Background Little is known about the educational experiences of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the Kenyan Coastal context. Objectives We examined the diagnostic and placement procedures used in education on the Kenyan coastal region. In addition, we investigated the education-related challenges faced by children with ASD. Methods We conducted focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with 21 participants, including teachers, clinicians and educational administrators. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic framework on qualitative data analysis software, NVIVO 10. Results The findings from this study indicate that there were no systematic approaches to diagnosing children as having ASD. Teachers reported experiencing many challenges, including a lack of specialised training, inadequate resources and difficulty in managing children with different functional abilities in one class. Conclusion There is an urgent need for contextually relevant evidence-based identification, placement and management services to be put in place to meet the educational needs of children with ASD.


Methods of obtaining numerical integration formulae of the type ∫baf(x) ϕ(x)dx = Ʃrαrf(xr) + correction terms are derived. A main feature of the development is that the calculations of the weights αr and corrections are made to depend on the inversion of certain standard matrices. Tables of the inverse matrices required for certain generalized formulae of the Newton-Cotes type are given, together with tables of the coefficients required in the correction terms. If f(x) is a polynomial of degree n, and n + 1 ordinates are used, then, whatever the form of ϕ(x), the formulae are exact, that is, they introduce no analytical error. When it is convenient to do so, ordinates outside the range of integration may be used, no change in the method of deriving the formulae being necessary. If the integrand is singular within or near the range of integration, conventional methods of numerical integration break down, but in the formulae derived here, the presence of singularities in ϕ(x) does not affect the derivation if certain conditions are satisfied. The methods are not affected by discontinuities in ϕ(x). The methods described here have an important application to the numerical solution of all types of integral equations: this application will be discussed in the following paper.


Sewage Treatment Plants are designed to handle the volume of sewage produced by target areas, however we face issues in streamlining the city's sewage lines to its destination on the grid. It is advisable to treat sewage at source and localize the STP plants. Indian city planning does not have the means and methods to complete elaborate systems at a stretch, this has caused disparity in development even within cities which has left it with numerous open drains and sewers. Though laid to serve as storm drains, open drains and sewers found across taluks are being used as sewage disposal lines. To overcome the difficulty of maintaining such structures, an automated open drain/sewer solid waste desilting machine is proposed. The machine removes all the solid waste that disrupts the steady flow of sewage. As a result, the natural flow velocity with which the pipelines are laid carries over such waste to the required STP. The machine is attached with ultrasonic sensors that detect the amount of waste present and its range. This data is transferred using an IoT software and the resulting data is a coherent graph.


Of all the countries studied in the large-scale WHO Multi-country Study on Women´s Health and Domestic Violence against Women (2005), Ethiopian women had the highest numbers of acceptance of intimate partner violence. And according to previous research on the subject, Ethiopian women have a high tolerance for and acceptance of the violence they endure. Yet when I interviewed women in Ethiopia (all of whom had been victims of violence) I discovered multiple forms of resistance to - rather than acceptance of - violence. Rather than confirming how women come to accept violence, my study uncovers many ways in which women resist violence, even in contexts where the available means of resistance are extremely limited.The aim of my inductive study is to begin to do justice to these forms of resistance, which are easily overlooked. First, as I argue in the analyses of my interviews with the women, our ability to discern forms of resistance in situations of intimate partner violence requires a more capacious notion of resistance than the one usually employed. Second, as I argue through my engagement with the previous research and the analyses of my interviews with women's organizations in Ethiopia, the inability to discern multiple and varied forms of resistance leads one to underestimate the degree of non-acceptance and active resistance in situations of intimate partner violence. Thus, while my limited study does not permit general conclusions about violence against women in Ethiopia, I conclude by suggesting that my findings have two important implications for social work, one theoretical and one practical.


During 2014-2105, the Division of Community Engagement collected and reviewed publicly available community assessments to gain a better understanding of community-identified priorities. Twenty-four (24) reports from the past 10 years (2005-2015) were reviewed for their geographical focus, explicit population of interest, data collection methods and stated priorities. The common priorities that emerged from this review are included here, along with the associated recommendations from the assessments. This effort was not intended to replace other assessments, rather as a means to understand the overarching priorities that have been identified through these various community assessments.


Interest in extracellular vesicles and in particular microvesicles and exosomes, which are constitutively produced by cells, is on the rise for their huge potential as biomarkers in a high number of disorders and pathologies as they are considered as carriers of information among cells, as well as being responsible for the spreading of diseases. Current methods of analysis of microvesicles and exosomes do not fulfill the requirements for their in-depth investigation and the complete exploitation of their diagnostic and prognostic value. Lab-on-chip methods have the potential and capabilities to bridge this gap and the technology is mature enough to provide all the necessary steps for a completely automated analysis of extracellular vesicles in body fluids. In this paper we provide an overview of the biological role of extracellular vesicles, standard biochemical methods of analysis and their limits, and a survey of lab-on-chip methods that are able to meet the needs of a deeper exploitation of these biological entities to drive their use in common clinical practice.


This article addresses some implications for gender equality and gender policy at European and national levels of transformations in family, economy and polity, which challenge gender regimes across Europe. Women's labour market participation in the west and the collapse of communism in the east have undermined the systems and assumptions of western male breadwinner and dual worker models of central and eastern Europe. Political reworking of the work/welfare relationship into active welfare has individualised responsibility. Individualisation is a key trend west – and in some respects east – and challenges the structures that supported care in state and family. The links that joined men to women, cash to care, incomes to carers have all been fractured. The article will argue that care work and unpaid care workers are both casualties of these developments. Social, political and economic changes have not been matched by the development of new gender models at the national level. And while EU gender policy has been admired as the most innovative aspect of its social policy, gender equality is far from achieved: women's incomes across Europe are well below men's; policies for supporting unpaid care work have developed modestly compared with labour market activation policies. Enlargement brings new challenges as it draws together gender regimes with contrasting histories and trajectories. The article will map social policies for gender equality across the key elements of gender regimes – paid work, care work, income, time and voice – and discuss the nature of a model of gender equality that would bring gender equality across these. It analyses ideas about a dual earner–dual carer model, in the Dutch combination scenario and 'universal caregiver' models, at household and civil society levels. These offer a starting point for a model in which paid and unpaid work are equally valued and equally shared between men and women, but we argue that a citizenship model, in which paid and unpaid work obligations are underpinned by social rights, is more likely to achieve gender equality.


Biometric technology is quickly becoming a principal method of identification in todayÂ's fast-paced networked and security-conscious society. However, adoption of new technology is considered successful when employees embrace and use it effectively. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions and acceptance of biometric technology by employees in hotels: trying to find out about the knowledge base available about biometrics among hotel employees. This study apply technology acceptance model (TAM) to conduct this research. The results indicated that 77% of employees are ready to adopt biometric systems in hotels, especially if they are perceived as useful.


General Circulation Model (GCM) simulations of future climate through 2099 project a wide range of possible scenarios (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007). To determine the sensitivity and potential effect of long-term climate change on the freshwater resources of the United States, the U.S. Geological Survey Global Change study, "An integrated watershed scale response to global change in selected basins across the United States" was started in 2008. The long-term goal of this national study is to provide the foundation for hydrologically based climate-change studies across the nation. Fourteen basins for which the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) has been calibrated and evaluated were selected as study sites. PRMS is a deterministic, distributedparameter watershed model developed to evaluate the effects of various combinations of precipitation, temperature, and land use on streamflow and general basin hydrology. Output from five GCMs and four emission scenarios were used to develop an ensemble of climate-change scenarios for each basin. These ensembles were simulated with the corresponding PRMS model. This fact sheet summarizes the hydrologic effect and sensitivity of the PRMS simulations to climate change for the East River Basin at Almont, in Colorado (U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station 09112500; fig. 1) presented in the project summary report (Markstrom and others, 2012) and two journal articles (Hay and others, 2001; Battaglin and others, 2011). Study Area


A pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has infected more than 2 million people and killed exceeding 150,000 people around the world as of April 19,2020. We obtained the clinical data of all diagnosed patients in Fuyang, Anhui province to investigate indicators that can be used to assess severity of COVID-19. Of the 155 patients, 87(56.13%) were males. The mean age was 41.95 (SD 15.34) years. Only 30(19.35%) patients had critical condition. Fever (84.52%) followed by cough (81.94%) were the most common symptoms, and short of breath was more common in severe patients (P<0.01). Lymphopenia was observed in most patients (74, 47.7%). It showed the elevation of C-reaction protein (CRP) in 100 (64.5%) patients and the elevation of serum amyloid protein A (SAA) in 104 (67.1%) patients. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) was above the normal range in 104 (67.1%) patients. The calculated cut-off value of CRP was 19.35 mg/mL, the AUC was 0.777, sensitivity was 73.3%, specificity was 69.6%; SAA was 73.55 mg/L, 0.679, 83.3%, 56.8% respectively; IL-6 was 18.85 pg/mL, 0.797, 83.3%, 64.8%; D-Dimer was 0.325 mg/L, 0.673, 66.7% and 68.8%. The combination of CRP, SAA, IL-6 and D-Dimer was 0.823 in AUC, 73.3% in sensitivity and 78.4% in specificity. Old age, co-existing disease and lymphopenia are related to severe COVID-19. Elevated CRP, SAA, IL-6 and D-Dimer can be predictors to severe COVID-19. The combination of these four indicators can improve the effectivity and specificity of assessing severe COVID-19.


Fully mapped tree census plots of large area, 25 to 52 hectares, have now been completed at six different sites in tropical forests, including dry deciduous to wet evergreen forest on two continents. One of the main goals of these plots has been to evaluate spatial patterns in tropical tree populations. Here the degree of aggregation in the distribution of 1768 tree species is examined based on the average density of conspecific trees in circular neighborhoods around each tree. When all individuals larger than 1 centimeter in stem diameter were included, nearly every species was more aggregated than a random distribution. Considering only larger trees (>/= 10 centimeters in diameter), the pattern persisted, with most species being more aggregated than random. Rare species were more aggregated than common species. All six forests were very similar in all the particulars of these results.


ABSTRACT The consequence of differing levels of agreement across raters is rarely studied. Subsequently, knowledge is limited on how number of raters affects the outcome. The present study aimed to examine the impact on pre-linguistic outcome classifications of 12-month-old infants when using four raters compared to three. Thirty experienced Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) from five countries assessed 20 minute video recordings of four 12-month-old infants during a play session with a parent. One recording was assessed twice. A naturalistic listening method in real time was used. This involved: (1) assessing, each syllable as canonical or non-canonical, and (2) following the recording, assessing if the infant was babbling canonically and listing the syllables the infant produced with command. The impact that four raters had on outcome, compared to three, was explored by classifying the outcome based on all possible combinations of three raters and determining the frequency that the outcome assessment changed when a fourth assessor was added. Results revealed that adding a fourth rater had a minimal impact on canonical babbling ratio assessment. Presence/absence of canonical babbling and size of consonant inventory showed a negligible impact on three out of four recordings, whereas the size of syllable inventory and presence/absence of canonical babbling was minimally affected in one recording by adding a fourth rater. In conclusion, adding a forth rater in assessment of pre-linguistic utterances in 12-month-old infants with naturalistic assessment in real time does not affect outcome classifications considerably. Thus, using three raters, as opposed to four, is recommended.


IEEE Security & Privacy could be a lot more international in its focus and content. Reflecting on the content and tone over the past seven years (yes, S&P is seven years old!), it's hard to tell that we do think of either privacy or security in a broad international context. There are examples of taking a broader view, but they're more notable as exceptions than as standards. This is bad for several reasons. First, privacy and security have different levels of importance in different places in the world. Second, by largely ignoring the non-Western world, we risk dangerous blind spots. Third, we might be failing to take simple and easy steps that would make our magazine more broadly valuable worldwide.


The expression of the immediate-early gene c-fos was used to compare networks of activity associated with recency memory (temporal order memory) and recognition memory. In Experiment 1, rats were first familiarized with sets of objects and then given pairs of different, familiar objects to explore. For the recency test group, each object in a pair was separated by 110 min in the time between their previous presentations. For the recency control test, each object in a pair was separated by less than a 1 min between their prior presentations. Temporal discrimination of the objects correlated with c-fos activity in the recency test group in several sites, including area Te2, the perirhinal cortex, lateral entorhinal cortex, as well as the dentate gyrus, hippocampal fields CA3 and CA1. For both the test and control conditions, network models were derived using structural equation modeling. The recency test model emphasized serial connections from the perirhinal cortex to lateral entorhinal cortex and then to the CA1 subfield. The recency control condition involved more parallel pathways, but again highlighted CA1 within the hippocampus. Both models contrasted with those derived from tests of object recognition (Experiment 2), because stimulus novelty was associated with pathways from the perirhinal cortex to lateral entorhinal cortex that then involved both the dentate gyrus (and CA3) and CA1 in parallel. The present findings implicate CA1 for the processing of familiar stimuli, including recency discriminations, while the dentate gyrus and CA3 pathways are recruited when the perirhinal cortex signals novel stimuli.


In his body of photographs, Samalada (2008), the Chinese artist Adou uses extremely expired film; the resulting artifacts—marks of the animal, vegetable, and mineral matter composing film surfaces—are as visible a part of the photographs as their depictions of relations among humans, animals, plants, cultural artifacts, earth and sky in southwestern China. Adou and other photographers in China, Japan, and the West working in a time of environmental crisis understand film itself in ecological terms. The very materiality and forms of photographic images are emergent from and interact with larger ecosystems of matter, bodies, spaces, surfaces, markings, liquids, pollution, light, and the atmosphere, thereby allowing the human to be seen as one among many contingent agents within ecological processes. Photography thus becomes a crucial site for staging and rethinking fundamental questions of the relations between culture and nature—and for learning to picture the Anthropocene.


The overall aim of this project was to identify the fundamental skills necessary for hazard perception in motorcycle riding. In particular, we aimed to determine the differences between experienced and inexperienced motorcycle riders in their ability to perceive and respond to hazards. These aims were addressed using a focus group discussion and four experiments. Hazard perception tasks were tested on various groups including: experienced drivers with no riding experience, experienced riders who were also experienced drivers, inexperienced riders who varied in driving experience, and novice riders who varied in driving experience. This paper provides an overview of the major findings of the project. We also discuss the difficulties associated with research using motorcycle simulators.


After those in the Amazon, the Congo Basin forests are the second largest of the world's dense and humid tropical forests. They extend from the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea to the west, to the Albertin rift mountains to the east, and open nearly seven degrees of latitude on both sides of the equator. For the most part, they belong to all Congolese Guinean forests, of which they constitute more than 80% of the total area. In western Cameroon and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo they also include Afro-mountain forests (FAO, 2006). The results obtained after the study reveal that the community of Bakumu-Madombe is familiar with the different NTFPs in its ecosystem. These NTFPs are able to provide the population not only with consumer products but also with recipes. Indeed, hunting, fishing and trapping occupy the first place (43%) of global average receipts which are of the order of 45694.67 Fc. Second place goes to the caterpillars (35%) and finally the mushrooms come last with 22% of revenue. Among the most produced SAPs leaving their quantities in the middle Kumu; It appears here that Scorodophleus zenkeri is the most exploited, followed by Solanum turvum and Anonidium mannii. We see that SAPs, including NWFPs, generate their share of overall income. This share is on average for each household of the Community of 19446.67 Fc / year for Fishing / Hunting / Traps is 39%, 10182.67 Fc / year for Mushrooms (21%), 16065.3 Fc / period for caterpillars (33%) and 3410.89 Fc / period for SAPs (7%). From the point of view of agricultural production, households produce and sell more cassava than maize and rice and therefore the income from this speculation is considerable. However, cassava incomes are staggered over time whereas those of maize and rice can be realized in a short time following the harvest and the growing season. it is shown that in the household income wild food plants (PAS) represent a share of 2% followed by Livestock with 25%, other NTFPs with 29%, and Agriculture with 44%. Finally, this research has shown that forests are a source of food products in the environment and income. It is time to think about its protection and conservation by practicing sustainable agriculture for the maintenance of biodiversity and different ecosystems of Tshopo. Key words: Forest Products (pfnl); Wild food plants (WFP); Agricultural production ; Kumu household; Tshopo / ground floor .


Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate the implications of the fourth industrial revolution for technological competitiveness, its definition and measurement methods. An empirical part is aimed at identifying comparative advantages of the European Union in digital technologies. Recently new approaches have appeared to measure digital competitiveness, however they use a broad definition of competitiveness that encompasses not only technological factors but also the macroeconomic and institutional environment (IMD, 2017; WEF, 2018). There is still a limited number of studies focused on the technological dimension of competitiveness in digital technologies. This paper fills the gap by developing a conceptual framework based on patent indicators, i.e. Patent Share and Revealed Technological Advantage indices. It allows a consistent analysis of the comparative advantages of the EU member states in digital technologies to be conducted. The results confirm a huge diversity within the EU in terms of digital technologies, their global impact and comparative advantages.


Abrupt Climate C Geophysical Mon Copyright 2011 b 10.1029/2010GM Two high-resolution century-scale palynological records from the eastern Canadian margin were analyzed to estimate the impact of Lake Agassiz's final drainage at circa 8.3 ka on sea surface conditions and to track the path of the meltwater plume. Core HU87033-19 from Notre Dame Channel on Northeast Newfoundland Shelf contains four distinct detrital carbonate (DC) beds, known to be sediment transported from Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay, and one layer is coeval with the drainage of Lake Agassiz. Within that DC layer, significant changes in dinoflagellate cyst assemblages indicate lower sea surface temperatures and salinity. The drop in salinity is a doublet, suggesting two episodes of meltwater drainage. Core HU84011-12, from St. Anne's Basin, on the northern Scotian Shelf contains similar changes in dinoflagellate cyst assemblages at the time of the drainage, indicating sea surface cooling accompanied by a slight decrease in salinity. The impact of the meltwater was greater in the Notre Dame Channel. This suggests that most of the meltwater from the final drainages of Lake Agassiz flowed south over the Labrador and Northeast Newfoundland shelves and was not dispersed directly into the Labrador Sea. Instead, it was possibly dispersed into the slope water system and subsequently into the North Atlantic after flowing initially over the continental shelf. This is the first paper describing paleoecological data indicating the presence of the Agassiz meltwater along the eastern Canadian margin.


There is a popular belief in neuroscience that we are primarily data limited, and that producing large, multimodal, and complex datasets will, with the help of advanced data analysis algorithms, lead to fundamental insights into the way the brain processes information. These datasets do not yet exist, and if they did we would have no way of evaluating whether or not the algorithmically-generated insights were sufficient or even correct. To address this, here we take a classical microprocessor as a model organism, and use our ability to perform arbitrary experiments on it to see if popular data analysis methods from neuroscience can elucidate the way it processes information. Microprocessors are among those artificial information processing systems that are both complex and that we understand at all levels, from the overall logical flow, via logical gates, to the dynamics of transistors. We show that the approaches reveal interesting structure in the data but do not meaningfully describe the hierarchy of information processing in the microprocessor. This suggests current analytic approaches in neuroscience may fall short of producing meaningful understanding of neural systems, regardless of the amount of data. Additionally, we argue for scientists using complex non-linear dynamical systems with known ground truth, such as the microprocessor as a validation platform for time-series and structure discovery methods. Author Summary Neuroscience is held back by the fact that it is hard to evaluate if a conclusion is correct; the complexity of the systems under study and their experimental inaccessability make the assessment of algorithmic and data analytic technqiues challenging at best. We thus argue for testing approaches using known artifacts, where the correct interpretation is known. Here we present a microprocessor platform as one such test case. We find that many approaches in neuroscience, when used na•vely, fall short of producing a meaningful understanding.


The high-risk infants who initially enrolled in the Abecedarian Project, a longitudinal prospective study of the benefits of early childhood educational intervention within a child care setting, were followed up as young adults (age 21 years). One hundred-eleven infants were in the original sample; 104 took part in the follow up. Treatment was provided in 2 phases: during preschool and in the primary grades. Participants received either both phases, 1, but not both, or neither. Assignment to groups was random. Those in the preschool treatment group earned significantly higher scores on intellectual and academic measures as young adults, attained significantly more years of total education, were more likely to attend a 4-year college, and showed a reduction in teenaged pregnancy compared with preschool controls. Preschool treatment was associated with educationally meaningful effect sizes on reading and math skills that persisted into adulthood. School-age treatment served to maintain preschool benefits for reading, but by itself, the effects were generally weaker than those of the preschool program. Statistically significant differences in the attainment of full economic independence were not found at this stage, but would not be expected among young adults still attending school. The incidence of self-reported violence and lawbreaking was not significantly reduced, although trends in the data favored the treated group. The reported incidence of marijuana use was significantly less among treated individuals. The positive findings with respect to academic skills and increased years of post-secondary education support policies favoring early childhood programs for poor children.


This thesis is a study of the relationship between gender, citizenship and reproductive rights in the poblaciones of Santiago, both in relation to the Chilean State and in terms of the categories of international human rights law. At a time in which there has been a great deal of debate about women's international rights and new areas of rights directed at women have begun to be defined, this study seeks to draw attention to the need to consider how such rights operate in specific cultural contexts. In particular, it considers how dominant cultural discourses of gender are constructed and reproduced in the context of marginal urban communities in Santiago, Chile, and the constraints they may place on the conception and exercise of women's citizenship. The thesis sets out to show the ways in which these discourses are embedded in state institutions and reproduced in its practices. It describes the ways in which the law operates in a discursive way to allow or disallow interpretations of events and thereby conditions and delimits women's citizenship. Rather then depicting these dominant discourses as totalizing, the thesis aims to present a more complex picture in which women may on the one hand be seen to be complicit in their own subordination, but on the other to adopt alternative discourses, for example the new feminist discourse on human rights and the discourses emanating from NGOs which focus on concepts of freedom and autonomy. Women may be seen to reinterpret these discourses in the course of applying them to their own situations, accepting, rejecting and transforming them in the process. It draws on interviews with 89 women living in marginal urban communities, which investigate the exercise of citizenship and the variables affecting women's capacity to operationalise their rights. The data aims to show how rights discourses, including human rights can play a transformative role in the content and practice of citizenship. The extension of the concept of citizen to incorporate new areas of rights such as reproductive and sexual rights, creates the potential for women to use these conceptual tools to challenge traditional gender discourse that discriminate against them and inhibit the exercise of their citizenship. The thesis lays out the theoretical debates in relation to gender and citizenship, the state, the universalist-relativist debate in anthropology and the feminist discourse on human rights and argues in favour of a perspective that incorporates a gendered analysis of the cultural factors influencing the operation of laws.


Abstract. This study evaluates the performance of the recently developed Pandora spectrometer by comparing it with the Brewer reference triad. This triad was established by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in the 1980s and is used to calibrate Brewer instruments around the world, ensuring high-quality total column ozone (TCO) measurements. To reduce stray light, the double Brewer instrument was introduced in 1992, and a new reference triad of double Brewers is also operational at Toronto. Since 2013, ECCC has deployed two Pandora spectrometers co-located with the old and new Brewer triads, making it possible to study the performance of three generations of ozone-monitoring instruments. The statistical analysis of TCO records from these instruments indicates that the random uncertainty for the Brewer is below 0.6 %, while that for the Pandora is below 0.4 %. However, there is a 1 % seasonal difference and a 3 % bias between the standard Pandora and Brewer TCO data, which is related to the temperature dependence and difference in ozone cross sections. A statistical model was developed to remove this seasonal difference and bias. It was based on daily temperature profiles from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA-Interim data over Toronto and TCO from the Brewer reference triads. When the statistical model was used to correct Pandora data, the seasonal difference was reduced to 0.25 % and the bias was reduced to 0.04 %. Pandora instruments were also found to have low air mass dependence up to 81.6° solar zenith angle, comparable to double Brewer instruments.


Bladeless fans are well known for their unique shape and efficient performance, which have a great impact on the fan industry. At present, there are few studies on the bladeless fan and the research on the improvement of fan design is a lack. Therefore, the study on the performance of the bladeless fan with different design is the main purpose of this thesis. In the present study, a bladeless fan prototype is created and studied by numerical simulations. When characterizing the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performances of the bladeless fan, the entire fan prototype, including wind channel, base, rotor and stator, is adopted; when investigating the influence of the wind channel's geometric parameters, only wind channel is considered in simulations. The influence of the slit width, the height of the cross-section, the slit location and the profile of the cross-section are studied. It is found that the flow outside the bladeless fan consists of the air blown out from the wind channel and entrained from the back and side of the fan. The air entrained from the side is the main source of flow rate increase. As for the aeroacoustic performance, the rotor and stator inside the base are the predominated source of the noise generated by the bladeless fan. The performances of the bladeless fan are very sensitive to the geometric details of the wind channel. The generated noise always increases as the wind strength improves. The slit width of the wind channel has the greatest impact. With the slit moves away from the leading edge, the wind produced by the bladeless fan becomes more powerful and the noise becomes louder. The cross-sectional height of 4cm has the best aerodynamic performance but the generated noise is a little larger than other designs. The profile of the cross-section shows insignificant influence on the performances.


The most enigmatic problems with the nearly 200 salt domes pierced in the Persian Gulf and in the Zagros Mountain Ranges (ZMR) in southern Iran, a unique morphology in the world, have been the matter of this study, which is based on a combination of field work, enhancement of satellite and aerial photographs etc. In the ZMR, structural anomalies are frequently associated with similar facies distribution patterns. In the eastern portion of the region, emergent salt plugs of Infra-Cambrian age exhibit the same alignment patterns. Such trends bear no apparent genetic relationship to the Tertiary folding responsible for the present Zagros fold belt, but rather indicate their affinity with linear basement features which are readily observable on Land sat imagery and aerial photographs. Bending of anticlines in the competent cover rock, combined with minor strike-slip faults and horizontal displacements of parts of folded structures, strongly point to the presence of these basement faults. The salt plugs, which have pierced cover rocks of up to 10000 m thick, are distributed on the Arabian Platform along regional basement faults. The area of diapir outcrops is bounded by the Oman Line to the east and by the Kazerun fault to the west. Pieces of the basement have been brought up to the surface on some of the salt domes. The fragments were transported by rotational ascent of the Hormuz Salt Formation to the present and former land surfaces. The recognition of features related to basement tectonics and realization of their implication in the control and modification of geological processes are important adjuncts to the search for hydrocarbon accumulations in this region. To our best knowledge, data of basement faults in the study area are scarce. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine basement faults and their relation to salt dome distribution. Considering the fold axes bending, the trend of the salt plugs and also the distribution of epicenters of the last century, numerous new basement faults are introduced in this paper.


We search for signatures of gravitational lensing in the gravitational-wave signals from compact binary coalescences detected by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo during O3a, the first half of their third observing run. We study: 1) the expected rate of lensing at current detector sensitivity and the implications of a non-observation of strong lensing or a stochastic gravitational-wave background on the merger-rate density at high redshift; 2) how the interpretation of individual high-mass events would change if they were found to be lensed; 3) the possibility of multiple images due to strong lensing by galaxies or galaxy clusters; and 4) possible wave-optics effects due to point-mass microlenses. Several pairs of signals in the multiple-image analysis show similar parameters and, in this sense, are nominally consistent with the strong lensing hypothesis. However, taking into account population priors, selection effects, and the prior odds against lensing, these events do not provide sufficient evidence for lensing. Overall, we find no compelling evidence for lensing in the observed gravitational-wave signals from any of these analyses.


We study the mapping between labor mobility and industrial innovative activity for the population of R&D active Danish firms observed between 1999 and 2004. Our study documents a positive relationship between the number of workers who join a firm and the firm's innovative activity. This relationship is stronger if workers join from innovative firms. We also find evidence for positive feedback from workers who leave for an innovative firm, presumably because the worker who left stays in contact with their former colleagues. This implies that the positive feedback ("social network effects") that has been found by other studies not only exists but even outweighs the disruption and loss of knowledge occurring to the previous employer from the worker leaving. Summing up the effects of joining and leaving workers, we find ample evidence for mobility to be associated with an increase in total innovative activity of the new and the old employer.


We study fiscal and monetary policy in a monetary union with the potential for rollover crises in sovereign debt markets. Member-country fiscal authorities lack commitment to repay their debt and choose fiscal policy independently. A common monetary authority chooses inflation for the union, also without commitment. We first describe the existence of a fiscal externality that arises in the presence of limited commitment and leads countries to overborrow; this externality rationalizes the imposition of debt ceilings in a monetary union. We then investigate the impact of the composition of debt in a monetary union, that is the fraction of high-debt versus low-debt members, on the occurrence of self-fulfilling debt crises. We demonstrate that a high-debt country may be less vulnerable to crises and have higher welfare when it belongs to a union with an intermediate mix of high- and low-debt members, than one where all other members are low-debt. This contrasts with the conventional wisdom that all countries should prefer a union with low-debt members, as such a union can credibly deliver low inflation. These findings shed new light on the criteria for an optimal currency area in the presence of rollover crises. JEL Codes: E4, E5, F3, F4.


This paper demonstrates effects of economic convergence processes on the foreign exchange behaviour in a monetary modelling approach. Since the exchange rate represents the relative price of two currencies, commonness of stochastic trends between the fundamental determinants of supply and demand of the underlying monies restricts exchange rate movements to transitory fluctuations. In the spirit of optimal currency areas, this has the potential to serve as a criterion for an all-round integration of two economies. Empirically, such a constellation is found between Australia and New Zealand, whereas diverging trends in money and interest rates characterise the relation of Australia towards the US.


ABSTRACT Ebola virus (EBOV) makes extensive and intricate use of host factors in the cellular endosomal/lysosomal pathway to release its genome into the cytoplasm and initiate infection. Following viral internalization into endosomes, host cysteine proteases cleave the EBOV fusion glycoprotein (GP) to unmask the binding site for its intracellular receptor, the cholesterol transporter Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1). GP-NPC1 interaction is required for viral entry. Despite these and other recent discoveries, late events in EBOV entry following GP-NPC1 binding and culminating in GP-catalyzed fusion between viral and cellular lipid bilayers remain enigmatic. A mechanistic understanding of EBOV membrane fusion has been hampered by the failure of previous efforts to reconstitute fusion in vitro or at the cell surface. This report describes an assay to monitor initial steps directly in EBOV membrane fusion—triggering of GP and virus-cell lipid mixing—by single virions in live cells. Fusogenic triggering of GP occurs predominantly in Rab7-positive (Rab7+) endosomes, absolutely requires interaction between proteolytically primed GP and NPC1, and is blocked by key GP-specific neutralizing antibodies with therapeutic potential. Unexpectedly, cysteine protease inhibitors do not inhibit lipid mixing by virions bearing precleaved GP, even though they completely block cytoplasmic entry by these viruses, as shown previously. These results point to distinct cellular requirements for different steps in EBOV membrane fusion and suggest a model in which host cysteine proteases are dispensable for GP fusion triggering after NPC1 binding but are required for the formation of fusion pores that permit genome delivery. IMPORTANCE Ebola virus (EBOV) causes outbreaks of highly lethal disease for which no approved vaccines or treatments exist. Recent work has elucidated key molecular features of the complex EBOV entry process, including stepwise interactions with multiple host factors. However, there is a critical gap in our understanding of events that surround the final membrane fusion step which persists due to the paucity of direct and extensive investigation of EBOV fusion. Here, we report a real-time assay for EBOV glycoprotein fusion triggering and use it to define its cellular location and requirements. We also uncover an unexpected requirement for host proteases at a step after fusion triggering that may reflect their role in formation of fusion pores for genome delivery. Ebola virus (EBOV) causes outbreaks of highly lethal disease for which no approved vaccines or treatments exist. Recent work has elucidated key molecular features of the complex EBOV entry process, including stepwise interactions with multiple host factors. However, there is a critical gap in our understanding of events that surround the final membrane fusion step which persists due to the paucity of direct and extensive investigation of EBOV fusion. Here, we report a real-time assay for EBOV glycoprotein fusion triggering and use it to define its cellular location and requirements. We also uncover an unexpected requirement for host proteases at a step after fusion triggering that may reflect their role in formation of fusion pores for genome delivery.


Studying a high-stakes field setting, we examine which individuals, on an ideological scale, conform more to the opinion of others. In the U.S. Courts of Appeals, legal precedents are set by ideologically diverse and randomly composed panels of judges. Using exogenous predictors of ideology and rich voting data we show that ideological disagreements drive dissents against the panel's decision, but ideologically extreme judges are caving in: they are the least likely to dissent and their voting records are the least correlated with their predicted ideology. Meanwhile, moderately ideological judges are dissenting the most despite evidence that they are more often determining the opinion. Our theoretical analysis shows that these findings are most consistent with a model of decision making in the presence of peer pressure with a concave cost of deviating from one's ideological convictions – perfectionism. This result presents a critique of a standard assumption in economics – that the cost of deviating from one's bliss point is convex – with fundamental implications for decision making in social and political settings and for the empirical predictions of theoretical models in these domains.


Messiah College is a Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences. The College is committed to an embracing evangelical spirit rooted in the Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan traditions of the Christian Church. Our mission is to educate men and women toward maturity of intellect, character, and Christian faith in preparation for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.


This study examines the characteristics of cement plants and their ability to shed or shift load to participate in demand response (DR). Relevant factors investigated include the various equipment and processes used to make cement, the operational limitations cement plants are subject to, and the quantities and sources of energy used in the cement-making process. Opportunities for energy efficiency improvements are also reviewed. The results suggest that cement plants are good candidates for DR participation. The cement industry consumes over 400 trillion Btu of energy annually in the United States, and consumes over 150 MW of electricity in California alone. The chemical reactions required to make cement occur only in the cement kiln, and intermediate products are routinely stored between processing stages without negative effects. Cement plants also operate continuously for months at a time between shutdowns, allowing flexibility in operational scheduling. In addition, several examples of cement plants altering their electricity consumption based on utility incentives are discussed. Further study is needed to determine the practical potential for automated demand response (Auto-DR) and to investigate the magnitude and shape of achievable sheds and shifts.


Pathways Analysis for State Proliferators. (May 2011) Michael Reece Mella, B.S., Ohio State University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. William S. Charlton A computational tool to assess the most likely path a state proliferator would take in making a nuclear weapon was created in a Bayesian network. The purpose of this work was to create a tool to facilitate analysts and policymakers in learning about state proliferation. In carrying out this work, a previous Bayesian network based on nuclear weapon proliferation was expanded to include dual-use export controlled technologies. The constant nodes in the network quantifying technical capability, international networking, and available infrastructure were developed to be based on pertinent characteristics that were appropriately weighted. To verify the network, nine historical cases of state proliferation were tested over time, and the enrichment and weapon pathways were graphed. The network sufficiently modeled the cases, so it was concluded that, while one can never truly being able to sufficiently validate a network of this type, sufficient verification was achieved. The tool was used to gain knowledge and insight concerning technology transfers with four countries in hypothetical cases. This exercise proved that the network can in fact be used to learn about state proliferation under different policies and conditions.


This paper studies the hypothesis that the acoustic-to-articulatory mapping is nonunique, statistically. The distributions of the acoustic and articulatory spaces are obtained by minimizing the BIC while fitting the data into a GMM using the EM algorithm. The kurtosis is used to measure the non-Gaussianity of the distributions and the Bhattacharya distance is used to find the difference between distributions of the acoustic vectors producing nonunique articulator configurations. It is found that stop consonants and alveolar fricatives are generally not only non-linear but also nonunique, while dental fricatives are found to be highly non-linear but fairly unique.


A tryptophan pyramid allows a dimeric protein to perceive ultraviolet light without an additional chromophore. In Arabidopsis, the UVR8 protein responds to ultraviolet-B (UV-B) light by dissociating into monomers, which are then available to interact with downstream factors that enact the plant's response to light. Christie et al. (see the Perspective by Gardner and Correa) have now determined the crystal structure of UVR8. Without ultraviolet-B light, UVR8 dimerizes, with two donut-shaped monomers joined by a network of salt bridges. Close-packing of a pyramid of tryptophan residues permits exciton coupling that is key to UV-B perception. Electron transfer after UV-B perception could dissociate the salt bridges that hold the dimer together and release monomeric UVR8 to initiate light-induced signaling. J. M. Christie, A. S. Arvai, K. J. Baxter, M. Heilmann, A. J. Pratt, A. O'Hara, S. M. Kelly, M. Hothorn, B. O. Smith, K. Hitomi, G. I. Jenkins, E. D. Getzoff, Plant UVR8 photoreceptor senses UV-B by tryptophan-mediated disruption of cross-dimer salt bridges. Science 335, 1492–1496 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text] K. H. Gardner, F. Correa, How plants see the invisible. Science 335, 1451–1452 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text]


In the German Health Interview and Examination Survey (DEGS1), data on the prevalence of physician-diagnosed stroke were collected from 2008 to 2011 in a representative population-based sample of 5,901 adults aged 40–79 years. The stroke prevalence in DEGS1 was compared with prevalence estimates from the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998 (GNHIES98). The lifetime prevalence of stroke in adults aged 40–79 years is 2.9% (women: 2.5%; men: 3.3%). In both sexes, the prevalence increases continuously with age, up to 6.3% in women and 8.1% in men 70–79 years old. More pronounced in women than in men, the prevalence of stroke decreases with increasing socioeconomic status. Compared to GNHIES98, there is no evidence for a change in stroke prevalence over time. The prevalence of stroke in adults aged 40–79 years in Germany is comparable to prevalence estimates from other national and international studies. Further studies should examine the reasons behind stable prevalence rates, accounting for population ageing and changes in incidence, mortality and case


This article examines whether money talks in political campaign coverage. Analyzing news coverage about twenty-nine recent direct-democratic campaigns in Switzerland, it shows that votes involving expensive campaigns and populist proposals—and ideally both—correlate with high media attention. This favors especially Switzerland's largest party with the most resources, the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP). A case study of one vote on media policy confirms these patterns and shows that news coverage is also shaped by the vested (self-)interests of media organizations. The results imply that news media, affected by the crisis in journalism, fail to cover a truly wide diversity of actors and topics.


The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) project at SLAC uses a dense 15 GeV electron beam passing through a long undulator to generate extremely bright xrays at 1.5 angstroms. The project requires electron bunches with a nominal peak current of 3.5kA and bunch lengths of 0.020mm (70fs). The bunch compression techniques used to achieve the high brightness impose challenging tolerances on the accelerator RF phase and amplitude. The results of measurements on the existing SLAC linac RF phase and amplitude stability are summarised and improvements needed to meet the LCLS tolerances are discussed.


The rise in popularity of agile software development methodologies such as extreme programming (XP), crystal, DSDM and feature-driven development has opened an opportunity for the software engineering education community. How can one capitalize on the strengths of agile development models while still appealing to established software engineering practices? The typical introductory software engineering course makes use of a team-based project to reinforce software process activities. The project normally runs for one academic term during which students are led through life-cycle activities using a modified waterfall approach to software development. While useful in teaching software engineering process concepts, this approach limits the team's ability to utilize feedback from downstream process activities. It also limits the students' opportunity to understand process improvement from their own experiences. The ability to respond to project change is also dampened by the fact that teams do not have the time or resources in this format to modify, or refactor the design of a project component let alone incorporate a new or modified customer requirement. Agile methodologies promote an evolutionary approach to development using short incremental release cycles. We report on the experiences of conducting a team project in an introductory software engineering course using agile development techniques at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Teams have the opportunity to experience multiple iterations of the software engineering life cycle and evolve a product design that allows for discoveries made during implementation and through the introduction of changing customer requirements. The project integrates the concept of test-driven development. This agile technique addresses testing early in the development process and reinforces the value of unit testing. The incorporation of agile techniques is not only useful for students in an introductory course, but may also be applied to upper division software engineering courses.


Lionel Casson's encyclopedic study is the first of its kind to use underwater archaeological data to refine and area of scholarship that had, for the most part, relied on ancient texts and graphic representations. Tracing the history of early ships and seamanship from pre-dynastic Egypt to the Roman empire, from skiffs and barges to huge oared warships and royal yachts, Casson describes not only the ships themselves, but also the make-up and training of the crews, placement of weaponry, how cargo was stored, methods of navigation, harbor facilities, and the ways ships were named.


Our paper discusses academic writing for political science undergraduate higher education students. In the first part it focuses on the main topics in academic writing in political science, such as citation, references list, academic style, plagiarism. The second part focuses on recent discussions of teaching strategies in the field. While depicting a global picture in discussing trends in the literature, the paper also employs a minor focus on Romania. The paper makes a contribution to understanding the literature on academic writing in undergraduate political science higher education and helps comprehend recent pedagogical trends and developments.


Utilizing the near- to far-field transformation based on the 3-D finite difference time domain (FDTD) method and Fourier transformation, the far-field profile of a photonic crystal organic light emitting diode is studied to understand the viewing angle dependence. The measured far-field profiles agree well with those of the simulation. The enhancement of the extraction efficiency in excess of 60% is observed for the optimized photonic crystal pattern.


Infants' oculomotor tracking develops rapidly but is poorer when there are horizontal and vertical movement components. Additionally, persistence of objects moving through occlusion emerges at 4 months but initially is absent for objects moving obliquely. In two experiments, we recorded eye movements of thirty-two 4-month-old and thirty-two 6-month-old infants (mainly Caucasian-White) tracking horizontal, vertical, and oblique trajectories. Infants tracked oblique trajectories less accurately, but 6-month olds tracked more accurately such that they tracked oblique trajectories as accurately as 4-month olds tracked horizontal and vertical trajectories. Similar results emerged when the object was temporarily occluded. Thus, 4-month olds' tracking of oblique trajectories may be insufficient to support object persistence, whereas 6-month olds may track sufficiently accurately to perceive object persistence for all trajectory orientations.


Massive MIMO is a promising technique for increasing the spectral efficiency (SE) of cellular networks, by deploying antenna arrays with hundreds or thousands of active elements at the base stations and performing coherent transceiver processing. A common rule-of-thumb is that these systems should have an order of magnitude more antennas M than scheduled users K because the users' channels are likely to be near-orthogonal when M/K 10. However, it has not been proved that this rule-of-thumb actually maximizes the SE. In this paper, we analyze how the optimal number of scheduled users K* depends on M and other system parameters. To this end, new SE expressions are derived to enable efficient system-level analysis with power control, arbitrary pilot reuse, and random user locations. The value of K* in the large-M regime is derived in closed form, while simulations are used to show what happens at finite M, in different interference scenarios, with different pilot reuse factors, and for different processing schemes. Up to half the coherence block should be dedicated to pilots and the optimal M/K is less than 10 in many cases of practical relevance. Interestingly, K* depends strongly on the processing scheme and hence it is unfair to compare different schemes using the same K.


This study aims to analyze and understand the public relations communication strategy in increasing public trust in Nurul Jadid University, Paiton, Probolinggo, East Java. Public trust as the end of public relations communication activities, is very interesting to study, considering the trust will be built if universities have appropriate and effective strategies in carrying out public relations communication activities. This research uses a qualitative approach with case study. Informants in this study consisted of leaders, lecturers, and employees. Data collection techniques are done through interviews, observation and documentation. Data analysis was conducted circularly through stages of data display, data reduction, drawing conclusions. The results showed that; public relations communication strategy in increasing public trust at Nurul Jadid University is done through; Persuasive communication, assertive communication, paradigmatic communication. The implication of this research shows that communication built with the principle of mutual relationship and Islamic values will be able to minimize the miscommunication and misunderstanding between the institution and its people.


Kenya's social-economic development goals envisages an almost complete turnaround to her tourism industry including a number of high-capital investments. However, concerns exist as to the country's ability to attract such investment into her tourism industry with a number of reports showing the country as not being investor-favourable. In line with this concern, this study sought to explore the perspectives held by the hotel investors on the country's competitiveness as a tourism investment destination. The study was carried out in both Nairobi and the Kenya's coast circuit encompassing Mombasa Island, South Coast and North Coast. Further, the study adopted a cross-sectional survey based on an embedded study approach that involved 24 hotel companies operating 3 to 5 star hotels in Kenya, 5 investment consultancy firms, and 2 government investment promotion agencies. Primary data were collected using both interviews and unstructured questionnaires. Thematic data analysis was used to analyse the data. The identified themes were coded for further descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis. The study further revealed five main categories of factors cited by the three respondent groups as being determinants of the choice of an investment destination by the hotel companies in Kenya. These ranked as follows: (1 st ) Political and Regulatory factors (34%), (2 nd ) Economic factors (38%), (3 rd ) Marketing-related factors (28%), (4 th ) Destination resource endowment (21%), and (5 th ) Infrastructure (16%). In addition, the study found out that the most significant source of information for investment decision making was feasibility studies (cited by 95.8 % of all respondents). This was followed by the government reports on the performance of the tourism industry (58.3%) and the media reports from both the local and international media organizations (identified by 41.7%) of the respondents). The study found out that though the fully-owned subsidiary mode was the most preferred (75%), only a weak positive correlation existed between the mode and the local chain ownership type (R=0.19) and the local independent ownership type ( R=0.20). On Kenya's investment climate, the study found out that though the country was perceived as having strengths in key areas necessary to the success of hotel investments including a relatively stable political environment, government support for the sector, availability of qualified manpower and, infrastructure; the country was perceived as having the following key weaknesses: (1) High cost of doing business (25.5 %); (2) Political instability/uncertainty (15.3%); (3) Unfavourable business-related policies (13.6%); (4) Infrastructure (9.3%; (5) Corruption (9.3%); and (6) Insecurity (8.5%). In terms of the future investment plans, majority of the respondents (43%) indicated that they looked forward to establishing new hotel units within the country. The other major future investment plans were indicated as ―concentrating on the current business‖ (25%) and ―expanding operations into the East African region‖ (21%). The study further found out that the Kenyan Coast and Nairobi were the most popular hotel investment destinations. This study thus recommends that the government, together with other industry stakeholders, champion efforts geared towards attracting and retaining hotel investments. Specific attention should be focused on addressing the constraints limiting the competitiveness of the country as a tourism investment destination. More so, there is need for action to be taken to open up all tourismrich regions in the country for both tourism and related investments. Further, deliberate efforts should be dedicated to ensuring the success of EAC integration as a means towards expanding investment opportunities for local tourism investors.


Extracellular signal–regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), one of the best‐characterized members of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, mediates a range of activity from metabolism, motility, and inflammation to cell death and survival. It is phosphorylated and activated through a three‐tiered MEK mode via cell surface receptors stimulated by growth factors or cytokines. The phosphorylated ERK1/2 level is usually increased after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, but whether an increase in ERK1/2 phosphorylation is protective or detrimental is highly debatable. Much of the support for ERK1/2's role as a neuroprotectant against stroke stems from its apparent involvement in the beneficial effects of growth factors, estrogen, preconditioning, and hypothermia on the ischemic brain. Conversely, evidence supporting the detrimental effects of ERK1/2 activity is derived from its activation promoting inflammation and oxidative stress and its inhibition reducing ischemic damage. The dual potential of ERK1/2 actions in the ischemic brain is likely related to its responses to a diverse array of agonists and cell surface receptors. Plausibly, the ERK1/2 activity generated by cytokines and free radicals or other inflammatory factors after stroke may worsen ischemic damage, whereas the ERK1/2 activity produced by exogenous growth factors, estrogen, and preconditioning favors neuroprotection. Future experiments should be conducted to optimize the protective effect of ERK1/2 while blocking its detrimental actions. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Among Nashville's many slogans, the one that best reflects its emphasis on manners and decorum is the Nashville Way, a phrase coined by boosters to tout what they viewed as the city's amicable race relations. Benjamin Houston offers the first scholarly book on the history of civil rights in Nashville, providing new insights and critiques of this moderate progressivism for which the city has long been credited. Civil rights leaders such as John Lewis, James Bevel, Diane Nash, and James Lawson who came into their own in Nashville were devoted to nonviolent direct action, or what Houston calls the "black Nashville Way." Through the dramatic story of Nashville's 1960 lunch counter sit-ins, Houston shows how these activists used nonviolence to disrupt the coercive script of day-to-day race relations. Nonviolence brought the threat of its opposite--white violence-- into stark contrast, revealing that the Nashville Way was actually built on a complex relationship between etiquette and brute force. Houston goes on to detail how racial etiquette forged in the era of Jim Crow was updated in the civil rights era. Combined with this updated racial etiquette, deeper structural forces of politics and urban renewal dictate racial realities to this day. In >em>The Nashville Way , Houston shows that white power was surprisingly adaptable. But the black Nashville Way also proved resilient as it was embraced by thousands of activists who continued to fight battles over schools, highway construction, and economic justice even after most Americans shifted their focus to southern hotspots like Birmingham and Memphis.


From the Publisher:
A quick desktop reference for both new and experienced Dreamweaver developers, Dreamweaver in a Nutshell distills all of the software's features, commands, and shortcuts into one indispensable book. This is the most succinct and useful Dreamweaver reference available, and the only one in the compact In a Nutshell style.
With this book, you will learn everything from document management to site management and all the details in between. You'll also benefit from the author's years of hands-on experience through the power user tips and tricks. All the information you need is here, from basics to advanced topics, including navigation bars, frames, layers, tables, image maps, modifications with XML, style sheets, positioning elements, HTML cleanup tools, and ways to extend Dreamweaver functions and functionality. Provided throughout the book are useful examples to clarify difficult techniques or solve common problems.
Dreamweaver in a Nutshell focuses exclusively on Dreamweaver, rather than distracting readers with explanations of HTML and web design. That said, the book is equally useful to Dreamweaver UltraDev, which is based on the Dreamweaver platform. Dreamweaver in a Nutshell is the perfect companion to our best-selling Web Design in a Nutshell, and it complements the O'Reilly HTML, JavaScript, and Cascading Style Sheet books available in electronic format within the Dreamweaver Reference panel.
This book's quick style and compact format make it the perfect reference for web site professionals who rely on Dreamweaver daily.


Background Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is becoming a major challenge of tuberculosis (TB) control program globally but more serious in developing countries like Ethiopia. In 2013, a survey result showed that in Ethiopia, tuberculosis patients from new cases and retreatment cases had resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampicin with a significant increase over time. Inadequate knowledge and wrong perception about MDR-TB by patients were detrimental to TB control programs. The study aimed at assessing the knowledge and attitude of TB patients of direct observation therapy program towards multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in health centres of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 health centres of Addis Ababa which were selected by simple random sampling technique. A total of 422 TB patients were included in the study, and participants from each health centres were taken proportional to the number of clients in each health centres. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Association between outcome and independent variables was explored using logistic regression. Results The level of knowledge of TB patients about MDR-TB was poor and only 55.0% of TB patients attained good overall knowledge. A significant association was found between good knowledge and attending tertiary level of education (AOR = 4.3, 95%CI = 1.9, 9.8), gender (AOR = 1.62, 95%CI = 1.1, 2.4), income of respondents' family (OR = 0.4, 95%CI = 0.2, 0.9), and sleeping practice (AOR = 8.0, 95%CI = 4.0, 15.7). Nearly three-fourths (73.5%) of TB patients had a favourable attitude towards MDR-TB. Occupational status (AOR = 4.4, 95%CI = 2.5, 7.6) and sleeping practices (AOR = 2.4, 95%CI = 1.2, 5.0) were significantly associated with the attitude of the TB patients. Conclusions Knowledge of TB patients toward MDR-TB was poor. Although a large proportion of patients had a favourable attitude, it still needs to be improved. Hence, efforts should be made to implementing health education to improve awareness of TB patients about MDR-TB.


Arctic regions are especially influenced by a warming climate and thus are of high scientific interest. Methane, a highly radiative active trace gas and hence affecting global warming, is produced in permafrost soils and released into the atmosphere. The Lena River Delta, located at the Laptev Sea in northeast Siberia, is characterized by arctic tundra ecosystems and is underlain by continuous permafrost. Modelling methane flux is an important step in determining its source strength in high arctic environments.We present a methodical structure wherein two models are coupled and used to assess methane emissions from permafrost soils in the Lena River Delta on the regional scale. The process-based vegetation model BETHY/DLR (Biosphere Energy Transfer Hydrology Model; Knorr 1997, Wisskirchen 2005) is applied to calculate the net primary productivity (NPP) of high arctic tundra vegetation. NPP is parameterised as a measure for substrate availability and thus an important input parameter for the second model: the process-based methane model (Walter 1998) is subsequently used to explicitly model methane emissions for a given soil column, taking into account thawing permafrost.Model forcing consists of meteorological data, e.g. radiation, air and soil temperature and precipitation, obtained from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). They are validated by field measurements. Auxiliary input data for both models are derived from satellite-borne remote sensing data. A land use/land classification (LULC) scheme based on multispectral LANDSAT-7 ETM+ data (Schneider 2005) is used to derive information on wetland distribution as well as on vegetation and active layer thickness (ALT). The three parameters are key factors in modelling methane emissions from permafrost affected tundra ecosystems.Various measurements of methane flux on the landscape scale and small scale have been carried out during the entire growing season 2006 in the southern part of the Lena River delta (72°N, 126°E) by Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Sachs et al. 2007). The data were used to validate presented model results.


Background: Capecitabine has demonstrated high efficacy as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). In this non-randomized pilot study, we investigated the efficacy and safety of sequentially administered XELOX and XELIRI regimens or the reverse sequence in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Patients and Methods: Entry criteria were histologically confirmed mCRC, ECOG performance status (PS) ≤2 and adequate bone marrow, renal and hepatic function. All patients consecutively received XELOX followed by XELIRI at disease progression or vice versa. Results: In multivariate analysis, independent prognostic factors with worse overall survival were: lower PS (p = 0.0001), multiple metastatic sites (p = 0.016) and high tumor grade. Higher serum levels of alkaline phosphatase and worse ECOG PS were associated with a shorter progression-free survival. Grade 3/4 mucositis, nausea/vomiting, grade 3/4 alopecia and grade 3 diarrhea were more frequent with XELIRI, whereas major toxicity events with XELOX were grade 3 neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and grade 2/3 neurotoxicity. Conclusion: Capecitabine appears to be an acceptable alternative to continuous-infusion fluorouracil (FU)/leucovorin (LV) in combination therapy and offers an effective, but more convenient alternative to continuous infusion FU/LV in the first-line treatment of patients with mCRC.


The explosion of digital connectivity, the significant improvements in information and communication technologies
(ICTs) and the enforced global competition are revolutionizing the way business is performed and the way
organizations compete. ICT is believed to be a powerful enabling tool to address some of the key barriers and
challenges for entering the global economy and for future growth potential. ICTs can transform old challenges and
create unprecedented possibilities for sustainable economic development, just as it has done for businesses and
governance in the industrial world. It offers the potential not just to collect, store, process and diffuse enormous
quantities of information at minimal cost, but also, to network, interact and communicate across the world. This
paper reviews the challenges of good governance in Nigeria and then focus on the potentials of ICTs for sustainable
development of e-Governance. It discusses critical issues and obstacles that will affect the adoption of ICTs for
improved governance. The paper provides examples of how ICTs can be used and are being used to improve
governance and its sustenance.


Abstract. The health assessment of strategic infrastructures and bridges represents a critical variable for planning appropriate maintenance operations. The high costs and complexity of traditional periodical monitoring with elevating platforms have driven the search for more efficient and flexible methods. Indeed, recent years have seen the growing diffusion and adoption of non-invasive approaches consisting in the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for applications that range from visual inspection with optical sensors to LiDAR technologies for rapid mapping of the territory. This study defines two different methodologies for bridge inspection. A first approach involving the integration of traditional topographic and GNSS techniques with TLS and photogrammetry with cameras mounted on UAV was compared with a UAV-LiDAR method based on the use of a DJI Matrice 300 equipped with a LiDAR DJI Zenmuse L1 sensor for a manual flight and an automatic one. While the first workflow resulted in a centimetric accurate but time-consuming model, the UAV-LiDAR resulting point cloud's georeferencing accuracy resulted to be less accurate in the case of the manual flight under the bridge for GNSS signal obstruction. However, a photogrammetric model reconstruction phase made with Ground Control Points and photos taken by the L1-embedded camera improved the overall accuracy of the workflow, that could be employed for flexible low-cost mapping of bridges when medium level accuracy (5–10 cm) is accepted. In conclusion, a solution for integrating interactively final 3D products in a Bridge Management System environment is presented.


This project was undertaken to evaluate whether the Texas Manufacturing Institute (TMI) could operate without state appropriated funds. This feasibility study focused on alternative funding sources available to the TMI in lieu of state funding and how the "implementation of alternative funding would affect the mission, structure, and performance of TMI." The TMI is in the process of receiving the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC), a network established in September 1995 to provide technical expertise for small manufacturing facilities throughout the State of Texas. The TMAC operates with six regional offices and in conjunction with partnering institutions.


Fouling characteristics of various thin film composite polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes were systematically investigated using a high organic surficial groundwater obtained from the City of Plantation, Florida. Prior to bench-scale fouling experiments, surface properties of the selected RO and NF membranes were carefully analysed in order to correlate the rate and extent of fouling to membrane surface characteristics, such as roughness, charge and hydrophobicity. More specifically, the surface roughness was characterized by atomic force microscopy, while the surface charge and hydrophobicity of the membranes were evaluated through zeta potential and contact angle measurements, respectively. The results indicated that membrane fouling became more severe with increasing surface roughness, as measured by the surface area difference, which accounts for both magnitude and frequency of surface peaks. Surface roughness was correlated to flux decline; however, surface charge was not. The limited range of hydrophobicity of the flat sheet studies prohibited conclusions regarding the correlation of flux decline and hydrophobicity.


About the book
Criminal Justice: Local and Global and its sister text Crime: Local and Global are two new teaching texts that aim to equip the reader with a critical understanding of the globally contested nature of 'crime' and'justice'. Through an examination of key concepts and criminological approaches, the books illuminate the different ways in which crime is constructed, conceived and controlled. International case studies are used to demonstrate how 'crime' and 'justice' are historically and geographically located in terms of the global/local context, and how processes of criminalisation and punishment are mediated in contemporary societies. Criminal Justice: Local and Global covers the way the 'local' can be widened out to look at international, transnational and supranational aspects of justice. This means that issues such as corporate crime and human rights can be discussed in a comparative and critical way, examining the possibility, for example of an International Criminal Court, cross-national jurisdictions of regulation and control (such as Interpol) and so on. Each chapter covers a different area of regulation, punishment and process. Unlike previous texts, the book's approach will be an innovative approach to widen 'justice' to encompass considerations beyond simple, local jurisdictions. The book will take instances of 'justice' in one jurisdiction and use global examples to illustrate how ambiguous the concept of 'justice' can be.


During a routine inspection, three of four cast cones on an aerial tramway were found to have drawn through the neck of their sockets to varying degrees. This paper discusses the inspection and analysis of these cones and makes recommendations in order to avoid similar problems in the future.


Global climate change – essentially an adverse consequence of global warming, is principally caused by progressive build-up and extensive spread of greenhouse gases (ghgs) across countries, regions or continents, together with adverse effects of various other anthropogenic activities. The potent sources of ghgs are fossil-fuels and biomass. With the increasing pace of globalization, industrialization and rapid change of life-style the demand and consumption of these feed-stocks to stimulate economic growth is steadily rising – both in the developed and developing economy. In the process, the emissions level is also rising phenomenally; and fast becoming alarming to impact global climate. Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997 (COP3) and Bali Roadmap designed by COP14, a decade later in 2007, inter alia, made concerted effort to reduce emissions level substantially in a legally binding manner for the Annexure-I developed/industrialized nations by 2012 and beyond. The key objective of the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December 2009 was to continue and improve the existing Kyoto agreement from 1997, which ends in 2012. The new Copenhagen Protocol and the amended Kyoto Protocol (i.e. two tracks) would form the core of the Agreement in December, 2010 at Mexico with the main elements agreed to and a process with the details thereof to be finalized through decisions in a year or so, in order to ensure ratification by 2011. The paper is a conceptualization, collation, review and documentation of various elements related to global climate change issues and policies – from the historic past till December, 2009. The paper, based on this exercise, also offers a broad Strategic and operational framework for future climate negotiations beyond Copenhagen.


textabstractAbstract:
Several observation scales have been developed to measure
pain in elderly persons with cognitive impairments. Most
scales, however, do not provide cut-off scores for pain, and
previous studies do not include data on non-verbal patients
with diagnoses other than dementia. Objective: The
development of an easy-to-use, reliable and valid pain
observation scale, the Rotterdam Elderly Pain Observation
Scale (REPOS), for use in nursing home residents incapable
of reporting pain themselves. Methods: In this multicenter
case-control study 174 residents of various cognitive levels
were videotaped at rest and during a potentially painful
activity. Prevalences and co- occurrences of behaviors were
examined, and interrelationships were identified. To reduce
number of items, multiple linear regression analysis was
used. Interrater-, and intrarater agreements and internal
consistency were investigated. To estimate validity, REPOS
was related to Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Pain
Assessment in Advanced Dementia-Scale (PAINAD), and
activity and rest situations were compared. Results: A one-
dimensional model with a good fit was found. After
redundancy analysis, ten items remained. Interrater- and
intrarater agreements of two observers were good. Internal
consistency was moderate. Correlations between REPOS
and NRS were small to medium, and between REPOS and
PAINAD large. REPOS-scores for the two situations
differed significantly. A total score of 3 and higher
indicates pain. Conclusions: REPOS appears to be
promising for identifying pain in residents of various
cognitive levels. To improve pain management, a cut-off
score for pain was determined, together with a treatment
protocol. Its conciseness suggests good usefulness in daily
practice.


Abstract Transmission electron microscope-analytical electron microscope analyses have been carried out on secondary minerals from pillow basalts with various degrees of alteration from the Juan de Fuca Ridge (ODP Leg 168). The electron microscopic data indicate that the alteration products consist mainly of phyllosilicate mixtures. The least altered sample shows poorly crystalline phyllosilicates occurrring as flakes with 10 Å-spaced lattice fringes. They have compositions of celadonite mixed with smectite and/or Fe oxyhydroxides and Mg-rich smectite. Proceeding towards older, more altered basalts, the alteration products consist of: (1) poorly crystalline celadonite mixtures and Mg-rich smectite; and (2) phyllosilicates with a higher degree of crystallinity, showing lattice fringes with 9.1 Å-spacing and with a talc-like composition. Changes in phyllosilicate association occur as the type of alteration changes from an oxidizing, water-dominated system (occurrence of celadonite mixtures with Fe hydroxides) to a reducing, rock-dominated system (occurrence of Fe-smectite and talc-like mixtures).


HARALD WALACH [1] ABSTRACT: The aim of this exploratory study was first, to confirm the results found in EDA-DMILS research and, second, to examine the role of experimenter-participant interaction, as this is viewed to play a crucial role in parapsychological experiments. In a total of forty sessions, a pair of participants was each randomly assigned to either a personal or a neutral condition. In the personal condition, the experimenter tried to create a psi-conducive atmosphere. In the neutral condition, participants were given a computerized presentation in order to keep the interaction with the experimenter to a minimum. Our results yielded a nonsignificant effect (Wilcoxon statistic) of ES = .17. Furthermore, the quality of the experimenter-participation interaction was of minor importance for the agent's success in calming or activating the receiver. Interestingly, the effect size obtained from the Wilcoxon statistic for the neutral condition was three times larger than that for the personal condition (ES = .25 vs ES = . 08). The results are discussed with regard to methodological and psychophysiological considerations. First, since we can assume to have properly and successfully implemented the two conditions (by analyzing post-session questionnaires) our findings are hard to reconcile with what is reported about the importance of a psi-conducive atmosphere. Second, it is suggested that for future DMUS experiments the EDA equipment, parametrization, and data-processing be adjusted to psychophysiological standards. For example, in EDA-DMILS research, tonic components of the EDA are of interest (i.e., no stimuli are presented). Therefore, it is necessary to separate the electrodermal level from spontaneously occurring electrodermal fluctuations. In so doing, we will be able to examine any ostensible EDA-DMIIS effect more thoroughly. There exists an encouraging body of evidence regarding the ability of humans to interact mentally under circumstances that preclude all conventional means of information conveyance (for a summary, see Braud & Schlitz, 1991; Schlitz & Braud, 1997). Specifically, distant intentionality efforts of a physically isolated person (agent) have shown to co-vary with responses of the autonomic nervous system of another person (receiver [2]) - In a typical protocol, an agent tries to influence the receiver according to a randomly assigned sequence of activate and calm periods to which the receiver is kept blind. Together with several peripheral measures (e.g., heart rate or blood volume), electrodermal activity (EDA) has been the most favored one due to its lability and sensitivity (cf. Braud & Schlitz, 1991). Moreover, outcomes from distant intentionality studies (if not of any parapsychological experiment at all) have been conceived as being subject to special characteristics of the experimental setting that contributes to what is called a psi-conducive atmosphere (e.g., Delanoy, 1997; Targ, Braud, Stanford, Schlitz, & Honorton, 1991). Specifically, it has been suggested that a personal, supportive, warm, empathetic, and open interaction between experimenter and participants is more productive to elicit a DMILS or Remote Staring effect than a neutral and objective one. Studies reporting significant results for samples with different experimenters (Wiseman & Schlitz, 1997, 1999) usually refer to experimenter effects as possible cause after having ruled out alternative (post hoc) explanations. Such experimenter effects are, to some extent, related to the experimenter's attitude towards psi. However, to date there is no DMILS/Remote Staring study which systematically manipulated, let alone assessed, the demeanor of the experimenters involved. Thus, these differences are rather observational than experimental in nature and call for more systematic follow-up studies. Nonetheless, in EDA-DMILS studies the experimental setting is deemed crucial, and experimenters are thought of having to possess special skills when interacting with participants. …


ABSTRACT Targeting dendritic cells (DC) is key to driving effective immune responses. Lymphatic cannulation provides access to the heterogeneous populations of DC draining peripheral sites in rodents and ruminants. Afferent lymph DEC-205+ CD11c+ SIRPα+ DC were preferentially infected ex vivo with three vaccine viral vectors: recombinant human replication-defective human adenovirus 5 (rhuAdV5), recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (rMVA), and recombinant fowlpox virus (rFPV), all expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). The rhuAdV5-infected cells remained viable, and peak GFP expression was observed 16 to 24 h posttransduction. Increasing the incubation period of DC with rhuAdV5 enhanced GFP expression. In contrast, DC infected with rMVA-GFP or rFPV-GFP became rapidly apoptotic and GFP expression peaked at 6 h postinfection. Delivery of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) A22 antigen to DC by rhuAdV5-FMDV-A22 ex vivo resulted in significantly greater CD4+ T cell proliferation than did delivery by rFPV-FMDV-A22. Delivery of rhuAdV5-GFP in oil adjuvant in vivo, to enhance DC-vector contact, resulted in increased GFP expression in migrating DC compared to that with vector alone. Similarly, CD4+ T cell responses were significantly enhanced when using rhuAdV5-FMDV-A22 in adjuvant. Therefore, the interaction between viral vectors and afferent lymph DC ex vivo can predict the outcome of in vivo immunization and provide a means of rapidly assessing the effects of vector modification.


In this study, two sets of precipitation estimates based on the regional Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) –the high Asia refined analysis (HAR) and outputs with a 9 km resolution from WRF (WRF-9km) are evaluated at both basin and point scales, and their potential hydrological utilities are investigated by driving the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) large-scale land surface hydrological model in seven Third Pole (TP) basins. The regional climate model (RCM) tends to overestimate the gauge-based estimates by 20–95% in annual means among the selected basins. Relative to the gauge observations, the RCM precipitation estimates can accurately detect daily precipitation events of varying intensities (with absolute bias < 3 mm). The WRF-9km exhibits a high potential for hydrological application in the monsoon-dominated basins in the southeastern TP (with NSE of 0.7–0.9 and bias of -11% to 3%), while the HAR performs well in the upper Indus (UI) and upper Brahmaputra (UB) basins (with NSE of 0.6 and bias of -15% to -9%). Both the RCM precipitation estimates can accurately capture the magnitudes of low and moderate daily streamflow, but show limited capabilities in flood prediction in most of the TP basins. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the strength and limitation of RCMs precipitation in hydrological modeling in the TP with complex terrains and sparse gauge observations.


This paper explores possible tactics for academics working within a context of increasing regulation and constraint. One suggested tactic is to move outside of a creativity–conformity binary. Rather than understanding creativity and conformity as separable, where one is seen as excluding the other, the authors consider the potential of examining the relationships between them. The theme of 'structure and play' illustrates the argument. In the first part of the paper, using various examples from art and design – fields generally associated with creativity – the authors explore the interrelatedness of creativity and conformity. For example, how might design styles, which are generally understood as creative outcomes, constrain creativity and lead to conformity within the design field? Is fashion producing creativity or conformity? Conversely, the ways in which conformity provides the conditions for creativity are also examined. For example, the conformity imposed by the state on artists in the former communist bloc contributed to a thriving underground arts movement which challenged conformity and state regulation. Continuing the theme of 'structure and play', the authors recount a story from an Australian university which foregrounds the ongoing renegotiation of power relations in the academy. This account illustrates how programmatic government in a university, with its aim of regulating conduct, can contribute to unanticipated outcomes. The authors propose that a Foucauldian view of distributed power is useful for academics operating in a context of increasing regulation, as it brings into view sites where power might begin to be renegotiated.


Cowboy Poets and Cowboy Poetry. Edited by David Stanley and Elaine Thatcher. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000. Pp. xiii + 392, preface, index. $49.95 cloth, $21.95 paper) Cowboy Poets and Cowboy Poetry is the first book-length volume to examine this American tradition of occupational verse in all its historical and contemporary complexity and depth. Even better, it does so in a mixed chorus of voices that includes the poets themselves, in addition to folklorists, historians, and creative writers. Naturally, this at times makes for jumpy reading, as a literary analysis invoking iambs and catalexis is followed by a folksy account of picking up cowboy songs in bars and behind the rodeo chutes, but that is the nature of essay collections as well as of cowboy poetry. The overall effect is of a surprisingly unified voice describing the history of the tradition, the values it expresses, and the strong sense of community and commonality among the poets and the ranch people they speak for. After an introductory overview by David Stanley, the book proceeds with twenty-seven essays organized into six sections. "Backgrounds" provides a historical and analytical introduction to the tradition of cowboy poetry; "Process" describes various aspects of how the poems come to be; "Portraits" includes two third-person and two first-person sketches of individual writers; "Themes" explores the poets' relations with community and nature, and the increasingly vocal role of women in the poetry movement; "Connections" includes essays on the related traditions of Mexican-American versos, Northwest logger poets, South American gaucho oral traditions, and Australian bush poetry; and "Developments" analyzes the impact of organized poetry gatherings, and looks at the future of the tradition. The introductory essay elucidates the key characteristics of cowboy poetry, its history and long-standing themes, and its most revered practitioners. Many of the points made here are repeated again and again in the essays that follow-the topic of the imminent demise of ranching and cowboying that was present even in the earliest known cowboy poems of the late 1800s, the universal literacy and the tradition of reading and reciting among cowboys and ranch people, the strong bonds of community even in a culture so geographically scattered and isolated, and the sense of a way of life under threat from industrialization, urbanization, environmentalism, tourism and land development. Poet and writer Kim Stafford's opening essay in the "Backgrounds" section adds the all-important information that this is a culture that loves words and language. He draws a continuous line from medieval poetry and oral recitation straight to the horseback reciters of today, explaining that "a poem carries wisdom through time." In the next chapter, folklorist Jim Griffith points out that both cowboy gear and cowboy poetry are "highly crafted and richly textured," and describes this as a "central aesthetic need" in a culture where a man is judged by his work (an often-repeated tenet among cowboys). Other folklorist contributors to the volume examine the way poems change (both accidentally and deliberately) in oral recitation, how poets play with rhythm and meter in composing and reciting, how poems and songs have interacted over the years in the cowboy tradition, how changing attitudes toward nature have been expressed in verse from the early days of American cattle herding to the present, and how women in the ranching community are gaining a new, more audible voice thanks to the cowboy poetry movement. …


Buprenorphine (BUP), a mixed opioid agonist-antagonist, is currently used as a treatment for opioid addiction. Previous research has shown that chronic BUP treatment decreases self-administration of drugs such as heroin and cocaine and drug-seeking behaviour in monkeys, rats, and humans. Furthermore, BUP attenuates the increase in nucleus accumbens (NAc) dopamine (DA) levels in response to an acute injection of heroin in naive rats, whereas BUP potentiates the DA response to acute cocaine. To establish whether the suppression of drug seeking by BUP stems from an effect on motivated behaviour in general, four experiments were conducted to determine the effect of chronic BUP (3.0mg/kg/day) on responding for sucrose pellet reward. Chronic exposure to BUP was achieved with the use of subcutaneous osmotic minipumps. Results from Experiments 1 and 2 showed that rats exposed to chronic BUP took fewer sucrose pellets and reduced their active lever responding on a fixed ratio (FR) 1 schedule of self-administration; however, no such effect of BUP was observed on FR5 or progressive ratio (PR) schedules. In Experiment 3, chronic BUP slightly reduced sucrose seeking during extinction of self-administration and suppressed reinstatement of responding after sucrose priming. In Experiment 4, it was found using in vivo microdialysis that chronic BUP had no effect on the sucrose- or lab chow-induced rise in NAc DA, but did significantly increase basal DA tone. Overall, these results indicate that chronic BUP decreases motivation induced by sucrose reward and suggest that BUP reduces drug seeking and drug taking by blunting motivation in general.