Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical parasitic disease that causes several debilitating manifestations. No commercially available vaccine exists against this disease, and treatment strategies are far from ideal with the emergence of resistance, coupled with toxic side effects of many of the drugs available. Rational drug design relies on knowledge of the cell biology of the parasite and the interplay between the parasite and its hosts. Production of secreted proteins, the secretome, has become a known strategy for parasite invasion and persistence in host cells, however, host-parasite interaction is still not well defined. Virulence factors secreted by the parasite mediate the host-parasite interaction and create a niche permissive for parasite proliferation. They therefore represent potential therapeutic targets and vaccine candidates.
Here, the use of secretomics was implemented to investigate these virulence factors. Parasite conditioned culture supernatant, containing the secretome, was characterised by morphological, immunochemical and proteomic analyses. Here, we optimised and extended current methods and applied them to the medically relevant amastigote stage. Method development and validation was implemented to extract a reproducible secretome in vitro. Induction of cell stress was managed and cell viability maintained to minimise interference of intracellular proteins.
A total of 256 proteins were reproducibly identified in the secretome of promastigotes and 36 proteins were reproducibly identified in the secretome of amastigotes. Analysis of their protein abundance index (emPAI) allowed comparison of the relative abundance of proteins and functions of the secretome throughout the parasite life cycle. Differences in the putative functions of nutrient salvage, protease production and antioxidant activity were observed. Analyses reveal that many proteins lack a signal peptide and as such are thought to be released by nonclassical secretion mechanisms. Several exosome-associated proteins and membrane proteins were also detected in the secretome, suggesting the occurrence of secretion by exosomes or microvesicles.
Extended comparative analyses between the secretome of parasites with differing phenotypes allowed us to infer functionality of the secretome in the parasite's survival but also variations within the same species which result in differing disease outcomes. Dysregulation in the secretion of various proteins in attenuated parasites implicates these proteins in the virulence of the parasite. An increase in the secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators and destructive proteases by parasites isolated from patients with chronic cutaneous leishmaniasis compared to those from patients with self-healing lesions, indicates the role of the parasite in the chronicity of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Here, we demonstrate an applicable method for the study of the Leishmania mexicana promastigote and amastigote secretome. Results suggest that the secretome plays a role in disease progression and virulence. Proteomic analyses of the secretome, like this study presented here, provide crucial information on the host:parasite interaction for the identification of therapeutic targets and potential vaccine candidates for the provision of safer treatments and new vaccines for eradication of this disease.


This chapter examines the scientific diaspora option within the migration and development nexus in the context of skilled migration from the Republic of Moldova. Migration has been a significant component of the transition process in Eastern Europe and Moldova is one of the countries that has been most affected by the emigration of its labour force as a consequence of economic crisis and political uncertainties. The country has suffered particularly from the large-scale emigration of scientists and skilled professionals, who are an appreciated human resource in the countries of destination. Based on primary information collected through an on-line survey and complementary interviews, this chapter offers an empirical analysis of skilled Moldovans abroad and the determinants of their engagement in transnational cooperation and their potential return to the home country. The discussion shows how mobilising the resources of skilled migrants and their mobility plans depend on the environment to which they are exposed in the host countries, and on the opportunities that the home country has to offer. While skilled Moldovans see their experience abroad in a positive light and appreciate the opportunities for advancement and growth at both a personal and a professional level, they maintain strong links with Moldova and are interested in engaging in development activities there. Activities related to the transfer of knowledge and skills, academic exchanges, joint research, investment links and physical return are some of the ways through which they see themselves making a contribution. Even though skilled Moldovans may continue to emigrate, there are signs of intentions to return, especially among students. However, potential returnees are sceptical about Moldova being able to provide a trustworthy and reliable environment that can offer them specific professional career opportunities and future prospects. The policy options for Moldova show that there is a need to provide systematic institutional support in order to encourage skilled migrants to engage in transnational cooperation, as well as a need for considerable improvements to local conditions and the structural situation to ensure benefits.


The most common fault diagnosis method of power transformer is based on the Dissolved Gas-in-oil Analysis (DGA) of transformer oil. It is a sensitive and reliable technique for the detection of incipient fault condition within oil-immersed transformers. There are a number of methods developed for analyzing these gases and interpreting their significance such as Key Gas, Roger gas ratio, Doernenburg, IEC gas ratio and Duval Triangle. Although DGA has widely been used in the industry, this conventional method fails to diagnosis in some cases. This normally happens for those transformers which have more than one type of fault at the same time [6, 7]. To overcome this limitation, an expert system based on DGA for diagnosis of power transformer condition is proposed in this paper. The proposed technique combines three different DGA methods in one diagnosis scheme in order to overcome the limitation of each method stand alone. The three selected methods are Rogers, IEC and Duval. Moreover, this paper investigates the accuracy and consistency of three methods in interpreting the transformer condition by applying fuzzy logic technique in addition to a new final combined fuzzy system. The evaluation is carried out on DGA test data obtained from different literatures as a test data with size 100 cases. Finally, test was applied on DGA data of utility power transformers of MIDOR Refinery Company located in Alexandria, Egypt.


After decades of sustained academic critiques along established lines, liberalism has recently attracted renewed evaluations. These readings treat complexity as inherent in liberalism, and proceed to explore its structures beyond suspicious hermeneutics. This essay argues that Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (1847) constitutes an early and sophisticated argument about the structures of complexity in liberalism. Not only does Bronte's novel merit entry into the discussion as a conceptual contribution, but it also offers an aesthetic enactment of the anguish that liberal structures of complexity were to evoke for generations to follow, an anguish experienced already at its troubled reception.


Sampling density is an important parameter in different stages of exploration programs such as stream sediment-based geochemical exploration. Some researchers have suggested the effects of different sampling densities in regional exploration. However, a few researchers have addressed the effect of stream sediment sampling density on anomaly delineation. This research aims at investigating the effect of sampling density in delineating ore-related geochemical signals in stream sediment exploration through sensitivity analysis. A dataset from northwestern Iran with known copper occurrences was employed, and the available data was systematically resampled into different proportions to simulate different sampling densities and analyzed using the true sample catchment basin approach. The results showed a positive correlation between the number of outlining known deposits and sampling density, implying that a higher sampling density increases the chance of outlining new potential zones. Moreover, when sampling density increases, the total size of the delimited anomalous area decreases. The estimated background values (Mj) for upstream lithologic units varies heavily with sampling density. This is critical as separating anomalous basins depends on Mj. Mj variation has been more emphasized for lithologies with high estimated background content, displaying heteroscedastic behavior.


Limited commitment to contracts can explain imperfect risk sharing even when individuals have access to complete insurance markets. Past contributions have focused on the resulting cross-sectional distribution of consumption (Cordoba 2008, Krueger and Perri 2006). In contrast, this paper looks at the joint dynamics of income, consumption and wealth implied by the asymmetric nature of partial insurance under limited commitment, where negative income shocks are largely insured but positive shocks can lead to large rises in consumption. A theoretical section proves the existence and uniqueness of equilibrium in a limited commitment continuum economy where incomes follow a standard markov process, and solves analytically for the joint equilibrium distribution of consumption, income and wealth. I show that individual consumption follows, at least locally, a left-skewed geometric distribution. Also, the conditional distributions of consumption and wealth are highly non-linear and have a characteristic form of heteroscedasticity, with declining conditional variances as income increases. In a quantitative part, the paper compares the exact distributions in the Krueger and Perri (2006) model to non-parametric estimates of their counterparts in US micro-data, and in a simple Ayagari economy.


During the recent years, solid state fermented feed (SSFF) has been introduced with great success in poultry nutrition. Thus, the present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of dry fermented feed with prepared probiotic (PP) on the live body weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of a local Malaysian chicken (Akar Putra). The experiment comprised of 3 treatments (24 chicken/treatment), with 3 replicates of each (8 chicken/replicate). The treatments consisted of a control group (T1), the mixture of SSFF and PP at the rate 1:1:1 (1 kg of commercial broiler feed+1 liter tap water+1 g PP) in T2 and 1:1:2 (1 kg of commercial broiler feed+1 liter tap water+2 g PP) in T3. The results revealed remarkably significant (p<0.01) improvement in both male and female chicken in terms of final body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio in treatment groups (T2 and T3) when compared to the control group. The variation ratio of production performance parameters was calculated and best results were indicated in T2 group wherein, 1 g prepared probiotic was used.


In this address, former Chief Justice Strine kicked-off an important series, the Conference on Racial Equity in Corporate Governance, co-sponsored by the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Governance, Columbia Law School; the Institute for Law & Economics, University of Pennsylvania; the Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; and the Stanford Center for Racial Justice, Stanford Law School.

The address explains the importance of institutional investors and corporations contributing to ending the persistent inequality suffered by black Americans. And it focuses on the reality that we would have made huge strides toward closing the race gap if our corporate governance and political systems during the last forty years had encouraged corporations to: 1) continue paying workers their fair share of productivity gains, because black people were so much more likely to be among the working and middle classes; 2) help black people gain wealth by providing them with good wages and support toward their 401(k); 3) promote the hiring of black graduates and white students of limited means by recruiting at public universities, community colleges, and historically black colleges; 4) pay their fair share of taxes toward the public schools, upon which black students rely; 5) locate and invest in communities where black people live; and 6) never lose sight of the special obligation our nation has to redress what we did to black people, and to avoid using the critical goal of overall diversity to obscure the need to remediate discrimination against black people as a first priority.

Finally, the address underscores that the tough question is not what our corporate sector can do to help black people in the United States achieve equality, the question is whether we have the moral commitment to make these things happen.


During hominin evolution, an increase in the femoral bicondylar angle was the initial change that led to selection for protuberance of the lateral trochlear lip and the elliptical profile of the lateral condyle. No correlation is found during ontogeny between the degree of femoral obliquity and of the prominence of the lateral trochlear lip. Might there be a relationship with the elliptical profile of the lateral condyle? On intact femoral diaphyses of juvenile humans and great apes, we compared the anteroposterior length of the lateral and medial sides of the distal metaphysis. The two diaphyseal pillars remain equal during postnatal growth in great apes, while the growth of the lateral pillar far exceeds that of the medial pillar in humans. Increase in bicondylar angle is correlated with disproportionate anteroposterior lengthening of the lateral pillar. The increased anteroposterior length of the lateral side of the metaphysis would contribute to increasing the radius of the curvature of the lateral condyle, but not to the projection of the lateral trochlear lip. The similar neonatal and adult femoro-patellar joint shape in humans prompted an assessment of the similarity during growth of the entire neonatal and adult epiphyses. We showed that the entire epiphysis undergoes drastic changes in proportions during postnatal growth. Finally, we emphasize the need to distinguish the cartilaginous phenotype and the ossified phenotype of the distal femoral epiphysis (and of any epiphysis) during postnatal growth. This crucial distinction applies to most postcranial bones, for they almost all develop following the process of endochondral ossification.


In this paper, we introduce a soft vector quantization scheme with inverse power-function distribution, and analytically derive an upper bound of the resulting quantization noise energy in comparison to that of typical (hard-deciding) vector quantization. We also discuss the positive impact of this kind of soft vector quantization on the performance of machine-learning systems that include one or more vector quantization modules. Moreover, we provide experimental evidence on the advantage of avoiding over-fitting and boosting the robustness of such systems in the presence of considerable parasitic variance; e.g. noise, in the runtime inputs. The experiments have been conducted with two versions of one of the best reported discrete HMM-based Arabic OCR systems; one version deploying hard vector quantization and the other deploying our herein presented soft vector quantization. Test samples of real-life scanned pages are used to challenge both versions; hence the recognition error margins are compared.


The main objective of this study is to investigate the dynamic relationships between economic growth and macroeconomic variables, namely financial deepening, exports and investment for the cases of Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. The vector errorcorrection model (VECM) is employed to distinguish between shortrun and long-run causal effects in examining the three led-growth determinants. The out-of-sample dynamics of the system are also picked up through variance decomposition analysis. The empirical results suggest that financial deepening leads to economic growth in South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. In terms of exports, the findings demonstrate that export-led growth hypothesis is supported for all four Asian economies, namely Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Apart from export promotion strategies and financial liberalisation, the evidence also shows that economic growth in these four Asian economies is found to be generated by capital formation or investment.


This article is an analysis of the transformation evaluations of higher education in
South Africa. It offers a review of recent literature on conceptions of evaluation
research models and practice, and of reform evaluations in education, specifically
pertaining to higher education. From this analysis, a framework for the analysis of
reform evaluations is proposed and used to review a selection of nine reports
published since 1994 on evaluations of changes in higher education in South
Africa. The findings are offered as a critical analysis of evaluation practices
exemplified by the selected studies. The article develops an understanding of what
competent evaluations of education transformation may involve.
This article is based on research sponsored by a grant for senior researchers from
the USA-SA Fulbright Commission. The research included a stay at the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst from September 2004 to January 2005.
The opinions expressed in the report are those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the Fulbright Commission. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 21 (3) 2007: pp. 552-569


Flavonoids are important plant secondary metabolites, which protect plants from various stresses, including herbivory. Plants differentially respond to insects with different modes of action. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprinting of phenols of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) plants with differential levels of resistance was carried out in response to Helicoverpa armigera (chewing insect) and Aphis craccivora (sucking pest) infestation. The genotypes used were ICGV 86699, ICGV 86031, ICG 2271 (NCAc 343), ICG 1697 (NCAc 17090), and JL 24. Most of the identified compounds were present in H. armigera- and A. craccivora-infested plants of ICGV 86699. Syringic acid was observed in all the genotypes across the treatments, except in the uninfested control plants of ICG 2271 and aphid-infested plants of ICG 1697. Caffeic acid and umbelliferone were observed only in the H. armigera-infested plants of ICGV 86699. Similarly, dihydroxybenzoic acid and vanillic acid were observed in H. armigera- and aphid-infested plants of ICG 2271 and JL 24, respectively. The peak areas were transformed into the amounts of compounds by using internal standard peak areas and were expressed in nanograms. Quantities of the identified compounds varied across genotypes and treatments. The common compounds observed were chlorogenic, syringic, quercetin, and ferulic acids. These results suggest that depending on the mode of feeding, flavonoids are induced differentially in groundnut plants.


Consumer privacy is predominantly regulated through disclosure. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) strongly urges American businesses to notify consumers about their privacy practices, and the agency is considering requiring "just-in-time" disclosure that would make these notices more salient and aggressive. American law contains many mandated disclosure rules, and they fall along a spectrum. Some disclosures are indisputably good policy because they alert consumers about material risks that all would agree are bad, such as product warnings about latent dangers of physical harm. These long-accepted "informational" disclosures are compatible with the compelled speech doctrine of the First Amendment. Other mandated disclosures are arguably poor policy because they mislead consumers and cause foreseeable overreactions. For example, mandated disclosures about the presence of mercury in vaccines, about the foreign origins of products, or about raw correlations between depression and abortion technically consist of factual statements. Nevertheless, they should be treated as "ideological" disclosures running afoul of the compelled speech doctrine.
Much less is known about mandated disclosures that fall in the middle of the range, between clearly informational and clearly ideological disclosures. Mandatory privacy disclosures seem to fall in this middle range. These disclosures do not have the virtue of alerting consumers to risks because they concern attributes that consumers do not consistently see as positive or negative. Some disclosures are useful for preference matching where consumers value a product more after learning about an attribute, while others value it less. Some disclosures are useless, meaning that consumers informed about the attribute do not change their valuation at all. These middle range disclosures may be wasteful, but they are not fraudulent or distortive. How should the First Amendment treat the laws that mandate disclosure about these attributes? This essay presents a theory and practical instrument for distinguishing between informational and ideological mandated disclosures, and shows that at least some of the privacy policies required by law are constitutionally suspect.


Background: The purpose of the present study was to identify the existence of gingival biotypes in a sample of periodontally healthy volunteers and correlate the prevalence of different gingival biotypes of upper anteriors, in accordance with age, gender. Methodology: 145 subjects (79 males and 66 females) with age groups of 20-35 years, 36-50 years were included in this study.Probe transparency method was adopted to assess the biotype at the midfacial aspect of the maxillary incisors and the canines bilaterally. Results: The association of age and gingival biotype was not significant .Study showed that thick biotype decreased with advancing age.The association of sex and gingival biotype was not significant in relation to 11,12,21and 22 but significant in relation to 13 and 23. Among the female subjects, the prevalence of thick biotype in relation to 11, 12, 21and 22 was less than males, whereas in relation to 13 and 23 the prevalence of thick biotype was high in females. Conclusion: These findings can be utilized for determining the gingival biotype and response of gingiva to dental operative procedures. Clinical Relevance to Interdisciplinary Dentistry Gingival biotype can affect the results of periodontal therapy, root coverage procedures, and implant placement. Thus it becomes necessary for a clinician to know the gingival biotype and carry out the treatment procedures.


Trauma survivors who choose to enter into trauma recovery may be viewed as individuals embarking on a hero's journey. Historically, many of the coping strategies utilized by individuals who are experiencing post-traumatic stress have been viewed as inherently disordered and personally dysfunctional. An alternative perspective of these behaviors calls for an examination of strengths present within trauma survivors, suggesting a reframe of their symptomology as ingenuity in coping during adverse circumstances and an appreciation for the difficulty of living with traumatic memories. This article highlights the challenging process of trauma recovery as it parallels Campbell's (1949) metaphor of the hero's journey and its stages of departure, initiation, and return. The historical conceptual framework for understanding psychosocial and lingering impacts of trauma is reviewed, an alternative strengths-based perspective in the examination of trauma symptoms is proposed, and potential positive outcomes of post-traumatic growth are discussed. Finally, a trauma survivor's personal story of her hero's journey towards post-traumatic growth is presented.


In this paper we develop a critique of the concept of data as culturally embodied and materialized in and around online health and wellness communities. Drawing on two years of qualitative, ethnographic observations, participation, and interviews in the field of consumer health and wellness digital technologies with the designers and users of internet-based health and wellness data "tracking," our work explores the gap between discourses of data, the practices of, with, around and through data, and the contexts in which data "live." Together, through these discourses, practices, and contexts, what we term $2 emerge, allowing data to perform in different ways in different communities in different contexts and for different purposes.We extend an emerging scholarly conversation about the nature of data by pointing to the ways that data valences may be contested or negotiated at the boundaries of institutions. This is what we refer to as polyvalent data: when data has multiple, and sometimes contentious valences. Within institutions data valences come with more institutional authority and seemingly cohere and congeal within those institutional settings. What we see in our research is that at the intersections between institutions or, what we call interstices, the polyvalent nature of data is more apparent. We identify six data valences: 1) self-evidence, 2) actionability, 3) communication/connection, 4) transparency/openness, 5) truthiness, and 6) discovery and map their emergent symbolic and material performances across the discourses, practices, and contexts of health and wellness communities of practice.


Automatic modulation recognition is a rapidly evolving area of signal analysis. In recent years, interest from the academic and military research institutes has focused around the research and development of modulation recognition algorithms. Any communication intelligence (COMINT) system comprises three main blocks: receiver front-end, modulation recogniser and output stage. Considerable work has been done in the area of receiver front-ends. The work at the output stage is concerned with information extraction, recording and exploitation and begins with signal demodulation, that requires accurate knowledge about the signal modulation type. There are, however, two main reasons for knowing the current modulation type of a signal; to preserve the signal information content and to decide upon the suitable counter action, such as jamming. Automatic Modulation Recognition of Communications Signals describes in depth this modulation recognition process. Drawing on several years of research, the authors provide a critical review of automatic modulation recognition. This includes techniques for recognising digitally modulated signals. The book also gives comprehensive treatment of using artificial neural networks for recognising modulation types. Automatic Modulation Recognition of Communications Signals is the first comprehensive book on automatic modulation recognition. It is essential reading for researchers and practising engineers in the field. It is also a valuable text for an advanced course on the subject.


The study was conducted to assess the effects of whey, molasses and exogenous enzymes on fermentation, aerobic stability and nutrient composition of ensiled maize cobs. Five treatments were ensiled in 1.5 L anaerobic glass jars over 32 days, namely i) control (maize cobs without additives (CON); ii) maize cobs with sugarcane molasses only (MOL); iii) MOL and whey (MOW); iv) MOW and exogenous enzyme at 0.5 g/kg maize cob mixture (ENZ1) and v) MOW and exogenous enzyme at 1 g/kg maize cob mixture (ENZ2). There was a day effect on gross energy (GE) for CON, MOL, ENZ1 and ENZ2 and none for MOW. There was a day effect in ADF for MOL, ENZ1 and ENZ2 and none for CON and MOW. There was lower dry matter (DM) on day 32 compared with day 0 for all treatments. There were treatment effects for GE, crude protein (CP), ash, ether extract, amylase-treated neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre (ADF). On day 32, the neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and ADF concentrations in CON were higher than in MOL, MOW and ENZ2. At day 32, CON silage pH (4.2) was lower than the pH values of ENZ1 (4.5) and ENZ2 (4.6) silages. Acetic acid levels were higher in ENZ1 than ENZ2 silages. Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) levels averaged 25 ± 6.6 g NH3-N/kg total nitrogen, which is indicative of satisfactory ensiling. The MOL, ENZ1 and ENZ2 silages produced more carbon dioxide than CON and MOW silages. The addition of molasses and whey did not improve the nutritive quality of the maize cobs after ensiling. Ensiling maize cobs with molasses, whey and exogenous enzymes resulted in lower DM and fibre levels in the maize cobs, which could enhance intake and digestibility of nutrients when offered to pigs as a component of a balanced diet. Further investigations using higher concentrations of whey and molasses are warranted to improve the energy and protein composition of the maize cobs.


The paper considers women's testimonies before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, tracing the complexities of speaking about suffering. A growing literature suggests that violence and horror corrupt language and interrupt its flow. Testimonial practices focused on violence's recall then occupy unstable grounds. Arguing that testimony is mediated by the subject positions from which women speak and that these are shaped by cultural convention, the paper traces the effects of 'modes of discomfort', drawing attention to the faultlines between words and experience when violence is recalled.


This volume analyses corporate insolvency law as a coherent whole, stemming from common fundamental principles and amenable to being justified or criticised on that basis. The author explains why consistency of principle must be sought and how it might be found in the relevant statutory and case law. He then constructs an egalitarian theory for the analysis of corporate insolvency law, based on the premise that all the parties affected by this law are to be treated as equals. He argues that this theory can reconcile the dictates of fairness with the demands of economic efficiency. The theory is employed to analyse some of the most important aspects of insolvency law. Why should the individualistic method of enforcing claims against solvent companies give way to a collective method during insolvency? Why are there different formal mechanisms for dealing with troubled companies? What role does the pari passu principle play in the distribution of an insolvent company s assets? The controversial issues of whether and when secured creditors should be accorded priority over others receive detailed consideration. The functional role of the floating charge and its relationship with receivership are also analysed in this context. The many questions relating to the operation of the new administration procedure introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002 are considered in the light of principle. The book also analyses the role of the wrongful trading provisions. It examines, finally, why insolvency law objects to certain transactions at an undervalue and those having a preferential effect. This volume aims to enhance understanding of this important branch of the law, and to suggest principled solutions to problems which have not yet received judicial attention.


Increased deployment of intermittent renewable energy plants raises concerns about energy security and energy affordability. Capacity markets (CMs) have been implemented to provide investment stability to generators and secure energy generation by reducing the number of shortage hours. The research presented in this paper contributes to answering the question of whether batteries can provide cost effective back up services for one year in this market. The analysis uses an equivalent circuit lithium ion battery model coupled with two degradation models (empirical and semi-empirical) to account for capacity fade during battery lifetime. Depending on the battery's output power, four de-rating factors of 0.5 h, 1 h, 2 h and 4 h are considered to study which de-rating strategy can result in best economic profit. Two scenarios for the number of shortage hours per year in the CM are predicted based on the energy demand data of Great Britain and recent research. Results show that the estimated battery profit is maximum with 2 h and 1 h de-rating factors and minimum with 4 h and 0.5 h. Depending on the battery degradation model used, battery degradation cost can considerably impact the potential profit if the battery's temperature is not controlled with adequate thermal management system. The empirical and semi-empirical models predict that the degradation cost is minimum at 5 °C and 25 °C respectively. Moreover, both models predict degradation is minimum at lower battery charge levels. While the battery's capacity fade can be minimized to make some profits from the CM service, the increased shortage hours can make providing this service not economically viable.


Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins: Black Daughter of the Revolution. By Lois Brown. Chapel Hill: The University Press of North Carolina, 2008. xiv + 690 pp. I am a daughter of the Revolution, you do not acknowledge black daughters of the Revolution but we are going to take that right. Pauline Hopkins, 1905 (qtd. in Brown 537) Therein lies the tale. If we recognize the name Pauline Hopkins, we know her as editor of the Colored American Magazine and author of Contending Forces, Hagar's Daughters, Winona, and Of One Blood. We would not be surprised, would generally expect, that her biographer would validate Hopkins's reputation for fierce insistence upon national citizenship and racial and gender equality by quoting or alluding to the titles of her best-known works. However, Lois Brown chose to title her densely researched epic Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins: Black Daughter of the Revolution and to build her reconstruction of this "fifth-generation New England writer, feminist, and public intellectual" with a self-definition, at an occasion, and on a site redolent with a legacy of freedom fighting and resistance (16). In so doing, Brown eschews the obvious characterization of a solitary, feisty female in favor of a scion and regional representative, an example and exemplar, a subject and a metaphor. In so doing, Brown manifests a central cause and effect of Hopkins's and other early African American women's lives and letters and becomes herself another "black [daughter] of the Revolution." Hopkins's and Brown's perspectives on and practices of life writing are characteristic of African American women's literature, especially that of the nineteenth century. They use words as weapons, practice art as activism, combine personal narratives and political prognostications to test the abilities of language as testimony, testimony as witnessing, witnessing as influencing, impacting, and changing. To better understand and appreciate the contribution that Brown makes with her biography, we need to look back and to look around at what has been done in the African American autobiographical tradition and at what we need to do if we are to write honestly and effectively about it. Using writing as fighting is a tactic rife with complex and sometimes conflicting imperatives. (1) Art enlisted for a cause must avoid the captivity of propaganda. Aesthetic activism requires and exploits subtle directness and wide-lens focus. It assumes naive readers but needs readers who are experienced with word weaponry. Titles become forays. Seemingly simple or excessively detailed, they signify more than meets the eye. For example, in 1836, Jarena Lee's autobiography The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee, a coloured lady; giving an account of her call to preach the gospel indicates that Lee intends to record her personal material history but with a focus upon her spiritual development. Designating herself as "a coloured lady" invites comparison with Hopkins's "black daughters" not simply by calling attention to themselves as women of color but by their mufti that displays a status regularly denied women of African descent. Lee is a "lady." Hopkins is a "daughter." Like Hopkins, Lee not only confronts racism but sexism as well. Bach writes as an infiltrator in male-dominated fields and claims a share of that territory for themselves and for other women. In 1846, one of Lee's fellow itinerant ministers and occasional traveling companions published Memoirs of the Life, Religious Experience, Ministerial Travels and Labours of Mrs. Zilpha Elaw, An American Female of Color: Together with Some Account of the Great Religious Revivals in America. This title not only reinforces the work of Lee but skirmishes with traditions that assumed women should not write histories. Reading Elaw's Memoirs comparatively with Lee's Life moves the characterization of these individual women as defiant, religious fundamentalists to members of a religious sisterhood, illuminates their literary kinship, and reveals signifying as more than a rhetorical technique in oral African America. …


As the reviews poured in for David Foster Wallace's posthumous and unfinished The Pale King, it became evident that most reviewers took an almost perverse glee in declaring the book was "about" boredom. Michiko Kakutani's review of the novel for the New York Times, for instance, claims, "[n]ot surprisingly, a novel about boredom is, more than occasionally, boring" and wonders if Wallace, at times, "wanted to test the reader's tolerance for tedium." In a long piece for the London Review of Books praising Wallace and his work, even Jenny Turner admits, "much of The Pale King I found completely deadly." Perhaps Sam Anderson, writing for the New York Times Magazine, puts it most succinctly: "Wallace seems to have posed, to himself and to his readership, a sadomasochistic challenge: a novel devoted to the world's least-appealing-possible subject." These responses are fairly representative of many of the major reviews of The Pale King that were quite positive in their assessment of the novel but continued to wonder in what ways, to borrow the words of the purported narrator David Wallace, the novel says "something about dullness, information, and irrelevant complexity. About negotiating boredom as one would a terrain, its levels and forests and endless wastes" (85)? A host of questions follows from this statement, such as: what does it actually mean to write about boredom? What does Wallace mean by "boredom"? How does Wallace's take on boredom fit into a larger literary and cultural context? In what ways does boredom function within the work-in-progress that is The Pale King, and how does it resonate in Wallace's oeuvre as a whole? It might be fair to admit from the outset that there are myriad ways to understand boredom and that Wallace's work, and The Pale King in particular, puts several of these into play. Ultimately, Wallace's treatment of boredom resonates with some of his earlier themes concerning depression and anxiety, which are most fully developed in Infinite Jest, and both extends and challenges them in what was, is, and must remain uncharted territory. Wallace is primarily interested in exploring the roots of "boredom" as a specific historical formation of late capitalist American life. What Wallace does in The Pale King is conduct a thorough analysis of how boredom has functioned, and continues to function, socially, culturally, and politically in the age of neoliberal capitalism, which dawned in the mid-1970s and is currently in crisis. In doing so, Wallace engages in a kind of "aesthetics of boredom," which examines boredom in both the novel's form and content, and offers a possible solution to the apparent malaise of post-industrial life. The Construction of Boredom It may seem like a simple task to define boredom, but it is actually a rather complicated one. Studies of boredom itself, for instance, are a rather recent phenomenon in literary studies. Earlier understandings of what we today might call boredom arose out of analyses of "ennui," "melancholy," or a similarly distinguished sounding concept. The most recent theorizations of boredom, however, are unique in their attention to the history of boredom, as well as the rhetoric or discourse of boredom itself. That boredom is given numerous forms and representations in The Pale King only reinforces the difficulty of defining boredom once and for all, but it does imply the distinction of a typology of postmodern boredoms. Still, a history of boredom exists. A radically condensed version (1) would mention that there is a notion of boredom in Greek thought, but that its true roots can be found in the experiences of the first Christian hermits, the Desert Fathers, who lived alone in caves and prayed rigorously all day. Perhaps due to their extreme isolation, they would sometimes experience a despair that they referred to as acedia, "the noontide demon," which prevented them from fulfilling their spiritual duties. By the Renaissance, acedia had given way to the secular concept of "melancholy" and the theory of the Four Humors, according to which the melancholic suffers from an excess of "black bile. …


The highly energy-intensive stone mining and crushing industry, grouped with other mining industries, has been one of the focal sectors of the US Department of Energy's Industries of the Future (DOE-IOF) initiative. In addition to being highly energy intensive, stone crushing currently produces 42% of the total material consumed by weight in the US, which is mainly used as highway aggregates. Based on GDP growth projections, the use of crushed stone could increase at a quicker rate than any other major material use. Given the market size, ample resources and stable growth potential of this industry, the understanding and dissemination of energy efficiency opportunities is paramount for national energy efficiency goals. Further, since there are literally thousands of similar facilities throughout the US (owned by relatively few large holding groups), there is a huge opportunity for replicability of identified energy efficiency measures. This paper will first review the stone mining, crushing, and asphalt production processes. In this review, we will show that energy use is focused in rock blasting, shot-rock transportation, rock crushing, conveying, and screening. As such, standard building energy efficiency measures such as lighting retrofits and support system optimization have small impacts on overall plant energy use. The identification of energy efficiency opportunities thus relies heavily on system optimization. System optimization not only encourages energy-efficiency, but typically benefits production as well. Coupled with productivity improvements, the economic incentives for energy-efficiency measures in this industry have the magnitude and quick payback that could facilitate industry-wide replication. The selected case study will feature two plants that manufacture a variety of rock grades for asphalt aggregate, railroad ballast and other uses. These facilities are currently the focus of a US Department of Energy (DOE) Industries of the Future plant-wide assessment. The key findings of the study will be presented, with a critical eye on improvements that are not only applicable to this facility, but to the stone crushing and asphalt industry as a whole.


As a number of organizations in United States, Europe, Asia and developing countries seek to implement business incubation programs, the aim of this paper is to review the literature and provide the strength and weakness of economic theories with successful implementation worldwide. A business incubator offers an ideal environment for start-ups and entrepreneurs to transform their ideas, patent and innovation into viable business ventures. Entrepreneurs and small businesses receive support and guidance to be able to start up their business concepts, operate effectively and keep up with the pace of change while remaining competitive. Adaptation of a Business Incubator Model leads to 1) the support of diverse economies, 2) the commercialization of new technologies, 3) job creation and 4) increases in wealth. The aim of this paper is to provide a wide literature review that seeks to indicate the potential benefits of business incubation as a process while focusing on the identification of the economic and incubation theories as a tool for economic development. The authors' professional experience on the topic provides the foundation for this paper. The findings of this research can help policy makers, governments, practitioners to predict possible strengths and weaknesses, in their implementation of incubator programs, leading to better planning and successful implementation. Implementing strategic approaches of economic theories requires a commitment by top management. Participants can learn the strength of the application of the economic theories in business incubation programs. This study has suggested a number of ways in which Business Incubators can be used to stimulate economic growth.IntroductionThere are many definitions for business incubation. However, most agreed that a business incubations program is an economic and social program which provides the intensive support to start-up companies, coach them to start and accelerate their development and success through business assistance program. The main goal is to establish the successful start up companies that will leave the incubators financially viable and freestanding. In addition, the graduates companies' outcomes are jobs creation, technology transfer, commercialize new technologies and create wealth for economies.The pervious and current literature has been proven the positive impact of business incubators goals. First goal: it is supporting regional development through job creation (Allen and Levine, 1986; Mian, 1997; Thierstein and Wilhelm, 2001). Second goal: Incubator generally aids in the growth of new ventures (Campbell, 1989; Petree, 1997). Third goal: Incubators fosters technological innovation and industrial renewal (Allen and Rahman, 1985; Similor and Gill, 1986; Allen and McCluskey, 1990; Mian, 1996).The objective of this paper is to show the strength and weakness of economic theories with successful implementation worldwide. It will focus on the concept of economic development, identification of economic theories and business incubation as tool for economic development.The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 provides a thorough review of the literature on the concept of economic. In Section 3 the research methodology included the evidence from literature review and ten successful case studies to illustrate different key performance of the business incubation. In Section 4, the authors briefly discuss the finding of the study drawn from quantitative approaches of incubators. Section 5 concludes with implications of the business incubators from successful developing countries.Related Literature Review of Concept of Economic DevelopmentEconomic development defines as the process of creating wealth through the mobilization of human, financial, capital, physical and natural resources to generate marketable goods and services. The economic developer's role is to influence the process for the benefit of the community through expanding job opportunities and the tax base (AEDC 1984, p. …


We present a detailed study of the classical Cepheid in the double-lined, highly eccentric eclipsing binary system OGLE-LMC562.05.9009. The Cepheid is a fundamental mode pulsator with a period of 2.988 days. The orbital period of the system is 1550 days. Using spectroscopic data from three 4–8-m telescopes and photometry spanning 22 years, we were able to derive the dynamical masses and radii of both stars with exquisite accuracy. Both stars in the system are very similar in mass, radius, and color, but the companion is a stable, non-pulsating star. The Cepheid is slightly more massive and bigger (M1 = 3.70 ± 0.03 M⊙, R1 = 28.6 ± 0.2 R⊙) than its companion (M2 = 3.60 ± 0.03 M⊙, R2 = 26.6 ± 0.2 R⊙). Within the observational uncertainties both stars have the same effective temperature of 6030 ± 150 K. Evolutionary tracks place both stars inside the classical Cepheid instability strip, but it is likely that future improved temperature estimates will move the stable giant companion just beyond the red edge of the instability strip. Within current observational and theoretical uncertainties, both stars fit on a 205 Myr isochrone arguing for their common age. From our model, we determine a value of the projection factor of p = 1.37 ± 0.07 for the Cepheid in the OGLE-LMC562.05.9009 system. This is the second Cepheid for which we could measure its p-factor with high precision directly from the analysis of an eclipsing binary system, which represents an important contribution toward a better calibration of Baade-Wesselink methods of distance determination for Cepheids.


The Variscan orogen provides the European record of the late Paleozoic continental collisions that culminated with formation of the supercontinent Pangea. An S-shaped pair of isoclinal coupled oroclines characterizes the Variscan orogen of the Iberian Massif. Though oroclines are common features of the world's orogenic belts, the mechanisms that drive oroclinal formation, and the manner in which these continental-scale vertical-axis folds of orogens are accommodated are poorly understood. The northerly Cantabrian and the southerly Central Iberian oroclines are structurally continuous and pericontemporaneous, suggesting that they formed in the same fashion. Exposures of the Ediacaran Narcea Slates within the so-called Narcea antiform trace a 150-km-long arcuate belt around the 180° Cantabrian orocline. In the western flank of the Narcea antiform, the Narcea Slates are characterized by a penetrative steep to vertical, rough to slaty cleavage (S1) and subparallel 2-km-wide reverse shear zones with a penetrative fabric (S2) that are postdated by asymmetric meso- to outcrop-scale vertical-axis folds (plunge >65°) with a dominant vergence toward the oroclinal hinge; i.e., fold geometry is dominantly dextral (Z-shaped) in the southern limb of the Cantabrian orocline and dominantly sinistral (S-shaped) in its northern limb. Axial planes are consistently steeply dipping, but they are typically oriented at a high angle to S1/S2 and are therefore variable in strike about the orocline hinge. Vertical-axis folds affecting the Narcea Slates are of the appropriate scale and geometry to be interpreted as parasitic structures developed in response to a component of flexural shear within the limbs of the forming Cantabrian orocline. A model of formation of the Iberian coupled oroclines by buckling accommodating significant orogen-parallel shortening along an initially linear Iberian Variscan belt is therefore supported, providing new insight into the complexities associated with the final stages of Pangean amalgamation.


This thesis articulates physical activities of tangata whenua occupation and use as being central to the operations of ahi ka and fundamental to the demonstration of mana whenua and mana moana. The focus on use and occupation of land expresses ahi ka as a practical tool, but more importantly, as a catalyst of Maori tribal identity and cultural permanency. The customary framework of Nga Tatai Ahi Ka is applied to demonstrate intricacies, flexibility and fragility of ahi ka as a holistic tool, symbolic of identity, permanency and well-being. A richer understanding of ahi ka shows that its practical functions exceeds mere occupation and use by contributing to the socio-political, cultural, spiritual and intellectual landscape of Maori tribal peoples. The visioning of ahi ka casts the indigenous net wider by examining the local context of Mer Islands located in the Torres Strait Archipelago. Meriam customs and practices reveal the Malo ra Gelar framework as a holistic law of organisation, akin to ahi ka . Together, the Nga Ta tai Ahi Ka and Malo ra Gelar frameworks illustrate two complex and pragmatic knowledge systems as an assertion of two indigenous peoples' holistic relationships to their surrounding landscape. The usefulness of this research serves to open up new spaces of inquiry into ahi ka and Malo ra Gelar as holistic applications of self-determination, self-identification, and sovereignty of our future landscape, destinies and realities. Furthermore, its application could extend towards other indigenous nations to continuously challenge their colonial landscapes by privileging their holistic approaches as assertions of autonomy over people and place.


Eyes-free input is desirable for ubiquitous computing, since interacting with mobile and wearable devices often competes for visual attention with other devices and tasks. In this paper, we explore eyes-free typing on a touchpad using one thumb, wherein a user taps on an imaginary QWERTY keyboard while receiving text feedback on a separate screen. Our hypothesis is that users can transfer their typing ability obtained from visible keyboards to eyes-free use. We propose two statistical decoding algorithms to infer users' eyes-free input: the absolute algorithm and the relative algorithm. The absolute algorithm infers user input based on the absolute position of touch endpoints, while the relative algorithm infers based on the vectors between successive touch endpoints. Evaluation results showed users could achieve satisfying performance with both algorithms. Text entry rate was 17-23 WPM (words per minute) depending on the algorithm used. In comparison, a baseline cursor-based text entry method yielded only 7.66 WPM. In conclusion, our research demonstrates for the first time the feasibility of thumb-based eyes-free typing, which provides a new possibility for text entry on ubiquitous computing platforms such as smart TVs and HMDs.


There is a worldwide increase in the popularity of water pipe (shisha) tobacco smoking including in Europe and North America. However, little is known about the effects of water pipe smoke (WPS) exposure on male reproductivity. We have recently demonstrated that WPS exposure in mice induces testicular toxicity including inflammation and oxidative stress. Nootkatone, a sesquiterpenoid found in grapefruit, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the possible protective effect of nootkatone on WPS-induced testicular toxicity has not been reported before. Here, we tested the effects of treatment of mice with nootkatone on WPS-induced testicular toxicity. Mice were exposed to normal air or WPS (30 minutes/day, for 30 days). Nootkatone (90 mg/kg) was given orally to mice by gavage, 1 h before WPS or air exposure. Nootkatone treatment significantly ameliorated the WPS-induced increase in plasma levels of inhibin, uric acid, and lactate dehydrogenase activity. Nootkatone also significantly mitigated the decrease in testosterone, androgen-binding protein, and estradiol concentrations in the plasma induced by WPS. In testicular homogenates, WPS exposure caused a decrease in the total nitric oxide level and an increase in the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β level and oxidative stress markers including malondialdehyde, cytochrome C, and 8-Oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine. All the latter effects were significantly alleviated by nootkatone treatment. Moreover, in testicular homogenate, nootkatone inhibited the expression of nuclear factor-kappaB induced by WPS. Likewise, histological examination of mouse testes showed that nootkatone treatment ameliorated the deterioration of spermatogenesis induced by WPS exposure. We conclude that nootkatone ameliorated the WPS-induced testicular inflammation and oxidative stress and hormonal and spermatogenesis alterations.


A simple, rapid, selective, sensitive, accurate and precise High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection method has been developed and validated for determination of Tapentadol hydrochloride in human plasma. The chromatographic separation of Tapentadol hydrochloride was achieved with Chromasil C18 column using a mobile phase Methanol: water (60:40 v/v) at flow rate 1.0 ml/min. Plasma samples were processed using acetonitrile as precipitating agent to extract drug. The linearity for Tapentadol hydrochloride was found to be 100-1000 ng/ml with regression coefficient (r 2 ) 0.9980. The limit of quantification in plasma for Tapentadol hydrochloride was found to be 100 ng/ml. The mean recovery was obtained at 85.20 %. The method has been used to perform pharmacokinetic and bioequivalence studies in human plasma.


Two prominent limitations of species distribution models (SDMs) are spatial biases in existing occurrence data and a lack of spatially explicit predictor variables to fully capture habitat characteristics of species. Can existing and emerging remote sensing technologies meet these challenges and improve future SDMs? We believe so. Novel products derived from multispectral and hyperspectral sensors, as well as future Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and RADAR missions, may play a key role in improving model performance. In this perspective piece, we demonstrate how modern sensors onboard satellites, planes and unmanned aerial vehicles are revolutionizing the way we can detect and monitor both plant and animal species in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems as well as allowing the emergence of novel predictor variables appropriate for species distribution modeling. We hope this interdisciplinary perspective will motivate ecologists, remote sensing experts and modelers to work together for developing a more refined SDM framework in the near future.


Guidelines from NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) and academic papers have repeatedly stressed the effectiveness and appropriateness of psychological therapies for a range of mental health problems. The Department of Health's and the Care Services Improvement Partnership's (CSIP) Programme Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) sets out a framework for action, including two national demonstration sites, to address these issues in England. Clearly, as experts in conducting and delivering psychological interventions, clinical and applied psychologists have a key role here. Psychologists are the key profession delivering such therapies, but the IAPT programme envisages an expansion of psychological therapists more generally. This means commissioners contracting with NHS Trusts (and potentially other bodies) to employ a range of professionals, including new graduates, to be trained in specific therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Therefore, psychologists are also important as managers, supervisors and trainers of such psychological therapists. Psychologists' training enables them to formulate individualised complex care plans where the application of manualised and deliverable packages of therapy can be integrated into more holistic care plans. This paper discusses the distinctive roles of psychologists and psychological perspectives in the light of these proposals. The paper is written from the perspective of one professional group – clinical psychology – and should be read in that context.


In recent years, diverse organizations and actors in and around cities have been articulating visions of a more sustainable and democratic urban agri-food system. By utilizing or supporting alternative methods of production, distribution and consumption, a range of municipal, charitable and grass-roots initiatives have experimented with new relationships between producers and consumers, and between people, food and soil. This article provides an analysis of 'civic food networks' in the city of Manchester using the idea of the 'moral economy' and its various conceptualizations, both within and beyond agri-food studies. We argue that contemporary alternative agri-food economic practices constitute a moral economy organized around relations of solidarity and justice with proximate and distant others, and ethical concern for land and for the global environment. We explore the particular characteristics of the moral economy of these networks. We focus in particular on the complex character of moral sentiments in modern life, in which face-to-face and mediated relations are experienced in terms of different styles of morality and solidarity. We thus suggest a reconceptualization of civic food networks as a moral economy, explore the way it is conditioned by the character of morality in modern societies, and explore its potential to contribute to a wider societal transformation of the agri-food system.


Perceived octaves are stretched, requiring frequency-dependent ratios that generally exceed 2:1. Small intervals seem to be compressed perceptually. Whether this compression also depends on frequency is unclear. To examine this question, six experienced string instrumentalists each made perceptual judgments of sinusoidally formed major seconds, perfect fourths, and octaves above each of four lower frequencies. The frequency ratio for each perceived interval type varied with lower frequency. The pattern of this variation differed between the octave and the other two interval types and across subjects. A consequence is that nonlinear loci in a two-dimensional space are mathematically necessary for a complete representation of an individual listener9s subjectively equal musical intervals. The listener apparently quickly assimilates the intervals produced by performers to these personal interval loci.


Abstract Cannabis is increasingly being used world-wide to treat a variety of dermatological conditions. Medicinal cannabis is currently legalized in Canada, 31 states in America and 19 countries in Europe. The authors reviewed the literature on the pharmacology and use of cannabinoids in treating a variety of skin conditions including acne, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, skin cancer, pruritus, and pain. Cannabinoids have demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, anti-ageing, and antimalignancy properties by various mechanisms including interacting with the newly found endocannabinoid system of the skin thereby providing a promising alternative to traditional treatments.


In 1688 Molyneux asked the question whether a blind man who knew the difference between a sphere and a cube from touch, with his sight restored would be able to distinguish between them based on vision. One interpretation of Molyneux's question is whether spatial representations are modality-specific. In a series of experiments the nature of spatial mental representations and the link with spatial language and imagery was studied. First the current literature on this topic was reviewed. Spatial information can be obtained through modality-specific input (such as vision, touch and audition, etc.), but also through amodal verbal input. A model is proposed in which these inputs feed into a supramodal representation of spatial information. A supramodal representation contains the purely spatial information, but maintains links with input modalities. This model explains how different sources of input can yield behaviorally similar results. In line with this, results from early blind people, without any visual memories, indicate that they perform quite well on various spatial and navigation tasks, suggesting that vision is not the only modality that can convey spatial information. Following the model described above a series of empirical studies were conducted. The first part of this thesis deals with simple spatial sentences, such as "the ball is above the shoe", and reference frame processing. Reference frames determine the point of view for communication and are very important for successful communication. Potentially, reference frames allow for communication between different sensory modalities, as illustrated by Molyneux's question. This part discusses how these simple spatial sentences are represented using, verbal, visual and haptic comparisons. Spatial language hardly ever occurs in isolation but should also be considered in a larger context such as talking about space and getting from one place to the other. Therefore, the second part of this thesis examined the processing of complex spatial descriptions. The reference frames that clarify how objects are located support different perspectives and possibly different representations, both behaviorally and neurally. This part describes neuroimaging studies that investigate whether the representations built up from these complex descriptions are indeed spatial, that is whether they represent metric information about the locations described. Finally, the third part of this thesis focuses on how compelling such spatial information is when understanding language. Can spatial information also be accessed through language that is not necessarily spatial at first? This question links spatial representations to the influential idea of grounded cognition that language is understood by linking it to perceptual simulations. Three chapters directly tested early blind participants. This special participant group allowed to determine the role of visual experience in representing spatial information. Together the results from this thesis support the idea the spatial information can be obtained from multiple different input modalities and is represented supramodally. This supramodal representation can be addressed using spatial language. Moreover, vision is not a prerequisite to build up these supramodal representations, as demonstrated by the highly similar results for blind and sighted participants.


Since 1998, U.S. House incumbents have won a staggering 98 percent of their reelection races. Electoral competition has also declined in some state and primary elections. The Marketplace for Democracy combines the resources of two eminent research organizations --Brookings and the Cato Institute --to address several important questions about our democratic system. How pervasive is the lack of competition in arenas only previously speculated on, such as state legislative contests and congressional primaries? What have previous reform efforts, such as direct primaries and term limits, had on electoral competition? What are the effects of redistricting and campaign finance regulation? What role do third parties play? In sum, what does all this tell us about what might be done to increase electoral competition? The authors, including a number of today's most important scholars in American politics, consider the historical development, legal background, and political aspects of a system that is supposed to be responsive and accountable yet for many is becoming stagnant, self-perpetuating, and tone-deaf. How did we get to this point, and what --if anything --should be done about it? Elections are the vehicles through which Americans choose who governs them, and the power of the ballot is still the best lever ordinary citizens have in keeping public officials accountable. The Marketplace of Democracy considers different policy options for increasing the competition needed to keep American politics vibrant, responsive, and democratic. Contributors include Stephen Ansolabehere (MIT), William D. Berry (Florida State University), Bruce Cain (University of California-Berkeley), Thomas Carsey (Florida StateUniversity) James Gimpel (University of Maryland) John Hanley (UC-Berkeley), John Mark Hansen (University of Chicago), Paul S. Herrnson (University of Maryland) Gary Jacobson (University of California-San Diego) Thad Kousser (UC-San Diego), Frances Lee (University of Maryland), John Matsusaka (University of Southern California), Kenneth Mayer (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Michael P. McDonald (Brookings Institution and George Mason University), Jeffrey Milyo (University of Missouri-Columbia), Richard Niemi (University of Rochester) Nate Persily (University of Pennsylvania Law School), Lynda Powell (University of Rochester), David Primo (University of Rochester), John Samples (Cato Institute), and James Snyder Jr. (MIT).


The project used teach-back methodology to provide an evidence-based approach to improve patient satisfaction scores in an urgent care clinic. The teaching plan should include evaluation of patient teaching to determine effectiveness and patient understanding per The Joint Commission (TJC) for Ambulatory Care Center standards. The project was developed to assist nurses (N=12) with an evidence-based method to improve patient understanding and provide an opportunity to ensure comprehension to increase patient satisfaction scores from a one or two to a level three at the end of 30 days following implementation of teach-back. The scores revealed an increase of patient satisfaction scores on the Bivarius Patient Survey System (BPSS) on one patient satisfaction score. The score regarding nurses providing an opportunity to evaluate patient understanding of instructions increased to a level three on the BPSS patient satisfaction survey system. The relevance of the study was to improve patient education and satisfaction scores for the patient. Future studies should include using teach-back methodology over a more extended timeframe for a longitudinal study to assess if teach-back methodology improves patient satisfaction scores.


Smart Card devices are commonly used on many secure applications where there is a need to identify the card holder in order to provide a personalised service. The value of access to locked data and services makes Smart Cards a desirable attack target for hackers of all sorts. The range of attacks a Smart Card and its environment can be subjected to ranges from social engineering to exploiting hardware and software bugs and features.

This research has focused on several hardware related attacks and potential threats. Namely, power glitch attack, power analysis, laser attack, the potential effect on security of memory power consumption reduction techniques and using a re-configurable instruction set as method to harden opcode interpretation.

A semi-automated simulation environment to test designs against glitch attacks and power analysis has been developed. This simulation environment can be easily integrated within Atmel's design flow to bring assurance of their designs' behaviour and permeability to such attacks at an early development stage. Previous power analysis simulation work focused on testing the implementation of part of the cryptographic algorithm. This work focuses on targeting the whole algorithm, allowing the test of a wider range of countermeasures.

A common glitch detection approach is monitoring the power supply for abnormal voltage values and fluctuations. This approach can fail to detect some fast glitches. The alternative approach used in this research monitors the effects of a glitch on a mono-stable circuit sensitive to fault injection by glitch attacks. This work has resulted in a patented glitch detector that improves the overall glitch detection range.

The use of radiation countermeasures as laser countermeasures and potential sensors has been investigated too. Radiation and laser attacks have similar effects on silicon devices. Whilst several countermeasures against radiation have been developed over the years, almost no explicit mention of laser countermeasures was found. This research has demonstrated the suitability of using some radiation countermeasures as laser countermeasures.

Memory partitioning is a static and dynamic power consumption reduction technique successfully used in various devices. The nature of Smart Card devices restricts the applicability of some aspects of this power reduction technique. This research line has resulted in the proposal of a memory partitioning approach suitable to Smart Cards.


The testis specific form of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH‐C4) is encoded by a single locus, Ldh‐c, and is tightly regulated in a tissue specific manner. Here we show differences in expression of Ldh‐c between rat and mouse, and describe the levels at which regulation of this gene differs in the two species. Our results demonstrate that the Ldh‐c message level is nearly nine fold greater in mouse testis and remains high post‐meiotically. In contrast, rat Ldh‐c mRNA is highest in primary spermatocytes and reduced in spermatids. The results of nuclear run‐on assays indicate that the transcription rate of Ldh‐c is only moderately higher in mouse than rat, and cannot account for a significant portion of the observed differences. Similar decay rates for both rat and mouse Ldh‐c mRNA in actinomycin‐D clearance assays indicate comparable cytoplasmic stabilities for the two messages. From these results we infer that nuclear prostranscriptional events contribute to the differences in Ldh‐c message levels. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Objective: Some previous studies have shown that low-dose radiotherapy (RT) can increase tumor invasion and metastasis. Multiple RT fields are usually used to prevent the damage to the organs at risk. We performed a clinical study with a concern that low-dose RT might increase invasion or metastasis. Ionizing radiation (IR) can enhance the potential tumor micro-environment by modifying the host micro-metastatic cancer cells. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 50 patients aged between 45 and 87 years, who were applied RT and/or chemotherapy, had the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG) between 1 and 3 and stage II-III lung cancer, and were without any metastasis. RT was applied at daily fractions of 180–200 cGy (5 days/week) and a 54-66 Gy total dose. V5, V10, V20, V40, V50, and V60 values of the lung in a disease-free life, and general life effects statistically analysed with MannWhitney U and L Par testS. Results: A lower RT dose range, which produced V5, V10, and V20 volume values of the lung, was analyzed. It was observed that the V5, V10, and V20 RT volumes of the lung provided a minimal positive effect on relapse-free and general survival according to the Rcorrelation values. Conclusion: Larger studies are necessary according to these results to evaluate the impact of low-dose radiation and to increase the survival rates.


Exposure to isoniazid induced the expression of several secreted proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblot analyses indicated that two of the prominent isonicotinic acid hydrazide-inducible polypeptides were members of the antigen 85 complex, recently demonstrated to have mycolyltransferase activity. We postulate the existence of an intermediate, whose production is inhibited by isonicotinic acid hydrazide, which plays a negative feedback regulatory role in the metabolism of mycolic acids are revealed by the overexpression of the antigen 85 complex. The approach described here relies on analyses of differential gene expression following exposure to inhibitors and may become a more general tool in dissecting the effects of antimicrobial agents.


Abstract. In a recent published paper Knopf et a1. (2002) have suggested that the homogeneous freezing behavior of stratospheric aerosols, under polar winter conditions, can be simulated experimentally in large bulk phase-sized droplet samples (0.12-0.27 cm in diameter). Their hypothesis is based on the fact that a nucleus, which freezes the supercooled phase, forms within the bulk volume of a given sample, and therefore, if large bulk volumes don't freeze in the laboratory, then small volumes in particles most certainly remain unfrozen in the stratosphere. The important question to ask here is whether their initial hypothesis, which they have used to analyze their data, is even correct to begin with. For example, does a nucleus, which turns over the phase, forms within the bulk volume or on the surface of the supercooled phase? Some recent studies provide both experimental (Tabazadeh et al., 2002a, b) and theoretical (Djikaev et al., 2002, 2003) support for the formation of the nucleus at the surface of a supercooled droplet. If the homogeneous nucleation process initiates at the droplet surface, then the approach taken by Knopf. et al. to study this crystallization process may not be directly applicable to the stratospheric situation.


In this work, we focus on the ergodic sum rate in the downlink of a single-cell large-scale multi-user MIMO system in which the base station employs N antennas to communicate with K single-antenna user equipments. A regularized zero-forcing (RZF) scheme is used for precoding under the assumption that each link forms a spatially correlated MIMO Rician fading channel. The analysis is conducted assuming N and K grow large with a non trivial ratio and perfect channel state information is available at the base station. Recent results from random matrix theory and large system analysis are used to compute an asymptotic expression of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio as a function of the system parameters, the spatial correlation matrix and the Rician factor. Numerical results are used to evaluate the performance gap in the finite system regime under different operating conditions.


Measurements of intimal-medial thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery by B-mode ultrasonography are widely used as markers of atherosclerosis. This report describes empirical features of these measurements to characterize their distribution within arterial wall segments, to explore their potential as study outcome measures, and to examine their links with traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Methods Sequential transverse measurements of IMT in the carotid arteries were made in 899 participants from the Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Progression Study (ACAPS) at baseline. Data from 17 intrasegment sites in each of 12 arterial wall segments were used to describe patterns of thickness and visualization and to characterize cross-sectional area, severity, and roughness/irregularity by the intrasegment averages, maxima, and SDs of IMT, respectively. Results Serial correlations of IMT measurements indicated localized and diffuse features of disease. The spatial distribution of IMT had two dominant features: overall mass and mass relative to roughness. The validity of these features was demonstrated by their correlation to known risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis: body mass index, age, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, smoking, and sex. Conclusions Both the mean and maxima of intrasegment measurements appear to be good candidates for use in clinical studies. B-mode ultrasonography has validity for the description of IMT roughness and shape. Both of these features are linked to cardiovascular risk factors, which supports the multifaceted nature of atherosclerosis.


This Article is about the tension between liberty and equality. It examines this tension in the context of disputes over Free Speech and LGBT rights. In our modern Civil Rights Era, the social and legal climate has become increasingly intolerant of bullying, embraced liberal sexual and gender norms, and sought to institute formal equality for formerly disfavored groups. The conservative movement has responded in part by seeking refuge from progressive change in Constitutional jurisprudence, articulating theories of both the First and Fourteenth Amendments that effectively protect the status quo. Because of a receptive Supreme Court, dominant conceptions of both Equal Protection and Free Speech are informed today by libertarian ideology, reflecting a commitment to limited government oversight and regulation. A libertarian view of the Constitution, however, ensures that meaningful liberty and equality exist not for everyone, but only for some. To create a more equitable society, Constitutional interpretation must more adequately balance libertarian interests in the exercise of individual rights—like Free Speech—with the need for governmental action to promote the public good and address group-based harms.

This Article draws from the field of Critical Race Theory to advocate for an antisubordination approach in mediating competing claims of equality and liberty. Unlike a libertarian Free Speech jurisprudence that treats all speakers and viewpoints as equally worthy of Constitutional respect, an antisubordination approach to Free Speech is attentive to historical and contemporary modes of group-based oppression. Simply put, if the triumph of a Free Speech claim would enforce a status hierarchy that positions historically marginalized groups as inferior, that Free Speech claim should fail.

The need to reconceptualize liberty and equality came into sharp relief in the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. The Bostock Court held that Title VII prohibits discrimination against gay and transgender employees, but the majority concluded by noting potential concerns for religious and conservative dissenters. The Court suggested that Constitutional and statutory principles of religious freedom and free speech might override antidiscrimination commands in appropriate cases. The jurisprudence that develops from these developing cases will help determine the scope of equality, the breadth of First Amendment liberties, and the Constitution's role in addressing inequity for all marginalized groups.


A case of torrential precipitation associated with the mei-yu front, an Asian summer monsoon system east of the Tibetan Plateau, is studied using the coupled fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University‐NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Parameterization for Land‐Atmosphere‐Cloud Exchange model. The impact of both remote and local sources of water vapor on the location and intensity of mei-yu precipitation are studied by numerical experiments. The results demonstrate that the main source of water vapor for this heavy precipitation event over the Yangtze River Valley is the Bay of Bengal. Moisture is transported by a southwesterly low-level jet (LLJ) southeast of the Tibetan Plateau. Although the LLJ is largely manipulated by large-scale forcing, the mesoscale circulation that results from mei-yu condensational heating acts to increase the maximum wind speed of the jet. The condensation-induced local circulation strengthens the moisture transport in the LLJ, providing a positive feedback that sustains the mei-yu precipitation system. Precipitation recycling increases the total precipitation in the Yangtze River Valley only slightly, but it tends to shift the maximum rainfall center toward the warmer side of the mei-yu rain belt. This shift is due to the pronounced increase in atmospheric moisture and decrease in surface temperature over the warm side of the rain belt.


Background: The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic demonstrates the value of regional cooperation in infectious disease prevention and control. We explored the literature on regional infectious disease control bodies, to identify lessons, barriers and enablers to inform operationalisation of a regional infectious disease control body or network in southeast Asia. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to examine existing literature on regional infectious disease control bodies and networks, and to identify lessons that can be learned that will be useful for operationalisation of a regional infectious disease control body such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Center for Public Health Emergency and Emerging Diseases. Results: Of the 57 articles included, 53 (93%) were in English, with two (3%) in Spanish and one (2%) each in Dutch and French. Most were commentaries or review articles describing programme initiatives. Sixteen (28%) publications focused on organisations in the Asian continent, with 14 (25%) focused on Africa, and 14 (25%) primarily focused on the European region. Key lessons focused on organisational factors, diagnosis and detection, human resources, communication, accreditation, funding, and sustainability. Enablers and constraints were consistent across regions/ organisations. A clear understanding of the regional context, budgets, cultural or language issues, staffing capacity and governmental priorities, is pivotal. An initial workshop inclusive of the various bodies involved in the design, implementation, monitoring or evaluation of programmes is essential. Clear governance structure, with individual responsibilities clear from the beginning, will reduce friction. Secure, long-term funding is also a key aspect of the success of any programme. Conclusion: Operationalisation of regional infectious disease bodies and networks is complicated, but with extensive groundwork, and focus on organisational factors, diagnosis and detection, human resources, communication, accreditation, funding, and sustainability, it is achievable. Ways to promote success are to include as many stakeholders as possible from the beginning, to ensure that context-specific factors are considered, and to encourage employees through capacity building and mentoring, to ensure they feel valued and reduce staff turnover.


A large family of examples for subgroups normalized by the base group in a complete monomial group of finite degree over any group is given. This is then proven to be a complete characterization of such subgroups in the case of an abelian group . Centralizer structure for this kind of subgroups, even in the non abelian case, is completely determined. Notably, separate study of the case of elementary abelian -group is needed. In the last part, the results are extended to the case of limit monomial groups.


Taking a research-based, integrated problem-solving approach to technical and professional writing, this text provides a model that illustrates real working-world solutions to problems that students are likely to encounter in the workplace. Each chapter begins with a short scenario case study that deals with theoretical or applied issues of technical and professional communication. The problem is carried through its development and resolution, thereby preparing students to deal appropriately and successfully in the professional world,


OBJECTIVE
To explore the basis of the gender-based differences in endocrine and surgical findings in patients with prolactinoma (prolactin cell adenoma) as well as in their clinical outcome.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
In young or reproductive-age female patients, older women (beyond 40 years of age), and male patients, we systematically studied the following factors: operative and endocrine features (tumor size, invasiveness, preoperative serum prolactin level, and biochemical outcome), specific biologic variables (mitotic index, MIB-1 labeling index, and p27 immunoreactivity), and hormone receptor status (estrogen and progesterone receptor proteins as well as dopamine D2 receptor messenger RNA).

RESULTS
Of the various factors assessed, the preoperative prolactin level and MIB-1 labeling index were lower in young female patients in comparison with older female and particularly male patients. Hormone levels were also positively associated with mitotic activity as well as the MIB-1 labeling index. Although invasion was infrequent in microadenomas of young female patients, no statistically significant differences in tumor size or invasiveness were noted among the three patient groups. Absence of differences in invasiveness may, in part, be explained by artifacts of case selection.

CONCLUSION
The basis for the observed differences in proliferative activities in tumors of the three study groups is not readily apparent but may reflect differences in the endocrine milieu or the effect of sex steroid hormone receptors, tumoral vascularity, or specific growth factors.


Sketch of Tour: Tour II visits Popper, falsification, corroboration, Duhem's problem (what to blame in the case of anomalies) and the demarcation of science and pseudoscience (2.3). While Popper comes up short on each, the reader is led to improve on Popper's notions (live exhibit (v)). Central ingredients for our journey are put in place via souvenirs: a framework of models and problems, and a post-Popperian language to speak about inductive inference. Defining a severe test, for Popperians, is linked to when data supply novel evidence for a hypothesis: family feuds about defining novelty are discussed (2.4). We move into Fisherian significance tests and the crucial requirements he set (often overlooked): isolated significant results are poor evidence of a genuine effect, and statistical significance doesn't warrant substantive, e.g., causal inference (2.5). Applying our new demarcation criterion to a plausible effect (males are more likely than females to feel threatened by their partner's success), we argue that a real revolution in psychology will need to be more revolutionary than at present. Whole inquiries might have to be falsified, their measurement schemes questioned (2.6). The Tour's pieces are synthesized in (2.7), where a guest lecturer explains how to solve the problem of induction now, having redefined induction as severe testing.


In June and July 1978, 584 agonistic encounters of Oryx gazella were recorded in Etosha National Park. Generally, the fighting techniques and the displays were the same as in Oryx beisa (Walther 1958, 1978a); however, a particular display, the ""symbolic stab over the shoulder"", seemed to be unique in Oryx gazella. AIl the lights were horn-to-horn contacts. Body attacks were rare. Among adult bulls, one-sided displays decided many of the encounters.


Purpose: Political parties spend significant amounts of resources during their election campaigns, which are usually designed in a sub-optimal and informal way. This study aims to provide a mathematical framework for political parties to optimize their election campaigns, so that they can maximize their performance in the elections. Design/methodology/approach: In this work, we provide certain mathematical relations to determine the minimum necessary number of votes to gain additional seats in an election region under the D'hondt election rule. Also we develop a convenient mathematical model that optimizes the resource allocation scheme of a political party to maximize the potential seats won. We test our models on Turkish Parliamentary elections data Findings: Our results show that with various basic assumptions, which are suitable for real life cases, one can obtain significant gains in the election outcomes even with small budgets. We also provide the relations among swing vote rates, unit vote costs and budget with the number seats won in a parliament. Originality/value: This study provides useful insights for both political party management teams as well as researchers. Political parties need to conduct more market research to collect and work on election data to increase their performances. From the research perspective, to the best of our knowledge, this is one of first studies that approaches to the election campaigns for the D'hondt system with mathematical optimization tools.


Legal reasoning with evidence can be a challenging task. We study the relation between two formal approaches that can aid the construction of legal proof: argumentation and Bayesian networks (BNs). Argument schemes are used to describe recurring patterns in argumentation. Critical questions for many argument schemes have been identified. Due to the increased use of statistical forensic evidence in court it may be advantageous to consider probabilistic models of legal evidence. In this paper we show how argument schemes and critical questions can be modelled in the graphical structure of a Bayesian network. We propose a method that integrates advantages from other methods in the literature.


AKI induces the renoprotective upregulation of survivin expression in kidney epithelial cells, but the underlying mechanisms have not been identified. To determine the role of survivin in renal recovery from AKI, we generated mice with renal proximal tubule-specific deletion of survivin (survivin(ptKO)). Renal survivin expression increased substantially in response to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in control littermates but remained minimal in survivin(ptKO) mice. Functional and histologic data indicated similar degrees of renal injury in survivin(ptKO) and control mice 24 hours after reperfusion, but recovery was markedly delayed in survivin(ptKO) mice. In MCT cells, a mouse renal proximal tubule cell line, ATP depletion by antimycin A treatment upregulated survivin expression through a phospho-STAT3-dependent pathway. In wild-type mice, inhibition of STAT3 kinase diminished I/R-induced upregulation of STAT3 phosphorylation and survivin expression and delayed recovery. Furthermore, I/R injury activated Notch-2 signaling, and a γ-secretase inhibitor suppressed I/R-induced Notch-2 signaling, STAT3 phosphorylation, and survivin expression and delayed recovery. In MCT cells, inhibition of γ-secretase similarly attenuated antimycin A-induced Notch-2 activation, upregulation of survivin, and phosphorylation of STAT3, but STAT3 kinase inhibition did not prevent Notch-2 activation. Therefore, these data suggest that STAT3 phosphorylation and subsequent upregulation of survivin expression mediated by Notch-2 signaling in renal proximal tubule epithelial cells aid in the functional and structural recovery of the kidney from AKI.


In most watermarking systems, masking models, inherited from data compression algorithms, are used to preserve fidelity by controlling the perceived distortion resulting from adding the watermark to the original signal. So far, little attention has been paid to the consequences of using such models on a key design parameter: the robustness of the watermark to intentional attacks. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that by considering fidelity alone, key information on the location and strength of the watermark may become available to an attacker; the latter can exploit such knowledge to build an effective mask attack. First, defining a theoretical framework in which analytical expressions for masking and watermarking are laid, a relation between the decrease of the detection statistic and the introduced perceptual distortion is found for the mask attack. The latter is compared to the Wiener filter attack. Then, considering masking models widely used in watermarking, experiments on both simulated and real data (audio and images) demonstrate how knowledge on the mask enables to greatly reduce the detection statistic, even for small perceptual distortion costs. The critical tradeoff between robustness and distortion is further discussed, and conclusions on the use of masking models in watermarking drawn.


ABSTRACT

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that allogenic adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADMS) and extracorporeal shock wave (ECSW) therapy could attenuate brain death (BD)-induced remote cardiac organ damage in rat.

Methods: Adult-male SD rats (n=30) were equally divided into group 1 (sham control); group 2 (BD); group 3 [BD + ECSW (0.15 mJ/mm2/300 impulses applied to skull surface 3 h after BD induction)]; group 4 [BD + ADMSC (1.2 x 106 cell) by intravenous injection 3 h after BD induction]; and group 5 (BD-ECSW-ADMSC). Animals were sacrificed by 6 h after BD induction and the heart specimens harvested.

Results: ELISA analysis showed that the circulating level of inflammation (IL-6/MPO/TNF-α) was lowest in group 1, highest in group 2, significantly lower in groups 5 than in groups 3 and 4, and significantly lower in group 4 than in group 3 (all p<0.0001). Flow cytometry demonstrated that circulating inflammatory (Ly6G+) cells and circulating/splenic immune (CD3/CD4+/CD3/CD8+) exhibited an identical pattern whereas Treg+ cells expressed an opposite pattern of inflammatory biomarkers (all p<0.001). The protein expressions of inflammatory (IL-1s/MMP-9/TNF-α/NF-κB/), and apoptotic (cleaved/caspase-3/PARP/ mitochondrial Bax), oxidative-stress (NOX-1/NOX-2/oxidized protein) biomarkers exhibited an identical pattern, whereas the protein expressions of mitochondrial integrity (mitochondrial cytochrome C) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4/IL-10) biomarkers exhibited an opposite pattern to inflammatory biomarkers among the five groups (all p<0.0001). The expressions of myocardial inflammatory (CD14+/CD68+) and immune (CD3+/CD4+) cells displayed an identical pattern of inflammatory biomarkers among the five groups (all p<0.0001).

Conclusion: ECSW-ADMSC therapy effectively protected the remote cardiac organ against BD-induced damage.


People tend to be penny wise and pound foolish and cry over spilt milk, even though we are taught to do neither. Focusing on the present at the expense of the future and basing decisions on lost value are two mistakes common to decision-making that are particularly costly in the world of finance. Behavioral Finance: What Everyone Needs to KnowR provides an overview of common shortcuts and mistakes people make in managing their finances. It covers the common cognitive biases or errors that occur when people are collecting, processing, and interpreting information. These include emotional biases and the influence of social factors, from culture to the behavior of one's peers. These effects vary during one's life, reflecting differences in due to age, experience, and gender. Among the questions to be addressed are: How did the financial crisis of 2007-2008 spur understanding human behavior? What are market anomalies and how do they relate to behavioral biases? What role does overconfidence play in financial decision- making? And how does getting older affect risk tolerance?


A search is presented for heavy vectorlike quarks (VLQs) that couple only to light quarks in proton-proton collisions at s=8  TeV at the LHC. The data were collected by the CMS experiment during 2012 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7  fb−1. Both single and pair production of VLQs are considered. The single-production search is performed for down-type VLQs (electric charge of magnitude 1/3), while the pair-production search is sensitive to up-type (charge of magnitude 2/3) and down-type VLQs. Final states with at least one muon or one electron are considered. No significant excess over standard model expectations is observed, and lower limits on the mass of VLQs are derived. The lower limits range from 400 to 1800 GeV, depending on the single-production cross section and the VLQ branching fractions B to W, Z, and Higgs bosons. When considering pair production alone, VLQs with masses below 845 GeV are excluded for B(W)=1.0, and below 685 GeV for B(W)=0.5, B(Z)=B(H)=0.25. The results are more stringent than those previously obtained for single and pair production of VLQs coupled to light quarks.