The statutory amalgamation or merger, encompassed in ss 113, 115 and 116 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (hereafter 'the Act'), is fundamentally flawed in the context of triangular mergers. This is because, while s 113(2) of the Act seemingly permits the use of the triangular merger structures to achieve an amalgamation or a merger of two or more corporate entities, s 115(4) effectively inhibits an acquiring party, a person related to an acquiring party, or a person acting in concert with either of them from (i) forming part of the quorum at a shareholders' meeting called to vote on the proposed amalgamation or merger; and (ii) casting a vote on the proposed amalgamation or merger.
This article sets out and studies the abovementioned legislative discrepancy. This is done by first providing an overview of the relevant legislative provisions. Thereafter, so as to illustrate the ramifications of the said inconsistency, two hypothetical scenarios are provided and deliberated on in detail.


Malaria was a significant problem in the southern United States during the early decades of the twentieth century. Part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal focused on economic development of the South, with improvement of public health in that region as an integral part. This Article is a case study of increased federal public health efforts during the New Deal and World War II eras, which replaced some traditionally state and local areas of control. Efforts to "federalize" the mosquito encountered significant limitations, and never accomplished primary federal responsibility for the eradication of malaria. One federal agency in particular - the Office of Malaria Control in War Areas - institutionalized the federal response to malaria in the South during World War II. This assertion of wartime jurisdiction maintained only nominally the primacy of state authority. The New Deal administrative state saw structural experimentation and innovation at a grand level; this Article's study of federal efforts to combat malaria in the southern United States provides a good example. In one decade, federal efforts ranged from Works Progress Administration employment, experiments with scientific expertise within the Tennessee Valley Authority, federal intervention in civilian areas as a war strength rationale, and malaria control by federal appropriation. The most significant step resulted from reorganization of the New Deal administrative state under the Federal Security Agency, an independent agency of the U.S. government established pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939.From a federalization perspective, a critical point is that the federal government initiated a malaria eradication effort with broad jurisdiction that helped reshape public perception of the federal government's responsibilities. It did so under a "national security" mandate that blurred the distinction between domestic and international security, with an effect on the federal government's regulatory power. But the federal government then withdrew from this wartime assertion of jurisdiction, leaving public health federalism largely unchanged.


The circulatory system, consisting of the heart, blood, blood vessels and lymphatic vessels is one of the major organ systems required for maintaining homeostasis in humans. Its main functions are the transport of nutrients, gases, signaling molecules and cells to and from tissues to maintain an array of body parameters including tissue oxygen levels, temperature and pH, and to help fight diseases. During recent years, the zebrafish has emerged as an important and instructive model organism for studying development of the vertebrate circulatory system. In this thesis we use the unique possibility to combine genetics with in vivo imaging in the zebrafish to get insights into several aspects of the development of the circulatory system. We have generated a transgenic zebrafish line based on regulatory elements of the zebrafish VEGF receptor flt1 (flt1enh:rfp). This line allows the identification of arterial, venous and lymphatic endothelial cells in embryonic and adult zebrafish. Interestingly, a fourth vessel type is identified in adults (lymph-arteries) with distinct flt1enh:rfp expression levels. Lymph-arteries represent the afferent component of the lymphatic vasculature in lower vertebrates. We further analyse several mutant zebrafish lines identified from forward genetic screens. One of these mutants display dilation of blood vessels throughout the embryo. We show that the phenotype is due to a mutation in cavernous cerebral malformation 1 (ccm1). This gene is associated with a human syndrome, which presents as a cerebral hemorrhage and dilated-vessel phenotype at multiple sites throughout the body. We show that the ccm1 gene acts cell-autonomously in endothelial cells and is not associated with defects in arteriovenous differentiation. The secand mutants we have analysed have a defect in arterial differentiation and hematopoiesis. The mutant phenotype is due to a mutation in T-cell acute leukemia 1 (tal1). Over- or misexpression of tal1 is a frequent cause of leukemia in humans. We show that tal1 has an additional role during heart development. Development of the inner lining of the heart (the endocardium) is severely perturbed, and is associated with defects in cardiac morphogenesis. Finally, we report the identification and characterization a mutants lack lymphatic vessels and have a defect in venous angiogenic sprouting. We show that the phenotype is due to a mutation in collagen and calcium-binding EGF domain containing protein 1(ccbe1). This gene has no previous described role in (lymph) vascular development, and presents a novel candidate gene for human syndromes associated with defects in lymphangiogenesis. Since many of the genes essential for embryonic vascular development are required for the activation of blood and lymphatic vessel growth in adult pathology, identifying these genes involved in vascular development, or understand the interactions between known genes will allow the development of new drugs that target these genes in order to inhibit or promote vessel formation


Trading strategies that were profitable in the past often degrade with time. Since unlucky streaks can also hit "healthy" strategies, how can one detect that something truly worrying is happening? It is intuitive that a drawdown that lasts too long or one that is too deep should lead to a downward revision of the assumed Sharpe ratio of the strategy. In this note, we give a quantitative answer to this question based on the exact probability distributions for the length and depth of the last drawdown for upward drifting Brownian motions. We also point out that both managers and investors tend to underestimate the length and depth of drawdowns consistent with the Sharpe ratio of the underlying strategy.


The area of the purchase intention and purchase behaviour gap for consumers buying environmentally sustainable products with respect to the Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework has been studied extensively in past literature. But literature is scant when one studies the impact of 'Actual behavioural control' on the Purchase intention (PI) and purchase behaviour (PB) gap for the consumption of environmentally sustainable clothing. The TPB theory formulated by Ajzen in 1991 assumes that the actual behavioural control (ABC) will impact the purchase intention in the TPB. As there was no validated scale on the ABC in the past literature. Sheeran et al in 2003 made an attempt in testing the impact of Actual behavioural control on the purchase intention and formulate scale of Proxy measure of actual control (PMAC) in their study. Further Carrington et al. in 2010 tested the impact of the Actual behavioural control as a moderator in the purchase intention-behaviour gap qualitatively. The Empirical testing of the ABC to test the impact as a moderator in the Purchase intention-behaviour gap has never been done in the past studies. This study is the first study which analyses the impact of "Actual behavioural control" through a scale of "Proxy measure of actual behaviour" as a moderator in the PI-PB gap in the framework of the TPB for the consumption of sustainable clothing in India. Data collection has been done from Millennials of India. The research method of Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been used to assess the moderation impact of ABC on the purchase intention-behaviour gap. The findings of the study have shown that the PMAC positively moderates the relation of purchase intention and purchase behaviour for environmentally sustainable clothing. The outcome of the study is important to generate some crucial insights for the marketing strategies for the environmentally sustainable brands in Indian and to predict the behaviour of the Indian consumer towards such products.


Thin‐film solar cell based on hybrid perovskites shows excellent light‐to‐power conversion efficiencies exceeding 22%. However, the mixed ionic‐electronic semiconductor hybrid perovskite exhibits many unusual properties such as slow photocurrent instabilities, hysteresis behavior, and low‐frequency giant capacitance, which still question us so far. This study presents a direct surface functionalization of transparent conductive oxide electrode with an ultrathin ≈2 nm thick phosphonic acid based mixed C60/organic self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) that significantly reduces hysteresis. Moreover, due to the strong phosphonates bonds with indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates, the SAM/ITO substrates also exhibit an excellent recyclability merit from the perspective of cost effectiveness. Impedance studies find the fingerprint of an ion‐based diffusion process in the millisecond to second regime for TiO2‐based devices, which, however, is not observed for SAM‐based devices at these low frequencies. It is experimentally demonstrated that ion migration can be considerably suppressed by carefully engineering SAM interfaces, which allows effectively suppressing hysteresis and unstable diode behavior in the frequency regime between ≈1 and 100 Hz. It is suggested that a reduced density of ionic defects in combination with the absence of charge carrier accumulation at the interface is the main physical origin for the reduced hysteresis.


PURPOSE
To examine the histologic and ultrastructural features of human corneas after successful laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).

METHODS
Corneas from 48 eyes of 25 postmortem patients were processed for histology and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The 25 patients had LASIK between 3 months and 7 years prior to death. Evaluation of all 5 layers of the cornea and the LASIK flap interface region was done using routine histology, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-stained specimens, toluidine blue-stained thick sections, and TEM.

RESULTS
In patients for whom visual acuity was known, the first postoperative day uncorrected visual acuity was 20/15 to 20/30. In patients for whom clinical records were available, the postoperative corneal topography was normal and clinical examination showed a semicircular ring of haze at the wound margin of the LASIK flap. Histologically, the LASIK flap measured, on average, 142.7 microm (range, 100-200). A spectrum of abnormal histopathologic and ultrastructural findings was present in all corneas. Findings at the flap surface included elongated basal epithelial cells, epithelial hyperplasia, thickening and undulations of the epithelial basement membrane (EBM), and undulations of Bowman's layer. Findings in or adjacent to the wound included collagen lamellar disarray; activated keratocytes; quiescent keratocytes with small vacuoles; epithelial ingrowth; eosinophilic deposits; PAS-positive, electron-dense granular material interspersed with randomly ordered collagen fibrils; increased spacing between collagen fibrils; and widely spaced banded collagen. There was no observable correlation between postoperative intervals and the severity or type of pathologic change except for the accumulation the electron-dense granular material.

CONCLUSIONS
Permanent pathologic changes were present in all post-LASIK corneas. These changes were most prevalent in the lamellar interface wound. These changes along with other pathologic alterations in post-LASIK corneas may change the functionality of the cornea after LASIK.


The aroma of fresh and aged lemon-flavored hard tea was investigated by aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA), quantitative comparison, and two-dimensional chirality analysis. Aroma extract dilution analysis of fresh hard tea samples showed 3-methylbutanal, isoamyl alcohol, β-damascenone, β-ionone, 2-phenylethanol, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, and vanillin could be the most important aroma contributors to the hard tea due to their high FD values. The analysis of the aged hard tea samples did not reveal new compound formation during storage; however, compared with fresh samples, the flavor dilution value changed substantially in the aged samples. Both AEDA and quantitative analysis demonstrated that β-damascenone increased substantially in aged samples, whereas terpene aldehydes decreased substantially after storage. In addition, the FD value of linalool decreased dramatically in aged samples. Two-dimensional GC-MS chirality analysis revealed the FD value decrease of linalool in aged samples was largely due to the transformation of (R)-linalool to (S)-linalool, which has a higher sensory threshold.


The use of thrombolytic agents to treat peripheral arterial occlusions is a new method. There have been clinical trials with Streptokinase, Urokinase and rt-PA (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator). Despite its advantages, information about complications caused by the use of rt-PA and about its place in treatment is still not complete. And there are not enough studies that are made to form a safe protocol for the use of rt-PA in the treatment of acute peripheral arterial occlusions. The aim of this study was to establish a dose range for rt-PA and to follow the patients with a protocol during and after thrombolysis. Between May 1999 to January 2000, 14 patients with symptoms of pain, poikilothermia, cyanosis and loss of function came to Istanbul Medical Faculty Emergency Surgery Unit. Bolus injection of 5 mgr of rt-PA was followed by 15 minutes of interval. The extent of thrombolysis was checked by angiography and then bolus injection of 5 mgr of rt-PA was repeated. After angiographic control, patients having insufficient thrombolysis, received 0.05 mgr/kg/hour of infusion for 12 hours. At the end of 12 hours, thrombolytic treatment ended with a control angiography. A thromboembolectomy operation was made to patients still having an occlusion after thrombolysis. On the other hand, to avoid re-occlusions, all of the patients received 1.5 mgr/kg/day low molecular weight heparin (enoxyparine).


There is one central fact about the economic history of the twentieth century: above all, the century just past has been the century of increasing material wealth and economic productivity. No previous era and no previous economy has seen material wealth and productive potential grow at such a pace. The bulk of America's population today achieves standards of material comfort and capabilities that were beyond the reach of even the richest of previous centuries. Even lower middle-class households in relatively poor countries have today material standards of living that would make them, in many respects, the envy of the powerful and lordly of past centuries.


In many cooperative tasks between a human and a robotic assistant, the human guides the robot by exerting forces, either through direct physical interaction or indirectly via a jointly manipulated object. These physical forces perturb the robot's behavior execution and need to be compensated for in order to successfully complete such tasks. Typically, this problem is tackled by means of special purpose force sensors which are, however, not available on many robotic platforms. In contrast, we propose a machine learning approach based on sensor data, such as accelerometer and pressure sensor information. In the training phase, a statistical model of behavior execution is learned that combines Gaussian Process Regression with a novel periodic kernel. During behavior execution, predictions from the statistical model are continuously compared with stability parameters derived from current sensor readings. Differences between predicted and measured values exceeding the variance of the statistical model are interpreted as guidance information and used to adapt the robot's behavior. Several examples of cooperative tasks between a human and a humanoid NAO robot demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.


We report the thermodynamic potential for single-domain (110) thin films epitaxially grown on dissimilar cubic substrates. Using different sets of paraelectric phase elastic compliance coefficients of PbTiO3 single crystal, calculated from the experimental room-temperature values, we predict rotational phases similar to those observed in (001) thin films under anisotropic biaxial misfit strain. The new sets of elastic compliance coefficients also predict a triclinic phase that could potentially lead to the enhancement of both dielectric and piezoelectric properties. We also conducted experimental studies on highly tetragonal monocrystalline PbZr0.05Ti0.95O3 thin films of different thicknesses, epitaxially grown on (110) SrTiO3 substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique. Piezoresponse force microscopy measurements showed that the as-grown films were single domain with the a(2)c phase, which corroborates with the prediction of the theory. Moreover, the T-c values of both thin and thick films (17-90 nm) also fell within the predicted range (540-600 degrees C). The measured remanet polarization of 57 mu C/cm(2) was in good agreement with the theoretical values of 55-58 mu C/cm(2). Small-signal piezoelectric response measurements gave a piezoelectric coefficient of 40 pm/V, which is also in good agreement with the numerically calculated values of 38-42 pm/V.


Ringing recoveries of European Kestrels from north-western Europe have shown that a very low proportion of this population is migratory, and that even large-distance movements can be attributed mainly to dispersal movements of young birds. Several studies have shown the importance of food availability on dispersal rates in raptors, including the European Kestrel. Based on recovery data, we show here that dispersal rate, as well as dispersal distance, of nestling Belgian kestrels varied strongly between cohorts born in different years. Both were negatively correlated with measures of the quality of the year in terms of food, as indicated by the number of fiedglings per nest and the energy content of the natural seed crop (acorns plus beechnuts) in deciduous woodland in the preceding winter. In good years dispersal activity was lower than· in bad years. Dispersal activity also showed a negative trend over the whole study period (1967-1989).


Detection of some important amino group-containing compounds such as amino acids, aliphatic biogenic amines and aminoglycosides can present difficulties since these compounds do not possess strong fluorophores or chromophores. A novel indirect fluorescence detection method for these compounds has been developed, taking advantage of the fact they form complexes with Cu 2+ ions. The reaction between these compounds and a Cu(II)-L-tryptophan complex (Cu(L-Trp)2) in solution results in the displacement of L-Trp from the complex and an increase in L-Trp fluorescence, since the fluorescence of L-Trp is quenched in the Cu(II) complex. The increase in L-Trp fluorescence is taken as the measure of the presence of these amino group-containing compounds. This detection scheme has been interfaced to a HPLC system, by adding a buffered Cu(L-Trp)2 solution to the column effluent via a postcolumn mixing tee. The detection system was optimized both theoretically and experimentally, taking into consideration that relevant equilibria existing in the solution that may affect the detection. The pH was found to be the most important detection parameter, affecting detection in several ways, including: (1) Cu(II)-L-Trp complexation, (2) Free L-TrP fluorescence efficiency; and (3) Cu(II)-analyte complexation. Chromatographic experiments were performed to determine the pH which provides the optimum S/N level. Other factors, such as the postcolumn reagent flow rate, and the effect of organic solvent modifier, were also studied. This approach provides several advantages compared to other methods used to detect these analytes. Detection limits are reasonably good, generally on the order of low pmol injected. Linearity ranges to nmol injected. Our experience also indicates that small postcolumn mixing volumes which introduce minimal postcolumn bandbroadening can be used. Simplicity and robustness are among the other advantages of this approach to analyte detection.


Development of novel drug delivery systems has become a major research endeavour in the pharmaceutical industry. Drug administration via the traditional oral route (GIT) presents certain challenges including enzymatic and acid break down of labile drugs and first pass metabolism in the liver.

The research reported in this thesis involved the development of solvent cast films and freeze-dried wafers for the potential delivery of drugs via the buccal mucosa. The formulations were prepared from two polymers (κ-carrageenan (CAR) 911 and poloxamer 407 (P407)), two types of plasticizers (glycerol (GLY)) and various grades of polyethylene glycol (PEG) using paracetamol (PM), ibuprofen (IBU) and indomethacin (IND) as model drugs. The investigations involved extensive evaluation/characterisation of the initial formulation components and their optimum combinations to obtain the desired formulation by employing various physico-chemical characterisation techniques. Texture analysis was used to investigate the tensile properties (percent elongation and elastic modulus) of the films, the resistance of the films upon stretching as well as the behaviour of the films during handling. In the case of the wafers, texture analysis was used to determine the compressibility as well as in vitro mucoadhesive characteristics. The stability of both the initial components and within the formulated films or wafers was studied using thermal analysis (HSM, TGA and DSC). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to estimate the residual water content of both formulations. XRPD was used to assess the different forms (amorphous or crystalline) of the various components, including the model drugs. Scanning electron microscopy provided topographic information with regard to surface architecture of the films and wafers. The drug loaded films and wafers were further characterised for chemical stability of the drugs, after storage at room temperature for twelve months and drug dissolution profiles using simulated saliva as dissolution medium.

The results of the preliminary development and optimization experiments showed that gels prepared with 2.5% (w/w) CAR 911, in combination with 4% (w/w) P407 and 5.5% (w/w) PEG 600 produced a flexible film with 'ideal' characteristics and was selected for drug incorporation. However, the concentration of PEG was increased to 6% (w/w) in the presence of 1.6% w/w PM, and 6.5% (w/w) PEG with 0.6% (w/w) IND and 0.8% w/w IBU (concentrations relative total drug weight of film matrix).

The initial results from the wafers demonstrated that a flexible wafer, obtained by freeze-drying (incorporating an annealing step), could be produced from a gel containing 2% (w/w) CAR 911 in combination with 4% (w/w) P407 and 4.4% (w/w) PEG 600. Addition of 0.8% (w/w) IBU also increased the flexibility of the wafer approximately two fold, whilst the flexibility of 1.8% (w/w) PM and 0.6% (w/w) IND loaded wafers was slightly reduced. TGA experiments indicated a water content of approximately 5% and 1% for films and wafers, respectively. SEM experiments revealed an even surface without any macroscopic pores for the film whilst the microstructure of the wafer was observed as being porous. The data from DSC experiments demonstrated interactions between P407 and PEG 600 during film formation. Furthermore, the conversion of the originally added model crystalline drugs into the amorphous form within the film and wafers was ascertained by DSC and confirmed by XRPD.


This book shows in detail how to build enterprise-level secure, redundant, and highly scalable services from scratch on top of the open source Linux operating system, suitable for small companies as well as big universities. The core architecture presented is based on Kerberos, LDAP, AFS, and Samba. Coverage shows how to integrate web, message related, data base and other services with this backbone. This architecture provides a Single-Sign-On solution for different client platforms and can also be employed for clustering. Although it is implemented with Debian GNU/Linux, the content can be applied to other UNIX flavors.


In this study, a one‐dimensional (1‐D) thermal diffusion lake model within the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was investigated for the Laurentian Great Lakes. In the default 10‐layer lake model, the albedos of water and ice are specified with constant values, 0.08 and 0.6, respectively, ignoring shortwave partitioning and zenith angle, ice melting, and snow effect. Some modifications, including a dynamic lake surface albedo, tuned vertical diffusivities, and a sophisticated treatment of snow cover over lake ice, have been added to the lake model. A set of comparison experiments have been carried out to evaluate the performances of different lake schemes in the coupled WRF‐lake modeling system. Results show that the 1‐D lake model is able to capture the seasonal variability of lake surface temperature (LST) and lake ice coverage (LIC). However, it produces an early warming and quick cooling of LST in deep lakes, and excessive and early persistent LIC in all lakes. Increasing vertical diffusivity can reduce the bias in the 1‐D lake but only in a limited way. After incorporating a sophisticated treatment of lake surface albedo, the new lake model produces a more reasonable LST and LIC than the default lake model, indicating that the processes of ice melting and snow accumulation are important to simulate lake ice in the Great Lakes. Even though substantial efforts have been devoted to improving the 1‐D lake model, it still remains considerably challenging to adequately capture the full dynamics and thermodynamics in deep lakes.


Edge diffraction can be introduced into Geometrical Acoustics mainly by three models: detour-based, energetic and wave-based diffraction models. In the past, we thoroughly compared Maekawa's detour law, the uncertainty relation based diffraction method and the secondary source model by the example of edge diffraction of a single wedge. However, the influence of the wedge shape has not yet been analyzed. Therefore, we consequently study in this contribution the influence of the wedge's faces. This is analyzed by varying both the faces' reflection properties and their opening angle. This is extended to the crucial case of approximately parallel faces (inner angle e.g.179°), where diffraction is physically neglectable, but computationally problematic for the uncertainty based diffraction method. Additionally, wedges are placed on an infinitely long surface. Therewith, we can analyze the floor reflections' impact on the sound field behind the wedge by varying both their absorption and scattering coefficients. Furthermore, we discuss artifacts which can arise in the uncertainty based diffraction model due to arbitrary positioning of diffraction planes, so called 'transparent walls'. Finally, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the presented methods.


The risk of zoonoses spreading from birds to humans is lower, quantitatively speaking, than the risk of transmission between other host groups, because the two taxonomic groups share fewer pathogens. Nevertheless, birds have a number of epidemiological characteristics that make them extremely important hosts in the transmission and maintenance of zoonoses, including their susceptibility to pathogens that are extremely hazardous to humans (such as highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, West Nile virus and Chlamydia psittaci) and their ability to travel long distances, especially in the case of migratory birds. The fact that the human diet includes poultry products (meat, eggs and their by-products) also means that most human cases of foodborne zoonoses are infections of avian origin. Lastly, close contact between humans and pet birds or urban birds leads to interactions of public health concern. This article sets out to describe the main factors that determine the role of birds in the epidemiology of zoonotic infections.


Advances have been made to improve health care for children with complex health conditions (CCHCs); however, little is known of the needs of these children and their families in the Canadian context. In this article, we describe our Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded Quick Strike protocol, a mixed-methods multisite research project that explored CCHC and their families in two Canadian provinces. The aims were (a) to describe and define CCHC, (b) to understand the needs of CCHC and their families, (c) to identify gaps and barriers to services for this population, and (d) to adapt and test the application of a computerized algorithm to yield information on CCHC. The mixed-methods design was comprised of four components: three qualitative and one quantitative. We describe the components of this project and outline the methods and procedures of data collection and analysis for each component. One of the main sources of data was interviews from 121 stakeholders, which included CCHC and family members, as well as health, social, and education professionals. This Quick Strike project was designed to engage stakeholders and the public with integrated knowledge translation threaded as a core element throughout the research process. Multiple strategies were used to validate and disseminate early findings from the research. As we outline in this article, this research project provided the foundation for one innovative service model of care, NaviCare/SoinsNavi, and spawned a number of additional outcomes such as a secondary analysis of the data to describe interprofessional collaboration for CCHC.


Landslide disaster is a serious natural hazard next to earthquake and floodwater. It has brought about great losses to the economic and societal development worldwide. Aiming at the characteristics and requirements in the process of landslide treatment, an optimization algorithm of landslide treatment schemes selection is proposed by combining entropy weight grey incidence with DS evidence theory. Firstly, it employs the theory to acquire the weights of different indices. Secondly, it determines uncertain degrees corresponding to different indices through the methodology of grey incidence. Finally, the mass functions of different targets in different indices can be obtained, carrying out the fusion of different mass functions on the basis of D-S theory of evidence and sorting the targets according to the belief function value. It is verified by example calculation and comparative analysis that the method is feasible and effective, providing theoretical basis for landslide treatment.


Building on the assumption that identification of a sufficient number of isoclines of an environmental field (such as the ocean bottom terrain) allows efficient reconstruction of the field, in this paper, a sequel to [1], we describe a system where a group of robots in a spacial arrangement (a regular polygon centred around a lead robot) locally construct the field (measured at the locations of the robots) inside the polygonal area using interpolation by barycentric coordinates. If the error of interpolation is small enough, the corresponding isocline of the interpolated field will match the real isocline accurately enough. Tracking this isocline in a certain direction will then allow robust traversal of field isoclines. We use the measurement at the centre of the formation to adjust the size of the polygon to obtain desired accuracy.


Sonoluminescence is explained in terms of quantum radiation by moving interfaces between media of different polarizability. In a stationary dielectric the zero-point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field excite virtual two-photon states, which become real under perturbation due to motion of the dielectric. The sonoluminescent bubble is modeled as an optically empty cavity in a homogeneous dielectric. The problem of the photon emission by a cavity of time-dependent radius is handled in a Hamiltonian formalism, which is dealt with perturbatively up to first order in the velocity of the bubble surface over the speed of light. A parameter dependence of the zeroth-order Hamiltonian in addition to the first-order perturbation calls for a novel perturbative method combining standard perturbation theory with an adiabatic approximation. In this way the transition amplitude from the vacuum into a two-photon state is obtained, and expressions for the single-photon spectrum and the total energy radiated during one flash are given both in full and in the short-wavelength approximation when the bubble is larger than the wavelengths of the emitted light. A model profile is assumed for the time dependence of the bubble during the collapse, and in this model the radiated energy and the spectrum are calculated numerically and in the short-wavelength limit also analytically. It is shown analytically that the spectral density has the same frequency dependence as blackbody radiation; this is purely an effect of correlated quantum fluctuations at zero temperature. The present theory clarifies a number of hitherto unsolved problems and suggests explanations for several more. Possible experiments that discriminate this from other theories of Sonoluminescence are proposed.


This article addresses the topic of the theology of the Byzantine icon. Initially, the way religion is expressed through the icon in the Orthodox East is discussed. General principles, rules, and the characteristics according to which icons are painted are mentioned. Also, the didactic, symbolic and dogmatic character of the icons is analysed. Finally, we present a theological approach of the "Birth of Jesus Christ" icon according to the elements which characterize the Byzantine icon.


This article presents an introductory overview of the interpretations of schizophrenia offered by three phenomenological psychiatrists: Eugene Minkowski (1885-1972), Wolfgang Blankenburg (b. 1928), and Kimura Bin (b. 1931). Minkowski views schizophrenia as characterized by a diminished sense of dynamic and vital connection to the world ("loss of vital contact"), often accompanied by a hypertrophy of intellectual and static tendencies ("morbid rationalism," "morbid geometrism"). Blankenburg emphasizes the patient's loss of the normal sense of obviousness or "natural self-evidence"—a loss of the usual common-sense background that enables normal persons to cope easily with the social and practical world. Kimura focuses on certain distortions of self-experience: a distinctive splitting of the subjective self, alienated awareness of one's own ongoing consciousness, and profound uncertainty about the "I-ness" of the self. In addition to a summary, this article offers a comparison and critique of these three approaches. The three approaches are also considered in light of a more recent, phenomenological formulation of schizophrenia as a disorder of self-experience (an ipseity disturbance) involving hyperreflexivity and diminished self-affection (i.e., heightened awareness of aspects of experience that would normally remain tacit or presupposed and decline in the feeling of existing as a subject of awareness).


Successful management of weed infestations requires an understanding of their biology including seedbank longevity. The controlled ageing test used by the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew Gardens, was evaluated for several grass and broadleaf weed seeds. The method aims to estimate seed longevity from a seed survival curve, using a controlled environment to accelerate seed ageing. Eight species were tested: nodding thistle (Carduus nutans), white bryony (Bryonia cretica), bat-wing passion flower (Passiflora apetala), butterprint (Abutilon theophrasti), thorn apple (Datura stramonium), apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and yellow bristle grass (Setaria pumila). The suggested measure of longevity is the point where germination has fallen by 50% (P50). Seed survival tested here did not follow the ideal logistic model for analysis. Because of rapid decline in germination, the point where seeds no longer germinate (P0) is considered to be a better measure of seed longevity.


__i.__ In Lebanon, the question of hosting and ensuring protection for Syrian refugees in light of the government stance against the erection of camps has created many deliberations concerning different proposed and implemented shelter options and solutions. Among these solutions, the proposition of creating refugee camps has been subject to clearly opposing views.
__ii.__ The shelter issue becomes more compounded given the protracted nature of the refugee crisis and the repercussions on Lebanon, which would necessitate long-term, feasible and contextualized solutions.
__iii.__ As such, UN-Habitat, in partnership with the American University of Beirut's (AUB) Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI), initiated a research study in July 2014 to address solutions for hosting and ensuring protection for refugees specifically on the subject of erecting camps to address the Syrian crisis. The study looked at the issue given the context of complex historic, political, socio-economic and governance conditions that are specific to Lebanon. The results of this research study are published in this report, which comes four years after the crisis, and benefits from the ability to reflect on the emergency response during the "stabilization" phase, which Lebanon has entered in the beginning of 2015.
__iv.__ This report supports and is designed to serve the collective aims of the Lebanese Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), to effectually approach the needs of the Syrian refugee community, one of the most vulnerable populations in Lebanon. The LCRP, formulated by the Lebanese government in partnership with United Nations (UN) agencies and various international organizations (IOs) and international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), aims to strengthen the implementation of the refugee response, building on lessons learned over the last few years.
__v.__ This report reflects the emerging challenges to shelter options in Lebanon, while highlighting the complex realities on the ground with respect to the shelter response and all of the respective parties involved.
__vi.__ The report aims to provide concerned actors (governmental institutions, IOs, local authorities and NGOs) with some tools to make informed decisions and enact effective policies that apply in Lebanon. Furthermore, this report contributes to the academic literature pertaining to the case of establishing camps for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and response to the need for research and analysis on the subject. More importantly, and based on the evidence collected from extensive fieldwork, interviews and focus group discussions conducted for this study, the report provides recommendations for viable and realistic shelter responses.


This paper highlights the use of integrated project management techniques, as well as innovative drilling fluids technology, to safely achieve drilling objectives on a frontier exploratory, ultra-deepwater project offshore Uruguay. Drilling in a frontier offshore area adds layers of complexity due to inherent uncertainties and risks associated with these types of operations. The use of project management techniques, combined with application of novel drilling fluids technologies, served to mitigate and reduce project risks. Preparation for this well included regulatory review and HSE compliance procedures, facilities and logistics planning, the operator's understanding of the well complexities, selection of experts for each aspect of the operation, and contingency planning to include displacement and emergency disconnect. A thorough and comprehensive readiness review, coupled with communications processes, reinforced the project management loop. Critical path management and efficiencies of drilling operations dictated managing the logistics of mixing large volumes of drilling fluid at multiple locations. The well design program considered the possibility of encountering extreme sediment compaction arising from mass transport complexes (MTC) in the riserless interval. MTCs are a recognized geologic phenomenon and are typically avoided when drilling in deepwater areas of the world.1 The novelty of the workflow involved in safely and effectively delivering this record, frontier ultra-deepwater well included thorough planning and execution, in parallel with the use of new drilling fluid technology and facilities.


Agonists and antagonists interact with the pituitary D2-dopamine receptor in a complex fashion that has been accounted for by proposing that the receptor exists in two interconvertible affinity states [De Lean et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 22:290-297 (1982)]. These two states appear to be modulated by guanine nucleotides such that the state existing in the presence of excess guanine nucleotide has low affinity for agonists and high affinity for antagonists. These observations, together with several lines of evidence from other laboratories, have suggested the interaction of the receptor with a guanine nucleotide-binding protein and a model describing the reversible interaction of the receptor (R) with an additional membrane component (X) was studied [De Lean et al., J. Biol. Chem. 255:7108-7117 (1980)]. Several properties of this ternary complex model are presented and discussed in terms of the interpretation of the analysis of simulated binding data using the mass-action model. Computer modeling of experimental binding data obtained from membrane homogenates of bovine anterior pituitary glands indicated that a ternary complex model will fit only under conditions where, in the absence of any ligand, there is a tight interaction or "precoupling" of R with X, with the latter being in stoichiometrically limiting amounts; antagonists and guanine nucleotides would tend to destabilize this interaction, whereas agonists would serve to stabilize the coupled form. These results, for a receptor system that inhibits adenylate cyclase activity, are notably different from those observed for the beta-adrenergic receptor, which stimulates the enzyme and may be a reflection of differences in the molecular mechanisms of the interaction of the two receptor systems with their ligands and their effector. Some features of the model are not compatible with the experimental data and have indicated the need to consider extensions of the model, in light of recent advancements in our understanding of these regulatory components. Our results stress the importance of verifying the properties of proposed models and of cautiously testing these proposed models by their direct application to experimental data.


Over the last three decades, the field of antitrust law has grown increasingly prominent, and more than one hundred countries have enacted competition law statutes. As competition law expands to jurisdictions with very different economic, social, cultural, and institutional backgrounds, the debates over its usefulness have similarly evolved.

 This book, the first in a new series on global competition law, critically assesses the importance of competition law, its development and modern practice, and the global limits that have emerged. This volume will be a key resource to both scholars and practitioners interested in antitrust, competition law, economics, business strategy, and administrative sciences.


BACKGROUND
Atopic dogs with hypersensitivity to Dermatophagoides farinae (Df) have IgE recognizing high molecular weight (MW) allergens more often than the low MW Der f 1 and 2. A new high MW Df allergen, Zen-1, has been identified recently.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the IgE reactivity of American and European Df-hypersensitive dogs to Zen-1, Der f 1 and Der f 2.

METHODS
We tested sera from 33 Df-reactive dogs from the USA, 29 from Europe and 15 experimentally sensitized to Df, by ELISA against crude Df, Der f 1, Der f 2 and Zen-1. ELISA inhibition was performed with sera reactive to Zen-1. Intradermal testing (IDT) was also done with the same allergens in 25 other American atopic dogs.

RESULTS
Altogether, IgE seropositivity to Zen-1 was more prevalent (86%) than that to Der f 1 (17%) or Der f 2 (19%). The IgE reactivity to Zen-1 was correlated to that against crude Df; this allergen alone inhibited a high percentage (median: 50%; range: 22-84%) of the binding to the crude mite extract. The seropositivity to low MW allergens was highest in experimentally sensitized dogs. Serum IgE recognition of Der f 1 was low in dogs with AD; that to Der f 2 was significantly lower in American dogs (6%) than in European ones (28%). A high prevalence of positive immediate IDT reactions to Zen-1 confirmed the likely relevance of serological results.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
This study establishes Zen-1 as a major allergen in atopic dogs sensitized to Df.


Tidal rivers are a vital and little studied nexus between physical oceanography and hydrology. It is only in the last few decades that substantial research efforts have been focused on the interactions of river discharge with tidal waves and storm surges into regions beyond the limit of salinity intrusion, a realm that can extend inland hundreds of kilometers. One key phenomenon resulting from this interaction is the emergence of large fortnightly tides, which are forced long waves with amplitudes that may increase beyond the point where astronomical tides have become extinct. These can be larger than the linear tide itself at more landward locations, and they greatly influence tidal river water levels and wetland inundation. Exploration of the spectral redistribution and attenuation of tidal energy in rivers has led to new appreciation of a wide range of consequences for fluvial and coastal sedimentology, delta evolution, wetland conservation, and salinity intrusion under the influence of sea level rise and delta subsidence. Modern research aims at unifying traditional harmonic tidal analysis, nonparametric regression techniques, and the existing understanding of tidal hydrodynamics to better predict and model tidal river dynamics both in single‐thread channels and in branching channel networks. In this context, this review summarizes results from field observations and modeling studies set in tidal river environments as diverse as the Amazon in Brazil, the Columbia, Fraser and Saint Lawrence in North America, the Yangtze and Pearl in China, and the Berau and Mahakam in Indonesia. A description of state‐of‐the‐art methods for a comprehensive analysis of water levels, wave propagation, discharges, and inundation extent in tidal rivers is provided. Implications for lowland river deltas are also discussed in terms of sedimentary deposits, channel bifurcation, avulsion, and salinity intrusion, addressing contemporary research challenges.


The centrally cracked Brazilian-disc test is among the configurations proposed for the experimental determination of fracture toughness of brittle rock-like materials. In spite of its wide use and the fact that the test is already standardized by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM), quite a few issues are still open related especially to the exact expressions of the respective stress intensity factors (SIFs) and the actual shape of the crack during loading. The latter is crucial since for specific crack inclinations, the crack lips are coming in contact and contact stresses appear which alter the boundary conditions, rendering analytic solutions erroneous. In this context, an alternative analytic approach is here introduced assuming that the cracked disc is under uniform pressure along two finite symmetric arcs of its periphery. The main advantage of the present approach is that it provides physically acceptable results independently of whether the crack is under opening- or closing-mode. The results of the analysis are validated against experimental data obtained using the method of Caustics and the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique. Based on the analytic solution, some critical practical aspects of the cracked Brazilian-disc test are explored including the influence of the loading type and the length of the loaded arc, the role of the specimen's thickness, the range of crack inclination angles for which generation of contact stress is unavoidable, and the rotation of the crack axis. Moreover, a redefinition of the SIFs in case of Mixed Fundamental problems is proposed. The limitations of the analysis are critically considered and finally some thoughts about the future steps concerning the fracture toughness determination using the cracked Brazilian-disc test are discussed.


For many years, teachers have been involved in developing the national curricula in Finland in various ways. Teachers' involvement in curriculum design and implementation has, during the last national curriculum implementation process, increased locally to strengthen their confidence in and knowledge of the national curriculum's multifaceted content. The purpose of this article is to broaden the knowledge of teacher involvement in the recent curriculum process in Finland; more specifically, to examine teachers' participation in local curriculum work. In this qualitative study, interviews were the primary method used to gather empirical data. Hansén's (1998) ideas of different levels of teacher professionalization are used as a framework for the analysis. The results show that ways of organizing involvement, management of involvement and use of time in the local curriculum process are crucial factors in teachers' participation and partly determine their degree of participation. The results also suggest that teachers' awareness of how the curriculum is linked to their collective collaborative and continuous work is relatively high, but it is not entirely clear how the four steps are integrated in the professional language.


Many wounds heal slowly and are difficult to manage. Therefore Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) was developed where polymer foams are applied and a defined negative pressure removes wound fluid, reduces bacterial burden and increases the formation of granulation tissue. Although NPWT is used successfully, its mechanisms are not well understood. In particular, different NPWT dressings were never compared. Here a poly-ester urethane Degrapol® (DP)-foam was produced and compared with commercially available dressings (polyurethane-based and polyvinyl-alcohol-based) in terms of apparent pore sizes, swelling and effective interconnectivity of foam pores. DP-foams contain relatively small interconnected pores; PU-foams showed large pore size and interconnectivity; whereas PVA-foams displayed heterogeneous and poorly interconnected pores. PVA-foams swelled by 40 %, whereas DP- and PU-foams remained almost without swelling. Effective interconnectivity was investigated by submitting fluorescent beads of 3, 20 and 45 μm diameter through the foams. DP- and PU-foams removed 70-90 % of all beads within 4 h, independent of the bead diameter or bead pre-adsorption with serum albumin. For PVA-foams albumin pre-adsorbed beads circulated longer, where 20 % of 3 μm and 10 % of 20 μm diameter beads circulated after 96 h. The studies indicate that efficient bead perfusion does not only depend on pore size and swelling capacity, but effective interconnectivity might also depend on chemical composition of the foam itself. In addition due to the efficient sieve-effect of the foams uptake of wound components in vivo might occur only for short time suggesting other mechanisms being decisive for success of NPWT.


Background & Aim: Appropriate quality of life not only is determined by disease, but also is depends to psychological condition such as job burnout, perceived social support and psychological hardiness. The research aim was to investigate the role of job burnout, perceived social support and psychological hardiness in predicting nurses' quality of life. Materials & Methods: The study was descriptive–analysis from type of correlation. The statistical population was including all nurses in Tehran affiliated hospitals in 2015. By multistep cluster sampling method, 400 nurses were selected. The study instruments were the Maslach & Jackson job burnout, Zimet & et al perceived social support, Kobasa psychological hardiness and World Health Organization quality of life questionnaires. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.15 using coefficient Pearson correlation and multivariate regression analysis using Enter model. Results: The findings showed that Job burnout (r=-0/39) had a significant negative relationship with nurses' quality of life also perceived social support (r=0/61) and psychological hardiness (r=0/45) showed a significant positive relationship with nurses quality of life (P<0/01). In a predictor model, job burnout, social support and psychological hardiness could predict 59/3 percent of nurses' quality of life alterations (R 2 =0/593). Conclusion: The job burnout, perceived social support and psychological hardiness variables had effective roles in predicting nurses' quality of life. Hence, it is proposed that counselors, therapists and planners consider the symptoms of these variables and design appropriate programs to improve nurses' quality of life.


Three new, simple, sensitive, selective and economical methods (Method 1, 2 and 3) for the determination of Ceftriaxone Sodium have been described in this paper. Method 1 and 2 are based on the formation of coloured Schiff base obtained when Ceftriaxone Sodium in acidic conditions related p-dimethyleaminobenzaldihyde and salicyldihyde in ethanol to form yellow coloured chromogens exhibiting lmax at 410 nm and 390 nm respectively. Method 3 is based on coupling the drug with 3-methyle-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazonehydrochloride in the presence of ferric chloride to form blue coloured chromogen exhibiting lmax at 628 nm. These method obeyed Beer's law in the concentration range of 10-50 mg/ml, 20-100 mg/ml and 2-10 mg/ml respectively. The results for analysis for the three methods have been validated statistically and by recovery studies. The results are comparable with those obtained with UV spectrophotometric method in double distilled water at lmax 241 nm


An extensive amount of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) habitat for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) has been lost to planting of tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix). We conducted foraging trials using human-imprinted bobwhite chicks (n 1⁄4 288) and collected terrestrial arthropods using a customized yard vacuum to assess the effects of 3 USDA mid-contract management (MCM) cost-share practices on chick foraging rates and arthropod prey selection in 36 tall fescue-dominated CRP fields in Illinois during 2008. We applied fall strip disking, fall glyphosate spraying, and fall glyphosate spraying followed by spring legume interseeding in alternating strips to 33% of each treatment field on a 3-year rotation. Glyphosate and glyphosate-interseeding treatments provided greater brood habitat benefits for bobwhite chicks than disking and control fields. Chicks consumed a greater abundance (P , 0.0001) and biomass (P1⁄4 0.0017) of arthropods in managed fields than in unmanaged fields. Abundance and biomass of arthropods consumed by chicks were higher in glyphosate and glyphosate-interseeded strips with 1-, 2-, and 3-growing seasons post-treatment, but disking only provided this benefit for 1 growing season. Vacuum sampling provided a poor index of the availability of arthropods to bobwhite chicks, as measured by foraging of imprinted chicks. Vacuum sampling indicated arthropod abundance was greater in unmanaged than in managed fields (P1⁄4 0.170). Custom vacuums are not an appropriate tool for measuring the abundance of arthropods important to bobwhite chicks in tall fescue CRP. Fall strip disking is an inferior MCM practice to glyphosate-based treatments in tall fescuedominated CRP. Citation: Osborne, D. C., D. W. Sparling, and T. V. Dailey. 2012. Arthropod consumption by northern bobwhite chicks in managed tall fescue monocultures. Proceedings of the National Quail Symposium 7:113–121.


ABSTRACT A system for automatically detecting the vocalisations of Harbour Porpoises Phocoena phocoena is described. The system consists of a high frequency hydrophone, an analogue electronics module and software running on a laptop computer. The analogue electronics module uses band-pass filters to split signals from the hydrophone into three frequency bands. Envelope tracing circuitry then converts the high frequency signals in these bands to lower frequencies, which are digitised and then analysed on the computer. Decisions as to which clicks are from porpoises and which are from some other source are made automatically, based on the relative amplitudes of the signal in the three frequency bands and also on the shape of each detected pulse. If two hydrophones are used, it is possible to measure bearings (subject to a rotational ambiguity about the array axis) to detected clicks based on the difference in arrival time of the signal at each hydrophone. The system has been implemented in a practical package that can be deployed easily from almost any type of vessel or mooring, giving it a wide range of applications. The software, which is designed to run on a PC compatible laptop computer, contains a number of displays to present the data and to facilitate analysis. Properties of individual detected clicks are stored on the computer's hard drive to give a permanent record of detections and to facilitate off-line analysis of data collected in the field.


The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of the phytogenic product, Ruchamax® (Ayurvet, India), on the productivity of sows and the performance of their first litters. Ruchamax® contains a blend of herbal extracts from Adrographis paniculata, Phyllanthus emblica, Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale and Allium sativum . It was incorporated into a lactation concentrate mixture (E) at an inclusion rate of 1 kg per 1000 kg. A total of 40 primiparous sows (PIC) were allocated to two equal groups: untreated (control (C)) and herb-supplemented (E). Treatments were from day 1 to 28 of lactation. Nursing sows fed the herb-supplemented diet had significantly increased average daily feed intake (5.84 vs. 5.46 kg) and milk output (7.58 vs. 6.71 kg). The experimental factor had a positive effect on the condition of sows (lower reduction of thickness during lactation). Changes in backfat thickness (farrowing-weaning) were significantly different (−6.45 vs. −9.40 mm). There were no differences in initial litter size and litter birth weight (BW) between groups. The average BW of piglets was similar (ca. 1.6 kg) in both groups. The herb-supplemented diet affected 28-day litter weight (69.95 vs. 63.40 kg), average piglet body weight (7.27 vs. 6.74 kg) and daily litter growth rate (1.79 vs. 1.68 kg) significantly compared with the control. It can be concluded that the sows receiving an herb-supplemented diet were characterized by better productivity indices than the control group. Keywords : Herbal extract; primiparous sows; piglets; performance


Title of Document: MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD PITCH ESTIMATION USING SINUSOIDAL MODELING Vijay Mahadevan, Master of Science, 2010 Directed By: Dr. Carol Y. Espy-Wilson Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering The aim of the work presented in this thesis is to automatically extract the fundamental frequency of a periodic signal from noisy observations, a task commonly referred to as pitch estimation. An algorithm for optimal pitch estimation using a maximum likelihood formulation is presented. The speech waveform is modeled using sinusoidal basis functions that are harmonically tied together to explicitly capture the periodic structure of voiced speech. The problem of pitch estimation is casted as a model selection problem and the Akaike Information Criterion is used to estimate the pitch. The algorithm is compared with several existing pitch detection algorithms (PDAs) on a reference pitch database. The results indicate the superior performance of the algorithm in comparison with most of the PDAs. The application of parametric modeling in single channel speech segregation and the use of melfrequency cepstral coefficients for sequential grouping are analyzed in the speech separation challenge database. MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD PITCH ESTIMATION USING SINUSOIDAL MODELING


Physical impairments in long-haul optical networks mandate that optical signals be regenerated within the (so-called translucent) network. Being expensive devices, regenerators are expected to be allocated sparsely and must be judiciously utilized. Next-generation optical-transport networks will include multiple domains with diverse technologies, protocols, granularities, and carriers. Because of confidentiality and scalability concerns, the scope of network-state information (e.g., topology, wavelength availability) may be limited to within a domain. In such networks, the problem of routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) aims to find an adequate route and wavelength(s) for lightpaths carrying end-to-end service demands. Some state information may have to be explicitly exchanged among the domains to facilitate the RWA process. The challenge is to determine which information is the most critical and make a wise choice for the path and wavelength(s) using the limited information. Recently, a framework for multidomain path computation called backward-recursive path-computation (BRPC) was standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force. In this paper, we consider the RWA problem for connections within a single domain and interdomain connections so that the quality of transmission (QoT) requirement of each connection is satisfied, and the network-level performance metric of blocking probability is minimized. Cross-layer heuristics that are based on dynamic programming to effectively allocate the sparse regenerators are developed, and extensive simulation results are presented to demonstrate their effectiveness.


FACTORS IN BREASTFEEDING INITIATION AMONG CENTRAL KENTUCKY WIC AND NON-WIC PARTICIPANTS Vital statistics data were statistically analyzed to determine who is breastfeeding in central Kentucky and if factors differ between those in a WIC and non-WIC population. The sample consisted of 479 postpartum women aged 18-44 in central Kentucky. Participants in the study were analyzed as a whole, then divided by their participation in the WIC program (n=304) or non-participation in the WIC program (n=175). Variables recorded in the vital statistics form were analyzed. These variables included age, education level, marital status, and ethnicity of the mother, household income status, and gender, gestational age, and birth weight of the infant. In the population studied, education level, ethnicity, marital status, household income status, and gestational age of the infant were significantly different between mothers who initiated breastfeeding and those who did not. In the WIC population, mothers were more likely to initiate breastfeeding if they were of non-white ethnicity or if the infant was born at greater than 37 weeks gestation; whereas, in the non-WIC population, mothers were more likely to initiate breastfeeding if they had some college or a college degree or if they were not enrolled in Medicaid. WIC participants were significantly less likely to initiate breastfeeding than non-WIC participants.


Objective self-awareness theory has undergone fundamental changes in the 3 decades since Duval and Wicklund's (1972) original formulation. We review new evidence that bears on the basic tenets of the theory. Many of the assumptions of self-awareness theory require revision, particularly how expectancies influence approach and avoidance of self-standard discrepancies; the nature of standards, especially when they are changed; and the role of causal attribution in directing discrepancy reduction. However, several unresolved conceptual issues remain; future theoretical and empirical directions are discussed.


What family forms are recognised in established Nordic and welfare policies? Which family values and parental models should be given political priority in a multi-ethnical society? Would part-time leave be ideal from a gender equality perspective? These were some of the questions raised at the conference 'Parental Leave, Care Policies & Gender Equalities in the Nordic Countries' in Reykjavik on 22 October 2009. The conference was arranged by the Centre of Gender Equality in Iceland on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security during the Icelandic presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Researchers presented their preliminary results, compared the differences between the Nordic countries and discussed how we reach the goal of a gender-equality, friendly welfare state with reconciliation between personal and professional life where we serve the needs of men, women and children. The report contains notes from the conference, speeches, workshop discussions and links to PowerPoint presentations.


Phonology is a rapidly changing and increasingly varied field, having traveled quite some distance from its original structuralist and generative underpinnings. In this overview I address the status of underlying representations (URs) in phonology, which have been rejected by a number of researchers working in different frameworks. After briefly discussing the current state of phonology, I survey the arguments in favor of vs. against URs, considering recent surface-oriented critiques and alternatives. I contrast three straightforward abstract tonal analyses against the potential arguments which accuse URs of being (i) wrong, (ii) redundant, (iii) indeterminate, (iv) insufficient, or (v) uninteresting. Identifying two distinct goals in linguistics which I refer to as determining 'what's in the head?' vs. 'what's in the language?', I suggest, responding to some rather strong opinions to the contrary, that URs are an indispensable and welcome tool offering important insights into the typology of phonological systems, if not beyond.


This article examines major oil companies in terms of climate strategies and their implementation. More specifcally, it takes a critical look at Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil, and the relationship between rhetoric and action regarding investments in climate-friendly activities. Empirical evidence indicates a generally high degree of consistency between what these companies say and what they do, but interesting differences are also found: ExxonMobil has done somewhat more than its climate strategy formulations would suggest; Shell has done somewhat less; whereas BP's activities are mainly in line with its statements. Factors at three levels contribute to explaining these differences: (1) the company level, 2) the political framework conditions in the various regions where the companies operate, 3) international climate cooperation. The fndings and explanations, although restricted to the three oil companies with regard to climate change, provide insight into the relationship between corporate strategies and implementation more generally. They offer understanding and analytical categories for assessing how well and why such multinational entities put into practice stated objectives.


This NECTAR track paper (NECTAR: new scientific and technical advances in research) summarizes recent research and curation activities at the CLARIN center Stuttgart. CLARIN is a European initiative to advance research in humanities and social sciences by providing language-based resources via a shared distributed infrastructure. We provide an overview of the resources (i.e., corpora, lexical resources, and tools) hosted at the IMS Stuttgart that are available through CLARIN and show how to access them. For illustration, we present two examples of the integration of various resources into Digital Humanities projects. We conclude with a brief outlook on the future challenges in the Digital Humanities. 1


An important feature of a potential vaccine against HIV is the production of broadly neutralising antibodies (BrNAbs) capable of potentially blocking infectivity of a diverse array of HIV strains. BrNAbs naturally arise in some HIV infected individuals after several years of infection and their serum IgG can neutralise various HIV strains across different subtypes. We previously showed that vaccination of cows with HIV gp140 AD8 trimers resulted in a high titre of serum IgG against HIV envelope (Env) that had strong BrNAb activity. These polyclonal BrNAbs concentrated into the colostrum during the late stage of pregnancy and can be harvested in vast quantities immediately after calving. In this study, we investigated the effect of prolonged HIV gp140 vaccination on bovine colostrum IgG HIV Env-binding and BrNAb activity over subsequent pregnancies. Repeated immunisation led to a maintained high titre of HIV Env specific IgG in the colostrum batches, but this did not increase through repeated cycles. Colostrum IgG from all batches also strongly competed with sCD4 binding to gp140 Env trimer and with human-derived monoclonal VRC01 and b12 BrNAbs that bind the CD4 binding site (CD4bs). Furthermore, competition neutralisation assays using RSC3 Env gp120 protein core and a derivative CD4bs mutant, RSC3 Δ371I/P363N, showed that CD4bs neutralising antibodies contribute to the neutralising activity of all batches of purified bovine colostrum IgG. This result indicates that the high IgG titre/avidity of anti-CD4bs antibodies with BrNAb activity was achieved during the first year of vaccination and was sustained throughout the years of repeated vaccinations in the cow tested. Although IgG of subsequent colostrum batches may have a higher avidity towards the CD4bs, the overall breadth in neutralisation was not enhanced. This implies that the boosting vaccinations over 4 years elicited a polyclonal antibody response that maintained the proportion of both neutralising and non-neutralising CD4bs antibodies.


Recently, the demand of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) has been rapidly increased in various fields. In most cases, CFRP products requires a finish machining like cutting or grinding. In the case of an end-milling, burrs and uncut fibers are easy to occur. On the other hand, a precise machined surface and edge will be able to obtain by using the grinding tool. Therefore, this research has been developed a novel the cBN electroplated end-mill that combined end-mill and grinding tool. In this report, the effectiveness of developed tool was investigated. First, the developed tool cut the CFRP with side milling. As the result, the cBN abrasives that were fixed on the outer surface of developed tool did not drop out. Next, the end-milled surface of CFRP was ground with the developed tool under several grinding conditions based on the Design of Experiment. Consequently, the optimum grinding condition that can obtain the sharp edge which does not have burrs and uncut fibers was found. However, surface roughness was not good enough. Thus, an oscillating grinding was applied. In addition, the theoretical surface roughness formula in case using the developed tool was formularized. As the result, the required surface roughness in the airplane field was obtained.


PURPOSE
To retrospectively determine if three-dimensional (3D) viewing improves radiologists' accuracy in classifying true-positive (TP) and false-positive (FP) polyp candidates identified with computer-aided detection (CAD) and to determine candidate polyp features that are associated with classification accuracy, with known polyps serving as the reference standard.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained; this study was HIPAA compliant. Forty-seven computed tomographic (CT) colonography data sets were obtained in 26 men and 10 women (age range, 42-76 years). Four radiologists classified 705 polyp candidates (53 TP candidates, 652 FP candidates) identified with CAD; initially, only two-dimensional images were used, but these were later supplemented with 3D rendering. Another radiologist unblinded to colonoscopy findings characterized the features of each candidate, assessed colon distention and preparation, and defined the true nature of FP candidates. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to compare readers' performance, and repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to test features that affect interpretation.

RESULTS
Use of 3D viewing improved classification accuracy for three readers and increased the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to 0.96-0.97 (P<.001). For TP candidates, maximum polyp width (P=.038), polyp height (P=.019), and preparation (P=.004) significantly affected accuracy. For FP candidates, colonic segment (P=.007), attenuation (P<.001), surface smoothness (P<.001), distention (P=.034), preparation (P<.001), and true nature of candidate lesions (P<.001) significantly affected accuracy.

CONCLUSION
Use of 3D viewing increases reader accuracy in the classification of polyp candidates identified with CAD. Polyp size and examination quality are significantly associated with accuracy.


A workflow for inverting high-velocity conglomerates by simultaneous joint inversion (SJI) of seismic and nonseismic data was developed during a depth-migration project using land 3D data sets from western China. Large localized velocity variations caused by conglomerates severely limited the effectiveness of ray-based seismic tomography in generating an accurate velocity field. Single-domain inversion indicated different responses of particular lithologies for various nonseismic methods, and well-log crossplots enabled estimation of the relationships between models generated from different geophysical measurements. Using the high-resistivity property of the conglomerates, SJI of seismic first-break and magnetotelluric (MT) data was conducted to estimate spatial thickness and velocity. Combining the relatively low-resolution information derived from the MT data with the higher-resolution seismic image, the distribution of conglomerates could be interpreted with the help of well markers and well-logging horizons. The velocity model then was adjusted iteratively. The model that was updated by using the SJI workflow showed better consistency with borehole data compared with the initial tomographic model. The depth-migrated image created by using the updated model showed more geologically plausible structures both at target level and in the overburden.


On the night of June 9, 2006, three detainees died in maximum security section of the Guantanamo Bay Detention facility. The military's initial press releases reported not only that the detainees were found hanging in their cells but also that their actions were a conspiracy as part of "asymmetrical warfare" against the United States. At the same time, the military ordered all media off the island and prevented all lawyers from visiting their clients. Questions immediately arose about how three detainees, under constant supervision, were able to conspire effectively to commit coordinated suicides in non -adjacent cells. In August 2008 a heavily redacted report of the investigation concluded that the detainees had hanged themselves in their cells and that one detainee, while walking the corridors that night, had announced, "tonight's the night." The investigation, however, leaves many unanswered questions. Three years later it is still unclear how such coordinated conduct would have occurred, much less how heavily supervised detainees could have been dead for more than two hours before they were discovered. Further, the exact manner of the deaths remain uncertain, and the presence of rags stuffed in the detainees' throats is unexplained. Negligence of the guards seems to have been ruled out by the absence of any disciplinary action by any military personnel. The guards were formally advised of their right to remain silent, their right to counsel and the fact that anything that they said could be used against them because their original statements were suspected to be false. No such original statement appears in the record and no guard was ultimately charged with either making a false statement or being derelict in his duty. This paper examines the investigation, not to determine what happened that night, but rather to assess why an investigation into three deaths could have could have failed to address significant issues. Further, the report raises serious questions that must be addressed if the government is to dispel rumors that the deaths were the result of something was more sinister than "asymmetrical warfare." This report reveals the following facts: The original military press releases did not report that the detainees had been dead for more than two hours when they were discovered, nor that rigor mortis had set in by the time of discovery. There is no explanation of how three bodies could have hung in cells for at least two hours while the cells were under constant supervision, both by video camera and by guards continually walking the corridors and responsible for only 28 detainees. There is no explanation of how each of the detainees, much less all three, could have done the following: braided a noose by tearing up his sheets and/or clothing; made a mannequin of himself so it would appear to the guards he was asleep in his cell; hung sheets to block vision into the cell - a violation of Standard Operating Procedures; tied his feet together; tied his hands together; hung the noose from the metal mesh of the cell and wall and/or ceiling; climbed up on the sink; put the noose around his neck and released his weight to result in death by strangulation; and then hung undetected for at least two hours.


A discussion of the distinction between the "legal moral" and the "non-legal moral". The book examines the work of several leading legal idealists: Fuller, Llewellyn, Finnis, Kelsen, Kant, Beyleveld and Brownsword. It argues that the legal point of view is the point of view of enforcement. The non-legal moral point of view is that of rightness of a behaviour abstracted from the issue of enforcement.


Male reproductive ability ability has a linear correlation with libido and testosterone. Both are associated with various things main food consumption such as protein, vitamins and minerals. Aphrodisiac  is an ingredient or drug that arouses sexual arousal or libido. Pumpkin is an example of food from plants with the highest content of zinc. This study was to determine whether there is a difference between the content of zinc on the peel, flesh and pumpkin seeds against sexual activity of mice. The experimental animals used were 24 male, group I mice as control group, Group II was grouped with pumpkin peel extract, Group III was grouped with extract of pumpkin flesh, Group IV was grouped with extract of pumpkin seeds. The dose used is 2gr / kg BB and volume of 0.2 ml is given for 35 days. Sexual Activity is observed every day  by the position of male mice riding females. Based on Anova One Way test results showed there are differences in sexual activity  mice males in each group (ρ 0.000). The difference of the result of the number of mounts indicated that the giving of yellow pumpkin extract had an effect on the increase of mating behavior of male mice. The group treated with the extract of pumpkin flesh showed the highest number of mice mounts (mean = 24,1667.Further research is needed to get a clearer picture of the composition of the pumpkin nutrients that indirectly affect fertility in men.


Conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) and ethyl levulinate (EL) is an attractive biomass transformation due to its potential application in the energy and chemical industries. Here, we report on the conversion with MOF-based polyoxometalate [Cu–BTC][HPM] (NENU-5) as the catalyst. The homogeneous distribution of HPM in the pores of Cu–BTC makes the composite combine the properties of the catalytic activity of HPM and the insolubility, large surface area and hierarchical pores of Cu–BTC. The catalyst demonstrates reusability and catalytic activity with 55% yield of EMF and 11% yield of EL.


The characteristics of referees and the potential subsequent effects on the peer-review process are an important consideration for science since the integrity of the system depends on the appropriate evaluation of merit. In 2006, we conducted an online survey of 1334 ecologists and evolutionary biologists pertaining to the review process. Respondents were from Europe, North America and other regions of the world, with the majority from English first language countries. Women comprised a third of all respondents, consistent with their representation in the scientific academic community. Among respondents we found no correlation between the time typically taken over a review and the reported average rejection rate. On average, Europeans took longer over reviewing a manuscript than North Americans, and females took longer than males, but reviewed fewer manuscripts. Males recommended rejection of manuscripts more frequently than females, regardless of region. Hence, editors and potential authors should consider alternative sets of criteria, to what exists now, when selecting a panel of referees to potentially balance different tendencies by gender or region.


Streamers and pseudostreamers structure the corona at the largest scales, as seen in both eclipse and coronagraph white-light images. Their inverted-goblet appearance encloses broad coronal loops at the Sun and tapers to a narrow radial stalk away from the star. The streamer associated with the global solar dipole magnetic field is long-lived, predominantly contains a single arcade of nested loops within it, and separates opposite-polarity interplanetary magnetic fields with the heliospheric current sheet (HCS) anchored at its apex. Pseudostreamers, on the other hand, are transient, enclose double arcades of nested loops, and separate like-polarity fields with a dense plasma sheet. We use numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulations to calculate, for the first time, the formation of pseudostreamers in response to photospheric magnetic-field evolution. Convective transport of a minority-polarity flux concentration, initially positioned under one side of a streamer, through the streamer boundary into the adjacent preexisting coronal hole forms the pseudostreamer. Interchange magnetic reconnection at the overlying coronal null point(s) governs the development of the pseudostreamer above—and of a new satellite coronal hole behind—the moving minority polarity. The reconnection dynamics liberate coronal-loop plasma that can escape into the heliosphere along so-called separatrix-web ("S-Web") arcs, which reach far from the HCS and the solar equatorial plane, and can explain the origin of high-latitude slow solar wind. We describe the implications of our results for in situ and remote-sensing observations of the corona and heliosphere as obtained, most recently, by Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter.


This article is a commentary on Michael Ashley Stein & Janet Lord, Jacobus TenBroek, Participatory Justice, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, - Tex. J. Civ Lib. & Civ. Rts. - (2008) (in press). In it, I seek to expand their analysis of the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in an effort to invigorate an area of institutionalized patients rights law that is now nearly forgotten: the rights of such persons to exercise civil rights while institutionalized. I also argue that Prof. Stein and Ms. Lord's paper should lead us to focus also on the issues of attitudes, and how authentic amelioration and law reform in this area is impossible unless and until we begin to consider how negative and stereotypical attitudes towards persons with mental disabilities are formed and perpetuated. I conclude that the demand for participatory justice for persons with disabilities cannot be satisfied unless and until we turn our attention to attitudinal issues.


Nowadays, pre-training big models on large-scale datasets has become a crucial topic in deep learning. The pre-trained models with high representation ability and transferability achieve a great success and dominate many downstream tasks in natural language processing and 2D vision. However, it is non-trivial to promote such a pretraining-tuning paradigm to the 3D vision, given the limited training data that are relatively inconvenient to collect. In this paper, we provide a new perspective of leveraging pre-trained 2D knowledge in 3D domain to tackle this problem, tuning pre-trained image models with the novel Point-to-Pixel prompting for point cloud analysis at a minor parameter cost. Following the principle of prompting engineering, we transform point clouds into colorful images with geometry-preserved projection and geometry-aware coloring to adapt to pre-trained image models, whose weights are kept frozen during the end-to-end optimization of point cloud analysis tasks. We conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate that cooperating with our proposed Point-to-Pixel Prompting, better pre-trained image model will lead to consistently better performance in 3D vision. Enjoying prosperous development from image pre-training field, our method attains 89.3% accuracy on the hardest setting of ScanObjectNN, surpassing conventional point cloud models with much fewer trainable parameters. Our framework also exhibits very competitive performance on ModelNet classification and ShapeNet Part Segmentation. Code is available at https://github.com/wangzy22/P2P.


We have analyzed the influence of the two different Ti doping methods on the superconducting properties of bronze processed (Nb,Ta,Ti)/sub 3/Sn multifilamentary wires with identical configuration, consisting of a Nb7.5wt.%Ta alloy processed to 14641 filaments of 4.5 micrometer size embedded in an Osprey bronze and externally stabilized by Cu. The first doping method introduces NbTi rods into NbTa filaments in a Cu15.4Sn Osprey bronze and has been applied to two wires containing 1 and 2 wt.%Ti in the filaments, respectively. The second method uses a Ti added Cu15.5Sn0.25Ti Osprey bronze, while the filaments of two thereby fabricated wires contain 0 and 0.5wt.%Ti, respectively. A reference wire containing no Ti addition was also prepared. All five wires were manufactured by three hot extrusion steps, cold drawing and several intermediate anneals. Wire samples with round cross section have been prepared and reacted between 600 and 730/spl deg/C. The residual Sn content in the bronze after reaction and the residual niobium ratio of the filaments were determined by means of EDX and SEM analysis, respectively. The grain size of the A15 layer has been compared by FE-SEM and the local composition profile has been observed by systematic quantitative EDX measurements made on a TEM. Non-Cu J/sub c/ values up to 300 Amm/sup -2/ and n values up to 50 at 17 T and 4.2 K reveal clearly the Ti added bronze as more performing.


A spinal cord injury (SCI) is perceived as a source of biographical disruption, not only at a physical level but also in terms of people's life stories, their motivation and their self-esteem. The aim of this study is to explore the factors that people with spinal cord injuries perceive as contributing to rebuilding their sense of self. Two focus groups were established from the SCI
community, one of which was made up of 14 people with paraplegia and the other of 9 people with tetraplegia. In addition, four individual interviews were conducted with the participants. The results of content analysis show that the two most prominent factors in the process of identity renegotiation are the partial transformation of the subject's identity followed by a coming to terms with that new identity. To rebuild self-worth, the importance of finding a balance between change and continuity was identified. Renegotiation of identity after a spinal cord injury is a complex phenomenon that greatly influences the SCI individual's quality of life perceptions. Reaching a balance between the changes experienced due to the injury and finding a sense of continuity can be either facilitated or obstructed by the economic, political, legal, architectural, and social context


Rural vehicles (RVs) could contribute significantly to on-road vehicle emissions, especially PM2.5 and NOx; This study tested 10 three-wheeled (3-W) RVs and 8 four-wheeled (4-W) RVs on real roads in Hebei Province using a portable emissions measurement system to investigate gaseous concentrations (CO, NOx, and HC) and the carbonaceous composition (EC and OC) of the PM2.5 emitted. The results showed that the tightening emission standards resulted in the CO, HC, and PM2.5 emissions for China II RVs decreasing, but may increasing NOx emission for China II 3-W RVs. The emission level of PM2.5 for China II RVs is between Euro II LDDTs and Euro III LDDTs. The emission factors (EFs) of OC and EC for 3-W RVs were 0.035 ± 0.019 and 0.058 ± 0.055 g km-1, respectively, and for 4-W RVs, they were 0.046 ± 0.018 and 0.031 ± 0.024 g km-1, respectively. The carbonaceous component represents the main fraction of PM2.5 emitted from RVs (84.6% and 87.2% for 3-W and 4-W RVs, respectively), similar to other diesel vehicles. The average distance-based EFs of OC increased with increasing vehicle size (3-W RVs < 4-W RVs). The CO2-based EFs of OC and EC decreased with increasing vehicle mass, consistent with the emission laws of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty diesel trucks. Driving cycles that included more cruise mode and less creep mode resulted in a higher average EC/OC ratio (1.57) for 3-W RVs than for 4-W RVs (0.63), and resulted in the average EC/OC ratios for both types of RV were lower than for highway LDDTs.


OBJECTIVE
The authors compared the incremental cost-effectiveness of a stepped-care, multicomponent program with usual care for the treatment of depressed women in primary care in Santiago, Chile.

METHOD
A cost-effectiveness study was conducted of a previous randomized controlled trial involving 240 eligible women with DSM-IV major depression who were selected from a consecutive sample of adult women attending primary care clinics. The patients were randomly allocated to usual care or a multicomponent stepped-care program led by a nonmedical health care worker. Depression-free days and health care costs derived from local sources were assessed after 3 and 6 months. A health service perspective was used in the economic analysis.

RESULTS
Complete data were determined for 80% of the randomly assigned patients. After we adjusted for initial severity, women receiving the stepped-care program had a mean of 50 additional depression-free days over 6 months relative to patients allocated to usual care. The stepped-care program was marginally more expensive than usual care (an extra 216 Chilean pesos per depression-free day). There was a 90% probability that the incremental cost of obtaining an extra depression-free day with the intervention would not exceed 300 pesos (1.04 US dollars).

CONCLUSIONS
The stepped-care program was significantly more effective and marginally more expensive than usual care for the treatment of depressed women in primary care. Small investments to improve depression appear to yield larger gains in poorer environments. Simple and inexpensive treatment programs tested in developing countries might provide good study models for developed countries.


The curriculum developed to teach a new, five-year undergraduate veterinary science degree at James Cook University is outlined and discussed. The curriculum in veterinary reproduction involves delivering 87h of lectures and 133h of laboratory and practical classes which comprises 6% of the total number of hours involved in delivering the veterinary degree course. An integrated model
of delivering curriculum is utilized where theriogenology is integrated within all five years of the course rather than being delivered as a separate subject. Tracking is not possible and all students are exposed to the entire reproductive curriculum although the opportunity is given for final year students interested in theriogenology to utilize electives and externships to further improve their knowledge and skills. A strong emphasis on the development of clinical skills is fostered with horizontal and vertical integration of theriogenology throughout the curriculum and the creation of an extensive set of laboratory classes. Stand alone theriogenology rotations are not provided in the final year of the course but clinical aspects of theriogenology are included within other clinical rotations and electives. The curriculum will be continually developed with feedback from staff, students, employers, peer review, and development of further learning aids.


The nucleus is a spherical dual‐membrane bound organelle that encapsulates genomic DNA. In eukaryotes, messenger RNAs (mRNA) are transcribed in the nucleus and transported through nuclear pores into the cytoplasm for translation into protein. In certain cell types and pathological conditions, nuclei harbor tubular invaginations of the nuclear envelope known as the "nucleoplasmic reticulum." Nucleoplasmic reticulum expansion has recently been established as a mediator of neurodegeneration in tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease. While the presence of pore‐lined, cytoplasm‐filled, nuclear envelope invaginations has been proposed to facilitate the rapid export of RNAs from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, the functional significance of nuclear envelope invaginations in regard to RNA export in any disorder is currently unknown. Here, we report that polyadenylated RNAs accumulate within and adjacent to tau‐induced nuclear envelope invaginations in a Drosophila model of tauopathy. Genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of RNA export machinery reduces accumulation of polyadenylated RNA within and adjacent to nuclear envelope invaginations and reduces tau‐induced neuronal death. These data are the first to point toward a possible role for RNA export through nuclear envelope invaginations in the pathogenesis of a neurodegenerative disorder and suggest that nucleocytoplasmic transport machinery may serve as a possible novel class of therapeutic targets for the treatment of tauopathies.


Research shows that the more people identify with a national in-group, the more their citizenship representation becomes in line with the citizenship discourse attached to this national-identity. However, although national identification may lead to a preference for a specific citizenship representation, national identification might itself depend on preexisting citizenship representation preferences. In line with this, a longitudinal study among Flemish-Belgian high-school students (N = 275) showed reciprocal relations between national identification and citizenship representation. A second study among Flemish-Belgian high-school students (N = 407) then showed that strength of national identification does not simply depend on preexisting citizenship representation preferences but on the (mis)match between such preferences and the citizenship representation perceived to be attached to a national-identity. In addition, results showed that the relation between national identification and out-group attitudes depends on the national-identity under consideration.


This qualitative study is concerned with the letters sent by two inhabitants of Lancashire in the first half of the nineteenth century, who had been transported to New South Wales: Thomas Holden (or Holding) and Richard Taylor. The corpus also includes letters to Holden from his family. The forces at work among working class people who had some writing ability – industrialisation, evangelicalism and the Sunday school tradition of education – are then discussed, with Holden and Taylor's adherence to these norms demonstrated. The essay shows that, although all those writing are semi-literate, the language used which transgresses educated norms tends not to be dialectal but rather non-standard. It is suggested, therefore, that spoken dialect and written non-standard are strikingly different from each other, and not just because of the medium. Even in the early nineteenth century dialect speakers had a strongly developed sense of what was appropriate and could be understood outside their home districts.


On 10 January 2002, I was asked to provide a little expert comment on electronic monitoring (EM) on BBC Radio Birmingham's 'Late Show', the pretext being a newspaper report earlier that day indicating that Scotland was soon to roll out a national EM programme. It was clear when I met her that the show's host had no idea that electronic monitoring had already been underway in England and Wales for several years. Her immediate reaction to the idea of it was hostile: being sentenced to serve time in one's own living room hardly seemed like punishment. Several callers to the show were invited to comment on it in these terms, and most were adamant that it was obviously no substitute for imprisonment. The experience was, for me, indicative (in microcosm) of the generally poor quality of media debate about EM in England and Wales, and suggested that EM has simply not registered with the public as the tough punishment that its supporters hoped and its opponents feared it would be. This article is a preliminary attempt to map the nature and level of awareness that has been shown about EM in various manifestations of popular culture – the press, TV, cinema and literature – and to tentatively suggest why it has taken the forms that it has. The article understands popular culture primarily as a resource for interpreting and bestowing meaning upon EM but also, more cursorily, considers it as an aspect of the milieu in which creative technological developments are conceived.