In an age when economic statistics and surveys of business confidence dominate
news headlines and investment decisions can turn election results, it would seem
that governments have a clear interest in accommodating business needs and
demands. Indeed this dependence on a dynamic and prosperous private sector
forms the basis of the argument that business holds a 'privileged position' relative
to other interest groups in a capitalist democracy such as Australia. While no
government would deliberately seek to undermine national prosperity or the
needs of the capitalist system as a whole, such accounts of business power
overlook the political complexities of specific policy debates and decisions. In
reality business interests are fragmented, with corporate actors competing with
one another in policy debates. For example, importers may favour a high exchange
rate while export industries benefit from a lower dollar. Moreover, there are
times when governments may intervene in the economy and undermine business
interests in the pursuit of broader policy and political objectives.
In the current era of globalisation the growing influence of international
market forces and the need to enhance national economic competitiveness
may necessitate a process of economic restructuring. Governments could
promote new and emerging businesses at the expense of struggling industry
sectors. Under these circumstances policy may not be supportive of all industry,
but will focus on the needs of more competitive and innovative firms. These
factors help explain why, at the broadest level, governments have an interest in
providing a policy environment conducive to commercial success, while at the
level of specific policy debates the political influence of business actors is less
assured.
The central objective of this chapter is to provide insights into how
Australian business acts politically in this era of globalisation. After providing an
overview of the structure of Australian business the chapter explores the diversity
and organisation of corporate Australian before discussing the political power
of Australian business. Having established this foundation, the focus is then on
business activism and how business endeavours to use its political power to
influence public policy. The chapter concludes with an evaluation of the political
influence of Australian business in this era of globalisation.


Background: In general, the shortage of organs and tissues for donation reflects not only the rise in the number of patients in need of transplants, but also the failure to acquire sufficient donors. A variety of factors is responsible for this shortage, including poor public awareness and insufficient knowledge, religious perceptions of potential donors and families, and the failure of healthcare staff to identify potential donors. Because of their close relationships with potential donors and families, nurses are vitally important in the donation process.
The hospital nursing population in Israel is composed of people from a mixture of religious groups, creating a complex environment which may influence the nurse's behaviour. There is thus a clear need to examine what factors affect the professional behaviour of nurses in the organ donation process.

Aims: The overall aim of this research was develop a sensitive psychometric scale to identify key points in nurses' perceptions of professional duty toward organ donation in the context of religion.

Methods: The research was divided into four stages using a number of methods. First, a qualitative study with seven homogenous focus groups of hospital nurses grouped by religion was done. The findings were used for the second stage, whose aim was to develop a sensitive psychometric scale of the coverage, relevance and readability of the initial items and a pilot study examining each item. Next, a large-scale field test was conducted and the data were then analysed using principal component analysis. In the third stage, reliability and validity of the newly developed Care & Donate scale were evaluated. Finally, in stage four, the relationship between the Care & Donate scale and key questions in each category was demonstrated.

Results: The first stage found thirteen central themes, reduced into four categories, reflecting the nurses' perceptions towards organ donation. The next stage produced an initial conceptual framework for developing a psychometric scale. In the field test stage, a principal component analysis produced a robust conceptual framework composed of 23 items in three subscales.

Conclusion: This research is the first to develop a reliable, valid, sensitive measure of nurses' attitudes towards organ donation in north of Israel: the Care & Donate scale. The scale should provide the basis for an intervention program for nurses and help evaluate the effectiveness of such programs. Analysis of the Care & Donate scale also provided evidence that the scale is related to scales developed outside of Israel, possibly leading to its use in other countries.


Background: Overweight and obesity, initially thought to be the problem of the developed countries, are rapidly rising in the developing countries constituting a high proportion of nutritional problems in these countries. Several factors, including changing lifestyle and improved economic power, are believed to contribute to this trend. This pattern if unchecked is known to lead to several medical complications. We thus aim to assess and compare the prevalence of overweight/obesity among primary school pupils from the public and private schools as well as determine factors contributing to the rising trend. Materials and Methods: Four hundred and twenty primary school children from public and private schools were selected using multistage stratified random sampling. Relevant information was obtained using a questionnaire, and anthropometric indices were recorded. Data obtained were analyzed using EPI INFO version 3.5.1. and frequencies were compared using Chi-square. Results: Seventy-three (17.4%) of the 420 pupils studied were found to be overweight/obese. Pupils from private school accounted for the majority of these cases with 28 (13.3%) and 29 (13.8%) of them being overweight and obese, respectively. High socioeconomic class and consumption of energy-dense diet were significantly associated with high prevalence of overweight/obesity (P < 0.001). In contrast, regular physical activity was significantly associated with low prevalence (P < 0.001). Conclusion and Recommendations: Prevalence of overweight/obesity among primary school pupils is quite high in Lagos, Nigeria. High socioeconomic class, consumption of energy dense food, and lack of adequate physical activities appear to be major factors contributing to this high prevalence. Introduction of daily school meal and mandatory physical activity in all the schools would go a long way in imbibing healthy eating and lifestyle pattern into these children. Public nutritional education and campaign on the importance of healthy lifestyle and complications associated with overweight and obesity would probably reverse the trend.


Over a period of two years, the Library at the University of Western Australia transformed the interface between users and library information resources from a simple on-line public access catalogue to a flexible, complex, and dynamic networked information resource (CygNET Online, .. Throughout this period, the development team monitored user response to the developing resource. This paper focuses on the methods used for formal evaluation of user response at two key stages: during a pilot implementation, and after one year's implementation of the new resource across the full library system. The paper is illustrated with extracts from the evaluation instruments.

The formal evaluations were based on an established instrument for measurement of interface usability, the QUIS (developed by the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland). The QUIS was combined with instruments to measure users' confidence and attitudes to use of CygNET Online. Additional items were included to confirm, from a larger sample of users, observations made by individuals in e-mailed comments and informal discussions. Users were also asked how they intended to use CygNET in the future. This enlarged set of items helped evaluators to identify the system and social characteristics most closely associated with future use and to recommend that developers concentrate their efforts on improving those characteristics.

The CygNET Online interface was first implemented in parallel with the then existing Innopac online public access system during a six month pilot period in one of the university's science libraries. Three months into the pilot period, CygNET users were asked to complete a survey form which included a QUIS for Innopac and a QUIS for CygNET. From this comparative evaluation, it was possible both to identify that users found the CygNET Online interface to electronic information resources an improvement over the Innopac interface, and to measure the extent to which they found it an improvement. Specific aspects of the interface and the context of use were identified as areas for improvement.

The success of the pilot implementation encouraged the Library's management and staff to implement CygNET Online as the standard system-wide interface to information resources. One year after the pilot implementation (and 7 months after withdrawal of the text-based interface), the survey was repeated. In addition to questions which enabled comparison with earlier responses, questions which reflected learning and users' comments during the year were added to the survey form. Improvements that had been implemented as the result of responses to the pilot study were well received, and new areas for improvement were identified.

Formal, systematic, evaluation in the field enabled the sponsors and developers of CygNET Online to gain a good understanding of users' response to the networked information resource. By measuring users' perceptions of the interface itself, their attitudes to its use, and characteristics of the context of use, and by identifying those characteristics of both resource and context that are most closely associated with use, they have been able to identify and to respond positively to users' recommendations for improvement.


A further two cases of novel coronavirus infection have been confirmed in the United Kingdom, bringing the global total to 11, with three cases diagnosed in the UK.

The Health Protection Agency said there is now strong evidence of transmission from patient to patient, although the risk of infection is still considered to be very low.

Coronaviruses are causes of the common cold but can also include more severe illness such as severe acute respiratory syndrome. The new strain was first identified in September 2012 in a patient who died from a severe respiratory infection in June 2012. So far the infection has resulted in three deaths in Saudi Arabia and two in Jordan.

In September last year the Health Protection Agency confirmed a case in the UK in a man from Qatar who had recently travelled …


Timing is an integral part of physical activities. Walking as a routine form of physical activity might affect interval timing primarily in two different ways within the pacemaker–accumulator timing-theoretic framework: (1) by increasing the speed of the pacemaker due to its physiological effects; (2) by decreasing attention to time and consequently slowing the rate of temporal integration by serving as a secondary task. In order to elucidate the effect of movement on subjective time, in two different experiments we employed a temporal reproduction task conducted on the treadmill under four different encoding–decoding conditions: (1) encoding and reproducing (decoding) the duration while standing (rest); (2) encoding the duration at rest and reproducing it while moving: (3) both encoding and reproducing the duration while moving; and (4) encoding the duration while moving and reproducing it at rest. In the first experiment, participants were tested either in the 4 or the 8 km/h movement condition, whereas in the second experiment a larger sample was tested only in the 4 km/h movement condition. Data were de-trended to control for long-term performance drifts. In Experiment 1, overall durations encoded at rest and reproduced during motion were under-reproduced whereas durations encoded during motion and reproduced at rest were over-reproduced only in the 8 km/h condition. In Experiment 2, the same results were observed in the 4 km/h condition with a larger sample size. These effects on timing behavior provide support for the clock speed-driven effect of movement and contradicts the predictions of attention-based mediation.


Lead contamination of water streams, a potential threat to ecosystem, was treated using a cation exchange resin under continuous conditions in a upflow column. The optimal pH for maximum lead removal was identified through the batch experiments. Neutral pH was found to be favorable due to non-existence of competing hydrogen ions and absence of hydroxide containing precipitate formations. The effects of flow rates (4.0 to 8.0 mL/ min) and the resin bed depth (6 to 18 cm) were studied under optimal pH and fixed initial lead concentration of 50 mg/L. The breakthrough curves were plotted and analyzed in detail. Bed Depth Service Time (BDST) and Thomas model were fitted to the experimental data and the model parameters were determined. The maximum exchange capacity of the bed (q0) was determined as 14.60 mg/g at a flow rate of 4 mL/min and a bed height of 12 cm and the Thomas model constant decreased with decrease in flow rate. BDST model parameters, namely, N0 and Ka, increased with increase in flow rates. BDST proved to be a better fit compared to Thomas model under the entire range of operating conditions tested.


Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is presented for the on-line multielement analysis of molten radioactive glass at a simulated vitrification process of high level liquid waste (HLLW). A plasma plume is produced by focusing the third harmonic of a Nd: YAG laser (λ = 355 nm) onto the glass melt surface at 1200 °C, and the plasma emission is guided via optical fiber and is characterized by an echelle spectrometer for the spectral range from 200 to 780 nm with a resolution of ±0.01 nm. Compared to a Czerny–Turner spectrometer, the echelle spectrometer appears distinctively superior for its broad operational spectral range and high resolution. The laser-induced plasma is found as optically thin and locally in thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) as characterized by measuring the electron density and plasma temperature. The matrix temperature effect on the spectral emission is observed as significant, increasing the emission line intensities with increasing temperature, but differently from element to element. The applicability of LIBS is demonstrated on a laboratory scale with an inactive simulated HLLW glass melt for various analytical characteristics concerned.


The physiological changes that occur in the maternal body and the placental-foetal unit during pregnancy influence the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of xenobiotics. These include drugs that are prescribed for therapeutic reasons or chemicals to which women are exposed unintentionally from the surrounding environment. The pregnancy physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (p-PBPK) models developed for theoretical assessment of the kinetics of xenobiotics during pregnancy should take into account all the dynamic changes of the maternal and embryonic/foetal physiological functions. A number of p-PBPK models have been reported for pregnant animals and humans in the past 3 decades which have mainly been applied in the risk assessment of various environmental chemicals. The purpose of this review is to critically evaluate the current state of the art in p-PBPK modelling and to recommend potential steps that could be taken to improve model development and its application particularly in drug discovery and development for pregnant women, with potential implications for optimal drug treatment in pregnancy. The pregnancy-induced changes in physiology and pharmacokinetics, including metabolism, are reviewed to illustrate the basic alterations essential for pregnancy model development. A systemic search of the literature for existing p-PBPK models is carried out and the model structures, governing equations, methods of modelling growth, model validation/verification as well as model applications are highlighted. This review discusses benefits and limitations of the reported p-PBPK models so far and suggests areas for model improvement. The need for establishing databases on the system-related (biological, anatomical and physiological) and drug-related (physiochemical, affinity to enzymes and transpoorters) parameters for healthy and unhealthy pregnancies is particularly emphasized.


Several studies on brain Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) show relations between neuroanatomical abnormalities of brain structures and neurological disorders,
such as Attention De fficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Alzheimer. These
abnormalities seem to be correlated with the size and shape of these structures, and
there is an active fi eld of research trying to find accurate methods for automatic
MRI segmentation. In this project, we study the automatic segmentation of structures from the Basal Ganglia and we propose a new methodology based on Stacked
Sparse Autoencoders (SSAE). SSAE is a strategy that belongs to the family of
Deep Machine Learning and consists on a supervised learning method based on an
unsupervisely pretrained Feed-forward Neural Network. Moreover, we present two
approaches based on 2D and 3D features of the images. We compare the results
obtained on the di fferent regions of interest with those achieved by other machine
learning techniques such as Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines. We
observed that in most cases SSAE improves those other methods. We demonstrate
that the 3D features do not report better results than the 2D ones as could be
thought. Furthermore, we show that SSAE provides state-of-the-art Dice Coe fficient results (left, right): Caudate (90.6+-3 1.4, 90.31 +-1.7), Putamen (91.03 +-1.4,
90.82+- 1.4), Pallidus (85.11+-1.8, 83.47 +-2.2), Accumbens (74.26+- 4.4, 74.46 +-4.6).


Two methods of estimating the intake of a 25% leucaena : 75% grass hay diet by young male Boer goats were assessed, (a) The purine derivative technique which uses the urinary excretion of purine derivatives (expressed relative to creatinine concentration in the same sample) as an index of feed intake, and (b) the conventional marker method, utilizing chromic oxide (Cr,O3) contained in gelatin capsules and dosed twice daily, as the marker. Following a prerun the two techniques were compared in three runs of an indoor experiment. In each run 10 goats were randomly allocated to five feeding levels (500 to 1100 g fodder d' on air dried basis). A preliminary and an adaptation period during which goats were dosed with the Cr2O3and fed their daily feed allowance, was followed by a 4 day collection period during which spot samples of urine were collected and analysed for allantoin and creatinine ( allantoin being used instead of total PDs) and faecal samples were collected for chromium analysis and percentage dry matter determination. For the first two runs, two grab samples per day for each goat were bulked and analysed for chromium content. For the last run, the total daily faecal collection was subsampled and analysed for chromium. Work was done in metabolic crates to determine the effect of time of collection on the ratio of allantoin : creatinine (A/C) in spot urine samples and it was found to non-significant (P>0.05). Linear regressions of: (a) feed intake expressed per unit metabolic mass (g.d'VLW" (I_mmass)) against A/C ratio; (b) faecal output (g d') against feed intake (g d'); and (c) faecal chromium concentration (mg kg") against faecal output (g d") were fitted to the data. During the prerun, only regression (a) was fitted and was non-significant (P>0.05), showing no trend at all. For the first true run, the regression of I_mmass against A/C ratio was significant and the correlation was high (P< 0.001, RA 0.715, n = 10) but for the second and third runs, the correlations only became significant when the apparent outliers were discarded from the data. (Run 2: P< 0.001, RA 0.824, n = 8; Run 3: P< 0.05, R 2 A 0.430, n = 9). It was concluded that the relation between I_mmass and A/C ratio is not well enough defined to be used for predictive purposes. When regression (b) was investigated, all the runs produced significant results (P<0.001, P<0.01, P< 0.001 for runs 1,2 and 3 respectively) however the correlations were not as high as expected (RA being 0.714, 0.565 and 0.863 respectively). For the regression of faecal Cr concentration against faecal output (regression c), all runs showed significant relations (P< 0.001, P< 0.0001, P:s 0.001 for runs 1,2 and 3 respectively) and the correlations were high (RA being 0.836, 0.837 and 0.912 respectively). The data from the three runs were pooled and single equations established for regressions (b) and (c) to allow for the prediction of intake from faecal chromium concentration. Faecal output = feed intake * 0.448 + 19.341 (P< 0.001, r 0.853, RA 0.718, SE 25.664, n 30) Faecal chromium concentration = faecal output * -241.547 + 1.315E+05 (Ps 0.001, r 0.904, RA 0.811, SE 5603.788, n = 30). In vitro figures were determined for a range of leucaena : hay mixes but no apparent trend was found between percentage leucaena in the mix and the digestibility of the mix. These results compared favourably with in vivo results obtained for a 25% leucaena : 75% hay mix. Neither technique proved entirely satisfactory, but the external marker method was found to be more effective than the purine derivative technique. More work is required especially with respect to the latter method.


In its recent decision on the Dow-DuPont case, the European Commission has adopted an innovation theory of harm (IToH), which holds that even horizontal mergers whose static effects are benign may be regarded as anticompetitive in a dynamic perspective, as mergers generally stifle innovation. This paper critically assesses the IToH, arguing that its theoretical foundations are too fragile to be the basis for radical policy changes. Antitrust authorities and the courts should continue to consider the impact of horizontal mergers on innovation, bearing in mind that the effect can go either way.


We thank the authors for their interest in our research1 which has attracted both professional and public media interest.2–4 Certainly, we accept that epidemiological studies can be at risk of 'ecological fallacy' and cannot adjust for all possible confounders. We make no claim that association proves causality. However, in offering a generic note of caution, Ford et al provide no specific hypothesis or insight to explain why the associations illustrated in our particular study could be explained by unacknowledged bias or an artefact of data aggregation. Taking the logic from their example, the counter hypothesis for our findings would be that people who are destined for a poor cancer outcome were selectively choosing to register at a general practice with a low gastroscopy rate—this seems unlikely.

We took great care to explore potential bias in our approach to data aggregation by undertaking extensive sensitivity analyses.5 Each case of oesophagogastric cancer was assigned a range of alternative …


In teaching software engineering, it is often interesting to introduce real life scenarios for students to experience and to learn how to collect information from respective clients. The ideal arrangement is to have some real clients willing to spend time to provide their ideas of a target system through interviews. However, this arrangement cannot be scaled up as it demands too much resource. Starting from 2008, we have used Second Life (SL) to create a virtual company, named SVG Corporation, which has multiple departments so as to simulate the real-world business environment. The development of this fictitious company not only provides a new experience in requirement collection to students, but also lowers the working effort of our colleagues in acting as external business clients. Students can practice their communication and fact finding skills during visits in the departments and interviews with the virtual "staff". The company has been used to support 2 subjects, Human Computer Interface and Foundations of Database Systems. The presence of SL acts as an online platform for students to access and acquire user requirements from staff (AI robots) of a virtual company, through a series of interviews, for system development. The roles of SL are twofold: to reduce the operational overheads in the project administration and to allow students to gain more hands-on experiences through working on a simulated real-life business cases. Hence, student could learn how to apply their knowledge and understand the software development process in the real business world. In this paper, we would like to report our experience and results of using SL in the software engineering student projects. Furthermore, the problems and the difficulties encountered during project period will be discussed for future enhancement.


This paper describes the process of developing an Information Security and Forensics curriculum for a master's degree. The vision for this degree program is to offer a curriculum that differentiates Friends University in the marketplace from established security degrees by including courses in computer forensics. These are courses rarely seen in a security degree but supported by the regional marketplace that the university serves.


Purpose: To investigate the risk factors for failure of individuals with disabilities to enter the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program, including the cases where they had been formally accepted but were yet to receive any service. Methods: We used prospective cohort data from a Midwestern US state, and analysed 126,251 and 94,517 individuals, respectively, for acceptance and admission into VR services. Statistical analysis was conducted using Poisson regression models with robust variance estimator. Results: Individuals with blind/visual disability, had prior history of employment, and who received public support tended to have lower risks of nonacceptance and non-admission. Being non-White, at higher education, ever/currently married, and with physical/orthopaedic disability appeared to increase the risks of both outcomes. The adjusted relative risk for non-acceptance was 0.58 (95% confidence interval 0.52, 0.64) if the individuals had 4 or more functional limitations as compared with those with fewer limitations. This factor was not significant for VR admission. Conclusion: Disability factors, demographic determinants, and certain miscellaneous characteristics were associated with the risks of nonacceptance and non-admission into VR.


This thesis is comprised of three independent chapters on topics in spatial, labour and development economics. I focus on South Africa for which there is a rich and under-exploited set of micro-data and where the peculiar history of the country - including restricted migration and separate development along race lines - makes for a particularly interesting setting. The first chapter provides some of the first evidence on the labour market impacts of female internal migration. Merging detailed migration data from censuses and labour market data from labour force surveys, I exploit substantial time-variation in female migrant inflows into over 200 districts. To identify causal effects, I make use of the unique history of South Africa to construct a plausibly exogenous shift-share instrument for female migrant concentration based on earlier male migration flows from reserves during the Apartheid period. I find that this migration increases the employment and hours worked of high-skilled women (due to substitution in household work) and leads to a reduction in the employment of low-skilled female non-migrants (due to increased competition). The second chapter examines how minimum wage legislation influences the labour market impacts of productivity shocks. Merging district-level high resolution weather data with high frequency data from South Africa's labour force survey, I examine how the introduction of an agricultural minimum wage affects resilience to weather shocks in the short term using a difference-in-differences approach. I find strong evidence that the substantially increased (and inflexible) wage bill after the minimum wage law leads agricultural employers to retrench formally employed workers in the wake of negative shocks (whereas agricultural employment was more resilient in the pre-law period). In the third and final chapter, I estimate the magnitude of agglomeration externalities in South Africa using a unique geo-coded panel micro-dataset where workers are tracked as they move across the country. The few studies on developing countries to date have estimated much higher agglomeration elasticities than those found in developed countries, but these studies have generally been unable to control for sorting on unobservables or to work with the ideal geographic units. Employing individual fixed effects and an instrumental variable constructed from a novel dataset on historical population settlements, my preferred estimate for regional wage elasticity is approximately 0.03 - in line with estimates for developed countries.


How bloggers and other independent online commentators criticise, correct, and otherwise challenge conventional journalism has been known for years, but has yet to be fully accepted by journalists; hostilities between the media establishment and the new generation of citizen journalists continue to flare up from time to time. The old gatekeeping monopoly of the mass media has been challenged by the new practice of gatewatching: by individual bloggers and by communities of commentators which may not report the news first-hand, but curate and evaluate the news and other information provided by official sources, and thus provide an important service. And this now takes place ever more rapidly, almost in real time: using the latest social networks, which disseminate, share, comment, question, and debunk news reports within minutes, and using additional platforms that enable fast and effective ad hoc collaboration between users. When hundreds of volunteers can prove within a few days that a German minister has been guilty of serious plagiarism, when the world first learns of earthquakes and tsunamis via Twitter – how does journalism manage to keep up?


The Roman calendar was first developed as a lunar calendar, so it was difficult for the Romans to reconcile this with the natural solar year. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, creating a solar year of 365 days with leap years every four years. This article explains the process by which the Roman calendar evolved and argues that the reason February has 28 days is that Caesar did not want to interfere with religious festivals that occurred in February. Beginning as a lunar calendar, the Romans developed a lunisolar system that tried to reconcile lunar months with the solar year, with the unfortunate result that the calendar was often inaccurate by up to four months. Caesar fixed this by changing the lengths of most months, but made no change to February because of the tradition of intercalation, which the article explains, and because of festivals that were celebrated in February that were connected to the Roman New Year, which had originally been on March 1.


Background Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Kenya, with an estimated 3,200 deaths in 2020. Kenya has implemented cervical cancer interventions for more than a decade. We describe the evolution of the cervical cancer programme over the last 20 years and assess its performance. Methods We searched the Ministry of Health's archives and website (2000–2021) for screening policy documents and assessed them using seven items: situational analysis, objectives, key result areas, implementation framework, resource considerations, monitoring and evaluation and definition of roles/responsibilities. In addition, a trend analysis was performed targeting screening and disease burden indicators in the period 2011–2020, using data from Kenya Health Information System and the Global Burden of Disease database. Findings Policy guidance improved over time, but the implementation of screening was poor. Before 2016, a clear leadership and accountability structure was lacking; improvement occurred after the establishment of the National Cancer Control Program. The main health system gaps included the lack of a trained healthcare workforce and poor data collection. Annual screening coverage varied between <1% and 36% of the target population for the year for HIV-negative women and between <1% and 7% for HIV-positive women, from 2011 to 2020. Test positivity for visual inspection with acetic acid was below 5% for most of the period. Compliance to treatment of precancerous lesions ranged between 22% and 39%. The detection rate of cervical cancer ranged between 0.5% and 1.0%. The burden of invasive cervical cancer did not change significantly: world age-standardised incidence and mortality rates of 26.3–27.4 and 16.6–18.0/100,000 women-years, respectively; disability-adjusted life years of 579–624/100,000 life years. Conclusion The Kenyan cervical cancer control programme suffered from inadequate health system strengthening and poor quality implementation. Evidence-based policy implementation and sustained health system strengthening are necessary to move towards cervical cancer elimination as a public health problem.


Semi-Markovian causal models (SMCMs) are an extension of causal Bayesian networks for modeling problems with latent variables. However, there is a big gap between the SMCMs used in theoretical studies and the models that can be learned from observational data alone. The result of standard algorithms for learning from observations, is a complete partially ancestral graph (CPAG), representing the Markov equivalence class of maximal ancestral graphs (MAGs). In MAGs not all edges can be interpreted as immediate causal relationships. In order to apply state-of-the-art causal inference techniques we need to completely orient the learned CPAG and to transform the result into a SMCM by removing non-causal edges. In this paper we combine recent work on MAG structure learning from observational data with causal learning from experiments in order to achieve that goal. More specifically, we provide a set of rules that indicate which experiments are needed in order to transform a CPAG to a completely oriented SMCM and how the results of these experiments have to be processed. We will propose an alternative representation for SMCMs that can easily be parametrised and where the parameters can be learned with classical methods. Finally, we show how this parametrisation can be used to develop methods to efficiently perform both probabilistic and causal inference.


Backround : There is a general need to terminate seizures as soon as possible using anticonvulsant drugs via an intravenous (i.v.) route, but it is often difficult to achieve a secure i.v. line during the seizure, especially in children. However, it has been demonstrated that high volumes of fluid can be injected into the corpora cavernosa. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the absorption properties of diazepam (DZ) after intracavernous (i.c.) administration and whether therapeutically significant plasma concentrations can be obtained or not.


Establishment and maintenance of pitch pine/hardwood ecosystems in the southern Appalachians depends on intense wildfire. These ecosystems typically have a substantial evergreen shrub component (Kalmia latifolia) which limits regeneration of future overstory species. Wildfires provide microsite conditions conducive to pine regeneration and reduce Kalmia competition. Recent droughts in the region have resulted in significant acreages of southern pine beetle killed pine/hardwood stands. Site conditions are amenable to the high intensity fires needed to regenerate pine; however, fire suppression limits the role of wildfire in these ecosystems. Research shows that pines will not regenerate in the absence of severe disturbance, such as a high intensity fire, and mixed pine/hardwood ecosystem will not be maintained. Currently, some of these ecosystems are being slashed, burned, and planted with white pine (Pinus strobus) in an effort to restore site productivity. Our findings show that high intensity prescribed burning results in substantial pine regeneration and re-creation of mixed pine/hardwood ecosystems.


The Scot Thomas Dempster (ca.1574-1625) was an idiosyncratic classical scholar whose brief appointment as royal historian to James I has previously been overlooked. This article examines what Dempster wrote to explain whyJames chose to support him in 1615, and argues that by appointing Dempster, James reacted to recent debates about the political importance of historical research in England connected to the Society of Antiquaries, to William Camden's publication of his history of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and to Fulke Greville's proposal to endow a chair of history at Cambridge University. James chose as his historian a man whose major work was a revised encyclopedia of the classical world and who practiced a more disinterested antiquarian scholarship than his English contemporaries. Dempster did not last long in his post, but James's patronage of him is an important reminder of the acute sensitivity of historical writing in this period.


Soleichthys microcephalus (Gunther, 1862) occurring in warm temperate waters off New South Wales, Australia, is re-described based on examination of a syntype and additional non-type material. This species differs from congeners in its combination of: low meristic features (43-45 vertebrae, 71-84 dorsal-fin rays, 61-71 anal-fin rays, and 81-89 lateral-line scales); in having two elongated ocular-side pectoral-fin rays of nearly equal length; with small scales present on the ocular-side pectoral- fin base and proximal halves of elongated pectoral-fin rays; in its ocular-side pigmentation consisting of a series of 8-10 mostly complete, bold, wide, dark-brown or blackish crossbands of nearly uniform width throughout their lengths and noticeably wider than the alternating lighter-coloured crossbands; and with two, conspicuous, mid-lateral white spots arranged in horizontal series. Two new species phenotypically most similar to, and with meristic features that largely overlap those of S. microcephalus, are described from specimens collected in tropical waters of northern Australia. Soleichthys serpenpellis n.sp., known from the Gulf of Carpentaria and Delambre Island, Dampier Archipelago, northwestern Australia, is easily distinguished from S. microcephalus and other congeners by its ocular-side head and body pigmentation featuring incomplete, diamond-shaped crossbands broadest in their mid-sections, fewer (about 6) ocular-side body crossbands, and with small, brown spots scattered in the interspaces between the crossbands. Soleichthys oculofasciatus n.sp. occurs off northeast Australia and is distinguished from congeners in its combination of a first elongate ocular-side pectoral-fin ray longer than the second, in lacking scales on the ocular-side pectoral-fin base and elongate pectoral-fin rays, in having a longitudinal series of crossbands (usually 11) on the ocular-side head and body, and with four conspicuous white spots on the body, two of which are arranged in a vertical series at mid-body. The new species differs further from both S. microcephalus and S. serpenpellis in having a longer and narrower head and a longer caudal fin.


Despite decades of science education reform, a long string of legal defeats for creationists, the incorporation of evolution-based standards into states' science education requirements, and the repeated emphasis of evolution by scientific professional societies (National Association of Biology Teachers, 2002; Moore, 2002a-c, 2004, a-b), creationism remains overwhelmingly popular with the public (i.e., with our former students). For example, 45% of participants in a 1982 Gallup poll agreed with the statement that "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so;" 40% agreed with "Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process;" and 9% agreed with "Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but god had no part in this process" (Scott, 1999). In an identical Gallup poll conducted in 2004, the responses were similar (Newport, 2004), and a study published in 2006 found that the acceptance of evolution is lower in the United States than virtually anywhere else in the world (Miller, Scott & Okamoto, 2006). As biology teacher John Scopes noted in 1966, "I don't think the world changes very rapidly" (Anonymous, 1966). Creationism also remains surprisingly popular among high school biology teachers throughout the United States (Eve & Harrold, 1991; Moore, 2004a-b; Riddle, 1941). For example, a variety of studies have shown that 15-30% of biology teachers in public schools teach creationism (Eve & Harrold, 1991; Trani, 2004; Zimmerman, 1987, and references therein). Although the teaching of creationism (including "intelligent design") in public school biology classes is clearly unlawful (Edwards v. Aguillard; Moore 2002a, 2004a, 2007), these teachers' actions are consistent with the public's desire to include creationism in science classrooms (Bergman, 1999). Confrontations of some of these teachers have produced lawsuits, all of which have been lost by creationists (Moore, 2002a, 2004a, 2007). Although the various studies of the teaching of creationism in biology classrooms have been informative, they have often involved political problems, small sample sizes, and limited responses (e.g., participants' responses were restricted to only the Christian stories of creation; Aguillard, 1999; Bergman, 1999; McKeachie, Lin & Strayer, 2002). Moreover, they have not addressed several important questions that I have tried to answer with this study. For example, * What version(s) of creationism do teachers teach? There are many different creation stories and, even within Christianity, many different types of creationism (Leeming & Leeming, 1994; Scott, 2004). Do biology teachers who include creationism in their courses teach several generic stories or a variety of specific stories? Or only one story? If teachers teach only one story, which story do they teach? * How do teachers present creationism? For example, do teachers present creationism as a religious idea? Or as a philosophical idea? Or as a scientific alternative to evolution (i.e., "creation science")? What I Did This study was conducted from fall, 2001 through fall, 2005 in a large, introductory non-majors biology course at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. Students in the study came from throughout the United States, and particularly from Minnesota, and had an average ACT score of 22, an average age of 19, and an average high school graduation percentile of 54%. There were approximately equal percentages of male and female students having the following ethnic diversity: 51% Caucasian, 20% African American, 2% American Indian, 20% Asian American, 4% Chicano/Latina, and 3% undecided. To avoid the low return rates and other problems associated with direct surveys of teachers (e.g., a 29% return rate in Ohio; Zimmerman, 1987), I surveyed 1,465 freshmen who had taken high school biology in public schools. …


The primary purpose of this study is to produce household specific price indexes for consumer units or households living in the United States in the early 1990s. This paper is a report on how these household specific indexes were created. With household specific indexes, households are assumed to have nonhomothetic preferences, so changes in prices involve relative price changes between different sets of commodities and the resulting indexes will differ systematically between different households. We examine several different approaches to construct these indexes. Our indexes are based on internal U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX) data for 1990-91 and Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from winter 1981, 1987, and 1991. Our base period is 1990-91. Using these data we produce Paasche type household specific indexes. In addition we propose an alternative definition of total expenditures, based on the CPI market basket commodity space, to be used for welfare analysis. Our underlying motivation for conducting this study was to compare real welfare inequality in Spain and the U.S. in the 1980s for another study (Garner et al. forthcoming 1997). Because of this comparison, we were somewhat restricted in our approach. CEX data are used to calculate CPI market basket item budget shares for each interviewed household. Price indexes are merged with the household budget data at various levels of geographic and market basket item aggregation, and the variability in these indexes are compared in order to measure the value of using detailed consumption space over aggregated consumption space. In this study we introduce two novel approaches to producing household specific price indexes using BLS data. First, expenditure data from the Consumer Expenditure Diary survey, which is more detailed than the Interview, are used to impute missing consumption items for the Interview households. And second, a method to impute household indexes for the rural population is presented. Two different types of samples, horizontal and vertical (based on assumptions about the Interview households selected to define the base period), are used to provide the weights for the price indexes. Indexes are presented based on Interview only items and all items commodity spaces for the horizontal and vertical samples with additional indexes produced for consumer units living in urban and rural areas. From our study we conclude that indexes based on expenditures for the horizontal and vertical samples do not differ significantly for the time periods of our study. However, differences in the indexes do result for the urban versus rural samples, with consumer units living in urban areas facing greater changes in relative prices than are faced by consumer units living in rural areas. The all-item indexes produced slightly higher index values than did the Interview-only item indexes. Relative prices appear to be pro-poor during the 1980s.


One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) written by Ken Kesey tells the story at a ward where the patients who reside at the ward are exposed of oppression and humiliation by Nurse Ratched. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: A Play in Two Acts (1963) written by Dale Wasserman is a theatrical play which is based on Kesey's novel. The purpose of this essay is to argue that Nurse Ratched's character is pictured as more evil in the novel than the play. In this essay, Ratched's personality and outer looks was discussed as well as her methods she uses to humiliate and control the inmates. It was argued that Wasserman may have excluded information about Ratched's character, so the actors have a chance to develop a personal view of Ratched. It was also argued that Ratched may have appeared as unnaturally evil if Wasserman had included all her evil traits, and thus picture her as a larger than life character.


Lyman-break galaxies are now regularly found in the high redshift Universe by searching for the break in the galaxy spectrum caused by the Lyman-limit redshifted into the optical or even near-IR. At lower redshift, this break is covered by the GALEX UV channels and small samples of z ∼ 1 LBGs have been presented in the literature. Here we give results from fitting the spectral energy distributions of a small sub-set of low redshift LBGs and demonstrate the advantage of including photometric points derived from HST ACS slitless grism observations. The results show these galaxies to have very young, star forming populations, while still being massive and dusty. LBGs at low and high redshift show remarkable similarities in their properties, indicating that the LBG selection method picks similar galaxies throughout the Universe.


We present ground-based near-infrared (H-band) imaging of the circumstellar disk around the nearby classical T Tauri star TW Hydrae. The scattered-light image shows a face-on disk with a radius of 4'' (corresponding to 225 AU) and a morphology that agrees with recent images from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Array. The best-fit power-law for the disk's radial surface brightness profile obeys the law r-3.3±0.3. We use our image and published continuum flux densities to derive properties of the disk with a simple model of emission from a flat disk. The best-fit values for disk mass and inner radius are 0.03 M☉ and 0.3 AU, respectively; the best-fit values for the temperature, density, and grain opacity power-law exponents (q, p, and β) are 0.7, 1.3, and 0.9, respectively. These properties are similar to those of disks around classical T Tauri stars located in more distant molecular clouds. Because of TW Hydrae's nearby location and pole-on orientation, it is a uniquely favorable object for future studies of radial disk structure at the classical T Tauri stage.


This paper describes how heat dissipation sensors, used to measure soil water matric potential, were analyzed to develop a normalized calibration equation and a temperature correction method. Inference of soil matric potential depends on a correlation between the variable thermal conductance of the sensor's porous ceramic and matric potential. Although this correlation varies among sensors, we demonstrate a normalizing procedure that produces a single calibration relationship. Using sensors from three sources and different calibration methods, the normalized calibration resulted in a mean absolute error of 23% over a matric potential range of -0.01 to -35 MPa. Because the thermal conductivity of variably saturated porous media is temperature dependent, a temperature correction is required for application of heat dissipation sensors in field soils. A temperature correction procedure is outlined that reduces temperature dependent errors by 10 times, which reduces the matric potential measurement errors by more than 30%. The temperature dependence is well described by a thermal conductivity model that allows for the correction of measurements at any temperature to measurements at the calibration temperature.


This thesis represents an investigation of composition and performance processes from gamelan music (particularly the traditional form karawitan), and the potential for their application in the medium of electroacoustic music. The research was developed through a mixture of theory and practice in a feedback relationship; the written thesis accompanies a portfolio of compositions and arrangements of traditional pieces, alongside software developed in Max/MSP to emulate and expand upon selected aspects of gamelan performance practice. The thesis is divided into two parts. Part I establishes the theoretical foundations for the thesis, introducing key concepts from ethnomusicology, gamelan music, and theory developed for electroacoustic music. Central to the thesis is a notion of "idiom" involving constraints, affordances, and individual expression. While the choice of instruments does not always influence musical style, karawitan presents examples of established instrumental roles in relation to a central framework. In the absence of a unified electroacoustic theory, Schaeffer's musique concrete provides a starting point for discussion. Further ideas are developed using an adaptation of Simon Emmerson's language grid (1986) to identify situations in which musical information is imposed from elsewhere, developed directly from the sound materials, or a combination thereof. This leads to the proposal of a set of strategies for composition and analysis of new works. Three areas are discussed through a set of case studies: the development of syntax and idiomatic discourse, idiomatic references and their interpretation, and the use of cues to establish discourse. Part II examines the compositions developed during the research. A description of the overall composition framework and technical considerations is presented, in which abstract algorithmic-oriented approaches are compared with a more concrete approach to sound. A general commentary leads into the description and analysis of works in the portfolio based on the methods exposed in the body of the thesis.


Transitional justice comprises the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society's attempts to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation. Nothing in this definition limits transitional justice to post-conflict or post-authoritarian states. Yet, practically, the field is wedded to the paradigmatic transition – a liberal democratic state rising from the ashes of a collapsed authoritarian regime. In this paper I argue that the logic of transitional justice is relevant and applicable to liberal democracies founded on legacies of historic injustice. Analysing land reform in Australia under this lens, suggests cogent reasons why reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians appears to be stalling.


Recent research shows that the adoption of time-saving technology in food preparation has contributed to the obesity epidemic. This paper develops a model explaining why firms adopt such innovations, providing insight into the growth of obesity over time and across countries. I find that wage increases, by raising the value of time, encourage firms to implement timesaving technology. I test this hypothesis by analyzing the effect of wages on the ratio of fast-food restaurants to grocery stores in the United States. I find that an increase in a county's average wage is correlated with an increase in a county's fast-food-to-grocery-store ratio, as predicted by the theoretical model. The results suggest that wage growth has contributed to the development of the obesity epidemic. Index words: Obesity, technological innovation, time allocation, fast food Time-saving Innovations and the Obesity Epidemic


This article examines the illness and recovery experiences and perceptions of physically active middle aged and older adults participating in hiking groups. These perceptions are examined within the local milieu of their group and the larger social context of biomedical norms of healthy older bodies. Discourse on the body was viewed through the lens of medical anthropology and data were analyzed using embodied ethnography. There were 15 participants (53 percent female) and all were of European descent. The hiking group provided participants with meaningful spaces and places where they could explore all aspects of their health with the support of others who had undergone similar life experiences. The physical activities they engaged in as a group were therapeutic and transformational for several members. Their group activities created a deep sense of community and aided in their healing processes. Holistic health programs such as hiking groups could provide an alternative or ancillary treatment options. However, cost, location, opportunities for socialization, and the physical abilities of potential participants should be seriously considered before adopting a hiking program for this demographic.


Many studies have attempted to identify neuropsychological tests that could distinguish frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) from other types of dementia. Although some measures of frontal lobe function, memory, language, visuospatial function and, general cognitive ability revealed significant differences between FTLD and other types of dementia, there was a large overlap in the test performance among these groups. Therefore, neuropsychological tests should be used in conjunction with clinical and radiological findings to identify FTLD patients. However, suitably selected neuropsychological tests can be useful to monitor the temporal changes in cognitive function in each FTLD patient and to compare the clinical features of this disorder with other types of dementia.


The Book of Esther describes Xerxes, king of Persia and Media, as an angry man. It highlights the king's ups (Esther, 1:12; 7:7) and downs (Esther, 2:1; 7:10). Surprisingly, Herodotus in "The Persian wars" likewise emphasises the king's anger and wrath. This classic Greek tale possibly fills in a time gap between Esther 1 and 2: Xerxes travels west from his capital, Susa, and loses a war in Sparta. "The Persian wars" chronicles Xerxes' international humiliation and the despot's rages along the way. Xerxes bullies and blames subordinates; destroys property and cuts a swathe from Persia to Sparta; acts pompously; and exhibits angry outbursts when crossed or thwarted. Herodotus confirms that generals, enemies, and aides tiptoe around this international bully. One, however, does not. Artemisia, a woman ship commander, earns Xerxes' respect. When the battlefield of his life switches from Sparta back to Susa, the Bible presents a second model of courage, Esther, Xerxes' new queen. Walking confidently in the halls of power, this lovely "general" in regal robes comes gracefully yet forcefully before the king, time and time again. Modeling anger management techniques with a blend of wisdom and femininity, Esther faces Xerxes' anger – and neutralises it.


Backdrop: Nutritional status has been proven to affect surgical outcome in various studies worldwide. Accurate nutritional assessment tools can help the clinician in taking appropriate steps at the right time in order to improve the surgical outcome. This is especially relevant in neurosurgical cases because of the long hospital stay and high incidence of complications. In the present study we aim to find out the prevalence of severe malnutrition in the patients admitted to NICU and the correlation of the same with mortality. We also intend to find out the best predictor of mortality amongst the malnutrition parameters. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted at Bangur Institute of neurosciences (BIN), Kolkata on 50 patients who were admitted in NICU for more than 5 days. Various nutritional paramaters like SGA, albumin and transferrin values were studied. Statistical Analysis was performed with help of Epi Info (TM) 3.5.3. Chi-square test was used to find the associations. Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to find the risk factors. Results: Glioma and meningioma were the most common clinical conditions in the study populations followed by space occupying lesions of the CP angle and aneurysm, PF SOL and pituitary adenoma. Nearly 42% (21/50) were severely malnourished, 36% (18/50) were moderately malnourished whereas 22% (11/50) had a normal nutritional status. CP angle SOLs were most commonly associated with severe malnutrition followed by PF SOL and pituitary adenoma. Association of various parameters namely SGA, serum albumin and serum transferrin with mortality was found to be statistically significant. This association was found to be the strongest with severe malnutrition by SGA (Odds ratio-12.5 [3.10- 50.27]) as compared to serum transferrin and serum albumin levels (odds ratio of 4.37 (1.29-14.77) and 6.95 (0.80-60.13) respectively. Conclusion: In countries like India where malnutrition is very high in general and in critically ill patients, SGA is a potential tool for categorising patients with high risk of mortality at the time of admission. An early nutritional intervention thereafter might help in improving the outcome of such patients and might reduce the economic burden on part of the healthcare setting and the individual.


Abstract. In recent years, the frequent extreme weather has led to the rise of reservoir water level, and accordingly changed the reservoir water temperature. As for concrete dams, changes in reservoir water temperature and air temperature may generate temperature stress, and such effect and sudden rise of water level will inevitably change the dam force and endanger the dam safety. By means of numerical simulation and theoretical analysis, this paper analyzed the effect of the extreme rainstorm on the reservoir water level and water temperature, and selected a typical project to simulate the changes of temperature field and stress field of concrete dams in an extreme rainstorm under different working conditions. Results showed that: (1) After the storm flood entered the reservoir, the temperature stress changed little due to the change in the reservoir water temperature; (2) During the rainstorm, the compressive and tensile stresses of concrete dams increased with the time, but did not exceed the allowable values of the concrete used for the dam body; therefore, the dam body was safe; (3) By comparing the effects of the reservoir water level rise caused by heavy rain on the dam stress, the dam temperature stress response varied with the water level rising rate: the greater the reservoir water level rising rate was, the greater the maximum dam response stress was. After being affected by the rainstorm, the dam stresses were the same. Therefore, it was necessary to use a dispatching method to control the rise of the water level. This study can provide theoretical basis and reference for the operation and dispatching of reservoirs during extreme rainstorms.


Virtually all American jurisdictions have laws-either rules of evidence or mediation-privilege statutes or both-that exclude from evidence statements that parties make during negotiations and mediations. The legislatures (and sometimes courts) that have adopted these exclusionary rules have invoked a public policy rationale: that parties must be able to speak freely to settle disputes, and they will not speak freely if their statements during negotiation can later be admitted against them. This rationale is so widely revered that many courts have relied on it to prohibit the use of negotiation statements to impeach, even when the inconsistency of the negotiation statement reveals that the speaker either lied during the negotiation or is lying at trial. This Article challenges the public policy rationale, arguing that confidentiality has very little effect on an honest party's willingness to speak about the facts during negotiation, and so when the rationale is invoked to prohibit impeachment, it operates only to protect the dishonest. The Article concludes by proposing a specific amendment to Federal Rule of Evidence 408, its state counterparts, and the mediation-privilege statutes that would permit impeachment by a prior inconsistent negotiation statement, but only if the statement clearly demonstrated intentional misrepresentation by the speaker.


Abstract The alphabet (rōmaji) has never been considered a serious contender for the national script in Japan, although at several points since the country's modern period began in 1868 supporters have made a case for its adoption on varying grounds, most notably those of education, democracy and office automation. Although such advocates have included influential scholars and bureaucrats, their combined intellectual gravitas has never been sufficient to allow their arguments for romanisation to outweigh the strong cultural traditions and ideologies of writing centred on the existing three-script writing system. Even today, in the face of pressures imposed by modern keyboard technology, discussion of the issue is not on the national agenda. This article considers the place of romanisation in Japan today and offers a short history of the rōmaji movement since the late nineteenth century.


The purpose of this research was to study how work with men to understand the social construction of their own identities can contribute to creating a more socially just society. In this critical qualitative study eight participants of a critical, pro feminist college group shared their experiences of masculine and patriarchal norms, what happened socially, interpersonally and emotionally when these norms were disrupted, and what meaning and transformation came out of their involvement in a group dedicated to disrupting masculinity and patriarchy. The men realized the importance of accountability for themselves and others in creating social change around masculinity, and the need to better understand their own emotions and be more vulnerable in transforming their own masculine identity. The study provides important implications for student affairs practitioners and others in establishing and facilitating men's groups to create social change and better understand the social construction of masculinity. It provides a way to move beyond addressing individual issues such violence against women and instead fully address the negative effects of narrow gender role socialization on both men themselves and subordinate identities around them.


SIM PlanetQuest will perform narrow-angle astrometry with microarcsecond accuracy using starlight interferometry requiring tens of picometers accuracy in estimating the optical path difference change between observing two stars. One challenge is to accurately model the white-light fringes and calibrate the required model parameters. Previous studies have developed algorithms based on a CCD-pixel-level calibration scheme assuming slowly varying phase-dispersion functions. However, recent measurements from the SIM PlanetQuest Spectral Calibration Development Unit (SCDU) showed that wavefront aberrations caused the phase-dispersion functions to vary by tens of nanometers across the bandwidth of a CCD pixel, making the previous CCD-pixel-based calibration scheme inadequate. We present a white-light fringe model including the extra phase dispersions caused by the wavefront aberrations together with a calibration and estimation scheme using long-stroke fringe measurements to resolve the bandwidth of pixels. Using simulated data, we show that the total systematic errors in the calibration and estimation scheme are less than a picometer. With SCDU experimental data, we demonstrate that the end-to-end accuracy of the calibration and estimation algorithm is better than 20 pm, achieving the SIM PlanetQuest Engineering Milestone 4.


Root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are devastating pests to agriculture worldwide. The best control measure for these small, microscopic roundworms is to fumigate the field with nematicides prior to planting. However nematicides are problematic because they have non-target toxicity and are being phased-out of use. Therefore, new control measures are urgently required. My thesis looks at both sides of the plant-nematode interaction in order to understand nematode virulence determinants and the plant responses to nematodes. We hope that with this new knowledge, we can one day engineer novel ways to combat nematodes.
During plant-RKN interactions, the nematode is presumably secreting molecules into the plant that are crucial for successful infection. These proteins are called "effectors," and they are postulated to be involved in both plant defense suppression and RKN feeding site generation. In Gleason lab, we are trying to characterize the function of several RKN effectors. One of the potential effectors from Meloidogyne incognita is called Mi131. Mi131 is a protein with a profilin domain, which is typically involved in actin binding. When Mi131 was expressed in plants, the plants were more susceptible to nematodes. To elucidate Mi131 function, I performed yeast two hybrid screens to find Mi131 interaction partner(s) in Arabidopsis. I found that Mi131 can interact with both vegetative and reproductive isoforms of plant actin. In vitro actin polymerization assays indicated that Mi131 inhibits actin polymerization. Further investigations using protoplasts with a GFP-labelled actin cytoskeleton showed that when Mi131 was expressed in these cells, the actin cytoskeleton appeared fragmented. Plants which overexpress AtActin1 have a mutant, dwarf phenotype. Co-expression of Mi131 in these plants could rescue the dwarf phenotype. This indicated that Mi131 can act as an actin-binding profilin in plants and titer out the toxic levels of AtActin1. Previous cell biology studies of the root-knot nematode giant cells had shown that actin re-organization is crucial for RKN feeding site development and expansion. The nematode may secrete Mi131 to interfere with the actin dynamics in the cell and thereby promote RKN feeding site establishment.
The Gleason lab is also interested in how the plant responds to RKNs during the compatible interaction, with a focus on the phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA). Some publications had indicated that JA is involved in promoting defence against nematodes. Other publications suggested that JA is required for nematode susceptibility. Therefore, I investigated the role of JA using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. From my studies, I found that exogenous methyl jasmonate application on Arabidopsis significantly reduced the number of galls caused by RKNs. Interestingly, I found that MeJA induced resistance was independent of COI1, the JA receptor. The work carried out by myself and others in the lab shows that Arabidopsis mutants in trienoic fatty acid (fad3/7/8) or the octadecanoid pathway (aos) were more susceptible to nematodes. Meanwhile, plants inhibited in JA signaling (coi1-t) showed normal, wildtype levels of infection. Importantly, mutants in which the conversion of 12-oxophytodienoic acid (OPDA) to JA is inhibited (opr3 and acx1/5) also showed wild-type levels of nematode disease. Overall, the data suggests that the JA precursor, OPDA, has a role in plant defence against nematodes.


Zostera marina is a member of a widely distributed genus of seagrasses, all commonly called eelgrass. The reported distribution of eelgrass along the east coast of the United States is from Maine to North Carolina. Eelgrass inhabits
a variety of coastal habitats, due in part to its ability to tolerate a wide range of environmental parameters. Eelgrass meadows provide habitat, nurseries, and feeding
grounds for a number of commercially and ecologically important species, including the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians. In the early 1930's, a marine event, termed
the "wasting disease," was responsible for catastrophic declines in eelgrass beds of the coastal waters of North America and Europe, with the virtual elimination of Z. marina meadows in the Atlantic basin. Following eelgrass declines, disastrous losses were documented for bay scallop populations, evidence of the importance of eelgrass in supporting healthy scallop stocks.
Today, increased turbidity arising from point and non-point source nutrient loading and sediment runoff are the primary
threats to eelgrass along the Atlantic coast and, along with recruitment limitation, are likely reasons for the lack of recovery by eelgrass to pre-1930's levels. Eelgrass is at a historical low for most of the western Atlantic with uncertain prospects for systematic improvement. However, of all the North American seagrasses, eelgrass has
a growth rate and strategy that makes it especially conducive to restoration and several states maintain ongoing mapping, monitoring, and restoration programs to
enhance and improve this critical resource. The lack of eelgrass recovery in some areas, coupled with increasing anthropogenic impacts to seagrasses over the last century and heavy fishing pressure on scallops which naturally have erratic annual quantities, all point to a fishery with profound challenges for survival.


Augmented reality (AR) carries with itself a range of fascinating features which could be implemented by firms across different industry sectors to enhance user experience and add business value. The acceptance of AR can be viewed from two perspectives, viz. the acceptance by the user and acceptance by firms as a technology. However, the research gap observed is noteworthy. For an e-commerce firm, while there has been ample amount of research on acceptance of AR, there seem to be insufficient information on why augmented reality has not been adopted by these firms. In this research-in-progress paper, using the Technology, Organization and Environment using Tornatzky and Fleischer's Technology-Organization-Environment model (TOE) as the guiding lens, we first theorize the factors significant for the acceptance of AR technology by e-commerce firms. Next, we intend to test the theorized relationships via a field survey of e-commerce firm personnel who are familiar with AR technology. Through this study, we will offer deeper understanding into the TOE framework for the adoption of AR technologies by e-commerce firms. Further, on the practical front, the study will help the e-commerce firms to strategize and focus on specific factors to implement augmented reality effectively.


Reducing the incidence of low birth weight not only lowers infant mortality rates but also has multiple benefits over the life cycle. This study estimates the economic benefits of reducing the incidence of low birth weight in low-income countries, both through lower mortality rates and medical costs and through increased learning and productivity. The estimated economic benefits, under plausible assumptions, are fairly substantial, at about $510 per infant moved from a low-birth-weight status. The estimated gains are primarily from increases in labor productivity (partially through more education) and secondarily from avoiding costs due to infant illness and death. Thus there may be many interventions to reduce the incidence of low birth weight that are warranted purely on the grounds of saving resources or increasing productivity.


Synchronous neural oscillations are found throughout the brain and are thought to contribute to neural coding and the propagation of activity. Several proposed mechanisms of synchronization have gained support through combined theoretical and experimental investigation, including mechanisms based on coupling and correlated input. Here, we ask how correlation-induced synchrony is affected by physiological heterogeneity across neurons. To address this question, we examined cell-to-cell differences in phase-response curves (PRCs), which characterize the response of periodically firing neurons to weak perturbations. Using acute slice electrophysiology, we measured PRCs across a single class of principal neurons capable of sensory-evoked oscillations in vivo: the olfactory bulb mitral cells (MCs). Periodically firing MCs displayed a broad range of PRCs, each of which was well fit by a simple three-parameter model. MCs also displayed differences in firing rate-current relationships and in preferred firing rate ranges. Both the observed PRC heterogeneity and moderate firing rate differences (∼10 Hz) separately reduced the maximum correlation-induced synchrony between MCs by up to 25-30%. Simulations further demonstrated that these components of heterogeneity alone were sufficient to account for the difference in synchronization among heterogeneous vs. homogeneous populations in vitro. Within this simulation framework, independent modulation of specific PRC features additionally revealed which aspects of PRC heterogeneity most strongly impact correlation-induced synchronization. Finally, we demonstrated good agreement of novel mathematical theory with our experimental and simulation results, providing a theoretical basis for the influence of heterogeneity on correlation-induced neural synchronization.


The purpose of the present study was to examine the development of the Intimate Friendship Scale (IFS), a 32 item self-report measure of close friendship initially developed using adolescent Kibbutz children. Investigations of the structure of friendship are useful for advancing knowledge of what dimensions influence drinking patterns among friend dyads in college. Sharabany has proposed an eight-factor model of friendship and her questionnaire items are widely used but their latent structure and factorial validity remains contentious. Three Studies examined the internal validity of the Intimate Friendship Scale using college-aged students (N = 762). A two-factor model of friendship was found to fit the data the best. The two factors were theoretically described as characteristic of either Intimate or Instrumental friendship. Study 4 uses these two factors and examines the drinking patterns among friendship dyads in college. Results indicate that friends that rated themselves higher on the Intimate subscale items had higher odds of drinking with their friend. However, there was no association between scores on the Instrumental subscale and the likelihood of shared drinking occasions. Further, when examining individual differences in drinking patterns between friends, it was found that there were no significant relationships between the subscales and discrepancies in friends' individual differences in alcohol use in terms of how often, how much, or the number of days that the partner drank alcohol (with or without the friend). These findings further emphasize the complex nature of friendship and its association with alcohol use in college. Further research should aim towards developing a multidimensional friendship measure and longitudinal studies that evaluate the relationship between friendship and alcohol use in college.


We investigated the use of Antarctic waters by king penguins in a 2 yr study based on the satellite tracking of 10 penguins from the Crozet Islands (SW Indian Ocean). All the penguins travelled towards the pack ice, with 3 of them ending their journey at the edge between the marginal ice and the dense pack ice. The mean maximum foraging range and minimal distance travelled were 1620 and 4095 km, respectively. The effect of the satellite transmitter (PTT) attachment on foraging trip duration and colony attendance was much more important in winter in comparison to the sum- mer. The penguins spent around 24% of their trip at sea in the marginal ice zone. They explored the ice-covered habitat non-randomly as revealed by compositional analysis. The marginal ice was more used than free ice and floes areas. The strategy of travelling towards the marginal ice zone during winter ensures that the penguins have access to predictable feeding areas at a time when food avail- ability is very low in the polar frontal zone. The diet of king penguins when foraging in Antarctic waters is unknown but may be different to their summer food at the Polar Front.


This study recounts the experiences of Russian regional governments in dealing with fiscal stress during the 2008-2012 period, a period of the most severe global economic downturn of the last seventy years. Much of the disparity is driven by differential endowments of energy resources and this diversity translates into highly diverse fiscal capacities and need for government services. Although regions do have some independent revenue-raising authority, all taxes are administered by the National Ministry of Taxation and a sizable share (roughly 45%) of total national revenue is transferred to regional and local governments. The transfers, however, are not of equal importance to all regions . This research identifies what sorts of governments have faced the most fiscal stress, how shares of revenue from various sources shifted with the recession, and how the fiscal system responded to the recession. The following research questions are explored in the paper: (1) What sorts of governments have faced the most fiscal stress during the recession? What parts of the country have subnational governments in the greatest fiscal stress? Where was fiscal stress the greatest? (2) What factors have driven fiscal stress? (3) How have governments with the greatest stress dealt with fiscal stress? (4) How did revenue shares with the recession? Were certain sources more heavily impacted than others? (5) How did corporate income tax and personal income tax shares change with the recession? The intention of this paper is to expand knowledge of the attributes of the regional and local budgeting system in Russia and improve approaches for dealing with fiscal stress.


The study assessed the efficacy of fish oil supplementation in counteracting the classic dyslipidemia of the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype (ALP). In addition, the impact of the common apolipoprotein E (apoE) polymorphism on the fasting and postprandial lipid profile and on responsiveness to the dietary intervention was established. Fifty-five ALP males (aged 34 to 69 years, body mass index 22 to 35 kg/m(2), triglyceride [TG] levels 1.5 to 4.0 mmol/L, high density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C] <1.1 mmol/l, and percent low density lipoprotein [LDL]-3 >40% total LDL) completed a randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial of fish oil (3.0 g eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid per day) and placebo (olive oil) capsules with the 6-week treatment arms separated by a 12-week washout period. In addition to fasting blood samples, at the end of each intervention arm, a postprandial assessment of lipid metabolism was carried out. Fish oil supplementation resulted in a reduction in fasting TG level of 35% (P<0.001), in postprandial TG response of 26% (TG area under the curve, P<0.001), and in percent LDL-3 of 26% (P<0.05). However, no change in HDL-C levels was evident (P=0.752). ANCOVA showed that baseline HDL-C levels were significantly lower in apoE4 carriers (P=0.035). The apoE genotype also had a striking impact on lipid responses to fish oil intervention. Individuals with an apoE2 allele displayed a marked reduction in postprandial incremental TG response (TG incremental area under the curve, P=0.023) and a trend toward an increase in lipoprotein lipase activity relative to non-E2 carriers. In apoE4 individuals, a significant increase in total cholesterol and a trend toward a reduction in HDL-C relative to the common homozygous E3/E3 profile was evident. Our data demonstrate the efficacy of fish oil fatty acids in counteracting the proatherogenic lipid profile of the ALP but also that the apoE genotype influences responsiveness to this dietary treatment.


A single server retrial queue with two phases of service of which the second phase is optional, where the server is subjected to starting failures and takes a single vacation when no customers are waiting in the orbit is discussed in this paper. A necessary and sufficient condition for the system to be stable is investigated.  The joint probability generating functions of the system size and server states are studied using supplementary variable technique.  Further, some important system performance measures like mean system size, mean orbit size, server utilization and probability that the orbit is empty are derived. The stochastic decomposition law is shown to hold good for this model. Some of the existing results are deduced as special cases. Finally, extensive numerical illustrations are provided to showcase the effect of the parameters on the system performance measures.


Long range planning for water reuse is very complex due to the interplay of numerous factors. A multi-faceted study was conducted to improve the understanding of these factors, to analyze how different scenarios of the future may affect these factors and water reuse, and to help determine which of these factors and issues are most important to address in order to ensure that water reuse is a successful water supply option in the future. This paper follows a series of surveys, expert workshops and scenario studies that were conducted, with the goal of refining a list of factors and issues that affect water reuse down to a few key items. From this process, the following aspects were concluded to be most important to focus on because they have the most impact, and thus will affect the future of water reuse the most: expanding the perceived role of water reuse; taking action to improve public acceptance; creating a supportive regulatory and legal environment; integrating resource management; expanding economic analysis; considering energy, climate and sustainability issues; creating water reuse institutions and associations; and, encouraging technology advancement and innovation. Discussions of these issues, along with suggestions for further research and innovation are included.


We present a new and considerably extended parameterization of the thermodynamic activity coefficient model AIOMFAC (Aerosol Inorganic-Organic Mixtures Functional groups Activity Coefficients) at room temperature. AIOMFAC combines a Pitzer-like electrolyte solution model with a UNIFAC-based group-contribution approach and explicitly accounts for interactions between organic functional groups and inorganic ions. Such interactions constitute the salt-effect, may cause liquid-liquid phase separation, and affect the gas-particle partitioning of aerosols. The previous AIOMFAC version was parameterized for alkyl and hydroxyl functional groups of alcohols and polyols. With the goal to describe a wide variety of organic compounds found in atmospheric aerosols, we extend here the parameterization of AIOMFAC to include the functional groups carboxyl, hydroxyl, ketone, aldehyde, ether, ester, alkenyl, alkyl, aromatic carbon-alcohol, and aromatic hydrocarbon. Thermodynamic equilibrium data of organic-inorganic systems from the literature are critically assessed and complemented with new measurements to establish a comprehensive database. The database is used to determine simultaneously the AIOMFAC parameters describing interactions of organic functional groups with the ions H^+, Li^+, Na^+, K^+, NH_(4)^+, Mg^(2+), Ca^(2+), Cl^−, Br^−, NO_(3)^−, HSO_(4)^−, and SO_(4)^(2−). Detailed descriptions of different types of thermodynamic data, such as vapor-liquid, solid-liquid, and liquid-liquid equilibria, and their use for the model parameterization are provided. Issues regarding deficiencies of the database, types and uncertainties of experimental data, and limitations of the model, are discussed. The challenging parameter optimization problem is solved with a novel combination of powerful global minimization algorithms. A number of exemplary calculations for systems containing atmospherically relevant aerosol components are shown. Amongst others, we discuss aqueous mixtures of ammonium sulfate with dicarboxylic acids and with levoglucosan. Overall, the new parameterization of AIOMFAC agrees well with a large number of experimental datasets. However, due to various reasons, for certain mixtures important deviations can occur. The new parameterization makes AIOMFAC a versatile thermodynamic tool. It enables the calculation of activity coefficients of thousands of different organic compounds in organic-inorganic mixtures of numerous components. Models based on AIOMFAC can be used to compute deliquescence relative humidities, liquid-liquid phase separations, and gas-particle partitioning of multicomponent mixtures of relevance for atmospheric chemistry or in other scientific fields.


This is a compelling new volume offering a unique perspective on non-violent protest movements and fledgling democracies. "The New York Times on Emerging Democracies", from the TimesReference from CQ Press imprint, chronicles the peaceful transitions from Soviet or authoritarian order that have occurred over the last thirty years in Europe and Eurasia including: Poland; Hungary; East Germany; Czechoslovakia; the Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; Serbia; Georgia; and, Ukraine. Country by country, the book describes the process of political change and integration from the late 1970s to the 2000s. Author Mary King has selected a variety of articles from "The Times" to portray each country's transition, including the influence of popular movements and the methods used - boycotts, civil disobedience, demonstrations, picketing, strikes, vigils, economic reform models, and institutional change. King's original narrative provides valuable context and analysis. The TimesReference from CQ Press imprint, focusing on topics in American government, U.S. history, elections, Congress, the presidency, the Supreme Court, journalism, international affairs, current events, and public opinion, is designed to support high-school and college curricula and course work.


A critical response to lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) is the clearance of damaged lysosomes through a selective form of macroautophagy known as lysophagy. Although regulators of this process are emerging, whether organ- and cell-specific components contribute to the control of lysophagy remains incompletely understood. Here, we examined LMP and lysophagy in Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) disease, an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by the accumulation of unesterified cholesterol within late endosomes and lysosomes, leading to neurodegeneration and early death. We demonstrated that NPC human fibroblasts show enhanced sensitivity to lysosomal damage as a consequence of lipid storage. Moreover, we described a role for the glycan-binding F-box protein 2 (Fbxo2) in CNS lysophagy. Fbxo2 functions as a component of the S phase kinase-associated protein 1–cullin 1–F-box protein (SKP1-CUL1-SCF) ubiquitin ligase complex. Loss of Fbxo2 in mouse primary cortical cultures delayed clearance of damaged lysosomes and decreased viability after lysosomal damage. Moreover, Fbxo2 deficiency in a mouse model of NPC exacerbated deficits in motor function, enhanced neurodegeneration, and reduced survival. Collectively, our data identified a role for Fbxo2 in CNS lysophagy and establish its functional importance in NPC.


Improved understanding of flow and radionuclide transport in vadose zone sediments is fundamental to future planning involving radioactive materials. To that end, long‐term experiments were conducted at the Savannah River Site (SRS), where a series of lysimeters containing sources of different Pu oxidation states were placed in the shallow subsurface and exposed to the environment for 2 to 11 yr. After the experiments, Pu activity concentrations were measured along vertical cores from the lysimeters. Plutonium distributions were anomalous in nature—transport from oxidized Pu sources was less than expected, and a small fraction of Pu from reduced sources moved more. Studies conducted with these lysimeter sediments indicated that surface‐mediated, oxidation–reduction (redox) reactions may be responsible for the anomalies. This hypothesis is tested by performing transient Pu transport simulations that include retardation and first‐order redox reactions on mineral surfaces within a steady‐state flow field. These simulations affirm the consistency of the surface‐mediated, redox hypothesis with observed Pu activity profiles below the source. Such profiles are captured well by a steady‐state, net downward flow model. The redox model explains how Pu(V/VI) sources release activity that moves downward more slowly than expected, and how Pu(III/IV) sources result in a small fraction of activity that moves downward farther than expected. The calibrated parameter values were robust and well defined throughout all simulations. Approximate retardation factors for Pu(V/VI) were 15, and for Pu(III/IV) were 10,000. For these values, ko averaged 2.4 × 10−7 h−1; kr averaged 7.1 × 10−4 h−1 (standard deviations are 1.6 × 10−7 h−1 and 1.6 × 10−4 h−1 respectively).


There are three main paradigms that are the basis for the industrial policies throughout the world: institutionalism, Marxism, and free- enterprise. Of the three, two have been widely and intensively implemented and both of them have dismally failed. Institutionalism and Marxism either are, or have been, attempted to the fullest degree in the United States and abroad. Both have left nations struggling to find something better. The answer to this troublesome question is simple. No industrial policy is the best industrial policy. The classical liberals and libertarians have been arguing this since the days of Adam Smith, yet for the most part have been repeatedly dismissed. Critics have claimed their theories were unrealistic, and few nations have ever actually tried a policy close to laissez faire capitalism, at least in our century. If they had, there would not still be the quest for a better policy. This paper takes the position that it is time to learn from the previous mistakes and failures of government intervention. It is time to abolish industrial policy.


Aromatase inhibitors have been associated with accelerated bone loss and an increased risk of osteoporotic fractures. Currently, bisphosphonates are recommended to reduce fracture risk in these patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the fracture risk in breast cancer patients receiving aromatase inhibitors, compared to tamoxifen users, and to assess the effectiveness of oral bisphosphonates in reducing fracture risk. We performed an observational cohort study up to 10 years of follow‐up. Data were extracted from primary care records in a population database. Women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2006 and 2015 and treated with tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (n = 36,472) were stratified according to low (without osteoporosis diagnosis nor bisphosphonates exposure) or high (with osteoporosis and/or treated with bisphosphonates) fracture risk. Cox models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR [95% CI]) of fracture from the propensity score–matched patients. Sensitivity analyses account for competing risk of death were performed (subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR] [95% CI]). In postmenopausal women, fracture risk in aromatase inhibitor users showed an HR 1.40 [95% CI,1.05 to 1.87] and SHR 1.48 [95% CI, 1.11 to 1.98], compared to tamoxifen. Observing aromatase inhibitors patients at high risk of fracture, bisphosphonate‐treated patients had an HR 0.73 [95% CI, 0.51 to 1.04] and SHR 0.69 [95% CI, 0.48 to 0.98] compared to nontreated. In conclusion, fracture risk in postmenopausal women during aromatase inhibitor treatment, in real‐life conditions, was >40% compared to tamoxifen, corroborating previous randomized controlled trials results. In high‐risk patients, bisphosphonate users had lower significant fracture incidence during aromatase inhibitor therapy than nonbisphosphonate users. Monitoring fracture risk and related risk factors in aromatase inhibitor patients is advisable. © 2019 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.


The literary composition of Joshua 3:1 17 Joshua 3 and 4 confront the attentive reader with several literary problems, especially with regard to chronology. This article attempts to provide a solution to the problems in Joshua 3. The author reconstructed narratives, namely a Deuteronomistic and a post-priestly narrative. The Deuteronomistic narrative forms part of the original narrative of the Jordan crossing. It also forms part of an exilic Deuteronomistic History. The aim of this exilic Deuteronomistic History is to explain the loss of the land during the Babylonian exile. The post-priestly narrative of Joshua 3 and 4 most probably came into being when the priestly material (Gen–Num) was linked with the Deuteronomistic History. Thus, the post-priestly narrative of Joshua 3 and 4 elaborates on and expands the original Deuteronomistic narrative of the Jordan crossing. The merging of these two narratives is the cause of the chronological and other literary problems in Joshua 3.


We present an automatic video processing system for tracking analysis in the Morris water escape testing videos. This system is able to extract automatically from such videos information (metadata) describing the spatiotemporal trajectories of animals in the maze and the timings of behavioral events such as stopping or crossing of a target area. The specific semantic metadata are produced by the system and saved in a XML file that describes the mice behaviour extracted from the video content. This description is also stored in a database using a data model that allows one to perform subsequent queries to obtain important factual and analytical information and to retrieve and visualize selected video sequences matching specific query criteria. In all cases, we have observed a significant increase in both accuracy and efficiency when undertaking such analysis using the procedures described in this paper, in comparison with current methods.


More than a dozen Federal policy changes since the year 2000 have affected incentives to prescribe, manufacture, and purchase both prescription and illicitly-manufactured opioids. To the extent that one of the policies, the 2013 OHolder memo,O had a meaningful effect on the cost structure of suppliers of heroin and illicit fentanyl, standard consumer theory predicts that the trend for opioid-involved fatalities would proceed in distinct phases. Prior to 2013, subsidies to, and conveniences for, prescribers and consumers would increase total opioid consumption by reducing the full price of Rx. More surprising is that, with heroin relatively cheap of late, any Rx opioid policy could Ð and likely does Ð have the opposite total-consumption effect after 2013 than it would before, especially when the more expensive Rx opioid products are most affected. Subsidies to benzodiazepines (an opioid complement) increase opioid consumption in both phases. While policy changes at first reduced the full price of Rx, and then later increased it, technological change in illicit markets is also a relevant factor over the longer term.


Background: The evaluation of moral judgment criteria in medical students is important to develop effective educational programs in bioethics. Aim: To compare priority judgment criteria and moral judgment tendency in medical students of first and fifth grade. Material and Methods: The Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ30), to identify moral criteria was applied to 259 students, 63.7% from first year and 50.2% women. Results: The dominant moral tendeney both in first and fifth year students was liberal. Justice and compassion were the most important criteria in men and in women, respectively. Respect towards authority and sanctity were the least important criteria in women and men, respectively. Conclusions: The implications for moral psychology and medical education of these results are discussed.