In this paper I employ the notion of the 'thought of the outside' as developed by Michel Foucault, in order to defend the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze against the criticisms of 'elitism,' 'aristocratism,' and 'political indifference'—famously leveled by Alain Badiou and Peter Hallward.  First, I argue that their charges of a theophanic conception of Being, which ground the broader political claims, derive from a misunderstanding of Deleuze's notion of univocity, as well as a failure to recognize the significance of the concept of multiplicity in Deleuze's thinking.  From here, I go on to discuss Deleuze's articulation of the 'dogmatic image of thought,' which, insofar as it takes 'recognition' as its model, can only ever think what is already solidified and sedimented as true, in light of existing structures and institutions of power.  Then, I examine Deleuze's reading of Foucault and the notion of the 'thought of the outside,' showing the 'outside' as the unthought that lies at the heart of thinking itself, as both its condition and its impossibility.  Insofar as it is essential to thinking itself, finally, I argue that the passage of thought to the outside is not an absolute flight out of this world , as Hallward claims, but rather, a return of the different that constitutes the Self for Deleuze.  Thinking is an ongoing movement of deterritorialization and reterritorialization, or as Foucault says, death and life.  Thinking, as Deleuze understands it, is essentially creative; it reconfigures the virtual, thereby literally changing the world.  Thinking is therefore, according to Deleuze, thoroughly political.


Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental and industrial pollutant that affects the male reproductive system. Exposure to cadmium metal is known to induce the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) like superoxide radical, hydroxyl ion and hydrogen peroxide. Vitamin E is a lipid phase antioxidant & Vitamin C acts as a potent water soluble antioxidant by scavenging reactive oxygen species. The purpose of present study was to investigate the protective role of combined therapy of vitamin E & vitamin C on cadmium induced testicular damage. Animals were segregated into following 4 groups; Control(0.9% saline treated),Pre-treated control(Vit E & C treated in combination), cadmium treated(0.5mg/kg bw injected ), pretreated with vitamin E(100mg/kg bw) &vitamin C( 30mg/kg bw) for 30 days prior to cadmium treatment.. After the desired protocol, rats were sacrificed & testes were removed for biochemical & histopathological evaluation. The levels of lipid peroxides (LPO) and glutathione (GSH) & superoxide dismutase (SOD) were detected in the tissue homogenates of rat testis. The level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) was high & GSH & SOD were low in cadmium treated rats compared to normal control. Pretreatment with vitamin E & C in combination showed a protective effect by decreasing LPO & increasing GSH & SOD level. Present study showed the morphological changes like atrophy of tubules, edema &decreased spermatogenesis in the testis of rats. Pre-treatment with antioxidant showed the protective role against cadmium testicular damage. Pre-treatment with vitamin E & C combination was beneficial in protecting the testis from cadmium induced toxicity


Eastern Van Diemen's Land was the site of the most intense frontier conflict in Australia.
What is known today as the Black War (1824-1831) produced at least 450 colonial casualties
and all but wiped out the Aborigines. This thesis examines the attitudes and experiences of the
men, women and children – black and white – who were involved. It asks: How did each side
perceive the other? What motivated them to violence? What tactics did they employ? How did
each side cope with being hunted? And what was the emotional cost? These questions are long
overdue. Historians have almost invariably examined the War from the 'top down', poring
over ethical and legal questions. These are important concerns for posterity, but they were not
those of Aborigines or frontier colonists. Their beliefs, desires, behaviours and emotions
constituted the human side of the Black War, and they have been all but ignored.
The alternating white/black chapters of this thesis juxtapose the perspectives of colonists and
Aborigines. Close attention has been paid to the minutiae of frontier life, which were a chief
determinant of behaviour and experience. Drawing on a range of methods, the cultures, voices
and actions of participants have been sifted from Tasmania's vast archive. To verify and
contextualise this anecdotal evidence, a catalogue of all recorded violent incidents and their
details has been appended.
The Black War was a guerrilla war consisting of hundreds of ambushes on Aborigines' camps
by night, and on colonists' huts by day. Exceptions to this day/night pattern were rare, which
meant the War was fought and experienced according to a solar rhythm. A key source of white
violence was sex deprivation. European women being extremely scarce, so frontiersmen
sought black females any way they could. Later, revenge and self-defence also motivated them
to kill. Aborigines attacked whites to resist invasion, avenge mounting insults, and to plunder
food and blankets. Both lived in suffocating fear, terrified of their enigmatic foes. Likewise,
both saw themselves victims, and both felt justified in victimising the other. It was not a battle
between good and evil, but a struggle between desperate human beings.
This thesis challenges a range of long-standing assumptions about the War, while also
providing new evidence and perspectives. Its attitudinal and experiential analysis illuminates
the War in a new light, while its quantitative analysis indicates a larger-scale conflict than
previously imagined, with distinct and telling patterns of violence. Moreover, a systematic
examination of frontier conflict at the ground level and from both is all but untried in
Australian history.


DEFENSE OF THE SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION OF THE IMAGE OF GOD David Samuel Casas, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017 Chair: Dr. Russell Fuller Mankind's scientific, technological, artistic, and intellectual capacities are complemented by an impressive list of physical achievements; nevertheless, it is the remarkable inner abilities that testify to the human being as God's crowning creation. The single most distinctive aspect of Adam's creation is that he was created in the image of God and his nature bears that image. But what exactly is the image of God in man? The image of God consists of the spiritual part of a human that reflects the character of God and is the only firm basis for advocating human dignity and the gracious redemption of sinners. Although modern scholarship, particularly Old Testament scholarship, have argued for man's function through his physical body as the meaning of or forming an integral part of the image of God, the view that God's image is found in the spiritual aspect of the human being is more faithful to the biblical text. This dissertation argues for the spiritual interpretation of God's image by providing a historical-grammatical reading of the relevant texts and a proper theological understanding of the image and likeness of God. The first chapter provides the history of interpretation by describing the important personalities and their methods, and explaining the evolution of the topic that has lead to the modern departures from the traditional view. The second chapter discusses the data that supports the thesis by analyzing selected issues in current scholarship that leads to a physical and functional view of the image of God and why I disagree with their conclusions. The third chapter provides a historical-grammatical reading of selected texts that demonstrate the reasonableness of a spiritual interpretation of the image of God, and why it should be defended. The fourth chapter examines the counter claims to the thesis and presents a defense to the findings of this study. The fifth chapter briefly summarizes the most important findings and provides a conclusion.


We study the coupling between shape changes and rotations of molecules in a random environment. As a prototype of molecules or biopolymers that can undergo non-trivial conformational transitions we consider a planar four-atomic molecule, with underdamped dynamics of Langevin-type. In this simplified setting, we can extend the available gauge theory of semi-flexible molecules to the stochastic setting which allows us to analyse and explain geometric phase effects that arise from the internal motion of the molecule. Due to the stochastic nature of the Langevin system, the internal dynamics contains temperature-dependent coriolis forces that arise from the fluctuations of the angular momentum around its mean value zero. All theoretical investigations are supplemented by numerical simulations, in which we specifically investigate the dependence of the orientational shift on the parameters of the Langevin equation, i.e., friction coefficient, atomic masses, temperature and the velocity of deformation of the system. The numerical results confirm our theoretical findings. We further discuss various extension of the analysis, e.g., to the overdamped limit or optimal control.


This paper examines how diversely organized capitalist societies evolve by analyzing the transformation of Japan's financial system since the 1990s. The banking, securities and insurance, as well as the postal financial institutions changed significantly, but are hardly converging to Anglo-American or 'liberal market' models. We contend that Japan's new financial system is best characterized as syncretic, with new, traditional and hybrid forms of practices, organizations and norms coexisting. Syncretism in industry was driven by a distinctive pattern of interest group politics we call syncretization. Strong political leadership, facing serious electoral threats, shifted the policy logic from gradual incremental reforms following traditional interest group dynamics, to rapid reforms that excluded the traditionally powerful interest groups most affected by these reforms. We support the notion that diverse industry outcomes can be complementary to broader political economic reforms that take Japan away from its traditional model, part of a broader 'convergence towards diversity'.


Wireless sensor networks have been widely used for ambient data collection in diverse environments. While in many such networks the nodes are randomly deployed in massive quantity, there is a broad range of applications advocating manual deployment. A typical example is structure health monitoring, where the sensors have to be placed at critical locations to fulfill civil engineering requirements. The raw data collected by the sensors can then be forwarded to a remote base station (the sink) through a series of relay nodes. In the wireless communication context, the operation time of a battery-limited relay node depends on its traffic volume and communication range. Hence, although not bounded by the civil-engineering-like requirements, the locations of the relay nodes have to be carefully planned to achieve the maximum network lifetime. The deployment has to not only ensure connectivity between the data sources and the sink, but also accommodate the heterogeneous traffic flows from different sources and the dominating many-to-one traffic pattern. Inspired by the uniqueness of such application scenarios, in this paper, we present an in-depth study on the traffic-aware relay node deployment problem. We develop optimal solutions for the simple case of one source node, both with single and multiple traffic flows. We show however that the general form of the deployment problem is difficult, and the existing only connectivity-guaranteed solutions cannot be directly applied here. We then transform our problem into a generalized version of the Euclidean Steiner Minimum Tree problem (ESMT). Nevertheless, we face further challenges as its solution is in continuous space and may yield fractional numbers of relay nodes, where simple rounding of the solution can lead to poor performance. We thus develop algorithms for discrete relay node assignment, together with local adjustments that yield high-quality practical solutions. Our solution has been evaluated through both numerical analysis and ns-2 simulations and compared with state-of-the-art approaches. The results show that for all test cases where the continuous space optimal solution can be computed within acceptable time frames, the network lifetime achieved by our solution is very close to the upper bound of the optimal solution (the difference is less than 13.5 percent). Moreover, it achieves up to 6-14 times improvement over the existing traffic-oblivious strategies.


Background Two-year colleges are uniquely positioned to diversify science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Yet limited existing scholarship sheds light on how 2-year college students view themselves as learners as they experience STEM courses and programs. An in-depth and nuanced understanding of 2-year college STEM students' self-perceptions as learners presents a powerful vehicle for identifying venues of interventions aimed at cultivating and supporting the STEM talent pool toward success through and beyond the 2-year college sector. Purpose of the Study We address the following research question: How do 2-year college students participating in STEM classes and programs perceive themselves as learners? Our inquiry is aimed at revealing the fundamental structure underlying these students' experiences as their self-perceptions as STEM learners are formed and transformed. Study Setting and Participants We collected the data for this study as part of an ongoing longitudinal mixed methods study of students beginning in STEM programs or courses in Fall 2014 at three large 2-year institutions in a Midwestern state. The sample selection of the present qualitative study drew on maximum variation sampling, yielding a final sample size of 31. Research Design We adopted descriptive phenomenology to answer our research question. In-person interviews were conducted with each participant. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the procedures aligned with the descriptive phenomenological method proposed by Colaizzi. In addition, we adopted analytical techniques from grounded theory in order to effectively organize our process of documenting, describing, and making sense of the data. Findings Our findings show that self-perceptions as 2-year college STEM learners are deeply intertwined with self-perceptions as mathematics learners, constantly evaluated and reevaluated in relation to others, driven by an internal process of recognizing the rewards and negotiating the challenges of studying STEM, and shaped by an external process of validation. While these themes stand on their own as prominent defining elements of the phenomenon of our interest, they are also inherently interwoven pieces of a cohesive, complex whole. Conclusions Our study captures how students' self-perceptions as learners are formed and transformed, and illustrates how their prior and current learning experiences, self-perceptions as mathematics learners, background characteristics, and relationships with others interweave to shape and reshape how they view themselves as learners. Future work should further determine what specific measures and venues 2-year colleges can capitalize upon to develop confident and collaborative learners who embrace the rewards and challenges of studying STEM.


It is usual in time-to-event data to have more than one event of interest, for example, time to death from different causes. Competing risks models can be applied in these situations where events are considered mutually exclusive absorbing states. That is, we have some initial state—for example, alive with a diagnosis of cancer—and we are interested in several different endpoints, all of which are final. However, the progression of disease will usually consist of one or more intermediary events that may alter the progression to an endpoint. These events are neither initial states nor absorbing states. Here we consider one of the simplest multistate models, the illness-death model. stpm2illd is a postestimation command used after fitting a flexible parametric survival model with stpm2 to estimate the probability of being in each of four states as a function of time. There is also the option to generate confidence intervals and transition hazard functions. The new command is illustrated through a simple example.


The present doctoral thesis addresses the issue of the relation in human cognition between language and thinking, and, more specifically, it aims to investigate by scientific means the potential for a language-particular influence on cognitive activity and putative reflexes, i.e. the linguistic relativity question (cf. Whorf 1956, Lucy 1992a).To this end, the present thesis offers a detailed exploration of linguistic relativity and of its potential scope of validity - at least in theoretical terms. It further situates its study within modern cognitive science, whose epistemological approach to the study of the mind is multi- disciplinary, bringing the fields of psychology, linguistics and philosophy together for the enhanced pursuit of an understanding of human cognition. Having established a conducive framework for the study of linguistic relativity within cognitive science and linguistics, the thesis offers to focus on a specific experiential domain of human life, and on its variable encoding in different languages to seek specific language influences over the conceptualisation of that domain. The chosen domain consists of MOTION - a pervasive domain in humans' daily lives and daily needs of expression. This domain is particularly interesting to relativistic studies as its conceptual components are lexicalised via differing means across the world's languages. Existing typologies for motion encoding (e.g. Talmy 1985) have established at least two main possible patterns, also known as verb- and satellite-framing, and as exemplified by the French and English languages respectively. The essential difference between the two language types consists of their grammatical encoding of the core element of motion, namely PATH - either in a verb or in a verbal satellite ― and of their selective encoding of peripheral elements, such as MANNER of displacement - with this element being optional in French grammar, and obligatory in English. The thesis offers empirical linguistic data to confirm - and also challenge - the fixedness of the patterns identified by e.g. Talmy. A thorough discussion of the linguistic framing of motion is presented, together with experiments bearing on the cognitive reality of motion conceptualisation - independently of language. This thesis thus contributes to an understanding of motion both in language and in cognition. Finally, it offers experimental work bearing on the relativity question, i.e. exploring whether linguistic patterns for motion encoding exert a decisive influence on the non-linguistic conceptualisation of motion, resulting in the two language communities differing in their cognitive appreciation of otherwise similar motion events. The final results offer evidence in favour of differing conceptualisations, that is, in support of linguistic relativity.


The Onganja copper deposit is hosted by quartz-biotite-plagioclase schists of the Kuiseb Formation in the Southern Zone or Khomas trough of the Damara Orogen in Namibia. It comprises a sheeted-vein complex (3500 x 1800m) situated orthogonally in the core of a shallow-plunging D3 antiform. The vein complex consists of central calcite-dominant and peripheral quartz-dominant veins with pyrite-magnetite-chalcopyrite-apatite-molybdenite-native gold ore mineralogy. Adjacent alteration comprises proximal albite (Ab >97) and early/distal scapolite (Me 41 to 51) − biotite zones. Chlorite geothermometry indicates temperatures in the range 252 to 364 oC for the albite alteration whereas temperatures >400 oC are estimated for the scapolite-biotite zone. Stable isotope values from calcite, pyrite and chalcopyrite in the veins are: δ13C −7.9 to −6.4‰ (V-PDB), δ18O +11.6 to +12.1‰ (V-SMOW), δ34S +3.6 to +8.9‰ (V-CDT). Re-Os dating of molybdenite from two veins gave ages of 517 ± 3 and 518 ± 3 Ma. Late-stage supergene chalcocite-brochantite enrichment is related to the African erosion cycle. The Onganja copper deposits formed from NaCl-CO2-rich metamorphogenic hydrothermal fluids at a late stage (late to post-D3) in the Damara orogenic cycle, subsequent to the intrusion of the Donkerhuk Granite pluton in the northern Southern Zone. Comparison is made to other Pan-African deposits in the Southern and southern Central Zones of the Damara Orogen and the Lufilian Orogen in Zambia, specifically with the Navachab Au and Kansanshi Cu deposits. The Onganja deposit is shown to be the final phase of a protracted history of copper mineralization across the entire development and deformation of the Southern Zone.


Faculty development programs (FDPs) have proven to be successful for improving teaching skills in higher education. This review article summarizes literature reviews and resource books on faculty development. It tackled why FDP is important, history of FDP in the past years, and questioned whether FDP produced any positive effect on students' academic achievement as well as the different methods to assess FDPs effectiveness. The review also discussed how to establish FDP, presented its ideal structure, features that make FDP effective, and outlined the barriers to its successful implementation as well as the future vision. This report also highlighted the situation of FDP in Saudi Arabia. Finally, the review concluded that professional FDPs produce promising outcomes in the learning and teaching practices and recommended that teachers in higher education should attend FDP training activities on regular basis and that the scope of planned FDPs should extend beyond the health professions discipline, to include social skills necessary for collaboration, professional growth as well as management, and leadership abilities.


When Mao and the Chinese Communist Party won power in 1949, they were determined to create new, revolutionary human beings. Their most precise instrument of ideological transformation was a massive program of linguistic engineering. They taught everyone a new political vocabulary, gave old words new meanings, converted traditional terms to revolutionary purposes, suppressed words that expressed "incorrect" thought, and required the whole population to recite slogans, stock phrases, and scripts that gave "correct" linguistic form to "correct" thought. They assumed that constant repetition would cause the revolutionary formulae to penetrate people's minds, engendering revolutionary beliefs and values. In an introductory chapter, Dr. Ji assesses the potential of linguistic engineering by examining research on the relationship between language and thought. In subsequent chapters, she traces the origins of linguistic engineering in China, describes its development during the early years of communist rule, then explores in detail the unprecedented manipulation of language during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. Along the way, she analyzes the forms of linguistic engineering associated with land reform, class struggle, personal relationships, the Great Leap Forward, Mao-worship, Red Guard activism, revolutionary violence, Public Criticism Meetings, the model revolutionary operas, and foreign language teaching. She also reinterprets Mao's strategy during the early stages of the Cultural Revolution, showing how he manipulated exegetical principles and contexts of judgment to "frame" his alleged opponents. The work concludes with an assessment of the successes and failures of linguistic engineering and an account of how the Chinese Communist Party relaxed its control of language after Mao's death.


"The distance of this province from the capital of Benin and the sea coast must be very considerable; for I had never heard of white men or Europeans, nor of the sea."--Olaudah Equiano THE INTERESTING NARRATIVE of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African tells the first-person story of Olaudah Equiano, an eleven-year-old boy from an eastern province of Benin, who was introduced to the sea--and to white men--when he was captured in 1756 by African slavers and taken to a slave trading port on the West African coast. After surviving the Middle Passage and enduring slavery in the Americas, Britain, and on trading ships sailing the Atlantic, Equiano purchased his freedom in 1766. Subsequent to his manumission, he continued a life on the seas and, encouraged by friends in London, published the dramatic account of his life in 1789. The narrative went through nine English editions in the next five years and was instrumental in generating public support for the suppression of the slave trade. The book was a sensation, an eighteenth-century best seller, incorporating elements of autobiography, history, travel narrative, adventure story, oratory, and antislavery discourse. As a multi-genre and fascinating account of a remarkable life, the narrative remains a compelling text, commanding critical and pedagogical attention across disciplines. Three scholarly editions of the narrative have appeared in the last decade, and excerpts are found in British, American, and African American literature anthologies. Widely taught in university classrooms, the narrative's literary reputation is secure. And while the narrative is indeed a finely crafted tale of the sea, Equiano's account of maritime life and his use of sea imagery more importantly offers a richly detailed portrait of the circumscribed and precarious existence of both enslaved and emancipated Africans living in the eighteenth-century Western world. The Interesting Narrative's literary significance is unmistakable. In addition to its historical and sociological value as the first full-length account of slavery written by an African, Equiano's text offers itself as a singular contribution to the literatures of Africa, Europe, and North America. In African literary history, Equiano's narrative is seen as an important early Anglophone text that testifies to the humanity of Africans. Similarly, Equiano is named as one of the key figures in Afro-British writing--one of the "unchained voices" of eighteenth-century Britain (Carretta). In American literary history, The Interesting Narrative is most commonly classified as an early and prototypical slave narrative, what Henry Louis Gates, Jr. calls the "silent second text" of nineteenth-century slave narratives (xiv). The international scholarly attention focused on Equiano has been so extensive and varied in the past two decades that "Equiano Studies" has become a veritable subcategory within the slave narrative genre. Identifying the Narrative's Genre(s) The slave narrative genre is generally recognized as a text that persuasively uses autobiography to argue against the inhumanity and injustice of the institution of slavery. Recent literary scholarship both affirms and extends the narrative's status as early black autobiography. Though Angelo Costanzo and Adam Potkay both place Equiano's text in the genre of spiritual autobiography, Potkay points out that the "narrative portion of Equiano's life is indeed just one strand of the work titled The Interesting Narrative, for in his book Equiano employs a welter of persuasive modes--apologia, allegory, sermon, exhortation, jeremiad, and argument directed to economic self-interest--all aimed at the immediate political end of abolishing the slave trade and toward the ultimate end of abolishing slavery" (604, original emphasis). While Potkay echoes other scholars who have focused on the first-person testimony and the political goals of the text, he privileges its oratorical form and religiosity rather than its autobiographical subject. …


The environmental chemodynamics of hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) are often rate-limited by diffusion in stagnant boundary layers. This study investigated whether motile microorganisms can act as microbial carriers that enhance mass transfer of HOCs through diffusive boundary layers. A new experimental system was developed that allows (1) generation of concentration gradients of HOCs under the microscope, (2) exposure and direct observation of microorganisms in such gradients, and (3) quantification of HOC mass transfer. Silicone O-rings were integrated into a Dunn chemotaxis chamber to serve as sink and source for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This resulted in stable concentration gradients in water (>24 h). Adding the model organism Tetrahymena pyriformis to the experimental system enhanced PAH mass transfer up to hundred-fold (benzo[a]pyrene). Increasing mass transfer enhancement with hydrophobicity indicated PAH co-transport with the motile organisms. Fluorescence microscopy confirmed such transport. The effective diffusivity of T. pyriformis, determined by video imaging microscopy, was found to exceed molecular diffusivities of the PAHs up to four-fold. Cell-bound PAH fractions were determined to range from 28% (naphthalene) to 92% (pyrene). Motile microorganisms can therefore function as effective carriers for HOCs under diffusive conditions and might significantly enhance mobility and availability of HOCs.


The Taiwan Chelungpu-fault drilling project (TCDP) has undertaken scientific drilling and directly sampled the sub-surface rupture of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. Audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) measurements were used to investigate electrical resistivity structure at the TCDP site from 2004 - 2006. These data show a geoelectric strike direction of N15 Et o N30E. Inversion and forward modeling of the AMT data were used to generate a 1-D resistivity model that has a prominent low resistivity zone (< 10 ohm-m) between depths of 1100 and 1500 m. When combined with porosity measurements, the AMT measurements imply that the ground water has a resistivity of 0.55 ohm-m at the depth of the fault zone. Time variations in the measured AMT data were observed from 2004 - 2005 with maximum changes of 43% in apparent resistivity and 18 in phase. The change in apparent resistivity is greatest in the 1000 - 100 Hz frequency band. These frequencies are sensitive to the resistivity structure of the upper 500 m of the hanging wall of the Chelungpu Fault. The decrease in resistivity over time appears to be robust and could be caused by an increase in porosity and a re-distribution of the groundwater.


Chloramines, bromamines, and bromochloramines are halogen-containing oxidants that arise from the reaction between ammonia and hypohalous acids during the disinfection of drinking and wastewaters. Although involved in the formation of toxic disinfection byproducts, these molecules are difficult to study by experimental means, and their speciation remains poorly defined. To bridge this gap, we successfully designed a benchmark level computational method, called TA14, adapted from the Weizmann theory and the Feller-Peterson-Dixon procedures, able to establish the thermodynamics of these species in gas phase. Our composite method combines a systematic sequence of wavefunction theory calculations (up to CCSDTQ), relativistic effects, diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections, and anharmonic vibrational modes. Free energies of aqueous solvation were modeled with the SMD implicit solvation model together with the cluster-continuum approach developed by Bryantsev in 2008. This combined solvation model allowed us to evaluate the effects of aqueous solvation on halamine formation and decomposition. These gas phase and solution phase thermodynamic data are used to predict aqueous equilibrium constants describing the formation reactions of chloramines, bromamines, and bromochloramines. Based on the comparisons with the available experimental data, we propose uncertainties ranging from 1 to 2 logarithm units for computed aqueous equilibrium constants. These newly reported estimates of reaction thermodynamics will enable us to assess the formation rate constants of these reactive halogenated species, leading to more accurate predictions of speciation of halamines during water treatment.


Mao Zedong envisioned a great struggle to "wreak havoc under the heaven" when he launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966. But as radicalized Chinese youth rose up against Party officials, events quickly slipped from the government's grasp, and rebellion took on a life of its own. Turmoil became a reality in a way the Great Leader had not foreseen. "The Cultural" "Revolution at the Margins" recaptures these formative moments from the perspective of the disenfranchised and disobedient rebels Mao unleashed and later betrayed.The Cultural Revolution began as a "revolution from above," and Mao had only a tenuous relationship with the Red Guard students and workers who responded to his call. Yet it was these young rebels at the grassroots who advanced the Cultural Revolution's more radical possibilities, Yiching Wu argues, and who not only acted for themselves but also transgressed Maoism by critically reflecting on broader issues concerning Chinese socialism. As China's state machinery broke down and the institutional foundations of the PRC were threatened, Mao resolved to suppress the crisis. Leaving out in the cold the very activists who had taken its transformative promise seriously, the Cultural Revolution devoured its children and exhausted its political energy.The mass demobilizations of 1968-69, Wu shows, were the starting point of a series of crisis-coping maneuvers to contain and neutralize dissent, producing immense changes in Chinese society a decade later.


SAGE Reference is proud to announce the Encyclopedia of Measurements and Statistics. In fields as varying as education, politics and health care, assessment and the use of measurement and statistics have become an integral part of almost every activity undertaken. These activities require the organization of ideas, the generation of hypotheses, the collection of data and the interpretation, illustration and analysis of data. No matter where we look, this critical analysis is more important than ever in an age where information - and lots of it - is readily available. The average consumer must know what a 'median' is or what the connotations of the term 'significant' are when intelligently reading The Times, Science News or a tabloid. Likewise, students, practitioners and researchers must grapple with sophisticated terms and techniques when conducting research, writing proposals and analyzing data. The terms themselves have proven to be anxiety-provoking. The Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics, in two-volumes, presents state-of-the-art information and ready-to-use facts from the fields of measurement and statistics in a non-intimidating and accessible style.The Encyclopedia is specifically written to appeal to undergraduate students as well as practitioners, researchers and consumers of information. Whilst there are reference works covering statistics and assessment in depth, none provide as comprehensive a resource in as focused and approachable a manner as this encyclopedia. Key themes include: - biographies; - charts, graphs and visual displays; - computer topics and tools; - concepts and issues in measurement; - concepts and issues in statistics; - data and data reduction techniques; - descriptive statistics; - evaluation; - experimental methods; - inferential statistics; - organizations and publications; - predictions and estimations; - probability; - qualitative methods; - samples, sampling and distribution; - statistical techniques; - statistical tests; - tests by name.Key features include: - coverage of every major facet of these two different, but highly integrated disciplines with reference to mean, mode and median; reliability, validity, significance and correlation without overwhelming the informed reader; - cross-disciplinary coverage, with contributions from and applications to the fields of: psychology; education; sociology; human development; political science; business and management; and public health; - cross-referenced terms, a list of further readings and Website URLs after each entry, as well as an extensive set of appendices and an annotated list of organizations relevant to measurement and statistics. Appendices: - Appendix A is a guide to basic statistics for those readers who require an instructional step-by-step presentation of basic concepts in statistics and measurement; - Appendix B is a table of critical values used in hypothesis testing and an important part of any reference in this area; - Appendix C represents a collection of some most important and useful measurement and statistics Websites.


Malignant astrocytomas are the most common primary tumors of the adult central nervous system. Surgical resection of tumor mass in combination with radiotherapy and chemotherapy is only palliative and there is a clear need for new and more effective therapeutic strategies. The aim of this study was to develop a dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine for the treatment of experimental brain tumors with the future prospect of translating this treatment into the clinical application. We first demonstrated that the N29 and N32 rat brain tumors closely resemble human glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma, respectively, and represent relevant models to study the efficacy of new therapeutic modalities. We also found that vaccination with IFN-γ-producing tumor cells led to tumor regression in a fraction of animals in both tumor models. The route of vaccine administration significantly influenced the outcome of the therapy. S.c. immunization with IFN-γ-producing tumor cells was far more effective compared to i.d. injection. DCs generated from rat bone marrow progenitor cells exhibited the capacity to take up antigens in an immature state and induce T cell proliferation in a mature state, two functional properties central for the induction of anti-tumor immune response. We tested different antigen preparations and maturation factors in order to establish the optimal conditions for DC activation. Synergistic inhibition of intracerebral tumor growth was observed when rats were vaccinated with a combination of ex vivo tumor cell lysate-pulsed and matured DCs and IFN-γ-producing tumor cells. However, we did not observe any benefit of using DC-based vaccines alone regardless of antigen loading or maturation methods compared to immunotherapy with IFN-γ-producing tumor cells. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that DC-based vaccines fail to provide protection in a weakly immunogenic brain tumor model but do enhance the anti-tumor immune responses elicited by IFN-γ-producing tumor cells. These findings could be pertinent to other tumor models and other immunotherapeutic modalities and thus have important implications for the development of anti-cancer vaccines. (Less)


Remote
control of physiological functions with light offers the promise of unveiling
their complex spatiotemporal dynamics in vivo, and enabling highly focalized
therapeutic interventions with reduced systemic toxicity. Optogenetic methods
have been implemented in the heart, but the need of genetic manipulation
jeopardizes clinical applicability. This study aims at developing, testing and
validating the first light-regulated drug with cardiac effects, in order to
avoid the requirement of genetic manipulation offered by optogenetic methods. A
M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) light-regulated drug (PAI) was
designed, synthesized and pharmacologically characterized. The design was based
on the orthosteric mAChRs agonist Iperoxo, an allosteric M2 ligand, and a
photoswitchable azobenzene linker. PAI can be reversibly photoisomerized
between cis and trans configurations under ultraviolet (UV) and visible light,
respectively, and it reversibly photoswitches the activity of M2 muscarinic
acetylcholine receptors. We have evaluated in
vitro photoresponses using a calcium imaging assay in genetically
unmodified receptors overexpressed in mammalian cells. Furthermore, using this new
chemical tool, we demonstrate for the first time photoregulation of cardiac
function in vivo in wildtype frog
tadpoles and in rats with a method that does not require genetic manipulation.
Such a new approach may enable enhanced spatial and temporal selectivity for
cardiovascular drugs.


The growth of the  revolutionary movement in the ranks of the Russian army on the Romanian front in 1917 has attracted the attention of a number of Soviet historians. M.M. Gitsiu, Deiatel 'nost' soldatskikh sovetov i komitetov na rumynskom fronte i v Moldavii v 1917 g. (Kishinev, 1985), concentrates on the soldier's organizations and the growth of Bolshevik influence among them. E.N. Istrati, Demokraticheskoe dvizhenie za mir na rumynskom fronte v. 1917 gody (Kishinev, 1973), has a broader perspective emphasizing the question of war or peace. M.S. Frenkin, Revoliutsionnoe dvizhenie na rumynskom fronte 1917 g. - mart  1918 (Moscow, 1965), is the best of this genre but despite the title, covers only one of four Russian armies attached to the Romanian front, and the one which was not on Romanian soil. Frenkin's second book, Russkaia armiia i revoliutsiia  1917-1918 (Munich, 1978), written after his emigration to Israel, is a welcome corrective to all Soviet accounts, including his earlier one. But in covering all four fronts, Frenkin devotes limited attention to the Romanian. By far the best general survey of the impact of the Revolution at the front is Allan Wildman, The End of the Russian Imperial Army, 2 vols. (Princeton, 1980, 1987), which is distinguished by balance and insight. However, neither Wildman nor the others mentioned deal with the Romanian response to Russian revolutionary agitation or with Russo-Romanian relations.


Tropical forests are some of the most biodiverse places remaining on Earth, they provide
habitat for many species, contain a rich array of plant and animal life not found elsewhere,
play a role in regulating local as well as global climate and weather patterns. An estimated 6-
25% of global greenhouse gas emissions arise from deforestation and degradation, primarily
of tropical forests. Papua New Guinea (PNG) contains one of the largest extant areas of
tropical forest in the world, and expansion of the industrial logging industry in recent decades
has been the biggest driver of forest decline in that nation.
This thesis examines the impact of logging in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on forest carbon
stocks, and the role that logging plays in attempts to reduce deforestation and degradation as
a method of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. All previously existing
measurements from PNG which could be used to estimate carbon stocks in logged and
unlogged forest were collated. The best estimate of forest carbon stocks contained in PNG's
forests in 2002 was 4,770 million tonnes (Mt) (+/-13%), and the best estimate of gross forest
carbon released through deforestation and degradation between 1972 and 2002 was 1,178 Mt
(+/-18%). Forty-one percent of 2001 emissions resulted from logging. The large uncertainty
in this estimate of carbon stocks and fluxes was primarily due to the small number and plot
size of field measurements, and the lack of logging damage studies in PNG.
To address this uncertainty, additional measurement of forest carbon in logged and unlogged
forests in PNG, using a plotless technique designed to capture landscape scale variation in forest carbon and biomass, were undertaken across four different logging concessions in
lowland rainforest. At Makapa concession in Western province, measured average unlogged
above ground forest carbon was 111.34 +/- 2.35 tonnes per hectare (t ha-1) with 34.91 +/-
2.84 t ha-1 killed after the first round of logging, including damage from felling, skidding and
deforestation for road building. At Amanab concession in Sandaun province, average
unlogged above ground forest carbon ranged from 82.25 +/- 5.2 t ha-1 to 108.14 +/- 3.62 t ha-
1, and between 27.57 +/- 2.36 t ha-1 and 37.66 +/- 1.80 t ha-1 killed after logging. At
Asengseng and Mosa Laem logging concessions in West New Britain province, unlogged
above ground forest carbon stocks were measured as 155.05 +/- 4.96 t ha-1 and 117.41+/-
4.34 t ha-1 respectively, with losses from logging measured as 39.97 t ha-1 +/- 1.85 t ha-1 and
47.85 +/- 2.35 t ha-1. On average the first harvest removed 33% of initial forest carbon,
which underestimates total logging damage as repeat harvesting within 35 years is
widespread in PNG and causes additional carbon losses.
During the last decade, the logging of tropical natural forest in Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands generated an estimated gross value at
market rates of between $US 18-54 billion per year. This equates to approximately $US 6 –
87 per person per year. Government revenue generated by logging in these nations was
~$US 2.0 billion per year or ~$US 4 per person per year, with gross carbon dioxide emissions
of 0.6-2.2 billion tonnes per year – equivalent to 0.5 – 2.7 times the volume produced by
burning of fossil fuels in those countries. The overall value and proportion of the total value
of the timber industry that is captured by the governments of these ten countries is small. The argument that logging is vital for tropical nations to provide services to their people is not
supported by these estimates.
Since reducing emissions from tropical deforestation and degradation (REDD) was first
proposed as an international mechanism, the government of PNG has been embroiled in a
series of forest-carbon-related scandals. Senior government officials have allegedly issued
forest carbon credits for sale on international markets without legislated authority to do so,
and in the case of Kamula Doso, issued forest carbon credits for sale over an area of forest
allocated as a logging concession and being disputed in the courts. The scandals surrounding
REDD development in PNG fits within a broader decades-long history of mismanagement of
forests and the logging industry.
Logging is a major source of carbon emissions in PNG , contributes relatively little cash
value compared to carbon emissions, and is an industry plagued with years of corruption and
mismanagement. In addition logging contributes a relatively small amount to PNG's
economy, accounting for only 5% of exports. Ceasing native forest logging in PNG would
save approximately 59.90 – 92.98 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted per
year. In addition, older logged forests represent a huge potential carbon sink if allowed to
regenerate. Approximately 671 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be pulled out of the
atmosphere by leaving logged forests to regenerate and curtailing logging activity in PNG.
This carbon sink has comparatively little economic impact on tropical populations, foregone
products are easily substituted, it has been demonstrated to work if the international will
exists, and is readily monitored. Importantly, unlike other options, it is eminently achievable.


The rapid increase in power densities of integrated circuits has induced a significant interest in new reliable and high heat flux cooling technologies. The implication of such growth is the increased need for more efficient and more compact cooling mechanisms. Promising research has been conducted in the area of MEMS cooling devices, taking advantage of the increased heat transfer characteristics in microfabricated structures. While significant advances in microchannels can be found in the literature, little work is being done to develop microchannels with non-uniform cross sections that can evaporate fluid without the presence of the bubbles at the exit flow [1]. The design and modeling approach, microfabrication process and the full testing of the tailored microevaporators was a part of the author's earlier work. The qualitative nature of the two-phase flow along the shaped channels is observed through the glass cover wafer, for different flow rates and wall temperatures and the onset of phase change successfully fixed at a prescribed location, while achieving evaporation from a meniscus, separating the liquid from the vapor, without the presence of the bubbles exiting the microchannel [2]. In microscale, as the surface area to volume ratio increases with the decrease of the system feature size of microdevices, some physical phenomena which are insignificant in the macro domain become prominent in the micro domain. Some of the tried and tested macroscale theory and experimental results no longer show similar trends in the microscale. Hence dealing with simultaneously widely differing physics becomes too complicated in the microscale which include microfluidics. Finite element analysis simulation will be a powerful tool to study the microfluidic flow behavior and guide and further the microchannel device design and characterization. This work combines mathematical modeling with engineering design and evaluation of tailored microchannel evaporators. A deeper understanding of the two-phase flow in micron scale and temperature distribution in microchannels with non-uniform boundary conditions will be obtained, which provides further guidance to the design and development of tailored microchannel evaporators. The results of simulations will be compared with the results of experimental investigations. Once the models are validated against the observed behavior of two phase flow, the same models can be used to predict behavior in a larger set of potential microchannel designs. This will allow fast identification of "winning" designs which can then be fabricated for targeted applications.


Authority and power permeate political, social, and economic life, but empirical knowledge about the motivational origins and consequences of authority is limited. We study the motivation and incentive effects of authority experimentally in an authority-delegation game. Individuals often retain authority even when its delegation is in their material interest – suggesting that authority has non-pecuniary consequences for utility. Authority also leads to over-provision of effort by the controlling parties, while a large percentage of subordinates under-provide effort despite pecuniary incentives to the contrary. Authority thus has important motivational consequences that exacerbate the inefficiencies arising from suboptimal delegation choices.


Understanding how differences in management 'best practices' affect organizational outcomes has been a focus of both theoretical and empirical work in the fields of management, sociology, economics, and public policy. The World Management Survey (WMS) project was born almost two decades ago with the main goal of developing a new systematic measure of management practices being used in organizations. The WMS has contributed to a body of knowledge around how managerial structures, not just managerial talent, relate to organizational performance. Over 18 years of research, a set of consistent patterns have emerged and spurred new questions. We present a brief overview of what we have learned in terms of measuring and understanding management practices and condense the implications of these findings for policy. We end with an outline of what we see as the path forward for both research and policy implications of this research programme.


Objectives We investigated the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibilities of clinically important Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) from 16 major teaching hospitals in Taiwan in 2017. Materials and methods Escherichia coli (n=686) and Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream isolates (n=673), non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS; n=221) from various sources, Shigella species (n=21) from fecal samples, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (n=129) from the genitourinary tract were collected. Antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using the broth microdilution method. Alleles encoding K. pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPCs), New Delhi metallo-β-lactamases (NDMs), Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase, imipenemase, OXA-48-like, and mcr-1-5 genes were detected by molecular methods in Enterobacteriaceae isolates. Results Five (0.7%) E. coli isolates harbored mcr-1 alleles. Twenty-four (3.6%), seven (1.0%), four (0.6%), and one (0.15%) K. pneumoniae isolates contained bla KPC, bla OXA-48-like, mcr-1, and bla NDM, respectively. Three (1.4%) NTS and no Shigella isolates harbored mcr-1 genes. Seventy-one (10.5%) K. pneumoniae isolates displayed non-susceptibility (NS) to carbapenem agent(s). Phenotypically extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing K. pneumoniae isolates showed significantly higher rates of ertapenem, tigecycline, and ceftolozane–tazobactam (CLZ– TAZ) NS (40.2%, 16.3%, and 71%–80%, respectively) than E. coli isolates exhibiting ESBL phenotypes (5.4%, 0.7%, and 18%–28%, respectively). All phenotypically ESBL-producing E. coli isolates were ceftazidime–avibactam (CAZ–AVB) susceptible. Two (8.3%) KPC-producing K. pneumoniae isolates showed CAZ–AVB NS. Hospital-acquired K. pneumoniae isolates were significantly less susceptible to ertapenem and CLZ–TAZ than hospital-acquired E. coli isolates. Conclusion Third-generation cephalosporins remain the optimal choice for treating NTS, Shigella, and gonococcal infections in Taiwan. Hospital-acquired and phenotypically ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae are a heavy resistance burden in Taiwan.


The increased use of biomass and recovered waste fuels in favor of fossil fuels for heat and power production is an important step towards a sustainable future. Combustion of waste fuels also offers several advantages over traditional landfilling, such as substantial volume reduction, detoxification of pathological wastes, and reduction of toxic leaches and greenhouse gas (methane) formation from landfills. However, combustion of recovered waste fuels emits more harmful trace elements than combustion of other fuels. These elements are distributed between bottom ash, fly ash and flue gas, depending on the elements partitioning and enrichment behavior. Volatilized harmful trace elements are mainly enriched in the submicron fly ash fraction. If emitted to the atmosphere, submicron particles can penetrate deep into the alveoli of the lungs, causing severe impacts on human health. Consequently, to reduce ash related problems and to control the emissions to the atmosphere, there is an increased need for understanding the physicochemical processes involved in ash transformation, including particle formation.The objective of this thesis was to carefully and systematically study the fate of trace elements during combustion, i.e. the chemical form of the elements and the partitioning behavior, by means of chemical equilibrium model calculations, X-ray diffraction, microscopy techniques and various spectroscopy methods. The influence of some fuel additives was also analyzed. Primarily, the elements copper, chromium and arsenic were studied.An initial review and evaluation of the content of thermodynamical data in commercial thermochemical databases used for chemical equilibrium model calculations showed that there was a significant difference in number of included phases and species between databases. Thermodynamical data also differed between databases, although in general less for condensed phases than for gaseous species. A state-of-the-art database for Cu, Cr and As was compiled and used for further chemical equilibrium model calculations. The fate of Cu, Cr and As was determined in combustion experiments on wood impregnated with copper, chromium and arsenic (CCA) in a bench scale reactor (15 kW). The results showed that global chemical equilibrium model calculations predicted the overall fate of Cu, Cr and As in bottom ash and ash particles quite well. However, compared to the experimental results the global model overpredicted the formation of refractory calcium arsenates, thus the arsenic volatilization was found to be higher then the predicted volatilization. In terms of chromium volatility, copper was found to be an important refractory element forming stable CuCrO2(s) and CuCr2O4(s) that suppressed the formation of CrO2(OH)2(g). The retention and speciation of Cu, Cr and As in bottom ash was further determined from combustion experiments of CCA wood fuel particles in a single particle reactor. Local chemical equilibrium model calculations were performed to simulate the combustion stages of a burning CCA treated wood fuel particle: drying, devolatilization, char burning and post-combustion. The results from the work showed that a mix of global and local chemical equilibrium model calculations is needed to describe the reality and that the combustion stages are partially overlapping. The fate of harmful trace elements, including Cu, Cr and As, was finally studied in full scale (65 MW) combustion experiments. Particles from the raw flue gas emissions were sampled and analyzed. The comparison with chemical equilibrium model calculations showed that the model explained the results well, but due to lack of thermodynamic data for K2ZnCl4(s), the formation of this phase could not be predicted.


As a pulp bleaching agent, dimethyldioxirane (DMD) is effective and selective. In this study, it was employed as a delignifying agent or as an activating agent for hydrogen peroxide treatment in bleaching acetate-grade pulp. Brightness, kappa number, degree of polymerization (DP), and alpha-cellulose content were evaluated to determine the optimal charges of DMD: 2.5% AO, and 4% HSO5-, respectively. Results from the totally chlorine-free (TCF) sequences MEQMPA, MEpQMPA, and OQMPA suggested that DMD is both effective and selective as a delignifying agent but not as a brightening agent as compared to oxygen. And in a long sequence for the bleaching of dissolving pulp, acid treatment can be used in two approaches: to remove the metal ions without washing before the chelation stage, and to reduce hemicellulose and ash in the final stage.


The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flown on board the Terra Earth Observing System (EOS) platform launched in December 1999, produces a snow‐covered area (SCA) product. This product is expected to be of better quality than SCA products based on operational satellites (notably GOES and AVHRR), due both to improved spectral resolution and higher spatial resolution of the MODIS instrument. The gridded MODIS SCA product was compared with the SCA product produced and distributed by the National Weather Service National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) for 46 selected days over the Columbia River basin and 32 days over the Missouri River basin during winter and spring of 2000–01. Snow presence or absence was inferred from ground observations of snow depth at 1330 stations in the Missouri River basin and 762 stations in the Columbia River basin, and was compared with the presence/absence classification for the corresponding pixels in the MODIS and NOHRSC SCA products. On average, the MODIS SCA images classified fewer pixels as cloud than NOHRSC, the effect of which was that 15% more of the Columbia basin area could be classified as to presence–absence of snow, while overall there was a statistically insignificant difference over the Missouri basin. Of the pixels classified as cloud free, MODIS misclassified 4% and 5% fewer overall (for the Columbia and Missouri basins respectively) than did the NOHRSC product. When segregated by vegetation cover, forested areas had the greatest differences in fraction of cloud cover reported by the two SCA products, with MODIS classifying 13% and 17% less of the images as cloud for the Missouri and Columbia basins respectively. These differences are particularly important in the Columbia River basin, 39% of which is forested. The ability of MODIS to classify significantly greater amounts of snow in the presence of cloud in more topographically complex, forested, and snow‐dominated areas of these two basins provides valuable information for hydrologic prediction. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Objective-To determine the effect of ultrasound therapy on hydroxyproline (HP) content in superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) in horses.Design - Experimental in vivo study.Animals - Eight adult castrated horses.Procedure- The mediocaudal surface of right metatarsal bone in was exposed and after complete separation of SDFT, it was splitted (striking 15 times) in full thickness in longitudinal fashion of 10 cm in length in the mid-tendon area using BP blade no 24. These animals were divided into two equal groups of control and experiment. No treatment was given to control one, whereas; treatment group was subjected to therapeutic ultrasound (Sonopulse 434) regimens 10 minutes daily with intensity of 1 Watt/Esq. at 3 MHz frequency over 14 days. The hydroxyproline concentration was measured by modified spectrophotometery. The collected data was analyzed using student t test at p <0.05 significant level.Results- HP content of severed tendons in both groups was significantly less than normal tendons (P<0.01). Also, the HP content of treatment group was significantly more than the control group.Conclusion and Clinical Relevance- The results of this study indicated that direct application of ultrasound therapy on severely injured or extensive lesion of superficial digital flexor tendon in horses will enhance HP content in the treated tendon.


This note describes a mechanism whereby authorisation for one node to
act as key exchanger for a second node is delegated and made available
via the Secure DNS. This mechanism is intended to be used only with
the Secure DNS. This memo provides information for the Internet
community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.


Applying concepts from Deborah Brandt's "Sponsors of Literacy" to Frederick Douglass' "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" explains how American slavery functioned as an institutional literacy sponsor, and how Douglass achieved literacy against the opposing forces of his sponsor. During the antebellum period, the American slavery institution, fueled by pro-slavery Anglo Saxons, maintained a social structure that guaranteed political, economic, social, and legal advantages for whites over African Americans. Afraid that literacy acquisition for African Americans might lead to their self-empowerment and eventual freedom, pro-slavery whites dedicated themselves to anti-literacy legislation and other measures aimed at keeping African Americans illiterate. Despite these strenuous efforts, Frederick Douglass acquired literacy by repurposing his sponsor's resources toward literacy projects in his 'neighborhood' classroom. Douglass' description of his literacy journey runs remarkably parallel to Brandt's discussion about ways in which the 'sponsored' can overcome self-interested 'sponsors,' despite obstructions to literacy access routes, and stratified opportunity along race and ethnicity lines. Understanding how literacy sponsorship operated during the 19th century sheds some light on the ongoing literacy crisis today.


of Dissertation Vena cava filters (VCFs) are mechanical devices implanted in the inferior vena cava to trap thrombi from travelling to the pulmonary circulation, resulting in pulmonary embolism. VCFs are available as permanent or non-permanent, retrievable devices and are generally indicated for use in patients unable to receive systemic anticoagulation or at exceedingly high risk for pulmonary embolism (PE). Retrievable devices allow for removal of the VCF once the contraindication to anticoagulation or high risk of PE has abated. Since the introduction of retrievable VCFs in the early 2000's, use of VCFs has increased three-fold, with >85% of all VCFs placed being retrievable. Complications due to indwelling VCFs are time-dependent and the FDA-recommended time periods for retrieval fall within 50-70 days postimplantation. However, retrieval rates are low. Generally around 30% of all VCFs are retrieved in eligible patients, with the remainder becoming permanent despite no indication for the VCF to remain in place. These studies sought to quantify the epidemiology of VCF use, and retrieval in Kentucky and nationally, and to inform future clinical interventions to increase retrieval rates. The following objectives were achieved: 1) describe treatment patterns for patients hospitalized with PE or other venous thromboembolism including VCF utilization and anticoagulation, 2) characterize patients who do and do not receive VCFs, 3) evaluate retrieval rates among subgroups of patients and identify factors associated with retrieval, and 4) evaluate a minimal intervention performed in the University of Kentucky hospital aimed at increasing VCF retrieval rates. Finally, a review of the literature was conducted to identify interventions that have increased retrieval rates at individual hospitals. All these data will be useful in developing a future institutional-level intervention to increase retrieval rates to better improve the quality of patient care.


Male field crickets frequently engage in agonistic contests to establish dominance in social interactions and gain access to mate attraction territories. Crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) are often used as a model taxon to study aggression, but limited documentation of aggression in some cricket species hinders our understanding of its evolutionary costs and benefits. Our study investigated cricket aggression at two scales: the within-species scale for two cricket species, Gryllus assimilis and G. veletis, whose aggression had not been adequately documented and the amongspecies scale to detect evolutionary patterns in species' levels of aggression. In both G. veletis and G. assimilis, winners spent more time being aggressive than losers, but they were not larger or heavier. Collectively, our results reveal that G. veletis males are more aggressive than G. assimilis. Male G. veletis had higher aggression scores that male G. assimilis. The majority of G. veletis contests escalated to grappling (a highly aggressive behavior), while less than one quarter of G. assimilis contests escalated to grappling. Further, G. veletis males transitioned between two of the most aggressive behaviors most often while G. assimilis transitioned between two of the least aggressive behaviors most often. We integrate this new information on aggression for G. assimilis and G. veletis with previously documented aggression data for many cricket species to investigate aggression in a broader evolutionary context than previously possible. Within a phylogenetic context, we test the hypothesis that species whose males use burrows from which to call and attract females are more aggressive than species with non-burrowing males. We found evidence consistent with this hypothesis; species with burrowing males tended to be more aggressive than species with non-burrowing males. Together, our study provides fine-scale understanding of aggression in two cricket species and broad-scale evolutionary context for aggression across cricket species.


Tissue oxygen tension (tPO2) reflects the balance between local oxygen supply and demand and could thus be a useful monitoring modality. However, both the consistency and amplitude of the tPO2 response in different organs during
varied cardiorespiratory insults is unknown.
Using an anaesthetised rat model I investigated the effects of endotoxaemia, progressive haemorrhage and acute hypoxaemia on tPO2 measured in deep (liver and renal cortex) and peripheral (skeletal muscle and bladder) organ
beds. Different patterns were seen in each of the shock states with conditionspecific variations in the degree of acidaemia, lactataemia, and tissue oxygen responses between organs. Endotoxaemia resulted in a rise in bladder tPO2, an
early fall in muscle and liver tPO2 but no significant change in renal cortical tPO2. In a more severe model of endotoxaemic sepsis, different patterns were seen between cortical and outer medullary oxygenation, and the intra/extravascular compartments of the kidney. Progressive haemorrhage however produced proportional falls in liver, muscle and bladder tPO2 but renal cortical tPO2 was maintained until profound blood loss had occurred.
Administration of high inspired oxygen concentrations initially increased tissue PO2 although this fell with continued blood loss. By contrast, acute hypoxaemia
and hyperoxaemia induced proportional changes in tPO2 in all organ beds.
Tissue PO2 monitoring in a long-term sepsis model revealed a fall in global oxygen delivery during early sepsis (6h) with concurrent decreases in muscle, liver and renal cortical tissue PO2. Myocardial function was severely compromised at this timepoint, due largely to hypovolaemia despite concurrent background fluid resuscitation. Furthermore, fluid loading and an oxygen challenge test revealed discordance between the macro- and microcirculation, likely contributing to the oxygen supply-demand imbalance. By contrast, during established sepsis (24h), tissue oxygen tensions normalised with an
improvement in myocardial and circulatory function. However, at this timepoint there was evidence of ill health, continued hyperlactataemia and organ failure,
thus highlighting the complexity of this particular disease state.
Taken together, these studies highlight the heterogeneity of responses in different organ beds during varied shock states. This likely relates to local changes in oxygen supply and utilisation. They also challenge the traditional
paradigm that a fall in global oxygen delivery by whatever means has a similar response at the organ level. Furthermore, it highlights the particular sensitivity
and/or adaptation of some organs to specific insults. Consequently, the baseline tissue oxygen tension in peripheral organ beds does not necessarily mimic that
observed in deeper, vital organs. However, if combined with a dynamic challenge (e.g. an oxygen challenge test), these differences can be unmasked, thus highlighting the potential utility of this monitoring device in clinical
practice.


Objective: Given the increasing interest in the effect of isoflavones on menopause‐related symptoms and diseases related to menopause/aging combined with the growing body of published literature on isoflavones, much of which presents conflicting data, The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) established a goal to develop an evidence‐based consensus opinion on the role of isoflavones in menopausal health. Design: NAMS appointed a panel of clinicians and researchers acknowledged to be experts in the field of isoflavones. Their advice was used to assist the NAMS Board of Trustees in developing this consensus opinion. Results: Many animal and human studies have evaluated the health effects of isoflavones on menopause‐related symptoms and diseases related to menopause/aging. However, data are inconclusive regarding whether the observed health effects in humans are attributable to isoflavones alone or to isoflavones plus other components in whole foods. The most convincing health effects have been attributed to the actions of isoflavones on lipids. Studies have associated isoflavones with statistically significant reductions in low‐density lipoproteins and triglycerides as well as increases in high‐density lipoproteins. Although some data seem to support the efficacy of isoflavones in reducing the incidence and severity of hot flashes, many studies have not found any difference between the isoflavone recipients and the controls. Inadequate data exist to evaluate the effect of isoflavones on breast and other female‐related cancers, bone mass, and vaginal dryness. Conclusions: Although the observed health effects in humans cannot be clearly attributed to isoflavones alone, it is clear that foods or supplements that contain isoflavones have some physiologic effects. Clinicians may wish to recommend that menopausal women consume whole foods that contain isoflavones, especially for the cardiovascular benefits of these foods; however, a level of caution needs to be observed in making these recommendations. Additional clinical trials are needed before specific recommendations can be made regarding increased consumption of foods or supplements that contain high amounts of isoflavones. (Menopause 2000;7:215‐229. © 2000, The North American Menopause Society.)


It is believed that depression will be the number one cause of disability worldwide in the year 2020, and stress will be a contributing factor. This is significant for South Africa which is considered to be one of the most highly stressed societies in the world with many social problems that contribute to stress and depression. One of the factors that research has indicated may lead to stress is work/home role conflict. This is often considered stressful for working mothers as they tend to carry a greater domestic burden. This study aimed to explore the levels of and interrelationships between stress, depression and work/home role conflict in a sample of 59 working mothers. Mediating factors such as coping skills and social support were also explored. The study found that for this sample work/home role conflict was not significant but that half of the sample reported features of depression. There was a positive correlation between stress and depression and negative correlations between coping, support, stress and depression. South African Psychiatry Review - May 2002


Rapid spread of psychotropic and narcotic substances and growth of crime rate connected with it, increasing threat of organized crime connected with illegal trade of drugs cause the necessity of further development of criminal laws defining liability for illegal actions with psychotropic or narcotic substances. It could be done in these trends: Primarily, further differentiation of criminal liability taking into consideration matters of analyzed crimes. Dependently on characteristics of psychotropic and drugs substances, they could be divided at least into three groups: − especially strong psychotropic and narcotic substances causing threat to a person' s life (e.g. cocaine, opium and its preparation, lysergide (LSD) and others); − psychotropic or narcotic substances dangerous to a person' s life and health (e.g. cannabis and composition parts, amphetamines); − psychotropic or narcotic substances injurious to a person' s health - so called mild narcotic drugs (e.g. some morphine preparations, marijuana, etc.). Secondly, criminalization of new acts and decriminalization of some of them. Thirdly, taking into consideration the experience of other countries, 1988 UN Convention and existing situation in Lithuania, besides the already predicted qualifying circumstances, it is necessary to supply them with some new circumstances.


This work presents a new way of understanding the geological science: the Ecological Geology. It is based on the clasical vision of the Geology as well as on some new concepts, as Geodiversity and Geoconservation. An aplication of these perspective to the Geological Heritage is also included, in a list of ten points, called Declaracion de Girona, because it is concibed in this city


This ethnomusicology study explores the contexts of the bamboo musical instruments of the Kalinga people of the Philippines in two distinct contemporary locations: the urban setting of Lucnab, Baguio City, and the rural setting of Sukiap, Kalinga. Through the study of the instruments, the music, and the individuals who participate in the music, I will examine the fluid and reflexive contextualisation of the music of the bamboo instruments, and how traditional musics undergo redefinition, reformation and a re-investing with new cultural significance. At the centre of this thesis lies an individual, Benicio Sokkong, a teacher, researcher, instrument maker and performer, who is key to the revival of the bamboo musical instruments not only in Kalinga but also internationally. The two communities focused on in this thesis have direct connections to Beni: the community of Lucnab, Baguio City, is his current home, and Sukiap village in Kalinga which is the birth place of his parents and his ancestral home. This study investigates the contexts of the bamboo instruments in these locations, and the effect of an individual reviving, recreating, and maintaining musical traditions. I have employed a contemporary and eclectic approach in presenting the research in this dissertation, drawing on concepts of ethnic and self- identity (Rice 2007, Stokes 1994, Giddens 1991), revival (Livingston 1999), and the individual (Rice 1994, Stock 1996, Vander 1988). I argue that although the contexts of music shift from ritual and ceremony to secular gatherings, and also move geographically throughout local and national locations, the music remains an expression of community and communal identity. I also posit that the shape and form of the contexts are created by individuals who participate in the process of revival and maintenance.


A method to create sub-micron changes of the chemical composition of silica based optical fibers is reviewed. The method is used to create thermally stable refractive index structures, Fiber Bragg gratings, which can be used e.g. as sensors operating at very high temperatures. The method is based on UV induced chemical reactions of the silica glass with in-diffused molecular hydrogen. A change in the chemical composition is attained after thermal treatment, and the mechanism is attributed to diffusion of hydrogen compounds within the glass.


Abstract Efforts toward improving K-12 science education emphasize teachers noticing students' thinking as they engage in disciplinary practices and reasoning. This noticing requires specialized teacher knowledge and skills as it involves attending to students' ideas, as well as making sense of and responding to those ideas so that the disciplinary substance in them is recognized, made explicit, and supported. This study investigates three elementary teachers' in-the-moment noticing of students' ideas while teaching science and their thinking about what it means to engage in this teaching practice. Results indicate that teachers notice many different kinds of student science ideas, and also that teachers have different ways of thinking about which student ideas are substantive during a science lesson. This research contributes to our theoretical understanding of the nature of teacher noticing in science. Noticing students' science ideas involves not only the presence of ideas and the ability to notice them, but also a teacher's understanding of this teaching practice in the moment.


OBJECTIVE Pediatric type 2 diabetes prevalence is increasing, with β-cell dysfunction key in its pathogenesis. The RISE Pediatric Medication Study compared two approaches—glargine followed by metformin and metformin alone—in preserving or improving β-cell function in youth with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes during and after therapy withdrawal. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Ninety-one pubertal, overweight/obese 10–19-year-old youth with IGT (60%) or type 2 diabetes of <6 months duration (40%) were randomized to either 3 months of insulin glargine with a target glucose of 4.4–5.0 mmol/L followed by 9 months of metformin or to 12 months of metformin alone. β-Cell function (insulin sensitivity paired with β-cell responses) was assessed by hyperglycemic clamp at baseline, 12 months (on treatment), and 15 months (3 months off treatment). RESULTS No significant differences were observed between treatment groups at baseline, 12 months, or 15 months in β-cell function, BMI percentile, HbA1c, fasting glucose, or oral glucose tolerance test 2-h glucose results. In both treatment groups, clamp-measured β-cell function was significantly lower at 12 and 15 months versus baseline. HbA1c fell transiently at 6 months within both groups. BMI was higher in the glargine followed by metformin versus metformin alone group between 3 and 9 months. Only 5% of participants discontinued the interventions, and both treatments were well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS In youth with IGT or recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes, neither 3 months of glargine followed by 9 months of metformin nor 12 months of metformin alone halted the progressive deterioration of β-cell function. Alternate approaches to preserve β-cell function in youth are needed.


Richelieu and Mazarin by Geoffrey Treasure compares these two striking, but very different, statesmen and evaluates their careers and achievements in the light of modern research. It explores all aspects of the two men's careers including the historical background, their personal characters, aims and values and their experience of power. Geoffrey Treasure also debates altered perceptions of 'absolutism' and the accomplishments of both leaders.


To investigate lipid rafts as a site where amyloid β protein (Aβ) oligomers might accumulate and cause toxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD), we analyzed Aβ in the Tg2576 transgenic mouse model of AD. Aβ was highly concentrated in lipid rafts, which comprise a small fraction of brain volume but contain 27% of brain Aβ42 and 24% of Aβ40 in young mice. In the Tg2576 model, memory impairment begins at 6 months before amyloid plaques are visible. Here we show that Aβ dimers appear in lipid rafts at 6 months and that raft Aβ, which is primarily dimeric, rapidly accumulates reaching levels >500× those in young mice by 24–28 months. A similar large accumulation of dimeric Aβ was observed in lipid rafts from AD brain. In contrast to extracellular amyloid fibrils, which are SDS-insoluble, virtually all Aβ in lipid rafts is SDS soluble. Coupled with recent studies showing that synthetic and naturally occurring Aβ oligomers can inhibit hippocampal long-term potentiation, the in vivo age-dependent accumulation of SDS-soluble Aβ dimers in lipid rafts at the time when memory impairment begins in Tg2576 mice provides strong evidence linking Aβ oligomers to memory impairment. After dimeric Aβ began to accumulate in lipid rafts of the Tg2576 brain, apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and then phosphorylated tau accumulated. A similar increase in ApoE and a large increase in phosphorylated tau was observed in lipid rafts from AD brain. These findings suggest that lipid rafts may be an important site for interaction between dimeric Aβ, ApoE, and tau.


This portfolio of published research contains nine papers and assesses the life cycle environmental burdens of energy technologies and buildings. Several analytical tools were used but these all fall under the umbrella of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), and include energy analysis, carbon appraisal and the consideration of other environmental issues. The life cycle of all products starts with an assessment of embodied impacts. The current author has completed significant research on the embodied carbon of materials. This includes the creation of a leading embodied carbon database (the ICE database) for materials which has been downloaded by over 10,000 professionals and has made a significant contribution to knowledge. This portfolio of work includes analysis on methods for recycling in embodied impact assessment and LCA. This is an influential topic and therefore appears in two of the publications. The ICE database was applied by the current author to over 40 domestic building case studies and an embodied carbon model for buildings was created from these. The latter was used to provide benchmark values for six types of new houses in the UK. The portfolio of work then progresses to full LCA of energy systems. LCA is used to assess the embodied impacts versus operational impacts of 11 kV electrical cables. In this case embodied impacts were not significant and preference should be given to reducing electrical losses in the cables. The tool of LCA was then applied to a national electricity network. It revealed that Lebanon had a particularly poor centralised electricity network that was both unreliable and unsustainable with high impacts in all environmental categories. The final paper in this portfolio is on Building Integrated PV (BIPV) and brings together all aspects of the current author's work and knowledge. It considers embodied burdens, electricity generation and BIPV can replace roofing materials.


BACKGROUND
Human mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) is a major enzyme responsible for the oxidation of acetaldehyde derived from ethanol metabolism. The human ALDH2 gene shows genetic polymorphism at position 1510 with a G to A transition in exon 12. This mutation leads to ALDH2 enzyme deficiency and protection against alcoholism. As yet, no polymorphism for the promoter region of the ALDH2 gene has been reported.

METHODS
We analyzed 600 nucleotides of the promoter region in addition to exon 12 from 571 Japanese, 68 Chinese, 80 Myanmar, 60 Mongolians, and 82 North-American Caucasians using single-strand conformational change polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR products that showed an aberrant banding pattern detected by the SSCP analysis were subjected to PCR direct sequencing.

RESULTS
A novel polymorphism at -357 with a G to A substitution was found in all the population groups, including North-American Caucasians. In addition, the polymorphic status in the promoter and exon 12 suggested linkage disequilibrium between the two loci, which indicated that among Japanese, the ALDH2*2 allele is linked to the G promoter allele, and theALDH2*1 allele is linked to the A allele. A total of 206 healthy male controls and 185 alcoholic male patients with the homozygous ALDH2*1 genotype were analyzed for the polymorphism in the promoter. Genotypic frequencies of GG, GA, and AA for alcoholics were 54.1%, 44.3%, and 1.6%, and those for controls were 52.9%, 40.3%, and 6.8%, respectively. The A allele frequencies for alcoholics and controls were 0.24 and 0.27, respectively. A chi2 test for the entire 3 x 2 table indicated significant variations in the three genotypes (chi2 = 6.40, p < 0.05). However, no significant difference in allelic frequencies between the two groups was observed.

CONCLUSION
This new polymorphism in the ALDH2 promoter is present in all populations studied. Further analysis in other ethnic groups is necessary to establish this as an additional risk factor for alcoholism.


We find that sub-GeV neutrino portal bosons that carry lepton number can condense inside a proto-neutron star (newly born neutron star). These bosons are produced copiously and form a Bose-Einstein condensate for a range of as yet unconstrained coupling strengths to neutrinos. The condensate is a lepton number superfluid with transport properties that differ dramatically from those encountered in ordinary dense baryonic matter. We discuss how this phase could alter the evolution of proto-neutron stars and comment on the implications for neutrino signals and nucleosynthesis.


We suggest that the currently recognized failure of the so called "war on drugs" is an opportunity to explore how academics and policy-makers fail in operational thinking, that is, they fail in thinking in terms of "how things really work". We illustrate this failure with certain modes of reasoning that seem to underpin the way in which the war on drugs has been debated in Colombia. We selected various studies and policies that show a way of thinking anchored in a cause-and-effect rationality that leaves out the very actions that produce and explain the performance of the social system that those studies and policies deal with. Systems adapt, systems respond to our actions. Policies that exclude such decisional nature of a social system are doomed to fail. Operational thinking means, among other things, to recognize, first, that a social system is a system driven by actors, that is, decision makers whose sequences of actions and decisions form intricate and complex networks of accumulations and feedback structures that can better be understood with the help of computer simulation.


It is timely and imperative that the issues surrounding employment of people with disabilities be addressed because, despite significant efforts globally to improve upon the employment and social integration status of people with disabilities, significant disparities between the status of people with disabilities and their non-disabled peers remains. According to statistics from the American Community Survey (ACS), in 2005 the employment rate of people aged 16-64 with sensory, physical, mental, and/or self-care disabilities was 37.5%, compared to 74.5% for people the same age without disabilities (Houtenville, Erickson, & Lee, 2007). In addition, the percentage of working age men and women with a disability in the United States with incomes below the poverty line was 25% in 2005 (Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics, 2007). Similar prevalence rates and employment and income disparities exist globally. In the European Union (EU), for example, almost 15% of EU working age population (ages 16-64) has a disability. In that age group in the EU, 62 % of those reporting no disability, 46 % of those reporting a moderate disability and 24 % of those reporting a severe disability are in work. Almost 70 % of those reporting a severe disability and somewhat less than half of those reporting a moderate disability are inactive; among those reporting no disability, 30 % are inactive (Eurostat, 2001).


The existing relation between the tomographic description of quantum states and the convolution algebra of certain discrete groupoids represented on Hilbert spaces will be discussed. The realizations of groupoid algebras based on qudit, photon-number (Fock) states and symplectic tomography quantizers and dequantizers will be constructed. Conditions for identifying the convolution product of groupoid functions and the star product arising from a quantization–dequantization scheme will be given. A tomographic approach to construct quasi-distributions out of suitable immersions of groupoids into Hilbert spaces will be formulated and, finally, intertwining kernels for such generalized symplectic tomograms will be evaluated explicitly.


A bio-thermic seawater desalination system using halophytes was developed and successfully tested. A greenhouse as part of a test rig, with different sorts of mangroves, was installed. Measurements showed promising results concerning fresh water relative yielding rates up to 1.4 kg/h/m² (leaf surface)/m² (heat exchanger surface). In addition to experimental results, possible future system designs are discussed focusing on urban and rural integration.


The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaves of Saudi Arabia native Mentha longifolia (Lamiaceae) was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry GC/MS. Forty six compounds were analysed, it was characterized by a high percentage of oxygenated monoterpenes (30.40%) with Piperitone as the major one (30.77%), followed by sesquiterpen hydrocarbons (26.08%) in which Caryophellene (5.58%) as the main, while monoterpene hydrocarbons (23.90%) with gamma-Terpinene (1.36%) as a main. The principal components of M. longifolia oil was the piperitone with chemical formula C10H14O. The antibacterial activity of the essential oil of M. longifolia L. leaf were evaluated in this study. The essential oil showed strong antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis with inhibition zone (25mm) and Escherichia coli (24mm), It seems that the essential oils derived from the Mentha longifolia L. oil could be used as a natural source of antimicrobial agents.


Based on the Corpus of Early English Correspondence (CEEC) and the Helsinki Corpus of English Texts (HC), this study describes how the second-person object form you diffused among the population of England during the late middle and early modern period (1350–1710). After the take-off in c. 1480, you replaced the old subject form ye very rapidly, in about three generations of speakers. This article shows that this was a change from below in terms of social awareness, because you was preferred in oral genres and informal registers in the earliest stages of its use. The study suggests that the social origin of you was among the middle ranks, and women led the change in its critical period of diffusion. No specific region has been found as the origin of this change, but London and the Court adopted it before the North and East Anglia.The research reported here was supported in part by the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence funding for the Research Unit for Variation and Change in English at the Department of English, University of Helsinki. I am grateful to an anonymous referee for helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.


Parasites can, in theory, have large impacts on the survival of fish populations. One method to evaluate such impacts on anadromous species is to apply manipulative field experiments in which parallel groups of antiparasitically treated and non-treated fish are simultaneously released and then subsequently recaptured as returning adults. A systematic review and meta-analysis on all such Norwegian studies on Salmo salar provided a data set for the time period 1996 to 2011 on 118 release groups comprising 657 624 fish released and 3989 recaptured. The overall risk ratio (RR) was estimated to be 1.18 (95% CI: 1.07–1.30). The effect varied strongly between groups, (Higgins I2 = 40.1%). Over 70% of this heterogeneity could be explained by the release location, time period and baseline survival. The most important predictor variable was baseline survival. In groups with low recapture in the control group (low baseline survival), the effect of treatment was high (RR = 1.7), while in groups with high recapture in the control group (high baseline survival), there was no effect of treatment (RR ~ 1.00). The most prevalent parasite in the region affected by the drugs administered was Lepeophtheirus salmonis. Hence, the meta-analysis supports the hypothesis that L. salmonis contributes to the mortality of S. salar during outward migration. However, the effect of treatment was not consistent, but was evidently strongly modulated by other risk factors. The results suggest that the population-level effects of parasites cannot be estimated independently of other factors affecting the marine survival of S. salar.


This paper investigated increasing visuospatial ability in three countries. Drawing on the Flynn Effect some researchers (Greenfield, 1998; Neisser, 1997) hypothesized that visuospatial ability may be increasing. I explored rising visuospatial abilities amongst school leavers in the UK, Australia and Nigeria. In one study Cocodia et al. (2003) found that exposure to new technology may be impacting on ability to carry out tasks that require high levels of visuospatial ability more efficiently. Results suggest that increasing visuospatial ability may be occurring due to a more visual environment and more access to multimedia. The core component of the present research paper was to investigate whether visuospatial ability is indeed rising as it is a feature of the human intelligence framework (Halpern & LaMay, 2000; Alias, Gray, & Black, 2001). Data analysis of examination results in specific subjects indicated that visuospatial abilities are rising. It was hypothesized that visuospatial ability is rising in industrialized nations due to more access to multimedia, and cognitive manipulation task in general.


Background & Aim: Social phobia is a type of anxiety disorder which has been described as a severe and chronic fear of situations leading to humiliation and embarrassment. This study aimed to determine the Influence of group training relaxation techniques and positive self-talk and their combination on social phobia of nursing students. Methods & Material: It was a randomized clinical trial with Pre- test- post-test design and follow-up tests. From a total of 400 nursing student of the school of nursing and midwifery of Najafabad branch of Islamic Azad university during 2013-2012, all students with the diagnosis of social phobia disorder (n=48) were screened by Social phobia questionnaire and allocated to three experimental groups and one control group (n = 12 per group). Experimental groups included relaxation, and Positive self-talk training and their combination of them, received 16 sessions of training in the form of two, one-hour sessions per week and control group received no training. Post-test and follow-up (two months later) was performed with the same tool. Data was analyzed by one-way ANOVA, LSD and repeated measures using SPSS-PC (v. 20). Result: ANOVA test results showed that baseline mean scores between the groups were not significantly different (P=0.45). After intervention, comparison of the mean scores of each two experimental groups with the control group showed that the mean score of each experimental group was significantly lower than control group (P<0.001). In follow-up tests, the mean scores of relaxation group ,was significantly lower than ppositive self- talk and the mean score of combination of them was significantly lower than the control group (P= 0.03), but there was no significance difference between the groups of ppositive self- talk and combination of the two groups. Conclusions: This study emphasized on the influence of cognitive - behavioral training techniques, with a focus on relaxation techniques on reducing symptoms of social phobia. Future same research to study the influence of these techniques on individual persons and comparison of these effects is recommended.


By using information collected from numerous American Economic Review publications from the last 100 years, Torgler and Piatti examine the top publishing institutions to determine their most renowned AER papers based on citation success. Areas of interest include how often an individual can publish in the AER, how equally successful citations are distributed and who the top AER publishing authors are. The book explores what the level of cooperation is among authors and what drives systems such as the alphabetical name ordering. Torgler and Piatti critically examine the individual characteristics of AER authors, editors, editorial board members and referees and even tackle more intricate details such as the frequency of female publications in the AER. The authors observe and analyse the relationship between academic age and publication performance to see if there is any pattern on these factors and citation success. The book then goes on to analyse data concerning awards, and whether awards can increase the probability of publishing in the AER at a later stage