The chapter describes the possibilities of involving a speech-language therapist in the assessment of the pragmatic level of communication in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), where one of the most frequently impaired areas is communication pragmatics. These difficulties lead to a disruption of social interaction, which might be one of the obstacles to speech-language intervention in these children. The text is based on an originally developed testing material aimed at selected pragmatic-oriented communication situations relating to everyday activities and real life. Based on a comparison of domestic and international resources in this area, as well as mediated and own empirical experience, our assessment approach is based on the conclusion that pragmatics can be understood in different contexts and perspectives. The text presents the results of a partial survey comparing the performance of children with ASD and children with typical development. The assessment focused on the children's election of the correct picture of a pair of pictures that represent usual communication and social situations. The results of the research suggest fewer incorrect responses in children with ASD and in different areas compared with children with typical development. However, the results of a qualitative analysis indicate a necessity to expand the assessment of communication pragmatics by adding an individually specific qualitative analysis of children's performance.


This article discusses some of the implications of a recent case study on quality in PLAR for immigrant nurses to Canada. The results reveal complex relations within and across the nursing profession's communities of practice and communities of interest that operate as vehicles for negotiating shared understandings and power. Immigrant nurses who bring knowledge acquired in cultures and educational systems unfamiliar to Canadian authorities stand outside the periphery of the nursing community without a place or voice in the discourse. The author concludes that PLAR can provide a means of giving them voice if nursing stakeholders negotiate a shared understanding of the quality of the process. The author recommends that Baartman et al.'s (2007) quality criteria and concept of assessment in education be explored as a quality framework for anchoring PLAR in nursing registration. Keywords: Prior learning, nursing, quality criteria, community of practice


Character is an important and major in equipping the elementary school. Character education in elementary schools is not only applied in the classroom but can also be applied outside the classroom as well as in extracurricular activities of
 working groups. In the extracurriculars the working group of students is divided into several activities. The working group (Pokja)consists of: (1) TOGA (Family Medicine Plants) pokja, (2) Planting pokja, (3) fishery pokja, (4) energy pokja, (5)
 pokja biopori, and (6) a hygiene working group that will hold each program based on the group that has been determined. The research will be conducted on students of grade III in Elementary (Sekolah Dasar Negeri /SDN) Menteng 02, Central Jakarta with
 the number of sample students. This study uses the design of classroom action research model Kemmis and Taggart consists of four stages of plan, action, observation, and reflection. After doing research, it is found that using modeling and
 habituation in extracurricular activity process work group proved effective in increasing the character of responsibility and awareness to environment. This is because students are actively involved and there is a real example of the subject matter
 that becomes the learning objective.


The diffraction directivity of parallelogrammic gratings with second-order pitch is examined for a plane wave normally incident upon a corrugated waveguide structure. The three diffracted components are assumed to be in the form of guided waves, which permits a self-consistent calculation. The efficiencies of diffraction into the horizontal components are obtained. Also, the dependence of efficiency on grating thickness, waveguide thickness, grating pitch, and angle of inclination is determined. The approach provides a useful simulation tool for optimizing the design parameters for waveguide couplers with an orthogonal source.


EBNA-2 is a multifunctional viral oncogene involved in the immortalisation of B-cells by EBV. EBNA-2 regulates transcription of viral and cellular genes in the proliferative phase of the viral life cycle, which in vitro results in the outgrowth of EBV positive B-cells into lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). EBNA-2 transcriptional signalling is mediated by cellular DNA-binding proteins, such as RBP-J and PU.1, since EBNA-2 does not contain its own DNA-binding domain.
In order to better characterise EBNA-2 signalling we conducted a mutational analysis of the viral LMP-1 promoter that is strongly induced by EBNA-2 in the EBV-immortalised B-cells. Our mutational analysis of the LMP-1 promoter confirmed that the PU.1 binding site is important for transactivation of the LMP-1 promoter by EBNA-2, whereas RBP-J binding to the LMP-1 promoter leads to repression and EBNA-2 binding to RBP-J is not required for transactivation. These results imply that EBNA-2 transactivates the LMP-1 promoter preferentially by an RBP-J independent mechanism.
We further characterised EBNA-2 signalling by dissection of promoter targeting domains in the EBNA-2 protein. Two EBNA-2 mutants, the CR4del and WW mutant, preferentially activated RBP-J dependent and independent signalling indicating that EBNA-2 uses at least two separate signalling pathways.
We introduced the characterised EBNA-2 mutants into the EBV genome and produced recombinant viruses carrying specific mutations in the EBNA-2 genes. Primary B-cells were infected with increasing titres of recombinant EBVs lacking the EBNA-2 ORF or carrying the WW or CR4del mutant. Viruses lacking the EBNA-2 ORF or carrying the WW mutant were not able to immortalise primary B-cells even at high viral titres. The CR4 region of EBNA-2 strongly influenced B-cell immortalisation efficiency and growth rate of the immortalised B-cells. These results indicate that EBNA-2 and the RBP-J signalling of EBNA-2 are absolutely essential for B-cell immortalisation by EBV. In contrast, the CR4 EBNA-2 region mediating RBP-J independent signalling is critical, but not absolutely essential for the process of EBV immortalisation.


The form-based code has emerged only recently as an alternative to the traditional Euclidean zoning method. This new method was originally created as a part of the landmark Seaside, FL new town of the 1980s that was one of the first projects to display the ideas of the emerging New Urbanist movement. This earliest version of the formbased code established the form and structure that would remain largely intact in all future implementations of the concept. Most importantly, though, the Seaside code established the idea that form is more important than function when designing a community. Since the time of Seaside, the form-based code has been utilized for many projects, evolving from a tool used entirely for rural new towns to a method that was applicable to existing communities as well. These new applications, most notably in South Miami, FL and Arlington, VA, show that the form-based concept can be used for the revitalization of a community by establishing a form-based overlay district and providing incentives to encourage development based on the form-based code. This paper examines the effectiveness of the form-based code in such an environment, namely in a portion of the town of Blacksburg, VA. This is accomplished by comparing the potential effectiveness of the existing Blacksburg zoning ordinance against that of a form-based code for implementing the goals of the town's comprehensive plan. The potential benefits and shortcomings of each method are discussed and a recommendation is made for how the town should proceed.


An accurate delivery of prescribed dose is essential to ensure the most successful outcome from advanced radiation treatments such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). An anthropomorphic phantom was designed and constructed to conduct a remote-audit program for IMRT treatments. The accuracy of the dosimetry in the phantom was assessed by comparing the results obtained from different detectors with those from Monte Carlo calculations. The developed phantom has a shape of a cylinder with one target and three organs at risk (OARs) inside the unit. The target and OARs were shaped similar to those of nasopharyngeal cancer patients, and manufactured for their identification during computed tomography imaging. The phantom was designed with thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) holders that were inserted inside the target and the OARs for the measurements of absolute dose. In addition, the phantom allowed measurements with ionization chambers placed at the TLD locations. As a result, an inter-comparison between the two types of dosimeters was possible. For the measurement of the relative dose distribution across the target and OARs, two film slots were orthogonally placed near the center of the phantom, which also enabled the insertion of inhomogeneities near the target. Measurements with TLDs, provided by Korea Food and Drug Administration and Radiological Physics Center, and measurements with an ionization chamber (IC) were performed in four cases. The first case was one anterior field of 6 MV x rays delivered to the phantom; the second case used the same anterior field, but with inhomogeneities inserted into the phantom. The third case was three fields of 6 MV beams at an equi-gantry angle for the homogeneous phantom, and the fourth case was IMRT delivery to the phantom without inhomogeneities. For each case, measurements with both TLDs and IC were performed. For cases 1-3, theoretical predictions were obtained by using the Monte Carlo (MC) codes (BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc6.0). The TLD measurements were larger than the IC readings by 2.2% (1.3-2.5%), 2.2% (1.2-2.9%), and 2.1% (0-3.3%) on average for case 1, case 2 and case 3, respectively. The average deviation between TLDs and MC results was 0.97% (-0.13-2.07%) for the first case, 1.27% (0.34-2.18%) for the second case, and 1.13% (0.31-1.94%) for the third case. The IC reading was less than the MC results; the average deviations were -1.2% (-2.44--0.43%), -0.96% (-1.74 - -0.54%) and -0.94% (-1.53-0.27%) for the first, second, and third cases, respectively. For the IMRT case, the average deviation between IC readings and TLD measurements was 0.5% (-7.0-3.9%). In conclusion, the TLD measurements in the developed phantom agreed with IC and MC results with less than 3% of an average difference. The developed phantom with TLD dosimeters should be useful for remote monitoring of IMRT.


Seed burial is a vital process that influences smalland large-scale plant population patterns and is frequently mediated by soil-dwelling invertebrates. Despite its importance in terrestrial systems, very little is known about seed burial in seagrasses. The goal of this work was to determine the role that benthic infauna play in the burial of Zostera marina seeds. Mesocosm experiments studying seed burial depth, seed burial rate, and particle burial and redistribution using beads, were conducted in defaunated sediment cores populated with single specimens of infauna with different modes of feeding and thus bioturbation effects: Amphitrite ornata (downward conveyor deposit feeder), Clymenella torquata and Pectinaria gouldi (upward conveyor deposit feeders), and Neanthes succinea (gallery biodiffuser). Seeds and beads in animal cores were significantly more likely to be buried than seeds in control cores in each experiment, although burial depths and rates varied by species. N. succinea and P. gouldi showed the most dramatic burial. N. succinea also showed evidence for actively burying seeds. Seed burial depths for A. ornata, C. torquata, and P. gouldi related well to individual bioturbation rates for those species. These results indicate that Z. marina seed burial is facilitated by infaunal bioturbation. Further, individual species have a different impact on burial patterns, and burial is rapid and occurs within days. Seed burial by infaunal bioturbation is relevant to seed survival by providing escape from predation, retention in suitable settlement sites, and movement to a sediment depth suitable for germination.


This thesis concerns numerical acoustic wave scattering analysis. Such problems have been solved with computational procedures for decades, with the boundary element method being established as a popular choice of approach. However, such problems become more computationally expensive as the wavelength of an incident wave decreases; this is because capturing the oscillatory nature of the incident wave and its scattered field requires increasing numbers of nodal variables.

Authors from mathematical and engineering backgrounds have attempted to overcome this problem using a wide variety of procedures. One such approach, and the approach which is further developed in this thesis, is to include the fundamental character of wave propagation in the element formulation. This concept, known as the Partition of Unity Boundary Element Method (PU-BEM), has been shown to significantly reduce the computational burden of wave scattering problems.

This thesis furthers this work by considering the different interpolation functions that are used in boundary elements. Initially, shape functions based on trigonomet- ric functions are developed to increase continuity between elements. Following that, non-uniform rational B-splines, ubiquitous in Computer Aided Design (CAD) soft- ware, are used in developing an isogeometric approach to wave scattering analysis of medium-wave problems. The enriched isogeometric approach is named the eXtended Isogeometric Boundary Element Method (XIBEM).

In addition to the work above, a novel algorithm for finding a uniform placement of points on a unit sphere is presented. The algorithm allows an arbitrary number of points to be chosen; it also allows a fixed point or a bias towards a fixed point to be used. This algorithm is used for the three-dimensional acoustic analyses in this thesis.

The new techniques developed within this thesis significantly reduce the number of degrees of freedom required to solve a problem to a certain accuracy—this reduc- tion is more than 70% in some cases. This reduces the number of equations that have to be solved and reduces the amount of integration required to evaluate these equations.


Advertisements make persuasive cases for giving to international aid agencies. In Beyond Good Intentions, Tori Hogan offers a firsthand account of what such donations, as well as those from governments and businesses, actually provide. She recounts her enthusiastic entry into aid work in Africa as a young adult and how a Somali refugee youth pointedly stated, "A lot of aid workers come and go, but nothing changes," before asking her, "Do you really think you have the answer to our problems?" Hogan traces how that honest question in a chance meeting redirected her life to "uncover how the 'helping industry' could be reformed." With degrees from Duke and Harvard and experience as a Fulbright Scholar, Hogan capably combines the theoretical with her on-the-ground experience. She has established herself as a global critic of the aid industry and has released a ten-part documentary on the topic. Beyond Good Intentions traces her return to the Somali refugee camp in Kenya after eight years to thank the student who had changed her life. It also covers two months of travels to other aid sites in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, and her return to America. She tells the story in a quasi-journal style that immediately draws one into the events as they unfold. Numerous failures of aid agencies are detailed, including instances of "waste, corruption, and distrust" and examples of poorly trained staff. She wonders why "the smell of dependency wafts in the air" at aid camps and why people are frequently treated without dignity. The difficulties of navigating funding fads, donor demands for recognition, and much more are all effectively explored as reasons for the dysfunction. In Beyond Good Intentions, Hogan makes a compelling, personal case to the public and experts alike to rethink international aid. Conversations with volunteers, staff, and recipients reveal the human aspects of aid relief. Descriptions such as refugees "sitting idly under scavenged pieces of tarp, seemingly unsure if they're waiting for something or nothing" portray the limbo to which aid agencies and governments relegate many individuals. Hogan's inclusion of the struggles to make her romance work, a topic which at first seems out of place, develops into a brilliant parallel metaphor for international aid. By sharing success stories and advocating for social entrepreneurship, Hogan instills hope that "the tiny changes" can "all add up to a larger social shift." Any who are involved in international aid or who donate to charities will benefit greatly from considering Hogan's experiences and recommendations. WILLIAM GEE (Winter 2013)


This book is a comprehensive examination of economic globalization. Focused on the creation and evolution of post-1945 internationalist ideology, "The Birth of Development" highlights efforts to diffuse the destructive role of the nation-state in world affairs by constructing truly international organizations with global agendas - the World Bank, the Food and Agricultural Organization, and the World Health Organization. These organizations, and the men and women who worked for them, pioneered the advancement of the quality of life for all and established an ongoing obligation to promote worldwide economic development. As author Amy Staples reveals, the results of their efforts were often mixed. Grounded in archival research conducted in the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Health Organization, as well as in other archives in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, "The Birth of Development" provides a foundational understanding for many of the debates on economic globalization, especially those that involve the World Bank and World Trade Organization. Given the current role of international peace keepers and multinational aid agencies, this story is timely and makes clear that the issues that confronted early postwar planner and reformers remain in many ways unsolved even today. "The Birth of Development" is unique. It is the only, comparative study of these crucial architects of the theory and practice of economic development, and it contributes significantly to the ongoing effort to view the postwar period as more than simply an East-West Cold War. It breaks new ground conceptually and methodologically and will be a welcome addition to the literature in the fields of modern diplomatic history and international relations.


The hot Jupiter HD 189733b is probably the best studied of the known extrasolar planets, with published transit and eclipse spectra covering the near UV to mid-IR range. Recent work on the transmission spectrum has shown clear evidence for the presence of clouds in its atmosphere, which significantly increases the model atmosphere parameter space that must be explored in order to fully characterize this planet. In this work, we apply the NEMESIS atmospheric retrieval code to the recently published HST/STIS reflection spectrum, and also to the dayside thermal emission spectrum in light of new Spitzer/IRAC measurements, as well as our own re-analysis of the HST/NICMOS data. We first use the STIS data to place some constraints on the nature of clouds on HD 189733b and explore solution degeneracy between different cloud properties and the abundance of Na in the atmosphere; as already noted in previous work, absorption due to Na plays a significant role in determining the shape of the reflection spectrum. We then perform a new retrieval of the temperature profile and abundances of H2O, CO2, CO, and CH4 from the dayside thermal emission spectrum. Finally, we investigate the effect of including cloud in the model on this retrieval process. We find that the current quality of data does not warrant the extra complexity introduced by including cloud in the model; however, future data are likely to be of sufficient resolution and signal-to-noise that a more complete model, including scattering particles, will be required.


The article analyzes the reasons for Hemingway's powerful impact on the Soviet culture from the 1930s through the early 1980s. I suggest that this influence was created not so much by Hemingway himself as by the way his works were translated and presented to the readers in the Soviet Union. In particular, the article examines the style of translation employed by a cohesive collective of Russian-Soviet translators (the Kashkintsy) in their translations of Hemingway's works that came to be identified with the "Soviet school of translation." The translators used a distinctive set of linguostylistic means consisting, to a significant extent, in enhancing the expressive properties of the Hemingway originals in their Russian translations. The resultant translated texts not only affected the behavior of a significant part of especially the male population of the Soviet Union but also set the stage for establishing a distinctive "American style" of writing within the mainstream Soviet literature. In other words, the Soviet translators collectively invented Hemingway's style that made their translated texts sparkle in Russian.


The purpose of this study was to understand the benefits of a self-regulated Asian music therapy student peer group on improving its members' learning experiences in academic, clinical, and personal domains. This group was formed spontaneously in September, 2011 by a group of music therapy students of Asian cultural orientation, all of whom studied at Montclair State University in the United States. A total of eleven students participated in this group, through August, 2013. Three group members, including myself, were selected as participants in the present qualitative research study. Narrative inquiry was used as the primary data collection and analysis method to allow the participants to express personal experiences as a coherent, contextualised whole. Themes identified around participants' challenges of studying music therapy in the United States included language barriers, feeling out of control, culturally-based needs for additional preparation time, discrepancies in mainstream social norm and one's original culture, and insufficient social support. Themes identified around how the group was helpful included providing additional opportunities for practicing music therapy techniques, gathering various information, using secondary language to share thoughts and feelings in a relaxing and secure environment, and increased connection with in-depth cultural understanding that greatly improved social bonding among members, and created a sense of belongingness which in turn helped strengthened the social support system in the group.


This paper analyses the competitiveness of India's agricultural products in world markets. Four indices of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) were used at the four-digit level of Harmonised System (HS) of Classification for the period 2001 to 2013. Under live animal products, 7 out of 26 products showed Revealed Comparative Advantage. For vegetable products, 19 out of 58 showed strong Revealed Comparative Advantage. For products like animal or vegetable fat and prepared foodstuff, 3 out of 16 and 8 out of 49 showed Revealed Comparative Advantage respectively. Furher, the consistency tests reveal that the indices are less satisfactory as cardinal and ordinal measure but relatively satisfactory as dichotomous measure. Dichotomous measures are useful in identifying whether India has a comparative advantage in a particular product. The study has also found the pattern of RCA indices to be fairly stable over the years.


Inteins are naturally occurring protein elements that autocatalytically excise themselves from a nonfunctional precursor and ligate the flanking protein segments with a peptide bond, resulting in a functional protein. Inteins interrupt three proteins essential for the viability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Preventing intein splicing, and thus, the formation of functional post-processed proteins suggests that intein inhibition may be used as a novel antimycobacterial strategy (M. Belfort, US Patent, 5795,731). Due to the growing problem of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis infections, such alternatives to traditional antibiotic regimens are especially appealing. It has been shown that cisplatin, an FDA approved anticancer drug, is a potent inhibitor of intein splicing, both in vitro and in vivo (Zhang et al., (2011) JBC, 286, 1277). Due to its high toxicity, however, cisplatin has limited clinical value as an antimycobacterial. Several cisplatin analogs were selected for further study using an in vitro fluorescent reporter splicing assay in an effort to identify compounds that retained potent inhibitory activity while minimizing the toxicity associated with cisplatin. An in vitro inhibitor, more potent than cisplatin, was identified. Structural and biochemical experiments are ongoing to gain insight into the mechanism of the action of these platinum compounds which will lay the groundwork for a potential de novo design of novel antimicrobials.


Current molecular genomic approaches to human genetic disorders have led to an explosion in the identification of the genes and their encoded proteins responsible for these disorders. The identification of the gene altered by mutations in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy was one of the earliest examples of this paradigm. The nearly 30 years of research partly outlined here exemplifies the road that similar current gene discovery protocols will be expected to travel, albeit much more rapidly owing to improved diagnosis of genetic disorders and an understanding of the spectrum of mutations thought to cause them. The identification of the protein dystrophin has led to a new understanding of the muscle cell membrane and the proteins involved in membrane stability, as well as new candidate genes for additional forms of muscular dystrophy. Animal models identified with naturally occurring mutations and developed by genetic manipulation have furthered the understanding of disease progression and underlying pathology. The biochemistry and molecular analysis of patient samples have led to the different dystrophin-dependent and -independent therapies that are currently close to or in human clinical trials. The lessons learned from decades of research on dystrophin have benefited the field of human genetics.


Focusing on the foundation and interactions among components of Mobile WiMAX, Deploying Mobile WiMAX illustrates scenarios of network and radio technology. This book enables readers to utilise the flexibility of IP-based mobile broadband access networks with the scalable OFDMA radio interface. Describing the principles of the Releases 1.0 and 1.5 network and air interface specifications, it also identifies the technical challenges of integrating Mobile WiMAX, and examines its future enhancements. The underlying principles behind the WiMAX network specifications are provided, allowing network designers to decide which features and options to use when planning deployments. Introduces the fundamentals of Mobile WiMAX deployments within both new and established telecommunications networks Explains the rationale behind the Mobile WiMAX network and radio specifications enabling designers to make use of all applicable features Sets out the major building blocks of the topic and acts as a general reference for developers Utilizes the latest Release 1.5 network and radio specifications of the WiMAX Forum Written by expert authors who have actively contributed to the design of the fundamental concepts adopted in the standardized specifications


Many local authorities are major polluters and are ignoring each and every rule in the book. Raw sewerage is dumped in to rivers and the Vaal River is already a national health threat. Pollution of land, air and water is a common consequence by large corporations capable of causing harm to humans and other living organisms. Research on the pollution of these key natural resources is required to understand cumulative impacts, so as to take measures of precaution to minimize such pollution and reduce its consequences. Risk Assessments are therefore encouraged to identify and explore in quantitative terms, the types, intensities and likelihood of undesired consequences related to the risk of pollution. This study has identified a potential risk from creosote bleedings at Eskom pole yards and aims to explore the probability of such occurrences cumulatively so as to identify precautionary measures at the forefront of this problem to develop effective contingency plans. Soil samples were collected systematically and analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a component of creosote that preserves wood. Studies have indicated that concentrations of this preservative beyond acceptable limits can impact negatively on natural resources especially water and soil. The laboratory analysed data indicates that the soil samples collected from the Howick Pole Yard were contaminated with PAH beyond the threshold values. The severity of the contamination, as determined by the application of the Risk Assessment tool, indicates that mitigation measures are essential.


While most of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) efforts center on classroom programs, many lack hands-on activities that allow students to experience phenomenon-based learning and produce a complex scientific project. To meet this need, we developed weeklong STEM summer day camps for two age groups: rising third to fifth and sixth to ninth graders. Campers learn about seafloor exploration through multiple hands-on, technologyrooted, team-based activities. At the end of the week, campers design and present research missions for an actual seafloor feature, incorporating hypotheses, methods, and operations.


This paper investigates the performance of different methods for calculating the Thevenin equivalent parameters based using only data obtained from real-time synchrophasor measurements. Estimating the parameters from data affected by noisy measurements, transients, and continuously varying power system parameters may yield Thevenin equivalents that do not reflect the actual voltage stability of the system. The paper proposes using a total least squares method to take into account errors in the model from time-varying Thevenin parameters and noise. The paper reviews two different methods for Thevenin equivalent estimation proposed in the literature. The suitability of the three methods described in the paper is tested in case studies, where the performance of the methods are tested with both noise-free and noisy data. The papers also investigates effect of changes in the power consumptions at other buses on the Thevenin parameters seen from the monitored load bus.


How can schools help students build moral character? One way is to use prepackaged moral education programs, but as we report here, their effectiveness tends to be limited. What, then, can schools do? We took two steps to answer this question. First, we consulted more than 50 of the world's leading social scientists. These scholars have spent decades studying morality, character, or behavior change but until now few had used their expertise to inform moral education practices. Second, we searched recent studies for promising behavior change techniques that apply to school-based moral education. These two lines of investigation congealed into two recommendations: Schools should place more emphasis on hidden or "stealthy" moral education practices and on a small set of "master" virtues. Throughout the article, we describe practices flowing from these recommendations that could improve both the effectiveness and efficiency of school-based moral education.


The use of Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) chips is becoming more
predominant in every day life, it being included in general appliances such as cell phones,
televisions and tablets, to name a few. They are often used as control systems that operate
at a much lower voltage than the system it controls and must work in electrical
isolation from it. One method of doing so is to use an opto-coupling device that connects
the two circuits using EM waves.
An opto-coupling device often has a substantial power consumption but a solution was
proposed by A.J. Annema et al. to reduce this by using a Single Photon Avalanche
Detector (SPAD) on the receiving end and an Avalanche Mode Light Emitting Diode
(AMLED). The AMLED would have to emit a minimal amount of photons for it to be
detected and can be turned off much faster and efficiently than a forward LED. Using
these components would lead to reduced power consumption and less interference on the
rest of the system due to changing magnetic or electric field.
The problem with the AMLED is that its switching behavior is not well defined and
is most likely influenced by dead time, a period of time in which there are no mobile
carriers in the depletion layer.
The assignment was to investigate the existence and effect of dead time in a semiconductor
through simulations and experiments. Through the use of Sentaurus, a simulation
program, and experimental set-ups it was attempted to find the effects of the dead time.
In the end there were no conclusive results as the simulation software ignored the probabilities
of avalanching, making it avalanche every time possible and the experiments
could not find evidence of the dead time due to the large amount of charge injected by
the saturation current of the transistor used.
A possible solution to make the experiments described in this report work is to employ a
transistor with a low saturation current, in the order of pA.


The scattering of light from a one-dimensional randomly rough dielectric film deposited on a flat reflecting substrate is studied by means of a small-amplitude perturbation theory and rigorous numerical simulations. In particular, we study the appearance of well-defined fringes in the angular distribution of the diffusely scattered intensity and their dependence on the angle of incidence, the roughness of the film, and the film's mean thickness. We find that, for slightly rough films, the angle of incidence modulates the intensity of the fringes but has no effect on their angular position. For rougher films the contrast of the pattern decreases, and the fringes move with the angle of incidence in such a way that there are always bright fringes in the specular and backscattering directions. Eventually, for very rough films, the fringe pattern disappears, and a well-defined backscattering peak emerges in the retroreflection direction.


Agent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS) is a new approach to modeling systems comprised of autonomous, interacting agents. Computational advances have made possible a growing number of agent-based models across a variety of application domains. Applications range from modeling agent behavior in the stock market, supply chains, and consumer markets, to predicting the spread of epidemics, mitigating the threat of bio-warfare, and understanding the factors that may be responsible for the fall of ancient civilizations. Such progress suggests the potential of ABMS to have far-reaching effects on the way that businesses use computers to support decision-making and researchers use agent-based models as electronic laboratories. Some contend that ABMS "is a third way of doing science" and could augment traditional deductive and inductive reasoning as discovery methods. This brief tutorial introduces agent-based modeling by describing the foundations of ABMS, discussing some illustrative applications, and addressing toolkits and methods for developing agent-based models.


Neuroscientists have carried out comprehensive experiments to reveal the neural mechanisms underlying the perceptual decision making that pervades daily life. These experiments have illuminated salient features of decision making, including probabilistic choice behavior, the ramping activity of decision-related neurons, and the dependence of decision time and accuracy on the difficulty of the task. Spiking network models have reproduced these features, and a two-dimensional mean field model has demonstrated that the saddle node structure underlies two-alternative decision making. Here, we reduced a spiking network model to an analytically tractable, partial integro-differential system and characterized not only multiple-choice decision behaviors but also the time course of neural activities underlying decisions, providing a mechanistic explanation for the observations noted in the experiments. First, we observed that a two-bump unstable steady state of the system is responsible for two-choice decision making, similar to the saddle node structure in the two-dimensional mean field model. However, for four-choice decision making, three types of unstable steady states collectively predominate the time course of the evolution from the initial state to the stable states. Second, the time constant of the unstable steady state can explain the fact that four-choice decision making requires a longer time than two-choice decision making. However, the quicker decision, given a stronger motion strength, cannot be explained by the time constant of the unstable steady state. Rather, the decision time can be attributed to the projection coefficient of the difference between the initial state and the unstable steady state on the eigenvector corresponding to the largest positive eigenvalue.


Low power consumption is an important factor in designing a PC system. Dynamic power management (DPM) can be an effective approach to the reduction of power consumption without significantly degrading performance. A system shuts down devices when they are not needed and wakes them up when necessary. When a system shuts down or wakes up, it requires extra power consumption. In this paper, we measure the power consumption for the state transition penalty, sleep and idle state; which can be used to decide the effective sleep time interval for dynamic power management of a PC. We also focus on the penalty of the power consumption in state transition for a typical PC and build a simple model for the effective sleep time interval with respect to the CPU clock rates and the physical memory size used.


Wireless sensor networks (WSN) face several challenges in field deployments due to strict limitations in nodes hardware capabilities and battery capacities. In addition, several environmental factors should be considered while designing or testing a WSN. Energy-efficient operation is one of the prominent challenges for successful deployment of WSN's. In this paper, we consider energy-efficient operation of WSN nodes implementation based on the Contiki real-time operating system. We inspect the effect of applying spatial configuration for the radio duty-cycle (RDC) frequencies of WSN nodes running ContikiMAC. We also propose two temporal update mechanisms namely: a distributed mechanism in which a WSN sink node collects network-wide statistics and broadcasts a threshold value to the nodes to adjust their duty cycles and an autonomous mechanism in which each node individually updates its duty-cycle based on its battery capacity level. Our simulation results show significant gains in network life time while maintaining network delivery ratio at the same level compared with static schemes.


This essay questions the XML doctrine of "one input — many outputs". In the area of publishing the doctrine says that from one book one can produce many formats and end-products. Supported by insights of linguistics and experiences of writers and editors, I shall claim this assertion to be basically wrong. By examining the main properties of XML I will further, in contrast to the doctrine, argue that XML and related technologies add to the complexity of publishing. New media, new formats and new genres will, powered by XML, lead publishers into a new and challenging state of "many outputs — many inputs".


This report updates the 2008 recommendations by CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of influenza vaccine for the prevention and control of seasonal influenza (CDC. Prevention and control of influenza: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP]. MMWR 2008;57[No. RR-7]). Information on vaccination issues related to the recently identified novel influenza A H1N1 virus will be published later in 2009. The 2009 seasonal influenza recommendations include new and updated information. Highlights of the 2009 recommendations include 1) a recommendation that annual vaccination be administered to all children aged 6 months–18 years for the 2009–10 influenza season; 2) a recommendation that vaccines containing the 2009–10 trivalent vaccine virus strains A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like, A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like, and B/Brisbane/60/2008-like antigens be used; and 3) a notice that recommendations for influenza diagnosis and antiviral use will be published before the start of the 2009–10 influenza season. Vaccination efforts should begin as soon as vaccine is available and continue through the influenza season. Approximately 83% of the United States population is specifically recommended for annual vaccination against seasonal influenza; however, <40% of the U.S. population received the 2008–09 influenza vaccine. These recommendations also include a summary of safety data for U.S. licensed influenza vaccines. These recommendations and other information are available at CDC's influenza website (http://www.cdc.gov/ flu); any updates or supplements that might be required during the 2009–10 influenza season also can be found at this website. Vaccination and health-care providers should be alert to announcements of recommendation updates and should check the CDC influenza website periodically for additional information.


If related species share enemies, variation in the damage experienced by species within a community may be predictable based on phylogeny. We examined the hypothesis that plant species more closely related to other community members experience greater herbivory by assessing leaf damage to native and exotic plants in two North American communities: an Eastern hardwood forest and a Rocky Mountain montane community. Pairwise phylogenetic distances between focal species and the hundreds of other native species in each community were calculated. We examined the influence of four measures of relatedness within each community: NND (phylogenetic distance to the nearest native neighbor), MPD (mean phylogenetic distance to the native species in the community), and two new metrics, MIPD (mean inverse phylogenetic distance) and INND (inverse nearest neighbor distance). These new metrics assume a nonlinear increase in interaction strength with relatedness; in the context of natural enemies, they posit that the sharing of enemies between any two species increases nonlinearly with their relatedness. Using regression models, we found that herbivore damage decreased with decreasing phylogenetic similarity of focal species to native species (as measured by MIPD) in both sites, although the pattern was significant only for native focal species in the montane community and exotic focal species in the hardwood forest. Similar decreases in herbivory with decreasing relatedness were detected using INND (montane natives) and MPD (hardwood forest exotics). There was no significant relationship between NND and herbivory for any of the four site by focal plant origin combinations. Our results are the first to support the hypothesis that native species can escape attack as a function of their phylogenetic dissimilarity to the larger community of native species, and to demonstrate that exotic species show these patterns in the wild (as opposed to in common gardens). We suggest that phylogenetic distance metrics assuming a nonlinear increase in interaction strength with relatedness show promise for broader application.


Background:An intraoperative concurrence of mean arterial pressure less than 75 mmHg, minimum alveolar concentration less than 0.8, and bispectral index less than 45 has been termed a "triple low" state. An association between triple low and postoperative mortality has been reported but was not replicated in a subsequent study. The authors pooled existing data from clinical trials to further evaluate the purported association in an observational study. Methods:This retrospective observational study included 13,198 patients from three clinical trials: B-Unaware, BAG-RECALL, and Michigan Awareness Control Study. Patients with greater than 15 not necessarily consecutive minutes of triple low were propensity matched to controls with similar characteristics and comorbidities. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the association between triple low duration and postoperative mortality. Results:Thirty-day mortality was 0.8% overall, 1.9% in the triple low cohort, and 0.4% in the nontriple low cohort (odds ratio, 5.16; 95% CI, 4.21 to 6.34). After matching and adjusting for comorbidities, cumulative duration of triple low was significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality at 30 days (hazard ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.11, per 15 min) and 90 days (hazard ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.11, per 15 min). Conclusion:There is a weak independent association between the triple low state and postoperative mortality, and the propensity-matched analysis does not suggest that this is an epiphenomenon.


Public key algorithms based on QC-MPDC and QC-LDPC codes for key encapsulation/encryption submitted to NIST post-quantum competition (BIKE, QC-MDPC KEM, LEDA) are vulnerable against reaction attacks based on decoding failures. To protect algorithms, authors propose to limit the key usage, in the extreme (BIKE) to only use ephemeral public keys. In some authenticated protocols, we need to combine each key with a signature, which can lead to increased traffic overhead, especially given large signature sizes of some of the proposed post-quantum signature schemes. We propose to combine ephemeral public keys with a simple Merkle-tree to obtain a server authenticated key encapsulation/transport suitable for TLS-like handshake protocols.


Nanostructured metal films were electrodeposited through the hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystalline phase (H1). The mesoporous structure consists of porous channels (a few nm in diameter) arranged in an hexagonal array. These mesoporous metal films exhibit high surface areas supplied by the concave surface within the pores. The properties of these mesoporous materials have been investigated to gain an insight on the mesoporous structure. Cyclic voltammetry in acid of H1 mesoporous Pt is similar to polycrystalline Pt made up of low index Pt facets. However CO stripping voltammetry shows differences between the H1 mesoporous Pt and polished Pt electrodes. The CO stripping voltammogram for the H1 mesoporous Pt electrode exhibits a CO oxidation pre-wave and CO oxidation at lower overpotentials. These differences result from the presence of trough sites corresponding to the intersection of two pore walls within the mesoporous structure. The adsorption of foreign atoms Bi and Ge on H1 mesoporousPt was investigated to identify the different crystalline Pt facets. The features of the voltammetric profiles recorded in acid revealed the absence of large (111) domains and the presence of (100) terraces sites. CO stripping voltammetry for H1 mesoporous Pt modified with Bi suggests the presence of a CO-Bi mixed adlayer. However, the absence of the aforementioned pre-wave was attributed to the adsorption of Bi on the trough sites thus causing inefficiency in oxygen transfer for CO oxidation. In contrast, the significant pre-wave observed for H1 mesoporous Pt-Ge leads to an enhancement for CO oxidation. H1 mesoporous metal films grown on microelectrodes show good stability of the measurement of hydrogen peroxide. H1 mesoporous Rh with a variety of film thicknesses was extensively studied over a wide range of hydrogen peroxide concentrations. A kinetic model is proposed to describe the diffusion of hydrogen peroxide and the surface reaction in the pore. The accessibility of the ionic liquid BMIM-PF6 in the pores was investigated to assess the performance of mesoporous electrodes in supercapacitors. H1 mesoporous Pt of diverse pore size and polished Pt electrodes were characterised in 1 M sulphuric acid and then tested in BMIM-PF6. The double layer capacitances were higher for the H1 mesoporous Pt films thanks to their internal surface area leading to the confirmation that the ionic liquid penetrates into the pores. The analysis of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows that the results fit a transmission line model and provides useful parameters for the characterisation of the nanostructured Pt film in BMIM-PF6.


Conventional wisdom holds that the doctrine of non-self-executing treaties in the United States is conceptually confused and textually unjustified. This article disagrees. It argues that a coherent, text-based approach to non-self-execution is available and consistent with the Constitution's text and with the Supreme Court's leading non-self-execution decision, Medellin v. Texas. To reach a satisfactory textual grounding for non-self-execution, it is necessary to reject two central ideas in leading non-self-execution dicta and commentary. The first is that non-self-execution means that some treaties are not supreme law of the land (or, as it is sometimes said, not part of federal law). As discussed below, that is not a possible reading of the Constitution's text, which says that "all" treaties are the supreme law of the land (apart from treaty provisions that conflict with superior forms of law). The second is that the unilateral intentions or preferences of U.S. treatymakers can, without more, make a treaty unenforceable by courts. As discussed below, unilateral intentions and preferences cannot change the constitutional direction that judges "shall be bound" by treaties. Rejecting these two propositions does not, however, reject the idea of non-self-executing treaties. This article understands "non-self-executing" to describe a treaty provision that does not of its own force provide a rule of decision for a U.S. court. This result may arise in various ways, but they share a common characteristic: the treaty provision calls for an action that, in the U.S. constitutional system, is not appropriate for courts to take. In this situation, the court is directly or implicitly instructed by the treaty's text not to implement the treaty unless another branch provides guidance. Because the treaty is binding on the courts, this direction – contained within the treaty – is also binding on the courts. As a result, non-self-execution arises from the treaty's text in combination with the U.S. understanding of the court's judicial power.This article attempts to outline the textual approach to non-self-execution in a relatively brief and summary form, relying on extensive scholarship on the Constitution's text and history relating to non-self-execution. As such, it is designed as a "restatement" of textual approaches developed in part by others but presented here in a more simplified manner. Part I of the Article sets forth the basic constitutional rules. Part II explains how non-self-execution arising from a treaty's text is consistent with the Constitution's categorical rules on treaties' status as law. Part III argues that the Court's opinion in Medellin is consistent with a textual approach to non-self-execution.


The debate about the characteristics and advantages of quantitative and qualitative methods is decades old. In their seminal monograph, A Tale of Two Cultures (2012 , ATTC), Gary Goertz and James Mahoney argue that methods and research design practices for causal inference can be distinguished as two cultures that systematically differ from each other along 25 specific characteristics. ATTC's stated goal is a description of empirical patterns in quantitative and qualitative research. Yet, it does not include a systematic empirical evaluation as to whether the 25 are relevant and valid descriptors of applied research. In this paper, we derive five observable implications from ATTC and test the implications against a stratified random sample of 90 qualitative and 90 quantitative articles published in six journals between 1990–2012. Our analysis provides little support for the two-cultures hypothesis. Quantitative methods are largely implemented as described in ATTC, whereas qualitative methods are much more diverse than ATTC suggests. While some practices do indeed conform to the qualitative culture, many others are implemented in a manner that ATTC characterizes as constitutive of the quantitative culture. We find very little evidence for ATTC's anchoring of qualitative research with set-theoretic approaches to empirical social science research. The set-theoretic template only applies to a fraction of the qualitative research that we reviewed, with the majority of qualitative work incorporating different method choices.


Investment in scalable, non–price-based behavioral interventions and research may prove valuable in improving energy efficiency. Many countries devote substantial public resources to research and development (R&D) for energy-efficient technologies. Energy efficiency, however, depends on both these technologies and the choices of the user. Policies to affect these choices focus on price changes (e.g., subsidies for energy-efficient goods) and information disclosure (e.g., mandated energy-use labels on appliances and autos). We argue that a broader approach is merited, one that draws on insights from the behavioral sciences. Just as we use R&D to develop "hard science" into useful technological solutions, a similar process can be used to develop basic behavioral science into large-scale business and policy innovations. Cost-effectiveness can be rigorously measured using scientific field-testing. Recent examples of scaling behaviorally informed R&D into large energy conservation programs suggest that this could have very high returns.


Engineering simulation is, without any doubt, the key strategy to win in a globally competitive environment. The integrated Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) approach considers all life-cycle steps from the design stage to the in-service use. In this work, engineering simulation technologies provide detailed virtual production processes able to predict the final component quality in terms of defects and virtual structural behavior. In turn, the structural behavior provides information about the performance of the component. Furthermore, through the combined use of process and structural simulations, optimization techniques allow to define the component design by automatic design change and to verify the change's effectiveness in terms of structural strength. The most innovative aspect is the possibility to carry out a structural simulation using, as initial condition, the local mechanical properties and the prestress status due to residual stresses at the end of the manufacturing process. In this article, the redesign of the roller support (manufactured in ductile iron GJS400) is presented: conflicting objectives such as minimization of components weight and minimization of deformation. The use of the optimization software modeFRONTIER has allowed exploring different geometric configurations and, thanks to its multiobjective genetic algorithm (MOGA), finding the trade-off curve of conflicting objectives. The final results evidence some areas with high residual peak stresses, which have a decreasing effect on the fatigue life, and underline the importance of considering an extended optimization analysis that includes both the casting simulation and load-case analyses.


In vivo insulin secretion was quantified as the AIRg or AIRa in islet-transplanted rats. Male Wistar-Furth rats previously made diabetic by STZ administration (55 mg/kg) were transplanted with 500,1000, 2000, or 3000 islets infused into the portal vein (n = 12–14 per group) and were compared with sham-treated controls (CN, n = 16). At 4–5 wk posttransplantation, no significant differences were noted in the FPG or fasting plasma insulin of the experimental groups (P > 0.05). Body weight, however, was 10% less (P < 0.05) in rats receiving 500 islets than in controls, indicating an effect of β-cell deficiency on growth rates. To determine the relationship between islet mass and insulin secretion, we measured AIRg after a 0.3 g/kg glucose bolus in fasted conscious animals. A significant correlation was observed between the AIRg and islet number (r = 0.61, P = 0.0001), and both 500- and 1000-islet groups could be differentiated from controls by ANOVA (500: 8%; 1000: 12% of controls; P < 0.05). During a glycemic potentiation protocol, AIRa was measured at basal and elevated blood glucose (∼16 mM). At neither basal nor elevated blood glucose was AIRa correlated with islet number (basal r = 0.0622, P = 0.7834; elevated r = 0.3133, P = 0.1667). None of the groups could be differentiated by ANOVA (elevated 500: 37%; 1000, 68% of controls; P > 0.05). Although this study illustrates that AIRa may be better preserved in islet-transplanted rats, AIRg is the better correlate of islet number. This study is thefirst to demonstrate that the acute insulin secretory response to glucose is proportional to the number of transplanted islets. This model of graded insulin secretory response allows for predetermination of a wide range of insulin secretory function in animals with fasting normoglycemia.


Toward a More Inclusive Construct of Native Chinese Speaker L2 Written Error Gravity Steven K. Holland Department of Linguistics and English Language Master of Arts The purpose of this study is to determine two types of error gravity in a corpus of texts written by native Chinese learners of English (ELLs)—one that enriches the traditional construct of gravity found in error gravity research by including error frequency, or how often an error occurs in a text relative to others, as an intervening variable, and one that applies the new error gravity data in a practical way to help establish salient grammatical focal points for written corrective feedback (WCF). Previous error gravity research has suggested that the amount of irritation caused by error is determined by the extent to which an utterance departs from "nativelike" speech. However, because these studies often neglect the role of frequency in determining gravity—relying on isolated sentences, pre-determined errors, and manipulated texts to define it—a more complete view of error gravity is needed. Forty-eight native English speakers without ESL teaching experience and 10 experienced ESL teachers evaluated a set of 18 timed, 30minute essays written by high intermediate to advanced native-Chinese ELLs. Errors were identified, verified, tagged, and classified by the level of irritation they produced. Results show the most serious errors included count/non-count (C/NC), insert verb (INSERT V), omit verb (OMIT V), and subject-verb agreement (SV). The most frequent error type was word choice (WC), followed by singular/plural (S/PL), awkward (AWK), and word form (WF). When combined, singular/plural (S/PL), word form (WF), word choice (WC), and awkward (AWK) errors were found to be the most critical. These findings support Burt and Kiparsky's (1972) global/local error distinction in which global errors, or those lexical, grammatical and syntactic errors that affect the overall organization or meaning of the sentence (Burt, 1975) are deemed more grievous than local ones, which affect only "single elements (constituents)" (Burt, 1975, p. 57). Implications are discussed in terms of future research and possible uses in the Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback classroom.


This paper highlights, for the first time, the changes in the phenolics fraction (anthocyanins, flavonoids and stilbenes) and tocopherols of unpeeled Pistacia vera L. var. bianca with ripening, and the effect of the sun-drying process. The total polyphenol levels in pistachios, measured as mg of Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE), were: 201 ± 10.1, 349 ± 18.3 and 184.7 ± 6.2 mg GAE/100 g DM in unripe, ripe and dried ripe samples, respectively. Most phenolics in ripe pistachios were found to be anthocyanins. They increased with ripening, while the sun drying process caused a susbtantial loss. Flavonoids found in all pistachio samples were daidzein, genistein, daidzin, quercetin, eriodictyol, luteolin, genistin and naringenin, which decreased both with ripening and drying. Before the drying process both unripe and ripe pistachios showed a higher content of trans-resveratrol than dried ripe samples. γ-Tocopherol was the major vitamin E isomer found in pistachios. The total content (of α- and γ-tocopherols) decreased, both during ripening and during the drying process. These results suggested that unpeeled pistachios can be considered an important source of phenolics, particularly of anthocyanins. Moreover, in order to preserve these healthy characteristics, new and more efficient drying processes should be adopted.


Chronic experimental lung infection in rats was induced by intratracheal inoculation of agar beads containing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Bacteria were recovered directly without subculture from the lungs of rats at 14 days post-infection and the outer membrane (OM) antigens were studied. The results indicated that bacteria grew under iron-restricted conditions as revealed by the expression of several iron-regulated membrane proteins (IRMPs) which could also be observed when the isolate was grown under iron-depleted conditions in laboratory media. The antibody response to P. aeruginosa OM protein antigens was investigated by immunoblotting with serum and lung fluid from infected rats. These fluids contained antibodies to all the major OM proteins, including the IRMPs, and protein H1. Results obtained using immunoblotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay indicated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was the major antigen recognised by antibodies in sera from infected rats. The animal model was used to follow the development of the immune response to P. aeruginosa protein and LPS antigens. Immunoblotting was used to investigate the antigens recognised by antibodies in sequential serum samples. An antibody response to the IRMPs and OM proteins D, E, G and H1 and alao to rough LPS was detected as early as 4 days post-infection. Results obtained using immunoblotting and crossed immunoelectrophoresis techniques indicated that there was a progressive increase in the number of P. aeruginosa antigens recognised by antibodies in these sera. Both iron and magnesium depletion influenced protein H1 production. Antibodies in sera from patients with infections due to P. aeruginosa reacted with this antigen. Results obtained using quantitative gas-liquid chromatographic analysis indicated that growth phase and magnesium and iron depletion also affected the amount of LPS fatty acids, produced by P. aeruginosa. The silver stained SDS-polyacrylamide gels of proteinase K digested whole cell lysates of P. aeruginosa indicated that the O-antigen and core LPS were both affected by growth phase and specific nutrient depletion.


This essay is a critical reflection on peace, written for a symposium issue on Law, Peace and Violence: Jurisprudence and the Possibilities of Peace. Peacetime and wartime are thought to be temporal concepts, alternating in history, but ongoing wartime seems to blot out any time that is truly free of war. In spite of this, peace is the felt experience of many Americans. We can understand why peace is thought to exist during ongoing war by turning to geographies of war and peace. The experience of American war is not only exported, but is also concentrated in particular American communities, especially locations of military bases. Memorialization of war death is one of the "spaces of the dead," as Thomas Laqueur calls it, separated from daily life. The persistence of war and the separation of killing, dying and the dead from the center of American life is an example of the way war and peace are spatial. War is also simultaneously infused into domestic life and segregated in the context of militarization. This has been on display in the crisis in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014. One thing that makes Ferguson so dramatic is the diffusion of war materiel into domestic policing. It also matters deeply that the officers pointing the weapons are largely white, and the demonstrators are predominately largely African American, making clear the racial geography of militarized policing. In the end, this essay raises the question of whether peace should be sought or celebrated. Perhaps the space of peace during persistent conflict can only be a space of privilege.


In 1679 Dryden compared Shakespeare's "masculine," "bolder" and "fiery" genius with Fletcher's "more soft and womanish" creativity, employing the hierarchy of genders to recommend his preference for Shakespeare (Essays 1.212). As Dryden fashioned the tools for critical inquiry, he appropriated the categories of gender and translated them into critical terms for literature. Dryden's pervasive use of gender sets up the principles of decorum that operate on many different levels. His most fundamental gendered distinction classifies whole languages or linguistic attributes according to masculine and feminine codes. In the analysis of specific literary works, Dryden distinguishes certain writing styles and specific genres by gendered terms. At times the sex of the intended audience influences Dryden's designation of a gendered style; in other instances the gendered association of the literary content determines its "masculine" or "feminine" label. Still other uses of gendered decorum simply involve a gendered comparison of two authors without regard to their biological sex. Finally, Dryden assesses the critical abilities of his readers and audiences given the expectations of gendered stereotypes. Throughout his critical writings Dryden draws many "happy similitudes," including economic, religious and political metaphors, but none prove so flexible, accurate and ultimately safe as his subtle manipulation of the gendered hierarchy of society. Until quite recently, no one had elaborated on Dryden's use of gender in his critical assessments. In "When Beauty Fires the Blood": Love and the Arts in the Age of Dryden, James Winn examines the centrality of sexual passion in Dryden's creative process: I argue that Dryden's complex and contradictory attitudes toward human sexuality helped shape his influential ideas about nature and art, beauty and virtue, imagination and judgment.... I address some topics not much noticed in previous studies of his important role in the history of English literary criticism: his tech- nical knowledge of the other arts; his lively sexual imagination; his use of conventional and unconventional notions of gender to flesh out theoretical distinctions; and the contrasting attitudes of his con- temporaries, especially those of women writers. (x) Winn analyzes Dryden's lifelong preference for poetry, which Dryden considered masculine because it stimulated the mind toward virtue, over the "sister-arts" of music and painting, which he characterized as feminine because their beauty pleased the imagination. Winn's account offers a corrective to traditional views of Dryden as the sharp, Tory satirist by stressing Dryden's more "feminine" attributes: "the musical lyricism of his line, the visual splendor of his imagery, the precious moments when he recognizes his own emotional and sexual frailty" (435). While this essay sometimes covers the same texts as Winn does, the basic focus and method differ altogether. "When Beauty Fires the Blood" ties in numerous aspects of Dryden's life and artistic development with the ultimate goal of more fully understanding Dryden and his work. My analysis investigates Dryden's use of gender as a model of difference upon which he establishes literary judgment with the intent to prove the extent to which critical discourse intersects with the culturally specific ideology of gender. Where Winn is biographical, my argument is feminist and epistemological, positioning Dryden's work at the beginning point of the trajectory of Augustan criticism. Winn's final assessment that Dryden combined the characterizations of both sexes in his own writing concurs with my appraisal of Dryden's adroit management of gender in his literary criticism, but Winn's hint that Dryden's work embodies "some of the deepest truths we know," with its appeal to a universal knowledge of sex and eroticism, stands on its own (435). …


There has been increased concern in recent years over the level and nature of the ground vibrations. The importance of such vibration has increased rapidly due to developments in construction in urban areas, where the effects of ground borne vibration on both humans and structures are considerable. Research has been undertaken to improve techniques used in the measurements, analyses and evaluation of ground vibrations caused by rail and road traffic, blasting and in particular those generated from pile driving activities. The amplitude of the vibration caused by the pile driving operation is a function of pile type, hammer type and the ground conditions. In order to investigate the effects of these three variables, a large number of visits were made to different sites which provided a range of different driving conditions. The main requirements in the analysis of the vibrations measured include vibration amplitude and their relevant frequency. The vibration amplitude is usually expressed in term of peak particle acceleration, velocity or displacement. In this work, the ground vibration is measured in terms of peak particle velocity using velocity transducers (geophone). In order to evaluate the true peak particle resultant velocity, the three components of the ground vibration are measured simultaneously by three orthogonally positioned sets of geophone. Recording the vibration data is achieved by employing a portable digital recorder which digitizes the analogue signals recieved from the transducers and stores the captured data on standard floppy disks for further analysis. The results are presented in tables and diagrams and detailed comments are given in the discussion of the recorded data. Some methods of analyses are reviewed and two new methods are proposed. These proposed methods include the application of the hemispherical projection technique in interpreting and displaying the three dimesional vibration information into a two dimensional plane. The other method analysed the attenuation of the ground vibration according to the arrival time of the generated waves from the pile toe and along the ground surface. It is suggested that when the arrival times of these two wave fronts coincide at one particular point, a highest vibration amplitude may be expected at that poinL The effect of ground vibration on building is investigated in large scale test in Aitwick where the dynamic strain of purpose built L-shape walls are recorded during driving steel sheet and H-pile at different stand-off from the walls using a winch-drop-hammer and a vibrodriver.


We experimentally demonstrate an extremely compact and programmable pulse shaper composed of a single phase mask encoded into a spatial light modulator. Its principle of operation is similar to the previously theoretically introduced quasi-direct space-to-time pulse shaper [Opt. Express16, 16993 (2008)], which is based on diffractive optics. The proposed pulse shaper exhibits not only real-time temporal modulation, but also high-efficiency output pulses thanks to an active correction of the wavefront aberrations.


Based Plank's radiation law, thermal radiation intensity depends on radiation wavelength and material temperature. As the increase of material temperature, thermal radiation wavelength will decrease from infrared waves, next to visible light, last to ultraviolet light. In order to research the spectral distribution of molten pool at different temperature in laser fabricating, thermal radiation of standard BF1400 blackbody furnace in National Institute of Metrology of China was measured by CCD technique. Its high-temperature cavity radiators glow which was dim red at 600 oC, bright red at 800 oC, yellowish red at 1000 oC, bright yellow at 1200 oC. The thermal radiation in visible spectrum range could be acquired by CCD, which was translated into grey data of red, green and blue radiation intensity. It was shown that grey gain at red, green and blue wavelength was different greatly as increase of blackbody temperature, extremely large at red wavelength, little at blue and green wavelength. When thermal radiation of molten metal pool at red, green and blue wavelength in laser fabricating was acquired to analyze the relation between spectrum and temperature, the green and blue wavelength will be good choose for its colorimetry temperature analysis.


Introduction and purpose: With increasing age, cognitive impairment such as memory loss is considered as a natural process in which initially, short-term memory is affected. Recalling memories usually is a conceptual approach to evaluate and review the events of life and is considered as a psychological process. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of group memory recall on the status of elderly's memory. Materials and Methods: This study was a time series quasi-experiment in which 45 elderly from day care centers in Golestan province were included using convenience sampling method. Subjects were divided into four groups and attended eight interventional sessions for 45 to 90 minutes per session. Memory performance before and after intervention was assessed by Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) and data analysis was performed by paired t-test. Findings: The results of this study showed that there is a significant difference in the mean of memory performance before 87 (SD=7) and after intervention 92 (SD=10). In addition, there was a significant difference in the mean of three subscales of memory performance including visual memory (p0.01), logical memory (P 0.01) and digit memory (p 0.03). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that group memory recall improves memory performance among elderly. Therefore, group memory recall is a convenient, efficient and cost-effective approach which can be used in elderly day care centers as well as home care.


The characters of William Shakespeare have spawned countless words of critical interpretation inspired by the playwright's aptitude for fashioning intricate and conflicted figures. As a master character craftsman, Shakespeare is consistent in creating fascinatingly deep characters, and many of them have even gone so far as to generate entire literary archetypes. From the contemplative Prince Hamlet to the despicable yet charming John Falstaff, Shakespeare's characters remain eternal representatives of what any good character should be: interesting, provocative, and complicated. However, among the playwright's most hypnotic figures are his villains, those characters whom audiences should by all counts detest but cannot help but find alluring. Some of these villains have attracted more critical attention than others. For instance, Iago, the scheming fiend of Othello, has forever mesmerized audiences and critics alike with his almost supernatural penchant for evil. Other villains, like the passionate firebrand of 1 Henry IV, Henry "Hotspur" Percy, are perhaps less discussed but still produce an equally ambivalent response from their audiences. This thesis specifically aims to answer two questions. First, what makes these villains attractive to their readers and viewers? Why do they produce such a strongly ambivalent response from their audiences—how do they manage to simultaneously repel and attract us? More importantly, however, the thesis speculates on Shakespeare's reasons for creating such captivating antagonists. In other words, what was the playwright trying to do by forging villains whom we have no choice but to admire? The thesis is divided into four chapters, each of which will focus on a particular villain from Shakespeare's plays: Hotspur from 1 Henry IV, Iago from Othello, Richard from Richard III, and Macbeth from Macbeth. While these are by no means the only Shakespearean villains worthy of critical assessment, nor are they the playwright's only attractive villains, they do nonetheless serve as prime examples of how Shakespeare uses the archetype of the attractive villain to some dramatic end. Each chapter will first explore the ways in which that character is particularly alluring, and then it will move into a consideration of Shakespeare's intent in producing the uncannily attractive villain. Additionally, each chapter will conclude by supposing the villain to be a figurehead for a hypothetical "class" of literary villains. For example, one villain could represent a class of villains who are attractive because of their ambition; another could represent villains who entice audiences through their mystery. To that end, the chapters will conclude by offering additional "members" of that class from other popular literary works, some from before Shakespeare, some from after Shakespeare, and some from his contemporary authors. The goal of this thesis is to explore the archetype of the attractive villain and to offer reasons for Shakespeare's apparent fondness—and aptitude—for it. While the goal of any academic endeavor should always be discovery, it need not always find one satisfactory answer—rare is the academic pursuit that ends in certainty. However, by delving into the worlds of these villains, by playing a bit of devil's advocate in analyzing Shakespeare's elaborate characterization process, we can discover what makes them such effective and eternal members among the great personalities of literature. This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council.


PART I: NATURAL POLYMER BLENDS AND COMPOSITES. 1. Polymers from Renewable Resources (L. Yu and L. Chen). 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Natural Polymers. 1.3 Synthetic Polymers from Natural Monomers. 1.4 Polymers from Microbial Fermentation. 1.5 Summary. 2. Starch - Cellulose Blends (I. S. Arvanitoyannis and A. Kassaveti). 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Starch and Starch Derivatives. 2.3 Cellulose and Cellulose Derivatives. 2.4 Starch-Cellulose Blends. 2.5 Applications. 3. Starch Sodium Caseinate Blends (I. S. Arvanitoyannis and P. Tserkezou). 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Starch and Starch Derivatives. 3.3 Sodium Caseinate Derivatives. 3.4 Starch- Sodium Caseinate Blends. 3.5 Applications. 3.6 Comparison between Sodium Caseinate and other Edible films. 4. Novel Plastics and Foams from Starch and Polyurethanes (Y. Lu and L. Tighzert). 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Starch-Filled Polyurethane Elastomers and Plastics. 4.3 Starch-Filled Polyurethane Foams. 4.4 Starch Grafted with Polyurethanes. 4.5 Thermoplastic Starch/Polyurethane Blends. 4.6 Concluding Remarks. 5. Chitosan Properties and application (N. Soares). 5.1 Sources. 5.1 Structures. 5.2 Application in Food Industry. 5.3 Antimicrobial Property. 5.4 Others Properties. 5.5 Chitosan derivatives . 6. Blends and Composites Based on Cellulose/Natural Polymers (Y. Wang and L. Zhang). 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Cellulose: Structure and Solvents. 6.3 Cellulose/Natural Polymers Blends. 6.4 Cellulose Derivatives/Natural Polymers Blends. 6.5 Promising Application of Cellulose Blends. PART II: ALIPHATIC POLYESTER BLENDS. 7. Stereocomplex between Enantiomeric Poly(lactide)s (H. Tsuji and Y. Ikada). 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Stereocomplex formation. 7.3 Methods for inducing stereocomplexation. 7.4 Physical Properties. 7.5 Biodegradation. 7.6 Applications. 8. Polyhydroxyalkanoates Blends and Composities (G. Q. Chen and Tsinghua). 8.1 Introduction. 8.2 PHA Blended with Starch or Cellulose. 8.3 PHA Blended with PLA. 8.4 PHA Blended with PCL. 8.5 Blending of Different PHA. 8.6 PHA Blending with other Polymers. 8.7 PHA Composites. PART III: HYDROPHOBIC AND HYDROPHILIC POLYMERIC BLENDS. 9. Starch-Poly(hydroxyalkanoate) Composites and Blends (R. Shogren). 9.1 Summary of starch, PHA structure and properties. 9.2 Why blend starch with PHA's?. 9.3 Problems with starch-PHA blends. 9.4 Granular starch-PHA composites. 9.5 Gelatinized starch-PHA blends. 9.6 Thermoplastic Starch/PHA Laminates and Foams. 9.7 Biodegradability, Recycling and Sustainability. 9.8 Applications and Production. 9.9 Future Research Needs and Directions. 10. Biodegradable Blends Based on Microbial Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and Natural Chitosan (C. Chen and L. Dong). 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 Preparation and Properties. 10.3 Conclusion. PART IV: NATURAL FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES. 11. Starch-Cellulose Fibres Composites (A. V'quez and V. Alvarez). 11.1 Introduction. 11.2 Starch Polymer. 11.3 Starch-Cellulose Fibre Composites. 11.4 Starch Based Blends as Polymer Matrix . 11.5 Starch Based Blend/Natural Fibre Composites . 11.6 Conclusion. 12. PLA/Cellulosic Fiber Composites (M. Shibata). 12.1 Introduction. 12.2 PLA/Abaca Composites. 12.3 PLA/Wood Flour Composites. 12.4 PLA/Lyocell Composites. 12.5 Conclusions. 13. Biocomposites of Natural Fibres and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and Copolymers: Improved Mechanical Properties Through Compatibilization at the Interface (S. Wong and R. A. Shanks). 13.1 Traditional Composites and Novel Biodegradable Composites. 13.2 Natural Fibres. 13.3 Mechanical Properties of Natural Fibres. 13.4 Biodegradable Polymers. 13.5 Major Problems Associated with High Strength Composites. 13.6 Summary. 14. Starch-Fiber Composites (M. A. Hanna and Y. Xu). 14.1 Introduction. 14.2 Starch-Based Biopolymers. 14.3 Natural Fibers. 14.4 Starch-Natural Fiber Blends. 14.5 Summary. PART V: BIODEGRADABLE NANOCOMPOSITES. 15. Starch based nanocomposites using layered minerals (H.R. Fischer and J.J. de Vlieger). 15.1 Introduction. 15.2 Starch-montmorillonite nano-composites. 15.3 Starch based nanocomposites using different layered minerals. 15.4 Biodegradable starch-polyester nanocomposite materials. 15.5 Discussion and Conclusions. 16. Polylactide Based Nanocomposites (S. S. Ray and J. Ramontja). 16.1 Introduction. 16.2 PLA Nanocomposites based on Clay. 16.3 PLA Nanocomposites based on Carbon Nanotubes. 16.4 PLA Nanocomposites based on other Nanofillers. 16.5 Properties of PLA Nanocomposites. 16.6 Biodegradability. 16.7 Melt Rheology. 16.8 Foam Processing . 16.9 Applications Possibilities and Future Prospect. 17. Advances in Natural Rubber/Montmorillonite Nanocomposites (D. Jia, L. Liu, X. Wang, B. Guo, and Y. Luo). 17.1 Introduction. 17.2 Materials and Process. 17.3 Characterization. 17.4 Results and Discussions. 17.5 Summary. PART VI: MULTILAYER DESIGNED MATERIALS. 18. Multilayer Coextrusion of Starch/Biopolyester (L. Av'ous). 18.1 Introduction. 18.2 Materials and Process. 18.3 Characterization. 18.4 Results and Discussions. 18.5 Conclusion.


There has been growing interest within the economics discipline in the role of equity concerns in the distribution of resources. This paper presents empirical evidence from controlled laboratory experiments where third-party decision makers allocate resources between two individuals. The experimental results indicate that subjects view a wide range of different allocations as the fair distribution of resources. However, regression analysis indicates that both treatment effects and a few demographic variables explain some of this variation in fairness concepts. Most significantly, decision makers rewarded subjects who earned their favorable positions, and the gender of the decision maker was an important predictor of the allocation chosen.


Winner of the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. A magnificent achievement and an engrossing experience, David Mitchell's first novel announced the arrival of one of the most exciting writers of the twenty-first century. An apocalyptic cult member carries out a gas attack on a rush-hour metro, but what links him to a jazz buff in downtown Tokyo? Or to a Mongolian gangster, a woman on a holy mountain who talks to a tree, and a late night New York DJ? Set at the fugitive edges of Asia and Europe, Ghostwritten weaves together a host of characters, their interconnected destinies determined by the inescapable forces of cause and effect.


In conditions of declining consumer demand and deficit of credit resources more and more managers of Russian companies think of necessity of introducing effective methods and systems of cost management. One of the most relevant is method of "Activity Based Costing" (ABC-method). Since, in western experts' opinion sectors of service and trade are adjusted to use of ABC-method even more than production, we should refer once more to the main methodological and integration aspects of ABC-method application and consider it from position of trade organization.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for poor clinical outcome after surgical resection of small lung adenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: Clinical records of 127 patients who had pathologic stage IA lung adenocarcinoma 20 mm or less and who had undergone a lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection were reviewed. The percentage of non-bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (non-BAC) components quantified objectively, and epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) mutation determined by polymerase chain reaction-based assay were retrospectively linked with clinical data. Results: Based on the percentage of non-BAC component, 127 patients were classified as follows: 26 in group I, BAC, 46 in group II mixed subtype with ≥ 50% BAC, 18 in group III, mixed subtype with under 50% BAC, and 37 in group IV, mixed subtype with all non-BAC components or a pure pattern of one of the non-BAC components. Groups I and II were considered to be a "low non-BAC component type" and groups III and IV were considered to be a "high non-BAC component type." EGFR mutations in exon19 and exon21 were observed in 64 patients (50.4%). In terms of recurrence, the high non-BAC component type was the only independent factor for recurrence (p = 0.029). Regarding survival, the high age (p = 0.028) and high non-BAC component type (p = 0.046) were independent risk factors for poor overall survival. They were also independent risk factors for poor disease-free survival (p = 0.025 and p = 0.027, respectively). Conclusion: The high non-BAC component but not EGFR mutation status, is an independent risk factor for both recurrence and poor prognosis in patients with stage IA lung adenocarcinoma ≤20 mm.


After two years of effort to reconstitute the group working toward a permanent place for ecological issues within the Transportation Research Board, we have been approved as the Task Force on Ecology and Transportation. We still have a long way to go to develop our role and mission and to demonstrate the TRB's need for a full committee to deal with what has become known as road ecology. The next few months will be critical as we establish the membership to take on the task of organization and further refining the mission of the Task Force. I want to thank those of you attending ICOET for your seminal role in getting the Task Force off the ground. Many of you have worked to develop the proposal to TRB and put together programs which helped to demonstrate the level of interest in ecology and transportation within TRB. ICOET itself has provided the substance which helped convince the leadership in TRB that there is a need for the Task Force. We have a business meeting tomorrow and I hope to have Kim Fisher from the Transportation Research Board explain our next steps and the technical requirements as a Task Force. We will also discuss the conference session that is being developed for TRB's annual meeting in January. This session is anticipated to bring the some of best new ideas from ICOET 2003 to the TRB audience and is a part of the Task Force's goal to forge close ties between ICOET and TRB. If you see several of us filling out forms during the paper sessions over the next few days, we are working to evaluate papers and new technology for this TRB session. Trish White is heading up a working group from the Task Force organizers to develop the conference session. Our role as a Task Force will be to foster communication about current research and new technology in the applied science of transportation ecology as well as to identify needed areas for research for the future. I look forward to continuing to work with the ICOET organizing committee and nurturing the close relationship between TRB and ICOET.


Throughout its lifetime, software must be changed for many reasons, such as bug fixing, performance tuning, and code restructuring. Testing modified software is the main activity performed to gain confidence that changes behave as they are intended and do not have adverse effects on the rest of the software. A fundamental problem of testing evolving software is determining whether test suites adequately exercise changes and, if not, providing suitable guidance for generating new test inputs that target the modified behavior. Existing techniques evaluate the adequacy of test suites based only on control- and data-flow testing criteria. They do not consider the effects of changes on program states and, thus, are not sufficiently strict to guarantee that the modified behavior is exercised. Also, because of the lack of this guarantee, these techniques can provide only limited guidance for generating new test inputs.
This research has developed techniques that will assist testers in testing evolving software and provide confidence in the quality of modified versions. In particular, this research has developed a technique to identify testing requirements that ensure that the test cases satisfying them will result in different program states at pre-selected parts of the software. This research has also developed supporting techniques for identifying testing requirements. Such techniques include (1) a differencing technique, which computes differences and correspondences between two software versions and (2) two dynamic-impact-analysis techniques, which identify parts of software that are likely affected by changes with respect to a set of executions.


Objective We sought to systematically review the literature on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS, also called electronic cigarettes) awareness, use, reactions and beliefs. Data sources We searched five databases for articles published between 2006 and 1 July 2013 that contained variations of the phrases 'electronic cigarette', 'e-cigarette' and 'electronic nicotine delivery'. Study selection Of the 244 abstracts identified, we excluded articles not published in English, articles unrelated to ENDS, dissertation abstracts and articles without original data on prespecified outcomes. Data extraction Two reviewers coded each article for ENDS awareness, use, reactions and beliefs. Data synthesis 49 studies met inclusion criteria. ENDS awareness increased from 16% to 58% from 2009 to 2011, and use increased from 1% to 6%. The majority of users were current or former smokers. Many users found ENDS satisfying, and some engaged in dual use of ENDS and other tobacco. No longitudinal studies examined whether ENDS serve as 'gateways' to future tobacco use. Common reasons for using ENDS were quitting smoking and using a product that is healthier than cigarettes. Self-reported survey data and prospective trials suggest that ENDS might help cigarette smokers quit, but no randomised controlled trials with probability samples compared ENDS with other cessation tools. Some individuals used ENDS to avoid smoking restrictions. Conclusions ENDS use is expanding rapidly despite experts' concerns about safety, dual use and possible 'gateway' effects. More research is needed on effective public health messages, perceived health risks, validity of self-reports of smoking cessation and the use of different kinds of ENDS.


High-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) may impart health benefits beyond what is acquired through moderate-intensity steady state exercise (SSE). Paraoxonase 1 (PON1), an antioxidant associated with highdensity lipoprotein (HDL), may be altered with exercise; however, it is unclear whether HIIE provides a greater stimulus for increasing PON1 antioxidant activity than a comparable or greater amount of SSE. PURPOSE: Determine the influence of HIIE on PON1 concentration and activity relative to a comparable amount of moderate-intensity SSE and a dose that is half that of SSE. METHODS: Seventeen male participants (age 27.8 + 6.4 yr; weight 80.6 + 9.0 kg; BMI 25.1 + 2.4 kg/m2; %fat = 19 + 5; VO2max 52.1 + 7.5 ml/kg/min) underwent HIIE by treadmill running (90% and 40% of VO2reserve in 3:2 min ratio) to expend 500 kcals (H500); HIIE to expend 250 kcals (H250), and; SSE at 70% VO2reserve to expend 500 kcals (M500) in a randomized crossover design. Intensities of all exercise conditions averaged 70% VO2reserve. Blood measures of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in copper reducing equivalents, HDL ( g/mL), apolipoprotein A-1 (ApoA1: g/L), PON1 concentration (PON1c: g/mL) and arylesterase activity (PON1a: kU/L) were obtained just before, immediately after, 2 hr and 24 hr after exercise. Significant differences were determined using 3 by 4 repeated measures ANOVAs. Effect sizes were calculated to determine the magnitude of dependent variable responses to exercise. RESULTS: Pre-exercise HDL concentration was lower in H250 and increased most in H250 versus other exercise conditions (p < 0.001, ES = 0.83). Other antioxidant responses were similar across exercise conditions. ApoA1 (+ 8.0%) and PON1a (+ 9.3%) increased immediately after exercise and remained elevated 24 hr after exercise (p < 0.0001 for each; ApoA1 ES = 0.85, PON1a ES = 0.57). PON1c was increased 2.4% above baseline at 2 hr post-exercise (p = 0.0296, ES = 0.18) and TAC was elevated 8.6% above baseline at 24 hr post-exercise (p = 0.0227, ES = 0.48). SUMMARY: HDL and HDL antioxidant properties are transiently potentiated by HIIE with as little as 250 kcals of energy expenditure. HDL antioxidant activity and total antioxidant capacity are elevated with HIIE and SSE of moderate intensity in a similar manner and are observed for up to 24 hr after exercise.


A new type III interferon, IFN lambda 4 (IFNL4), and its single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) ss469415590 causing a frame shift have been recently reported strongly to affect antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in African and Caucasian populations compared to previously reported IL-28B SNPs rs12979860 and rs8099917. To compare the predictability for treatment outcome among those polymorphisms, we estimated haplotype structure of IFNL4/IL-28B consisting of the three SNPs in 4630 Japanese chronic hepatitis C patients and 1122 healthy controls and then compared their impact on response to pegylated-IFN (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) combined therapy in 903 HCV-1b-infected patients. A total of five haplotypes were identified, although two major haplotypes accounted for >99 % of the variation. The SNPs were tightly linked but not in absolute linkage disequilibrium. We could not find any difference in the predictive impact of any of these three SNPs with regard to susceptibility to HCV and treatment response. However, patients with favourable rs8099917 TT, linked to unfavourable genotypes of ss469415590 and rs12979860, showed poor initial viral response compared with those with all favourable genotypes (P = 0.0022). These findings suggest that, in part, ss469415590 and rs12979860 may have better predictive impact on response to PEG-IFN plus RBV therapy in the Japanese population, especially in patients with any of the minor haplotypes consisting of these SNPs.


This is a short article to examine the following possibility: that a single agent might simultaneously have different utilities that are incommensurable. Some arguments aginst this possiblity are considered and rejected. Two practical examples are given and its implications in terms of goal change and learning are discussed.


A new two-step approach to optimize anisotropic composite stiffened panels is presented. At the first step, a representative element of the stiffened panel (superstiffener) is optimized using continuous optimization of lamination parameters under strength, buckling and practical design constraints. At the second step, a genetic algorithm is used to identify the actual superstiffener's laminates. The fitness function in the genetic algorithm is formed by using a first order (linear) Taylor series of the design constraints, instead of the traditional squared differences between the optimum and actual lamination parameters (minimum squared distance). Results show that for the same thicknesses of the superstiffener's laminates, the new designs had lower violation of the critical constraint than those obtained from minimum squared distanced. Consequently, laminates' thicknesses could be reduced and thus mass savings are achieved. In addition, it is found that fitness based on constraint satisfaction drives the genetic algorithm in a different direction than the minimum distance criterion and produces designs that may not be close to the continuous design in the lamination parameter design space. Overall, this suggests that the minimum squared distance may not be the best objective to identify the optimal laminates' stacking sequences.