Children's attitudes toward reading are getting little attention in developing children's literacy ability. This article analyzes the factors that influence children's positive attitudes toward reading: children's personal experiences in reading, children's confidence in reading, parents' attitudes toward reading, and teachers' ways of teaching reading. Suggestions are provided about how to cultivate children's positive attitudes toward reading. Children's literacy development has attracted the attention of teachers, researchers, parents, and society, not only because of what has been termed the "literacy crisis", but also because children's literacy development determines children's future success in reading and writing. Researchers and teachers have explored the problem from various aspects, such as teaching methods (Eldredge, 1991; Mckenna, Stratton, Grindler, & Jenkins, 1995; Morrow, 1992), classroom environments (Grambell, 1996; Reutzel & Wolfersbersger, 1996), family involvement (Danielson, 1997; Thornburg, 1993), and community and societal environment (Noll, 1998). Different results have been found and suggestions given to help to develop children's literacy in and out of school. Morrow (1992) found that children in literature-based classes not only read better, but also read more books and magazines than those in nonliterature-based classes. However, McQuillan (1998) insisted that teaching reading methods were less important than children's access to books. He claimed, "It is conceivable that the variations in the supply of reading materials may overwhelm differences in teaching methods, given that teachers and children are limited by the resources available to them" (p.68). At the end of his book, McQuillan (1998) concluded, "There is now considerable evidence that the amount and quality of students' access to reading materials is substantively related to the amount of reading they engage in, which in turn is the most important determinant of reading achievement" (p.86). Many researchers and teachers hold a similar view that schools, teachers, parents, and the society should provide chances for children to access a large amount of books (Brenna, 1995; Elley, 1996; Goodman and Goodman, 1979). However, reading is a process of getting meaning from the texts. If children do not want to get any meaning from the texts, it is not reading (Dombey, 1999). Whether children read or not is determined by their attitudes toward reading. If children do not like reading or they think that reading is boring, their negative attitude toward reading will hinder their reading improvement. Some researchers have used cash rewards to improve children's reading attitudes (Johnson, 1995; Meyer, 1995). However, McNinch (1997) found in his experiment with cash rewards that no significant changes were found in children's attitudes toward academic reading. Cash rewards, therefore, are not effective in changing children's attitudes toward reading over the long term. There are various factors that influence children's attitudes toward reading: children's personal experiences in reading, children's confidence in reading, parents' attitudes towards reading, and teachers' ways of teaching. In this article, I intend to analyze factors that influence children's attitudes toward reading, and provide suggestions on how to cultivate a positive attitude toward reading. Analysis of the Factors that Influence Children's Positive Attitude toward Reading First, children's personal experiences in reading are directly related to children's attitudes toward reading. Can children get access to books? Are the books that children read interesting? Interesting books are that are predictable, have vivid pictures, and are related to children's lives. Do teachers and parents believe that children can read? Do children often fail in reading tests? If children get discouraging answers to these questions, it is impossible that they will like reading in or out of school because reading seems alien to them. …


The first casebook on the subject marks the contours of the field and provides a comprehensive understanding of the law and legal discourse relating to state regulation of sex, bodies, families, and reproduction. This compilation of rich historical and contemporary primary and secondary materials, accompanied by rigorous legal analysis, considers the economic, political, legal, and social factors that influence procreation and parenting. It is attentive to questions of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and ability. Given that reproductive rights are implicated by different bodies of law, the casebook and teacher's manual will serve as guides to help balance expertise in one particular area of the law and enable well-rounded engagement with various issues.


This paper provides details of a feasibility study into the application of small-scale wood chip gasification-based combined heat and power (CHP). Gasification itself is not a new technology, however there has been renewed interest recently in the quest for small-scale gasification from renewable energy sources, such as biomass and wood waste. The UK Government is committed under the Kyoto Protocol and various EC regulations and recommendations to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy sources and increasing energy efficiency through the use of CHP. This technology will help to achieve all three of these goals.

There has been an assessment of the wood chip supply position in Ireland, based on information from Balcas, the largest timber milling company in Ireland, and the Northern Ireland Forestry Service. This study shows that there has been a 30% increase in output from Ireland's forests over the last five years. A conservative estimate is that over the next five years the output will increase by another 60%, mainly in the North West of Ireland. Therefore, the volume of wood chips required for any proposed size of CHP unit is not expected to have any noticeable impact on the market price or availability of wood chips.


Currently women are underrepresented in departments of computer science, making up approximately 18% of the undergraduate enrollment in selective universities. Most attrition in computer science occurs early in this major, in the freshman and sophomore years, and women drop out in disproportionately greater numbers than their male counterparts. Taking an ethnographic approach to investigating women's experiences and progress in the first year courses in the computer science major at the University of Pennsylvania, this study examined the pre-college influences that led these women to the major and the nature of their experiences in and outside of class with faculty, peers, and academic support services. This study sought an understanding of the challenges these women faced in the first year of the major with the goal of informing institutional practice about how to best support their persistence.
The research reviewed for this study included patterns of leaving majors in science, math and engineering (Seymour & Hewitt 1997), the high school preparation needed to pursue math and engineering majors in college (Strenta, Elliott, Adair, Matier, & Scott, 1994), and intervention programs that have positively impacted persistence of women in computer science (Margolis & Fisher, 2002).
The research method of this study employed a series of personal interviews over the course of one calendar year with fourteen first year women who had either declared on intended to declare the computer science major in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Other data sources were focus groups and personal interviews with faculty, administrators, admissions and student life professionals, teaching assistants, female graduate students, and male first year students at the University of Pennsylvania.
This study found that the women in this study group came to the University of Pennsylvania with a thorough grounding in mathematics, but many either had an inadequate background in computer science, or at least perceived inadequacies in their background, which prevented them from beginning the major on an equal footing with their mostly male peers and caused some to lose confidence and consequently interest in the major. Issues also emanated from their gender-minority status in the Computer and Information Science Department, causing them to be socially isolated from their peers and further weakening their resolve to persist. These findings suggest that female first year students could benefit from multiple pathways into the major designed for students with varying degrees of prior experience with computer science. In addition, a computer science community within the department characterized by more frequent interaction and collaboration with faculty and peers could positively impact women's persistence in the major.


Serotonin is one of the oldest neurotransmitters in evolutionary terms, and the serotonergic system is complex and multifaceted. Serotonin-producing neurons in the raphe nuclei provide serotonin innervations throughout various parts of the brain, modulating cellular excitability and network properties of targeted brain areas, and regulating mood, cognition and behavior. Dysfunctions of the serotonergic system are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders including depression, schizophrenia, and drug abuse. Although the system has been studied for many years, an integrative account of its functions and computational principles remains elusive. This is partly attributed to the high variability and heterogeneity in terms of neuronal properties and receptor types, and its extensive connections with other brain regions. This Frontiers Research Topic e-book is a collection of recent experimental and computational work and approaches at multiple scales that provide the latest information regarding the integrated functions of the serotonergic system. The contributed papers include a variety of experimental and computational work, and human clinical studies.


The article reveals the role of biographical research in a process of empowerment of individuals, a group and an organization. Biography as an empowerment strategy is discussed from socio-biographical approach, point of view of theory of structuration, critical, feminist, poststructural theories. Opportunities to combine research on narration of life history and social work practice of empowerment are delineated in the article.


The main goal of this paper is to find out an index of market orientation, and explore the relationship between four components of market orientation in high-tech firms and their business performance. Business performance was studied as a one-dimensional construct. Market orientation in this study is defined as a process of intelligence generation about customers and competitors, intelligence dissemination and integration within the company across teams, and responsiveness to market intelligence in the form of coordinated action. The statistical sample was represented by 164 Czech and 187 German high-tech firms in the manufacturing industry. Respondents (sales and marketing managers) completed a questionnaire and marked their rate of approval with individual statements on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7. Market orientation and business performance level was determined as the arithmetic mean (x) of the measured values. Depending on the size of the total market orientation index (MOI), Czech (x=5.2) and German (x=5.14) high-tech firms are medium market-oriented. The business performance index (BPI) reached a slightly higher value in Germany (x=5.22) as compared to the Czech Republic (x=5.13). The main method to reach the target was correlation and regression analysis. This study confirmed a hypothesis about the existence of a correlation between components of market orientation and business performance. Three of the four relationships in the multiple regression model were significant. On the other hand, the study found no positive significant correlation between competitor intelligence generation and business performance.


This article traces the development of the federal structure of Swiss citizenship between the founding of the federal state in 1848 and the entrenchment of a restrictive naturalisation and establishment policy in the interwar period. Considering the difficult integration of foreign residents through naturalisation in the past and present in Switzerland, the author examines the causes for the granting and refusal of Swiss citizenship. She shows that the development of and arrangements for access to Swiss citizenship cannot be reduced only to notions about the Swiss nation or national interests. They are the result of a permanent process of political negotiation and coordination between the federation, cantons and local authorities; owing to its importance in social assistance matters, local citizenship constituted an impediment to naturalisation until well into the twentieth century. In contrast, the federation and certain cantons like Zurich, Basle and Geneva had sought since the 1880s to reduce the strongly increasing number of foreign residents by liberalising naturalisation. The outbreak of the Second World War put an end to these endeavours. With the rise of a 'new right' since 1900, the setting up of the Central Office of the Foreign Police in 1917, and the institutionalisation of the authorities' 'fight against foreign infiltration', Swiss nationality law became ethnicised. Cultural 'assimilation' into the 'particularity of Swiss society' was now regarded as a precondition for becoming a Swiss citizen. The new federal rejection of foreigners thus joined with the traditionally restrictive policy of local authorities in an unholy alliance that began to breach only in the 1980s.


Recent studies have realized optical micromanipulation of extended two- and three-dimensional structures and optical binding. In many recent experiments the optical interaction between particles and their light scattering has played a key role. We use fluorescein dye within the sample medium and a femtosecond laser for optical micromanipulation. By the process of two-photon excitation we can directly observe how the light behaves during refraction and reflection within a sample of optically guided microspheres. We directly visualize the reconstruction of the Bessel light beam by excitation of two-photon fluorescence when used as an optical guide for microscopic particles dispersed within this dyed medium. This technique may assist in the visualization of optical scattering and refraction in micromanipulation and the creation of large optically bound matter crystals.


We model the fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay at home orders on Illinois' fiscal situation. Prominent forecasters' recently published estimates range from short and modest declines in U.S. GDP to declines of almost 6%. We model the impact of these economic disruptions on the revenues of the individual income, corporate income, and sales taxes considering what we know about the history of the revenue sources. We estimate revenue losses from $6.4 billion in the severe pandemic scenario to $1.9 billion in the low severity scenario. We also expect large increases in public health expenditures but a modest impact on Illinois' fiscal situation since these expenditures are a small portion of the budget. Over the next several years, annual Medicaid expenditures could increase by $4 to $5 billion (21% to 26%). We expect increases in expenditures on human services as economic pressures require residents impacted by the pandemic to rely on these services. Potential declines in the value of public pension funds' assets could result in increased unfunded liabilities and required state contributions. However, these increased contributions would be phased in gradually due to "asset smoothing," and immediate fiscal effects would be modest. Local governments with a sales tax are likely to see immediate revenue shortfalls resulting from the sharp COVID-19 related economic downturn. Economic disruption may result in decreased property tax collections, but these impacts would lag significantly. To date, federal responses have been significant but are unlikely to fully insulate Illinois from the fiscal damage.


This chapter examines the rationale and motivations for using Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) for Online Laboratories. It explores different classifications, facets and features of virtual, remote and hybrid laboratories (Gomes2009, Gravier2009a) and subsequently introduces and discusses a range of metaphors, which can be used to understand each approach (Kreijins2002, Northrup2001). It also attempts to classify each of these platforms based on how students learn in these environments i.e. working as individuals or collaboratively in peer based groups (Gravier2009). It discusses and defines the concept of "Collaborative Online Laboratories" as Remote, Virtual or Hybrid Laboratories where groups of users work collaboratively in online virtual communities to support and facilitate learning. Two practical examples of Collaborative Online Laboratories, (the OCELOT project, a Collaborative Remote Laboratory from the University of Saint-Etienne and the Engineering Education Island project, a Collaborative Virtual Laboratory from the University of Ulster) will be presented in the context of existing literature, our individual experiences in implementation and the functionality included in each platform to facilitate collaboration between learners. The chapter will conclude with a discussion of the author's experiences of practical implementation of these projects and the opportunities/barriers to future directions in Collaborative Online Laboratories.


This dissertation contains two lines of research: the allocation of talent and development; and sovereign default. The first chapter contributes to the policy debate on whether the rapid growth of the US financial sector is socially desirable. I propose a heterogeneous agent model with asymmetric information and matching frictions that produces a tradeoff between finance and entrepreneurship. By becoming bankers, talented individuals efficiently match investors with entrepreneurs, but do not internalize the negative effect on the pool of talented entrepreneurs. Thus, the financial sector is inefficiently large in equilibrium, and this inefficiency increases with wealth inequality. The model explains the simultaneous growth of wealth inequality and finance in the US, and why more unequal countries have larger financial sectors. The second chapter explains the simultaneous growth of the services sector and income inequality by studying an endogenous educational choice of heterogeneous agents in the form of talent. There are two mechanisms of financing higher education: bequests and loans. The model with bequests predicts an endogenous and permanent separation of the population between the rich and the poor. The model with loans allows for social mobility, but still generates a persistent level of inequality. On the transition from the traditional economy with bequests to the economy with loans, the model qualitatively reproduces the dynamics of skill supply, the college wage premium, tuition fees and the labor allocation between sectors in the last century in the US. The third chapter provides a novel theory to explain why sovereigns borrow on both domestic and international markets and why defaults are mostly selective (on either domestic or foreign investors). Domestic debt issuance can only smooth tax distortion shocks, whereas foreign debt can also smooth productivity shocks. If the correlation of these shocks is sufficiently low, the sovereign borrows on both markets to avoid excess consumption volatility. Defaults on both types of investors arise in equilibrium due to market incompleteness and the government's limited commitment. The model matches business cycle moments and frequencies of different types of defaults in emerging economies. We also find, contrary to existing contributions, that secondary markets are likely to increase the risk of sovereign defaults. The outcome of the trade in bonds on secondary markets depends on how well each group of investors can coordinate their actions.


Study Objective:
Work-place violence, harassment and abuse is an increasing feature of nurses' experience of work in many countries. There is some evidence that the experience of workplace violence affects levels of job satisfaction (Hesketh et al 2003) and career decisions (e.g. Mayer et al 1999, Fernandes
et al 1999). This paper reports on verbal and physical abuse by patients, relatives and carers, as well as racial and sexual harassment in Acute Hospitals in London and investigates whether workplace violence affects nurses' intentions to leave either their current job or the nursing
profession, controlling for a number of other factors that are known to affect career decisions, such as workload, pay and own health.
Method:
A questionnaire designed by two of the authors (Reeves and West) to assess many different aspects of nurses work life was used in a postal survey of nurses grades A to I practising in twenty London acute trusts in 2002. A total of 6,160 clinical nurses were mailed the questionnaires and 2,880 returned completed questionnaires, resulting in an overall response rate of 47%, discounting undelivered questionnaires. Respondents worked in a wide variety of clinical settings but mainly in acute medical and surgical wards. In addition to descriptive statistics, results were analysed using logistic regression with robust standard errors: the appropriate test when the dependent variable is dichotomous and the individual respondents clustered within units (nurses working within hospitals are not statistically independent).
Results:
Our results show high levels of racial (%), sexual (%) and other, unspecified forms of harassment (%), as well as verbal and physical abuse (14% had been physically assaulted with 5% being assaulted more than once), over the previous 6 months. A very small number (1%) reported
experiencing all three forms of harassment; 12% two forms and 29% one form. Only 45% of this sample intended to stay in nursing for at least 3 years; 40% were undecided and 15% intended to leave. Logistic regression estimates showed that reported levels of abuse and harassment had a significant impact on respondents' career intentions, even in models that controlled for known factors affecting career decisions. About 70% of our respondents reported that they had had too little training in dealing with aggressive behaviour—or none at all—but there was no statistical relationship between lack of training and reported assaults.
Conclusions:
The international shortage of health care workers is due at least in part to low retention rates. It is crucial to investigate nurses' experiences of work to identify the factors that shape their career decisions. Workplace violence is increasingly acknowledged as an international, service-wide, health care problem. This paper adds to the literature that shows that workplace violence has an
impact on nurses' career decisions. The implications for managers and policy makers are that strengthening systems of security and providing nurses with training in interpersonal relationships including dealing with aggressive patients could slow nurse turnover.


We consider the problem of unconstrained minimization of a smooth objective function in ℝn in a setting where only function evaluations are possible. While importance sampling is one of the most popular techniques used by machine learning practitioners to accelerate the convergence of their models when applicable, there is not much existing theory for this acceleration in the derivative-free setting. In this paper, we propose the first derivative free optimization method with importance sampling and derive new improved complexity results on non-convex, convex and strongly convex functions. We conduct extensive experiments on various synthetic and real LIBSVM datasets confirming our theoretical results. We test our method on a collection of continuous control tasks on MuJoCo environments with varying difficulty. Experiments show that our algorithm is practical for high dimensional continuous control problems where importance sampling results in a significant sample complexity improvement.


Every day we make choices. Coke or Pepsi? Save or spend? Stay or go? Whether mundane or life-altering, these choices define us and shape our lives. Sheena Iyengar asks the difficult questions about how and why we choose: Is the desire for choice innate or bound by culture? Why do we sometimes choose against our best interests? How much control do we really have over what we choose? Her award-winning research reveals that the answers are surprising and profound. In our world of shifting political and cultural forces, technological revolution, and interconnected commerce, our decisions have far-reaching consequences. Use this book as your companion and guide for the many challenges ahead. 'No one asks better questions, or comes up with more intriguing answers' Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point


For many lawyers, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird represents an important goal to which law and its practitioners should strive. The novel describes the struggle to achieve justice for a black man in the face of deep-seated institutional racism. It stands as a beloved work of literature, widely read and deeply appreciated. Therefore, any work that Lee would have written after To Kill a Mockingbird would have sparked tremendous interest, given the beloved place her first novel holds. But many other questions have arisen since the release of Go Set a Watchman. This essay aims to address how the authenticity of the novel should be weighed by using the tools of art historians and the art market.


This Scientific Opinion reports on an evaluation of a risk assessment for placing on the market of genetically modified maize MON 88017 for cultivation. The EFSA GMO Panel considers that maize MON 88017 is unlikely to have any adverse effect on the environment, except for the possible resistance evolution to the Cry3Bb1 protein in coleopteran target pests; resistance evolution may lead to altered pest control practices that may cause adverse environmental effects. The cultivation management of maize MON 88017 could result in environmental harm. The EFSA GMO Panel therefore recommends managing the use of glyphosate on maize MON 88017 within diversified cropping regimes that have similar or reduced environmental impacts compared with conventional maize cultivation. The EFSA GMO Panel recommends the deployment of insect resistance management strategies and case-specific monitoring to address (1) the possible resistance evolution to the Cry3Bb1 protein in coleopteran target pests, (2) changes in botanical diversity within fields due to novel herbicide regimes, and (3) resistance evolution to glyphosate in weeds due to novel herbicide regimes. The EFSA GMO Panel agrees with the general surveillance plan of the applicant, but requests that the proposals made to strengthen general surveillance are implemented. Whilst the scope of this application only covers the cultivation of maize MON 88017, this Scientific Opinion also updates the previous EFSA GMO Panel safety evaluation of the food and feed uses, import and processing of maize MON 88017 and derived products. The EFSA GMO Panel concludes that the information available for maize MON 88017 addresses the scientific comments raised by Member States and that maize MON 88017, as described in this application, is as safe as its conventional counterpart and commercial maize varieties with respect to potential adverse effects on human and animal health. If subjected to appropriate management measures, the cultivation management of maize MON 88017 is unlikely to raise safety concerns for the environment.


The nonlinear dynamics of the parallel-plate electrostatically driven microstructure have been investigated with the objective of finding a dynamic voltage drive suitable for full-gap operation. Nonlinear dynamic modeling with phase-portrait presentation of both position and velocity of a realistic microstructure demonstrate that instability is avoided by a timely and sufficient reduction of the drive voltage. The simulation results are confirmed by experiments on devices fabricated in an epi-poly process. A 5.5-V peak harmonic drive voltage with frequency higher than 300 Hz allows repetitive microstructure motion up to 70% of gap without position feedback. The results of the analysis have been applied to the design of a new concept for positioning beyond the static pull-in limitation that does include position feedback. The measured instantaneous actuator displacement is compared with the desired displacement setting and, unlike traditional feedback, the voltage applied to the actuator is changed according to the comparison result between two values. The "low" level is below the static pull-in voltage and opposes the motion, thus bringing the structure back into a stable regime, while the "high" level is larger than the static pull-in voltage and will push the structure beyond the static pull-in displacement. Operation is limited only by the position jitter due to the time delay introduced by the readout circuits. Measurements confirm flexible operation up to a mechanical stopper positioned at 2 /spl mu/m of the 2.25 /spl mu/m wide gap with a 30 nm ripple.


This book presents an economic analysis of the main effects of liberalizing the electricity and natural gas markets across Western Europe. It is based on a state-of-the art detailed numerical simulation model that takes account of the interlinkages between different energy markets. Short-run and long-run effects are identified and the robustness of results is tested. Separate chapters discuss climate policy, renewable energy and the role of Russia. A key finding is that liberalization lowers energy prices and increases consumption, particularly in the electricity markets where prices fall by 25 per cent on average in the short run. Effects are somewhat stronger in the long run, as investment options are utilized. The welfare benefits of liberalization are considerable in the long run. However, liberalization increases emissions of CO2. The welfare costs of fulfilling Western Europe's Kyoto obligations depend highly on the policies implemented, but are at least as large as the benefits of liberalization.


We provided an early characterization of the genetic structure of the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) population as it expands its distribution in both the Missouri and Mississippi River basins. Further, we provided initial comparisons of allelic richness at 17 polymorphic microsatellite markers between 56 grass carp from the USA, and six from the Yangtze River in China. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to eight and size ranges of alleles for fish collected from the invaded and native ranges were similar (P ≤ 0.001; 107–226 bp) to those previously reported in the literature. Distancebased clustering methods did not suggest significant groupings by river reaches. Using allele frequencies, we identified a possible population bottleneck (heterozygosity excess in the Missouri River upstream sample group) between the uppermost Missouri River reach and all other samples which may indicate a difference in the level of diversity between the locations. Within population allelic diversity (AS) was 1.56, 2.27, and 1.39 for samples from the Missouri River in South Dakota and Nebraska, samples from the Missouri River in Missouri, and samples from the Mississippi River respectively. Despite isolation from the native population and exposure to a novel environment, in the nearly 50 years since their first introduction from China, the genome at these 17 microsatellite loci has diverged little from fish collected in their native range. We found only weak evidence to suggest that grass carp throughout the Missouri and upper Mississippi River basins are reproductively isolated from one another at this time. Range expansion can result in divergent genetic structure of subpopulations, which may provide clues about the mechanism of invasion success and inform fisheries scientists how to focus management efforts most effectively. These results provided a unique glimpse at a species early in the process of range expansion in the USA and provide a benchmark for future assessments of grass carp genetic structure in the Great Plains.


In the past 30 years, China has successfully urbanized 500 million of its total population--1.3 billion. China's urbanization has come at the cost of losing some of its most fertile land, polluting 75 percent of its surface water, and tearing down most of its old cities because of its unwise spatial strategy for urban development. China's urbanization is on an unsustainable track. During the next 30 years, another half billion new immigrants will need to settle in hundreds or even thousands of new cities, but where should the government build these cities? In this paper, I argue that instead of continuing the current urbanization and development track of expanding cities in the coastal deltas and flood plains and attracting immigrants to these cities, China should pursue an alternative regional and local strategy of building new cities on the foothills at the edges of the major plains and basins. In many respects, especially in terms of economic progress, China's 30 years of unstoppable development driven by rapid urbanization has been a huge success, establishing China as the second most powerful economy in the world. But it has failed in some more fundamental aspects, particularly with regards to grain security, as the government must feed a projected 1.5 billion Chinese population by 2040, and establish environmental sustainibility for both the urban and rural areas. It is an unsustainable trend that China must reverse. A time period of 30 years is sufficient for us to reflect on the mistakes China has made and the lessons that we can learn from those mistakes. While we cannot change the past, such observations can help shape a better future for China by providing a direction for China to follow in the future. This is also useful for other Asian countries such as India, considering that China is only halfway in its urbanization process and a few steps ahead of many other developing countries. I should note that these lessons are taken from the perspective of a city planner, primarily looking at the physical aspects of urbanization in China, rather than its political, social, or economic aspects. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Unsustainable Strategy for Urban Development In 1978, the Chinese government made a dramatic shift in its industrialization and development strategy. Moving away from Chairman Mao Zedong's "Third Front" strategy, which favored inland development to increase national security, China's new top leader Deng Xiaoping's open policy and coastal development strategy gave priority to the fertile and flat coastal flood plains, with the aim of attracting foreign investments to these areas. This complete reversal in policy immediately redirected the immigration wave from the remote mountainous inland to the coastal cities. This drastic change ended the movement of "up to the mountains and down to the villages." From 1962 to 1980, 18 million urban youth, a considerable number given that the urbanized population was only 134 million in 1980, were sent to remote, rural areas. By 1980, most of them had returned to their home cities, just as the massive immigration movement toward the coastal cities and existing big cities began. The impetus for building new cities in choice locations was tremendous, as illustrated by Shenzhen, a new city that in 30 years grew from a small town of 30,000 residents in 1980 to a new city that grew to 13 million people. However, Shenzhen is a rare case, as the momentum for building these cities dwindled. The Chinese city planners were simply not prepared for this explosive energy of urbanization that had accumulated for decades. Thus, they missed the opportunity to plan and organize wisely the spatial patterns for urbanization that could have avoided many of the problems China faces today. Instead of planning new cities at more sustainable locations and regions, the rapid urbanization process simply occurred in existing cities, by converting agricultural land into industrial enterprises and development zones. …


Using population data from Norway, we examine the effects of stress induced by the death of the mother's parent during pregnancy on both the short-run and the long-run outcomes of the infant. Using a variety of empirical strategies to address the issue of nonrandom exposure to death during a pregnancy, we find small negative effects on birth outcomes. However, we find no evidence of adverse effects on adult outcomes. This suggests that, though there may be measurable effects on birth outcomes, acute psychological stressors during pregnancy have limited adverse consequences for the child's success in education and the labor market. (JEL I12, J13, J16)


Abstract Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Qatar, incidence rate is rising and it is often diagnosed at advanced stages. Early detection of breast cancer through regular screening activities has been found to decrease morbidity and mortality rates. Although research on breast cancer screening in the Middle East is scarce, low levels of knowledge and poor participation rates have been found to act as barriers towards breast cancer screening activities such as breast self-examination, clinical breast examination and mammography. Various other barriers have been described in the literature. Identification of these potential barriers and facilitators is urgently needed in order to develop culturally appropriate interventions aiming to improve awareness and breast cancer screening participation rates. Objectives: A three-phase research program for which the goals are to (1) Understand breast health issues in Qatar; (2) Identify and implement strategies that assist Arabic women's participation in breast cancer screening activities (3) Evaluate, facilitate and sustain these strategies. Methods: In Phase 1 two studies are conducted. Study 1: this quantitative study examines data from a convenience sample of 1063 Arabic women in Qatar on a cross sectional community based survey. Face to face interviews are used to investigate knowledge, attitudes, practices, barriers and facilitators regarding breast cancer screening activities. Study 2: Using an ethnographic qualitative methodology, this study will capture the complexity and diversity of reasons of health behaviour choices on a purposive sample of 50 women, 50 men and 30 health care providers. Results: Preliminary results from study 1 will be presented. These will include: participation rates of breast cancer screening activities of Arabic women in Qatar such as breast self-examination, clinical breast examination and mammography; levels of knowledge of breast cancer and its screening; identified barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening as experienced by these women. Conclusion: Combined results will enable development of culturally appropriate intervention strategies to raise awareness and participation rate in breast cancer screening among Arabic women living in Qatar and the Gulf region.


Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the joints that affects millions of people. Joosten et al. report that a recently characterized cytokine, interleukin-32 (IL-32), appears to have an important role in the human disease. Tissue samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis showed increased expression of IL-32 compared with that in control samples. The abundance of IL-32 correlated with markers of inflammation. Injection of human IL-32 into the knee joint of C57/B16 mice caused swelling and influx of inflammatory cells. IL-32 can induce expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in cultured cells, and TNF-α is a major contributor to chronic joint inflammation. IL-32 appeared to exert its inflammatory effects through TNF-α, because injection of IL-32 failed to cause swelling of joints in TNF-α knockout mice. Together, the results from human patients and animal studies lead the authors to conclude that elucidation of mechanisms to reduce activity of IL-32 provides a new strategy for development of therapies that may benefit patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. L. A. B. Joosten, M. G. Netea, S.-H. Kim, D.-Y. Yoon, B. Oppers-Walgreen, T. R. D. Radstake, P. Barrera, F. A. J. van de Loo, C. A. Dinarello, W. B. van den Berg, IL-32, a proinflammatory cytokine in rheumatoid arthritis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103, 3298-3303 (2006). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Antitrust concerns about "Pay For Delay" patent settlements are based on two theory of harms, one that stresses the need for Courts to review the validity of patents and one that emphasises the "probabilistic" nature of patent rights. The main weakness of the first theory of harm is that it fails to explain why some forms of patent settlements would be less desirable than others. The "probabilistic" theory of harm raises fundamental questions about the legal obligations of a patent-holder, the type of uncertainty that should be reflected in the probabilistic nature of the patents and whether the theory can be applied to anything but the simplest PFD settlements. The paper also discusses the likely effect of a PDF ban on innovation and reviews both the European approach to recent and on-going PDF cases and the recent Actavis decision of the US Supreme Court.


Using data from two panel studies on U.S. firms and an online experiment, we examine investor reactions to increases in board diversity. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find that appointing female directors has no impact on objective measures of performance, such as ROA, but does result in a systematic decrease in market value. Similarly, we find that companies that are committed to diversity more generally suffer a decline in value. We argue that the gender penalty in board appointments is not due to discrimination based on stereotype bias, but instead results from inferences investors make about the firm. The appointment of a female director is interpreted as a diversity measure, and as a result we find that it signals an underlying preference for social goals, to the detriment of shareholder value maximization. Observing this signal prompts some investors to sell their holdings, which in turn causes the firm's market value to drop. This mechanism operates irrespective of the actual or perceived competence of the female appointee. We discuss the implications of our results for understanding gender inequality in leadership.


Introduction Systematic reviews are useful for synthesizing data on various health conditions and for identifying gaps in available data. In the US, the main risk group for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is people who use drugs (PWUD); as a group, PWUD have the highest prevalence of chronic HCV. While the care continuum construct has been increasingly applied to studies of HCV care among PWUD, what constitutes the steps in an HCV care continuum is not standardized. We sought to examine the range of HCV care continuum outcomes that studies reported on, to identify gaps in the literature, and to develop strategies that allowed for valuable syntheses of care continuum data. Methods We conducted searches of electronic databases for published literature. Reports were eligible if they provided original data from 1990 to 2016 from the US, presented data on one or more HCV care continuum outcomes, and provided outcome data on PWUD as a distinct group. Results A total of 313 full-text reports were assessed for eligibility. Of 212 potentially eligible reports, 32 (15.1%) did not present outcomes for PWUD separately from those who were non-PWUD. Among 101 eligible reports, a total of 166 care continuum outcomes were extracted; outcomes could be grouped into three categories that represent the HCV care continuum: testing (39.8%, n = 66/166); linkage to care (16.9%, n = 28/166); and treatment (43.4%, n = 72/166). Seventy-four reports (73.3%, n = 74/101) presented data on only one step. Linkage to care occurred variably after only antibody, or after antibody and viral load (VL) testing. Six (5.9%, n = 6/101) reports presented data on all three steps. Conclusion Reports examined a variety of HCV care continuum outcomes that could be grouped into the three steps of testing, linkage to care, and treatment. The application of this care continuum model would facilitate subsequent data synthesis for program comparison and public health evaluation. Given the two-step nature of HCV testing, analyses also need to account for variation in whether linkage to care occurred after antibody testing or after sequential antibody and VL testing. Additional data are needed on the progression of PWUD through the entire care continuum.


Although everyone believes that telling a good story is an important part of jury persuasion, attorneys inevitably rely on their intuition to choose their stories. Experimental methodologies now allow us to test how effective these stories are. In this article, we rigorously test how two different narratives common to patent law affect mock jurors. First, we look at whether accused infringers can improve their chances of prevailing by being the aggressor. Prior studies have observed that accused infringers that file declaratory judgment actions to vindicate their rights win more often than those that are sued by patent holders. However, these results may simply be an artifact of the selection effects. For example accused infringers may simply be suing on stronger cases. To date, no studies have tried to control for these selection effects and determine whether it is truly the story that sways juries. Second, we looked at whether an accused infringer can influence mock jurors by making a few disparaging remarks about one kind of patentee's business model, the non-practicing entity (NPE). NPEs, often pejoratively called patent trolls, may have a more difficult time prevailing at trial than practicing entities do.
To test how these narratives affect potential juries, we used a 2x2 between-subjects online experiment. We randomly assigned virtual mock jurors to watch one of four different scenarios of an abbreviated patent trial and render verdicts. The results showed that accused infringers that filed declaratory judgment actions prevailed more often than those where the patentee initiated the lawsuit. In addition, our study found that NPEs won less often than practicing entities. We discuss implications for strategy and policy.


Abstract We experimentally explored phase relations in the System FeOOH-TiO2 at pressures of 16 GPa and temperatures of 1000–1600 °C, which corresponds to conditions of the Earth's mantle transition zone. Analyses of the recovered samples revealed that, in the studied conditions, there are two stable iron-titanium oxyhydroxide phases whose estimated composition is expressed by (FeH)1-x, TixO2. One is the Fe-rich solid solution (x < 0.23) with ε-FeOOH type crystal structure (orthorhombic, P21nm), and the other is the more Ti-rich solid solution (x > 0.35) with α-PbO2 type structure (orthorhombic. Pbcn). The ε-FeOOH phase is stable up to -1100 °C irrespective of chemical composition, whereas the α-PbO2 type phase is stable up to 1500 °C for a composition of x = 0.5 and at least to 1600 °C for x = 0.75, and thus the α-PbO2 type phase is stable at average mantle temperature in the Earth's mantle transition zone. Iron-titanium-rich phases found previously in basalt + H2O System are estimated to be the ε-FeOOH and α-PbO2 type phases where the phase with iron-rich composition found at relatively low temperature (< 1100 °C) is ε-FeOOH phase and the phase with titanium-rich composition is α-PbO2 type phase. The α-PbO2 type and ε-FeOOH phases may be stable in the subducted basaltic crust at pressures in the mantle transition zone under water-rich conditions.


Native platelets perform several critical functions within the context of wound healing, including participating in initial hemostasis and interacting with fibrin at the wound site to induce clot retraction. Platelet depletion or dysfunction due to trauma or disease can inhibit robust wound healing responses. There has been a focus recently on developing synthetic, non-immunogenic platelet mimetic technologies for the purpose of augmenting hemostatic responses in cases of deficient native platelet functionality. Here we describe the application of synthetic platelet-like particles (PLPs), capable of recapitulating the deformable platelet body and fibrin specificity found in native platelets, to enhance healing outcomes. We first demonstrate PLPs mimic activated platelet morphology and induce fibrin clot retraction. During clot retraction, native platelets generate forces within a fibrin network to stiffen the fibrin matrix; therefore, we hypothesized that our PLPs will likewise be able to stiffen provisional fibrin matrices. Due to previous studies indicating that increased matrix stiffness is linked to increased cellular migration, we further hypothesize that PLP-mediated fibrin stiffening will enhance cell migration and improve healing outcomes within in vitro and in vivo models of wound healing. PLPs were found to enhance fibroblast migration in in vitro models of early wound healing and enhance healing outcomes in an in vivo murine model of wound healing. These studies demonstrate the utility of PLPs for enhancing wound repair and also provide insight into the role of native platelet-mediated clot retraction in wound healing.


The aim of this study was to explore female student athletes' participation in initiation activities, specifically to examine whether activities in the United Kingdom followed trends similar to those reported elsewhere. A sample of 8 female athletes representing both traditional and nontraditional team and individual sports (Mage = 20 yr 3 mo,SD = 1 yr 3 mo) who met inclusion criteria of having taken part in an initiation ceremony consented to participate in a semistructured interview. Thematic content analysis resulted in the emergence of 6 higher order themes represented by 2 general dimensions: the initiation event and initiation outcomes. Findings indicated that female student athletes' initiation activities encompassed discrete stages as they moved from team newcomers to accepted team members. Of particular concern is the direct and indirect role of alcohol in these events and the health and behavioral risks.


Research background: The threat from climate change remains a major concern especially for developing economies like Ghana. Hence, agricultural practices that are environmentally friendly and improves soil health are very necessary for building resilience. Purpose of the article: The present study investigated the determinants of conservation agricultural practices in northern Ghana as well as the effect of these practices on soil health for sustainable production. Methods: Using cross-sectional data collected by the International food policy research institute from 1284 households, a multivariate probit model was first performed to identify the determinants of conservation agricultural practices while the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment was employed to establish the effect of conservation agricultural practices on soil health. Findings & value added: Results from the multivariate probit model showed that socioeconomic and institutional factors as well as different household-specific factors, influence farmer's decisions to engage in various conservation agricultural practices. Crop rotation, fallowing, contour ploughing or pit planting and manure application were found to have a positive effect on soil health through improved resilience to soil erosion. The study concludes that conservation agricultural practices will be useful in Ghana's quest of achieving zero hunger since the conservation agricultural practices ensure that food is produced for the present generations without compromising the soil health for further productions. Hence, the current Ghanaian government's flagship programme dubbed 'planting for food and jobs' should include conservation agriculture as a priority module in its framework so that households could both increase their output while maintaining the quality of the soil.


An experimental program using hydrogen and oxygen as the propellants and supercritical liquid oxygen (LOX) a^ the Caotant was conducted at 4,14 and 8,174 MN/m • (b00 and 1200 psia) Chamber prk7sSUre. The ob,iective was to demonstrate and provide experimental data on the followingo (1) The effect of LOX leaking into the combustion region through small cracks in the chamber wall. (1) Verification of the supercritical oxygen heat transfer correlation developed from heated tube experiments. Four thrust chambers with throat diameters of 0.06b m (z.b in.) were tested. Thr^e of these were cyclically tested to 4.14 MM/m (b00 psia) chamber pressure until a crack developed. One had 13 additional hot cyc]PS arrumulated with no apparent metal burning or distress. The fourth chamber was operated at b.274 MM/m l (1[00 psia) pressure to obtain steady state heat transfer data. Wall temperature measurements confirmed the hoot transfer correlation.


ERNST FALZEDER AND EVA BRABANT WITH THE COLLABORATION OF PATRIZIA GIAMPIERI-DEUTSCH (EDS.): The Correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Sandor Ferenczi. Volume 2, pp. 1914-1919. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1996, 395 pp., $46.95, ISBN 0-674-17419-4. This sad, poignant, and gripping collection of the correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Sandor Ferenczi during World War I is as fascinating and revealing a publication as one can imagine. Freud is often criticized for having blundered badly into a boundary crossing, demanding that Ferenczi choose between the two women he "loved" (a mother and her daughter, both of whom were his analysands!) by marrying the mother, who was eight years older than Ferenczi. This occurred at the same time Ferenczi was putatively an analysand of Freud's, having experienced some short periods on the couch representing this "psychoanalysis" that Freud considered "finished, not terminated, but rather broken off because of unfavorable circumstances" (p. 153). The personalities of the two correspondents emerge dramatically in their letters. Ferenczi is mercurial, unstable, passionate and neurotic. He addresses Freud as "Dear Professor"; Freud in turn writes to him as "Dear Friend." Freud is solid, stable and somewhat gloomy, as well as consistent, mature, and dedicated. His intense internal struggle to maintain a certain analytic distance from Ferenczi is quite manifest, while at the same time his need for the friendship and his appreciation for Ferenczi's warmth and devotion to him is apparent. All this occurs against the background of being on the losing side in World War I, with the miseries and frustrations that obviously entailed. Freud at one point had three sons in uniform and was very much worried about each of them; Ferenczi's career was continually disrupted by calls to serve as a military physician, a disruption that made it almost impossible for him to dedicate himself to psychoanalysis. He was so determined to continue this dedication that he even attempted to analyze his commanding officer while they were both on horseback, the first instance, as he puts it, of "hippic" psychoanalysis (p. 50). Given the background of this terrible war it is easier to empathize with the struggles of both Freud and Ferenczi to maintain some kind of stability and to continue a very human relationship that was sometimes one of an analyst and patient and sometimes one of an older with a younger friend. Freud has been much criticized for this vacillation, but without it I am certain that both parties would have suffered greatly, and Ferenczi, the patient, most of all. Probably Freud's most glaring mistake was to write directly to Ferenczi's intended betrothed, conveying an offer of marriage at Ferenczi's request. In the outstanding introduction to this book by Axel Hoffer, it is suggested that Freud had, at least, an unconscious attraction to Ferenczi's betrothed himself, which might account for Freud's continual pressure on Ferenczi to marry her. This may or may not be so, but it does raise the issue of the status of Martha, Freud's wife. She is rarely referred to in this almost 400 page volume of correspondence, and when she is mentioned, it is in a rather disparaging manner by Freud, characterizing her as essentially a fuss-budget who has little tolerance of discomfort. For example, Freud writes, "I don't dare bring my wife to an unknown second- or third-rate Hungarian spa. …


Introduction: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of salivary gland lesion is being increasingly used. Major salivary glands and some minor salivary glands are optimal targets for fine-needle aspiration (FNA). In some instances the final histology of these lesions differs from the FNA result. Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in salivary gland lesions and identify the salivary gland FNA cases having discordant histological diagnosis so that most common diagnostic pitfalls can be avoided. Material and Methods: In Pathology department, PIMS, 61 salivary gland FNAC cases from Jan 2008 to Sep 2009 were retrospectively reviewed to identify the cytological characteristics that may have contributed to this discrepancy. Results: 31 were males and age ranges from 04-76 years (mean 38.84 ± 14). 25(43.1%) were diagnosed non-neoplastic, 31(55.1%) were rendered benign while 02 (3.44%) were malignant on cytology. Positive predictive value of FNAC was 100% and negative predictive value was 91.4%. 08 FNAC cases show discordant diagnosis in specific typing of the lesion. 6/8 cases were misdiagnosed as pleomorphic adenoma. The most common missed diagnosis was mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Conclusion: Pleomorphic adenoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma are common in occurrence and create problems in diagnosis. Experience cytopathologist should review all the cytology slides


Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is a combination of plant and animal decomposition byproducts and the optically active component of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in water. CDOM measurements have been a focus in the literature related to aqueous environments since the 1980s. Current CDOM analysis is conducted using spectrophotometers that are large, bulky, and expensive (most upwards of $50,000 USD). In this study, the accuracy of a more compact, less expensive (~ $5,500 USD) field spectrometer (StellarNet) was tested for accuracy against a traditional spectrophotometer (Photon Technologies International (PTI)). Thirty-six samples were collected from the Neponset River Salt Marsh in Boston, Massachusetts and analyzed on both instruments with the same set of standards for comparison. The correlation between measurements taken by the two instruments was strongly linear (R2 = 0.9278) and the two sets of data (StellarNet and PTI) were not statistically different (p-value > 0.05), indicating that the less expensive, smaller StellarNet spectrometer is reliable in addition to field appropriate. The StellarNet spectrometer requires additional analysis (compared to the PTI) to convert the output of the instrument (photons) to a concentration (QSU). Highly concentrated sample concentrations (3-fold dilutions required) were not as well-correlated between instruments (R2 = 0.5027). However, this dilution error can be attributed to the length of time (1 year) between sample analysis (i.e., freezing/thawing effects) and/or sampling errors between analysts on the different instruments.


OBJECTIVE
To test an interdisciplinary, multifaceted, translating research into practice (TRIP) intervention to (a) promote adoption, by physicians and nurses, of evidence-based (EB) acute pain management practices in hospitalized older adults, (b) decrease barriers to use of EB acute pain management practices, and (c) decrease pain intensity of older hospitalized adults.

STUDY DESIGN
Experimental design with the hospital as the unit of randomization.

STUDY SETTING
Twelve acute care hospitals in the Midwest.

DATA SOURCES
(a) Medical records (MRs) of patients > or =65 years or older with a hip fracture admitted before and following implementation of the TRIP intervention and (b) physicians and nurses who care for those patients.

DATA COLLECTION
Data were abstracted from MRs and questions distributed to nurses and physicians.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
The Summative Index for Quality of Acute Pain Care (0-18 scale) was significantly higher for the experimental (10.1) than comparison group (8.4) at the end of the TRIP implementation phase. At the end of the TRIP implementation phase, patients in the experimental group had a lower mean pain intensity rating than those in the comparison group ( p<.0001).

CONCLUSION
The TRIP intervention improved quality of acute pain management of older adults hospitalized with a hip fracture.


Influenced by Fanon's idea that the slave needs the master as much as the master needs the slave, this article uses sand play work to explore the unconscious draw for the other in relation to the majority. Offering an important insight into this difficult and contradictory relationship, this research argues that for difference to be fully understood we must make conscious and recognise this relationship for the other in order to free the other from their fear of their potential.


SUMMARY We discuss the subsurface structure of the Karadere‐Duzce branch of the North Anatolian Fault based on analysis of a large seismic data set recorded by a local PASSCAL network in the 6 months following the Mw = 7.4 1999 Izmit earthquake. Seismograms observed at stations located in the immediate vicinity of the rupture zone show motion amplification and long-period oscillations in both P- and S-wave trains that do not exist in nearby off-fault stations. Examination of thousands of waveforms reveals that these characteristics are commonly generated by events that are well outside the fault zone. The anomalous features in fault-zone seismograms produced by events not necessarily in the fault may be referred to generally as fault-zone-related site effects. The oscillatory shear wave trains after the direct S arrival in these seismograms are analysed as trapped waves propagating in a low-velocity fault-zone layer. The time difference between the S arrival and trapped waves group does not grow systematically with increasing source‐receiver separation along the fault. These observations imply that the trapping of seismic energy in the Karadere‐Duzce rupture zone is generated by a shallow fault-zone layer. Traveltime analysis and synthetic waveform modelling indicate that the depth of the trapping structure is approximately 3‐4 km. The synthetic waveform modelling indicates further that the shallow trapping structure has effective waveguide properties consisting of thickness of the order of 100 m, a velocity decrease relative to the surrounding rock of approximately 50 per cent and an S-wave quality factor of 10‐15. The results are supported by large 2-D and 3-D parameter space studies and are compatible with recent analyses of trapped waves in a number of other faults and rupture zones. The inferred shallow trapping structure is likely to be a common structural element of fault zones and may correspond to the top part of a flower-type structure. The motion amplification associated with fault-zone-related site effects increases the seismic shaking hazard near fault-zone structures. The effect may be significant since the volume of sources capable of generating motion amplification in shallow trapping structures is large.


The healthcare industry is growing at a rapid pace and undergoing some of its most significant changes as the use of electronic health records increase. Designed for technologists or medical practitioners seeking to gain entry into the field of healthcare information systems, INTRODUCTION TO HEALHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY teaches the fundamentals of healthcare IT (HIT) by using the CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician (HIT-001) exam objectives as the framework. It takes an in-depth and comprehensive view of HIT by examining healthcare regulatory requirements, the functions of a healthcare organization and its medical business operations in addition to IT hardware, software, networking, and security. INTRODUCTION TO HEALHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY is a valuable resource for those who want to learn about HIT and who desire to enter this growing field by providing the foundation that will help prepare for the CompTIA HIT certificate exam.


The physicochemical properties of the lipid bilayer shape the structure and topology of membrane proteins and regulate their biological function. Here, we investigated the functional effects of various lipid bilayer compositions on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) in the presence and absence of its endogenous regulator, phospholamban (PLN). In the cardiac muscle, SERCA hydrolyzes one ATP molecule to translocate two Ca(2+) ions into the SR membrane per enzymatic cycle. Unphosphorylated PLN reduces SERCA's affinity for Ca(2+) and affects the enzymatic turnover. We varied bilayer thickness, headgroup, and fluidity and found that both the maximal velocity (V(max)) of the enzyme and its apparent affinity for Ca(2+) (K(Ca)) are strongly affected. Our results show that (a) SERCA's V(max) has a biphasic dependence on bilayer thickness, reaching maximum activity with 22-carbon lipid chain length, (b) phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylserine (PS) increase Ca(2+) affinity, and (c) monounsaturated lipids afford higher SERCA V(max) and Ca(2+) affinity than diunsaturated lipids. The presence of PLN removes the activating effect of PE and shifts SERCA's activity profile, with a maximal activity reached in bilayers with 20-carbon lipid chain length. Our results in synthetic lipid systems compare well with those carried out in native SR lipids. Importantly, we found that specific membrane compositions closely reproduce PLN effects (V(max) and K(Ca)) found in living cells, reconciling an ongoing controversy regarding the regulatory role of PLN on SERCA function. Taken with the physiological changes occurring in the SR membrane composition, these studies underscore a possible allosteric role of the lipid bilayers on the SERCA/PLN complex.


Bulging process is suitable to produce cups with wide flange because of keeping the contour shape of blank sheet unchanged. On the other hand, it is difficult to form tall cups by conventional bulging because, at punch shoulder, thickness of metal sheet becomes much smaller than other portions and it results in a quick breakage there. When the way to decrease the thickness of a sheet metal during the process approaches more to the uniform one, it becomes possible to form cups with both of wide flange and large height. In this study, a new bulging process combined with ironing was proposed in order to form tall cups with wide flange. In this new method, as in the conventional hydraulic bulging method, hydraulic pressure was used to deform metal sheet uniformly. In this hydraulic bulging, compression around die hole by a metal ring assisted the hydraulic pressure to put material into the die-hole. In addition to that, a counter metal punch was used to prevent the material on the head of bulged portion from locally thinning. Furthermore, following ironing makes it possible to decrease thickness of sidewall. In order to clarify the effectiveness of this method, differences of the configuration and the thickness strain distribution between products formed by conventional and new methods were investigated. Finally, it was confirmed that this method make it possible to produce a cup four times as tall as conventional one.


Though she failed to become a handmaiden to Queen Anne, Mary Delany went on to become a figure at Court, eventually lodging at Windsor. This new edition of her correspondence during her years at Windsor presents previously unpublished letters as well as applying modern standards of editorial principles to her correspondence.
 The letters show the daily rituals of living at Court, document the first social steps of Fanny Burney and Mary Georgina Port, and supply new information on the family life of the royal family – including material on the assassination attempt against George III by Margaret Nicholson.


Tanzanian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face a number of hurdles that constrain their ability to increase their penetration into export markets. This finding emanates from analysing a sample of Tanzanian exporting SMEs from the World Bank's Enterprise Survey Data for 2013. The analysis shows that only a few among the sampled exporting SMEs had internationally recognized quality certificates, used technology licensed from a foreign-owned company, spent on research and development (RD and many were unable to enter export markets within three years of being established, that is, they are not born-global firms. The paper argues that the SMEs' ability to penetrate into export markets faces three main constraints, namely, access to finance, electricity outages and numerous taxes. Thus, to enhance the SMEs' ability to increase their penetration into export markets, policies should focus on easing the examined constraints. Firstly, there is a need to have policies for assisting exporting SMEs to access credit for expanding their activities and increasing productivity. Secondly, is to ensure that exporting SMEs get the required electricity through industrial parks that get preferential treatment in terms of general infrastructure. Lastly, the government should consider streamlining the taxes levied on these enterprises that hamper their operations. The implementation of these policies as a package would enable the SMEs to contribute more to generating export revenues and creating employment.


We live in complicated, dangerous times. They are also hyper-technical times. As citizens who will elect future presidents of the most powerful and influential country in the world, we need to know-truly understand, not just rely on television's talking heads-if Iran's nascent nuclear capability is a genuine threat to the West, if biochemical weapons are likely to be developed by terrorists, if there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government, if nuclear power should be encouraged, and if global warming is actually happening. This book is written in everyday, nontechnical language on the science behind the concerns that our nation faces in the immediate future. Even active readers of serious journalism will be surprised by the lessons that the book contains. It is "must-have" information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century.


This chapter discusses the epidemiological profile of candidemia and invasive candidiasis (IC) worldwide as well as risk factors for infection with selected species. The susceptibility of the various species of Candida to antifungal agents is also discussed in this chapter. Important new findings in U.S. survey include an apparent increase in fluconazole resistance among C. glabrata bloodstream infections (BSI) isolates from pediatric and adolescent patients (7% in the period from 1992 to 2001 and 27% in the period from 2001 to 2007) as well as a very low rate of fluconazole resistance (6.8%) among BSI isolates from older (greater than equal to 70 years) patients. The current international guidelines for the management of sepsis recommend (in addition to numerous supportive interventions) the initiation of empirical antimicrobial therapy within 1 h of presentation with severe sepsis. Among the 16 Candida species discussed in this chapter, C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, C. lusitaniae, C. dubliniensis, C. metapsilosis, and C. orthopsilosis remain reliably susceptible to fluconazole and voriconazole. IC is an important and persistent public health problem. The incidence and mortality rates associated with this infectious disease have remained unchanged for more than two decades despite major advances in the field of antifungal therapy. Knowledge of the local and regional epidemiology as to the prevalent species and their susceptibility to the available antifungal agents is now more important than ever.


This is a review article of Kristen Rundle, Forms Liberate. Reclaiming the Jurisprudence of Lon L Fuller, and Jutta Brunnee & Stephen John Toope, Legitimacy and Legality in International Law. An Interactional Account. It puts both books in perspective, in the context of a modest Fuller revival since 1994. Rundle successfully tries to reclaim Fuller from the distorted picture that arose in the wake of the Hart-Fuller debate. According to Rundle, Fuller's most important and still highly relevant message is that we should take the form of law seriously. There is a connection between the form of law and how law approaches human agency. Rundle relies extensively on unpublished materials from the Fuller archives. This was a fortunate choice, because in those materials Fuller was often franker and clearer than in the published materials. An interesting application of Fuller's work is found in the field of international law, which has always been the Achilles heel of legal positivism. Jutta Brunnee and Stephen Toope have elaborated and adapted the Fullerian framework so that it provides an adequate theory of international law. In my view, they have provided a highly convincing account of the emergence of international law. Both books share a certain bias. First, the implicit focus on legislation leads to the neglect of other forms of law, such as contract. Second, Rundle's focus on the conversations with Hart and others, and Brunnee and Toope's focus on The Morality of Law, results in the neglect of those publications in which Fuller tried to transcend philosophical debates and present the field of jurisprudence in a relatively impartial way. For example, in Anatomy of the Law, Fuller tries seriously to do justice to the core of truth in both legal positivism and natural law thinking, to made law and to implicit law. I argue that once we accept that law is a gradual and pluralist concept, Fuller's work may be seen to provide a rich source of inspiration. Perhaps his work is even more relevant and productive for the legal research agenda of the 21st century than it was in the last century.


This thesis explores the concept of using sensors found in normal vehicles, also known as probe vehicles, to collect road infrastructure data. This concept was demonstrated by measuring vertical acceleration using in-vehicle sensors in order to describe road ride quality. Data collection was performed at the Virginia Smart Road using two instrumented vehicles. The gathered information was compared to road profile data collection, which is the current state-of-the-practice in ride quality assessment. Following the concept validation, the acceleration measurements were further analyzed for repeatability and effect of various independent variables (vehicle speed and type). A network-level simulation was completed using the robust set of measurements from the experiment. In addition, methodology for identifying rough sections and locations were established. Results show that under controlled testing conditions, roadway profile can accurately be estimated using probe vehicle acceleration data and may provide a more practical way to measure road smoothness. The analysis also showed that vertical acceleration data from a fleet of probe vehicles can successfully identify poorly-conditioned pavement areas. This suggests that instrumented probe vehicles might be a viable and effective way of implementing a network level roadway health monitoring program in the near future.


ABSTRACT Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease which caused around 1.5 million deaths in 2012. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for 90% of DM worldwide. The prevalence of T2DM is increasing due to obesity. Clinical guidelines recommend the use of metformin as the first-line treatment, followed by the addition of 1 or 2 oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs), such as sulphonylurea (SU), an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, or thiazolidinediones (TZDs). Recently, newer agents such as dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors have been added to those treatment algorithms. The DPP-4 inhibitor is a class of OAD that inhibits the DPP-4 enzyme. Sitagliptin, saxagliptin, vildagliptin and linagliptin are DPP-4 inhibitors available for the treatment of T2DM in Indonesia and many other countries. The DPP-4 inhibitors have similar glycemic efficacy. However, they produce a moderate improvement in glycated hemoglobin (A1C). There are limited numbers of head-to-head trials of DPP-4 inhibitors. In addition, there are no data on the long-term DPP-4 inhibitors use safety (more than two years), mortality, diabetic complications, or health-related quality of life. Although DPP-inhibitors are not used as initial treatment for a majority of patients with T2DM, DPP-4 inhibitors can be used as add-on therapy in T2DM patients who are intolerant to, have contraindications for, or uncontrolled with the use of metformin, SU, or TZDs. The exact role of DPP-4 inhibitors among several other agents to manage T2DM is not clear. There are only a small number of long-term studies on DPP-4 inhibitors assessing the glycemic decrease efficacy, important clinical outcomes (cardiovascular events, mortality), or safety. In patients with chronic renal failure considered to use DPP-4 inhibitors, linagliptin can be recommended. There are inadequate data to assess the effect of DPP-4 inhibitors on the occurrence of acute pancreatitis. Overall, DPP-4 inhibitors are well-tolerated.


A novel nonvolatile nanoelectromechanical (NEM) memory (nRAM) is introduced. Differently than the previously proposed NEM memories, the nRAM achieves the nonvolatility via workfunction engineering and eliminates the need for cell selection devices in a crossbar array using a displacement current-based read scheme. Furthermore, the configuration of the nRAM is such that the elastic potential energy due to the beam bending is reversibly used for switching, which enables to combine ultralow operation voltages with high switching speed. For F = 20 nm feature size and optimized margins, the nRAM cell is estimated to operate at plusmn180 mV, dissipate 10 aJ switching energy, and achieve < 10 ns switching delay.


This study examines the characteristics of the venture capital industry in Australia. Our analysis is based on responses by thirty-two venture capitalist firms to a comprehensive questionnaire conducted in 2001. We observe that, on average, a venture capital firm has been operating for five years and consists of six investment executives with two specialist investment executives. Each firm has, on average, two formal layers in its investment decision-making process indicating two checkpoints to control risk. With respect to investment appraisal issues, it was noticed that the valuation methods based on discounted cash flows, recent transaction prices for acquisitions in the sector and capitalized maintainable earning (EBIT multiple), are the most important valuation techniques. It was further found that the resolution of information asymmetries through the overall coherence of the business plan and the venture capitalist's own due diligence report were important across the industry when preparing a valuation. Venture capital firms sought to meet a standard benchmark rate of return on equity, on average, the target rate of return was 29% p.a. after tax. Several factors that would lead to vary targeted rates of returns were investigated as well.


[Excerpt] The social context of this four-decade decline challenges a central assumption of the cyclical theory. More than a third of the decline occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, decades of broad economic growth and, for the 1960s, of liberal Democratic ascendancy. Labor lost another 15 percent during the stagflation of the 1970s, despite the Democratic return to power in the wake of a discredited Republican administration. By the 1980s, when a structurally weakened labor movement faced Ronald Reagan, plant closings and demands for concessions accelerated the decline. Organized labor's absolute and proportional decline over decades in which the labor force itself grew; dramatically suggests that the hoped-for resurgence does not lie in awaiting a liberal-populist |reprise of the 1930s or "waiting for Lefty." Reagan created obstacles, but he possessed no supernatural powers. Rather, as Daniel Bell argued in 1959 in his prescient book The End of Ideology, when labor had then organized about 30 percent of the work force: "But in organizing this 30 percent, they have reached a saturation mark: they have organized as much of their potential as they can."


Molecular signatures of tumors with prognostic and predictive value are now available. However, several technical problems prevent the performing of gene expression profiles in routine diagnostics. The highly sensitive fluorescence-based real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction procedure is able to analyze mRNA levels from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, the most commonly available source of tumor samples with well-documented information. However, the time-dependent fragmentation and small amount of RNA extracted from FFPE requires a preliminary mRNA amplification step to amplify small amounts of mRNA without significantly distorting relative mRNA levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the performance of a commercial cDNA preamplification kit (TaqMan PreAmp Master Mix Kit) on RNA samples obtained from FFPE tissues, prepared, and archived for routine diagnosis. We tested the reliability and reproducibility of this procedure for performing low-density gene expression assay from FFPE tissue samples. The whole procedure reported herein is a powerful and reproducible approach for routine clinical purposes that can be performed even using poorer RNA quality samples and that allows the analysis of gene expression for 96 genes in stored samples.


Objective: Several classes of prescription drugs contribute to the sexual dysfunction in men that have been found especially in the antipsychotic drugs. Varieties of mechanisms are likely to contribute to the antipsychotic-related sexual dysfunction including hyperprolactinemia and antagonism of some neurotransmitter receptors. Implications for future research, atypical antipsychotics should be strongly taken into account. Material and Method: Male mice were treated by intraperitoneal injection (IP injection) of drugs for 21 days. The effects of saline, quetiapine, olanzapine, and risperidone were investigated on serotonin, noradrenaline (NA), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and potassium chloride (KCl) which induced contractions of the vas deferens. Results: Serotonin-induced contractile responses were significantly increased in the epididymal and prostatic portion of the vas deferens obtained from the risperidone-treated group. The Emax value for serotonin was significantly higher in prostatic and epididymal portions of the mice vas deferens obtained from the risperidone-treated group than the control group. However, olanzapine and quetiapine treatment had no effect on serotonin responses in both epididymal and prostatic portions of the mice vas deferens. The risperidone treatment significantly inhibited both noradrenaline and ATP-induced contractions of the prostatic and epididymal portions of the mice vas deferens. There were no significant differences in KCl-induced contractile responses among the groups. Conclusion: It can be concluded that only risperidone could impair sexual competence in the male mice. Serotonergic, noradrenergic and purinergic receptors may contribute to the changes in vas deferens contractions in mice with chronic treatment of risperidone but not olanzapine and quetiapine. This study will help clinicians make a purpose-oriented choice of which antipsychotic drug to use.


Observations of cold molecular gas reservoirs are critical for understanding the shutdown of star formation in massive galaxies. While dust continuum is an efficient and affordable tracer, this method relies upon the assumption of a "normal" molecular-gas to dust mass ratio, δ GDR, typically of order 100. Recent null detections of quiescent galaxies in deep dust continuum observations support a picture where the cold gas and dust have been rapidly depleted or expelled. In this work, we present another viable explanation: a significant fraction of galaxies with low star formation per unit stellar mass are predicted to have extreme δ GDR ratios. We show that simulated massive quiescent galaxies at 0 < z < 3 in the simba cosmological simulations have δ GDR values that extend >4 orders of magnitude. The dust in most simulated quiescent galaxies is destroyed significantly more rapidly than the molecular gas depletes, and cannot be replenished. The transition from star-forming to quiescent halts dust formation via star formation processes, with dust subsequently destroyed by supernova shocks and thermal sputtering of dust grains embedded in hot plasma. After this point, the dust growth rate in the models is not sufficient to overcome the loss of >3 orders of magnitude in dust mass to return to normal values of δ GDR despite having high metallicity. Our results indicate that it is not straight forward to use a single observational indicator to robustly preselect exotic versus normal ratios. These simulations make strong predictions that can be tested with millimeter facilities.


0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF) perovskite oxide is considered as a promising candidate
for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) cathode material, due to
its excellent mixed ionic and electronic conductivity, high oxygen reduction activity
and high stability. Recent research shows that with catalytic metals coated on the
surface, the surface exchange performance of LSCF can be further enhanced[1], while
the mechanism needs to be further investigated.
In this study, dense perovskite La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ membranes were fabricated using
commercial powders. The prepared membranes were polished and thermo-treated to
achieve a smooth surface. Platinum and silver nanoparticles were homogenously
deposited on the membrane surface by sputtering to modify the membrane surface. The
influence of metal deposition on the surface oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was
investigated. The kinetic parameters of oxygen transport, the oxygen diffusion
coefficient (Dchem) and the surface exchange coefficient (kchem) were characterized by
electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR). The ECR measurements were conducted in
the range of 600 °C to 900 °C with an oxygen partial pressure (PO2) step change from
0.215 atm to 0.464 atm and vice versa. The results reveal that the oxygen diffusion in
LSCF is independent to the platinum deposition but greatly affected by the silver
deposition. For bare LSCF, the surface exchange coefficient is of a factor of 10 higher
than the literature values at 800 °C, and is not further promoted by either of these
catalytic particles.


While the impacts of climate change are being felt by people and communities now, many of the most severe impacts will be felt in the decades to come. This presents significant barriers to achieving long-term development objectives – particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with low capacity to adapt to the future impacts of climate change. Factoring medium- to long-term climate information into investments and planning decisions is therefore an important component of climate-resilient development.We know little about how climate information is used in Africa to make decisions with long-term consequences, or how effective it is. We know even less about the barriers to – and opportunities for – using climate information in decision-making. How, then, should governments, businesses and donors strive for climate information to achieve Africa's long-term development objectives?The Future Climate For Africa (FCFA) programme explores these questions and seeks to challenge many of the assumptions that underlie them. To guide the programme, six case studies investigated how climate information was being used in decisionmaking in sub-Saharan Africa. These comprised four country case studies: Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and a combined study of Accra, Ghana and Maputo, Mozambique; and two desk-based studies focused on long-lived infrastructure in the ports sector and the large hydropower sector. This report presents the results of the scoping phase.


Genes hold opportunities for us to look backward and forward in family health and disease incidence. Our beliefs about genes' roles in health form around frameworks relating to personal control, and the influence of social networks and/or religious faith on genetic expression in health. These genetic relativistic frameworks were found to predict levels of illness uncertainty among 541 diagnosed adults and family members affected by neurofibromatosis, Down syndrome, and Marfan syndrome. Participants were recruited and surveyed about their expectations and preferences for communicating about their respective disorder, with illness uncertainty found to predict the desire to communicate about the condition and to manage related uncertainty. The desire to manage uncertainty in ways that foster control and hope partially mediated the relationship between illness uncertainty and communication preferences. Negative feelings about the condition, which were stronger for affected participants than for family members, related to illness uncertainty, the desire to manage uncertainty, and communication preferences, mediating the relationship between illness uncertainty and uncertainty management. Findings contribute to research in illness uncertainty management and have pragmatic implications for the design of counseling and educational materials associated with the genetic conditions considered in this research.


In this work we address the problem of fast and fair transmission of ows in a router, which is a fundamental issue in networks like the Internet. We model the interaction between a TCP source and a bottleneck queue with the objective of designing optimal packet admission controls in the bottleneck queue. We focus on the relaxed version of the problem obtained by relaxing the fixed buffer capacity constraint that must be satisfied at all time epoch. The relaxation allows us to reduce the multi-ow problem into a family of single-ow problems, for which we can analyze both theoretically and numerically the existence of optimal control policies of special structure. In particular, we show that for a variety of parameters, TCP ows can be optimally controlled in routers by so-called index policies. We have implemented index policies in Network Simulator-3 (NS-3) and compared its performance with DropTail and RED buffers. The simulation results show that the index policy has several desirable properties with respect to fairness and efficiency.


The private equity market has become an important source of funds for start-up firms, private middle-market firms, firms in financial distress, and public firms seeking buyout financing. Between 1980 and 1994, the amount of private equity outstanding rose from less than $5 billion to $100 billion. Despite the market's extraordinary growth and its importance to many types of firms, it has received little attention in the financial press or the academic literature. ; This study examines the economic foundations of the private equity market and discusses in detail the market's organizational structure. Drawing on publicly available data and extensive fieldwork, it describes the major issuers, intermediaries, investors, and agents in the market and their interactions with each other. It examines the reasons for the market's explosive growth over the past fifteen years and highlights the main characteristics of that growth. Finally, the study provides data on returns to private equity investors and analyzes the major secular and cyclical influences on returns. ; The study emphasizes two major themes. One is that the growth of private equity is a classic example of the way organizational innovation, aided by regulatory and tax changes, can ignite activity in a particular market. In this case, the innovation was the widespread adoption of the limited partnership. Until the late 1970s, private equity investments were undertaken mainly by wealthy families, industrial corporations, and financial institutions that invested directly in issuing firms. Much of the investment since 1980, by contrast, has been undertaken by professional private equity managers on behalf of institutional investors. The vehicle for organizing this activity is the limited partnership, with the institutional investors serving as limited partners and investment managers as general partners. ; The emergence of the limited partnership as the dominant form of intermediary is a result of the extreme information asymmetries and potential incentive problems that arise in the private equity market. The specific advantages of limited partnerships are rooted in the ways in which they address these problems. The general partners specialize in finding, structuring, and managing equity investments in closely held private companies. Because they are among the largest and most active shareholders, partnerships have significant means of exercising both formal and informal control, and thus they are able to direct companies to serve the interests of their shareholders. At the same time, partnerships use organizational and contractual mechanisms to align the interests of the general and limited partners. ; The second theme of the study is that the growth of the private equity market has expanded access to outside equity capital for both classic start-up companies and established private companies. Some observers have characterized the growth of non-venture private equity as a shift away from traditional venture capital. They attribute the shift of investment funds to several factors, including the presence of large institutional investors that do not want to invest in small funds or small deals, a change in the culture of private equity firms, and a decline in venture opportunities. Although these factors may have played a role, the argument that non-venture private equity has driven out venture capital seems insupportable, as both types of investment have grown rapidly. We argue that the increase in non-venture private equity investment has been due principally to an abundance of profitable investment opportunities. Moreover, the available data on returns on private equity investments indicate that during the 1980s, non-venture investing generated higher returns than did venture investing, suggesting that private equity capital has flowed to its most productive uses.


Background: Allergic autoimmune reaction causing Myopericarditis post vaccine is extremely rare. The patient had received meningococcal vaccine (Groups A, C, W-135 and Y conjugate vaccine oligosaccharides) 5 days prior to the onset of symptoms.

Case summary: We report a case of previously healthy young patient who received Meningococcal vaccine (Meningococcal Groups A, C, W-135 and Y conjugate vaccine), and diagnosed as acute reactive Pericarditis 5 days after vaccination. Treated with Acetylsalicylic acid and colchicine followed by resolution of the cardiac inflammation and subsequent complete recovery. Reviewing the literature, we did not find a similar report.

Conclusion: This case highlights that rare complication, reactive pericarditis, could happen after Meningococcal vaccine like after post Meningococcal infection.


We consider the competition among quantity setting players in a linear evolutionary environment. To set their outputs, players adopt, alternatively, the best response rule having perfect foresight or an imitative rule. Players are allowed to change their behavior through an evolutionary mechanism according to which the rule with better performance will attract more followers. The relevant stationary state of the model describes a scenario where players produce at the Cournot-Nash level. Due to the presence of imitative behavior, we find that the number of players and implementation costs, needed to the best response exploitation, have an ambiguous role in determining the stability properties of the equilibrium and double stability thresholds can be observed. Differently, the role of the intensity of choice, representing the evolutionary propensity to switch to the most profitable rule, has a destabilizing role, in line with the common occurrence in evolutionary models. The global analysis of the model reveals that increasing values of the intensity of choice parameter determine increasing dynamic complexities for the internal attractor representing a population where both decision mechanisms coexist.<br>


With increasing global population and income, the
demand for livestock products continues to grow and is likely to grow in future
as well. This raises concerns about the implications of such growth for the
environment. A well-known Computable General Equilibrium model (CGE), GTAP-
BIO, is used to project the growth of livestock output between 2004 and 2022
and to estimate the land use changes and associated Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
emissions. Results indicate that the increased livestock output leads to
considerable increase in pasture (about 45 million hectares) and decrease in
forest area (about 44 million hectares) between 2004 and 2022. Estimated
emissions associated with this change are about 20 billion tons of carbon
dioxide equivalent (CO2 e) during 2004-2022 or an annual average of 1.1 billion
tons. Results also indicate that a significant portion of the emissions (about
11%) can be reduced if consumer preferences could be altered. In practice, this
will require policy interventions that promote substitution of non-ruminant for
ruminant meat products.