Aim The uptake pathway of liposomes into cells is mainly via endocytosis or membrane fusion; however, the relationship between the uptake pathway and the intracellular pharmacokinetics of the liposome components remains unclear. This study aimed at revealing the relationship by using cationic liposomes having similar physical properties and different uptake pathways. Materials and Methods We prepared cationic liposomes composed of amino acid-type lipids, K3C14 and K3C16, which have different uptake pathways by a hydration method, and fluorescently modified them by encapsulating FITC-dextran and surface conjugation with Alexa Fluor® 488 (AF488). Then, we investigated their intracellular distribution in HeLa cells over time. Results The liposomes had similar physical properties and did not cause significant cell mortality after treatment for 180 min. The delivery rate and efficiency of encapsulated FITC-dextran with the fusogenic K3C16 liposomes were 3 and 1.6 times higher, respectively, than with the endocytic K3C14 liposomes. FITC-dextran molecules delivered with K3C16 liposomes were observed throughout the cytosolic space after 10 min, while those delivered with K3C14 liposomes were mainly observed as foci and took 60 min to diffuse into the cytosolic space. K3C14 lipids modified with AF488 were distributed mostly in the cytosolic space. In contrast, fluorescently labeled K3C16 lipids were colocalized with the plasma membrane of 50% of the HeLa cells after 10 min and were gradually internalized intracellularly. Conclusion Fusogenic K3C16 liposomes internalized into HeLa cells faster than endocytic K3C14 liposomes, and their components differently distributed in the cells.


Based on a literature study and experiments the copper corrosion mechanism is subdivided into three processes: copper oxidation, deposition of corrosion by-products, and establishment of a solubility equilibrium. This approach is applied to explain the results of a study on the influence of temperature on copper dissolution and deposition of copper corrosion by-products. Changes in water quality are monitored by regular sampling, qualitative and quantitative changes of surface layers are studied using computer-supported light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.


AbstractAs a rule, people have related to the external (political or security) difficulties impeding the peace process since the signing of the Oslo agreement. At the basis of this approach lies the assumption that when these difficulties are solved, the psychological difficulties of the individual that may delay the actualization of this most beautiful vision—a real peace between us and our Arab neighbors—will disappear by themselves. Therefore, there is no real need to relate to them at this stage. In this article, we try to undermine this basic assumption. By using narrative analysis of an interview with a student—an officer who spent most of his regular army service in suppression of the Intifada—we try to demonstrate the discourse through which the young Israeli confronts the question of his identity in connection to relations with the Palestinians. The officer (we call him Adi) was chosen because the interview with him exemplifies many of the issues that came up also in other interviews with young Israelis who were involved in the Intifada. The interview demonstrates both the positive qualities as well as the major problems that we found in the other interviews. Throughout the entire interview, we encounter Adi's attempts to maintain his interpretative system even when it no longer matches the reality within which he is acting. (Behavioral Sciences)


Dr. Thomas H. Weller, MD, was an American virologist and paediatrician who was jointly awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Dr. John F. Enders and Dr. Frederick C. Robbins for discovering a method to culture poliovirus in various tissues. The method transformed the field of virology and led to the discovery of many vaccines.

Keywords:

Enders;
Neva;
Nobel Prize;
parasitology;
poliomyelitis;
Robbins;
rubella;
tissue culture;
tropical medicine;
virology


This paper reports our design, and implementation of an automatic lecture-room camera-management system. The motivation for building this system is to facilitate online lecture access and reduce the expense of producing high quality lecture videos. The goal of this project is a camera-management system that can perform as a human video-production team. To achieve this goal, our system collects audio/video signals available in the lecture room and uses the multimodal information to direct our video cameras to interesting events. Compared to previous work--which has tended to be technology centric--we started with interviews with professional video producers and used their knowledge and expertise to create video production rules. We then targeted technology components that allowed us to implement a substantial portion of these rules, including the design of a virtual video director, a speaker cinematographer, and an audience cinematographer. The complete system is installed in parallel with a human-operated video production system in a middle-sized corporate lecture room, and used for broadcasting lectures through the web. The system¡*s performance was compared to that of a human operator via a user study. Results suggest that our system's quality is close to that of a human-controlled system.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of our study was to evaluate MRI total lung volumes (TLV) for predicting outcome in fetuses with genitourinary abnormalities and to compare lung volumes with the presence or absence of oligohydramnios.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fetuses with genitourinary abnormalities underwent blinded retrospective calculation of TLV. Distribution of the TLV-gestational age ratios for survivors and nonsurvivors were compared using the Wilcoxon's rank sum test. Lung volume calculation was compared with the presence or absence of oligohydramnios.

RESULTS
There were 21 survivor and 24 nonsurvivor outcomes based on neonatal discharge. TLV-gestational age ratios were significantly different between the survivor and nonsurvivor groups (p = 0.0001). No apparent difference was seen until after 26 weeks of gestation. TLV-gestational age ratios were equal to the presence or absence of oligohydramnios in predicting outcome after 26 weeks of gestation.

CONCLUSION
After 26 weeks' gestation, the prediction of outcome in fetal genitourinary abnormalities using the MRI TLV-gestational age ratio is comparable to the presence or absence of oligohydramnios.


Vallecula is a term that means depression in something. The epiglottic vallecula consists of a small mucosa lined depression (vallecula) located at the base of the tongue just between the folds of the throat on either side of the median glossoepiglottic fold. It is usually not seen by the naked eye as it is far back and deep at the root of the tongue. The function of the "depression" is to serve as a trap for saliva and occasionally food. Trapping the saliva in the vallecula prevents the swallowing reflex. At night, when a person is asleep, the vallecula traps the saliva so that the swallowing reflex is not constantly triggered.


Among cellular organisms, symbiotic bacteria provide the extreme examples of genome degradation and reduction. However, only isolated snapshots of eroding symbiont genomes have previously been available. We documented the dynamics of symbiont genome evolution by sequencing seven strains of Buchnera aphidicola from pea aphid hosts. We estimated a spontaneous mutation rate of at least 4 × 10–9 substitutions per site per replication, which is more than 10 times as high as the rates previously estimated for any bacteria. We observed a high rate of small insertions and deletions associated with abundant DNA homopolymers, and occasional larger deletions. Although purifying selection eliminates many mutations, some persist, resulting in ongoing loss of genes and DNA from this already tiny genome. Our results provide a general model for the stepwise process leading to genome reduction.


In response to the failure of U.S. copyright law to protect foreign authors, nineteenth-century American publishers evolved an informal practice called the "courtesy of the trade" as a way to mitigate the public goods problem posed by a large and ever-growing commons of foreign works. Trade courtesy was a shared strategy for regulating potentially destructive competition for these free resources, an informal arrangement among publishers to recognize each other's wholly synthetic exclusive rights in otherwise unprotected writings and to pay foreign authors legally uncompelled remuneration for the resulting American editions. Courtesy was, in effect, a makeshift copyright regime grounded on unashamed trade collusion and community-based norms.
This Article examines a particular feature of this informal system: the courtesy paratext. Typically appearing in the form of letters or statements by foreign authors, courtesy paratexts prefaced numerous American editions of foreign works published from the 1850s to the 1890s. These paratexts — supplements to the text proper — played a prohibitory role (not unlike the standard copyright notice) and also extolled the regulating and remunerating virtues of the courtesy system. Authorial paratexts continued to accompany texts well into the twentieth century — including, notably, American editions of James Joyce's and J.R.R. Tolkien's works — and enable us to observe the principles of courtesy as they operated less overtly to govern American publishers' treatment of unprotected foreign works. A little-examined source for understanding the history of copyright law and informal publishing norms, courtesy paratexts offer insight into a form of private ordering that rendered the American public domain a paying commons.


Rehabilitation is important for patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) to improve health outcomes and quality of life. However, adherence to current exercise programmes in cardiac rehabilitation is limited. We present the design and development of a Decision Support System (DSS) for telerehabilitation, aiming to enhance exercise programmes for CVD patients through ensuring their safety, personalising the programme according to their needs and performance, and motivating them toward meeting their physical activity goals. The DSS processes data originated from a Microsoft Kinect camera, a blood pressure monitor, a heart rate sensor and questionnaires, in order to generate a highly individualised exercise programme and improve patient adherence. Initial results within the EU-funded PATHway project show the potential of our approach.


The paper presents a system architecture, which enables distributed implementation of measuring systems featuring multi-user access, geographically distributed data acquisition and parallel data processing. A distinguishing feature of the architecture is the scaleability: measuring (data processing, control) systems ranging from single-processor to networked symmetric multiprocessor implementations can be built up using the proposed architecture as a backbone-without modification the source code (except configuration data). The open standards based components provide great degree of hardware and software platform independence.


To prevent soiling of marble exposed outdoors, the use of TiO2 nano-particles has been proposed in the literature by two main routes, both raising durability issues: (i) direct application to marble surface, with the risk of particle leaching by rainfall; (ii) particle incorporation into inorganic or organic coatings, with the risk of organic coating degradation catalyzed by TiO2 photoactivity. Here, we investigated the combination of nano-TiO2 and hydroxyapatite (HAP), previously developed for marble protection against dissolution in rain and mechanical consolidation. HAP-TiO2 combination was investigated by two routes: (i) sequential application of HAP followed by nano-TiO2 ("H+T"); (ii) simultaneous application by introducing nano-TiO2 into the phosphate solution used to form HAP ("HT"). The self-cleaning ability was evaluated before and after prolonged exposure to simulated rain. "H+T" and "HT" coatings exhibited much better resistance to nano-TiO2 leaching by rain, compared to TiO2 alone. In "H+T" samples, TiO2 nano-particles adhere better to HAP (having flower-like morphology and high specific surface area) than to marble. In "HT" samples, thanks to chemical bonds between nano-TiO2 and HAP, the particles are firmly incorporated in the HAP coating, which protects them from leaching by rain, without diminishing their photoactivity and without being degraded by them.


Eleven species of planktic Ostracoda were collected by the Italian Antarctic Expedition of 1989-1990 from the region south of New Zealand in the Southern Ocean to the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Of these species, only Proceroecia rivoltella n.sp. (described herein) and Gigantocypris muelleri were not recorded by Deevey (1982) from much the same area. Depth distributions are given for the more commonly encountered taxa, Alacia belgicae, A. hettacra, Boroecia antipoda, Metaconchoecia skogsbergi and M. isocheira. Much of the total Ostracoda density at each station is due to the dominance of A. hettacra at lower latitudes and A. belgicae at higher latitudes. The near identity with Deevey's records confirms that the planktic ostracodes of far southern latitudes are now reasonably well known, at least to depths less than 1000 m.


Abstract The studies global warming problem conducted in education discipline in the world and in Turkey were analysed for this study. The literature was reviewed extensively especially through the articles in the indexed journals of Ebsco Host, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis and Web of Science databases and this study was conducted according to the descriptive method. 62 scientific publications about global warming which were published between the years 1992 and 2009 were included in the research. The articles obtained as a result of this review process were analyzed by taking the aims, results and the education levels into consideration. As a result of the research, some studies which didn't complement one another both in the world and in Turkey were encountered. However, for the most part the studies conducted had similar purposes and they had the same results. Descriptive studies introduced that similar misconceptions related to global warming existed in all levels of education and the media had negative effects during this process. Experimental studies revealed that the education methods where the students are active, visual materials and social activities outside the school were more effective methods in educating more conscious students about global warming. Key Words Global warming, Greenhouse Effect, Environment Education Phenomenon such as the rapid population growth, industrialisation, urbanisation, and exploitation of natural resources implicitly cause a lot of negative effects on natural balance and these problems cause environmental problems to occur (Yildiz, Sipahioglu, & Yilmaz, 2000). Global warming is the primary environmental issue that is encountered today. Global warming can be defined as the gradual increase in the earth's surface temperature because greenhouse gases, such as CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane), H2O (water vapor), and fluorinated gases let the heat from the Sun into the atmosphere but partially prevent the heat escape back into the atmosphere (Lynas, 2008). Global warming, which causes the climate system change as a result of the greenhouse effect is the most important environmental issue which emerged because of the human beings (scientific, political, economic and ethical fields) and it is a much debated question of the 21st century (Schreiner, Henriksen, & Hansen, 2005). Global warming affects not only the countries which cause the release of these gases but also all the regions on the earth. When the recent past is analysed, a lot of devastating natural events have been witnessed in a lot of continents ranging from America to Europe, Asia to Antarctica. The increase in the number and in the strength of hurricanes and typhoons in the States and Japan, the rapid melting of glaciers at the poles, fighting floods in the south of Asia, the unexpected destruction caused by the forest fires in Australia led to the deathes of a lot of people and a considerable amount of material damage (Lynas, 2008). There is not only political, economic and technological search for the solutions of environmental problems such as global warming but also the increasing number of the educated individuals who are aware of environmental problems and who know which precautions to be taken to prevent them is extremely important. Therefore, "environmental education investment" made for our children must be perceived as an investment made for the world (Atasoy & Erturk, 2008; Bozkurt & Cansungu, 2002; Yilmaz, Morgil, Aktug, & Gobekli, 2002). When a lot of descriptive and experimental studies conducted in the world and Turkey are taken into consideration, it is considered that the collection of these studies under common terms after being analysed will fill the gap in the literature and pave the way for the other studies to be conducted. The studies which were carried out in the world and in Turkey and which were indexed by the journals of important databases were analysed for this study and it was done so with the purpose of informing students and forming a conscious society. …


Purpose The effects of regularizing priors on the maximum likelihood (ML) reconstruction of activity patterns in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) were assessed. Methods Two edge‐preserving priors (one originally proposed by Nuyts et al. and nowadays implemented and commercialized by General Electric Medical Systems as Q.Clear software, and a second one originally proposed by Rapisarda et al. and our group) were assessed and compared to a standard Ordered Subset (OS)‐ML reconstruction, assumed as reference. The main difference between the two priors is that Nuyts prior (NY‐p) penalizes relative voxel differences while Rapisarda prior (RP‐p) absolute ones. Prior parameters were selected by imposing a reference noise texture inside uniform regions with activity comparable to that measured in 18F‐FluoroDeoxyGlucose (FDG) patient livers overall the field of view. Comparisons were then made: (a) on phantom data in terms of sphere recovery coefficients, ability to correctly reconstruct uniform irregularly shaped objects and heterogeneous patterns in patient backgrounds; (b) on patient data in terms of lesion detectability and image quality. Results On phantoms, both priors succeeded in improving all the assessed features with respect to standard OS‐ML reconstruction, mainly thanks to the better signal convergence and to the noise breakup control. On 10 mm spheres, an average recovery coefficient augment of 9% (NY‐p) and 34% (RP‐p) was obtained; homogeneity of uniform activity objects augmented of 4% (NY‐p) and 11% (RP‐p); accuracy in reconstructing heterogeneous lesions improved on average of 5% (NY‐p) and 15% (RP‐p). On patients, lesion detectability resulted improved (on 27 of 30 lesions), regardless of lesion anatomical districts and position in the scanner field of view. NY‐p provides a spatial resolution and a noise texture more uniform in the field of view and an image quality similar to standard OS‐ML. RP‐p has instead a behavior more dependent on the local counting statistics that imposes a trade‐off between spatial resolution uniformity and noise texture homogeneity. Conclusions The assessed regularizing priors improve PET uptake pattern reconstruction accuracy. Therefore, they should be considered both for oncological lesion detection and uptake spatial distribution assessment. Pitfalls and open challenges are also discussed.


This paper draws on case studies undertaken in doctoral research at AUT University. It seeks to address a number of issues related to inquiries employed by graphic design students who use autobiographic approaches when developing research-based theses. When employed as a framework, autobiographic inquiries offer a rewarding yet challenging system for connecting investigation with the researcher's personal experience. This paper provides a discussion of the nature, advantages and challenges of autobiographic research in relation to three recent PhD theses in graphic design. Through this, it seeks to provide a useful reflection on cautions and opportunities inherent in the methodology.


ABSTRACT A personal relationship with God is central to Evangelical belief. It unfolds as believers interpret internal sensations as coming from outside—from God. How does the formulaic design of testimonies present the audience with a personal relationship with God as a pursuit that is both feasible and deeply desirable? Analyzing the discursive rules structuring the appearance of emotion in the most popular testimonies on the online platform of Christianity Today reveals that such texts expertly present a microcosm in which the experience of reading mirrors the trajectory toward belief writers describe. To read a testimony from start to finish, readers must choose to tolerate the unfamiliar: that is, feel emotions that specifically belong in an Evangelical frame. Online written testimony relies on compelling storytelling to move readers, making them practise what it feels like to hand over part of one's own story to God.


Job shop scheduling problems are computationally complex combinatorial optimization problems. Genetic algorithms have been used in various forms and in combination with other algorithms to solve job shop scheduling problems. A partially flexible job shop with precedence constraints increases this complex behaviour. There are two main parts to optimizing a job shop, the routing and the scheduling. The objective here is to get consistent optimal makespan using a genetic algorithm. This paper firstly, presents a representation of the considered partially flexible job shop scheduling problem, which helps take into account the precedence constraints and reduce situations of deadlock. It starts with the genetic crossovers for routing and then a random shuffle technique is used for scheduling the problem. The computational results have shown that the algorithm performs well in terms of finding a consistent optimal schedule for the given problem.


This thesis investigates the experiences of twelve strong, articulate and thoughtful tama Samoa (Samoan boys) through their participation in secondary schools and lives outside the classroom and through the stories of others. The study looked at how the students enacted their identities as Samoans, as learners and as young men who are anticipating the future. The study is premised on the view that Pacific identities are fluid, diverse, multi-dimensional and include a range of different perspectives relating to social class, ethnicity, culture and gender. Such a view of identity as complex is not generally taken into consideration in the literature on educational success and achievement of Pacific students in New Zealand.  The study employed a phenomenological qualitative design, using focus groups and semi-structured interviews by talanoa (conversations). As the study involved a group of indigenous tama Samoa, the Samoan fa'afaletui method was used. Participants were a group of twelve tama Samoa in three Wellington secondary schools and their twelve nominated persons.  The study found that there are key aspects to making the experiences of tama Samoa positive and successful within the secondary school. These include acknowledging tama Samoa and their multiple identities while attending secondary school; supporting the development of a sense of belonging through everyday interactions with peers and teachers, and affirming the belief by tama Samoa that secondary school socialisation serves to help them make future decisions.  This study argues that the experiences of tama Samoa are deeply embedded within wider social, economic and political trends. Indeed, their "voices" are shaped in part by these broader forces that construct and represent them as being historically "disadvantaged" and socio-economically "underserved." Further, this study advocates for the diverse voices of tama Samoa, along with their experiences, stories, hopes, aspirations and dreams to be brought to light and placed alongside the official accounts of Pacific "disadvantage" to enable more balanced critical discourses taking place.  It is hoped that this study will offer further insights into the experiences of tama Samoa in the New Zealand secondary school context, from which valuable knowledge is derived to inform and support schools in improving the New Zealand secondary school experiences of Samoan adolescent boys.


"Tantric yoga and the wisdom goddesses" ia an excellent book introducing the essence of hindu tantrism. the book discusses all the major concepts and offers valuable corrections for many existing misconceptions. It also introduces the reader to the core tantric practices of meditation and mantra recitation, focusing on the 10 wisdom goddesses[dasa mahavidya]. This book presents the meditational and mantric side of tantra which is the more common side of tantra practiced in India. It is written from the standpoint of a practitioner and also from one trained in Ayurveda. It tries to present the living spirit and practice of tantra, rather than just another academic view. The book is divided into three primary sections, with the fourth as an appendix.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between maternal characteristics and low birth weight (LBW). An exploratory case-control investigation was conducted in two hospital that provide attendance through SUS in neighbouring municipalities: Petrolina (Pernambuco) and Juazeiro (Bahia), Brazil. The sample consisted of 588 puerperae, of whom 136 were in the case group (women with low-weight children) and 452 in the control group (mothers of normal-weight children). In the data analysis procedures, the distribution of the variables was evaluated using the χ2 test at the significance level of 5%. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of UEFS (CAAE: 0151.0.0590.000-08). The results demonstrated that LBW was associated with the mother's occupation during pregnancy (p=0.04), father's schooling level (p=0.01), mother's race/colour (p=0.00), municipality of origin (p=0.01), mother's age (p=0.00), number of prenatal consultations (p=0.00), presence of pregnancy card at time of delivery (p=0.00), number of consultations with a medical professional (p=0.04), number of pregnancies (p=0.01) and gestational age (p=0.00). However, there were no statistically significant associations with the other variables. The findings reaffirm that having quality prenatal care is of utmost importance, with greater efforts made towards identifying factors that are associated with LBW, with a view to reducing the occurrence of this undesirable gestational outcome.


The Government's recently completed Sub-national Economic Development and Regeneration Review (SNR) was commissioned to identify improvements in the existing sub–national structures in England in order to strengthen economic growth, and deliver regeneration and neighbourhood renewal. This continuation of the Government's devolution agenda makes recommendations for the creation of a whole new landscape of governance. However, the focus on economics results in recommendations that create potential tensions with the aspirations of existing regional stakeholders who have been creating both formally accountable and informal networks in order to deliver more sustainable solutions to development.

This is the latest stage in the long play-off between economic and environmental policy, structures and traditions. Economic development has high political status, as it is seen to encompass matters of national survival such as security of energy supply and international economic competitiveness, so is able to overcome environmental and amenity based objections to associated developments. Living within environmental limits and creating a strong, healthy and just society are relegated to secondary considerations whilst governance appears to operate through the 'street theatre' and pseudo-legal processes associated with big development control and investment approval decisions (e.g. airports and power stations). Real power lies with the individuals and organisations who decide medium to long term investment and operating strategies, and block options that do not fit their assumptions or priorities, or run counter to their interests. The challenge for Sustainable Development is to embed its principles at this level, so that issues such as climate change or ecological preservation have the same status as secure access to key resources, robust infrastructure and communications, economic wellbeing, the maintenance of employment and the industrial and commercial capability to adapt to, and to some extent influence, future circumstances.

The implementation of the SNR is currently being negotiated and this paper will explore whether these new arrangements will provide the legitimacy and accountability that the SNR claims is presently absent at the regional level, and meet the aspirations outlined in the Government's Sustainable Development Strategy.


Beche-de-mer or the cured holothurian is considered a delicacy in some of the South-East Asian countries.
The entire quantity of about 30,000 kg produced annually at present in the country is exported since it is not
consumed locally.
Holothuria scabra is the species almost exclusively used in this country for this pxu-pose. It is comparatively
large growing to about 300 mm in length and weighing over half a kilogram in fresh condition. The
holothurians are collected by divers in 2 to 6 fathoms depth of waters from February to September, the peak
season being in June to August. They are also brought in appreciable numbers in trawls.
Along the Indian coasts holothurians occur in large numbers in the Gulf of Kutch and along the southeast
coast. The holothurians are more abundant in the Palk Bay than in the Gulf of Mannar. In the
Laccadive Islands and the Andaman group of Islands which have coral reefs and lagoons the large sized
species of holothurians like Thelenota ananas, Holothuria marmorata and Actinopyga mauritiana are well
suited for this purpose. With proper exploitation of the totally unexploited grounds, the annual production
of beche-de-mer can be increased substantially.


The purpose of this essay is to examine how peace journalism was expressed in Swedish newspapers´ reporting on the war in Georgia 2008. We did this by analyzing whether the reporting was elite- or people-orientated depending on how suffering was expressed and how the war players were described. The method we used was Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). It was applied on news articles from four Swedish newspapers that covered three different happenings in the war in Georgia. We found out that the reporting was mainly elite-orientated, both when it comes to how suffering was expressed, as well as how the war players were described. The newspapers tended to focus on only one party's suffering and one party as evil-doer, which is elite-orientated reporting and also an indication of war journalism rather than peace journalism.


Terahertz reflective imaging is applied to characterize the failure modes in a polymer coating on a steel plate. The coating was initially scratched, then after accelerated aging, several types of failure have occurred. In order to resolve the thin coating (~50 μm), terahertz frequency-wavelet domain deconvolution is implemented. With the deconvolved signals, the temporally overlapping echoes of the incident, roughly single-cycle terahertz pulse are clearly resolved, and three important failure modes, viz. corrosion, delamination, and blistering, are characterized quantitatively. Terahertz images in three dimensions clearly exhibit the coating thickness distribution across the entire damaged coating, highlighting the terahertz features associated with different failure modes, thus demonstrating that terahertz imaging can be considered as an effective modality for characterizing damage mechanisms in polymer coatings on metals.


In this paper, we explore carry out an empirical analysis for Germany, as a country with high penetration of wind energy, to investigate the interaction between the well-known merit-order effect, i.e., falling spot price levels as well as highly fluctuating spot prices and the European electricity grids inteconnections,i.e., market coupling. Our main empirical findings suggest that wind power in-feed decreases electricity spot price level but increases spot prices volatility. Furthermore, the relationship between wind power and spot electricity prices can be strongly impacted by European electricity grids interconnection which behaves like a safety valve lowering volatility and limiting the price decrease. Therefore, the impacts of wind generated electricity on electricity spot markets are less clearly pronounced in interconnected systems.


This volume brings together a cross-disciplinary group of anthropologists, researchers of craft, and designer-makers to enumerate and explore the diversity and complexity of problem-solving tactics and strategies employed by craftspeople, together with the key social, cultural, and environmental factors that give rise to particular ways of problem solving.

Presenting rich, textured ethnographic studies of craftspeople at work around the world, Craftwork as Problem Solving examines the intelligent practices involved in solving a variety of problems and the ways in which these are perceived and evaluated both by makers and creators themselves, and by the societies in which they work.

With attention to local factors such as training regimes and formal education, access to tools, socialisation and cultural understanding, budgetary constraints and market demands, changing technologies and materials, and political and economic regimes, this book sheds fresh light on the multifarious forms of intelligence involved in design and making, inventing and manufacturing, and cultivating and producing. As such, it will appeal to scholars of anthropology, sociology, and cultural geography, as well as to craftspeople with interests in creativity, skilful practice, perception and ethnography.

Contents: Foreword, Rosy Greenlees; Introduction: craftwork as problem solving, Trevor H.J. Marchand. Part One Practical Problem Solving in Craft: The prototype: problem work in the relationship between designer, artist, and gaffer in glassblowing, Erin O'Connor and Suzanne Peck; Producing Suffolk punch horses: craftsmanship with sentient media, Kim Crowder; Making 'sense' in the bike mechanic's workshop, Tom Martin; Garbage-in, better garbage-out: crafting solutions on the cutting edge of digital videography, Peter Durgerian; Mastering mimicry: strategies of transference in print-based art, Jenn Law; From 'in our houses' to 'the tool at hand': breaching normal procedural conditions in studio furniture making, David Gates; Weaving solutions to woven problems, Stephanie Bunn. Part Two Social, Economic, and Philosophical Dimensions in the Problems of Craftwork: Problem solving and strategizing problems: social strategies and material fixes in Agotime weaving, Niamh Clifford-Collard; Feeling a way through: affective problem solving in dressmaking, Rebecca Prentice; Thinking through materials: embodied problem solving and the values of work in Taiwanese ceramics, Geoffrey Gowlland; The problem of the unknown craftsman, Malcolm Martin; The place of craft in building conservation: the craftsperson as problem solver and builder, Giovanni Diodati; 'Textile thinking': a flexible, connective strategy for concept generation and problem solving in interdisciplinary contexts, Rachel Philpott and Faith Kane; Afterword, Malcolm Ferris. Index.


Many Caribbean nations are embracing knowledge-based and skill-intensive industries to expand their economies. The goal is to boost the competitiveness and productivity of the region's people through investments that lead to a better-educated workforce with more employable skills. This book examines policy and public financing strategies for education in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is offered in the hope of stimulating further dialogue and reflection on strategic issues related to education financing and development performance. Based on an extensive review of sector and country-specific research conducted by the Bank between 1996 and 2001, the manuscript is very much the product of a team effort.


Dengue infection continues to present as a serious public health problem in North Sumatera, Indonesia. A dengue fever outbreak was reported in Teluk Dalam Subdistrict, South Nias District, North Sumatera during February 2016. An epidemiological investigation was conducted to identify the risk factors and recommend control measures. An observational study with a matched case-control design was conducted. A case was defined as a resident of Teluk Dalam District who had suffered two or more clinical symptoms of fever, headache, pain behind eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash from 14 Feb to 16 Mar 2016. Blood samples were tested to confirm the diagnosis and serotype identification. Total 68 cases and 68 controls were included in the matched case-control study. The case fatality rate was 2.9%, age ranged from six months to 51 years (median 25 years). Three out of six cases were tested positive for DEN-3 serotype. In multivariate analyses, not eliminating mosquito breeding sites routinely (adjusted odds ratio = 3.7, 95% CI = 1.48-9.46) and having habit of hanging worn clothes (adjusted odds ratio = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.21-6.96) were risk factors. Elimination of mosquito breeding sites routinely, proper management of worn clothes, and conducting strict surveillance for dengue infection were recommended.


Recent investigations in the west coast region of Sweden has revealed the occurrence of groundwaters with a pH of around 4 and, further, alarmingly high concentrations of soluble aluminium. The reason for the occurrence of acid groundwater is, of course, the acid precipitation falling over this area of Sweden in combination with coarse soils on resistant types of granites and gneisses. The »resistance« against acidification of groundwater offered in the soil profile by aluminium and iron hydroxides must obviously have been partly broken. It seems therefore relevant to examine the solubility conditions of aluminium compounds in soils and rocks. From this we may reconstruct the process which led to the present state and we may also be able to tell what information on soils is needed in order to predict the future acidification of groundwater.


Abstract Waterbirds, particularly Anatidae, are natural reservoirs for low-pathogenic avian influenza and have been implicated as the primary source of infection in outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. An understanding of the movements of birds and the ecology of avian influenza viruses within the wild bird population is essential in assessing the risks to human health and production industries. Marked differences in the movements of Australian birds from those of the Northern Hemisphere emphasises the danger of generalising trends of disease prevalence to Australian conditions. Populations of Anatidae in Australia are not migratory, as they are in the Northern Hemisphere, but rather display typical nomadic traits, sometimes moving large distances across continental Australia in response to flooding or drought. There is little known regular interchange of anatids between Australia and Asia. In contrast, species such as shorebirds and some seabirds are annual migrants to Australia along recognised flyways from breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere. Movement into Australia by these species mainly occurs into the north-west and along the east coast over the Pacific Ocean. These species primarily arrive during the Australian spring and form large aggregations along the coastline and on inland wetlands. Other Australian migratory species (passerines, bee-eaters, dollar-birds, cuckoos, doves) regularly move to and from Asia through the Torres Strait Islands. The disease status of these birds is unknown. The movements of some species, particularly anatids and ardeids, which have ranges including Australia and regions where the virus is known to occur, have been poorly studied and there is potential for introduction of avian influenza subtypes via this route. Avian influenza viruses are highly unpredictable and can undergo reassortment to more pathogenic forms. There is insufficient knowledge of the epidemiology and transmission of these viruses in Australia and broad-scale surveillance of wild birds is logistically difficult. Long-term studies of anatids that co-habit with Charadriiformes are recommended. This would provide an indication of the spatial and temporal patterns of subtypes entering Australia and improve our understanding of the ecology of endemic viruses. Until such time as these data become available, Australia's preparedness for avian influenza must focus on biosecurity at the wild bird-poultry interface.


Cytoprotective effects of short-term treatment with grape seed extract (GSE) upon human gingival fibroblasts (hGFs) were evaluated in relation to its antioxidant properties and compared with those of a water-soluble analog of vitamin E: trolox (Tx). GSE and Tx showed comparable antioxidant potential in vitro against di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)iminoazanium (DPPH; a stable radical), hydroxyl radical (•OH), singlet oxygen (1O2), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Pretreatment or concomitant treatment with GSE for 1 min protected hGFs from oxidative stressors, including H2O2, acid-electrolyzed water (AEW), and 1O2, and attenuated the intracellular formation of reactive oxygen species induced by H2O2 and AEW. Tx also reduced the H2O2- and AEW-induced intracellular formation of reactive oxygen species, but showed no cytoprotective effects on hGFs exposed to H2O2, AEW, or 1O2. These results suggest that the cytoprotective effects of GSE are likely exerted independently of its antioxidant potential.


HIV infection has been associated with an increased risk of developing several types of malignancies, including aggressive peripheral T‐cell lymphomas (PTCL). However, this is a rare occurrence with no more than a hundred cases reported in the literature. The purpose of this multicenter study is to describe the characteristics and to identify prognostic factors in patients with HIV‐associated PTCL. Data from HIV‐positive patients with a pathological diagnosis of non‐primary cutaneous, non‐leukemic PTCL were gathered retrospectively and are reported using descriptive statistics. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were also performed. Fifty one patients were included in our analysis. Median age was 38 years with a 5:1 male‐to‐female ratio. Patients presented with a median CD4+ count of 173 cells mm−3, and a median HIV viral load of 334,787 copies ml−1. The median time from HIV diagnosis to PTCL diagnosis was 4.5 years. About 75% of patients presented with advanced clinical stage and 66% with B symptoms. The most common subtypes were PTCLU (61%) and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL, 22%). None of the ALCL patients tested expressed ALK. The median overall survival (OS) for the group was 12 months. In the multivariate survival analysis, the use of HAART and patients' performance status were independently associated with OS. HIV‐associated PTCL presents predominantly in young men with low CD4+ counts and high HIV viral loads. Both HIV‐related and lymphoma‐related factors were associated with OS. Am. J. Hematol. 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This paper explains how international institutions contribute to peace among states in the international system. To do so, it reviews the various schools of thought that advance theories about the relationship between institutions and peace, and then focuses on the case of Europe. The main argument is that ideas are a core part of why institutions matter and how they shape state behavior. In particular, the idea of federalism has been one of the most influential and enduring ideas defining the trajectory of European integration. It is often recounted that early thinkers and leaders, especially the so-called founding fathers, debated whether federalism or functionalism was the path to take after WWII, and that they ultimately settled on the latter. Perhaps because the EU is only quasi-federal today, the origins and development of the federalist idea are rarely investigated. Drawing upon fresh archival research, this paper focuses on the early actors involved in spreading the notion that federalism was the best form of political organization to preserve the future of peace in Europe. The federalist movement in Europe became much stronger and more widespread than is often recognized, and it continues to influence what is possible today. The paper concludes that, partly as a result of this, EU institutions are enduring and legitimate, despite the numerous crises that Europe has faced in its development.


Abstract Speech audiometry plays an important role in the assessment of hearing abilities, as it may more accurately reflect auditory function in the daily communication environment of listeners than other auditory assessment measures. Speech perception tests have been developed for over a century in Western countries, and they are commonly used procedures in North America and Europe, as well as Australia. The course of history and scientific progress has influenced speech audiometry in both its clinical and research aspects. Test materials developed from syllables and words to phases and sentences, and test protocols have evolved from using only simple speech stimuli in quiet to hearing-in-noise tests. In the early years, the purpose of speech audiometry was primarily to evaluate telecommunication systems. Today, speech tests are more often applied to assess speech perception abilities for individuals with hearing impairment. In addition to aiding diagnosis of the location of peripheral auditory pathology and measuring (central) auditory processing abilities, with the development of auditory amplification devices speech tests are also utilized to assess the outcomes of hearing aid and cochlear implant rehabilitation. Compared to the well documented speech test materials of Western countries, development in this field in China has been relatively delayed. A lack of material standardization, few test versions for the numerous Chinese dialect groups or for non-Chinese language minority populations, and insufficient test materials for children, have obstructed the development of speech audiometry in China. This review highlights key research milestones in the development of Chinese speech audiometry material, including work conducted in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and suggests priorities for future research in this field in China.


This study investigated the effects of closed-captioned TV (CCTV) on the listening comprehension of intermediate English as a second language (ESL) students. Thirty students with intermediate levels of ESL proficiency participated in this study. Since vocabulary/phrase acquisition and comprehension are main factors that influence the success/failure of listening comprehension, this research also examined the effects of CCTV on these two subscales. The correlations between the listening comprehension and other factors—starting age of ESL instruction, length of time in the United States, length of ESL instruction, length of time in private language schools, length of time with tutors, and length of time traveling in English speaking countries—were inspected as well. Subjects' perceptions of the effects of CCTV on ESL learning were also covered in the study. The results of the research showed that CCTV helped ESL students' general comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and listening comprehension. However, all other factors examined in the study, such as age of starting ESL instruction, length of ESL instruction, etc., did not correlate with the listening comprehension test.


This study presents a conceptualization of mediated, evidence-informed practice as a form of impact within the education context, then examines whether and how a particular intermediary organization, Edutopia, is having such an impact. Extant open- and closed-ended survey data are analyzed. Survey respondents routinely reported using content hosted or featured by Edutopia in their professional practice, and provided specific insights regarding how they were doing so. These findings provide strong evidence that an educational intermediary can variously impact educators' practices. The study provides a conceptualization and model that may be useful for other intermediaries and for scholars who are interested in examining impact and knowledge mobilization.


[1] The effects of the underwater light field on heat-budget calculations for shallow waters are developed and applied for the region of Bahamas. Most of the general circulation models use a simplified heat budget scheme based on Jerlov water types, and do not account for optical bottom effects. By optical bottom effect, we mean the bottom absorption and reflection of the short-wave radiation, which in turn affects the thermal stratification and heat exchange with the atmosphere. In this paper, this optical bottom effect is added to a 3D turbulence model (a 1D model called GOTM is coupled to a 3D model called POM) and the evolution of the temperature structure studied. We call the coupled model 3DGOTM. This optical bottom effect is found to be important in the areas with clear water, shallow depths and small solar zenith angle. On the basis of the coastal meteorological measurements from Andros Island, we have used this three-dimensional turbulence closure model (3DGOTM) to show the influence of bottom reflection and absorption on the sea surface temperature field. The final temperature of the developed water column depends on water depth and bottom albedo. Effects of varying the bottom albedo were studied by comparing results for coral sand and sea grass bottoms. This has an appreciable contribution to the heat budget and salt budget of the shallow waters in these coastal regions. The salinities of the shallow regions near Andros Island have been found to reach as high as 46 psu by summer. In addition to the thermohaline plumes generated by these bottom effects, this warming process has an impact on the moisture feedbacks into the atmosphere due to evaporation.


Patient: Female, 32 Final Diagnosis: Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome Symptoms: Seizures Medication: Tacrolimus Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Cardiology Objective: Rare disease Background: Calcineurin inhibitor-induced posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is well described in liver and kidney transplant patients, but there is a paucity of data in heart transplant patients. PRES syndrome in the setting of heart transplantation can occur as early as 5 days following transplantation. Case Report: A 32-year-old woman who had recently undergone orthotopic heart transplantation developed headaches, visual disturbances, and generalized tonic clonic seizures 5 days after initiating anti-rejection therapy (tacrolimus, mycophenolate, and prednisone). No focal neurological deficits were noted on physical exam. Multifocal subcortical fluid attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR) hyperintensity signals and areas of diffusion restriction with postcontrast enhancement, diagnostic of PRES, were found on MRI brain. Her symptoms resolved 2 days after tacrolimus was switched to cyclosporine. A follow-up MRI after 6 weeks demonstrated complete resolution of areas of flair hyperintensity signal. She was sent home on a short course of seizure prophylaxis, which was discontinued after the resolution of radiological findings. She had no further episodes of seizures for 6 months following discontinuation of her anti-epileptic regimen. Conclusions: Tacrolimus-induced PRES can occur as early as 5 days after orthotopic heart transplantation. Early recognition of symptoms and management can prevent permanent neurological sequelae.


Widespread deployment of infrastructure WLANs has made Wi-Fi an integral part of today's Internet access technology. Despite its crucial role in affecting end-to-end performance, past research has focused on MAC protocol enhancement, analysis, and simulation-based performance evaluation without sufficient consideration for modeling inaccuracies stemming from interlayer dependencies, including physical layer diversity, that significantly impact performance. We take a fresh look at IEEE 802.11 WLANs and using experiment, simulation, and analysis demonstrate its surprisingly agile performance traits. Our findings are two-fold. First, contention-based MAC throughput degrades gracefully under congested conditions, enabled by physical layer channel diversity that reduces the effective level of MAC contention. In contrast, fairness degrades and jitter increases significantly at a critical offered load. This duality obviates the need for link layer flow control for throughput improvement. Second, TCP-over-WLAN achieves high throughput commensurate with that of wireline TCP under saturated conditions, challenging the widely held perception that TCP throughput fares poorly over WLANs when subject to heavy contention. We show that TCP-over-WLAN prowess is facilitated by the self-regulating actions of DCF and TCP feedback control that jointly drive the shared channel at an effective load of two to three wireless stations, even when the number of active stations is large. We show that the mitigating influence of TCP extends to unfairness and adverse impact of dynamic rate shifting under multiple access contention. We use experimentation and simulation in a complementary fashion, pointing out performance characteristics where they agree and differ.


The origin and nature of intrinsic toroidal plasma rotation in the scrape-off-layer (SOL) of tokamaks is investigated both analytically and through numerical simulations. It is shown that the equilibrium poloidal E × B flow, the sheath physics, and the presence of poloidal asymmetries in the pressure profile act as sources of momentum, while turbulence provides the mechanism for the radial momentum transport. An equation for the radial and poloidal dependence of the equilibrium parallel ion flow is derived, and a simple analytical solution is presented. This solution reproduces and explains the main experimental trends for the Mach number found in the SOL of tokamaks. Global, three-dimensional fluid simulations of SOL turbulence in different limiter configurations confirm the validity of the analytical theory.


Global mean surface temperature has increased since the late 19th century. The warming occurred largely during two periods: 1920‐1940, and since the mid-1970s. Although most recent studies have focused on the latter period, it is of interest to analyse the earlier period and compare its major features to the recent warming episode. The warming during 1920‐1940 occurred most rapidly during the 1920s. It was strongest at high northern latitudes in winter, a pattern now believed to be characteristic of 'greenhouse warming'. This warming of the Arctic was much discussed during the 1930s and 1940s, but the data available at that time were mostly derived from land areas. In this paper, we use the COADS marine data set and recent compilations of land surface temperature data sets to examine the behaviour of the surface fields over the ocean during this event. Considering the thermal and atmospheric fields at the surface, the strongest signal occurs in the North Atlantic Ocean during winter, being distinct but more gradual in the other oceans and seasons. The Northern Hemisphere continental record shows that both middle and high latitudes experienced rapid warming in the early 20th century warming interval (the 1920s and 1930s, hereafter referred to as ETCW). Temperature data for northern tropics, while displaying similar general characteristics, exhibit some differences with regard to timing and rates of change. There is a suggestion of weakening of the westerlies and the trade wind system in the 1930s, following an intensification of the westerlies across the North Atlantic during the previous two decades. This weakening may be related to a lessening of atmospheric baroclinicity in association with the fact that the amplitude of warming at high latitudes was much greater than that in low latitudes, reducing the mean meridional thermal gradient, and therefore the geostrophic pressure gradient. There is some indication that the North Atlantic and North Pacific high-pressure systems shifted northward. Coincident with this northward shift of the subtropical highs, typhoons in the Northwest Pacific and hurricanes in the North Atlantic became more numerous in this period of rising temperature, which we suggest is linked to a northward shift of the respective near-equatorial convergence zones. Concomitant to the weakening of the westerlies and trade wind systems, the Asian monsoon troughs deepened substantially, a situation generally favourable to the development of active monsoons. It is thought that the combination of these two features—enhanced continental monsoons and implied lowered vertical wind shear over the oceans—would tend to enhance the release of latent heat in the tropics, representing strengthened Hadley and Walker circulations, which may have been at least partly responsible for greater aridity in subtropical land areas of both hemispheres during this period. The latter is also consistent with an expansion and:or strengthening of the subtropical high-pressure belt into the continents. Copyright © 1999 Royal Meteorological Society.


After a proliferation of logistics e-Marketplaces during the dot.com boom of 1998-2000, there has been a high rate of failure and survivals are developing much more slowly than expected. This is the case in the aviation industry where a large number of B2B e-Marketplaces emerged according to the focus of aviation companies' strategies on electronic B2B in the late 1990s. However, the current use of e-Marketplaces in the industry is low and many of them have ceased trading. The traditional e-Marketplaces model has been characterised by poor quality portals and a lack of technical standards. Such an approach is unsustainable in today's competitive scenario. Improvements in website quality attributes may strongly contribute to the simplification of website functionality by users and speed up communication with all supply chain partners. In this context, it appears critical to develop models for the evaluation of e-Marketplace web sites. This chapter, after a discussion about the development of e-Marketplaces in the transport and logistics service industry and its application in the aviation industry, proposes a multi-criteria model for assessing different types of aeronautic B2B e-Marketplaces.


Crowdsourcing has been widely established as a means to enable human computation at large scale, in particular for tasks that require manual labelling of large sets of data items. Answers obtained from heterogeneous crowd workers are aggregated to obtain a robust result. However, existing methods for answer aggregation assume that answers are given as a single label per item. Hence, these methods are ineffective for common multi-labelling problems such as image tagging and document annotation, where items are assigned sets of labels. In this paper, we propose a novel Bayesian nonparametric model for multi-label answer aggregation. It enables us to predict labels for non-grounded items, while taking into account dependencies between the labels in different answer sets. We also show how this model is instantiated for incremental learning, incorporating new answers from crowd workers as they arrive. An evaluation of our method using a number of large-scale, real-world crowdsourcing datasets reveals that it consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art in answer aggregation in terms of precision, recall, and robustness against faulty workers and data sparsity.


Background. The nutrition of chickens is an important factor which influences not only rearing indicators but also the quality of meat, including its nutritional value. The aim of the study was to determine the content of basic nutrients (protein, fat, ash) and the energy value in the muscles and liver of chickens fed mixtures with faba bean. Milczarek, A., Osek, M. (2017). Wartość odżywcza wybranych elementów jadalnych tuszek kurcząt brojlerów żywionych mieszankami z bobikiem. Nauka Przyr. Technol., 11, 2, 135–144. http://dx.doi.org/10.17306/J.NPT. 00196 144 Material and methods. The experiment was conducted in a two-factor design on four groups (N1, N2, W1, W2) of broiler chickens. The birds were fed a mixture of maize and soybean with the following shares of low-tannin beans: 8/15% (group N1) and 16/22% (group N2), in Starter/ /Grower mixtures, respectively, and they were fed mixtures with the same shares of high-tannin faba beans in groups W1 and W2. The chickens were reared for 5 weeks. Next, 12 standardised birds were chosen from each group and they were slaughtered. Samples of chickens' muscles and liver were collected during the slaughter analysis in order to measure the content of basic nutrients and calculate the energy value. Results. The nutrition did not affect the slaughter yield, the share of breast and leg muscles or hearts and stomachs in chicken carcasses. However, it significantly (P < 0.05) modified the share of skin with subcutaneous fat and total edible viscera, including the liver. The higher share of faba bean (regardless of the content of tannins) decreased the share of skin with subcutaneous fat, but it simultaneously increased the share of the liver. The breast muscles of the birds fed mixtures with a higher proportion of faba bean (regardless of the variety) contained significantly less protein and more intramuscular fat (P < 0.05), whereas the leg muscles had higher content of crude ash (P < 0.05). The feeding model did not affect the content of the abovementioned components in the liver or the energy value of edible elements assessed. Conclusion. To sum up, faba bean (regardless of the variety) can be recommended for feeding broiler chickens, even at the respective proportion of 16/22% in the Starter/Grower mixtures, because it does not affect most meat and liver nutritional value parameters.


The objective of this study was to compare the effect of two conventional H9N2 avian influenza (AI) vaccines on replication and shedding of the H9N2 AI virus in broiler chickens. These inactivated oil emulsion vaccines contain either a UAE or an Iranian H9N2 AI isolate. One hundred and fifty one-day-old commercial broiler chickens were randomly divided into six groups. The birds, except for the control group (group 4), were challenged with a low pathogenic A/Chicken/Iran/SH-110/99(H9N2) virus isolate. Birds in groups 1 and 5 were vaccinated with an Iranian AI vaccine and groups 2 and 6 with an UAE vaccine type. Birds in groups 5 and 6 were also vaccinated with an H120 strain of infectious bronchitis live vaccine. On days 3, 7, 11, and 15 post inoculations (PI) the trachea, lungs, kidneys and faeces were collected for molecular detection and quantitation of the H9N2 AI virus using TaqMan real time PCR assay. The results showed that frequency of virus recovery and viral titration was generally higher for unvaccinated challenged birds (group 3) on all days PI. No virus was detected in the chicks of group 1. The virus was detected in some cases in the tracheas and lungs of chicks in groups 2, 5 and 6. However, there was no statistically significant difference in viral replication in the trachea and lungs between chicks vaccinated with the UAE and Iranian type vaccines. The most frequent detection of the virus was in the kidneys in comparison with the other samples. The viral titer in the kidneys of unvaccinated challenged birds (group 3) on day 3, 7, 11 and 15 PI was higher than those of the same organs in the vaccinated challenged birds (groups 1, 2). The highest titer of the virus was observed in the faeces of unvaccinated challenged and the chicks vaccinated with the IB and UAE type vaccine (group 6) on day 7 PI. There was a statistically significant difference in viral shedding between groups (1 and 3), (2 and 3) and (5 and 6) (P=0.008). Infectious bronchitis live vaccine could increase the AI virus propagation and shedding in co-infected groups (groups 5 and 6). Altogether, both AI H9N2 vaccines could effectively reduce viral replication and shedding in broiler chicken, however, in order to achieve efficient control of the disease, vaccination should be accompanied with other preventive measurements including biosecurity practices.


The hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of Tangzhiqing (abbreviated TZ) a mixture of Mulberry Leaf, Lotus Leaf, Danshen Root, and Hawthorn Leaf, were investigated in KK-Ay mice, an animal model of type 2 diabetes. TZ reduced blood glucose, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels of KK-Ay mice at 4 weeks after oral administration. TZ also improved sucrose or maltose tolerance. Maltase activity in small intestine significantly decreased in the TZ-treated KK-Ay mice. These results support the hypothesis that TZ improves glucose metabolism by reducing α-glycosidase activity. Therefore TZ might have beneficial effects on hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in type 2 diabetes.


Prey selection of the stonefly Eusthenia costalis was investigated by presenting late instars with a choice of three different prey species [Nousia sp. Navas (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae), Neboissoperla sp. McLellan (Plecoptera: Gripopterygidae) and Antipodeus sp. Williams and Barnard (Amphipoda: Paramelitidae)] or two distinct size classes of Nousia. To determine whether substrate complexity influences the foraging preference of E. costalis selection trials were conducted using two different levels of substrate complexity: "fine" (sieve dimension 1-4 mm), and "coarse" (8-16 mm); Stonefly nymphs selected Nousia in fine substrate and Neboissoperla in coarse substrate. Stonefly nymphs were not selective, based upon the size of Nousia prey in fine substrate, however, they preferred large Nousia in the more complex substrate. Irrespective of substrate complexity, as the size of E. costalis nymphs increased preference for Neboissoperla declined.


Built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, India's Mughal monuments—including majestic forts, mosques, palaces, and tombs, such as the Taj Mahal—are world renowned for their grandeur and association with the Mughals, the powerful Islamic empire that once ruled most of the subcontinent. In Monumental Matters , Santhi Kavuri-Bauer focuses on the prominent role of Mughal architecture in the construction and contestation of the Indian national landscape. She examines the representation and eventual preservation of the monuments, from their disrepair in the colonial past to their present status as protected heritage sites.

Drawing on theories of power, subjectivity, and space, Kavuri-Bauer's interdisciplinary analysis encompasses Urdu poetry, British landscape painting, imperial archaeological surveys, Indian Muslim identity, and British tourism, as well as postcolonial nation building, World Heritage designations, and conservation mandates. Since Independence, the state has attempted to construct a narrative of Mughal monuments as symbols of a unified, secular nation. Yet modern-day sectarian violence at these sites continues to suggest that India's Mughal monuments remain the transformative spaces—of social ordering, identity formation, and national reinvention—that they have been for centuries.


Motor drive system is considered the most important asset in industrial applications. Detection of broken rotor bars has long been important but difficult job in detection area of incipient motor faults. The need for highly efficient motor control drive systems becomes more and more important. Motors are controlled in closed-loop or open-loop modes of operation. This paper develops a novel approach for fault-detection scheme of broken rotor bar faults for three-phase induction motor using stator current signal. The empirical mode decomposition (EMD) combined with Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) has been employed for the analysis of stator current signal. Artificial neural network is then used for pattern recognition of broken rotor bar signature. The proposed algorithm offers high performance in detecting broken rotor bar fault. Both simulation and experimental results show that stator current-based monitoring in conjunction with Winger-Ville distribution based on EMD yields a reliable indicator for detection and diagnosis of broken rotor bar faults using artificial neural network. All simulations in this paper are conducted using finite element analysis software. Experimental results validate the simulation and analytical results.


The inherited genetic defect in adenomatous polyposis has been localized to a small region on the long arm of chromosome 5. Sixteen DNA marker loci were used to construct a linkage map of the chromosome. When five kindreds segregating a gene for adenomatous polyposis coli were characterized with a number of the markers, significant linkage was found between one marker and the disease gene. Linkage analysis determined the location of the defective gene within a primary genetic map of chromosome 5.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
In the past decade, there has been a rising incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and a progressive increase in HCC-related mortality in the United States and Western Europe. The poor survival of patients with HCC is largely related to the lack of reliable tools for early diagnosis.

METHODS
We have applied proteomics tools to the comparative analysis of protein profiles between HCC and adjacent nontumor tissues as a means for discovering novel molecular markers.

RESULTS
Forty-seven protein spots that showed reproducible variation were identified by mass spectrometry, corresponding to 23 distinct genes. A positive correlation between transcript and protein level variations was observed for only 7 out of the 23 genes. Proteolytic cleavage accounted for the discrepancies between messenger RNA and protein level changes for 7 genes including calreticulin, PDIA3, PDI, and GRP78. We detected a fragment of each of these 4 endoplasmic reticulum proteins in the culture supernatant of the PLC-PRF5 hepatoma cell line, suggesting that their cleavage leads to release of selected cleaved products in the extracellular compartment. We also detected calreticulin and PDIA3 cleavage products in sera of patients with HCC. A statistically highly significant difference in calreticulin and PDIA3 fragment serum levels between patients with HCC and healthy individuals was observed. Amounts of calreticulin and PDIA3 fragments were also significantly different between patients with HCC and at-risk patients (patients with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis).

CONCLUSIONS
Specific isoforms in general and cleavage products in particular should therefore be further evaluated as new markers for HCC.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the impact on children's health of translating an evidence-based national intervention trial (Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health [CATCH]) to low-income elementary schools with primarily Hispanic students.

DESIGN
An untreated, matched control group design with repeated dependent pretest and posttest samples was used.

SETTING
Four El Paso CATCH and 4 control elementary schools in El Paso, Tex, along the US-Mexico border region. All had Title I status (most were low-income students).

PARTICIPANTS
Participants were 896 third-grade children (473 control schools [224 girls and 249 boys] and 423 CATCH schools [199 girls and 224 boys]); 93% were Hispanic.

INTERVENTION
Community-based implementation of the national CATCH program.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Risk of overweight or overweight, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, yards run in 9 minutes, passing rates for Fitnessgram national mile standards, moderate to vigorous physical activity and vigorous physical activity in physical education class, and percentage of fat and sodium in school lunches.

RESULTS
Girls in control schools had significant increases in percentage of risk of overweight or overweight from third (26%) to fifth (39%) grades, as did girls in CATCH schools (30%-32%); however, the rate of increase for girls in the CATCH schools was significantly lower (2%) compared with the rate for control girls (13%). A similar pattern was seen for boys, with a rate of increase for boys in CATCH schools of 1% (40%-41%), which was significantly less than the 9% increase (40% to 49%) for control boys.

CONCLUSIONS
The translation of the national CATCH program to low-income schools with Hispanic students successfully slowed the epidemic increase in risk of overweight or overweight seen in control school children. An emphasis should be placed on community organizing and evaluation feedback when implementing evidence-based school health programs in low-income Hispanic communities.


The Meadowbank gold deposits are hosted by a series of polydeformed and metamorphosed auriferous iron formations located in the Neoarchean Woodburn Lake group, western Churchill province, Nunavut. The supracrustal rocks in the Meadowbank area consist of a thick sequence of intermediate-composition volcanic rocks with intercalated iron formation, ultramafic volcanic rocks, and quartzite to quartz arenite. U-Pb geochronology gives an interpreted age of 2711 ± 3 Ma for the host strata at Meadowbank.

The intermediate volcanic rocks are predominately volcaniclastic and have a geochemical composition that is consistent with an active continental margin setting. Iron formation deposition was coeval with the intermediate volcanism, as indicated by incorporation of volcanic detritus in the chemical precipitate. The geochemistry of the iron formation indicates that it precipitated from a fluid that at one time was at high temperature (>250°C), reducing, and likely acidic. Intercalated ultramafic rocks rarely show spinifex textures and have trace element ratios that are consistent with mantle plume-related undepleted mantle asthenosphere, likely recording episodic mantle upwelling associated with rifting in an active continental margin. The contact between the ultramafic volcanic rocks and the overlying quartz arenite is a disconformity marked by a quartz pebble conglomerate. However, similar geology on the structural hanging wall and footwall of the contact suggests that the conglomerate does not represent a significant hiatus in deposition, and is more likely a prograding terriginous siliciclastic unit.

Three metamorphic events are recognized. The first, M1, is a cryptic greenschist facies event that is pre-D2. The second event, M2, is a mid-greenschist to amphibolite facies, syn-D2 event. M3 is the last event recognized, and is a post-tectonic greenschist facies event that is regional but inhomogeneous in extent, possibly reflecting thermal aureoles around post-tectonic 1.7 to 1.8 Ga Nueltin granites.

The structural geology of the area is complex with four phases of deformation recognized, two of which had a significant effect on the geometry of the deposit. All of these regional events are interpreted as Paleoproterozoic in age. Relationships between deformation fabrics and mineralization, as well as the overall geometry of the mineralized envelopes, suggest that the deposit formed during syn- to late-D2. Superimposed on the mineralization are D4 structural elements that postdate gold mineralization.

The main control on gold mineralization is replacement of magnetite by pyrrhotite and pyrite in high-strain corridors. The composition of amphiboles and chlorites associated with gold mineralization is remarkably consistent and shows no spatial or temporal variation, suggesting that it was buffered by the iron-rich nature of the host rocks. The bulk metasomatic effect on the intermediate volcanic rocks is characterized by the addition of K2O and the loss of CaO, Na2O, and MgO, with little variation in the total iron content. The elemental losses are likely the result of destruction of feldspars, stilpnomelane, and ferroactinolite, which are relatively common in the unmineralized rocks, and the formation of sericite, chlorite, and grunerite.

Textural and timing relationships suggest that the mineralization is syn- to late-D2, and by inference M2. Fluid inclusions, chlorite, and arsenopyrite geothermometry all suggest that mineralization took place at about 325° to 375°C and 1.3 kbar pressure. These are lower P-T conditions than is indicated by M2 mineral assemblages, suggesting that the deposit formed during the waning stages of metamorphism. Strain partitioning due to the mechanical contrast of the iron formation preferentially localized dilational settings during D2 deformation. This allowed fluid influx, sulfidation of the iron formation, and resulting precipitation of gold to be concentrated in high-strain corridors. Geologic relations and geochronology collectively suggest that a Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.8–1.9 Ga) deformation event was responsible for the introduction of gold into the Neoarchean supracrustal sequences.


I One of the most distinctive features of Margaret Cavendish's writing is her practice of transgressing boundaries, of confusing categories, of failing properly to know, "to recognize or distinguish, or be able to distinguish, one thing from another" (as the OED neatly phrases it). Arguably, this transgression or confusion is most evident in the extreme degree to which, even more than most writers, she confounds the figural and the literal. Metaphor, of course, is always unstable. As Leonard Barkan writes in Transuming Passion: Ganymede and the Erotics of Humanism (Stanford, 1991), "Metaphors move in unpredictable ways: it is in the interest of many to control them, but a trope that destabilizes the equations of everyday reality cannot easily be harnessed to a narrow purpose" (3). Yet in Cavendish's work, metaphors repeatedly take on a life of their own; products of "fancy," of the imagination, become embodied. Given that lesbianism has so often been portrayed as "mad," as "imaginary," as transgression or confusion of boundaries and categories (particularly the categories of male and female), as wrong or failed knowledge (especially given the sexual meaning of "to know"), it is perhaps not surprising that this boundary-transgressing and category-confusing aspect of Cavendish's work is consistently evident in--more than that, central to--her representation and use of lesbianism. (1) A brief look at Cavendish's play The Lady Contemplation (in Playes [London, 1662]) will show what I mean. In this work, Cavendish discusses the subject of poetic creativity using a conventional literary conceit, the relationship between Poet and Muse. But she takes the conceit to an extreme of literalization, and in the process gives it a lesbian twist. The subject arises when the aptly named Lady Contemplation, her reverie interrupted by the no less aptly named Lady Visitant, describes an imaginary encounter she has just had with the Muses: Lady Visit. What always musing? Shall I never find thee in a sociable humour? Lady Contempl. I would you had come sooner, or stayd longer away. Lady Visit. Why prethee? Lady Contempl. I will tell you: A while since, there came the Muses to visit me, being all either mad, or drunk, for they toss'd and tumbl'd me, and rumbl'd me about, from one to the other, as I thought they would a divided me amongst them.... (238) Lady Contemplation informs her guest that, soon after the Muses' arrival, the Sciences and Arts dropped by to visit Lady C's "rational soul" ("Arts" not in the modern sense, the endeavors over which we imagine the Muses themselves presiding, but rather "Politick Arts, Civil and Combining Arts, Profitable and necessary Arts, Military Arts,... destructive and wicked Arts, base and mean Arts"). But these serious visitors could not abide the Muses' rude treatment, and so departed--at which point Lady Contemplation's narrative takes an interesting turn: But when all the Arts departed, [the Muses] took me, and carry'd [me] to the Well of Helicon, and there they threw me in over head and eares, and said they would Souse me in the Liquor of Poetry; but when I was in the Well, I thought verily I should have been drown'd, for all my outward Senses were smother'd and choak'd, for the water did blind my eyes, stop'd my ears and nostrils, and fill'd my mouth so full, as I had not so much space as to spout it forth; besides all my body was so numb, as I had no feeling, insomuch, as when they took me out of this Well of Helicon, into which they had flung me, I seem'd as dead, being quite senseless: Whereupon they all agreed to take and carry me up on Parnassus Hill, and to lay me on the top thereof, that the Poetical Flame, or Heat therein, might dry and warm me; after which agreement they took me up, every one bearing a part of me, or was industrious about me, for some carried my Head, others my Legs, some held my Hands, others imbraced my Waste, another oiled my Tongue, and others powr'd Spirits into my Mouth, but the worst-natur'd Muse pinch'd me, to try if I was sensible, or not, and the sweetest and tenderest-natur'd Muse wept over me, and another was so kind as to kiss me; but when they had brought me up to the top of the Hill, and laid me thereupon, I felt such a heat, as if they had laid me on AEtna; but after I had layn some time, I felt it not so hot, and so less and less, until I felt it like as my natural heat; just like those that goe into a hot Bathe, at first crie out it is insufferable and scalding hot, yet with a little use will finde it cool enough: But whilest I lay on Parnassus Hill, I began to make a Lyrick Verse, as thus. …


CIFOR has developed a system for testing criteria and indicators to assess the sustainability of management of natural forests at the level of the forest management unit. This system was used to develop and test C&I for industrial plantation concession areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The C&I for plantations have a strong focus on forest management and environment impacts. But for long-term sustainability of plantation forestry, it is more related to social rather than management or environmental issues. It is also suggested that C&I on legal and institutional arrangements be included, and government agencies responsible for plantation development be involved as stakeholders in the process.


The relationship between Nazism and occultism has been an object of fascination and speculation for decades. Peter Staudenmaier's Between Occultism and Nazism provides a detailed historical examination centered on the anthroposophist movement founded by Rudolf Steiner. Its surprising findings reveal a remarkable level of Nazi support for Waldorf schools, biodynamic farming, and other anthroposophist initiatives, even as Nazi officials attempted to suppress occult tendencies. The book also includes an analysis of anthroposophist involvement in the racial policies of Fascist Italy. Based on extensive archival research, this study offers rich material on controversial questions about the nature of esoteric spirituality and alternative cultural ideals and their political resonance.


Working papers in this series are preliminary and are circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment. These papers are not subject to CBO's formal review and editing processes. The analysis and conclusions expressed in them are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as those of the Congressional Budget Office. References in publications should be cleared with the authors. Papers in this series can be obtained at www.cbo.gov/tech.cfm. Abstract The economic literature shows that privatizing Social Security can improve labor supply incentives, but it can also reduce risk sharing when households face uninsurable risks. We simulate a stylized 50-percent privatization with transaction costs financed by consumption taxes and examined its impact on macroeconomic variables as well as on the welfare across generations and income classes. Our overlapping-generations model includes heterogeneous agents with elastic labor supply who face idiosyncratic earnings shocks and longevity uncertainty. The transition path is calculated, which allows us to rigorously calculate the overall efficiency gain or loss from privatization in general equilibrium. We find that this partial privatization can have a powerful effect on labor supply incentives: When wage shocks are insurable, privatization produces about $21,900 of new resources for each future household (growth adjusted over time) after all households have been fully compensated for their possible transitional losses. However, when wages are not insur-able, privatization reduces efficiency by about $5,600 per future household despite improved labor supply incentives. We check the robustness of these results to different model specifications and arrive at several surprising conclusions. First, privatization actually performs relatively better in a closed economy, where interest rates decline with capital accumulation, than in an open economy where capital can be accumulated without reducing interest rates. Second, privatization also performs relatively better when an actuarially-fair private annuity market does not exist than when it does exist. Third, introducing progressivity into the privatized system to restore risk sharing must be done carefully. In particular, having the government match private contributions on a progressive basis is not very effective at restoring risk sharing; in fact, too much matching actually harms efficiency. However, increasing the progressivity of the remaining traditional system is very effective at restoring risk sharing, thereby allowing partial privatization to produce efficiency gains of $2,700 per future household.


In Italy, rubella vaccination has been recommended since 1972 for pre-adolescent girls, and since the early 1990s for all children in the second year of life. Nevertheless, coverage in children from 12 to 24 months of age is suboptimal (i.e., 56% in 1998, 78% in 2003), with wide variations among regions. As a result, rubella is still circulating in Italy, and in 1996 the percentage of women susceptible to rubella between 15 and 39 years of age was >5%. Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) was a notifiable disease between 1987 and 1991, with a range of 8-76 cases reported annually. Since 1992, national incidence data are no longer available, but local reports show that CRS cases are still occurring. Nationwide, coordinated and uniform actions are needed to control CRS effectively. For this reason, the National Plan for the Elimination of Measles and of Congenital Rubella has recently been launched. This plan includes strategies aimed at increasing MMR vaccination coverage in children and specific control measures for congenital rubella control, i.e., improving the vaccination of susceptible women of childbearing age, and reintroducing national surveillance of CRS.


Title of Dissertation: ETHNIC POLITICS AND URBAN VOTING BEHAVIOR IN INDIA: EXPLAINING VARIATION IN ELECTORAL SUPPORT FOR THE BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY, 1999-2009 Allison Berland Kaul, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Directed By: Professor Margaret Pearson Department of Government and Politics This dissertation focuses on urban voting behavior in India, and explores the factors affecting voter support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of two major parties in India, and the only ethnic party that competes at the national level. How do we understand the rise of this ethnic party to become the second most electorally successful party in India? Why do voters vote for this ethnic party, which has been linked in the past with episodes of ethnic violence? Existing explanations have focused on ethnic factors or programmatic factors to explain voter support for the BJP. I argue that there is a need to understand the way in which both ethnic interests and programmatic interests explain voter support for the BJP. This dissertation puts forward a theory of voting behavior, Ethnically Mediated Retrospective Voting (ERV), which posits the conditions under which ethnic interests and programmatic interests influence voters' political choices, as a means of explaining the nature of voter support for an ethnic party. ERV theorizes the way in which changes in the level of ethnic conflict influences the political salience of ethnic interests, and changes resulting from economic growth and economic reforms influences programmatic demands by voters. The mechanisms of ERV together posit different generalized scenarios of voting behavior to explain voter support for an ethnic party in different socio-economic conditions. The theory is tested through an investigation of urban voting behavior in two locations, Delhi and Gujarat, across three national elections (1999, 2004 and 2009), and includes over 70 interviews of voters in the cities of Ahmedabad and New Delhi. This study finds that ethnic interests and retrospective programmatic interests are both important factors in explaining voter support for the BJP over space and time. Under conditions of a high level of perceived ethnic conflict, ethnic interests increase in salience in voters' political choices. Second, under conditions of strong economic growth, programmatic demands increase in salience in voters' political choices. As a result, different socio-economic conditions impact the relative influence of ethnic and programmatic interests in explaining overall voter support for an ethnic party. Through an examination of the way in which both ethnic interests and programmatic influence explain voter support for the Bharatiya Janata party, this dissertation broadens our understanding of voting behavior and the factors influencing voter support for an ethnic party in a rapidly developing country context. ETHNIC POLITICS AND URBAN VOTING BEHAVIOR IN INDIA: EXPLAINING VARIATION IN ELECTORAL SUPPORT FOR THE BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY, 1999-2009


The current research consisted of three studies (overall N = 338; 59 men; mean age = 19.98; SD = 1.75), which aimed to examine whether ostracism promotes aggression through enhanced feelings of rule negligence by adopting a multi-method approach. Participants were undergraduate students in a public university in Hong Kong and they only participated in one of the three studies. The results showed that ostracized participants reported higher levels of rule negligence and aggression than non-ostracized participants (Studies 1 and 2). Moreover, enhanced feelings of rule negligence significantly mediated the relation between ostracism and aggression (Studies 1 and 2). In addition, priming ostracized people with the importance of following social rules weakened the effect of ostracism on aggression (Study 3). In sum, these findings highlight the critical influence of rule negligence in understanding when and why ostracism promotes aggression and how to diminish such an effect. Implications were discussed.


The aim of this prospective longitudinal study of patients treated for generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) was the clinical, microbiologic, and radiologic longitudinal evaluation of implants placed into bone regenerated by the guided bone regeneration (GBR) technique. Ten patients with GAP who had lost either one or two maxillary incisors or premolars through periodontal disease and whose alveolar bone was neither high nor wide enough for implant placement were enrolled in the study. GBR was carried out in a two-stage procedure using titanium-reinforced extended polytetrafluoroethylene membranes and titanium screws. No bone graft or bone substitute materials were used. After 6 to 8 months, the membranes and supporting screws were removed, and a total of 15 implants (Nobel Biocare) were placed. The control group comprised 10 periodontally healthy patients who had a total of II implants (Nobel Biocare) placed in the maxilla (incisor and premolar region) without GBR because of aplasia, trauma, or endodontic lesions. All patients were examined 2 to 4 weeks before extraction of the nonretainable teeth (baseline) and again immediately after placement of the superstructure. Further examinations were performed within the framework of a 3-month recall schedule over a 3-year period. At each session, clinical parameters (probing pocket depths, bleeding on probing, gingival recession, clinical attachment level, Gingival Index, and Plaque Index) were recorded at teeth and implants, and the composition of the subgingival microflora was determined by dark-field microscopy and DNA probe. Intraoral radiographs were taken for control purposes at baseline, immediately after insertion of the superstructure, and 1 and 3 years later. The GBR technique yielded a horizontal and vertical bone gain of 4.5 to 7.0 mm in the GAP patients. The clinical, microbiologic, and radiologic findings indicated healthy periodontal and periimplant conditions in both patient groups throughout the study. However, a slightly increased attachment loss (0.65 mm) and bone loss (1.78 mm) were recorded at the implants in the regenerated bone after 3 years of loading. The 3-year implant survival rate was 100% in both groups. The possibility of continuous attachment loss and bone loss occurring at teeth and implants in regenerated bone cannot be ruled out in patients treated for aggressive periodontitis. The prognosis for the retention of the teeth and implants is thus open to question.


We model the behavior of three agent classes acting dynamically in a limit order book of a financial asset. Namely, we consider market makers (MM), high-frequency trading (HFT) firms, and institutional brokers (IB). Given a prior dynamic of the order book, similar to the one considered in the Queue-Reactive models [12, 18, 19], the MM and the HFT define their trading strategy by optimizing the expected utility of terminal wealth, while the IB has a prescheduled task to sell or buy many shares of the considered asset. We derive the variational partial differential equations that characterize the value functions of the MM and HFT and explain how almost optimal control can be deduced from them. We then provide a first illustration of the interactions that can take place between these different market participants by simulating the dynamic of an order book in which each of them plays his own (optimal) strategy.


Although paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) is known to be initiated by rapid firing of pulmonary veins (PV) and non-PV triggers, the crucial role of cardiac autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the initiation and maintenance of AF has long been appreciated in both experimental and clinical studies. The cardiac intrinsic ANS is composed of ganglionated plexi (GPs), located close to the left atrium-pulmonary vein junctions and a vast network of interconnecting neurons. Ablation strategies aiming for complete PV isolation (PVI) remain the cornerstone of AF ablation procedures. However, several observational studies and few randomized studies have suggested that GP ablation, as an adjunctive strategy, might achieve better clinical outcomes in patients undergoing radiofrequency-based PVI for both paroxysmal and nonparoxysmal AF. In these patients, vagal reactions (VR) such as vagally mediated bradycardia or asystole are thought to reflect intrinsic cardiac ANS modulation and/or denervation. Vagal reactions occurring during cryoballoon- (CB-) based PVI have been previously reported; however, little is known on resulting ANS modulation and/or prevalence and significance of vagal reactions during PVI with the CB technique. We conducted a review of prevalence, putative mechanisms, and significance of VR during CB-based PVI.


Stable single frequency output around 943 nm was obtained from a quasi-continuous wave (qcw) diode-pumped, Q-switched Nd:GSAG laser. The Q-switched Nd:GSAG laser was injection seeded with a single mode laser diode. Its frequency was stabilized by an active-control loop specially designed for a strong qcw pump. The spectral linewidth of the Nd:GASG laser was 41 MHz and the frequency stability was 10 MHz. The single-frequency-pulsed laser generated 32 mJ pulse energy at 10 Hz repetition rate. When the repetition rate was increased to 100 Hz, 5.6 mJ pulse energy was obtained by a thermal dynamic stable resonator. By tuning the seed laser, the wavelength of the pulsed Nd:GASG laser can be continuously varied from 942.1 to 943.1 nm.