In spiking neurons, phasic, calcium-dependent transmitter release is initiated when a presynaptic action potential activates voltage-dependent calcium channels. Vertebrate photoreceptors are nonspiking neurons that continuously release transmitter. This study uses patch-clamp recording to examine the electrophysiological properties of mammalian cones in intact retina. The cell capacitance was 10 ± 1 pF and the input resistance was 0.52 ± 0.46 G-ohms at −65 mV (31 cells). A specific membrane capacitance of 1.2 pF/cm2 was calculated. The cones did not appear to be chemically or electrically coupled. The calcium conductance averaged 3 ± 1 nS (five cells). Fifty percent of the calcium channels were active at −40 mV, and at this voltage the number of active channels changed e-fold for a 6-mV voltage change. At 25°C, the current reached a peak within about 1 ms after onset of a step to −35 mV. The calcium influx produced by depolarization activated a chloride conductance with a delay of a few milliseconds. The channels did not completely inactivate during maintained depolarization. The calcium channels were partially blocked by high concentrations of nifedipine, an L-type specific antagonist, and were recognized by an antibody raised against the L-type subunit α-1D. The immunohistochemical staining shows that the calcium channels are localized to the synaptic terminals. The immunohistochemical, physiological, and pharmacological properties indicate that the calcium channels in mammalian photoreceptors may represent a novel isoform, possibly with some homologies to the L-type class. The activation range of the channels matches the physiological operating range of photoreceptors.


This paper explores the political and social forces that have led to the well-documented narrowing of the curriculum, squeezing out arts programming in schools. While not intended to be an exhaustive literature review, this work highlights important findings that correlate arts learning with biological changes as well as cognitive and academic advantages. Further, it explores how the arts may be the key to promoting twenty-first century skills of creative thinking and problem- solving. From this review, we hope that educators and policymakers will reconsider how arts education and arts-integrated learning can influence educational practices and policies.


The public is often advised to limit their consumption of animal proteins because of the concern about increased calcium loss associated with high protein intake. Unfortunately, this advice is primarily based on studies that found hypercalciuric effects of purified proteins. Attempts to test common sources of protein have suffered from significant design and methodological limitations; epidemiologic studies of the effects of protein on bone health have yielded mixed results. Findings from three recent, carefully controlled feeding studies, summarised below, show that a moderately high intake of animal protein does not adversely affect calcium retention and may even be beneficial for bone health. Several milk/dairy supplementation trials also indicate that a concomitant increase in calcium and protein intake (along with other nutrients present in these foods), favourably affects bone health at various stages of the life cycle. Nonetheless, the effects of animal protein on bone health remain unclear. Carefully controlled feeding studies are needed to better understand the effects of dairy proteins per se, as well as milk and milk products as whole foods, on calcium homeostasis and bone health.


This report details the results of past research and current excavations at the Sanctuary of the Divine Palikoi in eastern Sicily, where fieldwork conducted between 1995 and 2001 has yielded remains of two stoas and a hestiaterion of the fifth century B.C., structures of the Archaic period, and evidence of occupation in the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods and the Sicilian Bronze Age. Literary sources tell us that in the mid fifth century B.C. the Sikel leader Ducetius founded a city, which he called Palikè, near the sanctuary and that he also created a short-lived federation of Sikel cities that challenged the hegemony of Syracuse and other coastal Greek cities. The sanctuary may have functioned as an alternative center of social and political power from the fifth century B.C. to the second century B.C. when it became a rallying point for runaway slaves.


This paper examines experimentally the effects of two forms of social influence — visibility and social information about the contributions of others — on collective action in a step-level public goods game. We find that visibility has an aggregate positive impact on individual contributions, but social information does not. However, both visibility and social information positively affect the overall likelihood of a collective good being funded, implying that social information induces strategic behaviour and more efficient use of resources. Individual difference variables relating to personality and personal values help to explain treatment effects. Social value orientation predicts differential responses to both treatments, while of the 'Big Five' personality traits, agreeableness and extraversion help to predict the impact of visibility.


Since Tversky's (1977) seminal paper on asymmetric comparisons was published, comparisons of different options are generally believed to be directional. Interestingly, the asymmetry involved in comparisons has not been considered systematically for choices between different options. This paper argues that, in decision situations, one of the options serves as a dominant standard against which the others are evaluated, which results in asymmetric comparisons and, in turn, has important and systematic consequences for the choice process. This paper outlines which conditions should result in asymmetric comparisons. Taking existing models of asymmetric comparisons into account, a process model will be presented using the loss of a previously available choice option as an example.


Software engineering is a human task, and as such we must study what software engineers do and think. Understanding the normative practice of software engineering is the first step toward developing realistic solutions to better facilitate the engineering process. We conducted three studies using several data-gathering approaches to elucidate the patterns by which software engineers (SEs) use and update documentation. Our objective is to more accurately comprehend and model documentation use, usefulness, and maintenance, thus enabling better decision making and tool design by developers and project managers. Our results confirm the widely held belief that SEs typically do not update documentation as timely or completely as software process personnel and managers advocate. However, the results also reveal that out-of-date software documentation remains useful in many circumstances.


Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) have evoked a keen interest in recent times for potential applications in aerospace and automotive industries owing to their superior strength to weight ratio and high temperature resistance. The widespread adoption of particulate metal matrix composites for engineering applications has been hindered by the high cost of producing components. Although several technical challenges exist with casting technology yet it can be used to overcome this problem. Achieving a uniform distribution of reinforcement within the matrix is one such challenge, which affects directly on the properties and quality of composite material. In the present study a modest attempt has been made to develop aluminium based silicon carbide particulate MMCs with an objective to develop a conventional low cost method of producing MMCs and to obtain homogenous dispersion of ceramic material. To achieve these objectives two step-mixing method of stir casting technique has been adopted and subsequent property analysis has been made. Aluminium (98.41% C.P) and SiC (320-grit) has been chosen as matrix and reinforcement material respectively. Experiments have been conducted by varying weight fraction of SiC (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%), while keeping all other parameters constant. The results indicated that the 'developed method' is quite successful to obtain uniform dispersion of reinforcement in the matrix. An increasing trend of hardness and impact strength with increase in weight percentage of SiC has been observed. The best results (maximum hardness 45.5 BHN & maximum impact strength of 36 N-m.) have been obtained at 25% weight fraction of SiC. The results were further justified by comparing with other investigators.


The third- and fifth-order optical nonlinear properties of a new stilbazolium derivative, trans-1-[p-(p-dimethylaminobenzyl-azo)-benzyl]-2-(N-methyl-4-pyridinium)-ethene iodide (DABAZO-PEI), were investigated with a Q-switched and mode-locked pulse laser with a duration of 35 ps at 1064 nm. Its linear optical properties were also discussed. DABAZO-PEI exhibits two-photon absorption and strong excited-state absorption induced by two-photon absorption. A positive third-order nonlinear refraction caused by bound electrons and negative excited-state refraction caused by the two-photon absorption-generated excited states were also observed. The magnitude and the sign of the real (refractive) and the imaginary (two-photon absorption) parts of the molecular third-order polarizability, and the excited-state absorption and refraction cross sections, were measured. A feature worth noting is the values of excited-state absorption and refraction cross sections. They are all as high as 10-17 cm2. Based on the excited-state absorption induced by the two-photon-absorption mechanism, a highly efficient optical-limiting behavior for incident fluence in the range of 0–10 J/cm2 was demonstrated in a 1-cm-path quartz cell containing DABAZO-PEI solution in dimethyl sulfoxide. The optical-limiting threshold was estimated to be as low as 5 mJ/cm2.


Purpose: The aim of this research is to obtain comprehensive information about students' nutritional status and its relation to internal and external factors.
Design/methodology/approach: This study used a purposive sampling method to study 94 students, aged around 20 years old, from the Food Nutrition programme of Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University. The nutritional status was determined by anthropometric methods, and the influenced factors were collected by questionnaire and recall diet.
Findings:This study showed that more than 60% of respondents have healthy nutritional status criteria, based on the levels of nutrient consumption, fulfillment of energy, protein, vitamin A and Fe (iron). The levels of fulfillment
were 72%, 98 %, 388% and 92% respectively. The data showed that most nutritional fulfillment was supported by the eating habits of the respondents who enjoy light meals (70.9%). The food selection of respondents was based on preference of local food and light meals (100% of the respondents) and was not as dependent on nutritional knowledge.
Originality/value: Students need adequate nutrients that can improve and maintain their physical endurance and mental and cognitive functioning.
Therefore, it is important to study their nutritional status.


This chapter provides a first step into the analysis of the complex world of surface soil and a selection of conceptual approaches and resources for sampling surface soils so that the components of interest can be properly acquired and handled for subsequent microbial ecological studies. The focus on surface soils is one that distinguishes the chapter from others dealing with subsurface or aquifer sampling. The chapter also focuses on approaches that enable the scientist to acquire surface soil materials that are of appropriate quality and quantity for subsequent studies and provides information and resources for ensuring that soils are appropriately transported, stored, and distributed prior to use in experiments. The methods and approaches discussed are general ones that are provided to enable scientists to address their questions. The intact systems are generally more difficult to implement and maintain than those soil microbiological studies for which no such maintenance is required. Even in cases where the rhizosphere relationship is maintained, sampling from such chambers is problematic due to the immediate disturbance and destruction of the rhizosphere zone that takes place upon sample removal. Air drying is preferably done under a stream of sterile air flow to decrease the likelihood of introduction of laboratory microbial strains or other airborne propagules into the soil samples. The purpose of sieving is both to remove rocks and larger plant debris and invertebrates and to make the soils easier to distribute to experimental chambers.


The numerical variations of the renal pedicle are important for surgeons and radiologists, although these variations are not so commonly reported in veterinary medicine. The present study aims to describe the duplicity of the renal vein in a puma's cadaver, discussing the clinical-surgical implications of this anatomical variation. The animal was fixed with formalin solution, injected with colored latex and dissected. Two renal veins were found draining the right kidney: the first, craniodorsal, presented 2.80 cm in length and the second, caudoventral, presented 2.64 cm in length. The right renal artery was single and measured 3.79 in length. In the left kidney, both artery and vein were single, presenting 3.04 cm and 2.91 cm long, respectively. The numerical variations of renal veins should be considered in the execution of surgical, radiological and experimental procedures to prevent errors being made by absence of knowledge of the possibility of existence of double renal veins, both in domestic and wild animals.


Mandis or primary agricultural markets are old and ubiquitous institutions
across many parts of the Indian economic landscape. Wherever they have formed,
they tend to be dense sites of economic and political activity, connecting town and
countryside, and local agricultural markets with larger circuits of commerce and
consumption. Mandis are the most important site for the regulation of the critical
"first transaction" between farmers and the buyers of their produce, vital points of
interaction in complex and intricately intermediated markets for a range of
agricultural commodities. Widely portrayed and perceived as entrenched, inefficient
and unchanging, the last decade has seen growing calls for the dismantling of the
mandi system as the key to the liberalisation and growth of Indian agriculture.
Drawing on eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, this thesis centres on
the everyday life, life histories, and relationships of Harda mandi, an agricultural
market in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It discovers a dynamic
marketplace, constantly interacting with the changing contexts of agricultural
production, regional political dynamics, technological developments, processes of
reform, and the penetration and contraction of different forms of agro-commercial
capital. Part One follows the mandi as a shifting site of regulation over the three
decades from 1980 to 2010, as major state-led interventions in agricultural production
and marketing interact with local agrarian contexts and political dynamics, producing
a range of effects on the mandi, its spatial dimensions, material composition, forms of
intermediation, and social relations. Part Two immerses itself in the seasonal
dynamics of two contrasting commodity markets – soybean and wheat – analysing the
diverse and differential effects on mandi actors, processes, and market management,
as global movements and domestic policies are experienced in the market yard.
Stepping back, it then traces critical transitions in mandi trade over the last twenty
years, describing the dominance and decline of different transactional forms, their
economic consequences, and the ethical questions that they raise for local actors and
more distant policymakers.


The DO3SE (Deposition of O-3 for Stomatal Exchange) model is an established tool for estimating ozone (O-3) deposition, stomatal flux and impacts to a variety of vegetation types across Europe. It has been embedded within the EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme) photochemical model to provide a policy tool capable of relating the flux-based risk of vegetation damage to O-3 precursor emission scenarios for use in policy formulation. A key limitation of regional flux-based risk assessments has been the assumption that soil water deficits are not limiting O-3 flux due to the unavailability of evaluated methods for modelling soil water deficits and their influence on stomatal conductance (g(sto)), and subsequent O-3 flux. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a method to estimate soil moisture status and its influence on g(sto) for a variety of forest tree species. This DO3SE soil moisture module uses the Penman-Monteith energy balance method to drive water cycling through the soil-plant-atmosphere system and empirical data describing g(sto) relationships with pre-dawn leaf water status to estimate the biological control of transpiration. We trial four different methods to estimate this biological control of the transpiration stream, which vary from simple methods that relate soil water content or potential directly to g(sto), to more complex methods that incorporate hydraulic resistance and plant capacitance that control water flow through the plant system. These methods are evaluated against field data describing a variety of soil water variables, g(sto) and transpiration data for Norway spruce (Picea abies), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), birch (Betula pendula), aspen (Populus tremuloides), beech (Fagus sylvatica) and holm oak (Quercus ilex) collected from ten sites across Europe and North America. Modelled estimates of these variables show consistency with observed data when applying the simple empirical methods, with the timing and magnitude of soil drying events being captured well across all sites and reductions in transpiration with the onset of drought being predicted with reasonable accuracy. The more complex methods, which incorporate hydraulic resistance and plant capacitance, perform less well, with predicted drying cycles consistently underestimating the rate and magnitude of water loss from the soil. A sensitivity analysis showed that model performance was strongly dependent upon the local parameterisation of key model drivers such as the maximum g(sto), soil texture, root depth and leaf area index. The results suggest that the simple modelling methods that relate g(sto) directly to soil water content and potential provide adequate estimates of soil moisture and influence on g(sto) such that they are suitable to be used to assess the potential risk posed by O-3 to forest trees across Europe.


Model Driven Development (MDD) is considered as a powerful emerging paradigm for developing system software and services. MDD relies heavily on the models to generate part of the code for implementation. It is virtually inevitable that changes at the model level result in breaking the compatibility with the existing code base. The study presented in this thesis is performed in an industrial setting. Our industrial partner is involved in MDD and has experienced compatibility problems described above. The aim of this thesis is to identify the changes that can be made to UML class diagram and investigate what kind of negative impact they pose on the compatibility with already existing Java implementations. Apart from identifying possible model changes and assessing their negative impact the thesis provides suggestions and guidelines of how to perform such modifications so that their negative impact will be minimized.


In The Church as Paradise and the Way Therein, Christopher A. Graham demonstrates how early Christian authors referenced Genesis 3:22–24 in order to signify that, through the Church, humanity has access to the divine truth and life lost at the expulsion.


Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used as a lifesaving rescue treatment in refractory respiratory or cardiac failure. During venovenous (VV) ECMO, the presence of recirculation is known, but quantification and actions to minimize recirculation after measurement are to date not routinely practiced. In the current study, we investigated the effect of draining cannula design on recirculation fraction (R f) during VV ECMO; conventional mesh cannula was compared with a multistage cannula. The effect of adjusting cannula position was also studied. Recirculation was measured with ultrasound dilution technique at different ECMO flows and after cannula repositioning. All patients who were admitted to our unit between October 2014 and July 2015 catheterized by the atrio-femoral single lumen method were included. A total of 108 measurements were conducted in 14 patients. The multistage cannula showed significantly less recirculation (19.0 ± 12.2%) compared with the conventional design (38.0 ± 13.7). Pooled data in cases improved from adjustment showing reduced R f by 7%. In conclusion, the choice of cannula matters, as does adjustment of the draining cannula position during atrio-femoral VV ECMO. By utilizing the ultrasound dilution technique to measure R f before and after repositioning, effective ECMO flow can be improved for a more effective ECMO treatment.


Titus 3:3 as self-vilification: A rhetorical option The rhetorical function of the vice list in Titus 3:3 remains to be accounted for. This article proposes that self-vilification, a novel rhetorical technique, be considered to investigate and propose a rhetorical function for Titus 3:3. The result is the identification and formulation of the overarching rhetorical objective of the verse in its totality. Titus 3:3 expresses a valuable corrective to Christian attitudes that could compromise the evangelistic or missiological mandate of the Church today.


Abstract Introduction Hemoglobin/red cell distribution width (RDW) ratio (HRR) and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) are two novel bio-markers associated with overall survival (OS) and prognosis in several types of cancers. The aim of this study is to investigate the value of HRR and LMR in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Methods A total of 180 patients were included in this study. Patients diagnosed with MM between May 2013 and May 2019 at a single center were evaluated. HRR was calculated by dividing hemoglobin to RDW, both measured from the same sample. LMR was calculated by dividing absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) to absolute monocyte count (AMC). Results The cutoff value for HRR was taken as 0.61, and the cutoff value for LMR was taken as 3.28. Patients were divided into low HRR, high HRR, low LMR, and high LMR groups. OS of the patients with low HRR was found lower compared with high HRR (36.7 months for low HRR and 53.2 months for high HRR, p < 0.001). Also, OS was found lower in the low LMR group (39.4 months for low LMR and 51.7 months for high LMR, p = 0.016). On multivariate analysis, low HRR and low LMR were predictive factors of OS (hazard ratio (HR) 2.08, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.31–3.03, and p = 0.002 for low HRR; HR 1.47, 95% CI 0.92–2.29, and p = 0.010 for low LMR). Conclusion Combining both HRR and LMR could be a prognostic biomarker and it reflects the status of the immune system in newly diagnosed MM patients.


Rapidly rotating black holes are a prime arena for understanding corrections to Einstein's theory of general relativity (GR). We construct solutions for rapidly rotating black holes in dynamical Chern-Simons (dCS) gravity, a useful and motivated example of a post-GR correction. We treat dCS as an effective theory and thus work in the decoupling limit, where we apply a perturbation scheme using the Kerr metric as the background solution. Using the solutions to the scalar field and the trace of the metric perturbation, we determine the regime of validity of our perturbative approach. We find that the maximal spin limit may be divergent, and the decoupling limit is strongly restricted for rapid rotation. Rapidly-rotating stellar-mass BHs can potentially be used to place strong bounds on the coupling parameter $\ell$ of dCS. In order for the black hole observed in GRO J1655-40 to be within the decoupling limit we need $\ell \lesssim 22$ km, a value 7 orders of magnitude smaller than present Solar System bounds on dynamical Chern-Simons gravity.


Improving physicians' prescription practices is a primary strategy for countering the rise in resistance to antibiotics. This would prevent physicians from incorrectly prescribing antibiotics, one of the main causes of antibiotic resistance. The increasing availability of medical data and methods of machine learning provide an opportunity to generate instant diagnoses. In the present study, the example of urinary tract infections in Denmark is used to demonstrate how data-based predictions can improve clinical practice in the face of increasing antibiotic resistance. For this purpose, comprehensive administrative and medical data, in combination with machine learning methods and economic modeling, were used to develop rules for prescribing antibiotics. The total number of prescriptions could be reduced by 7.42 percent by applying the recommended policy measures without reducing the number of treated bacterial infections. This demonstrates the great potential of this method. However, in Germany this potential cannot be tapped until more information is digitized. The information that must be supplied to the IT systems in physicians' practices and hospitals is often collected and saved by decentralized institutions; linking it is key.


The present study was undertaken to determine the fluoride distribution profile with age in the femur of rat. Fifty-four female Wistar rats were used for the experiment. Six rats were killed under chloroform anesthesia at 4 weeks of age before the experiment. The other forty-eight rats were divided into two groups; one was a control group given distilled water and the other was a fluoride group given water containing 100ppm of fluoride. Six rats from each of the groups were killed at the ages of 6, 12, 24 and 48 weeks. The fluoride distribution in the cortical thighbone was analyzed from periosteum to the endosteum by abrasive micro-sampling. The results obtained were as follows: 1) The fluoride concentration in the bone of the distilled water drinking group increased slowly with age. The fluoride distribution in the cortical bone was low and flat from the periosteum to the endosteum until the age of 12 weeks. For the rats in the distilled drinking water group that were aged 24 weeks and older, the fluoride concentration in the periosteum and endosteum was a little higher than in the middle region of the femur. 2) The fluoride concentration in the bone of the rats that drank 100ppm fluoride containing water increased markedly with age. In the 6 week old fluoride group, the fluoride concentration in the endosteal region was higher than in the periosteal region. The fluoride profile was non-symmetrical. At the age of 12 weeks, the fluoride concentration in the periosteal region increased gradually. After the age of 24 weeks, the fluoride profile in the bone changed from a non-symmetrical to a symmetrical U-shaped pattern. At the age of 48 weeks, the fluoride concentration in the periosteum was significantly higher than in the endosteum. 3) The age-dependent increase in bone fluoride was similar to the age-related increases in body weight and bone length. 索 引 用 語:フ ッ素,骨,加 齢,ラ ッ ト


At a time when the world needs more, and more complex, international legal rules and institutions to address major cooperation problems, customary international law ("CIL") has several important limitations: (i) it cannot be made in a coordinated manner in advance of events, (ii) it cannot be made with sufficient detail, (iii) it cannot be made with sufficiently heterogeneous reciprocity between states, (iv) it cannot be made with specifically-designed organizational support, (v) it is generally not subject to national parliamentary control, (vi) it purports to bind states that did not consent but failed to object to its formation, and (vii) it provides excessive space for auto-interpretation by states, or for sometimes insufficiently disciplined interpretation by judges. Treaty, and legislation produced by international organization voting, can perform better on all of these dimensions. Today, the vast majority of rules of CIL are codified: of 300 identified rules of CIL, only 13 have not been codified either in treaties or in International Law Commission instruments. To a remarkable extent, due to the growth of treaty law incorporating the same norms, if CIL were abolished today, most of the international legal system would remain intact. Although I cannot prove that the rise of treaty rules has resulted from the factors discussed above, those factors are a good set of reasons why states might have determined to produce treaties that include, but are not limited to, the rules that exist in CIL.


Pitting corrosion is a primary and most severe failure mechanism of oil and gas pipelines. To implement a prognostic and health management (PHM) for oil and gas pipelines corroded by internal pitting, an appropriate degradation model is required. An appropriate and highly reliable pitting corrosion degradation assessment model should consider, in addition to epistemic uncertainty, the temporal aspects, the spatial heterogeneity, and inspection errors. It should also take into account the two well-known characteristics of pitting corrosion growing behavior: depth and time dependency of pit growth rate. Analysis of these different levels of uncertainties in the amount of corrosion damage over time should be performed for continuous and failure-free operation of the pipelines. This paper reviews some of the leading probabilistic data-driven prediction models for PHM analysis for oil and gas pipelines corroded by internal pitting. These models categorized as random variable-based and stochastic process-based models are reviewed and the appropriateness of each category is discussed. Since stochastic process-based models are more versatile to predict the behavior of internal pitting corrosion in oil and gas pipelines, the capabilities of the two popular stochastic process-based models, Markov process-based and gamma process-based, are discussed in more detail.


Bulldog and Musquito, Aboriginal warriors from the Hawkesbury, were captured and sent to Norfolk Island following frontier skirmishes in New South Wales. Eventually, Bulldog seems to have made it home. Musquito was transported to Van Diemen's Land, where he laboured as a convict servant. He never returned. Hohepa Te Umuroa was arrested near Wellington in 1846, with a group of Maori warriors. Five of the men were transported to Van Diemen's Land where Te Umuroa died in custody. More than 140 years later, his remains were carried home to New Zealand. Booy Piet, a twenty-six year-old Khoisan soldier from the Cape Colony, was transported to Van Diemen's Land for desertion in 1842. After three years of convict labour, he died in Hobart General Hospital. These men are among 130 aboriginal convicts who were transported to and within the Australian penal colonies. They lived, laboured, were punished, and died alongside other convicts, but until this groundbreaking book, their stories had largely been forgotten.


Novel aerogel materials with periodic structures derived from chiral nematic liquid crystalline cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are reported. The liquid crystalline structure of phase-separated CNCs is locked by a simple solvent exchange method or silica condensation. Both cellulose and silica/cellulose aerogel materials were obtained after critical point drying, and subsequent calcination of the silica/cellulose composite afforded a silica aerogel with periodic order. Gas adsorption and electron microscopy studies revealed that these materials have high surface areas and a unique chiral nematic structure imparted from the helicoidal CNC template. This is a new, scalable approach to aerogel materials with highly anisotropic structures. The high porosity and periodic, chiral features of these new materials may make them suitable for applications that require anisotropic properties or as hard templates for the construction of other ordered aerogels.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


Purpose
Road passenger transportation faces a global challenge of reducing environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions because of the vehicle weight increases needed to enhance passenger safety and comfort. This paper aims to present a preliminary mechanical design evaluation of the Wikispeed Car (with a focus on body bending, body torsion and body crash) to assess light-weighting implications and improve the vehicle's environmental performance without compromising safety.

Design/methodology/approach
For this research, finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to examine the Wikispeed chassis for light-weighting opportunities in three key aspects of the vehicle's design, namely, for body bending the rockers (or longitudinal tubes), for body torsion (again on the rockers but also the chassis as a whole) and for crash safety – on the frontal crash structure. A two-phase approach was adopted, namely, in phase one, a 3D CAD geometry was generated and in phase, two FEA was generated. The combination of analysis results was used to develop the virtual model using FEA tools, and the model was updated based on the correlation process.

Findings
The research revealed that changing the specified material Aluminium Alloy 6061-T651 to Magnesium EN-MB10020 allows vehicle mass to be reduced by an estimated 110 kg, thus producing a concomitant 10 per cent improvement in fuel economy. The initial results imply that the current beam design made from magnesium would perform worst during a crash as the force required to buckle the beam is the lowest (between 95.2 kN and 134 kN). Steel has the largest bandwidth of force required for buckling and also requires the largest force for buckling (between 317 kN and 540 kN).

Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind to compare and contrast between material substitution and its impact upon Wikispeed car safety and performance.


Abstract. The increasing amount of dissolved anthropogenic CO2 has caused a drop in pH values in the open ocean known as ocean acidification. This change in seawater carbonate chemistry has been shown to have a negative effect on a number of marine organisms. Early life stages are the most vulnerable, and especially the organisms that produce calcified structures in the phylum Mollusca. Few studies have looked at effects on scallops, and this is the first study presented including fed larvae of the great scallop (Pecten maximus) followed until day 14 post-fertilization. Fertilized eggs from unexposed parents were exposed to three levels of pCO2 using four replicate units: 465 (ambient), 768 and 1294 µatm, corresponding to pHNIST of 7.94, 7.75 (−0.19 units) and 7.54 (−0.40 units), respectively. All of the observed parameters were negatively affected by elevated pCO2: survival, larval development, shell growth and normal shell development. The latter was observed to be affected only 2 days after fertilization. Negative effects on the fed larvae at day 7 were similar to what was shown earlier for unfed P. maximus larvae. Growth rate in the group at 768 µatm seemed to decline after day 7, indicating that the ability to overcome the environmental change at moderately elevated pCO2 was lost over time. The present study shows that food availability does not decrease the sensitivity to elevated pCO2 in P. maximus larvae. Unless genetic adaptation and acclimatization counteract the negative effects of long term elevated pCO2, recruitment in populations of P. maximus will most likely be negatively affected by the projected drop of 0.06–0.32 units in pH within year 2100.


This trade survey of Annam Pond Turtle reveals that this species is likely to have larger distribution than previously thought. The records in the trade in Quy Nhon and Ho Chi Minh City suggest its range could extend much further south. In addition, given the one way south-north trade route, the absence of Mauremys mutica in the trade south of Hai Van Pass and the reported absence of M. annamensis in the trade north of the Pass support the hypothesis that the Pass is the natural barrier for the two species ranges. This hypothesis combined with the long existence of the Pass might indicate that the speciation between the two species happened when their ancestors dispersed across the Pass, and were subsequently isolated, by the means of rafting or walking through narrow land strip emerged during the low sea level period. In terms of conservation, M. annamensis has become much rarer even in the trade, suggesting immediate conservation measures to protect it.


Introduction: The educational system must train students based on their future needs In the area of work for the community. Education is one of the capabilities necessary for assistants. This study has been designed for Assessment of teaching to medical students and Interns by medical residents in Bandar Abbas. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the education of 99 residents in different educational section of University of Medical Sciences , Bandar Abbas to medical students and interns. 125 medical students and interns were randomly selected in first 6 months in 2013.Researcher made questionnaires include demographic information and four attitude areas is to collect data. Data collected entered to the software Spss20 and by using the descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and correlation were analyzed . Results: In 94 Completed questionnaires of 125 distributed questionnaires, average scores in Education theoretical knowledge and learning process was 435.9 and average scores in Capabilities and responsibilities was 109.4 and average scores in Learning environment was 134.1 and average scores in educational problems was 126.5. overall scores in 4 area was partly good and was given 60% of maximum possible score of each of the four areas Differences in educational problems and capabilities and responsibilities in various clinical groups was significant.. Conclusion: In this study capabilities and responsibilities had maximum concessions and majority of students and interns believe that training by residents to reduce the educational gap.It is suggested that developed guidelines or programs for learning practitioners and offered to residents.


Since its election in 1996, the Liberal Coalition Federal Government led by John Howard has engaged significantly with the issue of domestic violence in Australia. Throughout its administration the Howard government has distanced itself from the feminist structural approach to domestic violence, which had been widely legitimised and accepted by 1996: it de-gendered policies and the language of domestic violence and rejuvenated and extended the outdated 'cycle of violence' approach to understanding domestic violence. The Howard government's re-conceptualisation of domestic violence intentionally avoids recognition of the 'gender dynamic' that is intrinsic to domestic violence in Australia. Recognising the gender dynamic to such violence is crucial, for as Jocelynne Scutt propounds in Women and the Law, while sometimes men are hit by their wives, 'the level and frequency of sexual, physical and psychological violence against women in the domestic setting far exceeds violence inflicted on men'. (1) The gender dynamic of domestic violence results directly from the broader oppression and inequality experienced by women in Australian society. Prior to the Howard Re-conceptualisation: The Feminist Structural Analysis of Domestic Violence While significant public and professional interest in the issue of domestic violence can be traced to before the First World War, debates around the appropriate way to understand the causes of domestic violence in Australia became most pronounced, controversial and sophisticated subsequent to the Women's Liberation Movement which emerged in Australia during the 1970s. Feminist discourse on domestic violence in this period shifted popular, policy and theoretical emphases away from women's supposed predisposition to victimisation and the public/private dichotomy towards a gender-based, structural analysis. (2) During the early 1980s feminist advocates were able to work, to some degree, with the government in addressing the issue of domestic violence. In 1981 a committee was convened by the department of Premier and Cabinet to examine problems associated with domestic violence, (3) resulting in the publication of Criminal Assault In The Home in 1985. (4) The text is significant because it is the first attempt by feminists and the government to define the nature, prevalence and cause of domestic violence in Australia. It recognises the gender dynamic inherent to domestic violence in Australia: Myth 4: "Men Are Also The Victims of Domestic Violence": The victims of domestic violence are almost exclusively female. In part this is due to differences in the socialisation of men and women; men are trained to be aggressive and dominant whilst women are reared to be passive. It is also due to the relative economic and social powerlessness of women. (5) This text identifies the two key elements of the feminist conceptualisation of domestic violence, an approach widely accepted prior to the Howard government's re-conceptualisation: firstly, the fact that, in the vast majority of cases, men are the perpetrators of domestic violence and women are the victims; secondly, that this inequality results from broader inequalities experienced by women, and benefited from by men, in Australian society. These inequalities stem from the patriarchal structuring of society and manifest in the distinct and ongoing economic, social and political oppression and disadvantage of women. (6) The Extent of Domestic Violence in Australia under Howard Since 2003 the United Nations and Amnesty International have confirmed that domestic violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness for women aged between 15-44 years of age in Australia.' Men perpetrate over ninety percent of intimate partner violence against women, and it is modestly estimated that ten times as many Australian women experience domestic violence from the age of fifteen than men. …


Massive hemorrhagic ascites secondary to endometriosis is a rare phenomenon that most practising gynaecologists will never encounter. We present the case of a 31 year-old woman who presented with progressive abdominal distension over a 5 month period. She had a past history of surgically diagnosed endometriosis. She had in fact been pain-free and otherwise asymptomatic for 5 years. She was found to have massive hemorrhagic ascites considered secondary to endometriosis. At laparoscopy 4.8 litres of fluid was drained and she had stage IV endometriosis with a frozen pelvis. Due to a lack of pain symptoms the patient declined surgical resection of the endometriosis. She was treated with a goserelin acetate implant. On ultrasound examination the ascites recurred, however remained a small stable volume over repeated scans. This case report is followed by a brief review of what is currently known of the epidemiology, clinical features, pathophysiology and management of this unusual condition.


We discover and analytically describe self-similar pulses existing in homogeneously broadened amplifying linear media in a vicinity of an optical resonance. We demonstrate numerically that the discovered pulses serve as universal self-similar asymptotics of any near-resonant short pulses with sharp leading edges, propagating in coherent linear amplifiers. We show that broadening of any low-intensity seed pulse in the amplifier has a diffusive nature: Asymptotically the pulse width growth is governed by the simple diffusion law. We also compare the energy gain factors of short and long self-similar pulses supported by such media.


This thesis consists of a Commentary on Vergil's Aeneid 9. 176-502, using the OCT, edited by R.A.B. Mynors (Oxford, 1972 reprint). It is made up of two parts: Introduction and Commentary. The Introduction comprises sections on the characters of Nisus and Euryalus (as they appear in the text and the literary precedents that influenced their depiction); the relationship between them and its ramifications; their position in the Aeneid, their 'type' in the Classical Tradition (with particular attention to their characterisation as warriors); the response of a Roman audience to them and what Vergil's own perception of them might have been in the light of his own supposed homosexuality. The Commentary is divided into five Sections: 1: 176-313 — Planning and preparation 2: 314-366 — The Aρίστeίαι of Nisus and Euryalus 3: 367-449 — The deaths of Nisus and Euryalus 4: 450-472 —Interlude 5: 473-503 — Epilogue: the lament of Euryalus's mother. Each section consists of a brief introduction and commentary on the text contained in it. As a whole, the Commentary deals with textual criticism, the text's relation to the rest of the Aeneid and the works of other Classical authors and the significance of these allusions (with particular attention paid to the close parallels with the Homeric Doloneia: Iliad 10). It also deals with the underlying imagery of the homoerotic. elegiac and Platonic ethos of what is essentially an epic and martial setting, and of the influence of divine and external forces on the action of the characters.


Because matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play roles in inflammatory tissue injury, we asked whether MMP secretion by gastric epithelial cells may contribute to gastric injury in response to signals involved in Helicobacter pylori-induced inflammation and/or cyclooxygenase inhibition. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulated gastric cell MMP-1 secretion, indicating that MMP-1 secretion occurs in inflammatory as well as non-inflammatory situations. MMP-1 secretion required activation of the MAPK Erk and subsequent protein synthesis but was down-regulated by the alternate MAPK, p38. In contrast, secretion of MMP-13 was stimulated by TNF-α/IL-1β but not EGF and was Erk-independent and mediated by p38. MMP-13 secretion was more rapid (peak, 6 h) than MMP-1 (peak ≥30 h) and only partly depended on protein synthesis, suggesting initial release of a pre-existing MMP-13 pool. Therefore, MMP-1 and MMP-13 secretion are differentially regulated by MAPKs. MMP-1 secretion was regulated by E prostaglandins (PGEs) in an Erk-dependent manner. PGEs enhanced Erk activation and MMP-1 secretion in response to EGF but inhibited Erk and MMP-1 when TNF-α and IL-1β were the stimuli, indicating that the effects of PGEs on gastric cell responses are context-dependent. These data show that secretion of MMPs is differentially regulated by MAPKs and suggest mechanisms through which H. pylori infection and/or cyclooxygenase inhibition may induce epithelial cell signaling to contribute to gastric ulcerogenesis.


Renin–angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and hormonal balance. Using positron emission tomography (PET) technology, it is possible to monitor the physiological and pathological distribution of angiotensin II type 1 receptors (AT1), which reflects the functionality of RAS. A new 18F-labeled PET tracer derived from the clinically used AT1 antagonist valsartan showing the least possible chemical alteration from the valsartan structure has been designed and synthesized with several strategies, which can be applied for the syntheses of further derivatives. Radioligand binding study showed that the cold reference FV45 (Ki 14.6 nM) has almost equivalent binding affinity as its lead valsartan (Ki 11.8 nM) and angiotensin II (Ki 1.7 nM). Successful radiolabeling of FV45 in a one-pot radiofluorination followed by the deprotection procedure with 21.8 ± 8.5% radiochemical yield and >99% radiochemical purity (n = 5) enabled a distribution study in rats and opened a path to straightforward large-scale production. A fast and clear kidney uptake could be observed, and this renal uptake could be selectively blocked by pretreatment with AT1-selective antagonist valsartan. Overall, as the first 18F-labeled PET tracer based on a derivation from clinically used drug valsartan with almost identical chemical structure, [18F]FV45 will be a new tool for assessing the RAS function by visualizing AT1 receptor distributions and providing further information regarding cardiovascular system malfunction as well as possible applications in inflammation research and cancer diagnosis.


The article defines the essence of inclusive education and characterizes students with special needs. The status and problems of implementing inclusive education in Ukraine are analyzed. The basic ethical principles of educational activities for pupils with special educational needs are defined. The authors set emphasis on the following issues: adaptation of the physical environment for the proper functioning of persons with disabilities; overcoming stereotypes of teaching professionals concerning psychological acceptance of inclusion; financing institutions with planned implementation of inclusive education; developing special educational programs for schools with inclusive education and training of qualified professionals to work in inclusive educational environment.


The Falling weight deflectometer test (FWD) is a commonly used method for the evaluation of the structural performance of pavement systems. In the FWD test, a large weight is raised off the ground and dropped onto a rubber loading pad creating an impulse load representative of the real loading imposed by heavy traffic on the pavement. The excitation produced by the loading sets off waves in the pavement and underlying soil. Deflection time histories are gathered by an array of sensors placed at several nearby locations. The traditional method for interpreting the FWD data to backcalculate structural pavement properties, involves extracting the peak deflection from each displacement trace of the sensors (deflection basin) and matching it through an iterative optimization method to the deflections predicted by a static model of the pavement. This approach is computationally efficient, and when the depths of the layers are known, and their properties are largely homogeneous with depth, the procedure is effective in backcalculating layer properties. However, when the depths are uncertain or when the moduli vary within a layer, the static backcalculation scheme may not yield reliable results. The goal of this study is to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of using the complete time history of the FWD test to overcome some of the limitations of the static backcalculation procedure, and recover pavement layer moduli distribution and thicknesses. The problem is also formulated as a numerical minimization problem, where the unknowns are the resilient moduli of thin "computational layers" that discretize the profile. Our initial findings is that this optimization formulation regularized by constraints on the magnitude and spatial gradient of the moduli, coupled with a continuation scheme for imposing the regularization terms, can overcome the ill-posedness nature of the original optimization problem. The computational effort for solving this inverse problem, however, is very significant as it requires repeated calls to the expensive forward problem: an elastodynamic simulation in stiff heterogeneous media. Additional work is needed to speed up the forward problem to be able to perform a more comprehensive evaluation with field data.


This contribution introduces a placement web-service which has been developed in the context of the TENCompetence Integrated Project. The web-service uses Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) to calculate similarity between documents in learner portfolios and content in the current learning network of the learner. In the first part of the paper the placement problem in learning networks is introduced. Next we discuss the architecture of the current web-service prototype and describe our evaluation approach. Several limitations and future developments are discussed at the end of the paper.


Experience learning made easy-and quickly teach yourself how to create dynamic presentations with PowerPoint 2010. With STEP BY STEP, you set the pace-building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Topics include creating great-looking slides using templates or your own designs; creating sophisticated charts and diagrams; using animation, sound, and other special effects; creating presentations simultaneously with others over the Web; delivering presentations; and other core topics.


It is estimated that over 100,000 people die by suicide in India every year. Majority of suicides occur among men and among adolescents. Research and epidemiological studies indicate that suicidal behaviors appear particularly problematic among college students and young adults. Since 1980s, researchers have been interested in the relationship among certain personality traits and suicidal ideation, particularly perfectionism. At the core perfectionism is thought of as: "the irrational belief that you and/or your environment must be perfect, while striving to be the best, to reach the ideal, and to never make a mistake". When perfectionists fail to achieve their unreasonable goals, they turn inward and become excessively self-critical and demoralized; consequently, this endless cycle ultimately leads to lower self-esteem, anxiety and depression, which has led many to postulate that these self-defeating thoughts and negative appraisals may lead to suicidal ideation. In order to explore this relationship between perfectionism, self esteem and suicidal ideation, the present study was conducted. A sample of 100 undergraduate students (40 males; 60 females) were taken. They were administered Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Dr. Randy O. Frost, 1990), Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) (Dr. Morris Rosenberg, 1965) and Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (Dr. William M. Reynolds, 1991). Results revealed significant association among Maladaptive Perfectionism was positively correlated with Suicidal Ideation whereas Self Esteem and Suicidal Ideation were inversely related. Overall findings were in line with the hypothesis formulated.


Scope and Specificity is an investigation of quantifier scope interaction in natural language, with special reference to English and Chinese. In particular, it is concerned with semantic properties of NPs. Quantifier scope plays an important role in current theories of syntax and semantics. However, most studies of quantifier scope are only concerned with the behavior of a small number of quantifiers, e.g. 'every', 'some', 'all'. As a result, the generalizations made on the basis of these quantifiers often do not hold when a wider range of quantifiers is considered. In this study a wide variety of NP types are examined with respect to how they interact with other NPs. The key concept explored is that of semantic scope dependency/independence. NPs are considered according to two properties: whether they can induce scope-dependency and whether they can be scope-dependent. By observing how in basic sentences NPs behave with respect to the two properties, the author presents a picture of quantifier scope much different from what has been assumed in the literature.


Introduction Prenatal and neonatal environmental factors, such as nutrition, microbes and toxicants, may affect health throughout life. Many diseases, such as allergy and impaired child development, may be programmed already in utero or during early infancy. Birth cohorts are important tools to study associations between early life exposure and disease risk. Here, we describe the study protocol of the prospective birth cohort, 'Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment' (NICE). The primary aim of the NICE cohort is to clarify the effect of key environmental exposures—diet, microbes and environmental toxicants—during pregnancy and early childhood, on the maturation of the infant's immune system, including initiation of sensitisation and allergy as well as some secondary outcomes: infant growth, obesity, neurological development and oral health. Methods and analysis The NICE cohort will recruit about 650 families during mid-pregnancy. The principal inclusion criterion will be planned birth at the Sunderby Hospital in the north of Sweden, during 2015–2018. Questionnaires data and biological samples will be collected at 10 time-points, from pregnancy until the children reach 4 years of age. Samples will be collected primarily from mothers and children, and from fathers. Biological samples include blood, urine, placenta, breast milk, meconium, faeces, saliva and hair. Information regarding allergic heredity, diet, socioeconomic status, lifestyle including smoking, siblings, pet ownership, etc will be collected using questionnaires. Sensitisation to common allergens will be assessed by skin prick testing and allergic disease will be diagnosed by a paediatrician at 1 and 4 years of age. At 4 years of age, the children will also be examined regarding growth, neurobehavioural and neurophysiological status and oral health. Ethics and dissemination The NICE cohort has been approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board in Umeå, Sweden (2013/18-31M). Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and communicated on scientific conferences.


Two-dimensional (2D) carrier systems built from semiconductor heterostructures have been at the center of a wide variety of experimental and theoretical research over the past decades. The quality improvement of GaAs/AlGaAs systems has allowed the observation of several peculiar ground states stabilized by the subtle interplay between carrier-carrier interaction, disorder and magnetic field. More recently, 2D systems in semiconductor heterostructures have also been used as a prime substrate for further confinement of the carriers to mesoscopic systems of major interest for the emerging fields of quantum computing and spintronics. This thesis addresses both magnetotransport measurements in hole open quantum dots (QDs) and thermopower studies of 2D holes in (311)A GaAs heterostructures. In the first part of this thesis, we describe the fabrication process for hole GaAs open QDs and investigate their magnetotransport properties at very low temperature T. Below 500 mK, the magnetoconductance of the open QDs exhibits clear signatures of coherent transport, namely magnetoconductance fluctuations and weak anti-localization. From these effects, we extract a T dependence for the dephasing time, together with an upper limit for the spin-orbit scattering time using the random matrix theory. Both the dephasing time and the spin-orbit scattering time are found to be much smaller than for electrons in similar systems. In the second part of this work, we report low-T thermopower measurements in the parallel magnetic field-induced metal-insulator transition (MIT) of 2D GaAs hole heterojunctions with different interface-dependent mobilities. When the magnetic field is increased, the diffusion thermopower decreases across the MIT. The reduction of the diffusion thermopower is more pronounced for the lower mobility sample where it reverses its sign. This behaviour indicates that the system does not undergo any ground state modification through the MIT but rather that the parallel magnetic field induces a dramatic change of the dominant hole scattering mechanisms. Finally, the last part of this thesis is devoted to the thermopower study of the insulating phase (IP) observed in 2D GaAs bilayer hole systems around the total Landau level filling factor n = 1. Our measurements show that the diffusion thermopower diverges with decreasing T in the IP. This divergence of the diffusion thermopower at low T indicates the opening of an energy gap in the system's ground state and suggests the formation of a pinned bilayer hole Wigner crystal around n = 1.


Sorghum is one of the world's most important cereals in terms of total production. Grown largely as livestock feed in the US, sorghum is a primary food staple and source of cash for smallholder farming families in the West African savannah. The dominant type of sorghum produced in this region is the Guinea race, which has unique traits that enable it to adapt well to irregular, uncertain rainfall conditions and resist endemic pests.


Background: DNA extraction is one the most important steps for molecular analysis of food-borne pathogens. In this research, three methods of DNA extractions from beef harboring Sarcocystis spp. were compared for the quality, quantity, safety, as well as cost-effectiveness. Methods: About 100 mg intersostal and diaphragm were collected from 10 slaughtered cattle. After ensuring their contamination with Sarcocyst using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with the specific primer pair, three methods of salting out, PhenolChloroform-Isoamylalcohol (PCI), and commercial kit were performed. Quantification, qualification, and amplification analysis of the extracted DNA was done using spectrophotometer, agarose gel electrophoresis, and PCR, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA test, by SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL software (v.16.0). Results: Qualification in all methods was appropriate but the ones related to salting out and PCI methods were the best in comparison with the ones from commercial kit. Quantification analysis indicated the mean concentration of 249.3±3.94, 67.8±5.1, and 31±2.7 ng/μl for PCI, salting out, and commercial kit, respectively. The purification analysis represented the mean ratios of A (260)/(280), 1.7±0.3, 1.63±0.2, and 1.81±0.6 for PCI, salting out, and commercial kit, respectively. No significant difference (p>0.05) was found between the yielded concentration and purification among three methods. Conclusion: The commercial kit is expensive, but salting out and PCI methods are cost effectiveness, however the last is considered as a toxic method. Because, amplification in all methods was appropriate, we introduced salting out for molecular detection of Sarcocystis in beef.


This article examines gender differences in violent death rates by age and ethnicity. Data of U.S. accident, homicide, and suicide death rates show that males die from violent deaths more often than females at all ages, with African American males having the highest violent death rates of all ethnic groups. Factors that contribute to the higher violent death rate for males include an inherited tendency toward aggression, socialization practices that endorse violence, and an environment that models and supports violence for males. Gender differences in grieving a violent death are also examined, revealing that males and females often utilize different grieving styles. Males favor an instrumental approach and females rely on intuitive grieving styles, but the article suggests that this may not be the healthiest pattern of grieving for all people. It concludes with the hypothesis that a more instrumental approach to grieving might include finding ways to decrease violence in socialization practices and in the environment.


We have examined the subcellular localization of the KH-type Splicing Regulatory Protein (KSRP). KSRP is a multidomain RNA-binding protein implicated in a variety of cellular processes including splicing in the nucleus and mRNA localization in the cytoplasm. We find that KSRP is primarily nuclear with a localization pattern that most closely resembles that of Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein (PTB). Colocalization experiments of KSRP with PTB in a mouse neuroblastoma cell line determined that both proteins are present in the perinucleolar compartment (PNC), as well as in other nuclear enrichments. In contrast, HeLa cells do not show prominent KSRP staining in the PNC, even though PTB labeling identified the PNC in these cells. Since both PTB and KSRP interact with the c-src transcript to affect N1 exon splicing, we examined the localization of the c-src pre-mRNA by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The src transcript is present in specific foci within the nucleus that are presumably sites of src transcription, but are not generally perinucleolar. In normally cultured neuroblastoma cells, these src RNA foci contain PTB, but little KSRP. However, upon induced neuronal differentiation of these cells, KSRP appears in the same foci with src RNA. PTB localization remains unaffected. This differentiation-induced localization of KSRP with src RNA correlates with an increase in src exon N1 inclusion. These results indicate that PTB and KSRP do indeed interact with the c-src transcript in vivo, and that these associations change with the differentiated state of the cell.


In this paper, I present a method for utilizing the usually intrinsic spatial information in spatial data sets to improve the quality of temporal predictions within the framework of singular spectrum analysis (SSA) techniques. The SSA-based techniques constitute a model free approach to time series analysis and ordinarily, SSA can be applied to any time series with a notable structure. Indeed it has a wide area of application including social sciences, medical sciences, finance, environmental sciences, mathematics, dynamical systems and economics. SSA has two broad aims: i) To make a decomposition of the original series into a sum of a small number of independent and interpretable components such as a slowly varying trend, oscillatory components and a structure-less noise. ii) To reconstruct the decomposed series for further analysis in the absence of the noise component. Multivariate singular spectrum analysis (MSSA) is an extension of SSA to multivariate statistics and takes advantage of the delay procedure to obtain a similar formulation as SSA though with larger matrices for multivariate data. In situations where spatial data is an important focus of investigation, it is not uncommon to have attributes whose values change with space and time and an accurate prediction is thus important. The usual question asked is whether the intrinsic location parameters in spatial data can improve data analysis of such data sets. The proposed method is based on the inverse distance technique and is exemplified on climate data from Upper Austria for the period Jan 1994 to Dec 2009. Results show that the proposed technique of incorporating spatial dependence into MSSA analysis leads to improved quality of statistical inference.


Abstract. Water vapor interannual variability in the tropical tropopause
layer (TTL) is investigated using satellite observations and model
simulations. We break down the influences of the Brewer–Dobson circulation
(BDC), the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), and the tropospheric temperature
( ΔT ) on TTL water vapor as a function of latitude and longitude using
a two-dimensional multivariate linear regression. This allows us to examine the
spatial distribution of the impact of each process on TTL water vapor. In
agreement with expectations, we find that the impacts from the BDC and QBO act
on TTL water vapor by changing TTL temperature. For ΔT , we find that
TTL temperatures alone cannot explain the influence. We hypothesize a
moistening role for the evaporation of convective ice from increased deep
convection as the troposphere warms. Tests using a chemistry–climate model,
the Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry Climate Model (GEOSCCM), support this hypothesis.


The goal of this thesis is to examine green public procurement (GPP) practices in Norway with a focus on road transport. In recent years, both in Norway and in the European Union there has been an increased focus on using public procurement to support environmental goals. The most suitable award method for this purpose is MEAT – most economically advantageous tender – which not only considers the price and minimum requirements of a bid but also other quality aspect. Such quality aspects can concern the environment. The use of MEAT as an award method usually requires organisations to adopt scoring rules. This thesis both identifies the extent to which public organisations in Norway consider environmental aspects in tenders and whether optimal scoring rules are applied. For this purpose, we use three data sources. First, two datasets comprised of road related tenders in Norway set the base for our analysis to better understand the status quo and past developments of green public procurement in Norway. Secondly, expert interviews help us explain some of the observations made in the data analysis. Lastly, survey results from public transport organisations in Norway inform us about the current scoring rules used for tenders, and allow comparing them with an existing framework on optimal scoring rules for different preferences. Our results show that there has been an increase in the share of tenders including environmental criteria in the past years and that there are regional, organisational and contractual differences. Northern Norway appears to have the lowest share of road transport related tenders with environmental criteria. Furthermore, tenders published at a county or municipal level are more likely to consider the environment than tenders published at a national level. In terms of contract type, it appears that service contracts have a higher share of environmental criteria than product contracts. Finally, we find that organisations or departments with the sole purpose of procuring road vehicles seem to value environmental criteria at a higher level than organisations where transport tenders are only a part of their value chains. When it comes to the use of scoring rules by public transport organisations in Norway, we identify a mismatch between the organisations' stated preferences regarding tender features and the actual scoring rules that are used. The results of our thesis inform policy makers about current GPP practices in Norway and on which basis they can assess whether the current level is as desired.


Antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV is being scaled up rapidly in resource-limited countries. Treatment options are simplified and standardized, generally with one potent first-line regimen and one potent alternate first-line regimen recommended. Widespread HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) was initially feared, but reports from resource-limited countries suggest that initial ART programmes are as effective as in resource-rich countries, which should limit HIV drug resistance if programme effectiveness continues during scale-up. ART interruptions must be minimized to maintain viral suppression on the first-line regimen for as long as possible. Lack of availability of appropriate second-line drugs is a concern, as is the additional accumulation of resistance mutations in the absence of viral load testing to determine failure. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum-resource strategy for prevention and assessment of HIVDR in resource-limited countries. The WHO's Global Network HIVResNet provides standardized tools, training, technical assistance, laboratory quality assurance, analysis of results and recommendations for guidelines and public health action. National strategies focus on assessments to guide immediate public health action to improve ART programme effectiveness in minimizing HIVDR and to guide regimen selection. Globally, WHO HIVResNet collects and analyses data to support evidence-based international policies and guidelines. Financial support is provided by major international organizations and technical support from HIVDR experts worldwide. As of December 2007, 25 countries were planning or implementing the strategy; seven countries report results in this supplement.


In this paper we present a reconfigurable device which significantly improves the execution time of the most computational intensive functions of three of the most widely used face recognition algorithms; those tasks multiply very large dense matrices. The presented architecture utilizes numerous digital signal processing units (DSPs) organized in a parallel manner within a state-of-the-art FPGA device. In order to accelerate those functions we have implemented a ldquoblockedrdquo matrix multiplication algorithm which multiplies certain sub-matrices of fixed-point 32-bit numbers; the size of the sub-matrices has been selected so as to fully exploit the resources of the underlying reconfigurable device. Our system is up to 550 times faster than a conventional general purpose processor when implementing the most CPU intensive parts of a number of very widely used face identification schemes, whereas it is more than 40 times faster than the similar schemes implemented in reconfigurable devices. Moreover, our system is general enough so as to be efficiently utilized in any application incorporating fixed-point matrix multiplications.


Sri Lanka's demographic transition has significantly shaped the age distribution of the labor force and created a large working age population (World Bank 2008). Changing cohort sizes of young and old workers not only affect their own labor market outcomes (job quality, earnings), but also potentially affect growth prospects in the economy. Recovering from a 30-year conflict in the North and the East, Sri Lanka aims to accelerate growth in the medium term by substantially increasing investments. What will be the role of the labor market in delivering this growth? The service sector is expanding and accounts for nearly 60 percent of the Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and almost 40 percent of employment. However, only 56 percent of the working age population is employed, a result of low participation and high unemployment rates among women and youth. Any growth strategy will have to bring in more working age people, particularly women, into economic activity. The paper is organized as follows. The two sections that follow present an overview of the supply and demand side of the labor market. The next section discusses the ways in which the demographic transition could shape the labor market, particularly in terms of unemployment and earnings. This discussion is followed by three sections examining labor force participation and unemployment, job type, and earnings respectively. The last section concludes with some policy recommendations.


1 Transitions between major vegetation types, such as the tree line, are useful systems for monitoring the response of vegetation to climate change. Tree lines have, however, shown equivocal responses to such change. 2 Tree lines are considered to be primarily thermally controlled, although recent work has highlighted the importance of biotic factors. Dispersal limitation and the invasibility of the tundra matrix have been implicated and here we propose herbivory as an additional control at some tree lines. 3 We propose a conceptual model in which differing relative impacts of foliage consumption, availability of establishment sites, trampling, dispersal and seed predation can lead to very different tree‐line responses. 4 The presence of large numbers of small trees above the current tree line at a site in northern Sweden that experiences limited reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) herbivory suggests range expansion. Other locations in the same region with higher reindeer populations have considerably fewer small trees, suggesting that range expansion is occurring much more slowly, if at all. 5 The use of tree lines as indicators of climate change is confounded by the activity of herbivores, which may either strengthen or nullify the impacts of a changed climate. Similar arguments are likely to be applicable to other ecotones.


Abstract. The Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra (IGB) river basins provide about 900 million
people with water resources used for agricultural, domestic, and industrial
purposes. These river basins are marked as "climate change hotspots", where
climate change is expected to affect monsoon dynamics and the amount of
meltwater from snow and ice, and thus the amount of water available.
Simultaneously, rapid and continuous population growth as well as strong
economic development will likely result in a rapid increase in water demand.
Since quantification of these future trends is missing, it is rather
uncertain how the future South Asian water gap will develop. To this end, we
assess the combined impacts of climate change and socio-economic development
on the future "blue" water gap in the IGB until the end of the 21st
century. We apply a coupled modelling approach consisting of the distributed
cryospheric–hydrological model SPHY, which simulates current and future
upstream water supply, and the hydrology and crop production model LPJmL,
which simulates current and future downstream water supply and demand. We
force the coupled models with an ensemble of eight representative downscaled
general circulation models (GCMs) that are selected from the RCP4.5 and
RCP8.5 scenarios, and a set of land use and socio-economic scenarios that are
consistent with the shared socio-economic pathway (SSP) marker scenarios 1
and 3. The simulation outputs are used to analyse changes in the water
availability, supply, demand, and gap. The outcomes show an increase in
surface water availability towards the end of the 21st century, which can
mainly be attributed to increases in monsoon precipitation. However, despite
the increase in surface water availability, the strong socio-economic
development and associated increase in water demand will likely lead to an
increase in the water gap during the 21st century. This indicates that
socio-economic development is the key driver in the evolution of the future
South Asian water gap. The transgression of future environmental flows will
likely be limited, with sustained environmental flow requirements during the
monsoon season and unmet environmental flow requirements during the low-flow
season in the Indus and Ganges river basins.


Running high-resolution physical models is computationally expensive and essential for many disciplines. Agriculture, transportation, and energy are sectors that depend on high-resolution weather models, which typically consume many hours of large High Performance Computing (HPC) systems to deliver timely results. Many users cannot afford to run the desired resolution and are forced to use low resolution output. One simple solution is to interpolate results for visualization. It is also possible to combine an ensemble of low resolution models to obtain a better prediction. However, these approaches fail to capture the redundant information and patterns in the low-resolution input that could help improve the quality of prediction. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a strategy based on a deep neural network to learn a high-resolution representation from low-resolution predictions using weather forecast as a practical use case. We take a supervised learning approach, since obtaining labeled data can be done automatically. Our results show significant improvement when compared with standard practices and the strategy is still lightweight enough to run on modest computer systems.


An experimental method based on subpicosecond pulse amplification in excimer gain modules for simultaneously generating both ultrafast, energetic UV excitation pulses and ultrafast UV probe continua is described. Subpicosecond pulses at both 308 and 248 nm, with energies of several millijoules at each wavelength, are available from this apparatus for purposes of excitation. A simultaneously generated probe continuum spans the range ~450 to ~235 nm. Both the probe continuum and the seed pulses for amplification at 248 nm are produced by focusing 308-nm pulses into high-pressure gases (Ar and H2, respectively). A deduced multiple-pulse structure in the probe continuum limits the time resolution of the apparatus to ~1 psec.


The aim of this paper is to present efficient algorithms for the detection of multiple targets in noisy images of a finite region. The algorithms are based on the optimal filter of a multidimensional Markov chain signal. Simulations are used to illustrate the efficiency of the method for detecting the positions of the many targets moving on a torus.


The immune system can remember, sometimes for a lifetime, the identity of a pathogen. Understanding how this is accomplished has fascinated immunologists and microbiologists for many years, but there is still considerable debate regarding the mechanisms by which long-term immunity is maintained. Some of the controversy stems from a failure to distinguish between effector and memory cells and to define their roles in conferring protection against disease. Here the current understanding of the cellular basis of immune memory is reviewed and the relative contributions made to protective immunity by memory and effector T and B cells are examined.


Objective Tofacitinib is an oral, small-molecule Janus kinase inhibitor that is being investigated for IBD. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib for induction and maintenance treatment in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (CD). Design We conducted two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre phase IIb studies. Adult patients with moderate-to-severe CD were randomised to receive induction treatment with placebo, tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily for 8 weeks. Those achieving clinical response-100 or remission were re-randomised to maintenance treatment with placebo, tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily for 26 weeks. Primary endpoints were clinical remission at the end of the induction study, and clinical response-100 or remission at the end of the maintenance study. Results 180/280 patients randomised in the induction study were enrolled in the maintenance study. At week 8 of induction, the proportion of patients with clinical remission was 43.5% and 43.0% with 5 and 10 mg twice daily, respectively, compared with 36.7% in the placebo group (p=0.325 and 0.392 for 5 and 10 mg twice daily vs placebo). At week 26 of maintenance, the proportion of patients with clinical response-100 or remission was 55.8% with tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily compared with 39.5% with tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily and 38.1% with placebo (p=0.130 for 10 mg twice daily vs placebo). Compared with placebo, the change in C-reactive protein from baseline was statistically significant (p<0.0001) with 10 mg twice daily after both induction and maintenance treatments. Conclusions Primary efficacy endpoints were not significantly different from placebo, although there was evidence of a minor treatment effect. No new safety signals were observed for tofacitinib. Trial registration numbers NCT01393626 and NCT01393899.


Cotton is a crop that underwent continuous technology and policy shifts over period of time, and thus is a test case through which one can examine the changes in the growth and associated instability. The major technology and policy changes cotton cultivation saw include the commercial hybrids' introduction in late 1960s, diffusion in 1970s and 80s supported by favourable public policy, emergence of new constraints in cotton cultivation in technological and institutional fronts in 1990s and introduction of genetically modified cotton during early years of the last decade. This study reveals that shifts in technology and policy are associated with distinct changes in major agricultural parameters like growth and instability of area, production and yield. National cotton production stagnated during pre-hybrid phase, exhibited significant and positive growth during the early hybrid phase ushered in by public sector, and showed stagnation again during the late hybrid phase. This was followed by significant positive growth during the Bt phase. This trend was in tandem with the trends in yield as well. The pattern of growth in area, production and yield was closely associated with instability also – generally low during the pre-hybrid phase, increased substantially during the early hybrid phase, but fell during the late hybrid phase and exacerbated during the Bt phase.


abstract Feminist anthropologists have shown how women's bodies have been appropriated and rendered 'docile' by so called cultural or traditional practices, as well as by discourse. The compelled docility of African women (as that of other women in the global south), is perhaps especially visible within subtly coerced performances within a context of 'traditional' masculinised practices, such as unprotected sex, that leave many African women vulnerable and forced to negotiate a host of health concerns around sexually transmitted diseases and of course HIV/AIDS. This is to be seen as a form of violence perpetrated by men against their female partners. However, in probing condom use through a qualitative study with a small group of women, we notice that it is not simply a case of discerning patterns of hegemonic masculinities in relation to condom use or non-use, and that masculinities are also propped up and held together by the relational configurations of practice formed by (mutual) gender relations.


The impact of the European presence in Iroquoian lands began to be strongly felt during the seventeenth century. The spread of epidemics, the participation of Iroquoian groups in the fur trade and the emerging world capitalist market, and the conversion of Natives to Christianity were among the numerous ramifications of Iroquois- European interaction during this period of nascent globalization. The goal of the dissertation is to investigate the extent to which traditional household-level patterns of social structure and economic organization changed or endured in the face of European contact, as well as how these processes impacted Iroquois gender relations and roles. The research project involved archaeological investigations of the Rogers Farm site, a Cayuga Iroquois village near Savannah, New York, dating from the 1660s to the 1680s. By the time of the site's occupation, the Iroquois had already experienced close to a century of interaction with Europeans. In addition, the village was the site of the Jesuit mission of St. Rene. The archaeological evidence recovered from Rogers Farm revealed both change and persistence in traditional household organization and domestic activities. Primary findings include: (1) a decrease in household size; (2) a decline in the importance of matrilineality and matrilocality in determining household membership; and (3) changes in household production and consumption of durable goods; but (4) continuity in household distribution of food resources. Although households contracted and were differently defined, they continued to operate cooperatively and carried out many of the same functions as prior to the Contact period. Members of the community took part in exchange with Europeans and incorporated new objects into their inventory of material culture, but the local-level economy remained based on reciprocal obligations. Lastly, neither the men nor the women of Rogers Farm were able to escape the consequences of the encroaching European presence in their lands. Men and women exercised different patterns in the selective adoption of European goods and in maintaining traditional technologies and productive activities. Although they experienced the effects of European interaction differently in their daily lives, they continued to play complementary roles in the newly reorganized economic endeavors of the period.


The 6-billion human population provides a vast reservoir of mutations, which, in addition to the opportunity of detecting very subtle defects, including specific cognitive dysfunctions as well as late appearing disorders, offers a unique background in which to investigate the roles of cell-cell adhesion proteins. Here we focus on inherited human disorders involving members of the cadherin superfamily. Most of the advances concern monogenic disorders. Yet, with the development of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association studies, cadherin genes are emerging as susceptibility genes in multifactorial disorders. Various skin and heart disorders revealed the critical role played by desmosomal cadherins in epidermis, hairs, and myocardium, which experience high mechanical stress. Of particular interest in that respect is the study of Usher syndrome type 1 (USH1), a hereditary syndromic form of deafness. Studies of USH1 brought to light the crucial role of transient fibrous links formed by cadherin 23 and protocadherin 15 in the cohesion of the developing hair bundle, the mechanoreceptive structure of the auditory sensory cells, as well as the involvement of these cadherins in the formation of the tip-link, a key component of the mechano-electrical transduction machinery. Finally, in line with the well-established role of cadherins in synaptic formation, maintenance, strength, and plasticity, a growing number of cadherin family members, especially protocadherins, have been found to be involved in neuropsychiatric disorders.


At 3,609 m. (11,840 ft.) elevation in the White Mountains of Eastern California is a site containing 216 rock features consisting of cairns, pits, and other stacked-rock constructions but very few artifacts. Two obsidian bifaces, two milling tools, and lichenometric dating point towards site occupation between 440 and 190 cal B.P., contemporaneous with the White Mountains Village Pattern, which was marked by intensive seasonal occupations of multi-family groups in the alpine ecozone of the range. Though the site's features are similar to facilities associated with artiodactyl hunting across the American West, their diversity, abundance, and distribution are more consistent with ceremonially-oriented sites on the Plains, in the Mojave Desert, and especially on the Plateau. This, in conjunction with the site's setting, suggests that there were ritual functions associated with the site, and that the ceremonial use of high-altitudes has been overlooked in the region's research history.


Environmental mercury methylation appears modulated by sulfide concentrations, possibly via changes in mercury availability to sulfate reducing bacteria, the major agents of this process in aquatic systems. Consequently, there has been much recent interest in quantifying the chemical speciation and lipid solubility of mercury in the presence of sulfide and of polysulfides, which form by reaction of sulfide with elemental sulfur or as intermediates in sulfur cycling. We quantify a large increase in the solubility of cinnabar (HgS(s)) in the presence of elemental sulfur, particularly at high pH. Based on our data and those of Paquette and Helz, we propose that the complex, Hg(Sx)22-, dominates the speciation of Hg(II) in such waters. At lower sulfide concentrations and at high pH, the data are best fitted by considering also the formation of the species HgSxOH-. Octanol−water distribution (Dow) experiments confirm the charged nature of the dominant mercury−polysulfide complexes and imply the presence of a m...


Previous studies (Sofia, 1998; 2002; Turner & Hovenden, 1997; Weinstein, 1998) discussed the power relations surrounding the advertisements for computers in computing magazines, in particular deconstructing the imagery and text which manifested the dominant digital discourse of power (Millar, 1998). In these studies, the authors found that women were positioned as incapable and impotent users of computers.  The authors examined a number of New Zealand and Australian home computing magazines published in 2003 and 2004, looking for evidence of the gendered nature of technology or examples of any form which would constitute discrimination against women or other identity categories. The purpose of this research was to determine whether previous arguments were still relevant and current, or whether advertisements had changed to accommodate populist understandings of gender and cultural equity, or reflect improved power relations between the sexes. In this paper we have explored the findings of a study, which, although small in scale, raises larger questions concerning the 'new' ways in which issues of gender influence advertising focused on computers. Whilst there has been a significant reduction in overtly sexist texts, hegemonic understandings of masculinity and femininity nevertheless continue to structure mainstream advertisements with women routinely positioned in passive, non-expert or very limited kinds of roles. The extent to which this imagery reflects broader social patterns regarding the re-emergence of traditional portrayals of women and men in the media more generally will be the subject of future studies.


This is my Masters of Research (MRes) dissertation, successfully submitted to Sheffield Hallam University in May 2010.

It is the origin point for my recent papers on 'bunkerology' and provides greater detail on the nature and process of my empirical study of the practices of ROC Post explorers via their on-line accounts. It also provides a discussion of the study from the point of view of research ethics, research design choices and the epistemology and ontology of the 'subject' of my study.

Inevitably, the passage of time and thought throws up issues that could have been dealt with more extensively, differently, or at all.

The absence of any consideration of gender was noted by my dissertation's examiners. I am addressing that separately.

Other tangents left on the 'cutting room floor' in the dissertation writing process have either seen light separately (my paper 'the Bunker' looking at the interplay of the materiality and metaphor of these structures in organisational culture) or are being worked up into future outputs.

Photographs and accounts extracted from 28dayslater.co.uk are used with the permission of 'Turkey' at 28dayslater but all opinions and interpretations about their content are my own.

I'm interested in any feedback - and whether from urban explorers, premises owners or academics.

Luke Bennett

firstname.lastname@example.com


Mangrove communities provide habitat for many terrestrial and aquatic species and act as nurseries and breeding grounds for fish, crustaceans, and birds. They also protect coastal areas from erosion and storm events. However, globally 35% of mangrove habitat has been degraded or destroyed, making mangroves one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth. Thus, there is a demand for methods to restore mangrove habitats successfully. The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) is often associated with other marsh plants. We investigated whether two marsh plants (Batis maritima, Sarcocornia perennis) act as nurse plants and increase R. mangle success by altering seedling biomass production (aboveground and belowground) under greenhouse conditions and by improving shoreline stabilization, thus increasing survival and retention of R. mangle in the field. To test these goals, we ran a replicated experiment at the University of Central Florida greenhouse to determine whether the marsh plants had negative, positive, or neutral impacts on R. mangle and examined if marsh plants increased survival and retention of R. mangle at Castle Windy shell midden in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida. Based on our experiments, S. perennis and B. maritima do not act as nurse plants for R. mangle, since the marsh plants had no statistically significant impact on R. mangle total dry weight, change in height, final height, leaf count, field survival, or retention. However, our marsh plants had less biomass than naturally occurring meadows found in the field. Additional field research is needed to determine if meadows of S. perennis and B. maritima will facilitate R. mangle success.


Many of the Supreme Court's important standing cases have involved environmental disputes. Most recently, in 2010, the Court again addressed standing in an environmental dispute, Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms. In Monsanto, the Court did not announce a new standing doctrine. Nevertheless, the Court recognized that an environmental plaintiff may sue without proof of actual environmental harm if it can demonstrate that he or she may suffer economic losses from testing and mitigation measures related to a threatened harm. During the oral argument in Monsanto, Justice Scalia expressed skepticism that the plaintiffs could prove that the petitioners' sale of genetically modified alfalfa seed would cross-contaminate the plaintiffs' farms, which used conventional alfalfa seed. Yet he ultimately joined the majority opinion with, among others, Justice Ginsburg, with whom he had disagreed in previous environmental standing decisions. Plaintiffs can raise both claims of environmental harm and property losses as separate grounds to establish a personal injury sufficient for standing. In some cases, as will be discussed below regarding Monsanto, a plaintiff's claim that a defendant's actions have caused him or her economic harm may be easier to prove than establishing an environmental injury. For example, although he has often demanded greater proof of environmental harm to establish standing than other members of the Court, Justice Scalia in his dissenting opinion in Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. (Laidlaw) was willing to consider the possibility that an environmental plaintiff could establish standing without proof of environmental injury if he or she could show property loss from a threatened environmental injury. By contrast, his dissenting opinion in Laidlaw had rejected the plaintiffs' "reasonable concerns" about a threatened environmental injury as insufficient for standing. Based on his dissenting opinion in Laidlaw, the most plausible explanation for Justice Scalia's joining the majority opinion in Monsanto is that he concluded that the plaintiffs-respondents' claims of indirect economic harms were plausible even if he remained skeptical regarding their claims of potential environmental harms from the possibility of cross-contamination of seeds. In future cases, the Monsanto decision may be cited as precedent for standing by environmental plaintiffs who can make a plausible showing of economic injury even in cases where it may be difficult to prove an actual environmental harm to the plaintiffs.