically resistant index (VARI) and visible green index (VIg) outperformed all moisture measures. The water index (WI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) had the highest correlations of the moisture measures. All relationships were nonlinear, and a linear relationship only applied above a 60% LFM. Changes in the fraction of green vegetation (GV) and nonphotosynthetic vegetation (NPV) were good indicators of changes in fuels below the 60% LFM threshold. AVIRIS- and MODIS-derived measures were highly correlated but lacked a 1:1 relationship. MODIS-derived greenness and moisture measures were also highly correlated to LFM but generally had lower correlations than AVIRIS and varied between sites. LFM relationships improved when data were pooled by functional type. LFM interannual variability impacted relationships, producing higher correlations in wetter years, with VARI and VIg showing the highest correlations across years. Lowest correlations were observed for sites that included two different functional types or multiple land cover classes (i.e., urban and roads) within a MODIS footprint. Higher correlations for uniform sites and improved relationships for functional types suggest that MODIS can map LFM effectively in shrublands.


To the Editor. Alariosis is a reemerging zoonotic disease caused by infection with larval stages of trematodes of the genus Alaria. The trematodes are found in wildlife that inhabit wetlands, and these animals may serve as possible reservoirs for these organisms that cause human infection (1). The main sources for human infection are suids and frogs (1). In humans, the clinical features of alariosis caused by infections with the North American species of Alaria vary from mild and asymptomatic to moderate with respiratory or cutaneous signs (2) or neuroretinitis (3), to severe-to-lethal anaphylactic shock caused by larva migrans (4,5). The genus Alaria has 7 species; only A. alata is found naturally in Europe (6), a species which has not thus far been shown to be responsible for human infections.

A. alata infection is common in its typical definitive host (red fox, Vulpes vulpes) and in certain paratenic hosts (wild boar, Sus scrofa) (1). However, the role of other paratenic hosts is poorly known. Among these, mustelids are reported to harbor mesocercariae of A. alata trematodes (7). The pathogenic effect of A. alata infection has been poorly studied, because most lesions described were in humans infected with other species of Alaria. Except for 2 experimental studies that described gross lesions produced by A. alata trematodes (6,8), to our knowledge, no data have been published concerning lesions produced by natural infection in nonhuman hosts. Our report provides a detailed description of the lesions, shown by microscopy, which suggests the pathogenic mechanisms.

One adult female European mink (Mustela lutreola) was found dead during standard surveillance operations in which box traps were used; this trapping was part of biodiversity and ecology studies in the central part of the Danube delta in Romania (45°08′N, 29°19′E) in March 2010. The corpse was deep-frozen and analyzed after 3 months in the laboratory. During necropsy, multiple, well-defined, whitish nodules were observed in most muscular and subcutaneous tissues (Figure, panel A), with no evident preferential localization. We collected samples from these tissues for artificial digestion (9,10) and histologic examination, using the routine paraffin-embedding protocol and the following staining methods: hematoxylin-eosin, Masson trichrome, and Gordon and Sweet.

Figure

Lesions produced by mesocercariae of Alaria alata in European mink. A) Mesocercariae in the muscle and subcutaneous tissue produce whitish, round or slightly oval, well-defined nodules. B) Free mesocercarium after artificial digestion, showing the characteristics ...

Artificial digestion released parasites (6 larvae/5 gm tissue) with typical larval trematode structures (Figure, panel B). By microscopy, we observed that morphologic features of these larvae were consistent with A. alata mesocercariae (6). Histopathologic examination confirmed the presence of parasitic forms in muscle sections (Figure, panel C). The mesocercariae were located in the connective fibrous tissue of the perimysium or between the muscle fibers. The typical structure of muscle fibers was altered around the larvae, with inflammatory cell reactions, represented mainly by lymphocytes, macrophages, and plasma cells (Figure, panel D). In other areas, the inflammatory reaction around the parasite was minimal or absent (Figure, panel E). In certain histologic sections, the damaged muscular tissue was replaced by granulation tissue in various stages of development (Figure, panel F). The maturity of the granulation tissue differed substantially, depending on the muscular areas examined. Some lesions were found in adult connective tissue, formed by mature collagen scar fibers (type I collagen) and few inflammatory cells, whereas other lesions had reticulin fibers (type III collagen) with numerous inflammatory cells. The lesions of the subcutaneous connective tissue consisted of an inflammatory reaction (panniculitis). The inflammation was characterized by a low number of mononuclear leukocytes and fibrinous exudate and fibroplasia.

The polyphasic nature of muscle and subcutaneous lesions produced by A. alata infection in its paratenic host appears to be caused by mesocercarial migration. This view is sustained by the presence of mononuclear cells that it infiltrates and by the appearance of the granulomatous tissue in various stages of maturation, which leads to muscle and subcutaneous fibroplasia. The reparatory nature of the lesions suggests that the inflammation is probably the result of direct tissue damage rather than an immune reaction targeted toward the parasitic antigens. This assumption could explain the local absence of inflammatory reaction around the parasites. The lack of inflammation was previously observed also with A. americana infection of humans (4). The structure of all mesocercariae observed by microscopy suggested that they were alive and active before the mink carcass was frozen. Because no mesocercariae were surrounded by adult connective tissue or by granulomatous inflammation, together with the multiple presences of migratory routes, the continuous mobility of the parasites through the host's tissues was strongly suggested.

Although data on the pathologic changes caused by Alaria spp. in general, and A. alata parasites in particular, are scarce, the migration pattern and the lesions seem to be dependent on the particular parasite and host species. The reparatory nature of the lesions suggests that the inflammation is the result of direct tissue damage rather than an immune reaction targeted toward the parasitic antigens.


We organise a field experiment with smallholder farmers in Rwanda to measure the impact of financial literacy training on financial knowledge and behaviour. The training increased financial literacy of participants, changed their savings and borrowing behaviour and had a positive effect on the new business start-up. However, it failed to have a significant (short-term) impact on income. Using a two-stage regression framework, we identify enhanced financial literacy as one of the important factors explaining behavioural changes. We also test whether financial knowledge spillovers from trained farmers to their peers in local village banks but find no evidence for that.


The general dynamic model of oceanic island biogeography integrates temporal changes in ecological circumstances with diversification processes, and has stimulated current research in island biogeography. In the original publication, a set of testable hypotheses was analysed using regression models: specifically, whether island data for four diversity indices are consistent with the 'B~ATT2' model, in which B is a diversity index, A is log(area) and T is time. The four indices were species richness, the number and percentage of single‐island endemic species, and a diversification index. Whether the relationships between these indices and time are unimodal (i.e., 'hump‐shaped') was a key focus, based on the characteristic ontogeny of a volcanic oceanic island. However, the significance testing unintentionally used zero, rather than the mean of the diversity index, as the null hypothesis, greatly inflating F‐ values and reducing P‐values compared with the standard regression approach. Here we first re‐analyze the data used to evaluate the general dynamic model in the seminal paper, using the standard null hypothesis, to provide an important qualification of its empirical results. This supports the significance of about half the original tests, the rest becoming non‐significant but mostly suggestive of the hypothesized relationship. Then we expand the original analysis by testing additional, theoretically derived functional relationships between the diversity indices, island area and time, within the framework of the ATT2 model and using a mixed‐effects modelling approach. This shows that species richness peaks earlier in island life‐cycles than endemism. Area has a greater effect on species richness and the number of single‐island endemics than on the proportion of single‐island endemics and the diversification index, and was always better fit as a log–log relationship than as a semi‐log one. Finally, the richness–time relationship is positively skewed, the initial rise happening much more quickly than the later decline.


Stenting remains a common treatment option for atherosclerotic arteries. The main drawback of early stent platforms was restenosis, which has been combated by drug eluting stents; however, these stents have suffered from a higher incidence of late stage thrombosis. To address current stenting limitations, the major research focuses have been the development of the next generation of drug eluting stents and first generation bioabsorbable stents. The main objective of this dissertation was the design and development of a new class of bioabsorbable stent composed of elastin mimetic protein polymers. The first phase explored different stent design schemes and fabrication strategies. Successfully fabricated stents were then mechanically tested to ensure they possessed sufficient mechanical strength. Additionally, described herein is the potential to modulate the properties of the elastin mimetics through different crosslinking strategies. We have demonstrated that chemical crosslinking allows for the tailoring of the physical, mechanical, drug delivery, and endothelialization properties of these materials. The potential for drug delivery from this elastin mimetic stent was benchmarked as was the potential to endothelialize these stents. Furthermore, we developed the necessary delivery systems to allow for deployment in the rat aorta model.


This article reports on a survey and analysis of ventilator alarm state in a children hospital. Based on the evaluation of the alarm effectiveness, we designed a survey statistical table for ventilator alarm investigation. We evaluated the alarm situation synthetically through investigation and statistical methods. Result shows that the current ventilator alarms are not sufficiently effective, 26.84% of them are meaningless alarms and those leading to clinician's intervention make up only 2.26% of all the alarms generated. The reliability of statistical data was also analyzed. According to the survey results, we identified and analyzed the causes of the problem and proposed the corresponding alarm management methods.


Urbanization in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Northwest China) has gained momentum in the last three decades. The Chinese government supports infrastructure development in this border region and construction sites have been emerging everywhere. Often framed as a planned nation‐state project of sinicization from above, from an ethnographic perspective infrastructure development involves a much more diverse set of actors and their different motives. The construction sector offers a gateway for global and national architectural designs and manpower to enter the making of local cityscapes. Besides engaging with the political economy of construction activities, this article outlines the meaning of the construction site as a place where social and ethnic senses of locality are negotiated. The data show that many of the economic, material, social and design mobilities on the construction site in Xinjiang extend eastwards to the rest of China rather than to Central Asian countries which are geographically much closer. Power relations and ethnic issues become interwoven into the construction of new cityscapes. In particular, the domination of Han actors in the planning and implementation of construction projects shapes not only the materiality of the built environment but also related senses of locality.


Crowdsourcing provides a valuable source of input that reflects the human diversity of domain knowledge. It has increasingly been used in ontology engineering and evaluation, however, few approaches consider different types of crowdsourcing for data acquisition. In this paper, we compare two crowdsourcing techniques a mechanized labor-based task and a game-based approach to acquire shared knowledge from which we semi-automatically build an ontology. This paper focuses on the first two steps of ontology engineering, the forming of concepts and their hierarchical relations. To this end, we adapt a distributional semantic and class-based word sense disambiguation approach and a knowledge-intensive tree traversal algorithm. Each step along the process and the final resources are evaluated manually and by a gold standard created from Wikipedia data. Our results show that the ontology resulting from data obtained with the mechanized labor-based approach provides a higher level of granularity than the game-based one. However, the latter is faster and seems more enticing to participants.


This paper describes a grammar game used to teach business students grammar rules in a way that reduces anxiety and motivates learning. Grammar instruction is often filled with terminology that intimidates many students, so it is important to explain grammar and writing issues using simple language rather than the complex jargon understood only by English majors. These games also enhance metacognition as students rely on one another, rather than just solely relying on the instructor, for explanations and answers to challenging problems. Students become aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and can transfer this knowledge to writing assignments in other classes and in the business world. Making the games competitive also keeps students engaged and focused on the lesson in a way that lectures and worksheets cannot; therefore, these games can be an alternative to the traditional grammar lessons.


We consider a class of nonparametric time series regression models in which the regressor takes values in a sequence space and the data are stationary and weakly dependent. We propose an infi?nite dimensional Nadaraya-Watson type estimator with a bandwidth sequence that shrinks the e¤ects of long lags. We investigate its asymptotic properties in detail under both static and dynamic regressions contexts. First we show pointwise consistency of the estimator under a set of mild regularity conditions. We establish a CLT for the estimator at a point under stronger conditions as well as for a feasibly studentized version of the estimator, thereby allowing pointwise inference to be conducted. We establish the uniform consistency over a compact set of logarithmically increasing dimension. We specify the explicit rates of convergence in terms of the Lambert W function, and show that the optimal rate that balances the squared bias and variance is of logarithmic order, the precise rate depending on the smoothness of the regression function and the dependence of the data in a non-trivial way.


How do participatory constituent practices affect the scope and intensity of nonprofit advocacy? In this study, we examine this question through survey data from a random sample of charitable nonprofit organizations in Arizona in 2007. Our findings show that the scope and intensity of nonprofit advocacy tend to increase with constituent board membership, communication with constituents, and level of constituent involvement in strategic decision making. However, the scope and intensity of nonprofit advocacy tends to decrease with increased government funding and private contributions. These findings suggest important implications for organizations wishing to be more effective in influencing public policy.


Background. The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of illicit drug use in a group of Polish adolescents with type 1 diabetes (DM1) in comparison with a national cohort of their healthy peers. Methods. Two hundred and nine adolescents with DM1, aged 15–18 years, were studied in 2013 with an anonymous questionnaire prepared for the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The control group was a representative sample of 12114 students at the same age who took part in ESPAD in 2011. Metabolic control was regarded as good if self-reported HbA1c was <8% or poor if HbA1c was ≥8%. Results. Lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use was lower among adolescents with DM1 than in the control group [58 (28%) versus 5524 (46%), p = 10−5]. Cannabis preparations were the most frequently used substances [38 (18.3%) versus 3976 (33.1%), p = 10−5], followed by tranquilizers, sedatives, and amphetamine. Lifetime and last 12-month use of cannabis were associated with poorer glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 8%), p < 0.01 and 0.02, respectively. Conclusions. Adolescents with DM1 report using illicit drugs to a lesser extent than their healthy peers. The use of cannabis is associated with a poorer metabolic control in teens with DM1.


In Africa, many pastoral households are increasingly settling in response to curtailed mobility and shrinking grazing areas. Households in pastoral areas are characterised by few resources, low income, low level of human and social capital, and limited access to markets and service institutions like credit institutions, extension and plant protection. This study was conducted to determine the factors that influence transient poverty among agro-pastoral communities in semi-arid areas of Kenya using the Njemps Flats in Baringo district as a representation of the study area. The land-use practice in the Njemps Flats is livestock and crop production (agro-pastolism). Regression techniques were used to determine the relationship between poverty and hypothesized explanatory variables. The number of livelihood sources, household size, distance to the nearest market, ownership of enclosures and household herd size were the most influential factors that determined poverty among agropastoral communities. The number of livelihood sources, education level of the household head, relief food, extension service and distance to the nearest markets were positively related to per capita daily income. A negative relationship was observed between per capita daily income and household size. Since poverty shows declining with positive influential factors, reduction of transient poverty can be achieved through enhancing and providing of livelihood alternatives to reduce over-reliance on livestock and land as primary sources of livelihood.


The secreted protein Reelin regulates movement and cell-cell interactions during embryonic brain development. It accomplishes this by activating signaling cascades in target neurons that express an appropriate Reelin receptor such as ApoE receptor 2 (ApoER2), a member of the LDL receptor family. The ApoER2 transcript undergoes differential splicing to generate numerous receptor variants, one of which is predicted to encode a furin cleavage site that would generate a secreted extracellular ligand-binding domain. Koch et al. show that this cleaved form of ApoER2 is indeed generated by furin in transfected cells. Treatment of primary mouse neuronal cultures with purified, soluble ApoER2 fragment inhibited the Reelin signaling pathway. The specific transcript was also detected in primary neurons and only in the mouse cerebrum. This isoform of ApoER2 could act as a dominant-negative receptor by blocking the interaction of Reelin with cognate receptors on the surface of neurons. S. Koch, V. Strasser, C. Hauser, D. Fasching, C. Brandes, T. M. Bajari, W. J. Schneider, J. Nimpf, A secreted soluble form of ApoE receptor 2 acts as a dominant negative receptor and inhibits Reelin signaling. EMBO J. 21, 5996-6004 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Europe's two crises – the Georgia-Russia war of August and the ongoing global financial and economic crisis – point to huge challenges for the organisation and policies of the European Union. The present paper concentrates on the risks that the crises represent for one of the EU's prime objective, to achieve a civilized wider European order. At least the current episodes show that with leadership the EU can act fast in both diplomacy and finance. But the next question is how to follow through, beyond a passing moment of an effective six-month presidency of the EU. This is the subject of the present note, which advocates a comprehensive upgrading of the EU's policies in the wider European area, and contributes ideas for the revision of the European Security Strategy currently being prepared. The aim would be to strengthen EU policies towards South-East Europe, East Europe and Central Asia, and defuse the current confrontation between a normative Europe and an aggressive Russian realpolitik; better still Russia might, after reflecting on what the two crises mean for its fundamental interests, conclude that the time had come for a more genuinely cooperative understanding with the EU.


Background Experiences of chronic stress and trauma are major risk factors for psychiatric illness. Evidence suggests that adversity-related changes in brain structure and function accelerate this vulnerability. It is yet to be determined whether neuroendocrine effects on the brain are a result of the interference with neural development during sensitive periods or a consequence of cumulative lifetime adversity. To address this question, the present study investigated the associations between brain structure and self-reported data of childhood and adult adversity using machine learning techniques and structural equation models (SEM). Methods The UK Biobank resource was used to access Imaging Derived Phenotypes (IDPs) of grey matter and white matter tract integrity of 7003 participants, together with selected childhood and adult adversity data. Latent measures of adversity and imaging phenotypes were estimated to evaluate their associations using SEM. Results We demonstrated that increased incidence of childhood adversity events may be associated with smaller grey matter in frontal, insular, subcallosal and cerebellar regions of the brain. There were no significant associations between brain phenotypes and negative experiences during adulthood. Conclusions Using a large population cohort dataset, this study contributes to the suggestion that childhood adversity may determine grey matter reductions in brain regions, which are putatively sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of chronic stress. Furthermore, it provides novel evidence to support the "sensitive periods" model though which adversity affects the brain.


Semantic feature learning for natural language and programming language is a preliminary step in addressing many software mining tasks. Many existing methods leverage information in lexicon and syntax to learn features for textual data. However, such information is inadequate to represent the entire semantics in either text sentence or code snippet. This motivates us to propose a new approach to learn semantic features for both languages, through extracting three levels of information, namely global, local and sequential information, from textual data. For tasks involving both modalities, we project the data of both types into a uniform feature space so that the complementary knowledge in between can be utilized in their representation. In this paper, we build a novel and general-purpose feature learning framework called UniEmbed, to uniformly learn comprehensive semantic representation for both natural language and programming language. Experimental results on three real-world software mining tasks show that UniEmbed outperforms state-of-the-art models in feature learning and prove the capacity and effectiveness of our model.


English language teachers and those who train them will frequently and explicitly state that they do not just teach the English language - a statement which, in a postcolonial and ostensibly multiculturalist world, has all but monopolized the work of socially-conscious researchers in the fields of Education and ESL/EFL. While much of this work superficially condemns the undertones of cultural and linguistic imperialism assumed to be inherent in the global spread of English, this thesis questions the usefulness of such an approach. Approaching the matter through the metaphor of translation, this thesis presents an updated conceptualization of the 'Empire' to which the English language is presumed to be connected and explores the geopolitical implications of the language's growing prominence. Rather than positing that the global spread of English indicates an end to the necessity of translation, this thesis draws on the work of Steiner, Derrida and Benjamin to argue instead that what is being projected is a large-scale translation of men.


In reviewing the OECD's BEPS process as it relates to lower-income countries, it may be useful to begin with a question about global tax institutions: Why, as controversy arose over base erosion and profit shifting after the 2008 Financial Crisis, did the OECD assume leadership of the ensuing intergovernmental study of the topic, instead of a more inclusive international organization like the United Nations? The OECD's membership consists of 35 industrialized and relatively wealthy countries, whereas the United Nations consists of 193 member states at all levels of wealth and economic development. Especially given that the fiscal consequences of BEPS-style tax planning, as discussed in Chapter 2, seem disproportionately severe for lower-income countries, why did the BEPS process originate under the auspices of an organization comprised of relatively wealthy countries?


Nausea and vomiting during spinal anesthesia for elective cesarean delivery is a
common finding and may occur in up to 80% of patients. The aim of the present study was to compare
efficacy of using intravenous midazolam alone, ondansetron, and midazolam in combination with
ondansetron for prevention of nausea and vomiting during and after cesarean delivery in parturient that
underwent spinal anesthesia.
Materials & Methods: In a double-blind study, 126 women undergoing elective caesarean section under
spinal anesthesia (using 0.5% bupivacaine 12.5 mg) were allocated randomly to receive midazolam 2
mg (n=42), ondansetron 4 mg (n=42) or midazolam and ondansetron (n=42) after the clamping umbilical
cord. The frequency of nausea and vomiting during and after surgery in recovery room were recorded.
Results: The frequency of intraoperative nausea and vomiting was lower in the O (28.6, 7.1%) and MO
(26.2, 16.7%) groups compared with M (50, 31%) group (P=0.04, P=0.006). The frequency of nausea
and vomiting after surgery in recovery room was lower in the O (4.8, 19 %) and MO (11.9, 7.1%) groups
compared with M(38.1, 23,8 %) group (P=0.01, P=0.03). Metoclopramide consumption was lower in O
and MO groups compared with M group (P=0.02). There was no difference in mean arterial pressure
and pulse rate between three groups during the surgery at times measured.
Conclusion: A bolus dose of midazolam (2 mg) was not effective than ondansetron (4mg) and
ondansetron plus midazolam (O 4 and M 2 mg) for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in parturient
patients undergoing cesarean section with spinal anesthesia during and after surgery in recovery room;
however, further studies are needed


This paper presents calibration of a catchment water quality model for continuous simulation of the water quality parameters from a catchment to the catchment outlet. The model is an integration of two sub-models: the hydrologic model and the water quality model. The hydrologic model estimates the amount of surface water runoff generated from the catchment during the storm event/ events. The water quality model estimates the transportation of the pollutants (total nitrogen, total phosphorus and suspended solids) from a particular catchment. The water quality model integrates two sub-processes: pollutants build-up and pollutants wash-off. The model calculates separate build-up and wash-off from pervious and impervious catchment surfaces. Rainfall and water quality data were collected for the Hotham creek catchment in Gold Coast, Australia. Runoff calculations from hydrologic model were compared with calculated discharges through widely used Australian models WBNM and DRAINS. Finally, based on measured water quality data, model water quality parameters were calibrated for the above-mentioned catchment.


Electricity trade among the EU Member States increases because of electricity market liberalization and rapid development of new technologies. As a result, new trends in the development of social relations occur which have to be regulated taking into consideration their nature, the economical and political significance. This paper aims to study the necessity to regulate taxation of electricity supply by value added tax in terms of specific legal norms in the European Union. The processes of electricity market liberalization and specific physical characteristics of electrical energy cause this necessity. When Lithuania becomes a member of the European Union, the issue of electrical energy taxation will become relevant, as new possibilities for electrical energy trade with the other EU Member States will be opened. The first part of the paper points out the correlation among the processes of electricity market liberalization, the tax policy and the creation of the EU's single market. The importance of the creation of electricity market in order to strengthen the EU competitiveness is emphasized. The main stages in the process of electricity market liberalization are discussed. This part also deals with different aspects of the regulation and the significance of harmonization of value added tax among the EU Member States for the creation of the EU's single market. The second part of the paper is devoted for the analysis of tax features, which have to be implemented by the legal regulation. Such an analysis is necessary because the suitability of legal norms, which regulate the taxation of electricity supply, is estimated according to their ability to accomplish these indispensable features of taxation. The analysis of the legal norms, which regulate some particular aspects of electricity supply taxation, is revealed in the third part of the paper. The specificity of electricity supply as a subject of value added tax and specific physical characteristics of electrical energy, which deal with its legal regulation in terms of electricity supply taxation, are discussed. The main focus is made on the analysis of legal norms, which define the place of electricity supply. A comparative analysis of legal regulation, where the criteria used to determine the place of goods and electrical energy supply are distinguished, is carried out and their practical application problems in electricity trade among the EU Member States are discussed. The legal regulation of the reverse charge is discussed. This system enables to shift the burden of taxation from suppliers to customers. In this way a supplier is released from various procedures related to value added tax, which must be performed in the process of selling electrical energy to customers belonging to another Member State. The legal regulation of electricity import taxation is also shortly reviewed in this article.


AIM
To evaluate the diagnostic value of dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the differential diagnosis of hepatic angiomyolipoma (HAML) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to clarify the relationship between histopathological features and CT or MRI imaging performances in HAML.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Six HAML and 33 non-cirrhotic HCC patients confirmed by histopathology were retrospectively analyzed. The serum biomarkers, CT and MRI examinations were conventionally performed before the confirmatory histological diagnosis. The clinical data from their medical records was also analyzed.

RESULTS
Six HAML patients were annotated as two types according to CT and MRI imaging characteristics, including hypovascular type (n = 1) and hypervascular type (n = 5). The imaging performances of the 33 HCC patients were hypervascular type. Moreover, all the 5 hypervascular type HAML patients were misdiagnosed as HCC by CT or MRI. We also found that the hypervascular type of HAML patients contained more vessels and less fatty tissues in histopathology than hypovascular type of HAML patients. However, the clinical features included HCC high risk factors (hepatitis B or C), non-specific symptoms, male and increased serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP) were more common in HCC patients than HAML patients (P < 0.05, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
The CT or MRI imaging performances of HAML patients containing more vessels and less fatty tissues in histopathology resemble the imaging performance of HCC patients. These clinical features may be of great help in the differential diagnosis in the current clinical practices.


This thesis contains two parts. The first part is to study the effect of a signalling pathway of protein kinase C (PKC) on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) commitment to osteogenesis (chapter 1-2). We observed different PKC isozymes working differently for osteogenic differentiation. Amongst the PKC isozymes, PKCδ inhibition diminished the osteogenesis of hMSCs, while inhibiting conventional PKC and PKCµ enhanced the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineralization. Thus the positive role of PKCδ and negative role of conventional PKC and PKCµ are suggested in order to benefit bone TE.
The second part is to apply optical imaging techniques to investigate the cellular nutrient level and cell fate both in vitro and in vivo (chapter 3-5). The current hurdles in 3-dimensional cultures is to efficiently provide nutrients to cells whose survival and distribution rely on nutrient including oxygen availability. In chapter 3 I have evaluated bioluminescent imaging (BLI) in investigating the cell response to surrounding oxygen levels in 3D constructs both in vitro and in vivo. A gene fragment of hypoxia responsive element (HRE) was used as a promoter driving luciferase gene in cells. The protein luciferase activity can be quantified by an enzymatic assay or a CCCD camera. With this reporter construct, limited oxygen availability was recognized in 3D constructs both in vitro culture and in vivo subcutaneous nude mouse model. Moreover, the molecular diffusion in biomaterials (e.g. hydrogels) was studied in chapter 4 using both BLI of promoter-luciferase cells and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) of fluorescent molecules.
Furthermore, BLI technique was used to study in vivo animal models, in which luciferase gene was under control of promoters for bone specific markers. With bone specific collagen I as the promoter, the Col(I)-Luc mouse line expressed strong light in osseous tissues. We observed strong light emission during bone remodelling and ectopic bone formation.
Finally, chapter 6 summarizes and discusses the results in this thesis and raises ideas for the future work. Again in conclusion, I have successfully demonstrated the application in bioluminescent imaging in bone TE from both cell and animal levels.


The U.S. Social Security system has helped keep many retirees out of poverty. However, according to the Social Security and Medicare Trustees, Social Security faces a future financial shortfall of $10.4 trillion in present value. This enormous imbalance has received little attention in public debates about Social Security. Instead, the media and policymakers continue to focus on the program's trust fund and several other ad-hoc measures that create a misleading impression of the size of Social Security's financial problem. Although the Social Security Trust Fund is not projected to be exhausted until 2042, Social Security's $10.4 trillion present value imbalance is accruing interest and will grow by $600 billion during 2004 alone. The current cash-flow federal budget, however, is biased against reforms that would improve Social Security's finances. As shown herein, a new federal accounting system would remove this bias.


Sport has become more than a simple physical expression or game- it now pervades all societies at all levels and has become bound up in nationalism, entertainment, patriotism and culture. Now a global obsession, sport has infiltrated into all areas of modern life and despite noble ideals that sport stands above politics, religion, class, gender and ideology, the reality is often very different. These essays by leading academics and rising new talent consider the phenomenon of modern sport and its massive influence over global society. Together, this collection is also a tribute to the pioneering and inspirational work of Professor J.A. Mangan on the political, religious, class and gender-based aspects of modern sport, from academics greatly influenced by him and his writing. This book was previously published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.


This study primarily examines the dynamics of the long-term relationship between the BBC World Service and its mainly Muslim Northern Nigerian audiences. It broadly explores the pattern and consequences of Northern Nigerians' interactions with international media, focusing particularly on their engagement with the BBC World Service. Employing a multidimensional qualitative research approach, the study examines the historical background of the relationship, the transformations it has undergone, and how the current dynamics of global geopolitics and advances in communications technologies are redefining it. It looks at the complex processes and procedures of both media content production and reception. On the production side, it unveils the BBC's contradictory functions of providing 'impartial' international news service and promoting British public diplomacy, the complexity of its relationship with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the nature of its engagement with distribution technologies. On the reception side, the mainly Muslim Northern Nigerians are found to be high consumers of BBC news and current affairs programmes but with considerable level of selectivity. Although they see BBC as the most credible international broadcaster that aids their comprehension of international affairs and generally influences their everyday life, they still regard it as essentially a Western cultural and ideological instrument that portrays the West positively and depicts the Muslim world and Africa negatively. The findings point to patterns and particularities of postcolonial transnational audiences' consumption of media that suggest new conceptual and theoretical strands in reception research. They indicate audiences' tendency to exhibit a phenomenon of selective believability in their interactions with transnational media; the mediating role of religion, culture and ideology in such interactions; and the dynamics of credibility and believability. Credibility is found to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for believability in audiences' consumption of dissonant media messages.


Problem-solving skills and product creativity to overcome environmental problems and to
fulfill various needs are significantly needed by prospective teachers of biology. These two skills were
considered poor in Biology Education Study Program, University of Muhammadiyah Malang.
Therefore, this study aims to analyze the improvement of learning quality in terms of students'
problem-solving skills and product created through the implementation of the integrated OIDDE
Learning Model and Project-based Learning (PjBL). This Classroom Action Research involved fortyfive students who have enrolled in Integrated Science I course (Environmental Study). Three research
instruments were exemplified: product skill assessment sheets (project design and product assessment),
problem-solving skills assessment sheets, and learning observation sheets carried out by three observers
for the total of three cycles. The results projected that there was an increase in mean score in problemsolving skills, that was 14 points (Pre-Cycle: 67; Cycle I: 72; Cycle II: 78; Cycle III: 81); the increase
in product creativity by 13 points (Pre-Cycle: 69; Cycle I: 71; Cycle II: 75; Cycle III: 82), and in
learning quality by 19% (Pre-Cycle; 65%; Cycle I: 68%; Cycle II: 74%, and Cycle III: 84 %). It can be
concluded that the implementation of the integrated OIDDE Learning Model and Project-based
Learning is able to improve the quality of learning, problem-solving skills, and product creativity for
prospective teachers of biology, even though it is still at "good" category.


Cerebellar volume abnormalities have been often suggested as a possible endophenotype for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We aimed at objectifying this possible alteration by performing a systematic meta-analysis of the literature, and an analysis of the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) cohort. Our meta-analysis sought to determine a combined effect size of ASD diagnosis on different measures of the cerebellar anatomy, as well as the effect of possible factors of variability across studies. We then analysed the cerebellar volume of 328 patients and 353 controls from the ABIDE project. The meta-analysis of the literature suggested a weak but significant association between ASD diagnosis and increased cerebellar volume (p=0.049, uncorrected), but the analysis of ABIDE did not show any relationship. The studies in the literature were generally underpowered, however, the number of statistically significant findings was larger than expected. Although we could not provide a conclusive explanation for this excess of significant findings, our analyses would suggest publication bias as a possible reason. Finally, age, sex and IQ were important sources of cerebellar volume variability, however, independent of autism diagnosis.


Efforts to reduce the numerical precision of computations in deep learning training have yielded systems that aggressively quantize weights and activations, yet employ wide high-precision accumulators for partial sums in inner-product operations to preserve the quality of convergence. The absence of any framework to analyze the precision requirements of partial sum accumulations results in conservative design choices. This imposes an upper-bound on the reduction of complexity of multiply-accumulate units. We present a statistical approach to analyze the impact of reduced accumulation precision on deep learning training. Observing that a bad choice for accumulation precision results in loss of information that manifests itself as a reduction in variance in an ensemble of partial sums, we derive a set of equations that relate this variance to the length of accumulation and the minimum number of bits needed for accumulation. We apply our analysis to three benchmark networks: CIFAR-10 ResNet 32, ImageNet ResNet 18 and ImageNet AlexNet. In each case, with accumulation precision set in accordance with our proposed equations, the networks successfully converge to the single precision floating-point baseline. We also show that reducing accumulation precision further degrades the quality of the trained network, proving that our equations produce tight bounds. Overall this analysis enables precise tailoring of computation hardware to the application, yielding area- and power-optimal systems.


The aim of the current research was to address the relationship between role conflict and role overload, leadership style, and stress, among those holding leadership positions within the Catholic primary education system in Queensland. Little research exists in any country on the roles and stresses of leadership in religious school systems. Yet many stresses are faced. What leadership styles are used is not well documented and related issues exist about which little is known. This thesis has aimed to extend information in this area. Questionnaires used included the Occupational Stress Inventory Revised, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire on age, gender, position held at the relevant primary school (Principal, Assistant Principal, Assistant Principal Administration, and Assistant Principal Religious Education), years of service in current position and prior leadership training. A sample of 136 principals and executive staff members from Catholic Education primary schools in the Brisbane Archdiocese, Queensland completed the surveys. Using bi-variate correlation analyses, ANOVAs and regression equations, relationships and differences among the variables were examined. Differences were found between transformational and transactional leadership styles with transformational leadership style being associated with personal resources of social support and self-care, and negatively associated with role conflict (high on transformational leadership; low on perceived role conflict). The transactional leadership style was also negatively related to role conflict but positively related to the personal resource of rational cognitive coping. No significant differences were found among the different senior administration staff positions in terms of stress experienced; and staff executives who had received formal leadership training were equally as stressed as those without leadership training experience. Age, gender, and years of service also seemed unrelated to stress levels experienced. Reasons for the limited differences found between the leadership styles are suggested. Further research investigating factors contributing to stress is necessary to establish an understanding of preferred leadership styles in the Catholic Education system. ROLE FACTORS, LEADERSHIP STYLES & STRESS AMONG CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL EXECUTIVES 3


Slow and superluminal light propagation in temporal nonlocal response Kerr media has been investigated. The group velocity, as low as tens of few centimeters per second, can be easily obtained by tuning the wavelength of a continuous-wave (CW) laser in a typical Kerr material, such as in alexandrite.


Professional nurses routinely use highly developed domain knowledge in combination with experiential knowledge to deliver quality care. However, this knowledge is often lost to employers as the migration of professional nurses from the developing countries to the developed world has become a global problem. The objective of this study therefore was to determine the relationships between organisational culture, knowledge sharing and turnover intentions and thereafter to propose knowledge sharing as a mediating variable in this relationship in order to suggest a retention strategy. A cross-sectional field survey design with questionnaires was used on a sample of professional nurses ( N = 530) in private and provincial hospitals in South Africa. The tri-variate procedure of Baron and Kenny for mediation testing was adopted. The results indicated that a positive correlation exists between organisational culture and knowledge sharing, but a significant negative correlation between organisational culture and turnover intentions, as well as between knowledge sharing and turnover intentions. Finally, the results indicated that knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between organisational culture and turnover intentions, although with a small effect size.The findings suggest that turnover intentions of nurses can be actively managed through contextual variables such as organisational culture and opportunities for knowledge sharing.


While the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is doubtless the most visible Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the public debate it is by no means the only one. A number of scholars have outlined the ambiguity of the PPP concept beyond PFIs and pointed to the multiplicity of differing types and understandings. Thus, when examining up close, the PPP concept seems to cover a jungle of arrangements and settings. However, inductive explorations across disciplinary and professional borders are still scarce. This article addresses this lack and reviews more than 100 publications for their PPP concepts and classifications. Following, the article first of all identifies the emergence of two dimensions that are differently emphasized by the proposed PPP definitions (1) the co-responsibility dimension and (2) the relational governance dimension. Second, the article finds two differing approaches within each dimension being the interventionist and marketization approach within the co-responsibility dimension and the structural and managerial approach in the relational governance dimension. Third, the reviewed variety of classifications illustrates the infinitive number of criteria that can be used to order the within-concept variety. Thus, while the developed map in this article highlights some (re)occurring and uniting patterns it also points to the inevitable ambiguity of the PPP concept and consequently encourages scholars to stay precise and keep on mapping.


We prove that the curvature flow of an embedded planar network of three curves connected through a triple junction, with fixed endpoints on the boundary of a given strictly convex domain, exists smooth until the lengths of the three curves stay far from zero. If this is the case for all times, then the evolution exists for all times and the network converges to the Steiner minimal connection between the three endpoints.


Threshold Implementation (TI) is an elegant and widely accepted countermeasure against 1-st order Differential Power Analysis (DPA) in Side Channel Attacks. The 3-share TI is the most efficient version of TI, but so far, it can only be applied to 50% of all 4-bit S-boxes. In this paper, we study the limitations of decomposition and introduce factorization to enable the 3-share TI for any optimal 4-bit S-box. We propose an algorithm which can decompose any optimal 4-bit S-box to quadratic vectorial boolean functions with a time complexity of 2. Furthermore, we use our new methodology in combination with decomposition to optimize ciphers utilizing many different S-boxes, and, to highlight the strength of our new methodology, we construct a 3-share Threshold Implementation of SERPENT which was believed to be not possible until now. Last, we show how to implemented all SERPENT S-boxes with only one mutual core.


The concept that the Antarctic ice sheet changes with eternal slowness has been challenged by recent observations from satellites. Pronounced regional warming in the Antarctic Peninsula triggered ice shelf collapse, which led to a 10-fold increase in glacier flow and rapid ice sheet retreat. This chain of events illustrated the vulnerability of ice shelves to climate warming and their buffering role on the mass balance of Antarctica. In West Antarctica, the Pine Island Bay sector is draining far more ice into the ocean than is stored upstream from snow accumulation. This sector could raise sea level by 1 m and trigger widespread retreat of ice in West Antarctica. Pine Island Glacier accelerated 38% since 1975, and most of the speed up took place over the last decade. Its neighbour Thwaites Glacier is widening up and may double its width when its weakened eastern ice shelf breaks up. Widespread acceleration in this sector may be caused by glacier ungrounding from ice shelf melting by an ocean that has recently warmed by 0.3 °C. In contrast, glaciers buffered from oceanic change by large ice shelves have only small contributions to sea level. In East Antarctica, many glaciers are close to a state of mass balance, but sectors grounded well below sea level, such as Cook Ice Shelf, Ninnis/Mertz, Frost and Totten glaciers, are thinning and losing mass. Hence, East Antarctica is not immune to changes.


software deployment, software installation, diskless, network storage This report briefly summarizes a number of recent investigations related to software deployment on network storage based systems that our team recently performed. A specific context in which this was investigated was for a pool of general-purpose servers in a single data center that are to be allocated among different applications and/or different customers according to demand or level of service purchased. Separating software installations from server machines increases the modularity of the data center, such that the appropriate level of compute power can be more easily provisioned for a specific software environment and the available compute power can be more efficiently allocated among software environments. A number of additional capabilities and concerns unique to "diskless" software deployment are discussed, as are general topics in improving the modularity and flexibility by which software packages are installed, configured, combined into software stacks, and shared among servers in cluster environments.


The article analyses the Lithuanian model of pre-trial resolution of consumer disputes in electronic commerce. The current situation in the resolution of consumer disputes in electronic commerce is discussed and a potential model for pre-trial resolution of such disputes is presented. The article discusses the principles and possibilities for their application in resolving consumer disputes in electronic commerce. The article focuses on issues in electronic commerce and their impact on the existing principles governing consumer dispute resolution. Deficiencies in the existing model are described in detail and proposals made on how to modify the model and apply it to the reality of electronic commerce. The article also presents the model's key principles and their practical implications.


We have studied the domain-wall dynamics in Ta-CoFeB-MgO ultra-thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for various Co and Fe concentrations in both the amorphous and crystalline states. We observe three motion regimes with increasing magnetic field, which are consistent with a low fields creep, transitory depinning, and high fields Walker wall motion. The depinning fields are found to be as low as 2 mT, which is significantly lower than the values typically observed in 3d ferromagnetic metal films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. This work highlights a path toward advanced spintronics devices based on weak random pinning in perpendicular CoFeB films.


Polymer Electrolytes (PEs) have been studied to use in many devices such as lithium rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, electrochromic devices, etc. Most of the previous research work has been carried out to study the cation conductivity of PEs and their conductivity enhancement with the addition of various fillers. There are not many reports on studying the effect of filler on anionic conductivity in PEs. In this study, the anion conductivity was investigated using the anion conducting PE with tetrapropylammonium iodide (Pr4N+I-) as the salt, polyethylene oxide (PEO) as the polymer and titanium dioxide (TiO2) as the filler. The solvent casting method was used to prepare PE samples, (PEO)mPr4N+I- (m = 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and 90), where m:1 is the O:I (oxygen:iodine) ratio of the samples. The solvent casting method yielded visually homogeneous composite PE films with average thickness of 100 – 400 μm. Estimated conductivities of the filler free samples were in the order of 10-9 S cm-1 at room temperature and relatively high anionic conductivity was observed for the samples (PEO)60Pr4N+I- and (PEO)50Pr4N+I-. The filler was added as a weight percent (5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30%) to the 60:1 and 50:1 samples. The thermal studies were carried out to investigate the melting enthalpies of the filler free and filler added samples using the Pyris 1 differential scanning calorimeter (DSC).  Unlike the cation conducting PEs, here the anionic conductivity did not increase with the addition of the filler. However according to the conductivity and DSC results it can be concluded that the amorphous nature of the samples was increased. Optical micrographs confirmed this nature showing a reduction in size of the spherulites with addition of the filler.


Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) has a taken a heavy toll on the global population affecting 451 million people. A quasi experimental study was conducted among 60 subjects with T2DM selected purposively with the objectives (i) to assess and compare the fasting blood sugar levels and self-reported health problems among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in the experimental and control group before and after the administration of fenugreek seed powder and (ii) to find out the association between fasting blood sugar level and selected demographic variables. The data on fasting blood sugar was collected using with glucometer and health problems with a 3 point rating scale. Reliability and validity of instruments and ethical clearance were established prior to data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis by SPSS version 20. Results:  Among the experimental group, a highly significant (t=9.974) (p<0.001) reduction in the fasting blood sugar level was observed.  Overall score of self-reported health problems did not differ between the experimental and control groups.  Significant ((f=2.977)(p= 0.031) association was found between Fasting blood sugar level and educational qualification among subjects from experimental group. The study results indicate that fenugreek seed powder was effective in controlling blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus.


Background: Turning difficulty has been reported after stroke. However, the percentage of occurrence has not been determined. Exploration into the association between turning and trunk function and activities of daily living (ADL) has been limited. This study aims to calculate the percentage of occurrence of turning difficulty after stroke, and investigate the relationship between turning and measures of physical impairments, balance, walking ability, and ADL in stroke survivors. Methods and Findings: All participants were evaluated on their turning performance. SPs received an additional assessment of the Chedoke-McMaster Stroke Assessment Inventory (CMSA), Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I), 10-meter walk test (10MWT), and Frenchay Activity Index (FAI). The results showed that more than half of participating SPs were determined to experience turning difficulty in terms of turn time (53%), number of steps taken (57%), strategy (100%), and balance (70%). A moderate correlation was found between turn time and balance and all of the remaining measurements, with the exception of the FES-I and FAI. The number of turn steps and strategy were not correlated with any other measurements. Conclusions: The majority of SPs suffered from turning difficulty identifying by over 3 seconds of turn time, at least five turn steps, an ineffective step strategy with instability during turning. Their turning performance was moderately associated with motor recovery of the paretic lower limbs, trunk control, balance, and walking ability but not correlated to concerns about falling and ADL.


We investigate the problem of learning the dependencies among servers in large networks based on failure patterns in their up-time behaviour. We model up-times in terms of exponential distributions whose inverse lifetime parameters lmay vary with the state of other servers. Based on a conjugate Gamma prior over inverse lifetimes we identify the most likely network configuration given that any node has at most one parent. The method can be viewed as a special case of learning a continuous time Bayesian network. Our approach enables us to easily incorporate existing expert prior knowledge. Furthermore our method enjoys advantages over a state-of-the-art rule-based approach. We validate the approach on synthetic data and apply it to five year data for a set of over 500 servers at a server farm of a major Microsoft web site.


The generation and development of the mammalian lung requires an elegantly regulated molecular program to control cell number, lineage specification, as well as morphogenetic remodeling. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are a group of critical epigenetic factors that can mediate genome-wide transcriptional repression. However, the functional roles of HDACs in lung development and regeneration have not been previously characterized. In my dissertation, I utilized a series of mouse genetic models, ex vivo and in vitro assays to determine the functions of three members of class I HDAC family, HDAC1, HDAC2 and HDAC3 in lung epithelial development and regeneration. These studies reveal that HDAC1 and HDAC2 are redundantly required for the development and regeneration of Sox2+ proximal lung endoderm progenitors via regulation of Bmp4 and cell cycle inhibitors, while HDAC3 is critical for the alveolar epithelial remodeling and spreading during lung sacculation and alveologenesis. These findings demonstrate strong evidence for the crucial contributions of HDACs to lung development and regeneration, and provide novel insights into potential therapeutic directions for human lung diseases. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Cell & Molecular Biology First Advisor Edward E. Morrisey


Security warnings are intended to alert users about the possibility of events that may compromise their protection. They encounter security warnings on daily basis in many situations when dealing with their computer. However, prior studies have shown that users often have difficulty in understanding the warnings, which can pose a particular risk in cases where they are required to make a decision. Well gathered information is needed to help the researchers and other people to further understand this area. This paper describes an overview of studies on security warnings. It covers problems that end users encounter with security warnings, possible solutions and approaches of security warnings and useful classification of security warnings studies. It is expected that this paper will benefit the academicians, research community or general public to understand the problems and possible solutions in improving security warnings.


A survey on conducted to know the status of awareness and attitude particularly towards preprints among the research scholars, scientists and librarians in the South Asian region during the months of April and May 2020 had maximum responses from India (83.71%) and majority of Agricultural Sciences (54%) discipline. Respondents ranked 'Journal's Impact Factor' at the top factor for selecting journals to publish. Seventy five percent had at least 25% of their publications in Open Access and had paid the APCs (65.33%) for publications and the source of funds are personal pooling (30.34%). While 61.72% read preprints, 27.03% have not heard about preprints and 11.26% never read the preprints. However, those read, 64.42% trust the preprints. And why they share preprints is because of 'belief in open access' (39.91%), 'rapid feedback' (23.53%) and 'timely sharing results' (21.72%). With regard to citing preprints, 60.36% never cited any preprints and 79.73% respondent's preprints were never cited. However, the respondents mentioned that indexing, citing, visibility, consideration in assessment & evaluation will motivate the authors to share preprints.


Room cooling is an ineffective approach for next-generation data centers. Latest generation high density and variable density IT equipment create conditions that room cooling was never intended to address, resulting in cooling systems that are inefficient, unpredictable, and low in power density. Row-oriented and rack-oriented cooling architectures have been developed to address these problems. This paper contrasts room, row, and rack architectures and shows why row-oriented cooling will emerge as the preferred solution for most next generation data centers.


Objective: This study investigated the association of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection with cumulative psychosocial risk reflecting family disadvantage, psychological distress, and unhealthy lifestyle. Methods: The sample (N = 745) comprised sexually active female adolescent patients (12–19 yr), primarily ethnic minorities, enrolled in a free HPV vaccination program. Subjects completed questionnaires and provided cervical swabs for HPV DNA testing. Unweighted and weighted principal component analyses for categorical data were used to derive multisystemic psychosocial risk indices using 9 indicators: low socioeconomic status, lack of adult involvement, not attending high school/college, history of treatment for depression/anxiety, antisocial/delinquent behavior, number of recent sexual partners, use of alcohol, use of drugs, and dependency risk for alcohol/drugs. The association between cervical HPV (any type, high-risk types, vaccine types) assayed by polymerase chain reaction and self-reported number of psychosocial risk indicators was estimated using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Subjects had a median of 3 psychosocial risk indicators. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed associations with unweighted and weighted number of psychosocial indicators for HPV any type (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0–1.2), with the strongest associations between weighted drug/alcohol use, drug/alcohol dependency risk, and antisocial/delinquent behavior and detection of HPV vaccine types (aOR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1–2.0) independent of number of recent sexual partners and vaccine dose (0–3). Conclusion: Increased HPV infections including HPV vaccine types were associated with greater number of psychosocial risk indicators even after controlling for demographics, sexual behavior, history of chlamydia, and vaccine dose.